Dillon Cole || Scorpion Shard (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
orderfromchaos) wrote2014-12-12 11:34 pm
orderfromchaos) wrote2014-12-12 11:34 pm
23. the creatures in tide pools
[Open spam in the chapel, since the kid flood, whenever.]
[When he isn't on shift at the infirmary, or trailing after Abigail like a concerned ginger puppy, Dillon is spending a lot of time in the chapel. Just - sitting, in the very front pew or the very back, wishing for saints and stained glass and stone, for something gaudy and familiar, the smell of sand and wood polish. But the chapel resists his homesickness, neat white plaster, well kept, effusively inoffensive. He tries kneeling, a couple times. But it doesn't feel right, and neither does prayer. So he sits, quiet, eyes forward on the Unitarian nondenominational emptiness, for an hour or two, watches the shadows from the little candles, tries to think about his mistakes, about his options, about nothing at all.]
[Private to Arthas]
I want to see you. Anywhere you'd rather meet?
[Spam for Jerry, backdated to after Allison's post, early the next morning on the tenth.]
[He's just sitting in the hallway, across from Jerry's door. He's not impatient. He's not even angry, really, just calm and steady. He was sloppy, he was absorbed with his own messes. But he made a promise. Allison's rambling plea for understanding as revenge didn't change that. Jerry made his choice, and now he has to face the consequences.]
[Private to Arkin, backdated to after the above]
I've turned Jerry human. I promised him he would, if he hurt anyone else outside self-defense, before you were assigned to him.
[Filtered to Abigail, Scott, Chris, Bucky, Gene, Helena, and Iris, backdated to after the above]
I turned Jerry human, and now he's threatening to leave my friends' corpses at my door like the worst cat in the world.
[He doesn't sound scared. He doesn't even sound mad. He is irritated, and a little disgusted. It was one thing with Okoya and Carter - there were actual stakes there. This is just Jerry being petulant.]
All of you could probably take him in a fair fight, but he's sneaky and mean, so keep an eye out, and kick him in the balls for me if he tries anything.
[Gift List]
Abigail - a print of Starry Night. Some clever board games - like, the kind that are actually interesting and thoughtful? Wise and Otherwise, Ticket to Ride, things like that. I don't think she got to play much as a kid. And some kind of meditative geometry game she could use for like - calm without emptiness, when she needs that. And some pretty dresses.
Bucky - a pineapple upside-down cake, and like, kevlar insert panels that work with the jacket he already has.
Bush - another pineapple upside-down cake, and good boots. Better boots? Like, comfy and insulating, modern REI science stuff, but looking period on the outside. And with the one weighted to make balancing on the fake leg easier.
Cambridge - the collected poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins.
Chris - ridiculous Motherfucker merch. Like, a bobblehead. And T-shirts with golden-age style onomatopoeia impact balloons. A pez dispenser!
Gene - a St. George Medallion. Silver, and a strong chain.
Helena - one of those little personal fold-out cabinet altars, with an old style painting of a bible story she always liked in the panels.
Iris - a tinsel crown, the Al Green christmas album, and tickets to all past and future black-and-white Harry Hunsacker plays.
Scott - The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Simon - myrrh incense
Snafu - altoids, warm socks with good wicking layers or whatever, and a couple collections of Far Side comics.
Steve - some really good lamps? With flexible necks so he can position lighting how he wants for drawing. Bright and not too harsh, full sun spectrum.
And give all the forties guys a bunch of girl scout cookies.
[When he isn't on shift at the infirmary, or trailing after Abigail like a concerned ginger puppy, Dillon is spending a lot of time in the chapel. Just - sitting, in the very front pew or the very back, wishing for saints and stained glass and stone, for something gaudy and familiar, the smell of sand and wood polish. But the chapel resists his homesickness, neat white plaster, well kept, effusively inoffensive. He tries kneeling, a couple times. But it doesn't feel right, and neither does prayer. So he sits, quiet, eyes forward on the Unitarian nondenominational emptiness, for an hour or two, watches the shadows from the little candles, tries to think about his mistakes, about his options, about nothing at all.]
[Private to Arthas]
I want to see you. Anywhere you'd rather meet?
[Spam for Jerry, backdated to after Allison's post, early the next morning on the tenth.]
[He's just sitting in the hallway, across from Jerry's door. He's not impatient. He's not even angry, really, just calm and steady. He was sloppy, he was absorbed with his own messes. But he made a promise. Allison's rambling plea for understanding as revenge didn't change that. Jerry made his choice, and now he has to face the consequences.]
