Weather told me get inside | June Catch-all

[lasergrenades]

Characters: Pepper Potts, Devin Parker, and you!
Date: Throughout June
Location: Around Keeliai
Situation: Devin is making himself extremely scarce, while Pepper is getting into the Tourney excitement.
Warnings/Rating: Probably some mentions of past violence and torture, possible mentions of murder. Will add as needed.


A. [Pepper] Commerce 3 | Mid June | Open

Since first arriving in Aifaran when Pepper saw them being used as accessories in a fashion show, she's been fascinated by the selys. They're waaay too expensive to purchase one for herself, but they're too beautiful to altogether ignore. This particular visit to a shop where they're sold was on a whim, and now the breeder is insisting that she take one of the shimmering creatures or it will be Very Sad. "I, uh, sort of already have a snake… they probably wouldn't get along," Pepper says in an attempt to dissuade the woman; the selys is investigating her hair. "Seriously. Separate tanks wouldn't even work."

B. [Pepper] The Townhouse | Backdated to late May | Bakura

After at least two months of anticipation and excited daydreaming about interior decorating, Pepper and Bakura finally moved out of the Dreaming Bridge and into a modest townhouse in a quieter area of the city. Not quite the outskirts, but far enough out of the downtown core that the bustle and noise doesn't drive Bakura nuts. They don't have a lot of possessions yet, so there's not much to move from the Bridge. New furniture, however, has to be acquired so they can do things like sleep in a bed and eat on a table.

"My kingdom for Ikea," Pepper bemoaned - mostly in jest - as they navigated getting part of the disassembled bed frame upstairs. "Someone should seriously introduce flatpack to Aifaran."

C. [Pepper] Arts 3 | Before June 5 | Open

Pepper definitely didn't volunteer to put up decorations for the upcoming Tourney. She's been roped into it somehow anyway, and the harried manager who had shoved bunting at the redhead had insisted work begin right then despite Pepper's work shift. Fortunately, Pepper is good at being persuasive, so she's managed to convince her supervisor that the decorations are double duty - goodwill is earned for the Sentry for having one of their own involved, and she can get a different angle on any potential security risks while she untangles five different spools of ribbon.

D. [Pepper] City Outskirts | Early June | Yato

After the accidental encounter with Vee and learning more about Pepper's magic as well as her training, Yato had expressed interest in sparring with the ka. Pepper was similarly enthusiastic about the idea, but cautioned him about how the nature of dueling magic might come into play. It would probably limit her more than Yato, if things went that direction, but he might not be immune to the effects, either. Still, it promised to be fun, and they found a suitably open area to meet up. Unlike their first meeting, Vee had shown up today in her reduced size, which she and Pepper had worked on the previous year. The Knight was taller than average, but no longer towered ten feet high.

E. [Devin] City Outskirts | Mid June | Bakura

Finding himself both agitated and of the mind to avoid the people he knew well after the incident with X, Devin had considered locating a gym or somewhere similar that he could try to vent some of what he was feeling into physical action. Unfortunately, he was concerned about breaking equipment that didn't belong to him, and going for long runs didn't satisfy anything. He recalled his brief conversation with Bakura on the network, about summoned creatures that could, in fact, keep up with the strength and speed of a vampire. The idea grew moderately appealing, and after getting in touch, they arranged to meet. The vampire acquired himself another beater sword in the meantime.

"So, how is this supposed to work?" Devin had never sparred with magical monsters before.

F. [Devin] Aifaran and surrounding area | After June 3 | Open

X's accidental call on the network had not explicitly identified Devin or Valdis as the intended recipients, and therefore the subject of his obvious agony and near-insanity. That does not change the fact that Devin heard a reflection of himself in his worst moment - the fear, the betrayal, and the bone-crushing pain. He has tried so hard not to think about the night X was recalling, tried to banish it for a decade, and now he feels like a raw nerve exposed to cold. As a result, he cuts off what little social engagement he has, takes refuge in the apartment no one knows the address of, changes his work schedule, and generally attempts to make himself difficult to locate.

He does still have to work at the library, however, and anyone who seeks peace and quiet may stumble upon him outside the city in a forested area or occasionally at the turtle's head. He may not be the most receptive to conversation.

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

Comments

C

[ilda]

“You too, huh?”

Ilda walks up to Pepper, with even more spools of ribbons, all bundled and tangled up in her arms, some parts of them resting like colored snakes on her head. She’s grinning, glad to see her friend, although there’s also that unmistakable helpless look of someone who’d obviously gotten roped into something she didn’t sign up for.

[lasergrenades]

When Pepper spots Ilda, she takes in the nest of ribbon that looks like it's a vine monster attempting to swallow her friend whole - and she can't help but laugh.

"Yep," she says with a nod and another giggle, setting her ribbon aside for a moment. "Seems like they always need more people to do something at these sorts of events. Here, lemme give you a hand with that."

The redhead gets up and tries to take some of the mass of decorations out of Ilda's arms, with limited success in actually separating them. "Are you thinking of competing in the Tourney, too?"

[ilda]

Ilda laughs along, imagining how silly she must look with all the ribbons, and realizing how stubborn the things are, because even with Pepper helping to clear them out they still wouldn't budge.

Then an idea occurs to her.

"Pepper Pepper," she says excitedly. "Can you take a picture of me? The Tourney's not even started and we're already in danger! Behold, the Decor Monster!"

Yup, the answer to your question will have to wait.

[lasergrenades]

Ilda really has got a rat's nest on her hands and around her body and in her hair. It's going to take concerted effort to undo.

Pepper laughs again at her friend's enthusiasm. At least Ilda is rolling with the whole tangled-in-ribbon thing. "Decor Monster," she giggles. "Yeah, that's definitely going to be the hashtag for this photo. Hang on a minute."

Since extracting Ilda's yimo would probably be a) difficult, and b) a little awkward, so Pepper pulls out her own and takes a few steps back so she can capture the whole ensemble. "Okay, ready? Smile! Or look scared or whatever, we can get a bunch of different shots," she offers.

[ilda]

Different shots? Now Ilda's really stoked. "How many shots?" she asks, then pauses to smile. "I'm all for---" She crosses her eyes. "---different shots!" She brings herself to look scared. "The Xa Xa people---" She acts like she's about to devour the ribbons. "---will love this!" She attempts to look distressed. "Which is good---" She stands still, with a deadpan expression, as if posing for a mug shot. "---because I haven't posted in a while!" she says, finishing with a crazed, OH-MY-GODS-THE-DECORS-ARE-EATING-ME-ALIVE pose.

B.

[denyamenti]

"Should I even ask what that is?" Bakura raised an eyebrow. "The latter term. I know what Ikea is. We probably could have hired people if we wanted to feel lazy about it."

[lasergrenades]

Pepper giggled quietly, suppressing a louder laugh so she didn't accidentally drop the frame. "It's how Ikea packs all their furniture - everything ends up flat like bricks so it's easy to store," she elaborated.

The latter comment got a scoff. "We don't have that much stuff. Besides, the whole moving-in thing and carrying your own stuff around at least once is like a right of passage."

This did not strictly mean one had to do it, but especially growing up in New York the process of moving was often a memorable one (if troublesome - parking was a real problem, and lack of elevators).

[denyamenti]

"We don't," he agreed to the amount of possessions. "It's fortunate that the common method is to rent places already furnished, and that people are familiar with Dreamfolk's peculiarities. Likely owing to the fact that are so many of them now."

[lasergrenades]

"We are an Aifaran staple," Pepper summarized with a grin. "But interior decorating is still a thing that needs to happen."

Not having to acquire every piece of furniture was great and cost-effective, but personalizing their new home was not a step she planned on skipping.

Once they got the piece of the frame to it's designated room, Pepper tilted her head and looked at the other disassembled parts. With absolutely no context: "You're testing Jack's new security system soon, right?"

E.

[denyamenti]

"It depends on what you want," Bakura answered. He'd worn the Ring out, resting atop his shirt today, gleaming in the sunlight. "Speed? Brute strength? Something dumb and mountain-like that you can beat on with no consequence?"

[annihilist]

Having options was both good and bad - Devin could choose what he was more interested in, but he would also have to decide what that was. The Ring had naturally drawn his attention, but he'd opted not to ask, for now.

"Speed," he decided after a moment. "Something challenging enough to require a lot of focus."

He would like to not think of other things for a while.

[denyamenti]

"Speed it is," the thief replied, mentally running over a few options before deciding on the first contender. "I call D.D. Assailant, sign of attack."

The silver and black clad figure materialized in the space between Bakura and Devin, crouched in its habitual pose. The fighter's gender was obscured by the fitted armor and mask, but it watched Devin alertly.

[annihilist]

Having never seen a display of this kind of magic before, Devin was briefly distracted by that alone. He will have to inquire more later to satisfy his curiosity - though carefully. What little he knew of Bakura did not suggest he was the most easy-going or open of people, not unlike Devin himself.

"Well, you're just full of surprises, aren't you," the vampire remarked dryly. The size of the Assailant's weapon garnered some calculation and thought. It would be unwise to assume that the fighter was strictly bound by the rules of physics; this was unfamiliar magic, and Devin would have to learn it's limits - as well as his - as they went.

Rather than go all out from the start, Devin began as he had with Kratos. He readied his sword and darted forward, faster than a human but not his top speed. It would be worth finding out just how quickly Bakura's summon could move, and what other tricks it might have up it's sleeve.

D.

[minorgod]

Yato was more eager for this chance than he'd expected that he'd be, but in retrospect perhaps that made sense. The Far Shore provided a steady stream of Phantoms that he often faced head to head, and it was rare that he and Yukine didn't encounter them on a near-nightly basis. Lacking that in Aifaran had left him feeling-- not rusty, but any stretch, but oddly out of sorts.

The significantly smaller Knight was surprising, but he greeted them with a wave and a bright smile. "Yo!"

[lasergrenades]

Even though the spell that originally brought them here had been significantly altered over time, it seemed like it still attracted Dreamfolk that had certain propensities for action. Pepper grinned at Yato, and Vee gave a more subdued smile. The ka had yet to form a solid opinion of their resident god, other than 'why is he wearing a tracksuit'.

"Hey! You ready for a challenge?" the redhead needled, one hand propped on her hip.

[minorgod]

(Tracksuits, and his fluffy-fluff scarf, are cool!!)

"I'm counting on it," the god returned easily. "Thanks for offering this, by the way."

Then he looked at Vee. "That must be handy, being able to change like that..."

[lasergrenades]

"You're welcome," Pepper replied, clearly as pleased by the idea of sparring as Yato was, though for different reasons. "It's good practice for me, too, since I'm usually the one doing the hands-on fighting."

Vee was more likely to keep up with Yato than Pepper, however. The ka's smile turned a little wry. This size is more convenient for fitting indoors, she agreed. It took some practice.

The Knight removed one of her sword belts and offered it to Yato. It wasn't the katana he would be accustomed to, but that would add another interesting element for him.

"I can summon something with a smaller sword if that'd be better," Pepper said anyway. She had the gauntlet and her deck, just in case.

F-ish

[redlightgreenlight]

After her disastrous text conversation with Devin concerning X, Valdis had largely avoided contact with him, trying to give him space, hoping he would talk to her eventually. She did know better, however, than to trust that he would, so after ten days, she went looking for his unique soul signature, finding his new place far easier than she would ever admit to him, though it still took another day. Despite the lack of current need, he was as good at hiding as she was.

Valdis picked the lock to his apartment, going inside and locking the door again. He'd probably figure out someone was in here, he wasn't stupid, but considering how he'd acted when he invaded her privacy, she didn't care. She had come to apologize for her hysterics and talk about a game plan for X.

[annihilist]

Devin did indeed notice that his apartment was more inhabited than it ought to be as he approached the door. He ran down the list of likely culprits; it was not very long. Whether the person in question had extrasensory abilities or not, Devin took care not to slow down or appear to notice the intrusion as he slotted the key into the lock - absently noting to add more security - and went inside.

One hand had settled on the grip of a knife at his belt, but as soon as he realized it was Valdis, he let go. The tension in him remained, though he turned his back to her to flip on the lights in the main living space; there was only one small bedroom and a bathroom in addition. No decoration adorned the apartment, with the exception of a climbing tree and a few other playthings for Luthien. It seemed more of the apartment was dedicated to her than the vampire. What spoke of Devin were the books. He had already acquired enough to fill two and a half shelves in a floor-to-ceiling bookcase, and for the time being he used an empty shelf for liquor. A few battered but comfortable chairs and a table made up the rest of the furnishings.

