I've broken every law

[primordial]

Who: A very burnt Sam Erstwhile and YOU.
Where: Right at the bank of the river bisecting the city, in Gemini Ward
Summary: After horribly suffering injuries due to Anoli at the end of the Closing Ceremonies, Sam Erstwhile decides to crawl off and nurse his wounds at the river instead of going to the hospital. Because eldritch horrors in the disguise of guys don't go to hospitals if they don't want their secret to be found out.
Warnings: Mentions of serious burn wounds, as well as some body horror because secret eldritch abomination here, hello.

(Also, Sam won't be in the best shape, so he'll probably be relying on telepathy to talk to people who approach him- please fill out his permission post about that if you haven't done so already!)


It's hard to breathe.

The events that happened before seem almost a blur to him. He was running away, ready to escape, and then the world around him had burst into flames, and then...there was pain. Nothing but pain and fear and anger, and never before had the concept of death had come close to being real than in that moment.

But he had somehow escaped all that. And now he was here, near the only place which could distract him from the throbbing pain throughout his body: the river. Water had always been such a comforting thing for him, especially considering the fact that his other half had lived in a lake for millions of years. So, he sits on the bank, bare feet dangling in the water idly (or are those tentacles? It's hard to tell) as the pain flits through his shirtless chest every time he tries to catch a breath.

And people passing by might notice in just what sort of dreadful state he's in- first of all, huge patches of his skin are blackened, looking like burnt paper, some of it peeling off. If you take a closer look, you'll find its even more horrible than one suspected- there are tiny yellow octopus-like eyes opening up haphazardly on his body, blinking wearily, and some of them are even closed and wounded for good. And at times one can see his entire form shuddering like a plate of jello, for to keep looking human the way he is takes energy, and boy, does it hurt to do that. Surprisingly, there isn't any blood.

Sam lets out a weak cough. Oh, he was mad, he really was, but now was not the time for that. He needed to keep himself from letting his life slip away, and the only way to do that is to let himself heal far away from prying eyes...

Too bad some prying eyes might have found him like this already.

Comments

[primordial]

He lets out a sound that almost sounds like a scoff, twisting his head to look down the river flowing quietly through the city.

Isn't that right. We aren't made to help people like this.

[tyrantball]

Desco nods sadly at this trenchant insight.

"Desco wishes there was a Netherworld Hospital here. Human hospitals are dumb."

[primordial]

Netherworld Hospital?

What a..interesting name for a hospital. Huh.

What, is that like a special hospital for beings like you?

[tyrantball]

Desco shakes her head no.

"They work for humans too. You just pay the money and they heal you, and when you've been injured enough they give you prizes!"

[primordial]

P-prizes??

What, so people got injured to specifically get stuff? Wow, what a messed up system.

We have nothing like that back home...

[tyrantball]

Desco blinks a little in startlement.

"Really? But the prizes are so nice!"

[primordial]

...

What sort of prizes do you get?

[tyrantball]

"You can get Muscles and Orbs and Emblems and special healing items!"

She looks cheerful as she says this.

"The nurse keeps track of how much you heal, and you get new things at each plateau! Desco's favorite are the emblems!"

A brief pause as she ponders something.

"Although, Desco did like those Caterpillar Eggs, too..."

[primordial]

I don't know what most of those things are. They sound like stuff you'd find in a video game...

He blinks, trying to figure out what in the world Muscles would even look like.

Caterpillar eggs? What are those? Not...actual caterpillar eggs, right?

[tyrantball]

Desco nods happily.

"Uh-huh! They're tasty!"

[primordial]

A girl eating caterpillar eggs...Eh, he's heard weirder.

What other things do you like to eat?

[tyrantball]

Desco starts counting off things on her claws.

"Um, um...cotton candy, and glass bottles, and chocolate, and stainless steel..."

She pauses for a second to think, and then continues.

"Sometimes Mr. Valzy lets me eat his sardine tins, too!"

[primordial]

That was quite a list of things to eat. Stainless steel, really?

You can digest metal?

[tyrantball]

She nibbles at the tip of one claw briefly before replying.

"Desco's other body is the one that eats metal."

[primordial]

Other body? What, a true form of some sort, just like he had?

Your...other body? What do you mean?

[tyrantball]

...well, the two of you have been bonding, sort of, so...Desco supposes it wouldn't hurt to do this slowly, so you can see the entire process from start to finish.

So instead of replying, Desco's back splits open, revealing a staring golden eye surrounded by purple flesh, which proceeds to pulsate, bubble, and writhe out of the small opening until a massive tentacled bulk half again as large as Desco herself is floating beside her. The opening on Desco's back seals itself closed over what appears to be a black emptiness.

[primordial]

He watches, every single one of his eyes looking straight at her- and when he sees it, he doesn't react in fear, or confusion, or surprise. He just...seems to accept, even, a pleased sort of look in his gaze.

I see. A pause, and then he lets out a laugh, mouth twisting upwards in a smile. Your other body looks very similar to what I really look like, you know.

Perhaps in another world, we really would have been related...

[tyrantball]

Desco actually grins at that as her tentacled bulk slowly sets down on the ground behind her, forming a makeshift pillow for her. Her long tail detaches from her body and slithers over to the bulk, leaving behind a stubby triangular tail in its place.

Modular anatomy can be a very strange thing sometimes.

She won't actually say anything in reply to that, because she does, on occasion, know when not to push things, and really the half-acknowledgment is good enough for her anyway.

this is still sam just another journal because true form stuffs

[daemoniac]

He lets out an amused huff as he watches her- she looks quite pleased like that, honestly. And...you know, that might not even be a bad thing to do, to let himself unwind instead of struggling to keep a hold on his human form and waste energy while doing so.

Usually,, he wouldn't even consider doing something like that, but...so far she hasn't been hostile, and she's shown herself to him, and there's no reason to be concerned that she'll attack him in his stranger state. He and she are alike, after all.

So, with a sigh, he lets the outlines of his arms and legs blur and twist into formless masses of tentacles, lets the rest of his yellow octopus-like eyes he's been keeping under his skin weakly open, lets the human face melt into expressionless black flesh.

There's a shudder, and Sam lets out a relieved noise, tentacles weaving into the grass around him.

Much better.

[tyrantball]

Desco watches your transformation with wide-eyed wonder, her mouth formed into a little "o" of surprise.

"You look so regal!"

[daemoniac]

Regal??

Now that is not a word he has ever heard used to describe him. His eyes open and close in surprise, and his voice sounds confused.

What do you mean?

[tyrantball]

Desco's standing up now, because this is way too stimulating for her to just be lying around.

"A towering mass of darkness, a great lord of fear! Even a glimpse of you must drive the weak to gibbering madness, realizing the depth of their imperfections!"

And now she's just clapping her hands with glee.

"Desco hopes she has even a tenth of your dark grandeur when she grows up!"

[daemoniac]

That's...he's practically speechless. Of all the things you could call him, of all the things you could say about what he was, the last thing he thought would come out of somebody's mouth was "I want to be like you when I grow up".

Oh...well. Erm. Thanks?

Wow, how does one even react to this?

You really want to be like me when you grow up?

[tyrantball]

Excited nodding, her claws clenched just under her chin.

"Desco would be so cool!"

[daemoniac]

The more she talks, the more he feels unsure. This...this reminded him too much of his human life, with a little girl at his side who doted on him and loved him, and he balks at that because the snippets of feelings he is feeling right now are not ones he thought would ever feel again.

Cool? Um...yeah. You'd be cool. Very cool.