aterat | Winter Events!

Entry tags:

Winter Events!

Who; Illyana + Open
What; Event stuff
Where; Streets+Buildings+Wherever
When; Throughout the Month
Warnings; TBA

A. I Know The Secrets That You Keep

Illyana hadn't stopped thinking about what that little thing had said on the tellphone since it had happened. The fact that it had mentioned souls wasn't lost on her and she was...less than happy about it. Not that she had told anyone. No, of course in typical Illyana fashion she had, instead, chosen to avoid people entirely since it had happened on the 9th. Anyone that might have been used to having her drop by to bother them would find she was distinctly (perhaps blissfully) giving them space. Yeah, that was it, she was granting them space. It wasn't because she was desperately trying to find where those voices had come from. It definitely wasn't becasue the idea of something threatening her soul bothered her.

Nope.

Definitely not.

Tonight, like many nights before, she wandered the streets hoping to find some clue or something that might lead her to those voices. As she walked one lamp went out above her. She looked up, scrunched her face up.

"Looks like city maintenance could use some work," she said aloud to nobody in particular. Then, as if on cue, all of the lamps started going out one by one. Then there was the hot breath, something whispered, and Illyana....laughing. Well, that was a weird reaction, wasn't it? She pulled a glowing sword from her chest for light in place of the burnt out lamps and announced:

"You'll have to find a better secret than that."

B. Mechanical Fighting

[ Another evening, another bit of wandering, this time Illyana finds herself cornered in a side street with a basket of rather unique items (candles, chalk, herbs, the things you might think of for a ritual)by some rather strange creatures. She lowers her gaze to them and then sighs. It's an exasperated sigh, one from someone that just doesn't want to deal with it. ]

Gonna summon some eldritch terror or are you plotting to magic a special dagger again? One chants out

She'd need an innocent soul first! I bet she knows just the one

[ Oh, well, that was not the thing to say. Her eyes further narrow and she places the basket down, reaching into her chest to pull out the soulsword. ]

Wanna say that again you little mechanical imps?

[ ooc: will match prose or brackets, your choice! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She isn't the only one with a basket of goodies tonight, though Lauri-Ell's doesn't have quite the same occult purpose. Just a basket of candles and bread and some nice jams and jellies. But hearing voices raised has her moving toward them, seeking out what trouble she can.

Maybe she isn't armed right now, but seeing a potential fight she does what she considers the sensible thing and walks toward it.]

What is happening here?

[ Illyana glances from Lauri-Ell to the weird little mechanical creatures and then rolls her shoulders in her best attempt at a shrug. As if she has no unearthly idea what they're going on about. ]

The rust buckets want to die, that's what. [ Well, can mechanical things actually die? A question for the ages. ]

We don't want to! That's more your thing, isn't it?

[ Rude little buggers. ]

[Die? That seems cruel. For either party.]

I think perhaps everyone would be happier if we all walk away from this. Little ones, please excuse this lovely lady so she might go about her evening.

Are you trying to broker peace with them? Really? Piotr would love you.

[ She sighed but held off for the moment from attacking. If only because she was curious if they'd actually react to it positively.

They didn't. Instead one started to form a fireball aimed right for poor Lauri-Ell ]

[Piotr? Who was that? Lauri-Ell never really met many mutants so she's of course clueless.]

I believe that it is important to seek solutions outside of violence when one can.

[But ah, that is clearly an attack. The Kree woman looks briefly annoyed before dodging out of the way.]

What a day to not have my hammer and armor. Truly, I was attempting to help you little ones. If you do not go now, you shall taste my boot.

[ She scrunched her nose up, yup, sounded like her brother. Which somehow just made her a bit...well, sad. She sighed at the attack and then sighed again at what was said ]

We're not going anywhere, give us your best shot you giant blue fiend!

Fine, fine, fine, trying to avoid violence...

[ So, instead she tried an illusion. She muttered a few words and summoned three heads of a creature that looked like a yellow hydra popped out of the ground growling at the little creatures. ]

[Fiend? Well now that was quite impolite. Lauri-Ell definitely can't help her next reaction. One should be chided for rudeness. So she moves to try and whap the speaker gently on the head with her basket.]

It would do better if you were polite. We are trying not to hurt you.

[And then she kicks at it's rear as if to send it on its way.]

We want to hurt you, you blueberry!

[ Illyana....can't really help but snicker at that. Look, she tried, but sometimes it can't be helped. Granted the little things seemed to be put off now that they noticed the hydra and they ....started to flee. Well, that was unexpected. ]

Really? That's all it takes?

[Of course they flee. Lauri-Ell sits there and definitely pouts, arms across her chest.]

I'm not a blueberry.

[ Illyana watches, her eyes narrowing. ]

We could chase them down. [ If violence was what wanted. ] And of course you're not a blueberry. There's no Wonka here.

Wonka?

[Sorry, that is not a term she knows. For now she picks up her basket and sighs.]

I am sorry you were harassed.

Yin neither avoided people, or went out of her way to avoid them. She went about her business as always, not programmed to care about any of this. She has, at least, learned to start walking around with a short flask of water with her, with an opening big enough for two fingers to slip in, comfortably. This way, if anything happens, she can at least see.

