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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jul 18, 2020 0:27:30 GMT -5
Characters Myrnin: In his early 20s, has his hair down, and wears either all white or all black. Ex-vampire - though still uses the term. L: tired man Setting Britain, probably not far from London Setting the scene Bit under spoilers is really just scene setting because Mint can't do anything short. It was an outreaching hand, even if it wasn't a limb which was physically extended. Instead, it was a man always a bit behind, steps slow, but still trying to catch up.
A shadow.
It started being reflected in his clothing first, like an early warning sign. It was like the white clothing he'd woken up in had decided to return as soon as the original tension of the Master's regeneration had faded.
It had clearly never faded from the Master. The secrets hadn't either. Instead of finding it didn't effect the man it instead worked its way unto the dreams that had hardly had time to come back.
They flickered in and out of his head like badly tuned TV screens.
They weren't real. He could tell.
They weren't enough to steal his attention.
It wasn't worth it to dream.
He'd stuck with the colors for a while.
He'd tried to anyway.
But at some point he'd just gotten a hold of the clothing that fit his mood best.
He wondered if the Master noticed.
Somehow he doubted it.
He was used to things changing slowly. He was used to things hardly changing at all.
You could imagine him sitting in a window seat for hours, looking out a window at the world passing. He'd do this when he knew no one was watching.
At least he had the ability to hide it most of the time.
Cold.
He'd forgotten that was how Britain got in the Winter. He'd forgotten what Winter was like at all. He couldn't work out how to get warm. He didn't go outside in the Winter.
He wondered if the Master noticed.
Summer. It was too loud, too many people, all with something missing. He'd look in a mirror, just to unsheathe his fangs, to check that he still had them. People without feeling the need to hurry past for any other reason than they were smelly and loud and too energetic. Not for ... other reasons. It was jarring and weird and he found it easier to just stay out of the way of other people.
He wondered if the Master noticed.
He noticed the Master. The odd shift, the smile that seemed real, but didn't fit the fact. A heartbeat that was maybe just a bit out of time. A care that never got past the surface.
But he wasn't human and he was easier. But the soft poking about the reason stopped as his motivation waned. It wasn't characteristic for him either. To not ask questions. To just keep going.
Whatever was going on ... could it be worse than what had already happened?
He knew the answer.
It had to go away. It had to get better.
Maybe the Master would notice.
///
Concrete was hard. Getting up meant moving. It wouldn't be with the grace he liked and needed. It wouldn't be with the speed he wanted to jump to his feet so he could assess the situation.
He was slow to stand.
Hands braced against the cracks and pours of the black pavement and the tips of his fingers pushed against the earth. His own weight was crushing and he couldn't focus on it long enough to truly work out how bad he felt about the position he'd returned to awareness in.
On the ground.
Where was he.
He pushed himself into a seated position, hyper aware of *change* all around him. The air itself seemed full of it.
Cold.
It was Winter again. That had happened at some point.
There wasn't snow. There didn't seem to be much cloud cover. The sun danced above, wavering in the man's eyes. He looked away hurriedly.
Habit.
It didn't burn anymore.
He pushed himself to his feet.
It was cold.
What was the cold where humans weren't wearing coats, but it just felt wrong to you? Was there a word for it? Or should one be invented?
Where was he?
He blinked several times, shooting into the nearest shadow that the ally had to offer.
The smell of old water.
The Master. Faint.
He looked around, at the walls.
If the TARDIS was here ... he couldn't see it.
Which was the point.
"Master?" he asked the air.
His voice was steady. His posture was as it usually was. That didn't mean he was okay. It just meant he didn't need witnesses.
He was more vulnerable, emotionally anyway, when he wasn't in doors. More things out here to tell him just how *wrong* it all felt.
No answer from the nearby windows. Or the car parked a couple yards down the street.
The man shifted where he stood, backing up a pace.
He stood out, white clothing in hardly grey shadow.
Where was he?
"Master?" he tried again.
A whine escaped into his voice this time. He couldn't help it.
No answer.
Alone?
The man turned on his heals, looking up, trying to catch a glimpse of the sky. Something shook his frame. A shiver. Was he that cold? Should he be that cold?
He gripped his arms, trying to pull the shiver back in.
But his teeth were chattering together.
He let his back press against a wall. He waited. Maybe half an hour.
Nothing.
No broken vacuum sound.
Nothing.
A low whimper.
Anyone listening might have thought of a dog. A stray walking the streets. They wouldn't have placed it to the man - not pale, just white, with slightly untamable brown hair, and downcast green eyes.
His jaw was tight.
Another half another.
