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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:45:57 GMT
Story Guide
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:46:27 GMT
Everyone was dead now. Granted, maybe he should have done a better job of keeping up with the runts—Juliet’s soul was incredibly mushy and rather unpleasant—but now all he had to do was wait for Linnet to die and then they could move on. He could fix Hassen, who was beginning to wear himself out. Maybe it would be a good idea to change him? He could be useful, he just needed to be trained properly. He’d eventually forget all about Alexander. James would be jealous though. But then again, wasn’t that just what James deserved for dragging his feet so much about the whole Linnet business?
Saber had died early on, eviscerated by Juliet. Clean, beautiful work. But he’d cut her up terribly. Even if Drake’d had any inclination to fix her up, it was questionable whether she’d let him come near enough to her and her little boy-pup to do anything.
Dante had died not too long after, coolly murdered in her own bed. Upon finding her body, Drake was glad that they didn’t know about Linnet. Her death needed to be on James’s hands alone. He needed to learn his lesson. It was good that these humans were so eager though, since James seemed to spend all his time in Linnet’s room, watching her sleep or sleeping himself. Drake was particularly curious about Linnet’s slow recovery, but he tended to leave his small companion well enough alone. Better to let him stew in his growing hunger.
So when he went to check on Hassen, as he was wont to do at random intervals, only to discover Andrew lying at the bottom of the stairs and Juliet slumped by the door, a most delicious idea came to mind.
Wouldn’t a bit of temptation be just what James needed to spur him into action?
So Drake slung the corpse of the boy over his shoulder and began to make his way to the room that housed the two objects that bore the weight of his supreme interest, a new spring in his step.
“James,” He called out in a singsong voice as he pushed open the door, not caring whether he woke the girl up. She slept enough as it was. Lazy human.
James’s head bolted up as the demon entered the room, his eyes fixed on the corpse. The hunger had been hard to manage recently, but he’d been doing his best. He just couldn’t hurt Linnet. He’d made a promise to her and he intended to keep it. But here was a dead human. Had Drake relented?
Drake wasn’t looking at his smaller companion. His eyes were fixed on the bed. Which was noticeably empty.
“James,” Drake said, his voice dropping to a dangerous purr. “Where is she?”
James glanced around, a faint thrill of fear dancing through his system. Linnet was gone. He turned his gaze back to the white haired demon, eyebrows drawing together.
“Well, don’t just stand there, find her,” he snapped.
James slid off his chair, rubbing his eyes. The only thing he could sense right now was the human boy’s soul. It was leaking into his calm even before he started to lower his walls. Remaining in control with the soul so close would be difficult, but he could do it for Linnet.
After standing stock still for a few moments, he was accustomed enough to the nearby soul smell to start searching past it. Drake dogged his heels as he walked down the hall. The scar on his throat was insistent, tugging against his skin at every move now, reminding him of how hungry he was. There. His fingernails dug into his palms as he finally hit the scent of Linnet’s soul signature.
Drake sloughed off the body of the boy as they reached the library, where smoke was already drifting along the ceiling. James hung back as Drake went to confront Linnet. He watched with half an eye, but most of his attention was focused on the corpse. It was so tantalizingly close. He needed to eat so badly.
They’d done if before, eating animal carcasses when there wasn’t an easy kill nearby. If he just...
He couldn’t help himself. He pulled the corpse out of the aisle and began to gnaw on its hand. Hands were good, intricate enough to keep him occupied for quite some time. Beings that when they did cannibalize, it was usually after eating, there was something cathartic about chewing this hand to the bone. James felt a modicum of calmness return to his system. The soul scents, both the body’s and Linnet’s, were crying out to him, but now, at least, he had something else to focus on.
Well, that was until Drake started shouting. James jumped, looking up guiltily. But Drake wasn’t shouting at him. He was shouting at Linnet. The boy peered around the side of the bookcase he’d been leaning against. Drake stood, almost a silhouette against the rising fire around him, Linnet held aloft. He was shaking her, shouting at her.
What was he doing? What was she doing? In a half daze, the boy stood up, wiping the blood off his mouth with his sleeve, and started towards the pair. He still had a hand clamped around Andrew’s wrist, and the human dragged along behind him, feet catching in the shelves and pulling out books.
Should he intervene? Was Linnet trying to kill herself? Why else would she set everything on fire? At that moment it dawned on him. He’d told her. He’d told her everything and now she was making the only escape available to her. He didn’t know what happened to the souls Drake killed, but certainly it was better than being eaten, right?
So James stood a few meters away, watching as Drake set Linnet down again. Her scream pierced the deepest parts of his chest. He’d heard screams like that before—he’d caused screams like that before—but in this moment nothing hurt more than her agony. When Drake dropped her, a chunk of her shoulder missing, James let go of the corpse’s mutilated hand and ran to catch her before she fell.
“James.” Drake’s voice was low, on the verge of cracking. “You need to do it right now.” James didn’t even look up. His eyes were focused only on Linnet as her skin slowly began to pale from blood loss. He gently brushed the hair from her face, no longer even thinking of his own hunger. He was sad to see her this way, but this was for the best. No more suffering for her.
“James.” His voice was harsher this time, more urgent.
The boy glanced up in time to see Drake striding over, one hand bunched in the dead human’s shirt-front and the other reaching for him. He hunched over Linnet, letting out a hiss deep in his throat to tell Drake to stay away. He’d protect her last moments.
A moment of vertigo. James felt Linnet slip from his grasp as Drake picked him up by the collar of his shirt. He collided with the bookshelf. Then the ground. Books rained down on him as he slumped, trying to reorient himself. He needed to get back to Linnet. He knew, he knew, but Drake couldn’t possibly be that thoughtless, that stubborn, could he?
“You want to be with her so badly, you selfish little boy?” Drake’s voice tinged on unhinged, an unamused laugh growling from his throat. “I hope you’re happy then, this is your fault.”
James struggled to free himself from the mound of books as the demon spoke. The pale figure was kneeling over Linnet’s supine form, one knee on her chest, a faintly luminescent, squirming substance between his fingers.
The boy struggled to his feet. A yowl burbled in his throat as he lunged for the demon, but he was too late. Drake had already plunged his hand past the knuckles through Linnet’s teeth. He’d probably torn the corners of her mouth, but he didn’t seem to care very much. They’d be the first thing to heal again, anyway. She’d have no choice but to swallow under the oppressive weight of his hand, and that was that.
It was done.
James hesitated for a moment. Everything slowed down. He was drowning. Drake couldn’t just…he’d promised that he wouldn’t…And to Linnet, of all people. She didn’t deserve this life.
Drake was laughing, standing up again. He wiped his chin with his sleeve, leaving a smeared halo of Linnet’s blood around his mouth. His eyes flashed, but he wasn’t looking at anything in particular, his chest heaving with each breath.
“It’s only fair,” he murmured, barely loud enough for James to hear. “She thought she could play me. But I always win.”
Those eyes wandered towards him, and as they landed on his face, James felt heat rising up in his chest. How could he do this to Linnet? And she’d been so close to freedom too. And now Drake was just standing there, grinning that stupid grin.
