#IDK MAYBE YIDRAH OR HASTUR KNOWS

[idv-ask-the-empath]

Delara hadn’t had the time to think about anything but ro keep moving forward. Her lungs were burning and her chest was tight from how hard she was pushing her body, and the crushing fear and despair she was feeling. She hadn’t even noticed that at some point, Bane had gotten ahead of them, and that she was left alone to stumble and sink into the abyss with Kotaro. She felt a sort of relief when she saw the lanterns ahead of them, glowing warmly as if to mark safety, but it was cold comfort to the emotions that were tossing her mind around, having kept her thoughts as turbulent as the water beneath her. She could feel her feet sinking further and further into the ice-cold water, and just before she could sink out of reach from the wooden bridge, she managed to toss Kotaro on to it, and grip on to the ledge. She pulled herself up, her heart racing in her chest as she scrambled to pull herself up, tears beading in her eyes as she fought the water and its unprecedented weight trying to drag her done. Despite how it soaked into her body like actual water, it felt… heavy. Like a sludge, trying to drag her down. She hadn’t even thought of trying to quell the monster, she could only think about running. This situation was… all too familiar. Too uncomfortably familiar. The crashing water. The way it dragged her down. The desperation and the fear, and the visceral terror of it all, pulsing through her.

She couldn’t even appreciate what little strength she had, that allowed her to pull herself up, and pick up Kotaro. She couldn’t even focus on the way her legs wobbled and shook and how she nearly lost her grip on the shaking animal in her arms. She couldn’t focus on how hot her face was with tears, and the way that even though she had a mouth, and a voice, she could not scream in spite of the fact that she wanted to. She doesn’t even notice that as soon as she crosses the gate, a piece of her cloak rips because she accidentally steps on it as she climbs. Her mind was clouded by fear and worry, and the only solace was the fact that she could feel the faint emotions of joy from her teammates… but she did not want to feel joy. She wanted quietness… apathy. If she felt happiness or warmth now, she think she’d feel sick… the whiplash of cosmic horror to light hearted fun was going to wreck her- maybe even change her perception of what should be considered fun or not. That was the trouble with her powers… if she wasn’t careful, she could alter her mind, and slowly become numb to certain things. If she began to associate joy with these sorts of situations, with this sort of… pain… she thinks she would turn out worse than- she shook her head as she held on to Kotaro, now sitting in the middle of the trolley tracks as she trembled. Her legs and arms and chest were aching with use. She hadn’t fought that hard for her life in such a long time…

She finds that she can’t calm herself down, in spite of her deep breaths. In spite of her grounding techniques, she finds herself spiraling further, and further, and further into the anxiety… into the sheer terror of what had just been. It clicks when she realizes that these weren’t her feelings- though they easily could have been… these were the Gamekeeper’s… she sat up and tiredly trudged around, trying to find him… if she got closer, she’d likely feel his emotions on the same level he was… but if this was how bad it was from far away.. how bad would it be up close..? She had to stop it, or else something worse may have happened. She could lose control… it could be a nightmare for anyone who came to find her. The fear and horror would only be amplified until it was one, awful feed back loop, where she received fear, forced it on to others, and in turn, felt it again, and again, and again… no. She couldn’t let that happen. The unpredictability of everyone’s actions in response was… too much. She found it a miracle that she could even think in this situation, but she’s thankful that she can. Thankful for the solace her teammates were providing her, even if it made her nauseated and confused.

She searched for him, glad that there was mercy in that his pace was easy to catch-up with. She found herself becoming easier and easier to emotionally crumble as she neared him, her body shaking as though the metaphorical weight of it all was extending to even the physical. Kotaro rubbed his head into her, as if to try and comfort her. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest as she breathed deeply, thankful for the chill of the night air and how it soothed her lungs- if only briefly. Her body felt heavy. Maybe it was the weight of the water that was soaking her dress, or maybe it was just that she was tied. His emotions were… suffocating. She wanted to run away as much ad he did, but in spite of it… she kept on. Her legs feeling heavier with reluctance as she stepped closer, and closer to him. Her resolve was crumbling with each lethargic step, but she had to resist losing her sense of control… and it wasn’t too long before she found him.

“Forgive me…” Is all she can really say with a strained voice, choked with held back tears and screams that desperately wanted to come out. She closed her eyes, and she almost… glows as she took in his emotions, shouldering the grief, the guilt… the anxiety and the loathing… she took it from him, and eased it. Granted him peace and tranquility that would at least, allow him to process what had happened… give him a breath. All while she fell to her knees, letting Kotaro go as she covered her face, body trembling beneath her red cloak. She was processing all of his pain and anxiety. She had managed to take up all of his emotions and replace them, but now she was feeling the brunt of his agony while he at least would feel calm. She was hiding in her cloak… instead of seeing bits of the past, now she was simply just… trembling. Face covered… meek and silent. The world around her felt so far away now… she’s not even sure what she’s feeling but she can’t even properly name her senses. Everything was just a background thought. It felt like the world around her was an impressionist painting- blurry, out of focus… vaguely shaped as something she knows but not something she was willing to parse out at the moment. The sensation she felt, with the tears rolling down her vacant expression- it didn’t even feel real. She had memories associated with these feelings… but because of how painful the emotions and memories were altogether, instead of reliving them, she simply just… disconnected. Her hands slowly fall from her face and into her lap… her eyes becoming far off and distant in appearance. She’s crying but she’s quiet and frozen. Her body was still glowing dimly with a sort of power- which was more evident given the shadows that her cloak cast, making it just a bit more noticeable. Feeling his instilled calmer state was slowly easing the painful emotions she took from him, but she’d need more time.

Duo matches always made her nervous. She typically never played in them for the sole fact that so much could happen at once. She hated feeling the distress of it all, not only from her powers but also herself. And as most duo matches tend to be, they were short a player, so she had went ahead and filled in. Who were the hunters for this round again…? It was… Bonbon and Bane, wasn’t it…?

This felt like it’d be a difficult match.

In search of a cipher, she wandered the Eversleeping Town- or at least, the recreation of it. She isn’t sure how “real” it is. Nothing at the manor felt real.

@idv-ask-the-empath

Now, Bane did not like to go friendly. It was something everybody was sure to have realised by now, with how mercilessly he went about his matches. Really, why would he go friendly in the first place? The Baron had assigned him this role and he refused to fail the man twice. He’d learned his lesson about kindness long ago… Of course, sometimes his friends would try to convince him to go easy on the survivors, or to just go friendly. If it was because they themselves weren’t feeling up to the match then of course he’d understand. He’d gladly just try to play well enough for the both of them to win while he let his friend rest. Convincing him to go friendly as well though…

It took a while, Bonbon relentlessly using every tactic they could in order to try and convince him. For a moment he was tempted to simply walk off to hunt the survivors himself! The robot was damn lucky he felt to be in a more agreeable mood… So it was with a sigh that he reluctantly gave in to the robot he knew wouldn’t have given up in their quest. Hey, he’d thought, at least he could spend some time with Bonbon, right?

Wrong, apparently. Rather than hide away within a corner of the map like Bane would prefer, Bonbon was insistent that it would be more fun interacting with survivors. He’d have to tell Burke to schedule another maintenance check because there must’ve been a few screws loose for Bonbon to think he was even remotely willing to interact with survivors in a more positive way… Still, the robot continued their attempts, beginning to push him forwards and forcing him to stumble along lest he fall over. Tch… who cared if the survivors were left unaware that they were going friendly this round? So what if they were to be tense and uneasy the whole time just waiting and expecting an attack? It wasn’t his damn fault and besides, if they didn’t know then they’d continue on to escape as quickly as possible and thus allowing him to leave as soon as possible!

Yet alas, the robot didn’t seem to care, simply making sure he walked through the surprisingly empty streets with him until eventually they found a survivor further down trying to decode one of the cypher machines. Instantly Bonbon ran after them as they bolted away, trying to show that they were friendly and calling for their attention as they did.

This just left Bane to wander on alone…. He’d just find some corner of the map to hide in, now that his pushy companion was gone. So onwards he went, wandering the streets in the search for somewhere nice to relax, gait more slowed than when hunting and hook still firmly attached to his belt. His head was tilted high, simply surveying his surroundings in a manner more suited for taking in the details rather than scrutinizing any and every shadow for a survivor. Silently he noted the details, forming a mental map within his mind as he went along.

Despite the current situation though, he hadn’t quite expected to see any more survivors, taking pause when he turned the corner and found none other than that ‘empath’ walking along. For a moment he froze, fingers twitching and barely resisting the instinctual urge to send out his hook. He was friendly, no hunting survivors… A quiet sigh escaped him as he tried to force the alarm bells in his head to silence and the tension to escape him. What was it friendly hunters were supposed to do? Spin…? … No way he was doing that. Huffing, he considered simply turning around and leaving while he could.

@idv-ask-the-empath