Ned & Meyer § Video 04 § Day 114

[nedofpies]

[ The video, when it flickers on, shows Ned, a pencil tucked behind his ear and a faint bruise on his jaw, care of the earthquake a few days ago. Which is, as a matter of fact, the subject of the message. He dives right in, speaking at a rapid clip: ]

I can't be the only one who thinks there was something fishy about that earthquake. Fishier than the usual amount of fishy in this place, I mean. I'm not exactly new to the whole weird-things-happen-here phenomenon, but this isn't the first time there's been an earthquake. I feel like, normally, when things go sideways here they do it in a new and interesting way. The fact that this has happened more than once seems significant. We've been... trying to guess what's behind all of it, but we're kind of coming up short on the ideas front. So, uh-

[ Ned hesitates, glances at someone near him, and then turns the camera towards the other half of the 'we' in question. Meyer sits near him, busily scribbling something into his small notebook, which looks to be running out of pages quickly. He looks up when Ned turns the camera to him, and offers that slightly too-toothy smile, brushing his hair back from his forehead. ]

Like everything else that goes on around here, different people witness different things. For our parts, we only saw a small amount of what happened during the earthquake. We need more information.

[ He gestures to the papers strewn in front of them. ]

I don't doubt that our captors're somehow... involved in this. It doesn't seem like a coincidence that we've had other earthquakes. So if any of you saw anything out of the ordinary -- more out of the ordinary than usual for this place, I mean -- it'd be appreciated if you could tell us. Maybe we can get to the bottom of at least some of this.

(OOC: Since this is a joint post, either Meyer or Ned will respond - if you have a urgent preference just let us know!)

Comments

Re: Well y'know my face IS pretty great

[recognize_an_opportunity]

It can't hurt to try.

[He swipes at his hair again with renewed irritation. It's too long, and that's just another thing he hates about this place. The smallest of irritants seems to take on larger meaning here -- he's well aware that his cynicism might be overblown, but at least Ned seems as pessimistic as he is.]

I don't like waiting around either.

[He shuffles the papers once again, for something to do with his hands rather than anything productive.]

The way I see it, though, there's not much we can do except research. Our hands're tied here.

[nedofpies]

[ He makes a little scoffing noise when Meyer says 'research', but this is a conversation they've already had. Ned knows that the main benefit they can reap from this endeavor is a distraction, that the chances they'll find out anything that could lead to a concrete improvement or even a complete answer are very slim. ]

[But he keeps from losing his cool in part because, well, if Meyer can keep it together, he can too. Still, he's not all that successful at hiding the itch of restless energy under his skin. Strange, how some days the captivity slips by like its nothing and he nearly forgets, and some days he feels like clawing the paint off the walls ]

Meyer, um. [ It's occurred to him, speaking about the earthquake in his message, that there's something important he needs to do ] I didn't- I still haven't said thank you. For helping me.

[recognize_an_opportunity]

[He's tempted to brush off the thanks, to dismiss it as the sort of thing any friend would do, but truthfully, he's not much for making friends, and he's pretty sure it's rude to dismiss someone's heartfelt thanks, anyway. So instead, he simply shrugs, and offers Ned that tiny, enigmatic smile.]

Consider it a debt repaid.

[Because Ned helped him, before. Because he owed him. And, remarkably, because he wanted to help him. That's an unusual feeling. His brushed back hair flops down into his face again.]

Dammit.

[It's an uncharacteristic amount of irritation coming from him, in regards to something as simple as hair, but then, he's been frustrated by the lack of answers to their research, anyway. And then an idea occurs to him.]

Do you know how to cut hair?

[nedofpies]

[ Ned knows him well enough to recognize that irritation and shortness of temper, and the explanation is easy enough to deduce from what he asks next. He blows his own rather too-long bangs out of his eyes, as if in sympathy ]

Theoretically. Well, no. I've never done it before. But how hard can it be? [ Don't answer that, Meyer. With a small, lopsided smile, Ned offers: ] I can do my best, if you'd like?

[recognize_an_opportunity]

I'll return the favor, if you want. We're both starting to look a little scruffy.

[And if they look scruffy, one can only imagine what he's been saying about Charlie's hair, which is far more wild than either his or Ned's.]

It can't be that difficult.

[Yes, it can, but he doesn't think either of them are exactly going for a professional haircut here. Just something to stop their bangs from flopping into their faces.]

[nedofpies]

Would you? [ That's actually rather a relief. Better than asking Daneel or River to do it. River might get creative, and that Daneel might be too worried about screwing it up to make it worth it. He realizes that Meyer might not have meant right now, but all they are doing waiting for responses. ]

I think there's a pair of scissors in the desk up front. We can go and do it out on the steps?

[recognize_an_opportunity]

Sure.

[He stands up from the table, sweeping his notes into a slightly neater pile -- although they're still strewn everywhere -- and resists the urge to fiddle with his hair again.]

As long as you don't make me do some kind of fancy hairstyle I've never heard of, I think we'll be fine.

[He can make Ned's hair shorter. Whether he can make it fashionable is anyone's guess. With that said, he heads towards the front, expecting Ned to grab the scissors on the way out.]