cityofhex | [Closed] [Nov. 2] world was moving on with you a step behind;

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[Closed] [Nov. 2] world was moving on with you a step behind;

Tobias sat on the picnic table, waiting for the guy he'd met to show up. His Beast is somewhat hungry, prowling in his soul, and he hopes that this will pay off. He seems like a hard guy to spook... he'd been excited by the idea of something creepy.

... Well, this would either pay off with a decent amount of fear, give him a new ally, or he'd be dead. The last of the options wasn't the best one, but he'd accepted long ago that he was going to end up dead sooner or later.

He'd just expected that he'd be one of the first. Whatever. He'd moved stashes from that building, and now that it was starting to get dark, it would be a good setting for a creepy atmosphere. Now it was just a matter of waiting and seeing what the outcome would be.

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"Yeah, he is. ...Kind of like a ghost, but more powerful." That's the easier description anyway.

That is also a weirdly specific piece of advice that worries Ryoji a little! "Up?" he asks.

"Huh. I haven't ever met a ghost, honestly. Or if I have, I didn't recognize it." It's not like he'd really be able to know.

"And... yeah. I mean... people don't look up enough. They don't see the dangers that are out there. Sometimes someone needs to remind the that they need to be careful."

"You probably wouldn't be able to see most of them." He clearly can't see Thanatos.

That's... actually a good point, and it's got Ryoji curious. "I see... what other kind of things do you 'teach lessons' about?"

"Well, that's the main one I teach. Others teach other things. Like the fact that you need to value things other than possessions. Or that no one is in power forever. Or that you can't run away from consequences." He shrugs and smiles slightly. "Whatever lesson the Dark Mother gives us and our Horrors, that's what we teach."

...Something about the phrase 'the Dark Mother' stirs something that feels like it should be familiar, or at least related to something familiar, or something in his memory. But he can't place it. "Who's the Dark Mother? And... what are Horrors, exactly? Do you know?" It's entirely possible he doesn't. There's so much about the magic swirling around Hex that no one understands.

"... The mother of monsters. All monsters, whether they're vampires, werewolves, Beasts, or something else." He's quiet for a few moments, before glancing to Ryoji's side, hoping to see the geist - but he can't.

"You said you died and came back with something attached to you. A Horror is something that attaches to us. All of us have nightmares of being chased, or hunted, or having something lurking. Some of us just get eaten up. Others have another Beast show up in our dreams. But we end up being devoured all the same... and we realize that we were the one chasing ourselves. So the Horror swallows up our soul and takes its place."

He pauses and paces slightly, uneasy with being still. "A Horror is... something from the Primordial Dream, which is where all nightmares come from. Usually it's something that represents... a fear. It's not always an animal - sometimes it's a shapeless something from the dark. Mine is a hawk - that's why I remind people to look up. It's not a bad thing. Even nightmares serve a purpose. If they didn't warn people, a lot more of humanity would be dead."

That description does not help the niggling feeling in his brain. It feels like something is there, but like there's no way for him to reach it. It's really annoying, and frankly a little bit distressing.

"I see..." Ryoji does not see. At all. He gets the basic concept, but like so many things he doesn't quite know where that leaves Tobias. Is his soul a nightmare? That doesn't seem like a lot of fun, to be honest. It makes him worry a little bit about the guy... maybe he'll be able to keep an eye on him now, at least. He was brought out here for a reason. Or, so he assumes.

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" If Tobias could sense his power in a way, then getting a name for it would be one thing, but... he's curious if there's something else the boy wants or needs from him.

"It's hard to understand unless you live it, and it's not exactly something I can show you easily. But... kind of, yeah. Since the Dark Mother is the Mother of Monsters - all of them - we can pick up on who's connected to that kind of thing. I haven't... really ever known what kind of thing went with that sensation, so I wanted to ask. And you seemed like the kind of person who would rather talk than fight. There's not a ton of those kinds of people."

