[OPEN] bite & arbeit

[halfmoon]

Who: Makoto and you!
When: Throughout mid-September
Where: All in Aefenglom - shopping district; industrial district; vampire bar maybe??; etc.
What: Part-time work, quests, full moon changes.
Warnings: Threads set at Victorious Secret are likely to be a little racy. Will edit if anything else comes up!

Starters are in the comments!

Comments

[halfmoon]

Makoto shrugs his shoulders and then nods in agreement. He doesn't want anything in return - he'd earnestly be content with helping him out. But he wouldn't turn down a favor from a turnskin with a strong back and steely demeanor, either.

Makoto leads him down one of the rows of books, the sound of people around the till fading behind layers and layers of paper. Eventually, he stops in a section labeled Transmutation and skims his finger along the spines until it stops and peels a book out from the row. The title stamped onto the black leather cover reads Alteration through Evocation: Enlargements and Shrinkenings.

"Bring this to a witch who specializes in transmutation, and they might be able to help," he says, holding it out to him. "I think there may be a way to get it to grow with you when you change."

[divineconfetti]

It's good that Makoto doesn't refuse, because Wolf can be very insistent. Much of what he offers and accepts in this city is transactional — he feels the need to wipe the metaphorical slate clean, as the only aid he would give without expectation (or vice versa, with aid he might receive) would be to the lord he had sworn his services to. And he is not here. So Wolf has to alter the laws by which he lives his life, as the life he lives here is so drastically different from what he had been doing back in his own world.

He follows the boy to the specified bookshelf in the row of books, eyes scanning the nameplate and a handful of the titles. He takes the book when it is offered to him, reading the cover. It certainly seems like it would be able to help, though he would have to admit that a part of him is very wary of augmenting the prosthetic too far.

But it is not so different from crafting a new tool for it, is it not? And he and the Sculptor had done that several times over, throughout his mission.

He gives a slow nod, folding the book under his right arm. "You do not know any such witches, then?" He knows so little of magic. He supposes he could ask on the network, but... the last time he'd asked a question there, he'd realized how little he understood about how it worked. Since then, he'd mostly stayed away from it.

[halfmoon]

"No, sorry," Makoto says, shaking his head. "I only know a handful of witches in the first place. It shouldn't be too hard, though. You've got one of these, right?"

Makoto pulls out his pocket watch and holds it up to him. "You can put out a call for a witch. I'm sure someone can help or point you in the right direction."

But he's sensing some hesitation from him. Maybe he's - who knows, shy? It's not impossible. He seems sort of quiet.

"I still haven't asked your name," he says after realizing his rudeness. "My name is Makoto Yuuki."

[divineconfetti]

Wolf doesn't seem to upset or surprised by the answer. It had been worth a shot. Truth be told, he only knew a handful of witches as well, and this doesn't seem to be the kind of magic that they would be very interested in. But there has to be someone in this city. He would just have to reach out to them.

His dark eyes calmly observe the pocket watch. He pauses a moment, then gives a curt nod. "Yes. I have used it before."

There is a notable pause.

"It did not go as I planned." Mostly because he hadn't known at all how it worked as a communicator, instead basically using it like a magic mirror one might pose any sort of vague question into. The people responding had been just as confused as he had been. But, for the most part, he knows better now. "But I will ask."

He's just a shinobi from Sengoku Period Japan who doesn't understand all of this newfangled instant communication technology, even if it's jammed into a magical watch.

For most people, asking their name is a simple and easy question. It's always strange to ask Wolf, because there's always a look on his face which makes you think this is not exactly an easy question for him. But that's because he doesn't have a name — he just uses what is easiest, even if it isn't strictly-speaking accurate. "Yuuki. You may call me Wolf." He gives a short, polite nod of the head. "Thank you for your help."

[halfmoon]

Wolf strikes Makoto as an unexpected name. He'd been assuming the man is Japanese, like him, considering how many other mirrorbound are Japanese. Also, that's... sort of an ironic name, isn't it? Between that and the hesitation, Makoto wonders if it could be an alias, although he's not sure why the man would feel the need to keep his real name from him.

"I can help you with your watch too, if you want." The lack of familiarity with what is essentially a cell phone is another sign that Wolf is different than Makoto had assumed. At any rate, he isn't alone in finding the pocketwatches foreign or hard to use. "You're welcome either way. My username is 'tatsuya,' if you ever wanna ask for help with something else. I don't mind."

[divineconfetti]

That's because it's not a name; it is just more convenient to call a beast what it is than by nothing at all. But he's not wrong. It is a very ironic name, given the way that he had begun to transform once he arrived in this city. He doesn't think much of it; certainly there is no divine design to their designations? For the most part, it seems random. His random selection had just been more amusing than others.

It is not that Wolf's identity is secret -- he simply doesn't have one to give. A boy had once had a name, given to him by his parents. But they had been reaped by war, and the boy had been scavenged by an owl from the battlefield; he had taken him in as a cub, and he had left the boy he had been behind.

To illustrate his complete unfamiliarity with the device, Wolf's eyes are somewhat vacant, and he merely repeats, "'Username'..." before falling silent once more. It almost seems more trouble than it is worth. If he wishes to speak with someone, he will just find them. Why would he want to speak to strangers?

"I do not think that is necessary." Pause. "...But," he sighs through his nose. "If it is something I must do and I have a question, I will inquire of you."

[halfmoon]

"Yeah. It's the written name that comes up next to people's messages. You've seen those, right? One of them shows up next to your posts and replies too."

Makoto offers him a small smile, hoping to put him at ease. It's fine if he doesn't know how to use it or doesn't want to use it. Makoto is simply trying to help him out.

"I'm mostly away during the night instead of the day, but I'll answer you whenever I see that you've messaged me." Makoto gestures back towards the front of the store, where the sales clerk is.

[divineconfetti]

"...I see."

He still seems awkward about it. Imagine your ancient grandfather fumbling around with his phone, trying to understand how instant messengers work. Now imagine that about twenty times worse, because Wolf is from a time well before even phones or telegraphs had entered the realm of communication technology. There's a reason why he typically just ignores the thing.

Well, he hadn't expected to do much more in the bookstore than wander the aisles and feel uncomfortably nostalgic, but Makoto has single-handedly salvaged this outing. He at the very least has something useful in hand. He nods, thinking he wouldn't mind at all when the young man responded to the messages.

"Thank you. You have been a great help. ...Should you require any aid or information, in the future, I would be happy to repay you."

He's big on that kind of thing. The only help he either gives or receives without thought of equalling the scales was that to Lord Kuro, and that was only because of the oath he had sworn.

Regardless, if there was nothing else to be discussed... the wolfish turnskin finally turns to make his way towards the counter, to purchase the book and then go on with his day.