13685/A Night of Liberty

A Night of Liberty
Date of Scene:	31 July 2021
Location:	Liberty Island, Manhattan
Synopsis:	An unexpected meeting happens on Liberty Island after it's closed to tourists for the night and interesting conversation occurs.
Cast of Characters:	Yaozu Lin, Poseidon, Askante, Constantine

---

Yaozu Lin has posed:
It's evening, and the day has been in and out of clouds for most of it. There was a brief drizzle earlier in the day when a rain cloud passed over. The ferries have finished all of their trips to and from the mainland for the day. And while they thought that everyone had left the island, there had been one who was left behind. Yaozu had taken one of the early ferries from the morning, when the passengers had been few. Perhaps he had lost track of time, or perhaps it was partly by his own intent that he had been left behind on the island. Either way, he was left there come the last ferry run of the day.

It didn't bother him that he had been left there on the island. He knows how to fend for himself, and he has a leather satchel slung over one of his shoulders which has a bottle of water and a few various snacks in it. He stands peacefully enough at the shore of the water. He wears a set of traditional Chinese robes that are dark blue, trimmed in a paler blue, the inner robe a paler blue as well. His long black hair is free, falling loosely over his back. His right hand rests at the small of his back, and his gaze is held on the water as it flows in and out from the shore.

Poseidon has posed:
And at that, the man isn't alone on the island. Another is here. Poseidon is dressed simply. A pair of tan work boots, worn and obviously well used. Faded blue jeans that have seen better days. A black teeshirt with a white kraken on the front. A red flannel, plaid in red, black, and white. His hair, loose, long enough to touch his upper back, glints red and orange with the sun going down as it is. His silver beard is the same, glowing with the light.

Poseidon walks the beach, pausing whenever he finds a bit of trash left behind. Each bit seems to float up to him of its own accord. Or perhaps, his. Each bit is tucked into a biodegradable trash bag he's carrying for this very purpose. His methodic motions and scouring of the beach he walks speaks to the fact that this is probably something he does on a fairly regular basis.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Black eartufts lift and drop a bit to either side before lifting again. Yaozu's dark gaze lifts from the water and to the sky, taking a moment to admire the colours of the sunset. He finds beauty in such a simple thing as the sunset, though he doesn't really give any sign of that he does other than that his gaze lingers on the sky. He takes in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. He stands relatively still there where he is upon the beach.

His gaze lowers, first to the water and the reflection of the sunset that dances across the ripples and little waves upon the surface of it. Yet the he tilts his head to one side and his gaze turns to the man who walks upon the beach. His right hand slips away from the small of his back, coming to his side as he watches what the man is doing. It earns his curiosity, and it draws his attention away from the water. Shifting his weight slightly, he moves to walk further down the beach, closer to the water and approaching the fellow who picks up the various detritus that's settled on the beach.

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon is aware he's not alone long before the other person ever moves. But that doesn't stop him from doing what he's doing. Cleaning the beaches of the garbage that would otherwise eventually end up in his oceans. As he walks, he starts to whistle a tune. And as the other gets closer, he starts to bend down to pick up the trash, rather than using the ambient water to float it up to him. It's never an overly good idea to show magic to mortals who are unknown quantities. There's no telling how they might react.

The whistling continues, as do his slow steps. The steps pause as Yaozu approaches, and he offers a polite nod to the feathered man, but doesn't appear to recognize him at first glance. The whistling ends as the nod does. "Howdy," he greets. "Nice evening for a stroll." His accent, much like the previous time they'd bet, has definite Greek overtones to it.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Humanity can be a disappointment, sometimes. In the amount of trash that's on the beach, they are assuredly so. The avian keeps his wings close against his back, even as he bends down to pick up a discarded wrapper from some ice cream treat. Though he's been working on strengthening his wings, he hasn't yet taken the leap of faith into flying yet. It's probably a good thing that he hasn't, for they likely aren't strong enough to support him in flight.

As he moves along, he stops to pick up some other bits and pieces of trash along the way. He wasn't the cause for them to be there, but the ocean has too much plastic in it already to simply stand by and allow for more of it to likely end up there. He tilts his head a bit to one side as he comes nearer to the fellow, and he offers a nod of greeting. "It is a good evening for it," Yaozu says softly. There's a small smile that finds his features in the form of his beak parting slightly. "It is peaceful here, with the people having left," he muses. People tend to be louder, and likely louder than what they realize they are. Sometimes, it's enough to make his ears ache.

