khuioduan | text; a psa

Entry tags:

text; a psa

anonymous text; public to the network

If you see this woman, avoid her at all cost. She is to be presumed extremely dangerous.

That does not mean attack her. Do not engage.

private text to Valdis, Aly, Leo, Klaus, the Fool, and Kit; marked from Devin

[Devin doesn't trust himself to speak calmly, or to appear calm. He is nowhere in the realm of calm. Ever since X informed him about Bobby's presence, he has been flooded with adrenalized panic and trying to get a hold on himself. Getting close enough to her to snap a photo demanded marshalling an enormous amount of control, and his hands haven't stopped shaking for hours.]

This woman is a demon. Stay away from her. I do not know the full extent of her powers, but I do know she takes a great deal of pleasure in torturing others. If she learns I know any of you, she will not hesitate to harm you. And for all the gods' sakes, do not engage with her in any way just because I've told you not to. Even if she cannot hurt you, she will start hurting innocent people.

Please. Let me deal with her.

(OOC: Feel free to respond to the anonymous text! He will respond just as anonymously.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If she has spent any time perusing the social media, then she already has some idea of who you know.

[It was exactly what she would have done had she been in this situation.]

Does she know you are here?

Some little idea. There is a reason I rarely spend time on there, and I will thank you very much not to needle me with things I already know. I've been a bloody fool.

[He is in a Very Bad Mood.]

I don't know, but she probably suspected before I sent this. X met her at the Bridge and he accidentally said her name.

You aren't a fool.

[But there's several moments where Valdis furiously reaches for X's soul, trying to find its exact location in the city, but she's not as connected to it as she is to a few of the others.]

Is he ok?

[In other words, does she need to go find him?]

Aren't I? I have made friends with teenagers, Valdis, and stubborn ones at that.

He's physically fine, for the moment. I'm going to insist on relocating him until this wave of temporary Dreamfolk is gone.

Teenagers who are quite capable of taking care of themselves, Devin.

[She's not going to point out that he used the 'f' word.]

But if you are that concerned, then go collect X, and I'll go take care of the problem.

Edited (typo) 2018-07-24 05:21 (UTC)

Not all of them. Not against her.

I have asked that no one go after her. That includes you. As powerful as you are, she may very well be able to grind you into dust, and you'll level Aifaran in the mean time.

[Besides, that wouldn't allow him any opportunity to face her.]

[She realizes that Devin is distressed, so Valdis decides to overlook the insult.]

Very well. As long as you don’t expect me to hide.

[If she brings it up later, he's still going to be displeased. The current discretion would be appreciated if he knew, even so. Now is not the time to get into another snarl.]

I don't. That much I know is folly.

Contact me if you see her. I'm working on a plan to get her out of the city.

[His concern would be touching if he'd actually say it like a normal person, but he's not that kind of individual and she accepts that.]

I don't suppose you'll let me in on this plan.

[He's also not 100% in his right mind, which exacerbates many of his worst tendencies.]

Once I have more pieces of it put together.

I am acutely aware that she clouds my thinking, but I also know her best. Just-- give me a few hours.

[Someday he might need to elaborate on his fear of this demon, she didn't know much yet, but Valdis would admit she's not the best example for even healthy amounts of fear.]

I suppose I will bend to your judgement.

[No need to make more of a problem at least.]

Call me before anything destructive happens.

You do realize that any of the new arrivals can see these messages, I hope

I am not completely stupid. There is a point to how the message has been made.

That was my point. How many people would theoretically make this kind of post about this person? I'm guessing it's a small enough number that she probably knows who this is, so why bother with the anonymity?

It would rather defeat the purpose to share my plans, don't you think? Anonymity serves.

[He has plans, he swears. Allowing Bobby to believe him too scared to face her (which he is, every other minute) is intentional.]

If you would like to be helpful, keep an eye out. She's hard to miss.

I think I will, to see what this fuss is all about.

Meet me outside the place we last met. I would like to talk.

[Come on , Klaus, why can't you just text him about this? He doesn't want to be outdoors any longer than he has to.]

You'll need to wait a few hours. I have errands to attend to that are of the utmost important, and I can't risk being seen before they're done.

[Because he's extra like that and also he doesn't trust this not to be hacked]

Then I'll wait.

[And he does, at the docks on the tin roof of the warehouse.]

Fine.

[Devin is not keen on this plan, but once he has X safely sequestered away and has gotten his hands to stop shaking for five minutes, he grudgingly goes out to the docks. The trip takes a bit longer than it usually would, since he backtrack and skirts down alleyways and generally tries to avoid being seen the whole way.

He alights silently onto the roof, into the shadow of the building next to it. Klaus is already there; how long has he been here?]

