10: [location] bare your faces of the veil

[hasaheart]

The change of weather and the coming of April brought a few things to the forefront of Cain's mind. One day, while losing himself in the mundane murmur of household chores, he realized it had been close to six months since he first found himself trapped in this hole in the ground.

Six months in this monstrous metro-city, and he'd succumbed to the same apathy that he at first had accused his two dearest friends of.

Six months, and what had he done to find a way out?

What had he done to set things right?

Nothing. One big, fat, glaring nothing at all. He's given in to the grind of depression, to the oppressive lack of wanting anything to do with life, and the resignation that he doesn't have what it takes to end it once and for all (whatever it is, be it strength or weakness, guts or the lack of them).

What's more, if he's been here six months, it's ten months since Adora set out for the cottage beyond the white elm with their son, hoping against hope for a fresh start.

He realized he had no idea what she had done in the years before, when he was gone. He didn't know how she'd coped, what she'd had to sacrifice in order to feed her family.

Ten months, and sometime during the following four, she'd been murdered.

He realized, with chilling clarity, that he had no idea when his wife had died. He could live without knowing what had happened, because he knew it couldn't be as bad as his mind insisted in vivid, broad strokes of imaginary paint. He could live, not knowing how. He just wasn't so sure he could cope, not knowing when.

So, against better judgment, knowing full well he shared this prison with creatures who supposedly went around feeding on the blood of mortals, Cain once more took to walking the streets in the dead of night. The claustrophobia reared its ugly face one night too many, forcing him out into the deceptively open air - and if he had to choose between potentially infected, homicidal Extras and the walls of his rooms caving in, he'd take the Extras any day.

Comments

YAY IT'S YOU!

[hasaheart]

On a good day, only very little escaped the former policeman's notice. But this was neither good nor daytime, and his mind was too weighed down by unpleasant or plain painful memories. Or, as the case was on this particular night, what haunted him most were all the things he couldn't remember.

His wife's face, the scent of her hair... Her voice, calm and warm like sunshine.

'No, not the boy! Leave him, leave him alone!'

He walked on, shoulders and back as stiff as a pair of boards crossed one over the other, aimless and quite happily so for a good long while. He's quiet, keeping his eyes on the ground ahead as if trying to keep the rest of this so-called world out of his scope.

But the thing about walking around without a clear destination in mind is it's terribly easy to lose your way, and despite Cain's years in the force and all the training that led to them, it was only a matter of time before he too would falter and lose his way.

The head lifted from its unseeing scrutiny of the ground, the figure partially illuminated by a street lamp. His eyes were blue, scanning the area for something, any kind of landmark to tell him where exactly he were.

Then, with a sigh, he turned on his heel and walked back the way he came.

YAY IT IS! Pshhh had to happen sooner or later

[stepintoshadows.livejournal.com]

It was impossible to determine where the shadowy figure was headed. With as frustratingly little knowledge of Taxon as Rorschach had been able to accumulate so far he didn't have enough information to conclude anything for certain. He could have been waiting for a drug dealer, or any of a hundred other things.

Rorschach let out a quiet grunt of irritation; days of patrol and still no criminals to apprehend, no justice to serve. He made no move to hide or conceal himself when the figure he had been following turned around and approached him, merely stood where he was, a shadowy shape partially concealed in the semi-darkness, and silently judged, his face a swirl of restless patterns to match his mood. "Late for a walk."

trufax - and I'm amused at how damn similarly these two think XD

[hasaheart]

Funny how perspective changed things so profoundly - or in this case, how it changed so very little. Cain lifted his head to look the other man over, one eyebrow (neat but intersected by a scar) arching at the sight of the mask. Or what he assumed was a mask. Late night for a walk indeed, and it made him wonder what business a man who kept so close to the shadows had in this part of town. Made him wonder what manner of secrets he had lurking in the depths of his mind.

And what he was hiding behind the eerily animated mask.

"Bad place for it, too," he said, slowing his step cautiously. "You new 'round here, right?"

same! I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing though

[stepintoshadows.livejournal.com]

The closer proximity and improved impression of the other man that it afforded did very little to change Rorschach's opinion of him. He looked like a cop, even if he wasn't in uniform, carried himself like one, and even removed from the police that had been the bane of his existence for the past decade or so Rorschach's sentiment towards them was not improved. Police were ineffectual, bound by laws that restricted their ability to carry out their purpose. More intent on catching those who did their job for them than the ones who created their necessity in the first place. Easily bought. Morally weak. Soft on crime. Useless for anything but punishing those who had done nothing wrong and releasing those who had.

He remained where he was, making no move closer or further, or even moving at all, merely looking at the other man evenly, posture outwardly relaxed but ready to spring into action on a moment's notice should it become necessary. The sneer was more audible than visible, seeing as how the mask gave away nothing but what the observer chose to see in it, although the voice that spoke was toneless itself. "Arrived recently. Haven't seen you before."

