as above, so alone

SUNJATA

she bought the last line, i'm just the worst kind
of guy to argue with what you might find

Everything becomes glaringly more confusing as the days drag on – the floods that he’s never truly experienced are far more harrowing than the Plates would have one believe, and with it? Well, Sunjata’s always worn his heart on his sleeve, has always let his emotions get to him more than everything else. And without the little breaks of sun he’s used to up topside, he struggles mentally to find any sort of happiness in the dreary dampness of the Drench.

It forces him to continue on, however, giving him more of a reason to want to change things, especially with this new illness that seems to be plaguing nearly everyone he sees. So he slips out of Wren’s clinic, early morning enough that there aren’t too many people out yet, a hat over his newly shaved head, keeping his ears warm as does the scarf that doubles as a mask to help hide who he really is (provided anyone cared enough to really know what he looked like), and he ends up wandering the alleys of the rickets (for quite some time seeing as he’s coming from Wren’s Soft Fix) when he stumbles upon the closed off base of the Plate construction bombing.

There’s people out and about here, too, but some of them look like Platers and Sunjata’s curiosity gets the best of him as he leans against an alley that has a relatively clear view of the group milling about. He’s nowhere near close enough to hear anything they’re saying, but he does remain deftly in the shadows, watching between the exchanges of people and studying the remnants for himself to gather an idea of what’s going on. And he remains there, a little makeshift map held in his hand that he scans just on the off chance he gets caught by someone wanting to know what the fuck he was doing, fully prepared to claim he was a trapped visitor who had to make his own little map and just wanted to flesh it out to know where not to go.

and for the last night i lie
could i lie with you?

ira

It feels too early and she is tired, but has given up any attempts at getting any more sleep. Fed up with with the tossing and turning out of discomfort and the increased coughing that came with lying down. So to not disturb anyone else's sleep and to not just sit and stare at a wall, she is out on some aimless wandering on her own. At first she had a goal; to make it all the way across the Drench to her own apartment just to check so her father hasn't decided to break into her room or something while she's away.

However, as she comes closer, she realises that the damn stairs are probably going to be the end of her in her current state. And having any kind of discussion with her father should he hear her come in is nothing she is in the mood for.

Instead, the walk turn into an aimless stroll along the many raised walkways until she finds herself close to the infamous source of the very infamous lockdown. She has stayed cleared of the area all this time, not wanting to risk running into any trouble with potential patrols, investigations or whatever might be going on. Now, though, she stops to lean on the railing of the raised walkway she is on to rest for a moment while she has a look around.

Nothing really of interest seems to be going on, but a figure hidden in the dark off to the side a bit below her catches her attention. If only because they look so covered up and seems to be having some sort of note in their hand. Something about it makes her awfully curious, and a bit suspicious, and she scans the area before quietly moving. Finding a way down to the alley the mystery person is by.

"Don't think it's gonna blow a second time." She calls out as she drifts closer through the shadows. Or, it is not much of a call. Just her managing to speak up and doing her best to mask the breathing issues. "But who knows, maybe it'll actually bring the whole damn thing down proper if someone gives it a second go."  She remains on a bit of a distance, just in case the person is the jumpy sort and decides to draw a knife or something. You never know with people lurking around in the Drench.

SUNJATA

she bought the last line, i'm just the worst kind
of guy to argue with what you might find

Luckily for him, he’s already enough on edge that he can take note of all of the sounds around him, noting the steps behind him that sound too light to be a pack of enforcers coming to steal him back Plate side. So he doesn’t let Ira’s voice make him jump, instead, turning slightly so his back presses against the wall a bit more, lifting his steel gaze to give her his attention while she speaks.

Of course, her words do bring a soft snort from Sunjata, a light shake of his head. “Maybe.” He agrees, keeping his voice low. “I haven’t actually seen it.” Comes the easier admission, one truthful. Sunjata’d never been stationed in a patrol down here, always in the thicker, more densely populated spaces, probably given that Shaju didn’t trust him to actually be useful in the attempts to find out what happened with the building of this Plate.

That or maybe he’d learn too much and it was a secret the Arbiter intended to keep. “Thought I might take a look before it got busy here.” Busy with the amount of Enforcers and scientists combing the space to try and figure out what happened after these past months.

and for the last night i lie
could i lie with you?

ira

He remains calm as he reacts to her voice, but she stays on a distance just out of arm's reach, still thinking he looks awfully suspicious with his face cover, hat and all that. She's not completely sure why she even decided to stick her nose into whatever business he might be up to. Perhaps not being able to work all the time and not spending her free time roaming around the city as much as usual has made her dangerously bored.

