Man in the Mirror

Call me Lee Know. Address: Pidvone Misto, Philia room B1 101 | He/They | Mirrorwalker | Timezone Student at Insolitus Academy. 18+ RP only, minors DNI.

[divorcearchive]

[achti-ia]

all you can break buffet - achti & lee know

[achti-ia]

He sighed, briefly looking up at the ceiling as if the moon could help him on a sunny day. "I have spent too long among humans," he muttered to himself, cursing the person who had brought him among them in the first place because now he knew of things like Sex Pistols. "That is your loss, not mine," he brushed off the conversation and focused fully on business, elegant as ever.

Achti was not one to mind someone else's grumpiness, especially these days. He also came off as broody at times and a tad too serious, the complete opposite of who he'd once been. He simply took the list back when it turned out unnecessary, tapping a few fingers on the counter. "Let me see.." he let himself scan the other from head to toe, attempting to read him. "You seem like someone who'd have more fun smashing something that doesn't break in one hit," one corner of his lips curved upwards slightly and he rose up from his seat with a clipboard in hand, each of his movements smooth like moving water.

"You're in luck too, I had prepared something earlier and it might fit your needs," he said as he walked down the hall towards a door on the left. Opening it, one could see a room with tables with monitors on them along with some table lamps and glasses. "You have a bat and a sledgehammer as an option. Since you're my first, you can leave feedback if I should add other tools. You have an option to wear protective gear or not," he gestured towards a locker, "but I'm not responsible for injuries if you don't. It says so in this form. Would you like me to read it for you so you know what you're consenting to?" he showed off the clipboard he had in his hand.

[leeknow-ia]

Lee Know shrugged, also not really too curious what the 'Sex Pistols' thing was. As long as he got to hit things, and at a good price. The Mirrorwalker did not bat an eyelash when they other looked him over, he was used to being stared at.

"Yeah, I suppose that's right. I did break a lot of mirrors in my time though, uh... I'm a Mirrorwalker if that means anything," Lee Know was also used to having to explain to people what sort of 'creature' he was. Looking mostly human, it was hard to think he was anything but a regular mortal human. The dark eyes and face tattoos weren't exactly big giveaways, and the face tattoos in particular was just a personal choice.

Lee Know followed the other down the hall to see what the other had prepared. "Ohh sounds neat, lamps and glasses are my thing. Anything that makes loud noises when it shatters, honestly," The noise was half the fun in his mind! Lee Know was actually not fond of loud noises when it was other people, but when it came to noises he made, he didn't care. "I think I will take the protective gear, actually. I've uh... hurt myself in the past by being careless with glass," Lee Know lifted a hand to show the scars that covered the backs and his palms. He took the clipboard from the shop owner and glanced over the written contract. "I'll leave feedback and uh.. I can't read Korean so you'll have to tell me if you don't mind," For a moment, Lee Know's grumpy face faded and a more true 'Lee Know' shown through. The quiet and cautious man beneath the scowl, the ever curious and lonely Mirrorwalker who felt like a fish outta water in his new environment.

[leeknow-ia]

"I prefer not to have any expectations placed on me, you know. Always drop the ball so no one relies on you," Lee Know pursed his lips and inhaled through is nose. He didn't care about being seen as a kind person or even for infamy. He just wanted to live his life and make as few connections as possible. Which is why coming to Insolitus and staying for as long as he had been was surprising.

"I don't pray," He responded to the mention of praying the rosary. Living in Russia for a large portion of his life, he was no stranger to Christianity and its practices. Many of the nice people who took him in were devote in their religion, but Lee Know had little care for it.

The angel mimicking his actions was quite cute when he whispered to him about terrorising humans. An angel, curious about how to terrorise humans? Technically Shiloh wasn't agreeing to terrorise them, just watch. "Yeah sure, we just need to find a place with some mirrors. I can only pass through mirrors I've seen so like... maybe we can go to a place with mirrors and I can look at all of them, then we hide and wait for humans?"

[shiloh-ia]

"Isn't that a burden? Leaves you with little to no say in what you do, and then, as soon as you go off-script, improvise a little, you find yourself being accused of having betrayed those who put their expectations on your shoulders." Shiloh added without giving any more context to his thoughts, just to signal that, to some extent, he could understand the reasoning. Even if his position wasn't as determined - the angel didn't mind having people rely on him; all he wanted was to be able to participate in establishing the terms and conditions.

"Good. Don't bother too much with that either. I can tell you, the line is quite busy and the staff is already overworked." The angel added nonchalantly.

Hearing about the way Lee Know's powers worked, the holy creature arched his brows, intrigued by the subtlety. But although it sounded logical, Shiloh chose not to waste the opportunity to tease the other a little more. "So, to manifest your powers, you have to look in a mirror. That's quite vain, isn't it? You must really like yourself to bear seeing your reflection so much." Narrowing his eyes, Shiloh took a moment to ponder the various possibilities they could take advantage of. "Hmm. I mean, there are many places with mirrors. Restrooms, fitting rooms... I know there is this museum with lots of mirrors that reflect strangely. That could be fun? I don't know about hiding in that place, though. It might be tricky."

