maskormenacelogs | you've been noticed and marked

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you've been noticed and marked

WHO: Manabu, Mitchell, Manabu's magical dog
WHERE: Maurtia Falls
WHEN: ~October~
WHAT: Fancy schmancy political suit comes to make nice and take photos with dirty laborers
WARNINGS: dog pee

[today is warm. well, most days are warm here, what with all the concrete and autumn being more of a suggestion than a feature here in the south. it makes the work harder, but Manabu's sure it'll be more satisfying that way. no sense in complaining about it, either; he's here for the long haul.

he's got some help, too: Scout's already managed to make an unauthorized appearance before that, at first, made the landscape contractors uneasy (you know: dogs, biting, pooping...also he popped out of a tiny ball on Manabu's belt and that's weird), but Scout's a good boy. he's charming. and helpful! that Bite move he has really helps yank out some of the more heavily-rooted things in the mulch, and dogs are good at digging naturally, so...

so it's warm today, but it's not bad. Manabu's got plenty of work to do and a good poochyena to help him do it, so the mood is generally pretty good!

look at this guy, just minding his business and stuff. just cleanin' out parks. wow.]

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[ Normally, Mitchell would campaign in Virginia. That's his state, after all, but he had a responsibility as an import senator to make sure there was plenty of face-time in other areas, like the import cities. And with this being the season for prison reform -- particularly with imports -- the Senator was making the rounds at different sites for community service, the entire cavalcade of media and hangers-on that normally came with such things were milling about.

And Mitchell? Well, he was skirting things at the moment. One of the last folks on the stop was a young man but... he had a dog. Of some sort.

A dog.

Probably not the best to approach, but... he could hear the whispering. Why would the Senator skip one? Especially one of the only imports in the area. He approached slowly, eyes trained more on the animal than the boy. ]

Hey there, working hard?

[Manabu may not've been paying much mind to the small crowd (it's a city, city's got crowds), but Scout's a pretty keen guard. the poochyena's nose is lifted from the dirt, ears and tail perked up with keen interest in the fancy-smelling suit wandering over. he even bristles and gives a yip when he gets into conversational distance -- that's close enough, stranger!]

Mm? [Manabu looks from his work to Scout, to the shoes at Scout-level, and slowly up. he blinks, squinting past some of the hair smeared to his face, his hands still full of dirt and old flower bulbs.

...didn't he see this guy on the network before? heck, maybe even talked? it's a weird, nagging familiarity that's too hazy to pinpoint.]

Uhm, hello. Can I...help you?

[ Animals could always smell the wrongness on Hundred. Sure, he covered it up with smiles, nice words, a congenial attitude and policies that actually did make sense, but... Animals didn't care about that crap. They could tell when things were wrong, and that's exactly what Mitchell was, wasn't it?

He gave the dog another look, before he stuck out a hand. ]

Mitchell Hundred, US Senator. [ A beat. ] I've been out meeting people doing the hard work out here. Trying to get a sense for how they feel about this kind of work.

[the name is unusual enough to Manabu to spark the memory...they'd spoken before. it was years for the politician, but maybe just barely that for Manabu. not much to go on to say they're acquainted, but at least he knows this guy's established, an imPort like him.

and...apparently doing alright for himself, given the suit and the little entourage. he shoots a slightly concerned look toward the cameras before noticing the extended hand.

oh.]

A-- [he hesitates, then peels his filthy gloves off, pushing himself up off his knees to stand and shake his hand.] Mm, alright...I guess that's fair. You mean-- [Scout yaps.] Scout, sh! You mean people like you and me? Or...just in general?

Sorry -- [ He said, shaking his hand, and there's a put-upon laugh. ] My powers don't work nice with animals. It's not his fault, it's mine.

[ Clearly, he was used to being attacked, snarled at, and outright distrusted by most of mother nature's creatures. Clearly the press corps were almost fed up at this point. Really, who knew dog attacks could be boring? ]

But yes, I mean people like you and me. What brought you out here today?

