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thisavrou_log2017-07-09 01:05 pm
pillz) wrote in thisavrou_log2017-07-09 01:05 pm
The Demon Plot: DEATH OF GRINDING MADNESS [July Player Event]
Who: Ensemble production, all individuals who opted in to the plot
When: July 9-21
Where: Two inhabited planets around the Ingress
What: The demon plot kicks off, in which malevolent shadow beings, copies of existing characters, begin to materialize and harass the PCs across the worlds. Plotting post is here, and a network post will go up within the next 2 days from several PCs advising on how to end the plot.
Warnings: Violence, psychological themes, possibly past trauma, etc.
When: July 9-21
Where: Two inhabited planets around the Ingress
What: The demon plot kicks off, in which malevolent shadow beings, copies of existing characters, begin to materialize and harass the PCs across the worlds. Plotting post is here, and a network post will go up within the next 2 days from several PCs advising on how to end the plot.
Warnings: Violence, psychological themes, possibly past trauma, etc.
Death of Grinding Madness
The Demon Plot
(mild spoilers for The Raven Cycle)
The Demon Plot
(mild spoilers for The Raven Cycle)
On July 9, a demon begins to make its way through the Ingress, summoned through by a shitty teenager.
July 9-12
Harrying
Harrying
It's innocuous in the beginning. A movement in the corner of your eye, a shadow through a curtain-- merely a tree. But then the shadow figures begin to emerge into full being. Black-eyed wraiths that look like enemies, friends with whom you've had past conflict, or even you yourself. At first, it's merely harrying, minor harassment. Threatening gestures, broken gestures, jump scares.
Pursue them, and they disappear-- you might even catch a glimpse of how. They melt down into black slime, racing away across floors, through sewer grates, up walls, impossible to follow. By now, the worst of the climate freeze is over, but residual ice does pose a needles extra obstacle.
Pursue them, and they disappear-- you might even catch a glimpse of how. They melt down into black slime, racing away across floors, through sewer grates, up walls, impossible to follow. By now, the worst of the climate freeze is over, but residual ice does pose a needles extra obstacle.
July 12-15
The Violence Escalates
The Violence Escalates
In the days that follow, the situation only gets worse.
Sporadic harassment turns into outright attacks. The targeting is unmistakable. The shadow beings who can speak tell cruel tales of animosity, spite, even hatred. They are as deadly with their hands or strange powers as their doppelgangers are, and worse, they're functionally indestructible. Rip off one's head and it merely reforms out of sticky black ink. Limbs regenerate just as easily. The being might dispell for a few hours, but no doubt— it'll be back, if not to hurt you then someone you know.
The Savrii begin to notice. It's hard not to. While there is hardly an epidemic of panic, the disruptions are hard to miss-- broken windows, screams, random violence. Soon, the authorities begin to open safehouse facilities at which characters can seek shelter.
Sporadic harassment turns into outright attacks. The targeting is unmistakable. The shadow beings who can speak tell cruel tales of animosity, spite, even hatred. They are as deadly with their hands or strange powers as their doppelgangers are, and worse, they're functionally indestructible. Rip off one's head and it merely reforms out of sticky black ink. Limbs regenerate just as easily. The being might dispell for a few hours, but no doubt— it'll be back, if not to hurt you then someone you know.
The Savrii begin to notice. It's hard not to. While there is hardly an epidemic of panic, the disruptions are hard to miss-- broken windows, screams, random violence. Soon, the authorities begin to open safehouse facilities at which characters can seek shelter.
July 15-18
The Golem
The Golem
On July 17, something horrific begins to happen— several shadow beings merge to form a massive golem in Kauto R1. It is a grotesque, horrifying spectacle, of limbs and eyes and pulsating flesh. It reaches almost sixty feet in height. Combined together, this shadow creature is considerably less intelligent than the individual beings were. However, it is also immensely strong and regenerates just like the smaller ones did.
Within the mall, hundreds of daytime shoppers are trapped within. Luckily, they have food and climate control. Perhaps you're one of them-- or perhaps you're trying to get in to provide medical care.
In the meantime, the attacks from the individual shadow beings don't stop. Despite the intelligence exhibited by some, all of them seem mindlessly bent on tormenting their targets until they are killed.
