Amanda, Cain - Late Saturday night
Oct. 10th, 2004 01:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsAs arranged in this exchange of emails Cain has a brief word to Amanda about just why demons are scared of him and who is this Destroyer person anyway? Amanda doesn't have answers, but she knows someone who does. Nothing gets broken, surprisingly.
Front porch, almost two in the morning. Amanda drew heavily on her cigarette and shivered a little. Perhaps a slightly warmer jacket would have a good idea before the 'screw you all, I'm off' sudden departure. Still, there was no bloody way she was going back in there. Not when there was every chance one of those demons might come back to finish the job on Illyana. Wards or no wards (and she wasn't trusting her ability right now any way), she wasn't hanging around for the next instalment.
Cain made sure to step loudly on a branch as he lumbered around the corner. Now wouldn't be the time to startle Sefton by appearing out of the shadows. Outlined under the porch light, the kid almost looked normal, arms wrapped around herself, cigarette in hand. Attempting to be casual, Cain took a deep breath and stood by the side of the porch, letting the elevation put he and Amanda at eye level with each other.
"Called a cab, huh?" he asked rhetorically.
"Strange said it'd be best t' get the fuck out of here tonight, considerin' everything," Amanda replied as naturally as she could, even though her heart was hammering in her chest from the sudden noise of the branch breaking. At least the shielding spell hadn't popped up, although Amanda had a sneaking suspicion that was because she _couldn't_ do it any more. "You wanted t' ask somethin'?" she asked. "Somethin' 'bout demons?" Her voice cracked slightly on the last word.
Cain nodded. "Yeah. And your guy Strange might have the answer, if you don't. I assume he's ... " Cain searched for the right word, "discreet?" Without waiting for a response, he glanced over at the darkened windows and leaned in, dropping his voice. "Okay, I ain't going to beat around the bush. You of all people here know what I've got-" Cain tapped his chest "here. And I gotta admit, it pisses me off NOT knowing anything about it. And today it seems even little shit monsters from Dimension X know more than I do."
"Strange knows how t' keep things quiet. Fuck, I ain't said anythin' 'bout it, even after the whole goin' off the deep end." Taking her cue from Cain, Amanda dropped her voice, looking at him curiously. "The demons knew 'bout it? What'd they say exactly?"
Rolling his eyes, Cain let out a sharp laugh. "One of 'em - well, the only one I saw, real tiny fucker, called me 'the Destroyer'. Pretty sure he didn't mean Ms. Maximoff." He leaned heavily on the railing, looking sidewise at Amanda. "You know, I've gotten used to folks looking at me and being scared. Shit, half the time I kind of like it. But that thing comes from wherever that damn portal to hell went that one time. I saw what came out of there, the damn things tried to chew my arm off. And it was fucking TERRIFIED."
"'When bad things are scared, time to run'," Amanda quoted without thinking, then gave Cain a half-apologetic shrug. "TV show. But I've got t' say... "The Destroyer"? That don't sound good. Ain't exactly a name t' strike warm an' fuzzy feelin's in people." Cain shifted impatiently at her, glowering, and she collected her thoughts. "Ain't anythin' I know off the top of me head - I'll be straight with you, I've been researching that hunk of rock in yer chest, tryin' t' figure out what the hell it is an' why it does me head in so bad. Ain't found anythin' much yet, just vague stuff 'bout forbidden power an' things best left unmeddled with, the usual tripe. But Strange might be able t' make more of it." She hesitated, then asked, carefully. "Where'd you get it from? Could help, knowin' that."
"Temple in Vietnam, 'bout sixty clicks from the border. About forty ye--" Cain stopped, suddenly realizing how much he was telling the girl, then shrugged and continued. "About forty years ago."
Amanda blinked. And blinked again. "You look good for a man yer age," was all she said, taking another drag on her cigarette and thinking. "'S more 'n earth magic," she said at last. "Ain't nothin' here that has that sort of power, 'least, not since the Bronze Age. Metal screws up a lot of magic," she explained when Cain raised his eyebrow at her. "Yer lucky, Strange's whole thing is Asian mysticism. If there's anythin' t' be found, he'll have found it. He might want t' talk t' you tho'," she added, a little apologetically. "Get a feel for yer aura, all the rest of it. An' he'll know what questions t' ask."
