Unusually Quiet [ OPEN ]

[arthurwilde]

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La Repose. Though he could probably guess and come close, Arthur didn't really care to know what the name above the door of the cafe meant. To him, it was just a nice, secluded spot, to find a drink and quiet in the darker hours of the day, when he wasn't in the mood to get himself in trouble. Not that he still did that often anymore of course. The lack of customers to share the cafe with wasn't surprisng. La Repose wasn't located in the nice part of town, despite what one might expect from a City Square. No, while it might once have been beautiful, before his time, now it was just as filthy as most of the rest of the broken city. In his usual spot at the back of the small restraunt, Arthur sat in one of the few corner booths, his back to a window and eyes easily able to see the door. The tip of his tongue was gently grasped between his teeth as he bent over a notebook and slowly slid the graphite tip of a pencil over the blank, lineless sheet. Berry scented tea sat barely touched off to the right, an unbroken bagel on his left, and Abra rested cross legged directly across on the table's surface, peering down at the paper as Arthur drew. Or... and Arthur's wrist stilled as something occured. Or perhaps Abra was just seeing what the sketch was supposed to look by reading it from his mind. He flicked bright green eyes up at the closed slits on Abra's face and arched an eyebrow. "You do know the real thing won't look anything like what I'm picturing in my head right?" There was a heavy, somehow thoughtful silence through their open mental link. Then, << Skillless. >> Eyes narrowed to slits almost as small as Abra's, and Arthur let his pencil drop with a clatter, "Well fine. I won't draw you anymore. Wasting my time asking in the first place. You did, remember?" Abra didn't forget anything. Of course he remembered. Arthur sighed, and realizing he'd barely touched his tea, reached over and brought it to his lips for another drink, before it got lukewarm. << Why? >> Abra asked suddenly, not shifting an inch from the position he'd maintained since they'd both first taken seats. When he first met Abra, similiar occassions, telepathically being asked a question, led to much spilling of drinks and startled curses. He suspected the little Psychic did it on purpose. Now, it was already so familiar that the new Trainer didn't even flinch. He did cast a glance to the cute young man behind the counter, hoping the guy knew he was replying aloud to mental questions. No. He wasn't insane. "I just don't feel like stopping back by home yet," He finally answered, and shrugged lightly. Being free was so... well, freeing. Arthur worried that returning home for a visit would give his mom and dad a chance to take it back. He'd wanted to stay away for at least a week before returning, but it'd barely been a full day yet, and unfortunately, he'd left his bags behind before setting out that morning, and could hardly leave the City limits without them. "Just... eat something. Want a bagel? I can buy another."

[magnus]

I say oh, got this feeling that you can’t fight,
Like the city’s on fire tonight

La Repose was a quiet place with few hazards, and therefore a good place, in Magnus’ mind. He needed a good place today, because he wasn’t feeling well from the moment he woke up that morning. The disgusting motel room he had been staying in had springs literally coming out of the mysteriously stained mattress, and there were bumps in the night he absolutely didn’t care for. And it was cold, something that his snake DNA did not appreciate whatsoever. It was an all around bad night, to say the least.

Work had woken him early, the laptop beeping as new information was sent along. Not enough, and he still had to sit tight until the file was complete. Then, Magnus was supposed to go and set some poor sap on fire without remorse and collect money for it. What a life, huh? What a tale.

But it was a good life, as far as he was concerned.

Magnus walked into the café with a briefcase in one hand and a book tucked under his arm, wearing his usual military uniform because the occasion didn’t call for a suit. Yet he was in public, and therefore couldn’t wear his ‘sloppy’ clothes that were still nice for most in such conditions. There were very few in the place; in fact, it was mostly empty but a man sitting in the back and the person working at the counter. The man in the back, he observed, was sketching about and talking to an Abra he had with him.

The blond found that he had little need for Pokemon himself; his own form, as a Gijinka, was sufficient most of the time. However, he was advised that he should start carrying perhaps one with him, just in case. He didn’t know what that just in case was, because if it couldn’t be taken down with a raging flamethrower, it could possibly be taken down with a bullet, both of which he had on his person at all times. He made mental note to get on that.

