pullmeoutalive | log > for lack of a better place to do so

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log > for lack of a better place to do so

He had to wonder how it was that, if no one save a very, very select few could leave Whitechapel, he kept ending up elsewhere. Indeed, this wasn't the steam-driven, smog-choked section of city he called home. This was somewhere else entirely - and startlingly modern in comparison to the Victorian England he was so used to.

It was unseemly of him, but he found himself staring - tall buildings all steel and glass towered over him, and over that lay the clearest sky he'd seen in his entire life. The sun was bright, brighter that it had ever been in Whitechapel, with its constant overhang of smoke. All the better, he supposed, that he was wearing his usual attire, complete with dark glasses.

Alabaster stood alone on the street, a tall figure in smoke black stark against the clean, polished world he now found himself in. There seemed to be no one around. This city, if it was indeed a city and not some ludicrous dream, appeared to be deserted.

He reached into the pocket of his coat, fishing out a pocket watch. In this alien place, was Grandfather Clock - his God, and God over Whitechapel - still watching him through the clockface? Or had the connection been severed with his sudden disappearance?

Such things would be answered in due time, he told himself. For now, there was only the question of getting back. It wouldn't do to have Grandfather Clock's elite agent up and vanish in the middle of a rebellion, now would it?

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Alabaster hung back, tensed and ready to spring. He'd said he'd stay out of her way, and he would, so long as the rune didn't bring anyone - or anything - with it that had... less-than-friendly intentions.

He had to admit, though, Saga's magic was impressive. He'd never seen anything like it, and until yesterday, he wouldn't have thought it possible.

Well, if they made it through this little errand unscathed, he'd be sure to tell her so.

If they stayed unscathed, indeed-- a prospect that didn't seem all that likely, given the shape that remained when the smoke cleared.

Saga stared at her newest adversary with a look that could have only been labeled as exasperated. "You've got to be kidding. It could have been anything else, and it had to send me the Calydonian Boar." Granted, it had been in her notes that the boar was significant to Raidho, but why on earth did it have to drag the bloodthirsty Grecian legend here? It couldn't have just settled for the average pig, but now here she was, staring down an enraged (and gigantic) boar with narrowed eyes and dangerously pointed tusks.

This just wasn't her week.

"The what boar?" And can I kill it? He wants to add, but thinks better of it for now. Whatever it was, it wasn't supposed to be here, of that much he was certain.

"Calydonian." The headache was returning-- without the sharp, jabbing pain this time, thankfully. "Supposedly, Artemis sent this guy to ravage Calydon when its king didn't include her in his offerings. In return, he asked for help killing the boar, turning it into some kind of sporting event. Atalanta wounded it, and Meleager killed it, but I heard it was a tough fight."

If he was going to be spending time with Saga, he was really going to have to read up on his Greek mythology. "I suppose we have our work cut out for us."

"You can say that again." Her light eyes were fixed on the air in front of her, the girl clearly concentrating on maintaining Thurisaz's barrier. "I can keep this up a little while longer, but the rune will get away if I do. This is meant to be a distraction."

"Very well then," he replied flatly, the tiny arms in his sleeves beginning to come to life. "I'll distract the distraction, and you take care of the rune."

She really hadn't convinced herself that Alabaster was just going to stand by like a good boy and let her handle things-- but oh, how she'd hoped that her doubts would prove baseless.

So much for that.

"I'm here to help you, remember?" She stated, somewhat frustrated. "That doesn't include requiring you to take on giant pigs."

"I'm more than capable, Saga. And you know as well as I do that the longer we stand here and debate the matter, the closer we get to losing the rune completely." He wasn't going to take no for an answer. As much as he had come to enjoy her company, he wanted to go home. Back to his God, and back to his life. No pig, giant or otherwise, was going to stand in the way of that.

"I have not known you long enough to be arguing like this," came the disgruntled mutter, but Saga relented with the next sigh she released. "If you somehow get yourself killed, which I doubt, or injured, there isn't much I can do. Just try to be careful, all right? The instant I drop the shield, you're good to go-- and so is he."