The man's knees bent and he slowly sunk to the ground.
///
A day.
It was amazing it took that long for anyone to notice him.
He sat in the same place.
No food.
No water.
No real need to move for anything else.
He could have been a statue.
In another life - ha ... - he might have been mistaken for one.
But sooner or later someone had to notice.
When someone approached, walking toward him, some unknown switch turned on behind the man's eyes. He pushed himself up the wall again, let his arms drop, took one look at the woman padding toward him with slight hesitation and turned the other direction.
And walked away.
"Wait!" she said.
The man didn't.
He didn't run. Couldn't run. Every part of him didn't even want to walk, but he did anyway.
Step, step, step.
They were steady.
Had to be.
Shaking made him feel worse.
The woman let him go.
///
It still much have been the same country.
He could taste it in the air, on the breeze, in the people and the food they brought along with them.
He ignored it as best he could.
He didn't recognize the area.
He didn't know where to go.
Where had he even lived ... or was more apt a word 'stayed' for the past two years.
Three.
If you counted the portion he had been "dead."
Where was it?
He didn't ask for directions. He didn't talk to anyone.
No one noticed him.
///
Human. Humans. The lapse happened in the middle of the street. It went unnoticed by anyone around. Traffic on the sidewalk was minimal. No one noticed the man stop dead in the street, looking straight ahead. No one noticed the shift in eye color. "Budge up a bit," said a voice behind the man. "You're in the middle of -" The man didn't look at him for longer than a second. Just a quick glance over his shoulder. Then he started moving down the side walk. Behind him, the man collapsed. Someone screamed. He didn't care. There was a lot of things he *didn't*. It was only when he was around the corner that they eyes faded. No one had noticed him leave, or so he frantically thought as he broken into a run. Tumbling, hitting into a low brick wall as he did. Past a gate, a crumbling bit of stonework. He didn't check to see if the human was dead. It wasn't as if he lost memories when he was ... He knew. He knew too much. /// He tripped. His hands hit the pavement, but he was moving quick enough - slow, so slow, it was just his mind which was racing. It hadn't failed him as surely as his body - that he just picked himself up again and kept moving. Walls. Grass. People. People who noticed him now that he was running. People who made noise. People who could simply exist or breath and risk him breaking them. It had been easier before. At least then he would have had his own foolishness to blame for pushing himself. This was a lottery. It was hard to win and easy to lose. Car. House. Dog. The man pulled to a halt. He wasn't far away. Not far enough by his standards. Several blocks by humans. The nearest ally was free. He stepped into it and waited until he'd stumbled under a fire escape before he let himself fall to the ground. Not sitting. Just lying, his nose pressed into the wall, shoulders shaking. Tears. Clear tears. The man cried. It had been years since he had killed a human. But he didn't think about the human. It didn't matter to him right now. He might cry about it later. But these tears for him. How alone and unhinged he would become. He wanted the Master to come back so he could punch him. But he just wanted this fixed. Somehow. It all to be fixed. /// Days pass. The man hides. For him, it's easy. Easy to remain still, in one place, and away from people. Hide. Wait. Fear. Tears. He's settled for that for now. |
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 20, 2020 12:57:28 GMT -5
A young man with messy black hair and wide dark eyes was awake when all the sensible people were fast asleep.
He wasn’t tired. It was unusual for him to sleep at all, let alone at any regular hour. Instead, he was looking at the information he had spread out in front of him like a strange, deconstructed quilt.
Man collapses in the street. Witnesses say there was no warning, but autopsies suggest foul play.
No suspects yet. All witnesses released from questioning.
Puzzle Stumps L: greatest detective losing his edge?
The man switched the order of the papers, as though this would make them make more sense. Of course, normally a casual murder would be far below his standards. Let the police handle what they could, and he would have barely enough time for the rest. But this had piqued his interest, and now, it seemed, he’d been right to think it was no regular murder case after all. Everyone who knew the victim had been released from all charges, and for once, the man agreed with the decision. He had investigated them himself. Not guilty.
Either this was by someone they hadn’t found yet, or it wasn’t premeditated.
Think.
L sat up and clicked forward on one of his computers. He was crouched one the floor of a completely empty apartment, surrounded by screens, a plate of baklava at his side. He switched back to the street cameras he’d been watching, replaying the footage once again, searching for anything different, anything he’d missed.
He frowned. There was a man there he hadn’t noticed before. It wasn’t much. Nothing happened. It was a glance, that was all, just a glance over his shoulder.
Then the man collapsed and everything happened the way L had already memorized. People yelled, someone called 911 as someone else started attempting chest compressions. No luck of course. The man was well and truly dead.
