[Open]

[notachickenhawk]

Starving. His Beast is starving, and Tobias knows it. As the days go on and he can't seem to find a decent something to feed on, he knows what's going to happen. He knows, and he tries to drag himself out somewhere in the middle of the night where he can sleep, far away from anyone he knows.

He doesn't make it very far. His Beast's exhaustion and need to feed catches up to him, and he holes up in an abandoned house at the edge of the Sixth. He doesn't have much on him, but that's more in case someone finds him and tries to rob him. He curls up against a wall and closes his eyes, dropping off to sleep.

And inside the realm of nightmares, the great hawk shrieks to the skies and bursts pasts its barriers to hunt.

[[ooc; How this log works: Post a toplevel with a general description of a dream your character is having. Tobias' Beast will come in and attempt to terrify your character. Those with dream-combat experience (like some Changelings) are likely to fend him off easier.]]

[[Please note that this will leave your character feeling restless and disturbed when they wake up if they do get spooked. If it goes particularly bad (or well) for your character, there are other effects that are possible.]]

Comments

[notachickenhawk]

You don't have to bend down far, Ryoji. The bird is actually pretty huge. In fact, it's probably as big as you - maybe even more.

It just growls, taking another step towards him. Maybe birds shouldn't growl, but this one does, ripping up the grass as it walks.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Fine then, maybe Ryoji's looking up at it.

It can do that, but Ryoji's holding his ground. Or, at least, he would be if he even looked remotely defensive. But he's not, instead just taking in the bird as it advances. Why does this... ah. "Sorry," he says with a little chuckle, "but I dream of dying pretty much every night. You won't be able to scare me that way."

[notachickenhawk]

It huffs, blowing out hot air, and folds in its wings, just looking down at Ryoji. Oh, no no. Killing him would be too easy. Not quite as satisfying. It reaches out with its beak to try to grab Ryoji's shirt, but beaks are not the most dexterous of appendages. It huffs as it misses and attempts to shove him over, instead.

... Why can't it push him well? It swings its head around and glares at Thanatos. You. You did this.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Yeah, but most things try to inspire a fear that it will kill him. That doesn't bother him so much. Mostly he just looks a little sad at the bird. "Do you only want to cause fear?" he asks quietly. That seems like a hard way to exist.

Thanatos continues to ignore the beast, but it's not as focused on the flowers now, coffin wings flared out slightly.

[notachickenhawk]

It looks back at Ryoji and half-laughs, half-shrieks, a raspy coughing noise. Yes and no. That's its purpose... but directed fear. Not that it'll be able to really say that.

Or well. It could, if it really wanted to, but words are precious and unneeded. Not in the face of raw natural might, anyway. Which it is, even in its unnatural way. But no, it's not really the fear of death... it takes off again, not caring if it kicks up wind right in Ryoji's face, and flies over to the bridge again. It grasps one of the cables on the bridge with its beak and pulls, clipping through it fairly easily and letting the cable tumble towards the water.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji stumbles back a little with the gust of wind, but stays standing and turns to watch the beast's flight and the resulting rumble of the cable. ...That seems vaguely familiar, for some reason, but still...

Ryoji turns back towards Thanatos. "I'm missing something, aren't I?" Because he's still not scared. (If it makes the beast feel any better, Thanatos ignores him too.)

[notachickenhawk]

It huffs and sits on one of the pillars again, digging into it. This time, the pillar cracks under the bird's grasp, pieces tumbling into the water. It tears a piece off, letting it fall from its grasp onto the bridge, shattering part of the pavement.

It eyes the water, but does not go near it. That part is not its domain.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji watches the destruction of the bridge trying really hard to figure out why this should be scary. But... nope, still just feels kind of familiar. Not in a super great way, but he's also not scared. Maybe other people are more scared of birds than him??

[notachickenhawk]

The bird... just stops. It kicks over part of the already-cracked pillar in frustration like an annoyed child and lands near Thanatos. It looks at him, not at Ryoji, and 'speaks'.

... It's less actual words and more feeling-sense-images, but the meaning is still communicated. What is wrong with him?

[dangerouslyinlove]

Thanatos is not a Geist who is particularly... gifted at communication, most of the time. It turns its head to the beast, regarding it with its blank skull face. It attempts to 'speak' back, but no words and most meaning is totally lost within the feeling of death, ever present and powerful and maybe just a bit overwhelming since a bound shouldn't be that tied to the dead, generally.

[notachickenhawk]

Yeah, okay. It tries to make sense of that, but utterly fails. 'Death' is a concept it understands as inflicting on others, not connected to it. It's a Horror, after all. It doesn't quite grasp the concept properly.

It glances at Ryoji, growling. Hungry...

[dangerouslyinlove]

Thanatos pauses to try and recall how this is meant to work, attempting to communicate with more clarity this time. You will not get what you need from him, it advises the horror, Your purpose... is a lesson he does not need to learn.

[notachickenhawk]

It growls slightly, before just stamping the grass with its talonfeet. It's so hungry, though! It needs to eat, it hasn't been eating, and it's getting harder and harder to get food! You don't understand, Thanatos!

[dangerouslyinlove]

Thanatos seems astonishingly unimpressed by the outburst. You would best spend your energy elsewhere, it replies, You will gain nothing here.

[notachickenhawk]

It tucks in its wings, staring over at Ryoji. There's some flash of trees, but otherwise it's not comprehensible. There's a reason it's here, but it's not at all clear.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji's mostly been leaving them alone (maybe they're becoming friends), but he smiles when he sees the bird looking over. "What is it?" he asks.

[notachickenhawk]

It huffs, and stalks closer to Ryoji, aiming to nudge its beak against the boy. It transmits something, hard - something about a path - but it's still not clear what the heck it's trying to go for.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji lets it nudge him, taking in the attempted message and trying to puzzle through it. "I'm sorry, I'm trying to understand..." he says. But it's harder without words. "Some kind of path?"

[notachickenhawk]

It sends a mess of muddled pictures -

(trees, darkness, anger, fear fear fear, tears and blood and the darkness)

- but nothing that makes any sense. It shrieks in frustration, right in Ryoji's face. Good thing that dream eardrums are more durable than real ones?

[dangerouslyinlove]

It's still loud, making Ryoji wince. But he's still trying, and will keep doing so as long as he can. "Nature?" he ventures, feeling like he's grasping at straws, "And darkness?"

[notachickenhawk]

It stops screeching, and looks at him. Closer... sort of right. It scratches at the ground, and nudges at him again. There's the feeling of traveling... it's not really clear, but it's linked with the path feeling.

[dangerouslyinlove]

It takes a long moment, Ryoji desperately trying to decipher it. But he thinks he finally gets it. "...There's a path you have to follow, that brought you to me," he says, "And... do you need my fear before you can go?"

[notachickenhawk]

It tilts its head, letting out something close to a growl or a purr. It moves as if it's going to attack him with a talon, but... doesn't.

It should try to feast here. It's wasting energy here. But the human whose soul it took feels... attached here. It clicks its beak in frustration, unable to send a clear message of what it means.

Even the wind has died down now, leaving the scene quiet and... well. Somewhat peaceful.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Even if it is, Ryoji's trying to think of how to help. "Do you have to scare me with something in particular?" he asks, "Because, that might be hard, but... I'm scared of being alone? And hurting people I care about. If that helps."

[notachickenhawk]

It huffs and closes its eyes, settling down on the grass like a giant cat. There's not enough things here to take away. And being alone is one avenue, but with its little Cousin over there... it probably won't work.

Irritated, it shoves at Ryoji a bit, but just ends up flopped on its belly rather than transferring any actual force.