H.ey. hey. @xemily-similex,, trykng to cope with the knowledge of whats gonna happen next in gut wrenched by drawing selfship. Drew part of my favorite scene in chapter two .,,,,cough..im normal about flirty but mean sun hyyyeessss. Tried to give him the lazy eye but then I went and narrowed his eyes, which was NOT. helpful. Not in the least bit. And im just now realizing I did not draw Moon at all lolol
My commissions if you are interested! ☕️
I love thisss whole scene so.muuch. They make me feel. Things. And I continue to prove that I CANNOT draw biblically accurate dca at all LMAO
Pulling the guys with my SUPER EPIC AWESOME AUTISTIC RIZZ and then fumbling them
TW: Animal Murder, Graphic depictions of violence, drugging, and kidnapping
If you have any questions I am happy to answer!
Briar struggled against her bonds; she knew it shouldn’t be this hard, Jeff had taught her how to escape rope before. But the cool numbness that consumed her body prevented her from doing much aside from squirming pathetically. She took a breath to calm her racing heart, she knew that she needed to keep her head if she planned to get out alive. She focused on the dim room in front of her. The walls were wooden and slanted, held up by splinter laden boards.
Beneath her feet, a faded grey shaggy carpet spurted out puffs of dust as she moved the chair. She couldn’t help but sneeze as years of dust particles introduced themselves to her nose. The room seemed to come alive as more dust flew into the air. Briar used her teeth to pull her shirt over her nose. She smiled slightly, knowing at least some of her strength was slowly returning. Focusing back on the task at hand she noticed chains all around her. They seemed to be forming some sort of pattern, though it wasn’t one she was familiar with. She looked as far behind herself as she could manage; all she could see was a taxidermied rabbit bowing.
“I see you’re awake.” Like a pick through a block of ice, his voice pierced the soft silence. “You probably have many questions for me. But they can wait till later my dear Кролик.” His accent wasn’t one Briar had exactly heard before. Her limited knowledge made her want to say German but the deep rich tang and the calmness gave her pause. The man in front of her was pale as most people she knew but his features seemed sharper, even if they were hidden behind a wooden half mask. His brown eyes trained on her and his lips twitching. He gave her a smirk, pulling something from his back pocket.
Briar’s eyes widened because in his hand he held her phone. “Now I know you probably don’t have the безглазый демон saved by name. So I would like you to tell me his number so that I may bring him under my control.” She thought over his words, even if she didn’t recognize the language she still understood the word demon. Demon, as in Eyeless Jack. Why would he want her to call Eyeless Jack?
Briar croaked and winced, she wanted desperately to interrogate him or at least snap back with a witty reply. “Oh right! You still are a bit drugged up. That’s ok!” He chuckled to himself, “I’ll give you the phone and you can find me my demon.”
So he did want Eyeless Jack, but that still didn’t explain why.
The man in front of her frowned. “Come now,” He encouraged. “I wish not to harm your ночь благословенный любовник. I seek goals much simpler.” Instead of elaborating, he slipped the phone into Briar’s fist and patted her on the head. She growled and furrowed her brow, how stupid could this man be? As far as Briar could tell he wasn’t associated with the government and although his mask fit the proxy motif, the house held no signs of the others. Even so, should she risk it? Risk luring her mates into a dangerous trap for the reason she was foolish enough to be captured.
“...If... not…?” She managed to slur out. This brought a mischievous gleam to her captor’s eyes.
“Well if not my маленький кролик, I turn you over to the government and help them take down your pathetic scrap of a family!” He clapped his hands with childish glee; a giggle rose from his throat, the soft laughter too delicate to have come from this tall man. Briar flinched back, she sloppily thumbed in the number. She figured that at least without the government involved they stood a fighting chance. The phone rang, the sudden vibrating motion causing Briar to lose her loose grip. Her captor quickly caught it, bringing it to his ear. “Professor Indigo speaking, is this Briar’s dear EJ?”
Briar strained her ears to listen when that failed she harshly babbled at the man.
Indigo sighed, turning her chair around. “Yes yes, that was her. Now if you want her back you can find us 469 Williamsal lane.” This was when Briar tuned out, her ears shutting off as her eyes took in the sight before her.
