Mysteries & Books

@researchercase

Casey Ross, She/They | Kieran Woods, He/They | Erika Grey, She/Her | Ex-Researchers from the Magnus Institute [TMA Oc rp blog)

1,133 posts

OOC

The main story of this blog is over! This doesn't mean that nothing will be posted on here again, it just means that the research crew's main storyline is done. They'll probably still participate in other storylines if it comes up.

It's been so much fun to be telling this story, it's hard to believe that this started with Casey being an anon character. Thank you to the people that essentially helped start this and to the people who followed!

I'm planning another story on a new blog but I'll be taking a bit of a break before then.

Edit: Here's the new blog @the-fallow-library

Thank you once again.

Here's a recap of the characters for anyone who wants to interact

Casey Ross, Eye Avatar, Blind, 24, uses She/They

Kieran Woods, Hunt Avatar, 28, uses He/They

Erika Grey, Vast Avatar, 28, uses She/Her

Séra Verley, Desolation Avatar, 24, uses She/Her

#oc rp #tma rp #tma oc #tma rp blog #oc rp blog #magnus institute research department #researcher casey #researcher kieran #researcher erika #photographer séra #the watching hunter #the seeing storm #the sightless watcher

eyes-that-decieve

So, I got some news, a mix of both bad and good

-Erika, @researchercase

What's the news?

So, Harold's back!

But he doesn't seem to remember a whole lot and is currently sort of missing.

eyes-that-decieve

. . . . whAT

Yeahhh.

I will note he did recognise me before he disappeared into a puddle, but it wasn't the good kind of recognition

eyes-that-decieve

. . .

Hang on, text is not giving me enough emphasis.

[Voice recording attached]

[Various expletives can be heard. Loudly. Then a rush of wind and a thump as Faye's voice stops.]

"Dropped my goddamn PHONE."

[A fainter voice, then a rush of wingbeats. She must've been on the ceiling or somewhere off the ground]

"Where did you find him? Was he okay?? Details. I need them."

[End voice recording]

Oh jeez

(Voice recording start)

(Erika's voice starts, while the noise of an infant babbling in the background occurs)

"I'll just send a voice message as well, it makes my life easier."

(A sigh can be heard)

"There was scratching and barking at our front door and when I checked, I saw Nic there. Honestly jarring when I only saw him once before Harold and him disappeared. Anyways, after some kind of difficult communication he led me to Harold, somewhere close to South Oxford I think, and there's Harold on the pavement, fully unconcious. He didn't look well, Faye"

"I mananged to wake him up, and he seemed confused but I chalked it up to him maybe needing to feed. But the confusion was 'cause he didn't remember anything. Whatever happened to him and before that. He recognised me but it defintely wasn't in a good way, then he was panicking, and was a bit of an asshole about wording, and disappeared."

(End of voice recording)

eyes-that-decieve

Hang on, who's nic? And why is he scratching at your door??

Any clue where he's gone?

Oh, right.

Nic is Nicholas Bolton, Harold and Kieran's Dad, who turned into a dog like creature.

sometimes I forget our kind of life is not normal.

Anyways, I've got no clue where he is. He might be using his blog again but I don't think that would tell me where he is, unless a heavy, crushing storm appeared somewhere.

eyes-that-decieve

Oh. Uh. Okay then-

Is nic still around or did he disappear as well?

He's around yeah. He goes out to look for Harold most of the time but comes back to the house to hang around

#tma oc #tma rp #tma rp blog #oc rp blog #oc rp #oc: faye #researcher erika #the seeing storm

eyes-that-decieve

So, I got some news, a mix of both bad and good

-Erika, @researchercase

What's the news?

So, Harold's back!

But he doesn't seem to remember a whole lot and is currently sort of missing.

eyes-that-decieve

. . . . whAT

Yeahhh.

I will note he did recognise me before he disappeared into a puddle, but it wasn't the good kind of recognition

eyes-that-decieve

. . .

Hang on, text is not giving me enough emphasis.

[Voice recording attached]

[Various expletives can be heard. Loudly. Then a rush of wind and a thump as Faye's voice stops.]

"Dropped my goddamn PHONE."

[A fainter voice, then a rush of wingbeats. She must've been on the ceiling or somewhere off the ground]

"Where did you find him? Was he okay?? Details. I need them."

[End voice recording]

Oh jeez

(Voice recording start)

(Erika's voice starts, while the noise of an infant babbling in the background occurs)

"I'll just send a voice message as well, it makes my life easier."

(A sigh can be heard)

"There was scratching and barking at our front door and when I checked, I saw Nic there. Honestly jarring when I only saw him once before Harold and him disappeared. Anyways, after some kind of difficult communication he led me to Harold, somewhere close to South Oxford I think, and there's Harold on the pavement, fully unconcious. He didn't look well, Faye"

"I mananged to wake him up, and he seemed confused but I chalked it up to him maybe needing to feed. But the confusion was 'cause he didn't remember anything. Whatever happened to him and before that. He recognised me but it defintely wasn't in a good way, then he was panicking, and was a bit of an asshole about wording, and disappeared."

(End of voice recording)

eyes-that-decieve

Hang on, who's nic? And why is he scratching at your door??

Any clue where he's gone?

Oh, right.

Nic is Nicholas Bolton, Harold and Kieran's Dad, who turned into a dog like creature.

sometimes I forget our kind of life is not normal.

Anyways, I've got no clue where he is. He might be using his blog again but I don't think that would tell me where he is, unless a heavy, crushing storm appeared somewhere.

#tma oc #tma rp #tma rp blog #oc rp blog #oc rp #oc: faye #researcher erika #the seeing storm

eyes-that-decieve

So, I got some news, a mix of both bad and good

-Erika, @researchercase

What's the news?

So, Harold's back!

But he doesn't seem to remember a whole lot and is currently sort of missing.

eyes-that-decieve

. . . . whAT

Yeahhh.

I will note he did recognise me before he disappeared into a puddle, but it wasn't the good kind of recognition

eyes-that-decieve

. . .

Hang on, text is not giving me enough emphasis.

[Voice recording attached]

[Various expletives can be heard. Loudly. Then a rush of wind and a thump as Faye's voice stops.]

"Dropped my goddamn PHONE."

[A fainter voice, then a rush of wingbeats. She must've been on the ceiling or somewhere off the ground]

"Where did you find him? Was he okay?? Details. I need them."

[End voice recording]

Oh jeez

(Voice recording start)

(Erika's voice starts, while the noise of an infant babbling in the background occurs)

"I'll just send a voice message as well, it makes my life easier."

(A sigh can be heard)

"There was scratching and barking at our front door and when I checked, I saw Nic there. Honestly jarring when I only saw him once before Harold and him disappeared. Anyways, after some kind of difficult communication he led me to Harold, somewhere close to South Oxford I think, and there's Harold on the pavement, fully unconcious. He didn't look well, Faye"

"I mananged to wake him up, and he seemed confused but I chalked it up to him maybe needing to feed. But the confusion was 'cause he didn't remember anything. Whatever happened to him and before that. He recognised me but it defintely wasn't in a good way, then he was panicking, and was a bit of an asshole about wording, and disappeared."

(End of voice recording)

#tma oc #tma rp #tma rp blog #oc rp blog #oc rp #oc: faye #researcher erika #the seeing storm

eyes-that-decieve

So, I got some news, a mix of both bad and good

-Erika, @researchercase

What's the news?

So, Harold's back!

But he doesn't seem to remember a whole lot and is currently sort of missing.

eyes-that-decieve

. . . . whAT

Yeahhh.

I will note he did recognise me before he disappeared into a puddle, but it wasn't the good kind of recognition

#tma rp #tma oc #tma rp blog #oc rp blog #oc rp #oc: faye #researcher erika #the seeing storm

eyes-that-decieve

So, I got some news, a mix of both bad and good

-Erika, @researchercase

What's the news?

So, Harold's back!

But he doesn't seem to remember a whole lot and is currently sort of missing.

#tma rp #tma oc #tma rp blog #oc rp blog #oc rp #oc: faye #researcher erika #the seeing storm #(ooc: you're all good!

There’s a loud, urgent barking outside of Erika and Kieran’s residence. When it’s not answered immediately, it turns into a bloodcurdling howl, then a desperate whine.

Whatever animal is out there does not seem to be having a good time, but something about it is oddly familiar.

@bolton-buried

Erika started walking to the front door when she heard the first barking. When it got more urgent, she walked a bit faster.

"I'm coming! Jesus christ." She called out, though she knew it was ridiculous to say that to presumably a dog, but weirder things have happened in her life.

Once at the door, she opened it.

The canine at the door is recognizable, but “dog” may be pushing it. Nic Bolton was staying here, once upon a time. He stops yowling when the door opens, getting up to all fours and wagging his tail slightly.

He barks at Erika, more quietly now that he has someone’s attention. The movement he makes with his head is not unlike a pet asking to be let outside for a walk.

"Holy shit."

Erika froze for a moment. She wasn't sure if what or rather who she was seeing in front of her was real. But he was there, like actually there.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, usually Nic wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Nic stops gesturing to fix Erika with a stare. He lets it hang for a moment before whining again.

He wants to answer, he really does, but he doesn’t have the anatomy to form words that a person can understand. He steps closer to lick her hand, then starts walking to the street, looking back to see if she follows.

"Oh shit, right. You can't say. Sorry"

When she saw him start to walk away, and look back like he was waiting for her to follow, she looked back in the house and back at Nic.

"Just wait a moment, let me get a jacket and shoes on, and get my phone"

She quickly went back inside and them around a moment later came outside, closing and locking the front door. She was texting Kieran as she went to Nic, that she was gonna be out for a little while.

Whatever this was about had to be important.

Nic sniffs at a car, smelling for the Vast and Hunt on one. He noses out Erika’s and points at it.

He may be fast with his connection to the Hunt, but he can’t transfer it to someone else, not even in a time of crisis. (Possibly especially not in a time of crisis. He’s still not 100% on these things.) He can run. She can drive behind him.

He sits by the car, waiting for her. Looking up at her. “This is important,” he tries to say with his eyes, “Please hurry.”

The look really comes off closer to “I am bringing you to a secondary location to eat you for lunch.” But that’s probably just the Hunt talking.

Erika looked between her car and Nic. She wasn't sure what had happened but it definitely wasn't in walking distance, and most likely had something to do with Harold.

"Alright, Lead the way."

She took her car keys out of her pocket, unlocked the car, and got in the drivers seat.

Nic knows he can outpace any vehicle. And he does, regularly as he guides Erika. He takes off too fast, then gets to a corner and paces nervously until she catches up. (The large, menacing canine pacing on street corners unsettles more than a few pedestrians.)

But he makes sure she doesn’t lose him. Not even as he guides her closer to South Oxford, into a very familiar, oppressive, windless rainstorm.

The rain beats down heavily onto Erika’s car, feeling like it intends to twist the frame and shatter the windows, to crush her body as she drowns. There’s no chance of this rain being natural in origin, not when Nic is involved already.

Erika remembered this feeling all too well. That suffocating feeling. It got worse after she became, after she died. But she wasn't gonna let it deter her. This storm absolutely has to do with Harold.

So she continued to follow in her car. She could've tried to shift the storm in her direction to feel more comfortable. That helplessness against something bigger than you, but she wasn't gonna risk it.

While being careful to avoid stepping in any puddles, Nic finally comes to a stop beside a lump on the sidewalk. He stands over it protectively and barks for Erika’s attention.

When he’s confident she’s coming, he bows his head and starts licking at whatever he’s standing over. It doesn’t move, not even to breathe, as he tries to rouse it. As Erika gets closer, she may recognize a grey trench coat, bruised wrists that now look horribly thin, and a mop of curls so drenched they’re nearly straight. A black umbrella lies closed on the sidewalk beside it.

Once she recognised who it was, Erika instantly quickened her step, and knelt by his side, already grabbing Harold by the shoulders.

"Shit, shit. Harold, can you hear me?!"

The rising panic in her voice was obvious as she shook him by his shoulders.

