MASKTOURN

the corridors but private

ghost time

4:18 PM

After spending a long while holding vigil with Anore's statue, and those little trinkets that kind boy made, Raikal breathed out a deep sigh, got up, and returned to the corridors. She didn't like staying in one place too long- wandering was an easier way to deal with their restless energy. After ten thousand years, he knew the winding corridors well. It was all he knew anymore. They wandered aimlessly, trying not to pay attention to the crackling of fire or the heat on the back of their neck. It was too hot. It was always too hot. @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

After six months, Madelyn still felt a lot of confused rage. All she remembered was Albanes- she needed to talk to her. She would help. But Maddy had avoided her before, hadn't she? She looked for her, and she ran away.. Why? Was it the.. the.. Lifebringer thing? Was she scared of Albanes? She didn't recall.. But there was someone else. Someone she came with... right? Naiyta takes them to that water room.. How did she know them? Lost in her vague and confusing thoughts, Madelyn trudged through the hallway, with the dark tendrils trailing behind her. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

There was, very recently, another. Another like them. Raikal was aware of most of what happened in the citadel like one was aware of their body, and very recently someone very like them had arrived. Subconsciously, he found himself looking for her. Again. Taking all the turns she was certain would lead her to that other. Pausing, finally, when they stood face-to-face. "Hello again," They greeted, though their voice was weak with hardly suppressed emotion. "I wish I saw you more often." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"..." Madelyn paused her walking as she saw Raikal turn the corner she was walking around. The tendrils shifted around at her feet and she glared. "Well I wish I wouldn't see you. You hurt my eyes- eye. Too bright.. urgh..." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"... I'm really sorry." Raikal said, sounding genuinely, extremely, apologetic. He wrapped his arms around his body, though it did nothing to stop the flame. "I can't help it... I wish I could make it stop, I really do..." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"Well, what if I beat those flames off of you." Madelyn rolled her eye and stepped to the side to try to avoid Raikal. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Raikal stepped to the side to let Madelyn pass. "I really don't think that would work. I think you'd just hurt yourself. Please don't hurt yourself." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"Why do you care what happens to me. I'm dead. Just like you." Madelyn huffed and began to step by Raikal. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

As Madelyn passed by Raikal, the air around her would grow uncomfortably warm. Raikal stepped out of the way as best they could. "I still care. I do." She said. "Just because we're dead, doesn't mean we can't still... feel things. And I would like you not to feel bad things." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"All I ever feel is bad things." Madelyn seethed and stopped right as she was next to Raikal. Her skin and the tendrils began to melt slightly from the heat, but she didn't seem bothered. "The.. the Lifebringer. Brought a new disgusting man to that room. They were loud and gross. They made me mad. Do you know why Naiyta brought a new person." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"I don't know." Raikal confessed. "I suppose they need someone to... do those things with, now that they've... gotten rid of me." A pause. "For his sake, I hope it does not love him." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"Well, you were stupid to ever love the lifebringer. It's evil." Madelyn glared. She took a step closer, and a drop of melted flesh fell from her chin. "Why did you." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"I can't control who I love. That is something my heart has control of, not my mind." Raikal put a hand to their chest. "They're not all bad." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

".. hearts.." Madelyn repeated. Something about that felt familiar, and somewhat wrong. "... he took.. He took her heart. The previous Lifebringer." "They're all evil. It made Albanes evil." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Raikal didn't react with shock, just the same distant sadness he seemed to have all the time. "I... believe that." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"But.. Albanes got a new heart. She was supposed to be free. She wasn't supposed to be here." Madelyn said. "Why. Why are we all here." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"I'm here because Naiyta keeps me here." Raikal said. "That, I know. I am not sure about... all of you. You all arrived... so soon. All at once." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"Is Albanes keeping me here." Madelyn asked, sounding a bit more like a statement than a question. "And I didn't just get here.. I've been here for a while I think.. months. Hard to tell." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"I don't know. You came with... not her. She was here before you." Raikal said. "That doesn't feel like a lot of time compared to... how long I've been here." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"Well how long have you been here." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Raikal had to think. "I think.... at least a few thousand years. I stopped trying to count." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"A few thousand years." Madelyn repeated. "For what reason." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"... what do you mean, what reason? I didn't choose to be here. I can't leave." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"Why did Naiyta put you here. Do they want to bring you back to life." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"I don't know." Raikal said. "I'd guess they want me around, but that can't be the case, because they killed me." There was more than a hint of bitterness in that last statement. @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"Why's they kill you. I'm assuming with fire. They also lit that new guy on fire once. Did you hear him crying. I did." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"I don't know why they killed me. If you find out, please let me know." Raikal turned their head vaguely in the direction of Naiyta's quarters. "I also heard him crying." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

Well, it was unlikely someone was gonna tell Maddy why Raikal got murdered.. "Do you think the Lifebringer is going to kill him too. I think he's gross. I wouldn't mind." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"... I think that is going to happen, yes." Raikal nodded. @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"Hmf. Good. Then they can stop having gross loud sex and disrupting me.." Disrupting from what important activity? Unsure. Maddy finally took a step away from Raikal. "Have you seen any frogs around here." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Raikal had no comment about the gross loud sex. "No frogs. There are snake and birds and goats. And some fish." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"Stupid." Madelyn mumbled. "If I could leave this stupid temple I could go find the frogs. But I can't." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"There aren't any frogs around the island, either. At least not the last time I checked." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"... You can leave..?" @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"I used to be able to. Not anymore." Raikal said. "When Naiyta found out I could leave, it bound me to the temple." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"When was that." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"A very long time ago. Over one thousand years." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

".. maybe there are frogs out there since then. And I bet you wouldn't have known where to look for them anyway. My job was finding frogs." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"... maybe. Though, it's no use if we can't go out of the temple, anyways." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

".. I'll find a way out. I always do. No one can keep me trapped, not even if I'm dead." Madelyn said and took another step away. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"... I mean, you can try. But I don't think you can get out, without the Lifebringer. I haven't been able to find a way out." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"No one can keep me trapped forever- I'll kill Naiyta. That's what I'll do." Madelyn glared, not really at Raikal, just to glare. "I'll find a way. Then you can leave too and stop burning my eyes. Eye." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Raikal didn't have an immediate reply. "... I hope you can find a way out." They settled on. @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"You should help me kill it." Madelyn said. "It can't stop both of us." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"... I don't want to kill Naiyta." Raikal sighed. @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"Why. They killed you. They trapped you. They deserve to die. They also torture a lot of people, which I care less about." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"I don't know. Killing them just seems... wrong. I don't think it would... fix anything for me." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

".. Retribution is reason enough. You don't have a spine." Madelyn huffed. "I killed the people who killed me, it's only fair." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"I... don't want to kill it before I can learn why it killed me, at least." Raikal's gaze grew distant. "I can't learn that if it's dead." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

"Well we can force it to confess. It's not going to tell you willingly if it hasn't already. Or you'll have to intimidate someone else in to telling you why. That guy who was in earlier seems easy to manipulate." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

She let out a low chuckle. "Naiyta won't be afraid of me. I'd be surprised if anyone would fear me enough to listen to what I say, I'm not exactly intimidating- besides for the fire, I guess. The fire might make me scarier. I don't know." @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱

".. Well I'm intimidating." Madelyn said. "I'm scary enough to make up the difference." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

".... maybe so..." Raikal sighed. @Mads | Roman 🥁 Asha 🎆 ? 🪱