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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Sept 3, 2022 12:06:03 GMT -5
The sun was setting over the horizon, the last remnants of sunlight clinging desperately to anything it could reach, the shadows encroaching more with each massing minute. Atop one of the many city buildings sat Lazarus, having just clocked out for the day, found a nice rooftop to watch the blazing ball of gas. It was an odd thing to do, almost ritualistic at this point, but it was something he found himself doing almost every day when he had the time too. There was something about the slow descent that soothed him, perhaps it was the darkness that wanted to consume all around it, or maybe it was the quiet that followed not long after, whatever the case he found himself here again.
It had been a little while since his last run in with the arrancar known as Nezuel, though he wasn't on the same rooftop that they had first met on. Of all the people he's met, Nezuel was one of the more constant ones, at least in recent times, though the shenanigan's that followed weren't always fun. The thought lurked in the back of his mind as the sun dipped under the horizon, the final dregs of light fading with the falling star. He spoke aloud to himself, more so adding a goal than stating a fact, sad as it was.
"I should start looking into making more friends, I've got too much free time on my hands..."
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Post by gran on Sept 3, 2022 15:39:38 GMT -5
Nezuel had told him to go out and explore the human world while Gran waited for his next orders. He kept to the shadows created by the setting sun, hiding from those who would deem him a threat--at least, that was the reason that Gran gave himself for avoiding the people around him. Eventually, though, he had had enough with the cramped city streets and decided to climb onto the rooftops, seraching for a place to sit in the quieter skies.
His eyes landed on the man sitting on one of the rooftops near him and he smirked. Someone else had the same idea as him? Well, maybe he might like some company. If he didn't, Gran would gladly drive them away anyway--he liked being alone, too.
Gran made his way to the rooftop the man was sitting on and snuck up behind him, hearing the words he said and replying back--
"Oh? Friends? Too much free time? Sounds fun, let me join you.~"
Gran sat down next to the stranger, a sly smile apperaing on his face as he laid a hand right next to the man's leg for support. He didn't want to fall off, after all--someone falling off a building may cause too much of a stir and Gran hated being caught up in all of the chaos of something like that.
"So..what's your name?"
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Sept 3, 2022 20:20:07 GMT -5
If this had been his first time having an Arrancar interject into his alone time he might have hopped in startled exaggeration, though it wasn't the first time, and it was honestly better than sitting alone at the moment. Amber eyes scanned the person now sitting beside him, a single raised brow was all the response he gave for a handful of seconds, however the silence would break as his lips parted to speak.
"Lazarus Jeager, pleased to make your acquaintance. Though for future reference it's bad manners to ask someone's name without introducing yourself first. Care to give a name in return for mine?"
A hand came up to unbutton the single button holding his suit jacket closed, having just come out of work he was still in said work attire, the black suit giving off either a business man or government agent look depending on how one viewed it. There were no watches on either wrist, though the sound of something small and metallic rattled as he let his hand rest at his side again, perhaps a chain of sorts. One leg came up to rest on the other, one of his elbows resting on the upper knee, chin perched comfortably in his hand as he turned his head to listen to the hollow.
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Post by gran on Sept 14, 2022 19:50:05 GMT -5
The sly smile on Gran's face fell for a second, part of Laz's name ringing a bell.
Nezuel.
His eyes seemed to glaze over for a second and his jaw almost fell slack, but the feelings stopped as soon as they came. Gran shook his head violently to dispel himself, and it seemed to work as he glanced back over at the man next to him.
"I don't have many friends either. Aside from Milo and Nezuel, no one else knows me that well--maybe that's an advantage, hehe."
Gran smiled at Laz, a toothy smile that suggested something else lay beneath why he didn't have many friends. Something Gran chose to keep hidden and would have to be pried from the locket that was his mind. Here wouldn't be the best place, though...especially when Gran remembered a small part of his human thoughts. He remembered it out of nowhere--
Didn't I...didn't I want love? Want help?
Gran gritted his teeth and grunted, sighing internally at the bad timing of the thought. He couldn't share it with Laz, but could he..? He inhaled and voiced the question rising in his throat.
"Did you...die here, too?" Gran regretted voicing that question the instant it came out of his mouth.
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Sept 15, 2022 14:53:31 GMT -5
There would be a small pause of silence as Lazarus processed what the other had said, a brow raised and smile falling for a moment as he turned his head to and from to look about the area. While he wasn't sure how closely hollows or arrancar interacted outside of their realm, it made sense they would come to know one another. His mind started to build a kind of social chart for hollows, with Nezuel being at the center of it as that was the first one he had met and not had to fight outright.
