01 | video/action downtown

[waywardboy]

Who: Connor and you!
Where: Downtown New Moore
When: Late morning.
What: Connor is freaking the hell out.

[To anyone walking around downtown today, at first glance, Connor doesn't seem that different from any other citizen of New Moore. In fact, all things considered, his clothing marks him as pretty normal. Rather that merely walking, however, he appears to be prowling, crouched low whenever he moves as though it's nothing more than second nature. He jumps, startled, whenever other pedestrians pass him by, and while he stops to peer into storefront windows here and there, the first sign of movement from inside or the opening of a door is enough to scare him off, causing him to bolt for the next store over.

At some point during his cautious exploration, he ducks just inside an alleyway near the ice cream shop, pushing his left sleeve up to his elbow and examining his arm with a frown. There are several holes there, as well as faint streaks of dried blood, evidence of the doctors at the hospital trying to sedate him and being met with struggle several times over.]

This place...

[His voice is a low growl as he talks to himself, frustrated, hurt.]

More demon magic. I'm tired of magic.


[Video, Early Afternoon:]

[The young man on the video appears to be rather unsteady, vibrating slightly as he looks over either shoulder while on camera, having fumbled with it for several minutes beforehand. Technology isn't as foreign to him as it used to be, thanks to Fred and Gunn showing him how to work everything in the hotel over the summer, and video is preferable to text. His writing is terrible. He's never had to do very much of it.

When he finally focuses on the feed itself, his eyes are wide, spooked.]

This hell has computers. What kind of demons live here?

Comments

action; cause i'm horrible

[ainosenshi]

[Minako's walking around downtown, trying to get ideas for Christmas presents. She's probably going to get something small for everyone, but she's looking for something a bit extra for Vanellope, her roommate. The kid reminds her of a mixture of Usagi and Makoto, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure something out.

She's about to head into the ice cream shop to refuel and think about her present choices when she spots Connor. She's a little concerned, nor for just herself, but there's others in the shop too. So, being the person she is, Minako heads for him, hands shoved into the pockets of her jacket.]

Magic's not all that bad, you know. Demon magic yes, but not all types.

you really are. XD

[waywardboy]

[Connor snaps his head up at the sound of her voice, having been too preoccupied with examining his wounds to listen for footsteps. He edges away from her slightly, but doesn't run. Not yet.

Instead, he stares at her as though she's just sprouted a second head.]

Magic is unpredictable. It hurts people.

[ainosenshi]

Not all magic hurts people. Only evil magic does, duh.

[Duh, Connor. Don't you know that? Minako's going to look at him like he's clearly supposed to know this.]

[waywardboy]

There are always side-effects.

[He's just as stubborn as you are, Minako, if not more.

He edges back another half-step.]

There's always a price. All magic is evil.

[ainosenshi]

Like what? Warts on your nose or different colored hair? All the magic I've seen has been good.

Then you haven't seen good magic. Clearly I'll have to find some for you.

[waywardboy]

[He frowns.]

Memory loss. Blood being spilled. Portals being opened. It's unreliable, and the price is never worth it.

[ainosenshi]

Been there, done that, overcome it.

You have to keep a positive attitude.

[video]

[thatsawiggle]

[OH, OH, PICK ME]

Demons, y'say? 're ye a Spirit detective or sommat?

[video]

[waywardboy]

[Connor frowns, his eyebrows knitting together.]

No. I'm a hunter.

[video]

[thatsawiggle]

[His face falls a little at that.]

Well what're ye hunting demons fer? They ain't done anythin' to ye.

[video]

[waywardboy]

[He looks at Jin blankly, not understanding the question.]

I hunt to survive. Kill them before they kill me.

You do what you have to, to get by.

[video]

[thatsawiggle]

...I grant ye that some o' the not s'bright ones 'd probably jes' come after ye without s'much as a by-your-leave, but some of 'em got better things ta do than just nibble on humans all day! Do ye really jes' go around attackin' every demon y'see without even finding out what kind they are first?

[video]

[waywardboy]

[He scowls.]

You don't talk to demons. Demons don't reason.

[The only one he's ever met who was ever any different was Lorne, and he still doesn't trust the guy, regardless of the fact that the guy was responsible for changing a lot of Connor's dirty diapers when he was a baby.]

They hunt, they stalk, and they kill. They saw me as prey, until I learned to fight back.

[easy_a]

Pretty sure it's not magic, mate.

[Being quite new herself, Alisha had taken to exploring the place she'll no doubt be forced to call "home". Frankly, she'd rather know where everything is for herself than constantly stop and ask for directions. It just makes things far easier.

A lone man talking to himself in an alleyway is typically not the best sign; it was enough to get her to put a pause to her exploration and stop in the alley's entrance way... if for no other reason than to watch him out of sheer, morbid curiosity. Mainly because lone men in alleyways tend to be tweakers or mentals of some sort... or at least they were back home.

Normally, she wouldn't have bothered speaking up; however, with nothing better to do with her time, she figures it can't hurt much. Well, as long as she keeps her distance.]

[waywardboy]

[He moves away from her instinctively, looking her over as one would appraise a potential predator entering their territory.

All signs point to mental, really.]

There's no other way to go between dimensions.

[easy_a]

Have you been sniffing glue?

[Because he's sure acting like he has.]

Okay, so there's some sort of weird scifi shit going on that brought us all here, apparently. I really don't think it's magic, though.

[waywardboy]

[He looks at her as though she's been sniffing something.]

Of course it's magic. This isn't the first time I've gone between dimensions. It's always magic.

[He says so with a great degree of disgust.]

Except for when I got back. I broke through. Made my own way.

[easy_a]

[Wrong; it's always the storm. Not that she's about to pipe up about that just yet... or at all.]

I think you need help, mate, maybe let up on the acid, yeah? There's no such thing as magic.

[waywardboy]

[He grumbles, ignoring the acid comment -- mostly because he doesn't know what it means.]

I wish there was no such thing as magic.

[video]

[dontmccallmyname]

[Scott may look similarly spooked.]

Why are we talking about demons?

[video]

[waywardboy]

[Connor snorts.]

Pulling people between dimensions? That's demon magic.

[Serious as a heart attack.]

[video]

[dontmccallmyname]

[Just kind of gaping at the screen for a few seconds.]

But, that's—

[Here's where he remembers he's a werewolf, and he's friends with a kid who says he's an Asgardian god. His mouth closes with an audible click.]

Yeah. Okay.

[Now nodding. This could explain so much.]

I guess I just didn't think of demons. I didn't even know they were a thing I could think about.

[video]

[waywardboy]

Most worlds have them. People just don't realize.

[At least, that's how it is where he comes from.]

None of the other places are like Earth, though. All those hell dimensions... humans there are slaves, if there are humans at all.

[He remembered hearing that about Pylea. Humans were referred to as "cows" and used as beasts of burden, among other things. Slaves and nothing more, with collars that would explode if they wandered too far from their owners.]

This place... it's more like Earth than most. But it's demon magic that brought us here.

[He may not be sure about likening anything to Earth, his own time there was so brief, but the demonic influence? That, he's sure about.]

[video]

[dontmccallmyname]

Yeah, I guess it wouldn't be common knowledge.

[He's very wrapped up in thinking about this. Why would demons want to turn people into magical girls? But he snaps to attention again, hearing Connor describe hell dimensions.]

So compared to that...this isn't that bad?

[video] it's very important to ask questions about magical girls. XD

[waywardboy]

It's too early to know. ... I don't trust the doctors here. Maybe this place just pretends to be better, but so far...

[He looks reluctant to admit this, shifting uncomfortably.]

This might not be that bad.