[ 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]

[ Cain's getting one of the tables set up since it's also pretty important to make it more of a sit-down thing for someone, he suspects, who never had that. Just give them more time to talk if they want, or to just enjoy the meal. ]

Yep. Even burgers can be done well if you know what you're doing.

[smokedout]

[Dodger's table manners are far from up to scratch... even when he was living with Benny, the rules weren't too strict about how he ate. And god knows none of his bosses afterward cared as long as he kept following orders. But at the very least he doesn't make much of a mess, and... well. The burger's gone within a minute anyway.]

Seriously... you would wanna leave me alone here after introducing me to your fuckin' cooking. You're a cruel man, Jake.

[aeturnus]

I don't want to leave you.

[ He laughs and shakes his head, motioning to the others for Dodger to help himself to if he wants. Cain's going to work on this first one and then get another if he feels like it. ]

I could always teach you some things if you wanted. Oh, and don't forget to leave room for dessert.

[smokedout]

I've always got room for more.

[He had eaten more than half of that lasagna... and most of the meals Cain has cooked since. And... despite himself, the grin on his face gets warmer at the reassurance that Cain wouldn't leave by choice. He doesn't believe him, not in the least, but... it's nice.]

I.. think I might like that, actually. Can't object to eating like this more often.

[aeturnus]

[ It's duty that will make him leave more than actual choice. For him, this is something he lives for, to protect the balance he was never brave enough to break. If he couldn't do it when there would be hardly any repercussions before the Enforcers really came around... then no one else will get to. That's the closest thing he has to a purpose. ]

Yeah, it's a great skill to have. Self-sufficiency with flavor.

[smokedout]

Hell yeah.

[He's already halfway through his second burger, although... he's going slower with this one. His bottomless stomach can still get hurt if he eats too fast. And then he has a thought.]

Hey... you know if the portal can bring in people that are dead? Y'know, bring 'em back to life and shit?

[aeturnus]

[ Huh, what a question. It's loaded with meaning and curiosity and weirdly enough, Cain does have an answer for it. That will probably bring up more questions but there's no reason to not do so. ]

I think so. I've seen it, anyway.

[smokedout]

[He nods quietly. There's no one he would want to see from his world, but...]

You think your brother might come here?

[aeturnus]

[ He pauses at that, considers how to talk about or even explain this. Exhales slowly. ]

I mean... he's an Enforcer, hasn't passed on or anything. He's around? It's entirely possible. Just... really complicated, too.

[smokedout]

[There's a long pause while Dodger searches his mind and tries to remember what he'd been told about Enforcers. Right... ghosts of people who could see ghosts when they were alive, that kill people so Reapers don't have to.]

Holy hitman, right. [He tips his head.] But uh- why is that complicated?

[He kind of doubts it's something like what's stopping him from wanting his brother here... Cain's too nice a person for something like that to happen.]

[aeturnus]

Well, he's pretty married to the job for one thing. Doesn't remember living, either.

[ Cain's just not used to having to explain his brother to anyone. Not past the part where he died and he's an Enforcer and doesn't remember anything now because there wasn't anything else to say. Not until a few months ago, and that's so recent in comparison that it boggles his mind. ]

[smokedout]

[Well.. that's definitely different from his brother's situation. And unfortunately, not something Dodger really gets.]

Does he remember you?

[aeturnus]

Nope!

[ He says it cheerily, obviously fake because ain't that just grand? He lets it drop moments later and shrugs, doesn't actually seem happy about it or anything... just used to it. Resigned. ]

Just knows me from when we met up recently.

[smokedout]

Oh.

[Yeah, that seriously blows. It'd make everything easier for him, if his brother forgot about him... but it sounds like that's not the case for Cain.]

Nevermind, then. I guess what I was thinking was.. stupid.

[aeturnus]

No... That's why it's complicated. I still love him more than anything, and he's... got instincts? We're fighting right now, but I don't really care.

[ It's just all a mess. ]

[smokedout]

[He's quiet for a very long while after that. Long enough to light a cigarette and have to ash it before he speaks.]

I guess you're... kinda on the other end of what's keeping me from going home, then. I'm uh... capitalizing on the time I've got away from my brother.

[aeturnus]

If that were the only issue, I wouldn't mind being here for a while. Neither of us are going anywhere.

[ He gives Dodger a bit of a smile, now sitting back in his chair after waiting for him to speak up. ]

There's nothing wrong with staying here, though. That's what it's for.

[smokedout]

I guess.

[The thought of people leaving still sits completely wrong with him, and he's sort of forgotten about the last few bites of his burger in favor of smoking to soothe himself down.]

Sorry for prying so much. It's none of my business.

[aeturnus]

[ Cain chuckles and stands, moves to the fridge. ]

Dodger, trust me. No one can make me do something I don't want to do. Don't worry about it.

[smokedout]

[Well.. he's got a point. Dodger sure hasn't been able to get him to do anything against his will.]

It's uh.. Jamie. Actually. Jamie Dodger. [He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.] It's short for.. Jamison. Just in case you... y'know, wanted to know.

[aeturnus]

[ Cain looks over from where he's retrieved the cherry cheesecake and moves to set it on the counter. He considers that, nods. ]

I go by Cain with people who know me long enough. Do you mind being called Jamie?

[smokedout]

I don't mind. [He hesitates, having answered a little too quickly for his own taste.] Just not around other people. Got a reputation to hold up, and shit like that.

[There's another pause, as he considers the new alias... and after some thought he tips his head.]

You... mind if I keep calling you Jake?

[It just feels more... homey.]

[aeturnus]

That's fine, I get that.

[ And he does. Names, appearances, attitudes. It all means a lot. Just... sometimes the less rough ones mean things, too. ]

Jake is fine. Hey, then we'll both be Js.

[smokedout]

[Dodger grins at that, and nods readily. Maybe one of these days he'll get around to admitting that 'Jake' sounds a whole lot like 'James'... like Cain isn't replacing his absent father enough already.]

How long did that thing take to make, anyway?

[aeturnus]

[ Cain's in no rush here, even if he's got his own eventual goals. He'll take what he's been given so far, which seems like a lot comparing to how Dodger held himself when they first met, and be happy with that. ]

Not too long. The longest part is letting it set.