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[ oushi opts not to answer, because it would have just been something depressing like i don't think that's possible here. at least it isn't long after that he finds where choso's been lurking outside. somehow, even out in a wide open space, choso still gives off a lurker kind of vibe. maybe it's the complexion.
oushi ambles towards him, hands in his pockets and eyes drifting across the space, even towards the night sky. trying very hard indeed to appear quite casual, as if their meeting is merely incidental as opposed to every bit as full of intent as it is. ]
You're talking a walk? Or just standing around?
oushi ambles towards him, hands in his pockets and eyes drifting across the space, even towards the night sky. trying very hard indeed to appear quite casual, as if their meeting is merely incidental as opposed to every bit as full of intent as it is. ]
You're talking a walk? Or just standing around?
[ oushi takes a moment to peer into his near future, and admits to himself there is no end in sight. ]
listen
[ it took him a while to get here, folks, but oushi finally realizes he can, in fact, use his words. ]
i'm over it
but that doesn't make it any less of a sore spot alright?
i'll pay you to talk about literally anything else
listen
[ it took him a while to get here, folks, but oushi finally realizes he can, in fact, use his words. ]
i'm over it
but that doesn't make it any less of a sore spot alright?
i'll pay you to talk about literally anything else
Edited 2025-04-15 01:36 (UTC)
Fuck no, that'd've just been worse. At least now it's just stupid. Imagine if they'd really loved each other? If they'd had years to be together? [ he huffs out a laugh, then, almost humourlessly so, ] Maybe Juliet would have burned down all of Verona instead.
[ he's seen what that leads to, losing someone you love like that — charlestown burned for it. ]
Maybe I should have read one of those, instead.
[ he's seen what that leads to, losing someone you love like that — charlestown burned for it. ]
Maybe I should have read one of those, instead.
( it's true that there's something enjoyable about the night air--it feels better than being cooped up inside, especially when he's so uncertain about this place, and about everything around him. better to be able to look up at a dark sky, than to stare up at a ceiling; there's something about enclosed places that just doesn't feel right, anymore, not after what happened in shibuya. if he's outside, then at least he's not taking up space, either: which is why he's lingered off towards one side of the courtyard, almost like he'll melt into one of the trees there and disappear.
he hears him before he sees him--and he can't sense him, which is an odd, strange feeling, as though unable to read even cursed energy in humans, here. but his senses are sharp, enough that he doesn't look particularly surprised, when he tips his chin and glances down, a once-over to reassure that oushi has at least come to him in one piece.
it may be impossible to be safe here, or careful. but he feels a bit of responsibility for this one--his 'friend', if he's allowed to use the word so freely. he doesn't know if he's really ever had friends, though yuki tsukumo would probably hit him for thinking it. )
...You told me to wait. ( quietly, matter-of-fact, as though that explains him standing there. ) So I'm just standing around.
( another glance down, reassuring, before he centers his gaze on oushi's profile. )
Do you want to walk? I'll walk with you. I don't think we'll get very far.
he hears him before he sees him--and he can't sense him, which is an odd, strange feeling, as though unable to read even cursed energy in humans, here. but his senses are sharp, enough that he doesn't look particularly surprised, when he tips his chin and glances down, a once-over to reassure that oushi has at least come to him in one piece.
it may be impossible to be safe here, or careful. but he feels a bit of responsibility for this one--his 'friend', if he's allowed to use the word so freely. he doesn't know if he's really ever had friends, though yuki tsukumo would probably hit him for thinking it. )
...You told me to wait. ( quietly, matter-of-fact, as though that explains him standing there. ) So I'm just standing around.
( another glance down, reassuring, before he centers his gaze on oushi's profile. )
Do you want to walk? I'll walk with you. I don't think we'll get very far.
[ he's startled by the other man's bold sentiment. though he can't quite say if it's the words alone that surprise him, or the certainty that envelopes them. is he speaking from personal experience? no... perhaps not... there's a shrewdness to his tone, but it feels more like the kind of insight an audience might have, than something someone in the direct line of fire might walk away with. ]
There's supposed to be a library here, [ he mumbles. ] You could start a book club.
[ he pauses, squinting in thought. (idk timelines and i'm too lazy to check) ]
Or join one.
There's supposed to be a library here, [ he mumbles. ] You could start a book club.
[ he pauses, squinting in thought. (idk timelines and i'm too lazy to check) ]
Or join one.
I meant before I told you to wait...
[ still, he does look a little embarrassed for it. not necessarily the misunderstanding, but that he more or less made the man hang around aimlessly for a handful of minutes. he really needs to remember to be more careful with his words, around choso. ]
It's fine, we don't have to do anything.
[ though that does mean a lot more of just standing around... he makes a brief, executive decision, and plunks himself right down on the grass. he draws his knees up, letting his arms rest over them. the aim here had been to simply be with the other... as if to somehow prove his offer of friendship with his presence. it seemed like a good idea at the time, considering they hadn't even met in person before, but it just feels a little silly to flat out say, I didn't want you to be lonely. ]
What've you been up to since we last spoke?