L followed the strange man, jumping from camera to camera. He watched as he broke into a run. He saw him slip into an alley, then lost him, because there were no camera that went there.
“Mm.”
He clicked back, back the the glance, where he paused it and zoomed in on the man’s face. Long brown hair. Green eyes. The picture was blurry, but it was enough.
L stood, stretched, and and carefully closed down all of his computers. It wasn’t often he went out himself, as he preferred to send others to do the groundwork. But then, it wasn’t often he received such an interesting case. He headed out, shutting and locking the door behind him.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jul 22, 2020 12:04:30 GMT -5
The day wasn't being acknowledged. That was about as close as Myrnin was willing to great it. He wasn't willing to notice that it was one way more than another.
What might have been self-evident with the fact that the Master had left him on the street was that he had no money. There wasn't much need for it, apart from the fact that it would have been easier to hide. He wondered if that had been the intent. Had the Master specifically wanted him without anything so he couldn't hide? So he couldn't get away from people or so he couldn't get away from the oppressive heat or cold that were just another thing he had to get used to?
He didn't want to become bitter, so he always shoved those thoughts away, but somewhere he acknowledged it. Somewhere he believed it.
Thinking that the Master had had malicious intent was so easy when you were on the receiving end of his strife.
Which meant what?
From house to house, trying to find someplace empty. Or it meant an alley, which sooner or later someone would find him. Equally, the houses offered the same, but if someone wasn't home then he could maybe stay longer.
But either way, he was practically a human. He had human strength, human abilities, and human ways he had to do things.
He was losing his mind.
It wasn't really a question of he would. He could already tell that he was. It was just enough that he couldn't move most days without hating it. Without hating how his body felt weak, or cold, or hot.
But he still got up. Still moved from one spot to another. Because if he didn't he didn't know where he'd end up. The city looked the same. He didn't think he had back tracked at any point.
He just wanted a place to stay still. A place to hide out. One where he could wait. For ... well, he wouldn't admit that he was waiting for the Master. He wouldn't admit that he was at least waiting for the Doctor, in some capacity, though he didn't think he'd get her. Time still hadn't caught up. For her, Myrnin was still alive and well. At least for the remainder of this year and a bit into the next.
But he wouldn't admit either of those things, so the prospect he was waiting for was unreachable. Waiting for this body to somehow adapt the skills he'd lost. Possible, according to the Master, but Myrnin knew that it wasn't likely to be quick.
Years, likely. That was how long it took the Founder houses to adapt, to change. And that same energy that ran them had been transferred to run this body. So it would take years.
And those eyes would come back before then.
Myrnin pushed all those thoughts away. All of them.
Just a new house. A new place.
A new house. He was weak. He wasn't strong enough to force a window open where closing it might look less likely. But he was smart enough to know how to break one.
There was a tiny chime of glass hitting the floor of the empty room. Myrnin pushed the window open. Then he scrambled in.
He stayed near the window though he pushed the glass away with his foot.
He didn't have vampire speed. But humans were predictable. He'd smell them and hear them coming through the front door, even if they noticed the window was smashed. They usually didn't until they came in, and by then Myrnin was already gone.
He just didn't move away from his exit and he was fine.
He assumed.
He lowered himself to the floor, arms wrapped around his legs. He wanted to cry. But that wouldn't help either.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 26, 2020 15:02:38 GMT -5
L was used to the unusual. It was a way of life.
He was used to talking to people in very different circumstances than his own, because his own circumstances were so different from literally everyone else’s. His life was unique, and he wasn’t just saying that to feel special. He was actually the first and last of his kind.
It didn’t make him feel better.
There was a lot of pressure that came with being L. His name carried more weight than his face, and it wasn’t even his full name, though he did consider it to belong to him. A name was whatever you needed it to be.. He had chosen to be called L, therefore it was his name. End of story.
Friends were also something foreign to him. He wasn’t alone. He had Watari, and he knew of people.
He had contacts. He just didn’t have friends.
Sometimes he was very glad he didn’t. They would have made everything a lot more complicated. Staying in touch would have been impossible. And don’t even start on the danger side of things, because being L was living in the enemy’s camp 24/7 and being armed with nothing but your wits. To drag another innocent soul into the mud with him would just be selfish,
Not that L believed for a moment that he was innocent.
You couldn’t be innocent and do the things he did. You just couldn’t.
He wondered sometimes what people would think of him, if they really knew him. He suspected they wouldn’t like him. He was cold, abrasive, and simply odd. He didn’t sit or eat like normal people. He didn’t think like normal people, either, but that was a little harder to catch onto right away.
