snowblindrpg | [NETWORK] @Rdua ; Video ; DAY 58 (After Lockdown) [Open]

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[NETWORK] @Rdua ; Video ; DAY 58 (After Lockdown) [Open]

[It's slightly before lockdown when the video starts and for a long while it's just black since Rydia has so keep it against the wall to use it with her hands chained. There are coughs, there are small curses in another language and a couple of hisses, she probably had to fix a couple of things before being able to push the tablet away, keeping it in position with her feet, and being able to place it

I don't know if there's a list of the buildings that force you to leave but the funeral house is one of those. [coughs] I felt I had to leave around an hour ago and it keeps getting worse, I'm... scared. And if I lose control I apologize in advance for the mess I may make. [She pulls her arms back but he pipe she's tied to seems to resist well enough. ] I can't... leave. But it's a god thing, right? If anything happens I can record it now. [Cough] Sorry if the video will be long.

[The video is then pointed at the stall door and there is rests while the night passes and while at first she tries to keep track of when her fear increases unnaturally around 11 pm there's just silence on her part, even if her feet, wrapped in black stained yellow rainboots, slam against the wall a couple of times. It's probably a good thing others can't see her considering at some point she starts biting her own skin around the wrist ripping it off and trying to attack her own muscles, it's also a great thing that after less than a couple of minutes she finds herself unable to breath and she has to give up. It's again a good thing she can't be seen because Rydia literally spends half an hour gaping for air and weezing, she looks just miserable until midninght and that's when things start to get better. Her breathing returns more or less regular, she slowly calms down a bit and, finally, after almost three hours where she couldn't even pay attention to her tablet, she finally speaks again, ]

It looks like [cough] the worst part is over. I feel much better now [coughs]

[That's the point where the night actually begins, She spends the following hours in silence, the video is pointed at the door and you can hear breath heavily, weeze and try to repress her coughs as much as she can. It's a relief when, in the morning, everyone seems to leave, after the first ten minutes of complete silence Rydia starts coughing again, finally able to expell all the black stuff that condensated in her lungs. And, finally...]

Okay, now we know [cough] this won't kill us. Whatever they did earlier to me... and there are people. Sweet Ashura [coughs] I'm so exhausted.

[Still not really thinking about a way out for now.]

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[Steve sat up and watched all night. He's quite hoarse now, from coughing so much and being out in the snow all day yesterday and not getting any sleep, but he simply can't care about that.]

God, Rydia. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. [Cough cough cough.]

I'll come get you, I'll leave as soon as it's light enough to travel, but... if we can't stay safely at the funeral home... [COUGH cough cough.] It would take me a couple of days to get to you. You'd... you'd have to spend another night there.

...Hell. Hell and damnation.

Rydia if you don't want to stay another night, you might have to break or dislocate your thumb to slip your handcuffs.

Let's make one thing clear, Steve, it's not your fault. [And we're not going to mention every single cough because we both know they keep coughing anyway.]
I know I look young but I'm not a young distressed maiden, nor I'm in need for babysitting even if without my magic I may give that impression.
It's not your fault, don't feel guilty for something I did, okay? Please?

And stay safe where you are, I'm coming back, I've seen Spoiler's map and there is a house I can try to reach following the snow wall, once I'm there things should get easier.

[She pauses then, Rydia knows it'd be better if she could ry to stay one extra night and invstigate a bit more but she's staving, she needs to use the batroom and she's desperate for some warmth, sorry. Not to mention she doubts she'd resist another night.]

Ok, that sounds unpleasant. [Oh, how she hates physical pain] You have to tell me what to do.

[Steve thinks he's at least partially responsible, but now he's feeling guilty for feeling guilty. He sighs, nodding reluctantly.] OK. I'll try.

I know the house you mean, it's a good choice, if you keep the snow wall in sight you can't get lost. [He folds his arms, giving her a stubborn look.] But I am coming to meet you there. I don't want you traveling alone more than you have to, and in any case there's no point in you having to spend another night cold and alone.

God. It—it is unpleasant, yeah. [Steve scrubs his face with his hands. He's not super thrilled at having to do this.] Let's call that a last resort, are you sure you can't reach your keys somehow? [This is a bit of a dumb question; he assumes if she could've, she would've done so last night, when she was desperate to leave.] Or... do you have anything you can use to pick the lock? Paperclip, hair pin, bit of stiff wire? Or something you can use as a shim, some kind of flat, thin piece of metal you could get in behind the teeth of the cuffs? Or... any way you could slip the cuffs, maybe using something as a lubricant? Lotion, soap, even saliva?

