pyrighteous | [OOC] Folkmore IC Inbox

[That'll be too slow. With the expertise of a kid used to catching his crawling breakfast, Casey snaps up one of the empty cocoa mugs from the table and slaps it against the wall over the goo, sliding it sideways to drag it away from the crack.

...Augh. He can feel it squirming against the ceramic, equally horrified.]

Find something with a lid!

[ More rabid hissing noises as Casey drags it away from the wall; it’s not HAPPY but it sure isn’t going anywhere, at least.

Meanwhile Hunter instinctively blinks into the kitchen to find a jar. (Without Flapjack? Yeah, Flapjack’s sitting on Casey’s shoulder still. He did that on hi sown.) A few moments later, he blinks back, holding the jar and the lid out. ]

Here! I got it! Try this!

[Casey takes the lid first, tilting the cup quickly just enough to get the lid over the opening to trap the goo creature. Once that's done, he carefully draws it away from the wall and moves his hands towards the jar Hunter's holding. God, the noises it's making.]

Okay, uh... don't move. It's so fast...

[He rests the mug-and-lid over the jar, tightening the seal as he slips the jar lid out again. He gives the mug a few smacks, trying to force the goo to drop into the jar instead so he can seal it with the lid.]

[ Horrible, violent noises. Nothing verbal, but nothing pleasant.

Hunter hovers close, keeping the jar in place. For a moment it looks like the goop won’t come out? And then all of a sudden it slams down against the glass. Thankfully not forcefully enough to damage it, but still thrashes horribly inside the glass. Green-black goop, clearly the same color as what Casey just removed from Hunter’s horns. ]

What the heck is that…

[Oh he hates that.

Casey quickly switches the mug with the lid while the goo is at the bottom, twisting it shut before taking a step back and just. Staring at it. There's a long, uncomfortable pause as his understanding of the situation (what it looks like, what it must be) wars with the surreality of it (that was on Hunter's head, how could it be alive and moving).

Finally, he speaks up in a weak, reluctant voice, watching the thing writhe around in the jar,]

I think that's your trimmings...

[ Hunter looks even more ashen than normal as he stares at the writhing goop. On its own like this, it looks even more like that gross goop that his uncle had had infesting his own body. ]

So - it was part of me? It came from me?

[ A hand creeps up to touch at his horns. Thankfully, all fully clear of that horrid slime. And the longer it’s kept in the jar, the more it begins to slow back down. ]

[Casey opens his mouth to respond, hesitates first, his gaze shifting between Hunter and the jar. It's starting to settle down now, but still- he'd had that on his head this whole time, and no one knew? How horrible... where had it been trying to go? What was it trying to do? If they'd let it escape-

No. He shakes his head, swallowing down that worry. It doesn't matter. They caught it, they can figure this out.]

It's gone now. It's not part of you anymore. Whatever this is... you'll be okay.

[ Hunter hesitates, then reaches out a hand to tap the side of the glass. The goop writhes a bit before settling once again.

(It still reminds him of his uncle. Is it some remnant? Or a sign he has the same illness his uncle did? A sign that his grimwalker body pushed that illness out? Too many possible explanations and no concrete evidence for any of them.) ]

Y. Yeah. And - we can talk to someone else about it later, right? Just to be sure.

[ A deep breath. ]

Maybe Rue would know more.

[Casey watches the creature warily. Too many questions. Is this Belos' influence on Hunter, extending beyond his world or even death? Or is Thirteen playing a cruel joke? (Or secretly another trial...)

He sets the jar on the table. They'll have to find a secure place for it, but he doesn't want to hold it right now. He reaches his hands out towards Hunter instead.]

You want to call them? They'll help if we need it, I know they will.

[Maybe it needs some kind of sealing spell, maybe Hunter needs healing- there are a few things they can look into. He should scan it with his mask, too.]

[ Hunter hesitates at that. On the one hand, if something is really wrong, then Rue can tell them, right? And Rue can help ...

But at the same time, it's been in his head for a while now. So if it's been there that long it can't be that bad. Maybe? Or it's been getting bad and he just doesn't know, or -

He winds up rubbing at his (healthy) horns for a moment as he things. ]

Do you think they'll freak out?

[Casey lets his hands drop again, looking at them. Oh, right. He'd been touching the stuff, on second thought he'd better clean it up now.]

I've never seen Rue freak out. They'll worry for you, but they're really calm in a bad situation. It'll be fine. We can wait if you want, though... there's stuff we can check ourselves first.

[He can understand if Hunter doesn't want to spread around that he had a living goop monster on his horns, or whatever this actually is. He grabs the cloth and the clippers between two fingers, carrying them to the kitchen. The cloth is going right in the trash. Clippers and his hands are getting washed right now.]

[ Please wash your hands on this one, Casey. You don't want this getting anywhere. Hunter drifts after Casey, having much the same thought. Cleanliness NOW please and thank you. ]

Let's - let's check by ourselves first. Yeah. Then we can ask.

[THEY ARE SO WASHED. He'll do it until there's zero sign of the goo or residue or anything. Three times with soap. And while he's examining them after the fact, seriously considers dipping into some chemical cleaners-]

I'll scan it with my mask, see if anything comes up. What else can we check? Could there be more in the journal?

[ Hunter goes next, then, scrubbing both his own hands and the tips of his horns. Both will be kind of raw by the time he's done. ]

The journal might have something. Yeah. If not about his condition then - I don't know. Maybe this is normal for grimwalkers.

[ He says, eying the evil jar. ]

I want to believe it's because of Thirteen, not that. But we should be ready for anything.

[If it's a grimwalker thing, and it's a built-in problem, it might not be as simple as just trimming it off. If it's just a one-time deal, is it dangerous? Will it go dormant now that it's separated? Can they kill it?

Questions on questions. Securing and scanning first. He unclips his mask from his belt and returns to the jar, crouching next to it and putting the mask on to scan it. Vital signs, material components, chemical composition- does it read as Hunter or something entirely different? He's looking for anything they can work with.]

[ Hunter disappears in the background for a moment; he's going to retrieve the journal, and frankly a moment spent away from the jar of doom is a little necessary. Just a single moment to breathe and not think about this potential horror that came out of him.

As for Casey's scans ... the goop seems to be primarily vegetal, with no life signs like a heartbeat or a nervous system. It's all ... well ... ambulatory goo. It scans similar but different to Hunter himself. If Hunter were to be, say, blended into a smoothie and then left in a grave for a while, it might look similar to this. There are trace amounts of something else in there too. Something a bit more human?

Hunter returns shortly after with the journal in hand. When he returns, the goop wriggles a bit before going back to a more dormant state. ]

[Casey doesn't mind his absence; it's entirely fair and understandable, and to be honest Casey doesn't really want to be near it, either. But he's also spent more time around monster goop and is marginally more comfortable with taking part in researching it. Probably helps that it didn't come from his head.

The scan doesn't offer much in the way of answers, but he compiles the info in a new folder in his mask, and he sets a tracker up in his mask to scan for its presence. Just in case more crops up, or they accidentally lose it. He also makes a mental note to ask if Donnie would be willing to teach him how to make actual trackers.

By the time Hunter comes back, Casey's finished his scan, pulling his mask off to switch it to display mode so he can read the automated report.]

This stuff is really weird. It's not exactly alive, but it's not dead. Like a moving plant? But with human DNA mixed in.

[ Hunter sets the journal down for a moment to come look at the report. Creepy ... he shivers a little looking at the little goo jar.

That summary makes him uncomfortable for a different reason though. Some of those things could apply to a grimwalker too. Honestly, MOST of them could, except he feels very much alive. Right? ]

Is ... that different from what I look like?

It is different, [is Casey's quick response, because he doesn't want Hunter to think the worst. He's very different from an angry little splotch of black goop. ...But he also can't lie to Hunter, either...]

...It's not as different as I'd like, though. It's... well, the scanner can tell it came from you. Like if some part of you was scrambled and mixed with a scrambled part of a human... it'd make this thing. Maybe this is what would happen if a grimwalker was fused with something else.

[Like a horrible, mutated, sickly immortal uncle.]

[ Ugh. Not different enough for Hunter's comfort, then, but not so close that he's secretly full of goo or whatever. He'll take it. That's ... doable.

He still shivers a bit. ]

That's - not the worst, at least. We should tell Rue, but we probably don't need to tell them today.

[ He levels a small glare at newest and worst member of the household. ]

I'm glad you cut it off at least.

No kidding. [It was on him... crazy.] I guess in the meantime we'll just... hide it.

[He lifts the jar reluctantly, glancing between it and Hunter.]

...I can put it in my room. It got all riled up when it got closer to you.

[Plus Hunter is understandably more repulsed by it. Casey wants to spare him the trouble.]

[ Hunter winces at that, but ... Casey is right. Even reaching out to it now results in the horror goop hissing and stretching inside its prison. ]

As long as you stay safe too. We should probably put it inside another container to keep it from getting out. Maybe a lockbox.

That's a good idea. I can try to grab one later.

[Are places in Folkmore closed for Christmas? Whatever, he'll find out.]

What else should we do...?

I … I don’t know.

[ Hunter rubs at the back of his neck, looking at the jar. ]

Mostly I cleaned splotches up off the floor when Belos … left them behind.

They never did anything like this before?

[He's pretty sure Hunter would have mentioned this. Why now...? Why is it awake here?]

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