.o21 ☈ king of the clouds;

[sting_to_death]

It's been a year (and two days) since I first arrived.

I found a memory crystal.

Someone must have dropped some cookies on my doorstep. Come take them back.

(( ooc; for the past two days and for the next two, Lin is going to be wearing this outfit with this song playing in the background. Feel free to have your characters mention they've noticed

Comments

Quicklog

[unevoked]

Not always. But this time, yeah.

[WELL OKAY THEN. <3
----
It doesn't take long for Castor to get to the residential area, just a quick trek and an elevator ride before locating her apartment again-- it was probably quicker due to the fact that he had so recently been there. He had thought that even Lin could recognize an attempt at a 'birthday gift', but that may have been assuming too much.

At least she hadn't immediately known where it had come from. Approaching the door, he knocked quickly, before returning his hands to his pockets.]

Quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

[ Lin never knew what to expect from the Tree and the people living in it. Was that a gift or not? She wasn't joking when she said the cookies might have been poisoned.

And she would have left everything right there on the doorstep hadn't it been for the plush cat. Whoever left it there knew her well. Or, at least well enough. And she wanted to know who that person was.

She had hoped someone would have asked why she had got the cookies but not the plushie, but apparently her 'secret admirer' (as Bell called him) wasn't that dumb.

Lin opened the door, idly raising the collar of her white turtleneck sweater when the cold air came in with Castor. Not that that does much to hide the horrible costume she's wearing underneath. Or the hat. Or the music. ]

They're over there.

[ She pointed at the package that had clearly been opened and then closed again, on the table. Hello's and how are you's are for losers. ]

Quicklog;

[unevoked]

[While he had wondered at first if her 'gift' had been vandalized, by now Castor had decided that she was wary of the food, but so no threat from the damn stuffed cat. It made sense, sort of, in the same way that her keeping and taking care of the scorpion made sense.

As Lin opened the door, He glanced up, as though about so say something, before stopping himself and looking around for a moment, confused. She was wearing. Something. Then again, she had mentioned getting a memory crystal. For now, he'd be nice enough not to comment on her attire. it was surprising enough she was letting him in with that ridiculous hat.]

...Didn't take you for the music type. [Had she taken a CD player from the Wilderness? And what the hell was with her taste in music? His brows furrowed, but he rolled a shoulder and let the thought slip away. Whatever the case, he stepped inside of the room, lips quirking up a bit.]

If you're this paranoid, I'm surprised you ain't found a better way to test your food for poison than this by now.

Quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

[ She saw him looking up at her hat thing and thinking about saying something, and was already prepared to shoot back some snide comment when something surprising happened-- he gave up on a chance to mock her. At least for now.

Not that he didn't have a right to mock her. That outfit really was ridiculous. And she had rubbed the salt into the wound a bit too when he had got stuck in a dress. But Lin had decided that if she let every single stupid outfit she was going to be forced to wear as a vacation, she would have had to stay home forever. And work was more important. Unless something like cat ears came up again, she wasn't going to let those silly, childish jokes stop her from living. ]

I despise music.

[ He could take a look around, there was no CD player. Unless for CD player you mean really unlucky person that emanates music. ]

I don't get cookies from 'secret admirers' often.

[ Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, he surely had already gone through the conversation she had with Bell and knew what she was talking about.

Quicklog;

[unevoked]

[Despised music? Now that she had mentioned it, though, even though he had walked into her home, the volume of the music hadn't changed. It almost sounded as though it were coming from-- well. Lin. He almost managed to restrain an amused smirk, though the way his lips curved up probably betrayed him.

A stupid outfit and being followed by music? That was just harsh.]

If this's the only selection you got, I can see why you hate it. [He gave a short laugh, easily taking one of the cookies from the table and shrugging a shoulder.]

And I'd be surprised if you had any secret admirers. Even more surprised that you listened to a damn thing Bell said. [After all, he wasn't an admirer and he didn't consider himself secret. Who else knew what date she had shown up, anyway? Maybe Bastet, but he doubted that she would have gone through the trouble of being secretive about it. He just remembered that her writing in the journal had been very shortly after he had arrived

Quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

I would hate it anyway.

[ What the hell was that song about, even? Her life wasn't plain. She didn't care about not having someone there when she woke up. And didn't sleep all day or read books at all. It made no sense to her. The bee costume didn't, either.

