110. [Action for NIGHTMARE EVENT, backdated]

[foolishwren]

The low moan of the wind was practically alive in these drafty stone corridors, and the sound of her boots on the floor seemed almost deafening.

And it was cold.

Those were a few of the many differences between this and the Otherworld, which had been cramped and often grotesquely warm, with her footfalls echoing only dully on the dusty (or sometimes meaty) floors.

It wasn't really a question of which she liked better, because frankly, she didn't like EITHER.

But the similarities were, weirdly, more comforting than the differences.

She stopped as a non-windy sound drifted towards her from down the hallway, her steadily-bouncing flashlight beam stilling.

That was something that was similar. The light by her collar (not in her pocket this time-- but close enough) and the knife in her hand and the familiar buzz of adrenaline to sharpen her senses and mind.

And the creatures, whose eyes were now visible, gleaming in the gloom ahead.

They were perhaps, the most familiar of all, even though it had been years since she'd seen a real one and not one of the magical creatures inhabiting her new home. Magical creatures that she, in fact, was LOOKING for now.

But these weren't Pokemon.

And they could be killed.

Her grip tightened on the knife and she started forward once again.


[OOC: This is a catch-all log for all the nighttime adventures Heather had in the Nightmare Castle, whether it's fighting monsters or finding her Pokemon. Open to all, feel free to start any scenario you want. Doesn't have to be connected to the prose above!]

Comments

[show_my_cannons]

"Yeah."

He kept on walking. His eyes focused on the far end of the hallway.

"You do not want to hear of it. I do not want to remember it."

But he would not be defeated by it.

[foolishwren]

She didn't move. She was too busy watching the flesh pulse and squish around him as he walked forward, as though it wasn't there-- which she had to assume that yes, it WASN'T, for him.

"... Nnno. No way. There was another hallway back there. Can't we go that way?!"

[show_my_cannons]

He stopped. About halfway down the hall, he simply stopped. A wire spat out fat white sparks beside his head, and he twitched it away, staring at the far door.

Slowly, he glanced back at her.

"Who is to say this will not follow? Hm? Or that the next hall will not be something worse?"

[foolishwren]

She stood at the threshold, staring at him grimly. She was trying not to look at the faces in the walls.

"And who's to say THIS one leads anywhere good?!"

[show_my_cannons]

"No one."

He shrugged. He kept on walking, determined to put one foot in front of the other, as if stopping would mean having to face the corpses decorating the walls.

"But I have come this far. I will not allow a hallway to stop me."

[foolishwren]

The urge to stamp her feet and shout BUT IRONHIDE was almost overwhelming.

"... WELL, I'm not going down this one! I- ... I'll find another way around!"

[show_my_cannons]

"Alone?"

He stared at her, surprised. No, it wasn't that he doubted her. More, he didn't think she'd be foolish enough to wander this place alone.

[foolishwren]

"Yeah."

Like the good ol' days.

[show_my_cannons]

He stares at her for a second. Something flashes in his eye -- hurt, maybe. Anger? Something.

Then he shrugs, turning back around.

"That is your decision."

[foolishwren]

She can feel thickness rising in her throat when she catches that look in his eye... but he's already turning around.

So she takes a step back.

"... I'll... see you later, then."

Because no matter what horrors she's grown used to facing... she can't walk down a hallway where Claudia's face is peering dolefully out of the walls at her, mouth shaking and pale eyes brimming with anguished tears.