He sat down at a table near the other man, not too worried about him, and ordered a black coffee and a sandwich. Really, he was a simple sort of man, and fancy things just wouldn’t do. The first thing he pulled out was the company-issue laptop, flipping it open and connecting to the network. Once that was done, he had little to worry about. Information would come along as it did, and so he finally let his shoulders down, sitting back a little and pulling out the book.

Magnus had little fear of The Bard.

Day turns to night, night turns into whatever we want
We’re young enough to say, oh, this could really be the good life

[arthurwilde]

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Had anyone been nearby, Arthur probably would have gotten a dirty look for the obnoxious snort and wry eyeroll he shot his seemingly silent Abra. The Psychic had taken an inordiantly long time to consider the types, textures, and flavor differences of bagels, all pulled from the Trainer's very own memories, and then when he finally refused one, the human boy couldn't contain it. Strange little fox-faced Pokemon. "We will get something more suited to your palate on the way home then," Arthur promised, shaking his head. He cast an annoyed look at his tea, so cool now that he wouldn't dare touch it, and picked his pencil back up to give his hands something to do. Pressing the tip to paper, he began to doodle idly as he peered around the Cafe. How long might it be until he got to come back here? Training did mean he'd probably be on his own a lot when outside the City. Perhaps he should make a pass at the guy behind the counter. If it was going to be his last shot... << Pass? >> Arthur lifted his pencil to lightly press the eraser against Abra's forehead, and opened his mouth with a frown, but the irritated tirade against the invasion of private slash sexy thoughts was derailed before it took off. A newcomer had entered La Repose. Tall, fit, blond, the man wasn't particularly special looking to Arthur, who generally stuck to his own age group. It was the uniform that made the man interesting, and bright green eyes tracked him as he progressed across the cafe, made his order, and took a seat at a table right next to his and Abra's booth. That itself was a little strange as well. With so many seats avaliable, most people would have taken on far away from the other customers. Realizing his staring might be crossing into offensive, he turned his head back to Abra and tried to pretend he hadn't been doing it at all. "I was thinking we'd take a look around the Abandoned Sector tomorrow morning. Are you up for it?" The fact that his mind was still on the tall man in uniform was obvious to Abra, and instead of replying, the fox Pokemon broke his statue-like stillness for the first time since they'd taken seats. Though still tightly closed, Abra turned those eyes to the table next to theirs and the person of interest that was swimming through his Trainer's brain. "Hey," Arthur attempted to reclaim his attention with a slight edge in his voice. "Listening?" << Ghosts, >> Abra replied immediately that time, and an image flashed across Arthur's mind. It was of a familiar candle-shaped Pokemon, stopped in a purple blue flame. Abra didn't stop staring at the man, but the image was enough to distract Arthur for a few seconds, who blinked in surprise. That was one part of their telepathic communication that he hadn't yet got used to. Blinking rapidly to clear the picture, he frowned at his Psychic, and glanced between the fox-faced Pokemon and the man at the table. "Warn me before you do that- and will you stop staring?"

[magnus]

I say oh, got this feeling that you can’t fight,
Like the city’s on fire tonight

It had been a rough night, but Magnus supposed he’d had worse in worse places. There was that one motel he was placed in that was absolutely horrid about a year ago. He thought the wallpaper was black until he realized it was some sort of fungus, and the room stank so badly, he actually checked under the mattresses to see if there was a body. No bodies but the rats, apparently, though the fact didn’t make it at all better. He’d been dumped in worse places than this, so he’d deal with it in stride, as far as his training went.

Ludwig was another issue altogether. He moaned and groaned about the place, blamed it on him for wanting to transfer to the ‘bad’ part of town and was a pain in the ass in general. Magnus was afraid he was turning into a glorified babysitter for the guy, who never filled out his own reports and paperwork whatsoever. He didn’t know how much longer he was going to stick around with Epispect and, in turn, Ludwig; it all depended on his decisions that he would possibly need to make soon. Johan wasn’t looking well, as far as he’d gathered.

