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In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)


Keylo

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“United you stand, divided you fall; strength in numbers, power through unity. Such is the absolute law, in a normal world at least... Yet in a world ruled by a witch, one shall find oneself left hanging either way, whether it be alone or together…Fufufu~”

”Birds of a feather should take great care in flocking together, lest the huntsmen approach.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
River
Memories upon memories…they all return in a rush of blinding light…

A desecrated home...

Exodus 20:13

A chance encounter…

”Damn it Jess! You said you knew how to bloody drive!"

A haven, protecting from the clutches of evil…

“I am Reina, the Maitress de Salut and head of this establishment.”

A fated encounter with a servant of blue…

”So fragile, so weak…Ah, breaking pieces has never been so fun!~”

A cry of hopeless despair…

”The Maitress…The Maitress has fallen!”

And of course…the final confrontation…

"Fufufu~ Continue. Dance to your heart’s content against the strings of fate, for they have already been sealed against you.”

A heart pierced multiple times, a cry of triumph, a final wish…

”I wish…”

…A sinister and sadistic smile.

”I win.”
Genevieve

A passing dream within a dream, in endless brilliance…

The checkered room with the wall of clocks once again… a revisit to another dream. The glass table with scattered pieces, the dainty china cup with simmering black tea, the dreadful maiden in blue…Yes, naught but a throwback to another horrid dream, one that had already been experienced.

At least…until, one’s mouth begins to move, or rather…what felt to be one’s mouth moves, as it babbled out a garbled harmonic of nonsense. A language that was incomprehensible, perhaps even the farthest reaches of heritage…or the work of more dream magic to grant reality to a dream that was merely a dream.

“Then we are at an agreement no? Fufufu ~”

Or was it? Was this merely a memory, or another ephemeral vision? Doubt begins to cloud one’s mind as the pendulums of the clocks continue to sway back and forth, as time passes on and the image remains unfading… As more garbled nonsense is uttered and a reply given to such…

“Should you abide to the following conditions, I see no harm in allowing you to join the game... for the designated period of time of course. After the designated period though…fufufu~”

A sinister smile, and a cacophony of impish laughter from shadows untold, one feels a sense of reluctance…of unease, yet…steadfast determination. One out of both desperation and duty…as an unspeakable sorrow is felt, when ethereal blue butterflies gather to form a golden parchment written in elegant blue script. The words…obscured for some reason, but visible enough to tell that they were a set of regulations.

“Sign please, if you would. Blood will do just fine.~”

A clenching of teeth, a jolt of a sensation that had long been forgotten…a drop of red…followed by a malicious cackle…

“Kihihihihi!~ Marvelous! I look eager to meeting you on the seven day, my pretty little avian!~”

The world begins to spin…and all fades to black…


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Drip…drop…

The sound of dripping water is the first to grace one’s awakening yet again… a simple noise that has become repetitive and irritable at best in an endless stream of dreams. Has reality come to awaken the unfortunate from nightmares at last?... Or is this naught but another petty illusion in that unbreakable sequence?

A rattling of chains, the rush of cool air against one’s bare skin, the sensation of slippery flesh slapping against one’s naked body…and of course, blood rushing to one’s head.

All of which seem to imply that reality, at least of some sorts, had come at last. Yet…was such truly a boon? As one’s senses become more vivid, and one’s awareness becomes clear…it is then that one finds herself in a nearly pitch black room, suspended upside down from the ceiling by what appears to be a thin…yet powerful blue thread. On the other side of the chamber, is the only source of light, a small circle of candles…with an envelope of sorts within it. To one’s sides…suspended alongside are what appear to be dangling slabs of meat of an unknown variety…and perhaps another person slightly off in the distance…if one’s perception was correct.

If one chooses to fiddle with the string they are suspended from?...One would find that it could come undone easily enough, as such is a simple tie, and the ground is only a short way down. Though one thing was certain…only a twisted sense of humor could come up with a cruel joke such as this.
 

