Duty

Alec Pilvist. 25. Duty. Tuner. FC: Bill skarsgard.

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jacques-devries;

As he heard someone address him, the Frenchman was ready to quip back in a nonchalant and dismissive manner. His eyes, however, fell on the charcoal drawing the young man was working on. Jacques wouldn’t call himself an art critic, but he certainly did have more than just an inkling of what was valuable art. He had never stolen a piece that didn’t catch his attention in some way or another, be it by the artist’s technique or the emotion it could convey. This guy’s work certainly conveyed something. It was an intriguing piece, there was something truly somber about it. “That’s good work you have there” he commented casually, moving only to get a better look at the drawing and not because he had been asked to stop blocking the light.

Alec’s eyebrows shot up, and clutched the notebook close against his chest, protective of his art, and shy about strangers getting a glimpse of it. He would have shared his drawings with someone close, had he ever gotten close to anyone in the past, or at least, close enough for him to trust them with this part of himself. “It’s... Amateur at best. But thank you.” He stated, clearing his throat, and trying to find a way to subtly close the notebook without the other man thinking it rude. “Very personal, however.” Alec admitted, with a small nod.

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Drawing had once been something he did often as a hobby. He wasn’t great with words, yet he often needed some sort of outlet. The moment he had picked up his first blank sheet, and charcoal, he had found the perfect way to let out all his demons. Alec tried to sit in the most secluded place at the park, his back against a tree as he drew the things he had seen in his dreams. Duty might not leave behind any memories for him to remember, but sometimes nightmares ironically shed a light into what the Tuner had been up to. The worst nightmares were those of the people Duty had killed. There were no faces, no recognizable features, of course. Never enough for him to really know what happened, to know if the person was really dead or not. In the scarce and cruel notes Duty left behind for him to find, information was just as blurry. He stared at the drawing, and sighed. The faceless man seemed to move his arms and legs aimlessly as it fell, a dark shadow embracing him from behind, lips touching the ears as if whispering to a long lost lover. He frowned, as someone’s shadow covered the drawing, cutting him off from the sunlight. He covered his eyes with his hands, and narrowed them, in an attempt to recognize them. “Excuse me,, but the light...” He said, motioning towards the paper. “You’re in the way...”

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aidan-oxneil;

When they got to the little cafe they were greeted with that always pleasant smell of freshly roasted coffee beans and the aroma of pastries heating up in their ovens. It seems to be a slower afternoon since there were only five other people there, but the shop often fills up rather fast. Once Alec passes by he remains there to hold the door for someone that was following behind them, then he follows the man to find a table for them to sit. It seems there was one that Alec was fairly interested in, one that Aidan notes is rather secluded from the rest but it does not bother him in the slightest. “Sure, mate. We can stay there if you want to.” He looks back at the short line and decides he’ll go alone since it makes sense for both of them to clog up the space. “I’ll join in the queue if you want, bruv. Was there anything that you fancy?”

He smiled a bit, glad that the other didn’t expect him to stay in queue with him, in the middle of so many people. Admittedly, there weren’t that many people in the coffee shop, but there were enough to make him feel like he was in a crowd. “Caramel.” He said, with a small nod. “And cream. I like both in my coffee.” Alec said, sitting down a the table. He fiddled with his phone, while he waited for Aidan to get back. When he did, Alec looked up, extending both hands to grab the cup of coffee. “What did you get for yourself?”

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alphonse-bellard;

Once he had Alec more or less by his side, Al began to walk towards the statue once more, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans as they walked. “Almost every one of them. Washington and Washington DC I can understand, but you think everywhere else could be a bit more…original.” The professor shrugged, knowing that the first U.S. President was a rather important man, but did not need to be celebrated in every damn city. “So Alec what do you do for a living? Student, Barista,…Social worker?” He was joking, really, but Al was never really good at carrying conversations. 

He blinked a couple of times, watched the statue for a moment. He wondered if he looked that regal whenever Duty took over his body. He looked down at the teacher, and shrugged. “Unemployed. I take odd jobs here and there while I look for something more stable...” He explained. “I moved here from Sweden a bit.... suddenly.”

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alphonse-bellard;

“History Professor.” Al pointed to himself with a small smile, thinking that statement would make it quite obvious that yes, he did know quite a bit about these monuments. Some of them had rather tactful places to hide coins, ones that would take more than a second’s glance to find. By now with his mind cranking out ideas, Al was into it. He was gonna help this guy win. “Hey Alec, I’m Al. All right, first place to look, the Statue of Washington near the park. It’s about three blocks that direction.” Al pointed left just before he began walking in that direction. He expected Alec to follow him, and sure enough when he looked back, the man was already catching up with him. 

