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Whit hadn’t lived with a roommate for years now and was a bit nervous at the prospect of dealing with one again.  Not only is he stuck in this weird new place, but he has to deal with a stranger sharing the apartment with him -- he was just hoping they weren’t some weirdo.  Granted, maybe he was going to be the weirdo.  He just hoped they liked cats.

He was pacing around the living room anxiously; frankly he just wanted to get meeting them over with so that he could decide how often he would need to hide in his room.  Whit was lost deep in thought, fussing over possible roommate issues when the sound of the front door being unlocked caught his attention.  He snapped his feet together and stood ramrod straight as he stared at the door.

The woman that opened the door was over a foot shorter than him, but he immediately had the sense that she could and would kiss his ass if the opportunity arose.  His eyes wandered to the katana at her side and he felt his heart drop.  Jesus, he hoped she didn’t just swing that thing around at random; the last thing he needed was to see his roommate dropping bodies right outside the apartment.

He forced a pleasant smile and gave her a small wave.

“Bullying?” Juno snorts. “You’re a whole ass adult. If you think I’m bullying you, you can handle that on your own time. Not my issue.” She snaps the gun back together, and silently inspects her work. When she’s satisfied, she turns to look directly at Whit. Although her eyes are a fiery orange, they seem…cold right now.

“Also, don’t be a fucking wiseass. You know what I meant. You being here, despite all odds, despite all adversity…” she pauses, taking a breath. “…Is the important thing. You can talk big about who you were, and who you want to be, but that’s not who you are. Not right now. So I don’t care about your ‘dead friends,’ although it’s not how the Council explains it, from what I understand. I don’t care about what you did before. That doesn’t matter to me. What matters…” Juno puts the gun down, and gives a snake like smile. “…Is you’re here now. Make the most of it. You won’t get it back.”

He had half a mind to point out that you can be bullied at any age, but decided he had enough browbeating for the day.  Whit felt an uncomfortable pit in his stomach at her rather vicious smile; he was sure it was actually meant to come off as friendly.  Juno didn’t strike him as the type capable of being friendly in the traditional sense.

She’s munching on a burger while reading a book. She loves reading, but she’s been doing it much more than usual since her meeting with that teacher. She’s seated at a park’s bench and normally the sun would begin setting by time she read one of her books, but today the sun is up and the sky is blue. It’s a nice day out. Not too cold, but also not too hot. Jangmi does stop reading just briefly when she recognizes the white set of hair. Ah, he’s coming her way. She closes her book, the title hidden from under her finger, unintentionally. 

Him bringing up the amount of students in a class just spikes up some form of anxiety. She can feel that her heart picked up pace, racing quick. The thought of what happened back home is slowly finding its way to creep right back to the front of her mind. She has to push it down. She has to mentally tell herself to breathe in a little slower to prevent herself from hyperventilating. 

“I can tutor myself. I don’t need someone to tutor me.” She says this, but she knows the positive side of being tutored by someone. You learn faster, you learn better, and you understand as well. She wouldn’t get any of that if she studied ALL by herself. 

He may have caught it, the glimpse of pure suspicion when he said he could be smart when he wanted to be. ALL she’s seen of him is how he’s persistent…and naive. Talking about friends and being around people and happiness. Huh. In a way, he sounds like Mariela. They would get along for sure, she realizes. 

She sighs in what sounds like a defeat. 

If she lets him tutor her, she’ll stop bringing conversations about friends. “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.” She starts, “but if you mean it, I’ll take you up on that offer.” Whit must feel a bit accomplished!

Whit clapped his hands together and hung his head solemnly.  “You’ve now entered a contract with me; however, if I don’t commit to my end of the bargain I’ll poof into a pile of ash, so I swear I’ll uphold my end.”  He was lying about the pile of ash, but it was dramatic enough.  He lifted his head back up and smiled.

“So did your teacher friend tell you what grade you were supposed to be in?  Or like, what level of work you’re doing?”  Whit knew he could handle any level of science or math -- he assumed it was the same everywhere -- but if she wanted help with history, he wasn’t so confident.  It didn’t help that he was last in school in the 70s; lord knows what new things they’ve added to the curriculum -- not even counting the fact that they were in an entirely different universe.

She’s munching on a burger while reading a book. She loves reading, but she’s been doing it much more than usual since her meeting with that teacher. She’s seated at a park’s bench and normally the sun would begin setting by time she read one of her books, but today the sun is up and the sky is blue. It’s a nice day out. Not too cold, but also not too hot. Jangmi does stop reading just briefly when she recognizes the white set of hair. Ah, he’s coming her way. She closes her book, the title hidden from under her finger, unintentionally. 

Jangmi wonders if Whit sometimes has conversation with himself. He seems like the type. She looks at him, studying his every move and whatever he’s saying…Well, it’s not really reaching her ears. She sees his mouth moving, sure, but she doesn’t hear a thing. 

Hm, she doesn’t understand why she’s trying to get a feel of this person. THIS is by far the second time he’s seen her and each time he’s always making sure the escape routes are sealed. She doesn’t feel cornered oddly enough, but if anything she’s just left even MORE confused. What a strange guy, Whit is. 

Finally that drowned out voice is clear. She can hear him and she looks away, “I don’t go to school.” She places a hand over the book. “There is a lady who teaches in a school….She invited me to show up, but I’m not entirely sure. I feel there’d be lots of people there.”

But I want to learn new things….even if I’m not allowed to.

Whit considered his next sentence slightly more carefully than he would under normal circumstances.  From what little he knew about her, it made sense that she’d be hesitant to go to a big, crowded classroom full of kids who would -- to be frank -- probably think she’s a complete weirdo.

“Hmm, yeah, I dunno what the schools here are like but they usually do have around 30 or so kids in a classroom back home...  But!  That shouldn’t discourage you.  School is good for your brain.  When you learn new things it makes your brain healthy and strong.  I guess if you’re nervous to jump right into going to class you could maybe...ask her for some of the homework?  You could have her tutor your privately once or twice a week until you work up the courage to go to class.”

Whit gave her a small smile.  “I’m pretty good at math and science.  Despite sounding like a complete idiot most of the time, I’m actually smart when I want to be.  So maybe she could give you that homework and I can help you with it, and she can help you with, like, reading and history.”  He wanted to point out that she could stand to spend more time with people anyway, but she would definitely just blow him off.  She was a bit of a professional at that.

She’s munching on a burger while reading a book. She loves reading, but she’s been doing it much more than usual since her meeting with that teacher. She’s seated at a park’s bench and normally the sun would begin setting by time she read one of her books, but today the sun is up and the sky is blue. It’s a nice day out. Not too cold, but also not too hot. Jangmi does stop reading just briefly when she recognizes the white set of hair. Ah, he’s coming her way. She closes her book, the title hidden from under her finger, unintentionally. 

She watches him flip through the pages. Her action is light when she shrugs, “I’m not.” That or she didn’t realize the difference much. To her, life was horror. Reaching to grab the book from him, she flips through the pages herself.

“I doubt there’s any books from back home.” Though part of her wonders if maybe there’s a chance she’d come across a book she was familiar with. 

With the half eaten burger left by her side, she stares blankly at some writings on the book. “Weren’t you on your way someplace else?” And here they go. Of course she’d ask something like that. She STILL doesn’t understand why he’s wasting his breath with her.

“That’s kinda sad, I’d love if I could read a Hardy Boys book again.  I used to eat those up as a kid and I sometimes go back to them when I just need a break from life.”  Whit mulled it over for a second.  “You know I’ve read one of them enough times that I bet if I really sat down I could rewrite it word for word.  I don’t really have anything better to do, so maybe that’s my next project.”

There she was, already trying to weasel out of talking to him.  Was he really that bad of a conversation partner?  Or maybe she wasn’t one for conversating.  She was awfully stoic for such a young kid.  “Nah, I was just walking around.  I get a lot of pent up energy ‘cause there’s not much going on so sometimes I have to do laps to get rid of the itch.”  He left it at that, making it clear she wasn’t getting out of this so easily.

Deunan had explored some of this brave new world they’d been dropped into without warning, but not any of the abandoned areas, ghost towns and the lot. And apparently going as a group is a fun project! At least that’s what her companions had claimed. Well, a few of them had claimed. One, like her, seems a little more wary.

No one’s been through here in years...or had it been created like this? The blonde kicks a stray pebble and frowns. It’s awfully dark in here, obviously, and their flashlights aren’t helping much.

“Fuck if I know,” Juno mentions. Her eyes rest on the dark corridor ahead, solid and determined. She slowly draws Makina, assuming a waki-gamae stance, uncharacteristically proper of her. “Who cares anyway? I’ve got all I need right here, in this sword.” Juno eyes dart strongly to Deunan, then to Whit. “If you’re gonna whine about it, go home. I’ll see what’s left in there myself. The Derelicts are almost like the surface. There’s got to be a reason.” She sighs, focusing back on her center of balance again. “Plus, the twerp over there can handle himself. He can get us out in a bind if we need it. Not his first rodeo either. Just like you. And I’ve prepared weapons for both of you just in case. Think I took both of you by accident? Please.”

@felsiic

“Aha...well, I’ve been in here before but honestly...”  Whit glanced at the retaining wall to his left that looked just a little more decrepit than the last time he was wandering through the area.  Still, he didn’t want Juno to bark at him later about being a literal scaredy cat.  “Uh, never mind, it’s probably fine.  Also, who you calling a twerp?  I’m way taller than you.”  Whit puffed out his chest and sped up to get in front of the women.  “Let’s just ge--”

The ground began to vibrate an almost imperceptible amount, but Whit slowly turned on his heel to look behind him.  “Guys--”  Before he could finish his thought, the retaining wall he’d looked at barely a minute prior was crumbling -- along with most of the ceiling.  The ground shifted underneath them as the ceiling collapsed and the tunnel went black.  The crumbling rock kicked up dust, which made Whit cough as he waved his hand in front of his face.

The rumbling stopped suddenly; he pulled out his cellphone to turn on the flashlight.  “Are you guys okay?”  He swept the light along the now blocked passage and sighed.  “Jesus...I could try moving the rubble, but it would take too long.  Plus we’re not in Techno Solar so I’d get tired pretty fast.”  Whit spun on his heel to face his companions.

“Well, we came in here to look at the Derelicts.  I guess we’re gonna look at the Derelicts.”

She’s munching on a burger while reading a book. She loves reading, but she’s been doing it much more than usual since her meeting with that teacher. She’s seated at a park’s bench and normally the sun would begin setting by time she read one of her books, but today the sun is up and the sky is blue. It’s a nice day out. Not too cold, but also not too hot. Jangmi does stop reading just briefly when she recognizes the white set of hair. Ah, he’s coming her way. She closes her book, the title hidden from under her finger, unintentionally. 

She’s tempted to make another rude jab, but decides against it. Instead she shifts a little. She never did like people standing so close to her. Not since that  day.  People who were in her bubble now made her uncomfortable. 

“I’m not sure. I found it in the library.” She shows him the Title of the book which. One of Ellen Adgar Polle. “The books here are very different from the ones back home.”

“Ellen Adgar Polle...what?”  He repeated the author’s name back.  Was that some Weird Al Yankovic version of Edgar Allen Poe?  “Can I see that real quick?”  Whit gently took the book from her hands and flipped through it.  It was an anthology of short stories -- similar to Poe’s back home -- but it definitely wasn’t his stories, although they were just similar enough that it was a little eerie.

She’s munching on a burger while reading a book. She loves reading, but she’s been doing it much more than usual since her meeting with that teacher. She’s seated at a park’s bench and normally the sun would begin setting by time she read one of her books, but today the sun is up and the sky is blue. It’s a nice day out. Not too cold, but also not too hot. Jangmi does stop reading just briefly when she recognizes the white set of hair. Ah, he’s coming her way. She closes her book, the title hidden from under her finger, unintentionally. 

She wasn’t getting away this time!  Whit scurried to her bench; as she closed her book she looked less than excited to see him.  “Maybe, but not right this second.”  He plopped down on the bench next to her without bothering to ask if it was okay.  “Whatcha reading?”  He gestured towards the book in her lap. 

Whit hadn’t lived with a roommate for years now and was a bit nervous at the prospect of dealing with one again.  Not only is he stuck in this weird new place, but he has to deal with a stranger sharing the apartment with him -- he was just hoping they weren’t some weirdo.  Granted, maybe he was going to be the weirdo.  He just hoped they liked cats.

He was pacing around the living room anxiously; frankly he just wanted to get meeting them over with so that he could decide how often he would need to hide in his room.  Whit was lost deep in thought, fussing over possible roommate issues when the sound of the front door being unlocked caught his attention.  He snapped his feet together and stood ramrod straight as he stared at the door.

The woman that opened the door was over a foot shorter than him, but he immediately had the sense that she could and would kiss his ass if the opportunity arose.  His eyes wandered to the katana at her side and he felt his heart drop.  Jesus, he hoped she didn’t just swing that thing around at random; the last thing he needed was to see his roommate dropping bodies right outside the apartment.

He forced a pleasant smile and gave her a small wave.

Juno whistles, impressed. “Okay then, hotshot,” Juno says with a smile, still looking out her peripheral vision. Although there’s always that small splash of smug sarcasm in her tone, she continues on. “Maybe you do get to play with the big dogs.” She turns back to the topic at hand. She takes a can of some sort of lubricant, and begins to clean the gun out. For someone so violent, her hand movements on the pistol are slow and methodical—Almost like a mother gently caressing her newborn baby for the first time.

“I don’t get why you think you have to prove yourself to me, though,” Juno comments. “’Valuable member back home,’ hm? Well, you’re not back home. And spoilers, I give zero fucks about who you were back then. You’re here now. All that matters to me.”

Whit gave her an exasperated look as she completely blew him off -- again.  It was like she could see into his soul and knew exactly what to say to get under his skin.  Or maybe it was just written all over his face; Arabelle did say he was easy to read.

