exsiliumlogs | which one is the mute again?

Entry tags:

which one is the mute again?

Date & Time: May 15th
Location: Transit bus stop!
Characters: Jercho and Sylls (

lexiconning)
Summary: Syllona meets her network ~~buddy~~ acquaintance while waiting for the bus.
Warnings: cute quiet kids

Learning all the basics of living in a futuristic modern world was kind of overwhelming, but Syllona was willing enough to rise to the challenge. For the past month memorizing the city layout had been happening at a pretty good clip; shops, restaurants, buildings full of Exsilium's strange citizens. But exploring on foot was getting harder and harder, admittedly. The further she went from the hold the longer it took to trace her way back and even for someone so used to traveling long distances the whole thing was getting out of hand. What would she do when she got too far for a day trip?

So it was with a deep, worried frown she found herself sitting at a bench, waiting for what might be another option. Avoiding the.... big, metal contraption that everyone else seemed to use to get around could only get her by for so long. The 'bus', she'd heard it was called; the only problem was she could hardly make heads or tails of how it all was supposed to work.

Time ticked by, more and more people showing up to wait. She fidgeted, shifting away when someone sat down. Ugh, this was getting stressful. An idea came to mind, and her hands went for her satchel, searching-- ah! there it was. Tablet in hand, she typed out a message, carefully:
Jericho I have a question: How does a bus work? You know right?

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He had been looking for a case big enough for his guitar. Guitar case had been ideal, but the ideal was in short supply...or, maybe no supply at all, from what he'd found. And having been a year in that city gave him a fair shake at knowing what was or wasn't handy.

Ah, well. He could improvise! Now, knowing his options, he could start saving up for something suitable to––

BEEEEEEP!

Huh?

From his seat on the other end of the bus bench, Jericho startled, then fidgeted, fishing out his tablet from his small stack (notebook, sketchbook, tablet...) on his lap. He blinked, tapping open the message...oh! It's that person...

He smiled. What a coincidence: He was in the perfect position to answer that question! Weird, huh?

Of course, he was too engrossed in typing out a reply to realize its destination was a mere two feet away...

I do. Have you never seen one before?

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Whoa!

The sound made him jump. And look.

At that first beep her eyes fly over, already on edge as she was. It sounded like a tablet noise but who knew in this place. She leaned forward to see past the woman sitting between them.

Ohh, just some weird looking transport boy. Phew.

She leaned back, hand on her chest. That was the main thing she was worried about with all this bus business, it seemed to involve so many other people.

As soon as the reply popped up, Syllona flinched. Yikes, that was kind of loud, wasn't it? The woman didn't appear bothered but now that boy was looking... She frowned, tugging her veil a little further over her head. Just enough to block eye contact.

No. And yes I guess. Not back home but the city has one. When you get inside what happens?

Tap, sent.

BEEEEEEEP!

What was-- Again?!

Jericho sat up straight again at the next sound, more and more convinced that it wasn't a coincidence. He couldn't see the source, of course, what with that human barrier between them, but he was very certain.

Well, almost very certain. So he tested it one last time:

You ride it!

He waited for the sound. Then:

Do you know which route you want to take? There's different buses riding in different directions, going to different places.

Hearing the sound again, he grinned to himself, strangely excited by the happening. It was weird, wasn't it? But kind of fun. Someone who he only knew from a couple uncertain conversations in text was someone he was within an arm's reach...

One more:

Look to your left. See that map? It has routes in different colors. :)

As each text came in Syllona looked back and forth, from the sounds' direction to the words appearing on her screen. There was a long moment where she wasn't sure what to do. Was her network informant right... there?

Then the last message came in and she reddened. He was. Uncertainly, she turned to the map, eyeballing it. Oh... Well, that certainly made sense. She'd assumed it was a normal map of the city before.

She looked back down, fingers gingerly typing into the tablet. It was embarrassing to have overlooked something so simple. Not to mention how odd this was; was it an accident or did this Jericho somehow find her?

Um.

A pause. And that gets sent alone, just to be positive its really happening. There's a sigh at the tell-tale beep, followed by:

No. I didn't know all that. I just knew it was faster than walking.

It is.

