fire escapes and sleepless nights | intro (april)

[shotgunsalute]

WHO: Vincent Valentine and YOU
WHAT: Intro meetings
WHEN: A day or so after he arrives (mid-April)
WHERE: All over the city, on rooftops and fire escapes mostly
WARNINGS: N/A, general Vincent weirdness (SFW)



01. make the escape

[ He arrives, as he finds, much like any other person here.

His view had been white at first, blinding in its brightness, until his vision had cleared to reveal an endless expanse of perfect pearly sand, with the bluest waves he'd ever seen. It hadn't been Costa del Sol; too clean, too without the tourists and weird merchants hawking their gaudy palm-covered shirts. He'd walked for a while, each sand dune repeated in such a fashion that had made him feel he'd been going nowhere at all. Frustrated, he'd thought it was another nightmare of his. Or perhaps it had been his final penance.

But on top of all of that, he'd felt an odd sense of...peace. Belonging, perhaps. That this had been meant for him. The Lifestream, maybe?

Eventually, it had all flowed away like sand through his fingers, leaving him standing in a plain room with a couple of others. And there, he'd gotten his explanation of where he was and why he was here.

That had been two days ago.

Just like any upheaval in his life, he'd needed to get some space from it. Sure, he could hole himself up in the apartment they'd assigned him to. But, much to his chagrin, once a Turk, always a Turk; he takes to stalking across the city over the rooftops, taking notes on landmarks and getting his bearings. Most of the time, he can make the leaps from one building to the next. Sometimes, though, he climbs all the way down in order to scale up the next nearest fire escape, the quiet creak of the metal and his leather boots the only things giving him away.

But if someone were to be listening hard enough, they would surely hear it. ]

02. or climb the rooftops

[ Or perhaps, someone has a penthouse apartment or suite, making it easy to spot the odd figure making jumps from building to building.

Or maybe they're a kindred spirit, unable to sleep save for when they hear the wind rushing past them as they keep an eye on the streets below. ]

03. settle in for the long haul

[ When all else fails, join 'em.

He still keeps to the edges of a crowd, uncomfortable in mixing with too many people. But, he can be found in the markets, clearly new and picking out items that would make sense for a fresh arrival. As he flounders with the tech, maybe a kind soul could help him out. ]

Comments

01. (1/2)

[worthit]

[It's been strange trying to adjust to living "alone" again. She hasn't for three years now, so it's... difficult. Stress baking has filled the void quite a bit, which the kids in her neighborhood have been grateful for (Even if she'd gotten a few weird looks for giving out homemade baked goods on the street- didn't she have a care for people with allergies?).

One of the things about living alone that she's found she misses the most is the sounds. Those ambient noises that used to let her know that someone was always close by if she needed some company or a warm hug. Ducks and chocobos are cute, but they aren't really made for that sort of thing (but bless Jackie's heart she tries anyway).

Aside from the sound of her own voice or activities the apartment is devoid of any other signs of human life. It's gotten to the point where she's leaving a television or streaming videos on somewhere in the apartment just to hear other people talk when things get too quiet and she doesn't feel like scrolling the network for old videos.

So Rapunzel N O T I C E S when someone descends upon her fire escape, especially since she was standing in the neighboring kitchen in front of the oven, a pan of cookies in hand when it happens.

Well- it's an open floor plan so it's not exactly like a wall was dividing the space, but- curiosity won either way. A quick peek through the glass showed an imposing looking figure in red, with pitch black hair. He was tall, serious looking, and silent, but he also... wasn't leaving.

... Well then. There's only one thing to do in this situation, isn't there?]

(2/3 I LIED)

[worthit]

[A few moments later the window opens neither particularly slowly nor abruptly. It's a very casual affair, as if the owner of said window is just about to slip out for some fresh air. The blinds are still drawn, affording no glance inside (because the window looks out onto an alley so why is there even a window here except for access to the fire esca-), but from the interior side of the window suddenly emerges an arm, and the hand at the end of that arm is holding a simple wooden tray. On it is an empty coaster and a plate of chocolate chip cookies, which seem to be steaming gently, they're so fresh.

The arm disappears back inside.

A moment later, the arm is back, and this time with a glass of cold milk, which it sets down on the coaster next to the plate of cookies.]

(3/3)

[worthit]

[The arm disappears back inside, and then the blinds get drawn up, revealing Rapunzel on the other side of the glass.

She says nothing at first, just offers a smile and a wave from where she's sitting cross legged on the cushioned seating area.]

[shotgunsalute]

[ In his (limited) experience, most of the windows on the buildings here remind him of Old Midgar–cramped, in odd places, and with the blinds drawn. There have, of course, been exceptions. The higher one climbs, of course, one is bound to find something like a penthouse, a suite, or even some older apartments with bay-like windows.

