A Sleepless Nightmare [Completed RP with @AtroposBane]
@atroposbane
Deep in slumber, while at the same time being deep in thought, Atropos floated just over the treetops; leaking black blood down through them and onto the ground beneath him. Should he be seen, the elemental would awaken and surely enjoy a time tormenting whosoever had done the deed.
@the-wolf-in-the-witcher
Jovan was prowling through the night, his hulking grey form illuminated only by the moonlight that cast through the trees. He was traveling, as he often did during the night, his gear bound over his right shoulder. The night was silent, and clear, so the werewolf found it odd when something dripped down onto his left shoulder. For a moment he thought it rain, but there were no clouds. He brought a claw to the spot the liquid had landed, and observed it. It was like blood, only black as the darkest night. There werewolf looked up for the source. What he saw caused him to tense up, and involuntarily bark. “What the fuck is that!?” he growled out loud as he instinctively reached for his blade, only to remember he could not wield it in his current form.
@atroposbane
The crass, loud words awoke the elemental almost immediately, and he did so with a loud screechy yawn. “Nzzhh…” He groaned, looking around at just who could have woken him in such a, unpleasant manner; when he looked, only to find that he was quite high in the air, Atropos laughed softly and immediately looked down to the forest floor, and saw something quite unusual: another victim of lycanthropy. “…Mmhmm…” he cooed, descending through the trees so that he was only a few feet above the wolf. “And who might you- hoo- hoo- hoo be? Has that Lycan boy found a mate? And are you their baby? Oh, you’ve got your father’s smile! Nyahaha!”
@the-wolf-in-the-witcher
As the creature floated down, Jovan watched ever cautiously. He knew not what it was; none of the books he had read or the things he had heard had ever told him of a monster like this. When it finally settled before him, the werewolf could see why. It was horrifying, a twisted and malformed body like something out of a child’s worst nightmare. Most who saw it probably ended up dead or were too scarred to recount their experiences. So it came as a shock when the horror suddenly made a joke about him. Jovan involuntarily growled; finding the beast’s humor entirely un-amusing and confusing. “What are you talking about!?” he growled out, hackles raised and fur bristling in a show of how tense he was.
@atroposbane
Atropos watched as the werewolf grew increasingly more disturbed with his gradual descent, a sight that only pleased the elemental, a grin growing on his face as evidence. “Ohaha!” He laughed. “Calm down there, dog! Lest I go out and get a nice leash and collar and make you!” Though he was boisterous and eerily joyous as always, Atropos was watching the wolf’s movements; should he lash out, the elemental would surely evade. “I was merely asking your na- hay- hay- haaaaame! You mustn’t be so serious all the time!”
@the-wolf-in-the-witcher
“Shut up!” Jovan barked, furious now at the monster. It was already hard enough to remain calm while he was in this horrid form, normally requiring meditation in a secluded place to do it, but the taunts of this monster was pushing him over the edge. He could hear the blood pulsing in his veins now, the natural bloodlust that came with this curse overwhelming him from all this mocking. His thoughts were clouded, half his mind trying to take control while the other urged him to attack, to bite and scratch. A Witcher’s job was to kill a monster, certainly, but Jovan knew that going in without proper preparation was a death sentence, and right now all he could think about as the monster he was was how much he wanted to kill this thing.
@atroposbane
“Ohoo?” Atropos sneered. “I suppose you’re not going to introduce yourself, then? Then allow me to make the first move!” With that, Atropos raised his hand and snapped his fingers; many nightmarish hands emerged from Atropos’ realm and grasped Jovan, holding him in place. “Just so that you don’t try anything funny, dog. Better safe than so- ho- ho- ho- horry after all!Nyahhaha!” The elemental spent a good minute cackling, then composed himself once again. “My name is Atropos… The Bane of your existence.”
@the-wolf-in-the-witcher
Jovan’s eyes shot open wide as the monster snapped it’s fingers. His eyes darted around, quick enough to see a hand shoot up at his arm. He managed to move his arm out of the way in time, but it didn’t matter. Another hand had already taken it’s place along with several more leaving him completely immobile. With gritted teeth he struggled, but try as he might, he could not break free from the hands. With one final growl and burst of strength, the werewolf tried to break free but still he could not. He faced the creature who now had a name: Atropos. He lunged forward as far as he could and snapped at the creature’s neck, all the while barking and growling, his werewolf instincts in full control.
@atroposbane
“Bad dog!” Atropos laughed, lurching backwards as the werewolf lunged. All of this was growing increasingly more entertaining as it progressed, and the elemental was quite pleased. Another hand emerged right in front of Jovan’s face, and thumped him on his snout; not hard enough to cause pain, but enough so that it made a slight “thud” sound. “Now, now! I’m not going to hurt you! Why would I ever want to hurt such a pretty face?” Atropos said, gesturing towards the snarling maw of Jovan. “Alright! Care to introduce yourself? I can keep these binds up forever, you know!”