Askante has posed:
And the more of mankind that is around and about, the noisier their chatter becomes. In the dark waters, a 'v' forms, heading toward the shore, nearby a rocky outcropping. Eventually the 'v' becomes a long thin being that crawls its way out onto the rock and shakes itself vigorously. Mind, it's also waterlogged and for now, just splats there, breathing in and out, with all six limbs spreadeagled. CLING to the rock.

Poseidon has posed:
Humanity is what humanity is. Poseidon has had a very long time to come to terms with that fact. He pauses to crouch down and pick up another bit of trash, this one a smallish cardboard box that had once held candybars. The wrappers from the candybars are at least inside the box, instead of littered all over the beach. "It can be," he agrees, about it being peaceful. "Sometimes I prefer having a bunch of people to watch. It's amusing. Sometimes, I prefer it like this."

Before the 'v' ever forms in the water, Poseidon's head tilts and he turns to watch the water. Right where the 'v' forms several moments later. He watches the 'v' become that being which crawls out of the water. "Aren't you interesting," he comments. He turns then and walks toward it. There comes another pause, as a bit of trash is spied, and he crouches to pick that up and deposit it into his bag as well. Once he straightens, Poseidon resumes his pace toward the creature. "Are you in need of assistance?"

Constantine has posed:
A piece of trash stumbles and falls not far, half a dozen yards ahead of Poseidon's cleaning ittinerary. "Oof," it says. It came from a door that shouldn't be there and that is now gone. /Human/ trash. The unkempt two-days-party smelling man tries to pick itelf up and gives up, instead rolling on his back to light a cigarette. Before he can do so, he represses a fit of coughs and a moan. "Bloody Hell." Those who know the man from his dirty trenchcoat, the British accent or (more likely) his arsoned tobacco-liquor store musk might call him "trash human" instead...

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Stepping a bit closer, Yaozu carefully places the few piece of trash that he's colleced into the garbage bag that the other fellow carries. Sadly, there always seems to be trash laying or thrown about, in need of being picked up. He tilts his head a bit to one side, studying the other fellow for a moment before he gives a small nod. "Sometimes, people can be interesting to watch," he agrees, his tone thoughtful. "There are, I suppose, moods and times for a number of different things. Perhaps next time will be a time for fishing," he muses.

His wings shift slightly, and his gaze turns towards the 'v' in the water. His feathers slick down as the creature emerges from the water to cling to the rock, and though he falls quiet, he follows towards the creature. Or at least, doing so until there's the sound from behind them of the man who falls to the sand. At that point, his head swivels around in owlish fashion, and he tilts his head a bit to one side. His left hand vanishes up the sleeve of his robes, and his right hand remains resting at his side.

Askante has posed:
Now of course Poseidon will see what is there. It's not clear at THIS point, whether anyone else will. That remains to be seen. "I am on land? Yay. On land. Land is good. Land doesn't drown. Drowned a few times on the way here, I'm rusty." This is spoken in ancient greek, which is... well, all greek to anyone that doesn't know the language.

Askante raises its head, inchcrawls on all sixes until it's off the rock and then onto the pebbledashed shoreline. It flops again on its side by a plastic six-pack ring, which hasn't been cut to protect ocean life. It stares at that a while, then stares in the direction of the cussing. "Paper is all wet. This is not good. Quill is... oh..." it fiddles with a pocket, fussing a black swan feather out. "Yaaaay. Is not soggy."

Poseidon has posed:
Human trash isn't quite what Poseidon's after, here. His steps slow and then stop as the new mortal drops into the sand ahead of him. He looks down at the man for a moment, shakes his head, and steps around him to continue on his way to the creature that had swum onto shore. He glances over at the avian man and nods. "Fishing might be it next time. The decision is in what and where," he says, lips curling up ever so slightly.

His blue eyes turn to the creature once more. "You are on land, yes," he replies in the same ancient greek. "And you are partially correct. Some land drowns." He pauses. Then continues, his tone thoughtful. "Then again, the land that drowns tends to be mixed liberally with water.." He reaches down and picks up the uncut plastic six-pack ring. He shakes his head at it and tuckes it into the bag along with the rest of the trash that's been picked up. "Paper.. quill... I understand you perfectly fine," he finally says. "You don't really need your quill here."