Magnus was, simply put, tired. He ran his fingers through his slicked back hair, taking off his cap momentarily and putting it on the table next to the laptop. Maybe the concern for his cousin and brother was beginning to effect him a little more than he’d like, and everything told him that it was time to get away before it was too late. Self preservation.

And there was a moment when everything came down on him, and he was tired and overworked and his back was feeling awfully sore from being jabbed by metal and he just yawned. Perhaps he yawned a little too wide, because one moment it was alright, and then the next there was that pressure along the joint that could only mean one thing. Damn it!

Before he could make a single move to stop it, there was a crack that resounded in his skull. He felt the skin and muscle pull tight along his jaw and his mouth open almost impossibly wide. Heck, it looked like he had torn his face in two, though by some miracle of muscle structure, he could still move the bone. He had accidently unhinged his jaw, much like a snake would when swallowing prey.

He took a quick glance around, hoping nobody saw it and swiftly popped the bone back into place. Of course, that too made a crackling noise akin to somebody breaking something. It must’ve sounded louder in his head than it had out loud, but still, he worried for it.

Day turns to night, night turns into whatever we want
We’re young enough to say, oh, this could really be the good life

[arthurwilde]

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While the request slash demand was murmured quietly, it was considerably louder in his head, and while it worked to pull Abra's attention and foxy head back in his direction, Arthur felt bad immediately. His own apology met Abra's across their mental link, but behind the Psychic's silent 'sorry', was a wave of curiosity. << Why? >> That familiar tone and question brought a smile back to Arthur's lips, and he rolled his eyes playfully at his Starter. He would never forget his first days of partnership with Abra. He hadn't recognized it as a partnership then of course, he'd just thought Abra was stalking him, but in fact, he'd already been claimed, even then. And Abra hadn't stopped asking 'Why?'. Not a single day, for almost a week. At work, in the shop, at home, while he was sleeping, while he was showering... The Pokemon, for one of such vaunted intelligence, could be such a child sometimes. "Not everyone is comfortable with a Psychic eyeing them like a snowcone on a hot day, you know," Arthur attempted to explain, humor lacing his voice. "It makes them uncomfortable." He wasn't entirely unknown there at La Repose, even if there were no familiar faces on the staff that night. On several occasions, his father had sold some of his stock to the Cafe since it had first opened. They knew Arthur, and they knew his family. The last thing he wanted was to make things difficult for his dad's business by irritating the manager because his Pokemon was driving away uncomfortable customers. Also, the poor guy was looking seriously overworked if the body language observed in Arthur's periphial was anything to go by. People as stressed as that one was looking tended to snap first, so he figured it best to leave him along to his yawning- Crk. Faint, but inmistakable at the short distance between their seats. Well now he couldn't ignore that, just to give the guy some peace. Arthur's and Abra's heads both twisted in an eerily similiar manner so that they could both stare, Abra as emotionlessly as ever, the Trainer with arched eyebrow. Had that really just happened? The loud and obnoxious snort was impossible to contain when the uniformed man actually looked around before popping his jaw back into place and trying to pretend nothing had happened. "Yeah... you can't hide something that awesome." An eyebrow remained high and a toothy grin grew across his face. "Seriously. Trying was just silly."

[magnus]

I say oh, got this feeling that you can’t fight,
Like the city’s on fire tonight

Eating had become a very troublesome task since he gained Seviper DNA from the company. Eating like a regular person, as in chewing and swallowing, became more difficult with the extra bones and teeth in his mouth. Though he didn’t like how much the new DNA changed him, sometimes he just had to adapt to it. One of those changes was eating things whole and raw. Those motels he was often thrown in, decrepit and rotting as they were, often had rats running around. There were so many times when he woke up in the middle of the night and had to fight the urge just to catch one and swallow it whole. That was distasteful, they were filthy rats, but at the same time they looked so good.

