trans_9 | Moving on up! ... In. Whatever!

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Moving on up! ... In. Whatever! - [OPEN]

The city air felt so clean and fresh today!

Or rather, it seemed that way in comparison to the Sleeping Halls and those small, throbbing and sometimes when Jr. focused too hard on it, muggy-feeling rooms. The small red-head made his way through the city, few articles of spare clothes draped over one forearm, a set of guns balanced on top of them and held against his chest. He had his other, more commonly used set of firearms holstered at his sides as usual, but that sure was four guns on his person in that moment. With a pair of sunglasses on his head, Jr. looked ready for something exciting, something thrilling. And that something was moving. He'd been surprised at the sudden invite from Zouichi, but easily snatched up the offer - learning the inn he'd be staying in was an old styled Japanese inn was like the icing on the cake, though. Happy at the idea to flop down and fall asleep in something that actually felt like a room, he sped up his walk some, passing by the other buildings and structures as he moved.

[ feel free to be passing by in the city or assuming he's passing by any of the buildings! anyone's free to tag in ]

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Once they came to the room Jr. decided on, Zouichi fished a metal key out of his pocket to hand to him. He'd never seen a lock with an actual metal key to open it before his time here; generally gates where he came from used biometrics or some other form of identity verification system. But that was part of the charm.

"Well, if you're interested in books, there's a library on this floor, too," he said. "It's a pretty good size, too; I guess whoever owned this place before liked reading."

Jr. pocketed the key--

--and sorry, Zouichi. Because now Jr.'s leading the way, and Jr. is heading for this library.

Zouichi followed, curious. What had gotten into him all of a sudden? "It's to your left."

And a left he took, stepping into the library and taking one, quick, awed moment to look around. "Oh man...!" he exclaimed, and then moved to the nearest shelf to start fingering through the books that sat in them. "Did you get a chance to look at any of these? What kinds are there here?"

"There's a pretty wide selection, but I haven't gotten around to organizing them yet. History, gardening, sailboats, biographies, fiction..." Zouichi trailed off, watching Jr. go to work. If he'd known Jr. liked books so much, he would have mentioned it sooner.

"I've been reading a book by Jules Verne that predated and predicted the invention of the submersible. It's quite enjoyable."

"Ah! Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea! I love that book," he replied in a snap. And then it was back to cruising through the book titles.

"I wonder what kind of books there are from different universes ... man, these are in really good condition, too! That's hard to find back home... Hey, have you ever read The Song of Roland?"

"The Song of Roland? No, I can't say I have. What is it about?"

It kind of figures that books aren't generally in that great a condition where Jr.'s from. After all, why keep paper copies around when electronic databases were more efficient?

...still, there's something pleasant about turning actual pages with your hands.

"It's the oldest piece of French literature found on Lost Jerusalem. Hehhh, you should read it sometime. If it's not here, maybe it's in the media library. You might notice a few familiar names in it!" Jr. and Gaignun had just really liked the name Gaignun when they read the story - even though the name they had given the cat they raised itself meant watch-dog and the Gaignun in the story was a horse ... but it was still cool. And it ended up sticking, so when they took it on themselves, it just seemed fitting to continue the theme in naming their battleship the Durandal.

Jr. had those exact same sentiments. Paper was a lot better,and lasted longer than the optical data stuff did in the long run. Just like the wood that made up the inn, the smell of the paper was something that you couldn't get from the electronics, either.

"I guess I have to track down a copy, then. Does it have knights, dragons, that sort of thing?" That was what immediately sprang to mind, anyway.

Zouichi hadn't chosen his own name, though he and his siblings also had a kind of theme naming convention going on.

"I've also been reading a collection of detective stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The mentions of rudimentary forensic science are quite interesting... but I wonder why the main character is so popular. It's true that Sherlock Holmes is depicted as a genius in the stories, but he's also a substance addict unable to deal with his own intelligence. Do you think people see themselves in that sort of conflict?"

"Ever read any history on Charlemagne?"

Jr. thought about that for a minute. It seemed plausible, especially considering how addictions and other things were always ever-present, even where he was from, though in slightly different forms. "I'm sure a lot of people do. Even good things can be tough to deal with sometimes, when it's something that comes with stress. I'd say being so smart comes with that."

