open log

[latkje]

Date & Time: Week of 8/26
Location: All around the marketplace, training areas, et cetera.
Characters: Nash and you ???
Summary: Errand running, people watching, fake fighting, things like that.
Warnings: N/A

ONE｡
Nash is preparing for a mission, the shape of which he can't be sure of. So, he decides he needs to fill up his pockets. Twine, bits of charcoal and flint, gunpowder, lockpicks, bandages— you never know what will come in handy, just that some stuff tends to be handier than others.

He browses the stalls of the marketplace, sometimes running his gloved fingers along the wares. When he needs to buy something he haggles, smiling. Truth be told, Nash doesn't have a list. It's always better when you improvise.

TWO｡
After his shopping, and during it, really, Nash darts away to cafes to sit down a while. This one is on the corner, and he always takes the table where he can get the best view. He also always flirts with the waitress, or tries to— this one, Betty, her nametag says— isn't having any of it. So Nash sighs with some exaggeration and puts his arms behind his head, staring out at the people on the street.

The little room is thick with people, but the seat across from Nash is empty.


THREE｡
Even here, it's easy to feel out of practice. Or it could be that Nash is really getting old, that his body doesn't zip the way it used to. That's probably true, but he doesn't want to think about it.

So, he's practicing with one of those punching dummies. Left arm, right arm, hollow thud noise, and so on and so forth. It's not an exact science. The hard part of it is keeping track of your own form, even in the mindless repetition. He's been practicing long enough that sweat has turned his hair sticky.

This is the only place where he doesn't want to run into people.

Comments

two;

[reversemole]

( coffee mug in tow, kaji settles into the open seat easily enough with a smile painting his lips. )

You played the good game, ( comes offhandedly from him, casting a nod towards the woman who had just shuffled into the kitchen. his drink is the closest thing they had to a ristretto, and that meant it was as black as the ace of spades. as far as he's concerned, business concerning the likes of women was always meant to be shared over a brew as bitter as his. ) Don't think she's taken?

Re: two;

[latkje]

[ Nash follows the stranger's glance towards the woman. ] Maybe. Truth be told— I wouldn't have cared.

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that.

[reversemole]

( he smiles to his mug, taking his third almost unmeasurable sip. )

Honest men don't hide their deeds.

[latkje]

But time covers them up all the same, right? It's the stories we tell that keep going.

[reversemole]

Meaning, the best stories are often lies.

( he shrugs. )

Not that I mind.

[latkje]

Lie sounds so black and white. [ He waves his hand around a bit— he means to suggest vagueness. ] I'd say that stories speak to different truths.

[reversemole]

( in a dull world, sometimes it's nice to have such a stark contrast as black and white. )

You're saying that to a man who has dedicated his whole life to finding one simple truth.

[latkje]

Have you found it?

[reversemole]

Only to a fault. I found many pieces, but decided to keep everything for myself.

( before anyone can say 'what a selfish dick', he manages to reiterate some of the particulars. )

Well, maybe not. But that would steer this conversation right back to the matter of women, wouldn't it? My drink is almost finished.

[latkje]

I hope you don't find your women in pieces.

[ A chuckle, as he's thinking it over. ]

[reversemole]

As long as I'm careful, I shouldn't have to worry.

( except his woman actually did get blown up into pieces. by a grenade.

but not even kaji knows that, so all is good in the hood.

outstretching a hand: ) I don't think I've caught your name.

[latkje]

[ Whoops! }

I don't think I've thrown it. I'm Nash. Nash Clovis.

[ He returns the handshake— strong and practiced. ]

[reversemole]

Ryoji Kaji. ( it's a comfortable handshake, though he knows all too well that there wasn't a thing to be gained by using them as integrity indicators. ) but just 'Kaji' will do. It's a pleasure.

[latkje]

[ It's a possible "handshake practice" indicator. ]

So what brings you to this little corner, Kaji?

[reversemole]

Just a little eavesdropping. Most information worth knowing takes less effort than asking around.

( needless to say, gossip was positively swarming at the worst of times. )

And -- ( he pulls a cigarette, carefully neutralizing his expression. he's not so much referring to his smoking vice over the earlier point, however. ) -- here, no one notices.

[latkje]

Sometimes it's hard to notice things you don't want to see, isn't it?

[reversemole]

That's why I have no expectations.

[latkje]

[ He smiles at that. ]

It's a good philosophy. I just have a hard time keeping to it.

[reversemole]

Well, I can't help but feel jealous. Life is easier when you're bound by no philosophy.

