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Post by MP on May 16, 2018 22:22:37 GMT -6
Sohl had been quiet the last few days, hardly more than a flicker through the bond. The silence alone was unusual, for while he rarely pried, he was often curious - a mental question mark that nudged and fluttered politely at the edges of Isaac's louder emotions. This was something else. His thoughts felt more distracted than subdued, and there was something uneasy in the undercurrent of them. The tension of a dog sighting another down a long street. The first stains of summer on an old spring flower.
When asked, he only said that it was nothing - that he was tired or busy or simply thinking. And there it would be: a tiny, squirming something at the edges of his thoughts. It was only peripheral at first, a there and gone flutter as he went about his studies and assignments. He shelved it like a book and poured over it privately in the quiet moments. But it grew in his thoughts as the days went on, cementing into something cold and hovering. And still he said it was nothing while the thought - liar, liar - whispered in the background. But it was nothing. All in his head. It was bow-string tight by the time his thoughts came through one Monday morning.
Isaac? The word was hesitant, almost shy.
There was a pause as Sohl tried to navigate his own thoughts. He seemed to be stepping around something, toeing the edge of it with an averted mental gaze.
If I wanted to see farther - with shadows, I mean. Is that possible? I've been practicing, but I can't see - I need more range. Can you help me? When you have time?
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Post by Sharei on May 17, 2018 14:18:32 GMT -6
I could.
"We could too. Easily!"
Isaac steepled his hands over his desk and stared at the opposite wall of his office. The outline of the door faded in and out of his vision as he turned his thoughts completely inward, ignoring the constant pressure of the Outer Dark, which was so much more active lately than it had been in years. Whatever its intentions were, it seemed bent on speaking with Sohl and continuing a running commentary, especially where it was not welcome. It would have been easier to swallow if it were malicious things, but Isaac had to keep his offense and indignation in check when most of what it talked about were fairly mundane things.
Isaac felt the Outer Dark's attention turn to him briefly. It opened its eyes widely, greedily, toothy mouth smiling. Isaac shivered. Don't think about it. Think about what's going on with Sohl.
I could. But I really must insist that you tell me what's going on, Sohl.
The eye closed. The smile retreated. The Dark focused its attention back on Sohl. Isaac was at once guilty and relieved.
I've never felt your thoughts in such a state before. I want to help you, but I can't if you won't tell me what's going on.
"We don't need to know. I could just show you. Then you can show me what you're reading."
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Post by MP on May 18, 2018 2:48:01 GMT -6
There was a pendulum motion of thought as Sohl debated. His answer swung this way and that - he can tell you for sure; you said you wouldn't - behind its feeble screen. The debate hung there, something fraying in the thoughts. He longed to confide in someone, to be reassured, to be freed of the pent up paranoia. But Father had told him not to tell, and he wasn’t sure how important the order really was. He shouldn’t. He should. If anyone could tell him for sure… The thread snapped.
I found something a few weeks ago, near the harbor while I was working. It felt like... There was a thinking pause. Like a mouse hole when the mouse is away. Father came to look at it, and he said it was just a travel mark, and that they happen sometimes. He was showing me how to mend it, so I didn’t notice right away. But I thought...
There was something frightening about voicing it, even in the confines of his own head. Putting it to words seemed to make it true. Sohl’s mental voice was reasonable as he continued - too much so, trying to talk away the emotion even as he explained.
I thought he was too quiet. He looked at it too long. Does that make sense? At first I thought it was just in my head. I can never read him very well, so I overthink things sometimes. I know that. But later he came and told me that something probably got in. He said he needed to check something, and that I wasn’t in danger as long as I kept my head down. And to keep away from the mouseholes, and to stick to my schedule, and to tell the pack he was working if anyone asked. There was a guilty flush through the bond. I wasn’t supposed to tell. Viktoria came looking, and I told her exactly what he told me to say.
Maybe it was nothing. Maybe. He had so little to go on. Just that pause in Father’s movements, and some nagging intuition.
He said he’ll take care of it, and I believe him. But I also want to check on him. I've been trying to track him and I can't - I don't know where he is. He hasn’t come back to the bunker yet, or to the aerie, or to look over my work like he usually does.
