nysalogs | waiting for that green light [closed catchall;]

[It seemed like an easy enough job in Mai's opinion. Go in, rummage around, come back with... something. The details were chiefly to look for any significant information. Mai was no scientist but she figured she'd know what an important paper looked like from a plain letter.

She and Yoruichi just happened to be scrawling their names on said job list at the same time and reached an agreement to go together. They may have known little beyond one another's names but just being part of the Gilded Cage in some way offered Mai a touch of confidence in the other person.

After a bit of debriefing, the pair are sent on their way.]

I've never been to the Institute before.

[Some members of it may have come in and out of Shades Darker but that was about the closest she had come.]

[ It's a job, taken for the express purpose of making some extra cash. They're warned of the extra danger posed to Institute members but she pays the warning no mind. She's never even been to the Institute but surely it's no different from any research center fixated on science and technology and everything that lies between. Rooms upon rooms of things that make no sense, filled with overworked men and women.

Surely this place can't be any different? ]

Neither have I, but that makes it all the more fun, doesn't it?

[ She is actually serious about this whole thing, despite the breeziness to her voice and her apparent disregard for the whole thing as she saunters along. Chemical warfare is no joke, and while the peoples of Olympia and Wyver hold no special place in her heart, they're still people, all deserving of life. ]

How good are you at sneaking into places? We could always lie and say we're test subjects.

[ Both are appealing in their own way. ]

I'm okay at it. It would probably be a lot easier going that route too.

[Not that she's above some challenge to her jobs but why make things more difficult than they need to be? If they went in as test subjects, they could probably veer off course easily enough but it would also be unneeded attention.]

What we need is to figure out where the archive is first.

Don't suppose they gave us a map of the Institute, did they?

[ Wishful thinking, and she's not expecting a positive affirmation in the slightest. It'd be too easy that way. They could ask, but it would surely arouse suspicion. They could wander for hours, but run the risk of exposure with every passing minute.

There might be another way, but... ]

What do you think the Archives look like? A big room with a bunch of books?

[ With a name like the archive... ]

Of course not. I thought about coming to look for one and then trying again another day but that seemed a little risky too.

[Breaking it up may mean less chance of being recognized but she also wasn't great at faking friendliness long enough to get things either.

Oh. She looks intrigued now.]

You'd think so. They have to have somewhere to store all those papers. It'd have to be a pretty big room too, maybe even in it's own section of the building. Easier to guard that way, right?

[ Hm. Big room, separate part of the Institute....can't be too difficult to find once they're there. They're nearing the Institute now, crowds thinning as a few passersby peel away to enter the imposing building.

Hm hmm indeed. She peers up at the building now, thoughtful. ]

You got anything against cats?

[ She's met more dog people than cat people lately, doesn't hurt to check. ]

[Cats? Mai's brows raise up some.]

Not really. Do you have one or something?

[And just what did her pets have to do with any of this?]

You could say that.

[ Actually, pets have never really been her style. Too much effort to care for and nurture something wholly dependent on her. (Also reasons why she'd never planned to have children of any sort.)

The 'no' is enough assuage any vague concerns she might have regarding this plan, and she mutters a quick one minute before she sidles off into a shady back alley. There's the sound of cloth shifting and then—there's a cat, small and unobtrusive, ambling out from the same alleyway Yoruichi went in.

How suspicious. Even more suspicious is when it opens its mouth to talk, in a voice completely unrecognizable. ]

No one ever looks down at their feet, and even if they do, no one will care about a stray cat. You can wait here while I look for the right room, or follow behind.

[ Either's fine by her. ]

[... Cat? The moment the cat starts speaking is the moment Mai's brows shoot way up. This is probably the most surprised she's been of anything here, dragons and space stations combined. She had least knew of dragons at home and the space station was kind of routine once you got used to so much metal and technology. This though...]

Uh.

[Oh wait, a suggestion. Come on, Mai, straighten your head out again.]

I'll follow, at least until it gets too inconvenient for you.

[ Better that they stick together, in retrospect; her paws aren't exactly equipped to use the mobile devices the Orbiters had handed out to them. ]

I'll scout out the area ahead of us. Fewer dead ends that way.

[ And off they go, nearer and nearer to the Institute. Though, before they make it all the way there: ]

Hope you can take care of yourself.

[ She's not exactly prime fighting material as a cat. ]

Yeah, don't worry about me. I can keep an eye on you too.

