InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Houston, we have cheesecake."

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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eristic
2011-06-08 01:57 am UTC (link)

Her face maintaind a passive semi-attentive expression, which only seemed to fall in line with her original intentions when she'd asked the question. At least this Cat person was taking it all in stride - Charlie had to give her kudos for that.

Then again, she was also taking the question and running with it, as though she'd been bursting to talk this entire time and Charlie was making a very poor conversational partner. Which, by all means, she was. Charlie was a little taken aback by the offering of so much information (although it couldn't have been anything that anyone else wouldn't offer someone when trying to be friendly), and she found that she was definitely enjoying Cat's company the more time passed.

Her gaze dropped back down to the German Shepard seated on the floor between them, panting happily as his muzzle was tilted up to see what the sudden show of attention was for. "Only a year. Adopted." Her stunted replies were poor next to Cat's eager words, but Charlie had never been one to open up to others easily. Her hand raked Jack's head, giving the currently pampered pooch another scratch on the head. "He's, uh, just a pet." She turned the conversation back around, finding her interest in the other woman growing; not to mention that the conversation was making the time go by, distracting her from her anxious thoughts, and hopefully the lights would come back on soon. Then Charlie could retreat back to her apartment, none worse for the wear. "What do you do?"

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full_of_stars
2011-06-08 03:47 pm UTC (link)

Out of the corner of her eye, Cat had noticed being noticed - or rather, both she and Charlie being noticed - by a pair of young men across the room. In the minimal light, it was difficult to distinguish much, but "young" and "men" was evident in their silhouettes, their posture, and the low murmur of their voices. Her attention was still on Charlie, but her awareness now included the young men - though she couldn't make out their conversation.

"Ah," Cat replied, unable to resist giving Jack a little scratch under his chin. "Adopted pets are the best. He is incredibly sweet." She smiled at Charlie's question.

"And I'm in public relations. I work for a firm in L.A. Although I am curious about what you do, as well," she cast a look over her shoulder, subtly canting her head to indicate the gentlemen who'd been observing them a few minutes ago.

"Does it have anything to do with either of them? I'm almost certain they were checking us out a bit not too long ago."

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eristic
2011-06-08 04:19 pm UTC (link)

Charlie gladly took the opportunity to switch to something that didn't require her to talk about herself - she followed Cat's nod, her eyes trying to pick out the two men standing off to the side. One was holding a flashlight pointed politely down at the floor, and she knew instantly who that was from his posture and the distant sound of his voice. Rylee was probably prepared for each and every emergency he'd encounter (including tornadoes, though those were the least likely to happen in California) and she was somewhat glad to see him.

"The dork with the flashlight is Rylee - not sure who the other one is," she answered. "But no, I don't work with either of them."

Swapping Jack's lead to her other hand, she stretched her now free right arm, she wasn't sure whether to frown at the attention from the men or to smirk. She wasn't irritated, necessarily, from her encounter with Rylee from a few days ago, but then again Charlie always found something to be irritated about. "Rylee's a museum curator. Or at least, will be, I think."

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full_of_stars
2011-06-12 06:07 pm UTC (link)

Her eyes were trained on Charlie, and Cat felt at ease talking to her. She filed away the information about Rylee - it was always good to know what one's neighbors did - but at this point, Charlie was her main point of interest. It was clear that the other woman had many barriers up, but Cat wasn't deterred; if anything, she was more curious, more determined to get to know her.

"Ah, I see," Cat said, looking over at the other pair. The way Charlie talked about Rylee gave Cat the impression that Rylee was more than just a recent acquaintance, and her curiosity was piqued. It was difficult to identify much about the other man; the shadows made it difficult to read facial expressions and even body language. "Did you know him from before you moved here?"

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eristic
2011-06-13 12:48 am UTC (link)

She continued to stare toward the two men, as though she'd bore a hole in their heads with her gaze alone. Then she realized that Cat had asked another question, and her head snapped back to bring the other woman's face into her eyesight.

"Uh, yeah. Um, high school," was the answer, in her usual short, terse sentences. Jack gave a wide yawn, the end of which disappeared into a short whine, scratching his ear. Charlie put her own hand to her neck, giving it a rub and shifted in her stance. Standing still for so long was starting to make her anxious in its own way. As her hand dropped down to her side, she glanced around at the growing crowd and her desire to disappear back into her apartment grew, along with her irritation.

"This is fuckin' ridiculous. Where's that...whaddah call it, that concierge, there has to be someone to complain to..."

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full_of_stars
2011-06-18 05:57 pm UTC (link)

"You know, other than the concierge, I've never seen anyone involved with the management," she mused. And it was true - there were times when it seemed as though Pax was run by a skeleton crew, if any crew at all, besides their rather charming attendant. It wasn't entirely unheard of - it seemed rare enough to Cat for owners of a building such as this to live in it. Even so, it would be nice to have a name. She'd have to remind herself to look into it.

Her next suggestion to Charlie would have been that she send an e-mail to the address that had been in the welcome packet new tenants seemed to receive, but before she had the chance, she got the distinct sense that someone was looking at her - no, someone was watching her. The intensity of the sense was such that it felt as though the hairs on the back of her neck, on her arms, were standing on end. Quickly, she glanced around, but in the darkness, she couldn't make out anyone's eyes, let alone where they were focused. Shaking it off, she turned back to Charlie.

"What an odd coincidence, though," she smiled, that the two of you should find each other after so much time, and here, of all places. It's a long way from Missouri, no?" She cast another glance at him and his companion. Neither of them evoked the powerful sense of connection she felt to Charlie, and yet somehow, even in the dark, even without being able to see their features, they felt familiar somehow. Somehow.

This was all getting a little strange. She found herself hoping, despite rather enjoying Charlie's company, that the lights would go on soon.

"Honestly, if this keeps up, I may go out and get a drink," she gave Charlie a half smile.

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eristic
2011-06-19 04:40 am UTC (link)

Charlie did agree with Cat that there seemed to be a scarcity in apartment management, but she'd taken it as a favor of others keeping their noses out of her business. Up until now, she hadn't really had any complaints (a first, really) and had been perfectly content to just stay in her apartment unless she was required to be at a location for work. She did note that Cat seemed about to add further suggestions, but instead became somewhat panicked.

Charlie, likewise, glanced about as though something had happened but she saw nor heard anything - except for a slight droning noise, not dissimilar to the hum of a room full of electrical equipment. Thinking nothing of it, instead she concentrated on Cat's observation regarding her and Rylee, feeling her mouth set in a hard line.

"Yeah, coincidences," she started, pulling up all thoughts she had on that particular regard, when the humming suddenly grew sharper. Charlie grimaced, teeth bared as a hand protectively rose to her ear level. The noise drowned out Cat's next words, and Charlie was shit at reading lips, so her only response was a confused look. "What?" She couldn't even hear her own voice, her distress level quickly rising due to her sudden and inexplicable handicap.

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full_of_stars
2011-06-20 03:36 am UTC (link)

Cat looked at Charlie with some concern. There was nothing detectably wrong, as far as she could tell, but clearly, Charlie was in distress. The expression on her face was telling enough, and of course, the gesture of raising her hand to her ear. It seemed as though she was hearing something - only that something was not Cat's voice.

"Are you all right, Charlie?" she asked, moving forward to reach out to the other woman. She spoke more loudly, the hum of conversation in the room preventing her from drawing too much attention to them. "Do you need help?"

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eristic
2011-06-20 09:29 pm UTC (link)

The noise drowned out all other sound - simple things like breathing, loose cloth, the tapping of shoes or feet on the tiled floor. Cat's lips moved, but again Charlie had no comprehension of what the woman might be saying to her; she took a step back, bumping into the German Shepard who was just now starting to look concerned. If there was any indication that he heard the droning as well, it wasn't apparent to those around him. He jumped to all four paws, repositioning himself by Charlie's hip in order to provide support and wait for commands.

With one hand pressed to her ear, the other dug into Jack's coat as she tried to orient herself in the room as the sound proceeded to scoop out the loose confidence she'd developed in the short conversation she'd had with Cat. Another step backward had her nearly headed in the direction of her apartment, the feeling of fight or flight beating in her stomach; but there was nothing to fight, nothing tangible at least. Then, magically, it cleared - but instead of being replaced with the noise of conversations being carried on in the room, she heard something else.