[leeknow-ia]

"A burden? Actually that is exactly what I'm going for," Lee Know smirked and flicked some hair from his eyes with a deep inhale. "Not to sound like a.. bad boy I guess, I kinda like fucking with people. Not like... Seriously, I'm not gonna hurt anyone," He waved his hand and shook his head, not wanting to have his words misunderstood. He shifted his weight between his two legs and crossed his arms.

Lee Know let out a loud laugh when Shiloh said not to bother with praying. "Oh really? That's funny, even the immortal get overworked, it's nice to know that's universal," He snapped his fingers and quickly caught his breath again.

When Shiloh raised his eyebrows, so did Lee Know just to mess with him. "Yeah, I do have to look in the mirror and it has nothing to do with being vain. Although I do know I am the sexiest guy here," It was hard to tell if the Mirrorwalker was being serious or being ironic. "Oh those trick ... trick mirror? Or something museums? Oh I love those, I love seeing people scream when I take the form of some hideous creature. "If there was a mirror I could show you how I can shape shift in the reflection?"

[shiloh-ia]

"I mean." The angel began, instantly putting a halt to his speech as he pondered on the thoughts he was about to voice - rather, on how to express them. "I don't see how one's reputation can be hurt by them moving around, if I am to be honest." Pursing his lips, Shiloh's eyebrows furrowed slightly above his eyes as he feigned a thoughtful expression. "That is, unless the one in question either has a reputation they're trying to run away from... Or, indeed, they move away before making a reputation for themselves."

The angel purposefully gave way for a pause, one long enough to let his words float in the air, but too short to allow for proper intervention from the other. He then threw his arms in a shrug. "But what do I know? Right?"

As the mirrorwalker presented his palms, Shiloh took a curious look, his eyebrows snapping upwards for a splitsecond in initial shock. "Hmm." Lifting his gaze to meet Lee Know's own, Shiloh added, "Indeed, not the hands of one who could make rosaries. However, the hands of one who could pray the rosary. Not that I'm trying to imply something. Coincidences are everywhere, aren't they?"

With Lee Know leaning closer, the angel pushed his wings back and, following the mirrorwalker's example, hunched his back as well, looking much like a pair of children sharing some secret that for most was common sense. Yet, once hearing what it was that Lee Know could teach him, Shiloh straightened his posture right away, his wings swinging idly as an intense fire burned inside his eyes. "You can do that, huh? Show me! Not here, though! I want to see that at play against humans."

[leeknow-ia]

"I prefer not to have any expectations placed on me, you know. Always drop the ball so no one relies on you," Lee Know pursed his lips and inhaled through is nose. He didn't care about being seen as a kind person or even for infamy. He just wanted to live his life and make as few connections as possible. Which is why coming to Insolitus and staying for as long as he had been was surprising.

"I don't pray," He responded to the mention of praying the rosary. Living in Russia for a large portion of his life, he was no stranger to Christianity and its practices. Many of the nice people who took him in were devote in their religion, but Lee Know had little care for it.

The angel mimicking his actions was quite cute when he whispered to him about terrorising humans. An angel, curious about how to terrorise humans? Technically Shiloh wasn't agreeing to terrorise them, just watch. "Yeah sure, we just need to find a place with some mirrors. I can only pass through mirrors I've seen so like... maybe we can go to a place with mirrors and I can look at all of them, then we hide and wait for humans?"

[lupusxxdei]

"Тебе скучно? Мы всегда можем попасть в беду," Babylon turned to Lee Know as the priest - ever suspicious, even more uncomfortable in the presence of someone like Babylon - slowly escorted them inside of the archive building.

The demon chuckled, noticing a clear sign of confusion in the priest's demeanor. Speaking in tongues—the demoness could virtually hear his thoughts, or rather burst through the noise in his head and rip out what his heart and soul thought before the thought even formed. The chuckled again and looked at Lee Know, switching to Korean for...well, supposedly, for a more convenient experience.

"Can I ask you for a favor, Lee Know-ssi?" It was clear the way Babylon's voice changed. As heels clicked against the marble floor - and the sound reverberated against the walls and then rolled down the path, all the way to the end of the hallway where the sound was swallowed by the shadows lurking in the corners - Babylon played with her hair, eyes fixed on the priest's back.

Despite her relative immunity, the hairs at the back of her neck as of yet stood still, like prickles of a hedgehog. The priest was still a holy man and his very devotion uncomfortably scratched at the back of what was left of her....soul? Whatever it was thar someone like Babylon had.

"There is something here that belongs to me. To me. I need you to get it. I can tell you where it is and what it is, but I, myself, cannot take it. Do you understand?"

Once they reached the end of the hallway, the Father paused in his steps and turned around. "This way," he said, in a very broken English. "Down these stairs. Please, very carefully."

[leeknow-ia]

Lee Know was unfazed when Babylon switched to Russian. In fact, he was happy to hear the language coming from his lecturer. It wasn't his native language, but it was the one he had used for most of his life. Lee Know was constantly struggling to learn modern Korean slang. In response to their question though, they shook their head and shrugged in indifference. Lee Know was still a stranger in a strange land. If he was gonna be bad, he'd like to know the area a little more.

When Babylon posed their request, the Mirrorwalker raised an eyebrow. His eyes darted to the dark hallway, a little spooked but wouldn't let it show on his face. "Hm?" Something that belonged to Babylon but they couldn't take themself? He thought they were fine in holy places because of some contract or whatever with the Pope. The mysteries only got deeper.

"Maybe," Lee Know wasn't going to be promising anything. The last thing he wanted to do was to touch something or take something that would harm him. They were already weary about magical beings, demons and whatever.

Lee Know looked at the man like he had three heads when he spoke English, Lee Know didn't even know a lick of the language. He glanced at Babylon, hoping they could give them more directions. Sometimes Lee Know wished there was some magical communication device that automatically translated stuff to Russian for him. Like some Universal Translator. If not magic, surely there was some sort of computer that could do it. Maybe an app, but Lee Know was bad at smartphones.

[achti-ia]

all you can break buffet - achti & lee know

[leeknow-ia]

Lee Know was typically grumpy, but today in particular he was angry. He struggled to keep friends or associates and those who did stick around, he never felt actually liked him. There were a few names that came to mind, Baekhyun, Yeosang, that teacher Babylon. They were a bunch of vastly different individuals and Lee Know liked them all for different reasons.

But those were the 'friends' he could think of off the top of his head. He grumbled under his breath as he pushed open the door to the 'rage room'. What an odd type of business, he thought. Lee Know had certainly 'raged' in rooms before, but never in a room specifically designed to be destroyed.

Donning a black tank top and a gray blazer paired with some baggy cargo pants, Lee Know looked pretty unassuming. He was fairly tall, pitch black eyes, diamond tattooes on his forehead, but definitely did not look like he had a body count higher than 0. Like, murder count. He glanced at the stranger and then at the surroundings of the room. "I thought it'd be more.. Rage," Lee Know said in his mumbled Korean. It wasn't even a language barrier, he just mumbled his words. His Korean did seem like he learned it 100 years ago, which he did.

"I have rage. I want a room, yeah. How much and can I book it now?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

[achti-ia]

The demigod-siren chuckled at the other's observation, resting the pen in his hand on paper, pushing the notebook away. "It can't all be Sex Pistols and mayhem," Achti hadn't spent most of his life among humans but he did infiltrate them in the late 70s, right on the cusp of punk rock, and that's why he knew about it at all. "Although, I wouldn't call this entirely finished," he said as he looked around, still displeased with the color of the walls.

His black hair reached his shoulders, naturally wavy and he had to tuck a strand behind his ear to keep it from disrupting his vision. He'd put on something simple for today; black slacks and a dark gray knit sweater, the outfit simple but making him look fashionable anyway. Oftentimes less was more, after all. His first client was a curious looking fella, yet at the same time someone who he could see using his service, a thought he'd keep to himself. "I have a price list here that you can check out- the time slots are 20, 30, or 40 minutes. If it's longer than that, we can discuss the price," he slid a laminated price list across the table, the siren side of him making him easily approachable even when he wasn't trying to use it for his advantage.

"It depends- do you want a standard room or something specific?" he asked as he leaned back in his seat, his light grey eyes fixed on his client. "I have a standard room ready, it has glass items and a few electronics. If it's something specific, I might have to look into it first." He let the other take a moment to think about it, then added with a bit of an amused smile, "What do you think?"

[leeknow-ia]

"What's a sex pistol? I don't fuck," Lee Know replied with a deadpan expression as he shook his head. He raised an eyebrow when the owner stated the facility wasn't all finished. It looked fine to him, but then again, Lee Know didn't really know much about interior design.

When the price list was presented to him along with the time slots, Lee Know turned his head to look at the sheet. ".... I'm not very good at reading," He admitted as he squinted as if that would help him understand the words.

"So... What do you recommend would be the most value for price?" Lee Know was trying not to be too grumpy at this person, but he definitely came off as a grump person. He tilted his head to the side, briefly checking this person out. "I'm fine with whatever the standard is, uh.. one request I guess, no mirrors please," Lee Know would smash many things, but a mirror was not one of them. Too many memories. He looked the guy up and down, unsure what supernatural being he was. Nothing that Lee Know could determine based on looks, but then again, Lee Know knew jack shit about non-human entitites.

[lupusxxdei]

The demon was nigh amused by the presumed "innocence" that the mirrorwalker showed at times though - being who they were - Babylon did not exactly, or, rather, completely, bought into the act. Perhaps this was because their own long life was a series of plays written by a petulant scribe with a kick for destruction; a string of events wrapped up in a cozy blanket of pretense and calculation.

