Don't Take Your Guns to Town | Day 15 - All Day | Multiple Places | Open

[subtleserenity]

It's time to do something constructive. All she's done for the past few days is destroy. Furniture, tapestries, books... the record player. Everywhere she looks, there is the sign of an unchecked rage. These might be people, and she'd helped to kill them before they even woke in the vain hope that it would somehow undermine Mason. A chair is not a house. And the people she'd threatened, yelled at, frightened, they hadn't deserved any of that either. Time to make amends.

Trinity had mentioned searching in the Grand Hall where the doors went on seemingly forever. Angel had thought perhaps they could check for a study. After learning about those notes the twins had gone through, and finding the burning bullet they need to know more. Much more than might be contained in just the secret Hearth Room. It will likely require more searchers than the last round... and hopefully it would not lead to more memories of being the Keeper's rifle. However useful that had been, it made remembering who she should be all the harder.

Scenario A (For those whom Brimstone menaced or otherwise wronged during the flowers plot)
There are those who need an apology before they can be enlisted. She knows they're likely to be frightened of her or angry. Or both. When she sights one of them, she approaches with caution. Her gun is secure in her holster and she has no intention of removing it as she holds her hands up in a placating gesture. She's not very good with apologies, but she tries.

"Those flowers turned my head somethin' powerful. Didn't mean none of the things I said to you. Name's Brimstone. If there's somethin' I can do to make it right between us, go on and tell me. More interested in allies than enemies, place like this."

Scenario B (For current allies and non-enemy acquaintances)
Then there are those who have not been wronged, or at least not so horribly as others. They are allies or acquaintances she's acquired in dreams and in the waking world. For these she attempts a bit of humor. It might smooth over her own rough edges after been sheered to something raw and wild with those flowers.

"Lookin' to cause trouble that don't involve shootin' the house up. You interested in helpin'? Got a notion at least some of those doors in the Great Hall open if you keep at it long enough."

Scenario C (For those Brimstone has not yet met or might consider enemies)
A beggar can't be a chooser, and there are at least hundreds of doors in the Grand Hall, if not thousands. Brimstone knows the only sensible option is to approach others in the house. There are new faces she's been passing in the halls, seen wandering the Library. There's a chance they may be interested in helping and simply asking the first time had proven there were more than a handful of folk interested in doing something constructive.

She approaches them with a thought that some of them might have come across keys or other helpful items in their scavenging of the house. "Lookin' to trade information and favors if you got a minute to spare. Keeper's got enough secrets in this house to have us lookin' a lifetime or two, but I reckon folks been findin' bits and pieces enough to start askin' the right questions. Few of us mean to find the answers if you're interested in helpin'."

Comments

[subtleserenity]

"Much better," Brimstone agrees. She meets Angel's gaze easily enough, but she's feeling guilty after having acted so callously toward the girl after her breakdown. A bird is not a rifle or a soldier. She can't expect everyone to take to killing so easily. It's better if they don't, in fact.

"Can't say I found much to help with the door," she admits. "Only keys the Keeper's got in his room are for those... toys he keeps." There's disdain in her voice, though that's more directed at the living toys kept in that room, the twins with the mocking smiles. She's only just gotten away from them and can't shake their slimy natures off yet. That reminds her, though.

"Did run into some folk who had a look at those notes the Keeper left in that room we found, though." Her face falls to something grim. "They think the Keeper might've been experimentin' on that girl with the green blood. Pullin' her soul apart."

[wingedapostle]

Angel turns from intrigued at the possibility of a clue to horrified at what those people found. "Pulling her soul apart?" she asks, eyes wide and hands shaking. There's not much more she's able to say, considering how much she feels like she's going to throw up. She doubts she's encountered anything so awful in this house since she awoke, and that includes her most recent memory. She probably hasn't even heard the full story yet.

[subtleserenity]

Brimstone places a tentative hand on the other woman's shoulder. Where the grip had been demanding and fierce before, it's only meant to support now. "Don't know how yet, but they're lookin' into it. They said that bird woman could still be alive, just had herself stepped outta her body.

"Might be a way to bring her back if we can find it." It's only a theory, the twins had said, and of course, finding a soul that had wandered off would likely prove problematic. But it's something they can aim for. Something Angel can aim for, and for Brimstone, that's the important part. She wants the girl to know there's a chance they can do good to make up for the wrong they've managed. All of the wrong.

[wingedapostle]

Brimstone's hand on her shoulder is a comforting and stabilizing presence, as are her words. To not only be killed, but to have your soul pulled apart? No matter what the bird woman may have done – though Angel doubts she was anything but a victim – nobody deserves this fate. Even a little bit of hope that they might be able to help the bird woman is enough to calm Angel down.

"Who are the ones studying this? I don't know what I can do, but I will assist in any way I can." She knows she can never return the life she took, but she must help right this situation. It won't redeem her; she knows that too. Still, she can't stand idle while anyone suffers.

[subtleserenity]

Her face hardens at the question. "Couple of twins. Ain't got names yet." And she won't deign to give them names, either. 'You' is about all they deserve. "Met 'em durin' the flowers..." She lets Angel take from that what she will.

