Momiji Sohma (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
selfishwish) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
middaeg2019-10-07 12:17 am
selfishwish) wrote in middaeg2019-10-07 12:17 am
[OPEN] I wanna say I'm sorry for stuff I haven't done yet
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.)]
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.)]
no subject
[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?
no subject
[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.
no subject
[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?
no subject
[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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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?
no subject
But he's willing to give it a try! He needs the distraction lately, anyway. So, what can he say but--]
Ready!
[He all but cheers, rabbit ears perked straight up.]
no subject
Also those ears...cute.]
All right. So all you have to do...is pretend you're not interested. You sync your energy with everyone else-you're just looking around, browsing, walking to dinner.
That's it.
no subject
[That makes sense! But he can see how it'd be tricky: If the person he's following's on the move, he'd have to figure out what everyone was doing as he went and how to look like he was doing the same thing!
Also there's the part where he's a tiny puca child, and that doesn't necessarily lend itself to looking typical in a lot of places.]
That doesn't sound that hard. I can play it cool! [Can he, though?] I'd just need to practice some more.
[On unsuspecting strangers!]
no subject
So...you think you can play it cool though?
[Yeah she's pretty sure that heart is on his sleeve.]
Let's see you do it.
[It's a puca pop quiz!]
no subject
Oh! Right now...? Umm--
[That's no fair, he wasn't even paying attention to what anyone else out on the street has been getting up to while they've been talking! And his hurried looks in all directions to scope out the scene are not exactly subtle.]
But! Who am I s'posed to be keeping an eye on?
[He asks, while he at least starts to get a little more casual. The stretch of street they're on is mostly a stroll between shops, with the occasional window-browser but mostly just local Aefenglomers (Aefenglomians? Aefenglomites?) popping in and out on daily errands. There's a bakery, a greengrocer's, a cafe or two...that sort of thing. So, he sticks his hands in his pockets and falls in close at hand at Sokie's elbow and tries as hard as he can to look very bored as he throws looks between Sokie and the shops nearby.
This masterful disguise is called the "Moooom, are we done yet?" And he does absolutely have the pout down to a tee! Whether that counts as "blending in" is...up to interpretation? If we're being charitable.]
no subject
[She grinned down at him. Sorry Momiji, this is something they have to do on the fly.]
No one right now. That's after. Let's see how you do this.
[She watches him, watching with some amused interest. People are around, and they're not really paying attention, but...hm.
Sokie moved her arm around him as a kind of a light, sideways hug-easy to wiggle away from if he wanted to.]
Not half bad. Think you can keep up the pout and possibly a sulky walk away and back?
no subject
Mm, like this...?
[Once he's gotten that flicker of excitement under control, though, he rolls with the suggestion. There's a feigned squirm back against her arm and a roll of his eyes. (He's doing his best to channel his cousin Hiro, mostly!) Then he breaks away to idly stroll off towards the patio of one of the cafes outside, taking his time at peering in the windows, sullenly displeased with all the sights within and everyone who his eyes beat to, crossing on the street.
He's overselling it a lot, but nobody can say he's not a natural at make-believe.]
Can we do something else, now?
[He asks, when he's traipsed his way back--and, okay, there's that grin again. It's a tell.]
no subject
He does seem to be enjoying himself. She can tell that much. When he comes back, she nods, and starts to move forward.]
Yes, of course. We can keep on browsing.
[She glanced down at him briefly, before glancing down the street. She'd tell him her assessment once they had walked a little ways.]
no subject
[He might be enjoying himself a little too much--he can't quite get through that mock-angsty groan without corpsing at the end, and then he has to cover his mouth with one hand to suppress any further giggles.
But he does seem to have at least a general handle on the game, now. While they move along, he uses sullen refusal to look back at his chaperone as an excuse to turn his gaze everywhere else. His ears keep low, and he does his stalwart best to trudge along and not perk up, even when he gives in and glances back towards Sokie for signs of approval.
The "blending in" bit still isn't natural, exactly, but he has decent instincts for reading his surroundings, at least.]
How am I doing?
[He hazards a "Hey, psst!" sort of whisper, once they've strolled on a ways.]
no subject
You're getting there.
[Her voice was pitched at a low murmur.]
But you're having a little too much fun. Try to pretend you're about to go somewhere you'd dread. Like...the dentist. Or to the dojo when Kyo just had an energy drink and you agreed to help as a test dummy for some reason.
no subject
[He snickers--but, okay, he gets the picture. The physical play-acting is fine, but he needs to really get into character! Find his motivation to be the moodiest he can possibly be!
...and, actually, it doesn't even take reaching past recent memory to find something close to what he's looking for? He remembers the doldrums from his last couple of shifts at the Snapped String when that recent, fathomless boredom set in. That had been kind of dreadful, right? He tries to hold onto that feeling: the unpleasant pit that'd opened up in his stomach, the squirming, fidgety urges that giving into hadn't helped at all, and then the antsiness that lingered afterward.
It's not great! Which is to say, it absolutely does the trick: There's a deep breath in and out and a look of concentration, but after that the telltale flickers of mirth are all tamed. Even his distracted act's a little more convincing--his long ears droop and twitch along with his slightly skulking glances around now, more out of instinct than anything as he gets in the mood.]
...harrumphh.
[Still a little over-the-top, though, probably.]
no subject
[She grins, and touches his shoulder briefly. Yeah poor Momiji would not have a good time if he did that.
But she watches as he thinks about it, and he goes through the motions of remembering. And it's better, far more genuine. Still...she lightly tweaks one ear.]
You're getting there. You don't have to do it too hard-it might be depressing if you do.