[log] Event: Howl [open]

[snowblindmods]

Characters: everyone
Location: The sort of location M.C. Escher wishes he'd thought up.
Date: nights 211 & 212
Summary: I hunt for you with bloody feet across the hallow'd ground
Warnings: potential for violence, death, and psychological horror; please note in subject lines if any specific warnings come up!

like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
I want to find you tear out all your tenderness

Comments

[devoutish]

Is that the closest one? This room we're in here is smaller than that.

[Which means they might be well-hidden, for now. That would give them time to come up with a game plan.]

[spoileralert]

Well, I mean, there's one a couple feet ahead of us, straight up, and upside down, but it doesn't seem to have noticed us? So I'm not sure what that means.

[devoutish]

That's the next story up.

[Which makes getting away from the staircase extra important.]

I walked up a wall earlier. Upside-down monsters aren't so surprising. Come on.

[He tugs her forward, in the direction of the first monster that she'd pointed out.]

You know what we need to do?

[spoileralert]

[ Yeah, she was afraid he'd say that. This is all so utterly insane. ]

There's a thing in their mouths I need to grab. I just need you to get me there in one piece.

[ She hops along, using him as a crutch. ]

[devoutish]

We need to work out a way to distract them. This one that we're walking towards, what does it look like?

[spoileralert]

Um....

[ How to describe this. ]

Like if an Anglerfish mated with several person-sized tarantulas and then was eaten by a... I dunno, a sea pig? Something gooey. And for some reason it also grew, like, sloth talons at the end of its way too many arms.

[devoutish]

I don't know what an anglerfish is. How large is it? Has it got eyes?

[spoileralert]

It's as big as you are, at least. I think it has three eyes.

[devoutish]

We'll go after them. They'll be a weak spot. You damage the eyes, distract it - and when I can see it, I'll get the light.

[spoileralert]

Sound plan. But I don't have a lot of maneuverability right now. I don't know if I can get at the eyes without being gutted. Is there anything around I could use, anything I could throw?

[devoutish]

There's nothing.

[In terms of actual things, it's just a blank landscape.]

We could leave this one for someone else, I suppose. Find a smaller one.

[He doesn't sound wild about the idea - they need to get those lights. But they won't be of any use at all if they're dead.]

[spoileralert]

[ She thinks about this. ]

What about your shoe?

[devoutish]

I don't want to risk losing the shoe.

[spoileralert]

[ That's fair. She thinks harder. ]

How are you at tying splints?

[devoutish]

Good enough for our purposes. What are you thinking?

[spoileralert]

I'm thinking this is probably going to hurt, but throwing splints can't be much harder than throwing knives.

[devoutish]

That's a ridiculous fucking idea.

[And it's something he'd probably try to talk her out of if he liked her more. But aside from how it'll definitely hurt her, it's not a bad idea. Splints are better weapons than shoes, and even if they're damaged, they'll be much easier to replace back in Norfinbury.]

Right. We'll do it, then.

[spoileralert]

It absolutely is.

[ She agrees in a casual way, one that says she is absolutely going to do it whether he likes it or not.

But he likes it, so she figures she can at least get a little closer before she has to mangle her poor leg. ]

[devoutish]

Come on.

[He'll hop her as close as he can.]

Tell me when I need to step back.

[spoileralert]

Will do.

[ She finds it's comforting to talk, to keep the silence from joining with the darkness and overwhelming her.

She waits until the last possible moment to pull away from him. ]

Now.

[ She dives for the ground, hitting on her good side and rolling onto her back to yank the cloth ties off her splint. She shoves them into her belt before taking one wooden chair-leg in each hand and flinging them with deadly aim at the monster's eyes. ]