Tag: v;; yesterday’s world was soon undone ( 616 )
❛—- and what would determine someone’s worth? ❜ ky never chose sides; his actions benefited himself most of the time. once in a while? sure, he’d do something that helped others, but it was a rarity. ❛ either way, if i wanted to be a threat. trust me you’d know that i was. ❜
whatever happened to good ol’ Eldritch horrors? Cosmic threats? lately, it had been demons, Hell, exorcisms, catholic confessional booths. “i’d say here we are again, but does it matter?” no. “well, Mr. Richardson, are we to duel with words or fists?” might as well get straight to the point with this one.
“an’ here i thought we’d have a nice chat, maybe even dinner, and some drinks.” as much as he was being sarcastic, the demon was being truthful at least. if that was what was necessary to keep or even get strange to be on decent terms with him? why not go the distance. it wasn’t like ky was really doing anything that important. “or, would you like to cut out all the pleasantries, and get to the part where you let me borrow a something.” a pause. “more specifically, a book.”
“So is murder on your immediate agenda?” Aiming to misbehave did imply he didn’t intend on merely discuss it but had at least vague plans, ones that any reasonable person would suspect involved her. They were the only two people around, and he started the conversation. Better to know where this was heading up front before letting curiosity get the better of her and inquiring about any abilities.
“Not entirely.” However, it was always in the back of his mind. It was that itch he never could fully scratch. Maybe if he had more productive method of curing that itch – one that didn’t amount to violence, things would be a bit better. All the same, he never did enjoy anything other than a good fight, and maybe some murder on the side along with some nice five alarm fires. “I’m just not against it either.”
How could he say that? Peter looked up at him with furrowed brows and bright eyes. The dim red light of the dark room made him seem all the more true to his form. How could he say that? Didn’t he s e e what this was doing him? Didn’t he know how much it h u r t ? The amount of pain he was willing to tolerate for the good of so many? Ḩ̴͕̲̗̹͍̙̖̝́͐̏͗͜ō̷͚͗͠w̸̞͚͕͎̓͌̎̐̾̔̔̈́̅̍ ̵c̷͉̫̮͇͈̓́̓̐́̌͗̌͠o̵̗͔̙͆̔̎͑̀̍͘͜ͅu̸͉͓͎̽̄͐̐̓́͛͑̅l̷̹͍͎̬̩͙̟͇̰̔̈́͑͌̆͊͌͒͝͝d̶̠̬̝̪̼̰͉̓̋̔̉ h̴̛͎̦̙̞̫͑̿̈́̽̆̈́́͝e̴͕̞͓͙̞̻͔̲̻͛́!̶͎̠̌̉̿̔͌̐̆̕?̴̳̩͛̀͂͐͛̄̾͌͛
In the seconds following Ky’Lar’s words, the tar like substance had progressed across his skin. Dripping down in large, weighted drops until the majority of right side had been overtaken. Until he spoke abruptly,
“I can’tdo that.”
Staring himself down in the mirror for a moment, he took a deep breath and held it. It wasn’t too late. He wasn’t too late. All he had to do was fight it. Sure it was hard, but that was kind of the fucking point. “I’m not going to do that.” Letting go of his breath, he let go of the sink and watched the goop recede back down to his forearm. “If I let this thing win another night, I’ll lose a piece of me I’ll never get back...
Don’t think I’m ready for that kinda commitment.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
Part of him could relate ( even if it was in the most basic of levels ) about losing one’s self. In Ky’s case, it was the fear of letting his own rage consume him, and while it did ( at times ) it was still a constant battle with himself.
Sometimes, he managed to win it, but other-times he absolutely failed. Once, he would have held onto control long enough to try to make a difference, but these days he thrived on the unpredictability – no, the chaos. He absolutely found himself lost in it at times, but even he had limitations on just how far he would go ( to get what he wanted ).
“If and when you take that leap,” he said, eyes focusing on the black goo that was receding, “i want you to be ready.” In truth, could have went on to say it was Peter’s choice, but Ky wasn’t going to say that – at least not for the moment.
“You might lose something, but…. You’ll gain so much more.”
Peter’s expression shifts, confusion showing all to clearly. “To talk?” He repeats, like the man had said something in another language. “About – wait what other things – ?” His eyes darted around the room, the dingy motel and the bed he’d just being lying unconscious on.
There’s a sharp intake, a small bubble of panic and Peter can almost physically feel that something is wrong. He keeps himself pressed up against the far wall, eyes locked on the blond man. “You ask for my name but don’t even introduce yourself.” Shoulders tense and he has to remind himself that now is not the time to panic –
“Tell me a little bit about yourself first.”
“The way I see it,” he said, hands slowly resting on his hips. “You don’t have a choice in the matter of answering my questions.” Well, Peter had a choice – everyone did, but Ky’lar didn’t see it that way. Not in this little twist of fate, but he wasn’t going to push the subject. Not really at least.
