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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"... Like what you are. If you even have a word for it." No offense, but he'd like to have a term to associate with this weird ashy taste in his mouth.

Ryoji smiles at him, ignoring Thanatos's rather indignant roar. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours!" he says with a little laugh.

Is. Is this guy flirting with him? His eyes widen slightly - nope nope nope, that is not something he signed up for. It takes a lot to shake him, but flirting is a sure way to throw him off.

... He takes a moment to take a breath. "... Yeah, I guess that's fair. But you first, since I asked first."

Ryoji hums a little, thinking it over. "Alright. I'm a Sin-Eater." You did just ask for the name, but he'll probably elaborate after he gets his answer.

"... Fine. I'm a Beast. What's a Sin-Eater? Something about the dead?" If his... whatever that sense is... is anywhere right. He really should have grabbed something to snack on to wash the taste out of his mouth.

"Good guess!" Ryoji suspects there is more to it than a guess. "I died, and then a geist offered me the chance to come back to life with the condition that he could stick around. What's a Beast?"

"I was dreaming, and then something in my dreams came and devoured my soul and replaced it. I don't know what a geist is, but you probably don't know what a Horror is." He's watching Ryoji carefully. He doesn't know that someone will exactly react well to hearing that they're talking to someone without a human soul.

Yeah, Ryoji really doesn't know what to do with that. He blinks widely at Tobias, trying to figure out how that even works. "...huh," is what he settles on. Yeah, that's the most intelligent thing he's got at the moment. "Well. That's a new one for me." Seriously how does your living... existence, thing even work then? Why is he not seeing weird shenanigans in your life thing, is it only your body that counts?

He has no idea. Honestly, the spiritual mechanics are not something he knows super well. "I mean I'm still... I've still got a human mind. I just have extra stuff I can do now. But is it the same way for you?"

Soul stuff is confusing. And interesting! But mostly confusing. "Kind of. I mean, my soul is still mine too, but Thanatos sticks around and I can do some other things." Thanatos who is grumpy that they're apparently talking to people about this. He might be sulking a little. Or, at least, what Ryoji describes as sulking.

"Thanatos is a... geist?" That's the word he used before, anyway. "Anyway... Beasts usually teach lessons to people... usually in their dreams. Things people have forgotten. Like that they need to look up once in a while."

"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."

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