liminal hours

[crittersheep]

WHO: whoever
WHERE: wherever
WHEN: evening 54 into night 54, post-ritual

[this is just a mingle for whoever might still have happening things that aren't inside the barns or clinic!

reminder also that we did get some cool-ass pasture security and star pieces, and some teams got delicious new fruit

perhaps tonight everyone can finally sleep off a few of the endless horrors, or at least catch their breath.]

Comments

[debug_mode]

[Your Name needs to unwind and just... doesn't know what unwinding is going to be, at the moment.

She settles on walking through town before sunset. She's distracted. She might bump into you? (And also she's wrapped in bandages from blisters but that's neither here nor there.)]

[She'll also eventually go back to the Weeds Clubhouse.]

[tidesbeckon]

[ once the dust has (mostly) settled, the Judge makes his way through the pasture before stopping in front of one of them.

you know. the one with the moat that looks like a castle or whatever. ]

Is . . . this it?

[hotnbothered]

[ Apologies to anyone who lives in the Weed treehouse, because it is going to be a very loud night. There is a lot of noise coming from a certain room: the constant and repeated thwack of a pillow being slammed against the wall, the stomping of feet, an occasional scream. ]


[ That's probably occupying most of her night, honestly, but at some point she will go out and pop into most of the public buildings except the clinic, slamming doors in her wake when she leaves without finding whatever she was looking for there. ]

[jerkalope]

Is what it?

[ hopping over and standing on his hind legs ]

Yo, Judge, it looks like you made it out of the ritual in one piece. Great job!

[tidesbeckon]

Ah, Warden. It is good to see you well.

[ He kneels down a bit so they're closer to each other's level. it's fine. ]

I was looking for a particular meadow is all. How did your group fare?

cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[endsjustified]

[after getting the cubecall from Pegasus, Charon went to go take care of a last couple of tasks, then to go extricate Lethe from tasks so they could go take some wolfsbane before heading to Peony! 'before full nightfall,' they thought. 'we'll be all right if we do it in the early evening,' they thought.

unfortunately these werewolf bites aren't quite following the same rules as before, so both of them feel a sudden burning pang where they were bitten, and then a strange queasy sensation . . .]

((ICLY THIS IS HAPPENING IN A PUBLIC PLACE AND CAN BE NOTICED BUT OOCLY WE'LL PING WHEN WE'RE READY TO HAVE OTHER PEOPLE COMMENT/JUMP IN THANK YOU))

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[mykidisthebest]

[Lethe doesn't actually notice it much first; they're both running on nothing but water and some pomegranate seeds, so his initial thought is just that he might be hungry. that's a perfectly logical explanation for feeling like this during the daytime.

then the burning hits and he stops in his tracks as he feels it spread down to his bones. there's an uptick of panic in his voice that Charon has never heard before.]

Charon.

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[endsjustified]

[Charon is already turning towards him, eyes wide with alarm, in the same moment]

Lethhhk--

[oh. mm. perhaps it is not good he just coughed up some green feathers]

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[mykidisthebest]

[he tries to say something in return and just starts hacking up a familiar, inky black substance. there's a crunch of bones and he doubles over, his body very abruptly starting to change into something distinctly more feline, though it might be hard to notice when Charon has his own set of problems to deal with.

oops they hecked up]

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[endsjustified]

[to be fair they did check and it is not their fault or Daisy's that these particular bites were weird

anyway not to get graphic about it but a human shepherd inverting into something serpentine, six-winged, and six-eyed is also extremely gnarly actually. the worst collective birthday ever continues]

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[mykidisthebest]

[it's just three horrible days of birthday at this point. Lethe's transformation is only slightly less gnarly because there are less limbs--he might pass for a panther if not for the fact that that black gunk is just covering him and making everything just a little more monstrous. there's really no time for either of them to gain their bearings, though, because as soon as Lethe is on all fours he lunges at Charon with a snarl]

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[endsjustified]

[UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN ONE DOES NOT GO FERAL IN THIS PROCESS, ONE MAY BE MORE THAN A LITTLE DAZED BY THE END OF IT AND UNABLE TO IMMEDIATELY BE ON GUARD

which is to say Charon does fully get bodied into the ground with a screech, a wild flailing uncoordinated tangle of coils and wings]

[jerkalope]

I was guiding Rose. Thanks to my calm composure, we managed to escape unscathed! Eh...except for a little bump in round two. And that's because Flare decided to make a nuisance of herself.

How did you manage with your flock?

[tidesbeckon]

Hmm. I allowed them to see their convictions through. They came out alright in the end.

[jerkalope]

That's good. I'm glad they had convictions you could usher through. I tried my best to do the same but it's hard to make out words when people get hysterical, you know?

Hey, which one were you helping? I know it wasn't Thistle...

[tidesbeckon]

Mm, no. It was Bluebell. They were adamant about not wanting to hurt anyone else and willing to take all the punishments upon themselves.

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[mykidisthebest]

[Lethe is fully not here right now. whatever feral instincts remain are smart enough to know that when dealing with a flying beast the first thing to do is take out the wings. he's not at a good angle for it with Charon already pinned under him, but it doesn't stop him from putting sharp claws to wing joints.]

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[endsjustified]

[luckily he's thrashing so hard and there are so many wings that Lethe cannot actually get them all. Lethe hits the mark dead-on on one, shredding flesh and feathers. the rest of the wounds are more glancing. Charon bleeds the same black gunk; wild!

while he's not great at suddenly figuring out a whole new body while under attack, Charon does get it together enough to start buffeting Lethe around the head and face with the front set, attempting to daze him. or at the very least to keep those jaws well away from his neck and spine, while he twists and tries to plant his claws against the ground.

yikes yikes yikes yikes yikes]

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[mykidisthebest]

[it is hard to attack someone when they're smacking you back, jeez!!! his head gets buffeted around enough times that he pulls back, teeth bared and angry growls choking his throat. he tears blindly at whatever hits him until one good knock does manage to daze him for a moment]

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[endsjustified]

[we simply worry about major limb damages later

finally get his feet under him. it's ungainly -- the Wind Dragon's meant to be in constant flight, not getting mauled on the ground -- so they can't really be used to walk. but he can use them to brace and half-leap, half-lunge, trying to knock Lethe over and get him into a hold like a strangling snake.

for observers: don't get me wrong, this fight looks metal as hell. but also i cannot overstate how much Charon is operating like a monster version of the QWOP guy right now]

[wants_the_phd]

[Maybe at some point, once she's done with the clinic and is heading home, she'll cross paths with Flare as she's on her way to go fuck up some other public utility.]

Rough day?

[wants_the_phd]

You look like you have something on your mind.

[hotnbothered]

[ Uh-oh, it's a Rose. She stops mid-rampage, tensing a little and averting her eyes. ]

Didn't your flock tell you about the ritual?

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[mykidisthebest]

[the Wind Dragon is, perhaps thankfully, bigger than Lethe's shadow panther form, so it's not difficult to knock him over with body mass alone. but he doesn't go down easily: he swipes at Charon's eyes the second they're in reach! that's about all he's able to do before he gets pinned but he's sure trying to wiggle out of that grip; his back legs bunny kick at the hold]

Re: cw body horror, were-on-were knock down drag out violence

[endsjustified]

[ow OW OW it's fine he has five more eyes, even if two of the pairs don't really register proper vision anyway

grimly focuses on just, constricting him, throwing loops of his tail around Lethe's leg joints and stuffing part of it broadside into Lethe's mouth to muffle his fangs with bone and feathers

the one bright side is he truly cannot get more infected with lycanthropy than he already is if Lethe successfully claws him up more or bites down in the process]