[PRP] Break in, break down (Tamiya x Larque) [fin]

[kamileunaire]

x

What: Larque decides to scavenge in a hive that may or may not be inhabited. Mayhem ensues.
Where: Old Hemisect
When: Early evening

 

[kamileunaire]

As the sun sank beneath the sea and the twin moons began to rise, one young greenblood was up early for a night of mischief and marauding. Larque grabbed his makeshift cloak and tucked his lusus' whistle beneath his shirt before bouncing out the door and scrambling over one of the many rubble piles outside of his hive. He nearly slipped, of course, on account of the thin layer of snow over everything, and cursed quietly as he made his way past wrecked buildings and motionless construction equipment. He had something of a schedule to follow that night in his attempt to scavenge as much as he could before the queen's drones went through and fixed everything. Thankfully Bloodfest had put a temporary stop on that, but then he'd gone and wasted all that time participating in it! Oh well...

Larque shivered as a chilly breeze blew in from the ocean, making his way into a sector of the city nearer to the seaside. The snow was fun for play, but it certainly did nothing to aid in his stealth as he slunk in and around buildings, scoping out a good spot to go -exploring-. Most of the buildings he sniffed around in were usually abandoned, and clearly so, with gaping holes or half-boarded up windows. Easiest to get into, but often lowest yield when it came to loot. That was why, perhaps, he was getting a bit more cocky in his endeavors.

He made his choice when he found a large, odd building - odd in the sense that it had no discernible windows at all. After circling it twice, he had cemented his decision, and found entry by way of a small door on the side, which he picked and pried open without too much hassle. As he slipped in, he didn't even notice the funny white line that got broken and smudged in the process, instantly captivated by the cavernous quality of the inside of the building. It was almost spooky, and he couldn't quite tell if it was occupied or not. He crept in further, not so much eager to find a resident as he was to find -treasure-...  

[Sypon]

There was a faint creaking from above. The clicking of the lock and the heavy sigh of the stage left door echoed through the reaches of the theatre. A shifting form rebalanced itself amongst the flies. Sandbags twirled and slumped against each other above the stage like listless hanging figures. They cast eerie reflections in the gorgeous wooden floor.

-

Tamiya’s eyes whipped open. “There’s something here,” she gasped softly.

The purpleblooded girl, broken soundly out of her morning rituals, was immediately on her feet. Her tabi slipped against the slick paneling of her respiteblock, geta having been arranged carefully at the door where her gaze now darted. Maybe she was just imagining the noise… Nothing could have gotten in with her preparations in place.

She wasn’t convinced with herself. Tamiya scrambled to the wall, breaking eye contact with the door, looking to the massive pipe kiseru resting on its hooks upon the wall. She reached up and grasped it by the handle and further down on the stem with both hands. Thin fingers gripped and paled, and for a moment they unclenched and relaxed. Perhaps it was nothing.

-

With a light swish and the sound of rustling, the fox-like lusus skittered into a dark corner right above the opening of the stage’s proscenium. It hunched behind bunched up curtains and flattened out against the folds of the muslin. The curious, blank head of the beast tilted and flopped to an odd angle as Larque entered. He crossed the threshold – the broken salt line was proof of it. Kabukidad was on the move again. From the wing near the greenblood, a sandbag moaned. The tight scrunching of rope resounded from up above, and then slid apart with a rush of stale air. The bag crashed to the stage, dust ballooning off of its surface. The noise echoed throughout the theatre.

-

That was no nothing. Tamiya ripped the kiseru off of the wall and almost fell on her bottom with its weight. Her hands shook, her breath shallow and quaking with her shoulders. She struggled to pick the huge bludgeon up, and finally managed to carry it with both hands, panicking under her breath.

“No, no, no, no…Messiahs protect me, protect me,” she whispered. Her voice was high and shrill, eyes darting around the room with fear until they came to rest on the door. The numerous tags around her room, the carefully placed furnishings, every ritual, every sign. She could stay in her respiteblock – in her sanctum, protected from spirits – or she could investigate. Tamiya made another step towards the door, and let the tip of the kiseru drop to the ground. A shaky hand met the handle, and pulled. She was out – or perhaps the demons were in? Tamiya felt a cold prickle through her body and held her breath, looking down the hallway. The stage was only one right-turn away after the short distance of thirty steps north. Twenty-nine steps. Twenty-eight steps.  

