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Characters: Skulduggery Pleasant and YOU (but specific starters for Captain Amelia, fellow turtle-parents Hawke and Akito, and Monet)
Date: Catch-all for April before the bombings and console crash events
Location: Throughout Keeliai
Situation: Various! These will include futzing with unused consoles, discovering the turtle baby, and also intercepting kedan informants. But Skulduggery’s going to be all over the Shell throughout the month, so feel free to chime in with your own.
Warnings/Rating: None for the moment. Well, there’s some lock-picking.

I usually start with prose, but I’ll adapt to any style. If you want a specific starter, PM me at

Amaraq!

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It was incredible how many people responded to a video that, for all intents and purposes, told them absolutely nothing. Skulduggery had assumed that the variety of appearances in the kedan would be enough to allay any suspicion of him. Clearly, he was wrong.

But he was enjoying not needing a disguise.

He was glad he’d done it in the end, because something one of the respondents had mentioned piqued his interest. Skulduggery had already been wondering why a civilisation with technology for something approximating the internet hadn't yet invented mobile phones, and although he wasn’t a technological expert, he did know of a way to start finding out.

The suites were organised according to a pattern – in the Fire Sector, at least. It didn’t mean much to Skulduggery yet, because he didn’t know anyone. It made some of the buildings easier to watch, though, and it didn’t take too long before Skulduggery located a suite he was fairly sure no one lived in. He could always apologise if someone did. Who was it who told him he needed to apologise more often? Valkyrie? Ghastly? He’d tried it once and it hadn't worked, but there was always the chance that destroying someone’s entire livelihood warranted a little more than just an apology.

Skulduggery waited until the street was mostly empty, walked up to the suite’s door, and started picking the lock. His body shielded what he was doing to enough of a degree that passers-by would assume he was unlocking his own door, but Skulduggery didn’t harbour any delusions that it wouldn't be obvious to someone upon closer inspection. He worked a little quicker than was typically safe for the cheap lock-pick he had in his hands.

If there was one thing Keeliai knew how to do well, it was bustling marketplaces. This one vaguely reminded Skulduggery of a seventeenth-century bazaar he’d been to once. None of the stores were inside buildings, and none of the wares were under lock and key. The kedan shopkeepers seemed less concerned with theft, and more concerned with crowding as many shoppers around their stall as possible. The sun was just beginning to set, so the paper lanterns were lit and swaying about in the slight breeze blowing in from the Turtle’s edge.

Skulduggery, for his part, was just observing. He didn’t need any of the food or obscure artifacts being sold. He’d already found a kedan seamstress, a small blue woman living in the Earth Sector, who’d agreed to tailor him a new suit. The lack of any sort of dry-cleaning was annoying, but he’d live. Of more concern to him were the spare clothes he’d found to wear in the meantime, which wasn’t so much a suit as a traditional Chinese changshan. And it felt odd.

One of the kedan outside a clothing store selling more of what Skulduggery was reluctantly wearing caught his attention. Not because she was furtive, or standing apart from the surge of the crowd; a good third of the kedan in any given place were like that. It was more that she clearly wasn’t interested in the clothes, and yet hadn't moved for five minutes.

The most likely explanation was that she was waiting for someone. Skulduggery didn’t have much else to do, so he wandered over to the stall and started looking at the jackets, watching her out of the corner of his nonexistent eye.

In Skulduggery’s experience, even feelings of immense peace tended to be harbingers of terrible things to come. Especially when said feelings came from nowhere. Granted, that experience was relative; he hadn't met any psychics capable of reading or altering his mind in any way since he’d died. But if something felt too good to be true, it usually was.

That was the main reason he sat up and paid attention when feelings of peace washed over him from nowhere. Or at least, that was what he told himself.

It felt, Skulduggery realised, a lot like what being near Tu Vishan’s head the previous week felt like. And since no one else in the tiny café had reacted, the feelings were probably an individual phenomenon. It was unnerving and it was worrying, for more reasons than one. Skulduggery’s hands subconsciously went to his skull before he remembered that he didn’t have ears, or eyes, or… well, anything organic.

The problem was, the feelings were calling from somewhere. And while it was most likely a trap, Skulduggery couldn't think of a reason not to go and investigate. For him, feelings like that were dangerous, and needed to be stopped. So he stood up and left the café, following the mental compass that had somehow appeared in his head through the streets of the city.

[OOC: Assuming that Quintus is with or at least somewhere near Hawke, since he’s the original parent?]

Meditation had become a nightly habit, even before arriving on the turtle. Most days, it was the only thing that kept Skulduggery sane. He’d taken to spending an hour or so every evening sitting on the rim of a fountain in Keeliai, a different one each night, facing the water. He’d then go still, and wouldn't respond or react to anything unless he was touched.

It was enough of an odd sight, a skeleton wearing a suit sitting on a fountain rim, that occasionally he’d be tapped or prodded by one of the kedan and interrupted. But he was left alone often enough that Skulduggery didn’t particularly want to give up on the habit just yet.

Monet, by and large, kept away from the marketplaces. She could see and hear it perfectly well from her apartment, she felt no need to wander down there and blend in with the populace, even though she could, easily. Instead, she wandered through the boutique areas, always listening, never buying.

She'd come down today to meet with a contact. Aware that she stood out even on her best days, she dressed down, looking simply like a rich Foreigner come here to browse. She made her way through the fruits, artefacts, and finally, upon getting to clothes, found the young kedan lounging at the end of a corner. Conspicuous, yes, but hiding in plain sight.

She looks over a dress, and her contact comes over, whispering something as they both examine the garment.

If this were a trap, then it might possibly be the strangest trap Skulduggery will ever encounter. Once again Hawke is taking Quintus through a walk of the city. It's a good way to spend that energy only a baby could have while also keeping him from eating literally everything in Hawke's suit.

Notch remains the ever watchful guardian of the baby turtle. Trotting beside Quintus, the war hound watches vigilantly for any sign of threats. The sight always makes Hawke grin. Notch may possibly be taking this more seriously than Hawke is.

Hawke hangs just behind Quintus, following closely while not disrupting the turtle's explorations. It's good for children to explore and have their own adventures, even if said child happens to be a giant baby turtle.

And there she was. A fellow Foreigner, not a kedan, although she definitely knew her way around. She was also much better at being inconspicuous then her kedan partner. Skulduggery might not have given either of them a second glance, if he hadn't already been watching the kedan for the last five minutes.

The kedan conspired with each other all the time. That was normal. Subtle whispers as Foreigners walked by were practically expected. But a kedan conspiring with a Foreigner? Skulduggery wasn't aware of that happening before, beyond a potential for mutual benefits or volunteerism. This one looked like an informant.

He stepped closer to try and hear what was being said, and when that didn't work, he caught the newer woman's eye and gestured to the dress. "I wouldn't, if I were you. The seller's been giving higher and higher prices the more people ask. Apparently, it stopped being worth it over an hour ago."

Skulduggery sees the hound first, and then the turtle.

It's a turtle about the size of the hound it's with, give or take, lumbering along the street at a pace only slightly faster than that of regular turtles, and otherwise acting a bit like a dog out on a walk. Except that instead of physically sniffing the objects and people it passes, it's reaching out with its mind. Psychically prodding. When it catches sight of Skulduggery, Skulduggery can actually feel its sudden joy, like he's a long-lost parent being reunited with a child.

Hawke comes into view behind the two animals. Skulduggery's fairly sure he doesn't need to introduce himself again, so he jumps right to the questions. "Where does the turtle come from?"

Amelia was not sure what she would do with herself today. Perhaps a visit to the markets, or to check on Taraja. Whatever it was, it would be out and about.

Of course, only a few steps out from her door and she spotted a familiar figure that seemed to be paying too much attention to the door of her (she had presumed) empty neighboring suite. That would do, she decided. Amelia had been meaning to meet again with the skeleton man, as they had gotten off on quite a good foot. So she changed directions and called out to the other.

"Skulduggery, I wasn't aware we shared a building," she remarked, coming up alongside him. Pausing, she looked at what he was doing, her lips drawing into a thin line. "This is your suite, is it not?" Of course it wasn't, he wouldn't be picking the lock if it were. She folded her arms and gave the skeleton a questioning and slightly disapproving look.

Akito hasn't had a proper, restful sleep since he arrived to Keeliai with Agito missing from his mind. It makes sense, since Agito was his biggest line of defense, as well as his best friend. He's never been truly alone in his mind, because even before Agito woke up Lind had always been there, watching. They were, in a way, his dream catchers, and with them gone it's hard to keep the nightmares away.

Now, however, he has Quintus - a turtle-child that has decided to cling to his mind for no reason Akito can understand. It makes him feel wanted, and needed. It's strange, but he can't say he dislikes it. He's never felt this sort of affection directed to him before. While it doesn't fill the void left behind by Agito, it fills up enough that he feels peaceful; calm enough to sleep without his anxieties creeping into his dreams.

Quintus seems to like the idea of him napping on his shell, and after an afternoon of describing his home world to the turtle, a yawning Akito is inclined to agree with him. The shell is big enough for a small person like him to curl up on with room to spare, unimpeded by the natural slope. It's warm enough to be comfortable, and the hood of his sweatshirt can act as a decent enough pillow

Akito is already fast asleep by the time Quintus decides to move. The gentle movement does nothing to disturb him - if anything it lulls him even further to sleep, reminding him of sleeping in his trailer back home.

