deernet | [Voice] un: 008

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[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.

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[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.

... You didn't mean to say it. I know.

[He hunches his shoulders and turns away for a moment, trying to breathe.]

I knew they were going to come after me, eventually. I made that tape so my friend could find it on me and know what happened. She... shit. I can't even imagine how angry she's going to be...

It was thoughtless of me. [ she says. she doesn't often think before she speaks and it's known to get her into some trouble. one day, she'll learn. ]

At you or the assholes that did it? [ if it were her, the answer would be both. then again, grief makes her angry and she's known to lash out. ]

It was, but we're all thoughtless sometimes.

[He isn't holding it against her. It'd be pointless to, anyway.]

... Both. Me for being dumb enough to die and sticking my nose where it didn't belong, and the people who killed me for... obvious reasons.

She sounds like a good friend. It's not every day you find someone who will be pissed at you for dying. [ it's hard to be angry at someone's death when you don't care about them, after all.

she starts to stuff her emptied bags into one another, condensing the amount she has to take home. ] Think she'll try to avenge you? Or blow up whatever they're doing?

Yeah, she is. She's... the only person who really gets me. She makes me feel safer, since we know each others' tricks inside and out.

[Makes it way easier to pull heists that way.]

She definitely will. How successful she'll be... I don't know. That's up to her now.

Rage is the perfect weapon and revenge is the perfect motivator. [ Sharon knows shit all about his friend but she knows rage and she knows revenge. It might end ugly but she doesn't doubt his friend will rain hell. ]

Wanna tell me about her at all? She sounds like someone I'd get along with.

She definitely has that covered when she needs to...

[She's scary when she's angry... but how to describe her?]

She's strong. Not like... jacked, but she's built like a gymnast and it definitely shows. She's graceful and acrobatic and more importantly she gets shit done. She's extremely loyal and doesn't really work with anyone but me. She's... got some family issues, but a lot of people do. She's funny and a delight when she likes you but a terrifying force of nature when she doesn't.

She's... my best friend. I'm... gonna miss her.

[ how someone talks about a person says a lot about their relationship. she can hear how important this woman was to him. his partner in crime. his best friend. something warm flickers in sharon's expression. it's a shame he's lost her in his journey to Trench but there's something nice about knowing he'd had a friend like that. ]

She sounds badass. I'm sorry she's not here with you but... that doesn't mean you won't get the chance to see her again. I mean, I lost my mom when I was 9 but I found her again when I woke up here. [ she's not trying to change the subject but, instead, offer a bit of hope. Trench works in mysterious (and, frankly, frustrating) ways. ]

Yeah?

[... Man, if the Watanabes could show up here... no, he can't think of that. That's too much pain and hope all in one, and he can't deal with that right now.]

I'm... glad that you got to reunite with your mom. Family's... important. For most people, at least. I've been on the road long enough that I don't really think about family much.

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