closed, catch-all

[plunges]

WHO: Xiao
WHAT: Catch-all for closed starters, feel free to lmk if you'd like something!
WHERE: Various
WHEN: June 2023 onward
WARNINGS: tba

Comments

@ keith

[plunges]

[ While the city may be populated only by the new arrivals, it seems like there's clearly someone running the show -- and whoever it is has been expecting their lot, given the welcome party, among other things. Xiao is disinterested in attending the celebration, though. This is a hostage situation, he's sure of it, and there really isn't anything to celebrate about that. Crowds aren't really his thing, anyway. He'd rather be alone while he struggles to adjust to the situation at hand.

It's why he's taken to doing something more worthwhile, like searching the city for resources. The pharmacy is what grabs his attention first, and he steps inside. Xiao walks up to the nearest shelf, and he does a quick scan of what's available to them.

He recognizes...nothing on the shelves. It's unsurprising, given that mortal medicine doesn't work on him anyway, but he's going to at least try to figure out what might be helpful to those who can make use of it. Pain medicine would be a good place to start. He's had people try to use that on him before.

Xiao starts picking up bottles, searching for the aforementioned medication. He's not doing this haphazardly, though. He's actually taking the time to read what these bottles are for. There's one with very fine print in particular -- when Keith enters the pharmacy, he'll be able to catch Xiao squinting at it. Even so, Keith's presence doesn't go unnoticed. Xiao's just trying to figure out why someone would cram so many words onto a very tiny container. ]

@ tartaglia

[plunges]

[ There comes a time in which Xiao is, in fact, curious about the party. He won't dare to go too near, as he is actively trying to avoid getting dragged into any shenanigans. Parties are not his thing -- the dinner he attended during the Lantern Rite was about as much as he can (sort of) reasonably handle -- so he's content to just walk the perimeter of the fair and observe. He does not intend on staying long. He just wants to investigate, is all.

It's noisy. It's uncomfortable. The noise throws him off-kilter and makes him a little less aware of his surroundings. It's why he almost doesn't see the person who also happens to be on the perimeter of the party, and stops himself in his tracks just before they can make a collision. He wouldn't have noticed Tartaglia if he hadn't caught a glimpse of a human figure at the corner of his eye.

He frowns when he glances at the other man. ]

...My apologies. I did not mean to get in your way.

🐌🐌🐌

[rainswords]

[ This wouldn't be the first time he has walked past City Hall, in fact, Xingqiu has previously ventured into that building in his search for information — that proved a fruitless search. His gaze caught by that structure, he can't help but wonder if Adeptus Xiao has also made an attempt to search for clues there. They wouldn't be the first, likely they wouldn't be the last people to riffle through blank archives and sheets found there. He soon shakes his head, focusing once more on the path ahead.

They agreed to meet at The City Hall Station — He assumes this spot was chosen because this is a well-known and centralized location, but he also would not have rejected an Adeptus proposed meeting spot. Not that he would believe that the Conqueror of Demons would be anything but sensible.

And wasn't it fortunate that behind the name xiao there was someone he had hoped for? Of course, he had considered it could be an alias much like his own display name. That may have turned a little embarrassing. Or he could have made a new friend. He is simply glad it was the Adeptus. That's why his steps hurry as he wants to arrive promptly, already aware they going to have a serious discussion. Although he doesn't suspect that this meeting may have partially been influenced by the Adeptus having trouble with the technology. Xingqiu believes that it is simply a need to quickly communicate what they know, and more importantly, search for clues at the station.

Once he arrives he can see that despite rushing, he isn't the first to get here — which makes sense to him. Adeptus Xiao is Adeptus Xiao. ]

Good to see you, despite the circumstances.