Sunset at Centrot Park (switchblade)

The city was so big, it was nearly overwhelming to the pale blue mare.   She had come here for work, helping a scientist in the industrial district. Bright Eyes did not intend to stay for long,  as she was more accustomed to small towns. And still, a part of her loved it there. There were countless ponies, so much action and life in one place.  Perhaps she would stay longer than planned; no one expected her to be anywhere else, anyway.

It was near dusk,  and the park was beautiful, leaves drifting on the autumn breeze. Bright Eyes  walked alone down a path lined with trees, taking in the sights, the sounds of the city nearby, and the song birds in the trees.

Switchblade was taking a break in the park, relaxing from job hunting, if he was to get a job and stay hidden he needed to act just like every other pony, to the tedious points of waiting and form filling, he sighs in annoyance "Real difficult these days, I guess. Everyone has their place already established."

Bright Eyes was enjoying the sights when she saw a pony that looked.. Discouraged? Distressed? She couldn't quite tell. She looked at the tan pony curiously, uncertain whether she should say something or allow the stallion time and space. Ultimately, her empathetic side won over, and she trotted over to him with half a smile on her features. "Rough day?" She asked, her voice softened so he wouldn't react angrily to her uninvited appearance.

Switch looks up, time to choose a personality, who the new him is. He decided upon slightly shy. He jumps a bit at her approach, nodding slightly, smiling with a shy lilt to it "Y...yes. Like you wouldn't believe, ma'am." he says as he straightened himself up with a little shuffle, making himself look even nervous on his feet.

If the strnger was putting on an act, Bright Eyes was none the wiser.  To her, he appeared as he intended: nervous, a little bashful.  She trotted a little closer with a widening smile, attempting to reassure him, as she had always been the type that hated to see such suffering.  "Are you alright?  Please, don't call me ma'am.  I'm Bright Eyes."

He nods again, looking her over, she looked trustworthy and safe enough to talk to. He smiles to her "I'm alright, Miss Bright. I am Furtive Nature." he shies back a bit from her, not quite feeling up for trusting her yet

The formal way he addressed her felt strange, but she didn't point it out.  Perhaps he was raised to be very polite and proper.  His name gave her pause, however, as it was most unusual.  Furtive Nature.  He didn't look secretive, as his name implied, but Bright Eyes instantly had some insight into the pony she was speaking to.  "Well, Furtive Nature," she began - the name even sounded odd as she said it - "If you need someone to talk to, I have time to listen."  She smiled, hoping she seemed like a safe pony.

He sighs sadly "I...it's alright. Just hard finding a job around here, especially without a home address." He looks down a bit "I never knew job hunting was quite so hard to do. But here I am, almost two weeks into my stay here and nothing has come up for me yet."

The emotion in his sigh brought a frown to her normally cheerful features. "What sort of look are you seeking, Furtive?" The blue mare reached over to gently place a hoof on his shoulder reassuringly.  "You mustn't give up.  Believe me, it seems like half of my life right now is looking for jobs here and there, but I managed to find something in the industrial district.  Nothing permanant, but it's something."

He jolts back at being touched, blushing "Sorry about that... just not used to being touched after my marefriend left me without a trace [Which was sadly true], what do you mean by look?" he asks, tilting his head carefully with a raised eyebrow.

((Bahaha not sure why I typed "look," I definitely meant work, but we'll go with it!))

Her smile melted into surprise as he recoiled from her, and Bright Eyes instantly felt guilty for it.  "Sorry, Furtive," she said hurriedly. "I mean, is it alright if I call you that?  Well, you know, what sort of employment are you suited for?"  Her eyes drifted to his cutie mark, since a pony's marking so often indicated their career path.

He sighs "It's okay... you weren't to know anyway..." He nods "Sure... it's what I was named after all... I don't really know, though I have always wanted to try going into teaching; I know a lot about history and writing..." his cutie mark currently looked like a quill in an hourglass of what looked to be ink.

"Really?" The mare's expression lit up considerably when he mentioned history and writing - two subjects that Bright Eyes excelled in and loved.  It made her feel a bit of happiness to imagine that she had found someone else who shared her passion.  "I know you can't really tell it from my cutie mark," she nodded toward her flank, which depicted twin gold stars, "But history and writing are subjects I love, too!"  She blue unicorn. "I have a temporary job here in the city.  It doesn't pay much, but it's more than nothing.  Are you hungry?  It can be my treat," she offered, guessing that he might be, since he was out of work.

