3rd Kill ~ Console/Video

[irishthor]

[Action; Early morning - Locked to Katara.]

[His dreams are wracked by memories. Of cold ice, of forests... Of bonds broken and forged. To those looking in, he would be moving, sleeping restless, sweat beaded on his brow, and the occasional noise slipping past his lips...

That is until he jolts up, hand grasping for a weapon that isn't there, eyes wild, before he realises where he is, and relaxes a tad.]

Christ... [This is mumbled, a hand raised to scrub over his face, feeling the roughness of the unshaven stubble under his fingers. He hasn't really shaved or tended to himself these past days; wasn't much of a point.] ...I have to stop nearly dying...

[Private audio to Skulduggery Pleasant.]

You said to inform you if I learnt something regarding these muggings...

[Open]

[Shay Cormac has seen better days. He still looks pale, and sweat is still visible on his brow, but he's looking a lot healthier than people have seen him before today. His hair is still down, and he's wearing local garb, but... at least he looks better.]

So, what do you do when your soul gem changes colour?

[He pulls out a red gem on a pendant, dangling it before the camera.]

Because this was green before- [And he stops, blinking, staring off, and then around his surroundings. From the feed, people can see that he's in the hotel lobby, but Shay is acting like he's seeing something else... and then his attention returns to the console. He clears his throat, looking a tad abashed.]

Er... My apologies. I thought I... [A glance over his shoulder.] Never mind. Any information on what this means, I would appreciate it.

[And the feed gets cut.]

[Private to Deon Wilson]

I owe you a debt, my friend.

[Private to Arno Dorian]

As much as I never thought I'd say these words to an Assassin again, I owe you my life. Thank you.

Comments

[skeletonenigma]

The dizziness and the lethargy? That's impressive, considering we've been speaking for all of two minutes and you haven't so much as stumbled.

[irishthor]

[A shake of the head.]

I... Look. What I'm going to tell you, I'd prefer remain between ourselves. It's not something I tend to advertise. Can you guarantee that?

[skeletonenigma]

I can guarantee no one will hear about it from me.

[Anything beyond that is out of Skulduggery's hands. A minor phrasing quibble, but he does like to be able to stand behind his guarantees.]

[irishthor]

[There's a pause, Shay glancing around once more, checking the surrounding area with his sense, before returning his attention to Skulduggery.]

Some people in my world... we have this... Ability. [He frowns, trying to think of the best way to describe it, his voice lowering a tad]

It's... kind of like a second sight. It's called the sense. It's... mostly used to track people. [He sighs, rubbing the back of his head.] Basically, if I concentrate, I can see the people around me differently. If they mean me harm, if they're something I should investigate, and so-on. I'm not too sure how it works, but...

[And here's the rub.]

Ever since I got my soul gem back, it's been triggering randomly, without me causing it.

[skeletonenigma]

[Ah. A Sensitive-based ability. In Skulduggery's world, hiding something like that isn't necessary - at least not from other sorcerers. But he's well aware other worlds handle psychic abilities differently, and he can well understand why Shay might be reluctant to share it.

It sounds astonishingly useful. Being able to see the moment someone means you harm? Skulduggery would almost consider trading in his own magic if he wasn't already so good at spotting hidden threats.]

That's odd. How frequently?

[Very, if it can happen twice in the space of a minute.]

[irishthor]

Once every ten or twenty minutes. It's different each time.

[A pause, a worried frown.]

This... is usually a conscious thing. It doesn't just happen.

[skeletonenigma]

[Ah. Not the moment someone means you harm, then. Still astonishingly useful, if a tad more inconvenient.]

Does it go away if you're not in physical contact with your gem?

[irishthor]

I... [His hand goes to the gem, almost protectively.] I haven't checked. I've only had it back for a few hours.

[skeletonenigma]

That might be something to investigate. We still don't know how our mysterious benefactor is affecting the gems, but every detail helps.

[Someone more scientifically-minded than Skulduggery might be able to use whatever Shay learns.]

Do you have any other unique abilities? Is it triggering them, or just the one?

[irishthor]

[A shake of the head. Other than his Sense, he doesn't have any other abilities passed down from the precursors that he knows of.]

No, I don't have anything else.

[skeletonenigma]

[He nods.] You're lucky, actually. Other people have been affected much more physically by their gems. If it gets any worse, will you let me know?

[irishthor]

Aye, I will... And you, if you find some cure to this, or need help otherwise.

[He doesn't like feeling powerless.]