[OPEN] The sun just touched the morning...

[wintershepherd]

Characters: Bakura / Elizabeth / Jack + YOU
Date: April
Location: Jade Dojo; Midnight Hotel; Welcome Center; others
Situation: Catch all
Warnings/Rating: N/A


A. BAKURA - Jade Dojo (Wood Sector)

With the weather steadily improving, especially with the rain tapering off to only being intermittent, Bakura's preference for being outside was showing itself more often. It wasn't unusual to find him sitting on the wooden-planked veranda that ran around the perimeter of the building. Sometimes he appeared to be asleep, leaning up against one of the vertical columns with his eyes closed in a patch of sunlight, and other times he was reading through a book (slowly, but determinedly) written in one of the more popular kedanese dialects.

(Almost never did he give off the impression that he was the Dojo's owner. The fact that more than one person stopped to warn him that the Dojo's aforementioned owner disliked loitering and that Bakura would likely get in trouble for it was an endless source of amusement for him.)

B. BAKURA + DIABOUND - Outside Keeliai

Although Diabound had arrived in his initial small form, Bakura knew the ka was capable of much more. While there wasn't any immediate need for Diabound to shift to a more battle-capable state at the moment, the thief also didn't want to wait until a situation arose where such a thing was needed to discover whether it was possible.

He'd moved well outside the city's walled border for this, keeping away from the bustle of the farming fields to an area that was rocky and therefore not under agricultural development, but still within sight of the wall. Diabound coiled in front of him, watching with evident amusement as Bakura pondered how to initiate some kind of transformation for the ka.

C. ELIZABETH - Any Sector

She normally woke early, both out of habit and because she liked to get an early start on her day's deliveries for the Hotel. But for some reason, she'd slept in hours later than normal, and at midday she was rushing around trying to get things organized.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, almost bowling someone over as she exited one of her regular delivery stores. "I'm sorry, that was my fault. Are you all right?"

D. ELIZABETH - House Spicy Iron Dragon (Sky); closed to PEPPER

The redhead had offered to demonstrate a type of magic that Elizabeth had never heard of (she'd technically only heard of any magic in stories, such fanciful things just weren't real at home) but the way she'd described this variant seemed absolutely fascinating. Things had gotten pushed back slightly due to things in the city which had taken precedence.

Having been given the address in the Sky Sector, Elizabeth arrives on the designated morning and knocks energetically at their front door. "Good morning, Pepper!"

E. JACK - Any Sector

This whole Guilds thing... well, he'd been here during Eshai's rule, and for Evandau's... while he'd missed the three Families taking over, he couldn't figure that dispersing the authority in the city across more of its population could be bad. But he did want to get people's opinions of it on a more personal level as opposed to just the public front people might feel obligated to show.

So he might bring it up in casual conversation, sometimes smoothly segued too (sometimes not): "Hey... any thoughts on this Guild thing yet?"

F. JACK - Rooftops - closed to DANNY;

He didn't actually need sleep -- and he tended to dispense with it when he was busy or simply absent-minded. Or, in the case of this evening, when he just had too much on his mind and needed something to occupy him while he puzzled it out.

He didn't usually have to worry about much in the way of air traffic, so he was not expecting to almost collide with someone midair. "Whoa! Sorry there..."

G. JACK - Keeliai - closed to ZATANNA;

The first few days back had felt... not awkward, but if the intervening 15 months had been less a measure of time and more a measure of separation. It was worse, Jack thought, that he hadn't come back with the same span of time. Even if he'd gone back to his world, and lost the memories of being in Keeliai (a thought which filled him with no less dread than it had prior), at least he would have been able to better process that gap.

Instead, he'd lost the time in what felt like the span between two non-existent heartbeats, and the difference was altogether more startling in its suddenness.

Zatanna kept assuring him it was all right. Once the initial shock had passed, of course.

Today, they were going to hit the city together, getting reacquainted with it as with themselves.

Z. WILDCARD

Hit me with anything that doesn't fit in the above starters!

Comments

B

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene's gone for a walk outside the city to clear his head, as one does. He's had a lot of conversations lately, and a lot of issues that have re-arisen as a result of his mother's brief appearance.

