|
Post by MP on Aug 22, 2018 14:54:31 GMT -6
“Skies,” Sarkany said fondly. “It’s months of training and application before our students tackle those questions.”
In spite of his words, the seraph didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he seemed engaged by the challenge - almost genuine. His tone lost much of its wry edge as he spoke.
“There are consequences for the traveler, of course. Actions have impact. Choice guides trajectory - one future lived out of a thousand potentials. Walkers agree on this. The mistake is assuming your timeline is a singular one.”
Sarkany spread his palms, slices sandwich bread and provolone flopping in his fingers as he motioned diagrams in the air.
“A timeline diverges with every possible choice. A man goes left or right. He speaks or stays silent. At each of these moments, the world branches into simultaneous futures. These futures progress and branch in their turn, and the man with them - driving them, you see. Now-“
By gradual gesticulations, the sandwich had made it to the fire. Sarkany toasted it absently, seeming not to notice the darkening edges as he lectured.
“Whatever the facet of this man does in his own timeline is, from his perspective, absolute. Likewise, your 9th age traveler does their tinkering and considers time ‘changed,’ the future undone, because theirs is the only timeline they can see. This is untrue.
“If you think of time as a crossroads, with every choice a road, time travel is, hmm. Cutting through the trees, if you like. Trying a different road. It doesn’t erase where you’ve been. It doesn’t change where the first road leads. Only the man has moved. The crossroads, and the other facets along them, have not. His little detour is just another slightly more convoluted branch.”
Sarkany pulled back the grilled cheese and turned it over, regarding the blackened edges without real expression.
“In a way, time travel is choosing the best version of yourself. A very selfish endeavor.”
The sandwich gave an unnatural crackle as Sarkany bit into it. But for all that, it tasted fine enough. Just needed some finishing touches. He began cutting tomatoes, each slice expertly paper thin.
“That’s the Walker’s outlook, at any rate. In the very simplest terms. I suppose that perspective is the main difference between us and your standard time traveler.”
|
|
|
Post by jarahamee on Aug 23, 2018 13:59:59 GMT -6
"Then... you're both right. The time traveler like Viktoria changes all the timelines by creating more where none were before. The walker merely sees all possibilities but does not change them. But objectively, both are correct, I'm just not sure one is actually time travel unless you are making new possibilities through your actions."
Ru did enjoy thinking about this possibility, swirling his blood latte lightly in his hand as he reflected.
Things were less black and white answers than most cared to think, and it was something he always kept in mind with his and his own. What benefit was a narrow worldview if all it did was make you blind to the truth?
He rubbed his neck gingerly with a hand before proceeding;
"I think, I wouldn't mind choosing the best version of myself if I had the choice."
|
|
|
Post by tsukikoko on Aug 26, 2018 17:39:46 GMT -6
Viktoria had taken the opportunity to rise and check on the cooling blood, finding the consistency had indeed hardened as the blood coagulated. She lifted the bowl, carefully tilting it to ensure there weren't any liquid sections yet and was careful to close of her nostrils for a moment to avoid her pupils swelling to black, predatory pits in response; after all, Ru might not be quite ready to see just how much like a shark she could look. All the while one of her ears had remained twisted to listen in on what Ru and Sarkany were saying. Her thoughts idled on what that meant for her and the universes she inhabited - both this one and the one left behind. How had they diverged, based on her presence or lack thereof? It was a concept she was sure to dwell on come nightfall, when she gazed up at either the stars or the ceiling, depending on where she was staying and let her mind wander.
For now, she hoped, if nothing else, that the few people she had cared about were doing alright without her. She couldn't be there to soak bullets for them any longer and they had not been exactly the most robust bunch. She also decided not raised the point that she had not and could never have existed in this century - so how she had ended up here, on a path very much 'going back', one that she could never have diverged from in the first place to move across and experience 'the best version of herself', still seemed very much a mystery to her. It wasn't that she didn't want to continue the debate with Sarkany, to learn and perhaps understand it more. Rather, she wanted to think it over a little longer, get her side concrete and better translated in her head before she spoke it. She did agree this was a better version, if not of herself, then at least the world around her and (most of) the people she had met. Happiness was certainly easier to come by here; such as with a jointly prepared meal among friends.
