Season's Beatings [Open]

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So this was Christmas again. Or it was however long before it that the shops had pulled out the sparkly lights this year, for all Brynmor knew it could be tomorrow rather than the better part of the month away, he didn't generally keep a calendar to hand the slow march of time was too tedious.

It wasn't even close to the first day the lights had gone up but it was the first day since they had that Brynmor had ventured close enough to the shops to see them. He understood the concept of the holiday, several reasons for it and he'd seen more variations than he could be bothered to remember and it wasn't what it used to be but the lights were usually a nice break in the gloom. This year though seemed oddly subdued so far but he supposed that was what a lock down would do to a holiday.

It was already just starting to get dark and he kept out the way, slouching his height down as he leaned against the wall at the mouth of an alleyway surrounded by shops, lurking and mostly ignored for fear that he might start asking for money or try to steal it. He was scruffy and he'd lived on the streets long enough to work out the right look of penniless and selection of mismatched old clothes that kept people away and truthfully he was alright with it that way, eyes usually avoided long enough contact to consider the slightly off skin colour and he didn't have to care about their business. Stuffing a cold hand in his pocket he watched the crowds through the sunglasses that hid his eyes as O Come All Ye Faithful piped out of the shop next door, burrowed it's way into his mind and set up camp with plans to stick around in there and annoy him for the next two days.

It wasn't Brynmor that started trouble though. Tempers were strained, supplies were sometimes limited and slow to restock with all the checks to get through but still when shouting came from a small convenience store and a rather annoyed man was escorted out no one really thought he'd be back ten minutes later with a couple of friends to start smashing up the windows with bats.

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This would be the fourth Christmas season Hawkgirl has been present on this planet, and she can't say that it's a holiday she particularly likes. Whether you look at it as the celebration of the birth of some deity she doesn't believe in or the opportunity to spend time with close friends and family which she doesn't really have, it just... doesn't really seem to apply to her. Especially given the circumstances she's in this year. She'd hardly call Gotham 'cheery', especially lately.

So as she flies her sunset patrol, she intentionally tunes out the Christmas music some of the shops are playing in hopes of convincing people that the F.B.I. is no reason to not give everyone you know a present. Instead she listens and watches for something that doesn't take the holidays off: crime.

And the sound of shattering glass is certainly a clue.

She turns and picks up speed to get to the scene as quickly as she can, and when she sees men with baseball bats smashing a store front she frowns. Breaking the store front? Seriously? And what does that accomplish? Well, never expect criminals to be logical. She doesn't slow her speed until she abruptly lands behind one of them, probably appearing to them as if she came out of nowhere, and picks him up with one hand while she pulls the bat out of his hands with the other. Dropping the makeshift weapon, she tosses him a bit roughly at one of his friends, knowing that the two of them will take a moment to get up if they're not smart enough to stay put. Then she shifts her attention to idiot number three, who doesn't look happy to see her for some strange reason.

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As the crowd split either in panic or just the desire to get out the way and not get involved in stopping the men Brynmor just calmly watched for a moment. He was still trying to convince himself that a little property damage doesn't really need him to intervene since no one was getting hurt when suddenly someone else took care of the problem, easy as that.

Well this was new. A winged woman beating up criminals, it was certainly different and different was interesting... He'd heard something of this city's heroes but it was the first time he'd seen one and he hadn't paid enough attention to know which one she was.

It's safe to say the men with the bats don't seem to be career criminals anyway, the remaining fool still on his feet isn't to be denied his anger by a girl with wings though! He takes a swing at the hero while his friends awkwardly scrambled to their feet to run for it.

Brynmor snapped into movement, the only random citizen on the street to actually head towards the fight he quickly starts to look a lot less like a random citizen as he straightens up and with a flick of his old staff knocked the wind from one of the running men so they crumple to the ground, the other quickly changing his mind and trying to run away in another direction. Not that Brynmor really cared, his aim wasn't to stop the criminals, it was to get the attention of the winged woman. Plus he figured the guy groaning by his feet did kind of deserve to get beaten up anyway, so bonus.