Cain nodded. "Couldn't hurt." He struggled over his next words. "Well, that is, uh - thanks." Uncomfortable with the brief silence, Cain tried to change the subject. "So I hear the Lebeau kid done messed with you pretty bad, huh? Figure you'd have thrown some Gypsy curse or some shit on him by now."
Amanda winced. "I did. Lightning spell, knocked him clear across the fuckin' room. Nearly killed him." There was no pride in her voice, only regret and a certain amount of self-loathing. "An' I don't go in for curses no more. Burned that book when I got back from England in March. Love potion spell as well." She glanced across at him, eyes challenging him to make the inevitable scathing remark.
Despite the easy cheap shot, Cain didn't take the bait. Simply nodding, he replied, "Can't fault you there. Too much shit came out of that." Catching her obvious surprise, he followed up quickly. "Don't think I'm goin' soft just because I ain't giving you shit. Yeah, you done fucked up big time a ways back, but you've been walking the straight and narrow far as I can see. Except," he smiled broadly, "for breaking Lee's nose. And that, I must say, was a long time coming."
A faint trace of a grin appeared. "Well, I never said I was a saint, an' she was really gettin' to me," she said. "An' I've got t' say, before the powers came into it? Wasn't a bad scrap. Kicked her arse an' then some." Lights appeared on the drive - her cab. She stubbed out the cigarette, putting the but in the trashbin provided. "An' thanks. For..." she shrugged. "For givin' me the benefit of the doubt today. You didn't have to, after what I've done, but you did. Means somethin'." Bending to pick up the battered duffle bag at her feet, she straightened and gave him a half-grin. "Don't worry 'bout me thinkin' yer soft - I still think yer a right bastard."
Cain gave her a quick single-finger salute, but grinned. "Wouldn't have it any other way. You ask Strange about that stuff and, well - we'll talk when you get back."
"Sure," she replied, heading past him towards the waiting cab. "Don't go Destroyin' anything in the meantime, yeah?"
Front porch, almost two in the morning. Amanda drew heavily on her cigarette and shivered a little. Perhaps a slightly warmer jacket would have a good idea before the 'screw you all, I'm off' sudden departure. Still, there was no bloody way she was going back in there. Not when there was every chance one of those demons might come back to finish the job on Illyana. Wards or no wards (and she wasn't trusting her ability right now any way), she wasn't hanging around for the next instalment.
Cain made sure to step loudly on a branch as he lumbered around the corner. Now wouldn't be the time to startle Sefton by appearing out of the shadows. Outlined under the porch light, the kid almost looked normal, arms wrapped around herself, cigarette in hand. Attempting to be casual, Cain took a deep breath and stood by the side of the porch, letting the elevation put he and Amanda at eye level with each other.
"Called a cab, huh?" he asked rhetorically.
"Strange said it'd be best t' get the fuck out of here tonight, considerin' everything," Amanda replied as naturally as she could, even though her heart was hammering in her chest from the sudden noise of the branch breaking. At least the shielding spell hadn't popped up, although Amanda had a sneaking suspicion that was because she _couldn't_ do it any more. "You wanted t' ask somethin'?" she asked. "Somethin' 'bout demons?" Her voice cracked slightly on the last word.
Cain nodded. "Yeah. And your guy Strange might have the answer, if you don't. I assume he's ... " Cain searched for the right word, "discreet?" Without waiting for a response, he glanced over at the darkened windows and leaned in, dropping his voice. "Okay, I ain't going to beat around the bush. You of all people here know what I've got-" Cain tapped his chest "here. And I gotta admit, it pisses me off NOT knowing anything about it. And today it seems even little shit monsters from Dimension X know more than I do."
"Strange knows how t' keep things quiet. Fuck, I ain't said anythin' 'bout it, even after the whole goin' off the deep end." Taking her cue from Cain, Amanda dropped her voice, looking at him curiously. "The demons knew 'bout it? What'd they say exactly?"
