apocalypsehowcomm | I’m a maker of fine graves // Open Log

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I’m a maker of fine graves // Open Log

Who: Caduceus Clay

thatsreallygreat and YOU
When: post event
Where: ADI, Bonnie's, Dogtown, random park
Summary: Open prompts; happy to match style
Notes: visual reference for Caduceus's human disguise when he's off ADI property; (source)
Warnings: instrument that makes a sound like a person screaming; general references to death/decay

Bonnie's

Helping Bonnie with projects around the house is one way to get a little extra earnings, and Caduceus is happy to do it. He's tall, so at some point Bonnie sent him around to change lightbulbs all around the house - including in rooms where people are staying. He'll knock first, of course, and hold up a lightbulb with a bemused smile.

"Come to add a little light to your life." He thinks he's hilarious, thank you. "It'll only take a minute, or I can come back when you go out."

Sometimes he can be found down in the communal kitchen, cooking relatively large meals for anyone who might want to grab something to eat. Everything he cooks is vegetarian, though if someone requests a meat dish, he might be willing to make it. He'll just need someone else around to do the tasting. When he can, Caduceus does both breakfast and dinner. And if anyone wants to keep him company while he cooks - or better yet, help him - he'd welcome that.

And when the house is quiet, Caduceus might be found in his room, all seven feet of him crammed into a bed that does not fit him. He doesn't complain... though he does tend to leave the door open, even when he's sleeping, to avoid feeling too closed in.

ADI

Medical
"I don't want to die--"

"Mr. Smith, you aren't going to die, but we do need to treat that injury." The nurse standing by the bedside is clearly trying not to sound too exasperated. Caduceus, for his part, stays placidly behind her. And towers over her. The man in the bed doesn't sound placated.

"I heard what he is. People say things he touches die."

"Well, that isn't exactly accurate," Caduceus chimes in, calm despite the roundabout accusation that he might be killing patients. "I am a healer."

The patient doesn't seem willing to budge, though, and looks at the pink firbolg like he might be Death itself. The nurse gives Caduceus an apologetic look, but he bows out, thinking it better that he not aggravate a somewhat hysterical patient. Instead, he finds another occupied bed and approaches, hoping that the somewhat loud conversation wouldn't put anyone else off.

"Hi, I'm Caduceus. What are you here for today?"

Counseling
He shares a room with some of the other counselors, though they are never in there at the same time, and Caduceus has added a few personal touches as he can. Plants, in particular. They brighten up the space. He also find a comfortable rug that matches absolutely nothing else in the room. He likes it and so far the other counselors that use this room haven't removed it.

He gets water heating for tea, tickled by the electric kettle and willing to admit its convenience. He sets out his own box of loose-leaf tea along with whatever ADI has on hand.

Caduceus looks up when he realizes someone is in the doorway.

"Hey, need someone to talk to?"

The Bone Flute

After checking through the bag that arrived with him, Caduceus is delighted to find his bone flute. He almost blows into it right there in Bonnie's, then thinks better of it. Instead, he heads outside and finds a relatively quiet park. There don't seem to be a lot of people around and he picks a spot under a tree.

He runs his long fingers over the flute, smiling at the memory of finding it. Keone had been strange, but he liked her. He liked the harp she'd made for Yasha, too, and in that moment he misses Yasha. It'd be nice to sit with her and play their weird instruments. He'll just have to do so in memory of her, and hope that she is will and safe wherever she is.

The trouble is, the flute... doesn't exactly make the sort of music that most people might recognize as music. He blows the first note, and it sounds like a person shrieking. Caduceus pauses and nods a bit as he gets comfortable holding the flute again. Actually playing it means the duration of the notes is shorter - and sometimes longer - and it creates the most eerie cacophony.

And if someone rushes into the park, worried that someone is dying, well... it wouldn't be the first time.

Dogtown

Caduceus is taking advantage of some decent weather.

He heads toward Dogtown at a leisurely pace and picks a trail that feels right. He carries his staff with him, though for the most part he's only been using it as a walking stick and... well... a whacking stick. The last time he tried to call on his spiritual guardians, they had swarmed him and he isn't eager to try that again just yet.