On her return trip to the group, she procured another bowl-like item and kept a hold of it with one hand, while her blood bowl was placed at a far enough distance so as to not be heated too much by the fire. The scarred feline turned her attention to Sarkany and for a moment the look of concentration from her thoughts tinged her facial features, before clearing as she spoke, "Iz, ah... hyave perrhaps nearrby rrriverrr seen? Orr hyave vith you vaterrr? Vould be lyiking it forrr... ah, pudding blood prrreparrations."
|
|
|
Post by MP on Oct 8, 2018 15:17:55 GMT -6
Sarkany glanced back at Ru with a faint smile. If his expression was light and coincidental, if his smile had the usual laughing edge as if at some private joke, there was at least something genuine in his voice.
“Oh, you do, hyere, you do. You don’t need time travel for that.”
The seraph dusted his hands of the sandwich crumbs, finally seeming to slow in his eating. It seemed that was all he had to say on the matter. Sarkany looked over at the feline’s question, pausing for a polite heartbeat. But no, it was just the four of them - the three of them. There was no one else to answer. Remembering it, he answered her himself.
“Bottles in the cooler, if those will do.” Mostly untouched by his count. He hadn’t brought many - there were only so many free bottles you could collect from this or that event, even with the commands - but there might be enough for her purposes. “Otherwise, the stream is a sparrow-flight that way.” He nodded into the underbrush.
|
|
|
Post by jarahamee on Oct 11, 2018 17:46:54 GMT -6
Ru watched the exchange thoughtfully, wondering what all their best versions happened to be. Were there any? There must be if there were infinite possibilities in every world that they happened to live in. And yet, this was the reality he lived in, and this was what he would have to deal with. As good of a friend Sarkany had ended up being, he could not expect him to jump through time to find his human past. But maybe it was worth asking about. He didn't seem to do it anymore, but maybe he knew someone who did.
"The food seems to be coming along well. You're all really good at cooking, or at least, preparing meats."
He always thought that one was part of the other, but he was sure there were differences. After all, steak chefs weren't butchers. Or maybe they were. But he was also sure they were not too. He pondered over the decision and then settled on some answers as he thought about it. He rubbed his cheek and thought about it, then formulated his question into a thought.
"Hey, Sarkany... Do you think... Is it possible...even remotely...that I could go to a timeline where I was never a vampire? Or will I always be a vampire? Is there a reality where I find a cure? I guess there might be no way to know but..."
He wondered what Sarkany thought about this. A lot of time travel questions that came close together, probably things he was used to hearing but was also tired of hearing at the same time.
|
|
|
Post by tsukikoko on Oct 12, 2018 18:55:36 GMT -6
Viktoria's head turned in the direction Sarkany indicated as she considered her options. On the one hand, there likely was enough water already here for her current needs. On the other, she or the other two might want a greater quantity water for something else later, so it might be worth her making the trip now.
She debated this while giving her makeshift rotisserie another half turn, an ear flickered in Ru's direction as he spoke. At the skill in cooking comment, she lifted a shoulder briefly, "Ah, iz ok. Mostly simple dish." The scarred feline then busied herself with stoking the fire and gathering a chosen water receptical, when the vampire's questions caught her attention.
While she didn't say anything immediately, as Viktoria walked past she bent down to Ru's level over his shoulder, "Zhat perrrhyaps iz, ah, dangerrous question to ask, da? Alvays might be vonderrr vhat could be-" She stood again, beginning to walk towards the trees. "-and not, ah... vhat iz vorrd.. experrr-ience.. prrroperr vhat hyave alrrready in life." Another shrug. "Iz thought." Then she was gone, disappearing off towards the stream, ears primed and listening out for the sounds of water.
|
|
|
Post by MP on Oct 15, 2018 1:22:05 GMT -6
"It's good advice," Sarkany commented.
