recolle | Something's ... Not Right (Open)

Something's ... Not Right (Open)

WHO: Chloe and You!
WHERE: In and around Recolle
WHEN: 4/6-4/12
WHAT: Awkwardness as Chloe notices some things are not right with her body
WARNINGS: Nup

Option 1) It was a Thursday, like any other Thursday since she'd gotten this silly app on her phone. She was trying to keep her life normal and together, and doing a good job of it. In fact, following through with Yu and Naoto's request had helped a little, taking some of the worry away from her life. Having just finished her shift, she was walking back towards the bus station to get a ride home when it happened. There at the cross-walk, maybe she was a bit tired, but she started to cross before it was her light. There was a honk of distress from a car and Chloe acted.

Really, she wasn't in any danger. The driver was over-reacting and swerving successfully to miss her. But, the honk caused an immediate reaction. Her body launched back without her thinking, leaping up and into the air, sommersaulting back and landing lightly on her feet. The motion was far too limber for what she should have been able to do. It wasn't like she was in poor shape, but leaping like that in the air felt beyond her. As she landed, her eyes widened and she took two or three shaky steps back before falling unceremoniously on her butt.

"What... just happened?" she said, looking around in shock.

Option 2) When she wasn't helping out with the play, Chloe had a couple of days off on the weekend. She tried to visit the local gym to get a bit of the stress out. There was a horse set up there for those who wished to practice gymnastics, and she found herself staring at it with a nervous look in her eyes. Biting her lips, she walked over and patted it, reaching up to scratch at the back of her head.

"Should I?" she asked, wondering for a moment before going to put chalk on her hands. There was only one way to find out if the strange itching sensation in her arms and legs was real. She was feeling restless, restless like her body wasn't moving the way that it should, that it needed to move.

Option 3) There was bad news on Friday, news she did not want to hear. It had her in Starbucks, fumbling for a drink of mint tea. She wanted to calm her jangled nerves. There had to be a logical explanation for any of this. She was tempted to ask on the network, but at this point she wasn't even carrying her phone with her. She'd warned her boss that if he needed her to call the land-line, that she was trying to test out what happened if she didn't use the network. She wasn't going to break that promise.

She had to know if this was affected by the app, or if it was simply happening. But, as it stood, she was getting nervous and worried... and the tea was only helping a little.

Wildcard (Anything that you want can be managed. Chloe is off network for this week, helping out at the play and frequenting work. She has just experienced the return of her natural athleticism and agility, along with the realization that her hair color actually changed last month and wasn't dyed while drunk like she thought. It's causing her to start to freak out again. Either way, if your character wants to meet up with her, we can handwave that they left a message on her answering machine at home.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's the blaring of the car honk that jolts Ryoji out of his reverie, head snapping up just in time to see Chloe fly through the air. His hand immediately slips into his pocket to grab— his phone isn't there; he'd made the same promise to Yu and Naoto to stay offline, and not carrying anything around is his only way of resisting the temptation. Needing his phone for emergencies wasn't something he predicted, so all he can do is hope another bystander could call for an ambulance if needed, while he himself weaves through the stalled cars and across the street to Chloe.

'What happened' is something he should be asking, staring down at her with wide eyes and silent mouth, shocked still for the longest moment before, as if coming to his senses, offering a hand to help her up.

He hadn't seen any accident, but he has to assume there was one, because he thought he saw a body hurtling through the air like it's some cartoon. How is she okay? What??

Edited (typos...) 2017-04-07 05:35 (UTC)

She rubbed at her fanny and started to get to her feet, brushing herself off. The fact that she was shaken was still evident in her bearing, but she was steady enough on her feet not to be showing any signs of inevitable collapse. When she saw him, she reached up and scratched her head, face heating a little bit. "Sorry about that, Ryoji. I'm ok, and I hope I didn't worry you."

Except the fact that she had hurtled like that... it hadn't been inhuman. She'd seen acrobats do jumps like that. It was just... she wasn't an acrobat, not at all. What the hell had just happened?

