knifemonopoly | IC inbox

[Well, his heart's breaking. He's not sure what she's talking about at the start, but the rest of it, Atem understands completely, and it makes his chest ache. He starts to teleport, to make up more ground, leaving little rings of flashbang fire and then smoke in the sky behind him, like a sputtering rocket-engine.

There. In the moonlight, she almost looks like a ghost -- but, she's not, not yet.

Atem's wings furl, and he cuts his altitude sharply, slowing his descent about ten feet from the ground so blue-black hooves can lightly crunch against the dirt, in front of her.]

I heard you.

[He approaches on weird goat-shaped feet and crouches down, reaching out to put clawed and scaly hands on her shoulders.]

Ray, did somebody hurt you? Are they still here?

[He doesn't see any blood, and it didn't look like anyone else was here, but...if this isn't an attack, then why is she dying?]

Edited 2021-12-08 19:57 (UTC)

[There's a new sound to go along with her panting and the distant hints of life moving on without a thought for her. Her ears twitch as it registers, one angling towards it before she opens her eyes again in time to see the wings catch the air to bring him to a stop...and the one they were attached to. He was there. He really came. Her eyes, one the gold-tinged brown of a dog and the other her usual blue but with a hazed, red pupil, are watery from relief more than pain as she pushes herself up more against her better judgement. It brings a sharp stab in her gut and a wave of nausea that makes her whimper rough, bordering on a growl. She didn't need to be distracted by something so meaningless. Not when her prayers have been answered.]

Y-you're here, [she tells him with more than a little wonder. As if maybe he didn't know and he'd find this wonderful as she did. It takes another second for her brain to trudge through the various sensations and register what else he's said, but it's still faster as a werewolf than when she'd been a slime.] No... There's no one.

[Her bumpy palms find his arm to keep it steady, not wanting it to leave. He's warm, and though that numbness hasn't set in, the weather is more than enough to chill her in her tank top, shorts, and white hoodie. With how pristine the fabric is, it's even more clear that she isn't bleeding -- outwardly, anyway. She rests her fuzzy cheek on his hand, which makes a tear slip down onto his skin. It's like something so small had clouded her vision, because realization dawns on her again while she looks up at him.]

Oh. You're something else, too... Again...

[Clearly very important. A demon, maybe? Probably. That was one to have complicated feelings on, for her. Sort of like the weird mix of feelings now that was only making her more inclined to be sick. Gosh, he's really there. She can feel him and everything, even through all this. Another spike making her flinch and weakly try to curl her legs in like she can scramble away and make it all better again brings her out of the distracted daze.]

It hurts. It feels -- like what I think being stabbed must feel like. [She can hear the animal whine bleeding into her breathing now, which maybe isn't a surprise when it feels like something is being squeezed. Like she's one of her plush toys with a little squeaker inside.] My stomach... I don't know. But you're here. It -- it worked.

[As a nephilim, his priorities were rearranged, justice and goodness before feelings, and it made him callous. As a vampire, he was calculating tactical advantages; the best angle of approach, the way to get the most mechanical benefit in the shortest amount of time. As a vampire, he'd probably suggest taking her to the hospital right away.

As a demon, he turns the hand her cheek's resting on upward, to cup the side of her canine face. In a tone as solid and reassuring as the touch to her shoulders is:]

It worked.

[Batlike wings don't wrap around her, exactly, but they stretch out to either side and above, blocking out the wind. Her skin's cold, even with the fur...not the most worrying thing about Ray's current state, but something he can do something about.]

Would you like me to take you somewhere else? I can carry you...anywhere you like.

[If she chooses the clinic, that's fine. If she chooses somewhere else, that's okay, too.]

[A quick shiver runs through her to chase the wind's absence, but it's followed by a sigh and the slightest relaxing of her muscles. It was hard not to be tense when she was periodically feeling like something was cutting into her. His words, a confirmation of a confirmation, make her tail give a weak, single wag.]

