Lost in the City [OPEN]

Ando stumbled around the busy streets of San Malarus. He was going to buy a few supplies but for a strange reason he had no idea where he had gone. He looked everywhere and but to his dismay, couldn't find the store. It didn't help that his phone was dead and that he couldn't bring himself to ask anyone for directions. Every time he would try to ask someone, his mind would go blank and he would apologize before running off. He looked up at the sky, and wondered how he even get lost in the first place. He glanced around once more only to find that the buildings looked exactly the same as the ones he encountered five minutes ago. This was getting quite aggravating for Ando. If only he hadn't forgotten to charge his phone before going out, he wouldn't have had this problem. After walking around for a bit more, he finally decided to try and actually ask for directions. He looked around until he tapped the shoulder of the person in front of him.

"Um, sorry to bother you, but I'm kind of lost here. Do you know where this store might be at? Ando asked quietly.

The boy walked down the familiar streets with ease, sighing lightly as he stopped for a moment. He looked up at the clouds, frowning for a moment. It seemed that they weren't going to stay as clear as he thought they where. He sighed and shook his head, taking a book out of his satchel to check something he had written down earlier. He read the lines with ease and stayed that way for a moment, still walking mind you, before being tapped on the shoulder.

He blinked at the occurrence, closing his book and turning around to face the tapper. He analyzed the boy as he asked his question, tilting his head to the side for a moment in perplexity. He hummed for a moment, looking around to better grasp where he was.

"... Well, sir, you're somewhat in the ghetto..." he said with a light nod, turning back around to face the teen. "You've missed the road to the store a few miles ago..." he said as he drummed his fingers against his book, trying to think of a short cut to get to the store.

"... Um... My best guess for you to get there before it starts raining is to head back the way you came, then take a left at the next major road you find... That should lead you to the store quick enough." he said with a polite smile, nodding at his words.

Back here again, but why?

Oki thought as it moved down the streets taking in the familiar run down area…the same area it had fled to not so long ago to escape the madness of the business sector only to be drawn into a new sort of madness. The old being wasn’t sure what it was doing here, but for some reason Persephone kept whispering for the being to go back to where it all started. Kept saying there was something there for the being to observe; however, what that something was was beyond Oki. Outside of the lookalike buildings and other things in this older part of town, there was nothing of interest to Oki’s mind at the moment. Sure, it could go exploring in the abandoned buildings within the area, but one look at the sky quickly changed that idea.

While Oki didn’t mind hunting in the rain, it preferred drier climates to explore the old and decaying for various safety reasons that at the moment it was too lazy to list in its already over saturated mind. It kept walking, not sure where it was going at the moment since whatever was supposed to be here wasn’t here at all. Was this a waste of time or was Oki so paranoid of what it had been charged with that it was hearing things no--?

Them.

Persephone’s voice hummed easily to the old being causing it to slow its pace as it saw two people ahead. Not sure exactly what Persephone meant, the old being would allow itself get closer to the teens before pausing as it heard something about stores and rain. To the pale one’s words, the old being eyes narrowed slightly with a grin.

“Perhaps if you were to run, you’ll get a good deal from the store owners when the rain starts,” the old being said to the lost one before remembering its manners and bowing apologetically as it came a bit closer watching the other two carefully.

“Sorry. To intrude like this, but I happen to work in the old business sector, so when I heard the chatter I couldn’t help myself,” Oki said remaining friendly although inwardly it was curious what it was about these two that made Persephone stir in its mind.

Observe.

This was not a good day for Ando. Ando blinked a few times as the boy said that he was in the ghetto. Ando looked down when he heard that he missed the store a while back. This meant that he had to go walk all the way back in the direction he came from. "Man, this really sucks for me..." Ando thought. It may take quite a long time to get back to the store and the boy said that it was going to rain. Ando felt like he was going to cry. He sighed as he he put his face in his hand. What has he done to deserve this, all he wanted was to buy a few things.

"Um, thanks. I really needed directions." Ando said as he gave a slight chuckle. He sighed once more before an odd looking person began to speak to them. Ando looked at him and began to feel a bit more nervous than usual. Uh took a slight step back hoping that it didn't offend the person in any way. "O-oh, um, hello there. Um, about the good deal when the rain starts. You mean that I get like a discount?" Ando said quietly as he stared at the odd looking person.

The boy smiled politely with a nod of his head at the teen, looking up at the sky for a moment. "No problem... But you should hurry though... This rain doesn't look like it'll be pleasant..." he said with a light sigh, slipping his book and pencil into his satchel before looking up at the newcomer. He tilted his head towards them, not quite sure what to make of them before listening to him.

"True... Running is a wise decision... But I doubt the discount would be guaranteed... They usually don't do that..." he said with a light frown, twisting a strand of his hair. "But... You should hurry regardless... If you get there before the rain, they may give you a free umbrella if it's raining when you're leaving." he said thoughtfully, nodding his head at his words.

Oki was quiet as he listened to the small exchange between the pair. It seemed the lost one was in need of directions and the pale one had just helped. It took note of the differences in attitude between the two males and how the pale one appeared to carry a book and pencil and also seemed to know the weather patterns well. It was rare that people could tell when a bad storm was on the way even when looking at the angry grey clouds above. The announcement of said storm did not seem to sit well with the lost one; however, why that was, was beyond Oki. Rain was rain, right? So what if one got wet in the process …Then again maybe Oki was the only one that enjoyed the rain as long as there was no chill in the air? Hmmm…maybe the sensation was unpleasant to others? A curious wandering, but one the being quickly pushed aside as its eyes narrowed lightly at the young man that backed away at its approached.

A smile remained on its face as it spoke.

“There is no need to fear me. I don’t bite, you know,” the being said with a light chuckle before its eyes were turning to the other as he agreed about the running, but not the discounts. To this, Oki placed its hands on its hips and leaned towards the pale young man, effectively invading personal space as it looked up at the boy with its cat like eyes.

“You shop in New Town, yes?” it asked with a tilt of its head. New Town, or rather the newer parts of the shopping district, did not follow the same rules as Old Town. If the boy shopped in the newer areas then yes, his statements regarding discounts were quite right.

However, the study would last for only a second before Oki looked over at the lost one with a nod as it stood up straight once more, the earlier pout replaced with a smile once more.

“Mmhm. Old Town where I work is very different than New Town. They always give a good deals on rainy days. Free items not so much, but the prices are so good it is like getting the thing for free,” Oki said in easy tones, but then looking up the sky became serious. “However, it not all stores do this. It is mainly the ones around the antique shop,” Oki said before leveling its eyes with the pair once more. It would tilt its head lightly it looked from one boy to the other.

“You should try it. See that we are not lying about the discounts. Besides, they have great food there too,” Oki said as looked at the others with the open friendliness of a store clerk trying to ring in customers; however, underneath that persona, Oki was ever watchful of the pair that Persephone was telling it to “observe” and “remember”. Regardless of this, the double edged nature of such an offer was never revealed to the pair.

"Uh, sorry about that." Ando said as he relaxed himself a bit. He stayed a bit tense as he didn't feel too comfortable. He took another quick look at the odd man as he took a closer step.

"New Town, Old Town?" Ando tilted his head at the odd man who had just started talking about the two different parts shopping district. He didn't really know what those two names were but Ando was guessing that Old Town is where he passed the older looking buildings a while back. The odd man seemed to be quite experienced with this island and was also quite friendly as well since he told Ando about the discounts however Ando wasn't quite sure whether to believe him or not. The part about delicious food sounded pretty nice though as Ando hadn't had anything to eat for the past few hours.

The boy listened politely to the boy... Girl? What was its gender? Regardless, the thing's words. It seemed knowledgeable, that much was known. But of course, it owned a shop, it would make sense for a shop owner to know the ins and outs of the shopping districts. Regardless, the boy stayed in a polite posture, not seeming overly bothered by the two people. It was odd though... If for a mere month ago, he would be the most rigid and unhappy person out of the three... Odd how times changed. He listened to Ando's question though, smiling lightly.

"Old town and new town are the different sectors of San Malarus." he said with a polite nod. "Old town is more older, older houses, less sky scrapers, more walking and arguably better food. New town is made up of malls, popular food chains, stores, modern clothing, and the list goes on." he said with a nod of his head.

The pale boy simply listened quietly to the exchange while the other questioned the terms “New Town” and “Old Town”. Oki found it interesting how the pale did not answer its question regarding where he shopped. Did the pale boy take the upfront question as an insult? Or had the being simply confused him like it did the lost boy with its termilogy? Hmmm…interesting. These two did not grow up in the business district. That was certain. If they had, the odd terms wouldn’t have been so out there. However, it would appear the pale boy might be a resident of San Malarus or at least had hung around the island long enough to understand the phrases. So was the question from before just ignored? Curious, curious, but not bothersome. Not everything had answers, so Oki would not push this little issue further in any fashion within its mind.