Harold is unresponsive, but it’s no mistaking him. His lips are swollen, his skin bruised, and not a breath or pulse to speak of. And aside from the normal stuff, he’s gaunt and bony, like something supernatural drained the strength from his body and left this behind.

"God dammit"

The not breathing part was normal for him, from what she remembered, but everything else certainly wasn't. Erika sighed.

"Sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's just to check you aren't actually dead."

Erika then raised her hand and slapped Harold on the face.

That gets him to respond. His eyes blink open, looking up into the rain, then at Erika.

Nic is on him before he gets a chance to look at his father, licking the rain off of his face with fervor. Slowly, Harold pushes himself off of the ground, only for his arms to give out and for him to collapse onto Nic.

“What…”

He can’t even conjure in his mind the question he’s trying to ask.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alive."

Erika let out a sigh of relief, her panic starting to die down.

"What the hell happened to you, Harold?"

“I…”

The answer dies on his lips. It wasn’t there to begin with.

“Harold.”

That word, that name stands out to him. It’s his, isn’t it? It’s hard to think. Why is he so hungry?

Erika thought for a moment. To her, Harold clearly seemed disorientated, and physically didn't look okay. Questions like that were gonna be useless at the moment.

"Are you able to move? You can sit my car while you catch your bearings, and to get out of the rain."

Harold starts nodding, then shakes his head. He feels ready to pass out again at any moment, and there’s a throbbing inside of his head.

When Erika mentions getting out of the rain, a muffled voice inside of him protests. But he doesn’t know exactly why. Getting out of the rain is usually a good thing though so he elects to ignore it. Distantly, there’s a splash almost lost in the sound of rain, and a child screams soon after. He ignores that, too.

On an instinct, Harold reaches to the side and wraps his fingers around his umbrella. He uses it as a cane in one hand, and with Nic under the other hand, he’s able to barely stagger to his feet.

Thunder rolls as he stands, like it’s welcoming him home.

Erika stood as well, and guided Harold to her car. She opened the door to the backseat for him to get in and sit down.

"There we go. I can probably pull up one of your old videos, that might give you more energy"

She said, pulling out her phone and remembering how more energised Harold was after they saw that video in the Institute all that time ago. It didn't even feel that long ago to her.

Harold gets into the seat without complaint, but it’s less comfortable than the crushing rain is. Like the pressure from the outside letting up just allows the pressure from within his head to compound.

Nic gets into the seat next to him, forcing his wet fur under Harold’s hand.

Harold tries to match his breathing to Nic’s, only… His lungs don’t move how they should. He starts to choke, to sputter. His words are garbled, strangled.

“I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?”

"Because you can't. Just don't think about it, it'll come naturally to you"

Was he really that disorientated that he forgot about his lungs, or was this something else? Erika thought for a second before continuing.

"If that doesn't work, go back out in the rain, that should help"

Harold gets out of the car, his umbrella surprisingly supporting all of his weight. Or maybe he is getting stronger.

“Yeah. The rain. It’s nice.”

He looks up into the clouds, letting it pour over his face. It’s a familiar weight to have hanging over him. Better than the pain in his head.

Nic whines for attention. He hits his head against the seats, then nudges his nose towards Harold.

Erika glanced between Nic and Harold, hesitating for a moment before putting her phone back in her pocket.

She looked at Harold, some concern evident on her face and in her voice.

"Harold, are you okay? What happened to you?"

“I… I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

He puts his hand to the side of his head, fingers tangling in his hair.

“My head hurts. I don’t think I remember anything.”

The thunder rumbles overhead. His hand falls back to the umbrella handle, bending over to better support his own weight. He’s still hungry, but there’s something wrong about the feeling. It’s placed wrong. Like it’s in his lungs, not his stomach.

“Something’s wrong.”

That's not good, like at all.

"You might need to feed. Harold, when you say you don't remember anything, what do you mean? Can you name your family or friends or is there nothing that comes to mind?"

Harold shakes his head. There are no names in his mind. Nothing he can remember.

Somewhere within the storm, children whisper to each other before jumping over puddles they fear to step in. A maintenance worker in the sewers is caught in a hopeless fight against an unexpected current. A young girl is still screaming at the puddle her father fell through, while her father fights to escape a crushing tunnel underground. Harold stands a little straighter.

He looks up at the woman talking to him again, a flash of recognition crossing his face.

“Erika.”

It’s not a pleasant tone. He almost sounds angry.

"I... yeah?"

She was almost hesitant to speak. If he couldn't remember much or anything at all, but now remembered her and spoke in that tone, she could guess why.

Still, just because he was her friend, or well, she thought of him as that, doesn't mean she wasn't ready to protect herself if things got a bit ugly, she just needed to wait and see if tis was about to go in that direction.

“Did you do this?”

He takes a step back, stumbling only a little bit over his own feet. His mind is shooting up red flags about her with no clue as to why, and there’s no one else around to blame. Nic moves to stand behind Erika, intent to prevent either avatar from hurting each other.

"Do what? If you're talking about your memory problem, no, I didn't."

Erika carefully took a step toward Harold, in an attempt to not startle him.

"Listen, Harold, you've been gone for a while and I don't know what happened to you between then and now for this to have happened. Just take a moment to relax and breathe, okay?"

He barely lets her get the words out.

“I can’t breathe!”

Harold’s eyes dart around in a panic, brandishing his umbrella as he steps farther back. His heels dip into a puddle of water behind him, and there’s something familiar about the way they drop deeper than they should into it.

He steps off and plunges downward. Nic runs after him, but only succeeds in landing snout-first into a puddle. He scratches at it, like he thinks he can dig his way after Harold.

"Shit, Harold!"

Erika reached forward to catch him, but he was gone before she could, and she stumbled slightly on the pavement.

She looked down at the puddle and at Nic, scratching at the puddle and pavement.

"Nic, stop. I don't think that's gonna do anything."

She ran a hand through her hair, sighing.

"God dammit."

Without Harold here, the rain clears up quickly. Nic sits by where the puddle was and whines, but it doesn’t bring him back.

Erika glanced up at the sky. She felt a bit of relief and comfortability at the clear sky, though that wasn't gonna change her being drenched in rain water.

She looked back down at Nic.

"Sitting here isn't gonna change anything. I can let the others know Harold's back and we can start looking for him then, but we should go."

Erika walked over to her car, but looked back to see if Nic would follow.

Nic nods in a manner telling of the remnants of human inside of him. He does follow her to the car, but doesn’t get into the car with her. He’d prefer to chase after it anyway.

Erika sighed and closed the door to the backseat. She got in the drivers seat and started the car. Before driving home, she texted Kieran, saying she'd be home soon and to meet her there, if he wasn't already there.

She glanced out the window back at Nic, before driving off. She'd inform the others once she was back home.

#tma rp #tma oc #tma rp blog #oc rp #oc rp blog #researcher erika #the seeing storm

There’s a loud, urgent barking outside of Erika and Kieran’s residence. When it’s not answered immediately, it turns into a bloodcurdling howl, then a desperate whine.

Whatever animal is out there does not seem to be having a good time, but something about it is oddly familiar.

@bolton-buried

Erika started walking to the front door when she heard the first barking. When it got more urgent, she walked a bit faster.

"I'm coming! Jesus christ." She called out, though she knew it was ridiculous to say that to presumably a dog, but weirder things have happened in her life.

Once at the door, she opened it.

The canine at the door is recognizable, but “dog” may be pushing it. Nic Bolton was staying here, once upon a time. He stops yowling when the door opens, getting up to all fours and wagging his tail slightly.

He barks at Erika, more quietly now that he has someone’s attention. The movement he makes with his head is not unlike a pet asking to be let outside for a walk.

"Holy shit."

Erika froze for a moment. She wasn't sure if what or rather who she was seeing in front of her was real. But he was there, like actually there.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, usually Nic wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Nic stops gesturing to fix Erika with a stare. He lets it hang for a moment before whining again.

He wants to answer, he really does, but he doesn’t have the anatomy to form words that a person can understand. He steps closer to lick her hand, then starts walking to the street, looking back to see if she follows.

"Oh shit, right. You can't say. Sorry"

When she saw him start to walk away, and look back like he was waiting for her to follow, she looked back in the house and back at Nic.

"Just wait a moment, let me get a jacket and shoes on, and get my phone"

She quickly went back inside and them around a moment later came outside, closing and locking the front door. She was texting Kieran as she went to Nic, that she was gonna be out for a little while.

Whatever this was about had to be important.

Nic sniffs at a car, smelling for the Vast and Hunt on one. He noses out Erika’s and points at it.

He may be fast with his connection to the Hunt, but he can’t transfer it to someone else, not even in a time of crisis. (Possibly especially not in a time of crisis. He’s still not 100% on these things.) He can run. She can drive behind him.

He sits by the car, waiting for her. Looking up at her. “This is important,” he tries to say with his eyes, “Please hurry.”

The look really comes off closer to “I am bringing you to a secondary location to eat you for lunch.” But that’s probably just the Hunt talking.

Erika looked between her car and Nic. She wasn't sure what had happened but it definitely wasn't in walking distance, and most likely had something to do with Harold.

"Alright, Lead the way."

She took her car keys out of her pocket, unlocked the car, and got in the drivers seat.

Nic knows he can outpace any vehicle. And he does, regularly as he guides Erika. He takes off too fast, then gets to a corner and paces nervously until she catches up. (The large, menacing canine pacing on street corners unsettles more than a few pedestrians.)

But he makes sure she doesn’t lose him. Not even as he guides her closer to South Oxford, into a very familiar, oppressive, windless rainstorm.

The rain beats down heavily onto Erika’s car, feeling like it intends to twist the frame and shatter the windows, to crush her body as she drowns. There’s no chance of this rain being natural in origin, not when Nic is involved already.

Erika remembered this feeling all too well. That suffocating feeling. It got worse after she became, after she died. But she wasn't gonna let it deter her. This storm absolutely has to do with Harold.

So she continued to follow in her car. She could've tried to shift the storm in her direction to feel more comfortable. That helplessness against something bigger than you, but she wasn't gonna risk it.

While being careful to avoid stepping in any puddles, Nic finally comes to a stop beside a lump on the sidewalk. He stands over it protectively and barks for Erika’s attention.

When he’s confident she’s coming, he bows his head and starts licking at whatever he’s standing over. It doesn’t move, not even to breathe, as he tries to rouse it. As Erika gets closer, she may recognize a grey trench coat, bruised wrists that now look horribly thin, and a mop of curls so drenched they’re nearly straight. A black umbrella lies closed on the sidewalk beside it.

Once she recognised who it was, Erika instantly quickened her step, and knelt by his side, already grabbing Harold by the shoulders.

"Shit, shit. Harold, can you hear me?!"

The rising panic in her voice was obvious as she shook him by his shoulders.

Harold is unresponsive, but it’s no mistaking him. His lips are swollen, his skin bruised, and not a breath or pulse to speak of. And aside from the normal stuff, he’s gaunt and bony, like something supernatural drained the strength from his body and left this behind.

"God dammit"

The not breathing part was normal for him, from what she remembered, but everything else certainly wasn't. Erika sighed.

"Sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's just to check you aren't actually dead."

Erika then raised her hand and slapped Harold on the face.

That gets him to respond. His eyes blink open, looking up into the rain, then at Erika.

Nic is on him before he gets a chance to look at his father, licking the rain off of his face with fervor. Slowly, Harold pushes himself off of the ground, only for his arms to give out and for him to collapse onto Nic.

“What…”

He can’t even conjure in his mind the question he’s trying to ask.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alive."

Erika let out a sigh of relief, her panic starting to die down.

"What the hell happened to you, Harold?"

“I…”

The answer dies on his lips. It wasn’t there to begin with.

“Harold.”

That word, that name stands out to him. It’s his, isn’t it? It’s hard to think. Why is he so hungry?

Erika thought for a moment. To her, Harold clearly seemed disorientated, and physically didn't look okay. Questions like that were gonna be useless at the moment.