“Now,” he gestured toward Peter’s hood,“we could both go in circles for days.” That much was clear already – still, he was going to give some ley-way. “It’s Ky’lar.” True, it was a risk revealing his name, but he wasn’t going to worry about the consequences. At least for the moment.
“ if you keep making my job difficult, we’re going to run into some problems here. ”
“i like to think of it as you getting in my way.” maybe it wasn’t exactly that, but at the same time? ky didn’t think it mattered. “‘cause, the way i see it? you’re exactly in my way an’ it’s known to be fatal if you don’t move out of it.”
“ Funny, I’m sure I can recall LIKING both people and things throughout my life – but I guess I’m wrong if you speak for as all now. Must have missed that announcement.” He has neither the interest or the patience to listen to d e l u s i o n a l accusations about his own people – what would this MONSTROSITY know of the virtues on mankind when he only seeks to exploit them?“ Counter offer: you keep on having your ‘little bit of fun’ and I’ll send you somewhere to char to have mine. Fun for everyone!”
“i speak for what i know.” of course, this little encounter served to only AMPLIFY his hatred for strange, and all of humanity. who were they to RESTRICT what he could do? they, who were so LOWER than him? maybe it was his god complex showing through, but quite honestly? he didn’t care – nor did he think it mattered what it was. “counter… counter offer,” he said, making his way forward. “we stay out of each other’s way an’ this doesn’t get ugly.”
with a brief close of the eyes, a tip of the head, Stephen did concede to those words. “yes, well, it’s in the past now. now you’re here, and i’m here. so – ?” that tip of the head turns into something ruder. raising his chin in a: i’m waiting.
“you’d be surprised how far a genuine question can get a genuine answer.” with that said, “sometimes an answer you might not like.”
“but i’ve been known to change my mind.”
“most of the time answers are worthless.” at least to him. they might have been genuine answers, but they were not what he wanted. it took trickery, effort, and a basis of trust before most would even think of helping him.
it was something that he didn’t think was needed here. at least since he knew fully well that asking ( even nicely ) would just end up with a denial of his request ( at least in his mind ). “you know who i am… so we can skip that part,” he said, arms folding across his chest. “– an’ get to the part where i tell you that i need access to something.”
Peter lifted his head and pushed himself up on his elbows, rising from his blanket hell reborn in the eyes of Upper East Side. Loud as the city could be, the world was silent in comparison to the chaos of last night. For the first time in a long time, he could even hear his own heart beat. How do you feel? Christ, how did he feel. Did he feel? (He flexed his fingers) Yes.
“Like dead weight.”
Gradually, he pushed himself up further until he could look the man eye to eye with a little more dignity. Memories of the last seven days had yet to come knocking. At. The moment the world was still static, his mind searching for a signal and only finding pieces in the void. “Wait—“ He tilted his head quite suddenly, “Were you watching me… ?” Though he knew the answer right away, he chose to acknowledge it only with a nod and move on. Waking up half naked in a high rise didn’t happen every day, but it happened enough to shut him up.
“How long was I out?” There, a question with an answer he could actually do something with. No phone, no grip on reality, and the hollow feeling now setting into his stomach. Something was missing. Something was gone. And it very much wished to have him back. Peter’s eyes roamed the room. Searching. Picking up weak signals from that which had refused to leave his side for a week, temporarily out of range. The realization knocked the breath from him, and he fell back into the couch a little further,
“While we’re at it,approximatelywhere the hell am I? Quick guess, did I die ? ‘Cause I am in deeeeeepshitif I’m dead.”
“You’re in my apartment.” Technically, it was a hotel room, but more of a long-term one. Truth be told, this was the longest one he’d stayed at in a long time. Already going on three months – so, he figured apartment was the best way to explain where Peter was at. at least… for the time being.
He figured that much was enough, but explaining the amount of time was going to be tricky. Ky was about to say days, but instead he opted to keep the time period vague. If everything came back to him? It did – if not? it wasn’t really his problem. not entirely at any-rate. “Among other things, i’d say some time – i don’t really have a clock in here, but about one rotation.” Or a day – maybe a bit less.
“Among other things,” he said, moving forward, “You seem to be alive – as for how long that will last? I’m not entirely sure.” Of course, Ky knew that Peter would live, but he still wanted to play that role of savior. That very same role that he enjoyed playing… especially when he was still debating if keeping him here ( for as long as possible ) would be a good thing.
“Personally, i’d say the best bet for you is to stay where you are, and relax. If it helps, i could order some room service – you do eat, don’t you?” Not that he did ( or needed to rather ), but he was still going to ask due to the fact it was kind ( even if his kindness was starting to run a bit thin ).
Hellfirebound 