House meeting

[no_reload]

Who: Reaper (no_reload), Fern (laminae), Luz (imaglyphwitch), Luca (schoolingfish), Varian (droptheious)
What: Disaster House has a meeting
When: Beginning of November
Where: Disaster House in Cassandra

Content Warnings: Will add as they come up.


[Reaper had taken his time with recovery, which left him trapped in his room for a few days. When it seemed that he could get around without having long episodes of shortness of breath, he appeared more downstairs. That's where he happened to be, settled into a chair with the other occupants of the house.

He knew they had questions, knew that most of them would have to do with Lance's outburst on the network. That wasn't the kid's fault; they didn't always control their Omens. And Lance had been circling the drain for years now, barely holding on. Not the kid's fault. For as long as he had known Lance, the kid had been teetering on the edge of a mental crisis.

However, this wasn't about Lance right now. This was about the household where he resided, and many of the youngsters who lived in it. As the eldest, he knew that his position here was the most tenuous.

So Reaper sat quietly, one ankle crossed over his other knee. He remained in comfortable black clothing, and while situations like these usually had him wearing his mask, he had decided against it. Instead, his scarred face was bare, though he kept his hood up to cover most of his white hair. His gloved hands were folded in his lap, thumbs clasping the mask that he would normally wear. Instead, it lightly tapped against his thigh.]

So, I suppose we should call this meeting to order, hmm?

Comments

[no_reload]

There are plenty of dark souls in this place, but Maul makes himself more apparent than most. [One wasn't a lover to that Zabrak and not knowing exactly what was being dealt with. He wouldn't change Maul at all either.] If you aren't cautious, you will be taken advantage of.

[Reaper had seen, interacted with and been apart of people with long-standing agendas and the power to push those narratives too. They were dangerous, but those with the smiling face and the nice disposition were often those to avoid the most. They were highly dangerous and effective.]

[no_reload]

[Reaper thought of himself as a bit of a different person back then. He didn't have friends, few allies, and he kept to himself on purpose. Losing Moira had been a massive blow to him, since she was the only one that he fully trusted. That it had been broadcast and that it had been Lance made it far, far more complicated.

He had lost a lot of good soldiers, friends, and allies in the past. Moira had always weathered the storm and stood with him. To lose her was to lose everything as far as he was concerned. His last chance at normalcy or just plain a death that would stick.]

Revenge is a cycle I've been living since my first death. Back then, it was all I had. [And that was saying more than he usually would. If Varian wanted more answers for his reasons, he would be more willing in private.]

[imaglyphwitch]

Oh, I know. It's one thing you can count on with Darth Maul: he won't bend on the principals he think work for him.

[Whether they worked for others was another issue, but Luz was certainly not going to think of him as anyone but a person still looking for their truth. She was doing the same thing, but all the same? She still hoped that Darth Maul didn't give in to his worst impulses, and hold out hope that he would at least come to be a little less intense in his way of thinking].

You're right about that. I wish it wasn't that way. I'd like it if I could at least trust Sleepers.

[But Luz knew full well that at the end of the day, she had go with her instincts rather than naivete. One misstep and you'd come to regret it].

But I do want to trust everyone in this house, at least.

[no_reload]

[The whole death thing was definitely something that Reaper had learned to take with a grain of salt for himself. He'd been dying for years now, but this was different. How it would affect other people he had no idea, but most seemed to still view death from the eyes of permanence.]

Yes, that's how old tales are created. Does your world have tales that involve monsters?

[no_reload]

[Ah, no wonder she was here, he thought. Most of the kids here apparently needed to stick together or be adopted.]

Hmm, well, you'll be staying here to this weird attempt at a family, so you aren't an orphan as much anymore.

[That's kind of how his Latino family was anyway. Ready and willing to adopt most people.]

Ah, do you perform ballet?

[no_reload]

He is consistent that way, yes. Best to understand his goals and take the path of least resistance when he's set on his path.

[Very few people would stand a chance against Maul and it wasn't often the Zabrak could be convinced away from a particular course of action. Of course, Reaper knew he could probably convince Maul, but that wasn't something he did often, if at all. He didn't see the point of altering Maul's course after all.]

You can trust them as much as you can trust the rest of humanity. Listen, ask questions and decide for yourself if their principles are something you can rely on.

[She did seem to have naïve, but that was fine. With age came experience. She seemed to have a better head on her shoulders than some.]

That, I believe, you can do.

[imaglyphwitch]

I try.

[Luz knew there would be things about Darth Maul she would never understand. He had a longer time living the way he did than she herself was alive, and he had been on the brink of death many times. He was much older and had seen much more than she had. What she hoped for, more than anything, was that Darth Maul could live his life free of the influence of his Master and the things that made him the assassin he'd been a time ago.

