Goodnight // Musebox

[theboogieman]

It's a dark and stormy night.
[option one.]

You can smell in the air that it's trying to rain. Zhas is roaming the city streets, ghosting around rooftops, on his usual hunt for anything that should be rolling back into its grave... Why are you out tonight? Is it a coincidence? Mistake? Or are you hunting something too?

[option two.]

Rain's hitting the windowpane pretty hard. You've been dropped into this world together, live in the same flat, have to deal with crazy otherworld politics and go on missions with a bunch of other weirdoes, blah blah blah. You've seen him around, sure, but he's never stayed long enough to chat... Hey, where are you right now? What are you doing?

[option three.]

It's Halloween. Costumed children have swarmed the streets now that the rain has finally stopped. Bright jack-o-lantern faces are reflected in every puddle and the bars have never stopped buzzing with colorful people. It's the heart of town, right where it all happens. A big party. What did you decide to dress up as this year?

Comments

option one, yo

[birdface]

[sure, she knows that there are other monsters out here, but they are so far below her notice that they matter no more than insects--disgusting little creatures that should not be. and as far as she knows, she's the only one who ever bothers to do something about them.

but that's more of a hobby, and not why she's out right now anyway. tonight, she's out throwing her power around among the mortals because she needs information... and who would dare try and stop her, anyway?

so, she's not quiet when she chucks some guy off the second-story balcony of a boarded-up building. she watches him hit the ground, listens for how badly his ankles take the fall, and gets ready to jump out after him. if she times it right, she can land on him just as he's finding his feet.]

/high pitched scream

[theboogieman]

[see? that's just the kind of thing he's looking for. he's new to the city, but he knows the sound of someone getting terrorized when he hears it.

Saeliss probably hears something scrape on the overhang above her before a tall, heavy thing suddenly swings down with a foot aimed right at her chest.]

[birdface]

[she isn't exactly expecting to be interrupted by something, let alone something that knows what it's doing swooping in from above. her sternum takes the brunt of the blow, breath shoves out of her with a cough, and the balcony railing crashes loud as her weight slams against it. she's small, but surprisingly heavy with muscle.

and there isn't much room to move there, so she can only stay fallen back against the railing in the moment that it takes to catch her bearings. ...time to find out what it is that is about to have a very bad day.]

[theboogieman]

[he's on his feet and moving fast. and he's got a knife out.

sure, this thing doesn't look quite right to him, but it sure isn't human--and that's all the more reason for him to try plunging his very silver blade through her heart as fast as he can.]

[birdface]

[she isn't human, and knives mean very little to her--silver or otherwise. she swipes an arm out, but it's mostly just to keep the blade from landing in her face or chest. it sticks deep in her arm, slashes out of it again when she moves like that, and the hiss between her fangs is more annoyance than pain.

there's the one moment following her shoving his weapon aside where she actually looks at him. what she sees doesn't make sense, the skull just adds to the surreality of it... but she doesn't have long to dwell on it. there are footsteps pattering away on the pavement below.

so, drawing up her knee, she aims a hearty kick in his direction to buy herself some space. and whether she really gets her wish or not, she's spending the next moment to haul herself over the railing so she can drop down to the street. her prey is getting away.]

[theboogieman]

[and when the knife doesn't go in quite right, and her hiss doesn't sound nearly as pained as he'd expected, he looks at her too--really looks at her, realizes those lines on her face aren't just some strange mutation, realizes he doesn't actually think she's a vampire at all.

but then things are moving again. he blocks the kick with his arms, but it still knocks him back--and he's going to feel it in the morning. he catches a glimpse of blood (?) on his blade, impossible for a vampire and far too dark to be mortal.

she can drop down onto the street, sure. but Zhas is going to drop down right behind her.]

[birdface]

[she's busy ignoring the possible pursuit--because who could he possibly be to actually cause her concern--in favor of running down her prey. The fall is just a hop down to her, and she lopes after the fleeing man without needing a moment to roll or recover.

he never had a chance. she clears the distance in a matter of seconds, snags her victim by the back of his jacket and flings his momentum into the wall of the alley. he drops like a sack of meat after careening into the bricks, and the shortlived chase is over.]

let's take a shot at two

[aberrant_type]

[It's sort of a good thing that Zhas is a messy guy except maybe not, because every area Hange holds sway over tends to acquire the same sense of organized chaos eventually. Every surface is a lab surface when your apartment is so small. Nothing is sacred, nothing is safe.

Fortunately, the kitchen seems to have been used as a cooking experiment this time and not an... experiment-experiment, with scary chemicals around all the food. As for Hange, she's awake and energetic as usual, and waving a pot in his face the moment she's intercepted him from the door. It's full of something dark and sticky that at least smells good. Chocolatey and good.]

Here! Try this!

/wheezing

[theboogieman]

[he's not even back ten seconds before he's got something being shoved in his face. he scowls, a purely instinctive reaction, and pushes the hot pan away from his face with a safely gloved hand.

ugh, what is she talking about? he's dripping wet from outside, with a bag of groceries in his arm--and his face as painted as usual. it's a little smeared where his hair is sticking to his forehead, though. he really, really hates the rain.

after squinting, maybe glaring for a couple of seconds, he turns and attempts to move to the kitchen table without any further interaction.]

[aberrant_type]

[Very used to being glared at and given weird looks, she traipses after him chatting energetically at his back.]

What kind of paint do you use, by the way? Can't you find something that's more waterproof? You're losing the design about here. [pointing to her own forehead]

[theboogieman]

[how did he avoid her for this long...

he almost says something back--her comment makes him mad enough for a sort of low grumbling that might have been a word or two if he'd bothered to move his mouth. but he settles for setting his bag down, rummaging through them, and pulling out the couple of things that need to be frozen.]

[aberrant_type]

[She just leans against the doorframe and continues to chatter at him. She'll crack you eventually, Zhas.]

The strong, silent type, huh? Don't worry about it. I guess I can talk for both of us. [The kitchen is like the site of an eggy chocolatey crime scene btw] Come to think of it, have you ever even mentioned your name? That's not too friendly! We're living together, after all. [Gallantly:] You can call me Hange. Or Zoe, if you feel like being friendly, I suppose!

[theboogieman]

[it's a slippery slope. if it wasn't such a small space, maybe he could just walk past her, but--in looking for an escape, or at least a route to the freezer, he finally takes in the full extent of the cooking madness that has apparently ensued in his absence.

he sniffs the air. he probably doesn't realize how obvious it is; vampires do it without thinking twice, and he picked up on the habit a long time ago. it really does smell like chocolate in here.

he appears to think about that for a moment before he (without looking) shoves his handful of frozen foods in her direction, like he fully expects her to do something with them.]

3

[bigglut]

[ It's not so much that Nun's dressed up as anything that particular night, rather he's not. Most of him doesn't look out of place: he's wearing regular clothing. Just an oversized coat, scarf, and some old tattered jeans. Pretty commonplace. What isn't is the spiny tail that hangs below the edge of their coat, not necessarily scaled or spiky; but it's segments in points with outward-facing edges. And rather than hang simply like a prop it twitches from side to side with curiosity as he observes the festivities below with eyes that are perhaps a little strange too: the sclera is solid black.

He's not out in the middle of things when he observes but from within one of the larger alleys, sticking to one side so that his elbow almost touches the old brick. It's so vibrant and colourful and alive in a way Nun's never experienced before. There are people, meat, everywhere; the sound of voices and words and laughter and music.

It's kind of beautiful, actually. ]

[theboogieman]

[you can get away with a lot, on Halloween. a couple of children might stop to stare at him every once in a while, maybe one tries to point out his tail to their mother--but the creature gets away with his observation without a problem. it's the kind of night where a strange thing like him could walk around in the open and no one would think them strange.

speaking of which, someone suddenly gets thrown, loudly, out the back door of some bar in that same alleyway. the man is no one important, but he's got a broken nose. he's bleeding a lot. he's followed closely behind by some tall guy in a big black coat and a crazy-looking skull painted on his face.

the skull guy absolutely goes in to punch him again, and the first guy doesn't do so good at getting up after that. people are crowding the door. someone inside the bar is yelling. sure is wild, this human life, huh?]

[bigglut]

[ Incredibly. But still so interesting that despite the distance he keeps, Nun can't help but turn his head as the door bursts open. The subsequent events wouldn't draw him over any more so than the children with their parents...only after a couple of second, the thick and coppery scent of the one man's broken nose reaches his own and Nun feels a pang of hunger.

So he does wander closer, hedging around the 'edge' of their little space. He's never seen a fight between humans--wonders if the stronger means to stake claim on his prey or if he will permit Nun to encroach. His tail swishes, once. ]

[theboogieman]

[a couple more people filter out into the alley, one of them to help up their poorly-responding friend, another to start yelling at the tall one for something. the tall guy doesn't seem to mind so much. in fact, as soon as it looks like the fight is over, his attention slides right over to where Nun is hovering, at the edge of things.]

Hey! Hey, are you fucking listening to-- [that guy yelling? the skullfaced one just shoves his face away, literally, and then walks over to this new stranger. he grabs his arm just below the shoulder and starts pulling him away from the mess. the yelling man was so stunned that he doesn't find it in him to start yelling again until they're both already moving away.

man, this guy is strong...]

[bigglut]

[ Really strong. He must be human, because his hands are so powerful compared to Nun's own. He could never muster the strength in them to grab someone's arm and pull them along like this. It feels as if Skull's grip is made of iron... That's really impressive.

But he's not sure what it means to be approached and dragged along without so much as a scenting or warning of some kind. Membrane covers his eyes from one side in a blink as he allows himself to be pulled along--mostly because he realizes some of the weaker human's blood is on this one's hand still. What he'd really like to do is wander back over to that crowd, but the scent is enough to keep Nun at his side with minimal resistance for the most part.

There's just one longing look sent back over his shoulder before he turns his grey-eyed gaze on the human who is arguably a good foot or so taller than him.

He didn't know they could grow so big. Or that they could wear their bones outside their skin. ]

[theboogieman]

[the semiconscious body is being dragged back inside. now that he's got a 'friend', the others don't seem too inclined to go after either of them.

it's fine, this one is already onto other things. he stops them both near the mouth of the ally. his eyes glow a dim orange, inhuman, now that they're away from the light--like little smoldering embers.

speaking of inhuman, he leans forward to very obviously smell him, sniffing at the air the way humans don't usually do. vampires do it, though. all the time. and Zhas isn't particularly concerned with looking human right now.]

Option 3

[wordmiser]

[She's gotten damp. She didn't love being damp. It was all up in her hair, man, and that stuff was cold.

The towel she's using to dry her hair hides her body language and face, so Jinx deigned to inquire to him with words. Well. Word. Ish.

Syllable.]

Sup.

UNLESS it's secretly option 2.

[theboogieman]

[he got rained on too. he walked in the door, like, thirty seconds ago. his painted face is a little smudged where his wet hair is plastered over his forehead. really unfortunate.

he hates rain. he hates that much water being anywhere. makes him nervous. couldn't say why.

so he sets a bag of groceries (?) down on their little table and says nothing, but at least acknowledges she is there with one of his signature, squinted looks of disapproval.]

It's a ninja 2

[wordmiser]

[She pulls the towel off her head and quints at him in return, hands busy squeezing out her long hair.

Fine. Be that way. See if she wastes more words on you.

She nudges the counter with her hip to indicate the extra folded towel she'd pulled out for him.]

[theboogieman]

[he follows the motion with his eyes, and... oh. that's... nice of her.

this is why he usually avoids people. people are uncomfortable. he takes a big breath, breathes out through his nose, and hands her something from out of his grocery bag--a snack? a thing to eat? take it and go do something with it and leave him alone.]

[wordmiser]

[Is that a...

Her eyes light up, and Jinx promptly forgets her own towel, dropping it over a chair carelessly. Snacks rate so high over dryness it's actually kind of sad.

The perfect reward, this is awesome, thanks roomie.

Because this is awesome, she'll smile at you. Feel blessed. Also, a quick, signed thank you.]

[theboogieman]

[he does not feel particularly blessed, but he does wave his hand dismissively. it's nothing. he does not want to acknowledge that they are having a moment. take your chips and leave him to ponder how he got away with not talking to her for so long in the first place.

Skull-Face starts peeling off his jacket, continuing to look like he disapproves of pretty much everything that has ever existed. it looks unusually heavy, in the way it hangs, especially when he drapes it over the back of one of their kitchen chairs and goes back to rummaging through his bag.]