vatheon | Boredom and science! And then more boredom.

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Boredom and science! And then more boredom.

Who: Sol Badguy, anyone who runs into him
Where: Plaza
When: ~~Present day, present ti--wait, wrong canon~~ Mid-afternoon, 21st
Style: I'll follow you~
Status: Open!

This place, Sol reflected in annoyance, was bullshit. He pulled his hand back from the coral, considering what all he'd witnessed that week and what he'd experienced since his arrival. People wandering around looking one way one day, and looking another the next. Even the boy scout looked like he'd been converted--not that Sol'd been too worried about that; no sudden Gear signatures. Hadn't seen Dizzy around, on that note, but he figured she was alright. This thing was definitely temporary, but also a nuisance. As far as he could tell, though, it was just a matter of magic being tampered with. Not too unlike converting it into a weapon, just a different process with similar results that weren't permanent.

Probably linked to this coral shit. Presumably brief transformation. Possibly instantaneous. Contact with the coral required for symbiotic maintenance, possible biological component in addition to presumable magical component.

The scientist started running theories--spouting them, scratching them, drawing up new ones. Looking for the math. Sol shut off the instinctive process, reminding himself he didn't have enough data to indulge in that just yet. No point, waste of energy.

Not a magician, not a biologist, no means to study this thing from the inside out.

So instead, Sol shoved his hands in his pockets and sort of stared at the glowing mass for a minute longer.

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Sollux was heading to the coral to touch it, himself. He laid his hand on the mass, grimacing a little, then glanced over at the man just standing there, staring at the coral.

"You just touch it," he said, cocking his head. His voice had a trace of a lisp. "You don't have to make out with it."

Sol didn't even bother to look over at the kid when he spoke. No shit, Sherlock; tell him something that wasn't glaringly obvious. But after a second of trying to decipher his peripheral vision (what the Hell kind of...), the man shifted only enough to give him a single, impassive look.

"Tell me somethin' I di'n' know," Sol drawled, the words half-falling and tumbling together instead of really being spoken.

Sollux shrugged, lifting a clawed hand to scratch the base of one horn. "Just trying to help, buddy."

Then try not starting off by being a little prick, part of Sol wanted to retort, but the man generally didn't care enough to actually voice it. Instead, he just made the least clear noise known to the multiverse.

"Hn."

Ky didn't go to the coral expecting to see Sol, but now that he had this was perhaps fortuitous. After all, he didn't really want to bother Sol on the SFC -- at least not when it was such an easy thing to ignore -- but he kind of did want to bother Sol.

So Ky let a smile touch his lips as he approached. "Have you given any thought toward joining the Defense Force yet? I'm certain that Minato would be happy to have you assigned to a sector."

Tch, and of course the boy scout would come calling at every chance he got. Sadly, there was no door to slam in Ky's face to reject popcorn and pretzels or whatever the Hell they eventually wound up selling other than being too damn earnest and sincere for their own good. The look--passing, brief look--he spared Ky was one that read lazy disinterest.

He didn't bother offering any kind of verbal reply, but then Ky probably expected that by now. Shit if he didn't feel like the kid would'a been standing there, bouncing on his toes if he were some 12 years younger some two hundred years ago.

Having expected it, Ky didn't let himself be put off by the lack of words, and by the sign that he was sure Sol's body language was supposed to portray. If he gave up that easily, he'd never get Sol to do anything. Ky could barely understand Sol's tendency toward inactivity. Simply sitting there looking at the coral could hardly be meaningful, and it hardly counted as a good long-term strategy either.

"If there's any chance of attack -- and I believe that there's certainly at least that -- then it would be better to be prepared." Ky tried a smile, although he knew it wasn't like it would help. "It would be ultimately less effort that way."

Sol's stance shifted back, weight on his heels as he regarded the blond from the corner of his eyes. Right, kid was learning. That didn't mean squat, though. But he'd be persistent about this if Sol didn't answer the way he wanted, wouldn't he? The fire user rolled his neck, maintaining something akin to disinterest while he turned the situation over in his head.

If there really was a chance for attack (which there always was, it didn't matter where you were), Sol'd move in when he figured someone needed him. But if Ky was going to harass him about joining this force (kid needed to learn what a vacation was, Christ), then he'd be better off in the sanity department to just say "okay" and be done with it.

"It would." But don't expect him to be an active participant.

Ky knew what vacations were! In theory. He'd been told to take one a couple of times, although it had never seemed the time for that. Was there a time, when duty would be fulfilled and taking a break would seem, well... at least less irresponsible than it usually did? In Ky's opinion, probably not, since he did seem to go out and find that duty as often as it found him.

