[PRP] Well, this can go one of two ways... (Shiloh & Melany)

[Melancholies]

shibrogane

hey
to: ᚎͮᚙͦ᚜̿ ̼ᚏ̍ᚅ͈ᚔ̼ ᚋ̻ᚋ̋ᚆͣᚐ̂ᚇͫᚋ̼

hey so theres ths thing i gtg do on the 21st
u wanna meet up n try that thing we tlked about?? since thats tmrw lol

-loh

 

[shibrogane]

Melancholies

RE: hey

yeah that sounds good! i'm free all day. do you know where my host lives?
-mels

 

[Melancholies]

shibrogane

RE: hey

yea he txt'd me his address
ill b there in a few?

-THE loh

 

[shibrogane]

Melancholies

RE: hey

see you smile
-melany

Melany didn't answer the door right away when Shiloh got there. When she did, she opened it just a crack first, peeked out, and then opened the door the rest of the way with a big smile. "Hi," she said. "Sorry. It's been a really awful couple of weeks... but I guess you knew that already."

Her left arm was tucked up against her side, probably to avoid bothering her stitches.  

[Melancholies]

Shiloh had a bag of conspicuous looking goods when he knocked on the door, but he didn't seem too bothered when Melany took her time answering. He smiled back in return, the expression a little tense, but still definitely genuine. "I stopped by the dollar store on the way over and picked up a shitload of candy." He raised the back and waved it a little. "You don't gotta apologize though, trust me I know."

His had slightly differing reasons for being such, though.

"'Sup with your arm?" He hadn't really noticed her acting stuff at the library.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Melany said, "Sorry, I didn't want to worry you... A few days ago I think the other me came out and when I woke up, I was all over blood... Horace made me go get stitches." She shut the door behind Shiloh and locked it. "It's a good thing I'm already on sabbatical with the ballet company. I'd have to take time off for this anyway."

She sighed. "You wanna do this in my room?" It was sort of her room. No one else used it, and she slept there and kept her stuff there.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh didn't wince at the information. Actually, it glazed impassively over his face. "Oh." And a beat later, "It's alright, I get it."

It wasn't that he lacked concern; he was just numb to it. The pleasures in life didn't come without pain, or something poetic like that. He chalked it up to his age old philosophy of "bad things will always happen to good people" and "karma was made up so lucky people can feel better about themselves".

Something sinister and sarcastic and pessimistic almost passed over his face, but his expression remained neutral. "Sure, if that'll make you more comfortable." He took the opportunity to look over the inside of Horace's house. It was a big place for one person... well, now two.

"Might as well lead the way, I dunno where the hell anything is." He was toeing his shoes off by the door. "You like it here?"

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Yeah," said Melany, leading the way to her room. "I like Horace. Did you know he has a pet bat? And it's so much quieter here than my apartment. Everyone there is students and dancers... you probably don't know that, but it's true." She laughed, a little, but it sounded strained.

Once in her room with the door closed, she said, "Maybe text Horace and let him know what we're doing? I don't want him to get hurt if this doesn't work?"

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh blinked, the strained sound of the laugh not lost on him. It made his skin itch, just a little bit. "A pet bat, huh?" He knew Horace was a warg—he'd told him as much—but he'd play along for Melany, "That's pretty ********' weird Melany." But he laughed too, the sound quiet and rumbly. It was genuine, though.

"I'll text him though, don't worry." He pulled his phone out to do just that. "Even if this does work, it's only going to be temporary. I'm just trying to find a way to keep her contained until we find a solution to get her out, y'know?"


The Semblance of Unity
text to: Horheyhey

hey. so
letting u in on a Thing

remember how i said i was the key? im tryin out a thingy on melany
gnna try 2 lock the s. lady away
its gonna b temporary? im mostly worried abt her crashing the meetng
lol, cause she did that at the last one i tried 2 orginize

nyway, if s**t goes south ill take it off
i can reverse it
but she wants me 2 let u kno
just in case


That done, he nodded decisively. "Alright." He cracked his knuckles. "I know you've said it a million times, but just to be sure." Shiloh cleared his throat, "You're sure?"

shibrogane

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

melancholies

Text to: PlantFool
wtf ok. ok.
just dont lock the wrong one away ok.

