the cruelest month | open, with starters

[wrathfulkhan]

Characters: Gene Khan, Jackie Ma, Deon Wilson, and YOU!
Date: Throughout April
Location: Keeliai and the surrounding environs
Situation: Two three Asian men with perfect hair, remarkable eyebrows, and gang connections, and what all they get up to during the month.
Warnings/Rating: None initially, but subject to change.

A. [Gene] Healers' Guild | late March | open

After being mauled by Valdis, Gene's been healing on and off with Katara's help. He'd come very close to death, so he was penned in the Healers' Guild under pain of severe scolding.

That, and he can't move too much without pain, so if you want to corner him, now's your chance.

B. [Gene] Midnight Hotel | April 8 | closed to Tony

Gene's gone back up to their room after his utterly failed attempt to do something nice, and he's been sitting at the table for three-quarters of an hour, his head in his hands, stewing. What Akito said had really hurt him. Good for Akito that he could overcome his past trauma just with a smile and some fucking fairy dust, or however the shit he'd done it. The legacy of Gene's criminal past had imprinted itself on him too deeply to ever go away by thinking happy thoughts. The scars were there, permanently so, and he's beginning to wonder if it's even worth the effort to try.

C. [Jackie] Midnight Hotel, kitchen | April 14 | closed to Genis

Jackie'd been keeping an eye out for Raine's little bro, and he's even been trying out his skills in the kitchen a little himself. He can actually make some food that isn't burned on one side and frozen on the other, so he's quite pleased with himself. But today, Genis was going to try the holy grail: pork buns. Or at least, the closest they can come in Keeliai.

"Hey, little dude, what's up?"

D. [Jackie] Teahouse in the Water Sector | early-mid April | open

When he's not doing Snake stuff, Jackie's become quite fond of hanging out in a little teahouse in the Water Sector. Most of the time he has his Snake badge off, not wanting to intimidate any of the kedan, and just enjoying a quiet cup of tea. Tea had never really been his...well...his cup of tea, back home, but here he was starting to enjoy it.

E. [Deon] Midnight Hotel, lobby | April 13 | closed to Valdis

Once Deon's on the mend, he gets the name from Raine of the wolf-woman who'd found him in the alley, and where he might find her. It's only polite to go thank someone who's saved your life, right? He finds himself in the lobby of the Midnight Hotel, looking for the woman who'd appeared to him. Or for a giant wolf. The one's more obvious than the other.

F. [Deon] Stark Industries | April 15 | open

Deon had been pointed towards Stark Industries when he'd asked about employment for an engineer; he didn't have many other skills, and Anton had politely but firmly asked him not to attempt cooking for the Hotel again. (There's a reason his culinary skills extend to Pot Noodle and straight-up just going to Nando's instead of cooking. His diet is 90% Red Bull. It is a miracle this man does not have scurvy, or rickets, or something.)

Also, he needed parts if he was going to build anything like Dexter to pick up after him and bring him his Red Bull. Or the local equivalent.

So he's standing around in the lobby, fidgeting, waiting to be summoned by the receptionist to see when he could speak with Zanru or anyone else. But he wouldn't pass up conversation, either. He's only a little socially inept that's a lie and only a little devoid of common sense oh that was an even bigger lie!.

G. [Deon] Marketplace | April 16 | open

Deon has spent enough time in Joburg shopping the market stalls to know when he's getting taken for a ride; it's some small comfort that this, at least, is familiar.

"Okay, well, what about-- what about five juulan, eh? Come on, I'm doing you a favor here, it's barely worth four."

He says, as if he knows anything about the local economy. But he sees something of use in the busted scrap of what used to be some form of technology, and he wants to take it home and mess with it.

H. [Gene] Midnight Hotel | April 15 | closed to Tony

Gene's been to the festival and returned with one very special souvenir. He'd spent some of his spare juulan on one of those captivating sea wisps, and has set it up on the table in the room he shares with Tony. He likes it, but he hears they're also good luck, something he's been lacking lately. Couldn't hurt to have it. He waits impatiently for Tony to return, fiddling with the plant.

I. [Gene] Dojo | early April | closed to Bakura

It was weird to be on friendly enough terms with the man you'd killed, but Gene had long since gotten over the weirdness. He needed to beat the shit out of something, and only a training dummy would do. Hopefully he'd avoid Bakura; he didn't want to have an awkward discussion or be spectated. But Tony was still too cautious of hurting him to spar now, and Gene had wanted to yell out that he wasn't made of glass.

He starts off slow, his movements practiced and deliberate, getting himself limber and warmed up before he starts attacking the dummy with ferocity and extreme prejudice. But he's still healing; he tires quicker than usual, and has to take a break for some water.

