[Thread: Closed] You've got them diamond eyes

[blackhillcat]

Who: Shijima, the Corinthian
Where: Abyss
When: Evening, April 25th
Summary: A meeting
Rating: PG13 for starters
Other: mmmmmnope.

Comments

[modeofbehavior]

The Corinthian wasn't quite sure why he was doing this. It was a question that hadn't so much plagued as tickled him, spurring small twitches of smiles to his lips as he made his way to the Junkyard. The proposal was likely what had done it. Someone expected him to find their purpose? It was amusing, if absurd. The nightmare could hardly hold on to a purpose of his own; how could he be expected to find one for another?

Still, he was here. If nothing else the individual sounded interesting, and the Corinthian could wile away some time in talking with them. He had so much of it lately. Pickings for work were slim, despite hints from Gilver that he'd be called on soon. "Promises, promises," he hummed, weaving between broken machinery.

Shijima would likely notice him first, sitting on a small scrap heap and looking for all the world like some pale specter.

pardon the extreme lateness orz

[blackhillcat]

Shijima walked through the junkyard, keeping her eyes open for any sign of life. Her black cape was a contrast to her white hair, but at least it still helped her blend into the shadows, even just a little. All throughout, she wondered what the Corinthian was like. Was he a big man? A small, mousy man? Was the Corinthian not a man at all? What sort of abilities did he have? He had to have some, at least. How else would he be able to find what people looked for? Especially her request.

Further into the Junkyard, Shijima spotted someone sitting on a scrap heap. She tilted her head and watched the person for a moment before stepping out of the shadows. There was something... haunting about the scene. "You are the Corinthian, are you not?" she asked. It very well could not have been him, but there was nothing wrong with asking. And Shijima was very good at asking. She was a curious cat, after all.

Np! It happens

[modeofbehavior]

The nightmare wasn't terribly impressive at first glance-- average features and height, muscled but not noticeably so. The only things worth a second glance were the stark white hair and the fact that he was wearing sunglasses at night. But if she had the senses of a feline, it wouldn't be hard for her to smell that he wasn't human.

Ironically, his first thought of her was questioning whether she was. His brows rose faintly at the sight of the girl. A younger girl at that. Beyond odd coloring, nothing about her stood out. She all but screamed 'easy mark', and that made him wonder. What sort of girl could come down to the Abyss, at night, alone, to meet with someone she'd never met before?

The Corinthian tilted his head thoughtfully, standing. "I am. You're... Kurookano Shijima?" He jumped and slid down the pile, brushing off his jeans calmly. White teeth flashed in a smile. "I'm surprised you came. You're very brave, for someone so young."

[blackhillcat]

The atmosphere hadn't changed one bit. It still had that same eerie feel to it, enough to have the hairs on her back stand. Her tail too, if she had one in this form. Since she'd only felt it now instead of when she first reached the Junkyard, then... Well, it wouldn't be surprising, considering this was the Abyss. Still, the expression on her face remained unchanged. Still that almost blank look that barely hinted at curiosity with eyes wide and alert.

Shijima gave the Corinthian a nod. "Yes, that is correct," she said. "Anyone who has lived in the Abyss, in my opinion, is braver than the soldiers of the Military." Not that she looked down on the Military. They just deserved a different sort of respect. She moved closer to the Corinthian and settled on the hood of an old and rusting red car. "I believe we have matters to discuss?"

[modeofbehavior]

Oh, another puzzle piece. A girl living in Terra, with a background in the Abyss.

That could be useful.

"Yes, I think we do." He stayed where he was, his head cocked faintly. There was a spot of movement not seven feet away from the car. One of the Junkyard dwellers, it looked like, long-limbed to the point of deformity, with a shadow dipping over its head in a place where no shadow should be. There were many such unfortunates, mutated by the radiation in the area. He'd seen them scavenging before... and hunting. Given the intensity with which it was staring at Shijima, this one was probably doing the latter. The nightmare bared his teeth and hissed lowly, an unspoken threat in his posture. At first the mutant only ducked its head and stared back, perhaps gauging how much trouble pursuit was worth. ...Not enough, it seemed. It withdrew reluctantly into the shadows again.

The nightmare smiled, once more relaxed. "You're looking for your purpose. I may be able to help you. But I am not a charitable creature by nature. I would ask

[blackhillcat]

"You did not have to do that," Shijima said, "but thank you." She had noticed the mutant, after all. They were bothersome, but easy to handle. She's lost a limb before, but not like it mattered. She got that arm back, anyway. Besides, it wasn't like she didn't know what she was getting herself into by coming down to the Abyss.

