Oh, Mama, I've been years on the lam

[returncoat]

Who: Alvin, currently wide open with closed starters available on request
What: A catch-all log for the whole month April, now including (1) wandering through the moonlit fog and (2) adventures beyond the Blessed Are the Curious ▲-marked (age-down/fix-it) arch; more to come as events develop
When: April 1st-30th
Where: Trench and the Trenchwoods (and the worlds beyond the arches)

Content Warnings: Threat of gun violence/child wielding a gun in II-C; will warn for other content in subject headers as they come up


I. TRENCH

I-A. (Put an end to my running) (Open)

[Alvin wouldn't think much about the first few days of constant darkness--hey, it's foggy, some places are just like this in spring--were it not for the moon. As he patrols the streets of Crenshaw and Willful Machine, fulfilling his current duties as a Hunter during what should, by all measures, be daylight, he drinks in the moon's soft, green glow. In a way, it almost feels almost like home.

Almost. Until something barrels through the fog, making it roil and rise between the buildings and exposing the pure moonlight in patches. Tensing, Alvin grabs the hilt of his sword, but whatever gusted through the streets makes no further appearance.

He relaxes, then stiffens as he hears a new set of footsteps. When it's just another resident of the city, he sighs and holds his left hand to stretch it, keeping it loose and limber in the sunless chill.]

Hey there. Sure is some weather we're having. [Alvin nods at the still-settling fog.] You didn't happen to get a look at whatever that was, did you?



II. BLESSED ARE THE CURIOUS (▲)

II-A. (I'm so far from my home) (Open)

['Also, I don't want to look after Leticia anymore. And I want you to tell Exodus to leave me alone.'

Alvin's expression as he stares at the woman speaking to him is flat and impenetrable. They stand outside an apartment in a cliffside city, bustling and decorated as if for a parade, but that celebratory air doesn't reach this landing. Another small knot of people linger nearby, just far enough to act like they aren't listening.

Without breaking eye contact with the woman, Alvin rubs the back of his head, his gaze still less giving than the smooth surface of a stone. Then he shrugs.]

Yeah, all right. Guess I can finally let you off the hook, doc.

[The woman blinks rapidly, shifting onto her back foot. 'W-what?' The others standing around look surprised, too, especially when Alvin turns towards them.]

What? It's not like I can trust Exodus to look after dear old Mommy and me, after what happened here and in Labari Hollow. [He levels a narrowed, dispassionate look at the doctor.] And it's not like I can trust her, either. Not when she so clearly wants out. Who knows what a woman like her could do, left to her own devices?

[He says it staring straight at her, knowing exactly what she could do, left to her own devices. Then he looks at the rest of his party and shrugs again.]

Besides, you're practically a doctor, aren't you, Jude? [The eyes of a diffident, dark-haired boy among them widen even further.] I think I'd rather rely on the honor of an honors student than on someone like Isla. If I steal some of the medicine my mother needs from Exodus, do you think you could study it and work out a treatment for her?

[At this point, reality must sink in for Isla, because she covers her mouth and starts to weep. Alvin ignores her to answer some questions for Jude, who visibly grows more excited about the idea of helping someone. Isla runs off, and the other party members gradually gravitate towards Jude, finally giving Alvin a moment to slip away and rejoin whoever's joined him on this journey.]

...Whoo-ee. That's two or three things off my conscience right there.

[He looks a little lighter, maybe even a little younger. He offers a wryly self-conscious half-smile, linking his hands behind his head.]

So, where to? Pretty sure this makes it your turn. Got something in mind to do next?

((This is the prompt to choose if you want to take Alvin along on your character's fix-it adventure! The age-down effect can happen at whatever pace we like or we don't have to play with it at all.))


II-B. (Oh, Mama, I can hear you a-cryin') (Open)

[By the time Alvin returns to his mother's cliffside apartment, he's a teenager at best, perhaps even younger. He lets himself in, runs a hand back through his even now purposefully-tousled hair, and comes to stand at the bedridden woman's side.]

...Hey, Leticia. I'm back.

[Alvin's mother slowly blinks her eyes open, slowly tracks the sound of Alvin's voice. Slowly, softly, like sunlight edging the outline of once-endless cloud, Leticia finds her smile.

'Alfred.'

Alvin's eyes shoot wide open.

'My dear, dear boy. You've gotten so tall since I saw you last... But do you really think you're so grown up, you have to call your own mother by name?'

He opens his mouth, but none of his questions come out. Instead, a lump settles in his throat so huge and heavy, it drives him onto his knees, suddenly wobbly in the face of her recognition. Alvin searches for her hand beneath the blankets, clings to it with his younger, smaller hand. He draws a wet breath that threatens tears.]

