hadriel_logs | Does anybody know a way that a body could get away?

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Does anybody know a way that a body could get away?

Who: Glacius and you! Open and closed starters for all your needs, so come on in!
What: June catch-all log for Glacius for the purpose of pursuing existing CR or establishing new relations.
Where: Various locations in the city, specified in the starters.
When: The beginning of June.
Warnings: N/A, will update as the need arises.

Shopping District - OPEN

Glacius is on a mission today, one that happens to be bringing him towards the center of the city--a more frequently populated area where he rarely travels due to his reclusive nature. He doesn't like drawing attention to himself--even for a non-human, he's particularly exotic-- but he knows he can't remain on the fringes of society forever, despite his fear that people might jump to assumptions around him. Still, if the sight of a massive ice alien walking down the streets isn't enough to turn the heads of Hadriel's more "normal" inhabitants, the fact that he's dragging the heavy carcass of some unfortunate cave-dwelling monster in the street behind him as he moves towards the shopping district probably isn't helping.

He doesn't yet understand how the shops work. No one had been around when he'd visited them to try and find supplies to care for the fireflies when they filled the cavern, so he had taken supplies from them since there had been no other option... but that felt odd to the alien. He didn't want to be a thief and he didn't want to steal, and he'd heard that people in the city often traded for the meat and pelts of monsters in the cave, so he planned to return later with something that he could use to trade for what he took. That explains the massive body he's dragging with him now; it's much larger than him, burly and powerfully built and covered in thick shaggy fur, and yet there doesn't appear to be a spot of damage on Glacius for his efforts.

He's aware that the sight of one massive creature dragging the dead body of another might draw attention at best or be cause for alarm or fearful self-defense at worst, so he's trying to get his done as quickly as possible. Hopefully if someone does come up to him, it will be either to trade, to point him in the right direction, or maybe just to explain why this attempt might be slightly misguided.

Park - CLOSED to Cecily

Sometimes when Glacius has time to himself he comes to the park. It's big enough that he can usually find space to himself, the sound of running water is peaceful--if not slightly strange to a being that hails from a world where most of the water is frozen--and the shade of the large trees is nice and cool. Usually it's the perfect place for him to go when he wants to get away from the city, but doesn't want to be quite as far out or at as much risk as he might be if he was sticking to the system of caves.

... Usually. Lately this place has come to host some dark, troubling memories: it's the place where his will was subverted by Rage and he was turned against an innocent woman. Even now, he still remembers the pain on her face as he attacked her clear as day, and the upwelling of guilt and remorse is still strong enough that the peaceful alien feels as though he might choke on it. He shouldn't be here... but he so desperately makes things right, and so there's a part of him that hopes he might find Cecily back here one day. So he visits the park regularly and simply sits on that bench, forcing himself to endure the memories as he waits.

He hasn't seen her since, but he doesn't know what else to do. In fact, he's not even sure what he will do if she comes across him. She hadn't seemed particularly angry at him right after the attack, but he'd be surprised if she hadn't grown to scorn him in the time that had passed. Makers knew he was certainly horrified and upset enough with himself, and the spikes that protrude from his hip are still showing signs of the damage that he enraged husband had dealt to him when it was his turn to be targeted. Whatever she deems necessary, the alien has already decided--even if it comes down to punishment, to recompense. That is the cost for inciting harm upon an innocent.

Spires- CLOSED to Nick

After receiving a message from Nick Valentine in his inbox--which was Glacius' first time learning of that function of the device, in fact--the two had conversed, and the synth had managed to do something that no one else in the city of Hadriel had: he'd gotten the location of the ice alien's current living space. For all this time, Glacius has still been keeping close to the caves due to his wariness of the human inhabitants of Hadriel, and his need for space and privacy. Rage's games in which the city's inhabitants had been reduced to assassins and targets had only exacerbated this, and the guilt he was suffering since has also made showing his face around the city feel less and less appealing.

Nick was at least understanding, and had managed to coax the alien into trying to find a more suitable living space. Glacius knew that his stay in the caves could last, it probably shouldn't; it was just a temporary location he'd picked out when he didn't realize just how long he'd be trapped in Hadriel. It was a patch job over something that needed more thorough work; it was uncivilized, unbecoming. It was also unsafe--even with his considerable combat prowess, the sheer amount of monsters in the winding tunnels was no small threat, and knowing he could get attacked at any time forced him to keep one eye open, making it hard to get decent rest.

