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

"They took more than their fair share of chunks out of me as a child," Devin growled. Leo had no idea what he'd been through, had no way of possibly understanding. That wasn't his fault, but it was challenging not to resent what felt like judgement for being terrified of ghosts, even if it was something else. Even if it was logical.

Blood Breed. He'd hear that term before, so it was either more common than he anticipated, or--

"You must be familiar with Mr. Reinherz," Devin observed. "I am not the Blood Breed you know, but I am a vampire."

Leo really needed to watch what he said; he'd stuck his foot in his mouth and made light of something terrible, and he couldn't just apologize and pretend it never happen. Leo just bowed his head.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make light of your situation, though that's a poor excuse. I merely was glad that they were something I could help you out with. If that was your real family, I wouldn't have been able to do anything, no matter how much I wanted to." Leo stared at the ground, biting his lip.

"Mr. Klaus is my boss."

At least a few Foreigners around here knew when they had accidentally crossed a line and stepped back over it. Devin sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a moment. Whether he wanted it or not, Leo had only intruded to help him, and if he was familiar with Blood Breeds then he had probably thrown himself into worse situations. The exposure still rankled, but there was only so much to be done about that now.

"Just try not to make assumptions in the future," he said, with less of an edge than before. Happy to take the new topic as an escape route, he continued. "Your boss hasn't told me much about your world or your work, but I can't exactly fault him for being cagey around me. Determining which one of us hates vampires more might be a challenge," he added, gesturing back towards the turtle's head and the ghosts.

Leo was glad that in his own way, Devin accepted his apology, though he swore to himself he'd try to think before he spoke to people more. He finally stopped bowing to the ground, and seized on the new topic of conversation, also eager to put the matter behind him.

"I'm not sure I'm really allowed to tell you much either but, Mr. Klaus really is a nice guy. He would never kill someone in cold blood unless they deserved it." And it was pretty scary when he was pushed that far. "But Blood Breeds where we come from are nearly invincible. I can tell you're not like them because I can't see your true name."

If he even had one. Maybe that was just a Blood Breed thing. "But I think you both can agree on hating them."

Good, Leo wasn't going to cower under Devin's disdain; that spoke well of him, too. The vampire folded his arms across his chest, the motion failing to make him look anything but defensive.

"Perhaps." So, names continued to have echoes of power across the worlds. Interesting. "I may not be your Blood Breed, but don't fool yourself into thinking that I'm anything resembling kind. It'll save you a great deal of trouble."

Oh, so he was one of those people. Unfortunately for Devin, Leo was also an expert in hating himself, though he had the added advantage of not being an actual vampire. "You really don't seem that bad. Even if you're kind of an ass about accepting help, you never attacked me at all."

Devin' gaze narrowed, but being an ass was at least half the point. "I don't attack humans unless I have no other choice," he replied darkly. "Which is usually when they're attacking me. I bear an unfortunate resemblance to the rest of my species," he added sarcastically.

You can't be an ass enough to try and convince him you're a bad person, don't even try. "Well that already makes you better than a Blood Breed. You actually sound like vampires from Dracula and stuff."

Supernatural books ended up kind of boring when you lived it every day of your life. He wasn't sure how Devin resembled other vampires, though because unless they had the eyes of the gods, Leo was pretty sure he appeared as a normal, albeit tall human. "At least you don't act like a five year old."

He will try and he will probably fail. Leo is already proving difficult to be rude to, moreso than others. His earnestness resembled that of a young man he knew some decades ago - still knew, technically. Elliot wasn't dead yet.

"We're similar to the creatures Bram Stoker envisioned in certain ways," Devin allowed dryly. "He probably met a few of us and was smart enough not to write a perfect facsimile."

He tilted his head slightly. "Are the Blood Breed exceptionally immature?"

"Burning up in the sunlight does sound kind of inconvenient," Leo said, his hand going to his chin. "As for Blood Breeds...not really, but my partner is. He's an exceptionally horrible person and yet somehow we're still friends."

Well, at least Leo grudgingly considered Zapp a form of friend. He suspected the older man liked having someone around he could mooch food off of and blame for things. "Blood Breeds are just scary."

"Most vampires on my world are affected by sunlight. I seem to be the only one that isn't. Things like garlic and counting and turning into bats are all fiction."

Leo's assessment of his partner was... more familiar than he'd like. "I have to wonder if he's where you've picked up some particular habits," Devin groused, mostly to himself. If Leo's partner was unpleasant, shaking the young man off was going to be that much more complicated.

"Maybe it has something to do with...why your soul looks so strange." Leo honestly didn't know if what he was seeing was a soul or some sort of energy source, but figured that Devin probably knew more than he did.

However, he made a face at the vampire implying that he shared even a vague similarity to Zapp Renfro. "Hey, don't compare me to that dickwad!! You don't even know how awful he is. Mr. Zapp is a huge womanizer, steals all my food, kicked me in the face on 5 seperate occasions, SAT ON ME, almost set me on fire on 2 other different times!! You're practically a fucking saint compared to him!!"

Seriously, another person who could see the aspect? What the hell was this place playing at?

He scrutinized Leo for a few moments. That was a particularly vehement reaction, and it gave him an opportunity to avoid the subject of the soul he did not technically have, and what took its place.

"I somehow doubt he's killed quite as many people as I have," the vampire returned blandly. "He does sound like an ass, however. You've clearly learned how to deal with his ilk." In moderately frustrating ways.

"I don't know, Mr. Zapp's first instinct when someone attacks him is to go straight for the jugular," Leo said, but he couldn't really judge people on the whole killing thing, even if he disliked it himself. Circumstances happened.

And Leo was just a strange kid despite being just a human. "It's given me practice. And if you try to make it a competition I'm not gonna be very happy with you."

Devin arched an eyebrow at Leo in annoyance. "You assume I care whether or not you're happy with me. I don't even know you. I would accuse you of being arrogant, but I'm not sure that's part of your repertoire."

"Don't you know anything about common decency?" Leo shot back. He was so done with dealing with people like this. He was done even before he got here. "You don't have to particularly like or care about me, but you can at least not be an ass to someone who tried to help you out."

Well tried to. Leo wasn't sure if he ACTUALLY helped or not, but he at the very least hadn't made the situation even worse as his luck was prone to do.

Leo was right, and Devin knew it; his behavior was inappropriate, and that was exactly the point. People like Leo didn't need the burden he represented, and he couldn't afford to extend himself into friendship. It wasn't safe. Even if he would forget everything that happened here, even if there were no demons and monsters hunting him, it wasn't safe. Better that Leo think ill of him.

"'Can' being the operative word," he pointed out dryly. "Common decency is arbitrary at best. I didn't ask you for help, and in fact I told you not to try."

Leo took one big breath. It didn't help. He may not have been privy to the exact reason why Devin was being a dick, but he knew that he didn't like it.

"Hey! It's part of living together in a society! You think you can just waltz around and get off scot free from being an ass because you don't like anyone?!" This was punctuated by Leo attempting to reach up and grab the man's collar, which wasn't exactly a smart thing to do. But he was fed up at this point. "I don't care what you think! I helped because you looked like you were in trouble!!"

Devin jerked away from Leo's reach, resisting the instinct to slap his hand away and restrain him in the same motion. He was off-kilter, but he wasn't reduced to hurting someone out of hand just yet.

"Ah, so you're allowed to not care what I think, but the same is not true in reverse," he remarked irritably. "Yes, I see, that makes perfect sense. Carry on with your petulant tirade, since apparently my input continues to be irrelevant."

Well it wouldn't have been as bad as any of the stuff his supposed partner pulled, but right now Leo was too angry to care if Devin thought about fighting back or not. "You're an absolute dickhead! You're supposed to fucking pay attention to whether you're hurting people or not as a common courtesy, or are you saying you just want to turn into whatever the hell your parents thought you were?!"

On any other day, Devin would have been able to take that and roll with it, because he actually paid quite a lot of attention to whether he was hurting people or not. He did it on purpose, which meant he had to get comfortable at using that pain.

Today, however, his own wounds were exceptionally raw.

"I am already what they thought I was," he replied raggedly. "So there's your answer."

Without another word, Devin turned aside and started walking towards the center of the turtle's shell.

Something about the way Devin said that hit entirely too close to home, and froze Leo up for a moment, his hands clenched in fists at his side. Really, why did this asshole have to remind him of himself?

"Then why didn't you attack me? Don't give me any of that 'I could kill you at any time' bullshit either. That's already a fact about most people like you. You didn't. And that's the truth."

Devin paused in his departure, exhaling a shivery breath. His hands were clenched into fists, but more to keep them from shaking than out of anger.

"Because you're human," he said over his shoulder, and resumed walking.

"What, so if I was like an alien, you'd attack me? Is that really the logic you're going with?" Leo sounded exasperated because he was, and don't think for one second that Leo wasn't following Devin as he walked away. This conversation wasn't DONE, dammit!

Since Leo saw fit to follow him, Devin just kept going.

"You're alive. I hunt vampires, and that's it. Who do you think turned my family into ghosts in the first place?" Devin's tone was sharp. "Attacking you would go against one of the very few principles I can afford to live by."

cw: mentions of child abuse

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