come with me, go places

[burnslikesnow]

Metis has finally made his way to the Main Gauche, though now he's just standing outside, peering up at the complex with raised eyebrows. It's much more of a fortress than he was imagining.

The cat carrier at his feet is making very, very unpleasant noises.

Bean is finally getting back into the swing of things. Most of her memories have come back

Comments

[killwithmymind]

Nagi just happens to be returning to the Gauche when Metis is standing there. Nagi's in an incredibly positive mood at the moment, which translates to a neutral expression on his face instead of a scowl. He's been buying the parts to build his computer, and he's getting close to having everything he needs.

A good mood does not, however, make Nagi less paranoid. So he wanders over to Metis and asks, "Why are you staring at the building?"

[burnslikesnow]

Metis turns and stares at Nagi for a long moment before he manages to work up an answer. There's that weird sensation again; the kid is a wanderer, Metis thinks.

"I think I just...wasn't expecting a fort in the middle of Chicago. I heard the Gauche was safe, but this borders on paranoia."

He pauses, thinking it over. "Ah, I suppose a little paranoia these days is healthy, though..."

[killwithmymind]

"It's not paranoia if they're already throwing molotov cocktails into your house. It's just common sense." Nagi's tone suggests that Metis is only a little stupid for not realizing this sooner.

Nagi shoves his free hand into his pocket, where his keycard is. "I suppose that means you wanna join the freak circus and live there?"

[burnslikesnow]

Metis blinks a little and decides that he must have just trod on thin ice without even realizing it.

"Yes, you're right, I guess." He pauses. "Sorry, I'm new to Chicago. Haven't been around long enough to see all of the...madness everyone's been talking about."

He chuckles a little. "That's the idea, yes, freakshow or not."

[isntalwaysevil]

Edward's been here a week or so and it's only through a few random twists of fate that he managed to find the goddamn Conrad and, really, at this point, it's the last place he wants to be. Henry doesn't seem to mind it though and given how Edward hasn't slept normally in nineteen years, sleeping while Henry decides to aide in the renovation process seems like a fair trade-off.

Of course, it doesn't make Henry shut up any less when Edward is in control (as he always is, he notices- Henry doesn't take over unless he says so). At the moment, he's at the park, sitting on a bench and essentially ignoring Henry's latest rant against... Something amoral Edward did or thought about doing or whatever. One-track mind, Henry.

He's found pretty good distraction in Ace. Pretty girl on a skateboard? Yeah, you bet Edward's watching that.

Oh look, Ace, you have a captive audience.

[duology]

Ace notices the guy watching her quickly enough, but doesn't acknowledge it right away. She keeps on with her skateboarding routine, watching Edward out of the corner of her eye for a few minutes as she determines whether he's surveillance or just being a guy.

Dev figures it out first, and starts tittering in the back of Ace's mind.

{Your milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they're like--}

{Stop now.}

Having guys watch her or flirt with her or do the other things that guys tend to do is always a little foreign to Ace. It's not like she puts any real effort into her appearance, and nor has she ever been particularly interested in "attracting a mate," as she calls it. Still, it makes her curious, in the way that such purely human emotions and actions tend to do.

After a moment she kicks up and grinds along the edge of the fountain before landing slightly closer to Edward in nose manual.

"Enjoying the show?"

[isntalwaysevil]

It's both, Ace. It's always both. Any dame who can pull moves like that (and don't think he hasn't noticed the muscles) is probably a decent enough fighter and, honestly, Edward's a paranoid son of a bitch. He likes to know where the threats are, even if that threat could be nothing more than a local girl who skateboards and lifts weights in her spare time. Never hurts to be cautious.

And lo, she approaches. Cue the sardonic grin that Edward's famous for, because normal, non-snarky expressions are for people who don't have all their good emotions in their better half. He leans back a bit on the bench and crosses his legs, responding with a somewhat casual, "You've got some impressive moves. Couldn't help but notice."

[duology]

Paranoia comes with the job, it seems. Ace studies Edward right back, trying to place him on her personal threat spectrum. Scrutiny is never to be taken lightly, and "trust no one" was Absinthe's number one rule.

And what an interesting comment. Ace has always been rather terrible at recognizing innuendos, so she's not quite sure what to file this away as. Either way, it's unusual that he commented on the skateboarding. People over 25--except for those like Ace or Tony Hawk who have been skateboarding since they got out of diapers--tend to dislike skateboarders and skateboarding as a general rule. There are certain stereotypes that come with it, stereotypes that Ace has certainly fulfilled in her time.

