[OPEN] bleeding, I'm bleeding

[bestofthevein]

Characters: Kit + you??
Date: Throughout early February
Location: Throughout Aifaran
Situation: After a frustrating encounter with a Sentry, Kit makes a concerted effort to find a place to chill and figure out why the hell he's still alive.
Warnings/Rating: probable discussion of how Kit died in Thedas, which was a rather grisly prospect.






i. a case of mistaken identity

It's just like being back in Dust Town all over again, with the brand on his face doing more to convince the Proving guards of his guilt than anything he might say in defence of his own innocence. That is, possibly, why he nearly comes to blows with the Sentry before the fellow accusing him of the crime--what crime, who even knows--decides to back off.

"No," the fellow decides, "no I don't think it was him after all--the other fellow was--" and he mimes the universal sign for 'taller.' Much taller. And without the chirruping bibiru still riding side-saddle in Kit's backpack.

"Yeah, you're damn right it wasn't me." Defensive and in no mood for pleasantries, Kit splits off from the unpleasant encounter as soon as he's certain the Sentry has lost interest, and stalks off down the road, lit cigarette stuck between his lips. He knows that there are eyes following his progress, but sod it, let them stare. Let them. He didn't do a damn thing.

The bibiru, agitated, chirps into his ear, and on instinct Kit reaches back to give the furry thing's ears an affectionate pet. "Sorry about that, salroka," he murmurs.

In Kirkwall, he'd have gone to the Hanged Man, lost himself in a round too many of Wicked Grace with the usual rotten suspects (and maybe lost his share of the rent money, too). Here in Aifaran, he doesn't know where to go to lie low. With a bit of his monthly stipend, he purchases a ticket for the skyrail and boards it; he doesn't have a destination in mind, but that doesn't stop him from slumping into one of the seats by the window.

Numb--and yet not numb, for his hand regularly wanders to the place in his gut where the Coterie thug's dagger had ripped into him, killing him--he stares out the window at the Seaglass City as it unfolds beneath him.

Maybe you're on the train with him. Maybe you're not--he's got his yimo with him, after all.


ii. peace at last

There's a beach somewhere in or around Aifaran, and that's where Kit ends up. He sits on the sand, smokes his cigarette, and watches the waves come in across the dark sand. Somewhere nearby, his bibiru hops about and forages in the nearby grasses. Kit keeps an eye on it--him? Her? He hasn't bothered to check.

After some time, reasonably convinced he's alone, he pulls off his shirt and chucks it aside, then turns his gaze nervously to the supernaturally healed laceration that raggedly cuts across his stomach. He tenderly explores it with fingers, and lets out a shuddering breath. He'd died. He knows this wound had killed him, had left him dead in the Medicine Seller's arms in some shit hole corner of Darktown.

So why is he here now? Why is any of this happening?

Comments

[corundrum]

"I'm sure that would be an easier question to answer if I knew what a jugular was," Padparadscha replies, tone easy and amused. They have been trying to learn a bit more about how humans and the other species here work, but it takes searching for, so they haven't run across that kind of specific information yet.

"I see. So sometimes you break easily, and sometimes you don't. That's more familiar." Even the strongest gems can have their weak points, like diamonds being brittle. It varies by person, so it's not surprising to hear something like that.

[bestofthevein]

"It's--a turn of phrase," Kit responds after some internal deliberation over whether it's worth going into the particulars of dwarf anatomy. It's beyond the point, really. "It just means... going right for a vulnerable place, is all."

"I see. So sometimes you break easily, and sometimes you don't. That's more familiar."

A quiet pause, before Kit nods, pensive. "Yeah, I think that's true of most people, regardless of what you're made of." He gestures at himself, looking at Padparadscha again. "I'm Kit, by the way."

[corundrum]

"Oh, that makes more sense," Padparadscha says, in a musing sort of voice. Obviously humans and human-like species would have different weak points, so they should probably learn the names of those if they can.

"But you're right, huh? Everyone has vulnerable places." They have less than most, considering the strength of the gem they're made of, but they're still not completely indestructible.

"I'm Padparadscha. Good to meet you, little one."

[bestofthevein]

There are many different ways to break a person without harming a hair on their head, anyway.

"I'm Padparadscha. Good to meet you, little one."

Kit snorts, but it's more of a startled sound than a derisive one. He looks back at Padparadscha in surprise, quirking a lopsided grin. "Been a while since anyone called me something like that," he says wryly. After a moment, he gives the sandy spot on the bank beside him a pat, inviting his strange new friend to have a seat. "So is it normal to have stones stuck inside you, where you're from?"

[corundrum]

"Ah, well, most of the people here are little ones," Padparadscha says, as lightly as if it's a normal thing to think. Anyone who might be as old as they are has been keeping it to themselves, and while there are some they may be suspicious of, it's not enough to be sure.

As for his question, Padparadscha offers a somewhat rueful smile and taps at one of the inserted gems. "It's certainly not normal to be born incomplete like I am. But this is the way we fix ourselves, attaching stones like us."

[bestofthevein]

Kit surely can't be blamed too much for his confusion; there's really no equivalent to Padparadscha in Thedas, save for perhaps a golem, and golems... don't look anything like the almost fairy-like entity next to him. "Incomplete?" he repeats, scratching his beard. "I don't think I follow."

[corundrum]

Padparadscha's smile turns more amused, and they trace around the edges of one of the plugged holes. "If something has holes in it, then you fix them up and make it work, right? It's the same for me, though I break down again after a while. Or I usually do."

This is the longest they've been awake in a long time, and while Padparadscha doesn't really want to give the Moon People that much credit, they don't have much of a choice.