SETTING: A STREET?

[arealboar]

( kagura is hurrying along, trying to hurry along, going as fast as one can go while trying to put papers and a notebook in a bag while navigating down a busy street and trying to not run into anyone and wearing wedges on top of all that, when something slips and —

yes, there it all goes, a sheaf of lined paper, several handouts, pens, and a thin textbook labelled EARLY CHILDCARE & DEVELOPMENT, scattering in the middle of the sidewalk. ) Ooh — crap! ( she falls to her knees, mindful of her short dress, and begins trying to gather it all before it scatters or is stepped on. )

Comments

[municipal]

( cecil watches it happen from a few feet away, and hurries over to help. )

Are you oka— Oh! ( he flattens his palm down on a pencil, stopping it from rolling into the street, and picks it up triumphantly. )

[arealboar]

Of course I'm not okay! I've completely missed the train by now! ( kagura retorts — not quite enough anger in it to be snapped; but if anything, she's clearly mastered the art of 'cute, petulant complaining.' she's trying to gather up some papers in a neat stack, but her expression softens when the man holds up a pencil for her, and she extends her hand for it with a smile. )

[municipal]

( he hums thoughtfully. ) Public transportation hardly ever cooperates with our expectations. Is there another train soon? ( he smiles back, helping with the rest of the flotsam; some of the words catch his eye. ) Early childcare. How fascinating!

[arealboar]

That's a secret! ( kagura objects loudly, snatching the textbook from him and pressing it protectively to her chest, cover towards her; she freezes almost immediately, realising just how… well, suspicious that must have appeared; he's a stranger, and not someone she needs to hide her textbooks from.

for a moment her expression is blank; she doesn't know how to play that one smoothly, what excuse to give. but — you know, screw that; she looks aside, guiltily but trying to play it off. ) —It's my major!

[municipal]

( cecil is hardly the type to question suspicious behavior. he takes it all in stride, nodding thoughtfully, as if both outbursts comprised one comment. )

Secrets make up the fabric of identity. Secrets are the shadows we all cast, following us as we walk through our everyday lives. Perhaps that makes secrets as mundane as the rest of our routine.

( but maybe he's talked too much; he tends to do that. )

Or— Or they could be an overwhelming force. I wouldn't know. I tend to not know anything, ever.

[arealboar]

( she blinks at him, trying to follow those statements — it's all a bit more philosophical than she'd anticipated, but — mundane secrets, yes, maybe, like how her extended family would react if they knew her dream. like the presence always watching in the back of her mind.

she looks away to gather up the rest of her things, worrying her lip; once it's all safely bundled into her arms she stands, again mindful of her short dress. it's impulse that guides her — but kagura's never been any good at denying her impulses. )

Say, it's going to be a little bit before the next train. Are you free?

[unclebob]

[The T-800 blinks as the girl falls to the ground. Well, that was inevitable, given the amount she was carrying and the speed at which she was walking. He could just let her pick herself back up again and continue on her way. It's really none of his concern.

So why does he find himself kneeling down and picking up her textbook and paper? It's just another of the many puzzling impulses he finds himself doing more and more these days.]

[arealboar]

Oh, thank you! ( kagura chirps, when all of a sudden a big… huge, kind of scarily huge, actually, compared to her own small frame, man kneels down and begins to help gather her things. she's all smiles and sweetness as she takes the book from him, but internally she's on her guard. she's not worried for her health or safety — but this is public, and this is a man. internally, she's also still much more concerned about her train… but a quick glance at her watch lets her know how futile that is. )

I'm okay now, ( she says reassuringly, even cutely; even as her movements lose all their urgency. it'll be almost an hour before the next train. ) Thanks!

[unclebob]

No problemo. [The heavily-accented voice says, his face frozen in that same intense expression with which he initially approached her. Internally, his computer reads elevated levels of perspiration and a higher-pitched tone of voice. She seems nervous for a reason he cannot place. Intimidation comes second nature to a Terminator, even when he's not even trying.]

You should not carry so much or try to walk slower. Otherwise, you will trip again.

[arealboar]

( ooh, a foreigner. she gathers up the last of her things and puts them in her bag carefully, still half thinking about the train, and how angry her mother is going to be. it's not like kagura can't handle the city on her own, jeez, but she's so overprotective. )

I was trying to catch my train, ( she says, self depreciating, her voice still a little high and cute. 'aww, isn't that sad that i missed it?' )

[unclebob]

By now, you will have missed it.

[Thank you, Captain Obvious. But in the Terminator's defense, it's not as if he's used to making small talk. Ask him about a shotgun or what makes up a computer's internal hardware and he can go on for quite some time. Anything else and he's a little lost.]

Do you have another way to get to your destination?