[Estelle flinches, her hand flying to cover her neck as she whirls around to see if anything's there. As she does, she takes a step back -- towards Sylvain.
She shakes her head -- she can't explain what's bothering her.
[ diluc tunes out everything else around him, momentarily forgetting where he is, only focus on this phone call. his face going from shock and surprise, to fear, and then anger.
he slams the phone back down onto the receiver. ]
We should.
[ he shakes his head at sylvain's question. then once he comes back to reality, he looks over at estelle, concern replacing the anger on his face. ]
[there's nothing there, when estelle looks. sylvain doesn't see anything either. but estelle can breathe, if she takes a second to try. she feels like she's being watched - and the reason might be apparent why when she glances at the paintings again.
a sticky, wet, red substance has started to drip from each painting, from the wall behind them. the smell of iron fills the air, and the bleeding - because that's all it can really be, right? - almost stutters, like a horrible heartbeat, splattering down the wall disjointedly.
worst of all, though, are the eyes watching all three of them from each painting.
diluc slams the phone down, and his hand that had held the receiver feels... wet.
the light down the hallway to the right flickers. they can see a door, down the way. and - a person? somewhat tall, in a blue coat with a white fur trim. their hair is a long, unkempt, blonde mess. but they are facing the door, not all of you, so it's hard to see who they might actually be.]
[ he tries to take estelle's hand out of habit, but as that fails, he instead tries to lead them through the hallway on the right. he stops though, a few paces away from the stranger. definitely doesn't look like another guest in the hotel (or do they), so he can only assume they're hostile, given the Rancid Vibes of this place.
can they simply walk through this unidentified person...? the door's right there... ugh. ]
[The first few breaths Estelle takes next are gasps. She struggles to steady her breathing as she turns away from the eyes and the blood to follow Sylvain, stopping just behind him to stare ahead at the stranger.]
sylvain stops, which is a good thing, because once he gets close enough, the figure in front of him looks at him. not... by turning around, though. there's a sickening crunch as the figure wrenches backwards, his back snapping in half as he bends unnaturally to look at sylvain upside down. there's an agonized look on his face, and he chokes - spits out sylvain's name, but it comes out like static. crackling, horrible. blood drips to the floor from his mouth, his eyes, from under the eyepatch, and turns to a fuzzy white noise as it pools on the ground.
and then he moves.
fast. jitters backwards, still bent in half, rushing right for sylvain, and by extension, the other two as well.]
[ a sense of dread fills him—and sadness. this is the dimitri he remembers from home, which already feels like a lifetime ago. and... this isn't dimitri at all. not anymore. he knows there's something wrong here, even before the body twists itself into grotesque angles. he's already shouting before the creature lunges at him. ]
Estelle, Diluc, go! I'll hold him off!
[ he no idea if he even can, but he's hoping he can keep dimitri's attention affixed on him while the other two skirt around to the exit ]
[ the identity of the figure sinks in just as it bends and twists, then begins to rush towards sylvain. ]
Dammit--!!
[ he's going to listen and run past him, but only to make sure estelle gets around safely. he will throw himself in front of her if this feral dimitri attacks. he's also keeping an eye on sylvain, prepared to jump in and help him if needed. ]
[fortunately, dimitri is only focused on sylvain. maybe unfortunately.
his hands drop to the floor, and he crabwalks at a speed he shouldn't be able to right towards sylvain, launching himself, but - he goes right through. sylvain will feel a very strange sensation, like his insides are being pulled out through his mouth, almost, as his form fuzzes and statics out, as his body wavers. behind him, dimitri snarls - inhuman. and not quite... right. it's mechanical, almost, warbling, like an old broken computer.
and as sylvain is trying to recover from this, the form of dimitri cracks again, and shudders.
... and he opens his mouth, and it keeps opening, and it's wider, and wider, and it's not right, how far it opens, and a claw wrenches itself out of the mouth, furry and slimy and sharp. an arm follows, thick and animal-like, as a tinny voice announces:]
PWAY WITH ME!
[meanwhile, in less horrible news, estelle and diluc manage to make it around, right up to the door. here, they can see that the door is slightly open. all they need to do is open the door.
