For Sarah

[arlenarkenstone]

Arlen has been around the Nexus, he's just quiet and mostly takes notes. He's also found quiet corners somewhere to stay and work and he once got three teapots from Alec that were imbued with life force but now he only has one. Hmm.
The man in the suit sits in a corner with his briefcase and a notebook, and a teapot nervously fidgeting on the end of a string tied to the handle. The man is writing in a notebook and studying people over his glasses. His hair is long and pulled back, and his skin is a golden tint that matches it, but there's still something about him that's reminiscent of Schreber. The man doesn't have any visible scars though, and he wears gloves.
The bench he's sitting on is long and a convenient resting spot for anyone who might wander over here.

Comments

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

Normally, Sarah pinpoints home directly from work, but lately she's been taking the long way through the Nexus. She listens intently to anyone asking questions, hoping it might have something to do with the horrible game people have been sent to. Especially something about Hanatarou.

She sits down at the same bench as Arlen to rest a moment. Her usual cheerful expression is gone, replaced with worry. She does notice Arlen, however, and smiles politely in a 'Hope it's okay I'm sharing your bench' sort of way, before looking back down at her hands and sighing softly.

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

((I must have his email alerts turned off...))

He gives her a kind of vague nod without even looking up and keeps writing, then pauses after she sighs. He watches her and adjusts his glasses and follows her gaze to her hands. "May I ask you a question?" His voice is kind of flat and distracted.

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

"Hmm?" Sarah looks up and over at him, then smiles again, more warmly this time. "Oh, of course." That's what the Nexus is for, after all.

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

Maybe he's a newcomer? She's probably never seen him. He's watching her without blinking and his eyes are very black, even though he's blonde. "What is of value in your world? What is your currency system based on?" His pen is poised over the notebook.

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

Even if she had seen him before, it wasn't for long enough to form an impression, because she doesn't remember him. His question catches her off guard, but the Nexus is full of random questions. "Well, certain objects are valuable. Gold, silver, and precious gems. And... time is valuable too, I suppose. We use paper money and coins for currency, but ultimately we're exchanging it for goods and services."

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

He sighs and nods and makes a few notes. "And is there a term commonly used for... your world?" The little pause sounds kind of like the irregularity of Schreber's speech, but this man doesn't seem out of breath. He does look kind of disappointed though.

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

"We call it 'The City'. It doesn't really have a name..." She smiles apologetically. "I'm really not the best person to ask when it comes to economics. Our city is very isolated, so we have goods coming from elsewhere. I think if you asked an accountant from my city, they'd talk about the 'gold standard' or 'global market' but the idea that we're part of a world economy is something of an illusion." She peers at his notes. "Can I ask why you're interested?"

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

He doesn't frown over this but just makes a few more notes. "I'm looking for a world where gold is of little or no value." The notebook has lots of neat precise writing and symbols she's probably not familiar with. "I have been unsuccessful so far." He looks up and at the people in the Nexus. "I am certain that this commonality among the people of this place hints at greater patterns, although that... doesn't really interest me."

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I see. Unfortunately, it is valuable in my world, if only because people remember that it's supposed to be." She absently plays with the bracelet on her wrist, the one Daniel got her for Christmas. "I'm sure you could find a world with cheap gold, but it would take a lot of looking. It'd probably be a world that humans aren't from."

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

"It may be a futile search." He nods and looks up even though there's no ceiling. "I will also ask if you have seen or heard of a man named Einrich Gerstötten."
The teapot on the end of the string hops over and cuddles up against Sarah's leg. Take me home please! Get me away from the crazy experimenting man!

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

Sarah shakes her head. "No, sorry. Is he a friend of yours?"

The animate teapot makes her jump a little. "Um... your teapot..." She's not scared, though, just surprised. Tentatively, she pats it on its lid.

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

"My partner. I have been looking for him for some time." He looks down at the teapot. "You may kick it if you find it bothersome."
The teapot strains to reach up and get snuggled against her hand. See what a cute teapot? It seems very affectionate.

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

"Your... business partner?" she ventures. 'Partner' can mean a lot of different things around here, and she doesn't want to assume. She frowns a little and pets the teapot along its side, almost protectively. "Oh no, it's not bothersome at all... it reminds me of my pet kitten. Where did you get it?"

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

Arlen gets funny reactions sometimes and doesn't even know why. He's not the romantic type at all. "Research partner, yes. We are both alchemists." He closes his notebook and leans back a little and the whole bench creaks, like it would if someone very, very heavy were sitting on it. Maybe it's a very old bench? "From a man named Alec Troven. I took three but I have saved this one for later study."
The teapot pushes against her leg like a very insistent kitten. It doesn't make any noise, because even if it's moving around it's still a teapot, but she can bet it would purr right now if it could.

