32/Good At Lying

Good At Lying
Date of Scene:	04 July 2023
Location:	Dorms
Synopsis:	Koji comes in late this time, and Darien is still the one who gets lectured! >:O
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Koji Silvia

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Koji Silvia has posed:
Coming back from Pikarigaoaka is a bit of a jaunt when you don't have the options to fly like a lot of other Device Mages. But it's the price Koji pays for a suite of other useful things

Blended into the background enough standing in the bushes like he is, there's no way he can be seen from the dorm windows or by the campus' security cameras. Holding a Blade in one hand, Koji throws a second up towards the window.

    << MASKED SENSOR. >>

The blade's energy edge turns off, followed by it vanishing as easily as Koji is, and it floats there in front of the window, checking to see if his roommate is in, if the lights are on, and generally trying to see if the coast is clear.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The lights are off, the window's open because it's actually a relatively breezy night on campus, it's nice. There's a pile of Darien-shaped lump in Darien's bed, which is probably Darien, but who the hell knows around here. Especially when Darien is made of Situations.

Well. The Blade can see that Darien's glasses are on the nightstand, so it probably is him, asleep.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Still not used to the thought interface of Devices even after all this time, Koji whispers, "What's the dark energy level like tonight?"

    << Scanning now, Young Master. >>

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It turns out there's a low haze of it tonight -- not dangerous levels, just more than usual. Maybe Darien tracked evil mud in from work. Maybe a lot of things, really-- point is, the EQI is Moderate.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Looking over the display that comes up, Koji shifts the Blade on a sweep, and then with a frown he sends it around the side for the floor's hall window. A little mana-string to ensnare it, open it, and then shut it again, he navigates the extension of the device down the hallway until it's on the other side of the door from the hall, towards where he would naturally be coming from.

    << POINT WARP. BLADE 2. >>

Dropping into the hallway, he shifts out of his Barrier Jacket and back to normal, checking both sides of the hall to make sure no one just walked out and saw him. When it's clear, he exhales a heavy breath of relief... and then walks to the door of the dorm room and makes sure to 'accidentally' jiggle the handle once before opening it, and slipping inside.

Playing the role of being just as delinquent as Darien tonight, it seems...

Once the door is closed, he pulls his phone out, letting the light illuminate his face as he sets a remainder for tomorrow. 'Purify Dorm Room'.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"...did you need a rope or something? You can just text me," mumbles Darien from under the covers. "Or do you not like climbing."

He doesn't turn on the light, but he does push the covers away from his face, and ... there, yes, it's a light from outside that's hitting just right to reflect on his eye from the side-- they're not literally glowing. Strange that the blue is evident in such dim light, though.

He doesn't bother sitting up, just looks at Koji sideways. "You okay?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji replies softly, "If you didn't see me sneak in, you don't have to lie that I snuck in."

He moves over to sit down on his bed, starting to take off his boots from his not-at-school clothes and push them under the single-frame, "I ran into a cat when I was out at Penguin Park. I had to hit a Konbini to get it some dinner, and by then well... you know how it is with time getting away from you."

From a pocket of the vest, he takes out one of those squeezeable cat treats and tosses it into the bin in the room, "There was an ice cream guy there. No Dippin Dots, but he kinda got... worn down real quick."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I'm good at lying," murmurs Darien. "I don't mind lying for you." He yawns and scrubs a little at his face. "Anyway if you come in through the door and the halls you're a lot more likely to be seen. So text me if you can't get up the side yourself."

He's listening, but clearly drifting off to the mental image of cats -- "I like cats <3" he says -- until the last thing Koji says, and suddenly Darien's more awake. "Wait, the ice cream guy, not the people around him? Was he okay?"

Koji Silvia has posed:
With his back to you, Koji opens up the armoire on his side of the dorm room, and hangs up his vest before putting his clothes in his hamper for washing later at home, "I took pictures, promise. But..." he pauses, then reaches down and pulls on a fresh t-shirt, "Look, if I tell you what I think I saw you need to promise not to laugh at me. I'm not crazy."

With his face hidden like that, there's no way to see the naked tension of the moment, but his shoulders have a certain tightness to them.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I wouldn't," says Darien seriously, his voice quiet and firm. "And I won't think you're crazy."

He doesn't sound hurt or exasperated, just -- he just sounds like he should. He sounds like the Darien that caught the cellphone candy, or the one who helped with the phone, or the one who called Koji about where to take cats he found a couple months ago.

And if the Blade were to take a reading of the dark energy in the room now, it would be lower than it was when Koji came in.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Swapping into shorts and shucking his socks finally, Koji wanders over to his bed takes off his glasses. They go into his case before he expertly turns and flops into his bed. Even worn out he's just graceful!

And then he proceeds to lie by omission by speaking from the perspective of the civilian, "So... out of nowhere, this girl comes out and demands a fudge popsicle from the ice cream man. I hear this from the woods. I look up, and suddenly he's sucked into this hole and replaced with this monster thing... like... huge. A couple of seconds later, four or five girls dressed in bright costumes, one of them with a spear even... come out of the bushes like velociraptors from Jurassic Kingdom."

He pauses, and then closes his eyes, "The weird thing is... after a couple seconds, everything was gone. I was feeling suddenly really tired, so I left. End of story."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Darien doesn't laugh, though there's a sound at the word 'velociraptors'. He's silent for a moment afterwards.

Then his voice comes out of the semidarkness again. "You were lucky those girls were there. You see something like that again, don't wait for the girls to show up, just run."

Koji Silvia has posed:
There is a big, long, ominous pause from Koji.

"Is that what really happened with the whole Dippin Dots thing?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Yes."

There isn't anything else, but to Darien's credit, there's also no hesitation.

Koji Silvia has posed:
From the other side of the room, there's the sound of shuffling as Koji shifts to sleeping on his side with his face to the wall hiding away as he reaches down to touch the blue gem on the smartwatch he didn't take off to go to sleep...

"You should quit the intern program. Obsidian isn't what you think it is, Darien. Just... do school, be popular, get yourself good enough grades you can get a scholarship grant to a college in like... America, or Great Britain or something."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Can't," comes Darien's voice, and there's something so-- tired about it. Tired and sharp-edged and maybe just a little bit raw. There's something else in there, too, but there's a lid tightly on it. "You talk with Counselor Inai or something? She tried to tell me my job was shitty today, too. But I can't quit. Please don't ask me to again."

A beat. "Please. I like you a lot, okay."

If Koji's looking, yes: the dark energy spiked a little bit there.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Sadly, unless he has a Blade out, and a visible screen up... which would be very noticable... he's not able to tell exacts. But the gem on his watch does shimmer a bit and settle again in a manner that causes him to stroke it like he's comforting it.

"I won't ask again. I've said it, you heard it... it's done. Just like the touching thing."

Another long pause, "You know, since we're both not sleeping, want me to kick your butt in mobile chess again? You're still down two games."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The pause on Darien's end after the question is long, too, and something settles in the room, at its edges, in the shadows, in the dark.

Finally, "Sure. And-- sorry. And thanks."

A screen turns on and lights up the other tenth-grader's face, and mobile chess is harmless, and maybe it won't be okay, but they can pretend a little while longer.

They're both good at lying.