very soon, the light will vanish. it will take with it all the hope and joy we've ever known.

[thepull_mods]

Who: Siren's Port
When: The night of Tuesday, October 18th into the morning of Wednesday, October 19th.
Where: In the mind, in the dreams, in the unconscious of the sleepers.
Summary: --
Warnings: These dreams may be considered not safe for work, with violence, gore, death, underlying sexual themes and other mentions of graphic nature. Having them

Comments

reaction; -text & video to Claire;

[stoicloyalty]

[ Tonight is bloodier than usual. Normally, it would fail to draw any reaction from her-- whether a spray or a flood, she steels herself to it, and cleans it away.

Blood is fine. But not in a lingering, coagulated mess, and certainly not pulsing out of her in the dreams, nor slathered all over somebody taking that tone. Chane knows it is not her dream, which only feeds the distaste with which she replays the image of the Rail Tracer in her head. Back then, to her, he was a man. But to others, he appeared inhuman, didn't he?

She's connecting her NV to the network and to his channel the minute she wakes up, 6am, eyes bright but weary and the waves of her hair curling against her cheeks, kinked by her constant changes in sleeping position. It's probably too early but she will not wait. ]

Who was it?

Video

[vinovidivici]

[ Somehow he slept better than on previous nights, and is still dozing when his NV alert sounds. Without taking his face out of the pillow it's embedded in he reaches up to his bedside table, finally looking up at it once he's found the NV and brought the message up by touch. After the second it takes to wake up enough to realize what she's asking about he switches the video feed on, rubbing his eyes. ]

That would be Czeslaw Meyer. He's probably one of your father's old associates. [ That'll have to do until he's found the "private" button. Hopefully it's enough for her to understand that, despite appearances, it wasn't a child he tortured. ]

text & video;

[stoicloyalty]

[ Her eyes widen. An immortal? One whom Claire had encountered on that train? But he was a mere child. It gives a familiar ring in the back of her mind, from within that knowledge she keeps locked away and untouched (it is not hers to understand, after all), but she does not recognise it.

She had travelled with an immortal and was unaware of it. Despite being utterly powerless against anything-- anyone-- of that constitution, it feels like a mistake on her behalf. An overlooked detail that should have been attended to. Previous mistakes aside, an immortal is here at the same time as her father. A threat. ]

How do you know?

> Private

[vinovidivici]

[ Fumbling with the NV menu in the dark -- ah, there it is. Catching something grim in her look he stills his hands. ] That Russo guy took his head off with a shotgun; I saw him comin' back from that. And again a few times afterwards.

> Private

[stoicloyalty]

[ She lifts an eyebrow at the now-locked channel, lips pressed tightly together. It irritates her that developments are still arising from that journey- or perhaps, merely that this particular one involves him as a protagonist, almost as much as her actions on the train involved him. Not only that, but another immortal as well-- ]

What did you do, knowing he was immortal?

[vinovidivici]

Be surprised? That was the first I knew about immortals even existing. [ He chuckles, but there's an apologetic slant to his eyebrows for doing so over her annoyance, and for obviously not addressing the question properly. After a moment he leans up on his forearms, regarding her seriously. He was unsure how much needed explaining, knowing she'd experienced Czeslaw's view of him (and as for his feelings on that, while not something he'd hide from her, given the circumstances of their first meeting, it wasn't something he would have ever wanted her to experience directly, should he have ever considered it a possibility). ] Before I get to what I did, you oughta know he was plannin' on having all the people in one of the passenger cars killed off.

[stoicloyalty]

[ There is no reaction or opinion she can give to that. The Lemures' plans were badly-wrought, the white-suits' were bloodthirsty-- and the Rail Tracer's actions were not blameless, either. In the recesses of that hidden knowledge stirs an idea (raw materials) which she quickly tamps down. No; the topic at hand is not Czeslaw's immortality. After writing, she covers a small, close-eyed yawn, perhaps proving herself less suited for this type of discussion in the morning than she had estimated. ]

Did he succeed?

[vinovidivici]

Nah, gettin'- uh- [ That would be him stumbling over his words. His eyes fix on the yawn, and once that cute distraction passes he rests his chin on his hands with a sleepy grin that doesn't really fit the conversation. ] ... Gettin' taken out by the very fella he was meant to be collaboratin' with kinda put a damper on that. But -- since that didn't put him down for long I took the liberty of impressin' the error of his ways on him. [ The euphemism comes with a curious lift of his eyebrows, asking how much she wants or needs to be told, and waiting for a reaction. ]

[stoicloyalty]

[ Blinking hazily in recovery of that yawn, she pauses to take in that new information. A glance over the page on which she's written gives her echoes of previous conversations; her father's tone. But her own words.

She has no need to interrogate him, really. Although the extent of what showing 'the error of his ways' involves is unclear to her, she assumes it was not a quick process. An assassin who loves their job, and an immortal. There lies the potential for an endless struggle.

Maybe what it boils down to is her ire, her annoyance at receiving such a slanted, fearsome image of him in the dream. The firsthand experience of his more dangerous suggestions. It's draining. She gives a sigh, accompanied by the heel of her palm lifting to press against her brow over tired, closed eyes. ]

[vinovidivici]

[ He tilts his head at that, perhaps more moved by communication when it comes in her tone. Concern spurs him on and he finally pushes himself up, swivelling to sit on the side of the bed. He rubs one shoulder under his vest, a slightly awkward gesture. ] Did it scare you?

[stoicloyalty]

[ She flicks one eye half-open then gently shakes her head. At least, she does not believe she was scared by it, no more than the one to conjure it up in their subconscious. The tilting background of Claire's video feed plays tricks on her eyes and almost persuades her to flop back down on the mattress; that motion is barely stopped by her arm lowering to support herself, before writing to answer him. ]

It was unexpected. Another passenger from the train.

[vinovidivici]

Small world, huh. [ Now that he thinks about it this should probably have fallen under the jurisdiction of their "tell me these things" promise. He's not sure why it matters (he thinks "secrets": that's what she'd been thinking of that time - secrets that meant she had to be silent, that he couldn't know about and shouldn't ask about) but since he trusts her he should be able to tell her about the other immortal he knows too, except he suspects she'd then be obliged to tell Huey too -

- ah, this was one reason he couldn't stand the Mafia any longer. Too difficult, having friends, brothers, family on either side. He's missing her continued display of endearing sleepiness with how seriously he's thinking this all over, chin propped on his hand and tongue pressed to the tip of one canine tooth. ] Does it... matter to you that he's an immortal?

[stoicloyalty]

[ Very funny. Naturally there is no guarantee that any two people from a certain city have met or will meet; as such she had not considered the possibilities when that boy had told her that he, too, came from New York. They had not met in that city. Yet it is only here that these truths come to light, that certain people meet- perhaps, like Claire's presence here, these meetings are not coincidential.

Similarly she cannot assume that her father does not know of another immortal's presence. He already knew about Claire (although the feeling that there is something beyond this current bond between them doesn't leave her)-- and if there was an imminent danger, he would notify her. Still, she can't rest easy knowing a potential threat to him is out there. Her gaze lingers on Claire's expression a moment before she inclines her head, eyes closing a beat too long. ]

It does. He is dangerous.

[ To my father, she thinks. As though that would clarify anything. ]

[vinovidivici]

[ ooc: retconning claire to know that immortals can kill each other in accordance with the prophecy this thread ]

I'm watching Czeslaw. I promise he's not going to hurt your father. Or anyone else.

[ He smirks very gently at that sleepy look. Since Firo and Chane are both good people, his good people, surely they can work it out between them. It's not like Firo would ever have any cause to harm Huey, after all. He quirks his eyebrows, intending for her to recognize what he says next as something more than a non-sequitur. ] There's somebody I've been meanin' to introduce you to, I oughta get on that. When you're better rested up.

[stoicloyalty]

[ Briefly her eyes widen, preceding a long, contemplative blink, as though replaying his words written behind her eyelids. Claire has struck this vital point about her father, somehow. He had to have been informed, surely. She had not informed him-- and it's unlikely that he had had further contact with her father which resulted in his gathering such knowledge.

She moves to respond to this surprisingly offhand revelation, but he cuts her off with a statement that barely seems to connect to the topic of conversation so firmly set in her mind among her steadily slowing thoughts. It's nearly embarassing to be reminded of her own state of awakeness, her arm weakening in trying to prop her up, her drawn-out breaths. After a moment to consider the weight of his words, gaze aside at the edge of her bed, Chane closes her eyes and seems to shrug lightly, putting the pen down. She won't be in any state to meet new people right now, especially if they're at all like Claire. ]