People you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley

[Voidus]

It took a great deal of her willpower to keep Laurelai from bursting out in a giggle as Lita began pantomiming to their pursuer. Thankfully his attention was firmly on Lita, confused for a moment before shifting into a grin that was all greed. The 'fight' that ensued, if it could even be called that, was over almost before she could catch up. Lita had the man grappled and was dragging him along the street without breaking a sweat. Once they were well and truly out of sight from the larger street, Lita stood the man up, relieved him of his pouch and offered him up to Laurelai with a smile.

Laurelai returned it with one of her own before moving towards the man, glancing over him and giving a pitying look to the clearly broken bones of his hand.

"Sorry about my friend." Laurelai began. "She can get a little forceful sometimes. But if you just tell us a few things then we can be on our way and she won't need to get any more upset than she already is."

His face was a mess, a haze of pain and the drugs clearly making it difficult for him to process what she was saying, but after a few moments he nodded in understanding.

"Lovely. So let's start with something simple shall we? What's your name?" Laurelai asked, smiling sweetly at the man as he cradled his crushed hand.

He blinked, not seeming to expect that question. Almost it seemed like he was about to refuse to answer even that, but the nearby presence of Lita seemed to convince him to open up a little.

"Javih." He grunted out, accent noticeably Alethi. "What do you want? Just give me back my pouch-"

"We'll be asking the questions Javih." Laurelai interrupted. "But if you answer you might get that back. Is it the last you have?"

Javih hastily nodded, eyes glued to the pouch. Even the shattered bones in his fingers seemed unimportant compared to his desperation for it.

"So. You were trying to attack us? Rob us?"

"Your fault." He said back, almost whining as he tried to take a step forward only to be stopped short by a spike. "Coming here dressed like that, walking into a street like this."

"Well we tend to wander Alleys rather than streets so perhaps we're not familiar with the dangers." Laurelai replied with an amused smile which furthered when she saw his attention briefly dragged back and a look of fear. "Now, what do you know about that plot of land you were standing outside of? The empty one between the other buildings."

"Not empty." He replied, eyes now stuck to the spike Lita was holding and wide with fear. "Used to be a building there. People."

"And what happened to that building?" She pressed, leaning in towards him.

"It disappeared." Javih gave her a patronizing look, as though explaining something obvious. "Not there anymore."

"Not a helpful answer." Laurelai told him, giving a small sigh and taking a step back, behind Lita. "Perhaps my friend should ask? She's a little more persuasive than I am sometimes."

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

While Laurelai began to question Javih, Lita tapped Brass. Heat began to trickle though her body, and she grit her teeth a bit, willing it all into the fingers of her right hand. Tin made this process rather painful, but she couldn't afford to lose the edge it gave her senses, especially her sight. She burned a little more Pewter to reinforce her body, hoping that her skin wouldn't blister like it did the last time she tried this.

When Laurelai stepped back behind her, Lita let the spike up her sleeve drop fully into her hand. Javih stared at it with open terror now, and Lita passed it into her left hand before stepping forward. 

"I'm going to give you one chance here, Javih," Lita said, holding up one slender finger. The tip almost seemed to glow in the low light, the air around it shimmering with heat. Javih's gaze flicked towards her finger now, fear shifting briefly to confusion.  "I know it's hard to concentrate, but do your best and think very hard. Now, did you see that building out there disappear?"

Javih's eyes moved towards the pouch of moss again, and he licked his dried, cracked lips. "Give me back the pouch, then I'll answer. Whatever you want."

Lita clicked her tongue. "Javih, I had really hoped you'd be smarter than this." She gave an overly-dramatic sigh. "But, I suppose I can't say that I'm surprised."

In one swift motion, Lita had Javih pinned up against the brick wall. She wrinkled her nose at the sour stink of him, but kept a firm, implacable pressure against his shoulders and brought her shimmering finger up before his face. Lita gave Javih a cold smile. "One more question, then, Javih. Which, would you say, is your favorite eye?"

Javih had been struggling, but he froze as still as ice at her words, dark eyes nearly crossing as he tried to keep her fingers in his line of sight. He began trembling beneath her arm, trying to wiggle himself into the corner as though he might pass through the stone itself. Lita brought the tip of her index finger so close to his left eye that she could smell the heat singe one of his eyelashes.

"P-please," Javih pleaded, heart beating fast and desperate. "Please stop, please, Almighty, Almighty I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll tell you, I'll tell --"

Lita stepped back, drawing the heat back into her bracers and shaking out her fingers with a scowl. Javih slid down onto the ground, still shaking, hands clasped over his face. "Now," Lita said, voice soft and dangerous. "My friend is going to ask you some more questions, and you're going to answer them - aren't you Javih?"

Javih nodded, sniffling, pressing filthy fingers against his left eye as though checking if it was still there.

"Good," Lita said. "Because you're out of chances, and I still have ten fingers."

