Undakai Incorporated: Rolling

[124-C]

Tsuji, noticing for the first time the gathering crowd of a workday and the ever brightening sun turned to leave, but was distracted by a peculiar food-cart. It's humble appearance such an odd juxtaposition to the tower behind it that his mind normally would have glazed over it as normal, as it had undoubtedly done previously as evidenced by the way things had been built around it. The difference today was it's clientele.

"Now... what would the acting-leader of such a powerful corporation be doing eating at a food-cart like that, Boleslaus?" The question drew strange looks from several passersby, but Tsuji only frowned under scarf at the lack of answer. Donning a thin pair of sunglasses drawn from his breast pocket he walked quickly but not hurriedly towards the cart, "Lets find out."  

[WiskersThCatfish]

He opened his mouth to answer Slim's question but was cut off by the new customer. He shot Slim a look packed with knowing, and dropped his hands below the counter; a second later he smacked two plastic bowls down against the tarnished formika. "Two specials." He followed up.

The soup on the burner was finally coming together, he dumped in the pasty meat, shells and all. The onslaught of vegetables gave the steamy concoction an earthy, but sour scent. A big ladl,e about the size of a bowl itself, went in next, mixing everything up and down, and then fished out a portion, first dumping it into Slim's bowl, and then making a second trip to fill Roland's bowl. "Welcome to Noodle'Thulu, by the way." He commented to Roland as he poured.

Jimmy turned the burner down a ways to keep the soup warm, all but a few of his tentacle helpers seemed to disappear at that point, and with his real hands he cleared a space, and began to kneed his dough again.

"Lemmie see what I can't do about a second course." He commented to Slim as he threw the dough ball down. "You're asking me for news, but lemmie tell ya', it's slow around here. Quiet, even. People don't talk much any more, people aren't so friendly. At some point I remember this city treated all it's newcomers with a rain of ticker-tape, but now, look:" He gestured to Roland very discreetly. "They just blow through. Nobody wants to meet them.

"Somebody should meet 'em." He raises an eyebrow, to sort of drive the point home before continuing. "You ask me if he misses us. Like I'm supposed to know, or something. I'll tell you. He doesn't miss me, he doesn't miss that building, or the things that went on inside. I'd dare say that 'miss' is a term a little too lightly used in this situation. But does he regret leaving a few people in his dust? I'd say that's a fair bet."

He picks up his dough ball, and smacks it down into the noodle-maker, which he starts to crank. "You're sitting up there bored as all hell. You come down here with a frown on, looking for news, well here it is: The news is that you're down here." He gazes innocently over her shoulder to Tsuji's position. "Big news."  

[Roland Karloseth]

Roland nodded as he was handed his bowl. Not asking what was in it, and not really even caring too much, he began to eat. The food wasn't too bad, actually. He might come back, depending on how long he was in town. Once again, depending on if he could find work. As he was eating, he noticed another person walking towards the stand. He was... interestingly garbed, to say the least. However, in his experience, sometimes it was the oddly clothed that proved to be the most dangerous.  

[Erverain]

Rounding the corner that leads to Jimmy's, Erv beholds a rather unusual sight. Current CEO of UndaCorp and former Rebel Ringleader Tsujigiri in the same place. And there are no explosions! Erv is amazed. Perhaps they are going to become friends over a bowl of delicious Jimmy brand ramen? Food does bring people together, after all...
Now, what am I thinking? Those two are like nitroglycerin and gasoline. Incredibly combustible at the slightest provocation. Maybe I should come back later...
Erv's stomach growls in protest.
Well, fine, you win. But if we die, I'm blaming you...
After giving a small wave in passing to Tsuji, Erv sidles up to the cart, sitting next to Slim.
"Good morning, Miss CEO. Business going well?"
Erv's stomach grumbled at the scent of fresh noodles.
"Oh, yes, the usual, please."  

[WiskersThCatfish]

"Morning, Erv." Jimmy slid a bowl in front of him, and slopped in a ladle full of the special. "S'all I got until lunch."  

[Slim95]

Dropping her photograph on the small counter of the noodle stand and glancing over her shoulder, following Jimmy's gaze from just moments prior, Slim flashes Tsuji her best smile, nodding towards the cart in a "come hither" fashion. She swivels forward once more, fishing her chopsticks from her briefcase and finally digging into the bowl of suspicious soup before her. Delicious, as per usual. The day just kept getting better.

Her eating interrupted by Erverain, Slim puts her bowl down to speak to him, dabbing at the corner of her mouth with a napkin as she says, "Good morning, puddin'! Business is booming, I'd say. Highest rate of soul collection in years, now that I've got it worked into a rigorous routine. It's really..."

Her eyes glaze over for a moment, glancing downwards in a fleeting moment of clear sorrow. "Efficient."

The smile in her lips and the bubble in her voice returns in mere seconds, as if the uneasiness in her words had never existed. She looks towards Roland, tilting her head curiously while asking, "Hey, friend, you're new in town, right?"  

[Roland Karloseth]

Looking up from his meal, Roland nods. After wiping his mouth with a paper napkin from a near-by dispenser, he says "Yeah, just got here today actually. Looking for some work. Last city I was in, I got into... er, I exhausted the place out of available work." Roland then flashed a toothy grin, and continued with his meal.  

