The Park, Thursday Evening

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Conner had heard rumors of a soccer-playing nun in town. He found this fascinating on quite a few levels.

Not that this had anything to do with the fact that he was currently dressed in his bright red (what other kind, seriously?) soccer outfit, kicking a bright red soccer ball (sense a theme here?) around on the grass.

. . . no, honestly, it really didn't. It'd be a bonus, sure, but hey, he was out on the grass with a soccer ball. It didn't get much better than this.

[OOC: Open! Get your park-y groove on!]

Comments

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

Edward had gotten sick of kicking his soccer ball around in front of the dorms and had wandered in the direction of the park, idly dribbling his ball along with him.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Conner knew the sound of a ball being dribbled when he heard one, and spotted the figure heading his way. "That you, Al?"

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

Edward stopped dribbling the ball and sighed dramatically. "It's the coat, isn't it? My little brother steals my wardrobe and suddenly I cease to exist."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Your little brother?" Conner repeated, peering more closely. "Oh! You're not Al!"

Way to be brilliant, McKnight. Way to go.

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

"No. No, I am most certainly not Al." Edward dribbled the ball, looking more amused than offended. "I'm... getting used to that. It happens more often than not anyway. I'm Edward, by the way."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Conner," he replied, "and it's awesome to see more soccer players around here. Sorry about the confusion, man. At least the other guy who looks kinda like you has short hair."

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

"Al's got long hair," Edward responded, confused. "He's got a ponytail, unless he chopped it off since I saw him last night."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Conner blinked. "But . . . the guy in my science class . . ."

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

Edward cocked his head. Wait a second... "Was this guy like this - " he illustrated by waving a hand in the air above his head "-tall, with really light blonde hair and blue eyes? Accent?"

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Yeah! That's it!" Conner exclaimed. "Said he was a rocket scientist, or something like that?"

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

He waved his hand in the air dismissively. "I wouldn't know about that. I've...met him once in passing."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"He's not related to you guys, then?" Conner absently scooped his soccer ball up onto his foot, then kicked it into the air. "Not that it'd be the first time around here."

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

"Nope. Don't know a thing about him, although he seems to know an awful lot about me." Edward watched him kick the ball about. "I'm used to the weirdness around here, anyway. Where are you from?"

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"This world, as far as I can tell, and two years ago." Conner sent a pass Edward's way as he spoke. "I keep thinking if any more lookalikes or almost-lookalikes show up, we're gonna need our names tattooed on our foreheads."

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

"I'm so not wearing a nametag," Edward said, catching the ball and dribbling it. "I figure if I blow up more shit this semester than last, people will at least know who *I* am."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"More?" Conner repeated, eyebrows shooting up into his hairline for a moment. "You've blown things up here before?"

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

"Well, yeah." Edward had the gall to look surprised. "You mean there's people here who haven't? Al and I took out the second floor common room. It was an...accident. Yeah." Edward decided the ball was the most interesting thing in the area for a minute.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"I haven't blown anything up yet," Conner said, almost plaintively. "Wait, is that why the second floor common room is all tricked out like that? You guys should totally blow up more of them!"

He paused, and added, "Just not the fifth. It would suck if you blew up the octopus."

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

Edward's eye twitched. "There's an... octopus in the fifth floor common room?"

What was with today? How did octopi and explosions work its way into every conversation? It had to be a conspiracy. Really.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Yup, Proty. He's a pirate octopus, I think," Conner said. He hadn't noticed the eye-twitch in the growing darkness. "Eye patch and everything!"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter headed into the park and over to Anna to see if he could find Nadia's next clue.

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

As it so happened, Conner was doing a few ball tricks near the pond as Walter approached, but was a little too caught up in them to notice him right away.

Until the ball hit his elbow the wrong way and went bouncing toward Walter.

"Whoa! Sorry there!"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter grinned and kicked the ball back toward Conner before walking on toward the lobster sculpture. "It's no problem. How are you this evening?"

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

Conner stopped the ball with his foot and picked it up, tucking it under his arm. "Pretty good. How's your day been so far?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"It's been going well," he said, checking to make sure Anna didn't have something stuck in its tail or the like. "It's my birthday and Nadia has me running all over the island trying to find her."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"It's your birthday?" Conner asked, feigning surprise -- pretty decently, for once. "Dude! She's making you run around on your birthday? What for?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"It's a treasure hunt of sorts," Walter answered, setting down the case he was carrying and pulling one of the envelopes out of his waistcoat pocket. "And she's been leaving presents with the clues."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"That is so cool," Conner said, and at least the awe was genuine. "This lobster here your next clue?"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"I can't see what else it would be." Walter looked suspiciously at Conner as the one person "coincidentally" at the location the clue pointed to. "I don't suppose Nadia might have given you anything to hold for me?"

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Who, me?" Conner asked, the very (badly drawn) picture of innocence. "Why would you think that? Just because lobsters look good in red, like me?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box with a card attached (http://nadiathesaint.livejournal.com/64677.html), and handed it over to Walter with a grin. "Okay, you got me."

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

Walter shook his head at Conner's bad acting and took to box, reading the card and laughing before laughing more at the shot glass inside the box.

"Thanks, Conner. It seems she's sending me to Caritas now."

[connernotconnor.livejournal.com]

"Excellent. Have a birthday drink for me, man," Conner said and flashed Walter a thumbs-up. "Actually I owe you a birthday drink sometime, I guess. Good luck with the rest of the search!"

[walter-n-wires.livejournal.com]

"Thanks. I'll hold you to it," Walter said, heading out for Caritas.