Realistic or Modern If December Freezes (IC)

[Worthlessplebian]

Bernard Greve
Location: Ranger Station;
With: Indy, Leif, and Sage;
Interactions: Out Of Words Mentions: Rhyme KodakWolf
Art by leevolt on DeviantArt
Mood: Aware;​

The Danish professor kept distance from the three occupants, subtly vigilant whilst flicking through the book he had. Noting the names, Sage and Max. Quite massive aquatic creatures, these two be but nothing perilous at the moment. He sees Indy's attempts at distracting Sage. From what he's observed the man is too enraptured in the eye of an emotional storm. Empathetic, Bernard figures but also quite fortuitous as his wrathful scrutiny prevented him from hearing the faint coughs coming from the backroom. Even with the slightest of cracks in the door, the dry sputters were audible to anyone who listened. And soon, inevitably, they'll become audible to everyone.

Bernard held doubts about the elder vampire's intentions with the corpse-rather, whoever revived just now. Presuming wouldn't benefit Bernard, nor does it suit him. Still, he couldn't do much in this instance. "It's stuffy in here," Opening the station's door to the nature outside, breathing in deeply. Naturally, it wasn't actually that suffocating in the station, but Bernard hoped the evening's howl would drown out the gagging. He stood there with his back to them, looking out in the night-draped forest.

 

[Out Of Words]

IF DECEMBER FREEZES​

IC Thread - Discord Compilation (Roje/Riley)
​

Roje well...Sat there after the dog waltzed away. There was really nothing more that she could do other than feel vibrations underneath her feet and the hospital bed under her bottom. Knowing that she felt even remotely safe, she shifted more onto the bed and sat cross-legged upon it. Might as well get comfortable and get lost in her own thoughts for the time being. Considering the dog came to help, is it possible he's a shifter of some sort? She wondered, her eyebrows closing together a bit in thought. Her hands brushing against the sheet on the hospital bed to give her some sort of stimulation aside from the noise in her ears. I could usually tell but...WIth this place, there's all sorts of random shit happening.

Something almost felt like a tangible poking in the back of Roje's brain. A nagging thought, a forgotten memory, it was... something, but something important. If only the vampire could focus more on it, attempt to ignore the sounds of the water in her ears, and the vision of the seaweed even when she closed her eyes.

Maybe.. it was something worth pursuing.

Roje felt that nagging thought in the back of her mind. Quite honestly it was starting to irritate her the more she ignored it. Well, what else could she really focus on aside from the water and sea-weeded eyes? Nothing. So might as well try to start working on that instead? Alright what thought are you that keeps bothering the hell of me? she closed her eyes but saw nothing, though she figured it might help her focus.

It felt like the brass ring of merry-go-rounds of old. Roje could practically feel it brushing the tip of her fingers as she tried to figuratively reach out for it. She couldn't quite shut out the water sounds, and the swaying of the seaweed continued to distract the vampire and the nagging something remained just out of her grasp.

Maybe there was another way to go about this. Maybe something back to her training days, when Roje had to focus within more than without. Meditation might help, if only Roje can remember the best method that worked for her in what felt like lifetimes ago.

Roje was growing quite frustrated. Nothing more infuriating than knowing you needed to remember something, but you cant remember it when you need it most. The vampire puffed up her cheeks and released the air with a huff Fuck she thought. What could she do? Maybe feeling stimulation? Focus on fiddling with something? Maybe think about the times she and Dean had their fights, their moments? Or maybe when she talked with Henry? Maybe Jeremy? Damn it! Every man that could ever be in her life just vanished or just straight up died. Maybe that's why all she was, was a big ball of anger, irresponsibility, and more. There was no guidance between both mother and father.

Hands clenched the sheets underneath her in anger and frustration. It was starting to boil her blood and she couldn't let herself drop into a fit. She had come this far to finally mellow out just a little bit and not continue to be reckless as much as she was once before. Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to calm herself Just try to remember. Boxing always helped me, but I cant exactly do that here. she began to try steady breathing while clutching the sheet, trying to ignore the sound of the waves. I can do this. I had help before, I can't let that go to waste. I need to learn myself.

It was difficult, Roje would get to the edge of a relaxed state, only to be brought back with a sudden rise in the sound of the water. Or the bed vibrated with a creak as she moved on the mattress. The floor also rumbled when someone was walking nearby. It was hard to find the right mental level of meditation.

But.. that little nagging something seemed to be growing closer. Two steps forward, one step back, so there was progress being made.

Oh no you're not. Roje thought, noticing the volume difference in the ocean now. Whatever that thing was that was in the water with her was no doubt the culprit and trying to keep her away from this nagging thought. Bringing that volume up, preventing her from seeing or hearing what she needed to. I'm not letting you fuck me over this time. instead of feeling those vibrations or rumbles, she used the sheet she was touching. Giving her a stimulation to her touch while working toward that thought. Despite her irritation popping up, she did her best to keep it down, taking deep breaths and slowly releasing them. This vampire was determined today to remember.

After several minutes of steady breathing, and using the tactile sensation of the sheets in her hands to keep herself grounded, Roje pushed toward a meditative state of consciousness. Eventually, her breathing synced with the ebb and flow of the tides in her ears, and the motion of the seaweed in her vision. Left, right, surge, breathe. Left, right, surge, breathe.

There was a weightlessness that began to creep through the vampire's body. It started with the extremities, the hands, the feet. Roje lost connection with them, as if they were no longer part of herself. It could be disconcerting, and posed another struggle to keep that meditative state, but the vampire was in it for the long haul. That thought sounded just a little bit louder, felt a smidge closer.

Roje felt odd, almost as if she was astral-projecting. Though she hadn't stopped her pattern and wanted to keep it at the same pace to keep her moving forward. With determination, she continued on, doing everything in her power to get that thought to release. To remind her of...well...whatever it was trying to remind her of. I've lost everything else, I'm not going to lose this. Keep calm and carry on.

Roje had a moment where the world started to come back into sharp clarity, the seaweed became a focus, the ocean sounds surged. But Roje breathed through it and kept up with the distracting, soothing touch of the bedsheets in her hands, and the world became muted once more in small baby steps. And then.. Roje was floating. She wasn't out of her body, but her body bore no weight, no presence on the bed she knew herself to be on.

A faded version of darkness took over in her mind's eye, not completely black, more of a grey, but it was different than the seaweed at least. Things still undulated, but it started to form a tunnel, with something beckoning the vampire at the other end. Odd bits of conversation replaced the sound of the ocean, mumbled to start, but if Roje focused on the words, it was clear they were conversations in her past.

It started with some of the most recent memories, with Dusk on the boat. Silver and Indy in the room at the inn. And they continued to progress deeper and deeper into Roje's past as she 'traveled' the tunnel toward the light at the end.

Well I didn't expect that. she thought, feeling as if she was light as a feather. It was like she could fly pretty much, though she didn't bother to explore that option in fear she'd lose what she had going for her. Her vision thanked seeing a different color, rather than black. This was progress right? Well that question was answered just as she began to see a tunnel form before her, noticing something egging her on, pulling her to "come on in!". No where else to go but forward. Sounds came through, almost as if it was a spirit box you'd use to talk to the dead between fm or am stations. Aiming for the bullseye and that's what the Vampire began to do. She knew her goal, and it was within arm's reach. The key to it all to give her what she was craving. I hear all of you...Dusk, Indy, Silv...Everyone. there were bits and pieces that were coming through, reminding her of all the shit she went through to end up where she was currently.

The vampire took another breath, and kept moving.

The light didn't seem to grow closer, not for a while. Roje kept hearing more conversations of her past, going from recent to older. There was the 'Skyrim' Dusk, and others in the area. There was the cave with the cult, the airplane with Key. And even further. They echoed on either side, sometimes rolling to either side once the vampire had 'passed' a certain spot with the next memory coming from ahead.

There were even memories Roje might have not thought about for a while. They were crisp, clear, and very audible. It almost felt like Roje could reach out and touch the memory as the vampire walked deeper into the tunnel. It wasn't until she was listening to herself being turned that the light started to actually grow closer, and closer, and bigger, and brighter.

The vampire's natural reaction would be to try and shy away from the brightening light, but Roje could sense there was something important. In the light.

Roje's "gaze" would shift with the sounds, recalling the memories of her past. The days where she was younger and hung out with the Hunter siblings, times where she was alone running her bar/club, and soon enough when she was being turned. However the light she moved toward had begun to grow bright and what she had done was shield her eyes but continued to move forward. It didn't burn from what she could tell We're almost there. she thought, what was at the end? Was the itch she had about to be scratched?

The light grew brighter and brighter, and with it, the vampire could feel a growing warmth, a heat. Not quite like sunlight, but warm enough to make the vampire concerned. But it was right there. Well, a few more steps maybe.

Roje took a deep breath, feeling that warmth brush her lower face and her exposed hands. It felt like she was about to roll right back outside in the sun, that's how warm it was. But if she wasn't burning right now, she shouldn't burn once she gets to the destination, right? Seeing the light and hearing her memories was already a blessing for her. No longer prevented from wondering when she'd hear or see again. Here's to whatever's on the other side The woman kept going, no intention to stop.

The warmth felt like it was penetrating her clothes, her skin, warming her very bones as she stepped toward the light, then inside it. Bathed in the blinding glow, Roje once more couldn't see, but it was due to the sheer brightness rather than seaweed. And as if from a distance, but loud enough to feel like someone was whispering in her ear, an echo of her own voice. "Do you remember?"

While shielding her eyes, her body felt that familiar warmth she loved so much whenever walking into the sun with her Daylight ring. She heard the voice, and immediately she replied just because of the familiarity "Gotta be a little more specific there, Jay. There's a memory that want's to make itself known. I want to remember."

"Those early days.. learning all those brand, new, fresh powers."

Roje almost scoffed "Waking up the next morning a Vampire? I was terrified out of my own damn mind. Not even my cousin would help me at the time. Unless that is a different timeline than what I'm in now." in all honesty, she was worried if her memories were all jumbled between timelines. Maybe getting her powers in this one wasn't as bad as before "What happened in those early days here?"

There was a low chuckle. "Not that early. After you started to embrace it, the immortality, the healing, all of it. Most of all, the control you could wield."

Ah well at least the voice had a sense of humor. That was good at least. She thought about the perks it talked about, a small smile tugging her lips "I remember the times of kicking ass, learning that maybe a Vampire wasn't too bad. But there's always those pros and cons to Vampirism. I grew into the skin, trained my body and toned it. Sure I was strong, had better senses but I wanted to show that I was growing, changing and supposedly becoming stronger."

"Annnd?" It seemed to want the vampire to put the puzzles pieces in place, or at least, remember more.

Roje furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what she was missing. "How I'm a curse for Werewolves?" She almost wanted to laugh just because even she wasn't sure. "I was Shadow Kissed...Multiple times actually and hated every moment whenever going into cemeteries, as well as hospitals. Owned my own bar/club after a hot minute." It was clear she was racking her brain trying to find something hidden underneath all the "pages" of her life.

There was a clicking of a tongue. "No, too far. Go back. Dive deep. THINK!" It nearly growled, and there was something that clicked with what it said before. Something about control.

Not only had her jaw tightened, but she continued to rummage through what she had. Control. Her anger? "I embraced my strength, my newly heightened senses. I had anger problems up the ass. I could control other people if I tried hard enough with compulsion." Fuck fuck fuck. She felt that feeling as if she was put on the spot in a classroom. Gave her anxiety surprisingly enough.

"There was more.. more you could do. You could shape your own reality. Well.. to a degree."

Now that came from left field so tremendously. "I could shape my own reality? I could never recall anything like that at all. The closest I got was doing what I wanted with compulsion and that's about it. I was never aware of being able to shape anything aside from that. Which means it's something from here I cannot remember." Very confused she was, but alas kept going. "I want to remember but it won't show itself."

"Maybe.. you toyed with reality a little too much. Hmm.." It felt as if a presence circled around to the other side, but the light was still blinding. "Make it show itself."

Make it show itself? "Is there a trigger aside from a memory?" her arm continued to shield her eyes, preventing her from being flashed with the bright light and stunning her. "Is there more to it than I realize?"

"Yes." The voice wasn't going to hand it to the vampire on a silver platter it seemed.

Well that wasn't very helpful. She thought. Though, something had clicked. If she had the ability to shape her own reality, then it was possible that she could shape her current reality to remember. Remove the block that prevented her from remembering what she wanted to remember. Thing was, how does one learn that on the fly? It wasn't that easy when it was at the moment you were aware of this. "Do I need my hands or my mind?" If this could get answered, then she could try what she knew of.

"It's all a mind game."

A mind game...Which means... If this is how it went, she was going to try it. Roje knew there was a block, which meant she could imagine a wall blocking her from that memory. This also meant that she could remove it if the Vamp tried hard enough. "If I can shape, I'm going to shape." while imagining that wall, she attempted to imagine removing it to give her access to what her mind wanted most. I'm going to get this one way or another.

Meanwhile, Boy had been studying the other patient in the adjoining portioned area. Bill! Wasn't that her name? The dog trotted up to her, standing up on his hind legs to sniff her and look for any clues or possible wounds. How could this have happened? The last time he remembered seeing her, she was picking flowers just outside of town, not long ago. He never saw anything threatening there. What could've happened?

Roje started attacking the wall with her hands, relying on vampire strength to do the trick. And indeed, she started to make some chunks in the brick and stone, but it was clearly not going to be enough.

Boy sniffed at Bill, but she didn't respond, eyes stared open, blinking occasionally, but that was body autonomy than anything else. But boy could smell something off. It reminded the canine of his own dark magic.

Roje continued to push with her hands to get this knocked down. If she was getting chunks, she knew there was a way to keep at this aside from hands. "A tool. That's what I need. A pickaxe. A pick." with pursed lips, she wondered if she can bend so much that she could create out of thin air. No...That wouldn't make sense. That would be materializing. "Now I begin to wonder how long I've been able to do this." She said toward the voice.

Before she doubted herself, there was the image of a pick starting to form at the base of the wall near her feet. However, soon as she thought it wouldn't make sense, it faded away.

The dark magic was unmistakable to Boy. Sensing it made his hair stand on end. He got down and circled around the bed, getting up again and sniffing at her more and more, trying to pick up any distinguishing details about the scent. There was enough of the magic to discern some type of spell or curse on the poor lass.

Roje looked around and at the last second by her feet, she saw something disappearing. "You cheeky mother fucker, no way." flexing her hands once again, she began to think of a simple pick, one that she knew that would be efficient to knock out the wall.

The pick did once again shimmer into existence, it was solid when Roje picked it up and did the work a lot better than hands, but it would still take a little bit of time and 'elbow grease'.

Roje laughed but was joyous as the tool manifested just as she imagined it. She began to put strength into her hits, sometimes using it as a bat, sometimes bringing it above her head and slamming it into the wall. "Before I know it, I'll be a professional miner." It took a minute, but then it was clear the wall had even more defenses. As Roje slowly chipped away, it started to repair itself. It would not be taken down so simply.

The smile dropped from her lips "Okay mother fucker, you got my attention." putting the pick down she stepped back and crouched down "Never did explosives but we are today." she held her hands out and began to imagine a bomb. Actually, C4 if anything. One that she could manually explode. Which meant she may need to provide cover to herself. But first the bomb. "Messing with Roje Jenkins is never a good idea."

Something appeared, it matched whatever 'bomb' Roje had last seen in a movie. Which may or may not work correctly. Looking at it, she really hoped this C4 would work. If it didn't, then dynamite it was. Light and run. Simple right? Once completed she stuck it to the wall and took the remote with her. The vampire backed up once again and made a small sandbag fort to which she used to hide behind. As soon as she was positioned, only a few words left her mouth "Fire in the hole." and she pulled the trigger.

While Boy came to a conclusion about Bill. Right. Cursed. Another one. As he got down from the bed she was on, he slowly turned towards where knew the body to be, in the next room. Did he really want to go in? It certainly not be the first time he'd seen a dead body, yet from his new perspective, in the new life he'd been leading lately, the perspective of dealing with a dead body, especially one that'd been underwater for so long, kinda made him sick.

But he didn't really have a lot of choices. So he sneaked out of the room he was in, and into the next one, where the body hopefully lay. Boy slipped past the curtain privacy screens that made up the little rooms Bill was in, and Roje as well. The door to the back room was mostly closed, but not quite fully shut. A bit of nosing might just edge it open. Muffled voices could be heard, and the stench of seawater was strong.

Damn. It wasn't just a curtain he could slip past. And there were voices inside. The stench already bothered him from that distance, but he carefully and silently stepped closer, trying to peek inside and listen to what the voices were saying.

Roje made it through, but she could feel a tear in her clothing as it got caught on the repairing brick. Now, the light wasn't so blinding, but it pulsed in a recognizable rhythm. It was a heartbeat. Now through the blockade, Roje was faced with a pond of water, and strands of kelp shot upward and toward her as if to reclaim her in their hold. Boy nosed the door open just a bit more, enough to get a glimpse of Dusk's body on a table, and about five others standing around. One was a dock worker, three were clinic staff, and one, using the wall to keep himself standing, was Rhevens.

"He hasn't been missing long enough to have this kind of damage." One of the clinic staff said as they were making notes and another examining the body a little closer.

While in Roje's mind battle, the explosion was loud, bricks flew apart, but the wall didn't collapse. However, when the vampire looked, there was a hole just large enough she could run through it. But.. it was closing fast. Roje peeked over with those Hazel eyes and noticed that the explosion worked, however that hole was repairing itself quickly. Dropping the device she had, she hopped over the wall and ran straight toward the opening. Her hands clenched into fists as her feet drummed underneath her as she tried hard to get through that hole before it closed.

Roje cursed under her breath when her clothes got snagged but it was whatever at this point. As she came through, that heartbeat filled her ears and those damn kelp strands were coming for her "Oh fuck you. Not getting me this time." With her new skill, the vampire thought of a sword as sharp as a chef's knife. She was planning on cutting these bitches down if they came toward her.

And Boy had his own dilemma. Fuck. There was absolutely no way any of those people would let a random dog, actually any dog, in the room to sniff at the dead body. And there was no way he could sneak past all of them, undetected. He'd have to come back later. So he turned around, and headed back to where the woman he'd helped was being kept. Perhaps she had some more head pats for him, to help pass the time.

He headed back to Roje, who didn't respond to nudges, still caught up in a warfare of the mind. So the dog settled down eventually on the floor and wound up falling asleep at her feet. It had been quite the day, after all. And who knew how long it would take Roje to emerge, if at all?

IF DECEMBER FREEZES
A story by Out Of Words​

Season One: A Night Bleeds​

 

[Out Of Words]

IF DECEMBER FREEZES​

IC Thread - Discord Compilation (Aódh)
​

When Aódh felt himself about to be subsumed under the shroud of sleep, all he could hope for, perhaps foolishly, was that he might get a decent nights sleep. Despite being unwilling to assent, as of yet, to the idea that what had occurred in the dream the previous night, with Silver and her friend, had actually happened, he was still put off by the idea of having to experience another dream in that one's mould. Despite the consternation such a scenario would bring to bear, evidenced by the scrunched features of the young man's face, he aimed to banish such thoughts from his mind as best he could. So, when that somniferous abduction finally occurred, Aódh, despite the evidence of last night, smiled in the hopes that he might find rest.

As is its wont, Marasong would never deign to allow such a pleasant event to take place.

The shimmering that took place within this strange place dragged the Irishman's beleaguered, sleep-reft mind back to the experience the night before, though it did so through a replication of the light that traced its way through that underwater environment. He balled his fists, so much so that one would fear his knuckles might burst through his skin at the fell tension so present in his grip. What is with this fuckin' place?!Aódh roared within his mind, scanning all about him to see what, or who, might be languishing this time at the mercy of some insidious entity.

Then, all of a sudden, a voice irrupts out of nowhere.

STEP UP.

The werewolf whips his head in the direction of the sound, baffled, but not surprised to find someone there, though, in contrast to the woman the night before, this figure was enwreathed with darkness, a phenomenon that didn't seem to bode well for the youth. Still, there was something about the voice, its resonance, that ringed familiar to Aódh, if only having been present to listen to it, that quality of notableness did it possess.

The Irishman was about to ask who they were, how did they find themselves in this place, or even who or what had the means or power to do all of this, but he was cut off by the man, who in his sonorous tone remonstratively stated: BE WHAT YOU WERE MEANT TO BE.

The young man couldn't help but chaff at the comment, odious in its declarativeness as to what he should be, especially in light of his lycanthropic tendencies and how poorly, shamefully, they had been diverted against others as a result of this place. It was the only thing that he felt this person was referring to and he baulked at the idea of his abilities, his...curse, being able to effect anything positive. But, with each passing word, the voice in a way reached out to his memory, coaxing him to imbibe the intonations of this clear, but gravelly voice, to discern who belonged to. Parsing between what was being at the moment and past conversations he had in the town, especially the cafe, Aódh was alerted to the figure raising its daunting arm towards him, pointing in his direction. Then, upon realisation of this figure was, hairs bristled along his arms, his eyes flashing that familiar, violent blue.

Him... he thought, grinding his teeth together almost as to chisel them into fangs, What the hell is he doing here?!

Once again, before he had the chance to say anything, the now-sussed-out voice implored once again: MY SON NEEDS YOUR HELP. MARASONG NEEDS YOUR HELP. SAVE US.

It was then, as Aódh was about to bark about the figure giving him orders, that a beam of light illuminated the cloak of darkness that billowed about this man, confirming what Aódh had deduced: this was Dusk, the father of Rhevens, the two that had so put him on edge in the cafe that time. But, the truly disturbing thing, aside from the unease that this man still continued to generate in him, was Dusk's current state. Aódh nearly wanted to vomit at the sight of the disfigured, bloated face that appeared before, the provenance of the injuries being a thought almost ghastly as the injuries themselves. Stunned into silence, sympathy swelled within him, despite his still somatically displaying the symptoms of fear.

SAVE THEM!

There was a visage of the werewolf Dusk was, just for a few seconds before the whole vision faded away, leaving Aódh to wake up. There was something in the werewolf's expression, a deep. profound sadness and heavy regret for things left behind.

Aódh wanted to ask him what happened, but just as he was about to let the words fly from his mouth, the dream crashed in upon itself, inducing him into waking up again, this time with a gasp, and in a rather more flustered state than he had been in when he had woken up from the previous dream. Is he dead? If he is, how was he able to speak? And through a dream? These thoughts raged about in the young man's mind, though no answer occasioned itself to deal with them.

