There's a restlessness to his left hand's fingers, kneading against his right wrist in a perpetual, absent-minded motion. There were parts of his mind still struggling to parse the message he'd been given - it didn't really seem possible. In his mind, [[character:Dejan Ravi]] was destined to live forever. His inner schedule still demanded to meet him in a regular fashion in two months, when his chores allowed him to have a small 'vacation' spanning two solid weeks.
Either way, whether the death of his friend properly registered to him or not, it did prompt as swift a reaction to it as he could muster. It was possible the device was still functional - the last status from two years ago certainly suggested as much - and so he was going to have to collect it. Maybe [[character:Jagdish Tsukinaka|Jagdish]] would let him destroy it personally now, rather than forcibly delegating the matter.
Small as it is, [[place:Togi]] is entirely unrecognisable now - with one house torn down by storms and new one built since he was last here, the topology of the settlement has completely thrown his sense of direction off. It takes conscious effort to find the Ravi household, but he does find it, and with a purposeful, sure motion, attaches himself to one of the rope ladders, beginning a swift climb, attention part naturally, part intentionally wrapped into sweet focus on the task. And then he's hauling himself up onto the platform, pausing for a moment's breath to cast a gaze out at the town.
Hints of conversation are barely audible from outside the Ravi household; a young man's voice, definitely not Dejan's, can be occasionally made out. "Oh, flashlights. We should put flashlights on the list." Or: "Of course we're bringing rope, that's like the first rule of going on an adventure." Or: "What are we going to do about when it rains?" Sounds like somebody's making plans, and those plans may or may not involve a road trip.
[[character:Dakarai N'Sehla|Dakarai]] lingers on the edge of the platform a little longer, his feet resting on the top rung of the ladder leading down below, his expression pensive. Then, deciding enough time has passed to class as a pause, he pulls his legs up and raises himself to a stand, straightening crinkles in his attire, collecting his thoughts. Time to say hello.
Two curt, focussed knocks on the door later, he's announced his presence, standing with an exaggeratedly proper posture in expectance of a welcome, stare anchored on the spot of the door that was most likely going to be replaced by a face any moment now.
The knock comes at a natural pause in the conversation, as Devi wrestles with something under the couch, trying to tug it free. There's a moment of hesitation from [[character:Batsen Reshigah|Batsen]] before he offers: "I'll get it." Seconds later, the door's open, and he's looking into the face of a stranger. A visitor to Togi? "...hi, can I help you?" he asks, a bit of concern laced into his otherwise pleasantly polite demeanor.
Dakarai stares at the face. Wrong household? ...if the Ravi family moved he should have been informed, this was quite irregular. Silent, he peers past Batsen, a hint of confusion in his face, the sideway tilt quite subtle as he lances his gaze into the room behind Devi's friend. No luck - he can tell Batsen isn't alone, but he can't see who's with him. He deflates a little, a nervous tinge touching his expression. "My name's Rhaptor," he introduces himself, finally, disorientation almost bordering embarrassment in his tone, both carefully but obviously curtailed. "Is this not the Ravi household?"
There's a bit of hesitation at Rhaptor's question, fingers on the doorknob tightening slightly. "It is," he replies. "...who are you looking for, exactly?" There's a hint of suspicion in his tone. If it were his own house, he might be a little less on edge, but it's the Ravis' space, not his, and he doesn't yet know how trustworthy this stranger is.
"...Prana Ravi or Ishar Ravi," he reveals. "It pertains to Dejan's recent passing," he says, tone largely explanatory, only touched with a tinge of sadness.
Behind Batsen, Devi gives a soft, strangled 'yip' as her fingers finally catch onto the palm-sized tablet computer she'd managed to drop during a fumble. She wasn't going anywhere without GPS, that much was certain - it'd be off most of the time because it's battery life was grotesque for its supposed energy efficiency, but it'd be able to help them in a pickle. Apparently 'grand adventure' it is.
A moment later, she's thrown herself into a stand and toward the door, a spring to her step, only to narrow her eyes. "What do you want?" she throws at Dakarai's face, grimacing lightly. Whether the bitterness is from recognition or simply because Dejan's name has been spoken is hard to say.
Dakarai pauses. He wasn't expecting to be interrogated. In his head, he'd hoped one of their parents would be home and asking him inside, and he could have calmly and rationally explained that now that Dejan was gone, he'd probably no longer need the item Dakarai left with him and he'd like it back if no one was laying a claim to it. But between Batsen and Devi, he felt like his plan had been muddled up quite thoroughly. "I apologise for intruding," he says after a noticeable pause. "Dejan and I were good friends - I understand you only have my word for it, but I'd appreciate if you'd allow me in, I left something with him a few years ago that is unfortunately no longer of use to him." Or ever was, to be fair, but that was getting mighty into the details of it.
Devi snorts, a tension gripping her shoulders. "No one touches Dejan's stuff," she comments, territorially and defensively, an unspoken 'especially people who aren't grieving even though they're claiming to be his friend' attached to that blocking phrase.
Batsen frowns, eyes moving back and forth between Devi and Rhaptor. He doesn't like where this is escalating to. It's still possible that Rhaptor's story is true, even if that currently seems unlikely. "Hang on, let's just step back a minute," he offers. "Devi, did Dejan ever mention anything about this 'Rhaptor' fellow to you?" He turns to Rhaptor, then, and asks, "How exactly did you know him?"
"No," Devi responds to Batsen's first question curtly, stare still anchored on the stranger.
A dilemma. He wanted to point out it was none of their business, it was between him and the deceased Dejan, but the statement was unfortunately incorrect. Devi Ravi was an heir to Dejan and so the matters pertaining to her brother were certainly her business. He couldn't really answer the question without opening a pandora's box of related enquiries, though. "...perhaps if I describe the item?" he asks, bypassing the question, tone one of suggesting a compromise. "It's rather unique and I presume it solely of sentimental value." His left hand is kneading the crescents of his nails against the inside of his index finger.
A growl issues from Devi, her eyes narrowing. "Two weeks," she says, tone heavy with bitterness and grief. "He's been dead only two weeks. If you want something back that you gave to him, have the courtesy to hawk over it later, will you?"
Okay now is a bad time. He presses his lips to a thin line for a brief moment, resisting the urge to explain he wasn't usually in the area and just happened to be nearby enough to spend a few hours heading into Togi to ask for their time - she's just made it unmistakably clear that he's intruding, he doesn't have to make it worse. "I'm sorry," he says, finally, sounding a little lost, but sincere. "I didn't mean to be tactless." His posture crinkles in on itself just enough to defuse the determination previously tainting his air.
Batsen lets out a light sigh, rubbing fingers on his temples and shutting his eyes. There has to be some good, peaceful way to resolve this. "If it's not something you urgently need, how about you come back for it when we're back from our trip?" Hopefully by then, the tension would be gone, and they could have a reasonable conversation about this without Devi being quite as territorial as she's being right now.
He considers that for a moment, even while he keeps an eye on Devi. It was of no use to anyone, even if they had found it while assessing Dejan's belongings - at worst, it'd be thrown into the trash at some point and get burnt and he'd never find out and it'd nag at him for the rest of his life, but that wasn't really disconcerting enough to make him disinclined to wait.
"All right," he comments, nodding. He doesn't bother asking how long they intend to be going on a trip - he'll take another swing past Togi in three month's time, that should be plenty for anything called 'trip' and not 'relocation'. With the focus he currently has, he's not even inclined to ask where they're going - that he'd be so ironic to catch people potentially doing the gym circuit before they'd even set a single foot outside of their hometown doesn't yet occur to him. Any questions he could possibly ask are all stashed in the 'don't ask, just get out of their hair' corner. "Very sorry for the bother," he adds, letting himself slouch a little.
The second apology seems to take the edge off Devi's bristling. Apparently she's easy enough to calm down as long as her statements are heeded, and the stranger, in all his odd manner, certainly was heeding them. She nods in a silent acknowledgement - and then Dakarai's turning to head back to the ladder and climb back down the platform.
Batsen follows Dakarai's retreating shape for a few moments, briefly considering whether he should say anything else. Then he shuts the door, and breathes a sigh of relief. "Well. That was weird," he comments to Devi, eyeing her to make sure she's reasonably calm again. "Wonder what that was all about."
"The nerve of some people," Devi comments, perhaps meaning it as a light-hearted comment bordering flippant, but coming across as shaken. She's sunk into a sit on the couch, her so triumphantly reclaimed electronic gadget held loosely in her right hand, it and her hand dangling off her wrist, arm on the arm rest. "Sorry," she adds, deflatedly, closing her eyes for a moment, opening her mouth to add what precisely she's apologising for, but not finding the words - and instead closing it again, smiling at Batsen with a quiet appreciation that he puts up with her.
Batsen leans back against the door, shooting a light, exasperated smile Devi's way, shaking his head. "No need to apologize," he replies. There's a long moment of silence, accompanied by a wistful look in Batsen's eyes, though it's hard to guess at what precisely is going through his head. Maybe he's wondering whether the stranger who just came by was really a friend of Dejan's. Maybe he's wondering what Dejan would have done in his situation. Or maybe he's just reflecting on a close friendship that he still can't quite bring himself to believe is forever lost.
Then he shakes his head, and it's gone. "So," he says. "How about we make that trail mix."
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