[ still, he does look a little embarrassed for it. not necessarily the misunderstanding, but that he more or less made the man hang around aimlessly for a handful of minutes. he really needs to remember to be more careful with his words, around choso. ]
It's fine, we don't have to do anything.
[ though that does mean a lot more of just standing around... he makes a brief, executive decision, and plunks himself right down on the grass. he draws his knees up, letting his arms rest over them. the aim here had been to simply be with the other... as if to somehow prove his offer of friendship with his presence. it seemed like a good idea at the time, considering they hadn't even met in person before, but it just feels a little silly to flat out say, I didn't want you to be lonely. ]
What've you been up to since we last spoke?
[ yes, indeed — he has spent the last few months an audience to all that violence, unable to join the raids because of his leg, staying on the ship instead, watching the fires turn the water red with their reflection.
the sentiment gets oushi a laugh in return. ]
No, I'm not that fond of reading. Besides, I think there's at least one book club in existence already. I suppose I did offer to join that one, though...
the sentiment gets oushi a laugh in return. ]
No, I'm not that fond of reading. Besides, I think there's at least one book club in existence already. I suppose I did offer to join that one, though...
You don't like being idle.
[ it's a far more astute observation than oushi would have thought himself capable of, but as he sits there, a few pieces seem to slot together quite easily. the chattiness (even or perhaps especially during the most inconvenient of times), the curiosity. he is moving constantly, in some way, and part of oushi wonders if it's compensation... for a wound that keeps silver stagnant and slower than he would like to be reduced to. ]
Plenty of things to do here, if you have the patience for it.
[ it's a far more astute observation than oushi would have thought himself capable of, but as he sits there, a few pieces seem to slot together quite easily. the chattiness (even or perhaps especially during the most inconvenient of times), the curiosity. he is moving constantly, in some way, and part of oushi wonders if it's compensation... for a wound that keeps silver stagnant and slower than he would like to be reduced to. ]
Plenty of things to do here, if you have the patience for it.
What can I say... I'm used to having things to do.
[ which is hardly the whole truth — but it will do, for now. so yes, the observation is correct: you will rarely find john silver sitting with nothing to do, even more so now that one might expect him to be sitting still. ]
Yes, I'm sure. Just a matter of finding the right things to do, I suppose.
[ which is hardly the whole truth — but it will do, for now. so yes, the observation is correct: you will rarely find john silver sitting with nothing to do, even more so now that one might expect him to be sitting still. ]
Yes, I'm sure. Just a matter of finding the right things to do, I suppose.
( his lips press together, like he might argue--but instead he watches oushi plunk himself down in the grass, twisting on the heels of his shoes. is that really okay, being out here, sitting in the grass of the courtyard? are they going to get into some kind of trouble? he's too used to keeping an ear out that he does give a cursory glance around them; there's nothing that he can see, just the quiet sounds of the night, in a place that's unfamiliar to the both of them.
so with another measuring glance, he crouches down, at first, knees pressed together, before he lets himself sink down to sit in the grass next to him. his legs are a little too long, compared to oushi, which is why he finally decides to maneuver himself to sit cross-legged; one of his knees ends up brushed up against him. )
You want a status report. ( he says, in a low, thoughtful voice: a little teasing. )
Not a lot. I've been trying to learn what I can about this place, why we're here, if there's any method to not be here, anymore.
( but that also draws up complications of its own--and brings his thoughts around to someone else, something else, his lips sinking into a frown. )
...There is someone from my world here. He's a painful person to be around, and he makes everything very difficult, but I think I need to watch out for him.
( his hands sink down into his lap, tipping his chin up to look towards the trees, and beyond them, the sky. )
You've been busy here? Meeting new people.
so with another measuring glance, he crouches down, at first, knees pressed together, before he lets himself sink down to sit in the grass next to him. his legs are a little too long, compared to oushi, which is why he finally decides to maneuver himself to sit cross-legged; one of his knees ends up brushed up against him. )
You want a status report. ( he says, in a low, thoughtful voice: a little teasing. )
Not a lot. I've been trying to learn what I can about this place, why we're here, if there's any method to not be here, anymore.
( but that also draws up complications of its own--and brings his thoughts around to someone else, something else, his lips sinking into a frown. )
...There is someone from my world here. He's a painful person to be around, and he makes everything very difficult, but I think I need to watch out for him.
( his hands sink down into his lap, tipping his chin up to look towards the trees, and beyond them, the sky. )
You've been busy here? Meeting new people.
[ these days, oushi is always up at night. so of course he notices the crow coming to his window, and while he's aware they are naturally intelligent creatures, there is a slow pause as he wonders if this is... actually... someone he knows...
IT'S NOT THAT FAR-FETCHED A THOUGHT, OK.
cautiously, he opens the window. ]
Uh. Hello?
IT'S NOT THAT FAR-FETCHED A THOUGHT, OK.
cautiously, he opens the window. ]
Uh. Hello?
