Breakfast Buffet [Event Topic :: Morning]

15 year old Calabus was dressed in a pair of form fitting black skinny jeans, a red half shirt that revealed her well toned belly, and a simple black jacket to finish the look. Her usual footwear – a pair of comfortable boots – covered her feet and thud lightly across the concrete ground she walked upon. Despite her age, the young lady was not accompanied by her parents as she carried herself with a professional air as she moved through the early morning crowds with ease as she looked around the grounds with gleaming eyes. Her mission for being here was simple. She wanted to hear about the new technologies being released both to keep herself at the front edge of her private trade and also to see if any of the said technologies would be impacting her family business.

Yes, she was indeed here with a mission in mind; however, before she could perform any sort of mission she needed to get some caffeine and food in her body. With her computer bag/purse slung over her shoulder, the girl would follow the crowds of hungry and sometimes grumpy people into the food court area. The usual chaos of people making orders, talking, and children whining filled her ears as she entered the familiar domain. It was kind like back home although her business was quite different from the food industry here. Even so she found herself settling easily among the crowds as her eyes scanned the choices before her. And man what a choice she had!

“No way!” she would whisper to herself as her eyes took in all the choices she had. Everything from the common to the exquisite was available to her making the choice of what she wanted to eat kind of hard to determine…

That was until she saw the bread vendor and with that gourmet bagels. Oho! Now that was something she could not turn down. Wandering over the line that led up to that divine place of food, she would attempt too scan the menu; however, the dude in front of her decided now was a good time to put his kid on his shoulder and in a nut shell distracted her from the menu. That little girl and her bright smile, she was adorable! Unable to look away, she would grin back at the kid who was looking at her. Giggling, the kid turned away before with that same goofy grin on her face, she would looked back at the young woman once more. Not one to decline a small game, Calabus would make a silly face at the kid causing the kid to laugh harder than before.

Naturally, her father turned slightly to see what was going on, but seeing it was only a young lady being friendly, he would shake his head slightly with a smirk as he looked up at his kid before refocusing on the line.

Apparently, he was okay with his kid playing with/bothering strangers. Fine by her. At least she had some entertainment while she waited to get her bagel.

"Not a bad place," Touko would remark to herself as she walked through the R&D facility's hallways with her suitcase in hand.

The displays were quite impressive, showcasing the creativity and potential that Humanity had. They were spectacular eye-candy for the uninitiated and those who lacked the actual know-how to bring these results to fruition. But, with all this spectacular veneer, it hid that human potential could be a path of its own undoing. The former Velvet Attendant wasn't here for that. There were other days to brood over nihilism and worry about her business, but today really wasn't the day. The place was full of cheer and excitement, making it really hard to do so anyway.


It was a shame that the entire place was a "no-smoking" zone. Getting caught by the authorities ruined the mood for her, if only temporarily. But at least the Food Court was just as impressive to make up for it with its wide variety of choices on the menu. It was going to take a while as she was just scanning down the French cuisine column out of faint interest.


Something caught the corner of her eye. There was something odd going around as she continued to be witness of some cat-boy-girl-thing going around having the time of his life at the expense of two others. The strangest thing was no one seemed to really notice. Or was that the right word here? Were they actually not acknowledging him? There was something fishy about it. So she continued to watch with some interest as this individual was accosting a young girl.

Calabus was enjoying herself as she and the kid had gone into a game of face making as the line slowly trudged forward; however, the game would come to an end as the little girl became distracted after a while and turned away as she focused on something else.
Not really minding it, the young woman would continue to smile a bit until something unexpected happened.

Poke. Poke.

The sensation was so random and unexpected that at first the young woman didn’t react, but then as the sensation was repeated. She would blink as her mind registered that something was actually touching her. Turning in the direction of the poke, she would find herself face-to-face with a strange face. Violet eyes, hair of an odd shade of blonde…and cat ears.

…

For a split second, she would give the other a blank expression as her mind tried to comprehend this and then finally catching up to the event, she would automatically take a step back as her face became one of shock and surprise.

