Night 009

[whiteofcrime]

[ Sometime early in the night, during Kaito's downtime, a series of lines begins to draw themselves across the next empty spread of pages.

The lines aren't completely straight. His busted shoulder means that even with a ruler, he can't utilise both hands to make the schematic perfect. However, his hand is steady and he works with patience to make sure everything lines up the way it's meant to. He'd practised on other non-journal sheets beforehand.

Eventually the map below takes shape, annotated in blue and red. ]

(click image for larger version)


[ In the corner, Kaito writes some notes about the watchtowers. ]

Watchtowers
There are four towers. The stairs lead to the tallest one.
They're lined up alone the side of the castle (you can see them from the Horticulturalist's room).
There's a guard room on the way up that has weapons, supplies etc.
Also a fox which can see through magic maybe.


(Disclaimer: All the above names are ones which Kaito has decided on. They are not necessarily the official names.)

Comments

[whiteofcrime]

[ Kaito has been napping up until the point he hears someone coming. Then he sits up, disturbing his flock of crows. They huddle close and have nearly formed a cloak by the time Walter arrives. Understandably, that may make him hard to see. So he raises a hand and waves. ]

Over here.

[ He's off to the side on the grass, correctly figuring the tree would draw attention first before him. ]

[angel_of_death]

[Of course the tree would draw attention. Not only does it have a striking colouration, it's situated in a spot near a secret entrance that it was nowhere near before. However, the sound of movement immediately draws Walter's attention away, body tensing and shoulders squaring for a moment before Kaito's voice permeates the air.

Walter stares for a second time. The boy is covered in crows.]

Bloody hell. You're relaxing out here with those wraiths slinking about?

[whiteofcrime]

[ Kaito shrugs, idly stroking the back of one of the crows that crawls into his lap. He peers at the clouded sky and rubs away a few flecks of rain. Not heavy enough to justify returning indoors yet. ]

They're fine if you don't look them in the eye. I've been pretending to sleep. [ He drops his gaze to the black birds. ] Anyway, if I get too near something dangerous, these guys will let me know.

[angel_of_death]

[There's a bit of silence that stretches on for almost too long before Walter sighs.]

Thank you for keeping my friend out of trouble. [Yes, he's clearly talking to the birds.] All of you.

[whiteofcrime]

[ Walter, are you trying to question his lack of self-preservation???

The crows shuffle and murmur. That's about the extent of their acknowledgement. Kaito sticks his tongue out at the butler. ]

So, you wanted to talk?

[angel_of_death]

[Walter questions a lot of things. But now that they're together, he is less concerned about the wraiths getting the idea to approach them at all.]

It's about the information you gained from the place you called the vampire bedroom.

[whiteofcrime]

Rei wanted to know as well.

[ He huffs a quiet laugh. Go figure - vampires appear to be common knowledge, regardless if they're myth or real to people here. ]

The vampire room was basically all glass. There was a lot of packed dirt behind it, one of the columns inside was broken and had dirt coming out of it. The bed had a really hard mattress and the clothes didn't look like they'd been worn for a while. There was flower rosary up on the wall and a lot of research on the desk about how to prolong life. Not just the obvious, but things like philosopher's stones and other theories I didn't recognise.

I got bitten by something when I tried searching the dirt from the broken column. [ He held out his hand so Walter could see. ] Didn't break the skin, okay? So don't worry. Teeth marks looked human though.

[angel_of_death]

[With Kaito offering his hand for Walter to see, Walter gives it a cursory examination.]

It was the research that caught my attention the most. People who chase immortality can be a dangerous lot, Kaito. Just what other methods were they poking their noses in?

[whiteofcrime]

[ Kaito's expression flickered for a moment, whatever light in it shuttering behind a humourless mask. It caused him to go oddly blank for a moment. Then the corner of his mouth lifted into a sardonic smile.

He described a few of the methods he could remember. The non-Earth ones were less clear than those whose myths were known on Earth. Afterwards-- ]

I took their diary but it's impossible to read. All the entries are scratched out.

[angel_of_death]

Have you told Marian about it?

[His talk with Rei during the day gave him the feeling the two knew each other. If the text couldn't be read, he speculated, perhaps whatever imprint left on it by someone using it could be.]

[whiteofcrime]

Yeah, 'course. She was the first person I went to.

[ The diaries were still on him. He extracted the vampire one from beneath his shirt (how on earth had he hidden it there?) and flipped through a few pages. As he'd said, all the entries were hopelessly indecipherable. ]

It's funny, I was kind of hopeful but also disappointed. [ Kaito's bitter smile was directed at the open pages. ] I really want to know if it's possible.

[angel_of_death]

To find out what it says? [That would help in discerning the mindset of someone they might or might not end up encountering... if they haven't already.]

[whiteofcrime]

Yeah. But also...

[ He trailed off and shook his head. It was better he didn't know, wasn't it? ]

I want to see if I can recognise anything.

[angel_of_death]

[For a span of time, Walter was simply quiet. He could tell Kaito was holding something back. For what reason, he didn't know. But whatever that reason was, it seemed like it had something to do with personal experience.]

It's unusual to see you this troubled.

[whiteofcrime]

Is it?

[ He had his share of troubled moments but he hardly ever shared them with others. Kaito shrugged and stared at the open page spread. Eventually his eyes skirted back to the butler. ]

My world doesn't have things like demons or vampires in it but there's still people chasing immortality.

[ There's something more brittle about his tone. Some tightening about his eyes. ]

[angel_of_death]

[He's not surprised by that revelation. Even independent of the knowledge of the actual existence of vampires, people still chased the myth of immortality.]

I take it you had a run-in with the bastards.

[That said, he moved to sit next to Kaito, mindful not to cause harm to any of the many crows around him.]

[whiteofcrime]

[ The crows nearest Walter pressed against Kaito. Kaito stroked their backs to calm them and they settled uneasily. ]

...Yeah. I did. Mostly run-ins with the grunts who do the footwork, but I met their boss once.

[angel_of_death]

[Walter wasn't bothered by the reaction of Kaito's feathered friends. At least the crows had the other boy for reassurance.

Balancing his weight back against his arms, Walter looked up to the sky between boughs of greenery.]

Let me guess. Not even innocent lives were sacred to them.

[whiteofcrime]

Nope. [ He smiled bitterly. ] They roughed up an entire magic troupe to get at something their leader had which they thought could be what they were looking for. And I'm pretty sure they've killed people before. Especially this one guy who I keep running into called Snake.

[ One hand drifted unconsciously to his chest, hovering over the messy scar beneath his shirt. His voice turns bitter. ] He's always there. I hate him.

[angel_of_death]

[Walter turned just enough to look at Kaito, not observing him closely, but definitely paying attention.]

What happened?

[whiteofcrime]

[ Some of the crows in his hair start to murmur and preen the strands, as if offering reassurance. Kaito takes a deep breath and lets it out, settling on his best poker face. ]

My dad got in their way. They killed him almost a decade ago but I didn't find out until about a year back.

[ He looks aside and his voice grows tight. ] Since then, I've been trying to lure them out. But they always get away before the police can grab them.

[angel_of_death]

[The silence stretched on between them for a few seconds. So they had both lost family to some bastard on a quest for immortality.

He hadn't expected for them to have that in common. It's a bitter realisation, the taste made all the more unpleasant in that the murderer in Kaito's instance was still unknown, and probably still alive. Walter had no doubt that it was frustrating.]

...Sorry to hear that happened to you, too.

[whiteofcrime]

'Too'? [ He looked back, frowning at Walter. ] What, the same thing happened to you as well?

[angel_of_death]

Not precisely the same. [There were a number of differences. Different circumstances. Different timing.]

But I lost my family, too. For one bastard's pursuit of immortality.

[The last word fell from his lips in a sneer, his upper lip curling disdainfully well before it. Though a handful of years were between him and that time now, the hatred hadn't dimmed.]

[whiteofcrime]

[ Kaito stared at Walter without expression. Who would have thought they'd have this in common? He looked away with a soft 'hah', smiling without humour. ]

I still have my mum, but...she's always off who-knows-where, so she may as well not be around. [ Idly running his finger along a crow's back, he falls silent for a short time. Then-- ]

The thing they're chasing is a jewel called Pandora. It's meant to turn red and weep when you hold it up to the moon. If you drink its tears, you'll be immortal. [ A derisive sound. ] I swore I'd smash it if I ever got my hands on it. They didn't like that obviously.