Realistic or Modern BEING HUMAN - CHAPTER II: SLOW DECAY

[LoneSniper87]

Anastasia Kochenkov
Gymbox Covent Garden
7:00 pm

Ana's walk around the area had been used to observe the place, and after a few hours she found a gym. She kept note of where it was, continuing her walk. She ate, and after walked back to the gym. She entered with a curt nod, looking to the young man at the desk. "Uhm... Hi." She said, not expecting there to be someone up front.

"Welcome, welcome! Are you a member?" He asked, smiling.

She shook her head, his smile remained as he spoke. "Ah, well that's fine! We have a membership plan, and since you are a new member, your first month is free, and you only have to pay ten dollars a month, free to cancel at any time!" She looked at him, thinking it over.

"That seems fair, how do i sign up?" She asked, causing him to beckon her forward and help her fill out all the information. With that, he handed her a card, and let her in. The gym was expansive, a few people working out and the like, but her eyes were drawn to the bags hung up by metal chains. She was very familiar with them, and a smile grew on her face. Near it was a nice ring, no larger than 15 feet in any direction. Yes, she would grow to love this place. She went over to one the strung up bags, popping in an earbud, and playing whatever was on at the time before giving all she had into the bag, a flurry of punches, kicks, knees and elbows, ducking under and deflecting unseen attacks from the bag, careful to not go too fast.


After a solid ten minutes of shadowboxing a man tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to stop and turn, sweat beading down her brow. The man had black mitts on, short brown hair and smoky eyes. "Spar?" He asked, cocking his head to the ring.

"Sure." Was her reply. He didn't seem all bad, and the mitts felt like they were meant to prevent any real damage. She picked a pair up from the rack and put them on. She hopped into ring and faced her opponent. "First to the floor for five seconds." She told him, to which he nodded, and they began.


They circled for a few seconds, eyeing the stance of each other before the man struck first. Like a viper, he launched a quick jab to her chin, to which she deflected the strike with both her arms. She instinctively sidestepped to get to the side of him, sending a quick punch to his side, his arm came down and she made solid contact with his arm, her other arm came at his face, to which he ducked under it. He then jumped back, looking her up and down. "Pretty light on your feet, twinkle toes." He said with an easy grin, putting his arms back up. "Not traditional though. Self-taught?" He asked, but she didn't answer, for she was too busy studying him. Her favored his right side, and he indeed was quick himself.

A grin formed as she rushed toward him, sending a series of punches to him, he blocked or deflected most all of them, and she slowly pushed him back, until she changed it up, sending a blow to his knee, he bent down to block it and she smiled wickedly, rolling over his back and landing a solid punch on the surprised man, knocking him off balance. When he fell she was on top of him fist poised to strike again. "One, two, three, four, five." She counted between ragged breaths before getting off of him, pulling off a glove and offering a hand to him. To her surprise, he laughed and took it gratefully.

"Nice work... I'm Ryan." He extended a hand to her.
"Ana..." She said to him, taking his hand and firmly shaking.
"Much tougher than you look."
"I... Took a break, for a time." She responded, to which got another laugh.
"Catch you round twinkle toes." He said with another grin of his before pulling his own gloves off and leaving. She checked the time after he left, and saw the fight hadn't even been five minutes. She nodded her approval, hanging the mitts up, still steadying her breath. She finally got a handle and left, trying to figure out what rattled her so much about him as she walked home.

Ana's night activity done.

 

[shadowz1995]

It was a rather quiet walk over to the (literally) prophesied “interesting” place. A blissful break considering how odd things were becoming. It was like everytime he was taking a stroll, he bumped into some gal needing some kind of help. A crazed boyfriend trying to kill an affair having partner. A girl asking a total stranger to assist with groceries and then immediately trying to get his number for his “services”. An old ghost of his past showing up unexpectedly in the private Inferno club. A small child bumping into him and asking him questions about different worlds as if it was common knowledge and then telling him to come this way. The thought crossed his mind to just stay inside but these encounters proved he was in the right place. There was a lot of activity happening in London.

“Where there's smoke…” he muttered to himself before finally reaching the sanctioned off area that the little girl had mentioned. It appeared that some construction was happening in the area. Perhaps some remodeling. There was nothing really out of place. No workers were present at this hour to question either.

Yet, the girl seemed adamant that he should investigate. Not just the area, but specifically the manhole.

‘Well… nothing ventured, nothing gained.’

He stepped past the barriers and trespassed onto the area in search of the curious manhole. Everything was eerily quiet and luckily…. Or maybe unluckily, he found what made the area so interesting. As Sebastian rounded the corner, his heart very nearly stopped beating.

There was a male corpse laying on the ground. One of the workers, judging by the orange vests caked in crimson. A young man too. He couldn't have been older than 22. Standing over the man was something unlike anything Sebastian had ever laid eyes upon.

A huge, ethereal like being hovered just over the body. It sniffed about the corpse as if it was searching for something.

The former soldier stood there in stunned silence for several moments. Just watching the creature. Williams eventually let the breath he didn't know he was holding out and that was enough to alert the thing to his presence. It whipped its large head around and brought the full fury of gleaming scarlet eyes down on Sebastian. Every iota in the old immortal's body screamed at him to flee but his mind told him to stay.

Now that he had a closer look, it was reminiscent of some kind of dog or wolf like creature. The creature seemed to watch Seb. As if gauging his strength before it ultimately decided to dive downwards, through the asphalt and, he assumed, into the sewer system.

With the ghost-like beast gone, Seb was able to breathe normally again. “Something interesting, huh?” He echoed breathlessly. A quick glance around revealed the manhole the girl spoke of and within, the ethereal beast's red eyes glowed, staring back at him.

This thing had killed an innocent civilian and was more than likely going to kill again. God only knew how many lives it had taken before tonight.

That being said, as much as Seb wanted to take this murderous creature down, he had nothing to go on. He knew nothing of what this thing was nor what it was capable of. What he needed right now was information.

Luckily, having a near immortal body helped greatly when someone had to journey into the belly of the beast on a scouting mission.

Sebastian had some old contacts. If he gathered enough information, maybe one of them would give him a clue. That was the hope anyway.

The old soldier pulled out the disposable flip phone and called in the casualty as someone who saw what looked like body laying motionless in the street. As an innocent passerby from a distance. When the police operator asked to verify the person's condition, he made sure to act as if there was no way he was going to go near a dead body and pretended to go into hysterics before hanging up. Seb turned the phone around and pulled the battery out. He was venturing into the sewer and would toss it there.

Sgt. Williams approached the manhole, giving the body as wide a berth as possible. The red gaze that watched him disappeared as he came close.

Between the horrid stench, the terror of facing the unknown threat within London's underground, and the anxiety of being completely unequipped for this, Sebastian contemplated whether this was even worth it. Ultimately, he decided it was. Innocent lives were being lost here.

He started his descent into the rancid darkness armed with nothing but a pocket knife, balls of steel, an immortal body, and an idiotic sense of justice.


…..


“Christ, if the monster doesn't kill me, the stench will!”

He had already vomited into the sewage twice and was just dry heaving at this point. He had spent the better part of three hours scouring through the underground in search of the bloodthirsty beast and had come up empty. The thing was like a ghost… but unlike any Sebastian had ever encountered before.

From what he understood, ghosts were no threat to people. They couldn't do anything other than talk your ear off… and those were the powerful ones, which were a rarity within a rarity. Ghosts were incredibly scarce and an old one that hadn't passed on was a snowflake's chance in hell of showing up.

This…. Thing was something that could not only interact with the physical world but also kill at will. It couldn't be a ghost. It was something else. Not to mention its canine-like appearance.

The man had been so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that the dark sewer had gotten a bit lighter. It was a little easier to see and that was thanks to the soft, luminescent appearance of the wolf spirit that had crept up behind him with a muted presence. He didn't notice until it was far too late.

Sebastian's leather jacket was very thick and proved useful as protection. Yet, it did nothing to prevent ethereal fangs from piercing straight through and into the juicy, red flesh beneath. The beast's teeth ripped through skin, muscle, sinew, and bone as if it wasn't there. Sebastian let out a surprised yell of pain and tried to turn around to face the creature but its teeth held firm.

It forced him face first into putrid, sewage covered stone ground. His free arm reached into the jacket pocket to grab the knife and he started swinging wildly at his back to try and get the creature off to no avail. His strikes passed through the wolf as if it didn't exist.

Crimson red mixed with dark green against the cold stone floor. It took everything the old soldier had to literally turn around and tear himself free of the beast's jaws. He kicked furiously away from the thing and crawled backwards as it stalked towards him. His left arm now hung limp and useless as most of the muscle that directed its movement was a ruinous mess of torn flesh and broken bone.

The monster lunged forward and sunk its teeth into his right leg now, vigorously wrenching him to and fro like some kind of life sized chew toy. A primal scream of agony and rage ripped through Sebastian's throat as he kept trying to stab the damned thing with no results. He was helpless against this creature and it was only becoming more evident as it continued to rip, tear, and maul him to bloody ribbons.


……..


Sebastian only made it a few feet away from where he was initially attacked. His body was still intact but a mangled mess of what it formerly was. The pain had long since subsided and he could no longer yell out even if he wanted to. The wolf had long since relieved him of his throat and larynx.

The hands of dark unconsciousness were claiming what remained of his vision. He could only faintly see the blurred glow of the spirit hovering over him, much like it had with the young lad on the surface.

Usually the thoughts that crossed an old soldier like him in a situation like this was that he couldn't believe he was dying in a pathetic place like this.

Seb's was quite different.

‘I am going to smell like literal shit when I wake up.’

‘How long is it going to take me to wash the smell off?’

‘Scarlet is going to get a kick out of this one….’

Then nothing. Darkness claimed his thoughts and consciousness.

Darkness claimed him as it had done so many times in the last hundred-some-odd years.

He had never died in a sewer before. This was going to be a new one.

 

[WillfulWren]

Marcus Felis - Streets / Hospital Waiting Room
Co-Written With: IG42 ​

Humid weather was the worst, Marcus decided. His shirt was sticking to his skin, and he was seriously starting to consider just taking it off. With a sigh, he pushed his dark hair out of his eyes, glancing upwards at a too-close beat of wings.