... and they want to, right? it'd be easier for them to get out, just the two of them. their desire, their wants - if they can just move ahead, they can have more. they'll get what sylvain has, and that's what they want. they've wanted what he has.
he's more free than either of them, so if he dies, they get that freedom. yeah. yeah, that makes sense. they should leave him behind.
well. maybe. both diluc (17) and estelle (15) feel this... until they don't. a voice whispers to them, instead, something feminine and encouraging, dripping with static. no, don't give in.
[ sylvain shudders as the godawful sensation passes through him. how is he even able to feel anything like this? he can't move for a moment, and he looks down to see his arms flicker, their shape distorting.
now that this abomination has attacked, it means it's no longer between sylvain and the door. but instead of moving towards the exit, he tries to stay where he is. keeps himself between this monster and the other two. ]
[Estelle has her hand on the door. Just a little more... and she'll be free.
But just as she's about to open it, that voice reaches her ears, and she stops.]
No...
[She turns back to Sylvain... then wills herself to run to his side, defiant.]
No. We're leaving together. All of us.
[She can't physically pull him back towards the door, but if Sylvain can't shield her like he's trying to... he'll have to flee with the rest of them, won't he?]
[sylvain can't quite keep his form - it keeps glitching out, staticking in places. but he puts himself between the creature and the other two, and it's... brave. he gets the sense that someone is proud of him.
in front of him, the thing that was dimitri continues to contort, snapping and breaking. the static keeps threatening to break free, crawling out of every part of him, dripping from his eyes and ears and mouth as a creature pulls itself free from the prison of a flesh form. it blinks once as it emerges, and discards the form of what... was dimitri to the side, kicking it away.]
Not fun...
[it gurgles, watching as estelle and diluc take their places on either side of sylvain.
that pride extends - something warm wells up in all three of you now, something sweet. it's bonds, that save you. it's always love, it's always the human desire to reach a hand out, even when things are breaking all around you.
the creature opens its mouth and laughs. the beak clacks unsettlingly as it laughs, and it takes a step towards all three of them, crouching low to the floor. like a cat getting ready to pounce.
and then, suddenly - tentacles, long, thick, and disgusting - burst out of its back and fly out, winding like cords around them. these can touch them. and they do - they snap directly into and through the back of their necks. there's the unsettling sensation of being... connected. something plugging in, something pulling your consciousness away from you.
and everything goes black.
when you wake up, you are in a heap outside of envy's room, solid once more.
it's just that now all three of you have limbs that are made of bones. oops.]
[ it's upsetting and angering to see something so vile steal the form of his friend, but whatever pain he feels is soothed by the steady presence of estelle and diluc beside him.
for a moment, anyhow.
the tentacles strike, and sylvain can barely let out a noise of alarm before something digs into him, tethers him—
he groans when he wakes up, the balks when he notices the state of his body, and the other two's. ]
What the—
...Are you both okay? [ he frowns and tries to assess what the hell is happening here ] ...Do we get more of our bodies back, after we go through these doors?
[ he's super not keen on doing any more, but. it does look like they've all made some very visible progress. perhaps, a success...? ]
[ a brief moment of hope, shattered by a very hateful creature...frowns. it's fine. he doesn't like the feeling of being connected to some unknown force, but there's also not any time to process that...
when he wakes up, he looks down at his now two!! skeletal hands. neat!! (no) ]
You might me on to something there, Sylvain. These could be like a series of trials, meant for us to redeem ourselves, perhaps? Seems if we are able to overcome the sin, we progress forward.
[ he'd hate to find out what happens if they fail...like if he would have just left the others behind, back in envy. time to pick another door?? does anything look different out here?? ]
the room doesn't seem much different than before. it's quieter out here, something that might be startling to realize. the other room had been so oppressively silent that it'd almost been loud, in a way.
but it's peaceful out here. save for the scratching in the walls. pay no attention to that. there's almost a sense of melancholy, out here. you remember the ship, and how it felt like home - and how this place never did.
the other seven door still remain! up to them to pick where they'd like to go.]
[ he nods in agreement with diluc, and would hold estelle's skeleton hand with his own skeleton hand, but he thinks that would just upset her more... ]
Are you able to do another one, Estelle? We can rest for a little, if you'd like.
