capeandcowllogs | Where your eyes don't go a part of you is hovering

Where your eyes don't go a part of you is hovering

WHO: Everyone who's signed up for the Shadow Märchen plot and the people who get involved with them.
WHERE: All over the City.
WHEN: February 1st through February 9th. Specify the dates when you tag in.
WARNINGS: Probably a lot, since this is a festival of dark sides.
SUMMARY: The City plays host to a twisted theater of the mind as numerous imPorts become darkened, monstrous versions of themselves.
FORMAT: To be chosen by the thread-starters.

The start of a new month shouldn't mean anything special for the City--but this time, it does. Even if it's only because of an accident.

The pull of despair within each victim might come from nowhere, or it might seem like the most natural extension in the world of their current circumstances. However it manifests, the results come quickly: one living shadow all too eager to broadcast its nature far and wide, attached to a monstrous witch that warps the world around it in order to feel at home.

Where once there was an ordinary building, there now might lurk the entrance to a distorted dimension controlled by one of those witches. Where once there was a friend, there's probably now a monster. Can't find the friend that's become this monster? Don't worry too much about missing the chance--the familiars of their witch roam the streets looking for those who can be dragged into the labyrinth.

But take heart: what's within is still the same familiar person...in its own way.

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Things around and about had started to get a little weird, so Sanji took to extending his jaunts between his two homes in order to take him past where people he knew - friends - might be hanging out, in case the weird had started to overtake them as well. He still had a few things to pick up back at the MAC, that was his handy excuse for wandering off his usual routine in the first place. Today's wander took him past the church where he knew Nill still hung out, and as he approached there was no question at all that the weird had certainly come to roost, here.

He stopped and looked, wishing once more that he had his haki so he could feel out and sense whether she was there, whether anyone was in there with her. No, all he had was eyes and ears, nose and wisdom, to tell him what was going on. It was extremely strange, the change that came over it, and there was a scent he didn't like on the air. It was hard to identify, but had the curious effect of sparking a small memory, of the dust-choked corridors and zombie-infested stairwells of the mansion on Thriller Bark. Sanji never liked to remember that place. But memories couldn't stop him, not anymore. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it as he walked toward the door, looking all around him. Better check on Miss Nill. I hope she's not here, but somebody messed with her church. That's never a good sign...

She is inside, but not in the form he might expect. The labyrinth has expanded even more, it seems, and there at the top is the witch that had sprung from Nill's darker side. The selfishness and the fear personified. The creature has roosted at the top of the labyrinth, her familiars wandering around below.

One of the dogs smells Sanji, and lets out a howl. The closest minor creatures flock towards the entrance, waiting.

Pushing the door open, Sanji paused to take a good look at just how much the place had changed. So much darkness, it was hard to see through, but the flutter of wings and scratch of claws on the floor alerted him to something coming his way well in advance. The howl didn't frighten him, but put him instantly into a completely different mood. Investigation would have to wait, he could be in trouble.

The toe of his shoe scratched across the floor, and flames flickered to life in the darkness, drawing a little too much attention to him. He figured it was better to forego stealth and surprise in this case, and stood with the fire of his own Diable Jambe powering up his right leg. "I can hear you," he called out into the labyrinth of the church. "Give me some damn credit and just attack, already. I can take it."

If you say so. She only thinks it, but her familiars hear it. They obey, screeching and growling, starting towards him. They aren't very fast, even if their forms might suggest they should be. The creature that was Nill watches from above, talons clawing at the pavement as she goes from one street to the next, watching him. Her eyes glow yellow, her wings spread, rotted, behind her. Neon lights flash faster and then slower, some flickering and fading before flaring back to life.

His power was a little overkill, but it had been so long since Sanji really fought anything that he sort of unleashed a little bit too much, too early. The eyes of the familiars caught the flames, allowing him to see them in enough time to lash out at them before they can sink teeth or talons into him. He kicked the dogs away with relative ease, but the birds managed to get a few pecks in before he could backflip onto his hands and swing his feet to meet them. He only really kicked away a couple, the rest fluttered back out of his reach and taunted him with their screeches.

Without knowing what has exactly happened or whether Nill is really there, Sanji could only take his time, prowling cautiously and occasionally striking out a foot to keep one of the familiars from getting any ideas. "Miss Nill?" he called out as he walked, looking around. "Please tell me you're not in here. It's me, Sanji! Miss Nill?"

He's going through her familiars like a knife through butter, and it makes her angry. Who is he to take them away from her? They're hers. A silent growl builds in her throat, and even if she can't voice it, her familiars do. The dogs echo her desires, and stalk behind him as he makes his way through the labyrinth, only lunging now and then. But for the most part, they're content to follow him up.

