Rainfall is rare in Destiny City in the winter time. There have been a few light showers between the occasional snow but it’s never been enough to be significant. In some places, it’s just enough for a thin layer of ice to cover the ground and make it a little slippery, but ultimately it’s not enough to worry about. In an inconspicuous place in town, you step into an ice filled hole and it shatters. The hole itself seems maybe three feet wide and if you’ve ever seen the hole before you know it’s only a few inches deep at most. Except, when the ice shatters, you fall, plummeting as if into a lake of frozen water. It’s pitch black beneath the ground and only pale blue lights shimmer above you. The darkness around you is never ending and you can’t make out the details of anything except the shrinking hole above you. Maybe you remember how to swim and pull yourself out, maybe you black out and feel someone else pulling you out--either way, your frozen, soaking body is pulled from the puddle. The chill is immense, but if you look at the hole after being pulled out, all you can see is the ground below. There’s no sign that what you saw was real--except for the water soaking you.
It had been drizzling for two days between the snowing and let's a crisp layer of ice over the snow. Snowmen glistened in their new shell a s the sidewalks and streets were bleached white rivers of crushed rock salt. It was letting up that night but with the low temperature, the patrol was on the streets and not from the rooftops above. No matter how good his balance a d power difference was, he really didn't want to slip and land onto punishing cement.
The upside to having fur was that he was a bit warmer than most and claws meant no red fingers, but the pads on his palms were cold and he pressed them together and blew on them. He needed to ask Chip to design him gloves.
"I wanted to inform you that I'll be away for the holidays. You don't have to worry about being called in. No one really works during that time anways. Kind of a universal pact to not start up anything while everyone deals with travel and family." He informed the other.
Indigo_Plateau
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 2:12 am
MoonKitsune
The air was crisp and stinging. With the passing storm, the rain had stopped, but the wind still whipped in arrhythmic increments, biting at any exposed skin. Rakovanite had brought a beanie to cover the shaved side of his head and a coat, long and black to drape over the layers of his uniform. He supposed he was fortunate, in that regard. When people like Fettelite and Mali powered up, they were stuck in shorts or low-cut tops. Rakovanite at least had the benefit of long, covering layers. But an extra never hurt, and it seemed unlikely that there would be much activity out and about this evening.
He had yet to get into a serious fight, so the added restriction to his movement wasn’t enough of a bane to combat the added benefit of warmth.
Rakovanite tucked his hands into his coat pocket and nestled his chin down beneath his collar. At least it was only cold and only a little slick. He could tolerate the cold, and his boots crunched down along the salted sidewalks of a path frequently traveled during the day.
His dark red gaze slid sidelong toward Wolframite. “Mm?” He prompted quietly. “I was not aware people like you could make plans to be away,” he replied. As far as Rakovanite’s admittedly still limited understanding of half-youma went, they didn’t have the freedom to leave Negaspace at their leisure. Wolframite could teleport to fulfil his quota in the city, but Rakovanite couldn’t imagine what other business he could possibly have. It wasn’t like he had family, or anything.
He shrugged his shoulders dismissively. “I feel nothing for this holiday,” he admitted at the captain’s assurance that he wouldn’t be called in. “So I do not mind the thought of working through it.”
Perhaps he even preferred it. His focus dropped from Wolframite to the ground below, watching his steps. Without classes to occupy his time during the season, Rakovanite was left with less to do than he was accustomed, and since it was so cold out, he didn’t spend as long jogging in the morning as he did during the summer. But he could make up for that in Negaspace, where the wind didn’t bite and the air was stagnant. As much as he enjoyed being in his home, minding his own business, Rakovanite had a mind prone to boredom. A curse, truly.
Besides, there was little time and no need for a break when he had goals to accomplish. Fettelite may have gotten his upgrade, but he was still no more equipped to defend himself or stand up to the general who tormented him. Rakovanite had still never met the man, and he supposed he wasn’t likely to, unless he instigated the meeting himself…
He released a breath, and the heat clung to his face where it was tucked into his coat.
There was still so much to work toward, and it seemed like he had done so little in the past four months. He wanted more. More progress, development that was more obvious, and Rakovanite still didn’t know how to achieve this… Even his captain was still only a captain, and Wolframite had said he’d been involved for years… Fettelite too, if Rakovanite remembered right. He’d been with the Negaverse for nearly two years too, and was only just a captain…
“I cannot afford to take breaks,” he muttered with a shake of his head.
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MoonKitsune
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Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2020 6:02 am
People like you.
Both in regards to being a half-youma and his general disposition as a person, this was true. He had no use for holidays as they were focused on friends and family, of which he either didn't remember or barely had enough to count on one hand. It was clear the divide he had with everyone else. His appearance. limitations, and nature all pointed to inhuman despite only being half-youma. While he knew he had changes to how he felt and acted, there where moments where not being considered even close to everyone had him aching at the distance. It spoke to a obstacle he had to face if he ever hoped to become a leader and inspire other people because, if this mindset was there, then it meant that it was harder to believe he could empathize with anyone.
"Usually that is true. I can't be away in glamour for more than a few hours. I do not have memory of my family and if they did, the would not recognize me. But there are places to go where I can be in my usual form as long as it is secluded. I like to be around incade I am needed but the Negaverse is near dead around Christmas and New Year's. I'd rather be away from it and use it as a opportunity to be away and not bored in my room."
He breathed out, and the plum rose before being shipped away by the chilling wind.
"I'll show you some more things before I go so that you can be busy. Not many people will be on the streets but that also means less cops. You can find people on their own to take energy from so you'll have a leg up on your quota."
Though he was curious. "I'm surprised you wouldn't have any holiday obligations. Do you not have friends and family pressing you for your time?" He naturally assumed everyone would do something to celebrate the overbearing presence of Christmas.
Indigo_Plateau
Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2020 6:18 am
MoonKitsune
It sounded to Rakovanite like it just happened that everyone's holiday priorities aligned more toward celebration than toward the goals and motives of their factions. He tipped his head in thought, gaze wandering toward the dark horizon. "Why would that be...?" He murmured quietly to himself. Full youma had no need of holidays. They should be out gathering energy even if agents weren't. And if youma were causing havoc, then the Order should rise to combat them, even if they did have holiday obligations.
And if senshi were out, then so too should be agents. It didn't seem reasonable that things should stagnate just because of the season. It wasn't as if basic lieutenants like himself stopped having a quota...
"What is more important to you than being available if you are needed?" Rakovanite prompted. Wolframite had just said that he had no obligations to family, and Rakovanite thought he remembered a comment at one point about the Negaverse being his family. Yet he had chosen to be away. Perhaps the half youma was religious, though Rakovanite had trouble fathoming which sect he may practice.
He shook his head to dispel that train of thought. "I should be fine on my own for the holidays," he replied to Wolframite's offer of 'showing him things.' "I am familiar enough with draining now, and I do not expect there will be a shortage of people walking about to see holiday decorations or out shopping late. Fettelite or Zubeneschamali will find me if I run into an issue."
"My mother would prefer I come home, if she had her way, but..." He'd taken the topic in stride, picking it up easily at first, but given even the second it took for the words to escape his lips, he faltered, and his voice lowered in thought. "It is too troublesome for me," he finished in a murmur.
Indigo_Plateau Crew
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Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2020 8:14 am
He stared at him, as if this wasn't obvious. "It is the most important to me, but Negaverse agents can be summoned at a drop of a hat. I spend most every night going on patrols. My entire life is here. It's where I live. Eat. Shower. I devote all my time to the Negaverse. If a attack should happen or my general should need me for anything, he can call, message, or summon me. I would gladly go at any request. But even those officers are usually away. However, in the meantime, I am taking a rare opportunity to use the holiday to my advantage. Many areas are dead during the holidays as people spend them at home or in more romantic getaways. I am choosing a cabin further away from people so that I can remain as I am. It is one of the few times I would have an opportunity as that. Any other time and I would have to use my glamour as I often have to do when I go to Destiny City on anything other than patrols." He cleared up, not wanting to have his devotion to the Negaverse questioned in any way.
"You do go home after all and take care of other facets of your life, correct? I am working to construct a bit for myself." He added. Being a half-youma with limited memories, the few times he could safely do something without causing issues for the Negaverse was rare.
"Be careful with holiday goers. They tend to be in groups of friends and family, but I don't suspect they would think anyone would harm them during this time. Just make sure the bodies aren't left drained in the snow." But he suspected Nat was smart enough to know what already.
"I - am glad you have contacts." Though he said nothing more of the two, his own stomach turning at the memory.
The small mention of his personal life felt like a sliver of a cracked opened chest. Just a small glimpse of Nat's life but nothing more. "You do not get along well with your mother?" He asked, curious. If Nat refused to answer, then that would be the end of that, but he wanted to take hold of a rare opportunity.
There was a distant chiming of bells from the streets and the general murmur of music and talking. Crimson red, holly, and twinkling lights decorated almost every window display. Didn't people - want to be with their families during this time? Maybe his mother wasn't a great person. Was that any clue as to Nat's personality now? Who knew.