She doesn't bother to be subtle in the way she looks him over, but she doesn't show any signs of reacting to any accent she might pick out from his lowered voice. She just makes note of it and then drops it, perhaps too used to deal with all sort of people on a daily basis and at the moment won't put any extra thoughts in it unless she has to. What does make her raise an eyebrow is his idea of taking a look.

"What, at the construction site? Why? They've probably cleaned up anything at this point and covers up whatever was found. If any..." She says with a shrug and moves a few steps to get a closer look at the view of the Plate base, but remains at her distance from Sunjata. She clears her throat and pushes back the itch to cough before continuing. "Everyone's still all theories and no facts... Drenchers did it, Platers did. Workers having an accident. Nothing happened at all and it's just a wild story to give them an excuse to stomp the boot down harder on us. Take your pick."

She could write a small book with all the ideas people at the bar had come up with and she goes between not wanting to hear another word about it, to wanting to find out what actually happened so people could find some new topics to drunkenly ramble about.

SUNJATA

she bought the last line, i'm just the worst kind
of guy to argue with what you might find

Sunjata keeps his distance as well, content with the space between them just about as much as she’s content with it – the little amount of trusting one another very apparent the longer Sunjata remains in the Drench, only offering up as much information as he can to try and get what he needs or wants out of it. And most times Sunjata can wear down those that he talks to in getting them to tell him whatever he wants. In this instance, however, he doesn’t need a lot of information, simply just scouting the area to see what they were up to now.

“That’s the thing, though, right?” Sunjata says, nodding his head toward it, before he slides his steel gaze back to her with a dark eyebrow raised beneath the hat, making it difficult to fully see that he has raised it. “If it’s all cleaned up, why’re people still there? What are they doing?” He can’t figure it out for the life of him, and he wasn’t allowed anywhere near it in his patrols.

He folds up the map back into quarters and shoves it into his pocket, before he turns away from it halfway, gaze leaving her momentarily to look at the construction site once more. “I’d heard Platers keep coming down here in their little groups but… Why.” It’s been a couple of seasons since then, what’s the point in prolonging it out? Unless his father’s looking for the perfect excuse just as Ira’s suggested.

and for the last night i lie
could i lie with you?

ira

Her gaze drifts between him and the construction site, constantly trying to keep track of any movements from either. A small frown forms on her face when he mentions people still coming to the site. Since she's stayed clear of the area, she knows very little of what activities might be going on and she's just assumed like many others that it's just shut down while investigations are going on. After a moment of silence to think his questions over, she lifts a shoulder in a shrug.

"Maybe they are just shit at finding evidence to point someone out and keep searching through every grain of dust. Or..." She pauses to go through the mental list of conspiracy theories she's heard. "Maybe the explosion revealed something buried, or they're using it as a cover-up while working on something else. Some thinks it's a bigger bomb."

A quiet laugh leaves her at the idea. It's a dry, humourless sound and she shakes her head slowly. "Doubt the Platers want to get rid of us so badly they'd be willing to risk bringing their own homes down on us." Setting off large explosives in the Drench sounds bad for everyone involved, even for those above it. Sighing, she puts her hands in her pockets and shifts to lean with her weight on one leg while watching the small group of Platers further away. Not much seems to be going on otherwise from what she can see from where they are standing. But that's the whole issue; things might not be what they seem to be.

"What's your interest in it anyway? Apart from general curiosity like everyone else got." She turns her head to look at him more fully. So many people talk and guess, but so far, she's actually not talked to anyone who's been checking the site out. Though to be fair, anyone who got past the barriers to sneak around for a closer look probably won't be stupid enough to brag loudly about it at the bars.

SUNJATA

she bought the last line, i'm just the worst kind
of guy to argue with what you might find

Sunjata can’t help but to cock his head curiously as Ira mentions that there are people believing it’s a bigger bomb. Realistically, Sunjata doesn’t think that’s a possibility, but he doesn’t rule it out. It simply just goes… Last amongst the current possibilities running through his head. And to be honest? He’s simply gearing up on the idea that it’s to try and make a point to keep the rebellion from starting, a show of force in some ways. A we can keep you down, don’t even think about it. which only goes to prove the fact that he subconsciously thinks the Plates have done it to themselves and pinned the blame on the underdog.

