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[otiosity]

[A few hours after the rescue teams are formed and given their objectives, Hawke goes to the network as much as she loathes the thing. The sacrifices she makes for her friends, really! She's deserves a cake or something.

Anyway pay no attention to the fact that she's sporting a spectacular bruise on her cheek and a hastily patched up cut on her forehead that's bleeding through the bandage.]

Hello, fellow refugees, Hawke here. It seems like after a little encounter with one of our delightful kidnappers, I ended up completely missing the rescue party planning. And here I was, all ready to sacrifice my charming anti-authoritarian streak for the same of my friends!

[She shrugs. And then winces.]

Still, I'm not about to sit around while Isabela has been taken from me. She'd never let me live that one down, injured or not. Plus I have sort of a reputation for thwarting these things that I have to maintain. I guess this is a "fall from grace and redemption sort of thing".

So any stragglers, left-behind or anti authoritarian or otherwise, want to put our heads and try to see what we can do about this whole mess? Something like a private scavenger hunt? Or maybe we can walk around wearing signs that say "kidnap me" on our backs! I'm open to suggestions either way.

[She's smiling throughout the whole thing but it's a tight smile, clearly kept there for her own desire to stop herself from feeling any sort of great panic or even more so, guilt over the loss of her friend.]

Also if... anyone out there manages to get to Isabela first... [She pauses] tell her that she was right and I do have a blind spot on my left. And if you do see her, give her a knife right away. She'll probably be pleased to slice up her captors.

((ooc; other unaffiliated people feel free to toss around suggestions and discuss their predicament! Hawke is going to try and do her own search if anyone wants to join))

Comments

[cassus]

Must be your perfume. Eau du Chivalrous Leader, perhaps?

[ Who knew a dame sporting something that looks like a battle scar across her face could pull off 'pouty' without missing a beat? He's just met her and Hawke hasn't ceased to surprise him. Including her, ah - rapt enthusiasm about the one animal whose blind and unconditional loyalty only irritates him - and reminds him of everything he wants to forget. ]

Seems like we both have some very strong feelings about humanity's canine companions.

[ Ahem. Not that he ever lets on that his are strictly of the negative sort. It's waaaay too early to be burning bridges now. Better to wait until later, and ensure the disastrous fallout is completely worth it. ]

Alright, spill. [ Still, curiosity gets the better of him. ] What's his name?

Please tell me it was something more creative than fido or spot. I'll even accept food-related names.

[otiosity]

Oh, no, I'm allergic to perfume and chivalry. It definitely can't be that. Or I hope it's not that.

[She makes a vaguely disgusted face and shudders a little bit. Then when he mentions strong feelings about dogs, she gives him the most concerned look. Like she knows that his opinion about dogs is negative and she literally cannot believe someone could believe that way without some kind of serious brain damage.]

Well, he doesn't have any spots as he's a mabari. But no, his name is "Kitty". How's that for creative naming for canines?

[cassus]

You know, I didn't give you nearly enough credit.

[ Listen.... He has a Tragic Past™. And somehow it involves stray dogs, in the most unexpected or believable sense.

He also might have brain damage. The jury is still out on that. ]

I shouldn't have expected someone with your good taste to resort to things like Muffin or Cookie.

[ Sure, he's not had the best experiences when it comes to the concept of dogs, but Hawke's choice actually makes him sincerely chuckle. Dazai is a cat person through and through, so the name actually earns Hawk's canine companion a few brownie points. ]

I'm sensing a pattern, though. A Dog named after a cat, and a dame named after a bird of prey.

Or is that just a coincidence? [ So, he's a little curious about that nifty name of yours, Hawke. ]

[otiosity]

Most people don't. I've been tragically undercredited for most of my life. Especially for my taste in dog names.

[And... other more important things but eh, priorities.]

Oh, I'm actually named for my father. He's the originator of "Hawke", I've just taken up the family name. Though, it's spelled with an E, which I have to clarify, people keep sending me things without the E and then that all does look like sort of a coincidence. Someone would have had to have planned that one.

[cassus]

Not this time, at least. Kitty is the best dog name I've heard by far.

[ Well....It's most just hilarious. Dazai is still trying to stifle a chuckle over imagining this dangerous looking lady calling out for a cat, only for her pooch to come trotting up, looking excited instead of severely offended.

