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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:32:26 GMT
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:32:40 GMT
After only a moment of the horrifying sight of that decimated form that used to be a body, Linnet averted her eyes. She had to get out of there or she would be sick. Her eyes flicked up to Hassen as she recalled his presence. She expected to see some sort of rage or violent intent on his distorted features, but there was only a shocked blankness. It was as if he was not even there, but had been transported somewhere distant in an instant. His searching gaze was fixed on the doorway. She realized then he had absolutely no idea that wreck of a body was not still living. There was something so twisted, yet childish about it that Linnie could not help but pity Hassen. Still, Linnet could not completely ignore the urge to cower from the unstable man. It was then she realized James was trying to sit up and stay between her and Hassen. This was enough to break her out of her paralysis. They had to get out of there, before Hassen snapped.
Moving slowly to avoid catching Hassen's attention, she once again helped James to his feet, supporting the injured male as much as he needed. Though her eyes were mostly fixed on Hassen's alarmed features, she continually glanced James's way with a look she tried to make reassuring, though she was more terrified than anything. She knew if she moved too quickly, she would certainly break the hold of whatever had come over Hassen. Though her legs burned as she rose, she remained at an agonizingly slow pace.
When she and James were standing, and they began a shambling yet cautious walk down the hall, back again to where they had been trying to flee before. Hassen paid them absolutely no attention. They were halfway down the hall, and Linnet had just been debating whether to move at a quicker pace, when an inhuman wail suddenly emanated from behind them. Her debate decided, Linnet broke into as fast a walk as she and James could manage without simply dragging James on the floor. She expected to hear noisy, dragging steps behind her at any moment. Instead, there was an enraged yet mournful shriek and she could hear the door slam back into the wall repeatedly, as if it was a child having a temper tantrum rather than a full grown man whose world had just been shattered.
Though her knees were shaking so badly she didn't know how she stood, and her heart thumped as wildly as it could, they made it to the corner. It was there she finally looked back. Hassen gave the door one final thump, having collapsed to the ground, and was now struggling to get up and back into the room with the corpse, his wailing continuing without pause. Linnet did not hesitate long enough to see more.
She continued down the hall, her breath coming in pants, before pushing out, "wot do we do, Sur James? Where 'duh we go?"
Her eyes jumped around their surroundings without seeing, and it was clear she was on the border of hysteria.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:32:54 GMT
James squelched a groan in the back of his throat as Linnet pulled him to his feet, clinging to her so he wouldn't fall back down. He was still so helpless. If Hassen decided to go after them, there wasn't much he could do besides shield Linnie with his body. It took almost all of his strength and concentration to make his legs work as Linnie pulled him down the hall. She didn't have the strength that Hassen had, she couldn't just sling him over her shoulder and carry him. He couldn't lean too heavily on her. Though his body only wanted to rest now, the sound of Hassen screaming behind them was enough to keep him moving. At any moment his rage could turn on them.
He could feel Linnie's panic, her breath heaving from her body, and he tried to take on more of his own weight, knees weakly going through the motions of walking, feet constantly scuffing for purchase on the floor. What could they do? Where could they go? Both good questions. His brain still buzzed, he couldn't think too straight, but this was imperative. Maybe if they went into a room and barred the door, Hassen wouldn't notice them? The best bet would be to go up or down the stairs, but there was no way they could traverse them while he was in this state, unless she dropped him and let him slide down. Hassen, with his mobility compromised and his brain in such a state, was just as likely to fall down stairs as climb down them. It could work.
James let out a hissing sigh, his throat burning as air pushed past healing flesh, and made a half-hearted gesture towards the stairs that Hassen had so recently carried him up. It was only down the hall and to the left, not that much farther. Then they could hide in a room.
Once they made it to the stairwell, rather than trying to gesture his intent, he just went limp for a moment, sliding out of Linnet's hands. Sliding down the stairs face-first hadn't been his brightest idea of the century, but it did its job, his chin bumping on the stairs as he picked up speed. At the bottom he sprawled, head over heels, on the floor, his nose dripping blood, but he offered Linnet a smile to show that he was still...mostly okay. Then he pointed to a nearby room as he struggled to regain his feet—they'd be safe there, Hassen wouldn't be able to check all the rooms, if he'd even decided to start. He could still be throwing a tantrum upstairs, or he might have decided to express his displeasure to Drake. Either would be better than him going after Linnie.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:33:06 GMT
Underneath her panic, Linnet was trying hard to regain control. It was much easier said than done, however. There was too much going on and it was all she could do to keep moving. But that was all she had to do, wasn't it? One foot in front of the other, as always. She latched onto the thought as though it were a life raft, taking James's vague directions without further thought. All she had to do was move, that was it. Flee from danger and hide. That was the only way to stay safe. Usually…. Her panicked mind flickered back to a nightmarish night long ago. She could hear her father's taunting words as he drunkenly searched for her, cursing in frustration and stumbling over furniture. Her horror from that time seemed to fit so well with her current panic, as if adding another log to a blazing fire.
Suddenly, she realized they were at the stairs. But not exactly they... James had already begun his descent face first. When had that happened? She was completely flabbergasted at the sight of his limply tumbling form. At least the comical sight stopped her hysteria cold, even if the effect was only temporary. James smiled up at her, his face slightly bloody, and she snapped out of her daze and hastened down the stairs after him despite her own still trembling legs. At the bottom, she half kneeled, half fell to the ground beside him. With one hand, she brushed her hair from her face while her other hand searched through a pocket. Finding a handkerchief, which belonged to James in the first place, she began tenderly dabbing at the blood on his face, noting with relief that it was only from his nose. Only one more thing for him to heal up from, then. As the though crossed her mind, she had to suppress a hysteric giggle. A small, choking sound escaped her throat before she could clap her hand over her mouth, and she forced herself to take a several deep breaths to regain her composure.
