text; username: fenris

[bravers]

David Alleyne's gone missing.

He hasn't been back to the dorms for a few days, and his job hasn't seen him either.

If any of you know him, thought I'd let you know.

Comments

un: dpdhank

[sociallychallenged]

Yeah. I knew him.

If you're still in the dorm, can I drop off something of his for you? I think he'd want you to have it.

[He'll phrase it like that, because it's important for this guy to stay the fuck away from him if he sees him again.]

[bravers]

I guess, sure. I'll hold onto it and pass it over to him when he's back.

[If.]

You probably know already, but we're at room 401.

[sociallychallenged]

[That if is a very big if. Hank is pretty angry and upset because of what might have happened to these kids. They were good people that had important things in their lives, and now he suspects they didn't even have the chance to go home.]

[God he'd be so happy if it was anything other than what he thinks happened. Either way, he knows they've been replaced now.]

Be right there.

[And within ten minutes he's knocking on Tidus's door, in his hand a note that reads.]

David isn't David anymore. Neither is Heather.

Burn this. I can explain more later.

[He'll have a Doberman with him. Luckily with Cloud's room, she just watches the door expectantly, giving a single wag of her nub tail as she waits. Good sign, he thinks.]

[bravers]

Alright.

[And knockknock. And no- he's not seen this guy before. But the guy has a dog! ...Which actually looks like a dog. Which. Wow. It's been a while since he's seen an animal that looks like what it's supposed to be. He eyes Hank, then the dog. Then Hank.

...Then the dog again. That lazy wag of a nothing of a tail kind of. Does a lot to lift his heart. But it doesn't show on his face. He steps aside, allowing owner and pet inside the room and closing the door before something's pushed into his hand.

He takes a moment to read it, and...
Huh.
His eyes move to Hank's face, then his eyebrows furrow. And his lips part.]

..

[He shouldn't say anything. There's a reason this guy wrote that down.
So he just stares, nodding.]

...Yeah, thanks.

[Why the hell doesn't he have a pen to respond properly.]

[sociallychallenged]

[Hank just nods, looking sad about it. David and Heather had been good kids. David had wanted to give kids like him a better chance back home. Heather just wanted to help her dad. He doesn't even know if they're still alive. He just knows for certain that the one place they're preserved are memories in a couple of doubles.]

Look. If you ever want to talk about David, let me know. We can hit up a restaurant or something.

[AKA He doesn't want to talk about it at all here. He's even more paranoid than he used to be, and even then, he used to talk with music always playing in the background or sound covering his voice. Now he knows, for certain, everything is going to catch up with them.]

[So he has to hold that back for as long as he possibly can.]

[bravers]

He'll probably be back soon. It's fine.

[The statement is brief, disinterested-sounding, but a quick nod, with his unnaturally bright gaze locked onto Hank's own eyes is a direct contrast to the statement. Because yes, he does want to talk about David. And yes, Hank's caution has indicated it's a foolish idea to do so here.

...He'll probably have to change the subject entirely when Zack gets here. It's not as if he's a stupid man. Nothing could be further from the truth. He's just.... not shrewd. And tends to say what's on his mind. A lot.

Anyway.]

...When he's back, I'll tell him to meet up with you at this place he likes opposite the North exit of the park. He should thank you for bringing that thing back. When're you off work? Assuming you work?

[It's. sort of clumsy. But hey. It's a (veiled) offer.]

[sociallychallenged]

[Gold star there for the effort. He nods glumly.]

Yeah. I think I know where you're talking about. And yeah, I work.

[Luckily he's made no secret of what his job is on the network. If Cloud looked into it, it's up front.]

If you see him tell him I'm sorry I didn't get back to him sooner.

[He sounds genuinely disappointed by that. He should have checked in on him sooner. He should have made sure that he was okay.]

[bravers]

[Looking up that'll be interesting. Especially given their different lines of work. Still. It really doesn't matter about any of that. Not when this guy sounds so sad with his last statement.

Gingerly, he walks to the door, giving the dog a last look. ]

I'll let him know. And I'll also tell him to meet you there so you can tell him yourself.

[He holds the door open. Maybe.. he can kill some time until then by looking for the bug Hank seems so concerned about...]

[sociallychallenged]

[He nods glumly. David had known. David had been helping him back when they were trying to figure things out. He knows that there are other technically capable people around, but David deserved the chance to be more than what his genes or other people's designations made him. He needed those chances.]

[Either way, Hank pats Maggie and gets her to follow him.]

[He'll head to the park later that evening, Maggie still in tow just in case. There's been a lot going on, and without Connor around? He's going to need back-up.]