[ open ]

[aeturnus]

who: Cain (Jacob Kane) [aeturnus] / You!
what: Catch-all for the rest of the month
where: Floor Six, out in the city, Gramarye
when: July 15th-31st
warnings: n/a, will edit as necessary. pls tell me what he'd see on your character, though!

Floor Six.
[ Cain's not one much to outright bug people in their home turf. Unfortunately for the people that live on the sixth floor of communal housing, it's also his home turf and so he's definitely made himself comfortable in the meanwhile. For quite some time now, he's had a table set up in the corner of the central room with various bits and bobs and inventions — more recently, they've begun to take more concentrated shapes such as a briefcase or something circular of the same size. There's a notebook laying on the disc and, for those who know technical jargon, it appears to be working out methodology for allowing the objects to go down and up in size without harming the structural integrity. It notes his own laptop as the first example which is probably why this isn't all typed down in the first place.

There's a small bear that accompanies Cain around the floor half the time, has been around since mid-June when he recovered from the Chalice's power, strange but perhaps not too strange for where they all are right now. It speaks in simple utterances but appears to enjoy all the floormates, especially if they feel like giving it food. Where is it the other half of the time??? Good question.

Aside from that, most days he cooks for himself and others if asked. His cooking skills are fantastic, definitely above bar even when he's just making something quick, and he never really minds sharing. Once a week, however, he seems to plan something more specific and even starts setting up the making of a cheesecake; when he puts that one in the freezer to set, he puts a note on saying it's off-limits. Weird!

Other than that he's probably got a lot of books around his bed and always seems to be doing... something even if it's quiet. Finding him truly at rest and unbusy is near to impossible. At least he still sleeps sometime, at the very reasonable hours of 4-9AM. ]

Out & About.
[ There's a lot of time spent out in the city. When he isn't working on his job, projects, magic lessons, physical training, or language lessons for friends, he's wandering. It's about 40/60 since not everything is done all at once or on the same days and he knows how to structure himself. There's still too much to see in the city and more often than not he wanders just to cement the buildings and businesses in his mind, keeping an eye out for anything new or places that may have shut down or changed due to people being relocated or going home.

There's some of that, but not as much as he'd hope or expect.

Still, he forges on and keeps an eye out. Things happen all the time and he'd rather not miss it. Or at least he'd rather be there in person because inevitably everything ends up on the internet. Sometimes he'll even have purpose, such as shopping for groceries or checking out various tech shops as if he can discern their secrets just from window-shopping. ]

Gramarye.
[ Cain's here once or twice a week for multiple reasons. Much as his world is about as magical as a brick (ghosts and Reapers aside), he's found an aptitude for it within himself and takes lessons from Victor von Doom and Lucretia. So, of course, he stops by and peruses their books where he can.

Most notably he's been helping Lucretia with her project to collate information on various worlds' magical influences and how casting works there, so sorry not sorry if you get stopped to answer a few questions or maybe they just need some clarification on a statement you already made? Or maybe he's just hogging the copier because Lucretia takes Many, Many Notes and he needs versions of them for himself too.

He's probably hogging the copier the most, tbh. ]

For Loki (616).
[ Although Cain's notably been avoiding showing up to Tony's lab directly, after sending that game-like testing application to Tony (okay, maybe it really is just a game pretending to be something useful), he stops by to see if it's helped on the progress of the actual things. Unannounced because it's more of a work location than a home location and he figures if Tony's general attitude and work ethic are to base anything off of, he's probably there, right? Right.

So he shows up, laptop-phone-ridiculous-thing in his pocket and a few things he's been working on in his bag. That it doesn't seem occupied at first glance is surprising, but he'll go ahead and enter anyway. Not like a security system is really going to do much more than alert people he's here. That's the whole point. ]

Hey... Tony?

