softember [OPEN]

[darkov]

WHO: Marty, others
WHERE: Maurtia Falls
WHEN: september
WHAT: soft stuff
WARNINGS: NO WARN, ONLY SOFT!!!



o1. MF#10
[having a long span of days inside without chaos is good medicine. Martin doesn't really have awareness of recovery, but sleep is less troubled, and filling hours with small activities keeps dreadful thoughts at bay for the most part. it's not a perfect recovery, but it's better than it's been in a long time.

in the house, he's often working on knitting -- he has a couple things in progress, and alternating between them between days or breaks seems to be the way to go. he's already zoned out and gotten lost more than once, discovering he's overdone a bit and having to spend more time undoing work, but even that is engrossing.

another thing, too: television. he doesn't really find himself drawn to it very often -- most of the mannerisms and lingo from the folks on the screen is hard to follow, and just forget about the storylines. things too fantastical or weird to comprehend are right out the window.

late at night, though, there are things that pop up on the public access network that really grabs his attention: there's a show that drones on and on about the nuances of manufacturing -- how things get made, detailing the process, showing the repetitive motions of machinery or handiwork...Martin gets easily hypnotized by it, invested in the start and finish, barely wanting to blink. he may not always know what the end product is supposed to be, but the processes? they're kind of beautiful in ways.

(at least he's not addicted to the shopping network???)]



o2. A grocery store
O-oh...

[Martin stops, pulled from the list in his hands, and stares down at what he'd stepped on. it was squishy...

it's pink. and fuzzy? he bends down and pokes at it warily before finding it safe to pick up and straighten back up.

it's some kind of toy...an animal of some sort? with big, googly eyes. it jingles a little when it moves. he frowns, realizing he'd heard the sound earlier while mulling around the aisles.

...wait. wasn't this in some small child's hands earlier? he wasn't paying attention to others, but he vaguely remembers glimpsing a baby shaking it from a shopping cart.

he frowns, looking around with a worried frown. what does he do with this...?]


o3. A park by the canal
[even in September, it's still warm in the city. and with the fair weather, there's a fair number of people out and about during the day.

there's less kids in the park now that school's begun, but joggers and dog-walkers and active old folks are still about...and something pretty unusual and new to Martin.

he's taken a detour off the sidewalk to avoid pissing off some passing dogs, seated a fair distance on the lawn under a tree for shade, his eyes glued to the figure clear on the other side of the walking path. some college-age person perched on a bench, busking on a guitar with his case open for spare change.

music plays all the time in the city -- retail stores, restaurants, noisy cars with their windows down... but he's not actually seen it being made. he's never seen an instrument before, either; there's no such thing in the compound back home. seeing one just out here like this is surprising...and fascinating. Martin settles his chin on his knees, wrapping his arms around his legs, and takes to staring, sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.]


o4. The library
[he's got a mountain of books from Archie (and digital texts from D33) to keep him busy for months, but there's still more use he can get out of this place. he doesn't need the quiet here (there's too many people here for it to be at all peaceful), but there are books full of different patterns for knitting projects. it's a a lot to bite off and chew all at once, but...he can't help but look ahead.

some of the complex ones are too fascinating to ignore, after all. he can't really follow the written instructions, but he spends a lot of time with his head bowed down, tracing along the illustrations with his fingers as he puzzles out the loops on his own, over and over until he can do it by memory.

deciphering patterns, memorizing similarities...these are the kinds of things he's good at, even though he'd hardly boast about it.]


o5. etc
[idk man hmu]

Comments

04

[d33tached]

[The last time D33 spoke to Martin, he certainly hadn't been in high spirits. D33 would be lying if he said that he hadn't at least thought of the child once or twice. Even months later, it's difficult for him to shake the feelings that had been instilled in him during the age event, and one of those is a camaraderie for the strange, soft-spoken, frightened young boy.

[When he sees him in the library, he's pleased to (even if he might not admit so), and he greets him softly, almost carefully:] Good afternoon, Martin. [He doesn't look particularly cold either - more flat-face neutral than anything.]

