[network] @hexappeal; let me enlighten you [open/video] [cw:blood]

[sleight_of_fate]

Characters: Jared Rhys, Beckett, chaos, Enoch
Location: Building 326- the high school
Date: Day 298, afternoon
Summary: Rhys pisses off some ghosts
Warnings: cw: blood, cursing, rituals



[On camera, Rhys looks a bit shaken and pale, but his jaw is set and his blue eyes are hard and determined. He's got a blanket wrapped around him, and he holds the tablet awkwardly to talk, doing his best to present a calm, professional face.

Hey, is not the first time he's been assaulted by a ghost and he doubts it will be the last.]

So I think we learned a lesson, though I don't know how useful it is. That lesson being, don't do magic in the high school because it will fucking shank you.

[He opens the blanket to reveal a patched wound on his heavily tattooed chest.]

We do have video, though. I performed a tribute ritual combined with a provocation, which is basically going in and deliberately pissing off spirits. "My god is better than your god", basically. We did a pretty good job, apparently.

I've got a few thoughts about a plan B and what else might get results here, but since I'm not quite up for getting myself possessed, I think I'm gonna take a break and come back to it. But if anyone catches something we missed? Have at it.

[The footage, taken from several feet away and clearly from another person, shows the hallways in the high school under unsteady light, mostly weak daylight with the occasional flicker of the overhead flourescents. Rhys is stripped to his heavily tattooed skin except for his jeans and boots, shaved head bare and his sash-wrapped tail out and lashing restlessly as he works. Beckett is with him, on quiet standby as Rhys sets up the ritual with a brief explanation of the plan. He moves swiftly and surely as he sets up a small fire, lays out an X-Acto knife, and puts out a can of cranberry juice and some chalk and charcoal. There's dark winged figures already scribbled over some of the eyes on the walls, and it's clear that this isn't going to be a peaceful ritual like the one Rhys performed in the house before. Even Rhys himself looks different, particularly with all his ink showing: Dark, primal, a little bit crazed.

The camera follows the prayers to the Queen of Crows and Winter, the clouds of dark, noxious smoke that billow up from the handful of wood and insulation that Rhys lights, the ritual sharing and pouring of the "wine" and the quick, practiced bloodletting that Rhys performs on both himself and Beckett with the proper offering of prayer in two different languages.

It's a prayer and offering for battle: against the interloper and the whore, if anyone listens closely enough. Or happens to follow Celtic Gaelic reasonably well. Someone well-versed in mythology might also put together that Rhys's patron might be the Morrigan, goddess of war, death, magic and fate...though asking him about it later probably will get a lot of evasions and not a lot of answers.

It's when Rhys is getting up to close the ritual that he suddenly curses, stumbles, and falls against the wall, one hand pressed to his chest. Red leaks through his fingers as he goes pale and wobbles in shock, and the taping is interrupted in favor of quick treatment of what proves to be a single but profusely bleeding stab wound high on the witch's chest. Then the video ends.]

Comments

[onlytwothings]

Honesty is good, but if you need to save face, then the bullshit answer is just as good. I won't even ask too many obnoxious questions, because that really never helps anyone.

[ Look, Rhys, he's trying to be in your corner here. Whatever's going on with him, Wilson just wants to be supportive. That's what friends do.

Some pissiness is warranted, given what he's been through. And there's the part about how Wilson deals with a pissy, snappy asshole just about every day. He's used to it. ]

Or you don't have to give me any answer at all. I'm not entitled to that.

[sleight_of_fate]

[This is why you stay silent. This is why you lie, the dark little voice in the back of his head reminds him. Nausea and lightheadedness sweep over him and he lets himself sink into it, as familiar a cocktail of symptoms as it is.

Wilson's trying to help. And the other man is used to shitty, standoffish friends, but Rhys also promised he want going to be that because God knew one was enough.

Still, Rhys values the safety of his lies even when he knows he owes the truth, it's only quietly, heavy with resignation, when he responds.]

Good thing to remember in my world: The stronger a magician is, the less human they probably are.

[onlytwothings]

So, does that beg the question of how strong a magician you are?

[ This is probably the weirdest conversation he's had since coming here, but he'd rather know who Rhys really is than go on being unaware. ]

[sleight_of_fate]

[And that was the point of the whole conversation. When he says it, it's almost mournful, sounding small and hollow. No matter how powerful and confident he seemed on video an hour ago, Wilson's presence has brought with it a cruel reminder of the other 80% of Rhys's life.]

...very.

[onlytwothings]

Right.

Which means you're also not fully human, then.

[ Which is something he's learning to take more in stride. ]

[sleight_of_fate]

[You're doing a better job than he expected, Wilson. In his mind, he's already prepared for the worst.

Not that it matters so much that you accept him. Nope. No reason at all that he's so invested in your response.]

Nooope.

[He twitches his tail, before realizing that it's offscreen and not visible. Then just settles for raising a hand instead, as if volunteering the information.]

Mom had an affair. Even she doesn't know what she slept with that night. M'a bastard in every way that matters.

[Funny, isn't it?]

[onlytwothings]

[ The same principle applies here as it does to putting up with House's antics and wild tales. Granted, magic and part-humans is a little bit outside his realm of experience, but he can at least attempt to understand it. ]

Wow. That kind of gives a new dimension to the idea of knowing who your parents are.

[ He kind of feels sorry for Rhys. It can't be easy knowing what he knows, or being who he is either. ]

I'm guessing you have some stories to tell, though.