"Are you able to move? You can sit my car while you catch your bearings, and to get out of the rain."

Harold starts nodding, then shakes his head. He feels ready to pass out again at any moment, and there’s a throbbing inside of his head.

When Erika mentions getting out of the rain, a muffled voice inside of him protests. But he doesn’t know exactly why. Getting out of the rain is usually a good thing though so he elects to ignore it. Distantly, there’s a splash almost lost in the sound of rain, and a child screams soon after. He ignores that, too.

On an instinct, Harold reaches to the side and wraps his fingers around his umbrella. He uses it as a cane in one hand, and with Nic under the other hand, he’s able to barely stagger to his feet.

Thunder rolls as he stands, like it’s welcoming him home.

Erika stood as well, and guided Harold to her car. She opened the door to the backseat for him to get in and sit down.

"There we go. I can probably pull up one of your old videos, that might give you more energy"

She said, pulling out her phone and remembering how more energised Harold was after they saw that video in the Institute all that time ago. It didn't even feel that long ago to her.

Harold gets into the seat without complaint, but it’s less comfortable than the crushing rain is. Like the pressure from the outside letting up just allows the pressure from within his head to compound.

Nic gets into the seat next to him, forcing his wet fur under Harold’s hand.

Harold tries to match his breathing to Nic’s, only… His lungs don’t move how they should. He starts to choke, to sputter. His words are garbled, strangled.

“I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?”

"Because you can't. Just don't think about it, it'll come naturally to you"

Was he really that disorientated that he forgot about his lungs, or was this something else? Erika thought for a second before continuing.

"If that doesn't work, go back out in the rain, that should help"

Harold gets out of the car, his umbrella surprisingly supporting all of his weight. Or maybe he is getting stronger.

“Yeah. The rain. It’s nice.”

He looks up into the clouds, letting it pour over his face. It’s a familiar weight to have hanging over him. Better than the pain in his head.

Nic whines for attention. He hits his head against the seats, then nudges his nose towards Harold.

Erika glanced between Nic and Harold, hesitating for a moment before putting her phone back in her pocket.

She looked at Harold, some concern evident on her face and in her voice.

"Harold, are you okay? What happened to you?"

“I… I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

He puts his hand to the side of his head, fingers tangling in his hair.

“My head hurts. I don’t think I remember anything.”

The thunder rumbles overhead. His hand falls back to the umbrella handle, bending over to better support his own weight. He’s still hungry, but there’s something wrong about the feeling. It’s placed wrong. Like it’s in his lungs, not his stomach.

“Something’s wrong.”

That's not good, like at all.

"You might need to feed. Harold, when you say you don't remember anything, what do you mean? Can you name your family or friends or is there nothing that comes to mind?"

Harold shakes his head. There are no names in his mind. Nothing he can remember.

Somewhere within the storm, children whisper to each other before jumping over puddles they fear to step in. A maintenance worker in the sewers is caught in a hopeless fight against an unexpected current. A young girl is still screaming at the puddle her father fell through, while her father fights to escape a crushing tunnel underground. Harold stands a little straighter.

He looks up at the woman talking to him again, a flash of recognition crossing his face.

“Erika.”

It’s not a pleasant tone. He almost sounds angry.

"I... yeah?"

She was almost hesitant to speak. If he couldn't remember much or anything at all, but now remembered her and spoke in that tone, she could guess why.

Still, just because he was her friend, or well, she thought of him as that, doesn't mean she wasn't ready to protect herself if things got a bit ugly, she just needed to wait and see if tis was about to go in that direction.

“Did you do this?”

He takes a step back, stumbling only a little bit over his own feet. His mind is shooting up red flags about her with no clue as to why, and there’s no one else around to blame. Nic moves to stand behind Erika, intent to prevent either avatar from hurting each other.

"Do what? If you're talking about your memory problem, no, I didn't."

Erika carefully took a step toward Harold, in an attempt to not startle him.

"Listen, Harold, you've been gone for a while and I don't know what happened to you between then and now for this to have happened. Just take a moment to relax and breathe, okay?"

He barely lets her get the words out.

“I can’t breathe!”

Harold’s eyes dart around in a panic, brandishing his umbrella as he steps farther back. His heels dip into a puddle of water behind him, and there’s something familiar about the way they drop deeper than they should into it.

He steps off and plunges downward. Nic runs after him, but only succeeds in landing snout-first into a puddle. He scratches at it, like he thinks he can dig his way after Harold.

"Shit, Harold!"

Erika reached forward to catch him, but he was gone before she could, and she stumbled slightly on the pavement.

She looked down at the puddle and at Nic, scratching at the puddle and pavement.

"Nic, stop. I don't think that's gonna do anything."

She ran a hand through her hair, sighing.

"God dammit."

Without Harold here, the rain clears up quickly. Nic sits by where the puddle was and whines, but it doesn’t bring him back.

Erika glanced up at the sky. She felt a bit of relief and comfortability at the clear sky, though that wasn't gonna change her being drenched in rain water.

She looked back down at Nic.

"Sitting here isn't gonna change anything. I can let the others know Harold's back and we can start looking for him then, but we should go."

Erika walked over to her car, but looked back to see if Nic would follow.

#tma rp #tma rp blog #oc rp #oc rp blog #tma oc #researcher erika #the seeing storm

There’s a loud, urgent barking outside of Erika and Kieran’s residence. When it’s not answered immediately, it turns into a bloodcurdling howl, then a desperate whine.

Whatever animal is out there does not seem to be having a good time, but something about it is oddly familiar.

@bolton-buried

Erika started walking to the front door when she heard the first barking. When it got more urgent, she walked a bit faster.

"I'm coming! Jesus christ." She called out, though she knew it was ridiculous to say that to presumably a dog, but weirder things have happened in her life.

Once at the door, she opened it.

The canine at the door is recognizable, but “dog” may be pushing it. Nic Bolton was staying here, once upon a time. He stops yowling when the door opens, getting up to all fours and wagging his tail slightly.

He barks at Erika, more quietly now that he has someone’s attention. The movement he makes with his head is not unlike a pet asking to be let outside for a walk.

"Holy shit."

Erika froze for a moment. She wasn't sure if what or rather who she was seeing in front of her was real. But he was there, like actually there.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, usually Nic wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Nic stops gesturing to fix Erika with a stare. He lets it hang for a moment before whining again.

He wants to answer, he really does, but he doesn’t have the anatomy to form words that a person can understand. He steps closer to lick her hand, then starts walking to the street, looking back to see if she follows.

"Oh shit, right. You can't say. Sorry"

When she saw him start to walk away, and look back like he was waiting for her to follow, she looked back in the house and back at Nic.

"Just wait a moment, let me get a jacket and shoes on, and get my phone"

She quickly went back inside and them around a moment later came outside, closing and locking the front door. She was texting Kieran as she went to Nic, that she was gonna be out for a little while.

Whatever this was about had to be important.

Nic sniffs at a car, smelling for the Vast and Hunt on one. He noses out Erika’s and points at it.

He may be fast with his connection to the Hunt, but he can’t transfer it to someone else, not even in a time of crisis. (Possibly especially not in a time of crisis. He’s still not 100% on these things.) He can run. She can drive behind him.

He sits by the car, waiting for her. Looking up at her. “This is important,” he tries to say with his eyes, “Please hurry.”

The look really comes off closer to “I am bringing you to a secondary location to eat you for lunch.” But that’s probably just the Hunt talking.

Erika looked between her car and Nic. She wasn't sure what had happened but it definitely wasn't in walking distance, and most likely had something to do with Harold.

"Alright, Lead the way."

She took her car keys out of her pocket, unlocked the car, and got in the drivers seat.

Nic knows he can outpace any vehicle. And he does, regularly as he guides Erika. He takes off too fast, then gets to a corner and paces nervously until she catches up. (The large, menacing canine pacing on street corners unsettles more than a few pedestrians.)

But he makes sure she doesn’t lose him. Not even as he guides her closer to South Oxford, into a very familiar, oppressive, windless rainstorm.

The rain beats down heavily onto Erika’s car, feeling like it intends to twist the frame and shatter the windows, to crush her body as she drowns. There’s no chance of this rain being natural in origin, not when Nic is involved already.

Erika remembered this feeling all too well. That suffocating feeling. It got worse after she became, after she died. But she wasn't gonna let it deter her. This storm absolutely has to do with Harold.

So she continued to follow in her car. She could've tried to shift the storm in her direction to feel more comfortable. That helplessness against something bigger than you, but she wasn't gonna risk it.

While being careful to avoid stepping in any puddles, Nic finally comes to a stop beside a lump on the sidewalk. He stands over it protectively and barks for Erika’s attention.

When he’s confident she’s coming, he bows his head and starts licking at whatever he’s standing over. It doesn’t move, not even to breathe, as he tries to rouse it. As Erika gets closer, she may recognize a grey trench coat, bruised wrists that now look horribly thin, and a mop of curls so drenched they’re nearly straight. A black umbrella lies closed on the sidewalk beside it.

Once she recognised who it was, Erika instantly quickened her step, and knelt by his side, already grabbing Harold by the shoulders.

"Shit, shit. Harold, can you hear me?!"

The rising panic in her voice was obvious as she shook him by his shoulders.

Harold is unresponsive, but it’s no mistaking him. His lips are swollen, his skin bruised, and not a breath or pulse to speak of. And aside from the normal stuff, he’s gaunt and bony, like something supernatural drained the strength from his body and left this behind.

"God dammit"

The not breathing part was normal for him, from what she remembered, but everything else certainly wasn't. Erika sighed.

"Sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's just to check you aren't actually dead."

Erika then raised her hand and slapped Harold on the face.

That gets him to respond. His eyes blink open, looking up into the rain, then at Erika.

Nic is on him before he gets a chance to look at his father, licking the rain off of his face with fervor. Slowly, Harold pushes himself off of the ground, only for his arms to give out and for him to collapse onto Nic.

“What…”

He can’t even conjure in his mind the question he’s trying to ask.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alive."

Erika let out a sigh of relief, her panic starting to die down.

"What the hell happened to you, Harold?"

“I…”

The answer dies on his lips. It wasn’t there to begin with.

“Harold.”

That word, that name stands out to him. It’s his, isn’t it? It’s hard to think. Why is he so hungry?

Erika thought for a moment. To her, Harold clearly seemed disorientated, and physically didn't look okay. Questions like that were gonna be useless at the moment.

"Are you able to move? You can sit my car while you catch your bearings, and to get out of the rain."

Harold starts nodding, then shakes his head. He feels ready to pass out again at any moment, and there’s a throbbing inside of his head.

When Erika mentions getting out of the rain, a muffled voice inside of him protests. But he doesn’t know exactly why. Getting out of the rain is usually a good thing though so he elects to ignore it. Distantly, there’s a splash almost lost in the sound of rain, and a child screams soon after. He ignores that, too.

On an instinct, Harold reaches to the side and wraps his fingers around his umbrella. He uses it as a cane in one hand, and with Nic under the other hand, he’s able to barely stagger to his feet.

Thunder rolls as he stands, like it’s welcoming him home.

Erika stood as well, and guided Harold to her car. She opened the door to the backseat for him to get in and sit down.

"There we go. I can probably pull up one of your old videos, that might give you more energy"

She said, pulling out her phone and remembering how more energised Harold was after they saw that video in the Institute all that time ago. It didn't even feel that long ago to her.

Harold gets into the seat without complaint, but it’s less comfortable than the crushing rain is. Like the pressure from the outside letting up just allows the pressure from within his head to compound.

Nic gets into the seat next to him, forcing his wet fur under Harold’s hand.

Harold tries to match his breathing to Nic’s, only… His lungs don’t move how they should. He starts to choke, to sputter. His words are garbled, strangled.

“I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?”

"Because you can't. Just don't think about it, it'll come naturally to you"

Was he really that disorientated that he forgot about his lungs, or was this something else? Erika thought for a second before continuing.

"If that doesn't work, go back out in the rain, that should help"

Harold gets out of the car, his umbrella surprisingly supporting all of his weight. Or maybe he is getting stronger.

