(Untitled)

[stonyfaced]

Characters: Stoneface and OPEN!
Date/Time: From December 26th to January 2nd, let's say
Location: Varied.
Rating: PG-13 for naughty language!
Summary: Stoneface died. He's come back. People want to see him

Comments

December 26, not long after his entry if that works?

[feathered_earth]

He was back. He was back. Cara washed her face quickly before calling Nobby, the dog barking nonstop since she had told him who'd just written on the journals. Only just remembering to grab her coat, Cara rushed out with him and to the elevator, trying to keep herself calm.

He was back. Of course he was back; he couldn't not come back, not him. Someone like him wouldn't ever really be gone. Cara felt certain of that. Even if he had to come back as a ghost or a spirit, or if he'd come back months later. But he was back now, and real, and--well there was no and, just a beautiful light feeling that she was flying. The horrible grief that she had been thrown into when she'd read the blunt announcement of his murder seemed a distant memory now, but it wasn't enough to just see his journal entry and know from what he wrote that it was him.

She knocked on his door after a very quick walk, although she probably didn't need to because of how loudly Nobby was barking. "Stoneface! It's me, Cara!"

Perfect <3

[stonyfaced]

Stoneface had just finished his attempts at putting his desk back into order (attempts meaning that all the papers he had been trying to organize ended up on the floor) when he heard the unmistakable bark of Nobby and Cara's voice.

He knew the kid would take the news badly. She was mature for her age, sure, but what kid here wasn't? Well, it was time to find out exactly how badly.

"Coming!" He called, easing himself to his feet, a bit unsteadily. Coming into the house that was so obviously cleaned over and scanned through, knowing that he had died, remembering little but the small details put him off balance and off temper. That was nothing the kid needed to see, though.

He swung open the door, only to be greeted with an ugly, squashed in little face and a significantly more attractive one hovering above it. "Hello, Cara," he said, somewhat inadequately.

Re: Perfect <3

[feathered_earth]

Cara had already been smiling, but if it was possible, that smile got about a hundred watts brighter when Stoneface opened the door. (Not to mention Nobby's barking got about ten times louder.) She didn't even think about her reaction--she just hugged him fiercely, as though making absolutely sure that he wasn't a very solid-looking ghost that could write.

And... oh damn, she could feel herself getting choked as she breathed in the smell of new armor and cigars... a strange combination, but in the circumstances she'd rather have that than roses. "I missed you," she said. Not loudly, but not a mumble either. The words came out before she could think about them, but for once she didn't feel embarrassed about showing such emotion around him.

People... left a lot in Edensphere. Cara had accepted that although it was never easy when it occured. Losing people was just something that happened in life. But for them to come back wasn't something that she'd managed to get used to. And the death of someone like Stoneface--someone so in-charge

[stonyfaced]

At the sight of Cara's face, her cheeks endeavoring to touch her ears, he suddenly recalled his dream when he came back. He had wanted to stay in that house on the hill, he did with all his heart, but at the same, he knew that he wanted to come back. Had to come back. All the look on Cara's face did was remind him exactly why this was so. It wasn't the job, not really, not truly, although the job had a big part in it. It was the people.

The inner voice inside his head reminded him, you wanted to leave this behind No. Never. His home and his family were elsewhere, but as loathe as he was to admit such things, he belonged here. He didn't say anything, because Stoneface was never very good with words, and especially bad with the ones that mattered, but he could force his body to be mildly comforting, at least

December 27th, evening, Sky's house

[blue_shields]

Sky was close to being healed- normally it would have taken twice as long as it already had, but the healers' abilities had sped up the process. He was glad, as he was starting to get sick of sitting around the house. He knew that for his own safety he couldn't overtax his injured shoulder, and should stay away from any activities that might lead to more concussions- like, say, his duties as a Watch member when he was in danger of being attacked. That didn't make idleness any easier, though

December 27th, evening, Sky's house

[stonyfaced]

After Stoneface had gotten adjusted to everything that was going on, he had gone through the Marketplace and gotten a few trusty items--he never felt comfortable unless there was a pound of metal on him, and now was no exception. A chainmail shirt was in order after that whole death fiasco, and so was a new breastplate and helmet. To his gratification, he got both, as well as a few nastier weapons than he had possessed prior to his death... but Sky didn't have to know that.

His gaze was directed momentarily to Sky's injured arm, then rose back to his face. "Hello, lad," he said, stepping inside and realizing for the first time that he had never seen their home yet. "You're healing up, by the looks of it."

December 27th, evening, Sky's house

[blue_shields]

Sky brightened, and he held in his instinctive urge to salute, instead setting Tom down and rubbing his bad shoulder. The cat went up to the strange person, sniffed him cautiously, then swished his tail and mewed.

"Good evening, sir," Sky said. "And yes, the healers have done a good job. I'll be able to be back to duty in a few days." He then looked regretfully around the apartment, which was something of a mess; he hadn't felt much up to cleaning, Prongs had been down with his headaches, and Bridge of course preferred to refer to the chaos as his own unique method of organization. "Er- I apologize about the mess," he then said lamely. "Normally I try and keep some semblance of order here, but I haven't been able to since I got hurt." He suddenly felt quite pathetic, but tried not to let it show in his face.

December 27th, evening, Sky's house

[stonyfaced]

"That's good to hear," Stoneface said, leaning down to pat the cat a couple of times, but only lightly. Cats had a tendency to use him as a scratching post, and that wasn't something he wished to relive at this particular moment. Or any moment, really, but it'd be rather bad luck to be mauled by a pound of fur and claws when visiting an injured subordinate.

"The mess?" He looked around the place, and didn't see much wrong. His own home was unusually empty of any sorts of personal possessions, but somehow, the state of his desk made up for it. If this was Sky's idea of a mess, he hoped the man never saw it. "Don't worry about it," he dismissed. "I have a feeling the clutter's the least of your worries.

"So," he said, stepping further inside and pointedly avoiding stepping on the cat's tail, "you had something to show me?"

Dojo, Dusk on the 28th

[extantlaw]

Crow had vanished - again. Justice had suspected as much when he'd arrived at the dojo to train a week ago and found the place deserted. Three days later brought the same result, and once he had assured himself that Crow's journal was not in the Library, the matter was settled. Where the man was, he had no idea - but it was hardly the first time that Crow had disappeared into the shadows and nor, Justice suspected with some irritation, would it be the last.

Incorrigible bastard. He'd watered... that plant, the name of which still made him raise an eyebrow whenever Crow used it, the profanity always accompanied by a polite indifference that made Justice wonder if the ninja even knew the meaning of the words. Not that he had ever asked, just nodded and looked away, the better to conceal his amusement. Digit had been nowhere to be seen, and the cynical part of Justice reflected that any cat of Crow's was likely more than able to take care of itself. Still, he'd put down some kibble regardless, and freshened the bowl of water that sat

Dojo, Dusk on the 28th

[stonyfaced]

Surprisingly, Stoneface found that by the twenty-eighth, he felt halfway prepared to face the world again--or at least, the world that didn't happen to be sobbing on his shoulder or yelling at him. Since the one he happened to be meeting probably fit into the latter, he couldn't say that he was looking forward to it, but it was vastly preferable to yelling of a different sort. Namely, Aurora's sort. It set him on edge, it really did

Dojo, Dusk on the 28th

[extantlaw]

He concentrated on keeping his body entirely still, the only movement he allowed in his right arm and wrist as he sliced the sabre through the air, skimming the mask with the few inches of at the end of the blade that he had worked to a razor sharpness. Once, he caught the pole - a few splinters of wood exploding into the air in testament to the mistake - and his frown deepened. He had been better at this once, he knew, although something about the lack of accuracy, even on instinct, made him wonder how many years exactly it had been since he practiced. The more conventional swordplay that he and Crow had occasionally engaged in had come far more easily to him, even using the wooden practice swords in place of sharpened metal. But this... this was a problem to be niggled at and to be solved, and it was a useful distraction from the conversation that he expected to have with Stoneface

Dojo, Dusk on the 28th

[stonyfaced]

Upon seeing Justice's controlled figure, Stoneface felt anger flood through him. Ever since he was born again, it had been present and he couldn't remember feeling this way since Blood's death. The Beast flickered, spat and snarled.

Look at him. So godsdamned composed, even when he knew, he bloody well knew, and not even a flicker of regret and this could have all been avoided, and

December 29th

[spandexisyouth]

He'd given it an extra couple of days in the hopes of being a bit more recovered by the time he met Stoneface. Not like it helped much. But Youth was an eternal optimist, so for three days he behaved and rested.

Youth waited for Bell to leave for a Guard shift, and took off at a jog to Stoneface's house. That lasted about half of the way until he stopped in pain from his side. For once Youth stopped. He wanted to show up and report and be efficient. He didn't want to seem very injured. Stoneface had had faith in Youth, accepted him into the Watch, and then Youth had gone and gotten beaten soundly. Youth didn't want to be a disappointment. This was his own personal challenge, to improve and be worthy of this faith. There were no add-ons to this one, no 'if I do not do these jumping-jacks perfectly, I will do so many situps.' This went beyond fitness.

So, after actually walking the rest of the way, Youth went back to the door he'd lept through only a few days prior. This time, he knocked.

Re: December 29th

[stonyfaced]

Stoneface's home looked a fair bit different from the last time Youth was around--all furniture that was soaked beyond repair with blood had been tossed out, and a remaining chair that had been scrubbed clean by Housekeeping, Stoneface simply tossed out. He remembered very small things about the way he died, but remembering what he tripped on and what he clutched onto in the process meant that he didn't like having the reminder staring him in the face every day

[spandexisyouth]

"Hello again, Stoneface!" After almost bowing from the waist, Youth stopped and instead bowed from the shoulders. It wasn't as respectful, something told him, but it wasn't going to hurt. "I shall!" He stepped inside, comparing the new setup to what he'd seen the day of the attack. It was a lot cleaner with less furnishings. He still hadn't worked through how calm he'd been at seeing the mess, how he hadn't been disturbed

FINALLY ABLE TO TAG ;~; Sorry I'm such a flake!

[stonyfaced]

Stoneface stood awkwardly by, unaccustomed to being bowed to. He chalked it up to being a culture thing, at any rate. Shutting the door behind him, he wandered over to his desk to pick up the notebook he had been using in order to keep everything close at hand. He was getting tired of the stuff already, and if this was any hint of things to come, he'd only be doing more paperwork from here on out.

As he flipped it open, he talked. "Yes, I'm fully recovered. Everybody is, when they come back, although I wouldn't count on that working forever, knowing this place."

Stoneface frowned at his own barely legible scrawls across the page, then glanced upwards. "Handmaiden's told me the bulk of what I need to know. I know that everyone has been attacked by some sort of creature except for Rosalind, and that you, Handmaiden, Bastet, Justice, Sky, Wolverine, Sky and some boy called Apollo were all at the scene. But now I'd like to hear it from you."

December 27?

[ice_echani]

Handmaiden strode towards Stoneface's house, purpose in every line of her movement. Her ribs, by this point, were entirely healed and mostly free of pain, apart from the occasional twinge if she twisted the wrong way, and that was no more serious than a bruise. The worse feeling was the shame that stole over her at the recollection of how poorly she had performed in that battle... had she been a better fighter, she would not have been injured and put out of commission for even the time she had been.

She did not look forward to recounting that particular event, among the things that she had to inform him of. But she tried to put her mind from that--Stoneface's return had come as a tremendous relief. Though Handmaiden had had faith that he would be reborn, it was still not a certainty. And she wished to fight with him, as much to be assured that he was quite the same as any practical reason.

December 27?

[stonyfaced]

Stoneface had forgotten that he had asked Handmaiden to come by after speaking to Bastet and cursed quietly to himself when he remembered. He had been planning on preparing a few questions to make the reporting portion go as quickly as possible so they could get straight to the sparring. He opened the door for Handmaiden as she approached and beckoned her inside. He knew how concentrated she was on fighting, and at this moment, he really didn't mind. As a public official, he wasn't allowed to go around punching people when he didn't agree with them (not that he did it in the first place), but he was having trouble blowing off steam in ways that didn't injure his knuckles or his desk

December 27 :|

[ice_echani]

Handmaiden assumed that Stoneface would rather discuss what had happened and then spar... which she supposed was the normal way of handling things for most people in Edensphere, and something she had grown accustomed to by now despite the inevitable distance she felt from people until she did get a chance to fight them. But the verbal report was important

December 27 B|

[stonyfaced]

Stoneface settled in the chair across from her, grabbing a blank notebook that he had bought from the Marketplace, along with a pen. For formal reports, or at least that's what he intended it to be for. His curly handwriting spread across the cover, saying, The Watch, and he wrote in the first entry