He glanced lazily after the feline's departing shape, his eyes flickering over the nearby trees as he listened for signs of other life. He'd scanned the place from the air beforehand, laid what commands he could over the area, but you could hardly count on the world to stay still for you. One had to be watchful these days - especially where Viktoria was concerned. When he was satisfied with the silence and confident he could track his packmate's course, he returned his attention to Ru.
"You might find your cure one day. But it won’t be through time travel. Put it out of your head. Live in the now, hmm?”
His gaze was level, understanding even. But unmoved. This was a conversation he'd had before, many times. It was never easy to say, or hear weighted against your own private hopes. But it was the way things were.
"Remember, a timeline can never be undone. And you - " Sarkany tapped the vampire's lifeless chest. " – are a part of yours. I could change every decision that led you here. Remove your sire's sire if I wanted."
The seraph shook his head.
"For you, it wouldn't make a difference. Your past would still exist. Thus, so would you. If we arranged another timeline, with different choices, it would only create a new Ru. And he would live his human life without you."
Just like his son – his poor son – who would live out his days in a world where he had never existed, with a father who could never remember him. Sarkany smiled with a gentle finality.
“It's not much good, I'm afraid.”
|
|
|
Post by jarahamee on Oct 17, 2018 18:09:19 GMT -6
Ru looked disappointed, but what could he expect. He had always asked and hoped to find answers, but found nothing but more questions. He leaned back where he was sitting and took another long sip of the blood latte. Maybe he would be able to find solace in the nihilism of his former human peers at the very least. He watched Vik finish her food, and pondered all of the possibilities.
"I know it wouldn't make a difference, but I just. I miss being the person I was. I don't want to be a broken record; I've mostly moved on, but the hope I felt after I've been free, you know, I just was optimistic I would be able to... return."
He puts his head on his hands, and leaned up close. There were moments he would miss forever. Spending time with his family, tomato soup, milkshakes, grilled cheese, eating pasta with his mother on the back porch in the evenings, chatting with his girlfriend at night. All of this he had left behind. They had thought he was dead. When everything calmed down, he wanted to tell them; I'm alive, let me come back, but right now, he thought perhaps staying dead would be safer for them.
"... I understand."
He looked at the bowl of blood, and wondered if he would be able to stomach the contents, no pun intended. He eyed it with wide eyes and pursed his lips.
"I don't know if I will be able to eat that. It's a conundrum. The uh, haggis? Blood pudding? I mean..."
|
|
|
Post by tsukikoko on Oct 20, 2018 7:59:49 GMT -6
Viktoria was not gone for an overly long time. The stream was easy enough to find and her short journey was blessedly uninterrupted by gunfire, tranquillisers, large angry lizards, or any of the other sorts of happenings that had assaulted her of late.
The scarred feline filled her vessel and then decided to take a drink herself, lowering her face to to the cool waters and letting the liquid trickle gently over her muzzle and into her mouth. Fresh water like this, nevermind drinkable, had been a rare occurrence on the Earth she knew - which was so radiation-ridden that any source of water had to be treated with suspicion. Viktoria enjoyed moments where she could just appreciate the world like this. It was just a shame she had to keep her ears pricked and eyes scanning the undergrowth.
Just in case.
With her thirst sated, the feline slowly lifted her head, water dripping from her chin. Her skin began to prickle. An intrinsic, primal feeling, one honed in battle and responsible for her continued existence on many an occasion. Something, or someone, had begun to watch her.
Nostrils flared, ears swivelled and pupils swelled as Viktoria's head snapped up. She didn't move, kept her breathing level, watched and listened for the slightest hint of movement.
A twig snapped. She rounded on the sound, every muscle and instinct primed and ready to fight. Her fangs were not on show, face an impassive vision of stocism. But the fire and the potential aggression was in her eyes, blazing as rage simmered just below the surface.
