ArchivedLogs:Potential Monsters

Potential Monsters
Dramatis Personae Tatters, Anole	2013-02-09 '
Location <MOR> The Realm of Lost Things
Cramped and dark and tortuous, the tunnels here are not the most hospitable place. With enough exploration or someone to guide the way, it's possible to navigate through the underground labyrinth to these dim halls, lit sporadically by the often faltering electricity stolen from the city above or candles when those fail. Down here tarps cover rows of crates or plastic tubs shut against the large rat and mouse population; inside is a trove of goods scavenged from curbs and dumpsters and patched back into working order, or outright stolen from stores or homes or people. There's generally food to be found, canned more than anything else, and a mismatched assortment of clothing and blankets in various states of repair. There's other things, though, too; aging electronics, children's toys, bicycles. Board games (often missing pieces). Pet supplies. Dishes. Soap. It's hit or miss whether any of it is /useful/ or even in one piece, and there's no sort of organization to the mess. It keeps them going, though, and occasionally there are gems to be found in this communal trove scavenged together by the community. Free for any Morlock to take from and generally /viciously/ guarded against outsiders who have the misfortune to stumble in. There's quiet rustling, from somewhere in the depths of the Morlocks' lost and found. Somewhere in here, Anole's backpack sits open on the ground, disgorging a supply of canned tuna and various condiments. Relish. Mayo. There's some utensils, too, mismatched silverware. Victor isn't currently unstocking these, though. At some point maybe he was unloading. Now he is buried in a pile of -- things. A large stuffed tiger. A few scattered DVDs. A bicycle pump. And a /book/, which he adds to a small accumulated pile of them beside his backpack, with a quiet grunted, "score!" of victory. Tatters is grumbling to herself as she strolls through the tunnels, a netbook open in her hands as she periodically pauses to refresh something, glancing at the ceiling as she meanders. "Ugh." As she wanders by the pile with half on an Anole sticking out, however, she stops and glances down, closing her little computer and leaning over to peer at the book he was so enthused about salvaging, trying to make out a title in the dim light. "Oh hey, kid. Looking for something?" Anole squeaks, skittering back in a crab-walk and knocking the top two books off the pile as he moves -- /Oliver Twist/, is the one he just found, and, in stark contrast, /Fifty Shades of Grey/ is the one beneath it. "Oh I -- Hi. No. Yes. Maybe? Is that allowed? Woah do you have /internet/ here?" "Yeah, you're allowed to scrounge, just don't, like, /hoard/ stuff." Tatters shrugs down at the bookpile, then tucks her netbook under her arm and glares up at the ceiling above. "And...no. I can get it from an alley /above/ here, but I think we got snowed on pretty hard. And I try not to, like, skulk around on the surface too close to our warrens anyways for security reasons." Sighing, she rubs at her forehead and leans back, eyeing the pile of junk askance. "We should, like, /inventory/ all this crap one of these days. But I think I'm the only one who thinks that's a good idea." "It'd be really useful," Anole agrees, slowly relaxing to scoot back forward and peer up at Tatters, uncertainly. "I was trying to make a pile. So like. The books could -- we could put them in the main room. If people like reading. Some of them are just kind of molding in here. Have you been up top? When I ducked down last it was like. Half a foot but still going hard." Tatters shakes her head, pushing back her hood and sighing. "Not since the snow started. I've been trying to raise Lily and ask her how much we got...but I need internet for that." She glances down the tunnel with a frown, blinking into the gloom as she continues wearily. "Do you know if the subway's running? Subway stations /probably/ aren't snowed in." And with a flick of her orange eyes back across to the younger Morlock, she smiles. "Oh! Uh, yeah, that's a great idea by the way. Good work." "Lily? Who's a Lily? I don't think I've met -- well. Her. Or you," Victor acknowledges, a little shyly as he looks Tatters over more carefully, green eyes meeting orange ones. "At least some of