InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "My feet can't keep still."

paxnarrator (paxnarrator) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2011-06-01 00:03:00

Entry tags:

erebos, ereshkigal, eris, hel, hermes, jormungandr, mani, nyx, pahana, phobos, sunna, tiamat, urdr

Who: OPEN
What: Trouble on the home front.
Where: Pax Letale.
When: 9:13 p.m.
Warnings: TBD.
Notes: Feel free to have your characters go with the concierge or make their way down to the lobby of their own volition. The tower-dwelling critter won’t likely be noticed for a while yet. So mix and mingle - there’s more to come!
ETA: Our volunteers have been notified of the effect the demon will have on their characters. Expect strange things to be afoot in coming threads...

There had been nothing whatsoever to indicate something was amiss: no foul weather, no maintenance crews loitering about, no meddling kids or their damnable dogs. Everything had simply worked, and then, in the blinking of an eye, it suddenly did not. In the midst of a crisp, clear summer night, Pax Letale effectively shut down. All electricity ceased, the elevator stopping - as it often had - between floors five and six, lights, power, and emergency backup failing simultaneously. The concierge rummaged for the 30,000 candlepower Maglite stashed beneath the counter, loosely gripping the brushed metal handle with more annoyance than real concern. Slowly he began making his rounds, walking from floor to floor in an attempt to make contact with, and if need be round up, the tenants entrusted for the duration of his shift to his lax, distracted brand of care.

In the darkness of the tower something stirred. On silent steps it padded to the door, slithering through the smallest of cracks on an ozone-scented wisp of smoke. It began its downward progress, forked tongue flicking at the air, seeking out the presences it knew lay just beneath its feet.

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jormungandr
2011-06-02 12:15 am UTC (link)

Adam, dragging tiredly in from a laborious mid shift, did not immediately notice the change in his home. Instead his attention rested on a series of ragged, shallow wounds lining the back of his pale right hand, a memento left by a thoroughly intoxicated patient further addled in a car crash. At the hospital he had foregone a bandage, knowing well he risked no infection, more eager to get home and into a scalding hot shower than to keep up the appearance of concern. Now his narrow jeans were stained with drying blood, his T-shirt clinging to him with the faint sheen of sweat.

Thus distracted, when at last he glanced up from his musings it took Adam a moment to properly get his bearings. The lobby hummed with a sense of wrongness. Cloaked in darkness, the typically dead lobby had more than its share of visitors now. Lit only by the white glare of flashlights and the hollow glow of street lamps, it looked oddly unwelcoming – a familiar place, somehow turned dangerous. In a fortunate turn he noticed a friend among the assembled company, someone he had gone too long without visiting again. Of all of the gathered tenants she was most likely to be prepared, to be informed as to the nature and severity of the apparent outage.

“What’s all this?” he said, one tattooed arm lifting to indicate the entirety of their situation. “Evacuation drill?”

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giventohel
2011-06-02 08:49 pm UTC (link)

"Nothing so dire," Viola replied, yet there was a gravity given to the response that implied she nevertheless considered the situation a matter to be looked upon seriously. A hint of flush colored her face from her recent trek down almost ten flights of stairs, but given that the journey was being made downward rather than upward, and that Viola was someone of tolerably good shape, she was neither out of breath nor broken out into a sweat from the effort. "I did manage a short conversation with the concierge before I arrived here, but I'm afraid even he wasn't particularly knowledgeable, other than to say the whole building's out," she shared the little knowledge that she had managed to gather in concise but informative phrases. "He did sound a little concerned that the emergency power hadn't come on, but I suppose we won't know more until a proper expert takes a look at things. At least, it's reassuring to know he's making certain no one is in need of assistance."

It was the silver-lining on this evening's inconvenient turn to know that the apartment had employed such consideration into their policy. There were no doubt many places that would have been content to leave their tenants in the dark, both literally and figuratively, only offering assistance or explanation when sought out. With one hand raised, she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, righting them against her face as she offered her friend a smile. It was only upon having finished her report, that she felt her relief to see him, and then the twist of concern when she had a longer opportunity to study his appearance under the harsh glare of her flashlight.

