undergrounds | would you promise to be true [OPEN]

Entry tags:

would you promise to be true [OPEN]

HILLINGDON HOUSE

Between Cooper's beating, the ice queen's freezing, and the stupid cat's assaults, Ringer's spent far more time trying to recover than actually able to fight. She isn't meaning to show off, but the bruise on her shoulder extends down below the edge of her sleeve onto her arm and the scratches on her other arm are plain as day. The rest, at least, are hidden beneath her jeans and a t-shirt ensemble. She wants to make more allies. More so, she wants those hunters that are part of Hillingdon to start working together beyond chasing the same bounty.

She doesn't have much of a plan in mind, but she'll order a beer and casually wander, trying to find any new faces or those she's spoken to before. She has to start somewhere, after all. "Hey. Mind if I join you?"

LATE NIGHT FRIGHT IN WEREWOLF TOWN

Just in case Ringer wasn't vigilant about carrying her weapon loaded with silver bullets before, she definitely is now thanks to the stupid fae cat who stalks her from time to time. Luckily, it doesn't seem to be making an appearance tonight as she makes her way around the Newham area. For all her supernatural explorations and learning, Ringer continues to know almost nothing about werewolves and what better place to find one than wandering around their territory at night with silver on hand. She just hopes they can't sense or smell it. If they do, well, at least she's learned something.

The hunter doesn't have a particular direction, avoiding most of the pubs where drunken idiots will be common to look instead to stroll through what parks she can find. Ringer pulls up short when she hears steps nearby, wondering when it was that she became so paranoid of every sound. It's more likely to be humans than werewolves or some other supernatural creature. Still, she tenses, watching and waiting for the source of the sound to emerge.

TEA AT A CAFE

Like any self-respecting teenager, particularly of the British variety, Ringer finds herself desperately in need of caffeine. It's a specific cafe that she wanders into for tea and a sandwich. She made a promise to a friendly stranger some time ago, the odd words of the fox fae from the other week reminding her of as much, and has no intentions of failing to visit. She actually feels bad that it took her so long.

Whatever the reasoning, she takes a seat with her tea and waits for her order to arrive. In the meantime, the girl pulls a copy of The Road from her pack and begins casually rereading to kill the time until her lunch arrives.

[Or feel free to make your own!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ringer was a little disappointed when she hadn't seen Heiji working and had already decided she would visit again at some point to try to catch up with the brief acquaintance. Then suddenly he was sitting in front of her. Brow furrowing, she closed her book and set it aside, looking around the room and then to him. Sounding more matter-of-fact than perturbed, she replied, "Either this is one hell of a coincidence or you're stalking me."

The hunter didn't much believe in that kind of coincidence anymore. While she had dismissed the fox's words as her own over thinking, she very suddenly wondered if there wasn't more to this guy. Perhaps he and the fox were in league together and Heiji was playing messenger for the fae. She did want to thank the fox for saving her life. Maybe he could relay the message. If this was more than serendipity.

RUDE. SUPER RUDE.

"Hey," said Heiji, making a face. "D'you have a speed between 0 and 60? I asked Leslie and the others to text me if someone lookin' like you walked in."

It was probably best that Ringer never knew exactly how Heiji had described her to the other waiters. It involved making an intense frowny face.

"Sorry," she replied immediately, though it sounded more automatic than sincere. Following her hunch, Ringer let out a small sigh. "I think you understand why I might be a little paranoid."

It was a subtle way of asking if he knew what happened that night with the fox, cat, and frigid witch. If she was being honest, the idea of this friendly and fun guy being involved with all the supernatural stuff surprised her. He didn't exactly seem all that tough or intimidating. Like at all.

"I bet," said Heiji, settling back in his seat. "Y'know, I was starting to think you forgot all about this joint. Wouldn't be the first time."

Actually, it would be the second time someone had promised to come by and it slipped their mind. People these days. No dedication or whatever.

"So, how you doin'? You don't look like you're down with cat scratch fever, at least." He wasn't sure if Grimalkin could carry Bartonella, but he supposed it was possible.

"I didn't forget. It took me awhile to find it." More time than it should have, admittedly, but Ringer hadn't forgotten her promise even before the fox's words. Their encounter had only served as a reminder. Promises were a currency that people spent far too frequently these days for her taste, while she cherished and held to every one she gave. Even if life interfered for some time.

It took her a second to really understand what Heiji meant and she unconsciously straightened with the confirmation, a little more tense without understanding why. She deliberately reached forward to pick up her tea and take a sip, giving her time to calm down and to think. "Recovering. It attacked me again two days ago."

She cupped her hands around the warm drink with the memory of how cold she had been. "You know the fox?"

"That's a switch, at least." Heiji had been starting to wonder if he was forgettable or something -- one of those faces that just sort of blended into the crowd. That could be good or bard.

He let out a long sigh. It was not quite a Napoleon Dynamite sigh, but close. "Yeah, I guess I do. Not to rub salt in your wounds, or anything, but why were you even messin' around with the fae?"

