wcrldend

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Odette looked towards her tea in surprise, as if she hadn't realized it was there. She grabbed it, taking a tentative sip of it and then hummed her amusement. "They do but...can't help when things occur to me." Odette raised a brow, noticing the way she scanned the room. "Looking for someone?"

"Oh, you don't need to tidy up for little ole' me. Just here to get some joe and get in the zone." She muttered brightly, scanning at the expanse of paperwork in front of them out of sheer curiosity. Mostly computer stuff from what she could tell but she's not entirely familiar. It's not her area of expertise but she's had similar clients before. Academic types are usually very unpredictable. Jackie took a long sip of her coffee then scans the room once before turning her attention back to the latter. "You working off the clock for free? Tea's getting cold, hun. I hope they're payin' you good for all that."

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Odette had used the distraction to slip unnoticed into the building, visible only by parting dust motes. It was a handful of minutes, get in, grab the blueprints, get out. She folded the parchment up, storing it in a thin bag that strapped to her back beneath her shirt. She exited the building to find people still crowded around, staring and when she got close enough to see what they all were looking at, her invisibility came crashing down. Fear hit her like a physical thing and Odie reeled at the impact of it. It was painful, the sinking in her chest the way she wanted to scream but the feeling waned. She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, steadying, even paced and even when everyone had moved on she remained locked on to the figure. Eve as they locked onto her.

"Are you?"

Like a sore thumb ; @wcrldend 📍 Sol City

The adrenaline had just about worn off when Kei made their measly attempt at blending back into the crowd—which went about as badly as anyone would guess. Neon green and bright purple seemingly seeped from her eyes and mouth as she leaned against the wall, momentarily satisfied from what she had accomplished. At the very least whichever poor sap she had scared earlier had already bolted off into another direction.

The lingering stares of the crowd didn’t help to normalize the pigments across her face; spikes of fear here and there only prolonging the process. Maybe she should move to a less populated area?

Kei takes notice of an unbreaking stare from one, pinpointing with great accuracy. “Enjoying the show?” A grin spread across her decorated face.

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"all kinds, i make them. arms, legs, flippers, wings..." odette rambles, "not if you don't need one." odie is used to indirect threats, never the front person, never in the line of fire. once the immediate-ness of his appearance wanes, the more she's just standing there and he's not making a move to kill or maim, she can start turning the wheels in her head. she's needs information. "ah, do you like being up high?" she deliberates where she could make it if she makes herself invisible. "how'd you get up here?"

it seems like a fair trade to him. "i don't know, i just wanted to look. you're high up." ed hasn't climbed something as tall as this building... ever. glancing down, it's almost enough to make him dizzy. but he likes that feeling. it's familiar, if not exact. "what kind of body parts do you have? do i get to pick?" suddenly excitable, his other hand comes up to join the first. he's eager to be invited in, now that body parts are on the table. clearly he doesn't understand what she means.

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"definitely not." odette shivers and takes a bigger gulp of her drink. she sets the glass aside and pulls out her notebook, thick pages bound together by yarn and a dream. the sketch shows hacksaw a figure bearing a hockey mask in charcoal. "i don't think i could imagine something like that."

kali appears unimpressed... but only because drunk as she is, it's difficult to remember that people often rely on facial expressions. it's fascinating how malleable they are in comparison to hers, but a little horrific in the same vein. exaggerated, even. naturally, she's sensible enough to keep those thoughts to herself. "something? masked?" she parrots, trying to keep up. "and you're sure it wasn't a—oh, what's the word—a mirage?"

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Is this what whiplash feels like? "Thank...you?" Somehow the words, which in Odette's book sound like a compliment, don't feel like a compliment usually feels. Instead, Odie is befuddled, expression showing as much. "What would you have me wear instead?"

"As well you should be!" Leizu deliberately misses the point of this woman's word. "What a waste, honestly. You know, in the 1990s the finest fashion ateliers around the world would be going to war just for a chance to have someone like you on their runways. And here you are in... that." she tuts, gesturing disapprovingly at Odette's clothing with her neatly manicured fingers.

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"Sushi'd be fine..." Odette stepped back towards the exit, then upon thinking of the friend she'd made the other night, she added, "actually the taqueria...I don't think I can eat fish for a while..." She smiled cryptically, as if at an inside joke.

“ I hope not, ” Sebni tried his best to take it down a notch. That was always his problem before, wasn't it? He was always too much for her. He loved her too much, gave too much of him to her, especially when she didn't want that much of him. She had her reasons, and even though he never really understood them, he tried his best to accept that some things were never just meant to be. You can't love someone into loving you. “ Do you have a preference? There's a new sushi bar down the street, and a taqueria beside it if you're not feeling raw fish. ”

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"The intent behind plying me with alcohol is...?" Odette's at ease in Hikari's presence, fingers wrapping around the glass and gently bringing it to her mouth. "Change my world how...exactly?"

“ So, how did you like my performance? ” Hikari purred the question in the other's ear as she poured them a glass of sake. She personally recommended the bottle to Seth Vanmeter himself during a random conversation one night and was pleasantly surprised to see it on The Bearded Lady's menu a few days later. Maybe she really was Seth's favorite performer, and to think, she didn't even need to put a psychic blade through his forehead. “ Ever had something like this before? It'll change your world. ”

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"well, thank you fins," odie takes a few steps away towards the direction of the rest of the city, deciding to collect her winning some other time. "i'll have to bet on you next time i see you're up." she waves, a gentle and small motion.