@Voidus

[Voidus]

"So." Laurelai started, walking back towards Javih and giving him a reassuring smile. "I really don't want to ask my friend to ask you again, let's try being a little more helpful shall we?"

Javih nodded his head rapidly, a thin sheen of sweat visible on his skin as his eyes stayed locked on to the finger Lita had used to threaten him. In his fear he seemed to have even forgotten about the pouch, or wasn't focusing on it at least. If they were lucky they might get a few lucid minutes out of him.

"What happened to that building?" Laurelai repeated.

"I don't know!" Javih managed to stammer out. "It was there all right, I didn't make it back in that night, fell asleep outside it. But it was there when I went to sleep, then I kind of got woken up by this wind I guess? Then it wasn't there anymore."

"Wind? Did you see anything else? People? Lights? Anything?"

"I told you, it was just gone. Nobody there, no lights. Just a hole."

Laurelai traded a brief glance with Lita, there didn't seem to be much to go on. He may have just missed something, a sleeping drug addict was hardly the most reliable witness, but unless they could find someone who was then they didn't have many leads.

"What about since then?" Laurelai asked gently, trying to get Javih's attention with a soft smile. "Have you seen anyone else strange? Or anything else notable that's happened?"

"Aside from you two? Not really, few people came through to look at it but a building vanished so I guess that's normal." His head turned a little towards Laurelai as he spoke, but his eyes remained warily fixed on Lita. "Can I have it back now? Please? I think you broke my hand. Just a bit, just so it doesn't hurt as much?"

"Is there anything you remember about the people who came to look?" Laurelai asked, ignoring his request. "Any strange clothes? Tattoos? Distinguishing features?"

"I don't know." Javih said, voice creeping back up to a whine. "I can't think, please just a little bit, then I'll be able to remember. I just need a little bit more."

Laurelai stared down at his cringing, begging form with intense distaste. Even with the threat of losing an eye he was still so fixated on the moss, how did someone let themself sink this low? With a sigh she leaned down and picked up his injured hand, looking it over quickly but efficiently. Javih winced a little as she tested the joints, tried to protest but she ignored him.

"Here." Laurelai said, giving a small wave over the hand. A little surge of Investiture followed, causing a faint birdsong to briefly echo through the street. But Javih's hand was restored to its former function, skin smooth and unmarked, bones reset. "There. Pain's all better now."

Javih looked down this time, staring in confusion at his hand. He was almost about to smile when a flicker of confusion crossed his face, and his brief moment of joy was suddenly overwhelmed with a deep and unabating hunger.

"Now you probably really want that pouch back right now. After all it's been days since you've been able to have any." Laurelai said, meeting his eyes. "So let's try to bring some of that focus back to the questions and then maybe you can have some okay? What did the people look like?"

Javih seemed confused momentarily, he was almost about to object when she'd told him how long it had been. But he also recognised the craving, it definitely felt like it had been longer than a few minutes. Soon even the confusion faded, the why didn't matter, just that he knew he needed it.

"Lots of people." He began, words tumbling rapidly out of his mouth. "A few groups, no tattoos that I saw. A couple was dressed nicely? Man and a woman. Fancy clothes but I don't remember much else, they were looking at it for a while. Another guy came yesterday, really tall, one of those ones with the bluish skin? Took a look but he left quickly. Said something about caverns?"

Sweat was flowing down his forehead at this point, she could see his muscles tensing and his eyes stayed locked onto the pouch that Lita still held, ready to leap on it but still wary enough of Lita to not try. He seemed even more eager to help them now, and Laurelai took note of the vague descriptions he'd given, they should be enough to get started on, other people would have noticed people like that.

"Anything else you wanted?" She asked, looking over her shoulder towards Lita and raising an eyebrow quizzically.

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita raised one eyebrow when Javih mentioned the caverns, though gave no other hints to her interest. The man's desperation for his pouch of moss had increased drastically after Laurelai healed his hand, and it took Lita a moment to understand before she met the other woman's eyes with a small, impressed smirk.

Clever, she thought, more glad that ever that she'd asked Laurelai to come along.

"Anything else you wanted?" Laurelai asked, looking over her shoulder towards Lita and raising an eyebrow quizzically. 

Lita stepped forward and fixed Javih with a smile that did not reach her eyes. She held the pouch up, and Javih's face was a war of hunger and terror, eyes flicking between the pouch and Lita so quickly they almost seemed to blur.  "We were never here, were we, Javih?"

Javih shook his head hard enough to rattle his brain. "N-no," he said, voice thin and breathless. "Please, I need --"

"And if I were to come back here," Lita continued as though he hadn't spoken, "you'd tell me if anyone else had come looking, wouldn't you?"

