[This...wasn't what Kaede expected. Her time in Dorchacht—the dream and the waking city—had been...unpleasant. The dreams were worse, and she was just as dubious of sleeping here.
But in the day, the city wasn't holding to its old promises. The layout was still the same—but more open, somehow. The auction blocks were gone, the cages torn free of the windows. And she could actually see the sky in glimpses through the endless narrow spires—less like the bars of a prison, but hands reaching for the dim light. The smog haze in the sky still cast much of the streets below them into shade most of the day, but that was fine by Kaede.
She didn't escape detection—given how bright and flashy her colors were, even if she wasn't a Chimera. Even though she didn't take part in much besides being penned up like some garish canary in the then-Coven building, her forays out without a collar or glazed eyes hadn't gone unnoticed. The Witch at her side then caused most humans to simply dismiss Kaede's presence—but their Monsters saw otherwise, even if they could say nothing about it if they weren't Ordered to. The Monsters remembered.
A gaggle of them had cornered her while Kaede had stopped to peer up at the spires, pelting her with excitable questions. You were here for The Rising! What did you do? How did you get so close to a Witch without a collar before? It wasn't a...Bond, was it?
One particularly enthusiastic Puca was right in front of her, entirely unafraid of the Chimera's aura and her ears almost bobbing in Kaede's face.
Suddenly being able to speak freely after years—or longer—of repression and restraint was something Kaede understood well. She still looked distinctly uncomfortable with this sudden social attention, ears flat and her tail rapidly curling and uncurling on itself. Please send help.]
II. [Aefenglom]
[Once she'd gotten used to the absolutely-medically-sound feeling of herself being yanked through the teleporter in parts and stitched back together at the end of it, Kaede had stepped back and forth between the cities with...ease, sort of. She still felt a bit queasy if she jumped through the thing more than once in a day. Something about being a Chimera and sensitive to these things, a slightly unnerved attendant said when asked.
Back in this city, the unease and doubts of Dorchacht had given way to familiarity. The lingering snow and ice was no impediment to someone with clawed feet like hers.
Kaede had a camera in her hands; quite boxy, but without an attached flash pan. It didn't need one—not when a burst of light magic from its mechanical guts would do just fine. It didn't have a bulky tripod either, and its operator possessed wings, claws, a healthy capacity for climbing, and a thorough disregard for things like trespassing. Kaede could be found in any number of places—on a rooftop taking a picture of the city's skyline and fending off overly curious pigeons, with the camera pointed down at one of the Shopping District's busier squares to see how well it captured motion, at the mansion's garden though there weren't terribly many blooms to photograph. Even in darker side streets, to see how the camera dealt with low light.
She wasn't trying to get anyone in the pictures, and tended to be where people weren't anyway. But, well—Kaede hadn't gotten the hang of all the buttons yet. Or the timing, which was quite a bit longer than she was used to. An unexpected flash of magnesium-bright light tore out of the box camera at unexpected moments, falling on someone equally unexpected—or in at least one instance, directly in Kaede's face when she tried to see if the flash bulb needed cleaning.
She was rather unhappy about that one, if the shout and bitten off curse was any indication.]
[Wildcard]
[My plotting post is here, or feel free to contact me on plurk for other prompts!]
Kaede | Monster | OTA
[This...wasn't what Kaede expected. Her time in Dorchacht—the dream and the waking city—had been...unpleasant. The dreams were worse, and she was just as dubious of sleeping here.
But in the day, the city wasn't holding to its old promises. The layout was still the same—but more open, somehow. The auction blocks were gone, the cages torn free of the windows. And she could actually see the sky in glimpses through the endless narrow spires—less like the bars of a prison, but hands reaching for the dim light. The smog haze in the sky still cast much of the streets below them into shade most of the day, but that was fine by Kaede.
She didn't escape detection—given how bright and flashy her colors were, even if she wasn't a Chimera. Even though she didn't take part in much besides being penned up like some garish canary in the then-Coven building, her forays out without a collar or glazed eyes hadn't gone unnoticed. The Witch at her side then caused most humans to simply dismiss Kaede's presence—but their Monsters saw otherwise, even if they could say nothing about it if they weren't Ordered to. The Monsters remembered.
A gaggle of them had cornered her while Kaede had stopped to peer up at the spires, pelting her with excitable questions. You were here for The Rising! What did you do? How did you get so close to a Witch without a collar before? It wasn't a...Bond, was it?
One particularly enthusiastic Puca was right in front of her, entirely unafraid of the Chimera's aura and her ears almost bobbing in Kaede's face.
Suddenly being able to speak freely after years—or longer—of repression and restraint was something Kaede understood well. She still looked distinctly uncomfortable with this sudden social attention, ears flat and her tail rapidly curling and uncurling on itself. Please send help.]
II. [Aefenglom]
[Once she'd gotten used to the absolutely-medically-sound feeling of herself being yanked through the teleporter in parts and stitched back together at the end of it, Kaede had stepped back and forth between the cities with...ease, sort of. She still felt a bit queasy if she jumped through the thing more than once in a day. Something about being a Chimera and sensitive to these things, a slightly unnerved attendant said when asked.
Back in this city, the unease and doubts of Dorchacht had given way to familiarity. The lingering snow and ice was no impediment to someone with clawed feet like hers.
Kaede had a camera in her hands; quite boxy, but without an attached flash pan. It didn't need one—not when a burst of light magic from its mechanical guts would do just fine. It didn't have a bulky tripod either, and its operator possessed wings, claws, a healthy capacity for climbing, and a thorough disregard for things like trespassing. Kaede could be found in any number of places—on a rooftop taking a picture of the city's skyline and fending off overly curious pigeons, with the camera pointed down at one of the Shopping District's busier squares to see how well it captured motion, at the mansion's garden though there weren't terribly many blooms to photograph. Even in darker side streets, to see how the camera dealt with low light.
She wasn't trying to get anyone in the pictures, and tended to be where people weren't anyway. But, well—Kaede hadn't gotten the hang of all the buttons yet. Or the timing, which was quite a bit longer than she was used to. An unexpected flash of magnesium-bright light tore out of the box camera at unexpected moments, falling on someone equally unexpected—or in at least one instance, directly in Kaede's face when she tried to see if the flash bulb needed cleaning.
She was rather unhappy about that one, if the shout and bitten off curse was any indication.]
[Wildcard]
[My plotting post is here, or feel free to contact me on plurk for other prompts!]