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 Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:00 pm
Hel crunched her way through the snow and out of the nearby woods, making a beeline for the reaper dorms. She always enjoyed wandering through the woods, even more so now that it was snowing. After losing herself in the great white wilderness for a few hours, she was ready to head back and curl up in front of the fire with a nice hot mug of apple cider.
As she drew closer to the dorms though, there was something that stood out like a sore thumb amongst the white landscape. Like blotch of ink on clean paper…like…like…
Like someone left their hideous, brightly and vibrant colored laundry out in the snow.
Easily drawn to this hot mess, Hel slightly veered off course to approach the laundry, her brows furrowing. Wait…wait…wait she’d seen laundry like this before…
As she approached the pile, she then circled around it with narrowed eyes, until she spotted some distinguishing features. Ah! If it wasn’t for his two toned red eyes…and a pile of hot mess laundry, he would have blended in with the snow! Hel’s face lit up in recognition, and she cupped her gloved hands around her mouth and spoke loudly, enunciating slowly.
“OLD MAN. ARE YOU LOST? DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?”
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:55 pm
Sal wasn't too fond of this white wet stuff.
He knew what it was, he had been in the human world when it was around, but he never, ever got around to liking it. It was wet, cold, uncomfortable and above all, not what he was used to. He missed his dry heat, he missed the sand under his bone feet; this was the complete opposite. Plus, the blanket of the stuff got rid of - or obscured entirely - any landmark he knew enough to recognize easily.
Which meant now, more than ever, he was lost. He was just getting used to this area, too! Dang.
The loud voice made him turn, looking out from his bundle of robes for the source; he spotted her easily, a dark blot on the mostly white backdrop. He recognized the voice as the ghoul from the battle of the bands who had called him 'Grandpa', but the image was distinctly different. General politeness had him taking a few steps in the ghoul's direction, but he'd be lying if curiousity wasn't also a driving factor.
"I am precisely where I feel I need to be, my dear." He informed her matter-of-factly, working on the assumption that one couldn't get lost if you had no destination to begin with. "I must say child, your appearance has changed drastically...what on this good land happened?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 10:09 pm
Hel had to think about that rather sage-like reply for a moment. Mystic and meaningful words of an old person. The ghoul stood her ground as he came closer, and rested her hands on her hips now. “ Fair enough!” Hel wasn’t shouting anymore, but considering how close they were now, she was still rather loud. She needed to be sure he could hear her! “… Oh! Ya!” She was drastically different since Battle of the Bands…it was sort of easy to forget things like this. “ I fell into a vat of chocolate.” She replied, and then grinned. Hel then shook her head. “ Nah! Ah…well, I am sure you are familiar with curses?” Because he obviously had been around the block a few times…just look at his hair and bony fingers! “ My appearance was cursed when I was born…and some time ago it just took over completely…” She shrugged a bit. “ Not much I can do!” Plus everyone seemed to like it so…she wasn’t complaining really. “ Say ah…I am heading back to the reaper dorms…and there is a large roaring fire…how about you accompany me, Grandpa? Because in your frail state, I do not think being out in this weather for a prolonged period of time is good for you!”
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 8:10 am
Pale eyebrows visibly lifted in surprise; a Vat of chocolate, really? That didn't seem very---Ah, well, that would explain why, it was a joke! Silly children and their need to get people. He shook his head slowly, clicking his tongue in mild disapproval, but as always his tune changed when curses came up.
"Of course I am." How could he not? Sure he was more adept at the whole creating the curse than handling it's after effects; his bloody cough was a virus turned bad, definitely not a curse. "I see, I see...I must say I have not seen a curse act in such a way! Terrible luck, two faces, but not a colour split. Curious, very curious..." Sal's words were almost musing, sounding more like he was talking to himself than he was conversing with her. When he looked at her again he was smiling, extending a clammy hand to brush his fingertips through the ends of her hair.
"Well, so long as you are happy with it. A shame you lost your lovely hair, too." His hand retracted just long enough for him to inspect some snow that had fallen on it. With a frown of disapproval he slid his hands back into his robes, where he deemed it safe; her offer had apparently come at just the right time.