“Yeah. The rain. It’s nice.”

He looks up into the clouds, letting it pour over his face. It’s a familiar weight to have hanging over him. Better than the pain in his head.

Nic whines for attention. He hits his head against the seats, then nudges his nose towards Harold.

Erika glanced between Nic and Harold, hesitating for a moment before putting her phone back in her pocket.

She looked at Harold, some concern evident on her face and in her voice.

"Harold, are you okay? What happened to you?"

“I… I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

He puts his hand to the side of his head, fingers tangling in his hair.

“My head hurts. I don’t think I remember anything.”

The thunder rumbles overhead. His hand falls back to the umbrella handle, bending over to better support his own weight. He’s still hungry, but there’s something wrong about the feeling. It’s placed wrong. Like it’s in his lungs, not his stomach.

“Something’s wrong.”

That's not good, like at all.

"You might need to feed. Harold, when you say you don't remember anything, what do you mean? Can you name your family or friends or is there nothing that comes to mind?"

Harold shakes his head. There are no names in his mind. Nothing he can remember.

Somewhere within the storm, children whisper to each other before jumping over puddles they fear to step in. A maintenance worker in the sewers is caught in a hopeless fight against an unexpected current. A young girl is still screaming at the puddle her father fell through, while her father fights to escape a crushing tunnel underground. Harold stands a little straighter.

He looks up at the woman talking to him again, a flash of recognition crossing his face.

“Erika.”

It’s not a pleasant tone. He almost sounds angry.

"I... yeah?"

She was almost hesitant to speak. If he couldn't remember much or anything at all, but now remembered her and spoke in that tone, she could guess why.

Still, just because he was her friend, or well, she thought of him as that, doesn't mean she wasn't ready to protect herself if things got a bit ugly, she just needed to wait and see if tis was about to go in that direction.

“Did you do this?”

He takes a step back, stumbling only a little bit over his own feet. His mind is shooting up red flags about her with no clue as to why, and there’s no one else around to blame. Nic moves to stand behind Erika, intent to prevent either avatar from hurting each other.

"Do what? If you're talking about your memory problem, no, I didn't."

Erika carefully took a step toward Harold, in an attempt to not startle him.

"Listen, Harold, you've been gone for a while and I don't know what happened to you between then and now for this to have happened. Just take a moment to relax and breathe, okay?"

He barely lets her get the words out.

“I can’t breathe!”

Harold’s eyes dart around in a panic, brandishing his umbrella as he steps farther back. His heels dip into a puddle of water behind him, and there’s something familiar about the way they drop deeper than they should into it.

He steps off and plunges downward. Nic runs after him, but only succeeds in landing snout-first into a puddle. He scratches at it, like he thinks he can dig his way after Harold.

"Shit, Harold!"

Erika reached forward to catch him, but he was gone before she could, and she stumbled slightly on the pavement.

She looked down at the puddle and at Nic, scratching at the puddle and pavement.

"Nic, stop. I don't think that's gonna do anything."

She ran a hand through her hair, sighing.

"God dammit."

#tma rp #tma oc #tma rp blog #oc rp #oc rp blog #researcher erika #the seeing storm

There’s a loud, urgent barking outside of Erika and Kieran’s residence. When it’s not answered immediately, it turns into a bloodcurdling howl, then a desperate whine.

Whatever animal is out there does not seem to be having a good time, but something about it is oddly familiar.

@bolton-buried

Erika started walking to the front door when she heard the first barking. When it got more urgent, she walked a bit faster.

"I'm coming! Jesus christ." She called out, though she knew it was ridiculous to say that to presumably a dog, but weirder things have happened in her life.

Once at the door, she opened it.

The canine at the door is recognizable, but “dog” may be pushing it. Nic Bolton was staying here, once upon a time. He stops yowling when the door opens, getting up to all fours and wagging his tail slightly.

He barks at Erika, more quietly now that he has someone’s attention. The movement he makes with his head is not unlike a pet asking to be let outside for a walk.

"Holy shit."

Erika froze for a moment. She wasn't sure if what or rather who she was seeing in front of her was real. But he was there, like actually there.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, usually Nic wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Nic stops gesturing to fix Erika with a stare. He lets it hang for a moment before whining again.

He wants to answer, he really does, but he doesn’t have the anatomy to form words that a person can understand. He steps closer to lick her hand, then starts walking to the street, looking back to see if she follows.

"Oh shit, right. You can't say. Sorry"

When she saw him start to walk away, and look back like he was waiting for her to follow, she looked back in the house and back at Nic.

"Just wait a moment, let me get a jacket and shoes on, and get my phone"

She quickly went back inside and them around a moment later came outside, closing and locking the front door. She was texting Kieran as she went to Nic, that she was gonna be out for a little while.

Whatever this was about had to be important.

Nic sniffs at a car, smelling for the Vast and Hunt on one. He noses out Erika’s and points at it.

He may be fast with his connection to the Hunt, but he can’t transfer it to someone else, not even in a time of crisis. (Possibly especially not in a time of crisis. He’s still not 100% on these things.) He can run. She can drive behind him.

He sits by the car, waiting for her. Looking up at her. “This is important,” he tries to say with his eyes, “Please hurry.”

The look really comes off closer to “I am bringing you to a secondary location to eat you for lunch.” But that’s probably just the Hunt talking.

Erika looked between her car and Nic. She wasn't sure what had happened but it definitely wasn't in walking distance, and most likely had something to do with Harold.

"Alright, Lead the way."

She took her car keys out of her pocket, unlocked the car, and got in the drivers seat.

Nic knows he can outpace any vehicle. And he does, regularly as he guides Erika. He takes off too fast, then gets to a corner and paces nervously until she catches up. (The large, menacing canine pacing on street corners unsettles more than a few pedestrians.)

But he makes sure she doesn’t lose him. Not even as he guides her closer to South Oxford, into a very familiar, oppressive, windless rainstorm.

The rain beats down heavily onto Erika’s car, feeling like it intends to twist the frame and shatter the windows, to crush her body as she drowns. There’s no chance of this rain being natural in origin, not when Nic is involved already.

Erika remembered this feeling all too well. That suffocating feeling. It got worse after she became, after she died. But she wasn't gonna let it deter her. This storm absolutely has to do with Harold.

So she continued to follow in her car. She could've tried to shift the storm in her direction to feel more comfortable. That helplessness against something bigger than you, but she wasn't gonna risk it.

While being careful to avoid stepping in any puddles, Nic finally comes to a stop beside a lump on the sidewalk. He stands over it protectively and barks for Erika’s attention.

When he’s confident she’s coming, he bows his head and starts licking at whatever he’s standing over. It doesn’t move, not even to breathe, as he tries to rouse it. As Erika gets closer, she may recognize a grey trench coat, bruised wrists that now look horribly thin, and a mop of curls so drenched they’re nearly straight. A black umbrella lies closed on the sidewalk beside it.

Once she recognised who it was, Erika instantly quickened her step, and knelt by his side, already grabbing Harold by the shoulders.

"Shit, shit. Harold, can you hear me?!"

The rising panic in her voice was obvious as she shook him by his shoulders.

Harold is unresponsive, but it’s no mistaking him. His lips are swollen, his skin bruised, and not a breath or pulse to speak of. And aside from the normal stuff, he’s gaunt and bony, like something supernatural drained the strength from his body and left this behind.

"God dammit"

The not breathing part was normal for him, from what she remembered, but everything else certainly wasn't. Erika sighed.

"Sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's just to check you aren't actually dead."

Erika then raised her hand and slapped Harold on the face.

That gets him to respond. His eyes blink open, looking up into the rain, then at Erika.

Nic is on him before he gets a chance to look at his father, licking the rain off of his face with fervor. Slowly, Harold pushes himself off of the ground, only for his arms to give out and for him to collapse onto Nic.

“What…”

He can’t even conjure in his mind the question he’s trying to ask.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alive."

Erika let out a sigh of relief, her panic starting to die down.

"What the hell happened to you, Harold?"

“I…”

The answer dies on his lips. It wasn’t there to begin with.

“Harold.”

That word, that name stands out to him. It’s his, isn’t it? It’s hard to think. Why is he so hungry?

Erika thought for a moment. To her, Harold clearly seemed disorientated, and physically didn't look okay. Questions like that were gonna be useless at the moment.

"Are you able to move? You can sit my car while you catch your bearings, and to get out of the rain."

Harold starts nodding, then shakes his head. He feels ready to pass out again at any moment, and there’s a throbbing inside of his head.

When Erika mentions getting out of the rain, a muffled voice inside of him protests. But he doesn’t know exactly why. Getting out of the rain is usually a good thing though so he elects to ignore it. Distantly, there’s a splash almost lost in the sound of rain, and a child screams soon after. He ignores that, too.

On an instinct, Harold reaches to the side and wraps his fingers around his umbrella. He uses it as a cane in one hand, and with Nic under the other hand, he’s able to barely stagger to his feet.

Thunder rolls as he stands, like it’s welcoming him home.

Erika stood as well, and guided Harold to her car. She opened the door to the backseat for him to get in and sit down.

"There we go. I can probably pull up one of your old videos, that might give you more energy"

She said, pulling out her phone and remembering how more energised Harold was after they saw that video in the Institute all that time ago. It didn't even feel that long ago to her.

Harold gets into the seat without complaint, but it’s less comfortable than the crushing rain is. Like the pressure from the outside letting up just allows the pressure from within his head to compound.

Nic gets into the seat next to him, forcing his wet fur under Harold’s hand.

Harold tries to match his breathing to Nic’s, only… His lungs don’t move how they should. He starts to choke, to sputter. His words are garbled, strangled.

“I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?”

"Because you can't. Just don't think about it, it'll come naturally to you"

Was he really that disorientated that he forgot about his lungs, or was this something else? Erika thought for a second before continuing.

"If that doesn't work, go back out in the rain, that should help"

Harold gets out of the car, his umbrella surprisingly supporting all of his weight. Or maybe he is getting stronger.

“Yeah. The rain. It’s nice.”

He looks up into the clouds, letting it pour over his face. It’s a familiar weight to have hanging over him. Better than the pain in his head.

Nic whines for attention. He hits his head against the seats, then nudges his nose towards Harold.

Erika glanced between Nic and Harold, hesitating for a moment before putting her phone back in her pocket.

She looked at Harold, some concern evident on her face and in her voice.

"Harold, are you okay? What happened to you?"

“I… I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

He puts his hand to the side of his head, fingers tangling in his hair.

“My head hurts. I don’t think I remember anything.”

The thunder rumbles overhead. His hand falls back to the umbrella handle, bending over to better support his own weight. He’s still hungry, but there’s something wrong about the feeling. It’s placed wrong. Like it’s in his lungs, not his stomach.

“Something’s wrong.”

That's not good, like at all.

"You might need to feed. Harold, when you say you don't remember anything, what do you mean? Can you name your family or friends or is there nothing that comes to mind?"

Harold shakes his head. There are no names in his mind. Nothing he can remember.

Somewhere within the storm, children whisper to each other before jumping over puddles they fear to step in. A maintenance worker in the sewers is caught in a hopeless fight against an unexpected current. A young girl is still screaming at the puddle her father fell through, while her father fights to escape a crushing tunnel underground. Harold stands a little straighter.

He looks up at the woman talking to him again, a flash of recognition crossing his face.

“Erika.”

It’s not a pleasant tone. He almost sounds angry.

"I... yeah?"

She was almost hesitant to speak. If he couldn't remember much or anything at all, but now remembered her and spoke in that tone, she could guess why.

Still, just because he was her friend, or well, she thought of him as that, doesn't mean she wasn't ready to protect herself if things got a bit ugly, she just needed to wait and see if tis was about to go in that direction.

“Did you do this?”

He takes a step back, stumbling only a little bit over his own feet. His mind is shooting up red flags about her with no clue as to why, and there’s no one else around to blame. Nic moves to stand behind Erika, intent to prevent either avatar from hurting each other.

