but a strange light in the sky was shining right into my eyes

[singmod]

JANUARY 2024 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — THE AURORA: NASCENCE: Following the strange dream at new year, a three-day Aurora takes place. During which, Interlopers discover a possible ally in the mysterious woman heard in the static and heard in the dream — potentially earning new abilities.

PROMPT TWO — ADUST: The Interlopers find out what happened to the owners of long-destroyed Milton House in the form of hauntings.

PROMPT THREE — THE VISITOR: Interlopers find themselves with an unwelcome visitor — a shadow doppelganger here to make everything absolutely worse.

THE AURORA: NASCENCE

WHEN: January 13th - 15th.
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: potentially disturbing dreams; dreams of being burned alive; some minor supernatural horror; some minor ‘ghost’ horror/hauntings; death of npcs in various ways including suicide, murder or exposure to elements.


In the middle of the month, it happens. A herald. The noise starts: faint at first, but then growing louder. An ethereal, high-pitched chorus of sounds difficult to place. There’s a kind of electrical buzzing with it all, a low, endless hum punctuated with cracks and pops. The sky is alive with sound, and with it comes the swirling streaking of colour against the inky black of night: The Aurora has come.

Much of what happened previously happens again: Streetlights, illuminating the town’s roads; lights in stores and homes will come alive, buzzing and flickering at times. Previously abandoned cars will turn on, their headlights blaring. Electronics that had previously seemed broken flick on — and whilst there are no broadcasts available on televisions, and the radio waves only drone on in static, both only occasionally blaring standard emergency broadcasts. Any computers and phones will turn on, but will have no internet or reception. Instead, Interlopers may find texts and emails — many of them unsent. The everyday lives of their users stored within, now readable.

There are still some instances of the ‘ghosts’ from the previous Auroras, but they are now only faint outlines, and far fewer in number. However, whilst the Aurora would usually only last until the next morning on sporadic nights over the month — this time it will last for a full three days. The world is plunged into darkness, a seemingly endless night with only the Aurora to light the skies.

On the second night of lights and noise, a voice calls out to you: static-like, and distant — as if someone speaks over a radio. A woman’s voice. It is the same one you’ve been hearing for a few weeks now, but finally it is far stronger than the scant whispers of name and the word ‘help’. She is far clearer now.

“You.” she says. She may whisper your name, too. “I see you.” You’re unable to speak back, the communication is only one way. She sounds upset, but there’s something more… a kind of wonder, perhaps.

”It’s not just a regular aurora borealis, but then you probably worked that out already, haven’t you? It’s so much more than that. Everything is… changing.”

”I don’t know how you can go back. But— but I can help. Maybe. Maybe I can make this place easier, somehow. I need help, but I’m stuck—” There’s frustration in her voice for a moment. ”It took from you. Took you away. It doesn’t always have to take. We can take, too. Sleep. I will help you take back. You will survive this. You will not go into the Dark. This is not the end.”

You have no idea what that means, for the most part. But you might just end up taking the chance and doing as the woman asked, even if it’s difficult with the noise and light with the Aurora. Sleep, and a dream may come to you.

FREE RUNNER: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape. You dream you are a magnificent stag, galloping through the snowy woods with ease. You seem to go on and on, never tiring, never slowing. You feel like the wind, or perhaps the very wind itself carries you. Not once do you stumble or fall, even when the snow is thick and deep, or the ground is shaky and uneven beneath you. You feel free.

When you awaken, you feel the most refreshed you’ve ever felt since you first came here. For the final day of the Aurora, you are bursting with energy and even when the lights in the sky fade — that revitalised feeling within you remains. There’s something within you that understands: you are the Free Runner. The ground will yield beneath you, your energy will not desert you, the wind will carry you.

LIGHT BRINGER: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape. You dream of sitting by a lonely campfire in the mouth of a cave at night, warming your hands. As you sit, a strange feeling comes over you, a desire to reach out to the flames. And so you do, reaching with both hands into the fire — gripping at the white-hot embers. It burns you, and for a moment there is blinding hot pain as the fire suddenly explodes around you, consuming you whole. But the pain soon stops. The fire doesn’t burn you. No, you have become the blaze — your body warmed. You burn bright enough that the darkness around you turns into day.

