germans are annoying text it

[pathfinding]

[A; Bookstore]

It is an enjoyable morning where you're trying to enjoy your silence with books and maybe a sub-par latte. Instead, you have to deal with some jerk two tables away blasting some techno neo-classical dubstep monstrosity, made worse by that tinny static that overtakes anything heard second-hand through cheap headphones.

After the token glare at the jerk's direction, there is a hand dismissively waved at you. They don't even bother looking up from their book. "I know I know, final warning afore you throw me out, I'm almost done. Shoo now."

---

[B; Redbright]

Books are useless. Next idea on the list, go try the stupid famous school to help weirdos get a better handle of their powers. Fast forward an hour and an obscenely short interview, only to walk out with a rejection slip because humans are unwelcome here, chains forged of paranoia by entwin it's a normal school and he's normal. Well.

Ain't that hilarious.

Legal ways are out then. Time for being sketchy. Enjoy having your space invaded in any fashion of your choice at any time you let your guard down: sliding up against your shoulder, leaning over the back of your park bench, suddenly sitting next to you in the lunch room and eating your fries. Usual totally normal college exchange student stuff, not suspicious at all, obvs.

"Heeeeeey, so what are you? And how much do you pay a year, that's more important."

---

[C; Hobos kind of smell like shame - Closed to Kate]

The message is left at just before six, rambling and tripping over itself like what usually happens in those subtle fits of panic. Most of it is just obtuse nonsense - again, not new - but parts stand out. Left the wallet somewhere. Or it got stolen? Shrugs??? Also he's detained, no big. The spare house key is under the left bleeding heart this weekend. There's also a cat stuck on the fridge.

Maybe somewhere in there is a 'please don't leave me here' but really. Totally obtuse nonsense. She's just hearing things from the stupidity overdose.

When she actually turns up, the idiot in question is still in a holding cell, sitting cross-legged on a bench and staring vacantly into space. There is also a drunken scruffy dude sleeping on his shoulder. These two things are obviously not related. "Your sunglasses look stupid."

Comments

[pathfinding]

Gold fades in time to Cooper's hand moving away. Quiet is good, quiet means not dead, though it does mean being left in a manipulation ditch. No hints, this isn't his home, it's not a predictable mechanism like those stupid wolves.

Yet even then, pieces fall into place. The statement and tone combined show that agreeing is an option, but highly likely to end up a juicebox again. Liam keeping his mouth shut is totally unhelpful for once-

No. Take that back. Liam keeping his mouth shut is wonderful.

"Kind of? He kidnapped me for being a seer. I also enjoy not being dead, so better to go along with it."

[emotioneater]

"Sounds like you're his pet." The corner of Cooper's mouth quirks up into a small smile. He's never really seen the appeal of keeping a human being around for fun. Then again, he could barely take care of himself, let alone worry about the welfare of another human being.

Hearing he's a seer is an interesting tidbit of information. If he's a meta-human, that means his blood is almost as good as fae blood, but without all those nasty little side effects that made last month such a hell for him. "Gonna give him the winning numbers for the lottery? Is that why he's keepin' you around, eh?" He lifts up Aleks' wrist, fangs lightly tracing a pattern down the thin skin.

[pathfinding]

"More like a trophy," paired with an idle shrug. There's none of the offense or fear to be paired with any other meta-human in the face of something they can't handle. There's only a second's hesitation at the pattern-

Not again - but if it's necessary - "Oh, I already did that." Now Cooper gets a short and entirely unconcerned laugh at the fangs, "He got mad because they were for Glasgow."

And in the farthest distance, nearly drowned out by the sound of waves rolling in and out, is a mocking go on, sweet sweet cowardice, relying on poison instead of pride and it nests in his memories without voice or form.

It's obviously in his head though. The Thames is nearby, after all. Maybe.

"Sooo if you're gonna bite me, get it over with. I have shit to do."