[the bipeds talk it up, and Scout takes that time to venture forth a bit; if Manabu's not suspicious of him, that's fair, but the nose knows better. Mitch's shoes get careful little sniffs intermixed with chirpy, rumbly growls. thoughtful poochyena-speak.]

A, uh... [Manabu retracts his hand, bringing it to the back of his head. his mouth pulls on one side, sheepish.] Court order, actually. Um, these guys-- [his hand moves, jerking a thumb over his shoulder toward where the contractors are still working (sort of; this interruption does pique some interest).] They're good enough to help me get my community service hours.

That's very nice of them.

[ Mitch said, and tried to keep his eyes focused on Manabu, but his foot danced away from Scout, just a step, an instinctive need to establish distance from the animal. Just because he wasn't attacking now, didn't mean that he wasn't going to attack a minute from now. ]

Do you think it works -- this kind of probation? Criminal justice for imports is difficult, given the powers factor, so I'm curious about your perspective.

Um, well. [he squints, thinking.] I...think so. For me, anyway. But that's because I want to try and become a police officer. Seeing it on the other side...that's probably helpful, right?

But I don't know if it'd work for other people... I mean, some people I've talked to, they--they don't even think I deserved punishment. So. [shaking his head.] So something clear-cut...I don't think that--tha--AH! NO!

[he suddenly ducks down and snatches Scout up off the ground just as the pup's gotten his leg up to pee all over Mitch's shoes.

Manabu hops backward, red-faced.] Jeez! I-I'm sorry! Sorry!

[ Mitch was slightly pale, and his foot scooted back, and he swallowed. ]

Ah, it's okay. I've...definitely had worse from animals -- got the scars to prove it, too.

[ It's with good humor, that he says it. Clearly he's in politician mode, which means he'll put up with nearly anything. ]

Do, uh -- Does he need to go potty? [ Clean mouth, Mitchell. Clean mouth. ]

[Scout, for his part, looks...rather smug. he's pretty aware of his hijacking of the situation and he's proud of it.

Manabu, frazzled, tries laughing, but it's a wasted effort.]

Aa, haa...M-maybe, I don't know. He's kind of a troublemaker. I'm sorry. He'll stay right here.

Um. Was--was there anything else?

Well, that depends.

[ He's clearly trying to be as congenial as possible, and it shows. He smiled, and rolled a shoulder. ]

What do you want to see in the future? What kind of support are you not getting that you feel like you need?

I...I don't know if I'm the right person to ask...

[he frowns, face still a faint shade of pink.] I mean...I understand the costs and needs of a system, but...I'm not smart enough to know what has to go into it. What I did...what I had to do...I did it regardless of what the consequences would be.

But...whether or not those consequences are fair? I... [he shakes his head; Scout whines a little at his trainer's unease.] I don't know. Some of my friends say I shouldn't have to bother with this at all, but...that doesn't feel right, either.

No, it doesn't. [ He's somber, now, less polished. He ran a hand through his hair. ]

But...sometimes the balance is hard to find. I know back home I had to jump through so many more hoops than other people to do simple things. I couldn't even leave the country without special permission from the government.

Sometimes...just complying, showing that we can goes far. It's not fair, but... it's good to pave the way for others.

Mm. [Manabu nods in agreement, shifting his grip on his dog a little.] For someone like me...I, I don't think it's that much of a hassle. But for others...the places they've come from, the things they've had to deal with...that doesn't disappear right away and make things an easy fit here. And--I mean, I'm sure lots of people understand that much, right? Even the unreasonable ones...

No, they don't. And some people do. I think... we sometimes forget that some people are seeing this world, and their way of doing things for the first time, and it can be totally alien. Just like we have people from worlds with no technology, sometimes we see people from worlds where there's too much authoritarianism, or even worse -- total.

It kind of helps to remember that we've all got our perspectives, and sometimes that's going to mess with things, you know?

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you've been noticed and marked

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