When you awaken the next morning, you feel warmed and comfortable. As if even the coldest of winters couldn’t reach your bones. The warmth remains even when the Aurora ends, and you are left with the innate understanding:you are the Light Bringer. The power of flame is at your very fingertips. You master the light, life, warmth.

AURORA CALL: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape. You dream you are standing in the very sky itself, at the Aurora’s height. Colour and sound twirls around you, within you — and you feel it curl into your body. Your head fills with noise, a chorus of voices calling out, snippets of conversation echoing within you. A woman’s voice calls to you, it is the same voice that spoke to you before you slept: “Don’t you understand it now? We are all connected. The Aurora connects us.”

And you do, you do understand it.

When you awaken, you feel connected to the world around you. To the very people who live amongst you. You feel less lonely, a kind of kinship with others. You have heard the Aurora’s Call and you have answered it, unlocked a connection with your fellow Interlopers. You will be heard.

NOTHING: The colours of the Aurora dance around you in your dreamscape, but only for a moment. The edges of your vision begin the blur with black, slowly closing in until everything goes dark and you fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. You awaken, and although you feel rested, as if the dreamless darkness has helped you feel a little more ready to take on the day — nothing else about you has changed.

ADUST

WHEN: From mid-month to month end.
WHERE: Milton House.
CONTENT WARNINGS: fire; house fire; death of a child/children; hauntings; ghosts; mental manipulation; illusions of burning/being burned; potential injuries via falling/unstable building collapsing.

There is a reason why it is advised to avoid Milton House other than the simple fact that it’s a miracle the house is still standing. Once one of the largest buildings in the town of Milton, it is now a former shell of what was once a fine and grand house. It has lain in ruin for many years, dilapidated and host to a great deal of fire damage.

While he is in town, Methuselah will not speak of the place, but he often looks sad when it has been brought up in conversation. “A great tragedy.” he will say before falling into a pensive silence. “A blackened mark on the town’s memory.” He does not wish to say much more of what happened: sometimes there are things that are just too painful. He will continue to advise the ruin is left alone, out of respect, and the fact that the place is a danger.

Of course, advice will not stop anyone from attempting to get into the ruins and exploring the house, even if it is in fact highly dangerous.

The sounds of voices and whispers may be enough to pique anyone’s interest. You're sure you heard something, maybe you should go to check it out?

It is true in the fact that the house itself is incredibly dangerous structurally: floors and stairs may give way and you’ll find your foot (and half of you) falling right through the floorboards. Damp and rot that have long since set in, and it will be dangerous to breathe in. But you’ll find that the house itself is pretty ordinary: this was once a family home. Just about the entirety of the house and its contents aren't salvageable, but you’ll be able to find out a little about who once lived here.

There are faded, half-destroyed photos that show a family of five: a father, mother, and three young children all under the age of ten. The father with warm, beaming smiles, the mother has kind eyes, the two oldest boys with toothy grins much like their father, the younger girl looks shy, wanting to hide against her mother. They look happy. Just a typical family. In a world where so many strange things are happening, it feels so strange to look upon these family photos and around this home to realise that they simply lost their home in a house fire.

But as you hold a family picture, or some half-destroyed trinket: a toy, a shoe, a book, a vase, you’ll find the item will suddenly catch alight, bursting into flames in your very hands. The flames do not burn you, and as you discard the item, it will fall to the floor as if nothing had happened.

Then, it comes to you. Here and there. Different sensations that stop and start suddenly: the house groans and creaks around you; the smell of smoke enters your nose; the sound of fire cracking and popping with a roar fills your ears; the sensation of heat against your skin; the clawing and suffocating feeling in your lungs that makes you cough and choke; the sounds of terrified shrieks of children echoing above you. Feelings flood you: fear, panic. When you next turn around, the entire house is aflame around you, and you can’t tell if this is real or if you’re reliving some terrifying memory.

