Watch The World Burn [Jo]

[Deleted]

Normally, Delano did not stray into unfamiliar territory without scouting the area first. It seemed, however, he had abandoned this ritual. After having been confined to one area for a few decades, Delano decided that anything lurking in the shadows would give his life a bit of excitement. Well, as much as the indifferent male could gather from his long life span. Excitement, any emotion really, was a bit unfamiliar for Delano. He did not care to familiarize himself with them either, they would only provide ways for him to slip. Delano could not have any errors in his otherwise content life. There was not room for mistake, and allowing humanity to get to him would only be a cause for havoc. This was something Delano had long since solidified in his mind. Not only was feeling emotions difficult for him, given his mental disorders, but he also chose not to feel them. There was no reason.

He had arrived in Forks three days ago. In that time he had purchased a house, one closer to town than not, and established his presence in the tiny Washington town. Delano had yet to find anyone intriguing enough to actually hold a conversation with. Humans were unimportant, and though there were rumors of several immortal species he had yet to come across one. The usual human scents, however, were integrated in a net of those of other species. Not only was there vampires but, it seemed, there were mutts as well. Delano rather disliked, if you wished to call it that, werewolves or shape-shifters. In a world of monsters they were just glorified animals. They held no real power and, more often than not, justified their actions by claiming they defended humanity. It was quite pitiful.

Right now the god was standing on what appeared to be a path. It was poorly distinguished, and led who knows where, but it was a path none the less. Other than the scent of deer it seemed no other creatures really came back here. The trail was marked here and there, signs that led the male to believe it be a hiking trail. Delano had long since left the confines of down, and was in the midst of woods. The world beneath the trees' canopy was a mixture of dark greens and lighter greens. They cast shadows across his pale, flawless skin, and obscured the landscape from view. It was actually pretty peaceful, and the vampire had to admit that he did not mind the silence. It's not like he preferred a town or city to nature, quite the opposite really, but he liked being close to his food source. That and humans always made life more interesting.

Dressed in a pair of jeans and a button-up dress shirt, he appeared out of place in the wilderness. He was a sophisticated being in a world of chaos, but he hardly cared. Even if someone was around, he would not care. Delano was not one to take to heart others opinions, or anything other creatures bothered to do. Even their feelings towards him held little to no meaning. Every thing that was, that was what mattered. Each second that flew by in the span of nothing, they mattered. But Delano found time to be nonexistent, a subject of ones mind to make order out of the chaos that was the natural world. So to the male, nothing truly mattered except his own survival.

@minji

[Deleted]

The discovery that Fair Folk were nearby had made Min-Ji significantly more cautious when it came to entering the forests around Forks. She just never knew enough about Fair Folk, it felt, and it was well-known that they were old and vindictive forest spirits at the best of times. She knew perfectly well that it wasn't just Fair Folk to be watched for, either. Forests in places like this tended to blur the lines between the worlds of reality and unreality so that even the most impure could see between the gates and fall into the dusky mist the forests contained. It never did not to be at least a little careful.

After a cursory investigation, though, Min-Ji determined that the area was probably safe for hunting, so long as she only went after, like, deer. She was still uncertain about just about any other game in the forest, and she'd be watching for deer with otherworldly colorations, but some research indicated that hunting the deer wouldn't wreck the ecosystem too badly. It was probably a good idea to go hunting sooner, rather than later, too, so that she was coherent enough to stay out of the territory of the other supernaturals in the area. No repeats of the dragon incident from her, no siree!

For now, she was just going to stay on the path. As little as humans knew about the supernatural, in supernatural hotspots they had a tendency to adapt really well, which meant that the path, as poorly-marked as it was, was probably a safe route away from civilization so she could go hunt some deer. It probably wouldn't lead too close to some kind of sacred spring or blurred reality. Probably. Once again: supernatural hotspot. In places like Forks, it was pretty hard to tell- but hey, that was half the fun, right? Where else would she have seen vampires, Fair Folk, and a full-blown shifter pack in the same place? 

That was a rhetorical question. The last place she'd seen this many supernaturals together was... hm. The Laolong Palace was normally a good place to find a large variety of supernatural beings. Ireland was Ireland and no one sane would mess with the supernatural forces at work there. There was this small village in Mongolia, too? Turns out a significant portion of... OKAY NOT THE POINT. The point was that Forks was still a pretty fun place to be, as a supernatural hotspot. Good kind of place to explore, but also a good kind of place to explore carefully, you dig?

She wandered down the path, looking side to side, from plant to plant, sniffing the air as she went. Her hands were laced behind her back, and she took long steps. It wasn't a terribly graceful way to walk. She paused for a minute to smile at a flower. It was April, and the forest was starting to bloom. Oh! And there was a bee! Bees were pretty cool, she thought. They were all puffy, and they flew, and they helped make more flowers! She knew a pretty interesting story about a promise and a bee from a while back, too. She liked telling it to people who hated bees for no good reason.

