seaofhearts | Bad Dog

Hey, Alices. Having fun yet?

[ It's question time with the Cat, just like always. Except his grin seems to be bigger for some reason. ]

[For the duration of Sasuke's world, Rahti had been out in the wild, due to the new badger things (and all the smells). But like everyone else, she'd bore witness to Sasuke's heart being laid bare, and the Cat taunting him all the way.

It was like that in Hinata's world, too. He'd made comments, and then...just watched as they fell apart.

Who was going to be next? Even if she didn't know the people here that well yet, none of them deserved to be hurt like this. It may have been to get keys, but they didn't have to poke at people so cruelly!

So when he asks that, she looks uncharacteristically solemn.]

...No.

Oh? That's too bad, Alice.

[ His tone says he doesn't care, and he'll just snicker into his paw as he watches her. Oh, it feels like something's going to happen. Had someone reached a different kind of breaking point? ]

'Cause there's a lot more ahead. That's what happens when you dive into someone's heart! You see all the nasty, icky stuff they hide away.

...I know. But...

[He was always smiling...acting like this was really fun. Like it didn't matter that people were hurting...

how could he.]

...You don't have to make it worse! Every time you show up at the end, someone gets hurt really bad! If we're just getting the keys, you don't have to do that!

But that's no fun for me! I took all those keys and lured all of you here for a reason!

[ Oh, of course he's always smiling. A cat always is. It's the rest of their body language that tells it all. ]

[Her fists clench, and she finds herself wishing she could turn to her wolfdog form in the hub world.]

I don't care if it's fun for you! You're hurting everyone! Everyone here doesn't deserve what you're going to do to them, so just - just stop it already!

[There are faint traces of tears in her eyes, but she's too busy yelling to care.]

Everyone...Everyone is really nice. And if you're going to hurt them anymore, then I...I'll stop you!

You'll... Stop me? ...Really?

[ There's something dangerous about that smile now. ]

...Are you sure you can?

[For a second, she freezes. Her instincts tell her that she's walked into something incredibly dangerous - but her emotions win out over them, and she swallows - hard - before wiping her face on her arm and letting a deep breath out.]

...Yeah.

[And, before he can intimidate her any further, she rushes at him, leaping in the air with the intent to land on him and drag him down to the floor. He's a threat, and now that she's committed to this, she'll do everything she can to follow through.

Even if her decision was a poor one.]

[ She's fast, sure. But not as fast as something equally inhuman. And all he has to do, since she so carelessly leapt into the air, is raise his claws to greet her and impale her on them. ]

Sorry~ But that's against the rules! Mweeheehee!

[She can't even hope to move out of the way in time - and as the claws sink into her human body (puncturing human organs, instead of her normal core), she screams.

Well. Tries to. The scream's rife with bloody gurgles as well, the claws having punctured her lungs and causing frothy blood to bubble out of her mouth.]

Ah....ahgh....

[It hurts in a way she hasn't felt before - and she knows this is fatal. So, if she has nothing to lose, then...

She reaches out and tries to attack his face, instinctively aiming at that single glowing eye. At the very least, she doesn't want it to be entirely in vain.]

[ He tilts his face away, so at worst she's going to end up clawing at the empty socket already present and the stitching across his patchwork face. He'll chuckle, then just fling her off of his claws before sauntering on over to her. ]

Hey, hey! Cheer up! You get to serve as a warning to your friends! Maybe now they'll take things more seriously, Alice! Your last action in any world or World is to be the example!

[...Damn it.

She can't really talk...or move when he flings her away, but she makes an effort regardless. Struggling, she manages to push herself up on her arms, wheezing out of lungs that don't work anymore as blood drips on the floor.

But...At the end, she doesn't look at Cheshire. Instead, Rahti looks at her fellow captives in this place, and...smiles.]

...S....orry, everyone...I...thought I could....help....

[Tears spill out, but there's no use to wiping them away. She failed.]

....Don't...give up...okay...? No matter....what happens....get home.

O..kay...?

[Her arms can't support her any longer after that, and she crashes back down to the floor.

But it's just as well. She can barely breathe as it is. All she can hope is that the cat makes it quick.]

Edited 2016-01-26 08:17 (UTC)

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patchworkcat - 2016-01-26 08:22 (UTC) - Expand

[ With Rahti dead, the Cat will just withdraw his claws before kneeling down. He puts his back to them and digs around at her corpse before standing and shoving something up to his face. When he turns back, the reason why is obvious.

He has stolen one of Rahti's eyes for himself. It is now in the once-empty socket, and he's grinning more than ever before. ]

Well, well! That was fun, Alices! Guess now you know what happens when you break the rules!

Edited 2016-01-26 08:28 (UTC)

[Harley hadn't seen this coming. She wasn't sure if any of them had seen this coming. After Sasuke's Heart, things had maybe even looked up a little, courtesy of the little pizza party on the beach of Hinata's Heart.

