[oh, no, she was what was watching them. she just seems surprised that he's here, or perhaps, that he can see her. she stares up at them both, eyes flicking a little frantically between rondo and lavi. and then she looks behind them at mathis and ashlyn, frowning.]
I have to go, it'll hear... [she flickers in and out.] I should go, YOU should go, you should turn around and leave, it'll HURT, HEADS WILL ROLL.
[she looks over her shoulder, and then back at them, fidgeting in a frenetic, sharp way.]
[ oh, boy. rondo goes along with that easily, letting lavi pull him in (and feeling that lightness with a sense of gratitude, though he doesn't show it.) when the woman yells, rondo doesn't flinch, but he almost steps a little backwards like he could try and block some of the sound for ashlyn....poor ashlyn. ]
...The portal, miss? [ this behavior isn't that an unusual for a hell denizen, so rondo is patient and polite as always, and he looks back behind them, briefly. before returning his attention immediately to the woman, just in case. ]
after this woman mentions the portal, mathis blinks, turning to look behind them too as if they just. missed a fucking portal when they came in. MAYBE THEY DID, EVEN WITH LAVI'S 20, you never know... it's more a reflex than anything.
in the meantime he's just gonna help. cover her ears for her. listen, if he takes one side and she takes the other one then Both of them have a hand free, right? right.]
[okay listen something that will hurt them DOES SOUND IMPORTANT but if going through whatever portal this is means they'll also avoid "heads rolling" then Lavi will take it, he does move his arm off Rondo's shoulder though, because clearly the 'oh no haha we're just lost' schtick isn't really working when this lady is clearly so anxious?]
Point us in the direction and we'll get outta your hair.
[is it really behind them, damn. so much for 0/20 vision]
The portal? The big, straight-lined, fancy pentagram? You came through it? Behind you? You did come through it.
[a beat.]
You don't even know where you are. That's worse! That's very funny! As funny as ALL OF OUR FLESH GETTING BURNED TO A CRISP BY THE FLAMES OF AVERNUS oh no. Oh! Shhh. The jailor again, it's going to start the torture...
I've got to go, please, I'm going to hurt again. Everyone hates this. Hates me...
[she's starting to flicker in and out like a ghost, like - a projection, maybe? you get the sense that you can probably get answers out of her if you can calm her down a little though. or you can just say fuck her if you want i'm not your mom.]
[ oh - avernus. rondo's eyes widen, briefly in realization, and. hmm. he's just going to forget about the (perfect, straight-lined) pentagram for now with that name and this poor lady's hysteria. someone else can handle that, if they want to... this poor projection/lady is clearly struggling...? ]
Oh... ma'am, no - it's alright, please. [ immediate, sincere, and warm, with that Pure Hearted Rondo TM face. look at him. he's just a sweet baby. ] I certainly don't hate you. In fact - we're very grateful, for your assistance. All of us are. If we could help to protect you, could you stay with us for a little longer? Just for a few more questions.
With our super fancy magic that's also super strong!
[brightly, as Lavi nods like he's not full of shit. yeah!!!! he is turning to look at how far away the pentagram is, trying to gauge the distance and do the mental math of if rondo picks up ashlyn and lavi picks up mathis and they both run at xx miles per hour then how fast can they reach the pentagram without getting any heads chopped off]
[lavi can see the pentagram it's literally the one they came in on. it's in the room you started in! you're like, at the edge of the dining hall, near a hallway that leads to, presumably, the rest of the place. you could probably make it in like five seconds if you ran really fast?
you can certainly try to run and get into the pentagram. i ain't gonna stop you.
anyway. fortunately for rondo, the pure hearted baby face helps. so you get lore. by god.]
Protect... me? Little old me. [a little smile.] I hope so. But it is a faint hope. Just like me.
[her eyes go a little distant.]
I can't leave, I can only suffer. But I'm supposed to do that in silence. Everybody hates me for what I am. [her voice gets a little louder.] I'm the thing that kills you, and the only reason you're alive. Made by a promise, undone by the truth. A handshake! A hug! The first beat of a newborn's heart. I am...
[she clenches her fists.]
I am Hope. What little is left of her. [...] You - you can help me? I can be a friend. I can help you, help ME.
