[Action/Open] Goofing off on campus~

[shiromadoushi]

WHO: Bakura and whomever's on campus
WHAT: Bakura's chilling out, enjoying the sun and doodling instead of doing his homework
WHEN: 4/25, afternoon
WHERE: LockU quad


Warm sunny days in spring started the great student migration out of the dorm and on to the lawn. Sunbathers trying to avoid the ultimate frisbee players, who in turn were dodging cyclists who were dodging lazy strollers, all while professors attempted to hold outdoor classes despite the speakers turned facing out of dorm windows to blast the quad with dueling tunes.

Typical spring on campus, really.

Bakura had set up on one of the less used picnic tables, his book bag at his side as he studiously worked on-- wait no, his school work was still firmly in the bag and his sketch pad was out on the table, slowly being filled with sketches of dragons, castles, horrible monsters and heroic... tapirs.

Well. One of them anyway, wearing medieval armor and wielding a sword as he charged the foreboding castle in the distance. And if the castle looked oddly Egyptian, that was totally not Bakura's intent. But he was hardly paying attention to much, enjoying the weather and the happy chaos around him more than to his pencil on the paper.

Comments

[abidan]

[ Emery is in the middle of a break between lectures when he spots Bakura by the picnic tables. It's a beautiful day—he's not at all surprised to see him out enjoying the sun—and since this is the first time he's spotted any hint of him since the events of Sunday evening ...

Well. Someone has to keep an eye on people, and it might as well be Emery. He does, after all, tend to be a little more observant than your average third-year. ]

Bakura?

[ He smiles, warm and open, as he approaches the doodling teen. His own bag is slung over his shoulder and there's a sketchbook of his own under his arm: it's stuffed with crumpled sheets of paper and cuts of material—anything that could inspire a new texture to work with. ]

D'you mind if I sit with you?

[shiromadoushi]

[[The teen looks up, blinking once before giving a small smile]] Not at all.

[[he shifts down a little so he's not in the center of the table, unceremoniously nudging his bag off the bench so that it falls to the ground before flipping to a fresh sheet.]]

Emery... was it? [[he really needed to get better at names...but he was pretty sure he had that one right.]]

[struckout]

[ This time of the semester is always a little stressful, even without one being pulled into mysterious, supernatural conspiracies. As suspicious as she is, though, Kallie knows she can't just sequester herself away, neglecting those things she needs to still appear 'normal.'

However, while generally neutral most of the time, there's no denying her attitude has taken a dive for the sour- something that definitely shows in her frowning as she walks from class back to her dorm... and only strengthens when she sees Bakura. She's never really spoken to him directly except for text, but all the same he's easily recognizable from that meeting in Lyall's classroom by his unusual hair.

She pauses, thoughts warring with themselves in her head... but then carefully approaches, resettling the weight of her bag over one shoulder. ]

What are you doing here...?

[ Not exactly the best of greetings. Regardless, he might still recognize her from said meeting in turn- as that woman there who simply hung around line-facing rather than inputting much. 8| ]

[shiromadoushi]

[[That was the major disadvantage to being the only teenager with white hair around. Always stuck out.

And if Bakura bothered to look up, he likely would have recognized her. As it was, he kept doodling.]]

Original research on the springtime rituals of the college undergrad. [[the sarcasm was heavily evident in his voice.]] What does it look like I'm doing?

[struckout]

[ -- Okay then.

For her next act, Kallie... simply stands there, brows drawing and lips pressing together. What is the deal with these network people being so damn sassy in real life, anyway? It's not like she's making a habit of harassing anyone...!

... 8| ]

[shiromadoushi]

[[Comes with being a teenager with a chip on his shoulder. Or really, just being a teenager.

Still, the fact that she says nothing, and yet still stands there, watching, catches Bakura off guard. Normally people either sassed him back or laughed or made some sort of snappy comment... Silence was... odd.

So he does finally glance over, only to pause and blink.

Huh. Familiar face. Not that it meant too much, he vaguely recognized a lot of people on campus just by virtue of people watching so often. But this... ]]

...do I know you from somewhere?

[struckout]

... That network. Mr Lyall's little meeting a while back.