Mom.

[Leticia lets him hold her hand and frees the other so she can stroke her son's brown, just-too-long hair.

'My boy. I missed you, too.'

And she just continues to hold him there, not really noticing in her hazy contentment how he continues to shrink.]


II-C. (You're so scared and all alone) (Open; CW: threat of gun violence, child wielding a gun)

[A child tears through the grandiose decks of a cruise ship, dodging the other well-heeled passengers on his way to the bridge.]

Stop this ship! We have to turn it around!

[He's chased by two young men: one is clearly his father, almost the spitting image of the Alvin people might know in Deer Country, and the other's in his mid-teens. The first finally catches him--literally--locking arms around his little chest and scooping him up into the air. The boy pushes and kicks to little effect.]

No! Let me go!

['Alfred, for goodness's sake, what's gotten into you?'

With a sudden, savage little twist, six- or seven-year-old Alvin jabs his elbow into his father's ribs, grabs at something as he's dropped, and then comes up holding a golden gun. Moving with a fluid expertise no child should have, he loads the gun and raises it, shaking only slightly in his two tiny hands, at his pursuers.]

We have. To go. Back. [He heaves big, gulping breaths and shouts,] Don't you get it? I'm trying to save you!

[Alvin's fear somehow makes the truth tangible: the return arch, the portal back to Deer Country as they know it, lies directly ahead on the airship's path. His fear makes it equally obvious that he does not want to go.]




((Got an idea outside these prompts? Hit me up at asherdashery or on Discord at asherdashery#5061. Happy to write you a starter or for you to comment to this post with a starter of your own!))

Comments

II-C

[violetlies]

[Kokichi probably should've known that following his housemate into a mysterious arch was a bad idea, but something that could be said for both of them is that 'that's a bad idea' seemed to result in what amounted to 'We know, and we're doing it anyway.' Where he's ended up, however, is wholly unfamiliar. An airship. It's like something out of an anime - something Kokichi imagined that were he still putting on the whole evil leader persona to its fullest extent, he would've requested an entire fleet of.

He adjusts the black cap still placed atop his head. Given that he didn't recognize this, perhaps Alvin did. That was most likely, unless it spat them out both onto unknown territory. But, as far as he could tell, Alvin wasn't around. His expression flatlined, glancing around for any idea of where he might be--

And then he hears the voice of a child. A frightened one, too. Immediately, his leader instincts get the better of him, and his attention snaps over in that direction, only to see that the child was being chased by two men. One of them looked unfamiliar, but the other--

He scanned his eyes quickly. No. That wasn't Alvin, even if it looked like him. There were differences here and there, so the best guess he could rationalize is that this is a subconscious manifestation of something or other. Whatever it is, it's related to Alvin. He catches a name. Alfred, that's the child.

Alfred elbows his father in the ribs, and he picks up a golden gun. How he holds it is striking - it's not shaky, it's a pretty fluid pick-up as if he's had to do it before. That's immediately setting off several alarm bells in Kokichi's mind.

"We have. To go. Back. Don't you get it? I'm trying to save you!"

Don't you get it? I'm trying to save you! Kokichi has to refrain from bristling as he watches. Those two sentences in particular strike an uncomfortable chord with him. He averts his eyes for the slightest of moments, and he glances forward- that's a portal. A portal directly ahead.

Either that's genuinely a threat, or that's their way out. Kokichi can't be certain as to which it is, but given how Deer Country tended to make things as difficult as possible whenever it could, he'd assume it's the latter. He swore under his breath.

That meant he had to step in, because obviously this had something to do with Alvin, which means he'd have to be the one talking him down this time.

He walked over, intent behind his expression.]

Hey.

[He speaks up, and now the attention is on him.]

Why don't we talk about this first? No shooting. No sudden movements. We've still got time to make this decision. If you're saving us, it might help to know what you think is going on.

[returncoat]

[When Kokichi breaks into the stand-off, the barrel of the handgun dips slightly. A flash of surprise and recognition pass over the little boy's face, followed by an uneasy, guilty expression, like he's been caught with his hand in the cookie jar--or setting a bad example for the younger kids. Tsk, tsk. Alvin--Alfred--swallows it down and chooses not to give himself away any further by naming his housemate. Instead, he meets each person who's come to stare at him with a square, determined gaze.

A voice crackles over the ship's speakers. 'Hello. This is your captain speaking. We're seeing some clouds ahead of us, and while we don't expect more than mild turbulence, we encourage all E.S.S. Zenethra passengers to leave the upper decks and return to their cabins. Your comfort and safety are our top priority. Thank you.'

