tushanshu_logs | Do You Walk in the Shadow of Men...

Entry tags:

Do You Walk in the Shadow of Men...

Characters: Valdis and open
Date: The Month of May
Location: Throughout Keeliai
Situation: Various
Warnings/Rating: In Headers

Moving out of the hotel didn’t take long. Valdis hired a few kedan to help her move her things to the small house near the former palace gardens. It was a comfortable enough space, moreso because Wan had built it. She wasn’t entirely certain why she had waited so long to move here, but perhaps she had just needed time to let go of Anton. The house needed a bit of work after having sat empty for so long, but not much and nothing she wasn’t willing to do. Valdis was capable of creating things, not just destroying them.

The KPD hasn’t let up on patrols and she’s renewed the watches on the water sources. She now had thirty-seven officers and the support of the Justice Guild, a far cry from where she had started almost a year ago. The addition of four Kirin to the KPD resources had been a bright spot, but now Valdis had to find a caretaker for them. She hoped that the four mounts could help reduce response times to crisis as well as aid in crowd control should something arise. Allying with the Guild of Justice and Arbitration had been a wise move as it seemed to calm things down a bit and give both parties a more stabilizing structure. Now she could hunt...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

After this conversation, Valdis isn't exactly eager to go and meet with the vampire who happens to be host to a fragment of an angel, but they do need to work together. Considering she can't be seen around her officers as herself, she has brought along her disguise feather. Revelations is left at her home, the blade could give her away, so it only made sense. She doesn't see him outside the shop at first glance, so she waits for him to appear.

Devin is not fully convinced that this plan is a good one, but it's been set in motion already. The best he can do is offer his assessment of the situation, and try to protect the people who are most at risk.

He arrives at the appointed time, not certain what to expect in terms of disguise. There's only one other person waiting outside, and she looks entirely different from Valdis. Still, no one else is there, and she is a shapeshifter.

"You couldn't have picked anything but red?" he mutters, quietly enough that if it's not Valdis she might not notice.

Valdis saw him arrive, but allowed him to approach her, instead of the other way around. She smiled at him, resisting the urge to laugh at his comment.

"What?" She asked, "Do you not like red?"

In truth, her disguises were limited and red was a nice break from near black.

"No. Not on stunning, manipulative women," Devin replied flatly, and it was decidedly not a compliment. He let his eyes slide over her and went into the tea shop without another word, silently reminding himself that this was not home, that Valdis was not her. Keeliai kept throwing it in his face.

Finding a secluded table, Devin sat, his expression showing none of his internal turmoil.

Valdis would have been lying if she denied being taken aback by the comment, but it was a bit late for a change now. With a soft sigh, she followed him into the tea shop. She could feel him simmering despite his calm expression, though she didn't say anything on the topic. He'd obviously had some sort of negative experience with a red head, no need to make him dwell on it.

"You said you had an assessment?"

It was going to be hard not to dwell, with her sitting right there. It's not as though he hadn't encountered other redheads, but Valdis hit some of the other markers rather strongly. He would manage.

Devin nodded. "There are a few possible outcomes to what you've done. One: nothing. The cultists count your dismissal as a win and don't come calling. Two: they come after you, and make it look like they were tying up a loose end, or similar. Three: they attack the police headquarters - not necessarily any individuals but the building. Four: they make a random attack elsewhere in the city," he listed off. "My money would be on one or three; the latter exacerbates the instability your 'departure' has already caused. You may have pushed people away, may have made it look like it was only you at fault, but some shade will fall on the entire department. I'd suggest very quietly reinforcing the structure, and publicly ensuring that the Justice and Arbitration guild is working with the police very, very closely. They need to project strength."

He made some good points, but number two was fairly far fetched. For one thing, foreigners didn't stay dead and the cultists knew that. Unless they planned to try their stronger drugs on her, and even that was iffy, nothing they did could affect her permanently. Perhaps she was too proud, but immortality has its uses.

