Caelan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stickyflippers) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
aterat2020-08-02 03:48 pm
stickyflippers) wrote in aterat2020-08-02 03:48 pm
Loud seal is loud
Who; Caelan and you!
What; Open log
Where; Assorted Locations! (Red Building Common Space, Red Building his Apartment, Market, Gullwings Office, and the Harbour/Shore)
When; Throughout August, vaguely specified on each prompt.
Warnings; No, but I will edit if anything comes up!
Common Space - Early August
The common space was generally one that Caelan frequented since his arrival, a social creature by nature and necessity to keep himself occupied 90% of the time. He saw it as a good opportunity to get to know his neighbours without actively having to seek them out, to watch them moving in and out of the building and go about their days.
Today found the selkie draped comfortably over one of the chairs, a new violin settled comfortably in his hands as he worked at tuning the new instrument to his liking. Occasionally he’d draw the bow across the stings, testing them out before he resumed what he was doing with the odd thoughtful hum, pleased or disappointed depending on the results.
Still, his mood is clearly good today. Caelan is often smiling, often pleasant company and quick to laugh; but today there’s something about it that it feels far more genuine than it has been. He’d been a few weeks without both an instrument or his usual sense of purpose, but things were decidedly starting to look up what with the morning’s surprise left outside his door.
Market - All through the month!
There was one more musician that could be heard in the market these days. Dressed up, all shiny in his usual accessories and finery, hair pulled back into glittering pins.
Caelan had take to joining in the street performers when they didn’t mind his presence, or setting himself up on an empty corner or near the fountain square when the mood struck. The life and the surrounding energy tended to inspire, and people seemed to like the songs he brought with him from home. Some were familiar enough to those who knew the classical world well, while others had a certain life and rough edge that was more the music of the common folk.
If you were lucky, polite, or simply caught his interest, he would even be inspired take requests. “What’ll it be? Ye look to be in the mood for a particular sound, or are ye just going to stand there gawking?” He spoke up with a grin, cheeks lifted in utter delight and relaxed amusement.
Gullwings Office - Early to Mid!
Caelan still wasn’t entirely sure how this had happened (beyond the obvious, of course). This wasn’t his usual gig, nor was it his usual crowd.
Here he was though, meandering around the Gullwings office like he belonged there. Checking out the furnishings (he had to hand it to Yuna, the place was nice), stopping to chat with whoever happened to be there that day, looking at his desk and wondering what on earth he was going to do with it.
That last thing wasn’t entirely difficult, he’d already shoved some blank sheet music in a drawer to amuse himself on slow days when he didn’t have anything to do. There was also the matter of copying and detailing the maps and blueprints that the directory had given him so Yuna could store the originals away for safe keeping.
He was hoping to at least be able to add to them, to include some rough outlines of the sewers paths between their access points as he and Yuna made a trip down to explore them.
Until then, he was quite available to get to know the group a little better. Getting a feel for personalities, trying to glimpse how they operated, and looking for anything to suggest he might not be able to trust someone.
Harbour/Shoreline - For Holly. Let the Spider-Man meme commence! - Anytime in August, probably late evening after all the respectable people have gone home for the day.
There was a lot about the harbour district that disturbed Caelan for obvious reasons, but he had also found there were quite a few things about it to appreciate.
Once the sun had been down for a few hours the amount of people travelling the docks lessened considerably, which meant a little more privacy for him to do one of the things (aside from his music or thieving) that he did best. Fishing. It was going to save him quite a bit of money, unless he felt like eating something at a restaurant in the company of others.
These waters appeared to be very well stocked with fish, so as long as he didn’t go so far as to be near the reefs where some particularly large and nasty creatures dwelt, he could fish to his content. Feed up, and perhaps even bring some fish home for those who had endeared themselves enough to him to bring back a decent sized catch of fish or crustaceans depending on their tastes.