the lines are running. I've felt them pulling through. Do you need to get somewhere?" "Nah, but the stations are probably shut up tighter if they're closed. Other hand, I'm less likely to get hit by a train if they're not running, so it works out. Um." Leaning over, Tatters grins and offers a hand. "Oh, right. I'm Tatterhood, one of our Sewer Knights. I've been meaning to say 'hi,' but I've been out a lot and you've been /asleep/ alot. Lily's my human-looking sister, she lives upstairs." "S'cold. I sleep a lot," Victor acknowledges, ducking his head sheepishly but then looking up again to take the offered hand. His is -- cold. He shakes stiffly. "I'm Victor. I'm -- wait, /Sewer Knight/?" His eyes widen. "Like a /knight/ knight? Do you get armor? Do you do battles? Do you have a /steed/?" Each of these questions sounds progressively more excited. "Sort of, I should make some, yes, no." Tatters unslings her backpack, unzipping it and unrolling the top of the trash bag that lines it so that she can stash her netbook away, answering the barrage of questions in sequence as she goes. "It's kinda silly, but I mean -- we're all kinda silly, down here. Marrow and Sunder are the other two; they're the pink bony kid and the trollish guy, if you haven't met them. You've probably /heard/ Marrow, she's pretty loud. Marrow and I do a lot of patrolling around and making sure nothing nasty sneaks up on the settlement. Sunder's the Brute Squad." Pulling herself to her feet, Tatters digs an index card out of a side pocket of her pack and offers it to Victor: on it are a number of colored symbols drawn in with marker, and explanations like "tracks week+ old" and "danger! recent activity." "Speaking of, do you have one of these yet? We've got sort of a sewer monster problem, but I try and keep wallsign up to date. There are other cards in the common area, but make sure you know the signs before you go exploring." Victor takes a card, eying it in stark confusion for a long moment. "Tracks? Sew -- wait, /sewer monsters/? Are you for real? A problem like there's -- more than /one/ sewer monster? I mean not monster like us but /monsters-monsters/?" He's still looking at the card, for a while, but then he looks up at Tatters. A little skeptical. But a little nervous, too. "-- Monster like will they eat you?" "Uh, they'll /try./ They're clumsy and ungainly and /really/ stupid and are mostly sleeping through the winter, but dangerous if they corner you probably. And yeah, we aren't monsters, we're /people./ They're like..." Tatters shrugs and whistles, pointing a finger at her head and twirling it around. "They mostly used to be people, but they've got my power which is shitty irreversible shapeshifting and if you accidentally turn your brain to pulp the mutation itself kinda carries on on its own but it's not too bright. Long story. I'm trying to keep 'em rounded up and from eating anyone. Um. I can't promise none of the /people/ out there won't try to eat you either but I'm not sure either way. Just be careful if you venture out, and take me or Marrow with you probably. Either of us /should/ be a match for anything you find down here." "How do you learn to be a knight?" is Victor's next question, more curious than eager. He's still looking a little uncertain about the concept of Sewer Monsters. "-- Used to be people?" He frowns. "Are -- you gonna be a monster some day?" he asks, more hesitant and a little apologetic. "I don't wanna get eaten is all." "Only if I screw up! Or die, maybe, I dunno how that works." Tatters smiles in good cheer and digs another, laminated index card out of her back pocket, holding it up for Victor's scrutiny. It reads, in large, sharpied letters, "IF DEAD: Cremate Immediately, May Turn Into Monster. (And report to phone number)" Returning it to her jeans, she shrugs ruefully and glances guiltiy back towards the main cavern. "And, uh, I didn't really do a lot of /learning./ Marrow's been here since she was a kid, and knows the underground like the back of her hand. I just kinda showed up a few months back and dueled Callisto for the job. I mostly get by on powers, really: there's not a lot most folks can do to me, and the monsters are really dumb." "Don't do that." Victor's frowning again, though this dissolves into wide-eyed bemusement at the card. "Don't -- /die/ I mean, uh, wow. Like. Posthumously turn into Monster? That's