tiir rumibul; oo6

[contemptibility]

Who: Tiir and vatheon
Where: The forest.
When: Night of Oct. 29.
Style: [please—]
Status: Open!

[... In the end, he couldn't get away even in this world, could he?

Even though Tiir knows none of this is real—that man isn't real—he doesn't feel safe staying at the base. Or rather, he doesn't feel that anyone there is safe—not when he remembers what happened before, and he remembers all too well. And so, as he has a tendency to do, he escapes into the forest, leaping across the tops of the trees in hopes that he can somehow outrun this. Of course, it ultimately proves futile once he lands on the ground, as the familiar taunting resumes.

He wants so badly to ignore it, but he can't. Still, he doesn't bother looking at his hallucination, and merely responds by muttering—]

I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you...!

[... Hence why anyone who has the misfortune of encountering him should be on guard, since he certainly is. Upon sensing the new presence, he assumes the worst and thus reacts according to instinct.

That is, with inhuman speed, he lunges in an attempt to grab their throat—]

Comments

[asea]

[Hearing those words from that voice is warning enough.

When Walter sees Tiir vanish in a blur of black, he does what instinct and experience have taught him: retaliate. And so, as instinct and experience have taught him, he throws a tense fist before him, knowing well Tiir's tendency to aim for the head.

Whether that works or not is a matter of trial and error.]

[contemptibility]

[Fortunately (for the both of them?), Tiir recognizes Walter at the last moment, managing to stop himself before reaching him—just out of Walter's reach, as Walter is out of Tiir's.]

You...

[It's just him. It's just him.

A wry—and relieved—smile breaks out across Tiir's face.]

... I should've expected you to be here.

[asea]

[Fortunately.

The swing misses and Walter retracts his arm. His shoulders are squared, ready to fall into position at any moment, but for now, he won't provoke a worthless fight.]

Then why believe that to be?

[That peach-haired man . . . ]

[contemptibility]

[Likewise, Tiir steps back, his breathing heavier than it should be despite not having exerted much of his energy.

And then that mocking voice—

"Safe for now, maybe, but for how much longer, Iino Doue?"

He hates him, he hates him, he hates him—he hates him so much that he's having difficulty remembering why he ever disliked Walter to begin with, compared to Gastark. Whatever the reason, it can't be as bad—nothing that would make Tiir despise him as much as he despise him.

At Walter's words, Tiir stares, before speaking slowly.]

... Believe what to be?

[asea]

[Walter gives little indication of seeing or hearing the new figure, though the way his eyes narrow should show otherwise. ]

Why are you listening to it?

[And why should those words bother the fool that much?]

[contemptibility]

It...?

[Tiir doesn't understand what Walter's referring to at first, before it dawns on him, as indicated by the slight widening of his eyes before he glances at Lir—though he quickly turns back to Walter.]

How can you—?

[And for a moment, a part of him—no matter how irrational he realizes it may be—fears that if Walter notices its existence, that means it's real. That he's honestly and truly here.]

[asea]

[Already, Walter is skeptical of the realism behind the image. He saw Tiir from a distance -- or at least, the silhouette of blackness against the dark green background of the forest, and the peach only appeared at a certain distance.

As if it hadn't been there before . . .

Walter folds his arms.]

It's not real.

[donotcomprehend]

[Gale had heard something in the forest, and had gone out to investigate. He wasn't expecting an attack, but instincts from five years in the Junkyard don't disappear so easily. The moment he notices Tiir lunging toward him, he leaps back himself, hands up to guard his neck. There's no time to transform, not with an attack that fast, but he's never completely unarmed. As soon as he's got some distance, he flicks out the knife in his boot, and in a blur, kicks so that the knife is aimed at Tiir's throat.]

Stop this.

[contemptibility]

[It's not the knife that registers—if anything, in his rage/fear-induced haze, he barely acknowledges the threat—but rather, the familiarity. It's dim at first, but as rationality returns to Tiir, he recognizes Gale.

He stops himself, taking a few moments to relax, even if only slightly. With that man haunting him, there's simply no way that his tension can fully leave. Not when he still feels threatened, even now.

Still, he manages to offer a shaky and what he hopes to be a sheepish smile.]

Ah... sorry. Did I startle you...?

[donotcomprehend]

You threatened me.

[It might sound like an accusation, but honestly, it's just a statement of fact. Gale was attacked, so he reacted to that.

Once it's obvious that Tiir isn't going to attack him again, though, he moves the knife away and lowers his foot. He won't hide the blade again just yet, but it's not so threateningly there any more.]

Why?

[contemptibility]

[Still, he looks away. Whether or not Gale meant it as an accusation—now that Tiir's calmed down somewhat, guilt is settling over him. It's just as well that he didn't actually harm him.]

... My apologies. I thought you might've been an enemy. I was mistaken.

[And behind him, Lir's infuriating voice—

"Not like you're safe anywhere—you know that, don't you?"]

[donotcomprehend]

Understandable.

[And it is. being on edge, the first instinct is to fight. He gets that. When Lir's voice speaks, though, Gale pauses. In close proximity as they are, being able to hear that voice...]

Is that who you thought I was?

[contemptibility]

[...]

It... was something that was occurring to me, yes.

[Enough attacks by Gastark has left Tiir wary of threats.]

[shirleyhopeful]

[In the mist of this new event, Shirley was doing all she could to help as many people as she could. She was ignoring the figure that appeared to be following her in favor of others. That was why when she heard something in the forest, she wondered if there was anyone there.

Was that...Tiir?

She didn't have much time to ponder that thought as he was approaching her. Quickly taking a step back, she attempted to cast Ice Wall to put some distance between them]

[contemptibility]

[In a way, that was both the right and wrong thing to do.

Wrong, because if this were an actual fight, it would've done nothing to stop Tiir. The magic disintegrates once he reach it, as it's absorbed into body. Right, because the power feeding into his body snaps him out of his haze, as that was the last thing Tiir expected—he would've known better than to cast magic. And so, he halts.

... He knows her. She isn't an enemy.]

... Shirley?

[shirleyhopeful]

[Did he just...absorb her arte? What happened?

She didn't have time to think about it all that much. What's important right now was Tiir himself.

Once she relaxed, she took a hesitate small step forward]

Is everything okay? I heard you shouting from the distance. [Obviously not but she wanted to double check]

[contemptibility]

[At least he didn't nearly absorb her teriques, like he once did with Walter—]

... Was I really shouting?

[shirleyhopeful]

[Oh my~

But that's for another story. Right now, Shirley was still keeping her guard up if anything happens. After all, her own shadow is still there in the corner of her eye. They could still do something...]

Yes, I'm afraid you were but that's okay! The important thing now is that you've calm down. [She looks around] And it'll be over soon right?

[contemptibility]

["You only wish it would be over soon. But it's not going to end until you're dead, you know?"

Tiir manages to ignore Lir for the most part, the only indication that he heard him being a brief scowl, before he offers Shirley a weak smile.]

... Hopefully. To be honest, I'd rather not have to deal with any more of this.

[zelda_hylia]

[Zelda is out searching for Zelos and Duke, and nothing is going to stop her. Now that she's worked out the basic nature of these illusions with Link, she knows she has to find her friends. Unfortunately, her own visions distract her quite a bit and she's completely off guard when Tiir lunges for her suddenly.]

Agh-!

[Goddesses, it was Tiir. She can't fight him, he just absorbs magic!]

[contemptibility]

[His grip tightens for a moment, before his eyes widen in recognition. A brief moment passes, and he lets go.]

... It's you.

[Not him.]

[zelda_hylia]

[Zelda rubs at her throat as she catches her breath again, looking more than a little wary. That's it. Whether Link is comfortable with it or not, she's going as Sheik for the rest of this curse. It's just too dangerous with people seeing things. For now she remains as is, not wanting Tiir to attack her again if he doesn't recognize her.]

Did I appear to be someone else?

[contemptibility]

[He steps back. At least he has the decency to look a tad sheepish.]

Ah, no... My apologies. I thought you might've been a threat.

[zelda_hylia]

It is not your fault. Apparently threatening visions are widespread at the moment. They cannot physically harm you.

[That doesn't stop her from flinching into Tiir when her squadron of ReDeads all cry out at once, though.]

[contemptibility]

I know that.

[At this proximity, he can also hear them, wincing slightly at the sudden noise.]

... It seems you could use the reminder as well, however.