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

Sarah wouldn't have assumed an alternate meaning for 'partner' before the Nexus, either. She grins a little. "Alchemists? Shouldn't you be making gold, instead of trying to find a cheap source of it?"

She scoops up the teapot and sets it on her lap. "Oh, I know Alec. The teapot makes a lot more sense now." She pats it on its lid again. "Are you familiar with magic at all? That's probably what's making it tick. Well, that or pure chaotic energy."

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

This time he frowns. "Alchemy has very little to do with gold and nothing to do with financial gain. It is the pursuit of perfection, of transmutation of the soul into an immortal, pure construct that is complete in itself." He settles again a little and some of the anger fades into annoyance. "I am aware of that. It is some form of life-force energy, which seems to have a finite potential. My earlier experiments resulted in the dispersal of that energy. I do not wish to waste the last one until I have found a way to better harness that force."
She should not be surprised really that the teapot wants to go home with her. It watched him 'kill' the other two.

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

Sarah puts up her hands appeasingly. "Sorry. I was only... well, it was rude of me to joke, I apologize."

Her look of chagrin only lasts until he explains what happened to the two other teapots. She wraps her hands around the teapot in her lap defensively. "You killed the other two?" she asks, horrified. Maybe she's over-reacting a little, but it's hard not to be upset when there's a snuggling teapot in her lap. "I'm pretty sure Alec didn't give you three magical teapots to do experiments on."

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

She should have known, he looks way too serious to take jokes well. He hasn't even smiled once.
He does raise an eyebrow. The teapot is straining on the string to be on her lap and the other end is tied around his wrist over the glove. "It is not alive, Miss, as you or I or even an animal is alive. It is not sentient- although it is possible... it has begin to... develop along those lines..." He suddenly look interested and leans forward and over to peer at the teapot in her lap. It's not quite close enough to be embarrassingly personal but she can feel the bench shift and creak with his weight. The teapot is rubbing against her arm. "I asked him if he had any demands for their treatment before I took them. I was given free reign."

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

Sarah keeps a hand on the teapot, even as she leans back a little. She notices the creaking in the bench for a moment and wonders if it's going to collapse. "It sure is acting sentient." She frowns a little, to herself, regarding Alec's lax behavior. Then again, he barely remembers his own name half the time.

"If you're going to harm it, I don't think you should have it. You should go back to your gold-searching project and leave this poor thing alone. And you defintely shouldn't kick it." She wouldn't normally be so obstinate, but she's sensitive to creatures being used in experiments, and with her nearly constant worrying over Hanatarou and Gabriel, she'd doubly sensitive.

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

This isn't helpful to Arlen's skeptical view of women. He sits up again. "The others were not harmed, the life force was merely dissipated. If this one is developing some form of intelligence then I would prefer to study that process- which would not be harmful to it." He pauses and adjusts his glasses. "And I have never kicked it." The bench seems okay for the moment but it must be kind of fragile or maybe he has really heavy rocks in his pocket or something. "And I have already told you I do not have financial pursuits."

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

Women are emotional creatures, Arlen. Sarah included. Still, she seems somewhat appeased by his words. "You said to kick it if it was bothersome," she points out, annoyed. Still, she relinquishes her death grip on the teapot.

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

Arlen is an unemotional creature and that's probably not healthy. "That was inviting you to kick it. I assumed you would not interpret that... violently. I have heard others say the same about dogs." He adjusts his glasses again and looks thoughtful. "I assumed it was one of those phrases that is not meant literally, but I may have been mistaken. That sort of thing is often beyond me..."
The teapot squirms a little but doesn't really try to get free.

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

Sarah listens to his explanation and looks at him for a long moment. Something in her gaze softens slightly. "Some people do use that phrase and they do mean it literally. Dogs are not treated kindly by some people." She absently strokes the bottom of the teapot's spout and smiles faintly. "I think we've both gotten off on the wrong foot. My name is Sarah. I'm not really at my best at the moment... two of my friends are missing and I'm rather distressed about it."

[arlenarkenstone.livejournal.com]

Arlen also doesn't get the subtle little changes in people's faces and eyes like that. His face and his black eyes are inscrutable. It's hard to even tell how old he is.
The teapot wriggles and leans on her hand. Pettings!
"That...is another turn of phrase the meaning of which has always escaped me. I am Arlen Arkenstone. You... have my condolences for your friends." He can't say he's sorry because he doesn't know them or feel anything about it, and that would be lying.

[sarah-branigan.livejournal.com]

What a strange pair these two make -- a man with barely any expression and a normally inanimate object with affection in spades. Sarah absently pets the teapot while she looks Arlen over more thoughtfully. "Why don't you understand figures of speech very well?" she asks out of simply curiousity. Maybe thinking about why Arlen is so off will take her mind off her friends.

She'd say it was a pleasure to meet him, but she doesn't like lying, either.