[OPEN] I wanna say I'm sorry for stuff I haven't done yet

[selfishwish]

Who: Momiji Sohma & You!
When: Oct. 5 - 13
Where: Around Aef: Residential Districts; the Harbor; Desmodus Mori
What: Semi-catchall for Octeuril; Momiji grows a puca's knack for getting into trouble.
Warnings: Bad decisions; possible vampire stuff.


I. Finders (Haven & Residential Districts)

[He is just so...itchy lately.

It's hard to explain. No one would ever have called Momiji the sitting-still, hands-to-himself type. He's energetic! But lately, without warning or explanation, it's different. It's like the world feels just a little too slow. Like he'll just be doing normal stuff--say, having lunch--and out of the blue life drags to a crawl, as if he were stuck sitting through the last fifteen minutes of class before summer break. Only forever.

His shifts with Particularly Good Finders are one of the only parts of the day that's consistently tedium-free. After that first slow day where he decided to see how big a tower of files he could make before anyone stopped him, the puca detectives have deemed it a good idea to find some tasks their newest junior assistant could help out with out-of-office.

Conveniently, with all the porch sales going on in the run up to Samuin, there are plenty of easy pickings for casual investigations: Everything from jilted friends wanting to make sure acquaintances aren't giving away that one book they borrowed and never returned, to claims of stolen property, to jealous partners just wanting to get a good snoop in. The Finders only give him the simplest assignments, but at least they're something to do!

Usually, the jobs are easy: He hops over to a sale or open house and digs around a little. Roots about for a missing item, asks after it, gets a look at any interested buyers. He looks like any other customer, mostly. But every so often they're more interesting, and he gets to stake out a spot for the afternoon or tail someone. It's always possible that you'll look up to see the kid who was kicking a ball against the curb a second ago furiously scribbling in a miniature notebook. Or innocently pick up some rare-looking book or trinket and, fifteen minutes later, find the same little blond not-so-discreetly shadowing you down the street, peeking out from behind corners and street displays.

He's still working on practicing the whole "stealth" thing.]

2. Samuin (Harbor District)

[Another fun thing about this new restlessness: No one in Aefenglom can tell him to go to bed. Or even when to be home by! And did you know that down by the Harbor the pubs have street parties going on until almost dawn, most nights?

Momiji learns this mostly by accident, but it's a fascinating discovery. None of the parties are boring! And over the week that follows he can be found all over them, almost every other night, sometimes for two or three nights in a row. There's just too much fun stuff to do: One night he'll be playing violin and learning sea shanties, with lots of place-names he can't pronounce and sailor argot that he really shouldn't use.

The next he'll be camped out at a table of men each twice his size, playing at cards or dice. They start off laughing at the bright-eyed pipsqueak squirming his way into an open seat, but by midway through the night he's getting as intense a set of stares from across the table as any other player as he peeks at his cards from behind a mounting pile of cunes.]

...having four of the same one is good, right?

[He says with complete innocence, but then the last card for the round flips over and he can't help but beam, sticking out his tongue at whoever's across the table from him. Is that wise, given the company? Probably not. He suspects he should be a little scared, doing it. Actually, from how fast his heart's beating, he's pretty sure he is.]

Ta-dah!

[And the funny thing is, after a week's worth of itching, it is kind of just...the best?]

3. Blood for Bucks (Desmodus Mori)

[The way this story ends is that, by the time the weekend rolls around, there's a bunny in a vampire bar.

Don't look at him like that. It's for a good cause! He saw a flyer about a blood-drive! Wanting to check that out is being humanitarian. And given who's on the receiving end, it has the benefit of being a seasonally-appropriate spooky blood drive! (Unrelated: He's gotten a little sick of sea shanties by this point.) Of course, he's tried to dress up for the vibe of the place. All black felt a little too cliche--and, also, his wardrobe was too colorful to pull it off--but he's picked out one of his dressier shirts in dark purple with a lace collar, matched against the paler shade of his thigh-high socks.

