The Other Kind of Not Fade Away - Part 4

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The Other Kind of Not Fade Away - Part 4

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Tairais

Tairais

@Amuulzhaan 2 years ago

(( Rightio, I'm terrible. Life's terrible too, throwing buses at me and stuff. In a metaphorical sense that is- surprisingly that's one thing that's still going normally: A lack of getting hit by buses. Of course, now that I've said that, I've probably jinxed myself. Ah well. Responses below, once I type em! Sorry for taking so long! ))

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Tairais • 2 years ago

(( chatterghosts

"Feel free to tell me. I'm curious." Not like I can really go much elsewhere.

And curious he was, in a twisted sort of way. It wasn't as if things could get much worse from thereon out. ))

"I carried Oliver an' ya brother out of the castle where he and Richard were held. I don't believe you an' I had the pleasure of meetin' proper before. Not sure it's exactly a pleasure, like this."

'Like this' meant a lot of things, in retrospect. In a dream, surrounded by death, a metric crapload of feet in the air with no sign of solid ground that didn't wanna kill ya. Et cetera.

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chatterghosts  Tairais • 2 years ago

Just like that, the dreamlike world that surrounded them began to warp and shift into...

...blackness. Nothingness. Voidness stretching far, far, farther and farther, eternally. Total darkness.

"... Ah."

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Tairais  chatterghosts • 2 years ago

He cast a distrustful glance at the darkness 'below' them.

"Yeah. Puts a damper on the whole situation, yeah? And here I was hoping we'd meet and I'd hafta give ya the brotherly talk on behalf of Richard. I'd've been better off warnin' ya away from him, really."

He choked back a number of apologies and pithy statements- none of them'd matter at this point. Words to fill the silence, and nothing more. Useless, as far as words went. Words so often were.

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chatterghosts  Tairais • 2 years ago

If the darkness seemed to stare back, none but Charricthran were the wiser.

"Yes. I very much would have," he responded softly.

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Tairais  chatterghosts • 2 years ago

He hummed softly and sighed, focusing on the sound of near-silence, should anything else emerge.

After a handful of somewhat tense minutes, he added, "For all that it's worth absolutely sh*te in your situation, I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do for ya besides offer shoddy comfort, let me know."

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Tairais • 2 years ago

(( Wizardblizzard

Isabella shook her head. "I'm trying to enlighten myself. What the Hydes are is, they're shapeshifters," she explained in case Charricthran didn't know. "They're the result of some very unwise experiments. Like a werewolf, only they turn into a different person. Or rather, the Hydes are the people they turn into, if you follow me. Different body, different mind, or at least a variation on the same mind. Again like a werewolf, most of them can't control it, or not always. And a lot of the Hydes seem to be nearly as insane as a wild werewolf, so... it's a bit of a problem," she said dryly. "So I'm seeing if I can do anything with this but it doesn't seem to like me very much." She picked up the sheet of notes. "Gold, the sun, the self, the heart, Leo, what am I missing?"

She wrote six more Sun symbols to assist thought: ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ It did not seem to assist thought very much.

"How are you stuck?" ))

He kept his thoughts regarding her experiment to himself, unable (or perhaps unwilling) to say anything else that could be considered helpful.

I'm stuck with ya 'til things end here. Whether it's because you decide to wake up or because we reach the purpose of my being here is up to you, frankly." He shrugged again, examining a non-existent stain on the cuff of his jacket.

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Wizardblizzard  Tairais • 2 years ago • edited

"Till I..." Isabella looked blank; then astonished; then began to laugh.

"Blast! No wonder nothing's working right!"

Taing no further notice of Charricthran, she sat down flump on the bench and carried on laughing. Around her, the room began to flicker and break up... the half-finished experiments on the table caught the girl's eye, and the room came partly back into focus again.

"But what in the heck was I doing?" she wondered. Picking up the flask, she swilled it around a couple of times. "Do something," she challenged it gaily. The liquid seemed darker than it had been a few moments ago... less gold, more amber. Suddenly, an amber eye appeared behind the glass, glaring angrily at her; then it turned icy blue. Biting back a yelp, she dropped the flask back on the table.

Hurriedly moving away from the gold experiments, she took up another beaker, labelled laconically "♂ ➛☽?"; it turned out to be full of blood. Somewhere outside, a wolf began to howl, and carried on howling. The young woman merely frowned over the contents of the beaker, apparently as undisturbed as if she saw jars of blood every day; but the wolf clearly worried her. She turned to Charricthran. "And what are you supposed to - Wait a minute." Her casualness evaporated like ice on a hot stove. "Dream people NEVER tell you you're dreaming."

The raven-man may have been about to say something in reply. Isabella didn't wait to hear it. She clamped both hands over her ears and shut her eyes like a small child that thinks if she can't see something, it isn't there. "Wake up. Wake up. Wake up." The room went dark, the roaring darkness of closed eyelids...

Bell woke up. She was lying on her back in an orchard. Grey dusk and apple trees overhead. The air smelt of wind and wet weather. The long grass was damp and it was seeping through her clothes.

It took her approximately ten seconds to notice that Charricthran was still there.

((Aaand fluffed it. Don't feel bad, Bell, I used to be able to lucid a lot better than tyou before my dream recall went phut a couple of years ago and I still used to do that all the time. She's not very good at this though. That's going tho have to change fast if this kind of thi ng is going to happen. Now, if it really had been Andrew that Char was through to, it might have been an entirely different story.

Sorry terribleness has been taking place, I've been having things fairly terrible too. All right on the bus front, though. Been drawing anything?))

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Tairais  Wizardblizzard • 2 years ago

(( Not been drawing as much as I like, though my girlfriend did a quick doodle of Char and now I'm kind of motivated to try painting digitally again. I have many ideas. ))

He took the change in scenery about how he always took things: In a carefree stride. He glanced around his surroundings with a faint smile flickering in the corners of his mouth, taking a deep, slow breath to enjoy the smell of rain.

The wet ground didn't bother him one bit, nor did the water actually soak anything he was wearing, be it skin or cloth.

Seemingly without paying attention to Isabella, he nodded.

"You are right. We don't.

Where did that leave them, then? Certainly, somewhere far beyond the border between what was real and what was imagined- reality, after all, was defined by such.

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Wizardblizzard  Tairais • 2 years ago • edited

(( :-D

Glad to hear it! Draw 'em. Or some of 'em at least. Drawing always helps you get your head together. At least it does with me. ...and also hopefully results in getting a drawing together. :-) ))

Isabella scrambled to her feet, looking ready to take off again. She took a couple of long, deep breaths herself. Calm down. It's only that bird-creature that lives in Dr Prince's room. He's real. You've seen him before. This is no different. And if he wanted to eat you he'd have done it before now.

Watchingham girls deal with things.

Let's say for the sake of argument that I do count as a Watchingham girl. Her hands were still shaking slightly, but she stuck them firmly in her pockets.

"So. You're real, and I'm... I'm still dreaming, aren't I, this is definitely not where I went to sleep," she added absently. "I don't know what I did to cause this, but I didn't mean to. What do you mean, the purpose of you being here?"

