[ After the week where the world was plunged into perpetual night, matters seem to have calmed down, fortunately enough—and Aldrip's denizens... don't appear to be doing much about it? There's plenty of property damage, but the more Koharu goes about her business through the town, the more she notices they're going about as usual, as if it isn't even there.
Koharu ends up by the storefront she had been at the night she got caught by monsters on the prowl. The window is, notably, still smashed in, shards of glass still littered everywhere, along with a generous amount of dried blood splattered from the ground to the windowsil (ugh)... Looking in, the inside appears to be a little better, at least, with a storekeep within, even. Odd they haven't done anything about the mess though.
Should a familiar face or someone clearly a fellow Chosen come by, Koharu says in a hushed voice: ]
[The one she addresses is frowning at the same sight with clear concern, his arms folded. He'd come to a stop a few moments before, between seeing his young acquaintance and taking stock of the damage.]
I think we should do more than offer, Miss Koharu.
[Or rather, they can just skip over the offering part. He's not certain if it would get them anywhere, anyway. Things need to be fixed.]
[ Maybe it ultimately didn't matter if the people around really were just a part of this whole simulation, as others have said. But regardless of their true nature, they give enough of the cold shoulder as it is.
Yet, even so— ]
I could at least let them know what we're doing. [ a beat. ] Or... ask for a broom.
[ Touching glass with her bare hands? No thank you. ]
[ Inside she goes... Whether he's wandered off or not, after a handful of minutes Koharu does successfully return with a broom, assessing the mess further. ]
Oh, jeez, it really is everywhere... Maybe breaking this wasn't a good idea.
[He returns about the time that Koharu is muttering to herself, and he has a bucket of water, sponge and separate container in hand. His eyebrows are raised at her as he says:]
Don't tell me you have a penchant for vandalism?
Edited (meh i don't want that there) 2024-12-18 00:48 (UTC)
[Halfway through her explanation, a sparkle comes to his eye, and he lets out a chuckle a moment after she's done. If his hands weren't full, he'd give her a pat on the shoulder, but alas.]
I'm only kidding. Breaking a window is hardly worth worrying over.
[He steps past her to set down his bucket, surveying the area for a second for himself. His expression becomes a little more serious as he asks:]
Did you manage to avoid getting hurt during all of that?
[He hums his acknowledgement as he kneels near a stain and takes off his gloves, opening the container of the chemical.]
I had a similar experience. I suppose we were both lucky we had someone to look out for us when we needed it.
[He pauses to glance at the local workers nearby, who seem to be doing their best to ignore the two Chosen. If only there wasn't this strange, detached animosity, they could all sort something out to help each other...
Well—he could probably have them throwing themselves at his problems if he really wanted, but that would paint an enormous target on his back.]
[ As grateful as she is, Koharu sighs out her words with resignation behind them. ]
Otherwise I'd be a goner... [ An unpleasant thought to mull over, really. ] But now it's got me a little worried. I was told that it's rare for things like that to attack in the city, but then that happened, and... I admit I don't know what to think now.
[His attention returns to Koharu for a moment as he thinks, his expression hard to read. But he breaks away from that to turn to start his work, pouring some of the bottle over the brown-black stain.
Soberly:]
I think it's important not to underestimate the danger here. Right now... it seems clear to me we can only depend on each other, rather than any past patterns or expectations.
[With a small splash of water, he gets to scrubbing.]
If that man can manage to convince enough capable Chosen to get involved in his idea for a defensive group, perhaps we'll be better prepared for the future.
[A noise that's almost disgruntled leaves his throat.]
I suppose the idea that there are far fewer of us who can't defend ourselves against creatures out for blood might encourage the idea of being able to help us individually.
[It's a very generous read of the situation that's far from Zekarion's true thoughts, but Altius always tries to give people the benefit of the doubt. His tone is one of disagreement, anyway.]
[ She mulls on this for a moment longer, collecting a pile of shards off to the side and out of the way. ]
It's hard for me to say—I don't have any experience in these kinds of things. I'm definitely the last person around here who should try to be defending anyone.
[Altius keeps at his scrubbing, but slows as he looks at her for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. He sure as hell is not going to suggest Koharu has to start learning the language of violence.]
There's no shame in that, my dear. We have our own way of helping, don't we?
[ The words are meant to be encouraging, she knows, but if Koharu were to be perfectly honest... she feels utterly useless in this scenario. What could someone like her really do? ]
Um—well, probably. But for now, I think I'll just stay out of the way.
[He is in fact happy to help, even down to his hateful, utilitarian core. Looking at this mess is just unpleasant and demoralizing for everyone.
And he is finding some success with the scrubbing; he's still got several more minutes to put in for this spot before he moves to the wall, but it's definitely progress.]
Luckily it just takes a bit of know-how and effort. There are all sorts of ways to clean things. Have you finished with the glass?
Good. Hopefully there's no one foolish enough to go without shoes on a city street.
[Not impossible, but what are they going to do, set up a barrier? He'll clean things up, certainly, but preventing every possible problem afterwards isn't in his list of priorities.]
Perhaps you could help me finish scrubbing this area, then we might find a bag for the glass?
[It shouldn't take long for them to sort all this out at this rate, but it wouldn't matter much to him if it did take a while. Though he's certainly gotten busier than he was, he still has more time on his hands than he knows what to do with.]
around town.