"Not specifically, although I do know a few things about him."

Zouichi frowned a little in thought. "I see. So it's a question of having too much of a good thing. I wonder if he's aboard the ship, too. It's a little strange reading these stories now, knowing that the people in them are real..."

"It's about Charlemagne. Only fictionalized a little bit."

It was weird, sometimes, when Jr. saw or met someone on the ship that was either vaguely or pretty familiar to him in some form or another. "Yeah, it's a real trip sometimes! Almost like meeting some kind of idol..."

"Hmm... interesting. Well, I guess I'll find out all about him when I read it."

He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you were into idols. But for the most part, I don't think I recognize most people on the ship. They might have some superficial similarity to a mythological creature, but for the most part... well, I don't think the unicorns around here go around seeking out virginal young maidens, for instance."

"I'm not big on'em, but I imagine meeting someone from one of my favorite books or movies would be just like it." Jr. laughed at that example. "Hey, you never know, there could be a unicorn like that sleeping down there somewhere! What kind of similarities have you seen?"

"Oh, you know. There are dragons on the ship, and elves. Howard would probably recognize more X-Mans than me."

Zouichi is kind of under the impression that all superheroes are ~~X-Mans~~ X-Men.

"Heh. Yeah, sometimes this whole thing seems like some kind of crazy epic fantasy adventure."

Jr. put a small collection of books he had picked out on a table nearby for later. He turned back to Zouichi. "All right, I think I'm done here for now. How 'bout a grand tour of the rest of the place?"

Zouichi nodded. "Well, the parts that aren't like a science fiction novel, anyway. Why don't we start with the sunroom?"

The room in question was wide and bright, with light filtering in from the windows. It was mostly empty, save for some cushiony chairs... and a large piano.

"There's not much in here yet, but it's a nice place to read. Howard mentioned he'd found a piano in the City, so I ended up moving it up here. Don't worry, the sound doesn't really carry to the rooms."

Jr. walked over to the piano with a smile, running a hand over the smooth top of it. "Nice..." he muttered. He had a nostalgic fondness for the instrument, despite the fact that he didn't play it very often himself nor play along with one. "At least if sound did carry, it'd be a nice one."

Zouichi was rather fond of it himself, as a reminder of someone who'd been important to him. "Well, that's the hope."

He depressed a few of the keys, playing a C-sharp chord. "Anyway, the windows here look out into the courtyard, so if you don't feel like going outside, here is the next best place to look at the cherry trees."

For his part, Zouichi preferred to sit underneath the trees and watch as the flower petals fall lazily down to the ground.

Gee, how familiar.

Jr. walked over to the windows in question, standing on his toes to get a slightly better look at the grounds below. "Ah, looks like I'll have more or less the same view." He quite liked it.

Maybe it was like a rule: if you create a secret bioweapon, you must supply one (1) person to serve as a guidepost for them.

Zouichi nodded. "If you keep your window open, some of them will probably blow in, too. Anyway, feel like taking a look at the garden?"

And pianos were a common bonus.

He turned away from the window after getting a good enough view in. "Sure thing!" he said with a nod.

The garden was... well, if Jr. liked the rest of the inn, he'd probably liked this. It was a Japanese garden, complete with stone lanterns, the occasional tree and small shrubs, and even a little walkway and pond with mirror-black water, covered with lilypads.

"If we ever stop anywhere convenient," said Zouichi, "I think I'll try and find some fish to put in. They're really cute, you know."

...yes, he thought fish were cute okay.

... and Zouichi thinking fish are cute is an oddly adorable thing to Jr. Or at least, the way he said it.

Jr. made his rounds - moving around shrubbery and touching a tree here and there, leaning down and glancing up to get closer looks and appreciate the environment. He stared into the water of the pond.

"That'll top off this place really nice."

"Right?" Zouichi smiled. "Of course, I guess they probably won't be like the fish back home on Earth, but it would still be nice to come out and feed them. Did you know they'll follow you around the edges of the water if they recognize you?"

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