open 🌌 crime of the day: overworking

[chimericalclaw]

Who: Altius & you??
Where: clinic; residential district ruins; network; around the city generally
When: immediately after the March event into early April
What: In the wake of monsters, Altius attempts to deal with the consequences.
Warnings: suicidal ideation

⬬ when you lose your self esteem | recovery; mid-late March

[The shade isolates himself as the Black Beast is destroyed—though by that point the wisps of shadow that trail behind him and disappear reveal enough of the man that it would have been obvious, had anyone been there to see him, that the wish to be nothing was losing its hold on him. As the transformation finally fades, Zekarion collapses, burns from light scattered across his body with the most severe of them spreading across his back.

Eventually, someone finds him. After that, he spends nearly a day unconscious.]

A [When he wakes in the clinic it's with panic. A shuddering gasp marks his return to consciousness, and he pays no attention to his injuries as he grasps at his head desperately, as if to make sure it's still there. Amber eyes wide, his sharp gaze darts then to where his mostly-ruined belongings sit on the other side of the room—then, finally, to whoever might be there in the room with him.]

B [Altius politely but firmly declines staying in the clinic more than absolutely necessary, given the circumstances—meaning he isn't there more than a day after waking. Though his burns are unpleasant even after some magical healing, eventually he gets around to convincing whoever might want to keep him there that he's capable of taking care of himself, promising to update anyone concerned about the matter. Really, the thing he ends up more willingly waiting for is a change of clothes—though it's not from his own wardrobe that he ends up dressed. After that, he's taking stock of his salvageable inventory—onyx tie clip, small pouch, wallet and partly-singed notebook—as he prepares to get going.]

⬬ that's when love dies | ruins; mid-late to late March

A [His obvious immediate first stop is... what used to be his house. Or it would have been, had the destruction not been clear two blocks away from it, debris from the collapsed buildings scattered as if from some sort of explosion. His steps slow to a stop before he takes it all in, then—

He laughs. Three seconds of the helpless sound; three seconds of silence as all the energy of it leaves him. His shoulders only sink so far, as if he's holding himself in place, and he only allows himself a brief moment of stillness before he prepares to step through the rubble.]

B [Later, when he's less obviously a mess and more put together, he comes back to continue salvaging what he can. He does more than look through his own home, though; if he happens to spot anyone else also sorting through the destruction, wherever it might be, he's more likely than not to step forward and lend a hand.

And sometimes, in other parts of the city where Altius isn't, a small number of black creatures made of crystal help with the work—though not possessed of any great magic and only rising to most people's waists, their giant jaws of sharp points are good for breaking through debris and making it easier to move.]

⬬ you look like you're bluffing | network, un: altius; end of March

I'm looking into building a new agricultural and general garden space within the city for the Chosen. I have little experience with cultivating plants, so I'm interested in speaking to anyone willing to contribute their expertise or effort. I'll compensate you appropriately.

[It's short and to the point. He doesn't think he needs to explain why.]

⬬ tell me, is it death, you feel | erasure; early April

[Before now, it would have been invisible. But sometimes, as the days go on, he slips.

When will this be over? — I don't want to be here. — What good is any of this doing?

As he thinks this, shadow overtakes whatever he has his hand on—a door, a set of documents, a box, a slab of broken bricks—and before he can register it as much more than a change of color, it disappears entirely, disintegrated into nothing.

Altius freezes. His expression blanks, the only thing remaining there intensity. The tremor in his posture might speak to the internal battle for control that he's waging over himself.]

⬬ that will bring you peace of life? | wildcard

[Altius contacts those he works with in order to check up on them specifically, and those who answered his call for volunteers to compensate them as promised. As for those the shade encountered... he's slightly less direct, seeking them out physically in what he thinks to be their general haunts to test if they're even amenable to his approach. With his home destroyed and the city in some disarray, there's no real guarantee of stopping by somewhere and seeing him.

