Haven IC contact

[neverleave]

"Leave a message."

Comments

audio;

[enshields]

[CHILD you are ridiculous and Steve actually just gives his head a slow shake on his end because. So ridiculous.]

All right. I'll swing by the apartment in about twenty.

[Which is also code for 'but you don't have to be there if you don't want to'.]

audio;

[neverleave]

Fine.

[He will still be there in twenty, grumping quietly on the roof. Going somewhere else would imply he actively avoids Steve, which in turn implies embarrassing things like caring.]

action!

[enshields]

[Sloshing through the ankle-deep water and mud is no picnic, but he arrives almost precisely on time and pushes open the door to their shared apartment. Finding it empty, he leaves the food carefully wrapped on the table. He's never actually seen Natsuno eat, so he has no idea of his preferences but he'd picked a wide array of food. Hopefully he'll like something.

He doesn't mind that the kid's not there, Steve can just catch him at another time. It's hard to keep tabs on somebody who doesn't want tabs kept on him, and Natsuno's better than most people than covering his tracks.

But Steve's got better hearing than most people, so when there's a slight bit of movement on the roof he cocks his head off to one side, listening. It doesn't happen again, but he thinks he's probably solved the mystery and so he picks the food back up and heads outside until he's back in the calf-deep water. He glances upward, and then calls out,]

Food's down here. Want me to bring it up?

[neverleave]

[Instead of answering, Natsuno dangles his legs off the edge and jumps down, landing with a small splash. Steve already brought it all the way to the house, he doesn't want him to climb as well.]

That looks like a lot. [Or at least varied.] No one's gonna miss it?

[Not that Natsuno is complaining. A month of food shortage is starting to take its toll, especially after the flood gave him Weird Haven Flu. He'll take anything that stops him from staring at people's necks.]

[enshields]

Nah. Doubt anybody'll even notice. Folks brought a lot.

[He holds out the dish, and gestures towards the door of their apartment. If his heart breaks a little at the no one's gonna miss it? he at least hides it well.]

C'mon.

[neverleave]

[A lot, huh? Now he's even more pissed at not being able to go. He'll be taking that dish, at least, and there will be enough eating to make up for all the times Steve didn't see him eat.]

...thanks.

[Slosh slosh splash, in we go. With water still everywhere, he's glad to have a top bunk.]

You can go back if you want.

[enshields]

[He shrugs.]

I'm not missing much. It'll still be going on in an hour or so.

[Honestly, he's a bit glad to have gotten away from the crowds. He likes his own space. Plus, it's good to see the kid actually eat.

Quietly,]

Is it the church or the crowd?

[neverleave]

[It's a good thing Natsuno has mastered the art of linefacing – a slight frown is the only hint of the cold dread settling in his stomach when Steve asks about the church. Is he suspecting something?

He chews on another bit of a food, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. Maybe it's just an innocent question, after all Natsuno was careful to not give anything away. And it won't even be a lie to say it's the latter.]

The crowd. Last week's been noisy enough.

[People bumping into him in the flood, landing on his roof, pulling him on boats…]

[enshields]

[He nods, accepting that answer easily. Not a trace of suspicion here, kid. Steve has a bit of a blind spot when it comes to people under eighteen.]

Yeah, I'm not really a fan either. I doubt we'll get much quiet from here on out, though.

[neverleave]

[He lets out a frustrated, "why me" kind of sigh.]

Probably not. I guess we should enjoy this blissful peace [It couldn't sound more deadpan if he tried] as long as we can.

[enshields]

[He hehs in wry agreement with that.]

How'd you manage with the flood?

[He has reason to believe Natsuno can take care of himself, but that's no excuse for being inattentive. Steve probably should have contacted him.]

[neverleave]

It was annoying.

[That's how you describe losing half your food, throwing up the other half and almost getting your leg bitten off by a merman, right?]

I think a ghost was following me or something, but it went away when the rain stopped.

[enshields]

[-- Sideways glance.]

What do you mean?

[It's not that he distrusts him, hardly that. It's that that could be one of Yao's experiments, and he wants to know if there's anything more specific about it.]

[neverleave]

[He shrugs.]

I kept feeling like someone was right behind me whispering things, but whenever I looked I didn't see anyone. Later I heard some dead Yao guy – Kite – was bothering people.

[It wasn't the first time he felt something was watching him. Back home time it WAS a dead person stalking him, so Natsuno really isn't surprised it happened again.]

This place has a ghost problem in general.

[He heard it from different people on different occasions, so he accepted it as true.]

[enshields]

[Huh. How about that. Steve grimaces.]

Anything in particular, or was it nonsense?

[neverleave]

They possess people when they get angry.

[He seems... weirdly unfazed by it.]

[enshields]

[Well Natsuno is weirdly unfazed by everything so that in and of itself is hardly strange. Steve's kinda used to his being unflappable by now.]

So I've heard. Did you deal with this sort of thing back home?

[neverleave]

Not with ghosts, but some people refuse to stay dead.

[Why yes that was begrudging. The undead ruin everything.]

[enshields]

[That actually gets an amused little snort, because Steve's... had his own experiences with that, honestly.]

Seems like a common problem around here. I'm going to try and see if we can find a list of the people that were here before us. Maybe if we can put a name to some of these spirits we can help them find peace.

[OR... SOMETHING? He's not exactly an expert, come on.]

[neverleave]

That Oz guy just mentioned it the other day. Helping them. You can talk to him.

[Because screw finding peace, Natsuno wants nothing to do with those things unless it's to destroy them. He has no sympathy for anything undead.]

[enshields]

Oz?

[Yeah he missed that broadcast. Steve pays almost no attention to the network.]

[neverleave]

[Good thing Natsuno stalks it, then. He runs over his phone's contact list until he comes across Oz's picture, and holds it up for Steve to see.]

This guy.

[enshields]

[He studies the boy briefly, committing his appearance to memory, and then,]

Thanks. I'll be sure and contact him.

[After a moment,]

How's the food?

[neverleave]

[Another shrug.]

Okay I guess. Food's food.

[And it's disappearing in an impressive speed that speaks volumes.]

[enshields]

[If Steve knew the word tsundere, kid...]

Well, you can thank Bucky when you see him. He did most of the cooking.

[Well, he and Steve, but downplaying his own involvement is pretty much natural to him at this point. He'd rather Buck take the credit, guy more than deserves it.]