Then again, most of the things they were punished with after receiving a memory crystals didn't. Lin wasn't going to break her brain trying to understand why she was tortured with that song and that costume. ]

I don't listen, I read it. It doesn't mean I agree with it. [ Really, Lin's ego wasn't that huge. If someone deserved having secret admirers, that was Bastet, not her. She didn't believe for a second she actually had a secret admirer.

Someone that thought this was a funny joke was a lot more likely. ]

Not yet. Let's see if you die now.

Quicklog;

[unevoked]

The hell do you hate music for? [Other than the fact that she hated everything, of course. But still, he found it hard to believe that someone could absolutely hate something as wide and varied as 'music'. Then again, maybe she'd rather be deaf. Who knew. If someone were capable of hating all music no matter what, it would probably be Lin.

At the comment of listening vs. reading, though, he gave her a flat look.] You damn well knew what I meant. [Granted, technically she was right, but it was a figure of speech.

At the comment about him dying he shrugged, giving a short laugh.] Have to be some potent poison to kill me that quick with that little. You better drag me over to medical if I start convulsing.

[For a moment he wondered if she honestly believed someone was trying to kill her-- but that didn't fit with her forceful declaration that she wouldn't let him die from weeks ago. For all he knew this was Lin's awkward way of sharing

Re: Quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

Because I like silence. [ Music was music. For Lin, it wasn't varied at all. Things are either black or white, and if something breaks the silence, then it's annoying. Simple as that. She didn't get why Castor couldn't understand something that easy. ]

And you know what I meant. No, I do not listen to him. But I still read what he says.

[ She moved to close the journal she had been writing on until the moment he showed up, then looked at him, silent, as if waiting for something to happen. ] If I'm feeling generous. [ But no, he wasn't starting convulsing, but the moment he asked whether she had got only the cookies, Lin knew for sure the cookies weren't poisoned. She was already rather sure before he came over, but now she was completely convinced.

The right corner of her mouth quirked up into a half-smirk, that was all she needed to have a rather good idea of where those cookies and cat came from. ]

Why? Should there be something else?

Quicklog;

[unevoked]

That don't mean a damn thing, you read what everyone says. [Well, he wasn't so sure of that. But people who piqued her interest? he was sure she read every line. And since Bell was a commander, and directly under Bastet, he was sure the guy had her rapt attention.]

And that ain't very nice've you. Or this what I get for testing your might-be-poisoned stuff? [Not that he'd volunteer to try anything that was legitimately a potential threat- he wasn't that stupid. He he knew the hadn't slipped rat poison into anything, so there wasn't any harm, right?

That smile and the next question, though, showed where he had slipped up. He glanced over in an arbitrary direction, out a window- anything to avoid eye contact as he shrugged.] Just think it's weird, is all.

ìQuicklog;

[sting_to_death]

[ Actually, Lin didn't. She wouldn't miss a word Bastet wrote, but reading what everyone said would have required a daily amount of patience Lin definitely did not own. She stalked a few people, but not any more than that. ] It might surprise you, but I do not read what everyone says.

And anyway, I'm just mentioning what he wrote. As stupid as it is. [ That he was eating those cookies was another hint. Was he reckless (well, less paranoid than her, in this case) or did he know where those cookies came from? Avoiding eye contact wasn't doing him any favours, either. Some of the skills she carried on from her previous life were being able to tell when someone was lying, and being able to tell when someone was guilty. ]

Would you really have eaten those if you weren't sure they weren't poisoned? [ She took a few steps forward, narrowing her eyes. Got him cornered, figuratively and not so figuratively. ] What else do you think I should have found, hm?

ìQuicklog;

[unevoked]

[It didn't surprise him that she didn't read everything, but the fact that she'd admit to skimming surprised him. Here he had expected her to keep up a "I read everything, you're not special" demeanor. Still, at this point maybe it was expected that they're look out for certain people's writings.

As she questioned him about the cookies, he simply rolled a shoulder, as though the question wasn't as invasive as it was. Sure, he had expected to be found out-- but not confronted about it.] Thought we had this talk before. I got nothing to be scared of. [He gave a short, cocky smirk, looking back to her quickly, as though a show of self-confidence would brush away the questions.]