This time Javih nodded fiercely, somehow still keeping his eyes on the pouch. His face shone even in the deep shadows, slick with sweat and pale. Lita saw the tremors beginning in his hands. Laurelai really must have Forged him days past his last dosage. Lita stared into Javih's bloodshot brown eyes and held up her finger again. Javih winced, whimpering when Lita stepped a little closer.

"You wouldn't lie to me, would you Javih?"

Her voice was quiet and sharp as a razor cut, and Javih froze, barely able to shake his head now. "No," he whispered.

Lita smiled then, broad and open, and let the pouch fall from her hand. "Wonderful," she said. "It is so nice to come to an understanding."

Javih dove for the pouch, surely bruising his elbows as he lunged across the cobblestones, though he paid it no mind. He jammed a hand inside the little bag and withdrew a generous pinch of Firemoss, crushing it between his fingers with the fevered hunger of a starving man. His whole body shuddered, and he curled against the wall, eyes half-closed. The moss gave off a soft ember glow, like a tiny dying star. 

Lita looked back to Laurelai, then nodded her head back towards the mouth of the dead-end street. They had matters to discuss, and they would be getting no more sense out of Javih. When they were nearly back to the main road, Lita broke the silence.

"Well, that probably beats a day copying records, wouldn't you say?" 

[Voidus]

Leaving Javih collapsed in the street behind them, Laurelai followed Lita back out towards the main road. As they walked, Laurelai threw one last pitying glance over her shoulder at the figure huddled over and clutching onto his pouch like it were the most precious thing in the world. All that mattered was getting another fix, he'd abandoned all logic and reason in favour of an escape.

And who does that remind you of? A scornful voice called from within her mind. Hiding from his problems? Seeing something scary so he hides himself to try to escape it? At least he has an addiction to blame, you were just hiding because you're afraid.

She gave her head a quick shake to clear it, focusing on what they'd learned. On Lita's figure ahead of her, the question Lita had asked. What was it? Something about records? It took her mind a moment to catch up, but she forced a little smile as she replied.

"That's a low bar to be setting if we're creating some kind of benchmark for excitement." Laurelai said, smile twisting into a grin. "Buildings disappearing without being seen is definitely up there. Meanwhile, the most interesting part of records lately has been when someone stubs their toe while they're getting up for tea."

@ZincAboutIt

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

The air outside the little street was cooler, carrying the first whispers of autumn's chill. Lita squinted at the sudden light, dimming her Tin and tapping a bit of heat to keep herself comfortably warm. She extinguished her Pewter; it was inefficient to keep it burning, not when it depleted so quickly. Besides, anyone who could get the drop on a Tineye could probably kill her whether or not she was burning Pewter.

"Stubbing one's toe is no laughing matter, Laurelai," Lita said, her reproachful tone utterly ruined by the grin that stretched her mouth. She caught Laurelai looking back into the street, back towards the slumped and shaking form of Javih. If she listened, she could hear him mumbling to himself, a low drone of nonsense that she doubted even he could decipher. It would have been easy to heal him - a little Feruchemical Gold could work wonders on just about anything, and Lita had an unsealed Goldmind right in her pocket. But the truth was, Javih was far more useful as an addict. So much easier to control.

You just have to know a person's weakness. The words came back to her, whispered in her own voice. A slow, sick feeling began to uncoil within her; Lita knew to expect it by now, but that didn't make it any less unpleasant. Guilt.

Foolishness, she chided herself. Guilt was a self-indulgent emotion, impractical and pointless. Always, it came after the work had ended, after the blood, and the tears, and hoarse, ragged whispers. When the sheet had been pulled over a cold face, and the spike stored neatly in a glass vial, then the guilt came. Never during an interrogation. During an interrogation, Lita felt alive. All her life, her Tin had allowed her to listen. Now, Pewter let her demand.

"Hard to believe that we're the first guild to come have a look at this place," she said, breaking the silence that had fallen between her and Laurelai as they walked back to the vacant lot. "Though I suppose with all that's been happening, one missing tenement is hardly at the top of the list."

She tapped her upper lip, then let out a small sigh. "Do you think he was telling the truth about the Koloss mentioning the caverns? I did wonder if there might be some connection. The ACE might be tight-lipped, but word on the street is that their entire first expedition went radio-silent almost two weeks ago down there. Who knows what's lurking in the shadows?" 

Lita felt her eyes widen a little in excitement, that familiar prickle skittering down her spine. A whole new world, chock full of secrets, just waiting to be cracked open. She looked over at Laurelai, feeling her smile widen. "Wanna go see?"

@Voidus

[Voidus]

The cool air felt nice as they stepped back out onto the streets, although Laurelai could have done without the accompanying sunshine returning to pierce her eyes and stab her brain. They left the side street behind and made their way back towards the building that had vanished, the pain slowly fading as she became accustomed to the light once more.