Alec’s eyebrows shot up, and a hint of a smiled graced his lips for a moment. “I guess you are qualified, then...” Alec hesitated a moment before he started following Alphonse. He figured that if the other had an hidden agenda, Alec could do nothing else other than hope Duty would come out to defend him. “A statue of George Washington... Does every city in America have one?” He wouldn’t be surprised if they did. After all, Americans were known as a very patriotic people.

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aidan-oxneil;

Aidan laughs when he hears the man worrying about someone that might steal his clothes from the laundry facilities. In the few months that he’s been coming here not that many people are after your clothes for the most part, it’s the laundry detergent and fabric softener that people might want to swipe—although he can see the concern over the clothes. “If you’re really worried about your clothes, just set a timer on your phone or something bruv. We can always cut the coffee outing short and I wouldn’t be offended or anything.” He offers a more friendly smile afterwards to at least make Alec feel a little more comfortable with him, but then that negative thought in the back of his head decides to voice their concern of him being more afraid by what he might think is creepy. Aidan still opens the door for the man to walk through, hearing his question he nods politely. “Indeed mate, I’ve been here for a while. Are you new to the area?”

Alec eventually took Aidan’s advice, setting a timer on his cellphone. It did help, knowing he’d be warned exactly when his clothes were ready. He looked over his shoulder at Aidan, as he walked inside, and shrugged. “Not exactly. But I don’t go out much.” He admitted, with a small nod. “So I don’t think I know my way around just yet.” He searched for a secluded table, away from most of the other people attending the coffee shop, and pointed at it. “Do you think we could sit over there...?”

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effiehambletons;

        Not a second before Alec finished his sentence, without a moment of hesitation or a second thought, Effie had her fists filled with the fabric of his shirt and without mercy used the momentum of catching him off guard and placing her left heel on the outside of his right heel, she trips the male lightly and uses the force to swing him around to throw Alec up against the wall, her knuckles digging into his chest. “Did someone put you up to this? To follow me? Or you are seriously this much of a fucking nuisance?”

Duty had been expecting her to dismiss them, and were caught a bit off-guard. They figured they might be able to overpower her easily if she got too violent, so they just let her push them against the wall, waiting to see what her next move would be. “Are you that important that someone would have put me up to following you around...?” They asked, instead of actually answering her question.

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alphonse-bellard;

Al looked down at the man’s coins, raising his brow a bit. Wow, people actually did get into the event didn’t they? It might be fun for him, mostly to look at the monuments, do some research on them…though most of them he already knew a great deal about. The university did offer a class on the history of Port Ashbourne, and he had taught the class at one point until handing it over to his colleague. Still, could be a good use of his time. “Really? They wouldn’t give out real gold, they’re not that generous. I wish, though. I think you’d see more people participating if it was real gold, man.” If this guy did want to win though, he could help him win a couple prizes… “Hey, I know these monuments like the back of my hand. All the info too, if we need to grab some help as well. If you wanted, I could help you out?”

He could already hear Duty mocking him, telling him how he couldn’t do anything on his own. But he did need the money. “You know a lot about these monuments?” There was still  hesitation in Alec’s voice, and he took a deep breath, before nodding. “I would.... Appreciate it. The prize would be... nice. I’m... I’m Alec.”

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marina-hadlock;

She narrows her eyes for a second at his comment. Hard to get him hurt? What was that supposed to mean? Given the amount of mediums, tuners and magicians she seemed to run into at these events, it wouldn’t be surprising if he turned out to be one of the above. Not that it was a particularly high percentage of the people she met, just more than she’d been used to back home. Of course, she wasn’t going to make this point first, better to try to coax it out of him. “What do you mean hard to hurt?” She asks, trying and quite likely failing to pass her suspicion off as curiosity. She gives a nod at his question. “Yes it was an accident. In the process of trying not to be tackled by him,” She jerks a thumb in the direction of the person participating in the hunt who was still searching around, “I accidentally knocked you over.” She says with a slight shrug because she would stand by the fact that it was not her fault. “Anyway I’m glad you’re okay.” She would however say that, because it was in fact true.