Perhaps the demon was basing almost everyone else and their instincts on their own. Regardless of the source of this sentiment, when the other spoke, Babylon offered a tentative smile and a wink, followed by a short list of all that people considered 'famous' in Italy. "I'd bet my sweet ass pizza is much more famous," they said. "How about I take you to get a full course pasto italiano after we're done?"

...

The archive building was smaller than described—and, certainly, less imposing than any book or manuscript would have a curious reader believe.

That was because the building where Babylon, in the body of her famed vessel Helena Martinelli, and her mirror-walking companion were admitted was a near-perfect copy (both architecturally and historically) of the Vatican's genuine Archive, as of yet hidden from critters like Babylon.

But Babylon did not mind for the treasure and the knowledge they needed today was almost too easily available from the smaller building. At the entrance, a small elderly man, evidently a priest, awaited, nervously fidgeting his fingers.

"Padre Francesco, è un piacere rivederla. Questo è il mio amico Lee Know," Babylon greeted the anxious priest with extreme nonchalance. "Lee Know, this is my old friend Francesco. He will see to it that we get to where we need to be quickly."

[leeknow-ia]

"Those sure are words," Lee Know said when Babylon proposed pasto italiano. "But yeah, sure," He agreed. It wasn't like he had any other ideas and he did want to have the 'full Italian experience', whatever that was. Lee Know swung his hands by his side and moved to follow wherever his teacher would take him.

---

The first thing Lee know noticed was the size of the archive building. He almost kept walking when they reached it, unaware that they had arrived at the location. He followed her steps when they approached the entrance to the building. He didn't know Italian so he kept his mouth shut and just let his teacher do all the talking.

"Oh, Privyet," He greeted in Russian, as if that was any more understand than Korean. "Cool, yeah, uh, just lead the way," He He crossed his arms, not that impressed as of yet.

[achti-ia]

all you can break buffet - achti & lee know

[achti-ia]

A slow start was to be expected. He didn't mind unlocking the door for the first time without anyone waiting outside because even though he was a bit of a perfectionist and one would think that'd make him finish beforehand, there was still much to do to make the place feel his, to make it organised enough that it wouldn't make his brain tic each time he glanced any which way. One room, and one room only, of the place was allowed to be messy. The rage room. Not even in the darkest hour would he admit where the idea came from; the countless times when he'd let a plate or a glass fly across the room when something reminded him of his past. It was an unhealthy coping mechanism, yet not his unhealthiest. That would worry a lot of people.

The place was small but something that could be expanded if he felt it necessary, although he liked the intimacy that came with just one room; people came here to deal with their emotions - or should one say, to release them, rather than deal with them. When he saw others release their anger, their frustration, their each pent up negative emotion, he felt alive for a moment again. That's why it had to be a perfect setting. A comforting entrance and a room that was anything but. For now, the entrance room was still slightly bare; a carpet on the floor, a two-seat couch, a side table and a coat hanger beside it. He wanted to paint the walls but hadn't gotten to it yet.

At the end of the room, he had a desk fit for all the things he needed, and behind that desk and its chair, there was another room with screens that showed the rage room itself for it had two cameras rolling at all times for safety reasons. Sure, he had everyone sign a document that he was not responsible for any injuries when someone was in the room, but it was still safer that way, in case he had to step in. In case someone hurt themselves and needed help in the worst case scenario. And lastly, he simply liked to watch. That he would keep to himself though, the door to that room nearly always closed.

And then there was the room itself, a beautiful disaster. He would make sure to clean it after each appointment and it would always have an easy set of items to break but he was also open for specific requests. He'd set everything up the day before just in case someone wandered in- and someone did. "Welcome," he greeted from his desk where he was writing something down, his attention focusing on the person standing by the door as he traced his lower lip with the end of the pen. "Just looking or booking a time slot?"

@leeknow-ia

[leeknow-ia]

Lee Know was typically grumpy, but today in particular he was angry. He struggled to keep friends or associates and those who did stick around, he never felt actually liked him. There were a few names that came to mind, Baekhyun, Yeosang, that teacher Babylon. They were a bunch of vastly different individuals and Lee Know liked them all for different reasons.

But those were the 'friends' he could think of off the top of his head. He grumbled under his breath as he pushed open the door to the 'rage room'. What an odd type of business, he thought. Lee Know had certainly 'raged' in rooms before, but never in a room specifically designed to be destroyed.

Donning a black tank top and a gray blazer paired with some baggy cargo pants, Lee Know looked pretty unassuming. He was fairly tall, pitch black eyes, diamond tattooes on his forehead, but definitely did not look like he had a body count higher than 0. Like, murder count. He glanced at the stranger and then at the surroundings of the room. "I thought it'd be more.. Rage," Lee Know said in his mumbled Korean. It wasn't even a language barrier, he just mumbled his words. His Korean did seem like he learned it 100 years ago, which he did.

"I have rage. I want a room, yeah. How much and can I book it now?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

[sooahn-ia]

Soo-ahn could not argue with that: this place was full of weird people. And yet, as he eyed the other quite literally from toe to top, the warlock wondered which one of them exactly was normal. He, himself, certainly was not.

