guillotineroom: (Default)
Locked Rooms ([personal profile] guillotineroom) wrote2022-11-01 10:48 pm

[elevator] [cerberus]

[ When you open your eyes again the first thing that you, and your teammates, may notice is that you are confined within an iron cage, rectangle in shape. Further inspection will reveal that outside of the cage is a large structure of sorts, reaching far above you. It kind of looks like an unfinished clock tower, really... there are spots that look finished and bolted tightly, and others that look like they had been left once and the work never thought of again.

Also, it's pretty chilly. You might get to notice that.

It's foggy and windy—the kind of wind that howls and roars, jostling your cage against the tall shaft, and every so often you feel as though you might have had the ghost of a raindrop on you. The tower-like build creaks horribly ominously in the wind, and you can see the rusted metals swaying slightly. But if you decide to look around...

Flapping above you (and not helping with the wind) is a harpy-like creature, iron chains wrapped around their talons. Though, maybe it's more like a lion? The chains are bolted to the top of your cage. There are also little indicators on the structure, the same distance apart, that seem to be declaring different levels or heights. They look horribly unhappy to be here, but they're also impressive at ignoring any call you might have for them.

There's a door to the cage, but it won't open, even if it's just a simple-looking locking mechanism. If you peer out, it's too foggy on the ground to make out very much, but you can make out nine other, tower-like structures with similarly flapping harpies. Each one, including your own, has an emblazoned emblem of every team's patron monster, so that you can see where everyone is—it's just difficult to make out exactly who may be in each one. Even more difficult to try and communicate like this.

Attached to the door is an aged metal panel with a screen and four buttons; two to choose between the team names that appear on the dark green and black screen, and two to choose whether you wish for that team to go up or down.

After a moment, a little speaker in the corner starts playing an incredibly bad quality version of this.]
eggstinction: (26)

Re: TOUGH CHOICES

[personal profile] eggstinction 2022-11-07 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[squeezes their hand back. just a small flex, like he's afraid of gripping too tightly— his other hands are in fists, claws scratching thin lines of salt off his armor]

...Thank you, for keeping us on track.
moonlit_knight: (pic#14889035)

Re: TOUGH CHOICES

[personal profile] moonlit_knight 2022-11-07 06:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[oh

moving closer and wrapping their arms around him]

I'm here for you. We're almost done here.
eggstinction: (45)

Re: TOUGH CHOICES

[personal profile] eggstinction 2022-11-07 06:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[haltingly curls around them, forcing himself to untense so he can hug them back and press his face against the top of their head. whispers into their hair, trying not to be overheard.]

I feel like a traitor.
moonlit_knight: (pic#14815753)

Re: TOUGH CHOICES

[personal profile] moonlit_knight 2022-11-07 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
...I know. I know Bugbear needs us too, and we're not coming through on our alliance. I know we agreed to it so you wouldn't have to feel like this. I'm sorry Moon.

But there's still a chance they can come through. Perhaps it's overly hopeful, but, I really don't think they're a likely target. If they stay at the same level, and we stay low, we could vote for them next time. We can still pull them back from the top half.
eggstinction: (110)

Re: TOUGH CHOICES

[personal profile] eggstinction 2022-11-07 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[takes a deep breath and lets it out shakily, considering his words before he speaks. keep his relationship fears quiet.]

… I do not think we are going to stay low. We are in a good position for teams to raise us… And it is too easy to imagine reasoning for someone to vote on Bugbear. Should a team join the pile on the lowest ones, or if Bugbear is defending themselves, raise them only two? Even if the votes are spread as evenly as possible, the middle ranks will be crowded in the next round.
moonlit_knight: (pic#14815759)

Re: TOUGH CHOICES

[personal profile] moonlit_knight 2022-11-07 09:56 pm (UTC)(link)
It's going to be crowded, but we could take being raised once. Most teams will be spooked off of raising us as a 'safe' bet now. Who would even risk us... Yatagarasu, Basilisk, maybe Unicorn... But I doubt we'd be any of their first choices. Let's not forget Echidna might still pull something off.

I know we can't guarantee anything. But because it's all been so unpredictable, I still want to hold onto some hope that it'll turn around in our favour.
eggstinction: (105)

Re: TOUGH CHOICES

[personal profile] eggstinction 2022-11-07 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
There are no safe bets and we are one of the four lowest teams. They may be fearful, but the math is against us.

I am sorry. I am... finding it hard to hope. Everything has been unpredictable in bad ways.
moonlit_knight: (pic#14813958)

Re: TOUGH CHOICES

[personal profile] moonlit_knight 2022-11-07 11:02 pm (UTC)(link)
You don't need to apologise for that. We're in a dire situation, designed to demoralise us, and we're just doing as best we can from round to round. It's a natural emotion.
eggstinction: (45)

Re: TOUGH CHOICES

[personal profile] eggstinction 2022-11-08 12:52 am (UTC)(link)
[stoops further to plant his face in their shoulder. mmmph.]