Mother stands for comfort

[imaglyphwitch]

Who: Luz and you (and specifically with Luca)
What: Luz tries to resist the hex, and not mutate herself until she finally falls to beast hood
When: Middle of February (sorry Luz, no birthday for you)
Where: All around Trench

She'd read the sermon and was sure that was when the trouble began. Luz had thought, after getting others who'd been sympathetic and lent an ear to her troubles, that she might be able to ride out the crazy of this month, that she'd get to her birthday in relative peace. Unfortunately, things didn't get better: instead, Luz found herself plagues by the past: her father leaving, the scorn of being that "weird" kid in her class, and the things that came with her Deerington and new Trench memories.

After Varian, Luz had been meticulous about trying to keep such thoughts from consuming her, trying to talk to others when she could, listening to advice and meditating more than she probably had any month. But the thoughts kept coming, and no matter what Luz did, she found she was feeling more depressed by the day, even though she interacted with people and did her best to keep her smile up.

And then one day, she found it was starting to feel worse than usual, enough that she even resorted to turning to her bird form if only to escape those memories. Now they were starting to compound, and images of the cave men and the Blood Cultists and their attacks on her began to plague her nightmares. It got so bad that she woke up feeling the cuts in her skin as clearly as she had back then, and she would be breathing hard and be so anxious she stayed in bed.

She had no idea how to stop this, and moments where she started to consider self-harm surfaced, shocking her so badly she took a cold bath, shivering and in tears, wondering what would happen next.

Comments

The Change

[imaglyphwitch]

One more day resisting the call. The nightmares and daydreams started to cascade into a kind of hell she couldn't escape. Only now could she truly see what Varian must have gone through in his corrupted days. She didn't see the obvious signs like before, but it was on her back now, just waiting for Luz to fall. Luz's methods weren't working anymore either, as the curse continued to work its way into her mind, reminding her of things left behind, of people she'd never see.

That day Luz stayed in bed, a mess of crying and mumbled pleas that this would go away. And it was in this moment Luz found herself in the darkest moment of despair, where there was no fleeing any of this, where she had to accept something would have to break with her now. She got up and walked up to the roof of the house, gasping and shivering, the cold biting into her but letting her feel SOMETHING, a definite reprieve from her mental and emotional distress. In this moment, the cold licking at her exposed skin, she tried to clear her head, clear her mind, bring her mind rest.

And then she saw them all. Clementine. Margot. Eda. Her mother. All of them fading, fading away as she stayed here, enjoying herself.

Luz let out a howl. It shook the house with how painful and frenzied she sounded, and she lowered herself to her stomach, feeling the change working over her.

It hurts! It hurts!

Not the change, but her thoughts, all that pain, all the things she tried to keep at bay surfaced now, rocking through her and solidifying her loneliness here. Who could she cry to? Who could get rid of this? No one. And in that final, desperate moment, she could see Doorway, waiting, quiet and waiting and knowing that the wait could take forever, and that pain finally rocked through Luz and she felt her body hollowing out, her back curving and the last coherent parts of her slipping away.

And the beast took hold.

Animal I've become

[imaglyphwitch]

She was not huge. No, the beast Luz had taken was actually about the size of a humanoid, though that was still rather big for most animals. On all fours, she moved rather quickly, so fast that you might even miss her: that was the boon afforded her. The beast was a blur, but that was not the worst of it.

She had claws, and she desired blood. If she got a hold of prey, she would not let go until she drained a significant portion of blood from them, and then she would leave you in the snow, cold and defeated and moved on again. She was restless, always hungry. She looked emaciated, somewhere between a Chupacabra and a canine version of a Wendigo.

How anyone would know it was Luz would take some doing. Maybe you have a bond with her and sensed the anguish and change? Maybe you were able to see the large animal leaving the house in Cassandra. Maybe you happened to see the torn up hoodie that could only belong to Luz, the cat ears looking comically unnatural on this beast.

Either way, she needed to be stopped. She'd started on some animals she caught in the forest, but her hunger was ravenous. If you happened to be in her path? She'd go for you next.

((OOC: This post is for anyone generally meeting up with corrupted Luz. Maybe she takes a bite out of you? Maybe you want to talk her down (good luck)! Maybe you try to attack her and hopefully restrain her enough? The choice is yours))!

[droptheious]

Varian had heard the HOWL and that was enough to get him racing to the door of the house. Something bad was happening and he's terrified someone he cares about is suffering. He can feel the PULL of the bond- and even if he didn't have that, his tattoo letting him know where Luz is means he knows exactly who the creature that's tearing out of the house.

Naturally, he runs after her. She didn't think twice about doing the same for him when he'd turned, and he doesn't think twice now. Of course, she's got more legs than he has right now, but he's doing his best to keep up.

"Luz?! Luz wait!"

[imaglyphwitch]

If she heard him, Luz wasn't turning back, but she did feel a pinch of his anxiety. The bond had made this possible, and it caused the corrupted Luz to give a slight pause before attempting a faster run.

Had Varian been closer, he might have been able to at least attempt to get through to Luz, but in this corrupted state she was both fast and very hard to get through to.

She let out a raspy snarl and tore toward the forest.

[schoolingfish]

Luca wasn't home, so he didn't hear the howl. He didn't need to.

He was already pretty far gone. Spending the day snacking on candy that caused amnesia and paranoia had done a number on him, and though the effects had worn off by the time he felt it, that only made things worse. Because Luz was in trouble, Luz was loosing herself, and he wasn't there to do anything to stop it.

As Luca raced through the streets, he panicked, and his own fear combined with the feeling of her beasthood pulled him down with her, so that by the time he reached them, his awareness had been lost. All he held onto at this point was a vague memory that he had to help Luz. Anyone else and anything else was tossed aside, replaced with hunger and rage. So when he sees Luz running away, his beast mind, the confused, muddled mess that it is, reads Varian as a threat.

Slithering from around a corner, Luca lets out a long, low hiss.

[droptheious]

This was bad. This was really bad, and for a second, Varian doesn't realise it's Luca staring back at him. He comes skidding to a halt, knowing he's in a lot of trouble if he gets cornered here. He's not well suited for a fight- not against something as big as this. He hasn't got many weapons on him- he'd just raced blindly after Luz- so he only really has his coldblood powers- his grip on those tenuous at best.

He raises his hands, taking a step back.

"Easy, easy- I just want to get to my friend."

[cuddlery]

Scorpia had made the mistake of wandering too close to the forest - and she came to standstill as she hears some kind of noise in the bushes nearby.

Tentatively, she decided to test for life and asked a simple, shaky, "H-hello?"

[imaglyphwitch]

She'd had a few rabbits, some voles, and several weasel-like creatures. All of this alone would have alarmed Luz, but not quite as much as this. The creature spotted the tall human approaching, and let out a low growl, looking to see where it might be able to feast.

It moved quick, slamming into the legs first with a yelp and then circling about, waiting for the tall human to go down where it might be able to attack properly. If Scorpia manages to spy it, she might see the remains of a certain purple cat hood atop the red eyed beast.

[cuddlery]

Okay, this is very quickly not good! The creature pounces at her suddenly and strikes her legs. "Whoa!" She stumbles from the sudden force, but she manages to retain her footing. Her pincers raised, she eyes the creature warily while she's circled.

"Easy there. I- I don't want any trouble." She's not sure why she's reasoning with it. She's come to accept that the monsters here can't be reasoned with - and sometimes they have to be destroyed. Still, as her eyes follow the creature, there's one thing that stands out about it. One thing that's recognizable! "Wait... that hat!"

[imaglyphwitch]

Ah, she was a hard one to take down. The creature rebounded, reared back, then scampered toward a tree, hoping to use that momentum to launch themselves at the prey...

...Or at least that was the plan, because something the prey said gave the creature pause, and she seemed to stare at Scorpia hard a moment, like there was something it was trying to regain.

[danserai]

[ oh. not good at all. ahiru quickly taps into the magic she needs to become princess tutu before deftly dancing in her path. the world slows to a crawl as the music starts playing. ]

You must stop!

[imaglyphwitch]

[The creature bared her teeth and growled, shaking her head a little as if to try and disassociate itself from the music playing. A strange human seemed to be moving around in her path, and she was starting to move back a little, though how long it was going to do that was yet to be decided].

[danserai]

[ ahiru reaches deep . . . it feels like . . . it feels like . . . ]

Luz?

[imaglyphwitch]

[The creature blinks at the name, letting out a low groan. Something about that sound was familiar to her, but with the music and the sight of the human was definitely confusing her intentions. It was baring its teeth, but also slowly starting to back away as if Ahiru was starting to make it anxious.

It might attack at any moment though, because it certainly didn't look like it could tolerate this for much longer].

[onerthes]

Vira-Lorr didn't recognize Luz in this state. However, she saw some tattered shreds of cloth nearby that were at least an indication that this was probably a sleeper transformed, which set her more protective nature in mind. When she saw it, looking at her with ravenous hunger she steeled herself, gritting her teeth as something started to happen, causing her clothes to bunch a bit in odd ways, around where the joints were.

"Easy there. You really, really don't want to take a bite out of me. That would be bad for everyone." Ironically? It wouldn't have been nearly as dangerous for the corrupted Luz as it would have been for the pavement. A paleblood was the only type who could come into contact with her blood safely.

For the moment, though, she was in a defensive position. She either needed to subdue the beast so someone, preferably not a hunter, could come by and help, or get some distance...

[imaglyphwitch]

The animal was circling the woman, letting out a low growl. Something was familiar about this woman, enough to give it pause, but only just. Now it was trying to talk to her, and the only response the creature gave appeared to be it baring it's teeth.

Still hungry. Still desperate for something that was not animal blood. The prey seemed to be doing something ELSE too, something the creature did not understand and was wary of, but it was still so hungry.

Without any more thoughts, it leapt toward her, fast as lightning, claws extended. It may not have thought this through, or even thought it a good idea, but hunger overrode it's desires now. It had to feed.

[onerthes]

Fabric shredded with the strike, but at first there was nothing more. Vira-Lorr ducked to the side as the thing struck, barely missing a full-body strike. The claws raked down her arm to her now unsheathed blade. Where they struck, there was tattered fabric and ivory-pale skin that looked more like chitin than actual flesh. It resisted, though there were scour marks that hadn't quite broken the skin yet.

She could only keep this up for so long until some attack strong enough to actually break the skin came along, and that was when things might get very ugly. Hissing at the discomfort of maintaining the armored form of her body, she popped a smoke bullet into the chamber of the gun part of her blade, aiming to keep as much distance as possible. "Calm down there, little one. You're going to get both of us hurt. I don't want to have to hurt you." And she wasn't entirely keen on getting hurt either.

sorry for no monster Luz, just her looking ferocious as she can

[imaglyphwitch]

The creature made contact, but had not expected that it's swipe would feel something resist. She leapt back, watching Vira intensely. It recognized that this prey was not soft and pliable, like the skin she was used to, and this was strange to her.

Moreover, something about this prey registered in her head, but only enough to give slight confusion. The creature was going to have to test out of there were a more tender part of the prey. Where it would not be protected.

She growled, moving back, ready to pounce.

[zib]

[Zib ended up in the forest today after hanging out with Luca earlier, now looking for a place that might be a good spot for digging downward--Sayo had given him an idea not that long ago about how if he wanted to build a portal similar to the one back home, he should find a spot in the ground sturdy enough that it won't get dislodged and knocked over like... well, like the buildings that got destroyed when Varian entered beast hood not long ago.

As such, he's not expecting the sight of Luz, or rather, the strange creature that suddenly comes out of the underbrush to this spot here, and at first, Zib doesn't realize who it is, not noticing the remains of Luz's hoodie at this distance.]

Is that... a Chupacabra? No, wait, they're usually a little different than this, at least in the pictures I've seen...

[imaglyphwitch]

[The creature spotted prey in the forest, a place that was able to cloak it well enough, though obviously one of keen eye would be able to see her coming. She was certainly larger than most Chupacabra, but of course she didn't quite look like one in the traditional sense. There was something more canine there, as if Luz's past mingling with wolves had imprinted itself in her appearance.

It also didn't help that she was still stuck in memories of Margot despite everything.

But right now that part of her brain was gone, and instead, she was going at Zib at full speed, claws already ready to tear into skin and feast].

[zib]

[When the creature charges at him, Zib glares as he drops his hood and allows two PAK cables to quickly snap outward to try to grab the creature and restrain it, before it can make contact with him.]

Nice try, but I'm not interested in being anyone's meal today. If you know what's good for you, back off or else.

[Although, there is a thought that occurs to him that he should study this creature, given that it is quite fascinating after all. Maybe he can still find a way to do so... dead or alive, depending on if this thing keeps trying to attack him, that is.]

Back Home

[imaglyphwitch]

In her little wrapped burrito style of blankets, Luz slept.

This was pretty much bound to happen. In the back of her mind, Luz wondered when so much happening to her wouldn't eventually push her to a dark place. Even where she loved and cared about the people around her, there was still all of the things that had happened to her looming.

Those last weeks of Deerington, avoiding monsters. The cave. The factory. The memories of certain things of others in October. More and more she was beginning to see the ugly part of surviving, when you healed but not quite right, and trying to stay strong during the worst times took a toll on you. Mingled with that were her own feelings of self worth, of missing the other home with her mother, and missing the Isles. It was too much.

Every day started to feel more surreal, and Doorway's month was bound to be something of a revelation for her.

Luz slowly woke up, groaning a little. Oh. Ugh. Now she was getting pieces of being corrupted coming back. Gross things like wanting blood. Strange things too though, like being able to move that fast, on all fours, like a canine. It made her think of Margot and Mebh, and as she thought this she felt the stirring beside her, and then the muzzle of her friend.

"Thanks Tempest," she said softly, nuzzling her a moment. "I needed that.

Re: Back Home

[subject_013]

Perhaps she hears someone below shoveling snow off the driveway. Once that's cleared, there might be a fairly loud thump on the roof, followed by the sound of someone brooming snow from the shingles.

Don't mind the Vileblood who's being a combination dad and cryptid.

Re: Back Home

[imaglyphwitch]

"What the..."

Luz shuffles to inspect the roof, still very much inch-worming her way around wrapped in the blanket, to see who's on the roof. To her surprise, it's Wesker.

"W-what are you doing here? Gosh, it's cold!"

Re: Back Home

[subject_013]

He'll pause, balancing carefully and threading the broom through his arms like a soldier with a rifle. "I'd finished clearing my yard and roof of snow. I figured I'd come around and render you lot the same service.

He'll lean carefully closer as he peers into the window. "Feeling a bit under the weather? I hope it's not that Lockjoint that's been going around."