londoncallingrpg

The past month- Months?- Had been strange. One night he'd found himself compelled to go out, as though something was calling to him. A silent siren song that had coaxed him into his car and out into the country.

Where had he gone? What had he done?

Those were the questions he had to ask himself when he woke up in the middle of Hyde park in a rumpled suit and a brand new body. ...Possibly brand new. Certainly new to him in that moment, since he couldn't recall much of anything from the past few weeks. His head was pounding, and he was in agony.

A large bird sat upon him. A hawk, he thought absently- Or maybe not. He couldn't seem to focus on it. Not when his gaze was so strongly drawn to all the blood. ...His blood.

"No," he said softly, trying to chase it away with a weak wave of his hand. "I'm free, you can't- He can't," he insisted, right before the world went dark. ...Not that it mattered. It would heal, he would heal. He always did. How else could the punishment continue?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

miss_ives

She'd reached out and brushed his hair away from his forehead before she might have curbed the urge. "Don't talk." He was clearly in pain, and healing, and he should focus on that, for now, while she looked around to make sure that they had not drawn attention. She still felt wrong for using the Verbis Diablo, but at least it had spared Prometheus more pain.

From:

pecked_by_birds

The titan took slow breaths, pushing through the pain until it finally became something more manageable. Only then dd he open his eyes again.

"I'm alright. I'm fine. ...I am always fine," he sighed, frowning to himself as his fingers touched the skin around the scar that would never heal, even when the rest of his body did.

From:

miss_ives

"When did this start again?" Vanessa asked, forcing her eyes up from his scar to his face, and then reaching out to help him sit up.

$pecked_by_birds: (\-_-\)$

From:

pecked_by_birds

"I'm- I'm not certain," he admitted, accepting her help and sitting up slightly. "I fear I may be missing some time."

From:

miss_ives

Vanessa was all too aware of how that might feel. She glanced around again, then looked back at him. "We're not far from the shop. Let's go there, once you feel well enough to walk?"

From:

pecked_by_birds

"Yes, yes, that's- That's a very good idea," the titan said, pushing himself to his feet. He was a touch unsteady, but he managed.

From:

miss_ives

Vanessa rose with him, a hand on his arm to catch him just in case. She offered him her arm with a wry sort of smile at the reversal of the usual gender roles. "I've kept you well stocked in tea," she told him, as it was a well known fact that tea always helped.

Of course, something like this might require hard liquor instead. While he might have some in the flat upstairs, she had not gone looking for it.

From:

pecked_by_birds

"Tea sounds wonderful. I don't suppose I've got food, do I? I don't recall when I last ate, but my stomach is- Empty."

Or stitching itself back together, he honestly couldn't tell.

From:

miss_ives

"I haven't raided your cupboards," Vanessa answered as they began to walk. She let him set the pace, matching her gait to his. "At worse, we can order something."

From:

pecked_by_birds

The titan nodded, pulling his suit jacket shut to hide some of the blood as they walked.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been absent from London?"

From:

miss_ives

"I haven't seen you since that night in the museum," Vanessa answered, glancing at him. "That was... late November, early December? But Mr Collingwood stopped by with your vase, and a talisman, a couple of weeks ago. Do you remember talking to him about them?"

From:

pecked_by_birds

The titan frowned, shaking his head, then pausing. "Vaguely," he admitted. "I remember... I made a call. I was- I was in Germany, I think."

From:

miss_ives

"That's as much as I know, I'm afraid," Vanessa answered. There was no use asking her questions out here; it did not seem as if he would know the answers. At the shop, she might, but she might not necessarily ask him.

From:

pecked_by_birds

The titan nodded, still frowning in thought as they walked on.

From:

miss_ives

At least he was walking without her support, which, given what Vanessa had just witnessed, was nothing short of miraculous. As far as curses went, anyway. She knew better than to think anything in this world was either black or white.

She was glad to let the silence stretch until they reached the shop, which she opened up with the ease of someone who had ended up being there a lot more than the odd weekend she had initially offered.

"We can go and check the flat for food," she offered as she locked the door behind them. The shop was most definitely not open just then.

From:

pecked_by_birds

"Yes- I might change as well. I don't think this is a terribly good look for company," he quipped awkwardly, all while looking around at his surprisingly tidy looking shop.

"...Did you dust? I don't think this place has ever been dusted before."

From:

miss_ives

"I work in a museum," Vanessa remarked with a small smile. "I'm rather used to tidiness."

She hoped that he did not mind, however. This was his shop, and an odd little shop it was. He might have wanted to keep all of its quirks, including the dust balls she'd swept out from under the counter.

From:

pecked_by_birds

"It looks good," he said honestly. "Almost like it did when it first came into my possession."

From:

miss_ives

Vanessa smiled slightly. "I've become quite fond of this place." A lot more than she had expected, to be perfectly honest. "But how are you feeling? Shall I put some tea on?"

From:

pecked_by_birds

"Please, I feel better but tea is always a good thing," the titan said, gaze resting on her for a moment.

"How have you been, Vanessa?" he asked gently.

From:

miss_ives

Vanessa had moved to put the kettle on, and she turned back to him at his question, and gave him a small smile. "Troubled," she answered, although he of all people would have known it already. When wasn't she? "I've had a visit from an old friend. She was... wrong. I need to help her, but I can't find her."

From:

pecked_by_birds

"Wrong how?" the titan asked, starting to remove his jacket and shirt so he could change. There was always a spare shirt laying around somewhere, and he selected one from a drawer under the counter. It was splattered with dried paint, but it would do.

From:

miss_ives

"I didn't notice straight away," Vanessa admitted, looking away from Prometheus to let him change without scrutiny. It was about respect, rather than modesty. "But she wasn't as I knew her, although I couldn't tell you what it was exactly. But she mentioned a master, and was there and gone in an instant."