Just a pigeon, swooping a bit low. As the sun crept down, the birds were starting to settle in to roost, the soft cooing providing a pleasant undertone to the noise of cars zooming past. He wondered what his sister would hear if she was here. Perhaps she wouldn't get lost as much if she paid attention to them, rather than just throwing useless temper tantrums over... Everything, really. Lost in thoughts, he didn't notice the discarded plastic carrier bag that he stepped on. It tangled round his leg as he tried to take another step. He stumbled, trying to regain his balance to no avail. He went down, falling straight into a passerby going in the opposite direction.

They both fell, with a crash. Marcus was unhurt - he had a soft landing - so the first thing he said, with wide eyes and a panicked expression.
"Are you okay?! I'm really sorry, I didn't see you!"

Flopped on the ground underneath Marcus, Tannur automatically responded. "I'm fine." Finding his first attempt to push himself upright stalled by a weight on his chest he gave it a little push. "As much fun as having a lady on top of me can be I'd rather not do that here, can you get off me?" Reaching up to a stinging spot where his cheek had hit the concrete his fingers came away a little bloody. "Ah shite."

Rolling off of Tannur, Marcus winced, going more than a little red. "I'm... Not a lady. People make that mistake a lot..." He corrected.

Sitting up Tannur fought off a wave of dizziness and took a closer look at the ladylike man. "Huh is that so? I...wait have I seen you somewhere before?" Racking his brain for a moment it came back to him where he had seen that face before. "You were one of those people with The Hero right?"

Looking startled, Marcus just stared at the other for a few seconds. "Um, I, uh..." Lowering his voice. "You shouldn't be speaking about that to every random person you meet! Are you from Aether?"

Feeling slightly stung by the scolding Tannur shot back quickly. "Hey you said the name not me." Seeing that people were starting to stare at what he was sure looked like a bleeding young man and a young lady sitting on the pavement. "Can't stay here."

Pushing himself upright he swayed on his feet, evidently he had hit his head harder than he thought. "Come on." He mumbled while leading the way to a nearby bench and pulled out a tissue which he pressed to the cut on his face. "How bad does it look?"


"Well, yeah, but you were the first one to mention the hero!" He snapped back, then felt guilty and reached out to help the other to the bench.
"Ah...It looks pretty bad... I'm really sorry..."

"Yeah...sure." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "Here I thought that swan attack would be the lowest point of my day." Looking over at the guy sitting next to him he spoke up again. "So who are you supposed to be?"

"My name's Marcus Felis." Holding out his hand to shake. "What about you? I don't think I recognise you..."

"Wait wait, you're Silver's brother?? But you're..." He waved his free hand at Marcus vaguely. "You know normalish. I expected another chaotic child."

"You know her? Yeah, that's me... Scarlett can be a bit... Well, wild, I guess would be the right word..."

"If by Scarlett you mean Silver then yeah I know her. I assume Roland has mentioned the bloke who's been making sure she doesn't end up sleeping in a tree in a park since we got here, well you just ran that person over, name's Tannur or Tanner to the locals."

"Yes, that's what she's calling herself now. She gave me quite a harsh rebuttal when I called her Scarlett before. Luckily, her teeth aren't anywhere near as sharp as they used to be. I still have a scar from when we were kids and I refused to play a game with her so she decided she'd just try to rip my arm off instead." He wrinkled his nose, looking annoyed.
"I already said sorry... What else do you want me to do?"

Tossing the sodden tissue in a nearby bin, he'd learned to dispose of his rubbish properly after having to talk his way out of being fined, Tannur pressed a fresh one to his face. "Well it would be a bother to patch this up myself and Silver would probably try to lick it or something, how are you at dressing a wound?"

"I guess I'm capable? You woudn't happen to have a first aid kit, would you?"

"Not on me, place I work is near here and there's probably someone still there though." Pushing himself upright he grimaced. "It's this way." He started to stumble off in one direction them stopped for a moment and turned around slowly. "Wait, no the other way."

"Are you sure you're...Um... Okay?"

Reaching out Tannur took a few tries to grab Marcus' shoulder for support. "Prob'ly not, let's get moving it's definitely this way I think." Somehow managing not to get lost he managed to lead the way while still half leaning on Marcus.

"Are you sure we shouldn't go to the hospital or something?"
Hospitals were yet another good thing about this world - right up there with hot water and cheap books.

"Hrrrmmm.....maybe?" Tannur responded slowly, clearly being on his feet was doing him no favours. "You know of one close by?" When he'd first heard about how hospitals worked on Earth he'd thought it was some sort of scam to trap desperate people, maybe turn them into that foul spam stuff.

"...No, I don't. Do you even have an ID?"

"Yeah, what you don't? We all had this magic hypnosis charm Lucrezia worked up when we arrived, got all that shite dealt with."

"We had like, magic paper, and we used it all to get money from one of those cash machines. We didn't realise we needed ID until far too late." Marcus grimaced. "We have fake IDs, and apparently you can get in a lot of trouble for that." So, no visits to the doctor.

"Miss are you alright?" A man in a vest with the letters 'PCSO' written on the front came up to them. "Do you need any help?" Tannur instinctively recoiled a little. "Bloody 'ell the guards are here. I know he might not look it but 'e's a bloke." Sounding increasingly groggy he jerked a thumb in Marcus' direction.

"I think he's talking to you." Marcus muttered, rolling his eyes, before smiling at the police officer. "He hit his head pretty hard, and now... Well, he's all groggy and confused. Is there a hospital nearby?"

Trying to get a closer look at the still evasive Tannur's injury the PCSO turned to Marcus. "There's an A&E not too far from here. Did you see what happened?"

"Uh, yeah, I...Umm..." In a very small, sheepish voice, Marcvus said - "I walked into him, and we both fell over..."
He tried to hold Tannur still so the officer could actually see the injury and guage how serious it was.

"Geroff me you wanker!" Tannur yelled struggling drunkenly while the officer looked him over. "Well she seems pretty out of it I-"

"I'mma man you pissant!" Tannur interrupted loudly. "It's obvious to anyone with eyes." Taking a quick step back the PCSO returned his attention to the more lucid of the two.

"I'd say he definitely should get that looked at. I'm parked not too far from here, I can drop you off there if you like?"

Grabbing Tannur in a clumsy half hug, half headlock thing, Marcus still tried to smile, despite the sudden wish for the earth to open up under his feet and swallow him whole. "Yeah, that'd be nice - Would you shut up, Tannur?"Speaking harshly in a little bit of a panic. Getting on the wrong side of this helpful guard was probably a bad idea, and Marcus was not getting arrested over one of Lucrezia's lackeys if he could help it.

"No you shut up." Tannur mumbled automatically but he subsided into quiet grumbling for the trip until the officer left the two of them in the waiting area. "Now what do we do?" Thus far the only improvement was that he had mostly stopped bleeding and his tissues had been replaced with a more effective piece of cotton wool.

"I'm not sure, but I've heard co-worker's say that hospital wait times are long... Do you want me to wait with you? Or should I go home?" Asking out of politeness, but he really wanted to go home.

Giving Marcus a long look Tannur battled his reluctance to rely on someone else especially a former enemy with good sense. "If you could...stay a bit?" His head was a little clearer now he was sitting but he was still worried that he could end up blabbing something important in his current state.

It was starting to get dark outside, and really, he should be getting home, but Marcus just nodded. "Okay." He said, then suddenly found the floor really interesting. "This is all my fault... Does it hurt?"

Sighing heavily Tannur leaned back and closed his eyes. "If I say I forgive you will you stop moping?" He swayed a little in place. "Feelin' kinda sleepyyyy..." Trailing off his head fell on Marcus' shoulder as he began to doze.

"I don't know? Um, maybe. Just stay awake, I don't think you should be-" Words falling on deaf ears, Marcus just sighed, moving a little so he was more comfortable.

 

[WillfulWren]

Silver Ferae - Home / Park / Streets
Co-Written With: MagicPenguin ​

She was bored. Getting home in record time to find the flat deserted had seemed fun at first. She had searched for that stash of snacks she was certain Tannur had (and found nothing), poked around in the cupboards and made a singular disastrous attempt at creating something edible out of all of it. All she had succeeded in creating was a mess, but at least it was fun to do, and she didn't need to clear it up. That could be Tannur's punishment for being late home.

Pacing back and forth through the small flat, looking for something, anything of interest and pointedly ignoring the stupid homework the ridiculous hero had given her, she ended up stuffing the pocket of her shorts with chocolate from the jar and heading out to the park. She wouldn't be gone long...

Several hours later, she was watching the sun dip below the horizon from the top of the climbing frame in the centre of the park. Chocolate all devoured, she was actually calm and more still than anyone who knew her would have thought possible. She was starting to get sleepy, thinking of heading home - when she heard laughter. Listening for a few more seconds then dismissing it, and jumping down anyways. As almost always now, trapped in this (stupid, worthless) body, she stumbled, forgetting the lack of a tail until it was far too late to adjust for it's absence.
Woops.

Starting in the direction she was fairly certain home laid in, she saw a small group of four boys a bit younger than her - still in school, definitely - gathered in a loose circle around something on the floor. Something that was hissing and spitting at them as they threw stones and jeered. The albino frowned, moving close enough to see what they were hurting - a tiny ginger kitten that looked barely old enough to be outside.

Now, she may not have had the most developed conscience.
She may not have had any problem at all with killing people.
But, she did like cats, and didn't like the thought of just letting these boys hurt a kitten. So she stopped, picking up a small stone and then she chucked it as hard as she could - admittedly, not very hard - at one of the boys. Smiling sweetly as he turned to glare at her, and giving him some very special advice.

"You shouldn't hurt cats, you know. It's mean. Actually, you shouldn't hurt animals at all..." Glancing upwards, she shrugged. "Wait, no, pigeons are fine-"

Continuing to babble, she almost seemed shocked when she got punched, letting out a pained yelp and wildly swinging at the stranger. The fight was more a mess of flailing limbs, nails trying to gouge out the boy's eyes, and when someone came at her from behind - one of his friends? - her feet went out from under her,and she went crashing to the ground.

Trying to push herself to her feet, she was stopped by someone stamping on her arm. She tried to drag her attacker down with her, but one of his friends kicked her in the ribs and she instinctively curled up. Now she was down, the others who had been watching the pair joined in, kicking and hitting as she tried to curl up into a ball.

The beating went on for what felt like hours, though it could only really have been a minute or two at most. She thought they'd never stop, and they might not have, but for a loud voice that echoed from behind a tree a few feet away.

"Enough!"

