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corvidcrows · 1 year ago

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The thirteenth CS goes to @bailey-the-narrator 's Bailey! I hope you like this one, and may I just say I want to pinch this man 🤏

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Bailey is someone who likes to take extensive preparations when it comes to executing little projects of his. Whether it's simply choosing a hue for his living room wall, or brewing the perfect cup of coffee, there's simply no way that he would not have at least a few plans at the ready before undertaking such a task.

That habit extended to the way he makes friends. Bailey may be an introvert, but he does enjoy forging social connections. However, he's not the least bit savvy when it comes to initiating interactions, so he must make up for this by employing various methods for gathering information. Information about his new friends, of course. Nothing incriminating.

He stalks– ahem, observes people from a good distance away. He takes notes of the important details about the person he wants to befriend: things like their favorite foods, the most likely places where they hang out, and what kind of things interest them. It's not exactly a watertight solution as it did require quite a bit of time and effort, but Bailey is proud of the results it yields.

As a result, he's befriended some people because of his resourcefulness. His first friends when he dropped into the Paraverse were other Narrators; versions of himself that ranged from the mundane to the utterly fantastic. As a normal human, he falls under the former, and it always floors him to see the different kinds of shapes Narrators can come in.

His new circle operates on the same sliding scale, but he wonders what being on the other end of the spectrum feels like. He is exceedingly ordinary compared to the rest, and sometimes this makes him feel a bit left out when the others display feats and abilities beyong his capabilities.

He's not going to lie, it makes him feel a bit inadequate.

No matter. He still liked to make friends with people, and despite his seeming ordinariness, he's managed to make quite a few. Falling into the Paraverse had its upsides; now he was more likely to find people with the same interests as he did. These people were still alternate versions of himself, after all. Surely they had some things in common with himself. So far, despite the colorful personalities of most Narrators, Bailey can still find something to relate to.

The same goes for the current Narrator he was observing. This man had caught his eye the first time the other had been in his cafe. The man seemed innocuous enough when he stepped up to him, though he did have some features that indicated his inhumaness.

"What can I get for you?" asks Bailey with politeness to his tone.

The man simply squints at the menu board, eyebrows furrowing as he scanned through the list of items. The more Bailey looks, the more inhuman he appears. Very pale skin, pointed ears, slitted pupils, and when the man's tongue darts out to wet his lips, he can see the ends of sharp canines– fangs– protruding from his mouth.

"Do you have tea?" asks the other Narrator, as if he was not standing in a coffee shop instead of a tea house. Bailey blinks and gestures to the menu board at first, confusion and slight irritation coloring his expression. He prays to anyone listening that this Narrator will not be difficult.

Do you see tea anywhere on our menu? "I'm sorry sir, we do not make straight tea."

"Straight tea? So there could be something with tea in it?"

Bailey sighs. Yes, there technically was, but that didn't mean he was itching to make them. It's still coffee, but if he has to do anything like brewing tea, he's out of his depth.

"Anything with matcha has green tea powder or extract in it. You can browse them in the matcha series collection part of our menu. But we do not make tea here."

|The man stills for such a long time that Bailey almost asks him to step aside for the next customer while he makes a decision. But before he could do that, however, the man opens his mouth and points to a space above him.

"Very well. May I have a matcha latte? I wish to drink it here. Extra hot, soy milk, less sugar."

An order he could most certainly make. Bailey smiles politely at the man and gestures to the far end of the counter, where orders were being made. Bailey glances at the customer as he leaves, then does a double take at the person's appearance. Instead of legs where the bottom half should be, the space is occupied by a coiled tail that winds from side to side as the man moves. The Narrator pauses when he sees a seat, then slithers and disappears round the corner.

Well. Not normal at all. This Paraverse, it's always full of surprises. Just when Bailey thinks that he's encountered a Narrator that seemed somewhat normal, it always manages to flip the script on him. He shakes his head and takes the order of the next customers, who turn out to be a gaggle of Stanleys that take up most of his time and energy in preparing their complicated orders.

But if he thought that this would be the last he sees of this mysterious Narrator, then he is sorely mistaken. The man appears again and again, like clockwork at 4 pm every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, to get his steaming cup of matcha latte.

"I like this flavor of coffee," The Narrator says by way of explanation. "I usually prefer tea but you managed to convince me otherwise. You have talent, Bailey."

