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[ Almost two weeks ago, Riley was ripped from a dream world with so many things to think about. So many revelations, so many...emotions. She should've had those two weeks to work them out, or at least to start walking through them, to navigate the aftermath.

But, almost two weeks ago, Riley returned shell-shocked to her apartment, laid down to rest, and did not wake up until this morning.

It hadn't taken her long to notice the time discrepancy. Her apartment's been moved through, Maple's been fed. The sweet cat won't stop grooming her once she's up and about, and she wants to spend time with him, but she's also acutely aware of everything being...so stale. So stifled. Sure, people (who? who of her friends— who might've seen what she was and still—) had entered and left, checked on her, but it hasn't been really lived in.

So Riley does what Riley does when she's anxious and upset nowadays—she takes to the sky. It's bright, it's beautiful. There's no sign of the rampaging treants that were out the last she was awake and aware, no sign even of the carnage. How long has it been? She's not cognizant of those two weeks, just desperate to find someone to ask.

Silly; she should've just gone next door, but—

But the thought of entering her neighbors' doors sends prickles over her skin and ruffles through her feathers. The dream world aside, in just the day before all of that, Celeste—

She needs something tactile. The sky helps so much, but sometimes it just gets her lost in her own thoughts more. Riley lands and meanders about the streets, idly looking for someone she recognizes. A flurry of thoughts may distract her mind, but her sharp eyesight picks out a familiar figure.

Weird, she can't help but think. Giorno's not usually one for the concrete jungle, so to speak. That alone gets her attention. He's also chatting someone up, more enthused than she's seen him about...what're they serving, is it pastries? Whatever it is, it doesn't keep her eye, Giorno does.

That's why she spies the flick of his hand across the worker's back pocket. Why she almost does a double-take upon realizing just what's happened. Her talons click on the concrete as she approaches the table. So quick was she to leave that her hair's down, a rare sight. She pushes a feathery strand back. ]

Giorno? What're you doing?

[At the sound of his name, Giorno . . . doesn't squawk. He definitely would not categorize the sound he makes as a squawk. Maybe more of a startled questioning noise, but a very dignified one. Not anything to be ashamed of, obviously. But it does startle his new friend into jerking his head up and almost colliding with Giorno's chin, which in turn makes him drop the fucking wallet.]

[Thank god for vines. He manages to catch it before it hits the dirt, wraps it up tight in a coil, and then turn to look for whoever called his name. Fun fact: it takes him several long seconds to recognize who he's looking at, so rare is it for Riley Williams to have her hair in anything but a ponytail. But when he does recognize her . . .]

Riley!

[Samples guy is ditched in an instant (and looks kind of hurt about it) as he slides off the table and makes a run for her. She's getting a hug whether she wants one or not. And by the looks of it she doesn't (what did I do to make her mad now, he thinks without a trace of irony), but too bad. He throws his arms around her anyway.]

You're up! I missed you.

[ Honestly, Riley's in such a haze that the judgement clouding her features is only light to mild. More pressing is the need for answers, for understanding, and that in itself bothers her. She has to care about these kinds of things, the rules and the way the world works, if she gets out of line, she could do something wrong, start to become—

Giorno has her in a comforting hug before the thoughts can nestle too deep in the nest of her mind. His arms don't chase them away, but they bury them. She has something else to focus on now. ]

Missed me? [ Almost instinctively, she returns the hug, but she tries to get a look at him, to figure out what's going on. ] Were you— the person feeding Maple?

Of course I missed you, it's been days.

[More? Things have been hazy after Draumheim, a sea of emotions so thick they drag time to a standstill interspersed with chaotic electric storms. This is an upswing, a sudden internal insistence to feel adrenaline — one which has been broken into by another kind of excitement, but that's not a bad thing. Riley's back. With Riley back, things make just a tiny bit more sense.]

[She squirms to look at him, so he pulls back a bit and lets her, one hand still resting on her upper arm as though to make sure she stays real. His vines work subtly behind his back, though. He does want to finish what he came here for before he gets completely distracted.]

I think I'm one of the people who were feeding him, but yes. He seemed very worried about you. [A slight, albeit fond wrinkle of his nose.] I was the only one to take the trash out, though, I'll tell you that much. Are you feeling all right?

[ Almost instinctively, she starts to answer, but— Well, that's a wonderful question, isn't it? ]

I'm... I think so, but I don't— Giorno, just yesterday I was in a...a giant tree, it feels like, one of the people who— [ Aunamee helped save her. That thought sends chills down her spine. ] I didn't know you could just...fall asleep for— days?

[ How long has it been? ]

[He makes a noise, soft in agreement. Days, yes.]

It's July first. To be honest, I didn't know you could do that either. This place is just full of surprises. [He smiles, but in the most irritated way imaginable. It's a "the manager will hear about this" smile.]

[Sarcasm aside, though, this isn't about him and his opinions. It's about Riley, who is becoming increasingly awake and capable of freaking out. He looks down at her critically.] Have you eaten anything? Or did you just get up and start flying right away?

[ It's a good thing Giorno has a good hold on her, because hearing the date shakes Riley. ]

That...long...? [ That's a lot more than days! ] Oh. Oh, wow. Um. No. No, I haven't— I wanted to get out of my apartment, the air was- ...it felt stale.

[ Like when she'd died in there. Unlived in. She couldn't take it, not right now. ]

Mm. I see.

[He can't really blame her, not with that reasoning. Even without anything else in play, he'd want to flee. So there's no point lecturing, really. She knows as well as he does that it's a bad habit, but this time . . . well.]

