[PRP] At First Glance (Chance & Abbi)

[AyeAvast]

Lucky for Abbi the man didn't think her as annoying as she was sure she was being, but it wasn't her fault! She just wanted to make his transition to Deus smoother than her own had been, and maybe he was nice to talk to. Class had been boring, she'd been cooped up all day and would have to continue being inside in a few hours, so lingering to chat couldn't be that bad.
Plus, if he really hadn't wanted her around her would just... Run away, right?

"That's right! But you forgot The Sandwich!" For a moment she took on a dramatic tone, imagining a thrum of "dun dun duuunnnn!"s when she spoke. "The guy who shot Franz and his wife had stopped at a cafe after all their failed attempts and gotten a sandwich! And that was how he was at the right place and time to assassinate them!" Maybe she shouldn't sound so chipper while she discussed murder.
"OK. Your turn." Because obviously they were playing a game of History.

Abbi lapsed into silence after that, head bent down closer to the notebook as she carefully penned a fancy header that read "Deus Cheat Sheet", careful to keep her lines neat.
"So you're a... Scorpio?" She didn't look up while she spoke, instead continued to mark the page, writing 'Property of Chance Bones' in smaller letters under the header.
"That would explain why you've got that smile with something behind it." The pen lifted off the page to point in his direction, Abbi giving him a smile that was too honest to hide anything. "Good to know. Your profile is almost complete!"

Kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

Chance may have found Abbi a little naive, and perhaps a little dramatic; but for the most part, she seemed harmless, and it was because of this that he didn't just get up and walk away. Instead, he let her pepper him with questions about this and that, quiz him on various historical facts, because he was learning about her at the same time she was learning about him.

A smile tugged at Chance's lips. "You're right, I did forget about that," he answered her, eyes glinting. "It's an important part of history, after all."

He thought for a moment, and then said, "In 1893, the British Royal Navy somehow managed to sink their own flagship. How?"

{ - what a silly game - } said Asher softly, but they sounded amused, rather than stern. Chance ran a hand through his hair, his eyes moving sideways to land on whatever Abbi was writing. "Yeah, sounds about right," he said agreeably, as the smile in question widened a bit. "I'm glad to see it's accurate. Why are you keeping profiles, anyway?"

ayeavast

 

[AyeAvast]

Though she was harmless certainly, Abbi also fancied herself a bit mysterious today. She'd let a few things out, but his profile was nearly complete and she hadn't given away equal information about herself! Perfectly pleased with this, the teen nodded happily when Chance admitted to having forgotten. Maybe the sandwich bit was a little much, she still refused to feel bad. It had been very important to show that she knew things too!
Speaking of which...
"1893... British Royal Navy... Ahh... Gimme a sec."

Once more used as an extension of herself, the pen left the paper and turned to tap against Abbi's forehead. Eyebrows moved down and mouth puckered as she thought, letting her gaze drift up toward the sky. The longer she thought, the more her eyebrows began to furrow, the more she began to hum in discontent.
Finally, after careful thought and finally a throw up of her hands in defeat, Abbi turned a pitiful pout up at Chance.
"I don't know! All I can remember is the ship Camperdown and that it didn't sink but I don't know why?"
She had failed. She was unworthy.

A few more scribbles were laid out before she rocked back to grin at him.
"You know how like in video games they have... Extended profiles? Yanno, just extra info?" Jumping to conclusions about what people knew wasn't the best, but sometimes in her excitement she forgot to consider other people's backgrounds. "Its fun! And yanno... Helps me remember stuff about people."
A second later she shrugs, more truthful because she's caught off guard about being questioned on that of all things.
"I-D-K. Its fun. Why do you... Um... Do the..." A hand wiggled in the air. "Smile all the time when you're thinking something else... Thing?"
Really Abbi.

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

The smile on his face widened a little more after each moment she spent thinking hard about his question. Abbi was clearly trying to figure out his historical fact question, and the fact that she was taking as much time to consider it as she was made Chance vaguely amused.