J. [Gene] Midnight Hotel, lobby | early April | closed to Katara

Gene really ought to thank Katara for healing him up, he figured - and he ought to do the same for Wan, but Wan was out camping, and he thought it best not to disturb Wan's privacy. If he was alone in the wild, it had to be because he wanted to be.

But that doesn't mean he can't thank the other bender who tended his wounds.

He spots Katara in the lobby. "Hey, Katara," he says, walking up to her.

K. [Gene] Water Sector | April 17 | closed to Raine

Fuck. Fuck!

God, this was the absolute worst timing - Howard shows up right when Gene tells Tony that-- gah!

So he's flown the coop, currently stewing in a park in the Water Sector and clearly very upset.

---

OOC Note: If you want another starter, please hit me up over at Chatvert and I'll pull something together for you! :>

Comments

I.

[denyamenti]

Bakura's presence at the dojo is surprisingly understated; he lets it run itself, for the most part, and it only takes one or two visits from new customers to get the hang of leaving their payments in the plate on the decorative altar against the one wall, like a classy version of a cash drop box.

Someone had tried to steal it once, shortly after the dojo reopened, the grapevine said. They still hadn't found him yet.

The white-haired thief acts like just another patron most days, or sits on the sidelines to repair whatever equipment has borne the brunt of a too-eager training session while he watches. Half the time, people don't even realize he's there, and that suits him fine; he doesn't go out of his way to interact with most people these days, whether Foreigner or kedan. But it is interesting when familiar faces drop by, and watching Gene beat the shit out of the dummy, he rather suspects that will be tomorrow's repair project.

He waits until the younger one stops to have a drink, he asks, "Should I ask whose face you're imagining on that target?"

[wrathfulkhan]

...oh. Gene had been so intent on beating the living hell out of the dummy that he'd totally missed the fact that he'd gathered an audience of one. He's a little pissed with himself for that, but then again, he's not exactly at his best right now.

He'd come here to think, and he'd managed to work his way through some of his anger so far, but not nearly enough.

He shrugs at the question. "Nobody's in particular." True. Just...sometimes you need to go beat the tar out of something, you know? "I needed to blow off some steam."

[denyamenti]

In Gene's defense, Bakura is very adept at being places without being noticed; it was rather something of a survival skill for a long time. "Well, that's what they're built for," Bakura answered.

"You're favouring one side," he adds after a moment.

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene frowns. He'd hoped it hadn't been obvious, but Bakura was observant. He'd ben given the all-clear to resume normal activity with his injuries largely healed, but that didn't mean he wanted to shatter his wrist again. And so he'd largely kept his right arm tucked in close, on guard, trying also to spare the leg that had been broken.

Valdis had really done a number on him.

"So I am," he says, offering no explanation. He takes another drink of water. "I fear I'm out of practice, fighting with a limb or two restricted." Sure, Gene, sure. That's why you're favoring one side. For practice. Sure.

[denyamenti]

"Is that right?" Bakura said mildly, in a tone that didn't quite disprove Gene's claim. "Nevermind, then. I thought it was like when I did the same, while still healing up. My mistake."

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene shook his head a little. He was really off his game. And what use was it to lie to Bakura? "It's not unusual, to ease back into the use of a limb in fighting after an injury," he said, explicitly copping to nothing but implicitly admitting difficulty.

[denyamenti]

"No, it's not," the thief agreed easily. "Though it looks like you're having more patience with it than I did. Broke my leg one time, falling down an air shaft. Not my most resounding successful heist, that one."

[wrathfulkhan]

Level four friendship unlocked!

"That sounds unpleasant," Gene said after a minute, passing no judgment on the 'heist' portion of that revelation. Hey, a man's gotta do what he's gotta do to survive. But this was...quite a bit more information than he'd previously had about Bakura.

In point of fact, he didn't know too much about Bakura at all. A prime opportunity to learn more. "How did you get out of that?"

[denyamenti]

"It was," Bakura agreed, though there's a hint of laughter in his tone, as if it's being remembered ruefully. "It took me three days to find a way out, and then I was too impatient to let it heal up properly. It's a wonder I didn't end up with a permanent limp from that."

[wrathfulkhan]

"How did you manage to not get caught?"

Gene was still in the dark about the whole 'tomb-robbing' thing. He's more familiar with the idea of bank heists and the like. He knew Bakura was from the past, but this particular method of making a living hasn't occurred to him yet. (Gotta respect the ancestors, Bakura. There's a reason everyone who knew the location of Genghis Khan's tomb was executed.)

[denyamenti]

What makes you think I feared getting caught? Bakura almost asked, and then thought better of it. Better not to traumatize the younger one with additional murder tales, besides, that wasn't the point of relaying the story.

"The guards weren't exactly tested for intelligence before being hired," he said instead. "The point was, there's a difference between pushing oneself and just being foolish."

