Bring on your forces of nature | July Catchall

[lasergrenades]

Characters: Pepper Potts, Devin Parker, and you!
Date: July
Location: Around Aifaran
Situation: Pepper has an inan stalker and is learning new skills. Devin is, to no one's surprise, brooding.
Warnings/Rating: None yet, will add as needed.


A. [Pepper] Faith 2 | Early July | Open

"Ow!" Pepper yelps loudly when an inan she was attempting to make friends with nearly takes a chunk out of her finger. The bite doesn't actually break skin, but it hurts, and she gets up to leave since clearly it doesn't want company.Bring on the storm that's raging

It follows her. All attempts to shoo it off fail, and if Pepper didn't know any better she would think it was giving her the stink eye. For an entire week. She'd be more grumpy about the resulting inability to do magic if it weren't so cute, and it seems slightly less annoyed with her when she allows it into the townhouse (after consulting with Bakura, of course, and checking to see how it got along with Diabound).

B. [Pepper] Opara Core | Mid July | Open

So, Tony's gone. He might be back. Pepper hopes he'll be back, and not just for Gene's sake. It's weird having him gone after almost three years in this world together, and it was weird enough not living in the same house. Being worlds away is taking some adjustment for everyone.

Gene can, probably, do repairs on Pepper's armor even if Tony never returns, but there's something to be said for learning to do it herself. Aifaran has more tech and more metal than Keeliai did, and so she's at the Opara Core to pester some techs into either teaching her how to do electrical engineering or direct her to a place she can. She's got one of the Rescue gauntlets in hand as she walks around the facility to use as an example.

C. [Devin] Dreaming Bridge | Backdated to June | Zephyr

The conversation with X is… tense, to say the least. Devin isn't expecting the reactions he gets and is even less equipped to deal with them. He's consequently even more haggard-looking when he emerges from X's room at the Bridge than when he entered, and he almost startles when he sees Zephyr still standing there. The distraction of helping X sort through his life was enough to make him forget the impromptu guard.

His eyes narrow. "How much has X told you?" Devin asks without preamble.

D. [Devin] Commerce 5 | Early July | Open

In pursuit of a sword that would serve him better than the beater he's been practicing with, Devin is investigating a number of shops where good-quality weapons can be found. He needs one that won't break on him once he's in better form.

He stops dead in the street when he sees his old pattern sword on display in a blacksmith's window. It takes him several minutes to grapple with the feelings it brings up, and then to go inside and explain it belongs to him - and when asked how much it costs, the owner smiles at him and hands it over for free. Swords know their masters, is all she says, offering a warm smile. Devin departs a few minutes later, staring down at the remnant of his past like it might crumble in his hands. Drawing it a few inches from the scabbard reveals it is still in perfect condition. It should be in England, but it's found him here.

E. [Devin] Arts 2 | Mid July | Open

As part of his general avoidance strategy, Devin is taking to mapping out the city again. The habit is one he's kept up in Aifaran but he hasn't engaged in it so intensely since he first arrived. For some reason, this seems like a good time to vanish into far-flung streets and investigate not only the ground level but the three-dimensional details that could be pertinent in case of attack. He needs to learn the city like the back of his hand, and for a solid week whenever he's not in the library or sleeping, he's out sketching and notating important bits of information he might need. If Devin is out at night, he'll also be carrying the pattern sword that appeared earlier in the month.

F. [Bobby] Dreaming Bridge | X

Bobby is still looking for alternate accommodations so she can escape the necessity of a roommate, but for the moment she is stuck here. At least it's better than some of the crappy motels she'd spent time in during her last tour of Earth, and the roommate is easy enough to scare into leaving her alone. Most of the time she's at the Bridge, she's in one of the lounges reading about the archipelago, sitting in one of the squashy armchairs as though it were a throne.

G. Wildcard!

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

Comments

C

[spiralpatterns]

Zephyr doesn't know the guy, except in passing. A face, but not a name. Doesn't really matter, the way X had been acting. He's been leaning against the wall outside the door, casual; now he straightens, shoving off it, and sizes the stranger up.

"He's told me enough," Zephyr says, which is not a lie and not anywhere outside his moral compass. It's true; X has said much of various things, and enough for Zephyr to be protective. Just because none of them are specifically about this guy that Zephyr can immediately identify...

[annihilist]

Under better circumstances, Devin might have considered the vague answer an opportunity for banter. Today, he is in no mood to play. He balls his fists for a moment, hands now empty despite having entered with a sheaf of paper.

"Let me rephrase," Devin begins icily, glaring daggers at Zephyr. "How much has X told you specifically about what happened to him?"

He won't hold it against the reader for revealing what he's experienced; X has been flirting with sanity since he woke up, and it wouldn't be surprising if he had more episodes like the one on the network. Devin just needs to know who else might be privy to his life.

[spiralpatterns]

Gonna have to do better than that glare. Zephyr shoves his left hand in his pocket, affecting a casual posture; but his right hand tells the lie to it, fingers flexing and curling where it rests by his side.

"Well, he tried to punch me and then did a lot of babbling about sleeping and secrets. If you try to force your way in, by the way, I'm going to have to punch you." Said very conversationally, casually. "Don't worry, he already feels terrible."

[annihilist]

Just what Devin needed today: another headache. Zephyr's tension is thinly masked, but he's not outwardly hostile yet. He'd rather not get into a fight with someone he has basically no knowledge of.

The response elicits confusion rather than anger, though Devin does not relax. "I am aware," he replies slowly, brows pulling together. If Zephyr thinks he's here to deepen X's distress, he's dead wrong. "And I have no intention of worsening that, so perhaps you can stop making assumptions and be helpful for a change."

[spiralpatterns]

But he loves making assumptions.

"Yeah, well, you know what they say about intentions." Zephyr shrugs. He doesn't necessarily stand down. Really, this guy should do something about his face if he expects to be taken for not intending to be an asshole. "Perhaps I can be helpful, as long as it doesn't involve barging through that door. What do you need?"

D

[shardsofgenesis]

The strange world had been explained in the context of Dreaming, yet the archangel walked through the city as if nothing was strange or amiss. If the Creator had made one world, he could have easily made more. Alternate worlds with peoples and societies different from the ones Raphael was tasked with guarding. Yet his time here meant he was unable to guard that world, or his family. Raphael shook his head, if he was here, there was a purpose to it.

He catches sight of a man outside a blacksmith's forge, a man looking at a blade as if he were uncertain if it would vanish or not. An unusual gaze for anyone with skill to wear when looking at his blade. Raphael's own sword hangs from his left hip, the blue gem holding a soft and steady glow.

"It's a fair blade," he comments as he comes closer, "Is it awe or fear that has such a look on your face?"

[annihilist]

Even if Raphael weren't Raphael, Devin probably would have startled, absorbed as he was in the felicity of the sword's arrival. He stopped himself from taking a step back, quickly noting the shadow that clung to the archangel and marked him as one of the temporary visitors.

The vampire's fingers tensed around the hilt of the sword, eyes narrowing when he saw the weapon on Raphael's hip. It resembled Revelations, but the gem belonged to the shard of Genesis that Devin still carried. Timelines, he reminded himself distantly. Raphael had been a ghost when he'd attacked Valdis in Keeliai.

"I don't think that's any of your business," Devin replied tartly, sheathing the blade with a snap. "It's personal, and that's all you need know."

[shardsofgenesis]

The sudden tension could have been ascribed to the depth in which the man had been lost in memory, but the grip on the sword, though practiced did not faze Raphael, nor did he step away.

"Forgive me," he said softly, "I did not meant to pry."

Time to change the subject perhaps, even if the hostility and glance to his blade made no sense.

"My daughter would like nothing more than to learn the art of the blade," he continued, "I've told her she's still too young, but she's stubborn. Wants to follow her brother and his friends everywhere."

[annihilist]

...Well that was not what Devin expected. Raphael must be from quite a bit earlier in his life than when Devin last encountered him, if Valdis was so young. No, it wouldn't have been Valdis--

Oh, shit. He needed to tell her as soon as possible.

The vampire relaxed, marginally. Raphael was still mostly a mystery to him as far as temperament, and he had stumbled into a vulnerable moment. "She'll probably find a way to learn no matter what," he replied slowly. The past was written; any effort to change Raphael's behavior towards his daughter had no point. Devin couldn't help but try anyway. "You might as well relent early, if the battle will ultimately be lost."

D. swoooords

[whattail]

Konoe watched the exchange of the sword take place with something akin to interest. He hadn't seen this man around before; the scent was unfamiliar and a bit unusual. Besides, he seemed a bit...off from what he thought of a Two Cane.

But that didn't matter to him when his eyes caught sight of the sword. That was the first time Konoe had seen Two Canes handling something of the sword, and it brought back both memories and a sort of excitement.

