A new job ( Lepa)

[Yuki]

Jade was back at the mall again. It had been a week since she helped Taylor fight that cyborg. That say was a mess... She dropped her guard and ended up getting over overwhelmed by the masked stranger's anger when the thought of John came up. It was clear the masked stranger knew about John and HATED him. Never again would she link minds with a stranger.. Lesson learned. The other mess was when she hurt Officer Millie's feelings.. She had not meant to and still felt really bad about it. If she ever saw Millie again she would not know what to do to really say so Jade felt it best to avoid her for a while.. With a sigh Jade looked at the help wanted fliers she had gathered and looked around. So far she had been rejected due to the fact she did not have a high school diploma. She was wondering if she would ever get a job... She did not always want to rely on Amara for food and money, she wanted to stand on her own. Jade then started walking into shops though sadly would just get rejected again.

Jade would look at the time and give a sad sigh it was time to eat.. So she made her way to the food court ordered some food and then sat down. Would she ever find a job at this rate? Jade then started to eat as she thought herself in her thoughts.

[Lepa]

Casey was a pretty secretive person.

Maybe it came from his thieving days, but he didn't like being seen. He didn't like showing off his powers straight up in public. He didn't like the fact that maybe some of it was caught on recordings last week. Even with a mask, he felt it was a flimsy disguise. Maybe others would call him paranoid, but he knew what it was like to work for someone with eyes and ears everywhere. So maybe... maybe he was the tiniest bit justified in his paranoia.

So why the hell did he return to the mall so soon?!

Maybe it was because of that Taylor kid. Casey had recently learned of the teen's plight, and while he found himself worrying a bit over him, he felt some relief knowing that he shared this burden of this knowledge with someone else. Perhaps somehow, it made him grow bolder, and that's why he ventured back to the scene of the fight.

Or maybe it was just because Ricky forgot to restock on burgers back at the club and damnit Casey just really wanted a burger right now. Today was a mall burger kind of day. Such was the power of hunger.

While he paid for his coveted burger, Casey managed to snag a small box of candy while the cashier was occupied. It was up on display on the counter, but low enough that it was just out of their view. His motion was quick and fluid as he slid the sweets into his pocket as smoothly as melting butter. He probably could have afforded it, but at this point, sneaking things every once in a while had become a game of "can I get away with it?"

And get away with it he did. He gave the cashier a quick thanks and walked off with his tray, amused with his small victory. In the moment, he felt more like a little kid than a 20 something year old gang leader, but the feeling immediately passed. Low key paranoia kicked in again as he searched for a seat cornered against the wall. It was something he'd learned young; no one would be able to sneak up on him that way.

After starting on his burger, he glanced around the area, casually skimming through the people seated at the food court. He paused awkwardly when he recognized Jade, then quickly looked away. Taylor assured him she wasn't with the doctor, both figuratively and literally, but the fact that she could apparently probe minds or whatever made him uncomfortable all the same.

[Yuki]

As Jade sat there with nothing but her food and her own thoughts she felt the presence of someone she had encountered recently. She looked up to see Casey getting food and stealing a small box of candy. Jade choose not to say anything though, mainly it was just candy and that the man did help during the mall fight. Even if his sudden anger hurt a lot.. Never again would she connect her mind to someone ever again.. It was just to risky, as she found out the hard way. Jade decided not to say anything as Casey went and sat down in corner, but soon he did notice her. She could hear his thoughts and sighed. So he was wary of her because of her powers.. Of course, not that she could blame him any. She also heard the thoughts of Taylor, so he must of spoken to him.


" Hello, I would like to thank you for your help." Jade projected with her mind. Did she have to do that? No, but she never got the chance to thank him. Would it make him more uneasy? Most likely, " Also no need to worry... I mainly just hear surface thoughts in passing. I don't go any deeper then that unless I have a reason to." Jade projected as she then look over at Casey giving a small nod in greeting before looking away again. She most likely failed trying to ease his concerns.. She was still not very good at emotions.. But she was still learning and hopefully would get better.

Jade then picked up her papers as she look at the list of shops that where hiring, so far everyone one of them rejected her.. But she had to keep trying.

