songerein | { when it snows }

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{ when it snows }

WHEN IT SNOWS

All items on this post will last/be available for the entire month! So timey wimey shenanigans are allowed.

More details on everything can be found here. We will request any thread submissions for certain prompts during A.

I. REVEREIN

II. DREAMS

COMMENTS

I. REVEREIN THAWED

After freeing the Ice Queen from the glass shard from her chest and clearing the dreamscape, the blizzard that affected not only Reverein but the Wildlands and beyond finally dissipates and soon everything returns to…mostly normal.

A. Glitter Snow. While the freezing sleet and ice of the blizzard is no more and a more gentle winter has entered Reverein, the fresh new snow that falls is not one one might want to stick their tongue out to try and catch a snowflake. Unless one likes the taste of glitter.

🎉 Good luck getting it out. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad if the glitter melted like snow, but it does not. It sticks to everything everywhere and while some might like a splash of colors, others may not.
🔮 Dreamglobes. Some fae are passing out empty spherical glasses, suggesting those who are interested to collect some of the glitter snow into them and then set the snowglobe next to their bed before sleeping. Whatever dream they have will be captured into the glass and upon waking will create a physical representation of the dream to create a little special "dreamglobe." Hope it's a good one!
✨ Glitter Collector. There are a number of people and shops that actually want the free glitter and ask for anyone to collect as much as possible. Works well for those trying to clean up and not sure what to do with it. What kind of products will end up coming from them well.

B. Mari Lwyd and Family. Mari Lwyd has finally returned to Reverein, and she's bringing along some family she's found. However, they can be a bit of a handful. Some are friendlier than others while others are going to make full use of this glitter snow with pranks and mischief. But they all just intend to have a good time, something that everyone may be in need of after that blizzard.

💃 Little Pranksters. The young Lwydlings cannot sing or speak, but they love to dance around and make all manner of noise—they also bite if you're being a big fat party pooper in their presence, and are a lot more likely to pull a few harmless pranks than their dear older cousin Mari Lwyd is. Very quick, they have the same vanish-and-leave-you-with-bad-luck if harm is attempted on them. Have a dance off with them, or aid them in pranking those who are being big fat grumps/meanie-butts.
🔥 Bonfire. One of the merry friends looks like a very tall pile of long hair and arms, but with them they seem to be carrying a basket and filling it with sticks and other kindling. This is for giant bonfires! Help gather wood and kindling to make a great bonfire to welcome some warmth in this winter, and aid any lost to not wander in this cold.
🥜 Nurturing Gifts. There appears to be another skull-faced being wandering around with their own 'little one' in tow—and despite the horned and frightening appearance of the larger fur and hyde clad figure there are small gifts to be shared. An act of kindness rewards one with a bundle of magic beans that if nurtured and cared for will bear a great gift come spring. Great.

C. Hot Springs. The dragons are holding an open invitation to anyone who wishes to use their hot springs to warm up after that frigid blizzard. The dragons in particular will be practically living there, so hopefully others can squeeze in a spot. Rooms will be available for anyone who wishes to stay the night, and all amenities will be available: food, recreational games, etc. Just beware of the monkeys that have descended down from the mountain seeking warmth as well. They are prone to stealing things, particularly clothing—and wearing them.

D. Dream Board. This is the perfect time to do many of the Dream Board prompts, and while the full details are on the notes, here is the quick list of what they are:

Dream Board List:

⛄ Snowball Tonics: Transform into massive, different colored snowballs.
🔔 Bell Choir: Grab a bell and play for a concert!
🧣 Never-Ending Scarf: Help untangle the beautifully, extremely long crocheted scarf, dodge cats, and get the whole thing together in one place.
🍻 Keg Brawl: A game where one must carrying a keg of ale from one end of a field of ice to the other while avoiding the other team trying to stop you.
🐶 The Inugami. Help a pair of spirit dogs find each other.
🌠 Falling Stars. Make wishes upon the falling stars before they cause too much damage!

II. SHATTERED DREAMS

Although the Dreamwalkers were successful in removing the strange glass shard in the Ice Queen's chest and ended the nightmare dreamscape that caused the blizzard, the Ice Queen still has yet to awaken. Jack Frost has taken her to Orkili to try and purify her with the pods, yet it only caused an adverse reaction, prompting the Orkilins and Jack Frost to ask for help from the Dreamwalkers once more. Isolated in a separate room where neither dreamotion nor nightmare energy can enter, those who are willing to investigate the Ice Queen's dream will be able to freely dreamwalk, with the warning that she seems sensitive to positive dreamotion so everyone should take caution when using it.

In the meantime, there are some other happenings going around in Orkili, including investigation into some nightmare crystals.

A. Piecing it Together. Those who enter the Ice Queen's dream will find themselves free floating in a dark void with large reflective glass-like shards with blurred, fogged scenes reflecting on their surface. They float aimlessly through the space, and a closer inspection will reveal that these shards can fit together and likely form a larger image. The goal is to now try and put the pieces together, though it's not as easy as it might seem.

🪞 Nightmare manipulation. For whatever reason, those who either have high nightmare resistance or can control nightmare energy will be able to move and be around the shards with very little effect to them.

💥 Too much of a good thing. Because the shards are dark and clearly exude nightmare energy, there will be those who will try to use positive types of dreamotion to purify the shards. Some dreamotion will be safe to use and will help clear up the image on the surface. However, too much focus will have a negative feedback where the dreamers are pushed back with a freezing gale and the shard they are focusing on will crack and break into smaller pieces. Nightmare energy can help mend the cracks, so it's better to try and use both at the same time.

💔 Blurred visions. As the surface of the shards clear up, various scenes of different themes can be seen, both good and bad. Love, heartbreak, hatred, anger, joy, jealousy, loneliness, fulfillment, family, abandonment. Those who experienced the ice mirrors in the previous dreamscape will feel a strong familiarity with these larger shards, except these are clearly towards the Ice Queen herself.

This is where we want players to come up with any scene that the Ice Queen may have experienced that could be reflected on the shard! We'll request submissions and piece together a story based on player input. Don't worry about any contradictions, we'll work it all in one way or another. The only constant is that Jack Frost and the Ice Queen do have a close, romantic relationship, which is why Jack is very worried about her.

B. Unwanted Intruder. While in the dream, a grotesque looking noctaere will appear and try to attack and consume the shards. Should it succeed, the Ice Queen will receive physical damage that everyone will be able to hear and feel inside the dream. The void will contort and turn more like sludge. Attempts to use dreamotion will only worsen it, but those who can control or absorb nightmare energy will take it away from the Ice Queen. How it affects them however, will vary between dizziness to momentary lapse in judgment and may need to leave the dreamscape.

Those monitoring outside the dream will witness the Ice Queen scream and her skin blackening as if charred by fire. Same thing applies here: those who try to use dreamotion to heal her will only worsen it, but those who use nightmare energy to either draw it out into some other container or absorb it themselves will be able to pull it out of the Ice Queen. Those who absorb the nightmare energy will have similar varying effects, from just light dizziness to becoming more irritable and hostile. Attempts to try and directly pull out the nightmare energy otherwise will be unsuccessful—it will only work when the noctaere has consumed a shard and caused the physical side effects.

No one will turn noctaere through this method because not enough nightmare energy will have accumulated.

As for the noctaere, it will sometimes appear outside the dream, and those who encounter it or deliberately try to hunt it down either within or outside the dream will find both dreamotion and nightmare based attacks effective against it. However, it's a very tough and difficult foe, so while it can be damaged, it cannot be defeated at this time. Those who investigated the claw marks from a few months ago will notice it leaves behind the same claw marks. Those who witnessed it will also find it familiar and can safely say it's the same.

