so 'bout that one time.

[soldiershin]

Who: whipfist and soldiershin
When: Today (Nov. 19th), sometime during the daylight hours
Where: Around the edges of Sector 6 (near Jomy's shiny new apartment)
Summary: Jomy gets pinged by a random rage-fit (spoilers: it's Alex) and goes to investigate.
Warnings: Probably nothing?

Comments

[soldiershin]

The effort was appreciated, at the very least. Bypassing the awkwardness was easy enough, but it still took some degree of effort for Jomy to completely blink past the thoughts-feelings-images. It was somewhat of an accomplishment that he managed it without the physical shaking of the head, dragging his focus away from the wordless cues to the physical ones.

He continued his approach forward until he stopped at an arm's length away, keeping that polite, but not unfriendly, distance between them. Jomy smiled in silent greeting, his head tilting a fraction to give away his curiosity prematurely.

"Hello," he returned. What he really wanted to know: what happened? Are you alright? Things he couldn't quite say, not without feeling a need to explain why he started off the conversation in such a manner. Perhaps it was even just a transient thing, as the anger was already beginning to ease away. Nothing he had to ask after (yet).

(It was also pleasing to be able to note that the level of Alex's suspicion wasn't as severe as it could be.)

It was for those reasons, and his own sense of surprise in running into Alex in this manner that he found himself going with the standard follow-up: "How are you?"

[whipfist]

How was he? Nobody had asked him that - not as he was, as a virus. Maybe someone he'd eaten. But never him personally. Alex paused for a minute, trying to gather his words. He wasn't used to the social norm of lying about your state, pretending everything was fine when it wasn't. At least not with someone that wasn't on his current shit list.

"I hate this city."

Alex replied bluntly, with some venom but otherwise it was rather casual, like he was used to hating things. His eyes had shifted to glance behind Jomy, at the streets, before focusing back on him. An icy stare.

"What are you doing here?"

Because he was still under the impression that Jomy lived in the same apartments as him.

[soldiershin]

Well. That certainly was an unexpected response. It was one that he wasn't entirely sure how to answer either, especially not when he was half-distracted by giving silent appreciation to the offered, point-blank honesty. It was a rare enough of a phenomena that he found it rather refreshing, even despite the slight venom.

With a soft 'hm' (neither agreement nor disagreement), Jomy shifted his attention to answering the question instead, carefully lifting the hand holding onto the small plastic bag into Alex's line of sight.

"I was buying some fruit," he said mildly, "Food is probably sold cheaper elsewhere, but-" A short pause, followed by his smile turning a bit sheepish. "I don't enjoy the cold very much."

Probably not what Alex was really asking after, but it was as true of an answer as any other. What was left implied was the fact that he now lived nearby - a little further out than their current location, at the near-boundary of the sector. But that was just extra detail, likely not very interesting. Though while they were on this line of questioning...

"And you?"

[whipfist]

Food. Right. Other people had to buy food to eat from stores. Actual people.

"... Nothing."

Which was half-true, he wasn't doing anything in particular out here apart from familiarizing himself with this piece of the city. But mostly he didn't feel like discussing his plans. Didn't like that they weren't solid, and maybe he wouldn't be able to hold his word to it.

And for the second time so far in the city, he would suggest a solution for the cold.

"Maybe you need a jacket."

[soldiershin]

A bit of a long look (a worried look) at that 'nothing' because of what he picked up in passing. He couldn't identify any solid thoughts, not without forcing himself to read them. And Alex's business was Alex's alone. It wasn't as though the answer to his question had been a lie anyway. Not exactly.

So looking down briefly at his attire: "A thicker one, yes. I bought a couple of sweaters before, but the city only seems to get colder."

Ah, the cold. He was quickly discovering that it was one of those things that made him as irritable as any other person of his projected age, as well as making him whine about it even when he didn't mean to. A shake of the head; this was no good.

He eyed Alex's own choice of clothes, gave a small shrug-like motion as he gathered limbs into himself a little more. "Do you like coffee, or tea?" A beat. "Hot chocolate?"

