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 Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 7:18 pm
"Ah," Barth said awkwardly. "She's-" he looked at Junko too, and then quietly, "she was the first ghoul I dated, so, I...you kept saying you can't argue, or say anything. But I thought you might err, that is...that it might be something like that. Look. Personal....personal philosophies aside,"
"If you ask, I won't...see her again." At all, he thought gloomily. It wouldn't be hard. If he didn't see her tonight, there wouldn't be any trouble about...temptation in the future, either. She wouldn't want anything to do with him. Probably. If she hadn't been bluffing. If she had been, the dynamics there were- no. It just...it just wouldn't be an issue.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 7:19 pm
Sweet Sally, his mouth wouldn't stop running once it started. When the boil finally stopped crying, Riyo let out a soft sigh and glanced down at the tie turned tissue. She uh... Wasn't sure she wanted it after it was smothered in Deacon tears. So, instead of replacing it around her neck, she started to tie it around the cat boil's. You know, in case he needed it again. Wasn't like it was her only tie.
But when he started apologizing for EVERY. JACKDAMN. THING. Her face slowly grew more and more agitated with every new thing he listed. Some of them... She had forgotten about, and the ones she didn't even realized just added another nail to his coffin. "If you add another thing to the list of apologies, I will tie this so tight that you will suffocate." Oh, wait. She was trying not to threaten him. Well ********, she couldn't help it! Her whole body was aching and she was learning more about Deacon's oopses that she really wanted to know.
But... He was right. How could he prove himself sorry if all she did was turn away when she saw him? Jack... This wasn't fair. She felt so guilty while her body ached from him falling on her.
Because... Because? Good grief. "Deacon? Deacon. Deacon." Her hands reached out and grabbed his cheeks. "Don't pay attention to him." It was Christof's business if he wanted to stay, though it was a little weird to have him lurking over her shoulder. "Look at me. Look at my face, and don't you dare throw up. Just calm the hell down." How was Riyo so calm? She wasn't really sure. Someone had to be, right? Hell, if they were both in a panic, nothing would get done. Though... She did want to shake him like a crying baby.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 7:27 pm
Calder thought about it for a moment, rubbing his smooth chin and then looked back at the demon. "If I ordered you what to do and not do, what would that make me, Barth?" He paused to let the boil think.
"A master. Do I look like a demon to you?" He glanced at himself to check.
"I believe in the freedom to choose. You should know this. I'm not here to tie a leash on you and say what is and can't be done. That isn't my choice. That is your choice. I'm not here to control you, and in that freedom of choice, it decides how you live your life and who you are. You are your own person. If you decide not to see Lilith, that is your choice. If you don't, then don't. There will be consequences regarding any decision, and I don't want them decided for you so that you can later blame me if you didn't get your way. Nope. YOU make this decision." He crossed his arms about his chest to settle that point.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 7:31 pm
Shehk offered the dragon a weak smile back before he left her company, taking a deep breath as she moved to step back out into the hallway where the pair had their discussion earlier. She needed fresh air. She was going to have a panic attack if she didn't get some fresh air.
Or at least not-auditorium air.
Picking a suitable location to slump down in, Shehk had to take a minute to compose her thoughts - and she was having a lot of them. Mixtures of whatever was in the air and the fear that was lodged firmly in her gut. Fear? Fear of what? Shehk's hand ran over the bone she wore on her wrist, looking at the color...what it meant to her.
It would never mean the same thing to anybody else as it did to her, but she didn't want another trophy for this bracelet. But more than that, she didn't want to end up becoming a trophy on somebody else's bracelet..or necklace...or anything. The Haunted House, the canyon, the memorial..they all played through her head like a horrible blur, a quick moving blur that left her sobbing out in the hallway.
You couldn't figure out how to help Red. How are you going to help him? How are you going to help Riley?
How are you going to save yourself if you've doomed yourself to death because of a blood craving?
She sniffled into one hand.
I don't know.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:13 pm
Malodore gently took Riley's hand and led her back across the auditorium, feeling a warm, almost prideful glow. It had the best prettiest mindflayer in the whole room, and that wasn't just because Andeon wasn't present at the moment.
And then it spotted movement outside. Vaguely familiar, grey movement. "Ah, mia cara, will you excuse me a moment? I'd like to talk to Shehk, I think." It smiled at her and squeezed her hand in its own.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:26 pm
Riley felt the squeeze, and tilted her head without even thinking about it, to bury into the curve under Malodore's mask. I will attempt to live without you for a few moments. She purred thickly, drowning deep within the spell it had cast on her. But I make no promises.