[darkov]

[the good afternoon doesn't register, but Martin does, and it pulls him right out of what he was doing: his head jerks up quickly as he looks about and locks onto D33, eyes wide with alarm from the unexpected call.]

Oh-- [realization starts to sink in the more he stares, and he belatedly turns in his seat, partway to getting up just out of habit.] Hel-hello. Sorry, I--Did you call for me? I wasn't listening, sorry--

[d33tached]

No, I've only just greeted you. [D33 inwardly cringes at how nervous Martin gets around him - instantly, as if he's one of the children he used to beat for a living. He hates that feeling.] You needn't stand up. Am I bothering you?

[darkov]

[shaking his head quickly:] N-no sir! I mean--no. Sorry. I just...got surprised. That's all. [he says so while sinking back into the chair, face red.] I wasn't...paying attention...

3

[h2no]

[archie's been trying to get out and about in maurtia falls a bit more. when he'd made the mistake of abandoning martin and then being talked out of it by rex, he decided he didn't want his fear to rule him. he still gets dirty looks and shouted at occasionally, but he realises that when he's there to take the punishment or actually talk to the people affected about what happened... offer his condolences as much as he can, then it gets a little better. he knows he'll likely never be forgiven in maurtia falls for it, but doing all he can is more important than hiding away from it.

he's sitting on a bench in the park-- not on the main path, a little off it, though near enough to martin that mightyena spots him before archie does.

like sharpedo, the dark type picks up on him relatively quickly. unlike sharpedo, mighyena does not feel the need to accost the poor teen. he's been spoken to by archie about people here that aren't fond of pokémon and dogs and he's smart enough to know how to behave.

lying next to archie's feet, mightyena looks over to martin, ears pricked. watching him... not like a predator watches its prey, but how a parent dog might watch one of its puppies struggle to learn how to walk.]

[darkov]

[Martin doesn't catch wind of this until the busker stops to relax their hands and retune the guitar, which is enough to break the spell and send his eyes wandering. they find Archie fairly quickly, and he sits up a bit straighter with surprise and a beat of--???--happiness? in seeing him?

but then he sees the dog. dog-thing. he sees the dog-thing and shrinks back down a little, his expression growing concerned. he can't approach Archie if that's in the way... (it'd be silly to think that's the whole point of having brought the dog-thing at all, yet one nasty little thought in his head dances around with the image).

what do i do...?

the longer he fusses over this, the more he realizes that this dog-thing is staring right at him like he knows what's up. and that's alarming, too. he gulps, staring back, eyes wincing now and then as if to discern just what's wrong........and when it's going to straight up lunge and try to rip his face off.]

[h2no]

[fortunately, there's no lunging at him. after a few beats, mightyena seems to realise that looking at martin is upsetting him, so he rests his head down on the grass, ears go back and he looks elsewhere. it takes another few minutes before archie decides to get up and stretch, pulling his arms behind his head. he looks over towards the busker then-- oh! there's a gremin! archie lights up immediately, waving and jogging over. leaving mightenya where he's laying.]

Yo, Mart-o! It's nice out today, huh?

o4

[queenofseers]

[ Guess who's just come in at an odd hour? Cassandra's at the point where she just divines her way into Maurtia Falls #10 without asking, if she ever feels the need- and lately, "feels the need" basically means "if she's feeling mildly paranoid." She seems to be welcome in the home any time; why not make sure everyone is holding up? It's a bit of a late hour, and she doesn't mean to stay long, but even she gets cabin fever in her apartment sometimes.

That said, she doesn't expect to find Martin watching TV- perhaps anyone else, but not Martin. Let alone...this. ]

Hey- [ She says, but her tone shows that's clearly not what she's thinking about. ] What are you watching?

