- (warpstheworld) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2017-09-22 20:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !complete, !log, !match-up, ~2017 september, ~50 points, ~~adam young (warpstheworld), ~~~sarissa (ladyofsummer) |
Who: Sarissa and Adam Young
What: Crime stoppers in the making
Where: Streets of Madison Valley
When: Late niht
Warnings: Street violence
Status: Closed, Complete, Match Up
In general, Madison was a quiet town - but it was still a town, and all towns had their fair share of crime. Most of it happened away from the refugees, who could easily deal with the common criminal - but occasionally, in the back alleys where only locals wandered, there were unsavory activities to be had - such as the man menacing a pair of drunk college boys.
Sarissa had been coming back from a flower delivery she’d wanted to make herself when she heard the distinctive metallic chink of a gun’s safety turning off, along with a gruff order. “Bring out your wallets! Toss them on the ground. That’s it…”
She stopped. Peered in.
***
Adam was walking, because walking helped him learn the landscape better than anything else. He needed to explore on foot, to walk and stop along the way, when something caught his attention. It wasn’t great exercise, but that was why he set aside time to jog.
He heard something that caught his attention. It seemed to come from the alley he was approaching. He stopped, tilted his head, and listened for a moment. Something shady was definitely going on. And then he heard the command to hand over wallets.
Great. He didn’t care to really get involved, but he also didn’t care to walk on by while someone got mugged. He moved toward the alley, toward Sarissa.
***
Out of the corner of her eye, Sarissa saw someone approach, and she wondered if he’d do anything to help the man being mugged. When he didn’t, Sarissa realized it was up to her to do something about it.
So she stepped forward, into the alley. “Let them go.”
The mugger didn’t obey her, of course. All her interference did was make him sneer - and lunge, the blade of his knife glinting in the street light.
Sarissa waved her hand, and the knife turned into a dove, which turned around and pecked at the mugger’s hand until he released it with a startled cry.
“Let them go,” she repeated.
***
He saw the knife turn to a dove. That was a new trick. Obviously this woman had some kind of power. Adam was intrigued by that, certainly, but he was more focused on the crime that was taking place.
He was reluctant to use his powers, even in such a situation. Perhaps if someone were in mortal danger, but no one was since the knife the would be mugger had in hand had flown away. Adam was definitely going to have to ask her about that when this was all over.
“You heard the lady,” he said, steely eyes set on the criminal. “I suggest you do as she says.” He had a feeling she would not be kind, if he insisted on trying to mug the poor fellows now.
***
Drunken frat boys the mugger could handle. A woman who could turn his weapons into living animals, and a man who looked like he had death in his eyes? The mugger certainly hadn’t signed up for this.
With a snarl, he pushed through and ran off into the night.
Sarissa then turned to the frat boys, who were still staring at her, agog. “You should go now,” she told them, her voice quiet but no less firm for it.
And they, too, ran off.
Which only left the man who’d come in behind her. She could feel the power in him, dark and roiling. She turned to face him, wary. “That was more excitement than I wanted.”
Hopefully he wasn’t about to give her more.
***
“It certainly was,” Adam nodded. Now that the mugger and the would be victims had skittered off, he relaxed somewhat. Whatever fire had been in his eyes diminished, and his posture went slack, so that he likely presented no physical threat.
He could, at a moment’s notice, bring hell fire down on anyone he cared to. He didn’t do that, though. He was loathe to use his power. And now that it was just him and the woman, though she had displayed magic and influence over the men, Adam saw no need to posture at her.
“I’m Adam. You handled that situation quite well, if a bit interestingly.”
***
Sarissa shrugged. “I’d rather not have had to handle it at all, but such is the way of things.”
As long as there were mortals, there was going to be the seedy underbelly of humanity.
It was he who interested her more in this moment, however. She studied him for a moment. “You didn’t look surprised when I took care of the threat.”
***
“Well it was certainly unexpected,” Adam said. “But I’ve the ability to do that as well.” Not that he thought he’d ever think to turn a knife into a dove. But he certainly could. He could bend reality with a thought, if he chose to. He chose not to, though.
