Number FIVE ☂ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
somebadnews) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
westwhere2021-09-08 05:26 pm
somebadnews) wrote in westwhere2021-09-08 05:26 pm
time doesn't love you anymore
WHO: Five and OPEN (with one closed starter)
WHEN: Early-to-mid September
WHERE: All Around Taravast
WHAT: September Catch-All: Obsessions, Curses and Family Meetings
WARNINGS: Language and... whatever Five-related things come up
i. Southern (Artist ) Areas (open)
It's been a while since Five took a walk to get some fresh air. Tensions have been escalating again, and despite his best efforts to claim otherwise, his thoughts have been too erratic to feel like he has anything under control any more. It's an incredibly inconvenient time to be staving off the effects of a curse that he's stubbornly against prioritizing, and refuses to think about now. He's well accustomed to dealing with anguish; acknowledging it just makes it more insufferable and he has too many other things to worry about.
He needs a clear head if he's going to avoid another gaffe like they had at the masquerade. Hence the outing. He gives himself an errand or two — find a more secluded meeting location, procure more coffee — if only to get away from all of them before he snaps and murders someone else just because he's frustrated and running on fumes. As he makes his way through the streets, he thinks bitterly that his thirteen-year-old body could probably use the exercise.
When they first arrived in Taravast, he had been vaguely insulted by the identity he'd been assigned. That was before he'd learned it could be much worse. He's largely left alone, and when he's approached by anyone who seemed to have gotten his description from who-knows-where, he can make them disappear in relatively few words. Just drop a comment about their staggering irrelevance and they walk away shocked and offended. Temperamental artists are apparently common enough to play on assumptions. He barely cares.
All this time he hasn't actually bothered to look at any of the actual art in the city, because why would he? It's all useless decoration that doesn't serve any purpose, and mostly makes him think of the Academy and those terrible portraits his father had done of them as kids. That was his closest point of reference; nothing really survived in the apocalypse and he certainly didn't spend any time looking at it during his years at the Commission. — So it's strange that in the middle of his hike through the citadel, he finds himself facing an unfamiliar statue in the middle of an alcove. It's only half-finished, the form just starting to emerge from the stone, and he stares for full ten minutes before he realizes where he is. They have plenty of paintings on display and jewelry stands stretched along the alleyway, but not a single one of them sells coffee.
Fuck, he's tired. He nearly blinks away instead of walking back to where he made a wrong turn, but it's quiet here and all he really wanted was somewhere to think. So he wedges himself into the small space between the stone and the wall while he tries to do the math to get him to where he meant to go.
Moments later he's fast asleep where the statue's feet would be.
ii. Necromancer District (open)
Five went back to that same location where they'd picked up a cure for the poison a few days later. So far they hadn't heard any grief about what they did to obtain the blood; no one so much as questioned any recent murders, but he does think enough to stay away from certain incriminating areas to avoid the hassle. He wanted to see if he could find this particular house again by memory, and he feels some satisfaction that he manages to, even if it had been an entirely different time of day.
It seemed strange to him back then, and he said as much, that the necromancers had a cure for the poison almost before they asked. Not until later did he find out that Lady Vannozza has ties here. There's an almost too-obvious link between her and the attempt on their lives, and looking into it actually feels useful in a way he hasn't been lately. It's straightforward enough to investigate, and something productive he can share with his family later if he gets any leads.
A shorter route would have been to ask Allison to rumor Vannozza to tell them exactly what her involvement was, but he knows his sister will want more than his paranoia to go on. The other solution involves having them conjure the man responsible for delivering the poison, but Lan Wangji was acting strange about it after he was the one who suggested it. Five still doesn't understand his great moral objection, but he rarely does, and spends far too much time trying to. Several of the necromancers here could do it, if he really wants to pursue the idea.
That doesn't mean he won't also try and get more information about how the necromancers work while he's poking around. He pays careful attention whenever he spots their customers coming and going, and if his timing is good enough, he might teleport in to see what their healing rituals entail. For curiosity's sake.
