Hello, everyone! after dealing with real life and the other nonsense of living, panny and i have decided to bring back war of change. give a round of applause. we’ve worked through all of the information and hopefully improved coherency and cohesion; however, tell us if we missed something. eventually, we’ll announce an event to celebrate the re-opening, so look out for information on that. -RAIDNE, THE HEAD ADMIN
From the moonless night, screams of terror and fear resound, spreading across the world and infecting the masses; however, those sleepless nights occurred years ago. A new era began with the fires of war, and with no end in sight, the residents of Selene Isle trudge through life, basking in the momentary peace. Despite their prayers for continued monotony and peace, a storm brews, stirred to life by the continued presence of Rapture and Wraith. And as we set our sights on the seemingly peace laden isle, we must ask: how shall this tale end?
As the years passed, the number of true pairs increased; however, they continued to live in the shadows, catering to the whims of the mundane. Seven Moons kept watch over them all, instructing them and assisting them, but for many, the attitudes and ideals of the organization were smoldering, suffocating. With Seven Moons and the mundanes, they could not grasp the freedom, the power dangling before their eyes. In the beginning, rebellion was a dream, a fantasy, a figment—developed by the repressed and carried forward due to the nature of humanity. No one expected the call to sound, and no one expected the call to be answered. However, it happened.
YOU SHOW THE LIGHTS THAT STOP ME TURN TO STONE YOU SHINE IT WHEN I'M ALONE
He really hated late night deliveries, but maybe that went without saying. Beggars couldn't be choosers after all, he thought. And that meant that he couldn't complain if he got some work on his hands. At least, that way he'd get to take home all the leftover pizzas that didn't get taken home or got messed up and get paid on top of that. But at the cost of these late night runs? Definitely not worth it in the slightest. Thirty minutes or less, that was the goal. One that he had sorely messed up in the past few days that he had been hired in the first place. It was starting to become apparent why and how he managed to lose his jobs so fast. This one was going to be next if he didn't manage to get there on time. It was some granny that had ordered it. And while notorious for being nice people, they were also well known for exploiting that tiny little rule by taking their sweet time to answer the door. And most of the time, if they could eat pizza. He was pretty sure that they were able-bodied people that could have definitely stood to walk faster. Especially with the way the doors always got slammed in his face.
Wheels turning, spinning faster and faster as the blonde flew down the sidewalk. His bike struggling to keep up with the momentum at which he was traveling, wheels bouncing against the pavement as he headed in the direction of the one and only apartment complex on the island. He lived there too, he thought. If only this had been his last stop for him and he could go home. But instead, the manager had insisted that he return with the money in hand to help close up the shop. What a pain, he thought. At least it was night time. Made it a little easier for him to get there without having to worry about people getting in his way. Or well. At least that was what he had thought. It was only ten after all, so. Truth be told, it shouldn't have been as surprising as it was when he caught sight of a poor stranger preparing to head up the stairs and into the lobby. It was only ten, so people were still heading home. It was only ten, so that was why he was making the delivery in the first place. And because it was only ten, there Nicoli went. Crashing head-on with the unfortunate stranger, the blonde thrown from his bike and right into the nearest bush.
Ow.
Looking up at the star dotted sky dazed and confused, it had taken him a few moments longer before he realized just exactly what had happened. Right, he was on a delivery and then there was someone who was ... oh. Oh shit. The pizza! Scrambling to his feet, the fighter had practically barrel rolled towards the box - quite nearly trampling the body on the ground - to inspect its contents. Only to find them quite disturbed, broken apart in all the places and it was just about then that he was prepared to cry. And he would have if it also hadn't occurred to him that he could have very well been charged on the account of ... uh, bike-u-lar ... manslaughter ... or something like that. Whirling around then, Nick crawled over on his hands and knees. Pausing and hesitating before gently shaking the collapsed form of the other by his shoulder. "Er."
"'Scuse me, sir. You're ... you're alright, right?" A small frown, another shake. He couldn't have been ... ? Right? It wasn't like a bike was strong enough to really cause that much damage, right? There was just no way so it was ridiculous to think ... w- was that? Was that what he thought it was? Was that blood? The coppery tang had already taken to the air, Nick having been well prepared to scream until a third revelation came to him that night. Oh wait. That was his blood. Explained the running feeling from his nose. Explained a lot actually.
