Paper...Cranes

{Not a favorite holiday, I assume?}

It’s okay. Holidays are… strange for me.

[He’s sifting through boxes and pulling out a few things here and there. Not going through them out in the open— just setting them aside. For later.]

I’m kinda glad you’re not finding anything on him. Means he’s resourceful. William is a greasy bastard, he’ll do whatever he can to try and get a little something from everyone.

[Hanna is too preoccupied with looking through boxes to notice his misuse of tense.

He takes a moment to remove his glasses and rub his eyes. He’s tired— no, exhausted. There’s so much to look through. Is it worth it? Hanna’s ideas were never very fruitful in the end; would this adventure end with far less gained than spent?

He is nearly ready to throw in the towel already. He’s found a few interesting things so far. Pulling a few boxes around, he comes across three large boxes with names scratched into them. It’s almost instinct for him to quickly withdraw his hands and back away, like coming upon something disgusting.

The sight of them makes his blood run cold. Sends a sickening spark up his back to his neck, to a scarred ‘W’ at the nape. It leaves a faint burning sensation behind.

I continued searching. Pulling aside anything that caught my eye or anything that I figured Hanna might be interested in. I had to admit, this was a bit difficult for someone who knew so few in the city. This seemed like a large deal to my companion.

But at least I was doing my best. Kept an eye on Hanna while we both worked. Thought about asking him if he wanted to take a break but reconsidered when I remembered how important it must have been for him to keep going despite exhaustion.

I only paused when I noticed that he had, looking up and towards him inquisitively.

"You just want to keep dressing up, don’t you?"

[The zombie’s question certainly raises a good point. It would be a lot better to burn it all. Easier, too. Hanna gives pause to think on it.]

I… guess you’re right. But.

It looks like knew so much about so many different people, but no one knew about him. Where he came from, why he did the things he did. I’ve got…

[He trails off on a thought that will remain unshared. For now. Instead he just offers his companion a small, reassuring smile.]

I’ve got the time, so why not? Not like I have a job or anything. We’ll get what info we can get, then get rid of what’s left.

[Or he’ll try to.]

{ The only person I've been in any real contact with since... coming around is Pepper. And as far as I can tell, he is not in any of these boxes. Even if he were, I find it hard to believe that he would be unable to handle himself if anyone got a hold of said information. } 

To Pepper's credit, of course.

As long as Hanna seemed able to put forth the time and effort to sift through all the information, I would be hard pressed to not lend the same amount. And I nodded at his smile.

{ Reasonable. }

{ I will try not to be a distraction. }

I didn't want to just up and leave him. Not just then. Especially not if I'd, under the surface, disappointed him in some way.

I'd just get a book and read while he worked.

In all honesty, I wasn't even certain I had a soul anymore. It seemed as though that would be something that disappeared when you died. Or went to another place. 

It would certainly explain my lack of enthusiasm for most things.

{ ..Thank you. }

I was silent after that.

{ ..It changed its name yesterday and I'm not sure what it is anymore. }

My lies were shoddy, at best. And I knew that she was aware. 

Sweet tunes, Aten. I’m glad someone came prepared!

[He retrieves thick files from his first box and leafs through them carefully, pulling his gaze away only to speak with his partner.]

I'd often been told that it was a frequent characteristic of a Hanna - or a doppleganger of a Hanna - to have someone like me as a partner or friend. And as such, I assumed that said partnership would also hold some mutual connections but..

With my wandering and my apparent inability to stay in one place long enough to formulate such connections, it seemed that Hanna and I were on different levels of acquaintance with others. After all, I'd only known this Hanna for so long. 

{ ..I will look, though. }

I focused back down on the papers in one particular box. Pulling aside a few things here and there that caught my eye. Things of a particularly supernatural nature, like Hanna explained. It would be best to keep these things off official record, yes.

{ Would it not be better to simply burn all of this? That way no one had access to it? Or at the very least, take what we need and dispose of the rest. Just in case. }

R-Right. Heh, thanks, man. I owe ya one. Er. A few. I’ll be back in a jiff. I just… need to get ‘em to the other room.

[He takes a look at the bodies and makes a face. It’s obvious he isn’t too keen on interacting with them, but he’s not sure if he can share the room with them either. So, one by one, Hanna moves them, trying to be as gentle as possible— after all, they were people too. He lays the bodies just outside the door, which is as far as his blossoming headache will let him move them.

In an attempt to shrug off the ordeal, he breathes deeply and summons a smile. Settles to the floor and pulls a box open to begin sorting through its contents.]

Darn, I should’a brought some coffee. Or some music. This place gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Oh, yeah, m’fine. Won’t be out for long. Just having a smoke. 

{ I suppose that'd probably keep you warm enough anyway. }

I didn't have any affinity for smoking, myself. Probably wouldn't bode well, considering my body's state. 

No, I… we can’t leave now. I can’t risk losing all of this!

[He’s got no idea if there are more leftovers of William’s army, and no idea if they might have the brainpower to destroy the information he’s after if they leave now.

On his feet, he fumbles for his marker. Part of him wants to set them ablaze, burn the things to death, it would be so easy. Another part, however, doesn’t even want to kill them, despite the suffering they must have gone through up to this point.

In his palm he scribbles a symbol, then shoves papers around to write another symbol on the floor. He gently touches the sigil and whispers.                        I’m sorry. Then a heavy word rolls off his tongue, and with it comes a dark feeling surrounding them.]

Theea.

[The sigil on the floor pulses to life. White sizzling light crackles through the floor beneath them like veins. The monsters are the targets, and what appear to be hands creep out of the floor, up their bodies, and

                              s n a p

                                               their necks, probably with enough force to sever them completely.

When it’s done and the bodies drop to the floor, Hanna just… takes a moment to stare at what he’s done. Wipes a bit of blood forming at the corner of his mouth.]

…

I. I’ll, uh… I don’t— I can’t just leave. I couldn’t let them— They’re…

[He isn’t sure how to turn around and get back to what he was doing before. He isn’t sure if he should. They were people and now they’re gone. How does he...]

Before he seemed to take initiative.

The marker caught my eye, as did his strange ritual. I was used to Pepper's magic, yes, but it was nothing like this. Or, at least, if it was, I had not seen it before. And so I took a step away from Hanna's conjured defense, mop handle still in my gloved hands as I watched the threat be eliminated with remarkable ease. 

And though I noted the wear on Hanna's body and his obvious mental strain from what he'd just done, I was quick to nod. To not give him any doubt and not bring up anything substantial just yet.

But I did take a brief moment to wander over. Reach out with a hand and despite my usual respect for personal space, brought my thumb to gently wipe away at the blood that he'd missed. Like some sort of doting mother hen, cleaning off a small smudge of dirt from a child's face. Not the line of thinking that I was having at that moment. But the comparison was probably accurate enough.

Shit.

Well. I couldn't say I wasn't used to that sort of reaction. Even if I didn't look threatening, there was usually some type of 'oh my goodness' to a stranger's face when I first encountered them.

{ Of course I do. }

If I had the capability of sighing, I would.