snowblindrpg | [log] Event: Metamorphosis, Part Three

[Frowning, Quark takes too step back.]

You're really hard to understand, um...Mister.

[He averts his eyes slightly. No matter how used to horrors one gets, melting orifices is still a lot for a small boy to subject himself to.]

I think...I think I might know who you're supposed to be, but I don't want to assume. It's really hard to tell.

[Roland stops again, frustrated. Come now, Quark! He can't control his appearance, and he isn't going to hurt you. But as it is rude to leave someone in the dark, he decides he won't force Quark to guess his identity:]

I̴̝̤͆͋t̷͎̣̋͐'̵̰̃s̶͇̲̈́ ̸̬͉̈́̔R̸̼̮̆̕ȏ̶͓͎l̵͇̽͝å̸̬̤̐ń̸͈͠d̶̤͘

[One thing he can't blame Quark for is his difficulty understanding him. It seems he'll have to speak in as few words as possible to be understood, loathe as he is to act the way he feels:]

̵͎̈́̉W̵̞̆̋ẹ̸̢̓ ̶̦̟̾͝w̵̩̓e̶͔͌ŗ̷̈́͋e̵̯̊ ̸̭̔͠ĉ̶̞̫͐à̴̳̗p̵͔̣͒t̶̼̖̀͒ŭ̵͎̮̇ŗ̶͌ẻ̸̱d̵̘͕̾̎.̵̨̱̋͠ ̴̰͋͂ͅḚ̷̉s̶̺̫̍̚c̸̭͉̓̑à̴̯̣͠ṗ̷̰͑e̸͈̔͊d̶̘̊.̵̭̖̾ ̵͓̈́̚ ̵̛͙͈͋I̷͍͋̄ ̸̥̓͝c̸̛̣ā̶̭̩m̶̺̈́e̶͇̓ ̴̢͌̎t̵͎̾ͅỏ̷̫ ̸͎̻͂ġ̷̙̓ḙ̶̓t̵͍̀͠ ̴̛̻h̷̠͠e̵̲̓͒ĺ̶͜͝p̶̙̂̇.̵̰͑

[We were captured. Escaped.

I came to get help.]

Oh! Mister Roland!

[His eyebrows shoot up, and he seems to relax just a little, since as much as he looks and sounds like an anomaly, he isn't speaking like one. Well, the fact that he's speaking at all is the strange thing, really.]

I dunno if there's an easy way that any of us will be able to help--have you found your traveling group yet? Do they know what happened to you?

[Finally, they were getting somewhere!

He was afraid that this transformation was unprecedented, but he's sure they could find a solution, given enough time. He'd never expected the healing process to be instantaneous. Roland has a back-up plan in case of emergencies, but there was no need to resort to that just yet.]

A̵̛̗̍m̵̠͍͋ế̵͚̣r̴̨̛̩̕i̵̪̘͒c̵̲̈ḁ̸̈́ ̸̰͗å̶͙̂ń̴̗̏d̸̟̫͊ ̸͕̑͝Ê̶̦n̴̗͕̈̎g̵̬̾l̵͙̞̄a̵̹͌͜n̸͖͑d̷̞̲̒̚ ̶̥̌w̵̮̉̕ḙ̶̾͘r̴͎̹̓́e̶̥̍̍ ̴͍͉̓w̵̫̠͝i̷͓̹̒t̶͕̯̿h̵͕̫̓ ̷̦̭́m̷̺͇͋ȅ̵̥.̵̧́͒͜ ̶͙̾. A̶͇͂̀ͅl̴̮͔̆m̶͇̖͋̚ŏ̸ͅs̶̲̀̑t̵͇͊ ̷̰̭͑3̸̀̕ͅ0̷̠̐͛ ̵͚̈́ó̸̮f̴͍͎͊ ̴͓̣͝ů̸̮̂͜s̶̰̈́̒ ̶̤̈́ị̵̏́n̷̼̓́ ̷͎̣͋ă̷̧̡͐ḻ̵͂l̸̪̉̄

[America and England were with me. Almost 30 of us in all. He was careful to take a census of the room, while he had the strength left to do so.

He feels compelled to draw closer to Quark, but manages to keep still, for now. Perhaps what remained of his human instincts were just eager to have Quark bring him into the bunker and out of the cold...]

Edited 2018-10-30 21:22 (UTC)

[As if sensing at least a part of Roland's thoughts, Quark wraps his arms more tightly around himself. He shakes one foot out of the snow as he tries to riddle out the clicking static of Roland's speech.]

Since Miss Diana has medical training, she kept watch over everyone's vitals--at least the ones inside the bunker. Everyone was normal...they're still normal. I mean, when they woke up.

[Woke up? Yes, they had woken up, once before-

For an instant, Roland makes the connection, but he immediately puts it from his mind, not willing to consider what that could mean, yet. Surely, Quark was talking about the first nightmare. Surely.

Clarification will certainly reassure him.]

Ẁ̶͕o̶̳̥͑̆̌̉ǩ̸̳̘ͅē̴̞͕̥͉̓̇̓ ̶̩̐͝ǔ̵ͅp̵̣̙̱͗̚?̴̖̇̅̆
̴̙̎̊́̇
̷̞͕̙̣̌̎̕Ẃ̶̟͙̺ͅh̴̲͊́̉e̷̠̔̕n̸̖̪̺͗̑͜?̸̦̋̕

[When?

Without intending to do so, his words come out in a threatening click. Inhibition destroyed, he staggers forward to close the distance, arms outstretched as if to grab the boy by his shoulders. He doesn't realize he is moving.]

Last night...

[Quark looks like he's about to say more, but he looks up from his shoe as Roland approaches, startled, and stumbles backward. His feet slip in the snow in his haste and he falls onto his back, dazed. Dizziness sets in like a wave crashing against a wall of stone, and Quark struggles and fails to regain his balance, his legs unable to find proper purchase.]

Stop!

[He can't. He isn't sure why. Even when Quark collapses and the sight should have torn at his paternal heart, he is driven forward. He has to lead. He has to guide his country. This, above all else, is paramount. He cannot allow himself to be distracted by a mere child, anymore.

This is the true President Crane. This is the decaying, bitter ghost of a man who failed his people.]

T̶̮͂͂h̴̩̀a̶͓̒͛ţ̷͂'̷̠̱̌͝ṣ̷̛ ̸̰̊̉i̶̪̅̑ͅm̶̺̊p̶̝̘̚o̷̫̗͂̔ș̶͔̎̅s̴͉̰̆ī̷̱͜b̵͎̀̄ľ̴̞̬̌ệ̴̮.̵͎̻̔
̴̣͐͌
̶̙͖̽D̸̀̓ͅơ̴̧͉͝n̷̰͊̉ͅ'̷̘̜̅t̷͍̽ ̵̛̮̭l̷̨̎i̶̡͋e̶͓̰̐́ ̷̩̎͌t̶̬̀õ̵̼ ̴̪͎͒̐m̷̗̒̚e̵̯̽.̵̺̊̔
̷̪̫̑
[Don't lie to me, like an authoritarian parent who would never take their child at their word. It simply wasn't possible that everyone in the bunker was alive and well this morning. He knew the people in that room had been there, last.

Because if everyone were still there, there was just no keeping his promise to save the people he suffered alongside.]

I'm not a liar!

[His voice strangles, tears squeezing at the corners of his eyes. He feels so cold but so hot, the tang of metal hitting his lips as his nose begins to bleed.]

Get back--get away from me!

[Disoriented, he grabs a fistful of snow and hurls it at Roland. Is this it? Is he going to die again, just like this? When he's been trying so hard to be safe, so nobody would ever have to worry? Stupid, stupid, stupid. What was he doing? He should've gone back inside and held the door shut.]

[Before the ineffectual snowball even vaporizes on his face, it's the sight of blood that, while it cannot stop him in his tracks, is able to slow his approach. He begins shaking his head, distressed, the ghost and the human sides of him fighting with eachother. The snow around him is painted with the vivid green of his insides.

He can't continue. He's an anomaly, now. And anomalies made humans ill, and Quark was just a boy.

-But he has to save everyone. He needs Quark to bring him into the bunker. He can't give up, no matter how dire things seem.

Pulling himself in different directions, he staggers and trips, wailing in deep frustration. He's so confused.]

Ṇ̷͍̟̈́o̵̺̳̘̳̻̦͉̯̍̔̍̀
̸͇͚̩̬̫̑͑
̵̡̮̣͚̳̦͕̔Į̶̼̳͒̋̿̅̈́̈̈́͗̚ ̸̩̦̹̉͊̕̕o̶̧͈͗͆͐͛͂̅̾̚̚n̶̛̥̼͔̥͂͐̃̓l̴̡̻͈̭̖̋͗̎͋̌̽̍̂ͅy̴͇̦̓̔͛̾̓ ̸̢̧̟̟̄̑̍͝ẃ̷̧͓̍̆́͌̎̌͘͝a̵̬̦͓͐̂̋͋̽̃̓̓͘͜n̵͓̬̼͕̠̥̓́̇͂̃̉̃͐͆ͅţ̷̬͈̗̰̗̳͚̺̿͒ȩ̸̢̪̲̬͚͎̯͆̏̔̉͘d̷̤̈ ̵̛̞͚̋͑͗t̷̺̾̔͆͋̓̎̾̀o̸̧̬̅͛̀̇͛̇̕͠͠ ̸̡͚̺͕̘̠̥̺̺̿̍̎̎ş̷̢̩̱̂̇͐̔͠a̸̪̩͎̫̺̰̗̺͛̔́́͝v̴̗̘̲͈̣͙͍̲͆ę̷͖̲̟̂̒͒̄̃̆̚ ̵̛̙̩̗̬̞̤̬̪t̴̳͈̜̉̀́͐̊́͐̍́h̴̨̬̰̘̦̼̣̍̑̉̽̅͂̚̚͜ẽ̶̥̫̅̈́m̷̛͙͚̗̩̮̰̤͖͖̓͋̎̀̓͋
[His speech is more unintelligible than usual, but he tries to explain he never intended to hurt anyone. He never wanted any of this to happen.]

[With the slight distance, Quark finds enough in him to sit up onto his knees, breathing heavily. He wipes shakily at his nose, smearing blood across his face and his sleeve alike. His eyes feel boggled, but he can live with it. He's had one ripped from his head and he's been fully blinded before, too. Those encounters were worse than this one.]

You can still help people. You just have to listen.

[Quark grimaces. He's angry, distrusting, afraid, and he knows he should use everything in him to bolt toward the bunker. But he's always been empathetic, too. He can't just...leave, can he? Not when Roland's acting like this.]

And you have to wait and stay away so you don't hurt anyone. We'll figure out a way to get you all back to how you're supposed to be, I'm sure we will.

[Roland would have been upset if Quark had run, futher emboldened to stalk the door to the bunker, but now that Roland's intentions have been understood, he is calm. This was an outcome that could satisfy his leadership responsibilities without hurting Quark, or the other humans he cared about. The cold no longer bothering him, he decides to stay crouched in the snow, fearful he might lash out again.

It's a strange feeling, losing control of onesself. He'd have to leave this to Quark, for now. He tries to nod, but all that happens is his head tilts and dumps radioactive waste into the snow.

There's just one thing he's worried about in this plan.]

D̶̞̟̂̕ô̵̡̨̠̦͚͛͗̎̓n̶̥͍͔͒'̸͕̫̭̪̍͑͝t̵̪̗͆̏͑ ̵̻̥̩̙̽̽̓̿͝l̵̃̌͗̇͝ͅë̵̪͓̤̰͈̋͂̚͝t̵̰̥̠̰͋̈͜ ̶̖͓́̐͊̕̕t̶̪͇̩̃͌̑͛ͅh̵̨͎̮̦̐̆̑̈́̄ě̵͙͔͆̍m̵̹̰͚̣̙̕ ̶̨̦̬̞̔͘ḱ̵̖͕̮ȉ̵̬͋ͅl̶̡̖͎͇̒l̷͚͍̩̻̜̊ ̸̡̡͕̬̲̽̈̋̽̕ŭ̶̖̉̓s̴͈̎̑̈́̈́͛
̸̯̬̟͍͊͛̋̒
̶̗̙̝̰͎̈́͛̈́̚Ỉ̴̧̼̩̙͖͗̈́f̸̙͆̄̀͋ͅ ̶̖͆̃t̶͈̾̍̎h̶̖͍͊e̸̯̼̣̱̦͛͋͛y̷̡̛̫̓̿̌͝ ̶̰̝͌̎̀f̸̢̤̬͆͌́i̶̱̋̓̔n̴̗͎̲̜̓d̷̳̥̞̬̖̾͋͗̍ ̷̞̮͖̓̏͜a̵̘̯̖͔̹̽ ̴̨̢̬͔̜́̓͠w̸̜̼̓́a̵̠̩̜͛͌́͊͘y̸̭͎͑̓́

[Don't let them kill us. He's heard it's impossible to kill an anomaly, but he's certain people might try. He knows for a fact that if the shoe were on the other foot, he'd want to purge them from Norfinbury, not understanding that the creatures haunting the town were people.]

I won't.

[He doesn't know if it's a promise that he can keep, but there's nothing else he could possibly say. Not when Roland is trying--is hurting. He feels his thoughts coming back together more clearly.]

You're just sick right now, you'll get better. I know all about being sick--the best thing to do is just make sure you're safe until we know what to do.

[log] Event: Metamorphosis, Part Three

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