He wasn't sure why he was laughing, silent as always, at the sound of her sigh. Maybe because it was just really silly, still conversing as if neither of them were right there. On his part, it was less a problem, given how much easier it was for him to type than to...well, figure out how best to converse. Did she even know sign? If she did, what were the odds it was the same kind he knew? She didn't know what buses or computers were, so there was already enough clues to convince him he was better off with written (er, typed) words.

His leisurely tap-tapping on the tablet was halted by the familiar growl of a bus drawing near. He straightened up again and stared hard, trying to decipher the letter and number combination drawing close...and then he typed very quickly.

This one is going south. Do you see the green line? It's that one. If that's where you want to go, then you should get on this bus.

That seemed to be their human divider's plan; she got up, gathering her things, and moved to the curb. For a while, Jericho stared much harder down at his screen, feeling a flush creep up his neck and to his face. The view in his peripheral had changed, but he didn't take his eyes off the message he'd already sent. That was strange, too, wasn't it?

You know what else was strange? That whoever it was he'd been helping all along hadn't said anything aloud. He only just started wondering about that.

It was so relieving he hadn't said anything yet, dealing with the usual pressure to speak up in day-to-day conversation was hard enough. Everyone here made her so nervous. What if this boy expected them to talk now that they were in person? Syllona knew from experience that likely wouldn't end well. In fact, her stomach did a small flip at the thought. No, no way. Maybe if she left now--

Then that THING--the bus--came into view and she nearly jumped out of her skin. It wasn't too unfamiliar, she definitely didn't come to the stop without knowing what to look-out for, but the sight of it approaching wasn't doing her nerves any favors. How someone came up with a metal moving contraption she just couldn't fathom.

She was so distracted she only looked down again when their fellow bus-goer took her leave. Oh, so south? A long stare at the map showed the green line went much further than she'd already explored. That was good, and technically what she wanted, she'd only have to find a ride to get back again, right?

It wasn't until she was on her feet, hand absently feeling around for her satchel strap, that she heard a creek... and looked up in time to see the bus doors close. Instinctively her arm rose, fingers splayed out, almost adding a shout to the gesture...

And watched as the bus pulled away and hurried off down the street.

For a moment she didn't react, arm still frozen in place. If only she'd said something! It was too late now, but wasn't that the story of her life? It was exasperating, and she chanced a look at Jericho before the worries behind that caught up. She frowned miserably, gray eyes asking just what she messed up THIS time.

The girl – Syllona – Syllona's sudden move was what drew his attention at last. He watched, waiting for her to follow where the woman had gone, but...she just stood there, looking lost, confused, and, well...rather afraid, if Jericho was getting the right vibe from her.

Oh, no... He looked toward the bus, shrinking away down the distant street, and then to a corner, turning out of sight. From her reaction, that was the way she wanted to go, wasn't it?

It was. That was pretty plain to see, looking back at her – looking directly at her for the first time. Had she not looked so unhappy, he'd have taken pause to really consider that, but...

In exchange, he gave her a small, sympathetic smile, his shoulders going up in a shrug. It couldn't be helped, really! And it wasn't her fault. Of course, from the look of her, she didn't know that, so...So his eyes went back to his tablet, tapping away.

It's OK. We can make sure the next one waits for you! That bus will come back in a little while...

He glanced up at her again, trying to look as encouraging as he could for that doubtful, downcast look of hers.

The smile was a little disarming, and it showed in the way her frown changed into a quirk of the mouth. Why was this Jericho being so nice? Absently, she really did wonder what a name like Jericho meant, anyway. Strange, but fitting for that reason.

She sat back down, turned more towards him now, but the gap between them intact. After looking over his message, her eyes flicked back up, bothering to actually look at him now they'd apparently be there a while.

Pale, and blonde; both still very foreign to her. The rough purple shirt stood out too-- that wasn't a normal style here, as far as she could tell.

Though it seemed for whatever the reason, he wasn't talking either. But hey. If that meant they were still writing to each other, she decided not to question it. In a way, that was kinda comforting.

It left so fast. Do they always do this?

Her comfort was his discomfort; Jericho thought eye contact would have been what had her set aside her own tablet and got her to talking, leading inevitably into that often-awkward strain of conversation where he'd have to explain his silence. Awkward, yes, but he had grown to anticipate it. Its absence was...strange, and a number of reasons could have been behind her silence. One glaring option in his mind seemed the most unlikely, and yet...

