Kagko: The Story

[Noctis the Devious]

-Questions and other information will be directed/found in the OOC thread-

We exist as neither human nor angel nor demon; alive nor dead. Unpredictable, unkillable creatures who stalk the shadows and hide in the elements, echoes of a time long forgotten. We have no forms but have mastered shapeshifting, allowing us to look any way we want, how old we want, and do just about anything we can think of with our shapeless bodies. Unfortunately, there is a bit of a sick, twisted drawback to our existence, as if who ever created us, created us to be nothing more than entertainment to them, or maybe we are an experiment gone awry? 'Living' proof that there are limits to even a mighty deity's grand powers?

Every single one of us lack something or another

The passage ended as a dark mass settled over the parchment and a smooth, somewhat deep yet feminine voice asked, "What are you writing?" Nameless was what the kageko was called. Though the kageko, or shadow children, don't have genders in the traditional sense, 'she' identified as female. She was also one of the weirder looking kageko, having taken a fancy to yellow and red and it reflected in her skin tone, the yellow dominating her complexion while the red markings shifted with the lighting. Yellow and red dragon wings sprouted from her back and were folded neatly as they were indoors. The clothes she wore also reflected her interest in the colors.

Record Keeper, or R. K., sighed wearily. Unlike it's sister it did not identify with either gender and opted for a more plain, gender neutral appearance. Some would even go as far as to describe it unexceptionally ordinary and thus unrememberable. "I keep track of everything but us; have you noticed?" It looked over at Nameless, who frowned.

"Perhaps there is too much to keep record of?" Nameless responded, misinterpreting the nature of the question. She did that a lot with no fault of anyone's. Though she had been getting better, it still boggled Record Keeper's mind. What did she lack to cause such an odd side effect? Nameless, despite her appearance, was normal in other aspects, but her nature did have Record Keeper wondering if she also lacked other emotions aside from placid.

The genderless kageko merely sighed and turned back to the parchment to continue writing. "What are the others doing?" Record Keeper dared to ask. The two lived with several others in an ancient castle away from civilization in a sort of pocket dimension, but not without means of visiting the modern world. In the beginning it was just Record Keeper and Nameless inhabiting the stone structure, but others soon joined them much to Record Keeper's annoyance. Over time it slowly grew to tolerate the others' presences but it still preferred to be left in peace.

Nameless tilted her head, her yellow and red eyes holding a puzzled look as she slowly processed the information, her short, gold, red highlighted hair falling off to the side. "You want me to go check?" she finally inquired.

 

[Mistress]

There was and always will be one lamp that lights the third room of the East wing hall. Though its grey flames flickered constantly inside the gloomy room, it never dies out. Rumors say the flames remain lit so long as its mistress still breathes.

But this was a terrible wonder: For how can she breathe when she had no nose? How can she sigh when she had no lips? How can one tell if she's alive if she has no eyes that sparkle with life? And yet, she can still see, and smell, and speak.

She was a Kageko, and she was faceless. Only a blank canvass filled the void between her ears.

The grey light wavered a bit, casting a ghastly glow on the countless cosmetics that littered around the young lady. She wore her own form that day: a slender young woman whose skin glowed deathly pale from the dull light. The skirts of her dark dress flooded the floor where she sat looking down at all the makeup she can never wear.

If I had an expression right now, it would be of...isolation, she thought matter-of-factly.

A knock on her bedroom door startled her. "Expression?" a familiar voice called out what used to be a taunt, and now her chosen name. Expression chuckled softly at the memory. Yes, she had thought back then, she will have an expression, even if it was only as a name. Many years have passed since she had chosen her name. Many things have changed as well. Now she lived in a castle along with Nameless and Record Keeper, among others. A little less isolated.

"Come in," she turned at her bedroom doorway where her visitor stood waiting.​

 

[Peregrine]

"You're late."

