unpocoloco: (Soft Laugh)
Héctor ([personal profile] unpocoloco) wrote in [community profile] daybreakacademy2019-02-13 09:59 am

Here in the dark, in these final hours, I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power

WHO: Héctor, OTA Catch All
WHERE: Around the school
WHEN: Various times after the 9th and/or the Valentines dance
WHAT: Various opens in the late evening
WARNINGS: Standard spoilers

You can't turn around a bad day, week, month, year, decade... you can't turn any of that without trying first. And so, once the monster's beaten back, his lost arm is returned, and the dance wraps up, so begins his annual rejuvenation. It's his return to the grind, starting every January (late this year but, well, he's doing his best), when he goes back to the drawing board and renews his plans-- only this time, not just for his return home. He's got a few things in mind this year, and isn't that exciting in and of itself?

A - OTA

With his arm back in place and whole again (gone for that week of the 2nd to the 9th and leaving him looking more like a zombie to people than he'd ever let himself before), he can actually get back to repairing the other one who took some hits this past while.

Rather than steal from the shop class, this time Héctor has decided to break in. Which, considering how much they let him use this place for doing repairs around the school, it isn't really breaking in is it? He doesn't think so. And so, upon a work table, in the dead of night, he's lain out a broken guitar. He's got nails and tools, bits of wood and scrap metal, anything he thought he could need for trying to repair the old thing. The guitar's not going to sound good when he's done, but it'll be something.

Despite everything, he's not quite ready to give up on music yet. In fact, he takes to humming a little as he works, breaking into soft song only to quiet again into humming as he hammers and cuts and sands away at the guitar. Until he hears footsteps and abruptly stops, that is.

B - Aube

Not every night can be spent on fixing the guitar. He's still got occasional evening classes to TA for, things to mark, essays to read. On those nights, he settles in the Aube common room, quietly working this time.

Being nocturnal as he is means bad news for any kids sneaking out of the dorm late in the night. "Ah, ah!" He says to any looking a little too ready to go, eyes lifting from his work to them and brows lifting higher. "Did you text Bee for this little excursion?"

C - Aube

Of course, not every child getting up in the night is looking for rowdy adventure. He knows all too well by now that some of these kids have had more adventure than they ever asked or bargained for. Those quiet wanderers, or ones who settle in corners, they're no less apt to get his attention.

He gives them their moment of space and quiet. Just a moment. Then, trying not to scare or disturb them, he walks over, placing a hand to the back of any given chair and tilting his head down at them.

"Hey," He says, soft as he can. "You okay? Can't sleep?"

D - OTA

In the early mornings, for any early risers who seek him (and not one of the smarter or more experienced of adults in this place) he's of course there to tutor those who need it. He may not always know what he's doing with magic but he can work out a lesson and, more than that, he can work with kids.

He draws another example upon paper when he can't simply show it, and he presents it, explaining each piece and part. "Do you understand?" He asks.

Perhaps you're the one he's tutoring. Or, perhaps, you're catching him just as the last kid wanders off and he's gathering up the books and papers, time soon running out with the coming dawn. But he might have time for one more.

E - OTA

He doesn't know the first thing about this, any of this. He keeps telling himself he's not a fighter, but more and more he's coming to realize he might need to be. It's not just about him anymore.

That evening he finds himself in one of the training areas. The bow he takes up is tall and heavy, heavier than a guitar. He's got the dexterity for that and the experiencing of firing... his arm. But it's not the same and he hasn't entirely got the strength built in him for using this thing. He's not sure if he can build the strength or if what he's got is as good as it's going to get. But he can't see himself yet using anything else.

So, there he is in the range, practicing. His shots mostly miss but every now and again he gets somewhere and he's encouraged to go farther. He gives a little laugh of victory and surprise in these moments. Hopefully he's not interrupting anything.

Of course in all his focus, anyone interrupting him is almost certain to make him jump and yelp and send and arrow flying far off target.

F - OTA

At some point before the library's closing for the night, he's managed to surround himself so thoroughly in books that he's built something of a wall around himself. His hand is half tangled in his hair and his brow is knit with concentration, pencil tapping absentmindedly in his other hand as he reads. The books seem to be all about defensive and offensive runes and spells.

"Wait, what?" He straightens up, flipping pages back, and then to his current page, comparing them. "That doesn't make sense, how can you-- what?"

G -[Closed to Orihime]

"Orihime?"

The call comes with a knock. Finally, at long last, he can repay this girl. He's ready at her door, smiling in his newly repaired clothing and holding a bag of tools and materials (nabbed from the shop class as usual).

As the door opens he laughs and say, "Repair service! Is now a good time?"

H - St. Valentine's eve - [Closed to close CR and/or those who ask first]

He's only been here so long, only saved up so much and a lot of it goes towards his hopeful plans. But for this, he can spare a small expense.

The shopkeeper had eyed him curiously, as exhausted and nervous as he'd appeared to be that morning of the thirteenth, pushing the limits of his magic into the day. He knows, in some sense, that he shouldn't. He really, really shouldn't.

