marmalade and a sugar song

[omnivident]

Characters: Leonardo Watch + You!
Date: April 2017
Location: Depends
Situation: Depends
Warnings/Rating: Will be added if necessary


1. Outside Milyn's clinic

Every few days before noon, you may find Leo nearby the clinic-- sitting down on the steps, or, in the later days, talking with some of the nicer looking gang members that stand watch on the place. Every once in a while, he would even bring a few flowers to the place; he wanted it to stay nice and presentable. He hadn't known Milyn for long, but from what he gathered from talking around with the Kedan, she would have probably liked it.

On some of those days, he even took pictures of the place. It was too colorful not to do so.

2. A drink to...? | Some bar in Keeliai

It was a hell of a long week. And hellish long weeks were best departed with a shot of any drinkable alcohol that the bar had. Since there was no way to send his sister money all the way from another planet, he actually could afford something that didn't resemble isopropyl alcohol. He asked the bartender for something that wasn't too strong-- all seeing eyes + hangover = bad.

Nevertheless, his social skills left a lot to be desired from since he didn't do much other than listen to those around him. Please hit him up.

3. Rebuilding in the Lorn Level

The place that was hardest hit by the earthquake is also somewhere Leo frequents throughout the month. He may be seen a couple days a week for most of the day, helping out the kin'nal with rebuilding. He has no super strength or anything of the sort, but he's trying to do small things at least, like picking up necessary materials or simply talking to others.

4. Around Keeliai

Days have passed since Leo viewed the Xunutane and his curiosity won't stop nagging him. Those markings that he had seen, connected to the rock...what were they exactly? Where did they go? While his boss was more than excited with his findings, he himself was left with more questions than he had arrived with.

And like the somewhat average reporter that he used to be, he's going to go investigating. At first, he wanders around, unsure of what or where he's supposed to look for, but later in the month, he can be seen more around the beaches that border Hatal. Always with his goggles on, trying to hide the brightness of his eyes as they are put to work.

Comments

4? does this work?

[inkulcation]

China's seen the young man more than once, now-- on previous occasions, apparently wandering aimlessly. However, no one genuinely wanders this long unless they have a truly terrible sense of direction. Therefore, she concludes, either he's lost, or he's camouflaging looking for something. And if he is hiding that he's looking for something, she wants to know what, and why.

So the next time she sees him, she changes her path, makes it a little circuitous so she can come around and bump into him. Quite literally. "Oh," she says, with some apparent surprise. "Are you all right, my dear?"

yes it does!

[omnivident]

How did you miss someone who was right in front of you when you have a pair of magical eyes? By not looking up, apparently. Or at least, that's how Leo bumped into this stranger. "S-sorry!" he blurted out, goggled, mechanical eyes opened for just a flicker of a second, before he remembered to close them.

Though in that short moment, he saw something that unsettled him just a bit. He must have been seeing things, he figured. "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine." he assured timidly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I'm really sorry for bumping into you, miss. I just..." he paused, trying to come up with some excuse. "I've just, uh, kinda spaced out. Thinking about things, y'know." A small, somewhat forced smile. Part of him felt like she was trustworthy, but what his eyes had picked up did not stop bugging him, even if just a little.

[inkulcation]

There was-- something. A moment of irregularity, when he apologized, which China couldn't quite pinpoint. Some oddness that came and went just about before she could form the thought itself.

But all the rest seemed normal. An appropriate response to the situation she'd engineered. China drew herself up, and regarded him thoughtfully. "Thinking about things," she echoed, something like an inquiry to continue. "I suppose I know how that goes, though I've hardly been quite so distracted. Tell me, my dear, what burden weighs so heavily?"

[omnivident]

"A couple of things." Leo blurted out, surprised with himself for opening up so suddenly to a total stranger. She just seemed...so reliable, someone he could trust-- if he pushed aside the nagging feeling in his head.

He turned his head to the side, focussing his attention on anything other than the female in front of him. His feet, for example. "I got to do this experiment a few days ago with my boss and what I saw was re--" Wait, what the hell, Leo? The amount of information he was giving away was ridiculous.

Hell, he didn't even know her name! "Ah- I-I'm sorry." He laughed sheepishly, changing the subject immediately. "I'm talking about a bunch of stupid stuff and we haven't even met properly. Um, I'm Leo- or Leonardo. Leonardo Watch."

