1008/The Scholar, The Astronomer and the Starpals

The Scholar, The Astronomer and the Starpals
Date of Scene:	07 February 2016
Location:	Mitakihara/Pikarigaoka - King Penguin Park
Synopsis:	Hoshi meets Solomon in the park, they have a friendly conversation.
Cast of Characters:	Solomon Novak, Hoshi Kogane

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Solomon Novak has posed:
    Understanding people is important. Typically this requires socializing with them, which is a problem, as Solomon is just not a big fan of interacting with people. An acceptable compromise he has discovered is to spend time near people and to watch them socialize with eachother. It's about as informative as actually talking with people, but without all the hassle of being forced to make small talk.

    Solomon Novak has claimed one end of a bench that faces vaguely in the pond's direction while still giving him a view of many locations where people hang out and or pass by. He is just sitting there, not eating or reading a book or taking pictures or anything. It's mildly weird for someone his age.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
Hoshi is eager to talk with just about anyone who will talk to her, but especially so if they seem lonely or sad. Sitting alone and looking around is something she tends to associate with being lonely and sad, she may be wrong, but the little girl claims a spot right next to Solomon. "Hi."

A five pointed yellow star suddenly pops into being, hovering next to Hoshi's head. It pokes her cheel creating a brief yellow spot that fades after a bit, and in response Hoshi makes a slight bow. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding." She doesn't explain her reasons for being here.

Solomon Novak has posed:
    Uh-oh, somebody is talking to him. Thankfully Solomon has enough social prowess that he can keep that sentiment from showing itself, so it merely looks like he has no opinion one way or another on the girl striking up a conversation with him. And that IS most likely what she's doing - why else would she sit so close to him?

    He responds to her initial greeting with a simple nod of the head. Solomon keeps his face turned to her because it would be rude not to, and so far she hasn't done anything that justifies true rudeness on his part. And then... that happens. A star appears? That's still fairly weird in his book, even if it is not alarming.

    "No need to apologize," he replies neutrally. "It's a public place and I don't have a 'Do not disturb' sign up."

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
Another star appears, this one planting a yellow sign on Hoshi's head that says 'Disturbing In Progress.' Hoshi doesn't seem to notice, "I'm Hoshi Kogane." She introduces herself, with a smile and cheer. "I saw you sitting alone, and I thought I'd come say hi." She looks so much in her element that this might be something she does every day.

"What's your name?" She asks shamelessly, kids these days, so eager to talk to strangers. Or maybe it's just this kid. "I like meeting new people. It's fun."

Solomon Novak has posed:
    Ok, THAT is worth a brief stare - stars doing visual gags relevant to the conversation. After his eyes are on the floating lights for a few seconds they refocus upon Hoshi. He doesn't know what the deal is with those things, but for now he pays attention to the chatty new arrival.

    "Hello," is his initial reply to her declaration of intentions. Oddly enough, in his mind, she has not thus far proven to be annoying. In spite of her cheery attitude however his expression remains firmly neutral.

    "Solomon Novak." A pause as he tries to figure out what response is warranted. The pause turns into an extended silence when he fails to come up with something. Hopefully she doesn't mind; he suspects she won't.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
The star that put up the sign is now standing on top of it, with a cheeky grin that seems to imply it's quite aware of what it's doing. Hoshi still isn't paying attention to them. "It's nice to meet you, No.. Noba... Solomon-san." She seems a bit dissapointed by her stumbling over the foreign name.

"What brings you to the park today? I mean the weather is nice but it doesn't seem like you were doing anything." The star that didn't put up a sign moves over towards Solomon curiously, hovering next to his head for a bit before deciding to try to land on his shoulder.

Solomon Novak has posed:
    The analytical part of Solomon's mind continues its attempts to understand and classify the stars. Fairies of some sort? Tiny magical allies? Maybe. He needed more to reach any solid conclusions. Her difficulty with his name is tactfully ignored; she tried, and he DID have a very odd name by comparison, so he was careful not to show any negative response. In fact, he almost tells her not to worry about it because she of her disapointment. Almost.

    "Observing people." No need to lie about his reasons for being there. In fact the conversation is very nearly comfortable for him despite his anti-social tendancies, which is quite a feat on Hoshi's part.

    Being the attention of a star(?) is less comfortable. Solomon doesn't quite pretend that they don't exist, but pays them about as much attention as one would a fly.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
"Oh, so like... seeing what they're doing and stuff? I guess that can be interesting, I've never really thought of that." Hoshi sounds both earnest and surprised, she doesn't however sound judgmental. The interest is genuine. "Have you seen anything neat?"

Perhaps to emphasize her curiousity, the star that landed on Solomon's shoulders is pulling out a pair of binoculars, the kind you use when birdwatching, and starts pointing it at people. Observing people indeed. Finally, Hoshi notices what it's doing and she giggles a bit about the star's antics, though she tries to hide her giggles.

Solomon Novak has posed:
    "Yes." That is his less than elaborate answer to the first question. Solomon wished more conversations could go like this: a person asking him questions that he doesn't have to answer with a lie to keep from sounding insulting - or in some cases, to avoid actually being insulting.

    His planned response the second question gets interrupted before it begins by the star on his shoulder - or rather by the girl's response to it. He had been worrying that she actually couldn't see them, which meant limiting how much he responded to them. Now though? He's free to reply,

    "Those stars that hang around with you."

