nowyouseeit | [WEEK 3: Tuesday evening, the library; Jay, Yukina]

[WEEK 3: Tuesday evening, the library; Jay, Yukina]

[he can still feel it. the sting from yesterday's sacrifice lingers in his index finger, a tiny ghost that can't be exorcised. the memory of his stomach dropping and turning inside out at the news of Dave's death is as fresh as the memory he's making now, as he walks up to the locked library with Yukina and Jay in tow. but even clearer than any of that, and what Kaito had decided to hold onto, because fuck it if he would ever let this place get to him, are Craftly's words]

["The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. That... that is what you must contend with. Your contract is binding and thus, until the very end... you must face the unknown."]

[he never thought this job would be easy. not from the very beginning, when it was obvious he was going to have the point a gun at a living being and pull the trigger in order to end this farce of a game with as many survivors as possible. so even with the pain from yesterday-- physical, and emotional-- still lingering in his mind, Kaito manages to hold his head up high. he promised he would, and he is if nothing a man of his word]

All right.

[a head that he tilts towards Jay and Yukina once they're standing in front of their target building, of course]

According to Jay's map, this is the library. Are you guys ready?

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[At the entrance, they'll immediately be greeted by three enormous portraits. Each of them are dusty with age and time, the faces twisted beyond recognition. However, the frames don't really match up with the rest of the old timey decor around the city. They are more modern; black sleek plastic instead of an ornate design. Weird

As soon as the three of them are properly inside the library, however, the door will abruptly close and lock itself behind them. There's a brief scent in the air, almost like lavender, followed by a feminine giggle.

And then it's just them, a locked door, and a sleeping(?) monstrosity deep in the building.]

Edited 2017-06-06 22:26 (UTC)

[. . . . . . . . . we've made a huge mistake]

[the snoring (?) is really disconcerting, and it makes Kaito nervous to talk. he shoots a kind of "welp, we fucked up" look at his two companions, before he steps forward and immediately heads towards those portraits. with a frown, he reaches out to touch their frames, attempt to lift them off of the wall and see if there's anything behind them]

[ it's the whiff of lavender that concerns jay, and the giggle. he also doesn't really want to talk, but he feels like this is information he should probably share right now instead of later. ]

Jake said that the monster that he and Andersen fought smelled of lavender.

[Yukina bites her lip to keep from squeaking when the door closes itself behind them. Her bad feelings really need to stop being spot-on...

She nods slowly and readjusts her grip on the knife's handle when he speaks. That's... not great, but she appreciates that he's willing to tell them. Walking slowly and carefully to try and cut down on the echo her footsteps will cause, she joins Kaito at the portraits to help him with them - they're rather large, after all, and she doesn't want to risk them falling and making a loud noise.]

[Should have listened to Yukina, huh.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem like whatever is inside the library wakes up with the sound of their footsteps. There isn't much behind the portraits, but something has been engraved on the back of the frames. A script unlike any they've seen before, and completely illegible to them.]

[LOOK HE DIDN'T WANT TO WAKE UP THE SLEEPING MONSTER 8( don't judge him meta text!!]

Interesting. . .

[he mumbles underneath his breath, before he puts the portraits back to where they were. without a word (because he's still trying to be quiet), he nods towards Yukina and Jay and quietly creeps further into the library]

[it's a good thing he's an expert at sneaking around, huh]

[ he only wishes they had more time or else he'd attempt to scribble down the text but alas.

jay follows kaito, on high alert since he's the one with more fighting experience (he assumes) and he doesn't want kaito to use the spare bullet right away because it'll be embarrassing if he like, shoots and misses ]

[She's following along quietly! What is there for them to find further on in the library, friends?]

[The Library, on the inside, is as massive as it looks. Hundreds upon hundreds of bookshelves greet them as they walk past the entrance and into the next room. Some of them have been knocked over and broken in half, while others have survived the rampage of whatever beast lurks inside the building. On the ceiling is a large hole, allowing them to see a grand chandelier that hangs from the second floor's ceiling. There are two metal staircases; one on the library's east wing and another on the library's west wing. For now, it seems like the creature is taking a nap to the south.

