simulsimul | another thing; w/ fafnirs and skeletonenigma; cw for suicide talk

[It's not often Skulduggery gets struck speechless. Kratos is managing it an alarming amount.]

It's been twelve hours.

[There's no real point to saying it out loud, other than to give himself some sort of solid outlet for the surprise. Twelve hours. Kratos mastered a language in twelve hours. Even with magic presumably speeding the learning process up, Skulduggery wouldn't have believed this was possible, and he's suddenly very much looking forward to telling Ghastly that the man he wanted a translation artefact for has learned to speak English in one night.

Skulduggery huffs with open amusement and shakes his head.] You'll have to explain to me how you did that. Not now, but soon. Alright, you can get out of the car. I'll just have to hope Valkyrie doesn't get distracted by someone she doesn't know stealing her seat from her.

[Kratos tips his head in the way he has which seems somewhere between an 'isn't it obvious?' and an 'I told you so', and could be amused. Or not.]

Yes, it has, according to my understanding of your time.

[The dictionary had proven very useful, after the beginning the thesaurus had left. It contained sentences the other two books hadn't, so he could put some patterns together with the verbal ones he'd been noting during conversations. The cruxis crystal encoded quickly.

[His mouth quirked.]

Then you'd better move quickly to distract her.

[So saying, he moved to step out of the car, remaining on the far side from the ocean and keeping an eye out for mana or headlights from other vehicles. His hearing, he turned down, so he could hear their voices but not the words. Just in case.]

[Kratos is going to become very infuriating, very quickly.

When Skulduggery gets out of the car, Valkyrie's already staring at them. At Kratos, specifically. Skulduggery prepares himself for an earful -- or an ear-hole-ful, technically -- and walks over to meet her.

She's demanding, at first. There are some pointed gestures back at the car and she speaks in an irritated tone of voice. Skulduggery, partly by necessity and partly by character, doesn't seem affected. He stands there with his hands in his pockets, his scarf pulled up over his face and his hat pulled low, and doesn't move. Valkyrie deflates. After that, she's nervous, pacing up and down a few times before she turns and says something that carries the weight of a confession.

A short silence follows.

Skulduggery speaks first, his voice as level as before, questioning. Valkyrie answers. The back and forth grows slightly more heated, then cuts off again. After that, when Skulduggery speaks, his tone is angry. Not quite chastising, not quite directed, but definitely angry. It's not long before he checks himself and turns slightly away, head bowed, leaving Valkyrie to give him an uncertain look.

They talk for another minute, this time in more conversational tones. The uncertain look on Valkyrie's face morphs into puzzlement, then cautious hope. She's about to say something else when Skulduggery hugs her without warning. Whatever he says next makes her laugh, and she hits him on the arm.

When they walk back to the car together, she's smiling in relief.]

Okay, but I'm sitting in the front. Because it's my spot. [She looks Kratos up and down, like she's challenging him to have a problem with it.] So who're you?

[It sounds like quite the conversation, just going by tone and body language. Kratos keeps an eye out, but they remain undisturbed. The only time he looks directly toward the pair behind him is when Skulduggery's mana shifts, the balance tilting for only a split-second toward darkness.

[The unravelling he'd felt in orbit was different -- yet there's something about both instance which is alike, after a fashion. The first had been an unravelling; this, coiling tighter. Given the emotions clear in the conversation -- hm. He may need to keep an eye on this skeleton.

[Whatever the conversation is about, clearly it ends well. Kratos turns to face them as they approach, amused by the girl's aggression; so this is the skeleton's student. A student with great mana, like Mithos. He has some suspicions about what that conversation is about; but for the moment, he only bows toward her.]

My name is Kratos Aurion. Skulduggery has been showing me Dublin.

[He straightens up, and -- mostly to Skulduggery, but without excluding Valkyrie -- tells him:]

I made sure I wouldn't hear the words of your conversation.

[That, Valkyrie decides, is definitely a sorcerer's name. Not that she's very surprised. Skulduggery doesn't drive just anyone around without his full disguise on.] Nice to meet you. I'm Valkyrie Cain. Where are you from?

[Skulduggery, meanwhile, is looking at Kratos with his skull tilted in surprise, for the umpteenth time in so many hours.]

You can do that?

[Valkyrie looks between them, puzzled.] Do what? Be polite? That's pretty standard.

Aselia.

[Kratos isn't sure yet how much the girl knows; and there's no point in explaining too much without knowing that. The answer will bring more questions, but with Skulduggery on hand, Kratos will at least have some guidance as to how much he should say.

[He does tip his head at Skulduggery.]

Well, yes.

[Skulduggery has been fairly observant so far. After being in space, surely it was obvious that angels had to be able to regulate all their physical functions?]

How much should I be saying in front of Valkyrie?

