And then he has to go be weird again

[killedwithlove]

Who: Cole + Anyone willing to come find him on the Pathstone
Broadcast: n/a
Action: Cole's bunk on the Pathstone
When: Now ish?

[Usually, Cole manages a fairly good impression of amicably odd. And, normally, he's a fairly stable person, at the least he's out and about and piloting and generally sticking his nose into people's hurts to help them.

But he's retreated into his heretofore unused bunk for the last day or so. He talks to himself a lot in a whisper and worse, he seems to have wrangled up paint from somewhere, because on the floor outside his bunk, there's painted writing.]

A gold sonnet

[The handwriting is sharp and rushed and unpracticed.]

Comments

[onlyanapple]

[Crowley finds Cole a little...odd at the best of times. Still, he's no weirder than some of the demons he's had to deal with back home, and infinitely less weird than some of the beings from other worlds he's dealt with since leaving home.

The writing is odd. If Aziraphale were here, he'd probably find some deeper meaning to it, but as is, Crowley will just have to rely on good old fashioned talking. He opens Cole's door to peer inside. Checking up on the kid without actually saying so. He's a pro at this.]

Is that a shopping list or something? You know how touchy Tek gets about the ship being messy.

[killedwithlove]

[Cole's room is more disturbed than it ever has been.

One wall is painted with shapes and signs that don't mean anything, not in any language spoken, but there's something uneasy about the curls and flicks from the corner, a burst on the wall somehow says 'rage' without there being anything about it that should say that.

Around a mass of something that makes the stomach queasy and defiant, there is another phrase painted.]

All new, faded for her

[Cole looks up. There a black smudge over his nose and his hands are stained with the black paint.]

Tekhetsio... Nerves aid deed.

Your wings are better kept.

[onlyanapple]

[Well. Buggery.

He has a good idea where Cole's roundabout weird mind-reading way of talking is going and gives a shrug.]

Yeah, well. I have a sense of style, it's to be expected. You redecorating?

[killedwithlove]

[Despite everything that might be expected from Cole, his response is a very human look away and shrug.]

Solas painted the walls. He was better at it, but it's not about how it looks, but how it made him feel. I don't think it's helping me like it did him.

[onlyanapple]

[Well, that was helpfully straightforward. Crowley was never that sold on Solas. There was something deeply wrong about the elf that put the demon on edge. He could never put his finger on it.]

Not one for art therapy, huh? Ever thought about taking up poetry?

[killedwithlove]

[Cole could be amazingly straight forward while not actually offering anything helpful or informative about what he was doing or what he had painted or why the crazy words.]

No. I don't understand it. I use words, but they tumble and trip, turning and twisting to bite.

Ouroboros.

[onlyanapple]

...Well, at least there was an attempt. Can't fault you for that.

[killedwithlove]

An attempt?

[He looks over at Crowley.]

[onlyanapple]

You gave the poetry thing a shot, knew it wasn't for you.

Still, the painting is going okay.

[killedwithlove]

It doesn't look right. I'm not very good at painting. Do you ever fly, when we go to planets?

[onlyanapple]

I can't fly the ship, I'm not a pi-

[Then it clicks. ]

Oh, you mean with the wings. Sometimes, if the fancy takes me.

[killedwithlove]

Yes, with the wings.

Is it nice, being able to fly?

[onlyanapple]

I suppose so? Can't say I honestly feel the need to do it all that much.

[killedwithlove]

I miss flying. Gravity makes me stay on the ground.

[onlyanapple]

Gravity does have a tendency to put a damper on things.

[killedwithlove]

I didn't like having to learn to deal with gravity on this side of the Veil.

[onlyanapple]

I suppose on the other side, the rules are a little bit different, hmmm?

[He's genuinely curious, he wants to know. ]

[killedwithlove]

[Cole hums and rocks back and forth on his feet briefly.]

Yes. I don't know if there are rules. I suppose there are. People make the rules by being there.

[onlyanapple]

Sounds about right, for people. They like things to have a certain amount of structure. They like to make sense of things. Tick their little checkboxes.

[killedwithlove]

They make the Fade have rules. Walk on ground, swim in water, fly in air, don't have too many eyes or limbs.

[He wanders back into his room a little more. There's a painting on the wall that something that bit inhuman might recognise as a painting of defiance and rebellion given a shape.]

[onlyanapple]

[Crolwey stares at the painting for a moment, before turning his attention back to Cole. Everything about this kid (kid???) is so weird. ]

Well, that's just not fun at all.

[killedwithlove]

That's Fen'Harel.

[Cole doesn't offer any further explanation on that. He watches Crowley with a young, open face and ancient, haunted eyes.]

[onlyanapple]

[Wait, he's heard that word before... ]

Isn't that one of those elf-y swear words Jove uses sometimes?

[killedwithlove]

It's his name.

[Which isn't any help, but is actually an explanation.]

[onlyanapple]

[Okay, that's confusing. ]

His? So...this is a person? Or is it like when humans on Earth swear to the Big Guy or the Boss?