But it's the first time in ten years he could do anything and... well, she deserves something. After ten years she deserves so much and a simple carnation or rose just isn't cutting it. Even this doesn't quite but... he can't push more, because even with this, the best gift he could give is his distance.

The note simply reads "for Imelda Rivera" in fancy calligraphic script. He presses the tiny card to his lips then places it back into the bouquet. It's a bright one, colorful, with full, giant blooms. There's soft pinks and bright ones, oranges and reds and blues, greenery, and vivid purples-- her favorite. It'll remind her of home, he's sure.

Off he goes into the night, bringing his delivery to the Lumiere dorms. He just needs to leave it at her door and go. So far so good. He won't get to see her reaction like this, but that's fine. She doesn't need to be happy with him, he just needs her to be happy. That's what he tells himself as he slowly and quietly works his way back, turns the corner-- and freezes, a deer in headlights as the second worst thing that could happen here, does.

I - Other, Make your own
spelleton: consumed by the earth (☀ set forth a soldier)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-15 01:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"No, no. You'll be pleased to hear, it's none of that," Ekkehardt says, like he wasn't specifically leaving Héctor hanging because he's just like this, all the time. You have made friends (??) with someone with a very bad sense of humor.

"I was just thinking - if you have the time to spare, we could go out and have a drink together." Why couldn't he have led with that? It's a mystery. "Or something else, if you don't drink. Think of it as paying me back for all the infirmary visits, if that puts you more at ease."

To be honest, he doesn't like people feeling indebted to him for simply doing his job. It's not something he expects or demands; he's a servant at heart, and thus he feels a kind of subtle discomfort at the idea of anyone owing him anything he didn't specifically initiate himself.
spelleton: (☀ free reign for those between the veil)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-15 02:53 pm (UTC)(link)
If Ekkehardt is bothered by the rambling, he doesn't show it at all.

"I am capable of drinking, as it turns out," he replies, sounding more amused than anything else.

Héctor's had a bad month and he is, if nothing else, capable of picking up on that. Stress relief is important.

"Now would be a good time, yes. If you have nothing urgent to attend to. I'll wait for you to get your affairs in order first, naturally." He pauses, clearly thinking for a moment.

"Where shall I meet you, then?" What's convenient.
Edited (MISSED A DOT) 2019-02-15 14:58 (UTC)
spelleton: (☀ our idolized sun has burned out)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-16 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
He doesn't doubt it at all, on his part, so he just waits for Héctor to show up. In some ways, it's a little more comforting than hanging about outside the dorms, which he does all the time.

(Héctor, all things considered, is probably a much better person than him in some ways. He's a nice person, he tries his best. He's sentimental about people.

Ekkehardt wouldn't describe himself as any of those things, except perhaps 'tries his best'.)

"Well then. Shall we? I was planning to go to Soleil, but I'm open to other suggestions." He was planning on just walking down to the town - it's about half a mile - but he can understand if the other man might not be in the mood for a walk.
spelleton: off the end (☀ with warmth to stave)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-16 01:31 pm (UTC)(link)
There's the impression that if you could see an eyebrow raise from under the mask, he'd be giving Héctor one.

"It's good to hear you're making friends," is all he says, though. He doesn't ask who or what or why, which is another thing about him that makes him easy to get along with.

He waves a hand at the other man's question.

"Oh, no worse than usual. Hieke's feeling a little overwhelmed, but we'll get through it. It's calmed down somewhat."

He notices the jumpiness, but, again...carefully ignores it. The way the light in his mask's eyesockets flicker suggests he's looking, but again - he won't ask unless Héctor is willing to tell.
spelleton: (☀ our idolized sun has burned out)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-16 03:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"No need to apologise," Ekkehardt replies. Another little wave of his hand. "It's understandable, especially if you're not used to this sort of thing."

He's always composed, even in the face of trouble or danger. Maybe it says something about him, or maybe not. That's left up to interpretation.

"He's doing his best. It's certainly a different atmosphere, out there." And he sounds like he's speaking from experience, here.
Edited 2019-02-16 15:33 (UTC)
spelleton: reign the living with fright (☀ to let the masked)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-16 04:21 pm (UTC)(link)
"People take to it differently, being here. It's quite a change of atmosphere." As if to prove a point, he lifts his head a little as a stray gust of wind blows past, taking a completely unnecessary breath. It's not a calculated movement; it's more like an echo of life.

"It's where my home is," he answers, after a moment's pause. "In truth, I've spent much more time in the outlands than out of it - so it's still a bit odd, being here."

He doesn't mind showing his hand on that, at least. Earth is so different. He'd almost forgotten what it was like, before coming here. It's only because he's been here three years already that he's not more unsettled, not more homesick.
Edited 2019-02-16 16:24 (UTC)
spelleton: (☀ our idolized sun has burned out)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-17 06:58 am (UTC)(link)
Touch is a sense that made it over perfectly intact, unlike his sense of taste. Even though he doesn't need to breathe and gains no biological sense of relief from pulling in air, the gesture and the feeling of the wind is...it's nice.

"The family I serve moved there, in order to turn their magical power to what they felt was a better cause. They abandoned their living quarters on Earth after a civil war between several mage families." He sort of shrugs, a little. "Thus, it has been my home for much of my life."