A glance at the clock revealed it was still the same night, not quite yet midnight, but the idea of sleep was not as appealing as it had been. Question was, what would Aódh do now?

He needed to tell someone about this, but it couldn't be just about anyone. The figure of Bernard, despite the connivance he experienced on the latter's behalf when he was drained of his bio-electricity, immediately sprang to mind. Bill, as well, though he still wearied about being around for her too long, the residual sense of guilt riddling him still. First of all, he needed to get out of his currently drenched clothes, which he did with aplomb, rummaging about in his bag and attiring himself in a near replica of the items that he had just stripped out of. He grabbed the key to his room, locked the door behind and ran down the stairs with urgency driving his every step.

Seraphim was leaning slightly over the counter to peer at the stairway better, slightly alarmed by the loud sounds of someone running down. When she saw who it was, her expression was still a bit worried, "Ye alright?"

"Yeah, I'm...I'm alright," Aódh replied, compunction pricking him as he realised that that he must have been making a lot of commotion, " But did you happen to Bernard anywhere? Did he leave the building?"

"Oh, the commotion at the dock ended some time ago. I haven't seen him come back yet."

"Commotion? What do ya mean 'commotion'? What happened?"

Her eyes went a bit wide, "Oh, you haven't heard? Oh.. oh dear." But her eyes showed she loved being the bearer of news, good or bad. She did at least tuck her chin and looked saddened. "Down by the private dock to the West.. they found a body. It's been.. quite the evening."

Aódh froze for a moment.

"So Dusk is dead..." he muttered to himself, trying to put on air of ignorance as well as shock. Still, even if the scene had cleared by now, perhaps there might be a straggler about who had seen the corpse. Maybe they had seen Bernard as well, even if they didn't know his name.

"Thanks for telling me Seraphim," he replied mutely, "I might go and see where it all went down, see if anybody knows what had happened."

Seraphim gave a nod. "It's awfully dark out there now. Best wait for the morning, but it's down by Dusk's own private dock, where he anchors his house boat. Most folks are likely back home, or at the clinic where they took the bo... took Dusk."

Aódh didn't have anything more to say and gave a nod before turning and heading back to the staircase leading to his room. He didn't even feel the weight of Seraphim's gaze as she followed his retreat with a strange expression on her face.

IF DECEMBER FREEZES
A story by Out Of Words​

Season One: A Night Bleeds​

 

[Rhyme]

Indy

Location: RP Burst Compilation
Tags: Out Of Words silverwhere

Tilly's head poked out from the back, "Eh?" Then she grabbed a hand towel and started to wipe her hands dry as she moved closer until she was standing at the counter. "Wot kin I do fer ya?" She didn't seem perturbed at the customer entering despite the sign, her expression was mostly netural, but there was a slight crinkling around the corners of her eyes.

"Sorry to bother you," he said before adding, "I'm looking for an Alyce, do you know where she might be?" He figured that he didn't have a reason to tell Tilly why he needed Alyce unless she asked. Even then he wasn't 100% sure what to tell her.

Tilly's head tilted slightly to one side as she set the towel down on the counter, leaning her weight on the hand holding it in place. "Ooch, an' why ya be needin' to tangle wit' tha'un?"

"Cat wrangling," Hatsu said before really thinking about it, "Alyce's been to Bill's place before so I figured it wouldn't be as rude if I asked for her help."

Now that raised her eyebrows for a brief moment and she stood straighter, only to delve into the display shelves and dig out a couple of cookies with some wax paper. "Oh?" These were then set on a clean saucer and on the counter. With a little push toward Hatsu, she quietly invited the man to sit down and explain more. "Wot's going on, loverly?"

Hatsu was debating if Tilly was just trying to be nice or torture more information out of him with sweets and kindness -- or maybe it was both. Either way, he felt like he couldn't deny her offer of cookies; who could? But, how the hell was he going to explain the living ghost cat to her? Did she even know about magic? He took a seat and a cookie, "Bill's just at the clinic- they said she's fine for now. We're not sure how long she'll be there, but I thought about taking care of her cat is all."

Tilly added a cupcake to the saucer, "Wot's wrong wit' the lass?"

"Bill? Just went catatonic out of no where." Hell yeah, a cupcake. Was Tilly good at persuasion or what?

She wiped down the counter while Hatsu enjoyed the cupcake. "Out of no where? Wot' was she doin'?"

He didn't like how comfortable he felt or how the words wanted to flow off his tongue. Tilly was too nice and too easy to talk to. It made it harder for him to know where to draw the line. How much information does he give her? "Basically, she was on her computer when I noticed she wasn't responding."

"Oh, how strange." Soon as Hatsu had eaten half of the cupcake, a new cookie was placed on the saucer. "This one 'ere's a new one we're tryin' out." It had icing, much like a cupcake. This too was nudged gently toward Hatsu. "Wot can I git you to drink, loverly?"

This felt like manipulation or, at least, an attempt to make him stay longer. He didn't mind the food and it was just Tilly being nice so there wasn't anything to worry about right? "Thanks," he said when he noticed the arrival of a new cookie, "Can I just get green tea please? I probably shouldn't stay for too long. Gotta find Alyce and cat wrangle." She never did give him an answer did she?

She moved to fetch a green tea. "What was the lass looking at afore she stopped responding?" The tea was set down and Tilly moved to tidy up the display cabinet a bit.

Okay, he was certain that Tilly was digging for information and he didn't blame her. He probably would be doing the same if he was in her shoes. "Not sure." he said. But she was still avoiding answering his questions.

He ate some of the cookie which was sweet but good, "Just waiting to see what the doctors say." Hatsu watched Tilly for a bit as she cleaned the display cabinet before adding, "I'm just taking care of her cat until she's able to. I was hoping Alyce could help." He really didn't want to directly ask where Alyce was again. He figured he could hopefully just keep pushing at it until Tilly answered. If she didn't, then he guess he would have to keep asking around. Something he didn't want to do.

"Well, Alyce might be able to help, but.. someone else might as well. What's the issue wit' the cat?" Her accent strength came and went, but that wasn't unusual if one hung around Tilly or in her cafe while she was on rant mode.

How does someone explain ghost-like cat without any supernatural details? That was a trick question, you don't. Or, at least, that was the conclusion Hatsu came to. He wasn't sure if it was wise to tell Tilly but she did seem like she wanted to help -- the only reason why he didn't want to tell her was because it wasn't his place. He knew Bill was a witch, but it wasn't his place to tell the world that. And it wasn't his place to bring more people into this information if they didn't already know before hand. And he didn't know if Tilly knew, so it was best to be vague and secretive about it.

"I know," he started, "Figured Alyce was a good place for me to go to." He smiled at the end hoping that Tilly wouldn't notice that he didn't answer her question, "Plus, don't want to invite anyone who hasn't already been to Bill's place without her permission."

Tilly nodded. "Understandable. I don't leave the cafe much, meself. Always sumthin' to do." She offered up a napkin and picked up her towel to go hang it near the sink. "If'n ye think she's the best course to take... She ain't likely to be 'round 'til morning. She likes walks in the forest."

"The forest? At night?" Hatsu asked with a raised eyebrow. To be honest, he really wasn't surprised. That sounded like something she would do, but it did feel off. Wasn't the beetle safe found in the woods? Could Alyce have been the one to plant it there for them to find?

Tilly gave a bit of a smile, "No, laddie. In the mornings, she likes ta walk in the woods."

"Oh," he said as he drank some tea. Alyce still confused him and the longer he sat the more he thought about it. Tilly wasn't quick to give him the information he needed and he wondered why. Soon enough it was his own unraveling that made him re-question if Alyce was even safe to ask for him, albeit the only answer he could think of. "I don't mean to pry, but is there a reason why I shouldn't ask Alyce for help? You seemed to, kinda, avoid her in our conversation. Again, I don't mean to pry and you don't have to answer."

Tilly gave a bit of a nod and half smile. "Alyce is.. complicated. And complicated leads to... issues." She bagged up the cookies Hatsu hadn't finished, and added another cupcake to go. She added in a couple of fish shaped treats. "For the cat. They might help more than you think."

"Right, complicated." He said as he took the goodies Tilly handed to him, "Oh, thanks. I appreciate it." Again he bit his lip as he fiddled the the bag of treats. Another question tittered on the edge of his lips and he debated for a second before asking it, "Its a rude question, but is Alyce..." what was the right word? He wanted to ask if he could trust her but he felt that was too direct and too rude so he opted for a different one. A words that was a bit kinder. "...reliable?"

Tilly gave a small grimace. "Depends, on her mood and frame of mind at the time."

He nodded, "Right, thank you for these." With a shake of the bag he got up. "I'm going to head out now. Have a good night."

With that he left and made his way back to Bill's apartment. Maybe it was rude to stay the night without permission but he opted that Mary shouldn't be left alone. When he got back, he first went back to were he had left the cat and laid on the floor with a treat out stretch. He didn't even noticed that he had fallen asleep. The day had been a tiring one.

coded by: @s e v e n

 

[KodakWolf]

Indy & Bernard & Leif
(Via Discord)​

Indy swallowed deeply as the noises behind the door grew progressively louder. Bernard seemed similarly aware of their impending situation, but she played along with his attempt at normalcy by bobbing her head and clearing her throat loudly. "It's uh, stuffy as hell, right Leif?"

But the man wasn't playing along. He was making his way toward the door, his hand already on the handle before Indy could decide how she felt about it. Before she had a chance to protest or think of a plan, Leif opened the door.


Bernard's attempts at banality were well-measured, but the acts of Leif weren't in line. He broke his transfixed state by looking over his shoulder. His eyes spotted the backroom door parting. A choking breath wormed its way up and out of Bernard's throat. It flowed like a low hiss, but not quite right. He does not know what stiff Leif stuffed in that storeroom, but it may push them over the cliff.

His hand cuffed the other behind his back. The professor wondered whether to verbally contribute, but instead could only watch with sidelong vision.


No way he'd play along with the small talk and leave River waking up by himself in the back room. No, the chances of something happening and getting in the way of his answers yet again was too high. Besides, it was a matter of time before River did open the door himself anyway. He nodded ar her words, and said a voiceless 'keep talking', in the hopes she was good at lip reading, before he disappeared into the back room and shut the door behind him.


Sage looked up when he heard the front door opening, and again when he heard the door to the backroom close. He didn't want to stop his reading, but noticed Leif's absence and gave a low rumble. "What's going on?"


Bernard with a turn of his head to the left looked at Sage who grumbled an inquiry. "Oh, Ikke meget. Our host needed to inspect something in the back. A rat catch or something." Going along with Leif's plans is the most opportune way to gather a new ally in his scheme to discover Marasong's mysticism.


Indy bobbed her head again and forced a smile despite the cool shiver that crawled over her skin. "Oh, right. This place does seem like it would be crawling with rats, doesn't it? So uh, any idea what happened to the guy who took all these notes? Any thoughts?" Had they discussed this before? Maybe, she was trying very hard not to look at the door and the words were tumbling out.


The professor lifted a knuckle to his mouth and coughed into it. A distractive gesture from Indy's nervousness, she is not as well armoured as Leif or himself at playing off the psychosomatic ticks. He wonders whether that is a component of their vampirism or were they of a distinct breed. He pivots and steps further in the shack, allowing the entrance a wide birth to the outside. "I am curious about that as well, however I've not been here that long to know who or what he was."


Sage frowned, but his attention returned to the book he was currently looking through. "The ranger took his mother to one of the larger cities. She took ill and needed a higher level of medical care. We don't know how long he will be gone."


The Dane furtively hummed at the revelation of this new information. This is a mutation in Bernard's knowledge of the event, seeing as Leif within earshot of the professor mentioned that the ranger had gone missing on the dock when Dusk's body had been dredged up from the deep, deep, depths of death.


"So he left all this behind?" The issue behind the door was shoved back as Indy considered what Sage was saying. "Did anyone see him before he left?"


"It was a quick thing. I found out about it when we took Dusk's body to the clinic. They're still scrambling to handle her absence. And.. the town will be scrambling in the ranger's absence. Only.. didn't know he had all this ... info."


Bernard bobbed his head to the tune of Sage's words. Yes, that was his assumption: Sage had been fed lies. Inky, convenient falsehoods to disperse potential panic. It was likely the doing of that broad-shouldered man at the docks who helped Bernard with crowd control. "I suppose it isn't so appalling. To borrow a saying: I would've done the same if I had walked a mile in the ranger's shoes."


A quick glance at Bernard confirmed he was most likely brewing similar suspicions. "Sounds like a big shame, anyway. Someone may want to give them a call, check in. See if we can get ahold of him." Even though she knew what would most likely happen; no one would remember the ranger's number or know how to reach them. Or, if they were able to reach him, he would be suspiciously oblivious. She glanced at Bernard before looking back to Sage. "Did the ranger stay here? Or did he and his mother have a place in town?"


He was receptive to Indy's knowing glances. Ah, it seems we're corroborating the pieces was Bernard's thoughts. Although he doesn't believe she has the full picture behind the ranger's sudden disappearance; likely nobody other than he, Leif, and that man on the docks. "Yes, ringing up the ranger would be ideal, but if it isn't possible then we'll have to contact other authorities if possible. Or try our hands on solving this mystery on our own." He returned a glance to Indy, their tactics were working insofar as Sage's busied focus.

Unbalanced. Unfocused.


"Wiri stayed here, and his mother at the clinic. Though he lived in his truck almost as much. Seemed to always be busy." He ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh, "Fucking hell. Marasong relied on the ranger a hell of a lot."


His mother at the clinic..."Wait, the clinic on the edge of town?" Indy frowned. Hadn't they run into that woman after arriving in Marasong? She would need to ask Leif. Speaking of which--she glanced toward the door; was he alright?


"Yes, we only have the one."


Right. That woman had absolutely been in on the secret. Presumably, she would have told her son as well--so why all the notes? Clearing her throat, Indy strode toward the back door. "Right, I'm just going to see how he's doing with the rats." Steeling herself, she paused only a moment to listen for any noise before pulling it open and quickly slipping inside. "Leif?"


Bernard paced to the ranger's desk to search through the cupboards whilst keeping Indy within sight. "My, my, such curiousity for rats." Loudly dismissing their notions. Primarily to occupy Sage's mind. But beneath the pale veneer of his skin, the man's musculature prickled with action. Ready for anything.


The desk held typical items, pens, pads of papers with notes not nearly as interesting as the books, a date book, some gum, and a few water bottles that smelled like seawater. Sage had returned to try and finish looking through the book.

Meanwhile, in the back, River was bent over, coughing and there was a literal 'river' of water from where he was. His clothes were drenched, his hair clung to his face, and it looked like he had coughed up a good deal of water as well.


Choking on water certainly beat dead, and the reasons for the scene didn't interest the vampire at the moment. Leif was quick to approach River, kneeling next to him to deliver a couple of back blows. At least for now, it didn't look like he was about to drown and die again.


River got the last of the water out of his lungs and a few bruises along the way. He raised a hand when he was good to go. Still took him a bit to get his voice back though. "I.. it.. ok."


Having just turned the corner in time to see Leif viciously smacking what had definitely been a fucking corpse on the back, Indy felt vomit bubble up her throat as liquid poured from the man's mouth onto the floor. "Oh fucking hell"--she rushed forward and dropped to her knees before them both, eyes wide--"he's not dead? Leif what the fuck, he was absolutely fucking dead--"

Her voice was a harsh whisper as she studied the man in the dim light, the water pooling around her shoes. Best not to think about that.


Leif backed off when River signaled he was good to go, just as he noticed Indy'd followed him into the room and was now on her knees on the floor in front of them.

It was hard to keep the relief he felt from showing. "He look dead to you?" There was even a small chuckle, before his eyes turned to River once again, waiting to see what he had to say.


Indy glared at him before turning back to the definitely not-dead corpse between them. "Is this...water? Not vomit? Was he always soaked?" She hadn't remembered him being soaked, but it was so dark inside... "You sure you're alright?"


"It's water. Long story." He mumbled, but eyes remained on River. He'd tell her later. And about the water, he didn't know either, but it sure smelled like nothing but water.


River sat back against the wall, one hand pushing the hair out of his face before he looked at Indy and gave a weak hand wave.

It was sea water, as the two of them focused on the smell of it.


It felt eerily similar to when Indy had pulled Dusk from the ocean. Part of her wanted to touch his arm and see whether his skin was similarly waterlogged and frail. Fuck, how would they explain this to Sage? She glanced at Leif and back at the door. "Right. I'll get Bernard and we'll get Sage out of here, we need to talk later."


"No." His voice was quiet so as not to be heard by those outside, but his answer was quick, before she was able to even get up and leave. "We might need Sage. We need everyone we can get, I think." He then turned to River. "River. Does Sage know you? What you can do?


River shook his head, finding part of his voice. "No, only the si.bochecde." There was the gobbly gok Leif would be familiar with.


There was a snort when the man started talking nonsense again, but Leif nodded.

"Right, let's wrap things up with Sage first, then." He said to her as he moved to stand up. Apparently, he'd been taking a bigger gamble than what he accounted for, with Sage not really knowing River and the fact he could come back from the dead and this wasn't a crime scene. In a sense. Apparently, not everyone knew everyone else in Marasong. Regardless, Sage at least didn't seem to interested in following them into the back room.

"We'll be right back." He told River. "Get some rest." He had to go out as well, and make sure they had a way to keep in touch with Sage and align what their next steps would look like from now.

 

[KodakWolf]

Hatsu
(Via Discord)​

Hatsu woke up, stiff, a little cold from laying on the floor, and one arm was numb from being asleep. Mary was fully furred and completely claiming his arm as her pillow. Happy little purrs escaped now and then, and she 'made bread' against his arm, the claws occasionally pricking. It was Friday. Also the day of the beach cove camp out invite he had received what felt like a lifetime ago.


If it weren't for the pricks on his arm, he probably would have slept the entire day. He had fallen asleep so quickly and slept so hard that he almost forgot where he was when his eyes opened to be greeted with a purring cat. "Good morning..." he grumbled as he gently pushed the cat off of him mindlessly scratching at his arm. He sat, blinking away sleep, as his brain worked to catch up. Oh. Mary was solid again. He turned his head to look at the cat. Whatever was in those fish treats worked its magic. Which meant he didn't have to find Alyce anymore. Score! Now, he would have to figure something else to do today-- and there was plenty. He could look for the treasure but deemed that it probably wasn't safe to do alone. He should also thank Tilly, but that can be done when he ate breakfast. Well, there was the beach cove thingy to day. Maybe he should go.

First things first though. Feed the cat. Then go back to the inn to shower and change.


Mary hissed a little at being pushed away, then lifted her nose in a classic cat sub and meandered away to her food bowl not very far away. It still seemed very quiet without Bill's rambling, energetic self. Oh, and Hatsu did have some cat hair clinging to his shirt. Just realizing it was there, made Hastu feel as if his skin was getting itchy.

Mary sat down and every minute, almost to the second, let out a demanding 'MROROW' for food. And when it didn't arrive after a very long two minutes, started making the food bowl clatter by placing a foot on it and letting go.

'MROROW' clatter, clang, clang.


"はい、はい、ちょっとまって" (Yes yes, wait a moment) he grumbled getting up from the ground still scratching at his arm with a heavy yawn. He searched for the food as Mary got louder and more inpatient. He fumbled with her food before finally finding it and he wasn't sure how much he should give her. Well, the more the better. He poured a healthy amount into her bowl before he realized the fur that clung to his shirt. Well shit. He definitely needed a shower and a change of clothes. And allergy medication. He could already feel his sinuses protesting and everything felt itchy.

"Is that good?" He asked as he watched the cat for a bit before checking her water and getting his shoes on.


The feline purred briefly, in a very distinct, 'yes human now leave me be' kind of way. Mary was happy left to her food. Her water was topped off, and Hatsu prepared to leave Bill's house. Should he lock it behind him? Who would take care of Mary if Bill didn't improve? His eyes fell on the closed laptop and her bag set beside it.


There wasn't much question weather or not he would take care of the cat. He already knew he would and he doubt anyone would complain much. He just hoped that she would get better soon so he didn't have to think about any long term set up. Hatsu was about to leave when he caught a glimpse of her closed laptop and bag. Maybe he should bring it with him -- maybe it'll give him answers. So he returned to the table and grabbed them and carefully placed the laptop and its charger into the bag. "I'll be back," he told Mary who didn't seem to care as he closed the door and locked it. If anything changes with Bill they should call him


Hopefully Bill had a key in her bag, or maybe she had it in her pockets. Suppose Hatsu could always beg help from the man who owned the building if worse came to pass. Now, with laptop, bag, and cat hair, he had to make a choice of where to go next


"Shit!" It dawned on him what he had just done. He did not own a key and has now locked himself out. Guess he now had to add locking picking or learning who the hell the landlord was to be able to get back in. Worse case, he could try a window but that probably won't work. Either way, he had to get back to the inn and clean up. First, though, he would go to check up on the clinic and see how Bill was doing...hopefully she still had a key.

 

[KodakWolf]

Leif & Indy
(Via Discord)​

River had pretty much passed out shortly after 'waking', but shivered in the wet clothes and the bare floor he laid on. Sage had departed to go check in on his father and brother. And maybe deal with everything the books had revealed. He didn't seem to have heard anything strange from the back, or was in too much of a mental lock of those notes to give a damn.

The ranger station remained empty save for Leif, Bernard, Indy and River. There were chairs and couches here and there to allow everyone a place to crash, the day had been exhausting after all. Full of one thing after another, minds caught up in a whirlwind of unexpected revelations and more.

The sun beamed through the windows in the front half of the station signaling it was morning. Friday. At last.


Indy groaned as attempted to stretch. Every joint in her body seemed to crack like splitting wood, giving audible evidence of exactly how uncomfortable it was to sleep in a plastic office chair. Maybe she should have gone back to the inn, but after the body and knowing Roje most likely would still be missing--she couldn't.

Speaking of corpses. She turned to River, eyeing up the man cautiously. To be frank, she hadn't been certain he would make it through the night. "Hey--you good over there?~


The man swept the hair out of his face and did an awkward stretch as he sat up and looked around. "Uh.. mostly. Better than earlier sooooooo yeah."


Of course Leif didn't get any sleep on a night like that. It was mostly spent wandering around the area, looking for non existent clues among the strange quietness that seemed to have settled over Marasong after recent events. Then when it was closer to morning, it was spent guarding the station against whatever might lurk in the darkness, or against his own thoughts.

The familiar sound of voices drew him back inside, one voice in particular.

