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[open!]

Who: YOU! And Sascha...kind of.
Broadcast: n/a
Action: Various places
When: now!

Bloodsport

[ When Sascha wakes at his usual time of "when everyone sensible has gone to bed", it isn't really Sascha that wakes up per say. It's still his body, his memories and feelings and experiences are still there...but there's also more. Much more. The one who opens his eyes slowly and finds himself under the paw of an oversized wolf isn't the forgetful and over-affectionate creature who thinks himself a vampire, but someone else entirely.

Someone he used to be. Is? The conflicting memories and thoughts that assault him are disorienting enough that he defaults to autopilot as he pulls himself from beneath Bigby's limbs, giving his fur a habitual pat--but he's quick to leave after that. Those habits aren't his and the wolf, not his companion. He has never shared the company of anyone while he's slept. Predators don't lie with their prey, they don't socialize with them and befriend them as he...no, Sascha, apparently has.

He doesn't stumble into the halls nor show any other telltale signs of distress, but the way he carries himself and moves with a much calmer, more solemn demeanour doesn't fit the goofball vampire who normally roams the halls so late at night. There's definitely a different feel to him now.

It's not Sascha's habit but one entirely his own that drives him to pass by the rooms of each of his crew mates one by one, effectively stalking them and getting a sense of the real versus his memories. So, Bloodsport. The question here is are you awake, and do you have the heeb-jeebs yet? ]

Iskaulit + Other ships

[ There's an immense feeling of discord that comes from waking with the thoughts and memories of someone you've never been as though you were placed on top of an already considerably sizable amount. It's kind of like waking up one day and suddenly remembering hundreds upon hundreds of lives you've never actually lived even though it feels like you have. The creature that would be Sascha is experiencing that now: he knows the Fleet and doesn't. He's met the strange humans and mutants and others here, but hasn't. He can remember that each evening Sascha wakes he hops from ship to ship to check on certain individuals--a habit he breaks immediately when he heads to the Iskaulit instead after scoping out the Bloodsport.

It's irritating. Strange. He's not sure what he'd expected to happen once he had given into hunger and desperation and devoured himself all those years ago...but it certainly wasn't this. To remember who and what he is, why Sascha's never known any of that, and why he now chooses to keep more to himself than seek out his 'usuals.'

And of course by keeping to himself, I mean he's been straying downwind of the fox area, silently staring and stalking as he debates the point of hunting any of them when he knows it will do nothing to abate his hunger. The same goes for the others aboard the Iskaulit...they make for a much more tempting meal.

Heck, so does everyone else aboard the Atroma's fleet. So if your character happens to be unlucky enough to be wandering alone at this late hour they might just get the sense of being followed. Or hunted, depending on how good that sixth sense is.

Or you could just run into him on the Iskaulit being aloof and creepy. That works too. ]

[ ooc; for those not on my plurk SASCHA IS AUGMENT GLITCHING BACK THE MEMORIES AND PERSONALITY HE USED TO HAVE before he actually became "Sascha." Which means he's old and tired and he eats humans in his spare time so clearly this means you should come on by.

feel free to hit me up on plurk @ owlits/PM me if you wanna plot anything! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

-- it's alright.

[ he's not relaxing, yet. no, in a way, this reaction just makes him more anxious. he doesn't miss the fact that he's still pinned here - but maybe his arsenal isn't as empty as it seemed. ]

Let me up? You're kinda hurting me here -

[ he tries to radiate some sort of calmness that he really doesn't feel. what have they done to him? he feels the familiar fury for the atroma burning inside him, they just keep pushing and pushing and one of these days he may actually crack. ]

[ He nods, but doesn't let go before he murmurs something that probably...really won't help Winn relax in the slightest. ]

If you run, I'll try to hunt you.

[ It isn't even said (or meant) as a threat. It's just a plain stated fact he makes sure to inform Winn of before he slowly and very deliberately begins to uncurl his fingers from around the man's wrists, relaxing his hold until he's free from grip if not his close proximity. That he can't give up even if he wanted. ]

[ no, it doesn't help him relax at all. whatever color remained on his face is drained from it, and he shudders, eyes locked on sascha. now what? he nods slightly, out of sheer helplessness. he doesn't understand any of it, but it's what he has to deal with. should he try to call kara? but sascha could do -- whatever it is he's gonna do long before he reaches his communicator. he's going to have to be subtle about it - he wants to help sascha, yes. but he wants to live, too, and right now...he's not sure he can have both and that is the most unsettling thing to happen to him on this fleet yet.

slowly, he pulls himself up and rubs one wrist and then the other. ]

Why? Sascha, what's happening to you?

I'm hungry.