[Private to Arkin, backdated to after the above]
I've turned Jerry human. I promised him he would, if he hurt anyone else outside self-defense, before you were assigned to him.
[Filtered to Abigail, Scott, Chris, Bucky, Gene, Helena, and Iris, backdated to after the above]
I turned Jerry human, and now he's threatening to leave my friends' corpses at my door like the worst cat in the world.
[He doesn't sound scared. He doesn't even sound mad. He is irritated, and a little disgusted. It was one thing with Okoya and Carter - there were actual stakes there. This is just Jerry being petulant.]
All of you could probably take him in a fair fight, but he's sneaky and mean, so keep an eye out, and kick him in the balls for me if he tries anything.
[Gift List]
Abigail - a print of Starry Night. Some clever board games - like, the kind that are actually interesting and thoughtful? Wise and Otherwise, Ticket to Ride, things like that. I don't think she got to play much as a kid. And some kind of meditative geometry game she could use for like - calm without emptiness, when she needs that. And some pretty dresses.
Bucky - a pineapple upside-down cake, and like, kevlar insert panels that work with the jacket he already has.
Bush - another pineapple upside-down cake, and good boots. Better boots? Like, comfy and insulating, modern REI science stuff, but looking period on the outside. And with the one weighted to make balancing on the fake leg easier.
Cambridge - the collected poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins.
Chris - ridiculous Motherfucker merch. Like, a bobblehead. And T-shirts with golden-age style onomatopoeia impact balloons. A pez dispenser!
Gene - a St. George Medallion. Silver, and a strong chain.
Helena - one of those little personal fold-out cabinet altars, with an old style painting of a bible story she always liked in the panels.
Iris - a tinsel crown, the Al Green christmas album, and tickets to all past and future black-and-white Harry Hunsacker plays.
Scott - The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Simon - myrrh incense
Snafu - altoids, warm socks with good wicking layers or whatever, and a couple collections of Far Side comics.
Steve - some really good lamps? With flexible necks so he can position lighting how he wants for drawing. Bright and not too harsh, full sun spectrum.
And give all the forties guys a bunch of girl scout cookies.
no subject
Nothing lasts forever.
[Except him, maybe, but he hopes not.]
The present still matters. And it's not difficult, if I have to do it again.
[He doesn't even sound vindictive. He's not gloating, he's just being clear. Jerry thought he was bluffing, but he wasn't. He almost never is. It might be a little less painful for everyone, if Jerry learns that.]
no subject
You don't really think this will stop me, do you, Dillon?
no subject
Control is not my domain. Nor my desire. I told you there would be consequences, and so there are.
Do you really still think I'm prey?
[Yes; yes, of course he does, right down in his freshly warm marrow, because the habits of centuries die hard. He has to bite his lip, because he is not laughing, he is still not laughing. Even if it's the funniest thing in a long time.]
no subject
You? You're...useless.
[ Dillon had never been prey. He'd been something to avoid. ]
no subject
[A little hard-worn contentment; he's been used more than he cares for already.]
You'll want to eat soon. Start with crackers and apples, that shouldn't upset your stomach too badly. And don't forget to drink enough water.
[Jerry probably won't listen. But that will be his problem. Dillon sticks his hands in his pockets and continues past Jerry on the stairs.]
no subject
Before he had anything to say, Dillon was walking away. Jerry tried to push himself off the wall, to follow after him and prove this was a futile. But his body was still acclimating. He slumped back against the wall with an involuntary grunt. A growl of frustration escaped him as he watched the other leave. So he rose his voice, calling after Dillon. ]
You're useless, but your friends aren't. Not when I leave their bodies at your cabin door.
no subject
[It pops out without conscious thought; his mother's church-lady code for total disdain.]
That threat didn't work on me coming from someone far out of what used to be your league, who could kill in a way even I couldn't fix.
Every time you force a confrontation, I will win. But you'll be stubborn about it.
[He will; this is a thing Dillon knows about him. It would be sad, if it was someone less determinedly horrible.]
no subject
I know you'll put them together. And I'll just have to do it again. What would it do to them to remember that? All of that pain. And they'd die knowing it was your fault. You don't really want that, do you?
no subject
I've killed too many people not to know the difference between really my fault and whatever shit you're trying to salve your pride with. And my friends are mostly smarter than I am.
Have a nice life, Jerry.
[He's going to walk away now.]
no subject
What frustrated him even more is even if he COULD find the right button, it was unlikely he'd be able to follow through on any threats thanks to his new state. So for now, he was going to sink to the floor and wait until he was used to this whole "breathing" thing before moving anywhere. ]