[All right. That's settled, then. He lets her go properly and gives a decisive nod.] Let's go get something to eat, then. Your pick. [Which means, somewhere under there, that she gets to decide what kind of sustenance they're going for. If it's food or food.]

[But before they go — he looks over his shoulder at samples guy and calls out,] Hey! You dropped this.

[And he chucks back his wallet in an easy underhand throw. Samples guy catches it, seeming just incredibly bewildered. There is no cash left in that wallet. There were only like ten solars in the first place, but still. Rude.]

[Anyway. He turns back to Riley, who's more important, and offers his arm.] Come on. [He doesn't know the phrase "let's blow this popsicle stand", but that's the vibe he's giving off.]

[ Your pick, he says, and Riley's lips twitch slightly. The harpy in her itches to grab something or someone in her talons. It wants to rip into someone, like she'd done in the dream world—

Her feathers ruffle slightly at the thought of all of that. There's so much she barely let herself think about. Now, weeks have passed and she hasn't processed any of it. Normally she'd just push it all down, but...

Blissfully, Giorno provides another distraction in the form of the wallet. As she almost absentmindedly takes his arm, she lowers her voice. ]

Did...that guy really drop his wallet?

[ The food question's going unanswered, at least for the moment. ]

[She makes him laugh. A bright, delighted laugh, more a cackle than anything even approaching graceful; certainly not at her, but in sheer joy at the world. It exists. There are boys whose wallets he can steal, and Riley is awake, and she's hanging onto his arm, and they're going to go eat something. It's a nice day out.]

Oh, no. I stole it.

[This is the least sorry anyone has ever sounded about anything, ever.]

But I gave it back. I left something in it, even. [It might not be money, but it is certainly something!]

Giorno!

[ That's what she suspected, but she swats his arm anyway. She almost turns back around to apologize to the poor worker, but that would be drawing too much of a scene to them and it'd give her hives.

Still! She gives him a very judgmental look. ]

That guy's earning himself a living with some honest, hard work! You can't take it from him! What if he's trying to support his family?

[ Captain Buzzkill's awake! ]

[See, Riley, you're swatting him but you are not letting go of his arm. He learns nothing.]

He's not. I asked.

[That's aggressively not the point.]

I'm earning myself a living with honest, hard work too. This is recreational. I only steal a lot of money from people who can afford it, of course. And if he wants it back, he can just ask.

Edited 2021-08-11 21:26 (UTC)

[ She's not good at negative reinforcement, despite it all... Silly Riley. ]

Yeah, he'll ask the police! [ Wait. Wait, the monster thing— ] ...Okay, maybe he won't, but- still! A little money could be a lot for the right people. And- what am I even talking about, stealing! Is bad!

Riley.

[By this point, he's really fighting a losing battle with laughing at her. Hasn't lost yet, but oh, he's struggling. With his free hand, he reaches out to tug gently on one of her feathers.]

Sweet Riley. I took ten solars and left my number. I'm certain he'll survive, hm?

[ It clicks.

Oh.

Oops.

Riley's face flushes. ]

You— were stealing from him...to flirt with him?!

Sure.

[The non-Riley-supporting shoulder shrugs lightly.]

I was also stealing from him to steal ten solars, but mostly the other thing. It's fun.

[And if Haruno did that, too, Riley doesn't need to know about it. So that's that. Don't become quick on the uptake now, kiddo.]

Can you forgive my degenerate morals, or does this just make it worse?

Giorno, oh my god, this is like, so much worse!!

[ She's very lightly shaking his arm. Her voice is like an octave higher than usual. ]

Why is it worse!

[RILEY HE'S LAUGHING AT YOU NOW. THE SEAL IS BROKEN. YOU ARE BEING TOO MUCH OF A DAMN FOOL]

You— you're not supposed to- it's like— it's just worse!!

[ Stop laughing! Stop laughing, it makes sense!! ]

I don't think that it is! I think you want it to be worse because you're embarrassed, but you know it isn't and that I've done absolutely nothing wrong.

[Convince him he's not Mona Lisa Saperstein! You can't!]

You literally did something wrong, stealing is a crime!!

[ this is so stupid ]

And I am a criminal. Such is life.

[This is incredibly stupid.]

It works, you know. In case you were wondering. There's about a 75% success rate. People find me very charming.

[Disgusting but unfortunately kind of true.]

How?

[ WOW, RILEY— ]

How do they find someone who steals from them charming?

[ —oh, okay. ]

That should be, like...an absolute deal breaker.

Because it's a game.

[Although he's not laughing at her anymore, the corner of his mouth does quirk up, wryly amused.]

If I want to take someone's money, they'll never know I was anywhere near them. If I take something, let myself be seen, then the other person gets to play the game, too. It's an invitation. "Step inside the circle and see how it's done." That's all. Sometimes people choose to accept that invitation, sometimes they don't.

Edited 2021-08-12 07:09 (UTC)

You're telling me there's people who're not just intrigued but like...excited about that?

[ The phrase you're looking for is turned on, Riley.

She actually kind of...frowns a little. Not like her judgmental lecture frown, but a genuinely unhappy one. ]

...I'm never gonna understand dating.

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CHEERYCHERRY. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 019.46.820.17 * CHEERYCHERRY has joined 019.46.820.17 <CHEERYCHERRY> It's Riley! <CHEERYCHERRY> Please leave a message! <CHEERYCHERRY>** Please be someone with their priorities sorted out properly!

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in fairness to giorno the real issue is that i can no longer process the passage of time

honestly who the FUCK can process the passage of time

only wizards

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