[Sophie taps you on the shoulder, sketchpad in one hand and a small object to be determined in the other. She's smiling slightly in an attempt to put the stranger at ease.]
[A sigh. Another of those frowns, but more wry this time.]
Yeah, I have a pretty good guess.
[He may have glanced over his shoulder. And maybe he looked a little nervous for a moment there, but don't tell anyone, that'd only make things worse. He'd just rather not drag a nice but oblivious person into it.]
It doesn't look torn. More like cut.
[And he really hopes that was done with a pair of scissors and not...
[She's not that oblivious. Not to the things that actually matter, anyway. She doesn't like the sound of torn vs cut. Torn's an accident, isn't it? Cut's on purpose. Sounds like it, anyway. She shifts to put her sketchpad away, though, because all of this seems more important, at least for the moment.]
[He could give her one, but chances are he won't. She's too nice, and he's half worried she'd attempt solving other people's problems just because. His shrug, the look on his face, both clearly uncomfortable.]
[She would. Because she knows how people feel. All the time. Almost without even trying. To the point it'd hurt more not to. Mostly, though, she can tell he's feeling a bit off balance. Uncomfortable, really. And it'd probably help more that way than to get a list out of him. Hell, she doesn't even know his name right now.]
[Means he won't. Even if she wanted him to. He's got a wry expression on his face that could turn into a smile. It's grateful, if you know how to look at it. His fingers tap against the strap of his bag soundlessly. A gesture that usually means impatience, only he doesn't seem to realize he's doing anything. Doesn't seem impatient in any way besides that consistent four-beat rythm.]
[A smile again. It's like a weight's been lifted, and that's a good thing, even if it's his. She notices him tapping against his bag out of the corner of her eye. Doesn't really think much of it at the moment, really. She's still fidgeting a little bit with her's, after all. Lots of people do that. But she notices it, all the same. One-two-three-four.]
[Handshakes are awkward and seem out of place at their age. Hugs are worse. Words are enough, right? This time he manages a proper smile, at least, even if it looks like a facial expression he doesn't use much.]
So where're you headed?
[Asked mostly because he's not so comfortable standing still. The tapping stops as he shifts and hopes for a chance to start walking.]
[Words are just fine. She shrugs, again with the nonchalance. The small smile stays in place, all the same.]
Just got out of school, actually. I was drawing until I felt like going home. Why, where're you going?
[She notices he's getting a bit antsy-- she really needs a better word than that. Eager to move, does that work? Maybe he doesn't like standing still so much, although she's not really quite sure why.]
[Onetwothreefour. Once is an accident. Twice is coincidence. Three times and we have a pattern. But she doesn't really mention it, if she notices anything beyond the onetwothreefour tic he seems to have. A lot of people have tics. Although he does seem a bit. Well. On edge about it. Or something else. She's not sure.]
No, I don't really mind.
[But she doesn't want to make him upset, so she doesn't say anything, and just starts walking in the direction he pointed.]
[Everything else would be pretty stupid. He won't get lost just to get away, but he sure seems to breathe easier now. Well, a little, since they're not out of the danger zone yet. Long way to and around the park ought to do it though, and from there, he can get whereever, and hopefully if they're waiting for him on the way home, they'll have gotten tired of waiting.]
And you don't have to come along if you don't feel like it, you know?
[Company is awkward enough without a sense of obligation.]
[There's something bigger going on here, isn't there? His backpack got cut. And he's been nervous-- okay, maybe not nervous but on edge about something and trying to hide it -- ever since. So, okay, sure, this is probably just a walk in the park, literally. But not going to end up a walk in the park, metaphorically. Big difference between the two. Parallel lines that never intersect.]
Well, yeah. But it's not really like that. Don't worry about it, Koschei.
[Because she'd come along anyway. Call it being a friend, if it eases the conscience]
[Being a friend isn't something he's known to start at the moment he first meets someone. At least not since Theta.]
Alright.
[Or so he says. He might still worry about it eventually, but other things occupy his mind for the time being. When he moves around, he seems cautious, pays attention to his surroundings. Whether or not that's anything special for him is impossible to tell.]
[She can't help pick up the looking around habit. She's not as diligent about it, but she knows her way around angles, so she tries to pay attention. She's still not sure exactly what's going on, but that's not really the point. Not really. She knows he has enemies, enough to form a list, and she's not really liking the way that thought's going.]