Taking slight offense at the perceived unjust reaction to what Lenore had done, Soo-ahn first huffed and said, "Lenore, in her own way, was protecting me. Like you said, she's a bird. She couldn't know it was basically my fault for us colliding."

Welp, that was a lie. Soo-ahn and Lenore both knew that she was perfectly capable of comprehending what danger actually meant; and when exactly she was supposed to swoop in with her death-claws with the pure intentions of gobbling out anyone's eyes.

Lenore herself, who had by now spread her wings and began slowly circling a perimeter about the two men, knew that what she'd done was pure play and unprovoked. But, according to the avian familiar, Soo-ahn could barely do anything wrong and this sort of contemplation was as of yet uncleared as to whether it was some bizarre form of Stockholm's syndrome or an unhealthy obsession with her chosen warlock.

"I was going to the book store to find something but, alas," Soo-ahn sighed, "they didn't have it. And now, I have to go pick up some ingredients for a spell. Care to tag along?" He had no idea why he'd asked for company; Soo-ahn very rarely cared about having company. But it was a strange day...

...so strangely it may continue.

[leeknow-ia]

Lee Know very much considered himself the 'normal one'. Which was funny considering most people didn't stab a man to death with mirror shards. "Oh yeah, because I'm so dangerous," Lee Know held up his hands to show he was unarmed but also his palms were covered in scars. Definitely not the hands of someone who could do any sort of damage. He barely could hold his utensils well enough to eat at times.

The Mirrorwalker eyed the bird once more and made a pouty expression towards her. "... Uh......" Lee Know paused as if considering if he wanted to spend more time with this dude or not, in reality he already knew his answer and it was,

"Yeah, sure. As long as your bird doesn't come at me," He pointed to Lenore. "And my name is Lee Know, like... Lee... Know.. I know, you know, Lee Know," He gave his typical little intro. It didn't sound like a real name, but then again his race was a bit ambiguous. He didn't have any horns of sharp teeth. His eyes were black as night and he had diamond shaped forehead tattoos in a V-shape, not really indicative of any particular supernatural race that Lee Know knew.

[leeknow-ia]

Lee know didn't even pretend to know Italian. He was surprisingly bad with languages. It was a miracle he even learned Russian, but it was more of a language he needed for survival than one he learned on whim. He stood next to his teacher with his arms crossed and nothing particular on his mind. Lee Know was a stranger in a strange land..

The Mirrorwalker felt weird being in the presence of another supernatural being. It was something that even after a year, he still hadn't gotten used to being around others like him. Donning a rather plain brown bomber jacket with tight blue jeans with some chains, Lee Know looked like Babylon's reluctant child tagging along for their parent's business trip. "Oh that's cool, yeah am I gonna burst into flames though? I don't care about religion," Lee Know raised an eyebrow with a slightly doubtful expression.

"Oh uh... I don't have buddies," The first person that came to mind was Yeosang. Yeosang was friendly and kind, everything that Lee Know wasn't and for some reason Lee Know just couldn't get rid of him. He pursed his lips for a moment and looked away. "I told Yeosang I went out to buy milk," He knew better than to lie to Babylon, the Ancient Rune's lecturer was one of the few people he couldn't hide from.

[lupusxxdei]

"Burst into flames?" Babylon asked, with a clear dose of humor in their tone, followed by a burst of laughter that dangerously treaded the line between ridicule and genuine amusement.

"Oh, tesoro mio, do you not think I would burst into flames myself should I dare to cross the threshold of a holy place?" the demon asked. By then, they had already started to move, asking the young male to follow them.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head off. The Vatican and I have a special arrangement for about...Well, for about five centuries now, since their Holiest of men," Babylon had said that with a very clear dose of venomous contempt, "made a little deal with me."

Five centuries—it had all passed in...a jiffy. For a moment, Babylon closed their eyes and allowed their memories to whisk them all the way back, when the World was so fragile that the removal of just one—even the tiniest—piece would cause the shatter of the entire system.

"Say, after we've collected our, uh...Debt, I suppose," though the debt was Babylon's and Babylon's only, with Lee Know as an unsuspecting collateral should anything go wrong, though the demon was confident that things would go their way but...the mirrorwalker did not have to know all of that, "what would you like to do? We'll still have some time to kill."

[leeknow-ia]

"That's a lot of centuries," Lee Know said with a slightly surprised expression. He was out of touch with a lot of things but he knew Babylon was talking about the POPE?! Well, they did say they had a lot of connections. Lee know pretended not to look too impressed.

Lee Know scrunched up his nose like a little bunny when Babylon mentioned debt. They weren't too interested in running whatever chores the demon had but then again it's not like they knew the area well enough to wander on their own. The Mirrorwalker took in a breath of air and held his tongue from firing back with a sassy comment when Babylon called him pretty head.