"Not the Camperdown," he said, once she'd given up. "Or at least, the Camperdown wasn't the main ship. It was a ship in the British Royal Navy called the HMS Victoria, and it was supposed to be this big, fancy battleship for their military. Sir Admiral George Tyron led the fleet of ships, including the HMS Victoria, out to see in 1893, and made two rows of ships in formation, two columns."

Chance shifted a little, and then settled himself back down again. "Well, Sir Admiral George Tyron wasn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the box; he cared more about appearance and putting on a show than actually leading the Navy into battle, so he had the two columns of ships turn and face each other while in the water, and then they were supposed to turn back and all move simultaneously to the left. Unfortunately for Tyron, however," he said with an amused smirk, "There wasn't enough space between all the ships to turn properly. The Victoria crashed into the Camperdown, and sank, killing half of its crew, while the Camperdown remained intact, but badly damaged."

He gave a shrug, running a hand through his hair. "Needless to say, Tyron wasn't the greatest commander there ever was, and he went down with the Victoria."

Chance probably could have gone on longer, but to do so would have been fruitless, so he just gave Abbi a pleasant sort of smile and rested his arms on his knees. "I get that," he said mildly. "Trying to make sure you don't forget stuff about people is pretty interesting."

His head tilted a little to the side, and there was something else in his eyes now, something sharper, before it disappeared.

"Habit," said Chance, without much further explanation.

ayeavast

 

[AyeAvast]

It was incredibly hard not to start writing down what he said on the page she was working on, especially because it was new information she hadn't been entirely aware of and a quick exercise in active learning would surely commit it to memory, but somehow the teen managed. A very stern, if eagerly curious, look was given when he began to explain and she bobbed her head enthusiastically along to his words.
A mild look of dismay crossed her face to find out she was wrong, though it lessened when she realized it was not entirely wrong. Just partially, and that was... Acceptable.
"Sir Admiral... George Tyron? Well... He sounds like a butt." There. The most adult thing she could have said about a situation she didn't quite have a full grasp on.
A+ kid.

Though she was unaware of his thoughts, the girl would have encouraged a continuation on the scenario, mostly because she was always curious about the world she once came from. History was pretty set, but knowledge was ever expanding.
She nodded along with his assessment, scrawling numerical points on his list.
"People are interesting! There's always something new to learn and the base facts are a fantastic starting point!" Around point three she paused, tapped the pen tip against the page and looked up at him for his answer.

If she were a game character, and Abbi was always happy to assume she was that sort, a little exclamation mark would have appeared over her head when his face shifted. It was subtle, something she would have missed had she not been paying special attention, or looked away, but something she caught nonetheless.
Unfortunately for her, she still didn't know what it meant. There was nothing she could do with what she saw.
For a long moment she went quiet, blinking wide blue eyes at him while she thought.
Finally she settled on an airy, "I'll add it to the profile, then!"

An odd warning came from the ghost in Abbi's head, the girl accepted it quietly and bent her head back down to continue writing.
"So... My turn in the history game?" She asked, finishing the fifth point before she paused and peeked out at him from around a pigtail. "Unless you... Don't wanna play."

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

The books he'd read as a teenager had piled up in Chance's memories, overstacked and toppling over, the majority of them historical fiction, but with the occasional science or art book as well. When he'd wanted to pass the time, he'd gone to books to keep himself occupied; and it was for this reason that he knew as much as he did about miscellaneous things that held no bearing in modern day life, not that Chance really cared. Even if the knowledge would serve no purpose except to bring him amusement, it was good enough for him.

"That's certainly one way to put it," he replied, passing Abbi a sideways glance. "I don't think he was thought too highly of, especially after the whole Victoria incident.

She was certainly right about the interesting part of people, though he was under the distinct impression that the two viewpoints on what "interesting" actually meant were vastly different. Still, Chance watched her carefully, his expression quite mild, no trace of the earlier sharpness in his eyes.

