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@spankoffskithroughspace
~INTRO POST~
Uh, hi. My name is Peter, I'm 19 years old, and I use he/him pronouns. I've been stuck jumping across dimensions against my will thanks to a certain...entity...so don't be surprised if I show up and disappear in your universe at random....or if I look like I'm glitching out of reality at times. That's...that's unfortunately pretty normal for me.
...I just want to go home...
[OOC UNDER CUT!!! :D]
I think the worst worst part of winter might be over. It's still freezing cold outside, but it's slightly less so now than it was before. I'm crossing my fingers it keeps warming up. Last I checked, it's definitely not healthy to wake up multiple days in a row with the inability to feel your fingers.
Watch it get colder just because I said this-
You know what's scary? Sometimes I'll get to a new universe, and I'll just...forget things for a while. Like...a part of me gets left behind or something and it takes it a moment for it to catch up. And it seems to be taking longer and longer for it to come back to me now. Once someone asked me my name, and I couldn't tell them, because I couldn't remember.
I'm pretty sure everything I've forgotten this way has always returned to me so far, but what if one day, I'm pulled apart forever? What if one day, I don't remember?
What if one day, I forget who I am?
...other me, Are you...okay?
I don't know anymore.
Oh...you wanna talk about it?
Maybe...? I don't know.
How long has this been a problem?
I'm not completely sure. I started really noticing it a couple weeks or so ago, but who knows how long this is been going on without my knowledge.
Hmm. How long have you been dimension hopping for?
A few months now I think. It gets a bit difficult keeping track of time when you're always on the move.
You know what's scary? Sometimes I'll get to a new universe, and I'll just...forget things for a while. Like...a part of me gets left behind or something and it takes it a moment for it to catch up. And it seems to be taking longer and longer for it to come back to me now. Once someone asked me my name, and I couldn't tell them, because I couldn't remember.
I'm pretty sure everything I've forgotten this way has always returned to me so far, but what if one day, I'm pulled apart forever? What if one day, I don't remember?
What if one day, I forget who I am?
...other me, Are you...okay?
I don't know anymore.
Oh...you wanna talk about it?
Maybe...? I don't know.
How long has this been a problem?
I'm not completely sure. I started really noticing it a couple weeks or so ago, but who knows how long this is been going on without my knowledge.
You know what's scary? Sometimes I'll get to a new universe, and I'll just...forget things for a while. Like...a part of me gets left behind or something and it takes it a moment for it to catch up. And it seems to be taking longer and longer for it to come back to me now. Once someone asked me my name, and I couldn't tell them, because I couldn't remember.
I'm pretty sure everything I've forgotten this way has always returned to me so far, but what if one day, I'm pulled apart forever? What if one day, I don't remember?
What if one day, I forget who I am?
...other me, Are you...okay?
I don't know anymore.
Oh...you wanna talk about it?
Maybe...? I don't know.
You know what's scary? Sometimes I'll get to a new universe, and I'll just...forget things for a while. Like...a part of me gets left behind or something and it takes it a moment for it to catch up. And it seems to be taking longer and longer for it to come back to me now. Once someone asked me my name, and I couldn't tell them, because I couldn't remember.
I'm pretty sure everything I've forgotten this way has always returned to me so far, but what if one day, I'm pulled apart forever? What if one day, I don't remember?
What if one day, I forget who I am?
...other me, Are you...okay?
I don't know anymore.
You know what's scary? Sometimes I'll get to a new universe, and I'll just...forget things for a while. Like...a part of me gets left behind or something and it takes it a moment for it to catch up. And it seems to be taking longer and longer for it to come back to me now. Once someone asked me my name, and I couldn't tell them, because I couldn't remember.
I'm pretty sure everything I've forgotten this way has always returned to me so far, but what if one day, I'm pulled apart forever? What if one day, I don't remember?
What if one day, I forget who I am?
[Wren spots Peter sitting on a bench in his beanie and coat. She frowns, her vision going blurry around the edges as she looks at him and the buzzing in her head picking up. Still, this has happened a few times since she arrived in town so she's not that concerned ... Yet.
She checks the change in her pocket and hurries to Starbucks, returning shortly with a large hot chocolate]
Umm... hey. Here
[She sets the hot chocolate down on the bench beside him]
@snowstormbird
[Peter's jostled out of his thoughts, and he looks up to see Wren offering him a hot chocolate. His eyes practically light up at the sight.]
Oh- uh- Thank you.
[He scoots over a little to give her some more bench room.]
[Wren sits, chewing nervously on her lip. How do you say to someone that they look almost identical to your cousin but you're pretty sure they're not them because they're blurry at the edges? That you're not sure if they're a clone or some other anomaly but you can tell they're in the wrong place? For all she knows he's just a very familiar stranger, the same way the homeless man downtown makes her think of Ted. Come to think of it, the homeless man is also blurry when she looks at him...]
[Instead she just says]
You need to keep your blood sugar up
[Peter takes a drink of the hot chocolate, feeling it warm him up a bit and ebb away a bit of his headache.]
[Then he hears her say that and stops, looking at her confusedly. ...How did she...?]
I'm sorry, do I know you?
[She smiles sadly]
Apparently not in this life.
[Wren considers for a moment about whether to push him on his resemblance to Peter, before deciding to leave it up to him. After accidentally exposing a clone earlier that day, she's worried that saying the wrong thing could put him in danger, especially since now she's closer she can feel all kinds of crazy signals coming off of him]
You look like my cousin, he gets low blood sugar and hot chocolate is his favourite... i guess i'm just projecting.
[There, that leaves it up to him whether to reveal exactly who he is or simply pretend it's a weird coincidence]
["Not in this life"?]
[He feels his body glitch without warning, the constant low buzzing in his muscles that he'd almost entirely forgotten about spiking painfully and then returning to normal. Well shit. Uh...here's to hoping she didn't see that and pretending like his body didn't just try to jump into another timeline.]
[Okay, so this person almost definitely knew this timeline's Peter. And was...cousins with him apparently? This could potentially get complicated...]
[Pete hesitates, not sure if he should genuinely introduce himself and risk freaking her out, or if he should just stay vague.]
No, it's fine! I just- I'm about the same. Hypoglycemic and addicted to hot chocolate, I mean. Funny that we look alike.
[He chuckles awkwardly. You know what? Fuck it. She's been nice to him this far. Might as well rip off the band-aid and see what happens.]
I'm Peter.
[Wren notices the glitch, her senses spiking, and very subtly shifts her hand so one finger is brushing against his leg, pushing her mind to connect to him and use herself as a temporary anchor]
I'm Wren.
[There are many things she could ask. She figured he's not a clone based on the glitching, and although she doesn't know much about the source of all the strange things in Hatchetfield, she guessed it's related. But right now she only really had one pressing concern]
Do you have somewhere safe to stay?
[He notices her brushing her finger against his leg and chooses not to acknowledge it beyond a brief glance down at the point of contact. It does actually help a little, focusing on that spot. The buzz dies down a little. Instead of saying anything about it though, he smiles at her as though everything's perfectly fine.]