"Do you need a glass of water?" He spoke to the man, after shooting all those in the room a quick glance.


River nearly choked on his own saliva as he quickly shook his head, "Dear gods no. No thank you. Had enough water to last me.. well.. too much."


The vampire chuckled, but it was brief. Whatever it took for him to talk. "Right." There was a quick pause, before he asked. "What have you learned?"


River looked confused for a moment, but then the light bulb obviously clicked on by his expression. "OH! Yeah soo uh.." He looked around before adding, "Maybe I should write it down cause of you.. know."


“Or you know,” Indy glanced between them. “Fill the rest of us in on how all this happened? Like the whole… you ending up here thing."


River gestured toward Leif. "He should talk, if you don't want gobbledy gook."


"Oh, yeah." He was moving to grab a pen and some paper from the ranger's desk when Indy talked again. He threw her a brief glance, but didn't answer until River had pen and paper at hand.

"He's..." Leif paused, finally moving to sit down on a chair. He wasn't sure just how much he should say, and even how much he actually knew, but River didn't seem worried about anything being disclosed. "He's like a magic 8 ball. You ask him a question, he gives you an answer." Small pause. "But you need to kill him first." He held her gaze, hoping she wouldn't ask if he was serious. Yes, he was serious. "If you don't kill him and just ask, he can't really say anything meaningful. He just... babbles."


"It's because of the sie-civ-cshfft..." He let out a heavy sigh and turned to the pad of paper to write, leaving them to chatter for a bit.


"Sirens?" His gaze focused River again.


Indy stared at them both blankly, waiting for the punchline--or, maybe she wasn't. Fuck, since when did the magic 8 ball dying guy suddenly seem possible? Is this how people in superhero movies felt, so desensitized by super villains that a giant robot was just a Wednesday tradition?

"So you just--you're going to--is that what happened before? You drowned him?!" Fuck, of all the ways to go too, wasn't that a bit drawn out?


He nodded his head, still writing.


"Right, okay we"--she pointed between herself and the vampire who seemed way too fucking experienced with all this--"need to have a chat. Pronto."

Largely over whatever the hell had happened to him while she was off traversing her own craziness. Wait--"Was he what you wanted to talk about? Back at the docks?"


Of course. Sirens. It always came back to them. He turned to Indy again when she started talking. It was hard to remember how she probably wasn't as nearly filled in as he was about the whole thing, how she hadn't been the one waiting to hear back from River for the past century (or that's how it felt.)

"I...." How specific should he be about this? Of course she wouldn't take this naturally, this was the 21st century. "Yeah. Got him where he had to be, yeah."

"I don't even remember what exactly I wanted to talk about, but this was one of the things, for sure. And the ranger's notes." He nodded towards the desk with the drawers. "We were teleported here together, it makes sense we try to work our way of this as a team, I guess."


Indy squeezed her eyes shut. Yeah, as a team--unless they all managed to disappear. Whatever strange world they had landed in, she couldn't shake the sense that every second was counting down to something sinister. It had certainly felt like the crazy shit was getting wrenched up more and more over time.

"Okay, so, let's take stock." Indy shut her eyes and imagined a flight manifest, every name practically written in blood. "We have magic 8 ball, you, Bernard over there. We also have Beth, or at least we know of her. Roje is missing. The corpse in the water. Shit, what else." She paused. "Oh fuck, the water. Everything about the water here, it's insane--have you experienced that?"


"Yes." He nodded as she listed the names. "But I don't know how River got here, and Bernard wasn't teleported." That might mean something. Why were they teleported? "Have you found Beth yet? You think she can help?"

There was a pause while he pondered her question about the water. "What exactly is insane? I mean, besides the sirens and that horned thing in it. Your sister's probably captured in the water."


Indy snorted. "Yeah. Found her, almost wish we hadn't. Wherever we are, it's like before. It's not...right. Inverted. What was once red is now blue, that sort of shit. What once was a cool hippy mom in a town that hated supernaturals is now...definitely not that. I, uh, wouldn't count on her help." Nor would she count on trusted Beth, either. Not at this rate.

Then--"I'm sorry, what?" Indy's eyes snapped open as she leaned forward in the chair. "The--you said sirens? And a horned-thing?!"


He frowned at he description. She knew Marasong, didn't she? He could easily tell this reality was different. The people were different. Chase was different. Tilly was different. Levi was different. Turid was most certainly different. But Indy's description of Beth, and Marasong... was definitely interesting.

Then she seemed surprised about what he said. He frowned more.

"Yes. It's in the notebooks. You really should read all of them." He got up to fetch the remaining notebooks. She really should check them all, right now. "I believe the sirens play a huge role in this, but Sage think they aren't the main brain behind everything." There was a pause, until he returned with the notebooks for her. "The sirens and Dapper." He moved to sit back down after handing her the notebooks.

 

[KodakWolf]

Roje & Boy & Hatsu
(Via Discord)​

Boy woke up a little chilled, but someone had draped a small blanket over the doggo. Roje was now laying down in the bed with the sheet pulled up, her hands holding onto it and moving now and then. She looked very much like the other patient Boy had come across in the screened off section nearby. Roje's eyes were open, blinking now and then, but staring at nothing in particular.

Meanwhile, Roje was still in her mental path of discovery or destruction, it was too early to tell which it was just yet. She cut away the caught fabric from the now closed brick wall, leaving her in a very bright clearing. There was grass on the ground, but spotty, like patches of it had been burned away. There was something more, just far enough the vampire couldn't make out what it was. It was blurry, but seemed to be a humanoid shape, when the light wasn't blinding her.


Roje blinked a few times and looked around at her surroundings. This shit just keeps getting weirder and weirder. she thought, taking a look ahead and squinting her eyes toward a humanoid figure in the distance. "You still with me?" she asked the voice that spoke with her once before. Hopefully that voice was still there to give her some sort of guidance aside from trying to remember something. Slowly, she moved towards the figure, preparing herself for any danger that'll come at her at any moment.


The only answer was the sound of her own voice. And the strange way her steps crunched on the grass, more so on the burned patches. Each patch looked deliberate, a careful circle of destruction. Oh wait, that one was a square, and a triangle, and a.. fang?

There was the faintest sound of a chuckle coming from the figure Roje moved toward. It was familiar, but the vampire couldn't quite place it yet. The figure was still too blurry to make out, but seemed as familiar as the chuckle.


Eyebrows closed close as she paused. What the fuck? who chuckled like that??? Her jaw tightened and she examined the floor underneath, seeing different shapes, especially the one that stood out like a fang. My Vampirism would make the most sense for that... But a Triangle and a Square? The Vampire took a breath because she had to take this slow. "Chuckle at me all you want." She moved forward, though still cautiously


There was a definite cockiness to the answer, "Oh, I am." Nagging how familiar that voice was. And a few more feet forward, it clicked into place suddenly. Roje was seeing another version of herself, it was her own voice that chuckled and sassed back. A harder, less dipped in humanity version of herself.

And when she came close enough to wash out the blurriness, she could see a younger version waiting for her. Younger in appearance at least. Roje Two smiled with her fangs fully showing, nails longer and clicking together periodically as she stood there waiting for Roje's assessment. Or.. her realization.


As soon as she was close enough, she took a half step back as she stared at a less human-like version of herself. "Oh. Great. Nice." though in her mind, she was thinking of a stake, one that she hoped would materialize in the hand that was further from her doppelganger "Looks like you took the more dark approach to this whole Vampire thing didnt you?" or perhaps "Or probably worse there." she basically nodded to her appearance "What does my dark side want?" her gaze watched every movement, listened to every sound she made.


The dog was startled by the blanket draped around him as he slowly woke. It immediately made him think of Augie, as he sprung to his feet. The man must be looking for him at this point.

A glance toward the bed, however, drove his thoughts back to the woman who lay there. She seemed different. Way different than last night, when she was able to talk and interact with the world in a way. This was eerily similar to what the other woman seemed to be going through, in the other room.

He quickly approached the bed, and stood up to nudge the woman's arm several times. Perhaps she was sleeping. With her eyes open, yes, but if she's not able to see, what difference would it make anyway?


At first, Roje felt the sensation of wood in her head, but about the same time as doppleganger Roje chuckled, it turned into something softer, fleshier, like ... "Steak? Hungry? It should be raw enough to get a little bit of blood, since you do the animal thing." D-Roje sneered. "Pathetic really. It's little surprise why you're so weak. Can't even break yourself out of a little curse? Where are your balls?"

Boy didn't get any type of a reaction, but could see Roje was clenching at the sheets now and then, which is more than the other female had been doing. For now, she seemed okay just caught up in something inside maybe.


Roje's teeth almost grinded as she let out a low growl and drop the damn steak "I don't need fucking blood." she was being taunted by her own self. Had she really grown this soft? Her heart and head were like stone, her anger kept her rolling and pushing forward and had a lack of a care in the world. But now her heart was growing warm for people, letting them in. "Mother fucker, talking shit I see." who knew that someone could get mad at themselves in this way? She surely didn't. "If I knew how to break out of a damn curse I would've done it by now. Don't you fucking think? I just made some fuckin explosives just to get in here."


"Oh, you know how. You just don't want to admit it. And the wall? Easy getting in. Not so easy getting back out."


She seemed... stable? There was movement, she was clenching at the sheets now and then, but yet she didn't react to his nudges, no matter how many. Calling for help at the clinic sounded pretty useless. From his previous experience, Boy didn't think any of the nurses would be able to do much besides make obvious remarks and talk about 'further tests'.

He got back down, and his thoughts drifted back to Augie. He did what he could for her. Now it was time to find Augie. So he worked on finding a way outside, hopefully the one that required the least help from others.


"Well smartass, I can think of multiple ways that this can go. Quite frankly its possible I haven't learned everything that I'm allowed to do. You know damn well I'm going to do what I can to get out of here. Thing is, not sure what's considered to be "here" so to speak. This could be my mind, and I can accidentally break my own mind if I'm not fuckin' careful enough." Roje tried again, tried to materialize another Stake, this time out of metal.


Boy peeked out of the curtains and took stock of the room. Bonus, the door was propped open at the moment, to let in fresh air and sunshine. The nurses were busy with taking stock of their supplies, and the back room door was open with no signs of a body, it looked like it had been cleaned and sterilized for use again. If he moved slow and stayed low, they likely wouldn't see him.

D-Roje laughed and tapped a finger against her own nose. "Ooooh you got it, sweetcheeks. If you break out the wrong way.. well. You'll be even more stuck than you are now." The other Roje tilted her head to one side, fangs still quite visible as she smiled. "You have such... potential. But you refuse to embrace it. Because of what? Some strange mixed up belief you can still be human? Humans are weak. That makes you weak."

Roje could feel metal starting to form in one palm.


There it was, her blood was starting to boil. Humans may seem weak, but they were strong. Resilient even. Being a Vampire only showed that not only would she be alone, but that she wouldn't be able to grow old with friends, and would outlive them no matter what. She had strength, she had speed, she even could take over places if she wanted to. Roje held onto being human to at least feel attached to the world "Listen here you two headed bitch," there was the thought of what would happen if she drove the ever-materializing stake through her other self "Humans may be weak. But they are stronger than we realize. I may outlive, I may blow strength out of the water. But nothing will change the bonds, the love, the drive and much more that they possess. You think you're god? Big fat change you fucking are. You may feel like one, act like one, but you will never be one."


D-Roje just gave a 'bless your little heart' kind of patronizing smile with another tilt of her head. "So full of angry words, and angry insides, but you're still cursed. So are you going to spit fire and vitriol and play savior to humanity? Or.." Her eyebrows lifted and her tone grew a little harder. "Are you going to do whatever it takes to save yourself?"


Oh man she did not miss this. This is what she did to other people and now it was being aimed towards her. Her hand tightened, hoping to feel that solid metal sitting in her hand "You don't fucking get it. You never will. Wanna know why? Because you're something that I killed a long time ago."


The metal was solid now, solid and heavy. D-Roje grinned wide. "No, dearie. You may try to bury me deep in your mind, but we're of the same soul still. Only I know how to get out of the seaweed prison you're in. So.. if you want to stake me and be left here all by yourself for eternity.. well.. You can try. But it won't be a harlequin romance ending, sweetcheeks."


How did they remove the body without him noticing it? Had he really been that deep asleep? And was the body still somewhere he could sniff it out? He sniffed the air in the clinic and outside, hoping to catch any clues.


Roje charged at her and attempted to grab her by the neck and basically hold her at Stake-point "Well listen here sweetcheeks, if you like to say that you're part of my soul, then you damn know well I will torture you, and myself, to get my fucking answer. So we can do this the easy way or the hard way!


Everything had that freshly scrubbed nearly bleach or chlorine smell. NO trace of the body, or scent of it to be found.

D-Roje pulled out her own metal stake, apparently manifested when Roje conjured her own. Instead of grabbing her doppleganger by the throat, she took a stake to the hand. D-Roje growled and took them both to the ground, pinning the staked hand down. "LISTEN HERE BITCH...."

She took a moment, took an unnecessary breath, and seemed to calm down however slightly. "Listen.. I'm trying to fucking help you. You don't want it? Fine. Figure it out on your own. You've been doing fucking swimmingly lately." D-Roje stood up, leaving Roje on the ground, stake firmly through the center of the one hand as D-Roje started to walk away.


Meanwhile, life was going decently okay for Hatsu. Sure he locked himself out and might be having a slight allergy attack - but at least he was going to the clinic. He could ask for some medication and check on Bill. Ask if they found a key on her, then go back to the inn and take a well deserved shower. And new cat free clothes.

He opened the door and stood there waiting for when the receptionist would be free or when someone would noticed him


Oh well that backfired. Releasing a short scream of pain and getting the wind knocked out of her as she was slammed into the floor. Hand also stuck in the ground too, man did it hurt like a bitch. "You're trying to fucking help me? More like push me into a situation I dont fucking WANT!" with that, she yeeted her own stake full force towards the thigh of her Doppelganger. Roje then looked at the stake in her hand and she could tell that the trauma was rolling in with how her fingers shook. Removing the stake from her hand, she let out another cry of pain "Mother fucker!" it would heal in due time but surely not right now. "What, you want me to turn into the monster I refuse to be? That's all it takes just to break out of a fucking curse!?"


Nothing, no trace of Dusk. At least, nothing ready to be found. He'd lose way too much time trying to track the body, if that was even possible.

He was ready to go after Augie when he picked up a familiar scent, and sight. Hatsu, wasn't it? The guy not so acquainted with dogs. The black dog happily trotted to greet him, tail wagging all over the place as he sniffed his hands.


Hatsu jerked back at first when a wet nose touched the back of his hand, "Oh," he said as he carefully rubbed the dog's head. "I thought dogs weren't allowed in here..." he mumbled to himself, "Is Augie here?" He asked the dog not really expecting an answer back.


D-Roje looked back at the other, shaking her head slightly. "There are different levels of monster. No one said you had to be all or nothing. But your version of controlling it? It's made you incredibly weak. Inefficient. You should take some pointers from that other vampire guy. Maybe he can tutor you in the different levels. If you can break the curse that is."


Holding her hand close to her chest, she watched "What do you fucking expect me to do right now then, huh?" Roje didn't want to accept that she was weak. She didn't want to do what most vampires did. That was her goal.


"You need to properly feed your abilities. You've been starving them. And they're dying, hon."


He wasn't any dog. He was Town Mascot. He was allowed anywhere. But no, Augie wasn't there. He was actually going to find him. Should he also invite Hatsu?

He barked, spun, then barked again. He had to go find Augie, then perhaps he'd lead him to the clinic. It was about time he had his arm checked out anyway. So he darted off towards the beach.


"Wh- You want me to drink human blood? Straight from the source? You want me to exercise what I have?"


"Dogs make less sense than cats" Hatsu thought as he watched the dog bark and spun before running off. He shrugged it off before he entered the clinic and went to the receptionist desk, "Hi, I was here last night. With Bill, wanted to see how she was doing."


"If you drink just enough, and control yourself, oh.. OH the power you'll have. Curses will have nothing on you. Well, not this curse."

The nurse at the desk started to check her clipboard and gave a frown. "I'm sorry. I don't see a Bill on our patient list?"

 

[Out Of Words]

IF DECEMBER FREEZES​

IC Thread - Discord Compilation (Marasong Clinic)
Britt-21 silverwhere
​

Drink enough to control myself? Are you fucking kidding? I haven't had blood from the source in years! There was doubt in her mind. A VERY large amount of doubt. If there was a curse on her and all she needed was human blood straight from the source..."So that's it? I just need to bite someone and hope they don't die. Great solution."

The dopple Roje laughed, the sound of it a throw back to her earlier sassier than thou days. "That's never just it. You don't listen very well do you? Plug one ear, and hear what I'm about to tell you." The figure smirked with a second or two pause before continuing. "You need a power up. A serious power up. The kind gluten free, grass fed blood can't give you. You need the real thing to break free of years of blocking your true abilities. Now.. do I need to make a fucking flow chart?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, yes you do. Please, go right ahead and show me your artistic skills." Roje gestured with a sweep of her hand. The Vampire knew what she had to do at this point. Now it was a matter of getting the fuck out "So since you're miss know it all, I need to get my ass outta here. Am I gonna have to do this the hard way and make a nuke in here? Or is there a lovely door with signs all over it pointing me out?"

The other Roje just laughed. "You got your way in here. You can get your way right back out. Well, more or less."

"More or less. Nice reassurance." Could blast her way just as she blasted her way in. But from what she could recall, it's easy to get in, harder to get out. Which meant she needed multiple explosives to blast a massive hole and give her the opening she needed "Guess I'm blowing this shithole."

The other Roje just gave an arm wave in a classic 'go for it' motion. "Just be sure to go out the same spot you came in at. Less holes in your brain the better, eh?"

"Will be sure to keep that in mind." looking around, she got a bearing of where she had come from after a short moment and began making her way back. She Envisioned a bag, a black duffle, filled with sticky C4 that she could attach to the wall. Of course, she wont use all of it at once, however, she would use as much as she needed. Once Roje had approached the wall, she looked down at her hand to see if her items had fully materialized.

The bag was there, and inside was a lot of sticky stuff. Not quite fully C4, but explosive-ish putty all the same. Though it was really, really sticky and clung to her hand when she touched it. And it didn't want to let go.

Roje thought it looked weird and regretted the moment she touched it because now it wouldn't come off. With tightly pursed lips, she put her hand that had a new partner onto the wall and tried to use that as leverage to get the damn thing to get off "Mother fucker."

The stuff took more effort than it should have to transfer to the wall from her hand. She could keep doing that, or maybe try another attempt at shaping her reality.

Roje grumbled and tried to think of the one item that removed heavy glue or severe stickiness...Ah right Acetone! "Lets keep going. Keep creating." she looked at her other hand, waiting for the item to appear. Now she was getting the hang of it. The clearer her focus, the better the result. And viola, there it was. A smirk tugged the corners of her lips as she did her best to open the cap with her mouth and poured just a little bit between her hand and the sticky substance. Moving her hand to get the liquid to go between every part it could to get her free.

With a good bit of rinse, repeat, Roje was getting the bag of sticky tacky stuff onto the wall more than not. Though some of it was starting to slide down. Ah fuck I gotta hurry up." she materialized the remote with great focus and rushed to where she'd be able to take cover. "Lets hope this works." she pulled the trigger.

It was one of those movie moments, where nothing happened at first, until Roje peeked to see what was wrong, and then there was an earth shattering kaboom. It was enough force to knock Roje to the floor and send bits of the brick wall flying. One even nicked the left side of her face, but it wasn't deep. However, there was a hole in the wall, slowly starting to close back up, but taking a good bit of time and effort to do so.

Roje went down with a grunt and looked at the hole. Well, there it is, the hole. But she had to move quick. Scrambling to her feet, she dashed for the exit because now she knew what she had to do to get out of this curse. It was time to Execute and hope for the best.

The moment Roje made it out of the hole, the veil of seaweed returned like a wet slap in the face. The sound of the ocean roared like the largest monster she had ever faced. And her head hurt worse than she could recall. Pounding pain assaulted her head, like waves in a turbulent ocean.

She was laying down in a bed, back from the mental never never land, but in a hell of a lot of pain. Roje felt it all and she hated it to all hell. Her hands shot up to her head as her fingers threaded into her hair. She forced herself to sit up but she leaned forward towards her legs, trying not to let out screams to startle the area she was in. Though she did still release noise with her closed mouth, almost as if she was trying to gag herself, but without the gag.

Meanwhile, at the front desk, Hatsu was not having much luck. "Excuse me?" It came out a bit harsher than he had meant, "She was discharged?" He could have sworn that he left his number for them to call.

The nurse looked through the papers, flipping it a bit to double check. "No, I have no record of a Bill. Um.. hmm. Let me check with someone who was on yesterday. What time did she come in?"

Okay maybe he had misread, "I'm sorry what?" How does a hospital somehow lose all records of a patient? He hoped that somehow she maybe discharged herself but he doubted that. What happened over the night? How was she somehow missing? "I brought her in yesterday."

"Yesterday, one moment." She set the clipboard down and moved to the back of the clinic where a couple of other staff members were. They talked a little with some side glances toward Hatsu. After a minute, the nurse came back and stated, "I'm sorry, no one has a record or remembers anyone by the name of Bill coming in yesterday. Maybe if you describe her?" One of the other staff members had come over to listen and try to help.

He felt like he was going crazy. "Black hair? Catatonic state? What do you mean no one remembers her?" He hoped that this had nothing to do with the mystery. Hell he hoped that Bill didn't just become a part of the mystery.

"There's no one here from yesterday evening." The other member laid a hand on Hatsu's arm in a soothing attempt. "I'll give them a call and see what they say. Do you remember where they put her?"

Hatsu jerked his arm back, he didn't need to be comforted. "Sure." He had every right to be upset. He turned his head over to where Bill was only for it to be empty and cold. "Fine just call me if anything turns up."

Roje felt the pounding beat again and again. Harder, stronger, like... like a heartbeat. There was a source of such warmth nearby, the source of the beating. Several sources, though one was louder than the others, stronger. Drummed into an upset frenzy nearly.

Hatsu, there's motion in the other curtained area. You can hear the bed moving slightly, and there's a muffled noise.

Roje could feel it. Oh how she learned to ignore that heartbeat. But now it was a time where she had no choice, otherwise she'd be stuck the way she is forever. The loudest beat, that one was the one that'll give her what she needed. It meant it was pumping faster, getting blood rushing everywhere quicker. You won't hold me hostage anymore. Fuck you, you fish bitch. she thought, her hands clenching tighter in her hair.