For a few moments, he was almost as quick as the demon. A few strides, hand lifted. Aimed directly for the face. There was something satisfying about the crisp sound of the back of his hand connecting with Drake’s cheek. He needed to know that this wasn’t okay. He couldn’t just do that to humans. Now she was trapped here too.
His face was twisted into a snarl, eyes narrowed almost to slits as he pulled his hand back to hit the taller male again. Drake’s countenance suddenly shifted, almost equally contorted, as he snatched the hand out of the air, crunching small fingers in his stronger grip. A slight twist at first, enough to make him gasp, but he didn’t cry out as his arm snapped under the stress. It started at the elbow, cartilage crackling as radius pulled away from ulna, then then his humerus splintered, tugging his shoulder out of its socket. Drake said nothing, just continued twisting it until James could barely stand straight from the radiating tongues of pain jolting through his multi-fractured bones.
His barely-open eyes wandered to Linnet. She would be healing slowly now. It wouldn’t be too long before the soul took effect. He needed to get her somewhere safe before that happened. Maybe he could calm her down, mitigate everything. Certainly the last thing she needed right now was more of Drake in her face.
But Drake wasn’t letting go of his hand. He was slowly going numb now, his nerves shutting down from overstimulation. Tears blurred his eyes, but none dribbled down his cheeks as he turned his sight back to Drake. There was only one way to do this. One option. He pulled back his free hand shakily, gritting his teeth as the movement caused the bones in his distressed arm to grind together. He needed to aim this perfectly, nothing less would do. A moment of wild adrenaline.
Then, contact.
The cartilage in Drake’s nose crumpled under his knuckles. That talon grip immediately slackened.
A low groan of pain dripped from James’s mouth as he ripped his arm out of the demon’s grasp and stumbled towards Linnet.
Drake stood completely still, one hand touching his flattened nose as it quickly began to reconstitute itself. A few dribbles of his own blood mingled with the reddish-brown smears of Linnet’s around his mouth. Then he stared at his hand, his hands, and slowly sank to his knees, then the ground, silently.
James didn’t really care. He needed to take care of Linnet now. Drake could wait until later. Adrenaline coursed through him, continuing to keep the hunger at bay. Which was good, since he could still very acutely smell Linnet’s soul.
His now useless right hand dangled at his side as he crouched beside the girl, trying to emit some comforting chuffs and sympathetic sounds as he grabbed her uninjured upper arm. It would probably still hurt—he didn’t know how far along she was with healing—but it was necessary.
His face was slick with sweat. He’d forgotten how badly broken bones hurt. The pain came in waves, so he couldn’t just block it out, and every time he moved it flared up again. But if he could just get Linnet out, find a safe room to lock them in, hopefully she’d recover her lucidity soon. He didn’t know how it all worked, but that was a comforting plan.
Drake sat without moving for a few minutes, staring at his hands, trying to make sense of what had happened. He’d done it. Linnet was now permanently his. But was that what he’d wanted? Not really. He just hadn’t wanted her to die by his hand. It had been the first thought in his head to feed her the soul. Perhaps not the best thought. But what was done was done, James was angry with him, and the library was still on fire.
The demon clambered shakily to his feet, heaving a deep sigh. Well, one thing at a time. First he needed to figure out how to salvage his books.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:46:40 GMT
The radiating numbness dominated Linnet’s conscious mind. She only realized she was on the floor when James shifted to move the hair that had fallen over her face. Coherent thought was difficult to manage. She could see the sadness in James’s gaze and wanted so badly to console him. Linnet’s lips twitched slightly, trying to form words, but nothing would come out. Her breathing came in short shallow pants. Her heart fluttered, quick and inefficient, trying to pump the blood left in her body but only succeeding in forcing more from the wound at the base of her neck.
Just as quickly as he appeared, James was gone and she thumped to the floor. Pain began to break through the numbness, but she writhed only a moment before a terrible weight pinned her down. What breath she had left with a huff and half-healed ribs split afresh under the pressure. She gave a weak, choking gasp of agony, and her wildly rolling eyes finally fixed on the demon’s face. She was too weak to try to push Drake away, or even to move her arms far, and her fingers scrabbled slowly at the floor. Her attention was caught briefly by a white globe dangling from Drake’s fingers, pulsing with its own light. Her eyes widened with fear and confusion.
Without warning, her jaw was forced open, new blossoms of pain forming as the corners of her mouth split from the strain, adding to the overwhelming sweep of pain running through her fragile form. Her eyes clenched shut as her teeth scraped against Drake’s knuckles. A sharp, harsh metallic taste filled her mouth, accompanied by the coppery tang of blood and a sickeningly slimy feeling. It was like trying to swallow a slug whole. She retched at first, her body rebelling against the unpleasant sensation. After a moment of resistance, her throat seemed to open of its own accord, swallowing instinctually. Her teeth once again grated against Drake’s bloodied knuckles as he removed his empty fist from her mouth. Free from the weight, she let out shaky breaths, her eyes opening just in time to glimpse Drake’s mad, victorious grin.
She curled partially to her side as his agonizing weight left her chest. She retched again, but there was nothing for her body to expel. Her mind lapsed out of consciousness without warning, her form relaxing as her body worked to process her wounds and what it had been given. It was not long before the healing process began, the vast damage to her body starting to reverse as though it had never happened. The fatal wound to her neck began to clot, then refill with muscle and tissue. Bones gradually pulled back together and mended. The blood that coated the floor and stained her hair was replaced bit by bit.
Before the process could come to completion, a hand grabbed at her right arm and started pulling her across the floor in short jerks. The motion painfully brought Linnet back to a semi-conscious state, and she whimpered pitifully. She wanted the motion to stop, but it only continued, endlessly tormenting her battered form. As time passed, Linnet regained consciousness more fully, her unfocused gaze centering on James.
“Where… you takin’ me?” she asked, her tone strained and pleading. Confusion reigned as she tried to sort out what had happened, but she could make no sense of it. Further muddling the situation, an out of sense feeling of vitality was starting to rush through her, pushing what pain remained to the background. "Am I dead?"
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:47:02 GMT
James's injured arm dangled down, and he had to angle himself so it wouldn't bump against Linnet's head as he crouched down to pull her along. Pain still radiated the length of it, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. Her body was already starting to heal, everything knitting back together. As he pulled her along, they left a slowly dwindling streak of her blood across the floor.
Linnet didn't seem to be entirely conscious at first, making small sounds of pain. James tried to make a sympathetic hushing sound, but he was breathing too heavily, and it came out more like a half-sigh. He hated to move her, it was obvious how much pain he was causing her, but it was only temporary now. He couldn't let her do anything that she'd later regret. They could get through this together, everything would be okay. If only he could tell her that, reassure her.
Every few steps, James needed to pause and rest, though the adrenaline still scurrying through him anxiously prodded him to keep going, but for the sake of her lessening pain and his growing pain, pauses were probably for the best. They'd make it. He had time. It'd be fine. Everything would be fine.
They were by the doors of the library when she seemed to wake up again, her mismatched eyes meeting his. James stopped moving for a moment, staring at her. This was real. This was happening. Linnet was alive, and she would stay that way for...who even knew how long. He turned away, letting go of her arm so he could push the big door open. That's when she spoke, her bewilderment written plainly across her voice. At least it meant she was still lucid.
When he crouched down next to her, she spoke again. Was she dead? That was a good question. He paused for a moment, offering a wan smile. He shook his head for a moment, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her sticky face, before taking hold of her arm again to drag her along.
She was healing too quickly, he could see that now. If he could just get her down the hall to one of the servant rooms, everything would be okay. He just needed to be quicker. She obviously wasn't in as much pain anymore, she could probably stand on her own, but how would he explain to her that they needed to hurry? It'd take too much time.
He'd managed to turn the corner, he was so close to that door at the end of the hall, and after that the room just to the left, but her face...he'd never really seen what it looked like on someone else before. Sure Drake could get angry sometimes, but his face never looked so...empty. He let out an imploring squeak, trying to redouble his efforts, she needed to hold on, just a little longer, everything would be fine.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:47:28 GMT
Linnet's brow furrowed at the gentle shake of his head. It made no sense. She had won, succeeding in making Drake enraged enough to end her. Why.... What did he do to her? The question stopped her thoughts cold. She struggled vainly to get up, but she felt weak and shaky. The pain was diminishing and she felt oddly alive, more than she ever had. The sensation was hard to explain. What had Drake done? The question niggled at her confused thoughts, as though trying to get her to understand. James was close for a moment, brushing the hair from her face. He began pulling her again, but now she hardly noticed. Her eyes were growing unfocused once more, though this time it was from introspection rather than pain. Another strange feeling was developing, both alien and familiar. A desperate need. A pulling that begged to be satisfied. A mind-consuming hunger. Her entire consciousness focused on that terrible hunger, trying to pinpoint it, to understand what it wanted. It was still so vague, so general, as though it couldn't decide. Linnet's face slowly blanked in complete, agonizing concentration. James made a noise above her, his desperation clear, but it hardly made a dent in the whirling, confusing hunger. Suddenly, it was clear what she needed so desperately, as though a fog had lifted to reveal a blinding beacon in a pitch black world. She jerked from James's grasp without warning, crawling backwards, her eyes snapping to his form with a predatory focus. She scrambled to her feet, tripping over her skirts slightly. There was a small tearing noise as she jerked upright, but her eyes were fixed on the boy before her. Haunting, mismatched eyes that saw nothing but prey. Her backward path suddenly halted and she was entirely still for a tense moment. In an instant, her face twisted into a soundless snarl and she lunged forward, covering the distance in one bound. She struck the boy with the full force of her momentum, with the full force of her hunger, knocking them both to the ground. She kneeled over him, her hands like talons digging into his shoulders without mercy. Her eyes swept his form as she breathed heavily, scenting him. She knew he had what she so desperately craved, but it was so hard to pinpoint where. She drew closer, her breath huffing against his face and hair, slight confusion joining the predatory hunger carved on her features. The boy under her began to struggle, and the scowl returned to her face. She could not let him leave until she figured out what he had. Her grip tightened and she pulled his shoulders up, leaning back slightly for more leverage until she slammed him back down. She repeated the motion several times, sure that if she could stop him from moving, even if it meant killing him, would help her pinpoint that tantalizing pull. She soon abandoned the motion, instead scooting back and scrabbling at his chest just below his collarbone. That had to be where it was coming from! She had only managed to ruin his clothing and leave painful scrapes, when suddenly she jerked to a halt. Her head cocked to one side as she focused intently. There was something nearby with a much stronger pull, so strong she completely forgot about the boy whose form she was straddling. She burst into motion, scrambling over him with no regard to what she kicked or jabbed. In an instant, she was free of the obstacle, and she scrambled off clumsily on all fours until she gained her feet and sprinted down the hallway. She clambered up the stairs, tripping over her bloodied skirts and ripping them worse, ignoring the inconvenience in her complete focus. It was not hard to track the scent to a room on the second floor. It would have been terrifyingly familiar in her normal state of mind, but Linnet noticed nothing but the hunger. As she burst into the room, Hassen jerked upright from where he had been huddled on the bed. This time, Linnet hardly hesitated. The cloying scent was so strong, so overwhelming, that there was no denying where it came from. She launched herself at the injured man, knocking him back and immediately scrabbling at his chest. He grabbed at her, trying to keep her away or pull her off. She growled threateningly, but this one would not stop fighting. Why did they struggle so? Why keep her from what she so fiercely wanted? Her fury only increased. The pair struggled, growls and shrill yelps of pain proceeding from both almost without pause. Though Hassen was bigger than she, he was injured. Her determinedly violent intent was too much for him to overcome now. Neither were able to gain the advantage until Hassen jerked violently, upsetting Linnet's balance. Linnet refused to release her hold on him and they both fell to the floor. Hassen tried to pin the writhing, terribly determined girl under him, but she pulled her legs up and shoved hard against his abdomen, launching him backward. His head clipped the corner of the end table, stunning him. This was the only advantage the feral girl needed, and she took it without hesitation, once again launching herself at him. There was no mercy this time as she grabbed at his shoulders and slammed him repeatedly down to the ground with all her strength, her teeth gritted into a snarl with the effort. She did not stop with merely stunning the man into stillness. The adrenaline coursing through her kept her going. Hassen’s head made a pulsing beat as she snapped it back into the hard floor again and again, like a squirrel trying to crack a nut. Long moments passed until she finally stopped, distracted from her fury by the steady, sweet pulling that emanated from the man's chest. She scrambled to a kneeling position beside the prone form, ignoring the slowly growing pool of blood from the back of the Hassen's head. She dug at his chest, blood and flesh accumulating unheeded under her fingernails. Despite the trauma to his head, Hassen was still taking slow, agonized breaths. The pain caused him to start mumbling incoherently, the words too mangled to make out even if there were someone present who would care to listen. He kept twitching and shuddering slightly, as though still trying to get away. Though the girl ignored the mumbling at first, the twitches grated on her. They needed to stop. Her focus jerked back to his face, noting his dull, glazed eyes. She slammed his head to one side, and bit down on the side of his neck, feeling the pulse through his skin. Keeping a large chunk of flesh between her teeth, she sawed back and forth for several long moments until she was rewarded with the feeling of blood filling her mouth. It slackened the hunger somewhat, but only confirmed what it was that she really wanted. Now that Hassen's movement had stopped completely, his face twisted in agony, she was finally able to focus on getting to the source of that overwhelmingly cloying, teasing scent.
No matter how much she dug, she could not reach the soul. Bits of flesh were scattered about, and all too soon the girl realized she could make no more progress. She had reached bone in several places. Everything was slick and sticky with blood, both her own and Hassen's. She was by no means strong enough to break through one rib, much less the multiple ribs it would take to actually reach her goal, and she knew it. Her frustration built dangerously until her attention was suddenly caught by a different scent, overwhelming in its sheer number. As attractive as the soul at her feet was, she could not help but be distracted. After all, with that immense number of souls nearby, it had to be possible that she might be able to get to one that could satisfy the hunger that gnawed at her. She sprung up, once again leaving her prey behind and dashing through the manor, pausing periodically at windows until she came to the west side of the manor. She paced back and forth between a couple windows, trying to discern where the scent was emanating from. The smell was so strong, it was driving her mad. She suddenly decided on a window and approached, trying to find a way to open it. Her efforts soon failed.