The crack in his skull was followed by a very faint, dull ache in the joints as the bone was popped back into place. It was convenient when he, say, was eating food or scaring people, but not at all useful when he was sitting down in a café, about to get to work. He just hoped that the person sitting in the booth next to him hadn’t seen it, or the person standing at the counter.

Of course, that was just a little too much to hope for. It seemed that both the blond boy and his Pokemon were now peering over at him, having seen it and possibly heard it as well. Damn it, this was embarrassing. Maybe he’d just turn away and not mention it. Maybe he’d just think he was hearing things and go back to drinking his tea—

No such luck. The boy practically laughed out loud at him, pointing out how futile hiding his jaw was. The little Abra stared at him curiously as well, and he had little choice this time around but to respond. ”Ah, sorry if I bothered you. It’s… genetics.” Because he wasn’t quite sure what to call Seviper DNA yet. He hadn’t been one for too long; Epispect had changed him when he was first relocated to the desolate town. He still wasn’t used to the inner workings of how it was all to function yet.

Day turns to night, night turns into whatever we want
We’re young enough to say, oh, this could really be the good life

[arthurwilde]

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Arthur was hardly bothered, no. Inmistakable excitement and curiosity swelled up inside, and his was split further by a widening, goofy grin. "Definitely not!" The boy protested with a soft laugh. "You just turned a boring night at the local cafe into something a lot more memorable and interesting." Sudden disapproval was floated into his mind from Abra, but aside from a quick, unapologetic glance complete with lifted eyebrow and shrug, the blonde haired youth ignored it. The scolding he'd delievered to his little Psychic fox was almost completely forgotten now that he was interested, and in more than the guy's looks. He just wanted to ask a few questions anyway, and the stranger could refuse to answer any one of them. It wasn't like he was going to root about in the guy's brain to satisfy his curiosity. Indecision held him for a moment as he glanced at his things, noticeable by the bite on the inside of his bottom lip and the quick drum of his fingers across the table top. Then it was over, and Arthur was abandoning his now nastily cold tea and bagel, as well as his sketchpad and seat on the booths bend. He slide around the half-circle corner booth to the end of the seat that put him closer to the man in uniform who had captured his complete attention. A hand and friendly nod of greeting was offered as an introduction fell from upturned lips, "I'm Arthur... my little friend there is Abra. And you? I'm taking 'genetics' to mean 'Gijinka', and I'd love to know what else you can do." It had been a vague explanation, 'genetics', and if it had also been meant to sweep the accidental jaw dislocation under the rug, and or subtly convince Arthur to keep his interest to himself, it was a complete and total failure. Gijinka were interesting, and strong, and mysterious. To have one in front of him, sitting in a completely normal little cafe, one who'd 'outed' himself so humorously, made it impossible to let go. May as well try to tear the snake from the mouth of a Mightyena.somewhat boring visit to the local cafe as now a humorously memorable experience he'd never forget.

[magnus]

I say oh, got this feeling that you can’t fight,
Like the city’s on fire tonight

He supposed he could be thankful that the kid just laughed and didn’t go screaming. However, the worker at the counter seemed to do a double-take as his jaw practically fell off his head, and then turned to do something else that didn’t involve looking at him. If he thought that was gross, just wait till he saw his spine… but then again, maybe he wasn’t ever going to see it. It wasn’t like he put his differences on display for the world to see, after all. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t either; he was of the completely legal variety and actually worked for the company that made him that way. They had wanted to test a new technique, so they claimed.

He watched as the boy slid over on his seat to sit nearer to him; surprising. Most would’ve just been done with that and gone back to their business. It seemed that the boy, who introduced himself as Arthur, was genuinely curious about his state of affairs. It was strange, as most would either leave him be or be disgusted and leave. As far as he was concerned, this Arthur kid wasn’t a Gijinka either, but a plain human. Ah, now that was refreshing then, was it?

”Nice to meet you. I’m Magnus.” He returned the small smile and handshake, nodding over at the Abra in a silent greeting as well. ”And… yeah, I guess that’s what I mean.” He found it odd that he was being considered a completely separate species because of a bit of DNA, but that’s what everyone thought, and who was he to judge.

