[004] Let me be your everlasting light

[themuseabandonsyou]

Who: Orpheus (themuseabandonsyou)
What: February Catch-all
When: Throughout February
Where: Earworm, Willful Machine, Cellar Door

Warnings: Potential mild sexual/suggestive content, mild body horror (partial beasthood), giant worm/slug being, background use of drugs/alcohol, discussion of NPC death (trampling), mild blood, transformative magical effects


I. Your sun when there is none
( cw: Potential mild sexual/suggestive content, mild body horror (partial beasthood), giant worm/slug being, background use of drugs/alcohol ) ( closed to Vyng and Eurydice )

The descent into Earworm from the aboveground entrance is... a little nervewracking! As a rule Orpheus tries to stay away from being underground whenever possible these days, but he guesses if Lady Bop really wanted to build her club miles deep that's sort of her prerogative? It's a sacrifice he's willing to make for the sake of trying to figure out how to make life her a little safer, at least, though as he, Vyng, and Eurydice descend he seems deeply torn at all times between wanting to glance at his wife to check on her and very much not wanting to do that. It's fine, he knows, but years of nightmares about being in the dark of the underground with her have taken their toll.

In any case, when they do finally make it there - sooner than Orpheus expected but also not nearly soon enough - and the doors to the great cavernous expanse of the club itself swing open, they're met with a veritable wall of noise. Orpheus flinches away from it, but somehow it seems to adjust down to more manageable levels, fading gently until it's a more tolerable sort of loud. Glancing around, he tries to take in as much of it as he can at a first look. It's a little hard to pay attention to much else other than the gigantic, sluglike being from which all the music seems to be emanating, though, and Orpheus stares for a long moment before trying to get the rest of his bearings. The club isn't as busy as it could be, but there's still quite a few citizens dancing and sitting in booths and at the bar for this early in the day, being served by similarly sluggy people carrying trays of drinks and bar food. The doorways lining the back wall are what catch his attention, though, posters and signs portraying people in various states of beasthood posing suggestively and winking or blowing kisses at the viewer.

He looks to Eurydice and Vyng. "Let's split up?" he says, loud enough to be heard over the throbbing percussion of Lady Bop's current song. "We'll meet up later and talk about what we find."

And with that, absolutely failing to elaborate on what he means by 'later,' he makes his way off in the direction of the stage, disappearing into the crowd. About an hour passes before he bumps into either Vyng or Eurydice again.

"I couldn't get an audience with Lady Bop?" he says, pulling them aside. "But I did talk to a few of the dancers! Oh, but what did you find?"

(There is, of course, also nothing stopping them from reconvening before Orpheus turns up again.)

II. I'm a shepherd for you
( closed to Manabu )

Orpheus does a fair amount of wandering, most days. He doesn't tend to work until afternoon and evening, entertaining at various cafes and bars in Cellar Door, but he's always been an early riser, so that tends to leave his mornings fairly open once he gets done with his chores around the house. To his credit, he has been much more careful about where he wanders recently, sticking to crowded-but-not-too-crowded thoroughfares and keeping Eurydice updated on his location via the Omni regularly, and is just taking a blurry photograph of an interesting looking storefront in Willful Machine for her when he nearly bumps into Manabu.

"Oh!" he says, backing up and fumbling with the Omni so as not to drop it before stuffing it back into his pocket. "Hi, Manabu! It's nice to see you again."

Sidestepping to get out of the way of the foot traffic and gesturing for the other man to follow, he beams, obviously pleased to see his friend again.

"What have you been up to recently? It's been a little while, hasn't it?"

III. And I'll guide you through
( cw: discussion of NPC death (trampling) ) ( OTA )

Another day means yet more wandering, and is proving to be mostly uneventful and sort of dreary to the point where Orpheus is considering turning around and going back home for risk of rain, right up until he spots them.

By all appearances, they're just a random Trenchie, all dressed in black frills and silver accents, but Orpheus stops dead in his tracks when he sees them, eyes flickering with a faint glow like an animal's eyes in the dark. They don't notice him staring at first, but it's hard to ignore when he darts across the street - forcing a horse-drawn carriage to stop short and takes them by the shoulders. The world around him seems to grow dimmer, shades of night drawing in and more reflective, subtle pinpoints of light like distant bestial eyes appear around him in pairs, all focused on the poor confused citizen as he begins to sing, almost frantically.

"In the mud and under hoof
Is where the bitter end will come
Try to tame them but they'll prove
More than your your efforts' greatest sum

The herd knows you are watching
The herd knows your intent
The herd has been so patient
But the last of it is spent

In the blood and under hoof
Is where the bitter end will come
The stallion that gets loose
Will end your days under the sun"

The Trenchie looks, rightfully, absolutely terrified by all this. Maybe someone should intervene.