Ringer took another sip of her tea before setting it aside. It was clear from her sudden shifting - leaning forward, tucking her hair behind her ears, voice dropping in volume - that the question made her anxious, both in excited and fearful ways. She wanted to ask how he was involved before she told him anything, but he seemed alright and the risk of alienating another potential ally outweighed the risk of revealing too much to someone who might very well be another shapeshifter or super human.

"I've seen what the fae do when upset. They have no regard for human life. I was trying to stop them from making more doors into this world." She pursed her lips a moment and glanced down to the table before looking at him again. "An ice fae and her cat almost killed me. The fox saved me. I assume he told you that. You can tell him I said thank you. I don't owe him anything. But I recognize what he did."

Ringer crossed her arms loosely on the table's edge. "Are you human?"

"That's not true!" said Heiji vehemently, in response to the words they have no regard for human life, palms on the table and almost ready to rise out of his seat when he realized that he was drawing attention to himself from the one or two other customers sitting in the cafe.

"That's not true," he said, lowering his voice as he sank back down into his chair. The rest of what she said registered on some minor level. Thank you -- but I don't owe you -- but I recognize your contribution to the events of one week ago. He'd have preferred no thanks at all to any so ungracious.

"You don't know what you're talking about. You can't stop the fae from making doors to Faery by getting rid of one doorframe. And an amateur using explosives anywhere in London is insane. That's nuts. People live here."

Ringer stiffened at the outburst, waiting both until he had calmed down and the others in the cafe had gone back to their own business before she even considered speaking again. She shook her head at his repetition, his acting like simply speaking the words made it true. After it all, she took a deep breath.

"I did my research. No human was in the vicinity. I was using controlled charges to burst inward, not outward, for minimal damage. Are you human?" She repeated the question, wondering if he'd gotten caught up in the moment or had deliberately chosen not to answer. Paranoia struck again as the pieces began to click together, how defensive he'd gotten and why he might know the fox. Her frown deepened. "Or fae?"

Ringer was more than willing to elaborate on what she'd seen and why she had no trust in fae as a general guiding principle and she definitely had need for more information about what fae were and how they operated. But she wanted to know who he was first.

"No," he said simply. Not that it was any of her business, and the question in and of itself was a little rude. He noted her words, the way she apparently only cared that no human was in the vicinity.

"And no, I don't think ya did." He started ticking off points with his fingers. "Even professionals make mistakes, and that's with controlled demolitions. One miscalculation, that's all it would've took. You couldn't have guaranteed that no one was gonna come along and complicate things -- which they did. Plus, handguns are illegal in Great Britain, 'cept for a few special cases. And regardless of whether you got permission from the Home Secretary, blowing up bits of the city is definitely illegal."

"Meanwhile, I'm still tryin' to figure out why you were facin' off with the fae. Because gunfire in town? Is bound to get the cops to come running. So I'm really hoping the plan wasn't slugging it out with Mr. Meow. Because if he was okay with offing one would-be bomber who actually knew something about the Underground, I doubt he'd have much trouble chewing up a couple of beat cops who'd have no idea what to expect." In fact, Ringer had been extremely lucky that neither Mab nor Grimalkin had seen fit to make a scene after Heiji had arrived. So had Heiji, actually.

He reached into his jacket, rooted around briefly, and pulled out a newspaper clipping. "That's not even getting into what might've happened if your charges did go off, 'cause when a bomb goes off in the city these days, it's 'Islamic terrorism' that everyone jumps to -- not 'fairies'. The cops are looking for you, by the way. Or more specifically, the 'unknown party responsible for the incident on July 9th'."

"Not all of us have had hundreds of years of experience," she replied coldly, tone as thin as aluminum foil. Ringer very purposefully ignored the news clipping he displayed, gaze never leaving Heiji's face. She was confident about the safety of the explosives - a very small, very controlled blast - and didn't care that he refused to believe in her skills. The idea of terrorism had occurred to her, but, truth be told, she'd been assuming the fae would take care of it somehow in order to cover for the existence of their door. Clearly she'd been mistaken about that. Lesson learned.

He was right about the shooting and she took a small breath as she continued, irritation clear, though it had more to do with the situation than with him specifically. "I had no intention to fire my gun. The other fae didn't leave me a lot of options and I chose the potential for jail as a lesser risk than dying. I fired it before the feline creature was involved. At the time, she would have been forced to be reported for what she is or to withdraw."

She swallowed and finally dropped her eyes, embarrassment subtle yet obvious to anyone paying attention. "I didn't realize the creature was there at the time. The fox saved me in a lot of ways. I know that. It could have been a lot worse."

Ringer looked up again, trying to suppress what emotion there was. For as much training as she had received, nothing prepared her for so many of these crazy situations. It was frustrating and she was effectively wandering around blind. But hey, at least she had her reasons. "I didn't come here for a lecture. Tell me how to disable a Faery door and I'll tell you about the Fae's disregard for human life."