[ A beat. ]

And you're food.

[ Definitely something Sascha would never have said, much less admitted. But his original self is much more blunt and up-front about things. Everything, in fact. And he sees no point in beating about the bush when the truth will likely prevent him from rushing the man irreparably. ]

I don't need to eat you.

Ah -- no, no you definitely don't need to eat me. I'd much rather not be eaten. Don't you have any meat left from the planet?

[ I'm hungry and you're food, it's like a nightmare. he's certain this will be the exact script of his nightmares for months to come at the very least. the way he says it, so calmly, so matter-of-factly almost makes it worse. ]

...... [ Sascha sighs, closes his eyes, and then mutely reaches out to tug Winn forward by the front of his shirt so that he can more or less do what he was doing before--just without crushing his wrists.

Winn'll probably have bruises there later. ]

Human--"Winn."

[ should he scream? will anyone hear him if he screams? will it make things worse? his breath hitches in his throat and he swallows hard, before starting to talk too fast, stumbling over his words. ]

Sascha, something's wrong with you. I can help. We'll get you help. You'll be okay. It's probably the Atroma, messing with you head - you just have to ride it out, okay? Just hang on for a few days - we'll take care of you, and you'll be okay, I promise. Just trust me - and let me go.

Winn.

[ The human is panicking and that's just going to get him exicted. The smell of fear and closeness to the poor guy are already doing that, but it feels like he's going to bolt at the smallest provocation. ]

[ he is panicking, and this eerie calmness that sascha's displaying is doing nothing to put him at ease. but he can tell that's what it's supposed to accomplish. why else repeat someone's name like that?

he shuts up, and meets sascha's eyes. there's fear in his, yes, but also concern for his friend and a determination to make this right. so far he hasn't done anything he can't come back from, not as far as winn knows, at least. but your fault or not, he can't imagine coming back from killing anyone, especially a friend. ]

Sascha. Let me call Kara, we can figure this out.

[ read: he'll figure it out, kara will keep him from hurting anyone, keep him contained. ]

[ ...This human wants to reach him. He really wants to help so badly that he's reaching out to him in any way he knows how, desperate to save someone who...really only exists because he chose not to anymore. Who doesn't exist within him now save for as a collection of memories overridden by...him, he supposes.

He's not angry or upset that Winn thinks of him as someone else. In fact he understands. But he also knows that Winn needs to understand-- ]

I am not your "Sascha."

[ He leans up to Winn's ear and murmurs it, calmly and clearly and without any distaste or ill-will. ] Not right now.

But we can get you back.

[ there's certainty in his voice that he's not sure he feels. he has to believe that sascha's not gone - if sascha were gone he'd be eaten by now, right? and as long as his friend is trapped there beneath the surface - winn's not gonna stop, he's going to try to reach him. ]

Let me try to help you.

[ This time the Sheol can't help it. The sigh that leaves his chest is heavy as he leans his head against the side of Winn's idly playing with the front of his shirt with both hands. Making sure he can grab him if need be. ]

I am "back." I've remembered.

Remembered...

[ that word hits something somewhere deep inside of him. remembered. ]

You can't be sure - the Atroma, they mess with our minds, you could be remembering a false reality. [ god, he hopes he's remembering a false reality because accepting that this is his friend is way too painful, and the closer he presses the more winn tries to back away. he's getting progressively more certain that he's not coming out of this in one piece. ]

What do you remember? We can sit and talk - [ pleading. the proximity, the way he holds him, it all makes winn's hairs stand on end. it's not right. why does he always end up afraid of the people who mean the most to him? ]

The Atroma... I wonder. [ It would be convenient, but it wouldn't explain why he remembers himself, why he knows he ought to be "dead."

He doesn't intend to ponder long on it. ]

You don't want to sit with me though...do you? Not really. You want to call for help. You're afraid of me.

I wanna do both. If you're controlled by the Atroma - it means you may not have a choice in what you do. I wanna talk to you, I wanna help you - and Kara could help me do that.

[ yes, he's terrified of him. but admitting it isn't going to do him any good, is it? it would seem accusatory, and he's getting somewhere - he can feel it. he doesn't want to lose the little progress he's made. so he will insist that it's the atroma he fears, the atroma he mistrusts, and maybe that'll allow him his kryptonian buffer.

thank god they've restored kara's powers. ]

I'm your friend. Do you remember that? We're friends.

You are his friend, [ he corrects, but not necessarily to be cruel or to purposely alienate Winn (although he would prefer that he not feel so incredibly...attached. He's never experienced that himself before and it's unnerving). ] not mine.