Constantine has posed:
The man out of nowhere looks around by tilting his head, wincing against pain. "Is this Rhodes?" he questions, catching a glimpse of Lady Liberty's silhouette from the corner of his eye. His ancient greek is atrocious in accent but academically correct. Grunting, is sits up like a mummy in an Abott and Costello movie, legs straight, arms totally stiff in front of himself. He scans around and stops on each colourful individual for a second.

"This isn't Rhodes. This is delirium tremens," he decides. He reaches inside his trenchcoat for a bottle of Beefeater gin, takes a long long pull. "Go away, shoo," he tells the others, waving his cigarette at them without much strength or concern to draw straight lines in the air.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The language is one that is unknown to Yaozu, and so he has no way of knowing what it is that's being said. It could be anything, really. It's possible that he isn't entirely sure just what he's seeing, himself. A person of some variety, no doubt. There's naught special about him, in his own opinion, anyways. Once upon a time, he was human, and now he is an owlish avian humanoid. Yaozu stops, and then he shakes himself off, his feathers fluffing briefly before they slick back down again.

"Perhaps the pier near the cherry trees, again," Yaozu says softly. "Time will tell," he adds, giving a small nod. He tilts his head to one side as he looks towards the one upon the rock. He, contrary to the others, speaks in English. He looks to the fellow who's smoking, and then he exhales a breath through his nares.

Askante has posed:
"You perhaps, but you are the oldest brother. You speak the tongues, they do not." Nodding over toward the people, oddly shaped and otherwise, Askante's a little surprised by the atrocious greek. It sits up, stares a moment. "Did he just ... think this was... but the collossus fell a thousand and more years ago. I know, I saw it happen." He looks puzzled at Poseidon, then staggers to its feet. Waterlogged, it drips its way up on land. "I don't think this land will drown. Not enough mud. Not enough sand. Wrong land. Maybe marshland once."

It drips on the grass and paths now, holding a black feather in its hand. Maybe they see a dishevelled man-overboard. It surely doesn't know. A hand waves.

Poseidon has posed:
Still speaking in angient Greek, Poseidon shakes his head. "No, not Rhodes. Liberty Island," he supplies. He raises a brow at the shooing motion, and... doesn't shoo away. He snorts a breath out his nose, shakes his head, and chuckles to himself. As the avian speaks of a pier, Poseidon's eyes narrow as he looks at the bird-man. This time, it's in English he speaks. "The pier. Near the cherry trees. I fish there sometimes. Have I met you?" Nope, he hasn't recognized Yaozu just yet!

Poseidon's eyes and attention return to the creature. "That doesn't surprise me." That he's the oldest. "Not a lot of people speak the tongues anymore." He nods. "Yes he did." His lips twitch again, but he doesn't chuckle this time. "You are right. This land will not drown unless the ocean rises."

Constantine has posed:
"New York. Makes sense, we're all outta place. Call me... Ioannes." This time the drunk used proper English, yet added gestures to help the lean scaly one with the context. With the cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, he places the monocle formed by his pointer and thumb in front of a bloodshot eye. "Cunoaste." A glowy film fills the apperture and thus equipped, he looks at everyone again.
"You... you're just bad luck," he states for Yaozu. "You're reborn. Sorry mate, wrong epoch," he adds for Poseidon. "And you... you're so lost even Odin couldn't situate you." The lense is dispelled and he lets himself back down to rest his back. "I guess I'm alright, then." He takes another swig of gin.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The words that are said in ancient Greek are ones that Yaozu doesn't pay particular attention to. He doesn't understand them, and so there is little reason to listen well to them. He looks over to the fellow who looks as though he's gone overboard, his ear tufts slicked back with the rest of his feathers, but then his attention turns back to the fellow that he's recognized. It took a moment or two for him to be certain.

"I have fished on that pier once before. You were there fishing as well, and you had a cooler of beer. There were some osprey which came that day," he says, his tone thoughtful as he recalls the time. "I did not look then as I do now," he adds in a quieter voice. His attention turns towards the smoking fellow, and he tilts his head to one side before exhaling a breath through his nares. "I am aware that I am bad luck. It is what it is," he says quietly, lifting one of his shoulders in a faint shrug. He is the embodiment of an ill omen, where both of his cultures and no doubt others are concerned.