"I'm keeping an eye on my people," she assured him, "But you are correct, the KPD needs to be a beacon for the people of this city, they can't doubt it as they doubted the Snakes or other groups. I will suggest your idea to Eliyen, but I'm certain she already knows. And if they do attack Headquarters, then they'll have moved into the open. The goal is to convince them that what they are doing is working. I might not publicly be leading, but I still have influence in the Department."

"They don't necessarily have to move in the open. Sneaking explosive devices into the building during off hours - or strapped to a person's body - isn't that hard at the moment." There were no x-ray scanners, for example, so they would have to do without. "For the sake of full disclosure, I'm rather skilled at infiltrating and destroying buildings. I can give you detailed plans for how I'd do it, if you'd like, so we can controvert those possibilities."

Devin paused when a waiter came by and ordered tea; they needed to look like they were here legitimately. He took a slow, deep breath, restraining a sigh. "You can't keep an eye on everyone you care about at all times," he said more quietly. This was why he didn't form attachments; they could be used against you.

"I don't need to keep an eye on all of them at all times," Valdis pointed out, "They also have each other."

So they could keep each other safe if she wasn't around.

"Give the plans to Pepper, she's currently in charge and I can't be seen at the building right now."

She wasn't going to ask how he knew those things, or why he thought in that manner. If those skills aided her, then they weren't worth questioning.

"You're assuming they know what's coming," Devin returned.

They seemed to be relatively smart people, but if they didn't know the play, they might not see an attack until it was already happening. It appeared to him that she wasn't taking this as seriously as maybe she should, but she wasn't the most open. He couldn't assume.

"I'll make sure she gets them. I assume you don't want me telling anyone about your plan unless they figure it out for themselves?"

Valdis didn't answer him. They couldn't predict an attack by the cultists, no matter how hard they tried. They didn't have any intel either, so that limited them further. It really was a difficult scenario. Perhaps her judgement had been misguided, but it was a bit late to turn back now.

"I will tell them," she said, "in time, but if they figure it out before then, then yes, you can collaborate."

There were many things to consider.

"I'll simply have to be equal parts charming and disingenuous in the meantime," Devin remarked, accepting his drink from the waiter when they came by.

There was only so much preparation that they could do, he knew that. Reinforcing doors and windows and changing procedures would raise eyebrows, but it would be simple enough to wave it off as a general precaution against the cultists rather than a specific one against an attack. Devin had no special love for these people, not real connection, but wanton death and destruction wreaked upon the living was something he had always fought against. It was, in many ways, the entire purpose of his life - the thing he fought merely took the shape of his own species.

"How is it that you look the way you do?" he inquired after a moment, the casual tone belying his continued discomfort.

If by charming he meant being a smug jerk, then she supposed he could pull that off. Valdis accepted her tea as well, setting it down so it could cool a bit more. His question, though not entirely unexpected, brought with it a sense of sadness.

"One of my close friends," She replied, her tone forcibly even, "He had a feather that allowed him to change his appearance. When he went home, he left the feather to me. We kind of do that here. Make living wills so that the items we leave behind don't go to waste." A sigh, "The feather is limited, I only have two appearances besides my real one. It's all an illusion though."

Gods she missed Erskine, just thinking about him made her sad. Yes, there were difficult times, but there were also wonderful ones. She missed all of them so much...

Foreigners, Devin had observed, did not have a great many possessions. It made sense that they would pass their things on, but to whom they bequeathed those items likely indicated the presence of strong relationships. There was loss behind her neutrality.

"Useful." The magic here continued to be intriguing. Devin was reasonably good at altering his appearance, but this was altogether more impressive and extensive. "You might consider picking a slightly less memorable appearance if you intend to use this feather for undercover purposes. Something more kedanese, perhaps, unless it can only do human appearance."

It was a useful item, but Valdis would have easily traded it for having Erskine back. But that wasn't going to happen so she didn't need to dwell on it.

"Are you telling me what to do?"

It was half teasing, but for being such a loner, he was very bossy.

"As someone who has had to stake their life on a false appearance holding water for extended periods of time, I'm making a suggestion. We are not friends; that does not mean I want you to take unnecessary risks that could lead to harm coming to you or others," Devin replied with as much casual disinterest as he could muster. "You wanted my tactical assessment on things, and I'm giving it to you."

Not to mention he would prefer one less gorgeous redhead in this city if it was at all possible.

For trying to be so disinterested and unheroic, Devin certainly cared about others, much as he might try not to. A fact which Valdis found that highly interesting. He might not care about people as individuals, but he still cared. The man was a walking contradiction.

"I've had years of experience in lying about who I am," she pointed out, "This is relatively simple compared to that and I wanted your assessment as it relates to my people, not me."

She didn't need anyone.

He didn't like people dying or being hurt needlessly. It was a waste.

"Consider it free advice, then." Devin sipped his drink carefully. "You may take it or leave it as you wish. As you've all but pointed out, I am not your superior." Beat. "Is there anything you'd like me to keep you apprised of, while you're 'under investigation' and away from the headquarters?"

Hero.

She ignored his comment. Devin seemed to be the kind of person where you had to filter out what was helpful information and what was snark and take some of it with a grain of salt.

"I would like to know of any developments on the Cultists."

Though she didn't expect many considering the track record of her people, but who knew, maybe something would come up.

Possibly with an entire salt cellar.

"Assuming they pop their heads up out of their gopher holes, you'll have them," he said dryly, and it was unclear if he meant the developments or the heads. "Do you think it's possible the cultists know where you live?"

It wouldn't be hard for anyone to find out, probably, and while a direct attack on her was perhaps unlikely, she had made herself a target and all things had to be taken into account.

She and Eliyen would be happy to take the heads, but please, leave some for her to end as well, she deserved some amount of closure for what the cultists had done. To his question, Valdis didn't answer, instead lifting her teacup with both hands and taking a sip. Then she set it down, took a breath and released it slowly.

"I haven't exactly been hiding," she pointed out, "And I am partially responsible for the death of their God," something which very few foreigners could still say, "But what makes you think I'm more of a target now than before this 'investigation'."

Because Eliyen had said something similar and Devin had brought this issue up before.

"Because, Lady Valdis, much attention in this city has been forcefully directed at you in the past week, between the accusations and your 'suspension'. You have been put in the spotlight of someone else's design, and the cultists may decide to take advantage of that," Devin answered. "If they try to attack you, they will probably fail because you're rather difficult to damage. Whether they know that or not is a different matter. But if they attack your home, then they can spread fear and confusion like a wildfire, even if you are not inside it. Public spaces and facilities are one thing; there will be a perception that no one is safe, if homes are targeted. Whatever happens, whatever move they make, all eyes will see it."

Honestly, if he were a cultist, he'd destroy her neighbors' homes and leave hers standing, but he was not going to raise that suggestion.

That was indeed a problem. Even if they couldn't kill her, any attack would cause damage to perception. Destroying her home, the home that Wan had built with his own hands, would not only do what Devin had said, spread fear and panic, but would also signal that the foreigners could, and would be, targeted. This was turning into a mess.

She sighed, closing her eyes for a few moments, "So what do you suggest?"

"Post a trusted guard." There weren't many good mundane options, honestly.

Devin tapped the side of his mug, thinking. "It's possible I might be able to provide you a magic-based alternative, but I haven't had the opportunity to test it at all here. It might not function as it's meant to."

Unfortunately, there weren't any guards she could take from the KPD without arousing suspicion and aside from that...

"Any guard I posted would just get killed if the Cultists did attack," she replied, her tone not quite harsh, but still firm, "That's not an option."

His mention of magic, however, gave her pause. The man was just full of surprises.

"You know magic?"

Do You Walk in the Shadow of Men...

Devin | A Small Tea Shop | CW: None (I think)

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