Suddenly, she realized Hassen's screams had fallen silent. That was not a good sign. It was now harder to tell where he was. He could be coming after them already.
"No time, no time," she mumbled to herself.
She mindlessly picked James up again—she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately—and risked one more look up the stairs before shambling down the hall with the injured boy. She took them around the corner and hastened past the rooms in which she had woken up. It would be too easy to find them there. She went past couple hallways before deciding on the last one. She picked a room at random and swiveled awkwardly around to shut the door. She stood still for a moment, chest still heaving, when she finally realized that her legs were burning with exhaustion and her arms were shaking terribly. She set James down gently on a couch before she could drop him on the floor again and add to his list of injuries.
She stood trembling in the middle of the room for a moment, looking as though she were straining to hear any sounds. In reality, now that her goal had been met, her mind was completely blank. She was so tired. Suddenly, she took in a deep breath, as though she had just emerged from water, and the frantic motion of earlier returned as she began piling whatever furniture she could move in front of the door. In her current state that was not much. Still, it was enough to be better than nothing.
That accomplished, she slumped onto the couch beside James, though still an arm’s reach apart, and took her head in her hands. She let out another breathy, shuddering sigh as if trying to slow her panting breath.
"Whas that why Drake din want us by that room?" A humorless laugh escaped her lips. "'e's gon' kill me, ain't 'e? Tear me limb from limb. I'm so scared, I don' know wha’ came over me. Why did I look? 'e'll kill me and think naught of it. I-- I'm—" a violent sob overtook her thin frame and she shook as the tears welled up in her eyes.
There was no doubt in her mind that Drake would punish her for her transgression. After all, she had gone somewhere forbidden, revealed something he had obviously kept secret. It was only a matter of time before he found her after all. It was only a matter of time before he ripped her in half, as he promised what seemed a lifetime ago.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:33:14 GMT
He could see Linnie shaking as she descended the stairs and when she got to the bottom he tried to smile again in the hopes of calming her down a little. The last thing they needed was for her to have a breakdown. She fell to the ground beside him, and he craned his neck, trying to see if she was okay. Then she pulled out a familiar handkerchief, dabbing his face with it. He shut his eyes briefly, accepting the gesture.
A small moment of peace.
Then, a choked sound emitted from Linnie's throat. James jumped, wondering what was wrong, but she was only breathing heavily. In that moment of quiet, they could both hear that Hassen was no longer yowling. He watched her straighten, sighing softly as she pulled him back to his feet. If only he wasn't so incapacitated.
He couldn't tell if Linnie had a specific place in mind or she was just wandering, but she looked focused. He made an effort to move his legs in rhythm with hers, energy slowly draining. Finally, they made it to their destination: just another room. Linnie set him down on the couch, and despite his desire to help her barricade the door, he just lay there, closing his eyes for a much needed moment of rest. He didn't open them again until he felt Linnie's presence join him on the couch. He didn't move, just looked at her as she sat there, still so obviously panicked. When she spoke he looked at her seriously. Oh, if only he could tell her, calm a bit of her nerves.
Drake, kill her? That would probably be one of the better outcomes of this whole mess. Even though Linnie was crying now, he couldn't help the small bark of laughter from falling from his throat. He shook his head as vigorously as he could, trying to impart his knowledge. He wouldn't kill her for that, if anything he might set Hassen after her, but Hassen was unpredictable, probably more likely to attack Drake than to do what he said, and there was no way James would kill her now, not after all this. Drake was powerless against her. But how was he supposed to tell her that? He cast around for a moment as if trying to think of how to best communicate, then groaned in frustration at his own inability. He just wanted Linnie to stop crying, to calm down. She was safe, she would be okay. He would protect her from Hassen and she didn't need protection from Drake.
What would be the easiest way to communicate that?
He paused for a moment, looking upwards as he thought. Now that he was sitting down and didn't have to focus on holding his whole body up, it wasn’t difficult to lift his head and fix her with a serious gaze, lifting a finger to his lips. This was a secret. Or at least, he hoped that was what it came across as. Then he touched the wound on the side of his neck where the serrated teeth had briefly lodged themselves what seemed like ages ago. The shredded skin was already slowly starting to knit together, leaving angry red marks on his neck that no longer seeped blood. Then he pointed towards her and shook his head. Drake wouldn't do that to her.
He paused for a moment. It would be so much easier if he could just write this down. He quirked an eyebrow at her and mimicked writing with one hand. Then he could just tell her everything.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:33:21 GMT
James's bark of laughter startled her before the sobs could truly begin. She covered her mouth, eyes wide as she stared at him and tried to figure out the cause of the laugh. Small, soundless hiccoughs still continued as the tears streamed down her cheeks. He must think her so foolish, carrying on as she was. He shook his head at her, paused in consideration, then made a shushing motion, but he didn't seem to be criticizing her tears. Perhaps he didn't think Drake would kill her? But that did not make sense. It did not seem like Drake would be the kind to avoid getting his hands dirty. James himself was proof of that. As if reading her thoughts, he suddenly pointed to the wound on his neck. Though, at this point, ‘wound’ no longer seemed to be the right word. As far as she could tell, no new blood was seeping from the area. What blood was there was dried, and cracked as he moved, pointing at her and emphatically shaking his head once more. She stared uncomprehendingly. She was not sure where this was going, or why in the world Drake would not kill her for what she had done. After all, he was psychotic enough to make up this game of Last Man Standing. Why would he have any problem with death?
It took only a moment before she realized his wriggling fist meant something to do with writing. She had seen people doing that before! Forgetting her previous despair, she searched the room for writing utensils, thinking only of getting him what he needed. Not that she could read anything he wrote, of course. She hardly knew the first couple letters of the alphabet, including the 'X' she used as her mark when she needed to sign something. That was far from enough for even rudimentary reading, but she had never had the time to attend the Sunday schools offered in some places. Now, she was simply too old.