"Go ahead and add it, if you'd like," he said lightly, and smiled (again). One hand lifted, Chance idly running his fingers over the piercings in his ear as he said, "I think I have time for one more each for history fact in this game. Go ahead and ask away."

ayeavast

 

[AyeAvast]

"Reputation ruined." Abbi intoned in what she believed to be a Mortal Kombat style voice, laughing to herself a moment later. Part of her was doing her best not to just blurt out that she'd totally seen that weird look and she was dying to know what it meant and what he was thinking and why he was being so damn secretive about being so open. But she was aware, and Viveca heavily goaded to the point of being a continuous hum in her head, that being so annoying and nosey would get her nowhere. Instead, she'd have to set up an investigation.
(There is some inner silliness at this, Abbi imagining herself with a Sherlock style hat and magnifying glass, pretending it was a game.)

"That's fine! Sorry I totally just... Barged in on you." Another point was hastily scrawled while she thought her fact over. "Who is Saint Olga of Kiev?" That one was a far fetched one, but a fact she had been entertained with for ages.

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

He smiled at that, seemingly amused. "Good thing I don't really have a reputation yet to ruin," said Chance, with a light laugh. "I guess that means I'll have to make one in order to ruin it. Maybe I can run streaking across the grounds or something, that'll do it."

Clearly he was joking, even with his casual tone. Chance tugged at his ear again, then tapped his fingers against his neck absently.

"The name is familiar," he said, after a moment's contemplation. "I recall something about the Igor of Kiev, maybe? That she was married to him, I think? But other than that, it's a blank."

ayeavast

 

[AyeAvast]

A high, nervous peal of laughter left the teen at his suggestion for ruining his reputation and the pen was dropped in favor of waving both her hands in front of her.
"Oh! HA HA NO! I uh I meant the uh the guy with the ship that he sunk he must have had no luck with the ladies HA HA get it sunk ship um no I'm sure uh yeah like totes your reputation is fine HA HA!"
{ Dear Jack in Hell, forgive mah lassie. She kens not that she is stupid }
"Granted, I don't really think um-- uh-- Streaking uh-- Would be the best reputation ruiner." Now she laughs genuinely, most of the halting giggles having fled from her throat. The pen is picked up and waved around, awkwardly tapped against his shoulder for something to do then nearly thrown back to Abbi's sphere of personal space. "I think your reputation would improve with streaking. Deus is a cray cray place, yo."
Maybe she ought to just shut the heckie up.

Too busy trying to hide her blush behind her own hair, Abbi missed all his little movements, focusing on the page in her lap. The moons and suns and stars she'd doodled along the sides of the page looked imperfect, squiggly instead of cute.
"Yeah, yeah you're real close! She was totes married to him!" Quickly she made another note at the bottom of the page, small and more wiggly than the other lines, before she tossed her hair back off her shoulder to grin at him. "She was like this... Totally awesome lady. Unfortunately, her husband died when their son was only 3... Or 4? Or 2, anyways he was really young. But so like everyone wanted her to marry because yanno... Its ye olden days and ladies can't rule. So instead of accepting the suitors she receives, she has them all buried alive."
{ Pickin' up too much from me, ye sound downright happy as a bat in a belltower to tell this tale }
"Then she asks all the diplomats and politicians who pushed for her to marry to come celebrate her upcoming nuptials, right? She locks them in a bathhouse and burns the place down. So she's like on the war path... Invites this opposing country's citizens to a funeral for her husband, has her soldiers kill them when they're drunk, then sends all these nesting birds to their towns with coals attached to their feet and burns their homes down!"

Abbi actually laughs, clearly removed from what she is saying in that strange sort of 'history sure is weird' mindset. Maybe it happened, but she wasn't there so she cannot grasp how terrible what she is saying truly is.
"And then? Craziest of all, she's canonized as a Saint!"