Guess it's a good thing dogs don't mind being named after their feline overlords arch nemeses. ]

It suits you. [ Ah, family. He knows that's often a sensitive subject, but Hawke seems so proud that he can't help but meddle. ]

I'm sure he'd be proud to see that the person carrying on his name is bravely trying to rescue damsels in distress.

[ Although Isabela sounds like she'd slug her hero if they asked for a kiss as a show of thanks. ]

.....Even if they're of the pirate-y kind.
Not everyone here engages in valiant anti-kidnapping measures in their spare time.

[otiosity]

Oh good. I'm glad you support it. Most people don't seem to appreciate the humor.

[She sniffs. Some people have no sense of humor! Or maybe they just have a normal sense of humor and hers is terrible.]

It does, doesn't it? It would be terrible if I was stuck with a name like Blorgflurf. It really would undermine my cool and yet carefree demeanor.

[Then she chuckles.]

Believe me, it's not my first choice of hobby I just sort of stumbled into it.

[cassus]

Happens to the best of us. And considering all the current pillaging and plundering, there aren't many options to choose from.

[ In the lull between skirmishes their city is lucky to be functioning, and isn't exactly providing classes on needlepoint. ]

Now the festivals and parties before everything hit the fan... Those were worth devoting some serious time to.

[ Self-indulgence isn't exactly a difficult pastime, nor does it require any sort of learning curve beyond alcohol tolerances. ]

Too bad the blue bloods here didn't throw a regular royal ball or two. I never got to wow anyone with my superb dance moves.

[ Embarrassing. He means horribly, atrociously embarrassing. Unless you count the one waltz he was taught. ]

Speaking of names, mine's Osamu Dazai. Might come in handy when you need to find me again for our little rescue mission.

[ Or if Hawke needs to hunt him down after he does something Completely Awful, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. ]

[otiosity]

Ah yes. That is generally a good thing, knowing names. Then I'd have to just keep saying "hey you!" to front the fact that I never asked and have no idea what your name is.

[Good thing someone's on the ball here. And it doesn't have to be her. That's a great feeling.]

Well, once we get everyone back in one piece maybe we can throw a "hooray, we're not all dead thanks to a cult and now we need a good excuse to drink" party.

[cassus]

Considering that I'm not a complete scoundrel, I wouldn't have said a word.

A lady deserves to keep her pride, after all.

[ Hawke isn't into the flamboyant nonsense of chivalry. It stands to reason Dazai should tone down his usual penchant for drenching every conversation in the heavy flirtations that hide his true feelings of emptiness. That said, it's hard to completely abstain when actually wants to tease, so something a lot more subtle slides into place.

He likes Hawke so far, and it's really no lie that he'd actually find it intriguing to be in her company again. Which is an extraordinarily rare things for a man who still struggles to find interest in anything. ]

I'll be there with bells on, you can count on it.

[ Said playfully, as though he can only hope such a celebration isn't cut short by more tragedy.

There's nothing like making friends and christening the event with good strong drinks. It's one of his favorite, albeit rather nostalgic, past times.

Plus, what more could he ask for than getting more casual conversation with someone as easy to talk to as Hawke? She'd probably be even more honest once she hits the bottle.

Although one look at her makes him certain she could almost drink him under the table. Which makes the notion even more interesting. ]

Because not dying horribly sounds like an excellent reason to celebrate.

[otiosity]

She does. Believe me, I've worked very hard for my pride and that's not exactly easy.

[She reaches up and rubs her nose thoughtfully.]

Doesn't it though? So many people fail to appreciate the small things.

[cassus]

It's human nature to take our existence for granted.

[ A casual shrug, admitting his own guilt of it. He's never put much stock into his own survival. However, when it comes to a select group of people, that changes dramatically. ]

Or the lives of those around us. [ Hawke is surely an exception. ] But not everyone does.

[ Most people don't expect that today could be the last time they'll ever see someone special again. It's ironic that even while living on that razor's edge, knowing that death lurked around every corner, he still hadn't been prepared for losing the person closest to him.

Recalling what he's lost only makes Dazai more certain that Hawke deserves every chance of bringing Isabela home, safe and sound. ]

When you see Isabela again-

[ It's not Dazai's place to meddle, and while he can assume some facts about the situation, he can't possibly know the nature of their relationship. But the parallel of severed bonds between two people who care about one another hits home enough for him to feel compelled to give Hawke a little nudge. They're the sort of words Dazai wishes he could say to someone that can no longer hear them. ]

She should know how much you missed her.