"Might I ask who you are and what you are doing here, lady?" the question carefully phrased, polite and curious, courteous without being overly intruding. Radu had not seen any indication of others in the area though he was sure he should have. The girl (and girl it was indeed, his mind supplied) appeared only slightly older than Ion did, last Radu had seen him, but she was Terran as far as he could tell--she really was quite young. But there was something in her presence that he did not understand, perhaps a sort of understanding that came with knowing too much in too little time (though that did not make sense) and at the same time, a child's innocence and naiveness though Radu understood that the two were rarely ever intertwined within the mannerisms of one. It unnerved him, though he could not say why.
Dressed in a strange attire of a sort he'd never seen before, she clung tightly to a trident and Radu was wary. A difficult weapon to handle, few used it, and though she appeared weak (as most Terran tended to in the eyes of Methuselah) he did not believe she would carry such a weapon without having mastered it. A fighter, then, though she appeared quiet and withdrawn--quite unlike all others he'd known.
Be careful of those who ask questions, the answers are often more revealing than you would prefer. A life lesson, not one she had to learn, thankfully. There was a weight in that memory which had not been her own and she wondered if it had been a lesson Mukuro had learned - or inflicted on someone. She was, of course, aware of some of the things he did or had done. In the same turn she did things (or would do) that surely were also worth disapproval. His assessment of the world became more and more true the older she got - and yet she found herself loving the world more and more. Perhaps it was because she had something to hold onto.
Chrome tightened her grip on the trident, a little, letting some of her natural nervousness leak through. It was a tool, she remembered Mukuro telling her. Her appearance and demeanor didn’t have to be covered by some façade of Mafioso. Instead she could be herself and still be part of the family. She took a moment to consider the questions, slowly speaking in a somewhat accented tone, she’d never been able to erase Japan from her lips completely.
“My name is Cessily, I’m seeking … looking? Looking for a place to stay the night.”
Without the trident and the familiarity she held it with, Radu would have dismissed her as a thread from him mind. She seemed too passive and shy to attack without reason and honestly, Radu simply could not envision her as an assassin. Besides, no one who would want him dead knew he was alive. "Cessily," he repeated once, then swept into a shallow bow, "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Cessily." He hesitated only briefly before continuing on, "If you seek shelter for the night, there are a variety of rooms here. Most are safe, enclosed or not, and so far as I've realized, I am the only other resident."
Whether or not that would set her more at ease or heighten her nervous demeanor, Radu could not say, but he saw no point in speaking in anything but simple truth. There were times for word games, for verbal sparring, but this was not it. Rather, he could not grasp who she was well enough to believe it necessary. She did not seem the type who would glean amusement and enjoyment from such matters. He tilted his head slightly and frowned lightly. How did she find her way here? She did not appear to have traveled long or hard and yet...
The only resident? Chrome paused, everything about her was still for a moment. Usually she double checked with her mental companion, but still he was silent. She looked down at the ground, considering her response. He was probably some sort of higher up, judging from his tone and demeanor. That or he was unusually polite or worth watching. Those who were well spoken usually had more to hide and she knew one of them intimately.
“…un -- aah, yes. I think I need shelter,” there was something not quite right about her phrasing, which caused her eyebrows to draw together. That was not the right inflection - she meant that she would take shelter if it was offered. There was no reason to question her would-be host’s intention. Those who had ill intent wouldn’t be likely to tell you and if it came down to a fight she had something very dear to her that would protect her. A fraction of the mist guardian, perhaps, but she was no weakling. “…thank you.” She added, as an after thought.
Radu inclined his head in acceptance, noting that her grasp on the language was not fluent. A second or third language, then, most likely, which would hold in accordance to her colouring--certainly no one he knew had skin, hair, eyes like she did. Her very bone structure wasn't quite what he was accustomed to seeing, be it Terran or Methuselah, child or adult. "You are free to take whatever room you find to your liking," he tapped a finger on his lip in thought, "though they may need cleaning out. I'm afraid the only place I maintain here would be the rooms I frequent."
He eyed her, then sighed. "The nights here can get cold. You may also need something to wear over...that," he gestured at the Kokuyou uniform, "unless you have something to change into." Shrugging, he slid a hand into a pocket pulling out a pack of cigarettes that he tossed back and forth, not yet taking one out. "Would you like a quick tour of the area, Miss Cessily? Or would you prefer exploring on your own?
He was really odd, nothing like the boys she was used to knowing. He was nothing like Gokudera or Yamamoto, Chikusa or Ken. Nothing like Boss or Mukuro either, in fact he seemed quite alien to her. There was something about his gestures and speech that wasn’t false so much as unique, speaking to some sort of character trait she should be able to recognize but didn’t. Chrome nodded when he offered her any room, and then mentioned none were probably furnished properly. Which was okay, creating something from nothing was it - that was part of her job. Besides, this was nothing, not to say she had survived many hardships but the idea that people were fragile was quite incorrect. People were meant to survive, which is why killing them was difficult. Or something.