Listed one by one, the damning facts came tumbling back, compounding and ebbing again as he forced them back. They curdled like storm clouds in the background of his thoughts, darkening, thundering distantly. It was silly. He was being silly. But he was sure he’d seen it. Something had been off. Something had been wrong in his father.
It’s been too long, Isaac. He doesn’t answer when I call - he always answers. I’m getting worried is all, Sohl finished lamely, trying at the last and failing to downplay.
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Post by Sharei on May 21, 2018 12:55:45 GMT -6
"We could tell you where he is," the shade hummed, pleased with itself. "We know."
It was with a supreme effort that Isaac ignored the Dark's passive-aggressive antagonism and gently urged Sohl's thoughts to do the same. It was easy to be taken in by quick promises, but the cost was not worth the prize.
It sounds like you did the right thing by coming to me, he said instead, wanting to ease Sohl's discomfort about disobeying Sarkany's request for silence on the matter. When someone goes to investigate something dangerous here in the WDSA, we have regular check-ins with that person to make sure they're alright. Radio silence is never a good thing to practice.
Isaac puzzled over the thought. Mouseholes - rifts in reality, probably, knowing how Sarkany's and Sohl's abilities worked. Unsanctioned traveling between the realms happened all the time in Wathais and it wasn't something they had the power or technically the right to police. Leaving damage behind, however - that was considerably more dangerous and went against some WDSA policies. It was practically his civic duty to check it out.
Not that he needed any convincing, but a handy excuse was sometimes useful.
I'll look for him. You keep doing what you've been told to do in case he was on to something and we'll meet up tonight if I haven't found anything sooner. Alright?
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Post by MP on May 21, 2018 17:44:30 GMT -6
Sohl dismissed the other Isaac’s words, as well as the following praise, with something like a mental flick of his ears. He didn’t need to be patted and soothed like some nervous horse. And he hadn’t done the right thing - hadn’t done anything at all but sit here and fret. A part of him said he was maybe being unreasonable. The rest of him didn’t care. This was everything - this was all he had. There was the impression of pacing on the other side of the bond. Sohl stared at one of his jump photos, hardly seeing it.
He did at least see the reasoning behind Isaac’s involvement, however flimsy, and he latched onto it willingly. Perhaps a little guiltily. He hadn’t meant to - to wheedle Isaac into searching for him. That wasn’t what he’d meant at all. But he needed to know for sure, and if Isaac could tell him - tell him sooner than Sohl himself could learn -
Alright he agreed. A flicker through the bond: gratitude, apology, embarrassment, the image of a mane smoothing. It was silly to get so worked up. Father would be back when he was back. It had probably been nothing at all. But he was reassured all the same.
Is there anything I could take care of while you’re gone? I don’t want to delay your work.
In Sohl’s mind, this was a small task - a short task - more a courtesy than a real necessity. Isaac would look through the shadows, have a chat with Father, maybe. Then he’d be back. No more than an hour or two at most. He couldn’t have known about the construction site, hunkered and skeletal at the city’s limit, the earth heaped around it in barrows. And even with the added range of Isaac’s shadows, he missed the distant tug of a mousehole tearing.
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Post by Sharei on May 24, 2018 16:23:42 GMT -6
Delay my work? Isaac's laughter tinkled down the bond, soft and musical and pleased. He lifted his motorcycle helmet off the stand by the door and picked up his jacket. Sohl, I'm a workaholic that doesn't need to sleep. I'm already working on next week's projects. Thank you, though.
With that he'd set to work. It wasn't difficult for Isaac's increased range to find where Sarkany had gone, though Isaac couldn't fathom why he was hunkered down in an empty construction site on the edge of the city. The Director couldn't remember exactly what was supposed to be going up there - some recreational center or some such, he thought - but the workers were not present and wouldn't be for some time. A union strike had hit that meant the place was completely deserted, half-finished and shell-like, full of skeletal hallways, partial walls, and missing floors.
He took the highway to get there even though he could have easily shadowstepped to the man's side. The trip was a luxury that recent events had not afforded him, and coasting down the highway on his unrestricted, first generation Suzuki Hayabusa was nothing short of a pleasure. A 1999 model, Isaac custom ordered parts and replacements directly from the manufacturer for a tidy sum, and the bike was in perfect condition because of it. Maxing out at the highest recorded speed any production bike could legally go on civilian roads, there was little out there that could catch him. He had other, faster bikes, ones that were legal only on closed tracks or courses - but he favored the Hayabusa and his old Blackbird the most. They were civilian rides, ones that let him weave in and out of traffic at high speed like it simply wasn't there.
