Part Two: The Detective

[lestercraft]

Who: Arthur Lester and others
What: Recovering from the Forest Talkers (emotionally) and existing (generally)
When: October!
Where: Milton mostly

Content Warnings: General Malevolent warning (Lovecraftian horror etc) to S5

Comments

For Charles

[lestercraft]

It's only a couple of days, like he promised. A few nights of decent sleep, even if Charles did whatever the hell he wanted during the day - he's not going to force Charles to stay in his cabin against the young man's will. But he still doesn't feel good about letting him go back to his own cabin and stay there alone again.

(He won't pretend it's not because he's gotten attached to the young man, protective instincts in overdrive at the thought of something happening to him, but that's only part of the reason.)

"Can you at least show me where you are staying, then?" he asks, dry and playfully lofty as he throws the last blanket back on the couch. "So I know where to find you if something else happens."

[afterdrop]

Charles can’t say that he hasn’t been grateful for the help, for the warm couch, the soft blankets, the windows that don’t let in the wind. His annoyance with Arthur has even drained away over the last couple of days, as he’s let himself ease into the idea of having someone other than Edwin watching his back.

But even so, there’s a been a discomfort prickling at the back of his mind. It’s what drives him out of the door as soon as the sun rises, neatly folding his blankets behind him as if in payment for being allowed to use them.

“Up behind town.” He points towards the front door, in the vague direction of his cabin. “It’s blue. Or it used to be.”

Now it’s mostly a faded grey, peeling to show the rotting wood beneath, with highlights of mildew green.

“There’s walls and a roof, it’s fine.”

[lestercraft]

Arthur scoffs in wry disdain. "So does the place next door," he points out. "Somewhere in all the rubble."

(Now, if it were him, he'd quite eagerly show the place off, demonstrate his comfort and eagerness to have his own space again - and then move to another street entirely the second his interrogator was over the horizon. But perhaps he's the odd one.)

"I'm not going to judge you, if that's your concern. Lord knows I've roughed it worse than you can show me."

...that's definitely him being the odd one, though.

[afterdrop]

This isn’t going to be a fight he wins. It wasn’t when he walked out of the gathering hall, his hair still stiff from drying blood, and it isn’t right now, with two-day fresh memories in the guy’s head. Arguing it further will just risk burning a bridge he’s not too stubborn to privately admit he might need.

Doesn’t mean he has to be nice about it, though.

“Yeah, sure. Aces.” The eye roll is practically audible, dripping with pure teenage sarcasm. “Let’s get on with it, then.”

He shoulders on his backpack. With a couple more pilfered layers beneath his wool coat, he’s rolled up the heavier one and tied it to the bottom of his bag. Sacrificing a bit of warmth for the sake of looking like himself, but it’s not a long walk.

[lestercraft]

He's a big strong teen who don't need no adult, sure. Doesn't stop Arthur caring about him.

"Yes, yes, let's get it all over with," he drawls, with a slight chuckle in his voice.

Arthur's got his breastplate on under his jackets again, a now-permanent feature that makes him look broader-chested than Charles now knows he actually is, and he tugs a satchel onto his shoulder as he closes the door behind them.

[afterdrop]

The bracing cold outside hasn't lost its element of surprise, and Charles clenches his jaw against it as he steps outside, not wanting to seem ill-prepared. It's almost sunny today, pale light sneaking through grey-white clouds, but it hasn't done much to warm the air.

"This way," he says, gesturing at where Thompson's Drive cuts through sparse forest, and steps forward to take the lead. His boots scuff on the gravely edge of the road. "It's over on Wolfjaw."

Not a long walk, if one goes there directly, but Charles has been taking the roundabout path through town every time he leaves Arthur's house, in order to head off this precise situation. From the center of town he could be going anywhere, back to any sort of dwelling.

[lestercraft]

Arthur won't pretend that he hasn't at least tried to watch Charles and see where he goes off to - and he expects Charles knows it - but he won't admit it, either, because he also didn't try very hard.

"It's easier staying close to town, at least," he comments. "I know I don't see a few faces here often enough, I-I assume they live down at Lakeside. It's nearly a day's walk, mind you."

[afterdrop]

Charles pulls a very teenage face at that notion.

"And people walk that on purpose?"

The trip to America was the longest he'd traveled in decades without slipping through a mirror, and while the novelty had held his interest for the first hour or so, he can't begin to imagine having to do it regularly. If living people have figured out how to fit an entire computer on their wrists, why haven't they whittled travel down to something that doesn't make his muscles itch and his brain want to explode?

[lestercraft]

"Well-" as he hitches his leg awkwardly over a tree root and directly into a snowdrift. "I-I guess some people find that- meditative, perhaps? Finding their stride on a good hike, just letting their body go through the motions so their mind can focus on other things." He chuckles dryly. "Personally the idea of just the hassle of it all, of- of getting halfway and realising I forgot something makes it completely undesirable."

