voice :: in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me

[oneofthequick]

"This is Uther Doul. I would like to make contact with someone out there in Taxon."

His voice is a good deal gentler than usual and there seems to be something of an echo to his transmission.

Comments

[faderbroderson]

"Uther?" Here's a voice Godric hasn't heard in a while, and there's something off about it. He can't help but sound a little concerned.

[location: Why would you do such a thing?! ;;]

[faderbroderson]

Now that's something that's far outside his experience, but it isn't difficult to wrap his mind around the concept. Strange and surreal, but not difficult. He imagines Eric won't be thrilled when the blood he hatches is O negative at the same time as it's A positive, and Sookie may not like it when the dress she puts on is blue as well as possibly yellow, but however disconcerting, these are minor things.

He nods, conveying both his understanding and his acceptance of the explanation. "Is there anything you need, aside from rest?"

[location: how many other train-themed movies do you know?]

[oneofthequick]

"No. The worst has passed." Ideally, he shouldn't affect the space around him, but there's still the risk of it. "I shouldn't trouble you for more than a day but I needed to get away from that room, to get clean air."

It's never really canonically confirmed, but it is strongly hinted that Doul is something non-human and can, with effort, adjust probabilities through some, strange method.

[location: ...Harry Potter?]

[faderbroderson]

"You're no trouble," he reassures. There's plenty of room in the nest for a house guest, and the hatches completely eliminate the usual concerns of supplies and money. Doul is a friend, and more than welcome.

The train is at their stop, and Godric helps Doul disembark. The Nest is only a block away.

[location: Much better than Strangers on a Train]

[oneofthequick]

"That's the first time anyone has ever said that." ...goodness, he must be ill. That might have been something vaguely resembling a joke. "You know, before coming here, I had already left what had been my home and holding cell for the last decade. I bid farewell to my closest and only friend -- you remind me of him in a way -- and went to explore the world. To go back to deserts of Tesh, maybe. I suppose I ought to embrace this place as a new beginning."

Expounding on ideas and approaching what might be a reasonable conversation? Definitely ill.

[location: Almost to the Nest (time for bird jokes)]

[faderbroderson]

Godric glances at Doul, slightly alarmed. Though he hasn't known Doul long or well, the man has always struck him as a private individual. Godric has no protest to knowing more about him, but finds such an outpouring strange, and possibly a cause for concern.

"If adventure and new places are what you seek, I believe it's safe to say you have found both. For some of us, this place is a blessing, rather than a curse." He pauses, weighing the pros and cons of revealing something of himself now that Doul has confessed some of his own most personal self. "For myself, it is both."

[location: Why do birds suddenly appear?]

[oneofthequick]

It's nothing to be too concerned about; he's just overtired and slightly fevered. Even so, he's not about to admit to his greater secrets or triumphs.

"I seek and sought a particular flavour of knowledge; in my youth I was drawn to it, but now, so many years later, I suppose I should no longer want it." There's something that might be a wry grin as they approach the Nest, "I did find what I hunted and now you see a small part of the price."

[location: Insert Hitchcock joke here]

[faderbroderson]

Godric opens the door to lead Doul inside, looking at him curiously.

"What was the nature of the knowledge you sought?" He has a feeling it's something esoteric, or magical, something that Godric likely would never have touched with a ten-foot pole. For all his natural curiosity, Godric is a creature of caution.

No one else is home at the moment, and Godric pauses just inside the door to consider their options. The door to the basement is reinforced and locked; those are not rooms meant for anyone but vampires. The spare bedrooms upstairs are free, save the one Sookie is currently occupying. Though Godric is hesitant to place Doul in a room in such close proximity to Sookie, despite his reassurances, it's probably the best option.

[location: puts Doul in the shower with Quik]

[oneofthequick]

"The warp and weft of reality on Bas-Lag was torn by the coming of the Ghosthead Empire. This wound exists in the form of The Scar -- a great place where physics and probability work under entirely alien rules -- and I was driven to understand it." Doul sounds almost fond of these people and their creation. "As you can see, one of my experiments did not end well."

What he tells Godric is mostly true. It was not just an experiment, but a full scale exploratory journey to The Scar itself. Of the twenty men who went out on the expedition, only three returned to the coast and only Doul survived for longer than a few weeks.

[location: all the single ladies (idek)]

[faderbroderson]

Godric considers this explanation as he helps Doul up the stairs, his strength untaxed by Doul's weight, despite their size difference. A place, a wound, such as the one Doul describes would be irresistible to scientific types, and Godric wonders if, despite Doul's rugged nature, he may be more of a nerd at heart. Far be it from Godric to disparage science and learning, despite the considerable risks.

"Was it worth it? And more importantly, would you like a shower before you rest?" He's teasing, but it's also an honest question. Doul could smell worse, and if he doesn't have the energy for a shower, Godric won't insist.

[location: ...where are we going with this?]

[oneofthequick]

When first studying the Scar, young Doul was an over-zealous, in-cautious scientist but since then he's had ten years of unplanned servitude and that's more than enough time to instill a willingness to endure. Admittedly, in comparison to most humans or other races from Bas-Lag, he has always been a little too solemn, but High Cromlech is not known for producing impatient men.

"A shower might be wise." There are a whole host of reasons that Doul chose not to answer Godric's first question; chief among them being that he's unsure if he can give a definite answer. "Should you hear me fall, I'd appreciate it if you rescued me from drowning."

[location: Nowhere fast.]

[faderbroderson]

Always respectful of personal privacy, Godric lets the matter drop. He chuckles at Doul's comment instead.

"I promise I shall endeavor to keep you from dying in my bathroom." Or anywhere else in the house, for that matter. And luckily, the bathroom is just off the hallway, and fully stocked. He leads Doul over the threshold and slowly removes his support, careful that Doul has the counter to lean on, or the towel rack, should he need it. "The towels are clean, and if you need anything not already provided, there's a hatch on the wall to your right."

[location: Full Circle to the Hotel California @_@]

[oneofthequick]

"I prefer to be circumspect when possible, but I think it's fair to say thank you, you've been very kind, Godric." There's something of a smile before Doul prepares for the Epic Ordeal of The Shower.