Wildcard!
[ Think of a scenario I didn't? Hit me up here. If you aren't sure whether it's cool or not, find me at biomagnet, biomagnet#1925 @ disco, or PM me! ]

Comments

[aeturnus]

More like self-improvement. I want to get back home eventually and understanding this technology is probably a once in a lifetime chance. Or... once in a regular lifetime.

[ There's the possibility that his own reality will come to similar technology naturally and of course he'll probably be around to see it, but something like that — Cain only imagines it so far in the future that he probably won't even remember this anymore. So it kind of counts, right? ]

For me, I have something I need to finish, no way around it. Even if this place is pretty nice.

[ Yeah, Dodger just called it shitty but Cain doesn't see it that way, not for what it is. ]

[smokedout]

[In all honesty, when he says 'shitty' he means 'boring', anyway. The quarantine is an absolute paradise compared to the gang wars and super-powered crime running rampant in his reality. It's just that growing up constantly fearing for your life and then suddenly not needing to really gets to some people.

Which is of course why he has to keep tradition going here.]

Why bother with it? You're here now. No way for the consequences to hit you if you stay. Might as well just forget about it, make a new life.. like the locals want you to.

[aeturnus]

There's people back there I can't abandon. World balance kind of stuff, if you believe it.

[ He shrugs a shoulder, glances over to him. ]

Might have figured it out by now but I'm going to outlive all the locals here anyway, and I don't want to get caught up in some situation that's not even my problem because I decided to stick around and sight-see for a while.

Doesn't mean I won't take the break when it's offered, though.

[smokedout]

[He's quiet for a while, mulling this over in his head. He just learned a lot, but again, it only gets filed away because he can't help himself. There's also a twinge of stress at the thought of Cain actually succeeding and getting all the people who don't want to be here out... that would mean bad things for both the part of Dodger that wants to rule the world, and the part that wants friends.]

How old are you, anyway? Serious answer this time.

[aeturnus]

Eight years shy of twenty-eight hundred.

[ If there's one thing Dodger might realize about Cain, it's that there's some knowledge he holds incredibly close... but his viewpoint on what matters and what doesn't definitely doesn't tend to line up with the majority of other people. His age isn't really an issue unless someone else makes it one, and especially not if they realize he's impossible to kill anyway. ]

[smokedout]

Jesus fucking Christ.

[Okay, that answers that. Cain decidedly does not age... and it sort of explains why he keeps getting a paternal vibe off of him.]

You know it's bullshit you're gonna look that good forever, right?

[aeturnus]

It's bullshit I'm gonna be a lot of things forever.

[ But he's really very amused by the reaction. Not bad, just a little startled. Besides, he's gotten everything he needs and is about to pay, then they're on their way back. Burgers will commence shortly. ]

If it helps, I didn't choose this, though.

[smokedout]

That just makes it more bullshit. A lot that good should be something you earn. Y'know, hate yourself for what you did to get it, that sort of shit.

[He takes a moment to snatch a few packs of cigarettes from behind the checkout before rejoining him.]

So, what, were you an experiment or something?

[aeturnus]

Well, that much is true.

[ Cain please stop speaking in riddles, jfc. Only this one is pretty straightforward: whatever he did wasn't on purpose but it led to this whole... situation. ]

No, nothing like that. I still don't know entirely why it happened.

[smokedout]

So you're telling me that you're never going to die, and never going to age, and it just fucking happened because the planets lined up for you? That is... so fucking beyond unfair.

[At least Dodger's getting a good laugh out of it. He can almost see how fucking pissed his old boss would get, trying to kill this man repeatedly and failing.]

[aeturnus]

I mean, I could pop that bubble if you want, but it is essentially... yeah, somehow, I won that lottery.

[ He just shrugs, shouldering his bag now that it's full of paid-for groceries and starts heading on back. Most of the time it's not terrible at all and some other times he wishes he'd just died with Remus or instead or anything other than this. ]

[smokedout]

I'm just glad I don't have to worry about you... and pretty lucky I'm on your good side.

