cryptsleeper | Inbox for aefenglom

Not...wait...

[She slows, walking parallel to the edge of the field, not going any deeper.]

I feel something...sad. Like, sympathetic magic. It's almost like a ghost, but sad. And hungry.

[Alucard is careful to keep pace with Sypha. Never out of reach. Always in step. He's brought rope if she needs to be pulled out suddenly and can't move on her own.]

How is it different?

It's...not aggressive. There's also no sense of regret. Not that I can tell.

[She steps out of the field, immediately walking over to the pack she'd set down and grabbing a hunk of chicken.]

...Unless you can have regrets for not eating enough.

I imagine that you can if you enter dire straights because of it.

[Alucard remains just outside the infected area, now crossing his arms and frowning in it's general direction.]

When you're done eating, let me step in and see if I get anything else?

Sure.

[Sypha wolfs down the chicken like it sprang forth fully cooked from a wall, and straightens.]

I'm good. [Wiping grease off her mouth with a sleeve, she steps over. Elegant she is not.]

Ready.

[God he loves her. Even if that means greasy sleeves from time to time.]

Grab the rope tether.

[Alucard waits. Not just for the tether but to ensure that she's ready.]

See if anything in the environment reacts as well? I didn't catch anything but perhaps frequent use will trigger something.

Got it.

[She waggles her fingers and the wind catches the rope, knotting it around his waist.]

I'll do that. You yell and the rope will pull you back. It's magic, so...stronger than anything I can do on my own.

It isn't like I'd resist--

[And someone might get ideas. Or he might, but that's for later.

Alucard steps into the grass. One step. Two. Three.

Hunger smacks at him by the fourth, and that comes out with a little choking noise. The fifth? He clutches at his stomach. Six he's nearly doubled over, and he only just makes a seventh before he trips over himself.]

Sypha!

[He thinks he yells it. It comes out as so terribly weak.]

[He does yell it. Or loud enough for her to kick into gear at least. She snaps her fingers and he's hauled bodily out and deposited safely on the ground. With surprising gentleness.

Sypha's immediately rushing over, another hunk of chicken on hand.]

Eat. It'll help.

[Hunks of chicken are a witch's best friend, apparently.

Alucard's version of hunger is slightly less raveneous than Sypha's, but only slightly. His mouthfuls are delicate, but he chews fast and then does the same, until the portion is gone entirely.

He uses the grass to wipe off his hand, which actually is no better than Sypha's means but he likes to pretend otherwise.]

I'm going to guess that the source is at the center of this patch. The hunger got worse the more I stepped in.

[No, it's totally not. But it's endearing. And cute, in a weird way.]

You think so? Probably, that's sensible

[She does tend to agree.]

I think I'm going to try and and fly over it and see if it affects just the ground, or if it's a whole zone of...I don't even know what to call this.

Well, if you want to confirm the hypothesis, then please and by all means, but I don't know how much food we have left.

[Flying though, that seems rather a good idea. Alucard nods once, and then realizes what he's actually agreed to.]

And when did you gain the ability to fly?

I've always had it. But it's different here.

[She waves her hand and conjures up something beneath her feet. A floating silver disc just large enough to stand on. It pushes up, hovering there.]

I can't use wind magic to fly yet, but I can do this.

[He misses floating.

But there, that'll do. Alucard's eyes shift from Sypha to the field, watching both carefully.]

Any readings yet?

[She whisks out over the field, frowning.]

No...just despair. More of the...oh!

[She breaks off as she spots something near the center of the patch.]

I found the nexus. It...looks like a small mound in the dirt.

[A mound of dirt. How interesting.]

How big, thereabouts?

Man...sized? Roughly?

[She leans down closer to look.]

Could be a corpse.

Can you get any closer to make that determination before the impacts of the grass reach upward?

Probably. It seems...mostly to only affect you if you're in the grass. But just to be safe...

[She floats lower, and her stomach immediately does a flip. So, up she goes, away, zipping back towards him.]

...Guess I'll need to conjure something to do this. Because no. And...toss me up some of that chicken will you?

I am not throwing chicken up in your general direction. Land yourself and we can discuss a plan.

[He is a man of some dignity, let him retain it!]

Ugh. Fine!

[She drops down, letting her weird disc vanish and taking up some chicken to begin stuffing her face hole.]

...So...[between bites of course.]...I'm thinking some sort of magic shovel? Or we figure out how to commune with the spirit and put it to rest?

[How is this where he has laid his affection????

Alucard just watches, shaking his head. He'll ration what's left after this, if only out of sheer need.]

Well, a tethered shovel sounds absolutely ridiculous, even by our standards. [The other option though, that gets consideration and a very long hmmmm.>]

Communing sounds like a slightly learning curve, but probably more effective.

[She is incredibly attractive how dare you.]

Yeah, probably. I've...never done it but I've studied the principles both at home and here.

[It's not really her thing, but it's worth a try.]

[Alucard taps his chin, thoughtful. Considering.

Slooowly taking a scrap of chicken for himself.]

Why don't we try it first by hovering just out of range but directly overhead of what we believe to be the source? That will prevent us from having to finish our rations, but also make it clear that we're genuinely invested in this spirit?

That could work. Maybe if we can draw it out, use our intent, we can put it to rest.

[She eyes her basket, decides no...she's not going to eat more...and stands up.]

Do you need me to make you a disc? The one I can make is really only big enough for one person.

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