The place doesn't look that scary, all things considered, but he's still shivering just a little--whether from nerves or excitement--as he clambers up on a bar-stool.]

Umm, [He starts skittishly, before smiling at the bartender and sliding the leaflet he brought with him across the bar.] Can I get a ginger ale? And maybe, like...do you have dessert?

[His nose wrinkles in contemplation.]

You're supposed to eat before you give blood, right? Or is it right after?

4. Catch-All

[If you want to run into Momiji for the first half of the month anywhere not covered by the prompts above, feel free to hit me up with an idea! (He'll also be doing, inter alia, rehearsals for Mozart's opera, which he will probably be quite sleepy for.)]

Comments

3

[mantiger]

From what I was told, you're supposed to eat at least three hours before donating. . . mostly iron-rich foods, I think? And make sure you drink an extra amount of water.

And after, you want to drink a lot, too.

Re: 3

[selfishwish]

Really? [Momiji perks up at the answer, swiveling around to blink at the other young man.]

...I had lunch earlier, so I guess that's okay, then.

[Thouhh it does kind of make dessert a moot point. Still, he's going to hold up the little menu the bartender offers, all the same.]

Huh. D'you think the red velvet gateau's red 'cause...y'know?

[mantiger]

It might be. . .? I mean, if this is supposed to be a place for vampires, then I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Although it probably would stop being red after a while, I'm pretty sure, since blood doesn't stay red the entire time when it's out of the body.

[selfishwish]

Eww, yuck.

[The only thing grosser than blood cake would be funky, old blood cake.

Though, maybe a vampire wouldn't think so? Most of the stuff on the menu looks like it has some form of vampiric addition. So, maybe that was rude?

He glances back to Atsushi, then, trying to size up how pale and/or fangly he looks in the dim bar lighting.]

Um, soo, are you here to donate too?

[mantiger]

Actually, I donated a little earlier myself.

[ He subconsciously pulls a bit at his collar as if a little flustered. ]

I decided that I wanted to hang around a little bit and see everything else, though.

[selfishwish]

Really?

[The puca's ears perk higher in interest, and he glances down towards Atsushi's neck. He is still pretty curious about how this actually works.]

Did it hurt a lot? I mean, did you just get...chomped on?

[mantiger]

Ah, my coworker did feed on me for some of it, but he also took blood through a. . .

[ He doesn't like even saying the word 'needle'. There's no good associations there. ]

It didn't hurt too much, though.

[selfishwish]

Huh. That's good, I guess! If it's just like drawing blood at the doctor, it doesn't sound like it'd be that bad?

[He figures that's what Atsushi means, though the hesitation's a little surprising. He definitely would've figured the nerve-wracking bit would be the other way around!]

Getting bit for real sounds a lot scarier.

1

[whydogs]

Do you mind not tailing me like that? It's annoying and I'm pretty sure I haven't even done anything illegal.


[At least, she was pretty sure she hadn't!]

Did you want something?

[selfishwish]

[Oh no, spotted! Momiji freezes in place and immediately shoots a glance from side to side, as if looking for something to conveniently duck behind. But, alas, he's caught out in the open--and following a little too close to feign ignorance.]

Oh, um--hi!

[So, since he can't pretend he didn't get caught, he's just going to clasp his hands together and beam at Jill like he's introducing himself to a new friend at school!]

Sorry, I didn't mean to make you nervous or anything! I just kinda had a silly question--did you buy anything at that porch-sale back there?

[whydogs]

[Alright what the fuck?

Honestly it would've been less weird if they'd just came clean that they were stalking her.]

Not really. I'm just browsing around and looking at all this shit I can't afford.

Why?

2

[integrous]

[ Antsy thoughts have Asahi taking more walks lately. Even during the evening. Sure, it's not exactly her favourite time to walk around - things are super spooky in this place to her even when it's not as freaky as it can be at its worst - but what else is she supposed to do other than just lying in bed and feeling unable to go to sleep?

