Dayshift 42: Wicker Street [Afternoon]

[fuzzy_diablo]

Kurt had spent most of the past few hours wandering around with his curious-face on. Sure, some people looked at him a little funny, but most seemed nice enough to simply smile or wave instead of turn around in fear of a crazy-person attack. It felt weird, though, walking around a different town without being looked at accusingly

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[paper_murdock]

(Guessing they've eaten? If not, let me know!)

Matt hadn't really been able to get much out of Peter over lunch, but he was hopeful for the rest of the afternoon. He hadn't finished everything and asked about taking the rest back with him and now held a small paper bag with half of a club sandwich in it.

Years of living on too little didn't let him waste food. Besides, someone might want it.

White cane snapping out in front of him, he caught a familiar smell and turned towards it. "Kurt?"

[fuzzy_diablo]

Kurt stopped staring at his coupons when he heard his name called. Looking up, he smiled brightly at his older friend.

"Hi Matt! I was just looking around a bit, I didn't know-- oh hey Peter!" Kurt waved his unbandaged hand. He was still a little crispy, but Frey's healing had apparently done wonders, because he was at least able to stand and walk without being in excruciating pain, and he didn't have an IV in. 'Just in time for the trip!' his nurse had said.

He eyed the bag Matt was carrying. "Did you guys eat already? I don't even know what time it is, I must've missed lunch or something." Peter still looked a little worse for wear, though. Hopefully Matt had been trying to cheer him up, but it didn't look like it was working.

"Hey, maybe I could hang with you guys for a while?" he asked, smiling mostly at Peter.

[paper_murdock]

Matt smiled at the cheerful tone and then turned towards Peter as he came back over. "We did eat," he said, then held out the bag. "There's still half of an untouched club sandwich in here if you'd like."

He didn't know if Kurt would accept or not, but he wouldn't be upset either way.

"Well, I don't mind..." He tilted his head. "Parker?" Matt thought that perhaps someone Peter's own age would have better luck drawing the young man (how strange to think that) out of his personal hell.

[donetakinorders]

Lunch had been a waste of his damn time, but at least he'd gotten something to eat, even if he had been forced to deal with Crazy Bitch while doing so. And hey, it meant he didn't have as much to distract him from what he was working on now.

It wasn't easy finding a way to avoid the areas with lots of nurses and other people around without looking too suspicious, but in the end Raph was able to make his way into one of the quieter streets which also had a few cars parked along it.

Perfect.

Picking a likely looking target - something that wouldn't be likely to have too high-tech security or get too much attention - he glanced around once, nonchalantly checking that the street was still pretty much bare (and like a blind guy and a kid would offer much of a fight anyway), before ducking down to start to work on the door.

[for Jamie]

[wildunderstress]

His conversation with that girl in the park had been...frustrating. Informative, he guessed, but frustrating. Even out of that kid Jamie's head and in control of their shared body, Wild Eagle was a prisoner in this town - and apparently, later on he'd be shuttled off to be locked up in some hospital. The same hospital where that damn doctor had run his damn simulation. It all infuriated him. He wasn't supposed to be trapped anywhere - he was the Wild Eagle. He'd rather die than accept confinement.

He'd spent a while wandering the streets of the town, trying to see if there were any obvious exits, but of course they all seemed blocked off by people in uniforms that Eagle assumed were employees of the hospital that'd brought them here - in other words, his captors. The enemy. Damnit, this wasn't fair. If he had his Zoid he'd blast them all to hell for doing this to him; as it was he couldn't do jack in this weak, pathetic kid's body

[donetakinorders]

The important thing when you were surprised in a situation like this was not to act surprised. Jerking back from the car and yelling like Mikey an idiot was just going to draw attention Raph didn't need right now. Instead he glanced away from what he was doing long enough to direct a hard look at the kid standing nearby - who had to be one of the only humans he'd seen so far that wasn't so freakin' tall - before going back to what he was doing.

"Well it ain't like I'm doin' this 'cause I'm bored," he answered, voice low but still laden with sarcasm. "Why, you offerin' to help?"

[wildunderstress]

"Maybe I am," Eagle replied, still trying to appear outwardly disinterested. "I sure 's hell ain't gonna dawdle around waitin' for 'em to take us back to that hospital. Whaddya want me to do?"

Yeah, now that his suspicions had been confirmed, being kept out of this deal wasn't even an option. Wild Eagle had spotted an opportunity and grabbed it; like hell he was going to play coy and let it get away.

[perfectrecord]

[From here]

After a brief walk, von Karma arrived at a street called Wicker Street. As she was a very brisk walker, he didn't have to wait very long for her to catch up to him. Once she arrived, he answered her, his eyebrow again raised. "Assuming that your question is genuine," his deep voice held a slight edge, "I must conclude that you are not from any of the countries in which I have resided nor visited. Where are you from, miss?"

[ninelivesonce]

"I don't suppose you've heard of Jackson's Whole?" Where the only thing colder than the weather are people's hearts? Today would be a nice day on Jackson's Whole, with the sun out and the wind bracing rather than dangersous, but she didn't like the cold any more than she had as a kid.

"Or House Bharaputra?" Her voice was soft, her posture going a little slack. If he had heard of either, he probably hadn't heard anything good. Though she didn't expect him to, since he'd said countries and not planets"But that's not why I don't know these things. We weren't normal children. We only had each other, and the scientists. I guess it's no wonder we turned out a little different." She sighed, more amused than rueful. "And we were punished if we disobeyed." She'd had a few years with a foster family, but acting out there had been even more forbidden, and she'd been so grateful for every scrap of approval that she hadn't tried

[colonel_badass]

Well, that had been pleasant, if not exactly productive. Jade hadn't really learned much from Guy or Anise aside from their current nightly activities - which was something, but they seemed to be operating separately and without coordination, and presumably Jade was meant to do the same, so the information was purely academic.

Oddly, Jade actually felt a bit dismayed by the idea. He supposed that he'd gotten used to fighting alongside Luke and the others during their journey; working alone the night before had felt rather quiet and boring, all by himself. And not a single teenager to harass or order around, to say nothing of watching his back in battle. He wasn't sure what points in time Anise and Guy had come from - perhaps earlier on, before working as a group had become as natural to them as it had become to him - but even taking that possibility into account, it still felt strange. Perhaps Luke had held them together more than even Jade had eventually given him credit for

[colonel_badass]

Perhaps Jade was easy to miss in a crowd - it probably helped that he wasn't wearing his uniform; anything Peony designed tended to stand out - but not noticing Asch was next to impossible. Even if there were anyone else alive with such long, dark red hair(even Luke's hair had been lighter, which Jade had occasionally wondered about; differences in lifestyle, perhaps? Diet? He'd never really had the chance to delve into the mystery deeply), it was hard not to recognize a face that was identical to one he'd been traveling with for so long.

And, of course, the expression that was reminiscent of someone who had just finished sucking on a raw lemon.

"Hello, Asch," he said pleasantly. In his own way, Asch was far more fun to tease than Luke, and Jade was looking forward to his reaction.