APRIL EVENT: YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME (EPILOGUE)

[sailmods]

[one by one, they are brought out of the dream, finding themselves in a brightly lit world of sand and broken glass, of familiar faces and audible relief.

as they pass through the crew quarters, they may notice that some tubes seem to be unoccupied, merely sand and empty air.

when they finally push open the heavy door, they find themselves on deck zero. the familiar terrain of the Serena Eterna. they never really left at all.

it is still and quiet; none of the usual ghostly presences can be found anywhere on the ship; in fact, it seems as if there’s barely enough of… whatever it is to keep the lights on, and they’ll find that all internal locations are dimly lit, making it difficult to search them. and they will be searching.

because Fio wasn’t in any of the tubes.

and neither was the Captain.

and Sparkles is somewhere to be found.]

Comments

[maximumcake]

I'm still right here!

[myagic]

[She doesn't even look at him!]

And still a dumb dog.

[maximumcake]

I could turn into a human again but I don't think you want to see me naked.

My name is Max, by the way.

[myagic]

Ew! Gross! Of course not!

[Don't point out that he's technically naked right now...!!]

Hmph. Sounds just like the kind of name a dog would have.

cw: slavery/servitude

[maximumcake]

[He's just telling her why it's in her own best interest for him to stay a dog.]

I mean... yeah. That's probably why my Master gave it to me. I used to be a Human Pet to a vampire, so...

[He does the best dog interpretation of a shrug. Wow, today he is So Done and it shows.]

I'm used to being disrespected about my name by now. It's Max Maximum. Yes. Really.

[myagic]

......You...what?

[Uhhhhhh the dog thing is finally, temporarily forgotten as she just gives him a long, incredulous stare. She'll have more to say when her brain reboots.]

[maximumcake]

Before I came here, I used to live with a vampire master. It's complicated. Sorry, I probably shouldn't have just blurted that out. But I put an emphasis on the human part because that's what I still am.

[myagic]

[She can't even be upset about the cat abandoning her affections, not when this has her distracted.

As she tries to wrap her head around it, she almost asks why he doesn't go around as a human, but--right, ew, naked.]

.....I get the feeling "complicated" is putting it mildly...

[She doesn't know what else to say, but at least it's the first thing that doesn't include an insult.]

[maximumcake]

Yeah. It's a lot to try and explain and, honestly, you probably don't want to know most of it. But this is probably a good lesson in why you shouldn't just assume you know everything there is to know about a guy right away.

[myagic]

[She groans. How is this turning into yet another lecture?! (As if she hasn't brought this on herself-)]

Ugh, of course I wasn't--why do you even still go around with a pet name, then?!

[As she goes into defensive mode, it's the first thing she thinks to blurt out.]

[maximumcake]

[His ears lay back flat against his head.]

I thought about going back to the name I was born with but... I don't really feel like that's me anymore. It didn't feel right. Like it or not, Max is who I am now.

[ring_for_giles]

[ Mr Ainsel presses harder against Max, nuzzling its head into his leg, and Giles makes a mental note to actually talk to him about this. It's all just a little too familiar. ]

[myagic]

[Rita watches the cat with an expression that's definitely not a little envious. Definitely. Maybe.

And then she huffs at Max, lifting one hand in an awkward shrug.]

So you decided you're a pet now and forever? I mean, whatever floats your boat and all, but that's still pretty weird.

[maximumcake]

[Max answers Mr. Ainsel with some nuzzling in return. Whoever this cat is, it seems to be a much better listener than this girl.]

Honestly? I've been trying to learn to be more but it's not like I can just forget seven years of my life. I guess you wouldn't understand...

[myagic]

You're right, I don't understand.

[She frowns and glances off to the side.]

Hmph...so why did you take a dog form in the first place, then? And don't say it's so you can run around naked or something!

[maximumcake]

I'm glad you don't because it's not a good thing...

[At least she's not pretending.]

I didn't really get a choice. I opened a box from Sundries one day and I just instantly became a dog. It scared the hell out of me, actually. I ran around crying for help all day because I was so scared I'd never get to be human again. Obviously, I eventually learned how to shift back and now I can do it at will. But this is the shape I got stuck with.

[myagic]

Hmm...I'd say that's pretty rough, but...

[That reminds her of something. Back when Skulduggery gave his little speech, and the suggestions about the source of those "gifts" being subconscious desires...]

Doesn't that mean there's a possibility that it's what you wanted, deep down?

[Admittedly, her tone is still more on the flippant side.]

[maximumcake]

Actually, yeah. It might be exactly that. Valdis can turn into a giant wolf. Maybe I secretly wanted to be more like her. She did say that, if she ever had a dog, she'd want one that looks just the way I do now. I may not have chosen this on purpose, but I like that this is something else I can share with her now. And with other people I like, too.

[myagic]

...Huh.

[She hadn't been entirely serious, so the way he answers it so...sincerely throws her off-guard a little. She blinks at him in confusion, and after a pause...]

...So you think you wanted to be her pet?

[maximumcake]

At first I did. Like, the first time I met her. Not anymore. I'm her boyfriend, not her pet. But I like that we can both change into hounds together. I'm really small compared to her. When she transforms, she's as big as a horse.

[He loves Valdis a lot. Please admire his amazing girlfriend with him.]

I'm pretty happy with this overall. The clothing thing is a little bit of a hassle, but it's worth it.

[myagic]

[...Yeah, no, sorry Max--but she'd rather gag than even pretend to look impressed.

Still--love is something she's come to understand, so even if she thinks he has extremely questionable taste, she's not going to harp on that of all things. Not too much, anyway.]

Hmph...well, don't let me rain on your parade, if that's what you're into, I guess...

[maximumcake]

I won't.

[His tail wags cheerfully.]

Going to go ahead and eat my sandwich now.

[myagic]

Argh...

[She groans--intensely sincere people either drive her up the wall or melt her to jelly, and usually it's both.]

You can eat whenever you want! You just said you're not actually a dog, didn't you?

[ring_for_giles]

[ okay there's accepting petty praise and then there's whatever he'd be if he ignored this.

Max doesn't even know the cat is Giles, or why this is the sticking point, but either way the cat abandons the pats and praise from Rita in favour of leaning heavily against Max. It hopes it's at all comforting ]

[maximumcake]

[Max appreciates that support a lot. He quickly nuzzles his nose against the cat.]

Thanks. I'm okay. I promise.