aterat | Logs for October

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Logs for October

Who; Caelan and you!
What; Phone troubles, pillow forts, discussions on the weird goings on, and a seal in the tub
Where; Red building, and the docks.
When; End of September / Early October
Warnings; Mentions of nudity (Not descriptive, shape changing just doesn’t work with clothes), references to alcohol abuse (marked in thread with Nida), references to suicide (marked in thread with Nida)

What Do You Mean It’s Not Water Proof?

Caelan was experiencing some very obvious levels of confusion and frustration as he wandered up from the docks post swim that evening. His hair was still dripping and damp as he walked, eyes glued to the tell-phone that was looking rather... Less functional than it was meant to be. He hadn’t even bothered to button his shirt all the way, after the damn thing slipped out of his pockets and into the water when he was getting himself dressed and presentable by human standards.

At first, he’d only been annoyed because he’d had to stop what he was doing to fish it out of the water. Now he was doubly annoyed because the screen wasn’t lighting up. It was like the damn thing didn’t have any life in it...

Weird and very inconvenient if he had anything to say on the matter.

Which he was... At length, muttering under his breath and his accent growing a touch stronger than usual as he forgot himself. “The bleedin’ hell kind of joke is this? Really? Give the man who spends copious amounts of time near the water something that up and dies just because it gets a little wet. Can’t handle your drink at all, can yah? You finicky little box of nonsense.”

Speaking of a drink, he had a feeling he was going to need one very soon. Between that weird energy pulse a while back, the nightmares and now this? He was willing to admit he might need several.

A Fortress Fit for a Princess

Caelan wasn’t asleep when a mist slipped under his doorway, he’d come to expect at least one interruption a night since a few prior when something exploded somewhere and released a shockwave of mysterious energy. It had upset a whole lot of people (him included, for all he said he wasn’t bothered). Holly had become the most frequent guest, especially when the nightmares had begun.

Tonight he was ready though, and hoping to get the kid to talk a little more rather than the sullen insistence that she was completely fine and whatever other absurd excuses she came up with for her visit that night. Because honestly, she wasn’t the only one having nightmares, and he was starting to worry more about what they actually might have meant.

Hard to tell though if there were any connections or similarities if you weren’t talking.

Thus, tonight he was more than prepared for the visit. The living room space in his apartment had been entirely disrupted, cushions and pillows moved to the floor along with some of the chairs from the dining area, the sheets from his room and the pillows for good measure. All because he’d gotten it in his head that he was going to try one of those ‘Pillow Fort’ things that Holly had mentioned once or twice in one of her super-fact-filled-rambles.

When Holly materialized into a solid form again, she would be greeted by the sight of a very large, very chaotic looking fortress of pillows and blankets. If she ate food, there would have been all manner of sweets and snacks. Unfortunately, as happy as he was to make sure she could feed safely, he wasn’t confident in grabbing a random person off the street for her to snack on.

Someone would be bound to ask questions if they saw him lugging an unconscious body up and down the stairs... right?

So... No snacks, only a structure that was only slightly stable, but magnificent to behold (in his personal opinion).

Splish-splash

If there were any human creation that Caelan favoured over any other (aside from motor cars, they were fun) it was most decidedly the bathtub. A place to soak and relax at the end of a long day? A place where you could safely just splash around or doze off for a little nap without worrying about a predator?

It was brilliant. A private bath was practically a requirement when he was staying somewhere on a job. It wasn’t a replacement for the ocean by any means though, it did little to quiet the call in the back of his mind. It was, however, the nicest substitute on days when the call wasn’t loud, and he couldn’t be fussed with sneaking down to the shore.

Even the Lighthouse he’d purchased had a nice one installed, despite the fact that the ocean was just down the cliff side.

So after he’d finished a day busking in the market he hadn’t taken long to run a nice hot bath, grabbed his pelt, and slipped into the water like the delighted seal he was. It wasn’t as though he didn’t have the time, he wasn’t expecting any company for a while yet. Usually his visitors tended to show up slightly later.

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Have something you want the seal boy for in particular? Throw it at me! Also, if anyone wants something specific in a starter they should let me know. I can totally write one. <3

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Now how can he tease with something like this...? Admittedly, Caelan wished he could. The subject of grief was becoming a common one in his apartment, and his advice was always very different from what he’d done with his own. Which was putting it in a pot and letting it simmer and occasionally let it come to a boil to scald someone who did something wrong in his eyes.