Mercifully, the kicking stopped then. Silver looked up at the group, the four of them staring dumbfounded at the red haired figure who stepped casually out into the open. The Stupid Hero was there, standing calmly with his hands in his pockets and a neutral look on his face. He looked at ease, though it was the ease of a mountain lion standing among lesser kin, waiting for someone to challenge his dominance. Despite his short stature, the dragons on his arms and the confidence he seemed to radiate made him seem the largest one there. The teenagers looked uncertainly at each other.

"I think you've proven your superiority against small animals and young girls." His face broke into a grin, though the way his teeth were bared made it look more like a snarl. One hand came out of his pocket enough to show the handle of a knife, the same one decorated with dragons that he'd used earlier to stop her from taking the jar of chocolate. "You can walk away now. Unless you'd like to try your luck against someone who can actually fight back."

"Tch. Whatever. I was getting bored anyway," said one of them, the apparent ringleader of the small gang. "C'mon guys, let's get out of here."

The group wandered off, leaving only Silver curled into a ball on the floor along with the cat she'd saved. The little kitten rubbed itself against her hand, purring.

"Cowards," Roland muttered as he approached the prone shifter.

He turned his attention down to her, his face neutral again. "You're a real headache, you know that," he said to her. "I was just about to head home when I heard a ruckus and decided to see what was going on. I don't know why I was surprised to see you were somehow at the center of it. You're drawn to trouble like iron filings to a bloody magnet." He bent slightly and held out his hand for her to help her up.

She stayed curled up in a ball until she was certain they had left, slowly sitting up and getting to her feet. She looked embarrassed, muttering under her breath - "I had that handled."

"Naturally," he replied sarcastically.

She very clearly hadn't had that handled, but she was far too proud to acknowledge that, or even thank him. So, instead she just hugged him.

"Wha-? Hey!" He squirmed a bit when she grabbed him, but when that did him no good, he stopped and relaxed a bit. Just a bit. Awkwardly, he patted her head in an attempt at comforting her.

"There, there," he said uncertainly. After several seconds, he took her by the shoulders and separated himself from her gently with a sigh. "Alright, that's enough of that."

He looked at her levelly for a moment, studying her. "I really and truly don't know what to do with you, girl. Are you an evil murderous monster or aren't you?"


The second he succeeded in extricating himself from her grasp, she picked up the kitten, seeming to care more about checking the feline had no serious injuries than tending to her own split lip and tender spots that would soon become dark bruises.

His question seemed to confuse her, as she just gave him a blank look for several seconds, then shrugged.
"Hey, look, the cat's got a collar. That means he's got a home, right?" Holding the little ginger out for inspection and completely dodging the question.

"Seems like it," he replied. "It's got a tag, too. Probably has an address to tell you where it lives." The kitty placidly watched him as he thumbed the tag hanging from its collar to see what it said. He squinted his eyes to see it in the poor lighting. Then he broke into a grin. "What's this first word say, Silver," he asked her, pointing to the tag.

The letters "C-A-B" stood out on the tag, followed by a string of scribbles she didn't know.


Silver sighed, any goodwill or gratitude to the hero swiftly disappearing. But still, she looked - or rather, glared - at the tag.

"C.....A...B? So, that's... Um." Frowning, repeating the letters to herself a couple of times.

"Cab! Right?"

"Yep. You got it. This says 22 Cab Street. This little fella's house is about two blocks that way," he said, pointing in a seemingly random direction.

"You see that? Your reading is coming in handy already. How would you have helped this little fellow if you hadn't learned your letters, hm? Imagine all the other things you can do once you know more of them. You'll be nigh unstoppable then!" He gave her another head pat.

"So, do you need help finding his house in the dark? Or do you want me to walk with you?"

"Well of course I got it." Silver muttered, "I'm already really good at this stupid reading stuff. I'm gonna be better than you in no time!"
Glancing around the dark park, she said, "You can walk with me. But I don't need you to, I could find his house on my own if I wanted to! I just... Don't want to."

"Very well, then. Let's get this done with. I need to get home and start making dinner before Marcus wonders where I've gone. This way." He began walking in the direction he pointed out earlier.

Following him, she managed to stay quiet for what must have been a personal record of a minute and a half, before she started asking questions. "Why were you even in the park?"

"I was trying to relax, just doing some drawing and--" he attempted to answer.

"And why did you stop them?" She cut him off.

"I felt like it," he replied, voice getting tighter.

"You know we're enemies, don't you?"

"How could I forget?" He was clearly irritated now.

"Saving people who you're meant to be fighting isn't a very good way to win a war."

"Gee, thanks, Sun-Tzu."

"But does the truce make us friends?"

"No."

"I'm not sure I want to be friends with you, anyway, you're mean..."

"Do you ever shut up?"

The back and forth went on for as long as they kept walking, Silver asking questions and the Stupid Hero answering her grudgingly. Eventually, though, he just stopped in front of a house and pointed at it.

"Thank the bloody Light, we're here. This is the place, Silver. Why don't you go knock on the door and see if the kitten's family is home?"
"Okay..." Approaching the front door almost nervously, knocking and waiting patiently in a shocking display of manners, having a hurried conversation with the woman who answered, who looked concerned by the albino's state - a swollen lip with blood smeared around it, and multiple bruises on her arms and sides where her shirt revealed them, mud on her skin, clothes, and in her hair, which was even more tangled than usual.

As soon as the door was closed, Silver practically ran back to him, clearly annoyed over some comment.

"She said I looked like a mess..."

When she looked at him, the Stupid Hero had a really weird look on his face. He was staring at her like...she didn't really know. The best comparison she could think of was that time Tannur sniffed at a carton of milk that had been in the fridge too long to figure out if it was still good or had gone bad. Why would he look at her like that? She wasn't milk. Why'd he have to be such a confusing idiot all the time?

"You are a mess," he said finally. "But you did the right thing tonight. Your brother will be proud of you when I tell him what you did." He smiled. "Now, I'm sure you can get home yourself from here, right? I need to head home too. You'd better make sure you clean yourself up when you get back so people don't keep calling you a mess."

He started walking off, but then stopped suddenly and turned back. "Oh! And don't forget about that homework I gave you. Remember, Tannur has more sweets for you if you finish all those sheets and show them to him." He turned his back on her and started walking down the street again. "See you tomorrow," he called out, raising his hand in farewell.

"I don't want do stupid homework." She muttered, turning her back without as much as a single word of farewell, retracing their steps to the park. And from there, to home.

Maybe she was staring to get the hang of navigating this strange world.

Silver Ferae: Night Activity / COMPLETE​

 

[Pilgrim59]

Scarlet Sommerfeld
Kilburn Community Library / Arryn's Apartment
August 7th, 2018 (Evening - Night)

Interacted:
Ludwig ( Larry ), Arryn & Lil' Hogan ( MagicPenguin )
Mentioned: N/A
​

Of Respite and Tempest
Written with: Larry​

The tyrant of the seven heavens ruled London with an blazing iron fist, forcing the vampire to extend her stay at the hospital. Even with the day's end, the scars of the sun has yet to relinquish its claim over Scarlet's pale white arms. Despite her preparations in advance, the indisputable power of Helios over vampires stood strong, proclaiming his righteous cause to eradicate the shadows - indiscriminate in his quest to vanquish all that resided within the darkness of the land. Scarlet's renewed humanity did little but pose more challenge. The inevitable truth was hard to escape, no matter how hard one tried to reform themselves - their pasts are less-likely to be forgiven with only the change of hearts and minds. The paradox of reformations, as the kindred deemed it, was never a rewarding one.

A brief sigh escaped her lips, as Scarlet eyed the streets, before conceding to the call of desperate measures - merely to escape her irregular idle stance. The lady braved the warm breeze that carried her forth, as the smoldering air met her skin with a stinging bite. She recoiled at the unpleasant sensations, trying to cover the gaps in her attires as best she could with every steps. Scarlet was never a fan of putting herself in troubles where she could avoid, but with the end of her shift, she had to dance along to the sun's tunes as to not raise any brows around her. An attempt to fit into the crowd, where she would be most likely to be exposed. A calculated gamble, as the vampire deemed it, was more likely to suit her allegiance to her code of conducts, than to loiter around in inactivity. After all, her current destination was much closer than trying to go home.

Scarlet reflected upon her roommate's words before her departure, almost as if a certain rift had divided them. Given his adroit eyes and the peculiar hammer that never leaves his side since her arrival, the vampire deducted the man's origin as something more than just a bizarre case of habits and vigilance. Arryn's behavior in the morning was subtly creeping into her overthinking state of mind. Where she once viewed the man as a carefree personnel of interest, it was inevitable for her secrets to soon be unveiled before the world, should she stumble about blindly.

Before long, she found herself being greeted by a cool breeze of the local library's sparse air. The scent of clean shelves and printed books filled her nostrils, instilling a sense of peace and tranquility within her state of mind. It was more than what Scarlet could ask for, after a long day at work, while being pursued by the unrelenting sun. The lady held onto her brown duffel bag, as she toured the magnificent house of texts - laden with souls and unturned tomes. Nostalgia struck Scarlet, reminding her of the time she had spent within the confines of the State Library in Bavaria, with nothing to spend but time.

Nothing was more sacred than one's understanding in the arts of conveying feelings upon the pages. While fictions served to provide shelter for the weary in life, there were some truths in written fantasies. However, with modern avocations spent on the lifeless fibers of hand-held screens, the appreciations and affections for what was once an undying pastime, was all but a testament to the decadence of society. This is evident in the way humanity presents itself, where most would tend to their virtual needs over that of reality. Hailing from a humble beginning, the girl had taken into sight much of what the modern world had to offer. Scarlet dwelled within these thoughts, before setting her sights on a vacant seat before her. Her swift hands found its prey, as she removed a novel from the shelf and paced herself towards the corner of the room.

A foreign and cold visage met her with an inquisitive look as she approaches. From his platinum hair, to the estranged glimmers of his blue eyes. While he had seemed to be a common individual from a first glance, there was a certain aura of mysterious centrism around the man that Scarlet has yet to unravel. The vampire removed her sunhat, unveiling her cherry cheeks, flustered from the heat, yet posing in guise of a shy foreigner.

"Afternoon. Is this spot taken?" Scarlet asked politely, with a light, yet distinct Saxon accent to accompany her inquisition.