He blinked a couple of times. “I am used to falling.” That wasn’t a lie at least. AS a teenager, when he had to deal with his growth spurt, he wasn’t greatly coordinated. It was clear he was not going to get an apology, not that he thought he was entitled to one, since he believed it really wasn’t her fault. “Thank you. I am glad I stopped your fall.” He said, and cleared his throat. “Uh... Are you hunting for treasure too?”

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effiehambletons;

        Again, her jaw clenches harshly to the point where it ached. Her hands still tightly positioned into fists. They shake slightly from the tension of her muscles as they flex. “I’m giving you one more chance and I don’t do that a lot. Follow me again and you’ll find out very quickly that I’m more than feisty.” Effie stares him down for a solid few moments before turning around and stalking away.

Duty followed , of course. Determination might have been their second true name. “No, really, you got me curious. Is all that just boasting, or do you really carry a punch?” They smiled mischievously, and sighed. “Don’t leave me hanging here, please, be my guest. Knock my teeth out as you so eloquently put it.”

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aidan-oxneil;

When he hears that Alec accept his offer for coffee, he smiles at him. “That’s great. Just let me head up to my flat first and I’ll meet you right here.” He instructed while reaching into the depth of his pocket, Aidan grabs hold of his phone to set a timer for when his clothes will be ready for him to switch cycles. “Okay, I’ll be back.” He ran out of the laundry facilities with such speed that he just about tripped from the sudden rush.

After close to about fifteen minutes of being gone Aidan returns sporting some sunglasses over his face, and obviously his wallet in hand since he would be stupid to forget it a second time. He sees that Alec is still there, but in his absence there seems to be a new face that is actually in the midst of separating her clothes in the machine. “Oh good, you’re still here Alec.Ready to go mate?”

Alec had to hold on a chuckle when he saw the other nearly slipping, and then shook his head. Part of him want to run away, take the chance that Aidan was gone. But leaving his clothes behind was not an option, and losing the money from that cycle was even less of an option. Therefore he waited.

He looked up, as he glanced at the machine. “I hope my clothes aren’t stolen while we are gone...” Alec hummed, and walked closer to Aidan, speaking low, as if he only wanted the other to hear his voice. “You know your way around the city, don’t you?”

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ricardo-vasquez;

“Well, that’s not creepy at all.” He sighs, shaking his head. Maybe it’s the split personality. Maybe this one does not know how to blend into the world seamlessly. “Oh, look who’s using words now. Duly noted, good sir. Color me impressed.” He barks out a light laughter. He walks in his usual pace that doesn’t wait for others. “The fact that you fail to register the sarcasm says a lot about your perception.” He retorts halfheartedly, only partially engaging himself to the conversation. “If you’re done with your solemnity bullshit, could you kindly run along so that I can finish my list? Exit’s that way.”

Duty had no trouble following Ricardo, his pace wide due to their long legs. “Oh, I am well versed in speaking sarcasm, sometimes it is just fun to act otherwise. I take a lot of gratification from seeing people trying to explain themselves.“ He followed Ricardo’s finger, and then nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind, for when I feel like leaving.”

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alphonse-bellard;

Looking down at the phone in his hand, he shrugged and handed it back to the man. “Of course. Doesn’t look damaged either, it landed on the case side.” He had no intention of keeping the phone at all, in fact, his own smart phone was in his jacket pocket. After the man had taken the phone from his hand, he stuffed them into the pockets of his leather coat, taking a side step backward before smiling politely towards the stranger. “So, are you hunting for treasure today?” 

Alec fumbled with the phone once more when he got it back, and lifted his eyebrows at the other’s question. “Hunting? Why would- Oh, for treasure. Yes.” He nodded slowly, and showed the man one of the coins he had found. “I thought... It would be real gold.” Alec looked down and sighed, as if wordlessly saying that this was too good to be true anyway.

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marina-hadlock;

Looking over she sees a familiar face, but it takes her a second to piece together who he was. “Alec, wasn’t it?” She smiles and takes his hand before getting to her feet. “And thank you for helping me up as well. You’re certainly taking this better than expected.” She adds before brushing herself off. “Good for me. Not so good for you perhaps.” She says before glancing him over for any kind of injury, given he’d gotten up faster than she had however, she suspected he was alright. “Are you hurt at all?” Her question isn’t so much fretful as simply born of occupation.

“Yes.” He confirmed. He looked down at himself, and sighed, shaking his head. “Fortunately, I am not. Not hard to tell I get...” He paused for a moment, hesitant. No, he didn’t get angry. Duty did. He was not Duty. “It’s hard to get me hurt.” He said with a small shrug, instead. “And why wouldn’t I take it well? It was an accident, wasn’t it?” There was confusion in tone, as he suddenly wondered if she had actually meant to ram into whoever was behind her.

