[ 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

[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.

[smokedout]

Did you, uh... did you know someone called Mae Borowski while she was here? This tall, punk rock sorta look, black... fur... sorta looked like a cat?

[From his tone... wherever he's going with this, it seems very important to him.]

[aeturnus]

[ Well, Cain has no idea where this is going and his answer probably won't help, but he's definitely intrigued now... ]

No, I don't think I met her. A friend?

[smokedout]

Yeah, she was... my only friend here, for a pretty long while.

[He takes a deep breath... this is really the first time he's talked about her since she disappeared.]

I was helping her fix her bass up - we were talking about playing together, y'know? And then one day I went in her room and.. she and her roommate were both gone. Her roommate's still around here, she moved somewhere in town, but Mae's just- gone. She went back through the portal, and... it's like she never existed.

[aeturnus]

[ Just like that? Now he's definitely getting a better idea of what's got Ddoger so upset about the idea of him leaving. For someone who doesn't admit to even having friends easily, it must have been pretty devastating. ]

You know she was here, so she definitely existed. [ He sighs. ] She didn't say goodbye, though.

[smokedout]

[He nods, holding back the urge to scratch much harder than before.]

I've still got all our communications on the network. Even this.. video, of her singing and playing bass, she's a terrible singer... we met a few days after we both got here, I broke a vending machine and gave her some snacks when she helped patch me up. She was kinda like.. a little sister.

[He's rambling, but... really, how else are you supposed to deal with carrying around all of that grief and having no one to talk to about it for months?]

[aeturnus]

[ Rambling is okay, and Cain definitely doesn't seem to mind at all. He just lets Dodger speak and try to figure this out for himself. ]

Now she's gone, but she isn't dead, so... where does that leave you? Left behind?

[ He's got this absurd urge to reach out and pull Dodger into a hug but holds back for now, just leans slightly in his direction to see how Dodger reacts to the proximity first. ]

[smokedout]

I guess.

[He notices the motion, and... hesitates, before leaning just a bit in turn. He's not making the first move, but he'll accept it if it's coming.]

You'd think I'd be used to it by now.

[aeturnus]

It takes a lot more than you'd think to get used to that. Doesn't ever really stop hurting, either.

[ Take it from the really, really old guy. Also take this hug, as Cain reaches out around Dodger's shoulders and fits the guy against his side, no matter that Dodger is a little bigger than he is. This is a very practiced motion, comfortable. ]

[smokedout]

[He'd been fully expecting the hug, and yet... somehow it still shocks him a little, just how rewarding it feels. He can't even remember the last time someone hugged him, and... yeah, he's really been starved for this sort of attention.

Without much conscious thought involved, Dodger hugs him back in a tight grasp, hiding his face in Cain's shoulder. He may be taller and larger, but.. that doesn't stop him from feeling a bit like a little kid, basking in comfort like this.]

[aeturnus]

[ Cain just holds him for a while, arms up over his shoulders like he's bigger, like he's someone able to protect him, like family. A father, perhaps. And just lets him stay like that, encouraging Dodger to cling as tightly and lean as far as he needs. One of his hands finds the nape of Dodger's neck and he rubs small circles with his thumb, just little comfort that comes naturally. ]

[smokedout]

[Yeah, that... that really gets to him. Now he's sure the last time he got a hug like this, it came from his mother. And that really hits home that Cain really is.. kind of like a father. Keeping him fed, giving him advice, just.. being there for him. The sort of shit Benny McQueen had never bothered with, too busy raising Dodger to be an emotionless machine for following his orders.

He's wiping his eyes as he pulls away from the hug, doing his best to seem unaffected but at least comfortable that Cain won't tease him for it. God, he feels like a sap.]

Let's... uh. Let's get those burgers done, yeah? You need any help with 'em?

[aeturnus]

[ That motion gets a fond smile from Cain and he leads them into the kitchen to unpack and start readying the area for what he wants to do. ]

Yeah, sure. I'll get the stuff out and you can start forming the patties. How's that sound?

[smokedout]

Yeah... yeah, I can do that.

[Be cool, Dodger. He takes a moment to shake off his moment of weakness before moving to help out. More than anything he just needs something to keep his hands busy.]

Tonight's... kind of a mess, huh. The surprises, and... me being a moody asshole.