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

He looked at her for a moment and then burst out laughing, Chance shaking his head. "Okay, that one I totally misread," he said, running a hand through his messy curls and grinning at Abbi. "I thought you were talking about me, but apparently that was a little arrogant."

It was said with mild amusement, Chance still chuckling a little as he glanced to the side, rubbing at the back of his neck. He twisted around to look back at the orange haired girl, a smile pulling at his lips the more she talked. "Good to know," he said lightly, his eyes sparkling. "I'll have to jot that down the next time I'm considered a useless louse. Maybe running naked through Deus would change that."

He drew a leg up closer to him and smoothed a hand down the leg of his jeans, brushing away a few stray strands of grass. "So basically, she got married, her husband died, she had suitors, but she decided she was too badass for them and had them all killed, then goes on a murderous rampage. That's pretty ******** intense, especially for a Saint."

The sun was bright overhead. Chance stretched out his legs again and smiled, and it was back to the same simple, vague expression he'd been wearing when Abbi first came around. Asher gave a small sound in his head, reminding him of his duties.

"I hate to fact and run," he said, "But I've apparently been saddled with minipet duty at three, so I suppose I'd better get moving so I can actually find the damn building and get there on time, instead of being twenty minutes late, like last time."

Chance pushed himself to his feet and stretched, twisting his torso back and forth to try and work out some of the kinks."But I hope we'll run into each other again, this was fun. Maybe I'll grab a drink from you later."

ayeavast

 

[AyeAvast]

The laughter surprised the girl enough that she jumps a little, mostly because its the most emotion he's shown beyond mild placidness. When he speaks she cannot help the little giggles that escape, though a hand does press against her mouth in hopes he hadn't noticed them and will ignore any more that manage to leave her.
"A useless louse? Pfffttt, anyone who called you that is way too full of themselves and you can ignore them. I think you're cool." One more little scribble was placed on the page. "For whatever that's worth."

Still pumped from her explanation, Abbi nodded excitedly, clearly in awe of this supposed Saint.
"YEAH! She was totally B-A, like crazy cool. She called all the shots and spread Christianity so despite all the cray stuff she did, still got to be a saint." The teen watched him stand, still insistent on her point. "I think I've got like a coin of her's or something stashed away somewhere... Unless I left it at home? Yeesh, I probably did."
Her gaze followed him for a second before she nodded at what he had to say.

With a pop up onto her own feet, Abbi gave him a grin that was edged with disappointment. The page she'd been working on was torn out of her book and offered to him.
"I hope this helps, even a little bit." There was a header with a doodle of herself on one side, and a numbered list with suns and moons and stars and sparkles all down both edges. A crude cartoon version of Chance was at the bottom, smirking. "And have fun at work! If you see anything that looks like a bunny... Lemme know. I have a minipet crate, but its been empty..." Her gaze moves away, the journal and pen are pocketed as Abbi stubs a toe on the ground for a few moments. There is still hours left before her shift, but now she doesn't want to nap.

"You still owe me a question, B-T-W." A hopeful smile is given to him, the girl leaning back a little to look up at him in full despite the bright sky. "I'll be reading up on my facts until then." Abbi laughs and takes a step back, then a hop, before she waves at him. "You've got my number, so shoot me a text!" Quickly, so she won't sigh in front of him or blush or do something stupid like say anything else, the girl whirls around and begins to move back toward the dormitories, her original destination. The fact her coat is still on the ground escapes her, but she will loop back for it later when he is gone and she realizes that she feels lighter than she ought to.
Underneath all the helpful hints (Make friends! Spar with lots of people, get both close and long range practice with your weapon! Eat regularly! Find something to do to help you cope! DON'T GO TO THE SAHARA NO MATTER WHAT!!!!) is a tiny signature, Abbi's name, along with her phone number and a cartoon rabbit. She is glad to have helped (hopefully), but still does not linger.

kuroopu