Hatsu was about to turn to leave but instead saw motion behind another curtained area. Part of him hoped that it was Bill but why would anyone lie to him?

Roje could sense a figure approaching the curtained area. It had a strong beat, not quite as frenzied, but in a familiar fearful rhythm. The curtain rungs clinked along the rod as it was pulled aside, and the figure moved toward the figure on the bed.

The Vampire tried to focus on that beat as it felt like it echoed in her soul. Her first instinct was to hold back and resist the urge. But it was either her or the person she was about to eat for...Whatever time of the day it was. She wanted to wait till they were close enough to where she can feel them. If she lunged now, she could lunge too soon and fall right on her face. Just a little longer.

The presence was felt moving beside the bed, and there was the small intake of a breath one took before they were to say something.

Roje's hand snapped out and grasped for what she could. The pain remained and she planned to fight through it. Fuck. This was it, she was going against her own morals. She was going to go for the kill (Though hoping she wouldnt). Just...Just fucking do it. Worry about it later. That's when her other hand snapped out too and she pulled the figure onto the bed with her. Now for damn sure she wasn't going to bite through some clothes. She had to use her nose, find that open skin.

The figure started to resist and pull away from Roje, making a sound half strangled in their throat of surprise. Those hands of hers glided up, finding the head of this person, which meant the neck was right there. With one hand she put it over the person's mouth and with the other she yanked them close and immediately went for the neck.

IF DECEMBER FREEZES
A story by Out Of Words​

Season One: A Night Bleeds​

 

[Rhyme]

Indy

Location: RP Burst Compilation
Tags: Out Of Words KodakWolf Worthlessplebian and Indy

The professor had sent the bitterly weary man home, wishing him the best of luck in his filial endeavours with a note of understanding. He shut the door to the station with a careful click. The preponderance of the ranger's books weighed heavily on him, deciding it best to study them closely.

He sat on the desk and swiped the pads of his fingers across. Like a piano player glissandos across the keys. A book is pulled to him and he becomes enamoured in the contents. Enough to briefly forget about the reanimation and scribbling in the backroom. Minutes pass with watery flow until Bernard suddenly snaps the book close, hits the spine against the desk and gets up from his chair.

Leif had the same idea, they had almost collided. "Ah, these?" he hands the notebooks to the man and follows him back.

Bernard decides to comment on the rejuvenated corpse. "I see the man has resurrected. Tell me, did you get anything out of him?" He inquired, allowing his sleuthing skills to shine.

River wore a bemused smile, and gave a small hand wave to the new person. "Party time at the ranger station, eh?"

"Ah, ja. Quite the bash, unfortunately the preparations are sordidly lacking."

River gave a bit of a laugh, followed by a water-logged cough, then he glanced toward Leif and Indy, waiting for their 'talk' to wrap up or for some questions he could answer without goobley gook.

"Besides water?" He glanced at the other vampire witha bemused chuckle."He's working on it." Eyes returned to River to make sure the man wouldn't forget to keep writing.

He seemed to be ready to talk, which was more important than continuing to give Indy information he already knew, so the vampire's eyes remained on River as Leif gave Indy time to digest what he'd told her.

Bernard returned the amused smile of the elder vampire. It seems they're all in good spirits here. However, he hadn't managed to hear any of the conversation from these three, likely he'll piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle. He noticed that the drowned man intently wrote down something, the expecting eye of Leif all but confirmed that it was of massive import.

Indy rubbed her eyes and sighed, looking at them all and trying to even think what could possibly come next. “Fucking hell, what a mess. We need to regroup.”

River had managed to get some things written down. He obviously tried to keep it brief but still get to the point.

turid water, seaweek forest, by cove, feeding the worm, was mad, another had been rescued, saw it

"You also need to rest a spell, I realize we, undead entities, aren't technically constrained by physiological limitations." He advised the feline shifter. She also needed to eat, maintain her strength. The run through the forest wasn't an easy endeavour even epinephrined up the gills.

He noticed that River had nearly finished or completed the writing. At first, it did not make much sense. "Curious," he calls.

The vampire was able to read the words almost instantly, and it was also almost instantly that his eyes shotback up to meet River's.

"What worm? Who got rescued? Her sister?" He nodded towards Indy.

"Very likely, we know that her sister had recently been taken along with Dusk by a similar entity. Prepositionally. But who was feeding this... Worm." His head wheeled from River to Leif.

River gave a little bit of a half sigh, as not being able to talk was terribly inconvenient, and jotted down some more notes.

long brown hair, saved by a werewolf and another shorter girl, also brown haired.
Reading this. Bernard instantly knew who the werewolf was. "Roje was rescued by Aodh, but I don't recall who the short-haired woman. Actually..." Bernard pondered. "it could've been Silver." He glanced at Indy.

Leif's eyes moved to focus the other vampire intently. "Where's this Aodh?" Eyes moved to Indy to check if she happened to know them, then focused the vampire again. "Similar entity? To a worm?" That sounded strange. "Did it have any horns?"

River shook his head at the question about horns.

"He should be recuperating at the Inn. That is the last place I recall seeing him. I've been working with him as well on Marasong's mystery." Bernard answered Leif's question.

Leif had that nagging feeling like he had some reference to a worm, he had seen or read or heard.. somewhere.. but it was elusive. One of those tip of the tongue but can't quite get it moments.

Fuck. He could feel the headache settling in, yet no matter how hard he dug, he couldn't get a clear picture of the glimpse of a memory that seemed to be floating just out of reach.
"Right..." he let out a sigh, loiking down at the floor before his eyes sought River again.

"How do I rescue Turid?" Yes, that was the most important. Because he already suspected she was in the water anyway. Worm or not worm, horned or not horned.

River let out a heavy breath, and took to writing. This one might take a little bit longer.

Eventually, River held out the paper toward Leif.

"Wait, Aodh is recuperating from what?" He frowned a bit as he processed what was being said.

When River handed him the piece of paper, he frowned more, but eventually relax a little bit. Distract worm long enough? It sounded suspiciously simple. Of course it wouldn't be. Yet there was no mention of otherwordly spells, sacrifices, or any crazy plan. Had to be a start.

"How about Chase?" He handed the paper back to River. Sorry, but not really sorry he was making him write more.

"Tiredness. What else?" Bernard gave a doubting look at Leif. "I understand facts are often times connected, but be warned not to make up false connections."

He agreed with Leif that distracting this worm entity is or would be easier said than done.

chase is fine as long as protection spell remains
This was quickly jotted down and passed back over.
Leif just chuckled at the man's last words. He definitely hadn't been at it long enough. Well, he hadn't been teleported there to begin with.

River was thankfully quick to answer, yet his answer didn't really ease Leif's worries.


"Right." There was a small pause, during which he bit his lip and looked at the floor for a good five seconds, before passing the paper back to River.

"How do I reset the protection spell?"

River's eyes grew a bit big. And this he didn't have to write down. His quiet tone spoke volumes.

"You get Alyce."

coded by: @s e v e n

 

[Rhyme]

Indy

Location: RP Burst Compilation
Tags: Out Of Words (Augie) KodakWolf (Boy)

Augie was just stirring, and by stirring that meant moving some limb slightly in a very futile attempt to get off the mattress. Being productive would likely be another hour. It wasn't usual for him to be so sluggish in the morning, but with the preparation for the Friday night camp out on the beach, Augie seemed to be moving slower and with some growing dread anticipation.

As he made his way back home, Boy had some nasty scenarios playing in his head. Tilly had told Augie to keep him close, yet he'd wandered off into town to seek what? So when he saw Augie was still in the cave and apparently well, he rushed up to his side, tail wagging as he licked and nudged his face awake. It was time to get moving!

Augie sputtered and tried to gently guide Boy's face away from his. "I'm up! I'm up! Oof! Are you hungry?"

Well... he was hungry. But then they'd have to get going. He barked as he backed up and sat down to wait.

Augie moved, dusting off his clothes, habit from sleeping on the ground in most places. A run of hands over his face and through his hair, and then several blinks to clear the grogginess. "Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Okay. Uh.. where's my bag..." He slung his usual bag o' collecting goodies over his head and one shoulder, then gave Boy a bit of a hand wave. "Yeah, okay. To the cafe?"

That was quicker than he expected. The dog barked again, and happily trotted out.

"You really want your bacon, eh? Okay. Let's go see Tilly." And he started to head up along the shore to the path that would take them to the loving spoon.

coded by: @s e v e n

 

[Rhyme]

Indy

Location: RP Burst Compilation
Tags: Out Of Words Larry

Much like a cosy blanket, that he would have erstwhile been draped in, Aódh didn't want to extricate himself from the comfort that a restful nights sleep gave him. Despite the rejuvenation that he had been given, upon waking to a semblance of awareness about his surroundings, the words, and more nauseatingly, the image of Dusk's lacerated, necrotic flesh sprung to mind with an alacrity that he wouldn't be too pleased with his mind in providing. Rousing himself from the floor, however reluctantly, Aódh made his way into the bathroom in order to apply a dose of deodorant before flinging his upper body garments about his person again. Making his way into the bedroom again, closing the door to the shared bathroom behind him, the Irishman slipped into a new pair of socks and quickly thrust his feet into a pair of shoes, tying the laces with aplomb before making his way over to the door, exiting it.

Making his way down the stares, he was filled with consternation as to whether to head to the dock, to confirm with someone, anyone who might be there as to the veracity of Dusk's death. Or, on the other hand, whether or not he ought to find Bernard and inform of the disturbing portent that had been visited upon him the night previous.

Either way, he thought to himself, a nervous hand rubbing the back of his head, I'll have to inform him of what happened, especially if it means that something out there might end up targeting other people.

As was typical, and in a strange way, rather comforting, Aódh rounded the corner at the bottom of the stars to see Seraphim busy at work at the reception desk.

Seraphim looked up and gave a little nod of her head, and a smile in greeting. However, she seemed to be waiting for Aódh to either move toward the desk, or head out of the hotel.

"Good morning Seraphim," Aódh said, gesturing with a short wave, grateful for her advice about waiting for day to come before heading out to the dock. "I'm going over to...the dock, just to see where it all happened. I'll see ya later on."

"Be careful. It's the private dock, past the town. Where Dusk anchored his boat. Mind yer shoes."

She pointed toward the West.

"I will, thank you. See ya later."

Aódh, with an anxious gait, made his way out the door of the inn and in the direction that Seraphim had indicated.

Much like most of the other mornings he had awoken to in Marasong, there had been a steady stream of people coming to and fro in the direction of the docks, no doubt busy with whatever ships had made their way to the town. The young man wondered, if he had born here, would he have been likely to pick up on that trade? Would he have been able to do that for the rest of his life? He knew, with no disrespect to the people of Marasong, that he wouldn't be able to in such a small place for the rest of his life, and that if he were, no small degree of irreticence would be on display at his intentions.

The docks in the town were still busy, but it was strangely quiet. Like no one wanted to disturb the silence of the mourning people were likely still mulling over. The air had a bit more of a biting chill in the winds coming across the ocean, but once Aódh got off the main docks and walked along the shoreline toward the West, the outline of a ship bobbed on the waves on the horizon.

It'd be a good ten minute walk if Aódh didn't lollygag along the way.

He could see it, having walked for a little bit, nothing but the sound of the wind to accompany him. Despite the work going on, there was an eerie, even solemn quiet to the workers and the other people he crossed paths on the way to Dusk's dock. There could be no doubting it now, if there was a smidge of doubt left, that Dusk must have truly died. What other reason could there be for such silence? More unnervingly for the young man, despite the abruptness of the dream sequence, was the manner in which Dusk had appeared. Who, or what, had done that to him? And for what reason?

Once he arrived, there was still somewhat of an outline of a body. Dusk's size couldn't have gone without leaving some imprint. There were a few things he likely didn't want to look closer at. But there were strands of seaweed, very similar to one of the many dreams the werewolf had in the very strange night.

Aódh thought that he had prepared himself for whatever he may have found upon reaching the dock, but the sight of a body's outline, Dusk's outline, across the dock, proved to flummox whatever attempt at appearing staid that the young man attempted to put on. Recalling the size of the man in the Loving Spoon, Aódh felt incredulous at the notion that someone, or anything, would have been able to leave a werewolf of Dusk's potency in such a gruesome state. He looked away, lest in looking any longer, Aódh might find the sight too overwhelming to endure. In this turning aside however, the young man found his gaze land upon a few strands of seaweed, curiously rather close to where the outline of Dusk's body was. It made him recall the incident the night before last, about his dream of Silver and her entangled friend, whom, thankfully, they were able to free.

It made a thought spring into his head.

Did Dusk go through something similar to Silver's friend, but there was nobody there to rescue him from the seaweed?

The seaweed did look very much the same as his dream, though this was dried out and crumbled. There was also a dead starfish husk, and a ton of footprints only partially covered by the wind blowing fresh sand across them. Several lead back the way he came, a couple seemed to veer off more toward the heart of town.

In a way, if what he thought might have happened did indeed transpire, it made him guilty, a nonsensical guilt, he knew, that he wasn't able to save Dusk in the way that he had been able to save Silver's friend. It made him all the more curious. Why, if that were the case, wasn't he able to dive into whatever alternate dimension Silver's friend was enchained in, to save Dusk as well? What, or who, mediated him being there in the first place? Irritated by a fault not his own, Aódh instead turned to see barely concealed footprints, doused over with wind-swept sand, to see a set of footprints that led back in the direction from which he had arrived, and another that led to the centre of the town.

He had seen enough of the site, though it divined no answers as to what had actually happened to him, aside from the hypothesis that whatever had befell Dusk, might have so easily been exacted upon Silver's friend, had he and the latter not intervened to free her.

As a result, Aódh decided to follow the footprints that led towards the centre of the town.

At points they were hard to follow, especially once they were out of the sandy area. However, something was affecting Aódh's eyesight. He may or may not have realized it, but he could see the footprints when there was no reason for him to be able to. It sang like some siren song, the protector buried inside, instinctively able to track what was needed.

They split up around the middle of town. A group continued toward the clinic, and another toward the ranger station.

These footprints...Aódh thought, straining his eyes as he left the area around Dusk's dock and made his way into the town, Why...why is it hard, and at the same time, easy to see them? Maybe as an imprint it was easier to see in the sand, but as he made his way into the gravelly centre of Marasong, the footprints seemed to slip in and out of view, perhaps unreasonably, to the young man. Despite his confusion, and indeed, there was more than enough confusion bumbling about in his head, Aódh trudged on, accepting the finicky nature of the remnants before him. Whilst he struggled at various portions to accurately maintain a clear sight of where the tracks lead, having to retrace his steps at numerous intervals, Aódh reached a point where the footprints diverged into two diverging sets.

From what he remembered of the layout of the town, Aódh could see that, at least for the time being, that one set of footsteps stretched out in the direction of the clinic near the edge of town, whilst the other set went elsewhere. If he wanted to get preliminary answers as to what caused Dusk to end up in such a state, the clinic would be the best place to go, though if he was being honest, medical propriety and ethics would more than likely prevent him from getting any answers at this early stage.

And thus, Aódh set out in the direction of the clinic.

coded by: @s e v e n

 

[KodakWolf]

Augie & Boy
(Via Discord)​

Augie wasn't in much of a hurry, but at least his arm did look better. He used it gingerly, not wanting to push his luck. He did look around before heading up the little sandy path that turned into grass and dirt the closer then ventured toward the forest. From there, it'd be a few more minutes to get to the docks from the backside of things.

Boy thought he might have heard a chuckle, that wasn't from Augie.


Not again. He instantly shook his fur off in frustration when he heard a chuckle that was most definitely not Augie's. Then he looked around.


This time, it wasn't the dark Riley, but actually someone. Dapper. They were lounging against a tree at the entrance to the forest. He clicked his tongue and seemed to be playing with a dagger as he eyed the two of them. "Did not think I'd see Oogie out of his cave until after the beach camp out was over."

Augie stopped in his tracks with a frown and a sigh. "Dapper."

"Oogie. Mutt." He grinned at the dog.


The actual physical presence of someone startled him. He was expecting yet another conversation with the voice that lived in his head, and perhaps that'd make him less nervous.

He felt his hackles raise as he assessed Dapper, and Augie's reaction as well. With that dagger, there was no urge to even try to play it nice and greet them like the good boy he was. He just stood were he was, next to Augie, tail low, paying attention.


"We're just going to get some food. Have a.. day." Augie started toward the forest again, but not near where Dapper was standing. Which was good because any more in that direction, and the dagger thrown might have found his foot instead of the ground.

Dapper was still leaning against the tree. "Nah. You don't need to be in town today. Go back to your hidey hole and do what you do best, Oogs. Hide. Lay low. Seriously."

 

[KodakWolf]

Indy & Leif & Bernard
(Via Discord)​

"Fuck." Indy shoved out of her chair and paced to the windows, peeking out as her mind reeled over the information rolling off the human 8 Ball's tongue. Alyce--no, fuck that. The name alone sent a chill over her skin and brought back the scent of bleach and mildew. Alyce the crazy woman who made her sign a contract in her own blood, Alyce who she stole from. Shit. The coin that sang.

The coin that sang and her mother that screamed and sirens that apparently were behind Roje's kidnapping--okay. No. Hold on. That in and of itself was proof of how different this world was, right? Maybe this Alyce was different, less psychopathic. Maybe the town welcomed supernaturals because organizations like the Coven hadn't had a chance to exist yet.

Fuck. She didn't want to think about another Key roaming around.

"You said Aodh should be at the inn?" She turned toward Bernard. "Silver was supposed to be there as well. I have a feeling all we'll find are empty beds. Can he tell us anything more specific than 'look for the giant worm?'"

She'd deal with the Alyce mention and the Dapper allegations after.



The revelation from the human 8 Ball as Leif so bluntly put it did not weigh so emotionally heavy on Bernard as it clearly did on Indy. Who he sees now pacing anxiously under observation by the professor with a crooked eyebrow. Perhaps someone needed to calm her down, but she hasn't gotten that frantic just yet. She is fearful, yes, but that was overshadow by profound sense of worry, Bernard could tell.

He watched her until she turned and looked him in the eye. A question and a preposition jumped off her tongue as smoothly as stamped sheet metal. "I wouldn't worry about emptied beds just yet, Indy. If the fortune-teller is to be believed then Aödh and Silver should be in fit condition, he would've mentioned if something ominous had happened." He argued softly. Trying to reason away part of the cat-shifter's innate distress. "Regardless of who is correct, the obvious course of action that is if finding Roje is still pertinent is to visit the Inn, inquire around as well. If she is freed from the clutches of the "giant worm," then her first choice is to go there. Perhaps someone had seen her as well, wouldn't you agree?" He proposed.

In Bernard's eyes, he'd wish to hear Leif's thoughts as well. Having all of them be on board on their next course of action would serve them well."Who or what would be Alyce, however? My assumption is that she is of certain mystical potency, the fact that the Mr. Eight-Ball here informs us to seek her out lends verisimilitude to my hypothesis."



Indy's fingers caught in a knot as she ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "That's the logical thing, sure, but this isn't a logical situation. I'm just, fuck. We need more answers." Going back into town and knocking on doors would take precious time Indy was afraid they no longer had. She had held one dead body already, the feeling of Roje's impending doom still stuck to her skin.

And Alyce. God, where to start with that one. "She was. She might still be. I'm guessing she may be, at least, judging by the fact she's coming up again." The coin seemed to weigh heavier against her neck as she spoke. How could you describe someone you only knew a version of? In reality, Indy didn't know this Alyce--but she sure as fuck wasn't about to trust her, either.



"No, but then again, logic is rarely inflexible." Bernard pondered on Indy's reluctance. Nails scratching the stubbied hairs of a shadow on his chin. Her answers were limpwristed, but he suspects through no fault of her own. It honestly reminded of when students don't quite grasp natural concepts and struggle to explain it.

The consequences of this scrying do not appear apparent, but the weight of their existence is all too familiar and heavy. "We do require more information, but... What if we simply can't have, lack of time, informants, maybe it doesn't exist. If Roje is safe then we'd be rushing needlessly."



Indy knew Alyce. Or a version of her. The other vampire didn't. They wanted to go to the inn. The man wasn't in a rush, Indy was. Yet Roje's safety wasn't remotely the only reason for them to rush. For him to rush. How could he say that he didn't care about Roje nearly as much as he cared about his daughter? He didn't need to say that.

"No, River only answers what he's asked. Literally. Sometimes not even that." He spoke, regarding the vampire's remark about Roje and Aodh's safety.

That reminded him he'd asked River about Alyce's location as well, which he hadn't yet answered.

"How do we find Alyce?" He asked as his eyes focused the man.



River scrunched his nose up and rubbed at the side of his head, looking a little pained. "She's.. with the.. you know. They have to babysit her, but she'll likely be in the woods later in the day. They can't keep her from the woods."



Indy gave Leif a knowing look. "Doesn't that sound familiar."

Apparently, this world had something resembling a coven after all. Maybe they were good here, just as Beth wasn't. An inverse. Worse gambles had been made.

"Right. It's still early. He wants to go back to the inn"--she jerked a hand toward Bernard. "What about you? I know you weren't out here looking for Roje."



""Can't keep her from the woods,"" Bernard repeated the visionist's words. "Well, if that doesn't sound ominous." Comment aside, Bernard met Indy as she spoke to him.

"On the contrary, I intend to see this through; finding Roje is or would be ancillary regardless." He answered truthfully, Roje's discovery would lighten the mystery if at least minorly. He could pick her brain for knowledge as well.

Eldritch knowledge.

He also wouldn't admit it loudly, but altruism also played a factor in rescuing the sister. He's a dyed-in-the-wool humanist.



"Right." He nodded. "Right." He threw Indy a quick, somewhat surprised glance when she mentioned the fact he wasn't looking for Roje. She was right, though he did expect to also find Roje while searching for Turid. They'd been caught by the same thing.

"Is there anything else we should know?" He asked River, and pointed at the paper he'd been using for writing. Then he frowned a little, as he remembered something. "Why is it that you answered the questions about Turid in writing? Aren't you able to speak freely to answer something you've properly asked?"



River gave a little side tilt of his head with a sheepish look. "That doesn't apply when.. uh.. big thing. I.. don't.. dare." His eyes looked genuinely afraid for someone who tended to die and come back to life a lot. As for anything else.. River took a bit to write down something on the paper, looked like a small map, too.



"Better safe than sorry, I guess." He shrugged with a nod. He seemed afraid enough for Leif to trust his words.



