Loom: Darlyn's Cafe
Day 3, AfternoonRoanne, Tokarin, Zadkiel
Collaboration between Fairess, Howler, and Wind Wild
Continued from:
Part I“Like I’d charge y--hey!” Roanne leaned over the bar as Jasper whisked himself away. She even lifted herself up and over the obstacle, practically leap-frogging in a woosh of patched jeans and fluttering hair. She was halfway to him before she realized she was lacking her sword--quite useful if there was trouble at the basement. The state of her mind came out in a few muttered phrases, “Agh.” “Now?” “I’ll just,” and “Elaine!”
The surprised waitress barely made it to the kitchen door before Roanne rushed through the back for her things. There was one surprised glance before Elaine sighed and shook her head. “Right, right. Lucky June just got in so we’ve got someone on the bar.”
“Lucky! Right.” Roanne stuffed on her jacket, swearing when it took her all of five seconds to find the right armholes. Her scabbard was buckled on a moment later, then came the goggles and mask for her mouth. It wasn’t likely she’d be doing any crazy dives, but fast flying was always easier without wind in the eyes and bugs in the teeth.
Toki blinked at Roanne’s sudden animation that seemed to be triggered by the phone-call her friend had received and saved her glass a second before the bartender swept it away with her jump. She was about to dash after the man, that much was obvious, and as Tokarin took a large gulp of her drink, she considered how she felt about this.
Not good, was the conclusion which drew a pout to her lips. Not only did they get to meet so rarely, but their meeting had been systematically sabotaged by one man after another. And maybe it was the alcohol speaking but Toki wasn’t gonna have any of it. She came here to talk to her friend and she would get to do so, dammit.
The girl looked at Lazarus and gave him a nod good-bye as she headed for the door. She knew what would happen now. Roanne would go out and spread her wings and fly off after “Jasper”. Just like that, that’s how easy it was for her. But not for Toki. She couldn’t even unfurl her wings without risking a passing car breaking one of them, let alone get enough lift to lift off.
So she had to use a different technique. Namely, to climb all the way to the top of the nearby block’s fire escape and jump from there. She’d done it once before, although that time Roanne had waited for her. This time she was probably too distracted to care. But Toki wasn’t giving up. She calmly scaled the ladder, dusting her wings off in the process and making sure her primaries were in a condition safe for flight. They were dirty and stained but they’d hold.
Just as she reached the top she saw Roanne go out of the café and fly off. Not wasting any time, Toki spread her wings and jumped off the ledge. The dread was short-lived as the upward draft caught her safely and nudged her forward. For all she hated her wings, Toki had to admit that she didn’t dislike flying. The lash of the wind in her face and the haze that blanketed the city as she circled higher and higher were second nature to the girl who had grown up in Heaven.
By the point she reached her desired altitude the buildings were the size of matchboxes and Roanne’s form would have been too far away to see with human eyes. Of course, angel ones were different, by necessity. So it was no challenge to follow her friend, Toki might have been slower, but she was higher and that gave her a good view. In the right moment, she would dive for her friend, hopefully without causing any material damage.
There was no time to enjoy the flight--she enjoyed it anyway. How could she stop feeling the wind ruffle her hair or grow numb to the thrilling speed at which her body shot through the air, a veritable arrow? It ended too soon, her wings flaring up and beating down at the ground as she slowed her descent and landed. Jasper’s little… what to call it? His prison? Sure, his prison wasn’t all too thrilling a sight to descend on, an intimidating block of concrete and brick. It was the sort of thing any beautification committee would have demanded removed ten years ago, but no one cared if the poorer districts of Loom looked nice. In fact, no one seemed dumb enough to loiter around the building period, the only person in sight an elderly man in a gray BDT uniform who was sweeping out the gutters.
Roanne glanced up and down the street, a little smug that she’d beaten Jasper there. When she looked up, though, and saw a flash of white followed by the glint of a rainbow, her jaw dropped. It
couldn’t be, right?
But it was.