Brushing the unanswered question off, Oki took to observing the pale one to see if the looks matched anything in its data banks. Hmm…The pale boy seemed unfamiliar to Oki and it knew customers of Old Town well enough, so did this mean that the child really did shop in New Town or had Oki missed this one simply because up until recently it did not venture far from its home at all? Hmmm…to make that question even more complex was the fact that Oki could’ve sworn Sky had mentioned something about an albino boy she met at the school. Was this child the same one from the school? Or was there more than one albino running about? It was hard to say.

Regardless of this oddness, Oki would blink at the pale boy as it tilted its head lightly at the words that were said.

“While your information is spot on, I would say there is no argument when it comes to Old Town’s food and discounts. We cannot be beaten, especially not by New Town. The only thing New Town has going for it is its prettiness,” Oki said as it folded its arms and nodded quite confidently at its words. Yes…the being definitely appeared to be a business person proud of the area it worked in.

“If you do not believe us, why not check it out for yourself?” Oki said as it looked at the lost boy and the pale boy with an easy smile as its eyes flickered between the two. Oki remained relaxed and open to the pair it simply wanted to observe before deciding what to do with them in the grand scheme of things, but then that friendliness vanished a bit as embarrassment seemed to replace it. The being would reach up with one hand and rub the back of its head as it gave the pair a sheepish smile.

“Apologizes. I got so carried away, I forgot the basic of encounters such as these,” the old being said before taking a step back and bowing in an elaborate fashion to the pair, the smile never leaving its face.

“We are Oki. At your service,” the being said with open friendless as it looked up at the pair appearing strange, but harmless as the odd nicknacks on it lightly clinked or jingled with the movement. It honestly just seem like it was trying to direct the pair to Old Town for shopping, but was this appearance it put on true or not? It was hard to say and Oki gave no clues as to what the truth was either.

"Ah, so that's what they are. I'm still not sure which one to go to though." Ando said as he smiled at the boy and the odd man who explained the differences between Old Town and New Town. He looked up at the grey clouds in the sky. Old Town and New Town both seems pretty nice. However, Ando wasn't quite sure what he wanted. The discount and good food at Old Town sounds good but the walking part was the thing he wasn't sure about as he was already quite tired from wandering around. Maybe he should go see both of them.

"Um, I'm Ando. Nice to meet you I guess." Ando nodded in response to the odd man who called himself Oki. Oki seemed a bit strange but nice enough, for Ando to stick around. He never had much experience with talking to people and usually would leave after a few exchanges. He straitened up a bit and looked back at the boy.

"So um, you two seem to know this place quite well, do you two come here often?" He asked.

The boy stayed silent and listened, realizing a mistake he made. Did the... Er, it? Ask him a question before Ando's? To be perfectly honest, he hadn't payed attention, to caught up in thought to keep all his attention on one subject. He silently sighed, disliking his over sight and wondering if it was to late to do something about it.

"... Excuse me, I'm sorry for ignoring your question.." he said to the one named Oki. "It was by accident, thought over whelmed me at the moment of said question... But yes, I do shop in new town more than old town, sadly." he said with a light nod.

"Hm... I suppose it depends on what you're looking to buy." he said to Ando, smiling politely. "My name is Nilo Lockwood, a pleasure." he said in a polite voice.

"And I live here. So you can definitely say I come here often... Probably more of an understatement, thinking of it." he said with a twist of a strand of his hair.

Remaining open and relaxed, Oki tilted its head at the child that didn’t know what he wanted to buy.

“Hmmm. Old Town can probably fill your need for almost anything, especially if you are looking for something unique. Uniqueness is abundant there. New Town,” Oki frowned as it looked up at the sky and folded its arm in thought before looking back at the other with a light laugh as it rubbed the back of its head.

“To be honest, I am not too good at selling New Town, but I will give it this. It does have more cover than Old Town does and even though I can go on all day about why I do not care for the products there, it is still an okay place to shop if you need to. Might not find authentic things there, but it will do,” Oki said to the other in much calmer tones than before. Maybe it was settling down off its sale pitch?

“Ando, huh? Heh.Easy enough to remember. Nice to meet you too,” Oki said with a smile and a nod before it was tilting its head towards the pale boy as he spoke about a question. At first Oki gave the other a blank look as it tried to remember what question could’ve been ignored, but then remembering it, it gave the other a mischievous smirk.

“Oho. Is that your excuse for ignoring us?” Oki said as it easily step forward and then with a lean invaded the other’s personal space bubble as it locked green eyes on the child’s. “I can forgive you, if…” it began in quiet tones and then spinning away from the pale young man and coming to a stop in its original position, the being would fold its arms and pout at the other.

