[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

[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?

[wreatharrow]

We know he's going to do that anyway, Alhaitham.

[ Because there's no way they are going to get through all of it. Though there is something to be said about sharing a meal with friends - good ones and bad ones. Even if the food is... Well. Tighnari has definitely eaten worse things, right? It would be like Kaveh to bring something along just to be able to complain. But at least it's a familiar sort of setting.

Though Tighnari might just try to find something that looks like water or tea. ]

I would rather not test that theory just to have an answer. There's no need to recklessly put anyone's life at risk when the outcome is uncertain. Honestly, the blatant disregard for life in general is appalling.

[ Because life and death are both things that require balance. While he wishes to protect living things to the best of his ability, death isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's all part of a cycle. Interrupting that cycle is... Tighnari doesn't know what to make of that.

And he's no Matra so the whole breaking the written law has little interest to him. ]

My Vision hasn't been active, no. Though is it really so surprising to hear that other worlds don't operate like ours do?

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham is also, despite what he just protested, going to take the can Kaveh passes over to him and take a curious sip. His nose wrinkles at the intensity of the carbonation, but he keeps drinking it slowly like he's trying to pick apart the flavors in his brain.

He twists the can to read the ingredients on the side while the conversation continues.] I haven't been able to use mine, but I also haven't felt any adverse effects from it not working right.

[So, there's that at least. He sets the can back down to start writing, and then add to the round robin of information:]

I tried looking through the records room of the city hall, but it's all cabinets of blank paper. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any sort of written documentation in the city--even the books are blank, or rarely pages of unintelligible filler text.

[cashewlater]

Mmm..

[ cyno is silent for some time, thoughtful, grave, his expression hard and focused. tighnari's concern for the balance of life and death is understandable, and while cyno may not share his level of disdain, he certainly understands it. that death could be impermanent is.. frankly, alarming, and he can't help but wonder how it is achieved to begin with. nevertheless, the how of it seems less important to him than the why of their entire situation.

he frowns. ]

I can't say I approve of testing the law simply to find its boundaries, but petty crimes don't really concern me, so long as people aren't being harmed. As for my Vision, I'm experiencing the same as all of you.

My connection to Hermanubis, however.. remains, though in very limited capacity. My link with him is very weak.

[fussiest]

[ huh. kaveh considers this. ]

Weak, but not severed. That's fascinating - I've seen a few others here and there with powers of their own. But our Visions are inert. Could this be a specific case of anything to do with divinity not able to pierce the veil of this world?

[ after all, celestia's blessing is a divine one. dendro as a element is both natural and induced. though kaveh can't quite be certain - it is, after all, a mere hypothesis born from over the consumption of a terribly orange drink. ] Anyway, Tighnari has sense in him; I don't think the discrepancies between individuals is surprising, but I'd like to see some patterns emerge. The lack of clarity is going to drive me up the proverbial wall.

... that, and Alhaitham has no books. [ ugh. ] I can feel a headache coming on already. Tighnari, Cyno, if you the two of you see that I am about to commit some sort of murder, don't stop me. Know that Alhaitham would have deserved it.

apologies! been busy/depressed/traveling

[wreatharrow]

[ Tighnari gives this some consideration as well. Visions inert, but innate abilities - ones that seem to be woven into their very core - seem to be only slightly or moderately affected. His tail swishes back and forth in thought. ]

There is a chance of that. If the gods could not prevent this from happening, then it stands to reason that whatever has done this supersedes them. Again, it is only speculation. Unless we know more about the nature of the entities or phenomenon that brought us here, it's impossible to say for certain.

[ Because they don't even have answers to that. Nothing has come forward to establish or introduce themselves. While there is a little evidence of this place being a host to people prior to all of them... There are no signs as to who or what those people had been.

His ear twitches at the familiar complaints start to form. ]

And just what would Alhaitham do to warrant that? Here, you're on relatively equal footing, yes?

No worries!

[justscribing]

[Alhaitham raises a brow as he jots down the note. So Hermanubis is still there, and it's their Visions specifically that aren't working, huh? And yet, even Hermanubis is restricted in some way.]

It could be the difference between what's innate and external. [As ones Vision abilities are inexorably linked to the Vision itself, if reports from the recently opened Inazuma are anything to go by.

No comment on Kaveh's toothless threat of murder. He hasn't even caused any trouble (yet).]