Seeing no other obvious way to get to the scent, she backed up several paces. Linnet hesitated only a moment before sprinting forward and throwing herself against the window. She bounced back off of it, her shoulder throbbing, but a crack had started. She backed again all the way to the other wall and jumped forward, once again bodily flinging herself at the fragile obstacle. The glass shattered around her, tinkling musically but she paid it no attention. Glass slivers coated her pale hair, making it shimmer as shards caught the light. She had several new small gashes, but nothing could distract her from her mission. Now that most of the glass was gone, only the bars kept her from freedom. She shook herself, getting rid of some of the loose glass that coated her form, and drew closer to the window. Grey clouds covered the stars, keeping everything dark. A gentle wind was picking up, carrying the scent of rain and, more importantly, of souls. Linnet grabbed at the bars and shook them, but found that they were solid. Linnet climbed up on the sill and jerked at the bars again, using her whole weight this time, but there was still no give. For a moment, she was confounded to stillness as she considered how to proceed, still perched on the sill and holding the bars. The wind kept gusting, teasing her and whipping strands of her hair back from her face. It took her only a moment to decide. If she couldn't get the bars to move, maybe she could get through the bars. They didn't seem all that narrow to her impatient eye, and she was desperate either way. Taking no more time to consider, she slid back down to the floor and began pushing her face between the bars. Linnet braced against the carpet with her feet and pulled as hard as she could with her hands to force her way through. Small slivers of glass dug into her cheeks, slicing flesh as she progressed, but she gritted her teeth and ignored the pain. Finally, with no small amount of wriggling, her head popped through and her shoulders slammed into the bars. She gave herself only a moment to catch her breath before she turned to her side, trying to force her shoulders through. She could not make it far, however, as there was nothing for her to brace against. She tried several different approaches, but no matter how hard she pushed, she could make no more progress. Finally, she gave up on forcing her way out and began trying to get her head back inside. Once again, no matter which way she turned, she could not get back inside the bars. Panic soon began to set in. Linnet was stuck, trapped, with no way to get to her goal. The thought was maddening. She jerked wildly, desperately, but to no avail.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:47:50 GMT
She looked like an animal. Her eyes hadn't the slightest glimmer of recognition. Was this what he looked like when he was like this? James felt a cold hand wrap around his gut, suddenly so helpless against the force of her mindless hunger. What could he even do to help her when he himself so frequently drowned in this vice? He made another soft, entreating sound. He was certainly not strong enough to fight her, but maybe he could still pull her along? She was still focused on him for some reason. Maybe because she hadn't scented Hassen yet and was just responding to his movement?
She was backing up, her eyes fixed on him. When she stopped moving, he held out his good hand to her, thinking that maybe he could herd her into a room before the real madness started. That's when she lunged at him.
James's mouth gaped, a wheezing grunt falling from his lips. Okay, he'd expected that, now she'd bound away, scramble up the stairs, right? His vision was glazed with pain from his injured arm, which was half trapped beneath him, bone starting to press insistently against his flesh from within. She was going to get off him now, right?
But no, her face drew nearer. Was she smelling him?
A sudden horror blossomed across the boy's face. He could still smell her. It wasn't just the residue of her soul. She could smell his soul because it was still there. Why had Drake never told him? There was a faint drip of relief in his system, the thought that there was still something human in him after all, but it was quickly overshadowed by the hungry form currently straddling him. He had a soul. Linnet wanted that soul. He needed to get away right now. He had to get away before she... before she did something she'd regret.
He started to try and squirm away, using his uninjured hand to catch purchase on the floor and slide out from under her. She wasn't having that, apparently, because her fingers suddenly dug deeper into his shoulders. He was unprepared for the first time his head made contact with the ground. She didn't know her own strength, and he could already feel blood collecting there. He didn't know what he'd do if she cracked his skull.
But she wasn't finished yet. He tried to tuck his head forward, chin against his throat as she slammed his back against the ground again and again. It helped only a little, and there really was blood now, he could feel it matting in his hair, a disconcerting warmth. After a few strikes, he realized what she was trying to do. So he played dead, going entirely limp. It was a risk, if she went for his throat now he would certainly lose consciousness and she'd get away before he could limp back to Drake for help, but he couldn't handle her bashing his head in anymore.
His conjecture was right. She changed her focus from attempting to knock him out (or kill him? He couldn't tell, but he wanted to think the best of her) to searching again. She was looking for the source of the soul smell. Aaaaand she found it. James cried out for the first time as her fingernails dug through his shirt, popping buttons and shredding the fabric, tearing through his flesh like ribbons. She wasn't cutting him too deep, but she was scraping off a good layer of skin, and that bleeding pain, right at his chest, hurt worse than his mangled arm.
And then, just as quickly as she pounced on him, she stopped attacking him. She was gone. James shut his eyes for a moment, a few stray tears of pain dribbling down into his ears. He needed to get up. He needed to tell Drake what had happened. Drake could fix this, right?
Shirt front torn to near scraps, blood dribbling from his chest and from the back of his head, the boy clambered back to his feet after his short rest, dragging himself back towards the library.
Drake had quickly come back to himself after James dragged his little human, or not-so-human-anymore friend out of the room. He needed to save things before they burned down the whole place. Anything that couldn't be salvaged was quickly tossed into the hearth, and he tried as best he could to save his precious journals.
James's figure shambled halfway into the library, hunched in the doorway, and let out the loudest yawp he could manage. Drake straightened immediately, turning around, looking down the long stretches of bookcases at the lone figure standing there, one arm dangling uselessly, the other one pressed against his chest.
"James?" he murmured, taking a step forward, and then another.
He regretted what he'd done, he regretted every bit of it as he hurried towards his boy, catching him as he burst into tears, slumping into the white haired male's chest. Drake didn't have to ask. He knew.
"We'll find her, James, don't worry, we'll take care of her," he said softly, picking him up. He could feel James's cold nose pressing against the side of his neck, and tears dripping onto his shoulder.
Where would she be? Apparently she'd attacked James first, but hadn't gotten particularly far with him. She must have smelled Hassen and went for him. Hopefully she'd still be up there, tussling with him. Who knew how much of a fight that human could put up? He'd taken some harsh beatings in the past, he had always been fairly resilient.
The question now was, where exactly is Hassen? Drake idly rubbed James's back with a hand, trying to calm him down as he exited the library and headed for the stairs. Might as well work from the most likely places outwards. Alexander's room would be first on the list, since it was a good bit closer than the attic anyway. He did purposefully take things a bit slow, though. He wanted Linnet to finish off the human before they got there, since James was in no state to murder anyone, and he worried that if he distracted Linnet, she wouldn't finish the job herself.
It left him more time to comfort James anyway, who had stopped crying when they entered the stairwell. Now he was only sniffling occasionally. There would be time to be angry at that little boy later, since he had caused this whole mess in the first place, but right now, it seemed to Drake that his companion had suffered enough for one day.
When they finally made it to Alexander's room, Drake discovered that he'd only been half right. Hassen was there, bleeding all over the carpet, but Linnet was not. There was a bite missing out of his throat, and it looked like a family of squirrels had tried to nest in his chest, but otherwise he was still mostly intact.
