tushanshu_logs | Do You Walk in the Shadow of Men...

Entry tags:

Do You Walk in the Shadow of Men...

Characters: Valdis and open
Date: The Month of May
Location: Throughout Keeliai
Situation: Various
Warnings/Rating: In Headers

Moving out of the hotel didn’t take long. Valdis hired a few kedan to help her move her things to the small house near the former palace gardens. It was a comfortable enough space, moreso because Wan had built it. She wasn’t entirely certain why she had waited so long to move here, but perhaps she had just needed time to let go of Anton. The house needed a bit of work after having sat empty for so long, but not much and nothing she wasn’t willing to do. Valdis was capable of creating things, not just destroying them.

The KPD hasn’t let up on patrols and she’s renewed the watches on the water sources. She now had thirty-seven officers and the support of the Justice Guild, a far cry from where she had started almost a year ago. The addition of four Kirin to the KPD resources had been a bright spot, but now Valdis had to find a caretaker for them. She hoped that the four mounts could help reduce response times to crisis as well as aid in crowd control should something arise. Allying with the Guild of Justice and Arbitration had been a wise move as it seemed to calm things down a bit and give both parties a more stabilizing structure. Now she could hunt...

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Devin had received as much of an apology as he was going to get, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being told he was right. As far as she was concerned, the point he had been trying to prove wouldn't have been an issue under normal circumstances. But the vampire was anything but normal. Revelations hadn't objected to him at all and that was usual, even among her friends and pack.

"Fine," Valdis replied after a few moments, "But I should warn you that I probably won't be able to stomach much. I can't actually remember when I last ate something."

And it took time to get things back to normal.

Since when do normal circumstances apply to anyone on this turtle? Devin only wished that they did. He'd prefer not to be unique.

"Something light, then," he offered, wondering just how far she had pushed herself and what might've happened if no one had nudged her back the other way. "Tea and some kind of pastry. This city seems rife with excellent cafes, and I saw one nearby on my walk here."

The vampire went to her office door and opened it, gesturing for her to go first. He was not always just an ass.

Valdis did not handle crisis well and relying on her dark magic was easier than actually making an effort to care for herself in such circumstances. Unfortunately, the more soul energy she relied on, the stronger the Void became. She knew that, but it still hadn't stopped her, and that was a problem too. Had her judgement really become so compromised just because the cultists had gotten the upper hand on her people one time?

She sighed, left her papers where they were instead of tidying her desk as she usually did, and walked over to the door. With Bakura out of commission and unable to point out her downfalls, it seemed she would need a backup to ensure she didn't lose it entirely.

They walked to a small cafe not far from Headquarters and Valdis ordered tea and something that might have passed for a croissant. She was loathe to eat though and forcing herself to do so wasn't exactly fun, so she simply stared at it. The tea, however, was easier.

Devin had very few problems pointing out when people were acting like idiots. Seeing as he's quite familiar with self-destructive behavior, playing the pot to the kettle's black was easy for him. It fit with his usual effort to act like a 'heartless jerk', as she'd called him, too.

He acquired something more substantial at the cafe than Valdis. "I'm going to sit here with you until you finish that, so you might as well get started," the vampire prompted. If he made himself more unpleasant than eating, perhaps she'd be more inclined to the latter. "Just take it slow. I know that starving yourself doesn't get undone over a single meal. How long can you go without food?"

She glared at him, but tore off a small piece of the croissant and looked at it for a moment, then ate it. Chewing the minimal amount and then swallowing. He was right that she needed to eat, but that didn't make it any more pleasant. Hila was probably furious with her.

"In theory?" Valdis replied, "Indefinitely. Or at least until I run out of soul energy, but then I die, and getting to that point would be near impossible."

Devin's eyebrows went up in unvarnished surprise. She was an empath, after all; she'd be able to tell when he was feeling no matter how well he disguised it. The glare was of no concern.

"That sounds like a long and highly unpleasant process. Wouldn't it be easier to have a meal at least once a day, rather than this?" he asked rhetorically. "Is soul energy the key to your functional immortality?"

This he was actually intrigued about. It seemed that Valdis had everything to do with souls, from her ability to see them to the tie with Revelations.

"Probably, yes." Valdis said, tearing off another piece of the roll and eating it, again, swallowing it without tasting it at all. "But that takes time away from other things..."

Which was a good thing, despite her stubbornness.

"In a way." A pause, "Hellhounds are also known as soul reapers, but we don't aid souls into Heaven or Hell. I suppose you could say that we steal them from Death. They receive no salvation. It's a terrible fate, waiting as a collective to be broken down and consumed to fuel another life. The energy is exchanged for healing, even from death...my kind are monsters, but, lacking souls of their own, they have no remorse."

Deep within Devin's mind, well beyond conscious recognition, something twisted painfully; though at what, exactly, it was impossible to say. Outwardly, his expression remained thoughtful, even if her words had sent a chill down his spine for reasons he didn't fully understand.

"Vampires aren't quite like that, but I think they're similar enough that I understand." Why were there so many people on this damn turtle like him? First Fai, and now Valdis. "You said before that you have a soul, and yet the rest of your kind does not. How did you come upon yours, if that's the case?"

"Except we do not have the choice to not kill when we attack," Valdis pointed out. "Humans cannot live without their soul."