Rai would be disappointed if he learned I didn't practice, and I don't need his judgement. Konoe's own sword was less impressive but he still delicately walked up to the man. "I didn't know that Two Canes used swords."

[annihilist]

Devin had half a mind to snap at whomever was interrupting him, but the cat-like ears gave him pause. Aifaran did attract all sorts of Dreamfolk, didn't it. His eyebrows rose, the rest of him stock-still as he tried to cover the vulnerability the sword had drawn out of him.

"I can't say I'm familiar with what a 'Two Cane' is," Devin returned cautiously, sheathing those inches of the sword and holding it at his side. "But I've used swords for most of my life."

[whattail]

"You're what's called a human, aren't you? Then you're a Two Cane. But I thought Two Canes had different ways of fighting. Another waved a strange metal thing at me that exploded." Konoe's eyes however, seemed drawn to the sword, and his hand was hovering around his own that was attached to his hip. He was actually excited for once.

[annihilist]

Devin's eyebrows went up. "You mean a firearm? A gun," he amended more simply. "Certainly, we use those as well. It depends on who you're talking about, and what time period they're from."

He hesitated over whether to correct Konoe's assumption of his race, and then decided it didn't matter much one way or another. People knew what he was here. "And I'm not human. Nearly, but not quite. Even though I look like them." Devin gestured to Konoe's weapon. "How much do you know about swordplay?"

F!

[psituational]

By the time of the Dreamfolk surge, X has been making a point of leaving the Bridge every day, for however long, taking temporary work to earn some money and thinking about the last couple of months in context of what he's going to do from here. He hasn't spoken to Devin much since Devin gave him the Four Quartets, which he's not completely surprised by; it's miraculous enough the vampire came by the first time.

Should X reach out? With Devin, it's hard to tell. Brooding on your own is never healthy, but it's a little hard to remember that when a part of X understands why Devin feels the need.

It's oppressively warm today, with the result that X walks into the lounge drenched from a water balloon he accidentally stepped into the way of outside. He's smiling, and in a good mood -- children know how to make any mundane hardship into a game. He missed watching that innocent playfulness. He walks into the lounge, and --

-- stops, dead, staring at the demon draped regally over the armchair.

Immediately, he wants to run, slip out before she even notices he's there. But he also wants to attack her, with vicious speed and fury he doesn't possess. And he wants to pretend he has no idea who she is, walk on by and go dry off like he'd originally intended to do. What he actually does is stand there, paralysed, watching Bobby like any move she makes is going to spell out his doom.

hehehehe

[divineviolence]

Bobby's senses may be dulled, but even she notices when someone is standing in the middle of a room staring at her. She raises her eyes from the book. The man is a stranger, but he's looking at her like they've met before, and not on good terms.

There has to be a reason for the angry-deer-in-headlights expression on his face. The diminished demon arches an eyebrow and quirks a little smile his direction. "Can I help you with something, or are you planning on just standing there dripping all day?"

[psituational]

It's her. Not that there was any question about it before, but... that's her voice, that's the quirky snark he -- Devin -- used to find so endearing. But she, of course, doesn't know X in the slightest.

"No," X says, both too quickly and far too belated not to somehow be lying through his teeth with a single word. "I'm, uh... just going to go... drip somewhere else, Bob --"

... Shit.

His chest pounding with adrenalised pain, X turns around and walks out of the lounge, right back the way he came, making for the Bridge's front door. It's not, he might admit to himself later, the smartest decision he could have made, but in the moment his thoughts have utterly stopped.

[divineviolence]

Oh, now things are getting truly fascinating. This man knows her, and she definitely doesn't know him. More than that, he's afraid of her. She wants to know why, and to figure out what else he knows - by whatever means necessary. Just because she's been reduced to this unfortunate mortal state does not preclude the possibility of extracting information by force.

In an instant, Bobby is on her feet and stalking after him gracefully down the hall. "Going so soon? We haven't even been properly introduced," she croons, smiling wickedly. "I'd have remembered a face like yours."

Bobby | Garren's Design Studio

[redlightgreenlight]

Her 'no lying' policy when it came to Devin was important to their relationship, but Valdis' instinct when it came to threats was to remove it as soon as possible. Going after a demon without knowledge of her abilities might not be the wisest course of action, so while Valdis had agreed to refrain from hunting the demon down, she wasn't going to hide either. Garren had messaged her about an hour ago with questions about a design and since work was slow, she opted to go on patrol in that part of the city.

