riverviewlogs | [ open ] #throwbackthursday

who: Cain (now Romulus), Anyone
what: During the effects of the Temporal Chalice, Cain gets to explore some of his much, much earlier years. He's in his early twenties, not immortal, shy and gentle, and goes by his birth name: Romulus. Oops.
when: 15th until the event ends.
where: Housing during the day (floor six + around), and out in the Quarantine at night mostly. Specific starters upon request.
warnings: Romulus at this point in his life is a slave. Mentioned of free vs not, expectations of having lesser value, and possible other related subjects are very likely. More will be edited in if necessary.

i. Housing. Floor six.
[ He's not sure what to do with himself here. One of the first things Romulus did when he came to was familiarize himself with the device he carries around with him, because he remembers that being important, and notices that the job he only vaguely recalls sent a message to not show up if you couldn't do the work citing distraction to the other workers who were still in their right minds. He supposes that means he should stay away from the place and he intends to. It just doesn't leave him a whole lot to do aside from putter around the floor he knows he belongs in, even if most of his belongings feel foreign and familiar at the same time. Sparse, too. Some technology to work, small knickknacks here and there, and nothing that really speaks to who he is. All except for a plain lantern hanging from the bedpost with scenery drawn on it that makes him feel more at home. It's familiar to him, only a breath away, if he were back home at all. That lantern is lit every night to help him sleep.

Either way, Romulus putters. Messes around in the kitchen to try and make food but plenty of the products are foreign and confusing and he sticks with what he knows, basic fruits and vegetables and puts together simpler things with simpler tools and methods. He's not going for anything fancy, just subsiding on what he can until he figures out what he's doing here anymore. What he doesn't do is actively bother anyone. Finds his own supplies and makes sure whatever he uses is communal and doesn't belong to anyone in particular, shops with the money he's found for himself to buy things he can't find.

It's probably easier to ignore the guy who's suddenly turned wallflower around floor six, or even in the rest of the building where he comes and goes quite often out to explore the city. Except... he didn't used to be like this, not at all, entire demeanor changed. Not that he's the only one but it's pretty radical and noticeable. Kinda sad, really. ]

ii. Quarantine.
[ Mostly, he goes out at night. Lots of people don't notice the nervous ones at night because crime still exists but Quarantine is better protected and managed than most cities in other universes, apparently, and a lot of the older residents expect the nervous ones to calm down eventually. Romulus isn't nervous because of crime, but instead because it feels like a lie. He shouldn't be out here without a cause or an order or a reason given to him to explain if anyone catches him out — but he's not doing anything wrong. There's no master here, no one holding him in their hands and certainly no one to say he can't explore or shop or live.

It's freedom, and it has his heart constantly in his throat. What do you do with freedom?

Either way, he stumbles into people because he's not paying attention, lost in thought. Flinches back and swerves to press nearer to the walls or almost walks into the street sometimes and has to get fished out of the way. It's all very nerve-wracking, but again, people expect it more in the darkness for whatever reason. Sometimes he does go out in the day, too, but this is easier for him. ]

I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to run into you—forgive me.

[ He doesn't meet many peoples' eyes in the dark of the night, either. ]

iii. Wild Card.
[ Romulus gets places he shouldn't. Curiosity is certainly his vice and that's never gotten him anyplace good. It's usually up to Remus to keep him from wandering and Remus isn't here. He doesn't go into dangerous-looking places, but stores or odd streets or stopping to watch something odd? There's no reason not to. ]

[ Make something up, and I'll work a response in! Contact at plurk or at biomagnet#1925 @ disco to discuss more if necessary. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It has? How so?

[ His memories just aren't concrete enough for him to place a difference. It's definitely been frustrating to know things only so vaguely. ]

Well, it seems I've been sent forward into the future by a good handful of years.

(This probably sounds bizarre to him.) Turns out, things have changed.

[ It's more than bizarre, but he's keeping up well enough. Trying to. Making it work somehow in his head. ]

Should they... not have?

Edited (tenses and shit, whoops) 2017-06-21 04:22 (UTC)

Not like this.

Maybe. I don't know.

(She sighs again, and folds her arms.) It's complicated.

I'm not much help with complicated... I apologize.

[ She didn't?? ask for help???? Romulus pls. ]

It's alright. I don't know if I can talk about it, so it's moot, I suppose.

(Can't, or won't? Good dose of both, probably.)

Thank you all the same, though.

[ It doesn't really matter which since neither is his business. ]

It's nothing, Ma'am. [ There's a quick grimace, one step away from a flinch. ] Lucretia.

(She actually laughs at that, unable to help herself.)

You're quite insistent on the Ma'am stuff, huh. Cain wasn't the same level of polite that you are.

It's only proper. [ His nose wrinkles. ] Slaves below free men, using their name is very poor manners.

[ Maybe it needs to be explained? If people here aren't used to people like him, maybe it just... is something they don't understand. He's not the same as them. ]

Slaves?

(Her smile fades, replaced by a raised eyebrow.) Pardon, but what do you mean exactly?

(She thinks she knows, though, and abruptly feels quite sad about it.)

I'm a slave.

[ Simple, yeah? ]

It must be hard to tell... [ And he gestures vaguely to himself, all dressed up in Cain's casual clothes not unlike many of the people here. He doesn't stand out a whole lot. Which is part of the point, but not getting what he wants across, either. ]

(Pretty simple.

Lucretia rubs the back of her neck, fingers carding through her short hair.)

I'm sorry– I didn't know. (Have... h-have you tried not being a slave, Romulus.)

That's quite all right, Ma'am.

[ He does smile, just a bit, while he's not really looking at her anymore. It feels correct, how things have always been, and yet something twists in his chest. This familiarity has started to become a sharp pain because he wants the freedom people assume, and he won't have it because it will be a lie. At some point, he'll go back home and things will be back to... normal. Trying to not be a slave feels like a punishment more than an attainable goal. ]

(Oh, she can't be bothered correcting him this time; she just nods, smiling shortly. Of course she hardly knows Cain, really. How could she know any more about him after only a few days worth of conversation? But this... version of him is so drastically different it's slightly unnerving.)

I'm sorry I can't do anything to help. (She isn't sure why she just said that, but she does mean it. She wishes she could help him. He's very kind.)

Help?

[ Of course, he doesn't know what he'd need help with. There's not much he's really got going on here... ]

If anything, I should be helping you with something. Were you... heading anywhere?

No, not particularly.

(She sighs, and looks up at the sky, at the stars dotted across it.) Just thinking about things, really.

... Though, if you just so happened to have a wand or something akin to it on you, that would be extremely helpful. (Super long shot, she knows.)

A wand?

[ Him? Magic? It takes him by surprise, but he shakes his head in the negative. ]

No, unfortunately, I don't have anything like that.

I thought as much.

(She tries to grin at him, but it looks more like a grimace. She really needs a wand.)

Worth a shot, I suppose.

It shouldn't be hard to find one, at least...? This place has everything.

You have a point.

... Are you going to be inconvenienced, if I help to send the chalice back?

(His answer doesn't actually matter because she's doing it either way, but she's curious.)

What do you mean? The chalice is... what is making everything different, isn't it?

Yes.

But I suppose there could be circumstances in which people are more comfortable with it still being here.

(Explaining it like this to him, it suddenly is very very stupid of her to have asked this.)

You're probably fine with me wanting to get rid of it, huh.

[ There's something of a sad smile on his face. ]

Yes. It would have to happen sooner or later, and... I'd like to go back to Remus.

Hopefully sooner, rather than later, (she mutters darkly, then clears her throat.)

Uh– who's Remus?

Is it that difficult to deal with?

[ His brow furrows at the question, shoulders hunching just a bit. People who know him as someone else, who don't know who Remus is. ]

He's my brother. We've... never been apart.

(no subject)

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