[whipfist]

Another question he had trouble answering. Alex had memories of drinking those things, sure, but he had no opinion on them. Whether he liked or disliked them, that preference belonged to whomever he'd consumed. Not himself.

"I don't know. Why?"

Because the idea of someone offering him food or a drink was still odd, he treated it more like some sort of survey question than something for him to answer based on his own liking.

[soldiershin]

"It's a little-" Awkward, standing around in the open like this. A few hand gestures. "Talking out here. So I was wondering if you wanted to get something to drink."

I don't know? That was another interesting response; was it because he'd never tried any of it? Not that Jomy had any right in pointing fingers; there was a lot of things in this city that he'd never tried (or seen, or heard) before. With a slight shift, he half-turned to glance over at a place about half a block away. He'd never been there, but not many places could do too badly with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, he'd found.

Eyes back on Alex, a questioning expression crossed Jomy's face. "If you have the time, of course. I don't mind buying."

[whipfist]

"... Okay."

That pause was heavy, it was almost tangible and it came with an answer that sounded almost hesitant. Alex had flung himself at tanks and gun turrets and helicopters, but the idea of interacting one-on-one with someone he didn't know too well while trying to act normal and socially-acceptable? That made him a little unsure.

But part of him liked Jomy's presence. He seemed ridiculously calm, level-headed, and of course nice to him. Few people were. That put him on a good side, at least.

[soldiershin]

It was a point of surprise for him when Alex agreed, and that surprise registered as a transient twist of features. But it didn't last for very long, quickly replaced by an expression that brightened by an almost tangible amount. He hadn't really expected his offer to be taken up (he'd had his hopes, of course, but he hadn't expected-), but Jomy wasn't one to doubt his luck. Or question such moments when they happened, for that matter.

With a small nod and the barest of shivers, Jomy gathered himself up and turned away completely to quickly walk toward the cafe. He didn't look back on his trek there, trusting Alex to keep his word. Or, more accurately, he was too busy keeping his pace at a controlled speed. What he wanted to do was run into the building, but that would likely be considered rude, wouldn't it?

Still, he couldn't help the soft sigh of relief when he came within touching distance of the door of the place. It was only then that he turned, looking over his shoulder at Alex as if to double-check Alex's answer before he pushed himself indoors.

It was a bit of a small place, but well-kept. Well-furnished. A little expensive-looking, but that was unsurprising, considering the sector they were in. Another glance back at his companion: "Where would you like to sit?"

[whipfist]

Alex followed in silence. It was not an uncomfortable silence despite his nerves, in fact he was grateful that Jomy wasn't trying to start some meaningless conversation. Small talk irritated him, he didn't understand the point of it and it always seemed to go around in circles.

Still not cold himself but noticing that shiver in the other, he thought about speaking up but decided not to. And suddenly they were there. A cafe. Not terribly crowded, but there were people, and the fact that the place was small put him on edge. A little claustrophobia, sure.

"... There."

Alex pointed to a spot in the corner, one place a lacking some life and less out in the open.

[soldiershin]

The discomfort got to him even before he settled down at the chosen table, already feeling the stirrings of not-guilt. Just a short while, then. Just long enough to order drinks, finish them, and talk - though about what, he wasn't too certain. Jomy was about as skilled in smalltalk as Alex was, having never had any opportunity (or a need, really) to practice the skill. Not since Artemisia, but even then, he'd been young, and he'd been talking to his friends.

. . . Well. He could still (try to) enjoy this, in any case. Alex felt- odd (weird? But that wasn't an unusual thing to feel in Siren's Port), to say the least, but he was also honest, and friendly toward him in an awkward way - the fact that he spoke so publicly about going against SERO (and even tried to, later on) also earned him some trust. While Jomy definitely wouldn't mind feeling a decreased level of bottled anger and paranoia (among other things), those weren't that difficult to push aside.

Shaking that off, he slid the menu over to Alex's side of the table when it was brought over. "Order anything you'd like." And, as a means of hoping to diffuse some of the tension, he added quietly, "Don't worry. This place is safe."

