Don't Look Back, You've Been There [OPEN]

[traceurmonitor]

who ; Anon and YOU!
what ; Parkouring around, vaulting and running up all the everything
where ; Residential Zone 6, and (Doctorow)
when ; Today (since he's probably getting kidnapped over the weekend because of plot, oops)
warning(s) ; It's so fluffy I'm gonna die. Also, Raimi has a potty mouth, news at 11.

Comments

[fuckinghubble]

It was one of the rare occasions that Raimi had taken upon himself to get some fresh air for a change, which it was a phenomenon that was known to happen every now and then, rare as they might be. After all, it was considered much-needed exercise, and in the five months he had been here Raimi was fortunate enough to have only been seizure-struck the one time.

So much for push-ups and stairmaster on the agenda.

Naturally, however, his idea of getting exercise was much different from that of our glowing, free-running friend vaulting from one building to the next -- or by just about any other resident on the station. What can he say? That "Four" guy had a point: The programmer really didn't get to see inside a gym all that much. If one were a sensible individual, you'd think that they would have tasked themselves with the intention of learning proper reflexes when around these people.

Raimi was getting better at it. Not that he had particularly set out that day to the streets of Doctorow expecting to get fucking railroaded by any sentient programs, though. Because, really, who the hell did?

[traceurmonitor]

Around here, it pays attention to consider that sentient programs might, on occasion, railroad you. By complete accident, of course; Anon is usually more careful than this, but he only has so much control about where he lands when he jumps off of a roof and barrels forward without looking where he's going.

Which today means landing just short of Raimi and then running into him at full speed.

At least Anon is quick enough to twist a little bit to where he won't land on Raimi - and Raimi hopefully will smash into the Monitor's shoulder instead of the asphalt. Pixels can be a little more forgiving than the ground.

And if there was any point where a helmet could look embarrassed, it's right now.

[fuckinghubble]

Oh Jesus.

Raimi was already horrible at avoiding blows to the head -- like hell was he going to be swift enough to barrel roll out of the way of an incoming program, just falling right out of the sky.

While yes, being plowed off his feet by something with a little more cushion did make the fall hurt less than the alternative, it still hurt like shit.

"Motherfucker!" Not even being winded by the pain could stop Raimi from throwing some profanity right out of left field as he felt a tooth chip out of place.

[traceurmonitor]

Raimi, you shouldn't use those words around Anon. He's young and impressionable. Or they confuse him. One of those two.

He shrinks back a little at the cursing, staticking lightly. "I am sorry." Oh User, he needs to pay more attention next time. He could have gotten someone hurt.

"Are you injured?" Please don't be hurt, Raimi, Anon will never forgive himself for harming a friend and a User on top of that. Not. That he'd even considering the possibility of Raimi getting hurt during that whole Asphodel trip when Anon ran off.

...

Now is more important!

[fuckinghubble]

Anon was among the fortunate few that Raimi couldn't hold grudges against. It was possible to get the programmer a bit peeved, but he let go of the past upon realizing that there were more important things at stake.

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine -- fine." Although he had to double-check to make sure nothing was broken. Nothing of the unusual sort, at any rate. Raimi lifted his hand over his mouth, where he swallowed an aftertaste of some blood. "Christ, man. Don't you ever watch where you're going when you...?"

He stopped.

"What were you doing?"

[traceurmonitor]

Anon gets to his feet, shoulders slumped in relief that Raimi seems to be okay. He offers a hand to pull him up.

"Was... moving. Research indicates programming based on martial art, designation: Parkour. Objective: go from point A to point B in the shortest distance and time, moving over obstacles instead of avoiding them. Shares similarities with movement style, designation: Freerunning."

He hadn't had nearly as much 'personality' in his movements before he came here. But now he knows that there's... a lot of people that do it here. He has to distinguish himself a little.

That, and the environment had changed dramatically. The System Monitor had to adapt to it.

"Was headed that way," he adds, pointing in the direction that Raimi had accidentally been in the way of. The next building over had been too far for him to jump to.

[fuckinghubble]

Raimi knew a little about the ways of parkour, though not in the particular ways of the art itself. His legs were more adjusted to quick movements when having a board beneath his feet, kickflipping down cathedral rails.

The nuns at Catholic School had considered him to be something of a delinquent as a boy, to put it lightly.

"You know, where I come from, most people tend to just hail a cab when they want to get to places." Raimi then took it upon himself to accept Anon's hand, propping himself back to his feet again.

Much better, now.

Briefly, he glanced over to where Anon had pointed, and then back to Anon again. His jaw clacked a little when he spoke, though nothing too life-threatening came of the recent incident when he asked: "So that was your point B? A bit of a leap, isn't it?"

Who knew? Maybe programs supposedly had a larger lunge than normal people did. If that were the case, Raimi was pretty sure they'd both have been standing, though.

[traceurmonitor]

Anon cocks his head slightly. "Cab?" Cars and trucks he knows, but specifics... not so much. He figures that size differences aside, one four-wheel vehicle is much the same as another, and learning multiple names would have wasted his time.

He looks positively sheepish when he considers the question about the distance between the buildings. He can get a pretty good leap when he's built up the momentum for it; he's kind of built for this sort of thing, after all. That jump was just a little too far for him, though. He'd calculated everything while he was moving.

The fact is, the area between the buildings was just too wide.

"Did not know you were down here. Would have altered course," he finally admits. Even programs get distracted sometimes, bro.

[fuckinghubble]

"Yeah -- cab." Raimi shrugged. "You know, like a car. You guys have anything like public transit where you're from?"

Perhaps it was a stupid question if one can simply ninja across town. But somehow he had a feeling that programs like Gem were heavy runners. Not in that footwear.

"Hey man, it's cool. I believe you." Raimi wasn't sure why he'd think that Anon would have thought otherwise, but just to be safe... "Asides from a concussion and a bruised pride -- assuming that I ever had one -- I'll be fine."

[traceurmonitor]

"Unknown. Did not stay in the cities for long." And when he had, there were tanks roaming the streets. Not so much with cars. "Many rode their lightcycles, I think."

But things were strange when he was in TRON city, either way. Chaos didn't allow for much in the way of observing what people were using to get around.

"Concussion?" Raimi that sounds bad. Really really bad. Should Anon be worried? Do you need the hospital? Then again, if Raimi says he'll fine, Anon will believe him.

[fuckinghubble]

"What? Never heard of chauffeurs on the digital plains? That's a damn shame." Raimi was never one for driving, either. There was a reason he walked or took a taxi everywhere.

That, and no one in their right mind would let someone with a fairly recent history of seizures and a stroke stay behind the wheel, anyway.

Sensing the concern in Anon's gestures and tones, Raimi chanced a smile. "Relax, it's no big deal. People get mild head traumas all the time. I'll go get a latte if I start feeling sleepy, though."

Was that supposed to be comforting? Who knew.