exsilium | text; where do we keep the lost and found around this place anyway? (forward dated to late 7/13)

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text; where do we keep the lost and found around this place anyway? (forward dated to late 7/13)

Quick question, I know people are busy and there's shady stuff going down, but:

Is anyone really good at finding missing things? Or people? I'm losing a little of my mind over here, but that's not what I need found!

( With how Martin's still MIA she sort of suspects... not. )

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what do you need?

Dried coconut, and to figure out where Caesar's gone off to!

the first is gonna be the easiest.

want me to come over?

Sure, you can try some of Bertie's cooking when you stop in. He really went all out! Though he seems to do that all the time. Make sure to compliment him, yeah?

... what?

[Who is Bertie and why is he cooking????]

My roommate, Gilbert! He helped with dinner tonight. More like he made all of dinner, but that's beside the point. The door's not locked, and I'll yell at Break if he pops out of a shadow at you or anything loopy like usual. ;)

if anyone pops out of a shadow at me i'll break their nose

[It's not a threat so much as a warning because... reflexes.

But whatever she's just going to take a twenty minutes or so to acquire that dried coconut (hopefully Collette was actually being serious when she asked for that), before she's knocking on the door and letting herself in.]

Hey, Coll?

( Collette's sitting at the table, in such a way that her eyes are glued to the door as it is. She lifts a hand to splay her fingers out, a sort of minimalist wave, lips curling up at hte corner into a thankful, if still worried, grin. )

Hey, Steph!

( Says the girl at the table filled with food that looks far fancier than anything she herself can do, for all that it's still on the expected plateware given out hodge-podge by the Initiative to outfit the apartments. Gilbert was temporarily occupied elsewhere in the apartment, she thinks, but she admits that when responses started coming in on her tablet, she'd been paying more attention to that than to her roommate. )

See, didn't Bertie do an amazing job? He's talented, and worth every penny! Or marque.

( She laughs, placing one hand on her tablet where it sits in front of her on the table, displacing the dinner plate. )

I feel bad, it's starting to get cold!

[Well, that sure is a lot of fancy food, but Steph is more concerned with whatever's going on with Collette, sliding into the seat beside her. The packet of dried coconut is set down idly on the table.]

It looks like a hell of a meal.

[Part of her wants to ask about him being worth every penny; is Collette paying him to cook for her? But it can wait.]

What's going on?

[Activate concerned friend mode.]

Ah... ( She glances across the table, leaning back and pulling her hand off her tablet. Straightening up was a sort of mental exercise as well as a physical one. )

Not too much? Caesar's late, that's all. Oh, is that the coconut?

( She blinks, shakes her head and laughs lightly. That she's glossing over what worries her is partly because she just hasn't said anything about it when she hasn't needed to. Gilbert knew because Gilbert had been here, and she'd asked him to do the cooking, so... )

Man, you actually found some!

[Steph isn't entirely sure she's buys that, watching Collette carefully.]

Yeah, I've got my sources.

[a smile, her tone light enough despite the concern, because she doesn't need to be 100% Batgirl all the time.]

Does he make a habit of being late?

[They can just treat this like a case. That'll go great.]

Where do they even grow these things? I don't think anyone has palms in their gardens around here. Gotta be an import.

( Or a distraction, which is really her momentary hesitation before coming back to what had her typing to the network in the first place. )

No, not really. There's always wiggle room, but if he says he'll be there, he'll be there.

( And the there was here and here was clearly not where he was and thus she's worried because he's also not listed as being the kind of gone that Jason was -- though not the real kind of gone Jason was (Al, still Al in her mind), because Caesar, presumably, had years more of living left to do back where he was from.

Pointless thoughts anyway, but ones she has as she looks back toward Steph, forcing her shoulders to relax and to smile like it was effortless. She's decently successful. )

You really should try some of this. I wasn't kidding, Gilbert's a genius once he got used to the updated technology!

Definitely an import, judging by the price.

[Not that she minds, Steph is pretty good at saving money, so it's fine to splurge a little more, especially if it's something for a friend.

But she can tell it's a distraction, and she's more focused on whatever it is Collette's not telling her, and whatever might be the reason that Caesar isn't here.]

When was the last time you saw him?

[She's not really sure if she feels that hungry, so she doesn't go for any food just yet.]

What's this all for, anyway?

How much do I owe you?

( An automatic question, especially after all her time here. Collette's gaze travels back to the table, then toward the door. )

A few days ago.

( There's a small shrug. She doesn't keep exact track of time, and she has to admit on some level it's just as fine not seeing him for days on end as it is waking up to him dozing off on the hospital chair every morning. She's not sure if that's weird or not.

But she is sure she could debate with herself being honest, or sharing the why, and determines it's enough of a reason to both make Steph laugh (on some level, since Collette would laugh too) and be the quiet kind of concerned retribution. Her shoulders fall, and she looks down at her hands to swallow. Her smile's more rueful, followed by a sigh. )

It's his birthday.

My treat.

[With a wave to dismiss it, because it's just money and it can be a favour, instead of something that Collette needs to pay her back for. She's sure it all evens out in the end.

A few days doesn't seem like too long, when they've all got different things going on, and she's fairly sure Collette and Caesar don't live in each other's pockets.

The fact it's his birthday derails her train of thought for a moment, eyebrows raised as she regards Collette.]

Did he know you had this planned?

( Stephs question makes her honestly laugh, relaxing in fractions because it's something she'd have asked someone else, too. You can't be surprised when people don't show up for a surprise, right? )

Yeah, he did! Hahaha, if it was a big surprise, then how could I be surprised if the timing didn't work out? He knew, and that's why I'm -- ( nngh, she swallows the word worried, discards the word concerned, and settles on: ) -- looking for him. Normally I wouldn't even ask people, but it's been... it's been a lot of things, lately! Boring, tedious things.

( A long, slow recovery that she pressed too hard and fast on Lavi's behalf recently. Collette knows she doesn't look as if she's sleeping well. She's not, and she keeps on with the slow rehabilitation for having atrophied during her extended illness. )

He could still have been coming over without knowing it was a birthday thing.

[Since generally that's how surprise parties work, at least in her limited experience with them (mostly she's just watched a lot of TV).

The main point, though, is it's more worrying that he skipped out on something he knew was happening, even if she realizes that Caesar can be a bit... like that.]

And hey, it's fine, I'd be looking for someone too. [Ressuring her, since Collette feels the need to justify it.] Have you talked to him over the network since you saw him last?

( She shakes her head, then hesitates. )

Just to let him know when he was supposed to head over. I haven't been seeing a lot of anyone other than Bertie and Break lately.

( Or the people at the pool, but she doesn't mention them. )

So it's mostly been when he comes over anyway. You know, to scavenge like the best of teen boys!

( She turns that into an uplift and a half-laugh -- not at all kidding. It's a trait guys in general are good at. Eating food, and really eating food freely provided. Even the sticks could pack it away, which was almost endlessly fascinating in and of itself. )

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text; where do we keep the lost and found around this place anyway? (forward dated to late 7/13)

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