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 Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 11:16 am
Malodore had been out for a walk with Luce; the cwn pup's needs waited for no one, after all, and there was a limit to how long she could be happy with sleeping on Jericho's wonderfully warm feet. However, as soon as its eyePhone buzzed - and it realized who had contacted it - it pelted towards the demon dorms as fast as it could possibly go, Luce chasing it with merry barks. Naturally she didn't understand; it was all a game to her.
"Text! Riley!" it babbled as it slammed through Barth's door without even knocking. "Open door!" Apparently sentence fragments were the order of the day.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:09 pm
During their time in wait, Christof had not trusted leaving Barth and Jericho alone, save for short periods of retrieving more of his Project from his room now and then. His labcoat had become increasingly greasier, but he was making careful progress, and that's what had mattered. It had been good to keep his mind off of... everything. So much had happened in the past several weeks, this quiet period of laying in wait had felt oddly intense... perhaps it had been so much staying in the Dragon's company.
At least they hadn't tried to kill each other, save for a tense moment or two when Jericho had made the mistake of tidying Barth's things in front of him.
At the sudden announcement of the text message, Christof glanced up, fishing for his own phone in his pocket hopefully- but no. It was as silent as it usually was. His face only flushed further when suddenly Malodore rushed into the room, panting about the same thing...
He gently set his tools down, rising to his feet, but was anxious to move to the door. Instead, he hovered by Barth's chair, brows furrowed and mouth twisted into an uncertain scowl.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:43 pm
The weeks had been long ones, with tension and fear ever on the edge of boiling over. Barth could not always stay in the room, of course...he still went to classes, but he spent the rest of his time quietly, offering reassurance and platitudes and distractions, while slowly assembling his own projects.
He had not had much contact with Lilith, but she rarely called for him, instead preferring to show up when he was managing NAP or some other event. He also had duties towards the Student Council Race, and had been mulling over the speech. They were supposed to set up individual booths, but after everyone had theirs destroyed in the Floresctival, all the candidates had sort of...neglected to. To Barth, it just meant less work for Christof. He slept regularly, hoping to help Jericho by example.
He had his own motivations for keeping the peace, and Riley's door unbothered.
When the texts came, Barth's feelings were mixed. He managed a concerned expression.
"...What do they say?" Barth asked. "Is she alright?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:42 pm
Soon after his announcement, Malodore had burst on in with a similar message. This was an excellent sign.
"She.. says she's in a mess right now," he said with a furrowed brow, "She has to be in her room."
With that said, Jericho spent no time at all to rush on over to the other room. The door was still barred. Growling lowly, he stepped back. While he looked like a complete mess, worn and tussled, he had a newfound determination. As far as he knew, Riley needed help.
Any inhibitions he had on breaking through were gone and he brought his foot up and kicked that damn door open.
"Riley!" he called out, trying to see where there were signs of the mindflayer.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 6:28 pm
"She needs my help," Malodore called back to Barth as it darted after Jericho. "Luce, rimanere lì!"
That said, it skidded out into the corridor, following Jericho into Riley's room, ignoring the protest of pain from its back and wings at the sudden swift movements. "Dove sei, mia cara? Rispondimi!" it cried out into the darkness of the mindflayer's front room.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 6:40 pm
Riley had thought she had a few minutes. Malodore would probably rush over, but still.. she laid her head on the floor, and closed her eyes.
And the voices screamed in her head. Her door was bashed in. And her eyes snapped open, clutching the bedcovers she had pulled off the bed to cover her body.
Wait! She could tell Jericho was there, and she'd originally planned not to let him see her until she wasn't bleeding anymore - but they were both at her now-broken door, ready to plunge into the darkness without giving her a chance to even try to stand.
Not that she could, anyway.
How had they even gotten there so fast?! Just. Wait. I'm in my bedroom. BUT. Her words were loud, forceful enough to stop any running in without giving her a moment to say a word. There's a lot of blood, and I don't want you two to freak out. Just. Come help me out. I'm going to be okay.
Her face was furrowed deeply in regret. She didn't want them to see her like this.. it was the last thing she'd ever wanted. Distantly, she queried with a tone of panic. No one else is with you, right? I don't.. nobody else. I can't. Not yet.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 6:47 pm
There were no words telling how relieved Jericho was when he heard Riley's voice in his head. He was about to say something, but she started to speak more. A lot of blood? That had him pause for the moment. Seeing how she sounded like she wanted to keep things under wraps a bit, he replied mentally.
he started,
Taking in a deep breath, he looked over towards where Mal was standing before making his way into the study.
He didn't really like the sounds of all of this, but slowly, he opened the door into her bedroom and peeked on in. There was indeed a lot of blood around, though a lot of it seemed to be dried. Right now he couldn't really see what was wrong, though. It was taking a bit of willpower to keep from completely freaking out here.
"Tiamat's s**t... what happened..?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 6:53 pm
Christof had wobbled in place, whining anxiously as he mulled things over from behind Barth's chair.
She hadn't sent for him. Everyone else, but not him.
It must have been a personal matter.
Regardless, he gave the Sloth a short, respectful bow before limping after the other two, much slower but just as determined. They had already forced their way inside by the time he caught up, but all he was greeted by was their figures in the darkness. He couldn't hear her voice, nor what had stopped them, but the tension in the room was enough to make him step back against the wall with a quiet accidental whine in his throat.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:02 pm
Malodore slipped past Jericho into the room; the slightly rancid coppery tang of old blood was everywhere, laying over the room like a blanket. But that didn't matter. It didn't care.
All that mattered was her.
It dropped to its knees next to her, trembling, the feathers on its wings clacking dissonantly together despite the supportive slings. It reached out to her in every way it knew how, hands shaking as it went for the bedclothes, aiming to pluck them free and see exactly why there was so much cazzo sangue everywhere and why she was on the floor-
It was more than close enough to feel her emotions. A sense of... not pain, but the emotional reaction to pain rolled over it, along with a persistent throb of guilt. "Cosa è successo?" it whispered, desperately.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:18 pm
The feel of the sheets being pulled away was all that she could focus on, and her eyes squeezed shut as Malodore tried to get a better look at her. Don't- she started, automatically wanting to push away the very help she had called for, if only to hide the shame of her failure. It was pointless, though. She opened her eyes, and looked up to Jericho, wishing suddenly that she could close her heart to the guilt that throbbed in it, and just ask them all to leave.
I need a lot of bandages. She spoke mechanically, turning her back and letting the sheet fall from it. The scar tissue's still tender, and if I try to move-
As if just to prove her right, several crystals twisted in her back, and carved lines down the edge. Little rivulets of fresh blood began to flow.
I just need a lot of bandages. Please- She briefly registered Christof's presence, in the other room, as she almost saw his shadow in the darkness. No, not Christof. He couldn't see his Mistress like this. What little pride she had left would shatter. You could ask Christof to get some. I would say stitches, but they'll be useless. I'll just cut through them again. Just.. just bandages.
Her back was a mess of scar tissue, not yet tough enough to endure the thrumming twist of moving crystals - and she still didn't have full control over them yet.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:54 pm
There wasn't really anything that could have prepared Jericho for what he was about to see. When the sheet was pulled away, his jaw dropped as he saw the mess Riley's body was in. He sensed that guilt, but he was too busy feeling an overwhelming amount of concern for her to really register much else.
"What..." he started before pausing. Right... take care of Christof first. Shifting his wings, he stared at those crystals for a moment. How did they get there? What the hell happened.
"Ah... Christof," he called back, "We're going to need a lot of bandages and some thread. Can... you go fetch those.. please?"
Not waiting too much for a reply since Christof couldn't really shout out a response, he stepped closer to Riley and dropped to his knees next to her. He was afraid to touch her, as it looked like she was wounded pretty badly.
he practically whimpered to her in thought. Now that the adrenaline of busting into her room had gone, he was back to looking incredibly worn and ragged.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:08 pm
Malodore stared.
Then its hands clenched into fists. "Say the word, and I will have every one of these out of you," it hissed. Oh, it was angry - but not at her. It was angry at whoever - whatever - had done this to her. Toweringly angry. Clearly she had been damaged somehow and left to die, unable to contact them until she had recovered enough to move...
... and oh, oh how it hated itself in that moment, for not breaking down doors, windows, walls to get to her side.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:18 pm
Riley chuckled, morbidly enjoying just how angry Malodore was at the crystals, as if they were some sentient evil thing.
.. Well.
She gave Jericho an exhausted look, and simply answered with the best get-away explanation she could muster. It's a long story. Maybe I could tell you after I'm bandaged and dressed? I'm a little tired, now.
Finally, her eyes turned to look at Malodore - and the exhaustion faded to something more reluctant. That would be nice. Except, I don't think that's possible anymore.
As she said it, she did something that she would probably regret for at least another hour. The crystals behind her back rose, as a unit. The muscles and bone underneath her scarred skin pulsed and moved as she lifted the planes of crystals, until they were at half-mast - and they no longer just looked like crystals. There was a definite shape, there.
She fluttered them. They carved lines down her back. She dropped them as she hissed in pain.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:23 pm
"A-alright..." Jericho murmured while looking her over. He noticed that she seemed to... be able to move the crystals? It didn't seem like she could do it very well and it seemed to hurt but that didn't seem like it'd be possible.
"You.. can move them?" he remarked while staring, "... I don't think removing those will be easy... if she could do that.."
It had to mean that the crystals were buried in deep. Very deep. And there were so many of them.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:33 pm
Malodore just stared. The shape in the crystals was unmistakable. Not the same as its own, but... "Mia cara, I didn't... after everything I went through, you..."
It couldn't complete the thought. It just kept staring, incredulous.
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