“W-what the hell?!” she would stammer a bit unnerved by the sudden appearance of this very strange guy.
Realizing she had accidentally yelled, she looked around expecting eyes to be locked on her; however…no one was paying this event any mind at all. What was this then? Could…could they not see the guy? And if so how did that make her look? Would it matter all? It seemed no one reacting to her out burst so.... was this a situation like the one she had back home? The one regarding her other guests that no one else, but herself could see? Huh…was this guy a spirit then?

Perplexed, she would look back at the strange cat-eared male as she looked him up and down, trying to figure out how to react to him as she gathered herself again. Once composed, she would relax a tiny bit as she gave the other a small lopsided grin.

“Jeez. Don’t scare me like that man,” she would begin as she eyed the curiosity before her.

“Where did you come from anyway and who are you?” she would ask and then falling silent she would give the other time to answer if he felt like it. After a few more ticks, she would hear the request from the other and raise an eyebrow at the guy.

“Hm? You mean this one?” she said pausing to mimic the last silly face she had used in the game with the little girl. Once done, she would nod at the other with a light smile in place. “Yeah. I was playing a game,” she would say before catching onto the way this one said the word game. Her small smile would turn into an amused smirk. “Oho, is that so? I love them too. Say what is your favorite one hmm?” she would say her voice carrying an amused air as she watched the other.

Sure, he had almost given her a heart attack, but once she was able to fully see him her mind began to settle with ways to handle him. She figured between the way he had just suddenly appeared by her, how others seemed to not pay him any mind, and the fact that he had those strange ears that maybe what she was dealing with wasn’t exactly in the normal boat.

She wasn’t sure what he was since he didn’t match any description of the demons back at the inn, but that was okay. As long as this one didn’t harm her or others, then perhaps it would be okay to chat with him. She had to admit she was quite curious about this odd ball.

With her mind focused on this new occurrence she did not notice the other lady in the food court who had also taken notice of this rather strange fellow.

Whoever the girl was, she was starting to talk to herself. There didn't seem to be anything in front of her or seemed to be referring to anyone. In Touko's experience, most crazy people had a lot to say even when no one was around, especially when bound in canvas and locked up in an asylum. It would be easy to dismiss her as someone who had some mental issues. But that was a boring assumption, especially in a place like this.

Taking out what looked like her own cellphone, she milled about towards this self-talking girl as her eyes remained mostly glued to the screen with the occasional looking up to see where she was going. Touko kept her back turned as if she was really just busy with her own phone and not about anything else. Of course, she would be able to hear what the girl was saying at the distance put between them with all the other people mingling about in it to better camouflage herself. She strained her ears to hear what she was going to say.

Touko was no participant. She never was and never will be, as far as she was concerned. To her, she was only an observer of anything that may catch her interest. For now, this girl was that object of interest, if only temporarily. Looking back in her cellphone, there were a lot spam mail to be erased. This might as well be a better time than any.

Weakness:

If Calabus was curious before about the public seeing this guy, then her theory seemed to be somewhat proven. When she blinked and looked around the area for just a moment, she took note as she moved forward with the line that some people were giving her a strange look as they passed by. You know the kind of look that people give you when they think you are truly out of your mind? Yeah that look. It was a look she had encountered before many, many times from both her adoptive parents and some of the guests back home when she was caught interacting with a spirit that decided to enter the area. So with that look she came to two conclusions: she was the only one that could actually see him or he allowing her alone to see him for some reason.

While the looks should’ve made her feel embarrassed or uncomfortable the young lady brushed the looks off as she returned her eyes to where the cat guy was standing….or not. A bit baffled as to where he had gone, Calabus frowned slightly and was on the edge of looking for him; however, all she had to do was turn to look to her side to find him again and this time with food. Okay…so he could teleport then? Or was he extremely fast? Huh. Interesting. Well then, she supposed she could roll with that considering spirits had all sorts of powers. And this one had to be a spirit…right? To be honest, she had no answer to that question, but then again she wouldn’t bother to poke at the oddness too much either. She would let him be him. He wasn't harming her so why bother?

“Heh. Like mayo do you? How about bagels? Do you like those?” she would ask curious about the creature and in her own way offering to buy him something…if he actually wanted something else to eat outside of the sandwich he got from who knew where. He didn’t seem to pleased with the end result of his first bite, so who knew if he would finish it or not. Food aside, she would focus on his answer to his question her eyebrows rising slightly in amusement.

“Tormenting, huh?” she would say as she crossed her arms with a contemplative look. Why would it be tormenting to give his—Oh! She would take in that grin he was giving her. Such mischief there. Now, aha now she understood.

“How cute to play riddles with me,” she would begin quite amused at this play since it was usually herself that was playing a game with others. How intriguing the tables had been switched on her.  

“So your name is some variation of the word tormenting, huh?” she would say not sure which variation to use with this one. She would pondered this for a moment. Based on what she heard him mention before when he had spoke about the sandwich and the way he had answered, there was one variation that made some since. Hmm. She would go with that one then.

“Alright Tormented.  A pleasure to meet ya,” she would say to the other with a light smirk. Sure, his name could’ve been something else and if he wanted to he could definitely correct her; however, for now she would stick with this particular guess. Hey, it worked better than saying "hey you" all the time.

In any case, Tormented only became more curious as he answered her question about games. When she heard the answer she would tilt her head at him seeming unbothered by his choice of play. Was she truly mad or was there reasoning behind this? A mystery the world may never know the answer to. Anyway....

“Huh, so you prefer the more gory games. Wellm can’t blame for wanting to keep up the entertainment or even keeping the game in order by following the rules and all; however, I think I’ll pass on joining. I think I’d be too boring for that sort of game,” she said as she attempted to gently pushed the offered pen away being sure to make the action as non-hostile as possible…if she could even touch the creature that is.

In any case, it would seem that just as fast as the offer was made it was tossed away. Literally. As the other tossed the pad away, she saw it go on someone’s plate; however, how said victim reacted was beyond her for she was soon refocusing on the guy next to her.

“Well yeah. I mean who wouldn’t be excited about all this? The reveal promises big things. So I can't wait to see it all unfold,” she would begin, but then catching onto his other words she would narrow her eyes at the other as she gave him a small grin of curiosity as she observed him a bit. “However, it would seem you know more about what is going to happen than I do. How about letting me in on your secret, huh?”

It appeared this strange cat had just caught her attention. The question was would he actually share or would she have to do something else to get what he had?
 
More focused on her entertaining companion than the world around her, she wouldn't notice that they were being spied.

Strength and Weaknesses:

While absentmindedly flipping through the e-mails, Touko listened to what Calabus had to say to her imaginary friend. The very nuances of speech and her focus really made it seem like she was talking to an actual person. Perhaps she was indeed mad, even though she seemed rather too composed to be one. All this "tormenting", "gory", and "secrets" are all danger signs for violent insanity, it seemed. But she would continue to listen on to Calabus' supposed 'madness'.

“I took a wild guess from the words you were using, but now that I know I was wrong, I’ll use the proper one,” Calabus would say to the creature with her before falling silent to listen to the rest of what the other had to say. Her eyebrows would rise slightly.

“A new game you say? Well, I hope you have as much fun with it as you did your last one,” Calabus would begin before considering the rest of what was said. “Hmm, so myself and the world has been chosen to play a game, huh?” Calabus would pause thinking about that for a moment. She wondered just what sort of game this one was referring to. Would it be fun? Have risks and rewards? She wanted to ask many questions about this new game, but at the same wanted to learn about it herself. After a few moments of thought, she would smirk amused.

“Well then, I suppose I would have to be my best at this new game. Any rules I should know about?” she would ask taking note that this guy seemed to be pretty excited about the whole deal. Heh. Just what did he know that made him so excited about all this?

Curious abou the behavior, she had posed her next question and at first she had thought she wasn’t going to get an answer. “Well I suppose,” she would begin feeling a bit disappointed, but then something strange happened. The guy seemed to change his mind. As she heard his questions she would tilt her head at him.

