I Was Looking for a Breath of Life

[redlightgreenlight]

Who: Valdis and Open!
What: New Arrival tries to cope with being dropped into a new place after a massive bloodbath
When: November
Where: All over
Warnings: Headaches, grumpiness, will warn if it gets worse than that.




1) Arrival: Her head screamed at her, sharp pain cutting into her vision with every breath. Eyes closed tightly, Valdis does her best to breathe. The heavy death in the air, filled with lingering desperation and trauma tightened her chest. Of all the times to fall into a new world, it would be just after a massacre. With her head in her hands, her black hair hiding her face, she leaned against the railing of the walkway, trying to drown out the pain. This was definitely where it all happened. The pain was worse here.
"Haven't felt this bad since the last war," she muttered. "How many people died?"


2) Revelations: Valdis worked her way through the ship, avoiding her cabin as much as possible, seeking to memorize the layout of the ship and maximize her ability to move quickly should it be necessary. The Void is silent, a fact she should be grateful for, and in some ways, very much is. But now the silence is simply silence, and the feeling that the dead are around every corner sits in her gut. She can’t see them, except maybe flitting out of the corner of her eyes from time to time, but she can sense that they aren’t alone. Footsteps sounded from behind her, she’d been so focused on the dead that she hadn’t paid attention to the living. She turns around, hand on the hilt of the rather impressive sword hanging on her hip.

"Hello?"

3)Buffet: Without the ability to draw on the dead, Valdis must find something to soothe the very human feeling of hunger. She’d known the feeling from home, before her memories had begun to return, but now she found it highly annoying.

“What’s the best thing here?”

Second Week of November and Onwards

4) Library: Valdis has finally taken Erin's advice and found the black binder in the library. She is not thrilled with what she's reading and the tension is visible in her usually elegant jawline and the glowing red in her eyes. Fear isn't found anywhere in her demeanor or soul, but rather a thoughtful, yet tense, aura radiates from where she sits. She's so focused that almost anyone not touched by death could approach without her noticing. If they are touched by death, she may react poorly, so tread carefully.

5) Hurikane: She can't get drunk, but she sure is trying her best with pure vodka and whatever else she can find that's strong. She's not even really trying to taste it, just downing it as fast as the invisible bartender can deliver, and exhausting her healing abilities as she goes. It's still not enough to even give her a buzz though. Disappointing.

6)Wildcard round: Your turn!

Comments

[hellonspectacles]

The sword is pretty impressive. Cam or Gideon would be able to say something intelligent about it, but all Pal can tell is that it’s probably very good for stabbing and slicing people. And honestly, that’s all he needs to know.

“I wouldn’t dare touch someone’s sword without permission,” Palamedes says with a perfectly straight face. “Or anything else that’s yours, for that matter. I’ve had two roommates on the ship so far, and while, sadly, you cannot ask them for references, I like to think they would vouch for me.”

A couple of post-it notes have fallen to the ground, as they sometimes do, and he goes to collect them and return them to where they belong. “In the interest of full disclosure, I have a friend who has been spending a lot of time here whilst I was the room's only occupant,” he says, and let’s not think about the way he oh-so-briefly pauses before saying friend, “but I shall let her know that circumstances have changed and we will endeavor not to disturb you.”

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis snorts at his comment and picks up the badge on the bedside table, holding it carefully in her hands, not paying him much attention as he returns the notes to their place. Names and faces of people she would never see again, and really shouldn't care about quickly shoved back into the darkness.

"Just a 'friend'?" Distracted as she is, she still caught that pause and she's still half-heartedly thinking of how to get under his skin. "You're a scholar in addition to animating skeletons based on your books and that impressive map over there...Or at least you don't seem insane enough for the alternative."

[hellonspectacles]

“Thank you, I think,” Palamedes says in response to her comment about his sanity or lack thereof, charging right past the question of his relationship with Clarke without so much as a blink. “You are correct, though. Before I showed up here, I was Master Warden of the Library, which is a fancy way of saying I was a scholar with the somewhat ridiculous duty of telling other scholars what to do.”

He waves at his notes. “And as you can see, old habits die hard. We knew so little about the Serena Eterna when the first of us arrived for this particular journey, so gathering information was imperative—I would say it still is. Thankfully, that’s something I’m rather good at.”

[redlightgreenlight]

"Master Warden? Sounds important."

She glances back at him, dropping the badge onto the bed and grabbing a fresh vest out of the closet. She'll change the blouse later. Valdis zips up the vest, and turns to examine the board from a distance.

"We used similar boards back home. They are quite useful for solving mysteries and murders."

Not that murders really needed solving here.