Can she not talk, either?

The telltale sound of her incoming message gave him a bit of a start, shaking him out of the thought and back to attention...and then back to the thought again as he stared at it. Eventually, his hands moved again, and he peeked up at her once he'd sent it, wondering still...

Sometimes. They run late and speed by sometimes...But if you shout or wave your hand before they stop they will wait for you.

Shout and wave! Oh course it would be the one thing she hadn't managed to do. Maybe with a little more time, or a little less... culture shock. Obviously that last one was far out of her control still. She put a hand to her face, grimacing.

I knew it.

A thought came, and she glanced back briefly to the map, whipping back around with a sudden energy to her eyes. Tapped started then paused, glancing at him for a second. Was it worth it to ask? No no, of course it was. He said he'd been here a year hadn't he?

So it follows only those routes back there. Which parts of this city do you think are worth knowing? I'm trying to find out.

Edited (fine html don't listen to me) 2013-05-17 03:55 (UTC)

Jericho stared, rather bewildered as to her intentions, and watched her attention dart around as he wondered. In being looked at again, he straightened up, blinking, then sagged a little back into his previous posture as she went about...typing again. Curiouser and curiouser...

He took time considering that message, too, his head tilted in such a way that he could peer down at it and glance her way with ease. "Worth knowing," was it? Well...that was pretty subjective; goodness knew what he found worthwhile wasn't particularly what others would think! Yet...He could guess, given what little he knew about her, and if he were right, they were a little alike in that.

So he gave it a shot:

There's a place that used to be a tended garden here, but it's overgrown now. It's still pretty though.

Why was he giving her such odd stares? Well, she supposed, if he looked foreign to her, she probably looked the same to him. Not deterring at least, since he was still responding. So.... a good thing. Hopefully.

Her mouth opened a little in surprise, reading over his reply. It wasn't exactly what she expected. Though, when she really thought about it she didn't have much in mind, anyhow. A garden... that was something she worried about ever seeing again. Flowers, especially.

She smiled, a tiny, happy noise caught in her throat, ducking her head a moment later as if to take it all back. The pesky smile was still there though, so she pulled her feet up onto the bench to serve as a shield. Face and hands out of sight, she tapped away.

That counts! Is it far?

she peeks an eye over her knee. Watching, debating. Then:

What kinds of flowers grow?

Ah!

She had made a sound! Small, sudden, and stifled quickly, but he'd heard it, definitely. It gave him a little jolt of...well, what, exactly? Satisfaction at being so sure she could speak? That was weird. Whatever the case, his eyebrows had shot up at the sound, feeling a tingle down his back. She had hidden herself at that, all tucked up on the bench...was she afraid to speak aloud? Did she have a cold? He still couldn't be sure.

Another incoming message drew his attention away, albeit reluctantly. His own mouth had quirked in turn, seeing hers; it was like they were somehow in cahoots over some secret thing...something so secret he didn't really know what it was all about.

A few...but not a whole lot. I don't think the weather up here is good for most kinds. But there's some really lovely ones.
If we wait for the bus on the orange line we can get there.

Now he looked surprised; shocked even? What was so fascinating? She did kind of break the silence, could it be that... Oh, but the reminder that she had brought heat to her cheeks. Did that spark an obligation to speak out loud? Writing was so much easier though, and kind of... fun. If he broke the silence too, it would be so much harder!

But no, he was still typing. And-- smiling too? Why in the world was this boy so nice? Everything was so absurd. Then she scanned the message, and felt her own eyebrow raise.

'We'?

Her nose crinkled with the increase of her smile. Eyes glancing off to the street.

Jericho ducked his head when he caught her eye again, only needing to just glance the two letters lit up on his screen to know what she'd 'said.' His shoulders shrugged up and he shook his head at the look he'd been given, himself glancing back down at his tablet. Weird, but not a bad weird...

It's not right at a bus stop, so there's a bit of a walk...
That's OK, right? I can show you where it's at.

I like walking.

She slowly uncurled her legs back to the ground. For once, not feeling anxious about a stranger... which made her feel off. Unsure how to proceed. She made a thoughtful sound, chewing her lip, then went for her satchel. She pulled it open, rifling through all sorts of paper, nudging the thick black book away from the more easily damaged materials.