At first, Callisto couldn't have told you what was about to happen, let alone give you all the details of how his body was feeling at the precise moment of impact, but with the foggy gaze peering down at him, Callisto was struggling to remember any details of his life at all. He hadn't fallen completely, his legs caught under some of the metal of the strangers bicycle but still bent at the knee like he was ready to sun bake. Except, you know, late night and all. His head at hit the ground hard though, something he was very aware of due to the throbbing pain above his left ear and the fact that the blurred visage of the stranger was swinging in and out of his view like a pendulum.
"Nnngh.." he groaned, hearing the stranger's concerned voice and a gentle hand prodding him, shifting him slightly "You.."
Another soft moan and he was rolling over toward the stranger, showing he would indeed move himself even though he was struggling to find his bearings. He began reaching his fingers out around him, searching for something.. something.. oh no. "Crap," he started, sitting up quickly - too quickly - and lifting the cracked lenses up before his glassy blue eyes "They're ruined..". The damage, sadly, unseen but felt under his fingertips until he pulled the broken glasses onto his face and looked over at the concerned individual before him.
Finally able to meet the molten caramel pools watching him in concern, Callisto took in the other features of the stranger before him. "You're, uh, bleeding," he garbled around what tasted like bitter metal - like he was sucking on a chain of car keys -, he must have bitten his tongue during the collision "Are you okay? You must have landed pretty rough."
He took a second to finally see all of the wreckage around him, the bike upended and now balanced on the road since he had taken the chance to move his legs, the scattered pizza box with what Callisto could only imagine was now mashed and broken contents, and the scratched up, bloody face of the cyclist. The evening was beginning to become a right mess.
Reaching into his trench coat pocket to pull out a small pack of tissues, Cal sighed at the ache in his muscles where he figured the bike must have collided with him, he wondered if he would look like a Holstein cow in the morning. He pulled a tissue out of the pack and touched it to the spot above his ear, feeling the sticky warmth soak it almost instantly, he knew head wounds bled pretty terribly so he wasn't too concerned, he relished the bitter throbbing his touch caused. Offering one to the stranger for his nose, Cal tried to keep himself from laying back on the ground and keep his shattered gaze on the others' face, "Did you injure yourself? I can call an ambulance for you if you need one."
YOU SHOW THE LIGHTS THAT STOP ME TURN TO STONE YOU SHINE IT WHEN I'M ALONE
Maybe he'd be lucky and be in the clear as far as these things went. Maybe the other wasn't injured and there was really no harm done outside of the well. The harm done to the pizza box and its contents. There was no hope of saving his job now, he thought. But it wasn't as though he couldn't save his poor job. ... although, the more he thought about it. The more hopeless the idea of his job being saved was in the first place. As if managing to not screw up one delivery would change anything at all. He would'a messed up sooner or later so really there was no harm done now, right? And there was still some that hadn't landed outside of the box, so he could very well eat that for dinner instead of cooking again! His stomach grumbled, growling in displeasure at the thought of eating such food again. It would have done him some good to eat something else every so often. Provided that he had the money for it in the first place.
His wallet only cried a little more at the sight of the other picking up the thin frames of his glasses, the lenses shattered or cracked in every which way. Definitely impossible to see through and definitely dangerous to wear. Glasses were kind of expensive, weren't they? The prescription and then the lenses were pretty pricy and depending on the frames that the other had purchased ... oh gosh golly, that was just asking for a world of hurt. A world of hurt for his poor bank account! But he couldn't very well ignore it and pretend like he hadn't broken them, right? And he knew, oh he knew, that he couldn't just leave the other to pay for them either when the situation was at his fault. Curse his mother for raising him right proper. Swallowing hard, Nicoli forced himself to smile. Trembling hand reaching back to retrieve his wallet from his pocket before opening it a bit slowly. He only had a hundred on him, but he knew there had to be at least another fifty or so in his account so if given the time maybe he could go get it for the other. "... l- let me pay for them ..." No, don't look him directly in the eyes or Callisto might have been unfortunate enough to see the tears welling up in the corners of honey hues and hesitate.
No tears, no tears. He was going to do the right thing. He was going to be strong! He could always, always get more money. If he left the other guy wandering around blind without his glasses, that was just begging for trouble. He was doing the right thing, he was doing the right thing!
It was not until the other had commented on the crimson residue running from his nose and from a few lacerations on his face from colliding so clumsily with the bushes. His knees were scraped in some places, but hardly anything that he couldn't handle. "Oh! Y- Yeah, I know. Er. Thanks, man." Reaching for the tissue, the teen paused to bunch up the tissue before promptly shoving it up his nose. In the very least, it'd get the nose bleed to stop. The rest of his face could wait until he was home - well, actually. He already was so there was no reason for him to rush in any case. "No, no!" Waving his hands in front of him as if in surrender, Nicoli could only offer a shake of his head in reply. What a nice guy. Offering to even call him an ambulance. Man, now he felt really bad for running the poor guy over with his bike. A timid, awkward smile crossed his lips as one hand dropped with his wallet in hand into his lap while the other went to rub at the back of his neck a bit nervously. "I'm fine, n- no worries. But should I call an ambulance for you? You alright, man? I hope I didn't hurt y' too bad. Although, I wish I could say the same for your glasses."