It only makes his stubbornness more apparent as he gazes back at it and huffs a muted laugh from behind the mask he wears, shaking his head. “Of course not. That’s why the one that happened was the brand new, uninhabited one, yeah?” He drawls, shooting a glance back at her before looking around the alley they’re in out of pure curiosity when her question reaches him.

“Just curious. It’s been a while since it blew so, wanted to see what the fuck was going on.” He tries to come off a bit more Drench-like, but even that feels stilted on his tongue, and he stubbornly focuses on the route people are taking around the old bomb space to avoid getting roped into talking to any Platers. "Why are you here?" He counters after a heartbeat.

and for the last night i lie
could i lie with you?

ira

The idea of a large bomb being made right under their noses is a bit too absurd for her to feel any worry about it. She doesn't rule out the possibility of completely either, but it's on the list of least likely things. Though she can see the rumours scaring at least some people into submission.

His following comment has her raise a brow. The way he says it, that of course it was the base under construction that got attacked makes it sound like he believes the Plates did it. It could also be that the Drenchers didn't want to harm any of their own by bombing in the middle of the Drench and simply wanting to stop the construction.

And then the theories are just back to blaming one or the other back and forth again.

She gives him an almost searching look when he speaks again, as if the way he speaks creates an itch at the back of her mind. As if something is a bit off, but not enough for her to really react to it. Just that it is something, but her question being returned steals her attention for now. "Accident, really. Had some business on this side of the river and then my feet walked me over here." She shrugs and looks in the same direction as him to see what he is watching.

"Never checked this place out since the lockdown, so I thought why not see if anything's going on. Not that one can see much from over here... Then I saw this masked guy lurking in the shadows and probably got too curious for my own good." She looks back to him, eyes narrowing in a hint of a smirk for a second, then turns her head away to drown a few coughs into her arm.

Shaking her head in annoyance, she clears her throat and glances his way again. "So what's your opinion, then? Platers blew up their own stuff to get an excuse to fuck life up even more for us down here?"

SUNJATA

she bought the last line, i'm just the worst kind
of guy to argue with what you might find

He hums a thoughtful sound as she mentions her feet just brought her over here by accident, when she was distracted by what he was doing. It’s a careful game Sunjata has to play, and he watches as she buries her face into her elbow to muffle a few coughs. “Keeping the mask on to try and keep from getting sick.” He offers by means of explanation. It wasn’t that strange to him, if it were something passed by inhaling the terrible flood water remnants. Instead, a little bit of a barrier to try and prevent it the best he can.

So he shrugs when she asks for his opinion. “I think the Plates are selfish. That they’d do anything to keep the Drench from getting involved in their activities.” He offers, glancing back at the bomb crime scene (what remained of it very little). “Could’ve done it themselves if the Drenchers here had too much to say about anything and the Platers got antsy with it.” He doesn’t put it past his father to stomp his foot down at the first sign of it. After all, the running joke was that his father would bleed steel from how much like a machine he was.

“What about you? What’s your opinion?”

and for the last night i lie
could i lie with you?

ira

His reason for wearing a mask is met with a small nod and she doesn't go digging any further in it. It was a good a reason as any, especially with the current season and everything going around. All from common colds, to the plague or just dangerous fungal spores growing in the damp dark environment.

Her gaze goes back to slowly wandering between him, other people moving around and the closed off Plate base while she listens to what he has to say. An opinion shared by many, if not the majority of the Drenchers. At least from all those she has listened to. Not only from after the lockdown, but since ever. When he asks her for her opinion in return, she shrugs as well and works her jaws slowly.

"Honestly, can't make up my mind. Could be Drenchers wanting to stop the construction. It would make sense, because none of us needs another fucking Plate over our heads. Platers doing it to blame us seems reasonable as well." She shakes her head with a quiet sigh and frowns.

"What gives me the most headache is the lockdown. If it were Drenchers and the Enforcers haven't found anyone yet, why... Well, "let us win" by not continuing with the construction? And from what I understand, the lockdown affects the Plates too and why would they do that to themselves for this long?"

She shakes her head again and rubs the bridge of her nose, one hand reaching into her pocket on habit for a cigarette that she doesn't even have with her. Fortunately been able to keep herself off them since she started getting ill. So another sigh leaves her and she leans against the wall with her arms crossed. "Just feels like something bad is going on. Don't know what, but I don't like it."