( 01 ) video.

[oversleeps]

[ when the feed clicks on, marduk is in what appears to be a ruined building near the edge of town. there's snow on the floor and holes in the walls, but he's not wearing a single scrap of winter clothing. more importantly, he doesn't look especially pleased to be doing this. ]

Recently, one of the locals here went missing. Don't ask me what his name was, I'm not the one who gives a shit. I'm just here to solve the mystery.

He's missing because he's dead, and he's dead because I killed him.

[ he pauses here. it looks like it's for dramatic effect, but really he's just trying to figure out how to end the announcement. ]

Most of you would call that murder, wouldn't you? Can't remember if you all figured out what to do about that, but-- if you want retribution, you can come and get it.

[ good enough. the video ends there. ]

Comments

[hyanaimne]

Oh, of course. I will wrack my mind until I remember something worth telling.

[oversleeps]

That's all I ask, really.

[ he pauses, considering. ] What else is your world lacking in, then? Aside from basic things like extraplanar travel.

[hyanaimne]

[she shrugs a shoulder at the question]

How am I to know, when I do not know what you consider basic?

[oversleeps]

You could start with whatever else hasn't been proven. We've found two things that aren't myth already, haven't we?

[hyanaimne]

Do you know how long that list is? Hell, I've worked for and with some bloody morons who want to go about proving all that.

[she pauses]

This place has proven the existence of yetis, though.

[oversleeps]

Is there anything you don't have stories about back home? I'm beginning to think that somehow, you already managed to cover all your bases even before showing up here.

[hyanaimne]

[in the blandest tone possible:]

Technology.

[oversleeps]

None at all?

[ a beat. ] Don't tell me-- what, like, you don't even have sunrods? [ how can u live without magic flashlights, tempest ]

[hyanaimne]

None at all.

[she tilts her head, thinking for a moment, then shakes it] I do not think I've ever heard of those.

[oversleeps]

[ he clucks his tongue, disapproving. ]

No wonder everything interesting was myth to you. In a world that primitive, you don't exactly have much to work with.

[hyanaimne]

My world is not primitive. [she huffs] So what if I do not have much there?

[oversleeps]

Fine-- quaint, then. [ somehow, with his tone of voice, that hardly sounds any better. ] Just can't imagine living with so little. Run out of things to do, wouldn't you?

[hyanaimne]

No? I have never run out of things to do, anyway. [she shrugs a shoulder] There is always work.

[oversleeps]

Ah, but who has time for work? [ he laughs at that; god, he's funny. ] Sorry, but the more I hear, the gladder I am to be from my version of things.

[hyanaimne]

One must make a living somehow. Usually, people work for it.

[she rolls her eyes] And what do you do then, pray tell?

[oversleeps]

Kill people. [ to put it bluntly. she's already said as much about herself; why be coy about it? ] Whether or not that constitutes work is a matter of opinion.

[hyanaimne]

[dryly:]

If you were hired to do it, then it is work.

[oversleeps]

And if the hiring process isn't always involved?

[hyanaimne]

You would have to be a bit more specific, I think. "Killing people" is rather vague.

[oversleeps]

I thought it was rather explicit, actually.

[hyanaimne]

So, what, do you run about the countryside killing whomever you please?

[oversleeps]

Running sounds like a lot of effort.

[ and a pause? ] It's a byproduct of the life I choose to live. An accessory to it, if you will. But calling it work implies a certain level of seeking it out.

[hyanaimne]

[she raises both eyebrows, considering, then shrugs]

What a lazy thing you are, then.

[oversleeps]

[ he fakes a wince, holding back the laugh. clearly, her words cut deep tonight. ] Has anyone ever told you of your kindness?

[hyanaimne]

What kindness?

[she ain't even going to pretend]