towerofanimus | (no subject)

Characters: Ronald and his tower Homies
Setting: Floor 13
Format: Starting in prose but following you!
Summary: After reawakening from his punishment and first death, a rather guilt stricken puppy goes to lick his wounds after hiding away for a few days.
Warnings: Feelers, possibly... and references back to his punishment which involves dead bodies, blood and mutilation.

The first punishments were always the hardest, maybe. He wasn't certain as he had no idea who was new and who wasn't. But that dream was too vivd, far too vivid to be just a mere dream. What if it was real? What if it was what happened before he was brought here? For all he knew, it could have been the reason he was brought here. When he closed his eyes, his mind's eye supplied the pictures which came in just as clear as the nightmare itself had.

He'd seen them with those lifeless eyes trained toward him in accusation. He'd seen the blood he never thought would ever be spilled scattered about over the ground. His fault. He could have stopped it. And yet he was alive through it all. Of course, logic said it was a dream but there was still another part of him that nagged. Nagged at his mind and told him it could be possible. It could have been the reason why he was brought here first. What if it was all true? What if he DID do it and neither one of them remembered? After all, William wasn't around. What if he was dead? What if it was all his fault?

So he'd been skulking around, trying to find a place that didn't kill him just to think. Sit and think. There were too many people in the dorms, even more in the cafeteria and still a bunch more in the lounge. But then he found the thirteenth floor where things seemed secluded enough for him to find some measure of solace. Ironically enough, it was a cathedral. The younger reaper had never been devout -- not that he remembered, at least, but there were those in their dying breaths who had prayed to some god or another. He'd heard what prayer could do for a troubled heart.

Irony indeed.
But he wasn't here to pray. He just needed to think.

He'd brought his hat with him, his favorite black fedora which he didn't find in his trunk but had appeared by his bedside after the entire ordeal in the Labyrinth. This he held to his chest as he entered, eyes scanning the entire area around him. There was something calming about the stained glass and the pews to say the least. The mumbing didn't bother him. The thought of ghosts didn't, really. He was a reaper. What was there to fear?

Wordlessly, he slipped himself onto one of the back pews and pulled his legs to his chest. His head rested on his arms which he folded over one knee with a deep sigh before burying his face against it again. That dream. Even when he closed his eyes he could still see their torn flesh and hear their accusatory voices. He couldn't face them. Either one of them. He knew he couldn't look Grell in the eye, not after this, not when the possibility loomed so close...

So it was with a groan that he pulled his legs closer against his chest and tried to curl himself into a tighter ball than was possible.

Maybe if he curled in tight enough, he could disappear.

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Romeo held to a very similar philosophy, no matter how bad things got he had to keep his spirits up, it was how he survived and how he had survived since he had been taken to Milano.

He clambered up onto the pew and nodded sadly. "It does. Every few weeks they make us play games or experiment on us, they are bad and I wish we could stop them!"

He had to hand it to the kid. He was a fighter. It showed in the way his convictions just broke through at that very moment. It brought a smile to the reaper's face - a genuine one, not one he was wearing for show. It did good to see that people never did really lose hope in the face of adversity. Ah, humanity. Even from a reaper's perspective, it seemed interesting enough.

But there was no denying the information made him nervous. Oh sure, it was him now... but who's to say it wasn't going to be Grell the next time? Or Minako? Or anyone else he was slowly getting acquainted with? Maybe it was best the entire Dispatch wasn't here. It was safer that way.

"If you don't mind my asking," he finally piped up after a moment. "Did they make you play those games too?"

Romeo nodded, "Yes, not this one. I guess I was lucky and they forgot about me or something. But before..."

He glanced up at him, "The worst thing they did to me was when they turned me into a deer... or well they mixed me up with a deer, I was a deer and a person at the same time with bones sticking out... I couldn't really walk very well but my friend Ven lent me his hoverboard. They made my best friend, she's gone now but she was a princess and a superhero and really really brave, they made her think that I was a bad thing that would hurt her like the monsters and they made her kill me."

He didn't really like thinking about that time, it had been a very scary month. "I woke up back to normal though and so did Molly so it was all okay in the end. I try and warn people that bad things happen here but they never believe me properly."

He listens with a measure of trepidation, frowning as Romeo goes on with his recollection. When he finishes though, there's a hand on his shoulder that gives a firm squeeze before Ronald draws it back. "Cor, you're a brave one." he laughed, moving to cross his legs. "But I believe you, mate. No worries. Guess it's up to us to make sure people get the message straight. For their own good and all."

Romeo grinned, since adults usually told him that he was too little, or should stay out of danger, or couldn't fight it was nice to be told he was brave. He nodded.

"They will listen to you if you tell them mister Ronald, we need to make sure people stay safe!"

He knew how it felt being the youngest. He knew how it was, that feeling of not being relied upon. (Of course, he had to admit he brought it upon himself. But who's to say Ronald never tried to be reliable?) So he couldn't help but empathize with the boy and his plight. This time around, he wasn't the youngest. There was someone else he could look after.

"You and I, we'd make a great team." he finally grinned, placing a hand on Romeo's shoulder. "We're gonna need every hand on deck if we're gonna have a million to one chance of getting out of here, right? And you do wanna see your home again, I'll wager."

Romeo grinned, he liked mister Ronald they did make a good team. "I do sir, I want to see everyone again." If there was anyone to see, but the nightmares couldn't be real! They just couldn't be!

"We need to find a way to get everyone to work together!"