InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Who wants a xandwitch?"

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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arkhospheleteon
2011-06-05 04:24 pm UTC (link)

It was a curious thing to find the other man laughing in response. Although Philip took no particular offense in it, this was not the usual reaction by most, who preferred to bestow a certain amount of surprise or concerned sobriety upon hearing such announcements. The difference now served as a point of minor interest. Still he'd hardly known the deceased, and in truth, his own view of mortality often possessed a certain levity that others might have found disrespectful. He seldom paused to consider the impact such losses might leave on the lives of those who had known the departed.

"It was a few months back. A body was found by the pool," he said as though he had not been one half of the pair that had stumbled onto the unfortunate scene. "The police were called, and there was an investigation and everything, but I don't think they ever caught anyone. I think it turned out to be someone who worked here." His shoulders lifted in a shrug. Somehow the knowledge no longer held the same unsettling chill it had once carried for him, the following months so uneventful that the tale felt just that, a story rather than a reality.

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inclinedfear
2011-06-05 05:37 pm UTC (link)

Rylee gave a slow nod in response to this information. He wanted to pry for more information because he was curious as to the history of this new place he called home but he held off. It wasn't the best of news to find out about the place you just moved into but Rylee was taking cautious steps to not give himself any more reasons to feel anxious. If he knew the reason behind the death he would likely find some way to grow panicked over it.

A moment passed where Rylee didn't say anything and wasn't quite sure how to continue from the grim turn of their conversation. Rylee made a small sigh and shifted his position once more, brushing his USMC shirt down a little and placing the flashlight in his other hand. "I wonder how long it will take for them to get the lights working again," Rylee's voice was low and the comment was spoken more to himself then to Philip. He would like nothing more then to return to his apartment and continue reading the Gettysburg diaries with a flood of electric light but that didn't seem to be happening any time soon.

Turning his attention back to his temporary companion Rylee smiled. "So, Philip, what do you do for a living?"

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arkhospheleteon
2011-06-08 12:50 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, you know, this and that," Philip said in a manner, which sounded thoroughly convinced such an answer would satisfactorily explain everything his companion might possibly want to know about his employment. He was not the sort typically inclined toward guarding the private details of their life in stalwart fashion. The intimate and tragic was often freely offered, especially in situations where it might work toward his benefit. Yet, this was not one of those cases where a well-played sob-story about the difficulty of the economy and his heroic - as they would undoubtedly be heroic in his interpretation of events - struggles to make ends meet while between jobs would have gained him anything but suspicion over how he could still afford to stay in so nice a place as Pax. Therefore, in lieu of honesty, Philip had opted for an abundance of confidence. He flashed a smile, and just as quickly, redirected the conversation to safer topics.

"Say I read in the paper once that more power outages were caused by squirrels than lightning in the past few years, and that in some places, those numbers are on the rise," Philip mused. "Maybe one of them got friendly with one of the power lines. If the problem's as straightforward as that, all this really shouldn't take too long to fix. But then that wouldn't away the backup generator not kicking in, if this building has one, which I think I heard someone say it does. Wouldn't that be a coincidence if they'd both gone down at once?"

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inclinedfear
2011-06-08 04:53 pm UTC (link)

Rylee laughed quietly, he felt himself growing relaxed and the tension leaving him despite the situation around him. So long as things weren't getting any worse, he could eventually grow used to the present predicament and it had certainly been long enough that they had been standing there in the dark. Anyway, what was there to fear in the dark when there were squirrels running around outside and destroying the power? With their beady little eyes, their little claws, rats with puffy tails was all they were. They could carry a bunch of diseases for all they knew.

Rylee didn't like squirrels. Anything that was small and could scurry up a tree then leap at you was just not cool in Rylee's book.

"Must have been a pretty big squirrel to kill the entire buildings electric. Well, a fried squirrel now," Rylee commented. If they were chewing on electric lines, surely they were dead. One less disease carrying furry tree rodent for Rylee to look at wearily. "I always think I haven't the best of luck. So, with me living here now, I bet you it was a squirrel killing off the electric and the back up generator going dead. That would just be my luck... and I guess now yours too." He smiled at Phillip, trying to imply that he was joking... almost. It would be his luck for squirrels to be running around and killing the electric. He relaxed his shoulders, at looked around the room as more people filtered through. "So where are you from? California or somewhere else?"

