Identification Follow Up (Tomomi / Isabella)

It was strange, Isabella had thought that what had happened years back would have forever deprived her of moments like this. She had never been good with kids, what little she'd interacted with them, but something about the hurt she saw in the young boy resonated with her. She couldn't undo the hurt, even if she tried, even if she wanted to. Five years without parents, that was bound to leave deep scars.

She couldn't undo the hurt, but it seemed she could at least offer him an outlet. The fingers of her left hand gently caressed his scalp, a bit of uncertainty to the touch as the polished metal capping her fingertips slid across hair and skin. "You don't need to thank me." Her voice wavered a little, a tear rolling down her right cheek. "If I'm helping, somehow, that's good enough for me."

The boy's uncertainty grew slowly, into a wavered smile, before finishing at a contented grin, eyes closed for a moment as he took in the moment. The feeling of the metal against his skin was... Bizarre. But the feeling of being protected was enough to push all that weirdness aside. Then, after another silent moment, Tomomi slowly allowed his grip to let go, waiting for Isabella to take the hint and let go while muttering quietly. "W-well, thank you anyways..."

Whenever she did let go, Tomomi coughed, before smiling and rubbing the back of his neck. "Um... S-sorry I was crying again. A-anyways... Um... Do you have any questions regarding, well, any of it?"

She gave him the time he needed, letting go of him once he in turned loosed his grip. That done, she stood up, and gave his hair another ruffle before sitting down. But then would come the question about.. questions.

"Well, several if I'm to be honest, but I think I'd rather parse my thoughts for much of them, so I'll only present the most urgent on that comes to mind." Isabella paused to clear her throat. "Now, this is both a question, and a request, but can you possibly get me into contact with the Playhouse?" She was quite blunt in how she presented the question. "And before you even ask why, my reasoning is two-fold: Most importantly I think that being able to work with or for a group like this, to be able to glean some much needed inside info, the kind the government wants to keep under lock and key, would actually be a great start to finding the truth. And second... Well, put simply, I can't fight under my own power, not against something like... Demons."

She'd pause again, letting out a dry chuckle. "Like, give me the jump on an armed guard and I could probably incapacitate or kill them with my bare hands... But demons?" The blood shook her head. "I can't fight the demons, but I think I can help if the playhouse has others who are anywhere near as capable as you or the others from last night."

At Isabella's request, Tomomi thought for a moment, nodding slowly as he took the information in and thought it over, placing his right hand fingers just on his temple in thought. Then, as he took it in, Tomomi replied with a shrug. "Um, yeah, sure. I think I um... Heard something about a meeting tonight? If you follow me there, then you can get there, although I don't think we're staying at the Playhouse. A-although, um, if you do do that, you'll want to keep enough of a distance away that nobody can tell you're following me, and only get into terrorist clothes when nobody else notices you're there... A-also, um, if you want, I can help fight the demons with you whenever you need! I-I've got this power, so if I can protect people using it, then I'll be happy!"

Grinning with slight pride, Tomomi nodded to himself, before adding. "A-also, before you go anywhere as a terrorist, you need a name. A terrorist name, like a secret identity. Think um... Spy movies, like Jeremy Blonde! For example, I uh... I chose the name "Ribbon". A-admittedly, that's just because I panicked and just named myself based on something that my costume and persona both have... So um... I recommend you choose something you'll like?"

She would smirk, and gave the other a nod at both the information of what was going on that night, as well as the offer to help with demons. "Thank you Tomomi, I'll be sure to keep that offer in mind should it become necessary."

Then came up the whole thing about names again. and well, it was like he'd mentioned before. Indeed, her power would provide an outfit and mask to conceal who she was, but there was still a need for something, a name or a code other could refer to her by. Her left hand rose, the metallic fingertips of her thumb and index finger cupping her chin, slowly stroking up and down her cheeks as she hummed in silent thought. Ribbon was a simple but efficient one, if perhaps a bit nondescript. Revenants were like... ghosts or something? A fitting name for the fearsome appearance of the figure from last night.

But her attire? She looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, or one of those anime cartoons. Going off that would just be silly. But her powers then? Mimir couldn't really do much on its own, only reveal hidden knowledge about, like some kind of truths... that just... applied. "Truth..." She'd utter, something in that word apparently just fitting into place in her mind. "How does "Veritas" sound to you?" She then asked, turning her eyes to tomomi.

At the mention that she'd keep it in mind, Tomomi grinned with pride. Then the moment of silence as she thought. At her first muttering, Tomomi thought she was going with the name "Truth", but as she added "Veritas", Tomomi tilted his head, thinking on it for a moment. "Um... Veritas? Um... It sounds cool but... Um... W-what does it, well, um... Actually mean?"

Isabella let out a small chuckle, how silly of her to assume that someone else had much likelihood of knowing as obscure a crumb of knowledge as this one. "Veritas, as a word is latin, mean "truth". But the word Veritas was also used in ancient Rome for other purposes, both as the name of the goddess of truth, and as the word used to describe the virtue of truthfulness."

She'd pause to clear her throat, before resuming. "I know it all basically boils down to the same meaning, but don't you think it fits?" The blonde then asked, a hint of enthusiasm in her voice. She would then try to clear her throat again, her voice havign gone a bit hoarse. "Could I maybe get some Dr. Salt NEO, please?" She'd then ask, lifting her cup from the table, raising it to Tomomi.

As she explained what the name meant, Tomomi went from confusion to admiration very quickly. As she asked if it fit, Tomomi nodded his head rapidly. "T-that is such a cool name! O-oh wow! Y-yeah, Veritas! Veritas!" He declared, reciting the name like a child who had just found their new favourite thing. Then, at the request for more Dr. Salt NEO, Tomomi smiled and nodded, taking the cup, and his own, standing up and going over to the mini-fridge as he opened it up, took out the bottle, and began to pour. "I'm looking forward to discovering the truth with you Isabella. And, um, remember. If at any point you don't want to do anything with the Playhouse, step away. I was given that advice by someone there, and, I plan to do the same if they end up doing something that goes against my morals."