[ of course the baby face works on this you can sense a protag a mile away.
anyway. hope. forget the dull pain in his chest. for a moment, it feels as bright and warm, imagined as it is, as the sacred flame. the flameguard is the one who keeps the light on in the darkness. so - ]
Of course. [ rondo says, and there's nothing behind it but sheer sincerity and conviction. he matches the gesture, clenching his fists, too. ] Hope, after all, is the thing you must hold on to, no matter how dire the situation gets. Right?
[ two seconds before he turns around and the others are fucking booking it ]
[the thing that kills you, and the only reason you're alive.
(a hope is what he was supposed to be, isn't he? in a sense. but he isn't a real one.)
still, enough of what she says resonates with him that he's drawing a little closer to rondo, albeit hesitantly. the thing is that if what she's saying is real, he doesn't think there's anything that someone like him can (or deserves to) do. but.
he's not ready to book it and that's halfway to protag right]
[ i'm glad you all resonate so much with the concept of hope. ashlyn doesn't.
but she also doesn't think running sounds viably realistic, with what she knows about the last group on thursday. and presumably they've already seen the new locations when this takes place, so she knows it's not that either.
she is the unwilling protag. the protag by lack of any other options. ]
...
[ thank god there are better protags here. let's just let lavi and rondo keep doing the talking... ]
[well. it's not like he hadn't expected this in some way, Rondo doing his best to help instead of somehow raising his gaze at the exact right moment to meet Lavi's and then somehow telepathically communicating the ole scoop up and run maneuver that's actually really never worked out for Lavi in the past, so why would it be any different now? he can discard that plan (for now) then.
He's not as compelled to want to help this stranger, because he can't afford to try and protect an extra on top of the three already with him, but he can use this moment between them. He can commit to something on paper just fine, as long as that's all it is.]
You've already helped us a bit, so we can help ya too.
[hope gives them all a little smile, snapping her fingers.
you're now in brand new clothes! or brand old clothes, as it were. ratty old things. you have shoes too, just as ratty as the rest of these.]
Then - yes. Let's be friends. FRIENDS DON'T STAB EACH OTHER IN THE BACK! [ok] Everyone here is mad - even you, especially me - and that makes them dangerous. But it also makes them stupid! Now you look as ruined as the rest of them.
You find the hammer. The Hammer. You'll find it in THE SAME PLACE YOU'LL FIND YOUR RATTY LITTLE SOUL WHEN RAPHAEL RIPS IT OUT! Down the hallway. Past the debtors, oh, the debtors. They won't look at you in those rags.
[she giggles. and her form starts to shake and shiver.]
Find the hammer and you can break me out! And I'll break you out! And WE'LL BE BROKEN TOGETHER!
[aaaaaaaaand she's gone! she vanishes, in a shudder of hot, smoking air.
well! that was something. what do all of you think?]
[ for some reason i expected Outfit Of Many Belts so when i clicked this i was very surprised. okay, ratty is - fine. it's being conspicious! rondo can do that! (he's not good at it). uneasily, his hand comes over his heart and settles there as she talks. for as wild as this is, it's a little bit bolstering to be talking to hope. the idea of saving hope. it's as warm as that dull pain, as warm as the room around them, and rondo nods.
his... gaze...slides to lavi.... about the hammer... and he raises both of his eyebrows. like. hammer? your hammer's gonna save us out of this??? before he looks to the rest of the group and nods, keeping his voice low as he addresses everyone (for once) ]
I have a feeling we won't be able to go back so easily, anyhow. [ to the pentagram. ] ...I'd like to find a sword, so... let's keep our eyes peeled for any equipment, and stay vigilant. But it...sounds as if we need to get moving quickly, right?
there are some worrying things about this, but he's also a little busy wondering if he has a soul to rip out at all, plucking nervously at the frayed edge of his shirt-- then feeling anxiously at his neck to see if the outfit swap left it covered. which it hasn't. bad.
he's fussing with his hair a little to make sure it's still laying over the back of his neck while he answers.]
[Lavi looks back at Rondo's gaze and does a little shrug of his shoulders because surely this isn't about his HAMMER even though he wishes that it was, but then again if his HAMMER is involved then that means Innocence is involved and that's a whole other can of worms. He's feeling antsy, but he keeps it Repressed as usual, sliding into something more alert than before.]
...Ash's right. And like Ron said -- all we can do right now is play along. [he didn't say that exactly but same thing] Let's keep our eyes and ears peeled, yeah? Anyone sees a weapon, grab it.