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It's easy enough for Hawkgirl to tell that the men she's fighting aren't at all used to this sort of thing. Which puts her into a bit of a position: hand them over to the F.B.I. where she knows they're not going to be treated fairly, or let them go and hope that she's scared them straight? The very idea of letting someone get away irks her, but on the other hand with the stress this city is under and the fact that they were taking it out on a window instead of an even worse crime before she upped the ante by attacking makes her more lenient.

When the man swings his bat at her, she catches it in her bare hand and pulls it out of his grasp. Then she shoves him hard enough to knock him to the ground and wind him. The terror in his eyes at her strength tells her she can hope that this is a learning experience and she relents by coldly saying, "Run before I change my mind. And I never want to see you again." Does he deserve the full brutal force of the law to be thrown at him? No, not for this, especially if this causes him to go home and rethink his actions. As one last act of intimidation, she tosses the bat in his direction so that it lands next to his side in order to give it back. Just to show how little she thinks of that weapon.

She looks back at the two other men then, not worried that they're likely running from her since it would not be difficult for her to catch up to them. Humans are so pathetically weak and slow. What she doesn't expect is to see someone else stopping one of them for her. Someone who her sharp eyes quickly pick out as not being from around these parts. An eyebrow raises underneath her mask where it can't be seen, but she immediately jumps into the air in what's more of a particularly large leap instead of actual flying so that she literally land on the one that's still running. "I didn't say that you could leave yet," she informs him as he groans on the ground, "Now you can leave." Just because she's decided to let them all off with a warning doesn't mean that she won't make it a very, very firm warning.

It's only then that she gives the too big, too purple man a second look, and she simply watches him expectantly - waiting to see what he does next since that will tell her much about exactly who she's dealing with. Stopping the other man can be taken as a helpful gesture, but it could also mean many other things. But it certainly got her attention like he wanted.

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Truly afraid and already regretting leaving the house at all the last guy grabs his bat back and also makes a run for it. With that temper they'll probably be in trouble again somehow but possibly not for a while again now, their act of vandalism didn't go well at all.

A crowd was beginning to gather to watch now that the danger was over, which for someone who tries not to be noticed was a little uncomfortable for Brynmor but he dismissed the thought of the eyes as he has the attention he wanted. Hawkgirl had definitely spotted him. While she lands on the remaining runner he though takes the time to crouch down by his own downed criminal.

Having a word of warning seemed appropriate, it's been a while since he bothered though so there was a pause. The guy started to edge away while Brynmor was thinking but placing a hand on the guy's head seemed to give him the idea to freeze "You are on a path" Brynmor began calmly as if it's all simple fact before tapping his glasses down just enough to look at the guy over them but still mostly hide them from the crowd. If he wasn't paying attention before he is now, all black with red slit pupils they're definitely not normal human eyes, Brynmor gave him a tap on the forehead to make sure he listened to the words too "A very dangerous path, if you continue down it you will soon be judged and beaten up, a lot" he pats the guy on the head as if he were just a naughty little child "Do it again and I'll break something...or she might" a head gesture towards Hawkgirl and he taps his glasses back in place and straightens up again. The guy just stares back until Brynmor gestures away "Well go on, run" and he does.

It's a longer process than Hawkgirl's methods but he seems in no hurry, he won't rush again until he hears police sirens. Finally his attention returns to the woman and he moves towards her, looking her over on the way. He seems particularly interested in the wings and neglects the whole introductions thing, he's done that before, wings are new and he goes to tap one of the wings with his stick once he's close enough, assuming he can even get that close "Are they real or do they attach in some way?"

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While it may be that men with such tempers are likely to do something of the sort again, Hawkgirl figures that it's better to give them that chance given the current situation. If she thought that they'd get a fair trial and would be punished accordingly, it would be a different matter.

She smirks when she hears what the purple man is saying to the criminal, obviously approving. Doesn't sound like someone she'd count as an enemy then, unless that was for show - always better to be a bit on the wary side when first meeting someone who is so obviously highly unusual. Watching the last man disappear into the crowd (and most likely keep on running for awhile even after that), she notes that there is in fact a crowd. She tends to do that - between the wings, the fact that she tends to appear at crime scenes and disaster sites, and the fact that she's also quite famous because of both of those, people just tend to stop and stare at her. Which is often annoying, but how can that be helped?

