The news that Brain's father was dead should have caused some sort of reaction of sadness for her, he was her father after all, but all Tox could feel about it was a sense of satisfaction and a little disappointment that he hadn't been able to get his hands on him first. He kept his arms around her, not having any desire to remove them, especially since she had given no indication that she wanted him to let go. It felt very comfortable, as natural as when their hands hand been cupped, and he tried not to think about it too much.
It was, of course, very difficult not to think about it and Tox reminded himself once again that he had decided to try to accept his emotions. Still, Brain needed him to be clear-headed and not totally topsy turvy with feelings. He tried to compose his thoughts and he looked down at her. She looked so fragile, and yet he knew there was strength in her as well. There had to be for her to have endured all those years of abuse and neglect from her parents, and he felt his powerful fury wanting to build back up. He took a few deep breaths to try and steady himself.
"You don't have to worry about yelling at me," he said with a smirky smile, "Wouldn't be the first time I've been yelled at for being insensitive." He gave a very soft chuckle, and absently tightened his hand slightly on her shoulder. "But, Abigail, I think you need to realize you're smarter than you're giving yourself credit for, and it has nothing to do with your memory. You have wisdom, and that comes from experience. My grandfather used to tell me that there was a difference between intelligence and wisdom, and wisdom was the greater treasure." He smiled a bit at the memory of his grandfather, and he realized how long it had been since he'd thought about him.
For a moment, Tox kind of lost himself in his own thoughts, thinking about his grandfather and his warm smile and never-ending proverbs. He thought about his sister, and discovered that for the first time he was able to recall her face with only a dull ache of loss in his heart. It was rather astounding, and he knew Brain deserved all the credit for the change. Suddenly, he realized that he had begun absently playing with a loose lock of her flame colored hair, and he froze.
"Um...sorry," he said awkwardly letting the arm that had been wrapped around her back, which was also the hand that had just been fiddling with her hair, drift down so that his palm rest on the top of the crate behind her, "Its starting to get late...maybe we should start finding a place to sleep?"
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Posted: 9/9/2018 at 2:54 PM
Post #132
There was something so utterly calming about Tox's voice. Brain knew, in theory, she should be panicking. She had never told this much about her life to anyone - not even Uncle Lance knew about how many times her father had attempted drowning her. Mind, he knew about the problems she was born with - he was there for the first few years of her life, at least, before her father found out about his moonlighting gig and deemed him unholy and sinful. She should have dissolved into a panic attack by now, but Tox's arm was around her, and after he spoke, his hand began to absently play in her hair.
She couldn't quite articulate how it made her feel, just that she didn't want him to stop. His words were touching, and they reminded her of what Uncle Lance would tell her when he was trying to teach her the alphabet in advance so she could go to school and impress all the other five year-olds.
"That reminds me of something my uncle used to say," she told him with a small smile. "He took me in after... Well. I'm afraid you haven't r-reached a high enough friendship level for those secrets," her wry grin turned more playful as she teased him.
As his arm and hand fell, though, so did her smile. She looked away, feeling oddly disappointed. "It's been a long night," she agreed with him, sliding off the crate and standing up for the first time in what felt like hours, but it was hard to tell time in here. It was only the darkness visible through the small holes in the crate that told her it was night.
"We've got a lot of space, and those tablecloths. Just be careful with your shoulder; you'll not be able to do heavy lifting or anything of that sort for at least six weeks. It'll probably be 12 to 16 until you recover fully. I can p-probably get you a sling."
Britters
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Posted: 9/10/2018 at 4:18 PM
Post #133
It had been hours, though Reach wasn't sure of the exact time because there was no clock in the room. She removed her glasses and massaged the bridge of her nose with her free hand. She was beginning to realize she was developing a migraine, but she did her very best to ignore that fact. There was no time for her to not feel well right now, Wire needed her to be strong and she was going to do everything in her power to make sure her friend got better.
Putting her glasses back on with a weary sigh, Reach looked down at her friend who was lying on the bed in what appeared to be a peaceful sleep, but she knew better. Wire's dark skin looked ashen, and her forehead was beaded with perspiration from her fever. Her eyes seemed to be darting in every direction behind her closed eyelids, her hands would twitch regularly atop the blanket, and Reach wondered what kind of feverish dreams she might be having. In her experience they were unlikely to be about anything good.
Not for the first time today, she thought about how useless she felt...
Suddenly, as Reach sat in her chair rubbing her right temple with her fingers, Wire let out another loud shout in her native language but this time it didn't stop there. To Reach's horror, her friend's whole body was starting to shake violently. She leapt up and immediately focused and trying to keep Wire's head from banging into the wall behind her and working her finger into her mouth to prevent her from choking on her tongue. This was a seizure, not a massive one, but it was deeply concerning. When it was over, she checked her friends pulse and found it to be thready and weak.
This was ridiculous! Reach was starting to get angry now, and desperately worried about Wire. If she just had proper medicines and equipment she could do something actually useful! The other guy from earlier, Howl, had said that Brain was usually the one taking care of people when they got sick, which meant that the redhead knew something that she didn't,and that meant it was time to find some answers. Reach strode from the infirmary, not wanting to leave Wire, but knowing she must, and ended up running right into the tall, lean form that was Howl.
"Oh, hello," she said, much more briskly than she would normally conduct herself, "I'm afraid I don't have time for chatting. Would you mind terribly sitting in here with my friend for a little bit? Come find me if anything happens." She hardly waited for a response, and barely registering his nod before taking off at a hurried pace. She was only mildly interested in the fact that it was nearing dawn. She hadn't quite realized she'd spent all night in the infirmary with Wire.
Edited By Britters on 9/10/2018 at 7:07 PM.
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Posted: 9/10/2018 at 4:47 PM
Post #134
Nights had always been an interesting time in Necro's life. When he was younger, his mother would sleep at night, of course, but would always tell him that, if something went wrong, he should wake her up. He never did, of course. Nights were boring to him as a child; they meant his mother wouldn't be able to play with him and his friends wouldn't be up to text him back. He had taken to drawing at the age of eight, but quickly tired of pencils and chalk. He much preferred paint. With paint, he could express what he felt within his mind and within his soul. He would spend ten minutes at a time out of his body, exploring the Nether and then returning only to try to recreate what only he was able to experience.
The Nether was so much more than the human mind could comprehend, though. The longest he'd ever spent within it was an hour, and had come back to his mother holding him and crying. That was the night he'd found out that, when his soul left his body, the vessel ceased all function, and even his slow heartbeat would not persist. He had also discovered how much harder it was to fight his way back into his body after having been within the Nether for so long.
Since then, he had made his visits quick. He hardly reached out to the dead, except to occasionally check on people, or if he felt a soul tugging at his for communication. He had also not let another soul share his body for years now. The last time he had was with a striking young brown-haired woman with fair skin and blue eyes that could see into him. Elvira. Her father's soul had almost overtaken his, and after that, he had vowed to not allow a possession again.
Yes, nights were very strange to him. There was something so completely isolating about being awake when no one else was, but it wasn't in a bad way. At least he got to watch every sunrise, he mused as he wandered through the courtyards. The sun was just beginning to rise in the sky for a new dawning, and Necro reveled in the crisp morning air.
Britters
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Posted: 9/10/2018 at 7:29 PM
Post #135
There was no time to lose, and Reach moved with a purpose. She knew Wire could be deteriorating while she was out here searching for Brain, but she had to make herself not think about that. All she could focus on was finding the red-haired woman she had begun to befriend. She remembered not seeing either her or Tox all day, and Howl had mentioned it again when Wire had first fallen ill. This struck her as odd, even though she hadn't been here that long, and she began to wonder where they could be.
Lacking any other ideas, Reach made a beeline for the table that Brain frequented in the courtyard. There was nobody around, but on the table lay a familiar notebook. She briefly though how strange it was that no one had moved or messed with it, but perhaps it was simply that no on had dared to do so given Tox's recent interest in Brain. Whatever the case, she stared at the notebook for several minutes, an idea forming in her mind, and it didn't make her happy. However, when she thought about it logically, there was really no other choice.
With a deep breathe, steeling herself for what she was about to do, Reach carefully slid the glove off of her left hand and reached down to lay her palm on top of the notebook. She flinched involuntarily at the initial contact and then took a few more breaths and focused her energy on seeing what the notebook had to offer her.
Things were jumbled at first, she heard many garbled voices and a blur of color as images raced in front of her eyes, but this was an object and not a person, so she concentrated on the recent past. It took a moment, but finally she saw Brain as she was yesterday morning, sitting with Tox at the table. She couldn't make out anything they were saying, but she saw another person, very gaunt looking and pale, come up to them and she briefly heard something about a shipping container before the fatigue hit her and she was forced to take her hand off the notebook.
As was usually the case, Reach was a little disoriented for a moment after seeing into the notebook's past. She stood there, thinking about what it had shown her, and wondering how it could help. She supposed she at least had an idea of where Tox and Brain could be, though she had no idea what "shipping container" might mean. She thought about the other person she had seen and realized if she could talk to him he might be able to give her more information, but her excitement faded as she realized it would be another hour at least before people started getting up, and she didn't know how long Wire was going to last. She gave a frustrated sigh and let her gaze wonder around the empty courtyard...
Reach saw him! The guy from her vision!
"Hey!" she called out, sprinting faster than she'd ever considered herself capable of to cross the courtyard to where he was standing, "I need to talk to you!" Her mind was in such a whirlwind, all of her carefully curated habits flew out the window as she reached out with her ungloved hand and grabbed at Necro's wrist. Before she could stop herself, her skin came into contact with his.
Edited By Britters on 9/10/2018 at 9:28 PM.
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Posted: 9/10/2018 at 11:35 PM
Post #136
In his childhood, Necro had not been a stranger to bullying. Kids would tease him for his skinniness, his insensitivity ("heartlessness", they called it), his gangly limbs and spindly frame, his ashen skin, and so on and so forth. He had never reacted to it; he simply learned to ignore it, to continue sketching on a paper while potatoes were thrown at his back and harsh names were uttered. It wasn't until fourth grade that he became friends with Ingolf, who, in turn, introduced Necro to all of his friends.
There was one time he recalled, in his mid-twenties, that Elvira had wanted to speak with her deceased father a second time. Necro had vowed to himself that he would not let another soul possess him, and so he did not heed her request. He simply continued chopping up onions for the stew he was making that night. His Elvira had become livid, nearly hissing and spitting like a cat after ten or so minutes of imploring him.
She also called him heartless. She accused him of having never cared for her or their daughter. Of never being home. Some of her words were branded into his semi-functional heart today, but Necro was never one to let pain get to him. He preferred to see life through curious eyes, through eyes that wished to devour every ounce of the joy that being alive had to offer.
And by God, he was so immensely grateful to be alive. Every day it seemed, he had been grateful to look out upon the courtyard, to see people, to talk to people, to get to know the world. If it weren't for some twisted turn of fate, he wouldn't experience this wonder.
So there was no way he could potentially lose it all just so Elvira could talk to her dad again. He cared for her greatly, but she was potentially asking him to die, and although he didn't say a word to her that day, they both knew what the answer was.
His thoughts were interrupted slightly by a voice behind him, and it took every bone in his scrawny body to resist jumping at the sudden intrusion; no one should be awake at this hour! But then he felt a hand touch his wrist, and a shiver flew down his spine.
Britters
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Posted: 9/11/2018 at 8:55 PM
Post #137
Panic, fear, and an overwhelming feeling of stupidity flooded Reach's system. She couldn't believe how positively foolish she had been to reach out with her bare hand. For years she had cultivated her fastidious habits of keeping her hands gloved at all times, unless absolutely necessary, to wear shirts with longer sleeves, to keep her thick and slightly curled platinum blonde hair long to cover her neck. These things had become instinctual, a survival tactic from the trauma her ability could cause, and yet she had forgotten it all when she tried to get Necro's attention.
Thinking back on it later, much later since she was incapable of thinking of anything at the moment, Reach knew she could have just as easily grabbed at the man's sleeve. Of course, she would also tell herself later that her concern for Wire had consumed all of her senses and she had simply not been thinking at all. She knew what was coming before it even started, but she had never gotten used to that cold feeling that came over her when she touched another person. It was like someone had dropped and ice cube down the back of her shirt, and she took a sharp intake of breath.
The images were a jumbled mess at first, just like they had been when Reach had touched the notebook, but that was where the similarity stopped. Because this was a person, she saw not only images but she felt all of the emotions that came with them. These were the memories of a conscious being, and they were intense, though his were certainly unique. She could see a beautiful woman standing in a kitchen, clearly angry at him. She could see a very young child, a girl, playing on the floor of a living room, unaware of the significance of her parent's quarrels. Through these images she felt a certain...indifference, which was unusual and left her with a residual curiosity about this individual.
"Sorry," she finally managed to bite out, yanking her hand away from Necro's hand the moment she felt her ability let go it's grip, "I didn't meant to startle you." She said it to be polite, though she was the one who clearly look startled. After she blinked her eyes a few times, her original mission, and a clear image of Wire laying in her bed in the infirmary, possibly dying, came back to her. "Are you Necro? Did you deliver a message to Tox and Brain this morning? Do you know where they went?" The questions were fired in rapid succession, not proper etiquette at all, but she could not allow herself to be delayed by such things.
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Posted: 9/11/2018 at 11:58 PM
Post #138
The girl was most certainly odd; that much Necro could tell upon first glance at her when he turned to greet her, after his initial surprise at someone else in the compound being awake. She apologized for startling him, but even with one look, he could tell that she was much more terrified of him than he was of her. Her eyes were wide and hair somewhat out of place, as if she was in a panic.
Could it be that she was a chronic sleepwalker, but more aware of her sleepwalking adventures than others he had met? No, her eyes were panicked, but far too clear. And the words she said made sense; often times, sleepwalkers would tell him something with urgency, but that thing would make absolutely no sense. One of those at the prison who would occasionally sleepwalk, Jelly was her name, once excitedly explained to him that she had eggplants in the television and she had to get to them before it was too late.
This woman was strange, but she was not sleepwalking. Necro grinned his signature cocky smile and cocked his head to the side. "Pardon me, Weiss. It seems as though I was startled by your appearance," he told her, completely disregarding everything he was saying.
Yes, he had delivered a message, informing Tox and Brain about the shipping container, but he definitely deserved to have some fun, didn't he? He straightened his back, shoulders tensing with significant posture. He was rather taller than her, she looked down upon her with his playful expression.
"I thought I was the palest one here, but it seems that I may have some competition. Oh, what's in a name? What be yours? Let me guess: Ghost." His smile widened and he bowed before her. "I am, indeed, the one called Necro."
-
There was a bit of daylight outside. Not a lot, but of course, even the slightest amount of light was enough to wake Brain at the worst of times. She felt herself floating back into consciousness slowly, remembering each dream she had experienced. None of them were particularly bad, per se. There was an odd one, however, that she couldn't quite make sense of. She was back in her college days, at her job as a masseuse which she had to uptake in order to pay for the cost of living. She was massaging a man with nothing but a towel over his buttocks, and it was as if she could feel how strong the muscles on his back were through her dream. His skin was so remarkably soft, too. She found herself, in this night vision, wanting so desperately to lean down and lay a kiss upon the skin of his back. It wasn't until her return to consciousness that she remembered and finally noticed the bright green hair of the mystery man.
It was that thought that startled her most, though she didn't dare move. She couldn't really make sense of her position, but she knew that she was warm and comfortable, and she didn't want it to end. It was only when she thought back to her situation - to being stuck in a container with Tox - that she brought herself to open her eyes...only to be faced with the source of her warmth: a strong, covered chest right before her, and, as her gaze travelled down, an arm draped across her.
Brain wasn't quite sure how to respond. She gave a small start initially, but Tox didn't wake up to it, thank goodness. A part of her told her that she should probably slip out of the embrace, should probably get out of this position. But she was so warm... Briefly, she wondered if this is what it would have felt like to be hugged by a parent when you had had a bad dream. She was no stranger to those in her childhood.
She was about to extricate herself from the scandalous position when she risked a glance up at Tox's face. All of her resolve melted like candle wax in an oven, just like that. She had never seen him look so peaceful... A part of her willed her to scoot farther into him, to reach her face up and press it against his, lips meeting in-
Goddammit.
So, that's how he made her feel. She felt so stupid, so utterly and completely stupid. It all made so much sense now... Not that it could ever happen, of course, she chided herself on her childish hope. She sighed and laid her head back down on where it had rested, upon her arm which was folded between them. Her left arm was wrapped around him, underneath his. She remembered waking up in the middle of the night and moving closer for warmth, of course, but the fuzziness of it told her that she wasn't very conscious at all during it.
She was about to close her eyes and try to sleep again, try to will this all away, try to let him be the first to wake so that he would be the one having to react to this, and she could pretend to have never known. This plan was interrupted, however, by a slight burning on her left hip. She glanced down, out of the corner of her eye, to see Tox's hand resting on her waist. Of course, she could put two and two together, and resigned to her fate with a sigh.
"Ryuu..." she murmured, moving her hand that was around him to lightly nudge his upper arm. "Ryuu, you're burning me..."
Britters
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Posted: 9/12/2018 at 2:39 PM
Post #139
There was always a period after a vision where Reach still felt cold and distant. It was always much worse with people than it was with inanimate objects, and the only reason it hadn't been as bad her first day here with Brain, she suspected, was because Wire had been there. Her friend was not here now, however, and she stood in front of Necro wringing her gloved hands (she'd had enough cognizance to replace her missing glove while standing there) and trying to ease the tension in her muscles.
Trying to focus on something else, give her mind something to grasp onto, Reach took in Necro's appearance. He was rather strange looking, even by the standards here. He looked like he wouldn't be out of place in one of those vampire movies that were all the rage back home. He had the pale skin, sunken cheeks, serious brows. His at least brought some relief to the darkness that seemed to pervade his countenance, for they were the most electric coloreds eyes she could recall ever seeing. He did seem nice enough, though, and she hoped he would be helpful.
And then...
When Necro decided to act coy and playful, for some strange purpose of his own she was sure, Reach felt and unfamiliar emotion spread throughout her body. She was furious. Her friend, her best friend truly, and the only person she felt connected to on this bloody island, was laying in a bed in a poorly stocked infirmary possibly dying of a bug bite which was partially Reach's fault for suggesting the garden idea. This fellow had the means of given her information that could save Wire's life and he seemed more interested in being dramatic!
"I don't have time for this!" she snapped, narrowing her icy blue eyes and sticking a finger at his chest, "I need you to tell me where Tox and Brain are now or so help me you will be sorry! My friend is dying, might already be dead in fact while I'm standing here dealing with your...your...immature malarkey!" She stood before him, her breath heaving as she glared angrily at him and waited for her answers. She wasn't actually sure what she'd do to him if he didn't answer her, but she would think of something because she was quite livid.
-----
It had not been easy for Tox to get to sleep. Besides some little bits of small talk, he and Brain had made their beds in silence, and by the time he had laid down his emotions were in knots. He had suggested they make their beds close together, making the excuse that it was probably safer and she would be nearby if he had problems with his shoulder during the night, but he really just wanted to have a reason to continue enjoying her closeness. As he laid there, staring at the ceiling and listening to Brain's soft breathing, there was one thought that he couldn't shake.
There were no doubts in Tox's mind about the way he felt for Brain, and he was becoming less and less inclined to try and deny his feelings. He knew that he had reasons that had seemed so logical for so long as to why he couldn't allow himself any kind of emotional attachment. Yet tonight, he had shared information with Brain that he had never discussed with anyone before, and she had done the same. She trusted him and he trusted her and that trust was intoxicating. He wanted to keep trusting her...and by the time he finally closed his eyes to go to sleep had made his decision. In the morning, he would tell her how he felt and see what came of it. He lapsed I to slumber feeling hopeful and with a skeleton his face.
Unfortunately, despite his positive attitude upon falling asleep, Tox was at first plagued by nightmares. He could see his sister, that look of terror on her face the day he had burned her, he could hear the tires of the car that had hit her squealing as the driver lays on the breaks. He felt even more helpless than he had that day, and he started jerking and making distressful noises in his sleep. Then something happened that had never happened before when he'd had nightmares. All he could remember was the horrible images fading away and his feelings of anger and despair were replaced with warmth and comfort. He had slept peacefully the rest of the night.
When Brain's soothing voice reached his ears, Tox's groggy mind was slow to awaken. He liked the way he felt, liked the warm feeling of being utterly content, so he struggled his way back to consciousness. The first thing he became aware of was the fact his arms were around Brain and vice versa, and he immediately stiffened slightly wondering what her reaction to it was. To his surprise, she seemed to be find with it, and it made his heart feel like it was going to burst, but it was the second thing he became aware of that brought his world crashing down around him.
The word "burning" coming from her lips snapped everything back into focus, and he disentangled himself from Brain quite quickly.
"Crap!" he growled out between his teeth, running his hands through his hair in agitation and looking at Brain with deep concern, "Are you okay?"
Edited By Britters on 9/12/2018 at 11:22 PM.
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Posted: 9/12/2018 at 11:49 PM
Post #140
The woman had begun to shout at him, but Necro was hardly affected by it at all. He had been yelled at far too much in his life, and after all, his heart was still considered semi-functioning by most doctors and psychologists that Elvira had him approach. They had not known the entirety of his situation, but had still made the verdict that his emotions were half-formed. That's why, said they, he felt very little compassion to those he did not know.
So as this girl railed on about how upset she was, all he could pickup was that someone might be dead. That was really the only part that applied to him. He was curious; there were no check-ups today. How could this person have succumbed to death?
Before responding, Necro let his soul detach from his body, eyes rolling back into his head and arms going limp at his sides. Within twenty seconds, he had returned, and gazed upon this pallid girl curiously. "There have been no deaths yet today from this compound. You need not freak out, Ghost."
On the table behind him, stretched out on her side, was Grizabella. She had taken to relaxing whenever his pacing stopped. Now, she seemed to realize that she was not receiving attention, and gave a few half-meows, as was her signature sound. Necro turned to glance at her and, ever the slave of his feline friend, wasted no time in picking her up delicately and cradling her. She purred loudly and brokenly as he stroked her, and then turned her one good eye onto the girl.
"I have not a clue where they went. I was merely delivering a message for Crypt. Something about a shipping container, I suppose," he shrugged.
-
It wasn't fair, Brain decided. Tox, and how he acted around her, was absolutely unfair, especially given her newly-discovered and yet, long-lived feelings for him. He left her lying there, and she had to sigh and pick herself up. She sat back on her knees and rubbed at her forehead. She regretted saying anything. She should have just taken the irritation if it meant staying in that safe position with Tox.
Swallowing hard, trying to wet her dry throat, she reached for her glasses, which had been placed on a nearby crate. She placed them on her face, and was able to actually see Tox again. "Why do you do that?" she murmured, arms crossing around herself protectively.
She stood up and began pacing around the compound, feeling suddenly restless and agitated. "Why do you do that?" she repeated, louder this time, and angrier, too. "You lead me to think that you might actually c-care for me, and... And then you turn around and act so r-repulsed by me!" she shouted, unable to contain herself now.
It wasn't fair!
Once again, she turned away, refusing to face him. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. She was fine, of course; the burn itself was no more serious than a sunburn, she could already tell. It hurt a little, but not enough for it to be second degree, and if it were third degree, then it would not hurt at all. She knew she was fine. She couldn't bring herself to answer his question, though; that would be doing him far too great a service in accepting his sudden, recurring turning on her.
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