"And I appreciate the assistance, even if you and your friend end up losing the hand you both keep offering." Indy tipped her chin toward Bernard. At this point, they knew enough to make their own choices about getting involved.

As River returned to scribbling, Indy moved to crouch beside him. "It's alright," she murmured. "Just...do what you can." Some sounds had power. She understood that more than ever.



The map was of the shore to the east of Marasong docks. There was even a little spot marking down a cave and titled 'Augie', but it was father to the east where River had made an ominous 'do not enter' circle with the line through it. This was labeled 'Cove'. However, straight out from the cove, into the ocean was the 'x' marks the spot, labeled 'kelp forest'.

As for words he wrote: Down deep, really deep. Tied in kelp. Keep worm distracted or you will join those in the feeding pit.
Indy's eyes widened as she looked up at the two men still standing. It was a map. One to her sister, probably one to whoever Turid was--one to a Giant Goddamn Worm, because that clearly made sense.

But they had a task, a goal, a location, an enemy, and a next step--even if the idea chilled her blood. "If there's a giant sea monster holding them all captive," she said slowly, eyes squeezed shut. "Then we need to...we need to find Alyce."

And she needed to learn to shift. Not into a cat, but into...the other thing. From Narnia.



Leif felt his own heartbeat racing as he scanned the piece of paper River offered him. That was the closest he'd been to Turid since arriving in Marasong. In fact, that was the closest he'd been to Turid in centuries, considering the timeline he (probably) came from.

"Alright." He nodded at both the map and Indy's words with a sigh. "Is there a way to learn more about the worm?" He looked at River. It was best to not dive in the water with something they barely knew.



"Or more," it was no mystery that when you dealt with forces beyond sane comprehension that you risk more than just your mind.

A map, three points of interest. The enemy, the end, and the danger. They might require more than just mystic might to conquer this obstacle.



River had to consider it for a moment, tapping the pen on the floor in thought. Then he scribbled some more.

Chase was researching it, got too close. Maybe in his notes?
Leif nodded as the image of Chase's notes floated in his mind's eye. He'd have to look into them again. Perhaps that was where he initially saw mention of the worm. Then he looked at River again, as a thought sparked in his mind.

"How about Tilly?"



At the mention of Tilly, Bernard's mind recounted the odd interactions he shared with the woman. On the surface, one would pay no mind but now? Now things were being questioned. He recalls no mention of her in the three notebooks.

"No entry in the notes," he brought to attention while waiting for River's answer.



"Best comfort food around. She has something for everything." River stressed the last three words with a nod of his head. And then he tried to wink, but it was a weird wink, like he wasn't used to winking. Or he hadn't yet fully recovered from being dead a whole day.



"Something for everything..." A mundane selection of words, but what if they meant something more.



Leif's eyes brightened as he seemed to at least somewhat catch River's awkward message. Bernard was right. There was no mention of her in the notes, yet River's answer was... promising?

"Thank you. A lot." His eyes drifted back to River, and Leif actually kneeled on the floor so he could talk to the man eye to eye.

"I know they use your abilities." There was some stress to the word 'they', and a short pause. "If you're roaming around within their reach, could they use those abilities against our goals?" He would rather keep River as a living, breathing, functional ally. He was genuinely thankful for his help. But that question had to be asked.



Indy tried to hide her horror as she realized the extent of Leif's implication. Could they at least do something a bit quicker than drowning the man again?!


"And to which is this diabolical 'they' you refer to." A healthy dose of scepticism never hurt.



River had a bit of a worried look, a little fearful as well, but then a quiet resolution seemed to settle over him. He spoke quietly, "The longer it takes for me to find an answer... the longer I will be uh.. out of .. their reach." Even if he did pale a little bit, and didn't have to offer up this possible solution, he still threw it out there.



Nope. Fuck that. There was no way she was letting this guy go back to whatever group was hunting him. "We could always bring him to the inn, or maybe bring him to Tilly? There has to be a middle ground between 'leave him alone out here in a random shack' and 'murder him, again.'"



Bernard raised his hand up and crackled with power. Spurs of electricity danced in a cyclical fashion. "I can stop his heart long enough to induce oxygen deprivation damage. It should follow a similar pattern to drowning him"

"Although securing him is another option," he added to Indy's concerns.



"Oh" Leif looked up when Bernard spoke. "The sirens. The worm. Dapper."

Then River spoke and drew his gaze again. His answer was pretty direct, actually. As horrified as Indy seemed to be at the whole thing, River himself hadn't really offered any other solutions. The vampire truly admired his commitment to helping them.

He looked up at Indy when she offered a solution, theb at Bernard when he spoke, but then his eyes drifted back to River, as if hoping to see what the man had to say about the shifter's idea. Only River knew all the circumstances, and only he would be able to tell if hiding in the cafe would be nearly as effective.



"It would take a lot for... to mess with Tilly. There's something about the cafe. Safe.



"Okay, nope, we've had enough drowning victims. He wants to go to the cafe, we're taking him there. Sounds like that's the next stop anyway, until we can hunt down Alyce in the woods."

Literally hunt, if Indy had anything to say about it.



"Dapper? Aodh and I met that gentleman, too kitsch if you ask me, when we were chasing Indy in her cat form. Comforting to know my instincts were correct.



Indy frowned but withheld her comments. She just...it was hard, thinking of Dapper as something evil. Beth was so beyond her actual self, both in personality and appearance, that it was easier to separate her Beth from this Beth--but Dapper was still...Dapper. Still her friend, her first best friend.



Right, Indy felt innate comfort towards the man, it was why she calmed when he hoisted the feline into his arms, Bernard recalls the scene.



"I didn't drown him" the constant mentions of drowning were starting to annoy him, just slightly. As was Indy's adamant refusal to kill the man again. Yet it made him remember another detail.

"He takes longer to come back the more damage is inflicted." His tone was flat. Leif didn't how long River would take to recover from a fatal shock, and they weren't set on killing the man just yet, but it was information that had to be shared with the group.

Leif did notice the different reactions from both Indy and Bernard to the mention of Dapper, which hinted at yet another point of conflict between them, but his eyes ultimately returned to River.

"I'll trust you. Do you believe the cafe is a safe choice?" River was the first one to suggest death anyways. His opinion had to be accounted for. Though if he sounded doubtful, Leif wasn't opposed to storing his corpse in the cafe for however long they needed.



River gave a nod of his head. "And.. there's food." He was pretty damn hungry.



"Then it's settled. To the puddings, pies, and pancakes surprise." The man began to move for the first time since he entered the station's back rooms. Before spinning around, "Neuron tissue regeneration isn't in my forte, I'm not a neurologist or a neurosurgeon. But I do recall that it is agonisingly slow to regenerate periphery nerves." Pointing to his left forearm as an example. "So it remains on the table."

 

[KodakWolf]

Roje & Aodh & Hatsu
(Via Discord)​

Fangs sank in, and the figure jerked in response, but was held tight in the vampire's determined grasp. The blood was so different from the animal blood Roje was accustomed to. It was richer, tasted better, and after a swallow or two, Roje could already feel some type of awakening inside. Of what, it was too early to tell just yet.

Hatsu had seen a figure go to check in on whoever was in curtain number one. And then a bit more movement, sheets rustled, and then it was mostly quiet. And then the clinic door opened, drawing attention of the person at the desk as well. There was Aódh.



Roje held on tightly as that warm liquid flowed into her mouth like a river of chocolate. It felt wonderful to have the blood straight from the source. If anything, it felt more empowering. Strengthening even. This was a dire time, which meant she had to take extreme measures. It was just a matter of if she would be able to stop herself in time and not drain this person dry.



Part of him was curious what was going on behind that curtain-- he wanted to believe that Bill was actually still here but he knew that wasn't true. Why would anyone want to lie to him about her whereabout? In the end, he choose to mind his own business and let the trained professionals handle theirs.

Afterall, he had to now figure out how he was going to get back into Bill's apartment and to her cat. Then, of course, someone else entered the clinic-- Aódh.

Bill mentioned to him that he should be careful around the other man, but, in her absence, he wondered if the other man would have answers to questions that he had.



It took a while to get there, for Aódh soberingly so, but, at long last, he pushed through the doors to enter the clinic. The luminescent footprints led to this building, despite the inexplicability of their existence and Aódh's ability to see them, so there must be something of importance here, whether that boded of ill or good things for the young man. There was only one person at the counter, for all he saw, and they were alerted to him opening the door.

"Uh...hello there," he said anxiously, gauping about the front of the building to see where the footsteps might lead, trying, though perhaps failing, to make sure he didn't come off as more awkward than he would like to appear. It was at that that he laid his eyes on Hatsu, who looked to be leaving the clinic.

"Fancy meeting you here...Hatsu," he noted, "How are things with you today?"



Roje started to notice the sound of the ocean began to face, it was difficult to tell if there was a change in her vision. All she could see right now was red. Beautiful red, so succulent and powerful.

Although.. did she just hear someone greet Hatsu from a small distance away? Sounds started to grow louder and louder, her power amplifying her senses. Definitely someone greeting Hatsu, and more.. she could hear so many heart beats. Strong, delicious... oh, but one was growing weaker.

The one in her arms.



"Morning," He said to Aódh with narrowed eyes, "Things could be better, you?" Now came the part where he had to decide if he was going to trust Aódh or not. Well, did he even have a choice? Right now he needed allies and with Bill missing he didn't really have a choice.

"Are you getting breakfast after? I need to talk to you."



Roje could finally start hearing new things, different sounds that broke from those ocean ones. Heartbeats and voices. Those voices greeting eachother as well as anything around the area she was in. Hell yeah, she was breaking out of that forsaken curse of whatever-the-fuck. However that faint heartbeat instructed her clear as day to pull away, and so she had, moving her hand to the persons neck to put some pressure upon the small wound. Roje softly spoke "I'm so sorry, please forgive me.



"I'm not too bad either, to be fair," he replied, "I found myself walking around the town, ended up by Dusk's...former pier and found myself here."

He was surprised by the offer of breakfast, in a good way it must be said; it wasn't as though the footsteps would all but disappear if he took his eyes off them for a few moments, would they? Plus, he was hungry, and this town had a way of exacerbating his hunger only for Tilly and the Loving Spoon to come around and deaden it for him.

"I wouldn't mind at all! Is everything okay?"



There was a pair of wide, surprised eyes staring back at Roje. After a moment's inspection, Roje had indeed decided a nurse was a good breakfast drink to have. Her nametag wasn't Mary at least, but she was bloodied now. She appeared to have difficulty catching her breath, but it did seem like the nurse was preparing to scream.



"Bill's missing." There wasn't a nice reassuring calm way to put it; better to rip off that bandaid quickly. Sure, he had plans to go back to the inn and shower, but one day of horrible selfcare wouldn't kill him (hopefully). he did need to get some allergy medication before he scratched the hives off his arm himself. Good thing he was in a clinic.

"Oh, yeah, can I get some allergy medicine?" He asked the front desk.



The clinic staff by the desk turned and rummaged through a cabinet nearby before handing over some over the counter medicine. "Just follow the directions."



Roje was able to finally see who she had snacked on, and that alone she could already feel the chaos that was about to ensue. Quickly, she put her other hand over her mouth "Shh, shh!" With furrowed eyebrows she listened to the conversation going on. Something about Dusk? His former pier? What the fuck happened while I was in the water? "Please don't scream." She begged.



Whatever levity that might have been with him Aódh up to that point, even after leaving Dusk's pier, was diffused into the ether the moment the words left Hatsu's lips. Bill's missing. Despite the information being completely new to him, with no to have ascertained such knowledge beforehand, the residual guilt that Aódh felt resurfaced and, for a moment, he wondered, in a despondent way, whether or not he had anything to do with it. But, assuredly enough, his rationality, the rump which Marasong had reduced it to, convinced him that he was blameless of anything that happened to Bill, though it pushed him for further answers.

Having got his medication, Aódh, with a solemn air about him now, says: "When did you find out about this? Who told you? Has she been gone long?



Oh, the nurse was most definitely going to scream. Roje could see it in her eyes. Luckily, she was too weak at the moment to struggle, but there was a feeble attempt made, one hand beat against Roje's shoulder as the woman tried to jerk free.

This caused a small movement again around the curtained room, and Aódh could hear a little better than Hatsu. There was a small gasp as in a rough intake of breath, and a soft, dull thumping sound.



"Thanks," he replied as he flipped over the back to read the directions. It gave time for Aódh to process the new information, "Since this morning that's when I found out. She mentioned she was going to have a chat with you and-" what was the other guy's name again? "Bernard?"



"Yeah, that's his name," Aódh scoffed, everything of late seemingly circumambulating back to the Dane, "We were doing a bit of investigating around the town and one thing led into ano-" The young man was about to finish the sentence when a sound, like a silent plea, reached his hears from beyond the curtain Hatsu had emerged from only moments prior. It was a gasp of breath, and, from what he could discern, the sound of somebody giving some a wallop, however weak it was. It was the lack of force that disturbed, as though it was the last ounce of strength they could muster.

"One moment, Hatsu," Aódh said, walking over to the door, not particularly mindful of whether it was appropriate or not for him to do so.

He gently pushed aside the curtain.



Roje knew that compulsion probably wouldn't work, not at this moment. Unless she could do it with ease with this newfound strength. Grabbing the woman tighter, she looked deep into her eyes "You are not going to scream. You're going to remain calm, okay? Save us both the headache." her ears began to pick the sound of her curtain being moved FUCK! I'm gonna have to run. There's no other way.



It sounded like everyone in this town was doing some sort of investigation. Aódh and Bernard on their own secret quest while him and Bill were on theirs. It really didn't prove much, there was a good chance they were looking for answers for something completely different then him but he guessed they would find out over breakfast. Then Aódh made a motion to move away -- for what reason he was unsure.



The curtain rings slid along the rod, and Aódh found himself staring at a patient on the bed, holding onto a nurse. A nurse with a bloody neck, the same blood still on the patient's lips. However.. Aódh recognized her as the one he had saved under the water with Silver's help.



The young man stood and stared at the scene before him for a few moments, just so that he could gauge, sensorily, the full measure of what was taking place. A woman, pale as a ghost, with what was nearly a runnel of blood tracing its way down her neck from two puncture marks; the very same blood that was dripping from the lips of the woman who was clasping the uniform of the woman so brazenly in her grip. Aódh could feel the adrenaline start to thunder through his veins, the sight of the woman reminding him of his vampiric encounter with Bernard only a few days ago.

The Irishman was about to charge only for the visage of the woman to stop him in his place.

"You..." he said, "The seaweed, the underwater landscape, it was you!"



Roje caught the other person's gaze, staring at them. I've never seen this man. Who the fu- Why did he open the curtain!? wasn't it like, HIPPA or some shit and he was breaking the law!? (surely not) The pair was quiet and quite frankly she wasn't sure if she needed to run or... Like.... What...? Suddenly he blurted out something about seeing her in seaweed "It was me?" The vampire asked before glancing at the woman, hoping the compulsion worked before turning her gaze back "Listen, I've had enough seaweed and if you saw me, I don't know how I didn't see you." Roje obviously knew but was bluffing "What the hell do you mean you "Saw me" anyways?"



The woman appeared to be in shock, or maybe the compulsion worked. She was compliant and no longer about to scream, but still weak and likely needing the bed more than Roje now.



"It...honest to goodness, I didn't believe it at first, thought it was a crock of shite," Aódh admitted, whatever indignation and aggression he felt a few moments before dissipating at the woman's response, "But, if you know about the seaweed, then that's all I need to know. Your friend, Silver, assisted me in helping me free you."

Aódh's attention then was flung in the direction of the woman, who seemed to have relented somewhat, and whose strength seemed to be waning.

"We should probably get her onto a bed, and clean up her wound, before her colleagues find her."



Roje was happy to hear Silver's name, which meant he spoke with her and knew of her. Holy shit she's still around somewhere. Though he didn't mention Indy...I wonder if he even got to her yet. As the man pointed out the woman in her arms, she looked down and noticed she was definitely gonna need the bed more than her now. Shifting around, she pulled the woman onto the bed some more and Adjusted her to fit nicely onto the bed. "Yeah well, not sure if my blood will heal her but we'll see about that." Biting into her wrist, she let some blood spill before forcing her wrist to the woman's mouth. One way to find out if her blood was strong enough to heal the mundanes. "Listen...Whoeever the hell you are... If you did actually save me, then thank you...But holy hell I need to find my sister and Silv to tell them what's going on in this place called hell."



It seemed rather garish, disregarding how utterly unhygienic it looked, to feed a random stranger your blood, after having just drained it from them only a short time ago. But, given how innocuously she had done so (Aódh didn't think it a normal thing to do anyway), at least for the moment, assuaged the young man of any doubts he may have had as to the side effects of such a procedure. But, given what he had just witnessed, there wasn't any doubt in his mind: this woman was a vampire.

"You didn't need to convince me," Aódh concurred, "This place is a fucking nightmare, but why the sudden rush? What else is going on here?"



Roje pulled her wrist away and watched as it slowly re-healed "Death and water monsters. My ass almost became some water monster's food." Wiping her wrist on her top, there was no need for her to care anymore about how she looked. After all, she smelt like seaweed and salt water from the docks. Pulling her shirt up from the collar some, she wiped her mouth as much as she could, knowing how messy things could get from a fresh feed. "Seeing as you're claiming me for saving my sorry ass, then be lucky you didn't get to see it." Her hazel gaze watched the wound of the nurse, hoping it'd take effect soon so they can skedaddle outta here.



"What was taking him so long?" Hatsu thought to himself as he looked over at the now closed curtain. He was sure that was a HIPPA violation then again Aódh hadn't been kicked out and nothing seemed to be amiss behind the curtain. It made him question if everything was alright and curisotiy started to eat at him. Hadn't there been another nurse? If she was still there wouldn't Aódh have been kicked out by now?

Sure, he'll go check it out and make sure everything was okay. He made his way over and carefully put a hand around the edge of the current, "Is everything alright?" He asked as he popped his head in.

No. Everything was not alright.

The women on the bed held a bloody nurse while Aódh and her looked to be having a perfectly normal conversation.

Actually, he didn't want to deal with this. What stopped him from closing the curtain behind him? Nothing. So he closed the curtain and turned around.

 

[Rhyme]

Indy

Location: RP Burst Compilation
Tags: Out Of Words Larry silverwhere Britt-21
"Well, aside from what's after happening here," Aódh commented, "I feel it would only be fair to point out that I was led here by a trail of translucent footprints. I don't suppose you'd know anything about that?"

Roje's eyes had landed by Aodh when she had looked back and spotted someone peek from behind the curtain and immediately close it. By the sound of it, he was still there cause she could hear him right there. Her gaze shifted back to the man with her currently "Considering I've been blind and deaf for God knows how long, I wouldn't know anything in the past...What...Maybe 24 hours? 48 hours? My track of time is just fucked since I got back." Looking back at the nurse, she ripped the sheet and just wrapped it around her neck tight enough to keep pressure but not enough to choke the poor girl. "We also have company."

The nurse at the front desk looked up when Hatsu was coming back from the curtained room. Something in his expression must have tripped the nurse's concern. "Are you okay, sir?" And it looked like she was going to move out from behind the desk and go check.

"Yeah," he responded, "Just saw something I didn't want to see." It would be bad if Aódh got arrested before he could talk to him. Then again, at this point he doubt that Marasong had an actual police force or legal system. Not only that but he doubt that he wanted to fuck with the bloodied woman -- you make for friends with sugar and what not after all.

Aódh overheard the conversation developing between Hatsu and the nurse from the front desk, thinking that, should she come in right now and see the state of her colleague, things might not turn out the best for him, or the newly acquainted vampire. Hatsu did mention about going to the Loving Spoon to talk over the rather big issue of Bill going missing, so that would make for a great excuse to bring this woman along with them.

Notwithstanding the fact that she had been rendered blind and mute for the past 48 hours, she also raised the fact that she was attacked by a monster.

Perhaps this was the same thing that had killed Dusk.

"I think we should get out of here," Aódh pleaded, in hushed tones, "Hatsu wanted to talk at the Loving Spoon; come along, we can go over more of what we were talking about there."

Roje had definitely been hearing the conversation as well, though knew that if they got caught now they were fucked. Biting her lip, she glanced down at her shirt Ah fuck it she thought as she basically pulled her shirt off and wiped her mouth to the best of her ability. Now being partially nude wasn't the best plan, but it was the only plan to get the nurse distracted. "You got it chief, though first we gotta take care of the nurse." Roje whispered back as she brushed gently past (passed?) Aodh and poked her head from behind the curtain "He kind of saw me half naked." The vampire said aloud, letting out a nervous laugh "I wanted to change my shirt and request another if you had one."

The nurse had started toward the curtained room, but Roje's peek and explanation seemed to buy some time. "Oh, yes. Of course." She gave Hatsu a little sympathy smile for his probably embarrassment, and moved to the back room to get a clean shirt. Most of the other staff were occupied in the back room, still going over what they assessed from the previous 'event'.

"Mm-hmm," Hatsu agreed with a thumbs up to hopefully aid in this situation. Hopefully after all this was over he would never have to see this stranger ever again- but knowing his luck there was a good chance that they were going to end up being roommates or something equivalent.

"Sound," Aódh muttered, lithely manoeuvring his way over to the now very bedraggled looking nurse. Slowly but surely, he took her into his arms before laying her flat across the bed that the vampire had been in prior to her draining the nurse's blood, a slight creak in the bed as he laid her down, princess-style.

The nurse was out of it, between the compulsion and the draining of her blood, she was ready to just sleep and pass this all off as one of those weird nightmares of Marasong.

"Easy does it now," Aódh whispered soothingly, urging the nurse to sleep as though he were in the position of a mother to a child. Hopefully she won't remember too much of all this, the young man thought, Lord knows I wouldn't want to remember somebody chomping into me like that.
Roje glanced at Hatsu with a shake of her head "Are you Hatsu? Your friend here kinda ratted you out." She said in a softer tone.

"Yep, that's me." Hatsu said as he watched the non-drained nurse go to the back to fetch a new clean shirt, "You are?"

"Roje. A missing person who just turned up basically today I guess." Shrugging, she continued "A lot to explain and say. My advice, don't go anywhere by yourself."

"Right," missing person seemed to ring a bell and suddenly something just clicked, "Indy's sister?" He said it like a question, because he couldn't be too sure. Indy was also the one to find that body right? Dusk's body? Who might have been the mystery man that Indy was also looking for.