"You're not speaking to me," Yin says in a monotone voice from not too far away when she hears someone speak. There's no concern in her tone, but the fact she asks at all speaks to some. "Who?"

Because she doesn't hear footsteps, or sense other people in the area.

"Who, or what?" There was a slight sarcastic edge to her tone, as if she might be teasing, or at the very least trying to make light of the situation. That was Illyana's default to everything, make a joke out of it to try to ignore that anything could be wrong or that anything could be bothering her.

"You didn't hear anything then? Or see anything weird?"

Yin's tone is a complete contrast, void of any emotion and monotone.

"I am a who. We might be dealing with a what." That seems to happen a lot here, at least.

Yin shakes her head. "I heard you."

But give it a few minutes, and Yin will hear a whisper. She turns to look behind her.

Still completely even and hollow in sound, "We might be only able to hear own secrets."

"Fair," she responded with a crooked little smile. "You are a who. A who I don't know." Which was interesting. Illyana didn't take great strides to meet people, but it was still a bit unusual to run into people she didn't recognize at all.

"It's always a what here, isn't it?" she sighed and rolled her eyes slightly.

"Now that'd be surprising. If we only heard our own. I thought the Aspects here had a hardon for embarrassing us." At least if it was just that they heard their own secrets it wouldn't be so embarrassing, right? They could just never tell someone. Problem solved.

Simple as that. But is anything really ever simple here?

"Yin," Yin gives her name. Not that they know each other any better after that, but Yin doesn't understand that.

Too bad she doesn't have a sense of humor, she might have laughed to the 'it's always a what' commentary. So very true.

"I don't think you heard mine, and I cannot hear yours," Yin is pretty sure, at least. She hears the whispers, but they mention only her own follies. It really might not be that simple, though. They do seem to get...more aggressive in their whispering. Yin would actively frown, but she can't, and it might not be obvious, anyway.

"Yin. Supposed to say something like great to meet you here but..." she shrugged. It wasn't really that great, Illyana wasn't that much of a people person. Or a new people person. Nothing against Yin but it was just the way she was lately.

"Good, then we both can't hear and we don't need to talk about it, right?" See, that's how it works right? They could both try to go about their way and avoid all this. Except for the increasing aggressiveness of their ghostly friends.

"It seems an inconvenient way to meet people," Yin finishes that sentiment, voice monotone the whole while, but it's not without a small cheek to it. Yin is neither against people around her, or wants people around her, but she is pretty sure these kinds of interactions are not what most people have in mind for meet and greets.

Yin makes no sound about it, but she can tell - sort of feel the electricity in the air - as lights starts to go off, one at a time.

"No talking," she nods her head in agreement, but she would have done the same if Illyana had said they should divulge their secrets.

"Doesn't it? They seem to love ways like this. Evidently the best way to meet people is to force them together. The sarcasm in her tone was palatable and she tensed as something whispered to her again.

She bit down on her lower lip and looked around. "Did you hear that?" Wait, no, they'd just both agreed to no talking... "We should try to get inside."

If not for the fact Yin has some experience with sarcastic people, Illyana's artistry would be lost entirely, wasted on Yin. She managed to get it, sort of, but still tilts her head. She was agreed with, though, so it should be okay, Yin decides, not worried about it.

"We will not be able to hear them inside?" It's worth a shot. Yin points to a nearby building she had kept in mind. She is only a couple of inches off, not that she can see, that. It should still be obvious where she points.

"Maybe. Better than standing out here waiting for them to haunt us more, isn't it?" At least they might not be as cold. She nodded at the building and then started marching off that way Yin had pointed. "I may also be able to find a banishment spell once we're inside." Maybe. Nothing here was ever simple so she didn't have too much hope she'd just be able to banish them and be done with it.

Oh, is that how it works? Yin didn't consider those things, since it was usually someone else's job on her team to think, and she just follows the sound of Illyana's footsteps as she walks along.

"What's a banishment spell?"

"A spell for banishment." She smirked at her own response even as they moved towards the building. Maybe she could add a bit more. "Hopefully a spell that would send a spirit or ghost away. I've done a few before." Not here with whatever these were, but it shouldn't be that hard right?

Well, that is how it sounds. Yin gives a single blink to that realization.

"We don't use spells where I came from." Though, they have powers. Spells are different, far as Yin can tell.

The idea that running from a whispered secret wasn't the sort of thing that a paranormal investigator should do wasn't lost on him, even as he did his best to keep moving. Even before things started getting hairy, with scratching on the walls near him, doors slamming shut as he passed them by, and familiar heavy footfalls throughout his apartment, he knew he was being a coward.

When he left his apartment, trying to move to more open ground to avoid all the sounds that reminded him of times he'd rather not remember, shoving his hands into the deep pockets of his winter coat, he was a coward. When he heard Illyana's voice and made for it for safety in numbers? Also a coward, but he was glad to hear her voice either way.

"What secret?" Nevermind it was bitterly cold and he wasn't one to go out in it without reason. He's just having a leisurely stroll, obviously.

Safety in numbers was not a sentiment that Illyana would have shared, but she also wasn't entirely unhappy to see Jagger. Was she thrilled with what he asked her? No, but she was kinda pleased to know that he hadn't heard anything. Evidently these things, whatever sort of dumb spirits they were, could only be heard by the one they spoke to first. At least that was her best guess for now. She glanced over at him and shook her head.