She scrambled around for a moment, trying to find materials for James and looking to him for direction. With a few fumbling miscommunications, she soon located a small ink pot, a quill, and a torn piece of scrap paper with scribblings already on one side. She offered the items to him then sat again, her hiccoughs steadily slowing with the welcoming distraction of activity. She watched with great interest, if little understanding, as he wrote.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:33:27 GMT
She was completely confused. Well, at least he'd tried. She stared at him when he tried to express to her that he wanted to write things down, and his actions became more vehement until she finally understood. He watched her cast about for utensils, and he wished he could get up and help her look, but he had a feeling that if he tried to stand up again he'd make swift acquaintance with the floor. But things came together, and now he had a quill and paper. He opened and closed his hand a few times, trying to regain proper feeling in it, then clutched the quill with his trembling fingers. He had to take a few breaks, the concentrated effort too much for his blood-drained body.
He wrote in a slow, looping handwriting, a little shaky but still decipherable. "Drake can't hurt you. If he kills a human he can't eat their soul, it goes away, so he won't kill you. That's why he has me, but I promise not to hurt you. Do not be afraid."
He stretched his hand again, appraising his work and leaned back again with a huff. What he really needed right now was to rest, but Linnet was a priority. It wasn't like he hadn't dealt with this caliber of discomfort before. He could handle it.
He turned his eyes to her, pushing the scrap of paper towards her, lifting his eyebrows. Hopefully that would be enough to explain everything. He didn't know the logistics to everything, there were some things that Drake had never told him, like what happened to the souls of humans he tried to kill himself, but James assumed that it was probably a better thing than being eaten by Drake. Maybe they went to heaven. That was a good thought. He pressed his lips together in a wan smile.
Humans wouldn't spend long on earth, but they had a thereafter, and if anyone deserved to make it there, Linnie did.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:33:33 GMT
Linnet stared, fascinated, as James’s hand wobbled its way through foreign scribbles. Though his hand wasn’t steady, it was clear that his handwriting was normally excellent. Even as it was, Linnet decided it was rather pretty. An odd longing welled up in her, and her heart began to slow its headlong pace. Though her thoughts tried to wander to more unsettling topics, she forced herself to focus on nothing more than the sound of the quill scratching on paper, and to do nothing more intensive than wonder at what the boy was producing. Though he paused several times, it took only moments before James offered her the now completed sheet. She took it carefully, as though it were a priceless artifact rather than a scribbled note on a scrap of paper. She rewarded James with a genuine, though distracted smile, her eyes wandering over the script for a few moments. She soon folded the paper and placed it in the pocket of her apron. She would need someone to read it to her, eventually, but now was not the time. After all, Hassen was still out there and it had not been long since he had begun his breakdown. It would likely be a long while before it was safe to leave their hiding place, though safe was a rather relative term. With nothing else to keep her attention for the moment, Linnet leaned forward and placed her head in her hands.
For a long time, her mind worked on what James had been trying to communicate before. He seemed to find it somehow absurd that Drake would kill her, but why? That had to be the meaning behind James shaking his head and laughing at her panicked questions. There was not any other alternative really. But what would prevent that soul eater from simply tearing her soul out? Perhaps, was it to do with some sick enjoyment of people killing each other? Would that alone be great enough that he would not mete out punishment? It was a hard thing to answer without more information, though she knew that what James had written had some sort of explanation. ‘ Don’t I wish I had someone to read it to me,’ she thought, rubbing bleary eyes with one hand. After a time, she glanced at James once more, quirking a quick smile, and leaned her head against the high arm of the couch. Her mind kept going for a while, keeping her awake. However, once it slowed, she dropped to sleep without effort.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:33:41 GMT
Well, she looked at the paper, then smiled at him, so James figured that the issue was over with. Then she shifted, leaning against the other arm of the couch, and shut her eyes. He watched her for a few moments— this calm so much different than her previous panic—but he was starting to feel heavy as well. He curled up, pressing his face into the crook of his arm and shutting his eyes. Maybe he'd just...keep an ear out for trouble...in case Hassen tried to...tried to....
It didn't take but a few moments of quiet for James to slip back into unconsciousness, curled awkwardly on the sofa. His tired body again sought rest to try to heal his wound after both being punctured and then hung upside down for an indeterminate amount of time thanks to the resident...well… the resident Hassen, there really wasn't another way to describe him. So James slept deeply, without dreaming, his face hidden behind his arm and his breathing slow and gentle.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:34:15 GMT
Though a couple hours passed, it felt like only minutes before Linnet’s eyes fluttered open again. She thought she heard a noise outside and jolted upright, attention focused on the door. She regretted the motion immediately, wincing as it quirked a large crick in her neck. She shifted and soon ignored the discomfort as she listened, as attentive as a startled doe. There was definitely someone moving around, but the noise was becoming distant. The slight sound made Linnet nervous, until she realized that the steps did not match her memory of Hassen’s slumping, hesitating shuffle. If she was right, he was likely not the one making noise. With that realization, Linnet relaxed, if only slightly.
She stood, stretching from her cramped position. Though her senses were still alert, she had calmed considerably from her and James’s panicked retreat hours before. She began feeling restless though. She darted a glance at James’s form, still huddled on the couch, and realized he was asleep. Reluctant to wake him, she instead headed toward the door and listened as well as she could. She heard nothing more. Or at least nothing more than James’s steady breathing. She stood for a while at the door, indecisive but unwilling to sit down and rest again. She recalled the note James had written, and her hand automatically sought it out. After reassuring herself it was there, she decided that she had to find someone to read it to her. Someone who may be safe to approach. After listening a moment more, she quietly began moving the makeshift barricade she had erected not long before. If James woke up, she would take him with her. If not, she could not stand the thought of waking him. He had been through enough for her sake, after all.