[ What? He's just trying to grasp for anything that might be remotely positive. It's better than looking at the negatives, anyway. ]

[sleight_of_fate]

[On The bright side, Rhys's avoidance is a lot less hostile, softer in nature. He doesn't tend to go on the attack to protect his secrets like House does.]

Probably not the kind you'd ever get to sleep after, but Story King. Gimme a beer and I could keep you up all night. Definitely.

And I think Flynn's building a list of Stories Rhys is not Allowed To Tell. And Things Rhys Is Not Allowed To Explain. Which I might use as a checklist, if it actually becomes a real thing.

[onlytwothings]

Well, I don't have beer, and what I do have probably means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but if you want to talk, the least I can do is listen.

[ It sounds so pathetic to his own ears, but he really wants to help Rhys however he can. ]

I don't think anyone can or should tell you what you can and can't talk about.

[sleight_of_fate]

[Rhys chuckles quietly.]

Nah. Fun to mess with 'im. He's just a little...shletered.

[Rhys likes the guy and it shows.]

...seems like I spent my whole life not talking, y'know? Secrets. Everything's secrets in my world.

It eats you. I mean, the truth really does have a chance of eating you, you do all this amazing shit to save peoples' lives, then you come home and you sit on your couch and you tell people? They lock you up with a shot of Thorazine in the ass. Isn't that something?

[He shakes his head ruefully.]

They never know it's right behind them.

[onlytwothings]

Then why not talk about it to someone? It doesn't have to be me, but someone you like and can trust... It goes a long way, longer than most people expect.

I'm not saying it's easy, but it could help. And I promise I won't lock you up or inject you with Thorazine. I can't promise I'll understand or be able to relate to all of it, but- some people say I'm a good listener.

[ He's getting the feeling that Rhys might benefit from talking to someone, but it could be he's reading him completely wrong. ]

[sleight_of_fate]

[Rhys chuckles quietly.]

You sure you're a doctor and not a therapist?

[It's gentle, though.]

I'm getting there. A little. Just a new idea to me. But I appreciate it.

[onlytwothings]

I can't be both?

[ He laughs quietly too. ]

That's fair enough. You can always send me a message if you want to talk.

[sleight_of_fate]

[That gets a laugh out of Rhys, too, though a tired one. He's not used to being offered to talk...especially not from someone that he would really want to talk to.

Or would want to talk to if he wasn't afraid of frightening away. How exactly did he wind up here, again?]

...y'know the same goes for you, too.

...wish I'd managed to get to the grocery store, gotten that wine started. Not quite the same as a beer, but easier to brew.

[onlytwothings]

[ That gets Wilson's attention, and temporarily distracts him from what they were talking about. ]

You know how to make your own wine?

[sleight_of_fate]

[Rhys chuckles at the sudden and somewhat random change of conversation. Hey, under the circumstances, he'll take it.]

Not good wine, but I know the basics. I've picked up a lot of weird trivia over the years. Lots of of jobs, including barback and bartender since I was old enough to get my first fake ID.

I may have cleaned up an exploding closet or two, too.

[onlytwothings]

Impressive. I always wanted to learn how to do that, but I never actually got around to it.

An actual exploding closet?

[sleight_of_fate]

Well, it's important to have hobbies, or at least interests.

The thing about making beer is, yeast lets off gas. You've gotta make sure that the beer is done fermenting before you bottle it, or it's gonna keep making gas...in a sealed glass bottle.

My roommate bottled a little too early, so we wake up at 4am to the sounds of an entire batch of beer exploding. Sounded like World War 2 in his kitchen closet, and there was a hell of a mess to clean up.

His mead came out pretty good, though.

[onlytwothings]

That sure sounds like a rude awakening. Although if it were me, I probably would have done the same thing, not knowing any better.

Of course, I'm sure there's instructions or at least a guide of how to do it, or what not to do. I'd have started there first.

Still, I'm sure that gave your friend a good story to tell, though it probably didn't seem good at the time.

[sleight_of_fate]

[Rhys laughs.]

He was sorta the type to get excited about things, rush in, and then wonder why it went wrong since he half-assed it. So we had a lot of grumbling over mopping up. It's one of the things they warn you about, but when you get impatient, well...

Pop.

[It fades to a chuckle.]

I kinda get that feeling, that you're the meticulous type.

[onlytwothings]

[ Wilson laughs too, in spite of himself. The story's funny, and Rhys' laugh is basically contagious. ]

Sounds like an interesting guy. And I don't know, I try to be. It's important in my line of work. I guess it carries over to most everything else too.

[sleight_of_fate]

Hey, nothing wrong with that. If you're going to do a job, do it once and do it right.

[That's his father's words, no matter how much he cringes to repeat them.]

I kinda have a habit of collecting 'interesting' company, though. part of it is just how weird my world is, but part of it is just my luck, I think.

But I get by. And even here, I seem to be doing okay.

[onlytwothings]

You don't think that makes me boring? I've heard that from people before. Boring, predictable, allergic to excitement.

[ And by people, he means mostly House, but he's not the only one. ]

I guess you're never bored, then, though.

[ Assuming "interesting company" equals "wildly unpredictable", of course. ]

[sleight_of_fate]

Well, boring is easy to fix. Can always liven things up a little. "Unreliable flake" is a lot harder to remedy.

[He grins. He's been accused of that, though he's not quite that bad.]

And boredom isn't really a thing for me, no. Though it's not always a good thing. You know, "may you live in interesting times" and all that.

I mean, I spent two years living upstairs from a haunted pawn shop with a possessed bear. The fun never stops.

[onlytwothings]

You know, you probably could write a book on the things you've seen. [ He chuckles. ] You never know, you could end up with a following.