tushanshu_logs | I am flesh and I am bone

Entry tags:

I am flesh and I am bone | April Catchall

Characters: Pepper Potts, Devin Parker, and you!
Date: Throughout April
Location: Jade Dojo, Sky Sector, all over Keeliai.
Situation: Pepper's living her life, and Devin is getting dumped into Keeliai a little maimed.
Warnings/Rating: Possible mention of murder and probably blood, specific warnings in headers.

A. [Pepper] Jade Dojo | Backdated to end of March | Heather

As promised, Pepper got up early and made her way to the dojo at a time that was unusual for her. She normally trained in the afternoons, so this was a big change of pace. There was no guarantee that she and Heather would make good partners, but it would be interesting to try. It would also give her a chance to get a read on Heather, since Pepper hadn't interacted with her much before now. She hung up her jacket and pulled a set of long, thin cloth wraps and began to circle them around her hands; once they were secured, Pepper began to warm up, keeping an eye out for Heather's arrival.

B. [Pepper] House Spicy Iron Dragon | Early April | Gene

The weather is getting almost reasonable, and on one of the days where it's a bit sunnier, Pepper goes out into the backyard and does some practice summoning. She's getting better at it, and higher level monsters are slowly getting easier to summon, but she still has pretty strict limits. That doesn't diminish her determination - if anything, it makes her push harder. Vee is there, too, standing off to the side with less armor on, observing. Pepper will occasionally speak to her like her ka has said something, although the creature's lips never move.

C. [Pepper] KPD | Throughout April | Open

The new Guild system has definitely stirred things up in the city, and there's a rash of thefts hitting Foreigners that suggests it's systematic. The destruction of the spirit houses is also concerning, although fortunately it doesn't seem to be escalating badly. Pepper is pretty busy, spending a lot of time out on patrols and talking with kedan as well as Foreigners to see if they have any information. Busy or not, she's in a good mood most of the time if anyone bumps into her.

D. [Devin; CW: burns, possibly blood] Healer's Guild | April 5 | Raine

The ground is a lot smoother than he expects. There's a ringing in his ears and he can tell he’d be dead if he hadn’t known what was coming. As it is, his back is charred from the explosion. It was a small price to pay for getting the hunters and the dossier out. He can feel them start to heal, but his wounds must be worse than he thought – someone is saying something, putting a hand on his shoulder and Devin can only lay there, stunned. The person sounds worried, and Devin tries to tell them he'll be fine, to leave him here. To run. It doesn't come out particularly coherently.

Whoever it is doesn't listen, and two sets of strong arms are lifting him off the ground to a standing position, which he couldn’t have managed himself. This is bad, that he can't orient himself properly or see straight. At some point, he must have lost consciousness, because next he opens his eyes he's being led into a building and there's a flurry of activity that ends with him face-down on a gurney.

"I can't stay here," Devin mutters, trying to get out of the bed, but the hands keep pushing him back down. Devin is stronger, though, and he stumbles vertical again, searching for a door. "I don't need your help."

E. [Devin; CW: blood] Thoughout Keeliai | Throughout April | Open

As soon as Devin is fully recovered, he gets out into the city. The situation has him on edge, the fact that his agency has been violated again setting a semi-permanent frown on his face. Devin is familiar with a few different planes of existence, so the idea of Keeliai isn't something he outright rejects. After a week or two, he accepts that he's stuck. From what Devin can tell, he's the only one of his kind here.

That should have been something of a relief, Devin reflects, but it also meant that he's adrift without purpose. What is he supposed to do with himself? Almost all of his energy back home had been spent hunting. Devin can't remember the last time he took a vacation.

Long story short, Devin is not in a good mood most of the month, somewhere between lost and agitated. He does need to find a way to live, though, so when he's not at the Hotel (which he hopes he won't have to stay at for an extended time) he's wandering around and observing, taking in every detail he can, and looking for a niche to fit in.

F. [Devin] Turtle's Head | Mid April | Open

The rumors of the serenity of being near Tu Vishan's beak are appealing amidst the turmoil of Devin's arrival and the impending problem of finding a food source has him troubled enough that he hikes out there one day. The sight of it, actually getting confirmation of what it is he'd standing on, is grounding and the calming influence of a being so much greater than him is familiar in a way. At least this trip doesn't come with a migraine. He spends a few hours there, mostly standing at the shell's edge and staring out at the sea, thinking through his options.