BlueSlime

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

"Forgotten..." Genevieve groaned. Everything was incredibly foggy. How long had she dreamed? How long had this nightmare lasted? And was it only just beginning? She chose to breath deeply. Yes, a choice. Small though it may be, she felt a measure of control about her awareness of reality. Perception would come of her own volition now.

Under the circumstances, Genevieve managed to keep a cool head. The taunting predicament she found herself in was not lost on her. This message was refreshingly clear. Her tormentor, doubtless the woman in blue from her many visions, was comparing her to a piece of meat.

"Cognitive attacks... psychological games..." she muttered. Her dark brown eyes adjusted to the light. They trailed upwards, 'down' her naked body, to where her ankles had been affixed to a blue strand. She'd seen the knot before. It was a simple tie off, with a stopper at the end in the form of a slip knot. The point of this then was mere humiliation, not intended as an actual challenge.

Kicking with her upper leg muscles, the dark haired girl began to sway. Then, tightening her stomach muscles, she exhaled in a rush and pulled her body upwards. Her body was flexible, and she reached the zenith of her motion and plucked the slip knot free with a quick motion, loosening the rest of the blue cord immediately.

Obeying the laws of gravity that perhaps only existed here because her captor willed it, her body fell floor-ward. She twisted in mid air to land on her hands and feet, before pulling herself up to a standing position.

For a moment, Genevieve paused to gather herself. She was oddly calm. Why was that odd? Did she have any reason to believe otherwise? She was a young woman in a living nightmare, trussed up like a piece of meat in a game she did not recall wanting to participate in. There was much to be alarmed by. So why was she not going off the deep end? Why did she feel... ready?

From the opposite side of the room, Genevieve heard movement, she looked to see another girl moving about, in a similar position that Genevieve had just been in. She was a tall girl, with reddish hair and pale skin. The rest of the details were difficult to judge in this darkness.

As Genevieve walked over to warily help, the girl managed to free herself from the simple strand, and deposited herself more or less gracefully upon the floor.

Nodding to herself to take in this new consideration, Genevieve determined to try exercising conversation.

"Do you know where we are?" She asked the red haired one, trying not to be too alarming as she announced her presence.

"Don't be scared," she added quickly, "I'm not one of hers."

It was clear to Genevieve that this one had undergone the same mental trauma - or as similar as one could get - to what Genevieve had gone through. She wondered how many more other "pieces" were out there suffering the same nightmares.

Everything was so damned clouded. Anger and frustration were threatening to clamber their way to the surface of Gen's thought's, which she knew would only cause stagnation to any progress she might make. Seven days... That's what that blue woman had said to her. She had her own message that she wanted to deliver to the blue lady, but it would need to wait. She needed to know her enemy before she could hope to harm her. And before she knew her enemy, she needed to know herself.
 
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Shrike7

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

Memories, one after another, like a dream sequence... Or like the flash of your lifetime while you lay there dying...

This thought snapped River to full awareness in her instant, and she reached for her chest, deja vu kicking in. Unfortunately, her wrists were tied above her, and she wound up doing nothing but shaking herself a ways and going into a slight spin.
She took a second to take a deep breath and calm down, noticing the candle-lit corner and someone a few rows away untying themselves as well. Figuring she should bring herself down as well, she contracted her body and swung upwards, wrapping her leg around the rope she hang from in order to give some slack to the end around her arms, leaving her hanging upside-down.
Once she had a good look at the knot, she realized that it wasn't meant to really keep her there for long, and she sent a silent curse along to whoever decided to humiliate her so as she untied it. That done, she kept a firm grip and unwound her leg, letting momentum carry her rightside-up again before she let go and dropped the half foot to the ground, just in time for the other person she had noticed earlier to come striding up.

"Looks like some sort of refrigerator room." She replies with a shrug, looking around again and spotting nothing new. "And I figured anyone set to hurt me wouldn't have started out trussed-up like a bag of meat, same as myself. I'm River, nice to meet you. I say we check out this envelope, and then I want to try one more thing before we get out of here, it's kinda cold in here. Sound alright to you?"
 

