deernet | [Voice] un: 008

Entry tags:

[Voice] un: 008

[The omni clicks on, audio already playing. It sounds tinny, like it's coming from a small speaker. It's slightly muffled, like there's someone blocking the sound a bit.]

[One of the voices on the audio is definitely Taro. The other voice is an almost croaking one, a little difficult to make out.]

---
"Right, so that's what you say I did. You're the one coming after me."

'You've crossed us for the last time, Watanabe. You might have been a big shot once, but not anymore. Now you're just scum.'

Taro huffs a little, almost laughing. "Are you kidding me? You're coming after me because I know things. Because I'm going to tell other people. Because you lot are just going to keep summoning -"

'Enough. You've said enough. Say your prayers. Any god of your choosing, doesn't matter.'

He laughs and there's a shuffling sound. "Fuck you. I don't need to pray to anyone."

There's the click of what sound like nails on a wooden floor, and then a loud squawk. The sounds of some kind of scuffle are audible, and Taro's heavy breathing. There's a gutteral cry of pain that dies down as the sound of the other person(?) gets up and starts walking away. Click... click... click... and then it's silent.
---

[There's the sound of a button of some kind being pushed and a sigh. Taro grunts in frustration for a moment and doesn't say anything for a few moments. There's a shuffling sound, and then a pause. ... Huh.]

Uh, hey Trench. Didn't see you there. Or... hear you? Anyway... huh. I... uh. Do you think those zealot guys are going to leave us alone? Kinda dangerous for someone like me to walk out at night. It's kind of frustrating, y'know?

Anyway... I'm still learning about this place. What's... uh. A good area to hang out at where there's not that many monsters? Kind of a noncombatant here.

Talk to you later. Taro out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I can see where you might have gotten the idea but... I'm almost positive this isn't the afterlife. I look at it more like a, uh, a second life.

[He huffs a little bit to hide his laughter. He remembers Second Life. But that's besides the point.]

Maybe. It's not like... not like I can go back, so...

[ Sharon hasn't even heard of that game before. If she had, she would've hated it. ]

You've got a new lease on life here, might as well take advantage of it.

Yeah, I guess. ... I mean, first is cleaning up where I live, probably. I mean I got a couch to crash on, but... uh. Still looks abandoned.

Need a hand?

... Yeah, I probably could use that. It's... um. It needs a few boards in some places. It's getting cold here.

What, you pick the saddest looking place you could find? [ she's just teasing. mostly ] Tell me where you're at and I'll come over.

Is there anything you need I can bring? Blankets, food, curtains for your windows? I've got some extra shit I can part with.

Sure. Here.

[He texts her an address that's in Cellar Door. It's basically an apartment.]

I'm not going to say no to any of that, really. There's not much here... I've only been able to scrounge up so much.

[At least he has a little bed for his omen, even if his bed is... the couch.]

All right, I'll be over in a few.

[ it takes her a bit to gather up some shit for him, maybe a little over an hour, but she's soon at his door knocking. she's got bags over both shoulders and a filled backpack on her back. her cheeks are bright pink from the cold and she's surprisingly underdressed for the weather, not that it appears to bother her any. ]

[It's not like he's doing much, just watching stuff on the omni. He opens the door when he hears her knocking though.]

Hey, come on in.

[It's basically a one-room apartment, with an area that has a sink and a little area cleared for a microwave. A rickety table sits nearby. In the main area there's a couch with a small pet bed beside it. His omen is lazing on it, yawning at Sharon's arrival.]

[The couch is... pretty beat-up. It's stained, but at least it looks soft. There's a little light from a lunar orb, but otherwise it's kind of dark inside. The windows are closed but it's still cold near them, and there's a few cracks in the wood that clearly need fixing.]

[There's a small pile of clothes in the corner - some of them look ratty and some of them look pretty new. It's a weird kind of mix.]

[ she steps in and takes a look around. oh. this is a sad-looking apartment and she knows a thing or two about sad-looking homes as she's lived in quite a few. she sets the bags down gently near the table and begins to pull things out. ]

I'm glad I brought some pillows and blankets. [ the blankets she pulls out are carefully folded and in shades of creme and salmon. the pillows she has to wiggle out of the bag, stuffed as tightly down as they are, and they've already got pillowcases on them. ]

You should talk to a few architects, and get them to come in and fix up the windows. They're good about doing work in exchange for favors and shit but I know a few that owe me, gave them some paint when I started making it. [ she says this as she continues to empty the bags. the pale curtains are wrapped around fat candles and she sets them down with a heavy clunk. ]

I can try to ask around... I don't really know any architects. You make paint, though?