When he calls her name, it takes her a few moments to register it. Oh. The witch grips the underside of one of the roadways with her talons, and drops from one to the next until she's close enough for him to see her. She stops, inspecting him.

Sanji stalked through the labyrinth with a sense of purpose, a thin stream of smoke trailing from his cigarette to mark his passage. When the dogs backed off, following him, he came a little more alert and slowed down, looking around him more and staying aware of every little sound. A scratching and scrabbling got his attention, and he looked up straight into the shadows where the witch that was Nill was waiting for him. His visible eye narrowed, studying the threat.

"Somebody there?" he asked warily. "I only want one thing. I want to know that Miss Nill is okay. If she's not here, I'll be on my way." He shot one of the dogs a quick look, as if to warn it that he knew it was there and if it dared jump up on him, he'd dispatch it with a single kick.

The creature smiles to itself. He's persistent. The witch likes that because Nill does too. She enjoys being wanted, even if it's just as a friend. She's always so scared of being abandoned, left alone. Once he insists that he only wants Nill, that he cares about Nill, the witch drops from her spot, skeletal wings flaring as she falls. Even with the resistance she lands with a thud and the harsh scraping of talons on the street.

She straightens slightly, body still a bit hunched, and cocks her head at Sanji.

When she came into the light enough to be seen, Sanji was struck dumbfounded. The cigarette fell out of his mouth as he realized he was looking at Nill - or something with her face, at least, which was an even more dreadful prospect. Even with the teeth and the eyes, he couldn't mistake her cuteness. He took a step back in surprise, and then mastered himself and straightened up to face her. "Miss Nill?" he chanced. "Is that really you?"

Is that really you? She wants to laugh. Of course it is. It's the part of herself that nobody ever sees because they're always too distracted by the way she looks. Small, defenseless, in need. And so they always give, give her anything she asks. Except she doesn't ask. Recalling that, the witch frowns, its familiars growling at the expression. Her wings flap once, huge and agitated. Her posture hunches even more, the claws where her hands used to be almost scraping the concrete.

Sanji took another step back, staying just out of range of the wings. His focus was completely on the thing that was Nill, though he was aware of the familiars gathering behind him. They weren't important right now. He held out a hand entreatingly toward the harpy. "I'm not going to hurt you. You know that, right, Miss Nill? I would never hurt you. I don't know what the hell is going on, but if I can help you, I will."

He shot one of the dogs a glare out of the corner of his eye as it circled into view. "You, on the other hand," he warned it, "I'll kick into next week if you try anything."

The familiars are hers, and he's talking about hurting them. The distaste boils up, shows itself in her counterparts. He wanted to take away something that belongs to her, which won't do at all. He said he wouldn't hurt her, but here he is doing just that. Yellow eyes narrow. She drifts forward a few inches, but the familiars move first; the circling dog leaps at Sanji, claws and teeth out.

His attention shifted to the dogs as soon as they moved, focusing on them instead of the shadow-Nill. Sanji's foot came up just as fast, sweeping sideways in a roundhouse kick as he spun himself completely around and slammed his full force into the dog. He couldn't expect them to wait and attack him one at a time, so he poised himself for a melee attack, staying light on his feet and ready to kick everything that came at him - everything except Nill, of course.

She lets the dogs go first, barking and giving guttural growls. But once it becomes obvious that they aren't enough, the birds move in. They aren't large and they aren't particularly effective for combat, but there are a lot of them, and they make for distractions. Seeing him hurt her familiars, however, hurts her in turn. Why is he destroying her pets? Why is he doing any of this at all? All she'd wanted was to be left alone, to be able to keep her things close. And now he's taking them away.

The witch spreads its wings, anger growing. The familiars abruptly stop, moving back. Nill's shadow-creature moves forward, talons scraping on the concrete, anger in its eyes.

Sanji's stamina was enough to keep up with the birds, but the size of the targets and the way they kept flapping around him, avoiding his kicks, infuriated him. He lashed out at as many as he could, but they were a lot harder to hit than the dogs, even with his keen eye and swift, agile movements. Then, they were suddenly not there. He wasn't about to take credit, though, and slowly turned to look over his shoulder as the harpy-Nill advanced on him.

The rage on his face ebbed, leaving him looking merely driven and a bit perplexed. He wasn't sure if he could reason with her, not when she looked like that - moved like that. But if it was still Nill in there, he couldn't harm her. No matter what she did to him. He braced himself, even though he had a clear moment in which to dodge or escape. Not Sanji, he wasn't just going to abandon her. "Miss Nill..."

He keeps saying her name. Why, she wants to know. Because he's your friend.