Switch nods "I suppose that's where my name is from. In my youth I was always so interested in what time had forgotten, the furtive nature of things, if you will." he looks down at her cutie mark, something he didn't do very often. He sighs, shaking his head softly "No, no. I cannot take that kind of generosity from another. Your money should be yours. Not given to a random stranger like that."

The inviting smile did not falter from her lips when her offer was at first rejected. She had expected that he might not be open to the idea of allowing a mare to buy a meal for him. But it was the friendly thing to do, and the right thing to do if someone was in need, stranger or not. "It won't be all my money," she said in reply. "The offer still stands. I don't mind it at all, really. Besides, I might go get something to eat anyway."

Swi-I mean, Furtive, sighs as realisation dawns on him "You're not gonna take no for an answer, are you?" he asks, already pretty sure of the answer, almost sounding like he had given in to this fate.

Her face fell.  She was trying to be nice, but her offer wasn't well received.  Unconsciously, the blue mare took a step backward, further from the sullen stallion.  "No- no, I'm not going to force you." Using her magic, she took a couple of bits from her coin purse, allowing them to land on the ground in front of her.  "Don't think of it as charity.  Think of it as... One struggling pony lending a hoof to another."

Before he could argue, she turned slowly to walk away, head dipped.  He could take the bits if he wanted, or leave them for another pony in need.  He could even call out after her, should he decide he wanted to talk more - though Bright Eyes realized this was unlikely.

Furtive mentally scolds himself as she turns to go, thinking of a way to get her to stay, and also boost his nature of being a historical academic on subjects just come to light. Like his, he calls out "Three years ago, in a town named Oakhaven by locals, unnamed now, a covert military operation went wrong, resulting in the destruction of the town and residents, all but one of the military group being recovered and blamed for the event. About a month ago, the testimony of that same pony, Lieutenant Switchblade was released, telling the 'truth' of that event, speaking of corruption within the leader and the true nature of the devastation, multiple sources claiming his testimony to be true, what do you think? From one historian to another?"

She stopped suddenly as the stallion started to speak again — his voice sounded different somehow, and Bright Eyes turned back slowly, a quizzical look painted across her features. He asked her opinion about a subject she knew nothing about except the disturbing story she had heard a year or two before. It wasn’t every day that entire villages were demolished, living nothing but cinder and ash behind. She eyed her fellow unicorn curiously. After a moment of thought, she responded. “I think there can be more than one truth to a situation. I guess the one who was witness would have the most insight into what transpired.”

He sighs with a shrug; deciding on his stand point "I suppose there can be. However it seems very off that we have an official report that lasts for months then suddenly a testimony from the one blamed claiming he is innocent; I still think it was his fault for it. The new evidence seems far too convenient."

She wondered why it was bothering the stallion, why he had been thinking of it and why he had shared it with a mere stranger like Bright Eyes. “Is this…” She hesitated, but she felt she needed to understand. “Is this something you’re involved in, Furtive?”

He chuckles, shaking his head "Nono, just... just got nervous when you were going and couldn't figure out what to say so ended up falling back onto my obscure knowledge of past events in the hopes we could just kinda chat a bit..." he looks down at the ground, digging at it with a hoof "Sorry... I'm not really all good with social interactions."

Bright Eyes was a little puzzled now, looking at the pony who called himself Furtive with a questioning look. If the stallion just wanted to chat, he only needed to say as much. He was definitely an odd one... But of course, Bright had been similarly awkward in conversation herself years ago, so she could empathize. She stepped back down the sidewalk toward him again. "What are you really looking for? Aside from work."

He looks down with a sigh "I don't really know anymore... Maybe just work; maybe friends; maybe a place to belong... I just do not know anymore. I have become so absorbed in the past that I have lost the way I was going in the present."

In many ways, Bright Eyes felt she could empathize with the stallion who seemed so lost in the world. "In my experience, it is never too late to be the pony you dream of being. Well, unless the pony is dead..." She bit back the urge to smirk at her own morbid aside. "But for you, why not? What's keeping you from a better present and future?"