Cider was never going to be enough to deal with that one, so he smiled lightly. He was glad for his friend that he’d found someone that soothed some of that ache. “Sounds like you both compliment each other, yeah...? Like you’re both what the other needed.”

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. It's hard to tell. but right now? We're... good."

Nida grins, then he laughs. Hyne how was this happening. How is he falling for someone? After everything he's been through, the way the he's been worn and broken down, he's been happy for the first time. In a very real way. There was one thing about the friendships, about the healing. But this...

"He called me darling," Nida says, CLEARLY twitterpatted, smitten, enamored. All those things.

“Good? I would hope that at least, otherwise my understanding of how courtship works is more skewed than I thought.” He laughed softly, really seeing Nida so light and happy was nice. It was definitely different from the man he’d met a few months ago.

“You clearly gobsmacked over him,” He hummed a little, gesturing a little at Nida. “Darling? You’re really angling for that inspired composition, Nida. That’s just entirely sweet sounding, I hope you used that clever knack you have to respond in turn?”

Courtship? Well, that's not entirely correct. But he doesn't think it's too far off. Perhaps...

"Am I?" Nida asks, looking up at Caelan, perhaps a touch shy. "The last two times I feel in love went poorly. The first one I killed before he could kill me. The second disappeared. I'm not sure... I don't know how much I can trust myself with opening my heart again."

No, he hadn't felt very clever at all during, or even after. Sure, he'd rolled out some A-Level flirting and teasing, but the more and more he did, the more he felt like... like he could do better. Like he should do better.

"Hyne, it was so weird. I felt so smooth, so confident when it was just the playful flirting, like I have with you. But the more I realized I wanted him to respond in kind, the more I felt like I was messing up with everything I said. Like having it go wrong could tear me apart."

It’s a lot less the disastrous flings that Caelan is accustomed to, and a little closer to what he’s witnessed between humans entirely smitten with one another. So, it’s close enough to it in the selkies eyes.

“The first one sounds a little closer to what I’m used to,” He winced a little, smile slightly wry at that. The poor guy, betrayals always stung the worst. Disappearances were another matter, and he wasn’t going to dredge that up on Nida unless the guy wanted to. In his experience, only ass-holes did that. “So I mightn’t be the best to give insight on the heart, but from what I’ve seen? No one really has a say in that. It opens of its own accord, like the traitorous little bugger it is.”

And he means that stupid little organ and its metaphorical side-job. “Seems to me like this might be one of those situations where you’d be smart to. If he’s as sweet and genuine as you say he is, why not be happy? He clearly makes you happy.” Otherwise you end up a nearly 200-year-old idiot with too many bad habits to count to make up for the lack. Wouldn’t want that, Nida. Even if it was impossible.

“You’re ‘smooth’ when you play-flirt?” He teased a moment later, before he rested his chin in his hand and fixed the man with a curious look. “But I’m afraid to say it, but it sounds like it’s a little late to save yourself from being dazzled now. The clumsiness, the concern.” He won’t say fear, if only because he hated to be told he was afraid, and he doubted Nida would like it much more.

The disappearance wasn't willing, so it really was best to not touch on that one.

He reached over, though, put a hand on Caelan's shoulder, and gave him a playful shove.

"Yes, I'm very smooth. Part of my work was seducing people for information. I was very good at my job. And I just... Hyne! He was so kind and gentle. By the end of the night we'd moved past eating to full on flirting to... Well."

Nida smiles.

"His poor kitten cried until I woke up and let her back into the bedroom. And me, I hadn't been with someone for so long."

The shove gets another laugh out of him; he deserved that and he knew it, even if he didn’t regret it.

“Seems like you two just get on naturally.” He grinned a little at the story. ‘Kind and gentle,’ it sounded nice. Not his type, but it certainly suited Nida quite well by the look of it. Caelan was glad for it. Something good might as well come of this ridiculous situation in this ridiculous world.

Still, he had to throw in “Sounds like you’re going to be spending less time at my window and more time in a proper bed like a respectable fellow.” With a joking tone, brows wiggling lightly.

Kind and gentle had been what Elijah had acted like. Kind and gentle was what the man he didn't remember was.

"Oh come now, your window is one of my favorite places," Nida counters with a grin. "How could you live without me harassing you."

“You’re right, I’d be despondent. Have to throw myself in the ocean if I spent too many nights staring at an empty window frame.” He responded, a touch dramatic with a little toss of his head. “Then I’d probably piss off the sharks, and they’d curse you for not keeping me out of their faces.”

He settled a moment later, pouring another glass of cider. “I’m glad for you though, this is definitely the kind of good that’s deserved. Especially lately around here.” The selkie huffed a little, now if he could just get someone else settled and looked after he could breathe a little easier himself.

Cursed by shocks. It was a hilarious thought and he chuckled.

"Poor sharks. I have to have pity on them."

Lately around here things were so... messed up. People had been ruined by the demon bear. He knows that. It makes him sad to even think about.

"What if he doesn't want me for more than sex, though?"

Caelan himself wouldn’t have had an issue with that himself, but the selkie was reasonably sure that was because he wasn’t interested in dealing with pesky things like feelings unless he absolutely had to. That said, it was hard to believe that was all this was. “If he just wanted you for that, I doubt he’d be going to such lengths to feed, help keep you out of taverns, or do such sweet things like getting you in on baking some cookies.”

Really, Nida, that was a lot of work for just some fun nights. At least to him it seemed it.

As it was... “Humans don’t generally have enough time to waste on all that if they aren’t interested in the whole ‘thing?’” Too little time. Life was short and the instinct to move faster than his kind was always apparent. “At least in my experience they don’t.”

Then again, there were those odd humans that made a game out of it. Make it seem serious, then drop the mark when they got what they wanted. Well, if that were the case, then he’d handle that himself. You don’t hurt people Caelan considered family, not without getting your comeuppance in a swift and unpleasant manner... Not that he’d ever admit that to Nida.

Except there had been no display of desire with the food or keeping him out of taverns before all of this. But confidence in romance wasn't... it wasn't something Nida was good at. For everything else he could claim confidence with, this was not one of the things.

But he might be interested in knowing that someone might get a shovel talk over him.

"My experience is sorta shitty."

“Doesn’t mean it’ll continue to be, right?” He responded, brows raising a little. It was almost strange to see Nida so lacking in confidence on something. Then again, he supposed that it was a good sign of just how serious this was already. “Did he ask to see you again? Like to make plans or something?”

His finger tapped the side of the glass, a little tick as his wheels started turning. Yeah, he definitely was going to have to have a look into this a little more closely. See if he couldn’t figure out if Ignis’ intentions were as pure as they sounded... Put the fear of the fae into him if he had to.

"With everything going wrong," Nida says, frowning, "there's so much going on. It's... awkward. I wish I could make plans."

But all of this could be weird. Still, he almost ached because he doesn't know where he stands. He wishes he could explain it, but he WANTS this.

And he hates the vulnerability that comes with wanting.

"I want to."

“Yeah, but you know...” He hummed a little, a small smile creeping onto his face. “There’s no reason why you couldn’t arrange to spend a little more time with the lad. Safety in numbers after all, and if he’s agreeable to it then you can use the time to get to know him a little better, right?”

Spend a few more meals together, they could keep an eye on each other... It could only help in the end, and it might help settle Nida’s nerves on the whole situation.

“I know the guard is probably keeping you busy with all this business with the bear, but a person has to eat and sleep too. You can’t always be on duty, that’ll make you sloppy.”

Edited 2020-10-18 02:26 (UTC)

Dammit Caelan, that would be fun, but he doesn't have the confidence to do that. The last two attempts were so horrible, left him... In the bottle. He doesn't know if he can handle that again.

"The bear has killed, Caelan. I found the body," Nida counters, sighing. "This thing is dangerous, and I'd rather him be safe and home."

“I’m not saying to take him out on the town, Nida. Well... Not at night anyway. I’m just saying keep him company once in a while, safe at home.” Besides, it would make Caelan feel better to know the guy was actually not running around after a bear. Apparently a killer bear. That hadn’t been in the report he’d read.

He’d been trying hard enough to balance his time between a few people. Syeira who was an ever growing concern, her grip on reality slipping... Then there was Holly who he was pretty sure he was going to have to move in on a permanent basis, who was usually a high level concern on a good day what with her need to drink blood. Group that in with trying to make time to stop himself from getting twitchy over the need to return to the sea, and he would definitely rather know Nida was at least doing something that made him happy sometimes. He’s only got two hands to juggle, and sometimes he doesn’t even have hands!

“That said, the report Khannar posted only mentioned having reason to think it was dangerous. Never said anything about a killing, not that I’m surprised. Bears do kill when given reason.” Putting the glass down on the table, he knitted his fingers together and leaned forward. “Unless his official broadcast was different, I missed that. Phone’s still a useless lump.”

Caelan, he's a guard. Chasing a killer bear is SO his job. And it's not like it's a dragon. He can probably deal with that. Probably.

"The Captain is trying to prevent a panic," NIda admits. He knows more than even that. Things that are bad. Things that happened the night of the magic pulse. "We're all doing our best. And the curio shop is doing BRISK business. Man's trying to make a fortune off the panic. What an ass."

“I can understand that... But people might take it more seriously if they knew what they were dealing with.” As if knowing any of this would keep Caelan inside at night. What was one bear at night compared to an unknowable amount of people during the day?

He risked a little over Raimon. He liked the guy well enough for getting him his violin but... “Keeping track of stupid inhabitants trying to spend money that isn’t going anywhere can’t be easy. I think Yuna is volunteering to pitch in though? I would, but my hands are a bit full at the moment.” And he was pretty sure he couldn’t sweet-talk a bear to standing down like he could a mark.

He fixed Nida with a curious look, “Anything else I should know?” Because he’s not an idiot. If the captain was trying to keep the death quiet, there were probably other things.

"I don't disagree," Nida sighs. But he doesn't have the authority to do much. He's a GUARD. If this was the Village he'd work with the boss to take things down. To protect people. And he's not getting that chance.

"Nothing I can tell you," he says. "Well, nothing I can confirm. But there was some sorta magic and psychic pulse the other day. And it HURT."

“No? That’s no fun, Nida.” He frowned a little, though there’s not as much of a joke in his tone over this situation. He had a little vampire duckling that wanted answers... This was definitely not any sort of answer she’d be happy with.

“I felt the pulse, it was bloody annoying... Had a feeling there was something magic afoot though, especially when dreams got a little more unpleasant than usual.” Caelan tapped a foot lightly, thinking back over the last few weeks. “I’d say I’m glad that they at least make sense now, but I’d rather it have just been dreams.”

"I'd rather that too. Though I guess the bad dreams got me a few days in Ignis's arms, so I can't FULLY complain. But I also have a few weapons, so I'm probably going hunting so."

He definitely intends to find and kill the thing.

“Well, when this is all said and done? I certainly hope that you’ll get more than a few.” He tilted his head, taking another sip of cider before he grinned. “Smitten is a good colour on you.” He paused, the grin turned a little more mischievous, “You should wear it more often.” He wiggled his brows lightly before he fell silent again.

Caelan glanced down at the glass, tone a little more serious as he finally continued. “You better be careful though, Nida. A build up like this isn’t generally normal, not for a run-of-the-mill bear. I’m guessing it’s worse than you can tell me.” His frown deepened slightly, “I know you’re used to dealing with things like this, but I’ll have a fit if you go getting yourself hurt.”

Well... Nida smiles and pulls a key out of his pocket. Oh yeah, one to Ignis’s place.

“I think I’ll probably get more than a few. And wow, smitten isn’t a color you pest.”

Still, he was afraid of being smitten. Can he afford to be smitten, come to love the person, lose them, and still be strong? He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know anything anymore.

“It’s bad, Caelan. Please don’t go out and get yourself hurt, please. If I get hurt, I have magic.”

“I’m a creative soul, Nida. Anything is a colour when you’re trying to be artistic. And I’m not a pest! Seals aren’t pests, rats and bugs are pests.” He grinned cheekily, but his smile softened a little at the sight of the key. Good... Another decent sign that this might go somewhere good for his friend.

On the matter of the bear, he rolled his shoulders and lifted his arms in a vaguely dramatic shrug. “Believe me, Nida. I don’t intend to. If I didn’t let a kelpie built like a Clydesdale kill me, I’m not going to let some random bear catch me off guard. Besides, this city has plenty of canals I can dive into. Not much can keep up with me if I can get to the water, even if I don’t shift.” He added with a more confident, reassuring expression.

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