October Catch-all

[girod]

WHO: Clark and you!
WHAT: catch all for October, questing, plot, etc.
WHERE: wherever
WHEN: October throughout
WARNINGS: none so far
NOTES: If you'd like a starter set up, feel free to ping on yarnzipan; otherwise, feel free to tag him wherever. I'm happy to roll with stuff!

[ Clark's going to put his nose to the grindstone even more than he has been, with Bruce gone. You'll find him at the cafe, scouting out spots for a waterway throughout town and you'll find him scouting various metallic objects and resources wherever he might find them. Sometimes he's on the ground, sometimes he's in the air, but the main thing people might notice is that he's just a little... distant.

Don't worry: it's nothing personal.

The one place he'll always be found is near the well, in the field there, in the mornings: as promised, he's happy to help people learn about meditation in whatever form works best for them. ]

Comments

cafe!

[spiria]

[ Heyo, she spends a lot of time at the cafe as well. Kohaku hasn't had a lot to do since getting here, so she just spends time with people she knows at least a little bit. She's been a bit shy about talking to people but she's starting to warm up to the idea now that it's been some time.

Distant seems to be the general mode of people she knows so far, so she's not all that surprised to see this guy is the same way. There is a small teenage girl sitting next to Clark now at the cafe. ]

Are you enjoying the food?

[ It's as good an icebreaker as any. ]

[girod]

[ Most of his time in the cafe is back in the kitchen, but he's been out having his own lunch while he works on the problem of the water system. He has a few different pieces of homemade paper out on the table, sketches on a few of them and notes on others, and he needs a moment as he looks up at-

Oh, hello. ]

Yes, actually.

[ Blink. ]

And... you?

[spiria]

[ She's glad he reacted to the sudden conversation well! She smiles at him now that she has his attention and nods in response to his question. ]

Yes, of course!

[ Kohaku notes the sketches. ]

Could I ask about what you're working on? It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I'm just curious.

[girod]

[ He looks down, and he only realizes as he does that it's not immediately obvious with a slight chuckle before shaking his head. ]

I don't mind.

And I'm working on figuring out a water system for the town. Something that would allow for water heating and proper distribution.

[spiria]

[ Kohaku perks up a little at that. ]

Oh, wow! That would really come in handy. I've only been here for a short time, but I have definitely noticed there's not much in the way of heated water ...

[ She wants to offer her own help, but honestly, she knows nothing about the mechanics behind that kind of thing. Plus, she only just met this man, so it might seem weird to just offer help to someone whose name she doesn't even know yet. ]

[girod]

[ He can't help a bit of a wince with his chuckle.]

Yes, I know. And I know there are a few people with the means to help themselves, but I know we need something that everyone can use.

[spiria]

Mhm. I agree.

[ She glances back at the diagrams. ]

It's a great thing you're doing for this place. I'm still trying to figure out something I can do to help, really.

@tonbokiri - his house

[girod]

[ As promised, he'll be in the house all day working on some soap. Or rather, soap components. After all, no one wants to be in a town full of stinky people... ]

Oct 3

[youwillbeunequaled]

[Although Tonbokiri comes by later than he was hoping to, it is still only the late afternoon by the time he arrives. Knowing a little better what to expect now, at least on the pumpkin carving front, he is wearing an orange yukata with the sleeves tied back. As always, he carries his spear with him.

He greets the man warmly and nods at him.]

My thanks again for having me over, Kent-dono. Again, I shall be in your care today.

Before the pumpkin carving, however, I should share some important news with you. [His expression becomes more serious, but with little gravity for good reason.] The skeleton army that we were warned of in the forum have arrived. However, there is positive news. The group I encountered was small, and although armed they are extremely weak. Even a young man without any powers or exceptional strength was able to defeat one. [Sorry for calling you weak, Asano-dono. But your (unintentional) hit did good.]

I trust Ichinose-dono to take matters of our organization into hand over however long this quest lasts, but at least we can be assured that our enemy is not particularly deadly. Yet, although easily defeated, I personally recommend remaining vigilant. One never knows what the town will do next.

[girod]

[ That has him standing up a little straighter. ]

I don't hear anything at the moment.

[ Because if he did, he'd be out on the front lines, helping, but thankfully, that doesn't appear to be happening right this moment. Or at least, there's no fighting going on.]

But I'll keep an ear out, especially on my patrols. Thank you, Tonbokiri. I appreciate the warning. Don't worry, though. I can take care of myself.

[ He gestures towards the inside of his house and steps back to welcome him in.]

So you mentioned never having pumpkin pie or baked seeds but... have you ever carved gourds before?

[youwillbeunequaled]

[He doesn't hear anything...? Kent-dono's powers are truly exceptional.
It's a relief to know that they will be able to deal with pumpkins in peace for now, though!

He nods in reply to the thanks. He has no doubt Kent-dono will be fine.

As he enters the house he looks slightly abashed.]

No, not until just before I came here, to be honest. Asano-dono was kind enough to give me a lesson in it, before the skeletons interrupted. So hopefully I will not hold you back in our carving now. But I admit, there is still much about this I do not know about, so your instruction and explanation will be most welcome.

