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bloodbinds

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( Roberts, Ava )

@ daimonori

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From:

bloodbinds

[ Christ. Ava wanders a little closer, tries to get a good look at what he's talking about. She lifts a brow. ]

Jon, that's... That's the design on the dildo. I don't think it has anything to do with the Spiral.

You okay?

From:

compellingstatement

Hmm...

[She might be right. He pushes himself up and sits back on his heels.]

I'm fine. I've nearly made it to the center. [A pause.] How did you get here so quickly? It's been hours.

[It's been maybe 30 minutes since their exchange about the maze.]

From:

bloodbinds

[ Um... ]

You texted me, like, half an hour ago. And I was already sort of around.

[ These are her peak hours, after all, even if she's been sleeping early back home in order to get up earlier and enjoy a few hours of sunlight these days. ]

You're hoping to find this...Helen at the center?

From:

compellingstatement

No, no. I've been here longer than that. Haven't I?

[He looks up and around. Where is he?]

Helen? Yes! Yes, I'm looking for Helen. The door will be at the center. The yellow door.

[Jon stands up.]

Come on. It has to be here. If I'm losing time... it's a classic symptom of the Spiral.

[Or sleep deprivation.]

From:

bloodbinds

No...? Unless my device is broken. But you've definitely been around here since you texted me. After you got mugged.

[ She'll deal with that later. Christ, one more thing to think on.

Jon's so single-mindedly focused on his concerns that she's really starting to worry, and when he stands, she's quick to follow him down the path towards the center he's talking about. It's just a hedge maze, though, so she doubts there's going to be a door. ]

Jon, are you feeling okay?

From:

compellingstatement

Yes, I'm fine.

My wallet. They took my wallet.

[He switches directions.]

We should find them. I'd forgot about that.

[Single-minded, but also prone to distraction.]

From:

bloodbinds

Seriously?

[ And he just turns on a dime. Ava sighs, following him again. She slips an arm in his, at least to keep him from wandering without her. ]

How long ago? What did they look like? Do you remember which way they went?

From:

compellingstatement

I don't... know...

[He slows down, gaze going distant. What did they look like? Where was he when that happened?]

I think I was mugged.

[He checks his back pocket. Tape recorder, no wallet.]

I was mugged... somewhere?

[He turns back into the maze again.]

Helen will know. We can have her take us there.

From:

bloodbinds

[ Christ, this is a mess. Ava gives him a long, hard look as he turns back around, but she follows again. ]

Why do you think she's here? Because you keep seeing spirals? Do you think she's even going to help us?

From:

compellingstatement

No, no. It was the doors. The yellow doors. I've seen them around town now and again. I should have paid more attention. She likes me... sort of. Helen Richardson liked me. Helen saved me from Michael when he was going to eat me.

From:

bloodbinds

Michael being...the Distortion? But you said Helen is the Distortion now.

[ ...Or is she not understanding? ]

Helen sounds nice. If she's here, it'd be cool to meet her. It'd be nice to have more allies.

From:

compellingstatement

The Distortion ate Helen while it was Michael, then he got distracted, and Helen became the Distortion. But it's not really Helen.

[It all makes perfect sense, really.]

I think she's going to kill me, too. Just a matter of time. Gertrude stopped the Great Twisting, its ritual. It probably hates the Institute, really.

From:

bloodbinds

[ Um.... ]

Okay but that's the Institute and not you. And you said Helen liked you. Why would she want to kill you at this point unless you've really pissed her off?

From:

compellingstatement

I'm the Archivist, the avatar of the Beholding. Most things want to kill me. I represent the Institute. I expect she's holding off for something. Michael helped us stop the Corruption before he tried to eat me. They're all playing a game. Stopping each others' rituals, maintaining the balance.

Balance... Do you feel unbalanced? The ground keeps moving. [He looks down.] Because we're walking. Right.

From:

bloodbinds

You really think you guys can keep all of the Entities in check? I mean, I'm all for it, but that feels impossible. Things are always shifting.

[ Like Jon's gait, which is why Ava gently takes his arm as they walk, finally beginning to encroach on the center of the maze. ]

It just seems... I don't know. You've been at this longer than I have. Is that what Archivists are supposed to do?

