undergrounds | [Open] Unary Game

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[Open] Unary Game

(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.

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"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?"

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."

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.

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?"

"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.

"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?

"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..."

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?"

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?"

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?"

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."

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?"

"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."

"Actually, I was thinkin' of getting a bite to eat. There's a really good Italian place around here, so I like dropping in every once in a while." Thank goodness Snake didn't seem to need a lot of convincing. Still, he did feel a little bad about making him go back to the bus stop like this...

"...Do you wanna come with me? I can always take you back on my motorcycle if you're worried about missing the bus. And two's better than one out here." He was fidgeting a bit now, though why asking some guy to eat dinner should make him feel nervous, he had no idea.

"Maybe we could trade stories about settling in?"

"Well..." Hmm. He'd been planning to go back to his apartment, eat leftovers and read. A perfectly fine and quiet evening. Exploring a new part of the city with a friend and trying out a new restaurant also sounded like a perfectly good way to spend an evening.

Perhaps it'd be a good way to get to know his new friend in London. "All right. I could classify my hunger as 'peckish' at this point."

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."

"Great!" said Heiji, clearly happy about the prospect. He locked up his bike and returned to Snake's side. "C'mon, it's pretty close. Just straight up this block, a right and two more blocks. You're gonna love it! Their carbonara is delicious!"

Heiji... certainly did seem to enjoy dining out.

"Physics? That's math, right?" She hasn't been able to pursue an education in her youth and managed to pick up some things along the way but most of the subjects past grade school are lost to her. "Anyways please! Follow me!

"I'm thinking maybe we can first start at the lecture hall nearby. One of the teachers is holding a class there but I'm sure she won't mind a quick visit. It's down this hall, over here."

"You do paint a very edible picture." And true, it was an easy walk. Snake still hesitated when going across major streets. Who knew that the difference in traffic direction messed with what a "safe" and "unsafe" crossing sounded like?

"Have you found any luck with a new job? If you like this place enough, perhaps you should work here."

"...Do you think all I do is wait tables?" Snake had a way of getting under his skin, even if (presumably) he meant nothing by his question. Why, if Heiji wanted to, he could get hired anywhere his heart desired...!

"I quit my old job at the cafe so I could focus more of my time on other projects. Wouldn't make a lot of sense to head right back into the same thing." His general plan was to keep talking so that Snake would know where he was and where to cross the street.

"So what about you? How you been holding up?"

Edited 2015-07-25 23:22 (UTC)

"Physics does include math but it's basically trying to peel away and understand the physical laws of the universe on micro and macro levels. There's many, many levels to it."

He followed the young woman, noting she really didn't make a lot of noise other than when she talked. Odd, that.

"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?"

"I have no idea what additional things you do, Heiji. I've only known you for about two weeks." What, do you think he can read your mind? Probably not, since his mind powers aren't that strong.

Although quitting because of projects? Interesting word choice. The talking did help him focus, though. "Oh...you mean the writing?"

"As for me, I think I'm getting to know this town. I also got a little care package from my family, because they assume England is some kind of backwater." He snorted.

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."

"Well, yeah, that's one thing I'm working on." Although mostly not that.

"Your family sends you stuff?" Heiji sounded suddenly more interested. There was something else in his voice, too: he missed his home, and while he didn't think about it too much during the day, little reminders like this brought the feeling back to the surface. "Like what?"

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[Open] Unary Game

A, mid-July

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