CLOSED | a disaster in motion

[mekhanikos]

Who: leo valdez and some peeps
When: early march-ish
Where: around town and in the countryside
What: influence jobs, baby
Warnings: bad jokes and misuse of magic, probably



( specific starters below! if you want one, holla at me by pm or on plurk @ celen and we can plot something out! )

Comments

FOR ALEX 🔥 detective demigods

[mekhanikos]

[ it's not a nice sight, the body of a young man lying on the ground, looking to all intents and purposes as if he were sleeping, if it wasn't for the unnatural way his head was tilted, limbs splayed like a puppet with his strings cut.

the sight makes leo feel vaguely ill — not because he's a stranger to bodies, but more because someone did this, on purpose, to a person who'd done nothing wrong.

(but then, wasn't that the way the world usually worked?)

in the crowd that's gathered around the body, leo spots a familiar head and makes his way around the people, the crying woman next to the body on the ground, and says, ]

Did you hear? This is the fifth body they've found like this.

[shiftinglikeclay]

[Alex has seen dead people before. Suicides, death by violence, death by exposure, starvation... and that's even before counting the people she's seen die daily in Valhalla. It should make it easier.

It doesn't]

A shame.

[To someone not listening closely, her voice sounds almost flippant, as if she doesn't care. But in truth she's just got her emotions on a choke-tight leash]

Someone needs to do something.

[mekhanikos]

Yeah, [ his answer is similarly quiet, almost like he can't quite decide on whether to be angry or devastated, and the mixture just makes him... still. ]

Someone. Because it seems like none of the local authorities give a damn.

[ he's not saying it, but... someone, or someones. ]

[shiftinglikeclay]

Somehow that doesn't surprise me. [The term landen might be new to her, but she's all too familiar with the idea that some people apparently matter less than others to those in charge.

It sounds like Leo might understand that too. And, well, in the end, Alex didn't become an einherji by sitting by idly when people were in danger. So, quietly,]

Maybe we should be the someone?

[mekhanikos]

Me neither.

[ because in what world aren't those who can't protect themselves actually protected? uhhh, that's nowhere.

alex's quiet suggestion earns a smile out of him, though. ]

I was thinking that, too. I mean — if no one else is about to do anything... at least we can. [ at least we're a bit better suited for the task than totally normal people, he means. ]

[shiftinglikeclay]

This whole place is just messed up from top to bottom. Least we can do is try and keep random folks from getting killed.

[She gives a grim smile]

Got any specific ideas or should we just start nighttime patrols?

[mekhanikos]

Well, [ he starts, trying to actually think about what could be more effective than just randomly wandering around at night, ]

Maybe if we... I don't know, do you think there's like, a pattern or something with who they're targeting? If we find out who those who've been killed actually are, where they lived or worked or something, maybe we'll find out something that'll help us see who they're going after next.

[shiftinglikeclay]

We know they're landens, of course. [Alex rolls her eyes]

So we should ask around. See if there's anything in common. [She purses her lips in annoyance] Or if they're just murders of opportunity. I can't decide which is worse.

[mekhanikos]

Ugh, don't even say that.

[ both, the answer is both, both are worse. ]

Okay. I can try to ask the people who work in the power plant, the Guilds are all landens, so they might know something.

[shiftinglikeclay]

I know some crafters. Potters and such I could ask.

[She pauses, considering] I can also shapeshift down into something small and unobtrusive and see if I can eavesdrop anything.