august rushes by like desert rainfall | open, with starters

[wrathfulkhan]

Characters: Eyebrow Squad Gene, Jackie, Deon, and you!
Date: Throughout August
Location: Keeliai and the rest of the shell
Situation: August interactions for Eyebrow Squad.
Warnings/Rating: None initially, but subject to change.

A. [Gene] House Iron Dragon | backdated to July 18 because I'm a rebel and I can do what I want | closed to Pepper and Tony

Gene is quite intimately familiar with Tony's birthday - being that that's the date he'd accidentally the alien apocalypse, and all. He's determined to get Tony a better sort of present this year now that they are on speaking terms (and considerably more than that). And he has enlisted Pepper to craft a small surprise party for Tony, because he has had absolutely zero experience with birthday parties whatsoever.

So he has a present, but he's a bit at wit's end trying to deal with this strange animal known as a 'party'. Luckily, Pepper's got his back.

B. [Gene] Sky Sector | early August | open

Gene's seemed pretty preoccupied as of late - though with things in Keeliai being how they are, who could blame him? His mood's brightened considerably since leaving Zeshora in their wake, though, and he's back to being as chipper as he usually is. Which is to say, not especially, but at least he won't bite your head off if you look at him the wrong way.

He's taking down notes from time to time, but if you try and read over his shoulder, you may not be in luck. Unless you can read Mongolian script, of course. Hey, some people here can read Chinese, and a whole lot can read English. There are some notes he'd rather keep to himself instead of sharing with any nosey parker lurking somewhere over his shoulder.

C. [Gene] House Iron Dragon | mid-August | closed to Tony

Oh look, an arrivalversary party.

Gene just can't seem to avoid the damn things these days - birthday parties and now a (small, personal) party to celebrate the anniversary of his and Tony's arrivals in Keeliai. Tony arrived a year ago (or two) and Gene arrived two years ago (or three), and as a result Gene at least is one of the longer-tenured Foreigners around.

He doesn't feel very special as he sits at the table in the kitchen, waiting for Tony to wake up.

D. [Gene] Raine's House | mid-August | closed to Raine

Anton's advice had been welcome, but Pepper was still...well, Pepper. And Raine knew more about Gene than almost anyone, so he'd decided to pay her a visit and beg ask for advice. He's arrived at the home she shares with Solomon, and hopes the necromancer isn't in, mostly because he just does not have the mental energy for dealing with Solomon right now. He knocks, a little unsure all of a sudden.

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

Comments

[skeletonenigma]

Skulduggery smiles in response. "Impressive. Most of the time, it takes people a few minutes. Your friend Pepper didn't recognise me at all until I told her who I was."

To be fair, what he actually did was give her a very strong hint. Same thing, really.

The surprise and the doubletake make Skulduggery wonder what his usual disguises look like. Human, he knows that much, but something about them must ring incredibly false for his real appearance to be causing such a wide variety of reactions. The skin, or the eyes. The voice. He makes a note to ask someone about it the next time he gets an opportunity.

... An opportunity which might well not come, he has to admit. To himself, if not to others.

[wrathfulkhan]

"Well...Pepper is Pepper, after all." She hadn't cottoned on to the fact that Gene wasn't what he'd seemed, not entirely.

Though he's not sure how he feels about Skul calling Pepper his 'friend'. Not with how she's been acting around him lately, not with the persistent vibe of awkwardness that hangs around their house half the time like a burnt cooking smell that just won't leave. "Really? Did she call me that?"

[skeletonenigma]

"Call you what?" Skulduggery tilts his head. "A friend? Not in so many words, no."

There could be a lot of reasons for that, given Gene's reaction, both centred around Gene and completely unrelated to him - or at least, more related to Tony than to Gene. It takes Skulduggery all of about a second to decide he doesn't actually care. Pepper was Pepper, as Gene so aptly put it.

Skulduggery instead gestures to the notebook again. "Is that Mongolian?"

[wrathfulkhan]

Gene shrugs, like it hadn't mattered to him at all. And truthfully, he wasn't sure why it did. Aside from the fact that he missed the way things used to be between them.

And he's all too happy for the change of subject. Well. Sort of. "It is, actually. Didn't think anyone would be able to pick that out," he admits.

[skeletonenigma]

"Pick it out," Skulduggery says, "but not read it. There are certain skills you pick up after the first century, but being able to translate languages isn't one of them. Your secrets are safe with you."

Unless, of course, one's Adept discipline was translating languages, as in the case of Ms. Nuncio. Fortunately for Gene, Skulduggery chose to employ his considerable talents elsewhere.

"If you don't mind my prying," he asks, "where did you learn it?"

[wrathfulkhan]

Well, good. At least that part of him is safe, for now.

"My mother," he said. "She made sure that I was aware of my heritage."

[skeletonenigma]

"By teaching you a language only marginally useful outside of China?" Skulduggery smiles. "Good for her."

He isn't one to judge even he wanted to; he grew up speaking both English and Gaelic. By many traditional definitions, Gaelic is a dead language - which probably makes it a good thing the traditional definitions tend to be wrong.