#eclairsneasel

[ask-witchhunters]

Sparky@Eclair: "You were having a rough time of it. Glad to see you pulled through, though. How are you feeling?"

Eclair: I’m… really hungry! I want something to eat!

Aoibheann: There’s rations on the other side of the room, do you want me to get you one?

Eclair: I think I got it!

Aoibheann: Eclair!!

Eclair: ... I don’t got it.

[ask-witchhunters]

Hey Aofie what happened to your ears?

Aoibheann: … I… Don’t remember. I guess they got scruffed up in the fight against Masque…

[ask-witchhunters]

Aoibheann: Hmm, Eclair seems to be making a lot of noise in her sleep... Maybe she’s waking up...

...MAYBE SHE’S WAKING UP!!! SHE’S WAKING UP! OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS WHAT DO I DO!! DO I GRAB THE SNUFF JARS?! WHERE’S MISTRESS VOREN WHEN YOU NEED HER!! GAH!

Okayokayokayokay...!! Deep breaths, deep deep breaths! Oh! I should talk to her!

...!!..... ..! ...... .. !!! .. ?? ..... !?! ....

....clair....  hear me...?

Eclair: Nn... Eef...?

Aoibheann: A-alright! Eclair! Hey! Lucius! Master Sentine! Get over here, quick! She’s waking up!

Eclair: Aoife  ... My ...gem...?

Aoibheann: Huh?

Eclair: Where’s... My gem...?

Aoibheann: ...? Your crystal...? You had that taken out of you ages ago. Sometimes it still feels like it’s there, that’s what happens when part of you is amputated... I’d be the expert on that part.

[Eclair has awoken from her coma]

[ask-witchhunters]

So Eclair, how are you feeling? What do you remember last?

Eclair: ... I remember being in the desert, looking for Aoife. I lost a couple hours, and then... I got hurt. I can’t remember much else. My head starts pounding when I try to think harder, I’m sorry I can’t remember more.

[ask-witchhunters]

You should've known the price of evil, Eclair. Now it's here to take you. No matter what, if you take it's deal, everyone will pay the price... Doesn't matter if it's to fight a bigger evil... Evil is evil and will always want more. Choose wisely...

♫

You have accepted that these will be your final moments as, well, as you… The warm umber of acceptance washes over you, and for a moment, you feel calm. You feel… Right. You are at peace with yourself and who you are. It was meant to be this way. The tears rolling down your cheek offer relief, not pain.

Voices? The sudden overwhelming boom of strangers’ cries ring in your ears, making even thinking seem impossible. The overload of information shakes you to your very core, your teeth rattle from the booming noise bursting from every corner of the abyss. You take a breath and try to focus, singling them out. 

[Be strong Eclair! Don’t give in! ]           

There is a strong echo, these words are clearer than the rest, but still distorted. This voice is… Linda. She helped you with Masque. She fought hard for your safety, for your benefit, for your well-being. Despite not knowing you, she spoke with you, she  risked her life for a cause simply because you needed her help.

[Do not give in, child. Your fear only makes it stronger. There are so many counting on you to pull through, but accepting this beast’s offer is not the right way to do this. You are more than a child who had been put through torture before being raised by the Guild. Guncotton, Henrietta, Voren, all of them.. they care so much for you.. Don’t give up!]

This voice is…. Hauntingly nostalgic. It’s familiar, yet… You don’t know this person speaking. It is much clearer than all the others, there is no distortion, there is no echo or unnatural ebb to the flow of the words. It feels like a direct broadcast into your mind. As outlandish as it sounds, you feel the voice emanating from within your soul. You feel power coursing through your veins. You truly feel like yourself once again.

Eclair: No! You’re not me! I am who I am, and nobody else! 

Eclair?: Ẃ̳H̭͉̦͈̮̝A̝͖̫̲͘T͇̦̩͖͍?̻̦̙ D̯̹̘̼O̞̣̙͖̬͞N̮͜'T̖͍̼̕ ̞̰̺̤̼̞̘Y̬̖̦̟̻͉͉͟O̯̫͖̗̟U͏̯͇̤̙̥ ̙͖UN̡̙D̵Ę̱̣̻R͔̬S̞̭̣͍̮TA̛̻͎̤N̘̻D͉͖̜̭̘͢?̹̜͓͉͍͢ ̜̙Ị̬̟̞̩̰ ̧̹̼̘̮̳̯C͚͙͓O͞N̹̹͝TR͔͇O͕L͈͕̫͚̰̜̘ ̦͍̙̲̠̪Y̶Ǫ͚̥̞͙̪̤U͎̻!̜̦͈̜̤̦ͅ ̬I̭̩͔͍͡ ͚̖̀CO͠N͎͚̣͖͖̱T̺̭͕̲̺͓͕͘R͏̩̪O̱L̶̻̘̹͙̻̰ͅ-̭͎̞͙̜͕-̢͓ 

Eclair: Shut up!

