capeandcowl | 00001000 [video]

00001000 [video]

[The picture cuts on to the telltale shaky bouncing view of someone who's running while holding the camera. For a few seconds the view is just of part of a white-yellow-blue jacketed shoulder and the streets lights and City scenery going by behind it-- a glimpse of a set of street signs indicates that the poster is running past a particular corner between the MAC and the nearest subway stop. Then he apparently veers down an alley (a shortcut) and finally turns the viewpoint up to his face. Which looks, for lack of a better word, haunted.]

C--Crow!! Crow, I need to t--kkaugghuh--!

[There's a half a moment's view of Bruno's surprised face as he apparently trips over something on the pavement before he hits the ground, the comm flying out of his hand and the viewpoint careening around sickeningly for several seconds as it goes tumbling down the alleyway. It clatters to a stop several feet away with the video at an off-kilter angle, but with Bruno still partially visible at the edge of frame.]

N-no! Stop...!

[Bruno is scooting himself backwards along the ground, trying to get away from... several vague dark shapes. Three of them, all in robes, one with a limp and one walking with a cane. He's looking up and around at them frantically and he doesn't stop retreating until his back bumps against the alley wall.]

Stop!! G-go away, don't come any...! I'm not... I don't know what you want!! Please, just...!

[Finally he just pulls his knees up to his chest and screws his eyes shut and desperately presses his hands over his ears. But the dark shapes keep coming closer, blotting out almost all of the little remaining light around Bruno.]

P-please... stop....

[And throughout this whole video, but getting steadily more audible towards the end, are several distinct threads of gentle hissing noise, rising and falling in a vague approximation of human voices.]

your mission.... your mission....

forget.... you forgot... forgot....

antinomy.......

[The feed continues for about 30 seconds until the video times out.]

[ooc: Replies sporadic to nonexistant for a good long while, but some Samaritan is welcome to come along with an action tag and pull him out. Sorry Kaiba, you'll have to wait until later to verbally abuse him. His docket is full at the moment.]

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[Geddoe happens to be not paying attention to his comm today, but he is walking back to the MAC from the nearest bar. He doesn't really notice the shadows but he does hear whimpering]

...someone there?

[At this point Bruno is just covering his ears as hard as he can to block out the whispering voices, so he doesn't hear Geddoe and he doesn't answer. The occasional soft whimpering continues, though.]

[dammit why the hell is it so dark in this alley...? He just stomps his way in since darkness doesn't bother him at all, and finds the young man crouched on the ground]

Hey. You. Everything all right?

[Now that one is close enough to hear. Bruno yelps and his head snaps up and he stares at Geddoe in sheer panic for fraction of a second until he realizes what he is... or isn't, rather.]

[In the meantime the shadows turn their attention to Geddoe and start hissing angrily at him. Seems they don't like being interrupted.]

[he had a brief experience with shadows himself, earlier, but it wasn't frightening. Still, he charges up a low-level lightning spell, letting the electricity wreath around his left fist - it gave off just enough light for the moment]

Get up. [to Bruno] Come with me.

[Bruno doesn't need to be told twice. As soon as he sees that the man's power is making the shadows fade away he scrambles to his feet and sticks as close by him as possible, ready to follow him out. At the same time, the ambient city light begins rapidly filtering back into the alley.]

[there isn't a tangible threat, so Geddoe lets the lightning fade slowly and the spell dissipate as he turns and strides back out onto the sidewalk. That's when he turns and...well, this kid is as tall as he is. Hm!]

You all right?

Y... yeah. [His breathing is still coming a little too quickly and he's still glancing around nervously even out here on the well-lit street, but he definitely looks a lot better.]

... Th-thanks. Y-you have no idea how glad I am to see you again.

Again? [headtilt] We've met before?

Yeah, when--

[Congratulations, Geddoe, you've managed to temporarily distract him from his recent psychological torment by making him really really embarrassed.]

When I, uh...

[He gestures vaguely around waist-height, then seems to mime something hanging around his neck.]

Back when, the... um... [He sort of waves his hands in the general direction of the MAC building.] The thing with...

I was a dog.

You were a dog.

[processing. Give him a moment. OH YEAH THAT]

Oh. Right. When people were changed. That was you?

Yeah, that. Yeah. Er. That was me.

[Aaaawkward paaauuse.]

Thanks, by the way. For not, um, stabbing me or anything.

Mm. [nod] Sorry. My instinct around wolves is to kill first and ask questions later. I didn't mean to startle you.

[he steps aside as if to go, but tosses his head] I'm on my way back to the MAC now. Is that where you're headed?

[Bruno should probably not be surprised that a guy who carries around a sword and had dried moose blood on his gloves that one time has an 'instinct' for dealing with wolves, but he still gets a brief dawning look of "ohgod that could have gone so much worse couldn't it" about him.]

[But at the rest, that quiet, haunted look begins to drift back over him. He responds without looking Geddoe in the eye.] Um... yeah, it is. I was going over there to ask my friend Crow about those... those things.

[He finally glances back at his face.] You saw them too, right? Those shadows?

[he tips his head in that gesture again, the one that says 'walk with me' without him having to say so out loud]

There was...something. I couldn't tell. But there has been talk of shadows a lot today.

[And walk with him Bruno does.]

Ah... mm. I saw a few of those posts earlier. [A beat.]

Everyone seemed to be seeing people they knew.

[not mentioning his own, nope. That's a secret]

Is that what you saw, then? Someone you know?

I...

[He glances around apprehensively again, clutching one arm with the other in a protective sort of gesture.]

I don't know.

[Geddoe just keeps walking, head high, though he notes that gesture]

As far as I can tell, they're just shadows. They can't actually harm us.

... Yeah. [That somehow doesn't look like it comforts him much. It's not what they'd do that he's afraid of.]

... Did you have any?

[well, he wasn't going to mention it, but the kid asked]

...one.

[And Bruno would probably rethink what he's about to ask any other time, but right now he needs as much ~~data as he~~... he needs to hear as much as he can about what other people saw. He needs to understand this.]

...

Who was it?

[there will be no over-sharing this time]

Someone who died a long time ago.

[And now he just feels bad. It hadn't even occurred to him that it could be something like that.]

I-I'm sorry.

Edited 2011-01-19 04:08 (UTC)

Don't be. He's haunted me in some way or another for a while.

[stiff upper lip - he shows no signs of being bothered by it, he just keeps trudging along]

A... ah.

[Bruno's really not sure what he means by that, but he's done prying for now. He just follows along with Geddoe silently for a bit, eventually going back to slowly rubbing his arm and glancing aside in uncomfortable contemplation.]

Edited 2011-01-19 04:20 (UTC)

[he leads the way, walking along in silence for a little while. But then...]

Yours gave you a scare.

[Captain Obvious is obvious]

[Captain Obvious is also right.]

I... guess.

[A very long moment of silence.]

I didn't... know who they were supposed to be. But they didn't listen. They kept saying I... forgot.

...strange. Someone you've actually forgotten.

This world makes no sense, sometimes.

It's... not as strange as it sounds.

[Uncomfortable pause.]

I have amnesia. Of everything up until about a year ago. I don't remember that many people in the first place.

....oh.

[derp. How does one react to that?]

Then these shadows are telling you something you already know. Whatever is causing them to manifest...well. It's tough to say. [nope, no smooth advice from the captain today]

[WITH VAGUE DISCOMFORT AND AWKWARDLY WORDED SYMPATHY, USUALLY. Now you see why he doesn't bring it up a lot.]

But I don't already know! A-and... and how could anyone else here know either??

[And herein lies one of the reasons why he's more unsettled by this than most of the rest of the network. Because whether it was caused by someone, or something, or maybe just some inexplicable force of nature -- whatever it is, it knows more about Bruno's own memories than he does.]

Edited 2011-01-21 01:34 (UTC)

[socially awkward twosome are socially awkward]

I'm sorry. That must be difficult, particularly since no one knows what's causing this. Not that I've heard, anyway.

[he just keeps walking, since that's the best he can do. At least the MAC's right up ahead there with lights on in the lobby]

[Bruno apparently has a magnet in his head that attracts socially awkward people.]

[Anyway, he sighs, a little sheepish about having going off like that.] It's okay. It's... it's not as bad as it could be. Considering this place, I mean.

[He looks ahead at the MAC as they approach it, then back at Geddoe.] ... Thanks again for all this.

Mm. [he just nods, accepting it] It was the least I could do. Even in this place, I don't come across people whimpering in alleys every day.

[at the door] ...what's your name, kid?

I, er, guess you don't. [Way to make him feel just that much more embarrassed, Geddoe.]

[He was about to reach for the handle to head in, but glances over again at the question.] Huh? Oh, um, it's Bruno.

[With a friendly quirk of the head.] What about you?

Geddoe. [hey, he's going the same way, so he'll follow Bruno in]

Bruno...? Are you all right?

[Sounding tired, a little hollow and not exactly chipper, but otherwise fine.]

I'm okay.

... Sorry that got posted.

It's all right. A lot of things like that have been.

As long as you're all right. [[may be sounding a little emotionally exhausted himself.]]

... Are you all right?

[[there's a very long pause. Which is kinda odd since normally this is where Bakura's "no, I'm fine!" reflex would kick in. But instead...]]

I think so.

[Have a very concerned looking Crow calling for you.]

Bruno? Oi Bruno, you alright?

Where are you?

[knock-knock]

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[comment not here because lol what comm but]