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WHO: Kaneki and Marcos
WHEN: After Kaneki's arrival
WHERE: Spina hunting grounds
WHAT: Merchant asked the boys to go get something for him
WARNINGS: Pulsating hearts, violence against undead animals, one of the boys is a cannibal )=

[ He had just arrived but there is little Kaneki feels capable of doing right now. Politics are not his forte and he has a hard time caring for a situation this convoluted and with so much already going underway. He is meant to be some sort of reinforcement, at least that's what he was called, however he mostly feels behind in a situation he doesn't care terribly about.

But when the Merchants gives Kaneki a specific task, he takes it because now he has an objective and a clear idea of what to do. He is also curious about this thing he was asked to retrieve and perhaps even suspicious, therefor he readily accepted it with a half-smile that held no actual feeling to it. He doubts the Merchant would care, anyway, for he doesn't seem like a sentimental man.

But naturally, Kaneki was given some reinforcements, even though he believes he could easily do this on his own. Marcos was the name of the man who would be coming along with Kaneki, and the half-ghoul did not complain. That is fine with him, he will make sure they are both safe during this small side mission and that they will find what they need.

Now standing in front of the gate to the hunting grounds, Kaneki looks back at Marcos ]

Do you have any experience with this?

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[ The woods around them are forgotten as he turns all his focus to Kaneki. He looks like he's on the verge of something, and Marcos has been around enough traumatized mutants to notice the signs that he could snap in an instant. He hadn't meant to bring up a painful subject, and for a while he thinks he should apologize and tell him that they didn't have to talk about this. But then he seems to come to his senses and smile.

It's a cover, he knows, but he's not sure he wants to keep pulling at that thread. If having a task is good for his sanity, Marcos will help too. That's at least something they can agree on. ]

Yeah. [ He's quiet for a few more steps, then sighs as he reconsiders their surroundings. ] They aren't here. Just the two of us and a... mysterious thing.

[ And he did say he has directions, so it's not like they're fumbling in the dark. He nearly asks if they're heading the right way, but it doesn't feel right to drop the subject like he's uncomfortable with it. Kaneki is clearly fighting against his own demons. He can at least reassure him that he's not afraid of him before they get back to work. ]

Listen. I've... been around long enough to see some things. Mutants who felt like they lost their humanity. Ones who have done things they thought they couldn't come back from. — You won't find any judgment with me. Wanting to help is more than enough.

Mutants. [ Kaneki repeats that. They aren't seen as humans, but the way Marcos spoke sounded like they were. At least before everything. To lose humanity (even if only from society's standpoint) is a terrible thing, isn't it? Like the world was taken off your feet and you are left walking on a tightrope from which you will fall if you give the wrong step, and at the end there is a glimmer of hope someone will see you with that humanity you hold on to. Kaneki knows this far too well, but he decided to jump off that rope and ignore that hope; others would not be so willing to give up on it.

He smiles again ] You don't look "mutated".

[ he knows, he knows. There are many ways to pass as human, others would say Kaneki is one at first ] Have you ever done something you thought you couldn't come back from?

[ wanting to help is enough. But things don't always go right with just good intentions.

Kaneki glances around for a second there. It's almost like he heard something, and when one is standing in the middle of a silent forest, it can be easy to pick up that. But after he stops, no other sound can be heard, so he wonders if he is just being paranoid (entirely possible) ]

[ Marcos smiles at him, a little sadly. It's fair to ask. He shared a piece of his story, so it's only right that he do the same. ]

We don't all look like mutants. The only thing we have in common is possessing an X-Gene that manifests in different ways. [ He debates for moment, then lifts a hand up. Light travels through his veins and his palm starts to glow. Nothing so bright that it would light up the forest, and he douses it in his fist soon after. ] To answer your question... yes. I used to use my powers for something I'm not proud of. I could say I didn't have a choice because I was out of options, but that's just an excuse.

[ It's hard not to think of Lorna taking down a plane and thinking there was no going back, but she proved him wrong. He takes a breath and shakes his head. He tries not to make things uncomfortable with specifics, even if his recovery comes off awkwardly. ]

At least you don't have to worry about getting lost in the dark. I make a pretty good flashlight.