Now and then he closes his eyes as he walks, just sort of taking in everything without seeing it. Caduceus stops when he sees a boulder that strikes him as appealing. He stands for a long moment, considering it. It feels like the right place to stop. He leans his staff against the rock and runs his hands over it before climbing onto it. He arranges himself somewhere comfortable and takes his straw hat off, leaving it in his lap. Back straight, eyes closed again, Caduceus tries opening himself up, searching for the Wildmother.

He feels... something. It isn't her, but there's almost like an echo of her. An aspect. And a familiar one, at that.

He breathes in deep and exhales slowly. He can hear and smell the life all around him, but there's far more than that. There always is. Beneath fallen leaves there is decay and growth. He can smell the damp earth, made rich by death and able to sustain the living. Agents of change move and grow: insects, fungi, scavengers. In a moment, he is as aware of the inevitability of it all, the natural process that will continue whether or not anyone wants it to. No matter how much interference there is, death will always happen. It is grounding in a way that the understanding of that cycle always has been. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Clay to clay.

As his mind wanders, he thinks of the strange roots he's seen. Meditating like this, he becomes vaguely aware of them again. And he is vaguely aware that he has manipulated them in the past by casting Path to the Grave. He'd seen the dark tendrils wrap around the kelpie moments before Tak killed it.

Caduceus feels a faint, warm breeze and it brings a serene smile to his face. He tips his head into it, comforted by it, just as he is comforted by the cool of the rock beneath him. Life and death. One can not exist without the other. And he is content in knowing this.

Anyone approaching the rock along the path will certainly notice the awkward-looking human with pink hair sitting on it, apparently meditating. They might also notice the ring of mushrooms that have sprouted up around it in a spiral.

Wildcard

[Please feel free to toss a scene my way if you have something you want to play out! I'm also happy to write more specific starts, so let me know if you'd like one. You can PM me here or find me at

givemedragons; also happy to exchange discord information. I will likely update this with event prompts as needed when that goes up.

When he is not on ADI property, Caduceus looks like a very tall, lanky human with pink hair and pierced ears.

Oh, also happy to match style! If you prefer brackets, go for it.]

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"A woman called Keona had it in her shop." Probably for the best that Martin has no idea who that is, otherwise he might get massive Stranger danger vibes. "I have no idea why it sounds like that. It's not magic, though."

It feels important to point that out. It's just a flute that's been made... to sound like screaming?

"It sounds a little different when you actually play it." Rather than just blowing long notes. "I have no idea what it's for."

He's got nothing. He just found it in a creepy shop in Rexxentrum and he regrets nothing about this purchase.

Oh, he absolutely would, and frankly that's simply not necessary information right now. He's glad to be reassured it's not magic, especially when a certain band with 'bone' in the name comes to mind, but Martin doesn't feel like he's going bonkers so perhaps it is just a regularly terrifying object instead of a supernatural one. Cool. Good.

"Huh. Well, it... h-hope it's some kind of animal bone, then!" Martin has decided as soon as this sentence has left his mouth that he does not want to know what kind of bone it is. He sighs, looking like he's about to get closer and then stopping for a second. "Do you, uhm-- do you want some company, or something? I wouldn't want to interrupt your, uh... practice?"

"I mean, we're all animals," he points out. That probably isn't the most comforting thing he could say, but in the end it's true. The only thing he's absolutely sure of is that it's not a fish bone, but birds and mammals and hybrids are all fair game.

He smiles at Martin and turns the flute over in his hands.

"I'd enjoy company, you aren't interrupting anything important." And, likely, Martin's presence will distract Caduceus from playing the flute any more, which may be a benefit to anyone else in the park.

"How are you doing?"

It very, very much isn't, but Martin has seen a lot of bones being used as weird things in his life. At least this one looks like a bone still, which... actually, is probably worse. He's just going to stop thinking about this.

He moves to sit down, crossing his legs and trying to settle himself. "No, not-- important, really. Just kind of out and about." He chuckles a moment, moving a hand to the back of his neck in a sheepish, practiced motion. "Kind of been a while since there was... I don't know, downtime? When stuff wasn't happening, so." He's realizing this sounds like he has absolutely no hobbies, which is a little embarassing, and fills in more words to try and cover that up. "How, uhm, h-how about you?"

Caduceus gives Martin a warm look and rests his hands in his lap. There is something to to be said for doing nothing, especially after what Martin went through not too long ago.

"Clearing your head and enjoying what's here is worthwhile," he says warmly. "Why do you think I'm sitting in the middle of a park?"

Okay he also has the flute, but. Even if he didn't, he'd probably still be here, just sitting and listening and watching. He likes doing that.

"I'm--" He pauses, thinking he could actually consider his answer carefully. "Things are strange here, for me. For everyone, I know, but I'm in a place where no one's even heard of what I am, I'm in a disguise every time I step off ADI property. It's weird."

He can say that much. It's weird, even if he understands the purpose and can't think of a good reason to argue against it. It's not hurting anyone - it's certainly not hurting him. But it's still strange that his appearance should be out of his control.

"And I'm still learning - relearning, I guess - how to access magic."

Martin is part of ADI so he's allowed to say that, right?

There's something so oddly calming about this man, even if Martin knows he's not seeing what he really looks like. The concept of things like magic being real and not because someone's decided to be horrible to someone else is still a bit shocking, but-- well, there must be some places that can be so lucky. Too bad this isn't one of them, and who's fault is that? Ha. Haha. Ha.

Martin shifts a bit as he sits, idly fidgeting with his fingers, the skin around his nails as he listens. "Yeah, it... it's kind of weird to think, uhm-- I mean that magic is, uh, a thing? When it isn't because people are, uhm, b-breaking reality by drawing in the power of fear demons and stuff." It's amazing what he's had to get used to, that this seems more normal. He exhales as he tries to think of a better answer.

"What was it... like? Back, uhm, back where you're from. I guess the fears don't exist there like they do here?"

"Fear exists everywhere," he says mildly. "There's nothing I've learned here that I haven't seen before."

Caduceus considers a moment, then adds: "Well, I've never heard them discussed as entities like they are here, but the concept of fear feeding things isn't new. And I have definitely met... things? That wanted to change the world for the worse."

He goes through the bag that's sitting at his hip until he finds a travel mug. He offers it to Martin. The lid can twist off and become a cup.

"Tea," he explains, then digs out a second cup so they can each have some. "There's different ways to access the power that drives magic. Wizards study it, sorcerers are born with it. Then there are those who serve a god, like I do, and are granted power through them."

He's a bit more on edge as Caduceus describes things, trying to draw parallels and coming up largely blank, but he immediately snaps out of it when this man-- this lovely, perfect man-- actually has a mug of tea, and he brightens considerably.

"Oh, it-- thank you, that's lovely." He's careful to pour, setting down the larger mug when he's done to hold the cup between both of his hands and feel the warmth in it as he takes a sip. That's nice. Instantly, it's a little more familiar, and he can turn his attention back to the conversation.

"But so there are people who are just... magical, without doing anything? That's-- no one's ever been like that that I knew." Even if he wanted to be so bad when was little, but doesn't every kid? "And-- not to derail this but this is really good is this fresh stuff, it's wonderful."

Oops, he's derailed it a little bit.

Caduceus smiles when he sees the look on Martin's face and he'll try to remember that Martin might like tea as much as he does. Or, at least, finds it as comforting as he does. He uses the lid of the larger mug as his own cup, holding it carefully and appreciating the warmth.

The tea itself might be unfamiliar, a bit spicy-sweet with a slightly earthy scent but not a heavy taste.

"Thank you, it's from the tea I had with me when I arrived here. What I had left from the Blooming Grove. I'll have to start cultivating here to see if I can replace it. I don't know that I'll find the same plants growing, but the town has enough in the way of graveyards and cemeteries that I think I should be all right."

He loves tea so jot that one down, buddy. Usually he's the one offering to put on a cup and have soft tender conversations, even if he hasn't done that in a while. It just feels like it's still second nature, back there in the coping mechanisms in his brain.

Martin takes another sip, trying to hold and savor it, though the next bit does only give him more questions. "... Graveyards? Does it... h-have to be graveyards? Something about the soil?" He does know that graveyard soil is supposed to be extra fertile, since, you know... bodies. But now he's also wondering if the Blooming Grove might have more dead people than he first assumed there as well.

"Or is that part of the magic? I, I don't know if the tea is magic, I mean, it's always a little bit magical to get a good cuppa, but-- uhm. Yeah."

Caduceus smiles and holds his tea close, appreciating the scent and the warmth. It reminds him of home, and he is further away from that now than he has ever been.

"Some things take better," he says with a small nod. "And it's what I'm used to. There's a lot of comfort in familiarity. The dead are dead wherever they are."

Corpses don't do a lot of changing, and if they do, then it's usually Caduceus's job to make sure they stop. Or that they change in the right direction. He takes a drink of his tea and sighs softly.

"There's nothing inherently magic about this tea," he admits. He likes Martin's philosophy, though. "I have some blends I think would be good for the counseling center if I can cultivate them here. Or find alternatives that might do the same thing."

He thinks it might be because he's just so desensitized to the idea of dying that this sort of thing isn't as eerie for him as it would be for most. Martin's come too close to death to consider it something that he fears anymore, at least for his own bearing. At least he never had to deal with zombies or anything like that, but if he thinks that too loud someone might hear it and he immediately forces himself to change tracks.

"Well, uhm-- I'm sure everyone would enjoy having the fresh stuff. The shops here are okay, but it's not... not good, really." American tea is just middling, after all, though he's sure if he tried hard enough he could find something to ship. For now though he has this, and he's going to savor it.

"Sorry I interrupted your, uhm... flute practice. But I really appreciate this. This is, uh-- this is probably the nicest this place has been since day one."

"It isn't really an interruption. I was just surprised to find that I had it and had to try it out again. I'd given it to Calliope."

He hopes his sister is alright. Hopes that the appearance of the flute among his things here when he arrived didn't mean something had befallen her. He doesn't think so. Caduceus takes note of Martin's comments about tea, though. Some things are hard for him to remember, but he should be able to hold onto that. Maybe if he can get enough of what he wants, he can make a little box for Martin to keep for himself. Until then...

"I keep a box of tea in the counseling center. It's what I have left from home and a few things I've put together here. You're welcome to use some."

Nothing he has in that box should do anything too weird.

Good call on not telling him the too weird part. Thankfully, Martin's weird threshold is pretty high, so he'd be unlikely to blame the tea regardless.

"Oh, it's-- thank you. I'll, uhm, I'll see about-- you know, getting some good stuff from across the pond." He has no idea how he's going to do that, but like, he'll figure it out later. Right now he's going to enjoy this tea, this moment, and a single bit of calm in the disaster he calls a life.

"I guess it's at least nice to have something that reminds you of home. Whether it's uhm, tea or the, uh-- the flute." He doesn't want to keep calling it the Bone Flute. It just feels wrong somehow. "I'm sure whoever you gave it to wouldn't be too sad to know it's with you and, uhm, r-reminding you. Of them, I mean."

"I'd like that, thanks." He's curious to see what Martin considers good tea and he has no idea what pond he's talking about.

"Calliope would've had a lot of fun with it... I hope she did before it came back to me," he says fondly as he thinks of his sister. As ever, he misses his family and he hopes that they're all safe and well. It gives him some comfort to know that they're back in the Blooming Grove, at least.

"Do you have any reminders of home here?"

On one hand, Martin would imagine it would be difficult to have people somewhere else that he could be missing right now. On the other... when Caduceus asks that question he looks a bit sheepishly down to his mug, a little smile pulling at his lips.

"I mean, it's... I only ever really had one, after it all. But uhm... yes, he's here. My, uhm, m-my boyfriend." It feels really nice to tell someone that not under threat of some kind of murder, and he can't stop the way he wants to smile wide when he thinks about it. "His, uhm-- his name is Jon, if you've seen him around. He came in with me."

He's just going to choose not to talk about Elias, because screw that in this very nice moment.

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I’m a maker of fine graves // Open Log

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