tushanshu_logs | Grave digger, grave digger

Entry tags:

Grave digger, grave digger | October Catchall

Characters: Pepper Potts, Devin Parker, and you!
Date: Throughout October
Location: Around Keeliai
Situation: The spooky happenings has everyone a little on edge, and Devin is having an especially bad month.
Warnings/Rating: Death, possible mentions of violence and abuse. Will specify as needed.

A. [Pepper] KPD | Throughout October | Open

The uptick in crime doesn't leave the KPD extraordinarily busy, but between the rise in illegal activity and the strange, unsettling things resulting from the odd planar activity, things are definitely more tense. Pepper tries to just focus on work, but occasionally she'll do something slightly odd around her desk, such as tossing grains of salt over her shoulder. She does try to keep the superstitions out of the office, for the most part, but the creepy incidents are more distracting than she'd like. Sometimes, she's actually quite cheerful, and begins decorating some areas of the headquarters as though nothing is amiss.

B. [Pepper] Jade Dojo | Mid October | Bakura

Pepper has taken to spending some nights over at Bakura's apartment lately, complete with having claimed one of his drawers for some of her things. The concerns over the planes thinning hang over most of the city, but nothing explosive seemed to be happening, and really she ought to be more accustomed to ghosts and spectres given who she's dating. Lounging around together under the blankets seems like a good option to distract from anything unsettling, especially as the temperature starts to drop since cold weather is not at all Bakura's favorite.

C. [Pepper] Earth Sector | Mid October | Raine

So, ghosts. Yeah. That's-- that's a thing that's happening. That's a thing that's currently happening to her, along with lots of other people in Keeliai, and it's unsettling and scary and also... kind of amazing, in some ways. She hasn't seen her mother since she was six, and a ghost is still better than nothing, and everyone at the house has something going on, so instead of rambling her panic/excitement at Tony and Gene and Bakura all month, she goes to visit Raine. It's been a little while since they've just hung out, and if anyone can help her find some more calm about this situation, it's her friend. She knocks a little hesitatingly on Raine's door, glancing at the redheaded ghost over her shoulder with a nervous smile.

D. [Devin] Sky Sector | Early October | Open

The chill in the air doesn't both Devin at all; England was cold and misty for no small part of the year. The sudden shift is a bit odd, but that was par for the course in this city as far as he could tell. He spends part of his time continuing with his mapping routine, and while he's at it he considers more seriously where he might move to. Devin has very few possessions, so one of the smaller lodgings made available to Foreigners would be ideal. He's more aloof and even irritable, avoiding extended conversations and familiar faces.

E. [Devin] Metal Sector | Mid October | Open

Devin returns to the Metal Sector to test his memory of the streets partway through the month. The tension in the city is evident wherever he goes, and while he's not immune to it, routine has always helped. That is, of course, until he spots two faces he hasn't seen in over a century, and his blood runs cold. He stops abruptly as their attention turns to him, frozen in what can only be described as fear. This is dread he doesn't even know how to hide - so he runs, darting away in a blur and only halting when he's half a sector away and hidden in an alleyway.

F. [Devin] Turtle's Head | Mid-Late October | Open

His family hasn't ceased haunting him no matter where he goes, and now it's all five of his siblings as well as his parents. The sense of calm at the turtle's head helps a little, but Devin keeps away from anyone else who's there, finding as secluded an area as he can. He's shaken in a way he hasn't felt in years and years, and he's giving very serious consideration to leaving the city altogether in an effort to distance himself from it's inhabitants and battle with his panic in peace. If anyone decides to interrupt the spectres currently following Devin with abusive, personal diatribe, they should be prepared to deal with a nasty vampire. See: cornered animal.

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The flinch in response to Valdis' words was entirely instinctive; he was still on a hair trigger. Devin ground the heel of his palms against his eyes. It was going to take every shred of will he had left to drag back some semblance of control and rationality when all he wanted to do was scream at her.

Not just her. He wanted to scream at everyone, everything. The only option that was less public than here was to pick a direction away from the city and start walking, if he could keep from running. At least then he'd actually be alone, if without the benefit of the peace this place offered.

Perhaps that would be better. If he just kept going, he'd get far enough away that when he starved, no one would get hurt. The city would be safe from him, and he might find a temporary respite until the magic brought him back.

"Fine," he muttered.