Shijima nodded, then, a finger twirling a lock of her hair around. Payment, of course. Nothing came free, after all, especially in the Abyss. "What sort of payment do you accept?" She figured it wouldn't be monetary. Maybe a favor, or something in kind. Still, if it was money he was after, she could probably do something about it.

[modeofbehavior]

"I come here often. I would not like them to grow bold around me." It hadn't been for her sake so much as his own. But then that's how he did most things-- he had no devotions, no ties. What he did, he did for himself. It was all the Corinthian knew to do.

"Nothing immediate," the nightmare replied smoothly, affirming her inner suspicions. "I will not be able to deliver your purpose immediately, and so I wouldn't expect it of my payment. A favor will do." Shijima held far more use for him as a contact in Terra than a walking purse. He wouldn't have access to half the things his employers paid him to fetch, if it weren't for the names he'd collected.

[blackhillcat]

Shijima nodded again. "I have no objections with the payment," she said. That would be easy enough. The Corinthian also looked like a reasonable fellow, so she didn't worry that whatever it was that he would ask to do would be near impossible.

The hood of the car shifted beneath her, but it was nothing to her. She easily shifted her balance and was still able to sit on top of it comfortably. "Now that we've discussed mode of payment, we can move on to other pressing matters," Shijima said, folding her hands neatly on her lap. "What do I have to do, what do I need to tell you so you will be able to find what I am looking for?"

[modeofbehavior]

His lips curled upwards. "Cool." Oh yes, he'd find a use or two for her.

...And what pretty, pretty eyes she had.

The Corinthian cricked his neck, humming lowly as he considered the question. "...You're looking for your purpose. That's a very personal request. I need to know you. I have to understand where you come from. What you're moving towards. What drives you?" He tilted his chin, his glasses catching the moonlight.

back from an unannounced (and unexpected) hiatus! orz

[blackhillcat]

"Very well," Shijima said, flipping her hair back. She looked straight at him. "I could tell you everything about myself, from birth to where I am now, but it might take long, depending on how much detail you would like to hear."

Tired of sitting on the hood (it might have been because she was a little restless), Shijima hopped off and walked around the Corinthian. "I should tell you, though, that I feel like I have missing memories, although of what, I'm not sure. My 'purpose' might be linked to that," she said while circling the man. Telling him about herself meant that she would have to reveal her secret. Her secrets. Could she trust him with them? Would it make a difference if she told him or not?

She stopped when she had done a full circle and was now standing in front of him again. Shijima looked at him with a serious expression on her face, and her eyes, for a split-second, might have looked like a cat's. "I have one request before I start, however. Everything I tell you must be kept secret. Everything."

Welcome back!

[modeofbehavior]

"Not everything has to be discussed in one meeting." He watched her prowl around him, watchful despite his relaxed pose. It was a feral sort of mannerism, that circling. "There can be future meetings, if you prefer. ...Mm, missing memories? That may be." He'd had that problem himself, having been found without so much as a name to go on. It had never bothered him before, but perhaps she was right-- perhaps that was why neither of them had found their purpose yet.

The Corinthian wouldn't mention that he was without one, of course; it would be bad for the deal.

His brows bunched briefly at the flicker of movement across her eyes. A trick of the light? Something more? The nightmare's curiosity spiked, and he nodded, his expression unconcerned. "Very well. I will hold to that."

[blackhillcat]

Agreeing to his suggestion, Shijima nodded. "Then I shall tell you in as much detail as I can over a series of meetings with you," she said. She relaxed a little, back slouching in a lazy posture. She could trust him. Even just a little, she felt that she could. Besides, she would have had to tell someone sooner or later.

And then she tilted her head to the side, a small frown on her face. "I am not a very good storyteller, though. You'll have to forgive me for that." Tonight, she could tell him the basics. Who she was, what she did, where she went to school, where she went home to. And then she would start at the very beginning, to a time when the Abyss laboratories were still functioning, before it was abandoned and inhabited by mutants and ghosts. That should be enough for tonight.

[modeofbehavior]

That was more than acceptable. The nightmare nodded lazily. He was surprised at the trust, but found himself impressed by it as well. No, he wouldn't tell anyone. The Corinthian placed a high value on agreements. Those who broke them were low creatures; he didn't have much tolerance for low creatures.

"I enjoy all stories. I have a fondness for them. And it is your story-- the telling is not important." He leaned back, settling against a pile of scrap as his expression flickered into something more jovial. "We have until dawn, Kurookano Shijima. That should give us plenty of time to start."