snowblindrpg | [EVENT] Lavender's Blue [open]

[Peter happens to duck into the building to escape the other people that are tainted by the prophet's eyes. He could kill them, but that feels an awful like playing along, like choosing a sports team because he doesn't like their rivals, and Peter doesn't like the idea that fighting could all just be part of the town's plan to get what it wants. Clever demon that it is. So he avoids fighting, settling on dodging trouble while he decides who the enemy is, and finds himself in the aquarium. It's fine, at first, until he realizes he's not alone. He stands at the entrance to the bathroom, waiting for the prophet's dog to attack--but he doesn't. That is enough to make Peter linger and hear what John has to say.]

Scum? Some people said I was a hero.

[He tests Watson with the words, seeing if he really is stuck before he'll get closer.]

They didn't see you for what you... [John pauses.] Who the hell are you, even?

[He does sit forward, but in the dim light, Peter might be able to see that John's right arm is at an awkward angle behind him where it's hooked by a cuff to the piping.]

[The man must be trapped. He talks back but doesn't come after him, so Peter moves closer with the slow patience of a cat sizing up the situation. When he does, he catches sight of the strange turn of John's arm and sees that it's held fast. Good. He grins at that.]

Someone who ain't got his arm tied up. You get caught sleepin'?

[Yeah, Peter, taunt the dangerous man.]

Yer eyes don't see as good as you think they do.

[Nope. You don't get to know that he did this to himself, heretic. His tone turns to something deadpan when he replies.]

Considering your lot pulled one of them out, is that too surprising?

[His grin widens at that.]

I'm gonna cut out all o' them. From yer friends.

[He keeps his distance, but remains close enough to look John over.]

Woulda done the whole pack the last time I saw 'em, but they ran back to the shadows. But you ain't as strong as them.

[He's still human. Not the strange, corrupted shapes from the static that he was hunting.]

Ain't my doin', but I guess that means some people ain't caught the same bug. Lucky you.

[John doesn't say anything at first, just lunges suddenly, teeth bared and body straining against the hold the cuff has on him. The piping rattles and there's a cracking sound as the wall starts to give around it.]

They'll kill you first. You'll all be dead by morning.

[The loud rattle and sudden lunge make Peter lower his stance, ready for a fight. His eyes narrow and he bares his teeth, not unlike a wild animal in the face of danger. But there's amusement in his expression too. Cold and daring even though if John were free he'd be in trouble.]

Big words fer someone that got stuck in the bathroom. You ain't got a way to make sure of that.

[He settles back on his heels.]

If they coulda killed everyone, they wouldna grabbed you. But they did, so I guess they ain't so tough after all.

[He seems to debate on what to do with his trapped prophet-follower. Technically, John is a threat to him, but attacking a man without a fair fight isn't how Peter does things.]

They've tainted you.

Because I'm on the side that rips people's eyeballs out. Yeah. You're really sitting well there on the moral high ground, mate. Untainted.

[It's becoming intolerable, the implication that one of the heretics caught and locked him up like this.]

And just because I'm locked up doesn't mean the others are. There are more of us than there are of you. [A cruel smirk that's wholly uncharacteristic--though, Peter wouldn't know it--curls John's lip up.]

I know they've gotten four of your lot, at least. That's just the people who've passed through here tonight. What are you gonna do when a group comes for you? You'd look fine crucified.

[Watson spits the words back at him and Peter's eyes, lit by the strange inner glow, seem more obvious when backed by suppressed excitement.]

You are tainted. Yer sick. Even if you got friends, they're jus' gonna get caught too.

[But he's right about being outnumbered. If there are more prophet-touched adults running around, he'll have a hard time fighting all of them.]

Maybe I'll just bash yer other one in. That'll make it even, won't it?

[It would probably be easier to figure out why these ones were chosen if he knew more about them beforehand, but Peter isn't like the hunters. He doesn't research humans or their beliefs. He's a tracker. Right now, he wishes he did know, though, because he can't tell how much John believed before he became a follower. Then he could figure out what kind of meddlesome creature the scribble-eyed beast is.]

That's if your group c'n find me. What happens if I take out their eyes too? Huh?

[Can we take a moment?]

How the hell are you planning to bash an eye in? You bash in faces. Eyes you pop out or push in.

