(Untitled)

[rosereddaughter]

WHO: Hotsuma and Bridget (open to housemates or nosy neighbors)
WHAT: Discussing recent events
WHERE: Their house
WHEN: Mid-day, after finding the red paint

Comments

[sustainthesword]

"Tadaima."

The kitchen door swung open and Hotsuma stepped inside, doffing the scarf and straw hat that almost let him pass for a local farmer. Bridget was already seated, gazing ahead with one of her sleep-tousled looks. Brown eyes favored her briefly with a fond glance. In his solemn way, it was one of the little things he'd come to find endearing about her in the time she'd taken residence here.

The ninja unslung a sealed packet as he sat, opened it to reveal lightly-cooked slices of beef. "A local grocer bartered these for one of my figurines. I asked her to make it as rare as possible."

A token of appreciation; Bridget could've opted to wait for him till dinner, but she hadn't.

[rosereddaughter]

Thank goodness for the heavy curtains Bridget had found to put up in the kitchen or the dhampire would have still been in her room. She knew the exact moment he touched the door but the gossip group was in the middle of rehashing what a second-cousin-twice-removed's-friend's wife had claimed about hearing that some sort of panther had been seen around the city. Evidently it was big enough to keep the current speaker from more than two interruptions. Bridget would certainly be looking for more solid evidence (and background information) about this and why it seemed so shocking

[sustainthesword]

"I've been seeing giant cats myself lately. Though I'm unsure if that has anything to do with the larger infestation. I certainly haven't seen them in my sleep." Hotsuma dug into the cupboard for some tea packets. "There also was a wave of anti-Offworlder riots last November. That paint just might herald a resurgence, at worst."

He thought that over for a moment, then regarded his enigmatic housemate over one shoulder. It was a silent invitation to share what she'd learned.

[rosereddaughter]

Bridget shook her head and lit the stove to warm with a touch of power. It would have taken just as much effort to do it manually, but she did it to improve on what had been taken away. "It might look like that on the surface, but I doubt it. On an island like this, a person grows up seeing the same faces and businesses every day for years. Newcomers don't just blend right in even after years of living in a place like this. The doors were marked by someone in order to either make us uneasy, or to point us out to someone else. Probably both."

In went the beef and wine into a cool pan so the meat would soak a little while she started cutting up a small onion. Too bad she couldn't open the window. "Nobody saw the person who was painting, it just seemed to appear. Since I can't see the local gods doing something in such a roundabout manner it was probably a person using magic. An outsider."

[sustainthesword]

Like a phantom, thought Hotsuma. "You mean... an outsider to us? A local?" He could imagine no other culprit, outside of fellow Offworlders who revelled in this kind of tension. It was down to those two in the ninja's mind, since like Bridget he'd all but ruled out the gods.

Besides: plenty of natives still held grudges, and he knew for a fact that many of them ran deep.

He set the cups and saucers down, reached for the pot. "If we're being singled out, the bigger questions might be to whom and for what." A brow arched and he allowed the glimmer of a smile. "One hopes it will be men with torches again. Then, we'll have enough fuel to stave off another Market trip."

[rosereddaughter]

"Like us. Few of those who have been here for more than a generation seem to have the power to cloak themselves like that. I'd actually prefer a mob with torches since they are easier to avoid." For a brief moment Bridget seemed to pause as some distant memory surfaced. It wouldn't be hard for anyone to make a guess. She was glad that Kasa, Jan, and Louis had taken off with the boats, it left her free to move as she pleased without having to take their safety into account. That just left Darkrai, who was holed up out in the jungle. Well, and Hotsuma, that odd priest, Hiro... still too many liabilities. Bridget cursed herself for getting so soft

[sustainthesword]

It did seem that way, from what little he himself knew of Grell. Bridget was right; any involvement would be a by-product of the culprit's real goals. "Ruling Grell out leaves a whole community's worth of suspects, and I don't see that narrowing anytime soon. It'd be better for us fighters remaining to focus on safeguarding the rest."

Steam wafted up while he began to pour. "Not that you aren't doing a good job at information-gathering. However it is you're doing it."

[rosereddaughter]

"I'm going to see if I can track down this Sylar person and gather more information about the Sheppard I've heard about. I intended to do that anyways but in this weather it would be quite easy for past troublemakers to entertain thoughts. But you're right. If only the houses to be watched were closer together..." Bridget was nearly done as well at least. Just another minute or two...

That last comment earned Hotsuma a rather measuring look before she smiled slightly. "It wasn't exactly a secret at one time, but information gathering was a specialty of mine before coming here. I have something like a magical net set up at several places including the back tables at Bar Hades and the gossip corner down the street. My powers are limited here but I've been regaining them slowly. Right now I believe I can do about half of what I was capable of at home, so I can only listen to two or three at the same time."