closed;

[negativegate]

When; Nov. 1st and Nov. 5th
Rating; PG-13-ish with death and violence.
Characters; Rita (negativegate) and Tyr (blackshadow)
Summary; Rita and Tyr losing their heads. One of these is literal.
Log;

Once the influence of the Halloween curse ended and they were both back to normal, Rita...well, she felt pretty awkward. She'd had no idea the costume she'd worn was some vampire from Tyr's world, and there she'd gone and bitten his neck. Thinking about the fact that she actually drank his blood--it grossed her out. But at least she hadn't hurt him.

But it was exactly that which also struck her as a little weird. Tyr didn't usually like having his neck touched all that much, so it could've been the influence of the curse...

In any case, here it is in the morning, and Rita's still in costume at the house because she hasn't been bothered to change. She should probably apologize to Tyr if he's awake and see how he is.

Comments

[blackshadow]

Tyr's eyes practically stare at the stains as they pass like he's looking for something - some sign there was someone else there - but pulls them away as they cross over into his room. His hand holds onto hers so tightly; he doesn't want to let her go...

"I'll make the calls for you," he tells her in case she wasn't sure that was intention from the start. "I'll let you use it afterwards..."

[negativegate]

She can't help but think this is worse for him than it is for her. Looking at it, she feels mostly numb and a little anxious. But she isn't going to argue with him. "If that's what you want to to," is her reply.

Soon, they're past the hallway and into the bedroom. Now that Rita's paying it more attention, she sees there's blood here, too--primarily footprints across the floor and stains on the bed...where she woke up.

[blackshadow]

It's hard for Tyr to look at and draws his eye in at the same time. All that blood... All Rita's blood. It's no wonder she's so pale now... His nails dig into her skin for just a second before he realises what he's doing and lets go of her.

"I do... It's my job since...it's my place," he says quietly. And he knows what happened to her more than she does... He still grabs his staff from its place by the door before grabbing the device from the floor.

[negativegate]

She just stands where she is once he lets go and watches him. That brief feeling of his nails convinces her that it's bothering him at least as much as her, if not more. But she isn't going to argue with him.

As soon as he picks up his things, she pockets her own device and reaches for his hand again. "Let's go out to the living room." Where it's clean, she hopes.

[blackshadow]

He looks up at her and blinks. He hadn't even thought of leaving the room, but they'll need to soon...

"Right- let's do that..." he agrees readily. It's a little reprieve for now, and he takes her hand again once he slips the device in his pocket. "Do you want to eat after this? I...don't really feel like cooking..."

Or thinking about how she can't enjoy food now.

[negativegate]

She gives his hand a gentle squeeze and nods, thinking more for his sake than hers. "Yeah... You were hungry earlier, right? Besides, there's no ingredients here."

[blackshadow]

Having her agree makes him feel warm... Even if it's a perfectly logical thing to say, it feels like more than that since there's nothing in it for her.

"Right... We'd have to go all the way back home to cook if I was going to make something..." And he kind of wants something warm and filling, but since Rita is coming too... "We can get something sweet to share."

[negativegate]

She really wants him to be okay. As they head out past the splattered blood again, she puts her focus on Tyr. "That sounds good..." And it's not like she ever thinks there's anything wrong with dessert for lunch.

[blackshadow]

He puts his focus on thinking what to have for lunch. Pie would be warm, but it can't really be eaten with one hand... "How about we get a sampler to share? Some cake, some cookies..."

[negativegate]

"Then we can get a few different things..." Even if she likes sweets, Tyr could ask for just about anything and she wouldn't argue.

At least the living room is clean, she thinks as they step in. It looks half-abandoned but otherwise normal, as if just down the hallway she hadn't died earlier.

[blackshadow]

It looks like a ghost house. It doesn't really feel the same way that it used to. There's a feeling of emptiness to it...

But at least it's away from Rita's blood.

"Right," he says. "Anything you want to try?"

And maybe now he's just putting off calling the police.

[negativegate]

But Rita just...can't really get into thinking about food right now, so she shakes her head. "Anything you want is fine with me," she says. "Let's call first, anyway." She doesn't really think about how he might be trying to put it off. Rita would rather get it over with.

[blackshadow]

His smile fades as he comes back down to earth.

"...Yeah. We can think about this later..." he agrees. And she is right. They - he - should deal with the business at hand first. Pulling the device out of his pocket, he goes to sit on the couch with his staff beside him.

