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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Well, isn't this just going swimmingly? It only takes Jaeger a minute to recover, though, and accept that yes, he is going to have a conversation with a cat.

"Andrew Jaeger. Nice to meet you." A faint smile crosses his features, self-conscious but polite enough. "I'll be careful to watch for you, then. I certainly don't want to be rude to a neighbor."

Jaeger settles on casually conversational, because as surreal as it is, there are spirits in Jaeger's world that take all sorts of forms, and he's talked with those without trouble. And Binx gave him a name, which is an important sort of thing in Jaeger's experience.

If Binx is a spirit, he's one that has some permanence and importance here, and Jaeger is respectful of such things regardless.

"And let me know if I disturb you. I'm still getting used to things, here, and I don't tend to sleep much."

Binx lets out a little laugh at that. "Neither do I," he admits. "At least, not when other people are sleeping. I'm tired of the curfew already."

He's strongly considered simply not coming 'home' at the end of the day. He never needed an apartment in 300 years, and he doesn't need it to be comfortable now. After the kelpies had tried to kidnap him, though, and had successfully kidnapped others....

"They have good reason for the rules, apparently. I can understand them, even if it's an inconvenience." He rolls his shoulders, settling into the conversation. He doesn't have anywhere else to be, and getting to know his neighbors and co-workers is a good cause. "I decided I can live with it at least to start, while I'm getting used to the idea of being here. If things change, then I can look at other options."

He wants to be close to ADI, to follow the rules and learn as much about the whole thing as he can. Then he can make better decisions with more information.

"Other options like that Flophouse?" asks Thackery. "I've thought about it. But here, at least, there shouldn't be people using magic in the halls."

Which is important to him, all things considered. Some of the rules chafe; others just seem to him like common sense. Lord knows what they get up to under Bonnie's unwatchful eye.

"Our salary isn't really enough to rent other housing, from what I've been able to tell, so, yes, I suppose the flophouse is the other big option." Which Jaeger isn't entirely sold on, either. At least this place has a pool, which he appreciates if he's going to suffer the rules.

He huffs a small breath. "No magic in the halls, yes, and at least some defense and awareness if someone comes looking for you. Not that it's impossible to get past security, but it's some measure, at least."

Not being killed in his sleep is aces in Jaeger's book.

"Plus, I suppose there's something to be said for safety in numbers."

"Isn't it? I suppose that explains so many people living here," muses Thackery. It had seemed like an awful lot when he'd seen the numbers provided by the financial department, but then again the price of things seems extremely high to him overall. Maybe what sounded like a small fortune isn't so much in the modern day.

"When did you get here?" he asks, curious. "There were attacks not too long ago. Kidnappings not far from these buildings. But no one was taken from inside."

"I've only been here a couple of days, so no, I missed those. Though I heard about them." His smile is thin and strained.

"I was taken here from a very difficult situation at home. My safety was constantly in question, and I had to stay on the move a great deal." It feels like a lot to share, and he pauses for a long few seconds after saying that much. Wondering if he should apologize, then deciding that no, he'll leave it at that. It's the truth, and he's trying to be more truthful. More honest. More personable, as difficult as that concept is to grasp.

Obviously, being social means leaving some details out, but there are other things that are probably obvious enough that there's no harm in telling.

Binx tilts his head, surprised at the admission...and immediately inclined to make his own in return.

"I haven't slept inside a house in decades," he admits. There had been...well, perhaps a few people might have thought they owned him over the years. It had never stuck. "It's pleasant enough, I suppose, if confining."

"You're really a cat, then." Jaeger's not terribly surprised at the admission, it seems logical that roaming is as much a part of a cat's life as reclining on a plush cushion in some retiree's living room. But a second later he amends, "I'm sorry. That was rude of me."

The 'decades' part catches Jaeger's attention, too, and his look turns speculative again as he listens to Binx. he's still not entirely convinced, but the words just sort of slipped out.

"I think this place is going to have a lot of things to get used to," he agrees quietly. "Working with other people again is going to be different, too, but I'm hoping to get a good start on that. Getting to know the others who live and work here, and establishing myself as I need to."

"...Yes?" replies Binx, honestly confused by the clarification. He'd thought it was rather obvious he was a cat, and he's not sure what he said to potentially confirm or confuse matters.

He nods, though, at the rest. "That, too, for me," he agrees.

Jaeger can't help the small laugh that slips from him. He shakes his head. "I don't usually carry on conversations with cats, so you'll have to excuse me. Sometimes spirits in my world take the form of animals, and that was what I first assumed."

He gestures a bit helplessly, before his hands drop to his sides again.

"Just further confirming that I am going to have a lot to learn here, I suppose."

"Ah. Well, to be quite fair I haven't usually carried on conversations with anyone for quite a long time. I'm no spirit, though. It's more of a curse; I was human before I was this."

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry to hear that, but it does explain things." Like the comment about decades, which Jaeger hasn't missed. Curses are powerful magic where he's from, too.

"I think this place will be something to get used to for most of us," he muses. He pauses, then offers, "If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know. I suspect, if the first couple of assignments are any indication, that they'll be having us work together quite often."

"Well, they've installed a cat flap, so that's the main problem taken care of," says Thackery dryly. "But...I'll keep it in mind."

Jaeger might not actually know what help he can offer, given Binx has clearly survived this long without helpful things like thumbs. So he just nods quietly, having made his offer. If something comes up, they'll deal with it, that's simple enough.

"I'll let you get back to your evening, but it was nice talking to you," he finally says after a moment, giving a small and amiable nod. "I expect we'll be seeing enough of each other in the future, especially with work and such."

Thackery nods, seeming...weirdly surprised by the idea, mundane as the concept of seeing each other around is, but on board.

"I'm sure we will," he says. "Have a nice night."

It is a weird thing, and something that will take some getting used to for both of them, Jaeger expects. They all seem to be very much thrown together, for better or worse.

Some trust will come, in time, he's sure. Conversations are a good start.

"You, too."

And he turns to head back down the hall, off to wander a different corner of the compound until sleep catches up with him.

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He runs from the feeling in the flood [OTA]

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