apocalypsehowcomm | He runs from the feeling in the flood [OTA]

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He runs from the feeling in the flood [OTA]

Who: Andrew Jaeger and others!
When: Mid-August: post-arrival
Where: ADI Housing, Coffin Beach
Summary: Arriving in Gloucester and getting settled
Warnings: CW: scars, possible reference to torture.

ADI Housing: The Apartment

Living in assigned housing is against his better judgment, but so far, the people he's talked to have been relatively up-front with him. Truthful? Not necessarily, but Jaeger is used to that, too, and if nothing else he can follow the rules well enough.

Well, "no magic" is going to take some getting used to, but he'll have to get accustomed to it anyway, so it's just as well.

He moves lightly for a man his size, carefully deferential of anyone who already happens to be there. The overhead light turns his dark hair to steel, while also highlighting the bruising on one cheek from a recent impact, and he's dressed in exactly the turtleneck, jeans, and boots he arrived in. Until he gets something else, that will have to do.

Plans can be made later, anyway. For right now, his main objective is to meet the people he'll be sharing space with, and establish something of a home base. Catch him in the halls, wandering around as he explores his new surroundings, or in the apartment itself, if you're one of his new roommates.

ADI Housing: The Pool (cw: scars, possible mention of torture)

Jaeger doesn't often indulge in activities that require him to strip down, but the pool is too much of a lure after all the madness of the past few days. His body still aches from the impact of the car crash that brought him here, and it seems like a good, long swim would be the perfect thing. Perhaps a little while in the hot tub, letting the heat soak the aches from his bones and the frantic thoughts in his mind.

Of course, the downside of that is, he has to strip down in order to swim, which leaves a lot of scars exposed. Delicate, curving designs on his arms and chest, well-healed and white and clearly done with exquisite care.

The scar around his neck was a far less careful hand: it's a healed white band around his throat that nearly circles his neck. The short, military-cut hair does him no favors in hiding it, but...

To hell with it. He wants to swim. So Jaeger does slow but steady laps across the length of the pool, occasionally resting against the concrete side, or stretches out in the hot tub with his feet up, staring at the sky and chasing his thoughts in circles.

Coffin Beach

There's a certain sort of comfort in desolation, and haunted and strange places certainly aren't new to Jaeger. It's been a long time since he's been to the beach, though, which might be why it was one of the first places he chose to explore.

He intends to take his job very seriously if he stays here, and that means getting to know all the little corners and local attractions, such as they are.

The sound of the ocean reminds him a little too much of whispers in another, darker place, but he pushes that out of his mind because he doesn't need to dwell on that right now. Jordan and Claudia are dead, and he's, if he believes what he's been told, an entire world away. There are still terrible things lurking in the shadows, but at least they aren't his specific demons.

Jaeger stands on the shore, boots squeaking in the sand when he steps, but for a while he just stays there, focused on his breathing. The air coming in off the water is cooler, soft through his short hair and bringing the taste of salt and tears with it. There's power there, quiet but alluring, but he leaves that alone for now. Remembers the warnings he was given, and the creeping sense of something wrong with the magic here.

He exhales, then realizes that he's not alone. A slow blink, a moment of tension before he relaxes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize anyone else was here."

((OOC: Feel free to PM me or brimstonemuse for plotting/something custom!))

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Jaeger wipes water from his face, feeling it stream down his neck and shoulders as he surfaces, and cocks his head at the newcomer, taking her in with quick, practiced eyes. The cane gets his immediate notice, and he lingers on it for just a moment.

"Feel free, I think there's plenty of room." A small, slightly wry smile comes with the statement, spoken deep and quiet and noticeably raspy. Reserved, but not unfriendly. He gestures to the rest of the empty pool.

It would be a silly question to ask if she lives here. If she's on the ADI housing grounds, then she either lives here or has taken some serious risks just to crash the pool. But after a moment, he speaks anyway, because it feels like the polite thing to do. Small talk feels impossible, overwhelming, especially as exposed as he's feeling, but, hell, he's going to try it anyway.

"I'm guessing you live here too, then?"

“Apartment B1. I’m Meredith, nice to meet you.” Or at least polite to say it’s nice, even when you’re not sure. She sets the cane down beside one of the pool chairs and sits on the edge of the pool to lower herself into the water gingerly.

There's nothing wrong with a little care when meeting new people: Jaeger respects a bit of caution while still managing to be polite, and he strives for the same.

"Andrew. A2. Nice to meet you." He hovers at the edge of the pool, just floating there serenely while they talk. "I just...arrived, so I'm still meeting people and getting my bearings."

“It’s been about a month for me, just a little more. Eventful month, though. Did anyone tell you about the kelpies yet?” On some level, she sort of wants to let him know what he’s getting into, given how much of a rude awakening it was for her.

"So, a little bit of time to get settled, then." He nods. "They seem to have things very much in order, at least. A process for getting...visitors caught up on the situation and putting them to work."

That second bit makes him pause, though, forgetting the rest of his train of thought.

"Kelpies. You mean man-eating water horses?" That is a bit of interesting information, and he watches her with an expression of vague disbelief on his face. "I know the lore, but that wasn't mentioned, no."

"I'm not sure they actually ate anyone, but they definitely hunted uh--them. There were gangs of them taking on human forms kidnapping people. Taking them to a cave and then wrapping them in cursed sealskins, in order to have something to chase around the bay. The whole, feeding on fear thing? When they caught someone, they'd harass them, push them around, and then wrap them in sealskin again. Not a good time."

She leaves out the fact that she was one of those captured and thus harassed, but the look on her face might make that part clear enough.

"ADI sent out people to investigate them, which turned into a rescue mission when they realized what was up."

Jaeger has to pause for a moment to process all that, because it's a lot. He doesn't look disbelieving, though, so much as just digesting it. He kicks his feet idly in the water while he thinks, keeping afloat easily.

He believes her. It's the sort of messed-up thing that could happen in his world, too, and given the purpose of the ADI? Even less surprise there.

"From what I know of kelpies, they lure humans into the water to eat them. The predatory behavior makes sense, in that context." It makes entirely too much sense to him, pings a familiar ache in his bones for the chase, for the satisfaction of running down prey.

He pushes that aside, though, because those are not helpful thoughts. He watches her thoughtfully as she slides into the water, and with no small touch of sympathy. "It sounds like a good cause. People who don't know about the paranormal aren't really equipped to deal with it, are they?"

"I wouldn't know about being equipped for it or not. People in my world are all aware of the existence of...people who are empowered. Superheroes and villains. Those of us who are normal grow up knowing we're not at the top of the food chain, not really."

She hesitates, then puts on an opaque little smile, hiding all her feelings about the situation like putting a white slipcloth over a bloodstained couch. It's truly remarkable. "It wasn't even my first time being kidnapped!"

"That's something, at least. Knowing about Other things in your world. There's magic in my world, but it's a very closely guarded secret in most cases. The average person will go through their entire life not knowing about it."

He has very mixed feelings about that.

He glances her way again, thoughtful. And keeping his distance from her in the pool to make sure he's not crowding her in any way- he is a stranger, after all, and it's only polite to give her space.

He has sympathy for the whole kidnapping thing. It's a familiar ordeal and it sounds like this one was particularly harrowing. Especially since, from what she's saying, it's happened before.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. I hope that you're dealing with it as well as you can."

"Of course, I'm fine." It's more a dismissal of the matter than an honest response, the smile she gives him tight and brittle. "They made sure I spoke with a counselor, when I got back."

They made sure of it once. She never returned for a follow-up. Meredith is a great patient when it comes to tending to her physical body, but not so much when the pain is of another kind.

Jaeger recognizes that brittle tension, but it's not his place to push with a woman he's only just met. So he just nods soberly.

He hadn't exactly been good at taking care of his mental trauma, either. How do you tell a therapist the things he's been through, about the secret world he's survived? Especially when one is constantly on the move, watchful of vicious pursuit.

He suddenly feels terribly exposed with his scars on display, and the urge to cover himself makes his hands twitch where they grip the edge of the pool. Slow breath, in and out.

"We all deal with these things the best we can. Some days are better than others." He's not going to offer pleasant platitudes, just the simple if melancholy truth. It's a moment they can share, though, of memories best left behind. "How has life been here other than that? Do they treat you well? It seems the rules, at least for living here, are fairly strict."

"They've been alright. They're pretty clear that those of us who aren't fighters aren't expected to be fighting. I'm in the admin department, and sometimes help out with media relations. It's similar to the work I was doing back home, but the hours are better and my boss isn't evil."

She means that pretty literally. She came out of a world of heroes and villains, and Michael Belcora is proudly (though secretly) one of the latter.

"And I legitimately do like my roommates. Not perfect, but nor am I. The biggest problem with them is they both come from money and aren't used to things like budgeting, or repurposing leftovers, or cleaning up after themselves."

"...not having an evil boss is definitely an improvement." Yet another thing that he can agree with her on. "I admit, I have my doubts about the whole thing but I have some...bad experience with organizations. It's good if they're sincere about their goals, but it's not always the case."

Another bit of solidarity there. It's a relief, even if he hates to see anyone go through anything like that. Disillusionment is a bitter pill.

"There's nothing wrong with having your job tailored to your capabilities. Everyone in the field needs that support to keep them going, to coordinate things and keep them supplied and on track." He shakes his head. "I'm not so much a fighter, myself, more...investigation and collection."

He'd done his share of thuggery, and his superiors had been happy to use his size for intimidation, but it wasn't his preference.

He smiles a bit, his grip on the edge of the pool relaxing as they get into slightly less intense reminders. "It's been a long time since I've shared space with anyone, it takes some getting used to. I expect there will be little things that drive me crazy, but I do my best."

"Oh, I doubt they're being sincere with us. Or at least, they're not showing their whole hand. The question of how much they're not sharing, and how dangerous that is to us is a pretty big question. It seems a lot of us are on guard, playing the part and waiting to see how things continue to fall out."

Meredith hops up to sit on the edge of the pool instead of treading water. "Who are you rooming with? Have they been here a while, or are they on the newer end?"

"I think that's a given. Even if they are being completely honest, and I'm not certain of that, sometimes it's just not possible to prepare someone for an experience."

No matter how unpleasant that experience might be. He wouldn't be surprised to learn that ADI is keeping some things from them on a so-called "Need to Know" basis...just dismayed. Not that he expects better, no matter how virtuous the organization may actually be.

"The people I'm rooming with seem pleasant enough. Enthusiastic, even. I haven't had a chance to talk to them much, but so far there hasn't been any disasters." Not that he's been there long enough, yet, but for the time being, everything was calm. Part of that, Jaeger supposes, is because he's clean, quiet, and mostly keeps to himself- probably the ideal roommate under most circumstances, even if it makes him something of a spooky bastard. "Having a secure place to live takes some of the pressure off, at least. I find I don't mind the rules so much, even if they're a bit heavy."

"I think the one that leads most people to housing off-campus is the 'no supernatural abilities' one, if I had to guess. Some people aren't willing to commit to not flexing that muscle. Not a problem my roommates or I have, that. Curfew, however, that's been a problem once or twice."

But no more than that.

"It's not an easy one, no, but this place...if it twists our abilities then it's probably safer not to use them without serious thought." He presses his lips together in a line, not particularly happy with that. "There are always risks in my world when it comes to magic, but nothing quite as disturbing as what they've told me so far about powers here." Both powers, and Powers.

"So I'm willing to abide by that rule for now, at least until I have a better grasp of things." And try not to worry too much about being defenseless in the meantime. At least his magic is still there, just requiring a terribly unsettling price.

But he's definitely got to grant her the latter point, and one corner of his mouth tilts up into a small smile. "I can completely understand about the curfew, though. I don't tend to sleep well, so I'm often up and wandering around."

"Seems to be a common thing, people not sleeping. If you stop by B1 at 2am, at least one of us will probably be awake." She chuckles quietly, before her attention focuses. "You know, saying you'll avoid magic for now implies you have experience with it. Is it terribly nosy to ask about it?"

"It's hard enough to sleep in a new place and new circumstances. I'll keep that in mind, if you don't mind the company sometime." Jaeger tends to his own company, but he needs to start getting used to other people again. Making connections, finding allies. Just wandering around alone in the middle of the night makes him strange and jumpy, and that's not the image he wants to present if he can help it.

Even if it's the truth.

He nods slightly, acknowledging her question. "I have a lot of experience, actually. I'm a trained mage, have been since I was very young." It's simple, matter-of-fact. "I mostly specialize in combat and defense magic, though due to my line of work I've picked up quite a bit of other things just by experience."

"How scared of you should I be, in general?" Her tone makes it clear that's not a serious question--in fact, she doesn't even move away from him, awfully at peace with being in the presence of a man much more powerful than herself. Blame her boss for that.

"But seriously, I wouldn't mind you coming over. Just don't worry about any screams you hear. Malcolm has pretty violent night terrors."

That's a tricky question, and Jaeger has to consider it for a moment. He wants to give her a fair answer.

"I come from a very dangerous line of work. But I don't use my abilities unless I have to," he says finally. "I think a big part of power is knowing how and when to use it, and I like to think that I'm very careful about that."

A thin, weary smile crosses over his features. He appreciates that she doesn't move away from him: he's a big man, intimidating, and covered with scars, and he wouldn't blame her for being wary of his presence no matter how polite and soft-spoken he is.

He nods gravely at the mention of night terrors. "That's unfortunate. It seems at least a few of us here come from difficult backgrounds. Which has its benefits in this sort of line of work, but takes its toll, too."

"It almost could make one wonder if a traumatic backstory is a prerequisite for being pulled into this world. But that sort of thing is impossible to quantify or track, I bet, and asking everyone will inevitably offend someone. Not to mention there's no real incentive for honesty here."

It's a matter for someone who can figure out how to go about it. She's not much of a scientist herself, or any sort of researcher, and a lot of her curiosity has been dulled by a job where her asking questions has been discouraged.

He nods. "Simply saying 'something difficult' can encompass a lot of things, and sharing those sorts of details is not always a good idea. Or welcome." Jaeger has no intentions of sharing his particular trauma around if he can help it. No one needs to know that sort of thing, no matter how obviously he wears it on his skin.

"And I'm not sure that it would come to any useful result. Aside, perhaps, for matching our professional backgrounds to the tasks we're assigned...which it does seem that they're doing."

They get credit for that. ADI seems to run a very professional ship, and Jaeger can appreciate that.

"Or at least trying to. They have me working with the admin department, and occasionally with media relations. When they need someone who can bullshit professionally. That's a large part of what I did back home."

She seems proud of herself for cultivating that talent to where it can be used here.

"Sounds like something to keep you busy. And something at least a little familiar to you." Jaeger would have accepted just about any job, if he was honest, but being assigned something he knew how to do was a small blessing. Even if it brought back some uncomfortable memories, it was good for him to be doing something that put his mind to good use.

"Was your world much like this one, or is that a big change for you too?"

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