[ getting out of here is important, but he wants to make sure they're all ready before pressing onward. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
guestservices) wrote2022-07-10 03:36 pm
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She shakes her head -- she can't explain what's bothering her.
If she tries, can she find her breath...?]
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he slams the phone back down onto the receiver. ]
We should.
[ he shakes his head at sylvain's question. then once he comes back to reality, he looks over at estelle, concern replacing the anger on his face. ]
Estelle...
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a sticky, wet, red substance has started to drip from each painting, from the wall behind them. the smell of iron fills the air, and the bleeding - because that's all it can really be, right? - almost stutters, like a horrible heartbeat, splattering down the wall disjointedly.
worst of all, though, are the eyes watching all three of them from each painting.
diluc slams the phone down, and his hand that had held the receiver feels... wet.
the light down the hallway to the right flickers. they can see a door, down the way. and - a person? somewhat tall, in a blue coat with a white fur trim. their hair is a long, unkempt, blonde mess. but they are facing the door, not all of you, so it's hard to see who they might actually be.]
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[ he tries to take estelle's hand out of habit, but as that fails, he instead tries to lead them through the hallway on the right. he stops though, a few paces away from the stranger. definitely doesn't look like another guest in the hotel (or do they), so he can only assume they're hostile, given the Rancid Vibes of this place.
can they simply walk through this unidentified person...? the door's right there... ugh. ]
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Who's there...?
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he stays behind estelle, looking down the hall at the figure. ]
Careful now...
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also yeah! it's blood! haha. his hand is also a skeleton hand. when did that happen.
the person down the hallway twitches violently.]
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also sylvain stops trying to walk through the person as soon as he sees them twitch. this can't be good. ]
Uh, hey, we're just tryna get through...
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We're sorry for trespassing! We just got lost... If you don't want us here, we'll leave right away...
[Then she glances over at Diluc and her eyes widen in terror.] Diluc...?
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When did...There's no pain?
[ he looks to estelle. ] I'm alright.
Sylvain, watch yourself.
[ that twitching can't be good...he'll stand behind sylvain and ready himself. ]
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sylvain stops, which is a good thing, because once he gets close enough, the figure in front of him looks at him. not... by turning around, though. there's a sickening crunch as the figure wrenches backwards, his back snapping in half as he bends unnaturally to look at sylvain upside down. there's an agonized look on his face, and he chokes - spits out sylvain's name, but it comes out like static. crackling, horrible. blood drips to the floor from his mouth, his eyes, from under the eyepatch, and turns to a fuzzy white noise as it pools on the ground.
and then he moves.
fast. jitters backwards, still bent in half, rushing right for sylvain, and by extension, the other two as well.]
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Estelle, Diluc, go! I'll hold him off!
[ he no idea if he even can, but he's hoping he can keep dimitri's attention affixed on him while the other two skirt around to the exit ]
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[She has to study the figure for a few extra moments for its identity to fully sink in.]
No... -- Wait, Sylvain!
[She looks to Sylvain in panic, but she'll do as she's asked and try to run past both him and "Dimitri."]
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Dammit--!!
[ he's going to listen and run past him, but only to make sure estelle gets around safely. he will throw himself in front of her if this feral dimitri attacks. he's also keeping an eye on sylvain, prepared to jump in and help him if needed. ]
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his hands drop to the floor, and he crabwalks at a speed he shouldn't be able to right towards sylvain, launching himself, but - he goes right through. sylvain will feel a very strange sensation, like his insides are being pulled out through his mouth, almost, as his form fuzzes and statics out, as his body wavers. behind him, dimitri snarls - inhuman. and not quite... right. it's mechanical, almost, warbling, like an old broken computer.
and as sylvain is trying to recover from this, the form of dimitri cracks again, and shudders.
... and he opens his mouth, and it keeps opening, and it's wider, and wider, and it's not right, how far it opens, and a claw wrenches itself out of the mouth, furry and slimy and sharp. an arm follows, thick and animal-like, as a tinny voice announces:]
PWAY WITH ME!
[meanwhile, in less horrible news, estelle and diluc manage to make it around, right up to the door. here, they can see that the door is slightly open. all they need to do is open the door.