Rolling his eyes, Cain let out a sharp laugh. "One of 'em - well, the only one I saw, real tiny fucker, called me 'the Destroyer'. Pretty sure he didn't mean Ms. Maximoff." He leaned heavily on the railing, looking sidewise at Amanda. "You know, I've gotten used to folks looking at me and being scared. Shit, half the time I kind of like it. But that thing comes from wherever that damn portal to hell went that one time. I saw what came out of there, the damn things tried to chew my arm off. And it was fucking TERRIFIED."
"'When bad things are scared, time to run'," Amanda quoted without thinking, then gave Cain a half-apologetic shrug. "TV show. But I've got t' say... "The Destroyer"? That don't sound good. Ain't exactly a name t' strike warm an' fuzzy feelin's in people." Cain shifted impatiently at her, glowering, and she collected her thoughts. "Ain't anythin' I know off the top of me head - I'll be straight with you, I've been researching that hunk of rock in yer chest, tryin' t' figure out what the hell it is an' why it does me head in so bad. Ain't found anythin' much yet, just vague stuff 'bout forbidden power an' things best left unmeddled with, the usual tripe. But Strange might be able t' make more of it." She hesitated, then asked, carefully. "Where'd you get it from? Could help, knowin' that."
"Temple in Vietnam, 'bout sixty clicks from the border. About forty ye--" Cain stopped, suddenly realizing how much he was telling the girl, then shrugged and continued. "About forty years ago."
Amanda blinked. And blinked again. "You look good for a man yer age," was all she said, taking another drag on her cigarette and thinking. "'S more 'n earth magic," she said at last. "Ain't nothin' here that has that sort of power, 'least, not since the Bronze Age. Metal screws up a lot of magic," she explained when Cain raised his eyebrow at her. "Yer lucky, Strange's whole thing is Asian mysticism. If there's anythin' t' be found, he'll have found it. He might want t' talk t' you tho'," she added, a little apologetically. "Get a feel for yer aura, all the rest of it. An' he'll know what questions t' ask."
Cain nodded. "Couldn't hurt." He struggled over his next words. "Well, that is, uh - thanks." Uncomfortable with the brief silence, Cain tried to change the subject. "So I hear the Lebeau kid done messed with you pretty bad, huh? Figure you'd have thrown some Gypsy curse or some shit on him by now."
Amanda winced. "I did. Lightning spell, knocked him clear across the fuckin' room. Nearly killed him." There was no pride in her voice, only regret and a certain amount of self-loathing. "An' I don't go in for curses no more. Burned that book when I got back from England in March. Love potion spell as well." She glanced across at him, eyes challenging him to make the inevitable scathing remark.
Despite the easy cheap shot, Cain didn't take the bait. Simply nodding, he replied, "Can't fault you there. Too much shit came out of that." Catching her obvious surprise, he followed up quickly. "Don't think I'm goin' soft just because I ain't giving you shit. Yeah, you done fucked up big time a ways back, but you've been walking the straight and narrow far as I can see. Except," he smiled broadly, "for breaking Lee's nose. And that, I must say, was a long time coming."
A faint trace of a grin appeared. "Well, I never said I was a saint, an' she was really gettin' to me," she said. "An' I've got t' say, before the powers came into it? Wasn't a bad scrap. Kicked her arse an' then some." Lights appeared on the drive - her cab. She stubbed out the cigarette, putting the but in the trashbin provided. "An' thanks. For..." she shrugged. "For givin' me the benefit of the doubt today. You didn't have to, after what I've done, but you did. Means somethin'." Bending to pick up the battered duffle bag at her feet, she straightened and gave him a half-grin. "Don't worry 'bout me thinkin' yer soft - I still think yer a right bastard."
Cain gave her a quick single-finger salute, but grinned. "Wouldn't have it any other way. You ask Strange about that stuff and, well - we'll talk when you get back."
"Sure," she replied, heading past him towards the waiting cab. "Don't go Destroyin' anything in the meantime, yeah?"