Valdis sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head, taking the moment to breathe and release her own tension. Her eyes had returned to their normal green when she opened them again.

"There's a shrine in the mountains," she said, "few know about it, but if you need peace and secrecy, that's where to go. Just ignore the..." bloodstains, but they were old and she had cleaned up afterward. "Never mind. Go there, I'll see that someone brings you food so you don't go crazy."

Why she even cared enough to tell him of the place when he so clearly wanted to be angry and self destructive, she didn't know.

Devin let the rock take more of his weight, not relaxing so much as sagging, and he bit back a retort about sparing him her pity. Some old shrine was objectively better than starving to death, even if finding it might take a little doing.

Anger was easier than letting everything in. It was a shield, even he knew that, but on some days it was all he had to keep him sane.

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm not already there," he said, barely audible.

His words still reached her ears, causing a brow to lift. "Well, you haven't tried to kill anyone yet, so I doubt it."

Emotions didn't make someone crazy.

"There are different kinds of insanity," he grumbled back at her. Feral rage was only one of them. Feeling adrift like this didn't seem so far off from being crazed. Reality was largely what one made of it, and Devin's didn't feel stable any longer. Maybe he would get lucky and the shades of his family wouldn't come back.

He couldn't count on it. Of all the vampires he killed, it had to be them who appeared.

"True," she inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement. "But at least you aren't host to a monster who whispers to you in the night and tries to take your soul upon occasion."

She glanced at the ghost hounds, who paused in their circling to growl at her.

"Because I'm pretty sure being possessed by such a creature makes me a bit more susceptible to insanity."

By now, Devin had returned to a sitting position, arms folded across his knees. He snorted quietly and rested his head against the rock.

"I am fairly certain this isn't a contest," he told her wearily. The thing he was host to didn't whisper to him, thankfully, but it was often on his mind and had more of an impact on his behavior than Devin consciously realized.

"Of course not," Valdis replied, looking down at him as he slid into a sitting position. "My point is that you aren't insane. And you alone are in control of your life here. No one else."

Besides, if it were a contest, she'd probably win based on her somewhat tumultuous history.

"You'd think I would find that refreshing," Devin sighed.

There had to be irony in that, although it didn't feel like he had control in this moment. His family were from a time in his life that was well before control had any place in it. The six or seven years after their deaths had been marked by a wake of undiscriminating violence.

"Would you prefer the alternative?" Valdis asked, not bothering to hide her surprise. Control over her own life was something she treasured about being in Keeliai, it seemed odd that others might not feel the same.

"In the grand scheme of the universe, I've never actually had the alternative," he clarified bitterly.

That wasn't entirely true, but Devin wasn't aware of the choice he had made to reach this state of being.

"There are some things you can never escape," he added more quietly. "Much as I have tried."

"I'll admit I tend more toward optimism in Keeliai," Valdis relaxed her grip on Hila's fur, the ka still standing patiently by her side. "There's nothing waiting for me back home."

Unlike him. He had his beloved war against his own kind.

Was there anything waiting for him? Nothing enjoyable, really. A return to hunting and the lifestyle he knew. It was familiar, comfortable even, but not desirable as such. It simply needed to be done, and like he'd told Valdis, he wouldn't let people be hurt if he could protect them.

"There are people I am responsible for," Devin told her, trying to fold away the misery. "Drawn into a conflict they should have been safe from, like so many others." None of them should have to go through what he did. "Being here is not an escape from the fate I've been dealt."

He carried it within him. Keeliai only meant a fleeting time of safety from those who hunted him, and maybe not even that, if any were ever drawn here, too.

"This place is only temporary," Valdis agreed quietly.

The magic was so unstable. Any of them could leave at any time.

"Am I allowed to ask about those people?"

Devin sighed and looked away; that wasn't what he meant, but if she misinterpreted it, then he'd have less to explain. That was better, his tongue was too loose right now.

"They're claims," Devin answered, voice flat. This was technical information, easier to draw on than emotion. "People I associate with - a doctor, a weapons tech. They provide me with services, I give them what shielding I can."

"You'll have to explain what that means."

The word 'shielding' gave some of it away, but Valdis didn't think that it was as neutral as it sounded. She also didn't bother explaining what she had meant, because it seemed that neither of them were masters at communicating in this moment.

One of the ghost Hounds cut between the two of them, passing close to Devin, testing its boundaries.