Eyebrows raised in surprise "Oh shit you know Indy? Well damn if you know her, then she's still okay. Good. That's some good fucking news at least."

There was motion from the back as the nurse was coming back, her gaze currently down at the 'Marasong Clinic' shirt she held. "I think this is your size?"

"Yeah she was looking for you and some mystery guy yesterday," when was it a good time to talk about how mystery guy most likely was the one the body that Indy also found yesterday. Then the nurse came back and he didn't need to worry about it for the time being.

She handed off the shirt to Roje, thankfully before breaching the edge of the curtain. She had desk duties she was apparently eager to get back to. "Let me know if you need anything else."

Roje averted her gaze to the nurse and she nodded "Yes, thank you Ma'am." Offering a warm smile, she had taken the shirt and slapped that puppy on asap. "We can talk on the way to the Loving Spoon. Looking over her shoulder at Aodh, she spoke "Ready, Prince Charming?" The Vampire joked.

"Are you sure you're okay to just walk out of here?" Aódh asked quietly, shifting out from the side of the bed where the nurse was now sleeping. "Are you not still feeling the side effects of being blind and mute for the past two days?"

"I mean, I can see facial features, I can hear you clear as day. I'd say I broke out of whatever spell I was trapped into. Regardless, I'd rather be with people that semi-know me than be alone with no one to guide me." Wait a minute. Looking around, she couldnt see a dog laying by the bed "Speaking of...I had a dog guide me here...Maybe he'll show up later." With a sigh, she then realized that maybe going out in the sun may cause her burns... "You know what, you're right. Fuck." Did she have her ring? Probably not. That shit was probably still gone. She exposed her hands and inspected each one.

"Boy was here?" Aódh questioned, surprised to learn that the town mascot acted as a guide dog in his spare time. Given that this is Marasong, Aódh felt inclined to treat even Boy with scepticism, though he wondered, rightly enough, how he could doubt a dog of all things, to be anything but what it is. The young man then noticed Roje eyeing over her hands, for some reason. "Is there something you're missing?"

Hatsu didn't really want to reenter the curtain room -- he didn't want to see anything else that he didn't want to already, but they were taking their sweet time. Then again, he had no clue why Roje was here in the first place...and why she was covered in nurses blood. Either way, he choose to just keep waiting.

"Yeah, I'm missing my daylight ring. It was enchanted to prevent me from becoming bacon out in the sun." Dropping her hands, she took in some air and puffed her cheeks out while exhaling "Well, I can either test if I burn or if I don't. As long as there's shade around, I can get by. We gotta go one way or another. I'm not gonna stick around long enough to have anyone find this girl with us here." Roje gestured to the nurse and then turned toward the curtain "We'll make an excuse or something. Or I can try compulsion again."

"I don't think we're in a position to be seeing whether or not people get fried out in the sun," Aódh commented, loosening himself from the hoodie he was wearing and throwing the item of clothing into Roje's grasp, "Maybe that might work out for ya. If not, you might have to be hopping between trees like you said."

The young man made his way over to the curtain and, before crossing over to Hatsu on the other side, he said: "Oh yeah, my name is Aódh by the way, it's a bit of an odd one, haha."

The nurse held out a bag for Roje to take. "Some instructions for the medicine, just take two and mealtime for the next couple of days, and let us know if the condition returns." She gave them a little wave and polite smile. "Have a good day!"

Roje caught the sweater and slipped it on "Thanks. It's nice to meet you, Aodh." Pulling the hood up, she made sure to hide any skin that would be exposed to the sun. Then she moved with the others to the desk, grabbing the bag "Appreciate it. Hopefully I wont have to come back so soon." letting out a light laugh, she looked back to the guys by twisting her body and nodding towards the door. Even she wanted to get the fuck out.

This was the nurse rushing them out, especially since they already checked Roje out without any additional examination or anything. He really started to question how good this clinic was and how it made more sense why his friend was missing if it was due to their negligence. "So to the cafe right?" He asked the group just to double check where they were going, it seemed like Roje was most likely invited.

"Yeah, I think that might be the best place to go," Aódh replied, "I haven't had anything to eat today so far, so I'm starving."

"Cafe also seems to be the most populated." Chimed in Roje as she walked up to the doors "Lets get you guys food then."

Roje walked out of the clinic, and a bit of power could be felt surging upward, like a SPF over nine thousand. However, it wasn't guaranteed to work very long, it all depended on how much blood Roje did manage to drink in that short time. It was quite... exhilarating however. And they headed to The Loving Spoon.

coded by: @s e v e n

 

[Rhyme]

Indy

Location: RP Burst Compilation
Tags: Out Of Words Worthlessplebian KodakWolf Indy

The cafe was pretty quiet overall, with the latest with Dusk and everything, folks were mourning in their own way. At some point, it was pretty much guaranteed they'd stop in because very little was more comforting than a good home cooked meal. Even more so if it came from Tilly.

"Och, find ya a place, an' I'll be wit' ye shortly."

She didn't see who ran the bell over the door, as she was in the kitchen area, cooking something by the smells of it. And yes, there was definitely the scent of rolls in the oven.

Indy didn't realize how hungry she was until the scent of buttery rolls floated through the open door of the cafe. Barely choking back a moan, she couldn't even find the energy to be ashamed as all thoughts of Alyce or the Coven slipped away in favor of the displayed treats, begging to be snatched up and devoured. Indy glanced at the others in their small group, hands buried in her empty pockets. "Please tell me one of you has some cash."

The sweet scents of buttery rolls filled his nostrils too, but unlike Indy, Bernard did not feel famished. He politely hummed at Indy's inquiry, before producing bills from his wallet. "Here, treat yourself."

On the way to the cafe, Leif acknowledged a hint of disappointment at not getting to kill River again. It'd be a lie to say something inside him didn't crave it again, especially if this time a little more than a clean neck snapping would have been required. But the other option, the one they ended up picking, was hard to counter. It sounded good enough.

As they approached the building, the vampire's mind was filled by the thought of how he hadn't stopped at the cafe yet. It was an obvious choice, a most logical decision. Tilly had always been intriguing, and she did show some sort of recognition when Leif walked past the cafe just one or two days ago. And it was close to everything, too. Yet better late than never.

Upon entering, Leif scanned the place for any familiar faces before his eyes focused on the back, where the kitchen was. He just needed to talk to Tilly, and the smells, the noises, even Indy asking for money had little space in his mind. When he acknowledged her words, Bernard was already pulling bills out of his. wallet. So Leif moved to find a table by the window instead.

There wasn't anyone currently in the cafe but Tilly herself. Even Marius, who usually occupied a permanent place by the window to look out over the sea, was absent today. It was almost eerily quiet, save for the occasional sound of Tilly humming or calling out to whomever had entered the Loving Spoon.

"Menus on the table, loverlies. Special fer lunch today is the marinated chicken on a bed o' butter noodles, and yer choice o' two sides. Be out in a jiffy, lambs."

Indy nodded as Bernard pulled out the cash. "Honestly, it's mostly for him"--she jerked her chin toward River, who looked especially pale now that they had dragged him into the daylight and up the coastline into town. "He looks like he needs...something." Or maybe she was being a bit harsh, considering the man had just come back from the dead.

Following Leif, she jerked out a chair on the opposite side of the table and picked up one of the menus. She folded a corner of the thick paper down, straightened it, then folded it again as she grumbled. "Something for everything, huh?"

Bernard scrunched his eyebrows. Looking doubtfully at Indy. "But of course, very considerate." For all intents and purpose, Indy might be telling the truth. Regardless he handed her the money. Following Leif, he rolled a chair next to him.

He rubbed circles with his thumb against his fingers, then looked at Indy. The human hunger left him when he was infected with this brand of vampirism. He wonders if he should eat something for the taste alone.

Eyes moved to watch the menu as Indy folded and unfolded it repeatedly. He didn't say anything, he couldn't. Instead, eyes watched Indy's hands folding the menu almost obsessively, and he noted Bernard sitting next to him and Tilly moving back and forth in the back only out of the corner of his eye.

Glancing at the two vampires across from her, Indy's fingers froze mid-fold. "Wait, can you guys...eat...here?"

Truly there was no polite way to ask that.

"The coffee is superb. I wish it was mine during my doctorate." Bernard mused loudly.

There was the sound of bowls or plates, the ceramics clinking slightly, and then Tilly emerged from the back. She carried a tray with several small bowls on saucers. "Here, this will get ye started. On th' house, as it were." She gave them all warm smiles, with an almost knowing crinkle to her motherly eyes.

She set down a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of each of them, along with some crackers and those little soup crackers that were in the shape of fishes. "Let me get the rolls out of the oven, an' I'll see to yer needs." There was a little pat to Leif's shoulder, and to Indy's with her other hand before she turned to get the rolls.

His eyes moved to meet Indy's when she spoke, but just as he did, Tilly emerged from the back, and he wasn't able to answer. He watched as she approached, and left. Again. It took a lot of self control to hold back a sigh as he looked back to Indy as Tilly left. Did that pat to his shoulder mean something? How much did she know? At least she was coming back soon.

"I can, but I don't need it." In fact, he almost couldn't right now.

A small shiver ran Indy's spine as Tilly patted her shoulder. A quick glance at Leif confirmed he was similarly shaken by the action, at least enough to look a bit pensive. Then again, the guy was always a bit pensive. She was beginning to learn vampires tended to share that expression.

Diving into her soup, she glanced at the other three over her spoon. "So, anyone have a game plan here?" Fuck, Tilly made a good soup.

River had been a bit on the worried side on the walk over. Looking around and fretting a good bit, by running hands through his hair more than anyone needed to. However here, he was eagerly enjoying the soup and maybe starting to get a little color back in his face.

Bernard darted a quick glance at Leif as he spoke. Noting the look of annoyance. Tilly had a similar, surprising effect when she touched his hand. Just what is it about this woman that makes her such an enigma.

"Well, truthfully, no firm foundations yet. Just speculations." He commented, disabusing himself or them of plans.

He saw that River notably relaxed from his jitteriness.

"We'll leave River here..." Indy's question did help him move his focus away from anxiously waiting for Tilly, for now. "... listen to what Tilly has to say... find Alyce.... check Chase's notes." Eyes moved between all those at the table as he spoke. He looked at River a little longer, and eventually pushed his own bowl of soup towards the man. It was only fair.

Indy pointed her spoon at Leif. "So you want to tell Tilly about everything?"

Bernard nodded to Leif's framework. Though, it lacked a meaty core, only bones. "I suspect the woman has things to share, she can't be feigning erudition that well."

Indy's spoon swung to point at Bernard. "You've spoken to Tilly before? Or is that a hunch?"

"I've an inkling." He answered.

It was a good question. It weighted more when she spoke it out loud. 'Tell Tilly about everything'. But it was more or less what he had in mind. More like ask her for advice, less telling.

"We'll have to tell someone..." he looked at River. "How stupid is it, telling her everything?" He asked the man. That was assuming they could fully trust River.

River had his mouth full of soup, Leif's soup, having already drained his own. He looked at each one around the table, then toward the back where one could hear Tilly nearly done with getting the rolls out, and oh did they smell good. He gave a little shrug at them, and then a thumbs up.

Indy dropped her spoon back into her bowl with a plop as she sighed. "Right, the human eight ball gives it the thumbs up, so"--a bit of soup sloshed onto the table as she pushed the last half of her bowl toward the man--"why the fuck not?"

Frankly, at this point, Indy was beginning to think there were more supernaturals than naturals left in Marasong. "Either way, probably should bare minimum let her know someone may come looking for River. Here's to hoping his biggest danger is high cholesterol."

"Not only let her know..." he nodded at River's thumbs up, and looked at Indy again. "I'm hoping she can actively keep anyone from reaching him." It was more like a request for protection. A plead. Or a negotiation.

He watched the exchange happen, with River granting approval as well.

"I'll drink to that." He said, alluding to Indy's hope. "Now then, she should've finished her rolls by now." Bernard observed.


"More than likely this place is imbued with a certain level of witchcraft." He spoke in an almost hushed tone. Though the Spoon was vacant, Marasong seemed to have ears in the oddest corners.

And as if on cue, Tilly came bearing more food. This was a serving plate, piled with fresh rolls, a small basket of butter pats, and a jar of homemade honey. She set this down in the middle of the table, took a moment to brush a wayward strand out of River's face before it got in his soup, and then did a surprising thing.

She pulled up a chair herself. Tilly plopped down with a bit of a sigh, but a warm smile on her face. She looked them all over as she murmured, "Well now. 'Bout time for the showdown, eh? Didna think it woulda been this soon, but y'all always move quicker than expected. Should we wait fer the others? Go o'ver it all at once? I ain't one fer repeating meself."

coded by: @s e v e n

 

[Rhyme]

Indy

Location: RP Burst Compilation
Tags: Out Of Words KodakWolf

Boy saw the movement of the man as he threw the dagger out of the corner of his eye, and he sensed something approaching almost instantly. Hard to tell whether he'd have been able to stop Augie in time, because the man was thankfully moving in a different direction, but thr dog threw himself in front of his legs nonetheless, instinctively trying to keep him from advancing.

It was only after Augie was safe and no longer moving that Boy moved to inspect whatever it was that had been thrown, sniffing it cautiously.

It was both the realization of what the object was and Dapper's words to Augie that made his hackles raise in tension. Eyes watched the man carefully as he tried to decipher his tone. Was that a threat, or just a mean warning? His eyes turned to Augie as he remained standing in front of him, hoping to gauge his reaction. He knew better who they were dealing with, or at least he should.

Augie sighed and on instinct, moved to pet Boy. "And what, you'll be our food delivery person? Cause I'm hungry, and so is Boy. So... we'll be going to get some food, thank you very much."

Dapper's eyes narrowed a bit before he pushed away from the tree and advanced on the two. However, Boy's protective stance kept him a little bit farther away than might have happened otherwise. A twist of a smirk graced his lips as he gave the dog a look over. "Would you rather I be your pall bearer, Oogie?"

"Oh.. another threat to my life. Oh no. Whatever will I do?" Augie sounded completely tired of Dapper's usual treatment.

"Look at me." Dapper's voice was low, firm, and commanding. Gone was the slightly undertone of playfulness, and he was waiting for Augie to look at him.

Augie seemed awfully used to that situation. Yet Boy couldn't ignore it when Dapper stepped toward them, and the dog instinctively turned to face him, and stood his ground, tail high.

Ears flicked back and forth as the man spoke, but perked forward when his tone suddenly changed. The dog remained a statue.

Augie still had a hand on Boy, and noticed the protective posture. So when he looked up at Dapper, it was with a small, but tired, smile. "What?"

Dapper didn't respond right away, but he lowered his voice when he did. Nearly a whisper, but underneath it, he was dead serious, there was no mistaking his tone. "The only way you can get to Tilly's is by the front. Don't take your wood shortcut. Not today. Not now. There's shit going on and goddammit. Just fucking listen to me for a change, yeah?"

And then in a louder voice, and a little posturing. "You're not coming this way, Oooogie. You and that mutt of yours can just go back the way you came. Or.. we'll be having more than words."

Ears perked forward, he listened attentively. Augie was still not too fazed. Yet this time, whatever Dapper was saying was a warning, as much as Boy was expecting a threat.

When the man went back to speaking louder, the dog's ears flicked back and forth like crazy. Dapper was obviously playing his part for whoever could be listening to him at the moment. He was guarding something or someone, and his warning to Augie most certainly went beyond the duties he was meant to fulfill. Now he was just covering up.

Surprisingly, the dog relaxed a little bit. Dapper wasn't the immediate threat. He sniffed the air, but all he could smell was ocean, nothing else. Suddenly, he found himself missing the voice in his head that was mostly annoying, but had the occasional useful information. How dangerous would it be to check out whatever was happening in the woods? The last time he decided to check something out, it'd been... intense.

Regardless, for the moment he just wanted to get out of there. Go somewhere familiar, somewhere safe. He looked to Augie for their next step, but kept paying attention to the man in front of them.

Augie stared at Dapper, his expression neutral. However, after a minute, he patted the dog and turned around. "C'mon Boy." And once they were heading back down the path toward the shores, he spoke a little quieter. "We'll just have to take the longer way along the shoreline."

coded by: @s e v e n

 

[Out Of Words]

IF DECEMBER FREEZES​

IC Thread - Discord Compilation (The Loving Spoon)
​

Leif watched with incredulity as Tilly found herself a spot and started talking. It almost felt like a joke, lile a game, like a reality show. Like all they had to do from the very beginning was just ask Tilly, and all problems would be solved. He didn't know what to say for a good minute. "I guess... I'll fill them in when they get here." He tried, shooting Tilly a hopeful glance. The least waiting, the better, not that Tilly would agree.

Tilly raised an eyebrow and looked to see what Indy and Bernard had to say, even as she pushed a roll toward River.

"Do we have the time to spare?" Indy plucked at the crusted edges of a roll and eyed the window. "Leif may be right."

Bernard stared with suspicion as Tilly found a spot on their table. Thinking on her words would've made him laugh in a maniacal, villainous manner if it hadn't been for his own focus.He decided to start small, though he suspects that not even she will know all the answers. "River designated the Spoon as safe, why is that exactly?"

Tilly helped herself to a roll, tearing off small bits to nibble on periodically. Which just made it take a little longer for her to fully answer. "Well..." Maybe she thought by drawing it out the others would get there sooner than later. "Because 'tis. Safe. Look 'round, dearie." She made a small gesture with one hand before nibbling some more. "If'n yer been payin' attention ta things.. you'll notice a distinct lack o' somethin' in here."

"Sea glass." Leif promptly answered. Was it Levi who'd told him? He wasn't sure anymore. But someone did. "But can you keep him safe if someone comes for him?" He asked her in a serious tone. It was a good point that Bernard brought up indeed, for a start, while the others weren't there yet. Just because they could speak freely, didn't mean River was 100% safe there.

Tilly touched the tip of her nose when Leif answered correctly. "Aye, yer always been a right perceptive bloke. Most o' the time." She finished her roll before answering, looking to River who seemed to wear a near constant befuddled and confused expression on his face, but happy to have food. "They canna do anythin' in 'ere. Jus' like I canna do anythin' out there."

Bernard nodded to Leif's answer while thumb-scratching his chin. Rightfully, Bernard did not expect the windows themselves to be the source of the protection. Who knew weathered glass held such properties, but that is to be expected afterall; mundanity obsfucating powers unspoken. "I see, so the sea glass acts as what? Isolator? Or a rune circle? Keeps your mysticism in while theirs is choked?" He inquired. He realises that he could probably ask another question, but he would be lying if the mechanics didn't interest him.

Indy frowned, studying the cafe as she twisted in her seat. "Sea glass..."

The familiar pressure pulsed around her skull like a rubber band as another memory was dredged to the surface. The roll dropped from her hands into a pile of crumbs. "No... No, not protection... It's like--you can see people through it. I remember"--she remembered hunching over it, watching faces, hearing conversations held far away, connected only by fragile mirrors that reflected distance and time. "Fuck." She turned to Tilly. "Scrying. They've been watching us?"

Tilly did another tap of a finger against her own nose before moving to stand. "Lemme get a few more goods. Y'all will likely need 'em." She picked up the tray and headed toward the kitchen presumably to load up more. "I kin still 'ear ya."

Bernard looked to the fearful state of Indy. A mite of concern rested on his face, while he leaned forward on the table. Pondering on just how he could've prepared himself more for this expedition into the unknown.

Leif was about to answer Bernard's question, but Indy was faster. And her answer drew his attention, and a frown. He hadn't been extra perceptive, someone had told him that. But how did Indy know all that? "Who are you really?" He asked her with a frown, though his tone wasn't accusing. But she did seem to know a lot more than what she'd shared so far. When Tilly left, Leif watched with a small, anxious sigh. There was nothing he needed more than what she had to say at the moment. But then his gaze turned to Indy again.

Meanwhile, on the way to the cafe: When stepping out in the sun, Roje prepared herself to feel the searing pain of the uv rays. But instead she felt stronger, felt that warm ray of sun on her skin. It felt like her daylight ring had never disappeared to begin with "Well I'll be damned." She said, looking over at the guys and their reactions. No doubt they expected her to go up in flames.

To be honest, Hatsu was not sure why Roje was going to the café with them but that was how the cards were dealt. Somehow, he always seemed to add more and more people to his trips for food. Now, he wasn't sure why she was looking at him like she expected something from him, "Do you know where the café is?" Maybe she was lost.

"I think she might just be a tinsy bit surprised," Aódh opined, given how she told of she might combust into flames the moment she stepped out the door, "So, what happened? Was the hoodie any use at all?"

Roje felt the urge to facepalm at the mundane but knew he probably wasn't accustomed to this... Or maybe he pretended he wasn't. "Not exactly. I've only been here once so.." She shrugged and looked to Aodh "Surprised, yes. The hoodie... I'm not sure. I should be burning on my face right now but I'm not." Maybe if she took off the Hoodie she'd feel more? Time to test. Roje began to pull herself from the piece of clothing.

It was a strange sensation, her body pulsed with the blood of the nurse. It felt... different than the vampire was likely expecting. Like, if bad fiction was real life, she might even start sparklign.

Maybe Hatsu was the one lost or at least left out the loop. Roje spoke to Aódh and then started to strip off the hoodie, "Neat, I'll lead the way." It was best to leave the awkward conversation in the past and let the two supernatural beings bond.

"Well?" Aódh asked, gently nodding at Hatsu taking upon himself the role of guiding them to the Loving Spoon, "How are ya feeling now?"

"Feeling like a hundred bucks." This feeling was so strange. Felt almost like a caffeine rush. Or maybe as if Roje had 10 energy drinks. "Has anything happened aside from...well... disappearing for about 24 to 48 hours? Anything happen to you guys that was super weird?"

Aódh wondered to himself whether or not he ought to say this in person but, given the exigency of the moment, with Bill missing as well Roje's encounter with a 'sea monster', it would be foolish at this juncture to withhold information from people he ought to be trusting. Or so the young man reasoned to himself. "I had a vision..." the young man began, looking over at Roje earnestly as they followed in Hatsu's wake, "Of Dusk, telling me to go out there and protect people in Marasong. The only thing was that he...he looked as though he had been attacked. I only found out what happened to him after I woke up yesterday."

Those hazel eyes of Roje's had widened as she snapped her attention to Aodh. "What?" Dusk- "Is he fucking dead?!" It was clear that it was something that hit close to home. She remembered the last moment with him and now was he dead in this world too?