"I don't think he had the capacity spare to deliberately lie at least." Laurelai said, eyes flicking back behind them for a moment. "But still not necessarily the truth. Still, I think it's certainly worth investigating a little further. About the only thing I could think of other than something just teleporting this whole building away would be if somehow something sunk it into the ground, into the caverns perhaps?"

It was nothing more than a guess at this point, but Elsecalling an entire building would not have been an easy affair, and would have needed to be very deliberately done. Why go to that effort for a not particularly important building? Something underground may have struck the building by accident, though she didn't like to think about what could create a tunnel big enough for an entire building of that size to fall into it.

"So, sneaking into an unexplored cave system underneath the city to find something that can destroy or move an entire building without being noticed? Sounds like a pleasant break from paperwork." She said, smiling back at Lita. "I've read about a few caverns that were found a little further out, if this one is anything like those then be prepared for things to get weird."

Another dark corner to hide away in. Sounds perfect for you. Laurelai's smile slipped a little as she heard that drawling voice at the back of her mind again.

[+Ark1002]

Quote

I would like to officially rejoin this!

Would that be acceptable?

@Voidus

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

Quote

*sigh* Ark, back at it again.

 

[+Ark1002]

Quote

*feels ignored*

 

[Snipexe he/him]

15 minutes ago, Ark1002 said:

 

Quote

You’ve been returned to the pm...?

 

[+Ark1002]

Quote

oh thnx, i must have missed that in all of my many messages

 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

On 9/29/2019 at 6:04 PM, Voidus said:

"So, sneaking into an unexplored cave system underneath the city to find something that can destroy or move an entire building without being noticed? Sounds like a pleasant break from paperwork." She said, smiling back at Lita. "I've read about a few caverns that were found a little further out, if this one is anything like those then be prepared for things to get weird."

Lita grinned, feeling a little laughter well up in her throat. She let it out, and there was a shocking catharsis to the sound, a release. A tension that she hadn't realized was there eased from between her shoulders; a small weight lifted from within her chest. Lita had missed this, missed the easy exchange of words with someone who was her equal, who was familiar. She'd gotten to know a fair number of the other agents in the DoCI, along with a few others in Departments like Acquisitions, but she'd never found anyone else quite like Laurelai.

The others had pushed her deeper into her own ambition, brought out a side to her that Lita hadn't realized was there. It wasn't as though Lita were ashamed of the last six months, that would be ridiculous. She wasn't ashamed. There was no shame in doing her job, after all, no shame in using the new power she'd bled and bargained for. And she held a wealth of secrets now, gathered through subtlety and force in equal measure. What was a little blood on her hands? That was the price of such things - and everything came with a price.

Lita's hand strayed almost unconsciously towards her side, where the steel spike lay between her ribs, and her other dipped into her pocket. Fingers brushed the cold surface of the Coin - cold and smooth and heavy. Many of her memories of that night six months ago were hazy at best, but the image of the Stranger blurring through the air, streaming shadows like a vengeful god, was burned into her mind. Such raw, bloody power. When everything had cleared, Lita and Laurelai had staggered back into the Alleys, and the Department Heads had resumed their preoccupations in seclusion. She'd barely seen Mac over the course of the last half year, let alone Voidus or the Stranger. Lita supposed she was grateful for that - their presence usually indicated disaster. But spending so much time in the presence of near-gods was a heady thing, and even now, the world still seemed dimmer. Like a flare of Tin, everything had momentarily sharpened and intensified. She'd been chasing that feeling ever since.

A vibration from her coat pocket jolted Lita out of her reverie, and she withdrew a small, aging burner phone with a raised eyebrow. Her other brow joined it as she read the text; it seemed that someone had left a message in her old mailbox. 

"Mind if we make a brief stop before we get ready to go exploring?" She asked Laurelai, tucking the phone back into her pocket. "Apparently, someone wants to have a chat."

---

Quote

Adding this second POV to avoid a double post  For the record, Shard of Thought, Vivica is 28, completely insane, and covered in blood. Vivica is a Bronze compounder and hasn't slept in about 10 years. Anything she begins talking to in the air in front of her is a hallucination - Sierra won't see it. Unless she's mad too, which is fun.

Vivica Alleytraveled through three separate Alleys in a matter of seconds, even darting briefly through one of the imaginary Alleys. That was risky, but she hoped it would trip up her pursuers; the HR Department had never been particularly imaginative. And she'd purposely tracked through the caustic molasses Alley as well - they'd be forced to stop and evaluate that safety hazard before continuing on to follow her. She turned a sharp corner and pressed herself up against the cool brick of one of the outer Alleys, listening to her heartbeat slow in her ears.

When she could breathe normally again, she took her yellow ruled notebook out of her coat pocket and slipped a pen from behind her ear, jotting down a quick note. She'd known it was a small risk, going through the lab with her hair loose, but she never imagined that she would get a random inspection, of all people. Vivica sniffed a bit in irritation, rubbing at one of her eyes and smearing something across her cheek. She glanced down absently. Hmm, was that red velvet batter all over her labcoat, or red velvet batter? Vivica shrugged, silpped her pen back behind her ear, and looked around.