( even the most noble ones. )

[deductus]

[Sherlock spends quite a bit of his time outside, learning the ins and outs of the city and keeping his deductive skills sharp by watching people. Nash catches Sherlock's attention through his purchases. They're unusual in their combination, enough to make him approach the other to confirm his theories.]

Preparing for a little trip?

[latkje]

[ Nash raises an eyebrow, but doesn't seem otherwise phased by a stranger approaching him. ]

A voyage to who knows where. [ And then he squints. ]

Why, are you planning to join me?

three

[commentboxtroll]

"That really isn't a dashing look for you."

Of all the places not to run into people, the training room ends up being the exact spot that Caesar finds him at. Originally his plan involved sulking down to make another attempt with the swords, but seeing Nash down here as well, it's a quickly abandoned one. It's fine for people who don't know him to see him fail terribly, but someone who does? No thanks.

So instead, he's stopped a reasonable distance away to watch and flippantly comment on the little unimportant details.

[latkje]

Nash raises an eyebrow, but doesn't turn. He doesn't need to see Caesar to figure out exactly who he is and what he's doing.

"And that's why I usually prefer to use my words."

[commentboxtroll]

"A good choice," is all Caesar says in reply, at first. After that, there's a short pause where he tries to figure out what else he could possibly be down here for as an excuse for being here at all.

Of course, there is one thing that makes sense to mention, so that'll do.

"Did you notice that they're gone?"

[latkje]

"Of course." The question was almost an insult, but Nash keeps his voice is blank. Truth be told, he doesn't know how he feels about it. He isn't sure that he wants to. That past was still a hard thing to think about.

"I also noticed you didn't come down here ask me that."

[commentboxtroll]

Caesar sure knows how he feels about it. Relief, for the most part! Clive may have been useful, but those two together... Though what else Nash has managed to notice gets a grimace. Figures.

"No, I didn't. I came down here for something else, only I've changed my mind about that."

Maybe he can change the topic, too.

"Since you do know, would you like that powder of yours back?"

[latkje]

"There's a limited number of things to do here, you know." Of course Caesar knows. Then Nash shakes his head.

"I can make more. And they aren't the only people around who use guns."

[commentboxtroll]

"But do those guns work the same?"

He really doesn't know! How are those things made? Was it all similar, no matter the world? He shrugs and gives the other end of the training room a side-glance, where the other dummies and the training weapons were.

"Well, obviously it has something to do with training, but I was hoping the place would be empty."

[latkje]

"You and me both," Nash says, sighing. He turns around and looks at Caesar, finally.

"And I haven't really experimented." The Guild training had instilled in him some fervent, almost superstitious respect for firearms. Nash doesn't like the Guild, but he can't leave their rituals that easily. He's escaped more than anyone has, he supposes. "But I've been taking gunpowder from the stores here for a while, and it seems like the same stuff."

[commentboxtroll]

"It's not as though I'll be offended if you want me to leave. I'm not exactly planning on hanging out here much longer, as it is."

Not wanting to look like an idiot in front of anyone, after all. He'll need to figure out a new time to come skulking around down here! But it isn't a big problem, as this just means he can go back to lazing around somewhere else.

"Is it? On Exsilium, then, perhaps, but I have to wonder about what the United Earth uses. Their guns seem to have much more impact than the ones I've seen here."

[latkje]

"You can make up your own mind." Nash didn't let people tell him where he could or couldn't go. He figured he could at least extend the courtesy.

"The guns in Exsilium have better mechanisms. You con't have to reload them— I bet they're more accurate too." But he hasn't tried shooting them, and he won't, with an almost religious denial. "Some of the United Earth's guns haven't been guns, right?"

[commentboxtroll]

It'd be a tough difference to gauge, seeing how Caesar isn't exactly keen on picking any sort of gun up himself. Those weapons are for the boogiemen lurking in the shadows, not a tactician.

"I'm not really sure what they are, if they aren't guns. Their soldiers hold them like guns, but no, maybe they aren't guns at all. Maybe they just look similar."

[latkje]

"I guess it depends on how you define it." He shrugs. "If they don't use gunpowder, the sparkle dust won't work. So, back to plan A: don't get shot."

[commentboxtroll]

"That's been my big plan this entire time," he agrees. "Though I suppose I should ask around about the UE guns. It'd be good to know, but until then..."

This is the part where he starts turning to go, raising a hand in a half-assed wave goodbye.

"I'll let you get back to your punching."

[latkje]

"If you find something, let me know." He doesn't know if Caesar will actually share information with him, but it only occasionally hurts to ask. And Nash doesn't think that Caesar will hurt him.

He makes a similar lazy wave and turns back to his punchbag.