And when it descended to the spot a few meters away from Roanne it lifted all the dead leaves and dust from the ground and sprinkled them all over the older woman. Toki didn’t seem apologetic. In fact, she was pouting even more than before. Her was in a braid so it wouldn’t get messed up which together with the wind-and-alcohol induced pink of her cheeks and the slight wobble when she straightened, gave her a weird appearance – halfway between childish and drunk.
“Roanne…” She moaned in a scolding fashion. “I can’t believe you ditched me like that. I still have things I want to talk to you about.”
Roanne stared for a moment, then blinked as the wind shifted a dusty leaf from her wild hair. “Uh… oh, I…” Yeah, she totally
did ditch Toki, didn’t she? The guardian didn’t know how to explain such a blunder, only that her one track mind had completely forgotten her friend in the panic to be somewhere else. Jasper’s little prison block was no place for Toki, but in her rush she hadn’t set aside a time and place to catch up over more booze, so… there Toki was. And it was her fault.
“I’m sorry, Toki.” Roanne awkwardly scratched the back of her head, dislodging a few more leaves in the process. “It just sounded like Jasper needed help, so… here we are?”
The other girl’s big blue eyes reflected her hurt and blame but when she blinked and averted them with a sigh, she dropped them just like that. There was no point to get mad at Roanne, she always meant the best for people and that was exactly why Toki liked her. It would be paradoxical to judge her for her nature.
In fact, the other angel suddenly felt guilty for being so selfish and needy to chase after Roanne all the way here when she clearly wouldn’t have left the café if she didn’t deem the problem urgent.
Tokarin locked her hands behind her back and forced herself to concentrate on the present, and on others but her own petulant self. She shoved all her negative feelings to the back of her mind and smoothed her expression for Roanne, even if she couldn’t quite smile.
“I’m sorry… I just feel a bit overwhelmed recently. It’s not your fault. …so, what are we helping Jasper with?”
Roanne ventured an awkward smile, her lip still heavy with guilt as she tried to curve it upward. She even walked forward a few paces, keeping their conversational distance close so she could lower her voice. “It sounded like there was a breach or break-in of some sort. Jasper’s heading here to sort it out, but I wanted to make sure nothing was too out of hand for him to handle.” She was casually lying--Jasper could level the city with the full strength of his power--but she was also never one to admit when she was being overprotective.
“Anyways, don’t be sorry. I really didn’t mean to ditch you back there, but y’know, when duty calls, it’s… sort of the gas pedal and the break. I don’t switch gears all that well.” Roanne’s gaze narrowed a bit, concern knitting her brow as she regarded Toki. “It’s okay if you stay here until we get it sorted out, you know. I don’t want to drag you into harm’s way if I can help it.”
Toki, who had nodded in understanding at Roanne’s reasons and nodded again in mock-understanding of her metaphor simply had to scoff at the last remark.
“I can see the future and I’ve been trained as a battle angel in my past life, and you think I can’t handle myself?” It was half real confidence and half boasting to smooth her friends’ eyebrow but in the end, none of what she said was a lie. Just a bit of exaggeration to give them both some courage. “And I saved a baby yesterday.” She added, finally cracking a smile to dispel the awkward situation she’d created. “Well, my left wing did. So I’m a bit of a hero. How often have
you been proclaimed a hero on TV?” It was friendly banter but the way she said it was so unconvincing that it sounded like a ridiculous self-irony instead of boasting and that made the girl smile even wider. “We’ll be fine. I’m sure between two angels your friend is going to be as safe as he possibly can.”
Roanne snorted, smirking as she folded her arms. Toki was right--she was no pushover--but it was Roanne’s duty to protect innocent angels, not lead them into a conflict where said angel might get hurt. She thought about saying as much, but with Toki’s cheery boasting and the fact that she totally
did ditch the angel earlier, she couldn’t brush aside the help. No, Roanne decided letting Toki in on Jasper’s strange and dangerous world would make them even for the earlier abandonment.