[darkov]

[considering all that's happened here, Martin ought to be keener to the sound of the front door at this hour, but...considering that there's injection molding happening on the screen? fat chance of that.

he's always been a skittish sort, but this is probably the first time Cassandra's caught him totally by surprise: her appearance and voice cause him to nearly jump off the couch -- at least bouncing enough to sit upright with the widest eyes, a weird sound coming from sucking in air too fast and holding it. in the heart-stopping seconds it takes to pull his focus off the glow of the screen to the specter its light creates of her, he's pretty afraid of being almost-murdered in the home again.

but--no. that painted face is Cassandra's, and she has eyes.

weakly, as he lets out his breath:] O-ohh, Ca-cas-cassandra, I...sorry, that...I, I didn't hear you...that scared me...sorry. Um. What-? What are you? [he blinks a few times, then squints.] Why are you here so...late?

[queenofseers]

[ Oof, she didn't mean to do that. Especially knowing what Martin's been through lately. ] Shit. My bad. I should have at least said hi.

[ She looks around, wondering if there's anyone else around, but it looks like she and Martin are the only ones hanging around right now. Maybe he wants the company. She squints at the screen again. ]

Just...wanted to check on you all. [ She's not going to admit that she worries, irrationally, about something happening to this house yet again. ] Are you watching one of those "how they make it" shows? I didn't think you were big on TV in general.

canal!

[ct_7567]

[ Martin and Rex had been planning on running a few errands when Rex had received a phone call from the station, demanding his presence to sign off on some last-minute paperwork and take care of a few other things. Considering it shouldn't take more than half an hour or so, Rex simply takes Martin with him and directs him to wait in the nearby park until he's done.

It takes a little longer than it should - it always does - and Rex is in a hurry getting back to the park, even though he knows Martin would likely wait for hours if he was bid to. He stops in his rush over once he sees Martin, a too-seldom seen sense of serenity in his frame, unusually intent upon another instead of shamefully looking away. Rex stops to watch him for a moment, as though wanting to keep this image stronger in his mind than the many, many others he has of Martin and then, gait slower, approaches. ]

What's got your attention?

[darkov]

Uh-?

[Martin blinks a couple times, lifting his head up and looking up at Rex. realizing it's him, he straightens up out of his slouch, hands in the dirt and ready to push himself up to his feet as ordered--]

Hello, I--oh. What? [he realizes there was no order for that. rather...]

...Oh. Um. [he shifts, lifting up an arm and pointing out toward the busker.]

That.

[ct_7567]

Ah.

[ Rex looks over at the busker, then sits down in the grass beside Martin, content as long as the kid is. They've got plenty of time to run errands; if he wanted to get them done quickly, he would have left Martin at home. They're just an easy way to get him out of the house, and Rex likes the company besides.

He takes a moment to listen. Despite often listening to whatever the boys played on the holonet back home, he hadn't given a great deal of thought to music since arriving here. It's pleasant enough. ]

Have you never seen an instrument being played before?

( 2 )

[girlybruiser]

[ What is she, who lives all the way in Nonah, doing in a grocery store in Maurtia Falls? Long story short: work-related purposes. Some members of the country club were doing some sort of meet all the way in Maurtia Falls for the weekend, with an offer for Haru to come as they would gladly compensate her with overtime.

It's hard to say no to that.

Right now she's picking up a list of things some of the members asked for that apparently their hotel didn't provide (odd...). It's a relatively small list, so she's just about done when she recognizes the boy standing in the middle of an aisle. ]

Martin?

[darkov]

Uh-?

[he's always quick to react to the sound of his name, no matter the time or place. it's why he swiftly turns about and finds her there at the end of the aisle, his eyebrows shooting up with surprise.

even with the long gap in time in having seen her -- her properly, not as some false god -- he recognizes her quickly.]

Oh...Ha-haru? Uh, [he blinks, looking down at the little plush and back at her in a quick beat, his face growing faintly pink.] uh, hello? Hello. Um...

[girlybruiser]

[ It's always a pleasure to see Marty milling about. Haru's face lights up, though her smile is quick to drop when she spots the plush in his hands. She doesn't know what that's about, but it looks a bit too kiddish for someone his age.

(Then again, she shouldn't judge...) ]

Hello! What a pleasant surprise. [ She steps forward, grasping the handle of her shopping basket tightly. ] Are you by yourself?