The thought is startling and almost makes her pause. But she continues to advance, mulling over it, confusion growing as she gets closer. Of course he should say her name, she decides, he's hers. And she shouldn't harm anything that's hers. Except he's been hurting her familiars--remembering as much makes her frown, and the dogs growl again in response. But the familiars have backed off now, at least, to give her space to advance. The witch stops in front of Sanji and tilts its head. What else do you have to say? it wonders.

Without being able to communicate in so many words, Sanji had to rely on gestures. He stood down for a moment, his shoulders relaxing subtly, though some part of him was still on alert for any attacks from behind just in case. He ignored the familiars entirely and shifted his focus solely to Nill, his eyes hard but his expression one of worry and question moreso than judgment. He reached a hand toward her face, though he refrained from completely touching her without her permission.

"What happened to you?" he asked in a low tone. "I wish you could tell me...I would do what I could to fix it. I always do what I can to save you." He remembered Venezuela. Damn, why does this shit always have to happen to her? She doesn't deserve to be tortured like this!

The witch bares her teeth, sharp and far too numerous, as his hand approaches her face. But she doesn't snap, even as she keeps her eyes locked on his fingers until he starts to speak. Everything, she wants to say. Everything has happened to her, and she's tired of it. All she wants is to take everything that's hers and sequester herself away, to just stop.

But she can't.

The other voice is quiet, hardly there, and so the witch ignores it. All it does is shake its head slightly, lips closing over its teeth and expression warping to one of sadness. It doesn't think there's anything he can do.

At least he didn't get his throat ripped out for his audacity. Sanji's hand dropped, though he didn't back away. "I don't know what happened to make you like this," he went on, "or why this place is all topsy-turvy, or the dogs, or anything, but I want to help. Can I get you out of here, at least? You want to come with me, see if we can find someone who can turn you back to normal?"

He wasn't the type to stop if there wasn't anything he could kick. Unlike his thick-headed crewmates, he knew how to use his brain. If he could talk the Nill-harpy into escaping with him, maybe someone else could figure this whole phenomenon out and help her. Anything, to see if this horrific shape could be returned to the cuteness he expected out of Nill. He reached to take her hand in the hopes of encouraging her.

Her lips form a thin line. He wants her to leave? But she'd madet his place. She owned it. Felt safe in it. Her familiars were here too, and they would keep everyone else away. Why would she want to leave?

Because it isn't right.

Ignoring the voice is becoming more difficult, but the witch is still trying. It's frustrating, though. Her great wings flap, and she tries to go through what he's said. But no, she can't actually leave. All the witch does is shake its head, and starts backing up. She'll leave him to her familiars. It's better that way. He's hers, but he doesn't want to be. And she's a lot of things--but forcing people to do things against their will isn't one of them.

Sanji reached out to her as she retreated. "Miss Nill! Wait! Don't go! Come on, it's me, Sanji! You know I would never hurt you or lie to you. I couldn't!"

He was aware of the dogs and birds starting to close back in on him, but he steadfastly ignored them. Only when they attacked would he retaliate. He wanted to get through to Nill if he could, mainly because he didn't know what else to do. That seemed like a nice, open, generic strategy. Getting her to cooperate was the first step in finding a way to reverse the harpy-ness, Sanji figured.

His pleading is starting to make her head pound. The voice in the back of her mind is growing stronger, trying to bust forth as quickly as possible. But the witch attempts to hold it back, one taloned hand reaching towards its head to grasp at its hair. Stop, it wants to say. Leave me alone. And, for the briefest instant, yellow eyes waver between gold and blue,.

As long as she didn't take off with those big wings, Sanji figured he had a chance. He dodged a couple of dogs and tore through them, running after her. "Miss Nill! Come on, I know you can hear me even if you can't talk back. Dammit, that really is you, isn't it? Listen, I don't care - you're still the same adorable Nill I've known for the past however many years. Some new feathers isn't going to change that."

He rounded on a dog coming a little too close, but held back from kicking it - it looked ready to evade him, anyway. "You're not helping!" he snarled at it.

He keeps talking, and the witch can feel her control slipping. The creature grasps at its hair harder, as if pulling on it will somehow make Sanji stop talking. But it isn't working, and he's attacking her familiars. It's almost too much, and Nill is starting to fight back. I'm still the same. This is how I've always been. She knows it's true. Why is it so hard to accept? The witch's mouth opens in a silent keen that is taken up by the birds, who are flapping around haphazardly.

The screeching birds halted Sanji in his tracks. They were harder to fight, moving, flying targets as they were, and if they were freaking out about something, he needed to pay attention. He whirled around and put his back to Nill temporarily, so he could watch the birds and see what they were about to do. "Shit. What do these things want now? Come on, then! Let's see it!"

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