It's nice to meet you Wren.
[He takes another sip of hot chocolate.]
Eh. Nowhere permanent if that's what you mean. I can't really stay in one place for too long.
I take it you're not here by choice then. Didn't fancy a visit to see what your family looked like elsewhere
[she fidgets, placing both hands in her lap]
Do you want to talk about it? I'm experienced with weirdness
[She remembered how alone she'd felt when her gift started to grow in strength, having no one to talk to about what was happening to her had made all the headaches, the noise, the ominous chatter of beings she didn't see but knew were beyond human, feel ten times worse. And this wasn't her Pete, her sweet cousin who played superheroes with her, who would sneak cookies when she was sad and who made it his mission to make her jump after learning she could sense when he was near. But he was still Peter. If she could help, she would]
[Peter breathes out a chuckle, smirking.]
Depends. How "weird" are you willing to let this conversation get?
[she grins]
As weird as it can.
So if I were to hypothetically say that I've been pulled against my will into alternate universes by an eldritch god for the past few...[actually, Peter wasn't sure how long he'd been at this anymore]...well, for a while now, you wouldn't bat an eye?
Nope
[Wren pulls a journal out of her bag and flicks through to a page with sketch of the lords. They're not entirely accurate images, resembling human royalty with some animalistic features, based on the fairy tales her gran used to tell her that were thinly veiled teachings from the starry children]
One of these guys?
[He leans in and looks over the drawings, four of them are relatively unfamiliar to him, but he does semi-recognize the one of T'noy Karaxis.]
Yep.
My gran told me stories about them but she always refused to say their names. Said it was like opening a door and inviting them in. Which I didn't really get until I moved here...
[brushes a finger over the careful illustrations]
She called him the blacksmith or the tinker.
[Wren looks at Peter]
Was that him earlier? Who made you start to go?
[Peter nods.]
Yeah it was. And your gran was right to be wary of saying their names. Once you start getting their attention, there's no going back.
That ship has sailed. I'm 90% sure that the voices I hear are them. Although I don't know if they're aware of me hearing them...
[makes a face, gets to her feet]
Okay. You, up. You're coming with me to Ted's house so you can shower, get some warm clothes and a hot meal. Then we are going to make a plan.
[He looks a little concerned about the idea of Wren hearing the Lords in Black in her head, but doesn't comment.]
[Peter's expression shifts to one of surprise at the instruction, his body briefly glitching again. Pete once again ignores it.]
Huh?
[Going to Ted's house? Forget the shower and warmth and food; Ted's house? It took Peter a moment to remember that he was in a completely different universe than his own...one where Ted seemingly hasn't disappeared...]
I- ...okay.
[He stands up, readjusting his jacket a bit.]
Okay. Uh...lead the way, I guess.
[She leads him towards Ted's house, unlocking the door before pausing]
Are you going to be okay here? I don't want you to get upset....
[Pete nods.]
I'll be alright. Promise.
[She pushes the door open and steps inside, holding it open. A smell of baking wafts from the kitchen, which looks like it has been caught in a mini flour tornado after another batch of insomnia baking from Wren]
Make yourself comfortable. I'll see if i can find you something warmer to wear. Luckily I tend to steal clothes off both Ted and Pete so I should have something
[Peter nods, making his way to and sitting down on the couch. It was surreal, looking around at the house. Sure, there were small inconsistencies here and there - there always were with alternate universes - but overall it felt like home. There's a pang of longing in Pete's chest as he takes in his surroundings, smelling the familiar scents, feeling the familiar couch cushion beneath him; it was almost perfect. It was perfect enough for him to truly miss home all over again.]
[In the spare room, Wren can feel the energy from Peter, feel the spike in his emotions and a scattered noise of his thoughts as well as the static hum that is always present that she now knows is her connection to the black. The bursts of noise she gets from the black are becoming more consistent while she's around Peter, almost exclusively the manic laughter.
She goes to her closet and kneels down to where a tiny altar is set up with a ring of five coloured stones surrounding one white stone. Carefully she puts a cup over the yellow stone, concentrating. There is a pressure, a stab of pain and then the laughter falls away. Perfect. It won't hold for long but it should be enough to keep Peter safe for the time being.
Wren retrieves some clothes and heads back out to the living room]
[Peter feels the buzzing sensation under his skin die down more than it has in a long time. Weird. Wonder what that's about.]
[When Wren re-enters the room, he smiles at her in greeting.]
Here. I grabbed a mix so you could pick whatever works best. Shower is down the... well you know where it is.
[she hands over the bundle of clothes]
If you want me to wash anything, just leave it outside the door. I'll make some dinner, you look like you've not eaten properly in a while
[it was surprisingly easy to fall into the familiar role of caretaker. While Ted was her guardian, she often felt like the parent in the relationship and she couldn't help extending the same to Peter, even if he had grown to tower over her during her time in Clivesdale. It probably helped that she didn't have anything outside the two Spankoffski brothers, no other family, too new and too weird to have made friends easily. What else to do with her time?
It was not because she worried Ted would get rid of her if she wasn't useful. No. Not at all]
[Peter accepts the bundle of clothes thankfully.]
Thank you. For all of this. It's been a while since someone's been genuinely just...nice to me. If there's anything that I've learned, it's that the people of Hatchetfield are pretty ruthless, particularly towards their homeless.
I'll uh...be heading towards the shower now.
[He somewhat awkwardly wanders off, indeed knowing exactly where the shower's located.]
[A (surprisingly neat) pile of the clothes he's been wearing is placed outside the bathroom door before he gets in the shower.]
[Wren puts his clothes in the wash before heating up some stew and slicing some of the bread she'd made the night before. She also retrieved a large piece of paper and drew out a grid with names down the side. She fills in one column with everything she knows about her timeline, marking off the people she knows are in town]
[After a little time, Peter shuffles into the room, his hair still wet. He's notably wearing one of Ted's shirts.]
Well whatever you've made, it smells nice.
[smiles, focused on doing something with a bunch of mini marshmallows]
Help yourself. It's in the pot in the kitchen, there's plenty
[continues making intricate circles with the marshmallows]
Ooh!
[Peter becomes completely distracted by the food, padding across the room and into the kitchen before looking in the pot. Now that he thinks about it, when was the last time he's had a full, good meal? Probably that one time he went to Miss Retro's. ...wow, that's been a bit longer than he thought-]
[smiles slightly at his distraction, calls out to him]
There's also some fresh bread. Insomniac baking comes in handy sometimes
[He gets out a bowl and gets himself some stew. He perks up his head at the mention of more food.]
Oh! Bread!
[she finishes up what she's doing with the mini marshmallows and sits back, relaxed]
[Peter sits down at the kitchen table with his freshly acquired food and digs in. He's happier than he's been in months.]
As Peter was walking past the CCRP building, he once again felt himself being pulled. A familiar, but slightly different than usual presence grabbed a hold of him, one that looked human despite the distinct smell of goat and the faint sound of turning gears.
Aha, what's this?.... You're not yourself, Petey.
