When lost in Rome (open)

[bruchette]

Chris was in a bit of a predicament.

After having moved into her dorm room, she decided she would take her bike and explore her new home. The architecture of Death City intrigued her, as it was unlike her hometown of Provo, or of the sprawling Salt Lake City. Everything was paved with cobblestones, and all the buildings reminded her of cathedrals. She calmly pedaled through the winding streets, not realizing that every turn she took was leading her through an intricate labyrinth that had neither a beginning nor an end. She passed through a quiet residential area, which slowly turned into a bustling market district, which soon gave way to various halls of worship. After a while, she realized something terribly troubling.

She had absolutely no idea where she was.

She dismounted from her bicycle and walked alongside it for several minutes in the direction she came from. She tried retracing her steps, but she hadn’t been paying very close attention earlier. This isn’t good. This isn’t good at all… Chris was becoming more and more worried by the second, terrified that she would never find her way out. She started panicking, muttering to herself as she briskly walked to who knows where.

The sun was high in the sky, high enough that she couldn’t use it to tell directions. All these buildings looked the same. All these streets had the same name. Everything was the same. Everything was different. She had no idea where to go or what to do. She didn’t even realize that she was running until she came across a large park. It had several benches scattered throughout it, and there was a basketball court and a playground. She slowed her pace and walked over to a bench that was shaded by a large tree. She leaned her bike against the back of it, and then heavily sat down.
"Great, now my favorite shirt is all sweaty..."

She looked around, feeling helpless and alone, and subconsciously fiddled with the turquoise ring hanging from a thin chain around her neck.

What am I supposed to do now…?

[Eva Liu]

"The damn trashcan is just two feet away! Two feet away!" Eva grumbled to herself as she squeezed the jaws of her trash-grabber closed around a plastic water bottle and deposited it in one of the two bags trailing behind her. "If you can make the effort to come out here, exactly how hard is it to walk two more feet and throw it away yourself?" She raised her voice this time, not-so-subtly implicating the pack of boys shooting hoops at the nearby basketball court. Being too lazy herself to make separate trips to her two bags, the girl had taken to dragging them along. However, she didn’t notice the thin plastic wearing away until one finally split apart when she gave the looped handles a rough yank. A frustrated groan came from between clenched teeth as she looked upon the sad black bag spilling out its cans-and-bottles entrails. Left over liquid that she hadn’t been too careful about dumping out was now seeping into the grass, completing the carnage. The girl breathed in deeply to still the rising temper tantrum and readjusted the parasol she was holding with the same hand she had looped the handles around. Nothing unexpected had happened, nothing at all. Every trash pick-up fairy has her off days and this was one of those.

After a moment of internal debate, she decided to clean up the mess after all and mix the recyclables with the other trash. Someone else could always sort it out and really earn the however many dollars they’d get for turning them in to a recycling center. Eva smacked her parched lips and wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. A bottle of water didn’t sound too bad in the midst of the noon time heat. Even though she had figured that her gauzy hanfu dress would keep her cool, there was no breeze for her to capitalize on. The wispy thin layers could be soaked through with sweat for all she knew; Eva purposely made herself oblivious to such an embarrassing situation. Maybe she should have just opted for shorts and a T-shirt, but upon further consideration the hanfu was really more suitable. After all, the same pre-Shibusen Eva that would have enough sense to not consider reviving the fashion of wearing ancient Chinese robes would also have enough sense to neither trespass upon and vandalize a boy’s dormitory, nor incite a brawl when caught in the act. Incidentally, the combination of rule breaking was enough to result in detention, a policy which surprised her with its banality. One would assume that such daring would be met with a slap on the wrist and a secretly approving wink. This was Shibusen after all, not the high school she left behind. “City beautification” for fighting in self-defense? Honestly! Well, it was self-defense right up until her twenty-two year old meister came along to do battle against a fourteen year old and his meat-headed weapon. Despite the heat and her frustration, she chuckled at the recollection. It was worth it, completely worth it.

