ᴜsᴇʀɴᴀᴍᴇ: ʜᴜɴᴛsᴍᴀɴ (VIDEO)

[dishearten]

( graham doesn't like using the video feature much, so mostly he avoids it. people might recognize his username, though, he hasn't been silent on the network that connects members of ALISTAIR. in fact now that he's a fugitive he has a bit too much time to flip through messages, though that's neither here nor there.

still, the fact he's using it means he does so with a purpose. after Sakura encountered him in the woods, he doesn't see a better way to get his message to everyone that needs to hear it. hopefully the townsfolk themselves will just stay away, and his brother is clever enough to stay clear of people that might hurt him. he's smart and wary of humans, it doesn't seem impossible he'll manage on it's own. it just feels dangerous to leave him out on his own without trying to assure people the wolf is not a threat. )

A friend of mine came from home. I hear that happens on occasion.

( Graham tilts his pendant enough to capture the wolf in the feed, just long enough for the details to be picked up. a vibrant red eye, white and gray fur. a little too friendly with a human, one could argue, as the wolf is looking up at him with an open-mouth grin, much like a dog. )

He's not a threat to humans. He'll more than likely run if you get too close to him, but all the same. If you see him, don't hurt him. He won't hurt you unless you threaten him.

( the wolf still has instincts enough that he will fight if he feels he has to for survival. being so close to a human has tempered many of his wilder instincts, yet the wolf is still and will always be a wolf. )

If you hurt him despite this message I promise you'll regret it.

( there's a steel edge to that threat that is very sincere. Graham was a better man than the Hunstman ever claimed to boast, and the wolf is about all the family he's ever had. if someone is bold enough to try and harm him (or worse), they'll have a dedicated hunter after them, and a ruthless one at that.

with that the video feed closes. if there are questions, they'll likely be answered via text. )

Comments

[mightymax]

[ She's silent for a moment to let his words sink in; which is maybe okay over a phone call or text message, but not so much when you're screen-to-screen staring at each other. Max can sense his guilt (or at least, that's what she perceives it to be), and it'd be nice if she had a solution for him.

Still, even if she doesn't, some encouraging words can't hurt.]

It's okay. He understands, right? . . . It won't be like this forever.

[ They still have a mission to complete. This is only a setback. ]

[dishearten]

I should probably have more faith in him. He's managed on his own before.

( for quite some time, something like twenty eight years. still, he can't help but worry. he's used to wolves being hunted, and this place is too similar to Misthaven in that respect. )

You're right, though. It won't be like this forever.

( hopefully all will be well. )

1/2

[mightymax]

[ Making things well is what they're here for. Easier said than done, of course . . . but Max nods anyway, with no other choice than to believe. Plus, it's nice to hear "you're right" every once and a while--so there's that. ]

What's his name?

[mightymax]

[ Wait. She never asked-- ]

Um, what's your name? [ While he's at it . . . ]

[dishearten]

He doesn't have one yet.

( Graham had never considered that he needed one, at the time. both of them had lived as wolves and wolves didn't need names. now... he's not so sure. a name might be good for his brother. )

And mine is Graham.

( the curse gave it to him but he identifies with it enough that it's hard to let it go. )

And yours...?

[mightymax]

[ The wolf certainly doesn't look like a puppy, so Max is a little surprised by his lack of a name. Still, she's glad to get his brother's, and of course she won't have a problem giving her own. ]

I'm Max.

[ . . . A pause. ]

I have a friend who's a Graham. Well, it's his last name, anyway.

[ . . . Max. You did not just bring your Bay life into this. ]

[dishearten]

Is that here? Or home?

( a reminder of home. Graham knows that can be both good and bad, having experienced it. )

It's my first, though. Graham Humbert.

( he doesn't register as well with the second one, but that's technically his last name. if curse generated names count for anything. )

[mightymax]

[ She nods. Curses aside, nothing particularly sticks out about the name, so she acknowledges it quietly. Should she call him Mr. Humbert then? Mr. Graham?

. . . Oh. His question. ]

Home. [ Her tone is a bit dismissive. ] It's probably a good thing he isn't here. He'd probably freak worse than I did.

[ Sure wish Chloe was here, though . . . Damn. ]

[dishearten]

( Graham would be preferred. even in Storybrooke, people had only ever called him Graham. Graham, or Sheriff. he used to make bad jokes about that actually being his first name, now doesn't seem the time.

he frowns a little at the idea that appearing here had unsettled her. he can't blame her, even heartless it hadn't been an easy transition. )

If you need any advice for making sense of this place, I've been for a couple of months now. I'll do what I can to help.