[He's reaching, here... again, if the cuffs were loose enough to be slipped without breaking or dislocating her thumb, she probably would've done so already. Then again, she didn't go so far as breaking her thumb already, so there's always hope.]

[If Steve and Rydia thought that they were now Beckett's friends after a few days of travel together, they were wrong. But this is not the same as being apathetic to their fate - especially when he's developed a healthy respect for Rydia. Respect that she is earning yet again right now.

His voice is ragged, but the tone is soft. Simple, calm, pragmatic.]

If you can find anything to bite down on, do so. Biting your own flesh or pulling out hair are common hyperstress reactions - you can't do the latter, luckily, but try to avoid doing the former as well.

[Well, Beckett is now part of the too dumb to live trio. Maybe they're not friends but the team is real. Anyway, rydia sounds shaken while she replies, after all she was scared on her own and the building she's in isn't exactly helping. At least she can hear friendly voices, right?]

I have nothing but [Cough] I will try to stay sane enough to avoid, you know, the loss of parts of my body if possible.

[For a given definition of friendly, at least, although Beckett does maintain a very calm, comforting tone. Even the occasional unhappy coughing doesn't disrupt it too much.]

Do what you can. Bite your arm, if you must, not your fingers. [He stops for a breath, thoughtful.] We don't truly know what happens to those who stay overnight where they normally couldn't. There's no guarantee that you'll actually be hurt.

[And that is enough for her.]

Hey, I'd rather not bite myself if I can. And- we're about to find out? Maybe I should have picked a better place than the toilet but that's where I was when this... thing started to grow on me. You have no idea how appealing is the snow outside right now.

I have - ugh, pardon, that damnable smoke - I've felt the effects of places that exerts this kind of pressure before. There are techniques for combating it. How much can you regulate your breathing, right now?

Not so much. [Not in their current situation.] But I will welcome any suggestion with open arms, anything to keep myself busy right now.

It's worth a try. Close your eyes and try to time your inhales and exhales. Count up to four as you breathe in, and again as you breathe out. This is an effective mind-over-matter trick even for vampires - I assume it would be even more helpful for someone who actually requires breath. [He hopes so, anyway. Breathing is still a confusing experience.]

Otherwise, keep talking, if it distracts you. I will listen.

Do you truly believe it is a good thing to remain somewhere where you are not wanted? Perhaps the dead wish to rest at night as they did when they were living, unable to communicate such a desire to a guest who is rudely overstaying their welcome well into the evening.

It's either this or the snow. I apologize to the dead but if there's a chance I'd rather not join them in their eternal sleep.

[The smile is audible in his voice, creamy and amused.]

Then perhaps you should not have chosen a funeral home for your resting place this evening, it could give off the wrong message to a casual observer.

[She frowns and shakes her head]

Then the dead or whoever takes care of this place are to blame as well since from the outside this doens't look any different from any other building. I was lost and I found a building, I realized it was a morgue only exploring the place.

And was your ignorance only cured as evening fell? When knowledge of the dead and recently rotting came to you, did you not have any time left to seek alternative shelter for the night?

[He doesn't believe that for a second.]

[Steve is awfully hoarse but clearly irritated.]

She didn't, actually. Get off her case.

How do you know that for sure? Did you witness her struggles with your own eyes, did you see the wrath of the dead descend on her and do nothing to help, did you bar the doors against her escape?

I suppose nothing I will say will actually please you or convince you this really was my only option so I'll not even try to insist on it.

And thank you, Steve, but don't worry so much about me.

[Urgh.

Steve. Who would name their child Steve? It's such an awful name.]

It is not me you have to convince, only yourself and the restless spirits you have provoked with your presence. Thankfully, my wellbeing and safety do not hinge on those things. At least, I do not think that they do.

[He should be relieved. He is relieved. If only he wasn't so damned stressed and worried and infuriated at himself for allowing any of this to happen, maybe that would come through in the message he sends.]

[Instead, Rydia gets this. His voice is hushed, frantic and sharp, dangerously wavering as he tries to decide if he should be desperate, furious, or anguished.]

Why'd you have t' leave the house? Why couldn't you've jus' stayed there like I told you to? What'd I have t' do to convince you that wanderin' 'round in a blizzard while yer critically ill is a bad idea? Please let me know, Rydia, 'cause I'd love t' know better fer next time.

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[NETWORK] @Rdua ; Video ; DAY 58 (After Lockdown) [Open]

@CaptSteveRogers; video

Video

permavideo; yes fair enough let's just take a certain amount of coughing as given XD;

@Mnemosyne; voice; early in the night

Video | @Rdua

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@nvcr; audio

Audio | @Rdua

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threadhopping, sorry, STEVE'S ANNOYED; @CaptSteveRogers, audio

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voice - @claytonator