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Post by sneilley on Nov 8, 2022 20:15:57 GMT
They crossed to the other wing of the manor, Linnet drifting reluctantly behind. She had hoped for more time, and this was certainly taking a while, but it wasn't really helping. Her heart was racing as she frantically tried to remember what was in each room before it was searched. It was just little spots where she had hidden her things so Drake wouldn't find them. For the most part, Ophir didn't either. Ariel, on the other hand, seemed to alternate between anxiety and disgust depending on where they were in the house. The door by the dining room, not to mention the spot where Dominic had been murdered, seemed to nearly send the angel running for the hills.
And then they rounded the corner where Ophir opened the doors to the library.
She... she couldn't go in there. They wouldn't make her, right? No. No. She couldn't. She hunched a bit smaller, arms defensively raised before her chest, her breathing shallow. Ophir spoke an order to Ariel, and Linnet nearly bolted. She froze in place, staring back for a long moment as Ophir watched her.
Finally, she swallowed, working enough moisture back into her mouth so she could squeeze out a strained, "W-wot? Wot is it?"
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 9, 2022 1:11:48 GMT
"You are afraid," Ophir said, his eyes flicking over her as he spoke in his low, slow voice. "More afraid than you were at the last door. What is in here that frightens you?"
Meanwhile, Ariel scampered nervously through the rows of books, making cursory glances around, but not stopping to look for very long. That was, until he neared a certain spot near the end of an aisle, where the wooden floor looked different and some of the shelves were slightly less full. Ariel paused for several seconds, holding a hand nervously over his nose and mouth, as he stared at a particular spot on the floor there. There wasn't anything visible, but the closer he got, the sicker he felt, like ghostly fingers has seized his stomach and were twisting and twisting.
Whatever had happened here, it wasn't like anything else he'd ever felt before. Was that what She had been doing here? Dealing with whatever had caused....that?
Ariel backed away the way he'd come and returned a bit shakily to the front of the large room. "Ophir," he said, voice a bit fainter than he'd intended. "There's something bad over there."
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Post by sneilley on Nov 9, 2022 3:01:29 GMT
At his statement, Linnie looked away. She chewed her lip nervously, mind stuck in a violent whirl of emotion. She hadn't looked in this room since... since it had happened. Linnet took a couple steps back. She was acting suspicious, wasn't she? That... that wasn't good. She needed to get a hold of herself. He wasn't asking her to go in and she would not anyway, so it was fine.
"I- I... Something bad happened in there. Something.... 'S all burnt, ain't it? N' I don't like that at all."
Maybe, if she was lucky, that would be convincing enough. She had nothing else. Then Ariel returned, saying something similar. She glanced at Ophir, waiting for his verdict.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 9, 2022 3:30:25 GMT
Ophir frowned, his hand settling back on the hilt of his sword as Ariel skittered back into view. "Ariel," he said, his tone firm and wary. "Stand here, I'll finish scouting this room," he said, gesturing to the spot he was standing. Once Ariel drew closer, his worried expression turning on Linnet, Ophir strode off, chased by the soft tck-tck-tck of his unseated sword shifting in its sheath. When he vanished into the stacks the sound cut off with a little click and his light footsteps too were quickly consumed by the dead, dusty air between them.
Ariel wrung his hands, looking at Linnet. "Should I fetch you some water?" he asked, his voice somewhere between terribly worried and friendly. They had passed the kitchen, though that area too had twisted his throat tight. Was that terrible creature cooking up and eating humans now? How utterly horrible. But he would bear the unpleasant miasma if it would help their new little human friend.
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Post by sneilley on Nov 9, 2022 4:05:00 GMT
His hand went to his sword. Was he about to use it on her? Linnet held her breath, ready to run. Instead, he gave another curt command to Ariel and left to have his own look through the library. That did not go well. Linnet was pretty sure he didn't believe her. What should she do?
Ariel offered her water and she shook her head, still feeling dazed. "Think I just need a sit down." She moved down the hall a few paces and slid down the wall, trying to remember how to breathe normally.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 9, 2022 18:04:54 GMT
Ophir knew he'd found the spot as he approached, the miasma of agony so heavy in this one location that it unsettled him slightly. This was beyond the usual sort for injured humans. It was unlike anything he'd experienced before. He could indeed see the traces of a fire here, some of the bookcases were blackened in places, and the repairs had been roughshod and ungainly. He stood for several moments, gazing at it.
The human girl had not been entirely truthful with them. If she knew about a fire occurring here, knew about it well enough that it frightened her, had she been here when it happened? And clearly, the beast had repaired the damage from it. She knew more than she was letting on. Either through fear, distrust, or something else.
Ophir took some time to check the other aisles as he considered his options. Even if he pointed out the discrepancies, would that elicit truthfulness? No, it would likely scare her further. She seemed like she would be particularly vulnerable to intimidation. Clearly a victim of the situation. It would be best to simply allow her to continue along with them and, when they concluded their search, he could strongly recommend that she accompany them back into town. Perhaps once she knew she was safe, she would be more likely to provide information? Either way, this human's safety was his prerogative.
As he strode back out of the room, into the hall, he took in the girl on the floor and Ariel nervously wringing his hands.
"We shall continue," he said, making a gesture for them to follow. He cast another inscrutable glance at the girl before carrying on, slowly, room by room. They ascended the stairs, and Ophir considered the different options. A hall to their left, a hall to their right, and a busted door before them, closed despite the cant it stood at and the hole in it.
He carried on towards that broken door. It opened easily, groaning on its hinges, and he paused for a moment, taking in the space. The door inside stood open, and through that he could see a large, patched up window. There was a significant amount of art, paintings ans statues and books scattered about, messy, but with a semblance of order that told him this was where the beast had made its nest.
Ophir entered the rooms, moving first to the bookshelves, plucking one at random and flipping through it. Yes, he'd seen that spidery, slightly frantic text before. This was where it had been staying.
"Ariel, check there," he said, pointing off into a cluttered corner. He wanted to check the closed door, and he had a feeling that, if there was anything terrible to see, it would be in there. As he crossed the room, though, he paused again to look at the girl, evaluating her reaction. The questions lingered still. What was simply fear or everything and what was fear of the specific horrors of this place?
Ophir paused with his hand on the door handle. "Are you alright?" He asked, that inscrutable look now more clearly searching some answer in her face, behind her words.
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Post by sneilley on Nov 12, 2022 6:05:33 GMT
Ophir returned and Bez glanced up. She was wary, but it was distant. Mostly she just felt tired. He ordered that they continue, and Linnet dutifully pulled herself up and crossed her arms behind her back. She fingered her knife. She wanted the angels to leave so she could put this whole mess behind her. If only it were easier to get them to agree. If only Drake would hurry up and get James away!
The group soon returned to the main hall. Linnie debated whether to make up some excuse to try to usher the pair out the front door- it was so close, after all- but, she decided against it. It would be too suspicious. She wondered just how suspicious Ophir was. Ariel seemed genuinely concerned and sympathetic, but Ophir... The way he was getting more abrupt and stopping to look at her longer made her certain that he knew something was wrong with her story. All she could do in response was peek back at him from behind her hair until he started moving again. It took an effort of will not to hunch up or run from the stress.
They moved up to the second level. Linnet bit her lip, trying to keep her growing anxiety more contained. Thankfully, they moved to the office first. James and Drake were still somewhere to the left. She didn't know what to do.
As soon as she saw the desk, she remembered. The pictures, there were some of her!
Where were they again? The drawer, there. Hopefully Drake had put them all there. Ophir moved into the room, pouches up one of Drake's journals, and ordered Ariel to look at the stuff in the corner. Acting as casual as she could manage, Linnie strolled to the desk and leaned against the drawer in question. Hopefully....
And then she realized Ophir was already looking at her. Her heart lept to her throat. He asked his question, and she wet her lips, looking away. He sounded stern. There was disapproval but also a note of concern. It was too much. She didn't dare look up.
"This... it's a lot, innit?" She could feel tears welling up. She tried to breathe deep, to avoid breaking into sobs.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 15, 2022 4:30:34 GMT
That inscrutable look was quickly replaced by something softer, akin to pity? Concern? Her small voice trembled with emotion. Clearly there was a sob lingering somewhere in her throat.
"It is," he agreed, his voice a touch gentler. "It will be over soon. Do not worry, I will protect you," he said. Then he let out a faint sigh, turning his eyes back to the door. What would he find on the other side? Did the girl know what was back here? He had many questions, but so few answers. This was how things always went with the beast. It was never quite predictable in the most frustrating ways.
He opened the door with some force, stirring some of the strewn papers. On the other side was a fairly simple bedroom, a large bed covered in a thin layer of dust, and some large, flat shapes in the corner, covered by a sheet. There was no uneasy sensation here. It was simply a barely used bedroom in a neglected manor house. Beside the clear signs that the beast favored the adjoining chambers and did not need to sleep, there was nothing strange about it at all.
Ophir couldn't tell if he felt relief or frustration. He didn't enter the room, merely shut the door back again. He could stay longer, pour through the beast's deranged scribbling, but the live human in their midst was a greater priority. And the writings would only tell them where the creature had been, not where he was going. What scraps they could find never were of any use. He was starting to wonder whether searching the building had been a fruitless venture, beside the discovery of the girl. But they'd already gone so far, it wouldn't make sense to stop now.
"Ariel," he said, interrupting the littler angel, who was flipping with some interest through a gold-leaf book. His head popped up when he heard his name and the book quickly snapped shut.
"Let's continue," he said, glancing again at the girl. "There is not much left to search. Please consider if you would like us to accompany you to town," he told her. Of course, he would not force her, but hopefully Ariel could convince her that it would be safer for her to return to civilization.
With that, Ophir left the room, pausing outside as he considered which direction to go next.
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Post by sneilley on Nov 15, 2022 6:26:21 GMT
Her body tensed, head jerking to a stop just short of looking at Ophir again. She had not expected his tone to soften like that. Wasn't he just suspicious of her a moment ago? Now he was offering to protect her? What had caused the shift? She had been so sure that he was close to figuring out what she was and killing her, or worse. The promise snapped her out of the near hysteria, bringing her fear back to a more manageable level. This was okay. She was okay. He did not know what she was after all.
The door thudded open as he moved into the next room. Linnet chewed on her lip again, unable to read his mood. Was he mad? At her or something else? She couldn't tell, and she hated that. Would he really protect her? He was an angel, so he wouldn't lie. Probably. As long as he was nothing like Drake.
He seemed content to search the adjoining room with only a cursory glance, then it seemed he was ready to leave Drake's office entirely. He looked at her again, causing Linnie to duck her head just slightly. He wanted her to go back to town with them? No, wait, she didn't have time to think about this just now. He was deciding where to go next! She still needed more time, either to let Drake finally escape, or to come up with a plan.
She hurried into the hall so she could catch him before he decided. "Um, actually, there were one other thing I... I wanted to ask about." She moved to the entry of the other wing without waiting for a response.
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Post by Pieluver on Nov 16, 2022 0:34:42 GMT
Ophir followed the darting girl, lifting an eyebrow slightly. She was certainly a little scattered. Which was understandable, but at the same time he was having a hard time understanding exactly what was going on in her mind. "What is it?" he asked, though he paused for a minute to turn and watch Ariel struggle to shut the door they'd just passed through. The blonde tugged on the handle, trying to make it latch, only to ultimately give up with a sigh and leave it slightly ajar.
He made a gesture for Ariel to hurry up before resting his hand on his sword again. Ariel obliged, scurrying over and giving a bit of a wary look at the hall before them.
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Post by sneilley on Dec 10, 2022 7:45:32 GMT
She proceeded until she was several feet down from Alexander's room. From the room where she killed... where Hassan had died. Linnie typically avoided that room, and now was no exception. She raised her arm to point at the door, which was still half open. It was dusty in that hall. No one was interested in going into that room and cleaning up, least of all her.
Finally, in a voice that cracked slightly, Linnet intoned, "Th- That room there. There's... something I don't understand." She pulled her hand back to her chest, cradling her other arm and rubbing as if to bring back warmth to her limbs. "Something bad happened there. Something..." She shook her head, unwilling and unable to continue.
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Post by Pieluver on Jan 1, 2023 22:29:52 GMT
James had, once upon a time, cleaned up the fresh corpse, but he'd had no interested in touching Alexander. By that point, already, he'd stopped smelling quite so terrible, and even more so now that he'd become a wizened, leathery thing draped in blankets, the dust lingering around like a shroud.
Ophir did not know what awaited him, when Linnet spoke. Her voice was tense, raw. Uneasy. Ariel's step faltered, coming to a stop almost at the same time as the girl. He did not want to continue, eyes fixed on the slightly ajar door.
The taller angel, though, continued walking forward, his foot falls causing dust to rise up collecting on his pants. He laid a hand on the hilt of his sword again, silent and unwavering as he approached the door. He had not admonished Ariel, who was standing slightly behind the girl as if hiding, because he too could feel that something had gone dreadfully wrong here. A strange, prolonged sort of torture. He covered his mouth with the back of his wrist as he nudged the door fully open and gazed inside the dusty, dim room. Light poured the rest of the way in, falling on the bed, and the sheet of dust atop it.
He approached, his eyes lingering over the scene before him. Whatever terrible thing had happened in this room, it did not seem to have happened to this pitiful thing. There was no blood, it seemed that this corpse had been laid here after its death, and it was in the process of slowly becoming one with it's resting place. This soul had passed on properly. Someone else's, in this room, however, had not.
Ophir let both hands hang at his sides for several moments as he stared at the scene before him. He could not understand, but he could assume that this human had been important to the soul eater. Hence why he'd escaped defilement.
Speculation would do them no good. Whatever had happened, this corpse had been left behind. He would take care of it. And the girl...well, the girl could not stay here. They would bring her to the town and find her accommodations. She could not stay in this place.
Opir quietly reached under the mattress, freeing each folded corner until he could fold the entirety of the bedclothes over on themselves, covering the corpse until he could gingerly lift it in his arms, using the sheets to hold it together.
This human would no longer need to rest in a place such as this either.
"Follow," he said as he briskly walked past the pair in the hall. His disturbance of the room had gotten his face and his hair dusty, but he didn't seem too bothered. Despite his fuzzy grey appearance, his eyes were hard and cool. They lingered on Linnet for a moment. "You need to leave this place," he said simply before turning and continuing on down the hall.
Ariel shot the girl a glance before scurrying off after the taller, wringing his hands.
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