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Wizardblizzard  Tairais • 2 years ago

((Hi, just letting you know I'm giong to disappear for a bit, certainyl for tomorrow possibly for a few days. I just need to take a complete brea from compruters for a bit. Sorry about that but I've decided it's the only thing to do!))

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Wizardblizzard  Tairais • 2 years ago

((I are back!

No better at not going on ridiculously late on the computer than I was, I don't think, but found that "taking a complete break" wasn't working as intended - I was just putting it off as long as possible but then putting it on, hungry for something undemanding to read, anything, and going on later than evee to make up for lost time. Ah well.

Hope you're OK. Looks like a good time is being had by all.))

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Tairais • 2 years ago

(( Catt Hatter

Trails from the lightning glowed like blue veins along the floor, dimly illuminating thin wisps of frosty vapour which drifted through the air.

Catt wrapped her arms around herself and nodded as tears surged in from the shattered windows. The frigid water rose quickly and she shivered from both its icy touch and from fear.

Why had everything gone so wrong? She'd just wanted to ride the train with her friend, share a warm moment of safety. Why did things always have to go this way? Why did they have to turn sour and tear into her happiness?

Because I don't deserve to be happy.

Sobs seized her body as the flood closed over her head, filling the car completely. Debris from the tables drifted lazily past, the faces on the cards and even her own reflection in the glasses seemed to glare at her disdainfully.

She squeezed her eyes shut against, everything, and wished she wasn't so helpless. ))

Charricthran tsked as softly and comfortingly as he knew how, wrapping Catt in a hug as he flew the pair of them out the window back into the snow. Compared to the frigidness of the water, the snow was almost warmer.

"Kitty-Catt, of all the people I've known and met over the years, you're one who definitely deserves a bit o' happiness in their life. This b*tch is powerful, yes, and powerful over you. But she's still a b*tch, and one you don't deserve to have to deal with, as selfless as you can be. You ain't helpless, you're oppressed. You can fight back. You're better than her- an' if you need help facin' her or any of your other fears, ya need only ask. Nine Hells, you don't even need to do that- I'll fight her unless you ask me to stop. Jus' say the word. You are not helpless, and as I said, you deserve to be happy. Everyone does, so long as their happiness ain't found at the ends of genocide and the like. There's always another path regardin' that. I digress, an' forgot the point of my ramblin' while I was at it."

He chucked and unhooked his arms from her, stepping back and leaning on the balls of his feet. It wouldn't do to be caught off guard, after all.

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Catt Hatter  Tairais • 2 years ago

Catt sniffled and shivered in the snow, her clothes still sopping wet.

"I-I don't even know who she is..." she whimpered. "M-maybe if I did, I'd know how to make her happy, then she wouldn't be so mean?"

A childlike reasoning that matched her size. Typical. Why couldn't she act her age?

"Who am I kidding, I'd probably just mess that up too...I'm sorry you have to deal with this. You deserve better."

As the stream of negative thoughts clouded her mind, the bones scattered over the showy field began to grow and gravitate towards each other.

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Tairais  Catt Hatter • 2 years ago

"A good thought, kid. Don't think it'd work- her heart's as ugly as her face. And, frankly? I'm hard-pressed to think of another person I'd like ta be with right now. You're a right treasure compared ta Richard- though, don't tell 'im I said that."

He snickered softly, watching the movements of the bones with a wary half-eye. Adrenaline inched its way down his spine, whispering, enticing.

He'd not be so foolish as to properly shift into anything that'd give Catt nightmares- things were gonna go bad enough as it was. Still, the urge was there.

It was always there, really.

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Catt Hatter  Tairais • 2 years ago

"I like Richard, he's nice." Catt said distractedly, her eyes on the slowly flying and growing bones.

They had already made a giant claw, and were building up from the wrist. The "hand had three forward claws on it, and one back, like a thumb. Electric purple veins shimmered along the skeleton's surface.

"Though I do appreciate the sentiment, and I'm glad to have your company.

It gets lonely in here."

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Tairais  Catt Hatter • 2 years ago

He didn't comment on Richard's supposed niceness. Sure, the kid was polite, even cared for people in his own way.

The problem was that 'his own way' got people killed.

Look no further than poor Artemis- and he was only the most recent.

He shook the thoughts from his head and grinned, though the gesture was really more of a grimace than anything as he watched the bones assemble themselves.

"'S not aboutta be lonely for long, here. Company's building itself, 'twould seem. Still, I'm right touched you're glad ta have me around."

That much was true, certainly.

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Catt Hatter  Tairais • 2 years ago

"Somehow, she makes it more lonely than usual..."

She stared up at the rapidly assembling skeleton as the ribs, spine, wings, and finally the skull were completed. The hollow dragon towered over them, easily big enough to fill a stadium.

Fluorescent violet light filled the leviathan's eye sockets as it roared, dark acid dripping from its teeth.

Catt squeaked and snapped her hands over her ears.

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Tairais  Catt Hatter • 2 years ago

Charricthran nodded in a semi-sort of understanding at Catt's statement, right in time to snap his gaze to the dragon as it unleashed it's terrible noise.

"Well, now. That's just rude."

Not that he was gonna eat that thing in revenge.

He held out a hand to his side to keep Catt from walking forward with him as his outline shifted and warped like smoke across a lake.

"Oi, dragon-lady? Piss off.

With a shark-like, snarling grin, he snapped his fingers on both hands and watched as feathers raced up his arm and out his back. Wings of jet-black feathers launched him upwards as he cast his fingers downwards, electricity arcing from his fingertips.

Soundless and without thunder, of course. Out of consideration for Catt.

The whisper of something alien and archaic teased in his ears, curling sinuously, temptingly in his thoughts.

He pushed it away vehemently, intent on fighting this his own way, without risking Catt's safety any more than he already was.

Hunger did not discriminate. Famine did not stop until it was sated three times over. Whatever you called it, it would not stop at the corpse of the great beast before him once unleashed.

Not likely, at any rate.

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Catt Hatter  Tairais • 2 years ago

Catt watched him rise into the sky, and laughed with delight at the spectacle of her friend's power. Surely he at least stood a chance against the nightmare. The clouds moved away and left everything lit by the dancing stars above. She bounced and clapped her hands excitedly until the dragon roared again, dark acid flying from it's jaws towards Charricthran as it also took to the sky.

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Tairais  Catt Hatter • 2 years ago

A snort that was equal parts derision and amusement left Charricthran as he scattered his form like so much static across the fleeting clouds, racing, reaching, climbing his way back towards the dragon as it clawed its way airborne.

Eugch. Gross.

Best to avoid that, then.

He pulled himself back together just in time to fall towards the dragon's back, glass and feathers whirling around him like the strangest sort of maelstrom. With a single powerful stroke forward, his wings both propelled him back into the air and sent glass shards raining down upon the beast like so many deadly splinters.

The starlight sang in his teeth, blinding, aching, mesmerizing. He spat it towards the creature for good measure, the mixture equal parts volcanic magma and plasma and shining white-purple in the night sky.

Chaos and cataclysm, shadow and whispering wings. The tools of his trade.

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Catt Hatter  Tairais • 2 years ago

The glass lodged itself into the dragon's spine causing it to roar it's displeasure and pain, offended that the intruder to its domain would dare to attack her. The cry echoed of the surrounding mountains, magnifying it to a deafening cacophony.