This time, she tucked her trash claw underneath her arm and pulled the bag up to walk it over to the nearest shaded spot. Eva tried to appear as nonchalant as possible as she set the trash down and sat on the unoccupied end of the bench. Claw and parasol were laid to the side, and she sprawled herself all over the seat in a slovenly way that contradicted the elegant look of the clothes she was wearing. Though the girl was a stranger, the forlorn look of a new arrival discouraged by the byzantine streets of Death City was one she recognized. It had appeared on her own face often enough, not too long ago. However, directions from a veteran came at price; here was a potential captive audience for her to ham it up for. Her mind was already whirring away to formulate the perfect tall tale to tell about the “badass” exploit that so impressed the teachers that she was let off with an absurdly light punishment. While lifting her hair from the back of her neck to dry out the sweat, Eva turned her head to the other girl. ”So, when’d you get here?” she asked with an exaggerated tone of too many dusty years gone by, copied straight out of a Western movie. ”Bike, car, motorcycle, your own two feet, it doesn’t matter what you come in on. Everyone ends up with the same look.” It was playing a role that landed her in more trouble than what was already a given back at the boy’s dormitory, but it seems she hadn’t learned a thing.

[bruchette]

Several minutes had gone by since Chris first arrived in the park. While not quite as hysterical as she was earlier, she still felt terrified and alone. What would she do if she couldn’t find her way back? Should she just stay here and wait for someone to come by so she could ask them for directions? But what if they laughed at her? What if no one came at all? Would she have to sleep here? But that would never work. It might have been sweltering now, but the temperature would plummet once the sun went down. Oh lord, would she freeze to death? How long would it take to find her body? Chris was on the verge of tears, and she was certain that she would never find her way back. Why am I so useless?! If I can't even find my way back to my dorm room, how can I ever expect to become a strong Demon Weapon?

"If you can make the effort to come out here, exactly how hard is it to walk two more feet and throw it away yourself?"

Her racing thoughts were interrupted by a frustrated voice. Chris looked around and saw a small Asian girl carrying a trash claw while dragging two trash bags behind her. She was carrying a parasol as well, and was wearing some sort of colorful dress that appeared to be traditional, likely from whatever country the girl's heritage was. The girl was picking up the park for some reason; perhaps volunteer work of some kind. Whatever the case might have been, she watched as the girl gave a hard yank on her bags, causing one of them to rip open and spill its contents over the formerly pristine grass. The girl stood there for a moment and then began to clean up the mess. She looked around and then strolled over to the bench where Chris was seated and sat down. The girl’s skin was flawless sun-kissed beige, and her large eyes were a perfect chocolate brown. She lifted her hair up off her neck, and Chris noticed that despite the fact her dress was soaked with sweat, it still looked amazing. Wow… She’s really pretty…

Chris tried not to make it obvious that she was staring, but fortunately that was no longer necessary when the girl looked at her and spoke. ”So, when’d you get here?” She sounded like a local, and Chris was elated at the possibility that she might be able to show her the way back to the dorms. ”Ah… Just this morning, actually… This place is much larger than I would've thought.” Regardless of her joy, her voice betrayed her distress and uncertainty, and Chris chided herself for sounding so weak. The girl nodded as if she had seen several people get themselves into Chris’s situation. ”Bike, car, motorcycle, your own two feet, it doesn’t matter what you come in on. Everyone always ends up with the same look.” Chris blushed slightly, embarrassed at how easily this girl had read her situation. Had it really been that obvious? ”I guess that’s somewhat of a relief… I started exploring after I settled into my dorm room at Shibusen, but that was definitely a mistake. I have absolutely no idea where I am now.”

She stopped and looked down, her face turning red as she stared at the platinum-colored ring hanging from her neck. Why had she told this girl all that stuff? She didn't ask for her to explain her situation, and it was rude of Chris to do so anyways. She felt awkward and uncomfortable, and didn't know how to deal with this girl sitting so calmly next to her. Social interaction was in no way, shape or form her forté, and she didn't know what to say or do next. She felt as though the tension in the air was going to suffocate her if she didn't do something to break it. She swallowed and looked back up at the Asian girl as she said the first thing that popped into her mind.

"How come you're picking up all the trash?"

[Eva Liu]

Eva nodded sagely at the girl's flustered outpouring, all the while wondering how long she could keep a straight face with this all-knowing act. However much she wanted to change it, the fact remained that she was still quite low on the social totem pole. Without her meister's previous fighting experience, she would undoubtedly still be languishing in NOT. Her standing depended almost entirely on his until she became familiarized with combat and could prove herself an asset instead of a liability- a precarious situation indeed. It was little wonder that she jumped so eagerly on the relatively innocuous chance to assert even a small amount of prestige over a newer student. The social aspect of Shibusen life was one that she could still apply her civilian skills in, and one that she paid keen attention to.