He thought he'd be alone out here, so he's a little surprised to see Bakura out here, staring at a winged snake. It doesn't look like any of the wildlife Gene's seen here during his long tenure in Keeliai, so:

"Is that your ka?" he asks when he's close enough.

[denyamenti]

Despite the mild consternation about his current task, there was a unfamiliar calmness about the thief, as if Diabound being present relieved some of his ever-present wariness. "It is," he answered Gene. "His name is Diabound."

[wrathfulkhan]

That was definitely an air he wasn't used to seeing on Bakura. Calmness was not really something he associated with the thief.

"Ah. Nice to meet you, Diabound," he said. Well, it was only polite to greet part of someone's soul nicely, wasn't it?

He wasn't going to say that he wouldn't have expected Bakura's ka to be a cute little winged snake. He really wasn't.

[denyamenti]

Greet-good, is the resulting mental push back at Gene. The message didn't contain those actual words, or words at all, but a combination of images and allegories to convey the concepts.

"We are getting reacquainted," Bakura said. "I have been too long without him."

Which is what happens when you willingly sacrifice him to an evil demon god.

[wrathfulkhan]

Well, maybe don't do that, Bakura.

Gene was a little surprised at the ka's communication - it wasn't at all like Vee's utterly professional way of 'speaking'. But it was interesting, and kind of endearing in its own way. He really didn't associate this with Bakura at all.

"I see," Gene said, because he really didn't know what else to say. He wasn't going to ask why. "He and Vee are...quite different."

It was like comparing apples and dragonfruit. Technically in the same class, but very, very different.

[denyamenti]

HINDSIGHT.

"Diabound isn't like other kaa," Bakura shook his head; rather than seem boastful by the claim, he looked contemplative. "He has the ability to change forms -- that's what I was trying to do -- and to absorb other ka's abilities. None of the others could do that."

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene blinked. "...I'm learning something new about kaa every day," he admitted. He hadn't known how much he hadn't known about them. Though really, he supposed that was to be expected with a completely unknown kind of magic.

"Since you're talking about the others so casually, I take it they were common where you came from."

[denyamenti]

Bakura's mouth pursed briefly at the remark. "They once were," he answered, trusting that Gene could parse that he was not referring to more modern times. "They, like everything else, ended up forgotten."

Here-not-lost, Diabound communicated to both of them.

"Aa kaa-i, rekh-wi."

But then he shook his head, refocusing on Gene. "Why are you out here?"

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. Things in his own world had ended up forgotten, too - that Bakura ought to have gathered from his memory. The dragon of legend hadn't been a dragon, just an alien. He was no son of the dragon. He was a hybrid, a half-breed, something that should never have existed, and by existing had nearly ended the world.

"I'm trying to clear my head," he admitted. "Things have been a little overwhelming of late." And he felt comfortable admitting that to Bakura, because Bakura would understand.

[denyamenti]

Pepper had told him about the parental figures who'd arrived during the influx, including Gene's mother. Bakura had already known the woman was dead -- that had been tangentially related to the whole thing with Bianca, when it came right down to it, which had led to their first encounter -- but to have her back and knowing it was only temporary...

The thief nodded. "Yes," he said. "They have been. Harder for you than the others," he added. Not quite sympathy, but understanding. Tony and Pepper would see their fathers when they went home.

[wrathfulkhan]

It had hurt, yes, but it had also provided Gene with some measure of closure. The only problem was that he had no idea what to do with said closure, because closure wasn't a thing in his life. So all it had done was confuse him more, and would until it settled down. Hence, his contemplative walk.

He sighed and nodded slightly. "Pepper said something, didn't she," he said, sounding a little resigned.

[denyamenti]

"She did. She came by the dojo late to clear her head, and I asked about it," he explained, purposely choosing to echo Gene's earlier phrasing. It sounded like things had been tense in their house, without any one person being responsible for it. Just eggshells, all around.

That happened when the dead suddenly weren't dead. Asking if Gene was all right wasn't likely to have a good answer, but...