"Do what? If you're talking about your memory problem, no, I didn't."

Erika carefully took a step toward Harold, in an attempt to not startle him.

"Listen, Harold, you've been gone for a while and I don't know what happened to you between then and now for this to have happened. Just take a moment to relax and breathe, okay?"

#tma rp #tma rp blog #tma oc #oc rp #oc rp blog #researcher erika #the seeing storm

There’s a loud, urgent barking outside of Erika and Kieran’s residence. When it’s not answered immediately, it turns into a bloodcurdling howl, then a desperate whine.

Whatever animal is out there does not seem to be having a good time, but something about it is oddly familiar.

@bolton-buried

Erika started walking to the front door when she heard the first barking. When it got more urgent, she walked a bit faster.

"I'm coming! Jesus christ." She called out, though she knew it was ridiculous to say that to presumably a dog, but weirder things have happened in her life.

Once at the door, she opened it.

The canine at the door is recognizable, but “dog” may be pushing it. Nic Bolton was staying here, once upon a time. He stops yowling when the door opens, getting up to all fours and wagging his tail slightly.

He barks at Erika, more quietly now that he has someone’s attention. The movement he makes with his head is not unlike a pet asking to be let outside for a walk.

"Holy shit."

Erika froze for a moment. She wasn't sure if what or rather who she was seeing in front of her was real. But he was there, like actually there.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, usually Nic wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Nic stops gesturing to fix Erika with a stare. He lets it hang for a moment before whining again.

He wants to answer, he really does, but he doesn’t have the anatomy to form words that a person can understand. He steps closer to lick her hand, then starts walking to the street, looking back to see if she follows.

"Oh shit, right. You can't say. Sorry"

When she saw him start to walk away, and look back like he was waiting for her to follow, she looked back in the house and back at Nic.

"Just wait a moment, let me get a jacket and shoes on, and get my phone"

She quickly went back inside and them around a moment later came outside, closing and locking the front door. She was texting Kieran as she went to Nic, that she was gonna be out for a little while.

Whatever this was about had to be important.

Nic sniffs at a car, smelling for the Vast and Hunt on one. He noses out Erika’s and points at it.

He may be fast with his connection to the Hunt, but he can’t transfer it to someone else, not even in a time of crisis. (Possibly especially not in a time of crisis. He’s still not 100% on these things.) He can run. She can drive behind him.

He sits by the car, waiting for her. Looking up at her. “This is important,” he tries to say with his eyes, “Please hurry.”

The look really comes off closer to “I am bringing you to a secondary location to eat you for lunch.” But that’s probably just the Hunt talking.

Erika looked between her car and Nic. She wasn't sure what had happened but it definitely wasn't in walking distance, and most likely had something to do with Harold.

"Alright, Lead the way."

She took her car keys out of her pocket, unlocked the car, and got in the drivers seat.

Nic knows he can outpace any vehicle. And he does, regularly as he guides Erika. He takes off too fast, then gets to a corner and paces nervously until she catches up. (The large, menacing canine pacing on street corners unsettles more than a few pedestrians.)

But he makes sure she doesn’t lose him. Not even as he guides her closer to South Oxford, into a very familiar, oppressive, windless rainstorm.

The rain beats down heavily onto Erika’s car, feeling like it intends to twist the frame and shatter the windows, to crush her body as she drowns. There’s no chance of this rain being natural in origin, not when Nic is involved already.

Erika remembered this feeling all too well. That suffocating feeling. It got worse after she became, after she died. But she wasn't gonna let it deter her. This storm absolutely has to do with Harold.

So she continued to follow in her car. She could've tried to shift the storm in her direction to feel more comfortable. That helplessness against something bigger than you, but she wasn't gonna risk it.

While being careful to avoid stepping in any puddles, Nic finally comes to a stop beside a lump on the sidewalk. He stands over it protectively and barks for Erika’s attention.

When he’s confident she’s coming, he bows his head and starts licking at whatever he’s standing over. It doesn’t move, not even to breathe, as he tries to rouse it. As Erika gets closer, she may recognize a grey trench coat, bruised wrists that now look horribly thin, and a mop of curls so drenched they’re nearly straight. A black umbrella lies closed on the sidewalk beside it.

Once she recognised who it was, Erika instantly quickened her step, and knelt by his side, already grabbing Harold by the shoulders.

"Shit, shit. Harold, can you hear me?!"

The rising panic in her voice was obvious as she shook him by his shoulders.

Harold is unresponsive, but it’s no mistaking him. His lips are swollen, his skin bruised, and not a breath or pulse to speak of. And aside from the normal stuff, he’s gaunt and bony, like something supernatural drained the strength from his body and left this behind.

"God dammit"

The not breathing part was normal for him, from what she remembered, but everything else certainly wasn't. Erika sighed.

"Sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's just to check you aren't actually dead."

Erika then raised her hand and slapped Harold on the face.

That gets him to respond. His eyes blink open, looking up into the rain, then at Erika.

Nic is on him before he gets a chance to look at his father, licking the rain off of his face with fervor. Slowly, Harold pushes himself off of the ground, only for his arms to give out and for him to collapse onto Nic.

“What…”

He can’t even conjure in his mind the question he’s trying to ask.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alive."

Erika let out a sigh of relief, her panic starting to die down.

"What the hell happened to you, Harold?"

“I…”

The answer dies on his lips. It wasn’t there to begin with.

“Harold.”

That word, that name stands out to him. It’s his, isn’t it? It’s hard to think. Why is he so hungry?

Erika thought for a moment. To her, Harold clearly seemed disorientated, and physically didn't look okay. Questions like that were gonna be useless at the moment.

"Are you able to move? You can sit my car while you catch your bearings, and to get out of the rain."

Harold starts nodding, then shakes his head. He feels ready to pass out again at any moment, and there’s a throbbing inside of his head.

When Erika mentions getting out of the rain, a muffled voice inside of him protests. But he doesn’t know exactly why. Getting out of the rain is usually a good thing though so he elects to ignore it. Distantly, there’s a splash almost lost in the sound of rain, and a child screams soon after. He ignores that, too.

On an instinct, Harold reaches to the side and wraps his fingers around his umbrella. He uses it as a cane in one hand, and with Nic under the other hand, he’s able to barely stagger to his feet.

Thunder rolls as he stands, like it’s welcoming him home.

Erika stood as well, and guided Harold to her car. She opened the door to the backseat for him to get in and sit down.

"There we go. I can probably pull up one of your old videos, that might give you more energy"

She said, pulling out her phone and remembering how more energised Harold was after they saw that video in the Institute all that time ago. It didn't even feel that long ago to her.

Harold gets into the seat without complaint, but it’s less comfortable than the crushing rain is. Like the pressure from the outside letting up just allows the pressure from within his head to compound.

Nic gets into the seat next to him, forcing his wet fur under Harold’s hand.

Harold tries to match his breathing to Nic’s, only… His lungs don’t move how they should. He starts to choke, to sputter. His words are garbled, strangled.

“I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?”

"Because you can't. Just don't think about it, it'll come naturally to you"

Was he really that disorientated that he forgot about his lungs, or was this something else? Erika thought for a second before continuing.

"If that doesn't work, go back out in the rain, that should help"

Harold gets out of the car, his umbrella surprisingly supporting all of his weight. Or maybe he is getting stronger.

“Yeah. The rain. It’s nice.”

He looks up into the clouds, letting it pour over his face. It’s a familiar weight to have hanging over him. Better than the pain in his head.

Nic whines for attention. He hits his head against the seats, then nudges his nose towards Harold.

Erika glanced between Nic and Harold, hesitating for a moment before putting her phone back in her pocket.

She looked at Harold, some concern evident on her face and in her voice.

"Harold, are you okay? What happened to you?"

“I… I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

He puts his hand to the side of his head, fingers tangling in his hair.

“My head hurts. I don’t think I remember anything.”

The thunder rumbles overhead. His hand falls back to the umbrella handle, bending over to better support his own weight. He’s still hungry, but there’s something wrong about the feeling. It’s placed wrong. Like it’s in his lungs, not his stomach.

“Something’s wrong.”

That's not good, like at all.

"You might need to feed. Harold, when you say you don't remember anything, what do you mean? Can you name your family or friends or is there nothing that comes to mind?"

Harold shakes his head. There are no names in his mind. Nothing he can remember.

Somewhere within the storm, children whisper to each other before jumping over puddles they fear to step in. A maintenance worker in the sewers is caught in a hopeless fight against an unexpected current. A young girl is still screaming at the puddle her father fell through, while her father fights to escape a crushing tunnel underground. Harold stands a little straighter.

He looks up at the woman talking to him again, a flash of recognition crossing his face.

“Erika.”

It’s not a pleasant tone. He almost sounds angry.

"I... yeah?"

She was almost hesitant to speak. If he couldn't remember much or anything at all, but now remembered her and spoke in that tone, she could guess why.

Still, just because he was her friend, or well, she thought of him as that, doesn't mean she wasn't ready to protect herself if things got a bit ugly, she just needed to wait and see if tis was about to go in that direction.

#tma rp #tma oc #tma rp blog #oc rp #oc rp blog #researcher erika #the seeing storm

There’s a loud, urgent barking outside of Erika and Kieran’s residence. When it’s not answered immediately, it turns into a bloodcurdling howl, then a desperate whine.

Whatever animal is out there does not seem to be having a good time, but something about it is oddly familiar.

@bolton-buried

Erika started walking to the front door when she heard the first barking. When it got more urgent, she walked a bit faster.

"I'm coming! Jesus christ." She called out, though she knew it was ridiculous to say that to presumably a dog, but weirder things have happened in her life.

Once at the door, she opened it.

The canine at the door is recognizable, but “dog” may be pushing it. Nic Bolton was staying here, once upon a time. He stops yowling when the door opens, getting up to all fours and wagging his tail slightly.

He barks at Erika, more quietly now that he has someone’s attention. The movement he makes with his head is not unlike a pet asking to be let outside for a walk.

"Holy shit."

Erika froze for a moment. She wasn't sure if what or rather who she was seeing in front of her was real. But he was there, like actually there.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, usually Nic wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Nic stops gesturing to fix Erika with a stare. He lets it hang for a moment before whining again.

He wants to answer, he really does, but he doesn’t have the anatomy to form words that a person can understand. He steps closer to lick her hand, then starts walking to the street, looking back to see if she follows.

"Oh shit, right. You can't say. Sorry"

When she saw him start to walk away, and look back like he was waiting for her to follow, she looked back in the house and back at Nic.

"Just wait a moment, let me get a jacket and shoes on, and get my phone"

She quickly went back inside and them around a moment later came outside, closing and locking the front door. She was texting Kieran as she went to Nic, that she was gonna be out for a little while.

Whatever this was about had to be important.

Nic sniffs at a car, smelling for the Vast and Hunt on one. He noses out Erika’s and points at it.

He may be fast with his connection to the Hunt, but he can’t transfer it to someone else, not even in a time of crisis. (Possibly especially not in a time of crisis. He’s still not 100% on these things.) He can run. She can drive behind him.

He sits by the car, waiting for her. Looking up at her. “This is important,” he tries to say with his eyes, “Please hurry.”

The look really comes off closer to “I am bringing you to a secondary location to eat you for lunch.” But that’s probably just the Hunt talking.

Erika looked between her car and Nic. She wasn't sure what had happened but it definitely wasn't in walking distance, and most likely had something to do with Harold.

"Alright, Lead the way."

She took her car keys out of her pocket, unlocked the car, and got in the drivers seat.

Nic knows he can outpace any vehicle. And he does, regularly as he guides Erika. He takes off too fast, then gets to a corner and paces nervously until she catches up. (The large, menacing canine pacing on street corners unsettles more than a few pedestrians.)

But he makes sure she doesn’t lose him. Not even as he guides her closer to South Oxford, into a very familiar, oppressive, windless rainstorm.

The rain beats down heavily onto Erika’s car, feeling like it intends to twist the frame and shatter the windows, to crush her body as she drowns. There’s no chance of this rain being natural in origin, not when Nic is involved already.

