[Closed]

[justscribing]

WHO: (fussiest), (justscribing), (cashewlater), & (wreatharrow)
WHAT: Sumeru crew have a little huddle.
WHERE: Some little cafe with outdoor tables.
WHEN: Early July
WARNINGS: N/A







[It's been a couple days for them all to try and orient themselves in this situation. And, given it's already a strange situation, it might as well just get stranger when Alhaitham is the one who makes a decision that they need a gathering between the four of them that already know each other and have the same place to get back to.

In the morning, he scouts nearby blocks until he finds a small cafe, empty as every other place is but with small tables outside which are a suitable meeting space. Also, maybe he can take some coffee bags to go.

Then, he sends a message to Tighnari and Cyno:]

You're not busy this afternoon, right? [Trick question none of them are busy.] Come meet with Kaveh and I around 1 pm. We should establish a routine with each other and share what information we've found.

[And he'll send along the location, and a photo of the cafe front. Just in case.

Kaveh gets less warning, because Alhaitham decides to just tell him in person when he catches him: they're meeting with Cyno and Tighnari (did he know they were here? Well, anyway,). They'll walk there together. Alhaitham brings one of those blank books and a pen, because he's sure he'll want notes.

And slides into one of the cafe seats, just a bit before the designated hour.]

Comments

GROUP TALK.

[fussiest]

[ this is the 4-way convo! convo starts there. tagging order is whatever we make of it ig, go wild! be free! ]

[cashewlater]

[ cyno arrives with tighnari, given that the two of them are sharing an apartment. he's had a bit of time to settle in, but nothing about this is easy or simple. cyno would very much prefer to return to sumeru, but at the very least, he is not alone here.

.. a selfish thought, he thinks. he shouldn't be glad that his friends are in this pit beside him. wrapped comfortably in his cloak, cyno approaches the table. this normally might be where he would crack a terrible joke, but.. he's still very much clicked into work mode. ]

It's good to see familiar faces.

[fussiest]

[ kaveh, who actually hadn't known that cyno had tighnari were around, was half-way through trying to figure out how to work a rice-cooker when alhaitham slipped by and informed him that it was time to Go. go where, he'd asked. there, alhaitham had said. and half-way through arguing the merits of providing advance notice, even in a city where none of them had formal occupations because unlike alhaitham, kaveh intends to be kept busy, with things to do, the cafe was upon them and kaveh had lost his train of thought.

in his defense, cyno and tighnari are sights for sore eyes. if pressed, kaveh would complain at length that having just alhaitham to look at for the past few days was driving him to the risk of doing something very inadvisable, but in truth, he'd likely complain about such even without being pressed. such is the bright starbust of his grin as he approaches the table, one hand raised in a cheerful greeting and the other dragging along what looks to be a small cooler on wheels. ]

And there's both of you. [ is what kaveh says. the curve of his smile softens. ] And you've said simple wisdom, Cyno, but it's undeniable that I feel the same. It's good to see you, both of you.

Here, [ kaveh pulls the cooler up. it trundles along like a rickety animal on wheels, meandering to a stop next to the table. the lid is popped. cans of sweet carbonated drinks come out lined along the table, along with the plastic cover of a gaudy-looking cream-based cake. ] I wasn't sure if there was anything behind the counter at the cafe, so I, well, we, raided a nearby store on our way here. Have you had anything to eat from around these parts?

[ with unbridled, disdainful glee, ] The food here is terrible. I don't have high hopes for the cake either.

[ but he still brought it. ]

[wreatharrow]

[ Tighnari would argue that he is busy. He's already taken it upon himself to get samples of what plant life can be found here to see what he can learn from it. His hope is that it can tell them more than blank documents can.

It's a mixed feeling, honestly, about Cyno being stuck in work mode. Tighnari is partially relieved because it means no terrible jokes at the dinner table - if this can be called one. On the other hand? It also means that the man is tense and ill at ease. That, Tighnari doesn't like at all. ]

It's less that it's terrible and more that it just isn't what we're used to.

[ Practical as always. Honestly, he doesn't mind the food too much. Less spices mean that it's better for his nose. ]

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham merely offers Tighnari and Cyno a nod at first, while Kaveh handles the talking. Yes, they did detour to a convenience store with greasy, low quality food. Yes, Kaveh brought it with every intention of complaining when it wasn't up to his standards. Granted, even Alhaitham can admit the taste leaves a lot to be desired.]