Within the mall, hundreds of daytime shoppers are trapped within. Luckily, they have food and climate control. Perhaps you're one of them-- or perhaps you're trying to get in to provide medical care.
In the meantime, the attacks from the individual shadow beings don't stop. Despite the intelligence exhibited by some, all of them seem mindlessly bent on tormenting their targets until they are killed.
July 18-21
The Sacrifice
The Sacrifice
On the 9th day, a network post goes up (link pending, will be OOCly forward-dated to July 10th latest) revealing how to remove the invincibility of the attackers.
And by the 21st, the remaining beings utterly vanish without explanation— unless you happen to bear witness to the events that take place at St. Monmouth.
And by the 21st, the remaining beings utterly vanish without explanation— unless you happen to bear witness to the events that take place at St. Monmouth.
no subject
It's far from ideal. The place is packed, full of valuables, books, delicate phials, you name it. I know it's more important to get Dorian back but I'd like to leave as much of the place in tact as possible. If it's possible at all.
It's also far from ideal for fighting in. There isn't much room to maneuver.
[Nyx gives a helpless shrug and looks at the two older men. He's always been a damned good soldier but he never felt like much of a leader, even if the other guys looked up to him. It's good to have these two here, he thinks.]
no subject
So his reply is predictably practical, born from his sense of situational triage. ]
He's not gonna be happy about it, but his safety comes first. [ What a brute, Venom Snake. His blood-red bionic waves idly, cutting through air. ] Being discreet isn't going to be an option, so collateral damage is inevitable.
[ A dry breath, and a cant of his head. ]
If he asks, tell him I sanctioned it.
[ Because of course Venom would. He knows Dorian would expect that from him. ]
no subject
Granted while they have a much better visual, it also reveals the horrors within, blood on the walls, bodies that were now empty husks, all of Dorian's beautiful things splattered with red and covered with an inky slime residue. There was certainly going to be a lot of cleanup on the real Dorian's part, not that he was looking forward to it. Of course, he's not yet aware that he's not looking forward to it.
From the main room comes a familiar voice.]
Tactics, tactics...oh, gee Dorian, what are they going to do?
[Now he's taunting them, but that's really just the start, the fact that he's gotten, at least a few of the people that the mage cares about under one roof is part of his ongoing plans. It's the aim of his kind, after all.]
It really is touching that you came all this way for little return.
[ooc: as a PSA this Dorian is fully capable of using blood magic, and blood magic can be used to do practically anything, I do not intend to use it for much of anything, but if you want shadow!Dorian to use it for any reason feel free to let me know what you would like for him to do. He's going to use Dorian's normal magic, however, though he'll probably be too cocky to use it effectively.]
no subject
Maybe I can keep him talking while you two find Dorian.
[They'll probably all have to fight those things.]
Be careful. He said he's willing to do things Dorian wouldn't. And I know Dorian's capable of some pretty heavy stuff. He holds back because he doesn't want to use anyone as a resource.
[At least that's how Kaz took it.]
feel free to move nyx around and do terrible!things to him
[This is said distractedly, under his breath, as he assesses the situation for just a moment. Nyx moves quickly without much thought to strategy at this point. It's partly because there is nowhere for him to hide or maneuver in the cramped space.
But mostly, it's because the space is unnerving him more than he'll admit even to himself. The mist, the shadows, the blood. There have been weird things in Thisavrou he's been through but it's been months since the fighting and wars back on his world. He's not rusty, he's kept his body fit and keen, but it's that emotional backdraft Nyx is struggling with.
My life means nothing. The future means everything.
With a grimace he warps forward in an electrical flash of ash, his Kukris blade in hand to slash his way through the first set of shadow beings.]
likewise tbh, feel free to rough V up 8')
Nyx takes point, using whatever magic he has at his arsenal to blink in and out of view to dispatch the first of their assailants. This is new territory for Venom— which isn't to say that he hasn't dealt with vaguely supernatural hostiles, but he had the advantage of being in open terrain and the luxury of studying some of their actions before jumping into the fray. He has neither of these right now, and he also ideally has three other people to pull out of this situation alive.
So he stays alert, making sure to divert his attention to both Nyx (in front of him) and Kaz (behind him) while he searches for Dorian, rifle poised and kicking against his shoulder once, twice, to dispatch one more shadow being that'd come up to Nyx's side. ]
no subject
[And the villain makes his appearance at the top of the stairs behind the safety of his barrier, so very close and yet out of reach. For the moment at least. Taking note of what Nyx has done to his precious creations a frown turns down the corners of his mouth, a look of mock displeasure.
