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tushanshu_logs2014-06-20 02:23 am
histruename) wrote in tushanshu_logs2014-06-20 02:23 am
Entry tags:
The Times, They Are a-Changin'
Characters: Hellboy and OPEN!
Date: June 9th - 14th
Location: All over Keeliai
Situation: Hellboy reclaims his bearings
After his short trip through the city, still damp from the basin he'd been summoned from, there was no denying things have changed. There’s a palpable darkness hanging over Keeliai, a new wariness in the eyes of its people, a shadow cast by the blackened palace looming on its horizon. Cultists hiss and scream with their signs and weapons on street corners. Others scurry past like scared animals, head down, looking at no one.
Less than a year ago, Keeliai was a different place, but they had known what was coming. Evandau had warned him of the ancient force of evil they’d been brought here to fight. And back then, Hellboy had offered to go find it, to do everything he could to stop it. But things are rarely that easy.
Evandau had said that the thing had to come to them, that they had to sit and wait with their hands tied before they could even think to fight it. It pissed him off then, and it pisses him off even more now. Because this is the end result, and innocent people are paying for it in blood.
He’s lost too much time. It’s time to get back to work.
Soon as he gets his bearings, gets some much-needed rest and scopes out his new suite in Earth, Hellboy takes off into the city, wanders back to the old noodle shop in the Metal Sector he used to frequent. The shop’s still there, and so is the old man who runs it. Business is bad, and most of the kedan have been relocated to the former Foreigner housing, but things like this just never change.
It's nice to have an anchor in this place, something familiar where lately, he hasn't been afforded that luxury. Keyun has always been nice to him. But now he's much more withered than before, his veined hands trembling over the hot bowls, spilling some of the broth.
Times are hard, and maybe there's still very little he can do to help. But in a small way, Hellboy's glad he's back, because these are people worth fighting for.
((Feel free to ambush Hellboy in the street, at the noodle shop, or even at the market perusing for charms and other odds and ends. He'll be looking for people to talk to about the happenings around Keeliai that he's missed, and will offer to pay for a meal or drinks to whoever's willing. I may put up some headers later for ease of use.))
Date: June 9th - 14th
Location: All over Keeliai
Situation: Hellboy reclaims his bearings
After his short trip through the city, still damp from the basin he'd been summoned from, there was no denying things have changed. There’s a palpable darkness hanging over Keeliai, a new wariness in the eyes of its people, a shadow cast by the blackened palace looming on its horizon. Cultists hiss and scream with their signs and weapons on street corners. Others scurry past like scared animals, head down, looking at no one.
Less than a year ago, Keeliai was a different place, but they had known what was coming. Evandau had warned him of the ancient force of evil they’d been brought here to fight. And back then, Hellboy had offered to go find it, to do everything he could to stop it. But things are rarely that easy.
Evandau had said that the thing had to come to them, that they had to sit and wait with their hands tied before they could even think to fight it. It pissed him off then, and it pisses him off even more now. Because this is the end result, and innocent people are paying for it in blood.
He’s lost too much time. It’s time to get back to work.
Soon as he gets his bearings, gets some much-needed rest and scopes out his new suite in Earth, Hellboy takes off into the city, wanders back to the old noodle shop in the Metal Sector he used to frequent. The shop’s still there, and so is the old man who runs it. Business is bad, and most of the kedan have been relocated to the former Foreigner housing, but things like this just never change.
It's nice to have an anchor in this place, something familiar where lately, he hasn't been afforded that luxury. Keyun has always been nice to him. But now he's much more withered than before, his veined hands trembling over the hot bowls, spilling some of the broth.
Times are hard, and maybe there's still very little he can do to help. But in a small way, Hellboy's glad he's back, because these are people worth fighting for.
((Feel free to ambush Hellboy in the street, at the noodle shop, or even at the market perusing for charms and other odds and ends. He'll be looking for people to talk to about the happenings around Keeliai that he's missed, and will offer to pay for a meal or drinks to whoever's willing. I may put up some headers later for ease of use.))
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"That's about as long as I figure I'm missing. More, probably. A lot's changed around here from what I remember."
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Hellboy's silent for a time, slurping his noodles and thanking Keyun for the fresh beer.
This isn't the first city he's seen terrorized by war. Not the first people to be taken over by a monster. Things are bad, and he wants to help, but this is far from his first rodeo.
Somehow, it still feels like just another step. Another shift in his tumultuous life, leaving him completely disjointed to space or time, or anything that's happened to the people he left behind.
It didn't start with Keeliai, and he knows it won't end with it, either. But at this point, he's not even curious about what still lies in store.
"The thing with the palace," he says suddenly. "When did that start?"
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"Others have made plans to fight it. I believe there was some success."
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While his expression hardly seems to change - someone once told him he's got a face like a broken gargoyle, ugly and just as unreadable - the tone of his voice carries a note of intrigue.
Raising his glass to his lips, he asks, "Know any details about that?"