"Do you want time off at the dojo?"

[wrathfulkhan]

The echo didn't escape Gene. That had been rough for everyone, and he was sure that being around him and his issues hadn't made it any easier. At points, the tension between himself and Howard had crackled like a live wire.

Gene shook his head. "No. I find that work keeps me focused." Correction - beating the hell out of things keeps him focused. But working at the dojo meant the same thing, in the end.

"...but thank you for the offer." That was unusually understanding of Bakura. Although given their recent experiences, maybe some understanding was warranted.

[denyamenti]

"It stands," Bakura shrugged, meaning that Gene could change his mind about wanting the time off later, although he fully understood how much something to focus on served for distraction. It wasn't like he didn't do exactly the same thing most of the time, particularly when his sleep was less than untroubled.

"Between this and that memory of yours... perhaps it's my turn to buy you a drink," he commented.

"That isn't all your guilt to bear, by the way."

[wrathfulkhan]

Oh. Right. Gene had almost forgotten about the memory that Bakura had gotten in return, the horror of the one Bakura had shared was so overwhelming.

"I disagree," he said, but he was interested to hear why Bakura thought so. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

[denyamenti]

"Responsibility and guilt aren't the same thing," Bakura replied bluntly. "You may have been responsible for what happened, but you aren't guilty of what was done. Just because you've taken on the weight of the latter doesn't change that."

[wrathfulkhan]

"How am I not guilty if I am responsible?" Gene said. "None of it would have happened if not for me and my foolish pride." There didn't seem to be a clear divide in his mind, unlike for Bakura - for him, the two were one and the same.

[denyamenti]

Bakura debated only briefly with the first analogy that sprang to mind, but Gene has already seen the memory: he knows the weight of it. And it's the closest thing to the scale and visceral impact as was seen in Gene's recollection.

"You saw what happened at Kul Elna, hebnay. I may not be the one responsible for it, but I am the one guilty of not yet righting it. Sometimes the blame of both is with the same person, but sometimes it's not."

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene opened his mouth to argue before considering the rationale. It wasn't the same situation, but he'd taken on the guilt of not righting the wrong of his mother's murder, though Zhang had been the one responsible. He'd only put that back in balance of a sort within the past year, and it still didn't carry the sense of closure or triumph that he'd hoped it would.

Maybe it would, someday.

"...I think I see what you mean," he said, somewhat grudgingly. It had a sort of logic to it that was both uniquely Bakura's and completely understandable. Then he chuckled, a little bitterly. "I'm afraid that law enforcement back home won't see it the same way, though."

[denyamenti]

"Heh, I ran into that same problem," Bakura matched the gallows humour with his own, but then once more a note of seriousness. "You're not blameless, and no one should try and claim that you are. But you didn't kill those people... accept that."

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene's eyes flicked to the ground as though he'd been chastised, and for a moment he thought about arguing. But Bakura was right. He didn't kill those people. The only person he'd killed during that mess was the Overlord's son, in a fit of rage. It didn't mean the feeling of guilt left his shoulders, because he was still responsible for those deaths during the invasion, but...who do you blame for a murder? The murderer, or the man who sold him the weapon? Both are responsible to some degree, but only one is guilty.

"You're right, I suppose."

[denyamenti]

Were it not a topic like this one, Bakura would have quipped something in response to that. Instead, after a moment of contemplative silence, he offered with surprising benignancy, "I'm glad that you got to see her again, Gene. For however short a time it was."

HOW! DARE! YOU!

[wrathfulkhan]

That was completely unexpected. Gene was taken aback both by the sentiment and by the use of his first name. He didn't think he'd ever heard Bakura use it before.

"...thank you. I'm glad, too."

SORRY! NOT! SORRY!

[denyamenti]

"I guess this makes it my turn to buy you a drink, right?" he asked lightly. "Unless you wanted to share anything without such liberal prompting."

[wrathfulkhan]

That startled a laugh out of Gene. "Sure," he said. "If you like."

He glanced at Diabound. "I'm still not used to seeing him. It seems so incongruous."

Subject officially changed.