He has a limited number of those things, Nyx, you really shouldn't be too quick to take them out...and you too Venom, naughty.
Looking at the trio laying siege to his lair he assessed them individually, eyes falling on Kazuhira first.]
The man with the plan.
[Venom.]
Mister responsible.
[And Nyx.]
Try hard. You know they were barely in their infancy before you dispatched them.
[His gaze sweeps back to Kazuhira.]
You're right though, I can do things that Dorian won't do, because he buys into being demonized, he doesn't tell you about all of the horrible things that happen to mages in his world...not that it's terribly important. I can give you anything that you want and don't say "Dorian" that would just be dull. That's something, isn't it.
[He gestures broadly at Kazuhira.]
I can give you your body back and why not, you seem out matched, I could make this a fair fight for you.
[To Venom.]
Your eye, the shrapnel.
[Nyx...now Nyx was a bit trickier.]
Mmm...your independence, what do you want?
Also same here, btw. Have at.
There's a reason why technically I still don't have an arm. Yeah, now that I can have the real thing back? Sometimes I think about. It might be nice being a whole person again.
But I have these phantom limbs because I don't deserve a limb back. They're gone because of the men I failed.
[He's only fighting them enough to get closer to 'Dorian' himself. To keep him distracted. His sentences and conversation are broken by the grunts and breath that come with quick strikes, motions that he's lucky he had a chance to practice with John so recently or he would have just stepped in over his head.] He's let me know some things, about how hard it is for him. The guy that he's bound to. [If that's what you call it.]
[He's putting himself in a little danger, but he's hoping he can make this shadow Dorian want to prove a point besides outright trying to kill him. And he's hoping he'll have back-up.]
no subject
It's disturbing because he does want his independence, almost more than anything. And if he wants it that much, he has to wonder if the offers made to Kaz and Ahab are just as disturbingly accurate. Part of him wonders if the real Dorian knows this, if he'll remember it. Nyx hopes not.
He warps behind another, shoves it aside and Ahab dispatches it quickly. Nyx warps again, and again, leaving wafting trails of bright sparks in the air each time. Another shadowy figure is downed, and another. Two came towards Kazuhira and Nyx was quick to slide in and shield them both.]
no subject
So he's not at all surprised when the offer that his friend's shadow makes is the replacement of his eye, the removal of his 'horn'. If there was ever a time when those cosmetic traits mattered, it was a long time ago; short-lived.
There's no bartering that Venom cares to engage in, so he continues with his progression towards the stairs in silence. Nyx is doing a three-man job with his instant teleportation, so Venom entrusts Kaz's protection to him for the time being— the nearest figure coming towards him is met with a swift one-two of his hands, real and bionic, before being bodily flipped over a shoulder.
The body crashes into some expensive-looking furniture, along with some rare-looking... whatever Venom's just destroyed. Oops.
Dryly, to the impostor Dorian: ] He's not gonna be happy that you did this.
[ Speaking as if getting his friend back is a certainty, which it is for him. ]
i'm sorry he's so evil ;A;
[Forget the queen of shade you thought you knew, there is a new queen in town and it is Shadow! Dorian.
And Shadow!Dorian looks like he's becoming just a touch agitated by how simple this is for them, oh, he could engage in combat if he wanted to, easily enough, but that would require taking a calculated risk and leaving the staircase unmanned and his barrier at their mercy. He's certain that with enough pummeling Nyx could wear it down and therein lies the problem he has to confront. The mock mage is also aware that he's being engaged, on some level, in distracting tactics and this simply could not be.
Venom's crashing about and breaking furniture grabs his attention and changes his trajectory.]
I've had a thought, you seem to be having far to easy a time of this...you need a challenge after all and I do not require permission. [Instead of asking if Kazuhira wanted his arm and leg back he simply gave them back. His blood reserves swirling around Kazuhira's missing arm and leg, replacing the prosthetic limbs with real one, whether temproary or not.] You might want to get the hang of those quickly, you're going to need them in the oncoming battle.