“Aha...right.”  He slumped into the chair he’d just lifted.  “I believe they say our collective self is made by the sum of our experiences, which means what happened back home totally matters.”  Whit paused as he watched her clean her gun.  She could probably snap all that back together and blow him to smithereens in less than 10 seconds, so he backtracked.

This wasn’t her plan for the afternoon. She had been walking, making her way back to her residency from the store. Jangmi had picked up a couple of things for the kitchen and for her room when she comes across a couple of stray cats. They seemed hungry so it was only right that she’d run to the nearest store to get some canned tuna.  She HADN’T expected to end up buying more because from just a couple of cats ended up being about 5 more. So here she is, crouched, only using the balls of her feet to keep her balanced so she doesn’t fall back. She’s got one arm wrapped around both her knees as she watches these cat just enjoy their meal away. 

Was that an actual phrase? Even she knew of stray cats that weren’t afraid of anything. Huh. What a strange thing to say. 

“I don’t want to,” She states matter-of-factly. The thought of talking to people and trying to make friends with them is not something she’s interested in doing. Friendship could end up in backstabbings, and she’s had enough of those. 

“I had friends in the past. I think they’re a waste of time.” Finally, Jangmi comes to a slow stop. “We’re nearby.” She turns to face Whit, “People are can be naive. Too kind. I think a lot of people forget just how cruel the world is. Just because we’ve been brought here doesn’t mean it’s safe. No one is on your side…not even yourself.”

“Good night Whit. Thank you for walking my home.” She’ll take her leave. 

Whit was a little shellshocked with how easily she blew him off.  Damn, that was cold.  He imagined this is exactly how Sylvia acted as a child, but she grew out of it.  Sorta.

“Aw, friends aren’t a complete waste of time.  They’re at least someone to talk to when you’re do--”  He winced at her rather heartless jab.  It was very clear she thought he was a complete goofball -- too naïve and kind -- but that was just how he’s always been!  Jangmi very clearly had a rough life before ending up here.  Several emotions ranging from sadness to confusion crossed his face as she began to walk away.

Whit realized he was eating take out maybe just a little too much recently.  He noticed he was looking a little pudgy in his cat form the last time he passed a mirror and decided it was high time to start eating at his apartment more often.  The big farmer’s market in Whisperwood seemed like a good place to start -- if he’s going to eat at home he might as well eat properly.

He didn’t realize it was going to be an entire thing trying to buy anything here, though.  Everyone was attempting to barter with him to the point that he hadn’t bought a single piece of produce in the three hours he’d been there.  Currently he was in the middle of an argument with a man who was insisting he could have as many vegetables as he liked -- as long as he spent a month as a cat getting rid of pests in his barn.

“No!  I don’t like the taste of rats!  They’re...scrungy.  And the bad kind of crunchy.  Can’t I just, uh, bale hay for you or something?”  The man shook his head and gestured for Whit to move along.  “Man!  This place is impossible.  How’s a guy supposed to eat healthy when it’s like pulling teeth just trying to get a friggin’ apple!”  Whit turned to the person next to him, whom he hadn’t been paying much attention to be.

He doesn’t know about this ‘Toad and Frog’ thing, but as long as this guy gets the difference, he’s not going to bother with questions. He’s just content to have this misunderstanding settled. What he didn’t expect at all though, is being called a genius over such a seemingly simple idea. He didn’t even think it would be good at all.

He now scratches the back of his head awkwardly.

“I– heh, I’m not much of an ideas guy. I usually just get things done and leave the thinking to others. It’s been always like this between me and my brothers anyway.” Not like they would ever give him much of an opportunity to add his own input. And even if he did, they would mostly ignore it. Which is what makes this situation just so odd and awkward to him. “But, uh– maybe you– I don’t know– maybe you can take the mice to a pet shop?“

You could practically see the lightbulb pop over Whit’s head at Mr. Toad’s brilliant plan.  Now this was an ideas guy.  “Mmhmm, mmhmm.”  He nodded as he stroked an invisible goatee.  “Yes -- this plan might just work.  I can catch the mice and get unlimited vegetables and sell the mice to the pet shop and get cash on top of that.”

It briefly crossed his mind that his new large friend likely wasn’t trying to get him to basically scam both clients, but that was a moral quandary for someone else to grapple with.  Whit gave the other a friendly slap on the back and grinned.  “Alright, you’ve convinced me.  You could probably set up a consultant shop or something, you know?  Grace the rest of this place with your infinite wisdom.”

Whit turned back to the farmer and offered up his terms; the man agreed instantly and turned around to find something to scribble his address on.  Whit spun around to face Mr. Toad and gave him a borderline angelic smile.  “I’m a strong believer in getting back what you put into a relationship, so you my friend now have my unwavering and undying loyalty -- er, until I feel like I’ve paid you back.”  He snatched the scrap paper held out to him and shoved it into his pocket.