Aselia?

[That's... nowhere Valkyrie has heard of. Which she'd normally be fine with, except Kratos has an Irish accent. So if he's never seen Dublin, shouldn't the province he comes from at least sound familiar?]

In that case, thank you. [Skulduggery still sounds surprised, but now it's tempered by distraction. He's thinking.]

Skulduggery?

Hm?

[Valkyrie's got her brow raised.] How much should he be saying in front of me?

Ah. He can turn his hearing off.

Okay. That's... interesting, but it doesn't really answer my question.

Doesn't it? [There's a brief pause, but Skulduggery goes on before Valkyrie can reply.] We're going to Ghastly's shop. Kratos can explain everything there. I trust both Valkyrie and Ghastly with my life, Kratos, as far as I have one. They'll be able to help.

Help ... with your life? Hmh. That bodes well.

[If it's a joke, it's hard to tell; Kratos delivers it rather deadpan. He is thinking of the turn of Skulduggery's mana while emotional. Perhaps his words are actually true. It also doesn't tell Kratos whether he can trust them with his, but needs must, and there isn't all that much which could truly threaten Kratos these days.

[He's getting the impression the help is for far more than just wanting to investigate a new planet, but nevertheless turns to open the passenger's door for Valkyrie, motioning for her to get in while glancing Skulduggery's way measuringly.]

You said that I -- arrived at a time of 'chaos and apocalyptic destruction'. Is the help for me, or for you?

Edited (icon) 2017-02-18 04:24 (UTC)

[Oh, good. Valkyrie won't have to fight for the rights to her seat. She smiles at Kratos before taking advantage of his invitation, then rolls her eyes once she's settled.]

You really don't know how to break things to people gently, do you?

[Skulduggery doesn't answer. He looks at Kratos, his lack of a face inscrutable, then gets into the driver's seat. He doesn't answer until everyone's in the car, buckled up, and he's turned on the engine.]

Both, I hope. Should I expect you to have written your own thesaurus by the end of the day?

[So it's certainly, at least in part, Skulduggery having a tendency to want to shock people. Kratos gets into the seat behind Valkyrie, banking on it having slightly more leg room; even then, he has to turn himself to fit.]

You're exceedingly verbose for a skeleton. I should think I wouldn't need my own thesaurus.

There you go again. 'Verbose'. Would you believe he couldn't speak a word of English last night?

[Valkyrie turns to look at Kratos. She's not surprised, exactly, but there's still a measure of suspicion on her face.] Is your magic to do with languages? We met someone like that once.

Did we?

Miss Nuncio, remember? In the Hotel?

Oh, yes, we did. She was useless in a fight.

[Valkyrie sighs.] Okay, what's up?

What?

You don't act like this unless something's wrong. So what's up? [She hesitates.] Unless it's the obvious thing, in which case we really don't have to talk about it.

[It's as good an explanation as any, so Skulduggery lets Valkyrie assume what she'd like and changes the subject.] So, Kratos. Now that we can hold a halfway decent conversation, are skeletons usually verbose in Aselia?

[Kratos looks back evenly and without a flicker in his expression.]

Something like that.

[Their magic seems more constrained than mana-use on Aselia. Language is only on part of it, really; a side-effect of exspheres having significant data encoding abilities.]

No. They're usually unthinkingly violent with a weapon. Only one ever spoke words, and he was fairly monosyllabic. Also, a demonic skeleton, not a human one.

Ah. You see, over here, they tend not to move. I'm an exception.

[Valkyrie looks back and forth between them, twisted so that her elbow leans against the side of her seat, the better to see them both.] I'm confused. Where's Aselia?

We'll explain everything in Ghastly's shop, remember?

Fine, but if you're going to keep not making sense, I'm going to get really annoyed. [Valkyrie looks back at Kratos consideringly. If he learned the language in one night through magic, that explains the Irish accent. It doesn't explain anything else. What kind of Adept discipline lets you turn off your hearing, and also pick up languages on the fly?] Can I at least ask questions until we get there?

I suppose so.

Awesome. Where's Aselia?

About fifty years away by the speed of light. More or less.

['Year' is the relative term, here; the speed of light, Kratos should think, is not. Still, their years seem roughly similar. He answers this blithely impassive. If Skulduggery is going to let his student ask questions, there's no reason Kratos can't answer some of them.]

[Valkyrie doesn't respond right away, too busy frowning. There's an audible sigh from Skulduggery, but no other objection, so she turns to him.]

Seriously?

[Skulduggery gives a small shrug.]

Okay, remember when you told me there was a whole family of eight-armed octopus people?

No. When did I say that?

When I was twelve, and I believed you because I didn't know any better. Are you really trying to tell me aliens exist, and we've got one sitting in our back seat?