She twisted in the air and charged towards him, open jaws still dripping, still bellowing at the offense as the shining mixture splattered over her face and sent an acrid smell of burning into the air.

Catt watched mesmerised from the ground, crying out when the dragon's voice sent daggers through her continually covered ears.

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Tairais  Catt Hatter • 2 years ago

"Tsk. Such uncouth behavior. And here, all I wanted to do was eat soup!

He coasted backwards, falling into a sort of half-loop and dive maneuver, skating towards the underside of the dragon in a blur of motion.

When he'd reached the beast's ribcage, he allowed his magic to bleed through the already-emerging cracks in his skin, a pair of wings not so dissimilar from the dragon's and feathers made of glass emerging from his back and his arms respectively, growing, melting, dripping downwards.

He waited until speed built and he was under the dragon's abdomen before he lashed out with glass and thunder and the fury of the ocean, all pressure and shattering noise as he tried to break the bones in any way he knew how.

That archaic whisper started to murmur insistently, louder and louder in the wake of such terrible noise. The flesh at his lips and eyes started to bubble, even peeling in some places. He slapped an irritated hand onto the worst of the facial damage and prayed to all sorts of gods he didn't believe in that he'd stay whole.

It was a much harder thing to do than usual when monsters called to monsters and nightmare beckoned nightmare. Tooth and claw should be met with its like- not glass and noise, what was he doi-

He was keeping Catt safe. That's what he was doing.

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Catt Hatter  Tairais • 2 years ago

Chunks, splinters and shards of bone flew off in every direction, digging trenches in the snow covered earth. The chunks oozed ichor into the snow, melting it and dying the ground purple. Catt dodged as best she could from the supernatural debris.

The dragon roared again, sending another blast of lavender bile down towards him. Still flying despite having almost no ribcage left, the beast defied physics with its very existence. (Let alone how a creature with no flesh or stomach could spray bile or fly.)

As before, the spray flew harmlessly through his form as he dissipated into wisps of shadow before reforming just in time to hear a sharp cry from the ground.

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Tairais  Catt Hatter • 2 years ago

Charricthran melted out of the air just in time to land a kick on the dragon's spine with all the fury of a tempest behind it.

Fury that was quickly magnified when he heard Catt's cry of pain from below.

(Kothar! Make it stop, please I'm begging you-" A sob broken off, jagged at the edges, sharpened and dulled into a hoarse, terrifying scream he couldn't fix, he couldn't help, where was Keldra?!)

Scales covered her wherever the acid had burned, another woman's vitriol poisoning an innocent bystander. Rage bubbled in the back of his throat as he unleashed a howling screech through which all the voices of natural cataclysm made their fury known- the clap of thunder, the roar of an erupting volcano, the din of an earthquake, the rush of a tsunami- all this things and more lent their music to him.

He couldn't have stopped himself from ripping apart at the seams if he had tried. Feathers and claws and glass shattered and fell from the sky, bled and tore into bone and sinew and acid, unstoppable, unafraid, reveling in the righteous destruction of something ten times his height.

An old clock sounded loudly in the distance, hearkening, beckoning, challenging. His mouth swarmed with too many teeth, too many eyes, too many mouths, too many wings.

He stretched out his arms and raked his claws against the beast again and again, calling out a wordless warning to Catt, hoping she'd run to cover.

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Catt Hatter  Tairais • 2 years ago

The dragon flailed and roared uselessly as it was driven into the ground by his onslaught.

Catt lay writhing on the ground frantically clawing at the scales on her arm and face.

"I don't wanna be a dragon too! Nooo!" She cried, tearing chunks of her arm off with the iridescent purple scales.

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Tairais  Catt Hatter • 2 years ago

Charricthran's eyes quickly darted to the dragon, temporarily downed, then to Catt, bleeding and frantic.

It was startlingly easy to snarl and snap at the terrible creature that had torn itself from him until it faded into submission. It was an even simpler task to fall from the air and land at her side, holding his arms out as if to touch her yet wholly uncertain if it was a good idea to.

"Kitty-Catt, it's gonna be okay, kid. You're not gonna be a dragon, just calm down. This is just a dream o' yours- you can beat the dragon up if ya decide to, all ya gotta do is calm down. It'll be okay, I can help you. Please calm down, kid!"

Oof. He was out of practice at the whole 'calming, comforting' thing. Eesh.

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Catt Hatter  Tairais • 2 years ago • edited

"GeT ThiS OfF OF MeEe!" Catt shrieked, her tearful eyes pleading as her fingers clawed at the scales on her face. Blood dripped from around the edges, and from her bloodied hands.

No good, she couldn't think straight past the fear being caused by the scales, or whatever the scales represented. It was doubtful she even recognised him as anything other than 'not the dragon.' But at least she could tell he wasn't a threat.

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Tairais  Catt Hatter • 2 years ago

Panicking, Charricthran did the only thing he could possibly think to do: he allowed claws to tear themselves through his fingers and let them cut through the scales on Catt's face like a hot knife through butter.

Dream or no, every atom of his being rebelled at the idea of harming one of his charges. The act made him grind his teeth, and had his heart not been so cold and dead, it would have been racing and thudding erratically in its desperation.

As it stood, his entire body was filled with dread instead, borrowed from an ancient remembrance.

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Catt Hatter  Tairais • 2 years ago

Once the scales had been completely carved away, Catt curled up, clinging to his arm. He could feel her shacking as her breath gradually became more even through her sobbs.

"I-is it g-gone?" she whimpered, as the bleeding slowed to a stop. "I don't wanna be mean like a dragon..."

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Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago • edited

In his flat near a square, dead-tired Lewis lay dreaming.

In the dream, he was in the Society's kitchen, taking tea with Hastie.

Helen came down the stairs, though the stamp of her soul told him it wasn't Helen, but Hela.

Hastie, however, was fooled. As Lanyon went to greet her, she pulled out a blade.

Weir had only just grabbed her wrist in the nick of time when Hawley materialized behind her and put a gun to her head.

Lewis kicked the firearm out of his hand, only to have Moreau blast a hole in the wall, through which streamed Moreau's monstrosities, Moriarty's minions, the multi-bodied Orin, and Elder.

In the confusion, someone managed to set the Society on fire.

As if to further spite Weir, Lady Jekyll arrived to cut every lodger in half, and Hannibal and Will showed up to feast on the remains.

The Society collapsed in on itself with Lewis inside.

Hours later, he emerged from the rubble, a broken man in every sense, only to find Author and several other faceless Narrators waiting for him.

"What, no clever jibes?" one asked.

"Silly little puppet! Don't you know nothing you do has ever mattered?"

"I want to play with this dolly some more!"

"I want to write a story where he gets tortured!"

"Fight! We love to see you struggle! It's so pointless, it's funny!"

Behind them all, on a mound, stood a featureless female figure. She was smooth and cold as marble, the illusion of life a glamour cast over her skin.

Inside, Weir could sense, she was nothing but grave-worms.

She wore a Grecian-inspired dress of Scheele's green.

And a white sash, bearing a single word, written in blood: Fate.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

He had paused on his way through the Border and down the Shifting Paths when a fork emerged. On the left lay a door firmly shut closed, though he knew for a fact it was unlocked. The door was ancient, dark cedar. It smelled of fresh snow and stale blood, and painted in the colors of death, regret, music, and change, lay the image of a great black snake and a fire-breathing lion doing battle, the flames of which curled and intertwined across the entirety of the wood. The sound of a gurgling swamp emanated from somewhere inside, calling, waiting, still.

On the right sat a door ever so slightly ajar, bleeding the sensation of helplessness and righteous indigence. It was a simple thing by comparison, made of darkened pine wood and adorned with carvings of heather and thistles. The smell of burning silk drifted faintly from it, and with it, hidden promises.

It took him a startlingly short time to choose between the two paths.

He nudged the door on the left open with a shoulder and paused as he watched the events before him unfold from the sidelines, waiting as all the while a furious growl festered in the hollow of his throat.

When the nameless, faceless beings began to jeer and mock, he could no longer sit idly by. He was freed from his involuntary enthrallment with a sudden, vicious flurry of movement, feathers trailing from him like smoke as his first pair of wings ripped their way free through the back of his coat, the fabric parting like water.

They snapped open like the billowing sails of a pirate ship, propelling him forward as he took one, two, three quick steps before he leaped, liquid strength rippling through his form like mercury.

The first leap allowed him to soar over Lewis, coat tails fluttering out behind him as he landed a good two yards in front of the man, the very fabric of the dream warping and twisting around him in his fury.

The second bounding step launched him over the throngs of the terrible, faceless things, leaving him directly behind them as he took another racing step forward.

His third and final leap ended with a resounding 'CRAAACK!' as he brought the back of his hand across the face of that terrible, featureless female with all the rage and strength he could muster.

"F*CK YOU, FATE!"

There was no room in his mind for witty one-liners, insofar as he was concerned. Idly, distantly, he noted that he was not half so much the Vessel of The Other as he was himself- his voice didn't ring and warp and twist as much as it did the other times he chose to do this.

There were very likely some psychological and-or emotional factors at play. They could all bugger off for all he cared.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago • edited

The sheer suddenness of it--and the happenstance fact that Charricthran's words echoed his own, of a time before--caused Lewis to laugh.

The form of Fate fell all to pieces, worms dissolving into the earth, though Weir knew they'd be back, in time.

Still, it was a welcome respite.

Fate personified... he reflected, something about the situation seeming...off.

"Oh!" he realized. "I'm dreaming."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm only dreaming..."

He looked to Charricthran. His presence felt unlike the other players in the dream.

"But you're here, aren't you?" Weir asked softly.

An icy pang shot him through.

"Don't tell me you're dead!" he exclaimed.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

Charricthran snarled as the pieces fell away, breathing heavily for a few moments too long.

The expression was tucked away behind a sharp smile as feathers and wings melted back into his skin, the torn cloth of his jacket mending itself like water calming after a storm.

"Nahhh, can't get rid o' me that easily! I'm like a bad penny. Or, incidentally, your shadow!" He snickered softly, the sharp edges of his features gentling with the sound.

He paused, the smile turning wry. "Don't tell me ya'd miss this old crow! Er, raven, as it were." He shook his head to clear his thoughts, quickly moving on.

"At any rate, your door was open. I'd've knocked, butcha seemed a titch busy. Hope you don't mind too terribly much. If you do, I can just bugger off and we'll pretend I didn't just slap a pile'a worms into senseless oblivion."

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago • edited

"You're welcome to stay a while," said Lewis with a warm smile. "I'm not yet awake, as it happens.

"Frankly, I need the sleep," he chortled. "And you're far better company than this faceless lot," he asserted, glancing at the Narrators, who simply stood there, frozen, like sculptures, all semblance of life gone once Fate had stopped pulling their strings.

"Speakin' of which..." he trailed off, focusing his gaze on them.

At exactly the same precise moment, they each spontaneously caught fire, combustion reducing them to ash in a matter of seconds.

A fathomless, circular pit of black opened up beneath the residue, swallowing it away into nothing...then vanished.

The scene shifted--the mound leveled out, the ground became a floor, and walls sprang up around them.

They were in the kitchen of Weir's dream-flat.

"Care for a spot of tea?" he offered.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

The snarl twitched across his features again, an inaudible 'good riddance' to the piles of ash that were now no more than a fading memory.

Much like said ash, the expression vanished quickly, replaced by another cheerful smile.

"If you're offerin', sure! Dunno what else I'd be doin', really."

Except that he did. The other door was shut, but it needed to be open. Words had to be had- sharp, dangerous things that'd linger and fester in both his conversational partner and himself. He needed to go speak them, throw them at his charge like so many knives cutting away rot and decay.

It'd be better in the long run if he left, probably. Between the door and the fact that some of this situation constituted the very thoughts he was trying to get away from...

It'd be better, but it wouldn't be half so enjoyable. And how long had it been since he enjoyed something? He deserved this, didn't he?

(He didn't, he really didn't, but he wished he did, distantly. The guilt nipped at his fingertips, the product of a long-forgotten era.)

He twitched his fingers to scatter the thoughts, unwilling to let them bleed through his mind into Lewis'.

That was another thing- there were too many word-knives slipping around his mind that had the potential to cut one or both of them. This really was a terrible, terrible idea.

And again with the thoughts. He cheerfully and quickly rendered his mind blank, scooping up the scattered thoughts and shoving them into one of the mesas in The Other.

They wouldn't stay there forever, but hopefully they'd stay there while the pair of them dreamed.

He crossed his arms and shifted his posture into something more casual, less bristling- a conscious effort to shrug off the last of the indignant rage stirring in his skin.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

Lewis put the kettle on. It took exactly as long to come to a boil as it did Weir to ready the rest of the tea things.

The tea steeped in the pot instantaneously, and he poured Charricthran a cup before tending to his own.

"There we are," he pronounced, settling down into a seat at the table.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

Charricthran took the seat opposite of Lewis and wrapped his hands around the cup. If he focused, it almost felt warm, almost felt real.

Focusing, however, was exhausting, and he wasn't really able to for very long- his thoughts were like the hums of a bee's wings; the barest hint of movement, the idea of a train of thought, and buzzing just on the edge of awareness.

Something was ticking away, and he wasn't quite sure what. It wasn't safe to try and focus it. Keep your guard up- you can't do without it.

A twitch of the lips, like someone pulling puppet strings at the corner of his mouth. A normal way to smile for him, but still jerky. Not quite smooth enough to be carefree. Nervous, almost, but not really.

Charricthran, nervous? Never.

His eyes wandered down to the cup, cheerful despite the hint of wistfulness.

Why the wistfulness? He'd been fine all several thousand years before- nothing had changed, really.

A small lie, a harmless lie. A significant lie, a harmful lie.

Buzzing, buzzing, buzzing. Focus.

A proper smile- he lifted the cup slightly.

"Cheers, then!" He went back to holding it, uncertain if he would be able to drink it without giving himself a headache. He'd wait until his thoughts settled somewhat- as scatterbrained as he was, the answer was likely a resounding 'no'.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago • edited

"And yet you don't seem very cheerful," underneath, observed Weir.

He set down his cup.