She was close to the City now - she could tell by the way the air moved around here, carrying the scents of the vast metropolis of the outside world. Vivica chewed her lip for a moment, considering fleeing back into the deeper Alleys, back to where it was safe. Where things made sense. But the prospect of sitting through another 120-hour safety training session kept her where she was. It didn't matter that they compressed time during the training - it still felt like days. Days where she could be baking. She was nearing a breakthrough on her gingersnaps, she could feel it.

Something luminous and violet suddenly passed into view above her head, and she gave a cheerful grin.

"Hello Bennington," she said, greeting the small glowing octopus that now looped figure-eights through the air. Bennington wiggled two of his stubby little tentacles at her, then continued his loops. Vivica felt herself relax; if Bennington was here, that meant that everything was alright. She was just about to settle down onto the floor and do some more brainstorming when she heard something.

Vivica stilled, then burned Bronze. Nothing she could detect, but then, it was rare she did much Seeking these days. Bronze was far more useful to stave off sleep. She briefly counted the years it had been since she'd last slept, grinning when she lost count after ten. So much more time in the day for research when you didn't need to sleep. She turned back to her notepad, thoughts already distracted by the ratio of candied ginger to vanilla extract, when another sound caused her head to snap upwards. 

She walked forward, hand going to another pocket where she kept a spare spike, then peeked around the corner. It was a woman, sobbing over something that looked like - yes, it was a corpse. Vivica blinked at the watery light filtering in from... from the City. She stilled, then looked at the weeping woman again. Both her and the corpse were covered in blood. Perhaps she'd botched a spiking? That did tend to happen in the beginning, but it was nothing to cry over. 

"Miss the right bindpoint?" Vivica called, still peeking out around the wall, dirty-blonde hair drooping over one shoulder "I wouldn't worry, took me a bit of time too before I got the knack."

@Shard of Thought

Edited October 25, 2019 by ZincAboutIt

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

On 10/3/2019 at 3:43 PM, ZincAboutIt said:

Lita grinned, feeling a little laughter well up in her throat. She let it out, and there was a shocking catharsis to the sound, a release. A tension that she hadn't realized was there eased from between her shoulders; a small weight lifted from within her chest. Lita had missed this, missed the easy exchange of words with someone who was her equal, who was familiar. She'd gotten to know a fair number of the other agents in the DoCI, along with a few others in Departments like Acquisitions, but she'd never found anyone else quite like Laurelai.

The others had pushed her deeper into her own ambition, brought out a side to her that Lita hadn't realized was there. It wasn't as though Lita were ashamed of the last six months, that would be ridiculous. She wasn't ashamed. There was no shame in doing her job, after all, no shame in using the new power she'd bled and bargained for. And she held a wealth of secrets now, gathered through subtlety and force in equal measure. What was a little blood on her hands? That was the price of such things - and everything came with a price.

Lita's hand strayed almost unconsciously towards her side, where the steel spike lay between her ribs, and her other dipped into her pocket. Fingers brushed the cold surface of the Coin - cold and smooth and heavy. Many of her memories of that night six months ago were hazy at best, but the image of the Stranger blurring through the air, streaming shadows like a vengeful god, was burned into her mind. Such raw, bloody power. When everything had cleared, Lita and Laurelai had staggered back into the Alleys, and the Department Heads had resumed their preoccupations in seclusion. She'd barely seen Mac over the course of the last half year, let alone Voidus or the Stranger. Lita supposed she was grateful for that - their presence usually indicated disaster. But spending so much time in the presence of near-gods was a heady thing, and even now, the world still seemed dimmer. Like a flare of Tin, everything had momentarily sharpened and intensified. She'd been chasing that feeling ever since.

A vibration from her coat pocket jolted Lita out of her reverie, and she withdrew a small, aging burner phone with a raised eyebrow. Her other brow joined it as she read the text; it seemed that someone had left a message in her old mailbox. 

"Mind if we make a brief stop before we get ready to go exploring?" She asked Laurelai, tucking the phone back into her pocket. "Apparently, someone wants to have a chat."

---

Vivica Alleytraveled through three separate Alleys in a matter of seconds, even darting briefly through one of the imaginary Alleys. That was risky, but she hoped it would trip up her pursuers; the HR Department had never been particularly imaginative. And she'd purposely tracked through the caustic molasses Alley as well - they'd be forced to stop and evaluate that safety hazard before continuing on to follow her. She turned a sharp corner and pressed herself up against the cool brick of one of the outer Alleys, listening to her heartbeat slow in her ears.