After a few moments of movement, there was enough space for Linnet to squeeze through. She paused, looking back at James’s still sleeping form with reluctance. Finally, she tore her gaze away and slid through the congested doorway, closing the door after her. She glanced up and down the hall, then made her way toward the rooms with the caution of a mouse in pursuit of a cat. The manor seemed unnaturally still, but she supposed it would after the racket Hassen had made.
It took a while, but Linnet finally found someone. Or more accurately, she was found. A voice startled her, and Linnet whirled. It was Elizabeth. Linnet sighed with slight relief. Out of all of those still alive in the manor, Elizabeth was the one she felt least threatened around. There was a gentle nature about the woman, after all. After understandably awkward greetings and an equally uncomfortable pause, Linnet finally started out, unable to meet Elizabeth’s eye.
“Please, Miss. Could ju…. Would ju read this fo’ me?” She fished the folded paper from her apron, looking down at it with longing before turning her pleading eyes on the woman in front of her.
They were separated by the length of the hallway, but Linnie held it out. She could only take one hesitant step before her eyes dropped again, but she stood with her arms out for what felt like an eternity. Bare feet entered her line of vision. A couple breaths later, the paper was softly withdrawn from her hands. She dropped her arms like a puppet with its strings cut and took a step back, not daring to look up.
Elizabeth’s clear voice spoke out, “Drake can't hurt you. If he kills a human….” She paused, disbelief clear on her features. “If he kills a human, he can't eat their soul?” Linnet could almost feel the woman’s eyes assessing her. There was a slight edge of panic in Elizabeth’s voice as she questioned, “What is this? Who wrote it? It’s nonsense, isn’t it? Isn’t it?”
Linnet looked up at her with wide, astonished eyes, surprised to see a similar, if startled, look in Elizabeth’s stare. Linnie shook her head in something near awe as things began to make sense. This whole demented game was no longer just a cruel happenstance of fate. There was meaning behind Drake’s psychotic death game. He could not harm them, so he had to use them to kill one another.
Elizabeth’s questions seemed to be silenced by the emotions so freely passing over the odd-eyed girl’s face. Linnet, after a moment of thinking through what was said, motioned for her to continue with a breathless, “Please go on, Miss!”
This time, she met the woman’s eye, then stared at the paper as Elizabeth continued, “If he kills a human, he can't eat their soul it goes away, so he won't kill you. That's why he has me, but I promise not to hurt you. Do not be afraid." Her eyes flickered over it again as she took in the contents, and her question bore a frightened tone, “Lin—Linnet? Who wrote this? Who—”
She broke off as Linnet turned and placed a hand over her mouth, considering this wealth of new information. Every separate revelation she had over the past couple days suddenly pieced together. Drake, the kidnapper. Drake, the rule maker of this death game. Drake, the vampire. Drake, the angel of death and soul eater. Drake, who would not kill a human himself, but watched them do it. Scenes flashed through her eyes. Of Drake’s hungry grin as he explained the game; of his hand stuck in the fireplace coming out unscathed; of his pursuit of the smell of Allease’s blood, only to patch her up; of Drake carrying Lira’s mangled body; of his sharp teeth; of James.
‘Oh, Lord have mercy, what does this make James?’ The thought flashed unbidden across her mind as she pictured that fatal wound.
She felt a knot forming in her throat and bit back the tears, forcing the picture from her mind with limited success. Dear James, Sur James, her James. That is what she wanted to picture. She felt like a chasm was opening under her, and was startled to find herself on her knees, hand against a wall to brace her against the weight of her revelations.
She felt Elizabeth’s presence hovering behind her, uncertain of whether to help, and Linnet stiffened. Her hand clenched to a fist as her emotions and thoughts seemed to drain to nothing. Still, when she spoke, her voice was strained and pathetic, “Please, don’t come near’ah.”
Linnet took several deep breaths, pushing down her anguish and stood with her back to Elizabeth. She ignored the tension of the situation and began walking.
After only a moment’s hesitation, that clear voice once again called out to her. “Wait, what will you do?” Another pause, “I am coming with you.” Elizabeth’s voice called with determination.
Linnet soon heard steps behind her, but she oddly felt no threat. Elizabeth did not seem one to be threatening in any sense, but either way, in Linnet’s current mood, there were few who would be able to mess with her and come out unscathed. Already a plan was forming in her mind.
--
In short, Linnet felt it was time for an all-out attempt to escape. After all, Drake himself likely would not kill her for it. Still, she felt a surge of fear from thinking about the daemon. Elizabeth doggedly trudged behind Linnet, having even more resolve now that she knew Linnet was trying to escape. Already, Linnet held a length of rope which she hoped would be of use, and they made their way up the stairs to the servants’ quarters on the third floor. Entering the plain room, Elizabeth stopped to take in their surroundings, but Linnet had eyes only for the window, which was unlatched and blessedly unbarred. Her eyes squinted at the sudden brightness after the relative dimness of the manor below with its barred, curtained, sealed off windows. She pushed the glass open, taking deep breaths of the fresh air that streamed in to greet her. Losing no time, for someone could discover them at any moment, Linnet unfurled the rope, dropping one end out the window.
Her stomach sank to her knees when she saw that it was nowhere near as long as she had hoped. In fact, it hardly reached the second floor window. For a moment, she gasped like an aired fish. Panic and doubt blanked her mind, and she could only lean against the frame, gripping with white knuckles and staring downward as if mesmerized by the distance. She was, of course, but only in part. She heard Elizabeth move closer, questioning whether Linnie was well. She turned to face the woman, jerking the hand holding the rope upward as she intoned, “Too short, Miss.”
Elizabeth’s alarm was enough to get Linnet’s mind starting again, though slowly. She could not admit defeat. She half-shouldered the woman away from the window, looking down again only for a moment before she turned her gaze up toward the gable over the window. It was not terribly tall, and there were even a few ornate decorations on the side of the house that she thought would make decent hand- and footholds. She took a couple steps back and began pulling her skirts from behind her, through her legs, and up through her apron, securing them with a hasty knot in the skirt and repeating the procedure with what remained loose in the front. It would be dangerous if her skirts got in her way, so modesty was pushed aside for the moment.
Elizabeth asked that ever-repeated question, “What will you do?”
Linnet paused in disbelief, then looked at her, too impatient to lose her temper at the childlike question. “Oh’ll clumb up ‘nd drop ya down the rope.” At Elizabeth’s wide-eyed gaze, Linnet added in exasperation, “For goo’ness sake’s, Ai’ve done it b’fore.”
It was the truth, but not entirely. Very shortly after she had left home, Linnet had pretended to be a boy in order to take a job as a chimney sweep. She was scrawny enough to pull it off at the time, and the job had included some measure of roof climbing, but she had lasted only a couple days before she botched it and was found out. Now, as she stood at the window, she struggled back and forth with an intense fear of falling and her equally passionate desire to escape, or at least to somehow best Drake. She fought hard against her doubts, even perching on the sill, though with her legs still safely inside. Linnet came terribly close to giving up and walking down the stairs again when she heard Elizabeth’s impatient ruffling beside her.
Like an arrow from a bow, there was suddenly nothing to stop her from proceeding. She checked that the rope was still slung over her head and one shoulder, swung her feet over the sill, scolded Elizabeth to secure her skirts, and found her first foothold. As soon as she left the safety of the sill, uncertainty returned. Somehow it was not as bad now as it had been when she was safe, but she refused to look down in any case.
She fumbled for another handhold, planted her foot higher, and hoisted herself up. Linnie took a deep breath, then repeated the procedure. Then, she realized there was not another handhold. At least not in easy reach. She would have to jump to it. She took only a moment to gather what reserves of courage she had left, then delicately reached upward. Before she could manage to lose her nerve, she hoisted with her legs. Her hand grasped at a looped design in the wood, and she lifted her legs up to the ledge. She misjudged her footing and slipped from the narrow space with a jolt. Both legs dangled uselessly. She held on only by the tension of her fingers for a heart wrenching moment. Just as suddenly, her scrabbling feet gained purchase again. She panted desperately, grateful for each lungful of air as she tuned out Elizabeth’s query after her health and looked up again.
Fortunately, she was one handhold from the top, where the gable joined the roof proper. She reached up and began pulling herself onto the roof, avoiding the sharp metal decoration that edged it. After only a moment of wriggling to pull herself to safety, not to mention a large tear in her dress and a stinging gouge on her thigh, Linnet was securely situated. She turned, pulling the rope from around her and began to attach it to a secure point. She could hear Elizabeth’s questions, but ignored them. ‘Just focusing on my task’, she thought, trying to convince herself. She was annoyed by the woman, who seemed to talk for the pure noise of it. It put Linnie on edge even more than she already had been. Thankfully, the questioning ceased when Linnet threw the rope down beside the window opposite of where she had climbed up, placing it on a path with several footholds. Now that she looked, she saw it would have been easier to come up that way, but hindsight is always clearer.
It took several eternal minutes before Elizabeth appeared, and a few more before she levered herself out the window, leaning almost her entire weight on the rope. With Linnet yelling down instructions and suggestions, Elizabeth began her awkward ascent. She slipped, once… and again, then slowly, stiffly continued. Linnet caught her breath each time, and found herself praying the aggravating woman would make it.
An unexpected sight jolted her prayers to a halt. Hassen. His head poked out of the open window, a grotesque scowl dominating his face as he glared at the women. He yelled mangled words which Linnet could not make out, and her eyes widened in fear. Elizabeth, upon noticing the man, gave a shriek of terror and lost her footing entirely. Her body slammed hard against the shingles, and Linnet gasped in alarm, leaning precariously over to try to reach the woman, to give her some sort of handhold. However, the impact caused Elizabeth to lose her grip, and she painfully slid down the rope just past the window and, thankfully, out of Hassen’s reach before she was able to stop. Her eyes, wide with terror, fixed on Linnet’s mismatched gaze. There were no footholds at all in that area of the house. Her painful grip was failing as her feet scrabbled uselessly for purchase. Only an instant passed before her hands involuntarily released their hold.
Her mouth stretched open to scream.
She fell as if in slow motion, and Linnet was surprised to realize that a panicked, “Noooo!” ripped free from her lips.
Elizabeth hit the ground with a sickening crunch that drove the breath from Linnet’s lungs.
Panic took over. Linnet jumped up and hobbled around the slanted rooftop, looking for somewhere, anywhere that would be low enough to lower the rope down. She could not even slow her mind enough to realize the rope was still hanging where she had left it. Despite her frantic searching, all too soon she realized she had company. She continued as far away from Hassen as the roof would allow. It did descend slightly at one part, she noticed in the back of her mind. Still, as she looked over the edge, Linnie realized it still would not be safe enough to descend. Her knees began to shake terribly.
She heard Hassen’s angered cry behind her and whirled, her knife in her grasp before she realized she had retrieved it. She held it out with both hands in front of her, facing Hassen who, to her panicked brain, looked like a nightmarish monster. She could not help but give ground. Step by step, her fate was sealed. When Hassen was but a couple meters from her, one last step landed her near the edge. The shingle under her foot suddenly gave way, sliding out from under her and completely upsetting her balance. She fell hard and began sliding down the incline of the roof, grabbing for something, anything, to stop her fall.
She managed to slow herself only slightly before she was freefalling. She turned in the air in a catlike motion when a hard, unforgivingly rough surface met her side. She had not fallen far enough for the impact with the tree branch to be fatal, but for an instant of blinding pain, she wished it had. She dropped the last couple meters to the ground, bracing with her left arm out to receive the ground with a stomach-heaving snap. Linnet screamed in agony before she mercifully lost her hold on reality and sunk into peaceful darkness.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:34:32 GMT
It didn't take long for Drake to realize that someone had let the cat out of the bag. Mostly because somebody was currently caterwauling. And that somebody sounded suspiciously like Hassen. It took a few moments to disentangle himself from the gaggle of humans he was currently with and hurry up the stairs, following the trail of blood James had left behind when Hassen grabbed him some time ago. It sounded like the two were fighting again, which they shouldn't be doing when the humans were around anyway, but he'd never heard Hassen make such...anguished sounds. But James wouldn’t (read: couldn't) tell Hassen about Alexander, so who...? It would either be Elizabeth or Linnet, it had to be. Well, there went that, though, he couldn't hear any female screams, so what was all that banging coming from?
When Drake made it to the hall, Hassen had already quieted down, but as soon as the misshapen man spotted the demon, he let out a nearly inhuman sound of rage and charged towards him. How wonderful. Judging by the human's expression, the secret had indeed been let out. The question was how, exactly, to calm Hassen down? He didn't want the rampage to last any longer, or humans could start dying, and if there was anything he didn't want it was everyone dying all at once, ruining the integrity of the game for a second time.
Hassen's fists rained down upon him, and Drake weathered the attack, backing up slowly to prevent the male from knocking him down. What exactly did Hassen think he could achieve by doing this? Finally, Hassen started to tire, so Drake grabbed him by the arms, pinning them to his side, and pushed him backwards into the room beside the corpse of Alexander.
"You stay in there until you calm down," He said through the door, though he wasn't sure Hassen could hear him.
The male's energy had suddenly spiked again and he was thumping rabidly against the door and scraping at it with his fingernails. Hopefully it'd be enough to hold him in for a bit while Drake regrouped. He'd need to warn the humans away from Hassen until he decided what to do. While he didn't particularly want to kill the man, or rather, have the man killed, he had little other choice.
He also needed to find the culprit, and admonish them severely. Perhaps by putting them in the room with Hassen? Though, if it was Linnet, James hadn't thoroughly enjoyed his punishment yet, so perhaps he'd need to find a different way to tell her off for ruining things. The first matter of business was to clean up Alexander, since that jig had been danced to death, and then warn the humans off, make sure they were okay, well, as okay as they could be, death notwithstanding, and then find James.
A few hours later, he was truly on a James hunt. He had no idea where the boy had crawled off to. Had Hassen put him down somewhere then good and truly forgot about him? Of course, he could always just open his senses and sniff the boy out, but there was something relaxing about hunting him down this way. He opened doors, checked under tables, and finally found the boy curled up in a small ball on a sofa on the first floor.
Huh, how had he made it there? But he seemed to be sleeping. Sleeping off the neck wound, or had Hassen injured him worse? They had a strange relationship, those two. Perhaps that would be a good way to calm Hassen down for the moment? Put James in there with him.
"James, wake up," He said, prodding the boy with a finger.
James slowly opened his eyes, peering over his arm to see what had woken him. When he saw that it was Drake, and that Linnie was nowhere to be found, his heart skipped a beat. Where had she gone? Had Hassen gotten her or something? Was that why Drake was here, waking him up, ready to take him to Linnie's mangled form somewhere in the house? Why had he fallen asleep in the first place? He could have prevented this. Was it stupid for him to think he could just eternally protect Linnie keep her trapped in this purgatory alive forever? But what else was he supposed to do?
Drake didn't say anything else to him, just picked him up and shifted him to his back, where James instinctively wrapped his arms around the demon's neck and his legs around his waist, clinging on like a sloth. He rested his cheek against the back of Drake's neck, internally panicking. That panic only increased as they moved back towards the room where Hassen had previously had his meltdown. Drake opened the door to the room next to that one and Hassen very literally tumbled out of the room since he'd been leaning against the door after finally wearing himself out.
Hassen clambered back to his feet, glaring at Drake. James hid his face behind Drake's shoulder, hoping that the other wouldn't notice him.
"Come on, up to your room." Drake said, making shooing motions with his hands.
Reluctantly, Hassen started to move, though slowly. So the little procession made its way towards the two servant's attic home. James's mind was still buzzing with questions, the most burning one being the whereabouts of Linnet.
Said question was answered rather quickly. As they ascended the stairs towards the attic, all three of them heard scraping and shuffling sounds coming from the roof, along with voices. Hassen immediately seemed to regain his energy and bounded up the stairs, and was already partially out the window by the time Drake and James made it up. James had recognized Linnet's voice. Had she been trying to escape? He felt relief mixed with horror. Now Hassen was up there too. He held on tightly to Drake's neck, pressing his face hard onto the demon's back, wishing he wouldn't have to hear what was surely going to come next. Drake very casually strolled to the window, leaning against the sill to watch what was happening.
Just in time to see Elizabeth scream as she tumbled off the ledge of the roof, and the panicked shout of another, whom sounded very much like Linnet, but was out of his view at the moment.
"Well, there goes one, here's for the other," He murmured as he heard the sound of a body hitting the ground, echoing vaguely into the air.
Then Linnet hobbled into view, looking frantic. A grin curled on Drake's face.
"James, look," he said, eagerness in his voice.
Hassen's eyes fixed on her and he started prowling nearer. James kept his face resolutely pressed against Drake's shoulder. There was no way he'd be able to struggle free of Drake's death grasp on his legs and make it to Linnet in time. He could hear the sounds of her feet scrabbling for purchase on the roof just as well, and then suddenly, nothing. Then some scraping, a thud, another scrabbling sound, and then a very final sounding scream.
"Well, there's that, then," Drake said, pulling himself through the window and preparing himself to wrangle Hassen back into the room.
Or get him to walk off the roof as well.
The moment Hassen heard Drake's voice, of course, he whipped around and charged forward again, so it didn't take much effort to pull him back through the window, lock it, and back out or the room, leaving Hassen trapped yet again. Despite his original plan to leave James in there too, well, James had better things to do at this moment.
"Oh, stop crying, James, you know she was just a human, and that's what humans do. They fall off of tall things and then they die. It's the way life goes. It's your fault for getting attached to the damn brat in the first place." He said as he descended the stairs, a new spring in his step as he hurried towards the main door, out to see Hassen's handiwork.
James just sniffled in response, even though he knew what Drake said was at least partially true. Despite the years he'd lived, however, he was still just a human kid at the core, craving interaction, kindness, anything, things that Drake couldn't give him with any sort of certainty. He couldn't help that he got attached to the humans, it was just part of his nature. And so he cried softly.
They came across Elizabeth's twisted body first, good and dead, and Drake knelt down to punch through her chest.
"One for me," he said as he straightened, swallowing it whole, "And where is the other one?" Gleaming eyes surveyed the grounds before he saw the other twisted little form in the grass. "There she is!" He crowed, hurrying over and disentangling James from his back.
He studied her for a moment, then disappointment blossomed across his face.
"She's not dead?"
He knelt down, feeling for a pulse with his bloody fingers. No, she definitely wasn't dead, and her heart showed no promise of stopping any time soon thanks to the injury.
"Well, that's a surprise," he said, staring at the body for a moment.
James, on the other hand, was conflicted. He'd made his peace with Linnie's death, but here she was, still alive. He was happy, but he also knew how selfish that feeling was. She was still alive, still had to keep living in this place, waiting for someone to kill her, or for he himself to ultimately snap and accidentally kill her himself, as much as he hoped he had more will-power than that.
"Well, let's take her inside then, I guess," Drake straightened the human's limbs, one of which felt to be quite broken, and then scooped her up into his arms. "You take care of the other body, James, then come find me, I think we have something to discuss." He ordered, his voice soft, as if he didn't want to wake the human in his arms.
As if she was just sleeping instead of unconscious.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:34:40 GMT
For long time, the darkness was deep and undisturbed. However, a vague, growing awareness of heat mounted, and fevered dreams developed as Linnet's subconscious began trying to sort through the startling damage her body had acquired. Her dreams at first were merely nonsensical. She tried to talk with people who never responded as they paced toward some goal behind her. No matter what Linnet did, she could not turn and no one would answer her questions. A dark skinned woman passed, seemingly of Caribbean heritage, wearing odd pants. A petite, young blonde man with golden eyes walked so close to Linnet, she expected him to bump her. A black-haired man with eyes that seemed dead and emotionless; a Lady with golden-brown hair and wide, doe-brown eyes. These and many others passed her slowly, as if in a trance. One person in particular, she felt as though she recognized. Startled, she realized the woman resembled James; but, unable to turn her head, she had no way to confirm that realization.
She heard something behind her, shuffling and scraping. Still unable to look, she tried to run. The faces of the people around her started to look more and more like empty skulls from the corners of her eyes, but when she looked, thinking that could not be what she saw, she found she was right. They were just faces after all. Suddenly, Linnet saw Lira's face. He, unlike the others, glared at her. It was not that there was anger in his face, but it was harsher that a mere stare, as though she could feel intent behind the look. He, like the others, said nothing, merely walking past. She heard a bone-chilling scream, and realized it was her own.
The scrapping grew louder and she ran faster, panting hard. It was as though she were running through honey. Every path she took brought a new obstacle. Whatever was behind her seemed not to share in her difficulties. She felt hot breath ruffle her hair, and suddenly she was still, unable to move. Her head was finally able to turn, but just before she could see anything, teeth gouged into her arm and side. She screamed at the pain, tried to wriggle free, but it only made it worse. After an eternity, she was running again, though she was unsure of how. She looked down and could only see the blood coating her fingers, blood she knew was not hers. When she looked up again, she was at a cliff. Unable to stop in time, she was falling.
Linnet awoke with a gasp, convulsively attempting to sit up. Her ribs screamed and she fell back to the bed, jamming her right fist to her mouth and moaning, trying hard to suppress a yelp of pain. For a moment she could think of nothing else, and her vision glazed in and out of focus. After several moments of tension, the pain finally receded. She gasped shallowly, squeezing her eyes closed as a wave of nausea washed over her. Finally, the worst of that passed as well.
She could not breathe deeply without a sharp stab of pain, but the dull ache that accompanied shallow breaths was more manageable. Her left arm felt numb, and when she slowly, carefully turned to look at it, she realized it was tightly bound and splinted. The aching, throbbing pain, now that she knew its origins, seemed to separate out between her ribs and her arm. She opened her mouth slightly in an attempt to get more oxygen and noted another ache there. She thought she could identify a few scrapes and bruises of various size, especially on her legs, arms, and chin. That, at least, was a walk in the park compared to the other two, but she had no desire to examine her injuries further to make sure.
Her eye caught movement to her other side, and she was surprised to see James sitting there. For a while, she just looked at him, staring without comprehension. Then the events of the past several hours came back to her. She groaned softly, her attention shifting back toward the ceiling as she processed her failed escape.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:34:51 GMT
Drake had carried Linnet back to her room and laid her there so he could examine the extent of her wounds. The only thing he could really do was splint her arm, and even then...odds were that she wouldn't last much longer in this place. Not that he particularly cared. He was halfway through binding up her arm when James limped into the room, looking pale as a sheet, a basin of water in his arms. He set the basin down on the table beside her bed and collapsed into the chair Drake had dragged in for such a purpose. His energy was spent.
"You should have mercy on her and just put her out of her misery now," Drake said, matter-of-factly, before dipping his head to cut the bandaging with his teeth and securing it.
James made a vague attempt at pouting.
"Selfish little boy," Drake said, but there was no malice behind it, just a tad bit of confusion and some weariness. "You need to make some kind of move so you can go take care of Hassen. I'm guessing she was the one that agitated him?"
