|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:20 pm
There was no where in the other world that the burning man could not be, and so it was--of course--the easily accessible town square that he tended to haunt. And haunt was the proper word, for he would only stand there, for hours on end, unnerving the creatures that walked the streets. Most of the otherbeings knew to avoid him when he was in this mood, this still and this cold despite the flames licking over his bones. Visitors, though. They never left well enough alone. "My dear, that form suits you. But if you are hiding, you'll need to come up with one better."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:32 pm
Walking around was much easier as a fox, so whenever Eve appeared in the other Ashdown she defaulted to it. The danger inherent to the place was something she'd quickly become aware of, so as curious as she was about it she never wanted to stay long when she was there alone -- it was better to find a crow in a helpful mood and follow it to a way back out before any trouble could find her. No such luck this time. Trouble was patient. She froze the very second she heard the voice - don't turn around - and sat, staring straight in front of her, waiting. The burning's mans greeting felt less like a compliment than it did a warning.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:34 pm
"You may look at me," said the burning man, with the attitude of one who was making a great personal sacrifice. "If your friend has brought you to me, then there is surely a purpose. The crows are not so stupid as to approach me needlessly."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:37 pm
Eve, after a moment's hesitation, turned around... slowly... and looked up... slowly... to make the briefest eye contact with him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:41 pm
He looked the same as he ever did: the body of a man silhouetted in flame, defining features long since melted away, something in the empty sockets that spoke of dimming coals. The burning man had impeccable posture, but he was weary and his impeccable posture shared that, too. He was a major standing at the very threshold of retirement, given an assignment from which he knows he will not return, contemplating the plans which now will never come to fruition. "You remind me of someone, my dear," said the burning man. "It has been so very long."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 4:53 pm
For all the genuine peril and abusive behavior Jeremiah had painted this individual with, Eve's own first impression was underwhelming by comparison. The man stood before her like a withered, spent match, and the bright flames around him barely even seemed to fit, but... real monsters never really looked like monsters. His superficial humanity could imply hidden depth or hidden terror. In response, Eve chose to lie down on the ground, eyes kept squarely on his.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:12 pm
"You're... not her," said the burning man. He wasn't looking at Eve anymore: he was staring somewhere else, somewhere far beyond her for all she was settled up into a fox loaf on the old worn-smooth cobbles of the town square. Perhaps he found the grains of repaved mortar too fascinating for words. Finally he offered, "This conversation always proceeds this way. Perhaps we can skip the self-aggrandizing monologue and you ask me your questions now."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:24 pm
The fox made a small, curt chuffing noise, surprised and amused and annoyed all at once. It seemed he did know her, well enough to know what she was hoping to do: listen to him speak about whatever he wanted long enough that she could cite the emotional labor to justify being owed something. She couldn't help but be a little proud of herself that other versions of her also had the same idea. So she shifted back, impishly staying seated on the ground instead of going through the ordeal of getting up on her feet. "I'm not sure how you handle it, being on fire like that," she started, in an airy tone empty of the sympathy she was known by her loved ones for. "Aren't you in pain?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:28 pm
The burning man looked taken aback by the question, as much as a being lacking all facial expression could. His shoulders had momentarily gone, if possible, even more rigid, and he gave the impression of a frown through the flexing of his hands. "It's been quite some time since anyone asked me that," he said. He sounded out each word, a cane to scope out the shape of a room. "Yes. I suppose it hurts."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:44 pm
That... was interesting. She'd been expecting him to sneer about how it didn't, and that's if he'd chosen to answer at all. It took a few moments of intense thought to get any ideas of what else she could ask. This was an honest opportunity. Questioning it further would be a waste. "I don't like having to unnecessarily repeat things either, you know," Eve started, with a small sigh. "It's a shame I don't have your long memory, otherwise I could have spared you the trouble entirely."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 9:17 pm
"You would be unhappy, had you my memory." He shook his head. "Don't wish such things upon yourself that you do not deserve."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 9:25 pm
"Oh, just because you've met me already doesn't mean you know me. What makes you so sure that's how I would feel?" There was also the matter of deserving, but... one question at a time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 9:51 pm
The burning man looked at Eve, and then politely turned his gaze back to whatever had caught his interest. "Perhaps you've made a deal such as mine before. Perhaps I wasn't always this way, and you were. You do not know that I do not know you, my dear, and I would remind you of that."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 8:22 am
"Yes, I imagine that's true. Obviously I wasn't led here to teach you some lesson or heroically outsmart you." Eve conceded, with a cautious version of the impish look she'd been giving Jeremiah just a week or two ago. "I'm once again too naive to be capable of that."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2016 2:33 pm
"Your sarcasm does you no credit," said the burning man. Was there some... fondness? in that strange, crackling voice? "Nothing happens for a reason. Perhaps this is only coincidence."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