[emotioneater]

Cooper can't tell if the oracle is really that unconcerned about his welfare or if he's just really thick in the head. Either way, it's of no concern for what is going to happen next.

"Very well then." Without anymore foreplay, Cooper's fangs puncture a few neat holes in Aleks' wrist. The first thought as he drinks is that his blood is sweet, like he's got sugar running through his veins. He's got the good qualities that make fae blood so tempting, but without the danger of getting addicted. Well, too addicted, at any rate. Hmmm, maybe this is the real reason Liam is keeping him around?

apologies for length, pats cooper's face

[pathfinding]

For a second the pulse spikes, the only sign of the instinct of fear, but it gets shoved down just as fast. Liam backs off now that he knows what happens, Kate's too kind and backs off too easily. They wouldn't let him get close enough unless he had good reason to, and this isn't concrete enough to be that. The only other response is to grip Cooper's shoulder when the pulse turns erratic - too much drained, starting stages of shock, hold off the reflex to rip him away - and the world is washed away in the waves-

Too far south, too close, wind and winter against the bright light of a red giants and paranoid control. Wrong. A 'She' worth being concerned, but she's the tamer of the wolves, not the others - turn away to black shadows wrapping around a man without eyes, they trust her, as much as They can, the sensation of hunger and hunting that follows them all- the radio tunes in, and yes this is the correct one maybe controlling it isn't a false hope.

To Cooper, cataracts glaze over in a second, but when eye contact is made there are phantoms of white flames. The hand that gestures his head up is cold and broken porcelain, poor lost child, wounded and afraid, betrayed and lynched and thrown aside over and over - wait no, take back the control thing, reign it i

"Poor discarded souls, she keeps them held in gilded cages forged of power and prestige, kept close on leashes like starved wolves," and the entire thing is German, but the gold comes in through and embed itself in the back of Cooper's eyelids, and suddenly the words spoken are Known. "Even now, then, further on, eternal, fealty is repaid with her fear, always the strongest, when arisen, so much easier to See, not only This, but her as well."

In the background, the scene repeats with different endings; silver in the wine, stake from behind, hunters on contract, werewolves in ambush, draining them of blood and the age is always the same- But all focus is on those dead bloodied eyes and the face of one of Them. Just like everywhere else, only here they have an illusion of acceptance.

How very, very cruel to one so very, very broken. This, we understand.

"Your death is unacceptable."

[emotioneater]

He's got this, he knows he does. He won't lose control, not like the way he had before. When he makes eye contact with Aleksander, he's suddenly thrust down the rabbit hole much further than he was anticipating. Cooper's head jerks up, and in his haste, his teeth tears the thin skin of Aleks' wrist even further than he meant to. There's fresh blood smeared across his mouth like some grotesque parody of red lipstick.

At his heart, Cooper is a simple man. That's not to say he's stupid (though he can be), only that he has his feet planted firmly on the ground. Despite the world he's living in, full of witches and spells and fae and people with strange powers, he's not one to get caught up in navel-gazing and other such bullshit. So this little oracle, spewing words and things that he shouldn't understand and yet finds himself doing so, is way beyond what he was expecting.

"What the fecking feck are you--" He shakes his head in vain attempt to rid himself of the words that have wormed their way inside of his mind. He really doesn't understand what they mean or what's going on right now. Is it wrong to be freaking out right now? Because he is. All he knows is that when he sees Liam again, he might possibly kill him for keeping this particular freak of nature around.

[pathfinding]

Removal, red, it dissolves like water to his own Eyes, yet still obeys gravity everywhere else. Weird. Either way, it doesn't hurt. It's more the burning from the red yellow orange white red that comes up around the form in shield. Such rejection. How very familiar- fear, doesn't understand, lacks the qualifications and thus reacts with vitriol.

A second set of eyes follows a rope that flows off into the distance, the scene changing from a two visible figures to countless hollows acting out an endless waltz. They fade out in hordes.

"Were you lynched?" It's detached, a little bit confused, eyes following nothing into the distance, but still rings in Cooper's head as staring at him, "You're too open. Honest. So easily aimed, held on the leashes of others. Of course the wings would not be harmed. You are far easier to control for their likes."

Does any of this effect the actual world at all? Good question. So the one rope around his neck is casually yanked.

[emotioneater]

Cooper bites back the automatic question that forms on his lips. 'How could you possibly know that?' He already knows. The damn kid's an oracle and even right now is looking at god-only-knows what from his past or future. He nods slowly. No use lying, not to someone who can literally see the truth. How he died is something he never discusses with people. Too many bad memories associated with what happened before and after. "Hanged. Fer treason 'n inciting rebellion."

He watches with puzzlement as Aleks' hand comes towards his neck, moving through the air and pulling like there's a necklace or something hanging down there. It's easy to see why his earlier behavior was so erratic. This kid isn't even on the same plane of reality that the rest of the world is.

"Shut up," he snaps (and the red surrounding him inside the Sight flares up, overtaking the other colors), not yet putting any of his power behind the words. He wonders, if he told Aleks to be quiet using mind control, would that work on him, or would his own weird set of prophetic powers overrule? It's a question better asked at a moment when he feels more in control. Right now, he's only understanding about one phrase in every three Aleks is spouting.

[pathfinding]

Treason? That's silly. It was probably something along the lines of someone else orchestrated the treason and he's the one who got caught like a dweeb. Scapegoat, or someone with bad enough luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thinking about it, most likely that one, especially with the manicured nails wrapping around Cooper's neck wait what oh god-

His hands jerk back at the instant the shut up and the red flare starts up (so very, very honest), and Cooper can even take the look of vague horror out of the jump back as because of him. Let the poor boy have his ego boost. This had a point and pissing off the vampire wasn't it he's not that far off into death yet he can get a handle on this. A mask is slammed down over a gaping hole, cracks breaking up the surface with white flames, and in Cooper's eyes it's just some highly concerning mortal shoving his face in both hands and swearing up a small storm in a language too angry to be anything but German.

"It's difficult this form cannot embody This for we shit, I'm sorry, I wanted needed must be confirmed we had to check something the two pillars were too busy being blighted pansies to near-kill me," and it's utterly strained strained, but back to English. Except at random points it slips back in German. Overall verdict: extremely unsettling. "I only get pieces, rarely helpful, Liam came back with the flashes, would never agree, that pissant isn't allowed to die, yet it wasn't him, your ghosts followed him home, who did you even piss off to have a death shroud that strong, what the fuck, did you piss in Sylvia's cheerios or something, you're almost as bad as the mutts sometimes, I swear-"

Stop freaking out.

"Sorry, I suck at shutting up like this, it's just a neverending fountain of bullshit, a result was taken from you without permission or request and all debts must be repaid, if blood is payment enough then fuck off, but should you have any requests for This of any variation the current level of submersion can be maintained for your cheating convenience."

[emotioneater]

Later on, he'll go over what Aleks has been spouting at him for the past few minutes. There's true prophecy in the midst of all that babbling and it's worth sifting through to try and figure out what he's talking about. He'll realize there's more truth in those words than he realizes. The kid knows more than he thinks he knows. But that all comes later. Right now, Cooper has only one way of dealing with the oracle. Predictably, it's the same way he deals with everything else.

He grabs Aleks by his shirt, drags him forward, and slaps him a few times across the face. It's not done too hard. Cooper's strong enough to punch through doors made of solid oak wood when he's of a mind to. He doesn't want to take the poor boy's head right off. "Either speak sense about my future or snap out of it, you crazy freak!"

Yes, because that is a surefire way make the oracle to work properly. It's just like fixing a faulty rabbit-ears TV. You just have to smack it around a few times to get it to work properly.