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[takeatrip]

WHO: Jayden and others
WHAT: Catch-all for May, with OTA and closed starters
WHERE: Cadens, the Horizon, maybe elsewhere idek
WHEN: All month
WARNINGS: TBD


[ Please feel free to PM, message me on Discord at Ami#8741,
or ping me on plurk at amiasha to plot and/or for closed starters! Wildcards also welcome. ]

Comments

[takeatrip]

Seems like it. But more weapons than hands, at least from what I can tell.

[Lots of swords and other weapons Jayden's also not good at.]

I'm startin' to think I should learn to swordfight or something.

[catholica]

That might be...interesting.

( and not something he'd ever thought of learning but jayden might have a point. )

I don't think I've ever held a sword in my life.

( that was untrue but it's definitely not his weapon of choice. )

[takeatrip]

Me either, though some guy tried to shank me with a katana a few days before I got here, if that counts.

[It doesn't, but that's a lot closer to a swordfight than a lot of people ever get in his world, so he supposes it's something.]

[catholica]

Katana?

( that reminds him very, very vividly of the hand. he's pretty sure he's been stabbed by one of those two.

so, they have that in common. )

Those things are pretty sharp. How'd you avoid it?

[takeatrip]

He was just kind of swingin' wildly.

[Which, if he's being honest, is most of the reason Jayden could dodge it. It certainly wasn't very graceful or skillful on either side of that fight.]

I think he was more interested in getting away without revealing his face than anythin' else.

[catholica]

A wild swing with a katana is still one that could mess you up.

( so, you know, still ouch. )

Glad you didn't get hit. Were you able to get the guy?

[takeatrip]

Yeah, for sure. I blocked one of 'em with a punching bag and it sunk way in there.

[He definitely feels fortunate not to have been caught by one of the swings, even just a glancing one.]

Not at the time, but he was in such a rush he left behind some evidence, and we caught up with him the next day. It was the serial killer we'd been tryin' to track down, so some near misses with a katana turned out to be worth it.

[catholica]

Sloppy of him but good for you.

( in this instance, sloppiness is very good. )

He go away for a long time?

[takeatrip]

He would have.

[Jayden would've preferred it had gone that way, for many reasons, but unfortunately it wasn't the case.]

He fell, durin' a confrontation. At least we knew for sure he was our guy, and there's no chance he can ever hurt anyone else again.

[Which is ultimately most important.]

[catholica]

Can't be sorry to see a serial killer be off the streets no matter the reason.

( it's safer for all involved, really. he's not one to kill but he knows it...happens. )

Guess we both get a break from all that stuff here. Maybe. Possibly. A new set of problems to deal with.

[takeatrip]

Yeah. I'd never actually say that I wish my job were more in demand here, considerin' what that'd entail, but sometimes I wonder if it might be a little easier to deal with.

[But, then again--]

Except I wonder if there's some sort of magic or somethin' here that could replace DNA or fingerprint evidence, or if we'd have to work without it. That'd make things a whole lot trickier.

[catholica]

Oh man, I don't even know if I want to think about magic replacing everything I know and am familiar with.

( he's already learned how to do things one way but to do them another with magic involved? that might be too much. )

I haven't seen anything magically touched where I'm working right now so I have hope that it's not gonna be too different here.

[takeatrip]

Oh, I wasn't thinking about magical traces or somethin' like that, but that would also be a problem.

[Though potentially also useful? If he figures out how to work with it anyway.]

I was meaning some way to actually process DNA or fingerprints through some sort of magic means, since I don't think we've got the tech for that here.

[Which would make this all very noir, which is appealing aesthetically, but not very fun in a practical sense.]

[catholica]

Have you asked around?

( because that does sound like it might be something worth looking into. )

I can ask Wanda if she knows a way to do that since she's the most powerful magic user that I know. She might be the most powerful one here.

[takeatrip]

Not yet. I've still been kind of scattered.

[He's just slightly sheepish about that last part, but less so than he might've otherwise been since he thinks Matt probably understands. It's been a little while since their ordeal, but recovering is a process that doesn't follow a schedule.]

Is Wanda your friend you mentioned earlier?

[catholica]

Yeah, that's her. We met the first day here and we've been pretty close ever since.

( close. he smirks, shaking his head. )

We're dating now so I get to hear all about the weird stuff that goes on in Solvunn.

[takeatrip]

[Oh, that kind of friends. He's grinning a little when he responds, and it probably comes through in his tone.]

Congrats. Not about hearin' about Solvunn, it still sounds like a creepy place, but the relationship.

[catholica]

Yeah, it's been...nice.

( it's been better than that but he doesn't want to gush or anything. )

Unexpected though. Didn't really see that coming when I showed up here.

[takeatrip]

Can't imagine you would've, but at least it was somethin' nice about being here. We don't get a lot of good surprises.

[Not as far as he's seen, anyway. But it's nice to hear something positive, and he's happy for Matt.]

How long have you been together?

[catholica]

Good question.

( he's tried to keep count but — )

Time's weird here sometimes. It's been awhile. Maybe half a year? Could be shorter. I lose track of time here.

( sometimes, one day ran into another and into another and he just didn't realize it until a week passed. )

[takeatrip]

Yeah, I know that feelin'.

[It's been so difficult to keep track of the passage of time for him as well. He thinks he's been here something like four months now, but it feels like forever and no time at all at once.

But speaking of time passing, a building is coming into sight.]

Oh, I think that's the library up ahead.

[catholica]

Guess we made it.

( it hadn't taken that long and he'd been able to learn a lot, get to know the other man. )

I spend a lot of time here so if you ever need me, I'm probably somewhere in there, doing something.

[takeatrip]

Thanks. And thanks for helpin' me find this place.

[He really does appreciate it; he probably wouldn't have been lost for all that long, but it's really nice that Matt cared to help. And the company and conversation were nice too.]

'Til next time.