"Dinner time, little monkey," Drake sing-songed quietly, setting James down on the floor and kneeling down beside the corpse. He pushed up his bloody and singed sleeves and finished the job of clearing out the chest cavity. He was surprised that Linnet was not still prowling around, trying to scratch through the bone, considering how desperate these chunks of flesh missing from his chest appeared to be.
James, his eyes foggy and his body slumped to one side, obediently opened his mouth, though he was no longer particularly hungry. Mostly he just felt sick. The kind of sickness that the soul wouldn't heal, even as his chest and the back of his head closed up, his arm untwisted itself and drained of that burning pain that had been plaguing him for what now seemed to be years, and then the old scar on his neck finally closed up. The hunger diminished. His body refilled with blood.
Now he was at full strength again, but there would be no contest against Linnet, even if he did want to hurt her. Though his knowledge of fighting was certainly greater, she was fueled by raw hunger, no thoughts, just attacking. There was no way he could do anything but run from her. But that was okay. It'd pass. He could handle her until then.
"You need a bath, James," Drake said as he held out his arms to invite his companion to rejoin him in their new quest to find Linnet.
James squeaked, not looking at the white haired demon. He was still angry about what had happened to Linnet. But that didn't stop him from lifting his arms up so Drake could carry him. Priorities.
"Point her out, James," Drake said as they exited the room, leaving Hassen's twice disturbed corpse on the ground. It was still staining the carpet.
James opened his senses. It was so much easier to retain control over himself when he wasn't a half second away from starving. Linnet's soul was no longer the bright, tempting spot that it had once been, but he could still recognize it as hers. There was something surreal about it now, as if it didn't really fit into his surroundings. Like a dimly lit room next to full daylight. Was that how he smelled to her? To Drake, when he bothered to use his ability?
He pointed like a compass, slowly adjusting his direction as they neared her and it became more precise. His grip on Drake's neck tightened a little as they neared. What if she attacked him again? What should he do? He didn't want to hurt her. But he also didn't want her to hurt him. Hopefully Drake would intervene.
When they finally did find Linnet, Drake stopped short. He stared at her trapped form for a moment, then he had to set James down, leaning against the wall because he was laughing too hard, the heel of a hand pressed over his eyes.
"A...Are you stuck, little bird?" He managed to get out between peals of laughter. He tried to stand up, but only made it a few paces closer before doubling over, unable to contain his laughter. "Do... Do you need some help?" Tears streamed down his face. This was certainly not what he'd expected to see after encountering both James and Hassen quite torn up.
It took several minutes to compose himself again, because every time he looked up, her struggling had increased in intensity, and he couldn't handle it. James, on the other hand, hung back, watching warily. Naturally Drake would be amused, he rarely missed a chance to remind the boy that he missed those times when he'd been completely out of it.
Once Drake managed to calm his laughter to the occasional giggle, he wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve and shot a glance at James. "You'll want to be prepared to run, I don't know if I can catch her before she gets to you, but I'll do my best."
James nodded solemnly. He tensed slightly, crouching down just a little so he could bolt off the moment she lunged for him.
"Hold still, Linnet, please, I'm trying to free you, if you keep wiggling like that I'm going to just cut your head off instead. Would you like that?" Drake complained as he tried to orient himself to pull the bars back. It was hard to keep his distance from the struggling girl while also gaining enough leverage to properly bend them. "Also, why would you break my windows? That's just uncalled for. You come into my house, attack my servants, and then break my windows? I just...I don't know what to say." As he talked, he was slowly pushing the bars farther apart until Linnet's head would finally be able to slip back through them.
Once she did get free, he'd do his best to catch her, his pace could easily outstrip both James's and Linnet's, thanks to his much longer legs, and when he did catch her, he'd trap her at his hip for a moment, the way he liked to carry James, before shifting to hold out out in front of him, both hands under her arms so he could appraise the rabid girl.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:48:21 GMT
The world was against her. She was sure of that now. No matter how she twisted and gyrated, she could not pull her head free from the bars or push her shoulders through. Her face was badly scratched and her was jaw bruised from the force with which she had jammed her head through the bars. Meanwhile, that tantalizing pull of countless souls plagued her senses. It was all she wanted, all she could think about, but the merciless bars kept her from it, even as the damp wind teased her, bringing the scent so clearly. Time passed, she had no idea how long and she did not care. She sunk down as far as the window would allow, her head resting at the bottom of the frame, awkwardly stuck between standing and crouching, resigned to her fate. Her desolation was interrupted by the sound of raucous laughter. She jolted upward, her head thudding hard against the bars, and listened a moment. The soul scent from earlier was also behind her. It did not pull as strongly as the multitude she had originally been going after, but its closeness was more attractive. She started struggling and wriggling afresh, unable to make any progress but not willing to give up. Eventually, there was a bit of talking, still interrupted by chortling, but she paid it little attention. All she was interested in was getting to the nearby soul and freeing herself, though not necessarily in that order. Her struggling was noisy enough to drown out the words in any case. As her need became more desperate, so did her movements until she was braced with her feet on the sill trying to pull out with all her might, jerking back and forth. The back edge of her jawbone was getting rubbed raw and starting to bleed on one side, but the pain was pushed to the back of her mind by the intense hunger. Still, it did not take her long to exhaust her energy surge, and she slumped back to a more neutral pose, sporadically jerking in rebellion against her confinement. Finally, Drake approached. Almost as soon as he started bending the bars, she was off again, her head scooting up until it was right under his hands, her erratic jerks hindering his progress. She felt her head starting to slip through, and her emotions surged with victory. She braced one foot against the sill again and pushed hard. Her head popped out from between the bars before she could prepare herself and she tumbled backwards, flopping over her shoulder and onto her stomach before she could stop her momentum. She took only a moment to breath in, slightly shaking herself, before she was off. This time, the hunt after the soul was more thrilling, as the boy just ahead of her was actually running. She chased after with all her might, but did not make it far before her progress was halted. She found herself pinned at Drake's hip, and though she wriggled convincingly, she could make no progress against his strong grasp. He shifted her without much effort, giving no real chance for escape as he brought the active girl up to examine her, but she never returned his gaze. Instead, she craned her neck, trying hard to determine where the boy she had been chasing went. He wasn't terribly far yet. She just knew she could get him if she could only get free again. She clawed at the hands holding her, even as her gaze was still fixed down the hallway. Frustrated by the continuing hindrance, she drew her legs up, her eyes suddenly fixing without specific focus on Drake's form, before she kicked at him with all her strength, hoping to catch him off guard and break free.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:48:30 GMT
Linnet was up just as quickly as she'd fallen down, off after James, who was running at full tilt down the hall, looking nervously over his shoulder. When Drake caught her, she writhed. What a creature, she was, so eager to attack anything that moved even a little. How precious.
James was now standing halfway down the hall, wringing his hands. Could he come back now? Linnie was safely trapped. Maybe, if he could just get close enough, maybe she'd wake back up, maybe he could calm her down?
Drake held the squirming girl up, turning her this way and that to examine the damage to her person. He let out a low whistle. "You really did cut the devil out of yourself, didn't you," he said, an ounce of wry pride in his voice.
She wasn't looking at him. She was focused on James, who was just standing there, eyes wide. Silly boy, didn't he know he was driving her nuts? And now she was scratching at his hands, and small bits of his skin came away under her nails easily as the flesh beneath healed itself, shedding a few tears of blood in the process.
"James, wou--" Drake started to say when Linnet's head snapped back to him, and she curled up. The surprise of her kick to his chest drove breath from his chest, cutting him off mid word. She ripped from his grip, off to catch her prey again.
"James, get out of here, please." Drake snapped as he lunged after the handful of a halfling.
James, after a moment of hesitation, turned to run, shoulders quivering. Drake, not wanting to let Linnet get close to James again, or he'd have two injured little handfuls to deal with, leaped forward, wrapping his arms around the girl's knees and knocking her to the ground, arms firm around his bundle of ripped skirts and leg.
He was breathing heavily, a half smile scrawled across his mouth. He had to admit, he'd missed this a little. This wild anxiety, this mad desire to eat, and he was the only one who could take care of her. He shifted his weight, intending to pin her against the ground. He was wary now, if she tried to make another break for it, he would be ready.
Once she was secured, at least for the moment, the demon looked up at his companion. James had stopped running again the moment Linnet was down. Such a worried little thing, wasn't he. "I need you to leave, James. Go back to your room and stay there. Lock the door. We'll talk later, okay? Right now you're just teasing her and making things worse, understand?"
James's face slumped into a helpless look, and after another long glance at Linnet, he turned and walked away, shoulders drooping.
Then Drake looked back at the girl. "As for you, little monster, we'll need to clean you up and find some place to keep you that you won't absolutely destroy, yes?"
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:48:39 GMT
Her feet made solid contact with her captor's chest, forcing his grip to loosen. She took full advantage of the moment and wrenched violently to one side, breaking out of Drake's grasp before he could recover. She dropped to the floor, already turning to chase James. Once she caught her balance fully, she took three good strides before she was knocked to the ground. She braced with her hands outstretched, but still managed to hit her chin on the floor. She yelped with pain and surprise, but her gaze came back up to James, who was still standing in view, though a bit further off than before.
Linnet was already trying to worm her way free. The grip on her legs was far too tight to allow her any leverage, however. Even when the demon shifted, he was careful enough that she was unable to break free, despite her struggles. She was out of tricks for the moment. He soon had her completely pinned, and Linnet began to calm. Her eyes were still fixed on James and her body remained slightly tense, ready to take advantage of any opportunity to escape.
Drake warned the reluctant boy away, and Linnet let out a low, frustrated whine as he disappeared from view. For a few moments, she kept her head up, her neck straining to maintain the awkward position as she tracked James's movements. Soon she gave up with an annoyed huff and slumped to rest her chin on the carpet, listening to the sound of Drake's voice, but not really paying attention to what he said.
Now that she had relaxed slightly, she became keenly aware of how itchy her grubby, bloody face was. Having no hand free to wipe some of the grime away, she suddenly started rubbing her face on the thick carpet, savoring the sensation as it took some of the irritating grime away. Even if Drake complained, she ignored it, instead giving a little sneeze at the dust they had kicked up.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:48:56 GMT
Drake could feel the squirming girl weighing her options. She was obviously trying to see if there was still a way out for her. But now she was settling down, she'd stopped wriggling so much. That could mean one of two things. Either she'd accepted her fate, or she was waiting to catch him off guard again. He was confident, however, that his weight on her back, at the very least, would be enough to prevent her from getting away.
She made a sound of annoyance as James left, and Drake couldn't help but smile yet again. How precious. She watched him go until he turned a corner, completely out of sight, and then dropped her head again. He'd have to keep James far away from her for a while, for the sake of his health, despite the fact that neither of them seemed willing to keep that distance. Though Linnet's reasoning was less than sound at the moment.
Now she was furiously rubbing her face against the floor, kicking up even more dust. "Hey, hey, quit that," he started to say, getting ready to get off her back so he could pick her up again. He'd need to make it all one smooth movement, just in case she got it in her mind to run away again. She paused, and for a moment it looked like she was going to say something, but she just sneezed.
"Aw, what's the matter,' he murmured at her as he stood up, grabbing her by the back of her dress to hold her aloft. It seemed that if he held her at a distance, she'd be able to escape, even if he was more aware of her cleverness. It left her limbs with too much autonomy. Holding her closer risked attack on his person, but he could handle anything she wanted to dish out. Putting her over his shoulder could work, but then she might grab hold of doorframes or anything else she could reach to pull herself free.
Of course, it'd be easiest to carry her princess-style, but he didn't care to have her face quite that close to his. Well, if it had to be done, and it was true that she wasn't exactly human anymore, and he'd need to get used to having her around... Plus then he could trap both her legs and at least one of her arms.
When he turned her around to scoop her legs in his free arm, he almost burst out laughing again. Her face was now smeared with half-dried blood, as well as a bit of dust, thanks to rubbing it all over the carpet. "What a mess," he scolded. "And I swear, if you bite me, I will bite you back, so don't try anything."
With that, he started off down the hall. The best thing to do would be to draw some water and just dump her in, then find her better clothes to wear. Something that didn't look like it belonged to a dug-up corpse.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:49:09 GMT
Maybe it would have been wiser to get two bodies? But no, he couldn't possibly carry two half-dead humans at the same time, it'd be too conspicuous. As it was, trying to transport one all the way back from town was a pain. Especially with how he was both anxious to return and nervous about what would happen when he did make it back in. Maybe she'd recovered already? Maybe she was just incredibly strong minded, and she was better now, maybe she wouldn't attack him? He liked holding on to that little bit of hope.
Although, two bodies were still a pain. And it wasn't like they could share one soul between the three of them. Which meant that he'd need to go out hunting more frequently. Because a strange, nervous, small boy driving a cart by himself is rather suspicious. And also invites thieves, and then it's a big fuss with 'why are there dead bodies back here?' and then it takes forever to chase them all down, and it's just a big pain. It was much easier to just make a path through the woods with one on his back.
By this point, he could see the familiar markings of the vegetation around the manor. He was drawing near. Certainly no more than another hour until he was home?
Meanwhile, Drake had been dealing with the biggest handful of the century. Linnet was so terribly difficult to keep track of. Even more so than James had been. Although, to be fair, James had been eating almost every day when he was in that state, and it had been a week since Linnet enjoyed even a scrap of a soul, so that could partially explain just why she was so antsy whenever the wind even decided to blow the scents of the town in their direction. And she was so clever as well. He had to keep an eternal eye on her whenever she was out of her room. Otherwise she'd slip away and get herself stuck somewhere, and everything would just be a bigger mess. He'd cleaned her up originally, and tried to fix up her face as best he could, but she still looked like a wild animal. Not that he had any particular problem with that. It was actually rather endearing. Except for the fact that she virtually ignored him.
Without James lurking around the house, however, Linnet was the next best thing. At least she was some kind of company. She said about as much as James did, anyway. So he enjoyed letting her out of her room and following her around, watching where her senses took her.
Today was a bit of a different matter, however, since he'd put off so much time on retaining the order of his finances, he really did need to start straightening things out and sending some letters out to remind his cohorts that he was indeed still around, and indeed, if they continued to put off their payments, he'd personally come out and take care of them and their estates. But it wasn't the same, working by himself. Usually James would curl up in the armchair or read a book nearby.
So, next best thing would have to do.