No one seemed to be bent on hurting anyone, anyway. Just a normal place. It was probably they that stood out more than anything.

[whipfist]

As they sat down his eyes never left the surrounding room, the people around them. Warily. It was warm inside here. Too warm, so he pulled off his hood, letting his blackish-brown hair fall out. It was disheveld from the sudden movement, but he seemed not to notice or care. The infection marks on his jawline were nearly faded by now, no longer ugly red masses on his skin. He looked normal, if not extremely pale and a bit paranoid-looking.

Alex grabbed the menu and stared at it, eyes drifting over the words. Slowly, like some recalled memory he was placing images to the names - some of them - from other's memories, but he had no idea what to get. He didn't eat, didn't drink. The last time he'd drank something it'd been at that Halloween party, or whatever that thing had been... couldn't understand people's preoccupation with the stuff. Then again, it was required for them to live.

Safe? That was doubtful, but Jomy seemed to have some sort of intuition that he didn't have, so Alex tried to relax. A little.

There was some beats before he spoke - "I don't know what to get." Glancing back up at Jomy, like in question.

[soldiershin]

Propping an elbow on the table, he tilted forward a touch, trying to look over at the menu. An awkward attempt, and largely unsuccessful. Still, the menu of a cafe shouldn't be too different from one another; at least, not in terms of beverages. Drinks were drinks, even if the flavor of tea seemed to be more vast than the flavors of a lot of things. In any case.

Leaning back again, he offered, "If you don't mind sweet beverages, hot chocolate isn't too bad."

His eyes flickered belatedly to the faint marks on Alex's face, curiosity almost getting the better of him before he managed to rein in the kneejerk questions. It was with some effort that he switched out those words to instead say: "Er. I'm probably going to get that myself."

[whipfist]

At this point he really had no preference for taste. Sweet, bitter, spicy, salty, none of it was familiar to him except in memories that weren't his. Alex shrugged it off internally, he couldn't pick something on his own unless he wanted to give a shot in the dark, so he nodded.

"Fine."

He instantly noticed Jomy's eyes on his face, where the marks were being replaced by new skin - or were they? And self-consciously put a hand up, glaring, making it look as if he were simply leaning onto the table with his own elbow as he covered where the marks had been. The virus being him, it, whatever, any signs of it made him uncomfortable. Because he was still used to how he'd been living in Manhattan, a constant fear of being discovered and constantly trying to disguise himself among the uninfected public.

But it just as quickly passed and he pushed the little menu away, going back to gazing around the cafe itself.

[soldiershin]

He answered the glare with a quiet look of his own. A bit of a habit, that, almost a reflex. Just a neutral look, one that he gave people when he was curious enough to want to ask, yet held back by his rusty perception of social rules. He shifted his own gaze away eventually, however, staring at nothing as he tried to make sense of the silent cues that rolled off Alex in waves.

Discomfort, fear. A strange sense of attachment. They disappeared too fast for him to properly make sense of them, but-

Jomy jerked, startled, when a waitress appeared, her voice breaking into his scrutiny. Looking up at her with a sheepish smile, he quickly relayed their order (just two hot chocolates, please.). It was only when she departed that he shook his head, deciding to dive right into it.

"Is that from your world?" The wound, he meant. Alex already knew that he'd noticed it; there was no point in beating around the bush.

[whipfist]

Completely ignored the waitress when she came by. And then his companion for the time being spoke. Immediately he fixed his stare on Jomy, a sudden flash of that rage again. Who the fuck is he to ask me that--? And Alex almost wanted to reach across the table and grab him by the throat in that instant. But he paused. He had no reason to be angry at Jomy, right... ? The kid (who didn't seem like a kid at all) hadn't done anything wrong, really, just reminded him of his own fear of being discovered by the military - which was a moot point here. The only thing he had to watch out for was SERO, it seemed.

Alex balled his free hand into a fist, tensing up before trying to relax. Had to control himself. He couldn't just smash everything up and kill people at will in this city. There was order. Besides, Jomy didn't deserve any of that from him.

"... Yeah." He'd only told a few people of his affliction so far, and that number seemed like it would grow. Slowly.