[b][center]Kisheto and Ishigo[/b][/center]

[i]...[/i]

"...ugh... My head..." Kisheto sighed as his eyes gradually opened, revealing the dark cell he was in. He could tell he was in a bed, which comforted him, but the sight of the bars that caged him in unnerved him slightly. After laying for a few minutes to get his head together, he got up and stretched. Turning to the bars, he walked up to them and looked around at the hallway. There was a single guard turned away from him, speaking to someone that Kisheto couldn't see. Kisheto raised a brow and tried to peer further into the hallway, but stopped as the guard turned around, pointed to his cell, and began walking towards him.

"Back off the bars, kid," he said, hitting the prison door with his night sticks. Kisheto sighed and walked back to sit on his bed, still facing the outside. 

Ishigo stepped towards the prison cell and examined the boy sitting on the bed. He lifted an eyebrow at the sight of the inmate, first wondering what he had done, and second, wondering who he was. The guard chuckled at Ishigo's reaction, "Petty thief. Actually, he shouldn't be here long, depends on the verdict of whether or not it was his or his pursuer's fault for hitting a girl and breaking her hip." The guard looked back down the hallway, "Well, that's all we got in Bay 1, so... You two have fun." With a grunt, he walked back to his post, leaving Ishigo and Kisheto alone.

Ishigo crossed his arms, and tilted his head to the side a bit, still surveying the boy in the cell. This frustrated Kisheto and he frowned and looked at the man, "Damn, will you stop starin at me like that? It's creepy, yo."
Ishigo shook his head, "Why?"

Kisheto snickered, "Why? Because you look like some serial ki-"
"No," Ishigo said in a firm voice, "Why do you steal? Is that what your life has fallen you? Is that your purpose?"
Kisheto scoffed, "Look, yo, I'm not one for personality quizzes, so how about you just get to the point. What do ya want?"
Ishigo looked down, and then back at the boy. "You heard of the golden mercs?" Kisheto chuckled at the words, "Hell yeah, I have. Used to be my heros back when I lived in Valira."
Ishigo raised a brow and proceeded, "Uh huh. Well, they're recruiting. They could use any able hand, and you seem to be pretty fit and young. You'd make a great addition. You'd also be wise to take the offer. Get out of the slums and out of people's pockets, right into a faction and cause you can fight for."

Kisheto's eyes widen, "Wait, it's that easy?! That's it?!"
Ishigo chuckled, "Of course there'll be an eval. Shouldn't be something you can't handle, I would assume. You might wanna fix that attitude of yours, though."
Kisheto snickered, "Yeah, yeah..."
Ishigo smiled, "Sector A, Capitol Road. Walk past the Council Hall and all the museums until you find their HQ. You can tell em' that Ishigo sent you."
Kisheto nodded, "Sure, sure. Whenever I get out, that is."

Ishigo smiled again and nodded before waving him off and departing from the building. The second he entered the streets, he noticed a plethora of military shuttles zipping past overhead. It was definitely a strange sight, but it really made him uncomfortable when the third and then fourth wave of shuttles flew past. [i]What the hell is going on today?[/i] he thought as he continued to head into the heart of the city.

---

[b][center]Julian Drake[/b][/center]

*flick* 

Julian's palm tree lighter flipped open, the canopy of the tree moving to the side to reveal a small, red flame. He held it up to his mouth, igniting the joint that he had so diligently rolled, and slowly, watched as the flame burned the end of the paper-cased herb. "Right, right... make it bun' righ' thea'," he said in his calm, low voice. He was leaning against the wall of a cafe he had just exited, waiting for his friend to pay the bill and meet him outside. A small, tan Lutar leaned against his right leg, calling for him to play it. He placed his lighter back into his pouch, and took a nice, long, breathe in, closing his eyes to swallow the calm he was introducing to his bloodstream. Using two fingers, he removed the joint from his mouth and picked up his Lutar, beginning to pick out a few notes to test the tuning. 

He looked around at everyone rushing about, but to him, they were moving much slower. He smiled, his eyes closed, and his head tilted downward. He placed the joint back in his mouth and began [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JpCs8KtOX8]playing a soft, calming tune.[/url] As his fingers began plucking at the strings, he escaped the realm. He was back home, back at Caliosa, the island he barely had the time to indulge in. The waves crashed against the soft sands, and the wind blew away his worries, of which he had very few in the first place. 

[i]Jus' slow down... why rush? Hm?[/i] he thought to himself. He had been visiting this cafe alot with his friend, Eddy, who he had been living with for almost 4 years now. It was a place for him to try to make sense of the life that this city offered. He was always the odd one out - refusing to let the flow of the city rush him through the years he loved living, the years he wished to make the best out of. 

As he played, people who chose to sit outside on the cafe's exterior tables turned and listened. They had the same reaction that everyone always had - they smiled. They relaxed. They decided, [i]'Hey, fuck it, today I'm gonna do it my way. Today, I choose how fast or slow I'm going to go. Today is MY day.'[/i] Julian continued to play, and without realizing, he began to a sway a bit, a puff of smoke emitting from his mouth and escaping into the sky above. 

Slowly and surely, the many others in the cafe began swaying as well, and any troubles they had began to fade away into the wind. They were entranced in the moment, the moment that Julian owned and conducted, his happiness serving as his baton. The others... well... they simply followed him into his joy-filled escape. 

Eddy chuckled inside the cafe, hearing the music and recognizing the sudden quiet that would fill the air as people refused to talk, argue, or bicker once the music embraced their souls. He paid and walked outside, shaking his head with a smile at Julian, who seemed so detached from the world. He, too, leaned against the wall, and reached into Julian's pouch to get a lighter and a joint, doing so without disturbing the musician.

Soon, Julian slowly faded into a silence that only brought about a serenity that the cafe-goers appreciated. An applause filled the air, and Julian smiled and nodded. He strapped his Lutar to his back and took his final inhale before putting out his joint and tossing it into the trashcan. Eddy smiled, "Every time, Jules, every time." Julian smiled, "Aye. 'Till I pass, Eddy, this is my duty." He looked around and felt the positive vibes coming from those around him. He waved to them and began walking out of the cafe's fenced area, and into the streets of Sovereign with Eddy following close.