Koharu ends up by the storefront she had been at the night she got caught by monsters on the prowl. The window is, notably, still smashed in, shards of glass still littered everywhere, along with a generous amount of dried blood splattered from the ground to the windowsil (ugh)... Looking in, the inside appears to be a little better, at least, with a storekeep within, even. Odd they haven't done anything about the mess though.
Should a familiar face or someone clearly a fellow Chosen come by, Koharu says in a hushed voice: ]
Should... we offer to help clean this up?
no subject
I think we should do more than offer, Miss Koharu.
[Or rather, they can just skip over the offering part. He's not certain if it would get them anywhere, anyway. Things need to be fixed.]
no subject
[ Maybe it ultimately didn't matter if the people around really were just a part of this whole simulation, as others have said. But regardless of their true nature, they give enough of the cold shoulder as it is.
Yet, even so— ]
I could at least let them know what we're doing. [ a beat. ] Or... ask for a broom.
[ Touching glass with her bare hands? No thank you. ]
no subject
Certainly. Let me know if you have any trouble—I'll see about getting some water and peroxide to work on the stains.
[He doesn't sound unsure about whether or not he's going to accomplish that—why does he know how to get blood out of concrete? Don't worry about it.]
no subject
[ Inside she goes... Whether he's wandered off or not, after a handful of minutes Koharu does successfully return with a broom, assessing the mess further. ]
Oh, jeez, it really is everywhere... Maybe breaking this wasn't a good idea.
no subject
Don't tell me you have a penchant for vandalism?
no subject
[ Oh, that is NOT the conclusion she wanted him to come to. ]
Nononono, it was an accident! ... Actually, no, it was on purpose. B- but there was kind of a crisis? A life or death situation, even!
no subject
I'm only kidding. Breaking a window is hardly worth worrying over.
[He steps past her to set down his bucket, surveying the area for a second for himself. His expression becomes a little more serious as he asks:]
Did you manage to avoid getting hurt during all of that?
no subject
Yeah, I was okay, thanks to others. I wasn't expecting monsters to be out here, so I got into a bit of trouble.
no subject
I had a similar experience. I suppose we were both lucky we had someone to look out for us when we needed it.
[He pauses to glance at the local workers nearby, who seem to be doing their best to ignore the two Chosen. If only there wasn't this strange, detached animosity, they could all sort something out to help each other...
Well—he could probably have them throwing themselves at his problems if he really wanted, but that would paint an enormous target on his back.]
no subject
[ As grateful as she is, Koharu sighs out her words with resignation behind them. ]
Otherwise I'd be a goner... [ An unpleasant thought to mull over, really. ] But now it's got me a little worried. I was told that it's rare for things like that to attack in the city, but then that happened, and... I admit I don't know what to think now.
no subject
Soberly:]
I think it's important not to underestimate the danger here. Right now... it seems clear to me we can only depend on each other, rather than any past patterns or expectations.
[With a small splash of water, he gets to scrubbing.]
If that man can manage to convince enough capable Chosen to get involved in his idea for a defensive group, perhaps we'll be better prepared for the future.
no subject
[ A more rhetorical question than anything; she responded to the very rallying call, after all. ]
Yeah, maybe... It seems like nearly everyone I know here is a capable fighter, so I wonder if that's why it hasn't happened yet.
no subject
I suppose the idea that there are far fewer of us who can't defend ourselves against creatures out for blood might encourage the idea of being able to help us individually.
[It's a very generous read of the situation that's far from Zekarion's true thoughts, but Altius always tries to give people the benefit of the doubt. His tone is one of disagreement, anyway.]
But it's a shortsighted one, in my view.
no subject
It's hard for me to say—I don't have any experience in these kinds of things. I'm definitely the last person around here who should try to be defending anyone.
no subject
There's no shame in that, my dear. We have our own way of helping, don't we?
no subject
Um—well, probably. But for now, I think I'll just stay out of the way.
no subject
... it was a rhetorical question. What do you think we're doing right now?
no subject
[ ... Well. Point taken. ]
This mess was mainly my fault to begin with... But thank you for helping me! Are the stains coming out? I didn't even think they would be able to.
no subject
[He is in fact happy to help, even down to his hateful, utilitarian core. Looking at this mess is just unpleasant and demoralizing for everyone.
And he is finding some success with the scrubbing; he's still got several more minutes to put in for this spot before he moves to the wall, but it's definitely progress.]
Luckily it just takes a bit of know-how and effort. There are all sorts of ways to clean things. Have you finished with the glass?
no subject
[ Which she does! It's decently sizeable, given how much got shattered that night. ]
At least, it should be most of it. Just, ah... don't walk barefoot around here.
[ The tiniest of shards have a way of hiding until the worst possible moment, after all. ]
no subject
[Not impossible, but what are they going to do, set up a barrier? He'll clean things up, certainly, but preventing every possible problem afterwards isn't in his list of priorities.]
Perhaps you could help me finish scrubbing this area, then we might find a bag for the glass?
[It shouldn't take long for them to sort all this out at this rate, but it wouldn't matter much to him if it did take a while. Though he's certainly gotten busier than he was, he still has more time on his hands than he knows what to do with.]