Min-Ji paused a little while later. Oh. That smelled like vampire. One who drank a lot of unnecessary human blood, probably? Uncertain. Also one who was new-ish in town, because their scent wasn't super established or anything. That meant that they weren't going to chase her out of the area, all territorial-like, probably. It also meant it would be polite to run up and say hello! It was a nice day. The trees cast shadows across her skin, and where they didn't, her skin gleamed for a moment. She was going to have to avoid humans on a day like today, but that doesn't mean she couldn't enjoy it.

She half-ran, half-skipped the rest of the way up the path, looking at the dark and generally unhappy looking vampire standing ahead of her. Oh, boo. They didn't look like they were a very good sport about anything. Still, looks could be deceiving. For example, she was pretty sure she looked about two thousand and ten years younger than she actually was!

"Oh, hello there!" Min-Ji said. "It's a pretty day, isn't it? The sun's nice and warm." She'd strike up a conversation, for now. They'd introduce each other, and then, hopefully, any actual confrontations would be headed off. "My name's Jo Min-Ji, but if you've seen me before, you might know me as the Storyteller! A lot of vampires do."

---

@delanobarrons

[Deleted]

Delano was not unaware of the other vampire's presence. He could hear the gentle sound of her foot falls as she headed towards him. When she came into view, he turned to look at her. His crimson gaze traveled from her bottom half to her upper, and back again before finally shifting to rest on her face. She was young, maybe a few years older than he, but how old she actually was would remain a mystery. Sometimes you could tell, but with her it was as though she were turned only months ago. Her eyes were still vibrant, her skin bright, and her spirit's high. Of course it was clear she had self control making him think she was a few centuries old. "Oh, hello there!" Her voice rung out into the still air, shrill and disturbing. She sounded pleased with herself, and arrogant; though most vampires of this age were. "It's a pretty day, isn't it? The sun's nice and warm. My name's Jo Min-Ji, but if you've seen me before, you might know me as the Storyteller! A lot of vampires do." He tried not to roll his eyes, a very human action and one he often did when he felt like something might prove to be an annoyance. That was probably the most human thing about him, his subtle eye rolls and un-contented sighs. Though he did not really care, as he rarely did, he found himself taking what could be described as a disliking to this over-zealous vampire.

"I'm sure anything feels warm to us." He replied, his voice monotonous and indifferent. "I can't say that I have seen you before. That's a rather bland title, don't you think." These words were equally as unenthusiastic as the last, coming after a short pause. Who wanted to be known for telling stories? Stories were a very human thing, and Delano did not see why this vampire would pride herself in story telling. Her last remark brought him back to his profile on her, as he often analyzed his... acquaintances. She was very much cocky, in his opinion, and full of herself. One could even say she was self absorbed, not to say Delano was not these things. He was indeed, to the extreme in fact, but he rarely displayed himself in such a manner.

@minji

[Deleted]

The strange vampire gave her a once-over, and Min-Ji figured she could use the chance to give the other vampire a once-over, too. He was fairly relaxed, it seemed? She could tell that he was old enough to be wary, but not old enough to be really wary, or old enough again to stop caring. She was pretty bad at reading facial expressions, but his was curiously blank, if she had to guess. There was an edge of maybe... contempt? Was it the bunny t-shirt? A lot of vampires thought she was a weirdo for wearing things like that, as though vampires were supposed to exclusively wear the trappings of doom and gloom.

His posture was more fight-ready than flight-ready, which meant his default reaction to a fight was to assume he was better than it, probably. Which was fine for a vampire, a lot of the time! Except these were woods that belonged to the Fair Folk. There were shifters and werewolves about. He probably shouldn't think he could take on anything his instincts thought could be a threat, or even the things his instincts didn't think were a threat. Or maybe he just assumed she was easy to fight? She supposed she was a fairly short woman with no immediately apparent strengths, though her skin was criss-crossed with scars and her fingers calloused despite their stony nature.

Ah. This new vampire didn't recognize the eyes, yet. Not just their amber color, no, but the eyes- it was like how Min-Ji could look into the unknown vampire's eyes, and see that he was a little arrogant, probably a little dumb, but mostly filled with contempt and greyness. Maybe he felt other things, too! Maybe his eyes didn't have the same spark in them as the vampires who turned out okay, not because he wasn't okay, but because he was very tired! Somehow, though, Min-Ji didn't think that was the case. His eyes lacked some kind of spark, and she really wished she could read facial expressions better, because maybe then she's be able to guess why...

She frowned, tilting her head and standing up on her toes a little to meet the unknown vampire's eyes. (Some vampires stood unnaturally still, but not all of them- not all movement is caused by fatigue, after all, and Min-Ji was never quite comfortable with standing still.) "I guess a lot of things are warm for us?" she said. "I mean, we're meant for cold, but we're all probably used to different levels of it..." A lot of new vampires assumed all vampires felt things the same way. Of course not! They were all still different, after all.

Min-Ji sighed when he called her title "bland". She was rather proud of it- the storytellers were some pretty important people, Min-Ji had found, and to be trusted enough to tell tales- it was a good thing, she thought. A very good thing. "I like it," she said, smiling again. "It means I know a great deal of things- enough to know that there's always more to learn, and that I don't really know anything at all! It's a nice gift, to have a name like that." She paused, blinked. "Do you have a name?" she asked. "I can't just keep on calling you 'the Vampire Stranger'- well, I can, and I probably won't remember your name for terribly long, I'm notorious for forgetting them, but Names are rather important, don't you think?"

