« Prev 1 2 Next » Reply Share Thread Facebook Twitter Tumblr LinkedIn MySpace Email Go to Previous Thread Next Thread Please make a selection first Author Topic: Dark and Light (Savaak) (Read 698 times) Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 16:38:07 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Aaron had arrived back at Paradigm from his adventures against Rath in a haze, shaking with memories of pain and fear and anger and helplessness and power beyond anything he thought possible. And shame. He'd "lived". He'd not been able to help his friends despite being RIGHT THERE. AGAIN. Leif had obviously needed her space, so she's not top of the list, but after taking a moment to calm down, to come back to reality, to shake off the nightmares and the phantom sensation of blood running down his front and back and the memory of violence, he decided he has to see everyone. Make sure they're okay. Especially with the war looming. First, Savaak, his "counterpart" in some ways. Mostly because he'd had no idea what happened to her. He's looking for her right now, but a bit aimlessly, because he doesn't know where she hangs out! Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 16:50:43 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top It will take Aaron some time to find Savaak, as she wasn't on campus when he started looking! She'd taken time to herself after her moment of glory and demise. The normally upbeat blonde was walking through the gates, letting out a small thoughtful hum as they shut behind her. There's a Starbucks cup in one hand, but it's actually her second cup. She's not sure how well she'll sleep tonight. Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 16:57:30 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Starbucks is still around? Wow, talk about a strong brand. Aaron's aimless wandering eventually takes him to the gate, where he sees Savaak! She might or might not see him before the other way around. However, on seeing her, he freezes for a second. What to say? "Was that real for you too"? Ugh, phrasing. "I'm glad you're not dead"? "Do you have any idea what the fuck just happened"? Eventually, he takes a few steps towards her, feet crunching in the grass - hey, he remembers the grass saying this doesn't hurt - and waving in her direction. "Savaak?" Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 17:17:26 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Caffeine is a way of life. There is no time stamp on it. "Hmm?" Savaak looks up at the sound of her name, having been too distracted by her own thoughts. There were a lot of those lately, and not good ones. She'd lost control of herself, which was unacceptable, and yet the sensation of endless power and possibility had been more thrilling than Aaron's LSD trip. Speaking of which. "Hello, Aaron." Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 17:24:26 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top "Hey." Aaron would agree. The trip, that was... it was something. But the rush of power, surging through his veins, coming to his fingertips, begging to be used to save everyone. That little taste he got, right before they were sent back to the present or... whatever happened. That blew Leif's LSD pills out of the water. Even that small taste has him a little addicted. Even though he knows about Rath, and why this stuff is best not tangled with. He needs to feel that power again, on some level. "You, um. You okay?" That's what's important. That's why he wants that power - so everybody will be okay. Always. So he can carry the world. So if he so chose he could wipe Kharne and his ilk off the face of the Earth with a wave of his hand. He's not certain people, who just want to sit around, being powerful, getting everything handed to them, being flocked to and treated like he shits gold. Power is meant to be used, to make the world better for everyone. « Last Edit: Feb 23, 2016 4:16:31 GMT -6 by Aaron Silverman » Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 17:55:02 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top There's a few seconds of silence before Savaak offers him the closest thing she can get to her normal smile. "Always." She nods, shifting her weight to the other foot for a moment. She wasn't, of course. What had happened had been amazing and horrifying at the same time. The shock when she saw her power amplified the first time, the incredible high that came with knowing you're the best - untouchable. The anger that came with everything, even at herself. Thinking about it brings a frown to her face, but she shakes it off a moment later. She wanted that power again, that feeling, but not at the cost of losing control of herself. She remembered her laugh as she started tearing the building down around her, hunting for the strange creature above and the mystery woman who had curled up in a ball, sobbing as the man who had chased after her vanished. "You?" Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 18:13:13 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top "I'm fine. I'm more worried about you guys." Not fine, but his problems aren't problems. He "lived". Well, they all had, but... he knew what he meant. He hadn't had his spine break in half, he hadn't had a monster try to eat him alive (well, he did, but...), he hadn't had whatever happened to Savaak happen. He was fine. So he's not going to bother her with his problems, how the terror had set in, how he flashed back to every nightmare, every story Dad told of the fighting, every visit he's paid to the memorial, how he remembered what it felt like to have his blood on fire, how he would do anything for another taste of that phenomenal power. How with that power he could finally, FINALLY, actually be a hero. Finally be worth something. Still, he's not totally inept, he can see how the smile looks a bit forced, how her tone says "all right" might not be exactly true. Were any of them after that?  "I kind of lost track of you in all that. Thought I'd check on you." He's not entirely sure any of that was real, but it felt so real it essentially was. Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 19:08:52 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top "I'm perfectly fine for someone who was broiled alive from the inside." Her smile brightens! Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 19:18:56 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Aaron cringes a little, in sympathy, knowing the same might have been about to happen to him, and also because holy shit that sounds painful. "I'm so sorry." It's sincere! If he'd followed her, if he'd been with her... But then Leif and Fred would've been hurt anyway. Why couldn't he have the power to be in multiple places at once? Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 19:31:51 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top You better believe it was. "For what?" She looks at him with interest now, the smile no longer painfully bright. "For doing your job?" Whatever that was. She had been alone at the time after he attacked the bird. "You did what you thought what you needed to do. We all did." The woman who curled up in a ball sobbing comes to mind and her voice softens. "Besides, there were others who suffered." Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 19:44:31 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top "That that happened to you. That I couldn't stop it. That the others got hurt too." That when Rath actually attacked the city, he'd been a baby, and Mom had been visiting his grandparents with him while on maternity leave. So he couldn't fight, couldn't save people. That technically, he feels like he "killed" Leif. She'd tried to kill him but that wasn't her fault. Unless some of those people from what happened earlier were retroactively saved? Unless they all hallucinated the entire thing. Seriously, trying to figure out what that was is giving him a headache, and all he knows is the pain and the fear and the way that power felt as it filled him were very real. "What happened, if I can ask? I was keeping the birds away from people and next I knew you're gone." Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 20:23:53 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top "There was nothing for you to stop." That had been her job, and she'd done it. And there was still a mess afterward. "If you think you're going to magically be able to fix every mess that comes along, you're going to get yourself or someone else hurt. You did your best. Whether or not that was enough is between you and whoever you were with." Leaving Savaak with only herself. She pauses to process his question, sipping at the frozen coffee for a moment. "I vaporized one of the birds and continued following a man I saw running towards destruction instead of away from it. He wound up fighting something in a building that I started destroying." More frowning. It made her spine feel like it was itchy as she thought about it. "I killed it and died because apparently I couldn't tell if I was soaring or stumbling. When I came to, the man was gone, and so was the creature, but there was a woman who acted as though her heart had shattered." She takes another sip, wishing it were something stronger, the sobs burrowing deeper into her memory. "I assume you had something different." Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 20:41:40 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top With that power that was in his blood, he could prove Savaak wrong. He could fix every mess. He would. No more suffering, no more dying. Evil would fear the dark, because Aaron Silverman would be there, watching.  He doesn't say any of that, though. It's an argument he's had before and he's sick of having. His only worth is in protecting other people, using his power for good, helping everyone with or without his ability, and he's tired of defending that. All telling people his issues had done was allow them to stab him right in the back and laugh over his bleeding metaphorical corpse. What's the alternative, really? Not caring? Of course he's going to care. He's never not going to care. If it were even remotely physically possible he would be doing this hero thing 24/7, either his job with Paradigm or out in the city doing good. Instead of voicing these thoughts, he listens to her story, frowning, looking sympathetic because he is sympathetic. He'd hug her if that wouldn't be weird, she looks like she needs it, and he unconsciously takes a gentle step closer just to provide her with a little comforting presence. It's a short story, but a painful one, and next to it his own tale doesn't even feel worth telling. "Yeah, pretty different," he says, in a tone that implies "get to that in a minute" or something similar. "What happened with the woman? Did you get to talk to her?" Maybe she and that monster Savaak fought had something to do with what happened. Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 21:12:37 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top "A little, yes." Savaak nods. She'd just come back from talking with her. "Apparently she didn't know who anyone in her building was when we returned. A lot of things were off to her or seemed aged." Like her hsuband, but Savaak doesn't feel like sharing that part. Not thinking of Greg made her thinking about him, of course. He'd rushed in to save the woman he loved; you could hear it in the desperation and ache of his voice when he mentioned needing to find her. And somehow, he was gone, and now the woman was here. Alone. Did she have something to do with it? Savaak hoped not. She'd been trying to help, angry power trip or not. Or at least, she thought she had been. Whether you were in Europe or the States or anywhere else, something was always happening. Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 21:22:54 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Always. "There's going to be billions of things you can't do anything about. You do what you can." He understood those words at the time. He just isn't sure he cares. Because again, what's the alternative? If the metas of the world united they could probably solve every problem on Earth, and what the hell is wrong with wanting everyone to be happy and safe? "Aged how? I mean, if you still want to talk about it." Since she looks like it bothers her quite a bit. He'd come here to make sure she's okay, to comfort if necessary. Not to put salt on the wounds. She did more good than he did. Everyone does more good than he does. Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 21:26:32 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top She's not sure how much she wants to divulge in teh matter. Lisa had taken it as best she could, but it was a lot to process for anyone. She doesn't seem bothered by the close proximity. "Like a phone that was twenty years old. Or not recognizing other tenanents in the building to the point she panicked." Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 21:33:56 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Aaron stays close then, but doesn't get closer unless she indicates wanting him to. He doesn't want to be creepy. Also, he's busy mulling over what she said, and what it implies. A phone almost twenty years old, seeing the people who live with her as complete strangers... "...Stop me if this sounds crazy, but you don't think we travelled back in time, do you? I mean, wouldn't be the first time something like that happened, and it'd explain how everything was fine when everyone woke up." But then why are Savaak, Leif and Fred alive now. Why isn't he rotting from the inside. Why doesn't he have that power? Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 21:39:38 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top "Maybe." Savaak straightens her head with a tired sigh. "I don't know. Some things may have changed before we came back, but I don't know what started it or what it was for. Yet." Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 21:43:07 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top It does sound crazy, but Aaron's seen crazy stuff, he's travelled in time himself, he's heard about the crazy things that happened to the previous generation. A weird localised time travel event somehow sounds plausible considering everything else that has happened in the last twenty years. When the hell did the world turn into a real live comic book, anyway? "It's a lot to digest, I imagine it's going to take a while before we figure that out," he offers, putting as much supportive light into his words as he can. He's good at ignoring his own feelings in favour of concern for others, at least. "You want any help figuring things out?" Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 21:46:03 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Well Aaron, a long time ago, there was this thing called MAPP serum... "Yes, it is, but I'll figure it out." She offers him a small smile. "That's what intel agents are for, right?" Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 21:50:45 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top His parents were two of the first ever agents. His internal monologue question was rhetorical. Still, he smiles back, a little weaker than Savaak's own but at least glad she seems to be better, a bit anyway. "Guess so, but you don't have to take it on alone. Any time you want backup, just ask." Sure, they have the war to worry about, but he still wants to help. For that woman's sake, for his friends' sakes, for the sake of whatever caused that time distortion. If that's what happened. ...Yeup, still getting a headache thinking about what went down. Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 21:55:13 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top For a moment, her smile warms to its usual self as she nods. "Oh, I know. I mean, I have the Captain and the whole Squad, for starters." Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 21:59:14 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Aaron. Aaron, don't do it. Don't get mad at the mention. Don't show it. "Guess so." He manages a bit of warmth, but it's tense, mostly only existing because he's glad to see her spirits lifting at all. "Though to tell you the truth, I haven't heard much from most of them." Worryingly little, in fact. He hadn't seen much of Bianca since they all came back from Belarus, for example. Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... Savaak Puckett Mentor Intelligence Bundle of sunshine [send pm] Joined: November 2015 Gender: Posts: 1,081 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 22:03:36 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top She notices the shift in his demeanor, but figures it's the lack of communication between him and the other members. He'd been hesitant about it, before. It seems personal enough if he's not talking about it, and Savaak's too tired to care or press if he doesn't come out with it. "Some of them seem to have pulled back," she agrees with a small nod. "I imagine they're around somewhere, though." Back to Top   Aaron Silverman Legend Defense ... [send pm] Joined: November 2014 Posts: 3,701 Dark and Light (Savaak) « Feb 19, 2016 22:10:03 GMT -6 » Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top "Yeah. I'm just worried about 'em, you know?" He doesn't want to get into the fact he'd offered his help, and she'd essentially gone "I can go to Eric to fix all this" in response. Or that he'd quit the "squad" and didn't know if she knew that, so it felt like a refusal in a way. Because that doesn't make sense and he doesn't want to throw it in her face when so much has happened. Because why would he immediately spill that? Because how was she to know that's how it sounded to him? Because he would cut off his right arm for ten minutes with that power. Also he always had thought the squad thing was a bit dumb. Possibly outright creepy, as he'd said right to Eric's face. "End of the day, though, we're Paradigm. The good guys. That means we'll find what's wrong and make it right in the end - I have to believe that." « Last Edit: Feb 19, 2016 22:10:55 GMT -6 by Aaron Silverman » Back to Top   Some things are worth fighting for, some feelings never die... 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