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[insertdadjoke]

WHO Jacob Kane (Cain) [insertdadjoke]
WHAT Catch-all post? Catch-all post.
WHEN January? January.
WHERE Everywhere? Everywhere.

There was a lot going on in the city lately. A lot. As much as Cain wished to jump right in head-first and sort everything out for everyone involved, there was a lot on his own mind that had kept him sticking to the longer plans and smaller focuses, out of sight of most everyone else. He wasn't particularly perturbed by recent events, but part of him had been shaken by the time in the Dreaming, the actual content of their thoughts and feelings merging into something solid and real for as long as they were there, that he eventually called a time out for himself. At least he wasn't going into hiding for the next decade like he tended to do.

No, he was just checking out the city one more time, taking in whatever information he could at every opportunity. Plenty of places to visit, people to check in on whether they were aware of him there or not. Most of his stops were more populated areas, acting as if he belonged there to not be seen as a Foreigner when he really wasn't trying to make any sort of trouble. Just get his bearings again. The Hotel, the hospital, Stark Industries, anywhere and in between he wandered.

Cain was particularly good at wandering and finding something to do once he got somewhere.

Comments

A-wandering | early January

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene's been walking around the city a lot these days, getting his bearings on foot of the shape of things rather than surveying from the air. At least, that was the answer he'd give if anyone asked what he was up to, which nobody ever did. In truth, it was a little more complicated than that. The loss of the hatchlings - Kalliel especially - had affected him deeply, and the fact that his boon from 'Asti' had simply been a foothold of Malicant's had wounded him deeper still.

Combine that with the fact that he'd lost a year of time, and you have a recipe for aimless wandering about the new Keeliai, trying to get his bearings in more ways than one. He tried to blend into the crowd, but there was a pensive semi-scowl on his face, and most of the kedan gave him a decent berth.

[insertdadjoke]

Although most of the kedan knew better than to get in the way of someone in such a powerful sulk, Cain was less inclined to bow to the whims of a moody teenager and he actually changed directions to start walking alongside the troubled foreigner with a tilted head. Maybe he was just that bored recently, but this kid had more going on with him than Cain did and it would be something to do.

Waiting a moment to make sure their pace was matched, Cain asked, "Juulan for your thoughts?"

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene glanced at the other guy as he matched pace with him. "You'd need more than a juulan," he said, with grim humor. Indeed, Gene was not even close to inclined to share what troubled him so - aside from the obvious.

The Dreaming had really messed him up; in some ways, more than the battle with Malicant had, though the one had fed into the other. His neuroses had boiled over, and, to put it mildly, he didn't fucking like it.

[insertdadjoke]

That was fine. Cain didn't think it would work all that well anyway, but it was definitely a conversation starter. He regarded the kid next to him for a while, then shrugged and grinned. Maybe he couldn't pursue that avenue but at least he didn't get punched for interrupting or otherwise chased away.

"Penny? Wait, that's worth less here, isn't it?" Shaking his head, he continued, "Jacob Kane. Foreigner, right?"

[wrathfulkhan]

"I'm not up on the exchange rate," Gene said, with a hint of a smile. A joke. Not really a good one, but a joke all the same.

"Gene Khan. Yes, a Foreigner. I think I've heard your name before." The relatively reduced numbers of the foreigners meant that everyone was a friend-of-a-friend, if not directly acquainted.

[insertdadjoke]

Brows raising in pleasant surprise at the attempt to joke back, Cain allowed himself to relax a bit. Whether the kid was dealing with anything serious or not, if he felt open enough to snark with a stranger there was probably something salvageable from the conversation. He had no idea about Gene himself, but that was somewhat of a secondary concern right then. "I think it's five hundred pennies to a juulan if we want to pretend we're being serious for a minute," he said. "Then again, US dollars probably don't have any buying power at all. So... sentimental value."

Personally speaking, Cain didn't really keep faces in his mind unless people were notable. Too many names and faces and personalities tended to crowd around and, while Cain's memory was damn sharp and pretty excellent, it was his attention that was hard to catch sometimes. He hadn't seen this guy around and hadn't much cared. "Oh yeah? I must be getting around. Pleasure's all mine, Gene."

[wrathfulkhan]

Good - that's just how Gene likes it. Living quietly, flying under the radar, being underestimated by everyone. Although he doesn't need it now quite so much as he used to, it's still something that's vaguely comforting to have. It's the life he's used to, and while he doesn't really care to have reminders of that, he'd rather be inconspicuous than the alternative.

"No more than any of the rest of us, I'd imagine. Good to meet you." He's surprised they haven't become acquainted already. But then, Gene had been dealing with a lot on his mind since Kane had arrived.

[insertdadjoke]

"Well, that's always good to hear," Cain said with a wry shake of his head. He didn't particularly care if he was known or not, considering that this wasn't his home and he doubted anyone would go to the same lengths to recreate the issues Cain currently faced back there. Maybe if his immortality were more commonly known, but who knew. The kedan had a lot of other things on their minds than trying to ascend past their mortal confinements.

Walking in silence for a while, Cain let that sit. He wasn't going to force Gene to talk, but conversation always did make walks more interesting. "What do you do around here?" he asked. Not everyone had to contribute but he'd noticed a trend of foreigners being good at finding some slot to fit themselves into whether it was meant for them or not.

[wrathfulkhan]

At the question, Gene laughed a little, shaking his head. "Nothing important. Sometimes I make dinner at the Hotel." And sometimes he plots and schemes ways to make the kedan aware again that the Foreigners were a force to be reckoned with. Probably like a 20-80 time split, honestly.

"You?" Always good to know what people were up to. Or what they claimed to be up to.

[insertdadjoke]

"Dinner at the Hotel?" Cain tilted his head, brows raised. The way he said it made it sound less like a job and more a thing he picked up every now and then. Was that a thing? Did he know the owner well, or did the owner just not care?

At the reversal of the question, Cain just grinned. It wasn't guileless, but it was definitely something simple rather than hiding anything behind it. "Not much. Lately I've just been checking the place out, picking up little odd-jobs that they'll let me have."

[wrathfulkhan]

"Part of how I earn my keep. Pitching in to keep the place running." He shrugged. "I used to have a job at Stark Industries, but I've found myself unemployed of late." And he didn't want to be in debt to Zanru if he didn't have to.

Gene nodded at the mention of how insular the kedan had become. "They don't seem to be too fond of us, do they?" The question was rhetorical, the answer obvious.