'Sides, it's stupid to assume everything you get's poisoned. You got enemies I don't know about? [...he didn't have an answer for the next question, though, the pause was maybe a bitlonger than it should have been.]

...I dunno, a card?

Re: ìQuicklog;

[sting_to_death]

[ She could change her version, depending. If he was insisting she was a stalker, she'd say she doesn't read everything. If he was insisting she paid too much attention to him, she'd declare she reads everything anyway.i

If nothing else, he'd be too surprised to point out the incongruity. ]

Yes, we talked about it, and you do have something to be scared of. [ She cracked her knuckles, taking yet another step forward. Lin hated when anyone stepped into her personal space, but it was a completely different thing when she was trying to intimidate someone. ]

Not that I know of. And why would anyone put a card in it, after going through the trouble of delivering it anonymously? [ Now she was smirking. ] Not many people know where I live. [ She counted on her fingers as she spoke. ] You, Bastet...

[ Then raised her hand for him to count. Two fingers. ]

ìQuicklog;

[unevoked]

[Perhaps in another situation she would have been intimidating-- after all, the woman was powerful, that wasn't a secret, nor something Castor was unfamiliar with. But she was also fairly small, had invited him into her house when she was dressed ridiculously, emanating music, and have told him that she wouldn't let him die. While a part of him reminded himself that maiming and injuring weren't covered, he had a feeling he was fairly safe at the moment.

Or maybe he was just cocky. Who knew.] Right, you could just dump me someplace if your damn cookies get me sick. Guess there's that to be scared of.

[He frowned, glancing to the side- she had a point. It was all anonymous-- and he was one of the few people who had been to her house, that he knew of. Here he had assumed that there had been a few others.] --Hey, you work with ninjas, let's not forget. [Though if Bell had been involved, there probably would have been a vibrator included in the basket, and that was all kinds of uncomfortable to think about.]It ain't like we're the only

Quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

[ Lin was aware other people could have found her, Gai had showed her all too well that it wasn't only people from her world that could feel her reiatsu. Still, Youth hadn't known it was her birthday, and Lin sighed at the thought that he would be coming over in a few hours, for the sake of not interfering with Castor and Lin's 'alone time'. She had given up trying to convince him not to come, and trying to convince him Castor wasn't her 'special person'. It was like trying to eat soup with a fork.

But the way he was reacting to her prodding was making her quickly come to the conclusion that it had been him sending her those cookies. ]

You mean your cookies, don't you? [ She turned around, going to pick the plush cat from her room. Clearly nothing he could have said was going to convince her it hadn't been him, not after she had decided he was the culprit.

She took the cat and threw it at him. ] I got this too, in case you were wondering.

Quicklog;

[unevoked]

[Youth/Gai and Bell was something that Castor didn't even want to think about, really. He had no idea when he had become a sort of off-and-on target for their (Or rather, Bell's) prodding and insinuations, but he was definitely adverse to it. If he wasn't insinuating that Castor was sleeping with Pollux, it was Lin, and both of those were just... he shrugged the thought off, distracted by her comment on the cookies.

So much for subtlety.]

Hey, you know damn well I cook better than that. [Well, if he was found out, he was found out. He frowned and rolled his eyes as she went to go get the cat plush.] Surprised you didn't think that was rigged to explode or some stupid sh-- hey! [Castor managed to catch the cat by the scruff of the neck as it was thrown at him, glancing over the toy and setting it back down on her table.]

[When he spoke, it was fairly quiet and slightly sullen, though that was probably due to being found out more than anything-- not that he had really hid it well, apparently.]...Was wondering what happened to that.

Quicklog;

[sting_to_death]

[ Lin didn't want to talk about them, either. Individually, as an item, they just managed to get on her nerves for so many reasons all the same. Bell was too close to Bastet, and completely shameless, and he didn't think there was anything wrong in his relationship with Youth (that was just mind-boggling to Lin); Youth was dead-set on being her friend, and believed anything Bell said. So if Bell said she and Castor were more than friends, Youth would believe it and there was no way to convince him that wasn't true. ]

So? Why didn't you just come over and give these to me? [ She pulled out a chair to sit down-- didn't bother telling him to make himself comfortable, he had eyes and hands, if he wanted to sit he could surely find a chair.

Lin knew the answer to that question before she asked. Because it was awkward. ]

You're not expecting me to get you a gift for your own birthday, are you?