"Nothing to worry about," she said with a wave of her hand and then a slight shiver down her spine. She snapped her head behind her as if she thought something was there only to realize nothing actually was there. Of course.

"What are you doing out here in the cold?"

She did have to ask that question, didn't she? And his options were telling Illyana about being haunted by his abusive, alcoholic father or to lie. He didn't really like either of them. He breathed a sigh, narrowing his eyes at her as she looked around. Maybe he wasn't the only one running from something.

Or the only one not talking about what they were running from. He'd always thought they were quite the pair.

"You know, getting the blood pumping. I could ask you the same question, you know, unless one of your mutant abilities is immunity to cold."

"It's not a mutant ability, it's the result of where I grew up. I'm used to the cold." She said with a shrug and an attempt to not look like she was cold. Which mostly involved stiffening up and holding herself just a bit tighter. At the very least she could confidently say she probably wasn't as cold as he was given her early years in Russia.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Blood pumping, huh?"

"That's what I said." And even as he pulled his coat closer around his shoulders he knew she wasn't going to believe that.

"It's working...marginally."

"Marginally, huh?" She rolled her eyes. "You're a bad liar. I'm the good one, remember? So...why are you lying to me?" That was meant to be her job, she was the one that lied and formerly had no soul.

"I think something's going on." He should have known better than to think he could lie to Illyana, but that didn't mean he had to elaborate further.

"Have you heard anything?"

"Gee, you think?" She teased a bit, though there was a slight edge to it that indicated she wasn't pleased with it. "Whispering. That's all." A lie.

"Yeah, it's what they're whispering that's the problem." But her reaction explained a few things to him. She was out here because they were both dealing with the same thing, and to spite her demeanor suggesting otherwise, it was bothering her too, maybe as much as it was getting to him.

"Maybe being alone is the best idea, love."

Illyana wasn’t the only one to have choice words concerning the state of the city’s lighting situation and the lack of proper maintenance. Waver had been taking a quick walk out to get some supplies when he found himself caught up in a darkness and what he could only guess were spirits that took pleasure and sustenance from targeting humans with things they’d rather not speak of. The fact that, despite having been a student of the spiritual evocation department at the tower in his youth, he wasn’t particularly well equipped to deal with them right now? Well, it ticked him off, to say the least.

Whatever the hell they were, they were powerful enough to muck around with his own mental warding if they could whisper his own secrets in his ears so easily. His cigars were doing nothing to help add to his own defence, aside from bolstering his abilities somewhat, so they were as good as useless. But, he supposed with a sardonic edge to his thoughts, when were his own abilities anything other than useless without aid from people around him?

He’d turned up his collar at the feeling of warm breath on the back of his neck to add some form of protection that probably wouldn’t work, discomfort creeping up his spine as he quickened his steps and gave the darkness his best, most unimpressed frown as he tried to escape the spirits and the sounds that they made to let him know they were still there.

Waver was embarrassingly relieved to hear a familiar voice, especially Illyana, if he were being honest. She was, after all, one of the few constants in his life here. “What the hell is with you inviting trouble when you know this place is happy to give you that? Did you learn nothing from your almost marriage?” The mage griped as he rounded the corner, and her suggestion of ‘finding a better secret than that’ (whatever it was) registered a moment later.

No, seriously. He is happy to see her! But he’s still him.

"I thought we agreed to not bring that up." No, she'd decided they'd not bring that up and neglected to ask if he'd abide by that. Or express that she expected him to. Still, it should have been a given that they just don't talk about that time she was kidnapped, imprisoned, some creepy guy wanted to marry her (again, why did things like that happen to her so much?), and she had to be rescued. By him of all people. Him! It was awful. Clearly something that should just not be mentioned least it put her in a sour mood. Not that she wasn't already in a slightly sour mood.

Only slightly.

"I'm not inviting trouble, I'm just encouraging them to be more inventive. Ominously whispering really lame secrets is probably the worst hobby I've seen here." She turned her head ever so slightly to face him with just a tiny grin on her face that she may or may not have been trying ever so slightly to hide. "And I've seen yours." Look, she really couldn't help it. She shivered as a gust of wind mixed with cold air rushed at her.

"Reminds me of home almost." She mused out loud. Granted, there were quite a lot of moments where she didn't fee as though Russia was really her home anymore. Just as that thought popped into her mind she felt the wind again, this time it felt distinctly unlike just wind and more like something else. Something more....haunting.

"Did you feel that?"

Honestly, it should be a given that you don’t just bring that up… But Waver doesn’t always think before he speaks, and the fact that Illyana seemed to have a tendency to almost tempt the universe with these things would never sit well with him. To his credit, his shadowed expression does look a bit awkward as he paused… Was he going to apologize? No, he’d just taken a couple seconds to try to recall if he had ever agreed to not bring it up. “Actually, I agreed to nothing. You never asked me to.” He finally responded, rising a brow. “But if you stop tempting fate, maybe I’ll consider it.” It’s a half promise, hinging on her not continuing to ask for things to do their worst or joking about things happening.