Getting Linnet to go where he wanted her to was a bit of a pain though, but he eventually managed it, mostly by carrying her. Naturally. Even as a halfling, she was still so lazy.
Also, despite the fact that he healed immediately from any wounds she gave him, he was still incredibly uncomfortable carrying her when her face was so close to him. She was not afraid to bite, and he did not like that. He was the only biter in this house!
"You stay in here, okay? If you play nice, when James comes back, maybe we'll even share with you," he said as he set her down in the room and shut the door.
Then it was to work, occasionally talking to her or getting up to move her if she got into something she wasn't supposed to.
James, while the sun was almost at it's peak, had finally made it back to the manor. Wearily, he shifted the body so he could unlock the gate, squeezed through, and then locked the gate behind him. The dogs didn't bother him anymore--he'd reciprocated enough attacks that they mostly left him alone now--so it was just a matter of trudging back up the grounds to the main door and fetching Drake.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:49:28 GMT
Though Linnet had calmed somewhat once James had gone out of range, she remained just as flighty. Since Drake wasn't always the most attentive, she made many escape attempts that usually culminated in the feral girl getting trapped somewhere, breaking something, or hurting herself. Despite the lack of success, the incorrigible girl seemed to waste no opportunity to get in trouble. The hunger was an itch she could not scratch, a pain she could not soothe. As time went on, the underlying desperation and frustration behind her actions seemed only to increase.
Even when she wasn't tearing through the manor trying to escape, Linnet could not help but destroy things like a bored puppy. Picking at carpets, scratching at walls, tearing at curtains. Anything to distract her anxious mind from the hunger. She would often mumble to herself, as though working through things, speaking in a mix of incoherent jumblings and short, repetitious phrases. Though Drake certainly gave her plenty of opportunity for conversation, she never responded to him, only reacting with hastily repeated 'Le' go's when she was picked up or moved away from whatever caught her interest.
The places she spent the most time were in the worst condition. Her designated room looked as though a rabid squirrel had been trapped inside rather than a slip of a girl. Various other spots in the manor bore the evidence of her interest, despite Drake's attempts to keep her out of trouble. Most of the doors had been scratched at, and the windows of the first floor bore the marks of her fingers. Of course, any place Drake was eager to keep her out of became infinitely more appealing. Drake himself had gotten torn at or bitten more than once, but he healed too fast to bear the marks long. As long as he was not actively holding her captive, Linnet had no interest in him. He had nothing that would serve to satisfy her hunger and tasted vile either way, so the demon was little more than a temporary hindrance in her searchings.
By the time a week had passed since her turning, Linnet was becoming rather frantic. Drake, wanting to get work done, herded and carried her up to his rooms. She actively resisted in every possible way, refusing to move, trying to dash away, writhing and clawing to escape Drake's grasp, all to no avail. As soon as he finally set her down, she dashed off to explore the room. Whenever she started getting into something damageable, Drake's moving her was usually sufficient to distract her from it.
After a time, with Linnet being a regular distraction from Drake's task, she seemed to start to settle. In reality, however, there was a slowly growing feeling that was bothering her immensely. It niggled at the very periphery of her awareness, simultaneously distracting and confounding her. Soon, she was sitting on the carpet facing the general direction of the disturbance, picking out threads and mumbling as she tried to identify what was bothering her.
Finally, it grew close enough that she could sense the human's soul. She stood to her feet, stock still with focus, until she began to sense James as well. Her eyes darted over the room, stopping at the door. She rushed over and began pushing at it, rattling the locked door in its frame. She noisily twisted the handle a couple times, then pounded at the wood with a jerky whine that wavered and grew in time with the pounding.
After what seemed an eternity, Drake finally opened the door. Linnet stumbled out, then stood in the middle of the hall, trying to decide her next step. She shifted from foot to foot, wordlessly mumbling for a couple seconds, before she dashed off. She avoided the stairs, instead passing down a hallway to the left. As she ran, her jumbled stream of words grew clearer until she was simply repeating variations of, "Out, out. Go. Gotta out. Where? Get out!"
She once again paused at the end of the hall, but her decision was much quicker in this time as she followed a path ingrained deep in her consciousness. She scrambled up the stairs, tripping over and ripping her skirts as usual. She burst into the room and wasted no time in getting to the open window, slamming against the frame in her hurry to lean out and peer downward. Her eyes were rewarded with the sight of James carrying a form slung over his shoulder. He was already approaching the door, getting closer by the moment.
In her excitement, Linnet brought a leg up to the sill without thought, intent on the boy below her. Only an instant passed as she timed it, waiting until he was almost directly beneath her. She heaved herself over the edge, flinging herself down before she really realized that was her intention. She let out a small yell that quickly turned to a frightened screech as she realized the true distance of her fall, though her eyes still centered on James.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:49:44 GMT
After a little while, she started to settle, finding a place to sit where she was neither destroying the items he'd inadvertently left out nor climbing the walls. Her quiet mumbling was affirmation that she was deep in thought, and Drake occasionally made sounds of agreement, egging on her quiet chattering. This was something new, James had been relatively quiet, naturally, and when he did chatter, it usually was only a few sounds. Linnet's chattering seemed almost continuous, just an avalanche of half-started sentences.
When she started hitting the door and letting out that somewhat strangled noise of distress, he turned around. "What's the matter, huh?" He asked, standing up. She just continued to whine. "Need to run around for a little? I guess I could stand for a break," he said as he crossed the room. "But don't expect me to indulge you just because you're being loud, this is a one-time thing, okay?"
Linnet seemed to move with the door as he opened it, she was immediately out in the hall, looking around as if seeing daylight for the first time. Then she darted off. Drake followed her, not running but keeping a good clip a few paces behind her. Maybe she really did just need to run around a little. She had been keeping rather still, she probably needed to burn off some energy.
She was chattering again, this time with more vivacity, her words growing clearer by the minute. Out? Was she just pleased to be out of the room? Well, if she wanted to go outside, she was going the wrong way. But he wasn't going to be the one to tell her that. She'd figure it out when she reached a dead end and then turn around. She'd been smart enough not to try and burst through anymore barred windows recently, which he very much appreciated.
Then she raced up the stairs to the servant area, her dress ripping yet again. "Hey," Drake said, his voice half scolding half resigned, "if you keep doing that, I'm going to put you in trousers next time so you can't shred th--"
One he got to the top of the stairs, the thought left his mind. The door was wide open, and Linnet had one leg swung over the window sill. "Linnet," he started, his voice much sharper as he hurried forward, "get--" but then she was gone, over the window ledge.
Drake pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. Just great. Well, if she thought he was going to jump down there after her, she was sorely mistaken. He was going to take the stairs. Like a normal person.
James, outside, was watching his feet as he walked, holding the human's arms over his shoulders. By this point, its feet were dragging along the ground, but he didn't really care about it anymore. He was almost back inside. Maybe he could take a nap. That would be nice. He could go for a nice nap. Or even better. Two naps.
All of a sudden, there was a squawking noise above him. A noise that quickly melted into a scream that dripped with fear. A very familiar sound. James stiffened, looking up. Linnet was looking back at him. Also, she was falling? Had she...fallen off the roof again? Though she was looking at him, she was far too close to the side of the building to have been jumping after him, right?