But this... She can only stare in horror as Rahti, Rahti who was always smiling and chasing things... who was always seeing the positive in the grimmest of situations, attacked the Cat. Harley doesn't know what abilities the girl has, but here in the Hub they are all the same and powerless against their guides. She didn't have a prayer, and yet she'd reacted and there was no coming back. The Cat allows her attack, but overpowers and outpaces her, his claws tearing quickly and efficiently through her body.

Harley's hands clamp over her mouth, eyes wide as she chokes back a sound of horror. She hadn't expected the guides to be harmless, but this?]

Oh, kid...

[Sure, she's seen worse... Hell, she's done worse... but never to someone she'd consider an innocent kid. ~~Tim Drake didn't count.~~ But then the Cat defiles Rahti's body and removes her eye, plopping it into his open socket and looking at them with a newly mismatched set.

Unbidden, a jingle comes to mind and she whispers it under her breath.]

Jeepers creepers... where'd you get them peepers... [She laughs, but it's a broken sound and she quickly muffles it under her hands. A competition, huh? One down...]

Edited 2016-01-26 09:08 (UTC)

[In his long years of battles and war Liao has seen death come to all, even children. When on the battlefield he only focuses on the objective, and spares not even a glance behind at the carnage he leaves behind when he charges into the fray. Soldiers have whispered that he's numb to the sight of blood and death, otherwise how could he just rip through the ranks like they're made of paper, no remorse, no disgust, no fear?

They're wrong though. Liao isn't immune to the violence when it's inflicted on the innocent, on those that cannot fight back. He listened to the stories of the sacking of Luoyang with horror, felt sorrow when the streets are lined with begging and starving mothers, and pained at the little bodies trampled on the ground, some in the arms of their broken parents, some perished alone during the mad pursuit of Liu Bei at Changban Bridge.

But he's always borne his grief privately, never allowing a single tear to fall, breathing not a single word of mourning, of questioning his role in all these senseless murders. It is the way of the warrior to be strong. To never show emotions and weakness, to handle sadness and despair within while bravely confronting the sorrows of this world. Being crippled by emotions was the worse way a warrior could go; his world, his time would've swallowed up any lesser man than that.

So that's why when Rahti is brutally eviscerated by the Cat, he doesn't appear to grieve at all. His eyes had widened with horror at how she'd been killed, and when the Cat stood up to greet them with a savage smile and a new red eye his hands had tightened into fists, knuckles white and popping. He's shocked, stunned at how fast it had all played out. Like the harsh winds that swept the Northern Plains, Rahti's death came out of nowhere and slammed into them, leaving them speechless and reeling in the wake of the gale.

Was there a need for her to die? ...no. She did make a stupid, impulsive move to attack the Cat. There would be consequences for provoking forces that they did not fully understand. But there was no need to deliberately egg her on. No need to desecrate her corpse, to take her eye.

He should've stopped her. Why couldn't he stop her? He has all this strength and might in his body, people whisper about him as a demon on the battlefield, and yet he could not even prevent a young girl from such a senseless fate.

Harley's broken laughter shocks him out of his daze. He turns to her, wondering if she's seeking comfort. Can he even comfort her? He couldn't even stop her from snapping and attacking Lalli in Sasuke's heart. If he can't calm down her temper, how can he offer solace? His eyes go back to Rahti's bloody corpse lying behind Chesire. He can't...he can't just leave her there like that. Not out in the open, not anywhere near the Cat.

He begins to walk towards her, and that path will lead him pass the Cat. His voice is controlled and calm, his expression stoic, nearly devoid of emotion.]

You've proven your point. [And if the Cat doesn't stop him, he'll bend down to shut her eyelids, hiding the bloody socket, and then pick up her body with a care that's almost at odds with his callused, rough hands.]

Hey. Where are you going with that? Not like you can do anything with her. There's no way to bury her and you don't have the tools to burn her. And besides, this is a Dream!

[ All of the usual casual mirth and sadism is gone. Instead, this seems to be the Cat at his most serious. With his claws bloody and his newfound eye taking them all in. Ah, it's so good to be able to see out of two eyes again! ]

All you can do is leave her to me. Not like the Rabbit can move! And besides, it's her own fault. Regardless of what I said, she'd still have attacked. This place has rules, after all, and breaking them results in punishment!

[ He'll wave a claw around like it's a finger as he trails after Liao, because that body shouldn't be his. It's the Cat's prize, and really, how is anyone going to dispose of it? ]

No matter what you do, she's not gonna wake up ever again, anyway.

[He'd stayed where he was, watching Rahti. It's not like he hadn't thought of doing the same, but... death is permanent here. Probably. It hasn't proven to be otherwise yet.]

[Ken takes it all in as they watch Rahti attack, and the Cat retaliate. And then the Cat turns back to them with her eye in his socket and he growls slightly. He steps in between Liao and the Cat, trying to block the Cat's way.]