A small chuckle as he asked what else he could do. There were quite a few things… fangs, poison and a super bendable spine, along with that funny jaw. Still, he couldn’t just outright say it, could he? ”What else do you think I can do?”

Day turns to night, night turns into whatever we want
We’re young enough to say, oh, this could really be the good life

[arthurwilde]

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Arthur arched an eyebrow as his hand was shaken. Magnus? Not a name he heard before, but very cool. He did have to wonder who named their kid Magnus these days though. Taking his hand back, he relaxed into his seat again, shoulder against the booth's padded back, and smiled at the man as he was asked a question. "Think?" The youth hummed thoughtfully, and glanced back at Abra for a moment to ensure he was still there. "I could guess..." Arthur shrugged gently, "I haven't met a lot of people who have had the procedure," He paused and then corrected, "Or, at least not a lot who admit it. I've read though, and apparently some of the Pokemon traits are taken along with the powers in some cases?" Yes, he'd studied up on it a little. If he could afford it, he would so be doing it. Screw all those morons who thought it made humans less than just that. Pokemon powers were bad ass, ask any nine year old off the street who hadn't yet been brainwashed by popular opinion or conservative parents. "So, the mouth thing," Arthur flashed his teeth in another grin, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly. "It looks kind of..." He hoped he wouldn't be offending if he guessed wrong there. "Snakish?" Miltank was an amusing possibility he kept to himself. He didn't see Miltank when he looked at that pretty, uniformed man, but who knew. Did he have a few extra nipples beneath that coat? Ew... there was some brain searing imagery, and his nose wrinkled. Quick! He had to distract himself! "If you bite me, should I worry about poison?" It was a comment made with teasing, not fear or disgust, and Arthur's clearly effort to keep a chuckle in should have made it clear.

[magnus]

I say oh, got this feeling that you can’t fight,
Like the city’s on fire tonight

There was a small tug on Magnus’ lips; what could pass as a ‘smile’ as the very corners pulled up just a fraction. Smart boy, and the blond nodded in an affirmative gesture. Yes, sometimes people took on some traits of their Pokemon counterparts. He knew of quite a few people who got absolutely amazing traits, and some that got the very short end of the stick. For those of them that got the procedure to destroy the virus, at least it saved their lives. For those who paid to get it done because it was cool, well that was tough luck.

”Snakeish is right. Seviper, to be exact, though most snakes are poison anyway.” Very smart boy; perhaps a conversation with this Arthur kid wouldn’t be too bad. After all, he seemed genuinely curious, but it was an informed curiosity, and not just some daft pedestrian asking questions out of complete ignorance. He liked talking to these sorts of people, and he didn’t find himself regretting it yet.

A small chuckle then. ”…only if I bite you with these.” A normal bite wouldn’t do a thing; he still had human teeth, after all, though he barely used them nowadays. However, that Seviper DNA did give him two more extra teeth, hollow and like hypodermic needles, set just behind his canines. He opened his mouth, though not unhinging it and splitting it like he usually did, and two fangs about an inch long were pushed forward from where they folded.

He let Arthur see them for a few seconds before closing his mouth back up, clicking his tongue to accent the fact. His teeth were both a blessing and a curse; they were a formidable weapon, yet they didn’t allow him to eat normally and stay comfortable. ”There’s, of course, a slight inconvenience to them. I can’t eat like I used to.”