"What do you mean, you're leaving?!"
"I'm...just going back home, Charlie, it's not-"
"The fuck is this, you sign up because of some fucking spurt of patriotic duty, then flake out when you don't feel like it anymore?!"
"What...no, what the hell, Charlie, I'm-"

The sound of something being broken, smashed (a picture, she suddenly remembered a frame being knocked to the floor) abruptly stopped the voice from speaking, and her eyes swung wildly around the room as she tried to discover the source of this particular conversation.

"Go ahead, run away, what, because you're fucking scared?! I think I get it, now, you can read about that shit, but fucking step into it for one day and you turn into a goddamn pussy!"

She knew who both speakers were - the one raging, spewing expletives like candy, was her own. The other was Rylee's, and the topic had been Rylee opting to not reenlist. But why was she hearing it now, in crystal clear tones like it had only happened yesterday?

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the__dark__one
2011-06-20 11:56 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't like him to eavesdrop; it wasn't like him to be interested in strangers at all. But although he hadn't intended to sit down at all, much less listen to the two conversing now, it was as if the rest of the murmuring, pressing mass of people around him had all but faded. Of course, logically he knew this was inaccurate; it was merely his perception that had changed. But his perception was not altering, and therefore his reality was exactly thus.

When the beautiful voice took on an edge of alarm, he stood -- not of his own accord, but because it was what his body moved him to do. And more surprisingly to him, he found himself walking straight to the two ladies. In the dark, their faint outlines would have been difficult for others to have seen and immediately identified -- but Elias always had seen well in the dark. When he approached their circle of two, he couldn't help but stare at the first one. It must be her, he thought to himself -- right before a blinding light hit him straight between the eyes. It was like a migraine without the headache, that same sort of black, wretched light that felt like being engulfed in a supernova.

A stagger backwards, a cough, and then he straightened himself. "Is everything all r..."

But there was more than just the light as it passed through him. There was pain, enough to stiffen his shoulders and back ramrod straight, enough to pale his already-white skin. Not that anyone here could tell.

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full_of_stars
2011-06-22 01:59 am UTC (link)

As Charlie backed away, Cat stepped forward, though she withdrew her hand, not sure if the younger woman was having some kind of episode, not wanting to alarm or frighten her further. Just then, though, another presence made itself known, emerging as though it had always been apart of the impenetrable dark, but now walked, given form. She turned as it - he, certainly he spoke, and she felt as though she'd been struck impossibly hard with no pain at all. His voice - it was perfect, deep, shadowed -

And then gone.

"Are you -" she didnt' know where to turn. Charlie seemed lost in a world of her own, and now this stranger whose presence was compelling she found herself at a momentary loss - seemed in his own kind of distress.

She laid a hand on his arm and said, "Wait just a moment, sir."

Sir was all wrong, but there was no time to consider this further. She turned to Charlie, and, though she had the strong sense that the woman did not appreciate extraneous touch from strangers, took her hand. "Charlie, should I call someone?"

All the while, she could feel the presence of the man at her side, and despite his distress, found it at once comforting and wholly unsettling.

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eristic
2011-06-24 05:33 pm UTC (link)

Then the voices were gone once more, and the droning took up in the space they left behind. Instantly Charlie clapped her hands to her ears - completely missing the entrance of the man to whom Cat had spoken - and she turned on one heel to head directly toward her apartment. No goodbyes, no waves, nothing to show that she considered all interaction with the two others to be complete. No, instead she was only concerned with reaching her apartment, to find some bit of safety therein even if the darkness proved to be more treacherous than the monsters lurking in her head. If this was an episode, it was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. She thought she'd been getting better, but this was certainly proving her wrong. Very wrong.

Jack gave a soft whine, partially of pain from Charlie grabbing and yanking his collar, and also of worry, an attempt to gain Charlie's attention so that he could perform what he'd been trained to do. When the woman gave no sign of knowing the dog was there aside from the near-stranglehold she had on his collar, he simply did his best to keep up, nails scrambling on the tile floor of the building as they approached apartment number 103. Charlie scoured her front pants pocket for her key, fumbling in the darkness as she tried to work through the inane noise that was driving her up the wall. The droning was almost better than the voices, and she didn't want to see what would appear next.

[ OOC: ok, consider Charlie out, and sorry this took so long! ]

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