MELANY DONT GO INTO THE FOREST
tell her i said that

keep me updated im out smashin bugs

ill buy you both churros later k

 

[shibrogane]

"Yeah," said Melany, "I'm sure." She sighed, and said, "You know the mark's like... under my shirt, right?" After a long hesitation, she pulled at the back of her t-shirt collar with her good hand and dropped the shirt she'd been wearing on the floor nearby.

The marking on her back was recognizably the Charter, but the stitches turned it ugly and bruise-purple. It was easy to see how she might have mistaken it for a birthmark before, having never been able to see it herself. Melany tucked her arms around herself, even though her back was to Shiloh, and said, "Okay. Um. Whenever you're ready, I guess?"

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh blinked really slowly. "Oh come on." He rolled his eyes, "I've seen boobs before (geeze) I'm not gonna stare (GEEZE)."

He put his phone away after reading the text. "Horace says he's gonna buy us churros too." And after a second, "also he says in all caps, DON'T GO INTO THE FOREST." Shiloh raised his voice slightly for dramatic effect.

His fingers wiggled, the tangibility of magic palpable around his hand. He was still getting used to how... flexible it felt, but hey, part of being a principal right? Or something? It was probably a good thing that Melany couldn't see his face, because he was definitely cringing at the sight of the wound. Still, if he was going to do this, he needed to be focused; don't lock the wrong one away ok.

No, this was temporary, and this was just a safe guard. This was about the Spinel Lady—her image was still very fresh in his mind, her face, the euclidean angles of her face, the coldness of her touch, the hollowness of her voice—and he brought all of this into the forefront of his mind. She was already laying in wait like some sort of hibernation, all he was doing was... putting her deeper into the sleep. A longer nap. That was all.

Light collected at his fingertip. He pressed it gently to her should blade, the pressure barely there as to not disturb the wound, and in a fluid motion he drew the lock. Sleep. Stay. Quiet. Temporary. I'll be back. He held his breath.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

tw: there some gross body stuff happen

"Well, you haven't seen my boobs," said Melany, half-offended already but also half-laughing. Maybe because it was ******** ridiculous that she was standing there basically topless and Shiloh was shouting don't go into the forest at her. Maybe she was just nervous. The Spinel Lady had never been nervous; Melany seemed to work on a different scale, though.

She fell silent the moment his finger pressed against her wound, though she winced. Her flesh gave oddly, like it wanted to slough away, and as Shiloh drew the shape of the keyhole it... did. Melany's breathing harshened, quickened, the muscles of her back going tense as he completed the lock. As Shiloh withdrew his touch, she took a loud, deep breath, and coughed.

The stitches held, but the skin around them had gone pale and dead and cold. "Shiloh," she said, lilting upwards at the end of his name. "I... Can you talk to me about something that should wake her up? So we know if it worked?"

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"Well I don't wanna see your boobs." He shot right back, trying to talk through the motion as he watched the magic... do... whatever. Melany was still talking as Melany, so that was a plus, but the mark sure did look unsightly as ********. "A-Are you okay?" He looked ready to catch her, even though she wasn't in any immediate danger of falling.

He wavered instead, hesitating.

"Umm..." What had triggered the Spinel Lady before? Talking about the old world? "I'm Shiloh Beaumont, and I'm one of the principals from the old world." He started to say, "I met you in a different time, in a different place, and you were under a different name. We were in Court." Was that good enough? "Y'know, Court. With the fetches, and Aodelle, and Noeh, and Ezra..."

He held his breath again.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Melany was very quiet. Then she looked over her shoulder at Shiloh, her gaze turned inward. "I can hear her," she said, soft, distant, "but like she's far away. Like when you're in Waite and you can hear the ocean, but only a little bit, and the gulls too."

She leaned down to pick up her shirt, and collapsed to her knees as the mark shone a bright bloody orange. Shiloh's key marking broke through it in a pale wintermint green, and Melany breathed through her teeth for a long moment. "I'm okay," she said, "I think it worked. I think I'm okay."

The light subsided. A fat drop of spinel-red blood rolled to her spine, and down.

Melancholies