IC inbox

[knifemonopoly]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 *** PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1> If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message.

Main handle: < Player1 > Anon: < turtleluck >, < actuallydied >, < burner >

Comments

[knifemonopoly]

[Oh, he knows that key. Atem knew what Dyster-keys looked like even before he wound up with one of his own; now, though, it's unmistakable. The steel has a sheen you don't really see with any other material...

...and, what Riley's saying is a bit of a clue, too.]

That makes two of us!

[One of the bats that's flying overhead swoops down and poffs back into its usual, much more colorful shape.]

Trying to decide what to do with it?

[isawallflower]

[ His familiar voice rings out, and Riley doesn't even really register what he's saying, just someone else is here. How sloppy of her.

She turns about, looking for Atem, only to spy him just as he turns from bat to humanoid, staring at him with that deer-in-the-headlights, hand-in-the-cookie-jar expression that signifies between fight or flight she's landed on freeze. A typical Riley day. ]

A- Atem! [ She squeaks, and then, as if it'll save the moment, holds the hand with the key, digging into her flesh, behind her back. ] No. With what? What are you doing here?

[ All quickly, in one breath. ]

[knifemonopoly]

I was headed back in! But it looked like you were about to throw something...

[If it had hit him, it would have been bad! Atem's glad she didn't!]

...something that looked like this.

[He fishes in his pocket a second, then pulls out a key, identical to the one that's hidden behind her back.]

[isawallflower]

[ Her eyes widen. ]

Atem... You...? [ Was it like her? Was it a mistake? Was it...? ] ...You're...a follower.

[knifemonopoly]

I prefer to think of it as an alliance until I change my mind.

[He pockets it.]

It's a funny story about how it happened, actually...but I'll bet it's about as strange as yours!

[Because being that torn about throwing the key away...that's familiar!]

[isawallflower]

[ Her jaw tight, Riley complains bitterly: ]

It's not funny. She did it, that— ...my double.

[knifemonopoly]

And I did it when I was out of it, at the beginning of January.

["Funny."]

What an odd coincidence, that it happened to both of us around the same time...

[Atem wonders if there's something to that, if there was some kind of god recruitment campaign in a place invisible to the players, if someone decided the gods needed more followers in general...but files that away, for later.]

...so, you're conflicted about whether or not to keep it?

[isawallflower]

[ His lost time. She was remarkably worried about him, then. It figures on top of everything else, that would happen. A prayer in a moment of desperation? ]

No. I mean— I know I don't want to keep it. I never wanna talk to her, again. [ ... ] But...

[knifemonopoly]

[He's listening. He doesn't speak over her, doesn't put words in her mouth -- he just listens, and inclines his head forward. He doesn't know what it is, but whatever she has to say, his posture says, it'll be all right.]

But...?

[isawallflower]

...But... Aunamee.

[ After...everything, she let her friends know. It was mostly in text form, either a warning to fellow residents of floor 8 or an update to those who live elsewhere and would probably want to keep tabs on this—Aunamee knows where she lives. ]

I don't...want to rely on her. But, the...ability this gave me. It could be really helpful, if...he actually follows through.

[knifemonopoly]

[...he nods, serious.]

Is it the extra power, or the possibility of using the key itself to make a quick escape?

[isawallflower]

Oh, Dryster is not safe. I'm not setting foot there.

[ This she's sure of. Throwing away the key is more...symbolic, for her. ]

It's... [ She bites her lip. ] Do you wanna see?

[knifemonopoly]

Yes -- if you're willing to show me.

[He'd understand if she wants it kept secret. He's keeping his own second-level powers to himself...he doesn't want anyone who attacks him to know what to expect, and prepare ahead of time.

Maybe Riley isn't thinking about it in terms that paranoid, but whatever it is she can do, right now...he won't tell anyone what it is. It won't get back to Aunamee through him.]

[isawallflower]

[ She casts him a small smile. Grateful. To her, she doesn’t consider the dangers, of showing Atem. Because…he’s Atem. He knows about her. He knows everything, because there’s nothing she’s keeping from him anymore—nothing that would cause her worry, at least. He knows her crimes, knows her struggles, knows the root. Neither of them have the words sometimes, for the things they feel, but… Whenever she talks to him, about the violent thoughts that live inside her, about the darkness she feels herself caught in, she always feels understood.

She pulled away once, and it pushed them closer. An invader used their clash to its advantage, and in the end she confided in him. She keeps confiding in him. It’s why, when he was all hopped up on nephilim justice, it hurt so much, to be rejected, looked through, dismissed and written off.

Because, if Atem is Atem… He’s an ally. A friend.

(She still wonders… His double—)

Riley gives a brief nod and walks purposefully across the roof, murmuring to herself. ]

Okay, so… Roof access that way, my room’s maybe…oh, how many square feet was it…?

[ After some estimation, she lets out a small huff of breath. Her wings flap, like she’s about to take off, but instead she descends and fully starts sinking into the roof. Through the roof. Nothing about her seems to visibly change; she doesn’t go invisible or see-through. But, as evident by the fact that she slips a whole leg down into their apartment building, it’s obvious that Riley is completely intangible. ]

Tadah…

[knifemonopoly]

I see--!

[He doesn't announce precisely what it is. Anyone could be listening. But now, he knows...]

So...you can't be trapped!

[Heh...no wonder she was so careful about which apartment was underneath. Their neighbors didn't need to look up and see a bird claw sticking through their ceiling!]

That is useful.

[He's impressed.

There's times when he would've liked to have something like that...more than he wants to recall. But even if he'd had it, his silver weakness would have kept him from using it...

--he wrenches his mind away from that.]

Being able to turn into mist is one of my favorite vampire abilities...it's good to be able to take a form where you can't be hurt, or caught.

[isawallflower]

[ The way her double worded the request lead to this. If she'd had her way, she probably would've done something more...destructive. Or maybe it's what the real Riley needed and that's why it was granted—she doesn't know. Doesn't care to examine it. Not about the Fog. ]

Mmhmmm. Yeah, it really is similar. [ Though it isn't vampire that she draws specific connections to, when she thinks about it. If she were being completely honest, she knows what monster this is. The fear it inspires in her. Poetic, to use something you're afraid of as your own. ]

I could get away in a hurry. Whatever he tried...I could slip out of it.

[ She raises her leg out from its position inside the roof. ]

[knifemonopoly]

[The shade Atem's closest to has fought tooth and nail to hold onto as much solid-time as he can, so it's, regrettably, not his first thought.

Still...he considers her position. She doesn't get along with the Fog, doesn't want the strings attached, but does want this one particular power.]

You don't have to keep it forever. Just until he makes whatever move he's going to make...or until the situation changes. You're not planning to advance, are you?

[isawallflower]

No.

[ Her voice betrays how strongly she feels about that. Insistent, disgusted at the possibility. ]

I don't... Never. She's probably not even paying attention...but I don't want her to think she's won.

[knifemonopoly]

[He nods.]

Hm. I've heard mixed reports...some people say the Fog's never asked them for anything they wouldn't do themselves, and others who've been here longer say she'll call in favors, ask us to attack her enemies.

Personally, I think she's getting more active lately. Both of the gods...Haftesal's got weapons that are effective against the fog itself, and every time it comes in, it's the same bloodthirsty broken record in my brain! As a first tier, she probably won't expect much service, but I can't discount the possibility completely that one day she'll ask you to fight for her.

But, until that happens...you can hold onto it. Wait to get rid of it until you have to.

[isawallflower]

[ Riley breaths out quickly. ]

I won't. And...I won't let her try to make me. I'm not gonna listen to her.

[ It's not what she's been ordered or not ordered to do, for Riley. It's the lack of anything. The lack of care...except when she needs something. The circumstances, the way she acts. It's not even necessarily the acts, anymore. ]

But... She thinks one day I'll just fall in line. One day, it'll make sense. [ There's a dark look on Riley's face. Last she had it... Last Atem saw it was in her dreamworld, where she tortured her own parents to death. ] She can't think that was true. I...have to show her otherwise.

[knifemonopoly]

[He knows that look.

And, he understands...this is different from how Atem feels about the Fog, where he just doesn't want to be used to inflict harm he didn't choose himself.

This is about Riley interacting with a being that has power over her, who expects her to just be the perfect doll she expects Riley to be, without listening to Riley in return, without treating her as someone who has the right to be heard, to be treated as a person, not a pet.

He nods again, firmer.]

Is there a way to get both? To keep this power, and to stick it to her? I guess there's no guarantee that a level-one pledge to Elias would give the same ability...

[isawallflower]

[ He doesn't push her. He doesn't try to explain how he sees it. Doesn't try to counter her.

Because it's personal. It's so incredibly personal, and he recognizes that. For a moment, Riley's stunned. Talking about the Fog never goes well, after all.

Still, as she snaps herself back to attention, she shakes her head. ]

Just 'cause I hate her doesn't mean I like Elias, either. I do not get involved with creepy, manipulative teenage boys who cyberbully people on the internet.

[knifemonopoly]

Heh heh.

[No, he respects that, too. Tell him how you really feel! But Atem sobers quick.]

Right...so, neither god's someone to depend on, for power.

[He'd suggest Mana, but he doesn't know how many coins she has...if she's not thought of it yet, it's probably not an option. The musical power probably cleared her out...so, are there other options? Ryslig has some magic inherent to the place. But the last time she encountered it, it went bad...]

[isawallflower]

[ Truthfully... Riley does have an amount of coins. A nice amount. But Mana's never really been a sound option. Most of the times she's gone to her, her requests have backfired to a ridiculous level, so Riley isn't really comfortable, going to see her.

She will. Out of necessity, she will. ]

I don't even really want power, in a like...traditional way. I just...want him to leave me alone.

[knifemonopoly]

....

[His face turns serious. She doesn't want power, she just wants to be left alone...

...but that's not true for Atem.]

I suppose that's why I'm keeping mine.