Day 28: Germaine Street

[sugarsweetblood]

Rhode didn't want to have to let go of Allen, not ever. It could be forever before she was able to be with him again! But the nurses were persistent in moving her off the big yellow thing, as was Allen for getting away from her. Even outside of the building, people were just determined to keep her from being with him! It wasn't fair

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[bastard_sadi]

To say Daemon was relieved to be off the over-sized carraige would be an understatement. He'd ridden all manner of creatures and contraptions in his 1700 years - the Blood nobility loved their short-lived and often strange fashions of transportation - but that one hadn't agreed overly much with the sparse breakfast they'd provided.

Taking the book of coupons from the staff member, he put a few feet of distance between himself and the large yellow carraige before pausing to look around, taking in his surroundings, and waiting for his father to rejoin him before they parted ways.

The town didn't look all the different from a Blood village, although there were definite things that Daemon didn't recognize and seemed out of place. And again, there was no familiar psychic sense of any other Blood nearby, other than Saetan's familiar Black.

It was... disconcerting.

[highlord_ofhell]

Even before the nurses handed him his coupons, Saetan stretched his back. He knew there'd be quite a bit of walking and he didn't want anything else throwing his gait off to put strain on his leg.

"There truly aren't any other Blood here, are there?" he asked Daemon. "I thought we might be under some kind of shielding at the Institute." Of course, he could sense it as easily, but he wanted it out in the open to discuss.

The crowd from the buses wasn't dispersing quickly, and it was easier to stay near Daemon and talk of familiar things while he chose where he wanted to go and who he wanted to see.

[stray_shinigami]

Renji got off the bus quickly; as distracted as he felt, he didn't really pay attention to the coupons the nurses were handing out, or anything they might have said. His thoughts felt like they were going in a loop, around and around. Because he could guess at least some of what Byakuya would say to Rukia, and... he agreed with it.

I'm not worthy of her, I've failed her too many times, I should let her go, but I can't, she still loves me in spite of everything, and I'm too weak, and that makes me all the more unworthy...It was maddening. It made his head hurt, and he didn't know how to deal with it. He did his best to shove it all away, to find some plateau of calm, and maybe it was working

[highlord_ofhell]

Saetan suppressed his urge to laugh. This wasn't the first time, though it hadn't happened since arriving here. He did smile, his amusement crinkling the skin around his eyes a little.

"You must be looking for my son," he said. He nodded to the figure just a few feet on his other side. "He's over there."

[bastard_sadi]

Hearing his name, Daemon turned around, his golden eyes glittering in amusement at the confusion. He'd had that same momentary bewilderment the first time he'd gazed into his father's face, and Lucivar and Surreal had once commented on the same. It wasn't just in power that he was called his father's mirror.

"Were you looking for me, Renji?" Daemon spoke up, approaching the pair so they could speak in more private tones. "This is my father, Saetan SaDiablo. He arrived yesterday. Father, this is Renji, who I spoke to you about."

[stray_shinigami]

Renji took another small step back, just so he could look at both of them. He didn't feel that bad for his mistake; they did look a lot alike, though he was pretty sure now he'd be able to tell them apart. If nothing else, if he'd been paying attention, they both would have different souls. He pulled his hands back out of his pockets and bowed out of habit at the introduction.

"Yeah," he said, shrugging. He did his best to keep his shoulders relaxed; he didn't want to look as tightly wound as he was feeling. "Said I would, yesterday. I guess." He shrugged again. "Nice to meet you," he said, to Daemon's dad.

[highlord_ofhell]

Saetan didn't bow back--not in this outfit--but he inclined his head in acknowledgement of Renji's good manners. "I am pleased to meet another of Daemon's friends. How lucky for me that he was courteous enough to come ahead and scout the place out."

Levity aside, he now scrutinized Renji, noting all the remarkable characteristics that Daemon had tried to point out earlier. Even in the Realms, Renji would stand out as unusual. "Do the two of you need privacy?"

[bastard_sadi]

"You guess?" Daemon echoed curiously, a faint arch of an eyebrow in silent question. Renji was bothered by something. Even without the flavor of a psychic scent to tip him off, the signs were more than obvious. And despite having only met Renji a short while ago, he could tell this was not a customary state for the redhead.

He tucked hands in his pockets, posture casual and patient as his golden gaze flickered from his father to Renji, waiting for the other man's answer to that question. He knew Saetan would understand if he did, and they could find each other easily enough later. He hoped something hadn't happened last night.

[stray_shinigami]

He chuckled at Saetan's sort-of joke. It probably was kind of nice to arrive with people around that could already point you in the right direction. From his own point of view, as bad as it was to have family and friends show up, it was also nice to have people to work with that didn't need a lot of diplomacy crap thrown at them.

Renji hesitated, not sure which way to go. In a way, he almost did want to get... something off his chest, because he felt like he was being slowly strangled. But at the same time, he didn't know if he wanted to talk at all, because he didn't like thinking he was that weak, or that much of a whiner. His problems were his own, and he'd done it all to himself.

because... and because... and because...He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he did. It was the best he could do, when in reality, he just wanted to his something to make himself feel better - which he absolutely couldn't. When he looked back up, he felt a little steadier. He'd deal with it all later, he told

[highlord_ofhell]

"I believe the rotting cat suffered worse than we did, though... the young man was hurt. Ren I think it was." There wasn't any point talking about how upset River had been. Either Renji knew her and her ways or didn't. He didn't know which way that fell. And since he didn't know the details either, it was just easier to keep quiet.

On the other hand, Saetan didn't need to know Renji well to see how he'd just shut down some emotion. He threw a worried glance Daemon's way. "I had business elsewhere anyway. Don't hold back on my behalf."

[bastard_sadi]

Daemon caught his father's gaze with a knowing nod, having witnessed the same flicker of emotions that briefly flashed over Renji's face. Plus the redhead's dismissal of 'nothing important' made him guess that whatever it was was exactly the opposite.

"I'll find you a bit later when I've had a chance to look around," he spoke to his father. "I don't want to hold you up." Offering them all a way out, allowing Saetan to continue on as planned while he figured out how to get out of Renji the truth on whatever was bothering him.

[stray_shinigami]

"Oh yeah, cats..." Renji grinned. "Used to have to stab 'em in the eyes with pens. Gross shit." He was glad he had a sword now, but it reminded him that other people weren't that lucky. Which was also just a reminder that he needed to keep working to get people armed; that was the most important thing. It was just hard to keep up with new people coming in all the time. "Hope... Ren's doin' okay. Send him my way if you see him. Think I got enough left to do a heal." He figured he'd be able to squeeze some power out, even if he was already feeling a bit weak. That was blood loss, not spirit loss, after all.

And it seemed Saetan had somewhere to go. "Oh. Sorry to hold you up," he said. He glanced at Daemon, not certain if that meant he had something to do as well. There was a town to be scouted, after all, maybe supplies they could steal. He should get on task, himself, and stop worrying about his own problems. There were a lot more important things. "Guess we should all get movin'."

[highlord_ofhell]

"I will see you later, perhaps both." He nodded to them both, with a smile for Daemon, and turned to walk down the street, examining the shop windows.

Without a backwards glance, he turned down the next street.

[to Main St]

[bastard_sadi]

Watching his father drift away for a moment, Daemon then transferred his attention to the redhead at his side. Clapping a hand on the man's shoulder, he steered Renji a bit more away from the disembarking crowds of patients.

"Alright, old son. Spill it. What's got you looking so troubled? And don't think I buy the nothing important excuse, either."

[stray_shinigami]

Renji flinched when Daemon grabbed his shoulder; it wasn't from pain, since he wasn't injured there, just surprise at an unexpected touch. He backed out of Daemon's grip as quickly as he could once they'd moved.

He considered his options, hesitating before speaking. He knew that he was a bad liar, so he wasn't going to bother outright lying to Daemon. It wouldn't work. As he thought, he kept paranoid watch on the street; he needed to be aware if his captain approached, and ready to defend himself. Not really conscious of his own actions, he backed up even further so that he had the protection of a building behind him. Old habits died hard.

"Just had a kinda unpleasant surprise, is all," he finally said. He didn't like the feeling of being so indirect, but he also just felt weird talking about it, especially with people around.

[bastard_sadi]

"How unpleasant?" Daemon asked, his gaze narrowing slightly as his golden eyes slid over their surroundings - people and buildings. He hadn't missed Renji's edginess and wondered who was responsible. And how he should react to it. Letting the Sadist out to play was hardly a tempting thought today of all days, but if it was required, he would.