IV. Let me be your everlasting light
( cw: mild blood, transformative magical effects ) ( OTA )

Ordinarily even Orpheus would be sort of wary about the notion of taking candy from eldritch strangers in exchange for his blood - he's trusting, but he's not that bad - but there is not anything remotely ordinary about the Chocolatier. As it stands, he winds up with a very small box of chocolates, and less blood in him than before, which he does feel a little bit worried about now that the strange figure is gone, actually, but there's no turning back now, he guesses? Curious and also feeling a little woozy after all of that, he considers one carefully before nibbling at it, intending to savor it like he tries to do with all sweets.

It's gone before he knows it, though, and with it comes an odd prickling sensation all over his skin. He looks down at his hands, watching as his fingernails elongate and thicken into hooked talons and the skin of his hands and forearms grow leathery and scaly. Feathers start to unfurl from his skin, along his upper arms and chest and cheekbones, and he feels a sudden pressure at his back growing stronger by the second - prompting him to hurriedly strip out of his jacket and shirt before a pair of large brown wings unfurl from his shoulders. He blinks, startled, before starting to laugh.

"Oh! It's this again," he says to himself, kicking off his shoes so as to avoid them being destroyed by more talons coming in. He seems in good spirits about it, and that continues as he makes his way to one of Cellar Door's parks, whistling a cheerful melody to himself.

V. Wildcard
T( OTA )

[ OOC: Want something else? Feel free to add me at questionableveracity on plurk or message me at quodVide#2951 on Discord!! ]

Comments

[themuseabandonsyou]

"Yes! The, um. Most of the people around here don't seem to like them very much, but I think that's probably just because they're kind of different."

And sailors usually are kind of different in his experience, even when the ocean isn't an eldritch being unto itself, filled with other eldritch beings. It's understandable that anyone might get a little eccentric, spending so much time out there.

"Oh, but, you might also want to talk to the Dog Keeper, if you're exploring by land! He's out in Trenchwood now, looking after people who get lost. He probably knows a lot about navigating and surviving out there, by now."

[siriusly]

"Eh?" Manabu blinks, just about to sip, but stops as he hears the name.

"Wait...wasn't that guy...?" He frowns, brow furrowing. "Was that a thing before? In the dream? Or am I misremembering. There were a lot of dogs there..."

[themuseabandonsyou]

Orpheus nods. "Yes!" he says. "He survived the dream, and now he's here. I think he might be immortal now? There's a handful of people from Deerington - the real one, that came before the dream - who are like that now."

Which... he realizes belatedly might be a big thing to drop on someone with little preamble, but there it is, he guesses. He watches Manabu's reaction carefully, knowing that he tended to take the more confusing aspects of Deerington kind of hard.

"But, um, yes. If you've seen the big dogs that the locals call hellhounds around, those are his. I think they're a little scary, but apparently they're really smart and strong, and just good to have around if you're going anywhere dangerous. Maybe he'll send some with you on your expedition if you ask?"

[siriusly]

Manabu really got the short end of the stick when it came to that dream: Dropping in right as all hell was starting to break loose, when all the conventions everyone else was reliant on were crumbling...it all made most everything unreliable and hard to accept. Even now, removed from it yet still undeniably affected: He's only got that one good eye left, after all.

They WOULD be called hellhounds, he thinks flatly, resting his chin on one hand as he lets out an acknowledging sound.

"You think so? Is a guy like that interested in helping us out anymore? Especially if he's gonna go and live forever."

[themuseabandonsyou]

Orpheus looks more than a little confused by the question, brows furrowing.

"Why wouldn't he be?" he asks, frowning thoughtfully. "Do you think immortality would stop someone from wanting to help others?"

Because - well, admittedly, a lot of Orpheus's extended family is less concerned with the affairs of mortals than they probably should be, but plenty of them do their best to stay involved, for better or worse. He sort of figures it has less to do with their longevity and more to do with how some people are just prone to getting caught up in their own business more so than others.

[siriusly]

"..."

Manabu opens and closes his mouth without an immediate reply, caught less by the question and more...that it had to be asked. Why would I even assume that? he wonders, taking a sip for the sake of filling space.

"...Sorry. It's no good to assume the worst like that, right?" He forces an apologetic kind of smile. "And it's better to hope for the best anyway, ye-yeah?"

[themuseabandonsyou]

"Oh, don't worry about it," says Orpheus, though he still seems a little confused.

"I guess it's just that most of the immortal people I've met are more helpful than not? Even here, some of the Pthumerians seem interested in helping us mortals, especially the ones that preside over the different months. But I guess that might not be the case everywhere."

He shakes his head.