Today it seems noticeably less crowded in the district, which is... not ideal and throws off his plan slightly. If he stands out too much they might start to recognize him as a kid who keeps hanging around here, and he'll have to put more effort into hiding in the shadows. It also might mean he's missing something again, which just makes him feel more out of sorts. He doesn't abandon the methods, but he keeps an extra eye out for anyone he recognizes that might fill him in.
iii. Academies (open)
Five comes around eventually. He really hadn't needed any magic curse to break his fragile grip on sanity. But when he keeps confusing the anguish he's stubbornly holding onto with memories of the apocalypse, he knows that pretty soon people will start noticing what's wrong with him. At some point he's going to need to make it stop. The unfortunate truth is that there's no way in hell he can trust that the easiest solutions available to get rid of it, and his other idea isn't any guarantee.
Under normal circumstances, he would have learned enough about magic to handle his own problems, but there's just so many different types and languages that he doesn't know where to begin. The research he left to Fox came to a halt after the masquerade, because of course they try to murder the one person he had chosen to tell about his problem, which left him largely on his own. (While Fox presumably recovers. He's sure he would have heard from Mingyu otherwise.)
The academies are easy enough to break into for someone like him, but without a guide, he's less sure of which books to disappear with that might have something worthwhile in them. He ends up with one that looks questionably promising, and others he grabbed simply because they were near it on the shelf. While he's waiting for his personal translator, he flips through the pages and tries to make sense of them.
Almost immediately he starts to write notes in the margins, which quickly devolve into something more familiar to him. Soon he's sitting in the courtyard working the equations he hasn't touched in weeks, trying to work backward to the earliest he could alter the timeline without jeopardizing his family, what events he could change by eliminating various people, and ways to predict where and when they might find his remaining siblings. The mask they insist that he carry around is beside him and he seems intensely focused and oblivious to anyone who might have noticed that he isn't a student.
In hindsight, he should have brought a different notebook with him, but it helps him for a time to slip into the world of time travel and probability equations to remember that he's actually smart about some things. Eventually he'll return to the palace and try to track Fox down to explain what he was originally trying to do. When he does finally hand off these books to him, he's sure he might even have the math worked out and not need him any more.
iv. Undisclosed Location (closed to Hargreeves)
The meeting is, frankly, long overdue. Playing political games for the sake of the group at large has only left them out of touch and ill prepared. They weren't ready for the attempted murder at the masquerade, and he was blindsided by Allison's trip to see the necromancers, purely because he hadn't kept a close enough eye on his family. They need a better system.
Fortunately, securing a suitably discrete location wasn't all that difficult once he started looking, and his ability makes it easy to get around any onlookers who might catch on that he's in cahoots with his family. Before arriving, Five had made at least some effort to splash water on his face and put on a less rumpled set of clothes to disguise the exhaustion that makes him feel every bit of his actual age. He does a passable job. He won't admit that the nap he had earlier might have done some good.
They haven't been together in the same space since the masquerade, and he takes time to assess all of them as he paces around the room. The wolves are still hanging around, apparently. Five takes a moment to look at each one of them before narrowing his eyes at Diego. He's already made it clear what he thinks about his new coping mechanism, but that doesn't mean he won't bring it up again. The only one of them to stay out of trouble is Vanya, and thank god for that.
"Alright. To start with, great job all around at not getting stabbed or poisoned." Really, it's a low bar, but they've managed to cross it. As far as he knows, he's the only one who screwed up anything major, and he's fine with delaying that news until the end. "We don't have a lot of time, but I thought we should get on the same page."
v.
Wildcard for whatever else. Additional starters available on request.
Action spam or prose idc/will match format/I swear I will use less words one day (I will forget I said this).
WHEN: Early-to-mid September
WHERE: All Around Taravast
WHAT: September Catch-All: Obsessions, Curses and Family Meetings
WARNINGS: Language and... whatever Five-related things come up
i. Southern (Artist ) Areas (open)
It's been a while since Five took a walk to get some fresh air. Tensions have been escalating again, and despite his best efforts to claim otherwise, his thoughts have been too erratic to feel like he has anything under control any more. It's an incredibly inconvenient time to be staving off the effects of a curse that he's stubbornly against prioritizing, and refuses to think about now. He's well accustomed to dealing with anguish; acknowledging it just makes it more insufferable and he has too many other things to worry about.