You have never met me. The one you know is...very human, like you. He thinks like you do. [ More or less. At least, much more than him. ]

I do not. Without his memories I think I would have eaten you without a thought.

[ He closes his eyes, and shrugs. ] If that sounds heartless given the circumstances, I apologize.

[ ...But not enough to give Winn his space back or let him up from the wall. It's a very bizarre mixture of Sascha's want to be close, combined with the allure of all the good associated with Winn's scent. Sascha adored it. He'd do anything to devour it--but can't. Won't, at least not this time. Maybe given enough time to properly disassociate himself from all the emotional bonds and attachments Sascha has formed, but right now?

Inconceivable. ]

[ maybe if he adjusts his strategy, he'll be set loose. he just has to get back to somewhere where someone could protect him - there are so many heroes on this fleet, how could he run into trouble without any of them around? ]

Well I'm meeting you now. Is your name still Sascha?

[ if attachment is what's keeping him breathing - then attached he will get. clearly as cold and terrifying as - whatever it is that's possessing sascha (it hits him so close to home the pain almost outweighs the fear. it's like his dad, all over again) is - there's still something human inside him, some bonds of friendship that refuse to let him harm winn, at least for now, and he's going to latch onto them for dear life. it can't be just a memory - a memory without the emotion is meaningless. sascha's somewhere in there, and it's sascha he appeals to. ]

What is it you want, besides food?

My kind do not use names. "Sascha" is something given to m...to him, when he first woke. [ He frowns when he has to correct himself, still not sure if he should consider them one and the same. Sheol don't have a concept of soul or heart like the eastern and western philosophies, so for him it's all about his body and experiences. And technically speaking, he doesn't have any after the point where he devoured himself. ]

I do not have a name...but if it puts you at ease, you may use that. [ because if thinking of him as "Sascha" will help Winn find momentary peace he can't rationalize taking that away from him.

But he also avoids that second question while doing so. ]

Your kind?

[ he was under the impression that sascha's awakening meant the time he was bitten, transformed. that before that...he was human. but maybe he was wrong. and maybe the key here is listening, keeping him talking. maybe, just maybe, when this horrible malfunction ends (please, let it be a temporary malfunction, and not one of those permanent information uploads, he won't be able to take that if sascha were really gone, replaced by this terrifying - something), he could use what he learns here to help sascha. ]

Who are you?

[ how is he just -- standing here, pinned to a wall, chatting with his assailant? how is this his life, how did he end up here, and where the hell's the exit? he wants to help sascha, but more than anything he wants to hide behind kara right now - watch her fix it all, like he's seen her do so many times...go back to kitty's warm embrace, and never leave his room again. ]

[ Instead? He gets this guy fiddling with him here and there, like he just can't make up his mind on what he wants to do with Winn other than keep him here. To himself, close by so that he can enjoy being around him.

And as a predator he takes a certain enjoyment out of keeping his prey right where he wants it, pulling back only enough to catch Winn's chin in his hands in a deceptively light grip, prompting to turn and tilt his head as he pleases so he can better inspect him. ]

Don't you mean "what"?

No. 'What' is what you ask of a monster. 'Who' is what you ask of a friend.

[ he keeps his eyes steady despite himself. he has to somehow reach him, it's his only defense. he can't fight his way out of this and he can't count on hank just happening to be around at the right time, like he was on the planet with that t-rex. if no one else comes - if no one strong comes - being likable is his only chance to walk away from this. ]

Unfortunate then, that you've befriended one. [ But he'll play along and nice for the moment since he has no reason not to answer Winn's questions. ]

I am Sheol, though I doubt the word means anything to you.

You're right...kinda sounds like an old Jewish name - Sheol - like Shaul - that's a name, right?

[ he tries for a small smile. the longer they're stuck here in these awkward positions, the less certain he grows of how he should be behaving. apparently awkward babbling is taking a shot at it now. because talking is good. talking means his mouth is too busy to chew him up. talking means he may stay attached. ]

What's it mean?

I don't know what meaning your kind prescribes to it nowadays, truthfully. But when I was myself we were considered "those of bottomless hunger for life." Roughly translated.

[ Yes, keep talking and letting him inspect you like a fine cut of meat, Winn. It's probably your best bet. ]

[ does he have another bet? he's feeling very literally cornered over here. ]

That's...cheery. Translated from what?

[ because linguistics is a much less terrifying topic than that meaning. he shudders at that name, at the way this creature wearing sascha's face inspects him. this can't be happening, he just woke up from his coma, he can't die now...he can't make kitty go through losing him al over again.

think he commends himself, as his fingers very slowly try to sneak their way to his communicator. if he could just call kara - and mention the iskaulit - she could do the rest, he's sure of it. ]

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