towerofanimus | 003 Rings

Entry tags:

003 Rings

Characters: Red Savarin, with special guests: YOU!
Setting: All around the tower.
Format: Action, but I'll match you!
Summary: Red deals with dying and strange weather.
Warnings: Sleep paralysis hallucinations, and weather-related distress. No death, but it'll come close.

[Rain. That's something that Red shouldn't be feeling indoors. Actually, Red shouldn't be feeling anything... he died, after all, cut down by the Deadmen - but here he was, uninjured and in an intact catsuit, not a speck of blood on him. The only problem was that his body wouldn't respond to him. Nothing big, it should wear off in less than a minute... right?]

[As it turns out, it doesn't. Red lies there, feeling the water run down his face, his breathing slowly becoming labored. He's just beginning to wonder what's happening when a shadowy figure appears in the corner of his eyes, stalking closer to him; he's powerless to resist, and Red can only watch as it creeps onto the bed and wraps its hands around his throat.]

[This can't be happening, he thinks as terror begins to well up inside him. Monsters can't be in the dorms, right? Then what's strangling him? Eyes darting around the room, the feeling of pure fear only intensifies, and it's becoming harder to draw breath - oh god, he's going to choke on the rain and this demon won't stop strangling him and why can't he move--]

[And then, as soon as Red gets control back, he lets out an ear-splitting shriek and leaps off of the bed, searching for the intruder. There's no trace of it left, nothing to suggest it had ever been there. Gasping for breath, he tries to let the fear recede so he can focus. Was it a dream or a hallucination? Well, whatever it was, hopefully nobody was trying to sleep...]

---

[Water. That was the most important thing right now. Red's panting like... well, like a dog, desperately trying to find enough water and shade to survive. There were some people willing to share their water and food, he'd found, but Red was covered in fur and that only made him overheat even more. It wasn't enough; he'd have to go search for water somewhere.]

[Red had torn up one of the catsuits into little more than a pair of shorts, which he was wearing, and he's riding his badly-damaged robot as it's easier than walking. There were some colder floors, he knew, but staying conscious long enough to get to them was a big problem. As people go about the tower, they might find the dog-man slumped over inside the cockpit of a giant robot, or deliriously guiding said robot onwards.]

---

[At last, a milder season. The only problem was the leaves, almost reaching up to Red's neck, but he had Dahak to help him navigate. It had taken a real beating in the fight, though, and the intense summer heat certainly didn't do it any favors, so the mild weather is the perfect time to check out the workshop.]

[Things go pretty quietly, aside from all the leaves getting in the way, and Red makes some headway in the repairs. Nothing really unpleasant happening here... but perhaps some errant sparks could set those dry leaves on fire, or maybe a tornado could spawn in the room and send tools and metal flying everywhere? Things could go very wrong.]

---

[Finally, one last season, but this one was the worst of them all. Snow everywhere, freezing winds blowing through the halls; Red's fur protected him somewhat, but he'd never, ever been this cold before. The weather never changed this much back on Shepherd, and in the places he'd been to, snow was a rarity.]

[Wrapped in blankets, the dog-man's riding his mech as usual, doing his best to stay active and warm. He can definitely be found in the dorms, clearing away as much snow as he can from the hallways and rooms, or one could find him trying to find a floor with some actual heat... or, when the cold gets particularly intense, they could even find him nearly frozen solid and near death unless some emergency heat is provided.]

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Shion was also searching for water, his head was pounding. He was moving slowly, preserving energy. When he saw Red he thought it was some kind of hallucination brought on my the heat... A dog man riding a robot...

Except he rubbed his eyes, pinched himself and it was still there. "Hello..." His voice was cracked and hoarse, "Can you hear me?"

[Kariya starts awake. Somehow, he'd managed to sleep through at least part of the rain. It says a lot about his tiredness. Sopping wet, he pulls himself up with some effort, marveling at the water everywhere, but only for a moment, as his first concern is his roommate, who was likely the source of that screaming, judging by the way he's moving throughout the room and gasping.]

Are you all right?

It didn't take much energy to control the robot, something which Red was grateful for in this heat, but that's all he had to be happy about. He wasn't even sweating anymore, his body was so dehydrated, and he was only barely managing to stay conscious. So, when that voice spoke up...

"Hello?" he croaked, releasing the controls and coughing briefly. Even speaking was hard. "Is that a real person or am I hearin' things?"

No, get away--!

[The fright isn't going away quite so easily. Red leaps backwards, nearly losing his balance and falling over in a wet heap; that seems to help, and some of the tension leaves his body.]

H-hey, did you see any of that?! What the hell just happened?!

[Kariya blinks. He doesn't move from his bed, though he puts up a hand to wipe some of the water off his face. He frowns.]

I don't know. I didn't see anything.

[Granted, he has only one good eye, and considering his condition, he's slow to awaken, even in this weather. Nonetheless, he's concerned.]

Was there something here?

[It's odd to be talking to a talking-dog-person, but Kariya supposes it's not the oddest thing that's happened to him here.]

[Holy crap it is cold. Asako's basically been going around with her jumpsuit under her normal clothing, wrapped in her cloak, and wrapped in spare blankets just for good measure. She's mainly focused on staying warm right now, but--

But there's a dude in a mecha. This is awesome.]

I don't think I've seen anything like that mecha of yours before!

You didn't see that black thing walk in here and start chokin' me?! How'd ya miss it?!

[He's still breathing heavily, holding one hand against the wall to try to support himself. Red's never experienced something like that before, and it shows.]

It was holdin' me down! I - I couldn't move!

[Unfortunately for Red, all he has is a spare jumpsuit and his own fur. The blankets are helping, if staying just warm enough to not die is helpful. Still, there's a good chance of frostbite, and he's definitely running low on energy.]

Y-yeah?

[That's all he says as he works the controls, scooping more snow out of rooms with the robot's giant hands. He needs to stay active, even if it's only that much.]

"I'm real..." As real as any of them were, but that was dangerous thought territory and Shion steered his mind away. "Are you alright?" He walked closer.

"You kiddin'?" he snaps, leaning over in the cockpit to get a better look at the man. "I'm dry as a bone up here! I need water, and fast!" Red starts to cough again, having spoken too much.

Unfortunately that was one request Shion couldn't fulfill. "If I find any I'll bring it to you..."

[Gosh, you wouldn't think someone that looks like a bipedal dog would have issues with th--- HOLY CRAP BIPEDAL PUPPY. Must...not...squee!]

Yep! Only ever heard of 'em in fiction.

[That sounded like a cold stutter, though. Asako might be a slightly loopy overlord, but she's still got a heart. So, without further ado--]

You know, I heard Floor 76 is kinda like a greenhouse. Those are usually pretty warm, aren't they? Might be a good place for you to take a break from the cold out here.

[She's probably going to try to go there shortly, this cold is getting to her and ~~she only has Anti-All equipped and not Null Ice her resistance to freezing is only slightly better than average.~~

"Fine, then. Shade or cold or - or anythin' else works," Red replies, sitting back in the cockpit and trying to focus. If this heat doesn't let up, he may just end up with heat stroke, or worse. "Never been this hot in my life..."

[Don't you dare squee. Red wouldn't even have any idea why. Still, a warm floor? That sounds heavenly right about now!]

L-let's try it. Then m-maybe we can talk robots, okay?

[Someone else can handle all this snow while Red warms up. He's got his robot ready to go; lead on, Asako.]

Shion frowned and got closer, "We... we could try the ocean floor... the wind might be cooler."

That seems to perk him up. "Ocean floor?" he gasps, marching a little closer to Shion. "You know where it is? Lead the way, and quick!"

Those giant hands are reaching up and fanning Red, who's still panting like mad. Dog-people just aren't good with heat, it seems. Better hurry, Shion.

Suzaku nodded and did so, making sure that the creature was keeping up with him. It was a few floors away but soon they were on the shore, the ocean was more like a wide expansive puddle, but it was better than nothing. "Here we go."

[Yeah, and besides, it'd be rude. Thus, she does not squee. Instead, she nods and starts hiking them over to the stairwell.]

'Kay. If nothing else, the moving will keep either of us from falling asleep in the snow, and I've heard that can be pretty bad in these conditions.

[Temporary madness due to admin events aside, she doesn't exactly feel like dying all that often. Mostly because it tends to hurt.]

[Preach it, sister. Red's robot isn't quite made for snow, but it seems to be handling things alright. He's over to the stairs in no time flat.]

H-hey, I got an idea. Climb in here; Dahak c-can walk faster than us. It's g-gonna be a tight fit, but maybe the body heat's gonna help.

[Down goes one big metal hand; watch out, it's a little slippery. At least there's snow to cushion any falls.]

Do be careful not to speak that aloud, Suzaku; if Red heard you call him a creature, he'd get upset to say the least. Still, unaware of what she might be thinking, the dog-man leaps out of the cockpit of his robot and races towards what little water there may be. It might be undrinkable, but it's cooler than the air around them. In fact, it feels so good that he begins to swim - and no, it's not doggy-paddling.

"Hey, got somethin' we can carry water in?" Red shouts, still swimming. "If we can take some of this, then we can boil it and get freshwater!" It seems like he's already doing much better, although he's ignorant of the potential dangers.

"I can go and get some pans from the kitchen." Shion nodded watching him swim, "Don't go too far out."

Red doesn't answer, busying himself with the slightly-cooler water even as Shion leaves. Her comment makes him pause, though, treading water as he inspects the deeper ocean. It seems safe enough-- hold on, what was that enormous shape that just went by?!

He's perfectly fine with waiting in the shallow end until Shion gets back. No need to go any deeper, that's for sure.

It took a while for Shion to get to the kitchen and find pots and pans, but he hurried back up to the ocean as quick as he could. "Here we go!"

I don't know... I was asleep. [He tends to sleep a lot. He's often tired. So tired.] Whatever it was, it must have left before I woke up. It's gone now.

When you wake up after you've-- [He doesn't want to say "died". It's not really death, is it?] --after something's happened to you, you can't move at first.

[He looks at Red, concerned.] Can I help somehow?

When Shion returns, nothing's really changed. Red's still lying in the shallow water... hold on. Why's he squirming?

"Help!" Red shouts as soon as he spots Shion, leaping out of the water. Ah, there's the reason; it looks like some kind of eel-fish thing decided his tail was a tasty snack and latched onto it. It seems... painful. "Get this thing off me! Hit it with the pans or somethin'! Just hurry!"

Okay, so this-- this is normal? But that black thing... monsters aren't supposed to be in dorm rooms, right? What was it?

[Maybe it really was just his imagination... but it felt so real, so terrifying. Even now, Red's still shaking. One hand goes up to brush the wet hair out of his eyes, but aside from that he keeps still.]

Just gimme a few minutes. Maybe talk a little bit or somethin'. I just need to calm down and I'll be fine...

He should have never left him alone! Shion berated himself as he ran into the water, he had his EMR, he had learned his lesson about leaving that in his room. It was just a baton, he had given the one with electricity to Xion.

He lashed out at the eal, hitting it, trying to make it let go.

[Hooray for having a giant mech - but Asako nods and skitters onto the giant metal hand.]

Mm, okay. Better that than having to spend more time in this freaking snow.

Thankfully, it didn't take much persuasion to make the sea creature let go and slither back into the ocean; still, it had already done its damage, leaving Red's tail bleeding and slightly de-furred.

"I'm glad it wasn't anythin' worse than that!" he shouts, holding his tail up to inspect the damage. "I didn't know things like that were in there. How am I gonna keep cool now?"

Agreed. H-hold on tight!

[Up goes the hand, leaving Asako at just the right height to clamber into the cockpit. It's cramped, just like Red said, but he's got blankets and body heat to share.]

Okay, we g-got a lotta floors to go through, so it's gonna take a little while. Ready?

"Neither did I." Or he would not have left Red alone. "Let's just gather as much water as we can."

[It's hard to get anywhere in this kind of weather, especially after the rollercoaster of the past handful of days; Kariya didn't have an especially strong constitution in the first place, and Matous have about as much natural insulation to cold as...

Well, actually, they have a decent cold tolerance. A bit of a necessity when half your days are spent underground. That still doesn't mean throwing one into a blizzard is a particularly welcome touch.

This floor is so jampacked with plants that it does provide a little windbreak -- Kariya's practically invisible amid the foliage, his Blade Wing Worms so sluggish they barely move, but it's all right since they're simply in charge of huddling around him and hopefully keeping any poisonous plants out of reach.

He'll need to move at some point, no matter how well-ensconced he is, but for now he's taking a breather.]

Edited 2013-04-02 09:12 (UTC)

"Yeah, that sounds good," he agrees, picking up a pan and dipping it into the water. Red pauses for a moment, looking over to where his robot's standing. "Hey, I got an idea," he muses. "Help me fill this thing up with water."

It definitely seems like he's serious. Red's already reaching up into the cockpit and dumping water into it. "Dahak's waterproof, so this ain't gonna hurt it any," he explains, filling the pot again and tipping the water in. "I'm gonna have a little pool in there unless it starts evaporatin'."

[It seems like someone else had the same idea. It's hard to tell that there's someone else in there, though; the only real sign of anything odd is gleaming, red-and-white metal. There's a robot sitting in there, hands over its cockpit to keep any poisonous plants away from its pilot. It also helps keep the snow out, which is a plus.]

[Red himself is curled up in the cockpit, wrapped in blankets. The heat on this floor and the windbreak it offers are just enough to keep him from freezing. It's best to wait it out up here. Unfortunately, Red's not looking anywhere at the moment, focusing instead on staying warm, so he's not going to notice someone else on the floor just yet. Give him a few minutes, or spot the robot, either or.]

[Kariya, too, is curled in on himself quite neatly, with the Worms nearly completely hiding him from view -- slowed as they are, they'll warn him if a threat is nearby, so he keeps his head down to conserve heat in the freezing blasts of wind.

(Apparently robots and their resident furballs don't count as a threat. The robot is probably more like an ice statue by now, anyway.)

At length, though, as thick as the foliage is it doesn't provide complete cover in the least. If he doesn't move around once in a while he runs the risk of A. freezing where he is/to the floor and/or B. simply falling asleep.

While the Worms could wake him up in that case -- he'd better move.

There's a patch nearby that seems slightly better-sheltered. It's with a grumble that Kariya picks himself up off the floor a little and shuffles sideways, trying to expose as little of himself to the elements as possible He really regrets not taking more time to hunt up clothing; it had never been a priority before, and--

CLONK.]

O-Ow.

[Apparently, he managed to find the side of a metal statue with his head.]

Shion blinked, but a moment later did as he was told and began pouring pans of water into the robot. "It's a good idea..."

Huh? What the...?

[Red's pretty sluggish right now. It takes him a few moments to react, shuffling to the edge of the cockpit and looking for whoever just bonked into Dahak. Looks like some purple-haired guy and... what the hell are those following him? Monsters, maybe?]

H-hey, are you okay? Are those things chasin' you?! Stand back, I'll get 'em!

[The robot creaks for a moment, ice fracturing and scattering as it extends its arms towards the worms. Red's just trying to hold them back unless they prove to be an actual threat.]

[He's rubbing his head, a little sheepishly -- who knew they had garden ornaments in the place, too? -- when the not-statue moves. Kariya just barely registers the voice that accompanies it as he scrambles back a few paces... and then a few more, to take in the whole thing.

--Even for a magus, sudden and unexpected robots aren't exactly something to be taken sitting down, as it were. He scrambles to his feet, ignoring the blast of freezing wind that nets him, a little wide-eyed.

Come to think of it, why does the robot have fur?]

There's nothing chasing-- [the downside to familiars is that you become so familiar with them that sometimes (especially when your brain is half-frozen) you don't realize right away what they may look like to others, even robots] --Oh. Ah, don't worry about it! They're on my side. Our side.

[He almost adds 'they're not dangerous', but he tries not to outright lie for no reason if he can help it.]

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003 Rings

Summer

Spring (hello roommate!)

Summer

Spring (oh hi roomie)

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Winter

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Winter

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F76: Winter (sorry for a fossilized tag, ahaha)

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F76: Winter (hey, fossils are awesome)

(welcome to the Jurassic Park of tagging)

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(where the threads can roam free once again)

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