You could call it Paradise but it looks just like Hell to me

Isanti

In the space between thought and wonder
Memory cannot pull you under

Are they.. posturing? Isanti can't help but be reminded of two animals - scavengers, or maybe even large birds - testing the mettle of the one they just came across. Ira's rather sly and pointed questioning; the man leaning against the canal barrier as if to show how at ease he is, giving vague answers and Ira responding in kind. Sizing each other up and jabbing and feinting. It is both baffling and vaguely uncomfortable to witness.

But then he realizes: it probably just means that they're quite similar to each other, perhaps more than they realize themselves. A sort of faint and distant smile begins to form on his face, fond and affectionate and mysterious because where had it come from? What prompted it?

Then he is rather abruptly edged back into the spotlight, freezing like a nervous animal as Tavi's question is at least partially aimed at him. "Oh, I, uhm," he begins, elegant fingers fidgeting with the leash as his ethereal and aloof appearance is shattered by this very human, very anxious reaction. "I just, kind of, uh, study and..work.. a little... up here..."

Curious, really, how being cut off - no matter how unintentional - and uprooted can affect a person. Isanti had never been overly bold, but he had always been relatively at ease around others. A bit awkward or unsure of how to converse, sure, but not a nervous wreck. Thrust into the Drench, forced to work to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads, trapped in a concrete cage and generally sleep deprived... Isanti now is a very, very different boy from the one who came to the city before the lockdown.

In the moment between breath and dying
You’re free, fearless, you’re flying

TAVI

Your Excess is my Abundance.

Tavi nodded, recalling all the tenuous situations in the past, even in the last week, that one wrong move could be his last. As he leaned against the barrier, it would seem that he was totally at ease. He was in fact mentally jousting and as the conversation continued on, and they recalled the shared experience of Unk’Kotoll, he felt himself ease within.

He sighed. ‘Yeah. Definitely not the safest place down there. But it keeps people like us on their toes huh?’

Tavi raised his brows as he hears the one with raven hair echo his own scavenging tendencies and felt a sense of familiarity with her. ‘That so? Get what you mean. It’s like an adventure picking through junk, finding interesting things.’

He noticed the fog swirl about, revealed buildings that loomed in the distance. ‘Speaking of which, have you found anything good lately? Since the lockdown, more people have been going at it and a lot of the good stuff has been picked clean.’ Despite Tavi being initially wary, he is glad to have found someone who shares his scavenging tendencies.

As the opulent one with white hair stammers out a response, Tavi is perplexed at the sense of nervousness emanating from him. ‘I see,’ Tavi responds with a gentle voice, trying to put him at ease. He dealt with many Platers and was glad this wasn’t the type that spoke down to you, perhaps this one had been humbled by the Drench. ‘Can’t imagine what it’d be like coming from up here to live in the Drench but I’m sure it’s taught you things you never thought you’d learn?’

You said I could fly so go on then, fill my eyes with fire, I set my sails with desire

She remains in her apparent relaxed position; slightly leaned back with the weight resting on one lag, hands in her pockets. But her eyes are alert. Even catching the movement of some uniforms going buy on another footpath close enough to be seen through the wet fog, but they do not seem to bother with the trio. Just passing by without even looking in their direction.

"I might have, might not." It's a vague answer on purpose and she looks back to the stranger. "There's always places not picked completely clean, if you know where to look." A small smirk is twitching at the corner of her mouth, but she says nothing more about it for now and her attention shifts to the interaction between the other two.

Isanti's stammering has her smiling faintly, remembering again how nervous he was at their first meeting. The smile grows a bit more when the stranger assumes Isanti is from the Plates. She finally takes her hands out of her pockets again and steps closer to Isanti, but only to crouch down next to Morrocaw for more pets. Scratching her gently on the cheeks and down her neck.

Running her fingers through the soft fur while resisting the urge to try and give her a hug as well, she carefully leans in a bit closer. "This must be awfully boring for you, huh?" She mumbles quietly to the cheetah and throws a quick glance up at the other two humans.

IRA

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.

Isanti

In the space between thought and wonder
Memory cannot pull you under

They're really adorable - not in a "I ship you" way, but, just, like two lost siblings or something. Isanti doesn't understand the allure of picking through dirt or junk heaps for treasures, but he does understand the allure of the concept. After all, isn't that what he does with his books? And his training? He just doesn't like to get his actual hands actually dirty, unless it's by petting cats and running around the countryside doing nothing in particular.

He's tempted to let Tavi know about the hairpin Ira found, but her own vague and mysterious answer keeps him from responding. He had found that quite fun and in a way, exciting, but.. she doesn't seem keen on actually mentioning that, so he won't, either.

Put on the spot, a deer in headlights, what he is not expecting is the gentle way in which Tavi responds. That takes him by surprise, momentarily throwing him out of his nervous loop and into a place of slight what just happened. He blinks rapidly a few times, trying to fit it into that somewhat rugged face, the practical pants, the leather jacket- but when he looks at Tavi, he just doesn't see where that gentleness would fit in.

But somehow, it's still there.

"Oh, I uh, I didn't stay up here for long," he stammers out, unsure of what that was supposed to mean. Taught him things he thought he'd never learn? Like the fact that his family cared more about their delusions and reputation than about him? He swallows, trying to get his thoughts back inside of his head and not across half the continent. "I came here just before the lockdown, was only supposed to stay a few weeks. But here I am..." He shrugs, looking down at Morrocaw for a moment. She's enjoying Ira's renewed attentions, purring loudly. Isanti looks up at Tavi again. "It- the Drench is certainly like nothing I've ever known. Then again... This entire city is." And he sighs.

In the moment between breath and dying
You’re free, fearless, you’re flying