And that suited Isaac perfectly.
When he got to the site it was still blazingly hot out and the sun hadn't yet reached noon. The black biking leathers were practically boiling under the sun, and Isaac eyed the cool patches of shade around the entrance with some relish. He parked the bike in the lot, locked it securely, and then trotted over. The shade was several temperatures cooler in the shadow of the structure, and it was several more still inside. Isaac went in without hesitation, happy to be out from beneath the glare of the daystar and its death. Sarkany was three floors above him, and though his position seemed to have moved, he hadn't gone far. Isaac went for the stairs.
And walked back outside.
Blink. Stop. Pause.
He tried again, more curious than annoyed, and despite attempts to get into the building found himself repeatedly walking back outside. The Director contemplated the building for long moments, the dark entrance reflected in his tinted visor. Then he simply stepped into the portal and into the darkness, and bypassed floors one through three entirely. When he came out of the shadow it was on Sarkany's left.
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Post by MP on May 24, 2018 21:08:16 GMT -6
As Isaac stepped from the shadows, there was a sudden movement in the gloom - a halfway motion reminiscent of a viper's strike, or the spitting feint of a cat. Sarkany had twitched forward. Stopped as he recognized the intruder. The movement had lasted no more than a half heartbeat, yet its every angle threatened a near animal violence.
"Skies, it's the kuwha," he said, straightening to a more relaxed posture. "Wouldn't hurt to knock."
All of the usual body language was there: the easy set of the shoulders, the casually balanced stance. Still, he did not quite look like himself. There were subtle notes of tension there - in the lines of his face, in the undertone of his voice, in his tactical choice of a sheltered room with multiple exits. Sarkany looked like he hadn't slept in some time. As Icarim did not sleep as often as humans, staying awake for days on end unless boredom or exercise coerced them, one had to wonder how long it had been.
"What are you doing here?" Sarkany asked. His voice had the same levelness as always, his face the same mild look. But that subtle light of laughter had gone from his eyes, replaced by a cold glint that only sharpened as he regarded Isaac. His voice cooled by several degrees as his thoughts leaped to the obvious, the only important thing.
"Where is the pup?"
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Post by Sharei on May 24, 2018 22:17:23 GMT -6
"Not here," Isaac replied and turned his head, the featureless visor reflecting Sarkany's tired face as Isaac regarded him. A quick up and down confirmed the nebulous suspicions, defined them into something more concrete than he had allowed with Sohl so present before. With a more empty mind he was willing to admit that perhaps it wasn't as nothing as the young pup had hoped, but might be something indeed. He hid that thought as closely to himself as he could make it, guarded it jealously so that it didn't slide down the bond accidentally. "I don't make a habit of bringing children to fights. Bad practice."
"Sohl came to me because he was worried when you didn't answer his calls. I told him to go back to doing what you'd instructed, and that I'd go and check up on you for him, for peace of mind."
The Director tipped his head to the side and looked around the room. It was dim in here, good enough for a defense but the unfinished structure let in enough light that he couldn't get a perfect read on the whole structure. The bright, sunny day didn't lend well to full visibility. Sight would be as necessary a sense as any of his others if he wanted to be completely alert.
"So what's going on, Voak? What trouble did you find?" he asked, his helmet turning again in Sarkany's direction. "I assume the roundabouts downstairs weren't meant for me."
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Post by MP on May 24, 2018 23:08:27 GMT -6
Sarkany had a slightly absent air. His gaze occasionally flickered over Isaac's shoulder, scanning the open space of hallway beyond or the shadows cast from the entrance behind. He seemed to be listening for something else as much as he listened to Isaac.
"No, they weren't." he answered the man dryly. "You might avoid popping them next time."
Beneath his tone, the words held a sharper edge of strain. They'd made a proper siege of it - a game, perhaps. His commands were nearly spent already, and he could hardly afford to place more. He supposed he'd have to try. Sarkany ran a distracted hand through his hair, which had gone from its usual gently rumpled state to a somewhat disheveled look. For once, the grey seemed to fit.
