A chance meeting, once again

[blind_badass]

It had never occurred to Snake that taking a jaunt to the London Library would involve the use of several maps and a guide. He wasn't trying to take a hike over a mountain; just to check out the braille section and a few audio books. As he walked through with his guide, however, Snake fancied he felt the weight of the library's collection on his shoulders. He could perceive where objects were based on sound and move about well enough. This, though, gave him the impression of shelf upon shelf of books, stretching everywhere.

The whispered hush of pages turning, keyboards typing and pens writing on paper filled him with deep contentment. Here was a place Snake felt right at home. He sighed at his worrying guide. Yes, he could now find his way around, no he didn't need a cane, yes, he could manage stairs just fine. Either the guide started to get a clue about the annoyance growing in Snake's tone or ran out of questions as he left Snake to his own devices.

Good. With that distraction out of the way, he took a seat at a plush chair, set his chosen volume on his lap and began to read, fingers skimming over the braille.

Comments

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji turned back to Snake, using one finger to scratch at the upholstered back of the chair. "You can come by the cafe this Friday, at seven."

You did remember which cafe it was, didn't you, Snake? In any case, it seemed that Snake's admission had done the trick. As long as he didn't forget his appointment, anyway.

[blind_badass]

Snake blinked his eyes in surprise a few times before closing them. "I will be happy to stop by," he said. The unexpected pleasure at stopping by to see an acquaintance that could become a friend made him smile. He'd have to double check on the route from his apartment but he'd definitely make the time.

[detectiveofthewest]

The sight of Snake's smile made Heiji uncomfortable for some reason; he looked away again, though not as sharply as before.

"F...fine, then. Don't be late." Of course, if Snake was late or ended up standing him up, that was a whole other kettle of fish.

"Didn't you say you had to get a new account? Or did ya do that already?"

[blind_badass]

"I believe it's being worked on now. I assume being a foreigner makes things take longer." Which, truth to be told, was why he sat down to read a little bit. That and being in libraries tended to be soothing to the mind. Keeping his mental shields tight for long periods of time gave him tension headaches. In a library, he could afford to mentally relax. Even if a person unintentionally projected a thought, it usually had to do with reading.

"I anticipate digging into the science section with much relish."

[detectiveofthewest]

Well... maybe Snake wasn't so bad. Heiji took a seat in the chair, propping one elbow up on the armrest.

"Is it a problem accessing the written materials? Not everything's available in Braille or audiobook." He was actually genuinely interested in the subject, since there was a lot that the world took for granted about what a person should and should not be able to do.

[blind_badass]

Oh, Snake could go on a rant about being shafted for all the reading material he'd really like to get his hands on. But he wasn't one to complain (much) about what he couldn't do. Still, the question deserved a proper answer.

"There are things I would like to read but can't. If I'm lucky, someone can read it to me and I can absorb it that way. For things like scientific papers and written material online, I have a lot of text to speech programs that help. I even have that on my phone so I can text someone." Never mind that those programs weren't exactly cheap.

"It's a shame, though. I had heard in Britain that they were working on a unique kind of tablet." He ran his fingers over the cover of his book. "It would have a screen that one text appeared, would convert it into braille that could be felt to the touch. Obviously not permanent but that would have been amazing." He sighed, shaking his head. "The project got abandoned. Not enough money in it, or so I heard."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah? That's gotta be frustrating. I'd hate to not be able to read somethin' I was interested in." Though they were getting better about getting written materials online, by no means was the task complete.

"I didn't know they had those kinda apps for your phone. Well, I figured they did, but I've never really used one." Most of the ones he was familiar with talked in that computery voice, which he wasn't too fond of.

"Do you like it here in London so far?"

[blind_badass]

"I do like it here so far. It's just trying to memorize so many routes and places and voices at once. Still, I'm sure I'll be fine in time. The work is stimulating and challenging." Memorizing where things were was the hardest part. Especially bus schedules. He didn't have a superhuman memory; remembering which bus went where came with effort.

"For the phone, it is amusing to a degree. If, for example, someone were to text me with a sentence that sounded angry, it's rendered into a robotic monotone. It's still a little rough with pictures." Good thing his sister had gone over a lot of what the various pictures and emoji meant.

"What about you? How long have you been in London, Heiji?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"I been here for a couple months. Originally, I wasn't sure if I'd like it at all. It's pretty different from back home. But there are some nice people around. I..."

Heiji trailed off, realized he'd been about to talk about Osaka -- not in the cheery terms he usually did, but tinged with a hint of homesickness. "I was thinkin' of going back for a little visit. But I do feel like there're things I could learn here. I... guess I miss it a little."

[blind_badass]

Truer words were never spoken. He knew Heiji was Japanese but didn't know specifically where he was from. England was pretty far from Japan as it was from Seattle.

"I can certainly empathize with that. It's just so different here from...hmm?" Snake tilted his head as he heard his name from a librarian behind him. Apparently his card was ready and he could check out his books. "Well, it would seem I need to take my books." He smiled. "It was very nice running into you again, Heiji. I promise not to be late for coffee."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji looked up at the sound of the librarian's voice, then stood to grab his own haul of novels.

"Yeah. And, um..." He looked away again, rubbed at the back of his neck unconsciously as he spoke. "Sorry about gettin' mad at you. I guess I'm just... not used to not bein' remembered."

[blind_badass]

"It did take me an honest moment to recall your voice. While it's true that I have met a lot of people in the last few days, I did make you a promise. I should have noted that in my phone so I wouldn't forget." Snake nodded his head. "Now I'll never forget your voice, Heiji. Until then..." Satisfied that he had rectified the situation as best he could, he walked off to join the librarian.