Up here on the topmost deck, exposed to the whole of the sky, the wind begins to rise, tugging only gently still at perfectly styled hair and coattails.

Alvin's voice is as low as a scared child's can be and still be heard.]

I know what's going on. What's going to happen to everyone on this ship.

[The boy takes a deep breath to steady himself and continues:]

If we don't turn around, we're gonna crash. Onto another world. Most of you die-- [He says this looking directly up at his father.] --and the rest of us... we have to live there, with nothing, hunted by things we can't even see. You leave me and mother to survive that alone--worse than alone!

[He aims that at the teenager beside his father, venomous in his vehemence. Rather than elaborate, though, Alvin looks at Kokichi again. The gun is shaking, now, a little.]

It doesn't have to happen like this. You get it, right? If I can fix it here, none of it has to happen. I just have to get them to go home.

[violetlies]

[The kid looks surprised - surprised looking at him, because there's a glimmer of recognition there. Then he looks guilty. Kokichi's expression doesn't waver, but he understands now, better, in the back of his head - so the kid knows who I am. So that is most likely his housemate.

The kid speaks with confidence, saying that he knows what's going on, he knows they're going to crash and die, there's some kind of vengefulness at that teenager...and he can change all of that.]

And how do you know all this? Is it because it's happened before?

[The exactness of Kokichi's tone is hard to ignore. This is a situation of someone lying to themselves, more than anything, or at least that's what he can figure. And as a master liar...he hates when people lie to themselves the most. It won't ever help them. It won't ever solve anything. It's just a delusion, and it's harmful, and it only leads to bigger spirals.

He's not the absolute best person to handle a scenario like this. He's not Shuichi, or anything, who'd probably be able to gently present some kind of convincing argument on the spot that solved every problem. He's not Kaito, who would go in do-or-die and take the most direct route of just taking that gun and delivering some kind of motivating something-or-other that would probably be equally as infuriating as it is endearing in a weird way in Kokichi's mind.

He's Kokichi. Someone who is known for being a liar, and not the easiest to get along with, and not someone to mince words when a situation is dire.]

No matter what you do, you can't 'fix' things that have already happened. That's not how life works. It does, in fact, have to happen like this, or I wouldn't be standing here right now delivering any kind of argument at all. You know that, even if you don't want to.

[He doesn't expect this to go over well. At all. It's not going to be that easy, he can imagine.]

And that's the truth.

i

[torpour]

[of all the people to come across... nehan sighs, and shakes his head.]

Likely just moths. [and nehan is inclined to think that, given the unofficial (or official?) king of months is attached to the front of his fluffy green cardigan, the erune supporting the pthumerian with an arm underneath the fuzzy bug body. behind him are two beasts-- one a grey wolf, almost normal except for its sunshine yellow eyes, and something that can only be described as a monster ferret on fire. nehan's entourage is a menagerie of fur.]

You're that tense from seeing fluttering insects around?

[returncoat]

[No way is Alvin going to look jumpier than this guy. He blows out a sigh, too, and puts his hands on his hips.]

I'm not tense, I'm on duty. Keeping our fair city safe from whatever lurks in this... almost literal pea soup. The least I can do is be alert.

[A beat.]

Dude. What is that?

[The wolf makes sense, the... thing on fire is weird, but he's seen (and fought) similar elemental creatures. Alvin's gaze remains firmly trained on the fuzzball in Nehan's arms.]

[torpour]

Are you so new that you know nothing? [well... nehan does know he's new, but he's dedicated to the ruse that they don't actually know each other.

in response to the pointed question, nehan hikes argonian up his chest a little more, causing the bug-god to squeak and tighten his grip on the fabric. argonian is definitely demanding today, and nehan only has the one arm available for him, when the other is clutched around his new-new crutch. steel rather than wood, in a bid of the architect to counteract the sheer amount of punishments that nehan puts his tools through.]

This is Argonaut, the Patron Pthumerian for the month of April. And he's currently attached to someone whose Day is decidedly not in April.

[that last bit is directed right at the pthumerian himself, nehan looking down at the cat-sized moth.]

[returncoat]

...Well, whatever that means, he's cute.

[So, yes, Alvin is certainly that new. He's still been here less than a month, and his general mode of fake-it-till-you-make-it means he tends not to ask useful questions. He grins, much more at Argonaut than at the Nehangerie in general.]

Day or month or what, he obviously likes you. Isn't that right, buddy?

[torpour]

[nehan has to roll his eyes.]