[Though what he meant by that didn't become clear until he fixed his attention on Nyx.] You know, the reason so many people fear blood magic in his world isn't because of the magic itself, but because there are things about it not understood...for example, one can take control of anothers blood in order to puppeteer them...like this.
[This creature was in Nyx's blood now, leaving his mind mostly aware of his actions...everything except for his voluntary responses.] Nyx, my darling, you're not going to like this very much, but I'm going to have to ask you to attack your friends now.
[While Shadow!Dorian could control Nyx's response, in that the man couldn't violate his command, the one thing he couldn't do is control how Nyx attacked his companions. He didn't know the man's magic and therefore he didn't know how to use it or how to make Nyx use it.]
Perhaps if you make them scream loud enough Dorian will hear it. [The Shadow then turns his eyes on Venom as if he's trying to seek out a particular weakness.] Feeling confident Ahab?
It is fine! Make us hurt.
[These monsters are slowly chipping away at the fragile ego that he took too long to rebuild.]
The real Dorian wouldn't want me to tear other people down to make myself whole again.
[He had been briefly tempted by that offer to grow his limbs back before, but if there was ever something that set him firmly against it, it's this moment.]
[But then he sees Nyx being taken advantage of, and Kaz has to choose. Go after Dorian's shadow? Or go after Nyx and give Ahab more free reign. Well, he doesn't know if he can get past that shield.]
[So when the shadow turns to Ahab that's when Kaz lunges. Even a shadow has to keep his attention mostly on one thing, right? Well the bonus to his current arm and leg is that he doesn't have to worry about them being hurt.]
TOOT TOOT here comes the pain train
This is the best barrier shield he's ever cast. It's strong enough to ward off a Behemoth, he's sure of it. Nyx is just distracted enough by his own success that he's only half listening to the hair-do-stealing-imposter's taunts and jibes. And then he feels the strangest sensation of being squeezed, and pushed outside of his own body. It's the only way he'll be able to mentally verbalize the sensation later on. Nyx is still there in the body, seeing out of his own eyes, breathing with his lungs, but it's as if he's sitting in the back row of his own mind in a chair with some popcorn.
Except what he starts to do is not popcorn eating material, not at all. Nyx feels his hands clench and break the flow of the shield, sees his eyes focus in on Ahab, and then he feels with dawning horror the immense pull of energy building inside his limbs. A moment later, blinding lightning strikes fast from his outstretched hand and hits Ahab directly in the chest sending him backwards across the room. The man's body hits the wall so hard that it makes a sick crunching noise and Nyx knows, seated like a prisoner in his own body, that at least a few bones have got to be broken from the blast. No! he screams in his mind, and then another agonized nooo! as he watches his focus turn on Kazuhira.]
[dark kermit voice] be more evil
The upside to this is that this isn't the first time Venom's been roughed up (not by a long shot), but the downside is that, yes, Jesus fucking Christ that hurts. Some calm, clinical part of him assesses the damage with a preternaturally detached efficiency— fractured ribs, two if I'm lucky— while the physical, more tangible part of him reacts with a gut-searing cough and a painful jolt.
This definitely isn't his month.
To add insult to injury, a cabinet teeters on its foundations and lands squarely on his lap, pinning him to the floor as he tries his level best not to stay down like a useless lump. That's gonna bruise, is part two of his ongoing diagnosis as he coughs blood onto Dorian's nice carpet. ]
no subject
Of course he wouldn't want you to tear people down, he's more focused on self-destruction...but I don't suppose you've noticed that about him?
[Not many people do, actually, but the shadow doesn't elaborate, instead he moves to the edge of his barrier. Essentially anyone could break through this barrier if it took on enough damage, but he'd have to ram it hard and several times, so the man's intrusive presence didn't go unnoticed. Still, let it not be said that arrogance isn't a great weakness, Ahab isn't getting up quickly from that last blow, Nyx is under his command, and he could handle Kazuhira well enough on his own, so he drops the barrier letting the man inside.]
Right now you should be more concerned about yourself, I'm just not completely certain if I want to end this quickly...or take my time so that Dorian can process all of this as well. He can't do anything about it...just like your friend can't do anything about his predicament.
[Referring to Nyx who was now readying himself to attack Kazuhira.]
I say...you have bigger problems than me at the moment. [Brushing his chin thougthfully with his hand Shadow!Dorian comes to a conclusion.] Kill them Nyx, no point in playing with the food...and know that you never really stood a chance.
