hauntstart | UP AND OUT.

[ is it a joke when you still don't know if you're using the phrase correctly. he could have just insulted him!! ]

Did you get one of these permits as well?

[ FURI: THE LIBRARY CARD

His grip loosens slightly, so that they may actually. Move somewhere. And he can simply feel the fractiousness clawing at him inside, instead. ]

[ that thread is still ongoing but I will assume yes for now. ]

Permits? The library card? Yeah.

[ they can move somewhere. they should move somewhere. Cobra stares for a beat or two too long at Marius's face, and then he turns as if to start for the stairs. pauses, so he can keep talking at a close whisper first rather than talking while actively moving away ]

You can help me out, the fourth floor is a broad section, so we'll have to look around for the ones we want. We're looking for stuff about devils, haunts, or 'reality becoming thin.'

[ NOW he goes for the stairs ]

[ The duration of that requires a giant man to bend his head slightly to listen properly. But listen he does. He follows, taking two steps at a time. ]

What does reality have to do with coming back to life?

[ He immediately hates that he's said it. That he's admitted it. A death of someone most important happened, even if he's right in front of him. ]

[ he pulls his glowing blue ticket out of a pocket ]

Somewhere reality has grown thin- that's where we have to catch our train. You got one of these too, right?

[ Marius nods. He doesn't know how the word "train" could possibly work in this scenario, as it's not a noun, and certainly not something to be caught without extreme finagling, but his chosen seems to understand, and that's what matters right now. ]

Among some other things.

Good. Make sure you keep track of it. These are our 'permits.'

[ stashes his ticket away again and starts looking through the shelves for relevant titles ]

[ Whether this section is up his alley or not is to be determined. He's haunted, surely. A devil himself, likely. No one with an ancestral curse is going to feel out of place in a book on evils, no matter how hard they try. ]

To me, reality "thinning" sounds similar to the state of dreaming while awake.

[ A thought, as he picks up a book called Devils R Us, complete with the backwards R and about as useful as you'd expect. ]

floor 4 is generalized nonfiction so surely they will learn something from it. even if not very much. Cobra wants to leave so they can talk more properly so he's just grabbing everything that looks relevant and figures he'll sort through it all later. no he does not plan to sleep tonight. ]

It might be like that. Or it might be more dangerous.

[ devils r us is about the one time somebody made an attempt to sell devil access to the public, with labyrinth maps and addresses of devils. This was a very ill considered venture. Especially since they attempted to make access easier and sold infernal artifacts. Had they just considered devil yellowpages instead of just giving a bunch of people cursed artifacts to drop them in a labyrinth, what happened next wouldn't have occurred.

Because devils, for their part, thought the venture was interesting and attempting to be helpful, they would frequently pose as employees and fill the shelves with extremely cursed objects.

This ended very poorly. ]

Edited 2025-07-15 16:54 (UTC)

[ The face that Marius gives the perpetrator in Devils R Us is one that you could only describe as cantankerous. ]

I can see why.

[ A pause. Wherever he's looking, it's specifically not at the Cobra. ]

My word still holds as true as it can here.

[ He will protect you Eric!!!!

Even if he's already failed to do so. ]

[ softly ]

Yeah. I know. I know how you are.

[ gathering his book pile over to check out. stuffing as many of them as he can into his pack ]

I'll do everything I can to get us back.

I know.

[ Saying "I know how you are" in return feels wrong, even if it also feels right, but he knows this much at least.

If any books don't fit—he's got big arms, they can go on his own pile from ghost law!! ]

[ kyun. it's like Marius believes in him. even though he's still calling him a devil. what is he thinking.

Cobra does, in fact, have no reservations about putting the rest of his books in Marius's pile. ]

Okay, let's go.

[ sometimes you simply take a vow for a guy who is a little bit of a rascal!!!!

We are confidently leaving the library now. Goodbye books. Goodbye safety from bloodshed. ]

Did you have somewhere in mind?

[ where will it be suitable to fight off another mental breakdown. ]

Yeah. I checked a local map. The closest hostel is down this way.

[ stretches his arms over his head and exhales, relaxing now that he can speak at a regular (for him) volume. starting down the street ]

Did you meet anyone nice?

[ Casting a side look at him. Is he supposed to be making nice with people. He's dead and walking above the ground—in his expert opinion, merrymaking never happens like that. Merrymaking never really happens with Marius to begin with. ]

The librarian was pleasant enough.

[ As in, the librarian gave him a permit with little fanfare and also stayed out of his way. Could not ask for a better interaction!! ]

What, was everyone you woke up with in the catacombs that bad?

There was no one else.

[ BUT THEY COULD HAVE BEEN BAD! ]

[ pauses in his step and looks back at him ]

Oh. Huh.

Well, I showed up with a few other people. I'm going to try to meet up and share information with them, too. There's two women- Chant, you can't miss her, she has antlers, and Rhiannon, she's a bookish type with lavender hair. And Lady Rahela's guard is here, too.

[ Lady Rahela's man is the least surprising of all three of those!! ]

Antlers. [ pained. ] How is that possible?

[ shrugs ]

Different world? My home world has lions.

[ gives him a look like he's full of shit. it's a natural response. it's a habit. ]

[ and then it smooths over, replaced by something indescribable.

right. he's not full of shit. there's hardly been a single moment where Marius had the opportunity to ask him about his home. he's not exactly sure he can, now. ]

Have you ever seen one?

[ there. it's a little about asking him about his home. a little. ]

No, no. I've only seen pictures. I mean, I could have seen them in person, at like... a public menagerie. But people have to pay to go in and see them there. It just... wasn't something I ever ended up doing?

[ shifts his weight from one foot to the other, gesturing. awkwardly. what is he even talking about. it all feels so long ago and so far away and so surreal. he never imagined talking about something like the zoo with Marius. ]

So. Uh. Are you okay with sharing a room with women? Hostels usually have a lot of beds to one room.

[ Marius wishes they could go back to talking about the lion right now. ]

If it's the norm here, I will bear it.

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