blue on black, tears on a river.

[agrizzlysin]

CHARACTERS: Fairy King Harlequin, OPEN to Left Behind
DATE: The week leading up to Hellboy's post
WARNINGS: Deer corpses and postmortem gore in the second starter
SUMMARY: King looks for the missing and has unfortunate heart-to-hearts above deer corpses.

a. search party all night

[King doesn't know how long it's been since he last checked in on Undyne's roll call. The jewelry probably has a way to tell that too, just like the location function, but he hadn't looked back then, so it wouldn't make any difference to look now. It's night, dark and dreary, and that's all he needs to know it's been "too long." His empty stomach, muscles strained from rounding the islands relentlessly, and the inability to find any of the missing with the jewelry's location function all tell him it's time to call it a day. Doing that doesn't appeal to King either. All of the missing are still missing, and now...]

Now I'm gonna have to walk all the way back, aren't I?

[The listless way King hunches at the thought makes it clear that he's not going to make it back before morning. If at all.]


b. deerly departed

[Carefully, meticulously, King's fingers entrap a leech-like animal between them. Then he starts to pull the creature back and forth, wriggling it off of the remains of a dead Nalawi's chest before tossing it back into the shallows nearby. The corpse itself is in bad enough shape, but the shallows are no better. More blood resides in the water than in the body by now.

Once the parasite dives out of view, King turns around to offer his partner a reassuring little nod.]

That should be... a little better anyway.

[Sort of. Maybe. Not really.]

Comments

b - Altered a little!

[perma_banned]

[A single, bloated corpse didn't smell as bad as one might have thought--not when it washed up at night. If it spent the day in the sun, it would certainly get worse and the carrion birds would get to it in a short span after the smell carried. Ban didn't notice it at all.

King likely didn't notice Ban, either. Ban had been sleeping against a tree by the shore, failing to notice the corpse that had washed up close to him. In the deeper dark of the tree's shade, he was nearly invisible.

As he woke, his hands fell to the well-decorated wooden box he had been given by his recruiters. The first thing he did when he woke up was to divert his attention to it. His fingers had been locked around it with a protectiveness that bordered on madness. When he pressed the lever to let the music box work-- a voice came out, instead.

Elaine's voice.

'I wish... he had stayed a little longer.']

you demon.

[agrizzlysin]

[King is already on edge. The ritualistic killing he's just come across is not for the faint-hearted, and he can't be sure the perpetrators won't return. He's on alert for any sound - voices, footsteps, breathing. Nothing could have prepared him for what he actually hears.

Elaine's voice.

The flabbergasted fairy whirls around, and all color drains from his face. Elaine isn't behind him, but, unlike when he'd dealt with those hallucinogenic flowers, Ban is. King's chest is so tight, it feels like it might tear with every breath. It doesn't though. He can count on no such escape. All he can do is look down at the box in Ban's arms. He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out.]

that's my sin

[perma_banned]

[There was a 'pop' as the last bar struck in the audio box. It stopped spinning. Ban found the crank once more and began to turn it slowly, finally breathing. He had been holding his breath the entire time 'she' spoke, as if he didn't want any noise to interrupt her.

When he pushed the lever again, he went still. He hadn't noticed King, yet.

Elaine's voice came out again, clear as if she were sitting with Ban. She sounded enthusiastic.

'Yes, I'm something like a Princess.'

A pause came, as if from an exchange in the conversation. Her voice turned sly.

'Yes! Even though he acted tough, he was a bit of a cry-baby.'

She fell silent after a giggle and the audio box ceased turning once again.]

[agrizzlysin]

[Somewhere in the back of his mind, he processes that Elaine is talking about him. King, her cry-baby brother who left her all alone for centuries. Is she really talking though? Or is this some illusion? More importantly, why is he so scared of both possibilities?

His little sister's name sits on the tip of his tongue, but when King finds his voice, it's not the name he speaks.]

--Ban?

[perma_banned]

[Ban didn't look up. His eyes focused less intently on the box and he seemed to lean back before looking away from it. It was pathetic. He spent the entire night listening to Elaine talk before succumbing to sleep. He hadn't even been drinking. He thought to himself that it was funny, having her voice stuck in a little box that he could use at his leisure. It was comical, in a way, that ALASTAIR would want to give him a little comfort that way. As for why--he didn't know.

After listening to it a few times, he remembered what it was like to talk to her. Something that seemed kind quickly snowballed into a desperate longing he had forgotten with time. Ban always thought of Elaine, but he had learned to set her memory aside from time to time as he worked for ALASTAIR. Other people took his attention and he liked them. He kept listening to her simply because her real voice filled in gaps his memory couldn't replicate. He had gone from finding humor in it to finding himself attached to it.

King found him like that.]

Thought it was a joke at first. Just started to realize some of the stuff she's saying isn't stuff she ever said to me.

[He started to wind it up, again.]

Those guys really know how to choose gifts~.

[agrizzlysin]

[King takes a tentative step forward. Honestly, it doesn't surprise him that Ban is more focused on the box than on him. That's not what bothers him. It's everything else - hearing Elaine, knowing that something like this box was gifted to Ban, being told that she says things Ban doesn't remember. No. King stops himself before he can continue. Elaine isn't saying those things now; the box is. It's just a memory, even if it's not just Ban's memory.

It hits him that this is somewhat like the man who said ALASTAIR gifted him that alien egg. This, however, manages to be even more disconcerting.]

ALASTAIR, you mean? It's like... a recording?

[The thought is both disappointing and relieving, but it doesn't do anything to curb his quickly rising anxiety.]

[perma_banned]

[Ban lifted the box and looked it over. He opened it for good measure to check the insides. It didn't play automatically. It still required the use of the crank. Ban held back from it for awhile. He had been using it for awhile and while nothing she said was bad, it was likely enough that King wouldn't have been any happier for having heard it.]

Yeah. Remember the incantation orbs that Merlin and her apprentice made for Liones?

[They could project voices over a great distance, but he never heard them saving words for later use. It would have been an excellent way to communicate.

At the moment, Ban was just using that sort of magic for himself.]

I tried talking back to it, but it's one-way. It doesn't work like the jewels ALASTAIR gave us. Guess that'd be asking for too much.

a)

[circulets]

[ Mikleo doesn't know how or when he split up from his usual travel partner, but what he does know is that this stranger shouldn't be traveling alone. No one here should. There's no telling what could happen - what other dangers could be waiting for them here. ]

If you don't mind someone joining you, I'll go with you.

[ He's a little worried about Sorey - the person he's usually with - but, he'll be keeping in contact with him with the device, at least. ]

a

[winces]

[ she finds him just along the outskirts of the woods, her arms laden with leave-wrapped fruits that had fallen from the storm's harsh winds. technically it is saffron to find him first, the lion cub's curiosity taking him further towards the trees where king emerges from. at first, the cub lets out a warning growl, something low and rumbling in its chest. but as king approaches, its wariness shifts into confusion, and then finally curiosity, padding quietly towards the redhead with cautious sniffs at the air. ]

—King?

[ olivia appears not too long after saffron has made a full round around the fairy, her own expression a mix of confusion and concern. ]

What are you doing out here so late...?

[agrizzlysin]

[Ban has always been frustratingly intuitive when it comes to things like that. Hearing Elaine's voice still hurts King, still reminds him of how he'd failed her before he'd wisened up for his second chance. But at the very least, he can face it now. He isn't running away, not again.

The disfigured corpse lays silent and forgotten behind him as his lips tighten in a thin line.]

So... They gave you a piece of her.

[He doesn't voice any of the potential motives that float through his head. Right now more than ever, they're not what's important.]

[agrizzlysin]

[King's head pops up when he hears another voice. His inability to sense incoming power is starting to get to him as much as everything else, but once he recognizes the face as one of ALASTAIR, his shoulders relax.]

I don't mind. I'm more surprised I'm not the only one alone out here.

[agrizzlysin]

[When King catches sight of the lion cub, he first assumes it's Sakura's. He follows Saffron with his eyes and nothing else, tensely waiting to see whether he needs to jump out scolding or back down in relief. The voice that calls his name isn't Sakura's though. Once he recognizes Olivia's figure among the foliage, he sighs.

Relief, it is.]

The same as everyone else: trying to figure out what's going on. How long have you been out here?

[perma_banned]

[Ban nodded.

He didn't notice how delicately he was holding the machine. Ban only really remembered a few moments in his life in which he had to hold something he realized was precious and beyond value before both were gone.

He sounded sane and reasonable before, but Ban knew how little composure meant to the truly insane. Some crazy people were just plain good at acting totally rational.]

It's probably the best they could do.

[circulets]

I'm surprised, as well. I had someone else with me, but we ended up getting separated.

We still don't know how dangerous it is out here, so your decision is wise.

[ Especially considering that their powers aren't as up to par before this enire mess happened. ]

[agrizzlysin]

[King might as well not have any power at all anymore. While he accepts that as fact, he hasn't really accepted it in an emotional sense. He's of no use here without his magic, and yet he can't return to where he needs to be - back home. That frustration has kept him up more than just tonight.]

You can track them with the communication jewelry, if you're worried. [He gestures to the ring he wears on his pinky.] If you were with someone, you'd better make sure they made it back to the city.

[circulets]

Really? Thank you.

[ He looks to the jewelry, a little embarrassed he didn't realize that sooner. ]

He isn't back yet, but it's likely that he's looking for me. In that case, I want to make it a priority to find him, as well. ... If you want, you can turn down my offer now.

[winces]

A couple of hours, [ she admits quietly, but she comforts herself with the fact that she is the adult here (fairy years be damned!) and so she doesn't feel quite so embarrassed about it. ]

You shouldn't have been alone, though... It's dangerous.

[agrizzlysin]

[It's a good thing she keeps the concept of "fairy years" to herself. After her unexpected offer to help him explore the mysterious room in Oska's dungeon, he just assumes that she worries about everyone else without caring she's trapped in the same boat.]

Sure, it's dangerous, but telling me to stay back and do nothing would be a whole other kind of dangerous. [He says in all seriousness.] If it bothers you, we can stick together.

[winces]

[ technically, she does; but his youthful appearance doesn't really help him in her eyes.

she can't help but blink at his words, like a thinly-veiled threat that she is almost certain isn't directed at her... but that merely leaves her wondering to whom the danger would be for.

weakly, she smiles, readjusting the basket of fruit in her arms. ]

Um — sure... Do you plan on doing this all night?

[ do fairies sleep... ]

[agrizzlysin]

What are you going to do with it?

[King can imagine how impotent he'd feel with such a thing in his care, so close and yet so far from everything he needs. Ban must feel the same... but maybe he's already convinced himself he doesn't deserve better.

Too bad things like love laugh in the face of that logic. Not that King's been able to get through to Ban on that front yet.]

[agrizzlysin]

I won't be able to get comfortable anyway. [King sighs, shoulders slumping. Now that he's known the comfort of Chastiefol's pillow form, he doesn't want to sleep without it.] I'll walk you there. It could be dangerous, right?

[Of course, right after he says that, he lets loose a whopping yawn, stretching his whole body like a cat. King never has been good with timing.]

[agrizzlysin]

Actually... I was thinking about going back. [Eventually. Once he manages to build up enough energy. Siiiiigh.] I can't cover enough ground like this, and I'm about ready to fall asleep standing up.

[winces]

[ her brow furrows a bit at his choice of words. "like this"? did he, perhaps, have another method he meant to try?

but that is a question, perhaps, best saved for another time. right now there are other matters to attend to— ]

Would you like me to carry you back?

[agrizzlysin]

[Not that he meant to try so much as he wished he could try. Searching for people is so much easier when you can fly. Responding to someone who's just asked if you'd like them to carry you back to camp, however, is never easy, no matter what.

King sputters, promptly loosing his cool.]

What?! N-No, that's not-! I just-!

[Aaaand he droops.]

I'm fine. Already waking up.

1/2.

[circulets]

[ ... Won't be able to get comfortable? Would anyone be able to get comfortable in a situation like this out here? ] If anything happens to you, I'll be able to heal you.