( open )

[adelphoi]

Who: Alisaie Leveilleur (adelphoi) & you nerds
What: October general shenans
When: All month
Where: Everywhere potentially but probably just at her house mostly
Warning(s): Sick.. stuff?? idk probably nothing but will update if necessary.



PART 1;

a; aftermath

[ alisaie is not present in the marketplace when the attack occurs, but the resounding boom cannot be missed, even from her home flat. it's a hectic hour or so while she rushes to figure out what has happened, and when riza returns home sick she feels a heavy misgiving sink deep into her stomach. disease is not an enemy she can fight with her rapier, it's something insidious, something sneaky and unpredictable - gods help them find a remedy soon.

immediately, she's dashing right to work. with riza ill they'll need supplies - healthy foods, spare blankets, medicinal herbs, ice, a great deal of ice. once she's set with her list she's off to the institute and markets to gather what useful things she can, stuffing them into a canvas shoulder bag, but you can certainly bet that she'll stop to assist in any way she can, whether it's righting an overturned cart or leading those who were injured in the panic to the sanctuary.

of course, it's not long before she's feeling rather warm and dizzy herself and, of course, chalking it up to the rush and mayhem. maybe she'll just.. sit down a moment. ]

b; sickbed;

[ alisaie is an awful patient.

keeping her in bed is no easy task, and there's an itch under her skin that urges her to move, to work - there's so much she could be doing, ways she could be helping. this disease is a godsdamned prison.

she's responsible enough to at least not mingle with the public, lest she spread this horrible mystery illness further, but she cannot remain strictly indoors in bed for so long, not without losing her mind. so when she can, when the weather is tepid, alisaie sits on the second floor deck of her flat, wrapped up in a blanket, usually with a book (or stack of books), enjoying the fresh air on her too-hot face. ]

c; reaching out

[ what else can you do when you're more or less bedbound? catch up on the internet, of course. mostly, alisaie keeps an eye on the network for any updates, and takes the time to reach out to those she knows, to doublecheck that they're safe. if you've met her even once or twice, chances are she will toss a line out and test the waters. incoming message from RedMage: ]

This is Alisaie; how are you faring?

PART 2;

a; wandering

[ it's late evening the first time she sees him.

though first she hears him, the familiar voice of her grandfather calling her out of her dreams, warm and welcoming. she wakes in her bed, slick with fever sweat and surrounded by silence - mayhaps she had misheard it? it must have been a dream, her head is spinning. but then it comes again, distinct and clear; it has been years since she last heard his voice but it is not a sound that she would ever forget. ]

Grandfather..?

[ dizzy and disoriented, she climbs out of bed and stumbles toward the open window, squinting into the slanting light of sunset just in time to see the shape of him, louisoix leveilleur's all too familiar form disappearing around the corner. immediately her heart kicks up into her throat and alisaie gasps and turns, stumbling back through her bedroom and out of the house, down the stairs and onto the street barefoot, in her nightdress, to follow a ghost. ]

No, please wait.. don't leave me again..

[ how long she wanders in this delirium she cannot say, but her feet are sore and scratched and muddy, her hair down and wild from sleep and the tugging winds. she may run right into you, or trip over a flagstone, but short of forceful intervention nothing will keep her from her goal. ]

b; friendly fire

[ for those of you unlucky enough to visit her (or stop by her home for some other purpose) while the symptoms continue to worsen, you will find that her delirium has not abated. between bouts of lucidity and sleep she tries still to wander, to follow the voices and phantoms of her family and friends to whatever oblivion they might call her to, but it is not only friends she sees. sometimes it is enemies or horrible, twisted monsters. it's hardly a problem if she wanders outside, weaponless, but any creak of sound within her home would easily alert her.

blinking blearily, alisaie tumbles out of bed at the noise, her heart thudding and her mind cloudy, and she does not think twice before taking up her rapier and focus which lie across a chair in her room and stumbling into the dimly lit common area. her voice is rough from coughing. ]

Who.. who goes there?

[ catchall for october! alisaie will spent much of it being sick, apparently, so feel free to crash her place and visit.. make sure she stays in bed. get her texts or send her one, or meet up in the market!! if none of these prompts work for you i'm more than happy to work something out and write up a starter. ♥ plotting comment is here, or i can be reached on plurk for planning. i'm game! ]

Comments

ii-b, 8]

[strictdiscipline]

[ There's no luck involved when it comes to Riza, quite simply because she lives with Alisaie and she's hardly going to abandon Alisaie even if they both ought to be elsewhere.

What little research they've done into the unfamiliar gas has stalled, shortage of breath and weakness throughout their whole body enough to send them to bed early most days. And as much as Riza hates bedrest, hates the lack of motion - and more importantly lack of progress - that comes with excessive sleep, she can't help but accept that the best route to recovery is through proper rest and nutrition.

Even if said route looks dimmer and dimmer with each passing day.

She's not in bed this particular day but curled up in one of the couches, a book gone forgotten in her lap as she stares listlessly through the window. It slips out of her lap, enough to startle her back into focus - and alert her housemate, apparently, soft footsteps enough to catch Riza's attention. ]

Alisaie?

[ A question, though whatever uncertainty had colored her tone originally dissipates at the sight of the blade in Alisaie's hand, gleaming in the low light. ]

Alisaie. [ Firmer this time, soothing. This isn't the first time either of them have seen and heard things that weren't there, but it is the first time either of them have gone armed. ] Put the sword down. There's no one her but us.