The detective brushed his hair out of his face. Then he headed out, hands in his pockets, to go check around the area.
-
Nothing. That was what L had found.
“This was a waste of time.” He muttered, annoyed. The lack of evidence was irritating. He should have found something.
Then again, he didn’t currently have access to the police. There were reasons for that. L didn’t want to think about them at the moment.
But without the police, he needed his own equipment, which he didn’t currently have. Maybe he should invest in some. He was just thinking about how he would set it all up when he came close enough to see the broken window on his house.
He froze, shock coursing through him, and it wasn’t often he felt that. A break-in? There was no way it was a simple coincidence, it was too perfect. Which meant someone had discovered him. Someone had found him.
Not good. Very very very not good.
L approached the door, cautiously, waiting for an ambush that didn’t come. He wanted to see who it was. He couldn’t have them running.
He turned and walked the other way.
-
L was climbing up the side of his own building.
He was trusting that there weren’t a lot of people around to see him. He was also running out of options, which meant doing things he normally wouldn’t consider. Like scaling a building with no equipment, for example.
Once he was up, he inspected the broken window. Definitely broken from the outside. So the door was probably locked. Meaning, the person couldn’t run right through, they’d need to unlock it first. L nodded to himself, satisfied, then silently slipped through the window and into the house.
He needed to catch whoever this was, assuming they were still here. Once he did that, he could question them, figure out the leak, and stop it before it got any worse.
It was a plan of some sort, anyway.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jul 28, 2020 6:46:07 GMT -5
There is a little know fact that Myrnin wasn't good at hiding.
He was great when he had the motivation, but that was exactly the thing he wasn't motivated for now.
There didn't seem much point in getting caught.
And he had tried to avoid things, but for some odd reason, the current resident of the house had chosen to enter by the window.
Super-speed no longer present, Myrnin just opted for hiding in the nearest location.
Closet seemed a bit much. He rolled under the bed. If he was found out?
Well, then they'd find him curled up and that was where things would go.
There was dust under the bed. Myrnin curled his arms close to his chest and angled his head down until his chin touched his chest. One leg moved closer to the other until the ankles crossed. Generally speaking, he looked like a tangle of limbs, waiting to be discovered.
He hadn't taken anything. There would have been time. But he didn't want anything. He just wanted a place to hide and not be bothered. It didn't seem like this was one of the cases. So he would just close his eyes and wish the small nightmares away.
His heart was beating. He was breathing. He didn't like it, but he figured it was better he be found like that than like a corpse.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 30, 2020 15:22:48 GMT -5
L searched the entire house top to bottom before he got to the bed.
Closets. Shower. Vents. Everywhere. He didn’t think about the bed until he was standing there in front of it.
He supposed it was possible the intruder was long gone. It would have made sense for them to simply take what they wanted and leave, right? But L had the oddest feeling he wasn’t alone, and he tended to trust his gut. And it was just a good idea to be thorough.
So he wasn’t going to give up just yet.
Where would someone hide?
He checked the door. Still locked. So if they did leave, it would have been through the window. No blood on the glass. Not that that proved anything, but it was worth noting.
And then he found himself standing in front of the bed.
It wasn’t like he slept in it much. He wasn’t even sure why he needed it, really. But someone had seemed to think it was a good idea.
He slowly crouched and looked under the bed.
And stared.
Because it was a person. Not a dead person either, a living, breathing person. L stared for a long moment, waiting for something to happen, to be attacked perhaps. But it didn’t, and so he spoke.
“I found you.” He said, stating the obvious. “You can come out now. I think we need to talk.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jul 31, 2020 2:45:18 GMT -5
Of course he'd found him.
Myrnin had heard L coming. That was unavoidable. Super speed would have been handy. So would have been strength. But what use was it. He could have tried sneaking out, but every sound he made was loud to his ears. He'd likely knock over a lamp.
He didn't think there was even lamps in this place. So that would have been impressive.
But it was just proof that he wasn't good at this. Wasn't supposed to do whatever it was that he was supposedly supposed to do. It wasn't like he'd been given a road map for existing.
Wouldn't that be nice.
It was like an odd form of hide and seek. Myrnin really just wanted to remain curled up here. Coming out could mean a lot of things.
Stay here probably meant the police.
So did coming out, but it at least staved it off.
Myrnin hated this.
Moving meant, well, moving. The sound of his own clumsy hands scrambling on the floor to gain enough purchase to turn around. When he had, Myrnin's green eyes were looking out at a crouched form of a rather boring and unassuming man.
Who looked like he needed sleep, but that was besides the point.
It was almost as much effort to come out of hiding. He just didn't want to. But he did. He slowly came out and then just as slowly sat up.
He looked bedraggled and homeless.
He knew that.
He looked at the man who'd called him out with wide green eyes though. And there was a dullness to the eyes, but they were still clear.
An eyebrow arched.
"Congratulations?"
Oh, no, shouldn't have spoken. It was like listening to a scratchy radio. Bad on the ears.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 31, 2020 13:52:33 GMT -5
Well, he had been hiding under the bed. What had he expected? For L to forget to look?
L knew that there was nowhere to run. That was the idea. He probably didn’t have to go through the window, but it was an extra precaution he had decided to take. It seemed to have paid off.
Whoever this man was, he didn’t seem to be very good at this. He hadn’t thought of a place to hide. He hadn’t even stolen anything, interestingly - L had checked. So he probably wasn’t the assassin L had been worried about.
He stared at Myrnin, dark eyes wide. He half expected him to roll to his feet and start attacking, but he didn’t. He just sat there, looking like a kicked puppy.
What was L supposed to do with that?
“Thank you.” He said seriously when Myrnin congratulated him. He wasn’t completely sure what the congratulations was for, but that was alright. He didn’t need details.
He tilted his head slightly.
Then it clicked.
This man….
He was the suspect.
Of course. L cursed himself for not getting it immediately. Man on the run. The picture had been blurry at best, but it fit. Man hiding out in what was probably a random apartment to him.
He had no idea who L was, did he?
L sat back and considered Myrnin. When he spoke, his tone was flat and casual, as though he were talking to an old friend instead of an intruder.
“I think there’s some cake in the fridge.”
There. What will you do now?
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 1, 2020 5:07:32 GMT -5
Apparently what he would do was stare at L with a look of complete confusion.
It was difficult to get a reading off the man. He wasn't lying. There was cake in the fridge. But Myrnin wasn't sure what to do with the offer. For starters ... did he like cake? It had been debatable before and it was more debatable now. While he'd been with the Master he had occasionally eaten. But it wasn't something he needed and currently didn't usually enjoy. Everything was too ... dulled down. He wasn't even sure what to make of it. Cake, however, might be an exception. It was sweet.
Then again, that didn't explain why this person was offering him food.
Myrnin went through the options, but it seemed unlikely that he was going to be poisoned. It seemed equally unlikely that this was an attempt to distract him in favor of calling the police.
Myrnin tugged at his hair, the curls bouncing a bit as he did. The hair was a little past his shoulders and looked unwashed. He didn't pay attention to that. Not really anyway.
"Sure," he said. "Cakes nice."
He didn't feel like he had much to lose. He watched L with a wide set of eyes, but otherwise it seemed like he'd be staying where he was.
He didn't even ask for L's name.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 2, 2020 17:50:21 GMT -5
They both looked homeless. Myrnin, with his unwashed hair and the way he held himself, like he was trying to disappear. L, with his ill-fitting clothes and shadows under his eyes and lack of shoes. They might have broken in together, for all any outsider would know. Especially since L only lived here by technicality. He didn’t own this place. It was more of a hotel to him than a home.
So he didn’t feel invaded so much as he felt intrigued. His suspect, ending up in his house by what appeared to be complete coincidence? He was fascinated.
The cake wasn’t poisoned. It wasn’t even a diversion. He had no intention of letting the police take this case from him before he had a good shot at it. He was going to solve this.
Even if he currently had no idea what was going on.
That was fine. He never knew what was going on at the beginning of a case. The important thing was having a lead, which he now had. A suspect in his house, which was almost too good to be true. He could deal with that.
He nodded and stood up, then turned and led to way to the kitchen, where he removed half a birthday cake from the fridge and cut two large slices from it.
He needed a plan. This was going to go wrong very fast if he didn’t have one. He had to think quickly.
Heading back to the bedroom with both pieces of cake in hand, he made his decision.
“I’m Avery by the way.” He said in a flat, though not unkind voice. He handed over one slice of cake and a fork.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 3, 2020 4:22:46 GMT -5
The shuffling gate that Myrnin had taken after L was only interrupted by the fact that he avoided the window and the cast of sunlight it set. His eyes squinted. He'd been under the bed for a while and they hadn't adjusted. Even if it was pretty overcast.
Sun didn't hurt anymore. At least no more than the normal amount that it did for humans. But the shifts in heat and cold were unusual. Alien. He did his best to ignore the minute temperature shift from standing too close to the open freezer and instead just contented himself to hovering near the table.
The smell of cake would likely be closer to what he was used to than the taste. Nothing to be done about that, however. It just was what it was.
Slowly lowering himself into one of the seats, Myrnin looked up at L. He should have been able to tell if L was lying. He had a fairly large number of doubts. But he didn't know for sure. Good liar, if it was a lie.
He looked back down at the cake instead as well as the new fork. His hands were clasped in his lap and you could practically see the sparks behind his eyes trying to collect enough to actually mean anything.
He looked up again.
"Merlin," he said.
Also not technically a lie, though the order of names was a bit off. Merlin had come later.
He picked up the fork and poked at the cake. He couldn't smell anything wrong with it and he didn't particularly care.
He took a bite. He wasn't impressed. He took another anyway.
He wasn't sure what Avery expected from him. Or what he should be doing if anything was expected. Leave, probably. But he was tired of that, so he assumed he'd just sit here and see how quickly he got tossed out.
The bites were almost automatic, without any desire to keep the fork moving. It was fueled completely by habit.
Myrnin watched Avery. Or at least his eyes were angled in that direction.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 16, 2020 6:52:23 GMT -5
L watched the other man carefully. He seemed to be, fairly understandably, disoriented. Almost like he didn’t really intend to end up here in the first place.
If L hadn’t had reason to believe he was responsible for a murder, he might have even felt a little sorry for him.
But he didn’t feel sorry for him. Because he was in fact likely responsible for a murder.
He watched, and he waited for the other man to do something. Was he likely to do anything? Not really. It was too soon, too early.
L sat down too, feet one the chair, hands resting on his knees. He wasn’t lying - well, he was, but not about the cake. It was just a normal cake, and L was sharing it even though he wanted it. All for the case, he supposed.
The look in the stranger’s eyes was odd. It was almost….searching was close, but it wasn’t quite right.
“Merlin.” He repeated, storing the likely fake name for later use. Then again, his own name was fake, too. He was hardly one to talk.
L took a bite of his own cake, savoring the sweetness. He knew it was probably time to say something, but the truth was that he hadn’t expected this. He had expected something more like...well. Maybe for a chase. Maybe for Merlin to do his best to escape notice. Not to break into his house.
Did he know who L was?
Doubtful. He wouldn’t put himself in this much danger if he did. So it was very important to keep it that way.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 16, 2020 17:29:33 GMT -5
There wasn't much reason as far as Myrnin could see to actually keep any form of conversation going. Instead, it seemed a lot easier just to complete the piece of his cake and leave it at that. It took him a second longer to realize he was staring at an empty plate - for a second, the fork tried to scoop empty air before Myrnin set it down again.
He still tried to appraise Avery, but there wasn't much there. Wasn't much to think about anyway. Moving from the chair seemed like a chore in itself, but with careful and slow movements, as if his joints ached just a bit, Myrnin moved his feet along the ground and pushed the seat back.
"I guess I can leave now," he said shortly. What else was he supposed to say? Why would there be any reason to stay if there wasn't any real reason to come in in the first place.
Stepping away from the chair, with hesitation Myrnin started for the door. There was no thanks or anything of the kind. He hadn't actually thought anything of the kind.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Aug 29, 2020 14:51:38 GMT -5
He was odd, certainly. L watched as the other man attempted to eat air, and he tilted his head slightly, puzzled. Was he okay? And a follow up question, if he wasn’t, what had happened to him?
L watched as the man stood up, watched as he pushed the seat back. If he had to guess, he would have said that Merlin had been through something incredibly traumatic. It certainly seemed that way, at any rate.
“You don’t have to.” He said, his voice equally short. He didn’t sound particularly kind, just like he was stating a fact, something he didn’t think meant much. He watched Merlin closely, waiting for his reaction.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Sept 1, 2020 0:25:50 GMT -5
Myrnin paused. He hadn't expected Avery to say something so ... stupid.
The va - he turned. He looked Avery up and down with what must have been clear astonishment, because he could not for the life of him work out what to say to this man.
"Why would you say something like that?" he asked after a second. It was impossible to really manage to say that with a straight face.
He leaned on the back of the chair, studying Avery's face.
He could hear the heartbeat. Avery's heartbeat. It was surprisingly steady for someone who'd just experienced a home invasion.
"Interesting," he murmured. "You're very odd."
He waited, as if he expected Avery to explain himself.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Oct 17, 2020 10:01:19 GMT -5
“Yes, I’ve been told.” L said shortly as he was told he was odd. That wasn’t news, and it also wasn’t relevant. He watched Merlin, his dark eyes intense and unwavering as he scanned the other man, waiting for him to give something away.
