• Mature • Chalkspit (Karlsson's Annex)

[Sybil Malach]

I

36th of Vhalar 719

Sometimes, bad things are needed to be done to do good things.

Sometimes, you drug a friend in an attempt to pull him out of insanity.

Sometimes, you bring said friend to your home and realize it's too small.

Sometimes, you need to rely on unsavory elements for the job.

Sybil found their actions in a beautifully disgusting myriad of all the above. They had no other choice. Wald was falling apart, both mentally and physically. Without being beneath any sort of watchful eye, it was likely the'd either starve to death, or force his aggression out on someone until he killed someone, and got himself killed.


The room that Wald was in, wasn't cramped. While it was obviously a spare bedroom with no windows, the ceiling was high above one's head. At the center of the room, there was a bed pressed against the far wall. It was made of sturdy metals, and its mattress was a combination of linen, furs, and feathers. There were no nightstands. There was a chest at the foot of the bed. There was a rug that protected the area beneath and around the bed.

Wald was placed upon the bed itself. He hadn't moved outside of his shifting sleep for quite some time. He was not restrained.

Sybil was sat next to the man in a chair, propped up next to the head of the man that was sleeping, stirring a wooden bowl of soup. It had been freshly made, still steaming with the residual temperature. It smelled of chicken broth and roasted vegetables. Sybil made certain that it was lacking in excess salt, but there was only so much could do when it came down to bones.

A slow breath left Sybil's lips, as they stirred the concoction with a spoon. They didn't know when Wald would wake up, but it was usually around now that the sedative wore off. Sybil was well aware he'd both be thirsty, and hungry. Hence the soup. Leaning back into the chair, Sybil allowed their eyes to rest, just for a moment.

[Wald Lowca]

Wald's mind was stirring at night, the drug had stopped him from dreaming. Though he still had thoughts scattering about his head, it was as if he was semiconscious of things that were going on. He had no direct thoughts on who he was being moved around, it would just feel like he was floating through the day. He began to think of what could be happening, where everyone went when he fell asleep. Something though stirred just a little more, as a voice shouted in his mind. "Please get better, Master." The voice of Ylfa echoed out with a worried tone. It was the first time in so long he had heard it, and it gave him a jolt to wake him from the blackness.

Wald's eyes darted around seeing a room, no windows, only a door to the outside. The place was sparsely furnished, and he was now siting on the bed. He looked around for a few moments, not turning his head to where Sybil was sitting. Until the smell caught his attention and looked right at the student.

The hunter's lips parted as he tried to speak, though it would open and close for a moment in confusion. He did not know where he was, he did not know how he got there, he only knew that Sybil had caused it. "Where is the child?" That was the first question that would escape the man's lips. Wald followed it by staring at the soup with an odd look. It was a mix of desire and disgusted at it.

[Sybil Malach]

II

36th of Vhalar 719

Wald began to rise from his stupor.

Sybil had thought long and hard on how to break it to Wald that he was hallucinating. There was no easy way to go about it. Without food, his mind would refuse to mend. That would be time away from the rotting pile of meat that they had put in the basement for storage. The thing that was... The target, for all of Wald's current fractured psyche. The best thing they could do would be to put it off, until he was physically capable enough to deal with it.

"You trust me, Wald, don't you?" They ask of the man, in an easy voice. Stirring the soup with a spoon, they glance up towards Wald. Jade eyes level with him, for a long moment, before simply saying, "Then be at ease, and rest easy knowing that everything's being handled. The sooner you get better, the sooner you get to see your friend. We brought them with us."

Nothing in what Sybil said was a lie. He would see the rotten fleshpile that his friend had became when he got better. And that fleshpile was stored somewhere within the manor's depths. They even instructed the servantry of Karlsson's manor to keep the doors to the basement open, specifically to lead the scent upstairs. Wald would be able to smell it, Sybil figured, and at least be at ease with things until the time comes.

"But for now..." Sybil murmurs, raising the spoon to Wald's mouth, "We're going to feed you. Open wide. Your legs are going to be weak for a small while. We just need to be sure of a few things before we remove the mark from you."

[Wald Lowca]

Eyes looked to the student, nodding slowly Wald replied. "I trust you." There was an odd feeling in the air, if Wald was more socially active he might of been able to figure things out. But he absently allowed things to continue as they were for a moment. He was not good at telling when someone was giving a false truth, though it was true in Sybil's eyes.

Knowing that Sybil was trying to help, Wald would lean in for the spoon. The taste of soup passed on his tongue, though when the spoon left his mouth Wald's eyes were closed in a struggle. The distinct sound of a swallow was not heard, as the man held his mouth for a moment. He was struggling with the liquid in his mouth, as memories of his escape slipped into his mind. Wald looked to be choking on the liquid, it was as if he took a spoon of cinnamon. He was just unable to swallow.

