aterat | He is beauty, he is grace, see him fall right on his face. >>;;

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He is beauty, he is grace, see him fall right on his face. >>;;

Who; Caelan and you!
What; Caelan is back from the dead, and he’s not happy. 1 Open log & 1 Open Network Post
Where; The fountain square, and tell-phone network.
When; Early November, post Bear defeat
Warnings; Expected references to a violent death, probably alcohol at some point, and to note: He will be blind for these threads, as per the cost of resurrection. Expect a less charming and happy seal man for a while.

The Fountain Square

Being returned to the city was a relief, honestly. Even if he couldn’t see the place he’d been, he knew he wasn’t in there anymore. The air was fresher, and he could feel the sun on his skin. It was a vast improvement on the last few days, in his opinion. He’d be happier if he could A. See it and B. Knew where the fuck his stuff had ended up post bear-mauling.

Yes, Caelan has priorities. The whole processing his death thing can wait until after he finds his sealskin.

Instead, he frowned at the world around him, eyes unfocused and not fixing on anything in particular. Standing around here unfortunately wasn’t going to get him anywhere, and even if he couldn’t really see where he was going he could at least find some out of the way place to sit and figure out how he’d get home.

... Or maybe the tavern.

So he took two steps... and ended up tripping with an uncharacteristic lack of grace right over the side of the fountain into the water with a splash and an indignant sound.

Because of course he would, why wouldn’t that happen next...?

Rather than kick up a fuss, he just let himself lay in the fountain for a minute or two. It’s fine, selkies can’t die by drowning, he’s not risking another trip to the mausoleum. He just needed a minute to reflect on all the poor life choices that led him right up to this moment.

Definitely going to need a drink... More than one, in fact.

Network

[Alright, Caelan very rarely makes use of the network. He hates the tell-phone for multiple reasons, and he’s more of a face-to-face kind of guy. But things are complicated, and he’s getting anxious (Him! Anxious!) about something very specific.

And to make matters worse, it’s not like he can do much about it right now. He can’t see, his eyes haven’t worked since he woke up to Athony telling him what the deal was with dying in this world. Sure, he was glad that he wasn’t permanently dead and all, but this was still less than ideal.]

So as if being murdered by a flea-infested, walking rug wasn’t bad enough— [Oh yes, his accent is stronger today. Caelan couldn’t be bothered to control his voice at all right now. He’s in a mood. Also, yeah, he was missing all this time because he had a run in with the demon bear.] apparently while death isn’t permanent, it’s not without it’s “complications.”

[Can you hear the air quotes? They’re there.

He paused to take a deep breath, he needs to not sound so agitated. He’s got his image to think about.]

My eyes are fucked up. By which I mean they don’t work at all at the moment. It’s making another problem of mine a little more complicated. In the rush to get away from the bastard, I lost my satchel. It’s large, brownish, probably covered in blood. Someone else is more likely to see it before I do. [Ha...] so I’d appreciate if someone would give me a call if they’ve noticed it somewhere since my run in with the bear a few weeks back.

I’ll even reward the person who does depending on how it goes.

(ooc: Caelan will be in need of assistance for a few in game days until his eyes start working, but he will be snippy if you ask what’s in the bag. As of yet, no one has it and it’s still missing. If you want to have had that your character already found it, hit me up on

whimsicalspook or Discord WhimsicalSpook#8219 (or the discord group chat!) and we can discuss. Otherwise volunteer to help the seal man search, be his seeing-eye-person!

Also if you want a personalized starter, let me know! Additionally, you can throw one at me or yell at me on the above contact methods if you have something you want me to tag!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Since the whole bear thing had been done, Yuki had avoided contacting the Gullwings to try to talk to Miss Yuna. He'd heard about his friend too and that kept him in self isolation while trying to process all of that. Now though he went out, on the intended mission to get flowers to bring by the Carpentry shop after hours.

On his way there he passed by the fountain and heard a splash. Looking over to see what had caused the noise, grey eyes discovered Caelan in the fountain. As the other sat there, Yuki went over.

"Caelan..are you okay?" Why was he just sitting there?

Caelan took a deep breath, then another, and then another for good measure... He wasn’t going to get mad. The fountain wasn’t sentient; it didn’t just pop out of nowhere and trip him. It was his damned eyes’ fault and the fault of a demonic bear, which he certainly hoped was dead by now because he wasn’t sure he liked the idea of having to repeat the event of his death.

Then there was the sound of a familiar voice as someone stopped to stand next to the fountain. Caelan had liked Yuki, and probably would have been happier to see him if he weren’t freshly resurrected from being torn apart and now apparently blind. “I’m dandy, could dance a bloody jig.” He responded, as his head rolled to one side and seemed to stare at Yuki, or at his arm apparently. After all, he wasn’t entirely sure precisely which way to look beyond the general sound.

“Just tripped in is all, it’s Yuki... right?” He added just to be certain, in case his ears were messed up too.

Because that’d be just his luck today.

That was a different response than what he'd expected and Yuki pulled back a little. Was Caelan angry with him or something for not coming around? But he nodded as he was correctly guessing who he was talking to. "Yes..let me see if I can help you up." He held out his hand and it was weird..the other didn't seem to be catching on right away.

But he kept his hand out to the other and smiled. "I've been meaning to come see you and Miss Yuna at the Gullwings office. But I'll walk there with you if you're headed in that direction."

A thought.

"You..don't have your phone on you do you?" It'd probably be deader than a doornail at this rate.

Caelan certainly wasn’t angry at Yuki, and he might even feel a little bad if he realized that was how it had come off. Unfortunately, he was just angry at himself and the situation he’d now found himself in. He’d tried very hard to be careful before he died, and it still hadn’t mattered. Now, here he was, a Selkie missing both his sight and his sealskin.

Not good.

The suggestion that they go to the office together, and the question about his phone gets a very confused little wrinkle of his nose. What? “Well, I’m not sure about Yuna... but I don’t expect you could have come to find me, anyway. Was kind of unavailable on account of an angry walking fur-rug.” Did no one realize he’d died? He’d only just met Yuki fairly recently, so his friend couldn’t be blamed for not wondering. But... there were other friends who spent a great deal of time in his apartment. Had they just assumed he’d thrown himself into the sea for a few weeks? That he’d flaked out entirely on his responsibilities?

Ouch. He was a bit irresponsible at times, but not like that.

“My phone should still be at my apartment, probably sitting in a bowl of rice from when I dropped it in the ocean?” Because he had probably gotten a fatal bear hug a few days after their meeting.

"Angry fur rug?" Yuki asked. And somehow his stomach sank as the words registered. He didn't want to ask about the conclusion he'd come to, and it didn't make sense anyway because people didn't come back..from there. So he stayed quiet.

More confusion registered in his mind as he tried to figure out why Caelan's phone would still be sitting in rice. It made absolute zero sense, why would that be a thing? Should he ask where the other had been? Well no it was none of his business, that would be impolite. And that's when he realized the other still hadn't taken his hand.

Odd.

"Do you need some help up out of the fountain?" In Yuki's mind his friend couldn't be comfortable with being all wet. But the thing was, the man didn't seem as if he was in any hurry to move or get out of his predicament. But he would stay and offer to help because that's what friends did.

The question gets a pause in his vaguely internal/external fuming. “Yeah? The bear that was running around.” He huffed, “Which I certainly hope is gone, bloody thing does not belong in a damned city unless it’s one in hell.” This was something of an understatement, the very idea that the bear might still be around was kind of horrifying to the selkie. That was saying something, considering the things Caelan had actually survived in his life.

It had caught him off guard in all the worst ways.

He really didn’t care much about the phone one way or another, it was a highly impractical device for him... Still, if it was functional after sitting in rice for as long as it had? It would come in handy now, he was going to have to make some calls...

Caelan was not shy about taking hands or physical contact in general, he was social and used to a tight-knit group where it was common. So him not taking the offered hand? It was very strange if you didn’t know about his current situation. He does finally push himself up out of the water to leave it behind. No fountain was going to best him! “I should be alright, Yuki. It just jumped out in front of me is all.”

And he lifted a foot with the intent of stepping over the side.

Or so he had hoped to...

Instead, his foot caught on the ledge and he tripped forward to land in a heap outside the fountain at his friend’s feet. “...I swear that the first thing I do when I can see again is going to be to dismantle this bloody thing and throw it piece by piece into the ocean!!”

Sorry, Yuki. He’s having a day.

"I'm.." Yuki's voice trailed off as his mind put together the puzzle his mouth and voice were refusing to. But once Caelan decided to help himself up, he backed up trying to stay out of the way. And his brain asked how a fountain could jump in front of someone but he left it alone.

And the next thing he knew, the man fell on his face at his feet. And of course the gray haired man tried to start helping pick him up. There was a slight smile that the other couldn't see as he started venting, because even if he couldn't see now, at least his spirit was still intact. Sometimes ferocity got people through tough times, he'd gone through it at times himself though obviously not to this extent.

"Come on, I'll help you get to your feet and we'll get you some dry clothes first."

Caelan waved a hand in a vague direction that he thought Yuki might’ve been standing, “I’m used to being a little soggy, Yuki.” Which was true, though admittedly it was rarely while wearing actual clothing. It was unpleasant, and damp, and different from the usual ‘naked seal man’ soggy. Damned human standards...

He doesn’t fight the assistance, if only because he really wanted to be on his feet again and he had a sneaking suspicion that he was going to trip into more things if he didn’t. “But yeah, if you could get me back to the red building, then I’d be grateful. Not sure that I feel like falling over too much more today.”

There was a nod to the instructions even if Caelan can't currently see it. "Of course." So he helped the other man stand and guided him by taking a hold of the cuff of his sleeve. The two slowly made their way and as they did, Yuki kept his goal of the red building in mind. True he'd never been over there but he never had any reason to be.

As they walked, he wasn't sure if it was polite conversation to talk about others but he tried anyway. "I think I heard the bear was gone, and it was taken down by a small team of people."

So in other words Caelan didn't have to worry about it anymore.

Back on his feet, he allowed Yuki to carefully guide him around. It was so strange... He wasn’t accustomed to letting other people lead him around like this. Usually he was the one doing the leading. “Thanks, Yuki. I appreciate it. This whole mess is just getting more and more ridiculous.” He responded with a sigh, running a free hand through his hair to pull it back out of his face.

The news of the bear being gone is quite a relief. “Good riddance to it, then.” He muttered, with a small nod. The last thing he wanted was to deal with the possibility of that nonsense all over again.

"It's no trouble at all." Yuki replied, hoping he didn't sound as worried as he felt. Caelan wasn't heavy but he would've helped even if that had been the case. "Maybe you'll feel better in a few days." This was a cheer he certainly didn't feel but at the same time he wasn't about to try and be all doom and gloom. This man needed help, and Yuki was going to give it no matter what.

He slightly smiled at Caelan's good riddance comment and nodded. "It couldn't have been easy, but somehow they got rid of it."

“That’s the hope, anyway.” Caelan responded to the optimism. “Athony seemed to imply it wasn’t permanent. Hope he’s right...” He added as they walked. “I’ve got too much trouble to get into to stay like this.” It’s an attempt at light humour, but it also wasn’t an entire lie. The fae was definitely more than a little inclined to get into mischief at this point, too frustrated with the situation to behave like the model citizen he had a feeling they were expected to be.

And besides that... “I’ve got a job to do later this month too with the Gullwings. There’s a big fuss going down at the cemetery, I’d hate to let the down.” He added with a small frown. Really, this had better not last... Caelan would be disappointed if he had to sit things out now.

The matter of the bear is one that he’d rather not talk about, but he found himself agreeing, anyway. “Yeah... It wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen before, that’s for sure.”

Yuki quietly breathed a sigh of relief that the affliction wasn't permanent. And with any luck, Caelan wouldn't face anything like this ever again. Somehow being unable to protect other people grated on Yuki's nerves. He knew martial arts but that wasn't going to stand up against a terrorizing demon bear.

Now his companion was going on about something going on in the cemetery. "You're putting yourself back in danger?" And then he realized his immediate mistake and he shook his head. "I'm sorry..that wasn't polite of me to ask." Someone who suffered something so unimaginable and was back to talk about it was going back to risk his life again to help others.

And it all bugged him. He thought if there was anything else he could learn but this time period or time warp or whatever it was, was simply baffling. Then he thought back to Shishou who had a collection of swords but he never did teach the Sohma boys for whatever reason. And it made him wonder now if they were simply for display since he never saw the man use them at all.

Still.

"The guards here seem to have weapons. I wonder where they get them." This was him wondering aloud but of course Caelan was free to chime in on it.

Caelan’s head tilted in Yuki’s direction rather curiously at the question. It was sweet that he sounded so concerned, especially when he apologized for being nosy. So he laughed softly and waved a hand vaguely at the very idea, “No need to worry, if I thought you were being rude you’d know it.” He grinned with a small laugh, the fae definitely had a way of making their annoyance with rude humans known. “But to answer your question? Yes, I suppose I am. Not the same way as before though, I didn’t go looking for the bear after all. I know my limits.”

Usually... Caelan could get carried away now and again.

“I’m going to be guarding a door in the sewers with a small team, handling the undead around the door to make sure there’s a clear path if they need to make a retreat.” The lich was for people who had more combative abilities in his opinion, selkie magic wasn’t really made for that kind of fight. Maybe something at sea, but not on land. As it was, he didn’t even have his sealskin at the moment.

“Well, I’m pretty sure they get their stuff from the metalworkers in the part of town by the docks? There’s apparently a pretty good blacksmith down there running a shop. Haven’t had an occasion to go there myself, I came to this world out of a job and I had my knives.” He added with a shrug a moment later, the fae and metalworkers generally didn’t meld well. Caelan was the sort who had a pretty bad allergy where iron was concerned, so it wasn’t really worth it unless one of his knives broke.

The plans had him concerned. "How are you going to make sure that you don't get hurt while you're guarding this door? I mean..it sounds pretty dangerous..handling undead?" How did someone even think about doing something like that? It troubled him that this man was just getting back from the dead and was wading right back in willingly.

Something couldn't be right.

But the metal workers part cheered him up. While Yuki wasn't a hero and never would be considered as such, standing around doing nothing wasn't something he wanted to do either. The police here were soldiers, but the problem was, there didn't seem to be enough of them to protect people.

The docks could be dangerous, but if he went there during the day, maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Even if he got the weapon part, he'd have to train with someone and that would be a thing in itself. And he didn't know where to start with that either unless he hung around the office or did an inquiry or two.

“Well, I can’t guarantee that I won’t get injured. There’s always some risk with these things, but the same could be said about a lot of things. I had to jump out a window once on a job and I broke my damned leg, but that’s just how things go sometimes.” Caelan doesn’t sound flippant exactly, it was more like he was just explaining the facts. He was dedicated to causes he believed in, and so he was willing to take the odd risk here and there. “I have experience with these things already, I did map the sewers and help Yuna find the door after all. The undead are definitely easier to handle than a demonic teddy-bear.”

Well, if you either immobilized them or beheaded them. Still, he was more than confident where they were concerned. There was a reason he wouldn’t go in to help with the liche, it was the same reason he hadn’t really gone looking for that damned bear, he knew better. Rather than be a liability in the main fight, he could offer support for their possible need to retreat later. “Plus, I’ll have backup. I’m not going to be guarding the door alone.”

Gray eyes widened at listening to Caelan talk about jumping out of a window and breaking his leg. And even though the other sounded factual, the thought of handling undead and a demonic bear or even having faced on just jangled his nerves. But he couldn't let that show other than as much as he had. Mapping sewers didn't sound much fun either though he supposed if the curse was still active, Yuki wondered if he would've been able to help somehow.

At hearing about backup though, the grey haired man felt a little better, but only just a little. "You'll have someone there with you..well that's more of a relief." Because really he didn't want to see anything more happen to Caelan.

Caelan, Yuki would learn with time, was kind of a reckless idiot. He had excellent planning abilities, and was good at organizing his team... But when things went wrong, (not slightly inconvenient, but entirely and horribly wrong) or he got exceptionally emotional, his impulse decisions were not often made in a sensible fashion if he didn’t have someone nearby to grab him by the ear.

So jumping out windows was a thing he had done on more than one occasion, and it was honestly lucky he’d only broken a leg once.

The sewer mapping had been a practical decision at the end of the day, they were useful travel routes if you were trying to avoid people... Like city guards trying to apprehend you for doing things that one could be called a ‘proper miscreant’ for. Not that he’d given them a reason to get pissed off with him, but he wasn’t going to bet on that never being an issue. Plus, on the other end of it, he knew people were bound to want to explore down there. Why not make sure his fellow abductees were safe?

He grinned though, head tilting in the direction of Yuki’s voice. “I’m touched that you’re so concerned, Yuki. Rest assured that I wouldn’t go into a situation like that without back up. At least not without good reason, that I can promise.”

"I guess that's a good enough promise as any." Yuki said, trying not to sound any more worried than he already was. He already considered Caelan reckless but in a good hearted and well meaning way. Risking one's life to help others was a nobility in itself. He was just the type to cover the reckless behaviour of others, like when he had to cover for the Cat or even when Haru had gone black. Not even thinking of the possible danger to himself, Yuki had gone off to talk to the Ox and actually managed to talk some sense into him. And he'd gone alone so as to not risk anyone else. So he understood.

However, death hadn't been in the cards in that particular situation unlike with Caelan here leaning on him. Rin had threatened him too but he wasn't scared of her either. Ok well..she unnerved him with talking tough and being naked but that was a thing in itself. She'd even earned his admiration for doing such a thing too.

Sighing, their destination was in sight and he breathed a sigh of relief. No one had come to disturb them during their chat, there wasn't any sign of anyone coming to cause trouble for them or anything of that nature. And his mind wandered, knowing he was going to need to learn to fight here, even if it was just to defend. Yuki had a feeling the bear might just be a beginning.

“The best I’ve got for you, I’m afraid.” He responded with a little shrug, “I appreciate your concern though, Yuki.” Caelan meant that too, it was a little grounding to remember people actually did care if he continued to exist or not. In a strange world, far from the little group he’d built for himself? It was rather important to have people to think about, otherwise the recklessness got several times worse.

Especially if more things like the bear made appearances, though the bear had been... a particularly unfortunate accident. He hadn’t gone looking for it after all, he’d been trying to avoid the daytime crowd to avoid going vaguely crazy from the sea calling him back.

The selkie had a feeling they were coming up to their destination, the pace shifting just enough. It was good though, he was honestly ready to be settled in a familiar setting. There was a lot to think about, and a lot to figure out.

"It's fine." Yuki replied, with a very careful shrug since Caelan was leaning on him. It was kind of weird to the silver haired man to be so worried about a man he barely knew. But besides Caelan, Jacob was the only other one that stretched his hand out to be friends so to speak. And even if he'd been the Student Council president back home and had to work with people, he still pretty much kept to a small group of people at a time.

He opened the door easily enough and looked around. "I'm not sure which one of these places is yours, or that you want me to bring you to." And that had him concerned. How was Caelan supposed to fend for himself if he couldn't see? "Are you sure you want me to just drop you off?" He didn't want to seem pushy or anything so he wasn't going to offer any more help unless Caelan said as much.

“I’m in B-05, so that’s on the second floor.” He responded, tilting his head thoughtfully. Caelan had gotten used to being pretty self sufficient in this world. As much as he enjoyed being social and having company, not enough people knew his secret to properly rely on... No more than two people, really.

That aside... This was a special case. “I probably don’t need much help really, but I wouldn’t mind a hand getting up the stairs. Considering the battle I lost with the fountain, the odds are rather stacked against me where they’re concerned.”

"Second floor." Yuki echoed in his usual soft tone. "Got it." So he made his way to go there when Caelan spoke about getting help up the stairs. "I can help you." he offered, heading over to the stairs. Carefully and slowly he opened the door and gave a little bit of direction, trying not to overdo it.

"I'm not sure they have them yet, but elevators would be nice, but I haven't seen any in here." He paused thoughtfully as they started up. "I wonder if they made them..in this time frame."

“Thanks, Yuki.” He responded, letting his friend help him up the stairs. The slow pace was smart, considering he couldn’t really see the steps. He relied a little on muscle memory, and a little on Yuki’s steps, so Caelan was a little clumsy at first. That in itself was very frustrating, as someone who’d generally prided themselves on their grace both in the sea and on land.

The question of elevators gets a little hum, “There are elevators in my world, at least I’ve gotten to make use of a few. Usually in fancier hotels and the more modern buildings.” Modern by the standard of his era, at least. “Should have a word with the aspects about it, might be worth updating these buildings if this is going to be an issue in the future.

"We have them in a lot of places back home." he replied, still being patient and waiting for Caelan to walk up with him. And since the other was blind he'd do this for as long as it was needed really.

Grey eyes looked at his companion when he spoke of talking to the Aspects. "I'm not really sure they could just make an elevator appear." It would be great and it would be pretty damn useful if they could. But the thing was, Yuki didn't believe for one moment they could just toss one in.

"I have to wonder if they have the technology for it and maybe hire someone to install one."

He is beauty, he is grace, see him fall right on his face. >>;;

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End?

Okay! <3