"no," he answers, shaking his head. "i mean, they haven't told me i am... but sometimes it's last minute." fins doesn't enjoy fighting even on the best of days, but particularly not during the heat of their continent's summer. his size and strength get him far, but if he's suffering from the desert atmosphere, it's difficult for him to do well. and unfortunately, that's all he's good for. "i stay just in case."

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well, then i will take this off your hands, then. odie nods and then dials someone on her comm, arranging for transport. the cybernetics specialist turns her attention back to him. what's your name?

me? no, i'm not much of a tracker. it doesn't make sense to follow a trail that, as far as he's concerned, has a dead end. emphasis on dead. it's possible the thief is alive and kicking, but given the state of the bike... if they are, they're certainly not getting it back. as far as i can tell, they met their match.

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there is groaning and screeching, a cacophony of beeps and buzzes warning error! error! and she is suddenly very alone. "no. no. no. no--" she doesn't want to be alone. no, she really, doesn't do well in that type of climate and her usual passivity is replaced by unfiltered, knee-jerk fight or flight emotions. in fact, the moment agent walker's foot disappears through the exit hatch she believes him to be abandoning her to die in this contraption. she doesn't trust him to return be it for lack of ability or desire to do so. she doesn't trust anyone to come back for her because in the past, no one has. "i'm ok, i'm ok." she repeats her mantra and tears are welling as she looks around for anything that may be of use. anything that will give her any sort of idea.

"it's alright, just hold on!" the transport goes from rocking to full-on rolling, much to the displeasure of adrian's stomach. fortunately, when it finally stops moving—for who knows how long—they're still upright. "i don't know, but stay in here. i'll go out and see if there's..." admittedly, he hesitates. what does he tell her? that there's a very real possibility there's some kind of horrible monstrosity out there wanting to swallow them up? the truth always feels like a bad play. unfortunately, it's the only one he ever has. "i'll make sure that we're safe." cocking his gun, he steels his nerves ( and his stomach ) and exists through the top hatch.

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The devil never slept and that was true for Odette as well. Unable to find respite in being still, she had grabbed her notebook and gone off to sector 2 to get more schematic ideas for her more...plant-based clientele. It was there that she saw her, one of the botanists, blood coming from her nose. "Right." Odie pulled a handkerchief from her bag, handing it over. "So that's just a normal thing that happens?"

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She had a tendency to overwork herself, mainly to prove herself useful to others. She worried that if she slacked off people would find her to be a detriment and she'd end up going back to being an experiment subject. And maybe it was her pushing herself too hard or just the lack of sleep but she was caught off guard by the warm liquid that dripped onto her shirt. "Huh?" she said as she gently tapped her fingers against it - only to see it being blood. "I'm fine, everything is fine," she muttered to herself, unaware of someone nearby

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Odette's sickness abated and the air seemed less stifling with every passing minute. She'd not been to many other places. Only the ones nearest to Sun City and before that... well, she tried her best to block out those memories. She couldn't relate to that sentiment-- the familiar faces bit. She rather longed for some sense of belonging. Though she was sure there those out there that longed differently. "You didn't like those familiar faces?"

"Near New Orleans," she nodded, "I grew up there but kind of needed a change of pace after awhile - too many familiar faces"

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"i can," she says again, now rising from her desk and fully facing the person outside her window. "if you tell me what you're here for." observe. collect. assess. then odette gathers, she'll need to run. she itches to turn invisible even now but she holds off, reigning in fear for rational thought to take over. "are you in need of a body part?"

she answers, but fear-stink is heavy around her even through the glass. why? he hasn't even done anything yet. he almost says as much, but gets distracted briefly by his reflection on the glass. bringing a hand up—gecko-like... how he had gotten up here at all—and asks, instead, "can you open this?"

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"there's something out in the woods." odette admits, finger tracing the rim of her cup. she already feels flushed and her words are quiet as she speaks them. "they're masked and a bit boogeyman-esque...like they're haunting the place or something." she's not one to fan the flames of a rumor but kali is the exception, one of few she let's in...even if it's still in the shallows.

kali sniffs, but shakes her head. "no, dear. i'll just complain whenever they come back." there's nothing that sets fire beneath someone's feet like being criticized by a polar bear... at least, that's her experience. maybe they're afraid she'll eat them. fine, as long as it motivates them to keep her happy! "in the meantime, tell me about what you've been doing. don't leave anything out, i need all the inspiration i can get."

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"Where were you before?" Odie pressed, gently as she could. She was thoroughly distracted from being sick, this conversation a good anchor.

"I've noticed," she laughed softly, knowing that a place where someone could feel normal - or as close to it as they could - was a rarity for people like her. "You have a point, though it hasn't been easy getting to this point"

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"oh. i see..." unexpectedly warm and caring. she seems to be running into that more and more these days but she still doesn't know what to do with it. how does she respond? what does she do with such an earnest response? what are the steps to get out of such a foreign reception of kindness? odie attempts to change the subject. "are you going to fight tonight?"

her question only confuses him more. "...why?" he asks, head cocked toward one side. "...because you might need it?" fins is well aware that people are mostly unkind in this world—even if he struggles to believe it—but that doesn't change how he navigates it himself. he always would rather choose to do good than not. otherwise, what's the point? "if you need help, i wouldn't want you to go without." it's what he would want for himself, too... however unlikely.

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do you think you can track the person who stole it? she shows him then her eyebrows furrow and she adds, if what got the bike didn't get them...

all yours, he types. it's not the bike itself he's bothered by, anyhow. it's worth nothing now... but it hadn't always. i'm just wondering what wrecked it, that's all, he continues, showing her his screen. i know he'll end up asking me.