outer_divide | [Video] Week 37

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[Video] Week 37 - Tuesday Evening

[Hi there people of Verdana. There is a man with a dog, both trying to look especially harmless. In fact the dog's main purpose on the screen is to reassure everyone that Atticus really is nothing to worry about.]

Well this has been barrels of fun, huh? [He can't hide the slightly sheepish look, he's trying really hard to though. Publicly taking the blame for the whole... altered time reality thing isn't something he's really looking to do but he's gotta know how much of this is him and how much is... anyone else.

Someone had to screw up something along the way right? It wasn't just him.]

Just out of curiosity did... anyone [And there's just enough emphasis on it that someone remarkably perceptive might catch the quiet anyone else that is faintly implied by his tone.] do anything in particular that might have caused any of... well... time shenanigans? Not the traveling bit but the arriving part of the deal.

[Private to Belle]

Hey, I know you're probably busy with all the changes but can Oberon hang out with you for a couple days? I guess the lakes are still intact but I've gotta see it for myself.

((OOC: Fari warning! Genesis might be threadjacking periodically as she is staying with Atticus now and likely hovering nearby laughing at him.))

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[He almost wants to believe it, almost dares to in this strange world. But he knows better. Things don't work out this well. The bay elemental is wounded but not nearly as grievously as it was before. The Lady of the Lakes is still alive, Lunare is in ruins but still exists.

And now the friend he had risked it all for is returned from the grave?

I don't think so.]

Lassie, [His voice lowers, Irish accent thick in his anger.] Ye must think me a fool if ye expect me te be believin' that.

I don't know who ye be but she is not yers, I can guarantee ye that. I've lost one friend to those disrespectin' the dead. I'm not going te be losing another.

[And even as he speaks his eyes are carefully taking in what he can see of her surroundings in the video feed. Give him a moment to figure out where you are Christine and he'll be tracking you down.]

[Oh, this isn't going well. Surely he could ask anyone who's been there awhile to fill him in about death not being permanent for them.]

I know it doesn't sound possible. I do. But all I can say is that it's true.

[She shakes her head, looking away from the screen. Behind her is Poseidon's version of the Flop, though she's soon to move out for her own place.]

Really. Please ask anyone who came from the Ship who's been here a long time. They can tell you this is what happens. We're needed for some reason, so we come back.

[Nope, you're not tracking anyone down, Atticus. Genesis appears in the video, quiet laughter gone replaced by a sternness that isn't seen quite often, her eyes are even glowing a bit brighter from the mako glow reacting to her emotions.]

Atticus, knock it off! She's telling the truth.

[She'a already reaching for his phone to pull away, giving the woman a briefly sympathetic look.]

I saw her in that dark place, I saw Kurt there too. And he died too, as you well know. [Something that may always haunt her now] They went there after they had died, I think, before we were sent there too. There's no reason to assume some... thing is toying with the dead. And you've no right to just assume so and potentially harm an innocent woman.

[With Atticus' Irish up, anger already hot and Oberon just as angry and afraid by what might have happened to his friend the hound actually growls at Genesis when she reaches for, as far as he can tell, Atticus. It's enough to have Atticus lifting his hand and settling it comfortingly on his friend's back, eyes closing for a moment as he talks to his hound, reminding him that things may not work the same way here and, in turn, reminding himself of it.

There's an obvious show of effort as he fights down his emotions and his tone, when he speaks again is as carefully neutral as he can possibly make it.]

As long as she is who and what she says she is, no harm will come to her. But I need to see her in the flesh before I am going to just take anyone's word for that. [It's directed as much at Christine as it is at Genesis though it is directed a little more toward the redhead as she's the one who was threatening to take his phone.]

[Well good luck with that, Atticus. After getting such a fright, Christine doesn't want to be alone with him in case he lashes out, but seeing Genesis there -- and on her side -- calms her slightly.]

Then come here to the Flop and see for yourself. Genesis, will you come too, please?

[She doesn't say why, but it should be clear that she doesn't trust Atticus to keep his temper in check.]

[Good job, Atticus B|

But as Oberon had growled at her, Genesis didn't take the phone. Not because the dog intimidated her (she'd been bitten by things far larger than a wolfhound), but because Atticus had already taken the time to calm him down. As well as himself. Though she does give Oberon an unintimidated glance. She pulled her hand back and rested it on her lap.]

And she will be. [She could tell her word wouldn't mean anything now, but as Christine spoke, she nodded.] See, she's even offering for you to see for yourself.

Yes, I'll come with.

[Oberon is pretty much used to all of the women Atticus hangs around with being goddesses... or Granuaile. So he's really not that surprised that she's unimpressed and he settles against Atticus, offering comfort and support even if he can't actually fight anything for him.

For a long moment Atticus stares down at Christine in the video, frowning and somber but at least the violence has died in his eyes.]

Alright. But if you are anything but human I make no guarantees.

[And with that He and Oberon are both unfurling themselves from the couch, thoroughly intending to go down there right now and settle this.]

Okay.

[Her voice sounds a little weak and she's quick to turn off the video. Back in Nowhere, Dr. McCoy had scanned her with his tricorder and deemed her perfectly alive and healthy, so she hopes there isn't anything about her physically that's different now. It makes her wonder how Atticus would be able to tell.]

[She gets off of the couch as well. She did promise, after all. But she's still a bit worried. She didn't know all of Atticus' capabilities although she knew there was more to him than he was letting on, but she never pried. But this time, it was a little different.]

So how exactly are you going to see if she is who she says she is?

[Atticus is immediately heading for the door, slinging Moralltach over his shoulder without hesitation.]

I can do more than see through glamours. It's hard to explain but there's certain signs in a person's aura if they use magic or if they're controlled by it I can see the bindings holding them to the caster. And if there's something else squatting inside her I'll be able to see that too. And then I'll kill it.

[If you're coming Genesis, keep up. Druid is on a mission and he has no time to waste chatting about the specifics of his magic.]

[And now Christine waits, folding her hands in her lap and bouncing her legs: the very picture of nervousness. She takes a deep breath and moves her hands to grip the bottom edge of her chair instead in a white-knuckled hold. What happens if he doesn't believe her once he sees her? Does he have some kind of power she doesn't know about? She took Starfleet's basic combat courses, but she wasn't especially good at them, and if he has laser eyes or something, it won't even matter.

Okay, now she's just freaking herself out. Her arms hug her middle, hands sliding up and down like she's warming herself. Hopefully everything turns out all right, with all her limbs still attached.]

[She's keeping up! Quite easily, in fact. She listens as Atticus speaks.]

...You know, one day, I need to find a way to your Planet. It sounds delightful.

[No, really, it sounds awesome. Not that Gaia is bad but they didn't have what Earth has.]

[Atticus shot her a warning look as they made their way out into the city proper. Now was not the time for idle chatter, not at all. It didn't take too terribly long to got to the Flop and Atticus wasted no time heading inside to find Christine. He even held his hands up to show that he had no weapon in his hands but he hesitated at the doorway to the room, eyeing her suspiciously.]

Would you be willing to step outside with us?

[If he was going to get into it with something powerful enough to take over the bodies of the dead he wanted room to move, fewer civilians in the way, and access to Verdana's power.]

[Her head jerks up at their arrival and she swallows nervously before standing.]

Sure.

[He doesn't look as angry as before, but she still gives him a wide berth as she leaves the room. Hopefully he'll find her to be herself and not... whatever he assumes she is now, because she really hates feeling this apprehension around him.]

Anywhere in particular outside?

[She rolled her eyes at him. She knew it was urgent and he was taking this seriously, but wow Atticus. She kept silent the rest of the way and when they got to the Flop, she gave the woman a reassuring smile.

Genesis was very sure she was saying who she said she was, so she wasn't going to act suspicious around her.]

We're just going go just outside of town, I think. Less people around, the better.

[Probably wasn't that reassuring but Genesis ended that by going over to her side and gently taking her hand. If Genesis was correct, then Christine would have nothing to fear from this and Atticus would be proven wrong. Which would be good because she would hate to actually have something inhabiting Christine's body. It simply wasn't what they needed right now and Atticus obviously did consider this woman a friend.]

Let's go.

We don't even need to go that far... just want to have some open air. [In case he had to force something monstrous out of Christine's body. It worried him how protective Genesis was being though. As soon as they were outside, in the open space and with a patch of lawn near enough that Atticus felt safe he was addressing Genesis.]

If you'd feel better about this I can bind your sight to mine so you will see exactly what I do in the magical spectrum. [And then if he needed to attack anything Genesis would know for herself that the need was there. Then, to Christine.]

I suppose that would make you feel better too. [If you are what you say you are but that was implied easily enough by his cold tone and the unforgiving expression. She was cooperating awfully nicely, however, and that was at once reassuring and worrying.]

[Genesis's hand in Christine's was a great comfort, and as Atticus spoke, she lifted her chin a little, telling herself that there was no reason to be afraid because she was being honest.]

Whatever you think is best.

[Being in the medical field -- a science -- meant that all this talk of binding and sight both flew completely over Christine's head and served to make her a tad wary. But she was willing to do it to prove herself to him.]

[She was being protective she wholeheartedly believed that this wasn't necessary and Atticus was scaring the poor woman needlessly. She understood where it came from, but Christine wasn't the first one back from the dead, so there was no reason to believe that between her death and now that some demon had taken her over.

She looked over to Atticus and nodded.]

You can. I've been interested in what you see anyway.