When she finally pulled away, she kept their hands entwined until the last moment, her eyes foggy but locked on the sight of the plague doctor until her arm reached it's limit and she reluctantly had to let her fingers slide away. She turned then, and headed for the front of the room. She didn't realize her steps were taking her to Jericho, but when she saw his familiar face searching through the crowd, she automatically assumed he was searching for her.
Sorry. She murmured, her expression looking slightly embarrassed. I didn't mean to be gone for so long. Is everything going smoothly?
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:29 pm
Looking around some more, Jericho soon turned his attention to Riley as she came up to him. He offered her a small smile, though nodded somewhat hesitantly.
"Yeah. I'm doing.. alright. Just trying to keep calm and all. Shehk's not going to breath a word to anyone," he said, figuring she would want to know the update on that particular issue. He shifted a bit uncomfortably at the thought though. Did he really doom her?
He wasn't sure if he could take the knowledge of causing someone else to be afflicted with this horrible thing all too well.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:35 pm
Riley turned her eyes back to where Malodore was walking away, off to speak to the very ghoul they were discussing. And how did she take the news? Is she all right? She turned back to Jericho, held one hand out, and grasped his chin in it, pulling him to her. Her eyes penetrated his in a deep, knowing gaze. Are you all right?
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:35 pm
Malodore put pressure on the veeeeeeery tip of Riley's fingers until they could no longer reach. It then sighed happily and waved over its shoulder before heading outside. "Shehk?" it asked, peeking its head around the door. "Are you all right? Did, ah... did Jericho talk to you?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:38 pm
Shehk looked up when she heard the door open, ears perking up to acknowledge who it was that had poked out to see her. For a moment, she just rubbed her eyes, and then she sighed.
"I'd be an idiot if I didn't think you already knew." she said, not even questioning or playing dumb about what it was Malodore was asking her. Instead, she sighed, shifting to stand up again. "Yeah, he talked to me......and to be honest, I'm scared out of my mind."
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:40 pm
Staring into Riley's eyes for a few, Jericho let out a sigh and glanced away briefly.
"I'm as about alright as I can be right now. I'm worried. I could have caused something really horrible for her without really thinking. As for Shehk, she... took it alright. She cried a lot, but she wasn't pissed at me or anything. She did promise she won't tell anyone... though she offered to help however possible."
Taking in a breath, he looked back at the mindflayer. There was a touch of fear in his golden eyes as he gazed into hers.
"We are.. going to find a way to fix this.. right?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:42 pm
Malodore came outside entirely, pushing the door shut behind it; it padded over to slump against the wall near Shehk. The cool night air seemed to shove away the gentle warm pinkness that had previously suffused its mind. "I, ah, did not... know for long... I am afraid too, my friend." It looked up at her, pressing its palms flat against the wall behind it. "That such a thing could happen here, to us... that they could come so close to home... we were not even there, with the rest of you in that house. They will never be satisfied, will they..." It was rambling now.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:44 pm
When Riyo cupped his face in her hands, Deacon focused deliberately on her just as he was told. She was thinking straight, so surely she would know how to fix whatever the hell was going on with him and it was best to listen for once.
At first it seemed like it had possibly brought him out of his weirdness. He shut up, and just let himself get lost in her eyes. They really were fetching... It helped him calm down to stare into them and the fluttering in his stomach was at least no longer an urge to vomit. Though it was still strange, and mildly uncomfortable.
After a long pause, he opened his mouth to try and speak coherently and steadily.
"I love you."
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:47 pm
"It's so much worse, realizing what is happening to them is what happened to her, Mal." Shehk leaned back against the wall, her hand going to the bone bracelet again, fingers running across it as though that little piece was supposed to bring her peace of mind. It did exactly the opposite, but Shehk couldn't bear to part with it.
"Red was the strongest person I knew, and she just...descended into this madness. Clear, unrecognizable madness. She couldn't recognize us, she barely reacted to any of our voices for the longest time.... there was clarity near the end of it all, but... I saw the entire thing, start to finish. When it took hold up until when she fell." She'd begun to sob while she spoke, the tears coming back.
"I don't want to see that happen to them. I can't imagine Riley's mind turning into...... that madness that couldn't even distinguish foe from friend."
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:54 pm
Malodore was quiet for a long moment. "I wasn't... I wasn't there, but I heard, I saw... it isn't the same, though, surely? She - Red - had... she had one of their devices, I was told? Perhaps it twisted her mind, and... the same won't happen in this case?" The plague doctor heaved a sigh.
"We are going to talk to Invictus. The Horsemen, they have the most knowledge in this area. I will not permit this to happen. Not to Riley, not to Jericho, and not to you." It spoke that last in ringing tones, determination in every syllable. As if it could rebuke the Insanity with its voice alone.
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