Askante has posed:
Askante grunts as it lumbers to a bench, sets the feather down carefully and shrugs out of its waterlogged duster. SOme attempt is made at wringing it of some of the moisture, but it might just be a matter of time and drip drying. It shakes its legs and arms also, peering down at its shirt and the rest of its clothing. With a sigh, that's shrugged off too, leaving it very scaley and semi-naked. Pants stayed on. Many, many arm bangles and other things are affixed to its person beneath the clothes, it seems like.

ANd then it finds its waterlogged note pad with a sigh. Time to find something to write on and it casts about, with a glance to Yaozu the owl-man, then to Constantine and his strange trickery with viewing askew. "What did he say? Heard mention of Old One-eye. What language they are speaking?" Ancient greek. Last time it spent a lot of time around anyone enough to learn the lingo.

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon blinks and laughs again, his head swinging so he can look to Constantine again. "Me? Lost? No. I'm not lost. I'm exactly where I want to be," he says, keeping his words in English for now. He shakes his head and focuses in on Yaozu again. "Cooler with beer, I often have that. But flock of osprey.. that doesn't happen very often. That was an odd day."

Poseidon turns to the creature and studies it for a moment. He nods to it. "Odin, yes. They are speaking English." This said in ancient Greek for the creature's benefit. "English is the dominant language here." He waves a hand and all the water that the creature has accumulated slithers off of it, out of its clothing, out of the waterlogged notepad. It gathers into a swirling ball in the air for a moment before it slides off to rejoin the breathren within the ocean. "I'm Percy," he says, in ancient Greek. Then again, in English.

Constantine has posed:
Ioannes, or whatever his true name is, belches longly at the sky. As for as climate changes are concerned, he's not helping much: the cloud of alchool is almost thick enough to form a shimmer at his lips. "Nah lad. Don't give yourself too much credit." He chuckles. "You're the sum of bad luck, a wreck of possible outcomes. Could be worse, especially if you decide to follow this one." He points at the slim humanoid. "Well, this one too." Poseidon is shaked a cigarette butt at. "Hell, don't hang out with me either. Blaze your own trail, chum."

After consideration, John puts the cigarette butt in a front pocket, enriching the trenchcoat's long history of abuse. He lights a new one. "I said you're lost, friend. Lost beyond time. Better make the best of it," he says in his version what should be Greek. "Do you come with a prophecy?" He switch his gaze to Poseidon and his language back to English. "Confused, heh? Brain still foggy and stormy, your Oceanity? I said /reborn/. John, John Constantine." He glances back at the others.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
Quietly, the avian watches the man shake itself off from at least some of the water. He simply watches with a bit of curiosity, and his right hand moves to rest at the small of his back. This is a familiar position for him to adopt, and he's comfortable like this. His gaze turns to Poseidon, and he inclines his head slightly towards him. "Yes. It was an odd day. It was a good day, though," he says softly, giving a small nod.

His gaze turns towards the drunk man who smokes, and he tilts his head to one side again, considering the words. And he gives a small shake of his head. "No. Your words were accurate the first time," he says quietly, lifting one of his shoulders in a faint shrug. He sounds as though he believes it, for better or for worse. "We all find our own way through life," he says softly. He's quiet for a long moment, keeping his right hand at the small of his back and his left hand vanished into the sleeve of his robes. "Lin Yaozu," he offers.

Askante has posed:
"Aah, oooh. Oh, thank you." Askante smiles at the removal of the water, for of course the God of the Ocean would be quite handy for that kind of thing. It dons its clothing again, picking up the notepad and setting the quill to the page, releasing the feather. "Percy," nodding to Poseidon, it looks over at Constantine with his words, then reads as the quill writes from english to the tongue that it knows. "Ahh. No, no prophecy. At least I do not think there is one. Maybe there is?" pondering that, it affirms. "Very lost. But I will find myself again, it is only a matter of time. I have all of the sands of Chronos to wait out. This..." it gestures with a nod to New York City, beyond the island and the great she-collosus of Lady Liberty "...is very unfamiliar. Men have become termites, up up and up. Have harnessed the lightning." Another hand gestures at the electricity and lastly, "...Askante."

