undergrounds | August investigations (open)

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August investigations (open)

Battleshots fired

Evening in the Black Bear Tavern, and someone had set up what looked like an oversized game of Battleship on one of the tables, with one major exception: all the ships had gleaming shot glasses carefully set into them at even intervals.

The bar was dark. The board was illuminated. There were cheesy underwater sonar noises involved. And Heiji stood on the other side of the board. "So. You ready?"

Handy Battleshots board here. Gameplay video here.

Battleshots works like Battleship. You and your opponent each have your own ocean grid, which is hidden from your opponent. You secretly place your ships on your ocean grid horizontally or vertically.

You and your opponent then alternate calling shots on the grid (for example, A1 or D5). If you pick a spot that your opponent has a ship in, it's a hit. Your opponent must then announce the hit and drink the appropriate shot off their ship. The middle shot on each ship is tequila served in a black cup.

Gameplay continues until you annihilate your opponent's ships, force a surrender, or someone passes out.

Groundwork (throughout August)

Heiji could be found throughout August in regular libraries throughout the city -- and libraries-underneath-libraries as well, looking through records and old archived newspapers. Or, occasionally, falling asleep with his face in a book or pressed against a handy keyboard. His topic of investigation? The East End Pack, and in particular one Derek Hale. It was all a matter of public record, which meant this was A-OK and totally aboveboard, right?

Right.

Reconnoitering (mid-August)

Lewisham was not a particularly safe place for the faint of heart -- in fact, it was a no man's land, a veritable hive of scum and villainy. But during a few evenings in mid-August, there was one extra supernatural beastie about: a black fox the size of a full-grown tiger, lurking about the rooftops and getting the size of the activity there. Heiji was doing a little reconnaissance work, though he could also be found scoping out the neighborhood in Havering.

[Or lemme know if you want anything in particular o7]

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Snake's message had been a bit on the mysterious side, but one thing Heiji enjoyed was getting to the bottom of a good puzzle. One quick text message and a jaunt to the library later, he was looking around for an immaculately-dressed instructor with a head of wavy grey hair.

"Hi! Hope ya didn't want too long. I came as soon as I could."

"No, not at all." Snake recited the last of his psychics notes into the voice function of his laptop, saved it and asked it to turn itself off, which it did. He genuinely had been doing research and he knew no one wanted to listen to him talk into his computer. Hence the quiet study room.

It also made for a good location to interrogate someone. "I've been thinking about something, Heiji, that I need your input on because it directly involves you. When you took me to that beach party, it was a friendly gesture. However, only while I was there did I realize the...kinds of people at the party. I have a lot of speculation on what this means but I'd like to hear it directly from you." He squeezed his shut-tight eyes a bit more. "Why did you bring me to a gathering of supernaturals?"

"Wh..." Well, he certainly hadn't been expecting an interrogation. In fact, he was taken aback by the directness of the question; Heiji hadn't really meant anything by asking Snake there. Maybe he should've kept a closer eye on Snake, made sure no one blabbed too freely.

"I didn't invite you to a 'gathering of supernaturals'. It's just that there was a beach party and it sounded fun. It just happened to be run by a bunch of witches, that's all." If anything, Heiji's ulterior motives were more along the lines of getting Snake to come to the beach with him and enjoy a motorcycle ride.

...And also getting Snake to hug him. He could admit that.

So it wasn't some ulterior motive about supernaturals then? It did mean that Heiji didn't do it purposefully because he knew what Snake was. He'd be a little alarmed if someone just picked that out of nowhere. True, he had actually admitted his power to Maera, but she admitted what she was first. It had been...refreshing to admit it to someone who'd understand.

Snake relaxed his shoulders and his voice. "Well, the reason I ask is that I met a few of them there. Delightful people. I wasn't aware that you knew any at all." Did that mean maybe Heiji had some kind of powers? Asking would be pretty rude. "Do I need to swear and oath or give a secret handshake to show that I won't breathe a word to other people?"

Maybe not ulterior motives about supernaturals, but definitely ulterior motives. "No," he said, furrowing his brow a little. "Though I'd appreciate it if you didn't go spreadin' it around everywhere."

He couldn't quite figure out why he was getting such a weird vibe from Snake about this. Snake was a metahuman, after all. But it seemed like he didn't make distinctions about type. Someone was supernatural, or they weren't. Didn't they have similar communities in America? Maybe there were less distinctions because it was more egalitarian?

"...I'm one of them, you know. You are, too, right?"

"Of course I wouldn't. I understand the need to keep that a secret from everyone." Perhaps more distinctions could be made for other people, but on a physical level, it more or less boiled down to whether you had powers or didn't. Not only that, all supernaturals belonged to basically a group that he'd been cautioned against so it made sense to Snake to throw them all together.

He did startle a bit, hearing Heiji say it out loud. Although he said it more like a question, from the tone of voice, so Heiji was only making an educated, but correct guess. "I didn't know that about you but I certainly wondered. As for myself...yes." Even with people who would understand, it didn't come easy at all to admit.

So Snake was definitely aware of it. Curiouser and curiouser.

"Do you not know much about this kinda stuff? It seems like ya don't." Which was a bit of a problem. Snake wandered around London a lot. If he didn't know what he was getting himself into... what if someone was drawn to his power? What if someone got to him, and he didn't know how to defend himself?

