interstellar5555 | Thistle and Weeds

...do you need help in dressing inconspicuously?

[ asks the guy who wore a leather harness to a club but hey, he wasn't trying to be unnoticed then. ]

[ He looks a bit confused. ]

Garnet's? Why?

That's not the code. You must be a spy. Now we must have an epic chase scene with cool music in the background before I spout a clever one liner and bang some hot chick in the cool car I was driving.

[ He's grinning hugely though because it has been a while and Koumei is one of those people he really truly considers a friend who isn't a Carnie. ]

Sadly, yes. But I'm trying to figure out how to get myself back into the tabloids before I'm forgotten for the next greatest trainwreck. Trouble avoiding you still, Mei?

[That was why Carnie Indulgence was a thing-- and why Koumei was surprised there wasn't more inter-band slashfic out there. Koumei chuckled at the quip, truly glad for something so mundane in his life.]

I don't know, your supplier might not approve of that-- or complain about the mess you made on the leather interior.

Aside from a few hiccups, yeah. Trouble and I have yet to be on a first-name basis, for better or for worse. I think I prefer to keep it this way for a little while longer.

[Why is Robin hanging out in a blues bar?

Reasons.

But she happens to be there, trying to find a quiet corner where she doesn't even have to listen to the music necessarily. Vista City is a deluge and she didn't pack an umbrella.

At least the coffee is decent.

And luck is on her side, it seems.

Honestly she expected her quarry to be a bit harder to find. Ah well. It isn't so much the finding it's the... everything else. Still, it'd be foolish to waste this opportunity.

After Sabo turns the mic over to the band, he'll find a steaming mug of coffee just the way he likes it- whether he knows that's the way he prefers it or not- and a note. A map, actually.]

[that isn't creepy at all. Really it isn't. He's surprised at how natural it feels that this sort of thing should be there waiting for him. He takes a sip of the coffee without even thinking. It makes him blink in surprise because it's-- good! Really good. Really familiar like... like someplace warm. Like... someone he once knew.

Though he's not too waxing poetic about the coffee to notice the map. Very curious. Someone wants to meet him somewhere. For what? Is it a fan? A rival? Someone who wants to try and break his legs with a baseball bat? Sabo's not entirely sure but for the first time in a while he can feel something like adventure blossoming in him.

So wherever you are, he's game to find you. But he'll approach the map differently, trying to come in from behind if he can and see without being seen]

Don't--

[She shakes her head. Oh god, don't say that, bandmate.]

Don't say that, Koumei. We're still here, aren't we?

Are we?

[He was playing Devil's Advocate-- but he wanted to see her reaction.]

I distinctly recall being gutted by a javelin, and now I've the marks to prove it.

That's not impossible to live through.

[She shakes her head. Stop, stop, Koumei.]

You'd be out for awhile, but...!

[No-- part of him needs to get this off of his chest.]

Maybe in this city, but if my dreams hold any truth? Then That Life doesn't have near the same luxuries. People would die from less every day...and as a general on the losing side of a Civil War, I wouldn't be afforded a Magician's help so easily.

[Koumei levelled his gaze upon Garnet from over his milkshake, his eyes passive and even accepting of his supposed fate.]

Santiago doesn't frighten me, not after witnessing Hell itself.

You've not seen how crazy they've gotten, have you?

[Outright attacking innocent people just because they dared to talk to Garnet and they weren't 'square'. Did they not pay attention to the rest of the band???]

[The thing of it is, there's no one to find. X marks the spot, but it's nothing more than a boarded up side door in a deserted alley. Another note hangs off one of the boards, held up by a pocketknife embedded into the splintering wood. The note is brief: instructions on how to order the coffee as it had been left for him.

As soon as he's out of sight from the main thoroughfares, however, something peculiar happens. The alley smells like flowers- really strongly of flowers, actually. And a voice near his ear whispers.]

It's good to see you again, my friend.

[Sabo blinks a moment at the note, taking it down by taking the pocket knife out of the wall and flipping it closed and looking at it. Someone really wants him to drink coffee that way apparently. Maybe a really shy fan?

Well whatever it is, it's pretty spooky. He feels like he's being haunted again at the sudden smell of flowers... and the voice gives him chills right up his spine and he whips around, closed knife clenched in his fist]

Whose there?

[There's no one, but a soft giggle right next to his ear.]

You really ought to save drawing attention to yourself for the stage. But I miss your old work. It was always revolutionary.

[okay that is really freaking him out right now. He bats at his ear and then covers them up so at least there's a barrier between them and whatever is trying to whisper at him. The word makes him feel queasy somehow and he's not sure why. It's like a flash of panic and desperation and something... not right, charges through his gut.]

My-- My old work? I barely got any hits on it. [just a couple of thousand really] Where are you?

[he tries not to sound as strained as he feels]

[He might notice a small petal drop from the area of his shoulder, but then again he might not. Still, that whisper manages to get between his hand and the other ear, and he'll definitely get the impression of soft lips brushing right against the lobe.]

Nearby.

[When he pulls his hand away, there'll be another flower petal, pale pink and notched at one end. It skitters away in a nonexistent breeze and disappears. But the voice speaks a little louder now, coming from somewhere above, even though there are only empty fire escapes.]

I'll watch over you until you remember.

[One last petal falls, drifting into nothingness in a forgotten corner.]

[Out on the street, a tall, shapely woman who'd paused to look in the windows of the quaint shops turns and makes her way elsewhere, passing by the entrance to the abandoned alleyway. She glances in, ostensibly checking the dark areas for danger, and meets his eyes for a brief moment, giving him a quick smile before she's made it across the road and disappears around the corner.]

[gahaha lips. What the hell. Sabo scrubs at his ear but there is nothing there. Watch over him until he remembers? Remembers what? It sounds ominous and part of him wants something to happen whole the other would be content to drown himself in practice and forget this ever happened.

He watches the petal fall and dissolve into nothingness and then looks up just in time to see the woman across the alley watching him. She's mysterious. It reminds him... of someone... but he is too paralyzed to move until she disappears out of sight.

He wants to see her and he doesn't. But come on it... this... that wasn't. What the hell was it?

Someone must have slipped something in his coffee. That was it. That had to be it. He was just having a psychotic episode.

... Great.

He wonders though if she's behind it or who in fact she is. Sabo straightens and walks out of the alley, keeping the pocket knife in his hand as he goes to follow her path, turning the corner and expecting to see her.

Hopefully she doesn't turn to butterfly hands or something]

[Now that would be patently ridiculous. She's just a woman minding her own business, looking down dark alleys and scrutinizing window displays while she listens to music through one earbud. She has a bluetooth in the other ear, so maybe she's a career woman- or just likes to be social. Whatever the case, she's got style. The latest, actually, but with a personal twist. Skirt a little too short, showing off legs that go for miles; princess cut neckline that drops a little too low, offset by a modest leather jacket and knee length boots. Natural makeup, no contouring necessary. No one would wonder why a young man would find her captivating.

She takes no immediate notice of him, however, and continues on her way, occasionally reaching out and grazing her fingertips along the glass of a window she finds particularly entertaining.]

[that makes him pause. She doesn't even acknowledge him. Was she really the one who--? Is it just his imagination? Is he still in the middle of some psychosis? It's hard to tell. He blinks. He'd follow her but then he'd feel like a stalker and if she didn't have anything to do with anything then he'd feel like a stalker and then he'd be the weird and creepy one.

So lacking anything better to do, he clears his throat to get her attention and holds up his hand, showing her the folded pocket knife]

Did you drop this?

...

[ Okay shit what'd he miss. ]

I've read about some riots and shit, but -- aren't you guys in the same band?

Koumei! I won't let that happen!

[Sorry, she might have just pounded the table a bit.]

All life is sacred. Even yours!

[ There really should be. Mostly because he was sure they would have a good laugh reading them. Still, it's good to hear his friend's laugh. It seems people haven't been laughing a lot recently. Too much fucked up shit has been happening. ]

Nah. My supplier would be mad because they didn't get involved too. Though honestly, I'd rather it be the enemy spy than some random chick. Then again, I've always like the bad guy.

[ He slings an arm over the other man's shoulder and sort of leans on him. ]

Probably for better. And don't worry, if trouble comes, it'll come at me first, at least here. Even with your shit disguise, I'm more recognizable. So, you just keep flying under that radar. I'll take the attention.

...I think you're misunderstanding something, Garnet.

[Koumei sighed wearily, and reached for one of Garnet's hands with his own. Taking it, he gently pressed it against his chest just under where his heart would be.]

It's embarrassing, but you can look if you want. It's not much different than your Eye Problem, after all.

But please don't get yourself worked up. I plan on making the most of my time, whether it's borrowed or not.

[Robin glances at the knife, then up at Sabo, then giggles.]

Is that your idea of a pickup line? I'll give you points for originality, though you might want to swap the pocket knife for something a bit more feminine next time.

[She reaches out, her fingers glancing along his palm as she takes the proffered knife.]

You're Sabo, right? Recently signed with a new band?

You are a man who does quite well with it, [Koumei chuckled, grinning slyly up at the beast of a man.] I'd never dream of taking it away from you!

...What brings you here, anyway? This style isn't quite your thing.

We are, and that's the point. There's no need to encourage them to riot anymore than they do, whether it be by the barest implication that Garnet might be in the area or not.

Thistle and Weeds

no subject

no subject

no subject

3

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