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[ Her head is throbbing.
She doesn't know how long it's been since she's slept properly. A few days, maybe. She's been making do with a few snatches of slumber here and there. Never longer than an hour or two before she's jolted awake again with the feeling of molten flame and blood on her face and her teeth. She's been trying to tell herself that none of it means anything, that being shown these dreams or visions or whatever it is won't make any change – but she knows that's a lie. Like a bud waiting to unfurl, she can feel the promise of something monstrous just waiting to come loose and that the motive has prodded and pushed it into focus now of all times was an inevitability. She only has so much time, after all, until she has to pay back her debts.
She's swaying a little on her feet as she makes her way upstairs from the dorm. Exhausted as she is, she feels an odd sense of purpose and clarity nevertheless. Even a bit of bemusement, as she comes to the potions room, as to just who she's seeking out in her moment of need. ]
... Hubert.
[ Of course he's here. Bryn's relieved that he'd lived up to her expectations. ]
I... need your help.
She doesn't know how long it's been since she's slept properly. A few days, maybe. She's been making do with a few snatches of slumber here and there. Never longer than an hour or two before she's jolted awake again with the feeling of molten flame and blood on her face and her teeth. She's been trying to tell herself that none of it means anything, that being shown these dreams or visions or whatever it is won't make any change – but she knows that's a lie. Like a bud waiting to unfurl, she can feel the promise of something monstrous just waiting to come loose and that the motive has prodded and pushed it into focus now of all times was an inevitability. She only has so much time, after all, until she has to pay back her debts.
She's swaying a little on her feet as she makes her way upstairs from the dorm. Exhausted as she is, she feels an odd sense of purpose and clarity nevertheless. Even a bit of bemusement, as she comes to the potions room, as to just who she's seeking out in her moment of need. ]
... Hubert.
[ Of course he's here. Bryn's relieved that he'd lived up to her expectations. ]
I... need your help.
[His current project was finished earlier in the day, tucked away and safe. So his time in the Potion Room was, if anything, just to give his mind something to do while sleep was impossible. Not that he slept often anyway.
When he sees her he startles slightly- the end of the week is here, being out was a risk. But by now he can't make himself distrust Bryn specifically]
... you look wretched. Come, sit.
When he sees her he startles slightly- the end of the week is here, being out was a risk. But by now he can't make himself distrust Bryn specifically]
... you look wretched. Come, sit.
I feel wretched.
[ She grumbles it more to herself than him as she wobbles over, steadying herself on the counter and chairs as she goes until she finally settles herself beside Hubert. She has to lean heavily on the worktable even as she sits, not fully trusting her body to hold her upright. ]
I'd hoped... this was something I could handle on my own, but I think...
[ Her voice wobbles a bit. Cracks. When she continues, it's higher and softer in a way that makes Bryn seem a little softer too. Younger, even. ]
I think... something is very wrong with me.
[ She grumbles it more to herself than him as she wobbles over, steadying herself on the counter and chairs as she goes until she finally settles herself beside Hubert. She has to lean heavily on the worktable even as she sits, not fully trusting her body to hold her upright. ]
I'd hoped... this was something I could handle on my own, but I think...
[ Her voice wobbles a bit. Cracks. When she continues, it's higher and softer in a way that makes Bryn seem a little softer too. Younger, even. ]
I think... something is very wrong with me.
More than the usual?
[Said with no malice, his eye narrowing in concern.]
Your balance seems off. Are you feeling dizzy? Weakness?
[he turns to face her, his tone not dissimilar to when he examined someone else all those weeks ago]
[Said with no malice, his eye narrowing in concern.]
Your balance seems off. Are you feeling dizzy? Weakness?
[he turns to face her, his tone not dissimilar to when he examined someone else all those weeks ago]
Yes. All of it. Which I think is... well, I haven't been sleeping. Not much. [ Not that any of them can, with things being as they are. ] But that isn't it.
[ She pulls in a shaky breath and drops her gaze from Hubert's face to her hands, scrunched into fists in her lap. ]
Do you... remember what I said at the séance, a few weeks ago? Someone worried about the possibility of hostile intervention and I said...
[ Another deep, deep breath. ]
"What's one more loose soul in here?".
[ She pulls in a shaky breath and drops her gaze from Hubert's face to her hands, scrunched into fists in her lap. ]
Do you... remember what I said at the séance, a few weeks ago? Someone worried about the possibility of hostile intervention and I said...
[ Another deep, deep breath. ]
"What's one more loose soul in here?".
[Worry blooms even more overtly on his face]
... is this a Calamity situation?
[Depend on Bert to get on the thought train right away]
... is this a Calamity situation?
[Depend on Bert to get on the thought train right away]
Mm.
[ Even that monosyllabic response sounds almost ashamed of the admission. ]
His name is Wagner. But I... was always to call him "Teacher". I don't hear him as strongly as Olive must have heard Calamity, but... all this week, he's been getting louder and louder. I'm...
[ Pause. Swallow. ]
I can barely hear myself think anymore. And I... I don't think any of you would want to be around when he manages to drown me out.
[ Even that monosyllabic response sounds almost ashamed of the admission. ]
His name is Wagner. But I... was always to call him "Teacher". I don't hear him as strongly as Olive must have heard Calamity, but... all this week, he's been getting louder and louder. I'm...
[ Pause. Swallow. ]
I can barely hear myself think anymore. And I... I don't think any of you would want to be around when he manages to drown me out.
[Dread fills his chest, and he swallows heavily. But eventually he nods]
Do wish for me to... take care of the problem?
[His tone makes it clear he means ending her life]
Is there anything else that can be done?
Do wish for me to... take care of the problem?
[His tone makes it clear he means ending her life]
Is there anything else that can be done?
No. [ She says it so quickly that she almost cuts him off and shakes her head. ] It would be... unfair, to you and the others. To make you... deal with the aftermath.
[ There would be a trial, after all. Even if Hubert... ensure he wasn't around to see it, their remaining companions would be the ones who would need to clean up the mess. And she didn't trust Heisenberg or the Patron to make the process pleasant for any of them. ]
I was hoping there might be a way to... dampen the connection, if not sever it outright. Just to give him less sway over me. And what I might do.
[ There would be a trial, after all. Even if Hubert... ensure he wasn't around to see it, their remaining companions would be the ones who would need to clean up the mess. And she didn't trust Heisenberg or the Patron to make the process pleasant for any of them. ]
I was hoping there might be a way to... dampen the connection, if not sever it outright. Just to give him less sway over me. And what I might do.
[He can't blame her for this: it would be messy no matter how careful he was]
I see. Well, I can make an attempt. Do you have any idea where or how the connection was formed?
I see. Well, I can make an attempt. Do you have any idea where or how the connection was formed?
I...
[ She has a look on her face that makes it very clear she knows exactly – or has a strong suspicion – what the right answer here might be. But it's unpleasant enough that she can't bring herself to say it outright. ]
When we formed our Pact... that was when the flower in my eye bloomed.
[ She has a look on her face that makes it very clear she knows exactly – or has a strong suspicion – what the right answer here might be. But it's unpleasant enough that she can't bring herself to say it outright. ]
When we formed our Pact... that was when the flower in my eye bloomed.
Ah...
[He frowns, pondering]
May I examine it?
[He frowns, pondering]
May I examine it?
Do not worry about me. Now stay very still.
[He leans in close, lightly touching the bloom with his gloved fingers. He lifts it with care to peer into the socket, bringing his other hand up to summon a tiny mote of light to see by]
[He leans in close, lightly touching the bloom with his gloved fingers. He lifts it with care to peer into the socket, bringing his other hand up to summon a tiny mote of light to see by]
[ It's a little grim to imagine the exact mechanics of a rose like this taking root and blooming in place of her eye. It fills the socket completely, rooted stubbornly deep and flush with her waterline. There's nothing left of the eyeball that surely must have been there once.
It doesn't seem like it hurts – or if it does, her pain tolerance is high enough to not vocalize it. It's clear from her stiff posture, though, that there's some measure of discomfort brought about by his examination. ]
It doesn't seem like it hurts – or if it does, her pain tolerance is high enough to not vocalize it. It's clear from her stiff posture, though, that there's some measure of discomfort brought about by his examination. ]
It is rooted quite deep. If it has breached your socket and into your other cavities that may be the cause of your symptoms.
[Sorry Bryn, he tilts her head back a bit and looks up her nose]
It has not spread into your sinuses so... it is possible it has spread into your cranium and put pressure on your brain.
[Sorry Bryn, he tilts her head back a bit and looks up her nose]
It has not spread into your sinuses so... it is possible it has spread into your cranium and put pressure on your brain.
[ Orthrus isn't someone who needs to sleep, but when you're an eternal being you come to appreciate it for different reasons. A way to past the time, something to make your endless existence slightly less insufferable. A way to briefly reunite with those you've lost.
But he's never liked nightmares. Ever since he had his first one all those millennia ago when it was still just him and Patroclus. And so he's taken to sleeping as little as possible this week, if even at all.
Tonight is yet another restless night when he just can't do it (never mind that the Friday pattern hasn't escaped his notice) and so he finds himself leaving the dorm and making it up instead up[ the tower. He ascends all the way to the top floor, harp under his arm, and makes himself comfortable in the solarium where he can see the stars. Then he starts to play, just to make the night pass faster.
Maybe it's stupid being up here this late. Or maybe he can prevent a tragedy. He doesn't know. But surely it's better than staying in that room right now. ]
But he's never liked nightmares. Ever since he had his first one all those millennia ago when it was still just him and Patroclus. And so he's taken to sleeping as little as possible this week, if even at all.
Tonight is yet another restless night when he just can't do it (never mind that the Friday pattern hasn't escaped his notice) and so he finds himself leaving the dorm and making it up instead up[ the tower. He ascends all the way to the top floor, harp under his arm, and makes himself comfortable in the solarium where he can see the stars. Then he starts to play, just to make the night pass faster.
Maybe it's stupid being up here this late. Or maybe he can prevent a tragedy. He doesn't know. But surely it's better than staying in that room right now. ]
Edited 2022-05-01 21:52 (UTC)
[Ironically enough, Somnus was having more than a little difficulty sleeping himself. His wayward roommate had long since left the Abjuration dorm, wandering the tower before eventually finding his way to the highest floor...eventually following the notes of a familiar harp.]
Orthrus?
Orthrus?
I am. I fear I have not been sleeping particularly well as of late, and decided it would be the best use of time to make some attempt at patrolling instead.
Likewise, as unfortunately ironic as I know that must sound.
[He sighed, shaking his head before coming over to sit down nearby.]
Fortunately, I have seen nothing out of the ordinary tonight.
[He sighed, shaking his head before coming over to sit down nearby.]
Fortunately, I have seen nothing out of the ordinary tonight.
[He answered in a vague hum of agreement, looking up to the stars past the ceiling.]
...We've seen more than enough death by now. I've grown immeasurably tired of it.
...We've seen more than enough death by now. I've grown immeasurably tired of it.
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