"Director, I - "
He hesitated. No more than the space of a moment, but the faltering note was there. He seemed to swallow whatever he'd meant to say.
"I'm afraid you've stepped into a bit of a trap. Celestial types. Personal business. They shouldn't be interested in the pup, but I'd, ah.." Sarkany looked almost weary. "I'd appreciate if you kept this quiet."
He could see them over the kuwha's shoulder, through the skeletal frame of the building: two civilians moving up the street at a gentle stroll. Hands in the pockets of stylishly frayed jeans, their faces all placid smoothness, they might have been ordinary humans but for the fact that they were drawing closer to this middle of nowhere. Closing in, he knew. Sarkany's chest tightened as his heart rate quickened. But he continued in the same efficient tone.
"They were signaled here some time ago. Picked up my trail as I found theirs, and we've been hunting each other since. We're not on the best of terms."
Two more now. He could see their shadows over the red mounds of earth. That was always the way of things, to work in pairs. Oh, hankwe. If you've been waiting, now's the time to wake up.
"I thought I could lead them on a bit of a chase. Double back and send them home before they ever caught up." A faint smile. "I was wrong. They're a little smarter than last time."
And you're so much weaker.
Several floors down, something had popped another of his defenses. Sarkany felt the sting of it in his mind like a snapping wire, and his tone became more urgent.
"You should get going, kuwha. I doubt they'll care for your kind any more than mine."
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Post by Sharei on May 24, 2018 23:42:37 GMT -6
Isaac didn't say that Sarkany's traps wouldn't have been popped if only he'd warned someone in advance that they were there, because it would have been wasted breath. That defeats the purpose of traps, he heard the response, a lazy drawl that inferred Isaac was stupid for saying it. Instead, he took the words as invitation to invade Sarkany's personal space and shadowstep to his side, instead of knocking, if they needed to speak another time. At present he kept listening, digesting the information with a growing annoyance.
Celestials. Great.
Isaac tipped his head to the side as though listening to something. He could feel the intruders moving around downstairs, their shadows gliding over the floor as they triggered Sarkany's traps. He tracked them mentally, a part of his mind on them while he addressed his haggard companion.
The thought of leaving simply hadn't factored.
"Serve and protect," Isaac replied smoothly, his tone light despite the situation. He placed a hand on his hip and regarded Sarkany again. "It might not mean much to you, but its an oath I swore when I took office. It's my job to investigate people hunting in my jurisdiction and put a stop to it."
One shoulder shrugged. "We're going to have to try and bide our time until evening. I left my cellphone on my bike - if you can cover me I can call someone personal for backup, but it's best if we just get the hell out of here. There's too much light."
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Post by MP on May 25, 2018 0:33:25 GMT -6
Sarkany looked at the sun, only just cresting the distant trees. He said nothing, did not even shake his head. But there was a kind of resignation in the set of his shoulders. He was memorizing the sky, the gentle sweep of the clouds.
"We can try," he said softly. "But I can't cover you, I'm afraid."
And he was afraid. It crowded in his throat even now, tugging at him like a wave, threatening to drag his reason under. He forced himself to breathe, to think, to speak calmly when his only wish was to fly, to bolt, to flee from the sunlight and the things behind it. He wasn't built to fear the sun. They had taken even that from him.
"I don't know what angels in your jurisdiction are like." He held that name like a foul taste on his tongue. "These are distant cousins - quite a bit out of their way. They can weaponize the light - smiting, they call it."
A bitter smile touched the corners of his mouth. Sarkany was watching the window openly now, listening through the pounding of his own heart in his ears. There was no sound of footsteps. But the kuwha seemed to be alert to something. Some other sense, he supposed. He felt the sting of another loop collapsing.
"Artificial light is unpleasant. But sunlight..."
It lay in bars across the ground, great brilliant swaths of it. Impassable. Impossible. He could fly, perhaps, see how far momentum would get him. Not very far, he imagined.
"I'd hoped to draw them in. Whittle down their numbers where I can work around the light." A last ditch effort - one that wasn't hard to overcome. "They're waiting for more to arrive. I think it won't be long now."
The words were spoken calmly, a stated fact. But inwardly, his heartbeat thundered. His scleras had greyed the slightest fraction. He would not. He would not go back.