[Christine wasn't the first one back from the dead but she was the first one Atticus had encountered and it hit a little too close to home for comfort. The fact that he wasn't immediately turning on faerie specs with his sword at the ready said a lot about how much credit he was actually giving their explanation. ]

Close your eyes. It's a little disorienting at first. [And then he was speaking the binding, fully expecting her to do as he instructed. One binding after the other, her sight to his, his to the magical spectrum and then, suddenly, the world was overlaid with green. He looked first at Genesis, the almost sheepish look on his face acknowledging how weird it probably was for her to be looking at herself through his eyes. Not that she could see it.]

You see that white line that runs around your head? That is an indicator of magic. There are a lot of people here that have one. But now isn't really the time for explanations. [He took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly as though he was afraid to even look at Christine. What would he see? What if she was possessed by something? He couldn't afford to hesitate, though, so the next moment he was turning to look at the blond, her aura clouded with the dark colors fear and unease but.... nothing else. No sickly creature squatting inside her like the SkinWalkers, no deity possessing her body like Hel, nothing but a frightened human woman. His friend. The bindings were dispelled in a moment and he took a step towards her before he could stop himself, relief obvious on his face.]

I'm sorry, Christine.... I had to be sure. I- [He shook his head a little and then, with that short apology as the only reassurance to, hopefully, stop her from recoiling from him he stepped forward again, reaching out to hug her if she'd let him.]

[Christine didn't know what they were seeing, but she stayed still until Atticus moved forward. Then her body reacted before her mind and she stiffened completely. It was better than skittering back away from him, but she didn't like how she froze.

Swallowing hard, she managed to speak.]

So I take it you finally believe me.

[Now that her fear was wearing off, her body relaxed, but there was a brief stab of annoyance that he hadn't believed her. Still, if he had any sense of all, he would have the good sense to feel guilty about scaring the daylights out of her. Sighing, she closed the distance between them and stepped into the hug.]

You've got a lot of explaining to do, Mister.

[She nodded and closed her eyes. And then, she saw green. And herself, in green. Whoa, now that was weird. It really was a bit disorienting, her body swaying a bit as she felt like she needed to get balance even though she wasn't moving. As Atticus told her about the white light around her head, she grinned a bit. Huh, that was pretty neat.

And it was so weird seeing herself grinning despite the fact that it was almost like looking at a green tinted mirror. But, regardless, she kept silent as Atticus turned to look at Christine. She didn't see anything, which... was a good thing? Hopefully? The binding was gone and Genesis opened her eyes, hearing Atticus apologize.]

He's paranoid, a lot more than I really realized. [She said, not really an explanation but she said it dryly for amusement's sake.]

[Christine steps in to meet him and he squeezes her tightly and just this once he can manage to keep his mind from wandering. The fear and anger fade and now, having her in his arms like this, he finds himself a little choked up. There had just been so much... so much had happened. Almost a year now and it felt like he hadn't had a single chance to catch his breath, never mind resting. Over ten years of peaceful Arizona sunshine and then-]

I'm sorry. [Tight and a little shaky and he has to swallow hard before he can trust himself to say more, squeeze her a little tighter briefly before he can trust his hands to be steady again. Then he's finally letting her go, giving her a bright smile that doesn't quite mask everything underneath. Too many friends in too short a space and no time to grieve for any of them either.] I'm glad you're okay...

[So glad that he didn't have to watch some malicious spirit twist and corrupt someone like Christine. Someone sweet and kind... Then he's glancing over at Genesis.] It's only paranoid when there aren't people after you.

[It's a joke, it really is. He smiles and laughs it off but she knows enough about who he is and what he's done that of all the people there she'd probably be able to see through it. It's a joke... but there's a disturbing amount of truth to it.]

[She senses the fear and relief all in this one hug, and she presses her hands to his back, assuring him that everything's all right now.

When he pulls back, she gives him a weak smile, but it fades quickly and she reaches to place a hand on his shoulder.]

So I am. But, Atticus... What was all that? Using special sight on me and thinking someone was possessing me; what happened in the past?

[Obviously, something similar had happened but Genesis chose not to comment on it. Instead, she gave Atticus a wry look.]

Yes, well, no one was after you this time, though I can see why you would think it.

[Still, it was very relieving to see that Genesis had been correct. Not for the sake of being correct but that it also meant that Kurt really was truly fine, even if she still felt guilty over what happened.]

[He shot Genesis a sheepish look. So he's paranoid. Live a few centuries and you would be too. But when he spoke he addressed Christine.]

It... it's kind of a long story and one that's not entirely mine to tell. [Which was only partly true.]

I've just got a couple little tricks up my sleeve, that's all. Reading auras isn't really that unusual, there's probably a dozen hotlines for it in any given state where I'm from. [Also not exactly true but no one needed to know that.]

[Video] Week 37 - Tuesday Evening

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