valentine's is done.

[tiersdes]

Who: A Certain Scientific Vampire (tiersdes ) and A Certain Scientific Psychic (soldiershin )
When: The 14th
Where: A place where little girls should not be in---er, Lion's Gate
Summary: A Crusnik and another (yes, another!) Mu cross paths inside a nightclub.
Warnings: mild violence, Seth being Seth.

Comments

[soldiershin]

Jomy does his best to mask it, but look closely and there is a wince there, flickering across his expression. Burrowing through another's mind in this city is a practice he'd been limiting (consciously limiting). It's a bad habit, he knows, something of an extreme reaction when he's caught off-guard. In this case, it was the combination of poor timing, her actions, and her thoughts of the only other Mu in the city that had pushed him to lean back into that reflex-

Wait. Too, she had said.

. . . Ah.

That's another topic of discussion he would ask for, then. Shiroe was careful in revealing his abilities to the point of paranoia, and the implications of her knowing even to this degree was slightly unsettling. He's gotten used to the necessity of hiding (not that he was very good at it, with how he used his abilities on an almost unconscious level), but it was nonetheless a little jarring that she seemed aware of both their abilities and that such abilities was the common link between Shiroe and he.

"I can," he agrees carefully, slowly. He meets her eyes then, keeping her gaze. "But I prefer talking, when it's possible."

[tiersdes]

Seth frowns at him.

She doesn't really understand why he's so damn calm---kind of like that Keith guy she spoke to, only not as creepy and amusing (even childlike) and more...off-putting. This calm Jomy exudes---this dignity, this...pacifism---it reminds her of Lilith to some degree; it's a sign that he must have been some kind of important figure wherever he's from (Shiroe's world? Perhaps this one was the leader of the "outcasts" in that reality?). As much as Seth admired Lilith, however, she always found her near-constant state of calm to be a little frightening in some respects. How she was calm even amidst all of the chaos and mayhem that had taken place during the war of Armageddon and even in the face of extreme adversity from the newly born-Methuselah when she had sided with the Terrans.

How she was calm in the mere moments, seconds leading to when Cain killed her.

Seth never really understood what it was that kept Lilith so grounded, considering she was a Crusnik---a monster---just like Seth herself and her brothers were.

And yet...there is a weariness underscoring all of his calm, too. Seth can see it in his eyes. It's a weariness she knows all too well---the weariness of one who has seen too much, lived through too much. She could tell Jomy was much, much younger than she was, but he exuded an aura of one who was also---like her---much older than he looked.

Because Seth felt that weariness, too, once in a blue moon; as much as she tried to stave it off. 800 years of living as Empress Augusta Vradica of the New Human Empire for the sake of the entire Methuselah race was slowly, but surely, starting to take its toll on her.

With this realization in mind, the irritation and aggravation quickly dissipates---and turns into amusement. Seth lets out a laugh when she finally stands in front of Jomy, grinning brightly as if nothing had ever happened.

"Well, I'll give you credit, your Princeliness---at least you're more conscientious about those mind-poking powers of yours than a certain other person I know." She's still chuckling a little, raising her hands in mock defeat. Indeed---there had to be a link between the two boys. Their form of telepathy seemed to be kind of...automatic, like a conditioned reflex, voluntary and yet involuntary at the same time. And the way her nanomachines had reacted in kind...

"Okay, I surrender---I'm not sure I want to experience the full extent of your abilities, anyway, and I suppose having to deal with the usual nasty critters outside now that it's quite late is more than enough of a punishment for my pranks---just don't take the expression "kick me out" literally!" She continues. "Although it's a shame we had to run into each other under circumstances like these...you seem like an interesting one! I didn't think I'd run into anyone else on my power level besides Vincent; we're not much different, you know? You have the likeness of a boy, but the mind of an all-seeing god."

And suddenly, her gaze becomes a bit colder when she says: "But let me ask you this---why does one like yourself serve their interests?"

and in this corner, non-heartless!Jomy...!

[soldiershin]

As soon as her aggression switches off into amusement, he relaxes. The response is on cue, immediate. The tension leaves his shoulders, down his arms, and through the fingers. A small smile of gratitude twitches at the corner of his lips, his weight shifting ever so slightly to the left. He's aware of her flurry of thoughts, but he doesn't grasp at them. He doesn't even try, because they're her own.

(And they didn't really seem related to Shiroe and he. Not exactly.

The undercurrent of her own weariness is noted, however. Hers feels like a fleeting touch. Ghost-like, strangely softened by... something. Not like his own, where it was a constant presence that he shouldered with muted pride.)

There's so much from her words that Jomy can respond to that he needs to pause, taking it all in. He's finally noticed her quirk of calling him prince; it makes him twitch, awkward in the notion of being called a member of nobility, no matter how jokingly. The small smile falls at being related to a god though - because no, he wasn't. Not at all. He's as flawed as any other human.

It was another topic of possible conversation, then. From behind his exhaustion, there is a spark of curiosity. Her words had caught his interest several times over, and maybe (maybe), should her amiability last, he could speak to her in a more neutral setting.

But that was not now. Focus, focus. One thing at a time.

"It's not their interests I'm serving." A turn of the head, gaze moving in the direction of the room where the majority of guests are gathered. Their minds are still buzzing at him. Little bits and pieces of thought. Not very strong, but together, it's a very loud white noise. Eyes flickering back to the (not-young) girl, his lips thin a little. "I do not condone their actions. But striking out at them blindly, or in the manner you have, would do more harm than good."

A short pause. "Short of destroying the system outright, change is always slow. I want to respect the efforts of those who are bringing about it by this world's rules." An effort that didn't leave as much casualties, hopefully.

/sheds a single perfect tear for.....

[tiersdes]

Seth takes note of how quickly his own posture and expression relaxes in response to her sudden outburst of light-heartedness; it strikes her as a little odd. If he can read minds, perhaps he can also feel the emotions of others? After all, being psychic, his mind must act as a floodgate for all manner of things unseen through regular perception. She ruminates for a moment over how overwhelming that must be.

But she keeps that hypothesis---and thought---to herself. Now wasn't the time. They had to leave here. Well, okay, no, she had to leave here, but...he was making no motion to make her get out. At least, perhaps not alone.

Prince, indeed.

"...Don't I know the snail's pace of change." Seth murmurs, more to herself than to Jomy, irritation briefly taking the forefront once more. And I am the system, in a way. With that particular thought (now guarded, of course; now that he's let up a bit on his telepathy, she's got her mental shields back up with renewed vigor) comes a fleeting note of sadness and perhaps---perhaps---regret. But she quickly dispels all that with a shake of the head, and she grins at him again; the coldness has left her eyes, and now there's a sort of mischief in them.

"But rules were made to be broken. Whenever a new system is put in an old system's place, that old system inevitably has to be destroyed, or at least taken apart to an extent where its vestiges are nowhere to be found. Almost every form of government owes its existence to some form of rebellion, or some form of cataclysm." A laugh. "...Anyway, I'm sure you probably want me to explain myself, don't you? Well, I can't do it here. Not after the little mess I made! But unless we can somehow fly (teleport?) to a more private setting, we'll probably have to deal with the Darkness outside."

[soldiershin]

Jomy inclines his head once - a sweeping agreement with her words. He reserves his own thoughts regarding the government-bit, forcing himself to re-focus.

"My shift should be over." A beat. "I can walk you back to your residence if you require it. We can speak at a later-" more neutral "-time."

He doesn't really think she needed the protection, but it was worth offering, in any case.

It's a choice to not address the comment about the flying (teleporting). He really needed to be careful about revealing his powers; telepathy alone put people at unease. This wasn't his world, and the majority of the Mu weren't here for him to represent - to demand widespread acceptance in this city would be only self-serving. (Not that it was actually necessary, with how the city seemed to be a hub of powers.) As well as dangerous, with how SERO targeted unusual abilities.

The fact that 'psychic' abilities weren't all that uncommon here gave them (he and Shiroe) some degree of cover; one that he was thankful for. It was just a matter of hiding the scale they were on for them, really.

Gesturing a little with a hand, he says, "There's a side-door we can use down this hallway."

[tiersdes]

Now he seems to be on guard. Seth cocks her head to the side a bit----was it something she said?

...Interesting. It made the weariness she could sense in him all the more credible---if he'd gone through similar experiences (she hoped not: war, near-genocide, and continued tensions were not situations she'd wish on anyone) to her own. It takes her a moment to respond to his offer. Only because...

...Only because, yeah, the telepathy kind of startled her. But inherently, she could tell Jomy wouldn't use it for nefarious purposes--not unless he was pushed, probably.

Nevermind that it seemed he didn't want to come off as an enemy to begin with, so---

Seth laughs again.

"If you insist, Prince." She chuckles, looking toward the door and then winking at him before adding, "keep up with me, though!"