He ticks the time away--

[neargenius]

Who: a neargenius & a soldiershin
When: shamelessly/shamefully backdated to Tuesday thanks to my lame & F. Scott Fitzgerald!
Where: the super secret no-one-allowed MN apartment in some slightly sketchy sector in scenic Siren's Port!
Summary: Jomy has never played Risk. This is a crime against humanity. He also promised not to cheat. Oh, and he might be useful in the

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[soldiershin]

Near's text had come to him as a surprise. He hadn't expected his impromptu request to be humored, nevertheless followed through with. It was a nice break, though; he enjoyed games (more than reading), and he always had a keen interest in learning something new. Even if it was something as small as a game.

It would be a lie if he said that he wasn't doubling this opportunity to meet this Near, however. Always using text, Near was one of the few people he would be meeting in-person that he'd had no information about beforehand, save the fact that the boy (girl? What gender was Near, anyway?) was clever, and smart. He wouldn't read Near's mind, as promised, but his empathy was a passive ability. Nothing he could control.

Emotions gave away someone's personality more than their thoughts anyway.

Now, a few things to note: he actually didn't take the long way (that is, walking) so it'd taken him a much, much shorter time than it may have had any other person. (Still, he made sure he was on time than being too late, or too early.) He was

[neargenius]

Near didn't lift his head at the knock on the door. He stayed where he was, curled on the floor, one hand in his hair. But he did narrow his eyes, and his finger stopped winding around the strand of hair, leaving it half-coiled just short of his knuckle.

It was a faster arrival than he had anticipated. Immediately, his brain began to work on this: to think a faster arrival was to assume that it was Jomy at the door; to question if it was Jomy brought back the familiar paranoia, thoughts moving quickly past paranoia and straight to caution, because paranoia was boring and trivial and kept one anchored, whereas caution allowed for curiosity and investigation

[soldiershin]

It was the quietness that was novel, the blankness that felt both strangely welcoming and. . . not. It was almost like sticking his head into a sound-proof room against the backdrop of loud cacophony. A little jarring, but not an altogether a bad experience despite its rarity in this city.

Jomy peeled off the layers covering his face before he stepped inside, eyes flickering here and there around the revealed living room. That lasted for about a second, as his focus snapped back onto Near (a... child?) with barely concealed curiosity. The boy was smaller than Jomy had anticipated (though, really, he hadn't entirely expected a child either), even when he was compared to Jomy's physical body.

Of course, there was no way to know if Near was really a child. This city did not allow one's abilities to remain unique for long - it wasn't unreasonable to think that there were others like the Mu, was it? Though Near had told him that he didn't have abilities like his, it'd been through text. Nothing he could make judgment over

[neargenius]

Near shut the door the minute that he could, carefully doing up all the latches again. Then he turned to watch Jomy silently for a moment longer, continuing with this treatment even after the pleasantries had been offered. As each of Jomy's layers came off, he was afforded the opportunity to study his opponent more closely. Opponent seemed too strong of a word, even to Near, but there was no other way to express this.

Guest, maybe. He tipped his head slightly, eyes sliding over to study the wall instead as he considered the change. Guest would probably be okay