- @theghostsoftheblacks
[Peter lets out an embarrassingly girly shriek at the sensation.]
What the fuck??? Who are-?
[Then he registers the scent and sound.]
Oh fuck- Please don't hurt me-
This hat and this coat..... You're not the one who usually wears them....
He peeled the hat off of Pete's head.
What do you-? Hey! Wait!
[Pete grabs for the hat.]
He giggled and stepped backwards. In just one step he was through the door and on the other side of the window.
Come and get it!
[Peter does just that, pushing the door open and going after the strange man that disturbingly reminded him of his tormentor. Like hell he was letting him get away with that hat! It's cold as shit outside!]
The security guard protested, but then recognized Pete as Ted's brother, letting him through with a quip about Pete doing a Barry Swift impression and seemingly not noticing the dancing man behind him.
Catch me if you can, Petey!
Timmy ran to a side hallway.
[Peter follows close behind.]
Motherfucker, give me back my shit!
Timmy ran into the staircase and bounded up in a manner that was rather unsafe for anyone who valued their life.
[Peter nearly misses as step as he runs after him.]
Where are you going?
He burst into a floor that wasn't the top floor, but was the top floor once.
[Pete still trails close behind, huffing and puffing a bit.]
[Wren spots Peter sitting on a bench in his beanie and coat. She frowns, her vision going blurry around the edges as she looks at him and the buzzing in her head picking up. Still, this has happened a few times since she arrived in town so she's not that concerned ... Yet.
She checks the change in her pocket and hurries to Starbucks, returning shortly with a large hot chocolate]
Umm... hey. Here
[She sets the hot chocolate down on the bench beside him]
@snowstormbird
[Peter's jostled out of his thoughts, and he looks up to see Wren offering him a hot chocolate. His eyes practically light up at the sight.]
Oh- uh- Thank you.
[He scoots over a little to give her some more bench room.]
[Wren sits, chewing nervously on her lip. How do you say to someone that they look almost identical to your cousin but you're pretty sure they're not them because they're blurry at the edges? That you're not sure if they're a clone or some other anomaly but you can tell they're in the wrong place? For all she knows he's just a very familiar stranger, the same way the homeless man downtown makes her think of Ted. Come to think of it, the homeless man is also blurry when she looks at him...]
[Instead she just says]
You need to keep your blood sugar up
[Peter takes a drink of the hot chocolate, feeling it warm him up a bit and ebb away a bit of his headache.]
[Then he hears her say that and stops, looking at her confusedly. ...How did she...?]
I'm sorry, do I know you?
[She smiles sadly]
Apparently not in this life.
[Wren considers for a moment about whether to push him on his resemblance to Peter, before deciding to leave it up to him. After accidentally exposing a clone earlier that day, she's worried that saying the wrong thing could put him in danger, especially since now she's closer she can feel all kinds of crazy signals coming off of him]
You look like my cousin, he gets low blood sugar and hot chocolate is his favourite... i guess i'm just projecting.
[There, that leaves it up to him whether to reveal exactly who he is or simply pretend it's a weird coincidence]
["Not in this life"?]
[He feels his body glitch without warning, the constant low buzzing in his muscles that he'd almost entirely forgotten about spiking painfully and then returning to normal. Well shit. Uh...here's to hoping she didn't see that and pretending like his body didn't just try to jump into another timeline.]
[Okay, so this person almost definitely knew this timeline's Peter. And was...cousins with him apparently? This could potentially get complicated...]
[Pete hesitates, not sure if he should genuinely introduce himself and risk freaking her out, or if he should just stay vague.]
No, it's fine! I just- I'm about the same. Hypoglycemic and addicted to hot chocolate, I mean. Funny that we look alike.
[He chuckles awkwardly. You know what? Fuck it. She's been nice to him this far. Might as well rip off the band-aid and see what happens.]
I'm Peter.
[Wren notices the glitch, her senses spiking, and very subtly shifts her hand so one finger is brushing against his leg, pushing her mind to connect to him and use herself as a temporary anchor]
I'm Wren.
[There are many things she could ask. She figured he's not a clone based on the glitching, and although she doesn't know much about the source of all the strange things in Hatchetfield, she guessed it's related. But right now she only really had one pressing concern]
Do you have somewhere safe to stay?
[He notices her brushing her finger against his leg and chooses not to acknowledge it beyond a brief glance down at the point of contact. It does actually help a little, focusing on that spot. The buzz dies down a little. Instead of saying anything about it though, he smiles at her as though everything's perfectly fine.]
It's nice to meet you Wren.
[He takes another sip of hot chocolate.]
Eh. Nowhere permanent if that's what you mean. I can't really stay in one place for too long.
I take it you're not here by choice then. Didn't fancy a visit to see what your family looked like elsewhere
[she fidgets, placing both hands in her lap]
Do you want to talk about it? I'm experienced with weirdness
[She remembered how alone she'd felt when her gift started to grow in strength, having no one to talk to about what was happening to her had made all the headaches, the noise, the ominous chatter of beings she didn't see but knew were beyond human, feel ten times worse. And this wasn't her Pete, her sweet cousin who played superheroes with her, who would sneak cookies when she was sad and who made it his mission to make her jump after learning she could sense when he was near. But he was still Peter. If she could help, she would]
[Peter breathes out a chuckle, smirking.]
Depends. How "weird" are you willing to let this conversation get?
[she grins]
As weird as it can.
So if I were to hypothetically say that I've been pulled against my will into alternate universes by an eldritch god for the past few...[actually, Peter wasn't sure how long he'd been at this anymore]...well, for a while now, you wouldn't bat an eye?
Nope
[Wren pulls a journal out of her bag and flicks through to a page with sketch of the lords. They're not entirely accurate images, resembling human royalty with some animalistic features, based on the fairy tales her gran used to tell her that were thinly veiled teachings from the starry children]
One of these guys?
[He leans in and looks over the drawings, four of them are relatively unfamiliar to him, but he does semi-recognize the one of T'noy Karaxis.]
Yep.
My gran told me stories about them but she always refused to say their names. Said it was like opening a door and inviting them in. Which I didn't really get until I moved here...
[brushes a finger over the careful illustrations]
She called him the blacksmith or the tinker.
[Wren looks at Peter]
Was that him earlier? Who made you start to go?
[Peter nods.]
Yeah it was. And your gran was right to be wary of saying their names. Once you start getting their attention, there's no going back.
That ship has sailed. I'm 90% sure that the voices I hear are them. Although I don't know if they're aware of me hearing them...
[makes a face, gets to her feet]
Okay. You, up. You're coming with me to Ted's house so you can shower, get some warm clothes and a hot meal. Then we are going to make a plan.
[He looks a little concerned about the idea of Wren hearing the Lords in Black in her head, but doesn't comment.]
[Peter's expression shifts to one of surprise at the instruction, his body briefly glitching again. Pete once again ignores it.]
Huh?
[Going to Ted's house? Forget the shower and warmth and food; Ted's house? It took Peter a moment to remember that he was in a completely different universe than his own...one where Ted seemingly hasn't disappeared...]