Eclair?: YO͏̜U͇̳̯̼̼͉ ͉͕̹̹̻͙̙S̷͔T͇̩̮̺̩̝͘U͘P͇̼I͓͡D͉̱̬͙͇͝ͅ ͖̪̦̘̭͇ͅB͍̩̺̝͖͇͜I̙͈̗̺̭ͅT̡͚͇̼̮̙͔̲C̴̱̫̣͚̘͚H̟̮̼̭̕!͈̖͚͡ ̩̦̬̱͉̤̕Y̴̙̹̝͓̰̫O͕͉͔͎͉̭̪Ư͎̠̩̦ ̖̼̥̺͎͔̗Ḥ̹̕A̧̤̩̟̯̰V̥E̮̭̯ ̡N̤͝O̵̞ ͓͍̼̟I̶̖͈͚̯̭̜D͓̬͍E͉̖̥A͜ ̲̜͇͘Ẃ̩HA͏̗̬͎̝͔͍̻T̰͚ ̖̪͓ͅY̟̞͈̮̠͠O̦͉͖͠U̢͙͚̦͈'̛͖̣̞Ṟ̥̥̼E͙͈̟͓͎ ̶̳̥̫D̷̙͕͍̝̼O͉̼̬̥͙͉I̭̦͔͡ͅN̪͟G̜̭!̖̼̰͇̮͎͔͝ Y̡͍͕̣OU̗̪ ͏̖͎͙̙̮W҉͖̰̘̖̘O̭̳N̳͕̮̪̹'҉̹̤͎̫͖̼͓T͏̻̥̱͎̖̲̮ B̷E̵͚͈̘̪̱ ̮̲͘Ì͕̠͇̠N̨̯̖̰̣͇ͅ ̛͔͔ͅC̱̮O̯̲̫̞͉̼͞Ǹ̺T̥͕͍̟̞͞R͎̠̹͖̝͞O҉̲͎͖̮L҉̣͍͕͖̖̰ ̘̱͚̯̫̗ͅO̩F̢̗̳͈̞ ̷Y̟̲͈̭̬̺͚O̖̤̟͍ͅṴ̹͕̲̳R̠͈͖͟ ̧̱̼AB̙I̺̭̭̺LI̩̥̝̗͡T̯̜͉̹I͏̝̹ͅE̴̲̦̩͉̘S̼ ͓̼͚̙W̨͎̱̲̭̤̳̭I̲͉̜͚̗T͇̱̹̠̤͝H̡̰̤̖̭̞͇͉O҉͓̩U̞̣̳̺͠Ț ̨͉Ṃ̩̱̱̖E̥̠̪!̼͎̳̫̕ Y̴̹͚̮̘͉̩O̻U͏͔̗̣̩ ̲͙N̻̰̜̖̻̩E̝̮̬̦̫͚͜ED̥̘̺͢ ̳̳̻͠M̦͎̬̥E̱̩̣͇̤̕!̡͖̝̟̟̜̮

Eclair: I’ll never lose to you.

???: Oh, my my my~

I suppose I’ve got a bigger challenge than I expected~

[??? is available for questions]

[ask-witchhunters]

Even with this power, you got destroyed, child. I mean, think about that. Think of how much stronger you feel, more capable you are with it. And yet you still got skewered. You had every advantage and got wasted. You couldn't possibly give this up now. You'll leave the others with so much more of the burden, so much more to deal with on their own. You'd let them all down if you are weak. Perhaps even get them killed. You need every advantage you can get, Eclair. This is every advantage.

♫

???: Think about it Eclair, the way you are now, there’s really no way you’ll be able to be much use to everyone at the guild.

You suppose there really is no other way. You remember what happened. You remember how terrified your friends and loved ones were, watching you get gutted like a fish. You remember the stinging, burning pain eating away at you. You need this. You move your hand ahead, into the belly of the beast.

???: Remember the circumstances that have led up to this very moment.

You are weak. You are a coward. Even now as you reach forward now, the fear of what may happen cuts you deep. You were useless. You are useless. At least, this will give you power to help.

???:It may be better to simply accept this power for now, you can always revisit this “deal”.            

Perhaps… This is how it was meant to be… You were always meant to be swallowed whole by this curse. It’s only been a matter of time. Perhaps mother was right. You were only meant to bring misery into this world. Perhaps… You should embrace it…

???: Very good...

[ask-witchhunters]

Echo and Dream step forward, readying a darkpulse and moonblast respectively.

♫

Mask☆DeMasque: Gyyaghh… Gruff… Huff…

[Masque seems to be on the verge of fainting…!]

Eclair: Nyeh-heh! I don’t know how he’s still standing, but I think we’ve got him cornered! There’s no way he can get away from us now! We just have to deal the finishing–

–ngh?!

Sentine: –!!Guncotton: –?!

[Masque used Poison Jab…!]

Eclair: The finishing… Blow…

Guncotton: GET AWAY FROM HER!!!

[An all-out attack was unleashed!]

Mask☆DeMasque: GGYAHAGHGHRAAAAAUUUGHHH?!

[The Dragon has been felled]

[ask-witchhunters]

Aofie's sisters became Risen, didn't they? How long do they stay like that before.... dying again?? What are they like? Is there any chance they can be helped?

Eclair: … Risen are dead bodies brought back to life with magic. They don’t really follow orders of Witches, because they’re so preoccupied with preventing their bodies from rotting any further. What they do is consume live flesh to prevent any more decay, and if they can’t eat they wither away and die again. Aoife and her sisters were out there for several weeks, so it’s possible they only suffered for a few days…

Aoibheann: … Yeah. They didn’t turn for a while.

Eclair: It’s against Universal Law to bring back someone from death, no matter the circumstances. Even if there was enough of their bodies left to bring them back to life again, we would be punished.