Please speak softly for they will hear us [OPEN]

[liesdontfindyou]

Who: CT (liesdontfindyou) & you!
What: Catch-All for CT
When: Late September through October
Where: Various places around town
Warnings: Trust issues up the wazoo, nudity in the hot springs prompt, more specific warnings in headers whenever they come up



1. And they'll find out why we don't trust them [enforcer's office]

CT has always been a bit of a workaholic, but over the last few weeks those tendencies have escalated until those working at the Enforcer's office will find they encounter her there at all hours of the day—whether she's strictly meant to be on shift or not. She always gets her actual duties done, but outside of those she's spending a lot of time reading up on anything accessible (sometimes files, sometimes things she's checked out from the library) about the Leeds, the Pine Devil, the Demons, and refreshing her notes on the Cult of Nyarlathotep. She rarely remembers to eat and only seems to drink coffee with any regularity—though the keen eyed might notice her nose crinkling when she does, as if she doesn't really like it—which probably says something about her sleeping habits, too.

It's also impossible not to notice how... chilly, things can be when CT and Cerrit have unavoidable reasons to be in the same room. She avoids his office in a way she didn't used to and all essential communication is run through a third party. By the start of October, many otherworlders on the force will probably have an inkling as to why.

2. Speak up, dear, 'cause I cannot hear you [northwest hollow/around]

Part of CT's daily routine is a run, usually in the morning before she heads into work. It's grounding, a holdover from her life before, and it means she stays familiar with the area. The weather taking a turn for the cooler hasn't changed this whatsoever, nor does the early morning fog.

Even the sudden onsets of rain don't seem to deter her. In fact, more often than not, when the skies open she stops only to turn her face to the heavens and let the rain fall on her for a while.

3. I need to know why we don't trust them [hot springs]

Even CT can't keep going forever—if not for lack of trying. Occasionally, aware of an encroaching crash in a way that's less healthy and more treating herself like a faulty machine that needs troubleshooting measures, she has to take a break of some kind.

One way she does this is taking a trip out to the hot springs. There, she strips out of her practical clothes completely, makes sure they're actually put aside safely, and slips into the water. This is true regardless of if she arrives to an empty spring, or is joining someone in the water—a little nudity means nothing to her after years of co-ed military locker rooms and, though she does keep one knife in grabbing distance just in case, she's as close to relaxed as you'll ever see her as she lets the water warm her.

4. Where can I turn? 'Cause I need something more [oak & iron]

The second way she institutes her begrudgingly obligatory breaks is by going for drinks, on the rare nights that she actually leaves work on time. She favours sitting at the bar, where you can always sit beside her and she'll smile or nod an acknowledgement, but if the bar seats are full and your table isn't she might ask if the seat's free.

The atmosphere is good for her, in short bursts like this—reminiscent of a simpler time, of station bars. She dresses down for comfort and she's got a good handle on her own limits, drinking only enough to loosen up and maybe be just a little bit tipsy but no more. It's during these nights you're most likely to catch an unguarded smile, or a laugh, or a genuine conversation with less of a mask up.

5. Surrounded by uncertainty, I'm so unsure [Wildcard]

She can easily be found on patrols or in the library, too. Hit me or find me in the discord to plot/if you want a custom starter for anything.

Comments

1.

[maltesefalcon]

Cerrit lets her avoid him. Lets her go cold and frosty. Works through middlemen--mostly Alex and Leon. But eventually, there's a day when they're alone in the office together and he gives her a long, quiet expectant look.

He's sure she could keep this up forever. But no one would benefit from it. And his tongue is now completely unbound.

[liesdontfindyou]

A part of her really wants to be stubborn about it. The vindication of being right about the bones of what he was hiding has bolstered her through the last couple weeks of icy behaviour and it wouldn't be hard to frost herself over anew, but... things certainly do keep getting more complicated, don't they.

She presses her lips together, breathes out through her nose, and, a little bit more bitterly than she really intends, "Is there something you want to say to me, Chief?"

[maltesefalcon]

"Yes, Constance, there are things we need to talk about."

While his tone is so coolly neutral, without inching into frosty or outright threatening, he's being quite deliberate in using the name the girl with the purple hair had given him. It's not the subtlest way to underline he's not just here to take heat himself.

[liesdontfindyou]

CT tenses up, so immediate it's like a switch being flipped. How does he— of course, she used that name with the cult, but surely no one who was there would...

She digs her fingers into scar tissue. "...who did you meet?"

