I don't Wanna Battle from Beginning to End

[redlightgreenlight]

Characters: Valdis and Open
Date: Month of November
Location: Various
Situation: Various
Warnings/Rating: In headers


It felt like the walls were closing in. As if the sporadic mixing of the planes meant that the end was near. Valdis supposed it wasn’t strange for her to be there at the end, she’d just hoped she would find an end before everyone else did. There was nothing she could do to stop it, all she could do was live until it was over, one way or another.

Comments

Raine/Kratos | Valdis' house | CW: the Void

[redlightgreenlight]

The accursed injury from the holy blade still hadn't healed properly. It had been weeks since that ghost had attacked Valdis, those strange stitches had been removed, but the location still hurt, something that the Void disliked intensely. Valdis examined her arm, poking the spot experimentally. She had been going through the motions of life with ease, KPD, Dojo, Home, shopping, acting as normally as possible, ignoring the memory lapses. Time seemed to be flowing differently anyhow, and with the fog and ghosts, well, Valdis didn't see the point in worrying anyone. She hadn't even noticed the fact that she was avoiding certain parties.

[ruinsprofessor]

These days, with the numbers of Foreigners relatively small and the planes behaving as strangely as they were, Raine liked to try to keep an eye on everyone.

And there was a marked lack of Valdis. It was especially odd not to see Valdis for more than a few days.

Consequently, Raine ventured by Valdis's house instead of her own after work, the day after she noticed the troubling pattern, and came to tap on the door. "Valdis? If you're there, do you have a moment?"

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis sensed the healer before she even knocked on the door, she hadn't seen Raine in awhile, she realized, though it was unusual for the woman to come by without prompting. For several breaths, she stayed silent, wondering if the woman would leave if she was ignored. That thought didn't last long.

"I'm here," she called, walking down the stairs from her room, "Just a second."

Despite the wards, she had taken to locking the door, didn't want the Healer or the Vampire wandering in, or suspecting anything. Valdis unlocked and opened the door, a small smile on her face.

"Hello, Raine, what's the occasion?"

[ruinsprofessor]

Raine waited patiently enough for Valdis, tilted her head with a little return smile when Valdis opened the door. "There you are. It isn't much, I'm afraid, but at least there's no emergency save the issue of the planes."

Which was large enough in and of itself without adding personal difficulties.

"I simply hadn't seen you in a while," she went on. "I thought we might stop and have tea, if you have the time. It's rare I don't see you for this long."

[redlightgreenlight]

"You mean it's rare that I stay out of trouble for this long?" Valdis teased, "You'd think as Chief of Police I'd be better at that."

She didn't have much to say on the planes, though she realized that she hadn't even wondered how Raine had been. They were all being haunted, the woman had to have seen some ghosts from her past.

"Tea would be nice," She replied, "I know a little place not far from here. It'a fairly quiet place, we won't be bothered."

[ruinsprofessor]

A quiet laugh, barely voiced. "Well. I wasn't going to put it quite that way." For Raine it was teasing, a carefully approached sort of a thing with more deliberate thought behind it than most.

She nodded to Valdis's invitation. "That sounds nice, yes. We shouldn't have much competition at this time of day, in any case. You're also welcome to stop by my apartment, naturally."

Without corpses, preferably.

[redlightgreenlight]

"There's not really another way to put it," Valdis replied, still smiling, "Just let me grab my coat, it's a bit chilly out."

Without waiting for approval, she turned and walked over to the closet, pulling out a black coat and putting it on. She came back to the door a few seconds later, forgetting Revelations entirely.

"Ok, let's go."

[ruinsprofessor]

Normally Valdis would have taken her sword, wouldn't she? And it seemed strange that she needed a coat.

The confusion of the planes, perhaps, had many things acting strangely. It might be only that. But Raine resolved to keep an eye on Valdis regardless. "I wonder if someday Tu Vishan could be persuaded to stay closer to the equator for winter," she mused aloud. "It would certainly be novel. Which way from here?"

[redlightgreenlight]

"That would be nice," Valdis replied, turning to lock the door behind her. "It's this way."

She walked down the porch stairs and turned right, expecting Raine to follow.

"I'm afraid I've been so wrapped up in my own ghosts that I've been neglecting my friends," Valdis said by way of apology, "How have you been?"

[ruinsprofessor]

There was a patient pause, while Valdis locked the door, and then once they began to move Raine fell into step with the other woman, matching her with some care.

“The last few weeks have been exceptionally trying,” Raine admitted, understanding what passed for an apology. She watched the path ahead, with quick glances sideways when Valdis spoke. “Not, I think, as much as three years ago; but not something I would care to repeat, nevertheless. I know you’ve had your own similar concerns.”

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"I don't think anyone would like a repeat of three years ago," Valdis commented, looking around as if expecting one of her ghosts to show up at any moment. She frowned, wondering what Raine meant by her last comment.

"You mean my father?" She asked, unconsciously rubbing her arm, "I haven't seen him in a few days, hopefully he won't be back."

[ruinsprofessor]

"The cultists, perhaps." A faint crimp in Raine's mouth. She shook her head, followed Valdis's glance around and then eyed the path ahead once more. "I... wasn't entirely aware one of your ghosts was your father. I know more than one person has encountered parental figures as ghosts."

And it was rather personal; but then again, making sure of Valdis's emotional stability might override the consideration of privacy.

[redlightgreenlight]

"Considering the result was the death of their God, I still doubt they want a repeat."

Valdis continued to lead the way to the tea shop. Just around the next corner if memory served correctly.

"His visit wasn't exactly a pleasant one," she commented, relieved when the small shop actually was around the next turn, "Though considering he died by my hand, that's not surprising."

[ruinsprofessor]

"Perhaps to change the past; but I think we should all prefer that chapter stayed closed."

It was for the best things like Malicant didn't appear to leave ghosts.

Raine perhaps should have been more surprised by the report of Valdis's father's death. She hesitated over a step, blinked slowly, and focused on where the shop was. She should have guessed something of the sort for Valdis's past, but she wondered... what sort of a death it had been.

In any case, it wasn't one she could change now. "Are you sure you're all right?" she asked instead.

[redlightgreenlight]

"Devin stitched me up," she said, pretending to not catch what Raine was really asking about. The woman seemed surprised over the information, yet resigned to the fact that Valdis' history was filled with blood.

She walked inside the small shop to grab a table in the corner, where she could see the single entrance.

"What about you?"

[ruinsprofessor]

"I wasn't concerned for your healing ability." As far as reprimands from Raine went, it was gentle. She trailed Valdis to the corner table, sitting and taking care about how she leaned her staff.

The query earned another faint grimace. "Only one ghost of note; but that was enough. I... hadn't thought I'd see my father's ghost, given that I don't remember him."

[redlightgreenlight]

Considering that the weapon used was her own blade, it had definitely been a concern for her, but Valdis didn't see fit to inform Raine of that information. She leaned her elbows on the table.

"To be fair, the only thing I actually remember of my father is his death, and I didn't even remember he was my father at the time. It seems that the Death Plane is bringing back ghosts from a past that didn't matter."

She regarded Raine thoughtfully, "Was it a cordial meeting?"

[ruinsprofessor]

"My father died of a fever," Raine said abruptly, surprising herself with the fact that the words were coming out of her. "Delirious. And I was eleven, at the time. He didn't know me, at first, nor did I remember him. So-- cordial. Eventually." It was stilted and awkward and the most personal she'd been with someone in some time. Especially someone who wasn't Kratos or Pepper.

She shook herself, and consciously didn't fold her arms. "But that past mattered. If I may-- what impact did your father's actions have? A significant one, even if you didn't remember?"

mid-month ish because Kratos is more responsible than Pur is

[simulsimul]

Between one thing and another, it is very simple for Kratos to forget that he had any intention to speak to Valdis. Leaving aside that it is probably wise to check in on such a powerful person under the circumstances, there is ... something Kratos would like to chase up.

Or at least, something he feels obliged to chase up. The thought is still niggling, no matter what he tries.

He hadn't seen her much lately, either. It's a novel thing, surveying a house so warded that Kratos would be disinlined to attempt to lightstep in, even in an emergency. Instead, he for once does what everyone else does: he knocks on the door.

At least there's one responsible adult on the turtle

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis sensed the man far before he actually knocked on the door. How unlucky that he had decided to drop by. This Kratos had sensed it before and couldn't be killed, not that it planned on killing anyone, that was far too obvious. Luckily, the house was warded to allow no one but the light mage and the vampire inside, she could ignore him if it desired. No, he might suspect something, so it retreated slightly.

"I'm coming."

She kept her tone light, no need to alarm anyone with the fuzziness in her head, especially not Kratos, she had zero desire to be locked up again, best to tread carefully. Valdis opened the door, a slight smile on her face.

"Kratos," she said cordially, "Can I help you with something?"

[simulsimul]

"Valdis." Kratos gives her a nod, doing a quick once-over. Nothing immediately stands out as odd, either in her demeanour or her mana. It's a bit difficult to tell, with so much occurring in the city reeking of darkness.

But for his part, his emotions are far less dulled than they would have felt to her the last time they spoke. His face still shows nothing; but his feelings approach normal -- or even more so. Four thousand years of emotionlessness tends to make them overcompensate once unleashed.

"I haven't seen you in a while. Given the state of the city, I felt the need to see how you were."

Which is true; her soul is bonded to darkness.

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"You mean you felt the need to see if my little friend has been causing problems?" Valdis replied, her tone light enough to be joking, "Aside from a little hiccup earlier in the month, things have been fine."

He felt strange to her senses, less subdued than normal. His state fluctuated slightly, as if he was out of practice with finding a center, but it never wavered too much in one direction or another.

[simulsimul]

Well, this is ... going well. Kratos had thought, at one time, they were on better terms than they were, so the friendliness is a bit unexpected given ... other events. Even at the party, things had become more about the business of their pasts.

To be fair, it's possible things really are fine. Except that Kratos only remembers Valdis being friendly and light-hearted when she'd been about to flirt with him, and that hadn't been her. Still ... no mana discrepency ... hm. His head tips. "What kind of hiccup is that?"

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In hindsight, Valdis should have realized that Kratos might actually ask about the 'hiccup'. The conversation with Devin and the Aspect had to remain private, that information belonged to Devin alone, but she couldn't exactly lie or Kratos would remain suspicious.

"I went soul-walking." she hesitated to continue, but setting suspicions to rest was more important than anything else, "I stayed a bit longer than I should have and the Void tried to take over in my absence."

[simulsimul]

"Soul-walking?"

Like she had implied doing with him, when the Void attacked him? Could she do that to herself? Or had it been to another?

"With whom?" he asks before he can consider otherwise, curiosity overcoming most other things -- and though he doesn't expect an answer, he leaves the question out there, just to see how she would respond.

Someone who could handle the Void, obviously. Raine, maybe; she's as likely to mention it as not, balancing threat with privacy. Zelos would have mentioned it. Devin, possibly. Bakura seems powerful enough, but Kratos doesn't know whether they know each other.

There aren't many options. "I take it they were able to -- resolve the problem."

So to speak.