[???] stop requested (fetchpatrick/fetcherance/others)

[cibarium]

Ashdown's public transportation system was generally not worth celebrating, especially when compared to places like Chicago -- but Julian had to use it regardless while waiting for some car troubles to be resolved. Thankfully there was a station close enough to Equinox that it wasn't unreasonably inconvenient... so in the bus he sat, idly tapping the heel of his boot against the floor, humming an improvised tune. Overall he seemed in higher spirits than the sparse number of other passengers on board.

the semblance of unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Temperance was being lazy today. And lazy meant taking the bus. She did it on occasion, especially when the weather was inclement. It allowed her to people watch, or read, or simply relax in a way that was neither 'Temperance-at-work' nor 'Temperance-at-home'.

But today, she saw a familiar face - familiar in more ways than one. She racked her mind to put a name to it... Ah! With a smile on her thin face, Temperance slid into the seat next to him.

"Hi, Julian, long time no see. How're you finding your new space?"

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"Hello," answered Julian brightly, his posture having snapped straight the second he was addressed. "How nice to see you! Because you are my friend. My space is the same as it has been since the day I ran to this town from Chicago. How is your space?"

the semblance of unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Well, if that wasn't oddly oversharing she didn't know what was. "Are you alright?" It looked like he was on drugs or something.

"I don't know if I'd call us friends. I'm not even sure of your name, really."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

Julian blinked, puzzled. "My name? You already said it, I'm Julian. I don't have any other names."

the semblance of unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Good, she thought. He wasn't breaking character. Although, surely his character wasn't so odd. "Oh, right." She said lamely. "I thought you had a twin brother."

Temperance kept shooting him sidelong glances. "Do you remember me?"

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"Can't say I do," Julian answered frankly. "So maybe you're right about us not being friends." He frowned a bit. "I don't know your name, actually."

the semblance of unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"Okay, Julian, that was a joke. You seriously don't remember me, Temperance? You just said I was your friend..." Her gaze was sharply intense. Temperance stared at his eyes, his hands. Did he?

"Are you on something?"

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"I'm on a bus..." Julian offered with a tilt of his head, his eyes darting around to acknowledge the vehicle's interior. "Besides that, I'm not anything that isn't prescribed..."

He paused, crinkling his brow in confusion -- the only Julian-like mannerism he'd presented so far.

"How did we meet, again?"

the semblance of unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"You are... acting really strange." Temperance reached out and tried to catch Julian's wrist. She wasn't even sure if drugs could affect them - they certainly didn't over at court, but she could try to take his pulse.

"We've met at a few coffee houses, at the hospital. I've drawn your blood when I used to work at the clinic, even. What's up with you?" If he was this disoriented, this was a problem. And not something fixed by hospital care.

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

He had a normal enough pulse for a fetch passing as human. Eyes wouldn't be dilated strangely, either. The only abnormal thing noticeable about him was an unusually symmetrical bruise (or it looked like a bruise) on the back of his neck up near the base of his skull. It had an oddly well-defined outline for a bruise as well, and a fetch would easily recognize the touch of magic about it.

"That sounds about right," said Julian agreeably. "Those are places I visit often. Do you think I'm sick?" He would prove receptive to any further inspection.

the semblance of unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"I think," she said blandly. "You are malfunctioning." Could his attachment to Julian's memories be frozen? At this rate, someone would easily suspect something was wrong. The whole point of the tithing process was to blend in, to prove themselves.

"We should go see someone about this."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

"Oh, dear. I don't want to malfunction." Julian, at least, looked properly alarmed. "Where do we need to go?"

the semblance of unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Temperance pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just follow me." She pulled the cord to stop the bus. There was no doubt in her mind that she could easily find a way over into other Ashdown. She just needed to find an entrance. Gesturing for him to follow, she got off the bus and beelined for an over-saturated archway.

"We're going to see a friend."

cibarium

 

[cibarium]

If he was acting strange, at least he was agreeable. With a trusting nod Julian followed Temperance out of the bus and into the other Ashdown, and they both quickly ended up at Court. The second he arrived he slowed his pace a little bit and gave an interested look around, as if he'd never actually been here before.

shibrogane

the semblance of unity