Bailey preens. It does feel good to be complimented at something he loved doing. But then he notices something.

"How...?"

"Your name? It's on your nametag."

Oh, right. Bailey glances down at it and gives him a sheepish grin.

"The usual?"

"Yes, thank you." The man bows and returns to his favorite seat by the window.

Favorite seat? Bailey blinks at the revelation. He must've been paying much more attention to this Narrator than he thought. Not only did he memorize his hours and his order, he had somehow also memorized where this man usually seated himself in the shop.

Bailey watches as the man twists his tail around a table leg and fishes out a book from the inside of his coat, and starts reading. Interesting.

In his mind, Bailey makes a decision to gather notes for his new potential friend.

Fast forward a few weeks, and that's how Bailey finds himself hiding behind the trunk of an oak tree, watching said Narrator as he takes a leisurely walk through a park.

This Narrator was incredibly difficult to profile. No real friends that he could tell, barely any acquaintances, and no one else he could ask about the man. He had barely anything in the way of social media despite knowing the man was on the Paraverse net constantly. He was an enigma.

He had to resort to eavesdropping and hearsay to gather what little information he has right now. He knows this man's name is Luke, that's the least he could parse. Along with the fact that he liked tea and loves good books and films. He also apparently leaves his house constantly to wander the Paraverse city.

This last fact was convenient for Bailey because he never ran out of places to observe Luke, who seemed to have an uncanny knack of running into the most peculiar personalities. Eavesdropping on his conversations with others gave him the most information on him.

- Speaks extremely formally (note to self: bring thesaurus for our first meeting)

- has a kind disposition but seems aloof

- somewhat unsociable yet willing to mingle with others

- has powers relating to technology. calls himself a technogeist? (note to self: do NOT have any gadgets on your person while observing; good chance of discove–

"Why are you following me? Bailey."

Bailey nearly jolts out of his skin when he looks up and Luke was standing in front of him with a very cool snd neutral look on his face. Bailey only had a split second to snap his notebook shut and tuck it away into his bag before ehe could respond.

"Following? No–"

"Youve been following me for approximately 3 weeks or longer."

Bailey's jaw drops. Again, how–

"Your smartwatch. I can identify it; every device has a unique form to me."

Oh fuck, he forgot about taking it off. He glances at his wrist and sighs. Luke's abilities are far more terrifying than he thought, but this time Bailey had no one to blame but himself.

He shuffles on his feet and looks up at him. "Sorry, sorry. I... I just...?"

"No offense taken. You have no ill intent."

Bailey tilts his head, surprised by the other's calm disposition to being essentially stalked. "You sure you don't want me to explain myself? This looks really bad, you know."

"It does," he agrees. "But if you had wished to harm me, you would have done so sooner rather than later. And I doubt there is one thing you can do that could pose a threat to me."

Ouch, that last comment kinda stung. But fair point.

"I swear I'm not doing this for suspicious reasons. I just... It's embarrassing."

"I won't be offended, but I'd rather you attempt to justify your behavior for the past few weeks. Just for my peace of mind."

"I– well– iwanttobeyourfriendsoI'mtryingtoknowthebestwaytobefriendyou," he says in one breath. Luke raises a brow.

It seems he still catches the gist of what Bailey was saying, because Luke says, "You could not just ask me?"

Bailey stares. Swallows. "First impressions are everything. It will always be much better to prepare for them than to go in blind."

"Is it? Because my first impression of you right now is of you following me everywhere without my knowledge."

Bailey swallows. Falters. He almost wants to cry at the thought of being discovered but he somehow holds on.

"Or of you want to get technical, my first impression of you is telling me what kind of drinks your coffee shop does not serve."

"I..."

"Have much more faith in your ability to befriend people. You do not need extraordinary means or be special yourself to make a lasting impact. If it wasn't true, I would not have made the effort to compliment your skills for those times you made me an unfamiliar beverage. I say you are doing pretty well for yourself."

Bailey listens to this with a contemplative look, but at sound of the last words, his face splits into a smile. This man– he really knows how to make someone feel better without quite meaning to.

"Thanks, Luke."

Luke doesn't even ask how Bailey knows his name. He smiles back and nods. "You're welcome, Bailey. I'm flattered you even want to know me better. If you so desire, we can converse over a cup of good tea... or coffee?"

#for a fren #never tagging these oh no no #yes i hope you like this

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