He's been oddly friendly lately. I never saw much of him in the past, and now he refuses to leave. [then he looks back down at argonaut. he scritches the moth on the head, which earns him soft chitters.]

You should go to the big, strong human. He has two arms to carry you with.

[then nehan takes an unsubtle glance up at alvin, before he looks back down.]

Looks like he gets into trouble as well-- he could do with a bit of your healing.

[returncoat]

You don't know that!

[To his shame and horror, he notices tears pricking his eyes. Damn it, he was a crybaby at this age, but he can't deal with it now, not when everyone's lives--his dad's, Alvin's own life and his mother's, every soul aboard this ship--hangs on his determination, his ability, to change the outcome of this trip. He sniffs loudly and otherwise shoves the emotion down.]

You don't know how it works here. You haven't been here any longer than I have! This should already be impossible, but we're here anyway!

[He tries to spread his arms wide, encompassing this entire scene from his past, but the gun in his hand is too heavy, heavier than it was before. Alvin fumbles to support it with both hands again and somehow manages.

He's smaller than before. Even younger. The teenager Alvin glared at seems as consternated as before, but Alvin's father notices. His eyebrows draw low with new concern even as he holds an arm out to keep the teen back. Alvin gives his head a fierce shake.]

Howe's Egg Principle! If it isn't impossible, it doesn't have to be eliminated, right? So what's wrong with trying?!

[Amidst all this, Alvin's father takes one step forward, ignoring the gun--his own gun--as Alvin resumes pointing it at his chest. All business, stern with worry, he addresses Kokichi directly.

'Young man. Do you know what is happening to my son?']

[returncoat]

Hey. I'm perfectly fine, thanks.

[No thanks to Nehan. He's okay now, but damn, the bruising from that punch took a while to fade.]

He's... something like a spirit, right? Little Mr. Bug-Eyes there. [Alvin shrugs and clasps his hands behind his head.] If he is, it'd make sense for him to stick to you over me. You must have more mana, or--whatever they call it here, magic--than my lowly human self can produce. ...Or maybe he's only clinging to you because you're almost as fuzzy as he is.

[Adorbs, if true.]

[torpour]

He's a Pthumerian, not a spirit. Yes, he can act like a guardian spirit to people but he's not one. [again, lecturing. lecturing while he crooks a finger at argonaut and tries to bait the critter into grabbing at it. but the ferret on fire gets jealous and demands pets as well-- and nehan has to oblige.] Pthumerians are otherworldly. They just do what they want to do, I've found.

It has nothing to do with... Magic. [then, nehan looks up at the human with a scowl.] Or my clothing.

[that's not what alvin was talking about, but okay.]

[returncoat]

Then I was right the first time. He's just taken a shine to you.

[Watching Nehan dispense attention to his walking bestiary is infinitely more fun than paying attention to his lecturing. Alvin makes no effort to hide the teasing in his voice.]

Not hard to see why. Soft for furry companionship, are you?

[torpour]

Don't be so eccentric. [nehan returns his wriggling fingers back to the moth clinging to his front, and manages to entice the tiny, furry god into crawling on it instead. then he holds that arm out to alvin.]

There, take him. Let me have a break from carrying him around all the time.

[returncoat]

Uh, I'm really more of a cat person...

[Still, after a pause, he offers one unsure arm. The bug can't weigh that much, but he knows Nehan's got his physical struggles, and maybe he feels a little bad for shoving him around down in the tombs.

If this is some kind of trick, Alvin probably deserves it, is all.]

[torpour]

That only applies to your preference in pets, surely you know that?

[argonaut doesn't want to move, but then nehan tickles him in the abdomen, and the moth scuttles onto alvin's arm. the pthumerian, despite being the size of a cat, is light. far too light, and fragile, really. he seems to weight almost nothing, even if his feelers and legs do feel like something on the skin.]

There, protect him properly.

[returncoat]

[As traitorous and selfish an overgrown child as Alvin may be, he has never been immune to the need to protect the small. His face twitches as it attempts to soften despite himself, and he finally sighs and lets his expression resolve into a wry, awkward smile over the little Pthumerian.]

All right, all right. Fine.

[He brings Argonaut close enough to cling to Alvin's scarf and supports his infinitesimal weight with both arms, careful not to squish.]

Sorry if I'm not as warm as he was, little buddy. I'm full of weird, new blood. You know how it is.

[He even risks a careful little knuckle rub under Argonaut's chin, as though he really is a cat. To Nehan, he says:]

Where are you off to? I can walk you there and give this guy back at the end. I am supposed to be protecting people.

ii a

[arclightning]

[ It's like Deerington all over again. Hazy doorways to other worlds, the temptation to follow people into their glimmering light. Mako hardly remembers actually doing it, was just out in the woods making sure the safehouses were all banked up against the fog and the night, that they were well-enough lit to mark the way.

