Answers. Answers are usually nice [Closed Log]

[deathrae]

Date: August 25 onwards
Characters: Ray Jones, Walter, also Lucas

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At the very least, there were perks to living directly on the high street. Ray was used to the sound of busyness happening around her at all times, and even though Mossgate was normally pretty quiet (and university had been its own kind of busy) it was still nice hearing traffic and local hoons outside as a kind of background noise.

It also means she can scope out and decide on where she wants to meet Walter ahead of time; the median strips are tempting, but in the end she goes with a cafe just nearby, and sends Walter a selfie with shark emojis.

how do you like your coffee

Comments

[mockeryofthedivine]

"Of course," Lucas says, offended that she even asks, as he moves to open another one of Ray's cupboards. He then starts re-arranging her mugs. To be sorted by colour, of course. "When have I not given you front-row seats?"

[deathrae]

Last time it had been by size, so she's not sure if this is going to be an improvement.

"I dunno." She shrugs. "People say a lot of weird stuff keeps happening around here lately. I'm allowed to be a little... wigged out, I guess."

[mockeryofthedivine]

"Weird like what?" Lucas scoffs, having found this place to be - in his experience so far - not particularly interesting at all. Downright dull, even.

But then, Lucas may also have someone impossible standards for what counted as 'exciting'.

[deathrae]

"I mean, I told you about how weird it was for the sharks to be so close to the festival, the other day," she says, bouncing her free leg. "And while we were there I met a girl, like a first year uni student? She said a guy came into the animal shelter, and next day all the cats disappeared. And how there were bluebirds everywhere for like a week - those aren't even British."

She pulls her phone out, to toy with it in her hands. Lucas probably recognises the nervous habit. "And other things too."

[mockeryofthedivine]

"The cats disappeared. What an shame," Lucas says with flat sarcasm. His dislike for the horrid creatures is certainly no secret to Ray. "And those bluebirds were clearly someone's private collection. Someone who apparently isn't very good at keeping them contained. Really Ray, surely you might have a higher bar for 'weird' than that."

[deathrae]

Ray just shrugs awkwardly. "I dunno, it just seems like a lot of small things building up."

Then she scoffs lightly. "Sadie even told me about this really dumb one - she said a bunch of people were remembering these, like- weird memories from other people's lives? That were triggered by random shit, like- like going near those sharks." That one she remembered a little belatedly. "And everyone remembered this weird unique number that they can't forget."

[mockeryofthedivine]

"Let me guess, they've all remembered that they're the reincarnation of Cleopatra?" Lucas remarks with a drawl, clearly finding the whole thing utterly ridiculous and amusing. Remembering other lives. The things his little sister believed.

But then she mentions unique numbers, and something in Lucas goes still. On the outside there's barely a reaction, just a flicker of something in his eye, some kind of recognition. But something Ray would know him well enough to pick up on.

"A number?" He says, all casual and apparently uncaring.

[deathrae]

She didn't necessarily say she believed that. Even if she does, actually.

But she definitely notices Lucas's reaction, and her own fidgeting stills. "...yeah. She said that if you write your own number down - like, on paper or on your phone or whatever - you can use whatever you write it on to communicate with other people who have numbers."

Oh geeze. Please don't say that Lucas was one too. "And people without numbers can't actually see what you're writing."

[mockeryofthedivine]

Now Lucas snorts, not even bothering to hide it. "Magic numbers that let a chosen few secretly communicate?" he waggles his fingers in the air, as if to suggest strange and nebulous magics. "Well if that isn't the most far-fetched, nonsensical piece of wish fulfilment, I don't know what is. What new-age loon told you that?"

[deathrae]

She just rolls her eyes super hard. "Whatever, Lu. If you get sucked into weird shit because you didn't even entertain the notion of it all, I get to say a big fat 'I told you so'." She untangles her legs and jumps down off the counter. "Not that I even said I do, I'm just saying that people said it."

[mockeryofthedivine]

"'Weird shit' is for television, Ray-Ray. Not for real life," Lucas says, dismissing the very idea. So what if there was a number that kept rattling around in his head, coming back to the forefront of his mind at strange and unexpected moments? That didn't mean that they were some sort of magical pass-phrase.

"Though there's something to the idea, I'll grant you that," he says, ruminating as he taps his fingers on her kitchen bench-top. "Not a complete story on it's own, but perhaps something that could add an interesting little twist. I should keep it in mine for one of my future scripts."

[deathrae]

"Life's weird, Lu. Especially for us celebrity kids." She moves closer, reaching over his arm so she can take a cup. "You could probably just make an autobio movie and make millions."

[mockeryofthedivine]

Lucas grimaces. "I can't think of anything I'd rather do less," he grumbles. "Yes, I'm quite sure that such a project would indeed make millions. But no one would be watching it for me. They'd be watching it for Dear Old Dad. And then they'd insist that I was simply making it all up. Doing it for the attention. As if I hadn't had enough of that already."

He knew the drill. Everyone was always on his father's side, never on his. He'd be dismissed once again as the ungrateful son, the bad seed.