(no subject)

[infamousdelsin]

He hates this place. He hates that he can't leave. He hates that he can't get to the Akomish. It's the first time since Augustine hit them with her concrete power that he's actually felt helpless, and it's a terrible feeling.

He paces his new apartment tensely for a long moment before he swears and runs out the window. He climbs up the side of the building, then hits the roof. There's a neon sign not too far away. Maybe if he drains it, he can try to beat the city's weird Mobius effect. With neon, he can run at the speed of light, right? So maybe he can beat this.

He makes his way to it, heart kicking up in excitement. He can do this. He can do this.

He reaches the sign, holds his hands out—

And stumbles back with a gasp. His hands feel burned, and even as he looks, he can see the red marks start to fade. He pants softly and looks at the sign.

"What the hell!?" he demands. "No. No, no, no, no, this can't be happening." He reaches for the sign again, and lets out a pained sound. He curses and walks in a tense circle as he shakes out his arms.

He's lost neon. How? He hasn't gained a new power, not since concrete . . .

Delsin feels his stomach sink, and he looks around. There are no DUP nearby to drain it from. But he needs to know. If he's lost that, too, then he really is screwed. Because without concrete, the Akomish are going to die. And everything, all of it, even losing Reggie . . . it would have been for nothing.

Delsin shakes his head and he runs for the edge of the building. He needs a TV. If he can drain video, maybe he's still got a chance. He leaps off the edge of the building and lands on the sidewalk beneath it. He gets a few odd looks from the locals, but he ignores them: he's on a mission.

[[ Set to pre-bees, shortly after Delsin arrives in Darrow. He's just discovered that he lost one, possibly three of his Conduit powers and it's freaking him out. He's not on a rampage, but he's definitely on the verge of panic and will need to be calmed down. ST/LT welcome! Closed to top-levels ]]

Comments

[breakthroughs]

"No, I think I do understand. I understand using power to save a tribe. To save your people. And I know what it's like to have people's lives hang in the balance when you falter; to have one misstep mean the deaths of many comrades. Don't let the age fool you. I've been there," Shikamaru says, finding his lighter and flicking it, flames licking at the air.

"But panicking isn't the solution. Now that you've lost your power, you need to figure out how to get it back. Or how to replace it with something else that will work just as well. Which won't necessarily be quick or easy, unfortunately."

[infamousdelsin]

"Nothing else will work," he insists, feeling tense and despairing. "And the only way to get the power back is to get it from Augustine." He holds his hands out to the sides, indicating the city at large. "Who didn't happen to follow me through." He shakes his head, pacing restlessly. "Not that it even matters, because apparently I'm not getting out of this fucking city, anyway!"

[breakthroughs]

"You'll get out at some point," Shikamaru says, raising a brow and slipping a hand into his pocket, keeping his countenance casual and relaxed. It might not help the man much, but Shikamaru doesn't see the point in stirring the pot when his companion is already agitated. "Will it be tomorrow? Probably not. And will you have a say when you do? Maybe not, either. But the chance of leaving is pretty high. I've been keeping tabs on outsiders in this city for a while, and most people leave before they hit two years in the city. About a third of the people who've arrived have already left."

[infamousdelsin]

Delsin shakes his head. "I don't know if that's better," he says. Shikamaru's quiet calm is penetrating, and Delsin's a little frustrated by it, but somewhere in the back of his mind, where a little voice that sounds like Reggie reminds him when things are bad ideas, Delsin knows that this is better. "I don't know if my tribe has two years." Augustine hadn't gotten to all of them, but Betty, and several others, would die if Delsin didn't use Augustine's concrete power to take the shards out.

And if he can't get back in time, Delsin isn't sure he'll be able to handle the knowledge that everything that happened in Seattle — losing Reggie — was for nothing.

[breakthroughs]

It's easy for Shikamaru's thoughts to immediately turn to Sasuke, the only one left of his clan, who had ventured on a lifelong path of revenge to try and get back at those responsible for wiping out his family. Delsin doesn't seem like he's half as bitter as Sasuke was, but Shikamaru doesn't want to know what Delsin might look like if he really does return to a world without his tribe.

"I hope that they do. If nothing else, you're alive and well. It might sound harsh, but even knowing that one person still remains is a ray of hope all its own," Shikamaru points out.

"But for the sake of you and yours, I'll certainly keep trying to learn about this city, and see if there are any exits to be found."

[infamousdelsin]

He swallows, forcing himself to relax a little more. When Shikamaru speaks, he nods. "You'd do that?" He swallows again. "Thanks, Man." They barely know each other, and this guy is just . . . offering to help him out. Even if he doesn't follow through, that seems like kind of a big deal.