[OOC] In-character Reference of Non-baseline humans in Bar

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June 2007, Meiji Shrine

Mid-June at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo means the tail end of the seasonal bloom of irises in shrine's gardens – bright blue-purple blossoms still remain throughout the complex, though the crowds that come to view them have thinned out since the height of the season. The shrine is tucked into a forest that remains apart from the otherwise urban Shibuya ward, the entrance of the path through the trees marked by a high arch that visitors are meant to bow beneath before continuing onward toward the shrine.

It's quiet – quieter than anywhere else Elle has been in the city so far. She hadn't wanted to visit a museum, and the weather today was amenable; sunny, but not too hot. Enough wind that the leaves rustle in the tall trees that shade that path, but not so much that one would need a jacket. There are still enough visitors for voices to be heard throughout the woods, especially as they reach the main yard of the shrine, and there's an occasional buzzing or flurry of wings above them, but still – it's quieter.

Elle figured X would prefer that.

The main yard opens onto the shrine complex, paved by rectangular stones, the large building of cypress pillars and copper gabled roofs spread over the square beneath the camphor trees. To the side there are desks where visitors can write prayers on small pieces of paper to be left in the walls and shelves set up around the shrine.

Now, with no definite path to follow, Elle hesitates as they reach the open space of the square.

June 2007, Tokyo

She'd already moved from the hostel she'd stayed in during her first couple nights in Tokyo. The place she'd chosen now is in the Nakano ward, still about an hour away by train from where her job would ultimately be. This time, it's an upscale hotel – not great because of the cameras in the lobby and elevators and the fact that it requires a whole lot more legitimacy for her to fabricate, but better because once she's in, there's more privacy. At least, more within her control.

Elle and X had returned to the room about forty minutes earlier; Elle writes a short note on the postcard she'd bought at the shrine before joining X to stare out the window at the city below. Bela already had a keycard to the room; Elle had also given her a map, and marked the train routes that could be taken to Chiba City. She still wouldn't risk a cell phone, but for this job, it didn't seem like it'd be necessary.

And so though both X and Elle turn immediately when the door clicks, and opens, neither looks surprised to see Bela in the doorway.