Reluctantly, James nodded.
"Keep an eye on her and let me know when she wakes up." He said as he finished.
He scruffed James' hair a bit then left, unrolling his sleeves and casting a final backwards glance at the pair. If there was anything that gave him mixed feelings about this whole thing, it was tending to the wounds of the almost dead. Certainly, it improved the flavor of the soul in the end, but there was something.... not quite right about it.
It had to be done though, so he did it.
James, after catching his breath, stood over the unconscious form, examining her face. She'd almost escaped. Of course, it really wouldn't be escape. She'd just become another lost soul that paved their way of existence. He had to keep himself from thinking such thoughts, and wondering if maybe he really should kill her, just to end the struggle, or maybe try to smuggle her out. Truly, he was just as trapped here as she was, though his purgatory was unending, and had its ups and downs, while hers was short and mostly unpleasant. He dipped a cloth he'd brought with him into the basin and began to gently clean the dirt off her face and neck, plus all the blood Drake had accidentally smeared on her as he carried her, as well as pick out the blades of grass that had gotten caught in her hair when she hit the ground.
She still hadn't woken when he finished cleaning her up, so he wet the cloth lightly and passed it over her face one more time then settled down in the chair to rest. He managed to nod off, though he didn't know how long he slept before Linnet's gasp startled him back into wakefulness.
He rubbed his eyes then looked over at her. She was awake. After a moment she noticed him, and they shared a look. Then he slowly got to his feet, his body still cold and tired, and grabbed the cloth to dab her face again. He rested the damp cloth on her brow and made a motion for her to wait a second.
Instead of going on a wild duck hunt for Drake, once he went down the hall a bit he opened his senses to pinpoint the other's faint markers of location. He was in the kitchen? That's what it seemed like. James picked up his pace to as quick as he could go, a limping shuffle. He really was turning into Hassen, bent over and lumbering, but there was no helping it.
Drake was indeed in the kitchen. He'd put the soup back on the fire and was humming lightly to himself.
"She's awake, I presume?" he asked without turning around.
James squeaked.
"She'll need to eat; it's been a while since I've fed the humans anyway,” he said and leaned over the soup pot to dole some out into a bowl.
Then he set the bowl on the counter and moved to pick James up, to save him the journey back to Linnet's room. So that way they set off, Drake bearing both bowl and boy, back to the room where Linnet was hopefully still lying. Certainly she wouldn't be able to get up and make another grand escape in the state she was in right now.
"Good morning, little witch,” he said as he entered the room, relaxing his shoulders so James would slip off and slouch back to his chair. "Nice to see you up again after your little trip."
He crossed the room, placed the bowl next to the basin, and removed the cloth from her forehead before sitting down on the arm of James' chair. James shifted his weight to lean against the demon's side. Perhaps if he played nice, Drake could translate his signs, and he could have an actual conversation with Linnet.
"I think we should have a little conversation, my friend. I know you probably aren't feeling that up to talking, so I'll be quick, but what exactly did you say to Hassen that caused his little...episode?" A faint expression of displeasure crossed Drake's face. Of course, he already knew the gist of what had happened, but he wanted to hear her admit to it.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:35:00 GMT
Linnet sighed as James wiped her forehead with the cloth. The coolness was a welcome relief and she distantly wondered if she had a fever. Maybe it would take her as it had her mother. But that would be too easy, wouldn’t it? And it would mean that Drake would win. Her eyes drifted closed. She vaguely realized that James had left the room, but it was so hard to focus on anything. If not for the pain and the malaise of the fever, she would have dropped to sleep almost instantly. As it was, her mind stayed persistently aware of her discomfort, as if worried she would forget. She fought down unending waves of nausea, unable to take a deep, satisfying breath without twinging her ribs.
Linnie had almost managed a doze when she heard the door open. An unwelcome voice accompanied the sound, calling her witch, as usual. She couldn’t help the grimace that distorted her lips as her eyes flickered open. She hated being called that, and though she knew Drake called her a witch to make her uncomfortable, it always worked. James, at least, was with him. Linnet was not sure if she would be able to stand Drake’s presence if not. Not that she had much of a choice either way. He removed the now dry cloth, and she caught sight of those disconcerting red eyes. Her own eyes flickered away quickly, avoiding that terror-inducing gaze.
His question about Hassen rekindled her stubbornness though. She didn’t doubt that he could easily guess what had happened, and did not feel like giving him any sort of satisfaction in any case. All she wanted to do was sleep until she no longer hurt. He could sit there forever for all she cared. She stared resolutely at the ceiling, though that soon fell out of focus.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:35:06 GMT
Linnet remained silent. Drake too, said nothing for a few moments, as if he expected her to suddenly break out into confession, though that wasn't likely to happen at this point.
"Ah, I see you'd prefer to draw this out," he said, keeping his voice calm.
He reached over to James and picked him up by the collar of his jacket so he could sink into the chair and resettle James on his lap. If this was going to take a while, at least he would be comfortable for the duration of it. At least, more comfortable than she was. James sighed and shut his eyes for a moment, resting his head on Drake's chest. He had no desire to be part of the standoff for now.
Drake examined his nails casually, scraping some residual blood off with his thumb. "James confessed, so I already know that you're the one that triggered him. You're just dragging things out for yourself."
James made a small, indignant sound, but didn't move.
"If you tell me specifically what you said to him, then perhaps I can fix him. Otherwise, his death is on your head." He glanced up at her. Okay, he couldn't help it, there was something about her that made it so amusing to antagonize her. "I guess that would make two, then, wouldn't it?" He took a breath to speak again, but paused for a moment. "Of course, I have all the time in the world to wait for you, my dear, I don't know what your end game is, but the longer you take to answer me, the worse it will ultimately be for you. So go ahead, take your time."
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