"They ain't interested much in helpin' anything, I don't think, but they're curious and they're willin' to share what they find. If you got any of the books from that secret room we found, they might want 'em. They're tryin' to learn to read the Keeper's tongue."

[wingedapostle]

She shakes her head. "I didn't take any," Angel says, "though I regret it. I may have to go back and see if there are any left." She, too, would be interested in any knowledge to be found in those books. Perhaps there's something about their situation there.

"These twins...do you know if they're newly awoken? I met a set of twins while the flowers were blooming as well, and they said they had not been here for much time."

[subtleserenity]

"Think Lights said they took the last of the ones any of us can read even a bit," Brimstone says, withdrawing her hand from the bird woman to offer a half shrug. "You wanna take a look at those others, I ain't stoppin' you, but best keep away from that one what makes you hear voices." They have enough problems without all that, she thinks.

"Not sure if they're new, but I wouldn't be surprised. They're a man and a woman, pretty as posies, too." She can't say much for their personalities, however. "They didn't try doin' anything to you, did they?" There might be a protective edge to her voice, but she does her best to dull it.

[wingedapostle]

Angel makes a face at the mention of the book with the voices. It sounds dreadful, and she's glad she hasn't grabbed it yet. "Thank you. I'll keep the warning in mind." If she can't find anything understandable in the books that are left, perhaps she'll just leave them alone for now.

She nods when she hears Brimstone's description of their appearances. That's them, all right. It doesn't surprise her that they're the ones studying these things, considering their reactions to the strange flowers blooming. "Not exactly..." she says. She notices the hint of protectiveness in Brimstone's voice, and getting the twins in trouble with her isn't something Angel wants to do. "We tested the effects of a certain kind of flower together. I was just as curious as they."

[subtleserenity]

"Hmm..." She doesn't comment, but her raised brow is testament enough to her acceptance of that explanation. Actively looking for reasons to dislike the twins isn't a productive use of her time when they're allies, though. Loathsome allies though they might be.

"Said they'll help, well enough, but they're more the thinkin' kind than the doin'. Speakin' of doin', we'll be meetin' tomorrow mornin' for this. You see anyone you wanna bring along, we could use the help. Got a good half-dozen folk already, but those doors look to go on forever."

[wingedapostle]

She nods. "I will see if I can find any allies to join in the search. Hopefully we will be able to check every door, but such a feat seems unlikely to happen in one day...we will see, I suppose." The amount of doors is staggering, and she hasn't even explored the Grand Hall fully. Just from what she's seen, there are multiple layers with countless doors each. This is going to be a bit of a challenge, even for many of them.

[subtleserenity]

Brimstone offers the other woman a determined smile. "Lucky thing about that: I ain't got nothin' but time at the moment." She does hope something might come of their excursions, though. It would be demoralizing if not, and she's not the best person to raise the spirits of a group. That seems more in line with Angel's talents. It does remind her of something, though.

"There's somethin' one of the others said they saw lookin' for the roof: a ledge with a cubby hole. Need someone with a set of wings to get up to it. Think you can look into that when we're searchin' tomorrow?"

[wingedapostle]

"Certainly," Angel says. "Do you know where it is, or will that person point it out tomorrow? Provided they are coming with us." She wonders if that person is the fish girl she met in the days soon after most of them awoke. It seems likely, considering that they met when the girl was searching for others to accompany her to the roof. Angel is glad that the girl found something with someone, at least.

[subtleserenity]

"They are," she says with a nod. "Girl named Aria. Looks like she might be a fish. Said she was tryin' to find the roof and spotted the ledge." Her features grow more concerned, lips turning down thoughtfully. "She already tried to get Lights to fly up to it, but he wouldn't. Guessin' that means there might be somethin' dangerous up there he's sensin'. You think you'll be all right?"

[wingedapostle]

Her face lights up when she hears Brimstone's description of the girl – Aria, now. Angel's expression quickly turns to seriousness, though, at Brimstone's conclusion. She doesn't know what kind of person Lights is, but she trusts that his unwillingness to get involved doesn't stem from cowardice. What could be up there?

"I will do what I must if it might help us gather information. If need be, I can defend myself." She holds out her hands to show her claws. They're long and sharp; perfect for close combat.

[subtleserenity]

Brimstone recalls the way those claws had shredded pillows and gouged wood. They are certainly a force to be reckoned with when Angel turns her mind to a purpose. She nods briefly in acknowledgement.

"Hopefully won't come to that." She also remembers how shaken the young woman had been upon realizing that she'd committed an act of self-defense - what Angel called 'murder.' "I'll see you tomorrow mornin', then. Might be a lot of explorin' to do beyond that dependin' on what opens up." And if there is a way to the roof... they might be able to figure out how to get down off of it and away.

[wingedapostle]

She nods, her face more grim than before. Hopefully it won't. She doesn't hold much power, but she fears the little she has. What if she were to hurt someone again? Or worse? The thought of it is horrifying, but a possibility all the same.

"Tomorrow morning," she agrees. "I won't keep you any longer, but I will do as you asked and search for any others who might want to assist."

[subtleserenity]

"The mornin'," Brimstone acknowledges with a nod before turning to leave and continue her hunt for allies. "Good luck."