forum Sine Morte | one on one | closed

Started September 23, 2022 by @Mojack group

tune

Sine Morte,

without death.

In record, only one species on Earth is truly immortal - Turritopsis dohrnii, Immortal Jellyfish.
In history, there have been legends, stories, rumours - of immortal creatures, or even humans. Some made the personal claim, while others, through their deeds, came to be viewed that way.
Whether any of those tales are true or not remain unknown.

But the Immortal Jellyfish is only biologically immortal. It can still succumb to death through other means. Predation. Illness. Still, it’s a topic of study for many.

A drive home is interrupted as your ride stutters, and you pull over to check it out. It doesn’t seem like a major thing - you’re certain the car will start if you try it again. But as you’re going to return to the vehicles, something catches your eye.

Blood.

A lot of it. And fresh. Not a single drop dried.
As your vision adjusts as you look upon the scene, you don’t see much - except that the blood trails off, as though whatever left it had walked away.
Perhaps stunned, or just thinking in silence, you hear it - or at least you think you do - a stumble, some sort of curse. Across the road you’re on, leading away into the woods. Where the blood leads.
With the sun setting, it may be better to return home, and pretend you didn’t see that.

But will your curiosity get the better of you?

———

RP in which a person’s car does a weird thing while they’re driving and they’re forced to pull off to the side one evening. They check around a little bit, but once they’re confident there’s no major problems (or nothing they can see) they go back to start the vehicle…only to see the blood, and then hear someone (or something) in the forest. Perhaps you should mind your own business. Or maybe not.

some notes about the rp

• modern, takes place a few years in the future however. I’m thinking 2035
• the RP begins in a somewhat rural patch of land, although your character may just be passing through this area to get somewhere else. or maybe your character lives in a rural area? up to you
• i am not very active sometimes, so please keep that in mind
• before we go any further, my character is indeed immortal. to what extent and why? let’s just say it’s another one of my “character gets put in another world” RPs

Rules

1. Play to your strengths, remember your weaknesses. In the event of a fight, don’t dodge everything, but don’t autohit either.
2. Blood - this RP will have plenty of that, so I will say mature RPers PREFERRED. As always, cursing is allowed.
3. Sexytimes will be a fade to black sort of deal.
4. My only rule on response length is that I have something to work with.
5. Ask before joining! If I do not know your style, I will have you send a writing sample with dialogue.
6. Punctuation and good grammar greatly appreciated!
7. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Template
Name:
Age: (22-25)
Gender:
Pronouns:
Orientation:
Employment: (if any)

Appearance:
Clothing:
Personality:
Background: (as long or as short as needed. point form, paragraphs, etc; however you choose to display your characters background is up to you. and additionally, you don’t need to put everything down)
Other: (anything else goes here. fun facts, their home, their fears, relationships, etc)

Name: Arthur Korecki
Age: 23
Gender: Cis male
Pronouns: he/him
Orientation: Demisexual panromantic
Employment: where he comes from, his work is…complicated, to say the least. A hunter of mostly monsters and sometimes men - we’ll leave it at that.

Appearance: Arthur is young, in his early twenties. And yet he looks slightly older than he actually is, both physically - and he’s got this sort of look to him sometimes, in his hazel eyes. Usually, they seem carefree, neutral, however there’s this flash of experience to them. Someone who’s seen things.
His hair is dark brown, however has some slightly lighter strands growing in, but not enough to streak his entire hair or be very noticeable - only if you’re looking for those strands. It’s longer at the back, and he keeps the rest of it brushed out of the way, away from his face. At the longest, goes down to the base of his neck, just slightly touching his back. He tries his best to keep the rest of it neat, but doesn’t have a lot of patience, and usually fails.
Slight stubble, doesn’t allow it to grow into a full beard, but doesn’t go clean shaven, either.
Far from a bodybuilder, Arthur is athletic, with his muscle defining him as someone who does a lot of physical action.
Fair skinned, he has only a few, faint freckles on his face.

