4th Hat Flip [Voice/Action]

[immamartillo]

[Voice]

[ When he speaks to the journal, Firo's voice is hurried and aggravated. This mess is all his fault, and even he's not dense enough to avoid realizing that. ]

Hey, has anybody seen a kid around here? He's about 12 or 13; messy brown hair, kinda short. He wears this blue.... dres-, uh, coat thing. If you see him, tell him to stay right where he is and I'll come find him.

[ There's another grumble of frustration, and he lowers his voice. ]

And if anybody touches him I'll make you pay, ya hear me?

[ Given his worried state (and Firo's general lack of intimidation skill) it doesn't sound as threatening as he would have wanted it to. ]

[Action]

[ Firo has to admit that losing Seto once again pretty much takes the cake in failures he's had. This has to be the fourth or fifth time the kid has managed to slip out on Firo. Kind of sad for someone whose job used to rely on being observational.

He leaves Community Building 3 and runs toward the village, angrily berating himself under his breath. It's gotten into his head that something terrible could happen to Seto, and it'll be all his fault. Whether or not Seto gets hurt, Firo's not doing his job as brother too well. 

Perhaps he's run straight into you, as Firo tends to do. Or maybe you just want to know what's up with the weirdo running through town. ]

Comments

[lostinmyway]

[Grune is heading for CH3 with a full load of groceries. She's just wandering along and paying about as much attention as she always does...which means Firo is going to slam right into her.]

Oh!

[She stumbles back, trying not to spill Dhaos' groceries.]

[immamartillo]

Ah-!

[ Of course he crashes right into one of the nicest people in Luceti. Way to go, Firo. He barely manages to catch his balance and takes a step forward to try and catch the groceries in case any fall. ]

Grune! Sorry!

[lostinmyway]

[There's nothing particularly breakable in the bags, except for a carton of milk, but Dhaos would probably appreciate the lack of bruising on his apples. Thanks, Firo!

Grune manages to catch herself before she falls, but barely. There's a moment of disorientation, and then she says:] Oh, hello, Firo. Are you going somewhere?

[immamartillo]

[ For a brief moment, Firo's too distracted to answer the question. His brain has switched gears from fussing over Seto to fussing over Grune now. ]

I'm really sorry! Are your groceries okay?

[lostinmyway]

Oh, I'm sure they're just fine. [...She says before she even checks.

Once she does, though, everything turns up in decent condition. The loaf of bread is looking a little squished, but nothing is broken or leaking.]

There. Everything is all right.

[immamartillo]

[ He waits until after she checks to smile in relief. ]

Oh, good. I'm really sorry about that.

[ With that confirmed, his mind immediately goes back to what he was worrying about before. He barely takes a breath before moving on to his question. ]

Have you seen Seto anywhere?

[lostinmyway]

[With little pause between subjects, it takes Grune a moment to catch up.]

Seto? Did he go somewhere?

[immamartillo]

Yeah. I'm just... not sure where.

[ He shoves his hands in his pockets and glances away. After Giles' anger he's not very optimistic for others to be understanding about the situation. ]

[lostinmyway]

[If he's expecting her to be angry with him, he's not going to get it. Grune barely changes expression as she says calmly:] Oh, my. That is a problem. We should go look for him.

[immamartillo]

[ It's a surprise, but also a relief. He pauses and blinks a few times before responding. ]

Yeah, I checked around with the neighbors and nobody's seen him. Do you have any idea where he woulda' gone?

[lostinmyway]

Hmm.... [She considers that.] Maybe he went to visit some of his friends.

[immamartillo]

Giles and Kazuma haven't seen him.

[ He scratches his head, trying to think of other people important to Seto. ]

Do you know anybody else specifically? It kinda seems like he's friends with everybody here...

[lostinmyway]

Hmm.... Yes, he is a very friendly boy.

[immamartillo]

To put it lightly.

[ He sighs and runs his fingers over the brim of his hat. This search is turning out to be a lot more difficult than he thought. ]

I guess I should just... grill everybody in the area, then.

[lostinmyway]

I'm sure he'll turn up soon. Don't worry.

[immamartillo]

[ He nervously shifts his weight from foot to foot. Grune's probably right, but it can't hurt to be a little overprotective, can it? ]

I just don't want him to get hurt while he's off by himself.

[lostinmyway]

It's all right. I'm sure he'll be careful.

[...As careful as anyone can be when they're not used to being blind, anyway.]

[immamartillo]

If he was bein' careful he wouldn't have run off in the first place. Besides, he can barely even see where he's goin'!

[lostinmyway]

Oh, my, can't he?

[His death penalty has temporarily slipped her mind, unfortunately.]

[immamartillo]

Uh, yeah. His eyes are all messed up. Didn't you know that?

[lostinmyway]

Hmm.... Did I?

[immamartillo]

Well... I thought you did.

[ He shakes his head; don't get distracted! ]

Never mind, that's not important. He's just more likely to get into trouble this way, so I gotta find him soon.

[lostinmyway]

[Grune abandons her thinking to give Firo an encouraging smile.]

I'll help! I'm sure we'll be able to find him soon.

[immamartillo]

Really? Thanks!

[ He smiles a bit in return. ]

I think maybe... I'll start lookin' around the town center. He'd probably go where there's the most people, right?

[lostinmyway]

Oh, maybe he did. That way he could visit lots of people.