She tilts her head. "Mm. Not really. I had a ramp, I could impress you some. Can't do much more than basics, here."

[teenytinyteme]

Chance has been in Grant Park for a while now. She's doing okay--she just ate a hot dog, and things are mostly okay for the moment. She doesn't have psychic powers, but she does have friendly people powers, in that she generally can recognize people who wouldn't try to kill her if she walked up to them.

So she walks up to Bean, and grins. "That's a pretty cool bracelet you're making," she says as a conversation opener. "Where'd you learn that? Camp?"

[beanshield]

Bean mutters something unintelligible when she half-hears someone speak nearby. Then she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, willing her back out of the sort of trance. When she looks up at Chance she looks tired, but she's smiling.

"Oh, hi, sorry. I was in the zone. Did you say something?"

[teenytinyteme]

Chance looks at Bean a little oddly, because that... was kind of weird. "I was just asking about the bracelet you were making." She nods at it. "Where'd you learn to make it, at camp? It's really pretty."

[beanshield]

"Oh! No, actually I haven't been to a camp since..." The year Bean was diagnosed with epilepsy, and that was more of a school than anything. "Gosh, not in forever. I learned it from books and from watching other people, mostly. There was this woman I met in Chile who made things like this. I'm nowhere near as good or creative, but yeah."

All of it is true, though of course Bean is leaving out the part where the bracelet is actually an amulet. Recent events and the business with the CLF have prompted her to be more cautious.

"But, thanks! Um, I'm Bean, it's nice to meet you."

[deadgirlsliekme]

Victor, by contrast, is inside the Main Gauche, looking quite pleased with himself. He's found and sketched a couple of new specimens today, and now he's just having a walk before going back inside. His sketchbook, butterfly book, and specimen jar are all tucked under his arm.

As he wanders, he notices the man standing outside staring at the Gauche and pauses. "Er -- excuse me, did you w-want to c-come in?" he asks -- he can't think of many other reasons to be staring at the complex.

[burnslikesnow]

"Oh, uh, hi." Metis knows his staring habits make him kind of creepy, but he can never really bring himself to care. How can you get to know the details of something without staring at it for awhile?

"Sorry, yeah...I heard there are rooms available?"

[deadgirlsliekme]

Actually, Metis, Victor might agree with you there. He studies all his butterflies and such very carefully, and that does tend to involve a lot of staring. It's just -- when people are staring at the place where he lives, it tends to make him wonder if they're planning on doing something nasty to it. With the CLF around. . . .

"There should b-be, yes," Victor confirms with a nod. He walks up to the gate, taking a moment to note the angry-sounding cat carrier. "I'm Victor Van Dort," he introduces himself, wanting to get it out of the way first instead of last.

[burnslikesnow]

Metis smiles broadly in an attempt to make the skinny guy less nervous. "It's nice to meet you, Victor. I'm Metis Snow. Something of a newcomer to Chicago; I'm just shopping for a place to stay."

He sets the cat carrier down and it gives a pretty horrific-sounding yowl. Metis casts a mulish glance in its direction. "Don't mind him, he just hates the carrier."

[crimeatthetime]

Adrian is wandering near the institute when he catches sight of Soul. He can see the boy's listening to something, and can hear the faint strains of music from the building. He grins.

"They're good. You play, or just a fan?"

[coolestscythe]

Soul's eyes snap open, rather like someone being startled awake from a nice dream.

"Huh? Oh, uh. Both, I guess. I'm no good at it, though."

He jerks his head upward at the Jazz Institute. "What about you? You play?"

[crimeatthetime]

"Guitar. Not very good at jazz myself." Odd eyes. The hair he didn't really pay much attention to--and the teeth, well. Adrian doesn't need his instincts to tell him that this kid isn't a local. He's not going to do more than give Soul a casual once-over, though, because the kid probably gets enough shit as it is.

"Piano? You, I mean."

[coolestscythe]

Soul tilts his head a little. He notices the way Adrian is determinedly not staring at him. It's a little refreshing.

"Guitar, huh?" Soul is pretty sure he has a few uncles and cousins who play various guitar. "That's cool. And yeah, I play piano, if you can even call it that." He plays violin as well, but that's even harder to admit to.