[Open] Settling in...

[doesthemath]

Who; Wanda Lehnsherr and you!
What; Running into people while exploring Sacrosanct?
Where; Any residential zone of your choice.
When; Today!
Warning(s); Probably nothing but will be updated if something crops up

Comments

[fuckinghubble]

This headache was something to be desired, but Raimi was used to them by now. Just like how he was used to feeling the air move around him, the sounds and sights how little molecules crawled and peeled on the surface of his skin. If he tried to explain it -- and on a few, rare occasions, he had -- he would only sound crazy.

Two slices short of a toaster, they said...

Clearly, the only logical course of action now was coffee. Because when battling the forces of cerebral agony simply by opening the blinds of his apartment, caffeine was a perfectly legitimate remedy.

Anyone could say what they wanted about Raimi wearing giant aviators over his glasses, but they were really his only ticket outside. Between that, the trench coat, and the brim of his hat shadowing his face when he walked, someone might as well ring him up on a preemptive predator list. Except that it's Raimi, who's just about as predatory as a fly.He hadn't really thought to partake in any social circumstances that day. If the past few weeks had done anything for him, it

Zone?

[doesthemath]

That look was really working for him. Really. If he was trying to look like a flasher. Considering he hadn't actually done as much, however, Wanda's curiosity remained intact.

Besides, he'd walked into the coffee shop she was already standing in.

"Hello," she said, giving the trenchcoat another look over. Wanda hadn't yet picked anything out, having only arrived moments ago while looking through shops. "Is this place any good?"

Zone 06, wups!

[fuckinghubble]

That rascally Raimi, looking all sketch and everything.

There weren't that many who frequented Doctorow, so it almost came as a surprise when he saw that someone had already beat him to it.

Wanda, as a matter of fact.

It took a few seconds for the question to process in between the throbs of pain in his skull, but he managed: "It's alright. I'm far from calling it the best of the best, though."

/o/

[doesthemath]

Surprising, she hadn't expected to hear a familiar voice, to recognize a voice after her initial communications, but apparently he had made an impression.

"I'd be curious to see what you would call the best of the best, Raimi," she replied with a slight smile. Hopefully her memory wasn't off. "Is this the zone you live in?"

[fuckinghubble]

It never did take Raimi long to make the connection -- his memory never failed him. Neither did his ability to differentiate between people's faces and voices.

Hello, Scarlet Witch.

"Well, it's no Starbucks, that's for sure." Not that Raimi was much of a fan. He then nodded. "Yeah. Just a few blocks from my flat, actually."

[doesthemath]

This one didn't smile much. Wanda found it interesting, especially in light of the predators-r-us look he was sporting.

"Starbucks has nothing to a hundred or more sidewalk cafes in Europe," she replied dismissively. Luckily, it wasn't difficult to get a tea right. "Not a poor choice in places to live, however, from what I've seen of the zone so far."

[fuckinghubble]

Raimi didn't have a lot to smile or laugh about, which didn't help.

Now that he was no longer under the rays of artificial sunlight, Raimi removed the aviators, now leaving him with his glasses, lenses still displaying cracks on the surface that he'd never quite gotten around to fixing. Thankfully, he could handle the dim, fluorescent ambiance of a coffee shop.

"The gaming epicenter here helps pass the time." Tucking the aviators into his coat pocket, he approached the automaton and ordered a latte. While he waited, his head spun and he glanced to Wanda. "You have a place to live?"

[doesthemath]

First impressions always intrigued her. The lack of sunglasses helped a great deal, she noted, though his glasses were obviously in need of repair. Wanda wasn't much for sunglasses herself, but the way he'd waited until entering the shop to take them off made her wonder if he was particularly light sensitive.

"I do. My brother is also here so I moved in with him," she replied, watching him order his drink. "I think I passed that gaming center on my way here. Does it require a certain amount of credits like other services around here?"

She'd found quickly that most of the places she'd picked to frequent were out of her credits range, and hadn't yet checked to see where this shop fell on the spectrum.

[fuckinghubble]

Some days, Raimi had more difficulty dealing with his "hypersensitivity" than others. It was sometimes easier just boarding himself up for a few days, but he also realized the disadvantages to taking this course of action as a permanent solution.

It didn't take Raimi long to piece together the clues when Wanda mentioned her brother. But then, at the rate that his mental processor went, it didn't take long for him to calculate much of anything, really.

Maximoff.

Obviously.

"Right." In spite of the lights, he was still coping with a half-lidded gaze. "Gaming's free for any recreational use around here. Now, if you were looking for higher-end activities, like posh clubs or transport and the like, then you'd have some work to do."

[doesthemath]

Her lips press together into a thin line at the mention of work, but manages to refrain from doing more than that and sighing. She wasn't afraid of work but she definite missed having all of the funds available back home that she and Pietro had available to them.

"Well lacking the finer things this station has to offer, I suppose I can be grateful I'll at least always have something available to entertain me," she replied. "Is there anything else worthwhile around this zone or is that the best it has to offer?"

Might as well ask someone who lives there.

[fuckinghubble]

Raimi wasn't too pleased to hear about it at first, either. He had been taken from the comforts of his own controlled existence, his job and his home and... someone he wanted to be with.

Now, all of that seemed pointless. That life exploded, erupted, sailed away into the night.

Another life.

A different person.

"Other than the library for media and culture, it's pretty much the same as any of the other Zones. It's pretty quiet." Almost a bit too quiet. Raimi never thought he would ever miss the city stench or the wailing of car horns outside the solitary confinements of his flat.

[doesthemath]

"I wouldn't mind the quiet so much if it wasn't quite so out of place. I'd expect it of a small ghost town, but with so many cities on such a massive scale..." she started, then trailed off.

"What does the library hold? It sounds like something more than simply books and second hand magazines."

And this was Wanda grasping at straws. Back home she might have gone to a movie with Pietro, or a play. Flown to Italy for a lazy week with exquisite food. Here, it was another story.

[fuckinghubble]

Raimi just agreed with a nod, glancing away for a moment to retrieve the finished latte from the counter.

"It does. I've managed to find some info about the history of this place here and there. Nothing particularly helpful, though." He took a hot, contemplative sip of the drink. His tongue burned to the touch a little more than it used to whenever he had hot drinks. Fuck.

[doesthemath]

"Nothing that has anything to do with the rift we all came through, or what might have caused it?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. She hadn't given up on getting to the bottom of this and reversing things, enough to get Pietro and herself home, in any case.

Her lips curved up into a smile as she saw him react to the sip of the drink.

"Even in an advanced city like this, the shops still can't make a drink that isn't too hot off the bat, hm?"

[fuckinghubble]

"Not really." Raimi didn't try to hide his lack of enthusiasm for getting out of here like some did. Quite frankly, he'd rather endure the crap here than be reduced to chalk via EM pulse.

That was what he thought, anyway. Survival rate for something like that is rather limited.

"Yeah, no shit." For the time being, his fingers just wrapped around the cup. "Wonder if their judicial system would allow me to press charges over drinking coffee that's too hot."

[doesthemath]

"You'd have to figure out who exactly you were pressing charges against first, I'd think," she said idly, some amusement creeping into her tone. "I doubt the settlement would be worth the hassle of all of the legwork you'd have to do."

Sliding her hands into the pockets of her coat, her smile turned into a full grin.

"Is your trauma over a hot drink burn so great?" she asked.