(OOC: Let me know if you want a specific starter or feel free to write your own adventure!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I shed the title when I was young," Devin explained. "It's not one I'm interested in. I don't associate with the rest of my kind."

Being social was something he only did by necessity, and if he was spending time among his own species, it was almost exclusively to kill them.

"I've gotten quite good at acting the part when needed, however."

"What a coincidence," Valdis said, a bitterly amused smile forming, "Neither do I."

Valdis avoided her kind at all costs, for reasons that she didn't explain to most.

"Most people who live long lives have good acting skills, but none of them can fool me."

The edge of the rush had mostly ebbed, and Devin stopped pacing a few feet from Valdis. He had a curious expression on his face, intrigued by her statement.

"Oh? And how is it that you can see through the best of all disguises?"

"People can learn to manipulate muscles, tone of voice, expressions. They can falsify these features and, with enough practice, can separate their emotions from their reactions."

He was genuinely curious, and calmer now than before, both those things were good.

"But the emotions are still there."

Devin took a moment to consider that information. If there were no tells to read, no way to physically identify a falsehood, and yet one could still do so based on emotion that couldn't possibly be felt--

"Ah," he said, realization dawning. "You're an empath of some kind?"

This information didn't please him, although he wasn't quite sure what to do with it yet.

"Of some kind," She repeated, "Unfortunate side effect of possessing a soul...I feel emotions alongside my own and it has taken years to learn how to separate and ignore those that don't belong to me. Strong emotions can be problem, however."

Devin frowned slightly at that. If that was the case, she must have been able to feel what it was like for him to drink blood, and that knowledge did not comfort him in the slightest. He wasn't sure why; Devin hadn't made a secret of disliking what he was here. It was, however, a violation of his privacy, even if Valdis had decent control over the ability.

"That can be overwhelming, I imagine," he said stiffly. "Is that a normal Hellhound ability, along with being able to sense my notably absent soul?"

"The empathy? No. As I said, it's a side effect of having a soul," She looked away, seemingly relaxed, "As for seeing and sensing souls, well, that's an ability that all Hounds have..."

Because you couldn't hunt what you couldn't see or sense, but that probably wouldn't be helpful knowledge to him. Especially since he seemed uncomfortable with her other senses.

"All souls are unique, it's actually quite interesting to be able to sense them."

Hellhounds lacked a soul as well as vampires. Interesting. Not especially useful, since they didn't exist in his world, but interesting all the same.

"I'll have to take your word for it," Devin said, running his fingers through his hair. "What can you discern of a soul by sensing it?"

"In a general sense? Age and species are the easiest." A short pause, "But there's something to be said for individuality as well. Every soul feels different, because everyone experiences the world differently."

If she was familiar enough with a soul, then she could sense it no matter where it was in the city. That's how she had known about Dante. And Wan. And Anton.

"It's not easy to explain...interpreting the colors of the soul plane isn't easy either."

The first half of that explanation made a great deal of sense. Everyone was different; their souls would be accordingly unique, like a fingerprint. The latter was unexpected.

"The soul plane is color coded?" he scoffed. "I feel like I should be surprised." Devin resisted the urge to make a joke about dogs and colorblindness. He was curious how she could tell that he was, as she had stated, 'not alone', but inquiring would bring it up again and Devin would rather not bring attention to it. "That must leave a great deal up to your own perceptions of people, to figure out what each means."

Valdis inclined her head, "It does, to a point. But there are recognizable patterns. For instance, Demon souls are colored differently from Angels and a human soul can never have the same depth of color as a demon's. Even if they could fool my other senses, a demon can never look like a human." She sighed, "I'm sure there is a deeper complexity to it, but those are the basics."

Devin turned away, glancing at their surroundings rather than at Valdis directly. That ability could have been useful to have on hand about a decade ago, but it's far too late now.

