[CLOSED] The March of the March

[bowtography]

WHO: March 7th, various.
WHAT: Various shenanigans (feel free to pm me for a starter!)
WHERE: Many places
WHEN: March 2024
WARNINGS: None yet!

Comments

Yesod. (March 7th)

[bowtography]

[ March has been all over the place today, as she'd fully intended, because there's nothing worse than spending a special day by yourself. And sure, it's not like everyone from the Astral Express is here, but there are people who have been letting her pester them (or, she believes, grace them with her presence) and she's had fun with it.

But this is a quieter bit of downtime, evidenced by the fact that she is, in fact, alone right now as she enters the library, trusty camera at her hip.

Or she thought she was alone, but as she hears what sounds like the movement of books being fussed with, her brows furrow lightly and she heads towards the sound. ]

Hello?

[penaltypoints]

[ This library is a neglected space, from the lighting and chairs to the books that it contains. The collection of items on these shelves, as Yesod has discovered, is not especially informative — still, he has paid the location a few visits by now. Malkuth's summary of Angela's Library remains on his mind. Most likely, it's quite a different place, even if it includes floors dedicated to the arts and literature, and no amount of cleaning would scrub away the blood that stains it.

Yesod slides another book back into place on its shelf, reaching for the next, cloth in hand to wipe down its cover. It's then that he catches the sound of footsteps approaching, followed by the voice calling out nearby. A glance over his shoulder confirms their owner's identity.

They aren't April May and Iunius Quintilis today, and Yesod assumes that March may be searching for someone. ]

Yes?

[bowtography]

Oh, hey!

[ No, apparently not, given that recognition brightens her eyes when she spots him. She even steps closer to offer him a cheerful wave. ]

Sorry, I've gotten used to hardly anyone being up here, so I was surprised to hear something. So it was you! Umm...

[ ... His name wasn't... ]

... Yesod, right?

[penaltypoints]

[ It's an unexpected reaction — March looks genuinely pleased to catch sight of someone she recognizes. More specifically, it's rather unusual to be the recipient of that type of friendly greeting. It reminds Yesod somewhat of Malkuth's energy, though hers has seemed more restrained in some ways here, for several reasons.

While he doesn't wave, nor does his expression change, he responds with a nod, simultaneously in greeting and as confirmation in turn to answer March's question. ]

Correct.

[ He moves to face March fully, allowing her to see the cloth and the current book plucked from the shelf beside him. ]

This library may contain a limited selection of items, but that doesn't justify keeping it poorly lit, as well as in need of thorough cleaning. That said, if you've come here to read, I'll wait.

[bowtography]

[ As austere as ever, this guy. Which March is more or less used to, so she doesn't bother commenting on it, instead glancing at the book and the cloth he's holding.

Ah.

She shakes her head, still smiling. ]

You were here first. Besides, I like cleaning--maybe I can help?

[ Cleaning books is a lot easier than cleaning the entire Astral Express from the inside out. This is hardly anything in comparison. ]

Wriothesley.

[bowtography]

[ March is used to tidying up at this point, though helping clean the interior of the Astral Express continued to be different than the work she was doing here. Still, she knows she won't be all that useful when it comes to tending to patients, not like someone like Natasha would have been.

Maybe she should look into that healing thing Yuji mentioned, but...

Well, right now, she's got other things to focus on, and it's changing linens. Very important duty.

Honestly it had gotten less exciting after the third bed and she's decided to make less trips, which is why Wriothesley might not recognize the person beyond the pile of sheets heaped high in her arms and obscuring most of her from view. She can't even tell much of where she's going, pausing uncertainly at the sound of footsteps. ]

Um.

Whoever you are, you'd tell me if I was about to bump into you, right?

[frostfist]

[ Would he tell her…..that's a good question.

The footsteps come to a stop close by, and there's a suspiciously long stretch of silence (like six seconds or so) before someone finally replies. At least it's a familiar voice. ]

Of course. I'd rather not send both you and your sky-high pile flying. Need a hand?

[ He doesn't wait for an answer, instead leaning forward to neatly cut that pile in half. These are his linens now. ]

Why not make more trips? Less risk of running into someone else that way.

[bowtography]

[ And there she is, suddenly visible!

Amazing, he's a magician. ]

But it's faster this way. And you could consider it training. You know, like dodging someone without having to see them!

[ She would not have dodged, she would have gloriously collided, but it's fine. ]

[frostfist]

[ Yeaahhhhh no, he's not convinced. ]

Maybe if we weren't surrounded by patients in need of a hand.

[ Technically there's only like three people in for treatment now, but the point remains. What if she'd collided with someone and sent them both tumbling to the ground and added yet another injury to the pile? ]

Do you turn everything you do into training? [ That's dedication if so. ]

[bowtography]

Only if it's not fun.

[ Well, at least she's honest. ]

But it'd be nice if I got a little cooler for doing the necessary stuff, even if it's boring, right?

Elan.

[bowtography]

[ Okay, so it's a lot like being on the Express for the first time and being assigned Dan Heng to be her babysitter partner for trailblazing expeditions. That had just sort of stuck more often than not, but she doubts she'll be clinging to anyone like that here.

This is just an opportunity to learn more and maybe make a new friend out of it, so March blinks amicably at the Outsider she's been partnered with and bobs her head in a little greeting nod. ]

I'm March 7th! Looks like I'll be in your care today?