Soon his body could not take it, as he coughed it into the floor where he fell on his hands. Several drops seemed to fall along side the soup, though much higher on the face. Wald's hands gripped into the floor as he curled up over the coughed up soup, tears streaming off his face. He started to mumble under his breath something on repeat. "I ate her.... I ate her... I ate her...." His hands would slowly grip into his head as he curled up in an emotional ball. His mumbling continued through the event.

[Sybil Malach]

III

36th of Vhalar 719

"Wald." Sybil said, as they looked down at Wald. Their eyes were as unchanging as they began. He was breaking apart. And in this situation... They could not afford to be the weaker link, for his sake.

"I want you to look up at me." They say, as they slowly stir the spoon in the bowl. Trust, was the keyword here. It was the thing that made him so clearly cognizant a moment before. Enough to drop the subject of the child. Their brows furrow before they let out a soft breath, eyes tracing along the regurgitated food, "Trust me here, Wald. Everything will be okay, so long as you follow my words."

The negative association was 'her' and 'eat'. 'Eat' had to be eliminated before they could move onto 'her'. They were in no place to worry about the root problem. Not yet at least. Leaning forward a bit in their chair, they looked down at Wald, before offering a simple solution to a complex problem, "Sit down in front of me, and cross your legs. I need you to trust me, Wald. I've not hurt you before when you do such a thing."

Force feeding was something they'd only seen once before. It was in the Infirmary, when a woman went on hunger strike. In her act of cultural sedition, she was held down, and forced to eat liquefied gruel through a funnel in an attempt to keep her from starving. Sybil was about to try something similar... Something more consensual, but it would require Wald to take the first step. Something they patiently waited for, as he tied himself in knots.

They had all the time in the world here. If they had to fetch the funnel from the kitchen, that would be an option when that bridge would have to be crossed. But they knew better than to make an outward statement of it.

That would ruin the positive association with eating.

[Wald Lowca]

There was a moment of coughing before Wald started to grit his teeth. Pushing against the floor, as they tried to move as Sybil said. Though they stumbled for a moment, the medication had caused his legs to be weak for a moment. He would fall face first into Sybil's lap as they sat, the rose smell scrapping at his mind as he slowly scooted his lower body closer. Wald did not get up though, he began to hold onto Sybil's leg. He would normally shy away from contact with people, to the point he escaped Sybil's hug once using a pillow. Though now it seemed he did not want to let go of the student, as his hands shook holding on as tight as he could. Despite his ragged figure, he still had a strange strength in him.

Finally the sound of a swallow could be heard, followed by heavy breathing. The soup on the floor was mostly gone, if Sybil were to glance over. Wald had forced himself to eat it, as he held the student's small legs. His hands gripped tightly, causing fabric to pull as a voice echoed in his head. "You ate her."

Wald growled into Sybil's leg for a moment, as he spoke. "Quiet Rasul..." The illusion was torturing him, as he hid his face from seeing it.

"You no human."

Wald's eyes began to make Sybil's leg damp for a moment, as he remembered what woke him up. His eyes looked to Sybil, the wolven eyes full of desperation as tears flowed from his cheeks. "Sybil... I can't tell if I am me..." Sybil would see the black of Wald's eyes shrink and widen as he looked to the bowl of soup. Wald would pull the soup hand to him as he began to force himself to eat. His body wanted it so badly, but his mind kept holding him back. Though he would grip into Sybil, the feeling of them being close helped him finally swallow as filled himself with the contents of the bowl. When it was empty, Wald hid inside Sybil's stomach for a moment. "Help me..."

"Why try."

[Sybil Malach]

IV

36th of Vhalar 719

It went better than they expected. Though, when things got a little hard for Wald near the end of his consumption, they would pluck the end of his tongue with one hand, and pour the spoonful down his throat, telling him to breathe out from his nose as they did so. It was a trick they learned to avoid the taste. The smell and textured of meat had almost made them go vegetarian for a while, after actually ordering a few people to their deaths through burning.

But eventually... To their own surprise, Wald managed to finish off the bowl. It was like feeding a sickly pet. It was... Degrading in more ways than one, as they looked down at the wretch that was once Wald.

Their eyes lid, as he finally mentioned Rasul. The damned apparition. It seemed that it didn't need the ungodly effigy of rotting meat to manifest itself. Tipping Wald's head back, they pluck his chin between their index finger and thumb. Bringing Wald's gaze up towards their visage, they blankly stare down at the man, "Wald... You need to trust me here, most of all. Do you understand?" They say in a clear voice, eyes half lidding. This was step one of weening.