I. REVEREIN

II. DREAMS

COMMENTS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, what the two 'wolves' were doing wasn't going unnoticed despite 76 putting so much of his attention on the shards as if he could will them together any faster- but time had to be taken. They had to get this right to get out of this and not fuck anything up that could come back to bite them worse if the Ice Queen here turned into something more terrible than the first time. She was a victim of this nightmare shit as well, after all.

The pale and reaching hand coming in that much clearer, something desperate to be grabbed a hold of and not wanting to lose whatever was being reached out to.

He also wasn't missing the change in Gabriel- "Focus, love. Need you to keep your head so I'll keep mine," or they'd so easily go tumbling into that darkness together. They had to keep focsed.

If they lost the Ice Queen, there would be far greater things to worry about than just a few extra noctaere on the battlefield. Two shadow tentacles stretched out from his back to grasp and maneuver another shard, and a few extras snaked out to curl around Jack's legs possessively. Another still lashed out to seek more shards.

The one he brought in didn't match what they had, but he wanted to keep it close just in case. He growled as Jack's voice penetrated his boiling dark thoughts, focusing him from absolutely destruction to seek more shards. This one was smaller but no less important. "Does it fit, do you think? We need to speed this up. We can afford to lose."

He pulled Jack closer, leaving his lover in control of the main shard as his tentacles began seeking all those in their area to draw them closer.

"Keep it close, it's like a stupid puzzle. Bring what pieces you catch close enough to see if they flash with anything that might look fitting in this moment-" Was it the Ice Queen herself reaching towards something just out of reach? Trying to catch something falling to keep it from doing so, or towards someone leaving? Seemed like it was her from what he could see and just.

He kept one hand on Gabriel, wanting and needing him steady, fingers twitching just a bit as his grip briefly flexed. A solid reminder that he was there and needed him to help keep it all together.

"Never had the patience for this as a young kid, so many pieces of a puzzle when I wanted to go to the ice cream shop to hang with friends-" Anything to help keep Gabriel in the present.

Under normal circumstances, Reaper enjoyed a good puzzle and finding the right pieces to bring everything together. This was not that time as he fought with absorbing more nightmare energy and keeping himself grounded. It remained a necessity despite the by-product being that their noctaere grew stronger and contained the invading one. "I'm going to draw more over..."

Jack's hand was his lifeline to not tip right into giving into the darkness. More of his black smoky tentacles grew from his back and quested out to find shards to draw closer. His breathing sounded more like growling, and it was also harder to mentally keep himself together. His own hand remained solid and firm on Jack though, clenching when he felt himself slipping.

Stay together for the mission. Stay together for Jack.

"I liked puzzles and did them a bunch in the winter months." He knew what Jack was doing and appreciated it. He had three more shards pulled closer. "When'd you learn to play chess?"

"Alright- I can work on getting the pieces in place and figuring out which ones don't fit." Little flashes that were wrong and didn't have any place with the scene that was flashing up briefly on the one they had mostly together at this point. Something had shattered like broken glass- or was it broken ice? A mix of both that she was running through following something else, reaching out in desperation not to lose.

Enough there to finally figure it out was helping. Fingers flexed, squeezing where 76 was keeping hold of Gabriel just as that reminder he was there. Both of them were, and that he needed him to stay there with him and—

"When my uncle finally noticed I had an interest- he's the one who taught me, even if I had to listen to why he stopped playing chess himself a lot," didn't like the AI created and taught how to play that much. It was kind of funny- "What about you?"

The more pieces that they gathered together, the higher the likelihood that they were going to make this work. They had to. There wasn't an option for failure because failure would result in this situation becoming so much worse. He moved pieces to be in front of them so he could use his tentacles to turn the shard to find a potential side that matched. If it didn't, he pushed it aside and repeated with the next one. "I'm going to need you to seal up the ones that do fit together if I hold them in place."

The more noctaere energy he absorbed, the longer his tentacles could become and the further they could reach to seek out other shards while he stayed close to Jack. He needed to as it would be too easy to lose himself at this point if he strayed far from his lover.

"Did you play against him often? Got him back into it?" This was the type conversation that was so mundane that it generated focus and forced him to think anything but dark thoughts. "My aunt taught me when I was little. Said I had an early knack for strategy, and she wanted to give me opportunities to develop that."

76 nodded, trying not to let his own attention moved from the shards- and he could seal the pieces together easily enough- "Of course." Between the two of them they'd sort through what did and didn't go with the large shard they were working on. Make the image that much more clear, especially when they would reach the point where it remained rather than just brief flashes of it.

"No. He never picked up a piece either- stubborn man who stuck to his guns when he did swear off playing again. He really hated Deep Blue that much," the chess computer designed to master and play it. "Kinda funny in a way, really."

"Similar reason that my Ma took me out to art museums and libraries when I didn't have chores."

The image was becoming clearer the more pieces that they slotted together, and as long as they maintained their determination to finish the mission and not lose the Ice Queen then they could grasp some control. He brought other shards closer with his tentacles, focusing on turning the pieces to determine which would fit where. He was breathing harder as he expended concentration and energy to hold everything together enough that he didn't lose himself.

Beyond them, the two noctaere wolves continued to team up and rip pieces off the invading noctaere. Out of the corner of his eye, he was keenly aware of his brushing up against Jack's, adding a nuzzle as it bounded around, lashing with tentacles before moving in to bite and tear energy to grow more powerful.

Yet, he found himself distracted by Jack's story, focusing on that as dark energy continued to flood him. It darkened his thoughts, but nothing would stand in the way of hearing the story of Jack's learning chess. They had brushed over the topic as younger men when challenging each other to games in Jack's big fancy office. "At least we know where you inherited your stubbornness. I would say it was stupid that a computer program pissed him off that much... but then the Omnic Crisis happened so maybe he was on to something."

He made a noise as he lined up two more pieces together. "She wanted to have a cultured son, obviously. She probably knew early on that you wouldn't be taking over the family farm directly."

It was becoming a much clearer picture, even if some of it was still vague- but a still image only told part of a story and this seemed to either be something that happened or something she feared would happen. Made sense if she was still trapped in some nightmare, didn't it? A fear of loss, being unable to stop it despite it all.

... both of them could relate. All the more reason he was using his shadows to seal those shards into place, building on and keeping that image there.

The two always seemed to intertwine whenever crossing paths that did have them stray apart briefly. His own brushing sides and tail, those golden lights dancing merrily within otherwise empty sockets of its skull. Ripping chunks free as thorns dug deeper, freezing pieces of the noctaere solid so they could be broken off and lapped up so easily.

"Deep Blue was absolutely harmless compared to Anubis- hell, Chernobog might've actually helped us if it hadn't been shut down so completely." Of course he had heard about that God AI printing out more than just instructions to pick up where it was being made to leave off. "Some still don't want to think too much about that one, of course," especially after Aurora and what she did to stop it all.

"Ma wanted to encourage my interests outside of farm work- reason I got so into war history, too."

They had more work to do, but he was keenly aware that they could be losing another battle if they weren't careful about their work. Still, there was a dark sense of pleasure that they were forming part of the picture and her nightmare was coming more into focus.

For that, he was trying to maneuver the extra shards currently in the grip of his tentacles to slip into position faster as his concentration began to slip. He had already began to lose form to his legs, and it was only Jack's voice that kept him on task as he wanted nothing more to be one with the destruction the noctaere were enjoying.

"Of course, but that didn't stop the fear, Jack. Everyone looked at anything trying to teach them something with suspicion during the war. Your uncle was just ahead of the game," he remarked, though he was certain that the Crisis years later had nothing to do with Jack's uncle being a stubborn old bastard. "Its why some still hate the omnic despite all they did to help end the war."

He turned his head from the shard in front of them to look at Jack, noting the affect that the dark energy was having. "Your ma was a smart lady. She helped make you into one of the best military strategists of our generation."

Almost. Almost done—

76's grip on Gabriel tightened, an arm nearly wrapped back around him to pull the man that much closer as if fighting to either keep him there or for 76 to keep himself in place. They'd need to get the hell out once done, in the opposite direction of the wolves and Noctaere. Didn't think they'd be able to last if they let themselves do anything but that.

"Always going to be something, just how folks can be," for worse usually. Didn't do anything good for anyone, going beyond the healthy dose of worry and fear that kept folks moving and pushing forwards. Stopped the good that could have been and some died for trying to show.

But they couldn't linger on that either.

"Not her intention, given the fact she didn't want me to go off to the army either. Why I had to sneak off the moment I was old enough." Could only hope there had still been some pride from them in what he'd managed to do.

So close...

It was hard to concentrate with all the dark thoughts clamoring for his attention, the distraction of the noctaere themselves and how his body was seemingly falling apart all around him as he absorbed more energy. Jack grounded him, but it was like feeling a chain around his middle amid a hurricane and it was only the sense that they were only finished kept him on task and not grabbing Jack to escape.

"Bigots are alive and well." He lined up one of the last pieces that he had as he spoke, his voice a low wolf's growl at this point with his sharpened teeth and his grip tight on Jack in return.

"Naughty naughty, disappointing your parents like that," he t'sked. "The war would have nabbed you either way, so best to volunteer. Besides, you turned out alright."

"And likely always will be, one way or another," just how some people were for the worst of it.

There! There it was- and the scene was just as he thought it was, once the last shard was finally sealed into place. "Was quite a few years before the Crisis started. Reason my higher ups were so unwilling to let me volunteer until they couldn't argue against it anymore," and the reason he ended up as Solder #76 within the Soldier Enhancement Program, rather than some lower number.

Arms wrapped around Gabriel as 76 jerked the both of them away from the completed shard, and away from their 'wolves'. Fully willing to drag the other man if he had to-

"Time to get the hell out of here."

Reaper felt a brief wave of relief and triumph that they had done it, looking at the image of the Ice Queen. It made more sense of her likely, but they had made it and the noctaere was no longer able to corrupt or eat the pieces. They were sealed and now...

"I know. I read your file. You were too important to potentially be sacrificed to the high mortality rate of the SEP. It nearly killed you." It nearly killed him. Many weren't so lucky even compared to their miserable experience. He remembered all the pain, all the wishing for it to end when it was real bad but desperate to come through anyway. The noctaere energy made it easy to recall the worst of it.

Yet, he felt the jerk as his weight was lifted and his tentacles lashed back to curl around Jack was he was pulled away. "We should force the wolves into submission...!" Not bloody likely with how much energy they had absorbed.

His wolf suddenly turned head and that grin increased. It gave a snarling howl and tossed the remains of the noctaere aside.

Nearly. Was in a medically induced coma for months because all of his organs started failing on him because of something injected into him, but he lived. He lived through other agonies and what felt like burning alive at times, the grueling training just to see how much further they could be pushed each time—

"We both survived it, and just one more damn reason we are getting the fuck out rather than letting anything else get in our way now!"

He would haul Gabriel up into a bridal-carry if he had too, ears flicked back as there was a snarl in his own throat. Claws digging into the other man's clothing while he moved, and far more focused on moving away than on either of the damned wolves- "Not the time, or the place, to let things distract you from me now is it?"

Whatever he had to play, even if he could feel the eyes of the skulled one boring into his back. That chill cold enough to burn trying to claw into his shadow.

That had not been the best experience, but it had allowed them to make it this far in their lives, for better or worse. He could partially blame his current situation on that time as well, the genetic tampering leading more experimentation that put him as he was. The agony was something he would have to endure the rest of his life, assuming he could find an end eventually.

