deercountry | November Catch-All (Mostly Closed)

Entry tags:

November Catch-All (Mostly Closed)

Who: Childe and any plotted threads/CR
What: November Event, and possibly more later
When: November!
Where: All around Trench

Content Warnings: Torture, kidnapping, blood/organ harvesting, pretty much all the cw"s from the event

[This post is for all the threads I've got planned for this month- if you'd like to plot something out you can reach me at

bucketsofbeans or just PM me!]

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He hadn't even known what had happened after he'd gotten caught. Everything moved so fast in that moment. A hook catches him, he has one last view of Lumine before the world became confusing and he'd lost everything he knew. And then, it became dark.

Who knows how long he'd been out. All he knows is when he wakes up, he's in a room with several other Sleepers, hung up in a place he doesn't recognize. He feels his stomach drop when he realizes that he's been restrained on a hook that dangles him close to the ground. Close enough that someone could get at him fairly easily. He can see a cart of instruments nearby. There are other people discussing something in the room, but his mind is still a mess and can barely make out the sounds of their voices.

He makes a feeble attempt to grab the hook that holds his tied hands together, to no avail. He has to think of something fast, or someone needs to find him soon.

After being jumped by a zealot earlier, Childe had broken away from Diluc and is out looking for them now. They prove to be good opponents, strong and experienced in their blood magic. But now that he knows they're out here abducting people, he's sure it's only a matter of time before he finds another to fight, extract information from, and then kill. It's really shaping up to be a fun night on his hands, he thinks. So he decides that Willful Machine, which has plenty of people to abduct, might be a good place to start.

Little does he know that he'll see Lumine walking around as well, and his eyes light up when he finds her.

"Hey!" He calls out, raising his hand to get her attention. "Fancy seeing you here...!"

He voice stops immediately as he approaches her. He can feel their presence, watching both of them. He keeps his expression of happiness plastered to his face, but he lets his eyes convey that something was very wrong and she needs to be on guard.

As promised, he shows up with some tools to Venti's home. It's really his own grave that he's dug when he was a little dishonest with their little contest they'd had the month prior, so he'd agreed to help Venti store all the cider as a sort of punishment. Childe had also had materials delivered to the home before he arrived, so they had everything they needed to build a little storage for the barrels.

He sighs, before knocking on the front door and waiting patiently for Venti to answer.

The muted conversation in the nearby room is abruptly halted, replaced with some clatter, shouts, and a couple heavy, furniture-based thuds. Things seem to go quiet for a while, though perhaps a bit of rustling could be heard if one were to strain their ears to hear past the labored breathing of captives or the distant echoes of the industrial equipment scattered throughout. It's a long enough while that one could wonder if they made it up - some feeble hope of rescue conjured up to keep a mind and heart from succumbing to despair - and long enough to maybe even forget in order to focus on other things. Like, say, trying to wriggle out of one's bonds or look around for an improvisational tool.

Either way, the truth reveals itself eventually, and it comes in the shape of a short, brown-haired man Childe's come to know quite well of late. Manabu Yuuki slips into view around the corner into the corridor Childe and the others are held in, his focus more on the way he'd left at first. So much for the nice jacket Ryunosuke helped him pick out: It's been torn and sullied by blood and scorchmarks, as has his arms and face. He looks like he just got out of one helluva bar brawl and stumbled his way into a layer of hell.

When he's confirmed he's not being followed, his attention swerves to what lay ahead, his expression contorting with anguish to see this morbid display of what he sees as senseless torture, and that dread only intensifies when he sees that one form strung up there is one he knows pretty well. His lips draw back in a grimace, as close to calling out for Childe as he dares in the moment, checking his surroundings one more time before he hastens over.

He brings a finger to his lips in the universal shush sign as he approaches, and then presses his back against the wall at the sound of some clatter in the distance. After a few heartbeats he exhales, then moves to size up what's got Childe bound, hoping it's something either flammable or easily cut...

As he's heard from the locals, it was time to start harvesting mushrooms, now that they've sprouted up all around Trench. Not that he minded doing so, there were a few recipes he'd like to make with a changing food supply, so he's out foraging for all sorts of mushrooms. His basket is half full, with a few Weepers in there too just for good measure.

At some point, he sees someone foraging around as well, the blue hair unmistakable. His hand finds his hip as he walks over to greet the Knight, calling out as he approaches.

"I was wondering why the pickings around here started to seem like they were becoming a bit slim."

The fight to the top of the tower had been horrifying, exhilarating, and exhausting. Picking up makeshift weapons along the way, fighting without any of his real power had been a challenge to itself, though it wasn't the first time he's had to deal without it. He's already broken a number of weapons fighting zealots, and by the time he arrives at the top of the tower, he's unarmed.

The blood that thickens the air causes him to cough a few times, but with every cough he feels his blood magic come back a little stronger than it was just seconds before. That may be one of the only positive things coming out of this so far, and he's ready to use it when the time comes.

He's been following a blood trail across the floor on this level for some time now, and it seems he's not the only one who had that idea.

"So, are you here looking for your sister too?"

Childe approaches, blood spattered across the red jumpsuit that they'd shoved him into. He wipes more blood away from his face- it's been nothing but endless fighting all the way to the top. He looks as if he had a good time, but also looks tired and hungry. But that doesn't stop him from keeping a somewhat cheery demeanor, despite the circumstances.

Aether tenses at hearing the voice, but he turns and looks nevertheless towards the Harbinger. He looks a bit confused at the other's question responding to him even as he looks away again, as if not really all that interested in the conversation. "No, she's right —"

Aether points, almost as if redirecting the Harbinger to talk with his sister and not him on top of letting him know she's there, too, but once again Aether pauses as he now stares where Lumine had been before. Or, at least, he was sure she had been, but now that he tries to recall it, it's fuzzy. How long has he been standing here, anyway? He remembers stairs, and they both came up to this level, didn't they? So why...?

"...here."

There's the smallest crack in his voice, and it's very easily identified as sudden panic because where is she? How did they get separated, they were together this whole time and—!! The teenager grits his teeth in annoyance and lets air forcefully out through them in a hiss as he seizes on himself to calm down. She's fine, Lumine is more capable than he is, she's absolutely fine he just needs to relocate her.

"I would swear she was beside me just a moment so, but now I'm not so sure. She's one level lower if not here. Or she's managed to get out."

He still pointedly won't look at Childe, and he hopes it comes off as unfriendly. The truth of the matter is that he doesn't want to see the other covered in blood and in whatever else he may have suffered since he's obviously been brought here against his will by the jumpsuit's presence alone. He doesn't want to see how exhausted he is, and if he's doing okay enough to not drop dead on him suddenly while pretending nothing is wrong. He doesn't want to be overly fretting and worried about others that don't even know him. It's weird for them, and it's stressful for him.

...Yet, even still, he can't help but ask.

" ... Are you okay enough to walk out of here?" Or is Childe barely walking and just being really good about hiding it?

Edited (html oops) 2021-11-10 05:08 (UTC)

Lumine's just stepped out of a shop when she hears a familiar voice, turning around and finding Childe walking towards her. Not that it's strange to see him, having met with him just days ago, but it's quite rare to find him just walking around Willful Machine. Normally, she'd see him lingering around the Gate, his Hydro blades drawn as he challenges another monster or two, but never in Willful Machine.

Which makes her wonder if there's a reason for this, and if the reason is the unsettling wave of disappearances lately. Distracted as she might have been lately, with her emotions affected by the moon last month and with Aether's arrival, she certainly hasn't failed to notice the whispers and talks of missing people whenever she'd run her errands for some of the stores around nor the prickling sensation that seems to follow her lately.

"Childe?" She lifts an eyebrow, eyes briefly narrowing at the shift in his expression. She may have had difficulties reading him every now and then, but she can tell when he's being obvious about something.

Still, she says nothing about it, simply tilting her head in curiosity over his presence.

"I'm heading to the docks. What are you doing here?"

Kaeya isn't sure what he thinks about this mushroom gathering thing, but the locals think it's a good idea, and that's enough for him. He's just a bit concerned that he'll pick the wrong sort -- though by now he's gotten a pretty good description of the ones that are okay for eating and the ones that will kill you in new and fascinating ways.

Maybe. He still hasn't actually seen any of the worst ones yet, so time will tell.

But what he does see is a familiar face. A grin surfaces as he straightens up to wave.

"That's right. You have to get up pretty early to beat me to... er... mushrooms." A shrug and he looks at his own half-full basket. "My cabinets are worryingly empty, which was fine for just me, but since I've got the kiddo hanging around now, better to stock up."

So mushroom gathering. And hopefully trading some of said mushrooms for not mushrooms too.

His clouded mind barely registers that the voices stop, as he struggles in vain to try to free himself from the rope that his wrists are tied with. Chlide is mostly operating out of pure instincts to stay alive, struggling to remember his own name. But as the moments pass, he remembers everything that happened before he wound up here, before he'd blacked out. He'd really messed up, letting himself get caught. They might of even got Lumine despite his best efforts to keep that from happening...

But the movement out of the corner of his eye draws his attention from the memories that are rapidly coming back to him. His eyes go wide. It's Manabu, and what a relieving sight that was. It's now that he realizes he can't hear those voices anymore, and it was probably because his rescuer took them out or they'd left.

Childe nods back, keeping his mouth shut and hoping that there was enough time for Manabu to release him before someone came. The bonds are easily cut, and Childe nods his head towards that cart with all the tools on it. There is conveniently a pair of scissors on it, and that should be good enough. If not, several different scalpels and knives lie on it as well, as well as a hand saw.

Hm. It may be that he really had failed to keep the zealots from kidnapping Lumine. Or, perhaps they were both here to free any one who had gotten caught. But the fact that Aether seems a bit out of it, and not knowing what happened to her puts him on edge. There's a lot of speculation to be made there, and normally he'd try to sort it out but his mind still wasn't completely clear of whatever the zealots had done to him, and exhaustion was starting to settle in. Plus, Aether doesn't seem to even want to look at him. He's not sure why, perhaps it was because of his status as a Fatui Harbinger and the terrible things he'd done- but he knows that having trust issues with him right now is really not what the two of them need right now.

"I can get around just fine, there's no need to worry about me," he responds, glancing up at the door that they both now stood in front of. "But I'm not leaving yet. If the two of you can be separated so easily, then there's a good chance she's still here. I've been through the entirety of this place so far, except in there."

He nods his head towards the door, fearing the worst behind it.

"Tell me, were the two of you brought here against your wills, or did you come her on your own?"

"Oh, you know. I'm always out to look for things to entertain me," he says, joining her by her side. Who was the target here? They had plenty of chances to jump him, as he's been wandering about the city looking for trouble. Logic can really only lead to one conclusion here- they must be here for her. Waiting for her to come out of that shop. And if she wasn't attacked in the streets, then surely they'd come for her at home.

"You wouldn't mind if I accompanied you there, would you? I've got some time on my hands and I'd like the fresh air."

"We came here ourselves. Specifically looking for you and the others. You, specifically, got yourself kidnapped in front of her, didn't you?" Seriously, the hell is he going on about not needing to be worried about! "So, yes, I need to worry about you," Aether says matter-of-factly. "Glad to hear it, though."

He stares at the door for a moment longer before feeling uncertain. "I'd rather go find my sister than enter without her. But I'm not leaving you by yourself, either."

Basically, it's up to Childe whether they retreat to look for Lumine or go through the door first.

Well, they can thank their lucky stars they don't have to make a choice that very moment, Lumine coming up to them looking worse for wear than what Aether probably remembers. Her white dress is stained and her face spattered with blood–not hers, if she's asked–and her sword brandished in her hand, she looks exhausted and terribly harangued like she's just run a mile chasing after her twin brother while being chased by monsters.

Though to be fair, she's been looking for him for what seemed like ages, navigating the confusing and ever-changing corridors of the farm and avoiding the zealots crawling all over the place. And while she's more than confident of her brother's abilities, a part of her still despaired of finding him as one of the bodies scattered around, mutilated and lifeless.

"Aether!" She breathes his name, hugging him tight and feeling the pressing weight on her chest finally lifting. She mirrors his expression, however, frowning at his look of dismay. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

It's really only after she's made sure that her brother is safe and secure and in one piece that her gaze finally lands on Childe. A look of relief crosses her expression upon seeing him (see, he's fine) before it twists into annoyance when she recalls what happened the other day. And if it weren't for the fact that she's still hugging Aether, she would've lobbed a punch at him already.

"And you. I need to hit you when we get out of here."

Never in a million years did he think he'd end up in a situation with both of them mad at him like this, and if he's being honest with himself he's touched that they care enough about him to be irritated with him. He can only laugh, his hand coming up behind his head while being mildly amused by them both. He doesn't miss Lumine's look of relief either.

"Wow you two, were you really that concerned for me? How kind of you both. As you can see, I'm still up and running."

But he's not in perfect shape. There's wounds beneath the jumpsuit that are hidden by blood, and he's ignoring the pain. They were fierce foes alright, and made to be that much harder to fight without the aid of his vision or delusion.

"But could I request that you hit me a little later than immediately after our escape? I'd like a little time to recover before getting into a fight with you."

Aether nods to Lumine, feeling relief flood through him that she's fine, as to be expected. She didn't look that great, but he can mostly tell from how she carries herself as she approaches them that the majority of that blood doesn't belong to her. He wraps his arms around her in a comforting hug, quietly assuring her between the two of them that he's fine and nothing happened in their short time separated. He's glad she found him, he's sorry for separating from her, even moreso that he didn't seem to realize it. The onset of this confusion is a little concerning, but he's in a place where the air is soaked in blood amongst a very many other things. It's not too hard to believe he feeling a little bit off from it.

He glances silently at Childe when Lumine turns to him and threatens him, offering a small smile at the Harbinger's mention of their concern but that's all. If it was his Childe, he'd be reacting very similar to Lumine right now, so it's reassuring to see he can easily identify they have at the very least a good relationship. There's no reason to butt in on their hashing out the details of when the Harbinger is scheduled to take a beating from his sister, afterall.

Aether's not alone in that, at least, the heat and scent of the farm making her lightheaded and dizzy, so much so that Lumine's more than willing to give an arm and a leg for a cryo slime to hug. It honestly reminds her too much of the Delusion factory back in Inazuma, where she can almost taste the thick scent of darkness and blood lingering in the area, and the desire to leave the farm now that they've found Childe is growing more and more.

Rolling her eyes at Childe's dramatics as she pulls away from her twin, she turns towards the door as well with a questioning look on her face. She supposes beating him up can wait until they've returned to the Trench, as is assessing his current condition and dragging him to a Blood Minister.

"Is that the exit?" she asks them, glancing between the two. "Shouldn't we go, or are we still waiting for someone else?"

Is it Diluc and Kaeya? Considering they've already passed through all of the levels of the farm and haven't found either of the two, Lumine wonders if they've already managed to escape–or if they weren't captured at all. In which case, isn't this the best time for them to leave this hellhole?

Fresh air, huh? That's ... a weird thing to remark about, especially when the air felt heavy and suffocating lately, thick with the taste of blood. The natives told her, during one of her recent errands, that this is normal during this time of the year and there's almost no place in the Trench where she'd be able to escape the pollution. But again, Lumine simply takes note of it and says nothing more, certain that there's something bothering him.

"Sure," she says with a shrug, starting towards the direction of the docks. "I don't think you'll find it very exciting, though, since I'm just going there to do a supply run for me and Aether."

Though she guesses it's going to be a little bit similar to Liyue Harbour in a way, if Liyue Harbour was dark and dreary and smelled of blood. Hopefully, Childe's presence would help soothe the foreboding feeling that's been lingering around her for the past few days.

When Lumine isn't looking, Childe gives Aether a smile back. Along with that, he gives a shrug that suggests that he's accepted his fate, in whatever way Lumine has deemed fit to serve it to him. He really hadn't meant to upset her, and he hopes that Aether can understand that he hadn't meant to mess up and get caught the way he did.

He looks over to the door, still curious what lie on the other side. It feels as if they have to go in there to find their way out. But still, on the other hand, he also gets a foreboding feeling from it.

"I don't know if that's the exit. I'd just arrived here when I found Aether standing here. Considering that none of the other floors have a way out, it's safe to assume we have to continue to find out way out of here. That being said...let's go."

He steps forward, opening the door to the next room. What lies before them is one macabre image after another, the statue of The Tower in the middle of the room with organs sacrificed to it- the doors that lead off to more tables of Sleepers with their insides removed. The Sleepers being hung from the ceiling with their blood being siphoned off. It also appeared to have no exit, either.

He stops dead in the doorway, surveying the entire room. Is this what the zealot was talking about...?

"How is Klee, by the way?"

He asks as he spots another mushroom, picking it out of the ground and depositing it into his basket. She's the expert, but that doesn't mean the big brother inside of him doesn't jump to conclusions on what may happen.

"I can't help but worry that she's going to hurt herself, despite her expertise."

He sees something moving out of the corner of his eye, but a light wind blew through the trees at the same moment, so he doesn't pay it any mind...

He walks along with her, heading to the docks, and that undeniable feeling of being followed stays with him. It wouldn't be long until they reached the docks, and tactically that would be the best spot for them to try something without being caught. There's less people, but less places to hide. Going there would force their hand.

"On the contrary, I think the docks will prove to be a very exciting experience." He lowers his voice a little, but continues to smile as if nothing was wrong. "There's lots of things there that can just pop up and surprise you."

He couldn't be sure of how many of them there were, but they better bring a couple to deal with the two of them together.

He ... just had to jinx it like Bennett would on a bad day, didn't he?

No sooner than they stepped onto the end of the docks, Lumine stops in her tracks, holding an arm out to keep Childe from walking further. And for good reason, as three hideously disfigured things step out from a portal from nowhere, talking in a language that sounded like teeth chattering. She can feel her blood running cold and her skin crawling at the sound of their voices, even more so when she recognised a word from their conversation.

White.

"Childe!"

Chains erupt from the portal, snaking towards her with the intent to hurt and intent to capture. Her instinct? Pushing the Harbinger away from her as she runs in the opposite direction, Festering Desire materialising in her hand. Having put enough distance between them, she turns back to the chains, dodging one of its rearing hooked heads and parrying another, sparks flying when metal clash against metal.

None of the instruments nearby are terribly appealing, but many of them look effective. After listening for a beat longer, Manabu picks up one of the larger, less well-used knives and turns back to Childe and...

...Ah...yeah... He's going to need something to stand on to reach that. Hang on a little longer, Childe! Manabu's got to find a stool - better that than hopping around trying to shave a rope down like an idiot, you know?

It's not a terribly long wait, at least, and Manabu only needs a few clean sweeps across the braided rope to get it to fray and snap apart with gravity's help. He hops off the stool and sets the saw down to trade it for a smaller blade to cut the bonds on Childe's wrists, taking a few seconds between sawing to listen for anything more ominous than the periodic, industrial noise in the distance.

As the rope gives way, Manabu gives Childe a check-over for signs of any really dire injuries they need to address right away.

"Ngh-!"

The chains fly past him, hoping to capture Lumine as he's pushed away. Unfortunately, he isn't given a chance to make sure she was alright for the moment, because two of the zealots descend on him to distract Childe from their prize. They'd heard about him- he'd foiled a few of their plans to kidnap other Sleepers the last few days or so. Killed off a few of their compatriots. Well, they'll make him pay while also taking the girl.

One lifts a hand, palm sparkling with the intent to electrocute the Harbinger into paralysis. His blades manifest, blocking that attack while the other zealot rounds him to aim their powers at him- or specifically, at the ground beneath his feet. Childe feels his footing slip, and all of a sudden he's hitting the ground while a zealot laughs wickedly. He rolls away with only a breadth of room to spare- a second attack slams into the ground next to him, electricity fraying off every which way.

The third zealot makes its way towards Lumine, summoning more chains to wrap her up in. Two chains zip through the air, this time from either side of her, trying to grab her before either of them can get far.

There's nothing more relieving than when his feet touch the ground again, and Childe rubs his wrists after the rope is cut off. Manabu's scan won't yield results. All of the injuries he'd sustained happened in the battle before he was drug here, all well hidden beneath the red jumpsuit the zealots had put him in. When he takes a step, Manabu will notice a bit of a limp- and Childe tries to not grimace too much at the pain.

He claps a hand on Manabu's shoulder, nodding a thanks to him for freeing him. He takes a few knives off of the cart himself, slipping them into the pockets of his clothing before silently waving for Manabu to come with. They both need to survey this situation before they could make any plan of attack. It's a precarious position for the Harbinger- powerful enemies roam the halls while he's without all of his powers.

After taking a moment to listen, he speaks to Manabu in a low whisper.

"How large is this facility?"

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November Catch-All (Mostly Closed)

Manabu, on a nebulous floor between 2-9

Lumine

Venti

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Kaeya

Aether

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