[And she means it too. She's flicked a handy little knife into her hand in the meantime, holding it off to her side with an index finger settled along it's spine.

The area itself is fairly peaceful. They haven't attracted any attention with their bit of an oddball pair yet. Most people have filed into the Institute if they've come to do business there and others are filtering through with too much on their minds to care much about random visitors.

Mai lets the distance between her and Yoruichi grow, mostly so the other woman -- cat? -- can do her scouting. Mai considers taking to a higher vantage point but nixes the idea when she realizes that would probably make her stand out more than just lingering around would.]

[ Mai's reassurance is taken at face value; they may have only recently met, but it's actions over words that matter to Yoruichi, and so far she hasn't see display of anything that might disprove what Mai's said. Better for the both of them if she's honest about that, in any case.

The entrance level's about what she expects: a reception desk, assorted waiting rooms, hallways leading every which way into the building. Unless she misses her guess, something as notable as the Archives is unlikely to be on the main floor. That leaves a lower or higher floor....but which one?

More space for things underground. Easier to hide away too. ]

Let's try going downstairs, [ she murmurs, low enough that it's lost in the normal hubbub, before veering off towards a set of stairs tucked away in the back. ]

[A very convenient set of stairs indeed. Mai hangs back a moment just to make sure no one has noticed, then follows as well.

The set of stairs leads to another and before long they've come into a mostly deserted hallway. In the distance in the sound of voices and footsteps but they come more from above than anywhere in front of them - for now at least.]

At least it's pretty dark down here.

[It's not pitch black in the hallway but being underground means relying on the dim glow of the electric lights alone.]

[ One good thing about being a cat: the dim hallways are little detriment when it comes to navigating her way through. She might not know where the Archive is in this maze, but at least she won't accidentally ram into a misplaced stand in the hallway.

The downfall of being a cat: she has no idea what's behind any of the closed doors in the hallway. Some of them appear to have little windows in them. ]

Do you see anything behind any of these doors?

[ She's, uh, a little incapacitated with only paws at her disposal. ]

[Ah, the little windows. Mai can see through them fairly easily and so peeps through the first few as they pass them. Most of them seem to house desks and cabinets, things one would expect to find in an office setting.]

Looks like offices. We must be in some sort of administrative wing.

[Which is decent news in her opinion.]

The Archives can't be that far off from here.

[ Promising. Administrative behinds back-office, behind-the scenes work, which means they ought to be closer to their intended target. She nods approvingly, barely visible in the dimly lit hallway and trots forth, small body traveling at a surprising speed.

Down the hallway they go, past (what she can only surmise are) more offices, until they reach the end where the hallway divides into two. She glances back at Mai. ]

What do you think?

[ Left, or right? They're in this together. ]

[Mai thinks on the situation a moment.]

You'd probably be a lot more inconspicuous without me. Then again you can't really see...

[The left wing and right wings both seem to house more doors of much the same type as they had already seen. Eventually Mai nudges her head to the left.]

Let's try this way first and then double back.

[ The con to being a small furry animal, no real vantage point from which to see anything. Mai has a point, it would be easier if they were separated, but there'd be no way to communicate if they were. ]

I can provide a distraction if they catch us.

[ In the form of some very sharp claws.

But left they go, Yoruichi once again trotting out front. Not as though she's of much use as an advance guard, and her nose is nowhere near as powerful as that of a dog's, but she's used to taking charge and going ahead. In any case, it looks like they've got awhile yet to go. ]

Hope you don't mind walking.

I do it all the time at home. And definitely here.

[She hasn't bothered to buy a mount yet after all.]

[ All the better then, and Yoruichi makes no further remark as they continue down the hall and around the corner. (Only one direction this time, no choices to be made.

Eventually the door tapers off and the lights dim, until there's only one set of doors at the end of the hallway. Yoruichi slows. ]

Think we've found our target?

It's a pretty ornate set of doors. They definitely look important anyhow.

[Ornate compared to the others. There's no windows here and a light shines from beneath the set of doors.

Mai edges forward, hugging a nearby wall and slipping a knife out into her free hand as the other one presses against the door's surface with a flat palm to let it swing inward. Through the crack that opens up, beyond the mild lighting that's almost blinding after dark hallways, there's the distinct odor of old paper and dust.]

[ It's the light that has her pausing, her pupils narrowing so that she doesn't go blind. Mai swings open the door and she follows after, tail twitching expectantly at the barrage of new sights and smells. Definitely a lot of old book smell, which means they're either in the right place or somewhere not too far off.