I- ...okay.
[He stands up, readjusting his jacket a bit.]
Okay. Uh...lead the way, I guess.
[She leads him towards Ted's house, unlocking the door before pausing]
Are you going to be okay here? I don't want you to get upset....
[Pete nods.]
I'll be alright. Promise.
[She pushes the door open and steps inside, holding it open. A smell of baking wafts from the kitchen, which looks like it has been caught in a mini flour tornado after another batch of insomnia baking from Wren]
Make yourself comfortable. I'll see if i can find you something warmer to wear. Luckily I tend to steal clothes off both Ted and Pete so I should have something
[Peter nods, making his way to and sitting down on the couch. It was surreal, looking around at the house. Sure, there were small inconsistencies here and there - there always were with alternate universes - but overall it felt like home. There's a pang of longing in Pete's chest as he takes in his surroundings, smelling the familiar scents, feeling the familiar couch cushion beneath him; it was almost perfect. It was perfect enough for him to truly miss home all over again.]
[In the spare room, Wren can feel the energy from Peter, feel the spike in his emotions and a scattered noise of his thoughts as well as the static hum that is always present that she now knows is her connection to the black. The bursts of noise she gets from the black are becoming more consistent while she's around Peter, almost exclusively the manic laughter.
She goes to her closet and kneels down to where a tiny altar is set up with a ring of five coloured stones surrounding one white stone. Carefully she puts a cup over the yellow stone, concentrating. There is a pressure, a stab of pain and then the laughter falls away. Perfect. It won't hold for long but it should be enough to keep Peter safe for the time being.
Wren retrieves some clothes and heads back out to the living room]
[Peter feels the buzzing sensation under his skin die down more than it has in a long time. Weird. Wonder what that's about.]
[When Wren re-enters the room, he smiles at her in greeting.]
Here. I grabbed a mix so you could pick whatever works best. Shower is down the... well you know where it is.
[she hands over the bundle of clothes]
If you want me to wash anything, just leave it outside the door. I'll make some dinner, you look like you've not eaten properly in a while
[it was surprisingly easy to fall into the familiar role of caretaker. While Ted was her guardian, she often felt like the parent in the relationship and she couldn't help extending the same to Peter, even if he had grown to tower over her during her time in Clivesdale. It probably helped that she didn't have anything outside the two Spankoffski brothers, no other family, too new and too weird to have made friends easily. What else to do with her time?
It was not because she worried Ted would get rid of her if she wasn't useful. No. Not at all]
[Peter accepts the bundle of clothes thankfully.]
Thank you. For all of this. It's been a while since someone's been genuinely just...nice to me. If there's anything that I've learned, it's that the people of Hatchetfield are pretty ruthless, particularly towards their homeless.
I'll uh...be heading towards the shower now.
[He somewhat awkwardly wanders off, indeed knowing exactly where the shower's located.]
[A (surprisingly neat) pile of the clothes he's been wearing is placed outside the bathroom door before he gets in the shower.]
[Wren puts his clothes in the wash before heating up some stew and slicing some of the bread she'd made the night before. She also retrieved a large piece of paper and drew out a grid with names down the side. She fills in one column with everything she knows about her timeline, marking off the people she knows are in town]
[After a little time, Peter shuffles into the room, his hair still wet. He's notably wearing one of Ted's shirts.]
Well whatever you've made, it smells nice.
[smiles, focused on doing something with a bunch of mini marshmallows]
Help yourself. It's in the pot in the kitchen, there's plenty
[continues making intricate circles with the marshmallows]
Ooh!
[Peter becomes completely distracted by the food, padding across the room and into the kitchen before looking in the pot. Now that he thinks about it, when was the last time he's had a full, good meal? Probably that one time he went to Miss Retro's. ...wow, that's been a bit longer than he thought-]
[smiles slightly at his distraction, calls out to him]
There's also some fresh bread. Insomniac baking comes in handy sometimes
[He gets out a bowl and gets himself some stew. He perks up his head at the mention of more food.]
Oh! Bread!
As Peter was walking past the CCRP building, he once again felt himself being pulled. A familiar, but slightly different than usual presence grabbed a hold of him, one that looked human despite the distinct smell of goat and the faint sound of turning gears.
Aha, what's this?.... You're not yourself, Petey.
- @theghostsoftheblacks
[Peter lets out an embarrassingly girly shriek at the sensation.]
What the fuck??? Who are-?
[Then he registers the scent and sound.]
Oh fuck- Please don't hurt me-
This hat and this coat..... You're not the one who usually wears them....
He peeled the hat off of Pete's head.
What do you-? Hey! Wait!
[Pete grabs for the hat.]
He giggled and stepped backwards. In just one step he was through the door and on the other side of the window.
Come and get it!
[Peter does just that, pushing the door open and going after the strange man that disturbingly reminded him of his tormentor. Like hell he was letting him get away with that hat! It's cold as shit outside!]
The security guard protested, but then recognized Pete as Ted's brother, letting him through with a quip about Pete doing a Barry Swift impression and seemingly not noticing the dancing man behind him.
Catch me if you can, Petey!
Timmy ran to a side hallway.
[Peter follows close behind.]
Motherfucker, give me back my shit!
Timmy ran into the staircase and bounded up in a manner that was rather unsafe for anyone who valued their life.
[Peter nearly misses as step as he runs after him.]
Where are you going?
*OC. Charlotte Richie's twin sister*
Pete are you okay? My brother is worried about you.
Yeahhhh....kinda?
I'm not injured, so that's good. I'm mostly just...cold.
[Wren spots Peter sitting on a bench in his beanie and coat. She frowns, her vision going blurry around the edges as she looks at him and the buzzing in her head picking up. Still, this has happened a few times since she arrived in town so she's not that concerned ... Yet.
She checks the change in her pocket and hurries to Starbucks, returning shortly with a large hot chocolate]
Umm... hey. Here
[She sets the hot chocolate down on the bench beside him]
@snowstormbird
[Peter's jostled out of his thoughts, and he looks up to see Wren offering him a hot chocolate. His eyes practically light up at the sight.]
Oh- uh- Thank you.
[He scoots over a little to give her some more bench room.]
[Wren sits, chewing nervously on her lip. How do you say to someone that they look almost identical to your cousin but you're pretty sure they're not them because they're blurry at the edges? That you're not sure if they're a clone or some other anomaly but you can tell they're in the wrong place? For all she knows he's just a very familiar stranger, the same way the homeless man downtown makes her think of Ted. Come to think of it, the homeless man is also blurry when she looks at him...]
[Instead she just says]
You need to keep your blood sugar up
[Peter takes a drink of the hot chocolate, feeling it warm him up a bit and ebb away a bit of his headache.]
[Then he hears her say that and stops, looking at her confusedly. ...How did she...?]
I'm sorry, do I know you?
[She smiles sadly]
Apparently not in this life.