So the synth had agreed to help him find a new place to reside, somewhere that struck a good balance for the alien--somewhere a little more comfortable and easily accessible without being too close to the more populated areas of the city, allowing his sense of privacy to stay intact. If Glacius could get more explanation on how things worked in the city in the process, that would be a bonus. He's waiting by the bridge over the southeast region of the river that leads to one of the beaten roads, green eyes scanning his surroundings for Nick.

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"Good." She lapses back into thoughtful silence after that, any sort of furthering of the distraction completely escaping her mind. Kate rocks back on her heels, idle and - judging by the way her hands clasp behind her back - unsure. It's not a pose she often finds herself in, but there's so many things she wants to say, wants to ask, and even more things she wants to stamp down on and not mention at all.

(And most of them overlap.)

There were more reasons to align with Glacius than not, beyond the simple fact that she recognised him like a bullet to the gut and couldn't let it lie. She already backed out of helping friends because it sounded too much once before.

Marc's throat was slit for the trouble and she swore to never make that mistake again.

"So- er, should we?" Go, that is.

Glacius can feel the awkwardness between them spike, from Kate's unsure posturing--which he's doing his own version of, flexing his hands slightly and looking around as he scrounges for words--and the gap in their conversation. The alien's gill's flutter, and he looks back to her when she speaks up again like she's snatched his attention out of his thoughts all over again. He gives a nod; they just need to get this over with and then, then they can talk...

... Makers, he's never had a conversation even remotely like this with a human--no, with anyone. He hadn't talked much about his imprisonment with even his friends or family; it was a sad fact of his past that couldn't be changed, so he'd tried to bury it and move on. That wasn't exactly an applicable strategy here, when the gods could apparently dig it up just for an attempt at power...

"Yes," he blurts out, realizing his mind had begun to drift again. The ice alien begins to walk, being sure to measure his strides so that he remains abreast of Kate. "Let's go get you your bullets. I've never been to Rage's temple, though--you might have to lead the way."

Burying things is a nice strategy, one she is exceptionally fond of - if it doesn't impact her work, if no one has to know, Kate would happily lock her traumas in her chest and throw the key into the river. No need to talk about those things if they're not relevant, right? But, of course, she's figured the same thing out that Glacius has: this place can and will drag them all up, so her locks and keys are useless.

She's managed to talk about her own traumas, somewhat, to the people who saw. To her boss, who had to deal with the fallout of visions of Marc dead and bleeding making it so much harder to do her job. (It's still hard, will always be hard, but less so. She isn't dreaming those dreams any more, at least.) Talking about someone else's dreams is much harder, however, because you're never sure how much they want you to. Do they want to be poked and prodded? She never does.

Kate starts leading them towards the temple - it takes more thought than finding it from the air, or from the cavea, but she spends too much time running around this place to not have a vague idea of where everything is at all times. The silence remains as uncomfortable as ever.

God-fucking-dammit, Galloway. Just say something. "If you wanna talk about it, that's fine. If not, we don't have to." There. It's an offer. A terribly worded one, probably. But still.

The ice alien heaves a mighty sigh. "That's the problem. I don't want to talk about it--what happened is in the past, and it should stay in the past. No one else should have to suffer because of what I went through; it shouldn't be something that anyone else has to deal with but me. And yet the gods, apparently, see otherwise... and so you were there. Even if it was just a dream, you put yourself at such risk, endured harrowing danger and injury for me... that is something that I cannot just turn a blind eye to."

Realizing that he apparently was talking about it now, Glacius bulled on. "I feel like so many others would not have gone to the lengths that you did for me. We have spent some time together since we were brought to this place, but we still barely know each other. When you saw me being imprisoned you could have sided with your people and assumed that I had done something to deserve it; it certainly would have been much safer for you. Instead, you threw your lot in with me and actively tried to change my circumstances. I just..." he sighs again, his shoulders slumping. "... I'm starting to realize that you... make things better by being around. I've never even considered being so closely allied with a human before, but... we fought together, side by side, like fellow warriors. It's an interaction I've only had with my own kind before. I want to honor that, even if I don't really know... how to, yet."

Kate nods when he starts talking, because if she understands anything, she understands that sentiment as deeply and intensely as she understands the power that thrums and flows within her secondary veins. Emily should have never seen the depths of her anger, or the atrocities she will commit with ease and calm if pushed far enough. Those were things that only she should have to deal with, scars and parts of herself that do not suit an attempt at a normal life.

And then Glacius keeps going and it is glowing in a way that Kate hasn't heard about herself for years. It's painfully nice and far, far too undeserved. Helping him had been as much an attempt to claw back some of the soul The Agency crushed out of her as it was a simple attempt to find out why nothing was matching up. Why she remembered him from other places despite the fact that she felt as much a part of Ultratech as any other guard did.

She doesn't see the heroism or nobility in selfishly trying to save her own skin, and she can't bring herself to look at him when he stops talking. She can't bring herself to say anything because she knows that it was only the virtue of being here at this age that allowed her to even think of helping, even for selfish reasons. She is deeply, painfully aware of the fact that she was that person, the one who let atrocities happen and turned a blind eye to her conscience for safety and a paycheque, only a few years ago.

Her terth clamp down on her tongue until it's painful enough to make her wince.

Glacius is not aware of Kate's past or of all the thoughts tumbling about inside her head, so unfortunately, he takes her silence as a sign of discomfort at what he's said, not at what she's been through. That was too forward, wasn't it?! Dammit, this is why he shouldn't try to fit in with humans; he doesn't understand how they work, that much is painfully obvious. He winces now too, holding up his hand. "I--I am sorry. I do not mean to make you uncomfortable. I don't expect you to see me like that; I know we are very different beings, and we are very alien to each other. Just know that I appreciate what you did for me, and if you ever need someone to back you up when things become difficult, well... I am willing to offer my aid."

There, hopefully painting this as a mutually beneficial agreement and not an honor-bound alliance or anything closer than that will help to assuage her trepidation.

O-oh.

She starts at that, dragged out of her self-loathing ramblings by the sudden apology that comes. Dammit. She can't leave it like thst, can she? Not after the nicest thing anyone has openly told her in years. "'S not that. - Was just thinking, is all." But saying anything more is so fucking difficult when your chest clenches like you've sprinted a marathon just at the thought. "Prob'ly the nicest thing anyone has told me in ages, that." Her voice is softer than it normally is, far more thoughtful about the sentiment than anything.

It's still maddeningly incorrect, but it's just too hard to admit that.

"Thinking..?" This would be much easier if Glacius was the sort of being to follow up that gentle inquiry with an "about what?", but he doesn't want Kate to feel like he's attempting to pry. If she wanted him to be privy to her thoughts she would tell him, wouldn't she? Instead he just tucks his head hack, still looking a little bit uncertain.

"I... do humans not customarily say nice things to one another when they, ah..." he trails off, not knowing how to describe the dynamic they share without making this awkward again. Well, if it wasn't already painfully clear that he wasn't used to interacting with humans, it sure as hell should be now.

"Hm?" That- right. There weren't a lot of non-dick humans in your life, were there, Glacius? "Depends on the person. Guess I just met a lot of people who don't like to talk." She shrugs, because like attracts like, doesn't it? It's hard to start a conversation with someone who just answers with as few words as possible. The journey lapses back into silence, and Rage's temple is starting to come into eyeshot.

"You been to the temples before?" She looks back at Glacius for the first time in a while. The emotions were, supposedly, something a person could deal with if they had good control. But Rage has always been too tempting for her, like a cold shower in the summer heat, and she has problems not just letting it pull her into its grasp.

At least, if nothing else, it is incredibly mind-clearing.

"My people are often beings of few words too," the ice alien responds, trying to establish some inkling of understanding here to ease the awkwardness. Kate seems to be happy to move on from the subject, though, so he gets some breathing room... he supposes that's for the best right now. It will give him some time to try and figure this out so he's not stumbling over quite words so much next time. Hopefully.

"I have not," Glacius shakes his head when Kate questions him. "I have my problems with the gods. The further I can keep myself from their presence the better, in my eyes, and I certainly have never had any plans to offer them tribute before now. But if it helps you, then... I am willing to put aside my misgivings for a short time."