[maltesefalcon]

"A woman with hair colored purple. She had a lot to say about you."

Cerrit's hands rest on his desk, a very open posture. He's at ease here, even if there's a tension between them, like two players in chess.

[liesdontfindyou]

"...South Dakota." There wasn't a long list of options, not really. South, Wash, Needles or Rat... they knew her name, but outside of them you'd have to go back to her youth. "I don't doubt she did. She's— always had a lot to say about a lot of things."

How many times had she sat there and listened to South rant about North, or Carolina, or the Director? How many times has she imagined that same venom turned on her, since her defection?

[maltesefalcon]

"She told me you're a spy and a traitor, that you dropped a bomb on your own team, and that you have no concept of privacy." He clicks his beak quietly. "I told her outside of the bomb, that's sort of why I hired you."

[liesdontfindyou]

Once that probably would've made her laugh, and even now she can't quite help the subtle, amused pull at the corner of her lips like she wants to smirk an but won't let herself. It vanishes almost as quickly as it appeared.

None of it's a surprise. But the word traitor still wraps around her chest like crushing tendrils and she has to swallow, make herself take a breath and release. She always knew what they'd think of her, but that doesn't make confirmation any easier.

"...I didn't drop any bombs on anyone. That was something an associate of mine at the time did without my say so." But she can't deny the rest. Especially not after how many people have seen through her even before now.

[maltesefalcon]

"Thank you for clarifying." He believes her. All other things taken in account, he completely believes her. "CT, I don't think less of you, hearing what I did from this 'South Dakota'. I know you're a truth-seeker, cunning and daring. And I know that's why you're still so pissed off at me. As of the gala, my contract with Aster has been fulfilled. I can answer any question you want to ask."

Oak & Iron

[theydrewfirstblood]

"--fucking little feathered mongrel!"

Buk bukbuk. Buk? Bukbukbuk buk, buk buk...

If CT looks to one side, there's a chicken on one man's table, cheerfully clawing up a stack of papers with her feet and bending to peck and pull at the scraps with her beak. Nearby, one John Rambo, a man with the build of a soldier and the gentle smile of an infinitely patient man just stands, arms folded, watching her work while the man the table belongs to continues to curse and swear at both chicken and master.

"Do something with your beast, Rambo!"

John just shrugs, sidling up to the table.

"Do something about the way you're talking about Dahlia Leeds." he replies, then catches the chicken's eye and clicks his tongue a couple times.

Co, ever attentive to her beloved human father, struts a couple steps to one side, catches the man's glass in her beak, and tugs back to tip the glass and spill liquid all over her artfully crafted pile of scraps.

"You sonufa--"

John leans over, finally, to pick up Co and remove her from the angry man's reach.

"Good job, baby." John coos, kissing her feathery head.

Bukbukbuk--BAAAAK!

Co has spotted a New Person. Wriggling free from John, she flaps to land on CT's table, shuffles forward, and bends her head expectantly.

Hello, human. She is Co, worship at her altar with pets.

John hastily moves to try and grab her with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Co's kind of a diva. She thinks everyone she's never met has to be her friend." he explains, trying to pick her up and getting pecked at for his trouble.

BEGONE, FATHER. SHE IS BUSY ACQUIRING A NEW HUMAN FOR HER COLLECTION OF DEVOTEES.

[liesdontfindyou]

CT watches the whole display with a mix of amusement and something inscrutable that appears only as a wrinkle in her brow at the apparent defensiveness over Dahlia— all of which gets wiped away by startled surprise when the chicken lands on her table.

"Oh, uh—" she holds her hands up away from the table, laughing, "—no, uh, it's fine. Animals, they've got— whole minds of their own."

Can you tell she hasn't interacted with animals all that much?

[theydrewfirstblood]

Buk! Buk buk buk.

Co shuffles forward another step, bending her head lower. Can you not reach, New Human?

John laughs, leaning over to scritch the top of her head with one finger.

"Yeah, they do--case in point." he replies, leaning over to get his face within an inch of Co's head.

"Hey. Not everyone knows how to handle you, baby." he admonishes softly, gently. "Be nice 'fore you throw a tantrum, okay? Show new friends what a nice girl you are."

Co lifts her head, resting her beak against the side of John's nose for a long moment. Chicken kiss.

After about five seconds of this, Co scuffles forward one more step, then settles down and just looks up at the new lady placidly.

Buk? Buk buk...buk?

