Kelpsie Repine: The Stranger In The Cell II

Repine had always been curious. There was a point in life, after he had reached the surge, where he rejected the teachings he was used to, where he turned to something else. That certainly ended well. Not. He looked around the dinky little cell, wrinkling his nose at the smell once again. He couldn't remember when he had been thrown in here...it was after telling his friend Jerry that he had no interest in joining this Mevolent person. He had been working freelance since Jerry had found some new friends. He didn't want to serve someone. It had been nothing personal.

He gazed sorrowfully at his arm, the gashes blurring into each other since they had broken his spectacles. He sighed, looking across and his eyes met with those of someone in another cell, far away enough down the hall for Repine to see him clearly. The man waved a little awkwardly. He must have been new in, he looked healthy and relatively unharmed, but a bit of blood was visible on his shoulder and he was arching his back in an awkward way. he hadn't changed all that much from when they last met, just grown his hair a little longer and hadn't shaved. Repine had loved to mess with him back when they were at the temple. Kelpsie had changed a lot since they had last met. His hair was darker, now long and untamed, he had lost a dangerous amount of weight in these cells, he no longer wore his necromancer robes and he too was in need of a shave. He didn't wave back, he just stared. He remembered teasing the blonde man, but he couldn't remember his name. The blonde's face showed no recognition.

In the beginning, Kelpsie had tried to break the bars to no avail. He had been kicking at them, punching, he had tried stealing one of the guards' weapons, and once he grew weak, he actually turned to biting the bar. It was always the same bar. If he kept at it, he reasoned, it would eventually wear down and he would get out. He was not a quitter.

He was at it again when the new man in Austin's-he remembered the name now-cell awoke. Once Esra had left, Kelpsie spoke for the first time in a long time, his own voice sounding alien to him. "He doesn't follow the Faceless Ones."
The Dexter Man looked over, raising an eyebrow, a little bemused. Austin shrugged. "Pretty sure most of the people working here do."
"The long-haired...medic...doesn't. Jerry said he was a non-believer, a mislead soul on the path to self-destruction that we had to help."
It was clear the others didn't know who Jerry was. Repine took a moment to look away and look important. When he looked back, Austin was scrutinizing him.
"Do I know you?"
"Nah." Oh damn. Bloody hell. Please no!
"Oh. You sound familiar."
"Loads of voices sound familiar."
"So why are you here?" Dexter asked.
Repine cocked his head curiously. "I am a follower of the Faceless Ones, but I like to worship freelance, by myself...and I know too much for them to let me go free...I don't like their methods either, they're worried I'll fight against them since they're so brutal...I mean...I've killed before, but I'm not brutal and I'd never torture...like, ever!" He fell silent for a moment. A few people were beginning to taunt the new guy. He seemed fairly well-known. Repine was beginning to feel very left behind and a little stupid. He left them to their taunts and turned away, no longer wanting to talk, not wanting to give Baritone a chance to recognise him.

-----

His long-sightedness allowed him to see everything on the other sides of the room but nothing in his own cell. He was curious when Esra walked back in, talking to himself. He was even more curious when Dexter was so willing to go along with him. On his way out, he passed another man escorting a woman in. The woman was placed in his cell. Repine couldn't make out much, just that she was pale and wearing something bright. "Hi there." She whispered. She sounded a little harsh. Then he recognised her voice.

Oh total Hell...