kinda -- what." His hand lifts, scuffing across his head. "But not just /spontaneous/ monstering, right?" He glances back towards the main cavern, too. "There's a loooot of underground to know. I get lost. Has anyone, like, made a /map/? Can we /map/ it?" "It's a slowish process. They," Tatters snerks and shakes her head, rubbing at an eye. "As I've said, they aren't very bright, so it takes them a while to figure out they need to do something. I'd probably lie there dead for a bit until it gets hungry, I dunno. I'm not really in a hurry to find out, since I /can't/ find out because by the time it happens I'll be dead. And um, I've been mapping and there are a few around, but we try not to make too many: it's better if fewer people know how to find us. Best shot is to follow someone around for a bit." A thought occurs to her and she perks up, grinning. "Ooh! Marrow knows the tunnels /really/ well. You should follow her around, don't worry about her swearing at you that's just her being friendly." She holds her smile for a long moment, but eventually relaxes it with a sigh. "Or don't do that. It'd be funny, but it's mean." "Wait, am I supposed to follow her around or not follow her -- /is/ she friendly?" Victor looks very confused. "Cuz she seems kind of shouty -- but I do need to learn things." "Uh, you can ask! But she'll probably tell you to fuck off, and you /probably/ shouldn't keep bugging her." Tatters shrugs, but looks thoughtful. "Then again, this is coming from me and we aren't, like, on great terms. She might be more friendly with you -- if you don't tell her I suggested it. And...don't tell her I suggested it, she doesn't need a bigger head." Eyeroll. "You're not on good terms but you're knights together? Are you feuding? Do you have /duels/?" Victor's excited once again. "Can you swordfight?" "I don't think what we have is structured or dignified enough to be a fued. Um, there were lots of duels before I showed up but that kinda stopped because it was dumb. And I don't really spar with Marrow because I don't trust her not to perforate me and while I can /probably/ keep her from killing me fixing damage is a pain." Tatters rattles off her answers patiently, leaning back against the wall of the tunnel and smiling. "And eh, I'm more about hitting things with heavy things. Marrow's more knifey-stabby; she grows 'em with her power. /Lily/ was on the fencing team back in school, actually, but that's like -- sports stuff, I don't think it translates well to actual fighting." "Grows knives?" Victor considers this, resettling down into a cross-legged position among the detritus. "Everyone else's powers do cool things," he decides at length, not exactly sulkily but a little bit nose-wrinkly. "-- I guess," he allows, "unless they're turning into sewer monsters. But being a sewer /knight/ is way cooler. I always kinda wanted to learn fencing but it takes so much time and equipment and that's all expensive, y'know?" "Yeah, she can make her bones grow out. Then take the bone spikes out and stick 'em in people. It's charming, um. I assume some places have house equipment they might let you borrow? I dunno. I'll ask Lily and see if she knows anything." Settling herself against the wall, Tatters looks down at the boy curiously, crossing her arms across her chest and tapping a finger against her sleeve absently. "What /is/ your deal? If you have one besides lookin' kinda green. I mean, nothin' wrong with green but these things tend to be, like, thematic." "Thematic?" Victor's brow creases. "I'd bet the kinds of places that have house equipment aren't the kinds of places that would let us, um, borrow it. I don't have a deal. I mean sometimes I'm not green. I guess I climb on things." He shrugs a little uncertainly. "Like walls. And hide." It's not the most /coherent/ explanation, but. "Aren't bones supposed to stay inside you?" "'Not always green and hiding' like a chameleon thing?" Tatters smiles, raising an eyebrow. "See, you could just do that. Or you could just stick to walls. But you do both of those /and/ you're green /and/ you're...cold blooded maybe? Is that what the sleeping's about? You got this themed lizard-dude package. That kinda thing. And dude, do /any/ of us really work the way we're supposed to? That's sort of our deal." "Yeah, in winter it's hard to -- have energy. I don't stay warm well," Victor