Drinks poured, Tomomi walked them back over after putting the remainder of the bottle away, giggling as he handed Isabella hers back before raising his own cup. "Cheers!" He declared in jest with a happy giggle.

Her smile widened at his enthusiasm. He was such a precious child, even with all the hardship he'd been through. "Veritas it is then." She ddeclared, intentionally going for a bit of a boastful tone just to go off his energy.

What he'd say next about the playhouse was certainly interesting. "They'll just let you step away, even if you had insider info? I will admit I'm of two minds about that. But I'll be sure to keep it in mind, in case it ever does come to that. She spoke, stroking her chin. Anyone being able to leave when they wanted... Could very much be a double-edged sword.

But he would soon come offering the, taking the offered cup,and raising her own cup after he too did so. "Cheers." She'd parrot him, if in a more controlled tone, before taking a long sip of the drink. "Hmmm... I wonder if the changed the formula for this stuff? I remember when Dr. Salt NEO first hit the market, and back then I thought it was awful, compared to the original Dr. Salt anyways. But this, this is actually pretty good." She'd speak, offering a small chuckle. How long ago was that gain?

At the question of the Playhouse letting people go, even with insider information, Tomomi shrugged a bit. "From what I understand, I... Think it's a lot less formal than you might be thinking? I mean, remember I've only been there once, but, when I went... It was very much like any other tavern or bar. It's not like you could rat out someone as a terrorist since identities are hidden, and it feels like it was a very... Everyone's there for their own reasons, I guess? I uh... H-haven't really had the time to ask why they let people go if they feel uncomfortable... I um... M-might try spare the time to ask Larsinny about that at some point..."

As the conversation became about Dr. Salt NEO, Tomomi thought for a moment. "I um... I don't really know? I used to go for a different branded drink back in Japan, although I... Can't actually remember the brand name. So, since I've only been here for about five years... I can't really comment on any formula changes? A-although, I am glad it tastes as good as it does. The lack of sugar helps too because while the flavour replacements aren't, um, healthy, it's still healthier than overdosing on sugar and risking diabetes!"

"Perhaps I am just overthinking it." She gave him a small nod. "Still, even if they don't have identities, there is other sensitive information that could end in wrong hands if someone did decide to go turncoat for whatever reason. The mention of Larsinny, the demon that had been mentioned before got her thinking. "Maybe I should see about talking with Larsinny. I'm hoping I just don't have the full picture here, because that just seems like a massive risk to everyone's safety." Words she capped with a shrug. There was still much she didn't know. Too hard to try and piece this all together.

"I was a lot younger when I last tasted this stuff, or at least the stuff they sold as Dr. Salt NEO back then." The blonde paused for a chuckle. How old must she seem to the young boy? I'll be honest, I really rarely drink fizzy drink like this. I usuallt jsut go for things like iced tea or mineral water. Do they still sell just regular Dr. Salt nowadays?"

At the question regarding regular Dr Salt, Tomomi scratched at his head a bit with a nod. "Ah, um, y-yeah, sorry, do you prefer the full sugar version? B-because I can make sure to get some for next time if you want, it's just that I tend to avoid having too much sugar in my diet. I guess letting a little kid decide their own diet is kind of a... Terrible idea at first, when it comes to dental costs, and general health... Yikes my first year was full of pretty bad sugar crashes aha..."

As if realising he'd detracted from the question, Tomomi gave an awkward laugh, shaking his head. "Ah, s-sorry, sorry. Well, um, to answer your question... Yeah, it's still around. Just as common as the NEO, I just have a preference for avoiding sugar heavy ones. Sorry if that's, um, you know, not to your preference."

She'd chuckle, shaking her head. "These are things I've not really been paying attention to. Stuff like what brand of soft drink happen to be around." She paused, chuckling again. "I used to actually drink stuff like this... every now and again when I was younger. Dr. Salt was actually something I really liked back then."

The look on her face, while amused, seemed to grow a little melancholic. "But then... Things happened and I kinda just stopped drinking stuff like this" Isabella tried to keep her voice neutral, but there was a certain... longing to it, her shoulders sagging slightly. Still, a smile rose onto the blonde's face again as she looked at the other. "Your concern over my preference is touching, but I'll be honest, its been so long since I actually had any original Dr. Salt that I don't think I could even make an informed decision on what I'd prefer. All I know is that this stuff is actually pretty nice."

At the mention that things happened, Tomomi tried his best to keep a poker face that still showed happiness and friendliness. Either that was the Divide, whatever cost her arms, or both. Tomomi wasn't going to bring up such a difficult topic. That would be too cruel.

Instead, as the topic of drinks faded, Tomomi enjoyed some light conversation of small talk with Isabella for a moment, and after time went by, eventually he said goodbye, waving Isabella off as she left his apartment.

That was a thought provoking but nice meet up.

[Exit]

It was nice, having some less heavy topics to discuss, even if it would sometimes dip back into something serious. It was something nice to distance herself from the monotonous grind that was every day life. Well, what had been monotonous. But with everything that had happened in the last 24 or so hours, all that had been upheaved, a whole bunch of new pieces having been dropped into her lap, which she'd have to try and fit in with her daily goings.

Things would chance in the coming days, perhaps even weeks. It wouldn't be easy, to sail through the proverbial sotrm. Yet as she waved the young man goodbye, it would give her the feeling that maybe all she needed was a beacon to help guide her. And perhaps this young man could be one of those beacons.

[Exit]