"What's wrong, Charricthran?" he asked, tilting his head. "You feel a bit...distracted, if you don't mind my saying so."

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

He shook his head quickly, dismissively. Not his mind, not his place to dwell on his troubles. The smile was still in place, close enough to a real thing for likely anyone else.

"Ah, nothin' important. Overthinking. Tad easy to do with the clock hands as they are, y'know? Makes me titchy at the best o' times, which.. Well, they're not the worst, but they ain't the best either. It's fine. I'll be fine!"

Step one, he thought, don't let anyone know.

Step two, he thought, deceive yourself: if no one else knows, then you don't either- reality is influenced by perception.

Step three, he thought: profit. No one can hurt you if you can't feel. Distance hurts less if you can't feel.

Well, he'd failed step one rather spectacularly. It was fine. He'd adapt. He'd change, he had to.

The next step, the next step. Buzzing in his ears- what was the next step?

He shook his head again, smirking. "I'm aware that I don' sound convincin' at all, before you might ask."

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

"Ah," said Lewis. "I...appreciate you saving me the trouble," he said with a faint laugh.

His expression, however, conveyed concern and sympathy.

"Frankly, you look nearly on the verge of a tizzy. What's eating at you so? I really don't mind listening. And, if not for your presence, I'd likely still be having it out with the bloody demigod-marionettes."

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

Charricthran snickered softly, the sound bouncing against his teeth like rattling bones. "No problem."

The sound died quickly in the contemplative silence that followed.

The truth? Circumnavigation? Lies? What would be the best- what would work, for that matter? He was in Lewis' mind at present, not the other way around. How much would stay silent if he lied?

Probably not much, or at the very least, Lewis would know he was hiding something. Knowing that meant more questions, and he really didn't want to keep lying.

Lying was exhausting, and more suited to other times and other places. He was already lying quite a lot by omission.

A little hint of the truth then- something harmless enough if taken for face value, unlikely as the thought was.

"I'm fixated on the hug you gave me. Stupid, innit? Dunno why my mind's all a-whirlin' about it. It's skittering around, though."

He took his hands off the cup and shrugged, locking his hands together behind his head and arcing his back to stretch in a falsely-carefree manner.

A card on the table. What would be done with it? Fold, draw, deal. Et cetera.

Did he always have to think in such tiresome metaphors?

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

"Mm," contemplated Lewis with a shrug. "If you're fixated on it, chances are there's a reason. Possibly more than one.

"I'll understand if you don't want to spell them out for me--privacy and all--but it's likely important you at least know what they are."

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

Charricthran snickered again, slightly more forced than the last time. Distantly, he figured self-consciousness was probably something he should have felt about then. Fortunately for him, he didn't. There was just a sickening amount of noise buzzing against his chest.

Right, then. This was happening.

"Oh, I know 'em. Have plenty of time ta sit on my ass and twirl my thumbs around thinkin' up a storm nowadays. Not much to do when your only ties to the physical world are new things or unconscious. I'm all too human in my desire to avoid f*ckin' everything up. I'd imagine you can relate a titch, cept I dunno. I'm soundin' like a broken record a' this point."

That brought a real chuckle to life, chasing away a bit of the not-quite-unease.

"In a shocking turn o' events, I actually care about what someone thinks of me. Terrible! However shall my reputation recover from such a devastating blow." He grinned lopsidedly, sharp teeth poking out ever so slightly.

If he tried, he could almost convince himself it was a charming sort of expression. As usual, he couldn't be bothered. How wonderful, how sad. How maddening, someone had said once. He'd agreed then, and he agreed now.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

Lewis chuckled.

"How indeed," he jested in turn.

He reflected, and, as he did so, a pile of scones materialized on the table, along with some jam.

Belatedly, he noticed them.

"Oh. Sorry about that."

They disappeared.

"Just remembering a dream I once had."

He cleared his throat.

"If your thoughts or feelings are bothering you, mayhap you should act on them. Get them resolved, one way or another. That's what I'd do, for what it's worth."

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

"Tasty lookin' dream, if I'm frank." Hunger prevailed, constantly.

He scratched at his cheek, somewhat sheepishly, somewhat in thought, somewhat to scatter those thoughts.

Eventually, he shook his head again (and distantly, he wondered if he might accidentally end up shaking something vital loose).

"Probably best I don't act on anythin' 'til some measure of certainty is obtained. Care makes me cautious, caution makes me wary. Warier than usual, at any rate. I want to, though. Act upon it, that is."

The words trailed off as his eyes wandered slightly, considering.

Had he a working heart, he'd be disappointed and slightly exhilarated to find it beating double-time. As it was, something in his chest lurched every so often, trying to remember the vestiges of some long-dead thing.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

"Not unless you fancy dining on maggots," Weir said in reply to Charricthran's first assertion.

Charricthran spoke further.

"Fair enough," conceded Lewis.

"Perhaps I can help," he suggested.

"What would it take to make things more...certain?"

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

He held up a finger and tilted his head slightly, mischief in his eyes.

"I spend half my time as a bird in some way shape or form. Rest assured, I've eaten weirder things. Granted, it was for the guise of bein' a normal bird, and the resultin' headache was bloody awful, so I wouldn't try that again any time soon, but I digress."

He picked at an imaginary loose thread on the cuff of one of his jacket sleeves, frowning slightly.

After a time, he sighed softly, breath ruffling his hair into even more of a mess than usual.

"Hells if I know- I'm not used to uncertainty. Or carin' about it, at any rate. An' I'm certain my need ta fly circles round the actual conversation I should have isn't helping the situation." At this, he grinned sheepishly, apologetically, rubbing circles on his wrist with a thumb in a nervous tic that was almost unnoticeable.

Almost human, even. Was human, technically. Wasn't human, technically. Such a dichotomy.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago • edited

"Hm..." said Lewis as he brought a hand to his chin in thought.

After a moment, he met Charricthran's gaze and asked:

"Is it the conversation itself you don't relish, or the person with whom you'd have it?"

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

"The conversation. It's not one I've had often, and it's not one that's ended well for anyone in the long run."

He debated biting his tongue in more than one sense, yet there was something decidedly... exhilarating about the whole thing.

That buzzing in the back of his mind snarled and laughed, promising he'd make a fool out of himself if he didn't "Quit it right this instant, Kothar, this isn't the time for fooling around. Honestly, do you ever take anything seriously? Your life could be at stake and all you'd do is gamble it away, laughing! I doubt there's any sense in you anymore! You just don't care!"

He winced slightly at that familiar voice. She had been right and wrong in equal measure.

He cared, deeply. Hence, he buried that caring deeply, where it could seldom be used against him.

Fat lotta good it did him.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

Something difficult to talk about. Something that's...ended badly.

A possibility occurred to Lewis.

He swallowed audibly, then cleared his throat.

"Is it...with me?" he asked.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

Something in his jaw creaked- he'd been clenching his teeth without entirely realizing it.

He froze. He averted his eyes.

He moved jarringly, a statue come to life.

His hands came to rest, one on top of the other, clenching his left knee. The pointer finger of his right hand tapped against his left hand slowly, at first, then with more speed as his mind began to whirl.

The truth, the truth, the truth, beckoned a sweet Irish lilt.

