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

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

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Maybe that's... exactly why. [ He makes a face, cringing a little. ] You go the places where you people don't expect you to go, y'know? Although I can't really tell why anyone's hiding.

[ Nothing good, he imagines. Maybe they should leave, maybe Billy's right. As much as if someone's hiding in here and up to no good — there's no good in picking through this place. It feels like standing on someone's grave, enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

He quietly moves to pick amongst the ruin and charred remains, looking up to see if he can still hear anyone now — ready to call out and tell them to stop hiding. But his boot steps on something that cracks under the weight of him, surprising him to silence. Kieren crouches down to pick it up, cautiously handling the scorched and smashed glass of a photo frame.

Picking the glass away, he pulls the photograph from it: three children sat by a lake, holding fishing nets. They looks happy, he thinks. ]

.... A family lived here.

The place is big enough for a family.

[ It's his instinctive reply, at first figuring that Kieren's remark may be a little bit more business-like than it actually is. Especially since Billy is half-distracted - still looking at the stuff around them to see if there's anything worth salvaging, while at the same time keeping an eye out for escape routes..

The latter makes him feel a little paranoid, but he can't shake the feeling that he really shouldn't be here, for some reason. It makes him feel a little bit better to at least have an escape route in mind, just in case.

It's only when he looks over at Kieren and realises the other is holding something that it hits Billy that Kieren probably meant a little bit more with that initial remark than Billy assumes, and he moves over closer towards the other, enough to at least see the photo. It renders him quiet for a moment until he speaks up again. ]

.. It must have been a long time since they lived here, judging by the state of this place.

A couple of decades ago, I think. Judging by those clothes. [ Probably somewhere in the eighties, he thinks? He's not 100% sure on that. But yeah, it's been a while. ] It's 2014 here, but like... even for me being from 2013, the whole town's pretty behind the times. But in here? Even this place is more dated.

[ He doesn't have much time to dwell on it. The photograph sets alight out of nowhere and Kieren lets out a soft cry, tossing the photo away in panic. ]

What the fuck— [ It isn't the only thing: smoke begins to pour in the room, a growing heat quickly taking hold. Kieren gasps, spinning around. Fire? ] We need to go. Right now.

[ He grabs Billy's arm, pulling him back towards the kitchen to head out the back door. Only to find the sudden rush of flames bursting before them. Above them: the cries of children. ]

[ Well, there goes absolutely any thought of speculation.

Instead Billy's head is immediately filled with other things. The sight of the fire is too familiar. It may have been a while since the carnivale, especially when you add the time he's spent here in Milton on top of it, but just this fire is enough to bring back the memories. There's the scent of smoke, the crackling sound in the distance, and even though consciously Billy knows he's right here in this moment, in his mind he's back there. It's like he can still hear the footsteps of the other men, trampling, hurrying, every single person for themselves to try and get to safety.

And then the panic, panic, panic--

It's a good thing Kieren grabs his arm, because it might be the one thing that snaps Billy's mind back to the present. A present that's just as filled with panic and fire, but it's a present that something can still be done about, rather than a past that already transpired.

Leaving is his idea too. Even with the cries he can hear now. Billy blocks them out, tries to not think about them. They have to get out of here, and the cries are coming from above, which definitely isn't the exit.

So rather than addressing that sound, he blinks a few times to try and regain some clarity in the face of the rising red hot panic in his chest, looking at Kieren. ]

If the door is blocked, then--- the windows--

[ Sorry that he's not the most coherent person right now, Kieren. Billy's body is practically trembling with panic. ]

[ Kieren knows he's dead. Well. Partially. But Billy's alive, breathing. Kieren might be able to get fucked up by the flames, but Billy can die. He can feel pain and burn and die. Kieren can't let that happen, he can't.

The word 'windows' is heard over the inferno and Kieren's already looking about, squinting through the smoke and growing flames. He turns back, away from the kitchen. ]

C'mon, this way— [ He keeps his hand on Billy's arm, not wanting to lose him in the smoke — precariously stepping through the burning living room towards one of the walls, in search of a window.

When he finds one, he's moving to try and pry it open — only to find the years and weather have swollen and distorted the wood. ]

It's jammed—! [ He strains against the wood but he can't seem to budge it. Fuck. ] Quick—! Grab something to smash the glass with!

[ He doesn't struggle against the hold on his arm at all. Billy just allows Kieren to drag him right along. Maybe it's since Billy doesn't fully trust himself to take the best course of action in this situation, as much as he can feel his heart racing, seized by the panic - or maybe it's since he trusts Kieren. More than most people, at least. The other had helped him out right away back when Billy first showed up, and he'd never even asked for a single thing in return.

Kieren won't do anything to let him perish in this sea of flames.

At least Billy's brain is working well enough still to recognize their current problem when he sees Kieren's hands on the window. He's already looking around before Kieren asks him to grab something, already trying to find something suitable. It's so hard when Billy can hardly see anything at all in the smoke, and what he can see also just seems to be on fire.

For a brief panicked moment he worries he might not be able to find anything at all, but then he finds a particularly heavy book that doesn't seem burned yet. He rushes back over to the window with it, a quick "get back!" aimed at Kieren before even Billy with his skinny arms can use the weight of the book as leverage to throw it hard enough at the window that it goes through it, breaking the glass in the process.

The white of the snow in the view outside feels like salvation, and instinct tells Billy to immediately climb out, but--

.. it's almost like a weird sense of guilt strikes him at the thought, especially when he considers Kieren first attempted to help get him out of here, rather than leave him behind.

It makes his worried eyes turn towards the other first. ]

You go out first! I'll follow you!

[ Surely a moment will be fine, surely a moment longer in this place won't kill him--

(God, it feels like it will. It's terrifying.) ]

[ He steps back, out of the way. The glass breaks and then Kieren's moving to try and clear the rest of the glass out the way. Even in his half-panicked hurry, he's being careful to avoid getting shredded by the shards of glass clinging to the window frame.

He wants Billy out first, he wants the other to be the first one out because it doesn't matter if Kieren's in the smoke and flames. It doesn't matter. It matters if Billy is and there's a moment's hesitation in him as he looks back at the man, wanting to argue.

They don't have time to argue.

Kieren swears under his breath and clambers out, clumsy into the snow but he's not staying put once he's outside. He's already turning back, reaching for the other man to help him out. ]

C'mon—! I've got you—!

[ Thankfully the other definitely doesn't have to wait. Billy doesn't want to linger in the fire any more than Kieren wanted him to, and the moment Kieren is already safely through the window, Billy is starting on climbing through to follow him.

He'll even accept Kieren's help. When hands reach over towards him, he latches onto them with his own hands, allowing his own physical effort and the force of Kieren helping tug him through to get him out of the window, feet landing out into the snow on the other side, and--

Two things happen in that exact same moment.

The first is that the fire is suddenly.. gone. Like it was never there to begin with. Billy turns his head to look at the window they just went through, blinking in stunned surprise and the adrenaline-filled panic still rushing through his veins.

The second thing is that Billy's hands are hot. Very hot. It almost feels like you might burn yourself if you hold them for too long.

Billy only notices the former, though, not the latter. He doesn't even say anything, only staring back at the house in that stunned surprise. ]

What the fuck. [ It's whispered, uttered in a strained voice. Kieren's staring back, bewildered and horrified and... he doesn't know. The flames vanish into nothing and the house appears just as it had in the moments before all hell broke loose. He's frozen like that, comprehending.

What just happened...?

He doesn't feel the head in the other's hands. The very same heat pressed against his own hands. But what he does eventually notice is the smell— the scent of fabric starting to singe a little and Kieren looks down, confused. Staring for a long moment before he understands it: is he burning...? ]

Shit. [ Kieren snatches his hands back, eyes wide and uncertain for a long moment. ] Billy.

[ He looks briefly at his hands, seeing the slight smouldering of the fabric of his gloves and reaches to shove them immediately in the snow.

He can't even check them now. Not in front of Billy. He prays they're okay. That it's just the gloves. ]

Hm?

[ It's a bit more of an alarmed noise than he'd usually make, but.. well, it's just due to the circumstances. He's still filled with adrenaline over the fire, and then there's Kieren calling out his name with enough alarm that he can't help but worry that there's more going on.

.. which there clearly is, even if Billy doesn't realise what it is at first. All he sees is Kieren looking worried, and then him shoving his hands into the snow, and that just makes Billy look worried in turn too. ]

What ha-- [ He uncharacteristically cuts himself off, not seeming as calm as he usually does, shaking his head and making a second attempt: ] Are you alright?

[ The worse news is that Billy's own gloves are also definitely starting to smoulder, but.. he isn't noticing, considering he's giving off the heat in the first place.. and since he's too busy looking down at Kieren, he isn't looking down at his own hands at his sides. ]

Y—yeah. I'm— [ He should be fine, he thinks. He hopes. Sinking his hands into the snow has put a stop to any further smouldering going on, and while he can't check if he's been burned just yet — it... should be fine.

Fuck, he hopes he's fine.

He looks up. Billy might not have noticed, but Kieren does — his eyes looking up towards his face then lowering towards the other's hands. Woah, okay— shit, that's— okay—! ]

Billy, your hands.

[ He frowns at the mention of hands, especially when Kieren seems so alarmed about it, only seeming to realise himself what's actually going on when he looks downwards.

Kieren's expression was definitely warranted, since Billy feels just as alarmed when he witnessed the smouldering. He quickly moves to pull his gloves off his hands, and while the hands underneath look fine - pretty pale and bony, but that's just normal for Billy - the gloves themselves seem to be the problem. That's where the smouldering comes from. In fact, as soon as the man gets them off his hands, they just ignite into a sudden burst of flame, startling Billy with a jolt of his shoulders.

He quickly throws the gloves down into the snow, his heart beating furiously in his chest as he takes a quick step back from them to gain some distance from the fire. The gloves still burn despite the snow. If anything, the fire only seems to grow as Billy struggles to breathe. First that damned house, now this--

He puts his hands - thankfully no longer burning hot - on Kieren's shoulders, trying to pull him backwards. ]

We have to get away!

[ Look, does Billy know what's going on? Not in the slightest, but he knows it's Bad. This place is bad. Maybe they're not safe even directly outside of the house. ]

What the fuck?!

[ Kieren scurries back as soon as he sees the other's gloves burst into flames, open shock in his expression as he stares. He clambers to his feet from where he's had his hands in the snow, helpless to do anything as he sees the flames — Billy discarding them just as quick.

What the fuck is that? They're not even in the house anymore and Billy's gloves are on fire?

Nope. No. He hates this. And Billy's the one pulling him back. Kieren doesn't even argue, yeah they're getting out of here. ]

Yeah, no. I'm with you.

[ Absolutely fuck that. Time to run away! ]

[ Thanks for the agreement, Kieren. Though with the way Billy was already tugging on the younger guy, it's likely he would have dragged him back regardless of cooperation - especially when Billy just wants to get away from this weird place that seems to cause random fire as quickly as possible.

It takes a few moments before he stops running, once they've gotten quite some distance between them and the house. He already pulled his hands off Kieren once it was clear the other was also coming along - and at this point, Billy feels more tired than panicked, especially with his endurance sure having gone to shit thanks to the after effects of the scurvy wrecking his body. He rests his hands on his knees, leaning forward as he tries to catch his breath after their hurried getaway.

(Granted, it's the way he's no longer fully panicking that's keeping any fire from following them, but.. it's not like Billy knows that..) ]

There is-- [ He manages to barely get out between breaths. ] --something wrong with this place.

[ Not just the house. This place in general. What explanation is there for everything suddenly setting itself on fire? That could have ended so much worse than it did for either of them.

He lifts his head enough to glance over at Kieren. ]

You didn't get burned, did you?

[ Kieren, on the other hand, is doing pretty well despite the running. He's not even panting — but he is taking a few slow breaths as if to calm his nerves, his hands clasped around the back of his head as he turns to look back the way they've come. He stares at the house with a stunned kind of horror. Honestly, fuck all of this. This is fucking mental. ]

Yeah, no shit. [ This place is a nightmare, with it's spooky voices and rabid wolves and superstorms. ] I don't think this place has ever known normal.

[ Christ, he would love some normal right about now. ]

No, no— I'm okay. I'm— [ He needs to check himself over properly, when he gets home. He won't be doing that in front of Billy. But he's pretty sure he's okay. ] Are.. are you alright?

[ Like that was a whole mess, but Billy was... he was pretty lost in there. ]

[ He definitely looks like he's struggling for the answer to that question. It doesn't help that he's been asked that so few times before that it would have been wild to be asked that under even relatively normal circumstances, let alone when it feels like his heart is still trying to beat its way right out of his chest.

How do people answer that question, especially when they hate being too vulnerable? ]

I will be fine.

[ There. Truthful, and not quite as vulnerable as him admitting that he has no idea what just happened and that he was freaking the fuck out. ]

Back there I was-- I was reminded of another fire. [ He'll at least admit that, if not just to quickly brush over it by adding: ] Thank you for helping me. If you hadn't been there..

[ It would've been Bad, pal!! ]

[ Another fire..? Concern quickly etches into his face. ]

Shit, like— on the ship? [ Because that sounds like the worst thing imaginable. Being stuck on a ship, in the middle of the ocean somewhere, and it's on fire. Kieren shakes his head, not dwelling on it too much because if you hadn't been there— ]

No, honestly— it's fine. You're good. It's fine. We'll be fine. [ Anxiousness lending itself into multitudes of reassurance, such is life for Kieren Walker. ] I couldn't have just.... left you there.

[ ...

I couldn't have just left you there.

The words make him quiet for a moment, unsure how to handle them. It's-- nice, the words are undoubtedly nice, but that's exactly what gets him so quiet in the first place. It's not the sort of thing people usually bother to tell him. If experience has taught him anything, it's that you only have yourself to rely on when things truly get dangerous. That no one will bother to save you unless you do it yourself. But here is Kieren, saying this like it's-- like it's natural.

Billy glances downwards for a moment, looking at the snow. ]

Outside of the ship. [ He finally answers, a little quietly. Even by his standards. ] They wanted to have a party for the first sunrise. One of the men set all of it on fire in the middle of the party, himself included.

[ Such a fun thing to share, right. Even though the way Billy is putting is still very much an understatement compared to the horror of that moment, but it feels a little too vulnerable to get into that now. Kieren shouldn't have to be bothered by nasty tales of the expedition anyway. ]

.. it does not matter now. [ Maybe it's why Billy says this instead when he looks up, back over at Kieren's face, with a quick little shake of his head. ] What matters is--

[ There's the urge to say thanks again, but he already did that. It feels weird to not acknowledge how much it means to him that Kieren thinks helping him out is a natural thing though, so.. ]

Let's not think too much about this. [ Billy would sure prefer that, thanks!! ] What I wish to remember, rather than the fire, is just you having been kind to me.

[ Something tugs at his lips a little. It's not quite a smile - not by most people's standard, anyway - and it's a little quick, but it was there all the same. ]

I won't forget that.

Jesus, that's— [ Kieren doesn't even know how to even respond. He stares for a long moment, horrified. He set alight the party, set himself on fire. He remembers seeing photographs of it, of a monk doing it in protest. But to see photographs in it is one thing — Billy lived it, saw it with his own eyes. ]

I'm sorry. [ It's the only thing he can settle on. It doesn't feel like it's enough, even if Billy says it doesn't matter. ] That— it sounds like it was a lot.

[ He feels heavy inside, and he takes a breath and exhales as if to try and lighten the feeling. It doesn't work. A hand reached back to rub the back of his neck, his eyebrows raising in questioning. ]

Well— I mean, yeah. [ Of course he would have done that. He wouldn't have left him. That's just..... doing the right thing. Kieren's own smile is a small and strained one, but genuine. ] It's no problem.

[ He exhales, casting another look towards the house. They've put a fair distance between themselves and it, but it doesn't feel like enough. ]

C'mon. I reckon we should head back.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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

gonna kick shit off after your tag :')

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cw: mention of self-immolation

cw: same + wrap here unless u wanna add a thing!