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 Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 9:55 pm
Myopia strode down the street with a small wooden case in one hand and a folded newspaper on the other. Antennae moved about independently, as though examining everyone that the lamplighter passed, while his eyes scanned the front page of the paper. The news had taken a troubling turn lately. As if it was not bad enough that the Plague was still at large in the City, but now there were murders on top of it. And talk of a cult of some kind. Ordinarily, a small secret organization would have been a thing of definite interest to the man, but the thought of killing had rather put a damper on his desire to find out more about them. Or run into any of them and ask them what they were all about. Well, the mothman could not deny that it piqued his curiosity at least a little, though. If nothing else, Myopia wished he knew all about where their hideouts and such were so that he could studiously avoid them. He did half-wonder if there was some way he, as a lamplighter, could somehow drive the night-stabbers away by keeping the City better lit, but the rest of him knew that it was not terribly likely. The news and his worries kept him occupied enough that Myopia missed the spot in this fairly regular route where there was a loose cobble. His foot came down on it solidly, then his ankle twisted ever so slightly; his eyes widened as he stumbled, and, though he managed not to fall, the paper slipped from his hand. "  " he exclaimed, lunging after the pages as they fluttered apart slightly on their way down.
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Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:25 pm
Humming thoughtlessly to himself, Akihiko grinned at his deviation from normality as he walked the city streets, stopping to admire the small details on the cobblestone floor. Each stone was juxtaposed neatly to another and their colors shared a strong resemblance. The Sun Samurai continued his ode while lowering himself into a squat. His gloved fingers rubbed the stone's texture, and he noticed (to his amusement) that no two felt the same, though they did certainly seem almost identical in appearance. He wondered other Book Children shared his discovery at one point in their life, but his meanderings were uninterrupted when paper fluttered around him like precipitation.
""
Looking up, he met the eyes of a City Person, distressed looking and in need of obvious aid. Akihiko frowned briefly at the messy scene, though his expression was quickly replaced. He grinned in recognition of the disgruntled mothish man, the name Myopia briefly flashed through his head. He well-remembered the tranquil mothman from the Summer Festival not too long ago, though it was odd the two of them would meet here. Quickly, he gathered the papers within his reach into a neat bundle in his arms before he spoke.
"Ah! Myopia, correct? You do recall me from the summer festival? Akihiko, the 'condescending samurai' as that silly crow put it." He paused to laugh. "These, I presume, are yours. If they aren't, you must aid me in finding who they belong to."
He was glad that he and Myopia did not share a dramatic height difference. Somehow, he'd feel awkward in this position otherwise. At the same while, he wondered if he was polite enough in his address. He was never quite sure anymore, especially after he ruffled Vlad's feathers--metaphorically speaking.
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Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:56 pm
Cadogan was quiet that morning.
He had debated for quite some time whether or not he was to traverse into the city, rather than spend the majority of his day cooped up in his home studying things which he had already studied before. His papers had grown worn from the constant turning of them, the edges frayed and blackened with fire (he had, most unfortunately, accidentally lit a candle too near them late one evening) and Cadogan himself was beginning to grow rather restless.
He had heard of the goings on, of course; knew about the Plague and the murders, but he had not had a chance to explore the details of such happenings as of yet. However, now seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to do just that.
It took him several moments to pull himself away from the comfort of his small, yet pleasant abode, Cadogan dragging his feet in wary anticipation of his day out. He did not spend nearly enough time actually on the streets, though he did like watching from his window. And when he did choose to go out, he kept to himself, preferring to observe rather than converse.
He was not good at extraneous conversing, after all.
Outside, the City was busy, both City People and Book Children alike roaming the cobbled streets. Cadogan edged along the walls of the buildings, a sheaf of papers bound together in a notebook held against his chest by one arm. The other hand was kept against the rough hewn stones of the buildings, as if to keep himself upright.
There was a movement to his left - a scuffle of sorts, then an exclamation, and something fluttered towards Cadogan, landing near his feet. He glanced down, a bemused look on his face as he half knelt, stooping to retrieve the item. It seemed to be a page of a newspaper, the headline only half visible since the rest of the paper was missing.
He glanced around. There was a City Person nearby, one with two thin antennae protruding from the top of his black haired head, and beside him stood another man - though this one was a Book Child, like Cadogan. He did not recognize either of them, however, but the Book Child was handing the rest of the papers to the City Person, which meant they belonged to him - or, at least that was what it appeared.
Except it also meant that Cadogan would have to speak to them to return the flyaway papers. He was unsure of making new acquaintances, but this perhaps was a good opportunity to rid himself of that innate desire to hide within the shadows and merely observe.
Cadogan approached them both with a slightly wary expression. "...is this yours?" he asked, holding out the piece of newspaper with one gloved hand.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:03 pm
"Aah...." Myopia's small letters were a bit wobbly as his gaze moved upwards, taking in the red-armored Child. He did recall him, but could not a put a name to the fellow - he met oh so many people, and he had trouble putting names to all the faces. But, to his visible delight, the Child supplied the name; the lamplighter's white slit of a mouth curled into a smile as he nodded, picking himself up and straightening his sleeves.
"I do remember!" he replied, letters taking on more confident margins. "And I am Myopia," he then confirmed, taking a moment to steal a glance at the letters of his name while they still hung in the air. Not only did his name look lovely when he spoke it, but it was one that sounded good when the Book Children spoke it.
