I am flesh and I am bone | April Catchall

[lasergrenades]

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!)

Comments

[annihilist]

"About a month. Most of us have to be heavily restrained well before that if someone's starving us on purpose; we're not well-known for impulse control," he explains. It was a painful process, and one Devin sincerely did not want to relive.

Devin takes bites between the conversation, not exactly sedate but not inhaling the meal, either. Fai was a good cook. "My planet is called Earth, despite three-quarters being covered in water," he says wryly. "Take up the complaint of excess of continents with plate tectonics. What's special about Outo?"

[flowrite]

"A month.... That should be plenty of time to find suitable donors, I should think? I assume it doesn't have to be... right from the vein?" He and Kurogane have never really tried it any other way. If nothing else, this afternoon is proving to be quite enlightening about vampire-kind, even if all the specifics may not necessarily apply to Fai.

His one blue eye lights up with recognition. "Ah, you're another one from Earth! This world really does seem to love pulling people from your world. I've met several already."

Amusement, very near mischief, shines in that same eye shortly thereafter. "Well, for one thing, it doesn't actually exist."

[annihilist]

"No, it doesn't have to be, and I much prefer it that way. It's been close to a decade since I've had to use the direct method," Devin says, carefully and purposefully neutral. He did not enjoy talking about this at all, but there could be some value in other Foreigners knowing his requirements. "In theory, that should be enough time. In practice, it's a bit more complicated. I'm not sure if I can even use kedan blood, nor if the many varieties of Foreigners will work, either. In all likelihood, too, the number of willing donors will be small, and that presents certain health problems for them. Repeated blood donation in a short period can be detrimental - eight weeks is the minimum time before you can donate again, where I come from," he elaborates, sighing. "It's not impossible to sort out, certainly, but it is uncomfortable."

For a number of reasons. All throughout, Devin's looked away again. He has a tendency to do that when the subject at hand sets him on edge. There's a nod in response to Fai's observation.

"Yes, it does seem to be a popular location, although I'm led to believe they're many different versions of Earth," he replies, and then makes a noise of curiosity. Judging by Fai's expression, he's holding off a clarification intentionally to make a bit of a story out of it. "How does it manage to not exist, if it's capable of being visited? That's quite a physics problem."

[flowrite]

The possibility of not being able to feed from the kedan is something Fai hasn't considered before, given that he doesn't have to worry about such things. He finds himself feeling badly for Devin after the other man's explanation. "You... don't seem to be terribly concerned with secrecy," he begins, a little hesitantly. "Could you explain the situation over the network and ask for volunteers? You'd reach a larger audience than asking one-on-one, and if you tell them what you've told me--how often it has to be, that it doesn't have to be straight from the vein, all of that--I don't think anyone will be overly upset."

The pause in the story was definitely calculated, though there isn't much actual story to it. "It was a game," he says with a laugh. "A... what did they call it, 'virtual reality'? Everything seemed very real while we were there, and then we woke up and found we'd been in a different place the entire time."

[annihilist]

"I'm not terribly secretive, no," Devin agrees. Being open about his race is not the same as liking what he is. "There's not much point here. I will, in all likelihood, have to make a network announcement, much as I'd prefer not to advertise that I need to use others to survive. I suppose we'll see how upset people get."

He makes a thoughtful sort of noise at Fai's explanation of Outo, intrigued albeit faintly unsettled by the idea. "That must have been a bit of a shock. How long were you in the virtual reality before you woke up in the real one?"

[flowrite]

"I think it'll be fine." Fai's smile is warm now, meant to be comforting. It's a smile more used to comforting tiny magical creatures and princesses and teenage boys, but it's always been pretty good for that. "Besides, you're handsome and charming, who wouldn't want to help someone like that?"

(Okay, so he couldn't help himself there.)

"Hmm. A couple of weeks, maybe? Or at least that's how it seemed in the game. I couldn't say how long we were actually playing the game. But anyway, Outo wasn't my favorite world because it was a virtual reality. Outo was my favorite because I had my own café--the Cat's Eye."

Actually any of the worlds where they'd all been together and safe and happy would count as a favorite, but it's a good enough answer for now.

