thenearshore | And lo a rider on an ebon horse

Entry tags:

ω celty sturluson | durarara!!

And lo a rider on an ebon horse

Who: Celty and OPEN
When: Any time after October 12th
Where: Around both the Near and Far Shore
What: The Headless rider back in proper form
Warnings: Possible spoop, possible action

Far shore
In the days following the troubles that had everyone going around the world to fight the Ayakashi, there was a strange sort of quiet that settled over the Far Shore. It would take some longer than others to put a finger on it, but the rumble of the motorcycle that had become part of the ambient noise had stopped. There was no sign that something untoward had happened to Celty, and a few might even recall seeing her but...the noise was gone.

But on the roads, especially at night, there was something different. Celty was continuing to ride around, but her bike seemed darker than before. Not just because of the headlight being off now but something about the coloring seemed as black as the shadows she drove through. And when she took a particularly sharp turn or accelerated on an open road there was a sound like a horse's whinny, and yet more ethereal, wailing.

Surely...surely she hadn't been taken over by some dark force, had she? And for those who don't know her, the sight of a black motorcycle and a black clad rider with a yellow helmet can't be the most calming sight.

The Near Shore

Celty did have some guilt on her mind, something she wanted to fix. The bike she had...borrowed...had been destroyed during the recent excursion. She'd found a far better replacement in the arrival of her horse, but she still felt like she should do something to make up for it. Even if she did take it from some thug who was about to attack a woman for rejecting him.

She'd hoped he and his gang had learned their lesson.

It turned out not such much. Sitting on her bike at the curb she clenched her fist as she watched the man and his underlings surrounding a man in an alleyway. She didn't know all of what was going on but she swore she heard one of them say something about 'protection money'. She guessed the liquor store that exited into the alley belonged to the man. As for the thugs, whether they were under the influence of an Ayakashi or just straight up jerks, she knew she couldn't just sit and watch. Hopefully some backup would chance on her as she got ready to make her move.

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What the...?

The sound of a horse brought Celestia down from the sky, her radiant form bright even in the darkness. But -- was that a horse approaching? No, it couldn't be, and yet...

Not terribly far above the street, the princess pony settled into a hover, watching curiously to see if she could figure out what the hay was going on.

As Celestia came down, another ghastly whinny echoed out from the ground, this time veering away from her position.

On Celty's end, there was a brief moment of panic as a light came down slow and began to hover overhead. Her immediate thought was that she'd finally seen an alien craft and that it was possibly coming down to abduct her. Fortunately she had the sense to double around and get a better look rather than simply flee. As she adjusted to the surprise brightness she recognized the shape of the pony at the center of the glow.

She coaxed her bike back out into the open and raised a hand to wave to her iridescent friend.

Well, Celestia WAS from another planet.

"Oh, hello, Celty!" She lifted a hoof to return her friend's wave, even as she peered curiously around. "Did you hear a neigh?"

No, she's from another world there's a HUGE difference between someone from another world and an alien from outer space. Crop circles for example.

But Celty's helmet bobbed first in a nervous nod and then a more confident one. She gave her bike a pat and there was another whinny, slightly less warped now that she was stationary, but still a bit more ghostly than not.

"I... what?" Celestia dropped down to the street, but her wings remained out and somewhat fluffed up, instinctive desire to make herself appear large in the face of something she didn't understand and found quite unsettling, at least to start with.

Normally she'd type something up but given the distance between the two she'd have to gesture for Celestia to come closer, and considering she's on her guard she might not be willing.

But the most direct way to answer might provoke her even further. Still, Celty tries to make a chance. She does her best to warn the luminous pony that everything is alright before patting her bike once more.

Shadows flare up around her, like splashing water or pulsing waves, swirling and enveloping her and her mount. The shadowy mass grows bigger and then disperses in a mist much like what floats from Celty's neck.

The rider is now sitting astride a large pitch black horse that stands out for two particular reasons. For one, the sheer size of it seems similar to the scale that Celestia tends to make against her subjects back home. If Celty were standing among other people the horse's back would be just above their heads. The other thing is that much like Celty the horse seems to be missing its own head, just a black flat surface that brings the neck to an abrupt end.

Celestia was not precisely on her guard so much as strongly confused.

That simply didn't improve when Celty made her demonstration.

Still, Celestia was a sensible pony, and quick to take everything to be exactly as it was. Celty had a mount that was clearly of her nature in some way, and said mount could readily transform between a mechanical-seeming and an equine-seeming form. That much was patently clear.