It turns the notepad about, so that its words, translated to English, can be read. The feather upon the page quivers, as it waits for new things to translate.

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon might well be confused! "Hmm. Well. I'm not reborn either," he says. "I'm the original." He doesn't comment on the Oceanity bit. It's accurate! As to the avian being bad luck, to that Poseidon does not comment for a long moment. He doesn't know the bird man well enough to know whether or not it's true. Then, in English, "No one is entirely made up of good luck. No one is entirely made up of bad luck. Everyone has both good luck, and bad luck."

The God of the Seas inclines his head, manner almost regal but for the flannel and work boots, to the creature. "You're welcome," is offered in ancient Greek. He reads what is written, then, and nods. "They have. And they have. As well as a great many other things. Very creative, are humans." Pause. "Pleasure to meet you, Askante." Then in English, "Pleasure to meet you all."

Constantine has posed:
A glimpse of awakeness shimmers for an instant in Constantine's eyes and he nods after what Poseidon said. "Askante," he repeates in whispers. "Stay strong, Askante, the mundane didn't swallow the invisible. All you see, it hides it better instead... and more souls than ever to trade for power. Welcome to the New World, buddy." Of that, the bird man Lin Yaozu might not understand.

"Wolfbane my ballsack, this's scarier." John shakes his head at Poseidon. "Keep me posted when you find whodunnit, right?" He looks for a short while at Yaozu, then speaks. "Why am I here, friendo? Did you flip a coin or break a wishbone? Your cat speaking in tongues? The fish you caught, golden, was it?"

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The avian turns his gaze to the notepad, and to the words written upon it by the quill. "Where are you from, that you are lost?" he asks softly, a hint of curiosity to his voice. Shifting his position, Yaozu brings his right hand away from the small of his back and eases his left hand from his sleeve. He brings the back of his right hand to rest in the palm of his left hand, and he bows as he extends his arms. He remains thus for a moment before straightening, some of his having fallen forward over his shoulders. "It is good to meet you, Askante," Yaozu says softly.

His attention turns to Percy, and he tilts his head a touch to one side. "Perhaps that is so," he says softly. He's quiet for a long moment, considering things. "Many cultures have ill omens, symbols of bad luck," he says softly, lifting one of his shoulders in a bit of a shrug. He embodies both such things, for some cultures -- his own cultures, among others. His wings shift slightly at his back, and his gaze turns to the fellow in the trenchcoat. "None of my bones are broken. I have no coins upon my person, nor do I have a cat or a fish that is golden," he comments, tilting his head to one side. "Though such things sound to be more good luck than bad."

Askante has posed:
Lin Yaozu? That sounds confusing to Askante's ear. Two nomenclatures, one person, two anthithetic cultures, at least they were when last it was over that way. "Oh! Luck. Yes..." as it reads it waves hands in the air, warding infront, the side, at all four compass points, to the sky and to the soil. It draws a complicated pattern in the gravel with one long digit and nods, satisfied when a complicated blessing has been wrought there. It doesn't seem to actually -do- anything, but make the strange creature feel better. "The invisible never goes away completely, but there are fewer and fewer of us left now. I doubt I am the only one still to walk the world, but when last I was awake, I encountered no others. From what I understand though, the world woke up and now all the cosmos watches her." Looking up at Yaozu, it shrugs shoulders up "From earth. I was born of her. You are all her children, even the gods. This world is just very different from the last time I woke. They burned the witches not a far throw of a stone from here and I watched fear turn upon itself, righteous men became monsters." It then heads to a garbage bin, leaning over to rummage through the trash for things to eat that look reasonably recognizable as food. The end of a hot dog, the dregs of someone's coke, an apple core, all things withdrawn and sniffed at.

"Nobody has good offerings any more. Look at this! THis is like a harvest from yesterday, no choice lungs, or the blood of the feast kill! Just... what is that anyway?" It's half a hoho. All the while, the quill cheerfully translates on the notepad propped in sight of all.