But what she saw made the humanoid pause, the fire dimming. In the bushes, watching her with wide eyes, was a child. They froze as her eyes turned on them, as though they might somehow blend back into the foliage. But though they had the look of a kid with their hand in the cookie jar, they didn't exactly look afraid of her. Just intensely curious and a bit coy. Viktoria continued to watch; unsure but still alert and primed. After all, the last child to touch her had caused excruciating pain and led to her control by Zramek. Eventually, however, the child raised a tiny, shy hand and waved at her.
The feline blinked. Tilted her head a little. Then, she too, raised a far larger hand, claws retracted, and waved back. A high-pitched giggle, the kind only the very young can give, filled the air. The child waved more furiously and then scampered off into the undergrowth. Another few blinks from emerald eyes and then Viktoria was shaking her head. How peculiar. Also, that child was incredibly light on their feet; even when she had been watching and focusing, the scarred feline only just managed to pick out their retreating footfalls.
She exhaled, rose to her feet, gathered her water vessels and made her way back towards the clearing. Her trip back was slower, punctuated by moments where she stopped and simply listened to her surroundings. Again, just in case.
|
|
|
Post by MP on Nov 28, 2018 13:06:09 GMT -6
“Oh, I don’t know,” Sarkany said offhandedly, waving away a pair of flies that had begun to circle the meat. “Give it a chance - see what happens, hmm?”
But whether he meant the pudding or the altered lifestyle, it was impossible to say. Conscious of more tiny pests beginning to zero in on the table, the seraph began to pack away the vegetables, grouping the unused cuts of meat into an odd pile at the end of the table.
When Viktoria returned, he’d all but finished his organizing and was sitting on the bench space he’d cleared for himself. The seraph didn’t stand, but something in the feline’s expression seemed to alert him. Sarkany’s gaze flickered to the trees, a discreet scan of their surroundings. Then back to Viktoria. He tipped his head a fraction in silent question.
|
|
|
Post by jarahamee on Nov 30, 2018 2:15:09 GMT -6
Ru ruminated on the thought for only a moment, and then nodded. Maybe it was worth trying. If someone knew if something was possible, it was probably Sarkany, and if he said nothing could be changed, then it couldn't. But it did leave a hole in his chest. There were so many things that were no longer possible for him now. Things he had done which was now undone.
His whole life he had laid out was gone. Obliterated before he could blink. The happiness he had built swept down and out from under him. When he thought about it left a dull ache in his chest. There was simply nothing there anymore, and he would never, ever get it back.
"...You're helpful, you know."
Ru sighed and eyed Sarkany. The man had been nothing but wisdom, he had to admit, even in his own strangeness. He then noticed the others suddenly seemed off. As if something had happened.
He diverted his gaze from what they had been doing, and tried to read the intent between the two of them.
"...Something happen?"
He asked, finally done with guesswork.
|
|
|
Post by tsukikoko on Dec 3, 2018 8:22:43 GMT -6
Viktoria's gaze lifted and caught Sarkany's as she returned to the clearing, registering the silent question and responding with the tiniest lift of one shoulder - as though she might be working out a knot in the muscle - and a small sideways movement of her head. Nothing much, be watchful in case was the implication. But then, a spoken query. "...Something happen?" The scarred feline turned her attention to Ru, regarding him for a moment with her typical deadpan expression. Then, she shrugged, waved a hand at him as she approached the spit roast to give it another turn. "Nyet. But, ah, old hyabits arre harrd dying." She lifted her shoulders in a shrug, "Iz pay to be, ah, vatchful." The vessel of water Viktoria had collected came to rest near the fire, carefully arranged so as to be moderately heated. A rapid, violent boil was not what she wanted.
She wandered over to the bowl of blood after that, lifting it up and then sitting upon the space it had vacated. With the bowl in her lap, the feline extended a claw, intending to cut the coagulated blood using it. But then she paused, emerald eyes focusing on Ru for a moment. Without a word, she stood, collected a knife from the utensils nearby and used the blade for her task instead. Once the blood was cut into cube-like pieces, Viktoria came to inspect the water. One ear flickered towards the brush. The water was bubbling nicely; not too aggressively, but the surface was not completely still either. Using the flat of the blade, she scraped each blood cube into the water, careful not to splash. Then she stood, one torn ear flickering again. She wasn't certain she was hearing anything, or simply being overly cautious.