From:

compellingstatement

I think Gertrude could.

[That answer is immediate. The rest takes a little longer to process.]

I really don't know what I'm supposed to do. Elias told me I'm meant to experience and know things, either through my own actions or through the eyes of others in their Statements. Seeing the different rituals. Maybe it's a part? See them, touch them, feel them.

[As might be expected just from looking over the hedges, there is no yellow door at the center of the maze, just a couple having sex. Jon walks right on past them, seemingly unaware that they've missed their Helen opportunity here.]

From:

bloodbinds

Yeah, well, Elias seems to get off on the idea of you suffering, for what it's worth. He really is just a giant dickhead from what you've said. If all you're going to do is See things and become a part of them, then--

[ Wait, hold on, isn't this the center of the maze? Ava slows, stops, and Jon pulls right out of her grip. ]

Hey, Jon? Jon, isn't this where you wanted to be?

From:

compellingstatement

I really don't want to think about what Elias gets off to.

[Said in the dry tone he might usually quip with. Bashing Elias brings out the focus in him. At least for a second or two before it fades.]

What? No, we...

[He looks around.]

But the door, it's supposed to be here?

From:

bloodbinds

You know what I meant.

[ Ava's looking around too because she's...pretty confused as to what he was hoping for. He brought them into the center of a hedge maze, essentially. If he was hoping for a door, it was never going to be here, and it wasn't going to be a door so much as a gate. ]

You're probably not thinking straight. Why don't we head back home? It's late.

From:

compellingstatement

Yes. It's... is it late?

[He looks up and around.]

It was... it was only 6 o'clock a moment ago. Wasn't it? No, no. We haven't been walking that long. Was looking for the door.

Martin's door. There was a knock at the door, but it was Mr. Wallace. Something pretending to be Mr. Wallace? Ava, we have to get Martin. He's in danger. It's three. Three... multiples of three. In his office. Three and then there were... no. Eight? Eight like infinity.

From:

bloodbinds

[ Jesus Christ, he's really far gone. With a sigh, Ava crosses over to him, and gently takes him by the shoulders. She waits for him to really look at her. ]

Jon, buddy, look at me. Listen to me, okay?

[ No Dominate. No compulsion. ]

It's three o'clock in the morning. We're out in a hedge maze. You are not doing well. Come home with me, okay? We'll get you back to Sandy's place. Martin is probably resting like a normal person at this hour.

From:

compellingstatement

[There's a long pause, then...]

Okay. Okay, I trust you, Ava. Let's go home.

[He has to trust her. He's decided to trust her. If she says there's something wrong with him, she might be right. And Jon has no desire to repeat the mistake he'd made in the inferno, to hurt her so badly.]

From:

bloodbinds

[ ...She didn't think that was going to work. Ava looks as surprised as she feels, blinking at Jon. Slowly, she lets him go, unsure if he's just going to bolt the second she does. And he doesn't. It's...weird. Not the not-running part. Just that Jon is okay with this.

With care, she reaches out and takes his arm. Then, she just takes his hand, and then she walks with him back out of the hedge maze. Initially, she looks hesitant with all of it, honestly expecting him to walk off in the opposite direction. But her grip is loose, not trying to trap him, not trying to drag him along or hurt him. ]

From:

compellingstatement

[Jon holds her hand and follows along after Ava without a fuss. He's still looking around as they go, though. The door. Helen's door should be here. Why wasn't it here? Is the Distortion toying with him? Leading him one place only to disappear and reappear somewhere else? That must be it.

Where would it appear next? She'd been popping into the Institute more than he'd like. It had been. Maybe it's back there?

Maybe it's going to go after Martin.]

Martin's been in the corridors before. Him and Tim. They had to escape Not!Sasha, and Michael helped. I don't... know why it helped them. Maybe because they were my assistants like he'd been Gertrude's?

From:

bloodbinds

Or maybe he wanted to fuck around with them. You said the Distortion screws around with reality. And lies.

[ She walks with him, holding his hand, and guides them back out of the maze. Ava's gaze is almost everywhere, mostly keeping an eye on the people they pass, concerned more for Jon's safety than his worries about something that may or may not exist in this world. ]

But Helen isn't Michael.