And, why, here was another one! Myopia set his wooden case between his feet for the moment while he used both hands to unfold and sort out his papers, turning towards the newcomer as he did so. And he found him a curious-looking fellow. Staring as he would have at anyone else (perhaps a bit too much) Myopia extended a hand to accept the page the yellow-eyed fellow offered.
"It is, thank you very much," came the mothman's reply a moment later. The last page was added to Myopia's copy of the morning news; he appeared to have little regard for the order in which the pages ended up. Then he folded the bunch of them over and tucked them under one arm, and thrust out his now-empty hand again to the snake-like Child to shake.
"Name is Myopia. A pleasure to meet you...?" His ellipses trailed off like a blank for the stranger to fill. A moment later, he looked again to Akihiko. "Friend of yours?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:55 pm
"I do remember!" came Myopia's reply.
The red samurai grinned upon being recognized, reflecting the sun's vibrancy in his expression. How lovely that Myopia did, a clever mothman, no doubt. His satisfaction increased when the latter confirmed that the newspapers did belong to his personage like Akihiko guessed; being right was always a secret thrill in some way or another, and certainly seemed to put Myopia at a more comfortable ease. He felt as if he should have said more earlier, but stopped in mid-thought when Myopia's interjection introduced the presence of a stranger that Akihiko did not notice before.
The man was clothed in elaborate green, radiating a regal atmosphere around him. His eyes were a dilated cobalt, crafty spirits seemed to reside within them. Though, his most distinguishing features were his scaly skin. Akihiko found them odd, but intriguing nonetheless. He'd never seen a scaled Book Child before, but the sight of one perked his interests in seeing more. Of course, he feigned his curiosity with surprise, and quickly acted on an apologetic behalf:
"Ah! Please accept my apologies, sir, I didn't notice you before due to my preoccupation," Akihiko started, "Thank you kindly for your assistance; I am Akihiko, and the pleasure I hope, is mutual."
Truthfully, he was a bit nervous around the serpentine stranger, mostly because he couldn't make any decisive observations yet about him. The snakeman seemed kind enough in aiding Myopia, though. Those who helped others were usually decent citizens of some sort, and Akihiko secretly hoped it applied to the stranger.
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 12:38 am
Cadogan was feeling distinctly awkward.
He did not know either of the two men. The City Person was tall and graceful, as black as pitch and with eloquent, elegant letters; the Book Child was regal and bright, with an easy confidence.
Cadogan now felt distinctly ill placed.
But he did not retreat; at least not yet. To do so now, without a proper introduction would be considered rude, and he did not have the strength of character to simply walk away without presenting his name.
"...Cadogan," he said, dropping his hand to his side once the City Person - Myopia - had taken the loose sheets of paper from his gloved fingertips. "My name is...Cadogan."
He had a low voice, a quiet voice that was slow speaking and held only the barest hint, perhaps, of a whisper of a hiss. Either that, or he simply had a way of drawing out each syllable carefully and with meaning and careful pronunciation so that the sounds were elongated; whether this was done purposefully or not was uncertain.
"Pardon...pardon my intrusion," Cadogan went on, clutching the somewhat hastily bound notebook in his hands just the smallest bit tighter. He was suddenly quite aware of just how ill adept he was at conversing with those he did not know, and felt a swooping lack of confidence settle in his stomach, a small frown threatening to tug his lips downwards.
"I do apologize," he said. "It is a...a pleasure to meet you both."
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:08 pm
"Cadogan," Myopia repeated, letters appearing slowly as he got the pronunciation of it down. He waved his extended hand up and then down again once, keeping it out towards the serpentine Child as a subtle reminder that it remained unshaken. As he did so, he continued at his usual, quicker pace of speaking to query, "And what brings the two of you out this lovely morning?"
Most mornings were lovely to the mothman, though that was partly because there was so little variation to them. It seemed worth saying, though, regardless, perhaps as a contrast to the worrisome nights the City had experienced recently.
"I am buying a new pen nib and more ink," he then declared, nudging the wooden case that now rested on the cobbles with one toe. "Then I will probably go to a cafe for a late breakfast. Not really too hungry this morning yet. However--" He eyed the pair of them with a grin. "If you are in need of a recommendation, I could show you to a good cafe I know of nearby right now. Most delicious, if, of course, you are the adventurous sort who would not turn your noses up at pan-fried noodles for breakfast." The letters of the last statement angled a bit, like a challenge. "Otherwise, if you like boring old fruit and scones, I know of a more mainstream place not far off, as well."
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 9:38 pm
"Cadogan, eh?" Akihiko repeated, enjoying the syllables and vowels form in his voice. It sounded nothing like a slithering sound like the way Cadogan spoke his own name. The way Akihiko said it made it sound more concrete, if anything. Pronunciation was quite a mercurial process. "Well, it's my pleasure also, seeing that I have many of them."
He eyed the serpent briefly before breaking contact. He didn't want to appear intimidating through his stare; he seemed to have that effect on many Book Children. It was probably because of his sword. Additionally, he realized how impolite he was in his scrutiny, and pinked briefly before facing Myopia (completely) to mask his expression from Cadogan. Myopia's suggestion was a formidable distraction, and Akihiko accepted it quickly: "A cafe sounds wonderful. Let me treat you, old friend, and you, Cadogan, my new friend!"
Despite his generosity, he was awfully famished. A cafe sounded wonderful, and Akihiko didn't mind spending his dough--he barely used it for anything rather than books or food, anyways.
(( SORRY I FEEL SUPER SLEEPY aaa it's short ))
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