[Thread] Where did my bakery go?

[ned_piemaker]

Characters: Ned (OU); OPEN to all.
Where: Near the fountain.
When: Noon, seconds after his arrival.
Summary: The Piemaker does not like surprises - particularly not ones involving teleportation.
Warnings: None.

Comments

[politicsplayboy]

((ooc: Hope you don't mind me posting?))

Shinji couldn't say he was overly happy with being here; it, to him, felt like a waste. Whatever was going to happen where he was from, he wanted it to happen. Being here felt as if he was in limbo, and he didn't care in the slightest for the cause he was supposedly here to fight for.

If he was quite honest, he wasn't sure whether he would be able to make it so that he did care about what he was apparently fighting for here, even if there were the odd person that already classed him as a friend.

Regardless, as an attempt to not focus on feelings that, as long as he was here, in the grand scheme of things, didn't matter, he had decided to go for a walk (primarily, actually, in hunt of a basketball court). After leaving his accommodation, he hadn't expected to come across someone in an apron and oven gloves sat on the edge of the fountain.

He came to a stop a short distance from the man, eyebrows raised slightly as he spoke, amusement creeping into his voice.

"You alright?"

[ned_piemaker]

((occ: Not in the slightest!))

Ned looked around at the man in bewilderment, his mouth open in dazed fear. He realized, absently, that he was still holding the cherry pie, and that it was starting to burn him through the pink mitts. He set it down quickly on the edge of the fountain and let out a heavy breath, turning back towards Shinji.

Suppressing the urge to be sick, the Piemaker managed a weak, unconvincing smile, bobbing his head to enforce the lie, he was not at all-

"Fine."

Ned was used to strange things happening around him, but this strange thing had him stumped. Where was the Pie Hole? When had it become the middle of the day? His right eye twitching as he strained to maintain the smile, Ned did not ask the man where he was or what had happened to him.

[lady_bounty]

Faye walked quickly from the park back towards the plaza and the more densely populated sections of Neocontra. She had ventured into the outskirts of the trees to find a piece of wood suitable for carving into a crude stake; it was full daylight and she was armed with a kitchen knife, but she couldn't help being nervous. It would take some time for her to acquire a gun, and until she did, she would feel edgy, especially when venturing alone into the park.

She strode into the sun-lit plaza with a feeling of relief, though her heart still beat more rapidly than she would like to admit. Scowling to herself, she tucked her stake-to-be under her arm and dug for her cigarettes and lighter. Shit. Almost out again, she thought irritably. She lit one, inhaling deeply and exhaling with a sigh. Taking another drag, she glanced around idly

[ned_piemaker]

The Piemaker had been looking down at his shoes, head clutched between the oven mitts, breathing deeply to make the nausea go away. As a result, he did not immediately see any higher than Faye's ankles. His voice shook as he answered, "...pies?"

When Ned looked up at her his eyebrows rocketed towards his hairline and he choked on thin air, coughing and going rather red around the cheeks. He averted his eyes immediately to something a little less scandalous and shuffled his feet. That had been unexpected. He gestured absently to the cherry pie sitting next to him on the fountain, half-concealed behind his shaking knees.

The Piemaker considered how diligently his subconscious was working to invent new and ever-more perplexing dreams.

"Wh-" he began, very unsure whether or not it was wise to make it obvious how lost he was, unaware that it was already quite obvious. "What, uh-"

But he could not seem to find the words.

[lady_bounty]

Now that was just about the funniest thing Faye had seen in a long time~. She grinned wolfishly and slinked forward a few steps, advancing on the piemaker. She could now very clearly see- and smell- the pie. Her mouth watered and her eyes lit up. "Ooooh, that looks delicious~! Hope you don't mind if I have some~." It didn't really matter what he answered. Faye intended to help herself.

She grinned more widely as he stuttered. "Hmmmm~? What's that~?" she purred.

[ned_piemaker]

The Piemaker did not like the direction this particular dream was taking. Thinking that, since it was indeed the inside of his own mind, no harm could come of it, he decided to try honesty.

"Where... am I?"

As for the pie, he could hardly eat it himself. It struck him as unusual that a woman would ask a strange man if she could eat some of his pie. Ned gestured towards it with his mitt-covered hand rather awkwardly, wondering how she intended to eat it without any utensils or a plate.

[ned_piemaker]

When Ned saw the man the blood drained out of his face and he reeled back, jaw dropping in unflattering shock. He mouthed silently, deep furrows forming in his forehead. That was not possible! He had seen a lot of strange things in his time - killer crash test dummies, murderous acrobats, and psychos of every flavor. But this, this took the cake.

He scrambled to his feet, backing away, holding up his hands to defend himself. All in all, this looked rather ridiculous with the mitts.

"This is so a nightmare."

[ned_piemaker]

Ned tilted his head to the side inquisitively, seeming to struggle over his choice of words. There had to be an explanation. Some kind of - kind of medical technology he had never heard of. It was a crazy world, after all. He might be making a mountain of a molehill.

A molehill with a glowing red eye...

The Piemaker let out a slow breath, regaining some of his composure. He'd seen worse, he told himself. He'd seen all kind of nastiness. Shuddering, he tucked his hands behind his back and tried to smile apologetically with little success.

"I'm, uh- sorry?" It sounded half like a question. He cleared his throat and asked, voice a little unsteady, "If it's not a nightmare what's with the, uh..." he trailed off, gesturing to Phanan's face before clasping his hands behind his back again.