[but otherwise let's go bare feeties group? he nods at rondo, and then looks at Mathis and Ashlyn,]
[ it is not, in fact, a belt outfit because you are not soldiers of the Blood War. You are Debtors. Shoeless, pathetic petitioners at the doorstep of this grand House of Hope, mortals who have hoped to make a trade for something in life that seemed so worth it at the time. Is it still?
But you can all begin to move along - you'll find this house stretches further and further the more you seem to look, it's really quite enormous. But in this direct area you can see down a long, opulent hallway. It's all more of that ornate, gaudy decorating, huge cabinets filled with trinkets, a great grandfather clock, and more portraits of a variety of red-skinned and smug individuals. You can also see people, all dressed very similarly to yourselves now, in dirty rags, all occupied with various tasks. A few cleaning, but some standing and staring into space, or humming and laughing to themselves, or dancing in an endless circle - they don't seem to pay you any mind as you pass. In the distance, screams. And laughter.
Along here are there are three doorways: A room with a plaque that reads LIBRARY and is barred by a huge set of double doors.
A room labeled PLEASURE CHAMBER that is open, but seems to billow outwards with mist, and Scents. Good scents? They are most definitely Smells.
A room labeled SITTING ROOM that is shut with a single door, with a large knocker on it.
[ cool. hate this! what's the condition of the people who are hanging around, are they like. beaten up? or are they just real sad/dirty/crazy looking. are they solid? are they all humans...?
our dogs are out and we are marching. rondo nods to lavi - and similarly, he seems much more alert now, too, clearly shifting into Battle Mode as he starts to scan the hallways. he's half expecting a hellfiend to pop out any second now, and he's practically on a swivel as they start to make their way down the hallway.
a library, a pleasure chamber, and a sitting room. well, listen, rondo's catholic so he's not going to the pleasure chamber first that's embarrassing. and these sorts of manors...well, a library might be a source of information if not a hammer, so it's at least maybe a start?
he takes the lead, putting one hand on the double door. ]
Alright... let's stay together. Library, if we're ready...? [ glancing from lavi to ashlyn, and then back to mathis, he goes to turn the handle to take a precursory look and shield the others if necessary in case something comes flying out. Tank Behavior, is what i'm saying. ]
[information. something. anything. this seems safest to him? books are safe!
he sticks close to the others, reflexively reaching to his thigh where his knife is normally strapped, before he remembers it isn't there and straightens once more.
mathis is likely close behind rondo, though, trying to peer curiously around him into this library.]
[ first there are no shoes then there's the hope of shoes now there's no shoes again. i'm on a rollercoaster. anyway ashlyn nods at the others. she's still trying to keep an ear out for... well... anything...?
but her priority is sticking together wherever they go, so she's staying next to mathis again. she doesn't mind letting rondo take the lead. she thinks whatever order they look at these rooms in, they're going to find the most in the third place they check. she thinks the game is rigged either way. ]
[okay honestly the vibes are bad but also.... really interesting? like, Lavi wouldn't have preferred this, but he can't drag his eye away from everything he's seeing, pulling it in and absorbing and simply enjoying the fact that he is discovering something new, even if it's like this. But luckily for him, he knows how to keep the stupid curious cat part of his brain under control, so he doesn't go haring off and running into the pleasure chambers by himself, fortunately(?).
instead he perks up at the suggestion of library, and follows the rest of the group, making sure to fall back a little so that he's the last one behind, so that he can look back and check that no one else is following them, otherwise he will follow everyone into the library.]
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I have to go, it'll hear... [she flickers in and out.] I should go, YOU should go, you should turn around and leave, it'll HURT, HEADS WILL ROLL.
[she looks over her shoulder, and then back at them, fidgeting in a frenetic, sharp way.]
Go back through the portal?
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...The portal, miss? [ this behavior isn't that an unusual for a hell denizen, so rondo is patient and polite as always, and he looks back behind them, briefly. before returning his attention immediately to the woman, just in case. ]
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after this woman mentions the portal, mathis blinks, turning to look behind them too as if they just. missed a fucking portal when they came in. MAYBE THEY DID, EVEN WITH LAVI'S 20, you never know... it's more a reflex than anything.
in the meantime he's just gonna help. cover her ears for her. listen, if he takes one side and she takes the other one then Both of them have a hand free, right? right.]
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Wait, what will hear?
