my eyes like butterflies [OPEN + closed prompts]

[landing_lights]

Who: Ade Bennett + various + maybe you?
When: Throughout July
Where: Near ADI headquarters, at Dogtown, and possibly other locations
Summary: Ade deals with an unexpected change to his eyes + various catch-all prompts
Warnings: Freaky alien eyes

[ When Ade first feels it, he thinks it’s allergies.

He is at a pet supply shop after all—there must be all kinds of dander and dust in there—so when he notices the faintly stinging heat in his eyes, he ignores it for the first few minutes... At least, until he remembers that it shouldn’t even be possible for him to have allergies. At that point, he hastily finds a restroom with a mirror to take a look at what exactly is going on—

—and promptly has to suppress a shout of surprise. His eyes are no longer those of a human—they’re those of a wess’har, dominated by a golden iris and alien, four-lobed pupil. When he stares, those pupils abruptly snap shut, forming the cross shape he saw so often in the eyes of particularly inquisitive wess’har back on Bezer’ej. ]

Shit, [ he whispers. Of course this happens when he’s outside of ADI headquarters, with no psychic disguise because he hadn’t thought he’d need one.

He needs to get back. Fast—and without any civilians seeing his eyes.

What follows is a painfully extended trip back to ADI headquarters. Ade keeps his head tucked down, moving as quickly and purposefully as he can while barely being able to see in front of him. Still, he fares surprisingly well for most of the trip, letting his feet retrace his steps. At some point, he even realizes he can make his bowed head look more natural by holding his phone as he walks, pretending to be engrossed in something on the screen. He begins to feel almost hopeful that he might be able to make it back to ADI without incident—

—until he walks headlong into someone in the home stretch.

He jerks back, heart pounding, remembering to close his eyes at the last second. Unfortunately, that leaves him not knowing who is standing in front of him—or how to step around them. ]

Sorry, [ he says. ] I’ll just—

[ Cue him very awkwardly trying to side-step someone he can’t see. ]

Comments

for hunter;

[landing_lights]

[ When Ade had ended his deal with Luka, he knew it would only be a matter of time before he started feeling the effects. He just hadn't been sure what it would feel like at the time—only that, slowly, he'd lose his access to c'nataat's powers of healing and mutation. 'That's fine,' he had thought. 'I've spent most of his life as an ordinary, non-mutating human. I can deal with being one again.'

What he hadn't been prepared for was the hunger. He doesn't know how to explain it. It doesn't feel like a desire for food and yet, it is unmistakably a craving for something. It leaves him feeling weak and irritable—and knowing the probable cause of it doesn't help.

The Entities want more fear. After the fallout with Luka, he'd done his own research and had narrowed down their likely "benefactor" to the Stranger, the Corruption, or the Flesh—or maybe they're working in tandem. Ade settles on feeling personally aggrieved by all three of them for the time being as the ADI van drops him and Hunter off outside Dogtown. At least he's working with someone familiar. Maybe ADI had decided to pair them up after their mutual competence in fighting Deepthi.

Ade squints in the afternoon sunlight, feeling vaguely hungover. ]

Better not let your friend fly off, [ he grumbles, nodding to Hunter's cardinal. ] Pretty sure their orders about not crossing the perimeter extend to him.

[cardinalrule]

[Hunter is more than ready to get back to work. He isn't used to any kind of downtime, not eve after stopping massive threats like several avatars, so he's eager to get started.

He's in his full uniform including the mask today, despite being well aware that it isn't necessary. In fact, he's pretty sure the mask is doing a fine job of unnerving people, and that it may be allowing for a trickle of fear towards one of the entities, but if it means making sure Flapjack stays healthy and he has access to magic if needed, then it's worthwhile.

He's looking at their surroundings, not having gotten to see much of Gloucester before they were all carted off to Wolf Pen.]

He'll stay close.

[Flapjack gives a reassuring cheep from his spot on Hunter's shoulder, though a small group of the crows nearby immediately draw his attention and he puffs out his feathers.

Hunter, meanwhile, stares a little longer at Ade.]

Are you alright?

[landing_lights]

[ The cardinal's little cheep manages to pry a slight smile out of Ade, despite his mood. It's a cute little thing.

At Hunter's question, Ade waves a hand. ]

I'm fine. Just a little under the weather.

[ He'd prefer not to talk about why. Admitting that he's fear-hungry would feel like admitting that he's dangerous, a liability. And while the sensation is certainly annoying, Ade wouldn't say it's that bad—at least, not yet.

Whatever the future holds, it isn't enough to deter him from their current mission. He turns towards the perimeter fence, scanning the overgrown landscape beyond. There's nothing immediately alarming as far as he can see—just vegetation and the occasional patch of crumbling concrete—but he can't deny that something feels off.

Or maybe the general malaise he's feeling is throwing off false positives. He sighs and motions for Hunter to follow him. ]

Come on. We'll walk the perimeter, see what we're dealing with here.

[cardinalrule]

[Hunter's tone is a little skeptical, and even Flapjack tilts his head curiously.]

If you're sure that's all it is.

[He doesn't want to pry, though he likes Ade and is a little concerned about what 'under the weather' might mean. But it's fine. He can keep an eye on him while they complete this assignment. He can do that, no problem.

He'll follow after Ade, scanning their surroundings for anything unusual. Flapjack does, too.]

Okay. [He pauses, then adds.] This is the first time I've been out here.

[landing_lights]

[ Ade feels a twinge of guilt about not coming clean to the kid, but if Hunter is concerned about him now, he'd only be more so if Ade told him the entire truth. Better for Ade to keep it to himself and keep them both focused on their assignment. ]

I got sent on a patrol here once after I first arrived in Gloucester. This used to be ADI's favorite spot for field training new recruits. [ He frowns, looking out over the serene landscape as they walk. ] Something must've changed their minds.

[ Whatever it is, it isn't readily apparent. Beyond the perimeter, Dogtown looks like any other unkempt grassy expanse, quiet and still. Yet, there's something unnatural about the stillness—as if the entire landscape is holding its breath. Had it been this way when Ade had first come here? He can't say for certain. Those first few days in Gloucester had been a blur and there'd been so much else to take in and process at the time... ]

I don't know, [ Ade murmurs. ] I feel like something's changed about this place. But I'm not sure what.

[cardinalrule]

They actually tried to train people?

[Colour Hunter surprised. Given his own lack of initial evaluation he had settled into the assumption that the ADI would just take anyone, regardless of skillset, and put them to work immediately.

He frowns, glancing around. The human realm is still new to him, and he's so used to the comparative nonsense from the Boiling Isles that he isn't sure what he should even be looking for, let alone how Ade could tell something has changed.]

Are you sure? Maybe it only seems different because you haven't been here recently.

[As he's looking around he takes notice of a few birds - crows, he assumes - and squints back at them. Flapjack notices too, and cheeps.]

[landing_lights]

Yeah. There didn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to it, but there was some attempt.

[ Really it was more of a haphazard supervised deployment, but the point still stands: in the beginning, the ADI had felt that Dogtown was benign enough to train new recruits. Now, they don't.

Looking at Dogtown now, it looks even more unexciting than it had then. Ade supposes that's a natural consequence of not having pairs of new arrivals trudging around poking at things. ]

Maybe, [ he concedes. ] It was a while ago...

[ He looks up at the sound of Hunter's cardinal cheeping. It doesn't take him long to see what's gotten the little bird's attention—a cluster of crows sitting in a tree a few meters beyond the perimeter. Each sleek black head is turned to stare at them. ]

Huh, [ Ade says, looking between the crows and Hunter's companion. ] I don't know much about birds—but that seems odd.

[ Maybe it's as simple as the crows sizing up the cardinal on Hunter's shoulder as a snack. Even so, Ade has never seen birds look quite so intent before. ]

[cardinalrule]

[Well! Colour Hunter surprised. ADI has been thoroughly confusing to him - it's an authority, as far as he knows the only authority who can deal with the supernatural goings on, but they've seemed less than... competent, at times. That they had actually tried to train people surprises him.

He shakes that off though, trying to focus on the task in front of them. Eyeing the crows warily, he frowns.]

Birds aren't normally this... attentive, in the human realm?

[Flapjack puffs up his feathers, cheeping noisily at them. A few of the crows squawk back in response, which causes Hunter to look over at his cardinal in surprise.]

What is it?

[Flapjack just keeps on cheeping loudly, and the crows squawk back.]

[landing_lights]

[ Ade watches the exchange between the birds, fascinated. Are they... talking to each other? It definitely looks like some kind of heated conversation, but then, maybe he's just projecting human behavior onto them. Still, he knows there's more to Hunter's cardinal than meets the eye—he's seen it turn into a magical staff, for one thing—so maybe there's something deeper going on after all.

He looks to Hunter. ]

You can't, uh... understand any of that, can you?

[ Look, he doesn't know how witches work. Why wouldn't they be able to talk to their familiars? ]

[cardinalrule]

[At that question Hunter clears his throat awkwardly. He doesn't really want to lie to Ade, he trusts the guy and it feels like it would be pretty obvious if he tried being dishonest.

On the other hand, he knows that being able to understand Flapjack is potentially very dangerous for both of them.]

... I can. We have a bond, and it's somehow persisting even in this realm. [Through a steady diet of fear, Hunter suspects, but he isn't about to say that aloud when he knows they aren't supposed to be feeding any entities.]

[landing_lights]

[ Fortunately for Hunter, Ade is, at least initially, too charmed by the notion of him sharing a psychic bond with his cardinal to realize that this may be a fear-based power like his own. Certainly, the little bird doesn't strike him as sinister in the same way c'nataat does. ]

Really? [ His expression breaks into a surprised smile. ] What's he saying?

[cardinalrule]

[A small wave of relief washes through Hunter at the question. He doesn't feel like he's in the clear quite yet, but Ade isn't admonishing him for using magic and that's something.

He pauses before answering, listening to Flapjack's cheeping.]

He says they aren't saying anything coherent. He can understand them, but it's like they're just stringing words together instead of making complete sentences. But it all sounds... dangerous, to him.

[landing_lights]

[ Ade's smile falters when Hunter relays his cardinal's observations. Crows speaking cryptic, ominous nonsense—that can't be good. He casts another uneasy glance at the birds. They stare back. ]

What does that mean? Does he think they're plotting something?

[ It feels ridiculous to even suggest—what could a few birds even do that's so dangerous?—but Ade's not sure how else to take the information. Who knows? Ade had seen firsthand how much damage Hunter can deal with his little cardinal. Maybe these birds have similar destructive potential. ]

[cardinalrule]

I don't know. [It's certainly a thought that's crossed Hunter's mind, and he reaches up to pet Flapjack's head gently as the bird keeps on chirping.]

He can't tell. He doesn't like any of this, though.

[He doesn't know how benign birds in the human realm are supposed to be, but this doesn't sound good to him.]

What should we do? Go report this to the ADI?