sticksandbonesmods: (Default)
sticks and bones. ([personal profile] sticksandbonesmods) wrote in [community profile] sticksandbones2024-02-17 08:11 pm

MATTERS OF THE HEART

Who: Livio, Wolfwood, Elsword, Mizuki, Add, Heimr
What: heimrquest
When: several days after the bar is built, late in the evening
Where:
???????
Warnings:
mentioned child death, mentions of plague, paranoia, supernatural-driven insanity, survivor's guilt, death, possession, impersonation, body horror. more will be added as needed.

The General Store isn't always the most bustling place, least of all in a small make-shift town of only a handful of people, each one more troubled than the last. But at some point, each and every one of you has needed something from Heimr today. Maybe it was just a bag of candy. Maybe it was something more pressing, or some groceries. Regardless, one by one he's tended to your needs, and you leave the store with little fanfare save for the fact that it's unusually foggy out this evening- not enough that you can't see other buildings...

Until you can't.

All around you is a heavy mist, and the scent of a wood fire and warm spices floats through the air. There's no turning back, so all you can do is move forward.

On an OOC note, the Choose Your Own Adventure threads will eventually merge into one group thread. Once this occurs, mod tags will occur after each involved character has tagged, or after 24 hours have passed. That said, if it looks like good banter or development is happening, the Mod will hold off a bit or until dramatic irony strikes.
livlaughlove: but i now know why (201)

cw: body horror

[personal profile] livlaughlove 2024-02-19 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
aldric sure doesn't have to tell him to be quiet any more than that. not when even the trees themselves feel deathly silent.

livio's feet only respond sporadically, though. his body trembles. it feels like he can only focus on moving one foot backward or listening to the awful sounds coming from the poor bastard deeper in the woods. it's all he can do to keep pace just behind aldric.
livlaughlove: please, tell me you knew (234)

[personal profile] livlaughlove 2024-02-19 03:26 am (UTC)(link)
he knows running right away might be leaving aldric for dead. but the seconds it would take to make sure he follows could mean they both die. at the thought of dying, livio thinks of the other kids he's been doing his best to look after -- and that sets him off. he'll hate himself for this later, when he sees their faces again.

...

only he won't be the only one to see them, if that thing keeps pace with him or trails him. he realizes this only after he's started sprinting for all he's worth. but they're far enough away -- he turns, changing the angle he flees at to avoid town entirely. he sure as hell doesn't know where he's going, but at least he isn't leading a monster to a smorgasbord.
livlaughlove: and that i'm not there (226)

[personal profile] livlaughlove 2024-02-19 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
it's almost a small mercy that he eventually trips over a root, otherwise he may keep on running for as long as his muscles and lungs allow. but as it goes, he scrambles in the dirt to collect the rifle and scoot his way under a shrub.

heart pounding in his ears, he readies the firearm to shoot -- like aldric taught him -- as he clutches it in his hiding spot. if the thing hadn't succumbed to aldric's first shot, well... livio can at least go down putting another piece of lead in it.
livlaughlove: and i gotta get to you by whatever means (213)

[personal profile] livlaughlove 2024-02-19 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
his instinct is to run to aldric, especially after who knows how long he spent psyching himself out in the bushes... but didn't that man sound human up until he wasn't?

livio eases his way to his feet, steadying the rifle. it isn't aimed directly at aldric, but just in front of his feet, and liv is ready to fire if he needs to. at least, his hands are. maybe not so much his mind.

"Are you... you?"
livlaughlove: but i will not let the shadows in me (101)

[personal profile] livlaughlove 2024-02-19 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
okay. livio sees the blood, normal human blood, and recognizes aldric's voice, and that's enough for him. he nearly drops the rifle with how fast he lowers it.

of course the thing was real; it hurt him.

"It bit you -- what if it's venomous or something?" the wound is on his head... that's bad. if there is venom, it'll get to his heart faster, then to his brain. they don't have time to get him to town. livio has done first aid for himself and for the kids, but nothing this serious...
livlaughlove: and i hate that you're alone (225)

[personal profile] livlaughlove 2024-02-19 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
livio thinks about how much time he wasted hiding in that shrub. time that may cost aldric his life, after all. shit... why can't he be the adult? he doubts he could carry aldric all the way home if he were to collapse.

"Okay. Let's just -- go. As fast as you're able, right?" he doesn't know what's worse; giving anything time to spread, or aldric working his body harder. but they sure as hell can't just stand here while that thing is still out there.

"Do you think it could follow us?"

actually, catch him taking off his outer shirt and trying to tear it into strips as they go for binding the wounds. leaving a trail of blood sounds exceptionally bad.
livlaughlove: save yourself, leave me here (153)

[personal profile] livlaughlove 2024-02-19 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
aldric is apologizing to him again. is this for real? livio ties those bites up as quick as he can, and he tries to be gentle as he can with aldric's head while still working fast.

by the time they set off again, those damn tears are blurring his vision all over again.

"Don't. That wasn't your fault. You saved my life. So don't... apologize." livio doesn't know fuckall about it either, but he knows all of that beyond doubt.
livlaughlove: and i know that you loved me too (232)

[personal profile] livlaughlove 2024-02-19 04:26 pm (UTC)(link)
to livio's credit, he isn't forgetting the gun. not with that thing somewhere out there. he wouldn't stand a chance without a weapon.

he thinks arguing with aldric wouldn't go anywhere. probably would just stress him out more. so instead he focuses on keeping an eye on him as they go, to gauge his wellbeing over time.
livlaughlove: just to get to you (230)

[personal profile] livlaughlove 2024-02-20 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
aldric may take livio's hand, but liv is the one who pulls him toward the clinic.

when they're close enough that shouting wouldn't grab the entire grove's attention, he does call out. not yelling, but louder than most folks around here have ever heard his voice.

"Miss Grace! We're comin' in!"
livlaughlove: if you're not here, i'd rather be alone (126)

[personal profile] livlaughlove 2024-02-20 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
"Heimr," livio the man breathes in recognition, then freezes up. he looks down at himself, genuine shock on his face when he sees just how big and bulky he's become. even when he remembers who he is, not just who he was, he feels maybe two inches to the left of his own body. not quite all there.

there was more. there will be more.

of course he has to face it, regardless of whether he's ready. if he waits until he's ready in every sense, it will be too late. he takes a deep breath, chest shaking ever so slightly.

"... Yeah. I am."
livlaughlove: we were the only ones (130)

[personal profile] livlaughlove 2024-02-20 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
it's been so long since anyone looked at him like that. in this current life, maybe only one person has before now. he has to fight back yet more tears as he reaches for the offered hand.

"Love you, too, pops."