Karma is a fair bitch

Cian responds with a small grimace of his own, but it might be one of sympathy. One person in the family doing something, and the rest risk trouble for it as well. Only in his case, he was the one that had caused potential trouble for his family. Sharing name with the one behind the lockdown could paint a target on your back. Cian did not envy the position.

"Sounds rough. I hope it does not give you too much trouble, though I suspect it does." Might as well be polite about it. "I can sort of understand wanting to get hold of the one responsible for the attack, but... Well, from what I can gather, the tension from the lockdown is just a recipe for something else to blow, one way or the other." He muttered as he followed onto the train once it arrived, and onward to the seats. Cian hesitated to sit and took a look at the map, as if double-checking after he had been asked about his stop. "Yeah, that seems about right."

He took the seat closest to the window and let his gaze drift over the platform outside, over the people moving through the train car. Eventually he slumped against the backrest of the chair and looked towards Sunjata again. "Name's Cian, by the way. Sorry if I have given off a bit of a weird first impression. I am usually not this... Stressed out. Had not planned to get stuck here for this long and my family will start wondering soon. probably." At least that wasn't a lie. It was not the whole truth, but the truth none the less.

Sunjata

i bank on the funeral,

“Your suspicions are correct.” Sunjata remarks, a small crooked smile blooming on his face. The fact that he’d never gone into the Drench for long stretches of time only to be shoved in for the overnight lockdown patrols that even he didn’t believe in? It’s been a tough adjustment and the young Bratena is trying his best to make the most of it. “That’s exactly what I think about it. But we’ll see, right now there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding it.” And when it does blow up hopefully he might have the balls to tell his father I told you so.

He won’t, but he can dream about it right?

They sit, though, and eventually Cian offers up his name to which Sunjata responds with a nod and a softer smile. “I don’t blame you. I would be too.” He rumbles softly, shrugging a shoulder and lets his steel gaze drift out the window as the train starts to move. “I’ve only left Ok’Kotoll a few times, I can’t imagine getting stuck somewhere that isn’t home for a prolonged period of time not by choice.” It sounds terrible and there’s sympathy in the tone as he glances back at Cian.

“The Heads are starting to figure out what to do so you might have an answer soon.” He offers, though he doesn’t know more details than that – overhearing his father’s comments over the phone of such a meeting. "Do you have any questions about the city? We have time to kill and I can do my best to answer them to make it easier for you."

'cause i learned all my lessons that way

CIAN

As the train started to move, there wasn't much else to do than to sit, relax and remember to breathe. The ride would take the time it takes and continuing being stressed would not change a thing. The whole situation would not change one way or the other from him freaking out, so he might as well work on going with it. Right now, he could make some mental notes about what he was being told; the man he met was the son of the one that had issued the lockdown. Said son also claimed to be against the decision. Good to know. What he would do with the information, he did not know. Perhaps there was nothing to do with it, but one could never know.

Cian tipped his head sideways to rest it against the wall while he was looking out the window, slowly nodding while Sunjata was explaining that the situation might be looked into. His face took on a more thoughtful expression when the topic about the city came up. After spending a handful of seconds thinking, he glanced from the window to Sunjata.

"Well, if you could tell about some nice places a lost tourist should see or visit during their stay, I am all ears." He chuckled softly. "And perhaps places one should avoid. I do not want to take any more wrong turns right now and end up stuck. Again." It wasn't anything like dark alleys or back streets that were his main concern. He had moved around in such areas a lot in his less legal youth. It was more which areas contained the dangerous people. A dark street itself was harmless. Shadows could not harm you, people could.

The reader of this text has standing permission for responsible powerplay and to use physical/magical force against this character.
Instant killing and permanently maiming not included.

Sunjata

i bank on the funeral,

Technically, Cian could do a lot with the information. Sell it to the paparazzi, turn him in for not believing so wholly into the cause his father has made that he gets retrained, Cian might even get paid for that one. But that’s neither here nor there, and Sunjata isn’t about to tell the other man what to do with the information. After all, it only ends in bad news for the young enforcer who’s already got the bad end of the stick when it comes to being on the front lines in the Drench.