He smiles a bit, and it's... a little sheepish. "Sorry for tricking you. It's just all I could think of." Tobias almost turns away, but then... something occurs to him. "If... you can see ghosts... I might have... something."

He's not sure he wants to bare his soul to someone he just met, but if there's a possibility... "There's someone I want to talk to... if... I don't know if you can make a ghost show up or anything... I don't know if she left a ghost..." He takes a step back, his voice cracking slightly.

Ah... that.

It's not an uncommon thing to be brought up for Sin-Eaters if people learn about what they can do. But it's also really not an easy thing to help with. Unless they know their loved one is a ghost, anyway. Which Tobias clearly doesn't. Ryoji doesn't want to give him hope he can't deliver on, but he also doesn't want to crush it. Hope is... important.

"It's alright," he says with a soft chuckle, "It's not really a thing that's easy to bring up in pretty much any situation. It worked out ok, so I don't really mind." ...Stiiiill kind of wishing there was a gate, but other than that, totally find.

He does have to shake his head. "I can't just summon ghosts to me, no. And no one really knows what makes certain people become ghosts. But if I find one, I can let them speak through me, for a little while. If it's alright... could you tell me a little bit about her?"

Tobias leans against the wall, trying to gather his strength. His Horror stirs a little, but he doesn't really react. "... She was... the strongest of all of us. Her Horror was like a huge bear... but she was beautiful. Tall, blonde, like a model. Strong and athletic... but kind. She could be blunt, but she took care of me when I left home. We spent a lot of time together... she helped me hang onto what it was to be human. She made me laugh... she would tell me what went on in school. I don't know how she kept up going to school with everything... but..."

It hurts. It physically hurts, how much he misses her. "I thought... she could... I thought she'd way outlive... me, at least. But she didn't. She was the only one of our group to die... it's not fair!" He turns and kicks at the door, which cracks and splinters, but doesn't break. As he does, Ryoji will be able to see the monstrous form of a huge raptor form around him, lashing out with its talons.

Ryoji's quiet, listening to him. There's a lot he can't tell about this girl, and so much that will likely have been lost or changed if she did become a ghost, but even if it doesn't help on that front... it might help Tobias. It certainly shows a little bit more about him and what his own change has done.

He still doesn't say anything when he sees the raptor, but he certainly takes note of it. Thanatos sure finds it interesting. It's almost like a geist, but still very, very different. He's not sure what to make of it. "What happened to her?" he asks, voice gentle and concerned.

"... She..." He takes a deep breath, pulling his arms in. "We were fighting something called a Strix. It had taken control of a vampire... and we'd thought she had the one near her handled, but it grew sharp claws and slashed through her. It got under her ribs and into her heart. I tried to drag her back, to pull her away so she could heal, but she... she was gone before I could do anything..."

Tobias' shoulders shake, and he tries to hold the tears back, but they fall anyway. He scrubs at his face. This isn't going to help... but... "That was... a month ago. Two? Three? I've lost track of the time..."

Ryoji, naturally, has no idea what a Strix is but figures now is probably not the time to ask. Whatever it is is decidedly not good, so he will ask later, but he understands the topic on had and the sensitivity of enough to respect Tobias's feelings.

"I'm sorry," he says quietly, "I... haven't come across a ghost like her, I don't think. But if I do, I'll tell you. And if you find her I'll do what I can to help." It might not be much- let them have a final exchange before helping her rest, but the offer is there.

"... Okay. I thought... I'd ask." It was worth a try. He never... got to say goodby, after all. It still hurts. And he's still tracking those things down. "Sorry. I didn't mean to add something else to your plate."

He wipes his face again, trying to get himself together. "I don't know if Beasts leave ghosts, anyway. No way I'd be able to tell, at least. I don't really know what ghosts are made of, and if they're souls... since ours are kind of gone, it might not be something we can do."

Ryoji shakes his head, smiling. "No, don't be sorry. I don't mind at all." He likes to help people and ghosts find peace. It's what he does. If this is something that's hurting Tobias... maybe he can't help him find his friend, but there might be something else he can think of to help him out.

"Unfortunately, I can't really help with that. We don't even entirely know how ghosts work, and while we've got theories... there are a bunch of different ones." And all their rituals seem to work, which is weird.

"... To be honest, I don't think even Beasts know how Horrors work, so I can't fault you for not knowing how ghosts work." It's not like he had much hope on being able to talk to her... but he had to try.

He glances to the door and tries to kind of... pull it back so it's not bulging as much. "... I don't usually lash out like that..."

Ryoji chuckles, voice a little weak. "Yeah... I sort of wonder if anyone has all the answers we want, anywhere." He doubts it, especially with how many people seem to not understand how their own powers work, just that they do. Mages might know. ...He doesn't really want to ask mages, is the problem.

"You're upset. I think that's when it makes the most sense to lash out. I'm just glad you aimed for the door!" Trying to inject a little humor back into it, which... might fall a bit flat. "Don't worry about it. Do you need help fixing it?"

"I doubt it, but it kind of makes life interesting, I guess." He's not sure about mages anyway. He hasn't ever really talked to them. ... Mostly he hasn't talked to people other than other Beasts and a Demon. ... And occasionally vampires, but normally not.

He shrugs a bit at the question. "I don't know if it can be? Unless you've got super strength. ... I don't want to pull too hard, though..."

"That's true!" Life is a very exciting and interesting thing. Ryoji kind of wishes more people understood that... maybe that way, people would have less regrets. Maybe less anchors. (Maybe more anchors, if they really didn't want to leave...)

"Not really. Sorry." Thanatos's form might be able to do something, but. "Is this where you live?"

"It's... kind of frustrating when you need to know how to take out an enemy, though." All of these years, and they still haven't killed off all of the Strix in the area. He's pretty sure they've pumped Ax for as much information as he has on them, though.

"Huh? Here? No. I kind of live all over... usually on roofs when the weather's nice." People don't look up, after all, so it's easy to escape notice.

"Yeah, there is that..." Even laying a ghost to rest is a different task each time. It would be kind of nice if it was more straightforward, like things seemed to be in movies and stuff. Sigh.

"Oh, really? That's pretty cool." It's... pretty clear Tobias doesn't live with his family anymore, which is understandable. Ryoji got away with it, and his mother is still trying to be a little overprotective even though he's not living at home, but that's just not possible for a lot of people in their... unique situations.

"It's nice... I don't mind it. I've been doing it for a while, even when I was with my group. We all sort of had our own situations... sometimes I crashed on someone's couch when the weather was bad." He's got a tent that he can use, but it's not the same. And even buildings that have decent insulation might be hard to find soon, if the temperature dips.

Still... no need to bother him with that. "Do you spend most of your free time working with ghosts and stuff?" He's... always been kind of curious how 'normal' teenagers spend their time.

Hmm. Well, Ryoji's not sure if Tobias trusts him enough yet, but-- "If you need, I've got a couch in my apartment. You might have to deal with my roommates some, but they wouldn't mind and they don't ask a lot of questions." That's what Ryoji likes best about them.

"A lot of it," he says, nodding, "But... if dying taught me anything, it was to enjoy my life while I had it. So I try to have a lot of fun and try new things too."

"... Thanks." He's not sure if he'll ever take it up, but it's good to know. This guy seems to not be super dangerous... on the surface. He might want to keep an eye on him, though.

Enjoy life... huh. "I'm not - I don't usually have much time to do that kind of thing. I guess I have more time now, but... I've been fighting things for a long time. I'm sort of on a break right now, but that... kind of thing won't stay quiet forever, whether I'm with the others or not."

Far enough. It's not like Ryoji's going to give away all his secrets in one go either.

Ryoji hums, considering it. "What kind of things do you like?" he asks, smiling, "I know you talked about drawing... living life doesn't have be going out and meeting everyone in the world or things like that. Little things are alright too. And even if your world is full of fighting, I think it's still important to have those things that are just for you."

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