[ this thing that is going to hurt them sounds more important than the portal guys. GUYS. ]
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Point us in the direction and we'll get outta your hair.
[is it really behind them, damn. so much for 0/20 vision]
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[a beat.]
You don't even know where you are. That's worse! That's very funny! As funny as ALL OF OUR FLESH GETTING BURNED TO A CRISP BY THE FLAMES OF AVERNUS oh no. Oh! Shhh. The jailor again, it's going to start the torture...
I've got to go, please, I'm going to hurt again. Everyone hates this. Hates me...
[she's starting to flicker in and out like a ghost, like - a projection, maybe? you get the sense that you can probably get answers out of her if you can calm her down a little though. or you can just say fuck her if you want i'm not your mom.]
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Oh... ma'am, no - it's alright, please. [ immediate, sincere, and warm, with that Pure Hearted Rondo TM face. look at him. he's just a sweet baby. ] I certainly don't hate you. In fact - we're very grateful, for your assistance. All of us are. If we could help to protect you, could you stay with us for a little longer? Just for a few more questions.
[ shines warmly and pure-maiden-heartedly ]
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oh no oh no oh what?? oh n
okay. breathing. he is breathing.]
...right. R-right, we could, um... even if we can't help, we can... stay a little longer.
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Protect her? How?
[ we don't have weapons! and the 'jailor' doesn't sound promising when it's an it. ]
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[brightly, as Lavi nods like he's not full of shit. yeah!!!! he is turning to look at how far away the pentagram is, trying to gauge the distance and do the mental math of if rondo picks up ashlyn and lavi picks up mathis and they both run at xx miles per hour then how fast can they reach the pentagram without getting any heads chopped off]
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you can certainly try to run and get into the pentagram. i ain't gonna stop you.
anyway. fortunately for rondo, the pure hearted baby face helps. so you get lore. by god.]
Protect... me? Little old me. [a little smile.] I hope so. But it is a faint hope. Just like me.
[her eyes go a little distant.]
I can't leave, I can only suffer. But I'm supposed to do that in silence. Everybody hates me for what I am. [her voice gets a little louder.] I'm the thing that kills you, and the only reason you're alive. Made by a promise, undone by the truth. A handshake! A hug! The first beat of a newborn's heart. I am...
[she clenches her fists.]
I am Hope. What little is left of her. [...] You - you can help me? I can be a friend. I can help you, help ME.
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anyway. hope. forget the dull pain in his chest. for a moment, it feels as bright and warm, imagined as it is, as the sacred flame. the flameguard is the one who keeps the light on in the darkness. so - ]
Of course. [ rondo says, and there's nothing behind it but sheer sincerity and conviction. he matches the gesture, clenching his fists, too. ] Hope, after all, is the thing you must hold on to, no matter how dire the situation gets. Right?
[ two seconds before he turns around and the others are fucking booking it ]
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(a hope is what he was supposed to be, isn't he? in a sense. but he isn't a real one.)
still, enough of what she says resonates with him that he's drawing a little closer to rondo, albeit hesitantly. the thing is that if what she's saying is real, he doesn't think there's anything that someone like him can (or deserves to) do. but.
he's not ready to book it and that's halfway to protag right]
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but she also doesn't think running sounds viably realistic, with what she knows about the last group on thursday. and presumably they've already seen the new locations when this takes place, so she knows it's not that either.
she is the unwilling protag. the protag by lack of any other options. ]
...
[ thank god there are better protags here. let's just let lavi and rondo keep doing the talking... ]
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He's not as compelled to want to help this stranger, because he can't afford to try and protect an extra on top of the three already with him, but he can use this moment between them. He can commit to something on paper just fine, as long as that's all it is.]
You've already helped us a bit, so we can help ya too.
['made by a promise, undone by the truth.']
So let's be friends, yeah?
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you're now in brand new clothes! or brand old clothes, as it were. ratty old things. you have shoes too, just as ratty as the rest of these.]
Then - yes. Let's be friends. FRIENDS DON'T STAB EACH OTHER IN THE BACK! [ok] Everyone here is mad - even you, especially me - and that makes them dangerous. But it also makes them stupid! Now you look as ruined as the rest of them.
You find the hammer. The Hammer. You'll find it in THE SAME PLACE YOU'LL FIND YOUR RATTY LITTLE SOUL WHEN RAPHAEL RIPS IT OUT! Down the hallway. Past the debtors, oh, the debtors. They won't look at you in those rags.