“…there’s no need,” she said, somewhat to his ear, not focusing on his face, “…I mean, it will be okay.” It wasn’t as though they had ever spent too much time cleaning home, not like how most people would think of it. There was something comfortable about clutter, to see all the signs of everyone who lived there. She looked down at her uniform when he made the hand movement, and blinked, a bit confused. Cold? It wasn’t as though she were naked.
He pulled a single cigarette from the pack, lighting it smoothly and drew a breath. Glancing around, he shrugged before turning his gaze back upon her, "I suppose," he said lightly, "I'm no stranger to it, at least." His brow lightly furrowed as he tried to recall when exactly he had first come to this place--this middle of nowhere, and found that he couldn't. Oh certainly, he knew about when he had arrived, but when Radu tried to pinpoint the exact day, the exact time, he found, well. He couldn't. But it hurt to think too much on it, and so he pushed it aside for now and turned his attention back to the girl.
"Do you plan to stay long?" Even as he spoke, Radu began thinking through what would become necessary if she did. Food, clothing, shelter... And a way for him to avoid feeding on her if anything happened.
A smoker. For some reason that surprised her -- almost no one she knew was a smoker. Well, Gokudera was, but she associated him more with the smell of gunpowder than cigarette smoke. He was certainly evasive in his answers -- well, not evasive. She was mixing her words up a lot today, he was cautiously answering. Not the obvious kind, but the sort of answers which weren't directly saying anything.
"...I don't know, probably not." She answered without looking at him again. She didn't plan to stay long at all, but if she didn't receive any orders there was no point in moving either. She disliked constantly moving places and preferred to simply finish a job and stay put for a while. It was to her advantage, in a way. To flee was suspicious.
"Very well." What she did was really none of his business, and Radu wasn't interested enough to pry. Running a hand through his hair, he looked at her questioningly, "You never specified if you'd prefer company in exploring the area, Miss Cessily." He wasn't sure if his presence would be welcome much longer. It felt as though, somehow, the conversation was becoming strained and Radu wondered if that was his fault or hers or the fault of both.
A stream of smoke snaked wound its way out and dissipated at the onset of a breeze that swept through, reminding Radu of the approaching night. He had woken not long ago and had originally planned on exploring areas of the surrounding few buildings he had not seen before, though those plans now depended on that of the girl's. No big loss, in either case.
Did she want company? Chrome was someone who, it often came to a surprise, preferred company. Quiet company, of course, because when people were overly loud they were just ... troublesome. Which brought a faint smile to her face. Ken and Chikusa in a nutshell, she mused, and shifted her weight a little. She would enjoy company, but at the same time asking someone along was like inviting trouble. The quiet in the back of her head was unnerving, however.
"...if it isn't too much trouble," she replied. Cessily, she had to remember was the name she had given. It would be bad to slip up on something as small as that. False names weren't necessarily the best idea, but a name as unusual as hers was far too memorable for most situations.
With another nod, "Not at all," Radu gestured for Chrome to start walking, falling into step beside her. She held a small bag, he'd noticed, that spoke of being accustomed to travel. "There's not much in this area," he began as they walked down the wide hall, "besides a few other abandoned buildings. There's a town a little ways down the street though, if you'd like. The people there don't come around here very often; they're afraid of ghosts," and Radu's lip curled in a wry grin.
As they walked past a few open doors, Radu pointed out what was once meant to be a living room, study, dining hall... There were pieces of old furniture around, some with a thick layer of dust and others that showed signs of recently being used.
There was a slight delay before she started walking. The bag was secure under one arm, the trident held carefully. There was caution in her step, but none of its paranoia touched her face. "...it's all abandoned?" She asked, almost wistfully. There was a certain quiet to empty buildings that she had learned to love. In particular the kind of empty which was just aching for someone to fill it.
"Are there ghosts?" She was so completely earnest in her question. That wouldn't be so bad, actually. She liked the idea of ghosts, the lingering.
"It is," Radu replied quietly as they walked, "I don't know when or why, only that they were all empty when I arrived." It was strange, he recalled, walking through those buildings when he could feel being the only living presence. He had long become accustomed to it, and now was more used to the quiet than he had been to the perpetually alive estates in the Empire. Back then, no matter the time or day, there were others awake. Here, he was lord and servant and everything and nothing.
"I stay there," he mentioned when they passed a closed door. He didn't pause or offer to show her the suite of rooms he had long ago claimed as his own. Making a right at the next intersection of halls, Radu spread both arms, encompassing the entirety of the area, "These are all rooms, some are connected and some are not. You're free to choose and take whichever you'd like."
All of it, abandoned. How unusual. She wondered if the world was just becoming an emptier place or if she was simply moving through all of the empty places. It was because her home was mobile, maybe, carried along in different people rather than buildings that she always felt unattached. There wasn't a place to go back to, but people and a feeling. A touch and a few familiar words. She peeked into the rooms as they walked, examining, deciding, weighing how they were. She wondered if she liked them, any of them, or if it didn't matter. There was still no answer from the man who usually dwelled in her head.
