[qrp] Gimme Twenty Dollars (Lily/???)

[AMItotic]

Being partly a crepuscular animal by magic and a college student by matter of circumstance, Lily was a creature who took part in many naps, especially during her monthly jaunt with the full moon. It was muscle-aching work, to shift between two forms, and when she had any energy it was all being funneled into videos, routines, playlists, anything to keep a following entertained. The nice thing was that Lily was not a picky sleeper, and could take her multiple rests just about anywhere, from in a tree to on her keyboard, on couches or in this case the back seat of her car after work.

The downside, of course, was that if she wasn't careful she would find herself in the otherworld.

It didn't always rain anymore, which had in the past been the most reliable marker that something in the air had turned spooky. This time, it was a vague feeling of vertigo that dragged Lily to consciousness, of feeling dizzyingly tall. Her whole body grimaced as she turned away from the car's seat cushion, tail curling inwards, and while she began to groan, she cut herself short as it came out a low, hissing growl.

Lily blinked, looking down at her paws and her stretched out torso, covered in dark fur. She'd shifted in her sleep. Of course she had.

Becoming bipedal again was a matter of a few stretches, and with a yawn she nudged the door of her car open, greeted by a blanket of fog and vague storefronts lit in the distance. She licked her lips while she got her bearings, and then shuffled forward, pausing only to fumble for her keys. Out of habit, she tapped the clicker to lock her car, and for her efforts the horn bleated, like a sheep.

Lily stared in silence, vaguely wondering how to react, when exhaustion won out over whatever emotion she might have felt. The only way out was to find a door, and to that effect she started walking into the fog, vaguely towards the lights.

Ashdown Whaler

a DM RP with the faceless in business suits in other ashdown.

 

[Ashdown Whaler]

The light, it turns out, is the familiar theatre within other ashdown. At the door, holding it open, was one of the faceless with an usher outfit on.

With it's hand on the door it was bowed, hat tipped off towards Lily in greeting.

Otherwise it was motionless.

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

When Lily reached the theater, her eyes widened slowly. When she saw the open doors and the bellhop she stopped walking altogether, giving it a substantial berth.

"You're ******** kidding me," she sighed, her tail swishing behind her in agitation. It hadn't technically been the creepy mannequins' fault that she had been part of a group that had barged in and let out some ancient terror, but they were still part of the setting that had led them to said ancient terror, and one of the spookiest parts of spookville to boot. She looked to one direction and then the other, as if there might possibly be a mistake and she was meant to go to a fun, happy boutique, or perhaps that lava parkour pit she'd talked about with Shun. But the fog pressed in from both sides, the only lights visible coming from the theater.

Huddling her shoulders, she inched closer to the open door, her eyes never leaving the mannequin in case it decided it wanted to turn her into plastic. "...Howdy," she nodded darkly, clinging to the farthest threshold as she inched her way inside. "Nice fog and all. Um. I hope I'm not here to fight Angry Alvin again, because that's not gonna work."

Ashdown Whaler

 

[Ashdown Whaler]

There was no one at the counter selling tickets as she went in and the usher did not move at all as she went by. No response was heard, instead a door behind the counter that read OFFICE was open.

A light flickered.

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

Even when she'd been with a group of people, the theater had seemed eerily devoid of life. On her own, it was cavernous, gaping, and all the empty air nagged at her instincts, telling her to get small, to climb, to find a place warm and secure and safe--

But none of those things were to be found here. Only closed doors, and open ones.

Lily was proficient enough at following simple cues and instructions, more eager to follow the flow than to fight her own way through. When she saw an open door, she walked towards it, rapping gently at the threshold with one knuckle as she peered inside.

"Hello?" she called into the room, knowing damn well the things didn't speak back. "Somebody order the Noodle Special, extra Noodle?" It was humor that kept her from panic, she told herself, and if she told herself that enough times, the churning in her stomach might actually start to agree.

Ashdown Whaler

 

[Ashdown Whaler]

At the desk sat one of the faceless in business suits, the other stood beside it seemingly leaning to look over a report that was being read.

They both, upon her entrance and speaking, turned their heads up in time to stare at her. For a moment there was a flicker, as if there were features (dark eyes and dark hair) but it faded away.

While they did not speak it was clear they were not expecting her.

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

Lily visibly tensed when the two turned their heads towards her, her tufted ears going as far back as their weird anatomy would allow. "Ah, s**t, I--I didn't mean to, uhhh, barge in or whatever," she stammered, trying to erase the fact that she'd seen features on them, that they'd been startlingly human for just a moment. She gulped in an attempt to settle her nerves, taking the time to remind herself that they hadn't ever been the first to act out, nor had they been aggressive in any way except as self defense. With one long exhale, she put the static in her chest at bay. In reality, they were probably just as spooked as she was.

"But uhh," she began, rubbing the back of her neck, "Your dude, he let me in, and I figured, you know, you guys might know a way...out?" It was a long shot, but it was the best shot she had. "Out of the otherworld, back home...you guys did that last time, right?"

Ashdown Whaler

 

[Ashdown Whaler]

There isn't a response, just a quizzical tilt of their heads. They move in unison when it comes to head motions but it is the one sitting that holds a hand out across the desk.

The other remains stationary.

It's hand, much like their faces, seems to jump back and forth between being plastic and something human.

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

Lily stared at the open palm for a good moment before she remembered something about them needing touch to speak. "Oh right," she murmured softly, her steps tentative as she crossed the room to the desk. "Sorry," she shrugged, taking particular care as she gently rested a clawed hand over theirs. She didn't want to scuff the plastic-flesh-whatever and find herself remade as a stuffed animal.

Ashdown Whaler

 

[Ashdown Whaler]

There are voices in her mind, the cacophony of the many as one, and they speak once their hand is touched. Unless you mean harm, there is no reason to fear. We are protectors and guardians.

The head twists and studies her. What has brought you here once more, dreamer?

AM1totic

 

[AMItotic]

It took Lily a moment to adjust to the voices--she crinkled her nose and shook her head, like she was trying to banish the start of a sneeze. "Thanks for the no harm thing, I appreciate it," she said, her free hand moving to her torso, where she still had the marks from Dee's teeth as pink scars on her skin.

"Ummmmm, I don't know, really," she shrugged in response to their question, her fingers slowly curling around theirs once her tension began to melt. "I was just...chillin', I guess."

Something the faceless said stuck with her, and she pursed her lips in consideration. "So you guys are protectors? Like the moonwalkers?" Her tail flickered behind her, apprehensive but hopeful. Maybe the faceless knew more about the legacy that she'd inherited.

Ashdown Whaler

 

[Ashdown Whaler]

The moonwalkers serve a greater purpose than ours. It's grip is warm, strangely, and does feel like skin though it looks otherwise. ... but we keep those who would do harm at bay and provide safety to those who need it.

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

"Oh." The idea of more was suddenly very daunting to Lily, though she wasn't sure what she'd been expecting when she'd asked them about the moonwalkers. There was still so much she didn't know, still so much the pack didn't know, even if Eve seemed like she always understood what was going on.

"But, like, we were supposed to do something similar, right? Keep things in order, be awesome spooky cops?" It was only after she'd asked that she began to feel too eager, reigning in her curiosity by averting her eyes. If she wasn't looking at them, it was almost like talking to a person, and she wasn't sure if that was more or less comforting.

"Sorry," she admitted with an awkward laugh, staring down at her shoes, "I just...I thought I was supposed to do something when Dee happened, because I'm a moonwalker and we're supposed to do that s**t, I guess, but being a big ferret thing didn't help, and people got hurt, just like they got hurt at Blackfriars, and I mean s**t, what am I supposed to do about it?" She glanced up, expecting a face to look into, and shivered when she saw only flat plastic.

"Um," she gulped, her ears pressing flat against her head. "That was oversharing. Sorry."

Ashdown Whaler

 

[Ashdown Whaler]

You are meant to be whatever you want, the voices reply. If you wish to be spooky cops, there seems to be laughter at that but it is faint, then be so.

Still, they fall silent for a moment and simply listen to Lily as she speaks. You wish to be stronger and to help?

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

"I mean...yeah, I guess," Lily shrugged, still averting her eyes from the Faceless. "I'm pretty cool with whatever's going on, but I never signed up to hurt people, you know? That part's kind of ******** up."

Ashdown Whaler