snowblindrpg | [log] Event: Lavender's Green, Part Two [open]

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[log] Event: Lavender's Green, Part Two [open]

Characters: everyone
Location: mysterious, white hallways
Date: Day 193-194
Summary: Find friends. Get lost. Don't look.
Warnings: Potential for gore and psychological horror. Please note any specific warnings in your subject lines!

While confusingly similar, the area is split into a few different sections:

The Core
The hallways here are narrow and twist at a rapid rate. With how dazzlingly white everything is, it's easy to not realize you're coming on a turn and slam right into the walls. There are no rooms here--no one starts here, though they may find it while they wander. At the center is a large, round area, like the center of a spiral. There's a lot of air pressure here.

The Inner Hallways
The largest area, filled with dead ends, gentle slopes and twists, and, occasionally, difficult-to-see drops where a higher hallway intersects with a lower one without a wall to separate them. The whole place tastes vaguely like blood. Most rooms are here--most people start here.

The Outer Hallways
The outer ring of the ball of yarn. It's not as thick with halls and twists as the other two areas, leading to a lot more boring walking in one direction. It's totally possible to circle around the same path multiple times without realizing it, as everything is so similar here. Occasionally, footsteps can be heard just outside the farthest walls. Sometimes, something breathes. There are a few rooms here--some people will start here.

Remember to note what kind of eyes your character has in their top level!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ah. So this is Pierce. Natasha feels suddenly very, very pleased to see him pinned to the floor, but she feigns confusion.]

You think he had something to do with this? Why?

Look around you, this whole place--

[He cuts off, words choppy and panic rising. He knows this isn't HYDRA, he's not that far gone, but he won't rule out the possibility of them being in league with one another. He can't use his other hand to flip Pierce, because he only has the one now, so he's forced to release his hold just a little to try and flip him over so he can look in his eyes.

It infuriates him down to his bones how very calm the man still is, always has been. It makes him want to beat him to a bloody pulp right here and now, it makes him want to submit.]

[The fact that Romanov wasn't surprised by his name was a good indication that she had been informed of their association. That cleared up a few details that he had been considering, but now he was in a right pickle when it came to his position. His bruised ribs probably weren't all that helpful either, especially as he resisted being flipped over.

He turned his head, searching for the left arm with his eyes. Searching for a sign of weakness behind his calm.]

Off.

[Natasha crosses her arms, studying Pierce for a moment.]

You certainly seem calm, Pierce.

[It's one word, but it's the tone in which it's given. An order, no smarmy suggestion, and some part of him reacts instinctively. He moves, shifting off and away, before a look of horror flickers across his face at the fact he just obeyed that man.

He tries to cover it, to reach down and try and grab hold of his shoulder to haul him up and slam him against the wall, as if he meant to.]

[He was pushing himself up gingerly before the rough help was offered, and then he was slammed into a wall. His glasses were askew, and he lifted a hand clearly and slowly to right them. Normally he would put them in his jacket pocket since he wasn't reading, but they were likely to be broken with all this rough manhandling.]

And would anxiety and paranoia assist me in making my way through this maze? If it would, your partner in crime would already be out.

A bit of healthy caution, perhaps. It's not the most intelligent idea to whistle and make needless noise when we have no idea what's in this maze, is it?

[It writhes under his skin that Natasha is just talking to him normally, as if he's anyone she might meet here, but he's not so far gone as to suspect her just yet. The paranoia whispers and eats at him, but he's still trying to fight it.]

Don't engage him.

[It's a low warning. Conversation is Pierce's weapon of choice, he'll generally win. The look he gives Pierce is very obviously the sort of look a hunter gives prey, deciding whether to kill it outright or not.]

Humming. I whistled when I was a young lad, but it's too obvious to give myself away. Besides, most of the people I've met here have been in the same position I am.

[Even while he was talking, he was watching the Soldier holding him hostage. It seemed that the base instinct to act at his order was still in place; it was good to know.]

I'm not talking about the people.

[Come on, new kid, keep up. But after that, Natasha glances over at Bucky, making it clear she'll follow his lead on this.]

[He doesn't know what to do.

He needs to get out of here as soon as possible, he's nearly certain that they're going to try and program all of them and he won't let that happen. He wants to hurt this man dearly, he wants to kill him, he wants to watch him squirm. He can't afford to let him go, and he can't take the delay of dragging him along. Killing him would make the most sense, even if it is a temporary reprieve.