Late did his best to nod agreeably, despite the irritation that flashed through him at the comment. He had never told anyone in this building his name, yet half the time they guessed it, and the other half of the time they insisted upon calling him "Early." It was only after they had gotten that ritual name-calling out of the way whenever he walked into the room that they would start using the name his boss had given him. John.

His boss pointed to the clock, and Late glanced over at it before turning his attention back to the man seated before him, the numbers parting around his mind like water slipping past a rock. His boss let out a sigh, before shaking his head and moving on. It was easy to read his expression. This man is a genius, but he can be so hard to deal with sometimes. It was an expression he received almost annoyingly often working for the mob. He followed their rigid structures as best as he was able, and there were very few orders you could give him that he wouldn't complete. But what exactly was he supposed to do when someone told him to show up by eight? The first time he had received that instruction he had made sure that there was no one named "eight" in the building, before going on to search most of the rest of the city. When he had finally returned to his boss, irritated over the fact that he had not been able to find any "eight" to arrive beside, his boss had pointed to the clock.

"I wanted you here by 8 o'clock!" he bellowed so loudly that spittle flew around the room. "Yesterday!"

He had sat in that building, staring at the clock, trying to comprehend how it worked, until the janitor had finally arrived and kicked him out, saying that the boss didn't want anyone in the building after midnight without express permission. The clock seemed to move with absolutely no order, and how was he supposed to know when it was 8 by-the-clock when there were three hands?

Several of his workmates tried to explain it to him multiple times, but every time they asked him if he understood he could only answer "no". When they asked him what he did not understand, he always asked them "But what is it measuring?" They always told him it was measuring time, but when asked to elaborate upon what precisely time was, most of them could only shrug. The one person who had dared tried to explain that it measured how "long" something was had received a dumfounded expression, and Late asking how that thing on the wall could measure the length of his arm.

Eventually everyone simply had to find a way to work around his "handicap", although they could still never satisfactorily explain what precisely was wrong with him. For his part, Late knew that there was something wrong with him, but that didn't mean he was going to let others get away with insulting him. In a place like the mob, respect could be the difference between life and death. Not that such a thing touched him either, but that was not something he wanted them to know. They believed he was a genius at stealth, infiltration, torture, pretty much anything they assigned him. They didn't understand that most of the tasks they assigned him relied upon a physical form to be difficult. But the same way he could not comprehend their all-important concept of "time", they would not be able to understand what he was. And Late was perfectly alright with that.

"Did you finish the job?" his boss asked, mostly by ritual. Late nodded, and a brief smile of satisfaction flickered across his face.

"Do it faster next time." This was another statement that was almost ritual, because it was once more almost meaningless to Late. The concept of "fast" and "slow", of "late" and "early", of "soon" and "sudden" and "tomorrow" and "hour", seemed to directly relate to the immeasurable substance of "time". But still, Late nodded, and his boss sighed again and dismissed him from the room. Just before he closed the door, Late heard the man mutter "I hope he'll be back soon."

As Late was walking from the building, an idea came to mind, one that he followed with pleasure. He wanted to see the ragtag bunch of Kageko he called family.

 

[|Curiousity&InSANITY|]

He was called Many Names.
Many Names For The Same Face.
Neutral,Blank,Vacant,Empty,Vacuous,and Void to name a few.
Personally,He Liked 'Empty' Better. Afterall,it described him the most. A Blank Face,an Empty heart,A Void Existance that was him.
Empty's transparent body floated on the Empty hallways of Nameless And Record Keeper's Castle. Until now,Empty still couldn't figure out why was he still here,on a castle with a few others that was like him but at the same time not like him.
He passed Expression's Room,Were he saw Nameless And Record Keeper enter.
For a brief moment,Empty knew that Record Keeper saw him.
Record Keeper Called Out his name,But Empty Was Long gone.

Maybe One Day Empty could find the answer he was looking for.

