prismatica | video, un: birdinthehand

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video, un: birdinthehand

I'm looking for my -- [ "leaf," wait -- no one but her and Lewin has any inkling what the hell that means, so, and smoothly for all that she sounds more than less on the urgent side ] -- Lightning. Iris... really gets away with him.

[ As though that explains everything. She glances at the camera. Her hair is utterly windswept, some of the feathers in it dancing as she walks the streets, her steps brisk, purposeful. Her nose? Red. She's been out for a while now, the black feathers of her collar tugged snug against her neck. Straight to the chase. ]

If you're from Earth, you may recognize him as American. Mm, he's about [ please hold, she's crunching this in her head ] one hundred and seventy-seven centimeters. [ She's certain. ] He's --

[ Here, that's what her hand says as she grinds to a halt and tugs the camera back so her audience can see. She makes an even cut through the air above and beside her, like she knows exactly where, how he fits with her. Like that helps anyone figure out anything other than the fact that she's short if they're attentive to her height against background details. ]

-- this tall, but he's not bulky or too slight. [ And she's stepping again, talking as she turns an ear in listening and scans the area with keen eyes. Holding little things back. ]

You might not be able to tell because he dresses like a hobo. I'm not exaggerating. There's holes and stains in his clothes and he doesn't care about fashion at all. Tee shirts, capris, boots -- you can find him in layers sometimes and his shoes won't be clean. If they are, it's not him.

He has... so much black hair and it's always so messy. [ But it doesn't sound like she minds? ] It's always in front of his eyes, so you can't see them most of the time. [ A glance. Look. ] I cannot emphasize how messy it is. It looks like he hasn't brushed it in a week, maybe ever. [ She's gesturing with her free hand, outlining a shape at her head now. ] Iris gives him these... bat ears. They're huge, about as big as his head put together, and they stick out a bit, like this. They're really furry! [ Who's excited? Fond?? Sobering a little. ] He's usually got this big smile or a grin on his face that'll show off a mouth full of pointy teeth now. His voice is a lot like his expression. It's big, real cheerful with a thick accent, Texan if that means anything to you. That twang is distinct from anything around here. [ She's fond. Oh! ] And he's got stubble. His face is unshaven, but there's no substantial mustache or beard. [ Yet. ]

Has anyone seen him? [ She gives the camera her full attention now, exhales a small cloud of white. Please, if you've seen her idiot hobo... ]

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Oh, I don't doubt you have -- but you shouldn't underestimate the cute ones, either!

[Ranpo's seen some shit-- but he kinda ruins his point when he pulls out a lollipop to suck on, looking delighted by the flavor.]

[ Hm. It sounds an awful lot like he's saying something... before he absolutely ruins his point with that lollipop. Fail, sir. ]

Should I be concerned? Are you going to try and scare me, Ranpo-san?

...well, if it were cordis I might amp up the cat-ness to tease you, but I'm not that mean otherwise.

[If he warns her, that means it's okay if it ever happens during cordis, right?? Right.]

I just meant you shouldn't make assumptions about me just because I'm cute. I was a detective back home -- it takes a lot to scare me!

[ All she's hearing with that first statement of his is 'pacify the cat boy spirit with homemade sweets when the blue moon is high in the sky' like some kind of actual mantra. Two can play at that kind of... is it a game? It sounds more like torture maybe.

But he certainly isn't wrong regarding the matter of assumptions and now he's gone and gotten her curious. ]

That's right. You said you're a master detective.

[ Does she have time? She should. It's not like she's not listening for movement. She can be on a certain bat boy in a snap if she needs to be. ]

What kind of cases did you solve?

Oh, all kinds of cases! Disappearances, robberies, murders... but our agency specialized in crimes committed by special ability users, typically those belonging to criminal organizations. Most of us were special ability users too, after all.

[Himself totally included. Totally.]

[ It's a subtle little perk, but it's definite. The types of cases he solves alone would have been enough to pique her interest, but the nature of that agency, its members is icing on the cake and it whips her curiosity up finely. Is that a little smile maybe? ]

Really? And what sort of ability do you have?

Only the best ability a detective can have!

[Big ego? Nonsense, he's very modest.]

Super Deduction lets me instantly see the truth in any situation! It's the ultimate ability that's never been defeated!

[--literally okay, it's basically just "the author lets this one character infomod everyone and it's great".]

[ She might be leaning forward just a teensy weensy bit. ]

Never?

[ Please hold. She's imagining and -- yes, yes, she's going up on her toes, down, up, down not unlike a little bird stepping. ]

I definitely want to see that in action. It sounds really interesting. Something like that would serve a master detective well, right?

Of course! Our detective agency wouldn't be what it is without me! But-- hmm... if you have a case to solve, I'd be happy to help. But I've learned people don't really like it when I use it on them personally. Not everyone can handle the truth, after all.

[Said as if he's goading her into asking him to use it smh.]

[--but then, it's not an ability at all, and there really is no "using it". He just has a way of ~~infomodding~~ figuring out a lot about people and situations through his own perceptiveness.]

[ She's tempted, honestly, because honestly, honesty is usually her first leaning, anyway. There's something of a nagging sensation afoot, though. Something like, "Setsura, maybe you shouldn't with the present uncertainty in your heart," but, well, Ranpo isn't a demon, now is he? Of course, some humans can be much worse than any demon, not that she's afraid. She isn't, but the timing is... not the most ideal. ]

I do want to see it, but it'd be a waste to ask if there's nothing to solve at the moment, hm? You've already been such a big help, too, and I'd want to properly pay you, of course.

Oh, I wouldn't say there's nothing... but I don't think you'd thank me for digging into your personal matters.

[--which goes without saying, he's already doing the digging. But then, it's not like he can turn it off?? For Ranpo, it's like asking someone not to notice the color of the sky after dragging them outside. Things that people believe are well hidden are simply obvious to him.]

Edited 2020-02-04 07:46 (UTC)

[ If this isn't a crossroads! He's already at it, hm? On one hand, she's curious and on the other, well... she's still curious, but also cautious. She isn't a chick newly sprung from the nest, after all, or wholly oblivious to certain facets of her situation. ]

Personal matters? Talking like that, you realize I'm going to have to ask you sooner or later, don't you? You could give me one thing now and I wouldn't hold it against you.

...honestly, sometimes I wonder if what I'm thinking is actually only obvious to me. It's hard to tell.

[Because honestly, he's pretty sure everyone listening to that post of hers assumed Lightning was he boyfriend. But only Ranpo can see the complexity below the surface.]

In any case, I can tell exactly how you feel about Lightning-san-- that's not his real name, right? Ignoring it won't make things better. There's never going to be a "better time" to address it with someone like him... he probably tried to warn you off when you first met, right? Something like, "I'm not that kind of guy" or "I'm just going to leave when I get tired of you"-- I get the feeling he doesn't have a lot of tact when it comes to feelings.

And you can say you won't hold it against me-- but I won't call you a liar if you do.

[ She listens intently, that curiosity of hers sharpening. The instant the word "feel" comes into play, she feels her chest tighten, though, and that nagging voice she'd hushed when she'd decided to press forward rests justified in its grave. That smile of hers peels slow, but she holds where many might start twitching, wringing their hands, outright stammering, gasping. Instead, she becomes... quiet, tilts her head just so as her brows furrow with recognition. She could have chalked up certain things to assumptions made from her broadcast, but others, she can't think of a logical way he could have known outside of some ability.

He'd only just met Lewin in December, hadn't he? That conversation had occurred in... November. In November...? She remembers that conversation clearly even now, the promise she had knowingly made to Lewin, a... certain desire that even now sees her fingers twitch, certain... words. Oh, she puts the mental brakes on quick. ]

It isn't your responsibility to manage the state of my heart.

[ It isn't some snap yielded for offense taken, but a fairly calm reply to his last statement because she is replying over the question of since when and into which she is driving her figurative elbow. She asked, he answered, and she won't fault him that step she took, the aftermath. She isn't upset with him for this indulgence, simply... it's more than she was expecting, perhaps a bit more than she was prepared to hear because she's only just begun to recognize certain things and she'd determined not that long ago -- an hour tops -- when she'd realized thanks to a certain thick glass of syrup how happy so simple a thing as Lewin calling her really makes her that it's better for her to put it to the side for the moment, keep her focus through the triple moons. Think on it properly once he's safe and she has a moment and can afford it.

She'll put this away in a moment because she is not so weak-willed a creature. Watchful, terribly curious at times, but not that, certainly not when she's got an important task at hand. ]

Not bad, though, Ranpo-san.

[ Is that in response to the first question? The second? The second she'd lean into admitting more readily because if Lewin hasn't given his first name, she won't be the one to do it. She had said she wanted to see Ranpo's ability, though, and that wild thing beating in her chest is certainly excited now. She needs to rein it in, calm it down. ]

[Ah yes, only an ability could figure this out... or maybe, Ranpo's just figured out that Lewin is on the same wavelength as Dazai, which means he's smarter than he pretends to be, and miserably incompetent when it comes to personal relationships. Such a shame these traits so often go hand in hand...]

[Ranpo's expression stays neutral, but in reality, he's carefully observing every little hitch in her throat and unintentional shift, reading her reaction like a book. There's no doubt in his mind that he was right, and she's taking care to conceal her true reaction right now.]

...just "not bad"? And here I thought that'd be worthy of something a little more impressed!

Don't misunderstand me. I am very impressed. That really is some ability you have, but we both know that isn't the lightest subject material and Lightning-kun is how many handfuls?

[ She needs to stay properly focused or she'll be chasing him down all over again in short order, not that she minds the chase itself. She'd chase her leaf anywhere, any day. She... pauses very briefly with that, casually shoving her heart for her own words, and smiles small and easy. ]

But I'll tell you what. You can pick one [ one (1), she is lifting a finger ] sweet of your choice and I'll make it for you from scratch another day when we're not so pressed by the moons and we can talk more, then. How's that sound?

Well-- if you can make me a bowl of zenzai, you've got yourself a deal!

[Just gonna gloss over the fact that he somehow knows she must be from Japan and would know what that is.]

But you're right about him being a handful-- you can go collect him now, if you want? He might've woken up by now.

...I, uh... cleaned up already, so you don't have to worry about that.

[He can be a little embarrassed that she's basically coming to pick up his booty call after a sex marathon.]

[ Embarrassed? Cute, even with those ears. She hasn't forgotten his ears, but there's other things she can grasp, focus on. Zenzai, hm? How did he -- well, she'd assume it's her name and Prismatica sees an awful lot of Japanese abductees from what she's been able to gather, but she can't be entirely sure that's it and that makes her want to lean forward and ask, pick his brain a little. There'll be time later, though. Right now, she's got a certain favorite leaf she's been chasing, that she's still somewhat worried about because she's sure he hasn't been eating, that she's... really, really excited to see -- stop that, calm down -- and she's waited too long already if the energy winding in her feet is any indication. ]

I think I can manage a bowl of zenzai.

[ Think? Oh, she knows and it draws a grin. Still, she pauses a second as she's turning to head for the door he'd mentioned earlier and that pause will buy her a second to both be sure she's finished putting herself in order concerning Lewin and -- well, she could let it go, but. ]

That thorough, hm? Ranpo-san is gifted, indeed. How lucky!

--th-that's doesn't have anything to do with being gifted!

[MORE EMBARRASSED GOD especially when you consider yes, he cleaned up Lightning too, probably while he was half-asleep.]

[But he'll just loiter around the kitchen for a snack while giving them privacy.]

[Don't worry, Setsura, Lewin hasn't like, jumped out the window yet. Is he still just.... lying in Ranpo's bed? sprawled there being extremely lazy? yes absolutely he is. He's also on his phone and you bet he's looking at Setsura's post.

She enters, and he looks up with a massive grin.]

You could'a just told me you like my ears that much.

[ The smile lingering on her face behind her hand due to Ranpo's reaction doesn't drop when she crosses the threshold. That excitement in her step doesn't either, but then her searching eyes find him sprawled lazy in Ranpo's bed and he looks up at her with that grin and it's like an oni took his club and drove it into her chest from below so that her still beating heart was propelled into her throat. She just barely manages to catch it in swallowing, and inaudibly, but her cheeks are another matter entirely. They manage to tinge in that split second before she can forcefully recover from the impact and try to get a grip on things. Really, it's a wonder she manages to keep her feet steady in stepping near the bed because this is... this is just too much at just the sight of him, too much feeling entirely with how it swells, and she's got to pull it together, think properly, keep her wits, and not... not focus too much on those ears or his hands or, ugh, his anything with him laying like that.

Come on, Setsura. She's lived through something like this before. Put gods and demons, spirits and humans to bed, too, and they're far more monstrous opponents, she tells herself, even as her heart threatens to leave a hole in her. She can and will absolutely handle this properly and with the appropriate composure and it doesn't matter that he's looking at her broadcast. She didn't say any thing she's ashamed to admit, right? Right.

So, uh. Words, and smoothly, like there isn't a riot in her chest and throat painting her cheeks a little bit. ]

It never seemed like there was a good time. You're quick to run off once you get them, you know. [ Confidently nailed it. ]

Well, I'm here right now. [He says, watching her from under those shaggy bangs. He's smart, but right now that intelligence and attention is just focused entirely on her face and her reactions.]

Come here.

[ And just like that, her heart swells in her throat. It's five words, then two, but oh, it's dangerous. She realizes it in the same instant her breath hitches and her cheeks dare to turn a slightly deeper shade of red and she has to figure some way to bite the shiver threatening to run down her spine before it can travel, give any visible signs.

Because, really, she'd like nothing better than to close the distance between them right now. Get her hands on those ears and her teeth at his neck and his hands against her bare skin because she really l... oves his hands and -- and isn't this what happens every damned time? It seems worse now. No, it's definitely worse now and she's got to keep a handle on it, but there's nothing small about this feeling, nothing tame about her heart.

She gives her head a toss, tucking a few strands behind her ear as she steps forward, gripping that bag of burgers and fries as she steps closer to the bed as though there isn't at all a problem afoot. Her eyes? Turned from him for a moment in searching for his clothes, but she's mindful of him, his every little movement, looking back at him from the bedside. ]

I doubt Ranpo-san would mind if you ate a burger or two here, but you're not eating in his bed. Where are your clothes? [ She should probably ask Ranpo that, actually. Lewin's mind won't have been on his clothes past getting them off. ] We need to get home.

[ And there's a quietly guarded question lingering there, of course. Why? ]

Edited 2020-02-21 10:25 (UTC)

[He shifts position, stretches and watches her reaction. That flush is new, as her attention flutters around the room like a little bird.]

You could call him in here and we can ask what he wants me to do in his bed. You, probably.

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