futurology | MASS TEXT; USERNAME: HAWKEYE

MASS TEXT; USERNAME: HAWKEYE

[In the end, she opts for the efficiency of a brief written message. (The message functionality of the jewelry still amazes her from time to time, but she's becoming increasingly fond of how fast it makes communication with others.)]

My name is Riza Hawkeye. I'm a military officer from the nation of Amestris. [Vague credentials, for anyone that really needs them.] There are a lot of us here gathered from different places and times, with different skills and areas of knowledge. I've spoken with a few others and we've agreed it would be beneficial for all of us to have a database of skills to pull from, both for this mission and otherwise.

[Most likely 'otherwise'; she can't be the only one suspicious of ALASTAIR after what happened in Anwick.]

If you're willing to provide a brief listing of the skills you possess, magical [because that's a thing that exists, apparently??] or otherwise, it would be greatly appreciated. If you're uncomfortable using the communications device I'm also happy to meet with you in person.

[And if you're not willing that's cool too. Everyone's got their secrets.]

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[Well, he hadn't been lying about the tan coat, so points for that at least. Hellboy gets an affirming nod in reply, though not his words echoed back at him (even if politeness dictates otherwise). But despite his unsettling appearance, she keeps her gaze firmly meeting his.]

I appreciate you agreeing to meet with me. [And because it had been brought up:] Did you want to discuss this over a meal?

[She won't renege on that agreement even if it had been made jokingly.]

[Ha ha, oh. The corner of Hellboy's mouth twitches a little; it's his equivalent of a self-deprecating smile, though he doesn't exactly expect that to translate well to somebody who doesn't know him. So he makes extra sure it's apparent in his tone.] At least you didn't say you lost your appetite. Let's take a rain check.

[Hellboy is all for jokingly flirting, but she seems very businesslike and he doesn't want to give her the wrong impression. Though maybe he already did. You have to buy me dinner first. Turn it down sometimes, HB.

He jerks his head back a little to indicate she ought to follow him and he turns to walk; he always finds conversations standing still to be a little awkward. It gives people too much of an option to just stare at him.]

So what did you want to know?

[He might tamp down on his smile but she doesn't, waiting until he turns his back before letting her lips curl up faintly. It's there and gone in a flash, destroyed quick enough by the general unease of the situation as a whole as well as the distinct appearance of her new friend.

(Still, it looks like chivalry isn't quite dead, even if it's coming from maybe the last person(?) she'd expect it from.)

The question's given an appropriate amount of thought, the silence broken only by their footsteps in the meantime. What she wanted to know would be easier to answer if she had any idea of what was even out there to begin with.]

What exactly do you mean by 'paranormal'? Anything out of the ordinary or a specific subset of events?

[The outskirts are interesting. A little pastoral, cabins and wells and backyard farms -- or at least it would be, if the sun wasn't gone. Not that Hellboy has a particular fear of the dark, but still. In his experience, weird stuff happens when the sun goes down.

He lets her think about it, since it's kind of a broad question, fishing around in his coat pockets for cigarettes as they walk. He finds a match and lights it, a tiny flame in the expanse of permanent night.]

Plenty of things. Ghosts, fairies, vampires, demons... the occasional dragon or two. Most of my work involved things that are dangerous, for obvious reasons. [He gestures vaguely at himself with his stone hand. He can take a good beating.] But research is something I've had a hand in, too. Ley lines, cryptids, demonology...

[Sometimes he gets a little jargony, so stop him if none of this makes sense? It's possible none of this makes sense.]

[Honestly, the words are less jargon than they are snippets pulled out of children's books and fairy tales, something Riza never would have believed in had the subject come up even a few months ago. She'd always considered herself too pragmatic and grounded for such nonsense—but that'd been before she'd almost been killed by terrifying creatures able to recover from fatal wounds in only seconds, and before she'd been whisked here by a power stronger than anything she could have imagined.

It's been an eye-opening experience, and one she still hasn't fully adjusted to it, but she'd be an idiot if she didn't take in everything she's learned so far with at least some measure of thought.

The impossible is possible, or so she'd been told. Time to start putting that thought into action.]

Have all the supernatural beings you've met been dangerous in some way?

[Riza isn't alchemy a thing in your world. Like people actually doing magic stuff on the reg. Riza pls.

Hellboy exhales a curl of smoke from the corner of his mouth, shaking the match's flame dead and tucking it into his pocket. They're in a medieval fantasy world, so it wouldn't really do to start littering.]

Not all of them, no. [He thinks briefly about Abe and Roger -- people he doesn't typically associate with 'supernatural beings,' though technically, he supposes they are.] Some of them are just in pain. Ghosts especially; a lot of times they're just lost and confused, and people get tangled up in their problems. It's always better to try to understand them first, but that doesn't always work -- just like people, not everybody can be reasoned with.

[He pauses, thinking about the situation they're literally in right now. Maybe that's more relevant.]

Goblins are tricky. I'm not sure if they're the same here as the ones I've met, so I don't know how helpful my expertise will be here.

