[open] But the hole remains, an empty space

[astudyinviolet]

Who: Sherlock and others
Status: Open
Where: Eltrut
What: Some MANTA stuff, some catch all stuff
Warnings: one fancy looking detective for one prompt, Sherlock giving people heart attacks with his testing antics in another (in two?)

MANTA Paladin: Love and Paladinspace

[ Sherlock followed the instructions and dressed his best: long, flared black jacket and pants with a white, buttoned and lightly ruffled dress shirt and a black corset belt. To give a touch of color and to make certain parties feel uncomfortable, Sherlock pinned a pale green crystal in the shape of a hexagon and bordered by silver filigree at his collar. While he healed, one of those crystals had popped off his skin. He thought to study it, but when the Paladins had announced this gala, a new idea formed.

Anyone who believes Sherlock is here to make nice and help repair Paladin relations is terribly mistaken. Sherlock wants information. He wants to make sure everyone who was involved in the crystallization trafficking is held responsible to the highest degree. He feels personally betrayed after investigating the matter for so long, becoming a victim himself, and then learning that the whole thing was spearheaded by Paladins. He's had his suspicions in the past about Paladin cover ups, and trust broken at this level is not easily mended.

Perhaps, the Paladins should have worked more to restore relations within their own group. Sherlock remains, despite, and to spite them. His eyes are cold steel despite the smile as he stands near the refreshments, listening to a pair talk as the two grab flutes of sparkling wine. ]

MANTA Special: No Rift Like Home

[ Within the rift, he sees the door to the share sitting room of 221B Baker Street. Sherlock's heart stops in his chest, and he reaches out, fingers stopping just shy of the rift's surface. ]

John?! Mrs. Hudson?! Can you hear me?! WATSON! JOHN!!

[ But he never knows if his voice carried through the rift to anyone who might have heard on the other side. He falls. The air rushes past him, though he doesn't panic as others might. He has his Trustfaller Bangle after all.

Sherlock's feelings of home (in Escordvi) will center around the Surasthana Cafe, the S.H. Detective Agency, and various people he's especially close to. Sorry if he drops in unannounced. At least any falls for him will be cushioned by his bangle and result in no injuries. For him. (But feel free to catch in a princess carry if you want.) ]

MANTA General: Eltrut Snap!

[ Still feeling like he owes both Kaveh and Alhaitham, Sherlock volunteers to help take pictures using the new device. He's certainly trying to put it through its paces by taking extreme close ups of flowers or prolonged exposure to the sky or trying to take a photo while moving. He takes meticulous notes on each of his trials.

He hasn't really taken any good photos, however. Sherlock has used a photography camera before, so unfamiliarity with the technology isn't the issue. He's simply more focused on the testing portion of the quest rather than the actual results.

Maybe he should take a few photos with his friends as keepsakes. ]

Having fun with new purchases

[ So after the whole bounty thing, Sherlock has invested in a camouflage cloak (level 3) of a dark grey color with a hood and a pair of Sacred Galewind Shoes, which surprisingly look like a classy pair of black shoes with faint feather embroidery in black thread on the sides to invoke the idea of Mercury's winged sandals (or Hermes or other mythical variant). He hopes to avoid such trouble in the future with these additional tools in his bag. All he needs to do is test them out.

So, if you find Sherlock trying to walk out of a window from his second story apartment, he's testing out the shoes. (Any fear of falling has been removed due to his Trustfaller Bangle and certain happenings in another world.) If you find a strange cushion in the Surasthana Cafe or a rock that wasn't in a park before, that's Sherlock testing out his cloak which doubles as a more respectable version of walking outside with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

No, Sherlock did not warn anyone of his new purchases. Why is he like this? ]

Wildcard

[ Want to do something else? Write a prompt or drop me a line at Sherry's journal, aviekokyre, or on Discord @ aviekokyre and we can plot something out. ]

Comments

[tenrectricity]

I dunno. It's called taking advantage of what ya workin' with.

[ whether he did it to get in here or not, she's not entirely convinced even if someone waves at him to confirm that he's a regular. from what she's learned here, people will take up for anyone despite anything. ]

...

[ jumping off from the table, the tenrec stands right next to the other as she begins to smack her hands together. ]

Ugh... where is he? Didn't think the start would be this borin'. You sure you ain't tryna be a diversion to a crazier scenario?

[astudyinviolet]

[ Crossing his arms, Sherlock keeps Surge in his sight while also scanning the area for her associate. He doesn't know how attached at the hip they are, but it would be foolish to assume Kitsunami isn't around. (Better to obtain evidence otherwise rather than be surprised by a sudden appearance.) ]

If I were to cause a diversion, I would want to do something more controllable. Regardless of that, the owners are good friends of mine, and if you are here to cause them grief, I will have issue with it. You've already broken a few plates and ruined a few meals.

[ Also, Sherlock lives upstairs, so he has an even greater interest in making sure the cafe doesn't have more problems than chaos gays (a feature more than a problem of this place) or a pillow fort in the corner built by their adopted cat (which he probably should stop doing now but hasn't). ]

[tenrectricity]

Huh!? Tryna call me a troublemaker when I came in here through the front door!?