Poseidon has posed:
Poseidon listens to the conversation for a short time longer. Then he nods to all before the turns and walks to the sea. He pauses and glances back to Askante, and speaks in ancient Greek. "Half of a pastry. Chocolate. It's good. Good luck," he says, cheerfully. He looks back to the sea. He stands there, with his back to the others for several long minutes. Then he walks into the sea, soon disappearing from sight and senses. Whether he'll report on whodunnit is anyone's guess.

Constantine has posed:
An ominious thunder is closing by, echoing from afar and soon breaking the clouds, never ending, ever growing. In a burst of blinding light, Constantine slowly rises, a light eerie breeze coming from behind him, moving his rainment in brisk bursts. He moves closer to the glyphs Askante left in the ground, kneels to see them better. Then the pillar of light moves off and the helicopter decides to go bother someone else. "You're missing somethin' here and there, mate," he says to Askante in old Greek, adding a line here, a doodle there. He remembers to rise again, shifts a bit to find his balance and gives the leaving God a very clumsy bow. "Power, my birdy boy, always like a coin. You flip one side, the other's soon to follow. Better not wish for anything, I say, else you get fate's big boot up your booty and your destiny ice cream goes boom on the sidewalk." He tsks. "Don't toy with 'lucky charms'."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The avian is a child of two cultures -- Chinese and Japanese. "Just because we cannot see it does not mean it is not there," Yaozu says softly, a thoughtful tone to his voice, and he inclines his head slightly. His right hand moves, returning back to the small of his back to rest there. And his left hand lifts to brush a bit of his hair back over his left shoulder before it vanishes anew back up the sleeve of his robes. His gaze turns to Percy, and he watches for a moment as the man heads into the sea to vanish there within. It's a mildly disturbing thing to watch, in some ways. He shakes his feathers out, and then they slick down again.

"Fear can make people do brave things or it can make them do foolish things. It depends on the person," he says. He glances towards the garbage bin that's being rummaged through, and then he tilts his head slightly to one side. "What is there is the refuse, what no one wished to eat or keep for themselves. If you hunger, I have sachima and I have lychees," he offers. His attention turns to the man in the trenchcoat, and he gives a small shake of his head. "I have no power," he says softly.

Askante has posed:
Askante glances at the ho-ho as it's explained by Poseidon, watching the god descend to his domain with a lingering attention. There's a nod shot that way, a biding of respect at least. But then, then there is COnstantine working extra turns upon the blessing glyph in the gravel and that terrible, horrible sound and light!

The creature vanishes, though in truth that's a fallacy, as the shape and shadow of it can be seen pressed up against the foot of Lady Liberty's monument, in the depths of the black.

The passing of the helicopter does not do much to bring it forth again, it lingers only in the long feminine shadow. Can it still see the notepad? APparently so. "Huh? But food is food. Why would they waste when some do not have. That makes no sense. And all things have power. If they did not, there would be nothing to take to render a soul powerless."

Constantine has posed:
"Bloody hell, can't take this goobledeegook 'nymore." Constantine finds that cigarette butt in his coat's pocket and he licks the ashy end of it, makes a face. "Déu de dalt i de baix," he says, his voice getting deeper and empowered, "Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist." He cough violently. A wisp of yellow smoke unfurls from his open mouth and branches, each arm reaching to encircle both humanoids's heads. "Hrm. Should hold for a day. Speak freely, boy. You speak all tongues. Cheers."

To chase the bad taste, he sucks in some gin from his bottle, swashes it and spits away. "You've got power, chum. Freewill and an immortal soul, 'nough to bring the world to its knees in the right hands. If you don't use it, something else /will/ for you." He shakes his head. "I sound like Papa Midnite, Merlin's balls."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
There is a soft shrug of his shoulders at the comment about the food, the gesture seeming a touch wistful. "Many people buy more than they eat, or they take more than they want sometimes. There is so much food that is available and it is so easy to purchase that people often have too much," Yaozu says softly. "They do not tend to consider those who are less fortunate, those who have less or not enough to eat." He tends to cook as much as he will eat, and tries to buy as much as he will then cook over a course of time. Sometimes, it is easier than others.

He exhales a breath through his nares, and he tilts his head a touch to one side. "I have no wish to bring the world to its knees. I simply wish to live my life as I see fit to live it, and do my job. Help people where and how I can," he says softly, giving a small nod.

Askante has posed:
Askante's focus becomes quite sharp on Constantine as the man invokes certain powers in its presence and achieves results, even if it ends up rather nasty for the fellow. The quills on its head raise, making it even taller, fleetingly, as they settle pretty quickly afterwards. "It must be nice that the powers of the world listen to your words, invoker. It tends to only be the Loa that listen to me and that only because Papa Legba told them to pay me mind. I worked for him, at the time of the burning and afterwards, when the leeches took to New Orleans..." it frowns "...the country went to war with itself. That was dark... I remember many warnings I had to give then."

It walks closer, considering the words on food with a look of disgust on its face. "Insidious, how quick they forget. And how easy it is to prompt excess. No wonder this world burns like acid."

Constantine has posed:
Constantine grunts at Yaozu. "That's more like it! Keep on the path, don't stray, birdy-boy. If things get strange, you gimme a call, we'll see. Hrm." He contorts to fit his arm deep under the lapel of his coat, tip of the tongue sticking at the corner of the mouth. "There." He offers a yellowed and brown-stained square that might have been a coaster twenty years ago. Longhanded words have been quilled and then washed: *. Consta**n*, exorc**** & h****tings, NO REFUNDS. "My card." However one would turn it or flip it, there's no phone number or address to be found.

"Crossroads, heh? They still there, still there..." John sounds pensive, mulling over portents. "I do pay a price, daily. It's not a picnic to be me. The burn of the world, you see it on my mug. It's a beautiful place here, terrible too. Walk it a fortnight 'fore you condemn it, Askante. I wonder why..." He looks at Askante, trying to burn holes with his gaze in it, to see through.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The avian is no mage, alas, nor does he have higher powers that he can call upon to do his bidding. He is -- or rather was -- simply a man. Granted, one who has been mutated ito being what he is now. He tilts his head to one side, the gesture one that seems more avian than human. "I fear I do not know of what you speak, Askante," he says softly, giving a small shake of his head. US history is not a thing that he's very knowledgeable about, alas.

Then he gives a small nod. "It is a terrible waste, I agree," Yaozu says. He does what he can to not contribute to it, at least. He gives a nod to Constantine at his words. "I try to stay on the path as best as what I can," he comments. His feathers fluff briefly and then slick back down again. "I believe things have already reached a point of strange," he comments, a hint of amusement to his voice. What else could it be called, really? He steps forward and reaches out a hand to accept the card, reading what is upon it before giving a small nod and tucking it away within one of his sleeves. "I will bear your words in mind. Thank you," he says, giving a small nod to the fellow. "We all have our own prices to pay for our own choices. It is life, and living."

Askante has posed:
"I am out of time. To put it into context for you Yaozu, when I fell asleep, the subjugation of China had begun, with the west erasing the spirit of pride. America, europe and japan took all that they had. Eventually, as I understand it, a rebellion happened against western rule and a republic came about in the wake. I think it was... the turn of the last century. I have been asleep a long time," something tickles its awareness though, in the way it's being stared at by Constantine.

It looks at him, then walks up close and kind of... bends itself at a peculiar angle, four hands coming up to steeple fingers as black eyes look at his. It holds the pose a moment, then unsteeples digits and wiggles fingers at him. "Boo~"

Constantine has posed:
Constantine blinks and takes a step back. He freezes... then laughs. One short 'HA!', bright and caustic, barked at the night. "Good try, good try. Thank you." Was there a shudder along his shoulders? "If you can bleed, don't half bite my spirit friend. Humans, they mix up hate and fear and they strike first now."

After a sigh, he looks to Yaozu. "Wise too. You'll go far." Constantine means it, he's all solemn at Yaozu. "Where you see waste, remember there's plenty too. Not a bad thing. And Askante is gabbin' of the Far Away God... they never do anything at all. I think they gave up but they still have angels around, sort of. Demon angels. They need vessels to walk with us..." He shrugs. "Not my neighborhood. Ask Midnite."

The englishman reaches for thin air, turns his wrist and a door appears, opens, bleeding the warm light of a rich ecclectic home into the night. Only, the whole building is missing and the hall, it can only be seen through the tear in reality. The door is too real though, thick wood enriched with brass blackened by time. He yawns. "I feel this's gonna be a good night. Cheerio!" Leaving an empty crumpled pack of Silk Cuts behind, John Constantine passes the threshold and is gone.

