two! video (back-dated to Friday evening)

[vinovidivici]

[ Claire's in a small apartment that actually seems to be a bit of a downgrade from the Starter ones, although he's kept it tidy enough to be presentable to the network. You might be able to hear a subway rattle past. He's raking his hands through his hair irritably. ] Anybody round here able to reccommend a barber? I'm catchin' half the street in

Comments

video;

[stoicloyalty]

[ No text accompanies her video feed; all she is doing is observing thoughtfully, without any real question to her look. On the topic of hair, hers is freshly washed, tousled with a towel propped on her shoulders, but the way she watches him is so calm it is as though she was unaware of being filmed at all. ]

Video

[vinovidivici]

[ That's one way to cheer him up instantly! He calls out her name in a sing-song voice. ] Chane! You're lookin' even more captivatin' than usual this evening!

video;

[stoicloyalty]

[ Her eyes flicker minimally from his hair to his face, then aside; the video feed shakes a little as she slides down in her seat. She doesn't know how to respond correctly to barrages of compliments yet, so she does not try. ]

Video forever

[vinovidivici]

[ That seems to suffice for a response to him: at any rate he's grinning as if he'd managed to sweep her off her feet. Although - oh, hell - he quickly tries to flatten his hair, which is sticking up at all angles from him messing with it so much. ] I mean it, you look prettier than the sunset! [ conveniently forgetting that the sunset means that decay is about to start creeping in across his window ]

video;

[stoicloyalty]

[ In the pale lighting of the room the blush that works its way into her cheeks isn't obvious, but her eagerness to ignore it likely draws more attention to it. There's an uncertain bite of the lip and another shift. ]

[vinovidivici]

[ You're only encouraging him. ] - And I realise that wasn't the fanciest example of poetic speakin' ever, which is what you really deserve, but I can work on that! [ And he plans to practice. A lot. For now, though he's happy to sit back and beam at her reaction. ]

video & text;

[stoicloyalty]

[ It takes a second for that to sink in, and when it does-- her answer is a split-second-long, pink-cheeked frown, before she bows her head to write back. Once the message is sent, she looks aside, lifting an awkward hand to her damp hair. Her distraction techniques need some work. ]

You took trash back with you?

[vinovidivici]

[ He caught the look and got all the reply he needed from that, so he's not surprised when the text is unrelated. The distraction does work, though, because he doesn't want her to go about thinking he has weird trash-collecting habits. ]

It's not somethin' I'd normally do! It looked pieces of a letter that had been torn up. The handwritin' was pretty distinctive. I thought I might find more of it, y'know, like in those books you used to read as a kid with secret messages in bottles and things like that. [ He slumps just slightly. ] I guess I oughta act more my age, huh.

[stoicloyalty]

[ Even occupied with willing her blush away, she finds her gaze wandering back to him slowly, intrigued. For a passing mention he seems to have taken her attempt at changing the course of the conversation to be more critical than she thought; his last comment visibly startles her out of the soft curiosity she had let herself slip into, carried along by the idea of messages in bottles. Immediately she blinks and shakes her head a little, drops of water trickling down her neck, and gets to writing. ]

I never read those books.

You believe that was part of a letter?

[vinovidivici]

I'd lend my copies to you except they're all, y'know, back "home"! [ He's perked back up again. Never mind what he just said about acting his age. ]

[ And now to add to that he's on the verge of rooting through the wastebin. ] It looked like it oughta be, but whatever was written on it was too torn up to make out. Somethin' about packets.

[stoicloyalty]

[ She tilts her head slightly, searching his expression in that moment before he is distracted again by the matter of the torn-up letter. It's like a cue to cease thinking about either of those things, but the idea of letters inside bottles hasn't left her mind completely. She stays silent, in any case, thinking it over with an almost wistful look. ]

[vinovidivici]

[ He's only distracted for a moment, quickly deciding against rummaging through the trash in front of his potentially-more-than-a-friend. When he looks back up there's an unfamiliar look on her face that makes him blink. He stays silent under the pretence of waiting for a reply, taking in her expression. ]

[stoicloyalty]

[ Her gaze lingers on him indefinitely. Whatever curiosity one could have pinpointed in her look is gone now, or is at least skimming over the things Claire had mentioned briefly, but none of them holding her interest for too long. At last her stillness is broken with another forced-looking gesture to her hair, twirling a lock around her index finger. ]

[vinovidivici]

[ Chane's about the only person that could make him drop a gaze. He ends up focussing on her fingers instead, making a mental note to pick up a copy of Treasure Island or something similar next time he was out. Or, even better- ]

Do you wanna maybe go by a bookstore sometime? There's a cute-lookin' one a little ways away, I could recommend you stuff and you could do the same for me. Although I can't guarantee you'd like anythin' I read.

[stoicloyalty]

[ The suggestion is what draws the reaction from her, not the breaking of the silence. She blinks and looks at him brightly, pausing before lowering her hand to write back, an odd ringlet left in her hair. Despite the tone of her words her expression ought to convey yes, however hesitant she is in her reaction knowing how quickly the idea appealed to her. ]

I have not read enough to be able to recommend something, I think.

[vinovidivici]

If they don't have anythin' you know you can just pick somethin' you like the cover of! [ He spreads his arms cheerfully, pleased to have though of something that seemed to strike a chord with her. ] I know there's a sayin' not to do that but it should be okay if it's you, right?