When she could breathe normally again, she took her yellow ruled notebook out of her coat pocket and slipped a pen from behind her ear, jotting down a quick note. She'd known it was a small risk, going through the lab with her hair loose, but she never imagined that she would get a random inspection, of all people. Vivica sniffed a bit in irritation, rubbing at one of her eyes and smearing something across her cheek. She glanced down absently. Hmm, was that red velvet batter all over her labcoat, or red velvet batter? Vivica shrugged, silpped her pen back behind her ear, and looked around.

She was close to the City now - she could tell by the way the air moved around here, carrying the scents of the vast metropolis of the outside world. Vivica chewed her lip for a moment, considering fleeing back into the deeper Alleys, back to where it was safe. Where things made sense. But the prospect of sitting through another 120-hour safety training session kept her where she was. It didn't matter that they compressed time during the training - it still felt like days. Days where she could be baking. She was nearing a breakthrough on her gingersnaps, she could feel it.

Something luminous and violet suddenly passed into view above her head, and she gave a cheerful grin.

"Hello Bennington," she said, greeting the small glowing octopus that now looped figure-eights through the air. Bennington wiggled two of his stubby little tentacles at her, then continued his loops. Vivica felt herself relax; if Bennington was here, that meant that everything was alright. She was just about to settle down onto the floor and do some more brainstorming when she heard something.

Vivica stilled, then burned Bronze. Nothing she could detect, but then, it was rare she did much Seeking these days. Bronze was far more useful to stave off sleep. She briefly counted the years it had been since she'd last slept, grinning when she lost count after ten. So much more time in the day for research when you didn't need to sleep. She turned back to her notepad, thoughts already distracted by the ratio of candied ginger to vanilla extract, when another sound caused her head to snap upwards. 

She walked forward, hand going to another pocket where she kept a spare spike, then peeked around the corner. It was a woman, sobbing over something that looked like - yes, it was a corpse. Vivica blinked at the watery light filtering in from... from the City. She stilled, then looked at the weeping woman again. Both her and the corpse were covered in blood. Perhaps she'd botched a spiking? That did tend to happen in the beginning, but it was nothing to cry over. 

"Miss the right bindpoint?" Vivica called, still peeking out around the wall, dirty-blonde hair drooping over one shoulder "I wouldn't worry, took me a bit of time too before I got the knack."

@Shard of Thought

Sierra looked up, shocked out of her stupor by the voice. Sounds came back to life around her. She narrowed her eyes. "What...?" Her first instinct was to reach for her whip, but her fingers were still shaking and they felt numb. Plus the fact that they were slippery with her sister's blood. She shuddered, the situation sinking in fully. Had this woman just watched her kill? She paled, feeling afraid. She was vulnerable, sitting here. She wouldn't be able to fight back. Not that I have much to live for anyway...she thought, glancing at Theresa's corpse. She slowly rose to her feet, preparing to dash. 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Vivica watched the young woman stand, taking in the look of her. She was terribly thin - perhaps she’d forgotten to eat for a bit. Vivica did that sometimes; time was a funny thing in the Alleys. She smiled what was surely a reassuring smile, then beckoned her deeper into the Alley.

”Void alive, girl, how can you stand so close to the open like that? So much space, so much sky. Bad for the mind out there. Sunshine, wind.” Vivica wrinkled her nose.

”Come here, you can bring your research,” she pointed to the corpse. “I’ll show you the right points. It’ll be extra easy now - won’t even need to strap them down! That’s always nice, isn’t it Bennington?” 

She looked up towards the octopus, who wiggled in what appeared to be the affirmative. Vivica rubbed her nose, smearing more red over it. “I’ve got ginger snaps.” 

@Shard of Thought

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Am I... going insane? It was a strange thought. But a valid one. "Bind points?" she asked. She was skeptical, but no longer afraid.

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Vivica’s eyes widened. “You mean... you...” She cut off, then shook her head. It was unthinkable that there were people out there who wasted a perfectly ideal opportunity to charge a spike just for the sake of expediency. But this could be her chance to lead someone down the right path - the path of Science. She grinned, then beckoned the young woman with greater urgency this time.

“Blessed ovens girl, get in here! I’ve got a baking contest in..hmm.. a day? A week? I dunno. But I’ve got some spare time. Come here. I’ll help you put that stabbing talent to good use.”

@Shard of Thought

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

For some reason, Sierra rolled forward on her skates. She didn't feel herself. She felt a little sick, actually. A little weak. If she was insane, she might as well embrace it. But there was a question to ask. Always this question. "Why me?" If this being in her head could answer that for her, that would be comforting. Then, she would have known the answer all along. Within her. Waiting for her. 

She shook herself. What was wrong with her? She had just killed her sister, she had just... 

Oh, but did that really matter? 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

On 10/24/2019 at 6:24 PM, Shard of Thought said:

"Why me?"

Vivica blinked at the question, then looked down at the girl's feet. She was wearing skates. 

"Ooh, those are fancy aren't they?" She said, looking up at Bennington, who swam a few loops in agreement. Vivica ducked back around the corner, hoping the young woman would follow her away from the city, and pondered her question. "'Why you?' That's quite a question. Sounds like philosophy, which isn't usually my department. Hmm..." She rubbed her nose again, then fiddled with the spike in her pocket.

"Tell you what," she finally said, turning back to the young woman. "Let's go get some coffee, then we can give that question of yours a real good think, eh? I always like coffee when I'm thinking. Well, I mean, I don't really need it, y'know, because I don't sleep, but it's nice. Warm. Goes great with a biscotti - ooh, now that sounds like something I should really try. I'm thinking almond, and something special in there. What do you think? What sounds good with biscotti? Brass?"

A bright, manic grin spread across her mouth as she took the pen out from behind her ear and pulled her notepad back into her hand. She continued whispering as they walked, scribbling furiously. "...yes, yes, Feruchemical Brass, yes, so you could store the heat from your coffee while you were drinking it - perfect. These will be perfect!"

She turned again. "Do you have any idea the kind of breakthrough were are nearing here?" Vivica was practically shaking with excitement. "I like you. What did you say your name was? Do you have a name? It's okay if you don't, that sometimes happens. Or you forget your name - that happens too. Not a problem. We can find you a new one! I'm Vivica. At least - I'm pretty sure that's my name. It's what I call myself, and so far everyone else has called me that. So I'm pretty confident."

Bennington looked at her reproachfully. "Oh, right," Vivica said, looking a bit sheepish and gesturing to the very empty space above her left ear. "And this is Bennington."

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Sierra drew her eyes to the empty spot of air that Vivica was pointing to and furrowed her brow. Was her hallucination hallucinating? That was... beyond strange. All of this was strange. Still, she was following her for who knows why. And, well... coffee sounded kinda nice. "I'm Sierra," she said curtly. She twirled the end of her long braid in her fingers absent mindedly to deal with her apprehension. She still felt a little sick and a little cold. Not that that was very new to her... Still, it was enough that she pulled her coat a little tighter around her slight frame. 

[Voidus]

Voidus sat alone in a wooden-panelled room, the fireplace had long since burned out and the lamp was beginning to flicker as well but he seemed to pay it little mind. He sat quietly at his desk one hand gently tapping against the wood while he stared into the distance, eyes slowly shifting from one spot to another but not seeming to truly focus on anything until with a sudden start his gaze jumped to one spot and seemed almost about to burn through the wall with their intensity.

Voidus braced himself, arms gripping the chair as he leaned forwards, eyes not shifting from that same spot. He stared silently and intently for a handful of seconds before relaxing back once more. He cast his eyes to the ceiling but seemed to be lost in thought more than anything.

"Another one leaves." He said quietly, a rare note of true sadness to his voice. "Mac was ever the wanderer."

With a soft sigh he leaned forward once again, dragged a glass against the surface of the wooden table towards him, followed by a heavier bottle and then poured a small glass of crimson liquid. He was about to take a sip from the glass when he paused and gave the glass a melancholy smile.

"To whatever new adventures you find my friend. I wish you the best, and I hope that whatever world you find yourself on is ready for you."

He raised the glass towards the ceiling, staring off once more before pulling it back and draining the glass. Somehow it seemed heavier than it had when he picked it up, even with the liquid now drained from it.

The smile faded as he set the glass back down and began staring off once more. The DoCI would manage by itself for the moment, Mac had some capable people in his department and they were able to act independently for the most part. But Mac's growing skill with Voidmaking was not something that was so easily replaced. Gaining the ability itself was not a common occurrence, and most of those who did gain it failed to survive the experience. There was only one other that he'd seen in the past few decades, and she was likely not going to be receptive.

He looked back towards the bottle, staring at it in contemplation for a moment before sighing once more and setting it a little further away. Elariel Estate made a fine drink, but he couldn't spend the night with a bottle, as always there was work to do. Perhaps he could find someone else with the talent, someone else to teach. If he was exceptionally lucky he might even find one like that student from a different time. A different world.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Voidus waited silently inside a room, fingers drumming absently on a wooden desk. His gaze shifted curiously over the room, catching every now and then on some device or interesting item. He reached out with one hand to grab a hold of a metallic ball suspended from string, with an amused smile he pulled it back and let it go, watching it fall and hit the next ball in the row to send a wave of force that finally pushed one at the opposite end away in a chain reaction. He watched the balls clack back and forth until he was interrupted by the sound of a door opening and a dishevelled man entered the room.

"So sorry to keep you waiting." The man said, a little out of sorts still. "I've been on leave for a while, only just got back today."

"It's fine Professor." Voidus said, standing up and walking over to shake the mans hand. "I understand you've been through quite a bit recently."

The man blinked in surprise, not seeming to be able to make sense of what Voidus had said. But after a moment in thought he seemed to shake himself out of it and give a forced smile.