...I don't know. It hhhuh -- hurts when I move. [Yet there she goes, trying to lean and worm her way in closer to him, weakly coughing and drooling even with the smallest of movements. There was that dizzying, floaty feeling, and she closes her eyes to keep her from feeling like she's slowly spinning out. She's safe with him.] But if it's you...it's fine. I just didn't -- want to be alone. I wanted...someone... That was always the m-most important. It's too scary...otherwise.

[Heedless of the drool and the possibility of her getting sick, Atem wraps arms around her shoulders properly and pulls her into a hug, one knee on the ground for stability. Between him running hot as a fire-type and wings to keep the wind away, it'll be much warmer. He'll hold her as close as she wants, making sure the Puzzle's out of the way, that its edges don't add any more pain to this.]

I know. It's really scary...

[He knows how scary it is.]

...but I won't leave. I promise. I'll be with you the whole time.

[He starts to pet the top of her head lightly, but it's more the movement of someone comforting a child than petting an animal. Atem remembers what had made him feel better, what kinds of things get him through his own deaths...]

You'll be okay when it's over, Ray. It's not going to hurt like this forever.

When you're better...let's do something fun, okay?

[She can't bring herself to voice her feelings when he should already know them -- how touched she is by his assurances and how grateful she is for his warmth and the physical show of care. He cares about her. He wants to be with her for this. He came for her because she asked, no promise needed. Her ears twitch as he rests his hand between them, almost startled, but it's more her body's instinctive response than something she's done. Since he's here, it doesn't surprise her at all. She's just drifting, only anchored now by his touch and sharp pains swelling with each breath. His question has her mouth moving to respond, but it takes a few tries to actually muster up the ability to get the words out.]

Okay, Atem. [Something fun... Her idea of fun wasn't always the most normal, but other than these moments of dying in each other's arms, her time with Atem has always been pretty fun. She's sure whatever it is will be fine.] It won't...take long. I should come back right...away... Will -- [Ray cuts off with a shuddered inhale and holds her breath. Don't throw up. That'd be no good at all.] W-will...you take my body to the -- the morgue? I should...n't make more work for Dr. Kitty, i-if...

[If she can help it. She's inconvenienced him so much already, and covering his duties on top of her own while he was away had only made up for some of that, she's pretty sure. She can't convey all those thoughts as she wheezes out another few coughs, but that's alright. It wasn't very pertinent to Atem anyway. He'll have to be thinking of fun things. God, it hurts. The little coughing fits aren't exactly making it easy to keep still, and the more she struggles with it the more her insides feel like they're torn apart, and the more that happens the more she feels pressure pooling in her abdomen. Was most of her blood there now? Like a tick. But she wasn't -- she wasn't a parasite here, not with him. There's nothing to be sorry for, this time.]

[Dr. Morgenstern.

Yes, Atem will do it. Of course he will! It might be awkward, if the manticore's in, and Atem can't get the body to him through the other people who work there, but it's a simple dying request compared to please bring my body back to Egypt and have the proper rites done to it.]

I will.

[He doesn't know it yet, but he's just good as bound himself to do it: in this form, Atem absolutely will not break an agreement or go back on his word. Contracts are serious.]

I'll bring your body in safely...it won't cause anyone any trouble. You'll be taken care of.

[A soft sigh escapes that she has to fight to get back, but fighting isn't so important anymore. She'll be safe and taken care of. She is safe and taken care of. The pitched keening is interrupted some by the sobs of a little girl, but there's a smile in her eyes as she tries to focus on him again. He seems so far away even though she can feel him right there, and it isn't until she tries to reach out to him again that she realizes at some point her arms had gone limp and fallen away.]

I'm h-happy...you're...