BlueSlime

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

Genevieve nodded. The girl, River, seemed to be in good control of herself as well - which boded well for working with her.

"My name is Genevieve, or Gen if you like. It's nice to meet you too, though I wish it were under better circumstances. I'd like to get moving too." Her skin, she noticed, had gone all goose fleshed. She wanted to get some clothes on too.

She glanced at the envelope and scowled. She didn't fancy more taunts from the blue witch, but it seemed that it was just going to continue that way. She took a deep breath and snapped up the envelope, opening it and reading quickly, her eyes darting from side to side as she took in the blue text.
 

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

River kept watch while Gen read the letter, wrapping her arms around herself and checking on her other idea. She takes a look near the top of the nearest slab of meat, checking to see how it was hung. Doing something like that with just rope is rather difficult, so if they were lucky, the things would be hung with meat hooks. If that's the case, they may be able to get a few slabs off and use the hooks as decent weapons.

Once Genevieve was done, she's take the paper and read it herself. From what little she can remember of 'the game', they had done something to her when she started, she had felt so drained before, but this time was different. She flexed and rotated her off arm and hand while she read. She felt like she hadn't excersized for a long time, perhaps, but other than the cold of the room she was in, she felt fine.
 
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Keylo

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

Looking over the envelope, Genevieve would find Inscribed upon the envelope in a fanciful glowing blue script was the following:

”To the beloved doves in the butcher’s parlor”

Within the envelope was of course a letter, written in the similar elegant style, its contents being the following:

“It is said that the most tender and succulent meat comes from the fittest and most tenderized of sources. Shall you fly to safety on wings of hope? Or shall you be driven like lambs to the slaughter?"

The butcher's is open from midnight to dawn, those desirous of fetching their meat should arrive in due time, lest the fowl take flight.


The Lady and Master of This World​


The strange letter aside, River's inspections of the meat hanging from a "ceiling" would prove...strange. Look as hard as she might towards the point from which the chains should be hung, she would find herself unable to find an end to them, as if the ceiling extended indefinitely into the darkness above. If she tugged at the chains, she would find them to be heavy, and uneasing, willing to perhaps sway a bit if nudged, but seeming to be locked firmly in place. As for the slabs of meat though...not so much, as the meat...though of questionable variety, were removed easily enough from the hooks they hung.
 

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

"I don't suppose you have any notion of what this means?" Gen asked River, handing her the strange note. There seemed to be a backhanded compliment in the message - she was perhaps describing the two of them as the 'fittest source' of meat. But she was also suggesting of tenderizing them as well. The note alluded to the imminent arrival of those who might do such a thing.

"As far as I can tell, it means we'll have company soon. Fight or flight, those seem to be our options." She stared at what River was looking at, noticing at last the hooks on which the slabs of meet rested. "They look like they're held fast to those chains."

She eyed the walls of the room, looking for exits and other items that might make themselves apparent now that she was less focused on her immediate surroundings and looking for a path of egress.
 

Shrike7

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

"I'm not too sure..." River says after looking over the letter. "Another jab at us being mere meat, though the midnight to dawn thing might be worrying. I don't suppose you have any idea what time it is either, do you?"

She spends another moment or two trying to remove the meat hook form the end of the chain, finally giving up and dropping back to ground level. "We should probably get going, in any case."
 

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

"Agreed, and no, she didn't provide me with a watch. And there's no sky to go by as of yet. Not that any sky she provided us with might actually mean anything. Who knows how time works in this place. She's probably got that rigged too."
 

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

River chuckles at that. "Indeed, you sound like you've been at this for a while. Always a pattern to everything, eh?"

Her own comment giving her an idea, River checks the positions they were hung up, as well as the location of the letter, to see if the shape it made may point to anything important.
 
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Keylo

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

Scan the room she might, but bathed in darkness as it was, Genevieve would find herself unable to locate an exit, much less the very walls of the area...A detail reminiscent of a horrible nightmare.