There's a few gaps in that explanation, but it's less that he's deliberately withholding the information and more that he just doesn't really consider it important or relevant. Things are what they are. He doesn't feel the need to mention the more personal parts.
spelleton: (☀ to this lone wolf afraid)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-17 12:40 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's very well protected, yes. It's not bad, either. People can't attack you without finding you first." His voice is casual, as if he's talking about an everyday routine...and, well, for him, it might as well have been. "I assume you weren't nearly as fortunate, though. It sounds like you had a much harder life."

And then the other man continues, and he pauses.

"Do I, now?" He seems surprised, as much as Ekkehardt shows surprise (mildly, like most other things). "Well, I'll have to take your word for it."

(He pays attention to his image, what people are most likely to think of him, so it's not nearly as unexpected as he pretends it is. But it's still interesting to hear what people see in him; he has little interest in self-reflecting in that particular way.)
spelleton: consumed by the earth (☀ set forth a soldier)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-17 02:10 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm flattered you think so highly of me," he replies, with a slight smile, and to an extent...he really is. That part, at least, is rooted in truth. Héctor is far, far more honest than he is, more open - he respects that, even if it's not for him.

Ah, and now there's the other parts. Ekkehardt listens quietly, without interrupting, before he speaks again.

It's not an unfamiliar thing, that numbing, that getting used to loss. If he broke his heart over every patient that slipped away, he wouldn't make a very good medic, or a good surgeon. It was a kind of professional care, a distance that came easily to him.

But that's not quite what Héctor is saying, is it? And maybe he understands that too, a little. That tired, grim reality of knowing that the people you were used to seeing every day might not be there the next day, or the next, depending on what happened.

"It's fine," he says, at last. "It's nothing to apologise for, being so attached. Wanting things to be better for the people you care about.

Even if the situation is terrible, it's still what you have to live with. So...you cope. And if you lose familiar faces, then it becomes...normal, even if it shouldn't be, because there's nothing to be done about it."

His tone is odd. Keeping people at arm's length, a polite and unmemorable distance, is where he thrives - but he feels he at least owes it to Héctor to be honest about some things. They're both dead, after all, and that counts for something.

He -- shrugs, a sort of odd tension apparent in the set of his shoulders. "It's understandable."

After a short pause, he laughs, and it's strange and soft and short. "And we haven't even gotten to the drinking yet. You're right - we probably should, soon."

At least Soleil is within sight. It's not that long a walk, in the end. Conversation has made it pass much more quickly.
spelleton: reign the living with fright (☀ to let the masked)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-19 10:28 am (UTC)(link)
It's odd only because it's not usually something he talks about - not to someone who's a relative stranger, at least. He's...more reserved, usually.

But he's gotten attached, a little. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"Well, I suppose we're more qualified to talk about it than anyone else," Ekkehardt says, in a rare moment of what qualifies as levity from him. "But you're correct. Most people don't appreciate that sort of thing."

"At least, not while they're still mostly sober," he amends, after a moment.

Again, there's some surprise there - not calculated, this time. A shift of expression that suggests what are you thanking me for?

It lasts only a moment, though, before he tucks his hands in his pockets and looks around as they walk into Soleil proper.

"Well," he says, after a moment. "Would you like to pick the location, or should I? I'm flexible."
spelleton: (☀ free reign for those between the veil)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-20 01:27 pm (UTC)(link)
The ability to keep his distance from people, to let them know only what was safe or relevant for them to know and to let them form their own impressions otherwise that he could control - it was something honed and cultivated to a fine edge, as much a skill and weapon as the actual weapons he kept on his person.

He trusts very few people. He can't exactly say that he trusts Héctor, necessarily, not the way other people would define it. But there's a connection there that isn't something he extends to most.

He laughs, livelier this time, hands and arms flicking outwards in a showman's flourish. "You'd think they'd be more spirited about it, but apparently not! Such a shame."

And- well, if it's what Ekkehardt finds fun, then Héctor is certainly in luck as far as finances go. "Well, since you insist on paying, then there's the tavern. I'm sure you've seen it, that one tucked away in a corner of town?"

He smiles, a little more sharply amused than the softer expressions of before. "I go drinking there, sometimes. It's entertaining to see who comes in. And, of course, it's cheap."

He goes there for the people-watching, not the drinks, but really, it goes hand in hand. Not having a drink makes you stand out in a place where it's all about drinking, so he does so.
spelleton: off the end (☀ with warmth to stave)

[personal profile] spelleton 2019-02-26 11:40 am (UTC)(link)
"Then that promises to be a new experience. I'm not most people's favourite." Whether he's joking with a straight face or actually being honest is impossible to tell, but either way, he seems fine with it.

People were interesting to watch; it's why he frequents this place so much. Far more interesting, he'd say, than he is himself. For all his various eccentricities, his hobbies are quiet and so is he; he strives to cultivate an air of forgettable unimportance.

"Since you're doing me the honor of buying, I feel it's only right to let you pick," Ekkehardt replies, casting a proprietary eye over the surroundings. "I prefer the bar, myself, but I'll go with what you like."

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