His only reply was a short nod as he positioned himself to attack. He didn't get to be Grandfather Clock's top agent by being a pushover, and if he could get in close to the boar's face - namely its eyes - then this fight would be over quickly.

She would just have to trust him... and she did, to her surprise. For someone she'd only known since yesterday, Saga felt no discomfort or unease at fighting alongside him. She knew he was capable of fending for himself, just as she knew he wouldn't require any further words to act.

With that in mind, she called out silently, Return. And, just like that, Thurisaz's effect vanished.

Alabaster dashed in quickly, hoping to get to the beast before it realized it could move again. Unfortunately, it was quick. Quicker than he'd hoped. Narrowly dodging those tusks, Alabaster skirted to the side, tiny claws and blades shooting from his sleeves and tearing into the boar's hide.

It didn't seem to like that much and whirled on its attacker, hooves and tusks thrashing. Mechanical limbs digging deeper into the boar's side, Alabaster hauled himself up, trying to get onto the beast's back. The damn thing was kicking up a storm, making his ascent difficult.

He'll be fine, he'll be fine was the mental reassurance she kept giving herself, as she sprinted past him, fully intent on the presence now sparking irritably in her mind. Clearly, the rune wasn't happy about their method of attack, but Saga wasn't feeling particularly charitable towards it at the moment.

"Rudh radh ridh..." The words came softly and easily, and the bracelet warmed against her wrist. She would handle the rune; she just hoped Alabaster wouldn't get himself gored before that.

Well, he wasn't doing badly, but he wasn't doing quite as well as he'd hoped. It'd bucked him off, and after a rather unpleasant meeting with the pavement, he was circling it stepping in close when he could, his extra limbs tearing at the boar's flesh with deadly efficiency.

This ridiculous dance had gone on long enough, he just had to... there! There was the opening he needed - the boar kicked, a well-aimed rear hoof headed for Alabaster's head. He ducked, feeling the sting as the boar's kick grazed his forehead, mechanical arms going for the rear leg that still supported the creature's weight, ripping into the ligaments. The leg buckled awkwardly, and while the it attempted to steady itself, he tore into it's remaining rear leg.

With his adversary half-crippled, he circled to its front, meaning to take out its remaining legs. The boar mush have grasped this as well, because it lurched, jerking its head violently, and wedged a tusk right under Alabaster's ribs.

He grunted, feeling his flesh tear as the boar jerked it's head back and tossed him clean over its body. Sky, pavement, boar, it all blurred together until he hit the cement with a dull thud.

Hermes' granddaughter actually had the easier battle with the rune, although she knew the hard (and painful) part came later. But for now, the brunette stood triumphant, one hand hovering over the small red light that pulsed slowly beneath her palm.

She was almost afraid to look over her shoulder, having only the sounds of the raging battle behind her to go by. And they didn't sound good for either fighter; of course she was worried, but she couldn't break away and run to assist Alabaster now. To do so would break her concentration and the rune would escape.

All she could do was wait.

His head was swimming, and he was no doubt bleeding all over the place, but at least he'd managed to cripple the damned thing so it couldn't just trot on over than stave his head in.

It took him a moment to gain his bearings, but with a groan he managed to rise to a kneel. Warm liquid flowed from the cut on his forehead, threatening to spill into his eyes, but he wiped it away with the back of a hand. The boar, for its own part, was still lurching awkwardly without the use of two of its legs. Well then, time to put it out of its misery.

Alabaster sprang, honestly with more vigor than he felt, using the fact that he'd ended up behind the boar to his advantage and hurling himself onto the creature's back. It tried to throw him off again, but only managed to teeter haphazardly one way or the other, or give weird little hops. Hauling himself along its back, Alabaster finally managed to take hold of both its ears for leverage as his mechanical limbs drove themselves into the beast's eyes, and then into its brain.

