video

[snowslip]

[ Marianne appears in the video looking more anxious than usual, perhaps because this is her first time addressing so many people at once and she's never liked drawing attention to herself, but also because of the news she's about to share. ]

Um, I wanted to warn everyone that monsters around Aldrip have become more aggressive lately. They've also been roaming closer and closer to town. Even where I usually take the horses out to graze isn't safe. Please be cautious when walking about, and I would avoid the outskirts. Um, those that can fight, it might be good to band together to try and drive them away...

[ ... ]

There's something else...

[ After an agonizing pause, she rolls back the sleeves of her dress to reveal her arm, black marks marring her fair skin. Her expression turns pained. ]

These marks appeared on me shortly after encountering the monsters. Healing doesn't seem to have any effect on it. Something like this happened once before and I...I'm afraid it could make me not myself.

If anyone knows anything about it, please...

[ She trails off, unable to conclude her announcement on an eloquent note. ]

Comments

Video | Charm

[beshackled]

...I cannot say for certain that I know aught, but those marks... they seem familiar.

Might I have a closer look at them? Where are you?

[snowslip]

Familiar?

Um, sure. I'm at Astralin's farm, the large one by the meadowlands.

Voice

[shadowofpride]

[The monsters getting closer to the town doesn't bother him much. He knows how to discreetly handle them and maybe get a meal out of it. But he has to reconsider the latter when Marianne reveals the black marks. Were the beasts infected?]

Does it hurt...?

1/2

[beshackled]

Ah... the farm at which the morbol was frozen. I remember the way.

I shall be there soon.

->action

[beshackled]

[And so he is. A man who is, as ever, clad in dark robes, hood and mask down so that his features are clearly visible. His skin is dark, a deep contrast to the brightness of his vibrant copper hair.

There is a brightness to his red eyes that is unlike most of the other Chosen here... though they presently glance around with a somewhat bemused expression.]

...I... probably should have asked her just where on the farm she would be...

[Maybe he could try contacting her again...?]

[snowslip]

[ Marianne has no way of knowing how long it'll take him to get there, but as the minutes pass worry starts to gnaw at her. After all, the farm is on the outskirts of town where monsters have been prowling. If something happened to him because he had come to help her, she couldn't bear it. So she turns on the charm again to check in. ]

Sir...? Are you nearing the farm? Please take care on your way here, there could be monsters lurking nearby.

Re: Voice

[snowslip]

No, I don't feel any pain. The monsters didn't hurt me in any way, either.

[ If she's been feeling extra anxious, it's just because she's always been prone to the emotion, right? Surely it's nothing new. ]

voice;

[laserguy]

[So she's affected too, huh...? Guess it's nice knowing that he's not the only one, but it also sucks that someone else is affected, someone that's pretty nice and everything. They might not have spoken too much in the past, but it's not like Scott's going to forget how she helped him out in the maze.

Still, he doesn't have much energy to do much other than reach out like this.]

I have those marks too. [...] Do you think we're going to lose control of ourselves?

[He didn't even think about that until now and fear grips his chest, managing to bypass some of the sadness he's been feeling for no reason at all. Maybe just a bad day, everyone has one of those, right?]

[shadowofpride]

You got the marks just from being around them? Is it a good idea for others to get near them? Even if it's to keep them away from town?

[snowslip]

I don't know...but we should probably stay calm and try to figure out what's happening.

[ She says that to reassure herself as much as him. In the past, when the brand had appeared and voices called to her, Marianne had kept her condition hidden. That hadn't turned out well, she recalls with a twinge of guilt. This time, she figures if she speaks up, maybe together they could stop it somehow. It pains her to hear Scott is also afflicted. In the maze, she'd learned of the burden he carried. She knows the fear of losing oneself all too well. So if there's anything she can do for him, she wants to. ]

When did it start for you?

[snowslip]

Ah, you may be right. If it's due to the monsters, it would be dangerous to go after them. But if we don't deter them somehow, the whole town could be at risk. Maybe I could...

[ She's already been cursed anyway. ]

[beshackled]

[Ah! What fortune! 'Twould appear as though she had much the same idea.]

A-ah. Pray forgive my oversight. I was so eager to come out that I... neglected to ask which part of the farm you were located.

[shadowofpride]

Could what...? What about making a barricade? Maybe put something stinky out. I read animals don't like certain strong smells.

[snowslip]

O-Oh, I'm sorry. I should have mentioned it. I'm in the building that's, um, closest to the chicken coop.

[ It's where she and Astralin used to have tea, a place she finds solace in even though he's no longer here now. She walks as she speaks into the charm, going outside to stand by the door so she can wave him down when she sees him. ]

video

[geass]

[interesting...]

What gives you the fear that it won't make you feel like yourself? I'm no doctor, but I'm curious on the context.

[snowslip]

Oh, that's because...something similar happened a few seasons ago. Strange marks appeared on some of our bodies and eventually took hold of our thoughts and feelings.

[ It pains her to remember. She tugs at her sleeve self-consciously. ]

These marks look different from before, but I wonder if this is still...a curse of some sort.

[snowslip]

I hadn't thought of that. We have lumber on the farm for construction. I don't know what I would use for the smell, though. I just think...if anyone should risk going out there, it should be me.

[laserguy]

[Strangely enough, he does feel calm, but in the sort of 'I just feel tired and have no energy' way. There's anxiety somewhere in him as he's quite familiar with that particular feeling, but it just feels like it's burrowed under everything else. It's strange, he's never felt this way before and he knows he should be worried about that, but.]

Yeah... you're right. We probably should figure this out before we lose control or something.

[That's probably the worst part in all this. It's that thought alone that drives Scott a little, because he doesn't want to hurt anyone, especially not his friends. He can't lose control of himself or his powers after all this time. It just feels like he'd be making several steps back. He does his best to pull himself to really focus on the conversation, before offering what little information he has.

She's being brave in all this, he needs to at least try.]

Recently, around the start of this month, but I didn't go near any of the monsters.

[geass]

[he notes the self conscious movement of hers, his expression softening.]

Sorry if it brought up bad memories for you. I'm one of the newer arrivals here, so I'm afraid I haven't had so much time to find out what happened before my time.

Are you feeling any sort of physical effects from it at all so far?

voice

[rebellions]

[ While Ragna's by no means a specialist, those black marks certainly look familar. It's been quite a while since he's seen something like that ─ in fact, he hasn't encountered it since coming to this world ─ but he can't rule out the possibility now that he's seen it right with his own two eyes. ]

... And just so we're completely clear on the subject, you're sure this isn't seithr poisoning?

Re: voice

[snowslip]

Seithr poisoning...? [ She's probably mispronouncing it. ] Um, what is that?

[snowslip]

It's okay. You couldn't have known. I'm sorry you were brought here at such a turbulent time.

I feel...okay right now. [ Maybe more on edge, she certainly sounds anxious, but who wouldn't be? ] Last time I heard voices. Nothing like that has happened this time.

not here

[geass]

[👀]

[geass]

It seems turbulent times are pretty common here, so I wouldn't worry about it.

[voices? hmm.]

Were you feverish? People with high enough fevers may become delusional... unless it was a supernatural happening.

[shadowofpride]

By yourself? [Not that Pride cares if they get killed, but that seems like a waste of resource to do that.] But there's no way you can keep them all back! You should go see a doctor-- or someone to have a look at those strange markings. Maybe there's a way to make it go away.