Ludwig glances up from the tome currently held in his hand, but one of a varied assortment relating to some of the world's creation myths and ancient tales of lost cities and the sort. Though he has dwelled in England all his life, Ludwig was able to glean something of a German twang in the women's voice and indeed, she cut quite the Teutonic figure. Alluring, emerald-green eyes coupled with wavy ginger hair and skin so pale it was comparable to his own. Yet, Ludwig was somewhat reluctant to openly accomodate this women, given his odd encounter with Roland and the objective he had laden him with to discover the vaunted ruins of this "Odania", but the young man knew better than to be openly dismissive but to let his introduction be the last of spoken words betwixt them.

"Oh, good afternoon," he responded as courteously as he could, glancing up to meet her gaze fleetingly. "Not at all, please, take a seat."

The woman smiled, as she took her seat across from Ludwig, conceding to his friendly admission.

The young man didn't know what to make of the woman but by his own admission, his contemplation was the direct consequence of his lack of progress regarding the ruins of Odania. Though he gathered unto himself a wide variety of books, the one he was currently wading through regarding Atlantis would have been as useful as reading through the panels of an Aquaman comic. Not that Ludwig minded the sub-mariner monarch's exploits, he would have have been more of an admirer of the street-level stuff. Visible signs of frustration were beginning to rupture his stoic demeanor, as his neutral facade shifted into a scowl whilst nearly narrowed to bestial slits. His only comfort was that Quinn was as hopelessly mithered as he was and upon that hope, an exasperated sigh was emitted from the young's man mouth.

"Is ... something the matter?" Scarlet can't help but eye the man with curiosity, as she folded her book.

Ludwig glanced up from his beleaguered attempts at study upon hearing the woman's remark. "Oh, nothing at all miss, just working on something of an...errand for a certain someone I encountered yesterday," he replied, his hand massaging his furrowed brow. "It's something of a wild goose chase verging on seeking out validity in myths to be perfectly honest with you."

Scarlet smiled lightly at Ludwig's statement, as she cast her side locks behind her ears "Legends and fables are born from certain truths. Certain things truly exists, only if we perceive them to be. I'm sure you will find what you're looking for." It was ironic for a vampire to say something as such to a mortal, despite decades of her trying to conceal that said truth.

"There is certainly a semblance of truth in what you say," Ludwig commented, slightly less antagonistic and hopeless as to his search for the truth. "Like stereotypes, fables always contain a smidge of truth as regards to a way of living or something along those lines though if they could help me find a way to the bloody ruins of a place that I've never heard before on this planet, it would be most appreciated." The young man thus vigourously returned to his tomes, swiping through page after page as an effort to glean more information about these supposed 'ruins' of Odania.

"Perhaps. Although... some truths are better buried..." Scarlet mumbled under her breath, as she picked up on what page she had kept marked with her index finger. A brief silence befell the two, almost as if the woman had left behind an awkward comment that dispelled any social connection the she and Ludwig have had. Yet, despite the stiff transition of verbal exchange, there was a certain sense of understanding between the two, almost as if they were inadvertently 'talking' throughout the silent recession of verbal exchange.

"So..." the young began as a means to try and reignite a conversation rather letting it die a premature, silent death, "It's some weather out there today is it not? I try to spend as little time under that accursed thing as possible. I'd be pink within a few minutes and the pain would accompany much longer."

(Something we agree on. Although getting a sunburn is better than being crucified by the sun, trust me...) Scarlet thought to herself. It was something the two strangers had concurred upon. She cast a brief glance at the man, before turning back to her books. From what she could tell, he wasn't showing any signs of abnormalities, at least, not as a vampire. The youngster's studious demeanor for his occult subject had seemed harmless for the time being. The vampire could see it in his averted eyes, that he was not one to start trouble with her, despite his aloof impressions from a distance.

"I share your pain... more than you'd think, dear-..." Scarlet's eyes diverted from the man, as her slip of words as an elder woman almost gave it away. But by now, she was pretty sure it would raise her acquaintance's inquisitions.

To say that young Ludwig was slightly perturbed by the woman's use of such an affectionate term was something of an understatement. The only situation in which he heard such words was when he was greeted by his mother, grandmother or other close female relatives but never heard it used by a stranger. Well, Ludwig thought to himself ponderously, there was that one lady that always said it to me whenever I passed her walking that dog of hers. But the young man didn't mind this one instance given that this would more than likely be the last time he would encounter this particular women, plus given how ravishing she was in appearance, as much as Ludwig tried to suppress such thoughts, he did not mind that particular addition.

"I-Indeed..." Ludwig answered in the affirmative, stuttering slightly. "I know this is slightly off topic but I frequent this particular library a lot so I remember a good chunk of the familiar faces that go through those doors, but I haven't seen you here before. Is this your first time in here?"

"...That it is. Fufufu. After all, I'm not a fan of Helios's embrace...." Scarlet chuckled abit, repressing a certain caliber of hatred for the sun, as she glanced briefly at the glimmering windows.

"...Scarlet. Scarlet Sommerfeld. Would it be rude for me to inquire your name... mister...?" the kindred continued, as she extended her hand courteously for a handshake.

While she was not obligated to warm herself up to others, her acquaintance seems to subsume a certain visage and demeanor, of which had sparked a nostalgic tug upon her sentiments. From the stutters of his anxious words, to his studious manners, it was almost as if he was someone she had met somewhere before. While she could not make sense of their fateful encounter, Scarlet nevertheless gave in to the tranquil atmosphere where the two resided within the confines of the reticent halls of knowledge.

Ludwig extended his hand in polite response , noticing that she had some grip, the type old men would give you at Mass during the sign of peace. "Oh yes, my name is Ludwig, Ludwig von Löwenburg. I know, not the most English-sounding you would ever hear but I'm English nonetheless." Releasing her grip, Ludwig was content that she wasn't something inherently strange like Roland with that request of his that eats away at the young man's capacity to stay focused on academic work the more he thought about it. So Scarlet's presence and lack of requests to scout out the potential locations of what it seemed to Ludwig, otherwordly ruins, was a welcome touch.

Much to Scarlet's surprise and familiarity, Ludwig's introduction only furthered her positive impression of the young lad. Lowenburg, a name that had escaped her for the longest time, had suddenly resurfaced upon her encounter with a much younger visage that sat just across from her. The woman tried to raise her voice, but hesitated. She turned away, twirling her fingers between the locks of hair that fell from her ear, as if drowning herself in thoughts. While she has yet to confirm her thoughts, the girl had abided by their placid meet, casting aside her train of thoughts.

"Sprechen Sie Deutsche (Do you speak German)?" the lady asked in German, as if playing with the man's last name.

Ludwig was wondering whether he would hear any semblance of German from the lady, given her Saxon-flavoured speech and it appears his curiosity had been sated. "Ja, das tue ich tatsächlich (Yes, I do indeed)."

"Not bad! Coming from an English... with a German surname... Fufufu." Scarlet chuckled lightly, conceding with her peer's knowledge of her native tongue. There was a certain accord that the two shared, much to the kindred's delight.

"I like to try and keep my German as fluent as I possibly can; when you think, the English are nothing but a bunch of German's themselves with an appropriately Teutonic queen!" Ludwig chuckled somewhat heartily, not sure where the sudden burst of joviality came from but he conceded that a good laugh is due every once in a while.

(Quite a studious little historian - a half-German one at that. Would be a waste to siphon him dry just because I am feeling a bit... thirsty... No. That won't do...)

Scarlet spoke to herself in her little garden of thoughts. The heat has yet to dissipate, with every inch of her body ready to make the whole library a Red Convention. Despite this, Ludwig's friendly gestures and what little time they shared were enough to help the vampire discern such destructive thoughts. After all, that was one of the few times the melancholic vampire was able to get someone to laugh. A part of her was glad to have met such an eccentric, yet relative personnel of interest. The two continued their joyful conversation, laden with Ludwig's interests and their common cause as avid readers. It was almost as if they had been friends for years. A simple click of interests, accompanied by their different, yet shared correlation of escape from the sun, were all that was needed to alleviate the things that plagued Scarlet's troubled state of mind. As the sun took his leave, the vampire was keen on heading home, despite the pleasant moment that she was given at the library with her newfound acquaintance.

"See ya around, Ludwig." Scarlet smiled, as she took off.

Yet. It almost seemed as if her encounter with Ludwig was the calm before the storm.

Scarlet set aside her bag and began making dinner. She was humming along to the Erika march that played within her head. Hogan became occupied after the girl's replenishment of his food and water. While she gleefully displayed her more cheerful gestures upon the conjuration of her dinner, the vampire was putting together pieces of scenarios that would happen upon her roommate's return. Ultimately, Scarlet had to be ready, even if it meant the death of Arryn in order to protect her secrets and interests. After decades of honing her skills at reading other's gestures and demeanor, the vampire had taken into various accounts for how things would play out. Despite this, her darker yearning tends to overwhelm the girl at times, especially when her past is exposed.

Irrationality were always a humane trait, but Scarlet had deemed it to be a weakness. While she harbored everything within her heart, the kindred failed to realize what was given before her - friends. Of those she had met within a few days since her arrival in London, Scarlet had only viewed it as fitting in. Shying away from society, she was drifting away from what makes her human, and with time, fatal repercussions are inevitable. Scarlet was indeed, a dormant explosive, slowly ticking away and ready to go off at any given time, should she descend into the realms of despair. The vampire knew this, but inevitably kept it to herself. Before long, the metallic sounds of the front door's locks disrupted her thoughts, even though her hands were fully operational upon the kitchen counter. Scarlet could feel Arryn's eyes burrowing deep into the back of her head, but remained composed, as she continued to diligently tend to her dinner.

FUP!
FUP!
FUP!
FUP!
FUP!​

Scarlet's knife became a ticking detonator of what was to come, with every slice of the carrots and potatoes upon the cutting board echoing throughout the hallway. The vampire's hair and turned back concealed her grim face, as the rigid friction of her clenched teeth attended to her rising anxiety. What was once a composed manipulator of emotions, was now plagued by her own sentiments of doubt and dread.

"Scarlet, ...you and I need to have a talk."

A voice broke the truce of silence of the room, as Scarlet clenched her fists.

(So it begins...) she thought to herself, before putting up a false smile, at the behest of Arryn's propositions.

