Notebook.ai

I Am Human (one on one, closed)

@Mojack group awooga moment forum 38 comments schedule
group
@Mojack group

Freya brushes at one of her cuts and looks to the somewhat open streets. Sirens are growing louder and louder. Freya may have a good memory, but she hasn’t been to most of the city yet. She doesn’t know where she’s going. After some consideration, Freya looks back at Frost, ready with her answer.

“I’ll come with you. I’m not familiar around here, so it seems like the better option.” Freya nods. She knows she’ll need to get home soon, though. If she’s out too long - the border guard will know she’s still logged into the system; displaying her ‘out of the slums.’

She hasn’t been out for that long, though. She’s got a fair bit of time left, so Freya just focuses on calming her interior and making the effort to look that way on the outside, too.

@croccin-champagne

"Then keep up." Khione said simply, spinning on her heel and starting off down the street in the opposite direction she and Rico had come from. Just in case. Rico met up with them as soon as he could, falling into step beside Freya and cradling one hand in the other. His wrist looked swollen to twice the normal size of a wrist, and was covered in ugly splotches of purple and yellow.

"Well hello there, gorgeous. You taggin' along with us?" The man greeted, eyes twinkling with an almost child-like light as he grinned a lopsided grin. Warm brown eyes and dark hair that flopped into his face almost gave him the appearance of a puppy, though something in his walk said he was a bit more dangerous than he appeared, if the Reapers jacket he was wearing was any indication.

group
@Mojack group

She nods, tagging along. She keeps her pace even, also giving her some time to inspect the surrounding buildings. It’s clear Freya hasn’t been out of whatever home she came from very often, or she just stays around the same area. Which is, to be fair, true.

Freya looks at the man who had just spoken to her. She’s still walking, but she nods as she responds, giving a small smile. It’s best to be friendly for as long as you can, Freya is taught. Even when you’re nervous.

“Yes, until I can get a map at least so I can head home. I’d rather not stay back there though, with the police on high alert.” She notes at the end. She looks back ahead, moving a hand to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear. It must’ve come loose.

@croccin-champagne

"Oh, you fit right in." Rico commented lightly, still grinning as he faced forward again, keeping an eye on Khione. "We don't stick around for the cops either. Can't, really. One more arrest and I don't get bail for a week, and if the police even look at Frost, she's out for months." He rambled on, waving his arms about as he talked, and wincing every other word as he upset injuries.

"Spilling secrets to strangers is such a you move, Rico." Khione commented from up ahead, not sounding that upset, but just dull. Empty. Such a strange thing, listening to someone talk like that. Like they had no emotions at all.

group
@Mojack group

Freya looks ahead. “Yeah,“ she starts, “I haven’t had too many run-ins with the cops myself. I’ve been apart of certain situations though, where I’ve had to lay low. Not be a suspect, I mean. I’ve even seen some of the Riot Cops once, and they’re ten times worse than your average cop. A lot scarier.” Which was true. Freya got out of the old apartment back then just as the Riot broke into the building for whatever reason they may have. There were a lot of arrests that day.

She stretches out her arms slightly as she walks, releasing the stiff feeling she had in them before. “My mother used to tell me, if you ever get a feeling, listen to that feeling. Could save your life. Maybe even change it.”

She takes notes of how her two acquaintances talk. She does that with everyone, really. She’s heard some people like Frost speak before, but she knows each person is different, with their own personality and history, reasons, and more. She doesn’t comment on it, though.

“Where exactly are we headed to?” Freya asks.

@croccin-champagne

"The Hole." Khione and Rico answered at the same time, the former's deadpan clashing with the latter's cheery tone in an almost comical way. "That's the bar." Rico continued, to explain. "Frost's bar, technically. It's called the Watering Hole, but everyone just calls it the Hole, because of how many people practically live there."

"Anyway, your mother was right." Khione said, referring to Freya's earlier comment. "Trust your gut. My ma used to say that, sorta similar, I guess. Managed to drill it into my head so thoroughly, it saved my life in my first fight. Gut said duck, and I missed the first blow without even realizing I was being swung at." She said, probably the most conversational words she'd said in succession since they'd met. "Hole's just another block this way, don't worry." Subject changes were, apparently, a common thing from her.

group
@Mojack group

Freya nodded, giving a slight smile. She brushed at her arms, looking at them momentarily, before returning her vision back to in front of her. “Ah,” she said, “I’ve never been to a bar before. Never got the chance. Guess this’ll be my first visit then. On odd terms, though..” She ended her statement, referring to the incident with the fight.

“Yeah, we’ve got those ‘gut feelings’ for a reason. Keep us alive, usually.” She glanced up to the sky for a second. “Good to know that we’ll be there soon, then.” She gave a look behind her as she walked. As long as no one shows up, of course but I don’t think they really care about us considering we left the scene so early. There was a slight change in her expression, a cautious, maybe even suspicious one, but it fell fast and she returned to a more neutral-slight smile expression.

@croccin-champagne

((sorry! this got buried in my notifs for a while!))

It took them about five minutes, true to Khione's word.

The bar entrance was situated in one of the cleanest looking(and smelling) alleys in the city, just across the street from a pizzeria. It was a two level building, the upstairs level functioning as an apartment for Rico and Khione, and whichever other Reapers needed a place to crash or get fixed up at any time. The door itself wasn't locked, and Khione shoved it open, motioning Rico through and holding it open for Freya.

The inside looked exactly like one would expect an empty bar to be, desolate, and quiet, though it was warmer looking than one would expect from a bar ran by someone like Khione and frequented by gang members. The shelves behind the bar were lined with various bottles of liquor, and the chairs were stacked upside down at each table, except for a few places where Khione hadn't gotten the chance to put them up.

"Welcome to the Hole. Fancy a drink?" Khione asked as she shut the door behind them, leaving it unlocked again. "My first aid kit is behind the bar, so it'd kill two birds with one stone. Rico, my maps are upstairs."