[Somehow. He still doesn't really know how, but now he knows he should really appreciate it.]

But, y'know... you're gonna outlive everything in your home world, too, so why not enjoy the quarantine while you got it? Not bother with the portal and shit.

[Translation: Don't leave him alone.]

[aeturnus]

[ Cain's not unsympathetic to Dodger's request, but there's just too much on the line to stay here forever. He wonders if Dodger realizes what a short life he's going to end up leading and thus the reluctance he has to go back. Not his place to ask, however, so he doesn't. ]

It'll probably take a while to figure anything out in concrete terms, but... there's people back home trying to break death so if I don't go back and help, then I don't know about outliving anyone there, either.

[smokedout]

[The smile drops off his face at that, and he lets out a sullen little huff as he lights a new cigarette.]

Why bother? If they manage to 'break death' and you've fixed the portal, you can't come back here, yeah? You'd just be stuck with the disappointment.

[aeturnus]

Dodger.

[ He stops them walking and turns to face him, searching his expression for a moment. ]

If the portal's fixed, then it will only take people who actually want to be here. All I'd have to do is... want to be here when I'm done. I can't just stay here without the option.

[smokedout]

[He stops with him, and listens, but he's far from happy at the sound of it. His brow twitches, before he walks past him.]

Whatever. I'm not gonna stop you.

[aeturnus]

[ Well, it's not the worst reaction, but there's a responsibility Cain can't ignore in his own world. He can't just leave Abel and his descendants to it no matter how nice it is here. ]

On the other hand... you could always come with me if you don't feel like heading to your own world.

[smokedout]

[He's quiet for a while, thinking it over. He hadn't really thought about hopping worlds... it feels a little like cheating, and it's a daunting proposition even with the knowledge that he'd probably be able to come back. At the very least it's less stressful than having Cain leave him and have to wait for the next time the man feels like he wants to be in the quarantine...

...But as good a friend as Cain is, he isn't a master. He's struggling enough on his own, without adding yet another new world to the mix where he might have even more trouble figuring out where he belongs. Dodger just shakes his head after some thought.]

It's more complicated than that. I don't belong outside of my world, I'm just biding my time until I have to go back.

[aeturnus]

I'm not going to push or anything. We've got a long time left before any of this will actually matter.

[ Smart as Cain is and good as his studies are going, gaining proficient knowledge in a new field takes time. Especially with others here who have already been working on it for longer and with better resources. ]

We've got burgers to make and other dinners to think up in the meantime, too.

[smokedout]

Yeah.

[He moves a little closer to Cain as he follows him, suddenly feeling... stressed, at the thought of Cain disappearing some day. It makes him wonder if he'd actually say goodbye first, or just.. be gone, like Mae had.

He's started scratching his wrist.]

[aeturnus]

[ Cain watches him, for a moment, then silently holds a hand out when he sees the scratching motion. Bit of a question in his gaze. ]

[smokedout]

[It isn't until Cain gives him that look that he even notices he was scratching. Then he glances down, stops, and shoves his hands in his pockets.]

[aeturnus]

[ Not quite what he was intending, but he'll take that too. He gives a smile to show that it's okay and focuses back on to where they're going instead. Quiet is fine with him, he just doesn't want Dodger to be left with crummy thoughts when it isn't what he intended. ]

[smokedout]

[They're in the elevator, headed back up to the kitchen, when Dodger finally speaks again. He's been stewing in his thoughts the whole time, but now conscious that Cain had seen him scratching and doing his absolute best not to do it again.]

Hey- Jake? Can I ask you something?

[aeturnus]

[ It's obvious Dodger's been thinking on something, but Cain isn't going to interrupt that if it's just thoughts. He's good with the quiet and there isn't much to talk about until dinner is getting made, anyway, where he's considering having Dodger watch him work and perhaps learn something for the future. ]

Of course. Go ahead.