[Open] Unary Game

[blind_badass]

(This is a July catchall kind of post for Light/Snake so tag where you'd like or let me know if you want to work out something via plurk! You can also call him either name as both pretty much apply.)

A.

Nothing like moving across the ocean and having to figure out where to go in a new town. Especially in a place like London. Light "Snake" Averly, armed with a braille map, takes the time to explore London when he's not teaching at university. Each street and bus route he can travel safely is another piece of London memorized. Perhaps he might also meet friendly (and not-so-friendly) faces as he travels...

B.

He's heard about Redbright, now that he's been in London for a little bit. He'd heard rumors about the school having something to do with the supernatural, but nothing concrete. Snake would love to do nothing more than excise his powers from his brain, but the science hadn't gotten around to that. Yet. He didn't really feel any kinship to other supernatural, having stayed far the hell away from anything back home in Washington State. Still, he can't help but have some curiosity for the Institute.

C. Choose your own adventure.

Comments

A, mid-July

[detectiveofthewest]

"Light?" It was getting a bit late, edging into evening, and the one person Heiji wasn't really expecting to see was precisely who he ran into with a Braille map in hand. He pulled up to the curb; his motorcycle idled as he took off his helmet.

"What're you doin' out this late?"

[blind_badass]

A familiar voice. Snake turned to face his new friend. "Hello, Heiji. I'm just doing a little bit of exploring. I've already found a bookstore and a teahouse along this route so I think I've done well in this neighborhood."

Eight in the evening isn't late. Really, Heiji, if he'd been wandering around at two in the morning, that might be cause for some concern.

[detectiveofthewest]

"You're just... exploring?" Oh, thank god he was here. He had to think of some 100% non-suspicious way of getting Snake off the streets before the fae made their appearance.

"Look, um. You're new here, so ya probably don't know, but lately there've been a lot of... hooligans! Around. Lately. They kinda ride around, hassling people. It can get pretty dangerous! So, you know. You shouldn't be wandering around. By yourself."

NAILED. IT.

[blind_badass]

"I'm well acquainted with people wanting to harass me." He could defend himself better than one would think and if that failed, he had mace. He wasn't sure on the legality of that but he carried it around to make his parents happy.

"Also, the quicker I get to the know the city, the less frustrating it will be to get around. Besides, I have a timer on my phone." He patted a pocket in his jacket. "Once it goes off, I'll just go back the way I came and wait for a bus."

Really, Heiji, were you implying he couldn't take care of himself?

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah, but..." How to explain that there'd be marauding fair folk about, disguised as drunk people on motorcycles.

"I mean, people have gotten hurt pretty bad. I wouldn't want that to happen to you..."

[blind_badass]

Snake canted his head in thought. Heiji hadn't known him long enough to know that he really could handle himself in all situations. He could actually be acting out of concern and not out of being patronizing. A fine line existed between the two.

"All right. Just to humor you, I'll go back to the bus stop." Snake tucked his map in his messenger bag. "What brings you over here? Just happen to be in the neighborhood?"

[ B ]

[warmheartedly]

Some students were idling about the main entrance when one of them spots him, the conversation he's holding with Clara being put on hold upon noticing the stranger.

"Hello?" His voice squeaks, sounding both nervous and young. He can't help but hide behind Clara despite her not... being the best shield in the world. The sneakers on the floor squeak, emulating his nerves and his shyness.

Poor dear, Clara thinks as she opts to take over. If she can take over at all.

"Hello? Is there something we can do to help you, sir? I'm Clara."

[blind_badass]

Snake cants his head to one side, listening. So he had two speakers, one a teenager and another an older woman. "I'm new into town but I'd heard a little bit about this school from my colleagues where I teach." Asking if the rumors were true outright didn't seem like the most tactful thing to address. "Redbright is just a private school for teenagers, is that correct?"

[warmheartedly]

The student and the ghost look at each other, clearly wondering what he's heard. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Um! Yes! Redbright is primarily for teenagers," Clara answers for them, the boy nearby making a sound of relief since she could take over the conversation. "From ages of eleven to eighteen. Are you here for a tour of some sort, sir?"

[blind_badass]

He hadn't planned on a tour but surely it couldn't hurt? At least to stifle his curiosity. Then he could go back to his job and hiding his powers, as he always did. "I suppose if you don't mind this tour would be more audio than you're used to."

[warmheartedly]

"I would be more than happy to help you out with that." There's a strong emphasis on the 'I' since the young student she's speaking with is already scooting away to let her handle this as he goes back to his friends near by. That'll do, little metahuman. That'll do.

"Where would you like to start? And I don't think I caught your name from earlier, sir. Unless you want to keep an air of mystery around you."

[blind_badass]

Snake chuckled a tiny bit at her tone. "Nothing so mysterious about me. My name is Light Averly and I teach and research physics." His flat American accent gave him away as not being from around London. "Wherever you'd like to start is perfectly fine with me."

B

[iceolationqueen]

The thing about being a teacher assistant, especially during the summer, is that they kind of use you in any spot necessary. Today, since Elsa isn't teaching and doesn't have any of her own classes to do, she's been made de-facto receptionist. The poor old lady who normally sits at the desk is sick, so Elsa is filling in for her. They need to have someone at the door so just anyone doesn't wander in and see magic being performed in all its glory.

