cape_kore | Video || Day 77

Entry tags:

Video || Day 77

[Welcome to the semi-smiling visage of Riley, Kore.]

Hey. It's me, obviously. Um, I was just thinking since there's new people arriving here and I know I haven't actually gotten to meet about half of the people currently here, maybe we could have a sort of... bake out?

I'm planning on going fishing today, so I could plan to grab enough for anyone wanting to come. I'd really like to see who's here that's willing to try to get together to figure out what exactly is going on and what we intend to do about it. We might be stuck here, but there's no reason we have to be secluded while we are.

[Except for hunters. ~~Dean, this means you.~~]

I just think we might want to start acting a little more like we're all stuck here together instead of having ulterior motives or ones that, you know, completely screw with people when they go and do things by themselves.

[This might be directed at the Doctor and anyone involved with the event that had her freaking out like any animal during an earthquake/natural disaster. She was very not happy with you.]

It may be ridiculous to ask, but, hey, why not, right? If anyone wants to come, please do. If not, that's just more fish for me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hey, Balthazar. I'm... good. Better, at least.

[She had no idea about how badly off he was, but she'd probably find out when she bullied her way over to feed him. Because that was a thing that was going to happen, Balthazar. Deal with it.]

How about you? Seems like everyone really got screwed up and I haven't seen you around. How about I bring you some fresh cooked fish and whatever else I can scrounge up? I could drop by the bar and grab something for you?

Better than what? You weren't injured? [Have some genuine worry. He'll feel bad if his buddy Whiskers got hurt and he didn't even notice.]

I lost my vision when the barrier broke. It's still coming back, and I feel off-balance. Also slightly sore, but I'll get over that, too.

Oh. I don't want to take food out of someone else's mouth. [Since he doesn't need to eat and all.] But if there are leftovers, I wouldn't mind a visit. Or a cold beer. [The smile is audible.]

Injured? What, no. I just... I had a mild to not-so-mild freakout when it broke. [More like not so mild. She'd hidden under her bed for half of it and refused to come out.]

... You lost your vision? Balthazar...

[There's concern, irritation, censure, and affection all wrapped up in that tone.]

Why didn't you call me, you jerk? I'm coming over right now.

[After a small detour to the bar.]

Um... where are you?

Ah. I think a lot of us did. Probably a possibility we should have considered before going through with it. [God, what if the barrier had stayed down? Would the ones who could have left just abandoned everyone else, or would there have been a mad scramble to evacuate?

Either way, there would have been injuries even if the plan had worked.]

It's temporary. I'm already improving. [He's clearly surprised by her reaction. After a moment's consideration, though, he can't help but feel touched.]

House 11. Along the side, right now, where I've dug up the dirt for a garden.

Temporary my not so furry butt. I'll be there in about fifteen.

[She gives him a pointed finger at the screen, scolding him before she turns the feed off.

Then she leaves the house and makes for the bar, picking up some of the beer she'd seen him drinking before. She made her way to the eleventh house, looking along the side and scenting him before she saw him.]

Balthazar?

[Well, he can't see that finger, as his own communicator is set to audio, but the tone of her voice makes the scolding clear. He's not sure whether to laugh or be embarrassed, but by the time she gets there, he's decided to go with neither, and just be content that someone wants to look after him.

He's on a makeshift bench, a couple planks tied together and propped up by cinder blocks, feet propped up on an overturned bucket, and he squints a little as she approaches, like he's not 100% sure who she is. His human eyes may be back to normal, but the rest of his senses feel shaky.]

Hello? Riley? It's me. Come sit, if you like.

[That was exactly what she did, moving so she was sitting less than a foot away from him. If he was injured or ill, it fell on her as the healthy member of their relationship (such as it was) to look after him. That was just the shifter way. So he got to deal with her sitting a little closer than human convention dictated as she passed him a can of beer.]

How bad was it?

[There we go. Up close he can see her better, plus there's a light woodsy scent that clings to her, something subtle but present enough for human senses, that's reassuringly familiar. He smiles, and if she's sitting closer than he'd have expected, he either doesn't notice or doesn't care.]

You're a godsend, darling. Thank you. [He accepts the can of beer and pops it open, taking only a small sip before answering.]

I fell out of full-on flight. That's never fun.

Oh? Like, you were flying flying?

[She was curious about these wings she'd never seen, but she couldn't deny that he had abilities she couldn't explain. His cheeky attitude made it impossible to be afraid of him, letting her curiosity come to the front as she so very subtly tried to look behind him again, as if somehow, magically, she'd see these wings.]

You're okay now, right? I mean, you'll get better?

Well, angelic flight isn't the same as what birds do. It's faster, for one thing. Pulling through space, almost instantaneous. I think the twist in reality caused by the barrier breaking is what got me.

[He's proud of his wings, actually, and if he could show them off without seriously injuring people, he probably would. Some day he'll show off the shadows for her, at least.]

I can't open most of my true eyes, but I'm getting better slowly. I'm sure I'll be fine in time.

[She'd like that. And might try to touch them anyway.]

True eyes? You have more than two eyes?

[Balthazar... you haven't explained the finer points of angels and their vessels to her. Now she's picturing some Hindu version with eyes all over their heads.

But she also pats him consolingly on the shoulder.]

As long as you're getting better. If not, I'm going to be forced to come make sure you're still alive.

[Oh, that's true. He hasn't gone into detail about vessels, has he? Partly he tries to avoid that talk, aware how disturbing it sounds to most humans, but it seems the time has come.]

What you see, this physical body, is a human vessel. In my true form I'm an ofan, a double-wheel of flame covered with eyes. Looking at an angel's true body can blind a mortal permanently. We have to have a vessel to walk on the earth.

[He leans into the touch with a smile.] I've lived this long; I'm sure I'm good for a few more eons.

A human vessel? What does that mean, exactly?

[She's not aware that there used to be a person in there that's taking a backseat to Balthazar.]

Angels look like wheels of fire with googly eyes? I don't remember seeing that in any bible I ever read.

Googly eyes? I beg your pardon! [His lips twitch. He probably should be offended, but he looks more like he's trying not to laugh.]

Your Bible must have skipped over Ezekiel: The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.

What, you don't have googly eyes? Big ones that jiggle when you move? [She saw that, Balthazar. Laugh, go on. You know you want to.]

It might also be because I never actually read the bible. [She kicked at the ground a little with her toe.] Sorry, Snowball, but we're not a religious family.

[He gives up and laughs, because the mental image of terrifying rings of flame pasted all over with wiggle eyes is pretty much priceless. Maybe he likes Riley because they share a similar sense of humor.]

I wouldn't worry about it, if I were you. The Bible was written for humans, by humans. Most of my brothers wouldn't consider it representative of our experiences. [He wishes he could tell her about Gabriel, for just a moment. But it might be better not to anyway.]

[Hah! She made him laugh. She felt a smug sort of satisfaction about that, kicking at the ground again and looking over at him.]

Maybe if it was written by a god, or the god, or any deity, I might hold a bit more respect for it. But when they're spouting off about things in scripture that people are holding to as a fact in a more modern civilization? I kind of just want to avoid the whole shebang.

[The angel shrugs.] Most of it is prophecy, but it's filtered through the lens of the person who wrote it down. Anyway, like I told you before, I don't want to tell you what to believe or not believe. It's not my place.

Nope. It's not. [Her parents hadn't even tried to sway her or her brothers towards one religion or the other. She'd met other shifters that were catholic, christian, pagan, and even kemetic, but her family didn't slide into any one religions. They respected and adhered to what the people they were around followed without following it themselves. It made her mostly ambivalent to them since to her, they were all just different strings from the same cloth.]

Are you in any pain? Do you need anything?

[Balthazar smiles. Some of his brethren would find that response cheeky, but all in all he'd rather spend time with mortals who can hold their own than ones who remain in awe of him.]

I'm a bit sore, but there's nothing for it but time. Thank you, though.

[He swallows more beer, licks his lips, and considers a moment. She asked about his vessel.] When I say I'm in a human vessel...this body belonged to a man--an artist--at the turn of the 20th Century. I was sent to earth on a mission, and needed a vessel to wear. I came to him because he was the only adult of the right bloodline.

An angel can't take a vessel without consent. I ended up talking with him for nearly two weeks before he said yes. I still carry his soul with me, but it's resting now. He's resting.

[That has her turning to look at him, giving his body a full looking over as she does.]

So... you're possessing him? Is that what angels do? Possess people? How long are you going to be in him? What happens to him after? And what do you mean 'right bloodline'? Balthazar... did you shag some mortal woman and this is your a billionty times great grandson?

[Well, that's a lot of questions. He opens his mouth, closes it again to decide where to start, and then begins:]

First of all, good lord no, I didn't have babies with some poor human girl. That's on the short list of Things That Get Your Wings Ripped Off by a Superior Officer. I can't explain why the genetics work the way they do. Not my department. But my vessel's bloodline goes back almost as far as the human race.

It's possession, I suppose, but it doesn't work the same way demonic possession does. And he...well, in my own world, he should by rights be given a place to rest in Heaven, but if I'm stuck here forever... [He makes a rueful shrug. He'd be very reluctant to release Levi's soul here. Anything could happen.]

Could you go around without him? I mean, if you weren't in his body, where would you be?

[He'd gotten her curious, making her wonder about the difference in mechanics in her world and his. Angels existing was one. And apparently so were demons. Good to know.]

Can you, like, talk to him? In there?

[She lifted a finger and tapped just beside his brow, light and curious.]

I suppose I'd be in trueform, blowing out the electrical and communications network, blinding anyone human who saw me for life, and possibly setting fires.

[He answers dryly, but it's a real concern. If he were removed from his vessel on his own world, he could flee to Heaven by default. Not in Kore.]

...actually, yes, but in a limited way. It's difficult, I think, for a human soul sharing form with an angel. Overwhelming. I try to keep him asleep as much as I can. I've asked him about human social customs once or twice, but I try to let him be.

And he's okay with that? Just snoozing away while you putter around? What about... other things?

[And by 'other things', she was referring to if the angel decided to get his freak on. Did the vessel's personality not really care who it was playing with when Balthazar was driving?]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

[Video > Action]

Action

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject