the darkness keeps growing, the shadows cutting deeper

[hfm_npcs]

Warnings: Darkness, Nox, darkness, manipulation, darkness, violence, and more darkness
Location: The sewers
Characters: Agent York, Aaron, Celestia, and a lot of Nox
When: Shortly after the attack on the city.
Summary: The Nox approach the hapless prisoners, and attempt to make them a deal

It's dark. This should come as no surprise to those who have a clear memory of what happened, but the sheer size and scope and depth of the darkness is suffocating. Pressurizing. There's a dripping in the distance and the Nox's guests will find themselves covered in...something that's rapidly congealing. Communicators don't work, and if listening close to the silence reveals they aren't alone...

Something's out there, watching the three warm bodies. Almost breathing on them.

((OOC: Check this log periodically for subheaders which will direct the plot!))

Comments

[goddamngrenades]

"...well damn, that's convenient." York goggles a little at the glowing, at the pink- and wonders a little what it'd be like. If maybe the kid could fix his bum eye but-

Not now. Later. When they're up top and everything's fine again.

The kid works, Celestia keeps the light up, and York? Keeps an eye on the perimeter. What he wouldn't give for a pipe or something to swing.

[letteropener]

Celestia visibly perked up, wings stretching out slightly as the pain and muzziness lifted off of her shoulders.

"That was very helpful. Thank you."

In defiance of the dark, she amplified her light, more confident now in wielding it with her head in the proper space again. Perhaps they might not need a rescue after all.

[exuviiated]

His magic fades away into nothing, swallowed up in the face of Celestia's brighter magic. He shuts it off-- sticks close to her flank.

"Is there anything else?" He rubs his hands hands together, sloughs off more of the gunk that plops in a gooey, gross mess onto the concrete floor-- which is just as coated in gunk as everything else.

"York? Are you injured anywhere when they-- grabbed you?"

[goddamngrenades]

"Me? Nah. Coupla bruises but nothing's broken. I'm lucky." How lucky is a little relative since he is down here with them- but maybe they needed him or something.

Fate hasn't ever been his forte or something he put a lot of thought to.

They're here, they're gonna get out, that's all that really matters.

"No one's swallowed this gunk stuff, right? I've seen alien stuff and this might be magic but it reminds me a lot of alien bullshit."

[letteropener]

"That was the first thing I did. It looked so tasty."

Celestia was kidding, of course.

[exuviiated]

"I didn't swallow any of it."

He's not going to be all that useful as a contributing member of this conversation; he's too busy trying (failing) to glare down the darkness that lurks out of Celestia's protective glow.

[goddamngrenades]

"Yeah, now I buy that you get along with Wash." Sass. Such sass.

"Well it's not burning or hardening or glowing so we might not be getting poisoned slowly by the...whatever it is."

[letteropener]

"It IS congealing, though. I would not be surprised if it comes to hamper our movements. I am not certain I can fly at the moment, for example." Not that she had anywhere to fly TO, but the point stood nonetheless.

[exuviiated]

"I've been with these things before." He's talking about the gunk. The Nox, specifically, although this gunk doesn't seem to have any sentience. "I don't think it does anything, but it may make you... angrier, I guess." Or was that the effects of the Deal? (Celestia knows. York doesn't. Aaron doesn't want him to know.

[goddamngrenades]

"I'm feel'n pretty gross but I wouldn't say I'm angry. Soon as we find somewhere relatively safe to stop, if there's even anywhere like that down here? Let's get as much off as we can- especially your wings. I could try teleporting blind but I'd rather not risk it with either of you. Me, I get stuck in something? I can get out." But with Celestia and Aaron? Not a comfortable idea.

[letteropener]

Celestia, once again, felt the great loss of the bulk of her magic rather keenly. Simply teleporting the three of them out would have been so much simpler a solution than all of this.

"Well. I can certainly say I am not likely to have to worry about this substance meaningfully affecting my emotions," she said, wings quivering involuntarily.

[exuviiated]

"Oh. That's good." None of them seem to be negatively impacted by it at all past being dirty and grungy, and in particular it's matting down his hair and making sure that these clothes will be utterly unwearable ever again. It's weird. Being worried about clothes while trapped down here with a pony and and... someone else. Apparently, his life has just gotten that damn crazy that something as trivial as a favorite shirt is the only thing that makes any sense anymore.

"Should we...?" Try to go, unspoken in his throat.

[goddamngrenades]

"Only thing I'm feeling is gross. When we get out? I'm gonna need ten showers. And sandpaper." And a drink or five but- hey. Kid. Talking horse lady. Not about to talk about booze around them- it's not polite. "I'd say 'let's head north' but I have no idea which way north is right now. So...pick a direction and let's go till we find a ladder or something. There's gotta be a plaque or map or whatever that'll show us where we ware."

[letteropener]

That was unwarranted optimism, but not one Celestia tried to dispel. "I do hope it isn't a ladder," she mused, more to keep everypony's spirits up than out of any real need to worry about climbing one.

[exuviiated]

"Oh." He's smiling at that, though it isn't all that strong or amused. "Oh dear. Maybe we can find stairs, or enough space for you to fly?"

Call it foolishness, but he's feeling decently safe; he can heal them if anything goes wrong, and Celestia wields light itself, and York seems more than capable.

[goddamngrenades]

"Long as there's space above the ladder I can see? I can port you up." It seems like a straight enough shot through the dark- but that can be said of anything where the light's not a black, skittering void. Ugh.

Makes him kinda miss Georgia. Poor Georgia.