ioduanlogs | catchall | September

Entry tags:

catchall | September | open

Characters: Zephyr, X, anyone else who feels like it
Date: Septemberish
Location: Dreaming Bridge, Aifaran
Situation: Many, lots
Warnings/Rating: Will warn in thread headers if it gets there

A | X | Dreaming Bridge | Closed

"Hey, buddy, got a sec?" This is without preamble as Zephyr ambles home one day from another of his assorted odd jobs. He flops headlong into his bunk without waiting for an answer; but he adjusts after a moment to look sidelong over at X, thoughtful.

He doesn't actually bother to get up.

B | Faith 2 | Open

"Please hide me." This is said very earnestly as Zephyr ducks into the shop and heads for the nearest friendly Dreamperson. He jerks his head outside; there's a Ban Om acolyte just standing there. Watching. Smiling.

Zephyr looks, to say the least, harried.

C | Meta 1 | Open

So Zephyr's been doing a bit of exploring this month, more consciously than simply going where work takes him. Looking into areas he likes, areas that might have nice apartments to live in. Places he could consciously call a home, instead of just kind of... drifting.

Unfortunately, today the yimo's mapping is on the fritz. Seems like interference, but who's he to judge? Zephyr trips into a ditch, mutters a curse, and thumps it before shoving it back into his pocket. There is some muttering to himself. "That's what I get for trying to use a damn map, I guess."

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More memories of her experiences as a child had been seeping in as more time passed. Devin taking care of her was the oddest for some reason, but she'd already thanked him for that. Valdis didn't thank people often, too stubborn and prideful for her own good, but Devin had been a reliable friend, something she couldn't ignore. Zephyr, however, probably had no idea who she had been, and she didn't know if he would have helped if he had known. Valdis knew very little of the man, but his past hostility didn't mean his kindness could be ignored...Maybe X was rubbing off on her, she'd have to watch out for that.

Tracking Zephyr through the city was difficult, she knew his scent and how his emotions felt, but lacking a solid reading of his soul, she couldn't track him as she did so many others. It was almost sheer luck that she found him now, seemingly lost, and quite grumpy about it. Valdis hesitated to approach, he seemed like a grumpy person by default and she lacked the time for hostility, but she owed him, and she disliked owing people. Then he tripped into a ditch and she had to stifle a laugh. Luckily, she was well practiced in hiding her true thoughts.

"Lost?" she asked as she came up next to him.

Oh, great, this day was definitely awesome.

Zephyr didn't dignify this with a response at first, opting to get himself out of the ditch and on level ground. Level ground that did not have him being shorter than Valdis.

"Nah," he said, resettling his jacket and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Just following the wrong directions."

Just because he wasn't clear about how to get back where he'd came from yet, didn't mean he was lost.

"Can I help you with something?" This was polite, but only polite; there wasn't a lot of warmth in it.

Valdis was pretty sure that was the very definition of 'lost', but she didn't track him down to argue semantics. His attitude, however, made her not entirely thrilled to actually say what she knew she should say.

"You already did, actually," she said casually, her expression neutral, "And I wanted to thank you."

How far could she push without making him walk away? The man wasn't being outright hostile, but she could probably get him there in less than a minute. Yet that was not her goal.

"You seem rough around the edges, but I can tell you aren't as...hostile as you let off."

"When did I do that?" It was an honest question. Zephyr had very little recollection of actually helping Valdis, except maybe standing guard while she and X had their talk? But that had been a little while ago. "I mean, you're welcome, I guess, but save it for when I've actually done something, huh?"

He didn't have to have atrocious manners. He just forgot about good ones most of the time. He tilted his head, indicating a direction parallel to the ditch. "I think I'm headed this way, if whatever you have to say can be walked with. Seriously, what makes you think I'm not just an asshole?"

Because he was, really.

Valdis shook her head, "It's nothing that requires us to be stationary."

Zephyr was a highly skeptical person who played the jerk better than Devin did, which was saying something. Though she supposed she did cheat with her ability to feel emotions. Zephyr was far more honest in his hostility than the Vampire.

"My name wasn't always Valdis," she explained, "It was once Meira. I believe you met her awhile back."

"Oh," Zephyr said, bland and blunt to cover the utter shock. Some of it showed on his face, regardless, he knew. Still. He had to try.

