poly_chromatic | ♦ ♦ 13th Contract

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Entry tags:

darker than black - hei

♦ ♦ 13th Contract

[ The weekend has come and gone. ]

[ Familiar faces have come and gone with it, leaving him feeling like an animal who's been taunted through the bars of a cage. Ugly memories, dormant for so long he expected to be free of them, emerge now as if risen from the dead. Horrors worse than what lurk in a crate of vodka have his head pounding -- tick tick tick like the City Clock. Like a time-bomb. Sometimes he sees Amber, free-floating, whispering riddles in his ears. Sometimes it's Yin, watching him with blank eyes and a sad not-smile. Pai is almost always closeby: never quite visible, calling out to him from behind a spray of blood. ]

[ Barely able to distinguish sleep from wakefulness, he isn't sure which is worse. The City feels twice as surreal after the atmosphere of the weekend, the atmosphere of his mind. ]

[ Fortunately there are ample distractions. ]

[Audio]

~~So this place has taken its 'prison' aspects a step further.~~

...Is this a practical joke?

[ Options For Run-Ins: ]

[ Shed: Pent-up energy and a mind for solitude have him trekking through the woods. He's in no mood for the chatter and music of smoky bars. He can't muster that effort to be On tonight -- to handle human faces and prying questions. Worse, the City's full of pests and spies. He'd rather not be out in public, where he could be recognized. The outdoors are a better bet, particularly so late at night. Holed up in an unheated shed, a flask of something foul in his coat pocket, he can lull himself into imperfect numbness. ]

[ If he doesn't freeze to death, locked and stranded, first. ]

[ Houseguest: The moon is pale in the sky. Masked and armed, Hei slinks through rooftops in the early-night darkness. Passing like a shadow past signboards and sloping tiles -- graceful, nearly weightless. He's alert, keeping track of everything. But his mind is fixed on Pai, on Amber and Yin and all the possibilities wasted. The thought-pattern is irrational. A time-waster. Dropping into an empty flat, he tries to snap out of it. It's chilly in here. He doesn't bother switching on the lights. Changing into civilian clothes in the bathroom, he splashes cold water on his face and resolves to head home. ]

[ Until he realizes he's stuck in. ]

[ What now? ]

[OOC: open to action and network replies. I'm cool with assuming he was stuck with more than one person during this curse. On that note, those he's trapped with are welcome to threadjack any network responses! Hei's in a tetchy mood after 4th Wall, so GIVE HIM HELL<3 ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sometimes, Korra and Naga just had to get out of the City. So they're off galloping into the forest.

When they reach a shed Korra dismounts. She didn't think anyone lived this deep in the forest.]

Wait here, girl.

[She opens the door and walks in.]

Hello?

[She doesn't notice the door close behind her.]

[ Granted, with the alcohol in his system, his focus isn't 110%. But it is, always, a good 95%. He hears noises outside. Sees the door open. He's on his feet like a shot, blade unsheathed and glinting in the dimness. He connects the voice even before he spots the intruder. ]

Korra.

[ His expression twitches into what he probably doesn't realize is a scowl. ]

[She freezes. No. Not him.]

Sorry, I was just leaving.

[She tries to open the door, but it won't budge.]

[ He frowns irritably -- an effusive reaction for him. ]

What are you doing here?

[ And what's up with the door? ]

Trying to get out.

[When pulling it harder doesn't work, Korra steps back and tries to kick it down.]

[ Dammit. Yin would be so useful in these situations. Her specter could monitor the terrain. Locate intruders. (Why not admit you just miss her?) He shakes it off. ]

Then try harder.

[ Is the door stuck? With a tch, he crosses the shed. Doesn't apply his boot or shoulder to it. He studies the rusty hinges. Not a rattle or creak -- despite Korra's pounding. Which is ... odd. ]

[ What's going on? ]

[ARGH SHE WANTS TO KILL YOU SO BAD. Except that wouldn't actually help anything (evidence: her) and she doesn't actually want to kill anyone.

But man, Hei, you're up there.

She lets out a frustrated growl as even the kicking does nothing. What she wouldn't give to have her firebending right now.]

You try it.

[ Instinct transmits her frustration, overlapped by his own. This is the last thing he wanted. Confusion, anger and alcohol snag his nerves. Scowling darkly, he pushes past her. She's aware of his ability. Nothing to be lost in using it now. He presses a gloved palm to the hinges. His eyes flash red, electricity sparking in bright-blue flash. ]

[ Nothing happens. ]

[ No scorched wood. No shattering door. Stepping back, he glowers at the realization. ]

It's not the door. [ It might be a curse. ]

[Because it's him, Korra doesn't put up a fight when he stumbles past her. At times like these, he reminds her of Amon. A small part of her is grateful that she's dead, because it dulls the physical sensation of terror.

He's not Amon. He's powerful and twisted and frightening, but he's not Amon.

That doesn't make it any easier being stuck in here with him.]

Maybe there's another way.

[She start attacking what seems to be a weak spot in the wall, but it's not budging.]

action; shed

action; shed \^^/

action; shed

action; shed

action; shed

action; shed

action; shed

action; shed

action; shed