A quick pause to type, then back to her searching:

I want to learn the routes. I have a map. Can you help mark them?

Well, he was a fair hand at maps, he supposed...But rather than that, Jericho was more interested in finding out what passed for worth knowing to Syllona. The impression he had gotten from her and the girl who sat beside him were starting to grow distant, especially with each twitch of a smile or flash of interest not rooted in doubt.

For how disbelieving and uncertain her words had been at the start, Jericho felt compelled to give her something she could trust or...enjoy to some degree. And the garden seemed to be that, judging by her reaction. So, maps? Sure. He could mark a map.

He nodded, deftly lifting his pen out from the spiral binding of the notebook his tablet was resting on top of, giving her a smile. Sure thing!

Map retrieved, she unfolds it, smoothing the edges out and-- would you look at that! Those few feet between them is the perfect width to fit it down. That itself gains another notch of a smile, and another at the sight of his own pen.

The first thing she did was point out a few points-- leaning forward to make sure she reached. One there, labeled with "Good supplies! Lots of paper, saw fabric too", one simply labeled "Birds", and another a few blocks from it, "Bookstore! Save up". Then finally in the opposite direction from the Hold, and much further out, was "Sand, wood, broken metal". Whatever that was for, she blanched and put a hand over it. Was that a... sheepish look she was giving?

Where's the garden at?

He was exploring the notes on her map – Huh, looks like she's already covered the area close to the Hold – when the little beep hailed her next message. Another? He set it on a corner of the map, letting it work double-duty as a paperweight as he traced his finger along the little blocks and alleys...

Lightly at first, he made a few circles around the area where he knew the gardens to be at, then carefully write it just beside the circles in small, compact uppercase letters. There.

He sat up straight after that, lacing the pen between his fingers so he could hold it and type at the same time. Once he'd tapped the 'send' button, he looked to Syllona, mouth quirked, faintly amused, but moreso confused.

You can talk if you want :)

His tracing had Syllona's full attention, watching carefully to try and memorize it mentally too. His handwriting was very neat, she noticed. Did he write often then?

When she looked up, seeing his expression she mirrored the confusion. Then, of course, she looked down to the tablet in her hand.

"U-um..." Oh no. Here she was choking on the words. Blushing, she tensed up, avoiding Jericho's eyes. Her mouth opened, closed, then opened again...

"I-" She flinched, drooping her head down as her free hand raised back up to the tablet.

I'm not very good at talking.

Yikes. His eyes winced a little at her reaction, feeling a rush of alarm and embarrassment on his own behalf...and hers, as well. Did he insult her? He had no idea something like that would cause such a start.

He felt terrible, watching her close up and hide again – and just when it seemed they had some pretty common ground to build up on! Gosh...

The words on the screen only made him feel guiltier.

I'm sorry. :(

It took her a few moments, pushing away the embarrassment and disappointment because she just couldn't do it! Jericho was much nicer than anyone she'd spoken to already, shouldn't that have made it easier to open up? But it was so hard; one second she knew what she wanted to say, but when she heard the sound of her own voice...

Syllona sighed, forced herself to sit up a little straighter, and frowned down at his apology. She gave a slow shake of her head.

No. It's okay. I'm just like this.

A beat. This sort of thing happened more and more frequently since... a while now. Worrying about it only made the anxiety worse, she'd found. But she knew. She knew she had to keep pushing.

You're being really nice to me Jericho. So

She looked up. "So I can try. If you... really want."

Her voice was painfully small at that, as if speaking took more effort than it really ought to have. It was none too soothing to hear, then, her trying to endure something that seemed to cause her such trouble for his sake. And he thought...

Well. It was better to spell it out than keep it just a thought. Eyes downcast on his tablet, he took a long time to type. There was a lot to say.

You can do whichever one you like best and that's OK with me.
I was just surprised because it's usually the other way around...in something like this the other person suggest I talk. And then it gets awkward because I actually can't. :\
Sometimes people think it's weird or even rude to talk aloud to me when I can't but it's not...I like hearing what people have to say.
I like reading it too though. So don't worry, one way or the other.
OK?

He sighed, tapping and sending that off. It really was all turned around, wasn't it?