[ kaneki watches Marcos light in silence; it is pretty amazing, though. So this Gene gives people powers? He did say in "different ways", therefor that would mean whoever has it could have powers other than making light. Still, that last comment earns Marcos an amused smile from kaneki ]

I'd say that will be helpful here. [ it's a dark forest, they probably will need some light. ]

How long have you been here, in this world?

[ His compliment gets another brief smile. He could light up the entire forest if they need to, but beyond drawing attention, if there's not enough light for him to absorb he's got to conserve what energy he has for when they really need it.

It's nice though, talking like this. They can pretend that they aren't on a very bizarre errand for a benefactor that won't even give his real name. ]

Good question. It's been... probably close to three months now? You seemed to be pretty new to this place. How was it for you, getting here?

Confusing. [ kaneki sighs, touching his own chin ] And hard to accept, but given too little time to digest the information. Which I get. [ threat of undead and all that. Kaneki is very much ware they couldn't just sit him down, give him coffee, and patiently explain everything to him. ]

Honestly, it still feels like I am dreaming. [ and that none of it is real ]

[ Marcos nods, understanding that feeling completely. ]

I wish I could say that goes away. [ He sighs, looking around them, but trusting Kaneki knows the right direction to head in. ] ...I was drugged, when I came here, along with some of the others. It was days before the people here found us and helped get us out.

[ He leaves out the parts that were more distressing. The world looked a lot different after he got out. ]

I can barely remember anything that happened before that.

[ kaneki glances back at Marcos for a second, before he looks ahead once again ] ... I'm sorry. That must have been terrible. [ drugging people happens here, then. Kaneki can't help to feel that this situation is somewhat similar to the one when he was kidnapped, too ]

Do you trust them? The ones we travel with? [ kaneki wishes to return home, but is that the desire of everyone else, he wonders ] I hope there hasn't been issues among us.

[ He returns his gaze and shrugs, a little stiffly. It was bad enough that he doesn't want to give too many of the disturbing details. He takes his question seriously though. He can understand why he's asking. ]

They were the ones who helped get me out of there, so I owe them. If it hadn't been for them, I don't know that we would have. [ Risking their lives when they didn't have to goes a long way with him. ] There's a couple I trust more than the others, but right now I think everyone realizes that we're all in the same boat. We don't really have a choice but to work together.

[ kaneki nods softly. yes, indeed, they are all in the same boat and all wish to leave this world...

maybe. ]

I have been wondering. People like you and me, our worlds are not kind. Not everyone would wish to return to their homes, specially if they came from places worse than ours. [ marcos probably knows what Kaneki is implying ]

I hope we are all in the same boat and continue to be. [ guess who is paranoid? kaneki is! ]

[ Marcos understands the sentiment. If he thought some of them might sabotage their means to get home, he'd be more reluctant to travel with them, but right now they at least seem to have enough of a common goal. ]

...Back home we tried to vet the people we worked with, to at least weed out some of the troublemakers. [ They took in about anyone, but they did make an effort to manage psychopaths who only wanted anarchy. As well as that turned out. ] That's harder to do here. Supposedly the Merchant knows more about us, so it's possible he has some standards, but I don't know how we'd get our hands on that information.

[ knows? kaneki wonders about that; he seems to know, but he just seems set of sending the newcomers out of his world and not die here so they won't be turned into powerful undead people. ]

Nobody knows much about the merchant, do they?

[ He shrugs, because he sure doesn't. There's been so much going on that he's barely had a chance to do what he probably should have been looking into since the first day after he escaped. ]

Not enough to get his real name. The ones who have been around a while might know more than me, but I don't know how many have met him. [ He looks at him. ] Or been asked to run his personal errands.