For a time, it seemed as though he planned to ignore her presence entirely and focus instead on the inan weaving through his feet and chirping at him. Devin stooped to pick the creature up, and Luthien took this opportunity to lick his face in greeting. "I should have known you would not make a good guard dog," he told her dryly. His eyes flicked to Valdis, watching her coldly. "Didn't anyone ever teach you that breaking and entering is illegal? Perhaps a badge doesn't suit you after all."

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis had settled herself among the Inan's toys, playing with the fairy-like creature until Devin arrived. She knew a moment sooner than Devin's pet that the Vampire was approaching, tuned as they both apparently were to him. The Inan bounced over to the door, but she stayed on the floor, still holding a small ball in her hand. She set it on the floor when he turned on the lights, quiet until he saw fit to decide whether or not he was going to speak to her. She rolled her eyes when he finally did.

"I figured it was better to ask forgiveness than permission," she replied, "And since I was coming to apologize anyway, I figured I'd just tack this on." She rolled the ball across the ground, watching the Inan closely.

[annihilist]

They seemed to be making a lot of apologies to each other since arriving in Aifaran. As incredibly invasive as breaking into his apartment was, Devin could recognize that it had been done with approximately good intentions. It did not improve his mood much, but that could be blamed as much on the situation as anything else.

Luthien wriggled in Devin's arms and he let her go to the floor. The inan scurried after the ball and nearly somersaulted over it, evidently unaware of the tension in the room. Her antics drew fondness from him that he did not make visible to Valdis, but he knew she would feel regardless.

"That is not usually how apologies work," he complained pointlessly, and sighed. Devin crossed to the bookcase, skirting around the inan who was thoroughly engrossed in attacking the ball, and opened one of the bottles. "Care for a drink, since you've invited yourself in?"

F

[wolfishflame]

Golly gee, if she didn't know any better, Aly would think Devin was avoiding her. This. Would. Not. Stand.

Not like he's usually around, but he's even more scarce than usual. Huff.

After thinking about it for a while, she figures it out - the outfit she'd worn the day she'd fallen into the canal must still smell of him, somewhat, so she turns into her wolf form and sniffs at it. It takes a little while to tease it out, but there it is: blood, old books and binding glue, and somehow, cold human.

She shakes herself out and darts out of the Dreaming Bridge on the hunt. Normally she'd be annoyed to think of performing some kind of dog-type exercise, but, well...wolves use their snootles to hunt, right? And this was good practice.

It takes a few days of sniffing around the city, picking up older trails and leading to new ones, before she finally catches up to him in a small forest on the city's edges. Gotcha.

She debates revealing herself right away, but decides to trot up near him like any other animal. She looks weird enough to maybe be local, who even knows?

[annihilist]

Devin is more familiar with the city streets than the surrounding stretches of land, but knowing these areas better is worthwhile, even if he's effectively using that as an excuse to escape and avoid people. He'd wandered without purpose at first, trying to quiet his mind.

That had only helped so much, so he turned to his other standard coping mechanism: wearing himself out. The forest isn't large, but it gives him enough space and variation for a decent run when he mixes in climbing trees and any landscape features that will make it more of a challenge. Sometimes, though, even he needs to take a break. Devin's propped against a fall tree trunk with a canister of water when he hears something approaching.

His eyes narrow in confusion and perhaps even surprise when it comes that close to him; wild animals were usually wary unless they were very accustomed to humans or had never met them before. Or, he supposed, were starving. This one doesn't appear skin and bones, nor is it displaying any body language Devin recognizes as threatening. He doesn't even recognize the species.

"I don't have any food," he tells the... wolf? Wolf-like creature. It's probably pointless to speak at it in English. "Or anything else you'd want. Keep moving."

[wolfishflame]

Well, he wasn't lying. Shame. Transformation made her hungry.

Aly sits down in front of him and drops her jaw down in a canine grin. She keeps up the charade for a moment, staring at him, and then finally yawns, snaps her jaw together, and says, "You don't make yourself easy to find, do you, Devin?"

'Devin'. Not 'Gerard' or any of her other silly little nicknames for him. She was being serious, for once.

[annihilist]

In an instant, confusion turns to wariness. Devin doesn't startle; the rise of tension is a subtler thing. This isn't like Valdis; she spoke with her mind, not her tongue. But this creature does not appear to threaten him, and the voice is one that he recognizes.

He arches an eyebrow. "And you didn't mention your little party trick, Aly," he returns after a few moments. She must have followed him. Dammit. "Why are you here?"