[she giggles. and her form starts to shake and shiver.]
Find the hammer and you can break me out! And I'll break you out! And WE'LL BE BROKEN TOGETHER!
[aaaaaaaaand she's gone! she vanishes, in a shudder of hot, smoking air.
well! that was something. what do all of you think?]
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his... gaze...slides to lavi.... about the hammer... and he raises both of his eyebrows. like. hammer? your hammer's gonna save us out of this??? before he looks to the rest of the group and nods, keeping his voice low as he addresses everyone (for once) ]
I have a feeling we won't be able to go back so easily, anyhow. [ to the pentagram. ] ...I'd like to find a sword, so... let's keep our eyes peeled for any equipment, and stay vigilant. But it...sounds as if we need to get moving quickly, right?
[ reassuring smile...? ]
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there are some worrying things about this, but he's also a little busy wondering if he has a soul to rip out at all, plucking nervously at the frayed edge of his shirt-- then feeling anxiously at his neck to see if the outfit swap left it covered. which it hasn't. bad.
he's fussing with his hair a little to make sure it's still laying over the back of his neck while he answers.]
U-um... right...
Do you think that was... the truth?
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ashlyn lowers her hands from her ears. (ma'am! MA'AM!!!) and looks sadly down at this outfit which does not appear to include fucking SHOES. ]
Whether or not that was the truth... We should be more concerned with whether or not any of this is real.
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...Ash's right. And like Ron said -- all we can do right now is play along. [he didn't say that exactly but same thing] Let's keep our eyes and ears peeled, yeah? Anyone sees a weapon, grab it.
[but otherwise let's go bare feeties group? he nods at rondo, and then looks at Mathis and Ashlyn,]
Let's go.
[TO OUR DEATHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
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But you can all begin to move along - you'll find this house stretches further and further the more you seem to look, it's really quite enormous. But in this direct area you can see down a long, opulent hallway. It's all more of that ornate, gaudy decorating, huge cabinets filled with trinkets, a great grandfather clock, and more portraits of a variety of red-skinned and smug individuals. You can also see people, all dressed very similarly to yourselves now, in dirty rags, all occupied with various tasks. A few cleaning, but some standing and staring into space, or humming and laughing to themselves, or dancing in an endless circle - they don't seem to pay you any mind as you pass. In the distance, screams. And laughter.
Along here are there are three doorways:
A room with a plaque that reads LIBRARY and is barred by a huge set of double doors.
A room labeled PLEASURE CHAMBER that is open, but seems to billow outwards with mist, and Scents. Good scents? They are most definitely Smells.
A room labeled SITTING ROOM that is shut with a single door, with a large knocker on it.
Go forth. ]
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our dogs are out and we are marching. rondo nods to lavi - and similarly, he seems much more alert now, too, clearly shifting into Battle Mode as he starts to scan the hallways. he's half expecting a hellfiend to pop out any second now, and he's practically on a swivel as they start to make their way down the hallway.
a library, a pleasure chamber, and a sitting room. well, listen, rondo's catholic so he's not going to the pleasure chamber first that's embarrassing. and these sorts of manors...well, a library might be a source of information if not a hammer, so it's at least maybe a start?
he takes the lead, putting one hand on the double door. ]
Alright... let's stay together. Library, if we're ready...? [ glancing from lavi to ashlyn, and then back to mathis, he goes to turn the handle to take a precursory look and shield the others if necessary in case something comes flying out. Tank Behavior, is what i'm saying. ]
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[information. something. anything. this seems safest to him? books are safe!
he sticks close to the others, reflexively reaching to his thigh where his knife is normally strapped, before he remembers it isn't there and straightens once more.
mathis is likely close behind rondo, though, trying to peer curiously around him into this library.]
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[ first there are no shoes then there's the hope of shoes now there's no shoes again. i'm on a rollercoaster. anyway ashlyn nods at the others. she's still trying to keep an ear out for... well... anything...?
but her priority is sticking together wherever they go, so she's staying next to mathis again. she doesn't mind letting rondo take the lead. she thinks whatever order they look at these rooms in, they're going to find the most in the third place they check. she thinks the game is rigged either way. ]
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instead he perks up at the suggestion of library, and follows the rest of the group, making sure to fall back a little so that he's the last one behind, so that he can look back and check that no one else is following them, otherwise he will follow everyone into the library.]
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