"Uhh," Now that they were here, Lee Know wasn't actually sure what he wanted to do. He had seen many cities across Russia and some in Mongolia, but in those cases he kinda just meandered along. "Italian coffee is pretty famous, right?" He raised an eyebrow.

[sooahn-ia]

As soon as Lenore descended toward them, wings flapping in undisclosed intentions, Soo-ahn knew what was coming and before the entire scene had played out, he was already laughing.

It was a strange, but dull feeling—to laugh. Right now at least, when every breath scraped the flesh of his lungs.

That's what you get, yokel.

Lenore's voice might have taken the other by surprise, but it only inspired Soo-ahn to look up at the lamp post where the raven had perched. "Now, that wasn't very nice from either of you," the warlcok noted before returning his attention to Lee Know.

"Why would I hex you?" Soo-ahn asked, crossing his arms in faked indignation. "Do you really think warlocks walk around hexing people for fun?"

He paused, if to briefly bite his underlip in contemplation.

"Scratch that. Not all of us do. Quite frankly, it's a waste of time, space, material and magic to do that," he arched an eyebrow at Lee Know. He then shrugged. "Isn't a guy allowed to ask? You're not up to something bad are you?"

[leeknow-ia]

Lee Know's eyes kept shifting to Lenore, trying and failing to hide his discomfort having the bird so close to him. It was hard to keep up the cool guy persona with a literal bird looking like it was going to attack him. At least that's how Lee Know viewed it.

"The bird came onto ME first! This was an ATTACK!" Lee Know put both his hands on his hips and gave the other a hard frown. Stupid bird. Stupid magic guy. Stupid everything, he thought.

".. I dunno. Who knows what sorta motives you have. People here are weird," He shrugged, knowing very well it was a little silly to be so paranoid about everyone being out to get him. "and no, nothing bad. I'm just walking," he kicked up the dirt in front of him and then looked back up at the warlock. "Yeaahh, so... what are you doing here?" Lee Know was grumpy usually, but he also was not going to give this random dude too much of an attitude. He would give the bird attitude though.

[lupusxxdei]

venus illegitima x lee know | babs

"Grazie mille! Lo apprezzo molto. Prometto che sarò molto, molto silenzioso."

A coy smirk, a light but very clearly playful note in their voice—were Babylon's typical tactics in any interaction where the ultimate goal benefitted them far more—always far more—the demon rather than the individual being asked a favor from.

With a hand holding their phone between their ear and shoulder, Babylon was the best version of themselves. Despite not even being present in the room with the other speaker, their sweet-talking poison oozed out from the once-deity-now-demon, thick as a rotten cloud of X as they shifted the other speaker's mood from hesitant and mistrusting to complete submission.

When Babylon ended the phone call, they slowly spun around on their high-heel boosts - the latest in the famed (and their own, frankly) Martinelli winter collection—and with a tap of elongated, midnight blue nails on the back of the cellular device, they looked at the youth.

"Well, my dear," Babylon said, watching what the other way doing. "I just got us our own private show at the Vatican Museums. You're going to love it."

Truth be told - there were many a reason why both of them were supposed to be excited about it. Down below, on the sub-zero level that very few knew about and many conspiracied about, was both their own and Lee Know's object of interest. A painting that held the key to their next Italian stop, just one leg in the supposed 'adventure' the Ancient Runes teacher had promised to take the student to.

"What did you tell your buddies where you were? I just realized I never asked," the demon laughed away their carelessness of the situation.

@leeknow-ia

[leeknow-ia]

Lee know didn't even pretend to know Italian. He was surprisingly bad with languages. It was a miracle he even learned Russian, but it was more of a language he needed for survival than one he learned on whim. He stood next to his teacher with his arms crossed and nothing particular on his mind. Lee Know was a stranger in a strange land..

The Mirrorwalker felt weird being in the presence of another supernatural being. It was something that even after a year, he still hadn't gotten used to being around others like him. Donning a rather plain brown bomber jacket with tight blue jeans with some chains, Lee Know looked like Babylon's reluctant child tagging along for their parent's business trip. "Oh that's cool, yeah am I gonna burst into flames though? I don't care about religion," Lee Know raised an eyebrow with a slightly doubtful expression.

"Oh uh... I don't have buddies," The first person that came to mind was Yeosang. Yeosang was friendly and kind, everything that Lee Know wasn't and for some reason Lee Know just couldn't get rid of him. He pursed his lips for a moment and looked away. "I told Yeosang I went out to buy milk," He knew better than to lie to Babylon, the Ancient Rune's lecturer was one of the few people he couldn't hide from.

[spencer-ia]

on the job (spencer & lee know)

[spencer-ia]

Having Lee Know help out around the shop was honestly one of his better decisions this year (albeit he would never admit it out loud). Although they both still had to work around the student's schedule when it came to academics, the reaper can conclude that having part-time help to sort deliveries and help with customers was a god sent.

And so just like any other boss (or so he'd read on a random and mildly sketchy looking website called Reddit), Spencer asked Lee Know to close up shop earlier this morning for lunch. He'd explained that he wanted to have a touch base of sorts with the mirrorwalker to see the areas they can fix.

This explained why the reaper was seated on the familiar couch in the very back room that he technically interviewed Lee Know in for the job. Crossing his legs and mentally listing down the points of discussion they'll have to go through, Spencer waited for his part-time working, crossing his legs and idly tapping his toe as he did so.

@leeknow-ia

[leeknow-ia]

Lee Know was just here to make money and go. He already was struggling to make up the the money he had paid for his custom knife (that he carried with him at all times, you know, self defence and all). Food wasn't too hard to get and Lee know never ate much so it wasn't like he was eating sushi dinners every night. Even if he could, that wasn't their style.

When his 'boss' (he hated calling the reaper that, no one bosses the Lee Know around), asked to meet him for lunch, Lee Know was considering making up a stupid excuse. The thing that made him hesitate was he did care about keeping the job and honestly, Lee Know didn't mind it. Working was lame, but he had already had a number of mistakes that week that he was sure if he tried to get out of this lunch, he'd probably be fired. On top of letting his attitude slide, Spender also didn't require a suit and tie like so many jobs did these days. Lee Know was perfectly content with some tight jeans and a black shirt.

So once Lee Know had finished wrapping one of the bouquets for a pick up later that day, he closed up the shop just as instructed an headed towards the back room. In typical Lee Know fashion he had both hands in his pockets and his eyes looked downwards. "Hi," Lee Know said with a little wave of his hand as he walked into the room and plopped down onto the sofa. "Yeah?"

[sooahn-ia]

Well that was a creative vulgarism, if he'd ever seen one.

He nearly chuckled at the other's frustration, though as soon as the other's guard and tone changes, leaning toward what Soo-ahn was believed was utterly unprovoked hostility, the warlock changed attitudes as well.

It was a swift but noticeable change in his demeanor: the raised shoulders, the slightly elevated eyebrows, the fixated gaze and his feet firmly on the ground, pressing down as if - any moment now - anchoring would give way to flight.

But when Lee Know calmed, Soo-ahn followed, much like a mimic. "You know - one of these days, that attitude's going to get your face scratched off. Not in a kind way, either," the warlock commented, not once allowing his eyes to leave the other.

Inspecting, analyzing, threatening - who knows what Soo-ahn's discolored contactless eyes were looking at or trying to convey.

"Where are you in such a rush to—"

Before he was able to wrap up his question, he saw Lenore. Out of the corner of his eyes, the familiar, which had been watching the interaction and had picked up on her master's change of heartbeat and blood pressure, flew right toward the two at an unsafe cruising speed and height, nearly touching both with the span of her wings.

Soo-ahn, naturally, laughed. "Told ya. Anyway, where are you in such a rush to go? Did something bad, need to cover it up?"

[leeknow-ia]

Oh, Lee Know had more vulgarities, this wasn't even scraping the tip of the iceberg. ".... No? I'm too pretty to get hurt," Lee Know scoffed at the idea that anyone could possible do his beautiful face any harm. Odd of him to say as he had been close to death many times and his face bruised and scratched just as much. Lee Know liked playing tough though so of course he'd never admit that this dude was kinda right.

"AAHH!!!" Lee Know stumbled back when the bird swept down towards them, putting both arms up to cover his face as he stepped back. Once he was sure the danger had passed he lowered his arms and was very much not laughing. He scowled and let out a disgruntled sigh. "Asshole balls," he muttered under his breath.

"No," He responded immediately when the other said 'did something bad'. "I just was gonna-- wait why do you wanna know, huh? Why should I tell you and your...." His dark eyes shifted towards the bird. "Bird, thing. Like what if you're gonna hex me or something?" He said as he crossed his arms, very skeptical of everyone, whether they looked human or not.

[insolitus-academy]

Ia write:

Since many of our muses have Asian names OR names highly inspired by their supernatural origins...

What would be their 'American' or Western name? AKA the name they would use in the west to blend in better?

[leeknow-ia]

Immanuel (Manny) or Dominick (Dom).

[shiloh-ia]

"Uhum, exactly. Some, quite honestly, look just like ruffled chickens. Not even proper white." Was he overly crude towards his fellow angels? Perhaps. But Shiloh clearly didn't care about it, nor would he miss the opportunity to diss his kind, which probably left no doubt about the fact that he wasn't on good terms with the holy family up above the clouds.

"Modest too, aren't we? I'll give you this one, I complimented you first." Shiloh commented teasingly, his eyebrows shooting upwards with the mirrorwalker stepping away from him. Frankly, he found the reaction quite amusing, endearing too if he were to be honest to the core, but today wasn't that kind of day, so the angel stuck with amusing. Straightening his position, the heavenly creature fixed his lips into a pout with Lee Know's response, letting his wings drop deliberately to emphasise his disappointment.

"Oh, I thought you knew things. Because you see, up there," he pointed towards the sky, "They are pretty strict. We even had a curfew and whatnot." Not quite. "But I mean, I could teach you how to make a rosary if you feel crafty. But honestly, I thought you could teach me something. Cool guys like you don't usually make rosaries."