"I'm glad you're okay, but... how can I not worry— how are you not hurt— how are you still standing?" His questions blur all together in trying to sort his out his thoughts, and he presses his lips tightly together to cut himself off. It doesn't look like Chloe is hurt at all; it looked more like she'd leaped into the air like a cricket leaps to safety at the slow approach of a shoe.

Deep breaths. Being more shaken than Chloe, who'd almost gotten hit by a car, is unsightly of him. Though she's already standing, Ryoji reaches for her hand again, as if wanting to make sure she doesn't suddenly get carried off with the breeze again.

"We should get away from the street for now," he suggests. "Were you going somewhere? Let me walk with you."

"How am I... oh! The car did not touch me, if that is your concern," she said, shaking her head. Now she could understand the reason for a bit of worry. If he'd thought she'd been knocked clear by the car, he had every right to be a little nervous about her well being, after all. "I... just jumped out of the way, it would seem. I did... I did not know that I could do that."

She nodded, stepping back from the curb more and looking around. "I think I was on my way home, actually, but I feel a little frazzled, honestly. Perhaps coffee?"

It's good to know, but all that does is shift Ryoji's concern from not getting hit by a car, to the somersault reflex. A different sort of concern, but it's a better one, one that's not immediately life-threatening and so Ryoji just lets out a sigh. Frazzled is him. He needs something to drink, but not coffee.

"After a scare like that, coffee might not be the best idea." The caffeine, in particular, being a stimulant and he already feels like his heart is going to explode. A quick glance up and down the street, and he hods his head towards a quaint little tea place. "How do you feel about tea? There's this one blend that always calms me down, a green tea with cinnamon, elderflower, cardamom..."

She nodded quietly to his suggestion. "Tea would be fine. In either case, I think that we will be going to the same place, as many of the best teas are served where there is coffee as well. I might just take your advice though." She finished dusting herself off and started in the direction of a place that she knew.

She was trying not to think about the implications of what she'd just experienced, trying very hard and failing miserably. "I'm sorry that I made you worried there..."

Good, because Ryoji could use something warm to hold in his hands, comforting him from the inside while he's unable to put his worries behind him. He shakes his head as he walks alongside Chloe, hands in his pockets so that they won't visibly tremble. To him in particular, car accidents are frightening. But it didn't happen, so he can calm down now, if only he were able to.

"There's no need to apologize. It wasn't on purpose..." He manages a smile, a little laugh. "If it were on purpose, that would be something else, wouldn't it? You would have to teach me how to jump like that, like you were a gymnast!"

"I don't... think that I can actually teach what I just did? One moment I was in the street, and then the world was spinning, and I was sitting on the concrete. It happened too fast." She shook her head as they walked, letting herself manage to find at least a little to smile about. "I have never practiced gymnastics before in my life, after all."

"If there's a hidden natural talent there, maybe you should start!" Though, he recognizes that one's body moving on their own accord is a scary thing, something people might want to forget instead of pursue.

"How does it go..." Ryoji muses out loud, turning his eyes up towards the sky as he walks. "'One time is chance, two is a coincidence, three is a pattern.' If you could do it twice more, then you'll know for sure. I don't wish to have a car involved though."

"I certainly think... well, that I need to know what is going on with me, if I could do that." She wasn't sure that she wanted to know, but she also wasn't sure that she could ignore it. "But I am not going to be dodging traffic to accomplish this, no. That seems more than a little foolish, I think you'd agree. But, perhaps there is a chance I could test it a little here."

As she said it, she looked around for something convenient. There was a construction sight with a bit of scaffolding near to the ground not far. She turned in its direction, grateful there was no sign saying 'keep out' and that the workers were mostly done for the night.

But— what about tea?? This is the opposite of calming tea, Ryoji taken aback momentarily when he sees Chloe turn at the intersection towards the construction site, and he almost forgets to follow until the pedestrian signal flashes red and starts counting down the last 10 seconds.

Just because there's nothing being worked on, doesn't make things entirely safe... It's possibly even more dangerous without the construction workers there to keep an eye on things and warn them for uneven ground or unstable walkways.