[Lepa]

Hearing a sudden voice in your head that isn't your own is never a good thing and cripes did it startle Casey. His body jerked in surprise, though he quickly followed it up with a fake sneeze so as to not draw suspicion to the fact that he was seemingly reacting to nothing. ...Not that anyone was watching. He hoped.

"Maybe try talkin' with yer mouth like the rest of us, then," He thought in return. It came across harsher than it should have, but it was supposed to be a private thought. Manners didn't matter in his head, but he'd realized his mistake immediately after. "...Ah. Sh*t. She heard that." He paused, then mentally apologized. "Uh. Sorry."

Ugh. Should he just go talk to her? Taylor was one thing, but they'd chatted away from prying eyes, and he otherwise looked like a normal kid. Jade... not so much. Okay, sure, maybe it wasn't as strange in a city where the mayor was a weird (and apparently cute?) kit-soo-nay/human hybrid, but... for someone who mostly hung out with a bunch of (relatively) normal guys ("normal" was subjective, nevermind the gang member part), Casey still felt like it drew some attention to himself.

...Still. It was another chance to learn about whatever the doctor was up to...

Casey sighed. He hastily took another few bites of his burger and decided "screw it, whatever." There was still a layer of paranoia however, so he did a quick double take at his seating area, feigned some sort of disgust at some unseen leftover garbage and moved himself to a table right next to Jade's. He didn't want to make it obvious that he'd come over to talk to her, but maybe he was just imagining threats that weren't there...

"...So, uh," he started. He kept his eyes forward on the empty space in front of him, but he was definitely talking to her. Geez, where would he even start? "...Sorry again. For the badmouthing." He shrugged. "And... uh. Yer welcome. For the other day." He answered her thanks from before, looking down before going at his burger again. "I guess if you can hear passin' thoughts," He lowered his voice. "Then I'm guessin' y'know what I wanna ask you about...?"

[Yuki]

"Maybe try talkin' with yer mouth like the rest of us, then."

Jade's ears drooped at that, she had been expecting Casey not to be thrilled but it still stung. Thankfully Casey was quick to apologize after realizing she heard that. Though Jade did not reply as it clear he did not like that fact she could project her thoughts. She just kept looking at her papers as she listened as Casey debated rather or not he wanted to speak to her about John. To her surprise he gave in to his curiosity and sat down at the table next her. Jade kept her eyes forward to play along with Casey's desire to make it look like he was not there to speak to her.

"...Sorry again. For the badmouthing."

" Its ok.." Jade replied loud enough just so Casey was the only one who could hear.


"And... uh. Yer welcome. For the other day."

Jade just nodded in reply.



"I guess if you can hear passin' thoughts," he said lowering his voice
Then I'm guessin' y'know what I wanna ask you about...?"

Jade nodded again. " Yes.. You want to ask me about the doctor.. I only know what Sean has told me and the brief encounter I had with the man before I left the safe house.. I will answer the best I can." Jade said loud enough just for Casey to hear, as she kept looking at her papers.

[Lepa]

Casey didn't want to get re-involved with the doctor. He wasn't even sure what specifically he wanted to ask, but whatever he had in mind seemed to fall away.

"Sean..." He repeated the name, pensive. Casey regarded it with a sad warmth. He'd worked with the man before - several times, at least. He'd always looked out for him, even giving him advice a few times. If he had to be honest, it was probably the closest he'd gotten to having a decent father figure. Even after examining that part of his life and realizing just how messed up it was, knowing Sean was probably one of the few things Casey was glad to have gotten out of it.

But Casey wondered if he'd gotten ahead of himself. He wanted to ask, just to be sure, if it was the same Sean he was thinking of. It had to be. He didn't really remember any others with the name, and if Jade had met with the doctor himself, well... it only made sense that Sean would've been there. He was the doctor's most trusted man, after all.

Casey frowned. Maybe it wasn't necessary. Jade had probably already heard his idle thoughts, anyway.

"...Sorry. Not exactly what I was plannin' to ask at first, but... Is... he doin' okay?" He ventured. "...Sean, I mean."