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

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?"

Almost all of his employees worried about him from time to time for much the same reason. He was a good employer, but prone to overtaxing himself. The app, however, was definitely more of a concern for her. As their drinks were brought out, she motioned for him to join her at one of the tables further back, good for talking and not being overheard.

"It has been very pleasant, all told. But I work there as much for the flowers as the relationships. Seeing how people express themselves through something so artistic that anyone can do... it tells you a lot about someone." From the person who just bought twelve roses as an obligation, to the person who spent an hour setting up the perfect bouquet.

Ryoji is that person who would buy a dozen roses, but rather than obligation, it's because he doesn't know enough about the meanings of other flowers, complementary colors or tasteful arrangement. A flower shop is a whole other world to him, but is one he enjoys being a guest of.

"You seem happy talking about it!" He laughs, taking a seat at the table on the side where the sunbeam cuts through the window and warms his back and shoulders if he leans forward just the slightest under the pretense of blowing on the surface of his tea.

"Is it something you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life?" he asks. "I can never imagine myself even one year in the future, let alone five or ten, so I'm just curious."

"Oh, most definitely. I was raised in a vineyard, so working with plants is an every day thing for me. I wish to attend college so I can get a degree in business and open my own shop. Perhaps one of those suppliers that brings him the flowers and sells ones for people to plant in their homes?" She definitely loved talking about flowers. It was an unabashed passion of hers, and one she loved to share with others. "I think it has been one of my dreams for many years now, in fact. Hopefully you can find one for yourself soon too."

"I hope so too!" But he's in no hurry to find a dream, content on idling his days away in coffee shops like this one, getting a laugh out before he sticks the tip of his tongue into his tea to check the temperature, and withdrawing it right away. More than his own dreams, he loves hearing people talk about theirs, he loves living vicariously through their words. "What was growing up in a vineyard like? I don't know if we have any here in Recollé."

"Well, I would say it is lonely compared to here, but it never felt that lonely. I was always with my mother and those who worked for her during the harvest season." She shrugged as she described it, though the smile on her face was a warm one, full of nostalgia for the land of her birth. "It was hard work, very physical, but also very fulfilling. I always felt as if my hands were being put to good use, and I grew up knowing a lot about plants."

Recollé certainly has so many people that it's hard to feel lonely; one barely needs to strain to hear the chatter present at all times of day, the rumble of cars outside, and somebody or other's cellphone going off with an incoming call or message. In comparison to a city, hands-on work at a vineyard sounds... well, exactly as Chloe says: fulfilling. Even though Ryoji hopped from one country to the next in his past, for the most part, he was an observer; he never really got to work with his hands, and admires Chloe for having that experience.

"You grew grapes in the vineyard, right? Did you ever get to do a grape stomp? I think I saw something like it on television once." It was probably a history channel or reenactment, but it looked fun despite being impractical.

"I did. Ours was a bit of a traditional vineyard, so we did many things the old-fashioned way," she said. "I've pounded out grain by hand, even when I was studying my home schooling by candlelight. All of the technology here, I've gotten used to, but there are days where it is a touch overwhelming for me. The simplicity of home is a very big difference from what I am accustomed to seeing."

"Oh! Was there no electricity at all, or simply not very wide-spread?" If anything, it sounds like Chloe is from a different time altogether, not just place. "I love watching flames, but the only candles my mother and I ever got to use at home were for emergencies like blackouts, like what happened at the start of last month."

"There was electricity, but we were in the far country. It was by generator, so we did not use it unless we truly needed it." Her life wasn't so much from another time, but from a place that time had forgotten. It was far off of the beaten paths, where only the locals ever seemed to remember that it existed.

"Watching flames? That can actually be fun. They dance and hypnotize with their flickering, do they not?"

"Yes, I could watch the flames forever, until they burn out or I fall asleep— that would be a safety hazard." And one of the reasons why his mother doesn't let him burn candles, or leave the kitchen with the stove still on, or try to unclog the fireplace so that it could hold fire within.

"But the city is fun too!" He has to defend the cities, having grown up immersed in this very one. "It's busy and crowded, but I like having so many people at arm's length. In this way, it never feels lonely, and there's always something new to see or events to experience."

"It would, but I suppose it's not such a horrible thing, as long as you don't burn the house down, yes?" A smirk and she shook her head in amusement. "And yes, I like the crowds of the city, though you know... it is possible to feel very alone in a crowd, if you want. All you have to do is not draw attention to yourself, and you just sort of blend in."

"I see what you mean. I can't imagine a time where I'd want to feel alone in a crowd," he admits, head dipping slightly. "Unless I'm in a hurry to get somewhere and can't stop for conversation, I suppose." Those times are few and far between though, as he always tended to take things very leisurely, with no hard deadlines so that he can do what he's doing now: meeting somebody off the street and having the time to grab tea just because the opportunity presented itself.

Something's ... Not Right (Open)

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