"Be careful..." Ryoji murmurs from behind Chloe's back as he catches up, though he doesn't think Chloe is the type of person who'd need to be told that. "Before you do anything, please tell me what you had in mind to test?"

It is the opposite of it, but he doesn't need to worry. Tea will come next. But first, he'd asked a question and she wanted to give him an answer. She glanced back and winked at him. "Oh, nothing too terrible. There is just a scaffold right there. if we are going to test this before we relax with tea, it is low to the ground. Should I fail, it won't be a steep drop, after all. Just a bruised fanny."

The one she was pointing at was stable enough, and not currently attached to anything bigger. It was just seven feet off of the ground or so, so perfect if she happened to fall. You know, as long as she didn't actually land on her head or anything.

He hopes that wink means Chloe has everything all figured out!! But Ryoji looks up at the scaffold and he's not so sure; people willingly putting themselves in danger, however minuscule the possibility, he's never sure.

"Okay." He says, but he's not entirely okay with it? It's Chloe's choice though, so all he can do is be on standby and quietly pray.

Seven feet off the ground it might be, but she has to have taken jumping height into consideration, right? That adds another five, six, or however many feet she can manage between the peak of her leap and the ground. With his hands out of his pockets and outstretched on either side of him as if judging whether he'd be able to catch her if she fell, Ryoji is acutely aware of how he doesn't have his phone, and can't call for help in the case that Chloe falls on her head or otherwise lands badly.

Please. Don't fall.

The good news was that she didn't fall. It was far from the most graceful gymnast's actions, but when she leaped up, Chloe was able to grasp the bar with relative ease. She wasn't good at building momentum in this, as she had little experience using her agility. But, still, she was able to pull herself up, lift her legs back and then use the height to start a spin on the bar.

It shook a little, which worried her. No, she wasn't going to stay on this thing for more than a turn or two. She spun around once, the world seeming to rotate almost dizzyingly for her, coming to a pause at the top. She switched hand positions the way she'd seen on television a few times and spun once, twice before letting momentum carry her off.

The landing... was less than elegant. She hit the ground on her feet, but skittered back a few steps and almost ended up on her butt again. She laughed a little, shaking her head. "Ok... that was not the best idea. I should use proper bars next time."

"'Next time'?" Ryoji laughs despite himself, a mix of relief and anxiety and utter amazement as he steps in close, eyes wide and unbelieving. How could he believe that Chloe has never done gymnastics before, clearly unpracticed as she completes the loops without the sureness and swiftness of professional gymnasts, but the fact that she can do it... The only time Ryoji's ever tried anything like it is bars at the elementary school when he was a student, so proud of himself for being able to complete a chin-up, but never anything like this.

"That was amazing— You're amazing," he corrects himself. "You made it look so easy!"

She shook her head. "It... wasn't as easy as it looks. I almost lost my grip several times," she said, looking back at the bar and motioning for him to follow as she started heading out of the area in case anyone started shouting 'hey, you kids get out of there!' She spoke to him over her shoulder as she walked. "And I do not think that I am amazing. I... think this may be something that they are doing to me... but at the same time, I need to know more, yes?"

Ryoji lingers a half step behind, keeping up but making no effort to lead or walk side by side.

'They.' He doesn't have to ask. There's only one 'they' on the minds of the mishmash group of people Ryoji's gotten to know the past few months since he's moved back to Recollé, and that is Retrospec and the application that he loves for bringing him to people he would otherwise never get to speak to, and at the same time fear, because of something like this. Physical changes, mental changes, and now proficiency in skills that have never been practiced before.

"Regardless of it's a skill you learned or were born with, or subjected to by an alien technology phone application," he says, voice quieting with the reminder that he doesn't know what Retrospec is all about in the first place, other than something plaguing his cellphone, "you're still you. And you're amazing for being able to do it. I wonder why, though, do they want you to believe you're a gymnast? It doesn't have anything to do with throwing knives?"

She chuckled at the soft alien comment. she'd recently called it magic. It was impossible to say what all this rubbish was, really. The whole thing was beyond their comprehension, though as they walked down the street, coffee shop finally coming into view, she glanced at him and shook her head.