Feel free to take anything he's brought, I don't want him trying to foist what's left over onto me.

[Which is a little contrary to their usual but, again, he's not enthusiastic about heavily processed convenience store snacks. Who new food could taste artificial?

He cracks open his journal, pen to the page to jot down a meeting title.]

[cashewlater]

[ kaveh certainly has put in the work to keep them well fed.. it's no tahchin, but it'll certainly do, and he won't look down his nose at the kindness of a friend. having had a few meals here, cyno knows what to expect, even if nothing as yet has been to his tastes.

he'll snag a can of that drink, regardless. ]

I suppose we could make use of the kitchens and prepare our own food, should we find suitable ingredients.

[ cyno slides into a chair, though his back and shoulders are straight, his scarlet eyes clear, watchful. ]

Have either of you discovered anything of note?

[fussiest]

[ the look kaveh gives alhaitham could have peeled paint from the wall, the flagrant eyeroll of which is a mere punctuation mark lost in translation. but he obligingly grabs a fizzy drink of his own, popping open the tab with the air of a man settling in to roost. a sight for sore eyes, and four around the table - despite the circumstances, the familiarity grounds kaveh. it must.

the question is a very cyno one. kaveh cants his head. ]

In truth, everything is a new discovery right now; there's so little we know and so much of this new world on display that I almost feel a little like entering the Akademiya for the first time again. [ kaveh tastes a sip. he makes a face. ] Oh, by the Lesser Lord. This is supposed to be orange? What configuration of tastebuds must you have to make such a comparison?

[ kaveh slides the can over to alhaitham in all of its fizzy, orange glory so he can try it if he likes. he continues: ] First: death is impermanent. There is general consensus that if you die, you come back on the vehicle we arrived in, whole and hale safe for a missing memory or two, though the latter bit is difficult to prove. In any case, apparently you don't remember who killed you or why. Natural causes of death has yet to be tested [ here, kaveh nods to tighnari, the amurta in their group who might've had a question or two about it, ] but that's a variable that needs time and can't be induced.

Second, breaking some of the unsaid mores of society seems to cause the criminal to wake up in handcuffs. Nobody seems to know who puts the handcuffs on or why, but there was an individual who woke up one day with them, and had that for the explanation. I know a man who's been testing the limits and boundaries of criminal activity across the city on his own, but he hasn't been cuffed yet - public drinking, stealing a chandelier. The criteria seems to be more nuanced than 'merely breaking a law'. I suspect intentionality is part of the equation.

Third - Teyvatian elemental laws don't apply. Not here, and not from the stories that I've heard of other societies outside of our own. None of you have active Visions, correct?

ONE-ON-ONE TALK.

[fussiest]

[ start your one-on-one convos here! sidetalk! non-four-way talk! i'm sure they have much to say to each other. threadjack however you like! also go wild! also be free! ]

[fussiest]

- and then did you know what he said to me?

[ in this retelling of alhaitham and kaveh's first conversation in the city, the wave of kaveh's arm is punctuated by the curl of his wrist, entirely disdainful. he doesn't even have to look at alhaitham in order to crucify the words: ] 'Apartments'. Just 'apartments'. Not even, 'oh, meet me at the apartments,' or 'try a northwestern heading', or 'it's the apartment with the odd orange stucco brick next to the thing that looks like someone deconstructed a giant thimble'. Just 'apartments'. What was I supposed to do with that!

That's a Haravatat I'm speaking of. They conferred him a degree! And what for! For him to not use the words they beat twenty languages worth of into the solid stone of his skull?

[justscribing]

[The very man being complained about at this hour sits beside Kaveh, arms crossed, and only offers, unrepentant:] You found me within the allotted time, didn't you?

[fussiest]

Despite, and in spite of you.

[justscribing]

Oh, if you had taken too long I would have given you a hint. Can't promise I would have still been waiting for you, though.

[fussiest]

We're trapped in a hand-print-sized city. Where would you even have gone? There's nowhere to go!