[ kaneki stops, thinking for a second ]

... Do you worry we all might be a bit too trusting of the man? [ what if he is actually planning something different? Maybe find a way to use these overpowered people for himself? Kaneki is far too paranoid not to consider it, but truth is, he knows nothing about the man. He could be an undead warlord for all kaneki knows ]

[ Marcos has a lot of people he's indebted to here. The ones who broke him out of that cage, and those who offered him everything they could when he was getting acclimated. The Merchant is another entity, and he's not sure how to interpret the way he seems to be watching their every move. ]

In a word? Yeah, I do. [ He hasn't voiced it often, but he won't pretend it doesn't bother him. ] We were put in an impossible situation without any alternative but to follow him. He could be behind all of this, for all we know.

[ he hums softly ] It could be.

But in the end, we do not have a lot of options, though. I mean- I don't even have a map of this place, I have no idea where to turn. [ and magic isn't real, or at least wasn't in his world ]

There are always the undead warlords, but from what I've heard, they are much worse. [ at least the Merchant seems less willing to rise the undead and destroy everything ]

[ He sighs out his nose. That's one thing he's happy that Kaneki missed. ]

They are. I only caught a glimpse of them when Taravast was invaded, but I don't know if any of us would still be here if it'd been more than a warning. [ All the Merchant needed to say was that this leverage was going to be used against the warlords and it would have been an easier sell. ]

Which I also don't get. They must see some benefit to leaving so many people alive, but if they could turn anyone into soldiers for them... there must be more that we don't know.

[ a pause ]

You saw one? [ that interests him, deeply in fact. He stares at Marcos for a moment longer, before his eyes finally fall to the ground for a second ] Can you tell me about them?

[ He nods, but hesitates to go on. What little he saw... ]

I only got a good look at one of them. She wasn't what you'd expect. A beautiful woman on a horse, who crumbled the ground she walked on. They said death and disease followed wherever she stayed, so we had to keep her moving. [ She was also very naked, which was extremely distracting in the middle of a battle. ]

The other one was nastier. I heard stories afterward, but mostly I was busy trying to fight off the monsters he brought with him.

[ It sounds like a thing out of a fantasy novel. But then again, they are in a fantasy world, aren't they? With magic and undead... kaneki hums softly ]

How many warlords are there? [ so what marcos said is that they haven't really faced them directly. Is the merchant trying to avoid them, then? ]

[ Marcos glances at him, and tries to think of how to talk about this without creeping him out. Despite what some people might say about mutants, monsters don't exist in his world. Undead warlords are an entirely different thing that he hasn't begun to understand. ]

Not that many. I got the impression there were four or five, maybe six? But one of them seemed to be against the others. [ Who knows how many undead they control, but it's... a lot from what he's seen. He shrugs. ] I'm probably not the best source of information about them. I had no idea what we'd be facing until they invaded.

[ little creeps out kaneki - after all, he looks at himself every day. He is very much aware of how creepy he is on his own. ]

Few warlords... and we have seen two. [ uh. It could be what the Merchant said: they are looking to have the arrivals from other worlds, and that's why they are around. Then again, kaneki doesn't know how big this continent or world actually is. It could be minuscule for all he knows. ]

Are they specifically after us, or did they just show up by coincidence?

[ He wishes he had more to give him, but his arrival didn't get him any more clues to why they were brought here. Just a lot of warnings about staying away. ]

That time, I think it was a warning to Taravast. ...I guess they didn't get the offering they were expecting. Something about weapons that got diverted by some in our group.

[ aren't they the weapons themselves?

But still, he makes a mental note to somehow ask others later. Others who have been here longer... but he also fears they might be too paranoid to share. or might be too trusting to see any red flag.

Still: ]

I will stay alert. I would not like to meet one of those warlords. [ even if he is curious about them ] But I have been wondering... they have the power to bring us to this world, right? After all, the Merchant said we were brought to become powerful pawns for their war.

That I don't know. I willingly jumped through a portal before coming here, but the person who created it is gone. I also don't remember anything between jumping through it and ending up in a cage.

[ That doesn't mean that's not the case for some of them though. ]

It'd make sense if that was the reason why we were brought here, and why the Merchant wants us to leave, but I'm not sure that's the whole story.

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