hangman is coming down from the gallows [closed]

[personalwar]

Who: Soldier: 76 (personalwar) & others
What: Catch-all log for October event! 76 is a fugitive, but that isn't going to stop him from digging for information. Part 2, escape and Wyver exploration!
When: October
Where: All around the dark shady parts of town, primarily in the Red Light District. Part 2, all over Wyver territory!
Warning(s): People may be trying to bring him in, so expect possible violence, language, etc!

[ This is a closed catch-all for me to put starters for any plotted threads. My plotting comment is here if you would like to do something! ]

Comments

for allura

[personalwar]

[ Everyone is on the hunt now, for the Shady Man and anyone related to him, and 76 isn't excluded from that number. Even though he's been named a criminal for the part he'd played in the explosion, that isn't the whole story, and he wants answers from the person who'd given him a job much dirtier than how it had been advertised.

Unsurprisingly, the man is nowhere to be found, though 76 has been combing every part of the district in which he first spoke to him. He whisks his way in and out of any establishment that's open (and isn't opposed to trying to find alternate access to those they aren't), a figure in a black cloak who doesn't seem to be resting no matter how late into the night it gets.

He doesn't come off as approachable in the slightest, but that doesn't have to necessarily stop interested parties... ]

[juniberries]

[Wandering the Entertainment District with a figurative ear to the ground while nursing a rising fever, body aches, and a cough may not have been the best idea, but to Allura it is the right thing to do.

And oftentimes, the right thing supersedes looking out for her own health. Especially when there isn't anyone like Coran around to keep her in check and in bed for the duration of her illness.

But even still, she's out in a haphazard disguise; her complexion a dusky blue, hair a matching light blue which still gives tell to her normally silvery-white hair, and her height a bit shorter than average. Around her nose and mouth is a white surgical mask taken from the Sanctuary, but that was less for a disguise and more due to her current illness and her stubborn determination to still be out and about well into the night.

Her entering the Red Light part of the district happens on accident; casually following two men talking in low whispers has her entering the district and ticks later, realizing the men's whispers are more about what they're going to do while here and less of anything that's worth continuing to listen to. She follows them for a few more ticks, on the off-chance their raunchy conversation is merely a cover, but when they enter a local brothel she makes a quick turn into a nearby alleyway, skin flushing a bright glowing pink beneath her surgical mask from both embarrassment, as well as from illness.

So quick is she to avoid entering the brothel that she accidentally bumps into a lone cloaked figure. She lets out a small surprised gasp, which turns into a thick rasping cough, and she turns her head away from the stranger until the coughing fit subsides.]

I am...I apologize. I was looking for the nearest-- er, tavern and got a bit [another cough] turned around.

[personalwar]

[ While this district is the sort of place where unexpected things happen, that doesn't mean that 76 is ready for a young woman with blue skin to crash right into him. The impact is enough to throw his hood back, though he's quick to pull it up again while the stranger is busy having a coughing fit.

She's at least been considerate enough to wear a mask as a way to not spread her illness, but that doesn't explain why she's trying to go to a tavern when she's sick. It's not really 76's problem, but if he's too quick to dismiss her she might become suspicious. ]

Seems like a tavern is the last place you should be right now.

[ Questioning someone who was at ground zero of that explosion might be worth doing, though. This is his first time running into someone who's infected. ]

Were you at the markets when the explosion happened?

[juniberries]

[It's because she's trying to be a spy, Jack.

Allura completely misses anything of note when she crashes into the cloaked stranger, and as she finishes coughing and clears her throat, the more logical side of her wonders if spying is really at all possible when you're genuinely sick and not just playing it as an act.

But she's really gotten no better at sneaking around, even in the months following her last spying escapade on a Galran ship. In fact, her coughing had distracted her enough for her hair to go from bluish back to its original silvery-white, and her skintone may have accidentally shifted from blue to a dusky purple.]

I-it is just a cough, I assure you. [She clears her throat again, posture straightening, and she looks at the man with a discerning eye, as though trying to see the face beneath the cloak.] Why do you ask?

[personalwar]

[ 76 takes a few steps away from her. While he passes it off as wanting to put some distance between himself and someone who's possibly infected, it's more about making sure that they're not standing close enough to each other that she could get a good look at his face.

She brushes off his assumption about her being one of the patient zeroes, but that could be her own attempt to stave off any paranoia.