[ But apparently, even just that is enough. ]

8(

[adelphoi]

[ riza is speaking, but alisaie cannot hear her - her soft, soothing tones to her ears are twisted groans and breathless, horrible whispers, the rattling of the dead.

she does not have the wherewithal to completely understand that it's somewhat silly that a monster would be here, in this moment, all that registers to her fever addled mind is enemy, and must protect herself, and riza, and their shared home.

for it is not riza she sees, but a twisted, horrifying ashkin, its many faces contorted in agony and terror, its gnarled hands reaching, clawing, threatening.

her head is spinning, which is the only reason she misses when she strikes without warning, thrusting the deadly sharp tip of her rapier into the soft just beside riza's neck. with a frustrated cry she yanks it free and raises it to strike again. ]

Leave this place.. !

[strictdiscipline]

[ She expects an answer, not the sudden pierce of Alisaie's rapier into the fabric of the couch inches away from her face. A sharp exhale whistles through her lips as she tumbles off the couch in shock and avoidance, landing on the ground in an undignified heap.

Not for long - she's quick to scramble to her feet and put distance between the both of them, though it's hard when her muscles are weak and her body is sluggish from disease. ]

Alisaie!

[ Sharp this time, and colored by hurt. ]

I'm not your enemy! You're imagining things!

[ If she's learned anything from the past few days it's that the images and misbeliefs caused by the illness fade with time, but time is the last thing she has ready on her hands. ]

[adelphoi]

[ the look on riza's face would break her heart, would that she could see it for what it is. but she cannot see her face, nor hear her pleas - her voice is little more than a ghastly wail that chills her very blood, biting into her bones.

for as ill as she is, alisaie moves quickly, due most likely to the adrenaline that rushes through her veins, the unmistakable thrill of battle and survival. distantly, she does not understand why her prey is running from her rather than attacking, but she's not lucid enough to really think about it too hard.

so with a sharp cry she's lunging again, quick and merciless, aiming two brutal slashes clear across riza's chest and abdomen. ]

[strictdiscipline]

[ Well then, no time for idle chatter.

That fact makes itself abundantly clear as Alisaie continues her assault forward, gaze focused but not quite there. Not the Alisaie she knows and trusts. Riza ducks and rolls to avoid the brunt of the attack, but her step is too slow and her arm's caught in the upswing, the rapier leaving behind a trail of red in its wake. She hisses in pain, arm jerking close to her side, but keeps moving, towards the door and some semblance of freedom.

Still, she saves a breath for a second attempt, voice louder in pitch. ]

Alisaie! Stop this!

[ Maybe this time it'll cut through her haze. ]

[adelphoi]

[ there's a moment, perhaps, where something like lucidity flashes across her features. there's a voice.. one she knows, one she recognizes, hovering just at the edge of her consciousness. riza..?

but it's gone as soon as it came, and her mind is filled with darkness again. ]

You won't escape!

[ quick as lightning alisaie dashes forward, cutting ahead of riza, the tip of her rapier catching the doorframe, effectively blocking it. but she's moving again immediately after - much of alisaie's strength is in her speed and decisiveness, she does not hesitate, but strikes fast and true. another cutting slash is aimed at riza's middle, followed up immediately by a brutal thrust that, if her aim is true and her prey does not evade her, would catch her right through the shoulder hard enough to pierce cleanly through and pin her to the wall behind. ]

[strictdiscipline]

[ The rapier cuts again, enough to cripple Riza's forward momentum and trigger another wince of pain across her face.

Riza strength has always been in long-range combat, in motions and actions that require time, precision, a steady hand. Her footwork in such close quarters is uneven and sloppy in comparison to Alisaie, and predictable to boot.

So even if her words are born of sickness-fueled confidence, Alisaie's prediction rings true; her blade pierces deep, first through flesh and then the wooden frame of the door. Whatever faint noise there might have been from Alisaie's rapier embedding itself in the woodwork's drowned out by a cry of pain. Pain lances through Riza's shoulder, sharp and spreading, and her usual mask of composure breaks, hurt welling up and rising up to the surface.

But it's momentary, and even if she's largely trapped she's still got use of her legs. She kicks out, less a sweeping gesture than a flat out forward kick, meant to drive Alisaie away, even if only for a few seconds.

She has no wish to fight her own housemate, but Alisaie's not leaving her with many options here. ]

[adelphoi]

[ the kick lands true enough for she is not expecting it, and alisaie reels back from the force of it, wrenching her rapier free from riza's shoulder in the process, and none too gently.

but she recovers, fueled by adrenaline, anger, and fear and this time when she draws her sword arm back all of her force is building behind it, readying for the killing blow aimed straight for riza's beating heart.

but her cry of pain, so sharp and fierce, cuts through the fog in her mind. alisaie's vision tilts, the creature before her warping, melting, breaking apart and reassembling itself over and over in quick succession until at last there's a flash of recognition, what was once a twisted mask is now riza's familiar face, contorted with pain and - ]

Oh -

[ it happened so fast, less than the span of a second and alisaie's strike is already committed, her lunge half through by the time the illusion breaks. at the last moment she attempts to turn her blade away but there's no time - the blow that lands is not fatal, catching below her heart and between her ribs, a dangerous strike, but not immediately lethal, at least.

alisaie reels, her bloodied rapier falling from her hands to clatter on the floor, the mist clearing from her eyes to be replaced by shock and horror and when she speaks her voice is dry as parchment, tight with fear. ]

Riza - oh Gods, oh no -

[ what have i done? ]