Her walk happens to bring her past one of the parties at the harbor district. She only vaguely looks over to what's going on there, not too interested..

.. until she spots one person who seriously stands out compared to the sailors. And it's not even just the rabbit ears. Momiji is just so much smaller than those bigger guys, and--

Is he teasing them? That sounds like a recipe for trouble. And Asahi sucks at ignoring trouble. ]

H-hey..! [ For once it's a good thing Asahi's voice is so loud that it carries even though she's shouting from a distance before starting to run in the direction of the party. The feathered wings on her back twitch with emotion. ] What are you doing here?!

[selfishwish]

[He is, maybe, pushing his luck just a little bit far tonight. Literally, in a sense: He's not even that good at the game they're playing, compared to the more seasoned sailors...but the right cards just keep turning over, when he stays in a hand longer than he ought to. Probably, the group would've put up more of a fuss over letting a puca play, if he hadn't looked like such an easy mark when he sat down.

So, the table's patience was wearing thin, even before he got comfortable enough to start being a brat. And the man who's out the most from that last hand is starting to say something about how he'll be missing that tongue the next time he lets it go wagging, but--

Asahi chooses a good moment to interrupt.]

Asahi! Hi...!

[Momiji spins around in his seat to greet her, waving as she draws near. He's a little surprised to see her out at this hour, too, but...then again, he doesn't have room to talk. The way she dashes through the crowd towards them gives him pause, though. Her feathers are actually ruffled!]

Just playing! I'm learning all the different card games the sailors here know.

What are you doing out?

[integrous]

[ It's kind of amazing how calm he seems about all of this while Asahi feels like her heart may just burst straight out of her chest if it starts beating any more rapidly than it already is right now. She definitely caught the tail end of the remark from that guy, and.. welp. That sure didn't sound good. ]

Uh, I.. just...

[ This would be a really good time for Asahi to be someone who was actually capable of lying. (Or willing to, really.) It'd sure make thinking up an excuse to get him away from here more easily. ]

I was just walking around and saw you playing here with your.. new friends..! [ Those two words have never been said in a more tense-gritted-teeth kind of way. ] Isn't it kind of late for you to still be out here?

[selfishwish]

["Calm" might be giving him too much credit. His heart's pounding, too, and when he speaks he sounds slightly breathless. But he's keeping it together well! His hands don't shake as he rakes in the cunes from the last round while beaming back at Asahi.

He's certainly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, though.]

Not really. They have parties like this like every night before Samuin! They're pretty neat. It's like--staying up the last night before the New Year! [Only, you know, for an entire month.] ...And you're here too.

[That last note's in an amicably conspiratorial tone, not a defensive one. Behind him, meanwhile, the new dealer splits the cards between his hands, then flips them back together, starting to pass them around. As Momiji stays turned around, the man grunts: "In or out?"]

In--duh, silly!

[integrous]

[ Asahi is halfway through mouthing the word "out" when he's already saying in, which makes it turns into a strangled sort of noise instead as she buries her face in her hands for a second.

This just isn't going very well, huh.

After shooting a nervous glance in the direction of the men, she leans over even closer to Momiji to be able to whisper - and this time even try to properly keep her volume down so they can't hear her. ]

Listen, after this round I need a moment to talk to you, okay? Privately.

[ And drag him away. But she doesn't have to tell him that, right? Right. ]

[selfishwish]

Aw, okay. What about?

[He thinks he can maybe guess, given the distressed way Asahi hides her face when he announces his intent to stay in another hand. But he can play innocent about that, too. And, besides, he's fine, clearly! Not only is he winning, he's pretty sure the other guys at the table have a bark that's way worse than their bite?

He's played like this a couple of nights now, and he's only seen one person physically thrown out of the group.]

Umm, let's see. I bet...this much!