04

[killtime]

[ Libraries are quaint to her at best. She doesn't recognize many modern authors, and she refuses to explain to a librarian that she doesn't have a last name to put on her fucking library card. Besides, she probably has rarer and older books just stacked away in some cave somewhere, along with hundreds of other lost treasures. But that's all beside the point. She's here because Martin is here. Because she's trying to be a good guardian, and because it's good for them to spend time together doing normal things.

It's only slightly killing her that she can't smoke inside.

Glancing over Martin's shoulder, she asks mildly: ]

What you got there, kid?

[darkov]

[the library is a quiet place, but no place seems particularly safe alone. that's why a lot of Martin's anxiety is kept in check by simply knowing Andy's lingering around.

he has a sense of her filling up space behind him before she speaks up, and it gives him a chance to fully yank his attention away from the picture he was analyzing to look up at her.]

Oh, I...I found a book of those patterns you bring over. Different ones. But this-- [he moves his hands away and pushes it to the side of the table for her to view.] I, I think this will work for the thing you want to make for Rex?

[killtime]

[ Ah. She'd half-forgotten about all of that. Seems like a lifetime ago that they were talking about making that stupid joke sweater for Rex. Normally a month or two would be a blink of an eye for her, but a lot has happened lately, even by her standards. Maybe she's just tired. That's probably what it is. Like a post-death hangover she hasn't quite shaken off just yet. ]

Good find. [ She eyes the pattern for a moment before glancing over at Martin. Maybe a bit wryly: ] I think you've been keeping up with the knitting thing more than I have. Almost makes me feel a little bad. Like I've been slacking off.

04

[consulinchief]

[Roland's been spending a good deal of his free time at the library since arriving, trying to learn more about the world he's been transplanted into. In the library, he's carrying a nearly obscene stack of books over to his usual table, and it isn't until he puts the stack down does he realize that it's already taken.]

Oh, sorry about that, I didn't realize someone was sitting here. Let me move this...

[He hastens to pick up his stack, only to realize who is sitting there.]

You seem to be in better spirits.

[darkov]

[it's not Roland himself, but the sudden thump of the book tower that startles him, has him jolt up and out of his trance of concentration. wide, alarmed eyes lock onto him without recognition -- at least, not until he hears Roland's voice.

...oh...]

I--you, uh--oh-- [it's hard to know what to focus on -- the books? the man? the words? he pushes away from the table and slides out of the chair onto his feet, putting the piece of furniture between them.] Y-yo-you can...put them down! Sorry. Sorry...

[consulinchief]

No, no! You were here first. I couldn't see you over the stack of my books.

[He picks up the stack in one large pile.]

I'm so sorry to frighten you, son.

03

[lesterzeppelin]

[ Wherever there's music, Lester isn't far behind. He can't help loitering a little longer by the guitar player on the bench, tapping his feet in perfect time to the melody.

He swears he recognizes the tune too, something about not letting your life be written for you... so he has to stop and reach into his wallet to give him five bucks. It's not much, but he figures, it's still a blessing from Apollo. It ought to count.

As he retreats, presumably to return to whatever he was doing, he sees someone else and he can't help grinning, ] Hey, Martin. Enjoying the music?

[darkov]

[the sound of his name snaps Martin out of the intense focus he'd had on watching the man plucking at the strings and he blinks a few times, looking around lost until he locks eyes with Lester.

it takes a beat from there to realize who he is, and a beat from there to try and decide if he ought to be worried or not despite the smile.

who are we kidding -- he'll be uneasy regardless! Martin's gonna Martin.]

O-oh. [he lifts his head up off his knees, his hands unlacing and slowly dropping off his legs.] Um. Hello. I--I was just...listening...

[lesterzeppelin]

I know. [ Lester sits nearby - not too close, in case he'll startle Martin even more, but not too far either. A comfortable distance, or what he hopes will be a comfortable distance. ] The kid's got a good technique.

You see how he's holding that pick, without pinching it? It lets him play as fast as possible, without losing his tempo. He must've practiced it a lot.