He only had a few moments to make a decision. He let go of the body and took a few steps forward, lifting his arms. They'd probably both get hurt, but hey, that was what the soul was for, right? Linnet sounded so utterly terrified, he couldn't just stand there and watch her hit the ground.
Linnet collided with him heavily and at an angle. Their skulls bumped together, and he felt a dribble of blood race down his temple as he fell backwards with her half in his arms. The impact against the ground drove the breath from his lungs, and probably cracked a few of his ribs, but the shock from the strike kept the pain at bay for a few moments. He was clutching at the point where the bottom of her ribcage started to flare out into her still rather thin waist, the place he'd grabbed when they first made contact, but his knuckles were white, and if nothing else was hurting her, which was highly unlikely anyway considering how hard her knees had hit the ground beside him, the force of his grip on her would probably be enough to cause significant distress. But he was still reeling, and he couldn't let go until the stars left his vision.
There was blood dribbling down his throat too, did he bite his cheek or something? The first thing he did when his lungs reinflated was splutter out the heat in his mouth, and the second thing he did was let go of Linnet and try to smile at her, see if she was okay. it came out more like a grimace, but it was close enough, right?
Drake managed to get down the stairs a few minutes later, slightly winded by his obviously inferior mode of transportation, and pushed the door open to find two rather injured halflings right in front of the entrance.
"Linnet, what did I tell you about jumping off roofs?" Drake said, his lackadaisical tone at odds with the urgency with which he immediately jumped forward and pulled Linnet off James.
He held her aloft by the back of her dress, which was now thoroughly ruined, and peered down at the boy. "Hello, James. Nice to see you home again." James grimaced.
"Now, which one of you is in better shape?" Drake mused, looking between the two. "Someone has to kill this human, and it's not going to be me."
Linnet was barely moving. He shook her a little, but it didn't elicit much of a response, so he set her down gently on her face and turned to James. "Sorry, little friend, but I think you've been elected." James made a face. "Yeah, I know," Drake said sympathetically as he knelt down beside the smaller figure and essentially dragged him across the ground to the dead body.
"Go for it, sport, then I can fix you up."
With a small grunt of pain, James hauled himself onto his side and sank his teeth into the human's throat. Said human gurgled for a few seconds, not waking up thanks to the massive bruising in the cranial area courtesy of James, and then went silent.
"Good boy," Drake murmured, patting his head as James opened his mouth to let the chunk of flesh fall back out and shut his eyes.
Then it was no difficult task to open the human up and catch its limply wriggling soul between two fingers. He carefully ripped it in half and proffered the first section to James, whose mouth was still hanging open. It took a few moments for him to heal up, and then he hauled himself to his feet, holding his arms up tiredly to be picked up. Drake obliged, holding the boy in one arm and the soul with the other.
"Your turn, little girl," he said as he returned to where he'd left her. She'd moved a little, and she was looking at him, but her injuries seemed to have incapacitated her. He knelt down beside her, putting himself between her and James as he held the soul to her face, waiting for her to open her mouth so she could eat it. He immediately stood back up, James clinging more tightly to his neck and curling up a little bit, hiding behind his knees, and watched her carefully. It'd be quite the chore trying to manage the two of them at once, especially since it seemed that James had no strong desire to let go of him, but he'd manage. Somehow.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:49:54 GMT
Her shriek cut off abruptly just before she collided with James as her lungs seemed to run out of air. She grabbed at him out of reflex, only just managing to keep her hold as their heads collided. Despite James's attempt to catch her, she hit the ground heavily. Her left knee took most of the impact as it smashed into the ground directly next to James's now prone form. Solid fingers at the base of her ribs kept her from breathing in correctly, preventing her from making more than a pained wheeze. Her head reeled for several long seconds, the pain forcing all else to the background as she simply tried to breathe. Once James released his painfully tight grip, she collapsed on him, unable to support her weight, especially on the left leg as radiating pain shot up from a shattered kneecap and femur. Her chest heaved for several moments, trying to dispel some of the tormenting pangs, as her fingers still clenched at James's shirt. After a moment, her eyes, dim and unfocused with pain, came up to meet his for an instant. There was still no sign of recognition, and the hunger was soon niggling at her thoughts again, especially with the boy so close. She moved jerkily, trying to claw at him, to bite at whatever she could reach, but she was still trembling from the shock and the pain. It didn’t take much to keep her mostly off, and she was quickly expending her energy. By the time Drake pulled her off, holding her up by her dress, she was mostly limp, her head hanging down. She was breathing heavily, trying to regain some function in her quivering limbs. She stared blankly at the ground, not even glancing toward James or the human, though she could acutely feel the closeness of the souls. Drake shook her limp form slightly, eliciting only a slight bob of her head and a pained, "Ahhh." The groan quickly lapsed into mumblings as Drake set her down. Her fingers clenched against the ground.
Her words interrupted by deep, gasping breaths, she muttered, "Stop. Pain. Don' pain, stop."
After a few long moments, she was starting to regain equilibrium, her breathing normalizing. Drake pulled the soul from the chest of the now dead man, and her head shot up, her eyes finally focusing. He split it and fed James first, and Linnet made a sound of annoyance in her throat as she tried to crawl towards the pair. Each jerking movement was repaid with blinding pain, and she was forced to stop, huffing hard. Drake approached, James cradled in one arm, but Linnet only had eyes for the bit of soul in his hand. He knelt, holding it out between his fingers, but Linnet hardly needed the encouragement. Bracing with her right leg, she lunged forward. Drake pulled back before she could clip his fingers, and her teeth clicked together. She quickly felt a new surge of strength and contentment as all the small scratches and bruises disappeared, and the agony in her leg diminished. Most relieving, however, was the temporary retreat of the hunger. As she was able, she shifted to a sitting position. For the first time, her eyes did not immediately zero in on James, instead, wandering over their surroundings.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 2, 2022 1:50:15 GMT
Linnet sat up and Drake watched her carefully, just in case she decided to lunge at them. But she didn't. She just looked around as if she didn't know where they were. James relaxed a bit, his fingers no longer digging into the side of Drake's neck.
"See, everything's fine now," Drake said, his voice soft. He took a step towards Linnet, then another, then quickly leaned forward to scoop her up, just in case she decided to make a break for it. He wasn't sure if her new placidity also meant that she was fine with being picked up. Or with anything other than sitting on the grass and blinking owlishly.
James peered at the girl curiously as Drake adjusted his hold on her. Apparently she was sated. Well, that was a good thing at least, for however long it lasted. It was nice to see her without her jumping at him for a third time in a week. The boy sighed, resting his head against Drake's shoulder, and shut his eyes, ready to drop off right there.
So Drake carried his two freshly fed companions back into the manor, leaving a rather torn up body out on the front green. First it was to carry Linnet back to her room, because goodness knew how long her newfound calmness would last, and anyways, he could put a new dress on her and clean her up later, whether she was unruly or not. James stiffened a little as she started to struggle as they neared her rather torn up abode, but Drake shut the door on her with no trouble.
Then he set down the boy, who only reluctantly let go of his neck, and scruffed his hair. "Go clean yourself up and then you can have your nap," he said, making shooing motions until James darted off. "Oh, and close your window, would you?" The demon called after him.
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