acknowledges, which is perhaps why he's (ineffectually) sitting on his hands, now, scrunched a little lower into a ball. "Yeah, I guess like a chameleon. I'm kinda lizardy. Do you have a theme? I guess I'm sort of broken, yeah. Um. In that probably I'm supposed to be able to -- thing. Regulate myself." "I dunno. I think my theme's just being a /monster,/ looking at what the other monsters turn their bodies into when they're left to the own devices. And man, I'm all kinds of broke too. I can change things in my body, but it doesn't, like, snap back to any kind of 'default.' So I've got all sorts of stuff that I've accidentally messed with and don't know how to put back right. Like my face! Looking kinda gobliny is way better than looking super creepy." Tatters nods, sighing. "And yeah, thermoregulating is tricky. I can /do/ it, I just...forget, a lot. It doesn't happen automatically anymore. This one time last week I ended up going for a surprise swim, and it got really cold and I had to, like, manually constrict most of my surface capillaries to keep me from freezing." Victor looks impressed, by this, rather than any less positive reaction. "You can change all your capillaries? That'd be so useful!" But a moment later he stops, considers, frowns. "Maybe. Maybe not if you had to do it all -- manually. Um. How do you not die? I'd forget /everything/. Bodies have /so much stuff/ in them!" "There /is/ a lot of stuff. It's really complicated and I have barely any idea what I'm doing and I'm not dead yet mostly because I've managed not to mess to much with anything important. Like my heart or something." Tatters raises an arm and looks at the back of her hand accusingly. "There's a lot I kinda do like...habitually, too. I dunno what'd happen if my power shut off: I don't think it'd kill me /quickly,/ but it's probably not healthy. I try and keep a distance from Leech." "Leech?" Victor looks a little apologetic right after this question. "I haven't -- met a lot of everyone yet. Um. Sleeping. Sometimes sleeping. Do you need to, like, /always/ be checking yourself then? To make sure everything's still -- working? Is that tiring? How do you sleep?" "He's a kid, also green. Green's a popular color down here I think? Um, powers don't work around him. Pretty sweet kid, actually. And most of the checking's, like, in response to things. If I'm running around I need to thermoregulate, if I'm feeling toxin-y I need to make sure enough blood's getting through my liver and stuff. Things like that. Sleeping hasn't killed me yet, though I change things in my sleep every so often and need to do a morning 'put everything back' routine. Fortunately I haven't /broken/ anything in my sleep yet. And not-sleeping doesn't really work out." "Yeeeah, I guess the not sleeping thing would get -- tiring." Victor's lips quirk, slightly, at this, and he uncurls stiffly, getting slowly to his feet, fingers flexing. "Um." He looks at Tatters, a moment, and then down at his shoes. "Does everyone here --" he starts, apologetic, and then, "-- have -- funny names?" "Most of us do." Tatters rolls her eyes. "I dunno when it started, but if we're going to be, like, out own little magical mutant fairytale kingdom, the nicknames kind of make sense I guess? I still introduce myself as 'Jill' up /there,/" she points a finger up towards the ceiling, and beyond it the snow-covered streets, "but it seems weird to call myself that down here. I don't think anyone'll /stop/ you from staying 'Victor' if you want, and I'm certainly not going to pressure you into picking up a silly name. But it's sort of a thing, I think." "I just feel kinda out of place, everyone's all Nox and Tatterhood and Marrow and I'm like." Victor shrugs. "Me. But I don't know what'd -- I'm not a knight or anything. How'd you get to be a Tatterhood?" The knight in question shrugs. "My sister thought it was a good idea. Name's from a fairy tale, story's /basically/ mine: twins born from a dodgy fertility treatment, there's a pretty one and an ugly one, who hides her face with this ratty old hood she gets her name from. The ugly one grows up to be a badass who gets into fights with trolls and witches and everything, and inexplicably modifies her appearance at the end because it's not a happy ending unless she's married and pretty for some reason because it's a frigging fairy tale. Um." Another shrug. "You can call