[ She knows because Abel is that kind of person who has offered his all without really asking anything big in return. He may be silly, idiotic, and childish, but when Monts recalls the tarot reading given to him, she intrinsically understands that there is more. ]
You're the type of person who'd annoy me to death if I forget.
[ The voices are starting to sound clearer and clearer until they're both able to make out the words. ]
... God Monts, way to ruin the mood tonight.
Fucking HELL, Reyes, she was drunk! What kind of fucking mood were you going for?!
[ There's a sharp intake of breath from Monts who recognizes the last voice of her own. ]
[ ...the smile he offers her in response to her quip is the self-satisfied sort.
apparently he takes pride in the fact she's right. he would annoy her to death if she forgot, so much better for everyone if she doesn't! that's all there is to it.
however, that smile is slipping as the distant sound of voices become less an incomprehensible hum and something more... tangible. Abel's tilting his head, eyes flickering across the mirrors - above... to the sides, trying to see if anything should appear.
but the quiet expletive from Monts' mouth has him casting her a glance. ...that sounded an awful lot like her, didn't it?
he slides discreetly closer. ]
...It seems you're a subject of interest, today. I wish I could say it must be nice to be so well-loved, but...
[ for what it's worth? he is sorry for that fact. something here has enjoyed digging around in her head. ]
[ She steadies her breathing and hugs herself even more tightly. These voices aren't trying to make up a scene whole cloth. ]
This... This happened before. A while ago.
[ It was a while ago and yet not all that long either. The surfaces of the mirrors shimmer for a second causing a ripple, but her reflection remains non-existent. The voices, however, continue to play out. ]
Look, I'm just sick of your guys' bullshit. If you wanted to get some, you know better than to do it to someone who can't even walk straight!
[ It's unmistakably her voice. The other voices are mostly male, some sounding inebriated, others barely sober. ]
What, you jealous Monts? You've been playing cool and all, but I know you miss it sometimes.
I'd miss it if there were anything to miss asshole. Anyways, the party's over, I'm going home.
Don't act like you're so high and mighty. The fuck's goin' on? Why do you feel like being an uppity bitch all of a sudden?
I don't have to answer you. Outta my way.
[ There's a sound of some struggling. ]
Now hold on, you don't get to talk to us like thatβ... OW! Fuck, you pushed me! Son of a bitch, do you take steroids or something?!
Of course, I pushed you. You don't get to grab me by the wrist like that.
[ Over the din of the anger fueled argument, Monts in the present is staring at the floor and an audible murmur emits from her lips. ]
[ ...ugly, and distasteful. to rattle the things hiding in someone's cage and put them on display can be described no other way.
Abel hates to see her this way. she looks painfully small all the sudden - this person who is normally so well put together. so much rolls right off her back like water. (or is that just what she wants others to believe? at this point, he isn't so sure.) he wishes he could drown out the noise - that putting his hands over her ears would make it stop. he doubts it would.
this isn't the type of performance one would be permitted to tune out, after all.
grimace at his lips, he focuses his attention on trying to find any way forward or out of this room. it might be a futile effort, but... it's better than standing here watching her torture herself over a past she can't change. ]
...We'll be out soon. Please hang in there with me, alright?
[ ...seven years bad luck seems a slim price to pay, he's finding. would shattering these lead them to a new route out of this mess? he's sorely tempted, casting a glance back over his shoulder at her vulnerable form behind him. ...for all Monts is more durable than most, it seems her heart is just as fragile and human in the end. ]
[ She's squeezing her eyes shut and nods rapidly in response to the priest's reassurance. But she knows all too well what comes next.
The girl who can't die is afraid of dying. Of course, her life can't be ended easily, but it can come to a stop again, and again, and again, and again... This was the night that confirmed her suspicions about her body that was combined with something of an otherworldly nature. It had taken a year for this memory to lighten its burden on her shoulders lest she dwells too much and remembers the sheer rage that bubbles up beneath the surface. ]
So that's how you want it bitch? You wanna see how YOU like it when I push you?
Go ahead asshole!
Whoa, whoa, whoa guys, guys...!
Eeeeyyy, is it a lover's spat going on?
[ There's yelling and namecalling and the shuffling noise of jumbled footsteps. Monts has her head in her hands now and her mark is spreading across her body all the way down to her fingertips. ]
Nonononono, not again, not again, not again...!
Leave me alone!
No, YOU don't get to act like you're better than all of us! See how YOU like itβ!!
... Ah...!
[ There's shouting, horrified gasps, and then... There's movement in one of the mirrors now and it looks like a body falling down from a great height. When it hits the floor an ugly, ugly sound from the impact follows. ]
SNAP.
[ Monts lets out a strangled noise as both the memory from the mirrors and her in the present synch up together. She couldn't feel anything back then and she can't feel anything now, but she covers her face as her body is swallowed up by the darkness under her skin. She stops right in front of the body reflecting back at her shuddering uncontrollably. ]
... Shit... Fuck, Monts, get up, you're just fucking pretending...!
Bro, what the FUCK.
Shit, fuck is she breathing!? Fuck, fuck, FUCK!!
Call the cops or 911, something, fuck I don't know!
Didn't you hear that?! Something broke, she ain't gonna fucking move!!
What are we gonna do, holy shit...!!
[ The voices are utter chaos as and the horrifying realization of what has been done echoes all around them, ringing in their ears. It starts to slowly fade away, but Monts is not in a great state. ]
[ ...he physically jolts at the sound of impact, the unmistakable sound of a body colliding with the ground from a long fall. up until now, his eyes have been fixated on her deteriorating condition-- but this... invariably steals it.
it's more than slightly sickening. disturbing; a body that will not die, cannot feel pain can still suffer. she's definitely suffering, now.
...he realizes he's been lost to a useless stupor; Abel is afraid to startle her with contact as much as he wants to reassure her. his voice is low, a little hoarse over the din. ]
...Monts.
[ --please look at him. ]
I'm... sorry.
[ not nearly enough of a consolation; there probably isn't any. but the rapid spread of that mark across her skin and her trembling shoulders have him painfully aware she isn't in any state to care, in all likelihood.
with the utmost gentility, he reaches for her hand to attempt to re-anchor her in the moment. ]
...Please look at me, don't... don't look at that.
[ Her mark lingers around on her body. The parts that aren't covered are slowly turning pale and unearthly white. Under the light, her mark shimmers like a deep black crimson. In the mirror, the body is also starting to look more like Monts also going through the same transformation. Her body stops shuddering and for a moment she doesn't say anything.
When she does though... ]
Father Abel.
[ There's a different quality to her voice. It lacks weakness and Monts' inherent sweetness that she has for everyone. Hands drop to the side, dangling side to side. ]
I have several sins, so many, so many. Would you like to hear them? Oh, but you heard so much already, but you don't know all of it. You're going to ask, aren't you? I'll let you know so you don't incessantly try to open me up when you won't let me tear you open.
[ Monts looks up at him and... Her eyes are black with red pupils replacing the blue-greens. She's human-shaped but covered in her mark that splits and scatters across her body like flower petals, constantly on the move. The body in the mirror finally reflects her, the monster standing in front of Abel Nightroad and it stands up until it perfectly matches up to her. ]
Well? Here I am! The sum of a failure. I'm so happy you can see all of me, truly!
[ --that icy pit he had lingering in his stomach, the feeling of quiet anxiety blooms in earnest as their eyes meet.
he doesn't even need to see anything else to know this is not the woman he'd been reaching for, even if it inhabits her skin. could speak just like her if it wanted to, he's sure. might vaguely resemble her on some basic level, but... it isn't her.
it took something. is still taking things, now.
the numb sort of shock that's stolen his features fades into wariness that wars with concern. ]
...Please don't say those kind of things from her mouth.
[ ... ]
Miss Monts...? Can you hear me?
[ his only concern is grasping whatever is left of her, before it's too late.
...he should have asked her about this. he should have seen things were becoming too much; can she lose herself--? is he simply letting fears of that thing project onto her and her predicament?
he really doesn't want to find out the hard way. ]
[ She hums under her breath, amused by the priest's reaction. Taking a step back, her reflection appears in other mirrors as they naturally would. ]
Father Abel, don't you understand? I am not two parts, but one whole! I am what lingers in the mind, beneath the skin. I sleep, but I see everything through my eyes.
[ She gives a little spin and it would be almost seen as childish if it weren't for her otherworldly beauty as dark petals float across her face and hands. ]
Oh, this place, this foggy town, doesn't it makes you laugh? It pokes and jabs, it cuts, trying to see what's beneath. Well, I've answered its call and what for? You heard the voice, saw that sack of flesh. This... [ She puts a hand on her chest to gesture at herself. ]
So fragile, so frail, but I can fix myself over and over and not feel a thing. But you see...
[ Her hand gestures are grand as she continues her unhinged rambling. ]
If you handle me too roughly, I cannot move. And when that happens, well, it's only fair if I come out and play rough. For just a little while. Did you know what they did to me next before I decided to play with them?
is she lost in there? or is it like sleeping? he desperately wishes he knew, now - but there's nothing he can do but wait it out and pray. Monts was strong. she would come back; he refused to accept any other alternative.
playing games with monsters beyond human understanding is not as outrageous as it ought to be. he finds the hair on the back of his neck bristling, and there's an uncomfortable tension, a rigidity in his posture as he watches her regardless. ]
...People can be cruel. I can only imagine it was something you didn't deserve, and... I'm sorry for that.
[ ... ]
But you don't need to do this. [ show, or tell him any more. stay here anymore. ] Please go back to resting for a while; I'm sure that woman is waiting eagerly to wake up again.
[ She laughs at his pleading. Voices of the perpetrators start echoing through the halls again and she looks past him, her gaze distant. ]
I can move on, but I'll never really forget you know? This world of mirrors just brings out the sweet taste of anger, always at the tip of my tongue.
[ The flower starts walking past him arms spread wide as the voices replay that fateful night. ]
M-MONTS?! Y-You're still alive? What the FUCK you're supposed to beβ...!!
[ The sound of a gunshot. Then the echo of someone being hit with a blunt weapon. Screams of terror next. She chuckles as if the memory tickles her fancy. In a way it does. She remembers it all and it just brings up one small regret. ]
I really wish I just killed them all back then. I still think about it you know? How lightly I would snap their necks, how gently I would break their fingers, how much would they bleed? It didn't hurt when I broke my neck, but looking at them writhe in pain, I could almost start to get the idea.
So you see Father, I am one whole being. This is what I am. Oh, I can be calm I can be sweet, but tempt me with violence and I'll bring it forth tenfold. The Fortune Teller wasn't lying you know.
[ Excess, imbalance, a tendency to extremes. ]
These mirrors are quite a bother, aren't they? You're fortunate that you are not the one to stir my ire.
... Oh, but dear Father Abel... I don't see your reflection anymore.
his jaw tightens, further. the worry is coiled tightly now; his fingers twitch at his sides before he forces himself to try and relax. (...in the end, she's been hiding something like this all along.) in the face of this rather unpleasant situation, there's no room for a misstep. not when he doesn't know how in the world to draw her back from where she's gone.
whether she's lost herself to what's written all over her skin, or what's written all over her skin has swallowed her up like a little bug - it doesn't matter. ]
...
[ he isn't averting his gaze, pays no attention to the mirrors as the voices - and cries, and screams, and disturbingly vivid sounds - die down in the background. his eyes follow her and her movements; he is patiently waiting. he means her no harm - and she is trapped in this mess too, isn't she? as long as they're together, then... something has got to give. a way will open up, or they'll be forced to make one. won't they.
[ She takes a look behind her, the red in her eyes glittering under the dim lights. ]
Did I tell you back there? I don't like liars and people who don't give me straightforward answers.
[ Damn. ]
I didn't kill anyone in the end. I'm a failure through and through. Oh, but I'm sure there will be a next time! I'll have good reason to break others, I'll find someone or something that will bleed for me.
[ Her figure sighs dreamily and spins around to face the priest. ]
What will this place show me about you? You don't give me answers, you're more than willing to tell me lies if it'll protect my pretty little soul.
[ That's the other thing about this form; it is much crueler, much more willing to cut to the heart of the matter much like South Sister overall. ]
I've bled in front of you and you have the gall to try and hide from me? What a cruel man of faith without faith you are.
[ ...is it a mercy? knowing she hadn't taken any lives that horrible night. does she remember it all like a bad dream? Abel lifts his fingers to his face to gently pull the old lenses away, pinching at the bridge of his nose as if to ward off a physical ache. Monts, is...
...
her words aren't half as cutting as the fact he doesn't believe the woman he knows would ever be capable of saying them. whether its the influence of this thing, or something feeding on dark, buried parts of her nature - it doesn't matter. Abel lets it slide like water off a duck's back, and his composure is much steadier as he replaces the old-fashioned frames.
--but the soft sound of chime-like bells, the clink of jewelry, quiet sway of fabric behind him steals it in short order. the rapid recoiling of muscles, stiffening of his shoulders is already threatening to undo his good work. though he is clearly working to avoid looking at or acknowledging what is slowly approaching the glass from the reflection of the mirror, the blood is draining from his face regardless.
the redhaired woman in sari - with a very familiar rosary, though unweathered by the passage of centuries - presses her henna-painted hand to the glass. though the priest doesn't look at her, her face expresses nothing but fondness, and her golden eyes carry all the warmth in the world in them. ]
Will you not look at me, Abel? Come now, tell me you're not still a child after all this time.
[ he lowers his head, and his hand has clenched so tightly at his side it seems the bones will break. ]
We need to go, Miss Monts.
[ ...his voice is strained, and though it still holds that gentle edge, it is far more commanding in tone. if she's in there -- if she can hear him, if this 'Monts' deigns to listen... they need to escape.
he will not humor ghosts. he will see her again, when he's earned it. ]
[ Now what do we have here? The chiming sound catches her interest, the priest slowly, but surely losing his composure intrigues her; there is no way she can ignore this. Monts glides up to the woman in the mirror, so grand in her appearance but serene in her beauty, whose eyes look at Abel with warmth only a beloved could receive.]
... We will go.
[ She moves back to Abel, close enough so her dark-tinged fingers gently brush against his cheek (there is an unsettling vibration from the mark as it swirls around her body continuously). ]
But she will follow. She's always been following you, hasn't she?
[ Her voice is disconcertingly gentle as if the new understanding has on some level reached that part of her that he's more familiar with. ]
What follows her I wonder...?
[ Her hand moves down to brush against his clenched fist. ]
C'mon.
[ and just for that second she almost sounds normal. ]
[ ...somehow, that newly found patient gentility is far more unsettling and painful than the delirium this woman has exuded since the mark consumed her skin.
he finds his head lifting, just enough that he might glance into her face as her fingers brush oh so gently against his cheek - wary, but... tentative and uncertain. is she...? the sound of her voice this way - almost right, almost Monts again - has a different sort of pang tugging through his chest.
...please let her come back from this.
his hand is slowly unclenching where her hand descends to graze over his knuckles, instead. even if heβs doing his absolute best to keep his attention focused on βMontsββ new face, the pulse of red eyes only serves to remind him there is no time to lose his head in the very same ghosts he had tried to coax her to ignore. he has to get her to snap out of this, somehow. he has to escape.
...a stiff, but grudgingly acquiescent nod of his head. blue eyes are far older as they fix on her in stubborn refusal to see anything else.
[ Abelβs silence most likely says much more than his endless inane banter, at a time like this. the seemingly unending array of obfuscating stupidity has ceased; the taps have turned off and heβs run dry of the usual energy for those games, now. his face is set in grim, increasingly strained resolution as he heads the only direction there is to go. they... need to get out of here.
the voice - patient, but filled with a sort of quiet disappointment, lilts from the mirror. the soft chime of the bells as she tilts her head, patient eyes filled with a serious but no less warm plea implore at their receding figures. ]
It isnβt too late, Abel. You arenβt too far gone. All it will take is for you to make the decision to come with me, and we will make right whatβs been done.
[ he isnβt sure what is more frustrating - the βmonsterβ at his side with her equally soft, barbed candy words or the devastating yearning and regret stirred up by the ghostβs voice behind him.
...he should have listened.
he should have went with her. but he didnβt then, and he canβt now. the darkened corridor may lead to another sort of nightmare, or freedom. he isnβt sure which. he doesnβt care, either - just... get him out of here.
[ In this form all of Monts' usual traits have amplified several times over; the playful sadism, the teasing, and sharp insight into other people's hearts (or at least her own limited perception). But it's as she said; it wasn't Abel who forced her change. The world of mirrors had thrust her back into those ugly memories that were the catalyst for the emergence. So in a way, she finds herself at a loss; who does she project her anger onto, what can be broken in this world?
As the woman in the reflection speaks she glances back at her and then at Abel again. Beneath her skin, her mark hums, and the scattered particles swim across her disconcertingly. ]
... Father, what kind of hold does she have on you?
[ She stops walking and moves closer to Abel hand reaching up to hover over his cheek, but not quite touching him. ]
What kind of pain are you feeling? If it's in here... [ With her other hand, she moves it to her chest, where her heart is. ]
... Then that I understand. It's the only kind I'm familiar with, the kind that drives me forward whether I slumber or drift as I am now.
[ he finds his footsteps coming to a stiff halt when she crosses his path, that marked hand hovering close to his face, yet... just short of truly reaching him.
...he is trapped between a rock and a hard place. faced with Monts in this condition, unsure what precisely her succumbing to this state is doing to her -- and the soft voice he had been dying to hear for eight hundred long years at his back.
but the mocking, gleeful and whimsical delight seems to have evaporated from 'Monts' and her expression. he wishes he saw something familiar in her eyes, but the crimson hue staring back at him only serves to remind him how alien (ha) this face seems, even moreso than the flickering, shifting pattern like a living tattoo moving over her skin. ]
...We need to go.
[ he lifts his hand, seizing her wrist. his grip is not unkind, but his patience is fraying. ]
For your sake as much as mine. This... is dangerous for both of us.
[ because that little girl in her sundress had managed to effect the world on the other side of the glass.
and while Lilith's gentle hand against the reflective surface poses no threat to them, he can assure Monts - there are other ghosts that would not be so kind, and he is not eager to find out what should happen if they're given some mockery of life in this place. ]
[ There's little resistance from her end as he takes her wrist. She smiles at him and there is a trace of warmth that could be garnered from it. ]
If only you were this honest to me normally.
[ She moves her hand so that her fingers can tug at his as they keep walking farther up. There's yet to be an end to the house of mirrors and she hums some unknowable melody under her breath before speaking up again. ]
Please don't keep hiding from me. Oh, I sympathize, but if only I knew what to pity you for. What will the reflections be next? What provocations will the mirrors attempt? Can you sense it Father Abel? Isn't it trying to dig at you too?
[ he can hear Lilith's voice fading as they leave her reflection behind. there is one last soft, almost sad plea he understands without being able to make out the words; though it's selfish... and cruel, he cannot stop himself from stealing one last glimpse beyond his shoulder -- into her face to drink in one last glimpse at the warmth of her eyes.
...for a moment, he'd swear it was real. just like she'd seen him then, surely she was seeing him now.
the tangle of Monts' fingers at his breaks the spell. an exhale; a concentrated effort to regain lost footing - and he's reluctantly turning to leave the Dark Saint behind him once more. and while the woman by his side is not the one he entered this place with, and even if her questions elicit little more than a grimace from him - he is remaining close to her side in protective silence.
the mirrors up ahead dance with Monts' lithe figure alone, throwing the ever-shifting patterns licking on her skin in sharp relief in this lighting. and for a few long, heavy moments - there is nothing. nothing but Monts' unsettling reflection greets them. there is no sound aside from the softness of their breathing, their quiet steps against the flooring underfoot. ]
...Do you see the way ahead?
[ the disorienting array of mirrors makes the path ahead near indiscernible, and they're arranged in a narrow, winding path rather than a wide open space. one must fumble their way forward...
[ It's not an affirmative noise she makes in response, it's more neutral really as she gazes at her reflections. ]
The path has been entangled and so must we. Like string, we'll be twisted and frayed, tied into knots, stretched until we snap.
[ She's settling into her current state; this may not be a good thing. How had she been able to revert back then? It was a different set of circumstances and it took a witch and a golem to shake down the creature. But this was different, she's achieved a dissonant serenity after her mind was mangled by the voices and reflections from the mirrors. Monts has blended in with the town's horrors and mind games in a sense.
Slowly turning her head in a snakelike motion she looks up at Abel. ]
Will we press on? Stretch ourselves to the brink and break? Ah, how much further could I go? Would you like to find out?
[ Abel is absolutely conscious of the ticking of the clock; he doesn't know the danger posed by whatever she's going through, but the bias of his life experience whispers it is nothing good. the sooner they reach the end of this place, the sooner he can hope that being free of the mirrors might bring back the girl with deep green eyes he's desperately missing, now.
...he keeps his hand on hers, and begins to push ahead at a cautious pace. the unnerving nature of her demeanor is doing very little to ease the pit of knot-like apprehension churning a hole in his stomach; this is, perhaps, the very last place he wants to be right now. were he alone, it would not be quite as worrisome - but the terrible fear at having an audience to the shitshow... and one he cares about, one in duress, one he doesn't want to see hurting any more than she already has... makes this particularly unfortunate. ]
I don't know if you can hear me, [ he is murmuring, eyes strained ahead of him for any sign of motion among the mirrors as they keep trekking ahead, ] but I haven't given up on you. Whatever you need to do-- whatever you can do, Miss Monts, I'm still waiting for you.
[ ...there is a sound from up ahead-- and then behind, slowly creeping into stereo. the flicker, crackle of flames, distant at first but intensifying. is it just an illusion of heat in the air, or is it truly palpable? a trick of the mind in response to the too-real imagery?
his footsteps begin to quicken, tugging her gently to keep pace. he gropes out with his hand ahead of him, his lack of a reflection making it especially difficult to find the way ahead without colliding with any of the mirrors. ]
[ They'll have to use her reflection as a point of reference if they're ever going to get out. Monts lets herself be pulled along as she glances back and forth at the changing scenery around them. ]
Ah. How warm.
[ Ever since she's transformed she oscillates between a disturbingly gentle being to a darkly candid creature. ]
Father, you say you'll wait for me, but I'm always here. I can't ever truly leave. I make do with what I have, you see? Oh, but don't trouble yourself right now. We're lost, we're entangled...
[ Her fingers intertwine with his even more and she holds up his hand clasped in hers. ]
And the best is yet to come, is it not? Your heart on display for both of us to see, tangible anguish that we must digest together.
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no subject
[ She knows because Abel is that kind of person who has offered his all without really asking anything big in return. He may be silly, idiotic, and childish, but when Monts recalls the tarot reading given to him, she intrinsically understands that there is more. ]
You're the type of person who'd annoy me to death if I forget.
[ The voices are starting to sound clearer and clearer until they're both able to make out the words. ]
... God Monts, way to ruin the mood tonight.
Fucking HELL, Reyes, she was drunk! What kind of fucking mood were you going for?!
[ There's a sharp intake of breath from Monts who recognizes the last voice of her own. ]
Shit.
no subject
apparently he takes pride in the fact she's right. he would annoy her to death if she forgot, so much better for everyone if she doesn't! that's all there is to it.
however, that smile is slipping as the distant sound of voices become less an incomprehensible hum and something more... tangible. Abel's tilting his head, eyes flickering across the mirrors - above... to the sides, trying to see if anything should appear.
but the quiet expletive from Monts' mouth has him casting her a glance. ...that sounded an awful lot like her, didn't it?
he slides discreetly closer. ]
...It seems you're a subject of interest, today. I wish I could say it must be nice to be so well-loved, but...
[ for what it's worth? he is sorry for that fact. something here has enjoyed digging around in her head. ]
no subject
This... This happened before. A while ago.
[ It was a while ago and yet not all that long either. The surfaces of the mirrors shimmer for a second causing a ripple, but her reflection remains non-existent. The voices, however, continue to play out. ]
Look, I'm just sick of your guys' bullshit. If you wanted to get some, you know better than to do it to someone who can't even walk straight!
[ It's unmistakably her voice. The other voices are mostly male, some sounding inebriated, others barely sober. ]
What, you jealous Monts? You've been playing cool and all, but I know you miss it sometimes.
I'd miss it if there were anything to miss asshole. Anyways, the party's over, I'm going home.
Don't act like you're so high and mighty. The fuck's goin' on? Why do you feel like being an uppity bitch all of a sudden?
I don't have to answer you. Outta my way.
[ There's a sound of some struggling. ]
Now hold on, you don't get to talk to us like thatβ... OW! Fuck, you pushed me! Son of a bitch, do you take steroids or something?!
Of course, I pushed you. You don't get to grab me by the wrist like that.
[ Over the din of the anger fueled argument, Monts in the present is staring at the floor and an audible murmur emits from her lips. ]
Don't listen.
no subject
Abel hates to see her this way. she looks painfully small all the sudden - this person who is normally so well put together. so much rolls right off her back like water. (or is that just what she wants others to believe? at this point, he isn't so sure.) he wishes he could drown out the noise - that putting his hands over her ears would make it stop. he doubts it would.
this isn't the type of performance one would be permitted to tune out, after all.
grimace at his lips, he focuses his attention on trying to find any way forward or out of this room. it might be a futile effort, but... it's better than standing here watching her torture herself over a past she can't change. ]
...We'll be out soon. Please hang in there with me, alright?
[ ...seven years bad luck seems a slim price to pay, he's finding. would shattering these lead them to a new route out of this mess? he's sorely tempted, casting a glance back over his shoulder at her vulnerable form behind him. ...for all Monts is more durable than most, it seems her heart is just as fragile and human in the end. ]
no subject
The girl who can't die is afraid of dying. Of course, her life can't be ended easily, but it can come to a stop again, and again, and again, and again... This was the night that confirmed her suspicions about her body that was combined with something of an otherworldly nature. It had taken a year for this memory to lighten its burden on her shoulders lest she dwells too much and remembers the sheer rage that bubbles up beneath the surface. ]
So that's how you want it bitch? You wanna see how YOU like it when I push you?
Go ahead asshole!
Whoa, whoa, whoa guys, guys...!
Eeeeyyy, is it a lover's spat going on?
[ There's yelling and namecalling and the shuffling noise of jumbled footsteps. Monts has her head in her hands now and her mark is spreading across her body all the way down to her fingertips. ]
Nonononono, not again, not again, not again...!
Leave me alone!
No, YOU don't get to act like you're better than all of us! See how YOU like itβ!!
... Ah...!
[ There's shouting, horrified gasps, and then... There's movement in one of the mirrors now and it looks like a body falling down from a great height. When it hits the floor an ugly, ugly sound from the impact follows. ]
SNAP.
[ Monts lets out a strangled noise as both the memory from the mirrors and her in the present synch up together. She couldn't feel anything back then and she can't feel anything now, but she covers her face as her body is swallowed up by the darkness under her skin. She stops right in front of the body reflecting back at her shuddering uncontrollably. ]
... Shit... Fuck, Monts, get up, you're just fucking pretending...!
Bro, what the FUCK.
Shit, fuck is she breathing!? Fuck, fuck, FUCK!!
Call the cops or 911, something, fuck I don't know!
Didn't you hear that?! Something broke, she ain't gonna fucking move!!
What are we gonna do, holy shit...!!
[ The voices are utter chaos as and the horrifying realization of what has been done echoes all around them, ringing in their ears. It starts to slowly fade away, but Monts is not in a great state. ]
... They did that to me.
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it's more than slightly sickening. disturbing; a body that will not die, cannot feel pain can still suffer. she's definitely suffering, now.
...he realizes he's been lost to a useless stupor; Abel is afraid to startle her with contact as much as he wants to reassure her. his voice is low, a little hoarse over the din. ]
...Monts.
[ --please look at him. ]
I'm... sorry.
[ not nearly enough of a consolation; there probably isn't any. but the rapid spread of that mark across her skin and her trembling shoulders have him painfully aware she isn't in any state to care, in all likelihood.
with the utmost gentility, he reaches for her hand to attempt to re-anchor her in the moment. ]
...Please look at me, don't... don't look at that.
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When she does though... ]
Father Abel.
[ There's a different quality to her voice. It lacks weakness and Monts' inherent sweetness that she has for everyone. Hands drop to the side, dangling side to side. ]
I have several sins, so many, so many. Would you like to hear them? Oh, but you heard so much already, but you don't know all of it. You're going to ask, aren't you? I'll let you know so you don't incessantly try to open me up when you won't let me tear you open.
[ Monts looks up at him and... Her eyes are black with red pupils replacing the blue-greens. She's human-shaped but covered in her mark that splits and scatters across her body like flower petals, constantly on the move. The body in the mirror finally reflects her, the monster standing in front of Abel Nightroad and it stands up until it perfectly matches up to her. ]
Well? Here I am! The sum of a failure. I'm so happy you can see all of me, truly!
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he doesn't even need to see anything else to know this is not the woman he'd been reaching for, even if it inhabits her skin. could speak just like her if it wanted to, he's sure. might vaguely resemble her on some basic level, but... it isn't her.
it took something. is still taking things, now.
the numb sort of shock that's stolen his features fades into wariness that wars with concern. ]
...Please don't say those kind of things from her mouth.
[ ... ]
Miss Monts...? Can you hear me?
[ his only concern is grasping whatever is left of her, before it's too late.
...he should have asked her about this. he should have seen things were becoming too much; can she lose herself--? is he simply letting fears of that thing project onto her and her predicament?
he really doesn't want to find out the hard way. ]
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Father Abel, don't you understand? I am not two parts, but one whole! I am what lingers in the mind, beneath the skin. I sleep, but I see everything through my eyes.
[ She gives a little spin and it would be almost seen as childish if it weren't for her otherworldly beauty as dark petals float across her face and hands. ]
Oh, this place, this foggy town, doesn't it makes you laugh? It pokes and jabs, it cuts, trying to see what's beneath. Well, I've answered its call and what for? You heard the voice, saw that sack of flesh. This... [ She puts a hand on her chest to gesture at herself. ]
So fragile, so frail, but I can fix myself over and over and not feel a thing. But you see...
[ Her hand gestures are grand as she continues her unhinged rambling. ]
If you handle me too roughly, I cannot move. And when that happens, well, it's only fair if I come out and play rough. For just a little while. Did you know what they did to me next before I decided to play with them?
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is she lost in there? or is it like sleeping? he desperately wishes he knew, now - but there's nothing he can do but wait it out and pray. Monts was strong. she would come back; he refused to accept any other alternative.
playing games with monsters beyond human understanding is not as outrageous as it ought to be. he finds the hair on the back of his neck bristling, and there's an uncomfortable tension, a rigidity in his posture as he watches her regardless. ]
...People can be cruel. I can only imagine it was something you didn't deserve, and... I'm sorry for that.
[ ... ]
But you don't need to do this. [ show, or tell him any more. stay here anymore. ] Please go back to resting for a while; I'm sure that woman is waiting eagerly to wake up again.
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[ She laughs at his pleading. Voices of the perpetrators start echoing through the halls again and she looks past him, her gaze distant. ]
I can move on, but I'll never really forget you know? This world of mirrors just brings out the sweet taste of anger, always at the tip of my tongue.
[ The flower starts walking past him arms spread wide as the voices replay that fateful night. ]
M-MONTS?! Y-You're still alive? What the FUCK you're supposed to beβ...!!
[ The sound of a gunshot. Then the echo of someone being hit with a blunt weapon. Screams of terror next. She chuckles as if the memory tickles her fancy. In a way it does. She remembers it all and it just brings up one small regret. ]
I really wish I just killed them all back then. I still think about it you know? How lightly I would snap their necks, how gently I would break their fingers, how much would they bleed? It didn't hurt when I broke my neck, but looking at them writhe in pain, I could almost start to get the idea.
So you see Father, I am one whole being. This is what I am. Oh, I can be calm I can be sweet, but tempt me with violence and I'll bring it forth tenfold. The Fortune Teller wasn't lying you know.
[ Excess, imbalance, a tendency to extremes. ]
These mirrors are quite a bother, aren't they? You're fortunate that you are not the one to stir my ire.
... Oh, but dear Father Abel... I don't see your reflection anymore.
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his jaw tightens, further. the worry is coiled tightly now; his fingers twitch at his sides before he forces himself to try and relax. (...in the end, she's been hiding something like this all along.) in the face of this rather unpleasant situation, there's no room for a misstep. not when he doesn't know how in the world to draw her back from where she's gone.
whether she's lost herself to what's written all over her skin, or what's written all over her skin has swallowed her up like a little bug - it doesn't matter. ]
...
[ he isn't averting his gaze, pays no attention to the mirrors as the voices - and cries, and screams, and disturbingly vivid sounds - die down in the background. his eyes follow her and her movements; he is patiently waiting. he means her no harm - and she is trapped in this mess too, isn't she? as long as they're together, then... something has got to give. a way will open up, or they'll be forced to make one. won't they.
...he thinks he'd prefer the clowns, now. ]
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Did I tell you back there? I don't like liars and people who don't give me straightforward answers.
[ Damn. ]
I didn't kill anyone in the end. I'm a failure through and through. Oh, but I'm sure there will be a next time! I'll have good reason to break others, I'll find someone or something that will bleed for me.
[ Her figure sighs dreamily and spins around to face the priest. ]
What will this place show me about you? You don't give me answers, you're more than willing to tell me lies if it'll protect my pretty little soul.
[ That's the other thing about this form; it is much crueler, much more willing to cut to the heart of the matter much like South Sister overall. ]
I've bled in front of you and you have the gall to try and hide from me? What a cruel man of faith without faith you are.
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...
her words aren't half as cutting as the fact he doesn't believe the woman he knows would ever be capable of saying them. whether its the influence of this thing, or something feeding on dark, buried parts of her nature - it doesn't matter. Abel lets it slide like water off a duck's back, and his composure is much steadier as he replaces the old-fashioned frames.
--but the soft sound of chime-like bells, the clink of jewelry, quiet sway of fabric behind him steals it in short order. the rapid recoiling of muscles, stiffening of his shoulders is already threatening to undo his good work. though he is clearly working to avoid looking at or acknowledging what is slowly approaching the glass from the reflection of the mirror, the blood is draining from his face regardless.
the redhaired woman in sari - with a very familiar rosary, though unweathered by the passage of centuries - presses her henna-painted hand to the glass. though the priest doesn't look at her, her face expresses nothing but fondness, and her golden eyes carry all the warmth in the world in them. ]
Will you not look at me, Abel? Come now, tell me you're not still a child after all this time.
[ he lowers his head, and his hand has clenched so tightly at his side it seems the bones will break. ]
We need to go, Miss Monts.
[ ...his voice is strained, and though it still holds that gentle edge, it is far more commanding in tone. if she's in there -- if she can hear him, if this 'Monts' deigns to listen... they need to escape.
he will not humor ghosts. he will see her again, when he's earned it. ]
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... We will go.
[ She moves back to Abel, close enough so her dark-tinged fingers gently brush against his cheek (there is an unsettling vibration from the mark as it swirls around her body continuously). ]
But she will follow. She's always been following you, hasn't she?
[ Her voice is disconcertingly gentle as if the new understanding has on some level reached that part of her that he's more familiar with. ]
What follows her I wonder...?
[ Her hand moves down to brush against his clenched fist. ]
C'mon.
[ and just for that second she almost sounds normal. ]
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he finds his head lifting, just enough that he might glance into her face as her fingers brush oh so gently against his cheek - wary, but... tentative and uncertain. is she...? the sound of her voice this way - almost right, almost Monts again - has a different sort of pang tugging through his chest.
...please let her come back from this.
his hand is slowly unclenching where her hand descends to graze over his knuckles, instead. even if heβs doing his absolute best to keep his attention focused on βMontsββ new face, the pulse of red eyes only serves to remind him there is no time to lose his head in the very same ghosts he had tried to coax her to ignore. he has to get her to snap out of this, somehow. he has to escape.
...a stiff, but grudgingly acquiescent nod of his head. blue eyes are far older as they fix on her in stubborn refusal to see anything else.
letβs go. ]
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[ The monster gives off a low chuckle as she studies his face. She'll start to walk forward, but it appears she'll be the talkative one. ]
You're not afraid of me, are you? If I didn't know any better, I'd assume you'd sputter and cower away like you'd want others to believe.
[ Looking at the mirrors around them, you'd think she was just talking to herself since Abel's reflection still has yet to appear again. ]
But I don't totally believe the parts you allow yourself to show. Oh, hide all you want, your layers are made to be peeled away.
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the voice - patient, but filled with a sort of quiet disappointment, lilts from the mirror. the soft chime of the bells as she tilts her head, patient eyes filled with a serious but no less warm plea implore at their receding figures. ]
It isnβt too late, Abel. You arenβt too far gone. All it will take is for you to make the decision to come with me, and we will make right whatβs been done.
[ he isnβt sure what is more frustrating - the βmonsterβ at his side with her equally soft, barbed candy words or the devastating yearning and regret stirred up by the ghostβs voice behind him.
...he should have listened.
he should have went with her. but he didnβt then, and he canβt now. the darkened corridor may lead to another sort of nightmare, or freedom. he isnβt sure which. he doesnβt care, either - just... get him out of here.
...please. ]
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As the woman in the reflection speaks she glances back at her and then at Abel again. Beneath her skin, her mark hums, and the scattered particles swim across her disconcertingly. ]
... Father, what kind of hold does she have on you?
[ She stops walking and moves closer to Abel hand reaching up to hover over his cheek, but not quite touching him. ]
What kind of pain are you feeling? If it's in here... [ With her other hand, she moves it to her chest, where her heart is. ]
... Then that I understand. It's the only kind I'm familiar with, the kind that drives me forward whether I slumber or drift as I am now.
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...he is trapped between a rock and a hard place. faced with Monts in this condition, unsure what precisely her succumbing to this state is doing to her -- and the soft voice he had been dying to hear for eight hundred long years at his back.
but the mocking, gleeful and whimsical delight seems to have evaporated from 'Monts' and her expression. he wishes he saw something familiar in her eyes, but the crimson hue staring back at him only serves to remind him how alien (ha) this face seems, even moreso than the flickering, shifting pattern like a living tattoo moving over her skin. ]
...We need to go.
[ he lifts his hand, seizing her wrist. his grip is not unkind, but his patience is fraying. ]
For your sake as much as mine. This... is dangerous for both of us.
[ because that little girl in her sundress had managed to effect the world on the other side of the glass.
and while Lilith's gentle hand against the reflective surface poses no threat to them, he can assure Monts - there are other ghosts that would not be so kind, and he is not eager to find out what should happen if they're given some mockery of life in this place. ]
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If only you were this honest to me normally.
[ She moves her hand so that her fingers can tug at his as they keep walking farther up. There's yet to be an end to the house of mirrors and she hums some unknowable melody under her breath before speaking up again. ]
Please don't keep hiding from me. Oh, I sympathize, but if only I knew what to pity you for. What will the reflections be next? What provocations will the mirrors attempt? Can you sense it Father Abel? Isn't it trying to dig at you too?
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...for a moment, he'd swear it was real. just like she'd seen him then, surely she was seeing him now.
the tangle of Monts' fingers at his breaks the spell. an exhale; a concentrated effort to regain lost footing - and he's reluctantly turning to leave the Dark Saint behind him once more. and while the woman by his side is not the one he entered this place with, and even if her questions elicit little more than a grimace from him - he is remaining close to her side in protective silence.
the mirrors up ahead dance with Monts' lithe figure alone, throwing the ever-shifting patterns licking on her skin in sharp relief in this lighting. and for a few long, heavy moments - there is nothing. nothing but Monts' unsettling reflection greets them. there is no sound aside from the softness of their breathing, their quiet steps against the flooring underfoot. ]
...Do you see the way ahead?
[ the disorienting array of mirrors makes the path ahead near indiscernible, and they're arranged in a narrow, winding path rather than a wide open space. one must fumble their way forward...
...it's a maze. ]
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[ It's not an affirmative noise she makes in response, it's more neutral really as she gazes at her reflections. ]
The path has been entangled and so must we. Like string, we'll be twisted and frayed, tied into knots, stretched until we snap.
[ She's settling into her current state; this may not be a good thing. How had she been able to revert back then? It was a different set of circumstances and it took a witch and a golem to shake down the creature. But this was different, she's achieved a dissonant serenity after her mind was mangled by the voices and reflections from the mirrors. Monts has blended in with the town's horrors and mind games in a sense.
Slowly turning her head in a snakelike motion she looks up at Abel. ]
Will we press on? Stretch ourselves to the brink and break? Ah, how much further could I go? Would you like to find out?
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...he keeps his hand on hers, and begins to push ahead at a cautious pace. the unnerving nature of her demeanor is doing very little to ease the pit of knot-like apprehension churning a hole in his stomach; this is, perhaps, the very last place he wants to be right now. were he alone, it would not be quite as worrisome - but the terrible fear at having an audience to the shitshow... and one he cares about, one in duress, one he doesn't want to see hurting any more than she already has... makes this particularly unfortunate. ]
I don't know if you can hear me, [ he is murmuring, eyes strained ahead of him for any sign of motion among the mirrors as they keep trekking ahead, ] but I haven't given up on you. Whatever you need to do-- whatever you can do, Miss Monts, I'm still waiting for you.
[ ...there is a sound from up ahead-- and then behind, slowly creeping into stereo. the flicker, crackle of flames, distant at first but intensifying. is it just an illusion of heat in the air, or is it truly palpable? a trick of the mind in response to the too-real imagery?
his footsteps begin to quicken, tugging her gently to keep pace. he gropes out with his hand ahead of him, his lack of a reflection making it especially difficult to find the way ahead without colliding with any of the mirrors. ]
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Ah. How warm.
[ Ever since she's transformed she oscillates between a disturbingly gentle being to a darkly candid creature. ]
Father, you say you'll wait for me, but I'm always here. I can't ever truly leave. I make do with what I have, you see? Oh, but don't trouble yourself right now. We're lost, we're entangled...
[ Her fingers intertwine with his even more and she holds up his hand clasped in hers. ]
And the best is yet to come, is it not? Your heart on display for both of us to see, tangible anguish that we must digest together.
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