"Anyway, the Dog Keeper helped us out a lot back in Deerington, and it sounds like he's still helping people here. I wouldn't worry about him."

[siriusly]

His response at first is just an affirmative sound while he's taking another sip before he sets the now-empty cup down.

"Then I'll consider reaching out, just to see. From...what I've researched so far, it sounds like it's going to be one uphill climb." His expression hardens, determined. "But I'm still gonna do it. We have to know. The rest of the planet...we have to know what it's like... And if it could ever be connected to the rest of the railway."

His now-empty hands at rest on the table clench.

"Because that could mean...people could finally see their homes again."

[themuseabandonsyou]

"Right. Just because something is hard, doesn't mean it's worth doing," says Orpheus, brightly. "And - the railway? Oh, right, you said you got between planets by train, where you come from, right?"

Or something like that, at least. Orpheus didn't really understand it at the time, but he's accepted that, as someone who barely understands how the seasons work when there are no gods around to set them in motion. Some things are just going to be beyond his grasp.

"Do you think that could work? That other Sleepers' homes are..." he gestures, pointing upwards at the sky. "Out there? I know Maul is from another galaxy, but so many of us seem to be from Earth, but... not the same Earth. Different times, or history not lining up the same way."

[siriusly]

That's right...it's not as simple as connecting dots like constellations in a single sky. Manabu's aware - more than aware.

"It still has to be possible," he says softly, eyes down on his cup. "Before the dream and this place...my galaxy crossed paths with an entirely different dimension! And we're all...pulled from different places and times entirely. Time Knots aren't new, just...tricky.

"It has to be."

The fact they're all here together at all is proof enough for Manabu.

[themuseabandonsyou]

"Wow, really?"

Orpheus looks more than a little surprised to hear that. This might be the first time he's heard of dimensions crossing before outside of Deerington and Trench. He guesses in a way that makes sense - if it's something that's not unique to Julia or the Pthumerians, but something that could occur through other circumstances too.

"I don't think you've told me about that before. How did it work, where you came from? Was it like here, where people just started showing up from somewhere else?"

[siriusly]

"Oh, um--"

Manabu sits back, mouth pulling in a dubious tilt.

"I guess...I don't really know. It happened pretty fast, pretty chaotic..." His eyes wince. "And the people who came through...did it to try and hurt us. Or help stop the ones trying to hurt us."

[themuseabandonsyou]

"Oh," says Orpheus, frowning thoughtfully, brows knitting together as something occurs to him. "But... they did it on purpose, then? Which means it's possible, for more than just the Pthumerians to move people between different dimensions like that."

It sounds promising, at least! Maybe not as much as it might if that sort of power was in the hands of an ally and not an enemy, which it sounds like Manabu is saying was the case, but it's something!

"I'm sorry something like that happened, though. That sounds really serious. I hope things turned out all right?"

[siriusly]

As Orpheus says his hopes, Manabu's throwing back the last of the tea and setting the cup back down in-between his hands, his gaze still on it.

"We lost...a lot of good people along the way," he says, his tone somber. "Irreplaceable people. But they died doing what they believed in. Protecting people. The railway. It's more than I can ever hope to do now, being where I am, but... That just means I should work even harder. If there's even a small chance to bring people here the hope to see their homes again...I have that duty as an officer of the SDF."

He looks up, smiling faintly.

"I'd never be able to face them again if I didn't, you know?"

[themuseabandonsyou]

Orpheus cocks his head to the side slightly, taking in what Manabu is saying. Something about it strikes him as a little... Off? Worrisome? He can't quite define it. There's honor in duty, to be sure, but the way he phrases it - that death in the line of duty is something he can't hope for here, that he wouldn't be able to face the others without all of this to show for it - has Orpheus a sort of concerned, and it's writ plain on his face.

"Don't you think that's being a little hard on yourself?" he asks. "I mean, um. Hold on."

Let him put his thoughts in some sort of order before he starts speaking. He pauses, doing just that, and continues.

"I think what you're doing is really important, and I think there are a lot of people who would really like to be able to go home! I definitely don't mean to question that. But, um. It just seems like a heavy burden to bear, putting that all on yourself like that."

[siriusly]

Manabu looks back at him with a little frown, plainly not understanding his concern. It's only until the last part - all on yourself - hits that he realizes and nods.

"Aa, well! I mean, all the up-front work? I think I'm responsible for that anyway, since I need to be sure I've done the best I can to ensure I'm not leading anyone on a bad mission. But I won't go exploring alone! Out beyond Trench, I mean. And whatever comes of that..." He shrugs.

"I guess...I guess I won't know until I get that far."

[themuseabandonsyou]

Orpheus keeps frowning. That's not what he meant, exactly, but it takes him another moment of careful thought to try to put it into words.