Erika remembered this feeling all too well. That suffocating feeling. It got worse after she became, after she died. But she wasn't gonna let it deter her. This storm absolutely has to do with Harold.

So she continued to follow in her car. She could've tried to shift the storm in her direction to feel more comfortable. That helplessness against something bigger than you, but she wasn't gonna risk it.

While being careful to avoid stepping in any puddles, Nic finally comes to a stop beside a lump on the sidewalk. He stands over it protectively and barks for Erika’s attention.

When he’s confident she’s coming, he bows his head and starts licking at whatever he’s standing over. It doesn’t move, not even to breathe, as he tries to rouse it. As Erika gets closer, she may recognize a grey trench coat, bruised wrists that now look horribly thin, and a mop of curls so drenched they’re nearly straight. A black umbrella lies closed on the sidewalk beside it.

Once she recognised who it was, Erika instantly quickened her step, and knelt by his side, already grabbing Harold by the shoulders.

"Shit, shit. Harold, can you hear me?!"

The rising panic in her voice was obvious as she shook him by his shoulders.

Harold is unresponsive, but it’s no mistaking him. His lips are swollen, his skin bruised, and not a breath or pulse to speak of. And aside from the normal stuff, he’s gaunt and bony, like something supernatural drained the strength from his body and left this behind.

"God dammit"

The not breathing part was normal for him, from what she remembered, but everything else certainly wasn't. Erika sighed.

"Sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's just to check you aren't actually dead."

Erika then raised her hand and slapped Harold on the face.

That gets him to respond. His eyes blink open, looking up into the rain, then at Erika.

Nic is on him before he gets a chance to look at his father, licking the rain off of his face with fervor. Slowly, Harold pushes himself off of the ground, only for his arms to give out and for him to collapse onto Nic.

“What…”

He can’t even conjure in his mind the question he’s trying to ask.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alive."

Erika let out a sigh of relief, her panic starting to die down.

"What the hell happened to you, Harold?"

“I…”

The answer dies on his lips. It wasn’t there to begin with.

“Harold.”

That word, that name stands out to him. It’s his, isn’t it? It’s hard to think. Why is he so hungry?

Erika thought for a moment. To her, Harold clearly seemed disorientated, and physically didn't look okay. Questions like that were gonna be useless at the moment.

"Are you able to move? You can sit my car while you catch your bearings, and to get out of the rain."

Harold starts nodding, then shakes his head. He feels ready to pass out again at any moment, and there’s a throbbing inside of his head.

When Erika mentions getting out of the rain, a muffled voice inside of him protests. But he doesn’t know exactly why. Getting out of the rain is usually a good thing though so he elects to ignore it. Distantly, there’s a splash almost lost in the sound of rain, and a child screams soon after. He ignores that, too.

On an instinct, Harold reaches to the side and wraps his fingers around his umbrella. He uses it as a cane in one hand, and with Nic under the other hand, he’s able to barely stagger to his feet.

Thunder rolls as he stands, like it’s welcoming him home.

Erika stood as well, and guided Harold to her car. She opened the door to the backseat for him to get in and sit down.

"There we go. I can probably pull up one of your old videos, that might give you more energy"

She said, pulling out her phone and remembering how more energised Harold was after they saw that video in the Institute all that time ago. It didn't even feel that long ago to her.

Harold gets into the seat without complaint, but it’s less comfortable than the crushing rain is. Like the pressure from the outside letting up just allows the pressure from within his head to compound.

Nic gets into the seat next to him, forcing his wet fur under Harold’s hand.

Harold tries to match his breathing to Nic’s, only… His lungs don’t move how they should. He starts to choke, to sputter. His words are garbled, strangled.

“I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?”

"Because you can't. Just don't think about it, it'll come naturally to you"

Was he really that disorientated that he forgot about his lungs, or was this something else? Erika thought for a second before continuing.

"If that doesn't work, go back out in the rain, that should help"

Harold gets out of the car, his umbrella surprisingly supporting all of his weight. Or maybe he is getting stronger.

“Yeah. The rain. It’s nice.”

He looks up into the clouds, letting it pour over his face. It’s a familiar weight to have hanging over him. Better than the pain in his head.

Nic whines for attention. He hits his head against the seats, then nudges his nose towards Harold.

Erika glanced between Nic and Harold, hesitating for a moment before putting her phone back in her pocket.

She looked at Harold, some concern evident on her face and in her voice.

"Harold, are you okay? What happened to you?"

“I… I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

He puts his hand to the side of his head, fingers tangling in his hair.

“My head hurts. I don’t think I remember anything.”

The thunder rumbles overhead. His hand falls back to the umbrella handle, bending over to better support his own weight. He’s still hungry, but there’s something wrong about the feeling. It’s placed wrong. Like it’s in his lungs, not his stomach.

“Something’s wrong.”

That's not good, like at all.

"You might need to feed. Harold, when you say you don't remember anything, what do you mean? Can you name your family or friends or is there nothing that comes to mind?"

#tma rp #tma oc #tma rp blog #oc rp #oc rp blog #researcher erika #the seeing storm

There’s a loud, urgent barking outside of Erika and Kieran’s residence. When it’s not answered immediately, it turns into a bloodcurdling howl, then a desperate whine.

Whatever animal is out there does not seem to be having a good time, but something about it is oddly familiar.

@bolton-buried

Erika started walking to the front door when she heard the first barking. When it got more urgent, she walked a bit faster.

"I'm coming! Jesus christ." She called out, though she knew it was ridiculous to say that to presumably a dog, but weirder things have happened in her life.

Once at the door, she opened it.

The canine at the door is recognizable, but “dog” may be pushing it. Nic Bolton was staying here, once upon a time. He stops yowling when the door opens, getting up to all fours and wagging his tail slightly.

He barks at Erika, more quietly now that he has someone’s attention. The movement he makes with his head is not unlike a pet asking to be let outside for a walk.

"Holy shit."

Erika froze for a moment. She wasn't sure if what or rather who she was seeing in front of her was real. But he was there, like actually there.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, usually Nic wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Nic stops gesturing to fix Erika with a stare. He lets it hang for a moment before whining again.

He wants to answer, he really does, but he doesn’t have the anatomy to form words that a person can understand. He steps closer to lick her hand, then starts walking to the street, looking back to see if she follows.

"Oh shit, right. You can't say. Sorry"

When she saw him start to walk away, and look back like he was waiting for her to follow, she looked back in the house and back at Nic.

"Just wait a moment, let me get a jacket and shoes on, and get my phone"

She quickly went back inside and them around a moment later came outside, closing and locking the front door. She was texting Kieran as she went to Nic, that she was gonna be out for a little while.

Whatever this was about had to be important.

Nic sniffs at a car, smelling for the Vast and Hunt on one. He noses out Erika’s and points at it.

He may be fast with his connection to the Hunt, but he can’t transfer it to someone else, not even in a time of crisis. (Possibly especially not in a time of crisis. He’s still not 100% on these things.) He can run. She can drive behind him.

He sits by the car, waiting for her. Looking up at her. “This is important,” he tries to say with his eyes, “Please hurry.”

The look really comes off closer to “I am bringing you to a secondary location to eat you for lunch.” But that’s probably just the Hunt talking.

Erika looked between her car and Nic. She wasn't sure what had happened but it definitely wasn't in walking distance, and most likely had something to do with Harold.

"Alright, Lead the way."

She took her car keys out of her pocket, unlocked the car, and got in the drivers seat.

Nic knows he can outpace any vehicle. And he does, regularly as he guides Erika. He takes off too fast, then gets to a corner and paces nervously until she catches up. (The large, menacing canine pacing on street corners unsettles more than a few pedestrians.)

But he makes sure she doesn’t lose him. Not even as he guides her closer to South Oxford, into a very familiar, oppressive, windless rainstorm.

The rain beats down heavily onto Erika’s car, feeling like it intends to twist the frame and shatter the windows, to crush her body as she drowns. There’s no chance of this rain being natural in origin, not when Nic is involved already.

Erika remembered this feeling all too well. That suffocating feeling. It got worse after she became, after she died. But she wasn't gonna let it deter her. This storm absolutely has to do with Harold.

So she continued to follow in her car. She could've tried to shift the storm in her direction to feel more comfortable. That helplessness against something bigger than you, but she wasn't gonna risk it.

While being careful to avoid stepping in any puddles, Nic finally comes to a stop beside a lump on the sidewalk. He stands over it protectively and barks for Erika’s attention.

When he’s confident she’s coming, he bows his head and starts licking at whatever he’s standing over. It doesn’t move, not even to breathe, as he tries to rouse it. As Erika gets closer, she may recognize a grey trench coat, bruised wrists that now look horribly thin, and a mop of curls so drenched they’re nearly straight. A black umbrella lies closed on the sidewalk beside it.

Once she recognised who it was, Erika instantly quickened her step, and knelt by his side, already grabbing Harold by the shoulders.

"Shit, shit. Harold, can you hear me?!"

The rising panic in her voice was obvious as she shook him by his shoulders.

Harold is unresponsive, but it’s no mistaking him. His lips are swollen, his skin bruised, and not a breath or pulse to speak of. And aside from the normal stuff, he’s gaunt and bony, like something supernatural drained the strength from his body and left this behind.

"God dammit"

The not breathing part was normal for him, from what she remembered, but everything else certainly wasn't. Erika sighed.

"Sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's just to check you aren't actually dead."

Erika then raised her hand and slapped Harold on the face.

That gets him to respond. His eyes blink open, looking up into the rain, then at Erika.

Nic is on him before he gets a chance to look at his father, licking the rain off of his face with fervor. Slowly, Harold pushes himself off of the ground, only for his arms to give out and for him to collapse onto Nic.

“What…”

He can’t even conjure in his mind the question he’s trying to ask.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alive."

Erika let out a sigh of relief, her panic starting to die down.

"What the hell happened to you, Harold?"

“I…”

The answer dies on his lips. It wasn’t there to begin with.

“Harold.”

That word, that name stands out to him. It’s his, isn’t it? It’s hard to think. Why is he so hungry?

Erika thought for a moment. To her, Harold clearly seemed disorientated, and physically didn't look okay. Questions like that were gonna be useless at the moment.

"Are you able to move? You can sit my car while you catch your bearings, and to get out of the rain."

Harold starts nodding, then shakes his head. He feels ready to pass out again at any moment, and there’s a throbbing inside of his head.

When Erika mentions getting out of the rain, a muffled voice inside of him protests. But he doesn’t know exactly why. Getting out of the rain is usually a good thing though so he elects to ignore it. Distantly, there’s a splash almost lost in the sound of rain, and a child screams soon after. He ignores that, too.

On an instinct, Harold reaches to the side and wraps his fingers around his umbrella. He uses it as a cane in one hand, and with Nic under the other hand, he’s able to barely stagger to his feet.

Thunder rolls as he stands, like it’s welcoming him home.

Erika stood as well, and guided Harold to her car. She opened the door to the backseat for him to get in and sit down.

"There we go. I can probably pull up one of your old videos, that might give you more energy"

She said, pulling out her phone and remembering how more energised Harold was after they saw that video in the Institute all that time ago. It didn't even feel that long ago to her.

Harold gets into the seat without complaint, but it’s less comfortable than the crushing rain is. Like the pressure from the outside letting up just allows the pressure from within his head to compound.

Nic gets into the seat next to him, forcing his wet fur under Harold’s hand.

Harold tries to match his breathing to Nic’s, only… His lungs don’t move how they should. He starts to choke, to sputter. His words are garbled, strangled.

“I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?”

"Because you can't. Just don't think about it, it'll come naturally to you"

Was he really that disorientated that he forgot about his lungs, or was this something else? Erika thought for a second before continuing.

"If that doesn't work, go back out in the rain, that should help"

Harold gets out of the car, his umbrella surprisingly supporting all of his weight. Or maybe he is getting stronger.

“Yeah. The rain. It’s nice.”