"I would like that very much, sweetling." The mention of his frail state made him grin behind his scarves, his eyes arching in mirth. Oh yes, he really did like this ghoul; she played into his strange little ticks, and she was adorable to boot! "It is nice to see young ones so concerned about their Elders." The Sage chuckled again before stepping to her side, offering her his arm even if he didn't want to get touched by any more white stuff.
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 11:26 am
Despite musing to himself, Hel was listening. Of course he was familiar with curses. He was old. She just shrugged. “I dunno. Not all that familiar myself with any…I come from a family where weaponry is the focus as opposed to magic casting…” Which is why despite being a reaper, Hel was not masterful in spells. The ghoul stared at his thin and bloody fingers, and then grinned. “Ya. I am.” She then snorted. “Aw, I did not lose it! I know right where it went! Why do beings say that? ‘Lost it’…” She wrinkled her nose and then snorted again.
“Caring? Ya, alright…more like I do not want to shoulder a guilty conscience if you keeled over and then reappeared at the nearest pumpkin patch as a popsicle!” Hel stared at his arm when he offered it, and then looked horrified. “…You are….so thin!” She cried, dismayed. “I mean…I know you are old, but seriously, Grandpa, I think you can take better care of yourself! You are worse than Mot!” Hel immediately grabbed his skinny arm, and then dragged him towards the reaper dorms.
She bust through the double doors and kicked them shut behind her. She wasted no time in dragging Sal over to the large plush couch in front of the promised roaring fireplace, and then ushered him to sit down on it. “Stay right there and do not wander off, Old Man! I will be right back!” That being said, Hel disappeared up a staircase.
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:58 pm
"I see." Sal filed that away; a Reaper family with more focus on weaponry. Warriors, then? He hadn't yet met a non-magical Reaper, then again the only other Reaper he knew was Bella. "That is quite fascinating! You shall have to tell me more of your little curse." Yes, little; colour changes were nothing big, at least not in his experience. "Ah, so then your hair...you cut it, it was not part of your curse?" He wasn't quite sure if he liked it, but it did give her a little more of a rough look. Very boyish...from the shoulders up. There was nothing boyish about the rest of her body. "How precious." He practically coo'd to her little mini tantrum over wording; oh the little ones, so amusing.
"No matter what you say, that is caring." He pat the top of her head, ruffling her boyish hair with a chuckle. Her horrified look gained a rather curious one of his in return, wondering what it was for right up until she cried out in dismay, and then he merely smiled. "You are simply adorable!" In truth he took fantastic care of himself, as far as Famine standards went. There were others thinner than himself, but that was merely body type. "Who is this 'Mot'? A playmate of yours?" Regardless he let her bully him around, trailing after the much shorter ghoul even if he had to somewhat stoop to keep their arms linked properly. She was a feisty one, and each little act only solidified that fact: the way she kicked the doors, the way she dragged him around, the way she...well, all of her.
"I make no promises, sweetling." Sal said softly, though he did nestle down into the plush couch and, when she disappeared he held his palms up against the warmth of the fire. It wasn't dry heat, but it was much better than the wet white stuff outside.
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 1:45 pm
It was a going to be a beautiful friendship/relationship based on patronizing…from both ends.
Hel collected quite a few things from her room, and when she returned to the common room, her arms were full. She ‘gracefully’ dropped everything in front of the fireplace, and got to work setting up her kettle filled with apple cider over the fireplace to heat up. She had also brought some tubs of beef stew—that’s right, she was going to feed Salbei—and she placed those near the fire as well to let them heat up. While that was being done, she pulled off her hat and outer tunic layers, tossing them by the fire to let them dry as well.
She turned back to Sal then, and was about to answer some of his questions, when she paused, and stared down at his feet.
…
“OH MY JACK!” She exploded, throwing her hands into the air in exclamation as her dark red eyes went wide. “Grandpa! How long were you out in the snow for!? YOUR FEET FROZE RIGHT OFF!” She exclaimed, horrified.
Hey, in Hel’s defense, she never got a good look at his feet at BoTB. One, she wasn’t looking, and second, they were probably covered by his robes anyways.
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 1:58 pm
The grace this ghoul possessed continued to astound him, but at the same time he was far from surprised. By his standards she was just a toddler, and toddlers weren't known for their grace or light of foot. She stormed around like the best of them, in his eyes waddling around on uncertain legs. It was simply the cutest thing he'd seen! Usually they tried to not be so infantile.
"Planning a camp out are we?" He asked sweetly, like any semi-amused parent might ask a child who had just stripped the couch of it's cushions for a fort. Unlike Hel, Sal didn't try to strip off his layers; he had enough, he could dry easily without needing to be any closer to the fire. Besides, if his things even caught a mild spark he would be somewhat inconvenienced.
"..." Her sudden explosion stunned him, red eyes staring at the ghoul as though trying to figure out what her childish babble was trying to say. His feet? Hm. The lanky horseman leaned over, fingers curling into the fabric on his knees to pull it up a bit, letting himself see his own feet. When he saw them as they always had been, bones with some tattered old wrapping, he merely started laughing. Rather, trying to not laugh, because he didn't want to embarrass her any more than she already was, clearly.
"Precious ghoul, my feet have always been this way! Calm down my sweet little darling, it is alright, hush now~" He crooned, trying to calm the frazzled mind of a toddler on the verge of another tantrum.
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 2:11 pm
Hel’s arms fell limp at her side as Sal started to laugh…or not to laugh, and she stared down at his feet with a furrowed brow until he enlightened her.  … Yeah, she felt stupid. “…Y-ya! I knew that!” She suddenly exclaimed, crossing her arms and huffing, puffing out her cheeks as she looked off to the side. Totally did not know that, and she totally was a toddler too. With Sal lacking skeletal parts aside from his feet, she had just assumed it wasn’t…normal. “A-anyways!” Quick to change the subject, “Ya…I got my hair cut a while ago…” She reached up to ruffled a hand through her short chopped locks, and had just given up caring whether they looked silly or not when they stuck up. She then snorted. “My playmate? I am not a scareling, Gramps!” Hel was an adult. “Mot is one of my good friends…he is a grim, very tall, long black hair and pale skin…he is rather thin as well…” What else did he ask her? Oh yeah, the curse. Hel scratched her jaw, and glanced over at the items that were heating up by the fire. “…Long story short, another valkyrie cursed my mother’s offspring…but I am the youngest of nine sisters, and it only affects me…and when I was born, I was split in color…see ah, the ghouls in my family all have fair skin, blonde to white hair, and light blue eyes. Their wings are either white of some form of off white as well…like owls.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 3:13 pm
"Of course you did." Sal smiled, nodding. Oh yes, he was well aware that she was just testing him! What a brat of a child. He just continued on smiling as she insisted that she wasn't a scareling; he said nothing, but at least humored her enough to not roll his eyes.
"...Hmm. Ah, I believe there was a Mot playing in the battle of the bands? How interesting." He nodded as the memory came back, thoughtfully staring into the dancing flames. Once more he put his hands out towards the heat, enjoying the feel on his palms. "Seems odd to curse the offspring, it seems senseless to make innocent children suffer for something they clearly did not do." The Sage's thin lips pressed into an unamused line.
"So now you are opposite of them in every way. Dark skinned, dark haired, red eyed and wingless." Again he seemed to be musing to himself out loud, and not giving a single consideration to any potential buttons he could be pressing. "You are the metaphorical black sheep personified, then." He chuckled softly, amused. "You did not have wings when we met either, may I ask what happened to them, or what also a part of your curse?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:00 pm
“…Ah ya…there was…he made it to the finals against Mort and Amrita…” Hel trailed off for a moment, and then shrugged. “Eh..my kind does not care what effects what…as long as it effects someone related to the problem…Eh heh…” Hel looked off into the distance for a moment before she busied herself with picking up one of the tubs of stew. She dropped a spoon into it and stirred before she came back over to Sal and shoved it into his thin fingers. “Here! This will help to warm the core!” She then busied herself with pouring some hot cider into the mugs she brought down, carefully removing the hot kettle from the fire with a mit.
She was silent as Sal mused, and after a moment, she spoke up. “Ha…ya. I am their opposite in every way now. Short hair too…because everyone in my family prides themselves on their long locks. The black sheep… . . …” Hel pour the cider into two mugs, and then placed the kettle onto the stone front. “…Ya.” She came back over and placed the mug onto a table near the Famine horseman, and then went to retrieve her own mug and stew container.
“Oh…no…that was not part of my curse…I uh…happened to be in the Haunted House quite some time ago and…I was taken down by a Hunter…he tore my wings off.” Hel flopped onto the couch next to Sal then, items in hand.
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:23 pm
They do not care what affects what, so long as it affects someone related to the problem?
How...Clan-like.
"Unfortunate, really." Sal sighed in disappointment, knowing full well that a race of people who believed that would not easily change; there were exceptions who always thought and believed different, but on the whole...it really was a shame. Before he knew what was happening he had a tub of stew thrust into his hands and a mug of cider next to him. Well well, it seemed the little one had an interest in playing house after all! He stared down at the stew as though she were asking him to eat a mud pie, and merely set the warm dish on his lap. It's saving grace was that it was warm, and his hands were still quite chilly.
"A Hunter did that to you?" He repeated, believing it to be true and still quite disappointed that it happened. Yet more people threatening children...they should be ashamed of themselves. They always needed someone to bully, it seemed. "I am sorry your wings were clipped, my dear. I can not imagine the freedom you have lost." A now warm hand pat her shoulder, giving it a brief and reassuring squeeze before he went back to holding his tub of stew...and still definitely not eating it.
"Did the Hunter get what was coming to him, at least?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:39 pm
“…Mmm, ya but…no use to digressing, Gramps.” Hel replied. “The milk has been spilled and cleaned up.” She grinned a bit at him before it faded. “Ya. A Hunter did…” She blinked in surprise as she felt his hand on her shoulder, and stared down at it before looking back up at him. She smiled a bit. “…I appreciate the sentiment…it is funny, but with those few words…I think you get it…” What she had lost. Hel shook her head a bit. “…But what I lost is nothing compared to what you lost.” That was just the fact of the matter, and Hel wasn’t interested in mutual wound licking. It was what it was.
At his question, Hel paused before her lips pulled into a wicked grin. “Ya. He did...and they all will one day.” She then took a hearty bite of the stew, and was silent for a bit as she ate, reflecting on what was spoken thus far, when something hit her. She stopped chewing. She had…spoken a lot about her past incidents…and she hadn’t even been in Sal’s company that long…
Hel slowly turned to stare at Sal suspiciously. Sal and his old person powers. She swallowed her bite, and decided that the conversation needed to turn away from her, lest she suddenly start spilling her disaster and mess of a love life and her other insecurities surrounding that. “So, Grandpa…what have you been up to since the Battle of the Bands?”
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 5:00 pm
"Can't an old man complain about the state of the world? Back in my day-" He trailed off on his own accord, chuckling at his own little joke. The chuckle faded as she brought up loss, and like her he had no interest in licking wounds; tears had been shed over his issue as no doubt some were shed for hers. So he said nothing, but he did give a small nod to show that he had at least listened to her.
If he noticed her suspicious stare, he didn't bring attention to it. Instead he was staring down at the stew, shifting some pieces of meat around with his spoon. Suddenly they were talking about him, and he shrugged his thin though heavily robed shoulders.
"This and that, my dear. Adjusting, wandering, continuing my studies, conducting new ones. Aside from the change in scenery and the plethora of children at my ankles - so to speak - my life has not changed much from before." Sure there was that time when he thought his Zomboils had died, or the time he had to console a distraught Bella for the same reason. The fights, the loneliness, his memories coming crashing back to him, the tears he had shed...it had changed a lot, but that was his own business.
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 5:38 pm
Hel actually laughed at that. “Certainly, Gramps. Say, back in your day, you drew on stone walls and reapers sacrificed goat minis to cast spells, ya?”
She kept on eating, not noticing the way Sal wasn’t really touching his stew yet. Well…it seemed Sal wasn’t too uprooted by what had happened…but still. “…So ah…what is it you study?” Because really, Hel knew next to nothing about Sal…except that he was old. Really old…and patronizing. Really patronizing.
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