“…You promise to come see Oki and Old Town more,” it said as it looked at the pale boy with fake agitation. It was all a play for Oki. A play that was exactly what it always did unless someone had limits to draw out and cut the fun short.

In any case, the scene would last for only a few moments before the being was going back to a more or less normal state as the pale boy gave a name. Nilo Lockwood….was that not one of the names on the list announced? Oki gave the other a casual look as it marked down the details of the boy carefully. Persephone was grinning inside its head. It looked like they had hooked something interesting indeed; however, as much as Oki would’ve loved to dissect this new subject, it kept its harmless and friendly attitude as it nodded at the boy.

“Nilo Lockwood. Got it?” it said as it looked upward locking the name away for later before refocusing on the conversation as Ando seemed to become more confident. Oki would listen to the conversation for a moment, collecting information here and there before it was speaking to answer the question.

“I live in Old Town, so naturally I know all about it and its competitor,” Oki said with a wink and smirk. Then looking over at Nilo, the being tilted its head. “Understatement?” It would repeat curiously before giving the child a chance to answer if he wanted to. In any case, the moment would pass and when it was over Oki looked over at Ando.

“So can we assume you are new here? Or perhaps unfamiliar with the island? If so where are you from?” Oki asked the other as the clouds above got darker. Hrmm…that rain….

"Ah, so both of you live here." Ando said with a slight smile. "Well I recently moved to the Azores so I am quite unfamiliar with this area. As for where I am currently living in, I spend most of my time at the school dorms." Ando scratched his head for a quick moment and glanced around the area. It seemed that the people around them are thinning out, most likely because it was going to rain soon.

I'm still not sure whether to go to Old Town or New Town for today." Ando said with a sigh as he looked back up at the dark clouds. "The extra covering at New Town sounds more favorable right now. Maybe I'll go visit Old Town when the weather is much better."

The boy stayed silent as the two conversed, then focused his attention on Oki. The fallowing actions that the latter did confused the boy dearly. To say the event was odd was an understatement, but any thoughts that Oki meant any harm quickly flew his mind. It seemed that it acted much younger than it looked, something the boy found slightly interesting. Regardless, the boy would only laugh lightly and smile.

"Of course, Oki. I'd love to visit Old Town more and visit your shop." he said with a polite nod, looking towards Ando. "Ah, that would explain it. These islands can be quite the hassle to new comers. But yes, if you know what you need to buy, New Town is probably your best bet. It's no fun rushing through Old Town and missing all the hidden gems it holds." he said with a light nod, glancing his head sky ward to look at the darkening skies.

It was always entertaining to see how people reacted when Oki unexpectedly entered their space. Some reacted in normal ways backing away when they needed distance or tensing up when they tried to hold their ground. Only Sharaku had managed to adjust more or less to the odd behavior, but it seemed for the pale boy before the being, the action was a bit of a shocker.

Sure, he didn’t back away or anything, but he did become highly alert when the action began; however, by the time Oki was done doing what it did, the boy was smiling before speaking. Tilting its head at the boy lightly, Oki would take in his answer with a blank expression before grinning as it easily hopped from its spot back towards Nilo stopping at his side.

“I think you and I can be good friends. Even if words are not honest, Oki likes them anyway,” the being said and then looking at Ando. It nodded as it heard his words.

“The school, huh? We have a sibling that goes there. Not sure if she would be good or bad for you to be around. Guess it depends on how comfortable you are around the…uh..unusual,” Oki said as it folded its arm and bowed its head in thought for a moment, then shaking its head to clear it, the being smiled at Ando once more.

“In any case, welcome to some of the most diverse islands you will encounter. While I would prefer you to visit Old Town first, I will have to reluctantly agree with both of you today. So I suppose New Town we shall go. I am sure it will have something you like,” Oki said with a roll of the eyes and a waved hand as if to dismiss the words. It was as if Oki was trying to down play the place; however, a second later, Oki would look around the area quickly and then finding a path between buildings, it nodded.

“That way is the quickest and if it does pour before we get there. Hehe. The old ones can protect us,” Oki said back in good mood as it pointed to the two buildings to the side of the path. They leaned heavily towards each other, making them perfect buffers for rain, but still questionable as far as safety went; however, Oki didn’t appear to notice this as it looked back at the other quite proud of the find.

Meanwhile more people were trying to get inside as the clouds above shifted angrily. It was only a matter of time before the heavens tore open and began to pour down the rain upon the earth. Could they make it to New Town before then?