I would like to keep this as short as possible. What did you want to talk about.

[Sorry, Klaus. Devin is not entirely in his right mind at the moment.]

[When Klaus stands, it's evident that his right hand is gloved and his expression is more serious than usual.]

I apologize for bringing you out here but I'm not sure how much I can entrust the network with this.

[He peers into the gloom of the fog, searching for any sign of movement.]

Before I offer, let me ask - will the warning be enough? How dangerous is this demon?

[Klaus' caution is wise, and even he knows that it would be hard for anyone to have tracked him. All the same, his discomfort shows. He's always been pale, but he's ashen now, and his normal grace has been undercut by distress.

Devin grimaces at the questions.]

I'm not sure, exactly. She was... limited by her time spent on Earth. She had to be, to escape detection. I don't believe I've ever seen her at full strength, but I do know she'd set fire to all of Aifaran to get to me if it suited her mood.

[He frowns.] Offer what?

I could seal her for you.

[His expression seems grimmer than ever, and his tone deliberately even.]

It's not an offer I make lightly. It's a cruel fate - she will be alive, conscious and trapped for an eternity. Death is kinder, but death here is never permanent for For- for Dreamfolk. If she's a danger to others, she will remain so.

[It is reasonable to suppose that the Fool is calm, and collected, but nevertheless very afraid when he sends Devin the following text:]

I spent a day in her company. I did not share overmuch with her, but I am not sure that it matters.

[If she is as dangerous as Devin says she is, she will find a way to weaponize what little she did learn.]

[An icy chill claims Devin as he reads the Fool's message. He is by turns relieved and horrified. The Fool is clearly safe enough to send this, he made it through the day, but he spent an entire day with that bitch. How much danger has he put the Fool in?]

I cannot begin to say how sorry I am, Fool. Are you alright?

This is not my first brush with danger of this kind. I worry more for you.

[That is more candid of a response than he intended to send, but now that it is out in the ether, there is no taking it back.]

[Devin sort-of appreciates the concern. His conflicted feelings about the Fool are not helped by Bobby's presence. It shakes him at his core to know how close she's gotten.]

I'm working on a plan. She must know I'm here by now, if not with this announcement; I only hope I can keep her from hurting people.

She'd set a building on fire with my name on it just before I arrived in Aifaran.

You must attract her attention in such a way that she is not drawn to the people of Aifaran.

[this much he recalls from dealing with dragons.]

Let me help you. Please.

I'm going to try to get her out of the city.

I'm the one she wants, Fool. I can't put anyone else in harm's way, whatever it costs me.

[He's not planning on getting himself killed if he can avoid it, but he knows it's not out of the question.]

After, though, if we're all in one piece, we should talk.

[the time for protestations about Devin's fatalistic altruism has come and gone; whither the opportunities were, the Fool has missed them. That does not prevent him from staring hard at his yimo before he responds.

It is no mystery to him what the subject of their talk will be.]

Yes, we should.

[a pause, and then, a gentle reminder,]

But we cannot have that talk if you do not come back.

[it is the closest he can bring himself to an outright plea for Devin to be careful.]

[There is an extended period of radio silence as Devin tries to grapple with his ongoing distress and the sentiment in the Fool's message. Getting himself killed to avoid his own feelings would be the height of stupidity, and even he's not quite that far gone. It's hard to separate the trepidation about that conversation from his terror.]

I know. I have every intention of keeping that appointment.

[He doesn't want to die, and he'd rather not leave anything unresolved.]

If she comes to you again, try to contact me. I'm afraid she won't care to hide herself after this.

[If the Fool finds Bobby on his doorstep after this, he is not certain he will have the time to text Devin before she strikes--but there is no need to state the obvious. It would only cause him more distress.]

I will.

[It is not a lie, for he will certainly try his best. His next message requires several slow, painstaking revisions before he feels comfortable sending it.]

Let me know as soon as this is resolved, if you are able.

[she has better hair than the last demon Kit went toe to toe with in Thedas.]

I've got two mean axes and a lot of experience killing weird shit. Say the word and I've got your back, salroka.

[Devin isn't expecting the blank check of support from Kit - although he is one of the few people Devin contacts directly about this. Something to ponder later.]

Here's hoping I won't have to take you up on that offer, but it's appreciated.

[Maybe Devin should think more about using the small army at his disposal to deal with Bobby.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

text; a psa

Private to Devin

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

text;

text; anonymous

Re: text; anonymous

text; anonymous

Re: text; anonymous

Text; Locked to Devin

text;

Re: text;

text --> action

action

perma-action

no subject

private text to Devin;

text; private

text; private

text; private

text; private

text; private

text; private

text; private

text; private

text; private

text; private