[017] ACTION (locked to inbarrels) + Strangeling

[hoooly_ship]

[It was a Hell of a night. Tulio was in his bed, chilled to the bone, tossing and turning as his dreams continued to contort and twist.

'Forget Miguel.'

'I'm staying!'

'I want what you want.'

'I'm not asking you to trust me.'Voices. People. Places made of gold, so much gold. It had to be a dream. But he could see it, he could touch it. He

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[strange_ling]

[There truly was a monster in Tulio's closet.

More accurately, standing just in front of it. But it is there, wispy and formless, swirling before him in a gentle hiss of whispers long forgotten, tangled together with shadows of memories forced into the deepest recesses of Tulio's consciousness.

The Strangeling steps forward, and with it comes a creeping, icy mist that settles heavily on everything in the room, practically freezing time itself to a halt. In the darkness of the room, Tulio can only make out its vaguely human shape, but the way it moves is somewhat... feminine. Swaying. Graceful. And when it speaks, it speaks to the deepest part of Tulio's mind, cracking the shell that keeps the pain from bleeding through.]

Tulio?

[hoooly_ship]

... C-Chel? [His voice finally gave away as he croaked out her name. His eyes squinted as he tried to make her out through the darkness, but it was so dark. His head felt like it was splitting apart, and he rose up his hand to press against his forehead.]

N-Nh! It... hurts! [His skin prickled with goosebumps, but he desperately felt like he needed to keep looking at her - or she'd disappear.] What's happening...?

[strange_ling]

[The air is thick with darkness, and even if Tulio were to turn on the light, it would do him little good: the Black Mist has seeped into his room and filled it almost completely, settling in to stay a long, long while, as long as its occupant will have it. The darkness keeps the Strangeling's figure vague and out of reach, but paired with the voice, the illusion is a convincing one.]

Tulio, this place is giving me the creeps. L-let's get out of here.

[hoooly_ship]

Y-Yeah. Me too... [He groaned as he tried to rub away the pain in the head.] Are you cold? It's so cold. Lemme get some pants... [He tried to move but when he started to he felt like he was trying to push through snow. Freezing, wet due to his sweating, and thick.]

Chel, I... [He reached up with both hands, his fingers curling as if he could part thick air like a curtain.] I can't-- W-Where are we going? [For some reason his mind thought that it was a perfectly reasonable question to ask at a time like this.]

[inbarrels]

/Miguel had been out that night, preparing for his next day's summer lessons. It wasn't terribly unusual for him to be out late, though this was certainly exceptionally late even for him. He'd been quiet coming down the hall, thinking Tulio would likely be asleep and he shouldn't wake him--

-- when he heard the shouting. Cue immediate rescue mode. His face flipped from pleasant to serious in record time, and he barreled down the hall, wasting no time in throwing the door open./

Tulio? Tulio, are you alright? What's happened?

[hoooly_ship]

[He jerked as Miguel opened the door, feeling as though he was just violently pulled to the surface of the water and he had to take in a deep gasping breath into his burning lungs.

He was quite a mess to behold; Disheveled hair, sweat covering his naked form, the sheets tangled up around his hips and legs, his eyes red-rimmed as if he was close to bursting into tears, but the actual blue of them looked... different. Aware.]

Miguel! [The mist had disappeared, and he was shaking.] I... I remember. I remember... everything.

[inbarrels]

/Tulio looked awful. Miguel all but ran up to his side, making soothing noises as he pulled Tulio into a protective hug/

Ssh, ssh. You're alright now.

/He'd choose to ignore the part about remembering everything; it brought up too many painful thoughts of his own. His first priority had to be calming Tulio down./

[hoooly_ship]

[Miguel hugging him, comforting him - the guilt slammed into him. His chest tightened, his heart ached, and his head felt like it was going to burst from the pressure.]

W-Why... how... what happened... [He couldn't even begin to ask the questions, and somewhere he knew he didn't even want the answers. He just pressed his forehead against Miguel's chest seeking comfort where he knew he didn't deserve it.]