“I am quite reluctant to use my powers, though” In part because his power originated from evil. Even if he used it for good, it still came from hell.
***
“Do you?” Sarissa studied him with interest. There weren’t a lot of people in the world that she knew of - or even in the multiverses she’d encountered here - who could do that.
“Why are you reluctant to use your powers? They could’ve been useful back there, if I hadn’t been there.”
She spoke with no judgement; she herself tried not to use her powers unless necessary. They could easily take her over if she allowed them to.
***
Adam nodded. He glanced at the spot where the would be mugger had stood. “People have free will. It’s not my place to take that from them. That said, I wouldn’t allow such an injustice to occur, of course not. Not when someone’s life was threatened. But I’d try to intervene without using any magical influence or force.” It just wasn’t his way.
He wanted to be a normal young man. He wanted to allow people to live as they would. He also feared using his powers whenever he felt like it was dangerous. His powers came from hell, after all, and each time he used them he surrendered a small piece of himself to the darkness of his father’s realm.
***
“Now I regret acting so quickly; I would’ve liked to see you intervene without magic or force.”
There was no mockery in Sarissa’s reply; she was truly curious. There were certainly times when tensions and violence could be defused with words and diplomacy; but with the mugger already out and attacking, she didn’t think she had time to talk him down. Or maybe she just didn’t have the patience to. It worried her, how easily her magic had come to her.
***
Adam offered a small smile. “I would have at least tried. And if it had gone badly, I would have had to reassess.” Never mind that, technically, he could influence reality, bend it to his will. He absolutely did not use that power. Ever. He was a child of hell, not God himself.
“It worked out for the best, I think. You did what needed to be done to prevent tragedy. My methods do not always work favorably.” He wanted to give her peace about the situation, but he would do so with words of encouragement, not magical influence.
***
Sarissa inclined her head. She didn't want to spend too much time on her snap decision to use magic to defuse the problem. There was something more interesting to her.
“Who are you?” Again, curiosity drove the question. She didn't meet a lot of people like him.
***
“My name is Adam Young,” Adam told her. “I’m from England. Lower Tadfield, precisely.” He gave her a small smile. He knew what the real question was. “Satan is my father, though I’ve no ties to him. I rather rejected his attempt at father-son bonding.”
***
It started off so normally, and then he dropped the Satan bombshell. Sarissa’s eyebrows went up.
“Admittedly, I’m surprised he made attempts at all. He doesn't strike me as someone who'd come around with a ball and mitt, but maybe I've been unduly influenced by Christian doctrine.”
***
“I suppose, if you consider the earth a ball, and the impending apocalypse the bat, then he did come ‘round to play ball.” Adam shrugged. He was far from flippant about it, but he tried not to get too worked up at the same time. “But, see, I rather like the world just as it is, so I sent him home.”
***
“And he went?” If this young man could send Satan packing, he must be very powerful indeed. She'd have to keep an eye on him. Or maybe ask him to keep an eye on her.
***
Adam nodded. “I was able to send him back to the underworld,” he said. He’d been 11 years old at the time. He hadn’t entirely understood what he was doing. “When I chose to defend the earth and its people, he had no choice.”
The fact was, Adam still didn’t entirely understand what had happened that day.
***
Sarissa gave him a smile. “Hopefully, if he should show up here, you'll be able to send him away again.”
She gestured. “Are you heading back to the apartments? Hopefully there won't be any more incidents like these tonight.”
Tomorrow night? She wouldn't bet on it. Humans were always going to be horrible to each other, as long as humanity existed.
***
Adam rolled his shoulders. “I think I will head back, yeah,” he said. “I’m feeling pretty tired.” Not from the encounter, just in general. He’d definitely agree with her thought, though. HUmans were horrible to each other, but they were also good and kind and beautiful. And in the end, that was what mattered to him.
“I do hope we don’t meet again under these circumstances, but…” he shrugged. They both knew it was likely.
***
“Let’s make sure we meet in better circumstances, then,” Sarissa suggested as she prepared to go on her. “Find me on the network. We can have coffee.”
Because the child of Satan was definitely someone she wanted to get to know better.