Clothing: Arthur’s clothing does not seem…modern.
At the very least it looks to belong to someone living a rural life. His clothing was not made to show off, but rather, to endure.
His shirt is a pale beige, appears aged - not perfect, god knows how long he’s had it. A brown, leather (real leather) jacket is also worn. The jacket is shorter, doesn’t go past his elbows, but fits him well. The sleeves go past his elbows, however.
Pants are a dark brown, and shoes a black. Wears a brown flat cap.

Personality: Arthur is usually reserved, rarely acting out - at least, in front of others. On his own terms, Arthur does what he needs to do, what he thinks is best. He’s not one for following rules, but he’s not loud about it either. However, Arthur won’t let people mess around with him, take advantage of his quietness - he’s incredibly persistent when he wants to be. He finds a way to get back, be that hours, days, months from now. And he holds grudges.
Put simply, Arthur is calm, quiet. But hides more than he shows.

Background: Arthur died. Once.
Then he was reborn anew, and cursed - to live forever.
How you choose to interpret that is unknown to me.

To us, Arthur’s new life was not good. To someone of Arthur’s world, it was average - it didn’t stand out whatsoever. When the time came, he set out from his family and became a good worker, a soldier, before the true depth of his world came crashing down on him. Or rather, he came crashing down to it.
Arthur’s official work did not last long, however. When he discovered his ability - his immortality, he had assumed he could not return to that life, to be questioned and prodded - so he accepted himself; a dead man on the very first mission. Everyone else assumed so, that he had died. Some even saw what they though was his demise - but they never saw his rise.
Arthur became a loner, setting aside a new identity for himself. He learned more about the world, paid more attention - and soon, became more involved in something bigger than he could possibly imagine.
Other: Arthur’s specific flavour of immortality allows him to age. He can die of old age. He can also be killed - it’s just not easy, and most don’t know how. Additionally, he can still feel pain.
Arthur can survive the impossible. As long as at least a portion of his brain remains intact, he can regenerate from it. It’s just rather annoying - the process is never instant, and he could be hobbling around on one leg for a day or two, maybe having to adapt to one eyed vision for a little while. The bigger the wound, the longer it takes to recover. A finger isn’t much - should be back in a few hours. And everything grows back as it was before, no signs of scar tissue, anything. Additionally, depending on what part of his brain has been lost, he might lose some part of himself until it grows back. Such as movement. Speech.

Rosemary Green had seen this place before.
Perhaps that was a lie, the area around her was completely unfamiliar, the tree's were different, the shadows leaped out at her with threatening shapes. Rose could swear she could feel eyes on her from all sides, boxing her in, keeping her pinned in place There was absolutely no way a girl like her had ever been in a place like this before..

And yet. She still couldn't shake the feeling that this place was familiar. The sort of vague deja vu one got when they saw a place that looked like a long forgotten memory or perhaps a dream. The girl felt as if.. If she moved something would happen. The silence was so thick, so perfectly quiet. Like a predator waiting to pounce. Her heartbeat began to speed up, pounding on the inside of her chest like a frightened bird trying to flee. Her eyes darted around almost as quickly as her heartbeat, she was only supposed to be in the woods for half an hour, wasn't that what her mother had told her? Just collect some flowers and return home. She was a big girl, she could handle it!

One thing had led to another, an interesting bird here, an absolutely fascinating leaf there, and now it was three hours later, in the middle of the woods, the sun long since sunken below the horizon. In the daylight the trees and plants were so welcoming, brightly colored and alive looking. Without the light to give them full shapes, every bush became a waiting monster, every noise a signal of incoming danger. Welcoming friends turned into dark fiends. The little girl began to tremble, her emerald eyes starting to burn and prickle at the edges with tears. She just wanted to go home. She'd be good, she'd listen to her mother next times, gods just let her leave!

. . .

A noise.
Not the howl of the quiet wind, not the rustle of a moving leaf, not even the quiet step of a small forest creature, so tiny, yet so full of life. This sound was different. It didn't blend in with the intimidating atmosphere of the dark woods, it was..

Was someone humming?

The imperfect silence was shattered, but Rosemary still couldn't breath, instead a different, heavier weight pressed down on her shoulders, her knees almost buckling. The fear of the dark was washed away, it seem tiny and minuscule in comparison to what she felt now. It filled her stomach until she felt like she would explode from the inside, the anxiety creeping into her very bones like an invasive poison. Infecting every part of her until she was dead. She wasn't alone. She. Was. Not. Alone. In the woods. By herself. At night. She was dead.

