tongueamok | XOqNI

They can try it.

( That's said in such a growl that it should be obvious in tone that Kate wasn't entirely in control of her reactions there. If it wasn't, the intake of breath and the sharp exhale before she speaks again should do it. )

... Going. Keep me updated.

I will. You do the same.

[You scary, Kate. There's a pause, and then:]

Thank you for your concern.

[Click.]

( She waits specifically until Glacius isn't around to knock on the door. Not out of avoidance, but because the words of earlier arguments ring in her head and the knot of relentless guilt in her stomach won't let this go.

Maybe it's time she and Carlisle talked instead of sniped at one another. So she approaches, empty-handed because she really has no idea what to bring to a casual chat if she's not bringing drink, and knocks on his door.

Hopefully he's in. )

[It's easy enough to find a time when Carlisle is home and Glacius isn't around -- it's not as though the clergyman really goes anywhere aside from his garden, and even then, he's not keen on staying in the suns for very long. The knock at the door surprises him, as does the face he sees on the other side once cracking the entryway open.

He reddens, running a hand through his hair, trying to smooth it down. It's a bit of a mess.]

Kate. D- did you need something?

( At least he's predictable. Kate shrugs, casual as she can look, pressing a hand to the curve where her shoulder and neck meet and working on relaxing a knot of muscle there. )

Not really. ( Other than something to relieve this constant assault of guilt the city's pressing down on them. ) Checking on you.

( Kate pls. )

Ah. Thank you.

[He's not sure why she'd want to check on him, but he does his best to assume it's because she cares and not because she thinks he's incapable of surviving even on an average day. Despite his tired appearance, he steps aside to allow her entry.]

Is something the matter? It doesn't seem like you to waste your time checking on me these days, given, ah.

[There's not much to say other than 'Glacius is an ice-covered warrior who is very invested in my safety," so he falls silent.]

( Yeah, that's the reason, Carlisle. That and the guilt gnawing at her gut which tells her she should do more to show her friends that she cares. That fears and old habits are things she's promised to break a million times and never truly done so. )

Wanted to talk to a friend. No big deal.

( She enters as she says that. It's no big deal, right? People hang out. Not usually them, to be sure, but that can change. It should change. )

[No big deal indeed, but the way she puts that makes Carlisle smile -- it's brief, but genuine.]

Ah.

[He closes the door behind him, gesturing to the couch, heading into the kitchen himself for tea.]

How are things, Kate? With you.

[And other people she associates with.]

( He asks that and Kate's hand goes instinctively to her hair, tucking a piece behind her ear with a brief clearing of her throat. Things have been... good. And terrifying. Things blurted out under the weight of that knot of guilt that lingers on her shoulders now. )

Alright. Quiet with the barrier.

( It certainly helps knock down the number of people visiting the clinic, at least. )

Doubt that'll stick.

( Hadriel isn't often in the habit of giving them breathers. )

I am inclined to agree.

[He pours them both drinks; if the light that flashes from beyond the counter is any indication, he's imbuing his with energy. The days his joints don't fight against him are few and far between. Bringing both cups into the den, he sets one before Kate, breathing in the steam of his own as he settles into his chair.]

I'd offer you something stronger to drink, but we haven't anything here. Not anymore.

[Not in a long time, either, but not for his lack of want.]

( She's not going to object, though Kate sits up straighter from the chair she's settled into as Carlisle makes drinks, watching as the light bounces off the nearby surfaces. She waves a hand in response to his words. Sure, she could use something stronger - she usually could, really - but she can live with the tea. )

What made you stop anyway?

( She knows that he stopped, she's noticed the lack of flask in his presence over the months. )

[Carlisle's eyes bury themselves in his drink, his face reddening just a pinch -- however light his embarrassment may be, it's obvious against his pale tone. He considers a single-word answer, the easiest one, but more words pour from him than he anticipates, as though their release would relieve him of his burdens.]

After Shadow destroyed my garden, I spent several days drinking in my room. It was easier to drink than to face my guilt, and it takes a lot of alcohol to numb me to it. I had hoped to emerge having forgotten why I was drinking in the first place. I was met instead with an understandably disappointed partner who gave me an ultimatum.

[He handed over his flask willingly rather than having it taken from him. He still doesn't have it. He probably shouldn't, given how desperately he has wanted a drink for months now. It had been his coping mechanism for years, and change is so difficult sometimes... but worth it for what he has received in return, in the end.]