 

[Aken Jizo]

Yet another of the "family" walked down the halls of their own private world, noting a barely visible Empty as he passed his "brother" by. Safe. He had taken the form of a young boy with dull grey hair and matching eyes, and who was skinny almost to the point of being malnourished. His "clothing" consisted of a single large grey rag that managed to cover his entire body, even though it was severely frayed at the edges. His bare feet made hardly any noise as they met the floor; indeed, it could barely even be called a pitter-patter, even with his currently tiny feet.

The Kageko who called himself Guardian continued to look for his other "family" members. He'd decided on his name when he realized he was the one most willing to enter into disgusting, horrifying, and mind-numbingly bizarre forms, all for the sake of protecting the lot of them from outsiders. Whether it be scaring off the mundanes with "ghosts" or fending off the stranger threats, he could and would do anything to keep his "family" safe. Spiders, half-formed humanoids, eldritch things "from beyond the stars"...scaring, hurting, killing...there was no form he wouldn't take and no line he wouldn't hesitate to cross to ensure their safety. For him, it was amazingly easy. After all, he felt absolutely no remorse.

Eventually, he managed to stumble across Record Keeper and Nameless, and looking into the room confirmed Expression was there. Safe, Safe, and Safe. Excellent. He gave a nod of greeting to his Sisters and his Brother. Of course, they still were not all accounted for. For instance... "Brother Record Keeper, I can't find Brother Late. Is he still in the city?" Guardian would never admit how much he hated it when any one of them went out. They were so much easier to keep safe when they were all together.

 

[Katherine]

Idle sat alone in the corner, shut up in her room, vaguely taking the appearance of a child-like figure. She sighed, listening to the rest of her 'family' bicker. Quite an enjoyable thing really. She was overly protected for unknown reasons, maybe because of something called love. She softly opened the door, gently sneaking through the halls. She kept looking left, as was her natural habit, which was odd even for a Kageko. She quickened her pace before sprinting into a wall-like object."OW!' She said before clumsily smacking the back of her head into a real wall. She looked up and saw something, but she couldn't tell what. Idle was still cross-eyed and dizzy. All she knew was that she was going to get chewed out. "IDLE!" Began the voice, as Idle solidified into a young girl with auburn hair and eyes to match, who reached up and rubbed her sore head with a child's hand.

 

[Peregrine]

Late's home appeared before him, and he hovered before entering the door, staring up at the manor. It wasn't a bad place to call home, all things considered. He did not mind being a social creature. It was, if anything his nature. Perhaps that was why he had gravitated towards the mob, and chosen to take a job there. The mob was a family as much as the Kageko living inside this house were a family. Everyone took care of everyone else, and everyone worked for the good of the family as a whole.

But he did not choose to remain sedentary within this house. Especially considering the size of the manor, the hallways echoed emptily. Whereas the human world buzzed with life, and was always moving. If he allowed himself to stay in the unchanging hallways of his home, he might emerge once more to find that everything in the human world had changed. It had happened to him before, and it always left him with an indefinable sense of loss. He needed the continual buzz of activity to keep himself centered, otherwise he would lose the chance to experience precious moments that would never again return.

He entered the halls, lazily stretching his long arms over his head. Out in the human world, one could not wander in whatever form he pleased. He had to be something stable and constant. He had chosen the form of a tall, pale young man with dark brown hair and grey eyes on a whim when he first wandered into the mob's base, and now he was stuck with it. He did not begrudge the form, as it was not lacking in anything for a human. But nor was it particularly fast, particularly strong, particularly good at seeing, smelling, or hearing. Human beings were completely average, and only their strange ability to adapt had allowed them to thrive for as long as they had. But they were also such social creatures, and he could use them to define himself.

Now, in the safety of a place none but Kageko could enter, he allowed his current form to melt away, and settled into something far more useful and practical. His ears lengthened and frilled outwards, easily able to swivel around and pick up sounds in any directions. Extra sets of eyes appeared on the back of his neck and on the back of his hands, and his nose broadened and flattened. His hair receded and a double set of sharp horns rose from his temples, one jutting forward aggressively, the other curling around the back of his head to protect his exposed neck. A thick, rope like tail appeared, curling up and swishing lazily just above the floor. Finally, a pair of neatly folded wings emerged from his back, dark and bat-like.