​

[Scarlet's Evening/Night-Time Activity Completed]​

 

[Larry]

Ludwig von Löwenburg
Location: Kilburn Community Library; Tuesday, 7th August; 18:30 PM.
Time of day: Evening time.
Mood: Exasperated.
Written with: peachuu .
Mentions: Disco (implied), Avari , Pilgrim59 , MagicPenguin .​

It had been quite the eventful day for Ludwig up until this point; the lectures were rather milquetoast to put it mildly, since his was actively pondering all the various, possible locations for the location of Odania. There was not only the presence of the new receptionist at Kilburn Community Library but as he sat down to study for the not-so-enviable and one could near describe as ludicrous task assigned to him by Roland, he was met with the arrival of another strange individual who suffered under the caustic rays of the sun as he did, Scarlet Somerfield. Something of a reminder of his heritage from across the Channel entering upon the Continent, she possessed something akin to a Saxon twang or at the very least, something exceedingly similar from what Ludwig could remember of his holidays as a child roaming across North Germany with his parents. They conversed for a good period of time, finding common ground and suitable talking points as their interest in reading intersected, coupled with their German heritage meant they talked at a decibel level that the young man thought wasn't the most suitable for the library, but he knew most likely that would be the last of their interactions. As she left, Ludwig couldn't help but notice how invigorated she seemed to be having taking a well-needed sojourn from 'Helios' orb' as she put it.

As the young man waved her off, he turned back to the source of his frustrations, this challenge that had been issued not only to him, but also to a fellow classmate that Ludwig for some reason couldn't seem to shake her from his presence. Roland, probably seeing an instance of iron sharpening iron, thought it would be for the best that the two students play off each other and Ludwig, knowing how inconspicuously competitive he can get when someone challenges his credentials or his knowledge of history, fell for the bait and then had to live with the possibility, though a fleeting one, that Quinn might actually succeed in the task. If I let that happen, Ludwig inwardly commented, his brow furrowing as he considered the horrible scenario, I'll drop out of college. As he flicked back and forth between the pages of Gavin Menzies book on the idea that Atlantis was something of global empire that skirted the edges of the America with its power-base in the Mediterranean, Ludwig's phone went off, embarrassing as it was when the noise reverberated throughout the room, from a message in his course chat on Facebook.

Though he deigns to ignore the vast majority of messages coming through the channel, something caught the young man's eye and it appeared to be that there was an incident involving a suicide near a construction site in Piccadilly. Considering that a lot of the usual, ditsy, air-headed fools that were commenting on the incident, Ludwig felt himself inclined to store the machine away so that he can return to his research. Suddenly, as though the universe were just waiting to one-up him, one of his colleagues posted a link to a news conference that was being held regarding the situation. The young man was never one for current events, given that he was a history student, he'd point that out to people as being the primary reason for his disinterest. Though, if you take that tradition was once a novelty, Ludwig contemplated, setting down his now well-worn pen, these incidents will become history to those in the future. Shaking his head at his rudimentary attempt at philosophising, Ludwig then turned off his phone and tossed into it his bag dismissively before scribbling down some notes after pondering the information his current tome provided him.

Though needless to say, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, Ludwig felt truly stumped by the task opposing him.

It was not a feeling that the young Englishman was used to and it troubled him to no end; that wretched feeling of not being able to progress in the task set before you. Though, as the young man knew, this was no ordinary task. Leaning back in his chair, a pale hand sifting through the platinum mess of hair atop his head as though he were sifting for an answer.

Quinn slammed her books in front of Ludwig’s things, practically sleep deprived from the loss of her doll, this bloody project and weighing school work all at once. She looked desperate for answers, her eyes drooping and having to use the table for support. “I’m going to make this as simple as possible. I am willing to put aside everything between us for this. I don’t mind it as of right now. Frankly everything is very stressful for me as I have lost my doll, and I would really like some help.” She looked to Ludwig for an answer.

Ludwig's eyes narrowed moreso at the sudden noise that cascaded from her books colliding with the table then her actual suggestion. Setting himself properly at the desk, he looked over to his mildly-annoying companion and with a hefty sigh, realised that there two minds working in unison would achieve practical results sooner than their individual efforts. "To be honest with you," the young man shrugged, a soft smile forming on his face, "I haven't gotten anywhere either. Though Roland meant for it to be a competition, I can't see him watching over us too zealously. So, I'll take you up on your offer."

Before Ludwig could begin to show what he gleaned so far from the various texts scattered across the table, a thought popped into his mind. "You lost your doll?" he questioned, amazed that anyone would go through the trouble of stealing such an object, "How did that happen?"

“Well...” Quinn sat down finally for this one, clearing some of her books aside so that she could be face to face with him. “Please don’t mention this to anyone. Erm.. I can posses the doll but it’s the only thing I can possess, and I use it to learn information mainly twice as fast.” Her eyes flickered down to her thumbs digging into each other out of anxiety. “I don’t even know why I said this...”

Ludwig looked at his female colleague, doing his best to not to break out in a smirk. Obviously she cares deeply for this doll, the young man thought to himself, noticing how rattled she was when describing this 'power' of hers, but I doubt she has some psychic link to it, this isn't the the X-Men. "I was very close to a teddy bear of mine when I was younger too," Ludwig replied as comforting as he could possibly enunciate, "I used to think he could talk and do all manners of activities when I was asleep, like protecting me from the monster that would eat your toes if you left your feet outside of the blanket at night. Now, let's move on, I was reading over Gavin Menzies book on-"

“Pfft. It isn’t a bloody— never mind. I have some information on the architecture itself that may relate back to an area in Russia from 1908. Although there are large matches from the debris gathered, the cause of the explosion was unknown and was never solved.“ She laid out the set of drawings and papers of her interpretation of the fallen city in Russia, placing it next to that of the drawing Roland had given them. “It isn’t exact, but it’s what I have so far.”

Ludwig was surprised at the level of detail that Quinn had gone to research the ruins. The papers were annotated with notes showing where they might have fitted into the structure of the building that Roland had showed them in his sketches. Though he tended to give Quinn something of a hard time when it came to their academic endeavours, Ludwig knew what she was capable off, and felt that there was no better rival in the class when it came to such matters.

"Those are some fine diagrams you've brought together," Ludwig commented as he sifted back and forth between the images of the ruins from 20th century Russia. As he laid down the pictures on Quinn's side of the table in an orderly file, he passed over his own notes that he compiled from his investigations into Atlantis from the Gavin Menzies book, as well as some comments talking about the viability of Sodom and Gomorrah as being the possible sites for the ruins of Odania. "There's a lot of hearsay and good-guess retrospectivity but it's better then nothing. Oh yes, I also remembered..."

Ludwig inspected the piles of books strewn across the desk like leather-bound buildings across a vast, white steppe. Founding the book he was looking for, the young man slid across to Quinn, remembering that it was upon hearing the comment of a classmate that there was some inspiration for Gandhi using nukes in the Civilisation games that he sought out this particular text. "The Mahabhatara, an ancient Sanskrit text that runs alongside Rāmāyaṇa as one of the two great epics of ancient India, detailing the Kuruksetra War. There's been some speculation as to the use of 'nuclear devices' being used by ancient Indians but whether you'll fathom such lunacy, is none of our concern. Since we're here, maybe we could both take a look at it and jot down some notes."

Quinn finally brightened up at the sound of progression, her passionate ways slowly coming back after the sudden mention of problems being fixed. “Let’s get to work then. The sooner this is done, the less problems on my end.”

"Agreed."

With that rare instance of agreement, the two went about their renewed studious investigations, ink being slid across vast quantities of paper as their pens being gripped firmly led to small indentations along their fingers. Though they weren't on the most friendly of terms, a smirk slid onto the usually solemn personage of Ludwig, happy to simply be at work again without that niggling spectre of confusion and doubt hovering over head. That was in part due to the efforts of Quinn, though the young man possessed far too much pride to ever regale the idea that he was in a bit of a spot. Still, despite the odd tale of her telepathic-connection to this doll and the mystery of who would be childish enough to make it off with it, the young Englishman at least felt that there was some light at the end of the tunnel regarding his and Quinn's joint quest in unveiling the ruins of this much sough-after Odania. Soon enough, the young man thought to himself with a sense of satisfaction, all this will be over with and life will go back to normal.

[Ludwig and Quinn's Evening Activity=Complete.]​

​

 

[Avari]

FOUNDATION HEADQUARTERS


​

From the wall-wide window of the observation room, Jack Kaysen watched quietly as Doctor Cohen continued to work feverishly to keep Raymond Cage alive. The sack of meat that had once been a man had been strapped to an operating table, with needles and tubes interwined with flesh and gore - pumping in various chemicals to force his heart to continue beating.

No pain killers however.

Cohen had explained with perhaps too much glee, that the unbearable agony of his torn and ruined body was actually helping him stay conscious. Any sort of sedative could put him at risk. The man was undeniably a medical genius, but had a touch of megalomania about him - and Kaysen knew why. Since being head hunted by the Foundation, Cohen had seen things that no other human would believe. The various senses the creatures they had discovered could have in place of sight and hearing, including a biological radar that Cohen had thought impossible unless he'd actually experienced it first hand. The way that vast diaphanous creatures could slip through rock with the same ease that whales slipped through water. The existence of single beings that took the form of flocks of bird-like creatures, with each part being an irreplaceable part of the whole.

He had even found the cure for the Common Cold.

It would never be released to the public of course. The Foundation was in the business of locking things away, not sharing them around.

The Irony of that wasn't lost on Kaysen. He was the first to admit he had been somewhat liberal lately with his personal interpretation of the rules.

Within the archives of the Foundation were artifacts that were far beyond what Human technology could acheive in 500 years. Artifacts that would allow the individual to watch biochemical reactions on the cellular level like you were watching a movie, or to guide microscopic sentient creatures along arteries to perform complex surgery through the power of thought alone. And they would all stay locked away - nobody was allowed to touch them. The risk was too great.

After all, every member of the London Foundation knew what had happened to their previous Director.

A man who, in the end - genuinely believed he was a God.

Still, he was dead and buried now. Kaysen had seen to that personally.

"Remind me why we're trying so hard to save this guy again?" Bishop wondered out loud, by his side. She had been watching the ongoing surgery with a mixture of disgust and horror.

"He has something I need." Kaysen replied simply. "Once I've had the opportunity to ask him a few questions, he'll be processed."

"Good."

"You think he deserves it?" Kaysen asked quietly, as Cohen stabbed another needle into Cohen's body - earning a pained gurgle in response.

"I do." Bishop replied, without hesitation.

Kaysen was about to reply, when the automatic door behind them smoothly slid open. Two individuals entered. One was in heavy black armor. The other...

"ABNORMAL 102 AS REQUESTED." The Guard announced, escorting a woman wearing a wrist cast into observation room, and she was looking all about her, clearly enthralled by her surroundings.