[ She turns her head away as she speaks, tone pitched low. She's still wary of admitting that sort of thing, regardless of situation; maybe the chances of being watched or whatever were practically nonexistent here, but... one didn't watch a teenager get murdered without coming out on the other side extra cautious.

At least when you're already as serious in nature as Kallie is. ]

[shiromadoushi]

Aaa! Right! Sorry I wasn't... really paying too much attention to whomever else was there, that time... [[what, with all the rest of everything going on...]]

So you go here, then? Or just haunt campus because you can?

[struckout]

Mm...

[ Real understanding, she is, regarding too much going on. She tries not to think about how she's contradicting her attempts not to learn too much about the people she'd seen there too, to the point of trying to deliberately block out their names.

She kind of clenches her jaw at the question, but it's not like denying it would be any good. Only the barest of helpfully: ]

Yeah.

[shiromadoushi]

[[He can't help but notice that and wonder a touch. Was she mad at him or something...?]]

... not much for talking, huh? End of semester burn out...?

[struckout]

[ She's not really mean-natured, just wary! Not that the difference is that apparent when she standing and crossing her arms like so. She looks aside, a bit uncomfortably. ]

I just wanted to ask what you were doing here.

[ Like she asked to begin with... although now it seems kind of silly of her. Fantastic. ]

[shiromadoushi]

[[....that uncomfortable look... oh god, not another girl with a crush, please not another one...!

He looks down at his sketch pad, starting up a new doodle. More tapirs. This one's just a normal one, however.]]

I spend a lot of time here. Not especially doing anything in particular.

[struckout]

[ SHE'S TWENTY-ONE, WOW. Also, asexual. :| ]

Why not the high school...?

[ Not trying to pry, but the question comes out immediately anyway. Nobody in her social circles at least - that she was aware of - ever just went to the university to... hang out, when she was in high school. It strikes her as odd. ]

[shiromadoushi]

[[He would be relieved to hear it! Because college girls can be scarey as hell when they don't stop to think of the age difference.... and he really wasn't into that kinda thing.]]

[[A shrug]] I have to be there enough of the day, why would I want to hang out after?

[struckout]

[ Kallie just stops, still kind of baffled. Several thoughts come to mind (because that's where his friends would be? why not go home instead?), but she holds them back, suddenly finding herself in a state of potential awkwardness that she's not even sure exists or not.

Past the point of rote-like small talk, she's... not that good with navigating conversations with those she doesn't know. Never mind this is a teenager and she's... not one of those any more.

How do you people? ]

[shiromadoushi]

[[He continues to draw, not looking over]] So, you local or doing summer session or are you gonna be gone from crazy town once finals are over?

[[It was mostly an idle question, the silence bugging him.]]

[struckout]

No, I'm stuck here.

[ Almost overly neutral. All her family's here, so yeah no escape for her basically. ]

[shiromadoushi]

[[a small snort with a smile]] Stuck, huh? I guess that's one way to look at it....

[struckout]

It's true.

[ Not even defensive. It's just... it's just totally true, for all intents and purposes, so she's simply matter of fact about the matter. ]

[shiromadoushi]

[[He looks over at her, curious]] Do you not like it here or something? That you say it that way....

[struckout]

It's where all this... nonsense is happening, right?

[ She lifts a hand, gestures slightly. She definitely didn't ask for this crap, you know. ]

[shiromadoushi]

Far as we know. [[he shrugs, resuming his doodling, this timeof a stylized half man, half snake creature.]] Could be happening a lot of places, but since we're here, this is what we know...

[struckout]

[ Fair point, but... god, what is even the point of this conversation? The decision to reroute from heading back to her dorm is really starting to cement itself in Kallie's mind as a mistake, and immediately it's obvious her attention has started to wander, eyes going half-hidden behind lashes as she turns her head away.

... Yeah, so apparently, her decision in the choice between dragging this out more or walking away is the latter. Resettling her bag's strap on her shoulder, she backs up a step, already turning. ]

[shiromadoushi]

[[He looks up, blinking]] Remembered somewhere you had to be?

[struckout]

[ She glances at him again, but yeah, she's totally disengaged now, committed instead to getting out of here as soon as possible. Maybe she shouldn't have approached him at all... she doesn't know what she was thinking-- ]

Just be careful.

[ And with that warning she's off. Sorry, kid. ]