[Wow, they are two completely different things!! Where's your equivalent exchange in magic, huh?

The deeper workings of alchemy are a mystery to her in any case, the ornate tattoo scrolling down her back the closest she'll ever get to understanding its secrets. In truth, it's closer than she wants to go, her experiences with alchemy having bordered mostly on the unpleasant. Goblins and ghosts and other supernatural creatures at least get to start on neutral ground.

The cigarette smoke snaking through the air is oddly comforting, reminding her briefly of Havoc, and her shoulders relax a touch as she follows up with another question.]

What is it about goblins that makes them tricky? The fact that there are different types?

[If cigarette smoke is comforting to Riza, she picked a good person to trust with being her paranormal hijinks instructor. Hellboy chainsmokes like he came of age in the '50s. Which he did, incidentally. He is old and set in his medically questionable ways.

Hellboy thinks about how to phrase this in a polite manner, mostly because he doesn't know how many goblins are eavesdropping on them right now. There are a lot of them out here.]

Right... it's hard to classify them. [He makes a broad gesture with both hands, like he's holding an invisible box.] A lot of supernatural creatures fall under the category of fairies. Elves, fairies, goblins, little folk -- they're all words for the same kind of thing. Except goblins can also be demons. Minor ones.

[She's beginning to realize she's stepped into something far bigger and more complex than she could have realized, even moreso than the whole homunculus/immortality/philosopher's stone affair. (One day she'll have to stop getting herself tangled in all of this supernatural business but it looks like today isn't going to be that day.)

For now, she tries to keep up as best she can, though admittedly her head is starting to reel from all the information (little folk?).]

How do you classify all these different creatures? Is it based on physical traits, or certain skills or abilities they have?

[Talk to Hellboy about homunculi sometime, Riza. That will be a trip, considering the homunculus he knew personally.]

Sort of both. It has a lot to do with where they're from. Little folk are usually what you call fairies from Ireland... elves are usually the smarter sort of fairy, kings and dukes and things like that. It's all pretty interchangeable, though, and generally more useful to refer to them by their specific traits than get hung up on the terminology. So a "money goblin" or a "water fairy" or something like that.

[They can talk about it over that dinner she still owes him. He explains, hands gesturing to make a point here and there; she listens attentively, committing as much of it to memory as possible so she'll be able to transfer the information to paper later.]

And you've been around elves and goblins and fairies all your life?

[He seems pretty nonchalant about all this.]

[YEAH DINNER he hasn't forgotten. Though he's not going to push it because lol he knows what he looks like. Riza is pretty, she doesn't want to be seen with him on something that can be construed as a date, he's sure.

Hellboy pauses, not sure if this is a joke. He looks at her for a few seconds, then decides that she's being serious...]

Well, yeah. [He points at his face.] This isn't normal where I come from, so it kind of comes with the territory. My father was a paranormal investigator, so I kind of grew up around that stuff and followed in his footsteps, so to speak.

Edited (whoa that sounded way too self-pitying) 2015-11-24 23:06 (UTC)

[Define 'normal'. Her previous neat compartments have been thrown into disarray, carefully packaged now scattered on the floor. If he'd told her everyone looked like him where he came from and danced jigs as part of their morning ritual, she'd probably be inclined to believe him at this rate.

In any case, his explanation is oddly mundane and strangely comforting, even if the slightly bizarre image of a regular-sized Hellboy and a small child-sized Hellboy starts forming in her mind because of it. Maybe it's the mention of his father that sparks the memory of her own father and his intentions for he, but she finds herself veering off-topic momentarily.]

Would you have chosen to go into something different if you could have?

[Hellboy considers the question for a moment, just listening to the crunch of leaves and grass underfoot and underhoof. He barely knows how to process this question. As much as he wishes he'd been born human, he's never put much thought into actually being human. What kind of job would he have held? It's not like he could have done anything he wanted, looking like this.

Eventually, he tips his head toward Riza, corner of his mouth curling up around the cigarette.] When I was a kid, I wanted to be a superhero. So who knows. Maybe that would have worked out for me.

[Her footsteps pause as she cocks her head to stare at him, eyes wide and blinking. It's a surprisingly cute dream, one she wouldn't anticipate from him. But then again, everything he's said and done reflects a much different man than she would have guessed from outward appearance.

She resumes her pace, a faint smile toying at her lips.]

You could still be one. Everyone is someone's superhero, or so they say.

[Or he could try and be one for real, that works too. Is it too late to change careers, at this point? She'll be in the military forever, she doesn't doubt that, but hey, maybe he's still got a chance. Assuming he even wants to be anything different.]

[Wait until some jamjarry age-down event happens, Riza, you will lose your shit. Baby Hellboy was cute as anything.

Hellboy barks out a quiet laugh in response. The days where he thought he was doing good in the world are long behind him. Now he's largely just trying to run away from the unfortunate truth of things for as long as he can.]

Maybe. They say everyone deserves a second chance, too.

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