She nods, not so much out of agreement, but out of a decision to slow down before they get too close. "Their emotions..." hm, how should she put this... "affect the place. Might help if you prepare yourself." Although Glacius has never seemed at all prone to Rage, Kate is very aware of how badly an unprepared trip into the mouth of an emotion like that can affect someone. But then, she's always had a complicated standing with that feeling, hasn't she? She's never quite been able to resist emotions as well as someone with her past should. Never quite been able to fully sink into Rage and cold emotion or fully shake it off either.

"Still got a chance. Give it to me and I'll be back in a minute." She's not entirely sure that Glacius should see the person that Rage brings out, someone colder and crueler than the person fighting for their survival was.

Glacius is a being who prefers to take things slow and steady whenever possible, so he very much appreciates the fact that Kate decides to ease up and alert him to what they're going to be facing. What he does not appreciate is the thought that gods might take it upon themselves to try and influence his mind again. The thought clearly makes him uneasy... but when Kate offers to bear that burden alone, he realizes he cannot back down here.

"No," the ice alien shakes his head, something slotting into place in his mind. "Time and time again you take it upon yourself to try and ease the burdens that I face. Now it is my turn, Kate. Either allow me to accompany you, or enter the temple myself to spare you their influence. You've been subject to enough of their games."

Sometimes in life something happens or something is said that lets a realisation hit you in the face like a lorry would - hard and fast. It takes Glacius' words here to do that, to smack Kate in the face with the fact that she has - at some point - started to really consider Glacius someone to protect from the unnecessary horrors, like she would take the figurative bullet back in The Agency and accept punishments for fuck ups that spared Marc and all the rest from finding themselves on dungeon duties. Not just to save him from the fucked up world that was his dream, not just out of some sort of "I owed you one" mentality or anything else.

Well... fuck. This was not part of the plan. A comrade in arms is a great thing to have, someone who has your back and all the rest of it. But apparently she forgot all the baggage that came along with that.

Like this entire mess of loyalties that are building. Have built, more like.

"Fine. Let us do that." She won't argue, but she won't let him go off into the mouth of the beast alone.

Alright--so now the two of them, feeling vaguely uneasy and maybe even slightly frustrated with the circumstances that the other has been subject to, are walking right into a temple that is going to temporarily infect them with a slow-burning rage. Glacius is definitely feeling wary about this prospect, but he's always prided himself on his ability to keep a level head and stay in control of his emotions. He won't let this boil over, he tells himself. They will just make the transaction and then leave, and then everything will go back to normal...

... Well, normal is a bit of a stretch, because whatever is going on between him and Kate certainly isn't what the ice alien is used to. That's why they've agreed to talk after this... but one thing at a time. For now he's busy preparing himself to enter the temple, closing his eyes and taking some deep breaths, trying to steel his focus as he follows the woman inside.

She never quite knows whether she loves or hates rage. There's a cold, cool-headedness that it brings in her that is freeing - free of moral compulsion or guilt over her past, only fury at what she's been subjected to - but the things she is capable of under its influence are terrifying when viewed in the light of day and normal consciousness. Perhaps it is best to say that Kate hates how easily swayed she is. Not only by rage, but by so many emotions, although she often doesn't recognise the hold her hopes have on her heart, or how quick she is to fear for the lives of the people closest to her.

She breathes deep and tries to stamp down on the cruelty that curls in her stomach like vines. Same thing you do with fear, right? Concentrate on something else. On the immediate goal in front of you. There should be no need to be any more than a few minutes in here, really. Her steps are quick, aiming to get to the altar and out as fast as possible before she gives into the temptation that keeps clawing at her gut, sharp and thorny.

"Twelve round, 9 x 19mm," she drawls, glancing up towards the ceiling of the temple as she does so. Normally this wouldn't be done, but Kate's not sure how it works if it's a gift.

She's got a better idea than Glacius, at least, who has no idea what exactly is supposed to transpire here. Is Rage going to somehow appear or project herself into the temple's interior to conduct the transaction? Or are the supplies that Kate is bartering for going to magically appear, as he's been told they do in the shops? He doesn't know what to expect; this is all so different from the religious and spiritual centers constructed by his people. The only thing that is familiar is the silence within... but here, even that is tainted by a sense of aggressiveness that seems to creep in from the dark corners of the room.