@leeknow-ia

[leeknow-ia]

"Fluffy chickens?" Lee Know let out a loud guffaw at the image of what was supposed to be a 'heavenly being' but just a chicken. For that moment, Lee Know looked actually happy. Not just playing up an image or facade, the Mirrorwalker was actually laughing. A rare sight indeed. The laughter only lasted a few seconds before Lee Know's expression returned back to neutral.*

"Hey, for someone who has moved around as much as I have, it's almost impossible to build up a reputation. So why wait for other people to say it, I'll come out and tell them," He patted his chest with a proud smile. He only realised after he spoke that 'moving around a lot' contradicted his previous statement of not running away. He technically wasn't running away, more like getting on a train or bus and going somewhere else. Completely different, obviously.

Lee Know's eyebrows rose at the mention of a curfew? It made sense if they thought about it for a few seconds, an angel was holy, so they were good at following rules? "Wow, a curfew. And you're right, I have no interest in rosaries," Lee Know shook his head and held up his hands, palms facing the angel. "Not with these hands," his palms were heavily scarred, extending to his forearms. It looked like Lee Know lost a fight with a million swords or something, which was kinda true. He fought a mirror.

"I can teach you something alright," His eyes narrowed and he smirked. "But it's probably breaking a million rules in the.. angel handbook," Lee Know moved closer to Shiloh again, his back slightly hunched to appear smaller. Mostly he was worried about getting any.. angel wing cooties on him. "I can teach you how to terrorise the masses."

[sooahn-ia]

vhs-hr0102-24: exploration A

The eyes said everything about a soul.

All one had to do was watch carefully: the lights that go on and off, the flickers of vanity, indignation, joy, fortune, demise. It was not for no reason, after all, that cultures and generations across time claimed that the eyes were the mirror to the soul.

Thus reckoned Lenore.

With only the clouds in the sky as the limit, she could have gone anywhere. An explorer by nature, she was expected even to wander off; instead, she'd sat perched on a window sill of one of the Academy's classroom, her piercing gaze fixated upon Lee Know.

She had chosen Lee Know for a very specific reason. His eyes. Twisting and turning her neck, Lenore inspected the other's gaze, blinking when she thought the creature's eyes had met her own.

And they did. Instead of being content with the outcome, the familiar's curiosity—an extension of the orders Soo-ahn had given her on their first day at Insolitus, to gather as much intel as she could—got the better of her and she ended up following Lee Know even after he left the Academy building.

@leeknow-ia

[sooahn-ia]

The raven followed the mirrorwalker all the way to the coffee shop where he had apparently been meaning to do. The whole time, she remained in the tree tops, making her way between the leaves and the branches - causing if but half-silent murmurs as the natural world around Lenore moved around her presence.

She stopped, however, right before the coffee shop. She perched herself on top of a lamp post, twisting her head as she watched the other. Would he go inside or walk past the shop? The corvid was completely unsure why she'd taken such an interest in the man. Perhaps it was the eyes. The eyes always were the best part.

Right before that thought was fully formed, though, Lenore blinked and the next moment, she saw Soo-ahn, walking right up to Lee Know. He was - as usual - lost in thought, or at least he seemed to be.

It did not matter whether he was lost in thought, time or space, though, because, regardless of the reason, the outcome was the same: eventually, he looked down and, without noticing Lee Know in front of him, slammed his shoulder right into the other.

"Shit," Soo-ahn slipped when he felt his shoulder collide with somebody else's. When he looked up, prior to any uttered apology, he spotted a familiar figure. A class-mate? It was possible. Then he remembered their meeting on the first day when Soo-ahn arrived.

That goofy mother-cracker, Soo-ahn recalled. "Oh, hey. Shit, sorry. Wasn't looking." That barely felt like an apology.

[leeknow-ia]

Lee Know had a weird paranoia about him that someone was tailing him and would glance back every now and then. He was easily knocked back by the stranger. With his lightning fast reflexes he attempted to catch himself before falling completely on his ass. His eyes wide as black tapioka pearls gazed upon the person who had just hit him and he let out a loud, "Bitch ass motherfucker!"

The apology didn't seem to register as when Lee Know got to his feet, he looked ready to fight. His hands balled up into loose fists (he could not fully close his hands) and his knees bent.

But no, Lee Know was not gonna WWE this guy, as much as he wanted. Lee Know had a pretty face and even softer looking eyes, even when angered. He continued to glare daggers as he continued onward, "Yeah you better watch where you're going. Who the hell do you think you are? You--" It was at that moment that Lee Know realised the stranger wasn't actually a stranger. He was a classmate. Not one that Lee Know knew but he recognised the face. He was in at least two of Lee Know's classes. "..... okay hi, yeah," He shoved both hands into his pockets and looked away, now worried that this guy would report Lee Know for being rude or something , as if Lee Know wasn't already having issues in classes.