"No, not a gymnast, trust me. I think, if I understand my visions, I'm supposed to believe I'm some kind of secret agent, or rubbish like that," she said. "It's a little far fetched. I'm just a florist."

"A secret agent florist would really be something! Do you own your own store, or do you work at Mikoto's? No one would ever suspect you!" At the thought, Ryoji finally laughs, relaxing into a comfortable pace with just how silly everything sounds when putting it like that. Secret agents are stuff from movies. The strange memories they're being subjected is similarly just fiction, strain from spending too much time in front of a screen, perhaps, and that's the only link Retrospec has to all of this.

He can wish, and pretend. And he does that now, moving forward to reach the coffee shop door first, taking a deep breath the moment he steps inside and filling his lungs with the deep, rich smell of roasted coffee beans. His visions have been pointing him towards something darker and scarier, but if he were to have lived an alternate life once upon a time, he thinks he would have liked a cute coffee shop AU.

"I work at Mikoto's," she said, shaking her had. She rather liked working there, though she did want to have her own place one of these days. It would be a good chance to broaden her horizons and bring her family in, after all. "and I suppose that it would qualify as an interesting 'hook,' were it the case. I'm not sure that I can help but think it's a bit silly though."

When she stepped inside, she looked around, unaware of the dark thoughts he might be having and smiling over at him. "I'm buying so, get what you want."

Hearing the confirmation makes Ryoji smile. "I'd tell him not to work you too hard, he jokes, sliding into place in the short line in front of the service counter, "but I know how hard he works himself already."

Ryoji likes Mikoto's flowershop. He doesn't visit as often as he should, now that spring has come and he's gotten to admiring the buds that pepper the roadsides instead of the blossoms in the warm, comfortable shop, so he makes a mental note to stop by sometime and maybe he'll be lucky enough to catch Chloe on her shift. He'll find a way to pay her back later, because he won't say no to a free drink.

"If you're sure, I'll have one of the pukka teas I mentioned before, with cinnamon and ginger."

"It would be futile, but we both know it. He is a good man, though. I've enjoyed working with him since I came to this place, and his parents before him." It really had become something of a passion of hers, to relish the working with the plants the way that she did. She fell in right behind him and waited for him to put his order in while she smiled to herself.

"I think I will be getting myself a chai, personally. It is quite a relaxing drink itself." While at the same time it still had a bit more kick to it than some options. She didn't want to get too tired tonight. "But, as I said, order as you please."

Ryoji places his order of tea and, because Chloe insists, half a dozen hazelnut Pirouline wafers to share.

"Oh! You worked for his parents?" he asks as he steps aside for Chloe to place her order as well, leaning with his back to the counter so he can keep one eye on Chloe and the other around the shop for an empty booth. "I guess I never thought of a time where Mikoto wasn't the owner, but he's young enough that it must be recent... It's been a couple of month since I've moved to this city, so I don't know as many people as I would like. But I am trying."

And he's glad for the people he has met and gotten to know. Like Chloe, who he hopes feels the same.

"Well, I've been in town for a few years, and I've always worked at that flower shop, before he took over and after. He is quite young after all." She nodded, putting in the chai order and stepping over to the side to wait for it to be brought over. She nodded. "I cannot remember exactly how long he has run the shop, but it hasn't been that long. Still, I think he's doing a good job keeping up. And try not to worry too much. You will meet more with time. If there is one thing that this app is good for, it is that."

Mikoto seems to know what he's doing, and puts a lot of love and care into his flowers, his customers, his employees, everyone and everything. So Ryoji doesn't need to worry about him (though he does worry about him... as a person... sometimes...). He doesn't worry much about the app either, as it hasn't been extremely disruptive to his life like it had been to others with altered eyes or hair or languages, and being connected to people made it feel like he has the whole world in his hands.

"The flower shop sounds like a wonderful place to work at. You don't get to see as many people as you would in a coffee shop like this one," he says, glancing back to watch their drinks being made, then back over the heads of the waiting line and at the half-filled tables. "But people tend to buy flowers for other people, and you get to see those sorts of relationships. I really like that. Is that why you work there? Or is it the flowers?"

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