Cain finds nothing wrong with his speech patterns... or his sense of style

[hasaheart]

Cain nodded, filing that bit of information away with the recent influx of holographic arrival transmissions. Lately he'd been preoccupied, enough that he hadn't had time to do the meet and greet (or so he tells himself). He knew by experience and common sense alike that a less than calm guy made for a terrible welcome wagon no matter how good his intentions, and had left such things to others.

"The name's Cain," he offered for the sake of courtesy, and tipped his hat. "Got a place to stay yet? Proper-like?"

there's nothing wrong with either to begin with, idk what you're talking about... *shifty eyes*

[stepintoshadows.livejournal.com]

The look Cain was met with was blank, even under the mask, and the only immediate response he received was a grunt of acknowledgment. He was examined closely, worth weighed and measured before a name was volunteered. "Rorschach." The shorter man waited, expecting a flash of recognition (most scum knew his name by now, it stood to reason that this man should too), but none came so he continued, although begrudgingly. "Fine for now. Why the interest?"

my sentiments exactly <3

[hasaheart]

Touchy fellow, Cain noted to himself, and while he didn't recognize the name (either as a quasi clinical term or connected to the stranger) he couldn't find anything weird about it. His home, its inhabitants had cultivated the quirkiness of names over several unaging generations, and to him, 'Rorschach' was as weird a name as Lavender Eyes.

Which is to say, not at all.

"No reason. Just figure it ought be a comfortable stay, as long as it lasts." Gone were the days when he raged against the unfairness of being stuck here, and in its stead came slithering, bitter resignation. He wouldn't call it despair even if that's what it was; he wasn't prone to melodrama.

He looked to the side and back, for a brief moment watching a shop sign swinging slightly in the wind. "Been here six months now, or just under. Can't say it gets better without lying."

XD let the meeting of the disillusioned crank brigade begin!

[stepintoshadows.livejournal.com]

Rorschach raised his chin in defiance of the situation, removing some of the shadows created by his fedora as the lamplight reached further. "Nothing comfortable about situation. Trapped in prison with no doors. Lying only gives false hope. Especially if lying to self." He shoved his hands in his pockets for something to do with them. While Cain might have finally begun to accept the situation Rorschach was far from doing so himself, a fact evident by the harsh edge to his words despite the monotone. He found it difficult to accept the idea that an entire city could be blocked off from the rest of the world so completely, and all the evidence in support of just such a phenomenon only frustrated him further.

But that was secondary to the reason he had been following the man in the first place. "Never explained reason for walk this late."

huzzah!

[hasaheart]

Yes, Cain made a mental note. Definitely a mask.

"It's a hole in the ground, I'm told," he said, opting for a blunt approach where information was concerned. He had nothing to hide, and he certainly wasn't about to sugarcoat their shared predicament. But his initial sentiment still stood: You might as well aim for a semblance of comfort while it lasted.

"My reasons are my own," he said in response to the query. "Just like your reasons are yours to keep, if that's your preference."

He certainly wouldn't ask if Rorschach had been following him. Better not to go looking for fights when all the fight had gone out of you with the last city-wide glitch.

huzzah indeed! ...and I feel the need to apologize in advance for R?

[stepintoshadows.livejournal.com]

"Never conceal my reasons; purpose obvious, well known. Remove filth and decay from streets to keep city from choking on it. Deception and concealment unnecessary. Your turn." He glared accusingly as he demanded an answer, fully expecting recognition to dawn, the polluted to flee in the face of understanding. It was how it always went, and given the uneventful turn of recent evenings his veins were all but itching for retribution, he wasn't particular as to what for.

never apologize, never surr-- no, wrong canon paraphrase/bastardization. <3

[hasaheart]

"May be well known to you, but in this city everyone's a stranger. Nothing's obvious, 'part from what you can see, and all I see is a man wearing a mask."

He refrained from asking if Rorschach viewed him as filth. "Makes me wonder what you got to hide. Don't get me wrong, it ain't my business, but it still makes me wonder.

"If you ask me, I'm not the one guilty of concealment. I don't have an obligation to explain myself to every stranger who happens to cross my path, or shadow me."

Which...was what he suspected Rorschach had done. But that begged the question of why anyone would stalk a guy only to demand answers as if it's his birthright.

*snicker* Heyyy it's close enough. And appropriate. <3

[stepintoshadows.livejournal.com]

Rorschach snorted at the comment. "Not hiding. Not afraid to show face. Not like some people." He was wearing his face right now, after all, the idea that he was hiding it was inaccurate, although he could understand the confusion.

The thing in question flickered through another few shapeless patterns in agitation before finally smoothing out and settling into something more regular. "Late night. Suspicious to be out; worth investigating. Just in case." He didn't sound particularly offended by the implications, probably because they were correct. "Keep avoiding the answer. May have problem if it continues."