heart game - MK, rinku

[wroughtandtempered]

I’m sorry. I tried— I tried, but I can’t keep going—

I don’t think I can do this alone, so— Please. Please—

I need help.

Comments

RULES

[wroughtandtempered]

☽ Unless otherwise noted, all memories and emotions are vivid, but not to the point they can't be distinguished from the participants' own (though it may take a moment or two to fully shake off the experience depending on their previous experiences or self-knowledge). There is a buffer, and it feels deliberate.

☽ All items are missing except clothing.

☽ All participants start out in a beast form, with an assigned element. They are only able to use their new shape's abilities and their element's powers; however, they know instinctively what these are and how to use them. Specialized skills (martial arts, mundane athleticism, etc.) can be used if they have the required anatomy for it.

BEAST FORMS

[wroughtandtempered]

MK has become a yamabiko— his ears become large and floppy, but aside from that his shape remains largely the same as his usual monkey form. He’ll find he can perfectly mimic any sound or voice he hears, and may even feel compelled to do so. His element is fire, allowing him to create and control the element.

Rinku has become a pygmy gryphon— a melding of cockatiel and oriental shorthair the size of a large cat. She’ll find it easy to mimic just about any sound or voice she hears, and may even feel compelled to do so. Her element is electricity, allowing her to create and control the element.

OUTSIDE

[wroughtandtempered]

The first thing you notice is that the previous chill has only continued to build. You are bitterly, achingly cold.

The second is that your body isn’t the one you’re most familiar with. It feels natural, though; there’s no dysphoria or awkward adjustment. It’s still you, even though the shape is a little (or a lot) different. ...Under the light of the full moon overhead, though, you can feel impulses bubbling up. Some of these instincts might be familiar, things you’ve dealt with before; others might be new and foreign. All of them nag at you, however, impossible to set aside or fully ignore.

Snow drifts down in thick clumps, blanketing the ground around you. Between its reflective white and the moon’s bright light, it’s easy to make out your surroundings: a forest in the distance, and a small house a little ways ahead. Lights are visible through the windows, and it looks welcoming in a way the forest definitely does not.

Re: OUTSIDE

[noodleboi]

MK blinked the weird feeling away, or he tried to. He was cold and wrapped his arms around his body. He shook his head and felt the floppy ears shake this way and that. He touched them. Those were definitely new. And yet felt familiar. He swallowed as he looked around. How did he get here? He heard someone asking for help, right?

Well, that forest looks dangerous but the house doesn't. Might as well check there first. He started to talk, his feet crunching the snow as he moved. He started to mirror the noise with his mouth, creating the sound of multiple people walking through it. He could just make fire to keep himself warm but he was worried. Would it hurt?

Would it hurt him to use it? He knew it wouldn't but there was still this little nagging doubt.

He'd save it for when he had to use it.

MK headed for the house.

[roundandaround]

Rinku had just gotten home from work, adjusting back to her usual routine after the mission. The commute back from Blossomcrown was shorter these days, she had plenty of time to play with her pets, tinker with the song mixing she'd been doing, maybe text some friends... But then it got cold. Heater, warming magic, even her enchanted snowsuit didn't do anything, and as Mecchan and Hina fretted over her, Rinku slumped over on the floor.

She woke up, blinking, swivelling her large ears. Wait... what? This wasn't anything like her usual shapeshift. It should feel wrong, but it didn't. She heard the crunch of snow and startled to attention. With the cold biting at her, she broke into a run towards the house, stumbling in the snow and rolling in a ball of fur and feathers straight into MK.

"Wah!"

THE WORKSHOP

[wroughtandtempered]

This room is a mostly-barren mess. Fire has ripped through it, leaving very little aside from the pervasive smell of smoke, blackened walls, and a badly charred desk against the opposite wall, under a window. There’s a blue broom and dustpan in one corner, but they’re only lightly used; most of the floor is still covered in burnt bits. In particular, a small collection of smoldering ashes sits near the desk.

On each wall is a painting: one of a house, one of three figures on a beach, one of the Clinic in Ellipsa, and one of a family— no, a collection of animals...?

[roundandaround]

Rinku wrinkles her nose. She shifts back to her small gryphon form and starts inspecting the burned things on the floor, batting at pieces.

"What got all burned up in here?" She sniffs. "Is this that 'stuff she doesn't need,' you think?"

[noodleboi]

"I don't know..." MK said softly as he looked around the room. He moved to gently touch the broom and dustpan first.

"We touch things, see if we get memories, I think. That's how one of the games I was in worked. Just be gentle. And I don't see where we actually burn things in here. At least, not yet."