The humming grew louder, and in the distance Rosemary could very faintly see a light bobbing up and down, outlining the shadowy shape of a figure holding a lantern. Planted to the ground, Rosemary felt a wave of calm spread throughout her body. Her flesh felt warmer, her brain fuzzier, but the anxiety never left her bones. The light grew closer, and one could make out the image of a tall man with bone white hair and a face that didn't look like it belonged to him. Gnarled, withered hands clutched at the lantern, banishing the darkness, but only breeding more shadows. He glanced at the little girl, standing frozen in place and something flickered in the creatures eyes. It opened its mouth and began to croak out words, his mouth not quite fully opening, like he had something caught inside, or perhaps holding it closed.

"Girl? What are you doing here?" The voice was so soft, a contrast to the bony hands and face that did not react, like the skin had been placed there and forgotten about. "It is late."

Rosemary tried to open her mouth, but her trembling only increased. The calm she felt was unnatural, is was not right, it was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, WRONG.

The creature tipped its head to the side, too far for anything that had a functioning spine or bones for that matter. "Are you lost?" A pause. "Child?" It wasn't addressed at her, she could sense it. It was like the thing was asking her if she was a child. The little girl stared hard at the man, trying to force her body to move, but her muscles rebelled against her, her traitorous flesh keeping her near this thing. So Rose did the only thing she could do, and hot tears began to pour down her face, her body not letting her sob, but the soft trembling continued. She couldn't even open her mouth to scream, her teeth so tightly clenched together the bones felt like they'd crack.

The creature with the white hair cocked its head even further to one side, shuffling forward on awkward legs to watch. It seemed fascinated for a long moment, before its horrible mouth curled into a smile. It tipped its head back as if it was going to laugh, its jaw fully opening. However, no noise came from the creature, the only sound coming from the man from its bones cracking and popping from its convulsions. From the dark pit that opened in its face, beetles began to pour out, hundreds of insects falling out, some dropping to the forest floor, others began swarming the man, burrowing into his eyes and flesh, as if they hadn't wanted to be released. They skittered, shells reflected by the abandoned lantern, dark as pitch, larger than any normal bugs she'd seen. A high pitched whine rung in Rosemary's ears, as the girl watched, frozen in terror.

When the creature collapsed to the ground, spasming. Rosemary finally ran.

Name: Ava-Mai Clarks
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She/Her
Orientation: Straight but bicurious
Employment: For some of her younger life, she worked as a cashier, but by this point most human staff have been more fazed out in cashier and specific other roles, unless someone was highly specialized. Ava-Mai was not. So right now she's just trying to make ends meet to afford her little flat by working as a librarian in her town.

Appearance: Ava-Mai is young, and looks it too. From her rounded face and ears to large honey-brown eyes. Mai's not the most athletic but she's not desperately out of shape, her body type naturally isn't slender or delicate, rather she's curvy but not overweight. She's.. Somewhat short, not being able to make direct eye contact with someone unless she's looking up usually and she can't reach the top shelf at most grocery stores. Ava has a small button nose and while she is on the paler side, she does not lack for freckles. They cover her face, especially across the bridge of the nose, they cover her arms, shoulders, and most of her legs too. The only thing left on her face to describe would be the lips, full and naturally a light pink color, with a pronounced cupids bow.
Yet, at a glance, her most striking feature is her hair… It is dyed bright pink, with mixed in bits of both purple and blue. Ava-Mai's hair is very wavy, and she tends to keep it short, never past her chin, in a bob that only increased the wavy curls. It's very striking in the way it frames her face, accenting her already round face. When she smiles, her lips quirk upwards at the corners, and her eyes mostly close. And when she feels an emotion strongly it really is plain to see on her face, she practically lights up, wearing her heart on her sleeve.