[He could probably make better hybrids out of their corpses and he does need replacements for what he has aready lost.]
[ooc: Dorian will absolutely intervene before anyone actually dies.]
no subject
[Dorian makes them, and they're here somewhere. But he can't get over there to help him. That laser knife has to do his job.]
[These motions are in quick order. One, two, three. And he grabs the shadow Dorian...]
[...and he hugs him like he did in the diner that day. Chin hooked over his shoulder and squeezing around his chest.]
Dorian please stop this. Wherever you are, please stop this.
[Because he doesn't want to attack his own people. Not again. Not someone with a face he knows.]
lmk if any of this needs changed
Nyx has his Kukris blade out a moment later and he grabs around both men with his left arm in a grotesque three way embrace. His right hand sinks the blade in quick and effortlessly up into Kaz's back. By some miracle the combination of the movement of Kaz's body, a tiny part of Nyx lashing out at this action, and by pure dumb luck the blade sinks in and hits on a rib rather than any vital organs.
His puppeteer's command to kill is still there. Nyx uses the advantage he has of seriously injuring Kazuhira to try and push the shadow-Dorian aside but even injured Kaz is strong, and keeps his grip on him. Nyx does the same, keeping his grip on Kaz and tugging him back closer against him. This means he stabs him again in the back, this time lower and it sinks in to the hilt neatly between two ribs.]
no subject
Kaz's giveover of the weapon and the command to find a healing potion is practical enough, but with broken ribs and a bruised lung (hopefully not punctured) on top of a half-concussion, things are slow going. He grapples with his new tool and grits through the pain to keep himself moving, but things have gone halfway to hell by the time he's dislodged himself enough to shift under the weight of that fallen cabinet.
It's difficult to disperse his attention among the proceedings. More than anything, more than the injuries or the conflict or the damage, what hits Venom the hardest is the simple understanding that this is nothing that any of them wanted: not Kaz, not Nyx, not Dorian.
Under normal circumstances, none of this would be happening. That's gutting. ]
—Kaz.
[ He can't speak properly over the vice in his chest, the physical fracturing that distorts his calm baritone into a hoarse rasp. There's still blood in his mouth and fog in his vision, but he somehow manages to scrabble at his hip holster for his remaining nonlethal firearm (his assault rifle is long gone, probably broken in that original blast); the Windurger's safety clicks jovially upon release, and Venom makes a mental apology as he turns it on Nyx (a tough shot, but not one he can't make) and fires off three consecutive rounds. Do tranquilizers even work on magic users? Will it even hit, is also the question, but there's no use in not trying.
What he's anticipating in this aftermath is a wealth of guilt on Nyx's part, not to mention Dorian. That's something much harder to field than a combat situation, and as he bites back the nausea that the kickback of his pistol sends through his bruised insides, he makes a mental note to tell them not to take any of this too personally.
(Impossible, probably. He knows how kind both of these people are.)
First things first, though. They have to get out of here alive, so up he goes, despite the protest from his bones and the heartbeat-alarms ringing in his ears.
He's calm when he lines his next shot with Dorian's shadow, levels that tranq dart at his neck and shoots with the intention of it at least being a distraction. ]
no subject
Dorian might be sleeping, a restless torturous sleep up stairs, but he was still feeding the shadow his magic and his image -- they were connected so their experiences were not exclusive of one another. Dorian could hear, he was hearing, and that was a frustrating kind of interference and it gave shadow!Dorian a momentary pause.]
You think this will save you...?
[Whatever clever, snappy comment he was going to make was cut off as what happened next turned into a flurry of actions and motion that the mock mage didn't quite perceive. Nyx was still following his orders and he finds himself embraced, annoyingly sow, by two bodies, and the impact it has on him is directly related to a man that isn't in this room. It's enough to make him forget that there is a fourth party here, at least until he hears the tranquilizers make contact with Nyx's back and by then it's too late to react to the one that's now sticking out of his neck.
Shadow!Dorian isn't human, the real human is still in his study at the top of the stairs for the moment, so weapons do not effect him normally, that doesn't mean he's failing to react. The Shadow succumbs to the numbness and that allows for something else to take over, at least as far as the magic goes, and he realized that Kazuhira's pleas didn't fall on deaf ears...and for the moment, the magic is no longer in Shadow!Dorian's control.