She then looks back to the stranger and seems at ease as he approaches. Given how much fighting experience she has, it isn't that difficult for her to tell the difference between what's supposed to be an aggressive move and what isn't so she doesn't mind his interest in her wings. They may look fragile, but they're actually one of the tougher parts of her body. "They're real," she replies, "I'm a Thanagarian, not a human." She's not really used to having to explain that anymore, but this man seems too perplexed by her wings for him to have known that.

Glancing sideways at the curious crowd and knowing that the F.B.I. are probably already en route, she adds, "Perhaps we should find somewhere more private to talk? If you're not afraid of heights or a lot heavier than you look I can take you with me. Or we could meet somewhere?" She knows that it takes a bit of trust for someone who has barely met her to like the idea of her carrying them (unless, of course, she's rescuing them), even though that would probably be the quicker, easier option in her book. Either way though, it's probably not a good idea to linger here much longer.

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Brynmor's certainly not in the habit of handing anyone over to the authorities, leaving them to be found maybe but he has little desire to make contact with police let alone FBI. The owner of the shop with the broken windows might feel different but if the police wanted to go hunting for the men it was all up to them now.

Most of Brynmor's discomfort comes for the memory of screaming and angry mobs, the stopping and staring he could get used to and so far this time they were keeping their distance and holding up those phone things, which wasn't nearly so concerning. He might be a little more concerned if he actually knew they were taking pictures but from a distance at least he still just looks a tall, slightly off colour human, he only becomes weird when looked closely at.

His attention though fixes on Hawkgirl, almost forgetting the crowd entirely after a few second. She's not human, he seems pleasantly surprised. The first fellow alien he's bumped into. He doesn't know Thanagarians but then he can barely remember his own planet. It's the first time he's smiled though "Do you recall an Elinexa or Onyst?" he's not even certain they're planets, cities, people or if he just made them up in the nothingness but it's the best he has to go on. Even if they were it's been nearly two thousand years, a lot can happen in that sort of time, specially with a bitter war involved.

He doesn't dwell on the thought for too long, the question of moving their conversation causes him to glance around at the crowd and he can just hear sirens in the distance. His smile fades instantly, replaced by a frown "Yes, somewhere else..." the offer to take him is met with the extension of a three fingered hand "Wherever you wish" he's no heavier than a human his size and trust isn't an issue in this case, certainly not for Brynmor when he's just met someone and they know nothing of him. As far as he's concerned a little falling from the sky would be a lot less annoying than running into the authorities.

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Hawkgirl isn't particularly fond of the authorities herself right now. Given the shaky relations between the masks and the badges, she's taken the precaution of not having too much close contact. Leaving criminals for the authorities to find is a perfectly acceptable practice that she's done a lot lately. When she hasn't let them off with a warning, that is. And if he can hear the sirens coming, you can bet that she's heard them on their way for a while now. She's never had the misfortune of meeting an angry mob, but considering that what she does is so obviously heroic the only people who fear her are criminals for the most part. Not to mention that, if anything, instead of being mistaken for some sort of monster she's more likely to be mistaken for a being associated with one of their more benevolent deities.

"Can't say I have," she answers his question first, "Is that where you're from?" But before he can respond to that, she gives the crowd another glance and says, "Move first, talking later."

Taking his offered hand, she guides it across her shoulders and holds it in place with one hand, while the other wraps around him - given the amount of g-force she operates under, he wouldn't appreciate being hauled into the sky by just an arm even for a short flight. Her grip is tight and secure, leaving no question that she has a solid hold on him though she's careful not to make it tight enough to be painful. Once she's satisfied that she has a solid hold, she jumps into the air among gasps from the crowd but her wings are strong enough to leave the humans far below within a second or two.

Once they're at the level of the rooftops, she quickly spots a shorter building with a flat rooftop only a few blocks away that will do nicely, and she glides over and lands carefully there less than a minute after taking off. Yes, this should do nicely. As long as nobody happened to notice exactly where they landed they should be able to remain undisturbed here for some time.