That much certainly seemed to hold true in Vatheon, although Ky knew enough about this underwater city to be concerned by it, and to think that simply accepting it as it was and hoping that it would continue to be the warless place it seemed would be too much. He knew it was better to be prepared, although he was thinking less in terms of effort expended and more in terms of their chances of survival. There were quite a lot of people here who didn't have a military background.

"If you won't join the Defense Force, then would you at least be willing to spar with me on occasion?" Worth a try, at least, Ky figured. (But then, he thought most things were.)

With Ky, vacations were probably a necessity that was sorely being neglected. The kid was frying his brains from doing too much at once, which accounted for his impossible-to-tolerate-unless-you-were-some-kind-of-saint personality. Basically, Sol's polar opposite (though it'd still take a saint to tolerate either of them). Difference was, Sol avoided work if it was easier than doing it (and if doing it was easier, he did as little as he could), and Ky actively sought it out. Even if he didn't need to do it. Ky spearheading some kind of defense or justice system was not at all surprising.

Though that kinda responsibility should've fallen to the locals, not their unwitting guests.

Whatever. Sol didn't feel like saying anything in any direction about this other than what would get this conversation over with. ...Which was a decision abruptly derailed by something else he should have expected.

Ky really should learn to just give up on some things.

Sol watched him with an unreadable expression, mostly blank, mostly peering down his nose.

"Be easier 'n listenin' t' you nag me 'bout work." But that didn't mean he agreed.

Edited 2012-08-25 00:46 (UTC)

Vacations were a deliberate excuse not to work. That was, as far as Ky could tell, the only thing they did, which made them more than a little bit pointless when work wasn't a thing that he wanted to avoid. He rather liked working, it allowed him to help people and make himself useful. There wasn't really any point to sitting around if he wasn't going to do something. God had surely saved him for some purpose, and him being brought here must be similar.

At least it made the fact that he was here a good deal easier.

Ky met Sol's eyes, practically simmering under what he was sure was going to be an immediate no, with no more thought given than he had to the idea of the Defense Force. It was clearly going to be more work, and just as clearly that meant that Sol wasn't going to do it, as if that was what mattered the most. As if that mattered at all!

Still, what Sol said wasn't an immediate no, so Ky perked up hopefully.

"It wouldn't have to be too often, maybe just every month or so." Maybe Ky would be able to get him to agree.

Kenshin had long since become accustomed to touching the coral on a normal basis. He'd been in this odd bubble world for so long, that it all just started feeling normal.

And while he visited the plaza often, Thermos filled with sake in hand, here he found someone new, someone who reminded him a bit of Shingen, with the wild hair and red colors. He touched the coral for a moment, then turned to the other man. "Quite a wonder, is it not? The coral is quite a mystery."

The bounty hunter glanced over briefly, offering no reply other than a grunt; yeah, he heard you, but he wasn't about to actually say anything back. No need to, no want to. Sol reached back to a pocket to pluck out a pack of cigarettes, slipping one out to put between his lips and light with less than half a care and a scarce gathering of flame through his magic. Ky should be pleased; he didn't use the Fireseal to do it.

But a mystery? Yeah, that summed it up. Said nothing about it, too, other than no one knew what to make of it. Sol scanned the thing again with no change in his expression, and chose to speak a moment later around the cigarette filter.

"Know anything about it?"

Interesting. Fire magic. Kenshin still couldn't get over how much he looked like Yukimura or at least someone that served Takeda. The fire affinity made it even more of a possibility.

But alas, that was Kenshin being hopeful to see another Takeda here. Sol's reaction was far too calm to be a Takeda soldier. Kenshin had a bit of a reputation with them.

But anyway, he glanced back at Sol before returning to observing the coral. "This coral is shrouded in great mystery. The locals refuse to speak about it, simply offering smiles in response. However, I can tell you we are connected to it. Some believe that this coral is what controls the events of this land."

Sol was definitely none of that, Kenshin. The era was wrong, the nation of origin was wrong--"Proud to Be an American" maybe not, but definitely one of 'em--and wrong species at this point, definitely. Sol scarcely reacted to being looked at, outwardly indifferent to whatever the man said or did while inwardly... about as indifferent. He had an eye on the guy, but that was about it. Also "calm" he might be, but it was really more of just not caring.

That commentary earned a small smirk, though, and the man scoffed along with it. Sounded familiar.

