catch-all ( to distract our hearts from ever missing them )

[systemize]

WHO: Cadel Greeniaus and a few other people. If you'd like a thread start, let me know!
WHERE: Various places.
WHEN: Various times.
WHAT: Various things. No, okay, it's a catch all, you get the point.
WARNINGS: None except for Cadel's sad life.

Starts below.

Comments

[orangehoodie]

[Ken isn't as early, but he's usually good about being on time to things. Five minutes before one, Ken in all his not-even-five-foot glory passes by the window of the cafe, peering in, then pauses at the door before walking in with the dog following along. If the cafe has a problem, he can probably ask Stormer to move outside if possible. He's not too worried.

As said in the messages, he's wearing an orange jacket. Unfortunately he doesn't know what the other looks like but he remembers the note about the corner so he casts a glance around, trying to find someone who might give him a sign.]

[systemize]

[Orange hoodie with dog is certainly noticeable, and Cadel half-stands to flag them down. He hadn't had any idea what to expect when he'd said his dog was coming with him, but far from his nebulous mental image of gruff guard dog or tiny lap dog is this medium sized energetic white shiba.

Not to mention, Ken actually looks younger than him, which is a very rare occurrence for Cadel. Maybe this will go well. It's possible if for no other reason than that Cadel has no prior experience with anyone of that age group.]

[orangehoodie]

[Ah, there. A recognition. Ken carefully steps around a table full of studying college students to make his way over, Koromaru weaving through customers' feet behind him. Ken's neither surprised nor unsurprised at the man's apparent age. At eleven, anybody that's older than middle school is a part of that mysterious time of life called adulthood. He's not going to distinguish age much. Cadel seems close to the other SEES members' age, and that's as far as he cares to guess. It doesn't really matter in the end.

He'll stop when he's standing by the table. Up close, Ken's definitely not a terribly large child. Less than five feet tall and rather slight in appearance. Even if he tried, he wouldn't look anything older than twelve or thirteen.]

Stormer?

[systemize]

[Cadel has skipped more grades than he's attended at this point so interactions with kids his actual age that don't revolve around geek topics are a new thing for him.

He nods and sits back down again, though he's curious about how well behaved Koromaru is.] My real name's Cadel Greeniaus. Um, thanks for coming. Will your dog get impatient sitting around with us...?

[He has no experience with animals.]

[orangehoodie]

[Geeky things would fly over Ken's head. He's more likely to turn to topics about sports. At least they aren't here for either topic in particular. He sits, setting aside the backpack he was carrying with him.]

Cadel, then. It's no problem, really. I just hope I can help. And ah. [He glances down at Koromaru, who sits up straight and gives Cadel a friendly woof and a wag of his tail.]

Koromaru won't mind. He's really patient.

[systemize]

[He hesitantly reaches out to pet him, but soon gains more confidence when it's well received. Cadel relaxes.]

Okay. I'm probably overreacting about my powers, but if I cause some kind of catastrophic grid failure... [He shakes his head.] I just don't want to take any chances. So I thought we'd start simple.

[He pulls a few small objects out of his bag: a calculator, a radio, an RC car, and an RC helicopter no bigger than his hand, both without the associated controller.]

[orangehoodie]

It's not a bad idea to be cautious, I think.

[As the boys settle down, so does Koromaru, curling up under the table at Ken's feet. He was promised a walk after they were done. He's happy enough to wait.]

What exactly can you do?

[systemize]

Sorry, I got ahead of myself. I can activate technology with my mind. Mostly I've been using it to type without touching the keyboard-- that's getting easier the more I do it-- but I'm not sure what the limits are. [He swallows.] I don't want to accidentally turn a traffic light green at the wrong moment, either.

[There's a grim tone to that statement. Cadel has witnessed a car accident due to that very thing, though it had been an intentional hack by an enemy of his. It hadn't changed the fact that friends of his had gotten hurt on his account.]

[orangehoodie]

[Oh. That's dark. That's serious. But Ken's response is to nod with a grimness to match the other boy's tone.]

I think I understand. Do you want to do it here, though? [There's a lot of electricity around them. If Cadel lost control, he could affect a lot of things.]

[systemize]

[Cadel's life is unrelentingly serious, and he's gratified to have someone else appreciate that. Most of the kids he's interacted with have been more normal, prone to being dismissive or not able to empathize with his perspective. Everyone here has been quite different, in a good way. Not a side effect he was expecting of his arrival.

It's a good point and he considers it in due course.] You think we should go to a park? We could do that. [Total isolation from technology, and fewer bystanders in close quarters.] That would prevent interfering variables as well, [he goes on, warming to it.] Okay. Do you want to grab anything before we go? I think there's a park down the street.

[orangehoodie]

Yeah. That'll be better, and Koromaru can stretch his legs when he wants to, too.

[Witnesses in this case aren't too terrible. Even in Iwatodai, the only reason why any of them really hid their powers was because nobody would believe them anyway. Even if the government or someone had tried to interfere, the Kirijo corporation was probably powerful enough to do something about it. At least, as far as Ken was concerned. Here, they'd cause trouble if their powers interfered with citizen life, and the government wouldn't be forgiving of them of that, he thinks. He nods and slides to his feet.]

I'm okay. I have food and water for Koromaru, so we're ready to go.

[systemize]

[Cadel gathers his stuff, gets to his feet, and finishes off his tea to toss the empty cup away as they go out the door.

He can't help a curious glance.] Did he come with you or did you get him here? [He hadn't heard yet that the Porter brought animals through sometimes as well.]

[orangehoodie]

[It's a question he receives often. Ken's ready with an answer, not even missing a beat while gathering his belongings too.] He came with me. He lived in the same dorm building as me before we came here, and he's been staying with me in Nonah since.

I know one more person who has a animal that definitely came from his world with him, but it doesn't sound like it's a thing that happens often.

[systemize]

[That raises some questions about the selection algorithm Lachesis uses, but Cadel knows it's useless to speculate. It's no replacement for hard information.]

You're lucky, [he comments, not enviously or unkindly.] I didn't have anything familiar when I showed up at all. [He may have panicked. Maybe.]

[orangehoodie]

[He won't hide his grin.]

Koromaru helped me in more ways than I can say, when I got here. I think I was lucky, too.

Do you want to hold his leash a bit? I promise he won't pull on it.

[systemize]

[Cadel likes seeing someone appreciate the things that went right for them. Too many of his age mates seem to just complain endlessly, about problems Cadel would love to have, instead of the ones he does. It makes it extremely hard to relate. This is easier.

After a moment's hesitation he mentally shrugs and says,] Why not? [Momentarily stopping to transfer the leash over. Cadel isn't nervous, just unfamiliar, but he looks at Koromaru with interested eyes. He doesn't think he'd ever get a pet himself, but he's starting to see the appeal.]

He's really well behaved. [He's definitely seen plenty of badly behaved dogs to recognize a good one. And oh look, they're coming up on the park already.]

[orangehoodie]

[Ken is a pessimist at heart, and while it did hold him back sometimes and he tended to focus more on the things he lost and could lose, he tried not to look away from the things that did turn out well for him. Koromaru's company here was definitely one of them. He walks along beside Cadel, not worried at all that Koromaru would do anything to startle him.]

He is. He used to live on the shrine grounds near our dormitory, and people liked to play with him all the time. I've never heard of him ever causing trouble. He's very smart.