sum of its parts

[attr="Class","easybold"]This late at night, few lights littered the streets of the slums. Perhaps better-off areas of the city would have street lights, and large windows letting false daylight stream through to the streets, but here, there were no such conveniences. As with most thing that differentiated one district from another, it was completely ignored by the doctor.

Other things that were ignored included the time, apparently. Mesmer showed no signs that he was tired, or in any other ways particularly influenced by the fact that it was not a sane hour to be awake in. He was, in his own way, perfectly content.

He had just returned from a- ah, not particularly socially acceptable meeting with a not particularly socially accepted vendor. Few would suspect the well-dressed audino to be hiding any secrets, and he found he would usually not be given suspicious looks. Though there were several occasions before where he was pickpocketed. He supposed he lookd gullible.

This night, however, all seemed well. Relatively. His eyes weren't the most suited to walking in the dark, but he wasn't even lost, despite his poor track record.

On the other hand, the fact that he wasn't paying attention to the road was a slight obstacle. There wasn't much interesting in the middle of the night, even in the slums, and he didn't think the chances of him running into trouble was high enough to make him lift his head from his work. Which, at this moment in time, included writing on a little notepad.

Actually, he was doing accounting. It was important to keep an eye on everything, he had found. He had some knowledge of what was going around him, of course - he had peripheral vision to thank for that. Mesmer had no intention of knocking into anyone, especially in a district like this, where not minding anyone else's business was almost an unspoke agreement between parties. He automatically swerved around the few souls that had decided to wander the streets this late at night.

Retrospectively, someone had warned him that peripheral vision didn't capture everything, and certainly not around corners.

He would have liked to say he had realised there was someone about to crash into him and just couldn't move in time, but he had barely noticed the houndour before he felt something bump into him. Hard. He closed his eyes for a moment while regaining his balance, silently berating himself for not being careful.

"Apologies." He didn't want to be stuck here for too long, and the word left his mouth before he had seen the other person.

It struck him suddenly that the other pokemon seemed rather angry. Did they feel it was his fault? It could have been considered so, and sometimes, pokemon were easily angered. A small frown entered Mesmer's face before he wiped It pff his face. It could have seemed like he was scared, or guilty, which was never a good thing.

Even though the small package in his pouch felt suddenly heavier. It wasn't illegal, per se, but it wasn't something your average citizen would have access to. He had felt guilty procuring it, but it was needed at work, and surely his task was more important than a few rules. Just this time, though.

"I wasn't watching where I was going. The fault was completely mine."

Hey, if grovelling was going to get him out of this faster, back to his relatively safe house, then he had nothing against it.

---

583 words, whiskey , and he rambles on and on...

sum of its parts

[attr="Class","easybold"]Standing slightly straighter as he felt the gaze of the houndour settle on him, Mesmer firmly quashed the bead of nervousness in his mind. There was nothing to be nervous about. People in the slums tended to learn to mind his business, as he had learned when he first moved to Invictus, living in a run-down hovel to save money until he found a job. Which he did, in the end, although it wasn't what he had expected.

The other pokemon seemed inclined to forgive him, much to his surprise. The slums tended to be where the less than savory congregated, and while not everyone living it it was lacking in manners, there tended to be a higher density of rude pokemon. Apparently, he was lucky enough to have bumped into a polite citizen. She wasn't that angry at him, it seemed, as her fur smoothed once she got over her shock.

He blinked slightly as the houndour asked her next question. Was the houndour merely curious, or was there some detail that had caused them to pick up that he didn't belong here? Maybe he was lost, and in an obscure place he shouldn't be in?

Or it might just be your paranoia, you idiot.

"Well, it depends on your definition of around. And your definition of here, I guess. I live in the capital, obviously," He knew he was rambling, but unlike what others would have done, he did not end his tangent. It was important to lay out all the specifics, in order for there to be no miscommunication, even if it was only a conversation with a passerby. "but it'a a large area. I used to live around here for a short while, but now, I live closer to the city center." He waved his arms vaguely in the direction he thought his home was in, finally stopping to take a much-needed breath.

"And you?

---

300? words, whiskey .