(log) tdm prompts

[demonicmiracle]

Who: crowley + various
When: may
Where: dogtown + the train to the appalachians
Summary: what it says on the tin
Notes: this is gonna be closed prompts, but feel free to hit me up if you'd like a thing!!
Warnings: scary dark times, will update as needed or put warnings in the comments

Comments

[demonicmiracle]

[For a literal demon from Hell, Crowley can startle easily sometimes, and the sudden tapping has his shoulders tensing up as he mutters a surprised shit.]

I hear it. Hang on —

[It isn't difficult to dig his phone out of his pocket, but attempting to bring the screen to life is a pointless exercise, earning another curse from Crowley.]

Right, definitely some bullshit, then. Are you armed?

[The answer is likely yes, he's sure.]

[twicelost]

[ She's starting to gain an appreciation for the word "bullshit" and all it can mean. ]

I have a knife. Spear is with my bag.

[ She has one duffel bag. Katrina travels light.

Since the lights went out, she's only moved her head. Now, she stops doing even that, and lowers her voice. ]

Creature that tap may hunt with sound.

[demonicmiracle]

[That is... a very good point, and it has Crowley falling silent as well, turning to look towards where the tapping.

When he speaks again, he keeps his voice low. Just in case.]

Keep it ready, but let's not bring a sharp object into the mix just yet. People are stupid when they're scared.

[twicelost]

[ He's right. In darkness like this, using a weapon is as likely to hurt an ally as it is to hurt a foe.

The tapping comes from another direction then, the other side of the train. Katrina turns her head in that direction. ]

One or many?

[demonicmiracle]

[The thing about Hell is that it's dark.

There are lights, sure, the awful sort of flickering fluorescent bulbs that do little more than cause a headache, but they go out more often than not, and there are places in the depths where no light has ever touched, not even from flame.

It's been a little while, since Crowley's been in the true dark, but it isn't something easily forgotten. He breathes out slowly, focusing on the sounds around them and then trying to focus past them. They don't need to hear people panicking or fumbling in the dark, he needs to hear the tapping.]

Many. I'd bet four or five, at least.

[twicelost]

[ After he responds, she takes a moment to listen too, and confirms his guess. She's familiar with this hunting strategy. ]

Work together. Make prey afraid so it run to hunters waiting.

[ Her opinion of humans in general is not so high that she thinks they'll alo be fine. But the humans with ADI? The people from other worlds? They should be okay. Even Bruno is more likely to hide than to run off.

The tapping starts right behind her, and if she weren't accustomed to hunting and lurking in the dark depths of the ocean on the edge of the continental shelf, she might have jumped.

Slowly, she reaches out to where she last saw Crowley, to where his voice comes from. ]

I grab your hand. [ A moment later, she finds his hand and covers it with hers. ] I am here. If you throw punch, you will not hit me.

[demonicmiracle]

Best to stay where we are, then.

[He's worried about Aziraphale, but it's the sort of worry that would exist regardless of the level of danger, and the sort of worry that he's carried with him so long he can keep it contained.

Aziraphale is likely just as safe as him, if not safer, on account of being able to handle himself in a fight far better than Crowley can.

The tapping starting up right nearby has him freezing, but he doesn't jump, nor does he jump when Katrina touches him. It's a little odd, but he understands the logic, remaining still until she finds his hand.]

I'll do — [my best would've been the end of that sentence, had he not been interrupted by someone reaching the edge of their fear threshold.

That was definitely the sound of someone trying to run, only tp trip over something and faceplant on the floor nearby.] — Oh, for fuck's sake.

[twicelost]

[ It's good to have someone she can count on around in this pitch dark, and she would say as much if not for the one person trying and failing to flee.

As much as she'd like to, Katrina does not let out a longsuffering sigh-- which is a shame, as it would have been her first one ever. ]

This is how they hunt. [ And that is, indeed, her first attempt at flat irony. In short, she agrees with Crowley's sentiment. ]

This person is a fool. There is no hunter in this train car. It would have made sound.

[demonicmiracle]

[If anything, it's a good metric for whether or not there is something in the train with them, because the person struggling on the ground would make a great appetizer.

But there are no sounds of like, flesh being torn asunder, so they're probably fine.]

Don't tell them that, better them than us if something does get inside.

[twicelost]

[ She smirks a little, because that's so reminiscent of life in the ocean. Survival is paramount, even if they are the apex predators of the deep. ]

Yes. [ The tapping comes again, from a row or two down. ] If no one run outside, they will be tired of waiting and will go hunt other prey.

[demonicmiracle]

Lucky for all of us, they don't make trains easy to get out of while they're moving.

[If they'd been here several decades ago, it might have been different, but safety upgrades make it pretty tricky to get out of a moving train.]

[twicelost]

Cage that keep us safe.

[ A decidedly not comforting thought. ]

And we will not starve. We can share sandwich you gave to me.

[ Katrina being positive? Perhaps the apocalypse is nigh indeed. ]

[demonicmiracle]

[That is.... a very sweet sentiment that Crowley definitely doesn't actually think is sweet, because then he'd have to acknowledge having any kind of affection for people.]

Hopefully we'll not be in here that long. It feels like the train's still moving.

[It's said with the awareness that Entities are very good at messing with perception, so for all he knows they could've been stopped for twenty minutes.]

[twicelost]

[ Affection for people? Terrible. It's called ensuring group survival, gosh. Affection is for humans losers humans. ]

This journey teach me that mountains are not safe.

[ Nothing like this ever happened in the ocean, that much she's sure of.

And then, just as suddenly as the lights went out, they come back. Katrina blinks as her eyes adjust to what feels like the glare of the sun.

The tapping has also stopped. ]

They are finished.

[ Whoever "they" even are. ]