As for the location of where they had been hung, based on the direction they had been initially facing, and the position of the letter...it appeared that their initial position was "south" of the candlelit circle. Though...nothing special there really, nor at the letter's original position...at least...until the northern most candle suddenly flickers and burns out.
 

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

"Her letter seems to indicate that the way out of here might be through flight, though I see no wings of hope to fly us out of here," Genevieve said.

At that point the northernmost candle snuffed out. An errant breeze? Was something coming from the north?

"Shall we pick a direction and go? Or do you have a better idea?" Gen said to River, even as she too glanced around to try and perceive anything else that might hint at some pattern.
 

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

River watched as the candle blew out, an eyebrow raising at it did so. "I'm not sure. I was trying to think if the places we were hanging had any real relation to where the letter was, maybe help to point us in a direction. It's a straight line from the out candle through the center of the ring to where we had been hanging. Maybe we're meant to walk to the candles, then keep on going in that direction to find the exit?" She explains, ending with a shrug.
 

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

"If this place works like the real world, a breath of air snuffing out that candle might indicate an exit from that direction," Gen said, pointing north. "But if there's something coming for us, I'd bet it was coming from there as well. And we're unarmed."

A concerned look passed between herself and River. "I should probably be more afraid than I am, but all this inactivity has been making me restless. Maybe she was counting on that too. It's difficult to tell. Whatever it is she wants us to do, I'd prefer to find a workaround."
 

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

"Well, my favourite direction hasn't been tried yet." River says, pointing her thumb to the chains hanging around them. "How well can you climb? If something bad is in that direction, we might be able to go right over them. Hell, it may be too stupid to even realize it, if we're lucky..."
 

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

Gen regarded the chains and the non-existent ceiling they hung from. Just darkness up there. Nothing visible. Suddenly, Genevieve had a strange thought. It was a feeling as though she had once had wings, and had been able to soar to grand heights, and now she felt the loss of those wings. It must have been a dream she once had, for there was no other explanation for it.

"I can climb, yeah, but I don't know for how long. I'm game for it if you are though." She nodded to River.
 

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

"Well alright then." River says, chuckling at her companion's unintentional pun before hoisting herself up on one of the chains and starting to climb upwards. She was more confident of her ability, and hoped to find the top of these chains, to see how high they can get to avoid anything that may be below. She was also curious how closely this place followed the laws of common sense, once again. Surely anybody to have built this wouldn't make it too high, the costs to keep it cold would be that much greater...
 

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

Choosing a chain within arm's length of River, Genevieve catapulted herself up onto the large chunk of meat, griping the chain and then tightly clinging to it. She crisscrossed her legs beneath her for more support and began to pull herself upwards into the darkness.
 
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Keylo

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

((Rolls
River:
[6d10] => [5,8,6,5,1,6]

Genevieve:
[4d10] => [5,9,3,10]
[1d10] => [3]
))

Scaling the chains, to see where they lead in the obscuring darkness about them, the athletic duo would find that...although suspended far higher than normal, perhaps...eight feet, ten feet or so roughly, the chains don't seem to lead anywhere really, save for a concrete ceiling... in which the chains seem to be "melted into", oddly enough. Though as the two spend time hanging from the metallic bindings by which slabs of meat were suspended...they notice another candle extinguishing, the one to the right of the first that had been inexplicably blown out.
 

Shrike7

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Re: In Cold Storage (River and Genevieve)

River spent a few seconds examining the tops on the chains. It looked to her like the cement had dried with the chain already embedded in it, which made sense to her, but still seemed off. "At least we know they should hold our weight." She commented, turning to where Gen was climbing and noticing the second candle sputtering out. "Look." She said, nodding her head back in that direction. "Must be something in that direction. Keep close to the tops of the chains, that will keep them from swaying as much and giving us away." §he advised, and doing the same herself, moving fairly slowly to make sure she didn't rattle the chains as well.
 
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