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 Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2024 3:28 pm
Rakovanite had what he considered a very reasonable aversion to loitering around in his powered guise during broad daylight. There was the argument for 'more people to drain from!' But that also meant more people that would see him, and he'd definitely prefer to keep that list as limited as possible. Even if some universal magic kept people from recognizing Rakovanite and Nataniel as the same person, anyone describing them would do so exactly the same way. Rakovanite wanted absolutely no part of talk about 'green hair glasses guy' going around and doing shady s**t. So the fewer people that saw him, the better.
Except... He was also a busy man, with a full time job and a family and a borderline obsessive self care regiment that Rakovanite did not want disturbed under almost any circumstances.
There wasn't really time in his schedule to be wasting.
It was 7:30AM on a brisk and cloudy spring morning. He had work in a little over an hour, and that would take up the vast majority of Nataniel's day (and ability to function like a normal human person, if he was being honest). Typically this time would be better spent eating breakfast, catching a shower, preparing for the hardships of interacting with people face-to-face. But no. It was cloudy, going to rain, they said. And his sweet, precious love had worked the night shift. Couldn't Nataniel come pick him up?
Please?
What was he supposed to do? Refuse? How could he...
So, he sat on a bench a handful of blocks from the hospital where Basyl worked. Rakovanite was dressed as down as he could be, in just a black sleeveless shirt, his gloves, his pants, and his boots. The rest of his regalia he'd dispersed to the aether. If he couldn't spend the morning how he usually did (something that grated against his senses, almost repulsive), he at least had to make the best of it.
He sipped a warm chai tea from the coffee shop across the street while the hideous, naked goblin on the ground behind the bench tore through the paper wrapping of a bagel.
There weren't a ton of passerby out at this hour, mostly employees making their ways into work at the various outlet-type shops scattered about the area. When they crossed his path- just a man sipping tea, scrolling his phone, and minding his own business- Rakovanite siphoned just the barest little wisps of energy off of them, spooling in little tendrils in his gloved palm. Barely anything anyone would notice missing.
If he wasn't sitting out here waiting, he wouldn't have bothered.
But he was. Might as well do something to make it worth Rakovanite's while.
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Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2024 3:58 pm
Maybe Pendour had stayed out too late again. She'd worked until a few hours after midnight, and while she could have drained herself with Caedus's crystal and fallen into a dreamless sleep, without technically needing to wind down, sometimes it was nice all the same to take some time between work and sleep. She hoped that maybe nobody would need help at three in the morning. She'd rather try to squint past the city lights and see if she could find the stars. She would rather just walk, and walk. At a certain point, she knew that the dawn was coming, and she'd climbed up on a rooftop to watch it, only to dose off for a little while until the nightmares woke her. Then she was heading home, ready for that crystal. The shortest way there was through the park, and that was when she saw them. The General, honestly, she might have walked past if he was on his own. He'd traded out his coat and aura for a morning tea, and that made him blend in with the other few people around at this hour. The cat was what got her attention. Spynx cats were special-bred. They weren't usually strays. That was enough to get her first glance. By the second, she recognized who he was sitting with, as well as the Mauvian star on his forehead. A lump formed in her throat. She knew who this was. It was hard to forget a hairless Mauvian coming after you so fiercely that you had to jump into the reservoir, in cold weather, in order to get away. Now, she stopped. "Is this, um," she tried to keep her voice polite, despite the fact that her heart was already beating faster, "Is this your cat?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2024 7:47 am
Even with a Mauvian hiding his own aura, Rakovanite could still feel when anyone else with a powered signature was in his vicinity. He’d known not to expect to be ignored on the chance anyone recognized he or Gremlin, but since they were hardly doing anything explicitly nefarious and were in a relatively public place under the eyes of passerby pedestrians, he did expect no one to make anything of it. That would be more trouble than it was worth.
Still, an aura that had been at the fringes of his senses eventually started to draw closer, closer, and whatever guard Rakovanite had let slip in this casual and breezy moment built itself back into place. He sighed tersely against the rim of his tea before taking a quiet sip.
When he looked up, it was to find that he recognized the Knight ambling near.
“Pendour,” he murmured in lieu of an actual greeting. Rakovanite should be flattered, probably. For how many times she’d appeared in front of him. And since it could have been any other Knight that he didn’t know anything about, he should definitely consider himself lucky. Someone else might have caused a commotion; he doubted Pendour would do that. He allowed himself to settle, shaking a bit of the tension out of his shoulders.
Behind Rakovanite, the rustling of the paper bag had quieted as Gremlin paused his breakfast to stare one huge blue eye around the corner of the bench as the girl approached.
He didn’t make a habit out of recognizing every filthy two-legger he crossed paths with; they all kind of looked the same to him, but this one kind of looked more familiar than most. Fishy Knight Girl. He might’ve seen her in the water before. His jowls pulled back to display snaggled yellow teeth as he prepared to snap out a comment that he wasn’t anyone’s cat! But the soft rumble of a name gave him pause, and Gremlin canted his head up to peer at the General. “You know this Knight?” He demanded in a seething hiss.
Rakovanite would not go so far as to say that he ‘knew’ her, but he had met her.
And he thought her tone seemed wary enough to suggest that she’d met Gremlin and had concerns about the Mauvian while she was standing in front of a General. The corners of his lip threatened amusement, but he took a sip of his drink, and it was gone.
“He cannot be owned by anyone,” Rakovanite answered instead. “And I can think of no one who would want to.”
Gremlin’s claws landed inches from his face as the Mauvian jumped up along the back of the bench to be more in line with the conversation happening up here. “You better watch. Your. Filthy. Mouth,” he spat at Rakovanite, who only offered a shrug in apology. “And you-” His eyes were on Pendour now, posture stiff and bunched like he might jump at her. “Cowardly Fish Girl, what do you want? You're ruining my breakfast.”
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2024 8:03 am
Of course he wasn't owned by anyone. Of course that wasn't how Mauvians worked. Pendour hadn't been thinking about it like that, more in the way of an emotional bond, the way that Viatrix was Encke's, or even in the way that humans could sometimes be connected to each other. That wasn't what it had sounded like, though, was it? She'd said the wrong thing, the way that she often did. If she was lucky, people would let her correct herself, or understand what she'd meant in her heart, but the Mauvian was arch-backed and hissing, claws digging into the wood. She had no doubt that he could dig his claws into her face just as well, if he launched himself over. She still didn't spare more than a glance at the General. She still wasn't nearly as worried about him. She wished that there was water here for her to escape into, like there had been before. She could be a fish, then, the way that he thought she was, even if she was neither a coward or a girl. Instead she stood in the open expanse of the park, trying to breathe. "Um," she said. "I'm sorry?" Her voice was thin and trembling as a violin string, and for some reason she didn't think that those were the right words, either. Were they going to try to fight her? If the Mauvian did, the General would help, wouldn't he? He hadn't launched at her, yet. Maybe she still had a chance to do something. Breakfast, he'd said. Was that what he wanted? "I'm sorry," she said again, voice a little stronger, "For interrupting your breakfast. If you would like something, an, um, breakfast peace offering?" She pulled a tupperware from subspace. It was leftover salmon from Luke, that she'd been supposed to eat on her patrol, but had forgotten about, the way she so often did. There were vegetables there, too, but she pushed them to the side as she cracked open the lid and offered it over.
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Posted: Sun May 26, 2024 11:02 am
"You're sorry. You're sorry," Gremlin snarked, affecting a nasally, high-pitched note as he canted his head from side-to-side with each word. "Everyone always sorry; no one ever just doesn't do what they need to be 'sorry' about in the first place. Hmph." Two-leggers really were all the same. Didn't matter what color they wore. All pretending to be sweet and kind and good- mouths always full of 'sorry's. But who meant it. None of them. What a waste of air. He folded himself along the back of the bench, and did a good job of always managing to look uncomfortable and off-balance. There was nothing by way of feline grace here.
The crumpled paper lay forgotten on the ground. Wouldn't catch him slacking off with a meal with an enemy standing in front of him. The Guardian barely wanted to display such trust with people he reacted with daily, like Rakovanite, Narcissus, or Diesel. Hence, the skulking behind the bench.
Rakovanite might have told Pendour as much that she was wasting her breath trying to communicate peaceably with this creature, but if she had not figured it out by herself already, he must have given her intelligence far too much credit. ...And as she continued to linger there, focus solely on the Mauvian, Rakovanite started to suspect that may be the case. They were going to be bothersome. He knew it. Gremlin would snap obscenities- and then aggression- and then he would be loud. And they would cause a disturbance in the relative peace of the morning.
"You are agitating him," he muttered under his breath, because it clearly wasn't obvious enough. But what did any of Rakovanite's warnings matter, really?
Pendour reached into subspace. Gremlin did not bristle further, but a warning snarl dragged out of his throat. The tension Rakovanite had shaken off returned, and the loose grip on his tea tightened. Two pairs of wary eyes watched her intently, waiting, expectant that whatever she had wouldn't be something they wanted-
And then she was holding a Tupperware.
Neither of them relaxed, and for several beats, neither of them moved.
Gremlin shifted first, claws kneading at the wood along the back of the bench to dispel some of the anxiety. "What is that," he demanded, tone no kinder than it had been originally. He barely needed to ask; he could smell it. A muted fishy scent with a light seasoning, and something more earthy. Some kind of vegetable. He wanted it, he wanted it- He wouldn't ever turn down food, he'd eaten stuff that stunk of garbage, and this smelled like a whole real dinner. And Ellian hardly cooked, and when he did, he wasn't good at it. Nat cooked often enough, but he wouldn't make fish because- Gremlin didn't know; stupid man thought he could afford to be picky or something. Whatever.
Gremlin wanted it.
...He didn't want it from her.
"What- You trying to poison me?" He spat, back arching and hackles raising. "You think I'm in need of secondhand food? From a stranger- No, from an enemy? Get that out of my face!"
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Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2024 4:38 pm
As much as Pendour and this General had butted heads in the past about various topics, various philosophies, she had to admit that he was right about this one. She was agitating the Mauvian. She didn't know why. She didn't know what she was doing wrong, other than existing. Apologies weren't working. Fish wasn't working. Maybe that part was because it was stereotypical, since comparing Mauvians to cats could be considered rude as rude, and fish were a symbol of cats. They showed up on their collars, on their food bowls, on everything. Being called a cat would probably be enough for the small creature in front of her to go from just grumbling to leaping at her, scratching her good eye out with those claws. The salmon dinner had been made for humans, though, so she didn't think it would be offensive? She stood there awkwardly a few seconds more, thinking all this, but she knew there was no logic to it. She just needed not to be here, in the same space as them. When she got home, before she went to bed, she could tell the others to keep an eye on the park, to watch for the General. "I'm sorry," she said again, which was the wrong thing to say. He didn't like apologies. She could apologize to the General, though, for having caused a scene like this, and her eyes flicked to his for a moment, brows scrunching. "I'll keep going." She brought the tupperware closer to her chest again, and she kept walking down the path.
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Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2024 7:59 am
He could almost be sympathetic to her plight. Rakovanite had had enough interactions with his Mauvian to know that most of them were losing battles. Gremlin held a certain hatred and spite that the General felt must be exhausting to carry around, but the feelings were obviously strong enough to overpower anything as mundane as fatigue- or hunger, in this case. Where did they come from, what caused them? Rakovanite had no idea. A piece of him doubted that even Gremlin knew. Something that had happened so long ago that the memory of the act had faded. Only the hate remained.
The Knight glanced to him but briefly before turning to continue away. His stare was not so fleeting as he watched her in turn. "It is not your fault," Rakovanite answered quietly.
Yes, she was here. Yes, she was interrupting them, as their ilk was wont to do. And yes, Pendour might have known better than to try and commune with this mangled little beast, especially if she had already tried to do so in the past. But of all those who might have come across them here, Pendour was probably the most likely to have a placid interaction. It was not her hissing and spitting.
Gremlin sprung across Rakovanite's lap as the Knight moved away, vaulting to the edge of the bench nearest her and craning over it. "Hey, hey! I'm talking to you, you little witch. Leave the fish. You think I'm gonna let you go off and poison some other unsuspecting creature?" It would be just like a human to dangle food in front of his nose and take it away. Selfish, selfish thing. What? Was she expecting gratitude or something?
The tired sigh from the man behind him was absolutely not the right thing to do.
"What? What?" Gremlin spat, whipping his head around to glare icy eyes at Rakovanite. "You got something to add?"
A stiff shake of his head, no. Though Rakovanite did think it would have been so much easier to let the Knight leave without further incident. But it was never quite good enough for Gremlin to end an altercation without a blood offering.
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Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 2:00 pm
Now he wanted it? Pendour turned back towards the stream of hissed insults to regard the Mauvian once more. Her expression was not completely serene. There was still a line between her brows, but she stood tall, and she still held the container close to herself, lid clicked shut. "I offered it to you freely," she said. Her lips pressed together, just for a moment, but she spoke clearly. "You said you did not need it." This was not going to make him happy, but then, as the General said, nothing would. Pendour did her best to be gentle. She tried to be kind, to be generous. Some people thought that meant that she wouldn't try to be brave, or that she couldn't be as stubborn as a stone when she wanted to be, teeth grit, heels dug into the soil. She'd faced life, and death, and worse. A hissing, cruel mauvian might make her nervous, but he did not make her cower. Yes, he clearly needed kindness and friendship so that he could learn some of those positive traits for himself, but she didn't think dropping the fish and running away while he kept calling her a witch would do much to help with that. If anything, it might show him that bullying worked. "And now you are insulting me, so I think I will keep it for myself." The container vanished, and Pendour turned and walked again, a little faster this time. If he tried to come after her and scratch her ankles, at least she was ready. "Um. Enjoy your morning, okay?" Despite the circumstances, she did mean that.
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Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 2:28 pm
stari_maga fin! Thank you, Stari! <3
Gremlin shrieked, a violent caterwaul of a thing. But he stayed perched at the very edge of the bench, as if held by some invisible border that he could not cross. For all he had four legs, and that stupid, belligerent knight only had two, Gremlin was not fast. He was not graceful. And acrobatics of most any nature were beyond his scope of ability. Hopping up and onto the bench, and chasing a Knight who wanted to run away were not very doable.
But he was still furious. Furious that she'd refused him, and she would hear the song of his people for miles to come.
Rakovanite wanted to sink into the cement and disappear for all the horrific sounds Gremlin made. If he'd had some success with gathering energy before, he certainly wasn't ******** going to now! With this little monster scaring everyone away... "Stop that," Rakovanite seethed, posture stiff and strained and struggling not to reach across the bench and snatch the Mauvian up by the nape. "What did you expect to hap-"
"I expected her to give it to me!" Gremlin shot back, hardly giving the General enough time to get the words out. "But I should've known better. Take, take, take- all of you. Stupid two-leggers."
And after Rakovanite had already bought him breakfast this morning... Not that that was good enough, apparently. He took a terse sip of his tea, huffing against the rim of the cup. The ******** minutes could not pass by quickly enough.
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