d | a november catchall

[damnpire]

WHO: d & others
WHERE: stygia mostly probably
WHEN: nov.
WHAT: general meetups, notice board things, etc.
WARNINGS: me freezing spoon's comment so i can laugh every time i see it, reference to csa (laurent), snake imagery (augustine)

OOC plotting post

Comments

(frozen comment)

[midway]

what are you doing

sakura ¤ the docks, clinic

[damnpire]

[D doesn't show up immediately. Even though Sakura explained some of the food to him, he goes to the library anyway. Rarely was there anything he didn't know from being ancient on the Frontier. But a lot of things once modern to others are now lost to time there; foods, games, legends, countries and cities. This is research. He is a Man of Science, hilariously enough.

After the library, he goes to Mirth to look around.

Then he heads to the docks for the clinic where Sakura spends much of her time. Barring the weird punishment that will be bestowed on him later during a full moon, he doesn't wait when he simply shows up out of the blue. Anything else, and he'd not really enter or approach without invitation--not because he's a vampire, but because he holds fast to a weird notion of respect.

He has something cradled in one arm, wrapped. And he at least announces himself with:]

Hello.

[craters]

（ at the voice that's fast becoming familiar, she straightens up from where she'd been folding sheets and gives him a warm smile, skirting around the edge of a makeshift cot to step forward and welcome him in properly. ）

Hi! How've you been, D?

（ since... everything... ）

[damnpire]

[Haha…]

I’m fine. [For right this moment, he doesn’t look around. Instead, his attention is on her out of politeness.] You?

[Also, he extends the wrapped thing in his arm out toward her in offering. Does Mirth have plastic bags, or are they environmentally conscious? I don’t know.

But it’s a lidded bowl of something warm and another bowl of something else.]

cedrik ¤ the adventure's guild

[damnpire]

[Like with Sakura's clinic, there is nothing stopping D from simply showing up and going inside without waiting or knocking. Since it's public. (He does take a moment before to look at the sign and the notice on the door, though.)

And while he's free to enter as he pleases without rigid etiquette, he actually doesn't do anything but stand sentinel just inside the door, like he's waiting. His eyes to the looking around instead, studying.

He's respectful enough to announce:] Hello.

[heavenstorn]

[ Cedrik's efforts have mended the usual decay that accompanies buildings in the harbor, but it's obvious that nothing here is new. There are slight gaps between the flagstones on the floor where bits of mortar have chipped away. Motes of dust hang in the air, mixing with the scent of the ocean. The bar top itself, while shining from a recent polish, shows signs of wear around the corners where the varnish has peeled.

Behind it, hanging from the wall between shelves of bottles and mugs, are two swords. One made of proper steel, a narrow-bladed zweihander, left for Cedrik by Puck. The other is oversized and made of black foam.

Cedrik himself is at one of the tables, looking over the ledger and the modest collection of names he's gathered so far. Long ears pick up the sound of the door opening and the quiet makes him wonder--

D's voice confirms his guess. ]

Well come, D! Pray, make yourself comfortable!

[damnpire]

[The invitation gets him to finally venture farther into the building. He glances at things again while his feet carry him carefully over to where Cedrik is seated. He knows why the foam sword is on display just by what kind of person Cedrik is, but he really thinks it's unnecessary...

At the table, he removes his hat politely, places it near the edge of his side of the table, and then sits down. The hat truly gives him a lot of his Tall and Dark; without it, he looks a lot softer and younger.]

You've done a lot.

augustine ¤ jailbreak

[damnpire]

[Thankfully, by now, D has obtained his clothes. He had decide to, why not, beat up one of the guards silly enough to open the cell to harass him. Usually, he has to qualms with doing his time politely if there is good reason for it. (Sometimes even if there isn't, like when humans are frightened of him.)

As long as they don't keep him long, and don't try to attack him. But this is crossing the line.

More than even times before, he is careful about how quiet his steps are and how he moves. The prison is in a disarray that is slowly bleeding outward; in the distance, more prisoners are accosting more guards and vice versa. D bleeds up into some of the shadows, standing still and listening for other movement, or other voices. Waiting.]

