snowblindrpg | [log] Event: Breaking Down [open]

[ Royce yanks Alfie up by the ankle, holding him high up in the air, upside-down. He makes a sort of yowling, victorious sound, grabs Alfie by the chin with his free hand, and plucks the light out from his mouth, watching it shiver and distort between his slender fingers.

It feels warm. Just for a moment. Royce drops Alfie to the floor. ]

[John's body sags for a moment. It's over. The cloak has Alfie's light. He wants it for himself. He wants it for Alfie. He wants it away from that thing. But here they are. With one last burst of strength, the dog surges up and leaps again at the cloak, just trying to knock the light from his hands.]

[ Mar damn this dog - Royce has always hated dogs and this one is no exception. Royce lets out a panicked sound as the light nearly slips away from him, but he grasps it more firmly and manages to press it to where his face should be - swallow it.

It's not enough. It's good, but he wants more, and god, if this stupid dog had one, he'd - he'd...

Royce wavers, not moving from where the dog has pinned him to the floor. What was he doing? ]

Who are you?

[John can feel his body rebelling against the simple act of standing. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. But he needs to know who this anomaly is. Alfie deserves retribution for his light, and John needs a name.]

[ There's a long pause, as Royce tries to remember. ]

I'm... [ He starts, shifting jerkily. ] Duster. Royce. I was...

Royce?! He's your best friend, you bastard! Your best friend!

[Anger takes over, the dog takes over. John isn't there anymore. He just tries to tear into the cloak and will keep attacking until Royce either escapes (easy enough if he can just get out from under the paws) or he can't move anymore. The hound will leave him be after that.]

[ Ow - ow.

His best friend - here, yes, that's not a lie, and that's why it hurts. John is gone and the beast is what rips into Royce, tears pieces off from the cloak and spits them to the ground. Royce doesn't try very hard to get away at first, thrashing a bit under the snapping jaw, and then, when it hurts too much, when he thinks he might die, instincts kick in. Royce latches his knife-teeth into John's paw and rips at it before scrambling away.

He drags himself off to lick his wounds. And he waits, hidden away, watching lights and other monsters wander through - whether he goes for more or not, that's not important.

In the morning, Royce watches Alfie's body like a hawk. Alfie's out, unconscious, and it was Royce's fault. He tries his very best at first to keep Alfie warm, but he can't stay still, can't think. He's a monster and that's just... how his brain works.

Alfie will find him either curled up around his feet, trying very hard not to move, or crawling around on the ceiling restlessly. ]

[Alfie comes to slowly a day later, spread out on the floor of the house they'd started out in. Being knocked out by the Royce-monster hadn't caused any lasting issues, as far as he can tell. His ribs are more tender than usual and have probably been set back a bit in their healing process, and there's a deep ache in his shoulder that will turn into a sharp pain when he eventually tries to move it - but that's all from falling to the ground and trying to crawl away, not from the attack itself. That means that Royce hadn't ripped him apart after he'd fallen unconscious - or, if he had, he's been put back together again.

He lies very still at first, gathering his bearings. He's inside. He's freezing (but when isn't he freezing?). There's a heavy, hard weight on his feet that's actually rather nice, because it keeps them warm. At first, the only indication that he's awake is a slight change in the rhythm of his breathing. But after about half a minute, he twitches an arm, and then a leg, letting out a groan.]

[ Royce jolts slightly at the arm twitch, and immediately lifts up and away from Alfie as carefully as he can. He might leave a few scratches, but that's unavoidable. He also moves as far away from Alfie as he can, to the ceiling, jittering and distorting.

He feels hazy. Like he could protect Alfie or hurt him, and he's not sure which one is going to win out. ]

Royce.

[If he's going to need to run again, he honestly doesn't think he can do it now.]

Have your light. [ Royce manages, raggedly. The black ooze from his torn up cape-body drips slowly from the ceiling but vanishes before it hits the floor. ]

Yeah. Yeah, I gathered that.

[His voice sounds a little dry, but not angry.]

You're not gonna come after me again?

[ Royce hisses a little and slides back further, bunching up in the corner of the room. ]

Don't know. Will leave. [ It's hard to talk. He doesn't technically have a mouth. ]

Don't leave.

[He grabs the leg of an arm chair, using it to haul himself into a seated position. It hurts, but he manages.]

[ He makes the sound of knives scraping against thick, heavy metal, digging the sharp almost-nails of his shadow-y cloak hands into the ceiling. ] Don't want to hurt you. Not much control.

You got the light. That's what you wanted, yeah?

[He moves towards standing now, still using the chair as support.]

[ He doesn't answer. That is what he wanted, but not - not like this. He pulls the bit of him that's dripping in to try and stop it from doing so. It's the most human he's felt since this started. ]

How long was I unconscious? How long have you been like this?

[The injuries are par for the course, but Royce's current state is worrying.]

Full day. [ He's starting to lose his lucidity again, though he's trying to hold onto it as much as he can. Alfie, he has no interest in, but there have to be others around here that he can steal from. One light wasn't enough. ]

Well-- it can't go on forever.

[He hopes.]

[ Royce extends one claw - it's very Dementor-like - and inches a little closer. Maybe if he keeps trying to talk it'll get easier. ]

Hhh. [ Royce tries, and then shudders, distorting for a moment. ]

[Once he's standing, Alfie reaches out and gives Royce a little pat on his knife-claw-hand-thing. It's okay, friend.]

[ He isn't expecting it - and while it does feel reassuring, Royce still yanks that claw back hurriedly. Mostly because he doesn't want Alfie to get hurt. Or like, pass out again from touching him. ]

Hhhh. [ Royce tries again, and then makes a frustrated sort of sound before dropping down off the ceiling, hitting the floor and hiding under that chair Alfie used to stand up. He finally manages: ] Hhhhurts.

Yeah.

[Poor Royce.]

Are you cutting yourself with those knives, mate?

[He can't see what's under them - if there's skin, or if it's metal all the way down.]

[ Royce lifts his hand - or his cloak... parts, whatever. He lifts it enough so that Alfie can see under it. There's nothing really there at all - it appears that Royce is just physically a cloak with a weird human indent in it, though when he moves the fabric it makes a clanging sound, like someone with a pocket full of knives. They're not visible, though. ]

Mmm. [ He hums in confirmation. ] Can't see them.

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