♻ 014 | audio/spam

[tucky]

[audio]

Y'all doing okay? Merlin, Mason, Iris? And...

[She almost mentions Simon's name too, but she's unsure of how he feels about her right now - she hasn't yet been able to work up the courage to ask him if he's mad at her for having Merlin exorcise him, and she figures now isn't a good time for that conversation.]

And everyone else, yeah. Everybody. Some people up and disappeared; other people saw that, right? One second they was here and the next they was gone. And then they got replaced by these monsters here. Do you think they turned into them? Is that what happened?

[It's a terrifying (though, luckily, completely off-base) thought.]

Listen - these things are real nasty; I'm sure you've noticed that yourselves. I have had several close calls myself, and... I got my metal rod, from the port, but it ain't doing much. I'm gonna admit right now that I've mostly been running and hiding. How do you fight them? Can you use magic? Exorcisms? Can you--

[She suddenly gives a surprised, scared little yelp.]

-- shit.

[There's a rustling sound as she quickly shoves her phone in her pants pocket, and the sound of quick, light footsteps as she takes off - followed by the heavy, rumbling sound of something very big following. Run, Tucky, run.]

[spam]

[Ordinarily she'd try to take refuge in the chapel, but it doesn't feel safe to her anymore - Dillon's dying in there had partially tainted it for her, and whatever the hell is happening to the floor in the spot where it had happened has finished the job. It's been days since she last visited, and right now she has no plans to ever go back. Mostly, she can be found in the halls - traveling between floors when necessary, and checking up on her people. True to what she says in her broadcast, most of her defense against the monsters involves running as fast as possible, though when she's backed into a corner she can sometimes be found trying to fight one off with an iron fireplace poker. She's woefully unprepared for this. Some of those times she might get rescued, or even manage to find one off, but other times she won't; she'll die many times over the course of the week, sometimes two or three times in a row. The physical effects will be hard to ignore, but she'll push the emotional ones aside for the time being, numbing herself to them for the sake of her sanity.

When she's on her own (though she tries not to be), she moves as little as possible, using her cabin as home base during those first few days. She risks a trip to the dining hall when it gets too hard to ignore the hunger pangs, but it's far enough from her room that she doesn't want to make a habit of it - so she raids whatever is left out, taking as much of what she can find as she can carry.

Later in the week, she can also be found in the infirmary. Merlin works there and she's sticking to him like glue as much as possible; she'll also be trying to use her (very basic) first aid skills to help out the wounded, and (more likely) playing fetch and carry when people need things. She might even go out on rescue missions sometimes - going after people who need help getting to safety. She wants to be brave and heroic; she wants to make her warden proud.]

Comments

[takeyouapart]

I'm alright, Tiffany.

I'm going to be holding down the Infirmary. I want you here to [not get killed] help as much as possible.

[tucky]

[She doesn't answer right away, for obvious reasons - but as soon as she's evaded the monster, she hops back on the phone, breathing hard.]

-- Yeah, okay. You're far away from me right now, but I'm gonna get up there as soon as I can. It's safe there, right? You got any monsters?

[takeyouapart]

Not in here, not yet.

[But he encountered something on his way here and he's keenly aware of how much damage they can do if not dealt with quickly. Much as he hates not being out there, there are plenty of people on the Barge who can kill monsters - people who can heal the wounds they've left are in shorter supply.]

[tucky]

... You're gonna be okay, right?

[takeyouapart]

I'll be happier once you're safe. But I'll be fine, Tiffany. You just take care of yourself.

[rickitikitarr]

[Ricki comes across her in the dining hall one afternoon- he's coming as she's going. Running into something moving up here just about gives him a heart attack, and truth be told he points a gun at her, just for a split second. Then, he recognizes her, and lowers his weapon, pressing a hand over his heart and wincing an apology, stepping towards her. Sorry about that.

He stays very quiet until the hall door is shut behind her, and even then, keeps his voice low;]

Holding up all right?

[tucky]

[She's glad to see him, and it shows - she smiles, a little wanly but still genuinely.]

Hey, Ricki.

Nice piece. Where'd you get it?

[rickitikitarr]

A warden, once I proved I could handle it.

[He won't say more than that, is wary about the news spreading too far, about getting the man in trouble (and cutting off his potential supply in the future.) Something about the exhaustion in her makes him makes him reach out and pat her on the shoulder.]

You look like you could do with a bite to eat. I'd make you a cuppa, but that might be tempting fate.

[tucky]

[Tiffany arches her eyebrows and looks at the gun a little hungrily, but doesn't say anything more about it. She leans into his touch, just a little.]

A cup of what?

[Despite half her friends being British or pseudo-British, she isn't quite up on most of the slang.]

[rickitikitarr]

[He chuckles, and surprises himself, by pulling her into a quick, short, one armed hug.]

If you don't know what it is, you definitely need one. Come on, we can spare a few seconds, so long as we're quiet.

[He has the feeling this probably hasn't been easy for her.]

[absentconstellation]

Stay calm, Tiffany. Do you need help?

[tucky]

[It takes her a little while to respond, but eventually she does.]

I'm calm. I'm okay. I got away from it, but... these things are awful. Terrible.

[absentconstellation]

[ He nods. ]

Yes, they are. And they will hurt you if they are given the chance, but they cannot kill you. Do not give them the chance.

[tucky]

What do you mean, they can't kill me? Are you sure?

[absentconstellation]

The spell which revives you is still in place. However much you might be hurt, you will be alive when this ends.

[maced_eggs]

Tif?

Tiffy, love, where are you?

[tucky]

Mason.

I'm on my floor right now and I've been looking for you. You okay?

[maced_eggs]

I don't fuckin' know! Where th' fuck is everyone?

[tucky]

I don't know, some people just disappeared. Venus says she thinks they went to a port and we didn't.

Where are you? I'm gonna come find you.

[maced_eggs]

Fuck! That can happen? Why aren't we at the port? What's with all these bloody monsters?

Hiding. I'm hiding in the bloody laundry room.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

[Elena was content to just take note of Tiffany's post, to know that she's still on the Barge and okay, but the moment she has to book it, that really gets Elena's attention. She strains her hearing trying to get a general sense of where Tiffany is, but there's so much panic and fighting, it's hard to pinpoint.]

Tiffany, where are you running to!?

[tucky]

[It's about ten minutes before she finally answers, breathing hard.]

Jus the stairs. I don't think it followed me.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

[She's going to be searching every last damn stairwell to find Tiffany now.]

Where's your warden?

[tucky]

The infirmary. He's safe; he told me.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

Can you get to him?