There's a table not too far in the distance, and she trots forward to leap onto its surface for a better vantage point. That certainly does look like a lot of bookshelves and cabinets, all stuffed to the brim with papers and folders and books. ]

Looks like we're here. [ Now. ] What was it the old man wanted again, information about some disease?

[It's awfully empty to be so lit up. Mai briefly wonders if someone just stepped out for a moment but then focuses on the question even as she moves toward one of the bookcases.]

I think it was something about disease manufacturing. And something sentient? I didn't really understand the word used.

[It began with an 'a' and was something she'd never heard before.]

[ The phrase is enough to spark a memory in her mind of their original goal, and the words come back with little fuss. ]

Artificial intelligence. [ Whatever the heck that is. ] If it's artificial, then it must be fake of some sort.

[ But how does one falsify intelligence? Perhaps a shell of a body programmed to move on its own, a gigai capable of rational thought. The thought's a little disturbing, and she waves it off with a flick of her tail. ]

Might be best to focus on the disease, if neither of us are familiar with what artificial intelligence entails.

[ She swings her head back towards the door, eyes peering back out into the darkness. ]

There's no one approaching yet, but I can't imagine we'll be alone for too long.

[ Time to get to work and work fast. ]

Yeah, let's grab anything we can that looks interesting. I'll go look around the back, take a look around the desks if you can.

[In her current form, Yoruichi is a lot better suited for sifting through papers and anything that requires a more delicate touch. And if someone comes in, Mai can always hide easier is she's near the back while Yoruichi's smaller form ought to give her no end of hiding spots in this cluttered area.

And it's decidedly cluttered. There's books stacked here and there even though the bookcases themselves are in full use, papers abandoned on worker's desks as well as any open surface. It definitely gives the impression of a place where things just sort of get haphazardly tossed, like anyone's store room.

Mai turns to shifting through some of the bigger boxes near the back of the room. Most of them are old records and long-forgotten receipts for research materials.]

[ She jumps off the table and back onto the floor, padding over to the desk tucked in one corner. Jumping atop that desk reveals stacks of papers, some sticking out of folders and others with notes scribbled in the margins. For the most part, they're entirely useless, ranging from information regarding a new strain of peas to a doodle of some man she doesn't recognize. (A good doodle though, and she smiles to herself before moving on.)

Ultimately, all the stacks of paper on that particular desk end up containing no information whatsoever regarding their two subjects of interest. Time for desk number two.

But first! She swings her head in the direction of Mai to call out, softly: ]

Found anything yet?

Maybe. There's a case of some kind under all this stuff back here.

[She manages to dig it out and emerges, more or less covered in dust. It's a pretty sturdy case, though light enough that it isn't a pain to carry.]

Let's see what's in this.

[She settles it on the desk Yoruichi has checked over already and pops it open to reveal a crossbow and several small vials.]

... They really just leave anything they want in here, don't they.

[ Well. That's certainly something. If they just leave stuff lying around like this... ]

Think they'd notice if we took it?

[ Honestly there's so much stuff here, surely no one would notice if a few scraps of paper and a couple vials went missing. She pads over to the case to peer at the vials. They all have various labels, and the liquids inside are different colors. ]

I don't use bows, but if you're interested...

[ She'll turn a blind eye on a bit of "borrowing". Not to mention: ]

The potions might be useful proof, if the contents inside are important.

Considering how full of junk this room? I doubt they'd notice.

[Or at least not until months down the line. Mai's about to click the case closed when she notices some papers it's sat on top of. One is an envelop and opening up reveals... a bunch of numbers. And some particularly unhappy looking scrawling.

"I'm not getting paid enough to do this!"]

Guess even the employee's aren't too thrilled with this place.

[ That actually prompts a grin, though it looks a little strange on a cat's face. ]

If the entire place operates and looks like this [ ie., a mess ] I can't blame them. It's impossible to find anything here.

[ The books on the shelves are out of order, the papers crammed into folders near to bursting. She trots closer to the crossbow and vials and gives both a good sniff. Unfortunately, there's nothing of interest her nose can smell. ]

I'll keep looking, but it might take hours to find what we're looking for.

[ And they definitely don't have hours to waste. ]

Let's see what we can grab then. There's no way we could really pick through most of this.

[And just as the sentence is finished, there's a noise that doesn't seem to come from either of them. Footsteps maybe? Mai freezes where she is, trying to pick out what it may be.]

[ What she'll be grabbing is very little, her small paws not really fit for carrying much. Still, she grabs a few slips of paper between her teeth, ready to carry them back whenever they decide to make their exit.

Which turns out to be sooner rather than later, an unfamiliar sound ringing through the large room without warning. Yoruichi's fur goes on end, her ears swiveling towards the door. Not there but— ]

There's another door to the left. Someone's inside.

[ A smaller one, possibly used for extra storage. Maybe someone was taking a nap in there and just woke up. Whatever the case may be, they'd best get going. ]

Time to make our exit.

[ Now just to hope there's no one coming towards the main set of doors. ]

[Of course. Mai picks up the case once it's all snapped shut. The person in the storage room seems to be grumbling about finding forms in an impossibly mess and how they should have just stayed asleep. Apparently someone is ducking out of work down here.

She makes her way without a word said towards the main doors. So far, so good, it seems quiet out there. Mai can only hope it remains so as she starts to slip out.]

[ Yoruichi trails behind Mai, papers still clutched in her mouth, managing to slip out the door just as it swings shut.

So far so good, though as they make their way furtively down the hallway, though her ears are already beginning to pick up the faint sound of footsteps from up ahead. Around her mouthful of papers, she mutters: ]

We can find a different way out, or we can hope there are only a few of them.

[Ugh, what a pain. Mai glances around before noticing one of the office doors is partially cracked. Was it open earlier? She doesn't think so but then again she hadn't exactly tested the doors.]

Let's at least duck in here until they pass if nothing else.

[That said, the office is luckily empty. And even better, there's a window... obscured by a few stacks of books, of course. Mai shuts the door to the office behind them.]

Is everyone here like this?

[She's already working on clearing the books away in the next moment.]

Edited 2018-02-13 17:13 (UTC)

[ Apparently whatever gods above are watching have decided that their luck's been all used up for the day. Into the office they go, Yoruichi ducking behind Mai as they both race for cover.

Though there seems to be plenty of that, what with stacks of books all over the place yet again. ]

They do say knowledge is power...

[ Muttered through her teeth once more in a disparaging tone. Knowledge is only power if the right knowledge can be found.

She watches Mai clear away the books before asking: ]

Are you planning on escaping through there?

If we need to. It's better than letting these guys trip up on us.

[Speaking of those guys, the footsteps outside are growing closer. Through the window in the door one can see the tops of heads and hear muted conversation from behind the door itself as well.

Mai immediately ducks behind the desk itself. What in the world are they out there just prattling on about?]

[ While Mai hides, Yoruichi creeps closer to the door for a better look. Or in this case, hear, her ears swiveling towards the door in hopes of useful information.

Unfortunately there's not much of import to overhear, one guard in particular prattling about some hot date he's landed later that night and how he hopes he'll get lucky since it's been too long. (Yoruichi sniffs in disdain. Men.)

The footsteps near, voices ringing out loud enough to be heard now. ]

—such a waste, I wish they'd let us leave early at least. C'mon, let's get the files and get outta here.

[ It's followed by a dull thud as a hand lands against the door to push it open. ]

[Naturally it was this door. Of course it was this door. Dozens of others up and down this hallway and it's got to be this one. At least she cleared the books away from that window. She sneaks over to it, hoping to open it quietly and then it hits her.

They had gone downstairs. So where did the window lead? It did look outside so did it go out to some sort of courtyard?

Mai blows out an annoyed breath, the door creaks a bit more and she makes a grumbling sound under her breath. Only one way to find out then.

Grabbing the case as she pushes open the window with her other hand, Mai plants her hand firmly on the windowsill and just hops right on out that window in the same beat. This can't be any worse than falling into wall sludge again, right?

... Maybe?]

[ Mai escapes through the windows just as the door swings open and the guards amble in. Yoruichi's still on the ground near the door, but her smaller (and darker) form affords her more privacy and ease of motion, and she's quick to dart off past the bookshelves onto the desk and out the window right after Mai.

The guards turn, the faint sound of scrabbling enough to grab their attention, but turn back to their work seconds later. Escape, a success!

Though where they find themselves now is anyone's guess. An open space, dotted with a few trees and mostly walled off by sections of building. There is one opening, a small archway several dozen feet to their left. ]

That looks like our exit, unless you can scale walls without a problem.

Usually but...

[Here she hefts her case. It's not heavy but it's not precisely light either.]

May as well walk out of here like we were meant to be here.

waiting for that green light [closed catchall;]

blinded with science;

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