[ she growls, eyes glaring at the other as she takes a step towards him. her gaze unwavering as she doesn't care if he steps back, gets offended or tells her off, but there's something about his words that doesn't sit right with her. ]

I'm the one grillin' you! Don't act like I'm the issue around here!!

[ the girl raises her voice just a slight before rolling her eyes.

how dare he says she's causing them grief, she hasn't done anything! ]

[astudyinviolet]

Yes, and you were threatening my life upon my unintentional arrival.

[ Having already gone missing for nearly a month's time in recent memory has made him very sensitive to such suggestions, and he will take it seriously as a threat given Surge had publicly called for Shadow's capture and death by her hands. ]

Go on. Ask then. Show me what information you deem important to know.

[tenrectricity]

[ he'll regret that.

there's a reason why kitsunami needs to be by her side. ]

Take the big boy comments outside.

[ she snaps her fingers towards the door, her eyes sharp in their glare as she watches the other. if he didn't do anything, he has nothing to worry about, he can come back later if he's given that so called luxury. ]

Go on, I'm followin' ya, I'm going to get my information like that.

[ blue eyes fall to his feet now, waiting for him to walk. ]

[astudyinviolet]

[ Sherlock weighs his options. He could leave the cafe in hopes of sparing the cafe from any further problems. People mull around the area enough that someone should be able to hear and see the commotion should there be one. Or he could stay inside where people aware of the growing situation remain and hope that whatever claim Surge has towards the cafe tempers her actions. ("He?" Kitsunami? How is he connected to the cafe?)

Then he remembers her breaking the plates and ruining the meals at the start and her showing no remorse about it. Outside it is. ]

Very well. We can talk outside, but if you hope for privacy and a lack of witnesses, you will be disappointed.

[ He walks but remains aware of where Surge is in relation to him. Surge seems the type to try something once his back is turned. He's also ready to use his Ring of Returning if need be. (It will place him... on the second floor of the cafe. He lives here.) ]

[tenrectricity]

I don't care who sees, as long as I see what I need to know.

[ surge glances around, her eyes checking how far away they are from the building before they glare at the other. ]

I hate people like you. Those that see everyone bad from the get-go and you're the only guy who's right, the only one who has an excuse not to be bad without having any proof to begin with!

[ her words come with a bite, she believes that, and she knows this won't bother him, because why would it?

he's acting holier than thou, he's treating her like the problem. ]

People like you are what gives other people a hard time to try and make any effort.

[ she finally stops, allowing the other to take a real good look at her before she disappears in an instant, and is right behind him, her fist charged with electrical energy as she hits the ground causing the flooring to splinter and break, shooting him up. ]

Do not cause problems for us!

[astudyinviolet]

[ Nothing Surge says changes his mind. He sees the evidence before him, her actions and words. Sherlock had done nothing here. Her attempt to garner sympathy, as small as it was, is instantly contradicted by what she does. (They might have come to an understanding had she actually talked.)

It happens fast. Surge glared at him, then disappeared. The ground buckles beneath him and catapults him into the air. Very well. If that is how she wants to do things.

In mid-air, Sherlock vanishes, not by a portal this time but by activating his Ring. When Surge comes back to the cafe, Sherlock will be there in the doorway. He has his pistol at his side, though he doubts he'll be able to actually hit her should he need to draw it. Surge is no longer a suspicious individual but a dangerous one: at the least, a bully, a villain at the worst. ]

To answer what you said, though you made no attempt to ask me anything outside, I dislike liars who try to manipulate others, putting them and more in danger for their own selfish gain.

You have made your views clear, and now, I state mine. Leave and do not come back. I do not think Kaveh and Alhaitham will tolerate threatening and attacking someone who they invited to live here.

[ This place was supposed to be a shelter from all the water outside, from The Horrors which haunt his mind, from things he fears, from being alone. It... it was home, one besides 221B Baker Street.

Sherlock will not lose his home without fighting for it. ]

[tenrectricity]

Yeah, of course you'd think that. I made no attempt-- blah, blah, blah.

[ a roll of her eyes, but he's no one to her. ]

We talk with our fists, but you're a coward who didn't think of that! You run, keep runnin' and see how far it gets ya.

[ she snaps her fingers, electricity sparks towards her shoes but never hits. with a roll of her eyes, she walks over to a table, pulling herself to a seat and looking at him. ]

I know your views too, you suck at understanding anyone. You only see things your way, you're blind. Really, you even depend on other people to get your point across. You can't do anythin' yourself.

[ she's familiar with one of the names, don't get her wrong, the guy who owns this place. the difference is that she knows him, and not this guy. ]

How weak do people get around here?

Cthulhu (SHTA themed) imagery in links

[astudyinviolet]

To ask someone something requires the use of a question. You did no such thing.

[ Hell's bells! How did she get past him? Sherlock's heart jumps. How many homes will he have destroyed? London, Cordona, here.