He looks up into the clouds, letting it pour over his face. It’s a familiar weight to have hanging over him. Better than the pain in his head.

Nic whines for attention. He hits his head against the seats, then nudges his nose towards Harold.

Erika glanced between Nic and Harold, hesitating for a moment before putting her phone back in her pocket.

She looked at Harold, some concern evident on her face and in her voice.

"Harold, are you okay? What happened to you?"

#tma rp #tma oc #tma rp blog #oc rp #oc rp blog #researcher erika #the seeing storm

There’s a loud, urgent barking outside of Erika and Kieran’s residence. When it’s not answered immediately, it turns into a bloodcurdling howl, then a desperate whine.

Whatever animal is out there does not seem to be having a good time, but something about it is oddly familiar.

@bolton-buried

Erika started walking to the front door when she heard the first barking. When it got more urgent, she walked a bit faster.

"I'm coming! Jesus christ." She called out, though she knew it was ridiculous to say that to presumably a dog, but weirder things have happened in her life.

Once at the door, she opened it.

The canine at the door is recognizable, but “dog” may be pushing it. Nic Bolton was staying here, once upon a time. He stops yowling when the door opens, getting up to all fours and wagging his tail slightly.

He barks at Erika, more quietly now that he has someone’s attention. The movement he makes with his head is not unlike a pet asking to be let outside for a walk.

"Holy shit."

Erika froze for a moment. She wasn't sure if what or rather who she was seeing in front of her was real. But he was there, like actually there.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, usually Nic wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Nic stops gesturing to fix Erika with a stare. He lets it hang for a moment before whining again.

He wants to answer, he really does, but he doesn’t have the anatomy to form words that a person can understand. He steps closer to lick her hand, then starts walking to the street, looking back to see if she follows.

"Oh shit, right. You can't say. Sorry"

When she saw him start to walk away, and look back like he was waiting for her to follow, she looked back in the house and back at Nic.

"Just wait a moment, let me get a jacket and shoes on, and get my phone"

She quickly went back inside and them around a moment later came outside, closing and locking the front door. She was texting Kieran as she went to Nic, that she was gonna be out for a little while.

Whatever this was about had to be important.

Nic sniffs at a car, smelling for the Vast and Hunt on one. He noses out Erika’s and points at it.

He may be fast with his connection to the Hunt, but he can’t transfer it to someone else, not even in a time of crisis. (Possibly especially not in a time of crisis. He’s still not 100% on these things.) He can run. She can drive behind him.

He sits by the car, waiting for her. Looking up at her. “This is important,” he tries to say with his eyes, “Please hurry.”

The look really comes off closer to “I am bringing you to a secondary location to eat you for lunch.” But that’s probably just the Hunt talking.

Erika looked between her car and Nic. She wasn't sure what had happened but it definitely wasn't in walking distance, and most likely had something to do with Harold.

"Alright, Lead the way."

She took her car keys out of her pocket, unlocked the car, and got in the drivers seat.

Nic knows he can outpace any vehicle. And he does, regularly as he guides Erika. He takes off too fast, then gets to a corner and paces nervously until she catches up. (The large, menacing canine pacing on street corners unsettles more than a few pedestrians.)

But he makes sure she doesn’t lose him. Not even as he guides her closer to South Oxford, into a very familiar, oppressive, windless rainstorm.

The rain beats down heavily onto Erika’s car, feeling like it intends to twist the frame and shatter the windows, to crush her body as she drowns. There’s no chance of this rain being natural in origin, not when Nic is involved already.

Erika remembered this feeling all too well. That suffocating feeling. It got worse after she became, after she died. But she wasn't gonna let it deter her. This storm absolutely has to do with Harold.

So she continued to follow in her car. She could've tried to shift the storm in her direction to feel more comfortable. That helplessness against something bigger than you, but she wasn't gonna risk it.

While being careful to avoid stepping in any puddles, Nic finally comes to a stop beside a lump on the sidewalk. He stands over it protectively and barks for Erika’s attention.

When he’s confident she’s coming, he bows his head and starts licking at whatever he’s standing over. It doesn’t move, not even to breathe, as he tries to rouse it. As Erika gets closer, she may recognize a grey trench coat, bruised wrists that now look horribly thin, and a mop of curls so drenched they’re nearly straight. A black umbrella lies closed on the sidewalk beside it.

Once she recognised who it was, Erika instantly quickened her step, and knelt by his side, already grabbing Harold by the shoulders.

"Shit, shit. Harold, can you hear me?!"

The rising panic in her voice was obvious as she shook him by his shoulders.

Harold is unresponsive, but it’s no mistaking him. His lips are swollen, his skin bruised, and not a breath or pulse to speak of. And aside from the normal stuff, he’s gaunt and bony, like something supernatural drained the strength from his body and left this behind.

"God dammit"

The not breathing part was normal for him, from what she remembered, but everything else certainly wasn't. Erika sighed.

"Sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's just to check you aren't actually dead."

Erika then raised her hand and slapped Harold on the face.

That gets him to respond. His eyes blink open, looking up into the rain, then at Erika.

Nic is on him before he gets a chance to look at his father, licking the rain off of his face with fervor. Slowly, Harold pushes himself off of the ground, only for his arms to give out and for him to collapse onto Nic.

“What…”

He can’t even conjure in his mind the question he’s trying to ask.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alive."

Erika let out a sigh of relief, her panic starting to die down.

"What the hell happened to you, Harold?"

“I…”

The answer dies on his lips. It wasn’t there to begin with.

“Harold.”

That word, that name stands out to him. It’s his, isn’t it? It’s hard to think. Why is he so hungry?

Erika thought for a moment. To her, Harold clearly seemed disorientated, and physically didn't look okay. Questions like that were gonna be useless at the moment.

"Are you able to move? You can sit my car while you catch your bearings, and to get out of the rain."

Harold starts nodding, then shakes his head. He feels ready to pass out again at any moment, and there’s a throbbing inside of his head.

When Erika mentions getting out of the rain, a muffled voice inside of him protests. But he doesn’t know exactly why. Getting out of the rain is usually a good thing though so he elects to ignore it. Distantly, there’s a splash almost lost in the sound of rain, and a child screams soon after. He ignores that, too.

On an instinct, Harold reaches to the side and wraps his fingers around his umbrella. He uses it as a cane in one hand, and with Nic under the other hand, he’s able to barely stagger to his feet.

Thunder rolls as he stands, like it’s welcoming him home.

Erika stood as well, and guided Harold to her car. She opened the door to the backseat for him to get in and sit down.

"There we go. I can probably pull up one of your old videos, that might give you more energy"

She said, pulling out her phone and remembering how more energised Harold was after they saw that video in the Institute all that time ago. It didn't even feel that long ago to her.

Harold gets into the seat without complaint, but it’s less comfortable than the crushing rain is. Like the pressure from the outside letting up just allows the pressure from within his head to compound.

Nic gets into the seat next to him, forcing his wet fur under Harold’s hand.

Harold tries to match his breathing to Nic’s, only… His lungs don’t move how they should. He starts to choke, to sputter. His words are garbled, strangled.

“I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?”

"Because you can't. Just don't think about it, it'll come naturally to you"

Was he really that disorientated that he forgot about his lungs, or was this something else? Erika thought for a second before continuing.

"If that doesn't work, go back out in the rain, that should help"

#tma rp #tma rp blog #tma oc #oc rp #oc rp blog #researcher erika #the seeing storm

There’s a loud, urgent barking outside of Erika and Kieran’s residence. When it’s not answered immediately, it turns into a bloodcurdling howl, then a desperate whine.

Whatever animal is out there does not seem to be having a good time, but something about it is oddly familiar.

@bolton-buried

Erika started walking to the front door when she heard the first barking. When it got more urgent, she walked a bit faster.

"I'm coming! Jesus christ." She called out, though she knew it was ridiculous to say that to presumably a dog, but weirder things have happened in her life.

Once at the door, she opened it.

The canine at the door is recognizable, but “dog” may be pushing it. Nic Bolton was staying here, once upon a time. He stops yowling when the door opens, getting up to all fours and wagging his tail slightly.

He barks at Erika, more quietly now that he has someone’s attention. The movement he makes with his head is not unlike a pet asking to be let outside for a walk.

"Holy shit."

Erika froze for a moment. She wasn't sure if what or rather who she was seeing in front of her was real. But he was there, like actually there.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, usually Nic wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Nic stops gesturing to fix Erika with a stare. He lets it hang for a moment before whining again.

He wants to answer, he really does, but he doesn’t have the anatomy to form words that a person can understand. He steps closer to lick her hand, then starts walking to the street, looking back to see if she follows.

"Oh shit, right. You can't say. Sorry"

When she saw him start to walk away, and look back like he was waiting for her to follow, she looked back in the house and back at Nic.

"Just wait a moment, let me get a jacket and shoes on, and get my phone"

She quickly went back inside and them around a moment later came outside, closing and locking the front door. She was texting Kieran as she went to Nic, that she was gonna be out for a little while.

Whatever this was about had to be important.

Nic sniffs at a car, smelling for the Vast and Hunt on one. He noses out Erika’s and points at it.

He may be fast with his connection to the Hunt, but he can’t transfer it to someone else, not even in a time of crisis. (Possibly especially not in a time of crisis. He’s still not 100% on these things.) He can run. She can drive behind him.

He sits by the car, waiting for her. Looking up at her. “This is important,” he tries to say with his eyes, “Please hurry.”

The look really comes off closer to “I am bringing you to a secondary location to eat you for lunch.” But that’s probably just the Hunt talking.

Erika looked between her car and Nic. She wasn't sure what had happened but it definitely wasn't in walking distance, and most likely had something to do with Harold.

"Alright, Lead the way."

She took her car keys out of her pocket, unlocked the car, and got in the drivers seat.

Nic knows he can outpace any vehicle. And he does, regularly as he guides Erika. He takes off too fast, then gets to a corner and paces nervously until she catches up. (The large, menacing canine pacing on street corners unsettles more than a few pedestrians.)

But he makes sure she doesn’t lose him. Not even as he guides her closer to South Oxford, into a very familiar, oppressive, windless rainstorm.

The rain beats down heavily onto Erika’s car, feeling like it intends to twist the frame and shatter the windows, to crush her body as she drowns. There’s no chance of this rain being natural in origin, not when Nic is involved already.

Erika remembered this feeling all too well. That suffocating feeling. It got worse after she became, after she died. But she wasn't gonna let it deter her. This storm absolutely has to do with Harold.

So she continued to follow in her car. She could've tried to shift the storm in her direction to feel more comfortable. That helplessness against something bigger than you, but she wasn't gonna risk it.

While being careful to avoid stepping in any puddles, Nic finally comes to a stop beside a lump on the sidewalk. He stands over it protectively and barks for Erika’s attention.

When he’s confident she’s coming, he bows his head and starts licking at whatever he’s standing over. It doesn’t move, not even to breathe, as he tries to rouse it. As Erika gets closer, she may recognize a grey trench coat, bruised wrists that now look horribly thin, and a mop of curls so drenched they’re nearly straight. A black umbrella lies closed on the sidewalk beside it.

Once she recognised who it was, Erika instantly quickened her step, and knelt by his side, already grabbing Harold by the shoulders.

"Shit, shit. Harold, can you hear me?!"

The rising panic in her voice was obvious as she shook him by his shoulders.

Harold is unresponsive, but it’s no mistaking him. His lips are swollen, his skin bruised, and not a breath or pulse to speak of. And aside from the normal stuff, he’s gaunt and bony, like something supernatural drained the strength from his body and left this behind.

"God dammit"

The not breathing part was normal for him, from what she remembered, but everything else certainly wasn't. Erika sighed.

"Sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's just to check you aren't actually dead."

Erika then raised her hand and slapped Harold on the face.

That gets him to respond. His eyes blink open, looking up into the rain, then at Erika.

Nic is on him before he gets a chance to look at his father, licking the rain off of his face with fervor. Slowly, Harold pushes himself off of the ground, only for his arms to give out and for him to collapse onto Nic.

