mallowhallow | { o1 video / action for Orlea }

[The man on the feed is looking distinctly pleased with himself as he stares into the camera, a strange glint in his one visible eye and a vulpine smile playing on his lips. Eagle-eyed viewers might notice that the poster behind him appears to have been put up the wrong way round- until they realize that his scarf probably shouldn’t be sticking straight up in the air and, in actual fact, he’s the thing that’s upside-down, not the world around him.

The Ninja is perched on the ceiling of an underpass in both a boast and a cheerfully shameless “screw you” to gravity. No wonder he seems so smug; he’s showing off.]

Some of you might be content to sit around and wait for something to happen but that’s not really my style. [chuckles softly] I’d rather stay sharp and be ready for the storm to hit when it inevitably does. In the meantime, my services are available to anyone who needs them.

[It's been a few months since he was active as a shinobi before a law enforcer and, whilst it hasn't dulled his skills any, even he's surprised by how eager he is to return to that life. Trying to fit back into the role of a peacekeeper and policeman without Soldier somehow feels wrong- or maybe it's just that he doesn't quite trust himself to play nice without his influence keeping him in line.

The Ninja pauses briefly before putting his head to one side, smile broadening to a challenging grin.]

... if any of you can keep up with me, I might just be impressed.

[ooc: Additional action option! The Ninja’s going to be following people around all day ~~out of curiosity~~ for practice so if your character’s in Orlea they might find themselves with a ninja stalker.]

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[Cobra doesn't frequent Orlea--preferring the taverns and brothels of Highcrest, or the advanced technology he's familiar with in Crystalden--but suffice to say he doesn't like to stay in one place for too long.

As a scoundrel and thief with a huge bounty on his head, he has every good reason. In this land the latter doesn't seem to pose as much of a problem, as his history has little meaning to people who don't know it, but his sticky fingers are still a bad habit. At the moment he seemed benign enough, casually strolling around the sidewalks... probably less so as he took his stroll around the perimeter of Orlea's nightclub. The sides of the building, the back entrance, the fire escape, the rooftop, how far away the next building was; he was carefully taking note of all these things.]

[It's probably for the best that Cobra's managed to leave that less than squeaky clean past at home, otherwise The Ninja's motivations for picking him out to follow might have been something more sinister than casual curiosity. He's never seen him around before- not necessarily significant given how densely populated and diverse Orlea is- but there's something else about him that he can't place.

Most of his targets have had a specific destination in mind, no matter how roundabout their route might be but this man... he seems content to simply wander without purpose. Maybe he's just a tourist. Or lost. Whatever the case, it has The Ninja following him. It's only as he starts to circle the nightclub that things get more interesting- if he didn't know any better, he might say that his target was scouting out the place.

He moves to the second highest platform on the fire escape, the metal only giving the faintest of shivers as he lands. Right now he's conscious of how vulnerable the daylight makes him; keeping a distance seems wise, at least until he's figured out what he's doing.]

[Cobra would make for a poor thief if he didn't learn to recognize when eyes were on him for longer than the should be, but it was difficult to assess anything more. Whoever was tailing him wasn't easy to see. --Couldn't see, but he could faintly hear the presence of another in the distance.

Cobra kept his saunter as slow and casual as possible, alternating between stuffing his hands in his pockets or locking them behind his head. He whistles. He sticks his finger in his ear to clean it out. He does everything to make himself try to appear as uninteresting as possible, hoping his pursuer would get bored and leave, or better yet, become too impatient for their own good.]

Aaaahhhh...

[He rolls his head around his shoulders lazily, subtly using it as another opportunity to try and locate them.]

I've gotta' take a piss. Where's the bathroom?

[Hey, the night club has a back door up that small stoop. He starts to aimlessly bumble towards it.]

[Unfortunately for Cobra, trying to out-wait a man known for his steely patience might not be the best of plans and his attempts to lure The Ninja out prove fruitless. As he rolls his head, the flicker of movement from the top platform down to a lower one informs him that he hasn't lost his stalker just yet- on the contrary, he appears to be moving in.

... of course, he would decide to go inside. The Ninja's mouth sets into an irritable frown as he watches the man head towards the backdoor. He doesn't particularly want to follow him inside, not when the narrower space might get him caught, but he doesn't want to lose him either. Especially not when he's starting to get the impression that he knows he's being followed.

For now, the only move he makes is to swing down to the lowest level he dares to, the second floor.

Flecks of rust rain down as he lands. Damn it.]

[Ah, he picks that up. Cobra doesn't turn or flinch or move around; barely more than a pause and glance to the side for him to register the disturbance made. As tempted as he is to pull out the Psychogun and get a precise location, he thinks it might more fun to see how much further he can lure his follower out of hiding. He is "innocently looking for the bathroom", after all.

Cobra's hand goes for the doorknob

slowly

and

dramatically.]

Is it here?

[He turns the knob.]

...

[And jgiggles it a little.]

It's locked.

[So, is he putting on this show for his benefit? How flattering. Still, it seems to be working because as Cobra reaches out with painstaking slowness, The Ninja finds himself leaning right forward. Will he open it? Won't he? The tension is killing him here.

... of course not. The Ninja's head falls against the metal railings with a faint, dull thunk.

But it's pretty obvious that he's already aware of him and, on top of that, unless this guy makes a habit of describing his movements out loud like an overenthusiastic narrator, he's being toyed with. He could admit defeat and back off gracefully... but he's never really known when to quit.

The Ninja drops down behind him to the sound of his scarf rustling.]

Well, it is a nightclub.

{ o1 video / action for Orlea }

[action]

{ action } sorry, this is a little late!

NO ME I'm a slow turtle I'm sorry.

wow dreamwidth don't tell me about this reply or anything 8|

DW stop being a butt

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