"Nothing to feel embarrassed about. Unless you grew up here, it's a minor miracle at first to get anywhere on time. I mean, half the time the signal's so horrible that your phone's GPS is useless. It's just something you get used to but still complain about all the time," the demon dadao replied in a manner aimed at shrugging off Chris's discomfort. She was careful to maintain an artificially bored tone lest her statements be interpreted as putting the two on an equal plane and thus making a futile effort of this whole exercise. Too much of a dismissive attitude and she'd lose her audience; a balance needed to be struck. "What's the point of coming to a place like this and not trying something new or daring, even if it's as simple as exploring a new city with no map?" An accurate summation of the attitude behind many of her own recent decisions.

"How come you're picking up all the trash?" All throughout, Eva refrained from ever actually making direct eye contact. Instead, her line of sight remained in the general direction of the other girl's face but actually rested in the empty space next to it. When she finally heard the magic question she had been waiting for a chance to answer with or without a prompt at all, she had to fight off the temptation to lock eyes. It would fit the general air she was trying to create if she spun her tale while continuing to avoid truly looking at Chris; it would make her story sound inconsequential, almost too dull to be worth sharing. An eager recounting of fabricated badassery would seem like it was her only moment of glory so far, while an indifferent one would imply that such was not out of the ordinary.

"You know, I'm wondering why myself. The school's got a strange sense of justice about student conduct, but I guess when you're supposed to be upholding the natural way and all that it'd look fishy if you're not kept to certain standards yourself. Discourage vigilante justice or something, you know? That's pretty much the only reasoning I can find for giving detention to someone who caught and subdued a pair of bedroom peepers. Sure, who knows what those two could have done if given the opportunity, especially if they reacted immediately with violence, but you also don't want people running around trying to take responsibility when they're not actually ready to control themselves. It's scary to think that our own classmates might be trying to take advantage of us in that way, but it's also scary to think about our classmates abusing their power even if it's for a good cause." Even Eva didn't take anything she just said seriously. She was just spouting off whatever came to mind, and finding it quite fun to do so.

[bruchette]

While the Asian girl was explaining her situation with a slightly tired tone, Chris took the opportunity to compose herself. She was embarrassed for letting this girl, this stranger see her insecurity, and she promised herself she wouldn't screw up like that again. She took a deep breath and forced an indifferent look on her face, and she looked back up at the still-talking girl. Her efforts at re-composure were made easier by the fact that the girl wasn’t looking directly at her. She seemed tired, like this was something she was used to and somewhat bored of. Her face reminded her of a trick Chris often used on her mother to make something that was bothering her sound inconsequential or tedious. The demon glaive was relieved that she had been doing it so similarly to the real thing, and this relief helped to chase away what was left of her blush from her cheeks. By the time the girl finished her second sentence, Chris had rebuilt her façade and hoped the girl didn’t notice the change. However, what the girl had to say next threatened to tear away her composure.

“…only reasoning I can find for giving detention to someone who caught and subdued a pair of bedroom peepers. Sure, who knows what those two could have done if given the opportunity, especially if they reacted immediately with violence, but you also don't want people running around trying to take responsibility when they're not actually ready to control themselves. It's scary to think that our own classmates might be trying to take advantage of us in that way, but it's also scary to think about our classmates abusing their power even if it's for a good cause."

Chris's eyes widened as she heard the phrase 'bedroom peepers', and her surprise was clearly shown on her face. She knew that there were going to be perverts at Shibusen, just like there were perverts at her old school, but she hadn’t expected to hear about peeping toms snooping around, at least not so soon. She never really understood why people did things like that, looking in on private moments. Why would people take that sort of risk just to watch a woman change, when there were all sorts of dirty magazines and websites willing to offer much nastier things? Her eyes widened further at the mention of taking advantage, and she felt some of the color drain from her face. This was one of the rare moments that she was grateful for her lack of physical development. She took a deep breath to attempt to recompose herself and pushed her bangs off of her forehead as she leaned back against the bench, looking away from the girl as she did so. “Jeez… Some people really are shameless…” she said, offering a small nervous laugh.