The boar shuddered, gave a final lurch, and died.

Alabaster slumped against the side of the store, breathing heavily. He kept an eye on Saga, and an eye on the boar, and hoped to Gods it didn't come back to life somehow.

"... Hey." The tone of her voice was light, almost conversational, as if she hadn't just spent the last few minutes worrying about whether she'd have to send him (or what remained of him) home in a body bag. The boar she could only afford a little bit of sympathy, and that was because she was a steadfast animal lover. It certainly wasn't the boar's fault that it had been brought here.

No, but it can be blamed for trying to gore him, she reminded herself, and continued. "Are you good to make it back on your own? I don't know how well I'm going to be able to support you in a minute."

"I'll be fine," he still sounded a bit winded, but the fact that he had a gigantic gash in his middle seemed to be the least of his problems. "Grandfather Clock isn't so foolish as to make His servants fragile."

While the dark liquid seeping from the wound just beneath his ribs was hard to distinguish from the dark fabric of his clothes, the stuff seeping from the cut on his forehead was obviously not blood. It was oil.

That wasn't exactly assuring, no matter how she looked at it. Granted, she was relieved that he was going to be fine, but the way he'd worded his response had her concerned.

"All right, Tin Man," she murmured, eyes still locked on the little ball of light that had caused so much trouble. "I'll take your word for it. Then I'll have to ask you not to step too close until I'm finished."

That was just fine for him. He was content to stay where he was and try to stem the bleeding a little so he didn't go about looking like he'd just taken a bath in an oil slick. He vaguely wondered what they were going to do with the hulking body of the boar when all this was over. If the rune brought it here, would it just vanish when Saga was done? He hoped so, because an alternative wasn't coming to him.

There was no denying that she'd always hated this part. She'd endured it eleven times, and each time had been no better than the first. It was understandable, though; if anyone could control the runes, the world would have fallen into chaos years ago. To conquer them took more than just knowledge and self-control, it also took divinity. Her mother would have had an easier time, but this was Saga's task, and the blood that ran through her veins ensured that this procedure wouldn't kill her.

"... Raidho," she whispered now, finally closing her fingers around the light. It flickered, bathing her hand in red, and then vanished. At the same moment, the pain shot through her entire body, not gradual, but an entire wave that forced her down onto one knee with her fingers digging into the ground-- as if that would keep her anchored. Her head was pounding, her heart was beating wildly, and it felt as if every bone in her body was going to crack under the pressure of the ancient magic settling inside of her. Through it all, she kept silent-- not because she felt no urge to scream, but because that was required. It was torture, but to cry out would have signaled her weakness. No rune would have accepted that. She had to settle for biting her tongue with the hopes that she wouldn't bite it off entirely.

With fingers scraped and bleeding and darkness and tears pressing at her vision, the pressure eased off enough for her to shakily etch the newest rune into the air. Once again, it glowed, and the boar vanished, sent back to its homeland. With that out of the way, Saga was free to collapse-- which she did, chest heaving as she gasped for breath, and bangs plastered to her forehead with a cold sweat.

Alabaster watched, half fascinated, half horrified. His own contribution to this little outing seemed small when compared to the agony crossing Saga's face.

Only after she fell did he approach her, assuming that she had finished what she had set out to do. Still, he didn't do anything as presumptuous as pick her up - he was a mess of oil and boar's blood, instead he just knelt by her side, careful not to drip on her.

Normally alert and aware, it took a few minutes for Saga to register his proximity. An odd combination of blood and oil assaulted her nose, and made her stomach flop weakly in protest, but she glanced up anyway. Alabaster was hard to make out, even as close as he was, but she tried to bring him into focus.

"Sorry..." A new gold piece had added itself to her bracelet before she spoke again. "That... you... had to... see that."

"I see nothing to apologize for," came the reply. She was obviously still reeling from whet he'd just watched her do. "Do you need a moment?"

log > for lack of a better place to do so

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