[justscribing]

You really haven't seen a single other thing in this city that I could have occupied myself with more than waiting for you to find your way around it?

[He could go to the bowling alley.]

[cashewlater]

[ you know, kaveh, you make a good point, but cyno doesn't feel the least bit sorry for you. you're a grown ass man. you choose to be besties with alhaitham. that's on you, buddy.

cyno just. sips his drink. ]

Did you find them?

[fussiest]

[ kaveh makes a face. the way he throws himself upon the upturned palm of his hand comes with its own sound effect. the sound effect manages to be terribly petulant. ]

Of course I did. But that's not the point - the point is, Alhaitham is his usual self, and it doesn't seem like being transported out of our usual haunt has done anything to him. For better or for worse? I would say for worse.

[cashewlater]

[ something like a smile twitches at the corners of cyno's mouth, faint, but present. ]

Well, I don't see why a change of scenery should change his personality. He is who he is, and he always will be.

[fussiest]

[ a breath. kaveh looks. cyno, with a little quirk of on his lips - kaveh is no stranger to cyno's propensity for chasing down work as he needs to, but a little bit of good humour, he thinks, is him as well. ]

There you are. [ the nudge kaveh gives cyno's shoulder is a friendly one. ] And you are also who you are, and who you always will be. My only reminder to you is not to take on too much of this entire mystery at once - you'll likely see things clearer for what they are than the rest of us, Alhaitham combined, but ask us for help. If nothing else, Tighnari's liable to shoot someone for you once he gets his hands on some kind of bow or another. There's no need to shoulder it alone.

[cashewlater]

[ ah. kaveh. he's such a kind soul, so warm and gentle, and always looking out for those he cares for. even cyno, who isn't an easy man to get to know, who doesn't grow close to people easily - though once he does, his devotion is stronger than steel.

a light sound moves in his throat, the echo of a chuckle. ]

I'll remember that.

[ cyno has learned well, recently, that it is not always better to work alone. ]

In which case, I'll remind you not to overwork yourself looking out for everyone else.

[wreatharrow]

[ Of course it's just making conversation. Usually he's having to sigh at Cyno's jokes or listen to the man go on about his TCG. Tighnari is used to Kaveh maybe having a little too much to drink and maybe ranting and raving.

But there are a lot of things that weigh heavy on the mind. ]

Have any of you found places of interest?

[fussiest]

[ kaveh, halfway through cutting up slices of a too-sweet cake to force everyone to try with him, considers this: ]

Despite the size of the city, there seems little enough to be interesting. You've seen the trains, though? The ones underground. The tunnels loop, a little like an ending ball of yarn.

[wreatharrow]

I wondered about that myself. It seems we can't move beyond a couple of streets and city blocks. How they are managing to pull this off, I wonder...

[ Because Tighnari can't be convinced that there's not some sort of intelligence behind this. ]

[fussiest]

I did pitch the idea of us being in a domain to Alhaitham. Then again, Teyvatian elemental laws hardly apply here - I'm willing to consider the absence of any perceivable leylines as well, though that sort of thing needs a more thorough search.

[ kaveh considers this. and then, rolling his wrist: ] Say, Tighnari. How are your ears?

[wreatharrow]

The idea of being in a domain isn't necessarily a bad one. Now it might be that a domain is the closest approximation according to our own understanding. Without knowing the laws of this world, it's ultimately hard to say.

[ Which, really, means that they all have things that they should be looking into. Researching.

His ears give a twitch when they are mentioned. Tighnari tilts his head ever so slightly in question. ]

If you are asking about my enhanced senses, they don't seem to be diminished at all. I can hear and smell as I usually would.

[fussiest]

[ it's just like tighnari, kaveh thinks; he suspects he can hear the gears in his head turning already. there's a reason why the sages had been in such a hurry to have him help with their schemes, and to keep him under his thumb. the scalpel of tighnari's mind is a whetted one. he'll have tests to run in the coming days.

though it's not as though they aren't all scientists bundled together into a listless package. kaveh considers this. ]

Good, so this place doesn't have biological implications. I'd wondered, considering they've set a very low baseline. Perhaps they don't consider your sense to be enhanced; all members of your race have them, so why would they not keep them? Which means they have a better understanding of what makes for innate ability and what makes for external sources of ability.