Oliver was the type of guy who parents warned their kids about in the upper floors of the pillar. He wasn't tall nor was he bulky, but he was lithe in the way that people pictured what thieves looked like. His eyes were dark and shifty, darting from side to side as if there was someone about to jump him at any moment. The red hair at the top of his head was styled in a short mohawk above his forehead while it was shaved down to his scalp on the sides.
His clothes weren't that far off. They were a mixture of punk and belts. His dark pants were ripped, but not designed that way. Jason felt a little guilty as he caught thin, raised scar tissue, reminiscent of knife wounds, that peaked out from some of the holes on the teen's pale skin. A couple of belts hung off his thin waist while a dark, long sleeved shirt clothed his torso.
"Why are you being shifty, Oliver? You stopped messaging me over Holo for a bit." Jason groused, staring a hole into his friend's skull. At this distance, Jason could lean over the smaller teen, having several inches on the redhead.
"Ha ha…sorry. Would you believe that I was on a job?" Oliver awkwardly apologized, shifting on the balls of his feet as he watched the elevator doors close.
Jason squinted, causing Oliver to panic again.
"I swear, man! I haven't been in the Blues in a while! Ask anyone. 'Sides, we don't get much ground level stuff after our last gig in the Basement."
Jason clicked his teeth closed, taking in what he heard. His frown slowly shifted to an awkward smile, unsure. "Is it hard finding work now?"
"Nah, no big deal. 'Sides, they were asking for it when you got 'em." Oliver said, smiling as if the previous tension hadn't happened. Carefully, he offered the cigarette tucked between his fingers to the brown-haired teen. "Did you want one?"
"...no, I don't do that." Jason said, ignoring some of the looks he was getting as the elevator rose. It quickly reached the next floor, and he and Oliver took the chance to move to the back as people got out.
"Don't do that anymore, you mean." Oliver said with a grin.
Jason stared at him till the redhead sighed.
"Okay, okay, sorry. No need to pull the 'I'm now better than you card.'" the teen said, dramatically swooning into the metallic wall of the elevator. "Spare me the lip, will you. Not all of us have a cushy homelife and won the lottery to get jacked on Abyss." he waved the cigarette in his hand like it was a wand. "You know Lee basically needs one of these everyday to survive."
Jason's hard stare faltered a bit, lowering his gaze to the floor. "Sorry. I think I'm still on some adrenaline from my night."
"I'll say," Oliver said, making a point to stare at the closing wounds on Jason's body. "Who was the lucky soul? Some idiots in the Basement or something?"
"No, not that." Jason said before quickly adding, "And I'm not allowed on the basement floors again after our last gig, remember."
Oliver nodded as if he just now thought of it. Which, concerning the teen, was probably it. Instead, the redhead reached into his pant's pocket and pulled out a lighter, flicking it alight and bringing it to his cigarette.
The others in the elevator shifted uncomfortably away, casting weary glances their way. Jason pursed his lips as he shot them a look; they wore suits, clean and without many stains on them. He could smell the cleaners used on their clothes. Something that no one other than workers for companies used, and after he saw there was no one who took the moment to step out of the crowd, he simply ignored them. Whether it was the blood on his clothes or the scathing looks Oliver sent them as if he wanted someone to call them out, no one chose to make any sounds of discontent.
"Heh, cogs." Oliver hissed under his breath, causing Jason to shake his head silently. "What? You act like you haven't seen what they get up to on the lower floors. Pompous assholes."
"Doesn't mean you need to push them every chance you get." Jason said slowly.
"Fine, fine. Whatever you say, man. Anyways, I got a couple of guys who got some jobs down in the lower floors. You in? Everyone needs a bloodhound to keep watch, am I right?"
Jason leaned back into the wall, feeling his wounds itch with the movement. He had long since changed out of his bloodied and torn clothes from his fight with the Lyonire, but the only thing he had was a white shirt and blue jeans, thinking he wouldn't really get that dirty in the hunting grounds. Of course, now he had to deal with the fact that his shirt was stained with blood from all his small wounds. Something that granted him more than one suspicious gaze.
"Is it just tagging?" Jason asked after a small moment.
"Yup," Oliver said, popping the 'p.' "We just need to get in, spray their colors and stuff on some of the alleyways and get outta there. Easy and simple. Just like the old days. You can make it in time to get back to your cushy place in the clouds."
"Sure," Jason agreed before he stopped. "Wait, is it tomorrow?"
"Of course, they ain't waiting on us that long."
The brown-haired teen sighed, shaking his head. "Then I can't go."
"Aw, come on. I've been hyping up our own bloodhound. You gonna skimp out for some shit your mom found for you again?"
Jason glared at him, causing the redhead to raise his hands in mock surrender. Oliver quickly added, "Sorry! Force of habit."
"I know you dislike people who work for the organizations and such, but don't bring that on my mom." Jason said carefully. "And no, she didn't find another class for me. I got someone to pay for an Abyss Stone for me. If everything goes well, I might get a rec for a Delver college."
Oliver whistled. "Damn, really?" He slapped Jason on his shoulder. "That's amazing! Grats, man. I mean it. Hah, I remember when your shiny ass was…" there was a distinct pause as Jason saw something cross his friend's face. He knew Oliver long enough to know most of the teen's tells, but the emotion seemed more like a resolve than anything else.
Just as quickly, Oliver's smile returned as he continued on without acknowledging his pause. "Slumming it with us on the lower floors like it was yesterday."
"Oliver…"
"No, don't say anything!" Oliver quickly interjected. "This is your moment. It was a little too dumb to think you'd stay with us after you became a Delver and everything. I think this is good for you, you know. Maybe next time I see your sorry ass you'll be the one protecting the elevators."