[Erverain]

"S'okay, that's the usual."
Noticing the sudden dip of Slim's tone, Erv began to wonder exactly how they take souls without Undakai as the medium. It can't be pleasant, by Slim's reaction.
Probably shouldn't ask Jimmy for any info on junker hotspots while the CEO of the company supplying the junk is sitting next to me...
Erv ate in silence as the newcomer talks about himself.
What a violent-looking fellow. One can guess what his profession is.
Erv took a napkin from the dispenser.
You know, I really should finish that auto-napkin-dispenser I'm developing. But I can't get it to stop bursting into flames. So very odd. But, I can't give Jimmy a defective dispenser you know. Inventor's pride, and all.
"Well, thanks for the meal. I'll be back in a little while, Jimmy, for what we talked about the other day."
Waving farewell to Slim, Erv steps away from the cart and heads off in a northern direction. Who knows, there might be some delightful scrap this way.  

[xDarkPisces]

Utterly perplexed by both the possibilities and oddity of the note, Pisces exits his modest apartment, after donning his white suit jacket and straightening his tie (one must always be prepared to meet someone important, he thought). He steps cautiously out onto the stoop, looking warily around him for any traces of the mysterious visitor, and, in finding none, which was to be expected considering the circumstances, he sets off down the sidewalk towards the center of town.

A few blocks down, he notices a small group of people, some seated and some standing, crowding around an unassuming stall. He studies the patrons from afar, wondering if one of them could have left the message while noting the manner of dress, posture, and build of each. The girl, sharply dressed with an air that oozed eminence. The man on the right, his clothing darker and slightly shabbier... from his current location, Pisces couldn't see a face, and after all, a face tells a person's deepest secrets...

"Well, what've I got to lose?" he whispers almost inaudibly. He steps from the shadows of the alley and approaches the stand slowly, his eyes shifting from person to person guardedly. The man behind the counter is a tall, odd-looking character with a messy apron tied around his middle. The scent of... of what exactly? The smell is disagreeable, yet intriguing, and even as Pisces' stomach turns over, he realizes he has not yet eaten.

So, he sits, quietly (albeit muttering a bit out of habit), attempting to decide whether or not to order something. He does not speak just yet, having found no reason to intrude.  

[124-C]

s**t. I guess I'll have to talk to them... He didn't particularly relish the thought, but it would be rude to leave now. Especially with the number of people that had already acknowledged him, I could wait for a truck to—we're on the sidewalk—I could wait for an usually large person to pass between us and... ******** it. It could be interesting.

He walked, a little slower now, to the group. Stopping about 6 six feet behind the patrons and rested both hands on the top of his cane in front of him, one on top of the other. The drop of blood from the p***k on his finger finally having a chance to slide down the surface leaving a stripe of darker red, "Well, now isn't this an interesting gathering of bodies..."

His head moved slightly behind his scarf as his quick glance over the group ended with his attention on Slim, "And what is the Little Miss doing out without a pet? Has she forgotten how a master acts?"

His eyes darting to the photo on the counter, "Or perhaps she simply has her hands too full these days for trifles?"  

[Erverain]

Erv felt a chill creeping up the back of his neck. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed Tsuji had approached the cart.
Oh, dear. I suppose it was a good thing I left when I did. But whatever are they going to do? Jimmy only recently rebuilt his stand from last time...  

[Roland Karloseth]

Roland recognized the man in the scarf's behavior. Classic case of taunting. He obviously didn't care too much for the female who was dining, and for all Roland knew the feeling could be mutual. Trying not to act too suspicious, he watched the unfolding scene as he finished his food.  

[Erverain]

Well, I shouldn't poke my nose where it's likely to be chopped off, so I suppose I should... Wait, what is that?
Catching a slight glint from the corner of his eye, Erv turns to focus on a seemingly deserted alleyway. Judging from the looks of it, this pathway goes back into the Old Town of the ATG, which had long since scabbed over with the putrid waste of n00bery. It became a place not even trolls dwelled, and as such it could be a prime scavenging spot.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose. There might even be some useful parts for Jimmy's auto-dispenser! Hopefully they'll be a bit more flame retardant than the other samples..."
Disengaging the safety on the Negotiator, Erv proceeded into the rank underbelly of the ATG.  

[Slim95]

After waving a fond farewell to Erverain, watching Tsujigiri approach from the corner of her eye, Slim turns her grin towards the stranger. Crossing her legs and steepling her fingers atop her knee, she tilts her head to one side slightly and says, "An excellent worker, eh? Strong looking fella like you? One can only imagine what you do for a living."

"Tell you what, tough guy," she croons, fishing about her briefcase till she pulls a business card from its depths and hands it to the newcomer, "Give me a call. I've got more work for you than you can handle, of any sort you'd prefer."

Finishing up her proposition just as Tsujigiri pauses to speak, she slides off her seat and stands calmly as quip after quip slips from behind the crimson scarf. A smile remains spread over her youthful lips, a glow in her cheeks, but she allows a twitch in her tail.

“It’s a tad uncharacteristic of you to be absentminded, Ri-kun. Have you forgotten how this particular master acts? She never leaves her pets,” she giggles, tweaking her glasses.  

[Roland Karloseth]

Roland accepted the card from the woman, and said with a slight smile "Thank you. I will see what I can do, and probably give you a call later." He briefly glanced at the card as she got up and approached Tsuji. Noticing it was a card for Undacorp, he stuffed it into the pocket in his jackets interior. "Undacorp, huh? bound to be some high paying work there. Let's try not to let morals get in the way this time, you don't want trouble with a company this big" He scolded himself. Having finished with his meal, he stood and pulled out his wallet. "How much for the meal?" he asked the chef.