week 4

[stagemanagers]

[Another week, and two more dead. King Richard and Red are both gone, and once again, it was through nothing more than an accident in the heat of the moment. Maybe if you all stay calm and collected, nothing bad will happen again?

Well, maybe not.

When you wake on Sunday, you'll find that you've recovered another one of those memories - or had another dream, if you still wanna be in denial about it. The grounds remain as they are, but this time, the door blocking the stairwell has been unsealed. You can now venture up to the second floor! This is the second time that's happened; it's almost as if you get more space every time someone dies. Or maybe the whole place just seems quieter.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday


(( Welcome to Week 4! Please remember to submit your AC and your memory regains, as well as your coins! You can also still contact the Phantom. ))

Comments

[isawallflower]

[ His wing. God, okay. Riley's...going to be fine. She nudges him so he can lean on the counter. ]

I'll be right back. Okay?

[ And then grabs two nearby dishrags. She wraps them around her hands. It's probably not the best protection, but it's something, if his wing's got chemical burns on it. Gingerly, carefully, she lifts it, trying not to hurt him anymore, and gets it into the sink, best she can. ]

cw: ... wing gore?

[heathencall]

[Riley gives him enough time to prepare for what's to come. He bunches up the sleeve of his shirt within his fist, hovering over his mouth as he waits. When she appears, he fixes an intense gaze on her, breathing shuddering.]

Whatever happens. Don't stop.

[With that, he places the bunched up bits of fabric into his mouth. He doesn't know if it will be that bad but --

No. It's about that bad. He gnashes his teeth against the cloth, grunting as new bolts of pain shoot from his wing to the tips of his toes and fingers. His vision goes white again.

What Riley finds won't be a pretty sight. Mephisto's wings have never been pristine, but whatever is in the bottle has devastated it. The chemicals have all but stripped the lower half of his wings almost bare. Any downy feathers and vane are gone, and only the rachis remains of the larger feathers. Bits of glass have also buried themselves in the thin membrane there, leaving rivulets of blood to stain what feathers remain.]

[isawallflower]

[ What Riley wants to do is wrap her arms around him in a show of comfort. What she has to do is watch the damage to his wing become much, much more apparent as the water rinses away chemicals. She feels like she's going to be sick, and she almost drops the appendage, instinctively, to bring her hands to her mouth in horror.

But Riley does not do that. She's got a job to do. Even as she mutters and murmurs, almost stammering-- ] Oh my god, oh my god oh god--

[ She can't stop it. But she keeps going. She's going to keep her arms as steady as possible. She's not going to cry. A few little gasps, but no crying. Very carefully. ]

W-we need to- [ Dammit, not now. Riley tells herself it's fine, not to focus on it. ] Keep it steady. S-S-Santana! [ She turns to- oh thank god, a first aid kit. ] I-I'm gonna need some tweezers. In a minute.

[garbageface]

[ Santana, so far, has been focused on Stephen — treating the burns, making sure he doesn’t lose consciousness, that sort of thing. He seems to be stable for the moment; Santana’s just working on flushing out the burns. She can spare the tweezers.

She grabs them, turns to Riley, and has to resist the urge to cry out, to panic and make things worse. Mephisto does not look good. Santana isn’t used to caring for people, but right now, she really, really wants Medieval Times to be okay.

She passes the tweezers to Riley, her voice and hands shaking just a little. ]

Here. We — we’ve got bandages and antibiotic ointment, if you need it.

[heathencall]

[At the sound of Santana's voice, Mephisto's head snaps up. There's a moment of lucidity, when the sharp bursts of pain and rushes of dizziness clear from his head, as his gaze settles on her. His face his pulled taut, teeth bared around the fabric of his shirt and eyes blazing with the agony he feels.

But there's guilt there too. If he's learned anything, Santana doesn't like to be seen as vulnerable. And here she is, emotions bared in front of three separate people.

And then the moment is gone, whatever dam he'd managed to place out ahead of the next wave of pain crumbles. He drops his head, falling back onto his arm as another snarl rips its way through him.]

[isawallflower]

I, um. D-don't know how much b-b-bandages-- [ Riley winces, not meeting Santana's eye, positively terrified. Another kid seeing her stutter, that's. Doesn't matter, because she has to help Mephisto. Her stupid, stupid hangups don't matter. ] ...will help. B-but ointment, I'll t-t-take that. Thanks.

[ She removes one hand from Mephisto's tattered wing to take the tweezers. Her hand's likewise shaking. They've got that much in common.

The wing looks bad. She's not going to ask Mephisto how he's doing. Not when he's biting down on that cloth. She's just going to...start very carefully pulling shards from his wing. Keep the water on it, keep flushing out chemicals. And murmur to herself. Something along the lines of it's fine, it's okay, it'll all be okay. ]

[heathencall]

[There's no mercy. Between the water and tweezers digging into the wounds, the pain doesn't stop. Some part of him wonders if hellfire might be better, if he could handle being damned better than whatever is being done to his wing.

If it were anyone else, he might have even said as much. But between the makeshift gag and the fact that it's Riley hovering over him, he remains silent. The guilt is a perfect stopper for whatever churning malice stems from his wounds.

At some point, either the pain grows more bearable, or the delirium reaches a fever pitch. It's only then that he allows himself to let go of his shirt. His breath still comes in short puffs, but he's at least not grinding his teeth together.]

You shouldn't have to see this.

[isawallflower]

[ The process definitely isn't helped by Riley's trembling hands. There are absolutely points where she twitches and bumps a wound and quickly hisses an apology, trying to stay focused. The clothes which she wraps her hands with, they're stained with blood from his wings. But she's diligent. She's not stopping. He told her not to stop. ]

I shouldn't h-h-have to s-see a lot of things. [ Riley really doesn't mean to be short with him. She's just trying not to freak out. Keep your eyes on the prize. Go for the gold. Other encouraging mental affirmations. ] Advil. Can you t-t-take Advil, d-does it work?

[heathencall]

[Mephisto gives her an almost vacant look. He doesn't have the energy to summon any sarcasm, he can't even find it in himself to quirk an eyebrow at her. He simply shrugs with his good arm, hoping that whatever it is, it's not about to poison him.]

I'll try anything.

[He looks to his wing, all the more pitiful now that it's drenched. At least the water is helping. Everything still hurts, but at least he doesn't actively feel the more sensitive parts being eaten away.]

You're close. Almost there.

[He can't tell if he's comforting her or himself.]

[isawallflower]

F-finish this, then, I'll g-g-get you some. [ A pause as she tries to get her hand to steady. ] Just h-h-hold on.

[ She's terrified. Just keep working. Don't think about being terrified. Here we go. Riley continues picking glass, working diligently until she's done. ]

[heathencall]

[After awhile, each shard of glass -- each painful jab -- starts to blend together. He can't say that he knows that Riley has pulled out the last, only knows that she's stopped for now. He remains bent over the sink, water still pouring over his wing, chest still heaving for air.]

Riley. [He tilts his chin up, searching for her own gaze.] I'm sorry.

[That's.... about all he has in him. He'll remain half-leaned, half-flopped over the sink, shuddering wishing that someone might put him out of his misery.]

[isawallflower]

[ She makes eye contact. But her eyes are distant. ]

I'll b-b-be back in a few minutes.

[ Her voice is soft and shaking. Like she's afraid for anyone to hear her. She hurries to get him some painkillers. ]

[heathencall]

[With Riley out of the picture, and with Santana and Stephen barely a thought in the back of his mind, Mephisto allows himself a moment to feel his pain. A groan, agonizing as it is, rips itself from his throat. Briefly, he considers retracting his wing -- localize the area to whatever space it took up against his back.

But it doesn't go anywhere. He feels one wing slip away, back to the void it rested in, but the other one remains limp in the water.]

[isawallflower]

[ As promised, Riley is not away for more than a few minutes. She's back with some tylenol and a glass of water, breathing swift. ]

Okay. Okay, take this, and then I'll get some ointment on it, and it should all be okay.

[heathencall]

[Mephisto raises himself just enough to look at Riley and the pills she holds out. Any other time, and he might have questioned her. Now, he simply takes them and swallows them down with a gulp of water.]

It will be okay. [There's no conviction in that statement, just weak repetition.]

[isawallflower]

[ Riley lets out a slow sigh. She's calming down-- or, at least, she's pushed it all down. ]

What happened? What were you thinking?

[ She's exhausted. ]

[heathencall]

[He grits his teeth, trying to sift back through the memories now muddled by pain. His brows pinch together.]

Stephen asked for my assistance. Another way of getting out of here. I was only meant to provide assistance but. [He glances over toward Stephen, then back to Riley.]

The glass broke. Right in his hands. It would have.... [He couldn't say what it would have done. He hadn't let himself consider it.]

I... Protected him.

[isawallflower]

[ Dr. Browning almost died. Stephen almost died. Just like that.

Riley puts her face behind one hand, trying to maintain the stability she's managed. ]

You could- both of you could've- [ Riley's heart beats wildly. ] I wouldn't- I couldn't take-

[ She feels more like Jeremy right now. She can't get her sentences straight in her mouth. It's not something keeping her from talking, it's her own inability to comprehend that. ]

you're welcome

[heathencall]

[For the second time that day, Mephisto fights to bring a smile to his face. This time, he isn't struggling against the strangeness of feeling at all. Rather, he's feeling too much (mostly pain, and every other word associated with it) to really force one emotion to show.

He'd like to think he manages well enough.]

I told you. I won't leave you.

you motherfucker.

[isawallflower]

[ Riley wants to throw her arms around him and hit him at the same time. But she won't because she wants him okay more. Arms raised and rigid like claws, like that first time she completely broke in front of him, that first time she started really chipping away at him, she stares, eyes stinging with tears. ]

Be more careful next time. [ She casts a look to Stephen as well. This is for him too. ]

[heathencall]

[Mephisto also takes the time to glance over at Stephen. He tries to look as critical as possible but... Mostly he just looks concerned.]

There had better not be a next time.

[He glances over to Riley and... Finally lifts his good arm. He beckons her closer.]

I'm sorry.

[37773972]

[hi he's just getting glass shards pulled out of him but he's desperate for something to distract him so

whether not he's actually heard the two of them, he seems to register he's being looked at, and he manages a shaky smile]

[heathencall]

[Mephisto's expression darkens as Stephen catches his eye. His lips part to say something, but he presses them into a thin line and turns his attention back to Riley.

Later. He'll deal with that later.]

[isawallflower]

[ He'll have to have his attention on Riley, because she sure is going for that hug. Gently, of course, but she's been holding herself back. She more holds onto his good arm than anything, still worried about his limp wing, still terrified for Stephen. ]

I was so, so scared...! [ She'll get the ointment on in a minute. She will, she just- she needs a second. ]

[heathencall]

[Mephisto can't resist Riley, even when he tries. And the last thing he wants to do is resist her. The more time passes between the explosion, the less strength his body seems to have. Already, he's leaning a little more heavily into the hug than perhaps he should.

But he's also happy to provide as much of a buffer for Riley from anything else as he can, even if it isn't much.]

I'm sorry. We should have -- [But they've said all of this before.] I'm sorry, Riley.