Better Left Forgotten

E"I'm not helping, am I?"
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*He wraps up the stitches in bandages.*

<So, that's everything. Let me know as soon as possible if it's not healing right.>
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L"Yeah. If you can go, it might be best to--you know--do that."

Taiyo: "It's not that it's just....I don't want anyone to get hurt any further."

Tirea:<I'd, um, have to ask the nurse.>

*She then calls the nurse*

"Thank you very much," Eduj nodded to the doctor. He looked down at his bloody hands. "May I use the hand basin?"

Mortal smiled politely at the doctor, and handed her the form, "I do. Here you go."

--

Noctis frowned, took Astarte's hand into her own, and began rubbing it with her thumb like a good luck charm, "So this thing is following us, and not only attacking us with other worldly terrors, but getting home grown assholes to assist. Specifically tailored assholes."

"But what Eve said is right, we're not all... y'know," Gabe said.

"Euryale and Taiyo are going out, so, at the very least, we all have contacts who are 'y'know'," Noct said, air quoting, "It'd give those assholes a reason to target them as well. Besides, we don't really know if the homophobes are the only people this 'ringleader' is employing."

A"Do you think he's the man in the mask?"

S"What man in a mask?"

A"In the asylum, we were attacked a few times by a mysterious man wearing a ski mask."

*Senthose folds his arms & stares at the floor.*

S"Waltzing around monster infested halls like he owns the place...did they attack him?"

A"I don't think he encountered them."

S"Then it can't be said for sure at this point, but he is definitely a suspect."
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<Of course, Sir.>
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*And the nurse eventually tells her that she can go.*
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E"Not even that jerk in the mask?"
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*She smiles back.*

<Thank you. Alright...according to your forms, we actually have something here that should help you. Those burns don't look too serious, but if they don't heal in about a week, or get worse, then please come back to see us.>

*She heads behind the counter, fishes out some kind of burn ointment, & hands it off to Mortal.*

<If you don't have anything to bandage them up with, I can also give you a roll of gauze.>

"Um..." Astarte finally spoke, her voice shaky and quiet. "Do you think... the police could help at all? My dad is with them... he is going to want to know where..."

Eduj cleaned his hands, thanked the doctor and started back to the lobby.

Taiyo: "Well....um....I don't know. I just want things to go back to normal."

Eve:<Doubtful. They haven't been of help when we've needed them before.>
===
*So Tirea gathers her stuff, and slowly leaves, Cameron grasping her hand*

Tirea:<Lilith, right?>

Noctis motioned to Eve, "Yeah, Eve is right. They told a room full of gay girls that we got attacked by guys with knives because we upset our boyfriends or something. I suppose we can add misogynists to the list of people being employed to fuck with us"

--

"That would be appreciated," Mortal said, reading the instructions on the tube of ointment, then applying it to her aching neck. "Would it be too much to ask for someone to help me bandage myself up?" She asked as she lubed up.

<I suppose.>

*She tries not to sound like she thinks that she has more important things to do.*

<If you could just step into this empty room.>
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S"They accused you of trying to spite your boyfriends, to be specific. And that is quite likely. Now that you mention it, I believe they were giving Officer Jane the runaround."

A"So she's on our side?"

S"Right, because the fact that she believes that you were attacked by drunken frat boys absolutely indicates that she believes your stories of monsters & wants to help you fight them."

A"Oh...well...when you put it that way...I'll stop talking...."

*She blushes, frowns, & looks at her feet because Senthose is mean. Senthose looks up at the ceiling.*

S"Associates include partying fraternities & chauvinistic old cops...surely that can't have been the same person."
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L"Yes?"
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*Eduj runs into Taiyurle on his way out, because I haven't got anything for either of them.*

Tirea:<So...you know?>
===
Eve:<Maybe the entire town is under their control.>

*She laughs darkly*

Mortal nods, and walks into the room, "Thank you, doctor. Should I take my shirt off, or can you do it with it on?"

--

Sab gave Aroma a hug, and kissed her cheek, "Don't worry about him. He is just mean."

Noct looked at Eve, and deepened her scowl, "Don't do that."

"What if it could control people?" Gabe asked, "Then it wouldn't matter how different the people it needed were, it could just control someone with authority in any group it wanted."

Noct gave her a look too.

"Hey, I just trying to suggest a theory," Gabe said defensively, "If you have better ideas say them quicker."

Astarte looked extremely troubled, giving her own feet an anguished look.

Eduj raised a hand in greeting.

S"That would explain some things...and yet raise further questions."

*Aroma smiles, but it is soon broken by this news, & she goes back to looking fearful & miserable.*
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*The doctor shuts the door as she enters, despite all signs pointing towards gayrape.*

<No, please...please keep it on...well, that's odd. I thought this was sunburn, but the pattern looks almost consistent with strangulation wounds...but no, it's definitely a burn.>

*She tilts Mortal's chin up & around with a gloved hand as she inspects her neck.*
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L"Know what? Oh, about the shadows. Yes. I'm afraid they also got...Hector."
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*Euryale waves back.*

Eve:<Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.>

*She looks at Astarte and then Aroma*

<Questions added to the multitude we already have.>
===
Tirea:<Oh...>

Taiyo waves since apparently they're done talking.

===================================

The pair read old magazines.

"Those questions being what?" Gabe asked.

Noct looks at Astarte and rubbed her hand, wanting to give some kind of moral support but not knowing the words to make anything better.

Sab doesn't fare much better than Noct, not knowing what to say with so much bleak news.

--

"Sunburn?" Mortal asked, realizing she had yet to get a good look at herself to examine her burns, or how weary she must have looked from what she had just gone through.

S"Well, for starters, if it can control people, then why not just do that? Why even bother remaining hidden?"

*Taiyurle then enters the room.*

E"What are we arguing about?"
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<How did you get the burns?>
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L"I'm sorry. But we should really get out of here."

Eve:<It may confer some advantage we do not know about yet.>
===
*Tirea wipes her eyes and says nothing*

<It...gave my parents cancer...>

Cameron:<Wait, what?!>

Eduj followed Taiyurle in and looked at Astarte, who was still just looking awful.

"I suggested that the thing after us might be able to, uh, possess people," Gabe said.

--

"I burned myself on something in a dark basement," Mortal said, not really sure how to explain strangulation looking burns on her neck, and another burn on her leg, "I think it was pipes or a boiler or something."

<Why were you stumbling around a strange basement in the dark?>
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E"Huh. Well, we should get the others, & go."
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L"I...don't know what to say...."

*Cameron pats Tirea on the back*
===
Eve:<The others should be out soon.>

"My friends and I were out in the woods and thought it would be a good idea to poke around a scary old building at night," Mortal said, "A few of us fell down a hole into the basement."

--

"Agreed," Noct said.