Devin had a choice, and though now she also had choice, there was a price to pay for not continuing to take souls. Eventually, the energy would run out.

"Revelations," she replied, "And my brother, Michael. I'm not entirely certain how it happened, I don't think he does either, but when he tried to kill me with it, it didn't respond the way it was supposed to. It pulled my soul from within the Void and reassembled it. Even now, its magic sustains a shield that the Void cannot get through."

"I didn't say we were the same," Devin returned evenly. "Merely that I can, on some level or another, relate to your experience."

He listened to her explanation, picking away at his meal and thinking over her situation. "It's a good thing you have it, then, or - how did you phrase it? I would be dead and the city on the verge of destruction? Best you not let it fall into unfriendly hands." Which could be his, technically. She didn't know one way or the other if he was an ally or an enemy yet.

Devin hesitated for a moment, tapping the edge of his mug. "Your brother, Michael... he wouldn't happen to be the archangel, would he?"

Valdis finished off another piece of the croissant before answering him.

"Revelations can only be handled by an angel, or those very closely related to the element of light. Even my closest friends experience discomfort when they hold it."

She wasn't entirely sure why though.

"Though mine being able to use it is still a slight mystery, I've chosen to not question it."

Another pause, then, "Yes, he is. Raphael was our father..."

Devin's expression clouded with distaste at the name Raphael. So, a family of angels, and one turned into a Hellhound. Brilliant.

"It seems your blade is very confused about me," he remarked. "I'm no angel, and I certainly have no place in the light." Strictly speaking, Devin was telling the truth, but it was careful word choice to hide the reality of the situation.

He arched an eyebrow. "'Was'?"

'I highly doubt a blade forged by angels is going to be wrong," Valdis said, "They might have their flaws, but their magic is rarely incorrect."

Valdis diverted her gaze, not feeling like eating again.

"Yes. He tried to kill me, so I killed him first."

Michael had helped with that, but she was sure he regretted it on some level, after all, Raphael hadn't hated him.

"There's no shame in self defense. You did what you had to," Devin said simply, as if killing one's parent was the most normal thing in the world. "It's unfortunate that it came to that."

He had no regrets about killing his family, but it would have been nice if there were never cause to do so. He would be a very different person. Oblivious. Free.

But still damned.

"Rarely incorrect does not mean flawless," he pointed out. "Vampires are bound to Hell, where I come from." Except, of course, the vampire sitting before her.

"I'm not sure you can call it self defense when the leader of the Heavenly hosts has decided, rightfully so, that your kind is a threat to humanity and must be eliminated."

She looked at him, brow arched, head tipped, carefully evaluating. "The magic could be flawed, yes, but not that flawed. If you are really bound to hell, then it wouldn't stand for you to touch it."

Which was even more curious. She let the life plan fade into the soul plane and focused all her efforts on finding where his soul was.

"You're alive. That means you have every right to fight to keep yourself alive, no matter the circumstances."

He was aware of the hypocrisy of that statement. Devin tilted his head to match, appearing almost bored.

"If you have a question, Valdis, ask it. This tip-toeing is getting a little tiresome, don't you think?"

"That's what Hila tells me," Valdis muttered. Gods the ka would have words when Valdis called her to the life plan, better save that for another day. She straightened, eyes narrowed as she still watched him on the soul plane.

"You aren't an angel," she said, "That much is clear, but you aren't bound to hell like you say your kind are."

There was something there, a tiny flame. Part of him, and yet not.

"What is that flame?"

Devin regarded Valdis silently for a while, idly fiddling with the mug in front of him.

"I said vampires were bound to hell. I did not say that I was," he replied, carefully neutral. A frown pinched his forehead together at her actual question. "When we first met, you noted that I was not 'alone', like most people are. You were correct in that observation. My life is not entirely my own."

"True, but you implied it," Valdis pointed out, then she sighed, "So you are saying that there is another entity possessing you?"

Hopefully it wasn't an evil entity like hers, or she'd start to think the Turtle was trying to say something about possession.

"Not exactly." Devin looked away, ostensibly taking in the rest of the cafe. "Possession implies the active ability to control. And it's not an entity, so much as part of one. At least, that's what I've been told. I'm not sure how much I believe it."

Though when God and an archdemon are singing the same tune, it's a little hard to disagree with them.

Valdis didn't believe that whatever it was couldn't take control if it desired, but perhaps if it was an incomplete being like he said then it wouldn't be strong enough.

"An angelic entity?" Valdis arched a brow,

Why else would Revelations respond to him in such a manner.

Abaddon might be able to control him, but he'd have to be awake for that to happen.

He gave Valdis a brittle smile. "If you have to ask that question, you already know the answer. It's simple maths at this point, isn't it?"

"Not as simple as you might think."

Good thing he wasn't interested in hunting Hounds, because she had the feeling he would be a very dangerous opponent.

"How did you, a vampire, come to have the fragment of an angel inside of you?"

"That's an excellent question," Devin said sarcastically. "I ask myself that most every day, because I honestly don't remember."

It's the truth. He only knows that it's there, as much as he'd prefer to believe it was all a ploy.

Just like she couldn't remember when her soul had been shattered, aside from that vision so long ago. But memory could be selective, and she still didn't remember her life before becoming Valdis.

"I see," she said, finishing her tea, "And no one has bothered to tell you why either?"

Because bigger powers seemed to enjoy interfering with others.

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