"It's a racial trait. Claims are essentially humans marked as associated with a given vampire," Devin explained, eyeing the Hound with annoyance. "Other vampires can identify when someone has been claimed; the consequences for harming a claim are accordingly much more severe. There's no control over them, but I can... sense if they're in trouble."

"Is that traceable?" She asked, "Because it seems to me that if another vampire knows that your associates are claimed, they might wonder who you are."

And that would pretty much defeat the purpose of what he said he wanted.

"And if they discovered you, what makes you think the claim will protect your allies?"

"Do you think I'd honestly risk doing that if it were traceable? It's generic, like applying an alarm system sticker to a car window," he replied irritably. He wasn't stupid.

His jaw tightened, teeth clenched as he held back another sharp remark. He had been doing this for a long time, had walked through every scenario he could think of, and her questioning him - even if he knew it was probably just her wanting to understand better - felt like she was undermining his expertise.

"Claims can be broken by choice," Devin elaborated tersely. "I can sever ties to them as needed, but as far as the larger vampire populace is concerned, claiming a human essentially identifies them as property. Mess with a vampire's property, and you suffer for it. It's not a guarantee, but it's better than bloody nothing. I've also supplied them with exit strategies, in case you think I'm somehow failing to do my duty to them," he added darkly.

"I think what you do in general is risky," Valdis admitted, "But I also think you don't feel you have another choice, and perhaps you don't."

There was more she could say, but his agitation was rising, so it was best left unsaid. Pushing oneself more than needed. Living on the minimum. Trying to protect others no matter the cost to yourself but not allowing them the same. And, of course, with her tendency to play devil's advocate, there was also the risk that someone would go after his claims to get to him, rules of the claim be damned. If she still lacked a soul, that's what she would do.

"I suppose I'm more questioning the rationale behind claiming them. A shield is one thing, but would an enemy vampire be more or less likely to notice a mortal walking around with a claim on them. For example, those touched by God are saved from the fires of Hell. But that same touch, a touch meant to shield a mortal, is also a very tempting beacon for Demons." And Hellhounds.

Both of his living claims were fully aware of the risks associated with the mark, and with providing him services. He paid them far more than they asked. Yes, it was possible they could become targets, and they were the closest to being so, but there was only so much he could do.

"It isn't as though they're wearing a neon sign that says 'bite me'. The radius of being able to sense a claim is small, and as it happens there are quite a lot of claims walking around - there are millions of vampires. Do the math." Potentially, several times as many claims as the vampire population. Exact numbers were difficult to calculate. "The rationale is that they were forced into this world by someone other than me, and they don't want to become hunters but they can't simply turn a blind eye. Claiming them means that, at the very least, they can never be claimed by another vampire simultaneously, and binding or turning them is that much more difficult while they are under my protection. It's not foolproof, but it's also not the only protection I've offered them. I know what I'm doing," he asserted, glaring at her.

"There might be millions of vampires in your world, Devin Parker," Valdis said, returning his glare, "But there is only one in Keeliai, and he is the only reference I have concerning his kind."

That would be you, Devin.

"And if I didn't think you knew what you were doing, I wouldn't have bothered asking you anything."

"Then can you perhaps phrase your questions in ways that imply curiosity instead of criticism? Maybe?" For once?

Devin had had more than enough needling today, and his outburst a few moments ago had only made him feel more raw. Time was frozen back home, he had to remind himself. His claims were still safe, he hadn't abandoned them to a gruesome death, they didn't even know he was gone, it would be-- not fine, but as alright as it could be.

Valdis continued to glare, "I think you'd take offense no matter how I phrase my questions."

He seemed to be in that kind of mood, but more so today than normal, not that she fully blamed him. The second hound now cut between her and Devin, both now excluding him from their circle. Valdis continued to ignore them, figuring that eventually they would get bored and leave.

He was not in an especially fit state to be conversing like a reasonable adult, no. It was difficult for him to notice, even for how obvious it was. All of his defenses seemed to fail in the face of those ghosts.

Devin rested his head on his arms and focused on slow, deep breaths. He was not a child any longer; he had not been a child for long enough. He still carried many of the weaknesses his family detested him for, and yet he was more powerful than his kin would ever know. Hunter. Killer. Monster. Destroyer. Did he have the presence of mind to withdraw all emotion right now? He wasn't sure, and Valdis would notice instantly.

"I suppose we are at an impasse then, aren't we," he ventured.

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