Stay safe, stay safe, stay safe, pleaded a melodic voice somewhere between hers and his.

The tapping stopped, and, eyes still looking away, he nodded.

What did he have to lose?

(Nothing! You're following your heart!)

(Everything! You HAVE no heart, precious idiot!)

(The buzzing continued to scrape in his ears, in his teeth.)

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

"Well, we can have it, then, if you feel up to it," stated Lewis, concern and care patent in his expression. "If not, I'll understand.

"Though you do have my curiosity piqued, I'll admit," he said with an easy smile.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

The tapping had started again in the wake of Lewis' admission.

Did he dare? No. Yes, he d- no!

Maybe. Should he flip a coin? He didn't have one, but one could almost certainly produce- or would it be influenced by Lewis' curiosity? What about Charricthran's subconscious? How relevant were both of these things in a dream that wasn't even his?

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

The noise was like a beak against a windowpane, and his lips twitched into a half-sort-of-smile at the faint memory of windows and clean rooms, and the organized chaos that followed.

The smile vanished at the thought of the aftermath of that situation, and all the lies associated with it.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

What to do, what to do? He still wasn't looking at Lewis, couldn't dare. Wanted to, wanted to be open for once in his miserable life, instead of holding so many gods-damned secrets.

(Go for it! You won't know unless you try- that's what you told me danthe-isthasy! Try! Please?)

(Do you realize what will happen if he rejects you? Malai! You're so stupid sometimes. I love you, dearly, but I can't let you do this to yourself! I won't let you hurt yourself!)

(Weigh the choices. Assess, analyze, calculate. Good.

Throw them all away- these words are not for matters of your heart, even as one as cold and dead and near-gone as yours.)

(Now there was a voice he hadn't thought of for a long time. What would that old friend think of him now?)

Tap tap tap tap tap tap t-

A pause.

"Funny, that. This whole mess started because you piqued mine."

Too small, too gentle, too vulnerable. He was making this into something it shouldn't be, wasn't actually.

...

What was it, then?

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

Lewis considered that.

"Go on..." he encouraged.

He didn't know to which "whole mess" Charricthran referred, given the chaotic nature of life (in this dimension especially), but Weir was certainly willing to hear him out.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago • edited

Tap tap tap.

Again with skittering nerves, again with considered words, weighed like weapons, tossed like stones.

Nothing felt right, the edges too jagged and coarse in his mouth-- He'd cut both of them if he wasn't careful, and it wouldn't be the clean sort of wound he could only hope for.

He couldn't explain this from the middle and work his way around to the point as he so often did- there were factors beyond that simple act of kindness tangling him in their strings.

He couldn't explain directly from the beginning either- the story was too long to tell comfortably.

A matter of summary, but how do write one of those without knowing how to tell the story itself?

Tap tap tap tap tap.

The sound switched to a muted metronome, counting the seconds as they ticked and danced around his non-existent heartbeat.

Tap tap t-ck.

He took a deep, pointless breath and let it out slowly, the smell of cigarette smoke filling his nostrils in an almost sympathetic manner.

The usual, then: Furiously winging it. Softly furiously winging it, because every word felt like another bullet loaded into some unseen gun.

"The short version of a story over fourteen thousand years old is this: Boy grows up poor, quiet, observant, just a titch magic, and in another universe and time entirely. Boy makes poor choices when his happy parents die at a young age, takes to the streets. Boy accidentally-on-purpose joins a mix between an assassin's league and a thieves guild. Boy learns his trade through blood, sweat, and tears, climbs the ranks."

(A dying sunset trapped in a little girl's hair, the stars themselves glittering in one eye, the colors of a different universe's void-stuff in the other.)

"Boy an' his crew eventually stumble across a slip of a girl drownin' in a too-large nightgown, covered in scars and magic- Richard's got nothin' on her." He sighed, a soft, tender sort of thing, toeing the line between remorse and amusement, exhalation and chuckle. He continued after a moment, poking at the scabs on that terribly old wound.

"Boy takes the girl in and trains her. He raises her, finds out she's the king's dead daughter and also the reason the queen and the crown prince died. Tells the leaders of the guild he owes his life to, they decide to turn her in for the reward. The boy doesn't find out about this until nearly too late, and by this point- young, naive, and fiercely loyal- he sees her as family."

"The boy steals her and a handful of jewels away from the guild with the help of his closest friend. The three of them flee just in time to watch a buildin' full of vampires burn to the ground. They take to the woods, an' it becomes clear whatever happened to the girl left her with as much magic as it did scar tissue- She's practically nature herself. The three of them wanted for nothing, lived off the land, an' befriended the local wildlife on the way."

He realized, perhaps a bit too late, that the short version of his story was still, in fact, very long. The river of words rushed out of him, tearing through the tiny cracks in the walls in his mind, widening them, forcing them open further and further...

He did his best to alter the course some, shaking his head.

"Little girl learns of death when one of her beloved birds dies. Boy and older girl explain the concept, 's gently as possible. Little girl doesn't take it well: She killed her mother by accident, her brother on purpose, an' thought she helped both. She resolves to find a way to keep her family together forever! The boy and the older girl smile and nod, because she's a child, and that's what they always say-

An' they're oh so wise to the world, but oh so naive to the ways of elves and the other.. things that have burned away her human half, or so the little girl said."

He shook his head again, trying to get his thoughts back on track.

"Point bein', she figured out a way after all. The boy an' the older girl were thrilled, so used to fear and pain and uncertainty. They were young, foolish things- of course they jumped at the chance, who wouldn't?"

The tapping paused for a moment as he spread his hands out in a sort of shrugging gesture. It resumed just as quickly as it had stopped.

Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. Tap tap. The sound of raindrops against a window.

"The girl did the ritual, an' the older siblings were, effectively, made immortal. Only one of them would ever learn the price, but the thought hadn't even crossed their minds- they were invincible!"

"The little girl gifted both of her 'older siblings' with the form of a raven to be her eyes in the sky and her guards when her magic threatened to consume her. They were a family by themselves for some two or three years, and then they found an even bigger family, some of who lived almost as long as they would have, before."

He paused, gritting his teeth for half a second as the agony of losing them dug into his chest anew. He almost wanted to stop, to jokingly make up a happy ending and spare himself from reliving the pain, but what good would that do? It wouldn't explain anything. He'd have to endure, even as his shoulders began to hunch in on themselves and his sentences became clipped, larger and larger chunks of time disappearing with every word.

"Eventually, they learned the hard way that everything would die except them. Their family died. Their former kingdom died. Everything died. Everything was born again. The little girl became a god. the god became host to the ancient dragon that represented half of her power, the two siblings grew in power and became near-gods in their own right, and they gained enemies and allies in equal measure, doing their very best to keep peace in the Twelve Worlds, the Twilight Realms, and the Nine Hells."

"Some two thousand years after he was born, the boy realized he'd grown up some. He wasn't quite a man, wasn't quite mature, but he was older in so many other ways.The family grew even closer, gained new members, lost some, gained more. They were happier than ever, even though the wounds of the past never quite left. They learned from them, and they grew. All was wonderful again in the wake of death and rebellious anarchist gods."