After a moment's thought, he added, "I'm fae."

To Heiji's second admission, Snake opened his mouth, then closed it. Then he covered his mouth with a hand, looking thoughtful. A fae? He'd been hanging around a real fae the entire time? Like the kind who'd so casually touched his mind and altered him forever?

Except...except Heiji did not strike him as the kind to just do that to people. He'd been pretty normal from what he could tell. Like the friend he'd been.

The more the thought about it, the less alarmed he became. Then, he smiled. "A fae? Hunh, no wonder you got upset with me in the library. You're definitely more well-read than I am."

Heiji wasn't used to being seen through so easily, so when Snake suddenly connected the dots like that, he looked away at once, flustered. "What... that's it?" He couldn't deny the comment, because it was. Y'know, true.

"You can't... you can't just trust people like that, okay? What if I had sinister machinations? What if someone found out your name and used it against ya?" The words all came out in a rush. STOP WORRYING HIM, SNAKE.

In response to Heiji's surprise, Snake smiled. It edged toward something bitter. "You're right. People do have sinister machinations. People who hide their cruel intentions and do anything to slander you in the name of their own self-gain. You could say...I'm well acquainted with dealing with those kinds of people." His expression lightened though, as he talked. "But you...you're different. I can tell by the sound of your voice. Of course, what I know about fae is they can be extremely manipulative for their own gains and treat you like a plaything. If you wanted to do that, I don't think you'd invite me to a beach party."

Seen that little bit of bitterness in Snake's smile prompted an unexpected twinge in Heiji's chest. Of sympathy? Regret? But what did he have to be regretful for?

"What else did they tell ya about the fae? Did they tell ya not to ever give out your full name? You shouldn't, you know. Not only because of the fae. Your name has power, so people who know how can use it against you."

Heiji wasn't sure how much Snake knew, but he did know that he didn't want Snake getting hurt somehow while not even knowing the rules. "...I don't wanna hurt you. I want to be friends."

"I...didn't know about the name." Although it seemed kind of hard to avoid. Someone could easily look at his state ID to see it. "I suppose I should think about a middle one just to be safe." Except...he'd already kind of done that, hadn't he?

"Well, I'm glad we mutually agree that hurting me is what neither of us want and being friends is." Fortunate that a fae decided to be friendly.

"Can I ask you something? There's something I've wondered about fae for a long time."

That was why he'd introduced Snake to Maera by his nickname, actually, though he didn't think Maera the type to use it against anyone.

"Uh, I guess so. What is it?" After all, they seemed to be in the middle of exchanging quite a bit of information at the moment. Why not a little more?

Could you use a nickname as part of your real name? Possibly. If he introduced himself to people as one or the other, would that be fine? He'd have to test this theory out.

"Do fae often enjoy...changing people? Giving them powers because they can? Or is that not a trait of the fae as a whole?"

"It depends... but usually you have to pay or trade for something like that." Heiji looked him up and down, considering. "Is that what happened to you?"

It might make sense, considering how much Snake didn't seem to know about the supernatural.

"That's what my parents tell me. It's a bit of a complicated tale that I don't need to get into here."

He sighed. Apparently he'd just been that special. "I apologize. You can't really answer for the actions of someone else."

"...If it's really that much of a problem, you could probably get someone to remove it for ya. But most people want to keep that kinda thing. Unless it's really inconvenient or depressing, like only being able to predict the future if somethin' negative's going to happen."

This explained Snake's rather cagey attitude towards... a lot, really.

"I've always been of two minds about it. But...thank you. For coming out here and talking to me." Fae or not, Heiji was a good friend. Someone he'd come to know a little better in the course of a single conversation.

Heiji looked at him, turning an option or two over in his mind. "Hey. Do you wanna know what it's like? On the other side, I mean."

Not that he'd ask just anyone, but Snake seemed as though -- no, that wasn't quite right. The truth was that Heiji wanted to take him.

Snake canted his head toward Heiji, frowning. "The other side of what, exactly?"

"The Other Realm. Where we live." Surely Snake knew about the Other Realm, right?

"Oh...I've heard stories but I never knew if they were true or not." Can you tell Snake's major source of study is more based in science and less in fairy stories, Heiji?

"Is it like here but reversed or something?"

Heiji laughed easily. "No, not really. Some places it's a lot like here, some places it's not. The air is cleaner and it's wilder. I really love it there, 'cause you can enjoy the wind and stars without ever hearing crowds or traffic."

It was clear by the excited way he talked about it that Heiji was quite fond of Faery. "It's a little dangerous if you just wander in, but I'd be with you!"

"Is there someplace nearby that you go to in order to find the realm?" Was Snake in danger of wandering in somewhere just by walking down the street? That would certainly prove hazardous.

"Only if you know where to look. But I can go whenever I want in London... 'cept for some places." Heiji moved over to the door, shut it, then slowly pulled it back open.

Snake couldn't see the abrupt change in the appearance of the space beyond the door, of course, but from it came the fragrance of unfamiliar flora and the calls of rare birds. The building, in the Other Realm, was currently a rickety old ruin half-reclaimed by the elements.

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