[She doesn't need to finish her sentence, probably, because he already knew, and surely even if she hadn't spoken at all he would have understood. Her words fade into panting, slow and strained until they become quick. A last bid for staying there a minute longer, because as much as she's accepted this, her body can't feel the same calm. It needs to keep her

eyes open

again as if from sleep, watching the ceiling for several moments to parse the haze in her brain from the fog that filled the air around her. It's Dyster. Molly is there at her side suddenly, surprised but pleased with her appearance since it doesn't know the reason why, and puzzling more over her new werewolf form than that, anyway. Ray can lift her arm again, so she indulges the probing critter with a few pets before she pushes herself up. The pain isn't there anymore, even if parts of her still feel dragged down. Drained of energy rather than blood.

Not too tired to go over to her desk to pull out a scrap of paper and a marker, of course. That's a priority! Confidently this time, Rachel draws the symbol again.]

Hi, Atem. I hope I didn't keep you waiting...though I'd like to think we can agree that I was the one more inconvenienced by this. Thank you for coming. My door to Dyster is actually on the way to La Forteresse, so I can meet you there?

[He can't answer, of course, but she gives a little wave at the eye -- that's how it works, right? She thinks so -- before putting a line through it and heading on out. They agreed to do something fun, so of course he'd agree to her proposal! How nice, to be able to see her very good boy so soon, and under better circumstances.]

Edited 2021-12-09 22:08 (UTC)

[He knows she's going to get better. He knows it won't be long.

Atem can't...say, for sure, whether that makes it easier or not. No one's died in his arms that he knows will be gone for good, so...there's nothing to compare it to, really.

The pain, though. He knows death hurts. Your body's not meant to shut down. There's warning systems in place, to tell you something's wrong, fix it, fix it, fix it even when there's nothing you can do...the whining's so helpless, and he's so helpless to do anything about it, besides gently touch the top of her head, hold her where she is, listen to her breathing turn fast as her body clings to life as his own chest feels terribly, terribly empty--

--and then she's gone. She's still warm, but she's gone. What is Ray Gardner isn't in this body anymore. It's flown away. He finishes her sentence for her--]

...here.

[Atem touches her eyes, and her mouth. He freed souls that way as a nephilim. As a demon, it's a little like that, only his hand goes down the open throat and pulls it out by force.

That doesn't happen here.

He's just gotten his arm hooked behind her knees and his other arm around her shoulders, pushing himself up onto his hooves when her second message comes in. Atem's head perks up, and so do his pointed ears, as though they might be able to hear her better if they reach.

Ah! She's back already...? She wasn't kidding...that was fast!

His wings unfurl, catching a few wingbeats of air, before his goat feet launch him forward, and he gets the air pressure difference he needs to take off from a run. La Forteresse...he'll bring her old self to the morgue there, then. Better get a move on -- Atem's all the way outside the city, and it won't do to keep Ray waiting, either!]

Edited 2021-12-11 02:42 (UTC)

[There are perks to following a god here, as much trouble as it can be, and nearly-instant resurrection is one of the ones Ray's been granted. Too bad she still feels pretty rough, having to stop to take breaks on her walk. Even then, she's making better time than she ever did as a slime, and it's wonderful to not wonder what she was just doing, since she's operating outside of her usual routine. She doesn't have to carry any notebooks or post-it notes with her. She can just think, and it makes her feel free to do that again. It also means that without those sharp pulses of pain, Ray can puzzle out what happened with a fair bit of confidence.

By the time she comes upon the prison, her odd but fulfilling workplace, the little werewolf is back to panting. Thank goodness she isn't having to run for her life these days...! It's good to know that dying makes you feel so awful even if you aren't immediately dunked into your monster type's weakness, though. She wasn't planning on it being a habit, especially with the value she put on her memories, but the more she knew, the better off she'd be in the future. She could prepare. That's just another little thing despite her tiredness to put her in a good, determined mood.

The main thing, the thing that gets her ears to perk up and her tail to give a minute wag of muted joy, is when she spots Atem again. That's her boy! Her boy that came for her! Her boy that was very warm, which was good because she doesn't actually have any other clothes besides what she's wearing, and they didn't magically become weather-appropriate with her return to life! She's eternally grateful to have her sweater back, at least... Note to self: borrow winter clothes from Reira or go shopping for outfits she couldn't use 95% of the time.]

Atem...! [She's just a pup happily trotting up on two legs to someone she likes. Hello! Oof, let her catch her breath again, wow breathing is kind of nice!]

[He's already passed her body off for processing by the time she arrives; Atem was sober and efficient about it. He still smells a little like the corpse she left behind, on his arms and his coat, but the smell is all that lingers -- any sadness left, any doubts and fears of not coming back and losing her brought on by witnessing something the mind isn't used to thinking of as anything but final, all burn up like fog under sunlight when she comes trotting up to him.]

Ray!

[As she comes up, the end of his tail lifts up in a happy little question-mark, like a cat's would. Atem's wings stay tucked neatly against his back, claws hooked over his shoulders, but his arms go out wide -- obviously offering a hug, if she'd like it. If you can't hug your very good friend after they've just come back from the dead, when can you?]

I'm glad to see you. You had me worried!

[Even with her eagerness greatly improved in comparison to when she's a slime, Ray looks dimly surprised when she realizes he's offering a hug. For her? Really? It might not make a ton of sense, but of course it makes her smile, and she steps closer to wrap her arms around him, too. That's the main reason it registers that he's just a little bit smaller than her, when they're like this. He was probably always short and she just never realized, blobbing around as she did. ...She likes this. She likes that he's small, the way her boy should be, even if he isn't nearly as young.

Also he's warm, so she isn't looking forward to letting go, even if this isn't actually solving the biggest problem of her legs being cold.]

Mm. Sorry about that. I'm glad you came for me...and that it worked. I was a little worried I wouldn't remember it right. [Tail cute... She can feel her own starting wag again as she watches it.] It's that memory that caused all this trouble in the first place, I think... It's much easier to think now.

[She's gotten taller! Impossible to miss, when it's a change, but he doesn't mind. Good for her! When the hug breaks, if she seems reluctant to let go, he'll rest hands on her upper arms. She really isn't dressed for the weather!]

That's right...what happened to you back there?

[He's not sure why she was dying in the first place...when it was happening, it wasn't the most important thing to ask, but now that things have calmed down, it does matter to know.]

You said it wasn't an attack...

[She gives a soft, content hum as his hands stay on her arms. Toasty... And she applauds his priorities -- it only made sense this way, and she'd needed his attention more than him trying to solve the mystery.]

No. It was an act of self defense. [She pauses, a little for drama but mostly just because she doesn't tend to speak very fast, even when she isn't a slime.] I have two possessions I always keep on me. My clock Dad gave to me...and a glass knife, just in case I get into trouble that gets around a slime's near-invulnerability. It's practically invisible as long as it's in my body, so it's a good way to catch someone offguard. But when I changed into a werewolf with a solid body again...

[She sort of forgot that she had them? There was never any reason to not have them floating around in there before...]

It would explain why it didn't hurt until I moved, and why it felt like a knife. It was one. I shouldn't have to tell Dr. Kitty to save them for me...

[She really wants them back, though -- her clock especially. And she hopes it doesn't take up too much of his time, when she's almost positive that's what it was and he probably has other work he could be doing... Her head has tilted so that her mismatched eyes are dazing out in the direction of the entrance. Dog...want... But dog also want to play. It's tough to be a dog.]

Ah, I see...a glass knife in your body's a clever trick!

[It's just unfortunate that she forgot to take them out...he'd probably better avoid a slime temp if he can, memory-slips like that have the potential to be pretty darned dangerous. And Atem doesn't have any free deaths left...

That idea makes him frown in concern.]

You weren't due to lose memories, were you?

Ah —

[That’s a good distraction from her indecisiveness. Her ears droop a little, but it’s more thoughtful than sad.]

It was the second time I died here…

[So not typically, but she hasn’t been intent on figuring out if there are hard and fast rules when it came to death. She just knew that memories sometimes disappeared, and she didn’t want that to happen.]

I wonder if you can feel it… Something that you’ve forgotten. How else would you ever know?

Just your second?

[Atem lets out a relieved breath.]

Then you should be okay. I've been keeping track...

You see, I don't actually have that many memories that are "just me"...at least, I didn't until I went back to being a kid for a week. So, I made a notebook, of everything I remembered doing, and everyone who was there...

That's how I was able to tell that my going-back-to-vampire deaths didn't take any memories away. And I've had two deaths that weren't like that...which didn't take any memories, either.

So, don't worry. You've still got all of you!

[She wonders if it's a important to reiterate that it's specifically her second death here? Would dying back home count? It would really just be another memory to lose, so it shouldn't... Atem would know, as a ghost living in someone else's soul, wouldn't he?]

Hm...

[Well. Anyway.]

I should use this month to write down my important memories, too... My muzooum exhibit only displays some of them. It should be easier, since I probably write faster. I definitely think faster...though not as fast as when I was a demon.

[He doesn't think he's seen her exhibit, and the bit about thinking faster is definitely interesting, because slime's psych changes are definitely something Atem has no interest in experiencing, but frankly, the bit that catches his attention most immediately is--]

"Muzooum"?

Ah --

[She perks up a bit, ears flicking forward and tail wagging despite her expression staying neutral. She supposes she doesn't really talk about it much anymore, since it isn't new.]

Because the exhibits are people. When it first showed up, there were even people inside the glass that had to be broken out. You learn about living things and items and history. It's a muzooum.

...

...heh heh heh!

[Judging by how Atem's face lights up, he likes it.]

Muzooum it is! I guess that means it was an entry point for new arrivals?

...

...ah, what am I talking about, asking you about ancient history! [He waves a hand, dismissively.] What we should be doing is something fun. Like I promised!

[Demons just wanna, they just wanna, demons just wanna have fun, and aren't quite as worried about figuring the world out as quickly as possible as vampires are.]

[HELL YEAH, HELL YEAH, drained as she may be, Ray is so ready for this. Fun time with Atem! Who likes her ideas!! Shame she doesn't really have one now.]

Yes! What sort of fun thing? I'm not used to doing things just for fun with others...and sewing isn't really a friend activity, is it, Atem?

I don't know -- I've never tried group sewing!

[He's open to giving it a shot, if that's what she likes! Put a (metaphorical and literal) pin in that?]

Let's see...I don't know how energetic you're feeling after coming back, but if you need to eat, we could split a kill. All the werewolves I know like to chase their prey down, and with my magic, I can make them run, even if they don't have a soul...

Group sewing...

[She hasn't exactly tried it either, but with how Atem had a certain loudness about him in his bearing, she can't really picture them quietly sewing together. Especially not as a demon.

...When she was a demon, she would steal all the strays and wayward pets she found... He might be down for that, but she didn't really need any more pets, with Molly -- not when she was sure none of them would feel like hers.]

It's pretty tiring, coming back... A little like that poisonous gas... [Weird. And a shame, because that's a really sweet offer he's making! Chasing something does sound fun, but it was a lot of effort just getting here.]

Mmm... [Hmmm!!!] I think maybe... [She looks down to her padded palms and fingers, flexing a little. Weird to have bones!!!] Digging. Or sandcastles, maybe... Something where I can use my hands for real. It's been a while.

Sandcastles...!

[Wow that actually does sound like fun? Building something together? Atem doesn't bother to school his expression so much as a demon, so it'll be easy for Ray to pick up his enthusiasm for the idea.]

Yeah. Let's build something together! Do you want to go to the park, or the beach?

[The park has areas of loose dirt that they could use -- who's gonna stop them, even if they inconvenience someone? But the shore of Lake Dala's the closest place he can think of with sand.]

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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 * PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1>** If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message.