The ice alien stands just a few feet behind Kate, breathing deeply again as he feels an insidious urge to lash out start niggling away in the back of his mind. He is in the home of the very being that subverted his will and used him as a tool to harm the innocent. Perhaps he should lay waste to this place to prove that he will not abide such a transgression... but he has the sense to realize that would be a petty act of revenge at best. He won't give in to Rage's influence; he won't his actions be swayed again.

Nothing seems to happen, but Kate shrugs and shakes off the building anger that likes to multiply on itself when she has to wait - moving, she should always be moving - and turns back to Glacius. "Gonna need to put it on the altar," she explains, managing to keep her voice in check, neutral and unaffected by this place. "We can go after that." she can grab the bullets if they appear, or come back tomorrow if not.

"Right," Glacius nods, moving to deposit the carcass he's lugged all this way onto the flat stone slab that makes up the altar's surface--even though all he wants to do is shift his fist into a massive gob of ice and bring that smashing down to ruin the altar with a howl. You know what you made me do is at the forefront of his mind, followed closely by You will never control me again. That thought is the reminder that stays his hand, and so the alien continues to behave peacefully--though his movements have a sense of forced calm to them, so measured they almost seem mechanical.

The body is deposited on the altar and the alien steps back, waiting to see what happens. If Rage herself does appear, he can't guarantee to himself that he won't try to take a shot at her. The quiet in the temple feels so tenuous it could shatter at any moment.

Well, everything remains silent, and Rage does not appear. Kate folds her arms, taps her foot and they wait. In silence and hard stares until, eventually, it is time to leave, with a shrug and a glance up at Glacius.

"C'mon then." It's dull and unremarkable as far as transactions go, isn't it? And she is itching to get away from the temple. Itching to move back into some sort of normal place. If anything is normal here. Quick steps, double time. Let's go.

It was rather unremarkable--more so than Glacius was expecting, honestly--but perhaps that was for the best given Rage's influence inside those walls. Once they're outside again, the galactic marshal can already feel the bubbling anger beginning to die down to a gentle simmer... only when he's completely sure that his mind is free and completely his own once more does he speak.

"Not going to be going back there any time soon..." the ice alien muses, rubbing one of his wrists with the opposite hand in a display of discomfort. "But I suppose it was the best way to be introduced to the way things work in the temple that I could hope for. If I had wandered in unaware of the respective god's influence it would have been even more disconcerting... thank you for alerting me, Kate."

She feels the tension in her body disappear like someone let go of a string they were holding. With a long, slow exhale, Kate feels herself return to something more like, well, herself. The streets wind their way around as they ever do, but it feels slightly more manageable. Although she could do with a drink, but she usually could after visiting that place. Even a coffee helps.

"Don't mention it," she answers. waving a hand in the air beside her, because it really wasn't anything but a sudden thought she acted on. Who wouldn't have asked? "Can't say I expected it the first time."

"I think that would be enough to talk anyone off guard," the alien grunts, folding his arms over his chest. He gives the temple one last glance over his shoulder and then looks way, not planning on gracing it with his attention again for a very long time. If he ever has to come back to that place it will be too soon.

"Now... I should probably take some time to clear my head. Will you return to the city? We can cross the bridge together and part ways after that, if you desire."

"Sounds like a plan." Kate shifts the bag of scavenged supplies onto her shoulder and rolls her head from side to side. "Should probably bring these back to the clinic, anyway." So, let's begin the trek. At a reasonable pace, one that isn't let's get the fuck out of this dump of a temple, yeah?

Kate might not be reflecting that sentiment in the way she moves, but Glacius would agree with it wholeheartedly nonetheless! He's more than happy to turn away and leave the temple grounds, banishing the structure from mind as it disappears into the distance behind them as they make their way over the bridge. Glacius is happy to remain by Kate's side and chat idly as they go, though the moment their paths diverge he bids her a polite goodbye. He has a lot of thoughts tumbling around inside his head, not at all helped by his first attempt to express some of his more tangled thoughts of appreciation and loyalty to the woman; he's going to need time to sort it all out before the next time they have a little chat.

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Does anybody know a way that a body could get away?

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