[He's starting to wonder if he's acting strange. He doesn't notice, but obviously he wouldn't notice as he can't see himself very well. That thought aside, though, he'd really rather not tell, because telling might make her want to help. It's not that he couldn't use help, but he doesn't want it, nor does he want her in trouble on his behalf.]
[She shrugs. It's not an uncertainty thing. Just a trying to find the words thing. She pauses for a second as she tries to think, but then dashes a bit to catch back up to him.]
Nothing, really. You just seem nervous about something, like people following us, that's all.
[He's not acting strangely. She's just good at noticing these sorts of things. And she knows, if it were her, she wouldn't want to burden anyone with her problems, either. More than knows, if she's honest.]
[She doesn't have to dash, because he's paying attention: if she needs a moment to think, he'll wait, even if it confuses him a bit. Needing time to think isn't a thing he's familiar with, because his mind is at work all day every day. Still. It's basic courtesy to wait. He considers 'nothing, really' but doesn't believe she deserves to be lied in the face. So he takes a different route, points at things she already knows. Nearly laughs it off, but not quite. He's not the type for that, or maybe it's not the kind of issue to be laughed off.]
Wouldn't you be nervous if someone took something sharp to something you own?
[It takes a bit for what Koschei says to sink in. So, before it does, she nods along, and says.]
Well, yeah. Wouldn't anyone?
[Then the words sink in, and she lets out a slight 'Oh'. She tilts her head, after a moment or two. Again, a bit of trouble with the words, but she dives ahead nonetheless. She looks a bit sad. Sympathetic, might be the better word. Like there's a question she's going to ask, even though she knows she won't like the answer.]
[Yeah, he doesn't say, when he hears her 'Oh'. Just shrugs instead, a small, tense movement, because he's always tense, and why do you figure that is?]
No.
[He shakes his head, and then he looks away, because it's a "No, but," really.]
[She listens, though, crossing her arms as she does. Not in a challenge, she just feels cold. A sort of shiver, really. And she's always been... odd. Always been a bit separate from people. But that isn't the same as this. And the fact that he looks away-- that kind of says something else. Just a bit. But she won't push it. She'll let him have the lie.]
Why would they do that to you? I just... don't understand it.
[She'll ask a different question, instead. Because it's a beautiful day outside.]
[A sigh. He amends it for the tone, not the words he was going to use, because it's not her fault, and she doesn't mean harm by asking. Makes him sound deflated.]
I don't know.
[And he's not sure he wants to understand their reasoning either.]
[She understands why he'd snap, though. It must be frustrating. Still, she flounders for a second, trying to think of what to do. If there's anything at all. She wants to hug him, but they just met. Isn't that odd? Eventually, though, she does get an idea. And she smiles a bit, because of it. A different smile than the others.]
Hang on a second. I think I've got some tape in my backpack.
[She flips the backpack around to go digging through it. Beyond the colored pencils and odd bits of paper and calculator.]
[He blinks, momentarily surprised, but he waits. Hopes for tape and in the back of his head contemplates what he'll tell his father, where the cut came from that obviously wasn't a cut, not in that version of the story, and where the tape came from or rather who. Would that be a good idea to tell straight? Hard to say. Depends on how this goes.]
[It's just scotch tape. You know, the clear plastic kind? But that's not so bad, and it's better than nothing. She rummages for it successfully, all the same. For a second, Sophie thinks she'd fix up his backpack herself, but hesitates about it and just ends up passing the tape off to Koschei.]
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Yeah, I have a pretty good guess.
[He may have glanced over his shoulder. And maybe he looked a little nervous for a moment there, but don't tell anyone, that'd only make things worse. He'd just rather not drag a nice but oblivious person into it.]
It doesn't look torn. More like cut.
[And he really hopes that was done with a pair of scissors and not...
well.]
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Who'd want to cut your backpack open?
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[He could give her one, but chances are he won't. She's too nice, and he's half worried she'd attempt solving other people's problems just because. His shrug, the look on his face, both clearly uncomfortable.]
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[She would. Because she knows how people feel. All the time. Almost without even trying. To the point it'd hurt more not to. Mostly, though, she can tell he's feeling a bit off balance. Uncomfortable, really. And it'd probably help more that way than to get a list out of him. Hell, she doesn't even know his name right now.]