Rarely has he encountered a larger window facing out towards the fire escapes. Not that it's a poor design, considering it was easier for the occupant to exit than to squeeze through a 50-year old window frame over the sink. No, it's just an unexpected one. And perhaps just unlucky, as the view is not particularly interesting.

It's also unlucky for him in this moment, since he lands on the metal grating of the escape a few floors up, only to be met with the largest window he's ever seen facing this side of the alley. He freezes, noting the motion beyond said window, the blinds breaking up the person's shadow. His mind spins with how to quickly get to the next flight up without giving the motion away. Should he just wait? Maybe they didn't notice. With his hearing, he can pick up the soft drone of a television or something like it, providing enough background noise that his own steps might have been masked.

Except then: the window opens, startling him out of his thoughts. A waft of warmth flows out, blinds clicking softly against the glass, carrying with it the smell of something baked. Much to his disbelief, he doesn't have long to wonder what said baked item was, as there's a seemingly disembodied hand, holding a tray out, cookies stacked neatly on the plate. Absurdly, another hand pokes up through the blinds, carefully setting a corresponding glass of milk onto the tray as well.

Ultimately, when Rapunzel tugs the blinds up and away, Vincent is staring at the oven baked offering with a mixture of alarm and confusion, not having moved an inch. ]

Apologies, I am only passing through.

[worthit]

[He looks confused, she seems amused- well, actually at first she's just surprised by how deep his voice is when he speaks up, but-

It's sweet that he's apologizing, but it's hardly necessary as far as she's concerned. There's something almost nostalgic about her finding him on her portion of the fire escape, really. It almost reminds her of her tower. She wonders if this is what it would have been like to have visitors?]

You don't need to apologize. I honestly don't mind.

[She props her chin against the palms of her hands and that elbows atop her knees.]

Besides, even if you're just passing through that's no reason you can't stop and have a snack, right? So... are you new in town?

1 Make the Escape 1/2

[skypiercing]

[Dan Heng is not an easy sleeper at the best of times.

It's something he's become so accustomed to that he can often predict when a night is not going to be productive on that front. So instead he's up and reading a book, quietly nursing a cup of tea.

He's halfway through his current chapter when something draws his attention... a sound. The sound of footsteps, faint but present and far too close, the telltale sound of thin metal being tread upon.

...Why would anyone be up here at this hour?

He sets down his book and and makes his way to the window, peering out with a wary look. He's far too used to having to deal with a murderous stalker his duties as the guard on the Astral Express to not feel cautious.]

2/2

[skypiercing]

[...But what he finds has him staring for a second, because the figure he sees is certainly something. Enough at least for him to crack the window slightly and call out, his voice light but clear.]

You do realize that climbing about out there at this hour makes you look extremely suspicious, correct?

[Dan Heng's night vision is better than a human's, so he has no trouble seeing the man.] Though your manner of dress is rather eccentric for you to be a thief or peeping tom.

[And yet his words sound like a question. Sorry Vincent you're being really suss.]

[shotgunsalute]

[ Naturally, he cannot expect everyone to have regular sleeping schedules. Nor can he assume that everyone here has the attention span of a regular citizen. After all, he's here. And so is Cloud. Neither of them are what he would categorize as normal, with their mako infusions or general...surgical history. Improvements, he recalls bitterly, the word floating through his mind in Hojo's intonation.

With all of this to account for, he takes special precaution to stay far enough from the windows and the ambient light coming from streetlamps. And one of his many "improvements" was that his steps were much lighter, easier to control even on something as unforgiving as metal grating.

Of course, none of this could truly outstrip someone listening.

Which is why he ends up pausing, one hand on the rail to the next ladder up the escape, as the nearby window opens and the resident admonishes him. He could opt for an oft-used tactic, which is to simply ignore him and take flight. But something tells him it would be foolish, so he goes for the truth, instead. ]

I could not sleep. [ Well. A half-truth. These days, he doesn't need much rest, aside from after stints as Galian or one of his other adaptations. But, he also couldn't remain still, thoughts tumbling over one another too loudly to be comfortable. ]

...I am sorry, if I woke you.

[skypiercing]

[Wise of Vincent to tell the truth, because if Dan Heng had been led to believe he was fleeing after an attempted crime, Vincent would probably not have enjoyed his methods of attempted restraint.]

No, I wasn't sleeping.

[When it's a russian roulette of nightmares or the fragmented visions of previous incarnations, sleep tends to be unpleasant. Luckily, he didn't need that much regardless.

Dan Heng leans against the windowsill, jade eyes narrowing slightly.]

But this is a very odd way to occupy yourself on a sleepless night, wouldn't you say?