Once she's sure that he has his feet under him again, she lets him go and comments, "I take it by the way you dress that you prefer blending in?" Which is completely unfair in her eyes given the fact that she looks a lot more like a human but can't get away with that trick. There's just no hiding the wings. "My name is Shayera Hol, by the way," she adds as she steps away a bit and turns toward him - he may want to skip over the whole 'introductions' thing, but it's important to her, "But the humans called me 'Hawkgirl' when I showed up, and I've come to prefer that. What do I call you?"

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The moving around of arms is taken without complaint and just a slight curiousness though Brynmor fails to hold back a quiet "Herk!" as they launch into the sky. He has no fear of heights or falling but he's never really flown before and at first it's a little unsettling. He relaxes only when they level out over the roofs and by then they've almost landed anyway.

He can see the intended roof coming and tries to get ready but just lands a little heavily for it, still though Brynmor remains on his feet and unharmed and straightens up as he looks back the way they came "Useful getaway, too bad" he muses quietly. Too bad he can't do it, too bad he couldn't do such things in the past, too bad she won't be around for long (Long being relative), too bad in general, who knows, the thought quickly leaves his mind as he looks back to Hawkgirl.

"Blending in?" he raises an eyebrow and then his slight smile returns. He thought he was starting to get good at it, so few took the time to notice but clearly she had, questioning about planets he supposed could have helped but clearly she'd spotted the oddness a lot faster than the humans tended to. He removed the sun glasses again, a blessing though their invention had been it was nice to see without them for a time "I prefer to avoid the attention, it rarely went well, apparently I am unnerving" it's the eyes, he may not be red with horns but he's been mistaken for a demon many times. He's not always so friendly either, the new and interesting just make him care enough to pay attention.

He doesn't pay quite so much attention to the name though, he knows he's likely to forget it one day. If someone's around long enough he'll bother to learn their name, otherwise it's just random information that won't matter soon, like the news. He also glosses over his own introduction quite quickly and with minimal memory problems compared to his usual fishing out of details "Brynmor Jerr...Demon, monster, big purple dude" he wanders across the roof as he talks and decides the lip around the edge of the roof is a nice place to sit "Something Spanish I meant to remember...I've been called a lot of things" in several languages but he's had a long time to gather and forget names "Do you always swoop out of the skies and attack people?" it kind of amuses him, there's a little smirk.

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Hawkgirl can't help but smirk at the man's reactions to their flight. She's had a few cases of people freaking out completely when she carries them somewhere, and that isn't pleasant for anyone involved. Simple wonderment is amusing to her though - what must it be like to be stuck to the ground your whole life and then spend only a few moments in the air? That's something she can only imagine - she's as much at home flying through the air as she is walking on the ground.

"I can imagine," is all that she says with her smile turning sympathetic as he comments on the reactions of humans to his appearance. In her first year or so on the planet she occasionally got a more negative reaction, but once she'd made a name for herself it eased off. More often she merits simple surprise, but then again when she meets people who have never heard of her anymore it's usually in the context of hero work and people quickly decide that she therefore must be an okay winged person. A guy like Brynmor would seem much more unusual to your average human - but not Hawkgirl, who has seen many, many crazier things than Brynmor.

"Personally, I keep my public appearances brief," she adds as she idly follows him over to the edge of the roof while keeping a polite distance, but she remains standing, "Try as I might, it takes more than sunglasses, baggy clothes, and hunching over to hide a set of wings, even if the rest of me matches the natives." Though she has to admit that Brynmor does a good approximation of a human. If he hadn't drawn attention to himself she may have missed him - and that's even with her enhanced eyesight. Her eyes don't merely allow her to see further, but also help her quickly process what she's seeing - she has a real eye for detail. Slightly purple skin is an interesting detail.

"And yes, actually I do," she answers his question with another smile, "But I only attack the criminals. I also rescue people. I was a peace officer back on Thanagar before I ended up here - I was tracking down some criminals trafficking in forbidden technology. Not sure what hit me, but whatever did transported me here, and to put it mildly it's a long way home. But once I got used to the idea that I was stuck here and saw how much help I could be with the skills and abilities I already have, I set myself up as a hero and thus found my place." All of that is, at best, a near-truth, but she's been living her cover story for so long by this point that she half believes it herself.