[mightymax]

[ To be fair, a lot of it had to do with what was going on at home, more so than Chantes itself. Still, she's definitely not a fan of perpetual night, and the sight of goblins and other alien-like creatures felt like something out of a dream at first.

She's more used to it now. ]

That is super awesome of you. I really appreciate it.

[ And it does help to hear such supportive words. ]

Has it really been that long since the mission started?

[dishearten]

( maybe being from a magical world made all of those things easier for him to accept. magically doused suns and goblins aren't even that strange to him, even if he was cursed for thirty years in Maine. )

Yes, I suppose it has. Some of the others are on their second mission, I hear, but I arrived at the beginning of this one. It's been about two or three months, now.

[mightymax]

That's crazy . . . and it's been dark like this ever since?

[ It's mostly a rhetorical question. She knows it has been, which means they haven't come any closer to solving the sun problem. Which is . . . worrisome to say the least.

Hard to believe, but she's actually getting used to it. Almost. It's incredible what you can put up with when you don't have any other choice. ]

It's like some weird, habitable, less freezing version of Antarctica.

[dishearten]

Yes. It has been. It takes some getting used to.

( he's lived worse things than a world without a sun, though a part of him is at least a little bemused by it. he doesn't understand science perfectly but he knows enough to know a world shouldn't exist without a sun. does that mean it's still there and just blocked or hidden? )

It is strange. Don't forget to keep a light with you or it's easy to get lost.

[mightymax]

[ That it's being blocked or hidden seems likely, but Max is no expert. She doesn't have to be told twice either how important it is to keep a light, but she definitely appreciates it nonetheless.

Even though it should be obvious, forgetting is just the bonehead thing she'd do. ]

Definitely. I keep one in my purse, but it's not all that bright. I've got this . . . blue lantern thing now.

[ She shifts the camera so that he can see it. Freaking fairies. ]

[dishearten]

Is that magical?

( he's not always a big fan of magic, but hey. it certainly has its uses on occasion. and a magical lantern might be more reliable than a convential one. )

[mightymax]

I think so. It's been going for days.

[ . . . With her luck, she'll jinx it and it'll go out right then. She almost expects it, but when it doesn't, she goes on. ]

At least it was worth the trek.

[dishearten]

Sounds handy, but I'd be careful. I don't know how much I trust magic.

( no actually he does know how much he trusts magic. aka not at all. )

[mightymax]

Thanks . . . You probably have a point.

[ Considering faeries are assholes and also magic isn't even supposed to exist. Still, she's kind of fascinated by it. ]

Isn't hard to get things like batteries here, though? I haven't really visited the shops much . . . I mean, except for clothes, since mine were wet.

[dishearten]

No, you're not like to find batteries in this place. They don't have that sort of technology. You could always get a lantern, though. It burns oil so you'd need to take care with it, but it might end up more reliable.

( he could also tell her how to put together a torch but he suspects someone used to batteries might be a little intimidated by an open flame used as a light. )

1/2

[mightymax]

[That would be super primitive, and he's not wrong. Given how clumsy she can be, she'd probably drop it a bunch of times too, wasting the flames.

Still, she can appreciate going a little old fashioned. She nods.] Got it.

[mightymax]

[ She doesn't know what else to say. She puts the magic blue lantern aside, remembering her original reason for responding to him. ]

I can help you name him, by the way. I mean, your fluffy friend.

[ . . . ]

If you want.

[dishearten]

Yeah? Got a suggestion?

( he's finding it harder than he imagined to name his brother. likely because he's known him only as he was for so long. )

[mightymax]

[ SHE DIDN'T THINK THAT ONE THROUGH as he might note from her pause but she's got this. ]

What's he like?

[ She'll think of something. ]

[dishearten]

He's smart. Clever. Faithful. He's the only family I have left. And he'll do whatever it takes to protect the pack.

( picking a name for his brother isn't as easy as it sounds, but he does think that he'd like to find him one. Max doesn't need to think of one... it'll happen. sooner or later.

[mightymax]

[ Smart, clever, faithful . . . Max's thoughts drift and she closes her eyes, as if waiting for something to appear there. Before anything can, though, she finds herself murmuring, his words only just processing: ]

He's family . . . ?

[ Her voice seems to trail off as she considers, leaving it unclear whether she expects an answer or not. ]