He may have seemed to have an impressive work ethic before, but at this stage it wouldn't be mistaken to consider his constant movement unhealthy. Even to those who didn't speak to him as a shadow, it's clear that something is off about him, a stiffness in his demeanor, especially after his discovery of his new ability—when he stops openly gesturing and offering the physical reassurance he usually does, and pointedly keeps hands to himself.

ooc: Anything else? Hit me up at lumieresdedragon or PWM!]

Comments

[followyourstar]

[There's a hole in the library today.

Not a real one--at least, Dante doesn't think there's a real one (and if there is, it's one they haven't seen)--but a hole nonetheless. As always, they didn't realize it was there until they caught sight of Altius somewhere off to the side while they were putting a book back in its place.

He's looking at them sometimes, they think. But they're not sure if they should approach.

Would it make things awkward to do so, they wonder, considering what had occurred only weeks before?

Or... he couldn't be there to talk to them, could he?]

[chimericalclaw]

[There are times when the particulars of Dante's head are incredibly inconvenient. Today is one such time, where Zekarion can make no eye contact, see no shift in expression, nor comfortably gauge how his approach would be taken through the cues he's so used to interpreting.

Given what he took from them... he wouldn't be terribly surprised if they reconsidered their offer entirely and decided they'd prefer if he never showed his face around them again.

Well. Dante hasn't outright fled, and they don't even seem tense. He thinks he must have been noticed by now, so surely it should be fine for him to speak with them properly. He smooths his hair briefly and lets out a breath as he makes the decision.

He just wonders if there's any point to it.

The table he lays a hand on as he's passing to step towards them is the unfortunate victim to his new power, disappearing into scattered black particles and sending a lamp and a handful of books crashing to the ground. His head whips to the noise, first in surprise, but when he recognizes what's happened a split second later, he goes stiff, the emotion in his face disappearing just as clearly as the table.]

[followyourstar]

[They've just about convinced themselves to bite the bullet and talk with him when the sudden clatter of lamps and books to the floor sends them jumping about a foot, letting out a whistle of surprise.

...The table's gone.

They stare at the spot where it was, glance over at Altius, and then look back to the spot the table had been once again.

...Okay, yeah. They should definitely say something.]

< So, uh... H-Hey. >

[Not the smoothest approach. But at least the approach has been made.]

wildcard

[theskyaccepts]

[Once he finally feels up to moving, which takes a few days because using that much Dying Will Flame does have a limit, Tsuna starts exploring the town in the devastation. There is a lot to clean up. It's almost overwhelming.

But you have to start somewhere and so Tsuna does, visiting locations that are important to him in turn. And eventually he makes it to the post office. He looks a little tired, a little dirty. He might have stopped to help clear rubble here and there.]

[chimericalclaw]

[Altius himself is looking a bit less put together—though he's had the time to clean up and acquire enough of a wardrobe to be respectable, there's a slower sense to his movement and a heaviness to his eyelids. With his healing magic he can rid himself of such obvious tells as dark circles, but it can't erase his exhaustion entirely.

Because he hasn't yet convinced all his local employees to return, he's doing some active organization himself when Tsuna comes in, looking about the way he feels. Maybe a little better, actually—but still.]

Tsunayoshi.

[Insisting his employees keep at their usual thing is far from his mind, especially in light of how the young man looks.]

How are you doing?

[theskyaccepts]

I...I'm alright. Still in one piece.

[He smiles, but winces a little. Things are still sore.]

What about you? And this place?

Is everything okay?

erasure

[digthefuzz]

[Kurt felt an immense relief once the wish monster crisis seemed to end, especially hearing that people like Altius were recovering. He had been giving him some space while he recovered, but he knew he wanted to check in with him eventually. And perhaps he heard that Altius wanted to talk to him to. And so it is that Kurt eventually happens upon him by one reconstruction project. Altius seems a bit distracted, but Kurt can't tell by what. Regardless, Kurt's more excited to see him in one solid piece again.]

Yo! Altius!

[chimericalclaw]

[The greeting only snaps him out of it physically—he whips around to face the young man, eyes still wide with an odd, serious expression on his face.

There's wood dust on his hands and forearms, where his sleeves have been rolled up. A few moments ago, there was a set of planks.]

Kurt.

