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Post by Malcolm on Sept 20, 2020 20:44:35 GMT -6
"Teach," said Yoru idly over breakfast one day. The two of them had taken to eating together; or at least, Yoru had begun showing up to Malcolm's breakfasts, and Malcolm, loath to imply that he would alter his own schedule simply to spite one pesky child, allowed it to happen. It gave Yoru a chance to chatter at him, but Malcolm had grown used to the chattering; and sometimes the boy had something worthwhile to say. Malcolm disliked how the epithet of 'Teacher' had been so quickly shortened to a more colloquial form, but he expressed this distaste only in his refusal to answer to it directly. This, naturally, didn't deter Yoru in the least. The boy had pluck, Malcolm would give him that, but sometimes Malcolm wished he had a little less. "I heard about a job in town today," said Yoru, taking a bite out of a piece of fruit. 1
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 24, 2020 21:25:31 GMT -6
"Did you," said Malcolm evenly, his eyes still on the newspaper before him. Skimming the classifieds section, looking for who was selling, who was buying. The markets, formal and otherwise, always had the answers to the questions he wanted to ask if he paid attention long enough.
"Sure did," said Yoru, taking Malcolm's response as an indication of interest. He grinned, puffing out his scrawny chest. "The Astronomy Association is holding some kind of event to watch a rare comet. They want people for all kinds of things. Set-up, take-down, guards..." Yoru rattled off options as he ticked them off on his fingers. Malcolm took a sip of his coffee.
"How tight is the security, do you think?" Malcolm said idly.
Yoru paused and looked up, blinking. "I dunno, since they're hiring for it. Why? Are we... We're not going to rob them, are we?" From the fall of his ears, that hadn't, in fact, been what Yoru had been proposing.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 19:27:36 GMT -6
Malcolm arched a brow at Yoru. If he was in fact having some sort of moral crisis about this, it would be a strange one, considering the fact that Yoru was a petty thief himself.
But that was a conversation they could have later. For better or for worse, it was not in fact what Malcolm was proposing this time around. "I doubt they would have anything of use to us," he said evenly. "But it's always good to know these things, just in case." In case things went awry... Or in case there turned out to be something there after all that they could make use of. He didn't plan on stealing anything, but he couldn't rule out the possibility of finding something he just had to have. One of the basic tenets of his job was to keep an open mind, and it was especially true of him now.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 21:20:43 GMT -6
The worse a position you were in, the more open-minded you would have to be. The powerless didn't often have the luxury of choice, and the choices they faced were often unsavory. And while Malcolm wouldn't have called his current position horribly untenable, it wasn't exactly anything to write home about either.
And if Yoru was having some sort of moral crisis about the merits of breaking laws now that he was getting regular meals, Malcolm would either relieve Yoru of those concerns, or relieve himself of Yoru entirely. He hadn't invested much in the boy; it wasn't as if anything of Yoru's size could eat much. It would be no real loss, besides some time wasted.
They'd cross that bridge when they came to it though.
"Well, if you don't know, we'll just have to scope it out once we get there," Malcolm said, never taking his eyes off the newspaper.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 21:24:40 GMT -6
He wasn't concerned. This didn't sound like the kind of high profile event that necessitated a lot of strict security measures. Probably they just hired a couple of mean-looking bouncers and that was the end of it.
"I'll make sure to look extra carefully," Yoru said. "You need me to go scouting? See if I can get into some clearance-only places for you?"
"I don't know if..." Malcolm began, but thinking about it, an astronomy association probably did have members-only areas. So he changed his phrasing and said, "I don't think we're in the market for the kind of information they'd have at the moment. But I'll let you know if that changes." After all, hadn't he just been talking about keeping an open mind?
Yoru looked disappointed, but only slightly, and only for a moment. "We'll leave after breakfast," Malcolm said. "So do your best to finish quickly now."
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 21:28:03 GMT -6
Next time, Malcolm would choose his words more carefully. Yoru had given him a singularly enthusiastic nod, then tried to eat a raisin whole. It wouldn't have been a noteworthy thing to attempt if you were the size of a human, but on him it was downright impossible, and his attempt had the predictable result of him nearly choking, and being reprimanded sharply by Malcolm not to be a little fool.
Really. He didn't like working with kids at all.
Malcolm left the boy to his meal so he could pick out his clothes for the day, since he inevitably took longer than Yoru to do it. It didn't much matter what Yoru's clothes looked like, so long as they were clean and neat; Harachiu lived by their own rules, and as far as he could tell, those rules didn't really have a strict measure of outfit coordination or fashionability.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 21:30:55 GMT -6
For better or for worse, however, Malcolm was human, and it very much mattered how he looked. Then again, Malcolm liked dressing himself, and he liked dressing well. Most of what he had brought with him when he came here had been clothes.
Some might have thought it a facetious choice of priorities, but what Malcolm had come to understand in the two dozen and change years that he had been alive was that whether they admitted it or not, people judged others on their appearances. And thus it was crucially important to him to be able to best represent himself how he needed to - to be taken seriously, to be looked upon favorably, or even to strike a little fear into those who needed... striking.
He laid out several jackets and blazers, and next to those, several different shirts. It wasn't yet cold enough for sweaters, which was a shame.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 21:59:25 GMT -6
Still, he did have a wide variety of shirts to work with. After some thought, he picked out a dark blue shirt to pair with a white blazer, and white slacks to go with the lot. Casual, but still sharp, if styled correctly. He rolled up the sleeves, both to compliment the still-warm temperatures of very early autumn, and to add to that casual air.
