[PRP] Appropriately Arcane (Caiden - Engrav)

[Micillia]

 

[Micillia]

Caiden had received the note with a jolt of excitement. He hadn't seen Engrav is faaaar too long. Sure, the brownblood left the yellowblood packages on his hive-step at least once a week. Usually a bouquet of flowers he had picked, or a rock he had painted to look particularly cute, but he hadn't actually seen the yellowblood in a long long time. Engrav had ignored, or was away from his hive so often, it made the brownblood sad, not to get to see his friend. Caiden had hoped his weekly presents were good reminders of their bestfrendship-atude, but now that he had joined the Rebels, he was having less and less time to make Engrav heartfelt gifts of platonic love. The brownblood looked back at the note, figuring he should actually read it.

Quote:

"CAIDEN. Civisect dust district intersection WILDE and SLOANE streets. Orange building floor 7, room 203. Midnight. COME ALONE."

Caiden smiled. The emphasized words, the exact time, his name fully capitalized, yep, it was from Engrav all right. The brownblood folded the note up carefully and put it in his pocket, he would have to find a nice frame and put it up on his wall later, with all the rest of the notes Engrav had left him. They were often fallowed by requests like "eat this immediately" or "burn this once read" but Caiden kept every single one. Someday, he would pull out a scrapbook of his and Engrav's friendship, and the yellowblood would be touched by how thoughtful Caiden had been to save each and every note. The brownblood knocked on the door to room 203, on floor 7, which was kinda odd in his mind. Usually the number in the hundreds place indicated floor level, but maybe there were just that many rooms in this building. "Engrav! Hey ENGRAV!" Caiden called as he knocked on the door. "Its Me! Caiden!"

Buzzwulf

Engrav's hive's security is totally not in question at all, ignore the brownblood with gifts that visits the same seemingly empty hive every week

 

[Buzzwulf]

Engrav stirred at a knock on the door. On his stool in the middle of the dusty room, he glanced at the display on his metal arm. Late. Caiden was ALWAYS late.

"Come in. Quietly!" He said, pulling up another stool in front of him. It had been... well, it had been a while since he'd seen Caiden. Or at least, since he'd talked to Caiden. He'd kept an eye on the brownblood as he'd visited his hive, but they hadn't talked in a while. The yellowblood adjusted his collar unconsciously, then tugged his vest into position.

The room inside was dusty and strewn with empty boxes. It was one of the rooms Engrav had selected as a bolthole a long time ago, just in case he had to be on the run. He'd visited it recently and made sure that it was secure. No cameras, no electronic surveillance, no holes in the walls to listen though.

"Good to see you. Grab a seat" Engrave said as Caiden entered, motioning to the stool opposite him. "Let's catch up." He had a lot to ask the Brownblood, and he wasn't particularly looking forward to trying to sift through Caiden's traditional verbal deluge for useful tidbits.

micillia

I'll only ignore that if you ignore the obvious supervillian in the room, sitting under a single swinging spooky light.

 

[Micillia]

Caiden was all smiles as he walked through the door. "Engrav! Its been too-" Then Caiden's blissful smile was replaced by a look of confusion. This wasn't the Engrav the boy remembered. Where was the baggy hoodie? Where were the bags under the always angry looking eyes? What happened to the ever present frown and the hunched over posture as if he were suffering from some odd back problem? Caiden almost didn't recognize the well dressed, almost suave looking businessman in front of him, except for the symbol, of course.

Then Caiden's eyes caught the other details. The mechanical arm, the missing eye, the odd hairstyle, and his look of confusion turned to horror. He rushed up to Engrav, fear making his voice loud. "ENGRAV WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU??" The brownblood wailed. He grabbed Engrav's hand, holding it gently in his own, as if it were not quite real. "Wha-" With his other hand he touched Engrav's broken horn points, "How could-" Then the boy burst into tears and pulled the yellowblood into a strong hug. "ENGRAV WHAT HAPPENED ARE YOU OKAY WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME I COULD HAVE READ YOU STORIES AND COOKED YOU BREAKFAST AND STUFF I MEAN HOW DO YOU EVEN GET AROUND WITH ONLY ONE ARM OHHH ENGRAVVVV" The brownblood wailed. He could hardly talk through the hiccups of tears, but did his best to do so anyway.

He pulled away from the hug, still holding Engrav close, and spoke with a serious look in his eyes. "Engrav what happened to you?"

Buzzwulf

 

[Buzzwulf]

Engrav endured the hug with all the grace of - actually, screw this! The yellowblood pushed his friend back away from him forcefully, his face a mask. Caiden had NO idea what he'd been through, and he thought everything was going to just be fine with a hug? He stared at the brownblood's shocked eyes for a moment before he sighed deeply and dropped his gaze.

