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[diastereomer]

Bugger.

[ A pause because, oh, yes, that would be the button that turns the blasted thing on. Well... we can only hope that there is a delay between Yusuf's annoyed mouthing off at the little piece of technology and it actually turning on. He's holding it much too close to his mouth and, as such, his voice is unaccountably loud for the calm way he asks, ]

If anyone can hear me, would you be so kind as to let me know?

[ The sound of the device being turned over and over in his hands. Hopefully he won't accidentally click it off... ]

Honestly... this is hardly intuitive...



[ ooc: new, fresh meat, etc. not cursed, just confused! ]

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[signatures]

I hear you.

[ Pause. Briefly Eames wonders if this is one of those days where they acquire some visitors - but the city hasn't suddenly become so overcrowded, and it seems rather late for it. The network has also been rather quiet on that front, so he isn't sure what to make of this particular voice - whether it be Yusuf, true, or someone else entirely, which is always the possibility. Let's not forget a certain Jim Hawkins, after all. ]

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

[ And then, there is Eames' voice coming from the little device with too few buttons-- all very unhelpfully marked, mind. Yusuf's face scrunches up in something that might be annoyance but is probably just confusion. Why would he be down in a dream with Eames? Admittedly, he doesn't exactly remember how he got here... but... ]

Eames, is that you?

[ Yusuf's voice sounds considerably further away after a bit of rustling, the microphone smothered against his palm. ]

[signatures]

Yusuf, man of mine, turn your device about, I can hardly hear you.

[ Well, that gets one question out of the way, at least - but with that out of the way, he has plenty more to occupy the space left behind. ]

Did you just-- arrive?

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

Turn it-?

Ah, yes. Is that better?

[ But, before Eames can think to answer, Yusuf catches sight of the carousel again and is reminded that he has very obviously been dreamt into the outskirts of some dream that he is not walking through. He's no need for that kind of madness. ]

Oi, what is this dreaming me away from the rest of you lot? Getting on the bad side of the man with the chemicals is hardly the wisest option!

[signatures]

[ Eames' jaw clenches, wondering how quickly he can acclimate Yusuf to the private option of a filter - but then, ultimately, deciding not at all quickly enough and clearing his throat instead. ]

Right, just- tell me where you are, yeah? I'll come fetch you.

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

[ It smarts a bit to look around and have to say, ]

There is a giant gilded carousel- which, I should note, if this is what my compounds are being used for, I am going to start charging an entertainment fee. These are expensive chemicals that require a lot of energy and precision to synthesize. Building so far out in a subconscious, and with such detail, is squandering properties that could otherwise be used in the functional part of the dream.

[ Otherwise known as. I am not very happy to be in the dream at all, let alone dreamt out to bumfuck carousel-ville. ]

[signatures]

Yusuf- [ He's trying to remember their code-phrase for shut the Hell up without being so obvious, most often used in times of need and awkward interactions, when either of them had been a little to loose with it for the blame of alcohol or, well, otherwise unfortunate timing. ]

Rhada pissed on the papasan again.

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

What- [ They're in a dream, Rhada couldn't possibly have- oh. Well then.

Yusuf clears his throat. ]

Bloody cats. Should I pick anything up? [ Or, should I be moving somewhere less... well, in the middle of everything? ]

[signatures]

[ There's a milder exhale here, the sort of one that runs a mild static sound across the device. ] It's hardly as though you know where the corner store is. [ Stay there. ]

You ought to ask Arthur for a proper run-down on the device. I'm on my way to you now.

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

Which is a curious thing in and of itself. [ Yusuf grumbles. He might not have the head for buildings and fire escapes, but he's never glossed over any of the models so badly as to completely miss a section with a ridiculous carousel in it. Leaning against the gate, Yusuf figures he won't need to hop up and down or make a scene- Eames has his ways. ]

I would if I knew how to ring him properly, these things are not exactly the most intuitive. I suppose I will stand here and patiently await your presence.

[signatures]

You'll find a few other things to be curiousities, my friend. Arthur and I will fill you in on what we can, in any case - device so inclusive.

[ There's a few background sounds as Eames exits the complex to dive into the city life, headed or the carousel. ] Stay on the line, then. It'll be easiest to find you.

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

I should hope you would be able. [ Alright, so they work with dream technology, but really, dreaming up literal dream technology? Yusuf turns the device over in his hand, looking the lines where the thing fits together. ]

Should I be looking to make a conversation out of small talk, or are you closer than all that? [ Yusuf's tone is laid back, with a hint of patent blasé-- because really, if the projections don't wish to rend him limb from limb, what has Yusuf got to be hurried about? ]

[signatures]

Not far enough for catching up, though instead to ask- you didn't bring in any of your cats, did you?

[ It's a mild tease, utterly worthless in retrospect, but Eames has more use for some than others, this being more of an inbetween. ]

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

Despite your cruel insinuations to the contrary, I have never experimented on any of the cats that claim my home for their own. Really, it's strange enough down here without giant mice crowding the streets and cat treats falling from the sky.

[ Yusuf... might have given some thought to what it would be like in Rhada's head... at some point or another. Sometimes there's nothing else to do while you wait for a beaker of water to reach it's boiling point! ]

[signatures]

[ There's a low, pleased laugh from Eames, quickly working his way through the streets to make it to the center of the City, where the carousel so stands. ]

It is good to hear from you, Yusuf.

