[open] are you a man or a monster?

[eightleaves]

Who: Rean and you!
When: The night of August 25th-26th
Where: Various places in the city
What: Rean is going feral!!!!!! Please see this post for more information.
Warnings: This ought to be a T rating! There will be violence, blood, probably some light gore I guess, uh, some choice language most likely.


[I. the coven]

[Something draws Rean to the area of the Coven. He was already close due to the place he's been staying at, but now he is much closer, and he can't think of anything but the ache in his chest. He doesn't have the demon power-- does he? He's not so sure anymore, not with the aggression he's been feeling over minor, daily things. He's tried his best to shove it down so he doesn't worry his friends, and he knows that's a dumb thing to do but he can't help it, he just-- wants this all to stop. He wants it all to go away. And no matter how much he says he's accepting the changes...

The truth is-- sorry, Elliot-- that every time he looks in the mirror and sees that he's traded nails for talons, hair for the fluffiest feathers, he just hates himself. He's a monster and not even in the obvious physical way, because he can't reach out to the people around him and he can't come to terms with what he is.

There's something in his back and he's sure they're going to be wings at some point soon. The pain is agonizing, but it's nothing compared to the sharp daggers of loneliness he feels when he thinks about how he'd tried to form temporary bonds and failed miserably. All he ever does is hurt people. All he ever, ever does is bring ruin to the people around him. But he loves them and he wants to protect them, so he's just-- here, existing, stuck in some awful limbo he never saw himself being in two years ago.

He gazes up at the shadows of the Coven headquarters, and his vision shifts, and he finds himself climbing on top of it. It isn't high enough. He realizes this as he scampers to the top, a sort of half-aware thought. There are more important things, like getting a better look of the land. Is this his territory? Not quite, but he doesn't see any other Monsters right now. If anything, he's...

... kind of hungry, actually.

He watches for shadows, movement in the dark grounds below, not caring how obvious he is. He's on the hunt. Rean-the-human has officially checked out, and Rean-the-harpy is on the move.]

[II. the parliament]

[His search for high places leads him, of course, to the clock tower above Parliament. He leaps from roof to roof with an unsteady grace, a bird that cannot yet fly. But he manages it, even when his talons dig into the shingles of a roof and he makes an ungodly noise as he slips down the side. He catches himself on the gutter and hauls himself back up, and then he makes a flying leap for the actual Parliament building-- only to find himself turned back away quite bodily by some kind of ward. He winces, pulls back, tries again. It's-- hard to describe, something both physical and like a screeching in his head and he hates it, growling and snarling at his inability to approach the building and climb to the top like he wants to. Fucking magic. Maybe he wants to eat it. Maybe he should.

He's mad. He heads for the nearest second story balcony and starts throwing stuff off it, because he can.]

[III. the haven]

[At last he grows tired of these shenanigans and wants to return home to his nest. He hates the people following him, hates that he hurts, hates hates hates. There is something that he needs to protect but he's forgotten what it was, so he defaults to his territory, and heads back to the residential district he's taken up a nest in. Only it's not his normal place but somewhere much much higher-- a mansion belonging to some well-to-do witch family. It seems delicious to him, being a feral Monster, and it's also high enough that he can nestle right there between two spires that just happen to be above their son's room.

It's not hard to find Rean, honestly, with an agitated family screaming in fear and frustration at anyone who will listen. Nor is he trying to hide-- he's just hauling soft stuff up to the roof so he can curl up on it, and uh, incoherently snarling and roaring at anyone who comes close.

He's also filched some shiny things to decorate his nest, like a metallic mirror, a few blown glass charms to hang from the spires above him, and a pile of shiny silver coins.]

[ooc: Please see the info post for permissions etc before threading a fight with Rean. Also if you have any questions, my contact info is fonfabre // fonfabre#0318 @ discord. Thanks!]

Comments

[eightleaves]

[Towa is so, so sweet and when this nightmarish blackout ends he will regret everything he did. But for now, he's gone-- spiritually sequestered away, unable to cope with his own actions in any world. The instinctive Harpy is what remains, and it sees Towa reaching toward him and thinks she might be casting a spell.

He moves... fast. Faster than he has any right to be. And he launches himself directly at her like a feathery bullet, aiming to throw her to the ground and pin her with his claws around her neck and his knees in the dirt.]

[overworker]

[Right now she can only wish that he won’t remember this— not just because she said something embarrassing but because she knows just how much he’ll agonize over it when she wishes he wouldn’t.

It’s all too easy really. She doesn’t mean to fight him and she’s pitifully weak in comparison. Her head hits the ground hard and for a moment her vision blurs. She might be pushing her luck too far, but— she can take it. Better her than someone else. She reaches up and puts a gentle hand on the side of his face. She’s very much in danger, the pressure of his claws around her neck a very good reminder that she’s at his mercy. She’s scared— but she’s not scared of Rean. She’s scared that she might not be capable of reaching him, that she can’t help him.]

It’s... okay... if you’re mad, if you’re hurting... it’s okay. You can share that with me. You don’t have to fight it alone.

[eightleaves]

[He isn't really trying to strangle her so much as hold her down, but she doesn't struggle at all and it makes his interest wane a bit. She was a threat to his territory but now she's just a... prop. Albeit a delicious one if his nose is working correctly...

It's her touch that startles him. He doesn't let go, just acts reflexively to bite into the fleshy palm of her hand.

Oh.

Oh.

Something about the tang of blood wakes him up almost instantly, his eyes widening, ruffled feathers receding slightly. But before he can register anything else he pulls back with a snarl, leaves her hand a bloody mess that needs stitches but otherwise intact.

He's scared. Scared and hurting, like she said. And now he wants to throw up, reviled and stricken as he is. This can't be happening. It-- it can't--

He hurls himself backwards, still with some blood on his chin, and he scampers for the nearest wall so he can climb it and run. She might be able to catch him with some quick thinking, but it might also be good to let the others know what's happened and where he's headed.]

[overworker]

[Instinctively she tries to reach for him, but she's too slow, he's already gone, even as she's already calling out to him.]

Wait! Don't go--!!

[Towa struggles to get up; the air stinging her open wound as she tries her best to ignore the pain and the bleeding. It's worse when she puts pressure on it to force herself back to her feet. The grass and dirt grind against it, and she knows she's going to have to get it looked at soon. But she doesn't have time to think about those things now. If she hesitates, more people could suffer and Rean would suffer all the more for it.

Although she follows him to a certain extent, she knows that in this state she probably can't climb after him.

There may be another way around though-- she should look. But first she should warn the others. Before even that though, she follows Rean far enough to yell. Whether that recognition he'd shown remained or not, she makes one last thing very clear.]

Even if you run away, I'm going to find you! And I'm going to bring you back! I promise!!