Caiden was different too, obviously. He hadn't really noticed how much from security monitors. The brownblood had filled out, and really spiced up his color palette. He looked good. Happy even. Engrav guessed he was even happy for him, although he still looked like he could be tricked by anyone with two smart cells to rub together.

"Just... It's been a really long few months, ok? I don't really want to talk about it. And I just, I don't like the touching, and, and, I don't know." Engrav said, pulling the new wrinkles from his vest. He pointedly didn't look at his friend. Caiden hadn't been there. He hadn't been invited, but it still hurt. Engrav wanted to think he was past it, but seeing the other troll up close like this still stung. He looked back up at the anxious brownblood.

"I had to make a change, so I'm trying something new." said Engrav, the smallest specter of a smile dancing around his grubhole. "I see you are too. And speaking of something new: I'm putting something together. A project. I think I need your help, Caiden. I'm can find trolls, but I need you to make sure they want to be found." Engrav ground the heel of his new shoes into the dust. "I'm not too proud to ask if you can help me connect with a few trolls that have disappeared off my map. Nothing nefarious here, promise. I'm done with that. I have a business proposal instead."

The yellowblood sat back on his stool, stiffly. He felt heavy, like all the parts of him didn't fit together quite right."Think about it."  

[Micillia]

Caiden let himself get pushed away, and had a small frown when Engrav told him he would prefer not to be touched. Caiden had kinda always known that, but this was the first time Engrav had actually told him no touching. The brownblood's frown turned into a sad smile, it was good that Engrav was actually communicating, and saying what he wanted, it was a part of opening up. But the yellowblood also looked like he really had been through quite something, and Caiden felt a sense of longing, of wishing he could have been there for Engrav.

Then the yellowblood smiled, or smiled as much as Caiden had ever seen him smile before, and the large goofy grin of Caiden's could not help but come out. He stepped forward to wrap Engrav in a hug, but stopped himself short. No touching. Right. Still, he was so happy that Engrav had asked him for help, and it was there that Caiden decided to try and be there for Engrav more. He knew he had been a little fickle in his childhood, and wanted to be a more dedicated friend, a friend Engrav could count on. "Okay so you wanna meet some trolls!" Caiden said, thinking about who would get along with Engrav, "Sure! I can introduce you to lots of people, what kinda trolls are you looking for?

Buzzwulf

 

[Buzzwulf]

Engrav could tell Caiden was trying really, really hard to hold himself back. And he appreciated it. But he also needed information from the brownblood. And his vision-node probably itched because of all the dust in this old abandoned room. He wiped it away with the back of his hand. Caiden was still so eager to please, like a barkbeast, but there was a wariness to him too now. Something guarded.

Engrav sighed.

"I basically need two things from you. First of all, I need to know trolls that you can think of that have beetles to spend and are interested in funding something coorperative. I've got one or two in mind, but perhaps you have a few as well." Engrav handed a small pad to the brownblood, gesturing for him to take it. "I'm going to start a school. Something where trolls like me who didn't have the resources to truly build something spectacular can get their backing, and trolls with more funding have something to gain by being patrons."

He hadn't said it out loud yet, but now that he did, it sounded almost... altruistic. And he supposed that it was, really. He had always been frustrated by his inability to secure important resources, the lack of actual scientific training throughout the community. Still, it almost sounded like a sopor nightmare now that he'd put it into words.

"I'm trying to keep it quiet for now, so careful who you talk to about it. Eventually, though, I hope to have a campus where trolls can come to learn and compete. That's the second thing I need from you: I need trolls that can work as teachers, and I need to vet them personally. Can you think of anyone that fits that description, Caiden?" Engrav fidgeted on his stool. His metal fingers tapped a complicated rhythm practically of their own accord. He needed this to work out.

Micillia

 

[Micillia]

Caiden mused it over. Rich trolls, huh? He knew a few purplebloods, sure. He even knew a seadweller or two. He would have to look around a little more first, then get Engrav the info or something. Then Engrav said he was starting a school. Caiden lit up. "ENGRAV!" Caiden burst out. Then coughed a second, and restarted. "Well Engrav, i don't know about subjects you are going to teach, but, if your considering adding a liberal arts section, i have a suggestion." Caiden beamed. Look at that, he could calm down and talk all serious and stuff.

Engrav turned serious and Caiden's smile dropped. Serious stuff, he could do that, especially for Engrav. Caiden nodded along, he knew some smart trolls, he could get this done. "Ive got some trolls in mind. Ill talk to them about it," Caiden did an exaggerated wink, "Discretely."

Buzzwulf