Rick Bradbury (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
waiting) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
maskormenacelogs2014-09-08 09:26 pm
waiting) wrote in maskormenacelogs2014-09-08 09:26 pm
Entry tags:
don't know why you're so blue
WHO: Ruka and Bradbury
WHERE: Maurtia Falls, Ruka's Apartment
WHEN: Sometime last month, mid-afternoon.
WHAT: Bradbury takes the opportunity to check up on how Ruka's doing.
WARNINGS: None for the foreseeable future!
[ The directions aren't too hard to follow, and after letting Ruka know when he'll be dropping by in the afternoon, Bradbury heads out for Maurtia Falls. He doesn't tend to travel outside Heropa unless there's a swear-in or some other imPort event going on, so the rush of getting through the Porter is something he's still getting used to. Still, the disorientation from the Porter is the least of his problems when he steps out, cradling a brown paper bag against his chest like an infant.
He's not unaware of Maurtia Fall's reputation, and while he tries not to be someone who judges a place based on rumors, it's hard to shake that off when just stepping into the streets makes his skin prickle. Bradbury's had his sense of being in unsavory neighborhoods, and while he doesn't sense any malice from the eyes he can tell are watching him as he strides through the streets, he's well aware that casual observation could turn into something nastier if he provokes a confrontation. So he concentrates on moving briskly and with purpose.
At least he's only wearing jeans and a shirt. In his suit, he'd stick out like a sore thumb.
When he gets to the address Ruka gave him, he shifts the bag to the crook of one arm, freeing up a hand to knock on the door. ]
WHERE: Maurtia Falls, Ruka's Apartment
WHEN: Sometime last month, mid-afternoon.
WHAT: Bradbury takes the opportunity to check up on how Ruka's doing.
WARNINGS: None for the foreseeable future!
[ The directions aren't too hard to follow, and after letting Ruka know when he'll be dropping by in the afternoon, Bradbury heads out for Maurtia Falls. He doesn't tend to travel outside Heropa unless there's a swear-in or some other imPort event going on, so the rush of getting through the Porter is something he's still getting used to. Still, the disorientation from the Porter is the least of his problems when he steps out, cradling a brown paper bag against his chest like an infant.
He's not unaware of Maurtia Fall's reputation, and while he tries not to be someone who judges a place based on rumors, it's hard to shake that off when just stepping into the streets makes his skin prickle. Bradbury's had his sense of being in unsavory neighborhoods, and while he doesn't sense any malice from the eyes he can tell are watching him as he strides through the streets, he's well aware that casual observation could turn into something nastier if he provokes a confrontation. So he concentrates on moving briskly and with purpose.
At least he's only wearing jeans and a shirt. In his suit, he'd stick out like a sore thumb.
When he gets to the address Ruka gave him, he shifts the bag to the crook of one arm, freeing up a hand to knock on the door. ]
no subject
Ruka looks, honestly, much the same as usual, if a little less polished than arriving at City Hall in the year and world before. Her hair is bound in a couple loose braids, one on each side, and are both pulled back and clamped together in the back with a plastic clip resembling the jaws of some giant reptile. Between the dark shading beneath her visible eye and the heavy droop of her lid, it's hard to tell if she just woke up, or hasn't slept in a week. She's dressed, at least, shorts cut above the knee, shirt sleeves down to the wrist -- as usual.
She backs out of the entranceway, something approaching a smile for greeting on her face. ]
It wasn't too bad a trip, was it?
no subject
Not as bad as I thought it would be. [ He glances around to take the room in, holding onto the bag carefully, looking for a place to set it down while he awkwardly fishes around the bag for what he brought her. ]
I got you a few more things -- hope you don't mind. [ He finally gets it out -- a collapsible umbrella, just a few shades off from her own hair -- and holds it out, brows raised. ]
no subject
[ It's mild, as far as teases go, and she doesn't seem particularly put off by the prospect—at least, not yet. She takes the proffered umbrella with a slight bow of her head, one hand curling around the sheathed body of the umbrella, and the other soon taking stock of its handle. It's a new item, she can tell that easily, and she can pick up only the faintest traces of annoyance and boredom from the materials. Made in America, she would guess based on that alone; prison labor and poverty labor had a much sharper, bitterer quality, even so far diluted as that.
If she notices the closeness of the color, she doesn't make mention of it--instead looking up from it with a quiet-- ] Thank you. I'll get a lot of use from this, I'm certain.
[ The apartment looks no different from when she showed it on the Network—sparsely furnished and dull in appearance, but there's a difference between seeing it and existing within it. It feels colder than it looks, and the wide spaces between walls and pieces of furniture somehow make the rooms seem more hollow than if they were emptied out of everything. ]
You really didn't have to get me anything else, though.
no subject
Then again, Ruka's never really acted in predictable ways. ]
And hey, it's not a big deal -- guess you could just think of it as a housewarming gift. [ Never mind how long it's actually been since Ruka moved in here, and the fact that Bradbury wouldn't have known about it if it wasn't for the network post. Given the overall atmosphere of the house, he almost looks sheepish about what he pulls out of the bag -- brightly-colored hand towels for the kitchen, hedgehog-shapeed cleaning mitts, and an owl shaped cookie jar, all of which he sets on the counter gingerly.
Now that they're actually out there, though, they seem to emphasize the coldness of the rest of the place more than ever, and Bradbury coughs slightly, rubbing at the nape of his neck. ]
Figured you could get this guy to watch the place until you can get another roommate.
no subject
They're just... so... ]
Cute!
[ But perhaps it is her reaction that is the most surprising, picking up the cookie jar and holding it up to eye level to meet its ceramic gaze, fingers delicate points of contact with the object. No hearts stain its exterior; only color and glaze, sprayed on with industrial certainty. When it is set down, her hands go next to the oven mitts, slipping one on without hesitation.
She makes it wave one little knit paw. ]
These are so sweet. Thank you.
HAD TO REPLY TO THIS RUKA IS TOO CUTE...
You're welcome. [ His chest puffs up ever-so-slightly, unable to help feeling a touch of relief and pride at finally getting something right to make her smile -- even if it might be temporary. ]
Wasn't really sure if they'd be your style. I'm glad you like 'em. [ A vast understatement, to be sure. Bradbury is failing miserably at not letting his own genuine pleasure show at her reaction. ]
no subject
[ It's very casual when she says it, her attention still on the oven mitt and her hand turning back and forth to look at each side. Always so serious or so derisive on the Network, and having been always so worn down and impersonal when working at City Hall in the old world, this sort of normality is not exactly the image she cultivates for herself. ]
We used to have an owl, actually.
no subject
[ He doesn't ask about who we is -- with how long Ruka's been out of her own world, that could just as easily mean back home, or someone she's met while she was here. It's hard to tell, sometimes, and it doesn't do anyone any good to make assumptions, so he errs on the side of caution and keeps the question casual, letting her decide how little or how much detail she wants to offer. ]