"I know you want brighter colors," she said patiently, "But this look needs to be soft. The cut of the neckline and the hints of lace need to be more romantic than bright."

The kedan gentleman frowned and mentioned the flare of the skirt, gesturing to the sketches.

"Let me show you."

Valdis picked up a pencil and quickly redid the sketches. Garren brought her the colored pencils as she perched on a stool and started to give him an idea of what she was looking for. He was nodding as she filled in the design.

"If you want to add a pop of color, consider a bright pump to contrast the paler tones."

[divineviolence]

Combing the various channels of social media in this world was not unlike on Earth, albeit simpler with fewer platforms. She hadn't been intentionally searching out anything in particular, but a recent post had caught her attention and turned idle curiosity into purpose.

Finding this shop didn't take too long once she had the designer's name, and Bobby did her due diligence in scoping it out before actually entering. The subject of that curious post was here, which was too much a temptation to resist. Being without her powers, she would need to be careful.

Bobby walked into the shop and let her eyes slide over the woman and the designer, to settle on a dazzling piece that she would certainly make even more gorgeous.

[redlightgreenlight]

The sudden chill that ran down her spine drew her gaze to the door even before the redhead entered. It only took a split second for Valdis to decide on her response and the facade she put on was quite counter to the dark amusement she felt at the sight of Bobby. The woman seemed to pretend to ignore them, her eyes drifting around the store, if she noticed the blade by the door, she gave no sign of it.

"Garren," Valdis whispered, knowing that Bobby would hear, "Please go out the back."

The designer looked at her, a puzzled expression on his face, but he didn't argue, simply put down the canister of pencils and moved to the back room. Valdis put tension into her muscles and wariness into her eyes, it was easy enough to pretend.

"May I help you?" she asked as if she was trying very hard to not be concerned by Bobby's presence.

[divineviolence]

Moving into a different room would hardly have been sufficient if Bobby were at full strength. The denizens of this fair city had yet to discover she was not, and she counted that as lucky. Even without her innate abilities, she had some tricks up her sleeve.

Bobby didn't look over her shoulder when the woman spoke, appreciating the fine craftsmanship of the designer. It would be such a waste to destroy that much talent. "Oh, don't worry about me," she replied brightly. "I saw some of this designer's pieces on the network here, and I had to see them for myself." Now, she turned far enough to throw a smile in Valdis' direction. "You modeled for him, right? Did you help design the outfits in those photos?"

G. Townhouse

[denyamenti]

Bakura knocks on the frame of the bedroom door, even though it's ajar. Pepper has been busier than usual lately, and their schedules seem to overlap less often these days, aside from mealtimes and evenings. Under one arm, he has a rectangular, paper-wrapped package.

"I have a surprise for you."

[lasergrenades]

Pepper is halfway out of her uniform to change into street clothes when Bakura knocks. She has to pull her shirt the rest of the way on before her curious smile becomes visible. The package is wrapped in such a way that she can't divine what's possibly in it just by looking.

"Is it a pony?" she asks innocently, but she can only hold back laughter for a few moments. "I never actually understood why so many people want a pony. I always wanted, like, spy gear or whatever."

[denyamenti]

"However have you guessed," he quips in response, deadpan but also smiling. "I've found you the flattest, squarest pony in the whole of Konryu. Why am I not surprised that you wanted spy gear?"

Bakura sits on the bed next to her and passes her the package. Inside and carefully padded, there is a modest framed photograph of the New York skyline; not a new picture, judging by the colouration of the photograph, but still iconic.

[lasergrenades]

"Probably because you've met me," she replies cheerfully, taking the package from him. Pepper first tests the shape of it, trying to guess what it is by the shape. She gives up after a few moments and starts removing the paper to reveal the frame, and the picture in it.

A picture of New York. The photograph makes her heart ache a little with homesickness, more than she's felt in a while. Maybe her father not coming to Aifaran like he had to Keeliai contributes to that. Her smile dims a little with that bittersweet reminder, but that cannot overshadow the rush of gratitude and affection that the gift brings. It's one thing to holographically project the city, and another to have a tangible image, one that had to have been taken in a real moment of time, by someone who lived it. Careful not to knock Bakura in the head with the frame, Pepper turns and hugs him tightly.

"I would take this over a pony any day," she says, a faint quiver in her voice from the swell of emotion. "It's perfect, thank you. Where'd you even find it?"