circle7 | event!

Never heard it in my life.

[Jayden rubs his head in the dark, scooting back so no more... clicky toy things hit him.]

Try New York.

New...York.

[He says it with the unfamiliarity and hesitance of someone who has obviously never heard the name in his life - odd, for a globally significant city. Is there a place on Gran Pulse named that?]

Well, don't worry about PSICOM then. It isn't important.

[There is the soft padding sound of someone pressing their hands up against the walls, the ceiling.]

Where are we?

[A pause. And then a yell.]

Light! Snow!

[Is this kid delusional or what? This is probably a god damn joke by Blake. Where'd he even come from? Rather than yell random words at the door, Jayden feels around his waist for his gun. No luck. Must've left it at his desk before this happened.]

I don't think yellin' random words is gonna help much.

[Feeling along the walls, Jayden searches for the knob, knocking now and then. Maybe there's a hallow spot they can bust through if there's no door.]

[Then, back on the previous topic:]

...So how've you never heard of New York?

[Hope turns to the direction of the voice, canting his head.]

They're not random words. They're names. And I've never heard of a 'New York' on Cocoon. Is it near Palumpolum?

[It's dark, but...]

Do you have something I can set on fire?

Palum... what? I've been in Philly for a while now.

[Hope speaks up again before he ask any further questions.]

Something you can set on fire?

[Jayden makes a disbelieving sound, between a scoff and sigh.]

You kids these days...

[A bit of shuffling, then a click - simple lighter. It illuminates the man's face, who looks a bit younger than his talk makes him seem. He makes no move to hand it to Hope, just looking for the doorknob. Looks like he was looking on the wrong side of the closet. Looks like an average janitor's storage room.]

[Hope frowns a little - being treated like a kid again, huh. As Jayden moves to look around...the fire suddenly flares. Good job, Jayden. Now you're holding a friggin' bonfire.]

H-hey, what the hell?!

[Jayden jumps back, shaking out his hands. He didn't hold it long enough to get burned, but enough to get startled. The lighter clacks to the ground, and the agent does an awesome job of stepping right into one of those knocked over buckets and slipping back down to the floor.]

[All that mess (Jayden included) knocks Hope right off his feet. The lighter clicks shut, plummeting them into darkness again, and well...Jayden, sorry about this, but you're the only thing cushioning Hope's fall. His face ends up smashed into the wall, though - he stumbles to his knees, more than actually keeling over.]

Whoa!

[His kneecap smarts, but he's not about to complain (nope, got all of that out of him with Lightning.]

...Are you okay?

[A pale green light this time, from the palm of his hand, as he holds it over his own leg.]

Ungh...

[What a pain in the ass. Whoever did this... Ugh. He rubs the back of his head, where he hit the wall himself. Jayden stays seated, and who can blame him - he's never seen actual glowing hands. He stares for a long moment, before he gets a more incredulous expression.]

... What was that trick just now?

Which?

What d'ya mean 'which'? That... green stuff.

[It's dark again, and Jayden lost the lighter on the floor somewhere. He feels around before making any moves to get up. I could use ARI... No, too risky. Not with this kid here.]

It's a healing spell. If you were hurt, I could do it for you, too.

[By nature, he always offers his help, even though it's not always needed. While Jayden moves up, Hope runs his hand across the floor until he finds the lighter tucked into a corner by his foot. He flicks it on (a strange, archaic invention, but not necessarily hard to use), and it once again flares into a larger fire to dimly light the closet. Using offensive magic in such a small, confined area was out of the question otherwise.]

A healin' spell? You gotta be kidding me.

[Now that there's a light, and he's on two feet, he gives the kid a flat look. (He still jumps back when the flame grows, this time careful about stray buckets. Great. I'm stuck in a closet with some over-imaginative kid with fancy tricks.]

That's dangerous, y'know.

[A small smile, tinged with wryness - it's an adult look, perhaps he learned it from Lightning.]

I know. That's why I learned it.

[Ope, time to change the subject.]

Did you find a lock?

...You lost me. But yeah. The knob, at least.

[His arm is extended out, fingers gripped around the door knob as though it'll just up and leave if he lets it go. There's no keyhole that he can feel, and it only wiggles a little.]

Locks from the outside, probably...

Say, you don't happen to have one of those intercom devices, do you?

[The guy may not be from PSICOM, but perhaps he has access to similar technology. If only he could summon Alexander from outside. He wasn't about to try his luck, though - should it appear inside, both of them would be squashed in an instant.]]

Sorry, you're outta luck, there. Hold on a sec.

[Jayden backs up a step, and readies himself to kick the door down.]

[Hope recognizes that stance. Looks like Jayden wants to pull a Snow. He has a lot of practice with what to do when that happens - he pushes himself back into the closet as far away from Jayden as possible.]

[Good kid after all. Three... two... one-]

Nngh!

[Jayden's leg raises, then foot slams into the door. He almost regrets it - that wood is tough. But, he did feel it give way under the impact, just a bit. He gets ready to try again.]

[Well, not as graceful as Lightning, but it does the trick. The door snaps on its hinges, swinging open with such force that it hits the adjacent wall and nearly ricochets right back into Jayden's face. Hope's eyes squeeze shut as the sudden light pierce sinto the closet, shielding his face with his hands.

Now that it's not too dark to tell, Hope blinks as his vision adjusts. Jayden is tall, he notices, and dressed...very oddly. Thankfully, his reserved nature keeps him from saying anything.]

Thanks, mister...?

[Guess all that fighting paid off after all. Jayden brushes off his clothes, dirtied from falling all over the closet.]

Norman Jayden, FBI. You?

[He's dressed weird? This kid is the one who looks out of place. (Although both of them look out of place when standing around in a janitor's closet.)]

[Hope glances past Jayden for a second. The man was still standing right in the doorway. The boy sways slightly from side to side, but there's no room to slip past him. Oh well.]

Hope Estheim. What's an 'FBI'?

[Come to think of it, the kid's behavior would make sense if he wasn't from the US. But he's never heard of a place called Cocoon or Polumpalum - whatever it was.]

You ain't from around here, huh?

[Although 'here' is a rather vague term considering that, introductions aside, they're lead into another closet. Too early to celebrate after all.]

...You're kiddin' me.

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