[afterdrop]

Please ignore Charles nearly walking right into the aforementioned snow drift; even after a month, he's still getting used to the muscle memory required to swiftly avoid objects that he can longer phase through. While the wall and door incidents have decreased significantly, they aren't yet zero.

"Don't think I've meditated a second in my life, mate." That would require being still and quiet - two things he could never quite manage, much to adults' chagrin. "Used to pop on my Walkman whenever Edwin wanted to read a book, or I'd go mad."

For Konstantin

[lestercraft]

Look, he wasn't going to force the issue. He understands, intimately, what it's like to have something living inside you that you can't explain, not without hurting people or sending them mad.

But also...

Well. He gets it. And he doesn't doubt Konstantin might need that.

He actually does enjoy ice fishing with him, at least. But it's also a perfect opportunity, after they've both cast off and are locked in to the task, to chat with him.

"How have you been, by the way?" he asks, light and easy. "After the entire Forest Talker attack. I-I didn't see much of you, afterwards."

[sputnik]

Since the incident, Konstantin has learned that his.... little passenger was active when the Forest Talkers wreaked havoc on the community. He found out that it killed and ate someone who wasn't a Forest Talker. And he can feel the effects of that — feeding from a human again means both the creature's and his condition is stabilised, for however long that lasts. He feels.. better again, stronger. He isn't so ill, so weak.

What does it say that the more monstrous he becomes, the better he feels?

Anyway, in true Konstantin fashion, he is choosing to pretend like nothing has happened. The smile he wears isn't fake, but it's... definitely hiding a few things. Still, he's trying to enjoy the moment, to avoid what needs avoiding, and he's genuinely delighted to hang out with a new friend.

Even if that question does earn a noticeable pause, and the cosmonaut keeps his gaze on his own line as he replies, not looking up.

"I suppose I've been keeping a bit of a low profile, trying to give people some space to recover from all of that," he finally smiles. "Vasya and I are still having to patch up some things around the house from where they tried to break in."

The truth is he's not sure who all might have witnessed his fucking alien tapeworm munching on a man's brains, so he's been avoiding contact with the general public.

"What about you? I hope you didn't suffer too much damage."

[lestercraft]

It's not a particularly subtle avoidance of Arthur's gaze. And it's not like he's missed the way that smile isn't quite as genuine as it might have been before that whole clusterfuck went down. He's got his own eyes again now - he does notice things.

He was a good fucking detective before and he's not about to let anything else stop him from playing the part now that he can see again.

"Ah, they didn't break anything I couldn't fix. I-I only came here with a few items, after the first attempted break-in I just- keep everything in my satchel." That he nudges with his foot, tucked behind his stool slightly. "Someone tried to stab me, but that's rather par for the course - honestly I was more distracted helping people get to the community hall so Methuselah could take care of people rather than worry about any injuries I might have gotten."

[sputnik]

That gets Konstantin to look up at him finally, brows lifted up in a concern he can't hide. On the subject, he himself did end up stabbed — and healed by Svetlana's... ability, though he's not sure whether he should tell people about that part or not.

"I'm glad you're all right! Things could have gone so badly, but that's good work you did. The community is lucky to have you."

Hyping his friends up comes naturally — he was never even a particularly strict commander during his military or cosmonaut days, more the sort to offer older-brotherly support to the others.

"It was truly a dark thing... I heard there were many deaths." His voice quiets, sobering.

[lestercraft]

The hyping up gets a soft smile, bashful but sincere, but it's gone again in a moment when Konstantin continues.

"It's... a lot of the Forest Talkers died, I believe," he says quietly. "Enough of them that the remaining few seem like they were able to be... converted, to join the Interlopers. Safety in numbers - though I suppose with how many of the Forest Talkers were secretly living amongst us and causing the chaos to try and drive us to despair, it's... hardly making up the difference."

He sighs, toying with the slack reel in one gloved hand. "I don't know. We do what we have to to survive, but it all felt... unnecessary. They were a cult on the wrong side and they were in too deep to realise it."

[sputnik]

"I heard about that — the converting. I'm not sure how good of an idea it was to allow them in, but... in truth, it seems like no matter what we do, this place will remain a danger."

So much has gone wrong, and he's been here for long enough to see the foundations of the community crumble and crumble again. Konstantin sighs, nodding thoughtfully to the words.

"It's a frightening thought, at the core of it. We're doing what we think is best for survival, for our lives, but they thought they were doing the same. I suppose anyone could justify just about anything they do to others."

[lestercraft]

"One would hope that any group that feels the need to... to justify and ritualise murder would realise they're in the wrong, but after a certain point they just- can't see other options exist."

That comes out a little cooler despite himself, not aimed at Konstantin but the general concept of cults is clearly one that puts him on edge. So he forces himself to take a breath, letting the crisp air fill his lungs and burn on the way down, before he releases the hot puff of condensation.

"Regardless." And his tone is lighter, a habitual rally, putting the heavy topic aside. "At least it's behind us, now. No real difference in mouths to feed, at the end of the day, so we can focus on- on what's important. Working together, recuperating."

[sputnik]

Konstantin gives a soft sound to agree, mouth a grim frown for a moment. He certainly cannot argue that, and yet... there's some deep-down squirm of discomfort, guilt. What would people say if they knew what he'd justified, before this place? He'd never killed anyone with his own hands, but... he let humans be killed by this horrible thing inside of him, for his own survival. Doesn't that make him just as much of a monster?

He pushes those thoughts aside though, looking over at the other man for a moment. He doesn't miss the way the subject seems to touch upon a sore spot in his companion. He must have some sort of experience with this kind of thing, though to what degree or in what way that might be.... Perhaps it's something reserved for another day. Konstantin won't forget it though, tucking the thought away in his pocket.

He's an expert at moving on to lighter topics, in any case, and the smile that appears on his face is almost disconcertingly quick and too-bright.

"Right you are, my friend. Maybe we'll have a good haul, today. Bring back enough fish we can have a feast!" He chuckles, knowing it's unlikely; at most, he's only managed to catch three or so at a time.

"Do you feel any tugs yet?"

[lestercraft]

He certainly notices the way Konstantin's face lights up, almost in relief at having something else to talk about, and inwardly Arthur admonishes himself a little for letting an easy transition to the topic he actually wants to talk about slip away.

Still, they'll be here for a while yet. There's plenty of time.

So he allows himself a soft snicker at the obvious joke. "Nothing yet, but I'm not sure the gloves are helping with that," he admits, flexing one hand idly. They're clean now, technically, but irreperably stained, the once-tan suede a much murkier brown along his palms and fingertips. "Makes it a little difficult to tell when the fish are trying to be sneaky, that's all. They certainly don't seem to be wanting to eavesdrop on the conversation," he adds with a huff of amusement.

For Billy

[lestercraft]

It's not that he's brushing Billy's knowledge off; more just that since Lalo wrote the post, he figured he'd be the better first port of call. To learn that he'd vanished partway through his investigations leaves an odd ache in his chest; it's not like he knew the man - at all, really - but after everything with the Forest Talkers, it was still some flavour of wrong to have people vanish anyway.

But, still. Can't let one setback make him stumble, and so he goes back, double-checks the other name, and tries to keep an eye out for the other man. He's met Billy before, at least, so he knows who to look for; and when he spots the man in the street, he lifts a hand to wave him down.

"Ah, Gibson! Mind if I borrow you for a minute?"

[notarat]

Honestly, there's really nothing about the other's greeting that's all that strange. People greet each other like that all the time, especially in smaller villages - which this place technically is, even though it's not like any of them have been living here for all their life.

And yet when Arthur calls out like that, Billy looks outright surprised. Like there's something about someone calling out to him on the street and seeming to be about to ask him a favour or a question that's utterly baffling to him.

It doesn't help that he hasn't noticed Lalo's note himself yet - which means he has absolutely no idea what the other might need him for.

".. me?" The surprise is even audible in his tone as he looks at the other man.

[lestercraft]

The man's surprise pulls Arthur up a little short as well, his hand hovering in the air for a moment.

"Yes, er." He's no less confident but there's an air of confusion to him as well, that he's a little too surprised to fully bury. "I-I wanted to talk to you about the talismans. Is... if it's a bad time, I can come back later?" he offers uncertainly.

[notarat]

The talismans.

He blinks for a moment. At least it makes a little bit more sense. Billy hasn't told a whole lot of people about what Heartman passed on to him when he died, and even before that, but he has at least spoken about it. Even if it's a little surprising to suddenly hear it out of the mouth of someone else now.

"Ah-- No," he says, with a slight shake of his head. "I have time at the moment."

It's really not as much of an inconvenience as it's really just surprising, after all.

"What did you want to know?"

[lestercraft]

Arthur gives him a light smile; one that's more relieved than grateful, but still.

"As much as you're willing to share. I-I know that's probably a tall order, and I'm not- rightly sure what I could offer as compensation, but it seems like the sort of thing where the more people know it, the better protected we are as a whole."

[notarat]

There's a quick moment of thought, but it doesn't take that long at all before he answers the other.

"I agree with you. It would be better." That's the reason he bothered to learn all this from Heartman in the first place. He knew people could disappear here, and this felt like knowledge they couldn't afford to lose.

Especially when the Darkwalker is - as far as Billy is concerned - the biggest problem in this place.

"If you don't mind, we could go to my house. That is where I have all the papers I received from the person who created these talismans in the first place-- It might be more useful than me trying to explain it with my own words." Especially when Billy isn't the most scientific type ever - but he's smarter than he looks, and he's doing his best. "Would you be alright with that? It isn't too far from here."