02

[unnecessaryflourishes]

[Emet-Selch does not, particularly, have a penthouse suite. What he does have is a fairly erratic sleep schedule, a willingness to poke his nose into things, and the ability to see far more than most might. All of which is to say that when he spots a figure jumping from roof to roof he figures he might as well check it out.

He arrives via a swirling portal of darkness, bare moments after Vincent has landed on the roof in question, acting for all the world as if this is a perfectly normal thing to do after a moment's curiosity.]

I would hardly have thought the roofs to be so interesting.

[He says, while physically standing on one of them, clearly interested in at least some part of the goings-on]

[shotgunsalute]

[ To say he's seen many things in his life would be an understatement. Just in the last year, he's witnessed more than most would in their entire existence. And while it's over, he will not soon forget the way Meteor bore down on the planet so oppressively.

Still, he's in a new place, now. With new things (and people) to encounter. Which is what has him tensing as he feels some kind of shift in the air. A bored sounding voice floats over to him as soon as the feeling dissipates and he instinctively reaches for his pistol. Just in case.

Tilting his head, he spares a glance towards Emet-Selch, bright eyes taking him in with a severity. ]

It is easier to see, up here. [ The lay of the land, that is. ]

[unnecessaryflourishes]

[For better or worse, Emet-Selch doesn't seem to be in the least bit inclined to offer any sort of violence. He's admittedly not doing much else to explain either his presence or his ability to travel via portals, but he tends to figure that people will ask if they have a particular desire to know.]

A reasonable point. Though I have always found it more interesting to know both place and people.

[shotgunsalute]

[ Something about the other man keeps him on edge, though he can't exactly pinpoint why. So he keeps it tucked in the back of his mind, shifting his hand away from his pistol for now. At the edges of his paranoia, Galian claws and Chaos whispers the promise of violence.

He brushes it off, weighing his response. ]

With great exception, people are of little interest to me. Is your curiosity sated?

1

[fthisgetmecigs]

[ It's a nice enough night as one (1) Badou Nails leans forward against the open window of his apartment, deep in thought, cloud of smoke wreathing his head from his perpetual nicotine addiction. He's been here for a while now, hasn't he? To be honest, he doesn't mind considering what he left behind.

He makes to take a deep inhale...

And nearly chokes on his cigarette when he's startled by a dark figure quietly making their way down the fire escape near his window. He wasn't startled. Really he wasn't (He was). But he's indignant enough to bark at the man. ]

OI! What the hell!? [ There's an exhale of smoke and a sulky mutter. ] Why are there so many broody fucks in this town? [ No one is on a fire escape in the dead of night when there is clearly no fire for any normal reason. ]

[shotgunsalute]

[ Truthfully, he'd miscalculated.

The alleyway he'd been following from above ended rather abruptly, the next building over too low to jump onto without being seen. Vincent sighs and wends his way down the connected fire escape, steps as quiet as possible. What he doesn't expect is to come into close proximity to an open window and the apartment's resident exhaling a cloud of smoke. It hazes his vision as he descends the final step onto the platform, one hand coming up to wave it away.

And naturally, there's no being un-spotted at this point, not with the smoker questioning his being here. Which. It's not an unfair thing to ask. He's just annoyed by it; he's not brooding. He's researching. Those are different.

So he gets a clipped question in response to a question: ]

Why choose to smoke when you know the risks?

[fthisgetmecigs]

What are ya, a doctor? [ Puff puff goes the cigarette. ] A guy can relax in any way he wants to. [ There's nothing psychological wrapped into it at all too - it's fine. ]

Why are you sulking on my fire escape anyway? [ There's an exhale and a cloud of smoke. After all, you never know when information like nighttime habits of random fuckos might be handy. ] I can't say this is a place with a prime view.

[shotgunsalute]

A man can relax in any way he wants to. [ He retorts flatly, repressing the urge to roll his eyes. But fine, he'll throw him a bone. Otherwise he's going to keep asking. ]

A new place is more comforting when one knows their way. [ And it's simply easier to map the layout when he can get above the street level. At this time of night, he doesn't have to worry overmuch about the crowds or encountering too many while walking down the road. But he is also very aware of how he looks and how someone traveling home late at night might find him...off-putting. ] I did not pick it for the view.

2

[answerseeker]

[ Here, have a melancholy man on the edge of a building roof - Leaning against the rooftop entrance still and tall enough to be mistaken for part of the masonry.

It's another restless night for Hermes, having had nightmares of regrets thousandfold. While he has been trying his best to make amends, trying to make up for what has been done, sleep still does not come easily for the man. Instead he finds himself once again on the roof of his apartment building, deep in contemplation and looking over the city. It's almost (only almost) a respite from the dreams, a moment of air when he feels like he's drowning...

