Don’t sing if you want to want to live long... [open]

[shamebats]

Who: Nadja and you!
What: One (1) confused vampire arrives on one (1) magical island
When: 11/4, evening
Where: The Storyteller’s Temple, the beach, the Denny
Warnings: mentions of SPOOKY VAMPIRE STUFF i.e. blood drinking



i. the temple

[Nadja wakes up in a heap of black cloaks and petticoats. She feels vaguely hungover, which is weird because the wizard incident was days ago.]

What the fuck.

[She listens to the whole rundown, feigns like she understands what’s happening, and absconds with her little bundle of supplies. When Nadja gets outside, she approaches the first few people she sees, speaking in a heavy Eastern European accent.]

Excuse me, sweet mortal, have you seen a set of men dressed like myself, probably arguing about crepe paper? Those are my idiots and I would like to collect them.

ii. the beach

[Once she’s ascertained where she is and that none of her companions, of the vampire or Guillermo persuasion, are with her...well, Nadja feels that her only recourse is to wander Ensō like the creature of the night that she is. Truth be told, she’s not actually too concerned with finding Laszlo. He’ll be fine on his own, probably. But with everything that’s happened lately, a breather from her coven is more than welcome.

Nadja hitches her skirts up around her ankles and steps just to the edge of the surf, surveying the sea. It’s a nice sea, she supposes. The vampiress’ gaze rises to the moon, and she takes a deep inhale—and lets out a long, loud, inhuman shriek like the screaming of a mountain lion.

There’s nothing wrong—it’s cathartic, actually. Making her fearsome presence known. But if one didn’t know any better they might think it’s a sound of grief. ]

iii. the denny

[Finally done prowling the beach, Nadja eventually finds herself at a building marked DENNY. She doesn’t know who this Denny is, but there is the most enticing aroma drifting out of the building, which is strange because she hasn’t found the smell of human food enticing for several centuries now.

Inside, she sidles up to the nearest stranger with a saccharine smile.]

Hi, sweet baby. Tell me please where I can find a coffin or other small, dark box, please. [she bats her lashes enticingly, and then pauses for a moment, coming up with a somewhat plausible excuse.] I need it for...storing my belongings in.

Comments

god i'm so sorry this took so long

[shamebats]

[Nadja's scream dies out slowly, leaving her hunched over like a beast, but she straightens up when she hears the exclamation coming from behind her. Her eyes brighten in the moonlight at the sight of the armored soldier, a mix of interest and caution, and she stands so her hands are folded in front of her, posture straight. Prim. It's a weird contrast from what she was doing just a second ago.]

Yes, hello? Are you the night watchman?

it's all good!

[counterblows]

[...wait, so is she...is she okay? She doesn't look injured. She's just standing there, looking at him, and the question is so direct that for a minute he can only blink behind his visor in surprise, because of course this is his life. Of course it is.]

...I'm...you...

[He should really answer the question, but right now he's still threading together what the fuck just happened.]

Are you hurt?

[shamebats]

[She furrows her brow at him, pulling a face.]

Of course not. Why do you ask?

[She's. Being completely serious???]

[counterblows]

You were just screaming. Like, really loud.

[he???? already regrets stopping for this???]

[shamebats]

Oh. I'm sorry, is that not common to your people?

[She's not being a smartass; she's genuinely concerned that she might have broken some unspoken social rule. How awkward!]

[counterblows]

I - wha - y - no? No, people don't tend to scream at the sky unless they're - unless they're hurt, or...I mean, that's usually why people do it.

[What the hell does she mean, your people?]

[shamebats]

Of course I am hurt. I am missing my dearest husband!

[She pouts.] People in these modern times are so averse to catharsis.

[counterblows]

Oh. You were...

Oh.

[From the way she was screaming, he was expecting that someone was being murdered.]

Wait, what do you mean modern times?

[shamebats]

Yeah.

[She shrugs, playing it off.]

Look, at a certain point in history, it became unacceptable to release your emotions vocally. It's a real shame.

[counterblows]

You sounded like you were being eaten alive! That sounded like...being killed screaming, not catharsis screaming, and can we go back to the part where you said "modern times"?

[shamebats]

Now you're just being dramatic.

[Nadja rolls her eyes and holds out her fingers, waggling them at Washington in a vaguely enticing manner. time to find out her hypnosis doesn't work!!]

You will forget this conversation ever happened. On your way, night-watchman!

[counterblows]

[Well, he does tend to be dramatic. But on that note - he stares at her, expression flat behind his helmet. It's probable that some part of this weary exhaustion transmits itself through the curved gold of his visor].

...no, I don't think I will. You realize that nothing about this...I mean, you kind of stand out, acting like...all of this.

[shamebats]

[She gives him a flat look right back. What the hell, that usually works.]

I am not the one dressed like an astronaut-knight in shiny armour.

[counterblows]

I'm not dressed like that either.

[Shiny armor? Astronaut-knight? This is military apparel. Excuse you.]

And if that's the case, then I guess it really is saying something that you stand out. Which you do. Definitely.

[shamebats]

Uh, you are, though.

[You look like something out of a star war, bud. Even Nadja could tell you that.]

It seems to me like everyone i've met so far stands out. So what is the problem?

[counterblows]

[A loud, gusty sigh. He has learned to pick his battles against people who are going to stay shit he doesn't agree with, so he doesn't push the point. He does, however, sound tired when he moves on from it.]

Look. You can't just stand here screaming at nothing in particular and not expect people to ask you what the hell is going on. I thought someone was getting murdered.

[shamebats]

Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Fuck. Nobody told me about the no-screaming rule. I won't do it again.

[Within earshot of civilization, at least.]

[counterblows]

[That's...]

[Okay, so maybe he just wasn't expecting her to relent so quickly.Can you blame him? Where he comes from, most people are just about ready to die on any hill possible.]

I mean, it's not a rule. It's just not something people do unless they're, you know, dying or something.

[shamebats]

Okay, am I in trouble or am I not? Make up your mind, please.

[she's not getting the subtlety of this distinction, clearly.]

[counterblows]

You're not - no. You're not in trouble. There's not...we don't really have laws here.

[Yeah, that's sure something you wanna straight up say to someone.]

[shamebats]

Oh.

[Big pause. Wheels are turning.

She flips him the bird.]

Well then fuck off, won't you?

[counterblows]

[Wash. Sighs.]

Fine.

Just try not screaming unless you end up in actual trouble.