@the-wolf-in-the-witcher
The thud on the muzzle only served to drive the werewolf into a deeper rage, once more causing him to thrash about and snap and snarl in an effort to kill the annoying purple thing in front of him. He was seeing red, like a bull ready to charge, and in this state of lost control nothing registered but the hunt. None of the words Atropos spoke were registered beyond being a meaningless noise. Again the thrashing continued until Jovan finally stopped, his breathing heavy, his maw still contorted in a snarl. His humanity was gone, and it wouldn’t be returning until morning.
@atroposbane
Atropos looked to the snarling creature in front of him and sighed. “Well! Looks like we’re going to be here for quite some time… mm…” He muttered, floating up and letting his head hang back. “I think I shall have a word with you when morning comes! A little sun does good on you lycanthropes anyway!” The elemental cackled, then gave a great yawn and let himself drift to sleep, completely ignoring the bound werewolf’s growling; his bounds not breaking until the elemental allowed them to.
@the-wolf-in-the-witcher
Throughout the night the Jovan struggled to break free of his bonds and kill Atropos until even the massive combined stamina of a Witcher and a werewolf ran out and the hands became the only things preventing him from falling. Eventually, morning came and the transformation looked there, leaving a relatively normal, albeit scarred, muscular man. His dark grey hair had thinned but it still covered his chest, arms, and legs, hung from his head just above his shoulders and formed a fairly light beard on his face. Sweat beaded on his brow, a result from the night’s struggles, but despite than that Jovan had almost fully recovered his energy. He wasn’t going to let Atropos know that, though, as he remained hanging from the hands as if out of energy. His swords, armor and potions all hung in the sack still slung over his shoulder, but he had no way of getting them. All he had now were his wits and his Signs, but that was enough for him to form a plan out of here.
@atroposbane
Atropos slept undisturbed throughout the night, not seeming to be shaken in the slightest by the encumbered creature before him. Once morning finally arrived, the elemental stretched his limbs and yawned leisurely before turning towards Jovan and gasping gleefully. “I knew it, I knew it!” the elemental squealed. “Such a fine looking dog couldn’t have had anything less of a handsome host! Now, then…” Bane strolled over to the man and, moving one hand beneath his chin, slowly brought his head up to look at him. “How about you tell me your name now, eh?”
@the-wolf-in-the-witcher
Jovan remained silent, although his face was contorted in anger, his teeth gritted. With the Bane Elemental right in front of him the Witcher’s plan could be set into motion. He readied his right hand, flexing the finger muscles, the process repeated with his left. “My name is JOVAN!!” With the shout of his name he moved his hands in the way to cast the Witcher’s signs. His right sent out a blast of energy towards Atropos meant to stun and disorient, hopefully breaking the spell that held him in place. His left engulfed the arm holding it with a wave of fire in hopes that it would cause the sickly appendage to let go.
@atroposbane
“No need to shou- owwwwwwwt!” Atropos said, his tone clearly over dramatic and forced. He allowed himself to float up and backwards, giving the illusion of him actually being knocked back by such an… interesting spell. “Oh my, oh my, oh my…” Atropos sneered, looking back up at the man in front of him. “Someone’s a talented little boy, isn’t he?” While Atropos spoke, the hand that was set aflame retracted back, and two others took its place, along with many others that hoisted Jovan into the air in a ritualistic fashion. Slowly, the began to agonizingly stretch his arms and legs as Atropos shook his head. “Can’t ask for even a small bit of politeness around here, can you? I thought we would make such wonderful friends! To be friends with the spawn of a goddess… don’t you know how fortunate you are? You should be on your knees begging for mercy! The nerve…” Atropos was clearly offended, and the only thing that would suffice was a genuine apology.
@the-wolf-in-the-witcher
The Witcher remained determined even when Atropos remained unmoved by either of his Signs. The anger driven by this beast’s incessant taunting was enough to keep him going, but before he could attempt another, Jovan found his arms being tugged back and aiming made impossible with it. He had the Axii sign he could still use, but he had little practice in it, and worse still, it required eye contact, yet the beast had no eyes. As he was hoisted further up, the Witcher’s eyes remained trained on Atropos, his expression angry. That expression changed to pain in an instant as he felt his arms and legs tugged on in excruciating agony. Jovan’s eyes squeezed shut, cries of pain filling the air as he felt his bones try to slip out of their sockets and his skin tug painfully at the joints. Atropos’ words barely registered above the pain he was going through, but even if he wanted to respond to them the Witcher could not form words.