You need to leave, get out of here. For some, it will be what comes naturally. You’ll have to fight through the flames and escape the house before it burns down completely around you. You’ll have to fight your way out, find an exit not already consumed by flames — through a window, perhaps. Crashing out of the house and into the snow, you’ll look back and see Milton House just as you entered it: nothing more than a half-burned ruin.

But for others, there will be another pull. You are drawn upstairs, to the screams of children. You need to get to them, to help them, save them. You will battle through the flames, heading towards the ruins of what was a child’s bedroom, or towards the bathroom. Inside either, you will find a figure cowering, engulfed wholly in flames: one in the bathtub or one in the closet. You recognise them as the two sons from the family pictures.

Mom. They will call you. Or Dad. They weep, terrified of the flames. I’m scared, I’m scared. I want the fire to go away. Help me. Stay here.

The tragedy of Milton House is before you. More than just a fire. What is more tragic than the death of a child? What silences voices? Breaks spirits? Leaves one helpless to act in the wake of such a passing?

There is something to be done here. You are not so powerless. Calm the child. Offer gentle assurances. They will get out. They are safe. You are there for them. You will stay. Embracing them will set you alight. Too hot. Too bright. It will hurt, but you won’t burn. But don’t let go; holding them will eventually calm them down enough for the flames to grow dim, to slowly ease their spirits to rest.

Soon enough, the flames will go out and the child will disappear, leaving you alone in a decaying, dilapidated room.

In the churchyard of Milton, there is a family grave by the name of Barker. Three lie within it: Thomas it reads, and his beloved sons, Patrick and Christopher.

THE VISITOR

WHEN: The month of January.
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: erything absolutely worse.
THE VISITOR — CONTENT WARNINGS: supernatural beings; dream-related horror/disturbing dreams; doppelgangers; themes of depression; themes of self-harm; themes of isolation; potential themes of suicide.


It seems the dream of the New Year and the Aurora dreams are not the only odd sleep-related instances occurring this month. You first notice that something is off when a strange dream pulls you from sleep. The dream may feel like any particular dream you have, whether it be a usual nightmare or strange concoction your brain has conjured up for you this night. Maybe it’s a dream you’ve had before, maybe it’s a new dream entirely. But no matter the dream, there is one thing that is odd about it. In tiny moments within the dream, you notice that there is something different, something that feels out of place. Something is there that shouldn’t be.

A figure, tall and silent, entirely made of shadow stands lurking in the background. It looks human, but there is not much more that you can really describe further. It is a sad, unsettling presence.

When you awaken, eyes bleary from sleep, and you look about the room, to the bottom of your bed, for a half-moment you see that figure standing there silently. That unsettling sadness permeates the room, and after a few seconds of blinking and sitting up — the figure disappears. Perhaps it was just some trick of the mind, some half-awake illusion.

But the next time you sleep, it appears again. The same figure, the same emotions surrounding it. And when you awaken, it stands at the bottom of your bed once more. Only this time, it lingers, and you find yourself staring down the figure before it disappears once more.

Over the next several days, the presence continues to linger more and more. It stands silently in the corner of the room of your home; it hovers by the window, staring out into the snow; it stands in the middle of the road as you go about your business. More and more, it is there. Always standing, always watching — silent and sad.

No one else seems to notice it, only you. And over time, the shape of it seems to change — the vague, undefined shape of it slowly shifts into something you recognise. The same hair, the same height, the same way it holds itself: it is exactly like you. A perfect doppelganger, a second shadow. And with it, it exudes an oppressive sadness, a particular kind of loneliness. It is suffocating, bleeding into you.

It makes you withdraw from the world around you, from the people around you. Perhaps you stop spending time with others, retreating into solitude. You hide from others, keep to yourself. You find yourself not sleeping at all or perhaps sleeping too much. Perhaps what little you already eat becomes nothing. The shadowy doppelganger draws ever closer to you, close enough to touch you - ever hovering at your shoulder. Its presence bores down on you, making you feel small and more and more alone even with its ‘company’. No one else can seem to see it but you, mentioning it to others will earn odd looks, or even concern. It seems you and your double are alone together.