yourself whatever you want! If you want to wait 'till you think you've found a niche, then that's fair too. I dunno if people will care if you change it either, it'd be a bit weird to expect a kid to settle on a name and be stuck with it FOREVER." "Dodgy fertility -- man, fairy tales are freaking /weird/," Victor decides, then looks up at Tatters with a slight darkening of his cheeks. "Sorry, I guess not weirder than real life -- er, sorry." He rubs his hand against the back of his neck, and then reaches to empty his backpack of its presumably stolen food and fill it with the books instead. "Is that so weird? I mean mostly kids just get names before they're even really /people/ and they're stuck with those forever." "Don't apologize! That's, like, a pretty accurate summary." Tatters grins and shakes her head ruefully. "And eh, kids are generally named by their parents, who are /ostensibly/ grown up enough not to pick names they'll get sick of six months later. I mean, that /happens,/ but it's at least sort of an edge case?" "The parents might not get sick of it. I'm not really all that fond of /Victor/," Victor says with a wrinkle of his nose. He zips up the backpack in slow tugs, lifting it to shoulder it, slow too. "It sounds like some weird old horror book monster. But. I guess I kind of look like one too. I don't think they /planned/ on that though." "I dunno, that happens a lot in books. Like, if you name your kid Sinister von Murderstein and wonder why he grows up to be a bit of a villain and also left handed or something. I'm telling you man, /themes./" Tatters quickly finger-combs her hair into something of a sticking-straight-up mess and holds her hands in the air as she reaches the end of her sentence, doing a passable imitation of History Channel Guy. Then she tries to put her hair back. "Uh, what /do/ you like being called? Any nicknames you've been fond of?" "So you think maybe my parents were /trying/ for a monster?" Victor's lips curl into a quick grin, brighter still at Tatter's imitation. He shrugs afterwards, though. "I mean, uh, most of my nicknames have been, like, freak and weirdo and I don't think I really like those plus, um, around here that's not too descriptive. Everyone'd look up if you called it." "What I'm saying is that fictional parents show a remarkable lack of foresight, beginning in this case with marrying into the von Murderstein family in the first place. I'm sure Bob von Murderstein was a great guy, but there's no way that can end well." Tatters nods sagely. "Um. Themes. Would you be cool with something lizardy? 'Chameleon' or something sounds...well it's a little generic, but the bar around here isn't all that high, honestly." "Oh. So you're saying that I'm just lucky they didn't name me Bitey McKillsALot cuz I'd /really/ have been screwed." Victor shifts his backpack up higher on his shoulders, and wraps his arms tight against his chest. "I am pretty lizardy. Chameleon's sort of a mouthful. Do I look like a Gecko to you? -- Oh, gosh, I'd get car insurance jokes /all day/." "Essentially. And yeah, you're fighting pop culture for a lot of this. I'd hit the -- well, I'd hit the internet and see if you can find anything good and obscure. I was /going/ to say 'hit the library,' but I guess that's the easiest way to get internet anyways? They haven't hassled me /too/ badly and -- oh!" Tatters looks up, snapping her fingers as she remembers something. "If you /do/ go to the library, keep an eye out for someone messing with the books. We think there's some teenager or something with book powers who's just, like, vandalizing them or something, and Lily wants to track them down." "They don't hassle you much there? I wanted to go but it looks so fancy I thought -- I should go." The idea of Library seems to perk Victor up, a little brighter of a smile on his somewhat sleepy expression. "-- Messing? Who'd mess with books?" This maybe shocks him. But it's hard to tell, his face scrunching up tighter as he turns back towards the main room. "I should -- I gotta -- it was good to --" He stifles a yawn. "Don't get eaten or nothing, kay?" "Yeah, that's what she said too! And good talk, go back to sleep." With a grin, Tatters steps off the wall and hoists her backpack. "I'll try my best not to. Say 'hi' to Nox for me, if I'm not back." And with that she sets off again herself, on her quest for Internet.