“Oh, whatever, catching a baby with your wing makes you a hero?” Roanne flexed her shoulders, hands on her hips like she was a superhero. “I keep these streets clean even in the darkest moments of… gang history? We can brag all day, but you know me not being on T.V. makes me the bigger hero. Justice has little reward!”
“So all you’re missing is the cape and the silly badass name.” Toki chuckled, taking a mental note of trying to draw Roanne in a superhero costume when she got back. Then she remembered her own costume and how easily she’d let the assistant convince her to buy it and thought maybe instead of drawing it, she should straight-out buy Roanne one. “You seem awfully unprepared to save the day today, Roanne. I think I might need to take the lead role today.” She gestured at herself and stuck her chest out. “Unless.” She paused and her voice ditched into a very sly tone. “Unless you have your costume stashed somewhere convenient at Mr Jasper’s residence.”
When did Toki become quite so… Roanne couldn’t help but blush. She didn’t have the subtle flush of a lady whose cheeks might turn a pretty pink. Her face went full lobster, obvious and entirely impossible to hide as her mouth struggled not to gasp. Naturally, what Toki called to mind had nothing to do with superhero garb. Exactly what
sort of costume was the ‘innocent’ angel imagining Roanne wearing for the fashion blind Jasper? The images coming to her mind were, well--
“I don’t do the whole ‘costume’ thing, thank you.” Roanne’s higher pitched voice adopted a sense of decorum as her arms folded back over her chest. “No lead roles for you--I’m the veteran here. And you know, you’re really not going to like what you see. Just… whatever happens, let me explain later, okay?”
The younger girl, who had indeed been talking about mere superhero costumes, found Roanne’s mortified reaction puzzling at first. Then she realised how red the woman’s face had become and remembered her own flashback from the other day. The result was the instant (further) reddening of her own cheeks and an awkward laugh. “Yeah… sure.” She said, happy to change the topic. “Just…” she pointed to Roanne’s neck and advised in a small voice. “…cover up…”
If Jasper had only realized what he’d be stepping out of his car to, he might have reconsidered his approach. A pair of blushing young angels wasn’t exactly what he expected to see standing awkwardly outside of the center, but as Alba stepped out of the back of the dark sudan to open his door he stepped past the bulky demon...and blinked.
“What are you--” he started before blinking to a stop as his mind flicked gears and caught up. Of course Roanne would drop everything after hearing him talk that way. Of course Tokarin would pal along--why wouldn't he also have to deal with a potential security risk today? It was only natural, but he didn't have time to argue with either of them.
“Nevermind.” He closed his eyes to avoid rolling them and instead stepped forward to the facility doors; they opened smoothly and automatically, never interrupting a step. “Follow me and listen carefully. The situation is dangerous but relatively simple.”
A lie, but a white lie.
The inside of the BTD was surprisingly pleasant, completely remodeled and gently clinical. Tiled floors, muted creams and beiges, a small citing area and a front desk manned by a demon doing an excellent impression of a bored-but-still-cheerful intern. She looked to be painting her nails an alarmingly intricate range of neon colors, but as soon as Jasper stepped in the door she almost knocked over her assorted bottles in haste to stand up and address him. If her eyes flicked to the angels behind him first, she didn't say a word about them. She knew better.
“Dr. J, there’s been an incident--”
“I’m aware, thank you Amy. Proceed as normal, no additional alerts.” He responded without looking, striding swiftly and pointedly across the floor with the slight click at each step. It was rare to see Jasper in any sort of hurry--gone was the arthritic tentativity, replaced with purpose as he strode for a small door to the back.
“Be aware that you will not be able to step back through this door until the situation is addressed.” He called over his shoulder as he grasped the handle and twisted it open, a surprising amount of clicking emanating from within as he finally looked back over his shoulder to acknowledge Tokarin and Roanne once more. “You may speak to no one other than myself about what you see in the lower levels, and I will guarantee that to be the case. I apologize, in particular to you Tokarin, but it is necessary.”
The sudden shift in the mood surprised the young girl whose first instinctive reaction when Jasper climbed out of the car had been to check his neck for kissmarks. She followed without asking any questions and both the interior and the receptionist were met with curious gazes and innocent blinks. As they walked down the corridor she noticed something new about the man - somehow he seemed different. Some aura of authority surrounded him that she hadn’t noticed before. Or perhaps it hadn’t been there before - she wondered, tilting her head to the side.
She started when he stopped and addressed her and nodded with a gulp. “We’re here to help.” She reassured him and peeked into the next few seconds, wondering what exactly was going on in here and saw nothing special about the immediate future.
“So dramatic.” Roanne felt an urge to crack a kink in her neck, but decided against touching it at all--apparently just scratching her neck had mussed enough foundation to reveal one of many hickeys. “Just point me a direction and I’ll get this taken care of.”
“In the lower levels there is a demon loose. Hellion, fairly powerful but in no condition to engage.” Fairly. Ricket had eaten his way through a good number of men, women, children and demons--if Jasper was right he was very nearly ready for his next apotheosis, which was part of why he’d gone to such pains to bring him in.
“If you’re going to help, come along and help me contain him.
Contain, Roanne, not kill.” He said sharply, looking to her with even, unwavering eyes. “No exceptions, no excuses. Am I understood?”
What
was it about the ice of those blues that made even her unable to meet them? She snorted at his shoes instead, carefully unsheathing her sword. “Yes, Sir. It wasn’t like I had plans to immediately start killing, you know.”
Maybe it was because his gaze wasn't pinning
her or because the angels she had grown up weren't exactly nice people, but Toki found herself unable to take her eyes off the man's. What was it about him? He seemed so different from the beige-coloured suited man she had talked back to in the café. And it wasn't just the surprise of her friend being so suddenly submissive around him.
Then his words clicked.
“Wait.. did you say 'Hellion’? And,
'contained’?!” Suddenly she had a very bad feeling about this. Something was going very wrong.
“I did, yes.” Jasper’s voice was calm and collected as he turned to look at Tokarin. “I manage a rehabilitory clinic for the demons, among other things. I was in the process of addressing a particular Hellion by the name or Ricket when he was somehow able to escape. I have wards and guardians preventing him from leaving the area but we need to get him back into confinement before he brings harm to himself. First and foremost, we should head to his room. Follow me, please, and somewhat closely.”
The lower levels, as he lead them down the cement stairs, were quite different. Gone was the pleasant tile and soft music, the lemony scent of antiseptic. In its place was the grit and structure of concrete, the yellow hum of halogen fluorescence from nestled strip-lighting above. The entire hallway, from walls to stairs to the sloping ceiling above, was covered in carefully scribed writing in white wax-pen, thick and enduring even beneath their feet. The second metal door at the bottom was similarly coated, though Jasper opened it with ease and stepped inside.
“You will see demons present--ignore them, as they will you, but do not try to leave without me. Paladin protocol dictates that any but myself will be assaulted should they attempt to leave the subsector without my accompaniment.”
He had warned them when he did because the first of the monsters wasn’t far beyond the door--it was, in fact, settled above it some few feet in the hallway like a massive spider, it’s many legs and arms stretched out to hold it in place along the ceiling while it’s torso hung down to the hallway. With its arms wrapped around its chest and no visible eyes it looked somewhat like a mummy, its skin milky and sickly white as it turned its sightless face to the door, briefly, before swiveling back to return to its vigil.
“Cacodrem.” Jasper pointed out without looking, continuing down the hallway and taking a right at the fork. “Stay close, please.”
For a second, even after explaining the nature of this facility and his job here, Toki had thought he was joking. After all, for all intensive purposes, she saw nothing more than a handsome, tall, tired man.
But it was quickly becoming apparent this wasn’t the case. Not by a long shot.
She did make sure to walk reasonably close and didn’t question the need for Jasper to warn her not to try leaving the building on her own. Perhaps if it wasn’t for Roanne she would have had a reason to, or at least a reason to be scared. But the Guardian’s presence changed things. It allowed Toki to stare at the arachnoid with surprise and curiosity rather than weariness and horror.