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
Suddenly, the star with the binoculars turns them to look right at Solomon. "You can see them?" The question is more surprise than anything, the answer to it is of course obvious. "Well I suppose you can, if you're asking about them..." She muses a little bit. "I'm sorry if they're being mean, I can't control them." And yet she considers herself responsible for them. "Was there anything you wanted to know about them?"

Solomon Novak has posed:
    "Yes." This time he even nods while giving a one word answer. He must be really warming up to her!

    "No, they're fine." The blonde boy really doesn't seem to mind them. "Hmm." They are pretty odd, and he did like knowing things, so when the offer is given he accepts it.

    "What are they? What are they called?" And depending on how much she answers he might just have a heap more questions for her.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
"Uhhh... honestly, I don't really know what they are. I call them my Starpals, though. A friend came up with that, and it works." Hoshi sounds a little uncertain about just what she's saying, like she's not quite sure what she should be calling them. "I have a friend who has similar friends. They can be really silly sometimes."

"Do you know why can you see them? Most people can't." Hoshi asks in return, and another star appears right next to her head, flipping through a book that's larger than itself, titled. 'Basic Theory of Magic.'

Solomon Novak has posed:
    Starpals. Not a very formal term. The scholar in him instinctively wants to come up with a better name for them, an instinct that he restrains. It's not like they are /his/ Starpals after all.

    "I can see magic," Solomon points out. As much as he enjoys talking with her, he'd prefer not to reveal that he is a magical boy.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
"I guess that's obvious when you say it like that." Hoshi sounds a little disappointed in herself, for not seeing that one coming. "I can too, but I suppose that was also obvious." She cheers back up right again, the younger blonde seems to be emotionally sturdy enough for that not disappointment not to last. "Are you looking for magical people or just for people in general?"

Solomon Novak has posed:
    "I wouldn't say that it was obvious." This time he does decide to actually comfort her. "It was very possible that only people with Starpals could see Starpals, and it was also possible that having a Starpal did not mean you could see all other types of magic." Though it was looking more and more like seeing magic was an on/off thing.

    "Just people in general. It's easier to watch people than talk with them." And now he's admitting he's anti-social. Hoshi was either a good influence on him or a bad one, he wasn't certain yet.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
"I can see things that aren't Starpals too, though, and I don't know anyone else with Starpals." Hoshi explains why she didn't quite think that conclusion was that obvious. Another star appears, this one holding a yellow sketchbook and paging through it, like it contains all the magical things it's seen.

"Oh. I've got a friend like that, she's really nice but keeps to herself a lot." It sounds like Hoshi doesn't quite understand. She acknowledges people like that exist, just doesn't really get why they are like they are. "I don't think I could settle for just watching people."

Solomon Novak has posed:
    "Oh, I thought you meant your friend had Starpals too." The friend who is BAD WITH NAMES. Ahem. More likely it was somebody around Hoshi's age who come up with a name like that. And speaking of Hoshi's friends, maybe that girl she mentioned is why the 10 year old blonde is so easy to talk to? Maybe more people needed at least one anti-social friend so they could practice how to interact with other anti-social people.

    "No, I don't see you as being able to do that either. For me, listening is easier than talking."

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
"I can listen too, but there's a difference between listening and being alone." Hoshi says that like it's one of the great truths of the universe, something very important. "And it's not like I'm never alone, I have to do homework sometimes, and most of my friends don't get to stay up late enough to watch the stars, so that's something I do alone a lot."

Solomon Novak has posed:
    Solomon's head tilts in thought at her point. "There is also a difference between being alone and being lonely." Still, she has a point. Maybe something to consider later.

    Bedtimes was an almost foreign concept to him these days. Nobody had been telling him when he should go to sleep for many years now. He had just assumed that even kids could figure out these things on their own, but it seems like that is not the case. "Why do you get to stay up that late?"

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
"Because dad is the one who got me into astronomy so he understands." Hoshi explains, and perhaps in a fit of irony, the star on Solomon's shoulder exchanges the binoculars for an intricate telescope setup that it starts putting together on Solomon's shoulder, it's a fancy model, and probably would be expensive if it wasn't made of pure magic.

At this point it's also likely starting to be obvious there's tiny yellow residue that's being left behind by the stars, it's magical but seems harmless. Hoshi doesn't pay any attention to it.

Solomon Novak has posed:
    "I see." It was good that her dad shared her interest. "That's not going to work during the day," he also points out to the entity on his shoulder that was leaving magic stuff on his shirt. It probably washes out. And if not, most people wouldn't be able to see it anyways.

Hoshi Kogane has posed:
Right as the Star turns its telescope towards Solomon's nose, Hoshi's phone rings. She pulls it out of her pocket, it's the latest iPhone, and she answers it. The other side of the phone appears to be brief. "Okay. I'll be coming right away." She sounds a little sad, "I've got to go home, sorry. Something came up." The stars all poof into nothingness as she gets up, and in the span of an hour, the residue they left will fade naturally.

Solomon Novak has posed:
    Solomon continues his general trend of not being bothered by things that might normally bother people (instead being bothered by things that do not normally bother people, like the existance of helicopters), giving an understanding nod at her apology. It is followed by saying something that he rarely, if ever, says.

    "It was nice meeting you."