[hellonspectacles]

“It is. I was the youngest person in Sixth House history to ever be given the title.” Palamedes doesn’t sound like he’s bragging, exactly—merely like he is stating facts.

Pal would be inclined to disagree with Valdis’ assessment that murders don’t need solving on the Serena Eterna, but since mind-reading is not within his powers, he merely lifts an eyebrow. “Oh? Who is ‘we’?”

[redlightgreenlight]

A twinge of pain completely her own crosses through her eyes at his question. Guilt. Sadness. Longing. Things she shouldn't feel for humans, but it's probably impossible to not feel such emotions when she's only recently remembered what she is.

"I led a team back home. We investigated crimes and brought the perpetrators to justice. Or tried to. We had a decent record, but sometimes guilty parties still got their freedom."

[hellonspectacles]

Palamedes notices the flicker of emotion in her expression—he is rather good at noticing things, when he puts his mind to it—but he doesn’t comment. Hm. Interesting. “An angel of death who seeks justice. Fascinating. Were you an officer of the law?” he asks. “Or did you and your team work in a more… freelance capacity?”

He holds no particular judgement either way, but he suspects that the answer might tell him something about her character.

[redlightgreenlight]

"Of the law? I suppose that is what you would call it. But really, I just wanted to use my abilities and get paid to do it."

Not entirely true. Looking back that's what she wanted it to be, but that doesn't mean that's what drove her at the time.

"We were in the midst of hunting a serial killer, but he got to us first. And now I'll never know what happened next."

She shook her head, all vulnerability vanishing despite the ache in the previous statement.

"They are just humans. I suppose I would have lost them eventually anyway."

[hellonspectacles]

“I think that’s what everyone wants to do, in one way or another. Do what they’re good at and get paid.” Palamedes sits on the edge of his bed, watching Valdis with an intense gaze and a polite smile. He still hasn’t figured her out, far from it, but he has a good idea that she doesn’t really believe that her dead friends were just humans. “And we humans all know that we will lose many people over the course of our lives, and that someday, if we’re lucky, we will leave someone behind to lose us.” He shrugs. “It doesn’t stop us from caring.”

[redlightgreenlight]

She shrugs, "Yes, well, I hope they don't mourn too much and I hope they never catch up with him and get themselves killed. Humans are no match for demons."

There's no emotion left, just a matter of fact. She's not sure what he's thinking, his focus appears very contemplative, like she's perhaps another puzzle to solve. Everyone on this ship is complex, so she's sure he's found plenty of other interesting people to analyze.

"Any other questions you wish to ask?"

[hellonspectacles]

“Oh, I always have more questions,” Palamedes says brightly, completely missing any intended sarcasm. “But this isn’t meant to be an interrogation. I should be answering your questions, given you have only just arrived.”

[redlightgreenlight]

She smiles. Completely clueless. Perhaps her roommate is too curious. Though, investigative minds always are.

"Ok, well, tell me a little more about yourself. I know you have a high rank amongst your people. You're a scholar. You can reanimate skeletons. Anything else I should know?"

[hellonspectacles]

“Anything you should know…” Palamedes taps his chin. “Well, my expertise is psychometry,” he says. “I can read the history of an object by touching it—its history, how it has been used, who might have previously handled it.”

[redlightgreenlight]

"That's actually a very useful skill."

Perhaps he could tell her more about Revelations after all. But it's not worth the risk.

"Have you tried it on anything belonging to the Captain?"

[hellonspectacles]

“I like to think so.”

Palamedes gestures to a region of his notes that he had taken during his early days on the Serena Eterna. On the post-its are written messages like, Bedsheets, Room 105, upon arrival: 400 years and Wine glass at welcoming reception: 2,000 years, and Milk, Windjammer, April 6: 5,000 years. “I have examined a number of items on the ship, but the data I’ve collected has been more irritating than illuminating. Almost everything aboard is absolutely ancient—including the food—which makes me think that the psychometric signature has been altered. It’s a wildly difficult thing to do, but I've seen it done before."

He shrugs. “But if you mean something kept a little more closely by the Captain, like an article of clothing, then no. I’m afraid I haven’t been able to acquire anything like that. Getting close enough to do so without his knowledge has proved nigh-on impossible.”

[redlightgreenlight]

The strange dates only added to the mystery of the Serena Eterna. Disappointing that he hasn't found more, but there's a limit to how much they can do when they don't have something of the captains.

"Impressive nonetheless," she replies, taking a closer look at the whole board without encroaching on his space. "Have you tried doing it with his knowledge?"

She knows very little about him, but if he is the god of this world, surely there's not much that goes on without him knowing.