While they walked, Jasper seemed to be concerned with security first and foremost. Toki was concerned with his relationship to Roanne. Well… the part she didn’t know about.
“You sure know how to pick your men, Roanne.” She whispered to her friend, quoting a line from a movie in an attempt to sound more mature than she felt. “I bet there’s never a dull moment with him around.”
Roanne snorted and smirked, eyes flicking to Toki. “Heh. You didn’t imagine me hanging around
boring people, did you?” Truth be told, she needed a little humor or she might go stabbing things despite Jasper’s warning. No matter how many times he told her it was safe, that these demons were his, cleansed and bent to lead less criminal lives, she would never lose the instinct to fight them. It went deeper than her streetfighting reflexes--her fractured memories said that she had been battling Hell’s offspring for a long, long time.
And why not fight them? As she glared up at the ceiling where the spidery demon lurked, all she saw was a parasite, not a person. Demons weren’t just monsters, they were a disease, latching onto humans like a friend while they gouged out their souls. Jasper had the luxury of feeling out their brains, snapping what he didn’t like and feeling the resulting obedience, but exercising the same amount of trust without being able to feel or sense any of that was difficult--impossible, even! No doubt she’d be falling into another argument about demons and angels with Jasper, perhaps sooner than she thought.
For the time being, however, she remained protectively close to Toki. Smile as she might, her jaw was set tight, her hands agitated as she struggled to keep them from grasping her sword.
The hallways were surprisingly extensive, a veritable labyrinth of rooms beneath the complex. Though well maintained there were clear signs of damage--long gouges patched up with clearly new cement, specific patches of flooring that were conspicuously clean. Solid metal doors lined much of it, occasionally labeled neatly in white wax-pen, but compared to the spotless facility above with its soothing music it was the silence that most stood out. As they turned the corner to a flung open door and a dragging trail of blood across the floor it looked almost staged in the stillness, like something out of a movie. It didn’t seem to bother Jasper, who walked through it without stopping--his bare feet didn’t seem to leave footprints in it, and not a drop of it coated the white of his trailing wings.
Inside a demon lay on the floor, bleeding heavily from a wicked facial wound that had removed a good portion of his lower jaw. It was likely in shock, though Jasper didn’t seem to show either fear or hurry of it as he approached and knelt to the ground beside it. Pressing a pair of fingers to the side of the creature’s scaled throat, he cocked his head to the side slightly.
“Roanne, the escaped demon is named Ricket. He is not yet fully calibrated, so please be quite careful, but judging from the blood he’s also quite injured. Please detain him and bring him back here. Tokarin, you can stay with me here or go with Roanne but please be careful--something isn’t right.”
Toki had forgotten all her humour when she saw the blood. Somehow things hadn’t seemed serious until that point – not the explanations, not the spidery demon…. Perhaps it had been Roanne’s proximity which was soon to be lost, or the sight of the blood and the man much of it was oozing from. Yes, demon, but also man.
The world was crumbling. It was like clouds gathering to obstruct the sun or like ashes clinging to your wings until they stain them black. A familiar sense of foreboding. She didn’t need to look into the future to know what would happen. If she followed Roanne, she would witness her friend hurting, possibly killing somebody. And if she stayed with Jasper, she would probably see something worse.
“I’ll stay.” She concluded with a weak smile in Roanne’s direction. Hopefully the woman wouldn’t mind. Toki crouched next to the man and forced herself to be brave – look at the wound as if it doesn’t make you ill, keep talking to distract yourself. “Is he one of your employees?”
Roanne's lip twitched upward as she fought a grin. Finally, some real action! And she wouldn't even have to endanger Toki. A few strands of her wild hair slid across her forehead as she nodded.
"Leave it to me. I'll be... gentle." As a rolling boulder. To her credit, though, she didn't draw her blade as she followed the exiting trail of blood with her eyes and started walking.
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