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ricardo-vasquez;

Ricardo returns a fake, sweet smile. “Not really surprising that you are incapable of communicate effectively. Have you ever heard of it? It’s this tool people have been using for centuries.” He laughs along, although his eyes flash with those same disdain. Some situations can be diffused by a conversation. Some situations require a swift action. So the Tuner’s belief that action is better than words is one-dimensional at best and utterly idiotic in his opinion. “But thanks for confirming that you’re a monkey that can’t tell if a situation needs a needle or a hammer.” He remarks patronizingly, taking the pre-ordered cake from the baker. “I said I wouldn’t mind him, didn’t mean that he is invited, so, good luck finding when and where.” He points out as he moves on to his own path to find the next item on the list. “Yeah, I’m not gonna have a threesome with you two? The whole ‘I’m a bad boy’ thing? Doesn’t do it for me.” He speaks out loud deliberately, causing some people to look at them strangely. “And bitch please, I’m useful to everyone.”

Duty snorted, and shook their head. “No need to invite him... I can find you, wherever you are. It is a gift of mine...” They said suggestively, with a small nod. “And for the record, it’s not that I do not know when to use a hammer or a needle... It’s that I can be as precise with the hammer as I am destructive with teh needle. It is not the tool that makes the task successful, it’s the wielder.” They spoke in the same tone as the other tuner, watching Ricardo for a moment, before following him. Duty didn’t seem to notice the people around them at all. “The fact that you automatically assumed I meant sex when I said fun attests a lot to your usefulness...” 

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alphonse-bellard:

“Oh no, I’m not participating, thanks.” Alphonse gave the woman a small smile and shook his head when she extended a pamphlet and a map his way. He hadn’t intended on joining the treasure hunt, merely wanted to come down and see what it was all about. Several of his students had been talking about joining the hunt for weeks now, and he’d been very curious to see the turn out. Some of his students had come down, and they’d recognized him enough to come and say hi. Mostly though, he was looking for anyone who might be trouble. They liked to come out in crowded places where there were things to steal. And he was hoping a certain Frenchman would come out of whatever fucking rock he crawled under. Al had looked for days unsuccessful for the guy, and he was even thinking of asking Tara to help him out with hacking. She seemed good at it, and sadly he could use the help. As much as he hated asking for it, she was a smart woman. Maybe he’d run into her today as well. Just as he stepped forward, however, a phone fell right at his feet. Someone dropped it obviously, or flung it by the way it practically fell on his feet. He leaned down to pick it up before he looked up to find the owner. “Hey, uh…did you drop this? Or throw it?”

Alec watched his phone as a note popped up. It said something about needing to make more friends. Signed by Duty. His grip on the device weakened and as he tried to catch it, he only managed to slap it further away from him, sending the phone tumbling to the floor. His eyes widened as he saw the man taking his phone. “Both.” He breathed out, and extended his hand towards the man. “I’m sorry. Could I- Could I have ti back please?” He asked, thinking that joining the treasure hunt might, after all, not be such a great idea.

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marina-hadlock:

Marina was never one for festivities at the best of times, but after the events of New Years, she was more on edge than ever.  Many people seemed to share her opinion, though hers was based on a little more than superstition alone. She’s torn from her thoughts and finds herself jumping back from the person who’d dove into her path to grab a coin she hadn’t even noticed. In her haste to get out of the path of the person she stumbled back into something solid. Another person? Whoever it was she felt them both fall to the pavement, though they cushioned her fall signifigantly. “To think the city has yet to learn that large gatherings of people in the central district is a recipe for trouble.” She mutters attempting to roll off the perons and reach solid ground. The person she’s hit would get no apology because that had not been her fault. “Thank you, for breaking my fall.”

Alec figured he needed the money. Even if he had to face the crowds, he couldn’t rely on Duty to pay the bills. Part of him wondered if the Old Name would be proud of him. He almost scoffed at the thought, when suddenly, someone rammed into him. He fell to the floor, and gasped in surprise, panic surging through him. He could feel Duty beginning to manifest, but the familiar voice made it easier to calm down.

“My pleasure...” He mumbled, staring at the sky. There was sweat starting to form on his forehead. Alec had been close to losing control. He didn’t want to think what could have happened if he had. He stood up, and offered a hand to her. “I guess it was a good think I was in your way this time...” Alec added with a smalls smile.