Hiding

[has_a_cult]

[Ionae has been even harder to find than normal lately. If it were up to her she'd just vanish from society entirely, but some things demand you leave your bedroom, and her notebook never stops pinging her with notifications of new network posts. Feel free to run into her on one of her few errands. She's even more withdrawn to the point of eying total strangers suspiciously or crossing the street to avoid people, so it may be tricky.

Plan A: Hide forever. Clearly it's not going to work. Maybe it's time to actually try to think like a human being...]

[Filtered to Blaine]

Can we talk? In person, preferably?

Comments

[strategic_guile]

Fortunately, that's not how it usually works. [Lip curl.]

Whatever happens it'll probably come directly from him. He's a bit weird.

[has_a_cult]

That doesn't exactly make me feel better. To be honest, I'm...I'm scared half to death of him.

[strategic_guile]

He didn't sound all that bothered by it when I talked to him. I don't think even I could brush that off so easily.

[Leans forward, settling his elbows onto his knees.] You seem more bothered that you killed him than he does having died.

[has_a_cult]

I've...never actually killed someone up close like that before. Someone I knew.

[She rubbed her face in her hands.]

Until recently I only had the vaguest idea of what death even WAS.

[strategic_guile]

[Watches her and steeples his fingers together before interlocking them and letting his hands hang between his knees.] It's a weird feeling. Makes you feel powerful. Then you realize it can happen to you.

[has_a_cult]

I remember lying in the woods about a month after my exile had begun, throwing up some berries that weren't fit for human consumption, when it hit me. I could end, and all it would take was some wild animal or even a particularly hard hearted human. I might even just starve to death. The next day I snuck into a town and stole a gun. I didn't ever want to feel that helpless again.

It's different, though. It's not the same kind of power. The stakes for everything are so much less important when you are truly immortal.

[strategic_guile]

That's true. [His face softens and he turns, propping a leg on the bed so he could face her.] Do you want to start practicing hand-to-hand with me? A gun is nice, but you shouldn't use it unless you mean to kill them.

[has_a_cult]

Hand-to-hand?

[She wiped her eyes, which had been getting a bit moist over the last minute or so.]

You mean melee combat and not some weird euphamism, right?

[strategic_guile]

Pft. [He snorted, giving her a canted smile.] Unfortunately, yes. I mean melee combat.

[has_a_cult]

I...Well that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Sure, if you want to.

[strategic_guile]

Do you want to? [His eyes fix on her.] I won't let you half-ass it, if you agree.

[has_a_cult]

One of those hardcore boot camp type of things, is it?

[strategic_guile]

No, I'm not the hardcore type when it comes to forcing other people to do things. You just have to be serious about it if you want to actually be able to use it without hurting yourself.

[has_a_cult]

Just what kind of martial art is this?

[strategic_guile]

It's self defense, but if you get cocky and overestimate your abilities you can get hurt. though i assume you'd run like hell if you had the chance anyway.

[has_a_cult]

That would be the sensible thing to do when you don't have the upper hand. Don't worry, I'll take it seriously.

[strategic_guile]

Good. [Light smile. Jokingly he adds.] Though I guess I don't have to teach you how to shoot, since I've had first-hand experience seeing you do that.

[has_a_cult]

Shooting is what got me into this situation in the first place.

[strategic_guile]

[Matter-of-factly.] No, a drunk guy harassing you is what got you in this situation.

[has_a_cult]

Well...thank you. You'd have done me a favor even without offering to teach me more self-defense.

[strategic_guile]

[Laughs] Really? And what favor is that?

[has_a_cult]

Well um. I don't know. I'm not much good at much, I'm starting to realize. What do people normally do in situations like this? Do you want money?

[strategic_guile]

[Sly grin.] No, I don't want money.

[has_a_cult]

Then...uh...

[Ionae looks on the verge of panic.]

[strategic_guile]

[Holds up a placating hand] It's alright. Take a breath.

[has_a_cult]

Right...Sorry, I don't know where that came from. I guess I'm even more rattled than I thought.

[strategic_guile]

[He reached out, hand hovering over hers to give her a chance to move before he settled it on hers.] It's a lot to go through.