Day turns to night, night turns into whatever we want
We’re young enough to say, oh, this could really be the good life

[arthurwilde]

[atrb=width,225px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0px,true][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/WO7lj.jpg,true]

"Oooooh," Arthur shaped his expression into a poor imitation of his father's when he'd 'dissapointed' him. "You told me. I was going to make a guessing game and everything." Really, he was going to ask questions, and have the man tell him if he was hot or not. An muffled snuffling sound came from behind him and he thought a very loud, firm SHUSH to Abra, who, as always, had been listening in on his brain. Silly evesdropping fox. 'This is why Psychics make people uncomfortable.' The picture it might have presented to the others in the cafe didn't bother Arthur in the slightest as those dangerous looking fangs were extended for inspection. In fact, it made him even more likely to lean foward for a good long look, and he did. "Oh neat..." He commented softly, eyes narrowed and head tilted to see into the dark of the man's mouth. He'd just begun to think about the trouble those must make for eating when Magnus mentioned it as a downtime, and he smiled sympathetically. "I guess if you have to actually chew your food, those would make things difficult." He wondered if hollow teeth were more or less sensitive to cold and hot drinks, but then shook it out of his mind. That was the least important of the questions he wanted to ask. "So Seviper?" His temporarily cleared expression again began to darken as the searched his memory for the familiar sounding name of the serpent Pokemon. "I think I've heard of those... Dark- no Poison-type," That, Arthur felt, deserved an impressed brow arch, which then turned quizzical again as a new, almost forgotten little fact he'd learned in his youth surfaced. "They are... natural enemies of Zangoose," His expression flickered with an amused wince. "Ever worry about running into one of those someday? Have you before?" Was it wrong that he kind of wanted to test these things, he wondered? Part of him wanted to set a Zangoose on this guy to see what would happen- or, let Abra take a poke at him with a Psychic attack, to see if it would do as much damage to a Poison-type Gijinka, as it would to a real Poison-type. Yes, he decided, it probably was... and he just couldn't stop thinking it.

[magnus]

I say oh, got this feeling that you can’t fight,
Like the city’s on fire tonight

It had taken a long time, perhaps a month or two, to slowly begin adjusting to the new ‘modifications’ his body went through. He had been just as curious as the boy had at first about what he could and couldn’t do now that he had some Seviper DNA. He had discovered his new limits and abilities eventually; some for the worse, some for the better.

”Well… yes, sometimes. It’s a lot more comfortable to swallow food whole now.” And he wouldn’t be choking himself to death either, because of a more stretchable throat that could accommodate such things. The boy seemed to lean in, trying to catch a glimpse of what else could’ve been in his mouth. He didn’t have the barbed throat like most snakes seemed to, and by all means, it looked quite normal. He closed his mouth after the inspection seemed done, his two fangs nestling back into the indents on the roof of his mouth formed to accommodate them.

Magnus felt a faint smirk tug at the corners of his lips as the topic of his species came up, and the species of his enemies. ”Zangoose, huh?” A small chuckle as his memory immediately flashed to Ludwig, the one person he was supposed to be around almost all the time. ”Oh, I’ve met one alright. More than I’d like to, actually.” It was a curious thought though; was his rivalry with Ludwig because of their Pokemon DNA, or because they were just the sorts to bicker like an old married couple.

The blond’s eyes shifted to the Abra sitting on the table for a split second; psychic was strong against poison. That would’ve been interesting if they did get into a fight, though Magnus was confident that he could probably curbstomp the Abra into oblivion. Then again, didn’t they use teleport really well?

He sat back a little, growing a little more relaxed. ”Since you’re asking me all this, should I assume that you’re a human?”

Day turns to night, night turns into whatever we want
We’re young enough to say, oh, this could really be the good life

[arthurwilde]

[atrb=width,225px][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0px,true][atrb=cellspacing,0px,true][atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/WO7lj.jpg,true]

