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[chaosvessel]

[He doesn't intend to sound so creepy, but his deep, coarse voice coupled with his...economical use of words tends to come across more sinister than he intends.

The atmosphere probably didn't help, with the fog not having lifted, but that was part of why he was broadcasting.]

A ship returned to port.

[He didn't say anything else for a moment, wondering if anyone understood the gravity of that.]

They set a guard, but there are...monsters in the fog. If you can't fight, I suggest you respect the curfew. Otherwise...something should be done about this.

[No, he has no idea what that might be.]

Comments

[monochromatically]

[Mono was hesitant to respond to this one. The guy sounded kind of scary... But he also seemed to know something more about the fog and what was in it. That was... very important to the child for reasons.

So a small voice filtered through with some rather eerie sounding static interference. His question was simple enough for now.]

What kind of monsters?

[sonofapantsuit]

[Charlie was hesitant to answer. She had dealt with her share of creepy people. But Charlie being Charlie, she was curious about the fog as well as this ship that the man spoke of.]

For the newbies here, the ship is a bad thing right?

[The monsters were the more worrisome part of this whole thing.]

I know some people who might be able to help with the monster situation.

[hellofishies]

You shouldn't be out there alone you know.

[chaosvessel]

I haven't seen them clearly.

[He doesn't mean to sound scary, honest.]

They walk upright, but they seems almost crablike.

[chaosvessel]

Yes. [There's a pause before he continues, but from the sound of rustling cloth, it may have been due to his moving.] Until now, the harbor has been abandoned and had fallen to disuse. The locals seem...at ease with its arrival.

Who?

[chaosvessel]

I'm watching.

[He pauses.]

They haven't noticed me. [And another, shorter pause.] I'm fine.

[monochromatically]

[That’s a fun mental image... If fun means scary in this instance.]

So they’re giant crab-people? Like they have pinchy crab arms?

[The curious-child side of him is tempted to go see for himself (especially to assess the danger they might pose with his own eyes), while the sensible (scared-child) side of him is firmly in the ‘stay as far from the harbour district as possible’ party. Hard to say which side would win out. It depended on if he thought he needed to find out more after the conversation.]

Do you think they’ll come further into the city?

[hellofishies]

Fine for now. How do you know they haven't noticed?

[chaosvessel]

Mmm.

[It was a sound of ascent, a confirmation. He knew the voice to belong to a child, though, and that immediately made the former Turk more protective.]

The gate seems to be stopping them. [For now.] I won't let them advance.

[chaosvessel]

Because I've seen what happens to the ones they spot.

[A pause.]

I'm keeping to the rooftops.

[hellofishies]

What happens? [ Can she really say much to someone wandering off on their own? Not really. Will she? Yes. ]

They can't get up on roofs?

[monochromatically]

[With that confirmation, the kid’s mental image of these monsters was more or less complete. He still a little uncertain about the heads, which shifted from one thing to another, his imagination trying to fill in the gaps...

The stranger sounded pretty confident though, maybe he was really strong? Or just really brave. It seemed like a situation where you kind of had to be... Mono had liked to remind himself that at the school, when his friend needed him to save her.]

If there’s a whole bunch, how are you gonna stop them if the gate can’t?

[Mono shuddered a little at the mental image, paper rustling against hair lightly. A bunch of crab people chasing them around the city was not pleasant. It reminded him of... So many arms reaching. Trying to catch him, giving chase with rattling joints when the lights went out. Yeah... he was definitely going to look for something to use, just in case.]

[familybadass]

Do we have any weapons in this place? How about salt? silver?

[chaosvessel]

They disappear. I know that sounds cruel, but there are many of them. The crab-men drag them off into the mist.

[and he didn't follow, because that would have been foolish.]

They don't seem to try. Maybe they're fine with whatever meat they find down below.

[chaosvessel]

I have ways.

[By all appearances, Vincent was scrawny, wiry, not physically resilient, and easily overpowered if not able to attack from range. He could transform, though, into a raging beast that could slaughter anything in its path. He had very little control over himself in that form and would only resort to it if necessary, but it was an option.]

You're new.

[chaosvessel]

There are several weapon shops in the market, mostly supplied by the blacksmith.

Salt is also available in the market, and probably silver.

Why do you need either?

[hellofishies]

You didn't try to stop them? [ Hmm, she probably would have tried. ]

You mean they're fine with the other people here. We shouldn't let them.

[monochromatically]

[That just sounded mysterious... Which, of course, made the kid curious.]

Ways?

[He could imagine any number of things, but had a feeling that most of them would be incorrect. As it was, the question distracted him momentarily.]

Um... Yeah, I guess. Does that mean you’re old?

[... By which he meant that Vincent had been here longer, not that he was an old man or anything... Even if Mono was pretty sure most people were older than him as well. Plus, if the man had been around a longer time, Mono supposed that meant he probably would notice someone who wasn't there before.]

[sonofapantsuit]

Well in my experience, monsters are never a good thing no matter how at ease people are around them.

Dean and Sam Winchester. Monsters are kind of their thing. I'll talk to them.

[familybadass]

Well, saving people, hunting monsters... well it's kinda what we do. The family business. The salt will protect homes from any nasties and silver kills most monsters.

(Dean talks like this is an every day occurence)

[chaosvessel]

They shouldn't have been outside. It was past curfew.

[A beat.]

No, but they can influence the mind, make you...hear things. Or see them.

[chaosvessel]

Yes.

[And he doesn't seem keen on expanding on that lack of explanation, either, but whether that's to protect Mono or simply a lack of will is difficult to determine.]

Old...? Yes. I guess so.

[In more than one way. He's older even than he appears, but he's also been around Aterat for some time.]

[monochromatically]

Hmm...

[Okay, mysterious, spooky-voiced old man. Keep your secrets... It just meant he’d have to do the sneaky thing and keep an eye on Vincent like he was a few other people, just to see what he meant.]

So you’ve seen more of the scary stuff that people talk about here?

[If so, Mono guessed that was a good confirmation on the fact that the guy could probably handle the whole pinchy-crab-people thing.]

[hellofishies]

You're outside past curfew. [ And so is she, which he might actually know. Not that Arkady has told him, or even hinted that she was out. Should anyone really be surprised by that though? ]

Do you think it'd affect me? I should see.

[chaosvessel]

Mmm.

[It was his only sound of agreement, but he wasn't denying she had a point.]

Monster hunters?