[wrathfulkhan]

Oh, Bakura. Did you forget who you're talking to? Murder tales wouldn't traumatize Gene. Probably.

Ah. Yes. The story had a moral. Gene shrugged brusquely. "You're right, I suppose," he said. "Though sometimes the line is hard to see."

[denyamenti]

Probably, but Bakura tends to get a little carried away when he perceives something as a challenge. Traumatizing Gene is not the challenge you want to give to him.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed. "So what's got you so riled?"

If I were a little meaner, I'd say YES, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY A CHALLENGE.

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene hesitates. He wants to talk about it? And yet he really, really doesn't.

"You're probably the last person I should come to for sympathy about this," he says, and has some more water. Stall tactic.

[denyamenti]

"You assume I'm automatically going to offer you sympathy regarding whatever it is," Bakura returned, getting a bottle of water of his own and retaking a seat on the edge of the sparring platform. "I'm offering to listen, anything beyond that remains to be seen."

[wrathfulkhan]

"I suppose it's ironic to tell you this," Gene says, taking a seat of his own nearby.

"I nearly died last week." He tries to make it sound like a joke, but there's a tremor of fear behind his eyes that he can't quite hide.

[denyamenti]

"Everything we do here is ironic," Bakura said glibly. "I'm half beginning to think it's that, not the soul gems, that are keeping us anchored here."

But to his credit, he does drop the flippancy when Gene says the next part. "What kind of trouble came after you?" he asks, and the phrasing is deliberate: automatically defaulting to Gene being the victim, rather than the instigator.

[wrathfulkhan]

Well...you're probably not wrong, Bakura. Dancing like puppets to a sick twisted tune of narrative convention...but that would be crazy.

The phrasing actually surprises Gene, and he's unguarded enough to let that show for a moment before he answers. "A wild animal."

He couldn't hold it against Valdis, really.

[denyamenti]

"Well," Bakura says with a neutral shrug, lifting his water bottle again. "There are some of those about. I trust it was taken of, before it got out of hand?"

[wrathfulkhan]

"Yes, it was dealt with. It won't be bothering anyone anymore."

Because if it does - if the Void breaks loose again - they'll all be dead before they know it. Cold comfort, honestly.

He looks a little uncomfortable, but asks the next question anyway. "How do you deal with it? With facing your own death." Bakura's totally the guy to ask.

[denyamenti]

Bakura wondered, briefly, if Skulduggery or anyone had actually informed Gene just how many times the thief has actually died, let alone faced it. Possibly not; it doesn't change the actual advice he's about to give, anyway.

Why is he being asked for, and giving, advice.

"There's no amount of preparation or... practical experience... that makes facing your own death easy when it happens. If you assume that there is, but that you just haven't figured it out yet, you're setting yourself up to fail and feel miserable about it. But coming back from dying-- or, almost dying-- that part's not so hard. You just have to make it clear to yourself that you're not done with whatever it is you're living for. It's something bigger than merely 'not being dead', right?"

The last part is added with a smile, because he already knows that it must be. No one can wield power like the Mandarin armor unless they have a very strong will, and be happy or sane with merely survival.

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene is blissfully ignorant about just how acquainted Bakura is with his own mortality. He just knows that Bakura has seen death, and come out the other side, and the death had been by Gene's own hand. Maybe that's why he's asked this to Bakura and not anyone else. And Skul has been dead for so long, Gene isn't sure if his advice would be any merit - and then Skul would want to know why he's asking, and that's more trouble than it's worth, really.

He listens to Bakura, taking the advice in, and mulling it over. "You're right...no, I'm not done," he says, half to himself. It had used to be mere survival as a first rung, getting out from under Zhang's control...then he'd gotten too grandiose too fast and burned himself out.

Now...now he's not sure what he's living for, aside from being alive. He thinks he might have an idea, and that idea scares him, a little.

[denyamenti]

Bakura would definitely agree that asking Skulduggery would generate more questions than answers, even though he thought the detective had at least gotten a bit better, recently. Still, Bakura had asked him why he'd taken on guardianship of Gene, and gotten his answer, which explained a lot.

"Don't lose whatever it is, hebnay," Bakura said, with a quiet almost-smile, rolling his water bottle between his hands. "Even if you have to chase it down."

[wrathfulkhan]

That was...surprisingly good and heartfelt advice, from a guy Gene had murdered. Once again, he feels really bad about it, but he knows that if he brings it up Bakura will dopeslap him again. Which he's not exactly keen on.

"Thanks," he says, a little bit of his surprise creeping into his voice. "That helps a lot, I think."

[denyamenti]

"Good," the thief replied with a nod. "But if you need the distraction in the meantime, you can always thrash more practice dummies. You're getting pretty good at it."