“Hmm…” He begins, reaching up to tap at his chin before he leans forward and snags a little paper map of the Plates that he unfolds between them to be able to point some locations out. “PO5E is always good to go to for souvenirs or experiences. The loop is a good combination of the Plates and the Drench, but if you want a fancy version of Drench food I’d stick to the Edge. The Grease Trap is a nice little Drench style cafe.” He points it out before moving on. “The Core can be expensive and you have to go through a checkpoint to get in, but it’s got good bars.” Probably because Sunjata unfortunately has expensive taste when it comes to his alcohol.

As for places to avoid? Well… “If you act like a Plater in the Drench you’ll want to stick to Light’s Edge. The Gasp Alleys can be confusing and you can lose yourself easily in them. As for the Plates? Avoid the tram to the DEPOT plate, though you need proper clearance to get there anyway so I imagine it would be difficult to get off the train there regardless. Uhhh, the warehouse district on POE has checkpoints toward the highway on the side. They can be rude.” Other than that, nothing particularly comes to mind.

'cause i learned all my lessons that way

CIAN

Cian leaned in a bit to take a look at the paper map, though his eyes kept flicking between it, the station map and the signs announcing the next station. He did still pay attention to what was being said, and did look back to the small map when a new place was mentioned. Shops and market places were often places of interest. Not just for doing actual shopping, but one could do a lot of people-watching and listening. A lot could be learned about a location from it. He really should know more about this city by now, but he had spent the last third of the season panicking. Enough of that now.

"The Core sounds a bit above me right now, if I want to be able to hold onto my room." One corner of his mouth pulled up in a small smirk. "Not really sure how one acts like a Plater, but even so, I should probably not start with going too far in down there..." He gestured to the Drench on the map and gave it all a look over again. "So far, I have mostly kept to my room or drifted around the POD plate. Not very exciting at all. Hm... PO5E seems like a good start to a more adventurous stay."

The train slowed and Cian looked up in time for the announcement of the last stop on POE. With what could be the hundredth sigh of the day, Cian turned his attention to the small map once more. "So, DEPOT avoid, warehouse area, avoid. Not that I can see yet why I would want to go there, but good to know either way."

The reader of this text has standing permission for responsible powerplay and to use physical/magical force against this character.
Instant killing and permanently maiming not included.

Sunjata

i bank on the funeral,

“Fair enough,” Sunjata begins with a soft huff of a laugh, before it shifts into a small amount of confusion. He doesn’t really know what acting like a Plater means either — it’s just… Who he is, but what about it specifically made him stand out? He couldn’t pinpoint it entirely seeing as he didn’t try to act like a Plater either. “I’d imagine the difference is ignorance. Acting like you own the place.” That’s the usual designation for Platers, wasn’t it? Wanting nothing to do with the Drench, offended by the people’s presence?

The announcement for the POE stop has them on the right track, though, and Sunjata settles in for the trek, legs stretching out underneath him. “There’s a good diner in the warehouse sector, close to the medical side. It’s the best thing about that plate in my opinion.” And not the airport, but that was neither here nor there. “We could go sometime if you ever want one of the best milkshakes in Kotoll.” One of the best milkshake places he’s tried, though he hasn’t traveled away from Ok’Kotoll much.

“If you need some money for your room there might be some small odd jobs you can do here and there to make up the difference. You can find those on PO5E or I can investigate whether POINT needs anything.” The offer is laid out as Sunjata slides the paper map over toward Cian for him to keep.

'cause i learned all my lessons that way

CIAN

If acting like you owned the place took you as a Plater, then Cian thought he would not have too much trouble. He was better at keeping his head down and backing off if he had put a foot on someone else's turf. Another thoughtful frown settled on his face and he nodded quietly in response.

The frown changed to mild surprise when Sunjata offered to take him out for a milkshake. The expression lingered for perhaps a second before a small smile curled his lips. "Sure, why not. Can't say no to a milkshake if it truly is the best one." He usually did not pick up on offers like that from strangers. Unless they were less official job offers, but even then he had been cautious. Until that one that landed him stuck here, that is. However, visiting some places in the company of a local couldn't be that bad, now coudl it? If he were to be stuck here, he might as well take the opportunity to make some new contacts.