[Honestly, that's just ridiculous.]

I'd like to see you try, in any case. Get a little closer, hmm? You're awfully distant. Think you'll be able to get close enough to any of them either?

[The man with his arm cuffed to a pipe wants to talk smart words with him. Peter snorts at that. There's something to be said for the human's courage, but who wants to nitpick terms when it comes to beating someone up? What a nerd this guy is.]

You think you can do shit all chained up like that? What'cha gonna do, chew yer hand off?

[He raises his meat mallet, swinging it loosely in the air where he is just to show it off.]

Pretty sure it don't matter what you do if yer blind. You want t'lose yer other eye that bad?

I think you're staying back for a reason, son.

[That about covers everything.]

I don't kill kids. Or injured dogs. Ain't right.

[At least, he wouldn't kill them if they couldn't properly fight. He's stuck, though, deciding how sick Watson really is.]

Who's yer master?

[Well, good job inadvertently hitting on a button, Peter. John lunges again, the cuff cutting into his wrist and the wall cracking further as the piping is pulled. The doctor's voice is a snarl.]

I am no one's dog!

[That lunge is exactly what he wanted, although he didn't necessarily mean to get it. He stumbled into the response and considers it finally getting some truth, because Peter believes that only anger is raw enough to be truth when everyone is insane.]

Yer a collared mutt that got trapped and can't even hunt down a few little rats in the pantry. Got hurt chasin' one of 'em, even. And you want me t'take you seriously?

I chained myself up and this happened before, you arrogant little prick!

[Okay, he hadn't meant to say that, but this sinner is really starting to get to him. John continues to strain against the cuff, warm blood beginning to trickle down his fingers and drip onto the floor.]

[Peter laughs with a short, abrupt noise that comes from someplace honest, strangely enough. He stays at his distance, but seems relaxed.]

You chained yerself to that? For what? Naw, you just don't want yer pride all bruised. Sounds a lot better than you gettin' whupped an' tied.

Because I... [John stills, looking up at the boy as confusion overtakes ire. The boy who's not much older than Kid, by the look of him. John had done this to protect the sinners like Kid. Why had he done that? He's had more than one offer to get him out tonight. The sedatives have begun to wear off, which is why he's getting more vicious with this lad.]

It doesn't matter why I did it. [There's not quite the same forceful bite as before.] I would never let one of you heretics do this to me, though.

[Now that's a weird reaction. It fits with possessions, which Peter has dealt with before. And he still thinks that this man is just a possessed tool taken over by whatever is attacking them. He doesn't particularly care if they all kill each other, but it is annoying not to know the face of the beast itself.]

Heretic? You a church-goin' type?

No, but you're still a sinner. You want to destroy Norfinbury. We won't let you.

Well, puppy-dog, you sure ain't gonna stop me. That's just facts.

[But Peter isn't there to kill Watson.]

Who's "we", eh? Half yer friends are runnin' scared. You turned on 'em jus' as soon as the whistle blew.

I'm not a dog. [And the growl in his voice is back.] I've had four offers tonight to help me out of these damn things. I've got people who're coming back in the morning. I might be here tonight, but you'll wanna run and hide if you can in the next few hours.

And all of my friends have the right eyes. They're not like you people. [Except Bucky... and Alfie. No. They can't be his friends anymore. Not after the choices they've made.]

[He didn't take those offers, assuming he's telling the truth. Peter eyes John carefully beneath the mocking posture, looking for the best way to pick apart this trapped sample of the town's handiwork. He said that he was the one that chained himself up, too. Maybe it wasn't a lie.]

If you ain't jus' a dog, when why're you so damn hungry for the chase, huh? You got one job and that's it. Nothin' o' your own, nothin' but what you been made to do. A wolf'd turn around and bite a man for disrespect like that, but a dog don't know about disrespect.

You don't understand it. We have to protect Norfinbury from you people. It's already being destroyed by whatever's destroying it from the inside. It's corrupting you. I can see it in your eyes.

Well, yer town is a hole so who says it's worth savin'? Not like it's got anything good goin' for it.

[Peter watches John's strange, inhuman eyes as he speaks.]

You can't protect it. It's gonna go anyhow.

[EVENT] Lavender's Blue [open]

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