"You are not hearing your friend." They say, with a slow shake of their head, "They're not here. They're elsewhere."

Their hand slowly reached out, and buried itself within Wald's hair. Their chest rose and fall, as they considered what else to add to that. They encouraged Wald to pay attention to them, rather than whatever it was that he was hearing. In the back of their mind, they were preparing to have that profane mound burned, a plan being crossed out. They couldn't even do anything with that. It was meat. They wanted him to eat. It's a negative trigger and food at once.

A sigh crossed their lips, before they leaned forward, "When you're in this room, you need to know that I'll be the only one here. Anything else... Isn't real, Wald."

[Wald Lowca]

Wald would slowly look up into Sybil's eyes, as the color in his eyes would get blacked out from the center. As Sybil's words seemed to echo through his mind. They were not here... Where were they. Why could Wald hear them so clearly.

"No Use."

Eyes seemed to dart to the side, they seemed to not contract as he looked at the illusion of the child once again. The emerald orbs glowing in the room's darkness. Not here. Wald repeated that in his head, as he pulled himself closer to Sybil for a moment. Before looking back to Sybil, the emerald eyes looking down at him. This caused Wald to jump back just after a moment of contact.

"What wrong."

The child's illusion was standing over the hunter at this point. Wald would scoot back for a moment, bumping into the bed as he started to hyperventilate. "No... NO! You are not here!" Wald put his trust in Sybil, and the wishes that Ylfa had given him. It was the first words the wolf spoke in so long, and Sybil was Wald's only human companion. He had to try and trust them.

"Sybil wrong. I here."

The illusion would walk closer, as Wald's eyes closed shut tight. Before bursting open once again, Wald's hand over his chest gripping tight. Exhaustion finally kicked in from everything, as memories broke in his mind.

"I here." The child's image was distorted, limbs falling off the figure. The eyes would pop out of the skull to roll on the floor.

Wald would curl into himself one last time, gripping into his hair. "NO! You can not be here! You are dead! I killed you... I tore you to pieces... Please go away Rasul..." The guilt welled up inside Wald as the memories of what he had done in the arena filled him. "They made me kill you... They made me..."

[Sybil Malach]

V

36th of Vhalar 719

For a moment, at the very start, Wald pressed against Sybil. Their eyes went wide, the moment that Wald started to hyperventilate and yell at the non-existent being within the room with the two. Their hands slowly wrapped around the larger man's head, as they brought them in and attempted to usher him closer to them. Sybil's eyes closed, as they allowed the yelling man close to their body. Their lips parted, as the wooden bowl clattered to the floor, loudly clanking and rolling across the ground before sliding beneath the bed. Before they could even produce noise, Wald was already pressing against the bed.

"Rasul isn't here, Wald." They affirm, eyes resting upon the shaking, incoherent mess of a man that laid upon the floor. Their brow furrowed, as they stood up from the chair. Bones cracking audibly as they did so, their eyes focused down upon Wald, rather than allowing it to wander anywhere, "You're the only one that knows where Rasul is-- And they aren't here."

The shouts became an epiphany. Gaze softening, there was something there, that was a horrible truth. Their breath caught in their throat, but they moved forward, and dropped onto their knees. Arms wrapping around Wald, they pull him in close. Eyes closing, they understood what Wald was finally coming to the realization of. There wouldn't need to be any words exchanged.

Fingertips digging into the back of Wald's head, they try and hold him in close, "... Yes. They're gone. Nothing but... A pile. There's nothing more you could've done, Wald. They're gone."

"Rasul is dead." Sybil affirmed in finality, burying their face into the top of Wald's head.

[Wald Lowca]

Wald hugged tight to Sybil, once they had gotten close again. His body screamed at him one way, his mind the other, but his heart told him to hold tight. The hunter's hands would grip tight on Sybil's back, as his lungs struggled to breath choking on the air. His head shook against Sybil's shoulder and neck. A broken voice would speak out during the shaking. "Why..."

A loud sniff came from the man as he pulled back from Sybil's shoulder. "Why have I killed... So many people..." His hand moved to rub his eyes from the liquid. "The first ones were just to protect you... Then... People just kept forcing me to do it. While other people watched like some sort of sick show." Wald hugged the smaller figure tight, as he tried to understand all the emotions that had piled up. He had only started killing people last cycle, he had not really even hurt another human being. The first times it was fine, he was protecting someone important to him. After that, he began getting forced to do these things, for someone's pleasure.

Wald took a deep breath, as he held tight to the student. Nearly trying to push the student over. "Am I still human... I do not want to be anything else..." The question followed silence from the man, as the crying stopped. He just held onto Sybil, listening to there heart beat. Wald's breath even seemed to turn into a faint memory, only noticeable by his chest moving.