With Hatsu's quick leading, they trio's feet made soft thudding sounds as they started to walk on the docks proper. He hadn't wanted to waste any time, and led them lickety split to the cafe where it looked like a small group was already inside. The bell on the door gave a little chime, announcing more people entering the cafe. Just as Tilly had finished loading up her tray with small bowls of soup, crackers, and more rolls still warm from the oven. "Nearly there. Come 'ave a seat loverlies!"

Indy looked to Leif and Bernard with a mix of apprehension and resignation as she resumed picking at the growing mountain of crumbs on the table. "Indy is short for Indigo"--God, she hated this part-- "Sunshine Sanderson. Of Beth Sanderson. This is...hometown turf. I guess."

The opening of the door caught her attention and she turned just in time to see--she gasped.

Hatsu held the door open for the last two when Aódh just happened to break the news to Roje that her "friend" Dusk was dead. Well, that was a road they were bound to cross but at least he didn't have to be the one to start that conversation, "He was found under his docks, by your sister-" Hatsu said when he noticed the crowded table with said sister, Bernard, and two strangers. This is shaping up to be great.

The names Indy spoke rang some bells. Indy had been teleported there with them. So perhaps that could explain why she wasn't aware of the sirens' plot, the water creatures and all that. Perhaps this was a different timeline she didn't really know. Leif frowned, but that was about it for now. The chime announcing more people entering the cafe drew his attention, and interrupted his efforts to connect memories and thoughts.

Bernard simply stared blankly, neither feeling sorry or embarrassed for the sunshine's name. "Quite a ray, you are, I admit that." The tone wasn't mocking or anything similar. Until then the bell rang and Tilly welcomed more lovelies in her words. Hatsu, Roje, and Aodh! He could say he was surprised, but he expected this.

"Lad, you're here." He called to his attaché in supernaturality. "And you have Indy's sister with you, looks like my expectation was proven correct."

It seems that they had stumbled into something of a group discussion when Hatsu opened the door to the Loving Spoon, and as was typical, Bernard seemed to be at the heart of it, with a few other characters that he hadn't seen before. But from the Dane's comment, it seems that the woman amongst them, undoubtedly, was Roje's sister. "Yeah, to say that I happened on herself and Hatsu would be something of an underestimation," he responded, poring over the visages of the other people present. "What are all of ye up to?"

The more news Roje was getting, the worst she felt. He was dead. Again. And she was willing to bet who the culprit was. Upon entering the Loving Spoon, she caught sight of many faces, one she recognized immediately "Indy!" The vampire shouted as she rushed over towards her sister. "Holy hell aren't I glad you see you. Well, see in general but that's a story for later."

"Oh, nothing too grand. Unveiling the secrets of the universe. Spycraft. Plotting to exterminate an enigmatic, arcane entity." Bernard replied.

Indy was out of her chair before she could even think about it. She met Roje halfway, launching herself at her sister and pulling the woman into her arms. "Oh holy shit I thought you were dead"--she pushed back, studying Roje with a shocked expression and squeezing her wrists--"You're not dead, right? This is real? This isn't some shitty sea magic? Please tell me you are not a fucking mirage or something, this place is driving me insane."

Of those entering the cafe, the only one Leif recognized was Roje, and he half assumed the man who addressed Bernard had to be the one who saved Roje, Aodh. He had a hint of a smile on his face as Indy ran to greet her sister, tone full of relief, yet it was overshadowed by a silent hope that more people would walk through the door, people that he deep down knew wouldn't.

One step at a time, though. One of them was safe. Roje wasn't yet another victim. But... "Where's Silver?" He asked, eyes shifting between the newcomers.

There was another ding from the bell over the door, and Augie and Boy paused in the doorway. Augie a bit surprised by the crowd as he gave a bit of a wave to Tilly. "Hello!" Tilly just waved them on over while the other group were still getting settled in.

"Take a seat loverlies." She suggested with a gesture they take the currently unoccupied end of the twin table setup.

Roje squeezed her sister and looked at her as she asked a spew of questions. The Vampire shook her head with a small smile "I'm real, I promise. Went through hell and back just to get here. Trust me, you don't want to know half the shit I went through just to see and hear again." Roje nodded towards Aodh and Hatsu "Those two I met at the clinic. Apparently Aodh saved me from what I was stuck in." Her attention turned back towards Indy "This place is driving me just as insane, honestly." Tilly then mentioned to take a seat, to which she would do in just a moment. "Silver? Are you kidding me is she missing too?"

Boy was just as surprised as Augie as he laid eyes on all those people in the cafe. All those people with all those smells he didn't recognize. But nevermind, the cafe was always full, even if this gathering seemed a little odd. Though Tilly seemed to think Augie and himself were there to join everyone, as she seemed to suggest they join the table, making things even stranger. No, he just wanted breakfast, nothing else.

Ears pricked forward when he recognized Hatsu amongst those faces, and tail wagged, but he didn't leave Augie's side. Right, perhaps he was a little curious to know why all those people were there, especially after seeing Hatsu. Hatsu had been at the clinic, hadn't he? Wasn't that where he and Augie were heading next? Regardless, he looked to Augie, and let his friend make the first move. He was a dog after all, and the best part of that was not having to make most decisions.

Bernard's smile turned neutral when Leif asked about Silver's whereabouts. They require a GPS chip in them if they're this prone to meandering. Jests aside, Bernard spoke up. "The last I recall of Silver had been in the Inn, but that's been hours ago."

There was a lot going on and Hatsu wasn't sure where the best place for him was. There was a lot of reunions of family and friends and a bunch of revelations-- to be honest it was a bit overwhelming but answers where to be had and it was better to make friends with people that had some idea of what was going on. Then there was the entrance of Augie and Boy (at least he knew some more people now) and couldn't help but feel a bit pleased with himself when the dog started to wag his tail.

Either way, he was going to take a seat at the table, where he did not know. So he choose the easiest answer and sat that the end of the table. Far enough away from people he didn't know (or fully trust) and enough room to let the people he did know sit near him...hopefully.

Augie had started to drift off to his usual seat at a side table away from the center, but Tilly gave him a wave and a look. The kind of look one didn't pretend to ignore. So he took a seat near the end, near Hatsu (seat 2 on the diagram?). One hand stayed on Boy most of the time, and he definitely seemed confused. "Uh.. Can I put in an order to go?"

Tilly had set down the extra bowls of soup and rolls so the newly arrived all had food if they wanted it. She gave Augie's shoulder a pat, "Just wait a minute, dearie. Here, have a roll while ye wait."

"Honestly, if you don't see someone here, they're probably missing." Indy released Roje just in time to see Augie walk through the door with that damned dog. The sight of him squeezed something in her chest, her breath caught in her throat. Fuck. Had Tilly summoned everyone? She even recognized Hatsu, sneaking off to sit at the table. She made a mental note to thank him later for saving her sister. In the meantime, hopefully a grateful nod would suffice.

Bernard's fingers tapped the table lightly. "Well, then seems we're all present," his attention was turned to Boy as well as Augie. Remembering that the man was supernatural as well. "Excluding Bill and Silver." Most are supernaturals, sole exemption being Hatsu, the normal figure amongst them. "So, Tilly, now what?"

Tilly remained standing, this time near River and the seat next to Augie. "Well.. a few others were lost along th' way. Please, everyone have a seat?"

Indy slowly returned to her seat, trying to decide whether or not to make eye contact with Augie and instead succeeding only in looking a bit unhinged.

Aódh wanted to protest that he'd prefer to stand up, but he slinked into the empty seat next to Bernard, instead opting for a quick stretch of his arms from the seated position.

Roje shook her head "Yeah well I learned that real fast. Found out Dusk was dead." Looking at the table, she noticed the chairs were being taken up and she decided to sit by Indy since the chair had freed up next to her. Tilly then mentioned that a few others were lost along the way "Oh great, fantastic." Shit. As her butt met the seat, she brought her arms up, elbows on the table with her chin resting on her interlocked hands "I'm all ears."

Silver was missing as well. She had to be. Indy was most likely right. They found one, and lost another. Could that be considered progress? Yet it was Roje's words that caught his attention. She talked about not being able to see, or hear. And she came back. The hope was real. Eyes were focused on Aodh, who seemed to be the one responsible for her rescue, but the constant ringing of the bell kept him from saying anything.

When Augie and the dog entered the room, Leif noticed Indy's reaction. He knew them too. He knew Augie from a different timeline, and he knew the dog from... a night stroll.

Then Bernard talked about everyone being present, and Tilly seemed to agree. So that was it. That was all of them. Silver had been lost. Levi, Chase, Turid, missing, potentially with others, and Dusk was dead. Right. She seemed like she was about to speak, at least.

Boy followed Augie closely, and sat on the floor between him and Hatsu, giving Hatsu's hand a small nudge in greeting, though he was as uncomfortable as Augie.

He was glad when Augie and Boy found a place near him and he unconsciously rubbed the dog's head when it nudged him needing something to do to help ease the building anxious he felt.

People where missing and he had no clue where to find them. He had not clue how long he could take care of a cat before self combusting.

Tilly gave a small smile to the group. "Things 'ave progressed faster than even I thought. Something 'as sped up events, and thrown a proverbial, maybe literal, wrench into th' works." She paused a moment, a small tilt of her head to the side. "I am limited, in wot I'll be able ta do. I'm not even suppos'ta be here, but.. y'all needed a wee bit o' help. And I still 'ad some say in it. So...."

She seemed to square her shoulders. "First, fer those lost along th' way. A moment of silence, an' remembrance. Sometimes, folks just ain't ready for th' trials that world jumpin' can hold. An' they jus' return to a place that's more comfortable for them. Doesn't mean we should forget about them."

She held up a cup of tea, similar to cups already laid out around the table. "To those we lost along the way. Clementine. Edwin. Silver. Four. Beatrice. Wiri. Bill. Jay. May they 'ave the peace they needed, wherever that may be."

IF DECEMBER FREEZES
A story by Out Of Words​

Season One: A Night Bleeds​

 

[Out Of Words]

IF DECEMBER FREEZES​

IC Thread - Discord Compilation (The Loving Spoon)
​

Silver.

Each name was a slam of the hammer, nailing Indy to the table as she and the others bowed down into churchly silence. Each syllable was a point against them, a quantifiable loss of life because they failed. Their enemy had taken eight lives before they had even managed to gather a single detail. Roje had nearly been the ninth.

It should have been devastating. One final quake to shatter the tenuous foundation still supporting what sanity Indy had left. But she didn't feel broken. Until now, every moment was disconnected incidents that careened her from one emergency to the next. This, though. This was no disjointed event tacked onto a swaying card tower of confusion; this was purpose. A warm, solid reason to walk forward rather than scramble to stay still.

For the first time in nearly a year, Indy's hand was steady.

"May they be the last of the lost." Indy surveyed the others at the table. "We know something's coming. Some of us--we think we have some sort of clue." She glanced at Leif and Bernard before turning to Roje. "But the time you were lost, before you both"--she nodded to Aodh and Hatsu--"saved her, maybe we should hear about that. Compare some notes. If you can't tell us everything, Tilly, maybe you can confirm what we think we already know."

Shit did it feel good to speak with a steady voice again.

"Excuse me?" Hatsu responded to Tilly, he didn't want to have a sappy remembrance for Bill because she couldn't be dead or whatever the fuck Tilly was insinuating. He pulled back into his seat with his arms crossed as the table seemed to go through the their own steps of acceptance.

Sure. Fine. Whatever.

Despite what he felt, that wouldn't change the fact that Bill was missing (dead or alive) and that the only people who could help him were at this table. It was better to make friends when he still had no clue what kind of unknown they were facing. All he knew is that it had to be something big to warrant this big of a gathering.

"Sure, let's compare notes." Hatsu added hoping no one would question his initial response.

Hatsu was so, so tense the pats he was giving were starting to make the dog anxious. But what really made him anxious was spotting someone sitting across the table. Wasn't that the blind woman he just led into the clinic the day before? How come she was standing there, seeing and hearing?

He felt a mix of relief and anxiety at not really knowing what was going on, and he stood up and was about to stand on his hind legs to get a better look at her when Tilly started talking. And for some reason, the woman's voice made him sit right back down on his spot, and listen.

As she spoke, he was still clueless. What in the world was going on? Who were all those people she was mentioning? He recognized a few names. Bill, Wiri, Jay. Did that mean they were gone? And that there was no hope Bill would spring back into life just like the woman across the table?

When others started speaking, he was still clueless, but he now knew some of them managed to save the woman, even if they weren't able to save Bill. Hatsu seemed just as distressed, if not more, and being so close to him made the dog absorb some of that frustration.

He stood up and stepped closer to Augie, sitting at his foot and leaning against his leg, somewhat hiding under the table. From there, he could hear what everyone was saying just fine, and take his time processing it, which was what everyone seemed to be doing. Nothing else to do but accept it, and evaluate the next steps, right?

Roje felt that bitter taste in her mouth hearing the words come from the Lil 'ol lady because now there were more people that went missing and no one could stop it. She picked up her own cup and lifted into the air in a toast and just simply brought it down to look at the liquid inside. The vampire listened to her sister's words and nodded in agreement "Who's willing to go first to spill their notes? Got a pen and paper to start lining shit up like a web?" Lifting her hazel eyes, she glanced at everyone around the table.

Eight names were called, eight souls lost.

He did not know all of them, but the ones that he did know were shimmering coals against his naked back. Jay, Silver, and Bill though his time was short with them, their coals burned most of all. It was in his nature to care. Perhaps since his birth, though he argues that he acquired these sentiments; his knowledge and observations bestowed upon him an undeniable love for humanity.

It's why it poisoned him whenever hunger came. But now, he sat here. Amidst the equals of an other world, an other nature. Girded with the promise of purpose. The fire flowed through his neurons and veins with a brightness.

Watching as the owners grieved or took in the gravity of the situation, Bernard laced his fingers together in calmness over the warm tea. His eyes shifted to Hatsu when he flabbergasted at Tilly's words.

"Sufficient response, Indy." Bernard called with two taps of his fingers against the table. "First though, I would endure and adore for clarifications." He asked, surveying Indy, Leif, and Tilly. The third of which made another reference that Bernard caught. "By my scrutiny of passed interactions and, unprompted, startled, reactions, I assume that most of you aren't from this dimension." The professor emphasized the word with importance. "That this Marasong is not entirely original or rather, it is another iteration in a long line. Is that true?" A stern look about him gave off the impression of being deathly serious.

Leif'd been waiting anxiously for Tilly to finally speak, yet when she did, he couldn't be any less prepared to hear what she had to say. It was finally clear, direct, unspoiled with riddles and unclear answers. She still hadn't actually answered much. But for the first time ever, someone was acknowledging people he knew from other worlds, dimensions, timelines, whatever that was. For the first time ever, he didn't feel like he was insane for remembering names and faces no one else knew about.

Yet what impacted him the most were names Tilly did not speak. Chase. Turid. Maylee. Devlin. Shia. And more. Could they all be around, just undiscovered yet?

Leif sure didn't feel ready to share notes and repeat things he already spoke and already knew once again. Tilly probably knew everything he did, and much more. But the suggestion that those who'd managed to save Roje spoke first sounded reasonable enough, so he glanced at the two men, but his eyes focused Bernard when the man started speaking.

"That's true." He answered with a nod. "At least for Indy , Roje and I." He gave a small pause. "We, Silver and Edwin woke up by the waterfall a couple of days ago."

"How did you arrive here?" Aódh asked the stranger, still struggling to understand the enormity of people travelling across different dimensions, "Where did you come from?"

Bernard nodded to Leif's answer with understanding. Along with a hint of jubilation at another avenue of physics to explore if he survives these ordeals first. Aódh then foisted more questions, questions that Bernard didn't need answering.

"I'm not sure anymore." Eyes shot to the young man who had to be Aódh. He wished he knew how he arrived there, and he wished he knew where exactly he came from. But his answer was serious and honest, and eyes drifted toward Tilly, in hopes that she'd know.

Tilly sipped at her tea while the others reacted and adjusted to the few words she had said thus far. When there was a small lull in the conversation, she set her cup down and once more looked over the faces gathered. "Now, afore we dig'n deep, keep in mind, I cannae help as much as ye'd likely wish. There be reasons upon reasons, but I'm invested in the lot o' ye. So.. I'll help as mooch as I kin, mebbe a wee little bit across that line."

"It may ease yer minds to know those lost, dinna mean dead. Jus' no longer 'ere with us. In this world, aye? Tis but energy that keeps us 'ere. An' some cannae retune that energy, not like you lot. Well.. Most o' ya." She patted Augie's shoulder and spoke to the quiet, but quite, bewildered man.

"Doncha worry aboot this. Yer here for safety, and support." And a roll was passed over to River who seemed happily oblivious to anything else.

Tilly looked around the table before asking. "No matter 'ow ye all arrived, ye arrived. And ye'll arrive again, mos' likely. So, collect yer thoughts, ask yer quessies, and I'll answer wot I can, and guide where I can."

Roje looked between everyone, listening to them talk. Quietly she sipped the tea in her cup, coming up with a question of her own "What's up with the monster in the water?" Looking toward the woman, she leaned a bit to get a better look at her "It can cast curses. One that caught me for quite some time before I figured out how to break it."

"So there is something in the water." Indy drummed her fingers on the table. "I think I saw it too. Felt it more than once. Is that monster part of why we're here? Is that what's taking people?"

Bernard looked between the sisters. The feline-shifter and vampire raised solid questions, direct too. But, Bernard suspects, that the scope of their questions, Roje's in particular, are simply too large for the aged Missus to answer fully. Keeping in mind her words, "I cannae help as much as ye'd likely wish," Bernard drank from the warmth of the cup. "Knowing my Lovecraftian literature, I very much doubt that the entity in the oceans is acting alone or is the sole cause of Marasong's ailment." He commented. "Is the worm entity the same as the oceanic threat?" He asked with his blues focused on Tilly.

Different dimensions, not dead but lost, and sea monster -- all of which did not answer any questions but gave him more. For now, he'll just ignore the different dimensions. He had a feeling that no matter what he would never comprehend it. The news of a sea monster though did make him sit up. Is that what has been causing all the drowning? Most likely, based on how the current responses were going, but he had so many more questions.

Like, what are the eyes about?
Who planted the bug safe in the woods?
Why the fuck was there a random ass horse in the middle of a magic rainstorm?
Why or who set fire to his newly bought house?
Who wrote the treasure map and was it worth it to go after it?

He was sure he had more questions, but right now too much was going on.

Like, what the fuck does Bernard means about worm entity?

If anything, this brunch was making him more and more confused.

Leif took his time listening and processing all of Tilly's words, and eveyone's reactions to them. He did pick up that the teleporting thing was the smallest of theirs (and Tilly's) concerns, though. It was merely a method, by which some of them got there. But what was the reason? Roje was faster with her question, a pertinent one, and Bernard anticipated some of what Leif himself would probably say.

"The thing with horns is Dapper. He's protecting something. And the worm... I don't know if it's also in the water or not. But there's people still trapped in the water. If Dapper was the one who took them, and why, I don't know."

Tilly's expression hinted at her appreciation for them attempting to get to the heart of the matter. There was a soft clicking of her tongue before she spoke. Her tone measured, as if weighing her words. "Well, there be several things in the water, but if ye take care of one particular, rather significant one, the others are no longer a threat." She paused only a moment to let that sink in before adding, "Now... One o' ye have come across more information than I kin provide. Ye just have to chase it down and put the puzzle together."

Indy frowned and turned to Leif. "Didn't you mention someone named Chase? You too." She jerked her chin at River, who looked several shades more alive than he had previously. "You said he was researching something, right?"

River looked like a chipmunk, with his cheeks full of food. He kept eating and eating, like a bottomless pit. Even took a moment for him to realize his name was called. Eyebrows lifted in a wordless 'huh', but the question registered a couple of bites later and he just gave a nod before helping himself to more food from the table.

Indy scowled at his silence. She was beginning to understand why Leif wanted to kill this guy again so bad.

The cryptic answering is not lost on Bernard, though for once, he felt he shouldn't have been right. His jaw jostles side to as side as he contemplates on her words. Her accusation of someone inching close to the truth made him aware of the rest. Rather, Leif, specifically, as the elder vampire had an edge on him in terms of research. The significance of the word chase was not lost on him, he looked to Leif for answers whilst continuing to sip his tea.

The dog shifted around as people spoke, finally naming things he knew. So Dapper was the monster in the water? Did that mean the creature wasn't as much of a threat as it seemed? And was Dapper the one who cursed the woman he helped? Or had it been the worm? He looked up to Augie, but the man didn't seem to have many answers to offer.

The dog wasn't the only one to notice Augie's lack of input. In fact, Augie was probably the only one of them that had been present in other dimensions, yet didn't seem to recall anything, or did not want to. It was just like Levi, just like Bug, unless he wasstill baffled with all that information and still unable to react.

Leif looked at Tilly again when she started speaking, and despite not giving as may direct answers as he wished, she finally spoke. The mention of Chase's name got an immediate, but subtle reaction out of him. He somehow wasn't expecting it, even though Chase had everything to do with the reason they were having that meeting.

He nodded at Tilly a little later as he got over the shock, then nodded at Indy as she spoke to him. He did wonder if she didn't remember Chase, if she was like Augie, and Bug, and Levi. How much she had left of memories from other dimensions. But it didn't matter right then.

River's lack of an appropriate answer mattered more perhaps. Was he really present, or had he entered some sort of trance? He couldn't recall River from other worlds. It meant perhaps he belonged to this one, which would explain some of his reactions. He stared at the man for a good minute with a frown, but finally looked at the others.

"Chase has some notes... I thought I'd seen all of them, but perhaps not..." he glanced at River again. "River pointed us in that direction, too. Some of them are in Levi's house."

Hatsu had no clue who everyone was talking about. All he got was that there was one big bad sea creatures to make the smaller bad sea creatures to behave. One of which was Dapper who Hatsu couldn't place. All he knew was that he had horns. All that he knew now was that some random people had notes on this creature, "None of those people are missing right?"

"Hopefully, this wouldn't be..." He paused searching for the words. "A wild-goose chase, but perhaps searching other properties or places that he frequents could be more fruitful."

Aódh was content to remain silent and let the more informed amongst them discuss the nature of what they were dealing with, considering that he was still reeling from the revelation that people from another dimension were in the same room as him. Numerous mentions of names and persons he hadn't met littered the conversation, so he was doing his best at piecing together who was connected to who and what they had uncovered, if anything at all.

Tilly started to move away from the table and toward the kitchen. "I'll get some snacks. Prolly wise o' ye to compare notes, an' see what correlates and wot not."