Four taxidermied rabbits, two on each side, bowed before a large iron symbol coated in gore. A greyhound, limbs twisted unnaturally and formed into starfish position. The dog was gutted, a frost burnt corpse nestled inside of the empty cavity. The corpse reminded Briar of the unclaimed pets bin that sat in the vet clinic’s basement, the horrible block of frozen fur and dead flesh. She shook her head, fighting off a mild wave of nausea. She decided to calm herself by glancing higher. Atop the poor dog’s neck rested the head of her owner. His eyelids were forced open, his eyes replaced by unlit candles, a smile decorated the lower half of his mishappen face. Upon seeing his bloated and pale face Briar recognized them both. The man was the greyhound, Lucile’s owner, they had just come in yesterday for her annual teeth cleaning. It was strange, almost laughable, she felt no pity towards the owner yet her heart ached for the sweet dog. She moved her eyes above the gore-filled scene, praying no more animal corpses decorated the rafters. A sigh of relief escaped her lips, just above the symbol sat a small, circular window that allowed the moonlight to peak through.
“Now all that remains is to wait.” Indigo held Briar’s shoulder, a strange, worn leather-bound book rested in his other hand. “It will be sad to see such a ruthless titan fall to this young book trapped man.” Briar tried to bite his hands, her head rolling forward. “Ah ah ah,” He hummed softly. He moved his hand away from her and opened the book, flipping the yellow pages until he came upon a unicorn-themed bookmark.
The two sat in the dusty attic for what seemed like hours. Briar sat tense with anticipation. She eased up when she heard the front door slam open. But before she could scream down to her mate the mad professor beside her spoke up, "We're up in the Attic!" She gave him a curious glare. Just what could this man be thinking? Why is he so confident? Briar was about to warn Eyeless Jack when her captor whipped around to face her. He had a wide grin that near split his pale cheeks.
He scanned over the pages as he walked to the shrine. Upon reaching it and seating himself between the rabbits and the mass of gore. As though he were from some prewar graphic novel, he began to monologue. “As you see Ms. Gillespie, I am a man of knowledge. My heart lies among the written word and often when you lie somewhere too long you begin to sink into the… darker parts. For me, it was simply taking the books that society dared not read. Amongst them, I found this.” He held up the decaying book, a strange runic title burnt into the leather. “Tucked between a manual of the hell kings and a book on ancient cures. Well, when I read the title I immediately knew it was meant to be mine. While you may not understand the language young one, in time you'll learn the name of this book. For it is a book of dreams, a book of unimaginable power! Things that shouldn't be possible are within my reach." He clenched his fist, panting in excitement." There are things that will help me overpower beings that could kill me within a breath. The Seal of Zalgo is one such thing. Though you'd know nothing of binding seals, wouldn't you?"
Briar growled before pausing. Unimaginable power? Binding seals? The words were familiar but twisted into a new, incomprehensible fashion. Then again living with her family had taught her thing's she thought were old fairytale nonsense was tangible as the clothes she wore. Her train of thought was quickly cut off by the attic door slamming open.
Stood in the now opened doorway was the shaded figure of Eyeless Jack. He let out a growl, the predatory glint clear in even his abyssal eyes. In his hand he held his scalpel, dark claws wrapped tightly around the metallic handle. He wasted no time talking to the mad professor, moving along the room towards the man. Upon the entrance of the demon into the chain circle, Professor Indigo began reading from the ancient tome. Eyeless Jack seemed to be in a daze as the man's chanting only got louder and louder. Soft sparks danced along the chains before igniting in an inferno of iridescent flames, the once barely lit room set ablaze with ethereal light. Briar flinched back, expecting the harsh heat of the flames to melt her before she could heal. But that didn't happen, the flames were cold. Cold enough to make her long clothes feel like a bikini in the snow. She shivered, glancing over at her mate.
Her mouth fell open in shock when she noticed the proud demon kowtowing alongside the taxidermied rabbits. She shut her mouth, knowing she had no time to question things as she summoned the last of her strength. With a powerful kick, she knocked loose the chain circle. With speed Briar could barely comprehend, Eyeless Jack stood up and freed her from the chair. He had pulled her out of the now-destroyed symbol just in time so that she wasn't harmed by the much warmer red blaze. He set her down, ready to launch himself onto the man who tried to bind him. But he was gone, seemingly absorbed by the ever-growing flames. "You better hope you're dead. Because if you aren't I'll kill you myself. " The Demon hissed before picking Briar back up and racing out the door with her.