"And leave them to tear this place apart? They are ours"

He did not, however, resist Jack's strength to haul him off. While most of his tentacles were wrapped were wrapped around the other man, a few quested towards the wolves who were now both looking at them. He allowed himself to be moved away though, his dark thoughts aware that the wolves would likely follow.

"We'll keep each other safe," he growled as he watched the grinning wolf abandon the other noctaere to rub up against Jack's wolf before trotting after them, grinning only widening as it smelled an opportunity.

"Which means they will come with us- I doubt they'd stray that far if they even could. You've gotta feel how they're still attached, Reyes." Spoken low and quick, knowing that Gabriel could keep up with is words as 76 was far more focused on an exit plan. Staying here any longer wouldn't be good for either of them; even if they could attempt more crystals, this last big one was enough.

It had to be.

"Reason I need you to keep your head on straight, because if you let it sink you won't do as good of a job as you want."

Still trying to keep Gabriel focused, even as 76 ran of clawed paws rather than feet; that transformation couldn't be helped, happened whenever he was in a dream and started calling on dreamotion or nostilium. Ears still pinned back as there were curved horns appearing to sprout on his head as well- a mix of wolf and the form he took that likened back to the Raw Head Essence. "I need you to keep it together for me, Gabe."

The skullfaced wolf clacking jaws as golden glowing 'eyes' seemed to bounce in those otherwise empty sockets. Brushing against the grinning wolf before following right along, keeping that burning chill growing.

"Yes, yes look at them following us," he said, noticing how the pair of wolves abandoned the scene to trot along after them. His grip on Jack tightened possessively, and he allowed himself to be motivated to walk in the same direction knowing that the noctaere would follow. Always in pursuit. Always hungry. "They are ours, Jack."

Yet, being further away from the scene, away from absorbing nightmare energy allowed him to focus more on the task at hand for them. He was still in midst of a change in the same what that 76 was, but now his was stalling as his cells hungry worked through the energy. His arm slid across Jack's shoulders in a near brotherly gesture. "I will. You can trust me, Jack. I'll always be the shadow that you're chasing down."

The grinning wolf was making gains on the distance between them, but it didn't move far from the skull-faced wolf. Instead, there was darkly affectionately nudging and bumping of hulking wolf bodies. Tentacles crept ahead of paws, seeking the two men that were leaving, willing to capture them if that's what it took.

"Always have to be so fucking dramatic about shit once you get like this, huh?"

He wasn't about to stop, he would drag the both of them back out of this if he had to, kick Gabriel's ass right the hell out even if it took a lot out of him. 76 refused to fall into this bullshit right now, there was no time for it. They were to get in and out anyway possible since this was just volunteering to help.

Reason he was picking up the pace, an ear flicking back on the swivel, keeping track of the moveent behind them easily enough. "I don't need a shadow to chase down, I need my partner to move and keep up with me."

"You wouldn't love me any other way, Jack Morrison," he replied, his many tentacles tightening on the younger man possessively. "Because you do love me. And I love you. We live and die in this dream world together."

Yes, the dramatics would always increase when he was overcome with nightmare energy. It was the fear of losing Jack that drove him to keep the younger man close and allowing himself to walk alongside Jack. They had taken stands against the noctaere wolves before, and it hadn't gone to plan so he reasonably knew that protecting Jack from them was the best course of action. But a part of him was equally as attracted to the corruption of the wolves... he couldn't help it.

Yet, he picked up his own pace, finally wrapping them both in shadows and teleporting further away. "We need a way out."

The grinning wolf offered a howl to spur on the hunt because that's what this was turning into. What a glorious hunt it was!

Could always tell when Reyes was getting too close to that edge like this at least— "We've got a hell of a lot more living to do, lover boy. C'mon!"

Even if it was a risk, 76 was already taking in nostillium himself as he chased that chill away with intense heat; digitigrade legs remaining, but those paws turned into sharp cloven hooves and that tail larger with fluffed fur and stripes; horns curving much like a ram's as they grew larger. Shoving the wolf influence in favor of something else.

