idolpro | Shrike's Heart (#4)

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!heart games

Shrike's Heart (#4)

The woman before you is beautiful—fair of features, with lovely golden skin and luxurious long black hair, petite. You have the immediate and distinct impression that she's just let go of your hand, and she steps back, and smiles.

It's not quite a happy smile.

"I'm sorry," she says. "There's just nothing I can do, as things are. But the way is there; it just needs to be lit."

You open your mouth—maybe to say something, or to express confusion—but you have to cough, and taste something metallic, spattering black blood onto the ground in front of you. Then you realize—blood seeps from opening wounds in your arms, your chest, your stomach, your face. It rims your eyes and trails from your nose and you feel like you're dissolving—

—and you fall through the ground like it's the surface of a lake, and go down, down, down.

> Wake Up

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[that is definitely a bit more audible, though still soft, cry of pain. the nickname had hurt, but the full name is uncomfortably heavy weight, and his slight body is unconsciously tensed as if waiting for the aftershock of something that should-but-won't-come.]

I...ah...know a little. [a little is...better than nothing, isn't it, even though his first instinct is for mercy, the mercy of infinite silence, of crossing the river, of the next life-

(do not accept mercy).

and he stumbles forward a few steps, slight and trembling.]

Please don't... please, cannot use my name.

[ she's already running to him, hands gentle but firm at his shoulders, supporting him ]

Gods, of course, they must have taken it from you, too.
I will... just have to find something new, then. Something the producers never chose.

[ a pause, and she turns back to G̵͢r̶̡i̡͟ff̧̢͘͞i̢͜͠ņ̛́ ]

Per— my son can likely aid him, but... not that mercy... but we should try to bring him to the town. They may have supplies—bandages.

The, uh, town's fucked.

[Addressing the man, a little softer but still way too blunt,]

And I hate t'be the one to break it to you, but your brother's gone.

[ he—recoils, a little, in disbelief. ]

No, I can't, he—

[ he's interrupted by breaking into a fit of coughing.

Persephone, you've seen this before, haven't you? But it didn't happen exactly like this. ]

Ma said to save him.

I, ah, gave it...

And, ah, not for the first time.

[almost, almost, almost reaches for the knife hidden in the layers and layers of his skirts. it's a very near thing, before he closes his eyes tightly.

he has seen this before. he has. he knows how it ended, at least the time he saw, and instead starts tearing strips from one of his petticoats to use as bandages.]

Edited 2020-02-22 03:57 (UTC)

[ A̶̴m҉͝a̧̧͘͢r̨̨͟͞a͢n̵̨͢t̢̨́h̨́҉ kneels beside him, brushing his damp hair away from his forehead. ]

I am sorry.

[ she lets it hang in the air a moment ] The fighting is past. Please let us bring you both back to the village, where we may yet find supplies to see to you.

...And to honor your brother.

[ he breaks into a quiet sob, that occasionally gives way to coughing again; blood spatters from his mouth, a dark red. there's a sort of whistling noise when he makes noise; there might be something wrong with his lungs. ]

[Hmm. Well, he has no skills that are applicable here, neither in aid or in soothing, so.]

I'm gonna go on ahead and look for anything that might help in town. Before it burns down or gets looted.

[ she nods to Griffin ] We will be following close behind.

[ back to the Totally Fine It's Fine young man; carefully, gently- ] ....Does your village have a Prince of the Earth with knowledge of healing?

[checks for any kind of obvious wounds. while he's doing that, will probably softly, gently, start singing. both to try to calm the young man and to...help his brother rest, help his brother find his way to Lethe.

there's no power in his voice, not like there was in his memories, but all the masterful skill bent to this task.

...definitely a lot more skill than his first aid, really. but at least he's studied some on that.]

[ You must pay ONE WILLPOWER for doing first aid, because the neverborn are just like this,

but you're decent at first aid, and calming. the man's sobs eventually peter out, and his breathing becomes less panicked. there's what looks like an arrow wound on his chest, which you bandage carefully to staunch the bleeding. he does eventually answer, blearily: ]

No, none... none of the Princes of the Earth come here. Not for a long time.

Edited 2020-02-22 04:17 (UTC)

[ Eclipse is watching, not saying anything just yet since he doesn't want to interrupt. How bad are the man's injuries? ]

[ She notes her son's progress with approval and relief—her time away from (...avoiding) John's class has left her own knowledge deteriorated. ]

Your wounds are grave; one of the Chosen would have been the simplest solution. But my son is trained in field medicine.

Whose forces attacked your town?

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