[His forced reply is hardly above a whisper. It's the best he can do as he regains control of himself.]

[digthefuzz]

[It's definitely good to see him in one solid piece, but Kurt does find himself concerned by his appearance and response. His smile starts turning into a concerned frown.]

The one and only! ...Are you okay?

when love dies;

[laserguy]

[Of course Scott made it his mission to try and help out around Aldrip as much as he possibly can.

It's the very least that he should be doing after spending a good portion of his time in the clinic and recovering from his injuries. He felt like he should've done more-- and that's what he's doing now. Not to mention the whole thing with Altius, an encounter that's made him confused and worried and everything else. Like, is he okay? Is... Scott didn't kill him, right? He could've just send Altius a message, but he's already out and about, his movements bringing him closer and closer to where the man lives anyway.

Well, lived. This area is a wreck. It's grim, seeing all this. How much damage was done from the Black Beast. Not the first time something like this happened to the city, but it still sucks. Maybe it hits harder after everything back home.

But that's when he also hears it, a small sharp laugh echoing around the destroyed neighborhood and that gets Scott to walk faster to its source. By now, the voice is familiar enough that he can tell who it came from, that worry from before expanding along with a strange sense of relief to hear Altius again. So, he hurries. Until he's panting, a few feet away from the older man.]

H-Hey...

[Great start.]

[chimericalclaw]

[The man he comes across might almost look like someone else entirely: clothes that don't quite fit him, hair allowed its naturally unruly waves, a few days of scruff on his chin and a dazed, exhausted look in his eye as he turns to Scott. He blinks like he's not quite sure how to react, like Scott's appearance hadn't even registered as a possibility in the midst of all of this.]

You...?

[An even worse start. Still, he manages something else, after a moment.]

... What are you doing here? [He says it like he truly has no clue. He's fairly certain Scott doesn't live in this area...]

recovery a

[eternalcutie]

[czeslaw has been helping out at the clinic - at first, in "exchange" for staying there during the whole many-headed beast situation, as though ethlyn would have turned him away regardless - but now just to have something to do, if he's being honest.

it just happens that he's delivering a set of clean cloths and bandages to altius's bedside as the man awakens. he startles a bit as altius wakes suddenly, and offers him a tentative, somewhat sheepish smile as the man's gaze turns to him.]

Oh, ah...it's Altius, isn't it? Don't worry, it's safe here.

[that should allay some of his worries, right?]

[chimericalclaw]

[The words, at least, do help to break him further out of his initial anxiety—they're an external thing to focus on, allowing him to take stock of his senses. A bed, which he could not have lain in nor felt, if he were a shadow. Lights above that would have burned him. Pain dulled by some manner of medicine that could not have possibly been administered were he not solid and human.

His eyes remain wide as they stare at first, but as the seconds pass, he starts to calm.]

Czeslaw—?

[It's a breathed expression, more out of an attempt to reassure himself of the situation than to address the apparently-young man. An affirmation of his own memory. He recalls seeing Czeslaw moving about as he too did his best to help out in the clinic in the first half of the crisis—before he left for what was only meant to be a short time, and...

Rather than think about that, he starts to push himself up from his side—lying him on a back covered with severe burns would have been a poor move. It's also not exactly a great move for him to try to sit up, but that's not about to stop him.]

text; un: goo

[mightymorphin]

can't say I have a green thumb, but there's a good handful of gardening books in the mansion's library. I could pick out a few of the more practical ones to donate to the cause.

text;

[chimericalclaw]

Thank you. I'd appreciate whatever you might be able to find.

[At least the fact that he only has smaller companies here to manage here means he has time to do the sort of in-depth research he feels will be more effective, but... at what cost.]

The X-Mansion, yes? Shall I meet you there? When would be a good time?

recovery ( a )

[incorrigibles]

[ the clinic is an obvious stop — not just because of scott there, of course, but to check on anyone else he knows... and because right now, he doesn't really have anywhere else to be, either. the house is too empty, and he feels better when he's doing things that matter —

in any case, that leads to here: him sitting by altius' bedside, because if nothing else, at least he can keep him company while he recovers. and when the man startles awake, charles sits upright in his chair, reaches out to touch altius' shoulder with his hand, with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever. ]

Hey, hey, [ he says, aiming for soft and reassuring, ] You're okay. You're at the clinic.

[chimericalclaw]

[Charles... is unfortunately not a comforting sight. Not exactly.

Though the sense of being a physical being once more is helping him to not panic more, there's nevertheless a sense of horror in his eyes. Charles is only one of many he tried to erase—deleting pieces of them in the hopes that once he was done, he could erase their existence entirely. Could take them with him.

Perhaps the worst part is that he still wishes he could, as much as he knows it's impossible.

His eyebrow twitches under where one of his hands grasps at his hair, and he remains silent aside from his shaky breaths, staring.]

ruins ( a )

[runeing]

[ he has been lucky — he is not injured, first of all, and the explosion whose cause he hasn't been able to determine only hit his house, not the laboratory... or perhaps it did both, and whatever part of the simulation's programming that brought his lab here from piltover decided to spare it.

in any case, his steps lead him around the area, to take stock of the destruction (and, to a lesser extent, see if it really is so that both jayce and miss medarda are gone, like their names gone from the devices would suggest)... only it isn't simply a house in ruins he comes across, but a man, too, haggard and tired in a way he's never seen him before, sorting through the rubble.

he wonders whether the kinder thing to do would be to simply walk past.

he stops anyway. ]

Altius. [ a greeting, as well as announcing his presence, if the clanking of his crutch hasn't done that already. ] Was this your house? My condolences.

[chimericalclaw]

[As distracted as he is by this whole mess, he nevertheless keeps an awareness of his surroundings; he has no intentions of suffering through any more than he absolutely has to at this point, and he doesn't know if he can trust it to remain peaceful in the wake of this disaster.

All of that is to say that he stops where he's moving debris off of a certain spot and lifts his head at the sound of Viktor's approach.]

Thank you, Viktor. [He says it with something nearing a sigh, voice as low in terms of energy as he appears. Altius looks the man up and down, searching for signs of any effects of their latest crisis.] You're just passing through, I hope.

[Rather than finding his own home like this...]

network, un: kuwabara

[machizumo]

All I got's effort, but I know a guy

text

[chimericalclaw]

Effort is just as vital and appreciated as knowledge. Who would that be, though?

Erasure

[mysophobic]

[ Shigeru has also been giving the other man his space. But during the cleanup efforts, Shigeru will be restoring some partially crumbled stonework to the side of a building. His eyes were glowing, tentacles out, as they shifted and undulated around him. He'll notice Altius then stopping what he's doing to go over. ]

Are you...[ A soft sigh. ]

Is everything alright? [ Asking if he's okay seemed silly because Shigeru knows he probably isn't, so something else entirely. ]

[chimericalclaw]

[Altius had greatly appreciated Shigeru's assistance towards his quick recovery, but had largely been tightlipped regarding anything other than his physical state at the time. It was the lowest state anyone's probably seen him in since he's been here, and if he had any shame he would have considered it humiliating.

Now, though, physically speaking, he's back in full form—as put together as one could expect of someone aiding with the physical labor of rebuilding. But the momentary lapse in resolve that he would have typically pushed past with no trouble has had a tangible effect, and he can't just ignore the fact that he's just deleted the set of bricks he was carrying.

Shigeru's question causes him to curl his open hands into fists, a strained look on his face and his reply pushed out as a low mutter.]

It's nothing.

[ha get it because—]

[network - voice; un: kurama]

[sinningtree]

[sometime after Kuwabara's message and he's found Kurama to bring his attention to the post, maybe the next day.]

Perhaps I could be of some assistance. Growing plants is sort of a specialty.

voice

[chimericalclaw]

[Aha... the friend himself appears, after all? Perhaps his concerns were unnecessary. His response is smooth; he's had a few days to recover, making it easier to be less blunt and more polite, as he prefers.]

So I've been told, Mr. Kurama. I'd be glad to have your help. [But to be sure:] Are you doing alright? I heard you've been a bit hard to find.