"Right!" he says, brows furrowed. "And I'm glad, that you're not going alone, and that you're putting so much work and thought into this. It's good that you're doing that. But I just think it's a lot, to say you wouldn't be able to face the others, or wouldn't be living up to your role as an officer of the SDP. Like, um..."

He drums his fingers on the table, trying to put it together.

"It's important to help people, and this is definitely a good way to do it, but it sounds like you might be hanging a lot of how you see yourself on that. Will you be okay, if it doesn't turn out?"

[siriusly]

Eh...?

Manabu blinks, his expression shifting from quizzical to pensive as he considers the question. Impulse would have him dismiss concerns politely - as one does - and roll with the punches down the line when it was time. But Orpheus' genuineness gives him a moment of pause and cause to consider the remark more mindfully.

Hanging a lot of how I see myself on it, huh...

"I..." Dang.

Dang.

Under the table, Magnet gives a little growl-ruff.

"I mean...I really have to be," he says slowly, though his tone and expression leave plenty of room to argue; he almost welcomes it in some unconscious way. "I mean...how else can I keep moving forward if I'm just going to crumple the first time something goes wrong?

"It wouldn't...be the first time, anyway. So."

[themuseabandonsyou]

That's really all Orpheus can ask for, that acknowledgment. He's still concerned, but he smiles again, nodding.

"Good," he says. "I just hate to think you'd see yourself as, um. Unworthy? Or lesser, or anything, because of any of this. You're a good person, and you care a lot about people, but sometimes fixing someone's roof or taking the time to talk or even just looking after yourself and enjoying the day can be just as important as the bigger things, like trying to find a way out of here."

He beams, pausing to take a sip of his drink.

"Whatever you do, however it turns out, I'm sure it would make your fellow officers proud to have you."

[siriusly]

Manabu's head dips, weighed down by sheepishness that he can't do much with but try and laugh off. Really, facing those kinds of remarks head-on isn't something he's good on doing. Compliments, that is. Especially when spoken so genuinely like that! Jeez, Orpheus! Is this how all guys talk on your planet?!

"That-that's a nice thought," he replies, rubbing the back of his head. "Thanks, Orpheus. I...I'm getting better about...keeping tabs on what I can and can't do to make a difference. As much as I want to do big things, I...I know it's not so simple. Especially alone. So..." He straightens up, shrugging his shoulders. "So roof-fixing will still happen! You'll know who to ask if you need a patch-up, eheh..."

[themuseabandonsyou]

Again, Orpheus nods, glad to hear this is something he's put some thought into already.

"Of course! It's good to strive for great things, but that's not what makes you worthy - of respect or in general. There's a lot of worth in doing little, everyday things, too, and that should be recognized."

There's a lot of worth in simply being, really, is what Orpheus thinks, but he knows the type of person Manabu seems to be. Happiest when they're helping, perpetually unsatisfied when they're not. It's an admirable way to be, but a difficult one, and he figures talking about the value of smaller, less grand acts is an easier way to get through to him than trying to argue for his inherent value independent of his deeds right away. He smiles.

"So if I ever need help with my house, I'll definitely be sure to ask you. Assuming you aren't too busy with something more important, I mean."

[siriusly]

Manabu breathes out a sheepish little laugh.

"I-I'm sure I would have the time! I mean, we're...we're friends, right?" Maybe? He could just be assuming things, given how little time they've spent together that wasn't...fraught.

Foul-weather friends, maybe...?

[themuseabandonsyou]

"Of course!" says Orpheus, who's considered the two of them friends pretty much since the first five minutes they knew each other. Possibly two minutes. "I wouldn't want to take you away from any of your bigger projects just for that, though. Which, um, I'd offer to help with, but I think I'd mostly just get in the way."

It isn't that Orpheus is a total stranger to dangerous situations, but his track record with them mostly involves either getting hurried out of the way as soon as the trouble starts or simply taking the beating and hoping for the best. Probably not the best approach to take to an exploratory mission.

[siriusly]

He tilts his head, his smile kind of pained.

"I mean...who saved who back there? Back in the dream." Actually, that brings up a good thought, and he pivots right away to it. "Can you still do that? Change into animals and stuff."

[themuseabandonsyou]

That is a good thought, and Orpheus is summarily distracted by it. He thinks for a moment, before shaking his head.

"I don't think so? I haven't tried very hard, but it just doesn't seem like the power is there anymore. I think it was something Ramona Derwin was doing for us, back in the Dream, and now that we're here and she's... wherever she is, it's gone."

Which is sort of a shame. The implications of it more than the loss itself - being a deer had been kind of distressing honestly and he doesn't miss it, but the way reality has shifted around them and the fact that he just isn't sure what exactly happened to Ramona after they all woke up does worry him.