[CYOA-Superstitions] Human Watching (Hel/Salbei)

[Enoh Love]

Holiday CYOA - Human Superstition

"Anyway, I believe they think I am a student." Salbei hummed, clearly amused but also quite confused. He held a temporary human word passport between his bony fingers, which was also funny, because he and the rest of the Horsemen had been banned from the portals.

"I don't suppose you'd like to join me?" He tilted his head, looking down at his adopted daughter.

lucyal

 

[Lucyal]

Hel stared at the temporary human passport with nothing short of a baffled look. She decided that if she ever became a secretary (for some really dire reason) she'd still be way more competent than some of the other creeple dishing out important documents like that. Even with as much as she had hated homework and paperwork, she at least knew what's up.

"Then they need their eyes checked!" She grinned up at him, and then shrugged, because it was Gramps, and hey, she'd be there to keep an eye on him anyways.

"How could I turn you down, Gramps?" She fished out her official passport from the depths of her bosom, and waved a bit as she hummed. "Age before beauty!" She ushered, and just gave her most charming smile she could muster---which was still devilish at best.

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

"They didn't quite look at me. Seemed a little…busy…with the others and assumed I was one of them." He shrugged, still as baffled as ever to be holding such a thing in his hands. Either way, he had it, and he might as well take the time to enjoy having it. For a moment he looked like he was about to comment on her decision to keep such important documents in her breasts, but he realized quickly that would be a losing battle. Instead he chuckled lightly, and shook his head.

"Why, thank you." He offered a most gracious bow as he made his way to the portal and, after showing his temporary pass, was allowed through.

He was met with the roar of water and a rather slanted hill of a street, lined with colourful and unique buildings.

"Ah - I've no idea where we are." He looked around with a hum, and quietly stepped out of the way as a loud teenager swooped past them, laughing at the top of their lungs. "Do you?"

lucyal

 

[Lucyal]

Hel grinned. She bowed in return with mock flourish before flaunting after him into the portal after flashing her passport. She popped out next to him, turning her head this way and that. The reaper paused for a moment, listening, before she rubbed her chin.

"Nah. I do not." She watched a teen loudly go by, and she snapped her fingers. "Damn! I wish we were not invisible---and that we could mess with them a bit--" She pouted, briefly, before rolling her shoulders and looking around some more. "Well, somewhere near a waterfall! Can not say I have ever come this way on my travels so far---but alas! We will figure it out eventually, ya? So, Gramps...since this is your chicken---what shall we do? Stay outside, or would you like to find a home to enter?"

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

"There's nothing in the rules stating we can't...accidentally bump into someone." He mused, red eyes widening slightly with innocence. "I'm just glad to be allowed into the Human World again." It was nice to be back, without having to use secret portals in remote areas. Very nice. The older horseman scratched lightly at his pale cheek, humming thoughtfully.

"Let's stay outside. I'm curious to know where we are - and there seems to be quite a few people milling about out here." They'd have better luck studying the humans out here, after all.

"So. Shall we go up-" He gestured up the slanted street. "Or down?" His gesture was towards the sound of rushing water, near the end of the road.

lucyal

 

[Lucyal]

Hel's grin split her face at the suggestion. "Oooooooh~" She purred, eyeing another passing human with renewed interest. "This is most certainly true! A creature after my own heart, Gramps!" She grinned up at him, and then pointed down the street.

"Let us go down, and then up!" Everywhere. Let them go everywhere. The reaper started to head down the street, swinging her arms cheerfully. "So, Mister Smarty Robes, do you know anything about human superstitions?" She paused for a moment before continuing. "Like do not walk under ladders, and black cats crossing your path, and breaking mirrors---"

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

A nearly skeletal hand slipped from his robes with the sole purpose of ruffling her hair. "Well, you are my Daughter." He reminded her with a small, amused chuckle. Like Father, like Daughter, apparently. Or…Grand-Daughter…? Child.

His laugh grew more pronounced when she asked him about superstitions.

"Who do you think started some of them?" Oh gosh, that was adorable. IF he knew about superstitions…Hah! "Some of the humans made them for themselves, like the ladder deal. The Black Cat was entirely you Halloween children, but the Mirrors? Oh, was that one ever fun or orchestrate." He sighed wistfully. "It takes a lot of dedication to haunt a human for seven years. Thankfully, there was shift work involved."

He looked around, trying to spot a Human doing anything out of the ordinary, and he eventually pointed at one, who did everything they could to not look down.

"That one," He started with a sneer. "Believes that if they look at their Shadow tonight, they will die."

Quote:

There are a few humans looking at the sky tonight. In fact, they're doing their best to not look down!

lucyal

 

[Lucyal]

Hel puffed up happily and and proudly at the gesture. "Ya, I am." There was only a small pause, in which the next question was to be expected. "And your favorite, right?" Never not asking, despite the fact she said, in her head, she was always his most favorite ever.

"Oh. Ya." The reaper tilted her head. "I know you are old, but it slips my mind that you are also old as dirt." She listened with interested, grinning a bit. "Ha! So if Horsemen had their hands on the mirror bit, then did your kind also have a role with the 'Bloody Mary' superstition? Have you heard of that one, Gramps?" She supposed that was one downside of not going inside. They wouldn't see any stupid kids attempting to say Bloody Mary three times in the mirror and then turning off the lights---

Damn, that would have been such a great time to do some scaring.

Hel followed where he was pointing. "Eh~?" She leaned around him, and then laughed, loudly. "What? I have not heard of this! Do they believe that their shadow will kill them?"