[kamileunaire]

Larque crept quietly inward, his eyes wide as he willed them to adjust more quickly. Having never been inside of a theatre before, the little greenblood was baffled at the openness of the stage and subsequent seating area as he peered out at it, a little hesitant to continue on that way. Had the upstairs floors fallen through or something? Was that why it was so big? The distant sound of rustling was lost to him, as the open door behind him tap-tapped against its frame, and the wind brushed through, doing further damage to the salt line. Only one other way to go, he told himself, and looked down the opposite way, a hallway that was even darker than the alternative stage area. Not a problem! Larque was used to such spookiness, it was just like one of Mantismom's tunnels....

But the loud bang behind him wasn't. Larque didn't even have the chance to respond to the funny hiss of the rope, before the clamorous THWOMP came, the thing landing just inches behind the greenblood. He leapt spectacularly before falling in a heap, wheezing in panic and scrambling back away from the offending sandbag. His little blood-pusher was pumping a mile a minute then, but at least he had managed not to scream. He wiggled back a little further before climbing to his feet, and then took off into the hallway despite the little voice in his head -begging- him to just go back out the door.  

[Sypon]

At nineteen steps, Tamiya stopped still. With horror, she felt herself pale under her makeup. Someone was rushing down the hall. She had little time to adjust to the grey and green figure scrambling towards her-- her instincts took over. She released a ghastly scream. Tamiya fumbled her kiseru. She couldn’t make out if it was a troll, a dark spirit, a ghost – her head was spinning. This couldn’t be happening!

She had no time to regain her composure before a soft padding added to the rhythm of the boy’s quick footsteps. Running at a sprint on all fours, Kabukidad was on the pursuit. He leapt onto the wall with deftful strides. Kabukidad didn't pause for an instant. He shifted a few more light steps before descending between the two young trolls. He came to a heavy halt in front of Tamiya – his many skin folds coming to rest after their furious momentum. The tail of the beast flicked back and forth. A rumbling hiss that sounded like boiling water emerging from the creature’s pit of a neck. Tamiya’s pupils were frightened pinpoints, her eyes yellow pools surrounded by purple make-up. There was no time to assess the situation – Tamiya let loose another shriek as Kabukidad lunged.  

[kamileunaire]

Larque's eyes hadn't adjusted quite enough to allow him to see what was ahead in the hall, except for the white patches of the other troll's make up. It was more than enough to send a chill down his spine, appearing as some sort of ghastly face emerging from the gloom of the hallway. He'd already slammed on the breaks when she'd begun to scream, and he let out a frightened yelp himself, unable to keep quiet any longer. -Oh, he'd done it now-. Someone -did- live here, and now he was going to pay for the mistake. He started to back up, only to catch a white flash out of the corner of his eye...

-The lusus-. Of course. As the creature settled between him and what he assumed was the troll it belonged to, Larque bristled at the noise it was making. He immediately tried to twist around and flee, but he was too slow, too late, and the thing pounced not moments after he'd turned. He began to scream anew as he was smashed into the floor, knocking his head painfully before he began to struggle, torn between the urge to fight or beg forgiveness. He was pretty good at killing the various smaller beasts that roamed the city, but he was certainly no match for a lusus. "Get off!! I'm sorry! Please!!" He wailed, short claws scrabbling against the polished wooden floor as he continued to panic.  

[Sypon]

Kabukidad set upon the child with ferocity. His appearance didn’t warrant obvious claws, fangs or other natural defenses, but looks were deceiving. As he pressed upon the child’s abdomen with his back legs, a cold steam poured out of his neck hole. Round paws pushed into his chest. The result was sure to be painful. Kabukidad’s touch was reminiscent of the severe crushing sensation of a bite wound. Even the feeling underneath the soft fabric of his mitts was skeletal and rigid. Even on days of gentle temperament, his touch would send a shiver up any young troll’s spine. Tamiya looked on in horror. She knew the feeling well enough. Kabukidad kneaded the pleading child roughly. His loose head hung off of its base to stare in a curious fashion at his victim, and as though he grew tired of the screaming he moved his mitts up to Larque’s neck.

“Father!!” Tamiya screamed.

Kabukidad stopped. He rested upon Larque’s clavicles in cruel compromise and swung his attention over to his charge. She shook on her feet. “What is it? Is it just… A little troll?” Her fear was diluted now – equal parts terrified of the unknown dangers of the spiritworld, her lusus, and how to appease both.  

[kamileunaire]

Larque could barely make out the shape of the creature that had pinned him down, and its deceptively soft folds and flopping features made it all the more terrifying. As its bony claws - hands? - began to press into him, Larque gave an initial snarl before devolving into a quivering, whimpering mess. He reached to grasp the thing's forearms in an unsuccessful bid to pry them away, and his legs kicked uselessly, too far down to land a blow on his attacker. The increasing pressure on his chest made him gasp in pain, and he sobbed loudly, on the verge of tears. He remembered his whistle, but the moment he moved to try to fish it out of his shirt, the lusus's troll screamed again, and their struggle came to a temporary halt.

"Please, I'm sorry!!" He whimpered, his usual pride completely jarred out of him. He was too frightened not to beg. "I didn't know anyone was living here!" He added, his breath coming quick and ragged, squinting through the dark in the direction the voice was coming from. Her voice sounded young, he realized, and saw a spark of hope in the situation. Peraps he would be spared after all.  

[Sypon]

So it was a child. The base of Kabukidad’s tail flicked back and forth in a lazy figure eight. He seemed to survey Larque’s blossoming bruises with apathetic attentiveness. “This is a mortal,” a hoarse, strained chord bled from no particular area on the surface of the lusus. “He has passed the threshold of our sanctuary.”

Tamiya felt a weight lift from her temples – it was just a little boy. She was safe. She gently set the kiseru on the ground. Tamiya bit her lip, and composed herself. The voice echoed again. “We are not safe, girl,”

Tamiya’s eyes shot open once more. “The lines! He might have broken the lines!”

With a quick start, she hurried onto the stage. She surveyed the fallen sandbag quickly, making a panic-stricken note to herself to clean and re-wax the floor later, and lurched to a halt in front of the side-entrance door. Tamiya gasped. The line was gone. She shrieked.

Kabuki dad pressed his mitt onto the boy’s torso, pushing his whistle into his chest. In the distance from the direction of the stage, a haunting chant had broken out, intermixed with the sound of rushing foodsteps. Tamiya would make this right, or it would kill her. Literally.  

[kamileunaire]

Goosebumps prickled over the greenblood's skin as the lusus communicated with its troll, the low hissing mumble of the creature's voice making it even more difficult to regain some level of calm. Its bony feet were still painfully pressed against him, and he shifted uncomfortably beneath its weight, desperately wishing that the girl it belonged to would persuade it from its assault. No such luck, of course, because as he was about to say something else, she made some odd exclamation about -broken lines- and rushed away. What the hell?

"H-hey! Wait..." He stammered, listening to her footsteps echo down the hallway and wondering what she could possibly be doing. Had he broken something? Tripped up one of their traps? He couldn't tell what was going on, and his brow furrowed with frustration at the sound of her chanting, impatience increased several fold by the unforgiving digits that were still sinking into his vulnerable spots. He bared his fangs as the lusus shifted its grip over his one lifeline, and renewed his struggle, wondering if it knew what it was doing. "-Get off-." he hissed, tugging at the string to no avail - the whistle was trapped under its paw. He flailed around valiantly for a moment before resorting to pushing at its forearms again, not willing to go out without a fight.  

[Sypon]

Kabukidad’s bark carried through the chambers of the hive, sending direct orders for his charge. Tamiya responded at last with sharp confirmation, appearing briefly in the hallway opening with a vial filled with a white, grainy material. The lusus pressed down on the struggling boy. “Once you finish with the reconstruction, you will cleanse this energy.”