“I said that because you don’t have to.” He stated simply. “It’s quite simple. You do not have to leave. As the owner of this home, I do have authority to say that, so I said it. Of course, if you decide to leave anyway, that’s entirely your decision, but please do make your choice with the knowledge that you aren’t under any obligation to go.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Oct 19, 2020 23:12:52 GMT -5
Myrnin stared long and hard, as if waiting for Avery to crumble. Admit something.
But there didn't seem to be a give in the other man's eyes.
"Fine," he said.
What did it matter anyway? If he was here or out there? What would he even do?
What did it matter what sort of person - good or bad - this was? Myrnin could keep himself safe. He thought he could anyway. He lied to himself and believed it.
"I'll stay."
He glanced around. Then backed away from the back of the chair he was leaning against. From there, it was just a matter of walking to the nearest corner of the room and curling up into a heap. He wasn't sure what Avery intended, but Myrnin planned to be lethargic for a bit until the man produced some sort of reaction. Or maybe talked to him. That was possible too.
He let his eyes go half lidded. Then he fell asleep. It was not the least bit hard to go to sleep as whatever he was. He could do it with his eyes open or closed. He kept his eyes just slightly open, so he had some input if Avery did anything, but otherwise he just wanted to drift in and out of consciousness for a while. See what Avery did. Or didn't. He'd only notice if Avery actively approached him. (Heh. Like someone wiggling a computer mouse after a computer had fallen asleep? Maybe.)
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Oct 24, 2020 18:29:27 GMT -5
L didn’t react as Merlin agreed to stay, just watched him carefully, waiting to see what else he would do. It was interesting to see whether he would interact with the only other person around or not, after all. He could have, but he didn’t seem inclined to do any such thing.
L wasn’t going to back down here. He wasn’t going to give anything away, so if that was what Merlin was waiting for, he would be waiting a while.
He watched as the other man moved away from the chair and into the corner, and then as he curled up and seemed to fall asleep almost instantly. Well...that wasn’t what L had expected. He stared, unsure what to do now. He could leave his new guest alone, of course, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to jump right to the questions and answers part of this.
Well, what was stopping him?
Possibly the fact that Merlin could just leave whenever he wanted to. And since he could do that, he probably would if he got too annoyed. So that was something to be careful about.
Still. He was going to have to do this sooner or later, right? Why not just go for it?
L approached the suspect carefully, like you might approach a sleeping, somewhat grouchy rhino. Then he stopped and tilted his head slightly.
“Are you asleep?” He asked, curious.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Oct 27, 2020 14:15:13 GMT -5
"That's a question you ask someone you're trying to wake up," said Myrnin's voice, distantly. "And a question far below your intelligence."
He cracked open one eye. He had been asleep, but there wasn't really a transition between when he had been and he hadn't. He didn't move though. He just vaguely looked in the direction of Avery, but mostly it was a gaze that was directly over his head.
"Was there something you wanted?" he asked after a second. The eye closed. It was once again debatable if he'd fallen asleep. Not impossible that he'd dozed off at least. He didn't look tired, but he did have a slow manner of speech that could mean anything.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Oct 28, 2020 10:02:06 GMT -5
L wasn’t offended. Some people in his position and of his intellect might have been offended (read: Sherlock Holmes) but he didn’t mind, because Merlin was talking to him, and that was the main goal here. Mission success.
He tilted his head to get a better look at the other man, trying to see whether he was actually opening his eyes or not. If he wasn’t, it probably meant that he wasn’t going to have a conversation right now, and if he was, he might. The detective noted that his eye was, indeed, open a little, and so he sat back on his heels and considered him as a whole person for a moment.
“Yes.” He said simply. “I wanted to ask you some questions, if that’s acceptable to you. If not, I’ll leave you alone for the time being.” Notice, for the time being didn’t mean permanently. He wasn’t about to let his only suspect slip through his fingers, was he?
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Nov 1, 2020 2:14:09 GMT -5
"Ask away," said Myrnin. He supposed he didn't have to answer if he didn't want to. That was the whole point of questions. And as it was, Avery seemed odd. Thus far, not dangerous.
Not that Myrnin really knew where that line was between weird and dangerous humans. Usually he just ruled out vampire hunters and that was about all. He didn't think that Avery was, but that left regular run-of-the-mill human weirdos. So that was still a fair amount of leeway there, all things considered.
But questions got his mind off the hopelessness of his situation.
Myrnin opened both of his green eyes, looking into Avery's dark ones.
"I'd be interested in what you'd have to say."