[annihilist]

"Yes, who wouldn't want to help someone like me," Devin says, a touch sarcastic. "It will happen as it happens."

If the Foreigners or the kedan see fit to drive him out of the city, so be it. He's more accustomed to living alone, anyway. The chips will fall as they may.

"That's impressive, starting a cafe in a matter of a few weeks. I'm well practiced at settling into new situations, but you seem to have made a veritable art out of it," he remarks, continuing to steadily pick away at his lunch.

[flowrite]

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Sir Knight. You had me making you lunch after five minutes!" Fai grins. "Although admittedly I'm a bit of a soft touch~"

(Which is actually true, even if in this instance it came with a healthy dose of "wanting to check out the new vampire in town." And maybe a little flirting.)

"Mm, I suppose~ Outo was set up to get newcomers started right away, so I can't take all the credit, but it was a lot of work. When you've been to as many worlds as we have, you have to learn to adapt as quickly as possible. Not every world has a helpful guide waiting, or free transportation. There are clothes to buy, food, lodgings. Different currencies, different customs...." Realizing he's been rambling a bit, Fai looks over to check on Devin's progress through his lunch. "Can I get you something to drink?"

[annihilist]

Soft touch or not, Devin was skilled in deception. He'd let that comment slide, for now, and simply find other ways to keep Fai from getting too close. Being called Sir Knight despite Fai knowing what he spent his life doing did not sit particularly well.

"I'm alright; you've done more than enough." Cooking was Fai's job, sure, but this was a step above. "Why was it called the Cat's Eye?"

[flowrite]

Sorry Devin. You're barking up the wrong tree if you think getting Fai to stop liking you is going to be easy. Short of hurting someone, it probably ain't happening.

"Well...." Fai's smile turns a little bit sly. "When we arrived in Outo we were asked to register our names with city hall. They told me we could use aliases, and I couldn't read their system of writing, so I drew pictures instead! I made our demon hunters Big Doggy and Little Doggy, and since I already had a theme going, I made the princess Little Kitty and I was Big Kitty. And since the princess and I were the ones working in the café, it became the Cat's Eye~"

[annihilist]

In that, Fai may win out. Devin won't hurt anyone he doesn't have to.

The vampire hums what might be laughter, finishing off a bite before he speaks.

"Adventures in inter-universal iconography," Devin remarks, faintly amused. "Although I do have to wonder if anyone in your group allowed you to choose aliases for them ever again."

[flowrite]

"Mm, no, I'm not allowed to choose our names anymore." Contrary to the logic of it, Fai grins as he says it. "Between Outo and Piffle, where I chose the names for our Dragonflies, I think Big Doggy might strangle me if I tried it again! Even though the names I pick are always cute and very fitting. I really don't see the problem~"

He really doesn't. Who doesn't want an absurdly adorable nickname? Kuro-pin should be happy he goes to the trouble of thinking up so many!

But they've talked about him long enough, time to re-focus the conversation on Devin. "So, you said you were thinking about joining the... police department, was that it?"

[annihilist]

'Big Doggy'. Devin can see why the waif of a man was disallowed from further names rather clearly. He'd have a hard time bearing that kind of nickname.

He nods and leans back from the counter, meal finished. "Possibly, if they'll have me. My skills aren't well suited to much else; I'd be a rubbish teacher at any of the other things I could offer, and none of those things are valuable here in any case."

[flowrite]

"Or you could always try something new?" Fai muses, then shrugs with a smile. "I mean, if you ask anyone here, we could be stuck here for quite some time. Maybe now would be a good time to learn something you've never done before? Keep things interesting!"

"Not that I'm one to talk," he adds with a laugh. "But I guess you could say my own skills are a little less specialized." Or at least the ones he's actually chosen to use for the moment.

Now that Devin is done, Fai reaches out to snag the plate and utensils to drag back over to the sink.

[annihilist]

"Perhaps," Devin allows, assisting with the plate by pushing it a bit further in Fai's direction so it's less of a reach. "I'm built for a purpose I can't serve here. In the meantime, I'd just like to keep busy, I suppose."

He folds his hands together on the counter, appearing relaxed. "Thank you for the meal, that was quite good."