It's fine, by the way, if you don't.
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[Means he won't. Even if she wanted him to. He's got a wry expression on his face that could turn into a smile. It's grateful, if you know how to look at it. His fingers tap against the strap of his bag soundlessly. A gesture that usually means impatience, only he doesn't seem to realize he's doing anything. Doesn't seem impatient in any way besides that consistent four-beat rythm.]
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[A smile again. It's like a weight's been lifted, and that's a good thing, even if it's his. She notices him tapping against his bag out of the corner of her eye. Doesn't really think much of it at the moment, really. She's still fidgeting a little bit with her's, after all. Lots of people do that. But she notices it, all the same. One-two-three-four.]
I'm Sophie, by the way. Nice to meet you.
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[Handshakes are awkward and seem out of place at their age. Hugs are worse. Words are enough, right? This time he manages a proper smile, at least, even if it looks like a facial expression he doesn't use much.]
So where're you headed?
[Asked mostly because he's not so comfortable standing still. The tapping stops as he shifts and hopes for a chance to start walking.]
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Just got out of school, actually. I was drawing until I felt like going home. Why, where're you going?
[She notices he's getting a bit antsy-- she really needs a better word than that. Eager to move, does that work? Maybe he doesn't like standing still so much, although she's not really quite sure why.]
I can go for a walk with you, if you want.
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Same here. I'm not- Uhm. Well, I'd just like to get going, if you don't mind.
[And away. From the people who hopefully really only had scissors. He just gestures down one way, and wouldn't mind her coming along.]
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No, I don't really mind.
[But she doesn't want to make him upset, so she doesn't say anything, and just starts walking in the direction he pointed.]
Know where we're going?
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[Everything else would be pretty stupid. He won't get lost just to get away, but he sure seems to breathe easier now. Well, a little, since they're not out of the danger zone yet. Long way to and around the park ought to do it though, and from there, he can get whereever, and hopefully if they're waiting for him on the way home, they'll have gotten tired of waiting.]
And you don't have to come along if you don't feel like it, you know?
[Company is awkward enough without a sense of obligation.]
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Well, yeah. But it's not really like that. Don't worry about it, Koschei.
[Because she'd come along anyway. Call it being a friend, if it eases the conscience]
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Alright.
[Or so he says. He might still worry about it eventually, but other things occupy his mind for the time being. When he moves around, he seems cautious, pays attention to his surroundings. Whether or not that's anything special for him is impossible to tell.]
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Are you sure you're okay?
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[He's starting to wonder if he's acting strange. He doesn't notice, but obviously he wouldn't notice as he can't see himself very well.
That thought aside, though, he'd really rather not tell, because telling might make her want to help. It's not that he couldn't use help, but he doesn't want it, nor does he want her in trouble on his behalf.]
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Nothing, really. You just seem nervous about something, like people following us, that's all.
[He's not acting strangely. She's just good at noticing these sorts of things. And she knows, if it were her, she wouldn't want to burden anyone with her problems, either. More than knows, if she's honest.]
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Wouldn't you be nervous if someone took something sharp to something you own?
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Well, yeah. Wouldn't anyone?
[Then the words sink in, and she lets out a slight 'Oh'. She tilts her head, after a moment or two. Again, a bit of trouble with the words, but she dives ahead nonetheless. She looks a bit sad. Sympathetic, might be the better word. Like there's a question she's going to ask, even though she knows she won't like the answer.]
Does that happen to you a lot?
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No.
[He shakes his head, and then he looks away, because it's a "No, but," really.]
First time that's happened.
[Not the first time something happened.]
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Why would they do that to you? I just... don't understand it.
[She'll ask a different question, instead. Because it's a beautiful day outside.]
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[A sigh. He amends it for the tone, not the words he was going to use, because it's not her fault, and she doesn't mean harm by asking. Makes him sound deflated.]
I don't know.
[And he's not sure he wants to understand their reasoning either.]
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Hang on a second. I think I've got some tape in my backpack.
[She flips the backpack around to go digging through it. Beyond the colored pencils and odd bits of paper and calculator.]
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That'd be great!
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There you go.
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[It takes a minute to tape over the gap, from both sides to be safe
er ishand then he hands the tape back to her.]That should do it.
[Except it'll do a few other things besides, but let's not think on that. Not yet anyway.]
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