John huffs a quiet laugh, then reaches out to scritch the top of her head with one finger again, glancing at the woman in silent communion.

This is how it's done. It's totally optional.

And, if she chooses not to pet, John will pick Co up and tuck her against his chest. Otherwise, any pets will be met with closed eyes and silence, followed by a very careful touch of beak to fingers for another chicken kiss.

[liesdontfindyou]

CT continues to look uncertain for a moment, but she's loosened herself up enough that eventually she tentatively scritches the chicken.

"I'm a mining colony kid," she says by way of explanation, a moment later. "We weren't entirely without agriculture, but livestock animals were very rare and I grew up in the city limits anyway."

4.

[makesrocksfloat]

Rey was still trying to get her bearings. A near death experience? At the other world? It seemed nearly impossible, what they were put through was easy in comparison to an average day in Jakku. But Jakku was feeling further and further behind herself as she acclimated herself to one world, now another.

She wondered, would she ever go home again?

While she was trying to get used to things, she was pleased to find a pub like the one from the world she'd left, figuring that while she was trying to meet the locals and maybe make a friend, she could have a drink. One single drink. A Moscow mule without the vodka.

Rey set next to a young woman, smiling almost shyly as she slid into the seat. It couldn't hurt to be friendly, right? So she smiled and said "Hi, I'm Rey. I'm getting used to things. Really, really trying to get used to things. Have you been here long?"

[liesdontfindyou]

CT gives the girl a quick once-over as she tends to any new face, paranoid ex-military as she is, but it's a little more casual than it might be any other day.

She nods her head to the side. "Not as long as some, but it's been a handful of months for me by now. Welcome to Pumpkin Hollow, Rey. Everyone calls me CT."

[makesrocksfloat]

Rey should've been more paranoid, but mostly she was bewildered. This was unlike any planet she'd ever been to and she couldn't help the curiosity which was flooding her mind. She wanted to see everything, do everything all at once which of course was impossible, even with the Force.

"Thanks, CT. D'you like it here? I know there are loads of planets, but I've never heard of one like this one before." Her eyes were wide with wonder.

[liesdontfindyou]

"It's... nice enough. A lot different than what I'm used to. I'm also from somewhere with a lot of occupied planets, but none of them are this far back in technological development." She's gotten used to the lack of it, but she still feels the lack, especially given her speciality in coding and the like. "Or, well, magical. But I can't say it's not been a relief to have my feet back on solid ground for longer than a couple weeks at a time."

3.

[imjustaman]

Sephiroth is already in the water, his long hair tied up behind him to keep it dry. He is wearing swim trunks. He quirks an eyebrow when CT comes in, but doesn't watch her disrobe and just folds his arms as he politely looks in another direction.

"Hello," he greets when she enters the water.

[liesdontfindyou]

CT can't help a little bit of amusement, when she notices the averted gaze. She settles comfortably in the water before answering, "Hi. Sorry, I've spent so much time in locker rooms I honestly forget anyone cares."

And she doesn't see any point in spending money on special clothes she's not going to use often.

[imjustaman]

Sephiroth would find it rude or worse to watch. But he just nods. "It's fine.

"Have you been in this world long? I arrived only recently. I'm still meeting everyone."

[liesdontfindyou]

"Five months or so, give or take. Definitely not as long as some, I'm sure some people have been here over a year by now, but long enough."

Long enough to have a routine and know the place fairly well, even if she struggles to call herself settled.

[imjustaman]

"Do you like it here?" Sephiroth does so far, basically, although he is not thrilled with the dangers to people from the various monster attacks.

[liesdontfindyou]

"I don't... dislike it. It's a nice enough town and I'm grateful for the chance it's given me, and any otherworlder, but I am used to a rather more technologically advanced society. So it's an adjustment."

She'd rather have been stuck somewhere with all the advances she's used to, but beggars can't be choosers and the town is still a nice small town despite all its... quirks, most of the time.

[imjustaman]

Sephiroth nods. "I feel the same. I would prefer more technology, although I suppose it could be worse. I was surprised by what technology they have." Even microphones now, of all things.

He also appreciates the indoor plumbing, but probably isn't going to discuss that.

"The monster attacks are concerning."

To say the least.

[liesdontfindyou]

"They are, though after coming from a galaxy at war they're... nothing I'm not used to, in a way. More magical and strange, maybe, but..." she shrugs, loosely, "a fight is a fight. At least most things still don't like it when you stab them."