And a moment later, she added a little quieter, "Not much time left."

It was frustrating when Tilly left again, but not as much as the last times. At this point, it'd somewhat sank in that she wouldn't solve all their problems, and that they'd have to figure it out themselves.

He glanced at Hatsu when he spoke, not sure who he meant by 'those people'. In case he meant everyone who'd been mentioned, that was a hard question to answer.

"Chase should be at Levi's". He spoke, glancing at both Hatsu and Bernard and ignoring the latter's pun. Just saying that made his heart sink, because he had no idea if Chase was still back at Levi's. Not after everything that happened. "I don't know if anyone else's missing." Dapper, Bug, Levi himself... when was the last time he'd seen them?

But Bernard did propose something that made sense. "River." Leif looked at the man as he called his name out loud and serious enough to hopefully get his attention. "Do you know other places Chase used to visit in Marasong?"

River blinked and finished the couple of bites he had in his mouth, then took a sip of tea before he was able to answer. "He wasn't here long before.. you know. Uh.. He worked the docks." There were some pauses as it was clear River was thinking about it. "He helped out on the farm some. Uh.. visited the Cove.. Sometimes, wouldn't see him for a few days but uh.. I was fairly.. occupied."

Roje looked between everyone once again. She knew very well that there was something more in the water. "Just to throw this wrench out there to make sure you all know... This water monster needs life sources. She liked mine in particular because I'm technically immortal." Not gonna lie she did zone out for a moment.

Bernard questioned his ears if he had heard properly. Time enough for what? Bernard couldn't say, but expediency was to be paramount because this portentous gathering will end abruptly soon. "The farm could be fruitful, but the Cove might be equally useful. If only we did not have to guess, decisions without evidence, even a shred are risky."

Bernard leaned to see Roje clearly. "She? Or was it the form that it took at the moment."

Tilly returned with two plates full of an assortment of snacks meant to maintain or heighten one's energy. When there was a lull in the conversation, she spoke. "Now, I kin add a little tip. One of ye will be highly instrumental in helping take out the par-tick-u-lars." She drew out the last word and somehow, surely just a coincidence, one plate of snacks was set down directly in front of Bernard at the word 'one'. The other plate was set in the middle of the other side of the table, just slightly out of River's reach.

Indy glanced at Tilly, down to the plate in front of Bernard, and up to the vampires face.

"Wait." Her brows pinched together. "You do electric stuff, yeah? Can you just...fry the water? I mean, that's one thing off the list--right? Fry the Loch Mess monster before it sucks up anyone's life force. Then it's just a matter of finding Chase and taking out whatever the fuck is in the woods, yeah?"

Tilly's voice was a very quiet murmur as she seemed to focus on smoothing out her apron. "Other things in the water. Things that cannae help themselves at the moment." Then a little louder, "Oh, dearie me. Let me get some more tea on."

Indy's face twisted with confusion. "I mean, I don't think the fish will really care that much in the long run..."

Hatsu couldn't help but look at the plate that was in front of Bernard. Great. One of the people that Bill told him not to mess with is apparently the key to solving everyone's problems. Indy mentioned something about how the man had something to deal with electricity and that he should just fry the water. Tilly opposed, but right before that, she mentioned something in the woods - "The horse?" He asked out loud while Indy responded with out care for the fish, "I think Tilly was talking about something other than fish?"

Augie seemed to sit up a little as he looked toward Indy, brows furrowed a bit. "There's more than fish. There's..." Then his eyes darted about and he grabbed a cracker with cheese and sausage from the snack plate and stuffed it in his mouth as he sat back and sought out Boy to pet.

Looking toward Bernard, she shrugged "it could have taken a female form. Not sure. Quite honestly if it wasn't for my savior," She nodded to Aodh "I probably wouldn't be here. He said he saw me in the water though I can't tell if it was him or not since I was blind."

Bernard pulled back as Tilly set the plate of nick-nacks to feast upon in front of him. The significance of this act was not lost on him, but the sense of gloom lingered uncannily over his head. His eyebrows scrunched confusedly at Indy's suggestion. Deciding to take her seriously for the matter.

"If your plan involves my electrical output then we'll need to satisfy at least one out of three conditions." Just as he was about to list them with three fingers raised. The rest began to pipe up with counters to Indy's suggestion. His hand was let down over the cheesy cracker, mostly out of kindness for Tilly's hard work. "I think eradicating the mysterious denizens of the seas won't do us well at the moment. Similarly, we don't know how my intervention would affect potential victims if any still live."

Leif was a little surprised when River actually took a break from eating and answered. He nodded at the man thankfully as his mind started trying to figure out where they'd be more likely to find clues, when Roje spoke again.

Her words made Leif's gaze shoot at her instantly. That meant Turid was valuable as well, and it also possibly meant she was alive, or would be alive longer than a regular mortal in the water. Longer than Dusk. Would she be able to recover if they let Bernard 'fry the water'? Would Bernard be able to actually 'fry the ocean'? This wasn't a yard pool.

"Sirens?" Leif asked, looking at Augie when the man suprisingly spoke. He's somewhat expected him to remain silent the whole time at this point. Thankfully, Bernard was also concerned with the safety of the potential victims. "How are they involved in this?" Eyes moved from Augie, to River, to Tilly.

"How did you save her?" he looked at Aodh, then threw Bernard a quick glance. "I think some may still live."
Boy stood up from his spot under the table, and moved to sit next to Augie when the man finally spoke. He let him pet his head, but then nudged his hadn multiple times, trying to encounrage him to keep talking.

"It looked like she was entrapped by seaweed," Aódh responded, accessing the vestiges of that moment still in his mind, "I was...transformed when I was there though. But it wasn't only me that freed Roje: Silver was there...too. So, when we got close enough to her, we just ripped her free of it. It didn't seem as though there was anything else there."

The mention of sirens seemed to set River a little on edge. He pushed away from the table and quickly murmured something about using the restroom before he headed toward a door next to the back of the kitchen. While Augie was glad to pet Boy, he just gestured to his mouth full of food rather than give up a direct answer at the time. A scowl still on his face.

Indy was similarly perturbed at the mention of sirens. She stopped just short of reflexively clutching the coin hidden under her shirt as she slowly slumped back into her seat. A quick glance toward Augie confirmed he wasn't looking at her, but her heart pounded regardless.

Fuck. Were there more like them in the water? People like her and Augie?

Roje watched as River got up and walked away, her eyes narrowing slightly "Sirens lure people into the sea and kill them once under, no? I never went into the water and I was still kidnapped. One minute I was with an old friend and the next I was blind and then deaf."

Augie snorted, eyes on the table in front of him. "Yeah, sure. And Nessie is just a hoax. Believe the movies. That's fine. That's what they.." He almost angrily took another snack and stuffed it in his mouth.

Bernard gave a curt nod at Leif's words. So the elder vampire isn't as heartless as he portrays himself to be, good to know. He gulps down the cheese-laced cracker before looking to Aódh's response. Dredged up from the vestiges of the mind, yet a dreamed memory so crystal. "Very likely that the seaweed is or was a manifestation of the beast, its lack of whereabouts require further circumspection but I believe it did not want to reveal itself yet without undue reason." He tried to answer the lad's question.

His eyes shot to Roje. "Dusk, you mean. That was when your kidnapping occurred."

"Nailed it. I was with him at his boat or whatever. We had some beers and then from there it was nothing pretty much. I know at one point I was running, hit a wall, but it was dark. Cause again, blind as hell. So I don't even know how I ended straight up in the water."

Hatsu wondered if River was actually going to the bathroom or was secretly trying to figure a way out of the surprised meeting about serins and the mystery of Marasong that kept getting more and more confusing and harder to track. Not only that, he and Augie both seemed to be trying to hide things from everyone. "Augie," Hatsu said in a whisper to him, "I'll only have movies to believe if you don't speak up."

When River stood up and left the table, the dog watched attentively. There wasn't much else he could do to make Augie speak, and he wouldn't be able to add much to the conversation at the moment. He did know the Cove was dangerous, but he'd be able to convey the message at later one. Just as he was about to stand up, Augie spoke again, and the dog watched him with a confused look and a tilted head.

He couldn't make a lot of sense of what was triggering him or what exactly he was trying to say, but the mention of Loch Ness and the confusing words made him sound suspiciously similar to Marius. Although Boy didn't really doubt Nessie's existence at this point.

Still, he got up from his spot and trotted after River after a minute, and sat outside the door he disappeared behind. From there, he could hopefully keep an eye on the man, which was the best he could do for the group, and also overhear the conversation.

The sound of water running could be heard in the bathroom, like a faucet. Augie did seem to lose a little of his gruff with Hatsu's words, and he case a look around the table before losing more of his scowl and glare. He ran a hand through his hair, and then looked at Roje. "So.. what are you?"

Roje placed down her cup, sat back and stretched her arms out "I'm a woman of course." She joked, at least trying to light the mood a bit. Get something going for everyone. A small chuckle left her lips and she moved her lip a bit to reveal a fang of hers "Take a guess."

"Ah, the classical vampire." Bernard said.

"Yeah watched her make a juice pack out of a nurse." Hatsu quipped.

Indy replied, "Sounds about right."

"Oh, so.. don't all vampires just kill and drain their victims' blood? And turn into bats? And hate garlic? And crosses? Things the movies tell us?" Augie was obviously trying to make a point.

"Okay listen-" Roje said, trying not to laugh at hatsu's remark "It was either I sit there blind and deaf or I get out of jail free! I chose to get out and had enough power to not kill the poor nurse." Her eyes shifted over to Augie "I've met some who don't like garlic or silver if that counts."

Leif pondered. So the word 'sirens' seemed to trigger a good half of those at the table. Had to mean something. Hatsu good choice of words seemed to alleviate tensions and get Augie in the mood to talk, but River had run off. The vampire watched as the black dog sat right outside the door. He assumed the dog was trying to make sure River wouldn't just disappear, which was appreciated.

"So you probably just walked into the water, given you were blind and deaf. I think Marius tried something similar the day he went missing..." he paused, trying to think. "Didn't your dog pull him out, or something?" He looked at Augie, then at Aódh. "That wouldn't explain how you and Silver got there to save her. You don't remember anything?"
"You're saying it's not the sirens' fault?" He looked at Augie, trying to keep up with his logic.

"The last thing I did, before finding myself in that place," Aódh replied, "...was go to sleep. I didn't do anything special before doing that, I just nodded off."

"Brother, wait till you get a load of me." The Dane's blue eyes sparked with an azure lightning once or twice before settling down again. "Back to the topic at hand, there's very likely a dream-like or transportation element to this whole debacle. Blind or not, you're not falling off a seaside abode if all the doors are closed."

"Right..." Leif nodded. "But the answer can't as simple as just literally diving into the water and chopping down the kelp forest. You and Silver got there at the right time, perhaps... somehow."
"Was it blood that made you recover your sight and hearing?" he frowned, looking at Roje as he processed her words. After a good couple of minutes sitting at the bathroom door, hearing the running faucet, the dog stepped up and scratched it several times, hoping to get a reaction. It was about time.

"Or maybe it is that simple, at least sometimes." Indy tore her gaze away from Augie to look at Leif. "When I did dive into the water, where we found--well, there was...something. I could feel it. It... Maybe it could be reached."

Not that she was particularly fond of the idea.

"I found out that I needed to drink fresh blood from the source. Had to be human, not animal in order for me to get my hearing and sight back." She replied to Leif before glancing at Indy.

Augie was about to say something more, but Tilly had put a hand on his shoulder, and set down a freshly brewed pot o' tea on the table. "Now, now, loverlies. Ye need ta focus. One particular focus. I cannae really write it out fer ya, but.." She gestured toward Aódh, then Roje, "A certain experience, might hold some nice tidbits. Maybe a little.. meditation to .. remember. Ye've seen wit' yer own eyes, if'n ye kin jus' 'member."

Tilly then looked to Indy, "An ye should know better wot other things ye be dealin' with." A look to everyone then. "At the rate this thin's going.. ye not much time to sort out wot's wot. So, take stock of wot ye know. Whacha need to look fer, and some type of idea to handle.. a similar experience to yer friend's." And a small head nod toward Roje at the last.

At Boy scratching at the door, "Ey! None o' that. Scratch up me door and no more bacon fer ye! River.. it's best if he don't hear wot yer'll planning." And a look to Leif. "An' you know why."

"We have to assume the entity possesses mystical abilities of its own, at the very least the ability to will host's whether through folding space or possessing their blind bodies into the sea, but..." Bernard ceased his prattling as the dog scratched the door, before Tilly hushed them with secrecy and a pleading for focus. Very well.

Hatsu was about to get up and check on Boy and River when Tilly came back with little tidbits of information and news that River should probably be left alone. So much for leaving the dinner table. Instead he reached for the pot of tea with a small word of thanks given to Tilly before he poured himself a cup and motioned to Augie if he wanted some as well.

All he knew now was that Roje had to drink human blood, Bernard was weirder than he thought, and that sirens were not what the media portrayed. Awesome. He's doing great at this magic stuff.

IF DECEMBER FREEZES
A story by Out Of Words​

Season One: A Night Bleeds​

 

[Rhyme]

Indy

Location: Cafe
Tags: Out Of Words KodakWolf Worthlessplebian Larry Britt-21 silverwhere

Tilly's words dropped a curtain of silence over the tense room. To Indy, it felt more like the woman had draped a plastic bag over her head and squeezed. Meditation cleansed the pathways and opened the soul, which may be helpful for those who needed to unwind. But Indy didn't need to unwind, not when she was already spinning on a loose thread of control. Not when a certain song was threatening to sneak back into her head at the drop of a fucking hat.

Fuck it. Indy shoved her chair back. A small cup at the counter held pencils, one of which Indy snatched up. As she dropped back to her spot at the table, she swiped a crumpled paper napkin. The pencil's eraser had been ground away to dust.

"Tell you what." She glanced at Roje as she began scribbling on the napkin. "Our dad was a piece of shit. But he liked lists--shit." The pencil had torn clear through the napkin. Indy shoved it aside and grabbed another.

"When you didn't know where to start, start by figuring out what you know, right?" She looked up to the group then, scanning their faces. They had all collected so many pieces of a thousand puzzles in a matter of days, no wonder they were as directionless as a bunch of blind rats in a swimming pool.

Clearing her throat, Indy dropped the pencil to the table and began to read. "At least Leif, Roje, and I are not from this dimension. The others we came with, along with some of your people, are...gone. We have at least one monster in the water that is taking people and casting curses. Leif thinks it was Dapper, or he's at least taking people. Chase--who Leif apparently knows, somehow--has some notes we probably need.

"We also have a worm in the seaweed woods, Alyce somewhere, sirens who are not inherently bad, and"--her eyes flicked up toward Hatsu--"A weird horse."

Smoothing over the largest wrinkle in the napkin, Indy picked up the pencil and tapped it once more on the table. "Missing anything?"

coded by: @s e v e n

 

[silverwhere]

Hatsu Black
- He/Him -
The Loving Spoon| Breakfast Conversations
Tags: Out Of Words KodakWolf Worthlessplebian Larry Britt-21 Rhyme
​

The group was a disorganized mess that sprouted information incoherently and as they dug deeper the harder it became to understand. When Indy took charge and began to list off what everyone knew, Hatsu felt a wave of relief. Somehow, listing everything made it easier for him to wrap his head around the abnormality of the situation. There was so much more going on than he first thought and he wasn't sure if his information would help, mostly because he barely understood the information he had. Part of him didn't want to share his hectic last few days but another wondered if any of it would be useful especially when Alyce was brought up...and the weird horse.

He sighed before building up the courage to talk, "I mean, weird horse was just bad summary. It's a long story but a few days ago, and I'm assuming that's when you appear in the town, my house burnt down," Hatsu figured that was properly the best place to start. He might as well get as much information out there and let everyone else pick it apart and what's a better way then explain what had happened to him the past few days? Maybe that was a way for everyone to get the information they needed, "The only thing saved was a safe, but during that time I saw the horse in the woods and went after it. Found an doppelganger safe in the woods- well Bill found it. We got curious so Alyce and her opened it. In it a bunch of beetles that are currently magically super glued to the floor of Bill's apartment. Then there were the eyes in the sea glass that have been watching us-- or at least me for a bit now. Then opened the real safe and found a treasure map. Then Bill went catatonic then missing and her cat started to become,"he was not sure how to explain it, "transparent but Tilly's cat treats did the trick and brought it back. Thanks by the way."

Actually, he hated that and had no clue how his life story from the past few days would help but maybe it would be something...and it did remind him-- he locked Bill's cat in her apartment with no way of getting back in. That will be something he'd have to figure out later, he was sure that someone at the table probably knew how to pick locks.

 

[Larry]

Aódh McFaol
Location: The Loving Spoon.
Mood: Introspective.
Interactions: Out Of Words | Worthlessplebian | Britt-21 | silverwhere | Rhyme | KodakWolf
Mentions: n/A.​

The young man watched as Indy attempted to collate the disparate pieces of information that each person at the held, obtained rather haphazardly over the past number of days, as each would be wont to tell you. Then, Hatsu splurged out an assortment of information that he had been witness to, some of them being ones that Aódh himself had been present at as well; the scene in the forest, where he lost control of his emotions, flinging Bill to the ground, in light of her disappearance and apparent 'death'...reverberated a pang of guilt within his heart. To think that so many of the people that he had interacted with, over the course of so short a holiday, were lost, the victims of a being whom the group have yet to uncover. It felt like whatever latent unease was coursing within all of them was making itself more apparent, as each plungeful grasping after the truth did little to avail them of the answers they sought. What else are we missing? Aódh thought, rummaging through his memories of the past few days to see if anything salient would suddenly just spring to mind and help the group on their to resolving the dilemma before them. But, no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts just revolved back to what Tilly had said. Was the 'experience' she was referring to the one where he and Silver saved Roje? Could it possibly reveal a sliver of the truth?

It was worth a go, even if he wasn't the sort to be too inclined towards, or even know how to, meditate in the first place. He turned towards his erstwhile meditation partner, though he wondered, now that he looked back upon that time, whether it was worth it if it meant that it would evince painful memories of that event for Roje. Aódh didn't even want to imagine what it must have been life to be confined in such a manner, but if there was something to be gained by revisiting that occasion, they ought to try, despite what his feelings told him otherwise.

"Well, do you want to give it a go then?" Aódh asked, aware not to sound too imploringly as he did so.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Bernard Greve
Location: Loving Spoon;
With: Everyone left;
Interactions: Out Of Words Larry Rhyme silverwhere KodakWolf Britt-21 Mentions: See before.
Art by leevolt on DeviantArt
Mood: Retrospective;​

The aged professor overview Indy's haphazard categorization of their scattered morsels of information, disorderly acquired over the past two to three days, he readily admits that he isn't precluded from this irregular method of observation and anecdotes. Though he admits that their father, vulgarly crass as they make him out to be, had an acute tool in his utility belt. But, before Bernard could compound further into the list, Hatsu, the only human individual amongst them, elaborate further on his statements. Entirely out of Bernard's purview as he did not know him past glances at the Inn or around the town, Aódh likely possessed a tête-à-tête connection with the lad though that is entirely supposition from Bernard's stance. Reviewing the past proved more painful than first assumed, the string of feedings, the erraticism of his vampiric abilities —adopting a more mercurial nature as of late, the utter absence of control as the bestial side wrestled the reins from him, these thoughts wound him more than he lets on. Brushing aside his failings, he took note that no-one had mentioned the mysterious, hypnotic hymn which haunted their hazy dreamings. The professor's eyes squinted in scrutiny; a new fact wrinkled his brow in worry.

His head gently wheeled to watch Aódh as he delicately prodded Roje for her side of the tragic event. The cup's mild rims touched his lips for the last time, as warm droplets slid across his tongue down his throat. "Before Ms. Roje elaborates on her account, it is my wish to add that: inexplicable, soporific melody to the "list" that I mentioned back at the lodge. It could be linked to the sirens, it could also be a symptom of the eldritch element. Next, this is purely speculation, however have you noticed the rise of... Incidences in the past few days? From these interdimensional transports to the smouldering house, I believe there was more than one as well, to doppelgänger safes to the spree of abductions. Supranatural denizens or not, the timetable of these entities seems to have accelerated, possibly exponentially. Speeding up our efforts might be beneficial as well. Continue."

 

[Britt-21]

Larry Worthlessplebian Out Of Words KodakWolf Rhyme silverwhere

Roje basically downed the rest of her tea and put the cup back upon the table while Indy tried to write with her napkin and pencil "Well, while he liked to make them, I liked to do the opposite." Though elaboration was not given, one could guess what she did given her background. The brunette leaned back in her chair, listening to all the pieces that were gathered from everyone in the room This little ass town and this much has happened already? Just what the fuck is this place? With eyebrows closing together, her gaze shifted toward Hatsu who explained more on his magical horse and his friend and slowly but surely she was bringing her thumb to her lips and gently nibbling on her nail. "Sounds like we have more on our plate than just water worms, magical horses, and more." The Vampire murmured while slowly going back into thought That monster also was able to create hallucinations, allowed me to pretend I escaped when in reality I didn't. She then picked up the sound of Aódh speaking toward her, causing her to focus on him and give him a gentle nod.

Bernard spoke up and she listened carefully, nodding once again to agree "I remember the melody. Everything else is definitely new news." Dropping her thumb, she tilted her head slightly and continued "The spell I was under - along with being trapped underneath the water - I remember that the creature had access to hallucinations. It made me see things from my past that didn't line up correctly or how they played out originally. Son of a bitch tricked me into thinking I actually was dreaming of being trapped and escaped. Clearly that wasn't the case in the end." Roje wondered if she'd be able to do things she hadn't done before, now while she found her creations a thing in her mind...Was it possible to let someone into her head? Or let someone see what she saw with some hands-to-person's-head? Granted, she was Shadow Kissed at one point but after jumping dimensions and dying a few times it's possible that the bond isn't a thing at this point. "I saw blonde hair underneath the water, I wasn't able to see who it was exactly but it was...Someone. Still alive even. Not sure if they're alive still at this point if Dusk was killed in a matter of time." Maybe it was best if she could try the Meditation that Tilly had mentioned earlier rather than try to explain.

"For fucks sake you know what, I'm gonna try this whole meditation thing." Roje's hand waved about before she rose out of her seat and pointed towards Aódh and slowly dropped her finger to the table, gently tapping it in the process "The sooner we start, the better. Stripe over here is right, we gotta speed up if this thing is ahead of the game right now."

​