Claws far sharper and deadlier on his hands and canines far larger, teeth that much more sharper as eyes yellowed out with an icy ring of blue around that pupil, whites of his eyes gone black. He was in control, and hung onto Gabriel as he teleported them.

"We're going to fucking make one if we have to."

Those glowing golden eye-like lights in empty sockets seemed to narrow as it could feel that shift of energy, a low snarl low in it's throat and giving a much louder howl. One that seemed to bounce around the very shadows, sending that icy chill through the air. The hunt was on.

"But life is pain," he complained. When he was full of darkness, he was reminded of his bad life choices that had lead to his current condition. Of course, Moira definitely helped, and he had technically died the first time when the building collapsed. "Everything hurts, and it will always hurt. This misery is only worth existing in with you, Jack."

His own transformation was slowed with the increasing distance and the halting of absorbing the nightmare energy during the endeavour. He glided along, barely holding himself together and the only reason he kept going as he did was because he was keenly aware of Jack's transformation. If the younger man fell, he would fall as well. They had to keep their shit together long enough to escape.

"Punch a hole from this dream back to reality?"

He hadn't done that before, but at this point, it didn't sound impossible. They couldn't stay here with the wolves gaining ground. After all, they were clearly hunting them, and he knew they would influence a fall if it was the last thing they did. They were worse together too.

"Hey asshole, don't forget the quiet down times where that pain is bearable- and you are my asshole at the very least." He was going the drain whatever nightmare energy he could, because even if this wasn't the true Essence he once held- his body could at least remember that it took in crap like that and turned it into something useful. Take hold of the negative and the fear, and use it to get him moving quicker on those clove hooves-

Hell, helped him dig in and speed up, keeping that tight hold on Reaper to keep him right there with him. Eyes sharp and focused, ears flicked back and on a swivel to listen out for anything and everything.

"If we have to, got sharp enough claws at this point."

Bear-like claws, but he knew damn well how to use them after so long.

"I know, I know... We completed the mission, so I think we are owed doing some killing, Jack. We should start ripping something apart and just feast on our strengths." As if inspired by the idea that they could ruin someone or something, Reaper pulled a shotgun from... somewhere in the folds of his shadows and aimed it back at the noctaere. He fired, emptying the clip but distance made it ineffective.

He tossed the shotgun aside carelessly, only to pull another while his other hand was occupied keeping ahold of Jack as they moved quickly away from the area. They had to find an escape, but he was almost willing to fight the noctaere if they got close. It would end so poorly, but he would fight to protect Jack no matter the cost to himself.

"I won't let them have you, Jack. You're mine."

If he thought about it, he knew he wasn't making sense. His emotions were swirling dark and uncontested. He knew reasonably they had to leave, but the fear of potentially losing Jack increased his willingness to fight. Death was an inconvenience for him after all.

He could tell how Gabriel was losing it, as every second passed. The blasts of those shotguns simply proving it- and yet there was something that seemed to snap into place in 76's mind. An idea, a feeling driven by that need to get them both out and keep Gabriel safe from losing himself—

"Hey, Gabe."

Two simple words as his arm tightened around Gabriel, claws pressed so carefully against leather and armor and still hauling the other man with him. Voice so oddly calm, yet a tone of old authority and assuredness in it. Something bright in those golden and blue rimmed iris as pupils dilated to the point the blue took over. Whites of those eyes still a pitch black, something glittering and star-like dotting it as that same glittering black spiraled along otherwise white fur.

Such a deep black it took on some blue, the glittering spots in that blue-black fur so much like stars themselves. Taking in whatever nightmare energy was close to him, breathing it in as lips parted and there was some twitched grin at the corner of his mouth—

"Watch this."

That other arm stretching forwards, the claws so long and sharp as he seemed to slice through the air itself and rip through something. Plunging them both through that rip as 76 took a deep breath, surrounding them both in a velvet warmth so similar to the shadows 76 had learned to use.

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