He knew something about name and their changes. With a shrug he started walking. "You were a pretty cute puppy, then," he said, prodding intentionally. Something made him think she wouldn't be too happy about being called cute. "Real polite, too."

Contrary to Zephyr's plans, Valdis felt nothing in regards to him comments about Meira, she simply shrugged, "Meira died a long time ago, we will never be the same person again."

Yet she felt no sorrow for the loss, Meira wouldn't have survived her life.

"And I am quite capable of being polite," she added, following after him, "You just happened to step in at the wrong time."

Unfortunately, Zephyr could relate. "Sorry for your loss," he said, somewhere between automatically glib and genuinely sincere. He pulled his hands from his pockets so he could lace them behind his head as they went, the picture of uncaring save for some faint tightness around his eyes.

Lillium...

Yep, dwelling on that was a terrible plan. Zephyr made an effort to shake it off. "Nah, that's what I mean," he said, carrying on. "There's a difference in acting polite, and being a polite person. You're good enough at being polite right now, but I don't believe you are polite. Y'know?"

He might still be trying to prod her. Not his wisest move, but a good distraction.

"Don't be," Valdis replied, her tone clear of emotion, "You can't mourn someone you never knew...and she was too weak to survive my world."

There was a catch in his aura, a hitch of some kind of pain that he tried to quell, but couldn't quite manage it. Valdis shrugged at his observation, not allowing herself to rise to the weak bait.

"I never claimed to be a kind or good person," she said, keeping pace with ease, but not watching him for any reaction, "But you aren't a saint either, are you?"

There was a dark edge to Zephyr, one that might be solved if she let her gaze drift to the soul plane, but she refrained. There was no need to violate his privacy due to mere curiosity.

"Sure you can." This was wistfully edged. Zephyr cut himself off there -- didn't really feel like sharing that bit of drama immediately -- but that was how he'd been saved in the first place. His partner had remembered without remembering. He changed tacks. "Feelings just kind of happen sometimes, and people are always weak. That's why they band together or hire mercenaries or... whatever. If only the strong survived, we'd have a really shitty world."

Whoops, again with the philosophical. Zephyr shook his head. "No one is," he said. "But I wasn't talking about kindness or goodness. I was talking about politeness." He forced a grin; it felt more genuine after a few moments. "You can be a good person and still be kind of a dick."

"Spoken like someone who has always known companionship," Valdis needled, "Not everyone has that, and my world is less than ideal for someone like me."

She paused, wondering where to push, or if she should. The man seemed to have less hostility than a moment ago, more inclined toward conversation. It could be a good thing.

"Devin fits that description far too well," she pointed out with a sly grin, "But you are correct about politeness, it's a learned behavior, one I picked up on for survival alone. It works for humans, as do many other aspects of personality. I do, however, attempt to be sincere with people here."

As needles, they mostly failed to prick. Zephyr shrugged. "Kind of sucks," he said, and, "Hey, less than ideal doesn't mean impossible. I know I'm being really sickeningly optimistic here, but sometimes... sometimes the people who don't know how to stop hoping are right, y'know?"

This was a level of conversation he could cope with. Prickly, but entertaining enough. At least until someone hit a sore spot. Zephyr wondered how far off that was from happening.

He was a little less convinced about Devin, but for the moment he let it be. "That's charitable of you. Probably works better in the long run."

"I've lived in reality far too long for that kind of hope, and despite your words, I have a feeling you have too."

Valdis, not being here to pick a fight, had no reason to search for sore spots, though her empathy made her capable of it. She shrugged, unwilling to argue a pointless argument.

"It has so far, though sincerity doesn't equal 'kind'." And that had gotten her in some trouble in the past. "I'm not for everyone, though some have reluctantly found it refreshing."

"Maybe." Another shrug. Zephyr kept doing that, like he could actually shake off whatever emotions he was having with the gesture alone. He couldn't, but it was worth a try. "I know a couple of people who have it, though. And I believe in them. So... it's kind of the same as hoping, just a degree removed."

He was aware it was a weird point of view, but that was as far as he was going to try to explain it.

"Well, sincerity isn't necessarily nice, and nice isn't necessarily kind, so it stands to reason that sincere isn't necessarily kind, either." They kept making leaps. At least they were -- sort of -- on the same page, as far as Zephyr could tell. "Better to know where you stand?"

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catchall | September | open

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