All three of then will catch a glimpse of an enormous, dark green tendril between the bookshelves. It's large enough to crush them should they engage.

As they walk past the entrance, however, they'll immediately find the receptionist's desk. A few drawers have been left open, and a metal cart filled with books sits next to the desk chair. It seems like whoever worked here intended to return these books to their proper place, before whatever happened here... well. Happened.]

[holy shit]

[gives Yukina and Jay another concerned glance as they pass the tendril, because holy hell he is suddenly really glad they didn't break those windows even if they are locked in here now. otherwise, he goes straight for the reception desk, immediately digging through the drawers for anything useful]

[ listen... jay is no stranger to fighting extremely large monsters but he usually have rpg powers to back him up so this is Concerning.

jay will go to the cart to look through the books. ]

[wtf why does cthulhu's library get a chair at the reception desk, we just have to stand at work :c

She follows the two of them over, and while Kaito is occupied with the drawers and Jay's looking at the books on the cart, she looks for any informational items that might have been at the desk to give out to library patrons. Bookmarks with the library policies? A written code of conduct? A map, since this place is pretty big?

Or maybe just stickers to give out to well-behaved kids. Maybe she can bring one back for Mabel!]

Edited 2017-06-07 16:53 (UTC)

[On popular demand, Kaito will find a drawer full of crumpled up rate our services cards. Ranging from good to not-so-good, it seems like the Library was frequently criticized for having terrible acoustics. On one note, the receptionist seems to have written down: "Can furniture fix this? Please investigate ASAP." Below that, someone seems to have added: "That's not how it works, Janet."

The cart contains assorted books, included but not limited to best sellers such as How Cthulhu Ate Christmas, Where's My Shoggoth, and Blood Sacrifices for Dummies.

Finally — if there was a map, it's not here anymore. Yukina will find traces of transparent tape on the desk, along with a rectangular mark untouched by dust and discoloring. It seems reasonable to assume that someone removed a document that was taped there very recently.]

[. . . mutters to himself]

That's not how it works, Janet.

[though the request cards kind of concern him, and he makes a mental note to be even quieter if he can. he waits until Jay and Yukina are finished before he whispers]

East or west?

[two stairwells, two options, and he doesn't think it's a good idea to split up]

[ ... jay has to stop himself from snorting at the janet comment. it's funny, okay.

glancing between the two staircases, he points west. he's sure that no matter which way they go it's going to end terribly though. ]

[She brings her hand up to her mouth to stifle a giggle. Poor, long-suffering Janet.

Yukina starts to point east, but upon seeing where Jay is pointing, she points west instead. This is no time to have a divided front, after all; with that in mind, the three of them will likely head up that stairway.]

[West they go, then.

As they move through the carpeted floors (thank god), they'll slowly but surely get a better view of the monster that resides in this building. Curled up in a mess of sharp claws and slimy tentacles, an impossibly large collar around its neck, the beast sleeps blissfully unaware of the three intruders.

The first step they take up the metal staircase, however, echoes through the library. It may as well be thunder, the sound bouncing off the walls and shattering the uneasy silence.

From the south end of the library, the monster goes quiet.]

[JESUS]

[FUCKING]

[CHRIST]

[freezes like a thief who just had his disguise ripped off by his girlfriend from whom he was trying to hide his secret thieving identity, gaze swiveling towards the monster's form]

[please don't wake up]

[ STYX THAT'S TOO SPECIFIC

jay just... sloooowly turns to look at where they have the best view of the monster, wondering just how stupid their deaths are gonna look to the others?? probably very stupid??? they should probably like, try to find a hiding spot but if they move too quickly they might make more noise and what is with the acoustics in this damn library ]

[Yukina brings both her hands up to her mouth to keep from making a sound. This is bad. This is very, very bad.

Maybe they should have taken off their shoes and just walked around in socks before trying to climb the stairs.

Hindsight is 20/20, but it won't stop them from getting killed. She stays silent and wills the beast to go the fuck to sleep.

(That picture book was more prophetic than she knew.)]