[ Maybe it seems a strange thing to say, when Yusuf is so convinced that they've gone down together - he wonders if there's some sort of time discrepancy here, too, as there had been with Ariadne, or if it's simply the conclusion the chemist immediately comes to, which is more logical than anything else, nothing Eames can blame him for. He just wishes things were so simple, really, rather than the convoluted tangle it has come to be. ]

All right, I'm- ah, there you are. [ With that, Eames clicks off the device, raising a hand to wiggle his fingers at the chemist as he approaches, looking him over appraisingly. ]

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

[ Yusuf is just chilling; elbows braced against a low wall that separates the flow of foot traffic (and keeps him out of the way, no need to make oneself a target if the projections decide to go berserk) and device held a respectable distane from his mouth. ]

Where- [ Spotted first, Yusuf looks around for familiar faces-- plural. It's reassuring to see the familiar, slightly bowlegged gait of the man himself. Not that Yusuf is ever exactly sorry to see Eames' other personas. ] Indeed, here I am. Though, why I am here, is the more pertinent question-- and, [ When Eames is close enough, Yusuf holds the device out. ] Turn this thing off!

[signatures]

Ask me nicely, [ Eames counters, but plucks the device from Yusuf's hand, relieved to see in a single glance the chemical stains that so dot along his palms, the specific patterns of which he's memorized up to the inside of his elbow. He knows, were he to roll his sleeves up, he'd find the areas of lightened skin from this burn or that, the accompanying memory here or there of hearing Yusuf's occasional yelp and being torn between seeing if he needed help and sorely not wanting to get involved.

He shuts off the feed, keeping the screen turned slightly toward the other man so he can see how to do it for himself. ] I don't know how you survive when you lose a manual, Yusuf.

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

[ There are several ways that Yusuf can think of right off the top of his head that would qualify as "nicely" between the two of them, but that's hardly appropriate when Eames is actually helping him without too much hassle. Though, they wouldn't be in this situation is Yusuf hadn't been dreamt in at the most ridiculous outskirts of the subconscious. Instead, he pays attention to the way Eames shuts it off and is sure not to press that button as he takes it back. ] Thank you.

[ He sounds a little broken when he looks around the immediate area for said instruction booklet. ] It came with a manual?

[signatures]

I'll have Arthur write you one, [ he amends, sidling up next to Yusuf as he guides the chemist to begin walking with a hand briefly pressed between his shoulder blades. ] I'm sure it'll bring him a rapturous amount of satisfaction to practice his technical writing.

[ Though they've bigger problems at hand than that. ]

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

That is, quite alright. I hardly plan to stay down here much longer. [ Yusuf takes the hint, knowing Eames' movements for the most part; how he likes to herd people with his hands the same way he does with the cats about his ankles around dinner time. It's a habit he would be more interested in if he were prone to figuring out people's motivations and not just their compositions. It's easy enough to follow Eames and stay in step with him, the other man a familiar presence at Yusuf's side. ]

[signatures]

[ There's a quick flick of Eames' lips, teeth pressing against the inside of his upper lip. He thinks maybe it's best to wait for Arthur to get into full detail, but there's only so long he can really prolong it, in the end. ]

The thing is, Yusuf, we're not entirely sure how to leave. Nor how we came to be sharing all this to begin with.

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

[ His eyebrows make their slow, almost worried way up his forehead. If he were more talented (or his hair longer) they would disappear beneath his curls, but as things stand they come to rest just under his bangs. ]

I could recount some of your more attention grabbing exits, surely, but I would hate for you to take my recounting them as flattery. Really Eames, one can only take the piss so far.

[signatures]

[ For his part, Eames only remains quiet, lips pursing as he looks on ahead, hand folding on his hip while the other swings lightly in the rotation of his arm as they walk. ]

Let me ask you something - what do you last remember?

[diastereomer.livejournal.com]

I was at the shop, [ Yusuf starts, as if this questioning is entirely unnecessary. ] Working on an absorption modification for a compound. Acids were proving unhelpful in the pathway so I figured metals might bind easier. They are rather expensive for the purer metals-- gold, platinum, the like-- so I sat down to figure that out, pricing and such [ Yusuf waves a hand, ] Preemptive but necessary if I am going to make the order either way, and...

[ Footsteps slowing a degree, Yusuf follows that thread of thought right into oblivion. ] Curious.

[ Logically he should know that if Eames and Arthur are down here, then he must have closed up shop early and set them up in the small room with walls made more of bookshelves than plaster and the comfortable papasan. But he's dredging up another memory, nothing so close to the forefront as an action performed only moments ago. ] I suppose I... I have no idea.

[signatures]

[ Eames nods shortly, as though it was the sort of answer he was predicting, despite the awful way it sits on the mind, to not know entirely where one is supposed to be. ]

Arthur and I can only last recall the completion of the job, [ he explains, ] that thirty-eight hour interval where I was going to transfer to Italy for that opportunity in Florence, remember, I told you of it once before.

But from the sounds of it, you should already be back to your enterprise, and when Ariadne was here briefly - well, it seemed as though it had been months past. Whatever is happening here, we didn't all come down together.