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 Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2020 3:46 pm
It was uncommon for Priam to get off so early; he had a tendency to overwork and stay out far later than was reasonably safe. But, duty called, and he was stubborn in his commitment to his clinic. If he wasn't seeing patients, he was doing some sort of paperwork. Going home to an empty house had no appeal, but with the passing of his pup only a short while ago, he wasn't ready to find a new furry roommate.
Staying at work was his excuse not to go back to an empty home, but he was only human and had his limits, same as anyone else.
...Only, he was already regretting humoring the idea of a hot shower, a glass of wine, some sleep.
He couldn't just walk home.
He'd first noticed something following him two blocks from work, but it wasn't until twice that distance that he realized it wasn't some loitering teenager or stray animal. He caught its reflection only once in the glass, and if he hadn't trusted himself he'd have thought he imagined it.
A stout little thing that walked on short legs; it looked like a miniature rhinoceros, only with an odd, armadillo like shell on its back, and a face that looked like it had run into a wall so hard that its horned face stuck like that. Its tail had a tail the length of its body that ended in a heavy looking ball.
He was only a few minutes from home, but he was certain he heard the dragging of that tail closer now than when he'd first noticed he was being followed.
There was a shopping complex nearby, with a parking garage. It wasn't much, but he couldn't think of anywhere that would be open between here and home, and there was no turning back to run back and take sanctuary in the clinic. He clutched the messenger bag he was carrying with him and swallowed, checking to make sure he had everything important easily within reach. If he had to lose the bag, he could. Books, office supplies, remnants of lunch--those were all replaceable. Still, he held the bag close to him, kept his steady pace, sucked in a breath--and as soon as he rounded the corner and was out of sight for a few seconds, he bolted towards the parking garage, desperate to lose the creature either through the elevator or up the stairs. If he could just make it to either, he could find somewhere to lock himself in, to hide and call for help.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 2:16 pm
Sterling hadn’t meant to be out so late when he finally got the blow torch to make his special dessert for Yu, but sometimes life was just unpredictable.
There had been something following him for the past few minutes, he could feel the eyes on him, and kept seeing the bushes rustle out of the corner of his eyes. When it finally showed itself, he truly began to panic. At first he had thought that perhaps it was a stray cat or a raccoon, but it looked to be more of a monster than anything. The sickly green color of the fur was enough to make him think of that, and the fact that the creature just had too many eyes.
It looked as though it could have been a large rat, except for the fur and the dozens of eyes that blinked out from all over it’s strange, furry body.
Sterling let out a cry of horror and utter revulsion as he really took in the creature and broke into a panicked run.
Of course he was far too busy looking back over his shoulder to see if the thing was still chasing him and not paying attention to just what was in front of him when he crashed full on into someone else who was running. With a cry, Sterling fell backwards, his glasses flying off and the bag that held the precious blow torch slipping from his fingers, landing with a noisy thud.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 2:30 pm
Even if he hadn't just collided with someone, the noise of something crashing on the ground would have been enough to startle him. "I'm sorry," he blurted instinctively, politeness too ingrained in him to be deterred by the fear of some monster chasing him. His bag had spilled on the ground and he could make out just a few shapes--none of which were his glasses.
He swept his hand across the ground, desperately scooping things back into his bag and trying to find them. His thoughts were reeling and he could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears, waiting for the sound of some horrible little monster to come devour him.
"Are you all right?" he asked to fill the silence, but barely had the words out before they were followed by, "Why were you running?"
He hadn't seen the man before he collided with him; there had been only a split second and he couldn't remember any details.
Still no glasses was only alarming him further; he was trying to move back to his knees. He could have given up on everything he dropped, but he needed those. He could barely make out anything in front of him, no matter how hard he strained his eyes. Oblivious to the oddity of the beautiful, feathered quill that had not been in his bag before, he attempted to sweep it up, figuring it was a tissue or loose paper, or something. His fingers curled around it and something happened.
He didn't anticipate the strange, cold rush of wind that suddenly overtook him, or the sudden acute awareness of something being wrong.
He knew what fear was, what nerves and anxiety were.
This was almost worse--and he still couldn't see.
The transition from Priam to Nalanda was seamless--and he was completely oblivious.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 5:19 pm
Rolling over, Sterling tried to grope around for his glasses. “I’m so sorry, I…there…was this thing chasing me…ah…do you see my glasses there by chance?” He saw a large amount of things on the ground and began to move his hands towards them, cursing himself for not the first time about not just getting contacts like any normal person would.
Or laser eye surgery…that wouldn’t be too difficult, would it?
Expensive but…
It would stop something like this from ever happening again.
His hand brushed against something and he paused, fingers curling around it of their own volition. There was a strange warmth spreading through his limbs that he didn’t quite understand, but suddenly…he felt as though he had too much…too much sleeve.
He held the paintbrush in his hand and finally found a pair of glasses, slipping them onto his face and blinking around. Things still seemed somewhat blurred and he wondered if perhaps the glass had broken when they had fallen off.
The hair stood up on the back of his neck as he heard a strange growling sound, and as he turned his head, he saw the fuzzy creature with the eyes and felt a sense of impending doom. “…Oh no.”
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 5:29 pm
"I haven't found your glasses, no. I'm looking for mine, too," he confessed, but let out a relieved noise when his fingers found a pair. He slid them onto his face but froze, frowning.
He could not see any better.
These were not his glasses.
He had been so determined to focus on finding things that he had barely heard the growl, or the other man's exclamation.
"I--Actually, I might have found your glasses. Where are you?" he asked slowly, stiffening when he heard the dragging sound of metal and was reminded very quickly of the thing that had been trailing him. He backed up, alarmed, but reached to take the glasses from his face. He presented them to the blob at his side. "I think these are yours. I hope. Please tell me if you see mine. I'm thinking--whatever was following you, something was following me. We should--we should run."
A third voice, that echoed against the concrete, came from behind them--along with a strong surge of sensation. "You can't run!" Soleiyu blurted, as if astounded. There was no person with the body--only a cat, large and fluffy, white and elegant. "You have to fight!
"I've been following that youma and just felt you--two of you! You have to stop them before they hurt someone! I've just run past it, it'll be here in just a second and the other one not longer than that. Go, go!" he insisted. "Use your magic, fight them."
There was no comprehension on Priam's behalf; his brows furrowed and his mouth hung open. He thought he must either be in a fever dream or having a very strange, drunken dream. Monsters, and magic? He must have fallen asleep reading something.
...And yet, his blood was running cold as fear and adrenaline settled in; something didn't feel right.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 5:59 pm
Sterling looked around, taking the glasses off of his face and held them out to the blurry figure in front of him. “Ah, here. Here. You…” He took the glasses that were being held out and put them on his face, giving a relieved sigh as he could see again. He hated being so damn blind.
His head whipped around to the sound of a third voice and he looked utterly confused for a moment, his eyes focusing on…on a cat.
But. Cats couldn’t talk. …And creatures weren’t giant green rats with dozens of eyes, either. “…Who…who are you talking to, Mr. Cat?” He asked softly, not sounding completely sure of himself. For…if a cat were truly talking…or…or if the cat really wasn’t talking…he didn’t want to look like a complete fool in front of the other person who he had already knocked to the ground.
He glanced at the other male and paused, his eyes taking in the elaborate costume of soft rainbows and lavender colors. “Ah…costume party? It’s…a little early for Halloween, but I hope it was a fun one?”
Because out of everything that was going on tonight…this stranger in odd clothes was the most normal thing that had happened.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 6:14 pm
Relieved to feel the familiar frame of his own glasses, Priam slid his on and seemed relieved to be a little less helpless.
The man at his side seemed a little out of it, so much so that he found himself checking for a head injury. He hadn't known who had spoken, but he knew that the man in the robes and pastels and stars was talking to him about a costume party or something. "Ah...I wouldn't know," he said uncertainly. "...I didn't attend one? Did you--did you hit your head?"
"You're both about to get your heads hit! Goodness, stop getting distracted!" Soleiyu said, hurrying to the two knights. "My goodness, you'd think you both just awoken! Focus! I'll forgive you if you haven't met a Mauvian, but you can ogle each other after you dust the youma!"
Priam seemed alarmed, mouth falling open, and just generally being stunned.
Cats didn't talk. Monsters weren't real. He didn't have magic.
Did he hit his head?
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 6:44 pm
Sterling hesitated and looked to the other male once again. “…I…don’t want to be…odd but…the…the cat over there…he isn’t talking…right?” His voice was lowered, and he looked utterly confused, not understanding why this male hadn’t been to a costume party, though when he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose…
Those sleeves again.
He finally took a moment to really look at what he was wearing, and his face went as white as his new…his new…costume.
Or whatever this was.
“…What in the name of sheep is going on here…?” He felt a bit faint, a bit dizzy and when he looked back and saw the monster that had been chasing him coming closer he swallowed.
“…I don’t know how to fight…we should…run. We need to run.” He felt quite a bit queasy and hesitated, turning to the cat. “…Mr. Cat? Pardon me…please…what…what’s going on? Why am I in new clothes? What do you mean dust…and what’s a youma?”
If anything…at least the cat seemed as though he had answers.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2020 6:58 pm
Priam's eyes were focused on the cat, but before he could answer, the cat did.
"Yes! Yes, I am a talking cat, please! You are not paying attention! I'll answer your questions later, but you really need to stop fooling around!" Soleiyu declared helplessly.
Priam looked at him for a few seconds and it felt like everything was moving in slow motion, like his brain wasn't processing anything. He was so used to being on top of things, so used to knowing what was going on.
Soleiyu continued, "The things--the things that were chasing you! They are youma! Youma are bad! I swear, two Cosmos Knights together, I thought you were a team, how can you not..."
Soleiyu paused. "...You did just awaken, didn't you."
Priam did not answer--he didn't know what that meant. He had moved to taken a step and nearly stumbled over the heels on his boots. When he looked down, he looked horrified at his outfit and turned quickly, frantically. "--I don't--I wasn't..."
"It's okay," Soleiyu said, rather demandingly. "I need you two to focus on me."
Priam looked up, more desperate for logical answers than he was dumbfounded at whatever was going on.
"Those monsters will catch up with you. If they don't catch you, they'll catch someone else. I will help you fight them. You will fight. You are stronger than they are. But I need your help. So listen to me. Come on," he demanded, taking a few steps towards where he had run--the direction Sterling had come from. "This one is closer. This one will be easy. It is a monster. It's not a living creature. Kick it until it turns into dust. It's like kicking a bag of flour. I promise. Please. People will get hurt if you don't."
Priam swallowed; he didn't understand. He wasn't a fighter. In his hand, he realized he was clutching a pen tightly--the plumed pen from before. It didn't feel like he was himself when he moved, taking a few hesitant steps after the cat.
Soleiyu visibly relaxed, but looked at the other Cosmos Knight before sucking in a breath and rounding the corner, prepared to face the first youma.
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 6:05 am
Sterling looked over at Priam and knew that he wasn’t having some kind of delusion. This…was real. The cat was talking and telling them that they had to fight a…a monster.
He drew in a deep breath, and made a mental note to talk do one of his peers about this tomorrow. Perhaps he was working too hard. Perhaps this was nothing more than a psychosis brought on by stress…but he didn’t feel stressed. In fact, since he had bought the house…he had been less stressed than he had been in a long time.
Beginning to walk after the cat, Sterling nearly faceplanted onto the ground after tripping on the hem of these pointless robes. “…Seriously? How…how am I supposed to kick anything in these? I…” He looked at Priam, swallowing hard. “…Why did you get pants? I can see how the cat expects you to kick things but…”
Sterling hiked the robes above his ankles and held onto the paintbrush in his hand a bit more tightly. For some reason, it felt almost comforting.
His eyes landed on the youma and he took in a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. If he could just get past this. He could wake up. And perhaps even find himself back in bed at home. Or, perhaps he had a fever. That would explain a lot.
“So we just…kick it? How will you help us?”
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 6:47 am
Priam wanted to say that he had no choice in this--and if he had been given any choice, it might have been not to be involved in any of this, anyway. Had he wished on too many stars as a child and was getting a delayed gift from them? No, that was impossible. He was losing his mind.
Soleiyu's claws came out and he arched his back, like he was getting ready to attack. "By doing the best I can." He looked nervous, though; he wasn't supposed to fight. Not like this. He was a thinker, a planner, a creator. He looked around, trying to use his strengths.
He almost breathed a sigh of relief when he saw some discarded rebar along with some other basic working equipment just to the side. "If you can't kick, get one of those metal poles, but be quick about it. I can't defend against something like this on my own for long."
Priam swallowed and nodded, looking at the oddly dressed man next to him. "If you go, grab me one. I'll...I'll hold it off until you can, I suppose," he said, but seemed to not quite understand what he could do.
Soleiyu nodded. "Be fast. The faster we take care of one, the faster we can deal with the other."
"All right," Priam said--but he didn't have a chance to think any more about it. The youma seemed to be too close to them, too impatient to wait--and lurched. He did his best to avoid it, finding it odd how fast he moved, but when the creature tried to attack Soleiyu he did manage to kick at it.
Soleiyu seemed relieved and managed a few scratches in. They certainly weren't very scary opponents compared to the youma, but they were doing their best--and it almost looked like it might have been working.
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 2:41 pm
Sterling swallowed, nodding. The cat was scratching at the creature and looked so…so determined that it made him feel a little guilty. He quickly moved over, grabbing two metal poles and held one out to Priam, shaking his head. “Ah…here! We…we can do this.”
Even if it was a delusion, there was no reason that they shouldn’t at least stay positive. After all, negative thinking only lead to more negativity.
He held his pole like a baseball bat and swung it hard at the creature, missing by quite a few inches. He followed up with a kick however, and was pleased to feel his foot land on the thing’s underbelly.
After a moment, he took the pole and jammed it straight down, giving a cry of utter surprise when the monster really did turn into dust. “…You weren’t kidding…why…how…?”
Looking helplessly at both Priam, and then the cat, Sterling began to tremble. This was just a little too much to comprehend.
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 2:55 pm
Priam took the metal rod and clutched it as though it were some sort of lifeline. It wasn't that the metal itself gave him any more strength, it was just that it felt stronger than him. He felt like he was so fragile he might break a bone kicking something--the metal, at least, he could wield. Somewhat.
He had done his best with the creature but when it burst into dust he recoiled, clutching the metal rod in both hands and drawing it to his chest. "Oh!" he seemed surprised--but it was a stupid thing to do, because suddenly he was choking on its dust and had to raise a fan to waft the air from his face.
"You did a good job!" the cat said, but his hackles were raised and he turned just as the other youma waddled in. "--I know you have questions, but just help me take care of that one, and then we can all sit down. I'll teach you everything. Don't give up now," he said, and butted Sterling's ankle with his head for support.
The second youma was troublesome, stubborn and angry. It charged at them but couldn't pick up enough speed to do much damage, and though he didn't know what he was doing, Priam hit it with the metal. He was careful not to bump into the other strange man, or the cat, but it was only a few moments later that it too faded into dust.
Priam still clutched the bar but was out of breath, and in the awkward silence he moved back to Sterling, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. "--Are you all right?" he asked worriedly.
Soleiyu slumped to the ground, winded, but fine; his adrenaline had run out and he needed a few seconds to just breathe. "Are you hurt?" he asked after Priam spoke. "Both of you can rest, you're the only ones I feel in the area. I'll give you answers in a minute, just. Give me a second to breathe."
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 3:06 pm
Sterling nodded, swallowing hard and closing his eyes as he struggled to get himself under control. “Physically…y-yes I’m fine. But I’m confused. I don’t…This can’t be real…it all feels so…fake. Like it’s all a big, cruel joke.”
Or something out of a horror story mixed with a fantasy novel…like one of the Chinese Dramas that he was partial to…demonic beasts and crazy heroes defending people…
He looked down at his elaborate costume once again and shook his head. “…It’s not a dream, is it…ah…Who are you? Thank you for helping me…and I’m so sorry for running into you earlier, it wasn’t my intention, I promise…there…” He gave a shrug and the pipe fell from his trembling hand. “…There were monsters.”
The reasoning sounded so lame and Sterling hesitated, his own adrenaline seeming to seep out of his veins. He took a shaking seat on the ground and drew his knees up, focusing on simply breathing. “…There were monsters.”
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 3:24 pm
Priam couldn't feel much of his body and kept blinking rapidly, as if that would force him to wake up from whatever dream he thought he might be in. He hesitated when he saw the other man's reaction and moved to sit on the ground next to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, they're gone now. I was running from one too. Look, let's just take a moment and breathe. What's your name? I'm--"
"No, you aren't," Soleiyu blurted suddenly. "Whatever you're going to say, don't. You can't go giving out your secret identity."
"My...what?"
"You're powered now. A part of a phenomenal cosmic plan. Cosmos Knights, the both of you. Which means you serve the lady of the stars. I know it's confusing, but. Okay." He pushed himself up and came to sit by him. "You're Knights. Baby Knights, Pages. You touched something to awaken, didn't you? --You didn't touch the same thing, right?"
Priam hesitated and looked at the pen he'd picked up. It matched, unquestioningly, and he hadn't recognized it before.
"...It's the source of your power. Right now, you're not who you were before you picked it up. You have to hide and protect that identity, your name. There are people--bad people--that you have to use your power to combat. But close your eyes, both of you. I want you to meditate, breathe, clear your head. Focus on your heart. Listen. Your name will come to you."
Priam didn't seem like he believed him, but so much of tonight was unbelievable, what was one more?
He sucked in a breath and tried to relax, glancing to Sterling to try and make sure he was okay. He cleared his mind as best as he could, listening for something, anything. For some magical name.
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