Hawke doesn't actually jump at the sight of Skulduggery but his hand goes right to his axe the moment he saw the skeleton. He visibly forces himself to relax, taking his hand away from the weapon. After spending years fighting creatures like Skulduggery, it's hard to unlearn that gut reaction.

"If I had to guess I'd say from an even bigger turtle," Hawke answered with a smirk.

Like always, Notch positions himself between Quintus and anyone who might possibly cause the turtle harm. The action isn't aggressive, not yet anyway. Unlike always, this time Quintus actually pushes past the hound to affectionately headbutt Skulduggery.

Skeleton? Skeleton. Surprisingly non-hostile skeleton. An odd thing to find on the rim of a fountain. Thoughts of actually heading back to her suite for the night temporarily forgotten, Raine circled the fountain slowly, then settled down to take a closer look.

A few minutes' study told her this was probably not a new and fashionable art fixture. And, come to think of it, hadn't there been a network post in the last month or so involving something -- someone? -- like this? If the motionless skeleton was another foreigner, however, usually she'd have expected an objection to being stared at by now. She could tentatively conclude, then, that if this skeleton did indeed have more capabilities than the average assortment of bones, then his focus was likely somewhere else entirely.

Startling a magical creature was never a good idea. Raine found a section of the fountain rim that would be comfortable enough for the foreseeable future, and sat there to wait, keeping one eye on the skeleton. She didn't have a shortage of time at the moment, and unless he was an ancient demon from a hell dimension, he would probably stir within a reasonable period.

They'd agreed to meet just outside the city walls, where they would have plenty of room for a large dragon to spread out and damage everything around it without... well, damaging everything around it. The day turned out to be quite bright and clear, which might have been nice if Skulduggery was able to feel sunlight on his skin. As he couldn't, all he could think about was how much easier it would be for others to see them practicing.

The city itself was a marvel of cultural engineering, but outside of it, the lovely views stopped. There wasn't much brush, and what little agriculture there was all tended to be scattered with no real rhyme or reason. It left plenty of barren areas, some so devoid of soil that you could even see the turtle's shell. It was a very lonely place, with everything of note tucked away inside a city and a palace.

At least it would make it easy to spot a dragon.

"Hm?" Skulduggery glanced up, the momentary distraction causing him to drop the cheap lock pick. He let the equally momentary frustration slide by and smiled at the captain, a fact evident in his voice, if not quite his face. "I'm picking something up for a friend. Unfortunately, he forgot to leave me the keys."

If he tried hard enough, he could even claim that was the truth.

Amelia stooped down and picked the lock pick up, giving it a look over. "Really now?" she mused, still apparently focused on the lock pick. "Well, I'm afraid your 'friend' has given you a false address. That suite is unoccupied." Now she met Skulduggery's eyes - well, sockets, really, - wearing an expression that made it quite clear she was expecting that he would be willing to explain himself. Truthfully.

She made no move to return the pick; it would be her leverage.

Skulduggery doesn't miss the axe, but fortunately for him, his instinctive reactions are usually guided by logical thought. It's one of the perks of not having flesh, or nerve endings. Hawke was pulled to Tu Vishan from the middle of a war - a war that, apparently, was fought against skeletons - and so naturally he would still be a little on edge.

Instead of commenting on it, Skulduggery's head tilts to the side, and his tone is amused. "An even bigger turtle? Like the one we're standing on?" He shakes his head. "Am I currently being stalked by a continent?"

Well, it explains the feelings of peace. It doesn't explain much of anything else.

Skulduggery stays still for a moment, and then he kneels down to stroke the large turtle's head. Or that's the intention, at least. What he actually ends up doing is pushing the head gently off of his sternum and tapping a few fingers along the nose - or beak? - because the head itself is far too large to effectively stroke.

Quintus takes Akito all the way out of the city, moving gently over the slope of its much larger brethren, guided by the setting sun and later by the natural bio-luminescence of the shell. It takes him a few hours, but eventually he reaches the water's edge, where Skulduggery has been standing and staring out at the ocean for the past several hours.

Skulduggery feels Quintus coming, both through the strange new mind connection they seem to have, and through the disturbance of the air currents. Long before the large turtle actually comes into view, Skulduggery's already resigning himself to the peace that usually cuts off his thoughts in their infancy. What he isn't expecting to find is a small child napping on Quintus's shell.

Once Quintus is close enough, Skulduggery reaches out and taps the turtle's beak with two fingers. It was his original version of stroking the head, and it still seems to have a calming effect on Quintus. The turtle's eyes half-close, and he sinks to the ground.