Edited 2018-05-04 21:15 (UTC)

( Shadow again. So much comes back to him and this event, and Kate wishes he was here so she could find out just what he was thinking. After the harsh reaction to her mistake with the fog back then, it irks her to know he did something like this. All the more to one of her friends. )

Ah. ( She knows that kind of drinking all too well, honestly. It might take significantly less alcohol for her to forget what she's drinking for, but still. )

Tea's fine anyway.

( Speaking of, god she misses a proper cuppa. )

[Having a nice day tending to your garden, Carlisle? Good.

[Because you're about to have an unexpected visitor after a rather concerning post.]

...Hello. [~~Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Cthulhu?~~ Ravine's deep voice comes from behind where Carlisle is working, the giant woman looming over him with a slight toothy smile and eyes obscured behind the flashing lenses of sunglasses.]

You wouldn't happen to know about anything about that friend of yours inquiring about phylacteries, would you?

[Of course you do.]

[With the way Ravine travels, Carlisle doesn't even hear her approach, the sounds of his shears snipping away at the clawed leaves of his paw plants louder than her footsteps. He does hear, however, her voice from behind him. That startles him enough, making him stiffen in alarm, but not nearly as much as the sight that greets him when he turns to face his visitor. He's considered tall for his world, but she absolutely towers over him, forcing him to look up to meet her face; he shrinks beneath her, his hand shaking as he wields his pruning scissors like a weapon.

In good news, despite how terrifying his mystery lady is, he has other things to be more worried about.]

W- who are- what do you—

[He stammers for just a moment before his brain makes the connection. He attempts to downplay all of his fears -- about the topic, about the woman, about who might be asking such a question, and about people talking about him behind his back -- and manages to scrape together a few hurried questions.]

Phy- phylacteries? Why would anybody be- be asking about that? About such a- and why? Why would anybody, much less someone I know, which. Wait. Do I- do I even know you?

[As Carlisle shrinks, Ravine seems to be leaning even more over him, like a growing shadow passing by under a rapidly turning sun.]

It would seem someone knows you enough to be asking around for help on dabble into the practice of meddling with souls. She's been very dodgy as to her reasons, so she's not getting much help.

[Normally Ravine would choose to stay out of it, but when it comes to souls, that is in fact her business.]

[Carlisle continues jittering in outright terror, a dozen questions passing through his mind. Who is this woman? Why are souls her purview? And just what has Kate been saying on the network abo— KATE. Ire flashes through the fright, his eyes on fire, the light behind them flaring with this temper. His friend, asking about phylacteries? He's only mentioned them to two people, and Kate is the only one of those two foolish enough to poll the entire network about his condition, but—

He holds up a finger —a moment, it seemingly asks— his face still twisted with irritation as he fishes for his phone, attempting to find this transmission for himself. His voice rattles out of him again as he attempts to scan the network, his hand shaking, eyes darting from the imposing figure before him to the device in his hands.]

H-h-h-how did you know sh- she meant me? I don't- I don't believe we've m- met, have we?

[For once, Ravine is not inclined to beat about the bush. There's someone who's asking others about dipping into powers she doesn't understand, all for this person. And for what?

[She reads the situation for herself. It doesn't take much more than a glance to see the wound. The darkness pouring out of him. It's hard not to notice when those fragments are usually part of the very things you're supposed to rid the living of. But this looks different, more complicated.

[Without another word, Ravine snatches the phone from the top and holds it away from Carlisle.]

It is locked. She is not going about it so openly with you, this I saw.

I also see that you are not quite dead or alive, either, so that answers some matters.

[Here, have your phone back, Carlisle. Ravine has taken it upon herself to turn it off for you.]

[Given his general ineptitude with technology, Carlisle wasn't even aware you could prevent a specific individual from seeing an entire post. Then again, it took him ages to figure out that one could make the line 'private,' with correspondence shared between only two people, and even then, he tends to struggle with actually making the device do it. It bothers him to look too long at the screen, his head hurting from the very notion of what technology can do. Magic would be easier -- magic is something he understands, that he finds comfort in.

What he doesn't find comfort in is the fact that this tall stranger knows an uncomfortable amount about him. It reminds him too much of Bear Den and the surrounding region, where people knew just who he was supposed to be, and who he wasn't. He wasn't a proper Longinmouth. They knew that before they even learned his name. Apprehension wears into Carlisle; he takes a step backward, his legs hitting one of the long planters behind him. He clutches his phone tightly as she hands it back, more defensive of the device than he's ever been, and only because it's more familiar than this giantess before him.]

Wh- what has she told you? You don't- you don't know who I am! Or anything about me, so- so don't presume that you do!

Edited 2018-05-07 04:10 (UTC)

[His discomfort is obvious even to her. Ravine doesn't have to be an empath like her brother to take notice of that.

[She doesn't move as Carlisle retreats a few steps away, only straightens her back so that she appears even taller than she already does.]

On the contrary, she has told very little. It appears that in her efforts to invade your privacy, she has also attempted to respect it, nonetheless to a fault. [She dips her head, sliding her sunglasses off her face with a gloved hand. When she looks to Carlisle again, her eyes flash from an almost luminous gold to their more natural shade of light brown.] I, however, don't always need to suffer such methods as twenty questions to find out what I want.

...

I believe your parts of the universe would still call my kind "seers" than "psychics". Perhaps something else. It is difficult to keep track of them all, even for me!

[Again, she's cutting the bullshit a little more now than usual.]

A s-s-seer? Truly?

[Now that is a familiar term for Carlisle, though he's never really met one himself. They're spoken of in the city, their businesses kept to the darkened alleys and hidden nooks behind buildings. The flashy, proud ones tend to be liars, mere pretenders looking for a gullible audience; those with the true gift of foresight are said to be mad, so often driven beyond the brink of sanity by their own abilities. As a twice-cursed, a people whose very grip on reality suffers the longer they continue to exist in a world where they shouldn't, Carlisle understands that feeling completely.

He still trembles, his eyes wide upon this supposed seer as he straightens just a little. That would explain how she knows such things about him, especially if Kate indeed didn't say anything regarding his condition or his identity.]

I- I suppose she was- was asking in a misguided attempt to— [He swallows the knot in his throat, his slate eyes still aglow.] To- to help.

[Foolish, misguided, and ultimately with good intentions: that's the Kate Galloway way.]

Edited 2018-05-07 04:57 (UTC)

[While he tries to ease his obvious disquiet, Ravine can see that this man is troubled by other means underneath. Half-dead and half-alive, huh? Surely she couldn't simply reap the living side as she could the corrupted, and even then she cannot determine whether that would be a prudent course of action. Just because she can see the future doesn't mean that everything she wishes to. That would be too easy!]

I assume this is what she is seeking to help you with? [Ravine points to the wound over his abdomen, visible to her while unseen to most others.]

Edited 2018-05-07 06:02 (UTC)

[Carlisle's hand goes to his abdomen immediately, his fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. His eyes affix themselves somewhere on the ground as he bites his tongue; he looks as though he doesn't want to answer, but she already knows, surely. If she knows of his wound -- where it is, the nature of it, why he thinks a phylactery might help him -- then what use it is to lie to her?

He attempts to fight his discomfort with familiarity. The open space, even though it is within his garden, suddenly feels too open, too unguarded.]

C- could we talk about this inside? [He cocks his head in the direction of the small cottage at the center of the garden.] Not- not out here, Miss. Um.

[She likely knows his name, but he has no clue of hers. How embarrassing it is to deal with a seer.]

[Lucky for Carlisle, Ravine is feeling particularly blunt today. It helps when there's someone who's talking about practicing crafts that could do more harm than good, in this case.

[She nods in agreement.]

I am called Ravine.

[It's her go-to, implying that she has more than the one. But hey, who's counting? Only two seem to know her true name, and she's not about to up the number now.

[With that, she gestures towards the cottage, hinting that she will "follow" where he is going. And perhaps she'll even use a door this time.]

[He seems reluctant to move from his spot, but Carlisle eventually does take the first step, wondering if he should ask if Ravine is her name name, or just a name she prefers. From the way she put it, it sounds like the latter. Should he ask? No, he shouldn't, he decides. It's probably rude, and she likely knows he's thinking about that question anyway. And perhaps knows that he's thinking about thinking about that question.

He swallows another knot that has formed in his throat. He's never put much thought into seers, but now that he does, he can see why they tend to lose their minds to their own prescience. He can hardly even handle the notion of such an ability, as it riles his nerves and caters to his paranoia.

Carlisle pushes the door open when he reaches it, letting his guest step inside first, his eyes still lodged on the ground. It looks like half a garden shed and half a living space, complete with a table, chairs, and a bed lined with furs. The lock clicks behind him as he closes the entrance -- he's not expecting any more company, but he hadn't been expecting company to begin with.]

Kate meant no harm, I assure you. And I don't- I don't believe she even has the c- capacity to make a phylactery, even if she wanted.

XOqNI

[voice]

[disconnect]

action because i can ok

\o/

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[action] i'm not really sorry.

Nothing to see here. Just a giant woman.

https://youtu.be/U9oUEvZ_O9Q

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