“Me? Y-yes,” She stammered, lingering in the hallway. Kabukidad sensed her resistance. His head swiveled towards her.

“Do you hesitate?” It was a deadly whisper. “Do you not know the ******** ritual?”

This was the test that her lusus had been waiting for. Her mind raced at a mile a minute. What blood color was he? He was a -- greenblood. Middling blood, good but not great. Signs of possession, paranormal activity, mutation? Likely no sign of psychic phenomenon (thank the Messiahs for that), no attempt to circumvent the lines barring supernatural entities… The simplest cleansing was in order, but unfortunately it would end with a rough bump for the untimely intruder. Otherwise (or if Tamiya failed), he’d have to be disposed of. Tamiya forced a knot down her throat.

“I—I know it!” Tamiya interjected, and bowed deeply before retreating to fix the simple line of salt. By all accounts, this child was woefully oblivious. His intentions were self-centered – a sign of foolish naivete of course, but at least predictable. Tamiya was scared for him, though. He had no idea what he was toying with. She’d have to give him a pamphlet if she ran into him later.

Kabukidad growled at the child. Upon seeing his struggle, he pressed the whistle down harder and harder into Larque’s chest. One knee lifted to brace Larque’s shoulder, pushing it against the ground. He removed one mitt from the whistle to grasp firmly at the wrist tugging his arm. Insolent cretin. Briefly, the fox-like lusus brought some relief to the whistle, removing his paw to bat at one ear. Not soon after, however, Kabukidad twitched. The now free paw slashed across Larque’s face. In a second quick movement Kabukidad flicked up to the string to pull it out of Larque’s shirt, and jerked his paw back to rip it right off of him.  

[kamileunaire]

Larque flinched at the sudden loud sound of Kabukidad's bark, his little fangs bared angrily as the freakish creature continued to speak to the young purpleblood who was darting this way and that. It was getting to be just about too much to bear by then. Why wouldn't this creepy, ugly b*****d throw him out, or kill him? One or the other. The thought of the latter was almost enough to bring tears to his eyes, though, and he was beginning to hyperventilate as his panic grew. He couldn't handle being pinned the way he was, and as the lusus turned its attention to his whistle, he finally lost his s**t completely.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!! IT'S MINE!!" His voice cracked as it echoed through the length of the hallway. Then came the inevitable swat across his face, along with his shrieked response. If there was anything that was gonna make him break down and bawl, that was it. The usually calm and collected greenblood just couldn't take the pressure any longer. Tears welled up as he felt the snap of the string, the last thread of hope and safety, -gone-. Larque could hardly contain himself as he began to thrash again, hissing and snarling, with the tears pouring down his cheeks. He clawed the lusus's forearms, arched his back, and wiggled around, all the while spitting out a colorful string of enraged curses.

"MAKE IT GET OFF!! PLEASE! I'LL NEVER COME BACK. I'LL DO ANYTHING." He hollered as he tossed back his head, trying instead to appeal to the purpleblood, though it was anyone's guess exactly where she had gone. Any lack of immediate answer would see his frantic and continued squirming.  

[Sypon]

"S-STOP!" Echoed a shrill voice from the opening of the hallway. "BE--Be quiet!"

Tamiya clattered back into view. Her geta tapped sharp and with staccato panic against the floor. She held a thick chunk of charcoal in one hand. Her eyes were wide, yellow pools once again. Tamiya shook as she walked towards the troll and her lusus.

Kabukidad skipped the whistle across the floor. It skidded and hopped to stop at Tamiya's feet. With a visibly quaking hand, she picked it up. "Th-this... This will do as leverage," she murmured. She was now upon the two. With a passing glance towards Larque and then a confirming nods towards her lusus, she began to wail. It was an unearthly sound. The girl dragged her charcoal across the ground, in a thin black circle surrounding the greenblood.

"You are in danger," she moaned. A hashmark to his north. "You have defiled a holy sanctuary." Her eyes rolled up and she slashed the charcoal from the northern mark, across his chest -- to where his whistle had been.

