tushanshu | oo1 / radio;

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oo1 / radio;

[ The line opens to dead air for a good ten seconds or so before there's a sigh, more amused than anything, and the soft sound of civilization around. Cain has made his way to the Welcome Center after being tossed down in an unfamiliar area of the Turtle and is just letting it all sink in for now. ]

So, what have I missed?

By which I mean: hello, Keeliai. This is Jacob Kane speaking. I was here once before, but apparently that was a while back. Can anyone fill me in or otherwise point me in the direction of someone who can? Losing so much time out of the blue like this isn't exactly the best way to get a welcome home, but somehow I doubt anyone's established a complaints department in my absence.

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[... Why, hello there.]

What's the last thing you remember? You've been missing since January.

[ Hello... stranger? Hrm. Voice sounds familiar but there's something to it that Cain can't immediately place it. ]

"Since January" doesn't mean much. Last thing I recall, we were getting our feet back under us after leaving the Dreaming. Nothing earth-shattering, considering.

That's what 'since January' means.

You haven't missed very much, actually. A couple of landfalls, a series of muggings targeting Foreigners' soul gems, a group of kedan spontaneously developing soul gems before vanishing completely, the reappearance of Malicant's cultists, and the arrival next month of a Chihuelan commander who's apparently trying to round up the remaining invaders on Asti's back. Keeliai is quite rightly not taking her at her word, and we seem to be gearing up for war again.

... Now that I think about it, you've missed quite a bit. You don't remember going back home in the interim?

Well, "since January" doesn't tell me how long ago January was. So no, still doesn't mean a lot.

Ooh, a cliff notes version. I'd be more suspicious about the timing of my reappearance coinciding with another war almost starting but that way lies madness. A whole lot did happen.

Hm. No, I don't. It just feels kind of like I've not been awake for a while, but not long enough for all of that.

No one's told you the date? That's interesting. It's August 8th.

I'm glad you're back, in case I didn't make that clear. I'm a little intellectually challenged at the moment.

Believe it or not, the exact date isn't quite the most important thing for me to figure out right now.

Intellectually challenged? I was going to say vocally, but... [ Yeah, he recognizes the voice by now. The accent helps. ] What have you gotten into?

You said you wanted to know exactly how much time has passed. Do I need to tell you that, too?

[Seven months, Cain. It's been seven months.]

Me? Nothing. All I did was try to talk to someone. It turned out that someone was a terrified newcomer with the power to resurrect the dead.

I meant in the sense that I hadn't asked before now, thus why no one's said it.

[ That gets a brief, tense moment of silence. ]

The power to do what?

Resurrect the dead.

Sounds like someone I should have a talk with.

[ Another pause. ]

You need help fixing that, on your side?

Oh, he didn't do it deliberately. He didn't even know he could. The magic he used was meant to kill reanimated tissue, not resurrect it.

[But now it's Skulduggery's turn to pause. He's only just accepted the idea that he might be properly alive permanently. To suddenly be offered an alternative...]

Can you do that?

Even more worrying. Death magic in the hands of a mortal, going awry. People could get pretty worried about that.

[ He was speaking pretty straightforward without outright asking "Mind if I kill you?" over a public connection, but now that he thinks about it... Well, why not? The only magic in his world is death magic and his brother is an Enforcer. If anyone in Keeliai could fix it, maybe it's Cain. ]

Speaking honestly, I'm not sure. Then again, death is where power really comes from in my world. It could honestly be as easy as dying again. Resetting things.

People were pretty worried about that. But everyone I know forgave him. [Slightly amused:] You don't have the monopoly on death magic, Cain.

[Skulduggery's living proof of that, figuratively speaking. ...Only not so figuratively speaking anymore.]

Oh. Right. I have thought of that, but if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not assume I can be reset.

No, I don't because I don't have death magic myself. I'm not dead.

[ Which is even more reason some random kid shouldn't be able to do this. Cain isn't even so settled with the idea of necromancers. That shit ain't right. ]

Let me see you, at least. I need to know what this... looks like.

Then you don't have a leg to stand on, do you?

[If you're going to be prejudiced, at least be aware you're being prejudiced.]

I have some time now, if you'd like. Where are you?

On what subject? That raising the dead is bad and-or unnatural?

[ The prejudice is real, and Cain acknowledges it, but that isn't exactly the road he meant to go down. Calm thyself, Skulduggery. ]

I've just left the Welcome Center. Looking for somewhere to stay for the night if I can swing it.

For all you know, there's a universe out there where being alive is bad and-or unnatural. Right now, I can very much understand how they feel.

You're not too far away from Anton's Hotel, if you remember where that is. I can meet you there.

[ There's a pause, a hn in understanding acknowledgment. That isn't a side he's considered, understandably so. ] Then you'd have to ask if someone like that gets to keep their standards, or if they have to conform to the standards of this universe.

I do. I'll drop by.

If it was as simple as choosing whether to be alive or dead, then yes.

I'll be right behind you.

[He actually gets there first, since he was only a block away and being alive thankfully doesn't prevent him from flying. In fact, flying is one of the few things which can keep Skulduggery's thoughts sharp and focused for long periods of time. Like a child, Zelgadis had said, and he was right. Something about an organic brain made paying attention more of a chore than an afterthought.]

[ Cain isn't too far behind. Despite not knowing how Skulduggery looks when he's alive, a quick scan of the room and he's walking over to the man anyway. Those golden numbers resting at zero, peeking out from behind the folded collar of a suit, tells him what he needs to know. This is an actual return to life, but one Skulduggery doesn't qualify for or deserve. ]

Well. Skin does look pretty good on you, I'll admit.

[Not many people recognise Skulduggery before hearing his voice, but it makes sense to him that Cain would. Deathsight. Even alive, Skulduggery's time of death must have been markedly different from everyone else in the Hotel's lobby.]

You're not the first person to say that. [He smiles.] You are, however, the first male person to say that. Am I what you expected?

[ It's almost some kind of comfortable. Someone who knows about him, what he is and what he can do, and the easy banter. Despite the fact that everything about this encounter is wrong, Cain has more than enough self-control not to take it into his hands immediately. This place is odd, its rules bendy at best, and he knows better than to try asserting his own rights and wrongs without understanding that that means first. ]

Not at all. The fact that you're not a stereotypical Irish redhead has dashed my hopes.

[ As he speaks, Cain reaches up for the collar of Skulduggery's shirt — the knot of his tie, specifically — to begin undoing it in the effort of getting a clearer look at those numbers. It's bothering him more than he wants to outright admit. Thankfully, he does pause momentarily before actually starting just in case Skul wants to have a violent reaction to the presumptive motion first. He's considerate like that. ]

I'm so sorry to disappoint.

[... Except that apparently he isn't disappointing. In the slightest. Quite the opposite from having a violent reaction, Skulduggery lets a few quiet moments go by, still and silent, acutely aware of some bystanders doubletaking and others outright staring.

Cain, what are you doing?]

Are you sure you don't want to go somewhere private?

[... What can he say. He's alive. He's not in control of what he says. It's a fluke.]

[ Cain rolls his eyes up only briefly to the comment, now working at the top few buttons. Once that's done, he pulls the collar away and slips the tie down to press a finger lightly against one of the string of zeroes lining the front of Skulduggery's neck. ]

It isn't the same anymore.

[ His finger tap-taps on Skul's neck before he pulls his hand away. ]

That's all.

[The moment Cain's hand is free, Skulduggery buttons back up and straightens his tie. He hasn't let being alive impinge upon his fashion sense. If anything, without needing a collapsible frame to give the suit some shape, being alive has only enhanced Skulduggery's fashion sense.]

What isn't the same?

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radio --> action?

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