You've done enough, Cat. She was one of us, not your toy. Leave us alone. You've done enough damage.

[The ruckus outside is part of what finally draws him out of his room, the darkness still clinging to him, if not quite to the same extent. He's there to watch the fight - if it could really be called that - with a scowl on his face, and only a mild grimace as Rahti falls. As her eye is taken, he turns away, shutting the door with a quiet click behind his back.

So. This is what happens when he withdraws. People (or creatures, in this case) do reckless things and get themselves killed by the cat. Would it have been any different if he hadn't been hiding away? Maybe, maybe not.

It's another addition to his long list of regrets regardless.

He won't give any indication of his presence, remaining silent where he stands for the time being, refusing to look at the corpse.]

[Coping was something Harley wasn't doing all that well at all, and it's not improving as, one by one, the entire group begins to gather. She feels Liao looking at her, but her gaze is locked in the Cat and she's doing her best to keep from sputtering.

Laughing won't help. Has laughing really ever helped or did she just hide behind it to ignore what was happening around her? To ignore pain in its many forms...

Liao has picked up Rahti's corpse, and Ken has moved between them and the Cat as if to prevent him from claiming the girl. And she can't help herself, because it's almost habitual to throw in some joke or comment. Looking right at the Cat, she speaks softly between the fingers still covering her mouth.]

I tawt I taw a puttytat... [Only Rahti never would... Rahti would never see anything again... A soft sound and a tighter clamping of her hands, until...] What's new, pussycat? [She can't look away from Cat and his newly mismatched pair of eyes, although she doesn't speak the next one, just thinks it.

Eye can't help it if my jokes keep gettin' cornea...]

[Like some others, Lalli Hotakainen is used to death. He's used to quick death. It's not as if the forces of nature are considerate enough to give warning before they sink their unholy claws into you. And yes, the Cat is officially a force of nature in Lalli's mind now; before he was just an enemy, an annoyance at best and a serious problem at worst, but... that implies that he can be defeated somehow. Just like any other enemy. Rahti has showed them all now that this isn't true.]

[The best that can be done now is survive. And for those who didn't survive, give them a proper send-off.]

[For anyone who happened to witness him doing the same thing to the phantom corpses in Hinata's heart, this might seem familiar. Lalli attempts to get the body set gently onto the ground. He kneels next to it... and pulls out a fancy ceremonial knife.]

[If no one intervenes, he's just going to sit down right there and cut her down to the bones.]

[ It's the cat who intervenes. Gone in an instant, he'll now be leaning over Lalli, reaching out with his still-bloody paw to grab his arm and stop him. ]

Hey. Why are you doing that? It's not like her corpse is actually here, you know. That's not how Dreams work, right?

[Lalli stops. The knife is halfway to Rahti's chest. He looks at the smear of blood left by the Cat's paw, and then his gaze turns upward to the Cat itself.]

[Lalli looks him straight in the eyes (he has two eyes now!) and hisses.]

[ That is when the door on the opposite side of the room will open entirely on its own, without anyone's hands on it. The White Rabbit will walk through it.

Lalli will find his hands releasing from what they are doing, and the knife will fall to the ground. An intense pressure settles over the room; everyone, except the Cheshire Cat, of course, will find their bodies incapable of movement, except for speaking and breathing. ]

... I am... disappointed... in all of you. These are not the actions I asked of you while I was attempting to finish what needed to be done. And you... that is quite enough. You have done enough damage here. I think it is obvious how they feel about you.

[ He gives the Cat a pointed look. He will bend down over Rahti's body now, himself, and bring it into his arms, picking her corpse up. ]

... I will take care of her. She need not be defiled any further.

[And here comes Lalli with his big ole knife, looking ready to filet Rahti out like Hannibal fucking Lecter. Harley isn't sure what's going to happen, but his words run a chill down the length of her spine and she falls still. All laughter seems to have slipped free and her hands slowly drop to her sides.

She didn't miss the implication of Cat's words, and it seems like Ken didn't either. She's not moving yet, but she's breathing a little faster.]

It ain't here... [A little louder, because this was a game changer if it meant what she thought it meant.] Wha' d'ya mean... her corpse ain't actually here? Is it there? [Back home in the waking world where they thoughts themselves safe... after all, this was all only a dream at the end of the day, right? Oh, God...

~~Does it matter, Harley? Not like Mistah J ever misses ya anyway... went weeks without talkin' ta ya... Does it matter if this is a dream or real?~~

And then Rabbit walks into the room and she can't move, a sudden pressure building around her in the Hub. Breathing becomes harder and she can't move, but she can see that Rabbit now has Rahti in his arms and can only hope they gat an answer..]

(frozen comment) Closed to Rahti

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Vague eye gore; also you can start your own threads

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I'm sorry... mostly.

And I'm totally sorry.

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