He'd followed an unfamiliar shape through the arch in something like a fever dream and now here he is, in a cliffside city he's never seen, watching a man he barely knows sort out the details of his life.

It's nice. A little neat. The kid is so clearly excited to help, so ready to do something good. Mako can't help but wonder what happened here the first time, what thing has shifted to take a weight so very visibly off his companion's shoulders.

He's lost enough in thought, watching Jude and everyone around him, wondering about the lengths people will go to help each other, that he kind of startles when he realizes Alvin's talking to him about him, and looks over with a small frown. ]

I, uh.

[ His throat works. My turn. His turn to try and change something. Will they even...

Worth a shot says a little voice in his head that sounds suspiciously like his brother, and Mako sighs, his mouth twisting. After a moment, he inclines his head. ]

This way. If this is anything like the dream, the people I'm looking for should just... turn up.

[ But even as they move, he can't help but ask: ]

Your mom gonna be okay, after that?

[returncoat]

[Alvin's expression sobers at the question, and he doesn't answer immediately. He walks along without looking at his companion, as quiet as if doing long division in his head, before finally heaving a sigh.]

...Who knows. All I can say is, it's gotta be better than what happened before.

[With that, he finally glances at Mako, blinks, and tilts his head a little.]

You know, I've seen you somewhere before.

[He lifts his eyebrows.]

The Raccoon Room, right?

I -A

[expertonshutters]

[The figure approaching Alvin is a masked man in a wacky bug helmet. Of course, Alvin my recognize him by the red scarf around his neck or if this thread takes place after visiting Hayato's arch, that's up to you.]

[If not, the man jogs just up to Alvin and pulls off his helmet, to reveal Hayato underneath. His expression is concerned, to say the least.]

I didn't. I take it you didn't, either?

[returncoat]

[Whether he recognizes the signature scarf or not, Alvin does seem relieved to see Hayato's face beneath the helmet. Perhaps it's because--]

It's hard to make anything out in this fog.

[He adjusts his own scarf as though it's a necktie come askew.]

The dark is one thing, I'm used to that. Even the mood lighting feels like a place I used to live. But this-- [He waves a hand through the still-gently scudding fog.] --isn't exactly ideal for anyone who relies on their eyes to fight, and I'm a gunslinger before anything else.

[expertonshutters]

[Hayato quickly shakes his head.]

I can see pretty well in the dark, and even then, I couldn't make out anything. What's worse is I couldn't hear anything from it either. Like it was some kind of phantom.

[Both of those senses were particularly sharp for him, so that was extremely worrying. Hayato points down the street some.]

I tailed it from a few streets back, but it was fast.

[torpour]

I'm on a personal errand-- around Willful Machine, for supplies to deal with this extended night.

I have a list, in fact. [but he cant procure it right now, because his fire ferret is demanding scritches again, and nehan gives in.

the wolf, on the other hand, disappears, the omen deciding that nehan's in good hands now. he was just around as a bodyguard.]

[returncoat]

...Well, it's not as though ghosts would be weird for this city.

[Y'know. Shit's eerie. There were zombies. Even the Raccoon Room is haunted.]

Any chance it's just for atmosphere?

[returncoat]

Supplies?

[Sweet little Argonaut is now getting all the absent-minded face rubbins a Pthumerian could ask for.]

There something we should be stocking up on in particular? [Already, he's beginning to go over his own home assets.] We'll be good on light and power with the moon charging everything up, at least.

[violetlies]

[He made the kid cry. Usually, that might make him buckle a little, seeing as he's usually the one to jump to the protection of any kid in need, but when he's so thoroughly convinced that that kid is his housemate, he can't buckle now. Not when this is vitally important to work past.

Not when this is him lying to himself.]

For one, the thing wrong with trying is you're literally shrinking!

[And so is he, albeit at a slower rate. Kokichi's attention is drawn to Alvin's father next - he outright questions him. He has to wonder if it'll make any difference answering, since this is all a world of lies, but he's compelled to anyway.]

Yes, sir. I do. ...He's trying to avert a fate that is unavoidable, and he's only going to hurt himself doing it. He's...denying a part of himself. For the safety of everyone else. That never ends well. He's hurting himself with lies to keep bad things from happening, which will just lead to worse things unless he recognizes what he's doing.

[He bites his lip, then lets out a shaky sigh.]

Which is not something I want to see happen to my closest friend around these parts. Not when he's been strong enough to help me before when I needed it most.