A fair fight between a Pokemon and a Human? He had to see one of those some day, Arthur decided, having not yet been so fortunate. Magnus had met a Zangoose, and was rather vague about it, but judging by the word choice, it wasn't something that began or ended well, as the youth had suspected. How dould a Seviper Gijinka fight a real Zangoose? Or a Zangoose Gijinka? Yeah, he needed to be on the sidlines of one of those meetings. A soft, surprised laugh slipped out at the question regarding his own humanity, and Arthur arched an eyebrow as he shifted, leaning on his arm atop the table. "It's not completely obvious?" He'd wondered before whether, with all those fun extra senses, Gijinka could sense one another somehow. Apparently not. Or maybe it was just that one. "Yes," Arthur continued with a nod, and ran his fingers back through his hair to replace a few blond strands that slipped lose and caught in his lashes at the motion. "One hundred percent, everyday, relatively boring human being." Relatively, because he wasn't silly enough to think things he regularly did for the hell of it were normal for other kids his age. Such as the time he'd slipped while scaling a shredded building in the Abandoned Sector. Had that less than optimistic doctor who'd worked on his knee gone ahead and done as he wanted, taking out a bit of bone and replacing it with something else, he might not have been able to call himself one-hundred percent human. Thankfully the second opinion had come from a much better lady-doc. Arthur dipped his head with a wide grin at the man, "Pretty much the complete opposite of you." Clearing his throat, the young man flicked a couple of fingers forward, again indicating Magnus, or more specifically, his clothing. "Like the outfit. Very not boring. I've been meaning to ask, what kind of job requires that the uniform? Are you actually in the army... or, security or something? I imagine being Gijinka helps with any of those." The only other thing his very teenaged mind could put together from 'extreme flexibility', 'beauty' and 'uniform' was... "Stripper?" The last was added with clear jest, a playfully teasing expression forming.

[magnus]

I say oh, got this feeling that you can’t fight,
Like the city’s on fire tonight

This kid was a whole lot more agreeable than most humans Magnus had met. Actually, more agreeable than most he’d met, period. He found people in general rather disagreeable, and though he was often forced to at least attempt to get along, it didn’t always work out. Fights always broke out, especially in his line of work, and he’d been in a position to see the worst sides of nearly all species, Gijinka or human. It didn’t make a difference.

There was that brief moment where his brain lagged, and the mention of him being a stripper caught. ”...stripper?” He would never be able to live it down, if he was. Still, there mere thought of it horrified him. It was indignant, to say the least. He would definitely never be able to go home after a stint as a stripper... And even just the idea of it was mortifying; he was raised to be a gentleman, not... Oh, it was a joke?

His brain seemed to finally catch up and pick on that little smile, almost a sly grin. Magnus actually smiled then; not too much, but it was still an amusing thought. He must’ve been feeling rather good today; being accused of being a stripper generally didn’t fly too well with him.

”Oh, of course.” A small shake of his head, and then a nod towards the person who brought him his sandwich, though now it sat mostly forgotten after being placed. ”Uh... yeah, I do general ground forces work. I’m just home for a little while as of now.” Which wasn’t a lie, per se. Equivocating was a powerful thing.

Day turns to night, night turns into whatever we want
We’re young enough to say, oh, this could really be the good life

[arthurwilde]

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He'd expected it kind of, but the slight change in facial expression, the tone in the echo of his suggestion, it made Arthur want to laugh aloud. Perhaps even giggle a bit. The poor man looked so caught off guard. A bright grin on his face as he continued to watch the reaction, the younger blond saw the moment Magnus caught onto the fact that yes, he'd been kidding. He snickered softly, and leaned back once he was sure it was clear that he hadn't meant offense with the comment, and listened intently. "Well," Arthur shook his head in mock disappointment, mouth corners still upturned. "That was very vague." Who really understood what 'general ground forces' meant without a larger explanation? No matter. Arthur gave the barest of shrugs to indicate he didn't mind. He was hardly one to get annoyed with another for keeping secrets. Nobody in the world would be as comfortable talking with him if they knew one of his favored pasttimes when bored was thievery. But, he was getting better with that. For one, he hadn't immediatly sized the man up and looked for valuables, or hints of valuables. The uniform might have thrown him off though, now that he thought about it. "So..." Arthur's head tilted a little to the left as he settled back into a leaning posture against the table. "What brings you out here this late? You looked- look, exhausted." His eyes flicked over to a nearby clock on a distant wall, slowly ticking away, inaudible in the busy daylight hours, but not then. "I'm a night owl myself, and I've never seen you here before." Forgettable wasn't a description he could ever use in reference to this man. Even before his jaw fell out of place, so loudly.