In the same way that he was not one to stay in the silence, he was not one to fade into the freedom of insubstantiality unless he had a reason to. It was a rule he had placed on himself quite a while ago, as, without the ability to track that indefinable substance of time that seemed to dictate the lives of even his brethren Kageko, immortality and all, an insubstantial form caused him to lose the last grounding he had upon the changes taking place in the human world and his own.

A long tongue slipped out of his mouth and curled catlike as he yawned. It was nice to be home.

 

[frazfreyy]

Tiresome lay down in her bed. She had acquired that name by her mother, but she no longer liked it. She had spent the last hour trying to think of a unique name. She looked down at her sneakers. Blue! Blue shall be her new name. She was proud if herself for thinking of it. She hopped up out of bed and ran up to her father, announcing that she shall be called Blue from now on.

 

[Liz-isfullofluvs]

Apathy had wandered toward the entrance of her home, the white robe she had chosen for herself flowing behind her. She saw one of her companions, if you could call him that, nearly pass her without exactly noticing. Her white eyes glistened devoid of interest, it seemed, which the slight lilt in her voice also displayed.
"Ah, Late. Hello. Or, are we Early today? Possibly Punctual? May I just call you the Essence of Time?"

 

[Peregrine]

Late paused, and turned around slowly, plastering a relatively amused expression on his face. "Apathy," he greeted cheerfully. "Are you trying to get a rise out of me, or do you actually wish to engage in plesant conversation?"

The only problem Late had with his "family" was the problem that came along with all family. You didn't get to choose them. Except perhaps for Record Keeper, all of those who were here were here because they were looking for some sort of security and sociability. It could be a very lonely existence, simply existing forever. And Kageko were rare enough that those who came together were not likely to have similar, or even compatible, personalities.

At least he didn't necessarily have to be respectful to everyone here, unlike at the mob. Show disrespect tot he wrong person there, and they might even try to kill him. That touch of gallows humor was enough to add some honesty to the smile spread across his face.

 

[Liz-isfullofluvs]

Apathy tilted her head, eyes still off somewhere else, staring through him, as usual, "Seems you had quite a day. Don't get too excited, now." She shook her head, her cropped, dark silvery hair bouncing as she did, "Did you do anything of note?"

Apathy had a knack for fitting her name; it was not ironic, like many of the patrons in her house. She watched the days slide by without interest, doing as she was bid when asked. There was nothing particularly invigorating about this. However, the Record Keeper had told her to try and be somewhat sociable, lest she melt away into nothingness.

 

[Katherine]

Idle had struggled back up and sprinted past the hallways. Despite her name, she COULD NOT sit still. She was like the ADHD version of a kageko who just ate a cup of sugar. She reached a large iron door and quietly stepped out, the lights of the city glittering before her. Idle's form of a girl smiled broadly as her auburn hair flew in the wind and the girl's black windbreaker was tightly wrapped around her. Surely no one would notice she was gone. She slid into the densely populated streets and seemed to disappear. Finally away, she thought, just as the rain began to pour.

 

[Liz-isfullofluvs]

Apathy thought she saw a flash of auburn pass her vision, and she blinked, sensing a scent of sugar fill the air for half a second. It was only a moment, though, and she disregarded it quite quickly, though the brief thought of what could be behind that sugary auburn brought the smallest brief smile to her lips. This emotion was soon disregarded. Apathy tended to dislike too many attachments. Had to listen to R.K., though, or your head would be on the chopping block.

 

[Katherine]

Maybe, just maybe they would find her, the cheerful auburn thought, happily skipping through the streets, seeing as the sugar she had everyday, plus her hyperactive nature, allowed her to. She was quite the thief, however. Barely anyone would turned twice to a child on the streets when hurrying home from their workplaces. Easily, Idle pick pocketed a rounded bald man, a blonde lady dressed to go to the club, and a middle aged man. Now, all she really needed was a candy store. Perhaps she could get some for R.K. and the rest of her 'family' so they would she she had her own reason to leave. Or else, they would suffer the wraith of a sugar free Idle. Clutching the newly "found" wallets in her hand, she headed into the candy shop.