No.

He may not be able fight against a god, but she is not the terrors lurking in the deep, the Abyss that calls for him. Surge understands nothing about him. ]

Patrons of the cafe, I apologize for this interruption.

[ Sherlock snaps his fingers. In an instant, sickly blue-green light projections flood the bottom floor of the cafe. Some are large tentacled and winged eldritch beings. (Thankfully, being created by Sherlock and not the actual Horrors, they will not cause madness.) There are also creatures with gaping maws and sharp fangs. Every surface is covered by glowing drawings of tentacles, swirling shells, ominous seals and piercing bloodshot eyes. Chains and cages, giant axes and floating jagged rocks fill the air between. Large hands reach towards cosmic spheres as more hands and monsters erupt from the walls and ground. A lighthouse blocks the stairs upward with shipwrecks around its base.

And while these light projections have no physical form, they do something Sherlock hadn't managed before. They move. Some act if they are live tentacles writhing around while images undulate as if they are underwater. At this moment, he doesn't fear what he's become, the slipping of his sanity. He embraces it if it means he'll keep his home a safe space instead of having it ripped apart by death, by cruelty, by someone attempting to rewrite the truth to their own narrative. ]

Leave.

1/2

[kitsunami]

[ CRACK.

the sound of surge's fist hitting the ground, splitting through it with an electrical crackle that kit can hear even from some distance away. that's when he'd started running, only hoping that he could properly identify where the sound came from.

kit isn't fast. unlike surge, he wasn't made to be, because he didn't have to be in order to play his role in starline's grand design for them. that doesn't mean that he isn't urgent about it though, at first fumbling over the bag in his arms, and then dropping it as he approaches the doorway so that he can reach surge better. the contents—some food from a nearby shop, a few groceries that he could also manage to haggle down the price for—spill out on the ground, but kit is more focused on surge.

through the cafe door, the inside would be frightening if he weren't so single-minded. but without fear, he reaches for surge, grasping her arm as the distance between the two of them finally closes. ]

Surge!

[ around them, tentacles shift and writhe, sliding over, under, across one another and filling his vision. he feels a heavy gaze on them—many gazes, but even if uncertain, kit still tries to step in front of surge—to protect her from the onslaught as his eyes search through their grim surroundings. ]

2/2

[tenrectricity]

[ the room shifts, all sorts of new constructs being made inside, and there are those that are scared and some who wish to see a show. they live in a world where things only become even more curious, and it's with a click of surge's tongue that the tenrec jumps down with a glare. she doesn't know what these are, or what they can do, but if he's apologizing to everyone around then it's all coming from him.

are they as weak as him, or is he finally no longer just talk. ]

Apologizing!? Ha! Selfish, puttin' people in danger...

[ whatever they are, they move, but she doesn't allow them to intimidate her. it's a new world, new threats that she doesn't mind handling. besides, if he hurts anyone, that'll be his own fault. sparks pop off her body, electrical snaps biting at one another and sometimes bouncing off her fur. she hasn't even pushed herself to show the extent of what she can do, but now she has a heads up on what the other is capable of.

but there are people around, if he's a danger to them as well with this ominous creations that move about, tentacles that slither along the ground that she isn't sure she should dodge or not alert, her teeth grind together. ]

I'm not afraid of—

[ it's the thump, thump, thump and a familiar blue body in front of her that the tenrec glances down. she blinks slow, very, very slow as though something isn't adding up properly. her mouth parts, then closes, parts again, and the snaps and crackles that come off her body lessen even more. ]

W- What the hell is goin' on?!

[ at first she thinks that this is some trick, you know, play dirty to catch her slipping, but when one hand falls on kit is exactly when surge's attention wavers from sherlock to the fennec fox. ]

Why aren't you dressed up workin'!!!

[ like... she's been betrayed here! ]

[astudyinviolet]

[ A few customers inch away, but as the light projections move around, they realize that the light doesn't even feel warm. Their fingers move right through with nary an effect upon them. It's only unsettling in appearance. In short, as long as they don't stare at them for too long, the light poses no danger. Other regular, customers have seen Sherlock use his magic within the cafe before, usually for demonstration of some kind. They know him as someone who tries to help others and has had a real rough time lately, risking his life and nearly dying in the process.

Sherlock snaps his fingers again to dispel most of the projections. He keeps the projections "blocking" the stairs up to his apartment on the second floor. Tentacles wrap around the lighthouse, suckers gripping tightly. Eyes line the wall, looking in Surge and Kitsunami's direction. One giant axe swings back and forth over the entryway.

Dear Lord, both of them are now here. Sherlock may be alone, but he can't surrender. Not this place. Not his home. ]

Now, that is a proper question and what should have happened outside instead of launching me into the air. I fell through some sort of doorway and ended up here. I did not intend to nor did I purposely enter the doorway. That is all that had happened and did not warrant threatening my life upon my arrival.

[ He honestly does not believe Surge (or Kitsunami) will listen to him. However, he will make that point regardless. ]