Clothing: Her clothing does seem.. Modern.
She prefers to wear white and black if she can, not really preferring to wear brighter colors. Anything soft is a must, and long sleeved, cropped sweaters seem to be her favorite thing in the world just going based on how she dresses. She likes pants that don't flare at the bottom and hug her legs, or just skinny jeans/leggings. On warmer days Mai wears sundresses complete with the wide brimmed floppy hat. Adores fluffy jackets. Jewelry wise, she really only wears earrings, liking anything that's gold and has a chain that hangs from her ears. Putting make-up here as well: Lightly colored lip gloss and the barest hints of concealer (mostly to hide eye bags) and light blush. Black mascara and a tiny winged liner that makes her eyes seem more round. Likes glittery or smoky eye shadow most days.

Personality: Ava-Mai is an absolute ray of sunshine to anyone who has not met her before. She's friendly, all smiles, and likes to engage in witty banter and teasing. When she feels something, she feels it purely; happiness, joy, sadness, fear. She wants everyone around her to feel at ease, and has such an infection zest for life. However, she's actually pretty reserved about things close to her chest. She's the "happy girl" to everyone who knows her, so she's scared to show vulnerability, as she doesn't want to break her friends illusions that she's never sad.
Ava-Mai is very physically affectionate, holding hands with someone she's met for an hour or poking someones chest when they annoy her. She grew up in a touchy household so her personal bubble is zero, though if someone is clearly uncomfortable, she gets the hint. A weakness of hers is an inability to say no, and a penchant for feeling guilty for things that aren't her fault, it comes from an overactive mind and a desire to please others as best she can. By nature she's a social creature, being away from others for too long makes her wilt.

Background: Ava-Mai is an only child. She grew up with no siblings, but many friends in the neighborhood that all practically lived in each others houses anyways, so they never lacked for company. That being said, her parents were highly overprotective, the kind of parenting style that both stifles and pushes their children. She grew up mostly home schooled, with many aspects of her life meticulously micro-managed, while placing high expectations to succeed on her shoulders at the same time. Eventually, Ava grew fed up, spending most of her teenage years in meek obedience. She finally snapped at age 21, her parents both pressuring her to go to college, but still stay home, to make more friends, but not to get too close, to- Mai didn't cut ties with her parents per-say, but she did move out to a smaller town that's a tad bit more rural than her home city, which is still only a few miles away. And by rural, I mean its just a smaller city that happens to be near actual nature. She got her first phone, and with the help of a friend, is finally starting her life, for the second time.

Other: I wanted to make a cinnamon roll. So- Here she is :D
She's terrified of sheep, and has never been in a serious relationship!
With Ava-Mai I wanted to make someone who's fun to write, while still making someone that wouldn't question too many things if they seem 'off', so I tried to make her very sheltered and naive, but quickly learning! Uhh- Her favorite food is cereal. And favorite color is indigo blue.

And you.. what is your place here?

An ambush was not what Arthur had expected, which pained him to admit. He should’ve seen it coming. He should’ve known, all the enemies he’d made — him out of all people should have known, it would eventually catch up.
Despite his unique condition, Arthur still had that natural reaction to these sorts of situations. Adrenaline. And panic. He kept it under control, but in the back of his mind, threatening to push forward, there was the thought - I’m going to die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, imgonnadie
He wouldn’t go without a fight even if that were the case. Arthur’s ferocity shocked the ambush, and he even managed to get two; permanently wound at least one. In the end, he’d been caught off guard, in a far weaker state than he usually was.

Then came the blackout.

And the awakening.

Arthur woke in an unfamiliar landscape. He blinked a couple times, slowly reaching his left arm forwards- also his only remaining arm, as the right had been severed just below the elbow. It wasn’t a clean cut. Far from it. Blood still spilled from it, plus another wound in his torso and back; he wasn’t sure where. Pushing himself up, he rested most of his weight on his left side. He sat up and peered around - hearing next to nothing, Arthur could sense no immediate danger. Which was odd.
He had just come out of danger. All of the sudden, he was not in it?
A road. I’m on a road. He could look down and see that it was not grass beneath him, but a rocky material. And it seemed to extend further in two different directions, further than what he could see.

He thinned his lips and considered.

Someone intervened, maybe? Why would they bring me out here?

For that question, he had no answer. A lot of things had no answers, though. It wasn’t on the top of his priorities either, to find an answer. It was more like…
He glanced around.
..getting to safety, finding out where he was. That seemed like a higher priority. And he decided that. He glanced at the ground, spotting his hat. With one arm, putting it on was slightly different, but nothing he couldn’t handle. Getting up — a bit more difficult. There was definitely something wrong with his right ankle. Of course.
Keeping the pressure off of it, Arthur knew he wasn’t going to move very fast for some time. And he wasn’t going to be able to fend himself off, either. He only had a knife on him at the time of his ambush— he quickly checked himself over for it. It was still on him.
Still, he would rather avoid conflict, he decided.
He lifted a hand to his face, removed it - blood. He had the major wounds down, but what about the minor ones? They would be gone in mere hours. So cuts were not a bad worry. Nor was the ankle. It didn’t seem broken.

He looked around. Follow the road - or elsewhere? If his pursuers were still alive, they would certainly be able to find him on the roads with ease. So the forest it was. He turned around, pulling what remained of his right arm as close as possible to his body, and limped towards the trees. At least there, it would be easier to hide. He descended briefly into a ditch, then back up - into the tree line, into the forest.
Leaving a trail of blood behind him.
But Arthur hadn’t made it very far before he stumbled. His ankle, giving out? He hissed in pain, then cursed- “Damn it…” In a low voice.
He leaned against a tree, giving himself a moment.

Mai loved to drive.
Perhaps that wasn't an odd reaction. She'd spent so much of her life being stifled, the ability to just.. Get up and go anywhere! The idea was frightening, but freeing. It wasn't terribly late right now. The sun only beginning to slip past the horizon line. Maybe only 7:30 or so. The clock inside her car had broken last year, and she was too much of a rules follower to check her phone while driving.
Even if the road was empty.

The woman had been out of town for the weekend, scouting out potential job offers that would help her move farther away, she'd had a couple promising letters, but when she'd actually shown up in person.. Things.. Hadn't gone well. So now she was driving back to her city, to her tiny cramped apartment, and her current job.

Ava-Mai drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, she'd gone with the scenic road, rather than risking taking the highway. The GPS app on her phone had informed her there was some sort of wreck out there, and traffic was backed up for at least an hour. And her friend Melinda had only promised to watch her pets for Saturday, Ava-Mai hadn't expected to be gone the entire weekend! Things had just gotten.. Out of hand. She pursed her lips in annoyance, pouting slightly, she knew it wasn't entirely her fault, things just hadn't worked out is all!

Still! On the bright side, the road scenery was gorgeous. It was one thing she'd miss if she'd ever move out of her city, nature was really only a few miles away if you knew where to look. Her lips couldn't help but tug upwards at all the green. With the sun lowering, it gave everything a pinkish orange glow and made the road that stretched as far she could see almost look like an album cover for an indie band. The hum of the engine as her accompanying white noise. The car she drove was older than her, the backseats were practically in tatters and the car had more dents and scratches than a particularly feisty alley cat. Still, it was hers and she'd done what she could to make it look presentable. She'd painted over the scratches and made little decals for the dents, and though she couldn't do much about the backseats, she'd thrown a blanket over them to hide the damage. Her car was filled with little oddities like that, reflecting her personality, like the little smiley face sticker she's placed on the rearview mirror, in the corner.

She'd affectionately named the old car 'Soldier', since it had so many flesh wounds, but it still kept on moving. Though perhaps it didn't go into battle that often. Mai tried to roll the window down, to let the breeze cool down the car since, surprise surprise, the air condition had stopped working last month.
However, when she pressed the switch the car made a pained sound, like gears grinding together or a particularly constipated dog. Ava squeaked, snatching her hand away from the switch like it'd burned her, but the damage had already been done. The car made a few choked noises and started to slow down, leaving her to desperately try and get the car on the side of the road. With a final sigh, Soldier came to a complete stop, the engine no longer making any noise.

Ava-Mai sighed loudly, leaning her head against the seats headrest, holding the bridge of her nose with exasperation. Now of all times her car had to break down? She was so close too! Just another few miles and she'd have been home! Muttering under her breath, the woman shoved the door open with her shoulder, it jammed frequently and today was no exception. What she hadn't been expecting was that the ground was slightly lower, and the pink haired woman tumbled out of the car in a flurry of cloth and curses.