[Skulduggery gives her one of his sidelong glances that are impossible to identify if you're not looking carefully.] I'm not trying to tell you anything.

[Valkyrie pauses, then turns back to Kratos.] Are you really trying to tell me you're an alien, and you're sitting in our back seat?

[Kratos watches this exchange with hardly a flicker in his expression, his arms crossed, sitting upright as if he isn't just the tiniest bit cramped.]

I'm certainly sitting in your backseat. If this is in doubt, then I can't say much for Skulduggery's abilities as a teacher.

[This is deadpan, amused in a manner hard to tell unless someone's already familiar with him. Or someone equally as impassive.]

Don't drag me into this. I'm an excellent teacher. It's not my fault she can't think her way through shock.

[Valkyrie's expression sours.] First of all, everything's in doubt. I could be hallucinating you, and I'd have no way of knowing. Second, let me rephrase that -- are you really saying you're not human? Or a vampire, or a witch, or a zombie, or -- you're not from Earth?

But you haven't trained her to do so? Hmh.

[Kratos is entirely teasing, but his gaze shifts to Valkyrie's sour expression, and he represses a smile in favour of tipping his head.]

I'm human, certainly neither witch nor zombie, and I've never heard of vampires in Aselia. But no, I'm not from Earth.

How can you be human if you're not from Earth?

[Skulduggery huffs.] What I've trained her to do is keep asking questions despite shock. It doesn't always work.

Stop talking over me like I'm not here. How can you be human if you're not from Earth?

Sorry. It's human-analogous, most likely. I'm sure the professor could tell you all the details.

Then can we make the Hibernian our next stop?

No. Ghastly's our next stop.

[Kratos is not quite adept in lifting his eyebrows the way Yuan does, but the slant of his head indicates a similar expression nonetheless.]

More to the point, how can you be human if you're not from Aselia? This is one of the things I wished to investigate by coming here.

[It should not be possible; and yet.]

Who is the professor?

[If they're anything like Raine, it's probably prudent to meet them ... if judiciously.]

Professor Grouse. [This from Skulduggery, since Valkyrie seems more interested in asking questions than answering them.] Kenspeckle Grouse. He's an expert in science-magic, and he'd probably know a great deal more about how magic differentiates across planets than we do.

Can everyone on your planet learn languages overnight?

[Case in point. Skulduggery shakes his head.] We're nearly there now. It's probably best if both of you let me do the talking.

[Science-magic. Kratos's brow furrows.]

He develops magi-technology? Hm.

[That may or may not be a good thing. Absently:]

No. Only a specific subset of us. Why? What should I expect from this brother-not-brother of yours?

[His tone is only faintly dry, and equal amounts of amused, really.]

Magi-technology. [Skulduggery repeats the term out loud, mostly because he can.] Sure. Why not?

Brother-not-brother? [Valkyrie fixes Skulduggery with an amused look.]

You try communicating with an alien who has no context for any language on Earth. We'll see how quick you are to judge me then. Ghastly's a good man, Kratos, but you'll find no one is going to take what you've told me as well as I have. Ghastly won't either. The best-case scenario is that he's going to insist we tell the proper authorities, which will be difficult, because we don't have any right now. The worst-case scenario is that he'll refuse to help, and be infuriatingly stubborn about it for at least three days.

Oh, no. Is this like the Sceptre of the Ancients?

This is worse than the Sceptre of the Ancients.

[Valkyrie pauses.] This is worse than a mythical weapon that can turn anything to dust being in the hands of a bad guy?

Yes. [Skulduggery pauses in turn.] Maybe.

[There are a number of implications packed into those sentences, and Kratos sits absorbing them while they discuss this 'Sceptre'.]

Why don't you have any proper authorities?

[This, Kratos deems, is the most salient question, along with:]

Why would he insist on reporting me to authorities you don't have?

[Why is he getting the impression this is related to the angel in the tree and the winter festival.]

We don't have any proper authorities because the previous authority was convicted of a war crime.

[Valkyrie nods.] And the authorities before that were killed by a guy with the Sceptre. So you can see why I'm a little less than reassured here.

[Skulduggery goes quiet for several seconds, tapping one long gloved finger against the steering wheel. Then he tilts his head towards them.] Valkyrie, do you trust me?

What kind of question is that?

An overly dramatic one, I'll admit, but not any less important. Do you remember how you felt when you first learned that your humdrum existence was lingering on the fringes of magic, monsters, and sorcery?

That's a weird way of putting it, but yeah.

You're about to feel like that again. And when you do, I need you to stay with us and keep doing what I tell you to do. [He pauses.] Or start doing what I tell you to do. Kratos, how do you feel about Valkyrie knowing?

another thing; w/ fafnirs and skeletonenigma; cw for suicide talk

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