[inkulcation]

Oh, no, but that was interesting. Smart of him, to try not to look at her, but it did so hinder China learning what she wanted to.

"My name is China Sorrows," she said, a name for a name, and there was something about the way she said it that implied that bowing was an appropriate response. She smiled, then, all graciousness and light. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my dear. You were saying, about an experiment?"

That tone she kept idle, only curious, declining to betray exactly how interested she was in something he was evidently trying to hide.

[omnivident]

"It's nice to meet you too, miss." He responds politely, timidly turning his head back to glance at her for no more than a few seconds before he turned away again, cheeks a tad reddened in embarrassment.

Leo didn't know what it was about this woman...part of him wanted to trust her completely, but another part was screaming to end the conversation and go back home. It was quite the conflicting feeling. "Uh, yeah." He nodded, as a small smile tugged at his lips. "I was with my boss, his name is Klaus I don't know if you know him or anything, and I saw into the Xunutane...and I saw this webbing of energy...and it was just so pretty! And-"

No. No, no, stop talking! "I'm sorry." He muttered after the abrupt stop. "I don't think that I should be talking about this. It's, uh, still kind of a secret."

[inkulcation]

"I know Klaus," China says, reassuringly. "He's been a great help to me before, in fact. Your boss is a singular man." The way she says it suggests this is a compliment, fortunately. And it's true, that Klaus has been both charming and sweet to her. (Though admittedly she has helped this along.)

'Kind of a secret' piques her interest like nothing else, especially combined with seeing a webbing of energy. "Your secrets are safe," China says, soothing. "Aren't we all reaching for the same goal, after all?" She's guessing, broadly, but if it's to do with Klaus, then he has some interesting thoughts. "I'd love to know what you've learned about the Xunutane. It's such a fascinating thing, isn't it?"

This is only half platitude. She really is interested.

[omnivident]

There's a long, long moment of silence ( in Leo's head, only ) before he gives in with a slow nod. If she knew Klaus...if his boss had helped her, it must be because she's someone worth trusting, right?

( In truth he's just looking for a reason to trust her, while pushing back the fact that Klaus' judge of character was quite...bad. )

"It's absolutely incredible." He says, glancing back up to China. "This webbing of energy just looked...really beautiful. And it spreads out from it like branches from a tree-- I'm guessing it covers the rest of the continent, maybe. I'm not sure." Leo pauses to shrug his shoulders, ignoring the fact that the aura around her wasn't...very good.

What could go wrong, anyways? "It doesn't just stop there, though." He continues, despite the unease, "It's a bit hard to see at some points, but over here you can see the same webbing of energy-- or well, not the same, but a similar one. It's not nearly as bright though."

[inkulcation]

This is obviously why Klaus has been helpful to her, and it has nothing to do with the magical charm she is exuding, really.

"Magic in the land, perhaps," she theorizes thoughtfully. As much as she just wants to have possession of secrets, there's also something to be said for anything pertaining to waking the turtle on which this city stands. After all, they're bound to it, aren't they? It's simply self-preservation. "Certainly, if you're seeing it here, it has a good chance of being related to Tu Vishan. And there's life in him, despite his sleep. Is it the same web, or simply one like it?"

She sounds, at least for now, the soul of helpfulness.

[omnivident]

"It's similar...but they're not connected. I'm not sure why, honestly." Leo answers with a quick shrug and a sheepish chuckle. Sure, he has an idea as to why they're the way they are, but he thinks it's dumb and he definitely doesn't want to sound dumb in front of a gorgeous person.

No, it's not like he likes her or anything like that. "But...it probably is magic, yeah. I mean...the webbing here is much harder to see than in Hatal- I had to strain my eyes a little bit and they're supposedly supposed to see basically anything."

Another chuckle. Never mind the fact that his logic is screaming at him to stop or the fact that the little he could see of her aura with closed eyes is not too good, but hey. Klaus trusts her, right?

[inkulcation]

As fascinating as the bit about the webbing is, his new aside about his eyes is perhaps even more so. China's interest, already piqued, centers more securely on him.

"In that case, it's almost certainly to do with Tu Vishan's comatose state," she says, briskly. It seems self-evident to her, at least, though the similarity with the one on land is a little fuzzier in terms of why. Still: a fact she should hold on to.

"Basically anything?" she inquires a moment later, gently probing for elaboration. "It's a wonder you haven't gone mad."