"Angels and demons and Hellhounds, oh my," he said, dryly sing-song. "Demonic disguises can be quite thorough, can't they? Although I suppose the rules might be different, where I come from." What applied to Valdis' world did not necessarily apply to Devin's. "It must be rather boring on that level here, the population being predominantly human or humanoid."

"You can't change the nature of your soul," Valdis pointed out, "It may evolve and change as you experience life, but at its base, it remains the same. Demons have a very unique signature to their soul, no amount of demonic magic can change that."

It was what made Hellhounds such efficient hunters.

"I wouldn't exactly call relative safety boring," Valdis replied, "but lack of diverse species doesn't mean lack of diverse souls and it's not like I actively need to observe souls anymore."

There were ways to change a soul, Devin guessed, but it had to be done externally. He had little doubt that the Spirit had tinkered with his in one way or another.

Devin tsked. "Safety, relative or otherwise, is an illusion. At best, it's temporary. At worst, it's a manipulation tactic. I hope you haven't grown complacent in your time here, with cultists running about."

Valdis frowned at him, knowing he was being a jerk on purpose, but slightly offended anyway.

"I have no enemies here that I cannot defeat," She said, her tone flat, "I'm a predator, have been for most of my life, but that doesn't make me blind to danger."

Being on the run for three hundred years gave one a sense of perspective.

Devin gave her a cold, sly smile. "Are you sure about that? You're not the only predator on this turtle, in case you've forgotten."

He had no interest in getting into a real fight with a Hellhound, and quite frankly he was fairly certain she could beat him five ways to Sunday, but poking and prodding was his specialty.

Best not piss her off too much, though. He did still need her help. "Maybe it's different, for you. I can't afford to give into the idea of safety."

"Oh, there are some Foreigners whom I consider dangerous, but they are not my enemies."

And he wasn't one of them, not that she would tell him that. She wasn't interested in a fight, it wasn't good for image and the Foreigners needed to stay united. Besides, the greatest danger to her, was also part of her.

"That's because you see yourself as alone, whereas I have people I trust to back me up."

Devin's expression didn't change at her remark; if anything, the smile looked more genuine. That wasn't an insult.

"You won't get any argument from me there. My lot in life is to be alone, and as a result to be unburdened." It was simpler that way. Easier. "Trust will only lead to someone getting hurt."

Valdis arched a brow, "Perhaps you aren't burdened by attachments, but I'm sure you have plenty of other burdens, we all do."

She actually released a short laugh at his second statement, however.

"Pain is part of life, and, like it or not, you're going to have to trust us to some extent, just like we'll have to trust you. It's an unfortunate fact of being who we are in this world." She smirked, "Now, lovely as this conversation is, I need to go back to work. I'll look into finding a way to preserve blood so you don't need it fresh. Perhaps that will remove some of the potency and make it easier."

Certainly he had burdens, but not those that involved people, and none he would be sharing with Valdis. Regardless of her insistence that trust was an inevitable fact, Devin disagreed. He should not be trusted, and he would not trust in return, beyond the bare requirements of living in the same vicinity of others. Let her think what she wanted to.

"An airtight container and any native anticoagulants," Devin suggested, neutral. "Is there someplace in particular we should arrange to meet again?"

He didn't believe her, but she really didn't care, it wasn't as if she had believed such things right away either.

"I'll speak with Raine, she might know something about that," a short sigh and another amused look, "Your soul is unusual enough that it shouldn't be hard to track down, but if you need me, I'll most likely be at the KPD headquarters, or the Jade Dojo."

"Ah, Raine. We've met," Devin said grimly. That woman was... strangely determined. It seemed like everyone he met here was insistent on treating him like a human being worth something of value.

He really did not like the idea of Valdis being able to identify him and locate him with such ease. She would do so regardless, apparently. "Duly noted," he told her, and began to walk back in the direction of the turtle's head. Without stopping, Devin looked over his shoulder. "Thank you."

Devin seemed to have the same view of Raine that Valdis had once had, he'd either come around, or he wouldn't...it wasn't like Raine would care if he liked her or not.

"Thank me if it works." She replied, watching him walk away. Then she turned and headed toward the city, she'd have to hurry if she didn't want to be late for classes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I am flesh and I am bone | April Catchall

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject