♫3 - Cold Steel Coffin

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

[Action - The mean streets of Prospero, the Dark Hour]

[Almost two weeks ago there was a corpse brought into the hospital. It was an arrival brought in near the start of the (now-forgotten) zombie "invasion" and, much like the other victims of the upcoming inhuman assault, was barely able to be called an intact corpse. Limbs were torn off, the face was caved in, great gobs of flesh were simply missing. Sadly,  there were more pressing matters concerning the intact cadavers actually rising up to life again. While the extra-ordinary violence of the case caused discussion among the coroners, doctors, and orderlies, it was placed upon the back-burner. Jane Doe wasn't going anywhere, after all, and those who had perished at sea and washed up on shore were doing quite the opposite.

After the full moon had passed and all trace of revenants was scoured from the streets of the city and the minds of the population, the case of Jane Doe was merely treated as an unsolved violent crime. Nothing too unusual in Prospero in recent months, sadly, even if it was an astoundingly brutal case compared to the rest. The only thing of note was the victim herself - female, assuredly, but one who's physical traits did not match any specific ethnicity. While interesting, this was merely written off as a side-effect of the condition of the corpse, and the body was shuffled away into the morgue as attempts to identify and contact the departed's relatives were made.

This evening, when the dark hour struck, a certain drawer in the morgue slid open, the sound of a person in motion echoing throughout the deserted building shortly afterwards. Whatever solemn stillness the location maintained was then be shattered by a sharp, startled cry.]

Damn it's cold!

[Not too long afterwards, a certain red-haired woman could be found - in admittedly tattered, bloodied, and all-but-demolished clothing - employing as much stealth as she could muster in order to sneak back into the Bay View Hotel unnoticed.]


[Voice, near the end of the Dark Hour]
Sorta funny. I never really realized how damn cold it got during the dark hour 'till now.

[A familiar voice, but one that's been kind of quiet as of late. Devola hums to herself slightly before following the statement up with a question.]

How've you all been holding up? Between the temperature dropping and the shadows and everything, that is.

Comments

[Voice]

[unknownrival.livejournal.com]

I'm alive, so that's good.

[Voice]

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

Well, I'd hope you were alive if I was hearing you. Aside from the "going crazy" implications, that'd mean you were dead, and that wouldn't do at all.

[Voice]

[unknownrival.livejournal.com]

Well, I was. But it was temporary, as it seems to be.

[Voice]

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

[Can you hear the wince, Issei? It's almost audible.]

My condolences. I mean, it's good that it's temporary, but...

[There's a pause as she looks for the proper wording.]

Well, if I'm lead to believe rumors about that state of being, it's something everyone should only have to experience once. Ideally very late in life, as far as timing is concerned.

[Voice]

[techno-logical.livejournal.com]

[Here's a rather tired and far less cheerful than usual voice.] I-I'm alright... What about you, Devola? Are you okay?

[Voice]

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

I've been worse. I mean, if all I can do is gripe about the chill in the air, I'd say that's pretty good.

[A beat, and her tone takes a turn for the concerned.]

What about you? It sounds like you're still not sleeping all that well.

[Voice]

[techno-logical.livejournal.com]

Ah, that's good.

[She's silent for a moment at the question.]

... I'm okay, just having a bit of trouble sleeping again; the whole zombie thing didn't end too well for me. But it's nothing to worry about. [Vague April is vague.]

[Voice]

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

Well... I already gave you the usual suggestions I have for sleeping bad. Can't say there's much I know about dealing with nightmares and stuff, if that's what's happening.

[Man, you think you had it rough. Devola felt like she was spread thin all over the place by the en- oh... Oh.]

[Voice]

[babel_hacker]

Alive and intact.

[Voice]

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

Good. Keeping healthy too, I hope?

[Voice]

[babel_hacker]

I try. If I don't, I wouldn't be much help to anyone.

[Voice]

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

Anyone, yes, but yourself especially!

What is it with all the kids here being so self-sacrificing...

[genius-idiot.livejournal.com]

[Oh hey Kaiji's only been sulking inside his room all week feeling sorry for himself. You know, what he's good at.]

Um, I'm okay. How about you? Stay safe during that whole mess?

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

Ehh, for the most part, I guess? Sorry I was MIA near the end though - well, not that I think I'd have been all that helpful.

[genius-idiot.livejournal.com]

It was probably best to lay low. I pretty much exhausted myself for nothing against that thing.

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

Isn't that how it usually seems to go? We're gonna have to start scheduling around the full moons or something; they're so tiring it's ridiculous.

[Action], Icon fail orz

[nomammano.livejournal.com]

[Miki had been rummaging around the Bay View's hallways looking for for. As she is beginning to shove a cold and mostly stale sandwich when she catches a glimpse of a figure in tattered and bloodied clothes trying to sneak around the building. The proximity to Halloween and the recent problems with the zombies has put Miki a bit on edge. She's never really like the idea of ghosts and really being this close to one is one of the things she'd rather have never had to do. The sandwich drops to the floor with a thlup as Miki begins to shake, and after a few seconds for her brain to process it, scream.]

AUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Action]

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

[The evil spiritfreezes at the soft sound of the sandwich hitting the ground, and appears as though it's going to turn it's no-doubt glowing red eyes to Miki...]

[Only, it's eyes were actually more of bluish hue, not to mention just about the opposite of glowing.]

[Furthermore, it actually seems just about as spooked as Miki is, an observation reinforced by--]

AIEEEEEEEEEE

[Yeah, that.]

Re: [Action]

[nomammano.livejournal.com]

[Great, thinks Miki, even worse than a ghost- a banshee. Miki is not really in the mood to die so she goes to her default mode of problem solving: violence. It can't kill her if it can't defeat her in combat! Miki crabs a nearby table and, with a scream that is 90% sheer terror, charges swiftly but unsteadily at Devola.]

YAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[action, hotel lobby. ]

[greyerrant.livejournal.com]

[ Garviel notices. he always does. ]

What happened to you, Devola?

[action, hotel lobby. ]

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

[Shoot. Busted. She picks at the hem of her shirt nervously, like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.]

Uhm. You want the short version, or a harmless lie that we can laugh off because I'm not quite sure I wanna talk about it in-depth?

Re: [action, hotel lobby. ]

[greyerrant.livejournal.com]

[ Garviel gives her a very old look. 120 year old men can manage this well. ]

How about the truth?

[Voice]

[sapere-audea.livejournal.com]

Is it really that cold? [He's only experienced the Dark Hour a few times as of yet, so he hasn't exactly adapted to it all that well just yet.]

[Voice]

[skaldssong.livejournal.com]

I'm used to a climate where some people go their whole lives without even thinking about wearing a shirt.

Yeah, it's a bit of a change.

[Voice]

[sapere-audea.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that would be a big change. It isn't that cold where I'm from, so I guess that's not something I'd notice right away.