“A terminal? You mean like an access point for either digital data or transportation?”

((Note: Godai gave us permission to go first. He'll follow up.))

Heh. This one was indeed entertaining. This spirit, or whatever he was, didn’t seem harmful…but then again the most deadly types always were the innocent looking/ acting ones weren’t they? This fact was only solidified not only by this guy’s earlier mention of the sort of game he liked to play, but also by the way he simply acted in general. Sure taken at surface value, he seemed mischievous and nothing more, but look closer and there was something much more intelligence under those smiles. Much like the Cheshire Cat, this creature couldn’t be read and yet like Alice the Calabus chose to humor the creature even if in the end, he may end up being the end of her. She was playing with a dangerous sort of creature and yet, she kind of liked that. Trying to not get killed or burnt was all part of the sort of games she liked to play. In any case, he seemed pretty pleased with what was happening, so this play was okay right?

“Hmm. I suppose I can see the point there,” she would say in regards to the comment about rules and then smirking she would continue. “Oho? Well that is always a relief, but I wonder if I made a good character for this new game.” She’d ponder this for just a few seconds before becoming distracted when asked a question. A question she seemingly got right when she did answer due to the way the other seemed to be pleased with the answer.

When he brought the napkin before her eyes, she would look at it for a moment wondering briefly if he wanted her to take it or something; however, she wouldn’t move to act upon the thought and a good thing too for shortly after showing her the napkin, “Deshi”, if that was really his name, would speak again. As he spoke, Calabus would listen to what he had to say as she watched him tear the napkin before moving to another spot. As he motioned for her to follow, she would actually get out of line and follow this creature to the table. Food had apparently taken a back seat to this more fascinating subject.

When they reached the table, the other would begin speaking again as he continued his demonstration. At first Calabus watched with a perplexed frown as she processed it all not seeming to mind the magic trick this one pulled. She would study the napkin for a moment and then looking from the newly formed napkin to the other, she would give the other an amused look. “I can see many doors opening with that one. Infinite ones to be exact,” she said as she crossed her arms in thought. “Now forgive me for this and the bombardment of questions, but your words pose an interesting set up if it is true. So If I follow your line of logic, then this reveal you speak of is kind of like a terminal then? If so, are you suggesting we are about to get processed and thrown into some other realm of existence? Also you mentioned others that have gathered. What do you mean by that? Who else came and how does their presence here impact said processing?”

At this point the guy had her pretty hooked and even more eager to figure out the puzzle he had given. Even more so when she thought about the what ifs of such a reality. A reality where humans weren’t constrained anymore by their limits and like Data could go to places never imagined. It was fascinating thing to be sure…even if it was only a theory in her book. Surely something like that couldn’t really happen…could it?

The words that this girl was using seemed to note some sort of game was going to be in play and a terminal has some role in it. The ramblings of a madwoman indeed have the merit of some interest, faint as it was from the beginning. Touko had wished that she could understand what her imaginary friend was saying or even looked like in her head. Then again, a little bit of mystery had spiced things up a bit. Yet, the lack of a context still hampered any greater interest. She was itching for a cigarette at this point, but clearly the establishment had prohibited it. Soon, she probably might just leave her alone.

Touko would notice Calabus start to leave towards what seemed to be a table. The redhead set aside her phone back inside her pocket. She kept her eyes on every movement while starting to walk on over to get some coffee. With a warm cardboard holder keeping from the scalding plastic touching her delicate fingers, she seemingly wandered about behind her target to avoid her attention. With the crowd around, it would be hard to tell she was actually keeping tabs on Calabus.

The former Velvet Attendant coolly sipped from the cup as she stood near behind Calabus with people still roaming around to make it hard to catch her, especially while she was just simply looking back into her phone again. She would listen in again, only to hear something about ‘realm of existence’, ‘doors’, and ‘processing’. This seemed rather familiar. Was she referring to the Velvet Room? It didn’t seem like it. She was rather tempted to ask, but it sounded as if there probably was more to it. Then again, nothing ventured nothing gained.

OOC: