isawallflower | RYSLIG; ic inbox

[ The moment the broodmother dies, Steve awakens on the opposite side of Bavan, behind a bar he's never seen before, his clothing beyond filthy, torn where a pair of bug-like limbs are in the process of falling off of him like scabs. The last thing he remembers with much clarity is Riley. How her face had looked before he was blinded by the headlights.

His "friend" had kept him pretty heavily sedated after that stunt of his. He knows that wasn't the end of that thing's joyride in his body, but his mind can't hold onto anything else, like the details of a fast fading dream—or in this case, a nightmare.

He's left with no sense of how much time has passed.

No one seems interested in giving him a ride, nor does he blame them. Even if the city hadn't just been attacked by body-snatching squids, he looks like he smells to high heavens. And does, probably. It takes him the better half of a day to stagger back to the apartment block, exhausted, yet still going with a singular purpose in mind.

When he gets to 808, he very nearly bangs on the door in his haste. Then, he remembers that's probably not a scare she needs right now.

A soft knock comes instead. ]

Riles, it's me-

[ He knows there's nothing he could say that won't sound suspicious. She might not even be in her apartment right now, but he just keeps talking, his tone practically begging for her to be there, safe. ]

It's really me, honest to god. I think it's over—all of that stuff that was growing out of me shriveled up.

[ To back up his claim, he starts stripping off his shirt in front of the peephole. He heavily favors his left arm as he does it, but following a short struggle, it comes off. Just like his face, his torso is a warzone of dark bruising, but there are no bulges, no thick, squirming veins that aren't veins, just russet speckles and patches of fur. ]

You don't have to open the door. Just talk to me, let me hear your voice. I need to know you're okay.

Edited 2021-05-25 21:27 (UTC)

[ Riley came back to life just before midnight the day before. For the whole of that following day, she sat on her couch where she'd woken up and not moved once. She just stayed there, quietly trying to breathe. Quietly trying to go over every single thing in her life, just in case.

Just in case.

It doesn't matter if, when Steve knocks, it's thundering or a gentle tap. It's some of the first noise Riley's heard and acknowledged in that whole day. She jumps, knocking her knee against the table in front of the soft.

At first, she doesn't process what he's saying, just that it's Steve—or, it sounds like Steve. He sounds so desperate. That was her weakness, how the hydra almost got her before. Riley doesn't say anything at first, just lets him talk. She doesn't move, either. In fact, it's Maple who trots over to the door, trying and failing to stick his paw under the door to say hello. Her poor cat had been accidentally shut in the closet, only wriggling his way out after everything had...calmed down. Therefore, he's desperate to play.

Riley doesn't want to respond. She doesn't want to do anything. But she remembers the sight of Steve's crumpled body in the rear view window. She hasn't been able to get it out of her head, actually. Just that and the repeated fear that she killed him.

Before she realizes it, she's the one in front of the door, moving Maple away with her foot. Though it would be smart, she doesn't look through the peephole. She just pulls it open to see his beaten form, knowing instantly two things:

1) He looks like this because of her, because she drove into him
2) His injuries aren't healed, like hers were, so he didn't die

For a moment she just stares at him, eyes wide. Riley looks, more or less, fine. Her feathers are disheveled and puffy, and her face is pale. But she doesn't look injured. The only real notable difference is how a scar runs around her neck, the plumage around it undergrown. Something that wasn't there before.

And then she stumbles forward and throws her arms around him, with unfortunately little regard for his injuries. ]

You're okay— [ She cries into his shoulder. ] You're okay, I thought— oh m-my god, I thought—

[ The only light around them comes from the hallway. Her apartment, despite the late hour, is absolutely and completely dark. ]

Edited 2021-05-26 05:20 (UTC)

[ The sudden embrace very nearly knocks him over. His need to see her is the only thing that's been keeping him standing. Now, her grip is threatening to break even more of his ribs, but he's glad, so glad to be held, even so. He pets the back of her crying head, then goes on to wrap his one good arm around her, his eyes sealing shut to relieve the burning sensation in them as he rocks her by the shoulders. ]

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you had to- It would have kept chasing you-

[ It turns out that monsters are incredibly sturdy. He hadn't been counting on being able to walk after the van struck, or even on surviving. He'd only prayed that whatever happened he wouldn't have to watch himself eviscerate her. That creature's thoughts were flashing red. Hellish shrilling, no words. Just visions of Riley in various states of dismemberment, which had told him all he needed to know about what it was going to do if it had caught her.

He's still trying to fight that imagery off, hugging her back with all of his sapped strength as he rambles on and on, despite his busted voice, how hoarse it is: ]

It was the only thing you could have done, Riley. That you're here now— that you're okay, that's all that matters to me.

[ He hasn't thought about what the rugged gap in her neck feathers might mean; that, and that she was alone in a darkened apartment are details that fell by the wayside the moment she appeared in front of him, seemingly in one piece. ]

[ Maybe it should've kept chasing you— no, god, then Steve would've... Steve would've heard too. The very thought makes her breath catch and her grip tighten, despite the fact that he looks like one huge bruise.

And still, she shakes her head with a sob. ] N-n- no, I- it sti- still, it. I...!

[ She can't bring herself to say it. That still, after all that...it was for nothing. But she can't keep it from him. Just him being here's breaking down all her walls, when before she wanted nothing more than to stay still as a statue forever.

At that moment, something furry brushes against her leg and curls around Steve's. She twitches, jerking away for a moment— before seeing Maple, who is just so elated to see someone else. He doesn't even try to run, simply weaves about, trying to squeeze between them. Steve always smells like so many other animals— unacceptable, of course, so Maple must fix that. ]

[ He can't stop himself from groaning when her grip tightens around him, but he quickly tries to smooth it over with more sweet murmurings. It's okay. It's okay. It's really okay. Whatever she wants to tell him, it can wait until she's calmed down. She might not even feel the need to say it at that point, honestly, because it's okay. It's okay. His mantra continues until the movement by his ankle snaps him out of it.

Steve flinches worse than Riley does, imagining the faint brush of tendrils from the morning all of this started. However, after a proper look downward, he smiles. ]

Hey, brat. Happy to see you, too.

[ There's no way he'll be able to bend over to give the cat a proper petting. Steve's solution to this conundrum is to lift his foot to try and rub Maple's side with it, but that turns out to be a mistake when he stumbles almost immediately. ]

I need to... sit down, I think.

[ Riley jumping at something like that? Normal, completely understandable. But Steve? ...This whole thing really fucked him up, didn't it? She wishes she could've ripped that hydra out of him. She wishes she could've skewered it with her claws and made it scream.

That thought, though, it reminds her of her own hydra, screaming as Mukuro had—

Steve stumbles, and Riley, face pale, immediately goes to catch him. It's only now that she realizes her tight grip may not be helping. She mutters a quick apology; his weight's a bit much for her right now, because everything a bit much for her right now, but she already hurt him so much. ]

Yeah. Okay, of c- course, c'mon. [ Her voice still shakes with tears, and she can't get her words as smooth as she'd like them. But she can at least help him inside, into her dark apartment. Thankfully, Maple is hungry for affection, so he follows without much trouble. ] ...S- sorry, it's...a bit, um...messy.

[ A last burst of molted feathers litter the floor, but what she's probably talking about are the scratch marks of varying sizes on the floor. She hasn't even begun to think of how to get those taken care of. Thankfully any furniture that'd been knocked over in the fight's been set right, thankfully the sofa she leads him to didn't take much more wear and tear from that day, even if it's right next to the flurry of scratches her talons made when she tried to futilely free herself from the other Yugi's grasp. ]

[ A rectangular swathe of light guides the way into the otherwise pitch black apartment.

She must've been resting before. That sounds so good right now, rest. His strength is giving out so fast now that he's where he wanted to be, with Riley. And from their slow, awkward trek inside, he can tell that her energy levels also aren't what they should be, when she's been able to carry him just fine before.

He keeps his eyes on the floor, trying to watch his feet so he doesn't trip over anything and wind up waylaid on the ground. He notices some of them as he does, the scratches. These are far enough apart that they could plausibly be accidents. Not fucking up everything you touch when knives grow out of your hands and feet is a whole learning curve.

At last, he settles onto the couch, sagging heavily into one corner of it. Steve's good arm pats the empty cushion next to him, beckoning for Riley or Maple or both of them to sit with him for a while. It's as he's trying to spy the cat that he catches sight of the largest cluster of scratches, the deep grooves shining bright white with captured light from the hallway. ]

Riley, what happened in here?

Edited 2021-06-01 21:03 (UTC)

[ Riley tries to push the door closed with one foot, but she only succeeds in sending it off in a slow creak. As such, once she gets Steve to the couch, she immediately turns back to get it and she stills with a flinch. ]

Uh. Well. You, um... You weren't the only person. Who had one of those things inside you. [ Her gaze travels from him. All that, all her attempts to escape, all the harm she did to him. It was all for nothing. She hurt him for nothing. ] It— ...I wasn't as lucky that time.

No- no, no, no...

[ All of a sudden he can hear those lines in the floorboards as he's looking at them, the frantic squealing from when her claws made them. There had been someone—someone the thing in him had reacted to differently whenever he passed them in the hall.

It's only now that he's realizing what that meant.

Steve tries to spring back up, coming very close to taking a tumble as one of his knees almost immediately buckles underneath him. ]

Let's go somewhere else.

[ They can't stay here, right where it happened. ]

[ Before Steve can fall, Riley hurries over, but in her current state he almost spills right out of her arms, before she hooks one around his back. Still, it trembles from the exertion. Everyone told her about the memories, but no one said she'd feel this weak. ]

It's- it's okay. [ She tries to reassure him but she grunts. Against her own will, she flops onto the couch next to him as she loses her grip. ] Bedroom's kinda...messed up, and— I don't- really think I can- can move you anywhere else, right now.

[ Riley's scramble to catch Steve's shaky collection of body parts means he manages to go precisely nowhere. He falls against the backrest after the brief period of exertion, panting shallowly. ]

My apartment's down the hall, remember...

[ Yet, he makes no further attempt to move. He just sits there, blinking slowly as he waits for his eyes to adjust to the half-dark. ]

You wouldn't have to... look at that. You wouldn't have to see anything like that, period. [ His neck animates clumsily, picking up his head and dropping it again once it's faced in her direction. ] Work was... where it got me.

Edited 2021-06-04 21:21 (UTC)

[ It's instinct instead of active choice to cup Steve's cheek, so she can try and support his head. Like him, she also doesn't try to move. ]

I've lived with worse. [ Riley murmurs it without thinking. Hopefully he'll just think she means her family.

At that moment, Maple jumps up next to them, rubbing up against Steve's side. ] Was it, um...was it one of...the animals?

[ Riley probably means to reassure him that she's tough enough to handle it. But, Steve stares back at her silhouetted face with so much sympathy, her words bringing all of the bad memories this apartment's already accumulated into focus.

That malformed monster shut inside of here, shouting tirelessly. ]

Not one of ours... [ His head attempts a shake that would be a lot more listless without her hand there to support it. ] Somebody dropped off a stray that looked sick. I found out why the hard way when I got in the van to take it to the vet.

[ Hopefully, Steve's eyes haven't quite adjusted; his soft gaze just makes her look away and try to shift, so she can support him better. ]

How long was it... [ Riley shivers involuntarily, remembering the sight of it bulging under his skin. ] God- when you...dropped me off, was it already there?

[ His lips firm up, not quite wanting to answer, though she might be able to wager a ballpark guess from the look in his eyes. That creature was there when she got out of the car the first time. It was there the day before, when she'd checked in to see whether he still had an opening to give her a ride. It had been there even before that, when they'd had a perfectly cheerful conversation while walking into the 38-8 lobby.

When she asked about the animals, he'd just wanted to clarify. With this question, he realizes. It's just going to lead to another, isn't it? And another. ]

None of this is going to make you feel any better, Riley.

[ Riley wants to fight back the shiver that look inspires.

She can't. ]

Nothing is going to make me feel any better. [ Not after all this. She looks pale and a little haunted. ] I just- I just wanted to know what was...actually you.

[ And she has a right to know.

Christ, there's only one thing she could have said to make him tell her, and it was that. Maple finally gets some attention, Steve's fingers curling weakly into his fur. Another thing to ground him while he searches the haze of last week for the de facto truth. ]

Monday, it was a Monday. If I looked at a calendar, I could tell you for sure... but I think it was the tenth.

[ When it happened is easier to remember than all the time in the middle. But now he's also been reminded of the one simple thing he still hasn't been able to grasp. ]

What day is it now?

[ Over a week. He was like that for over a week before she even knew.

Riley feels like that thing's crawling over her all over again. ]

Oh my... It- ...it was, uhm... It was the 21st, when I last— [ was alive. No. No, no, she can't tell him that. ] That I...last remember. But, it's later now. Maybe the 23rd?

[ It's still dark out, so it's hard to tell. She tries to play back the hours but— but she wasn't keeping track, after she woke up in a weak body, gasping for air despite the sound of teeth crunching her spine echoing fresh in her ears.

She's trembling. ]

[ Thirteen days.

In thirteen days, how many people did it lure to that construction site, or places like it? How many whose faces he can't even remember are there out there now, having bad dreams of his? And is it awful that all of that matters less to him than Riley the moment, the second she mentions a similar loss of time?

Three for her.

It's not thirteen, but it's not a relief, either. Three's enough that she's shaking. ]

Come here.

[ He raises his arm to the best of his ability, placing his hand on her shoulder like in January, like in February—like. Similar, but not quite the same. Even though he's half-dead, the way he does it is much surer, which is saying something when he's never been a less than confident person.

The difference between then and now is he's free of any niggling doubt that he's somebody she wants comfort from. ]

There's only one thing I'm good for right now, and I'm gonna do it.

[ A little shake of her head, as her neck stretches out in surprise—that little bird thing. It highlights the scar on her neck. ]

St- Steve, no, you're hurt. [ Is it painful for him to move his arm? Is it hurting him, to comfort her? She scoots closer, so they're on the same couch cushion, if only so he doesn't have to stretch. ] I'm— I'm f-fine, I'll be fine, you're the one who's...

You're shaking. I can manage, so please... [ Before he knows it his hand is brushing over that scar that's both distinct and not at all in the half light.

What is that?

He doesn't press hard on the off chance that it's a wound. ]

This isn't from molting.

Edited 2021-06-13 07:05 (UTC)

[ Her eyes widen, every so slightly. It's a little pointless to try and hide it, isn't it? ]

It's nothing. [ Yet, her voice shakes. ] It's not... It doesn't hurt.

[ He continues to follow the striation off to side one side, feeling his chest tighten as his fingertips keep finding more. ]

Your arm didn't scar after you broke it. The burns didn't, either. But this... Riley, this goes all the way across...

[ As he runs his hand across her neck, he may be able to feel it, her pulse pounding, pounding, pounding. ]

It- it was- it was a worse, um... [ Looking at him, she can't lie. But telling the truth may hurt him more. Her lower lip quivers. ] It's from... It's from revival.

[ That's what he thought she'd say.

He's only seen a monster with fresh scars once before. They were in the middle of an intersection in the dead of night, soaked from head to toe because they'd just finished fishing themselves out of a canal. The one their body had been dumped in.

He doesn't panic. He doesn't do much of anything at all, but that's mostly due to the numbness that washes over him. His hand is still wavering on her neck, where it stays paused for some time until, eventually, he reaches around it and tries to pull her toward him by the nape. ]

I'm sorry.

[ If it hurt. If she was afraid. If she's still hurting and afraid. ]

I'm sorry.

[ The words feel like choking does. ]

Edited (world's latest typo correction) 2021-06-22 20:08 (UTC)

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Post "The Strain"

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cw: car accidents, suicidal ideation

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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CHEERYCHERRY. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 019.46.820.17 * CHEERYCHERRY has joined 019.46.820.17 <CHEERYCHERRY> It's Riley! <CHEERYCHERRY> Please leave a message! <CHEERYCHERRY>** Please be someone with their priorities sorted out properly!