[That's a little surprising. He takes the pillows and blankets over to the couch, setting them up so they're able to be used whether he's sleeping or not. The candles get a look, but he doesn't say anything about it.]

[Hoshi wanders over to her and yips before jumping up on the table to inspect things. She's got to make sure everything's in order.]

Suppose I should do it sooner rather than later. Winter's already here and it's probably not going to get any warmer soon...

Willful Machine is the best place to find them. I can go with you and help haggle if you need me to. [ she knows how intimidating this place can be even after the first few months. she was lucky she never had to do any of that herself when she first arrived. ] And, yeah, I make paints. I'm an artist and I paint a lot. I got tired of trying to find paints I enjoyed and learned to make my own. I can get quite a bit trading them, too.

[ she's not bothered when Hoshi wanders over and soon begins to set things before her intentionally to let her sniff and inspect. ]

It's cold as hell up through February so, yeah, I'd hop on that if I were you. [ she starts to pull things out from her other bag. this bag is full of food items, everything carefully canned and labeled in her sharp, angled handwriting. it's mostly fruits and vegetables but there's jars of soup and canned meats as well. ] I don't know what you prefer so I just grabbed a little bit of everything I have. [ there's a jar of honey and a few canisters of tea, too. ]

I can haggle, just need to know where to go. And huh. I'd be interested in seeing what you paint.

[The fox snuffles a little at some of the cans and looks up at her. Friend. Please give pets, friend.]

I'm not really picky. Can't really when there's sometimes not enough to go around. But yeah... I've dealt with cold before, but usually when holed up in motels...

I'd be happy to show you. [ if there is one thing she's proud of, it's her painting ability and she's always excited to show someone her work. ]

Well, there are a few inns around here that you could stay at while you wait for this place to be up to snuff? [ she tells him as she reaches to give Hoshi a bit of pet before getting back to removing things from her bags. she finally starts to remove non-canned goods. most of it seems to be pastries of some kind (they're poptarts. homemade poptarts) ]

Good. Fine art is priceless in a place like this. Even if you don't use it to trade for things, it's still important.

... I could. I guess. I could wash stuff for payment. Or, uh. ... I don't know, I kind of like the idea of being a Night Walker after talking to a few.

[Even if he doesn't... you know. He's perfectly happy chatting someone up and talking about nothing in general.]

I wouldn't call anything I create fine art but, yeah, I agree. For me, it helps keep my corruption down. [ she pours her heart into her art. often, that means her art is dark and a little messed up but it helps. ]

Oh, that's a great line of work. My, uh, my close friend is a Night Walker. [ she's not confident enough in their relationship to call her her girlfriend ] She's actually working on opening a place for Night Walkers. I bet she'd be happy to teach you the ins and outs and give you a place to work. Her name's Tinya.

Hey, don't sell yourself short.

[He listens and then laughs a little bit.]

I was talking to her before about it, yeah. We sort of ended up talking about our worlds, but... anyway, I told her I have some bartending experience - and everyone likes talking to the bartender about their problems, don't they?

I dunno, do they? [ listen she's never had a traditional bar experience in her life and it's not like she's frequents the bars and clubs here. ] I always thought it seemed kind of weird. I mean, I've never once wanted to chat about my problems with strangers.

I mean that's basically what therapy is. ... Except a bartender isn't trained, I suppose. But no, it's true - people tell their bartenders a lot of stuff. Their hairdressers, too. I'm not sure why the hairdresser, but the bartender I get - it's a drunk person thing. Or just... an "I don't want to drink alone" thing.

Wouldn't that suck? To listen to people bitch and moan? I don't think I could pretend to be interested. Probably why I'm training to be a Hunter instead of Night Walker.

You get used to it. Just nod and smile and you get pretty far.

... Yeah, I'll leave the fighting to you. I mostly win fights by running.

And they never pick up on that? [ Sharon thinks she would but she's always had to be hyper-observant of people. ]

I know, though running isn't a bad way to win a fight. It's better to bounce when shit gets bad than risk getting murdered.

I mean often they're too drunk or lonely to care.

[He winces. Sharon, come on. Why'd you have to put it like that?]

Yeah... well. I try.

[ it's his expression that clues her in. her eyes widen. oh shit. oh fuck. ]

I... Shit... I'm sorry, that was... [ she's mentally kicking the shit out of herself right now ] Ah, fuck.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject