deercountry | Few Regrets (Open)

Entry tags:

Few Regrets (Open)

Who: Reaper (

no_reload) & Open
What: Post-death recovery & November catch-all
When: Month of November
Where: In & Around Disaster House

Content Warnings: Will add as they come up.

I. Squid Games

The remains of his body had fully inked and become crystallized. Then the smoke filled crystals cracked, shattered and broke apart to reveal a palm-sized squid that shook off bits of crystal and remaining ink. The black bloody ink did begin to resorb into the squid which seemed momentarily disoriented.

Then it lifted four tentacles and gave a soft hissing squeak to whomever happened to be close by. Another squeak and wiggling tentacles that clearly meant to be indication for picking up.

While he couldn’t communicate with words, Reaper was small enough and determined enough to be close to anyone. He would attempt to cling to feet or legs, and sometimes that meant the risk of getting under foot.

At other times, he would somehow clamber onto raised parts of furniture whether it was a table leg, couch arm or even a shoe and lift two tentacles to the air and wait for someone to pass by before trying to attach himself for a free ride to leg or hand.

II. Bedrest

Since leaving the squid state, Reaper had had a hell of a time adjusting back to his body. He had mostly confined himself to his bedroom, a place he hardly used as anything other than storage previously. Now he was there most of the time, sequestered to the bed as he didn’t have the available energy yet to perform his usual household activities.

After all, breathing was a laboured effort; that’s probably what was supposed to happen when one’s lungs had been vaporized. He could be found in his bedroom, sitting up to make breathing easier and clad in black track pants and a oversized black hoodie where the hood was constantly pulled up over his head, obscuring his bare and scarred face with shadow. The white of his goatee was the most obvious aspect of him to be seen.

"…death has always provided a reset, but you haven’t invested time to knowing how blood effects your abilities either. That was stupid of you…"

Reaper grunted softly as if replying to the scolding and exasperated Irish female voice that happened to be coming from a small laptop-sized device next to him on his bed. His bare hand with its blackened dead looking fingers reached out and patted the device as if he were trying to pat the Irish voice on the shoulder.

"I have this pain again." His voice was strained, nearly breathless.

"Expected. You died, Reyes. You will cope as you did before," the voice said with a touch of exasperation.

"Analysis on point, as always," he remarked with a soft nearly whimsical sigh that turned to a wheeze.

The voice was quiet, a reminder that the person behind it wasn’t actually here in Trench. That old friend had returned to their world and had never returned. He turned the medical device off with press of a button and leaned his head back against the headboard, shifting his weight as if unable to find a comfortable spot to sit in.

Then his chin tipped his head down again. "I know you’re out there."

III. Slow and Steady

Thankfully, the month so far had seemed calm and with little to no effects. He was slow to move around the house, less willing to take up some of his normal activities. He technically was the only adult in the house and that came with certain responsibilities he hadn’t been able to get back into. For one, he tired far too easily, like he was far older than he actually was. Or maybe this was how those of the SEP went out… tired, alone and shuffling around.

He spent much of his time in the house, but sometimes he wanted a chance of scenery. He was ease his way out of the house and seat himself on the ground or on a step. If he was having a particularly good day, he could get himself up to one of the edges of roof and seat himself there, legs dangling.

As soon as he went outside, his Omen, Wraith, would immediately appear. The black peacock would make a show of preening and walking around, shuffling long detailed tail feathers and issuing a low mournful swan song that was not normal for peacocks. Always, the Omen would be on high alert, never staying particularly close to him but clearly on guard to anyone who might know what to look for.

"Careful, his bite is as pathetic as his bark," he rumbled softly to anyone that might stop by to have a look or even appear from the house.

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You haven't. I'm always in human form around the house.

[Well, except in the bath, but that doesn't really count.]

The only reason Varian and Luz have seen my real form is they saw me after I changed back from a squid and before I actually left the water.

[A process that took a lot longer for him than other sleepers because...well, unlike other sleepers, he hadn't had any real urgency in leaving the water. Holding on tightly to Reaper, Luca powers forward with his tail while carefully keeping an eye on Reaper as he swims.]

Well, you're not going to drown now. I'm not going to let you. Especially not when you just recovered from your last death.

[And especially not when Luca's the one who brought him out to these deeper waters in the first place.]

Besides, you wouldn't be the first person I've towed back to the shore.

Ah, now I know... we all have our secrets that we keep...

[It was interesting that Luca had another layer to him. The kid had seemed pretty 'normal' aside from quirks that all kids had. Now many of those quirks made sense to him, though he expected there was plenty more than meets to eye here.

He concentrated on keeping his head above water, spitting out any that managed to get into his mouth, and, unfortunately for his ego, he had to let Luca do most of the work when it came to getting to shore.]

That's... quite the determination. I believe you, though if I did die again, it wouldn't matter much.

[And thankfully the shore was getting closer and closer. He occasionally dropped his legs to see if he could touch the sandy bottom. Not yet, not yet and then suddenly his toes brushed the sand and he felt a sense of relief. No drowning today. Except for that whole 'difficulty standing when not in water' bit he hadn't discovered just yet.]

It does matter if you die again. Even if you come back, you have to go through all this stuff and being a squid and dying probably doesn't feel too nice, either, and everyone in our house is supposed to look out for each other and that includes you.

[Sure, he has questions and concerns about the stuff Lance said, but that's for later. Right now, he has to make sure Reaper's okay so he can answer questions, and for now what he does know for sure is this is the guy who cooks for them every day and keeps guard outside the house. He doesn't deserve to have to drown again.]

It's no worse than being alive sometimes, but your sentiment is appreciated, chico.

[Reaper just appreciated the tow even when he could touch toe-touch. The waves were more of a push as well, off-setting his balance and making it difficult to keep his footing up to a certain point. Even then, he stumbled and rocked as he tried to pull himself out of the water.

He ended up half-walking, half-crawling out to the shore and then seating himself, breathing hard.]

Do you have a favourite food, hmm?

"Well..." He thinks about that. He's had a lot of human foods he's liked (and he'll stick to human dishes so Reaper knows what he's even talking about), but there's one he really enjoyed when he first came to the surface. He doesn't know if Reaper knows how to make it, but he might as well mention it. "I really like trenette al pesto. Or anything with a lot of salt, really."

Or sugar, he really likes sweets, too, but he doesn't want to start listing too many things.

"Ah, Italian, hmm?" He didn't have a recipe off the top of his head for something like that, but he knew he had eaten it before. "And when you say salt, are you talking brining or actual salt crusted meals?" He thought about it, dredging up some of the old recipes that he knew. He didn't make it known that he would take requests for meals, but he did keep the meal preferences in mind when choosing the meals that he prepared.

"Do you care for desserts?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, that's probably not too surprising."

Since Luca's...well, from the Ligurean Sea. He hasn't actually realized yet that the magic of this place has been translating everything he says and everything everyone else is saying to him. Since his native language is a particular sea monster dialect of Italian, he's just been assuming everyone's been speaking to him in Italian this entire time.

"I guess brining? I'm guessing that's what it's called when the salt's throughout the food instead of just on top? Growing up, all my food was technically soaked in saltwater, since...you know..."

He lived underwater, after all.

"Yeah! I never even tasted sweet until I came out of the water, but I've had a lot of sweets since, and they're really good!"

So far, he hadn't been told where Luca was from exactly, though he was of the opinion he was within his rights to ask. It was jut that asking questions usually meant showing enough interest to become attached, and he had enough of that these days. Still, the kid was a little unprepared minnow in the shit sea of blood-magic life.

"I take it that you're Italian then. I'm Latino-American," he said simply, since that was or should be common knowledge about himself. It's why he could speak to Luz in Spanish without any trouble. Of course, because of the dialect translators of this place, he had to choose his native tongue on purpose.

"Yeah, since you're a little merman," he agreed. Brining made sense. "I suppose I'll research a recipe for some Italian food then."

Oh Luca you sweet summer child... this was only encouraging him to make sweets. Maybe it was better than murder, but that was cutting it close.

"Well, maybe more will appear for you to try in future."

"I am, yeah."

Well, technically he's from off the coast of Italy, but he figures Reaper has already gathered that so there's not much need to clarify. He still experienced Italian food before any other human food, so that's what he's most familiar with (aside from raw fish wrapped in seaweed).

"Really? Thanks!"

He always enjoys Reaper's cooking no matter what he makes, so he knows it will be good. It just makes it even more special that he's going to be making something specifically because Luca likes it.

Then, when he mentions more sweets appearing, Luca lets out a happy little sound.

"Great! I can't wait!"

He wasn't so certain about making his own pasta, but it might be interesting to make something of that culture. There were plenty of ingredients that he didn't get to use much, and largely he found it difficult to find some here in Trench. It wasn't exactly set up to be a hub of food experience.

"It seems we are set."

He supposed he needed more to occupy his time, since who knew how long his lungs would need to fully heal. Besides, sleep was not something that he undertook much usually.

"Good. I'll think of something."

"Great!"

Then he looks at Reaper. He knows getting to shore had been tough for him, so Luca had figured he'd need recovery time, but he's still looking pretty wiped out.

"Do you need help getting back to the house?"

He was slowly collecting his wits about him, and he knew the distance from the beach to Disaster House was going to be an issue. He had planned on smoking his way there, but now that he was on shore and drying off, he wasn't so certain that would be a form that he could maintain for the length of time it would take. Plus wind could be problematic.

"I might. It doesn't feel like my abilities are fully sorted." Meaning he didn't trust them. He made an attempt to push himself to his feet and failed. Then he made it on a second try, but he proved to be wobbly and out of breath already.

Seeing Reaper fail on the first attempt to get to his feet, and being so wobbly on the second attempt convinced Luca. Reaper definitely needs his help, so Luca hurried out of the water, going to Reaper's side and offering a shoulder to lean on. Sure, Luca's only 4'7 so there's quite the height difference there, but he figures he should still be able to help to some degree.

"Come on, I'll help."

He would make it... eventually. He growled as Luca moved in to assistant, and well, after that he didn't protest. He steadied with the help and managed a few wobbly steps in the direction of the Disaster House. It would be slow going, but he'd get there.

Problem was he was kind of not able to form his own clothing yet. It was unfortunate.

"If you get tired, let me know." Saving face.

"I will."

Then, after a moment, he adds, "I saw some booths selling clothing when I first got here, I wonder if they're still there."

Since people showing up as squids is a pretty regular occurrence in this place, Luca figures they're probably not too unused to seeing naked people here, but it might get more awkward once they're going through a particularly conservatively dressed town with Reaper wearing...well, what a squid wears.

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Few Regrets (Open)

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