Az, he tried again. But silence. Only ever silence.
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Post by Sharei on May 25, 2018 13:37:04 GMT -6
"So what you're telling me is that any patch of sunlight we touch will alert them to us and they'll fry us like steaks on a grill," Isaac replied grimly, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. "Fantastic."
And for Isaac, far more immediately deadly than it was for Sarkany. His sensitivity to sunlight wasn't something he advertised, though the people at the WDSA thought he was a vampire. He tried not to draw attention to it so that people would forget, as a means of self-defense. Weaponized sunlight was absolutely the worst thing he could have imagined.
It occurred to Isaac that the best thing he could do for Sarkany at that moment was to leave. There were better options for a daylight siege where sunlight was weaponized - people better suited to using their full power and strength under the rays of the sun. Marchelute or Raine were good options if WDSA officers were off the table, and Malthiel as well though he was loathed to put his beloved in such a situation. Sarkany needed only to last another ten minutes if Isaac left him now, which was more likely than trying to withstand the rest of the day. He could be back in minutes with more qualified help. The chance of survival skyrocketed.
Isaac turned his head to look at the far corner of the room. The cement columns and bare walls cast low shadows, but as the sun had been rising their thickness had waned, assaulted by the ambient sunlight that filtered in through cracks and openings, bar-like and dusty. He stared into that spot with the growing dread of knowing that there was not enough to use to escape. He had trapped himself by coming up here in the first place.
"They've already started pushing into the building. Since their bodies cast a shadow, I can feel them down there and know where they are."
Isaac held out his hand, palm flat. On it, he used the thin shadows to recreate the structure of the building in a tiny black model. There were pieces missing, spaces where the sunlight flooded in and he couldn't see anything but the shadows cast by walls, but the downstairs areas were mostly complete since he had been physically looking at them and he could accurately reflect that. The shadows lifted the second and third floors so that they hovered over one another, allowing Sarkany to see into each model. Inside them, tiny winged people moved around in relation to where Isaac felt them.
"I can use my abilities to stall them on the prior floors, but I don't know how long that will buy us. There's a lot of light and while I can force the shadows to endure it for a time, that'll leech energy badly. I can probably set up traps here and here."
Isaac indicated the stairwell, the hallway that came before, and the front door.
"It would be best to do spikes rather than anything grappling. I might be able to take out a few of them with some well-timed stabs. I'm assuming their anatomy is similar to a human's? Cut off the head or stab them in the heart and they'll die?"
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Post by MP on May 25, 2018 14:21:22 GMT -6
“Yes, but more durable”
A subtle switch seemed to have flipped. The strain in his voice had been pushed aside. This was no time for panic. The angels couldn’t know the abilities of the new arrival. The two had a small element of surprise, and minutes to use it. Sarkany’s eyes flickered as he scanned the model, now more from his racing thoughts than the fear. He spoke in a rapid undertone.
“We’ll need to hit as many as we can with your first strike. They won’t fall for your shadows twice.” He glanced up at Isaac, gaze steadier now that there was a plan, a small chance.
“Can you buy me enough time to set up the second floor? One minute. I’ll place loops at the choke points. Line them up at the same spot for you - my choice or yours, either will do.”
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Post by Sharei on May 25, 2018 14:34:18 GMT -6
Isaac considered the model in front of them and then turned his head thoughtfully. His expression was hidden by the helmet and tinted visor, but the pause was pregnant.
"Can you set every loop to come out five minutes from now?" he asked slowly, a plan beginning to form. "I can turn that spot into ensured death. If all your traps come out at the same location and we time it well, we can buy repeated uses out of it without having to expend any unnecessary energy."
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Post by MP on May 25, 2018 14:58:48 GMT -6
“Unreliable,” Sarkany answered promptly. “I can place loops farther in so they take longer to reach them. But if we want more time, guaranteed, we’ll have to buy it.”
And enough of it had slipped through their fingers already. The tiny figures in the model were still moving. Sarkany’s mouth quirked at the tiny wings on their backs. There was nothing funny about the sight. Stress, he supposed. He scanned the second floor, looking for likely spots.
“If you can’t spare focus from the trap, I can set more loops to delay them,” he said. “But I can’t guarantee an exact time. You’ll need to herd them away from the edges of the building too. Stop them flying up to us.”
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