But he doesn't want to be that man. If he kills Pierce in cold blood, isn't that another victory for him after all this? Proof that Bucky is still the Soldier underneath it all.

The conflict is growing on his face, he doesn't know what lead to take on this.]

Natasha...

[It's small and strangled, almost a plea asking her for help. It's a leap of faith to trust her in this, when he has only trusted her up to a certain point so far, but he has no other choice.]

[He's very aware of what she meant, but he hadn't met any of the potential nasty things that this place held. For now, his luck on that matter had held, but he was the first to admit that it was only a matter of time. He valued the people he had met more than the abominations that he might; one set was far more useful to the cause than the other.

He watched the conflict unfold, keeping his expression passive and simply allowed the Soldier to work through it. Let all those dilemmas build up to some boiling point. There was always a choice after all, especially in a place like this.

His gaze flicked to the Widow, watching her reaction to the plea.]

[For all she's changed since defecting, Natasha isn't always a merciful person. She'd let Bucky kill Pierce in a second if he chose to, if it would make him feel better. That's not really an option here, though, because he's almost guaranteed to revive, and she knows he could easily make Bucky's life a living hell if pushed.

Still, her focus is on Bucky, not Pierce, and she keeps her voice steady and calm.]

We can bring him along.

[It feels as if she's giving him an order, even though she's clearly not, and in this instance that calms him. It takes the decision of his ultimate fate out of his hands for now. So he nods, and finally takes a proper step back.]

You walk in front of us. You try to run, I will take you down. Understand?

[His eyes flicked between the pair, and he didn't move a muscle as he filed away that information to ponder later. How deep did this connection go? She was not the Natasha that he knew, which made her possibly even more dangerous. Not someone to be taken lightly in either case.

He stepped from the wall, straightening his suit collar.]

Oh yes, I understand. Charmed by it too. [He turned and began to head the direction that he had been going before he had so rudely been tackled in the first place.]

We are very charming.

[Natasha isn't afraid of Pierce, but Bucky is making it very obvious he is. She's trying to balance that out, to stay nonchalant to give him an anchor.]

[It's such a good job that she's there, it is helping balance him out. Not a lot, but enough that he doesn't just leap on Pierce again.

He lets Pierce get ahead by a few steps so that he can talk to Natasha in an undertone and hopefully not be heard.]

I don't know what to do, Natasha.

[His hearing wasn't what it used to be, but he wasn't a stupid man. He knew they were talking, and he was certain to tilt his head enough as if he were listening to the whispering. White noise, nothing more, but it was still useful to know that the Soldier needed a handler in the first place. Not all was as it seemed or it was exactly as it seemed in some cases.

Unperturbed by the current situation - relishing it even - Alexander walked as if he hadn't been disturbed and tackled in the first place. He kept one hand on the wall to give him an idea of sudden changes in direction but otherwise, he kept to himself. Planning but more recalling old protocols.]

[Natasha moves closer to Bucky, close enough that their shoulders brush. She pitches her voice low, almost a whisper, and she's certain there's no way Pierce can hear it unless he has super senses the town didn't strip.]

We keep an eye on him.

[He sees that tilt of the head and it makes him bristle, probably pretty obviously where Natasha is touching him, but he doesn't retaliate yet.]

Thank you.

[A pause, voice lowering even further to keep Pierce from hearing.]

For having my back.

[Unconcerned with the pair behind him whispering like little birds, he shifted his backpack off of his shoulders as he walked and dug through searching for some water. Best to keep hydrated, he supposed. It was going to be a long and exciting journey to the middle of the maze.]

Of course.

[Natasha watches Pierce pull a bottle of water out of his pack, then raises her voice again for him to hear.]

So, Pierce, why don't we get to know each other?

[He would seriously advise against this, Pierce is the last person they should engage in conversation with. He's an expert at twisting things his own way. But he just walks beside Natasha, listening, watching.

He'll trust her to know what she's doing. For now.]

[He didn't pause in navigating further into the maze, keeping one elbow out so that he was in constant contact with the wall. One nasty surprise was enough for the time being.]

No need, Miss Romanov, I already know plenty about you. Your offer is kind though.

[Natasha smiles, something mocking about the expression.]

Oh, do tell.

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