... and they want to, right? it'd be easier for them to get out, just the two of them. their desire, their wants - if they can just move ahead, they can have more. they'll get what sylvain has, and that's what they want. they've wanted what he has.
he's more free than either of them, so if he dies, they get that freedom. yeah. yeah, that makes sense. they should leave him behind.
well. maybe. both diluc (17) and estelle (15) feel this... until they don't. a voice whispers to them, instead, something feminine and encouraging, dripping with static. no, don't give in.
what will they do?]
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now that this abomination has attacked, it means it's no longer between sylvain and the door. but instead of moving towards the exit, he tries to stay where he is. keeps himself between this monster and the other two. ]
What're you waiting for? Get out of here!
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But just as she's about to open it, that voice reaches her ears, and she stops.]
No...
[She turns back to Sylvain... then wills herself to run to his side, defiant.]
No. We're leaving together. All of us.
[She can't physically pull him back towards the door, but if Sylvain can't shield her like he's trying to... he'll have to flee with the rest of them, won't he?]
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Don't be stupid.
[ he joins her on sylvain's other side, looking over to him. ]
We came here together, so we're going to leave together.
[ they won't leave him behind.
diluc stares ahead at the monster. ]
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in front of him, the thing that was dimitri continues to contort, snapping and breaking. the static keeps threatening to break free, crawling out of every part of him, dripping from his eyes and ears and mouth as a creature pulls itself free from the prison of a flesh form. it blinks once as it emerges, and discards the form of what... was dimitri to the side, kicking it away.]
Not fun...
[it gurgles, watching as estelle and diluc take their places on either side of sylvain.
that pride extends - something warm wells up in all three of you now, something sweet. it's bonds, that save you. it's always love, it's always the human desire to reach a hand out, even when things are breaking all around you.
the creature opens its mouth and laughs. the beak clacks unsettlingly as it laughs, and it takes a step towards all three of them, crouching low to the floor. like a cat getting ready to pounce.
and then, suddenly - tentacles, long, thick, and disgusting - burst out of its back and fly out, winding like cords around them. these can touch them. and they do - they snap directly into and through the back of their necks. there's the unsettling sensation of being... connected. something plugging in, something pulling your consciousness away from you.
and everything goes black.
when you wake up, you are in a heap outside of envy's room, solid once more.
it's just that now all three of you have limbs that are made of bones. oops.]
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for a moment, anyhow.
the tentacles strike, and sylvain can barely let out a noise of alarm before something digs into him, tethers him—
he groans when he wakes up, the balks when he notices the state of his body, and the other two's. ]
What the—
...Are you both okay? [ he frowns and tries to assess what the hell is happening here ] ...Do we get more of our bodies back, after we go through these doors?
[ he's super not keen on doing any more, but. it does look like they've all made some very visible progress. perhaps, a success...? ]
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Estelle rises to her knees, and pulls back the sleeve of her robe with a gasp. Is this progress? It looks horrible.]
I... I don't know. What's happening to us...?
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when he wakes up, he looks down at his now two!! skeletal hands. neat!! (no) ]
You might me on to something there, Sylvain. These could be like a series of trials, meant for us to redeem ourselves, perhaps? Seems if we are able to overcome the sin, we progress forward.
[ he'd hate to find out what happens if they fail...like if he would have just left the others behind, back in envy. time to pick another door?? does anything look different out here?? ]
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the room doesn't seem much different than before. it's quieter out here, something that might be startling to realize. the other room had been so oppressively silent that it'd almost been loud, in a way.
but it's peaceful out here. save for the scratching in the walls. pay no attention to that. there's almost a sense of melancholy, out here. you remember the ship, and how it felt like home - and how this place never did.
the other seven door still remain! up to them to pick where they'd like to go.]
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Are you able to do another one, Estelle? We can rest for a little, if you'd like.
[ getting out of here is important, but he wants to make sure they're all ready before pressing onward. ]
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[Estelle stands now, gazing at the remaining doors thoughtfully.]
... Should we try "Wrath" next, perhaps?
I know it sounds especially dangerous... but there's something familiar about it... Wasn't that ███'s...?
[That strange static again. She shakes her head.]
I just think, maybe that's where we ought to go...
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