"Amidst this golden glow, the not-quite-boy-not-quite-man slipped sideways past the curtains guarding that universe, and he fell. He fell, and he fell, and he fell. He all but died when he crashed into a new world, unsure of anything but the fact that he was alone, truly alone, for the first time in his life."

The scene played before his eyes, his breath hitching when he saw himself hit the ground, immeasurable miles from home.

"The not-quite-boy decided that was all rather rubbish. He needed to get home. He couldn't. The roads home were lost. He wandered. He learned. He cherished. He mourned. He made mistakes. He taught, he guided, he tricked, he deceived, he oppressed, he rebelled. He found hidden things, he hid things. All the while he grew and tried to find a way home. He never loved. He wouldn't let himself. He grew bitter."

Bile rose in the back of his throat and still, he kept going. Why was he still going? He needed to stop, needed to break this stupid tale off and shatter the remains with a hammer. He was shaking- why was he shaking, twitching, breaking?

Stop it! Focus, malai. You need to focus, he needs to know.

Lewis needed to know. Needed to learn to stay away. Needed to learn he didn't want him to stay away, but oh, he was ravenous, and that was dangerous and he didn't want to hurt him, he wanted to devour him- no!

The eyes of a dead thing peered from behind his red ones, and yet they weren't anything other than himself. A different form, a difference face- another time, another place.

Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap.

Focus. A handful of seconds gone by, marked with the tapping of teeth against teeth.

"Until he did. He had broken, somehow, and the not-quite-boy would never remember after. The god of another universe had taken him in, patched him up. He fell in love, then, and it was almost the love from before, he said."

He shook his head, snarling towards that terribly stupid figure from his past. "But it wasn't- it was hungry, it was starving, and it needed to be fed. Whatever this was, it demanded sacrifice."

"He devoured his first love some nine thousand years after his birth. and left that world in chaos. He fell in love a handful times after that. Not one of them ended as well as that first. Eventually, he left."

"He met a kid and his brother in a new universe, a new start at living. He'd forgotten how to for a long time after that first death. That not-quite-boy still hadn't grown up, still hadn't learned, still made mistakes. His mistakes got entire universes killed because of his selfishness, and he didn't care. Couldn't care. Couldn't feel. He was stuck until he stood on a pair of antlers in a rain of ash."

(Stop twitching. It's gonna be ok. Just stop- let me help-)

(No no don't let her help she needs to help herself you idiot she's broken, you're not, you can deal. Shut up, shutupshutupshutup stop being so disgustingly human!)

He bit the inside of his cheek before continuing.

Tap tap tap.

"That one kid, so desperately holding on for his brother, changed everything. He made a deal. The brother died. They fled, more people died- the fault of the kid, that time. The not-quite-boy learned some things the next time he fell in love with a man made of the smell of coffee and ozone, and swore to save the kid from himself. Things went to shit. He broke promises. He lied. He kept secrets. He went to London. He hid when he was asked to. He kept the kid safe. He dealt with threats the kid'd thought left him for dead."

"The not-quite-boy thought he was as close to feelin' alive and real again as he could get by then. He was wrong, naturally. Always was, even as he made a reputation for being right."

The words slowed, then, less urgent in their need to flee, more reluctant and genuinely wary.

Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap tap.

"A kid got kidnapped, his kid left. A man his kid had sort-of-not-really befriended wanted to help what couldn't be, and saved his life, seemingly without a second thought. The not-quite-boy considered his interest piqued, and kept an eye on the man. Why not? He could have a bit of fun while the world wasn't endin'."

Tap tap tap.Tap tap tap.Tap tap tap.

(Don't look at him, dontdontdontdont don't do it, he can't look, he'll see, he'll see don't let him!)

(Ssssshutup! Shutupshutup! I know! I know! What do I do? Tell me! You won't tell me anything useful! Shutup!)

He winced and grinned at the same time, the expression wobbly and grim.

"That idiot not-quite-boy looked back and realized he'd grown up in agony against his will quite some time ago. Not a man, not a monster. Somethin' between. Kids died. He wished he had. Other kids did too. The smell of coffee and ozone bled into decaying leaves and musty pages, and yet all were overshadowed by the smell of burning silk made from a box of borrowed matches."

"That idiot not-quite-man looked back at the memory of a man with a box of borrowed matches and saw the faintest flicker of a candleflame buried in the very shadows he was made of, the shadows that choked him like the hands of the dead."

His voice grew steadily quieter after that, though it never quite became inaudible- he wouldn't waste their time like that.

"The idiot not-quite-man realized he'd made the same mistake twice in the same universe, just in different ways. He was touched, physically comforted and not harmed, without any effort on his part. A single glowing outlier in a universe that was already an outlier of its own. The world was skewed with a single gesture."

Charricthran lifted his eyes to meet Lewis' gaze for the first time since he'd started his story, the dead, wounded, hungry thing bleeding seamlessly into the red of his eyes. Those eyes asked for no pity, no sympathy. Those eyes were hoping, vulnerable, and furious with themselves.

"That idiot man told himself he wouldn't get close, wouldn't obsess, and did so anyways, gamblin' everythin' on a chance. Then he told himself he'd stop overthinking when he realized and accepted this, tried to leave his thoughts behind, an' walked right back into them. I don' know what I'm feelin' precisely, but it's closer to hunger than anythin' else. Hells if I know what kind."

He dropped his gaze again and curled his fingers at his sides, the constant tapping finally coming to a halt.

Nothing moved. everything waited. The buzzing stopped, sated, satisfied. Quietly hungry, nauseated in the only way it knew how to be.

He'd leave in a few seconds, just as soon as everything stopped spinning.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

As Charricthran related his much-abridged life's story, Lewis kept his peace, though Weir did give a look of sympathy or a nod of understanding as he felt inclined.

Charricthran reached the end, at last revealing the crux of the current "mess".

Lewis was silent a moment, reflecting.

"I...quicken you," he pronounced. "And you're afraid you'll snuff that flame."

He nodded, to himself as well as Charricthran.

"Thank you," he said, genuinely. "For being honest with me."

Another pensive pause, as he debated what to say, how to proceed.

"Let me return the favor," he said, finally. "If you will."

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

"You got it in fewer words than me, thank goodness for that!" Charricthran had intended to flash a jovial grin, but the expression he pulled was too wobbly, too relieved to be anything close to carefree.

Thoughts began to buzz and murmur again, a thousand whispers of all the things that could go wrong, all the worries that seldom left him, merely hibernated and festered while he forced himself to be as chipper as could be.

A shaky chuckle shortly followed. "Honesty's the least I owe ya. Or, close to it as I can get. 'Nyway." He cleared his throat and nodded slightly, waiting for Lewis to continue.

He still couldn't shake the feeling that that hidden gun with all its bullets was still pointed at the both of them.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

Lewis chuckled, a good-natured sentiment behind the laugh.

"You'll not snuff me out, Charricthran, never fear," he reassured with a shake of his head. "I promise. Many have tried, but it's never forever. I always bounce back in the end.

"Whether your own feelings remain kindled...time will tell.

"For my part, I do find you interesting. I do think you're in need of...a further reckoning--be it with an aspect of yourself, or your past, or someone you know--before you can feel settled within yourself.

"I sense passion, which is a good and necessary thing. So is grounding, as a counterbalance.