Tonight was no exception, his clothes folded neatly behind some rocks as he donned his more natural attire to enjoy that other half of his soul. So, as the moon rose higher in the sky, there was a form swimming around in the waters. Diving here, coming up there, a soft song carried over the breeze occasionally, and sometimes a splash could be heard as the being caught something in its grasp.
It’s 3AM, oops. - ... Probably all through the month unless someone does something about it. Sorry Red Building.
Caelan had a very irregular sleep schedule, he stayed up late and slept in just as late. Should he get that shifted now that he was in another world and joining a group for exploring and helping out around the city?
Yes, yes he should.
Would he actually do that?
Probably not.
So the selkie tended to keep very odd hours. Thus far that hadn’t really been obvious aside from the later hour that he left his dorm room during the day (Around 11:30 every day like clockwork). Once Caelan had an instrument, that might have been a different story depending on the person and their ability to ignore noise at strange hours.
Sometime around three in the morning, the red building would be treated to the sounds of a violin being played. The piece was strange in tone, energy fluctuating at random, it was honestly the kind of song one might have been warned off of following if it was heard near the caves of their local beach or along the river beds of the forests they lived near. Fae music, intended to be played by theirs ands alone and rarely heard by humans.
Caelan was feeling homesick, whether he’d admit it to anyone or not. On nights where he felt just a touch too disconnected from his life, he could be found playing the music his best friend had taught him or working on his own compositions. Sheet music spread across the table, and a bottle of whiskey sitting open next to that.
If you’re curious enough, or annoyed enough, knock at his door. He’d be happy to have the company, and he’d be happy to share the alcohol.
Wildcard/Other
Is there something I forgot? Did you have something specific in mind? Throw it at me! I’d be delighted!
What; Open log
Where; Assorted Locations! (Red Building Common Space, Red Building his Apartment, Market, Gullwings Office, and the Harbour/Shore)
When; Throughout August, vaguely specified on each prompt.
Warnings; No, but I will edit if anything comes up!
Common Space - Early August
The common space was generally one that Caelan frequented since his arrival, a social creature by nature and necessity to keep himself occupied 90% of the time. He saw it as a good opportunity to get to know his neighbours without actively having to seek them out, to watch them moving in and out of the building and go about their days.
Today found the selkie draped comfortably over one of the chairs, a new violin settled comfortably in his hands as he worked at tuning the new instrument to his liking. Occasionally he’d draw the bow across the stings, testing them out before he resumed what he was doing with the odd thoughtful hum, pleased or disappointed depending on the results.
Still, his mood is clearly good today. Caelan is often smiling, often pleasant company and quick to laugh; but today there’s something about it that it feels far more genuine than it has been. He’d been a few weeks without both an instrument or his usual sense of purpose, but things were decidedly starting to look up what with the morning’s surprise left outside his door.
Market - All through the month!
There was one more musician that could be heard in the market these days. Dressed up, all shiny in his usual accessories and finery, hair pulled back into glittering pins.
Caelan had take to joining in the street performers when they didn’t mind his presence, or setting himself up on an empty corner or near the fountain square when the mood struck. The life and the surrounding energy tended to inspire, and people seemed to like the songs he brought with him from home. Some were familiar enough to those who knew the classical world well, while others had a certain life and rough edge that was more the music of the common folk.
If you were lucky, polite, or simply caught his interest, he would even be inspired take requests. “What’ll it be? Ye look to be in the mood for a particular sound, or are ye just going to stand there gawking?” He spoke up with a grin, cheeks lifted in utter delight and relaxed amusement.
Gullwings Office - Early to Mid!
Caelan still wasn’t entirely sure how this had happened (beyond the obvious, of course). This wasn’t his usual gig, nor was it his usual crowd.
Here he was though, meandering around the Gullwings office like he belonged there. Checking out the furnishings (he had to hand it to Yuna, the place was nice), stopping to chat with whoever happened to be there that day, looking at his desk and wondering what on earth he was going to do with it.