[wroughtandtempered]

Most of it's too burnt to tell what it might have been, but there is the odd bit of singed paper.

Re: THE WORKSHOP - Post Basement

[noodleboi]

"One last thing," MK says as he enters the workshop. He walks over to where the fire once was. Still out. He kneels down and gently touches it again. Ambition. Something from himself, an ambition he has. He knows the one he wants to use. The part of himself he is going to burn. He closes his eyes and focuses on it.

He is Wukong's mate, his successor, his bud.

He is Macaque's kiddo, his mate, his North Star.

He is Red Son's Noodle boy, his mate, his claimed one, one who he wants a family with in the future.

He is Cole's well MK, his boyfriend, one of only two people Cole has loved like he loves him.

He was Pigsy's son, his only son.

He was Mr. Tang's child, his young student, his friend.

Sandy showed a side of himself he wasn't sure he showed anyone before, and helped him to face the side of him he didn't want anyone to see.

He was Mei's best friend.

Ever since MK discovered he was made to be simple, no name, no family, nothing, he's felt this void inside him. He clung to the things that were special between him and the people he loved. His family, his mates, his friends, and everyone. He wanted something, no matter how small, that was just for him. To try and fill that void inside him with. To just make the nothingness go away.

He takes that ambition. That softness inside him he's held onto for good and for bad. The part of him that fueled so much else inside him, his jealousy, his fear of losing the people he cared about, the reason he wanted to help them all, and the reason he was willing to do what he almost did back home.

The ambition to have something special with his loved ones. He poured it into the smoldering leftovers to reignite the fire.

He gave it to Eve, to burn, to warm her up and help her keep going.

"It's the little things," He said softly to himself. "You want to help me and I want to help you too," He let that feeling, the drive, that ambition pour out of him and burn.

Re: THE WORKSHOP - Post Basement

[wroughtandtempered]

The ambition burns, going moth-eaten around the edges and in the details. The fire—which had already been cheerfully crackling away—roars, the flames reaching up to lick at the ceiling.

...It's maybe a little too warm in there now, but that's fine, right? It'd been pretty cold in there before.

THE CLINIC

[wroughtandtempered]

It’s a clinic! Or... it was a clinic. The whole room reeks of smoke and burnt herbs, the walls are licked with sooty black marks, and what remains of the furniture in the room is blackened and charred.

...mostly. The apothecary’s cabinet against one wall has had the damaged drawers pulled out and arranged in a tidy pile; there’s tools for pulling them apart and sanding them laid out next to it. Some have even already been restored and replaced in the cabinet.

The charred bookcase against another wall looks like it should be falling apart, but it’s holding up well under the weight of a few new books on the shelves. There’s also a broom and dustpan tucked into one corner, clearly having been used to sweep most of the ash from out of the rest of the room.

In the middle of the room is a badly burnt examination table. Next to it is a steel table, assorted tools laid out in neat rows on it. A guttering but otherwise controlled fire burns on the cleared portion, with a pot of sluggishly simmering water sitting over it.

...You can feel eyes on you. Something is watching, though there doesn’t seem to be any threat to it... yet.

Re: THE CLINIC

[noodleboi]

"A clinic. Okay. Same rules as before. I can sweep again. Explore whatever you want to this time, Rinku. And then we can work on those drawers together. Maybe we can fix the others up and get them all back in?"

MK hoped that would work. He moved for the broom and dust pan, touching this one.

Re: THE CLINIC

[wroughtandtempered]

Longing and determination sings through you, equally matched by spite and plain old stubbornness. The task ahead isn’t going to be easy, but like fuck will you let that stop you.

[roundandaround]

"A burned-out clinic... and it's kinda scary, too."

Rinku walks to the exam tables and gulps, then lays a hand on the burned one. She starts looking around for any supplies that might go with it.

THE KITCHEN

[wroughtandtempered]

As you enter, the pervasive smell of smoke lightens enough that you can make out other scents— namely chocolate chip cookies and tea. Yep, this is definitely a kitchen.

Like the rest of the house, this room has been touched by fire— but in this case the damage is minimal, with only a few scorch marks on the walls. Despite that, the room is still largely empty, save for a kotatsu to dine at and a few half-opened moving boxes sitting on the counters. A few mugs of tea and a plate full of Eve’s chocolate-chip cookies sit on top of the oven, where the coals of a fire glow dimly inside.

However—

A crow-looking bird the size of a large dog sits at the kotatsu. It tilts its head as they enter, and then makes a low gurgling noise like laughter before starting to stiffly preen one wing.