"I will be your caretaker, your shelter, your connection to salvation,"

Tamiya bit with her long, needle-like teeth into her own wrist. She held the whistle to it woefully, eliciting a low, soft whine. When she pulled it back, her blood stained one side. Kabukidad raised a paw to add the result of his nicks from his attack to the mix -- a green smudge dragged across the other side of the whistle.

"Gone will be the unclean, the impure, the ******** rancid," she cried. Tamiya herself was almost crying -- one could see it in her eyes. Her young voice seemed deeper and booming, a certain juggalo drawl finally finding its natural tambour. Her arms shook as she held the whistle and tied to tie it in a neat knot. After an agonizing minute she slipped it around her neck.

"You will not leave this mortal plane. You must return to your caretaker as you were -- with me as your guide. This is your warning. If you return you will do so on my terms. Messiahs protect you."

Tamiya stood for a moment. Then, Kabukidad whispered softly. He still sat upon the child, but sat up tall and regally. His gaze was upon his charge.

"The Dark Carnival demands him clean. Get him away from this place with pure mind now."

"Y-yes," Tamiya stuttered. She went to go retrieve her kiseru from the ground.  

[kamileunaire]

The yelling was enough to get Larque's attention, and his caterwauling came to an abrupt halt, though his tears did not. His breathing was still shallow and quick, and a soft hiccup came every so often, his eyes wide as he watched her approach, and waited for her to say something more. He wanted so badly for her to talk to her lusus, for her to ask it to get off, or appease it somehow. Maybe she would even give his whistle back, he thought, not having heard her murmuring over his own pounding heart.

What happened next wasn't even close to the outcome the greenblood had been hoping for. Larque couldn't even bring himself to speak as Tamiya began to moan and chant, and babble on about things that he hadn't the faintest clue about. A holy sanctuary?? It seemed more like a dilapidated old building to him. His brow knit and his eyes were wide as he watched her ritual with an increasing feeling of dread. A startled squeak left him as he was marked with the charcoal, and he wiggled a moment before settling again. There was still a temptation to struggle, to keep screaming, to disobey her request, but something told him that it would be wise not to, no matter how scary it became.

Just because he'd made the quick decision to stay still didn't mean he wasn't going to stop feeling scared. His hiccups still hadn't left, and when she went on about uncleanliness and impurity, quiet tears began to flow again as he watched her face, wishing he knew what would come of her ritual. His expression darkened to an outright frown as she looped the whistle around her neck - that was his, dammit.

And then all at once it seemed to be over, and she was walking down to retrieve the strange-looking pipe that she'd dropped earlier. "Uhhh..." he murmured, glancing from troll to lusus, and back. What now?  

[Sypon]

Tamiya grasped the pipe in both hands. She took a long draw of breath and raised her head to look at the troll in front of her. He looked pitiful. Defeated and blubbering, but still somehow – curious? His trepidation stalled the tears budding in her own eyes. He had reacted to her taking his token. That was good. The more meaning it had, the stronger the bond. She clicked forward toward him. Her step was light and nearly insectoid.

“I will need to finish the ritual, now. You will leave this place without clarity of mind and awaken newly protected, and from whence you goddamn came,” she stuttered. Tamiya rested the head of the kiseru upon Larque’s chest – where his whistle was and where the charcoal denoted. Kabukidad urged her on silently, and Tamiya forced a lump down her throat.

The greenblood would leave with a lump. If he was conscious for his exit, the ritual wouldn’t be complete. It was how it had to be – if not, then the answer was death. Dead trolls were much easier to sanctify than live ones. It was a perfect test for the young troll. Justice and punishment – balance in life and respect to nature.

“Your lusus will find you unscathed. You have been done a great honor by our capricious Lords,” her tone was stiff, as though her words were rote details that she was just reciting. She looked from Kabukidad back to the greenblood with increasing frequency. She was stalling. A low growl caught in Kabukidad’s throat and Tamiya lifted the weapon over her head with clumsy force. She mumbled incoherently. And swung.