He's so deep in thought he almost misses the noise of someone landing on the rooftop. He peers behind him. ]

Hello?

[shotgunsalute]

[ To say it's very rare for him to be caught off-guard would be a vast understatement. Even during his days as a Turk, Veld would good naturedly poke fun at his reflexes, saying he needed to unwind or he was going to snap.

That's only gotten worse, with time, intent on never being on the back foot again if he could help it. He'd dropped his guard once, thirty years ago, and look where it had gotten him: a bullet in the chest and enough regret to fill an ocean.

Being in a new place means his awareness is tuned up, something like adrenaline putting him on high alert. So there's the briefest of seconds where he hears the whisper of fabric of someone nearby after he lands on the next rooftop. On its heels is a greeting and query all in one. He could ignore it and make the leap to the neighboring building–it wasn't all that far. But, he doesn't yet know what people are capable of here, so he steps further into the man's eyeline, posture relaxed as he can make it. ]

Excuse me. [ He can go, if he's a bother. ]

[answerseeker]

[ He smiles kindly at the other man, noticing the tenseness as relaxed as he might try to make it. He doesn't recognize the face, though with the amount of people from other stars in this place, it wasn't hard to meet a new face. ]

I was not doing anything of great import. I hope that I didn't interrupt any of your doings. Or if this was your final destination, do not mind me - I promise I am unobtrusive company.

[ He gazes back out over the city, his next words coming out unbidden. Perhaps he sensed that this was a man that would understand to an extent. Or perhaps he had been cooped too long up as of recently. There was something about the night that could cause a man to speak his secrets. ]

'Tis a strange place, this star. It brings and it takes without rhyme or reason. I know that. And yet...I still question why someone like me is here.

[ There's a soft laugh as he realizes he's confided to a complete stranger. ]

But you did not come here to listen to a ruminations of a melancholic man I imagine. I apologize.

[shotgunsalute]

[ Vincent relaxes in a few more increments, sensing that the other man speaks the truth. He seems lost in his thoughts. Or his study of the sky. Either way, he's not going to be up here very long, simply wanting to get an idea of the perimeter and where this was in relation to where he's tracked already.

So he's stepping perilously close to the edge, completely unafraid of the height or the possibility of slipping. Scanning the strip of street below, he orients himself, filling another section of the mental map he's been building since he arrived.

His own rumination is interrupted by the stranger he's sharing a space with, the soft words carrying well enough that he picks up on them. Something about the tone tugs at him; he understands the feeling to a degree. The desperation to understand why. Why him? Why them? He'd angrily asked as much when he'd been assigned to Nibelheim, some thirty years past.

And then he'd whispered it into the quiet space of the coffin he'd been put into, wondering why Lucrecia hadn't left him for dead. She might as well have.

It's an ugly question. He hasn't figured the answer just yet. But, his time spent with people who'd done everything in their power to save others they had no reason to care about—it's illuminated something, at the least. ]

You do not know your impact, until it's in hindsight.

01

[cathasahat]

[ Having grown up as orphans on the street before entering an orphanage/undercover intelligence operation, Lynette and her brother are vigilant about their surroundings even at home. Put them in a new and unfamiliar environment and that vigilance kicks up a few notches. In addition, her cat ears give her an enhanced sense of hearing.

Which is to say, Lynette notices very quickly that someone is outside their apartment. She doesn't immediately call out, instead she silently approaches a window further away from the fire escape so she can try to observe whoever's outside.

After she determines that Vincent doesn't seem to be trying to investigate or break into their apartment, she opens the window just enough to lean out. ]

Are you lost?

[shotgunsalute]

[ Perhaps it's the unwise move to remain as long as he does on the fire escape's landing. He does it anyway, taking a few beats to close his eyes and mentally map where he'd just come from, feeling more assured in his surroundings and his internal direction of this place.

It would still be some time before he memorizes the whole scope of it, but this is a good start. At the very least, he remembers this neighborhood fairly well.

Re-opening his eyes, he remains motionless, getting the sense that someone or something was watching. It's moments later that the nearby window draws open, the apartment's resident leaning out of the frame enough to address him. ]

Yes and no. [ That sure makes sense. ] This place is unfamiliar.

[cathasahat]

Oh, another new arrival.

[ She can understand the desire to familiarize oneself with new surroundings, though most people tend to start at ground level. ]

You must be fairly agile if you're exploring this high up.

[shotgunsalute]

Indeed.

[ Not too hard to parse that, even in the more vague terms he'd put it in. ]

Something like that. [ He shrugs, some of the motion swallowed up by his cloak. ] The escapes do not require too much effort.

[ While he has experience scaling the sides of buildings, the standardized fire escapes make it much easier. ]