Despite her shock at the toms' actions, Chris was pleasantly surprised by this girl's maturity in handling the situation. She looked pretty young, and it was refreshing to hear someone handle a situation where they didn't come out unscathed like an adult. What with her best friend being such a hot head, she was used to being the level-headed one, and she felt a bit of respect for this girl for handling the situation with such aplomb. Chris sighed and looked over at the girl without moving her head. “It’s a good thing you stopped them before they did something they couldn't take back, although I see the school’s point as far as discipline goes. But it’s not like those toms didn’t get in trouble too, right?” She offered a small smile, hoping the answer to that question wasn't no.

Chris started a little bit as she realized that she didn’t even know this girl’s name. She stretched her arms and then held her hand out to the girl, smiling cheerfully as she introduced herself. “I’m Chris by the way, and I just transferred here yesterday.” Perhaps this day hadn't turned out so badly, she thought to herself, thinking that perhaps she had found a new friend here, or at the very least an acquaintance.

---

OOC: I offer a thousand apologies for taking so long to reply!!! -bows down, begging for forgiveness-

[Eva Liu]

Eva dramatically heaved a sigh and slumped her body further down into the seat of the bench. Being "deep" and "philosophical" was difficult work, even if she was pulling together a collage of cliches and platitudes. Stringing together the phrases was simple enough, but the difficulty was in attempting to convince the girl that she even believed in what she was parroting. The right persona made all the difference, albeit one between a living stereotype and a try-hard wanting desperately to pull off a certain image. However, in Shibusen, the designation of battle-scarred veteran was perfectly applicable to many in the student populace.

She hazarded a small peak from the corner of her eye to gauge the effectiveness of her performance. The back of her neck tingled as the small hairs behind her neck stood straight, as weighted down by sweat as they were. Cruel as it may seem, Chris's horror was very much to Eva's satisfaction. Respect through fear and intimidation with minimal effort, this was more like it! Climbing up that social ladder was beginning to look like a less daunting task, though the older girl reminded herself that this meant little since she was only cutting her teeth on the very newest arrivals who haven’t yet had the chance to establish their own reputations.

“It’s a good thing you stopped them before they did something they couldn't take back, although I see the school’s point as far as discipline goes. But it’s not like those toms didn’t get in trouble too, right?”

The girl gave a rough chuckle in response. “I had them pretty good,” Eva said, shrugging off any implied compliment behind Chris’s words, although inwardly she relished it all. “You know, the worst part about it was the meister, who was this big beefy muscle-head, was just egging on his weapon, this scrawny looking kid who was probably younger than you. I mean it was pretty clear the big guy was just there to do the swinging while the kid took care of all the thinking, but sheesh. Go down that path and face the consequences if you want, but don’t try to corrupt the young and drag them along with you. Then again, the kid jumped up so quick to get violent once I discovered them and tried to stop his meister that it probably didn’t take much convincing at all. Certain individuals just gravitate towards one another, and you best take care that you find someone who pushes you down the right way.” She was conscious enough to find a heavy dose of irony in her preaching about selecting a partner that didn’t encourage a person’s more base tendencies, but that just meant she had authority to speak on the importance of doing so. Besides! Brawling in self-defense and public drunkenness couldn’t be put on the same scale as that other pair’s extreme proclivity towards violence.

“You won’t have to worry about them for a while. Mister Bamboo-bottom’s taking care of them down in the dungeons. I hear they’re on a part-time chain gang sorta deal clearing out the rubble from that big fight five years ago or something. I haven’t really seen them since, and I don’t exactly care to, but I’m at peace knowing they’re paying it back.”

It didn't escape Eva's notice that she should be cautious to not be tangled in her own mess of white lies, and so far she hadn't made any outrageous fibs. Perhaps she felt a small amount of guilt for taking advantage of Chris's ignorance and filling up her head with all manners of tall tales, but it was all done in jest. A simple time-honored tradition practiced in all societal institutions, without which this newcomer's experience would be incomplete. This was so mild it shouldn't even fall under even the most lax designation of hazing.

The demon weapon turned her head lazily to fully face the other girl, looking at her outstretched hand for a moment before extending her own and giving it a firm shake. "Chris. My name's Eva. Demon weapon, been here a while already. Which are you? Weapon or meister? You from one of those Shibusen legacy families or the first one here in a while?" She softened the enforced look of apathy on her face, and gave Chris a small, genuine smile. "Don't worry. You need anything, I'll see what I can do. I've been here longer after all.