knight of hounds [open]

[colonial]

Characters: America, open
Setting: October 25 onward, various places
Format: I'll match you
Summary: America couldn't keep up with the candy collection. He's been altered accordingly. If you happen to be dressed as royalty, you gain +1 protector!
Warnings: potential for character death later in the month; creepy Halloween costumes

ROOM 2-16; OCTOBER 25
[America's too confused, staring up at his ceiling, to realize at first that he can't move. He remembers pain and suffocation and terror--that's the last thing he can remember--so looking now at the ceiling of his room in the Tower is its own sort of disorientation that distracts him from other concerns.

Not that there aren't other concerns. His body feels weird, and it sort of all hurts, and he thinks he might be bleeding (it's then, trying to sit up and take a look at himself, he realizes he can't get up, and that's scary but he can't do anything to voice that fear). He thinks he might want to go out and find... Something... Too...

And then he can move and he sits up as if he'd been laying on a spring the entire time.]


FLOOR THIRTY; OCTOBER 26 MORNING
[By the next day America's realized the something he needs to do is pick an animal to ride. The monsters don't provoke the same sort of fear and caution they did only a few days ago--and they don't seem to want to harm him, which is all the better for him to pick something out.

He decides on the hellhound, of course. A giant dog of fire that he nonetheless manages to climb atop, petting it happily and directing it around the room to test out his riding skills. He's only just started learning horse riding, but this is easy!

He turns the beast to the staircase, to start it climbing.]


ANYWHERE; OCTOBER 27 ONWARD
[His mission has solidified in his mind as the days have worn on. He's a knight, of course, and that's basically like being a hero for princes and princesses and kings and queens! So he has to find some of those, to start. Anyone else--anyone else is dangerous to the people he has to protect, if they won't listen.

So that means he has to kill them. Or his hellhound, which he's riding atop, will have to kill them. But either way they can't hurt anyone he wants to protect!]

Comments

2-16; oct 25th

[keepscalm]

[England is waiting dutifully at America's bedside when the young colony wakes. His eyes were closed for just a smidge too long -- it's as if he was trying to fight sleep and failing. Judging by the rings under his eyes, that's probably not too far off from what happened. When he opens his eyes again, America is on the bed.

He quickly leans forward, concern in his voice.] America--

[He quickly surveys the young boys body -- or what he can see of it. He's alarmed to see the blood that leaks from the gaps in the boy's armour.

Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic--]

How do you feel?

[colonial]

Engwand--

[America stands up on the bed, wobbles under his new, unusual weight, and sits back down, opting to look over at his guardian. The visor isn't really that hard to see through, but he lifts it up anyway. With most of his body covered in armor, he hasn't realized he's been skinned.]

I feel weird.

[keepscalm]

[It's not as if England hasn't seen something skinned before, but--

He recoils as soon as the visor is lifted from America's face, his hands flying up to his mouth.

He just stares in ill-concealed horror at what America's face has become.]

[colonial]

[America realizes something's wrong, of course, as soon as England jerks back. It doesn't quite occur to America, though, that he's what's wrong. Still, the visor snaps back down as he crawls toward England in an attempt to help.]

What's wrong? Are you okay? Did you get hurt?

[keepscalm]

[England's reflex is to lean away when America edges closer. He doesn't mean to, but...]

No--

[He swallows around the knot in his throat and lowers his shaking hands. He reaches out to America, but for once, England stops just shy of touching him. He wants to hold his boy close and never let him go, but touching him right now would probably hurt like nothing else.]

I'm fine. Perfectly fine.

[He's not fine.

His voice trembles, but not so badly as his hands.] How... [He can't tear his eyes away from America's face. Or what's left of it.] Are you hurt?

[colonial]

[America hesitates, responding to England's hesitance. America looks down at himself, though he can't see anything except the armor. No, looking closer, there are little gaps that don't look right. And he does kind of ache, in a distant sort of way...

He tries to pull one of the gloves off, to see better, but he whines sharply when the attempt is met with pain, as if he were tearing at his skin.]

Um--it's stuck?

[keepscalm]

[England panics at America's sound of pain, flinching and moving to grab America before once again stopping short.]

Don't tug at it. You're probably safer wearing it. [Without skin to protect him, at least...]

[colonial]

Okay... [America's more nervous at England's continued hesitance than the odd costume, and something in the back of his mind says the hesitating is suspicious, but this is England so his mind turns it into concern.]

Are you really okay?

[keepscalm]

[England frowns slightly. He doesn't pick America up, but he does -- very gently -- set his hand atop America's helmet for a moment. At least it stops it from trembling.]

...I'm just worried about you. [He doesn't want to explain what exactly happened. He doesn't even fully know, himself.]

...it looks like you've been hurt very badly.

[colonial]

[America remembers--pain and choking, until he couldn't get breath for screaming even though he wanted to--and then he remembers blackness. That he might have died doesn't occur to him, but he thought he did get hurt. He wiggles his limbs to test them.]

I think I'm okay. [Nothing's broken, anyway. He thinks.]

[keepscalm]

[He lets out a shaky sigh, allowing his hand to fall away from America's head.

This is his fault. He should have done more. He could have gotten more candy -- he probably would have had to hurt other people for it, but he could have done it, easily.

England averts his eyes.] I'm sorry.

[colonial]

[America pushes himself forward on the bed, standing up and reaching to pat England on the head like England does to him sometimes.]

You got a lot of candy, so it's okay! They asked for too much.

[keepscalm]

[The gesture earns a smile, but it's much sadder than a proper smile should be.

He wants to tell America that he surely could have gathered enough to keep this from happening. But he doesn't think America would have wanted him to hurt anyone for the cause.]

I'm certain they knew that. We weren't meant to gather enough.

[colonial]

[There's something off about England's smile, America's sure, but it's better than him looking so sad, so he decides it's an improvement.]

The candy game is really hard. Maybe no one's gonna win?

October 27... let's say in a dorm hallway, to keep things simple?

[mostremaining]

[As he's going about his business and watching the Tower basically go to hell, Gilbert spots America and jolts.]

H-hey, little guy... Oh my god, they killed another kid!

[colonial]

[America shifts so he can look over his fiery hellhound mount at the person shouting. He tilts his head.]

I'm not dead!

[He came back, so he's not anymore, anyway. The hellhound, for now kept under control by America, eyes Prussia suspiciously.]

[mostremaining]

Yeah, you're not dead now... but in order to do what they did to you, they had to kill you! Just how old are you, anyway?! Too young to be tossed into a sick game like this, I bet!

[colonial]

I'm, um-- [He hadn't really kept count of years when he was first born, hadn't known they existed. And it was really hard to keep track of time here. He decides on the one he's most certain about.] Forty-one?

Who are you, anyway?

[mostremaining]

Forty-one...? How's that possible? [Well, he's over seven hundred years old, so maybe this is a similar case to him?] I'm Gilbert! Gilbert Beilschmidt, the nation of Prussia! [He bends down and gets a good look at America.] You know, you look kind of like someone I know... but maybe that's just a coincidence.

27th, 4th Floor

[sixthsense]

[Her heart nearly stops at the sight of the of the boy--and, more specifically, the beast that he was riding. She staggers back a few steps with a gasp, leaving only blood stains where she had stood. Her hand clasps over her chest. It's a moment before she can speak and when she does, it's only to keep herself from screaming.]

Wh...what is that?

[colonial]

[Alfred stops to look at her. The hellhound looks at her, too, fire collecting where it's standing.]

My dog. Who're you?

[He's not sure what the girl is dressed as--the blood is really suspicious, though, and he lifts his visor a bit to get a better look at her. He's been skinned, but he doesn't seem to really mind.]

[sixthsense]

M-Mio Amakura...what...?

[She blinks as she lifts his visor, narrowing her eyes before suddenly gasping as she becomes aware of the lack of skin. She visibly flinches and is unable to look at him directly after that. Her shoulders are tense and she hand rests over her chest.]

That's...so horrible...

[colonial]

What is? [America eyes her a bit suspiciously. Everything seems really suspicious lately, and he's not entirely sure why.] Your costume's got blood an' stuff, too.

[sixthsense]

[Mio lowers her eyes at that, grabbing fistfuls of her kimono]

It doesn't bother you? That they'd do something like that to you...?

[Is that better? She can't decide.]

[colonial]

[America shrugs. He doesn't really understand what's happened to him. He woke up different, of course, but the idea of him dying and being purposely revived in this manner hadn't come up. The idea of death in general was something he didn't quite have a grasp on, at least when it came to his own.]

It only hurts when I tug on it mostly, and that's way better than before it got put on!

[Before it got put on there was the crushing pain of the costume, of course.]

[sixthsense]

I see...

[She's still fidgeting, but perhaps a bit less now. The initial shock is beginning to wear off. It's probably best not to push him further, at least for now. He was still just a child, after all.]

You'll be careful though, right?

Meadow

[myblueskies]

[When Romeo saw the little figure on top of the hellhound he went towards them, because they were little and so he as a superhero had to protect them! When he realised who it was he smiled, though he was sad that America had died.] You got hurt! Who got you? Did someone steal your candy?

[He bet it was a bad adult. They did that!]

[colonial]

Nah, I just didn't get enough. [At least, he didn't think anyone stole his candy. He'd been really good about keeping it safe.] We had to collect a whole lot this week!

[myblueskies]

You should have come and found me! I could have got you more! [But what was done was done, and now he just had to make sure America wasn't hurt even more than was already.]

[colonial]

It's okay now. [He'd been a lot more concerned about the whole thing earlier, but as he'd gotten used to the costume it had bothered him less and less.] Anyway, i have stuff to do now.

[myblueskies]

What kind of stuff? Do you need help? [Romeo thought he should help him, just to make sure no bad adults came and tried to hurt him!]

Morning of the 26th

[nemophila]

[He still hadn't found the others yet. Dear god, where could they have gotten to?! It was a miracle he had survived like this so far...!

And now there was some kid-- (was it a ghost? No, no he'd avoided for now...)-- petting one of the beasts?!]

What are you doing...?!

[colonial]

[Alfred looks over at the source of the voice. The hellhound rumbles, the beginning of a growl, but Alfred pets its nose and soothes it again.]

I need to pick out something. This one's pretty big, right?

[Perfect for riding, as far as he's concerned.]

[nemophila]

[Still partially mollified, and it's probably his own off-perception and hysteria that's making it seem a lot bigger than it really was.]

Very much...! Shouldn't you get away from it?!

[colonial]

Why? [America looks at the hound again, but doesn't see anything wrong with it.] I need something to ride!

[nemophila]

It's dangerous though! Won't you get hurt...?!

[He's even starting to back up a bit; kind of more weird that the hound hasn't attacked yet.]