Hopefully, those around you will notice the change in you. How you stopped reaching out, how you’ve stopped taking care of yourself. Hopefully they will see something isn’t right and reach out. You are doomed to the doppelganger's company otherwise.

However, those around you can push the shadowy double away, and can break its influence and hold over you. Genuine care and concern for you will have it shrinking back. Perhaps it is a kind word, perhaps it is the gentle but insisting coaxing to eat. Perhaps it is an attentive ear to listen to your thoughts, to how the presence has made you feel. Maybe it is even the simplest of touches, an embrace or the holding of a hand, the grip of a shoulder. Continued connection with you will slowly have the visitor’s power diminish.

And hopefully it is done before it is too late, or it may be all too easy to fade into the Long Dark.

FAQs

THE AURORA: NASCENCE

1. Aurora Feats are now unlocked! Please see the following page for more information. Aurora Feats are completely optional.

2. Interlopers will only receive ONE Aurora Event. The only time this is available is this month. After January, players will have to wait for the next Feat round for another chance at an Aurora Feat.

3. This Aurora will last a full three days. It will be a period of only night.

4. For more information on the ghostly loops seen during the Aurora, see this previous event, under 'The Aurora: Aftershocks' prompt.

5. For new players who would like a little extra context regarding the woman can look at December's Tales From The Northern Territories, under the 'New Happenings in December' section.

ADUST

1. Characters will not be physically burned in the fire, but only feel as if they have been. The effects of this illusion will last a short time after they're out the house before they will fade.

2. The only real injuries characters can sustain will be from fall damage, or if the floor gives way and their feet go through, etc. whilst in the house.

3. The children cannot leave the house. They will be too scared to leave. In addition, they are tethered to the house, given that this is where they died. Simply being calmed/comforted is the best way to help them and they will disappear after that.

THE VISITOR

1. An Interloper's Visitor can't be seen by anyone but the Interloper themselves.

2. The Visitor can be spoken to, but it will not speak back. It cannot be interacted with and is intangible.

PLOTTING POST

Comments

[pythianwoman]

Zoey’s going through the motions when she reaches out to him; she figures that it’ll be easy. They’ll exchange a little chatter and then she’ll vanish as quickly as she appeared. It makes sense in her head, with the weight of her blasted fucking twin hovering at her shoulder. An attempt to pretend like everything’s fine. She’s usually so good at that. Then again, she doesn’t usually have despair and sadness and loneliness bleeding into her like the torrent of a river.

She’s being pulled under and she doesn’t even realise it. This isn’t like the whispers in the dark, from that first Aurora. It’s more insidious.

It’s why he catches her so off-guard. She doesn’t even notice him when he realises how very much the opposite of fine she is. Doesn’t catch the widening of his eyes, the expression on his face, however slight and brief it might be. Another sign of how badly she’s doing. She's so much more observant than this.

His hand on her arm startles her, there’s no hiding it from him, not with the way she reacts, the way she looks at him, like she’s having trouble understanding the gesture, and for a moment…. Something changes. The vice of sorrow and loneliness around her chest… flickers, between one inhalation and the next. Eases, ever so briefly.

“I…” she trails off, because she shouldn’t. She should turn, and she should leave, because she shouldn’t burden him with her presence. He doesn’t need her around. He shouldn’t want her company. But here she is. Lingering like some waif on his doorstep.

Then she nods, the slightest, smallest little gesture. “Okay.” And she lets him nudge her into coming into his cabin.

[bigbaddy]

There's at least some relief in the way she allows him to guide her inside. Bigby wasn't really looking forward to having an argument about this, after all, and he'd refuse to back down on his point that she needs to be taken care of right now. What other conclusion could he possibly come to when she's standing outside of his door, practically looking like a zombie?

At least the fact that she's so out of it might help her not fully notice just what a mess Bigby's cabin is. The inside is very sparse, practically only the bare necessities present when it comes to furniture.. and none of it is exactly clean either. There's a reason he usually don't invite people to come over, even aside from the fact that he's a lone wolf in the first place. But Bigby isn't really thinking about the state of his cabin right now. All his attention is focused on Zoey, leading her over in the direction of his fireplace, where a small fire is already burning. He releases his hold on her for a moment to pull a chair a little closer to the fire, and then helps her sit down there.

Once she is sitting, it helps him get a better look at her, and.. god, she really doesn't seem to be doing well. Is it just the cold? But then again, Zoey seems way too smart to him to just stay out in there for an unnecessarily long time. And if she was lacking food, surely she would've just asked someone, right?

.. then.. why this?

Rather than sitting down in a chair himself, Bigby instead sinks down on one knee in front of her, worry visible in the way his eyebrows are drawn together as he stares at her face.

"What happened? Can you tell me?"

What would leave Zoey in a state like this?

[pythianwoman]

The moment he’s gotten her seated in the chair by the fireplace, Zoey’s curling up in it, tucking her knees up to her chest like she’s trying to make herself smaller (and because she can’t ever sit normally in a chair, even in the horrible shape she’s currently in). Her doppelganger looms over her shoulder. And she wants to leave, to withdraw and hide herself somewhere far away.

She doesn’t know what to do with the he sinks down on one knee in front of her chair instead of another chair, doesn’t know what to do with the worry drawing his eyebrows together, the worry that she’s just now noticing, just now really noticing. And once again, the sorrow and loneliness that are drowning her eases its grip on her heart. Just a bit. Just for a second.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she takes an unsteady breath. He’s going to think she’s insane. She feels as though she is, honestly, so maybe he wouldn’t be wrong to feel the same. (He didn’t think she was crazy the first time, though, a tiny little voice whispers in the back of her head.) Fuck it. It wouldn’t be the first time someone thought she was crazy.

“Hallucination, I think? Only there’s more to it than that. Because of course there would be, in this fucking place.” She looks at him, where he’s knelt in front of her on one knee. Worried. About HER. “It started with a dream, a shadow that lingered for a split second after waking up. It happened again, and again, the shadow lingering longer every time. Until it was HERE, with me, all the time, and not just when I was dreaming.”

Fuck, she can feel the weight of her doppelganger’s presence at her shoulder, where it always is, but she continues. He needs to know the whole of it. “It started to change shape. Started to look more human. Started to look like me. Until it was me. Is. Me. Always at my fucking shoulder.” She huffs an exhausted little laugh. “She bleeds sadness, and loneliness, and they’re fucking drowning me.”

[bigbaddy]

The story isn't too surprising to him. If anything, it's the first thing that feels like it makes sense. Even if Bigby has never heard of this exact set of circumstances before, they sound a lot like something that could have happened where he comes from. It's not like beings that prey on other people like that are uncommon there, at least. Some sort of weird entity that's taking on other people's identities by sucking said identities right out of them.

Sure, Bigby can believe it.

That doesn't mean he's happy about it though. Especially since he has no idea how the hell to fix it, especially since he can't see it. Zoey says it's always near her, but even though Bigby looks around them, he can't see a damn thing. It's so much easier to deal with something when you can punch it in the face, but-- well, that sure isn't the case here, now is it.

"I can't see it, Zoey."

She has to know. Even though he knows it can't be good news for her - it's not like he's going to lie to her and wrestle with some thing he can't see. His frown only grows deeper, trying to figure out what the hell he can do about this situation. There has to be something. He can't just surrender her to that thing. He can't do that to anyone in this place, but-- she was so weirdly nice about what he really is. It only makes him feel even more responsible for solving this problem.

"And by that I don't mean I doubt it's there. I know you're telling the truth. I'm just trying to figure out how to help you if I can't see it."

[pythianwoman]

“I know,” she murmurs softly, her gaze briefly cutting to the silent twin at her shoulder. “I didn’t think you would. Hoped you would, though.” It would have been nice. To not be alone in this. But she’s not alone in this, even if he can’t see it. He’s here, with her. Had dragged her ass off his porch and into his house. And she’s pretty sure he’s not the company type. Lone wolf, etc, etc.

He’s concerned. He’s so fucking concerned, and determined to try and help her… and that alone is, somehow. The weight on her chest feels… a little less heavy. “You’re the one person here I trust to believe me,” she says, more to herself than to him. It’s the truth. After that first conversation of theirs… she can’t help but trust him. At least about that. And probably about more shit that she’d admit to no one, least of all herself.

It’s so hard for her to ask for help. Especially about something this bad. This serious. And it’s worse, now, with the sorrow and loneliness bleeding into her from her doppelganger. But she thinks she needs to. This is bad. She can feel herself falling. Feel herself drowning. “This is helping,” Zoey tells him. She doesn’t understand it, isn’t as on the ball as she usually is, can’t quite put the pieces together to figure out that maybe it IS, actually, truly, helping. “You’re helping. Feels a little less like I’m choking on loneliness, for a few little moments.” She thinks it’s just the fact that he’s keeping her company.

(Which it is, in a way, but it’s more than that. Now if she could only put the pieces together.)

[bigbaddy]

The one person here I trust to believe me, she says, and it almost freezes him on the spot.

Zoey seems to be good at that, he thinks. She's constantly saying things that caught him off guard. Just like that other time, when she had been so incredibly willing to trust him, to think the best possible things about him, even after Bigby already told her what he is. And this time around-- It's the same thing. He never expected anyone to tell him that. He's hardly ever trusted in general, let alone being seen as the one person that can be trusted anywhere.

It's a heavy responsibility. But it makes the man just even more committed to making sure nothing happens to her now. Even if he doesn't know how to deal with this, he'll just cling to what he can do, and refuse to give up on that. Refuse to give up on her.

"Then you can stay here until we resolve this." Even if it might take a while. Sure, Bigby's cabin isn't exactly built for two people, especially since there's just one bed.. But if she does have to stay overnight, just so she isn't alone, he figures she can take the bed and he'll just sleep on the couch. It's fine. He usually sleeps on chairs anyway. "You got that? As long as this is going on, I won't leave you alone. Just stick around me."

[pythianwoman]

She doesn’t do that on purpose. It’s just… who she is. Zoey tries awfully hard at keeping people at arm’s length, but she cares far too fucking much and lets people in more than she would like. And after that conversation of theirs… well. There’s no avoiding it. She has, and she does.

Zoey just… looks at him. How in the fuck could the people in his world EVER think he’s the same person he was? How can they not see this? See him? She hates them more, here, in this moment, as he tells her without hesitation to just… stay here with him until they resolve this. We. The weight in her chest, the torrent of loneliness pouring into her from her doppelganger… stutters. Falters noticeably.

“The people in your world have to be fucking blind,” she tells him. It just slips out, because the longer she knows him, the more moments like this they have… she’s getting more and more sure that they HAVE to be. Regardless of history, regardless of what he’s done… sooner or later they would HAVE to fucking notice that he’s changed if they weren’t. They’re in for a hell of a time if any of them ever show up. Because she’s staunchly on Bigby’s side.

“We don’t know how long this is going to last. I don’t want to put you out.” Because she doesn’t want to intrude. No matter how much his offer means to her, not matter how badly she might need it… she doesn’t want to intrude.

[bigbaddy]

Bigby's expression is so unlike his usual one when she first speaks up. Usually his expression is indeed much more befitting of a wolf - gruff on purpose, a hard exterior hiding what's inside - but right now? It's much more like a puppy. At first Bigby looks a little uncertain about receiving such staunch support, and then a moment later he even looks a touch flustered, like the big bad wolf over here is entirely unsure how to receive something like that.

"It's.. It's fine," he says, addressing the last part first. It's the easier part. He genuinely doesn't mind, after all.

Even if he isn't much of a person to share his space with other people, it's much better than just letting Zoey go off on her own and worrying about her wellbeing the other time.