That last thing wasn’t entirely difficult, he’d already shoved some blank sheet music in a drawer to amuse himself on slow days when he didn’t have anything to do. There was also the matter of copying and detailing the maps and blueprints that the directory had given him so Yuna could store the originals away for safe keeping.
He was hoping to at least be able to add to them, to include some rough outlines of the sewers paths between their access points as he and Yuna made a trip down to explore them.
Until then, he was quite available to get to know the group a little better. Getting a feel for personalities, trying to glimpse how they operated, and looking for anything to suggest he might not be able to trust someone.
Harbour/Shoreline - For Holly. Let the Spider-Man meme commence! - Anytime in August, probably late evening after all the respectable people have gone home for the day.
There was a lot about the harbour district that disturbed Caelan for obvious reasons, but he had also found there were quite a few things about it to appreciate.
Once the sun had been down for a few hours the amount of people travelling the docks lessened considerably, which meant a little more privacy for him to do one of the things (aside from his music or thieving) that he did best. Fishing. It was going to save him quite a bit of money, unless he felt like eating something at a restaurant in the company of others.
These waters appeared to be very well stocked with fish, so as long as he didn’t go so far as to be near the reefs where some particularly large and nasty creatures dwelt, he could fish to his content. Feed up, and perhaps even bring some fish home for those who had endeared themselves enough to him to bring back a decent sized catch of fish or crustaceans depending on their tastes.
Tonight was no exception, his clothes folded neatly behind some rocks as he donned his more natural attire to enjoy that other half of his soul. So, as the moon rose higher in the sky, there was a form swimming around in the waters. Diving here, coming up there, a soft song carried over the breeze occasionally, and sometimes a splash could be heard as the being caught something in its grasp.
It’s 3AM, oops. - ... Probably all through the month unless someone does something about it. Sorry Red Building.
Caelan had a very irregular sleep schedule, he stayed up late and slept in just as late. Should he get that shifted now that he was in another world and joining a group for exploring and helping out around the city?
Yes, yes he should.
Would he actually do that?
Probably not.
So the selkie tended to keep very odd hours. Thus far that hadn’t really been obvious aside from the later hour that he left his dorm room during the day (Around 11:30 every day like clockwork). Once Caelan had an instrument, that might have been a different story depending on the person and their ability to ignore noise at strange hours.
Sometime around three in the morning, the red building would be treated to the sounds of a violin being played. The piece was strange in tone, energy fluctuating at random, it was honestly the kind of song one might have been warned off of following if it was heard near the caves of their local beach or along the river beds of the forests they lived near. Fae music, intended to be played by theirs ands alone and rarely heard by humans.
Caelan was feeling homesick, whether he’d admit it to anyone or not. On nights where he felt just a touch too disconnected from his life, he could be found playing the music his best friend had taught him or working on his own compositions. Sheet music spread across the table, and a bottle of whiskey sitting open next to that.
If you’re curious enough, or annoyed enough, knock at his door. He’d be happy to have the company, and he’d be happy to share the alcohol.
Wildcard/Other
Is there something I forgot? Did you have something specific in mind? Throw it at me! I’d be delighted!
no subject
It should be noted that that was not, in fact, accurate really, but Holly was firmly under the assumption that that made sense, so. Godspeed to the person who tried to convince her otherwise.
Finally allowed to turn around again, she did so with a blink of surprise. He was cool with it? No freak out? Excellent! With a relieved little grin, she rolled her eyes in agreement - eyes that soon landed on his hands before they disappeared into gloves.
Webbing, but no weird extra digits.
Dang it.
"Totally, they get so weird about things sometimes." Especially the idea of creatures that feed on their blood existing alongside them.
Ah, now there was a question; one that's answered with a scrunched up nose in thought, and a shrug.
"Uh...well, a few times a day, usually..? With meals and snacks, too - I get hungry a lot, and what with my skatin' and the fact I'm near that magical time when my brain decides to invent hormones and make me grow like five feet, my belly's basically an insatiable pit monster."
She paused, and glanced back towards the city. "...So yeah, uh- I'm gonna be real popular if I get caught. Which I won't, 'cause you know, master sneak, but...y'know. S'been a while since I've had to go mosquito-mode on the general public."
no subject
He folded his arms, tilting his head slightly as he followed the next explanation with curiosity.
Oh boy... He had expected that answer, but he sure didn’t like it. Caelan was definitely going to have to keep an eye on this one, he couldn’t in good conscience ignore a normal human child let alone a kid that definitely had the potential to end up in a very bad situation very fast. Seriously, what were the blasted aspects thinking bringing a vampire child here with no easy access food sources?
Not that he could say what that would involve, but the point stood, this was not a good situation for a vampire at all.
“I take it those ‘bags o’ blood’ are usually your main source of food then.” He finally responded with a little nod to the bag with it’s curly thing. “Well if you need someone to stage a distraction, let me know. I’m an expert at it, especially on short notice.” The selkie’s tone was light, but he was still serious. “You are a master sneak though, I take it that’s one of your special talents? Now I know why you were so good at avoiding me down at the docks when you were stalking me.”
He pulled his boots on and laced them up, as well as pulling on the gloves to his (sadly only five fingered) hands.
no subject
The straw quickly went from pink to a weird dark colour and back again as she took another stomach-quietening gulp, and nodded at the question.
"Yeah, usually. There's humans my dad-"
Immediately, she floundered, finding the end of her sentence somewhere by her shoes as she hurriedly had another sip to cover up the feeling that slip left behind.
Nope. No, didn't mean to bring that up, didn't mean to mention him, stupid brain and stupid lack of a stupid filter.
"-T-They're, uh- they're paid by me to donate to the household, so we don't hafta go out and hurt people. And they get protection an' stuff..."
Shrugging again, Holly made herself look as casual as she could, kicking absently at the ground, putting her free hand in her pocket. Totally cool. Totally fine. "But yeah so, anyways, I'll figure it out. I dunno if the locals will appreciate it, but I figure if they really hate it I'll just hafta send me home!"
no subject
Caelan’s expression softened considerably for a moment, before he pulled his expression back into something more positive. That was definitely a sign of loss if he ever saw one, he knew it well. Fresh loss. The kind you sometimes couldn’t quite believe to be true yet. Easy to forget until you were mid-way through your sentence and the sign shot up and hit you in the damned face.
He’d express that he was sorry for her loss, if he didn’t think that’d bring all the hurt back up to the surface. Not pleasant, not when you were clearly trying to manage it. Caelan was better at offering some form of revenge or a distraction to the friend who was grieving. Formal politeness and niceties were for people you didn’t know or you didn’t really like overly much. “Right, I get it... Hmmm, well I can certainly tell you where some of the blind spots in the city are. I’ve had a look at the maps, and I’ve found some of the best little corners and hideaways if you get in a jam.”
Caelan liked to know where they were, just in case something went wrong. He also knew where all the canals led, but that would be less useful to Holly. He grinned a moment later at the idea that they’d have to send her home if they got upset with her need to feed. “Ha! Not a bad way of thinking. If that works, I might have to start biting people?”
Caelan... Caelan, no.
no subject
"Yeah..? See, I knew you'd come in handy one'a these days. That'd be good - maybe I'll go see if I can find any myself, too. Or if you need an extra pair of eyes, I guess I can pencil you in sometime.."
Whether or not he was serious about that second bit (she hoped he wasn't, although watching him go around jumping on people to bite them would have been something Holly would wanna watch) she did manage to giggle a little.
"I dunno if seals're designed for that- you haven't got fangs! Speakin' of though, uh..." Turning to look at the water, she jabbed a thumb at it. "Ain't'cha gonna get hungry too? Your fish got away.."
Certainly through no fault of hers.
no subject
Ah, now there was what he was hoping for. He was absolutely joking about biting people (mostly), so the small giggle gives him a small sense of victory. He’d hoped to cheer her up from those earlier thoughts about her family, and while it wasn’t much it was a start.
Of course, there was a little awkward glance back at the water when she brought up the fact that he hadn’t eaten. “That it did, used my distraction to its advantage is what it did.” Caelan shrugged though, “But I won’t starve. As you saw a few days ago, I can also eat regular food as well. I just like to fish for my own out of habit.”
He took a moment to consider the fact that he also sort of needed to return. The selkie wasn’t entirely sure how to explain the fact that the ocean literally called out to them to return without sounding like a lunatic. “Plus, the thing about selkies is that the oceans are our home. We can’t go too long without returning. I can live on land, but I still would prefer to be closer to the ocean, so I can go for a swim when I need to. We’re sort of a balance between human and nature?”
So yeah, the whole apartments thing was cramping his style a bit, they were far from the waters and also left him feeling more than a little lonely to be living on his own. He’d recently taken up residence in the local lighthouse in his own world. A place for him and the team to meet up or stay for a bit, but still close enough to his family and the ocean.
no subject
And besides, it wasn't as if she was spoiled with ways to entertain herself around here, what with the internet woefully not being a thing and none of her friends being here either.
His next point earned him a blink and a little smirk; ohh yeah, that's right- they got pies that time! Or rather he did, but that had been fun though. He was fun to talk to. The whole 'returning to the ocean' thing though, that kinda made sense. It would be weird for a seal to be in the city without any access to water...
"So, wait- what happens to you if you don't go back? Or you can't? What if you went to human jail?? Do you like...lose your seal powers and then gradually just become a plain boring dude?" A concept that seems to genuinely disturb her, "That'd suck ass..."
no subject
Caelan was asking for more reasons than that though, there were a few areas that were dangerous that maybe would be best explored with a friend, and also because he was going to be sneaking around the city looking for interesting things himself. Might as well go together sometimes, right?
Put back to rights properly, he reached out and snagged his sealskin to brush the damp fur free of sand and fold it up neatly. He’d thought that answering her question about food would be the end of it, but clearly he had forgotten just how curious and prone to random questions Holly was. Silly seal. “Essentially that could happen, yes.” He held up the sealskin for her to see better. “Selkies, as I said, are more of a balance between man and nature as far as fae go. Skinchangers like myself are tied to this. It’s what gives us out ability to shift, and even when we’re separated it’s still very much a part of us.”
He felt like a lecturer at the moment, he’d seen a few human professors with their stuffy tones and posturing talking once or twice on the subject of fae. They usually got quite a lot wrong though. “If something happens to this, it happens to me. If it’s too badly damaged, I would die. Likewise, if someone took this from me? They could keep me on shore against my will, eventually if I never got it back I’d start to age like a normal human.” So yeah. He’d grow old like a human and eventually die a mortal death. “Always hear the sea though, always want to go back for the rest of my days.”
He shrugged slightly, “Which is why I like to keep this quiet around humans.”
no subject
Looking at the pelt as he explained further, Holly was rather taken with the urge to reach out and pet it, although for once she reigned that in and laced her hands behind her back.
