if at first you don't succeed

[15minuteslate]

Who: Mamoru Nakamura and anyone who finds him
What: He's trying to practice with his air-walking powers somewhere no one can find him, so of course he's going to get found.
Where: Several secluded places around LCU, the outskirts of the Dead District, the warehouse-o'-parkour Riku mentioned. Basically, as soon as someone finds him in one place, he's going to move to another.
When: June 24 and 25, early afternoon and late at night.



Mamoru stood on top of a picnic table. He glared down at the ground, which seemed unreasonably far off for it just being a goddamn table. He takes a deep breath, steps out into empty air --

-- and hits the ground with a thud, kicking up a small cloud of dry dirt.

Oh well, at least he landed on his feet, he thought, climbing back up again.

No luck the second time, either. Mamoru scratched the back of his neck. What am I doing wrong?

He stood atop the picnic table like the most self-conscious king-of-the-mountain ever and huffed out a breath, hands on his hips.

Okay. Gotta focus. Gotta think back -- what did I do, when I fell out the window? How was it different from every other time I've fallen out of something?

I saw a snake monster, for one thing. But that's not gonna help me here. Uhh...

He shut his eyes.

I was in real danger of falling. It was a knee-jerk thing, a reflex.

God, I hope no one sees me doing this. I must look like a real idiot, jumping off of a freaking picnic table.

Okay, okay, so maybe if I jump off and don't try to catch myself...? he wondered. God, I hope that triggers it, or I'm going to feel REALLY dumb.

Mamoru opened his eyes. The ground seemed even further away, so he shut them again, tight.

Don't catch yourself. You're falling for real.

He stepped out.

Comments

Outside the Dead District | June 24

[icy_heavens]

[It's pretty much one of the dumbest things he's seen in a while. (Though at this point, nothing out-stupids Arthur's song.) A guy just . . . jumping off things. Repeatedly. For no apparent reason.

[... Wait. Could it be that guy from the network who was making all the really annoying ice puns at him?

[Toushirou can be remarkably unobtrusive without even trying. He's small and quiet, so he doesn't generally garner the most notice. He's standing a little ways behind the guy when he makes another presumably failed jump.]

Trying to walk on air, or is there some stupider reason you have for doing this?

[visionarykitten]

It was LCU that Gomez was currently investigating, after hours now that the worst of the festival thing was over with for the night. He was nosing into dropped bits of trash, looking for food, when the guy on the table caught his attention. A bit of fried fish still clinging to his whiskers and his tail held high, he padded over to investigate.

And stopped and stared when the boy hovered.

[doomedtheworld]

After all that talk of alien invaders, magic notepads and mysterious networks Vanessa was glad to get back to doing what she knew. Late afternoon was one of the best times to get some money, around the time when the work day ended and the downtown streets were flooded by business types too tired and frustrated by their day or preoccupied with their cell phones to pay any mind to the tiny girl bumping into them with a meek apology before hurrying away. Only a few of them had even noticed that their wallet was missing before she had made it out of earshot altogether.

Now she was back in the less busy areas near the Dead District, hurriedly pulling the cash from her prizes and discarding the wallets themselves into a garbage bin. It wasn't a bad take, enough to keep her fed for the next few days while the money from her legitimate job as Vivian went to paying off her debt with whatever she could spare going into her fund to get her out of town. Especially after all that business with the network. Whatever that was all about, it wasn't her problem, and was just another reason to run as soon as she could.

The last wallet went into the trash and she pocketed her ill-gotten money, turning to go about her way when she caught sight of somebody else. Apparently, the spot she'd chosen wasn't as secluded as she'd hoped and she frowned when she realized who it was.

Starbucks Guy. Just what she needed. What the hell was he doing out here anyway?

[scramasax]

Nearly anywhere further into the Dead District was "safe" to inconspicuously make one's way through even in daylight. Anthony ordinarily opted not to - both for further assurance's sake, and for the fact that he still could not seem to get "used" to the degree of irritation of the sun in his eyes. However less time required for sleep expanded the stretch in which to grow restless and further refreshment seemed appropriate. Hanging mix of thoughts from yesterday to air out - Mr. Lyall, as well - who had in fact made some point to ask if he was getting about, just as well.

Anthony, as usual, eased the stiffness out of his muscles when the sun started to lower, scanned the street around and scanned it well, and dragged himself on out - hood up, head low as usual, and with less mind on vigilance. He scanned further occasionally. He didn't keep so many inches close to walls. He turned on any sound he might've heard without jumping - starting, occasionally.

He found a spot to rest on the now-expected aches setting in, and when he leaned against a wall, he even dropped his hood. Quickly scratched and ran fingers through his hair, took the biggest pleasant, slow breath of evening air his lungs seemed willing to hold.

No thought to look up while sliding and settling into the spot for a person stepping off a ledge overhead.