[Their deaths are, indeed, going to be stupid as heck. They should have totally taken their shoes off before braving the stairs, but it's too late for that. The monster is uncurling, it's beady eyes glancing around the library before settling on them. Immediately, it reveals its mouth — a maw full of sharp teeth located on its torso as opposed to its head. The sound it produces is so foreign and vile that it will give all three of them a sharp pain in their inner ears for the next 10 hours, almost as if their eardrums were rejecting what they were being forced to hear.

This is quickly followed by subtle vibrations in the ground around them. The carpet will begin to shift, small bumps moving beneath it until something breaks through to the surface. Hundreds of grotesque creatures rush towards them, black foam frothing from their mouths as they move in eerie synchrony.

The gang should probably like, you know, super duper run for their lives. Maybe run up the stairs and pray the weird man rats are allergic to steps.]

[they hecked up]

[they hecked up so bad]

RUN!

[Kaito bellows the word without thinking, deciding right then and there that he isn't going to wait and see what those creepy man rats are. he reaches out to snag both Jay and Yukina by their wrists, bolting up the stairwell seconds later, totally dragging them with him. it's. it's instinct, mostly, Kaito please they can run on their own]

[ HE CAN DEFINITELY RUN ON HIS OWN, THANKS, and normally he would make a bigger fuss about that but he's too busy concentrating on getting ready to play whack-a-rat with his cleaver in case any get too close. also normally, he would take note of the fact that these are probably the same creatures that jake mentioned, but the horrible pain ringing in his head now is making it hard to concentrate on anything but getting the fuck out. ]

Should we try hiding somewhere?!

[ he has no clue what the heck is even going to be up these stairs so who knows if they can even find a hiding spot ]

Edited 2017-06-08 02:31 (UTC)

[THIS IS THE WORST.

Yukina's sort of used to getting dragged along, though, so she manages not to stumble when he pulls her - though she's finding, very quickly, that a kimono is not the greatest thing to be in when moving quickly. It's definitely slowing her down.

Her grip on the knife tightens, and she makes a small noise of terror as the rats get closer. Up the stairs, up the stairs...]

We have to get out! If we die here-

[Why did all three of them come at once?

...was this some kind of a plan to get them all killed? Why didn't Craftly stop them? How are the others supposed to survive without Kaito's gun to kill the prophets-?]

A window. Kaito-san, we have to find a window, we have to get you out of here...!

[The creatures are too fast, gaining on them far too quickly for comfort. Though Jay and Yukina will be able to take out some of them with their blades, there is nothing they can do to stop them from leaping at them and latching onto their flesh. Jay, in particular, will get multiple bites from the creatures before the three of them can make it upstairs. His skin will bubble and burn, black foam seeping into the injuries and quickly being absorbed into his bloodstream. The affected area will gain a sickly, green color within the next few hours — and by Friday morning he will have gained dozens of small eyes around the injury. Each of them will move independently of each other, and none will move under his command. The affected area will smell distinctively putrid, like an eye infection gone septic.

Fortunately(?) for them, the larger beast stomps forward, causing several books and shelves to fall. Many of the small creatures will be crushed under them, but the rest will remain skittering around the first floor. Hissing and snapping their teeth at the group, it's definitely not advisable for them to return downstairs.

On the second floor they will find a multitude of old desks, tables and chairs. Toppled over and damaged, they may serve as a hiding spot if they can get to them quickly enough. There are, strangely enough, no shelves or books in this area. Instead, an elegant chandelier hangs high from the ceiling. Glass windows illuminate the room, but it's quite a drop from here to the ground. They won't get away unharmed if they try that right now. In the middle of the room is the same hole they were able to spot from downstairs. The hole which, now that they're up here, looks like it was made by something large breaking through the ground from below.

Something large, like the monster downstairs.

From above and around them, they can hear the telltale sound of hissing. Below them, the beast's sickening roars and the "rats" as they move around. And the more noise is produced downstairs, the more trouble manifests for them. Particularly, spiders the size of their heads. They drop down from the ceiling, covering the windows on the west wing and obscuring their most immediate way out. Some of them may even drop on top of them.

It's fight or die now, kids.]

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