"Why Adam, what happened?" Her tone was one of concern rather than accusation as she gingerly took hold of his injured arm with her free hand, careful to avoid the grooves of scratched flesh with her fingertips as she gave it quick examination. The act was more to satisfy her own curiosity than to provide any medical assessment for him. She believed Adam to be far too well-versed in his line of work to misjudge the severity of his injuries, and thus the image of broken skin, those glaring lines of red, aggravated tissue, and smears of blood across fabric shifted her response past startled into what her sister had occasionally deemed a rather disturbing fascination.

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jormungandr
2011-06-03 02:24 pm UTC (link)

Her update on the situation put him somewhat at ease. Though things were not yet in hand, progress was clearly being made toward that end. The tenants milling about – their numbers increasing as time passed – showed no signs of discomfort or fear, only the frustration and annoyance one might expect in such a scenario. Seeing this, Adam set aside his own wariness, chalking it up to the paranoia so often accompanying the hyper-awareness that followed in the wake of a shift. It troubled him that he did not see Alex among the assembled, but he knew her well enough not to fear her lack of preparation; he would call her the moment he was able, and ask him to join them in the safety of the lobby as soon as she could. The solidness of Viola’s touch helped, grounding him in the midst of his wandering mind and growing uncertainties. He smiled softly, a quiet gust of breath escaping him as he chuckled at himself.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” he said, his gaze following hers. But the lines looked as angry now as they had when he had left the hospital’s calm glow; he could not blame her for her concern. “Some junkie crashed his Jag and didn’t realize we were trying to help. Coke and liquor do not a cooperative patient make.” He shook his head, his black eyes moving to hers. “Clawed right through my nitrile gloves, if you can believe it.”

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giventohel
2011-06-05 11:39 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, I can. I've heard the stories and I'm sure I'll experience it myself when I finally do my block of emergency medicine this year. You can rest assure I will be seeking out your expertise during that time," Viola said as she offered her friend a sympathetic smile. At last she let go of his arm, returning to him complete freedom of mobility. No longer distracted by his injuries, she found her thoughts returning to the darkness in which they stood. Despite the information she had gathered, it had not been enough to settle her mind, and thus an early bedtime was out of the question. She was not tired enough to rest, and too wound up by the lack of concrete answers. Her only relief was knowing that Adam's presence had a certain calming effect upon her, preventing her from obsessing too long on the unknown.

"Is there someone in particular you're looking for?" Viola could not help but ask when she noticed Adam was checking the new arrivals with a certain regularity, though he never did so in a manner that was readily obvious or alarming.

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jormungandr
2011-06-08 01:28 am UTC (link)

He smiled at the mention of her upcoming service, a tour of duty that would prove difficult even in the best of circumstances. The thought of being able to assist her in any way proved a pleasant one, distracting him for the moment from his not entirely surreptitious seeking for his friend. His tongue toyed with his labret, flicking at its cool silver edge. "Alex," he said, the name almost lost on a quiet exhalation. He shook his head, seeming to return to himself, suddenly self conscious, feeling more than a little foolish. "I'm sure she's fine."

He turned his focus more solidly to her, smiling as he faced her head on. "Emergency medicine, hm?" he mused. "I probably have a few things I can teach you. But really, Viola, you can hear and read a lot, but until you're out there in the thick of it..." Again he shook his head, memories welling up like blood beneath a bruise. "There's no substitute for hands on experience, least of all in a field like ours." He looked up to her, then, black eyes glinting beneath dark-limned lashes, more curious now than he had any right. There was no sense of Schadenfreude to it - only earnest interest, unveiled, as if he knew he would find no judgment in her. "If you don't mind my asking... and if this is too morbid in the middle of a blackout, tell me... what's the worst thing you've seen yet?"

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giventohel
2011-06-14 01:58 am UTC (link)

She made no haste to answer his question. It was an inquiry that required careful thought. Nevertheless it was her grandmother that first came to her mind. Though she did not believe that this was the type of response Adam was looking for, the experience carrying the weight of its impact because it was personal, she could not shake the memory easily. The impression it had left still lingered in many areas of her life, shaping thoughts, influencing choices. It had not been so much the decline of old age, a process that Viola had come to accept, but the sheer suddenness with which it had struck. Her grandmother had been one day a pillar of strength, dignity, eloquent intelligence, and rendered feeble and struggling the next. If the change had come more gradually, Viola thought she might have better reconciled herself to it despite the tragedy.

"I think," she still hesitated when at last she'd decided on her answer, trying to find the right manner in which to frame her thoughts. "After I spent a month just working with leukemia and bone marrow transplant, it was difficult to see the children, the terminally ill, the ones that just didn't respond well to treatments. Somehow to see their bodies wasting away at such a young age. It's unfortunate." Briefly, she pressed her lips together, and allowed a self-directed laugh to slide free in a slow, uneasy breath. "I know that isn't the most difficult case I've worked, and it isn't the goriest or grossest thing I've seen if that's what you meant by worst. Maybe I'll change my mind once I do spend some time in the emergency room, or I'm asked to assist a surgery. But somehow blood, or bodily wastes, or necrotized tissue don't typically bother me as much."

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jormungandr
2011-06-17 01:31 am UTC (link)

Adam nodded, understanding better than he could readily explain. "In my experience, 'worst' rarely means 'goriest'," he said. "I don't usually see things like that, but I can imagine." He thought of the relative few children he had seen in the back of his ambulance, typically the victims of more violent trauma than what she had described. He imagined it was no easier to see such a young life threatened - or taken outright - by a slow decay than it was to see it extinguished in an instant. There was, after all, no real way to prepare oneself for such a thing, no matter the circumstance. She seemed to have found a balance, though, understanding the gravity of what they dealt with, respecting it for what it was, and carrying on all the same.

"You're going to do well," he said, smiling softly. "I can't see you as anything but calm under pressure. And you have a way about you." He chuckled quietly, giving a sheepish shake of his head. "A comforting kind of presence. That'll do more for your patients, and for you, than you probably think right now."

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giventohel
2011-06-20 01:20 am UTC (link)

"Thank you for that, Adam. Truly." Every word she uttered was imbued with the warmth of friendly affection. It was almost startling to Viola how swiftly she had grown to count this man among the people of whom's opinion she most respected when she had only known him for a handful of months. She had always trusted careful consideration over instinctual emotion, but while her impression of him had not been built without reason as Adam had often given her clear examples of his intelligence and forethought, Viola felt as if she would be lying to herself had she not admitted the influence of of a more unconscious force. She was comfortable around Adam, and in that same inexplicable fashion upon which her faith in his competency had been founded, she felt as though she had known him for the better part of her life. At best, she could only think to label it as the "intuition" that her sister so often credited for (or in Viola's opinion more accurately used to justify) her more impulsive choices.

Her own laughter with its lightness of low notes soon joined his as she glanced briefly around the room. Though several new people had joined them there in the lobby, their figures darker silhouettes against the hazy backdrop of shadows, the room was alive with nothing more than conversation. "Nevertheless I am glad your theory hasn't been put to the test tonight," she said. "To be honest, I'm a little surprised there isn't at least one resident here throwing a tantrum about the lack of responsiveness, or alternatively, someone working themselves up with unnecessary fretting."

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jormungandr
2011-06-22 02:01 am UTC (link)

"Oh, just wait," he said. "By Monday the office will have a snowdrift of letters demanding prorated rent or something."

It was more than a little surprising that the lobby had not yet been the site of a small-scale riot. Adam was glad to see his fellow tenants keeping their relative cool, and even more pleased to see that Alex had made it safely in. All things considered, he was beginning to rather enjoy the impromptu gathering.

"So how are you settling in here?" He shifted beside her, leaning against the wall, pale hands folded at the small of his back. "My shifts haven't given me a lot of time to meet anybody, so I've not really met any new neighbors."