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Even if Malicant's spies were listening, it wasn't like Iroh didn't name the most obvious two people among the locals, and the Foreigner putting out a call to arms on the network. Iroh isn't going to assume that Malicant didn't have a cultist or two who enjoyed good food, but everyone knew Iroh was the sort of nosy old man who knew what everyone was doing.
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There's no doubt Iroh's the kind of guy that knows his way around. Most people with age tend to have some kind of wisdom, and they're always worth asking a few questions.
Smacking his lips, he puts his glass down again.
"Yeah, let's just say the Emperor and I have had a few conflicts of interests. But you're right. We're probably due for a chat," he says with a sigh, bringing up his normal hand to rub tiredly at the back of his neck. "Now if I was smart, I'd do what you're doing. Take a break. Settle down and enjoy myself and wait until something came up."
But something is up. So long as they keep kidnapping people from their worlds to fight this war, Hellboy's not gonna be able to rest. It bothers him too damn much.
Maybe waiting it out would be the smart way to do it, but he's never been one to have that kind of patience.
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Iroh is thinking of his nephew here. It had taken Zuko some time to realize how his uncle operated, and it had taken Iroh some time to realize he sometimes needed to let Zuko in a bit more so he could see why Iroh did what he did.
Granted, sometimes it was because Iroh had spent several decades in military camps, and having a nice bed, a hot bath and well-prepared food was nothing to sneeze at.
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Sure, he might be old, and he might be goddamn tired of all of this crap, but he'll always have the need to do something. It keeps his mind off things, keeps him from wanting to hole himself up and just drink himself into oblivion like he did back at Harry's.
It's tempting, but he can't. He can't because that big evil thing's still taking control of the palace, possessing people, and they're still pulling people from their homes to fight it.
And so far away from home and all the crap he's been dealing with, it's easy to get up and hunt around for clues. It's easy to stand up and fight. And it's way too easy to forget about everything else.
That's the best part of it all.
For a silent moment, all of this runs through Hellboy's head as he stares into his half-empty beer glass, turning the thing slowly in his hand. Then the moment's gone, and his head snaps up to Iroh, tilting his head in askance.
"You drinking anything, pal?"
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Well, everyone who spent more than five minutes around him. "I'm afraid if I have anything stronger, I'll be done for the day."
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"It's on me," he says, finishing his own glass in two long gulps. For Hellboy, drinking alone has never been a vice that's really bothered him, and Iroh's a lot more lively than some of the company he's been known to keep. "Keeliai's not a bad place. Good food, good people. But I don't think it'll stay that way for much longer. We wait too long, we're gonna start running out of time."
Yet he's still at a loss for what he can do save marching up to the palace and hitting everything he finds until it stops moving. But something tells him this might require a little more finesse.
Too bad finesse--like patience--has never been his strong suit.
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In other words, Malicant having the Palace was bad, but Iroh could think of it being worse. They still had several people free and most of the city wasn't Malicant's territory. Iroh hadn't lived in a city under occupation before -- during the siege of Ba Sing Sei, he'd been on the invading army, and when the Fire Nation had captured the city, he'd been in prison -- but he understood some of the theory from talking to his neighbors. And, truthfully, Ba Sing Sei under the Dai Li hadn't been too different than under the Firelord's occupation, especially for a renegade firebender.
It was making Iroh think. Bounding over the walls on a comet-fueled fire blast was not an option here.
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Slurping up another mouthful of noodles, Hellboy chews thoughtfully.
Evandau had known Malicant was coming. He'd told Hellboy point blank that there was nothing they could do about it, either. That they had to wait. But so much good that's done.
"No," he says after a while. "Evandau and the Emperor knew that thing was coming. It's why they've been bringing people here for years. They had the whole thing planned."
Except Eshai somehow got herself killed, and the entire palace is under siege. He doubts that was part of their plan.
"If you ask me, our problem's a hell of a lot worse than it should be."
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"Yeah, I'm right there with you, pal," he says, his voice still carrying an edge of irritation, but it's not directed at Iroh. It's just this whole damn situation. His eyes are narrowed as he takes a deep gulp from his newly refreshed beer glass, shaking his head as he swallows. "I've dealt with something like this. Spirits taking over towns. Possessions. But without being able to get into the palace, hell if I know what we should do."
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"Work around it; we cannot get into the Palace, but we can control who comes out of it."
Firebenders are not known for indirect approaches, but Iroh has studied all four nations, and sometimes more subtle methods were necessary. Overwhelming force wasn't useful against Ancient and Powerful Evils.
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Instead, he reaches for his chopsticks, fishing in his bowl for stray noodles. In the meantime, Keyun hovers back with a steaming cup of strong black tea. No frills or exotic blends in this joint. His shop tends to just the basics, and that's exactly why Hellboy likes it.
"You mentioned the kid running the hospital," he says. "What did you say his name was?"
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He took the tea; he normally drank his green, but tea was tea, and the oxidized sorts weren't bad.
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"Thanks," he says, fishing in his belt for a few stray juulan and placing them on the counter for a tip. He appreciates the info (and the company) more than he could express.
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