"That so." The only reason for not being straight with someone was to hide something: either the fact of not knowing anything about the subject, or for there being a purpose to keeping quiet. Kinda how certain cults were, back in the day. And it might be that there was some connection between the coral and the ecosystem; there was certainly one between it and the inhabitants. Could be something like an environmental control but with a different purpose. Maybe that was why there was the energy exchange (for lack of a better descriptor). "Makes ya wonder."

"Indeed it does," he agreed. For two years, he had attempted to discover the mysteries of the coral. And for two years Kenshin hadn't found a single answer. All he knew was that it was connected to the power of this place, that it somehow had brought people here, and that the locals called it Lamufao. Not all of those were particularly clear or absolute.

"Little beyond that is truly known." He unscrewed the top of the thermos he had carried with him, taking a sip. It was sake, of course. He never seemed to leave the house without some.

Moses was always interested in exploring the bubble. Seeing everything that was here, and exploring all the new things that were around. He had never been under the sea, so it had to be interesting! As he was walking around, he saw this man who was just staring at... something. But he wasn't sure what. And like a loud guy who people found annoying, he had to find out more.

"Hey! Hey! What are ya doin'?" Walking right up to him and looking right at him.

Sol sort of... peered at the noisemaker, drawing the conclusion that annoyance was forthcoming and avoiding it was the best course of action if he couldn't find some way to chase it off easily enough. ...Nah, fuck it, he'd just walk away. He didn't care enough to deal with this at all. What did it look like he was doing, anyway? You see someone staring at something in the middle of a plaza, they're probably staring at something in the middle of a plaza. Pretty straight-foward if you asked him.

Moses doesn't follow your crazy logic, Sol. No, he's pretty awful at following any logic at all. So, despite him walking away, Moses walks up to him anyways... no, runs up to him to try and keep up. "Hey! Hey where are ya goin'?! I wanna talk!" He raised his hand, trying to keep up with him.

...This kid's more annoying than Ky was at that age. Sheesh. Sol didn't bother looking back to know that he was being followed; the shouting was enough indication of that. He still didn't bother looking back once Moses caught up, either. Keep yammering on as much as you like, kid, Sol'll only tune you out. He's had practice. The raised hand is new, though. Still as obnoxious as Ky.

Moses is actually probably worse than most kids his age, because unlike them, he was six feet tall, full of muscle, and could jump like a boss. "Hey!" Now he was getting angry. So he stood still, ran up and attempted to tackle Sol to the ground by surprise. "Don't ya ignore me like tha'!"

Probably true.

And Sol was probably going to grate on every last one of Moses' nerves since he's a boss at ignoring everything but what he wants to pay attention to which, as earlier behaviour reflected wasn't Moses.

Until that whole tackling thing. Little things are what let you know when you're about to be attacked: the sound of shifting feet on the ground, breathing, a moving object tearing through still air. Some people were better tuned for that kind of thing, too. Sol was one such person. As Moses ran, Sol just kind of... side stepped. It was a rough, lazy movement, and the man hadn't really seemed to give much thought to it.

"What w'ssat?" Yep, can't hear you, what's that?

Moses wasn't expecting him to move like that! What an ass! He completely slipped and slid across the ground with that clumsy landing, smacking his face hard and getting it all bruised up. But if that's all it took to keep him down, he wouldn't be so adventurous. With a quick flip, he was right back on his feet.

"Hey! Yer a jerk! Don't do shit like that!" All scruffed up and yet not phased at all.

Well, you said you hadn't seen Dizzy for a while, so there she was, looking at you with curiosity.

"Is there something wrong?"

Oh hey, speak of the devil. There's an odd sort of relief in seeing her, but Sol didn't bother examining it too closely. Innocence was something to keep safe; that's all he figured it was. He gave a sort of hum in initial response to her question.

"Know anything about this?" He gestured generally in the coral's direction with a nod of his head.

Dizzy looked at the coral.

"I'm afraid I don't know too much. Just... that the coral is worshipped as a deity by locals, that it can't be destroyed and that it has many strange powers..."

A deity, huh? Like that ever ended well. Sol snorted, the sound only enough to note his thoughts, and he rolled a shoulder.

"Doesn' seem like people say much more'n that." Or there just didn't seem to be any further information running around. Locals hiding something, a venue of information was entirely cut off--something. If no one bothered to try and determine the cause and effect of a thing like this, then he was stuck with a bunch of idiots. "How's it seem to affect you?" How does it affect Gears?

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Boredom and science! And then more boredom.

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l-lol feel free to drop I just feel weird knowing I have tags left ;;

Haha no, it's cool! Def. interested in continuing!

I'm late to everything

Issall good. ♥

♥♥♥

And then I fell off the ball for everything ever.