Even if he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't stumble over his words...much...in the call. There was a murder. Of his fiancée. He doesn't know who the murderer was. He only really has trouble explaining how she died - she was beheaded - and he just refuses to meet anyone in person for an interview. He doesn't even care now if he sounds angry.

[negativegate]

She stays standing while he makes the call, feeling a little restless. She never interrupts, even if he does sound angry--she could never blame him for being angry or upset that someone important to him died. She'd be screaming if he died. And hearing him stumble a little makes her think back to the splatters and pools of blood before she can stop herself, and she finally decides to sit down next to him until he finishes.

[blackshadow]

It's not long after he refuses to speak in person that he closes the call. His eyes already watery just thinking back on what happened, but he doesn't want to cry again. It...really hurts to remember... He reaches out for her hand when she sits beside him.

"They said they'll look into it," he tells her shakily.

[negativegate]

It really worries her to see how much making the phone call has shaken him up. She takes his hand and holds it tightly to try and comfort him. "Thanks... That's all we need to do about it for now." She supposes they shouldn't clean up the blood yet if the police might want to look at it...

"Are you all right?" She asks that because she isn't sure if he's ready to go out and get something to eat right now.

[blackshadow]

He nods readily. "I'm fine," he says after a breath, and despite himself reaches up to rub his face with his hand. There's a disconnect between knowing he should try to look stronger and knowing he doesn't have to with Rita. Usually doesn't have to. He's pretty sure this is one of those times he should be strong for her.

...But he still holds her hand tightly. "You're okay, too, right?"

[negativegate]

Although she doesn't believe that he's fine, she isn't going to call him out. Neither of them are really fine, even if she gives him a slight nod, too. "Yeah..." And she just decides to leave it at that. It's sort of true, at least--she's about as fine as she can be in this situation, but not like normal.

[blackshadow]

"Good..." he mumbles. He's just as aware as she is that neither of them are fine. Tyr is just worse at faking it than she is. He wants to hold her and just lay on the couch like nothing happened. Like he'd wake up.

After a long pause, he finally speaks again. "We should go home... Estelle's probably...she probably misses you. I'm not that hungry, either..." Which, at the moment, is entirely true.

[negativegate]

There's no reason to argue. For the first time, though, Rita's unsure what to do... She doesn't know what to tell Estelle, but she doesn't like lying to her, either.

But it's not fair to make Tyr stay here when it seems like he's in so much pain. She should've made the phone call...but it's too late. "If you're sure, then we can go," she finally says. They should get away from the apartment, anyway.

[blackshadow]

"I'm sure." But he doesn't move to stand up yet. He's sure he's not hungry and he's sure he wants to get back, but not knowing what happened to her... He's scared. He doesn't know what's out there.

It takes all the will in him to pull her up off the couch and stand up. "Let's go, Rita..."

[negativegate]

As she stands with him, she thinks they obviously weren't safe in the apartment, though... They probably won't be safe anywhere if whatever it was attacks again.

"R--right," she answers and fails to keep that little note of fear out of her voice. She's always hated things she can't control or explain. "Let's just get out of here..."

[blackshadow]

The tone in her voice makes his heart feel cold. She's scared... She's never scared. Even if he knows his arms can't do anything to protect her, he still wanted to hold her, shield her... She doesn't deserve any of this.

He reaches up to stroke her face gently and tuck her hair behind her ears before he takes his staff. Part of him still remembers that physical gestures didn't really help her, and all of him still doesn't care. "We'll take the short cut."

[negativegate]

She's long since gotten used to them from Tyr, even if they don't really make her feel any better right now. It's the fact that they don't have a clue what happened that unnerves her so much...

"All right..." She takes a little breath, though she doesn't feel any more confident, and continues, "Let's go." Maybe on the way, she can check her device for any other similar things that happened yesterday. If it happened to a lot of people, maybe it was just yesterday's curse...

Suddenly, she remembers something else that they have to worry about. "Wait... We should go to the hospital for you, remember?"

[blackshadow]

He completely forgot about the hospital and that she's concerned about his memories, but he knows it's important to her. Probably more important than his desire to go home and heal her...and then hide out there for a while.

They can hide out more after the hospital visit. "Oh, right... Right, we should head there first..." He gives her hand a little squeeze and starts towards the door.