The thoughtful frown returned again with the next offer. Cian took the map and looked at it while quickly going through it in his mind. Odd jobs he could do. It was what he always did at home alongside the workshop. His eyes stopped at POINT on the map. While he had done honest work for high-up people before, he was not sure how high up he wanted to reach in this new place. Could be good. Could give him a decent job. Might also bring risks, since there seemed to be a bit of a war going on between the different parts of the city. At the same time, could he really afford to be picky?

"While I don't want to straight out say No to that offer, I also do not want you to go through too much trouble for a stranger like me. But should you hear about something, sure, I can be all ears."

He folded the map up neatly and leaned back in his chair once more. "I am open to most things right now. Stacking boxes, washing dishes... Putting someone's radio back together. Whatever pays for food, heh."

The reader of this text has standing permission for responsible powerplay and to use physical/magical force against this character.
Instant killing and permanently maiming not included.

Sunjata

i bank on the funeral,

The acceptance of his offer has a small crookedly boyish smile crossing his face, suddenly almost embarrassed by the announcement that it was the best in Kotoll. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, I haven’t traveled much outside of here and Garanenz.” The only two places he’d gone to, but at the very least the milkshakes had been better than anything there and the sad attempts done in the Core.

But that’s neither here nor there as he makes his offer of helping find some odd jobs here and there for the man so that he could keep his room, and initially Cian seems to almost deny the offer initially. If he had, Sunjata wasn’t going to push it, but the continuation of what kind of things he could do easily, the young Bratena nods and hums a soft laugh. “It’s not a lot of trouble. I’m not doing much these days aside from work.” Which had odd hours because his father was an asshole – but that’s another story.

“I’ll keep an eye out.” He rumbles, flashing a crooked smile back at the other man as the intercom for the train announces the North Pod stop, only one more to go before Cian’s stop for his motel.

'cause i learned all my lessons that way

CIAN

Cian chuckled softly and got an amused look on his face over something. He looked out the window at the stop announcement and tapped his fingers against the folded map. "In my experience, work usually leaves you with little time to do much else than work. Perhaps I am just used to a very busy life." He looked back at Sunjata as the train started moving again, that small smile still on his lips.

"Thanks, by the way. For the offers and picking me up over there." He gestures in the general direction of the main station. "Don't always run into kind strangers like that." He could be a kind stranger himself to people, but he rarely expected other people to be so as well. It seemed more common that people minded their own business and walked by, pretending not to see or hear things.

To be honest, he had done the same many times as well. Sometimes, the best one could do was to just mind their own business. Was still nice when someone decided to hold out a hand, especially when he was not fully himself like this day. Still need to make that phone call home... He threw a glance up at the map over the train route to see if he would start preparing to get up. Not yet, but soon. Cian was secretly grateful for the company. It had been a nice distraction from everything. Even if it had been brief, it was enough for him to be able to reset his spinning mind and start working on a plan.

Sunjata

i bank on the funeral,

“Mm, well, maybe also as busy of a schedule.” He offers with a small amused smile of his own. “I’ve been working nights lately, it’s been an adjustment and leaves little time for anything else.” That and his restriction to POINT Plate unless he was working or traveling to and from work. But he shrugs a shoulder and casts a glance back at Cian when he speaks next.

It’s easy for Sunjata to nod, to take the thanks as it’s offered and the follow up compliment tucked away into a dark box where he can think about some of the good he’s done when the days get a little harder. “You’re welcome.” The young Bratena begins, shifting slightly in his seat, gaze returning out the window. “I like to think that a little kindness can go a long way.”

And that’s partially why he’s so naive, unexposed to the events that had made his father so bitter and power hungry. Sunjata doesn’t want to become like that, actively seeking out the good in the world (perhaps because his own life had been brought up on gilded plates and expansive housing that were frozen cold and devoid of true love. The only one who cared about him fully was his mother and even then, she was hardly here these days.

He tilts his head back toward Cian. “If you need me, you can send a letter to me on the Bratena Sector of POINT. I’d give you my number but I’m sort of in a bunch of shit right now so I don’t have my phone.” A soft huff of a laugh leaves him. “Are you going to make it back to your room alright?” He asks, only to ensure that the visiting man won’t get lost among the streets of POD.

'cause i learned all my lessons that way