[girod]

[ He gives a nod in reply to that as he walks over to where he's brought in a couple of pumpkins, and he already has the carving implements out.]

I'm assuming you've learned the basics. How about we get started on our pumpkins and I'll offer advice if it looks like you need it?

[youwillbeunequaled]

That sounds good, thank you.

[So Tonbokiri settles himself with one of the pumpkins, takes up a knife, and starts poking a circle around the stem in the top.
For as fearless as Tonbokiri usually is, he is oddly careful about how he handles the small knife, his brow knit in concentration and eyes focused on his cutting. This is not wood carving, but it is close enough to make him wary.
When he speaks, he fully stops his work and looks up.]

Kent-dono, you are not from Japan, correct? Could you tell me about what meaning this tradition has in your experience?

[catlady]

[ He tells her whistling isn't necessary, but she does it anyway. It feels weird talking into the void and expecting him to hear it and it saves her the weirdness of all the other ways he might be able to identify her presence. She's a little earlier than is probably reasonable, but she can't sleep. Might as well get this over.

The whole no-sleep thing is probably obvious. Selina looks like crap and there's no disguising it behind a few layers of makeup or some designer threads. She just looks sad and tired and a little thin around the face. She stands in front of the library, grinding the toe of her boot against the ground as she waits for him and if she blinks maybe he'll just appear. ]

Hi, Clark.

[girod]

[ Clark looks fine. The kind of fine that says, to anyone with the kind of eyes that can pull a con, that is utterly manufactured. He's fine because he needs to be fine. Because the situation requires that he be fine.

But he has a cup of once-again-steaming 'coffee' for her and a little paper bag with the closest thing this place can get to bagels.]

Morning, Selina.

[catlady]

[ And Selina's hard to fool, but if he doesn't call her out on what an absolute mess she is, she won't call him out on whatever bullshit he's got going on here. Call it solidarity or whatever.

She takes the cup, swirling the contents curiously. She trusts him, but she's also kind of stalling for time here and she glances between him and the cup before she finally brings it to her lips and takes a sip. ]

Weather's... [ Not nice. Shitty. Cold. Fitting for a mood. ] been interesting.

[girod]

It's fall.

[ He glances at the coffee that he'd given her and, well... it's not a pumpkin spice latte but he'd done a decent approximation. There was a lot of pumpkin at his house.]

How've you and Damien been getting on?

[catlady]

[ It's the closet thing she's going to get to a fancy latte of any kind in this place, she'll take it. Selina takes another sip as she responds with a shrug of her shoulders. ]

Damian... seems about as well as one can imagine.

[ She's, you know, 'giving him his space,' but she's not entirely sure either of them are really giving each other space. Another, longer sip. She's avoiding the 'you' part of the question. ]

[girod]

[ Clark's not exactly offering much. Or pressing. Their 'friendship', such as it is, is a little tentative for him to be doing that. Instead, he takes a sip of his own drink. ]

Jon had a thought. Well, two thoughts. I wanted to run them by you. See what you thought.

Well

[inheritance]

[Just as promised, Izuku trots over to the well bright and early the morning after Clark's post to meet him there for lessons. Meditation lessons, specifically.

While his interest in the meditation techniques is real, they also give him plenty of opportunities to check up on Clark, too. That part is the most important in the end.]

Kent-san! [Izuku gives him a cheerful little wave when he gets there.] Good morning.

[girod]

[ Clark gives him a cheerful smile in reply and a nod of his head; he's wearing the Superman suit, mostly because it's the one that lets him move around the most freely, but the cape is folded over a fence. ]

Good morning, Izuku. Glad you came. How've you been?

It seems like a little while since I saw you in person.

[inheritance]

It really has been a while. [The smile gets returned twofold, Izuku looking extremely cheerful considering the early hour.] But now that I'm taking the meditation lessons from you, we'll see each other a lot more often, right?

You're wearing your hero suit! [Izuku brightens up even more.] Does that mean you've been telling a lot more people?

[girod]

It seemed like the thing to do. So yes, I suppose I am.

[ It's easier to be Superman than it is to be Clark, especially right now. Without Bruce, without Lois, he barely feels like Clark at all. He needs to be for Jon, but otherwise-]

I'm glad you're looking forward to it. I'm not sure how many lessons you might need. It's just a matter of finding your best method, after all.

[inheritance]

Guess we'll find out! [He's more than ready to learn, so it's actually disappointing to think he might not need more lessons. What a nerd.]

There are different methods to it?

[girod]

There are.

[ He reaches over and taps his hand on the edge of the well, rhythmic and consistent.]

You can meditate through sound.

[ He draws back and starts repeating a movement with his legs. Left and right and left and right, clearly concentrating, clearly keeping the rhythm in his head.]

Through fast movement.

[ Slow down into something that's clearly a kata of some sort.]

Or slow.

[ He smiles over at Izuku. ]

There's also chanting, guided meditation, and the more traditional 'sit down and empty your mind' kind. Different types for different people.