first † video; backdated to tuesday night

[enflammen]

[It's fairly dark when the video feed turns on, but Micah's face can still be clearly seen from the close-up angle of the camera on his phone, illuminated by incidental light from the street. He doesn't look especially happy, but - well, he never does, does he.

Micah glances up from the camera, mouth pressed into a thin line, then the view from the feed flips up and over to reveal a howling greyscale wolfman in tattered clothing bounding down the street a ways off in the distance.]

In case anyone was wondering, it's not special effects.

Comments

Voice

[solvethepuzzle]

[Is it a sad commentary on Nathan's life that he isn't even surprised anymore? Perhaps.]

Ah . . . that would be the disturbance in New Los Angeles, then.

voice.

[enflammen]

[Ah, this guy again. It makes sense, though, given what Nathan told him, that there was a connection between both of their past selves.

Micah's on the move now, so he sticks with voice only, footsteps falling quickly in the background as he talks.]

That's right, Disturbance with a capital D. [He makes a quiet hmph sound, unamused.] And here I thought I'd already seen and heard everything.

voice.

[solvethepuzzle]

One can never tell anymore.

[A brief, awkward pause.] You're moving away from it, right?

voice.

[enflammen]

Nah, I thought I'd follow it for a while. See if maybe it's werewolves that lead you to a pot of gold instead of leprechauns.

[He pauses for a second; it's probably better to be sure, given the givens.]

... That was a joke.

voice.

[solvethepuzzle]

[Nathan is bad at jokes, it's true. But the sarcasm there is obvious even to him.]

Yes, I got it. [And yet. No laughter. Yes, his sense of humour is broken, we all know this.]

Video

[icy_heavens]

[And here's a kid with his chin resting in one hand, looking . . . pretty bored, honestly.]

You're not surprised, are you?

Video

[enflammen]

[He's on the move, so the video feed jostles as he walks. Micah stares down at the camera, unimpressed.]

Actually? No, not really.

[Maybe before he learned he was Numbered, he would have been, but since then? Micah's been climbing up a steep learning curve.]

Is anyone, anymore?

Video

[icy_heavens]

Nobody should be. We can just add horror movie rejects to the list now.

[Well. Actually they sort of could have done that from the beginning, but you know. Things blur when you've been at this Numbered thing for a long time.]

Video

[enflammen]

Yeah? How long of a list d'you got?

Video

[icy_heavens]

Depends on if you just include things we've been up against or also what some of us have turned into.

Off the top of my head for the first, there were the Vermini, Vermedi, and Vermaxi, but we haven't seen those in ages so that probably doesn't mean anything to you. Aliens, cyborgs, people genetically altered with animal characteristics, Numbered-sniffing dogs, Santa Claus and Grinch monsters (seriously, I'm not kidding), transforming slime, and dinosaurs.

[video]

[peacefulwinter]

Mm... no, it definitely isn't. I'm not entirely sure what it is, still, but the monsters are definitely physical presences.

[A pause. Then, deadpan:] ...You, ah. Can you fight them?

[video]

[enflammen]

[Micah raises an eyebrow at her.]

Yeah, I totally know kung fu.

[Which is his way of saying no. Which is why he's now on the move, away from the dangerous horror film monster.]

[peacefulwinter]

Don't mess around. There is a very real possibility of people getting hurt with these things. More or less like every other time something's gone wrong in a Numbered way.

[...Though she's mildly less worried since he's actually moving away. It's a good start.]

These are probably better than some of the alternatives, though.

[enflammen]

Relax, I'm not actually stupid enough to go looking for a fight with a horror movie monster. I may be new the whole Numbered thing, but I wasn't born yesterday.

[peacefulwinter]

It wouldn't be the first time. One less person I have to worry about is a good thing, though. [That's enough that she can relax.]

Sorry if I'm coming across a little overbearing. I've kind of had enough tragedies to last me a few decades, over the last three years and change.

[video]

[jasminebloominginshadow]

My sister-in-law already said this, but watch yourself. Those things are dangerous. Your life isn't worth getting these things on video.

[video]

[enflammen]

[Micah laughs quietly.]

I never knew you Numbered were such a caring bunch.

[Us. He should say us.]

Thanks, but I know what I'm doing here.

[video]

[jasminebloominginshadow]

I'm guessing you live there, so I guess you probably do.

Heh. You're one of our own now. New or not, I don't want anyone getting hurt.

[video]

[enflammen]

I'll do my best. Believe it or not, I'm actually not all that fond of hospital stays.

[Micah knows well enough what sort of impression people tend to get from the way he looks.]

I'm Micah, by the way. Micah Kelly.

[video]

[jasminebloominginshadow]

Jasmine. Jasmine Tsukuyomi. Welcome to the team, Micah, cuz you're here forever.

[Said in a joking tone, of course.]

[Audio]

[numberedshepherd]

[He sounds exhausted and maybe a little slurred. He's been in the hospital and having burns treated isn't exactly a walk in the park. The good drugs help but they're not without drawbacks.]

You should find some cover. It's not safe to be out right now.

[...is it? It can't be.]

[Audio]

[enflammen]

[Micah more or less expected to be hearing from him again. In the background of his reply, the sound of quick footsteps striking against the pavement can be heard.]

Well, hey, you know me, right? [He laughs under his breath. 'Cause it's funny, right? Right.] Safety's always kind of hit or miss.

[Audio]

[numberedshepherd]

Make it hit this time. Please. We don't need another close call so soon after the disaster in Shepherd's Haven.

[Audio]

[enflammen]

[Something about the way Lazarus says this, the please - it makes Micah instantly sober. Gone is the flippant tone when he replies, replaced with a quiet seriousness.]

I am. Honestly, I'll be fine - I'm headed home now. Don't worry about me.

[Audio]

[numberedshepherd]

[Lazarus immediately notices the way the young man's tone immediately straightens out and becomes a lot more serious. He realizes that he appreciates it more than he can put into words. Swallowing, he answers back.]

I won't distract you further in the meantime, but can you tell me when you have made it home safely? It would give me tremendous peace of mind.