[roundandaround]

Rinku instinctively copies the bird's voice as she tilts her head.

"Hi! Are you part of Eve-chan too? We're trying to help her."

EVE'S ROOM

[wroughtandtempered]

You enter what appears to be a small bedroom. Moonlight shines down brightly through the window on the opposite wall; you can feel its pull on your instincts again, though it’s not quite as strong as it was outside.

In one corner is a large futon, covered by an absolutely absurd number of pillows. Neatly folded blankets in a variety of colors and materials sit on the “foot” of it, with a large wooden linens chest sitting nearby.

In the middle of the room taking up almost all the space is an enormous firepit. The edges have been carefully corralled so that the fire within doesn’t spread... or so it wouldn’t if there were a fire. Currently, there are only ashes. Still, it seems to have done its job; there’s no indication of fire damage anywhere else in this room.

There’s an empty desk against one wall. A bookshelf sits next to it, covered in an assortment of small trinkets— most of them covered in soot, making it difficult to make out what they are. A lacquered box sits alone on the bottom shelf.

...No matter what you do, you can’t seem to shake the feeling that you’re being watched. Closely.

[roundandaround]

Rinku doesn't even try to resist. She shifts into miniature gryphon form again and beelines to the blankets, pawing at them and trying to snuggle in... oh, right, they were supposed to be looking for clues. She starts rooting around to find anything.

Re: EVE'S ROOM

[noodleboi]

MK shifts back into his floppy eared form. He walks into the room and carefully looks around. Rinku goes right for the blankets. MK mimics Macaque's voice.

"Have fun, kiddo," MK says. He walks over to the firepit and gently reaches out to touch the ashes with his tail. What is the feeling from this?

the basement

[wroughtandtempered]

You descend into the dark. Thick smoke immediately fills your nose and lungs, though at least it doesn’t carry with it the irritation real smoke would; it just makes it hard to see, so watch your step. As you go, the temperature drops; by the time you reach the bottom of the stairs it has to be at least freezing.

More than that— the further you go, the more unsettled you feel. There’s a twisted sense of presence here, making your strengthened instincts all but scream about the horrors you can feel lurking ahead. The smoke is still too thick to see through, but that doesn’t mean anything other than whatever it is has cover.

But—

As the steps come to an end, leaving you on stone floor, nothing happens.

Re: the basement

[noodleboi]

"This has to be where the fire came from," MK thinks aloud. IT smells the heaviest with smoke. The smoke is so thick they can't see anything. MK steps foot on the floor and freezes. He tries to listen with his big ears. He can't smell or see. But he can hear. He does hold up the mirror to see if the reflection can see through the smoke too.

Something is own here. He won't make the same mistake again.

"Whatever is down here, we can't kill it. No matter what it is or what it tries to do to us. Okay, Rinku?"

THE TRUE HEART

[wroughtandtempered]

Yuuka-obaa is unfortunately gone— but there’s a fresh batch of cookies cooling on a rack, smelling of chocolate and only a little bit of smoke. A bowl full of assorted fruits (mostly oranges, but there are persimmons, plums and a little punnet of strawberries as well) sits on the kotatsu—

—the futon of which shifts a bit. There’s a few shifting, scuffling sounds, and then out pops…

Eve?

…well, sort of. It’s definitely Eve, but she’s a fat little sausage of a thing— only a few feet long, more leg than body (and almost more paw than leg). She bears no scars, and none of the festering wounds that the Eve in the basement had, either— this is Eve as she was in her youth. Your instincts still react at the sight of her; but the sense of her presence is lighter, and easier to ignore.

Upon sighting you, she makes a whistly, squeaky exclamation of excitement and wiggle-waddles her way over, all but tripping over own legs in the process. Her stubby tail is going a mile a minute.

“—You made it!”

[roundandaround]

Rinku's eyes sparkle. She spins in a circle and points in the air, then goes to hug Small Eve, making happy noises. Instincts are only fun when she gets to sing and copy voices, she is not listening to them telling her this tiny child is scary.

"Happy Around! You're so cute, Eve-chan! Are you okay now?"

Re: THE TRUE HEART

[noodleboi]

MK follows behind Rinku. He breathes in the scent of chocolate and cookies. A little smoke but that never hurt anyone. He looks at the ADORABLE widdle Eve and makes a very cute noise. He can't help but smile wide.

"Hey! Yeah, we did! It's a lot warmer in here now. How are you, Eve?" Mk asks, kneeling down to greet her proper. Like one does with a short little sausage version of your friend.