Yaozu Lin has posed:
"That is a long time to have been asleep for," Yaozu says in a soft and respectful tone of voice. He looks down for a moment, considering the extent to which the world has changed in the past hundred years. "Things have changed much in that period of time," he muses. There's a hint of a smile that shows in the slight parting of his beak at Askante's behaviour towards Constantine, for he finds it to be amusing.

His hazel gaze shifts to Constantine, and he tilts his head a touch to one side at the words. He bows, his gaze lowered respectfully. "Thank you," he says. He doesn't feel particularly wise, but he isn't going to argue this time, at least. "This is also true, that there is plenty. And yet, despite there being plenty, there are those who go hungry and those who are without homes or shelter of any kind, those who cannot afford medicine for their ills," he says. Then he tilts his head to one side. "To each, their own beliefs," he adds, inclining his head slightly. He glances towards the door when it's summoned into thin air, and he gives a small nod. "The hope is always for a good night, whether it comes to be or not. A good and safe night to you," he offers.

His attention turns back to Askante then. "The past, I fear, is rife with battles fought over borders that men would seek to draw in the sand, so to speak. Humanity could have made much greater progress towards other goals had there not been such an intention of invading one's neighbours to either take what they have or to slaughter the people that lived there. War, it seems, is a driving force to progress where technology is concerned," he says softly.

Askante has posed:
"Such is the nature of things, yes," ASkante watches the Mystery Mansion manifesting and after it has done so, it looks back at Yaozu, pondering a moment. "What do you see when you look at me? I am curious." It asks this, as it advances toward the man-owl, crouching down onto its haunches as it nears and letting its tail stick out like the rudder on a velociraptor until balance is achieved.

"I am not concerned with war. War happens, it is the nature of survival of the fittest. What that judgement happens to be, is generally dictated by the one that is victorious. There are things that man should not dabble in though and that do go bump in the night. Sometimes, it can be dealt with. Sometimes it cannot."

Yaozu Lin has posed:
The question earns a tilt of his head to one side, and he studies Askante for a long moment. The question is an odd one, truly. And a question like that isn't simply asked on a lark or a whim. Logically, one would only ask such a question under particular circumstances. "I see someone who appears to have fallen overboard from a ship or other variety of marine craft. You appear to be neither male nor female, by appearance," he says softly. He doesn't back away when he's approached, and he remains standing where he is.

"Survival of the fittest was a harsher thing in years gone by. Diseases for which there are now cures were then deadly," Yaozu says softly. "War has been happening for hundreds of years and it is likely to continue to happen as long as there are groups who find fault with people being different than what they are," he comments. "There are things that humans should leave be. And there are, and always have been, things that go bump in the dark of the night. Things that make us afraid to leave our beds or look into our closests. Things of nightmares. Some are things that we can deal with, and others require help beyond ourselves."

Askante has posed:
Askante listens to the reply, thanks to a weird incantation from Constantine. It looks surprised a moment, but not VERY surprised. Kind of an eyebrow twitch on the surprise scale. "Always interesting," is the comment, before it nods and is about to turn away. Going back to its meal of refuse. Then, with a cheerful smile it wanders over to the base of the statue of liberty and looks at the doors to the visitor's center.

Well, that shouldn't have happened. It just tugged the handle and walked on in. Did they forget to lock it???

Yaozu Lin has posed:
If the answer that he gave lent any insight into his mind, Yaozu is blissfully ignorant of such a thing. He can only extrapolate from the question being asked that whatever shape he sees is likely a different one than what others do. Otherwise, why have the curiosity? "The perspective that people have can often be an interesting thing," he says softly, that small smile parting his beak again. He tilts his head a bit to one side as he watches Askante head towards the statue, and after a brief moment, he follows.

It is, after all, better to be able to stay indoors for the night than to have to remain outside, especially if the forecast of rain turns out to be an accurate one. He's still learning how to deal with his feathers, how to take care of them. There's a brief pause taken outside the door of the visitor's center before he checks the door to see if he might be able to follow.

Askante has posed:
He can. It is unlocked, since the creature tugged the portal open. INside is infinitely preferetial to outside in a torrent of rain. One must just remember to leave before tourists arrive and avoid the camera 'active zones'. Just inside should do just fine.