"Yes, well we should get to the matter at hand. I saw you requested a meeting and I had it scheduled and you'll have to forgive my bluntness here but I don't actually have any details on what you wanted to discuss. Are you also a researcher? Or a reporter or something?"

The mans eyes trailed over Voidus' neat suit, trying to make some kind of judgement over who exactly he was meeting, he looked towards Voidus' eyes but then quickly looked away, deeply uncomfortable with what he saw there but unable to tell why.

"A researcher?" Voidus asked, amused. "Of sorts I suppose. You could think of me as a fellow educator. I hope that there is much I can teach you, and if we're lucky much that you can learn."

The man looked politely confused at first, looking around uncomfortably and unsure how to reply. He was on the verge of speaking again when he suddenly froze, watching the dark mist that seemed to rise from Voidus' body, absorbing the light in the room and creating an ominous pressure.

[AonEne he/him]

34 minutes ago, Voidus said:

There was only one other that he'd seen in the past few decades, and she was likely not going to be receptive. 

Quote

Ha, accurate. 

Also, you’re causing me to make sad noises and this is not okay. Stop writing emotion well, Voidus! Arhghfibnfjlbbsflu 

 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

"Sierra," Vivica repeated. "That'll be your given name, I imagine. No offense, I mean, it's nice. Quite...nice. Nice and... nice."

She kept scribbling as they walked; Vivica had the presence of mind not to try Alleytravelling with Sierra, and she had to admit, it was rather pleasant taking the long way round the place. They walked deeper and deeper into the Alleys proper, and with each step, Vivica felt herself relax more and more. The sky had deepened into its comforting, dark whirl of boiling grey clouds; she gave it a cheerful glance, enjoying that familiar tug on her soul. One day, she might just stare right into it and let the Void snap her up like a delicious piece of shortbread. But first, coffee.

They wended their way through Alleys of grey concrete, of cobblestone, of white, clean porcelain tiles, and grimy, wet brick. When they turned another corner into a long hallway resembling a bright, sterile hospital ward, Vivica knew they were getting close.

"We had the best coffee maker," Vivica said over her shoulder. "Someone had managed to connect it through dimensions to, quite literally, the best coffee in the multiverse. One of our interns broke it a few weeks back - that was a fun disciplinary hearing. Got lots of good research out of it." She smiled at the memory, lost in thought for a moment, before shaking herself out again.

"Oh, right. Anyway, if anyone knows whether or not it's been fixed, it'll be Grey. Sure does love his coffee, and he's got great taste. I wonder if the tentacles increase his palate sensitivity... Hmm. I'll have to ask him."

She stopped outside a plain wooden door, then looked at Sierra. "You just sit tight. We'll have coffee in hand and be ready for some real deep discussions in no time flat. Actually, we might even be able to go backwards in time, or stop time, if you want that. Kinda makes me feel queasy but that's all part of the fun. Oh - there's me babbling again."

Vivica grinned at Sierra, then rapped two knuckles against the door.

"Grey?" She called. "It's Viv. Checking on the coffee machine. Any updates?"

@Snipexe @Shard of Thought  

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Sierra stayed quiet. She hadn't actually decided what she was going to do after Theresa was killed. She'd thought.... Well, that was the problem, wasn't it? She hadn't thought at all. She'd rushed into things, like she always did. Like she was probably doing now. Her anxiety and indecision was clouding her already untrustworthy judgement skills. Sometimes, she was able to convince herself that she was only doing what anyone else would do in her precarious situation, but there was always that little voice in the back of her mind, the one she'd decided not to listen to anymore. It said, "You know better, Sierra. And you've always known better."

[Snipexe he/him]

The knocks echoed through the empty break room, meeting Grey’s ears. He looked up from the book he was reading, and put down his coffee. It was rare that people visited the break room of the EHD, seeing as Grey had successfully petitioned for the various amenities that filled the room to be available in nearly all of the rooms in this section of the Alleys. The question as to who the knocker was was answered when Vivica’s voice drifted through the door. “Grey? It's Viv. Checking on the coffee machine. Any updates?” Grey smiled at the question. Viv was one of the few denizens that truly appreciated the finer points of good coffee.

“Ah yes, about that.” As he talked, he stood, walking up to the doorway of the break room. “You’d better see...”He opened the door, and trailed off realizing that Viv was joined by someone, and it wasn’t Bennington. He started, then added the young woman to the telepathic conversation, patting the faint outline of Bennington as he did so. “Sorry about that, I didn’t realize anyone would be here besides Viv. I’m Grey, and I assume you’re here for the coffee as well? Well you’re exceptionally lucky. The cosmic dice have rolled,” He paused for a bit a dramatic effect, “and you get to have, literally, the greatest coffee in existence.” He pointed to a rather average machine coffee machine in the corner.

@ZincAboutIt @Shard of Thought