[Lair 1v1] Ghosts of Time (Shaheen/Mort)

[Seussi]

When the zombie boy began to stir, and to sit up on the bed he'd been placed upon, Shaheen dropped the glasses onto her lap and swiveled her body so that she was facing him better, though she did not bother to rise from her position on the floor.

"I can see that."She sounded almost tired, and maybe even faintly amused, though the intensity in her gaze did not give away her fatigue as her voice seemed to. Her body had been bandaged to keep her from bleeding all over the infirmary, but it took her wounds almost no time to heal as her Fear regenerated itself.

His groping hand led her to believe he might be looking for the item in her current possession, so she reached down to her lap and tossed them towards him. She had done a terrible job of attempting to put them back together, and they likely weren't even very usable, but at least she had been thoughtful enough to pick them up...or maybe this was just a rare act of kindness from the chieftain.

"You could try again as you please, but from what I saw earlier, the ending would not be any different." She smirked, though even her cockiness had seemed to lose it's edge.

"But you....you put up a good fight." She sighed, and brought up a hand to rub at her temple, though whether it was because her head ached or if it was in a futile attempt to quell the voices, even she didn't know at this point.

"What exactly would you like from me? I will make no promises to help you, but I will hear you out."

Ol-j-man

 

[medigel]

He blinked at the blurry object tossed his way, scrambling to catch it before it fell off. Almost immediately he recognized it as his glasses, though with a bit of squinting he realized a split second before putting them on that they were irreparably damaged. Oddly, Mort didn't feel so much as a pang of anger at either himself or his opponent at the thought - glasses could be replaced, and it wasn't the first time they had been broken. But at the same time, he felt a little hollow at the thought of explaining new glasses to Belladonna. Well, unless he got a new pair that was the exact same model . . . though her magic would be far, far easier in this case. Argh. Maybe he ought to just get new eyes.

Muted in expression up to that point, the zomboil came awake at the unforeseen compliment, blinked, and mrr'd softly in thought. "Allies," he said simply, his throat a bit hoarse from all the howling from before. "You n' me, we're infected. School d-doesn't have info 'bout Insanity, n' all the others who got it got cured a while back in Haunted House. M'alone there." That last part hadn't meant to slip out, and the zomboil paused as the hollow expression returned. "I-If horsemen have knowledge, tricks t'dealing with it, anything at all . . . Want t'be part've it. Want to help find real cure, not . . . not rely on fate or chance."

He fiddled with his glasses as the usual soft but unstoppable doubts slithered through his weary mind; they always did whenever he thought about a cure. After all, as far as he knew no-one knew of a solution - why would some stupid, lowlife zombie suddenly find a way? "I-I dunno what can offer in return 'cept theories, science stuff. . . Someone who doesn't need sleep, doesn't mind working long hours for cause." He looked up from his hands with a grimly determined expression. "Doesn't mind doing what needs be done, pushes self past limit. N' if want s-something technical, could . .. could offer t'make something in return. Mind is better weapon for me."

Seussi

hi have a phone post from forever ago

 

[Seussi]

Shaheen understood, in a way, the loneliness that being inflicted with insanity brought with it. She was aware of a handful of other horsemen that were in the same condition, though possibly not quite as exasperated as her own was...really, though, it was hard to tell. Some bore the marks of their affliction in more exaggerated amounts, but felt less of the actual symptoms beyond that. Maybe it had more to do with strength of mind, but for Shaheen to accept that she was deteriorating so quickly due to any kind of inherent weakness on her own part was laughable.

She still cringed inwardly at the word "infected" even if it was true, her face falling into a smooth and blank mask, or at least as close as she could make it.
"We are already allies, as you are one of our initiates. Medea thought it wise to include those of you that wished to join our cause, and I will not question her decision."

The rest of what he had to say was...interesting at least. She knew at some point she was going to have to more actively seek out a cure for herself and the others that she considered her friends, if a cure is what they wished to have. She knew that she wished it, it just seemed so...hopeless.

Wait a second, backtrack. "What do you mean they were cured in the haunted house?" She squinted at him, this knowledge being completely new to her. After the haunted house was when hers began to down spiral, after months of managing to keep it under control. And then she went to the haunted house again, and well...

She gave a small shake of her head. "What tricks we have are not ones that I am aware of....unless you count distortion, but that is not something I choose to rely on." Trading one mental instability for another? No thanks. "Then there are the vials, but those are only a temporary relief, offering false hopes that leave you feeling worse then you were to begin with." Or at least, that's how it felt to her.

But this...this was a start. To be approached by another who's interests and goals held common ground with her own. Her paranoia might try to spin it around, to tell her that this was not for the best, that being alone was just easier, but her common sense which was thankfully still in tact most of the time told her otherwise.

"Very well, I agree to help you, if I can, and where I can."

Ol-j-man

ya I totally didn't forget about this >_>

 

[medigel]

He didn't realize how relieved he'd be to hear she thought they were still allies, even if it was just on principle; maybe there had been more paranoia worked up about student-horsemen relationships than he thought. Mort stayed quiet as Shaheen replied, turning inward for a moment to process things. His brows heaved downward into a frown as he thought.

He had to fight not to leap at the option she presented first.

"At Haunted House, back 'round Halloween? M'not sure if you guys were there, but students n' hunters had big showdown sorta . . . Had t'make journey there t'make long story short. S-Something, ah, happened t'me there n' . . . Is hard to explain," he added in a mumble. "Things happened, but had t'give Red--gym teacher--distortion crystal; couple've us did. N' she did something so could take all've our Fear n' attack one've hunter leaders. We died. Like, ah . . . no dissipation, just gone." He shifted on the bed with a wince, testing his new stitches and feeling the ache where her dagger had last plunged into him.

"When came back Halloween Night, had Insanity. But heard ones who had it before, like . . . two 'r three others, they were cured. No knowledge why. J-Just came out've fog after mess went down n' they were clean . . ." He gave Shaheen a helpless look and a shrug, because being unable to explain it was killing him, though it was quickly overtaken by an overeagerly curious look.

He leaned forward with deep interest, ignoring the stretching of his stitches in lieu of a new lead. "Can tell me 'bout distortion?" Mort asked. "Know 'bout vials, know is only . . . temporary. N' stings like hell. Had some thrown on me in Haunted House. But why not rely on distortion?"

Seussi

or me wtf