Getting to her feet was slightly mortifying, but a quick scan of her skin showed no scratches or bumps, so she let out a breath. And hey! Atleast no one was around to watch her fall out of her own car right? Haha.. Yeah..
Marching around to the front of the car, she popped the hood and stared hard at the engine.
…
…….
…………..
It.. It didn't.. Look broken? Ava-Mai chewed on her bottom lip, staring even harder at the engine. Perhaps if she kept doing this, she'd have even a hint of what was wrong and how to fix it? She sighed again. Fat chance of that happening, huh? But nothing looked broken to her untrained eyes, and she couldn't smell smoke, so surely it wasn't too bad? She already began daydreaming of home, thinking of it as wistfully as a shipwrecked sailor. She'd just bought a new tub of icecream too…

Slamming the hood of the car down again, she reached into her jeans back pocket for her phone, she could probably call a friend, or barring that, a tow truck. She was close enough to the city that it shouldn't really be too expensive. However, as she got her phone out, a different shine caught her eyes, just as she turned her head away from the car. Something glittered just briefly in the sunlight, just a step towards the grass and treeline. Squinting large brown eyes, Mai slowly lowered her phone and shuffled a few steps forwards.. What in the world-

Her eyes opened wide with the realization. That was.. Blood. And a lot of it too. It pooled in the ground, so fresh as to not be absorbed by the greedy soil, the grass barely stained yet. Mai's lips began to open, like she was going to gasp, but she raised her hand to her lips to stop herself. It was probably just animals blood. Something had died here and was dragged off by a predator! Yeah! That-
That was it right? Right?? ᵈᶦᵈ ᵃⁿᶦᵐᵃˡˢ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵐᵘᶜʰ ᵇˡᵒᵒᵈˀ

The short woman took a small step back towards her car, trying to shake off the foreboding feeling she felt in her chest. Something was wrong.

Taking a few breaths, Arthur looked back up. Forest, as long as he could see. He had no clue how far it went, where would civilization be… He turned his head back slightly, back in direction of the road.
He hadn’t gotten very far from it. He could still go back, follow the road. He pulled off of the tree, before noticing the blood marking the bark of the tree. By now, the bleeding was slowing down - but he wasn’t too worried about the blood, thanks to his condition.

His heart dropped for a moment as he heard a noise back in direction of the road. Arthur stiffened - but quickly shook out of it, turning towards the road to see if he could see anything. Even if he hadn’t managed to move very far, he was still in the woods enough that he was sort of obscured by anyone doing a brief glance to the forest…and he had managed to obscure himself as well.
That noise sounded like an automobile. It was a road, of course.
Arthur questioned for a few seconds, if he should get closer, or continue away. On the off chance that it was someone unrelated to everything that had happened today, perhaps he could hitch a ride, get away.
But if it wasn’t…

He shook his head. To be honest, Arthur would rather not go further in the woods. But if he did have to, he would. He was just going to go for a quick look, see who was out there…lowering himself, Arthur moved as quietly as he could. Although he had plenty of experience, it wasn’t easy doing it with wounds, an uneven gait.
His sight became much more clear as he noticed what was indeed an automobile - not very new or taken care of it seemed. And the woman. His eyes drifted over to her, noticing how she seemed to have seen the blood.
She seemed stunned. Would her reaction be of that if she were involved? Hiding at the tree line, just in some bushes, Arthur kept himself very low, thinking.

Ava-Mai took another, tiny shuffling step backwards. Back to the safety of her car, even broken down, it would probably start again if she put the keys in. Her hand had never left her mouth, gently pressing against her lips, and she began to chew on one of her fingernails. But.. That was a lot of blood. A small animal couldn't produce that much, and a large animal would have left drag marks when a predator took it away.

The only remaining option made her stomach churn. Mai didn't want to be the one responsible for finding a dead body in the woods! Sure, she'd read all those crime novels and watched all the shows, but- This was real!! When you could smell the nauseating iron filled scent of blood a few steps away, see the puddle slowly growing.. It felt so much more intense. It was not fun. And it certainly was not mysterious. Maybe- Oh god- What if the killer was still in the woods?? Maybe they were watching her?? The woman let out an involuntary squeak of terror, sounding a bit like a mouse being stabbed with a salad fork.