"Well. I want to say this explains everything, but how remarkable!"

Celty gently eases her horse to walk towards Celestia. At first it makes no noise as it takes some uncertain steps forward, but then there's another ghostly whinny, unreal but still the sound of a more standard Earth horse than the ponies she would know. He walks forward but then off to the side as Celty tries to bring him parallel to the sun goddess, her phone held up at the ready.

I think I mentioned before that I was a dullahan. A "headless horseman". And that the motorcycle I had was nice but it wasn't the 'right fit'. Now I know what was wrong. THIS is my horse.

His name is Shooter.

"I see." That was not at all entirely true, but again, Celestia was in full-on 'accept what is there' mode. She inclined her head graciously to Shooter. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

She wasn't all sure what level of intelligence a transforming headless horse had, so she went for the most respectful assumption.

The horse was indeed an intelligent one, rather more than most other horses in fact. With the regal presence of Celestia, Shooter responded in kind, sticking one front leg out while bending the other to bow before her. The headless neck bowed lower than her own, showing the respect she deserved.

Celty gave more of a casual half bow, more prompted by her horse's behavior. She respected Celestia of course but they were also friends by this point. Nothing wrong with being casual about it, so she thought.

"How strange, though," Celestia mused, curling one hoof beneath her chin. "I do not understand what it is about the Far Shore that brings people, or even items, here at all. And this just raises more questions, doesn't it?"

Celty shrugged before typing her reply. Just because she didn't know the why of this didn't mean she wasn't going to enjoy the moment.

'I guess it does. But I think he was one of the things I felt like I was missing all this time.'

The presence of this horse helped her feel more complete, and there was no mouth to look this gift horse in so she wasn't about to try.

"Then I'm glad you two are together again." Celestia was, truth be told, a little envious that Celty could be reunited with somepony who made her time here all the happier. But she also recognized her envy as understandable but certainly nopony's fault, and set aside the feelings without pause.

[Shun's seen Celty ride before, so he has some suspicion of who the bike might belong to as soon as he spots the barely-discernible shape moving in the distance. It's unquestionably a different one, though, unnaturally quiet like that, so he gets closer through a nearby area of trees to investigate.

Once he sees her turn and picks up the whinny and wailing, a look of understanding passes over his face, and he watches her ride with a mild look of interest.

He's not going to chase her down, but if she spots him or rides close enough, he'll raise a hand in an invitation to talk if she wants to.]

[In spite of the noises, the motorcycle still looks largely the same as it had before. Somehow it seems darker, sleeker, but still very much a motorcycle.

And yet clearly it's not.

She's about to pass him by when she notices the movement out of the periphery of her senses. Gently she turns the bike about, rousing another noise from it as she loops around and rolls to a halt.

And a hand is indeed raised in reply to his own, happy to see a friend on her outing.]

[Shun had been basing his thought on the motorcycle being different on the noises it was making, but it does look a lot like her old one close up. Still, if she's stopping, he'll probably have the chance to ask about it.

And indeed, when she does stop, he hops down from the low branch of the tree he's in to come a bit closer and look over the bike with a faintly curious look.]

I'm guessing this is your "horse", then. [Her real one, with the noises it's been making. Obviously he can't pry further back than that with her being a shinki, but he can at least confirm the nature of the beast from what she's seen of it here.] When did it show up?

[She nods, a simple question to answer, the first one. She then gestures him over as she types up a reply to his second.]

The other day. We found him in the chicken pen. Fortunately we got him out of there before the chickens did anything to hurt him.

[She doesn't remember his name though, but that memory will come back to her some weeks later.]

Just at this moment, Celty probably heard a familiar voice after the liquor store door swung open. "Hey, mister, you got some good umeshuu here but do you have any recommendations for...Oh, are you serious?"

Saori emerged from the store, dressed in a beige wool coat and jeans. "Seriously, boys at your age have nothing better to do than picking on people? You guys really have no shame."

[Celty perks up at the familiar presence. Her decision to do something hasn't changed as she keeps on dismounting her bike but she gives Saori an appreciative nod as she walks to the mouth of the alleyway. In fact the company is enough to have her strike something of a pose, hip cocked and a hand resting on it as the visor reflects the three punks.

The lead thug lets the old man go and he wisely gets out of the way, slowly making his way back to the side door of his shop. His underlings look between the two women, running the math and then grin in clear sign they like their odds.

"Why don't you two mind your business and go back to your knitting circle?" The lead says, but then his brow furrows in laborous thought as he spots the bike behind Celty. "Hey wait...is that my bike? Are you the bitch who stole it?"

It's not his anymore, per se. That bike got destroyed and her horse consumed it, but that's far too complicated for the moment. Besides, he's unlikely to remember much at all of their last encounter considering the way the Near and Far shores work with memory.

(ooc: did Saori come from the front door and is at the alleyway entrance with Celty or did she come out from the back and have them surrounded now?)

Saori winks back at Celty before putting her hands in her coat pockets. "I'm probably more of a cross-stitcher but hey, I could always give knitting a go." She sighed, fiddling with something in her coat pocket. Something told her they weren't gonna just walk away. Futaba, please forgive her for this.

"Alright, boys, this is your first and only warning. Walk away and swear never to ask anyone in this district for protection money or, well, I'm not responsible if you're gonna need stitches later."

[ooc: She came from the back door.]

In all likelyhood, this was something that Futaba would approve of and at least wouldn't hurt her for any morality reasons. Celty taking their bike in the first place was even more sketchy a thing but fortunately the dullahan had a delinquent of a god. All told, this was vigilante justice, but it was still just.

Celty, for her part, just offers a shrug in reply to the thug. It's not something that could be simply explained on her phone anyway, even if she expected he had the patience to listen.

The men act as might be predicted in this situation. A bit of scowling, a bit of indistinct shouts of outrage and then pulling out assorted weapons. They might have tried another round of intimidation but they'd clearly moved on to "teaching a lesson" as the leader ran towards Celty with his brass knuckles while another runs at Saori with a chain ready to swing. The third keeps ready with his baseball bat, ready to pick a target.

"Typical," Saori said with a sigh as she pulled her hands out of her coat pockets, taking a few steps back. "Celty, I'd keep that helmet on if I were you." In her left hand was a pale brown cylinder with a tiny red nub poking out of the top while the other hand fished out a metal lighter. With a click, end of the mysterious device was lit. If the sight of a fire being lit didn't scare them, having the lit object being thrown in their general direction should. Saori was merciful enough not to throw the homemade smoke bomb in their face.

The mixture of sugar and saltpeter hissed as the fire burned, releasing a large amount of thick white smoke as it rolled on the ground. Some of it lashed out to blind incoming brute as Saori dipped into a low stance and drove her elbow into his gut to knock the wind out of him.

Celty nodded, and as she saw Saori pull a few things from her pockets she flinched. Was it an explosive of some kind? Was that what she was planning? The thugs did similar, expecting maybe some mace or at worst some brass knuckles but dynamite?!

They shouted, turning away as it came flying at them but then stopped in surprise as all that came out was smoke. The one who was going after Saori laughed, and then got over his hesitation long enough to reattempt his attack...only to find himself suddenly driven to his knees by Saori's strike.

The impact stirred Celty enough to take a step back right before the thug's punch caught her. The second was dodged more nimbly, and this time she used the momentum to spin about, driving the heel of her boot into his jaw.

The Last thug looked around at his fallen brothers, shook in a mix of fear and indignant rage and then tried to run for it!

"Hey now, not so fast," Saori tutted. The smoke that once was floating away aimlessly, followed after the last thug to only snatch him by his ankles and held him face down on the ground.

Saori cooly walked over to the ensnared thug, placing her foot on his back. "If I get word that you or buddies are around here, your egos won't be the only thing broken next time around." Before he could even utter a response, the smoke picked up him and the rest of the gang up and dumped them unceremoniously into the nearby large trash bin. Saori shook her head and turned around to look at Celty.

"Right then...We better get going. Sorry, I went a bit overboard there," she said with a nervous laugh.

Celty was split on what to do with the last one. As far as she was concerned she was satisfied with having him run off in terror, but she couldn't help but be impressed and maybe just a little spooked as Saori's smoke gave chase after the last one. She was used to her own shadow powers but she expected this is what it looked like to others.

With Saori's final warning delivered she offered the woman a thumbsup. Taking stock of the situation, it looked like the owner was still hiding in the shop. Probably best to continue on their way unless they had actual business here...and even then probably best to wait until later.

Once Saori was close enough, Celty was holding her phone up to be read, 'I know they won't remember us after a little while, but hopefully your warning sticks.'

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And lo a rider on an ebon horse

Far Shore

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Thank you for your patience <3

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She didn't actually get the memory regain until later but at this point let's crunch the timeline

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Far Shore

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Near Shore

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