"On my end...I will say I care for you. Certainly along the lines of not just friendship, but also fellow-feeling. Perhaps something more, perhaps not, though I don't know if that's what you had in mind.

"Fair warning...I don't fall in love easily, if I may be so bold as to presume. Care? Yes. Passion? It's easy enough to bed someone. But romance?" He laughed ruefully, though one got the feeling it was at himself and his own life, not at all Charricthran. "Let's just say you're not the only one who broke what he most cherished."

He tapped his left index finger on the table thrice, in chagrin.

"Caveat emptor," he said at last.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago • edited

Charricthran spread out his hands in a wide-armed shrug, softening the edges of his expression.

"I don't fear snuffin' ya out so much as suffocatin' ya. Like Richard with Elias, y'know? Hard ta bounce from somethin' like that. Don't think Richard'll ever be able bounce back if something.. else happens, an' I know I have the potential to be much worse. For once, I don't want to be an exception. Funny, that."

He shook his head and laughed ruefully, dropping his arms by his side. He leaned back in the chair, listening to it creak as he stared upwards, almost beseechingly.

"And I don' know the first thing about what I feel anymore, which was the point of this all, I think. I dunno. We're a pair of clueless, cautious.. somethin's; I'd call myself an idiot; dunno bout you-" He flashed a mischievous grin and glanced towards Lewis, "-but I haven't invested much into smart or good choices."

He took a few seconds to snicker before adding, "An' as for romance... That's a word in a whole 'nother tongue, far as I'm concerned. I'll letcha know if I find a translation book or sommat."

He fell silent for a few minutes, then sighed softly, sitting upright again in order to look Lewis in the eyes.

(You let him see, you idiot! Why did you do that? He could be lying! He probably is! When has anything gone well for us?)

While she had a point, he wasn't all that interesting in listening to her. He was making a concentrated effort to believe in hope.

"My point bein', thank you. For everythin' you have done and will do. 'S... fantastic to feel a titch less alone than before. To feel real for even a handful of seconds. And now I'm gonna stop myself 'fore I say anythin' too sappy."

He quirked his lips into a not-quite-smile, picking up and tipping his teacup slightly towards Lewis.

"Here's ta figurin' things out, perhaps. Whatever those things end up bein'."

He set the cup down before anything could start hurting too terribly bad. As it was, there was a dull throbbing in his temples.

On the plus side, he'd dodged the bullets.

Most likely.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago • edited

Lewis nodded--even chortled--in agreement with various of Charricthran's points.

"Truth be told, I'm of much like mind," said Weir. "Frankly, it's a relief to learn we're pretty well on the same page."

He, too, raised his cup, but did not drink.

'Tis only an illusion anyway, this tea. More than like, it'll just make me wake up early, cravin' the real thing.

"Here's to hoping that wisdom'll be a little less hard-won than usual," he said, rapping upon the wooden table with his knuckles.

He set the cup back on its saucer, and smiled.

"I'm glad you stopped by, Charricthran. Not only to dispel the nightmare, but to talk."

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

At the edge of his awareness, he remembered a conversation that had echoed through his chest and the mark upon it.

The shadow of another smile flickered in the corners of his lips as he echoed the words of the past in his own roundabout way.

"So long as we're readin' the same book, that's fine by me. Closer'n anyone else has gotten. But yeah. Here's hopin'. I've enough of Fate bein' a right cow as of late." The traces of a snarl bloomed in his eyes before fading behind a shuttered expression just as quickly.

Continuing, he added, "An' any time, Lewis. You ever need anythin', be it chattin', whisperin', or killin', I'm just a knock on the door away." He tapped the side of his head with a hand, as if to emphasize his point.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago • edited

"Fate can get bloody well stuffed, beheaded, an' set on fire," concurred Lewis with a look of disdain.

Charricthran continued.

"I appreciate that," Weir replied, a hint of fondness in his voice and his expression. "As with other things, I trust you'll keep what you might chance to witness here confidential?"

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

Charricthran made his own expression of sympathetic contempt towards the concept of Fate before offering a nod and a quirked lip in response to Lewis' question.

"Naturally. Ain't in the habit of givin' loyalty often, see, but once ya have it, all things are safe with me. I'm too fond of ya to break your trust with this. That. The other thing. Something." He shrugged and tugged on his ear sheepishly, halfway looking away.

Much like Richard, sometimes he didn't enjoy speaking English. His native tongue was slightly less susceptible to confusion and... whatever the opposite of clarity was.

Damn. He couldn't remember the word. What was the word?

It didn't matter, but it was gonna drive him crazy trying to remember it.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

"Huh," chortled Lewis as he regarded Charricthran. "I'm the same."

He looked about the dream-flat, feeling as if something necessary had been resolved.

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Tairais  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

About the same time Lewis came to that conclusion, Charricthran felt his tether to the dream tug somewhere behind his navel.

Time to go, then. Whatever the purpose of his wandering, it was complete.

He stood and stretched elegantly before offering a slight bow. "I'm being cued to go. Again, it was a treat talkin' to ya, Lewis. I'll be around if ya need me."

Before the sensation could get too unbearable, he turned on his heel and strode out the same door he had walked through in the first place, tapping the thistles engraved on the doorframe as he went.

He left feeling.. more settled than he had when he'd left The Other, certainly. And yet, a feeling of foreboding and exhilaration lingered in his step and fingers, sparking along his skin.

A great change had been set in motion, somehow. He both dreaded and welcomed the thought.

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Jekyll1886  Tairais • 2 years ago

"Likewise, Charricthran," returned Lewis, and watched him go.

"Hmm," said Weir once he was alone, standing to look at the flat around him.

He smiled.

With a snap of his fingers, the place transformed into a grand house. Its main hall was lined with glass presses, and terminated with the loveliest fireplace in all London.

"That's better."

((End, I think?))

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Wizardblizzard  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

((Now, THIS is a narrator who knows how to do it. Although I have managed to make a posting where something happens at last myself, so there's hope! Sorry Tairais, I started our thread under a basic misapprehension about which of us was the GM.))

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Wizardblizzard  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

(("In his flat near a square, dead-tired Lewis lay dreaming."

Only just noticed what you did there :-D ))

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Jekyll1886  Wizardblizzard • 2 years ago

((Hee hee. You're the first to! :-) ))

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Wizardblizzard  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

((hey, you here 86? hi! :-) I don't actually read Lovecraft, I just learnt that from a guy on a forum.))

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Jekyll1886  Wizardblizzard • 2 years ago

((Hi there! :-) Not to worry; I've not read much of him. I do, however, have a friend who's quite the fan of his work, and loves to talk about the stories she's read. I just really liked that particular line.))

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The Fox • 2 years ago

( hhmmMMMMMM I want Charricthran to meet Resham but I don't know if he really dreams or not. HNNNnNGGG >A<;; )

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Tairais  The Fox • 2 years ago

(( Fear not, friend! There are technicalities for alllll situations. For instance, if we realllly wanted to stretch it, you could do a daydream. That's interesting to begin with because they're harder to maintain. ))

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The Fox  Tairais • 2 years ago

( Aaah True! Or maybe some good old fashioned mind poking! :D )

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