He needs a clear head if he's going to avoid another gaffe like they had at the masquerade. Hence the outing. He gives himself an errand or two — find a more secluded meeting location, procure more coffee — if only to get away from all of them before he snaps and murders someone else just because he's frustrated and running on fumes. As he makes his way through the streets, he thinks bitterly that his thirteen-year-old body could probably use the exercise.
When they first arrived in Taravast, he had been vaguely insulted by the identity he'd been assigned. That was before he'd learned it could be much worse. He's largely left alone, and when he's approached by anyone who seemed to have gotten his description from who-knows-where, he can make them disappear in relatively few words. Just drop a comment about their staggering irrelevance and they walk away shocked and offended. Temperamental artists are apparently common enough to play on assumptions. He barely cares.
All this time he hasn't actually bothered to look at any of the actual art in the city, because why would he? It's all useless decoration that doesn't serve any purpose, and mostly makes him think of the Academy and those terrible portraits his father had done of them as kids. That was his closest point of reference; nothing really survived in the apocalypse and he certainly didn't spend any time looking at it during his years at the Commission. — So it's strange that in the middle of his hike through the citadel, he finds himself facing an unfamiliar statue in the middle of an alcove. It's only half-finished, the form just starting to emerge from the stone, and he stares for full ten minutes before he realizes where he is. They have plenty of paintings on display and jewelry stands stretched along the alleyway, but not a single one of them sells coffee.
Fuck, he's tired. He nearly blinks away instead of walking back to where he made a wrong turn, but it's quiet here and all he really wanted was somewhere to think. So he wedges himself into the small space between the stone and the wall while he tries to do the math to get him to where he meant to go.
Moments later he's fast asleep where the statue's feet would be.
ii. Necromancer District (open)
Five went back to that same location where they'd picked up a cure for the poison a few days later. So far they hadn't heard any grief about what they did to obtain the blood; no one so much as questioned any recent murders, but he does think enough to stay away from certain incriminating areas to avoid the hassle. He wanted to see if he could find this particular house again by memory, and he feels some satisfaction that he manages to, even if it had been an entirely different time of day.
It seemed strange to him back then, and he said as much, that the necromancers had a cure for the poison almost before they asked. Not until later did he find out that Lady Vannozza has ties here. There's an almost too-obvious link between her and the attempt on their lives, and looking into it actually feels useful in a way he hasn't been lately. It's straightforward enough to investigate, and something productive he can share with his family later if he gets any leads.
A shorter route would have been to ask Allison to rumor Vannozza to tell them exactly what her involvement was, but he knows his sister will want more than his paranoia to go on. The other solution involves having them conjure the man responsible for delivering the poison, but Lan Wangji was acting strange about it after he was the one who suggested it. Five still doesn't understand his great moral objection, but he rarely does, and spends far too much time trying to. Several of the necromancers here could do it, if he really wants to pursue the idea.
That doesn't mean he won't also try and get more information about how the necromancers work while he's poking around. He pays careful attention whenever he spots their customers coming and going, and if his timing is good enough, he might teleport in to see what their healing rituals entail. For curiosity's sake.
Today it seems noticeably less crowded in the district, which is... not ideal and throws off his plan slightly. If he stands out too much they might start to recognize him as a kid who keeps hanging around here, and he'll have to put more effort into hiding in the shadows. It also might mean he's missing something again, which just makes him feel more out of sorts. He doesn't abandon the methods, but he keeps an extra eye out for anyone he recognizes that might fill him in.
iii. Academies (open)
Five comes around eventually. He really hadn't needed any magic curse to break his fragile grip on sanity. But when he keeps confusing the anguish he's stubbornly holding onto with memories of the apocalypse, he knows that pretty soon people will start noticing what's wrong with him. At some point he's going to need to make it stop. The unfortunate truth is that there's no way in hell he can trust that the easiest solutions available to get rid of it, and his other idea isn't any guarantee.
Under normal circumstances, he would have learned enough about magic to handle his own problems, but there's just so many different types and languages that he doesn't know where to begin. The research he left to Fox came to a halt after the masquerade, because of course they try to murder the one person he had chosen to tell about his problem, which left him largely on his own. (While Fox presumably recovers. He's sure he would have heard from Mingyu otherwise.)
