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No. No!
[ She remembers that little girl from before the filth of Dorchacht, eyes full of exploding lights and a tiny fist in the fabric of Paloma's dress. Her hair had been soft when she combed through it with gentle fingers. Old enough to get into trouble with the others from her orphanage on a night like this, young enough to be caught underfoot.
A streak of sunset-orange and amber on black barrels into a man twice her size, or nearly that, because he'd raised a hand to the girl with an armful of parceled food. Paloma's full flight speed cannot completely compensate for a low-density body mass and light bones, which is why she first drives the butt of a pickhead axe into the side of his neck.
His shout vibrates from the pain of it, but the hand that shoots out to grip her thin neck has the strength of three adult men. She wonders what brand of monster or witch he is before her air flow cuts off and her talons kick uselessly above the cobblestones. ]
[ She remembers that little girl from before the filth of Dorchacht, eyes full of exploding lights and a tiny fist in the fabric of Paloma's dress. Her hair had been soft when she combed through it with gentle fingers. Old enough to get into trouble with the others from her orphanage on a night like this, young enough to be caught underfoot.
A streak of sunset-orange and amber on black barrels into a man twice her size, or nearly that, because he'd raised a hand to the girl with an armful of parceled food. Paloma's full flight speed cannot completely compensate for a low-density body mass and light bones, which is why she first drives the butt of a pickhead axe into the side of his neck.
His shout vibrates from the pain of it, but the hand that shoots out to grip her thin neck has the strength of three adult men. She wonders what brand of monster or witch he is before her air flow cuts off and her talons kick uselessly above the cobblestones. ]
[he's distracted, though, which was his mistake. a solid hit to the solar plexus, a followup under the jaw, sweeping his legs to remove balance, and finally grabbing him, slamming the back of his head into a wall so that he falls unconscious from the force of it. it won't kill him - Dantes had promised that young man he wouldn't kill. but he won't be rising from this place for a while, and he looks between the two - the girl, and Paloma.]
Are you alright?
[shaken, he can tell, but were they injured beyond what his eye could see?]
Are you alright?
[shaken, he can tell, but were they injured beyond what his eye could see?]
[ Needing oxygen has become a novelty in of itself. Desperately needing oxygen and receiving none fires off too many panic buttons in her brain— she can't even gasp or gurgle—
It's awful, just an awful thing to feel vulnerable and know you're weak. The monstrous strength and agility she's relied on to survive for the last... almost half a year, since the Embrace, has substituted for any actual combat proficiency. Curled into a hacking ball on the dirty ground, she remembers what it's like to be a newborn. ]
Aven, [ Her voice rattles. The orphan girl hugs her winnings more tightly, hesitating. ] ... gghyes.
It's awful, just an awful thing to feel vulnerable and know you're weak. The monstrous strength and agility she's relied on to survive for the last... almost half a year, since the Embrace, has substituted for any actual combat proficiency. Curled into a hacking ball on the dirty ground, she remembers what it's like to be a newborn. ]
Aven, [ Her voice rattles. The orphan girl hugs her winnings more tightly, hesitating. ] ... gghyes.
[the girl he bends down towards, murmuring to her of a place she should go if she has no other, to say she was looking for Louis, and they would watch over her for the night. but she should run as fast as her legs would go, at least for now.
Paloma he turns to next, extending a gloved hand - they are not pristine at the moment, white marked with soot and dirt. still, he offers a hand up for her, waiting quietly.]
Paloma he turns to next, extending a gloved hand - they are not pristine at the moment, white marked with soot and dirt. still, he offers a hand up for her, waiting quietly.]
[ Even with tears in her eyes from the pain of drawing breath, Paloma finds it in herself to be glad for that girl's clean getaway. Her estimation of 'Avenger' raises a few notches for how he treats a child without immediately apparent benefit.
Dusty wings flick and scrape over the ground she's curled over, picking up more dirt on their black-lined edges. Never feeling more revolting in her failure than just then, Dantes finds his offer of help accepted if only to show the appropriate gratitude. Palms with a bird's pebbly roughness rasp over his gloves. ]
I—
[ Breathing sucks. Her throat works to take and expel air as it's meant to. ]
I want to follow her.
Dusty wings flick and scrape over the ground she's curled over, picking up more dirt on their black-lined edges. Never feeling more revolting in her failure than just then, Dantes finds his offer of help accepted if only to show the appropriate gratitude. Palms with a bird's pebbly roughness rasp over his gloves. ]
I—
[ Breathing sucks. Her throat works to take and expel air as it's meant to. ]
I want to follow her.
I will tell you where she's gone. But first, Miss Vasquez, what of your injuries?