"There's enough space. You stay here, alright? I'm not taking no for an answer."

See, that's the easy part. Over and done with. And yet there's still something nagging at Bigby's mind, just enough for him to frown a little and add: "Besides, Zoey.. It's not like they don't have reason to think of me the way they do, you know?"

He doesn't know why he's defending them. They're not even here.

Maybe it's guilt. A guilt that has long ago settled into his bones, that refuses to leave. He doesn't have to be haunted by a shadow to feel it.

"I did a whole lot of bad shit."

[pythianwoman]

His reaction every time she says something like this is… it’s kind of fucking heartbreaking. She doesn’t mean to fluster him, doesn’t mean to make him look like a lost puppy. But Zoey means every word. And she thinks he needs to hear it.

She doesn’t argue, when he insists she’s staying here. That he’s not taking no for an answer. Despite her innate stubbornness… she’s too exhausted and cold for that. She’s made her argument. Made her attempt to not stay. (And more importantly there’s a part of her that doesn’t want to. She trusts him. And she’s safe around him. Even from herself.)

Without thinking, she uncurls from where she’s making herself small on the chair, and slips closer towards him, reaching out to cradle his cheek with her hand, cold against his skin. Making sure she’s got his attention. (Sorry Bigby.)

“Yes. You did. And they don’t have to trust you, or like you, or want anything to do with you. They have every right. But to treat you like you’re the same person when anyone with EYES can see that you’ve changed, that you’ve grown, without giving you the space to exist without throwing your past and what they think of you in your face every damn second does everyone a disservice. They should just let you fucking be.”

And maybe she’s just the fucking weirdo who brought hangover cures and water to the avatar of shadows and darkness who tried to stab her more than once, and DID stab her the once (she has the scar as a reminder), but it doesn’t change her mind. “Everyone has a past.”

[bigbaddy]

With her holding his cheek like that, there's nowhere else for him to look. Sure, he could pull away from that touch easily, especially with Zoey still being a little weak and Bigby being stronger than your average person, but he doesn't. It's like he can't. The man just sits there, seemingly frozen with his touch against his skin.

And looking so.. tame, really. The man looks gruff so often, and yet that's not what's going on right now at all. Instead there's something almost a little sad in his eyes as he's forced to stare at her, looking more puppy than wolf in this moment.

Maybe that's why he's being more honest, like he can't hold back the honesty while he's rendered this vulnerable by her.

"Why do you insist on being so nice?"

[pythianwoman]

Oh, isn’t THAT a complicate question. One she’s not entirely sure how to answer. Her hand still cool against his cheek. She should pull away… but she doesn’t. Not with him frozen in front of her, with something like sadness in his eyes. Breaking her heart so damn much. Someday she’ll be better about keeping people at arm’s length. Caring less.

Just not any time soon, probably.

“I’m a lot of things.” Stubborn. Prickly. Guarded. Wary. Contrary. Reckless. “I won’t let someone come to harm if I can do anything to prevent it, and I really hate seeing people mistreated.” Normally she keeps her flagrant lack of self-preservation when it comes to protecting others a little bit more to herself. (She’s a seer. She’s the only one who sees things coming. Of course she has to do something. And still does, even though she no longer has her gift.)

But it slips out all the same.

A small, soft little smile flickers across her lips for a moment and she lifts a shoulder in a half-shrug. “How could I not be?” It’s as simple as that, for her. This is just… who she is. Part of the whole complicated mess that is Zoey Irulan Westen.

[bigbaddy]

How could I not be, she says, as if Bigby isn't well aware that there are plenty of people out there who really aren't like that. That it's far from some default mode most people have. He's seen so many people who put their own interests ahead of other people's without thinking about it, who selflessly indulge and forget anyone else even exists.

.. it makes her a good person. That is what Bigby knows. It's something he already figured out the last time he spoke to her, but it only becomes more clear now, despite whatever is clinging to her and dragging her down.

"Well, then I'm just doing the same right now."

Not letting her come to harm if there's something he can do about it. Zoey says his presence is helping, so that's something he can give her, at least.

"As long as I can do anything about it, I'm not going to let anyone in this town come to harm. You included. So you gotta hang in there through whatever this is, alright?"

[pythianwoman]

Something that’s almost a smile curls Zoey’s lips. A counter to her desire to not be a bother, a burden, that she can’t quite deflect. She forgets sometimes, what it’s like to have someone have her back. What it’s like having someone caring and worrying about her. It always knocks her back a few steps, ending up somewhere else.

“That’s a lot of weight for any one person to carry,” she says softly. “Even one who’s used to being a very large wolf.” She won’t be letting him carry it alone. Even if she’s fucking USELESS right now. Her doppelganger, who had almost felt like she’d taken a metaphorical step back from her, maybe even more, has taken another step or two closer with that thought. She ducks her head. “I have no intention of going anywhere, if I have any say in the matter. I promise.” A little half-inhalation, followed by a confession. “But it would be. Very easy to just… walk off into the dark, and the cold.”

It's been tempting. More tempting than it ever had been before, with the stupid fucking whispers in her head that first Aurora.

[bigbaddy]

"Not as easy when I'm here," he easily answers.

Talking about feelings? Yes, that's difficult for this big wolf man over here. But protecting other people? That's so much easier. He can't do the talking part very well, but making sure Zoey doesn't leave his place until she's feeling better? Now that's way easier. He's not planning on letting her walk out of that door and into the cold alone while she's still like this.

Bigby even feels like he'd be able to do it well enough, hence the confidence he says that with. Like he genuinely can't imagine this could go wrong, just as long as he's keeping an eye on her.

"So just make yourself comfortable here. We can eat something together." Maybe that will help in making her feel better?

.. he isn't sure.

"Though I'm.. guessing you probably don't eat raw meat, huh." No, Bigby, not everyone is a wolf person like you!!

[pythianwoman]

“No. No it wouldn’t be.” He’d stop her. She’s certain of that. It’s odd, having so much faith in someone she barely knows. It’s been a while. Or feels like it has. (It had been a world ago for her, and reuniting with someone she’d thought she’d never fucking see again, meeting someone who was USED to the strange and unusual.) But she knows the important things. And she trusts him. Which is maybe the most important thing of all. For someone as wary and prickly as she can be.

She tries so hard to keep people at arm’s length. And then they sneak in, despite her best efforts.

“I should probably eat something. I forget the last time I did.” She’s been… a little distracted. A LOT distracted. Although the weight of the doppelganger hovering at her shoulder has eased. Feels less oppressive. Less like she’s drowning. She can breathe a little again.

His comment earns him another little soft huff of laughter. “Not usually. Nearly, though, given the way I usually take my steaks.”

[bigbaddy]

Well, that makes things a little more complicated.

Only a little, though. Bigby feels like if he keeps her talking and engaged, then maybe Zoey will return to herself, even if it's slowly. Even if it's bit by bit. And that means he can tackle the slight problem of the fact that she can't just consume stuff without cooking it first the way he can.

"In that case I hope you know a thing or two about cooking."

Bigby's place does have a kitchen, after all. He just doesn't use it for anything but storing the animals he's hunted.

"I wouldn't mind being your.. kitchen assistant." Sure. Let's call it that. Why not.

[pythianwoman]

She COULD eat it that way, probably. She just might have to gnaw and worry at it more than he might. Or cut it into tiny bite-sized pieces. (Can she be a wolf? She kind of wants to be a wolf.)

“I know enough, at least.” She’s pretty good at it. Not professional, but she’s had a lot of time to practice. And she’d always helped her mom in the kitchen, before her death.

And then, for the first time since her doppelganger started haunting her steps, she smiles. REALLY smiles. It even reaches her eyes. Just a little, but more than anything more than sorrow and grief, and devastation has since the fucking haunting started. “Kitchen assistant, huh?” There’s even the faintest touch of teasing in her voice. “Yeah. I could. I’d like that.”