 

[Peregrine]

Late nodded his head absentmindedly, scratching lazily behind one pointed ear. "My boss has officially decided I am irreplaceable," he responded, "Which is about as high of praise as it is possible to get." His tail swished lazily as he studied the lazy set of his sister's shoulders. "You should try leaving the house once in a while. It might do you some good." He followed the statement with a shrug, not about to force the issue.

 

[Liz-isfullofluvs]

Apathy sighed, "Perhaps. Doesn't seem like there's anything of note out there either, though. No Kageko is going to be accepted out there, and it much more fun to experiment in here," Just to demonstrate, Apathy's hair flashed crimson for a moment, "This 'family,' of sorts, seems we all are comfortable with each other. Don't see a reason to change anything. It'll just end this life."

 

[Katherine]

Holding a large number of candy bags, Idle shuffled out of the store. The iron door once again appeared, causing Her to drop some of her candy so she could pull the thing open. Trudging inside she went to Late's room, clutching the bags of candy she had gotten. A piece fell out, and clattered loudly against the tile flooring of the hallway as Idle fidgeted by the door. Knocking, she softly said, "Umm... Early/Late...? Apathy...? I-i brought s-some candies..."

 

[Liz-isfullofluvs]

Apathy took the oppurtunity to open the door, hearing Idle's small interjection. As Apathy did so, she could sense that sugary scent again, it was the feel of the girl.
Strange, a creature with such energy can become nearly mute in the company of others...
Apaty stared at the girl, or rather through her, as per usual, with her blank eyes for a moment before completely registering the situation. She then spoke in her usual dull tone, with no urgency whatsoever.
"Idle. What a mood you set. Oh, Late, come here, would you."
Apathy had no idea how innately intimidating she could be in this sense, as she was hardly aware of most social activity around her.

 

[Mistress]

It was the founders of the castle who had stood behind her door. Their visit was cut short when Guardian had flitted by and asked for Late. As soon as they came, the Original Two, as Expression often called them in her head, left her room for other matters. Or maybe they felt uneasy upon finding me in one of my moods?

The immense creak of the entrance doors she heard below told her that Late had finally come home. With muted excitement, she stepped away from her cosmetics and brushed the creases of her dark dress before walking out of her grey-lit bedroom. She found no need to look at herself in the mirror.

Even as Expression climbed down the stairs, the voices of Late and Apathy reached her ears. She had half a mind of staying on the stairwell, away from their view, where she doesn't have to intrude their conversation. I can hear about Late's day right here, she thought.

She listened for a while, unsure what to do, only to hear Late had little to say about today's adventure. Ah, shame. She had wanted to hear more about the world she had left behind long ago. Late seemed to be the only one who frequented the outside these days. Whenever she could, she'd ask him for stories of his adventures even if it were filled with things she didn't care about, such as death and violence.

But now, Apathy had caught up to him first. And, from the sound of things, Idle had joined in. Never one for large groups, Expression was disheartened although she didn't look it. She stood frozen where she was, behind the pillar where the others wouldn't see her, and decided to stay there and listen further, if it weren't for the Kageko who stood at the top of stairs.

"Oh, hello," she greeted and added the first words she could think of. "Late's back home. He thinks we should all visit the outside world."​

 

[Peregrine]

"See," Late said, with some small measure of satisfaction, and with a surprisingly judgmental finger pointing in Idle's direction. "She goes out. You can't find any candy just sitting around in here." His logic seemed slightly flawed, even to him, but he shrugged, accepted a piece of candy from Idle, unwrapped it, and popped it in his mouth.

Sucking absentmindedly, he wandered his way over to Apathy, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "Yes?"

(May I ask who is at the top of the stairs, Mistress?)