That was an awful lot of typing he was doing. With not much else to grab her attention, she glanced over at the notebooks and pads next to him. Boy, he really did do a lot of writing, didn't he? The sight did give her a chance to realize something a little weird; Jericho was still writing even though he had asked her to speak. Could it be a similar problem? No, he just seemed too... friendly for all that non-sense.

Finally, there was the beep, and she read over what he had to say. Her posture went rigid halfway through, eyes flashing back and forth from his face then back to the tablet.

"You can't--" She started, but brought the tablet up higher to read on. As if doing so would make her read faster. She frowned at the end, blushing yet again and slapping a palm over her forehead. Idiot.

Then she let out a huff, straightened up and grabbed up her tablet again, glaring determinedly into it's screen.

I didn't know you couldn't talk! Why didn't you tell me? I must look so pathetic to you.

She looked up, bring that glare along, then... the posture, expression and all deflated with a sigh. Yes, it was embarrassing, but that didn't make it Jericho's fault. If anything...

I'll write too. It's easier for me and I don't mind. You write all the time right? So I'll just do it with you. Your handwriting is really good by the way. I'm kinda jealous.

He startled when she spoke aloud again, sitting up straight and blinking. But...

Pathetic–?

Jericho looked alarmed at that, his eyes wincing quickly not a moment after. His arms felt all jittery, skin tingling with nervous energy – the sort one gets in the thick of an uncomfortable bit of conversation. This certainly qualified. The queasy look persisted as she looked up at him again, persisted with a gulp as she sighed her displeasure.

His eyes dropped quickly to the screen the moment words came his way. It was hard to feel good about the compliment at the end, given her reaction not even a moment ago...

I don't think you're pathetic at all :(
I didn't mean to make you feel bad...
You can write if you want I honestly don't mind.

She stared, eyes widening as the changes in his expression caught up with her. His wincing and nervousness in turn making her shoulders sink and sparked a little fluttery ache in her chest. The embarrassment worsened, but now for a new reason.

Seeing that typed frowny face was the worst, and it struck her then that she had no idea what to say to make Jericho feel better. So... so with nothing else forthcoming she wrote what out what came to mind.

You didn't do anything wrong. And you're really nice Jericho. I just think its weird and probably not fair because you have to type but I just do it because I can't speak up right. Writing is just easier than talking for a bunch of reasons.

OK.

He couldn't argue with whatever made her feel best, could he? Even if it seemed strange to him...Jericho sighed, shaking his head a little in some attempt to shake off nerves. His mouth quirked for a second more, rereading 'not fair'...Not fair, huh? Well, that wasn't anybody's call, really.

So, that was that, wasn't it? Resolved in that, Jericho looked up, mouth twisted to one side and eyebrows raised, giving her a very welp kind of look, shrug and all. It was a look that watered away to some distant attention as he stared past her, leaning toward the street as he did so, squinting as another bus came by. Is that...?

No, it wasn't. A quick double-check at the map past Syllona's head made him doubly sure. So he relaxed, typing again.

The next one should be the right one. We can take that one to get close to the gardens.

By the time he shrugged, Syllona herself had calmed a bit. She'd expected the misunderstanding to drag on, for Jericho to think she was as stupid as she felt and.... and he hadn't. Somehow.

But what was that, he was looking at something behind...? Syllona squinted, momentarily confused. She turned, never liking the idea of anything behind her. Another bus... She tensed but then looked over, and waited for Jericho to type.

Ah, the next one, okay. She let out a breath she hadn't remembered holding.

Thank God! I got nervous. But. But okay. And the route to the gardens was the orange one. Right?

Her eyelids crinkled in a smile, even if there wasn't one on her mouth. Even as the bus pulled in to drop off more strangers, and she gave her veil a little tug to cover her bangs, she kept her attention on him. Tentative, but hopeful all the same.

Edited 2013-05-25 01:51 (UTC)

He nodded, exchanging the look to a degree. Right. He was relieved, feeling that tense, awkward air fizzle out. A hurdle cleared, it seemed.

Funny, it had usually been him fussing quietly or flinching at times, but it seemed he was on quite the other side of that dynamic. It was an interesting perspective...Maybe I'm getting better at meeting strangers?

The wait wasn't going to be terribly long, but he wasn't about to let their conversation wither and die. He typed again.

Which places you visited did you like?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

which one is the mute again?

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