"Good afternoon Miss Jones," Kaysen greeted with a courteous bow, before flashing her a winning smile. "I appreciate you coming at such short notice."

"I was beginning to think I'd have a little summer vacation," the woman sighed, before immediately smiling.

"We're not on the clock," Kaysen responded unapologetically. "We're racing it. You have already been briefed, I believe?"

"I have," Summer said.

Her small smile widened into a menacing grin.

"I'll get started, then."


--

Part 1 of 2.
Written with doneanddusted

 

[Avari]

Summer's footsteps carried her far away from the surgery. She was taken past several other medical areas in various states of repair - one of which looked almost complete and something out of a sci-fi film; all pure white walls and expensive looking equipment. She was taken past almost two dozen locked doors, each secured by a small device where employees would scan their wristbands; in order to check the security clearence of whoever would request access. The guard who had been escorting her suddenly stopped, and gestured for her to enter a rather dark looking room on the left. A wave of coldness passed over her, causing goose flesh on her arms. She could see light rippling on the ground, just within the arch of the opening; a deep violet light.

"DIRECTOR KAYSEN HAS REQUESTED YOUR PRESENCE. ENTER."

”Can you guys control the volume of that voice thing?” Summer laughed.

She looked up at the guard for a reaction. Nothing.

"Okay, okay," Summer sighed.

She stepped into the dark room.



Inside the doorway was a large, open space where the walls were punctuated by glass sheets fronting tanks of water. The room was heavy with darkness, and even the scant violet light that eminated from the tanks was just a minor variation of the darkness. After a few moments, her eyes acclimitised to the gloom and she walked further into the centre of the room and inspected the tanks.

They were full of nightmares.

The things that were in the tanks were fish, but not the kind you'd want to see on your dinner plate. Some of them were translucent, with organs and bones clearly visible through the skin. Others were covered in black armor, or mottled grey flesh that looked unhealthy and diseased. They all haouths that were too large for their bodies, or eyes too large for their heads, or no eyes at all. One tank contained a nest of slowly writing, fleshy worms about the thickness of her leg, bright red in colour, with holes at their ends that were less like mouths and more like gaping rips in their flesh.

Floating, half deflated in their tanks, the creatures looked like God's rough sketches for what he would populate the oceans with later.

And it absolutely delighted Summer.

“Cool pets you got,” Summer giggled, watching the little abominations.

"They're from the pacific ocean." Kaysen said behind her, surprising her for just a moment. "Atlantic ocean. Indian Ocean. Pretty much any Ocean you care to name on this planet."

Admittedly, Summer thought they were genetically engineered.

"I'm glad you appreciate them. They live too deep to be seen. The pressure down in the Ocean trenches is immense. It would crush a polystyrnene cup into something the size of a small coin. If anyone could fish that deep - which they cannot - and bring one of these fish to the surface - which, I must stress, they cannot - the fish would just explode. The difference between the pressure in their bodies and the atmosphereic pressure would be too much for their skin to take."

"Wouldn't it be more productive," Summer started. "To say, send these to some place for marine biology?"

"I don't know what they're doing here if I'm honest." Kaysen admitted. "They were here before I arrived. Perhaps they belonged to my predecessor. Perhaps he wanted to show that there are stranger things natural to Earth than what the Foundation deals with everyday. They could have written a post-it note: I would have got the message. This is just... overkill if you ask me."

"Well, people can be dense. I guess."

"The real beauty of it is how the pressure and coldness of the ocean depths is maintained in these tanks, but it's quite possible the technology was developed with something the Foundation confiscated at some point. This kind of tank would be impossible to build right now through conventional means." Summer heard, rather than saw, him shrug.
"-Perhaps the entire aquarium was confiscated by the Foundation, and the fish just came along with it. Prisoners through no fault of their own, forced to endure in this small space because letting them go would be too dangerous." He paused for a moment, then went on quietly.
"... Just like you."

Summer turned to face Kaysen, an eyebrow raised.

"Smooth," she said.

She turned back to the fish. Strange, how Summer had never seen these tanks for a whole year. She'd usually get escorted out as quickly as possible. In fact... this moment could count as an opportunity... In an instant, Summer realized how beneficial it'd be to use this time to create some kind of relationship with the one holding power over her.

"...I should've asked you this the last few times I came here," Summer began. "But do you know why us Abnormal fishies are like this?"

Kaysen contemplated for a moment, his sharp features hidden in the dark.
"Have you ever read about those tribes in South America or on the Pacific Islands, back in the 1950s, just when long distance travel got started?"

"I never cared much for history."

"After generations of nothing happening, they suddenly started seeing...things in the sky. Big white birds that flew higher than anything else, and flew in lines straighter than anything found in nature. Sometimes the tribes couldn't cope with the visible demonstration of something that...unatural. They disintergrated." He continued, his voice soft. "Sometimes they worked the aircraft into their own religions, worshipping them. But they never, ever stayed the same. Even if their witch doctors, or shaman or local wise men told them to ignore the big white birds, and called them into their huts everytime they flew overhead, the wise men knew. They knew what the planes meant, and that knowledge changed them."

Kaysen walked forward, into the Aquaraim and stood beside her.

"Abnormals are not a natural phenomenon, the Foundation knows that much - and more appear every year. You had your very own...white bird moment as a species, I'd guess you'd say. The Foundation has been around for over a hundred years in one form or another...making sure people stay in their huts when there's need. Until people are ready for...what's coming."

"What exactly is coming?" Summer looked over at Kaysen.

Kaysen's piercing blue eyes switched from the tank to her, and he looked deadly serious for a moment - before a small smirk appeared.

"No idea. But I'm sure I'll know when it happens." He replied glibly, before gazing around. "I occasionally feel like I should close this area down. It takes up quite a lot of space, plus the cost of it...but where would we put the fish? The London Aquarium wouldn't have the resources to look after them; it's a retirement home for deep sea creatures..." He sighed, and didn't say anything else for a minute - seemingly content to watch the freakish fish bloat back and forth. Eventually he spoke again.

"Is there anything you want to report?" He asked quietly.

"No, not really," Summer shrugged, thinking of all the weird Reader's Rest shoppers she'd seen.

Kaysen turned to her now, his blue eyes glimmering coldly in the light of the tank. It felt uncomfortably like being under an X-ray, as if he was sifting through her memories on eye contact alone.

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

Summer's mind wandered over from eccentric customers to Beastie Boy and his hero act. No, she couldn't do that.

"Yes, I'm sure."

There was a long pause, and then Kaysen nodded and smiled. "Okay. Keep us posted."

There was a gently knock at the door, and the pair glanced over to see Agent Bishop standing there, hands clasped behind her back. "Cage is stable. He's in the holding cells awaiting interrogation."

"Okay. Would you mind escorting Miss Jones out please?"

Bishop nodded curtly. "Of course."

Summer kept herself from smiling any wider. Bishop had a presence that made her more wary- afraid, even- than any person could possibly make her feel. It was quite fascinating.

Kaysen nodded. "Let us depart. Everytime I come down here I leave with a craving for sushi. Perhaps I'll tell Doctor Cohen that the Wasabi paste is just a mild green tomato sauce."

"He'll never fall for that again." Bishop replied, as she gestured for Summer to follow to what would probably be a very dull debriefing before she was blindfolded and unceremoniosly dumped somewhere in London.

"Oh I think he will. You don't know him like I do."

They walked away, back towards the light.

Behind them, the violet light faded away - leaving darkness behind.

--

Written with doneanddusted

 

[Avari]

WEATHER: CLOUDY| SUMMER SHOWERS
UPCOMING EVENTS: Police will be interviewing Elena on the 10th.
NEXT FULL MOON: 28TH AUGUST

STORY NOTES:
DAYTIME ENDS 16TH FEB
LOCAL NEWSPAPER FRONTAGE: ONE KILLED IN VICIOUS ANIMAL ATTACK

RP NOTES
We are currently still looking for another player. If you know anyone who would be a good fit, please feel free to throw them an invite.
Apologies about the delay!
The RP will be having a two week break after Friday Nightime has been completed.​

 

[IG42]

Tannur

Woken by the incessant sound of the alarm he had set on his phone Tannur hissed in a combination of fury and pain as the pounding headache Marcus had left him with let him know that it was going to take more than one fitful nights sleep to get rid of, lifting his head he silenced the sound before he tossed the infernal device out the window regardless of whether the window was open or not.

Flopping back down he tried to put back together what he still remembered of the previous night. He mostly recalled the part where The Hero's pet shapeshifter had run him over and bashed his face on the pavement, remembering how he had been bleeding he reached up and found a large piece of cotton wool taped over the wound. After that he vaguely recalled someone getting them to a hospital where things got a bit murky for a while and he hoped a part where he had been resting on Marcus' shoulder mumbling something along the lines of "if you really were a lady I'd take you right here" followed by "hell I might do it anyway" was just a fake memory created by the jumbled mess.

His gaze came to rest on a paper bag sitting within reach that looked familiar and Tannur remembered a person that had put the bandage on him and given him that bag with it's little pills with disproportionately long names that were meant to help his head stop hurting as much and him telling that person that no he was sure he didn't need to stay in that dismal place overnight thank you very much while assuring them that he wouldn't be alone at home and had someone very responsible to keep an eye on him.

At the thought of most certainly not responsible at all roommate he lifted his head just enough to call out. "Silver? You around?" A thought crossed his mind that she had looked a little messier than usual the previous night but it slipped away, inwardly shrugging he managed to get a few of the pills out and dry swallowed them before dozing off.

A couple of hours later the thrice-cursed phone woke Tannur again, this time with an incoming call, moving as little as possible he answered it. "The hell do you want?!" He snapped to whoever was on the other end. "Excuse you Tanner? You were supposed to be here an hour ago!" Snapping into a sitting position at the sharp tone of his boss Tannur groaned at the swift motion and dropped back down with a groan. "Hey...Jerry, guess I should've called. This prick ran into me and I hit my head last night, had to go get looked at and it still hurts like a bitch."

After a moment of silence the voice came back a little less angry and more sceptical. "Seriously? You didn't just get drunk on your day off did you?" The question drew a low laugh from Tannur. "Hell I wish, but if I got drunk enough to feel this bad the next day you'd have heard about it and I wouldn't have woken up alone." A slightly longer silence followed. "Oookaaay I'm not sure I like the implication but I'll have to take your word for it, any idea when you'll be good to go again? Your admirers are starting to miss you." Jerry said with a chuckle. "Damn them, I'm just going to take some more of these lovely little pills they gave me and try and sleep this off as if I did get drunk." With a quick goodbye he hung up and tried to get back to sleep with a quiet sense of determination that he was not going to get involved in any more dumb shenanigans that day.