[gundemn]

[ Leave it to LILITH to go and kidnap more unsuspecting people and push the job of settling them in onto Outsiders. Elan's not sure he has anything nice to say about working for the organization, but dumping that on the newbie might be too much of a downer so he elects to greet her brightly. ]

Elan Ceres. Nice to meet you, March.

[ LILITH has provided a list of suggested activities but he's going to metaphorically crumple it and throw it away. ]

We don't have to follow their instructions. You're free to do what you like. They're going to saddle us with missions anyway so you might as well enjoy yourself while you can.

[ That's his honest advice as a buddy. He also believes the fastest way out of a work meeting is to cancel it and give everyone time back. ]

[bowtography]

Speaking of those, they seem... pretty diverse, don't they? I thought it'd mostly be "fight big monsters", but so far I've seen things like "infiltrate with a fake date" and "hand out chocolate to people you barely know or suffer the consequences"...

Are we sure they're not gonna lock us in our rooms if we don't go along with this?

[ Because she's not a fan of the idea. ]

[gundemn]

They like forcing us to get along and using us for cheap labor. Some algorithm in the system must have said it was efficient.

[ He ended up being a downer anyway, but at least he's being real with the newbie. Who makes a good point. Not going along with the buddy system might just make it mad. ]

I guess we could make a show of it to keep them happy. [ He clears his throat. ] Got any questions? Complaints?

[bowtography]

How long have you been here? Are you the only one from your home that got pulled here? Birthday?

[ Oh, she's always full of questions. ]

Netzach.

[bowtography]

[ It's a beautiful day, there are assignments that insist on the Outsiders being outside, and regardless of how much or how little Netzach protests, March is determined to drag her teammate out there.

Actual dragging may or may not commence, but regardless, she hums triumphantly once they reach the area with the grass strewn with blankets, the stalls lined up neatly to sell their food, the trees overhead gently shedding their petals. ]

See? Isn't this much better than staying inside?

[enkefailin]

...I've never seen trees like this outside before.

[there's an abnormality similar to these trees, though, so while he's looking around in awe... he does also lean down to peer at the base of one, brow furrowed faintly.]

[bowtography]

Really?

... I guess they're kind of rare to me too, the way they're all flowering like this...

[ She trails off, though, watching with some perplexity as he investigates the base of a tree. Is he checking the roots? Seeing if it'll be a comfortable spot to sit and chill? With that kind of expression, though? ]

What's wrong? You're doing like a 30% frown...

[enkefailin]

There's percentages...?

[he didn't know this. march, your frown ratings.]

I was seeing if it's an Abnormality or not. Looks like it's probably a real tree.

[bowtography]

Sure! At least to me!

[ Thankfully, Netzach probably doesn't need to learn them if March is the only one who uses this system. ]

But an Abnormality... Malkuth told me about them. So they can even take the shapes of plants, huh?

Malkuth.

[bowtography]

[ It's been some time, with prepping and making sure Malkuth's ready so she isn't inwardly panicking over what she does and doesn't have, but March would firmly and confidently like to believe (as much as an amnesiac can) that in this case, she hasn't forgotten a thing. Snacks, slowly purchased over the course of days, assembled. Lounge wear (purple, one of her favorite colors, so thankfully she landed on the right team), adorned. A few books borrowed from the library, a mixture of genres, because March is an avid reader.

Not that she expects they'll be reading now, especially not when she's currently dipping the nail polish brush into the glittering gold of the bottle and beckoning for Malkuth to hand over her... well, hand. ]

I'll add a top coat too, so it'll make it look even smoother and it'll last longer! This color's gonna go great with your eyes, good choice!

[ignoreher]

[ everlight is a little bright... but she doesn't mind the yellows they wear, truly -- it reminds her of her floor back home, warmth in ever board and hue. it looks funny next to the purple march wears though, and malkuth extends her hand for painting as she shakes her head. ]

I wasn't really thinking about it when I picked it out, honestly. I was more worried that you'd catch me buying you that gift.

[ it'd just been a quick, by the heart choice, but... it'd go with her eyes, huh? ]

It's pretty similar to the colors I was surrounded by back home. The Floor I worked on was... really warm and comfortable, sort of like the library we have upstairs. Just less dusty most of the time.

[bowtography]

That sounds like it'd be nice to see! I helped Yesod dust off the books a little while ago, but it's really obvious they don't care about that place.

Which isn't exactly great... those poor books.

[ No love for paper, huh? ]

[ignoreher]

[ so he'd visited it, huh...? she wonders how often he does, and if he tidies it while he's there. ]

Yesod's always been particular about the spaces he exists -- he's a tidy guy normally, but especially back then he was a real clean freak.

[ not that malkuth knows when it'd gotten worse in their first lives together. even elijah wouldn't have, whether she'd died so soon or not; her gaze was ever down, flicking between black, white, and ground. ]

Maybe I should start swinging by and helping out too... I kind of miss cleaning shelves -- if the books aren't properly taken care of, their spines can start to break among other things. What sort of Librarian would I be if I couldn't do that much?

[bowtography]

Not a very good one, I guess? But it's okay, we won't let them get that bad!

[ She's sure of that, between her and Yesod and Malkuth. Books need to be protected!

And she pauses, switching Malkuth's hand for the other to begin painting the nails on that side. The top coat can be added once this coat has dried. ]