"So what's your story?" she asked now that she's explained hers. Her curiosity is much easier to draw than his, and it's always interesting meeting someone else who isn't human. Just when she's sure that she's bumped into everyone on the planet who isn't from it, she finds one more.

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Brynmor might quite enjoy flying for a while if only he had his own wings to do so. The take off was a little jerky though.

He rests his staff in the crook of an arm as he takes off his hat to let his head have a little freedom too, it's so rare he gets to look like himself, between the deep purple hair and the eyes he's permanently in disguise, he also looks quite rough but then he does live on the streets "Fly in, fly out. That doesn't work so well when you're running" the invention of cars didn't help but it used to be a lot easier when there weren't so many buildings to get in the way.

He eyes her thoughtfully and particularly the wings again "Hm, you may be right, probably wouldn't work. Perhaps one day there'll be a way, before the sunglasses I had a lot more trouble. Mind at least you get to look like yourself, sunglasses are a pain in the dark" there was little he could do to hide the eyes before the invention of sunglasses, he just had to keep out of sight "I still have to keep out the way but as long as people don't want to look at me they'll never see what they shouldn't"

He listens to her story with some interest, other planets, different worlds, all very interesting and despite having no where to go the idea of transporting technology is still interesting. Get bored with a planet, go and see another. Much more desirable than floating through space "I tried to do some good in the beginning, it grows tiring. Few thanks, back then then they ran away more" his smile's faded as he thinks back. His story, hmm, what he remembers troubles him and he's just as bothered by having forgotten so much "I don't remember much, it was a very long time ago...I think I was a soldier back on my planet, I remember a lot of fighting" he gives her a glance, the details of his skills running through his head but he's not keen on sharing them and after a moment just looks down again and decides to be vague "I was part of an experiment, one they hoped would allow them to win the war. It worked. I greatly angered the enemy until they retaliated by setting a trap and..." his thoughts drift off, of all the things he's forgotten he really wishes being tortured was one of them but since he couldn't die they were free to be creative "that worked..." he's had many years to get used to the thoughts and bury them and with a blink he does it again and carries on, trying not to think about it "Erm. They must have blasted me off the planet, for a long time there was just nothing and then here I am, crashed in a crater on Earth...I wouldn't suggest it as a method of travel, yours sounds more pleasant. How long have you been stuck here?"

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"Unless you're the Flash," Hawkgirl comments with a smirk at his first statement. Then again, if Brynmor has never heard of her before, she's guessing that he's not heard of Wally either. But she nods, knowing that there are pros and cons to her wings. Problem is, that while the pros are invaluable to her heroic lifestyle, the cons constantly effect her everyday life. But then, it's not like she'd be willing to give up two limbs just because they're an inconvenience at times, even if she could.

She also nods a little on the subject of people running away, commenting, "The people on this planet are horribly xenophobic, but that's to be expected at their present stage of development." They haven't even mastered interplanetary travel yet! "They're getting better though," she notes, reflecting on the past few years. With so many Justice League members being from different planets and admitting this to the public even when they can pass as fully human, it's giving the populace time to wrap its mind around the idea that aliens exist and aren't necessarily evil. That's actually why she joined it - to get the humans to become okay with the idea of Thanagarians.

She listens to his story with interest, not particularly put off by the vagueness. She's more than used to people from other planets not wanting to go into too much detail about their pasts - often due to it being a very sad story. Not being able to remember is an unusual reason in her mind, but she sets that thought aside for a moment. "Four, almost five years the way they measure time here," she answers, "What about you?" She's already guessing that it'll be a much larger number than hers. While she may not be famous for her detective skills and is still somewhat lacking in her knowledge of things like clothing styles over the years, she is observant and intelligent enough to pick out a few hints.

