[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FaCzAxe.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/1Hvat1r.png[/img][/center] [right][b]Interactions:[/b] Edict [@AtomicEmperor], Lynn & Aaron [@NoriWasHere] [code]The House on the Hill[/code][/right][hr] [quote=Edict]"Jesus, Linqian, were you fuckin' a bull mastiff or something?"[/quote] [color=CD5C5C]”Close enough, what, you fucking jealous?”[/color] Linqian teased quietly, before laughing. Her gaze went past Edict to Leon and that just made her laugh more. Blushing, really? Where was that bravado from last night? Sadly, she didn’t have the opportunity to offer up some of her own gay spit for Sully to use against Emily. But Thankfully Edict had filled her in via a recollection so she didn't have to get a Jack long winded explanation of the plan... Which honestly she wasn't sure about but hey. She'd never been the planner, she was just pointed towards something and she beat it to shit. Just like she wanted to beat Lynn to shit right now for even daring to open her mouth. Linqian’s hands dropped to her side, clenching into fists. Her temperature started to tick down until she was radiating cold without being dangerous to touch. Yet. She’d planned to ignore Lynn. Pretend she didn’t fucking exist. But she had the fucking gall to bring up a suicidal plan, and rope other fucking people into it. Fucking bitch. [color=CD5C5C]”Fuck you, Evelynn, throw away your own worthless fucking life, but keep others fucking outta it,”[/color] Linqian snapped, lips twisted into an ugly scowl. It was very obvious to anyone that knew Linqian well or who’d been at the other end of her temperature, which was practically everyone here, that she was well on her way to being pissed. Pissed and slapping Lynn again. [color=CD5C5C]”You’ll just all fucking die. Fuck, Jinhai has a book on the Pit. Y’know what it says on the first fucking page? ‘Don’t enter it.’ Fucking hell, you-”[/color] Linqian’s angry tirade was cut off by another unwelcome visitor. While Linqian’s memories of her brother’s younger years had made her feel positively towards Clancy. But this shadowy version? Not so much. Not when she still held memories of the Stygian Snake and the shadows it controlled. As Edict stood up Linqian did too, already cooling temperature plummeting. She took a few steps forward, putting herself between Clancy and some of the weaker members of the coven, stance shifting into a clearly aggressive one. [color=CD5C5C]”Aaron,”[/color] she said, gesturing to beside her. With Leon running forward she didn’t feel the need to go on the attack, but the two of them could easily hold the line behind him… if needed. [hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/QIUSezo.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/ycOCuCr.png[/img][/center] [right][b]Interactions:[/b] Layla [@Estylwen], Ken [@AtomicEmperor], Clancy [@Zombiedude101], Everyone Present [code]The House on the Hill[/code][/right][hr] [color=6B8E23]”Ken…”[/color] Luca frowned, interrupted by so many people coming in that he didn’t have the chance to say anything else. He understood his friend’s denial, he really did. But it wasn’t something that could be denied. He’d been part of 8th Street for so long it felt more like his coven than Sycamore ever had. Emily and Vashti were the exception, not the rule, just they ran the show. It was unfortunate. Maybe his heart was too big, but there were people there that he loved and cherished just as he did his close friends here. Speaking of friends… more and more people turned up. Luca was glad to see Lynette, who he hadn’t seen since she left 8th properly, and Todd - he gave both a bright smile and wave. No opportunity to actually greet them, however. Luca pressed his lips together as the Pit came up. He knew about it. He knew what inhabited it. Cynthia’s kind, for one. He’d seen what she could do… [color=6B8E23]”Nobody’s going into the pit… Like Ken said, it’s a suicide mission. None of us are prepared for what’s in there… please, Lynn,”[/color] he turned to his friend, expression pleading. [color=6B8E23]”Don’t throw away your life like that.”[/color] But there was no chance for Lynn to respond, because Clancy came crashing into the room. Luca was shocked to see him in such a bad state… how? From what Luca had gathered he was… like him. Difficult to [i]properly[/i] hurt. But where Luca rotted most weapons away and was damaged by the mundane, Clancy didn’t seem hurt by anything. He was something else. [color=c6e100][i]Don’t go near the crystal,[/i][/color] the Rot whispered in his mind. Which told Luca all he needed to know. [color=6B8E23]”Everyone, calm down, he’s not going to hurt us,”[/color] Luca said, making his way towards Clancy. Unlike the others, he’d gleamed something of his true nature when they touched previously. When they’d talked, before Miranda and Jacqueline arrived. This was the same Clancy. His outer shell had just been destroyed. And because of it the others were treating him like a monster. Of course they were shocked. How would they react if they knew what Luca was on the inside? The horror he fought against letting out. Badly, he assumed. Hoped. But he wasn’t letting anyone get hurt in this situation. [color=6B8E23]”I’m sorry, Layla,”[/color] Luca said as he got close enough that the rotting aura around him would start prickling at her. A gentle scratching pain. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, pushing her out of the way. It wasn’t a strong shove, because he wasn’t particularly strong, but just the touch would be enough to rot through her clothing and begin to damage her skin. He let go as soon as she was out of the way. The crystal was the problem. It was lodged so deep into his sternum but… like everything, it could be destroyed. [color=c6e100]Yes, it could be destroyed.[/color] It was so cold. Like he was in a freezer, uncontrollable shivers wracking his weak body. But he pushed through it like he would any pain. Reached out to grab the Crystal. As soon as Luca’s hand touched it, it latched on, beginning to fuse with his skin, pushing deeper into his flesh. Weakening him, hurting him. But it didn’t weaken him enough. The Rot was still active across his skin, focusing in on the region where it was connected. For once, host and parasite worked together. [i][color=#6B8E23]I[/color][color=#6D9022]t[/color] [color=#729520]h[/color][color=#75971F]u[/color][color=#77991E]r[/color][color=#7A9C1D]t[/color][color=#7D9E1C]s[/color] [color=#82A31A]i[/color][color=#84A519]t[/color] [color=#8AAA17]h[/color][color=#8CAC16]u[/color][color=#8FAF15]r[/color][color=#91B114]t[/color][color=#94B313]s[/color] [color=#99B811]i[/color][color=#9CBB10]t[/color] [color=#A1BF0E]h[/color][color=#A4C20D]u[/color][color=#A6C40C]r[/color][color=#A9C60B]t[/color][color=#ABC90A]s[/color] [color=#B1CE08]i[/color][color=#B3D007]t[/color] [color=#B8D505]h[/color][color=#BBD704]u[/color][color=#BED903]r[/color][color=#C0DC02]t[/color][color=#C3DE01]s[/color] [color=#C3DE01]i[/color][color=#C0DC02]t[/color] [color=#BBD704]h[/color][color=#B8D505]u[/color][color=#B6D206]r[/color][color=#B3D007]t[/color][color=#B1CE08]s[/color] [color=#ABC90A]i[/color][color=#A9C60B]t[/color] [color=#A4C20D]h[/color][color=#A1BF0E]u[/color][color=#9EBD0F]r[/color][color=#9CBB10]t[/color][color=#99B811]s[/color] [color=#94B313]i[/color][color=#91B114]t[/color] [color=#8CAC16]h[/color][color=#8AAA17]u[/color][color=#87A818]r[/color][color=#84A519]t[/color][color=#82A31A]s[/color] [b][color=#7D9E1C]i[/color][color=#7A9C1D]t[/color] [color=#75971F]h[/color][color=#729520]u[/color][color=#709221]r[/color][color=#6D9022]t[/color][color=#6B8E23]s[/color][/b].[/i] The pain was excruciating as the Rot fought against the crystal’s weakening. Flesh peeled away from Luca’s hand to reveal the muscle below, festering as they too started to rot away. The crystal started to disintegrate bit by bit. With it more skin turned purple, decay rapidly spreading up his arm as his magical defences weakened - his defence against his own magic included. It was pain unlike any he’d felt before, unlike the pain he suffered from daily, the rotting he’d grown used to. It was like his whole body was on fire, as he was stabbed over and over again. Luca curled forward, biting down on his lip to suppress an agonised scream. Blood dripped down his chin, turning brown before it could drip onto the floor. [color=6B8E23]Just… a little… more…[/color] Black fizzled in the corner of his vision as green flooded brown irises. His hand moved forward as each layer of the crystal disintegrated, deeper into Clancy’s sternum. The icy cold was but a drop in an ocean of agony. It felt like he was dying. No, he was always dying. Dying was… less painful… The last bit of the crystal rotted away, and Luca fell towards Clancy, passing out from pain that he shouldn’t have been able to handle in the first place. The rotting touch was no longer active.