[Wren considers for a moment about whether to push him on his resemblance to Peter, before deciding to leave it up to him. After accidentally exposing a clone earlier that day, she's worried that saying the wrong thing could put him in danger, especially since now she's closer she can feel all kinds of crazy signals coming off of him]
You look like my cousin, he gets low blood sugar and hot chocolate is his favourite... i guess i'm just projecting.
[There, that leaves it up to him whether to reveal exactly who he is or simply pretend it's a weird coincidence]
["Not in this life"?]
[He feels his body glitch without warning, the constant low buzzing in his muscles that he'd almost entirely forgotten about spiking painfully and then returning to normal. Well shit. Uh...here's to hoping she didn't see that and pretending like his body didn't just try to jump into another timeline.]
[Okay, so this person almost definitely knew this timeline's Peter. And was...cousins with him apparently? This could potentially get complicated...]
[Pete hesitates, not sure if he should genuinely introduce himself and risk freaking her out, or if he should just stay vague.]
No, it's fine! I just- I'm about the same. Hypoglycemic and addicted to hot chocolate, I mean. Funny that we look alike.
[He chuckles awkwardly. You know what? Fuck it. She's been nice to him this far. Might as well rip off the band-aid and see what happens.]
I'm Peter.
[Wren notices the glitch, her senses spiking, and very subtly shifts her hand so one finger is brushing against his leg, pushing her mind to connect to him and use herself as a temporary anchor]
I'm Wren.
[There are many things she could ask. She figured he's not a clone based on the glitching, and although she doesn't know much about the source of all the strange things in Hatchetfield, she guessed it's related. But right now she only really had one pressing concern]
Do you have somewhere safe to stay?
[He notices her brushing her finger against his leg and chooses not to acknowledge it beyond a brief glance down at the point of contact. It does actually help a little, focusing on that spot. The buzz dies down a little. Instead of saying anything about it though, he smiles at her as though everything's perfectly fine.]
It's nice to meet you Wren.
[He takes another sip of hot chocolate.]
Eh. Nowhere permanent if that's what you mean. I can't really stay in one place for too long.
I take it you're not here by choice then. Didn't fancy a visit to see what your family looked like elsewhere
[she fidgets, placing both hands in her lap]
Do you want to talk about it? I'm experienced with weirdness
[She remembered how alone she'd felt when her gift started to grow in strength, having no one to talk to about what was happening to her had made all the headaches, the noise, the ominous chatter of beings she didn't see but knew were beyond human, feel ten times worse. And this wasn't her Pete, her sweet cousin who played superheroes with her, who would sneak cookies when she was sad and who made it his mission to make her jump after learning she could sense when he was near. But he was still Peter. If she could help, she would]
[Peter breathes out a chuckle, smirking.]
Depends. How "weird" are you willing to let this conversation get?
[she grins]
As weird as it can.
So if I were to hypothetically say that I've been pulled against my will into alternate universes by an eldritch god for the past few...[actually, Peter wasn't sure how long he'd been at this anymore]...well, for a while now, you wouldn't bat an eye?
Nope
[Wren pulls a journal out of her bag and flicks through to a page with sketch of the lords. They're not entirely accurate images, resembling human royalty with some animalistic features, based on the fairy tales her gran used to tell her that were thinly veiled teachings from the starry children]
One of these guys?
[He leans in and looks over the drawings, four of them are relatively unfamiliar to him, but he does semi-recognize the one of T'noy Karaxis.]
Yep.
My gran told me stories about them but she always refused to say their names. Said it was like opening a door and inviting them in. Which I didn't really get until I moved here...
[brushes a finger over the careful illustrations]
She called him the blacksmith or the tinker.
[Wren looks at Peter]
Was that him earlier? Who made you start to go?
[Peter nods.]
Yeah it was. And your gran was right to be wary of saying their names. Once you start getting their attention, there's no going back.
That ship has sailed. I'm 90% sure that the voices I hear are them. Although I don't know if they're aware of me hearing them...
[makes a face, gets to her feet]
Okay. You, up. You're coming with me to Ted's house so you can shower, get some warm clothes and a hot meal. Then we are going to make a plan.
[He looks a little concerned about the idea of Wren hearing the Lords in Black in her head, but doesn't comment.]
[Peter's expression shifts to one of surprise at the instruction, his body briefly glitching again. Pete once again ignores it.]
Huh?
[Going to Ted's house? Forget the shower and warmth and food; Ted's house? It took Peter a moment to remember that he was in a completely different universe than his own...one where Ted seemingly hasn't disappeared...]
I- ...okay.
[He stands up, readjusting his jacket a bit.]
Okay. Uh...lead the way, I guess.
[She leads him towards Ted's house, unlocking the door before pausing]
Are you going to be okay here? I don't want you to get upset....
[Pete nods.]
I'll be alright. Promise.
[She pushes the door open and steps inside, holding it open. A smell of baking wafts from the kitchen, which looks like it has been caught in a mini flour tornado after another batch of insomnia baking from Wren]
Make yourself comfortable. I'll see if i can find you something warmer to wear. Luckily I tend to steal clothes off both Ted and Pete so I should have something
[Peter nods, making his way to and sitting down on the couch. It was surreal, looking around at the house. Sure, there were small inconsistencies here and there - there always were with alternate universes - but overall it felt like home. There's a pang of longing in Pete's chest as he takes in his surroundings, smelling the familiar scents, feeling the familiar couch cushion beneath him; it was almost perfect. It was perfect enough for him to truly miss home all over again.]
[In the spare room, Wren can feel the energy from Peter, feel the spike in his emotions and a scattered noise of his thoughts as well as the static hum that is always present that she now knows is her connection to the black. The bursts of noise she gets from the black are becoming more consistent while she's around Peter, almost exclusively the manic laughter.
She goes to her closet and kneels down to where a tiny altar is set up with a ring of five coloured stones surrounding one white stone. Carefully she puts a cup over the yellow stone, concentrating. There is a pressure, a stab of pain and then the laughter falls away. Perfect. It won't hold for long but it should be enough to keep Peter safe for the time being.
Wren retrieves some clothes and heads back out to the living room]
[Peter feels the buzzing sensation under his skin die down more than it has in a long time. Weird. Wonder what that's about.]
[When Wren re-enters the room, he smiles at her in greeting.]
Here. I grabbed a mix so you could pick whatever works best. Shower is down the... well you know where it is.
[she hands over the bundle of clothes]
If you want me to wash anything, just leave it outside the door. I'll make some dinner, you look like you've not eaten properly in a while
[it was surprisingly easy to fall into the familiar role of caretaker. While Ted was her guardian, she often felt like the parent in the relationship and she couldn't help extending the same to Peter, even if he had grown to tower over her during her time in Clivesdale. It probably helped that she didn't have anything outside the two Spankoffski brothers, no other family, too new and too weird to have made friends easily. What else to do with her time?
It was not because she worried Ted would get rid of her if she wasn't useful. No. Not at all]
[Peter accepts the bundle of clothes thankfully.]
Thank you. For all of this. It's been a while since someone's been genuinely just...nice to me. If there's anything that I've learned, it's that the people of Hatchetfield are pretty ruthless, particularly towards their homeless.
I'll uh...be heading towards the shower now.
[He somewhat awkwardly wanders off, indeed knowing exactly where the shower's located.]
[A (surprisingly neat) pile of the clothes he's been wearing is placed outside the bathroom door before he gets in the shower.]
[Wren puts his clothes in the wash before heating up some stew and slicing some of the bread she'd made the night before. She also retrieved a large piece of paper and drew out a grid with names down the side. She fills in one column with everything she knows about her timeline, marking off the people she knows are in town]
[After a little time, Peter shuffles into the room, his hair still wet. He's notably wearing one of Ted's shirts.]
Well whatever you've made, it smells nice.
[smiles, focused on doing something with a bunch of mini marshmallows]
Help yourself. It's in the pot in the kitchen, there's plenty
[continues making intricate circles with the marshmallows]
Ooh!
[Peter becomes completely distracted by the food, padding across the room and into the kitchen before looking in the pot. Now that he thinks about it, when was the last time he's had a full, good meal? Probably that one time he went to Miss Retro's. ...wow, that's been a bit longer than he thought-]
[Wren spots Peter sitting on a bench in his beanie and coat. She frowns, her vision going blurry around the edges as she looks at him and the buzzing in her head picking up. Still, this has happened a few times since she arrived in town so she's not that concerned ... Yet.
She checks the change in her pocket and hurries to Starbucks, returning shortly with a large hot chocolate]
Umm... hey. Here
[She sets the hot chocolate down on the bench beside him]
@snowstormbird
[Peter's jostled out of his thoughts, and he looks up to see Wren offering him a hot chocolate. His eyes practically light up at the sight.]
Oh- uh- Thank you.
[He scoots over a little to give her some more bench room.]
[Wren sits, chewing nervously on her lip. How do you say to someone that they look almost identical to your cousin but you're pretty sure they're not them because they're blurry at the edges? That you're not sure if they're a clone or some other anomaly but you can tell they're in the wrong place? For all she knows he's just a very familiar stranger, the same way the homeless man downtown makes her think of Ted. Come to think of it, the homeless man is also blurry when she looks at him...]
[Instead she just says]
You need to keep your blood sugar up
[Peter takes a drink of the hot chocolate, feeling it warm him up a bit and ebb away a bit of his headache.]
[Then he hears her say that and stops, looking at her confusedly. ...How did she...?]
I'm sorry, do I know you?
[She smiles sadly]
Apparently not in this life.
[Wren considers for a moment about whether to push him on his resemblance to Peter, before deciding to leave it up to him. After accidentally exposing a clone earlier that day, she's worried that saying the wrong thing could put him in danger, especially since now she's closer she can feel all kinds of crazy signals coming off of him]
You look like my cousin, he gets low blood sugar and hot chocolate is his favourite... i guess i'm just projecting.
[There, that leaves it up to him whether to reveal exactly who he is or simply pretend it's a weird coincidence]
["Not in this life"?]
[He feels his body glitch without warning, the constant low buzzing in his muscles that he'd almost entirely forgotten about spiking painfully and then returning to normal. Well shit. Uh...here's to hoping she didn't see that and pretending like his body didn't just try to jump into another timeline.]
[Okay, so this person almost definitely knew this timeline's Peter. And was...cousins with him apparently? This could potentially get complicated...]
[Pete hesitates, not sure if he should genuinely introduce himself and risk freaking her out, or if he should just stay vague.]
No, it's fine! I just- I'm about the same. Hypoglycemic and addicted to hot chocolate, I mean. Funny that we look alike.
[He chuckles awkwardly. You know what? Fuck it. She's been nice to him this far. Might as well rip off the band-aid and see what happens.]
I'm Peter.
[Wren notices the glitch, her senses spiking, and very subtly shifts her hand so one finger is brushing against his leg, pushing her mind to connect to him and use herself as a temporary anchor]
I'm Wren.
[There are many things she could ask. She figured he's not a clone based on the glitching, and although she doesn't know much about the source of all the strange things in Hatchetfield, she guessed it's related. But right now she only really had one pressing concern]
Do you have somewhere safe to stay?
[He notices her brushing her finger against his leg and chooses not to acknowledge it beyond a brief glance down at the point of contact. It does actually help a little, focusing on that spot. The buzz dies down a little. Instead of saying anything about it though, he smiles at her as though everything's perfectly fine.]
It's nice to meet you Wren.
[He takes another sip of hot chocolate.]
Eh. Nowhere permanent if that's what you mean. I can't really stay in one place for too long.
I take it you're not here by choice then. Didn't fancy a visit to see what your family looked like elsewhere
[she fidgets, placing both hands in her lap]
Do you want to talk about it? I'm experienced with weirdness
[She remembered how alone she'd felt when her gift started to grow in strength, having no one to talk to about what was happening to her had made all the headaches, the noise, the ominous chatter of beings she didn't see but knew were beyond human, feel ten times worse. And this wasn't her Pete, her sweet cousin who played superheroes with her, who would sneak cookies when she was sad and who made it his mission to make her jump after learning she could sense when he was near. But he was still Peter. If she could help, she would]
[Peter breathes out a chuckle, smirking.]
Depends. How "weird" are you willing to let this conversation get?
[she grins]
As weird as it can.
So if I were to hypothetically say that I've been pulled against my will into alternate universes by an eldritch god for the past few...[actually, Peter wasn't sure how long he'd been at this anymore]...well, for a while now, you wouldn't bat an eye?
Nope
[Wren pulls a journal out of her bag and flicks through to a page with sketch of the lords. They're not entirely accurate images, resembling human royalty with some animalistic features, based on the fairy tales her gran used to tell her that were thinly veiled teachings from the starry children]
One of these guys?
[He leans in and looks over the drawings, four of them are relatively unfamiliar to him, but he does semi-recognize the one of T'noy Karaxis.]
Yep.
My gran told me stories about them but she always refused to say their names. Said it was like opening a door and inviting them in. Which I didn't really get until I moved here...
[brushes a finger over the careful illustrations]
She called him the blacksmith or the tinker.
[Wren looks at Peter]
Was that him earlier? Who made you start to go?
[Peter nods.]
Yeah it was. And your gran was right to be wary of saying their names. Once you start getting their attention, there's no going back.
That ship has sailed. I'm 90% sure that the voices I hear are them. Although I don't know if they're aware of me hearing them...
[makes a face, gets to her feet]
Okay. You, up. You're coming with me to Ted's house so you can shower, get some warm clothes and a hot meal. Then we are going to make a plan.
[He looks a little concerned about the idea of Wren hearing the Lords in Black in her head, but doesn't comment.]
[Peter's expression shifts to one of surprise at the instruction, his body briefly glitching again. Pete once again ignores it.]
Huh?
[Going to Ted's house? Forget the shower and warmth and food; Ted's house? It took Peter a moment to remember that he was in a completely different universe than his own...one where Ted seemingly hasn't disappeared...]
I- ...okay.
[He stands up, readjusting his jacket a bit.]
Okay. Uh...lead the way, I guess.
[She leads him towards Ted's house, unlocking the door before pausing]
Are you going to be okay here? I don't want you to get upset....
[Pete nods.]
I'll be alright. Promise.
[She pushes the door open and steps inside, holding it open. A smell of baking wafts from the kitchen, which looks like it has been caught in a mini flour tornado after another batch of insomnia baking from Wren]
Make yourself comfortable. I'll see if i can find you something warmer to wear. Luckily I tend to steal clothes off both Ted and Pete so I should have something
[Peter nods, making his way to and sitting down on the couch. It was surreal, looking around at the house. Sure, there were small inconsistencies here and there - there always were with alternate universes - but overall it felt like home. There's a pang of longing in Pete's chest as he takes in his surroundings, smelling the familiar scents, feeling the familiar couch cushion beneath him; it was almost perfect. It was perfect enough for him to truly miss home all over again.]
[In the spare room, Wren can feel the energy from Peter, feel the spike in his emotions and a scattered noise of his thoughts as well as the static hum that is always present that she now knows is her connection to the black. The bursts of noise she gets from the black are becoming more consistent while she's around Peter, almost exclusively the manic laughter.
She goes to her closet and kneels down to where a tiny altar is set up with a ring of five coloured stones surrounding one white stone. Carefully she puts a cup over the yellow stone, concentrating. There is a pressure, a stab of pain and then the laughter falls away. Perfect. It won't hold for long but it should be enough to keep Peter safe for the time being.
Wren retrieves some clothes and heads back out to the living room]
[Peter feels the buzzing sensation under his skin die down more than it has in a long time. Weird. Wonder what that's about.]
[When Wren re-enters the room, he smiles at her in greeting.]
Here. I grabbed a mix so you could pick whatever works best. Shower is down the... well you know where it is.
[she hands over the bundle of clothes]
If you want me to wash anything, just leave it outside the door. I'll make some dinner, you look like you've not eaten properly in a while
[it was surprisingly easy to fall into the familiar role of caretaker. While Ted was her guardian, she often felt like the parent in the relationship and she couldn't help extending the same to Peter, even if he had grown to tower over her during her time in Clivesdale. It probably helped that she didn't have anything outside the two Spankoffski brothers, no other family, too new and too weird to have made friends easily. What else to do with her time?
It was not because she worried Ted would get rid of her if she wasn't useful. No. Not at all]
[Peter accepts the bundle of clothes thankfully.]
Thank you. For all of this. It's been a while since someone's been genuinely just...nice to me. If there's anything that I've learned, it's that the people of Hatchetfield are pretty ruthless, particularly towards their homeless.
I'll uh...be heading towards the shower now.
[He somewhat awkwardly wanders off, indeed knowing exactly where the shower's located.]
[A (surprisingly neat) pile of the clothes he's been wearing is placed outside the bathroom door before he gets in the shower.]
[Wren puts his clothes in the wash before heating up some stew and slicing some of the bread she'd made the night before. She also retrieved a large piece of paper and drew out a grid with names down the side. She fills in one column with everything she knows about her timeline, marking off the people she knows are in town]
[After a little time, Peter shuffles into the room, his hair still wet. He's notably wearing one of Ted's shirts.]
Well whatever you've made, it smells nice.
As Peter was walking past the CCRP building, he once again felt himself being pulled. A familiar, but slightly different than usual presence grabbed a hold of him, one that looked human despite the distinct smell of goat and the faint sound of turning gears.
Aha, what's this?.... You're not yourself, Petey.
- @theghostsoftheblacks
[Peter lets out an embarrassingly girly shriek at the sensation.]
What the fuck??? Who are-?
[Then he registers the scent and sound.]
Oh fuck- Please don't hurt me-
This hat and this coat..... You're not the one who usually wears them....
He peeled the hat off of Pete's head.
What do you-? Hey! Wait!
[Pete grabs for the hat.]
He giggled and stepped backwards. In just one step he was through the door and on the other side of the window.
Come and get it!
[Peter does just that, pushing the door open and going after the strange man that disturbingly reminded him of his tormentor. Like hell he was letting him get away with that hat! It's cold as shit outside!]
The security guard protested, but then recognized Pete as Ted's brother, letting him through with a quip about Pete doing a Barry Swift impression and seemingly not noticing the dancing man behind him.
Catch me if you can, Petey!
Timmy ran to a side hallway.
[Peter follows close behind.]
Motherfucker, give me back my shit!
[Wren spots Peter sitting on a bench in his beanie and coat. She frowns, her vision going blurry around the edges as she looks at him and the buzzing in her head picking up. Still, this has happened a few times since she arrived in town so she's not that concerned ... Yet.
She checks the change in her pocket and hurries to Starbucks, returning shortly with a large hot chocolate]
Umm... hey. Here
[She sets the hot chocolate down on the bench beside him]
@snowstormbird
[Peter's jostled out of his thoughts, and he looks up to see Wren offering him a hot chocolate. His eyes practically light up at the sight.]
Oh- uh- Thank you.
[He scoots over a little to give her some more bench room.]
[Wren sits, chewing nervously on her lip. How do you say to someone that they look almost identical to your cousin but you're pretty sure they're not them because they're blurry at the edges? That you're not sure if they're a clone or some other anomaly but you can tell they're in the wrong place? For all she knows he's just a very familiar stranger, the same way the homeless man downtown makes her think of Ted. Come to think of it, the homeless man is also blurry when she looks at him...]
[Instead she just says]
You need to keep your blood sugar up
[Peter takes a drink of the hot chocolate, feeling it warm him up a bit and ebb away a bit of his headache.]
[Then he hears her say that and stops, looking at her confusedly. ...How did she...?]
I'm sorry, do I know you?
[She smiles sadly]
Apparently not in this life.
[Wren considers for a moment about whether to push him on his resemblance to Peter, before deciding to leave it up to him. After accidentally exposing a clone earlier that day, she's worried that saying the wrong thing could put him in danger, especially since now she's closer she can feel all kinds of crazy signals coming off of him]
You look like my cousin, he gets low blood sugar and hot chocolate is his favourite... i guess i'm just projecting.
[There, that leaves it up to him whether to reveal exactly who he is or simply pretend it's a weird coincidence]
["Not in this life"?]
[He feels his body glitch without warning, the constant low buzzing in his muscles that he'd almost entirely forgotten about spiking painfully and then returning to normal. Well shit. Uh...here's to hoping she didn't see that and pretending like his body didn't just try to jump into another timeline.]
[Okay, so this person almost definitely knew this timeline's Peter. And was...cousins with him apparently? This could potentially get complicated...]
[Pete hesitates, not sure if he should genuinely introduce himself and risk freaking her out, or if he should just stay vague.]
No, it's fine! I just- I'm about the same. Hypoglycemic and addicted to hot chocolate, I mean. Funny that we look alike.
[He chuckles awkwardly. You know what? Fuck it. She's been nice to him this far. Might as well rip off the band-aid and see what happens.]
I'm Peter.
[Wren notices the glitch, her senses spiking, and very subtly shifts her hand so one finger is brushing against his leg, pushing her mind to connect to him and use herself as a temporary anchor]
I'm Wren.
[There are many things she could ask. She figured he's not a clone based on the glitching, and although she doesn't know much about the source of all the strange things in Hatchetfield, she guessed it's related. But right now she only really had one pressing concern]
Do you have somewhere safe to stay?
[He notices her brushing her finger against his leg and chooses not to acknowledge it beyond a brief glance down at the point of contact. It does actually help a little, focusing on that spot. The buzz dies down a little. Instead of saying anything about it though, he smiles at her as though everything's perfectly fine.]
It's nice to meet you Wren.
[He takes another sip of hot chocolate.]
Eh. Nowhere permanent if that's what you mean. I can't really stay in one place for too long.
I take it you're not here by choice then. Didn't fancy a visit to see what your family looked like elsewhere
[she fidgets, placing both hands in her lap]
Do you want to talk about it? I'm experienced with weirdness
[She remembered how alone she'd felt when her gift started to grow in strength, having no one to talk to about what was happening to her had made all the headaches, the noise, the ominous chatter of beings she didn't see but knew were beyond human, feel ten times worse. And this wasn't her Pete, her sweet cousin who played superheroes with her, who would sneak cookies when she was sad and who made it his mission to make her jump after learning she could sense when he was near. But he was still Peter. If she could help, she would]
[Peter breathes out a chuckle, smirking.]
Depends. How "weird" are you willing to let this conversation get?
[she grins]
As weird as it can.
So if I were to hypothetically say that I've been pulled against my will into alternate universes by an eldritch god for the past few...[actually, Peter wasn't sure how long he'd been at this anymore]...well, for a while now, you wouldn't bat an eye?
Nope
[Wren pulls a journal out of her bag and flicks through to a page with sketch of the lords. They're not entirely accurate images, resembling human royalty with some animalistic features, based on the fairy tales her gran used to tell her that were thinly veiled teachings from the starry children]
One of these guys?
[He leans in and looks over the drawings, four of them are relatively unfamiliar to him, but he does semi-recognize the one of T'noy Karaxis.]
Yep.
My gran told me stories about them but she always refused to say their names. Said it was like opening a door and inviting them in. Which I didn't really get until I moved here...
[brushes a finger over the careful illustrations]
She called him the blacksmith or the tinker.
[Wren looks at Peter]
Was that him earlier? Who made you start to go?
[Peter nods.]
Yeah it was. And your gran was right to be wary of saying their names. Once you start getting their attention, there's no going back.
That ship has sailed. I'm 90% sure that the voices I hear are them. Although I don't know if they're aware of me hearing them...
[makes a face, gets to her feet]
Okay. You, up. You're coming with me to Ted's house so you can shower, get some warm clothes and a hot meal. Then we are going to make a plan.
[He looks a little concerned about the idea of Wren hearing the Lords in Black in her head, but doesn't comment.]
[Peter's expression shifts to one of surprise at the instruction, his body briefly glitching again. Pete once again ignores it.]
Huh?
[Going to Ted's house? Forget the shower and warmth and food; Ted's house? It took Peter a moment to remember that he was in a completely different universe than his own...one where Ted seemingly hasn't disappeared...]
I- ...okay.
[He stands up, readjusting his jacket a bit.]
Okay. Uh...lead the way, I guess.
[She leads him towards Ted's house, unlocking the door before pausing]
Are you going to be okay here? I don't want you to get upset....
[Pete nods.]
I'll be alright. Promise.
[She pushes the door open and steps inside, holding it open. A smell of baking wafts from the kitchen, which looks like it has been caught in a mini flour tornado after another batch of insomnia baking from Wren]
Make yourself comfortable. I'll see if i can find you something warmer to wear. Luckily I tend to steal clothes off both Ted and Pete so I should have something
[Peter nods, making his way to and sitting down on the couch. It was surreal, looking around at the house. Sure, there were small inconsistencies here and there - there always were with alternate universes - but overall it felt like home. There's a pang of longing in Pete's chest as he takes in his surroundings, smelling the familiar scents, feeling the familiar couch cushion beneath him; it was almost perfect. It was perfect enough for him to truly miss home all over again.]
[In the spare room, Wren can feel the energy from Peter, feel the spike in his emotions and a scattered noise of his thoughts as well as the static hum that is always present that she now knows is her connection to the black. The bursts of noise she gets from the black are becoming more consistent while she's around Peter, almost exclusively the manic laughter.
She goes to her closet and kneels down to where a tiny altar is set up with a ring of five coloured stones surrounding one white stone. Carefully she puts a cup over the yellow stone, concentrating. There is a pressure, a stab of pain and then the laughter falls away. Perfect. It won't hold for long but it should be enough to keep Peter safe for the time being.
Wren retrieves some clothes and heads back out to the living room]
[Peter feels the buzzing sensation under his skin die down more than it has in a long time. Weird. Wonder what that's about.]
[When Wren re-enters the room, he smiles at her in greeting.]
Here. I grabbed a mix so you could pick whatever works best. Shower is down the... well you know where it is.
[she hands over the bundle of clothes]
If you want me to wash anything, just leave it outside the door. I'll make some dinner, you look like you've not eaten properly in a while
[it was surprisingly easy to fall into the familiar role of caretaker. While Ted was her guardian, she often felt like the parent in the relationship and she couldn't help extending the same to Peter, even if he had grown to tower over her during her time in Clivesdale. It probably helped that she didn't have anything outside the two Spankoffski brothers, no other family, too new and too weird to have made friends easily. What else to do with her time?
It was not because she worried Ted would get rid of her if she wasn't useful. No. Not at all]
[Peter accepts the bundle of clothes thankfully.]
Thank you. For all of this. It's been a while since someone's been genuinely just...nice to me. If there's anything that I've learned, it's that the people of Hatchetfield are pretty ruthless, particularly towards their homeless.
I'll uh...be heading towards the shower now.
[He somewhat awkwardly wanders off, indeed knowing exactly where the shower's located.]
[A (surprisingly neat) pile of the clothes he's been wearing is placed outside the bathroom door before he gets in the shower.]
As Peter was walking past the CCRP building, he once again felt himself being pulled. A familiar, but slightly different than usual presence grabbed a hold of him, one that looked human despite the distinct smell of goat and the faint sound of turning gears.
Aha, what's this?.... You're not yourself, Petey.
- @theghostsoftheblacks
[Peter lets out an embarrassingly girly shriek at the sensation.]
What the fuck??? Who are-?
[Then he registers the scent and sound.]
Oh fuck- Please don't hurt me-
This hat and this coat..... You're not the one who usually wears them....
He peeled the hat off of Pete's head.
What do you-? Hey! Wait!
[Pete grabs for the hat.]
He giggled and stepped backwards. In just one step he was through the door and on the other side of the window.
Come and get it!
[Peter does just that, pushing the door open and going after the strange man that disturbingly reminded him of his tormentor. Like hell he was letting him get away with that hat! It's cold as shit outside!]