"Vill be thirrty minutes," she drawled to Ru in that growling Russian tone, indicating the blood bowl. Another small shrug, "If you arrre not lyiking, I vill eat, do not feel prrressurrre." With a gentle exhale, the scarred feline crossed her arms over her chest and leant against a nearby rock to keep an eye on the food. She looked rather relaxed, all things considered, with only the occasional swivel of an ear giving away that she was ever alert.
|
|
|
Post by MP on Dec 4, 2018 2:04:04 GMT -6
"'Old' habits," chuckled Sarkany, who considered nothing old unless it had seen at least a few centuries of wear. "Hkoma, if you're a day over fourteen, I'll eat my tail."
He turned a lazy gaze to the woods, still smiling. The scent of bubbling blood drifted to his nostrils - a puzzling, yet pleasantly familiar scent. A hunting smell. When he was sure of the area, maybe he'd make some for himself.
"Granted, she’s right," he admitted to Ru. "It never hurts to be watchful. Or prepared."
The vampire didn't seem like much of a fighter, himself. Despite his kind. Despite the chaotic nature of the city. Sarkany wondered what kind of answers Ru had for trouble, or if he'd ever given it thought after the seraph had mentioned it the first time.
|
|
|
Post by jarahamee on Dec 5, 2018 0:08:38 GMT -6
Ru nodded and rubbed his shoulders, as if he was cold, shuffling a little to stare into a different place in space. Both of them were very watchful, rather than being relaxed in a gathering like this. But was it like predators or prey? Maybe a mixture of the two. They always had that on-guard alertness about themselves. Like foxes hunting.
He processed what Sarkany had said. Fourteen??
"You're...fourteen?"
He stared at the huge being thoughtfully. He would never have guessed, but who knew what sort of beings all of these supers were.
And it's true, it did never hurt to be watchful. Who knew when he would run into more vampires? He had already had a run in with one that was a little more aggressive than he would have liked, and he hadn't even been here that long. He'd undoubtedly run into more, he was sure. Maybe they would be elder vampires this time. The thought made him shudder.
|
|
|
Post by tsukikoko on Dec 6, 2018 14:36:30 GMT -6
Sarkany's gentle teasing of her age earned the seraph nothing more than a good-natured snort and a low, monotone comment. "Eat tail? Like vhen I am finding you chasing lyike dog?" Anything else the humanoid might have said was soon cut off, however, when she heard an exclamation from the third member of their little party. "You're...fourteen?"
The astonishment in Ru's tone made Viktoria turn her head towards him and raise an eyebrow ridge. Sometimes, Viktoria forgot that this Earth, this time period, had none of the synthetically developed creatures that were so commonplace in the world she knew. She lifted a shoulder, tilted her head a bit in a movement that fell somewhere between shrug and nod. "Da. I am not... borrrn. Vaz made. Come out adult, so, ah... age iz perrhyaps not same, in my case. Must be rrrready to battle immediately." The scarred feline looked down at her arms, coated in a myriad of scars, proof of the numerous events she had survived. "Childhood... veak. Useless. Cannot afforrrd to hyave, so.. skip zhat parrrt." Again she returned her eyes to Ru, holding his gaze. "Zhat iz, ah... idea? Plan... nyet.." She searched for the word, brow furrowing a little before she sounded it out, "Ah.. zeorrry, I suppose."
With that said, Viktoria leaned over to turn the meat again, also checking the blood tofu. It seemed just about ready, so she took a knife, stabbed a piece and flicked it into her mouth. Immediately her pupils ballooned in size and as she swallowed, the feline took up the bowl - apparently unconcerned by how hot it was - and held it out to Ru, looking decidedly more predatory now. "Vould like to trrry?" She queried. "You also, Sarrrkany."
|
|