[He swivels back to the table, finally, when the round's underway and the action's circled back to him. Eyeballing a little tower of coins, he scoops them into one palm and splashes into the center of the table with everyone else's antes.

"How much, rodent?" the dealer grunts back irritably.]

Oh, right! Eight...hundred? And I'm a rabbit.

[integrous]

[ Honestly, with her ability to be able to pick up lies, Asahi completely believes the innocent act. But before she can give him a proper answer, the game is already underway once more, so she quickly shuts her mouth.

Instead she just moves so she's standing behind Momiji. The girl quickly sticks her hands into her pockets, since she sure does not want to be giving off even the slightest sign that could be interpreted as her helping him cheat. So she ends up looking almost more like a bodyguard with how she's standing near him. A really awkward-looking one though. ]

Yeah..! You can't just go around calling people rodents!

[ Okay, so Asahi doesn't want trouble. But her conscience would also absolutely never allow her to just let that "rodent" comment pass without her commenting on it. She bristles a bit, her wings moving along with the emotion. ]

I

[weirdnecro]

Dear boy, you're not very good at this.

[She'd noticed him of course. There'd just been a slight prickling at her neck, and she'd turned around and...there he was. Momiji looked better then he sounded on the call, but it didn't mean that everything was fine.

Sokie slid a hand into her pocket, and started walking his way, smiling at him.]

Was I supposed to be your practice target? Or did I accidentally mess it up?

[selfishwish]

...aww, rats.

[Sokie was, in fact, a practice target.

If she'd ended up picking up an item he was actually supposed to be following, he probably would have just run over to tell her? But his actual shift for the day had turned out to be a dead-end, and so it seemed like a good chance to get in some professional development in his free time. Seeing someone he recognized just made picking out a target more convenient!]

I didn't think you'd spot me that quick.

[He pops out from behind the corner he was peeking around and stays put as Sokie heads over.]

What gave me away?

[weirdnecro]

Don't worry about it.

[She grinned at him, walking over until she was standing in front of him. Once she was there, she made to rest her hand on her hip, taking him in. Ah...he was looking more like a puca. Still cute though.]

I'm used to following my gut, and so when I thought someone was creeping around...

[She jerked her thumb over her shoulder.]

I used a shiny surface to check. The blond hair is easy to spot.

[selfishwish]

So, I should look out for reflective stuff? ...and buy a hat!

[By the time Sokie makes it over to him, of course, Momiji's already fully recovered from his failure, and he grins cheekily up at her, hands on his hips.

The hat part, at least, sounds manageable. The other bit seems a little harder? And, then, there's still the matter of Sokie's gut...if someone had actually done something to have a detective on their tail, they'd probably be pretty on-guard, too! Hmm.]

Why'd you think someone was creeping around, though?

[weirdnecro]

A nice hat.

[She corrects, still smiling. Oh Momiji. She liked his spunky spirit, much better then him being spooked in the dream.]

I've been followed around before. Let's just say I've been in my fair share of mischief.

[Sokie winked, and settled into a more serious tone:]

Which meant that I'm a little more sensitive to that sort of thing, which means...I think we may have to do something completely and awful.

We may have to teach you how to blend in. That is, if you wanna win the game against me.

[selfishwish]

[Obviously, a nice hat! He titters softly at that. Sokie's next suggestion, though, is enough to distract him from trying to figure out the perfect style for discreet detectiving.]

Like...how to sneak around and not get spotted? Do you think you could teach me?

[He has a very kid-in-a-candy-shop look all of a sudden. The other puca at Finders haven't offered to train him like that at all--possibly because they're all shapeshifters. But until he can do that, too...]

I don't mind learning! It'd help out at work a lot.

[weirdnecro]

[Fashion is important! Some people don't realize that.]

I might be able to help you get started at least. It'll be hard-especially for someone as bright as you.

But I'm sure you could do it.

It can be boiled down to one simple thing. Ready to hear it?