( the crow squawks softly, his head tilting slightly to look toward oushi with one, red, beady eye. he hops over and deposits his trinket in front of him on the window sill and does nothing else. what he drops is a small parcel wrapped in the remnants of a brown paper bag; inside is a small cherry blossom shaped flower carved out of... something, with a note attached that simply says: it's dangerous to go alone.
and once oushi has taken it, the crow will tilt his head again, squawk, and then simply fly off into the night. )
and once oushi has taken it, the crow will tilt his head again, squawk, and then simply fly off into the night. )
What is it that you used to do, before all this?
[ one might say he's humoring the other man at this point. but there is a genuine curiosity there, despite himself. their first meeting had been... eventful, for all that they just stood around talking to one another. but in all that talking, they never did discuss much about where the other was from, the lives they lived before all this. he could tell, right away, that they came from vastly different worlds. the way silver spoke, the way he carried himself, not to mention the disconnect between their familiarity with medicine...
all he knew for sure, was that silver considered himself every bit a hero as oushi did for himself. that alone is a strange sense of comfort. ]
[ one might say he's humoring the other man at this point. but there is a genuine curiosity there, despite himself. their first meeting had been... eventful, for all that they just stood around talking to one another. but in all that talking, they never did discuss much about where the other was from, the lives they lived before all this. he could tell, right away, that they came from vastly different worlds. the way silver spoke, the way he carried himself, not to mention the disconnect between their familiarity with medicine...
all he knew for sure, was that silver considered himself every bit a hero as oushi did for himself. that alone is a strange sense of comfort. ]
[ oushi's nose wrinkles, ears prickling at the teasing. he gets ready to protest, Don't call it that, but choso is carrying on along and so all oushi can do in retaliation is press his knee a little more firmly against the other's.
what choso winds up telling him is a little more unsettling than he might have originally thought. on the one hand, he thinks to feel ? a strange sense of relief for the other. hadn't he been attempting to locate people from his world from the start? then again, he'd been looking for his friends, and the way choso describes this guy doesn't seem to be fitting the bill.
he thinks to pry a little more, but what choso ends up saying next has him snorting out a short bubble of laughter — dry and derisive. ]
Right. I'm Mister Popularity.
[ the sarcasm is so thick in his voice that for a moment he's certain choso would understand he didn't mean a single word of it... that the very idea was, as he'd reacted, laughable. but then he remembers himself quickly enough. ]
No. I've been keeping to myself when I can.
[ equal parts due to his own inherent nature, as well as a petulant attempt at spiting the captors who keep insisting on their precious buddy system. ]
I'm not that good at people, anyway.
[ well there's a depressing thought. he decides to switch gears. ]
You feel responsible for him? The guy from your world?
[ the question feels stupid the second it leaves his mouth. choso had taken it upon himself to look after oushi, before even meeting him in person. obviously he'd feel responsible for someone from his own world.
what choso winds up telling him is a little more unsettling than he might have originally thought. on the one hand, he thinks to feel ? a strange sense of relief for the other. hadn't he been attempting to locate people from his world from the start? then again, he'd been looking for his friends, and the way choso describes this guy doesn't seem to be fitting the bill.
he thinks to pry a little more, but what choso ends up saying next has him snorting out a short bubble of laughter — dry and derisive. ]
Right. I'm Mister Popularity.
[ the sarcasm is so thick in his voice that for a moment he's certain choso would understand he didn't mean a single word of it... that the very idea was, as he'd reacted, laughable. but then he remembers himself quickly enough. ]
No. I've been keeping to myself when I can.
[ equal parts due to his own inherent nature, as well as a petulant attempt at spiting the captors who keep insisting on their precious buddy system. ]
I'm not that good at people, anyway.
[ well there's a depressing thought. he decides to switch gears. ]
You feel responsible for him? The guy from your world?
[ the question feels stupid the second it leaves his mouth. choso had taken it upon himself to look after oushi, before even meeting him in person. obviously he'd feel responsible for someone from his own world.
AHHHHHSHIOKI,
Heeding your advice from a while back... Should I wear a dark green vest with beige slacks or a black vest with black slacks to my shift tonight?
Black seems a bit much but not many sorts see my legs behind the bar anyway.
The black one fits a bit neater and I've gotten better tips with it.
Heeding your advice from a while back... Should I wear a dark green vest with beige slacks or a black vest with black slacks to my shift tonight?
Black seems a bit much but not many sorts see my legs behind the bar anyway.
The black one fits a bit neater and I've gotten better tips with it.
[ ... yeeeah, so like. he didn't really think "fashion choices" was a right-or-wrong kind of situation, but. ]
my name's oushi
you're bartending? that means it's at night, so you can't really go wrong with black
i'm not much of a fashion guy though so idk
my name's oushi
you're bartending? that means it's at night, so you can't really go wrong with black
i'm not much of a fashion guy though so idk
Well you helped solidify my decision so you can't be all that bad at it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
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