[his grip has the suggestion of strength, security to raise her on her feet. yet there is the sense that he's holding back for now, cloth obscuring details.]
Are you in well enough shape to be traversing this city right now?
[his grip has the suggestion of strength, security to raise her on her feet. yet there is the sense that he's holding back for now, cloth obscuring details.]
Are you in well enough shape to be traversing this city right now?
[ Her vibrant wings shiver and beat to help the process along quicker. They nearly send Paloma careening off-balance into Dantes, but she digs in her talons and wobbles until she's steady.
She squeezes his hand, grateful for its strength, and lets him go to adjust the shawl keeping her decent. ]
They're only scrapes. I promise. [ Bloody knees matting the violet-black feathers and scaly texture. Too-huge amberglass eyes roam over Dantes. ] But you don't... you smell a little too much like blood. Is it yours?
She squeezes his hand, grateful for its strength, and lets him go to adjust the shawl keeping her decent. ]
They're only scrapes. I promise. [ Bloody knees matting the violet-black feathers and scaly texture. Too-huge amberglass eyes roam over Dantes. ] But you don't... you smell a little too much like blood. Is it yours?
You may be smelling your own and confusing it. Lack of oxygen addles the brain for moments afterward.
[he speaks coolly, his expression not betraying the ache in his side that will transform later to agony. that's not her concern.]
[he speaks coolly, his expression not betraying the ache in his side that will transform later to agony. that's not her concern.]
[ He just called her addled.
Paloma almost hisses that she knows the flavor and scent of blood more than other people know the face of their mother, but that hostility comes from a strange, mist-drenched place. It feels like the other thing riding under her skin. Her wings flicker and shake from their agitation. ]
No, sir. I don't think it's mine.
Paloma almost hisses that she knows the flavor and scent of blood more than other people know the face of their mother, but that hostility comes from a strange, mist-drenched place. It feels like the other thing riding under her skin. Her wings flicker and shake from their agitation. ]
No, sir. I don't think it's mine.
Really.
[golden eyes turn to bore into her own, bright and giving away nothing. not the fevered quality of pain, not the irked brow of irritation. it's as if he's looking to see through her, until he turns away.]
...She's gone to the Harbor District, to a place I know of that will ask her no questions and give her a bed for the night.
[golden eyes turn to bore into her own, bright and giving away nothing. not the fevered quality of pain, not the irked brow of irritation. it's as if he's looking to see through her, until he turns away.]
...She's gone to the Harbor District, to a place I know of that will ask her no questions and give her a bed for the night.
[ It's like the way other Kindred would sometimes size her up, see the newborn for what she is, and look away. Dantes is different in that Paloma cannot tell whether he found something there to laugh at. ]
Oh— oh, thank you, that's exactly what she'll need.
[ That derails her for two or three seconds, something dark and pointed in her mass of black hair ruffling and resettling. Then, she refocuses, stepping nearer with a noseful of copper. ]
If you'd rather I not ask questions, alright. Please let me get you what you need, whatever that is.
Oh— oh, thank you, that's exactly what she'll need.
[ That derails her for two or three seconds, something dark and pointed in her mass of black hair ruffling and resettling. Then, she refocuses, stepping nearer with a noseful of copper. ]
If you'd rather I not ask questions, alright. Please let me get you what you need, whatever that is.
I do not need anything, Miss Vasquez, other than to see you safely from this place. Preferably before that brute wakes from his slumber.
[the pain is dulled in his head, pins and needles and warmth rather than the screaming ache it could have been. he'll patch himself up at home. it'll be fine.]
[the pain is dulled in his head, pins and needles and warmth rather than the screaming ache it could have been. he'll patch himself up at home. it'll be fine.]
[ Sharply diverting her attention to the fallen man reminds her of another important thing: the axe she's clutched like a security blanket since finding it behind a dusty hotel armchair. Paloma scurries with the sound of talons scraping to pluck it from the stones.
Straightening out, she furrows a suspicious peer at Dantes from above its blunted edge. Her strength is what gives it staying power, not keenness. ]
You... [ Perhaps capitulating will, in turn, get him somewhere safer. Her chin juts out in stubborn fashion. ] Yes, alright. If you're gonna be my escort, I have to accept.
Straightening out, she furrows a suspicious peer at Dantes from above its blunted edge. Her strength is what gives it staying power, not keenness. ]
You... [ Perhaps capitulating will, in turn, get him somewhere safer. Her chin juts out in stubborn fashion. ] Yes, alright. If you're gonna be my escort, I have to accept.
I shall lead you to where she is, then.
[and he walks swiftly with those long legs, keeping an idea of where she is and expecting her to keep up. the scent of blood does not abate, though it grows older - it's drying on itself, and he's ignoring it steadily. where he told the child to go isn't too far, and the salt in the air says that they're growing nearer the harbor with every step.]
[and he walks swiftly with those long legs, keeping an idea of where she is and expecting her to keep up. the scent of blood does not abate, though it grows older - it's drying on itself, and he's ignoring it steadily. where he told the child to go isn't too far, and the salt in the air says that they're growing nearer the harbor with every step.]
[ Dantes' silence affords Paloma time to stew on the blood trail following them (in scent, so at least he's not literally dripping figurative bread crumbs) and argue with herself on effective ways of convincing him to sit his wounded ass down.
When her transformed legs force her to trot with some discomfort, the benefit of these great moth-like wings is once again apparent. They even lift her to shoulder-level with his more-than-six-foot self, to her distinct pleasure. What a novelty.
She closes her eyes after the ocean becomes visible, relishing, for a moment, its unpolluted sting. ]
Your wound's clotting.
When her transformed legs force her to trot with some discomfort, the benefit of these great moth-like wings is once again apparent. They even lift her to shoulder-level with his more-than-six-foot self, to her distinct pleasure. What a novelty.
She closes her eyes after the ocean becomes visible, relishing, for a moment, its unpolluted sting. ]
Your wound's clotting.
I'm fine.
[it's not all his blood, anyway, his black clothes hide many sins. he can hold up for a while still - he remembers his limits.
the building he instructed the girl to go to isn't far, with an oil lamp burning outside the door and closed shutters where light springs forth. it's seen better days, but it's enduring, and he walks up to the door and raps sharply at it, waiting for a voice to call out that they're coming, hold on.]
...You seemed familiar with her.
[the child, he means.]
[it's not all his blood, anyway, his black clothes hide many sins. he can hold up for a while still - he remembers his limits.
the building he instructed the girl to go to isn't far, with an oil lamp burning outside the door and closed shutters where light springs forth. it's seen better days, but it's enduring, and he walks up to the door and raps sharply at it, waiting for a voice to call out that they're coming, hold on.]
...You seemed familiar with her.
[the child, he means.]
[ Paloma can't figure out whether his insistence on good health is out of machismo or another unidentified personality quirk. Avenger is, what's the word? Cagey. Cagey and difficult to read, for all that her whole life she's depended on the ability to pick up on someone's moods...
She hangs back, not wanting to crowd him, or risk offense by moving to support him. ]
Her? Oh. Yeah. We met months ago. [ A tiny fist in her skirt, such a sunny gold. Her throat tightens. ]
She likes fireworks and sparklers.
She hangs back, not wanting to crowd him, or risk offense by moving to support him. ]
Her? Oh. Yeah. We met months ago. [ A tiny fist in her skirt, such a sunny gold. Her throat tightens. ]
She likes fireworks and sparklers.
A more adventurous spirit, then.
[but further questions will have to pause for the moment, as the door swings open to reveal a woman there, shorter than him but with more of her years worn on her face, hair streaked with silver and a tilt to her brow that comes from being on guard. for all the world, she looks like another resident of the docks, save the faded tattoo on her forearm, visible from her pushed up sleeves.
she eyes him critically and looks back towards Paloma, only to understand what's going on.
There was a little one who was looking for you, Louis. Have you come to collect?
he shakes his head, lowering his voice as he leans in. no, he's not taking her - he'll repay the favor and soon, as long as she was safe from the madness in the streets tonight. his voice has slipped into a smooth, easy cadence like the locals, and when he turns back to Paloma, it's not so quickly shed.]
Your girl's within. Garadia received her in one piece, if you want to see her. Just try not to knock too much over with those wings of yours.
[but further questions will have to pause for the moment, as the door swings open to reveal a woman there, shorter than him but with more of her years worn on her face, hair streaked with silver and a tilt to her brow that comes from being on guard. for all the world, she looks like another resident of the docks, save the faded tattoo on her forearm, visible from her pushed up sleeves.
she eyes him critically and looks back towards Paloma, only to understand what's going on.
There was a little one who was looking for you, Louis. Have you come to collect?
he shakes his head, lowering his voice as he leans in. no, he's not taking her - he'll repay the favor and soon, as long as she was safe from the madness in the streets tonight. his voice has slipped into a smooth, easy cadence like the locals, and when he turns back to Paloma, it's not so quickly shed.]
Your girl's within. Garadia received her in one piece, if you want to see her. Just try not to knock too much over with those wings of yours.
Edited 2019-10-27 10:23 (UTC)
[ You tricky bastard.
Nothing inherently objectionable about adopting different faces to thrive in different areas, especially foreign ones. Paloma stares balefully up into the crosses of his pupils, her own nonexistent in a sea of amber, and focuses harder on what is or isn't in his face, as if that will reveal the truth. ]
I won't knock anything over if you can quit bleeding and let Garadia help you.
[ Snitches get, uh, Avenger some stitches. ]
Nothing inherently objectionable about adopting different faces to thrive in different areas, especially foreign ones. Paloma stares balefully up into the crosses of his pupils, her own nonexistent in a sea of amber, and focuses harder on what is or isn't in his face, as if that will reveal the truth. ]
I won't knock anything over if you can quit bleeding and let Garadia help you.
[ Snitches get, uh, Avenger some stitches. ]
[there are flickers of the other man beneath this guise - a piercing intensity in his look, a slackening of his commitment to the cheer. but his voice is the strongest, most carrying thing.]
I keep telling her, this isn't mine. Some poor beast lost their head and I had to fight them off, wound them and make them back off so I could make a quick dash. But you're just a worrier, Miss Vasquez, aren't you?
[his eyes meet hers directly.]
I promise, I'm headed straight home to bar the door tonight.
[drop this subject. I'm giving you an excuse.]
I keep telling her, this isn't mine. Some poor beast lost their head and I had to fight them off, wound them and make them back off so I could make a quick dash. But you're just a worrier, Miss Vasquez, aren't you?
[his eyes meet hers directly.]
I promise, I'm headed straight home to bar the door tonight.
[drop this subject. I'm giving you an excuse.]
[ The thickness of her brows only renders them more expressive, and now they're lowering into clear belligerence. Only ingrained caution holds back her tongue. That and the sound of a girl's laughter somewhere inside Garadia's property. ]
Yes, I am. If you're off to take care of yourself at home, then, Louis.
[ Not an idiot, she says without saying. Her mouth, being full already, lends to frowning with emphasis. Dantes may not appreciate the nosing in on his business; Paloma does not appreciate the bullying into playing along with his charade. ]
Yes, I am. If you're off to take care of yourself at home, then, Louis.
[ Not an idiot, she says without saying. Her mouth, being full already, lends to frowning with emphasis. Dantes may not appreciate the nosing in on his business; Paloma does not appreciate the bullying into playing along with his charade. ]
I am, promise. Nothing more strenuous than lighting a fire and resting near it for me. Until next time, then.
[it's fine for him, because he can make amends later. as long as he doesn't have them worry - heaven forbid one of them try to see what the problem was - he can stand it. he can patch himself up.]
[it's fine for him, because he can make amends later. as long as he doesn't have them worry - heaven forbid one of them try to see what the problem was - he can stand it. he can patch himself up.]
[ You always leave me with more questions than I'd think to ever have, Paloma would like to say, recalling their bizarre and brief dialogue on what makes a ghost or demon. Now "Avenger" is leaving, and this new facade with it. ]
Next time, yeah. [ Smaller city than they'd think. She does not believe they'll go very long without their paths crossing again, and he'll leave probably just as quickly.
Stepping away first, Paloma convinces her mouth to relax into a tight smile. ]
Next time, yeah. [ Smaller city than they'd think. She does not believe they'll go very long without their paths crossing again, and he'll leave probably just as quickly.
Stepping away first, Paloma convinces her mouth to relax into a tight smile. ]
[There’s a flowerpot with a big tricolore ribbon on his doorstep. It has irises growing out of it. Marie did not wrap it too tightly, to make sure the flowers will not get damaged by the wrapping, so there is just a few layers of paper protecting the irises from the cold.
There’s a handwritten message attached to it. ”A little bit of homeland”
So how good is Avenger with keeping houseplants alive?
There’s a handwritten message attached to it. ”A little bit of homeland”
So how good is Avenger with keeping houseplants alive?
[ She only knows he does business with Garadia, not where he lives, so who knows when ‘Louis’ receives this shimmering package. A little box, wrapped in paper magicked to look like constellations moving slowly across a blue-black sky.
Paloma’s never seen him do anything that would attract a crowd’s attention, and she knows he likes to go by two different names at minimum. His gift is a cloak pin with silver enamel bordering a red mask, its eyes shut serenely, its lips calmly turned up into a restrained smile. A note reads:
This is the only place I can hope the box finds you. Thank you again for what you did for me and the little girl.
Paloma C. Vasquez ]
Paloma’s never seen him do anything that would attract a crowd’s attention, and she knows he likes to go by two different names at minimum. His gift is a cloak pin with silver enamel bordering a red mask, its eyes shut serenely, its lips calmly turned up into a restrained smile. A note reads:
This is the only place I can hope the box finds you. Thank you again for what you did for me and the little girl.
Paloma C. Vasquez ]
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