She's paging through her anatomy textbook when a man walks in. Elsa looks up.

"Hello. Can I help you?"

[blind_badass]

A pleasant sounding voice from what must be a young woman, reading a book. "Hello. I don't mean to pry but I'm new in the area and I was told there was quite the school here for teenagers. Is it a general kind of high school or one with a leaning toward the arts or anything like that?"

A

[acrookedchild]

"Ah! Hold that taxi! Taxi!"

But the cabbie, apparently, didn't see her. Because a business man in a nice suit climbed in, and the car drove off. After the car drove off, Abby shouted at the car.

"Oh, come on! Go to Hell!"

It's frustrating. She hadn't wanted to take the bus and subway today. She'd been planning on doing actual shopping, which she'd done, and bags aren't exactly the lightest. They're not that heavy, but it's still infuriating.

She turns away from the street and-- makes contact with someone thanks to a swinging back. Thankfully, that bag just has some herbs. Nothing heavy.

"Shit--! Shit, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

[blind_badass]

Snake felt something swing toward him and he blocked with his right arm. Fortunately the bag did feel...pillowy so the impact didn't hurt. He would have been more irate, except the tone of her voice sounded genuinely contrite. As though she hadn't seen him there.

"I'm perfectly all right. You sound a tad frustrated." He tucked his map into his messenger bag and canted his head in the direction of her voice. "I suppose it's fortunate for me you weren't shopping for sports equipment."

[acrookedchild]

"Thankfully," she said with a laugh. "Getting a stupid cabbie to stop for me is, apparently, impossible today."

And running for one was aggravating. And, apparently, able to make her careless.

"I am really sorry. I swear I'm usually more careful." And only then does she actually look at him. Really take him in. He might not be able to see it, but her eyes widen, and it definitely comes across in her voice. "...Oh, shit. I am-- I'm so sorry."

Running into someone? Bad. Running into someone blind? So bad.

[blind_badass]

She sounded rather guilty, as though accidentally hitting a blind man jumped her crime from a misdemeanor to a felony. That...could be fun to play with, if he could figure out how.

"I usually take the bus, myself, as they're fairly reliable, miss...?"

[acrookedchild]

"Widdowson. Miss Widdowson."

She smiled again, though it seemed stupid to do it. He couldn't see her, after all. What was the best way to handle a situation like this? It was one of the many things that being contained inside Geap Manor for most of her life had kept her from experiencing. So, now? It seemed like a far bigger deal to her (she had to, she told herself, be careful not to offend him) than most people would consider it.

[blind_badass]

"Miss Widdowson. My name is Light Averly and it's a pleasure to meet you." Snake could tell emotions based on tone. People were generally surprised when he could tell that someone was smiling based on tone. It was all about putting it in the voice.

The watch on his right wrist made a sound and delivered the time in a mechanical computer voice. "According to my watch, the next bus won't be around for another 30 minutes. I suppose you could wait for it at the stop two blocks behind me, like I'm going to. Or...is there a coffee house around here?"

B

[chronobreak]

Ekko's been herding around the underclassmen who've stayed or are taking extra summer classes. It's exhausting, but it's fulfilling, knowing they're all like him in some way or other. There's something nice about belonging, even if their skillsets don't exactly match up to his own. They're all on the hush and hush about what they really are outside the school walls.

And he'd like to think he knows most of the faces around here. Two years or so at the school means he's got passing familiarity with all the professors. Light's a face he hasn't seen. "Haven't seen you around here," he's confident and curious at the same time.

[blind_badass]

Snake doesn't know who this individual is, obviously, but he sounds confident enough that he could be a teacher or someone in authority. "I just moved here a few weeks ago. I teach at King's College and I've been told by a colleague that there was a special kind of private school called Redbright and encouraged me to stop by." He shrugs. No one knew about his powers as they were not the kind of thing he talked about with anyone but his family. Still, he had been genuinely curious about the random rumors he'd heard. "I'm still getting a feel for the city and I do appreciate bastions of learning, no matter the education level."

[chronobreak]

"What a ways out. Well, you made it. Welcome to the Redbright Institute." He has to wonder if he's just a normal human, or he's more than that. But it doesn't really matter if he's supposed to be a teacher. Or he'd like to become one.

"I've been in London forever, and I've been here two years. Tell me if you need any help." He drums his fingers on his arms for a moment before speaking again. "Redbright's from gradeschool and up, but we've also got extra classes for people who want them."

[blind_badass]

"It's fortunate that London has wonderful public transportation. It's just memorizing it all that's a pain." Snake has had to learn to be very good at memorizing lots of things in order to navigate the world. Still, it took time!

He did tilt his head in puzzlement. "Extra classes? You mean, you offer classes to the general population? That's rather generous of the institution."

[chronobreak]

"You'll get the hang of it eventually," Ekko's not sure why Snake needs to memorize it, but there's probably a reason behind it. But London's transport can be a little daunting at times.

"More like for supernatural types," if he's here it's safe enough to talk about, right?