[immortalrose]

[When news reached him that the Hierarchy was randomly arresting people, it was already too late for him to do anything about it. Several people he knows personally were suddenly jailed, one of them being D. While he has his thoughts about his fellow nightly compatriot, he doesn't believe D would've done anything to warrant a jail cell. That's why instead of waiting for this issue to resolve itself, Augustine trades his patience for action.

He's sneaked into the Gallows before on exploration and he'll do so again now. While sneaking in here was no easy feat, Augustine managed to do just that by relying on his shadow magic. His link with the archfiend is limited at best but he can still rely on some of its sorcery here. He manages to evade the guards by slipping into their shadows as they marched up and down the long dark corridors.

As he follows this one guard through the depths of the prison, a familiar dark silhouette catches his eye from the distance. He slithers towards that shadowy figure completely concealed by the shadows. From the naked it eye, it would look like a blotch of black ink is racing towards them like a shadow demon of some sort.]

D? Is that you?

[The echoic whisper sounds serpentine at best, that is if was customary for serpents to talk.]

You have a penchant for trouble, don't you?

[damnpire]

[Honestly, the shadowy serpent startles him. The existence of it raises the hair on the back of his neck as it comes. He doesn't jump so much as reflexively react, tensing and turning as it approaches him before it even speaks.

???

The voice doesn't sound entirely familiar, but the inflection sort of does. He pauses for a long moment, eyes lifting to cautiously check the surrounding area. Well, the shadow isn't trying to attack him, so...

Rather than making a wild guess, he asks in a low voice:] Who are you? [They know him by name, so it must be an ally.]

cedrik ¤ jailbreak

[damnpire]

[Me doing two different prompts and Cedrik getting the half naked one, I'm sorry.

This is not the first or the last time D will probably ever be in a cage. The treatment doesn't anger him in any noticeable way. Instead, the irritation is ice-cold and silent. A bitter rage right below the surface of decency.

The stone cell isn't much different than the empty room from the laboratory. He stands by himself near the exit of it, waiting. It wouldn't be difficult to get a guard close, or in. His more sinister abilities aren't exactly magic; they are genetic, a part of him. But it would mean leaning into that side, risking the loss of control. It's a consideration.

The temptation is almost there until he spots movement out of the corner of his eyes not belonging to a guard rotation. Did people come to help them...?

???]

[heavenstorn]

[ First the hat comes off and now this. The Twelve are testing him.

Cedrik can't be as stealthy as he would like. If the aether was finicky before, only responding to him some of the time and even then without the potency he was used to, this place has suppressed it completely. Even Esteem's presence has been brought down from faint but still noticeable to nothing...of course his Shadow is still there, unfortunately. All that to say he can't use his magic to hide from the guards. He has to do it the old fashioned way, watching their patrols and moving as quickly and as quietly as he can behind their backs.

Though considering the greatsword upon his back, it's clear he's not that worried about maintaining stealth. ]

...

[ Long strides carry him through the darkened corridors, Cedrik stealing glances between the bars--his stomach turns at the other Restless he sees, but he can't do anything for them until he finds-- ]

D.

[ The name is a whisper as Cedrik stops before the cell that holds his friend. He actually wasn't sure if he'd find D here, but with all the uproar that the sudden arrests have caused and the rumors he'd heard...

He couldn't find D anywhere else. He couldn't reach him through the netherwork. Sneaking into the Gallows was an act of desperation and part of him prayed D would be somewhere else.

But he's here. And Cedrik is furious. ]

The swiving whoresons--are you hurt?

[damnpire]

[The low light of the area is easy to see in. He can make out a familiar silhouette, mostly because of the greatsword. The ears? The ears.

Quietly, he waits until Cedrik approaches closer. Like the rest, he's got a scrap of tattered rags on to barely keep him modest.

Losing the hat was one thing. Losing all of the rest really levels him down into the young man he is: nothing but pure muscle, more lean than the bulky armor makes him look. A wiry thing full of black hair and haunted eyes. His blanched, white skin stands through the shadows, translucent, for once not as immaculate as it would have been at full strength. Bruising and scratches seem at least a week old; the ones he received getting in here must be healing, but not as rapidly as they should.]

I'm fine.

[The brand on his arm stings, surprisingly to him, but it isn't something he can't manage. His eyes leave Cedrik to look around.]

Be careful. The guards make rounds.

laurent ¤ two curses

[damnpire]

[Very glad for Laurent choosing this time to be out wandering around. D has already realized something is happening to him when he passes through most doors he's tried, when his throat seizes up and he can't breathe. An archway, too, chanced to do this to him as he sifted through the opening.

But he didn't know yet that intersections were a part of this.

He spies Laurent coming the opposite way, and he refrains from offering any kind of loud greeting. Instead, he passes in his usual careful walk through the intersection of two paths, planning to head on... only a quarter of the way to the other side, he slows to a stop. Heat rises from the top of his chest into his throat; the air is pulled out of him somehow even with his mouth closed. It leaves him in invisible rivulets, a little at a time until nothing is left.

Strangely, the beauty of his unnaturally pale face begins to turn a mottled blue and purple--near the jaw, the temples. He talks a half-step back, bringing his left hand up to wrap around his neck.]

[wrists]

[ he has not spoken to D since they parted at the tea shop, the map between them, but laurent feels a frisson of relief upon seeing him. the nagging feeling that something terrible might befall the other man has been difficult to shake, something akin to guilt if he examined it closely, which he has little desire to do. D is little more than a hired gun, worth only as much as he can offer in service. there is no reason to think of him beyond this frame.

but something, at once, proves to be amiss. laurent slows his steps — not difficult, considering the lethargy plaguing him of late, the ache in his chest and the tickle in his throat — his intention to pass by without speaking at length vanishing when D's face begins to discolor. it's not right. he has rarely seen D exhibit any sort of expression or emotion whatsoever, so this warrants concern. ]

D. [ laurent reaches up and pulls the ridiculous hat from D's head. it becomes at once apparent that he can't breathe, but the cause eludes him. he attempts to pry D's hand away, rough. ] Stop this.

[damnpire]

[The hat disappears, and his lips peel slightly back in what might have been the unfiltered part of a quiet, defensive snarl, but nothing emerges from his mouth or his throat. Instead, he closes his teeth together and bares nothing but the start of pointed fangs trying to grow longer reflexively.

His eyes focus on Laurent's face, and when he reaches up to grab Laurent by the wrist a strength there is just barely contained. It feels like he could snap it just by squeezing too hard; however, he's very quick to let go both of Laurent and himself.

Unable to respond, he promptly turns around and starts walking away in the opposite direction, the way he had come, strides long and full of frustration. He really leaves Laurent with his hat.] Ha ha, you're really lookin' like a blueberry! [the familiar, unseen voice croaks.]

No hard feelings-- [it calls back as they drift away.] --what was your name again? Laurent? D's all choked up by your good looks!

lady gilia ¤ hanahaki & a curse

[damnpire]

[As if going to prison wasn't bad enough...

By now, he's realized he is being harassed by doors and thresholds. Intersections, too. Going through them seizes his throat tight, and pressing on does nothing to subdue it until he turns back again.

Sometimes, though, he needs to enter a building for something. It's what he's doing when Gilia finds him--not entering, but leaving. The pale face under the hat is mottled with soft, receding burgundy. Quickly, he steps out and away, and after a foot or so, air finds him again. He stops, inhales deep, the white returning to his skin.]

[seaboard]

[ She has not felt well in days. It made no sense, not at all. She was well just a few nights beforehand, and then it crept in. A tightness, a cough. If she had no treated others in her life, she might never have known it was being sick at all, because she had never been, beyond typical childhood fever - a perk of the royal family and being so close to the Sea-Father himself, they never particularly caught them.

But now, she struggled to breath after walking any distance, something felt like it was stuck in her throat, yet would not budge. Left her clearing her throat, a fever on her brow that she wrapped herself up against the chilling winds against.

And he did not look a sight better, when she ran into him. Going to greet him with a pleasant hello, but stopping immediately to step close and peer at him. With that expert hand of someone used to checking over people who would probably fuss and tell her to stop, she reached up to brush his forehead and see for herself.

Not that he'd appreciate the comparison to toddlers, likely. ]

Lord D, are you well?

[damnpire]

[He does not appreciate it, but he has very much accepted the momming. His hand comes up to curl around her forearm, though he does nothing to pull it away. The warmth is returning to his skin with the paleness. This close, she can tell his breathing is a bit more labored, but it's as controlled and composed as he normally does all things.]

D is fine, [he says in a softer, more hoarse voice.] Should I be asking you the same?

[She isn't looking so good, and many people here are the same strangely.]

dimitri's player ¤ serene fish frish notice board

[damnpire]

[This is like a midfuck Bakerstreet meme, except it's now a mid notice board quest. That is, he and Dimitri converge together at the destroyed statues where they are offered fifty coins in exchange for killing what might be a Gargoyle? Maybe.

D finds something strange with the story, but first, he acknowledges Dimitri with a tip of his hat and head.]

It's odd she recognizes them.

[Maybe plenty of people have sculptures carved in their likeness, who is he to say. But it's weird.]

d's player what is a frish

[paraselenes]

[ (rosa player voice) what's a midfuck meme

Nothing here seems to happen by coincidence; it's eerie that the statues here are so human in likeness, beyond the work of even a most talented sculptor. Dimitri stops short as the toe of his boot taps against a broken shard of stone, which was clearly once part of a face, twisted in its incomplete expression.

Who would even make these? He doesn't understand Art. ]

...It is. A gargoyle may be the cause of the destruction, but who made these sculptures in the first place?

[ He'd expect the woman that hired them to know.

There's an echoing shout meanwhile, frustrated, up ahead. It sounds like another man, who may just be knocking over a paint can in a fit of artist's block? ]

the name of the person who sent them out here

[damnpire]

[D follows Dimitri's eyes down to the piece of stone tapped by a boot. It... gives him a strange feeling, seeing the discarded bit of stone. A bit of uncanny valley. Like the broken subject is seeing through him.

Maybe Dimitri doesn't need to understand Art so much as feel it.]

I don't...

[Well, he was going to say he doesn't know outside of the general "an artist," but the shout causes him to lift his head toward the distance. He exchanges a glance with Dimitri, and then begins walking. It seems like there are more broken statues along the way.]

sooyoung ¤ serene, apt (steals ur format)

[pyojeol]

[i promised jumpscare thread and here it is

in that idk let's put this as post-jail break, Sooyoung is walking outside the apartment in the dead of night, so she's really solely to blame for getting jump scared?]

-- Fuck?!

[SHE JUMPS!!! pretty high too, and there's a flash of light in her hands as she brings up her dagger, aggressively pointing it at --]

D?! What the fuck! I almost stabbed you?! You moron!!

[SHE AIMS A PUNCH AT HIS RIBS]

HELP

[damnpire]

[Yeah, he really is just out here by the apartment, standing in the shadows of it. Somewhere near the doorway and the first set of windows. The only thing that can really be seen now that he has his clothes back is his pasty-white face looking out from under the hat.

He remains motionless against the reaction, even when the dagger emerges and is brandished at him... More surprisingly, he takes the punch to the ribs like it's nothing, and, while it doesn't hurt her, all her fist meets is a solid sheet of tensed muscle beneath the stiff leather. He could have grabbed her wrist maybe, but no...]

I didn't mean to scare you.

[pyojeol]

[HE REALLY LET HER GROPE HIS ABS

Sooyoung swears again, more muted this time, as she wrings her hand around dramatically like she just punched cement and it's all D's fault. Only one of those things are true. ]

Yeah, well, I didn't mean to punch you but I clearly had to because you're lurking around outside like some kind of pervert.

[anyway her shiny dagger disappears back up her sleeve, so that she has a free hand to grab onto her wrist, for the aforementioned dramatic effect.]

Why are you even awake? Shouldn't you sleeping right now?