Maybe that would have worked a little better if it weren't for her other symptoms. ]

... You're changing color.

[ That can't be normal. Right? ]

[juniberries]

[She's quite visibly caught off-guard by his statement (or as visibly off-guard as one can be with a mask over your mouth), mainly because she can't see her skintone and honestly thought she was doing an excellent job as per usual keeping her blue skin, well...blue.

But she does tug on her hair, and notices it does look like its usual shade as opposed to what she had attempted earlier.]

That's...normal. Completely normal. I-in fact it is done intentionally! [and this time she decidedly changes colour once again, this time to a ruddy red. hair matching accordingly, albeit lighter.

See?? normal!!]

[personalwar]

[ Maybe 76 would have bought the whole thing if it weren't for the woman's demeanor. She can change her skin and hair color at will, there's no denying that, but her actual behavior indicates that she's uncomfortable and embarrassed.

Most likely because she hadn't realized she was doing it at first.

Operating on this theory, 76 looks her over for a few seconds before making his guess. ]

Whatever you're sick with is making it harder to control your abilities, right?

[ She can deny it until she's literally blue in the face, but there isn't much point. ]

[juniberries]

[Look, she may have been raised and trained for diplomacy and had been slowly coming into her own back in her universe, but she's still young and it is hard to keep up a facade when your temperature is up a few degrees and your throat feels like the dry month of a Daibazaal summer.

Instead of denying, she blushes, which isn't obvious with her now-red skintone, but her pink markings peeking up just above the surgical mask do glow. She brings one hand up to her throat, clearing it, and she looks away.

Deflection is always a good go-to. And she gathers herself through her nerves.]

Never mind my abilities; what is it that you are doing in an alleyway so late at night? [She leans forward a bit, now trying to catch a glimpse of his face.] Are you a patron of the...er...brothel?

[personalwar]

[ The deflection is obvious and telling. If the young woman doesn't want to talk about her condition, that probably means that she was infected at the market. It's a good thing that 76 isn't that concerned about catching anything, or he might have cut off their conversation right then and there.

Not that he wants the questions to become about him, either. While he could let her assume that he's a dirty old man looking for a good time in the red light district, he knows that his current look doesn't really lend itself to that.

He shakes his head. ] Not exactly. I'm on the lookout for any of the people connected to the attack. [ It's the truth, plain and simple, but that's the point. Someone looking for a fugitive probably wouldn't expect them to be so forthcoming about their intentions. ]

[juniberries]

[She's sure he's already put two and two together by now, and her attempts at being covert have become awash. But...her deflection does seem to work, at least it veers into something she is willing to dig deeper into.

And is less about her sneaking around and changing colours unintentionally.]

You are? Are they known to come here?

[personalwar]

Given that they were moving explosives through the city, I don't know where else they would have done their dealings.

[ That's the sort of thing that needs to be done on the down-low. Of course, he knows more than he's telling Allura, given that he'd also picked up the job from the Shady Man in one of the brothels here. Still, even without that knowledge, it's not a difficult connection to make.

Not that he needs to drag someone else into it. ]

If you're looking for a bar, I can point you in the right direction.

[ She should really be home in bed, but he isn't about to lecture her. ]

[juniberries]

[This is true; if the underbelly of Olympia could be pinpointed, it would be this District here. Why she hadn't started here first thing was...well, perhaps due to a sense of propriety, and also knowing one of her close companions already patrols this area.

She looks up at the stranger confused when he brings up the bar, already forgetting her cover.]

The bar...why would I--? [Ah. Right. She blushes, looking away, and though her mouth is covered by the surgical mask, she's frowning at herself.] I...was actually not looking for a bar.

In fact, it sounds like you and I are on a similar mission.

[personalwar]

[ At least 76 has managed to get this woman to tell him the truth, though he isn't about to pay her the same kindness. She doesn't seem to have any clue who he is, at least, which isn't that surprising. They'd once had a brief conversation over text message, but beyond that had never spoken. ]

You probably shouldn't be trying to hunt down terrorists while you're sick.

[ Yes, she'd denied it, but it's not like 76 believed that for a second. He tilts his head at the stranger. She's the sort of person who decided to join the guard, so he probably shouldn't be surprised that she's out here against her better judgment. ]

Is this something personal, or are you just a good Samaritan?