Action: but you never tire of dreams

[ofthebeast]

Characters: Any willing dreamers
Open? Yes
Where: In your minds
When: After the party
What: Part two of the dream plot!
Warnings:


The party went on, with the beast's head on display. A proud, twisted thing. Behind false ruby eyes, it waited. And as the music became slower and the wine less plentiful, it waited still.

Those who had gazed upon it at the ball. Those who had seen it once living in the forest. All heroes who dared to look upon its face and dream still that they would be able to live another day...

There are all sorts of ways of living. In waking. In sleep. Perhaps, now, they would find one in between.

(ooc: Feel free to keep tagging into the party post! Once your characters go home and go to sleep of their own accord, that is when the dreaming will begin. Remember, it is up to you to set up what kind of world your character is trapped in and how best to help them. Plotting post is here, make use of it!

The beast's power will wane once the bulk of the dreamers have escaped his curse. If your character was not at the party but you still want to involve them in the dream plot, that is fine! They can either help get people out or have seen the beast wandering in the woods before it was killed and have caught its attention that way.

Comments

[folklorist]

[ It's a nightmare he's had many times before. A nightmare that always ends the same, always ends with the shift hunter bearing down upon him with teeth flashing claws extended. But there's an older, deeper, more dangerous darkness that pervades throughout this dream. And it's that which scares him more. He freezes in his running, skidding to a stop and turning his head sharply around to see Ginia there. His face blanches to something of bone white. No. No. No. She wasn't supposed to be here. No one was ever supposed to be here so why was she now? He looks behind her terrified as those noises and cries get louder and louder. Before he ever answers her he grabs Alice by the wrist and drags her with him. He's out of breath but he still has to run. There's no time to waste now. They needed to hide, even though nothing is safe or can escape him. ]

[shadedsunlight]

[Alice runs with Helios as she's tugged along, only pulling her hand back so her balance is better. She doesn't dare look back as they run, her eyes stay forward as they dodge low hanging branches and vines.]

What are we running from? [She shouts over to him between lungfuls of air. The braying sounds closer as does whatever else is crashing through the jungle behind them. Her hand twitches for her knife, wanting to fight and defend him. She's not used to running, but as he doesn't look like he's stopping any time soon, she keeps up with him.] Can we fight it?

[folklorist]

[ They just have to keep running, run and run until their muscles burn and ache and feel like they'll split and tear inside. But it's never enough and now Ginia is here which makes things so much worse. And finally in an outcropping surrounded by dense underbrush and foliage does Helios finally stop. He turns around to face her his eyes watery with tear and fear. ] You're not-! [ His voice cracks as he shakes his head, biting his lip as he does so, and he looks around their current location for anything that might help them now. ] You're not supposed to be here!

[ Can they fight it? No. They can't. Helios has never tried before. The terror and darkness had always been too much for him. He can't stop it even if he tried. ] We...I-I can't.

[ He wrings his hands against dirt stained pants as he looks around for a way out. But the darkness is like an encroaching army. It never stops or yields in its advance to overtake everything in its path. ] W-We have to go. H-He knows you're here. [ Helios sounds so terribly afraid right now and he can't do anything to hide it. ]

[shadedsunlight]

[The humidity of the jungle and their fast pace leaves them both soaked with sweat and stickiness. Alice swats bugs away and brushes her hair out of her eyes as she runs, ignoring her discomfort. She stops when he does, her heart wrenching when she sees how afraid he looks. There's nothing more than she'd like to do than hug him tightly and keep him safe, but that's too much of a distraction. Even as they stand there, she looks around for some safe place to hide at. A tall tree, a gap under some tree roots, a large bush, something.

But she can offer a quick squeeze to his hand. It's tight and reassuring and a silent promise anything that tries to get to him will have to get through her. Alice knows it'll probably result in her death, but she refuses to not do anything.]

Who? Who knows I'm here? What are we facing, Helios, tell me. [There's a cold edge in her voice as she snaps at him, glancing over in the direction they'd come from, the braying of shift hunters still bouncing around the forest.] Let me know so I can protect you!

[folklorist]

[ He almost cowers when Alice snaps at him but the cries of the shift hunters make him bite his lip and finish the job of having him do that. He looks over at Alice with a look of utter desperation which has embedded itself in every fiber of his being. ] Sh-shift, shift hunters. They're c-coming. Y-You have to go. You have to leave.

[ Before they get you too. Helios does not want her to go through what he has gone through in this forest all those months ago. ]

[shadedsunlight]

I'm not leaving you. [She growls out her words as she looks around some more, thinking fast. Whether it's the dream providing what's needed through force of will, her own expectations and preparation for the situation, or other forces at play, Alice draws the machete she had sheathed against her back.]

There's a tree to the left of us, climb. I'll hold them off. [This is not a point to be debated either.]

[folklorist]

No. [ No no no. He is not leaving you to fight them alone. He knows how this is supposed to end for him. Helios is not letting it end the same for her too. ] I-I can't let you f-fight them. Y-You won't... [ he bites his lip and shakes his head, tears welling up in his eyes. Alice won't live otherwise. ]

Please just. Just run. Th-they're not after you.

[shadedsunlight]

I know that. [She remembers Ginia's notes. Shift hunters, attracted to magic, dangerous, kill on sight.] They're going to focus on you no matter what. So I'm going to kill them.

[The constant barking and howling is close enough now, close enough she can hear their massive paws trampling through the underbrush and whipping past low-hanging branches. Alice wishes she had a gun on her as she grips her machete, giving Helios a last glance and sharp order.] MOVE!

[folklorist]

[ Helios flinches and cringes at the sharp order. He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't move save but backing away a little towards the nearby tree. His head will turn this way and that as the sounds of the oncoming killers fills the area around them. His hands and body are shaking now, because he knows of the pain, knows how hot it burns and how terrible it is. ] B-But you. I-I can't just let you...

[ He hunches and goes just a little more stiff as the rustling of nearby leaves gets his attention. They're here. ]

[shadedsunlight]

[Alice crouches down into a fighting stance, head turning as she looks this way and that, gauging how close they are and where they're coming from. She knows on some level it's a fight they can't win. They're unprepared, outnumbered, there is nothing and no one that can save them down. Even so, she's not going down without a fight.

She finds herself laughing when she hears Helios' words. Her laughter is quiet at first, then louder until her body is shaking in mirth.] Yes, you can. [It's so obvious, isn't it. So foolishly, stupidly obvious. She turns toward him and pulls the neckline of her shirt down, showing the fact there's no necklace around her neck, no gold or silver pendant.

Something lunges through the bushes, the air filling with the smell of rotting flesh and meat as the first shift hunters attack. Alice turns and delivers a vicious downward chop with her machete, blood spraying onto her as she drives the blade into the beast's neck.]

[folklorist]

[ No necklace. This wasn't real. The shock of that revelation is abruptly dissipated as Helios lets out a small yelp when he sees those red eyes peering through the blackness. The scent of rotting flesh overpowering as another two shift hunters step out from the thick underbrush. His breathing quickens and his back in turned toward Alice's form. He had to stop it, he had to make it change. This was just a dream, just a dream and he controlled it. He had to save them both. The two shift hunters lunge at them, claws extended, but a barrier goes up and repels them sending them skidding across the ground.

And then the shift hunters stop in their circling movements and they almost seem to change in demeanor. Something else is moving through the shadows. Something large, something terrible, something worse than even these beasts. Helios' eyes widen and his breath hitches in his throat. The ground is a writhing black mass of red eyed snakes. The shift hunters let out unfamiliar whimpers and scared noises. No. He can't run. He can never from this because it's a part of him. ]

[shadedsunlight]

[Cutting through flesh and bone is never as easy as it seems in movies. Precious seconds are spent pulling the machete out of the neck of the shift hunter, then a few more chops to properly sever the head. She turns when when the other shift hunters leap at them, breathing a sigh of relief as they bounce off the barrier. Alice smiles, relieved the realization was enough to shock Helios back into action. It doesn't take them out of the dream and she's not sure what will, but at least he knows.

When the shift hunters turned scared and the mass of snakes begin to circle them, Alice quickly turns to Helios and grabs him by a shoulder. She's probably a fearful sight in herself, hair disheveled, splattered in blood and sweat.]

It's a dream, Helios, a dream! This is your dream! Fight! You can do it, I know you can!

[folklorist]

[ It's far too much and Helios bites back a sob as those snakes encircle them. It reopens so many old wounds and in the distance, mingled into the piercing shrieking cry of a thing not of this world, there is the scream of a woman. He jolts away at Alice's hand on his shoulder and he shakes his head. His entirely body is shaking and he looks positively terrified. ] No. No it-it's not a dream. H-He's r-real.

[ The shift hunters are gone and there are two large bright red eyes peering at them through the darkness. It moves closer and closer, until black slit pupils can be seen. A gaping maw filled with razor sharp fangs, some the size of a full grown man, opens and a dense thick black fog erupts from the monster's mouth. There's a bone chilling laugh from it as he rears up only to shadow them both in its imposing figure. ]

[shadedsunlight]

[Alice glances at the snakes and shudders at the scream. It's not right and she knows now it's more than just a bad dream or nightmare. This was some horribly reality in his past and it breaks her heart knowing he of all people had to go through this.] He may be real, but this right now is a dream.

[There was already very little light in the jungle, but it grows darker as darkness surrounds them. Alice realizes she's never known what a monster was before now. There were horrible, inhumane, people she considered monsters who deserved to die back in her world, but this thing? This was a true monster and all she can do is stare for a few seconds. She still grips her machete and moves to stand in front of Helios, but it's no use. He's surrounding them and he will get Helios. It's the last realization that strikes the most fear into Alice. There is nothing she can do. Nothing either of them can do.

It's not an easy realization to make and she utterly hates it. Even if this is a dream, a nightmare, that's it? They're just going to die, likely in some horrific painful fashion?

Alice takes a deep breath and turns to face the figure directly, trying to look into its eyes but having more success staring into its gaping mouth.]

What are you?

[folklorist]

[ Helios lets out a small cry of surprise, torment, fear too. He hates this. He hates snakes he hates that thing looming before him, he hates how the scenery changes to that point in time where he lost everything. He was so stupid and now, now the forest shifts to a room. It's an old musty darkened room. The walls and floors are made of stone and along the far walls are bookshelves. His breath is labored and stunted as he moves closer to Alice in fear. Green eyes dart about the room and the pure white chalked circle resting beside Apep is covered in blood, so much blood, but whose blood it is remains a mystery.

The god laughs at the defiance shown to him, red eyes narrow as it moves steadily closer to Alice a thunderous hiss escaping it. You haven't told them, Helios? How predictable. Why would you though, when it brings to light all your sins. Helios flinches and moves just a little bit closer to Alice again. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. ]

[ It laughs again more mockingly than before but no less chilling in the emptiness and apathy it holds. Apep opens it mouth to speak again those fangs dripping with venom and blood. You dare stand up against me foolish mortal? You dare stand in defiance to a god? It's jaws snap shut as he regards Alice and Helios like they're nothing more than ants. Perhaps I can show you what I did to last woman who knew him well. Another laugh that reverberates throughout the empty basement cellar. Helios makes to wrap his arms around Alice as Apep lunges forward to strike. There's the same scream from a woman who isn't there as the darkness envelopes them. ]

[shadedsunlight]

[Alice reaches back for Helios, finding his hand and clinging to it as she faces down the deity. Terrified? Of course, but damn if that will stop her from fighting until the end. She keeps her machete raised, knowing even if she could hurt him, it'd be no more damaging than poking a giant with a toothpick.

Even as he strikes at them, she stabs upward, feeling nothing but sharp teeth piercing into her. She remembers watching a show about medieval torture devices and something called the iron maiden. As venom dips onto her and Apep's teeth drive further into her, tearing her apart without killing her (yet), she realizes that was what it must have been like. Slow, agonizing, hellishly painful.

To her credit, she doesn't scream, but it's hard to do so when there's a fang stabbed into your throat.

Ginia wakes in her inn room, scrabbling at her throat and throwing off her tangled blankets. Her heart pounds in her chest as lingering screams echo in her head.

What the hell was that?!]