Totally reasonable in his opinion!

Pinching the bridge of his nose as she continued, he tried to ignore the growing sense of dread and let out a sigh. “That’s just a fancy way of asking whatever messed up entity is at work here to up its game and ultimately cause more trouble! Was it really such a lame secret that you want it to throw worse at you? I sure as hell don’t.” The crack about his hobbies gets an entirely unimpressed look and a frown that somehow seemed more severe than the one he’d been wearing before. Whether it was because of what she said or the annoying whisper in his ear from their current pest, was debatable.

The wind sends an unsettling shiver up his spine, and for more reasons than just the chill that it brought with it. Lowering his hands, he turned slightly, eyes searching the darkness in the direction it had come from. “Hard not to, between the chill and… Well, it doesn’t feel natural to put it lightly.” He’s not the most gifted mage by any means, but he can tell that much. “You got any thoughts on what we’re dealing with here?” He was interested to hear what she thought, because he’d rather put their heads together now and deal with this rather than let it get… worse. Or more interesting, as she might put it.

"Can you be sure of that? I might have. Or maybe I just assumed you had more social knowledge..." Alas, that would have been quite silly of her if she had just assumed that. The deal he offered really seemed like way too much of an effort for her to get behind, also way too difficult for her to be able to agree to. Yet...she could at least pretend if it meant that he'd stop bringing up that particular thing. "Deal."

It was terribly unreasonable and not the deal at all, but he didn't need to know that, right?

"Aw, are you saying you think I'm fancy?" she smirked with way too much joy behind her eyes at that. "Yeah, it was that lame. How about yours? What was it?" If it wasn't lame then it clearly would be fine to talk about, right? Somehow his frown and unimpressed look just served to fuel her more. It really was amazing how these things seemed to just entertain her more. There was probably something just a tiny bit twisted about it, or maybe just a bit troll-like. Maybe more than a bit.

"Another annoying mistake made by our glorious kidnappers," she said with a shrug that served as a way to try to shake off just how damn cold it was. "Feels like a ghost of some kind. Something interested in playing a trick maybe?" Could she try and brush off this secret as just an attempt by some sort of spirit to mess with her? She'd try at the very least.

“I am quite sure!” And he is definitely looking away for more reasons than trying to pinpoint where the spirits were specifically, because he has no comeback for the social knowledge thing. Reines had scolded him a few times for saying things he definitely shouldn’t have, and this one has… less defence than other things. Look, he’s speechless, Illyana! A rare thing!

Waver probably should know better than to think this deal would hold but being distracted and maybe hopeful to see an end to her habit, his tone is slightly relieved. “Good, deal.” Would he hold her to it? He’d damn well try, but the professor should at least be used to disappointment. The relief is short-lived, however, as she continued. “That’s what you’re taking from what I said?” Yeah, he sounds tired again, and a small huff escaped as he fixed her amused look with an unimpressed one of his own. It was too dark to really give the full effect, but it was there all the same.

“Lame or not, the spirits must have had a reason for latching onto it, don’t you think?” He asked with a glance back finally, definitely not stalling on her question. “Mine was a pointless reminder of what’s waiting for me, it’s nothing for anyone here to worry about.” He finally uttered, tone shifting to something uncertain and awkward. For all he tried to put on a blank, professional façade, he really could show his emotions without realizing it.

Oddly, he felt the insistence of the whispered secrets intensify someone as another voice ghosted by his ear and threw it at him, the breath causing him to shudder with discomfort. Was it worse when they… denied the secret, or maybe when they didn’t say it out loud? Surely that wasn’t it, that was absurd… Right?

To hide, perhaps. He turned to fix his gaze down an alleyway, trying to get a sense of any fluctuations in energy around them that might be more substantial. “Someone needs to get our kidnappers some damn supervision if this is their doing…” The question is if this was them or if this was something else. The fact that they rarely saw those in charge made it a bit hard to work out more about them and what they might be behind. “I would agree on the ghost of some kind, something strong enough to interfere with mental wards again if they’re pulling secrets from our minds.” Not great, he hates that a lot if it is the case… “The question is why, if there’s something more than general upset that they hope to inspire in us…”

"That you don't have more social knowledge? I'm glad we settled that," she replied while biting down on her lip in a desperate attempt to keep herself from laughing. He's speechless and that counts as a huge win to her, but she had to get that last bit in, really, she did. It was an absolute necessity that she throw that out there. Anyone who claimed she could have just said deal again, confirmed it, and moved on without saying anything further...well, they hadn't spent much time with her.

It had been needed. However, now that she'd gotten it all out of the system (except her laugh, it was still being held back) she did in fact move on. Although, she felt as though the previous topic was greatly preferable to this entire thing with spirits. "Of course it's what I'm taking from what you said. It's almost a compliment and who doesn't like compliments? It's not like you give me many." Maybe her real mutant ability was the ability to somehow turn anything around on someone to tease them.

"Of course they do. Spirits always have reasons for the things they do." Just as suddenly as her tone went to teasing it sobered up to something much more serious. A tone that held with it knowledge, understanding, and experience. Something swirled around her, as if to accentuate that very point and once again it whispered to her, a secret that centered mostly around her time here rather than anything to do with her own world or adventures back home. She scrunched her nose up and wrapped her arms around herself tightly and turned her focus to him.

"What if we weren't worried, but just curious. What's waiting for you back home that you don't want to talk about?" She tilted her head ever so curious about what he was keeping to himself.

"They had supervision, evidently whoever that was left. Maybe it thought they were as incompetent as they seem." If that was rude, she didn't seem to care at all. "I hate that this place ignores the rules." Her mind shouldn't be open at all. "What else could they hope to inspire in us."

Waver may have been rendered awkwardly speechless for a moment (and should be a moment savored by all), but that doesn’t stop him from rolling his eyes and making a very disgruntled sound at how impossible she was. Impossible, but also… Somehow one of his few friends, not that he’d use that term openly. At least not often, anyway. People couldn’t know he wasn’t entirely unfond of them. That would be preposterous. And clearly Illyana’s mutant abilities definitely included being able to turn anything around for the sake of teasing. Waver would undoubtedly say there was some evidence to support that… But she would probably take that as a compliment too!

He folds his arms, shoulders hunching slightly with obvious annoyance, but her serious tone gets a small relax of his posture, because if Illyana was willing to get serious then it was best that they put their heads together and put an end to this nuisance. They clearly were both uncomfortable with the situation. That much was obvious… Even if she showed it differently than he did, perhaps. “The question is what the reason is. Why the hell these things have become a subject of interest and a point to poke and pry at.” If they want to drive him crazy, they should take some pointers from Flat, or Reines, or Illyana herself. That didn’t seem to be the point. There was a certain insistence upon it.

The fact that she turned her focus to him was not missed, especially since she still hadn’t expanded on her ‘lame’ secret. It’s not lost on him that it can’t be that lame, and she was stalling by focusing on him instead. He decides he doesn’t like it, being the distraction. He can almost guess what’s coming, and then it does.

The mage gives her a look, and a half sigh as he spoke. “I’d say it’s not worth being curious about either. Yours is probably more worth curiosity.” As he turned away to focus on literally anything else. It almost feels like he might not give her question more attention than that, when the whisper ghosts by his ear again. Whether it’s that or the suspiciously familiar nagging voice in the back of his mind, just speak up already, he does speak after letting out a long breath.

“Nothing is what’s waiting. I…” He frowns. His voice isn’t as neutral as he’d like to be. Waver has never been good at the whole ‘talking about serious personal matters or feelings’ thing. Usually his instinct is anger, unfortunately. If he could teleport like Illyana, he’d be out of here already... But that’s not an option. So, as expected, his tone is sharper and frustrated as he tosses out what he hasn’t been sure how to explain. “I’m either dying or already dead, and this bloody place is just dragging my existence out. Why the hell that’s a point of interest for a bunch of ghosts is beyond me.” He ended with a sag of his shoulders, still pointedly avoiding eye contact. So focused on the discomfort of sharing, he didn’t notice the whispers in his own ears had faded yet.

The Aspects had supervision before, but were abandoned? Why is that somehow the least surprising thing he’d heard since he arrived here, while also being the most frustrating thing to learn? “Of course, because leaving two beings with that much power and no idea what they’re doing is going to end well and not backfire at all…” No wonder they continued to mess up… And everyone left here was forced to deal with the consequences of those mess ups. “Seconded.” He offered with a frown, for obvious reasons. He’s tired of the absurdity, the instability, the inability to make what felt like proper progress. The follow up comment gets a shrug, and he risked a glance over his shoulder. “Other than getting on everyone’s bad side?”

The rolling of the eyes was something of a victory for Illyana, it meant she'd potentially gotten to him. Which, of course, was her ultimate goal. Anything at all to make sure things weren't taken seriously: that she was able to avoid anything that came along that could be more on the unpleasant side. Plus, well, it was just fun to tease your friends and like it or not he was her friend here. One of the very few she'd actually claim as hers. Had she known he was thinking about her mutant abilities including being able to turn anything around to be about teasing she would in fact take it as one of the highest levels of compliments. It was an eternal win-win for her.

She sighed as things took their inevitable turn towards the serious and crossed her arms in an equally unhappy manner. "Maybe there isn't a reason, have you thought of that? Maybe they just like to be annoying!" That seemed weirdly logical to her and she was honestly of the opinion that it could actually be possible that this entire thing was just meant to be how to annoy them. "Or maybe they're just super nosy and like messing with us." Coming from someone that specialized in annoying people or messing with them, it was working pretty damn well.

"See you're avoiding it," said as though she wasn't also avoiding it. "So it's clearly interesting. Juicy even." Look, she just really didn't want to admit that her secret was something as stupid as 'I want to be a normal girl and stay here with friends, a moderately more normal life, and a chance at being something more.' That was lame. There was no way around the idea that it was lame.

Well,that got...a flicker of something on her face. Something that was very clearly concern and...maybe even sympathy. "Death isn't so bad." She gave him a weird attempt at a smile, awkward and overly forced, a sad attempt at comfort. "And sometimes people come back. Or maybe you won't actually die. You can't know for sure. Right? Someone might be the hero and sweep in." Everything else she might have been thinking about seemed to fall to the wayside at his admission. Curse being friends.

“For the record, I hate both of those options.” He responded sourly, and he can’t really say what sounds worse… This just being about ‘annoying’ them all, or ‘just super nosy.’ If he had to say which sounded more likely, though, he’d go with the latter because the idea that there was potentially no reason didn’t sit right with the mage. There was always a ‘why.’ There had to be a reason.

If Illyana thought Waver was going to forget how she was avoiding her own secret and that her brushing it off was about the same on the ‘interesting’ scale based on that… She was wrong. Very little got by him and he wasn’t the kind of person to easily forget things. He could be sidetracked at most… Now that look on her face, and the obvious attempt at optimism and comfort was exactly why he didn’t want to actually come out and tell anyone about this. He didn’t want them to have to deal with the fact that they were probably befriending a dead man. Yeah, he’d really like the ability to teleport now.

Expression shifting, trying to sound casual, he shrugged. “Only the most notable get the opportunity to do more beyond death where I come from, and even then, it’s not the same as what you mean.” Waver Velvet was a subpar mage who had done nothing notable in his opinion, the counter force wouldn’t have any interest or use for his soul. “And considering I’m on a train where it’s common for there to be murders easily swept under the rug due to the business conducted there, I’m not holding my breath for a last-minute hero. I didn’t bring anyone adept at healing magic and everyone else on that train would see my death as an obstacle being removed with the upcoming auction than anything worth preventing.” It’s… not easy for Waver to be optimistic. Even Illyana would have noticed he preferred to be realistic and logical when it came to most things. Well… With a few obvious exceptions to that, but this wasn’t one of those things.

Rubbing the side of his neck, he stared into the shadows around even if he wasn’t really seeing anything of note. “It’s not even dying that upsets me, I think… Well, no… I guess I’m a little upset.” He was as afraid of death as the next person, even if he didn’t let it hold him back when something needed to be done… and he also didn’t regret his decisions because it ultimately ensured Gray’s safety in that moment. “What bothers me is knowing I have things I promised to do that I can’t keep to, and people who still needed me to think about.” And being stuck here, knowing he probably was failing to keep both his promises and failing the people who needed him? That sucked.

“But…” He took in a breath, trying to put the discomfort behind him, he chanced a small glance at his friend (that’s what she was whether he openly voiced it or not). “Thanks… For uh…” For trying to make him feel better? For not making light of his obvious weakness and failure? For making him finally get that off his chest after keeping it to himself since he got here over a year and a half ago? All of the above, even if the spirits might be responsible in part for the last one. But this was hard and so he awkwardly ended with a “thanks.”

And it did maybe feel better to get it out, at least to someone. Actually… he finally noticed that the whispers and feeling they brought seemed to be leaving him alone now. Clearing his throat in an attempt to not sound emotional, he focused on that. “You still hearing whispers?” Was asked pointedly as he felt something odd knock against his shoe. Waiting for her answer, he stooped with a frown at something glowing faintly in the shadows. The hell was that?

"Of course you do," she said with a satisfied and amused look on her face. The perpetual look that was on her face when she was teasing him. Illyana was also a proponent of there always being some sort of reason for everything. It'd been her experience that people only found out secrets, and then hoarded them, for the purpose of getting something out of it. The thing they needed to figure out was what they'd want.

"No? That's too bad. In my world people come back from the dead all the time in unexpected ways. Almost makes you just assume death might not be permanent." The sad part was that was actually kind of true. Sometimes people even showed back up after years, that'd been the case with her. It'd also been the case with her friend Doug. Sometimes they showed back up messed up and sometimes it was like nothing had really happened. Doug and her fell into the messed up category, her more than him. "You'll just have to try harder to be notable then." She gave him a smirk as if it was that simple. "A train murder. Sounds like some sort of movie or something." She shook her head. "Maybe something will happen. You don't know for sure yet. I didn't take you for someone so easy to give up and accept your own death." There was a hint of disappointment in her tone and her eyes betrayed something that looked a lot like...she might be sad to hear about him potentially dying in his own world.
What he said next though left her slightly stunned. Mostly because she really hadn't expected him to admit all of that to her. Of course she considered him a friend in her own awkward strange way, but she'd never really expected him to open up to her even slightly. She was after all not the easiest person to get along with. "Dying is...always upsetting. No matter what someone says." She put a hand around herself as another whisper came into her ear and a chill ran through her spine. "That sounds like something my brother would say." Piotr, the one always lamenting about how he had to protect everyone no matter what. "What about what they may feel about your death?" There was an edge in her tone, accusatory almost, though it was definitely a bit of projecting.

Oh no, it was awkward. So very awkward all around. She shrugged as nonchalantly as she could manage. "A thank you from you? I'll immortalize this moment. One for the record books for sure."

She rolled her eyes around and then shrugged. "No--" sigh. Why bother to lie? "Yes."

Knowing what he did about her situation, maybe it’s not surprising to hear that people being brought back to life was the norm in her world… “That seems to be one of the differences between our worlds then. Guess I could understand why it’s easy to assume death isn’t permanent by default, though.” He offered, but it wasn’t the norm where he came from. Those who made a big enough impact, who had enough power and knowledge to be useful? The counter force would write their soul on the throne of heroes. It would be a lie to say he’d never considered that option, but it was easier to write it off as foolishness, impossible, and not something he wanted or cared about. Is he obviously focusing on the train comment for a reason instead? Yeah. “It does put one in mind of an Agatha Christie novel, I suppose. Although I’m not a detective, so.” The mage shrugged lightly, ignoring the fact that a certain people liked to call him one.

Waver opened his mouth to counter her point with the obvious, feeling guilty and more vulnerable than he’d like to right now. He wasn’t sure what the hell he was supposed to do. Nothing they did here apparently went back with them, and if he was breathing his last breath already, it wasn’t like he’d be waking up on the train as far as he knew. But that tone in her voice, the look she was giving him… Well, it could take Waver a little while to realize that what he was saying was genuinely upsetting someone, but he did sometimes realize it, eventually. Like now. “Yeah… Maybe you’re right…” It just seemed very unlikely based on the facts. At least… all the facts that he currently had, there were some missing and at a later date Illyana would be proven right, and him wrong. Won’t that be fun…?

He was surprised to be sharing as much tonight as he was. It wasn’t really something he expected to be doing. Not in the middle of a dark street, haunted by ghosts. Not with anyone, or anyway, honestly. That said… He knew a hell of a lot about Illyana, and she had shared a lot herself since they met. Maybe there was a certain level of trust and respect there now, underneath all the bluster and annoyance with her teasing.

Then… There was a shift in his posture that suggested obvious discomfort at the accusatory tone in her voice and the comparison to her brother. “They’ll be...” What? Fine? Even he knows that’s utter bullshit. Even if mages were supposed to be somewhat detached from emotions… They were still just teenagers. Teenagers that had proven on more than one occasion what they would do if they got wind of him being in trouble, even on occasions that he didn’t invite them along to help. Reines was… Protective in her own way… And the little sister he never expected to have but cared about as much as if she were a blood relative (not that he was keen to admit it)… And he can almost imagine how his apprentice Gray would take it… So If everyone reacted even half as badly as Olga-Marie did to her governess being murdered on the train not more than a few hours before the attack? It would be a mess.

Illyana might notice he’d gotten very still and dead silent as he tried to think of how to finish what he was saying. It was clear he was feeling both guilty and having a small internal crisis over something he’d been trying really hard to not think about. When he did speak, his voice his very quiet. “I… don’t know. But I couldn’t let things continue as they were, and I can’t imagine you would have done any differently in my position.” Thats about as much as he can bring himself to say, and it’s clear he was finally processing something no one had called him out on before.

“Yeah, yeah…” He grumbled at her awkward joke, even if it was a little forced in an attempt to sound normal and like this wasn’t as big a deal as it was.

Ah, and the mage was latching onto her answer so very quickly, even as he studied the odd stone that he rolled against his shoe. “Thought so.” He responded, glad she wasn’t dancing around the truth. Waver had figured out what their haunters were trying to force, or at least he was pretty sure of it. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t anymore… I think that’s what they’re after. A little secret sharing.” Glancing sidelong at her, he took a deep breath. “So you’re probably going to be stuck with them unless you share it.”

"We never assume, but it's not a surprise anymore when it isn't.” Assuming was...dangerous. It was like having hope: not something she was overly fond of. Hope often led directly to disappointment and a myriad of other feelings she did her best to avoid. "Guess it's time for you to become a detective." She squinted and leaned towards him with a grin. "You might make a decent Sherlock. Only a few notches down!" It was...almost a compliment? Kinda. Really depended on what you thought of Sherlock Holmes and how you took the last part. Though at this point he probably could tell when she was just teasing to try to get a funny reaction.

She straightened herself up and attempted to give the best look of 'I'm not actually upset about this' that she could. It wasn't actually that impressive of a look much to her own chagrin. "I'm usually right in my assumptions." She wasn't hurt! Definitely not, nope, not at all. She didn't care at all what happened to him. At least that was what she was going to insist, both in her own head and to him should he actually bring it up. Though...she did avoid teasing him any further. Maybe there really was some sort of trust forming between them. A bond of some sort. Weird.

"What? Better off?" She narrowed her eyes at him as she tried to finish his sentence for him in the silence that fell between them. "They won't think that. They wont think they're fine either. Maybe they'll blame themselves. Or maybe they'll go on a quest for revenge for you. Either way, it won't end with them just being okay with it." Her tone was deadly serious and almost accusatory. It was the tone of someone who had both experienced the exact same thing and done the exact same thing to others. "I probably wouldn't have, but should anyone really take what I would do as an example of good choices?" It was a dark admission from her, one she wasn't entirely happy to be admitting but she knew there was truth in it.

"Wonderful," she threw her hands up and rolled her eyes in annoyance at that revelation. How wonderful. Of course it had to be be something like that...of course it did. It was always something stupid like that. "Fine." She folded her arms across her chest tightly again, betraying her irritation, and sighed. "I don't want to leave here." The whispers continued with her, obviously that wasn't enough for these little annoying ghosts. "Fine! Just shut up!" Her voice got more quiet. "I like it here. I have friends that don't...they don't have the same memories of me or expectations. I don't feel guilty every time one of you looks at me. I can almost have a normal life minus all," she moved a single hand around. "this. I...like that. I want to stay."

“You’re not the first person to suggest that.” Waver responded with a resigned sigh, practically rehearsed at this point. “I’m just slightly practiced at making connections and coming up with decent theories based on information available to me, thanks to the number of weird situations I get asked to untangle. I could hardly operate on the same level as him if he existed.” He ended with a roll of his eyes. If Sherlock Holmes were real, he was quite sure the man would find such a comparison ridiculous and insulting. That said, it could not be denied that Waver had a certain way of looking at things and a burning desire to figure things out and uncover secrets that definitely fit the role. There were plenty of parallels despite his denial.

There was something so absurd about the absolute contrast between the gravity of the conversation and the teasing… And yet also comforting in its own way to feel like not everything was crashing down around him to have admitted so much out loud. He still hated that he had, and he knows regardless of her tone and attempt at looking unhurt or not upset by it all that she was… But it was better than one of them storming off, as tempting as it probably was for both parties at this point.

But Waver visibly winced as Illyana tried to fill in the blanks when he fell silent, looking like she’d as good as struck him even if it was only with her words alone. It was very rare that someone actually called him out like this, and he clearly didn’t know what to do with it. And if this time he didn’t pull through, didn’t wake up, didn’t recover enough to step in just in time to either offer guidance or provide support… What would become of everyone else? What would they do? That wasn’t even counting what would become of Reines… Part of their deal was that he would be the decoy until she was older, take the attention of other mages off her and direct it onto him. Didn’t mean he had any idea what else he could have done about what happened, but it did… put a lot into perspective.

Looking pale and more than a little lost, he can’t even think of a proper argument or defence that hasn’t already been said. He still wouldn’t have done differently given the situation, and they both knew it… But he did see the point she was trying to make.

Under normal circumstances, Waver would have actually been satisfied to have the tables turned when it came to which of them were annoyed. That said, tonight was not a normal situation at all. They were both uncomfortable and very done with the ghosts and their insistent prodding over things they didn’t want to admit or speak of to the world. So, picking up the stone that had rolled up against his shoe to look over more closely later, he straightened and gave her his proper attention. He had to admit, he hadn’t expected to hear that of all things. A brow raised slightly, his tone still careful given everything else. “You say that like it’s an unreasonable, foolish thing to want.” It wasn’t even the first time he’d heard someone around here wanting to stay in the place. And given everything else… It made sense. “But it’s not, you know. If you like it here, if you feel like you have a place…” She deserved that. “Then I think it’s understandable that you’d want to.” Hell, under the right circumstances? Waver might not mind staying either… But those were very specific circumstances, dependant on very specific people in his life.

“But I bet I'm the best one to suggest it," she said with a smirk. A very over confident and self-gratifying one. ""Just slightly practiced, of course. You know, he probably exists somewhere." If this world plus the other worlds and times she'd been to had taught her anything at all it was that everyone probably existed somewhere. Someone's fiction or whatever was real in some universe out there. Probably multiple versions actually.

In some ways he should probably feel honored, Illyana rarely bothered to call people out or put in the effort to point things out to them. It was only when she actually cared, or at the very least wanted something out of the situation, that she put in the effort to be blunt and direct. In this instance it was decidedly that she cared and she wanted him to know how ridiculous he was being. Not just that she cared of course, she had a vested interest in dissuading people from making stupid statements and decisions that reminded her of her self-sacrificing brother.

"I'll take your silence to mean my point was made and accepted as correct." She narrowed her eyes at what he chose to say next. "Because it is." It was foolish, sentimental, selfish, and also weak. Definitely weak. "I don't really have a place here. Not really. I don't belong places." I'm not even meant to be.

That gets an obvious eye-roll. “You would say that…” Even if he’s not quite recovered from the elephant in the room, that was… the rest of the conversation… The subject of Sherlock Holmes and the tendency for people to compare them was practically a relief by comparison. Frankly, Miss Adashino also got on his nerves, but Illyana was definitely the champion at this point, and maybe… A little higher on the scale of people he ‘tolerated’ (considered a friend) in his day to day. If only because he’d been here long enough now that she’d been around him longer. That was all… Yup. The suggestion gets a rise of his brows, and… Well, he can’t argue with that. “You know, I hadn’t thought of that… But you could be right?” That was a weird thought…

Weirder still that technically he did exist in at least one alternate universe of Waver’s own world, who was actually interested in the opportunity to speak with the mage.

Waver opened his mouth to argue her next point, because of course he would on instinct… But yeah, the fight’s half-hearted at best and his mouth slipped shut again with an awkward shrug. “Fine, you’ve made your point.” He won’t openly say she’s right. Waver would admit to mostly right at best, because he doesn’t quite know how to articulate that he also couldn’t do nothing and to say he wouldn’t make the same stupid decision again would be a lie. At least… Maybe he wouldn’t make it without stopping and thinking first, trying other things…

But he’d rather focus on her secret, especially when she spoke next. “You really think that?” He asked with a small rise of his brow at her. “Because in my experience, people who don’t have places, who don’t belong somewhere? They don’t have people who notice when they’re missing. Who give a damn when they don’t know where you went or what might’ve happened.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Winter Events!

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A - lmk if this works

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A as discussed! If this doesn't work I can edit

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