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There was a look of confusion for the mention of the Flash "Who?" Brynmor was just a little out of touch with the current state of the world, the last time he'd tried to keep up it had all changed and he'd given up again. The Justice League alas came after that time, his knowledge is flawed and contained to what he's considered important over the years, which mostly boils down to hiding, recognising dangers and remembering people he knew.

He nods, the people were getting better, even he could notice that "Slowly but with time perhaps hiding will no longer be needed...I suppose that'll be something to look forwards to" he imagines he'll see it if it does happen, so long as he's still on the planet. Really it was hard to imagine leaving now.

How long he'd been there required thought, yes he didn't want to give away all his secrets but it's another thing he hasn't kept track of and he is an alien, without knowing better he could be mistaken for naturally living a long time "Um...A very long time, I'm not sure..." he thinks about it for a minute, trying to remember what events had been or indeed what they were called "Greece, Byzantine something or other, swords, bows, arrows" he sighs quietly and runs a hand over his head "Everything was in Greek back then, it was hundreds at least the last time I had to work it out. It's hard to keep track, there's just too much to remember...What year is it we're on now?" it's a little embarrassing, he usually doesn't care about years and events and then suddenly he has to remember these things and he ends up having forgotten. It's a lot to remember though and memories just fade over the years, give it hundreds of years and they can get pretty shaky "I should start writing these things down, I couldn't carry it around but I should..." there's a small hint of a smile after a few seconds "They didn't even grasp the idea of beings from other planets when I got stuck here, they've come a long way indeed" he doesn't dislike the humans, his perspective is just very different to theirs and they are still all very young and still learning to his mind.

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Yeah, that's what she thought... "The Flash? He's..." she pauses, mulling over the best way to explain Wally. Perhaps if she simplifies it? "He's a human who has the ability to move very quickly - faster than the speed of light," she explains, "He and I are in the Justice League, which is a group of heroes - aliens and humans with unique abilities, mostly - who teamed up so that we could manage larger threats more efficiently." Yeah, that ought to do nicely. She hasn't had to explain any of this to someone for awhile - not since the League formed, actually.

As he starts to describe just how long he's been around, Hawkgirl's eyes go wide. She really doesn't know the history of this planet very well, but she knows enough recognize that what he's describing is much longer than she would have guessed. Hundreds of years... Or would it be a thousand? More? She idly wishes that she had her computer with her so she could go check. "You look young for your age," she comments with a bemused smile. And here she thought that she was old. She can imagine that if she was as old as he was then she'd have trouble keeping track too.

"This is the year 2011, nearly 2012," she answers with a stronger smile, "Hmm, and more likely at that point in their history they would have taken you as something from their own mythology - I'm not immune to that now." Exactly how many times has she been called an angel? She can't really remember, though the fame helps. The helmet does too - it's not very angelic, after all. "But apparently it's only been within my own lifetime that the general public got a really firm grasp on the idea that they might not be the only ones in the universe. So at least if you explain that you're an alien they know what it means, even if the masses still assume you're dangerous." She shakes her head at that. Humans are so hopelessly primitive.

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A man who could run faster than light, that would be something to see. Humans with powers he was at least vaguely aware of even if he didn't know any but clearly there were many interesting things about this winged woman and her friends "I think I would like to meet this Justice League, it might make the century worth remembering" just meeting another alien would stick in Brynmor's mind but to meet more and some rather unusual humans would be even better.

The look of surprise amuses Brynmor slightly, he's seen it all before but so few really get to know how old he is that it's been a while. Her comment on his looks earns a chuckle though and he runs a hand through his untidy hair, almost checking it's all still there "I dread to think what I'd look like if I didn't" very slow ageing is a bit of a blessing at that age.

"I thought the 2000s had been going on longer than that" he muses, remembering the celebrations. Even knowing what year it is though he still doesn't know how long it's been since he crashed on Earth, it requires him to look it up but he certainly remembers that the humans were worse then "Mm, demons, monsters, underworld creatures. Several seemed to believe my help meant they were cursed. If a few hadn't been worth the bother I doubt I would even still try. It's better than becoming stranded on an uninhabited world" primitive or not at least they made life interesting. Seven hundred years with no one to talk to and he probably would be entirely mad by now.