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

"…Sure." He hummed, having taken a moment to consider her prodding before answering. Sure, why not, she could be his favourite child. Technically, as she was the only one to carry his last name, she was his only, but he decided it would be best to not bring up that particular point. Alex, Mort and Bella were still his children too, after all.

"Older, darling filly." He corrected, narrowing his eyes playfully. That was a lie; dirt had been invented before he was born, but it was always fun to pretend. "Ah - the Bloody Mary bit. That was one rather opportunistic Halloween creature. Quite brilliant, really! Your kind are very ingenious, building on things that already exist." He nodded his approval, and then shook his head sadly.

"Sadly, yes. There was a time when one of our more wayward numbers decided to slaughter anyone who looked at their shadow. At first it was wide spread, but then they were put under house arrest. They were only allowed out one day a year, and so…" The Horseman trailed off with a shrug. "A human tradition happened, and it seems that such a fear can be hardwired into the Human's core." It was fascinating, really.

Lucyal

 

[Lucyal]

Of course Gramps was going to give her the politically correct answer about how all of his children were his favorites yadda yadda blah blah---

Wait. What.

Hel's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she was stunned speechless for a moment. Surprise, surprise, surprise. She coughed, loudly, thumping a hand on her chest, and then just grinned. "Oh ya, OLDER THAN DIRT---" Hel paused a moment, before she waggled her brows at him. "Did Horsemen create the universe? You were there for that too?" Or something like that based on what humans learned in human school. The reaper hummed thoughtfully. "Uh huh..." Evolving and stuff, okay, that was neat, she guessed...and her expression soured at the explanation, as insightful as it was, but things did come from somewhere. "Or maybe they are just stupid as well."

The reaper moved on, passing by the human and did poke them on her way by, snickering at the scare it gave them before they ran into their next study. "Huh!" Hel made a jump and landed right next to the human, staring at them intently. "I know this one! Creeple who can not grasp their own future believe something else will for them---" She paused for a moment, and then stood on her tip toes to tell them about overcoming diversity and hardship and grasping life by the horns and oh---they were going to marry a very grumpy bird in their future. Yep. That last one for certain.

Quote:

9: There's a human standing in the middle of a cross roads. They seem to be listening for something…so you decide to tell them about your life. They leave, muttering about how weird THEIR life was going to be.

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

Hel nearly choked on his admission, causing a rather entertained laugh. "Are you going to be alright, little one?" As to whether or not the Horsemen created the universe, he only had one empathetic answer for her:

"I don't think so, little one. We were around before the primates, at least. Humans have come so far." He smiled at the passing humans, stepping out of the path of a young family dressed as bees. "And yet they've fallen so much." Granted, a lot of that was probably directly due to the things that hunted them for fun.

"Very good! That one is a fun one. I'm glad you found such a human." He pat her on the back, and spotted yet another human that refused to look at their shadow. "Ah. That one is more common than I first suspected."

lucyal

 

[Lucyal]

She thumped her chest once more with a fist, and then gave a loud, "Ha! Of course I am alright! I am Hel!" The favorite.

The reaper side stepped around the passing bee family with ease, glancing back at them over her shoulder before looking towards the horseman. She didn't offer her two seeds on the rise and fall of humans, honestly not wanting to broach the subject of what Salbei really thought of them at this point in time. She'd been around blocks enough times to know touching the subject with a ten foot pole could lead to some points she didn't want to tackle just yet---or points she wanted to purposefully remain ignorant of.

"Ya~ Fun indeed---" She paused as a large group of humans rounded the corner, and each sported a wide range of costumes. Hel gave a snort, and jabbed her thumb at the passing group. "So Mister Smarty Robes---do you know why humans do that?"

Quote:

10: So many are dressed up! …Wait, are they dressed up? Do humans usually look like this?

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

It was probably best that Hel didn't ask his stance on humans. When it came down to it he was a Horseman of the Apocalypse. Some things were better left alone.

Sal was busy watching with bemusement as a Human walked backwards by him, while sporting clothing that was also backwards and inside out, but Hel's question did eventually make him turn his attention to the Humans she was gesturing to. He gazed at them for a while, taking in their clothing and costumes, before chuckling.

"They think, that by pretending to be little monsters like you~" Nearly skeletal fingers walked along Hel's arm, before he pinched her cheek. "~ the real little monsters would leave them alone."

Quote:

7 - A human walks past you, and it takes you a minute to realize what's strange about that: it seems their clothes are on backwards and inside out…plus, they're walking backwards.

lucyal

 

[Lucyal]

"Ah---hey---" Hel took some offense to that statement, because she was a dignified and honorable reaper who pillaged things---not a monster---

She was distracted though by Sal's chopstick fingers moving up her arm, and then she scowled, loudly, as he pinched her cheek like she was six or something. The reaper turned her head despite her cheek being pinched still, to watch another human walk by...backwards....with her clothes inside out. She pointed at the human, and then looked up at Salbei.

"Even when I have had a ship full of ale, Gramps, I do not do stupid things like that!"

Quote:

7 - A human walks past you, and it takes you a minute to realize what's strange about that: it seems their clothes are on backwards and inside out…plus, they're walking backwards.

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

Sal's expression zen'd out as Hel not only scoffed loudly, but turned her head from him. She didn't seem to pull herself free of his grasp, and so he kept it there, continuing to pinch her cheek and pulling lightly and playfully in the immediate wake of her stubbornness.

"Yes, well, Humans aren't known for having capable brains." The costumes humans came back, close enough now that Sal had to step aside, pulling a little more obviously on Hel's cheek to get her to move, too.

Quote:

10: So many are dressed up! …Wait, are they dressed up? Do humans usually look like this?

lucyal