cape_kore | Day 69 | [video] | Dilandau Albatou

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Day 69 | [video] | Dilandau Albatou

[For the first time since he's been in Kore, Dilandau's not looking the least bit put out when making a public announcement. He's alert and in a good mood. Though he's draped on his sofa, it's a deceptive relaxation. He's got the stillness of a coiled spring, ready to jump into action any moment. ]

I hear there's more than beasts in the woods. Does anyone have information about the metal bears who guard the perimeter in the forest?

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There may be some distortion out there. I'm not positive. I would say between seven and fifteen miles, but it's a rough estimate.

[A pause, then a sigh. Damn these aliens and their lack of sensible units of measurement]

What's that in costa? [He holds his hands about a meter apart, but then decides there might be an easier route] Or how many miles is it from the lighthouse to the crossroads?

Less than that. Three or four miles from the lighthouse to the crossroads. Again, though, there's some spacial distortion so you should consider that very rough.

[That mucks up his mental map slightly. The hairs on the back of his neck are prickling at the thought of being distorted, but he only lets it show through a thinning of his lips]

Is the distortion dangerous?

[He makes a small, frustrated sound in the back of his throat. He ran into this same problem when describing his experience of the place to the Doctor. He just doesn't see things the same way a human would, and his attempt to put what's in his head into words seems to be faulty.]

I doubt most people have even noticed it. I'm not trying to tell you there's a wormhole in the middle of town or anything. What I mean is the place is designed to screw with a person's sense of geographical perception.

Maybe you can get a firmer reading by walking about than I have, but maybe not. Normally I could give you the distance between one landmark and another within the hundredth of an inch, but I just can't figure it here.

It's really quite annoying.

Maybe I can, or maybe I'm just being fooled completely.

[And he's not happy with that at all. He scowls as he thinks about it before muttering out a curse]

I'll just have to deploy over a wider area to make sure this'll work.

[He glances at Balthazar]

So, do you want to join in doing something constructive?

Possibly. Depends what you mean by 'deploy'. [Balthazar has been a soldier and that's not the part of Heaven he misses. At all.]</small.

That's something I'll explain in person. I'm in house fifteen.

Hmm. [That's all the response Balthazar makes before he cuts the feed. He actually has to think about this for minute. On the one hand, he's seen Dilandau in action and been distinctly unimpressed. On the other hand, he's got nothing better to do at the moment, and it might be wise to keep an eye on this situation.

Within ten minutes, he's knocking on the door of the indicated house.]

[Dilandau opens the door and leads Balthazar into the living room so he could have a seat.]

I'm sure you've heard there's a man who thinks he can get us out if he has the right parts. Those bears of our captors are a part of this world. Their machinery functions by this world's rules so it ought to be useful to him. I want to lure some of them as near to us as possible and capture them.

[That's a lie, because he doesn't intend for it to get any further than trapping the beasts before they run, but he wants to disseminate a false idea in order to distract their captors.]

Back home my job this was my job, to seek and capture. Of course, I'm just a man and they'll have been made to keep people like you in line. I can't just walk up to them with my sword, but I can plan strategies and deploy people who've got more suitable skills.

That friend of yours is going to fight a bear on camera so I can see how they move. Once I've got an idea I want to see how they'll follow people who go in. After that we'll build traps outside their trigger range but inside the zone they'll follow us into. We ought to get some use out of them.

[Too bad that's a lie, because it sounds like a pretty good idea to Balthazar. Maybe he's not as wary as he should be; normally an angel should be able to pick up on falsehoods.]

Mn. Well, more power doesn't necessarily equal victory. Everything has rules and everything has weaknesses. But I'm with you so far. [He sits at the edge of the couch, attentive.]

You've got Loki helping you? I find that impressive. He's not really a team player.

Maybe it will, maybe it won't. There seem to be enough people who work by different rules in here that some sort of combination ought to give us an advantage. Now it's only a matter of testing our targets and working out our plan before our captors work it out for us.

[He snorts at the surprise. He's pretty proud of finding a use for his tormentor]

Is that his name? He offered to help after I mentioned how his vanishing powers would give him the advantage over the others who've tried to rip the bears apart. He says he'll film it for me when he does. We'll see if he goes through with it.

One would think that, yes, but theoretically our captors choose who arrives here. If they're competent, they wouldn't have chosen a combination that could destroy them. We don't really even know what sort of beings they are.

[Not that he's trying to discourage the escape attempt. Not yet, at least.]

Yes, Loki is...well, one of many names. You want to be a little careful who you challenge here, by the way. He definitely can do what he said. Whether he will, I don't know.

[He makes a little face at Balthazar's advice. It would have been handy to hear the day he arrived, but he also would have ignored it completely until getting a first-hand demonstration]

I realise that now. I never thought I'd meet any demons or gods until I entered the afterworld.

[There's a beep as a message comes through to Dilandau's shackle. He pauses and holds up a finger to warn Balthazar to be silent as he takes a call.

Once he slaps the video off he grabs the nearest mug and throws it at the wall with a shriek]

If he wasn't a demon I'd kill him!

[Pant, pant. He takes off his diadem so he can wipe his brow and continues discussing his plan, though now he's sharp with anger]

We don't need to break through the barrier the bears are protecting. We don't even need to present a terrible threat. What we do need to do is make our captors think that we're throwing force we can't waste in that direction. We need to make it seem like that attack is necessary for the rest of our plan to succeed, so they'll try foil us instead of the Doctor.

If he was reliable we'd make far more of a compelling distraction, but we can manage with what we've got for now.

[Balthazar realizes already Dilandau is the sort that needs an object lesson to learn anything. In a way that makes Gabriel the perfect one to take his education in hand. Gabriel loves to provide object lessons.

On the other hand, keeping the two of them at opposite sides of the town might be more prudent, because Gabriel loves to provide object lessons.

Case in point. Balthazar listens to the ensuing call with only a vague idea of what's going on. The explosion is audible, though, and he has to look away to hide a smirk.

He's listening, though, and when Dilandau finishes speaking, he gets up and retrieves the pieces of the mug, repairing it with a gesture. No sense wasting china.]

I'm following you. How long do you expect to need this distraction?

Not long, once the Doctor makes his announcement. The longer we spend on this the more likely they'll see through what we're doing. We'll do trial runs seeing how far the bears will come while waiting for him to set up, but I'm not going to move the majority of people in until he's nearly ready.

[That trick with the cup is something he didn't expect to see. He takes it once Balthazar's finished and twists it in his hands, looking for the cracks.]

What are you?

I suppose it would be better to have the most durable types go after the bears, if this is truly going to happen. I can't say I don't have misgivings, but consider me on call. [If only to spare serious injury to some of the other residents.

He smiles faintly at the reaction, and shrugs.] An angel. Not the only one here. But I don't know if you have the corresponding mythology on your own world.

[His eyes widen before he suddenly bows to the man. His fringe hides most of the 'oh, shit' look on his face but he sounds far meeker than he's ever sounded in Balthazar's presence before]

Raphael of the Heavens has graced me with an audience already.

[He'd thought there would have been a physical similarity, but of course gods wouldn't need to be bound by such mortal rules.]

Forgive me, I didn't know what you are.

[Whoa! Well, that was utterly unexpected, although as soon as Dilandau mentions Raphael, Balthazar gets a very vivid idea of that audience might have been like.

Now he has a dilemma. He doesn't want to be on a pedestal, and he really doesn't want to be some sort of deified go-to guy if trouble starts up. He also doesn't want to dissuade genuine faith--or respect. He's quiet for a moment, then says:]

Raphael is my older brother. Much older. You're wise to approach him with deference. I'm not his equal, even if I am the same kind. And you haven't particularly offended me. Let's just go on as we have been, shall we?

[After a moment he raises his head and sits back on the sofa. There's no worship in his attitude, but there's still a deep fear lingering in his eyes, despite Raphael's reassurance]

If you want to help go after the bears can you sense through the distortions how far you can convince them to follow you?

Edited 2013-05-27 01:14 (UTC)

[Fear may be reasonable. Any one of the angels, even poor Samandriel, is capable of damaging a mortal beyond repair. Balthazar, at least, is not inclined to do so under normal circumstances. Even if this particular mortal is grating.]

They don't precisely have minds. That makes them harder to predict. [He shrugs.] I imagine they could be herded with force if nothing else, though.

That could work as well. The more we capture, the more of an irritation we'll be.

Mn. I'll see what I can do. Don't build a plan around me, though. I don't want that responsibility.

Of course.

[He inclines his head respectfully. He wouldn't dare factor a god into his plans without their explicit permission, for that's a power he has no way of directing]

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Day 69 | [video] | Dilandau Albatou

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