He thought it would be the right note to strike. Granted, he hadn't really done enough research to know his audience, since this had been brought up by Yoru over breakfast and that had been the first he'd heard of it... But he trusted himself enough to think on his feet and improvise, if that was what it really came down to.
An understated but handsome watch and a pair of good leather shoes completed the ensemble. Not his best, but certainly not his worst either.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 22:02:13 GMT -6
By the time he was finished, so was Yoru, so the timing worked out on that end. He didn't ask whether Yoru was ready to go; either he was, or he should make himself so in a hurry, since Malcolm wasn't the sort to wait on those below him.
Yoru was ready. He might not be quick on the uptake on everything, but he had learned the important rules of Malcolm's household quickly enough. In fact, Malcolm suspected most of what Yoru did was a matter of pushing boundaries, to see what Malcolm would and wouldn't tolerate from him.
Well. Picking your battles was a sort of skill, Malcolm supposed.
They set off at a good clip to the shopping district, from which Malcolm managed to secure directions to the place they actually needed to go. Which was halfway across town from where they were. That was just his luck.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 22:18:11 GMT -6
He took it in stride, however, mostly because he had an audience. A part of him would have liked to curse aloud, because he was only human, and anger was a natural part of that - but he hadn't gotten to where he was today by throwing tantrums in the streets. With practiced ease, Malcolm forced a smile, thanked the woman for her information, and began the long trek across town to the Astronomy Association.
If he was being honest, he hadn't really expected trouble when he got there. And there was good news: the Association was, as he had suspected, a bunch of intellectual types - not to say 'nerds' - who didn't much care for their own dress or, he suspected, anyone else's.
He didn't expect a short man in glasses to give him a once-over and ask, without even a modicum of tact, "Okay... Well, what do you do, then?"
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 22:23:10 GMT -6
Only long, long years of practice kept Malcolm's smile fixed on his face. "Pardon?" he said, because it was possible that he had heard wrong. Not very likely, but possible.
The short man adjusted his glasses, squinting with the beginnings of annoyance. "What do you do?" When Malcolm didn't immediately answer, he went on. "You don't look like a security type, and we've about filled up on those anyway. I haven't seen your name in any publications, so you're probably not into research like we are here. That leaves set-up and take-down, I guess, but... No offense, you don't really look the type." The short man gave Malcolm a second, more pointed once-over, while Malcolm wondered just how much trouble this job could possibly be worth.
Yoru hovered at his side, looking a little anxious. As well he should be, considering he was the one who had suggested this farce to Malcolm.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 22:37:38 GMT -6
Before Malcolm could manage a reply, however, the short man answered his own question, hitting his fist into the palm of his other hand. "I've got it! Why don't you act as a scribe for us? We'll be too busy to put down all the notes, and all you'll need is a good writing speed."
"I'd be glad to offer my services," said Malcolm, though frankly he wished he could in good grace turn it down. In fact, he regretted coming here at all; there didn't seem to be much in the way of useful contacts, and the equipment here was too specialized to easily sell, not to mention its specificity made it too easy to trace, which made it hard to fence.
Still smiling, he said, "And my protege here would love to help run any messages you might need to pass on during your event." He motioned to Yoru.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 22:41:14 GMT -6
If Malcolm was going to have to do this needless, ridiculous work, then Yoru certainly wasn't going to get out of it. The boy couldn't read or write, Malcolm knew, and he also couldn't manage taking down or setting up human sized equipment, but he would make a good messenger. Better than most, since he understood Common, and could relay messages verbally, if needed. Better than a beast, at least.
The short man brightened at his suggestion, adjusting his glasses once more to get a better look at Yoru. "A Harachiu! Oh, very good, that would be immensely helpful. Thank you." He seemed satisfied, so Malcolm returned his smile, though inwardly he was still unhappy at having to waste time with this nonsense.
At least they were getting paid, he supposed. But then, he probably wouldn't have gone for it if it was a volunteer position, because he wasn't that much a fool.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 22:46:12 GMT -6
The man clapped his hands together and put Malcolm's name down, then gave him a date and time and place. And that was it; he hurried off to the next willing applicant to be interviewed. Such an open and shut process... No reference checks, nothing. Security really was loose at this kind of place, Malcolm thought.
"W-Well... All's well that ends well?" said Yoru, smiling nervously.
"We'll have words later," said Malcolm, his voice still calm, but cold. Yoru sighed; probably he had sensed this coming. But they were still in public, and as trying as the day was shaping up to be, Malcolm refused to make a scene here.
They went home, had their uncomfortable conversation, and got on with whatever else needed doing. The days passed, and the date of the Association's event came. Malcolm dressed without much care on this occasion; he wanted not to be noticed today, if he could help it.
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Post by Malcolm on Sept 29, 2020 22:49:52 GMT -6
He dearly wished that it was because he would be doing something clandestine, but in fact it was simply that he didn't want anyone to associate him with the lowly role of a scribe. He hoped that no one he was already acquainted with would show up; that would be very unfortunate indeed, and a blow to his reputation besides.
On the other hand, he made sure Yoru's presentation was up to snuff. It was mostly revenge, but the Harachiu was going to be in a more visible position, running messages, so there was some real justification for it.
They showed up fifteen minutes before the time the man had specified to them. As much as Malcolm hadn't wanted the job, now that he had taken it, he would perform so that there could be no complaints. After all, even jobs he didn't want had a chance to affect his reputation.
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