Between the dart in his neck and a strange vacuum the mock mage is stopped in his tracks. Not only that but the combination of man made toxins and Dorian's own magical interference force him to release his hold on Nyx for the time being. It was a window of opportunity, if they had any strength in them to get up the stairs and snap Dorian completely out of his dream state, or simply spirit him out.
The true mage is not much better off given how long he's been captive either, garbed in little more than a robe and his smallclothes. That same dark mist that filled the air before was radiating from him, keeping him in his sleep state and, quite possibly, it was keeping him alive in a kind of stasis so he didn't simply wither and die in here. That didn't mean his body wasn't feeling the effects of hunger and thirst, it simply wasn't deteriorating because of it. More startling would be the wounds covering his body, from his clavicle down to his toes, like he'd been shredded.
Perhaps the original blood for Shadow!Dorian's blood magic originated from the mage himself, but he was too indisposed by Dorian's magic to say much on the subject, but he was fighting to gain back his ground. Dorian was weak in this state after all, he couldn't hold on to him forever...but damned if there weren't disadvantages to trying to maintain control over a lucid dreamer.]
Skip Nyx until next cycle with permission.
[His efforts weren't in vain. Something did happen. He doesn't know what, but there's a glow under his feet and the faint sound of a Wu Pistol behind him. Kaz is tough. He's been through worse. He can remind himself that he's survived so much that he can handle this, too.]
[One of his lungs is filling up, and he staggers back from the shadow and from the drooping Nyx. Those things aren't attacking quite yet, with their maker held, so he struggles to find those stairs. And he does? But rather than make it up them, he collapses on the bottom step. Kaz is made of tough stuff, and he's survived a lot, but this is a bit much.]
[Later he'll explain how he couldn't use the lethality necessary for the situation against Nyx. That he knew that the hug would throw the thing off (he'd hoped so badly that it would have broken the control over the young man, rather than making it necessary to leave him in an unconscious puddle of young soldier in the floor).]
[Bracing himself up on his elbows, leaning forward, coughing blood liberally onto the step, he doesn't really have much of a way to tell V that this is the way to go. But that's the best he can manage for now. He has a single minded persistence. He came here to snap Dorian out of it and get rid of that thing. If there was ever evidence it needed to be done, out of logic as much as sentiment, it's what just happened. If Dorian could puppet someone with Nyx's abilities, then he could aim higher. Most importantly, Kaz wanted his goddamn people back.]
[He's still trying to get up those stairs, one at a time.]
no subject
Triage instincts kick in. He could take some of this for himself, but urgent physical care is necessary for at least one person in this room. ]
—Don't move.
[ Short words hissed through a clenched jaw. Venom kneels next to Kaz, wiping blood off of his jaw with his human hand while he uncaps the potion with his bionic. Really, he doesn't have so much time to waste, but there are some gestures that require reinforcement— an assurance that he paints with gentle fingers that open red-stained lips, to pour half of the contents of the bottle down a struggling throat.
His palm clamps over his XO's mouth to make sure he swallows, and with a final brush of palm to hair, Venom is off again: up the stairs, through the miasma and over to Dorian.
And Christ, Dorian is in bad shape too. Good thing he brought the other half of the healing potion, except for the fact that there's really no way to administer it until the mage is awake; that can be arranged. ]
Dorian. [ A light shake, palms to lacerated shoulders. Despite everything, Venom manages to keep his tone collected. Level. ] You're gonna have to come back to us.
[ And, well. If this doesn't work, he's going to have to carry Dorian across his shoulders, which is decidedly not ideal when his chest feels like a minefield of fragments. He's getting ready to make that choice, though. ]
no subject
The sad thing is that he can't even manage a proper scream, it's this dry, pitchy, weak sound that he can't quite wrap his larynx around. He curls up on his side trying to figure out a way to ride through it without weeping, but it's not easy for him, he's never endured this sort of pain as a practical survivor. Discomfort, yes, pain...not in all of his privileged days. It takes some force of his own will to recognize that he's awake and that he needs regain a modicum of composure if he's to be of any use and it's hardly easy, especially for a man who prided himself in making a lot of things look effortless.