"I thought hollows and shinigami often forgot their previous lives, to answer your question no, I haven't died here. I'm very much alive at the moment, though I doubt I'd come back as anything worth while if I did kick the bucket."
Lazarus raised his arm as if that alone would be proof that he was alive, then again he wasn't sure if there was some way of knowing outside of just trusting his word. Clearly Nezuel had been busy making friends, this Milo person was news to him, so was this one before him, who still hadn't given their name, he'd wait to see.
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Post by gran on Sept 16, 2022 17:30:10 GMT -5
"Ah, so you haven't experienced the feeling of death, the utter feeling of being so alone echoing in your soul--"
Gran stopped himself. There was no reason for him to elaborate, as Laz wouldn't ever understand as long as Gran knew that he was alive. Someone who hadn't experienced the feeling of being betrayed and yet loved in a twisted way, being forced over the line of humanity and hollowness.
Gran's face was dark and clouded with mixed feelings as his eyes glanced away from the man.
"Oh, my name is Gran. I thought you should know that if you know Nez." The arrancar absentmindedly said this in his moment of mourning and regret, the moment where he wasn't exactly thinking straight. And the moment he realized he had said this, he tensed--why had he said that?! They would now know his name and Gran would be known in the community and people would come after him and--!
"Please don't tell anyone about me. I...I just want to live right now. I don't want to be hunted, but...I know I will be."
After Gran said this his face hardened and the all-too-familar smirk returned. The sorrow had passed for now and Gran was now getting mischevious again...
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Sept 16, 2022 20:40:39 GMT -5
It was an interesting description of death, something he hadn't considered before, though the way it was explained to him felt familiar. There were likely stark differences to the sensation, but he knew the sinking feeling of being alone, though that had more to do with his upbringing and controversial opinions than any form of death. It was comical almost, to speak of loneliness so soon after he abandoned his own people to try and make a path forward here in the human realm.
"Perhaps there are smaller forms of death, pseudo-deaths if you will, that people can still experience while alive. I'm no stranger to the feeling of being alone, though from the sound of things you've made at least one or two friends of your own kind."
Gran, an interesting name, he wasn't sure of it's origin in region, but he was pretty sure it wasn't Japanese. There seemed to be a myriad of emotions cascading over the hollow beside him, and a fear of another death that had yet to be fulfilled, yet was assumed to come to fruition. He offered a smile in return, an understanding expression that gave off the impression of someone who could relate.
"Oh don't worry, I'm not with any group who would even consider hunting you, bigger fish to fry I suppose."
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Post by gran on Sept 18, 2022 19:30:40 GMT -5
Gran sighed in relief as he was told he was safe, for now. But if people found out what he was and who he was, that safety could be in danger. Great danger.
"If anyone does find me here, anyone who hunts my kind, I..." Gran clenched his fists and flinched, feeling the burning pain of some sort of attack surge through him. It wasn't real, but the pain seemed to be an echo of something he had experienced long before. Something he had known right before he descended into a period of darkness and agony, even.
Why Gran remembered his death would forever be a mystery to him. It didn't even particularly matter to him, as the memory was just there and it wouldn't ever go away.
He couldn't really think of anything else to say to Laz, so he turned away from him to just stare at the people bustling around below him. He knew he was one of those people once...he knew that he always looked up at the sky in wonder...but now things were different. He was in this new world and now he had to deal with the consquences if he did anything wrong.
It scared him.
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Sept 19, 2022 14:14:00 GMT -5
Lazarus pondered the right way to talk to this new individual, he had never been one to have people come to him with their problems, then again most people steered clear of him anyways. He considered what it might be like, to be hunted merely for existing, unfortunately the concept was mostly lost to him as it had never been something he considered.
"Well if you know Nezuel then you're on the right path so far, he's not so barbaric as to indulge in the pointless wars of others, and he seeks more peaceful outcomes. If you haven't allied yourself with him it would be a good place to start, finding allies that will help you or help keep you safe is probably where you should start if you're afraid of being hunted down or killed..."
There was a pause after his words, eyes drifting to the people below, then back to the hollow beside him. The difference between this one and Nezuel was apparent, clearly Gran was a younger arrancar, likely only created a number of decades ago if even that. He could sympathize with the concept of feeling lost in a new body, weighed down with the threat of death at every turn if you did the wrong thing or were in the wrong place at the wrong time. A sigh escaped him, feeling like he needed to cut the tension with some despair of his own to make it easier on the other. Lazarus rolled up his sleeves to reveal countless scars over his forearms, all looking like they had come from some form of weapon or another.
"I am no stranger to the pains of battle, most of them not of my choice. I don't know if it'll make you feel any better, or if it helps at all, but I know what it's like to feel like your life is constantly in danger..."
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