The academies are easy enough to break into for someone like him, but without a guide, he's less sure of which books to disappear with that might have something worthwhile in them. He ends up with one that looks questionably promising, and others he grabbed simply because they were near it on the shelf. While he's waiting for his personal translator, he flips through the pages and tries to make sense of them.
Almost immediately he starts to write notes in the margins, which quickly devolve into something more familiar to him. Soon he's sitting in the courtyard working the equations he hasn't touched in weeks, trying to work backward to the earliest he could alter the timeline without jeopardizing his family, what events he could change by eliminating various people, and ways to predict where and when they might find his remaining siblings. The mask they insist that he carry around is beside him and he seems intensely focused and oblivious to anyone who might have noticed that he isn't a student.
In hindsight, he should have brought a different notebook with him, but it helps him for a time to slip into the world of time travel and probability equations to remember that he's actually smart about some things. Eventually he'll return to the palace and try to track Fox down to explain what he was originally trying to do. When he does finally hand off these books to him, he's sure he might even have the math worked out and not need him any more.
iv. Undisclosed Location (closed to Hargreeves)
The meeting is, frankly, long overdue. Playing political games for the sake of the group at large has only left them out of touch and ill prepared. They weren't ready for the attempted murder at the masquerade, and he was blindsided by Allison's trip to see the necromancers, purely because he hadn't kept a close enough eye on his family. They need a better system.
Fortunately, securing a suitably discrete location wasn't all that difficult once he started looking, and his ability makes it easy to get around any onlookers who might catch on that he's in cahoots with his family. Before arriving, Five had made at least some effort to splash water on his face and put on a less rumpled set of clothes to disguise the exhaustion that makes him feel every bit of his actual age. He does a passable job. He won't admit that the nap he had earlier might have done some good.
They haven't been together in the same space since the masquerade, and he takes time to assess all of them as he paces around the room. The wolves are still hanging around, apparently. Five takes a moment to look at each one of them before narrowing his eyes at Diego. He's already made it clear what he thinks about his new coping mechanism, but that doesn't mean he won't bring it up again. The only one of them to stay out of trouble is Vanya, and thank god for that.
"Alright. To start with, great job all around at not getting stabbed or poisoned." Really, it's a low bar, but they've managed to cross it. As far as he knows, he's the only one who screwed up anything major, and he's fine with delaying that news until the end. "We don't have a lot of time, but I thought we should get on the same page."
v.
Wildcard for whatever else. Additional starters available on request.
Action spam or prose idc/will match format/
no subject
There is a hint in the way he says the word 'willingly' that he understands Five has ways of getting information without that willingness if his sister should help him. He isn't certain that is what he means, however.
Wrath's gaze falls on Five after a moment as if he senses it too- the discomfort, the twinge of anguish that Five must ignore.
"...It is too early to suspect anything. I trust neither cousins nor anyone who follows them." There is a long pause. "It isn't smart to speak in the open like this. The place behind me I use to teach, and it is spelled to keep voices within."
So it cannot be spied upon.
no subject
The way Wrath looks at him and pauses before answering is enough to show that he noticed what he was covering for, but he thankfully doesn't comment on it. Five just clenches his jaw and forces himself to stay on task. That's not why he's here. He's fine for now and there's nothing more to say.
When Wrath suggests they go to some magically silenced location, he hesitates for a moment, then nods and motions that he'll follow. As complicated as his opinion is of the demon, he does have some useful connections. And Five is virtually impossible to trap somewhere, so he doesn't see the harm.
Besides, it's become very clear that he needs to keep a closer eye on whoever involves themselves with his family. Seeing where he teaches seems like a good start.
no subject
He closes the door as they step within the room.
It's a comfortable room. Wrath has used the money he has earned to fill it with furniture that is more comfortable, with decorations more suited to his taste. It's part of being a Prince of Hell, he supposes, to fall back on the way things 'look' as a means of showing strength, being guarded against potential danger.
Wrath takes a seat, sinking down, as casual as ever.
"Before we continue our conversation, what do you want? I am aware I owe you, and I always repay my debts."
