deercountry | open | lights are on but nobody's home

Entry tags:

open | lights are on but nobody's home

Who: Luna Lovegood @creidim + you!
What: April catch-all + Luna falling into end-stage Corruption and eventually Beasthood.
When: The month of April.
Where: Gaze, The Farther Shores, Willful Machine + Trenchwood.

Content Warnings: Warnings in individual prompts; some threads will contain gore + character death.
Notes: Information on Luna's Corruption / Beasthood can be found here.
Beast!Luna art for reference. cw: animal skull

☽ god stood me up and I don't know why | general catch-all — april 1st - april 15th
cw: corruption-related body horror; themes of loss/grief

[ The month of darkness is met with a tense kind of worry. It's much like the month of October in Deerington, and for someone like Luna who has a couple of them under her belt — she's wary of what the month might bring. More for her to worry about, heaped onto her plate that is already much too full. The last six weeks have been difficult, dealing with Maul and Willow's death; worrying over Falco, over Peter and Paimon, and the difficulties of Moss King's games.

She still remains under the effects of Corruption from last month. She looks pale and gaunt. Her eyes glow in the darkness of the endless night: two eerieely pearlescent orbs, without pupils. Her hair hangs limp and oddly, doesn't look much like hair. Sometimes a clump of it that looks more like some strange appendage than anything else might twitch or sway on its own accord. Two deer antlers sprout from her forehead — not growing much more than a very young buck, but quite prominent all the same.

She's... not really had much of a chance to try and get on top of things, and there's plenty more to keep her occupied. John's gone. Much like Diarmuid, he's another person she loves dearly who's returned to the waters. He's left her his shop Ritual Gig over in Willful Machine. And of course, the place is no stranger to her. She knows how to help around, she's done that plenty before here and there. But walking into the place with him gone, she looks like she's at a loss for what to do. There's other visits in the first half of the month, where she'll be minding the shop. If anyone comes looking for John, they'll be met with an eerie but clearly upset-looking witch instead. ]

Oh, sorry— [ She distracted, startled by any new presence in the shop. ] Can I help you—?

[ She'll also be found down at The Farther Shores, staring off into the ocean for what seems like hours. There's been plenty of times she's sat here when Diarmuid left, wondering how he fares out beneath the waves. But here now, there's a deep grief to her as she sits with her knees pulled to her chest. Plenty of people have left her, she's used to people leaving both here and in Deerington — but it doesn't stop it hurting any less. Sometimes there's pains that one just can't seem to get used to. ]

☽ pretty face with pretty bad dreams | corruption — april 16th - april 21st
cw: hopelessness, corruption, body horror, magical violence.
note: luna can be encountered alone, or with the possibilty of Peter / Paimon @possessum with her. contact jhey @skeletals.plurk and i for plotting!

[ It feels like some kind of joke that the witch who loves magical creatures so much should find themselves so cursed by them. She's captivated by the creatures, curious of them — but that curious awe of hers comes with a steep cost. The steady foothold she already has with her own Corruption holds fast, and Luna finds herself drained of hope and swiftly falling into the deeper clutches of it.

As a result, she's far worse in terms of her state of Corruption. Her antlers have grown substantially; points grown tall and sharp as they reach up and outwards. The entirety of hair no longer looks like hair, but strange appendages that looks eeriely similar to that of Moon Presence. Her nails are sharp and claw-like, her eye teeth more pronounced and eyes glow far brighter in the dark.

But most disturbingly is her entire demeanour: those who know Luna will find her cold and indifferent. Her usual dreamy gazes now steely stares. For the times she's out of the house, she meets any interaction with an icy kind of aggression. She will react poorly to those who love and know her well, and actively hostile to anyone who doesn't. Peter and Paimon perhaps remain the sole people she won't actively mistreat, but even then as she travels about the city there's a cold, haughtiness towards them both.

She's quick to use magic on others as she goes about her business; jinxing others out of their way, even poor Trenchies themselves just trying to survive, trying to safely move about in their day to day life. Or even anyone who's caught staring at her worsened state of Corruption will be met with quickly escalating level of violence — some poor person might end up with a stinging hex to the face so they can no longer see. Or she'll jinx people's tongues to the roof of their mouths, hex people's knees to reverse themselves — just about anything to cause a satisfactory amount of misery.

And she dares anyone to come up against her; recklessly fierce as she just about goads people who might want to do anything against she does in retaliation to these perceived slights. Best to leave her alone. Not only will going up against her will end up with the very real threat of dark magic being used upon them, but if Peter's accompanying her, they may have a very angry demon against them, too. ]

☽ no end in sight // the rest you know | beasthood — april 21st - late april
cw: beasthood, minor body horror, possibilities of fatal injuries, magical distraction, possibile injuring via goring or mauling, mention of wild animal death
note: luna can be encountered alone, or with the possibilty of Peter / Paimon @possessum with her. contact jhey @skeletals.plurk and i for plotting!

— closed to clarisse

[ There's certainly no tipping moment that sends her over the edge. It creeps up on her quietly; spent too long in the ends of Corruption. Some slow-paced crawl to something that simply tips when the weight becomes too much. On a rare time she doesn't have Peter or Paimon sticking close to her side, that she's alone while she's out and about in Gaze — she feels suddenly sick and dizzy. Sweat starts to pour from her and she sways on the spot. Something ripples uncomfortably within her, like something's trying to claw its way out from her skin.

She staggers in the street through the dark. The cold, cruel demeanour suddenly breaks, a slither of herself peeking through once more and she gasps loudly. A tiny piece of fear. Whatever it is beneath her skin wants out, her heart beating too hard and too fast in her chest — like it might explode. ]

No, no, no— [ Stop it. Stop it. But she can't stop it, she doesn't know how. She doesn't think she can. She keeps moving forward, staggering on — bumping into people, trying to shove them out of her way. There's a ferociousness to her voice, but even Luna herself isn't sure if it's anger or desperation. ] Move, move—! Now—!

— ota

[ She goes on a full on rampage. There's little reason to her directions at first, simply tearing through the districts of Gaze and then Willful Machine. She's lost in a frenzy of herself, overcome with new sights and sounds and the wildness of herself. Something very raw and feral that careens into buildings and people with little thought.

Her focuses on others are random, for the most part — just whoever seems to get into her path. Those who know her well and have a good relationship might have a chance of stopping her in her tracks for a moment, but not for long. Soon enough the beast part of her takes over once more and she'll be escaping. Anyone she doesn't know well or isn't on friendlier terms will find themselves getting targeted. She'll be meeting them with sharp claws, sharp antlers, and wild blasts of accidental magic. The blasts can damage buildings, or set fire to them; she might shock or burn others who get too close. Best to stay out of her way.

After unleashing carnage around the populated areas of Trench and clashing against others in her path, Luna does eventually leave the city to move towards the quiet districts. She'll head towards the woods of Trenchwood, where it's less busy and there are less people about. She wants to get away from any Hunters and their sharp swords and deadly weapons. Despite all the anger, she is very much like a wild animal — she feels trapped by the buildings, aggravated by seeing people. She wants to be alone. Taking to the woods is a far better option for her, and just about everyone else, really.

She'll exist quietly out here, exploring and resting from her earlier fights, and will be very much placid if left alone. That's not to say she won't attack anyone who dares come near. She'll be tolerant of other beasts, if they're well behaved — and will share her space or latest kill of some poor hapless animal who came across her with them if they're in need of food. But if you're a person, odds are she'll be growling and snorting, her head lowering to brandish her antlers: back off. ]

☽ wildcard

[ something else in mind? i'm open to plotting! closed prompts available. contact @heolstor.plurk or heolstor#5725. plotting comment is here. ]

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[ The claws make contact, snarling in pain as she's struck. But she's quick to react to it — twisting herself around to fight back with sharp claws of her own. She tries batting the wolf away, teeth snapping.

And then she quickly leaps away, a short retreat before she throws herself back towards the wolf. Charging at full speed, antlers lowered to tackle. ]

[ It's easy enough how quickly people seem to scatter from her, good in some ways and vexxing in others. She doesn't want to be around people, around the noise — she wants to be far, far away. But the wild rage of Beasthood is a ferocious force and it drives her to chase and attack; the cover of darkness is a blessing.

There's a low grumbling sound as she stalks towards the boy and his small ensemble, sharp teeth of a yawning maw glinting from the dull green of the endless night. And suddenly before she can do much else, the giant bird swoops in for her. Luna snaps up, trying to attack the Omen, but it's no more than a distraction as the boy makes a run for it.

He gets a good enough head start. The realisation that the bird is only holding her back soon comes and she catches sight of the boy fleeing and with a echoing roar, starts to give chase after him. ]

[ The silence is nice, nothing but the steady roar of the ocean — the sound of the waves lapping at the sands. The fresh chill of the sea breeze is soothing, despite the slight sting of it on her cheeks.

She sees Usagi in the corner of her vision, but her eyes remain towards the horizon where the water meets the air. She doesn't tell her to go, though. Her sitting down is fine with Luna. And for a long time she's content for the two of them to sit like that.

Finally though, Luna does bring herself to speak — her voice is soft. ]

John is gone. [ There's a pause as she considers, then offers clarification: ] He went back to the ocean.

"What I happen to get involved with is none of your concern, Luz." Her tone is biting, despite how calmly she speaks. There's a blank look at then mention of hurting people and Luz's suggestion of changing the people she's cursed or hexed back. Why in Merlin's name would she go and do that? She has no intention of putting things right again.

"... No." Luna shrugs like it's nothing. "I don't think I will, no."

But she's angry, it rises up quickly in her. Something cold and hollow. She has little patience for any of this. And she's not easy to reason with like this, either. Well, she did give Luz a chance to back off.

"I suppose this might be a bit more fun." And with that, she jabs her wand at a nearby building before pulling it downwards, in a motion like one might pull a rope. "Bombarda—!"

Part of the building's wall explodes, Luna manipulating the debris and aiming to bring it down upon the other witch. Might want to move, Luz. She'd find it disappointing for this to all be over so quickly.

Half of what's contained in this shop is a mystery to Wrench. Every book and every bottle is a lesson he foolishly thought they'd have more time to get around to. Long, frigid nights still on the horizon where he imagined himself sitting alongside John as the man explained a bit more of what he knew about magic. He knows now he's a fool to have ever let himself get complacent. How could he think their time was guaranteed after watching so many others he's loved disappear? Wrench purses his lips and watches Luna write faster, like there's a thought she doesn't want to risk leaving her mind before she gets it down.

He'll have to find someone else to teach him. Someone willing to let him into their mind, and someone he trusts enough to open up his to their perusal. Telepathy's an ironic power for a man like Wrench who's spent his whole life learning how to mitigate conversation, but it feels so invasive. The first time it happened with John, it had been a complete accident.

When she hands the notebook back, Wrench almost laughs at the words. His green eyes practically smile as he looks to the page and her and back again. It's your shop, not a halfway house for a grown man. You wouldn't be comfortable, would you?

[ There's no need for consideration when that call arrives. It's obvious how frantic Peter is, just judging by his tone, and if Luna is in trouble.. then of course they're going to be right there. It wouldn't even be the first time Ange and Ruby had faced down a beast together, after all. Sure, it's still a little scary, since it's not like their powers don't have limits, but..

If a friend needs help, what else are they going to do? They can't just ignore it.

So it doesn't take too long for Peter to find himself in the company of the two girls. It helps that it's not like they're just going to run over. No, instead of finding sudden footsteps approaching him, Peter will notice a sudden quick draft, a wind filled with red rose petals and golden butterflies that suddenly forms into the shapes of Ange and Ruby, suddenly standing there right next to him outside of the abandoned warehouse.

And when Ange looks over and sees Peter's current state.. the scratches and blood and dirt and tears - there's only one thing she can do. She knows that they need to hurry up and save Luna, but she can't resist just a second of dropping to her knees and wrapping the other up in a hug, just like Peter had done for her when she had felt at her lowest last month. It's not like Ange is embarrassed about public affection when she's in the company of just her girlfriend and one of her close friends of all people, after all.

She'll leave the first moment of talking up to Ruby, instead just focusing for a moment on holding the poor guy tight. Ange can only imagine how worried he must be about Luna, and how much he must have tried to help her himself, if he's already in this state by now. ]

"But-"

Luz saw that she was already readying her wand and had only just enough time. Luz grabbed her staff and before she could even give out a warning, Luna was already casting.

"Luna, stop this, it isn't you!"

Not that it MATTERED. Luckily for Luz, she had at least been practicing her glyphs and she threw down her ice glyphs, the solid ice around her protecting her from harm.

"Don't make me fight you Luna. I really REALLY don't want to!"

[Johnny wasn't too surprised that the bottle didn't make contact. He was very aware that people here were capable of a whole lot of weird things that he wasn't. Still he got her a little wet so that was at least something?

The jinx completely knocks him off his feet but even though he's a little buzzed he's still quick to drop bring his hands down and catch himself before he completely falls. It's not as bad as when Maul kept him suspended in the air with his powers and he's very used to getting knocked on his ass. He can deal with this.

From there he's quick to get back on his feet and keeps moving toward the horned girl and- ...The freaking nerd who nearly drowned in quicksand? Oka. He's not too worried about that.]

"Finally grew some balls, huh kid? Guess you're ready for the next lesson." If Johnny can he's just going to keep striding right up toward toward Peter/Paimon. He'll bring up a fist throw a punch right toward his nose.

"Don't apologize. It shows weakness."

[Ruby didn't hesitate for an instant. The second Peter said that he needed help she had been ready to go to his side. He and Luna were some of her oldest friends here and she wasn't about to let either of them go through a situation like this without her full support. As a friend, as a Huntress, and to fulfill the promise she had made to Luna a few months ago she was here.

There was a hint of doubt and anxiety building up in her chest though. When she had to face down Dipper in a similar situation she hadn't been able to find a way to stop him, the only option she had found to prevent him from hurting Oscar and Mabel had been to kill him. She didn't want that to be the answer this time around... But- She hadn't really found any new options since then.

Unfortunately she didn't have time to dwell on that. They arrived on the scene in a flurry of butterflies and rose petals and Ruby watched as Ange moved to comfort Peter. It made her feel a tough lighter about the situation and she moved to put a hand on his shoulder to show what support she could. They could do a group hug once they had Luna back with them.

She let's that hand slide off his shoulders and she moves to give her mismatched eyes a chance to observe the area. She doesn't see any sign of Luna right away so she makes an effort to summon her omen. Minden the crow appears on her shoulder before taking off into the sky to see if it pick up any sign of Luna.

Once that's done she'll turn back to Peter.]

We're going to get her back, I promise.

Have you seen any of signs of her? Or is there anything you can tell us about the state she's in now?

[ perle shrieks angrily at the beast to return its attention, but once her intentions and limits are clear, she is nothing but an oversized ghost. the omen dissipates with something as easy as a slash, though she returns to form and quickly flaps after her boy like a bat in the night. she's coming, the omen speaks for falco to hear, but falco can't help but to wonder she?

a sleeper trapped in beasthood. he can't turn back now as he made it into the thicket of trees that stray from the streets. he had to take care of confetti, who was startled as is by the wild mix of auras, of fear and ferality, nowhere close to joy— he had to stop somewhere, and the first opening of a gnarled tree's roots and cracks in bark enough to fit his hand in, he slides to the base and scrapes his knees in the rush to secure the egg in the wrap he's slung in, fitting him inside. hushed, so hushed and quickly: ]

Stay there— Stay right there, I'll come back for you.

[ falco flings his messenger bag off his shoulders to stuff the hole closed, to keep the shrilling and crying confetti in, hoping to muffle his frightened and objecting chirps. he could hear the beast breathing his way, stalking fast and he may not have the chance to dash ahead of it any longer. the time perle had managed was spent on the ovoid ball of joy.

it was worth it, he thinks— so falco stumbles, pushes his weight off his scratched palms and the balls of his feet to run the other way, wait just a second to make sure the beast catches sight of him, before he does what his body could manage with distance and speed. not too much. ]

[ At first, Clarisse doesn't even recognize Luna—it's only when the Sleeper opens her mouth to try and warn people away that Clarisse's eyes go wide and she makes the connection. She pushes her way through the crowd to get to Luna and takes both of her shoulders. She can feel the heat pulsing off of Luna, a sickening feverish warmth that makes her want to wince and turn away, but she doesn't. She can't; it's Luna. Horrifying as this is, she can't abandon her. ]

Luna—Luna, hey, it's okay. It's me. You're okay. [ She isn't sure what to do, what to say, and defaults to talking to her friend like she's a sick kid or a feral dog. Soft, repetitive. ]

[She looks over to Luna and then back to the ocean and the horizon. She holds out her hand for Luna to take but doesn't insist. Luna can decide on everything, to be touched, to talk, to have Usagi near. She swallows, feeling a sense of sadness. John told her what he would be going back to, that this place was the only sort of heaven he knew.

Maybe he would be lucky enough to not return home. Maybe he was just getting to exist as a squid rather than the literal hell.

She took a deep breath.]

I'm sorry. [She said softly, soft enough it could be lost over the sounds of the waves.] I know he loved you very much. [She said, not sure if that was better or worse to hear.]

It really doesn't. [Willow acknowledges it with a quiet sigh. Trench sure hasn't been an easy place to live, and people they're close to returning to the ocean doesn't make it any easier.

She manages a faint hint of a smile at the memory of the first time she and John met.]

He, uh. Admitted he shouldn't have startled me, and complimented my aim. It was kind of hard not to be friends after that.

[The werewolf twists to try to avoid the beast's claws, but they manage to rake down her shoulder, and she yelps and whirls as the creature leaps away.

She turns again to face the beast, dropping her head as the creature charges. She leaps away to avoid the antlers - she's already seen how sharp and dangerous they are, and launches herself at the beast's haunches.]

( Peter had no doubts that Ruby and Ange would get there quickly, but the appearance happens so much sooner than he could've imagined. He's sure to have had a panicky reaction to the sound of thudding footsteps, but what comes instead is... swift and soft, and familiar. He's seen those rose petals and golden butterflies before. The boy looks up, wide-eyed, as his friends appear there before him.

He's just staring, weirdly at some kind of loss now that they're actually here. He doesn't know what to do. What to say. Where to go. (Of course he does know all of those things, but in the immediate moment he's just... shocked and horrified, and Peter's never been good at handling those things. He's almost numb for a long moment.)

Then Ange's hugging him. And Ruby's hand is on his shoulder. The gestures of comfort, the physical touch — it's exactly what he needed, even if he couldn't have known it. A feeling of security, the fact that he isn't alone.

Peter's wet-eyed and swallowing hard as he stares over Ange's shoulder, arms latching on to hug her back almost like a small child would. He hangs on, head tilting slightly up to watch Ruby's Omen as it takes to the skies, trying to hold it together. )

I've been f-following her for a while. Off and on for the past.... days, I think. ( He seems confused; he isn't sure how long it's been. Maybe even a week or so...? ) She seemed.... lost, just— tearing things up. But she didn't try to hurt me— she wouldn't do that—

( He stammers, eyes welling with fresh tears. Talking about it all out loud is... hard. He feels like he's going to break any second. )

She went off into the woods. I think Paimon's been with her for awhile, trying to protect her, but... I woke up and I—I don't know how to find her.

( A pause, and then he's crying openly now, with soft little whimpers. ) I'm scared the Hunters might get to her first.

[ Ange simply allows Peter to cling to her like that without any protest, considering the state he's in. Though thankfully - despite said state - he is at least still able to convey some pretty important information about the situation to them. So this situation has already been going on for a few days. It could work in their favour. Maybe it means that Luna is more tired at this point now - or it could actually mean that she's only been driven further and further into her beastly self, losing her humanity further.

She isn't quite sure which, and she isn't confident enough to guess which it might be until they've been able to see Luna in this state. ]

That just means we have to find her first. [ She simply says.

It's just like Ruby says, after all. They're going to get Luna back. After everything she discussed with Luna, and everything she discussed with Peter.. She can't let this end in any other way, no matter what they have to do for it. ]

Peter, do you think you could talk to her once we find her? If she doesn't hurt you, like you're saying, then.. a part of her must still recognize you. You're most likely the only one who could pull her back.

[ After directing that question at Peter, Ange's head turns. She's still holding the boy, but she's looking at Ruby now, silently mouthing 'found anything yet?' at the other girl. After all, she did spot Minden flying off from the corner of her eye. Ruby must be staying in touch with him right now about what he can see from a higher vantage point. ]

[ If anything, she's trying to get as far away from the streets as she can — she doesn't want to be around people. Unfortunately it does mean a rampage, not knowing what way to go to get clear of everyone. And there's too many getting in her way; distracting her — and she's not afraid to lash out to those who try to harm her.

Detangling herself from a mess of market stalls, snarling in frustration from her latest obstacle — she looks up to the sight of not one but two women, identical, making beelines for her.

(Maybe there's something deep down, a kind of recognition. But it's skewed by the wildness, the anger and rawness of beasthood. Made worse than what it is.)

Another hunter, another one to try and harm her. She roars, jaws opening almost in warning. She doesn't know which one to go for; both are a danger, both need to be killed, so she may be left alone. She'll just have to take them down one at a time. So, she makes a leap at one at random as the woman bolts towards her, claws reaching out to try and catch her. ]

[ She has little interest in the creature he carries. At least, not in this moment. It might be something to eat later, perhaps. When she's hungry — would it be edible? But generally there's not much of her attention spared to other creatures unless they're trying to fight her. No, she's far more interested in trying to get to the boy, who stops short as if to wait for her before legging it through the woods.

It doesn't take much to close the distance; what she might lack in size compared to other beasts, she makes up in swiftness. Darts through the trees with shuddering, clouding breaths into the air as she chases after the boy.

Once she's close enough, her head bows — sharp antlers lowering. With a final leap, she thrusts her head out and makes contact with fabric then flesh, piercing through soft skin and muscle with little effort before she lifts up, taking the boy off the ground as she skids to a stop.

With a roar, she holds the caught boy almost triumphantly. The air smells of flowers, overwhelmingly so — blood dripping down from her antlers. It takes a moment to realise something is wrong; something in her senses repulsed, angered. The boy is wrong, his blood is wrong. Something foul and rotten.

She shakes herself roughly, dislodging him from her antlers and discarding him — tossing him to the forest floor. There's another roar, teeth snapping together as she starts to draw near again — wary of his blood; kill the boy, kill the unnatural. ]

Unfortunately for Luz, no it doesn't matter what she says. She won't listen, and she certainly doesn't care if this is her not acting herself. Luna raises her wand again once the debris settles, pointing it at Luz.

"If you don't want to, then get out of my way." she offers, as if it's quite obvious what she should do. Luna's being more than reasonable offering her the out, others wouldn't get that.

"It's your choice."

[ Outside of Peter, she's rarely someone who'll reach out touch people. Luna's just not one for much physical contact, other when it calls for it. If it's needed. Her eyes flick down to Usagi's offer hand: no pressure, simply offered. She and Peter hold hands a great deal. There's something very safe in the gesture, despite how simple it is.

Very slowly, she takes Usagi's hand. Holds it gently, almost tentatively. But it's safe. ]

And yet he left. [ There's a bitterness in her voice, mixed amongst the grief. She lets that sentence hang in the air for a moment before continuing. ] It never does sound fair, does it? People leaving us even when they love us? Even if they might come back some day, somehow. It's still not fair.

[ It's not something she's unfamiliar with, people she loves leaving in one shape or another. ]

He was perhaps the closest thing I had to a father after I left my own one back in my own world. I just... hoped he might have stayed a little longer.

[ Charging isn't the best of tactics, throwing herself full throttle, almost blindly. While she misses the wolf, she ends up tackling into a bench on the pavement, smashing the entire thing with the force of herself. By the time she corrects herself, still shaking broken wood and metal shards, from her antlers — the wolf's already on her once more.

There's a roar of pain, still trying to recover from the charge. Tooth and claw attacking at her skin. She tries rolling her body away, mauling desperately back, but she can't quite get the wolf off of her — leaving her open for more bites and slashes.

Magic hums in the air, something quick and wild. With another roar, the magic explodes in the air like a sharp crackle, aimed at the wolf to shock her off of her. Get off. ]

I thought this was supposed to be home. [ She inhales softly, shaking her head. ] We chose to come here, I thought it might mean we'd stay.

[ She doesn't begrudge John or Herc choosing to leave, not at all. But it still hurts. ]

Complimenting your aim like that is very John of him. [ It's hard not to smile a little. ] He always does have a peculiar humour.

[ Or is it 'did'—? ]

There's plenty enough Luna doesn't know about herself. Magic as she is, the kind of magic from John's world is still very different to her own. She's still in the process of learning the more 'occult' kinds of magic. John had done a little of that process with her, but it's something she'll have to continue with.

It's hardly a question about her comfort or not, but she honestly doesn't mind the thought of the whole set up going on here. If Wrench has been here this whole time, then it's certainly been something of a peaceful situation—? He hasn't been any trouble, from what she can tell. Her brow furrows slightly in disagreement as she writes.

My shop now, but still your home. She turns the notebook to show him it before turning it back to write a little more. Her expression shifting into a quieter kind of grief, eyes blinking quickly to keep back the glossiness of them.

John wanted you to stay.

"So you stay." she taps the pen against the word 'stay'. If that's what John would want, then she's not going to kick the poor man out. She shakes the notebook in her hands once for emphasis. "Please."

[ It's a strange feeling, teetering over the edge. Whatever it is that rolls around inside of her is demanding to come out, and with that she feels she might topple down into the darkness. She doesn't feel like herself, like it might slip out of her grasp. But then there's hands on her shoulders, a soft voice. There's faint recognition there, something desperate in her gaze as two pupil-less eyes look up at the older girl. ]

You shouldn't— [ She bares her teeth, two sharp fangs. She shouldn't touch her, it's not safe. She tries to push Clarisse off, her voice ragged and raw. ] I'm not safe.

Knowing something implicitly is a far cry from seeing it spelled out in black and white. To read Luna's assessment of John's hope for him feels like a punch to the very center of his chest. For a second, Wrench scarcely feels like he can draw in a breath. The weight of it is too much to bear. For all they bickered and disagreed and fought, he knows John cared for him at least as much as he did for the man as well. And now it all feels for naught. Another person lost forever. Someone else destined only to live in his memories.

He's so tired of outlasting them all. Of the curse of being the one left standing when everyone else fades away. Wrench sucks in a hard breath and feels the moisture in the backs of his eyes swell past the reservoir and down his cheeks. With a huff of annoyance, he swipes them away and balls his hands into fists. It's too easy from there to raise one to his chest. I'm sorry, he signs, without quite knowing why. For the emotion he can hardly keep a handle on? For his mere presence in this place? For their shared loss of John?

Wrench gestures for the notebook and pen like he could hide his pained expression in a downward gaze at the page. Only as long as you say I can, he barters. I can help out. Whatever you need. Maybe not with all the magic stuff. He was teaching me, but I don't know much. I'm good with my hands, though.

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no end in sight

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that works! ❤ (also i figured i'd let neo get a lil bit of ass kicking in)

cw injuring via goring

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