Maybe one would be why he'd randomly crawled through this man's window, but that seemed like they were a bit passed that one. If they weren't, then Myrnin supposed he could try to see if he had a reasonable explanation.
Did he have a reasonable explanation?
No.
No, not really.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Apr 21, 2021 1:29:54 GMT -5
(Boop.)
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 16, 2021 19:14:24 GMT -5
(Boopish so the necro-monsters don't catch us.)
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on May 22, 2021 15:16:26 GMT -5
Did L plan on asking why Merlin was in his house? Why he had crawled in the window and then hidden under the bed? He could have. It would have been a completely reasonable question, and probably the first one a normal person would have asked,
Since when was L normal under any definition of the term?
So….what questions did he actually have at this point?
He tilted his head, considering Merlin. The problem was, he hadn’t actually seen this coming. Which meant he hadn’t had time to plan his next move.
Oh well. He was good at making things up as he went along.
He continued to consider him, like a bird inspecting a new object in its cage. Only, he wasn’t wondering whether this was a threat. He knew it was. The question was merely how much of one.
He leaned back on his heels.
“Are you quite comfortable?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 23, 2021 3:06:39 GMT -5
This wasn't the question Myrnin had expected. It seemed a bit too friendly and he could not for the life of him work out L's angle. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to.
"I'm ... passible," he admitted, though he wasn't sure what he was supposed to answer with. Eventually he settled on asking, "Don't you have something that you might need to do? Go somewhere?"
A job? He wasn't sure why L was here or if Myrnin was supposed to go somewhere either. It seemed like an off chance that he probably didn't, or he wouldn't be here talking to Myrnin. But that didn't mean much.
"What is it that you do?" Myrnin eventually asked. It seemed like the better question, since for all intents and purposes it seemed like L might want something from all of this. Even if it was just thrill from finding a random person hiding out in a house. Myrnin would have expected him to call the police.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 18, 2021 1:24:51 GMT -5
(Boop da boop)
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 19, 2021 19:56:21 GMT -5
“Me?” L repeated, as though this was an odd thing for Myrnin to ask. It wasn’t, really. It was a very normal thing for him to ask, and L had expected it from him.
He considered how he might go about this. He could always just tell the truth. That seemed...reasonable.
Not the full truth, obviously. That should go without saying.
“I’m a detective,” he replied simply. “So no, I don’t really have any sort of thing I need to get to. I’m kind of a private detective, actually. So I don’t leave for work.”
He tilted his head, eying Myrnin sideways.
“And what is it that you do? Not a job, necessary. A hobby is sufficient. Anything that you do.”
Which didn’t seem particularly relevant, and here they were anyway.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 28, 2021 2:22:31 GMT -5
What did Myrnin say to that?
"Like Sherlock Holmes? Aren't you supposed to be wearing a funny hat?" he asked, brain feeling a bit too dead for this sort of conversation. Not to mention that he wasn't actually sure what a detective did.
"Can I be a detective?" he asked. "What is it that they do?"
Maybe it was sort of like a police officer. That seemed like it would be bad if it was.
"Me?"
Why had he said 'me?' Like L would have been talking to anyone else.
"I like science." He said it with such a flat voice that it seemed possible he was lying. Or like he didn't quite believe he did. "And books." That last one got a bit more energy. It was possible.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jul 8, 2021 14:22:43 GMT -5
“Who? What?” L replied, narrowing his eyes a little at the comments. “I don’t have any idea what you’re referring to. Sherlock Holmes? I don’t wear hats. I don’t like them. They feel odd.”
He tilted his head a little. Was Myrnin trying to distract him?
He didn’t bother answering the nexf question. It seemed obvious that no, Myrnin could not become a detective. Not unless he very much changed some things.
“I see,” he said instead. “Well...if you like science, and books, then you probably like books about science.”
This wasn’t at all relevant, but he was interested in getting to know Myrnin better, so he went with it.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jul 26, 2021 6:10:36 GMT -5
There was a small eyebrow arch from Myrnin. Then a snort. "State the obvious, do you?" He wasn't sure what else to say about whether he did or didn't like books about science. Then he just ended up looking at L's head for a while. There didn't seem to be much in the way of hats that he could think of which even fit what L would go about wearing. L seemed to be a white shirt person.
"Soooooooooo ..." he said after a second. "Other than being a detective ... what do you do?" He was assuming that L actually had some sort of interests outside of his detecting duties.
"Sherlock Holmes is a detective," he also answered. "And that's all I know. Claire told me about him." It was the first time he'd mentioned a name. And it wasn't his fake one either. So generally, it seemed like a possibility that it was an important one.
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