A blank check over his head is not the way he likes to operate.
no subject
The fact that Wrath is a demon seems fitting. Maybe some of them were demons too, and he just never got the chance to find out.
"I should have figured that's what this was about." Five doesn't sit, he just keeps his hands in his pockets and looks at the decorations. "...You know my priorities. How much was that favor worth to you?"
no subject
"This was about discussing politics of the city in privacy, but I wanted to settle that first while we have the chance."
There's a pause at the question and then a sigh.
"The reason it is important to set stipulations before making a deal is because handing over undefined debt is not smart." It is why Wrath doesn't like leaving it at that. The Wicked's deals have meaning. Words have meaning, and Wrath keeps his word and follows through with the promises he makes. "You are at the advantage. You've already paid your part. If we were to make it even, you helped me with a problem by using your powers. I could offer to help you or your family by using one of my own in turn."
no subject
Of course, he should take every advantage he's got. He could have easily asked for information about the necromancers, but he can probably find that out on his own. By now he should have more of a plan, but he's been slipping so often that he's more careful on what he agrees to.
"One of yours." He turns to him, looking him over. There's obviously more to him than being able to sense magic. Before the poison incident, Five got the impression that he might be more powerful than any of them. "You made sure that you only owed what you were willing to pay. Without me and my sister, you would have possibly still been able to find a cure. What if I wanted something else? I doubt we'll find you poisoned again."
no subject
"I believe it was you who first emphasized how much I owed you and your sister that evening," he says after a moment. "It is with that insistence I wanted to limit the owing and make it clear I did not require any further help if you did not wish to give it. If you want something else later, you simply have to ask, and I would decide whether or not I wanted to assist."
They are all in this together in the end as strange as that is for a Prince of Hell, ancient as he is. Their group needs to make it to their ultimate destination so they can all return home (as much as he is not looking forward to having to bring Emilia there- to the underworld, to his brother). Hell simply operates in terms of bargains, deals, debts. It is seen as entirely impolite to step into a House and demand information. Enough of an offense to result in kicking the individual out again... or worse.
Humans are... different.
no subject
"Fair enough." He considers him, what he can offer, then continues. "I have three siblings here. Two more that I still need to find. You can probably guess that they know how to get themselves into trouble, and I can't be everywhere at once."
Allison is actually his least troublesome sibling, and she immediately got involved with a demon. He's not confident that the others haven't entangled themselves in something he just hasn't found out about yet.
"I helped save your life, how about if one of them ends up in a similar situation, you repay me then? Between you and Emilia, you should be able to keep an eye on all of them." It isn't immediate, but he doesn't doubt it'll be long before it happens. "Is that specific enough for you?"
no subject
But he does not mention the immortality - simply leaves Five's statement as it is.
"It is. But I won't involve Emilia without her consent, and she is not here to give it." Free will is incredibly important to him, and it always will be. Choice is nothing he would want to wrench from anyone's grasps, but especially not hers. He speaks with a gravity, with power in the words. "I promise to you, Five, that I will keep an eye out for your siblings, and I will return the favor by helping one of them as you and your sister helped me."
He can promise that much. It is not as if he might not help them at another time without the deal, but this is a guarantee regardless of what else may be going on.
no subject
"Good." True, this means he's asking a demon to hover around them, but with the way he's been lately it seems like a matter of time before he slips up and one of them dies again. Which brings up the question: "Have you met the others?"
He had been surprised about Allison's request to help him, so he doesn't know what else they're keeping from him. If he already has their names, he'll bring it up the next time he sees them.
no subject
Technology like this is still new to him - magical technology though it may be. Wrath imagines that the other sibling of his that is here would be Vanya simply based on the conversation he had with Allison. She spoke as if she was presently here.
"Are you planning on telling them about this?"
Wrath will attempt to be discrete nonetheless as he hovers around them within the group, but it would be good to know how surprised they might be by his presence.
no subject
"No. If they know they've got a safety net, they might take advantage." That's the reasoning he's going with. "I'll tell them if they ask, but otherwise they probably won't notice. — The others here are Diego and Vanya. I'm still looking for Luther and Klaus."