Jason sighed, taking a moment to let his friend speak. When he awakened as a Delver, he knew that some things would change. Everyone said that. Delvers had the best paying jobs on average, and they were respected beyond any other one throughout all the worlds they lived on. If things didn't change after you joined a group of people that always seemed to stand above the rest, then that would be a lie.
"I might not even make it, Oliver." Jason said, taking the redhead's attention. "You know how crazy those things are. Out of millions of people who become Delvers every year, there's only like a hundred or so that get accepted."
Oliver chuckled, grinning like a loon. "Well, obviously. But seriously, you've been a Delver for what? A couple months? In that time you already were stronger than everyone we know."
Jason raised an eyebrow.
"Sure, they're not Delvers themselves, but they were pretty damn strong. Not to mention–"
"Okay, I get it. I'll tell you how things go."
"Good." Oliver grinned, bringing the fuming cigarette to his lips. "We'll celebrate either way. Throw a big party in Moxx's on the 4th."
"Sure–" Jason happily agreed, but his smile shot straight to a frown as smoke wafted through the air. While the filters in the elevator were not the best, he still only smelt the smoke after it pervaded the air for a moment.
Faster than the redhead could react, Jason had already swiped the cigarette from between the other teen's fingers, holding it up to his nose as he ground out the burning end with his other hand.
"Hey, man! If you wanted some, you should'a just asked."
"Where'd you get this?" Jason asked, frowning. "It doesn't smell like where you guys normally bum them?"
Oliver twitched. He knew enough about Jason to know that his brown-haired friend meant business. "Lee found 'em. Some guys cooking up stuff in the lower basement; they've got a kick that affects even some Delvers. This is the diluted product."
Jason waved the cigarette under his nose once more. He felt the residual smoke curl into his nostrils, taking in the scent. It was faint, but he swore he knew what it was. Just didn't know exactly where he last recognized the scent.
"Is… it okay?" Oliver asked tentatively. Jason knew the teen was nervous, but it wasn't like he knew exactly how to stave off the redhead's worries. "I'm not gonna combust or something, right? That stuff doesn't happen… uh, often."
Jason shook his head, trying to hide how amused he was about his friend's outlandish worries. "Probably not right now, but maybe…."
Oliver gasped, but immediately caught the smirk on Jason's face, slugging the teen's shoulder the next moment. "You ass, don't scare me like that." he quickly snatched back the cigarette, but didn't light it again. "I should still keep off… just in case."
Jason hummed. "Yeah, if they're selling to Delvers as well, best to keep out. The stuff that can affect us is definitely not safe for you guys. Diluted or not."
"Uh, noted."
Very quickly, Jason and Oliver changed topics. The brown-haired teen knew that his friend took his advice fairly heavily; something that seemed to happen more often now that he became a Delver. Instead, the two filled up the following silence with conversations about different Delver organizations that appeared within the lower floors.
Several floors later, Oliver's stop finally arrived. Jason chose not to say anything as he watched most of the other passengers leave on this floor.
He recognized the floor. Almost anyone with more than a few digits in their bank would know it: the entertainment floor. Somewhere everyone was welcome in the clouds. To Jason though, everyone who got off on the floor was either there for business or pleasure, but most of the time, they ended up staying for the pleasure.
The teen frowned as he looked out into the floor from the back of the elevator. Unlike how the floor the maglev train stopped at was cramped and packed to the brim with people, this floor was almost completely open. Though, there still were tons of people that ambled about the various bars with blinding neon signs.
Music drowned out most of the ambient sounds that Jason associated with gatherings as large as this. He hadn't gotten to the point where he could pick up on someone's heartbeat, but his senses were keen where he couldn't stand more populated floors. In addition, the teen's nose twitched as a various cocktail of heavy perfume and smoke curled into the small space of the elevator.
Jason could see why some Delvers frequented the floor. Everything was tailored to dampen their enhanced senses, and he could pick up on a couple drugs within the smoke itself to help. Nothing dangerous, as odd as it was to think about, but it really put into perspective just what some people were willing to do to simply stop sensing everything.
"This is where I get off, man." Oliver tapped his shoulder with a grin. He tapped the Holo device on his wrist. "Send me your results, yeah?"
Jason didn't immediately answer, watching how a line of people lined up in front of someone who vaguely resembled a gorilla. A line of bouncers frisked the entrants to the floor.
"What are you doing here?" Jason asked, finally putting his attention back on his friend.
Oliver shook his head with a wry smile. "You know the usual. No one wants to make deals in the basement; that place is only for action." Then, the redhead paused. "Wait, you haven't been on this floor right?"
Jason nodded.
"What? Is it too nice up in the clouds?"
"I just dislike the smell." Jason said as he lightly tapped his friend's shoulder with a punch, yet despite his holding back, Oliver still flinched. "Sorry."
"Anything I should be worried about?" Oliver asked. He still had a smile on his face, but it was strained. Clearly concerned.
"No… Well, I wouldn't stay for long. The smoke smells like something addictive."
"Ah," Oliver tried not to cringe at the knowledge. "Thanks for the advice." He clicked his tongue like he had expected it. "Damn cogs draining everyone even here, too. Anyways, seeya around, bloodhound."
"Don't die." Jason said, rolling his eyes.
Soon, the door closed, cutting off Jason from his only source of entertainment inside the elevator. He tried not to breathe too deeply as the smoke still hung in the air. Instead, he focused on the barely audible rumble of the machine as the elevator shot straight up without stop. He struggled with the knowledge that he still had an hour left to go till he reached his home.