Tannur day (in)activity complete
WillfulWren

 

[Corvid15]

Caspar "Cass" Hudson
August 8th, 9:37 AM. London Natural History Museum
______________________________________________
"Cass, I was wondering- Cass?"
"Sorry. What is it Dr. S?" Cass set down the Chilean Rose Haired Tarantula he was playing with; affectionately named Rosie by the kids. She was nestled in his hair, as he set down the book he was reading while waiting for a test to finish.
"Mitch's newborns are sick, so he could not make it today. Would you mind doing his presentation? Summer Camp, a Creepy Crawlies presentation: ages 4-6. I have his script for you."
"Sure. So bring Rosie, Clara the centipede, Milly the millipede, a few beetles? He was talking about this yesterday."
Dr. S nodded, holding out a slab of stone; or more accurately a fossil of a trilobite.
"This too. Careful, though I know you will be. Sure your fine with doing this?"
"Yes mam, synesthesia isnt too bad today." Cass replied, taking the fossil with his gloved hands, along with the script.
"Presentation is at 10:30. Good luck"
Dr. S left the room, closing the screen door, then the main door, just to be sure the moths who were loose in the room didn't fly out. Cass sighed, glad his boss hadn't caught on. Not synesthesia at all, but visions of the past.
Cass had always been able to see the histories of objects or people, but with physical consequences. He brushed a moth out of his Auburn hair, who then promptly settled back on his head. He slipped off a glove, his curiosity getting the better of him. He set his hand on the trilobite, and images flashed through his mind.
The longer he touches an object, the longer he can see, but the worse side effects. A second is a years history, so decades were flying past his eyes. The item changing hands, being stolen. Going farther backwards in time.
Five seconds, thirty seconds, a minute.
Realizing that he was starting to get enraptured, he jerked his hand away and gloved it: the only protection he had from his powers. He started to prepare. Not too comfortable, but he got double time for doing so. He was more of a lab person, not too experienced, as he never did this due to his "condition"

About an hour later the excited murmur of about forty or so children could be heard outside the staff room door as Cass made final preparations. He usually never does presentations, due to his "condition". But here he was. He slipped on his lab coat, and smiled as he entered the room.
"Hi, I'm Caspar. But you can call me Cass."
A chorus of children's voices called "Hi Cass" back to him.
"Now who here likes bugs?" A show of hands, about 2/3. "Cool. I do too. It's my job here to study and teach about bugs. Creepy crawlies have been around since the dinosaurs: such as our friend Trisha here."
He held up the trilobite fossil, to a bunch of gasps and excited responses.
"Now Trisha here is a trilobite fossil, which means she lived millions of years ago, and was preserved in stone. She was kind of like a horseshoe crab. But she is one of the oldest Creepy Crawlies we have here at the museum. She was..."
Cass paused, unable to move, images flashing through his mind. He realized his major mistake: he forgot to wear gloves. He was at the point of no return, engrossed in the history before him.
Around him he could hear the voices of the concerned children, a few adults calling for help. He could hear them, but was as if he were underwater.
He froze, unmoving, then snapped back to reality, as a someone took the trilobite out of his hands.
"Cass, breathe. What day is it?"
"August 8th."
"Who is the Prime Minister?"
"Theresa May."
Cass held his forehead, the paramedic checking him over. Dr. S talked to the children.
"We're very sorry, Caspar has a medical condition that caused this. Another speaker will be switched in."
Cass wanted to slap himself. He knew he was forgetting something. But to let himself give away his secret, no excuses. He was given the day to rest, a migraine setting in. But for today, it was told to the public that it was a synesthestetic attack.
As soon as he got home, he crashed on the couch, too exhausted from the incident, his cats lying ontop of him like the bastards they are.

Cass, Day activity. Complete.

 

[koala]

Elena "Rose" Benoit
Date: Wed, August 8th
Location: University
Mentions: Arryn MagicPenguin
Interactions: Open

Things hadn’t been quite simple since Elena received her notice for an interview. Sleep didn’t come easier the night before. She’d tossed and turned, to the dismay of her grumpy cat Winston, and she might have even kept her roommate awake due to her constant grumbling and groaning. The blonde couldn’t help but feel the way she did though. Lying wasn’t something that she could do well compared to the many people on her life. She swore she’d remain true to her self and live as honest if a life as she could, so how could she lie to the police of all people? Well, the obvious answer was to protect her friends but she was terrible at acting. There was no way she wouldn’t be suspicious.

A slight hiss disrupted the woman’s jumbled thought and she let out a small gasp. Rushing towards the kettle she’d place on the electric stove, the smell of burning tea filled her nostrils. It was an unpleasant scent that always made her stomach drop. Ruining a good cup of tea was never a good thing and she could already tell her days until the interview would gradually get worse and worse.

“Should I call Arryn again?” Elena asked herself quietly as she took a sip of green tea, only to spit it out and poor the rest into the sink. With a sigh, she shook her head and decided against her desires. Relying on Arryn had become a norm lately and although she sort of missed the brunette and his awkwardness, she feared her reliance would become a hindrance.

After getting dressed and ready for the day, Elena began heading out to the university. The autumn semester would begin soon and something inside her sparked a new purpose. She wanted to begin attending university full-time again. However, instead of a writing major, she wanted to become a music one. Perhaps it would become a choice she’d later regret when her mother comes stampeding into her home angrily, but Elena was willing to make the bet. Besides, her mother was too busy with her book tour. In fact, she was so busy that Elena had to find out through an article rather than the author herself.

About an hour and a couple stops later, Elena had finally arrived to campus. It was still the same, although it was the summer session there were less students roaming about. She mainly spotted a few people chattering on the lawns and discussing topics she was too embarrassed to even think about. While ignoring said conversations, she made her way to the admissions building so she could discuss the changes in her schedule and reapplying as a full-time student. Elena was aware that the faculty member may bring up the fact that she’ll be behind her peers, especially since she hardly took any classes in the past due to her rebelliousness, but she didn’t care. This was something she wanted to do.

“Oh, excuse me!” Elena apologized as she bumped head first into someone. Once again, she had been in such a daze that she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going. Unfortunately, she was in too much of a rush to make her appointment so she didn’t stop to chat. Instead, the blonde hurriedly made her way across campus like a woman whose life was on the line.

Elena's Day Post: COMPLETE​

 

[MagicPenguin]

Roland Fairchild
Home->Jim's Tattoo Parlour
7:26 AM

Roland whistled cheerfully as he hopped about the kitchen preparing breakfast. The eggs in the frying pan on the stove crackled and spit furiously as he flipped them. The smell of hot bacon and sausage wafted throughout the kitchen from the plate where he'd placed the slices that were ready. With a deft hand, Roland twirled his spatula in a full circle and caught the handle in his hand again, then used it to transfer the freshly made pancakes from the griddle to two separate plates, one for himself and one for Marcus. He looked at the food carefully arranged on both plates and nodded, satisfied. Not bad, if he did say so himself. If the tattoo artist thing didn't work out, he wagered he would make a splendid chef. It had taken him some time to get used to the appliances and technology used on Earth, as well as all the different types of foods they had here that weren't on Aether, but Roland's natural tendency to experiment with new things served him well in the culinary arts.

Roland stepped out of the kitchen and knocked on Marcus's door to wake him up. "Marcus! Breakfast, lad! Look alive!"

In truth, he would have preferred to let the poor boy sleep. Marcus worked entirely too much and slept far too little to compensate. When he wasn't at home the night before when Roland got back from babysitting Silver, he figured his flatmate had taken another evening shift on short notice; multiple 16-hour shifts a week weren't uncommon for him. The only reason the hero knew he'd come home at all was that the dinner he left for him in the fridge was gone. Roland was afraid Marcus was going to work himself right into a sickbed one of these days. But, he knew the lad had already scheduled himself for a shift today, and he couldn't get out of it now. Roland couldn't let him get enough sleep this morning, but if nothing else, he intended to make sure the shifter had a balanced diet.

"C'mon, kid! Smell the bacon. I've got eggs, pancakes, and coffee as well."

Roland heard shuffling on the other side of the door and smiled, satisfied Marcus was now awake. He returned to the kitchen, sat down, and opened the newspaper--the top story was a wild animal attack, crazily enough--while he picked at his own food and waited for Marcus to emerge.

It took the shapeshifter a further few minutes to fully drag himself out of bed, stumbling out of his room in clothes that looked like they had been slept in. He slumped into his seat with a quiet greeting and it took a few bites of food before he seemed awake enough to speak.
"Sorry I was late home last night, I ran into another Aetherian." A slight blush coloring his features, he added a little quieter...
"Literally."

Roland looked up from the paper with interest. "Another Aetherian? Really?"

Marcus nodded, pausing in the task of wolfing down his food at alarming speed to speak. "Yeah, his name's Tannur. Looks like a girl but in desperate denial, plays babysitter for my sister."

Roland's interest evaporated. "Oh. Him. Right." He thought Marcus was talking about an Aetherian he didn't already know about. But no. Just Tannur. Shame. With a yawn, he began reading the paper again. What kind of wild animal could find its way into the heart of London, kill a man, and then get away without getting caught? It just didn't seem possible. London didn't even have raccoons. "Well, what happened with Tannur to keep you out so late? Don't tell me you were fighting? Ordinarily, I might encourage that sort of thing, but you know about the truce until we find Odania, Marcus."

"Umm, well we didn't fight, but we still ended up at hospital. I walked into him and..." Marcus looked at the floor like he was hoping for it to open up and swallow him whole.

"We fell, and he got a concussion. It was incredibly embarrassing."

Roland gave him a puzzled glance. "Why should you be embarrassed? It sounds like you helped him out. If anything, you should be proud of yourself for helping someone in need. Even if it was only Tannur."

"I'm not embarrassed for helping him, I'm embarrassed because it's not exactly a great way to meet someone! He probably thinks I'm exactly like S-" Cutting himself off there, Marcus just shook his head. "It doesn't matter, anyway. Thanks for breakfast."