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arkhospheleteon
2011-06-14 01:56 am UTC (link)

Philip had nearly begun to correct Rylee that the squirrels did not need to be particularly large, just foolish enough to sink their teeth into the right connective wiring, before the other man had returned the conversation back to the more standard patterns of first time greetings. His thoughts of mischievous rodents were immediately forgotten, Rylee's mention of bad luck never fully considered as he mirrored the grin worn by his companion. "New York originally. But I guess you could say I've pretty much been everywhere and in between since then," the mirthful sound of laughter coloured his response. Even within his native area, he had spent much of his childhood being bounced from home to home, school district to school district, such as was that the foster care system went. He supposed it was only natural that his inclination to change his home base and explore the other varying parts of the world only made sense.

"What about you? Where are you from? Have you lived anywhere interesting?" The line of questioning came in the rapid-fire fashion that the thoughts struck him as Philip had never found much reason to put any restraint upon his curiousity.

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inclinedfear
2011-06-14 03:34 am UTC (link)

Rylee began to pass the flashlight between his hands absentmindedly while listening to Philip. His smile broadened at the mention of New York and he scratched at his head for a moment before answering. “I’ve been all over as well. I grew up in Missouri; I guess that’s where the southern accent comes from although I’ve been told it’s not as strong as it used to be. I went to school in Pennsylvania, was stationed in Virginia while I was in the Marines, Iraq for a while, and then I got my Masters in Massachusetts. I knew a lot of people from New York though. So… I guess you can say I’ve been to a number of places as well and maybe a little interesting too.”

Rylee relaxed further, having made it through such a normal question. He was always willing to discuss the places he had live. Each place held a great amount of importance for Rylee and he never regretted living in any of the locations, even if his stay in Iraq was determined by outside sources.

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arkhospheleteon
2011-06-19 12:20 pm UTC (link)

"Then we've got at least that in common," Philip said, taking delight in any commonality he managed to share with another. His gaze was briefly distracted by the streaking glow drawn back and forth across the floor beneath their feet as the flashlight as shifted idly from hand to hand behind Rylee's back, a catlike fascination in the eyes that followed the quickness of its motion along a haphazard path. If not for that act, Philip might have appeared as though he'd completely forgotten the oddity of their circumstances, completely at ease within the darkness that dominated the room and engaging in such typical small talk with a neighbour that one might have on any other occasion.

"You know, I think we folks who get to travel different places have it better than those who stay put. There's just so much out there to see and do, experience whole different cultures and new languages. It's something of an adventure, don't you think?" He mused. If as a child, he'd ever resented the shuffle of foster homes, that memory had long faded, stripping those experiences of any bitter emotion at being torn from family to family and rendered merely into a more pleasant, whirlwind recollection of constant novelty.

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inclinedfear
2011-06-25 02:31 am UTC (link)

"I agree, we're certainly lucky that we have gotten to see more of the world than others," Rylee replied. He liked this man Philip but he noticed movement at the corner of his eye. A dark slithering shadow through the room that caused him to turn, his anxiety suddenly reappearing, but quickly his attention was directed elsewhere. There was a small commotion near where Charlie had been standing and Rylee's blue eyes narrowed slightly as he observed what was happening. A man had joined the two women and Charlie seemed upset, immediately Rylee felt a surge to protect her although he knew she needed no help from him, but it seemed that something was certainly wrong. Maybe they weren't protecting her, they seemed concerned, and her dog certainly seemed upset as well.

He watched as Charlie pushed herself away and hurried towards her apartment and turned back to Philip. "I'm sorry, Philip, but my friend... Charlie... she seems upset. I'm going to go check on her, alright? It's been great meeting you though. Maybe I'll see ya later." He smiled at Philip, feeling confident that he had landed an acquaintance in his new apartment complex. Quickly he turned to follow Charlie, giving momentary pause as he thought he saw that shadowed shape once more, trailing after his feet before he continued after his friend.

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