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giventohel
2011-06-23 01:15 pm UTC (link)

At the image conjured by Adam's comments of scribed complaints flooding over the edges of desk, each filled with colorful language and an overwhelming sense of entitlement, that same, soft, throaty laughter slid free again from the delicate parting of Viola's lips, a touch of girlishness shining through a countenance for which most had attributed a certain maturity beyond her years even in her childhood years. This was only further affirmation of the easy manner that existed between them, the inherent rapport that meant his words and gestures communicated a deeper knowledge of exactly what drew out her sense of humour, her confidence, or admiration. It was the exact quality that Viola thought if she had been the sort to preoccupy herself with romantic endeavors, she might have included in her specifications of type and what was important to her in a partner. Yet, nothing remotely romantic could even be considered here. She felt nothing of that baffling, mercurial surge of emotion that transpired when she thought of certain someone, who was by far a less ideal candidate. With Adam, it was almost familial.

"I must admit I've fared little better than you. Beyond the commute to work, the hours I put in there, and then what I try to spend with my sister, there hasn't been too much time for idle socialization. I'm surprised I've managed to find the time to unpack most of things," Viola admitted her own failings in that arena. Yet, she was not of the mindset that life must be all work and no play. Good health and happiness was a careful balance of both. "I did, however, see a recent advertisement for a morning yoga class that would fit nicely into my schedule. It would at least give me a chance to meet some people outside of those at the hospital. I have to say it was a happy accident that day the elevator stopped and gave us the chance to get acquainted, or I may well and truly have known no one I could call a friend in the city."

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jormungandr
2011-06-25 02:55 am UTC (link)

If she had spoken her mind more fully Adam might have been surprised how closely their thoughts ran parallel. Now, as with every time they crossed paths, Adam found himself wishing he had taken more time to acquaint himself with her, to deepen the connection that was already there. It would be good to build on the easy friendship they shared, a rapport whose match he had found with no other recent acquaintance. His shifts would even out, he knew, and he resolved to make a more concerted effort when they did. Perhaps in time they would come to understand just how closely they reflected one another, two old souls fashioned in such similar ways.

"Morning yoga," he mused. "That'd be good to get you out and about, I'd imagine. Hopefully you'd only meet the laid-back neighbors there, and not any of the angry letter-writers. And anyway, I hear a little sun salutation is good for the soul."

In truth, to Adam, routine was sounding like a positive change in and of itself. Too long he had been caught up in change, his every waking moment determined by an ever-changing, gradually worsening schedule. Another man might have cursed the tourists or the summer weather that drew them out, rendering his difficult job all the harder thanks to heavy summer partying. But Adam merely took it in stride, suffering without realizing, a hermit by circumstance rather than choice.

"Maybe I should look into something like that," he said. "If you like the class, let me know? Maybe I'll come along some time."

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giventohel
2011-06-27 10:24 pm UTC (link)

She smiled at the suggestion, and it added a slight dimpling that emphasized the apples of her cheeks, their rosiness lost to the darkness of the room but the roundness of their curves only deepened by the shadow. In their professions, it was no surprise that having left most meetings to happenstance, that these conversations - for all that they were always equal parts delightful and fulfilling - had been less frequent than Viola would have liked.

"I will. It would be nice to see you on a more regular basis, Adam," she told him, the sincerity in her tone and expression giving no chance to mistake her words as mere politeness. "Though I suppose, we hardly need yoga for that. Maybe we could - " Her words were cut short. A sharp cry echoed out in the lobby, a voice distorted by the pain which had wrought it free from the lips of a pale girl, who had fallen to her knees. She was a stranger to Viola, but from the look on Adam's face, Viola suspected he knew the girl. They needed no further exchange of words, or even a glance to pass between them. All this was understood almost implicitly by Viola as she moved with him, side by side, step with step, to check on the other woman.

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	jormungandr 2011-07-01 09:55 pm UTC (link)
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