He's been very public with looking for his family, so he has no hesitation dropping their names. With that out of the way, he crosses his arms and gets back to what he meant to start with.
"Now if we can get back to our earlier conversation. Did you have something else for me?"
no subject
He leans forward so his elbows are on his knees. His eyebrow raises at the way Five phrases the question, but he needs people who he can share information with who would then share it back. They are playing a dangerous game in this city being caught up in its politics, and he means to not be caught off guard by it again.
Damned human dessert and its betrayal.
"I've heard Vannozza is looking for a Necromancer for a special ritual- exorcism or summoning. She's seen several already."
no subject
"That could be one reason why the streets aren't crowded." He considers something for a moment, then shrugs. There's probably no harm in telling him what he was planning. "As far as the poisoning goes, I thought about getting someone to conjure the spirit of the man who was accused, see what he had to say about Vannozza."
Which wasn't his idea, but since Wangji was difficult about it, he's not going to mention his name.
no subject
"A smart idea if you can find someone to do so. You may want to ask him about Macaluso as well. After his 'offer', it appears he had something to gain by those being poisoned as well." There's a long pause. "I trust neither, and if Vannozza did indeed do the poisoning, it was rather obvious of her."
He has spoken to neither of the two cousins, but they both wish to claim the throne. Speaking to Vannozza may give him better insight into what she is after, into what sort of person she is.
no subject
Still. It would almost seem like he's asking for his opinion on this. Five doesn't have a whole lot of experience handling the dead, and few other options on who might have something worthwhile to add. It helps that Wrath has more of a personal investment in looking into who was really behind the plot to murder half of them.
"I might know someone," he says offhandedly. "If we can get him to talk. I don't know a lot about coercing ghosts."
no subject
"I imagine it would depend greatly on the ghost. Clearly, the man had an objective of some kind to go from protestor to... suspected poisoner. He is unlikely to be happy about being killed, which may mean he would be more than happy to talk without any incentive at all in hopes justice may be given."
There's a pause.
"Or if being a ghost is as terrible as I imagine it must be, you could use the simple incentive of someone helping him to 'move on' as reason to talk. ...hopefully, the afterlife in this world is appealing." But he's yet to hear anyone mention any version of Hell. It's hard to imagine he could be barred from it if it existed here.
no subject
"If he does accuse one of them, I suppose you'll want to hear about it." He's offering, if only to keep that arrangement going for as long as it's mutually beneficial. As he studies Wrath for a reaction, he's suddenly curious. "What would you do? Get revenge?"
no subject
"I would appreciate hearing what he has to say at the very least." The question gives him pause before he finally shakes his head. "I would want justice served. I would want to know why the poisoning happened at all. Taking the word of a dead man without further evidence may not be enough for even that." Especially if the ghost had reason to speak falsely. "If one of the cousins was responsible for the poisoning, they shouldn't have the position they're vying for."
And they should be appropriately punished, but this isn't his House so that seems unlikely.
no subject
"What's justice to you?" Losing their political aspirations? From what he can tell of their supporters, it might not hold as much sway as they expect if it gets out.
no subject
It's an emotion that needs to be wielded. While Wrath experience his namesake emotion often, he does not allow himself to be ruled by it (for the most part).
no subject
"Well, we'll see if we get that far." He can never guess what people are thinking. He's watched others here kill, but those same people refuse to do what needs to be done when there's too much of a spotlight on them. Always interesting to get a demon's perspective. "I doubt we've seen the last of it. If they're planning another event, someone might make another attempt and I'll find someone living to question."
no subject
It would be impossible not to. If they were in his world, he might offer him a place in his House.
"Do you have experience questioning people?"
It's half question, half not. People don't mention questioning living people unless they do have experience.
no subject
"Some," he says with a shrug, like that's a completely uninteresting fact. He can't pretend that was only at the Commission. Not horribly long ago he locked someone in a shed for weeks back when he was trying to get information about Anurr. That turned into a colossal waste of time when he was too insane to tell him anything useful.
"Why do you ask?"
no subject
"I am good at telling when someone is lying. I could help if you did find someone to question," Wrath says simply, and it might make the entire experience less messy than it has to be.
Not that there is anything wrong with mess when it is necessary.
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