"That's so cool......I've met werewolves before, but not any other kinda shape shifter, apart from others vampires obviously- oh! I wonder if the big library place has any books on this kinda thing! I wanna know more, like- well I guess you can answer 'em, but maybe not all of 'em, I don't know-"
Aaand it began; waving for him to follow her back to the city, Holly turned and started to walk backwards, finishing another big gulp of blood before the rain of questions started. "So wait, how long do you guys live for? I know you said you're basically geriatric and old and shit 'cause you're from the 1800's but you look kinda young so, I figure you must've been born like decades before that, or longer! And also does that mean you still only get one set'a grown up teeth? Cause I always thought it was dumb that you get your second set so freakin' early if your enamel doesn't heal and all that, so that must suck doubly extra if you live for like a million years."
no subject
He does laugh a little, following her back towards the city once he’d tucked the folded up sealskin under his arm as inconspicuously as possible. They’d take roads less frequented, he did have a vague idea of which those were by this point. “Well if you can find anything in the historium, then you’ll have to let me know. That place is an utter mess, and the directory is a cheeky little thing. I’m happy to answer your questions and save you the trip...” Caelan cast a glance down at her, “As long as you keep your word on the secret business, I can be your fae-encyclopedia.”
And as agreed, he starts to answer her questions while they walk. There were a lot of them it seemed, but he supposed that’s what happened when you were confronted with something you’d never heard of before. “Well... We age differently than humans after a point. It all sort of... slows down. I was born in... the late 1700s...?” His brow furrowed a little, oh it was such a long time ago! “And it’s the late 1800s where I’m from now. I’ll live to be a lot older provided I don’t get killed in some stupid fashion. Maybe even old enough to see your era!” Caelan was pretty sure that he would, that was how most fae went really. “Fae are generally conditionally immortal. Some are a lot harder to kill than others is all.”
The teeth question made him shrug a little, “I can’t speak for all fae, but I only have the one set. So I ought to be careful with it.”
no subject
'Although', the pause that followed gently said, "...Vampires can be kinda picky about who they make friends with though, I've noticed that a lot. A lotta the parties I used to go to are practically all vampires...kinda weird actually, now that I'm thinkin' about it...."
Her sentence trailed off as she shook her head, already paying more attention to what Caelan was saying than to where her next trail of thought was headed.
"The 1700's...wow....that's when they dumped all the tea in the harbour..." Said almost wistfully, like she was there and was now remembering a fond, tea-stained memory. "But!! If you do live that long, and you end up in my version'a New York somehow, you should come see me! I dunno how time travel works and everythin', but I bet I won't be super old by then."
Based on what logic? No one knew. She was just being hopeful. As they walked, she swung around to the subject of tooth enamel as easy as anything.
"Yeah, you should be careful - lay off the sweets, although I heard somewhere that savoury stuff can be worse sometimes, 'cause it sticks in your teeth way longer- but I dunno how true that is, I've never been to a human dentist."
no subject
The drama was a bit much for most of the seal-folk. Even Caelan, who liked drama, was a bit picky with taking jobs for either side. Though in his younger, more foolish years, he had made some rather questionable decisions...
The idea of visiting Holly in her futuristic version of New York did bring a smile to his face though, “That’d be great? Never been to that side of the Atlantic before to be honest.” He hummed a little o the whole ‘time travel’ deal. “I expect of the two of us, the only one who’d really have aged would be me depending on how many years it takes for me to make it over that way once I ‘catch up.’” As it was, if their worlds were ‘the same,’ then it was more likely that Holly hadn’t even been born yet.
“Couldn’t tell you about dentists myself, the sound rather unpleasant if I’m being honest.” All those drills and the like, but it wasn’t like it was something the fae needed to be worried about anyway. It was sweet how much thought Holly was putting into it though.
no subject
For once, she wasn't messing around - to her that made perfect sense. If Vampires kept to themselves, it made sense Seal-folk did too.
In regular Holly fashion, her whole face brightened at the idea of getting to be a host to someone who'd never even been to America at all. "Ohh!! Shit dude, yeah! Okay yeah, you definitely need to, I'll show you the best time, I promise!"
It was only a couple hundred years, right? What was that to an immortal. basically nothing! While Holly wasn't in that bracket, she was promised a much longer life than her human counterparts. It'd work out, one way or another. They'd both been brought here, after all; Caelan visiting in the 21st century wasn't a total leap of logic.