"...Mm," she said, affirming that she was paying attention to his words, but she wasn't as attentive in affect. "...don't you get lonely?" she asked, then, which may have been improper but it was the first thing that came to mind. Did he really live here all alone?
"Lonely?" Radu rolled the word around in his mouth slowly, the sound drawled out in a sort of quiet confusion. "No," he shook his head after a moment--don't think about the past it will do you no good--and looked away, off to the side. "No," he repeated, "I don't get lonely." Only when he remembered happier days, but those were long gone and he had been alone ever since the day he first harbored those questioning thoughts, the day he first began to wonder about the loyalty he placed in Her Honorable Majesty August Vradica.
Dressed in a strange attire of a sort he'd never seen before, she clung tightly to a trident and Radu was wary. A difficult weapon to handle, few used it, and though she appeared weak (as most Terran tended to in the eyes of Methuselah) he did not believe she would carry such a weapon without having mastered it. A fighter, then, though she appeared quiet and withdrawn--quite unlike all others he'd known.
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Chrome tightened her grip on the trident, a little, letting some of her natural nervousness leak through. It was a tool, she remembered Mukuro telling her. Her appearance and demeanor didn’t have to be covered by some façade of Mafioso. Instead she could be herself and still be part of the family. She took a moment to consider the questions, slowly speaking in a somewhat accented tone, she’d never been able to erase Japan from her lips completely.
“My name is Cessily, I’m seeking … looking? Looking for a place to stay the night.”
Another small shy smile.
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Whether or not that would set her more at ease or heighten her nervous demeanor, Radu could not say, but he saw no point in speaking in anything but simple truth. There were times for word games, for verbal sparring, but this was not it. Rather, he could not grasp who she was well enough to believe it necessary. She did not seem the type who would glean amusement and enjoyment from such matters. He tilted his head slightly and frowned lightly. How did she find her way here? She did not appear to have traveled long or hard and yet...
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“…un -- aah, yes. I think I need shelter,” there was something not quite right about her phrasing, which caused her eyebrows to draw together. That was not the right inflection - she meant that she would take shelter if it was offered. There was no reason to question her would-be host’s intention. Those who had ill intent wouldn’t be likely to tell you and if it came down to a fight she had something very dear to her that would protect her. A fraction of the mist guardian, perhaps, but she was no weakling. “…thank you.” She added, as an after thought.
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He eyed her, then sighed. "The nights here can get cold. You may also need something to wear over...that," he gestured at the Kokuyou uniform, "unless you have something to change into." Shrugging, he slid a hand into a pocket pulling out a pack of cigarettes that he tossed back and forth, not yet taking one out. "Would you like a quick tour of the area, Miss Cessily? Or would you prefer exploring on your own?
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“…there’s no need,” she said, somewhat to his ear, not focusing on his face, “…I mean, it will be okay.” It wasn’t as though they had ever spent too much time cleaning home, not like how most people would think of it. There was something comfortable about clutter, to see all the signs of everyone who lived there. She looked down at her uniform when he made the hand movement, and blinked, a bit confused. Cold? It wasn’t as though she were naked.
“Do you know this area well?”
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"Do you plan to stay long?" Even as he spoke, Radu began thinking through what would become necessary if she did. Food, clothing, shelter... And a way for him to avoid feeding on her if anything happened.
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"...I don't know, probably not." She answered without looking at him again. She didn't plan to stay long at all, but if she didn't receive any orders there was no point in moving either. She disliked constantly moving places and preferred to simply finish a job and stay put for a while. It was to her advantage, in a way. To flee was suspicious.
Reply
A stream of smoke snaked wound its way out and dissipated at the onset of a breeze that swept through, reminding Radu of the approaching night. He had woken not long ago and had originally planned on exploring areas of the surrounding few buildings he had not seen before, though those plans now depended on that of the girl's. No big loss, in either case.
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"...if it isn't too much trouble," she replied. Cessily, she had to remember was the name she had given. It would be bad to slip up on something as small as that. False names weren't necessarily the best idea, but a name as unusual as hers was far too memorable for most situations.
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As they walked past a few open doors, Radu pointed out what was once meant to be a living room, study, dining hall... There were pieces of old furniture around, some with a thick layer of dust and others that showed signs of recently being used.
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"Are there ghosts?" She was so completely earnest in her question. That wouldn't be so bad, actually. She liked the idea of ghosts, the lingering.
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"I stay there," he mentioned when they passed a closed door. He didn't pause or offer to show her the suite of rooms he had long ago claimed as his own. Making a right at the next intersection of halls, Radu spread both arms, encompassing the entirety of the area, "These are all rooms, some are connected and some are not. You're free to choose and take whichever you'd like."
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"...Mm," she said, affirming that she was paying attention to his words, but she wasn't as attentive in affect. "...don't you get lonely?" she asked, then, which may have been improper but it was the first thing that came to mind. Did he really live here all alone?
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