It wasn't a trade she figured he would take, but it was worth a shot. If he said no, it would be easy to turn around and walk away. Maybe Heiji would have to confer with the fox before they decided they might kill her themselves. It was always impossible to know who could be trusted. Especially of those who lied about who they were.

I didn't come here for a lecture.

What a familiar refrain. He'd seen that look plenty of times before, the kind that said I don't care what you have to say; I'm right and my cause is just. Tell me what I want to know, and don't bother me with the details or advice. Because the next time I'll get it right. The next time, luck will be on my side.

The way she refused to look at the clipping, the way she refused to recognize that she could have gotten someone seriously hurt over nothing, the way everything bad or inconvenient had happened that night had simply been outside her control and thus certainly not her fault -- these all signaled to Heiji that she was not interested in taking responsibility for her actions.

"I'm not here to help you kill yourself. I'm sorry about what happened to you, but you're on a bad road and you need to get yourself off it before somethin' worse happens." He stood to leave.

"Later."

"Help me." There wasn't even a pause or moment of hesitation, the words out before he'd even stood to full height. Ringer's mouth pulled down into a deeper frown and she sighed. Heiji wasn't quite the pushover nice guy he'd seemed like during their first meeting. The girl hated being baited and that's exactly what it felt like he was doing right now, but he actually seemed to care about human life and that might be something important. She also realized that she would probably need to give a little more if she wanted to make more allies.

They used to call her 'Her Majesty Marika' at school, because they perceived her reservedness and isolation as elitism and pride. Ringer didn't do well with trusting people, including with smaller things like admitting her failures. It was clearly uncomfortable for her to even admit to needing help.

"I'm not good at this. I know that. I'm doing what I can because people have to. I was there for the genocide in Oxford that the fae caused. I don't want that to happen again." She stopped herself before admitting just how little she had to lose. "You can help to educate me and make me better or you can walk away, or anything in between. You have no obligation to me. But I want your help."

"I didn't account for a random passerby. A stupid and important mistake I won't repeat. I did do research. The explosives weren't enough to take out more than a chunk of the brick. The risk of being arrested or its failure was worth the potential of stopping the fae from taking over that area. I meant what I said about shooting the gun too. It was a calculated risk. I would have died if I hadn't used it. Carrying it is a calculated risk too. Like telling you this. Everything is risk. Knowing more would help me to reduce that risk."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair, wondering for a second what it might be like to live a life that wasn't almost entirely calculated. It was why she carried two phones with two different names and took up kickboxing as an excuse for her bruises, as well as the obvious benefit of training. Ringer took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, finally looking away. "I know they're looking for me. I didn't know it was in the paper."

"Even if your plan had completely succeeded the way you wanted it to," said Heiji, "It wouldn't have worked, like I said. Because the fae ultimately don't care about one door.

"If, on the other hand, you tried ordering around those guys from earlier, refused to leave, insulted them? Some or all of those things might've set them off. Especially if you ran into exactly the wrong crowd to try that on, which it sounds like you did. They ain't here after you, either. They've got bigger fish to fry right now."

"What do the fae care about?" She could feel how tense her body had become as the stress crept in. Even now, Ringer was worried that Heiji would decide to leave on bad terms, gaining her yet another negative acquaintance. It would be nice to come out ahead for once. She wanted him to sit down again. Better yet, she wanted this conversation to happen anywhere but where they were.

"How do I get a hold of the fox? I need to talk to him directly." A beat. "No offense."

"That's like askin' what women want. Depends on the fae." He frowned vaguely at Ringer, as if trying to come to some kind of decision.

"About what?" He wasn't exactly keen on showing up to an ambush or something.

"A group of women will come to a consensus of some kind. I'll rephrase. What do the Fae want and what do you, as an individual, care about?" Ringer watched him with rapt attention, both wanting answers by whatever means necessary while desiring for him to stay. It was hard for her to ever put social attachments or graces above her need to satiate her curiosities.

"I want to talk to the fox about what he did and why," she said carefully. As far as she was concerned, the fox's act of saving her was still something personal and which she wished to understand. Though admitting the event to Heiji, there were questions unanswered there that only the fox could answer.

Well. That wasn't really rephrasing the question, that was just adding another question onto the existing question, which still didn't really help things because the scope of the original question was so broad as to make the answer meaningless. So basically, this was like talking to Derek. "I want to do the right thing. I can't speak on behalf of the fae, like I said. But the reason they're here right now is they got a problem with Redbright's policies."

"All he did was show up and meddle in that faceoff of yours, right? Seems like the why's pretty clear to me -- because you were there and the alternative was watching that cat make an end of you. I can ask him, but I dunno if he'd show or not."

Especially since Heiji liked being able to walk around relatively incognito. Maintaining separate identities was going to be a major pain if he made a habit of interacting with people as both. A few people knew him in either appearance, of course, but those were individuals he felt he could trust -- and Ringer could not be counted among that number.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

would you promise to be true [OPEN]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

sorry, didn't see notif

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject