RP:The Lame Leading the Blind
Part of the A Skull by Any Other Name Arc
The Labyrinth
Senka smirks, she can't help it anymore than she can stop the weight of the darkness pressing down on her. "Pup's got a bite," She remarks, lightly but even in the dark Sky might catch a look that's strangely…proud? "About time too." Whatever the albino wanted to say next is cut off shortly as the floor...falls… It's not just any kind of movement however. It's a rocking motion that she knows well, the gentle tilt of wood drifting over sea and indeed now that she recognises it, it's wood that her bare toes touch. Like the beating of a heart it moves steadily from side to side, rocking in unseen waves. The pale woman steps forward and stumbles, not quite getting her sea-legs and when she reaches there's a wooden wall to keep her upright. Long pale hair has covered her face with that stumble but as she looks up, the silky looks make room for her red gaze. Under that stare, it's in a new kind of corridor that the women stand. Wood rising and shaped in such a gentle curve it's almost unnoticeable while long planks steady their feet, kept in place by thick nails smoothed by years of feet walking across them. They stand in the narrow space that is the ship's stairwell, with wood moist with the salty air and groaning softly like a dying man. There's an oil lamp swinging above their head, casting moving shadows and revealing closed doors and thick sturdy stairs leading up. There are several doors, presumably rooms for the guest, although one might wonder where the crew sleeps. Senka shakes her head and new lights slowly glow into existence, oil lamps lit only by her spirit. Her soul wavers, her frown deepens because… "The ship I arrived in," The albino notes, remembering very well the hell of what had been essentially a wooden box filled with two-walkers. They called her mad, and she never did realize that that was the only thing keeping their greedy fingers away from her woman flesh. It's tempting to think they have caught a break, a salty shelter to take a breath and explore to find delights rather than tortures. But the lycan knows her mind, and with the sanity that she's got left in her she recognises the signs of danger. She needs to only take a step forward, that willing leap into a new scene of the Labyrinth, to call forth a new horror. The shadows are few, thanks to the soft orange light of the oil lamps, but they seem deeper. Like moving beasts, cowering in corners, only held at bay by the border of light: threatening. Every rock feels like a heartbeat, counting down their last moments of peace. Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump… "Snapping bones," A sweet voice sings, changing the words to a common children's lullaby, "Gushing blood. Ripping into fleshy flesh." Senka's reaction is immediate, the pale woman jumping back to press her back against the sturdy wood of the ship, the one thing keeping her upright. Eyes close tightly, her face scrunching up as if expecting a blow and her knees visibly tremble. Her breath is shallow and when she opens her eyes again they are wild. Still the beating goes on, loud in her ears, that heartbeat of the ship counting down the seconds. Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump. "We like them jawless. Rip 'em, bones crack and blood flows-who ever thought of making -you- a sister anyway?" The sweet voice continues, as sweet as any sugar, carrying the high pitched tones of a curious child. Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump, that is no child. No, that is… "Lottie," Senka growls, like a wolf to a hunter's barrel.
Skylei had flushed red in the darkness at Senka's… praise, if it could be called that. She doesn't have time to reply before the two are sent spiralling further into Senka's insanity. The floor lurches and so does Sky's stomach. Treeborn elves are not meant for the rock and roll of the sea beneath their feet and it's not long before the half-elf is feeling beyond nauseous. One hand clutches her stomach, willing the churning motion to calm, whilst the other hands reaches out for one of the poles that holds an orange lamp aloft. Anchoring herself, Sky closes her eyes and breathes deeply, in and out, in and out, in an attempt to dispel the nausea that grips her stomach. She misses Senka's explanation that they have found themselves on the ship that brought her back; the ship that threw the two women so unexpectedly into their strange alliance. So gripped is Sky by sea sickness, that it is all she can do not to vomit. How unfair that the soul experiences such bodily sensations! That feeling of bile tickling the back of her throat only sets in further at the sound of lyrics. Disgusting lyrics. Sickening song to a sweet melody. Eyes that have been closed turn wildly to Senka as the half-elf desperately pleads with the lycan for an explanation. The song continues and Sky grips tighter to her anchor, panic rife on her face yet again. Then the explanation comes; 'Lottie'. Skylei's words are tentative, "…who is Lottie?" She daren't move and all of that courage she had shown moments earlier has fled from her soul. The creature that remains is cowardly, scared and naïve, desperate for comforting words and soothing promises. She knows that the albino can offer her little comfort here. Senka's face says it all. This horror is the worst they have faced yet.
Senka said, "She knows your secrets." It's the only way the albino knows how to explain the horror that is Little Lottie. The ghost that had invaded her mind and tormented her with the memories inside of it. In a way, the girl had been like the Labyrinth they're stuck in now, only far more personal and far more permanent. There's sweat on the wolf's face, sticking long pale strands to skin, but her glare is as aggressive as her nature. With determined movements the wolf pushes free from the wall, dares to take one, two, three steps. "Play with me?" It's a child. Sweet smiling, bow wearing, bare footed child standing on wood no longer there, wood belonging to another ship at another time. There's a gap between her teeth and freckles on her cheeks and with every tilt of her head the ribbons of her bows flutter. Her eyes are grey, the palest shade of grey, and they twinkle with happiness as they land on Senka. The lycan almost loses the fight on the spot, holding onto her sanity with the skin of her teeth. "Ignore it," She can only advise her companion, trembling but not wavering as she takes her steps deeper into the ship. Shadows thicken, seeming to reach for the pale woman yet shying away from the pale skin that is her feet. Senka's back is straight, painfully so, and red eyes are fixed on the stairway she's making her way to. Yet every step is a small one and the corridor stretches out longer and longer out in front of them. "Or she'll take you."
Skylei longs to reach and grab for Senka's hand again, at first. Sky revels in physical contact. She's part human and humans need that physical reassurance that they will be okay. But her companion is all beast and madness and no compassion, and Skylei knows that there is no reassurance to be found here. But then the child comes into her sight and Skylei is captivated. The child, though Sky in her most rational mind knows that cannot be what it is, is adorable in the most hideously terrifying way. Sky's eyes are at once drawn to the tiny figure as the lycan tells her to ignore the creature; the creature that Senka claims knows all her secrets. But Skylei is not as old or as wise as the wolf and, upon seeing the sweet figure she is near enough disarmed by her innocence, "She's just a child." Sky tries to reason with the alpha, not knowing how wrong she is. As Senka backs away, Sky is rooted to the spot as though she is pinned there. The ship continues to rock its occupants, Skylei doesn't notice. She's near enough entranced by Lottie…
Senka shouted, "Don't touch her!"
Senka has no concern for Sky's sea sickness as she lunges forward. Pale fingers reach for her shoulder, tugging her backwards so that her other hand may attempt to cover her eyes. The beast's eyes are carefully lower, away from the cute vision that is Lottie. Her breath is warm as she hisses in Skylei's ear, her husky voice as low and thick as a growl. "Don't look at it. Don't speak to it. And don't.touch.it." The albino's breath is shallow and the wood beneath their feet gives a dangerous lurch. It's hard, after all, to keep a grip on madness. "Lottie gives you happening things and memories and thoughts, thoughts, thoughts until your body is moving but you're not the one moving it," Senka explains although one might wonder to whom. The ship shudders and twists, wooden boards becoming longer as everything seems to stretch towards the pale girl that has frightened the big wolf. The reverse of little Red Riding Hood, smiling and humming in the sweetest call the albino has ever heard. "Punishment and reward and pain and pleasure and she will take, take, take…"Her voice becomes breathless until she's almost whispering and the lycan's hold loosens as her red eyes reluctantly turn to the bow-wearing-child, Lottie's smiling, always smiling and mouthing Senka's words along with her, " Tick-tock, time to take. Tick-tock…giving sweet memories. You didn't know memories could hurt, did you? Tick-tock…are they your sisters? Tick-tock…you didn't deserve them anyway…" With a shudder the woman turns away from the child, closing her eyes tightly and lowering her proud head in what is undoubtedly a submissive gesture. This is Senka's world, where dragons only make her violent but a freckled, grey-eyed child brings her to her knees. "Sky…" Her voice is faint, pained, and coming from a faraway place, "…you're going to have to be my eyes."
Skylei is pulled from her trance, if only briefly, by Senka. She's not so under Lottie's spell that she can't take her eyes away from the child and focus her attention on the lycan. Senka's explanation makes little sense to Sky but she is able to see the fear in the lycan's eyes and the closeness of her face to Skylei's ears alerts her to the fact that they are definitely not safe. The song reaches her ears and the half-elf realises that, whilst it's not for her, it still elicits a reaction of pure fear. There's something else though. It's adrenaline. Senka needs Skylei to step up to the plate and take the lead. The pup must lead the alpha, strange as it seems. The alpha has been rendered submissive for the first time in her and Sky's friendship and this, more than the child, more than Senka's words on what might happen should she fall victim to Little Lottie, chills the scholar. Skylei reaches down and would attempt to take Senka's hand, should the albino allow her to take it. If Senka did, then Sky would gently lead her forward. She doesn't know where they are going or what they are doing, but Sky seems to be walking straight towards the strange child who's singing to the two of them. Her head is downturned and spare hand feels its way along the wooden railings of the ship. "Where are we going?" the half-elf whispers to the beast, unsure whether she is doing what Senka needs her to do, and whether Senka can even hear her. The wolf had sounded so distant and troubled when she had requested her help. Skylei may be their eyes but Senka is still their guide. Sky is ever-reliant on the lycan.
Senka curls her lip the moment that human hand slips into her own but she tolerates it. It's the height of friendship for the albino, where she doesn't twist and break the woman's wrist for attempting it. Instead she, although reluctantly, raises her other hand to press it against her eyes and tries to fight her violent temper but it's not easy. It's with a moody growl that Senka follows Sky, hating everything from the gentle nature of her touch to the scent of her hair. If she would've been a wolf her hackles would've been raised and a continuous low growl would rumble from her throat. How two-walkers always insist on becoming friends is beyond her. "Always with the touching…" The albino complains knowing very well that there aren't a lot of options if she's going to keep her eyes shut. But there is so much feeling in her heart and the beast has never been good at dealing with any of it. Lottie is there, watching, staring, grinning and she doesn't need her eyes to know this. Every step brings them closer and she can feel the child pulsate in her veins. Her cold, ghostly companion which had haunted her for months, tormenting and then loving her, until she came to the brink of snapping. Insanity, violence, her beastly nature combating her much more sadistic psychotic humanity. "Senky-poodle," Lottie whispers, spitting like a cat but giggling like a child, and it doesn't take much imagination to feel cold breath down her neck and over her ear, "Senky-doodle…Senky shoulda died…Why didn't you follow us? Play with us, Senka…Play with us…" The albino knows all too well what kind of play Lottie would like of her. It's the kind of play she has with her food before she eats it. "Where are we going?" Skylei cuts through thoughts and madness and with a huff the lycan answers the only logical thing, "Away." The wood groans and twist and above them the oil lamps dangle dangerously. The world is still steadily tilting, then rocking, mimicking the ways of the sea and the wood beneath their feet is damp with salty air. Lottie is standing at the end of their corridor, watching them steadily across the distance of three doors that seem firmly closed. Should they be able to pass the ghost, there is a big stairway leading up to the left. It's up to Sky to decide what "away" means. Opening a door or climbing the stairs, only one thing is certain: it's the unknown that's waiting for them.
Skylei is amazed that Senka doesn't rip her hand away. It's uncomfortable. Sky doesn't like holding onto Senka anymore than the wolf likes holding onto her. But they're in it together whether they like it or not. Sky keeps her grip loose so as not to anger the lycan more as she pulls her companion across the boards of the ship. The creature that so torments Senka stands before them as the world pulls back into stillness and they leave the torture of the ship. Least Sky no longer feels quite so nauseous. As they draw within metres of Lottie, Sky would tighten her grip ever so slightly on Senka's hand; it's what humans do, it's their way of letting someone who is afraid know that they are not alone. Perhaps it is a gesture that is unfitting for a lone wolf; a hunter without a pack. But, if nothing else, it reassures Sky that the two of them are still bound together, two souls walking through this hellish labyrinth. 'Away' is the only instruction that Sky has received as to where they are going. When faced with choices, she hesitates for a few moments, pausing to cast a glance to Senka. Three doors stand before her. Sky doesn't even contemplate the stairs. Lottie watches over the two of them, likely tormenting the lycan further whilst Sky, who has manages to prevent heself from being re-captivated by the beastly creature, keeps her eyes on the doors. One… two… three. Skylei makes for the third door. It doesn't take her long to reach it. Only then does she release Senka's hand, giving the lycan a gentle shove so that she might walk through the door before Sky; if they can open it. Alpha's first; Sky knows her manners, after all.
Senka can smell it again. It's how it started, Lottie giving her what she wants to lure her closer and trapped in their minds it's only that much more powerful. Blood, irony, earthly, wonderful scent that makes her want to rip and tear and watch it bleed over her pale hands now it can't mingle with her fur. Blood, making her salivate and her skin tingle. There's a flush of excitement, her pale skin always changes so easily, that spreads over her cheeks and down her neck but the albino knows better than to respond. Somewhere, deep in her mind, Little Lottie still lives and Senka isn't about to go back to skipping steps and singing songs. Her body is her own and that is final. So when they pass the ghost and her ears ring with the wicked whispers, it’s sheer stubbornness that has the lycan hanging on. She's so focused on fighting it that she doesn't even respond to Sky's gentle squeeze. Let her be the human in their little mind fairytale, this moment will pass as the others and the touching will be over. Sure enough they're passing one door, two, to stop at the third and the half-elf has the sense to stop and let her pass first. With a satisfied huff, Senka raises her proud head and doesn't even allow Lottie one single glance as she steps inside. White brows knit as her red eyes take their time taking in their new environment and, in a way, Skylei's mind.