"Ensnared a new friend, have you?" Skulduggery asks him quietly. "We need to teach you how to stop doing that. Bad turtle. Bad."

He doesn't mean it, and Quintus knows. The turtle instead looks up at him and communicates a certain smugness. New friend. Ours.

If Akito had been aware of Quintus taking him to meet someone new, he would have stayed locked up in his room instead of trusting his turtle-friend so acutely. The thought of being so defenseless and people seeing him like that would have made him shudder.

But he isn't aware, and so continues sleeping peacefully until Quintus' smugness creeps into his mind. It rouses him enough to shift a hand to smack his shell sleepily with a murmured 'Quin-kun, stop it', then curl up into a smaller little ball; ducking his head into the safety of his hood, and hiding his face behind curled up hands.

The hour passed uneventfully, and Skulduggery stirred feeling much more refreshed than he had before he started. He didn't expect that feeling to last long, but he certainly didn't expect it to break the moment he realised there was someone else on the fountain rim watching him.

She looked just different enough to be a kedan. But then again, Skulduggery had met a Foreigner who looked like a cat. In his experience, most of the kedan didn't have the patience or the time to sit for an hour doing nothing, so Skulduggery was erring on the side of Foreigner. Probably from a world very different to his own.

He tilted his head. "Can I help you?"

She didn't have to return the lock pick. Skulduggery could have easily taken it back with a little air manipulation that the captain likely wouldn't even see coming. In most cases, he would have.

Right now, however, Skulduggery decided it was a much better idea to be polite, and let her keep it. He raised his hands in surrender. "Alright. You got me. I'm committing a crime. May I have my lock pick back, please?"

Quin-kun? Skulduggery's head tilts to the side. That's a Japanese honourific, if he remembers correctly. The interesting thing about that is that spoken language all over the turtle is magically translated. Certain phrases seem to be immune to that magic, and now Skulduggery can add Japanese honourifics to the list.

"See?" He wags his finger. "Bad turtle."

You were sad.

'Sad' isn't quite how Skulduggery would have put it, but Quintus seems determined enough for him to let that part slide. "So you kidnapped me a companion? How disturbingly generous of you."

Sarcasm is the only finer point of language Quintus hasn't yet mastered. He takes Skulduggery's comment as confirmation that he's done the right thing, and happily curls up on the ground. Skulduggery sighs, and looks at the small child sleeping on the young turtle's back.

"Hello?" he asks, since it seems to be about as appropriate as anything else.

The pick remained firmly grasped in her hand. "So I gathered, by your picking of the lock. What possible interest could a skeleton detective have in an empty suite?" There was no hostility in her tone; rather an underlying amusement. His not quite telling the full story was something she had anticipated after their first conversation.

She was also genuinely curious about his motives. Skulduggery had a suite of his own, so any robbery of vacant ones did not make sense.

If the greeting didn't wake him up, Quintus' not-so-gentle prodding in his mind certainly did. Still, Akito rouses slowly - body unwilling to exit the first restful sleep it's had since arriving on Tu Vishan - and grumbles half-heartedly under his breath about stupid turtles, all the while sending Quintus feelings of affection in return. He can feel Quintus' amusement in his mind, so he sends him the impression of sticking out his tongue without actually doing so. It's different than how he and Agito would speak, but not difficult.

More awake now, Akito stretches the stiffness out of his back. The movement causes him to catch sight of someone in his peripheral (he would have noticed sooner if he took off his eye patch, but he couldn't bear the thought of doing that...), startling him. He twists around quickly to face the stranger, then promptly lets out a squeal of fright and topples right off the back of Quintus.

He's run into plenty of strange things so far - polar bear dogs, aliens, shapeshifters, weird animals and people - but never a skeleton.

A skeleton.

With a hat.

"The empty suite must not be empty," Skulduggery replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "None of them are, from what I've gathered. They're all fully furnished, ready for the arrival of more Foreigners. Don't you find that interesting? I wonder who's in charge."

It was only tangentially related to what Skulduggery was actually trying to do, but it was something the detective was curious about. He'd have to look into that, when he had the time.

Skulduggery adjusts that very hat while he waits for the metaphorical smoke to clear. If he hadn't already been used to terrified reactions from his own world, he'd be more than used to them by now, what with all the video responses to his initial exploration of the network.

Valkyrie had been twelve at the time and she'd outright fainted. This Japanese child doesn't seem to be much older than she was.

"Are you alright back there?" Skulduggery asks after a moment, peering around Quintus's shell. Quintus, for his part, merely makes the mental equivalent of an amused snort. It's not helpful in the least.

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Console Shenanigans (Amelia)

A Bazaar (Monet)

Turtle Parents! (Hawke and Akito)

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after the hawke thread!

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Teaching Magic (Temeraire)

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