Names meant a great deal. Min-Ji wondered if the stranger would be as forthcoming with his as she was with hers.

---

@delanobarrons

[Deleted]

Delano was impassive as he observed her. She was obviously trying to read him. Whatever she found, however, would not be true, even if it was. No one knew Delano, understood him, or even liked him. He just wasn't the sort of guy other creatures wanted to hang around with. Even though most would probably not want to get to know him, Delano kept himself extremely guarded and didn't allow others to know him. It was the life he lived and would continue to lead until his demise. It was simple, easy, and clean. He didn't involve himself in anyone else's problems, quarrels or anything of the sort. That was how he survived. Not only did his mental illnesses allow him to lead this life, and prevent him from other lifestyles, but he chose to remain this way. He was content with his morals and felt no reason the change. "Names are rather trivial, wouldn't you say." He said, his gaze still on her. "But, you can call me Delano." He did not mind giving out his name, it's not like anyone would be able to find him just with his name. The male was non-existant and anyone who actually knew his usual residencies were far out and in between, or dead. He was in no database or records, except maybe ancient ones that had long since been destroyed. The male relaxed even further, if only to show her he wasn't daunted by her in the least bit. Delano was clearly confident in himself, well that or he did not care. His unusually relaxed façade could be taken either way. In truth in was both, he did not feel he was in any danger from anyone and also did not care. He could handle himself.

@minji

[Deleted]

Well, at least he'd given her a name, but she was growing increasingly concerned about him, because, while she still wasn't one of the best at reading people, she was a little unsettled by how he was talking? It was still way too blank, like someone had taken an eraser and removed all the things a person was supposed to sound like. Then again, that didn't mean anything was wrong. When Min-Ji was younger, her voice was constantly filled with the wrong emotions, no matter what things she felt powerfully in her heart. That was just because she was bad at expressing herself, though!

These days, she had stopped caring, incidentally, how she expressed herself, which she realized meant she did it a lot better, even if people gave her odd looks as she skipped or flapped her hands around or, like now, rocked back and forth on her heels.

Min-Ji thought for a moment about what he'd said. "I don't think so," Min-Ji countered. "A Name is an awfully powerful thing, you know. For example, if you tell your full True Name to the Fair Folk, it means they know you. If you give something no Name, by contrast, you are not allowing for it to be a thinking thing that matters." She looked up for a minute. "Really, people do absolutely terrible things to people they don't think deserve Names, and a creature without a Name- why, it wouldn't be a thing you could care about terribly long, could it? To Name a thing is pretty important then, I think."

She shrugged, bouncing back on her heels again. "But that's just my opinion! I guess you could argue that Names aren't very important, too, but I do like that I can call you Delano now, for however long I remember it." Delano, while she was speaking, was relaxing a lot. Huh. Well, she supposed she'd proven she wasn't threatening by now, anyway, and having him be comfortable around her was part of the goal! She just... wondered about him. All she'd done so far was ramble about the weather and ramble about names, and Min-Ji knew some people used that to be a sign that she was potentially dangerous, someone who spoke without thinking and thought far too deeply to be safe. Delano must not be one of those people then. The more you knew!

"So," she said, "what are you doing out on this trail? I was going to hunt deer, though I was mostly enjoying the weather." She paused, considered. "That, and I'm a little worried about deer hunting in this forest. I saw one of the Good People earlier, you see, and I'd rather not go mad by accidentally treading through a fairy ring."

---

@delanobarrons

why was this the only post i had muse for

[Deleted]

Kaz Writes - Delano Thinks - Delano Speaks

Delano listened as she attempted to explain why a name was important. He still wasn't convinced either way. To him it was all the same, just a stupid title that allowed people power of one another. They were worthless, meaningless, and very much unimportant to the male. He could care less for what people called themselves. Barrons. for instance, was selected by him years back. It was not even his real name, but he had made it so. Anyone could claim they were someone and be an entirely different person. Well not person, just not be known by the name they told you. The whole thing was stupid. See, who someone was could not be changed. They were one way or another, and nothing could change that. Not even the individual himself. "If you cannot remember a name you must be awfully narrow minded." He stated, a means of insulting her even without his realization. Delano did not mind insulting others but actions were a much better way to solve things, so he tried to avoid the wordiness that came with jeers.

When she asked him what he was doing here, he was about to reply but she kept talking. He felt distaste curl within him as she mentioned hunting deer. Delano had never had the taste for animals, he much preferred humans. They were a lot more potent and fresh tasting, plus they did not have the musky taste of herbivores. "I was just..." Delano tried to think of the right word. He had really just been walking, not with any aim or goal in mind. "scouting the area. I hear there were certain boundaries not to be crossed and wanted to distinguish where they are." He left out the part about her food choice, not finding it of any importance.

TAGS: @minji
NOTES: n/a