Shaking he managed to lever himself up, pitiful in how much effort it took, but he knew, whispers of the feelings and sensations from what had transpired, that he wasn't the only one in bad shape. He then managed to fix his gaze on Venom, he wanted to say something, to ask questions, but he felt so dry, like he'd swallowed the whole of the Hissing Wastes. He couldn't even ask how he was, or about the state of Kazuhira and Nyx, and he couldn't apologize and he knew they probably didn't have the time for it.
On the plus side with Dorian in full control of his mind the magic was his again.
The down side was that thing wouldn't stay down for long, Dorian had tried, had underestimated it, and that's how he came to be in this situation...how they all had come to be in this situation.
He knew he had to carry himself as well, he wasn't sure how he was going to manage but he did give himself a moment to reach out to brush the hair back off of Venom's brow, withdrawing his hand quickly since even that much seemed to cause him visible pain. Right now he couldn't convey anything other than hurt, which his eyes did well enough, but they had to go and he had to make himself stand. It was terrible and pathetic, like he'd had several bottles of cheap Orlesian brandy. Maker just make his legs move, he had to see just what sort of mess his magic had made, he had to get out of here and get his companions out of here.
But it hurts, that's what every nerve is screaming at him, his eyes are already watering, but he bites the inside of his cheek to steel himself. They had things to do, didn't they?]
no subject
[But he's got enough air to yell.]
Sacrifice!
[It's barely a yell, it's choked and only carries because much of the chaos in the room was disrupted. But it's enough to remind them that while magic works, it's not what they need. Dorian needs to say something, because Kaz can think of no better way than what they were all told.]
[This time he can manage a proper, if slow, climb up those stairs. But it's on all fours and agonizing and he does fully plan to complain later.]
[Hopefully, if Dorian hasn't seen the message, at least Snake can pass it on.]
no subject
Fight me! he wants to scream, take me out! So much better that, than this. Nyx feels only a little relief as he becomes aware that his body is losing its ability to function and a fog seeps down through his mind. It might be too late already. He might have killed his dear friend.
And then there is swirling darkness and part of him hopes that he never wakes up. He died once; he isn't afraid of that. The small peace he felt at the end in Insomnia isn't allowed to him in this moment. I've killed him, I might have killed both of them, all of them...
When he wakes up it's a slow process. His groggy mind seems to be his own, his limbs sluggishly moving yes but they are moving when he-himself wants them to. Nyx winces softly for the awkward angle he's been lying on his leg, then rolls over and plants his hand on the floor to push himself up. When he sees his blood soaked hand and arm he feels a wave of nausea hit his stomach and another wave of vertigo. Nyx closes his eyes and struggles through it to finish pushing himself up to stand.
Pointedly not looking at his hand, he assesses the situation as best his drugged mind can.]
Boss?
[The title has become far less that and much more a nickname of endearment over the past few months. Nyx stumbles over to the prone form and he falls to his knees, his expression bordering on agonized with the guilt pounding through him.]
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Venom entrusts the safety of the stairs to Nyx. Frayed but lionhearted; he knows he can trust Nyx to watch over Kaz and make sure that they both support each other.
Now, Dorian.
One badly-timed shift, and his companion is gritting screams between his teeth. To say that it's not ideal is an understatement; to say that it's worrying, even more of one. So he stops them both from moving any further, palm up and knees bent in a low crouch. Single eye as still as an ocean, expression devoid of any personal discomfort or pain. Just a steady affirmation of a presence, of a tangibility that he demonstrates with one gloved hand reaching to wipe the sweat and tears from the peak of Dorian's cheekbone. ]
You're good. Stay with me.
[ There's blood caught in Venom's facial hair, perspiration dotting his temple, but the set of his jaw is strong without being tense. His voice pitches down to a temperate bass, like the hum of old engines. Time-weathered but smooth. ]
Think you can trust me with something personal?
[ That's what the 'sacrifice' entails, after all. The question is largely hypothetical— no one here has a choice, Dorian least of all— but Venom poses it anyway, with his friend propped on one knee and his palm shifting to rest lightly over those hurt-stained eyes.
If it's easier for Dorian not to look at Venom while he speaks, Venom will do him the courtesy. ]
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sorry you're always waiting on me :(
wings is banned from apologizing on grounds that shes a cutie
and I'm always the last one to the party...usually so no worries lol