Roland looked at the boy flatly. "Of course it matters. First off, any idiot with half a brain cell can tell you're far more reliable than Silver could ever hope to be. Secondly, as for Tannur, I believe this would be the second time you've met, right? The first was when he tried to kill me with a dagger and you took the hit. If you should be embarrassed that you hurt him by accident, I suppose he ought to be downright ashamed of himself for doing it to you on purpose. So rather than be embarrassed about it, just figure you owe him the head injury and call it even."

"Right." Marcus said, just as flat, getting up to put his plate in the sink. "That makes me feel so much better."
He sighed, then muttered. "I need to get ready for work."

Roland sighed as he got up to go. He folded up his paper and placed it on the table, then put his plate in the sink and grabbed his bag to get ready to go out the door himself. "I know I've told you this before. Many times. But you really do need to have more confidence in yourself, lad. It was a mistake. These things happen."

Marcus was more reliable than Silver and could generally take care of himself, but he needed just as much support as Silver did in his own way. Well...maybe not quite as much. But still. It occurred to Roland then that, between Marcus and Silver, he had somehow become a full time shapeshifter babysitter. He had no idea quite how it had happened, but he had to suppress a groan at the thought. Speaking of Silver, though...

"Oh, by the way. I ran into your sister in the park after work last night. She was being attacked by some ruffians for defending a small cat, of all things. I shooed them away, and much to my shock, she actually bothered to take the thing home to its owner."

You did? Well, her trying to defend a cat isn't surprising, you saw what she looked like on Aether, right? She's always liked cats a lot and Shifters..." He ran his hand through his messy hair, then lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. "We don't deal well with people being cruel to animals. Like, killing them to eat is fine, but people just being cruel for no reason..." the shapeshifter wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thought. "But her taking it back to its owner... Maybe she already asked for a cat and Tannur said no?"

His tone was uncertain because he knew how likely Silver was to follow a rule like that, but at least he seems a little less miserable now.

Roland shook his head thoughtfully. "I don't know, lad, but I was pleasantly surprised that she did it, and did it well at that. More and more, I think the girl isn't evil so much as misled by that Shadow-souled wench she calls her Queen. With the right guidance, the right teaching, I think she could be...what was the word you used before?...rehabilitated."

Mismatched eyes widened, an incredulous grin appearing on the boy's face. "Really? You think she can be rehabilitated? That's... That's great!"

He sighed before placing the paper in his bag along with Silver's workbook and jar of chocolate. It was good to see Marcus finally smile about something this morning, but Roland didn't want to get the poor boy's hopes up too far about this. "Yes, I think it's possible. But I won't lie to you: it will take a long time and it will not be easy. It may not work at all, if the witch has her too far under her spell, so to speak."

Some of that enthusiasm faded a little as Roland spoke of how long it would take, and Marcus sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with a grimace. Roland felt bad about deflating his hopes, but he would not lie to Marcus about something so serious as his own sister.

"She's learning her letters and numbers now," Roland continued, "but more importantly than even those, she needs to learn morals and grow a conscience. Last night's cat episode notwithstanding, she still speaks of murdering men with the same tone and look in her eye as a girl back home might have when she speaks of buying accessories at market to go with her dress. She does not view life or the taking of life with the gravity that it deserves. And even if it is possible to rehabilitate her, she still has to answer for all the people she killed one way or another, Georg included."

"Yeah," Marcus responded, "she told me a lot about... back home when she slept here the other night. And by that, I mean, she hardly slept the whole time, she just kept going on and on and on and she did talk about killing like it was... Easy. "

"Well," Roland said cheerfully with an easy smile, "I'm optimistic after spending some time with her these past few weeks. I can't promise you it will be alright, Marcus, but I do promise you that no matter how it turns out, I will do everything I can to try and help her." He clapped Marcus companionably on the shoulder as he moved to the stairs. "In any event, I have work. I'll see you tonight, lad. Pork chops for dinner, I think. They're supposed to be on sale at the supermarket. Try not to take any extra shifts this weekend, you hear? You're too overworked. You need to take some time off."

With one last wave, the Prince of Alcamoth descended down the stairs and out the door, on his way to Jim's Tattoo Parlour for another exciting day trying not to kill Marcus's sister.

The walk to work was uneventful. Roland half expected some wild animal to jump out at him from around the corner after reading the paper, but nothing did and he made it to work just a few minutes shy of 8:00. "Morning, Jim," Roland greeted his boss on his way in.

"Yo," the big man called out from the workstation. He had big circles under his eyes and his face was tired and drawn. He frowned after a quick glance in his apprentice's direction. "Ugh, Ron, could you stop looking so fucking chipper in the morning? I don't know how you young people always have so much goddamn energy."

Roland only laughed and turned to his own tasks. He was no stranger to being up early mornings--being the head of the Army of Light had him up before dawn most days. For him, this was like sleeping in, truthfully.

In any event, the hero was right on time, but as usual, Silver was nowhere to be seen yet. He figured he had at least fifteen minutes of peace and quiet before she showed up. He pulled today's jar of chocolate from his bag and opened up her workbooks to the pages she'd have to complete today to earn it. He had a jar to bribe her with for each day for the next week. It wasn't cheap, certainly, but Jim was paying for it, and if Silver actually learned to read Roland would have considered three times the price to be a bargain.

He didn't have to wait as long as he'd thought, the silver haired girl crashing through the door not even five minutes later in what must have been a personal record - especially considering Tannur hadn't been awake to hurry her along. Clearly, the thought of wearing something that covered the bruises on her arms and stomach hadn't even crossed her mind, but if the injuries were giving her any pain she certainly didn't show it - if Jim had an issue with the hero being chipper, she was about to annoy him even more than usual.

Her face fell as she spotted the workbook, and she glared at it as if it had caused all of the problems she had ever had. She hadn't even finished the first jar yet, and already he was trying to push more work on her.

"I wanted to draw today..." Silver muttered, pouting.

"Dammit, Silver, only five minutes late is still fucking LATE!" Jim bellowed. "What in the seven hells is it going to take to teach you some fucking discipline? I swear to God, girl, the next time you're late--" He stopped mid-sentence, and then abruptly he deflated like a balloon. "Aw, hell, why do I even bother?" he asked in a much lower and much more tired, apathetic voice. "Just do the fucking thing, Ron." Roland glanced at the boss's retreating back with one eyebrow raised questioningly. The man was in a sour mood this morning even for him, he thought. It wasn't like him to let her off the hook so easily. Clearly Silver was thinking the same, as she tilted her head to the side, biting her lip in a rare display of nerves before turning to Roland with a confused expression, like he could answer all her questions. All Roland could do was give her a shrug and move on.

"Okaaay," Roland said. "Well, in any event..." Roland looked at the girl uncharacteristically sympathetically. "Silver, we don't need you to do any more drawings for a while. We have more than enough designs to last us for a long time." Roland pointed to the sample design booklet on the desk, a book nearly as thick as an encyclopedia from all the constant designs they'd been submitting, as well as all the blown up posters on the walls of the place featuring unique drawings from either her or him. "What we really need is another person who can take money and work the cash register. Or a person who can actually do tattoos. With the needles and guns. On people. Jim really wants to teach you how. But he can't, because you can't read or write, nor can you do precise measurements because you don't know your arithmetic. If a person wants a tattoo with any kind of writing in it, we couldn't trust you to do it properly. If it required any kind of measuring or precise angles, we couldn't trust you to do those either."

The actual truth was, all the designs she'd been submitting for the past several days--weeks, even--had all basically been just to humor her and distract her from causing any larger mischief; they really had more than they knew what to do with. But he wouldn't tell her that part.

"Plus," he continued, "you need to show Jim that you have the patience to sit still long enough to complete a task from start to finish without breaking anything or getting angry or sulky or throwing a tantrum like a child. You need to show him you can listen and learn, otherwise he doesn't think he can teach you anything worthwhile about how to mark an actual person. Do you understand? Learning to read and write will be hard, and it will take a long time, but if you can do it...then you can learn more about how to be an actual tattoo artist. Plus, all the chocolate you can eat, of course."

The longer he spoke, the more annoyed Silver seemed to get, glaring sullenly at him as if he were the root of all evil. Finally taking her seat and looking at the work - before faceplanting the table with a groan.

"I haaate this." She drawled.

"Now, now. It isn't that bad. You can get this done before lunchtime. You'll be doing the letters f, g, h, i, and j today. That's this page to this page. Just the same kinds of questions as yesterday. Easy." Roland pondered a moment. "Look, I'll tell you what. We don't need any more designs for the booklet for a while, but if someone comes in and wants a custom design, you can take a break from that and handle it. If you can. Deal?"

"It is that bad." She said, but nodded, taking a look at the workbook - and grinning. "I know that one! It's in my name!" Pointing at the letter i.

Who taught her to write her name, Roland wondered? And how much pain and suffering did she inflict on the poor soul for doing so?

"Well, now, there you go. You already know one letter, so finishing the work should be easy. You're already partway there."

"Ugh, fine, I'll finish it super quick and then - Um. What do I do when I'm done?"

"Well, you could always get a headstart on tomorrow's letters." Seeing the baleful glare he got at that suggestion, he fumbled for something else to occupy her with. In the end, he came up with nothing of substance. "Just talk to Jim," he said finally. "I'm sure he'll have something for you to do. There's no shortage of chores around here." He'd probably tell her to clean the bathroom or sweep the front. Maybe take down some old posters and put up new ones or replace the ink bottles that were running low. Nothing like the drawing she wanted to be doing, but...well, work couldn't always be what you wanted it to be. She had to learn that eventually.

"And remember. Keep an eye out for customers while we're working. If anyone wants a custom design, draw it for them. Otherwise, just tell them to wait for one of us or come back in a little while when we're done." He wished he could tell her to take their order and help them with pricing and making an appointment, but until she learned to read, write, and do arithmetic, all of those things were outside her skillset. She could not get through that bloody workbook fast enough, Roland thought.

Before she could launch anymore complaints at him, Roland cut her off. "Well, that's all sorted out. I'm going to go help Jim get the equipment ready for our first appointment of the day. Just point them in our direction when they show up, will you? Best of luck with all your letters. And remember: no matter what it looks like I'm doing--" Roland used his first two fingers to point to his own eyes, and then the same two to point to Silver "--I'm watching you, girl. No funny stuff." He broke into a smile again. "Welp! See you in a bit!"

He quickly followed Jim over to the workstation. He really was turning into a babysitter for shapeshifters, he thought ruefully.

Written with WillfulWren

Mentioned: Avari IG42

Roland's day activity complete