Rogue Shadow

As I've said before, I've been on my way to visit Rogue Shadow.  Well, today I finally arrived.

I had sent him an e-mail letting him know when I was close, but I wasn't expecting what happened when I arrived.  When I got to the address, he was already there, standing rigidly at the end of the driveway, hands clasped behind his back.

He was dressed all in black.  Black shirt, black pants, black trenchcoat, black boots.  His blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail.  Now, I don't like forming first impressions, but something about how he was standing and how he was dressed made a bit uncomfortable.  I also wasn't sure how long he had been standing there waiting for me, and the thought that he may have been standing there like that all day was a little unnerving.

"Hey.  Shadow, right?"

He nodded.  "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Mr. Mortel."  He held out his hand, and I took it to shake.

"Yeah.  Nice to meet you."

"If you follow me, I'll take you to your room, then introduce you to the others."

Shadow's got a pretty expansive estate.  It took a bit to get to the house and down the hall, and the room he showed me was pretty well-furnished.  "This is where you'll be staying," he told me.  "I imagine you're tired from your journey, so I'll let you get some rest. The bathroom is across the hall, and dinner will be at 7:00. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks," I said.  "That'd be great. I'll see you then, and thank you so much for taking me in like this."

 I took a shower then, followed by a nap.  The shower was great, the bed was warm, and I almost slept through the alarm I had set for 6:55.  Dinner was chicken Parmesan, garlic bread, and salad.  That's where I met Keikan and Merciful.  I'd tell you more about them but it's been an exhausting day so I'll save it for the next post.

Shadow, though...he's kind of strange.  He's got this almost robotic or military manner about him.  Always perfect posture.  Always composed.  I asked Keikan afterwards if he felt like there was something just a bit...off about him.  He and Merciful noticed it too, but apparently he's shown them nothing but kindness.

So I guess that, for now, I'll just have to wait and see what exactly is up with my host.

New Year's Reflections

And so the New Year passes.

My resolution is obvious.  It's the same resolution that all runners have.  Probably the same resolution that all proxies have, too.  Just a simple "stay alive."

After my encounter with Whisper, I decided it would be best to lay low for a bit, especially since anyone who reads my blog knows where I'm heading: to visit Rogue Shadow.  So I've let him know that I'll be a bit delayed since I'm moving slowly and more erratically.  I don't trust hitchhiking at this point anymore, so it's traveling on foot, or public transportation.

I have my driver's license license and savings from my parents.  It might almost be worth looking into getting a car of my own.  Maybe.

I've also decided that I should cut off contact with Canis.  It's maybe not a smart move, and I know that he's not going to be happy about it, but I don't fully trust him.  I've been thinking about the Ten Masks.  They mentioned their names, and after thinking about it a while, I thing I've figured out what they meant.

Magpie.  Gabe.  Phones.  Crimson.
A Bird.  Short for Gabriel.  Relating to sound.  A shade of red.
The Convocation.  The Archangel.  The Choir.  The Red Cap.

Canis.  Wolf.

The Black Dog.

I don't know if he's a Mask or not.  He acts like he's hunting them.  But both he and the Masks have shown an incredible ability to track me down.  And his saving me from Gabe was a huge coincidence.

There are no coincidences.

I don't know what he's up to.  I'd like to think that he's on my side because he hasn't made any attempts to kill me.  But I also don't know what the Masks are up to.  Maybe it's some crazy gambit and they've got some purpose for making me think Canis is going up against them.

There's also the fact that I checked out the post Moth put up about how he saved me.  The man who gave him instructions to where I was--that sounded a lot like Last of the Last, which means that he's "A Friend," as he likes to call himself.

He caused me to encounter Wayward.  He saved me at the Hostel.  He sent Moth to help me.  And if that tells me one thing, it's this: he understands at least some of what's going on.  And since Canis and the Ten Masks are being tight-lipped, he's my best bet at figuring out what that is.

I should go now, though.  I'll let you know when I get to Shadow's.