“What…”

He can’t even conjure in his mind the question he’s trying to ask.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alive."

Erika let out a sigh of relief, her panic starting to die down.

"What the hell happened to you, Harold?"

“I…”

The answer dies on his lips. It wasn’t there to begin with.

“Harold.”

That word, that name stands out to him. It’s his, isn’t it? It’s hard to think. Why is he so hungry?

Erika thought for a moment. To her, Harold clearly seemed disorientated, and physically didn't look okay. Questions like that were gonna be useless at the moment.

"Are you able to move? You can sit my car while you catch your bearings, and to get out of the rain."

Harold starts nodding, then shakes his head. He feels ready to pass out again at any moment, and there’s a throbbing inside of his head.

When Erika mentions getting out of the rain, a muffled voice inside of him protests. But he doesn’t know exactly why. Getting out of the rain is usually a good thing though so he elects to ignore it. Distantly, there’s a splash almost lost in the sound of rain, and a child screams soon after. He ignores that, too.

On an instinct, Harold reaches to the side and wraps his fingers around his umbrella. He uses it as a cane in one hand, and with Nic under the other hand, he’s able to barely stagger to his feet.

Thunder rolls as he stands, like it’s welcoming him home.

Erika stood as well, and guided Harold to her car. She opened the door to the backseat for him to get in and sit down.

"There we go. I can probably pull up one of your old videos, that might give you more energy"

She said, pulling out her phone and remembering how more energised Harold was after they saw that video in the Institute all that time ago. It didn't even feel that long ago to her.

#tma rp #tma rp blog #tma oc #oc rp #oc rp blog #researcher erika #the seeing storm

There’s a loud, urgent barking outside of Erika and Kieran’s residence. When it’s not answered immediately, it turns into a bloodcurdling howl, then a desperate whine.

Whatever animal is out there does not seem to be having a good time, but something about it is oddly familiar.

@bolton-buried

Erika started walking to the front door when she heard the first barking. When it got more urgent, she walked a bit faster.

"I'm coming! Jesus christ." She called out, though she knew it was ridiculous to say that to presumably a dog, but weirder things have happened in her life.

Once at the door, she opened it.

The canine at the door is recognizable, but “dog” may be pushing it. Nic Bolton was staying here, once upon a time. He stops yowling when the door opens, getting up to all fours and wagging his tail slightly.

He barks at Erika, more quietly now that he has someone’s attention. The movement he makes with his head is not unlike a pet asking to be let outside for a walk.

"Holy shit."

Erika froze for a moment. She wasn't sure if what or rather who she was seeing in front of her was real. But he was there, like actually there.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, usually Nic wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Nic stops gesturing to fix Erika with a stare. He lets it hang for a moment before whining again.

He wants to answer, he really does, but he doesn’t have the anatomy to form words that a person can understand. He steps closer to lick her hand, then starts walking to the street, looking back to see if she follows.

"Oh shit, right. You can't say. Sorry"

When she saw him start to walk away, and look back like he was waiting for her to follow, she looked back in the house and back at Nic.

"Just wait a moment, let me get a jacket and shoes on, and get my phone"

She quickly went back inside and them around a moment later came outside, closing and locking the front door. She was texting Kieran as she went to Nic, that she was gonna be out for a little while.

Whatever this was about had to be important.

Nic sniffs at a car, smelling for the Vast and Hunt on one. He noses out Erika’s and points at it.

He may be fast with his connection to the Hunt, but he can’t transfer it to someone else, not even in a time of crisis. (Possibly especially not in a time of crisis. He’s still not 100% on these things.) He can run. She can drive behind him.

He sits by the car, waiting for her. Looking up at her. “This is important,” he tries to say with his eyes, “Please hurry.”

The look really comes off closer to “I am bringing you to a secondary location to eat you for lunch.” But that’s probably just the Hunt talking.

Erika looked between her car and Nic. She wasn't sure what had happened but it definitely wasn't in walking distance, and most likely had something to do with Harold.

"Alright, Lead the way."

She took her car keys out of her pocket, unlocked the car, and got in the drivers seat.

Nic knows he can outpace any vehicle. And he does, regularly as he guides Erika. He takes off too fast, then gets to a corner and paces nervously until she catches up. (The large, menacing canine pacing on street corners unsettles more than a few pedestrians.)

But he makes sure she doesn’t lose him. Not even as he guides her closer to South Oxford, into a very familiar, oppressive, windless rainstorm.

The rain beats down heavily onto Erika’s car, feeling like it intends to twist the frame and shatter the windows, to crush her body as she drowns. There’s no chance of this rain being natural in origin, not when Nic is involved already.

Erika remembered this feeling all too well. That suffocating feeling. It got worse after she became, after she died. But she wasn't gonna let it deter her. This storm absolutely has to do with Harold.

So she continued to follow in her car. She could've tried to shift the storm in her direction to feel more comfortable. That helplessness against something bigger than you, but she wasn't gonna risk it.

While being careful to avoid stepping in any puddles, Nic finally comes to a stop beside a lump on the sidewalk. He stands over it protectively and barks for Erika’s attention.

When he’s confident she’s coming, he bows his head and starts licking at whatever he’s standing over. It doesn’t move, not even to breathe, as he tries to rouse it. As Erika gets closer, she may recognize a grey trench coat, bruised wrists that now look horribly thin, and a mop of curls so drenched they’re nearly straight. A black umbrella lies closed on the sidewalk beside it.

Once she recognised who it was, Erika instantly quickened her step, and knelt by his side, already grabbing Harold by the shoulders.

"Shit, shit. Harold, can you hear me?!"

The rising panic in her voice was obvious as she shook him by his shoulders.

Harold is unresponsive, but it’s no mistaking him. His lips are swollen, his skin bruised, and not a breath or pulse to speak of. And aside from the normal stuff, he’s gaunt and bony, like something supernatural drained the strength from his body and left this behind.

"God dammit"

The not breathing part was normal for him, from what she remembered, but everything else certainly wasn't. Erika sighed.

"Sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's just to check you aren't actually dead."

Erika then raised her hand and slapped Harold on the face.

That gets him to respond. His eyes blink open, looking up into the rain, then at Erika.

Nic is on him before he gets a chance to look at his father, licking the rain off of his face with fervor. Slowly, Harold pushes himself off of the ground, only for his arms to give out and for him to collapse onto Nic.

“What…”

He can’t even conjure in his mind the question he’s trying to ask.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alive."

Erika let out a sigh of relief, her panic starting to die down.

"What the hell happened to you, Harold?"

“I…”

The answer dies on his lips. It wasn’t there to begin with.

“Harold.”

That word, that name stands out to him. It’s his, isn’t it? It’s hard to think. Why is he so hungry?

Erika thought for a moment. To her, Harold clearly seemed disorientated, and physically didn't look okay. Questions like that were gonna be useless at the moment.

"Are you able to move? You can sit my car while you catch your bearings, and to get out of the rain."

#tma rp #tma rp blog #tma oc #oc rp #oc rp blog #researcher erika #the seeing storm

There’s a loud, urgent barking outside of Erika and Kieran’s residence. When it’s not answered immediately, it turns into a bloodcurdling howl, then a desperate whine.

Whatever animal is out there does not seem to be having a good time, but something about it is oddly familiar.

@bolton-buried

Erika started walking to the front door when she heard the first barking. When it got more urgent, she walked a bit faster.

"I'm coming! Jesus christ." She called out, though she knew it was ridiculous to say that to presumably a dog, but weirder things have happened in her life.

Once at the door, she opened it.

The canine at the door is recognizable, but “dog” may be pushing it. Nic Bolton was staying here, once upon a time. He stops yowling when the door opens, getting up to all fours and wagging his tail slightly.

He barks at Erika, more quietly now that he has someone’s attention. The movement he makes with his head is not unlike a pet asking to be let outside for a walk.

"Holy shit."

Erika froze for a moment. She wasn't sure if what or rather who she was seeing in front of her was real. But he was there, like actually there.

She cleared her throat and glanced around, usually Nic wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here? How are you here?"

Nic stops gesturing to fix Erika with a stare. He lets it hang for a moment before whining again.

He wants to answer, he really does, but he doesn’t have the anatomy to form words that a person can understand. He steps closer to lick her hand, then starts walking to the street, looking back to see if she follows.

"Oh shit, right. You can't say. Sorry"

When she saw him start to walk away, and look back like he was waiting for her to follow, she looked back in the house and back at Nic.

"Just wait a moment, let me get a jacket and shoes on, and get my phone"

She quickly went back inside and them around a moment later came outside, closing and locking the front door. She was texting Kieran as she went to Nic, that she was gonna be out for a little while.

Whatever this was about had to be important.

Nic sniffs at a car, smelling for the Vast and Hunt on one. He noses out Erika’s and points at it.

He may be fast with his connection to the Hunt, but he can’t transfer it to someone else, not even in a time of crisis. (Possibly especially not in a time of crisis. He’s still not 100% on these things.) He can run. She can drive behind him.

He sits by the car, waiting for her. Looking up at her. “This is important,” he tries to say with his eyes, “Please hurry.”

The look really comes off closer to “I am bringing you to a secondary location to eat you for lunch.” But that’s probably just the Hunt talking.

Erika looked between her car and Nic. She wasn't sure what had happened but it definitely wasn't in walking distance, and most likely had something to do with Harold.

"Alright, Lead the way."

She took her car keys out of her pocket, unlocked the car, and got in the drivers seat.

Nic knows he can outpace any vehicle. And he does, regularly as he guides Erika. He takes off too fast, then gets to a corner and paces nervously until she catches up. (The large, menacing canine pacing on street corners unsettles more than a few pedestrians.)

But he makes sure she doesn’t lose him. Not even as he guides her closer to South Oxford, into a very familiar, oppressive, windless rainstorm.

The rain beats down heavily onto Erika’s car, feeling like it intends to twist the frame and shatter the windows, to crush her body as she drowns. There’s no chance of this rain being natural in origin, not when Nic is involved already.

Erika remembered this feeling all too well. That suffocating feeling. It got worse after she became, after she died. But she wasn't gonna let it deter her. This storm absolutely has to do with Harold.

So she continued to follow in her car. She could've tried to shift the storm in her direction to feel more comfortable. That helplessness against something bigger than you, but she wasn't gonna risk it.

While being careful to avoid stepping in any puddles, Nic finally comes to a stop beside a lump on the sidewalk. He stands over it protectively and barks for Erika’s attention.

When he’s confident she’s coming, he bows his head and starts licking at whatever he’s standing over. It doesn’t move, not even to breathe, as he tries to rouse it. As Erika gets closer, she may recognize a grey trench coat, bruised wrists that now look horribly thin, and a mop of curls so drenched they’re nearly straight. A black umbrella lies closed on the sidewalk beside it.

Once she recognised who it was, Erika instantly quickened her step, and knelt by his side, already grabbing Harold by the shoulders.

"Shit, shit. Harold, can you hear me?!"

The rising panic in her voice was obvious as she shook him by his shoulders.

Harold is unresponsive, but it’s no mistaking him. His lips are swollen, his skin bruised, and not a breath or pulse to speak of. And aside from the normal stuff, he’s gaunt and bony, like something supernatural drained the strength from his body and left this behind.

"God dammit"

The not breathing part was normal for him, from what she remembered, but everything else certainly wasn't. Erika sighed.

"Sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's just to check you aren't actually dead."

Erika then raised her hand and slapped Harold on the face.

That gets him to respond. His eyes blink open, looking up into the rain, then at Erika.

Nic is on him before he gets a chance to look at his father, licking the rain off of his face with fervor. Slowly, Harold pushes himself off of the ground, only for his arms to give out and for him to collapse onto Nic.

“What…”

He can’t even conjure in his mind the question he’s trying to ask.

"Oh thank goodness, you're alive."

Erika let out a sigh of relief, her panic starting to die down.

"What the hell happened to you, Harold?"

#tma rp #tma oc #tma rp blog #oc rp #oc rp blog #researcher erika #the seeing storm

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