Whatever that made him, well, time would tell].

That's pretty much all I can do. Heck, it's why we're having this meeting.

[That was honestly the thing she wanted to know most].

I'm glad. Nothing matters more to me than making sure that everyone in here is OK.

[schoolingfish]

Well, yeah. I mean, we consider humans monsters because they hunt us, and we have a lot of stories about that. And of course, humans have stories about us being monsters. That's definitely part of why they hunt us. If they're not just doing it for the money, anyway.

[schoolingfish]

Yeah. I like sea folk better.

[He does prefer not being called a monster. It's why he never corrects Luz when she calls him a fish boy, because he thinks 'fish boy' sounds a bit better than literally calling him a monster.]

[danserai]

[ it's not that she minded or was looking for a family . . . but she's grateful all the same. ]

Mmm, I go to a ballet school.

[danserai]

Then you should stick to that if you like it.

[droptheious]

[Varian is still watching Fern with no small amount of concern. He reaches out to squeeze the other boy's shoulders, before turning his attention to Reaper. ]

...I...I guess if one thing that's come out of this it's that we know Lance can handle you too, if we need him too. Assuming of course he will, after...well. The mess.

[He's not sure, it's tricky. He exhales, nodding.]

Thank you.

[schoolingfish]

Right. Okay, I will.

[danserai]

Great!

So I'm gonna use sea folk instead.

[schoolingfish]

Thanks!

[And, now that that's settled...]

And let me know if you need help with anything, like finding where things are in the house and stuff.

[danserai]

Mmm, I will.

[droptheious]

[It's something Varian can understand. Being that close to someone- after all, he tore the kingdom apart when he thought he'd lost his father. ]

...I can understand that. It- well, sometimes it takes time to learn you can have more than that. That...that's not all that there is? [He doesn't push, though. Reaper provided him comfort and privacy on the boat, he can only do the same here, too. ] I hope it feels less like that for you now.

[laminae]

[Fern immediately reaches up, covering Varian's hand with his own for the extra support. It's a small gesture, but it helps ground him a little more.]

Lance shouldn't have to. [Not after that very public breakdown. Even if he sounds like Finn there's no way he can let him go through that again.]

Okay. Thanks.

[no_reload]

[Reaper went silent, schooling his expression to neutrality at Fern's comment. If he couldn't be trusted to keep himself sane, and he couldn't be trusted to have people around him deal with him if he went off, then there was nothing more to add. He had been in enough no-win situations to know when to just stop trying to give solutions.

None of them would be acceptable.

Instead, he pushed himself to his feet carefully, covering over any overt signs that he might not be completely healthy.]

I'll leave then.

[He eased himself around to leave the meeting and head upstairs to grab his items. He was used to having his motivations or his abilities to control himself questioned. Felt like Overwatch all over again.]

[no_reload]

[Reaper liked to think that he knew Maul rather intimately and he could judge what motivations would take precedence over others. Others seemed to find that out the hard way, and usually that just amused him greatly.]

And hopefully the answers here satisfy.

[Ah, she was one of those bleeding hearts, was she? That was going to get her injured or killed someday. He supposed he should make some soup for when that day came.]

Everyone will be fine. Roughed up but fine, chica.

[no_reload]

[It had taken him a lot of time to allow himself to have more than revenge. It helped that Deerington had stolen it from him, and after fuddling around for a few years, he finally just allowed himself the start of an actual life. It remained complicated because he liked it that way, but all the same, it was something.]

I came to Trench to move beyond my revenge. [He came back because he could have his cake and eat it too, so to speak.] I have more than revenge now.

[no_reload]

That's typical. It's easy to dislike and fear what one doesn't understand. [And greed would always factor in somewhere. Someone somewhere would find a way to utilize every little thing.]

At least you are relatively safe here.

[no_reload]

[So a dancer. That would be entertaining. He resisted the urge to offer to make her dance appropriate clothing. He'd wait to see what she had first.]

I suppose you'll need a bit of a dance studio set up for you to continue that, yes?

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz was getting an idea of exactly what motivations Darth Maul would take, and honestly? It was starting to become surprising when he didn't take an action that tended to put him more on the rough side of things].

That's for everyone else's comfort. This is still Fern and Varian's house, after all.

[They been nice enough to let her stay, after all. It just so happened she glomped upon two other kids and tended to try and look after everyone here, even if some of them were older than her].

Here's hoping!

[no_reload]

Yes, it is. They are doing their best to fill it up.

[He had appreciated when they had offered him a place to stay when his borrowed house had been destroyed. He wasn't certain if that offer would remain when he was over here in Trench, but for now, it was good.]