Noisy

Smoke floated through the still air. Beyond the nightly noises he exhaled after another drag of his cigarette. More noise came from his feet shifting on the roof so that he could have more comfortable posture against the roof's crenelation. His foot tapped as he hummed through his cigarette.

Deatoura O'Malley was a noisy man. Noise always followed him around, be it ambient or the sound of his own voice. He sometimes wondered how he could sneak up on anyone. Maybe they were deaf. No matter, it worked out for him in the end. He only knew one person who heard him consistently and perfectly.

Juniper.

He asked Juniper why he could always hear him one evening they decided to lounge and order takeout. Deatoura snickered at the memory. The poor Spade who delivered the food nearly fainted when a comfortably disheveled Juniper came to answer the door. Of course, Juni comfortably disheveled meant hair tied back, loose black pants and shirt with Uena's idea of "appropriate gifts for coworkers": brightly striped socks. Though compared to what he was wearing at the time, Juni was still somber.

Over boxed Chinese in the living room Juniper explained Deatoura's noise. Everyone heard him, Juni explained. But what they heard was the difference. Most people heard Deatoura in everyday noises like speaking and walking. But only a few people heard Deatoura's real noise which was -- according to Juni -- more akin to his violin playing.

Those that heard that noise knew him relatively well. Those were close friends and lovers. Some heard it and their own sound clashed at times. And a few heard it and were repulsed by his noise, Juniper added, completing his discourse. He had stared back at Juniper with a blank look, noodle hanging from his mouth. Juniper rolled his eyes and repeated his entire discourse in five short words: consonance, dissonance, and general repulsion.

It made sense. It explained why every time he and Ritz got together they ended up at Juni's doorstep bleary-eyed, smelling of alcohol and tobacco. The way he and Maye got along sometimes, fighting the rest. Uena mostly liked him. If that's what those small smiles meant.

Deatoura lit another cigarette as he watched Sector 4's generator. If Juni was right, which he usually was, Keeper Eden must've heard his noise and was chasing it for some reason. He smiled. He hoped Keeper Eden could hear the noise that was about to happen.