[open]

[deus10machina]

Characters: Kevin Flynn, OPEN
Location: Around Death City
Rating: G/PG, unless you bring anything higher with you
Time: January 10th, all day
Description: He's going to be here for a while. Time to learn his way around the city.

Comments

[thewarisover]

Walking and smoking, it seemed, was the one other thing Roy Mustang was going to do that day beyond talking to people he had not expected to see in Death City, and was not entirely ready to talk to.

The Meister was going through the Financial and Service District at that moment, nursing a cigarette. He was only partially paying attention to his surroundings, familiar, as he was, with the entire area. The DOGS Office was in this zone, after all.

[deus10machina]

Flynn was standing off to the side, in the same direction Mustang was walking, looking at the DeathDonalds on the corner. Really? They had to call it DeathDonalds?

He couldn't help a laugh, shaking his head as he turned away, away from the fast food joint and away from Roy, who would get a clear look at the identity-disc socket on Flynn's back.

[thewarisover]

And it certainly got Roy's attention. The Meister stared a moment before quickening his pace, catching up with the man.

"Excuse me, sir."

[deus10machina]

Flynn turned his head to look at Roy, slight curiosity on his face. Something in Roy's tone, bearing, whatever said cop, or at least authority figure. However, it didn't stir up quite the same gut reaction as it would have twenty years ago (a lingering knee-jerk feeling that the police were finally onto his "bank-statement corrections"). Instead, Flynn was just mildly confused -- his tone was light as he replied. "Is there a problem?"

[kill_some_time]

Hades was on one of his random strolls through the city once again when he sighted the man who carried a similar design as those things that had proven to be entertaining to him so far (although the god still disagreed on Ram's casual parking place in his hair during that one training session). An ominous smile appeared on his lips as the god slowly started following Flynn around, disregarding that his fur-covered form or the long, dragging hair might catch any attention.

He was Hades. People didn't see him unless the wanted to and few of those were not desperate or insane. (You have gained +1 stalker, Flynn.)

[deus10machina]

That's all right. Even if Flynn did pick up on the fact that Hades was following him, he wouldn't do anything to stop the god. Where Hades went was none of Flynn's business. If he noticed, he gave no sign as he stepped inside Papercut Books & Antiquities, intending simply to look around. He had a taste for old, faded volumes, especially ones with difficult contents. Not exactly light reading, but it was challenging.

Flynn moved along a shelf, browsing the titles. Not bad for such a small bookshop.

[kill_some_time]

Hades stops outside the bookshop, waiting patiently and unmoving like a shadow.

Had he followed Flynn inside, he would have praised and mocked him about his choice in the same breath. Philosophy was a popular past-time for the gods who were more aware of themselves and the world and Hades was particularly close to mastering it with his constant desire to question what seemed true.

Is Flynn allowed to pick up on the fact that he's being shadowed, or is Hades preventing that?

[deus10machina]

Philosophy was a challenge, a puzzle to wrap his mind around, and a frame of reference that provided a safety net between him and insanity.

He wasn't inside for longer than fifteen minutes. Not because he'd lost interest, far from it, but the sun was shining through the windows and Flynn wanted to be outside. Besides, there was still plenty of Death City to explore. He stepped out of the door, shutting his eyes for a moment to feel the winter sun on his face, warming it even through the cold air. It felt good. Different.

Red district

[r_a_m_1982]

[Rikku mentioned that Flynn arrived to the city, but Ram had yet to see the man. He missed him, and he had so many questions to aks him that he wouldn't know where to start once he found him.

He looked atll day with no results and now he was walking to teh Host Club Cabaret to start his shift. He passed the man with the glowing coat, but he was so focused on his own thoughts that he didn't recognize him. He was wearing a coat himself, because the uniform Ram wore under it wasn't enough to keep him warm. ]

[deus10machina]

Flynn didn't miss the glowing circuits in Ram's skin. They immediately caught his attention, making him stop dead on the sidewalk. But which program was this? Not Castor, clearly, but not Tron -- Rinzler -- whatever he was called now -- either. Could it be Ram? Or was it someone else?

What if it was Ram? Ram, alive, after all this time --

Flynn couldn't be sure, not without a better look at the program's face. Should he speak? Should he wait?

No. He'd waited long enough. Time to get his attention. Flynn called out the first thing that came to mind --

"Greetings, Program!"

[r_a_m_1982]

Ram was so surprised by the sudden voice that stopped dead in its tracks . No one greeted him like that here and that voice...could it be? He turned, light blue eyes filled with surprise and confusion. A moment later, they widened in realization.

"Flynn? Flynn!" So he was in this world for real. Ram was hugging him before the User had time to say anything else in return.

[deus10machina]

It was Ram! Joy, real joy flooded Flynn, and he returned the hug tightly, gladder to see this old friend than he could say.

When the hug broke, Flynn didn't let go, instead keeping one hand on Ram's shoulder. "You're alive," he breathed. Rikku had told Flynn about Ram already, of course, but that didn't make seeing him in person any less awesome. "I thought I'd never see you again."

this is so late ack

[sostaygold]

There was something to be said for living in the desert: when you were high enough up -- as Allen had discovered a penchant for being -- retracing your steps up Shibusen's endless staircase, there was simply a ridiculous amount of sky.

He'd been up since long before dawn (not so unusual in his line of work, actually), but the stinging air had kept him awake and now, for the first time in a very long time, he had the time and the leisure to simply sit and watch that sky awaken.

Another strangeness in a place where nothing was truly familiar.

It didn't quite hit Allen even when he was out in the open air, looking down upon a beautiful city -- a grand one even with its foreign architecture, the dead expanse of desert surrounding it: This is war.The good-humored tour guides he'd met so far, most of them seemingly around his age; the confused masses of people just like him; they hadn't quite seemed connected to the idea at all. He couldn't reconcile the cruel mercenaries he'd met nor the grim-faced soldiers (some of them pretty young

IT'S COOL BRO

[deus10machina]

Flynn felt the eyes on him, and glanced around -- first to the side, then behind him, then up. Who was that at the top of the stairs? Had they been looking at him? Flynn squinted -- he could barely see Allen.

Hm. Did he want to climb up? Flynn regarded the enormous staircase. Where did it even begin? In the outskirts of the city, from the looks of it. Perhaps he would come across the stairs' beginning during his exploration today. Climbing up now was an impossibility.

So instead he looked up at Allen and, unsure if his voice would even carry that far, called out -- "Good morning!"

<3

[sostaygold]

It was early, thus quiet; the air was very clear. As such, the older man's call came through well enough to snap Allen right out of his reverie (and halfway out of his skin, by all accounts). It was a good thing he wasn't standing, or he might have come back down to earth the faster way around.

Caught out; what wasn't a violation of the rules of conduct but did flout those of courtesy and common sense made Allen blush briefly at himself and hesitate at returning the greeting. A bigger part of his misgivings cautioned him against approaching the authorities of this city more than necessary: unseen and unheard was unpunishable, after all.

It had been long enough since his arrival and the night before, though, that his nerves had settled far enough to let him know just how paranoid that was. And, well, to be perfectly honest the man looked more like a live version of one of the billboards in the shopping district than anything else

[deus10machina]

Oh, you mean the coat? he thought. Flynn laughed. "Me? I'm just taking a walk," he said, then sobered slightly -- although his manner was still easy. "Wanted to see the dawn."

He'd been asleep early enough the night before -- understandable, considering he'd been brought to Death City the morning after what he could safely say was the busiest all-nighter he had ever pulled. And then, when he'd woken up before sunrise...it had been a while since he'd seen the sun come up.