@atroposbane
“You wanderers are all the same! No respect for beings of another place, for one place is all the same to you!” The elemental spat. He was so caught up in his own ranting that he almost forgot how much strain he was putting on the man’s body, and stopped just before he would dislocate anything of Jovan’s. “Oh! Forgive me for that! Nyahhaha!” He laughed again, acting as if his previous little episode never happened. “Now, where was I… Oh, right What was that name again? Jovan? Sounds quite lovely, though what you’ve shown me of your personality is anything but!”
@the-wolf-in-the-witcher
His screams now louder than before, the pain was unbearable now. Jovan felt as if his limbs would be ripped off at any second. His muscles were tensed and sweat coated his naked body. Then all of a sudden it stopped. He gave a haggard cough during which saliva fell from his mouth, then he took several deep breaths, his head hanging down as he stared at the ground, his hair hanging around his head. “Why?” the Witcher asked, his voice hoarse and the pain clear in it. “Why are you doing this?” There was no longer anger in the words, now there was only fear that laced his words like a cold venom.
@atroposbane
Atropos gasped gleefully as he heard Jovan speak once again, letting out a happy sigh soon after. “That’s why!” he cooed, snapping his fingers and, though he still kept him suspended in the air, released the hands that stretched the other’s limbs. “Didn’t you hear me? I’m Atropos! The living nightmare himself! I am fear!” He laughed maniacally. “I merely wanted to see that wonderful little thing that came out of your mouth! Those dear, darling little words; soaked with the purest and most delicious fear imaginable! Nyahha!”
@the-wolf-in-the-witcher
A being that was fear? Jovan could believe it. Even it’s mere appearance would strike fear into those of lesser will, but the fear of death alone in such a gruesome manner as it had been threatening was enough to make the Witcher fear this being. He knew, even with the hands that had almost tore him limb from limb removed, that this monster could kill him in an instant. Slowly, carefully, Jovan looked up so that he was face to face with Atropos. The distress and fear was plain in his sweat-soaked expression, and in the words he spoke. “Now that you have what you came for, will you please let me go?
@atroposbane
“Ahaha… hmm? Let you go?” Atropos said, sounding almost dumbfounded at the other’s plea. “Well, I do haunt others to bring out the fear within them, and to humble them as well, but to let you go after I’ve done all that I wanted?! That’s unheard of! Why, we must have a bit more fun before you’re allowed to leave!” Saying this, the hands that once stretched his limbs returned. “The nightmare never ends, after all! Nyahhaha! Aaahaha!” The elemental laughed loudly, when suddenly, the hands flung Jovan over the treetops, and send him flying into the distance. “…Oh!” Atropos said, floating up to get a better look at where he had landed; unfortunately for the elemental, he landed in the middle of a lake. “Lucky little thing!” He called out. “Oh, well! I’ll see you in your dreams! Nyahaha!” Saying this, the elemental floated off, perhaps to search for another victim to torment.
@the-wolf-in-the-witcher
When the hands returned Jovan’s face was overcome by a look of utter terror. His eyes went to Atropos, and he spoke a pleading “No!” Desperately the Witcher struggled to free himself, his face contorting and his eyes shutting from the effort of trying to avoid being torn limb from limb again. Then suddenly there was a rush of wind, cooling his sweaty body. He opened his eyes to see himself up in the air, the trees far below. The sound of wind rushed by his ears as the land beneath him disappeared. Then he was falling again, back to earth, Jovan’s eyes squeezing shut once more as he braced for what was sure to be a painful impact.
An audible smack filled his ears and shot pain all across his back. The Witcher opened his moth to let out a scream of pain only to have it filled with water. He opened his eyes to see himself surrounded, the armor and weapons in his pack dragging him down to the bottom of what he could only assume was a murky lake. Desperately he struggled to surface, the weight of his pack making it all the more difficult, but eventually he surfaced, coughing up water and gasping in air as he looked around desperately for any sign of Atropos. But he was nowhere to be seen, much to the relief of Jovan.
Slowly he swam to shore, and with the last of his energy hauled himself onto it. From his pack he retrieved a Swallow potion, and drank deeply, and for a few minutes he just lay there panting until the potion restored enough energy for him to drag his lower half out of the water and stand up. His arms ached from the torture, and his back too from the impact with the lake, but slowly the pain was fading thanks to the potion’s regenerative effects. Over the next few minutes Jovan put on his armor and returned his swords to his back. Once again he checked for Atropos, something he imagined he would be doing often. With no sign of him around, the Witcher took up a position of meditation to clear his mind and pass the time until the healing had fully completed.