[omnivident]

"Well, at first it was horrible, y'know?" He laughs innocently, unaware as to why her interest in him had suddenly risen. "For weeks, I had these horrible headaches and sickness-- like a never-ending migraine." To him, at this moment, it's just some nice company, by a beautiful lady.

Which, to someone like Leo, it's something that doesn't come every day...or every once in a long time, actually. "I guess they should tell those weird celestial beings to not give god-like eyes to-"

And there's the unease again. Except this time, he doesn't ignore it, because he managed to catch what he said and what the hell? This is something that very few select people know, and none of them are mere strangers. His body stiffens in nervousness, as he takes a good look at the woman in front of him, the smile on his face replaced by a serious frown. The aura around her is obviously magical, and part of him wonders how the hell he could have missed that.

"What are you doing?" It's one of those few times when Leo actually sounds serious-- even a little angry. His secrets are meant to stay hidden, and whatever China is doing was not something he likes. "You're using magic right now, aren't you?"

[inkulcation]

Apparently the jig is up, as they say. China hides her faltering beneath a neatly practiced smile. She's never had half so many people pick out that she's doing something before she came to this city-- but she wouldn't be surprised if some function of Leo's eyes let him see the effect she's crafted.

"Not actively," she says, sounding as innocently earnest as she can. "This is simply the way I am, my dear." Granted, she put some small amount of work and tattoos into making sure this is the way she is, but the point stands. "I do forget the effect I have on people, but I'm told it lessens over time, never fear."

[omnivident]

Yeah, he's gonna take everything she's saying with about ten pounds of salt, and it's obvious that he's not really believing her with that frown of his. "Yeah, well it's hard to believe." And it's equally as hard as it is to resist her charms, but his irritation will fuel her. "Maybe you should say this before you go around asking for personal information, don't you think so?"

Wait, she said about knowing Klaus, didn't she? And Leo is very aware as to how bad his boss is when it comes to judging someone's character. "Does Mr. Klaus know that you do this?" Because the last thing he wants is for Klaus to have been tricked by this woman.

[inkulcation]

"Perhaps I should," she says, still almost-innocent, tapping her finger against her lower lip in mock-thoughtfulness. "I'm sure you warn everyone you look at about your eyes, after all, don't you?" It's not a perfect equivalency, of course, since she sparks emotion in people and he only sees things, but it's just another way of gathering information in the end.

Klaus does not, it seems, know that she does this, but she's hardly about to say that. China lifts a shoulder, intentionally careless. "Didn't I say the effect lessens over time?" she inquires. "I've known your dear Mr Klaus for quite a few months now. His virtue is intact, never fear."

[omnivident]

Oh. That is one hell of a low blow. For a moment Leo feels as if he's been punched in the gut, breathless from such harsh words aimed at him. There's something so shocking, so revolting about it, because she had just aimed at one of his biggest insecurities: his eyes.

"We're not the same." Leonardo retorts, teeth gritting in anger both at the woman and her 'suggestion'. "Last time I checked, I don't actively charm people like you." And, in a sudden ( not very well thought, but who cares ) decision, he opens his eyes, getting a good look at the woman in front of him.

Fight fire with fire, that's what they say. "And if that's really the way you are, then you wouldn't have those tattoos on you. They amplify your magic, don't they?" He's not going to wait for an answer, though, because Leo will turn around and make his way back. "Don't talk to Klaus again." It's not really a threat ( he doesn't know how to fulfill one ) but he at least hopes to keep her at bay-- he wasn't going to allow people like her to use his boss as they wished.

[inkulcation]

That's a nerve. China files it away for later use. She doubts many people get to see the young man so riled up, and she meets his eerie gaze levelly with her own pale blue.

She doesn't like the idea that he's seeing more of her than she consciously shows, but to show concern or alarm would be worse, so she doesn't flinch, only arches an eyebrow at him. "But you see more than anyone would consent to willingly," China says. It's a dig, even if her voice is sweet.

Given what he's said, it's not a surprise that he can see her tattoos. She just doesn't like it. China's posture is very still and tall as Leo turns to walk away, and she'll allow him to keep believing that's all there is to them. That will be a lovely surprise, later. For one of them.

Out of the goodness of her heart, she refrains from offering criticism of his threatening technique. "It's been lovely to meet you, darling," she says to his retreating back, sweet as ever, and begins to wonder what sort of damage control she will have to do with Klaus.