Watching the stranger - all scratched up and shaken - fumble with his wallet, Callisto couldn't help but feel utterly sympathetic. Clearly the guy wasn't having a great day. He reached out to rest his hand against the kid's wrist to stop him from offering any money.
"Hey, hey," he muttered, shaking his head and pulling his hand back "Don't worry about it, really, I have a pair of contacts on me at all times; which should tell you a little bit about how clumsy I can be. I don't need you to pay me anything."
Smiling gently through a wince, Cal stumbled a little but managed to stand up. "I'll be fine, probably just a little concussion, I actually feel a little dopey - in a good way." He tried to wink at the other boy, the bloody side of his face seeming to make the whole thing a little more traumatizing.
It might have seemed weird if Nicoli could pick up on it, but Cal was more than comfortable with varying levels of pain. The slight tremors of sharp pain drifting from the wound above his ear tread gentle pulses of pleasure into the pit of his gut, leaving him feeling warm and almost high with the sensations. It wasn't something Cal ever brought up, but it certainly made his life more interesting.
He wasn't so worried about his glasses either, they were just a cheap pair of cosmetic frames he'd bought online, something he could easily replace within a week without any real hassle. He was known for getting obliterated when drinking and starting fights just to get off, it was big eye-opener when he realised he'd lost/broken over ten pairs of glasses in two months. He probably should have started buying in bulk.
"Really," he spoke suddenly, clicking his tongue against his teeth a little before swallowing the slight blood appearing there "I think we've both fared a lot better than some.. But, uh, do you know somewhere I could clean this up though?" he gestured toward the splash of crimson across his face and crusting in his hair. Maybe he could repay the kid by cleaning up his own face, he looked miserable.
YOU SHOW THE LIGHTS THAT STOP ME TURN TO STONE YOU SHINE IT WHEN I'M ALONE
What a kind and virtuous soul this person was. Truly a gift from the heavens above and here he had done and gone and ran over the poor guy with his bike when - there was no doubt in his mind - the other had the practical patience of a saint. He knew for sure that he wouldn't have been nearly so forgiving. Especially considering that he had gone and managed to just about to break something that was theirs. Even if it wasn't pricey, it didn't change that he felt little more than an ounce of guilt. Flinching when the other touched his wrist, Nicoli gently tucked away the loose bills back into his wallets before a look of concern settled upon his features. Although, he was most certain that the other would not be able to see it in the first place. "Are you sure? Even if it's just one pair out of the many, I'd hate to have inconvenienced you ..."
Wait, huh? Dopey? ... maybe he was kind of strange. Well, those were the kinds of folks that people ran into at this time of night, he thought. Pocketing his wallet and moving to push himself up from the ground, it took him a moment longer before he had completely registered the other's question. A small pause for thought before he gently gestured in the direction of the apartment building beside them. The closest place he could think of was his apartment. It was on the third floor, but ... if the other was walking around here, maybe he lived in there too? Or maybe he was just visiting a friend or happened to be passing by? "We can go to my apartment, if you want? I mean it's right there and stuff, y'know?" Walking a little further away from the other to pick up the fallen food and to throw away what had already fallen out of the box, he took a moment to speak before picking up the box - and what was left of the pizza inside of it - and his bike.
"I mean, unless you think I'm creepy or something! I mean. I'm not creepy and you probably weren't thinking about that until I ... you know ... just said it ... but I'm not, I swear! Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye."
There was no reason for him to go back to the place now, he thought. The boss had said he was supposed to come back but the way things looked now, it wouldn't have done him or the other any good. He had probably figured out by now that Nick had no such intention of returning or any probable chance of making that delivery on time in the first place and had sent another to go do his job. So much for that. Oh well. Just meant he could go look into other vocations, he supposed. Maybe this guy could hook him up with one? ... nah. Probably not. He was kind of weird. Kinda. "It's like, three floors up. But I mean. Y'know." A pause. "... I mean, unless you live here too and I just never saw y'? Whichever's more convenient, y'know. Like, if you got a concussion or something then we should probably go to yours if it's a lower floor. Although, I guess if you had a concussion you wouldn't be awake ..."