When she bumped into her car, back pressed against the door, Mai almost screamed. She had pepper spray somewhere in her purse, she was a woman living in a crowded city, she wasn't stupid, but-

A thought popped into her head. What if they aren't dead? To be honest, it hadn't even occurred to her that a person might still be alive. But.. Hadn't she read somewhere the human body could lose scary amounts of blood and still survive, if given proper medical treatment? Was she making that up?? Was that too many hospital telenovelas?? Oh god-

The sane, rational part of Ava-Mai's brain wanted to get in her car and speed away, never thinking of this event again. But now that the possibility of a real, human person, dying because she was scared? The guilt washed through her chest, making a pit in her stomach. She was a horrible person for hesitating, anyone with compassion would at least go look. Her conscience pricked her again. She breathed out slowly through her nose, mumbling to herself "I am too young to have blood on my hands…"

Her hands were white knuckle gripping the handle to her car, maybe if she wasn't so distracted she'd have heard the faint rustling of the bushes, or the light, but limping footfalls. Maybe it was better she didn't. Taking in a deep breath, she let go of the car door, awkwardly clearing her throat.
"ⁱˢ ᵃⁿʸᵇᵒᵈʸ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ" The words came out as a squeak again and she mentally kicked herself in the shins. Way to go, really being that knight in shining armor Mai. She tried again, raising her voice this time, concern and worry starting to bleed through, though her expressive face only showed guilt.

"Hey! Anybody there? Are you hurt? Do you need helppp??" She was significantly louder now, cupping her mouth with both hands. It occurred to her that she would look really stupid if it was just animal blood. But hey- Better safe than sorry?

The pink haired woman shivered, spring had just started, but with the sun lowering, the chill was still around the corner. She wore tight jeans and converse, but her long sleeved, cropped white sweater only came up to her lower rips with her arms raised as they were to her mouth, so.. She would never admit to being cold, but it was pretty cold. Hopefully this would all end soon and she'd have a funny story to tell her friends about how the city girl got spooked by some animal blood.

She doesn’t seem…involved. Arthur continued to debate in his mind. He’d come to that conclusion, but in the back of his head, hesitation still reigned, perhaps due to past experiences.
The woman looked like she was hesitating too. She was probably just a random person who stumbled upon the scene, uncertain of what to do.
She appeared to try to speak - Arthur just barely heard something - before shouting out. She could be acting. A lure. But he really didn’t think that was what was going on, based off of everything he could observe so far.
Still, his heart was thudding. A choice to be made - to wander off, or forwards? Arthur closed his eyes and exhaled quietly, before standing up, moving his left arm over his right. Had he had his right arm intact, he’d be crossing his arms right now.
This is going to look strange.

He shuffled out of the brush, looking at the ground at first, then forwards as he approached. Out into the open, back to the road. “..Hello,” he replied. “If it won’t be too much of a bother, I need a ride.” He stopped a few feet away.

Ava-Mai stared at the silent forest for a moment, wanting laugh out of pure relief. She had been imagining things! No one was hurt, it was just some leftovers from a creatures hunt! She breathed out, turning to get back in her car when she heard the noise. Unmistakably, terrifyingly, footsteps. She spun quickly, staring at the person emerging from the bushes. For a moment she just stared at the man, he only had one arm and was covered in blood, he opened his mouth and said something, she blinked once, then twice.

Then screamed.

The woman stopped screaming almost as soon as she had started, her large eyes blinking, before she rubbed them, as if making sure she wasn't dreaming. She even went so far as to pinch her arm, making a tiny 'ow', rubbing the spot she looked up again. The man hadn't dissipated, so that meant it was an 80% chance she wasn't dreaming. Mai opened her mouth slowly, her brain finally coming to process that the man had said words. Words that meant things.

"Oh! Um. Hi." Smooth. "I mean- Do you need to go somewhere?" Ava-Mai wanted desperately to face-palm, to bury her face in her hands and not see this stranger. Maybe the earth would do her a solid and swallow her up here and now. 'Oh your probably wounded and bleeding out and maybe going to kill me? Oh yeah sure, get in my car, you driving to florida?? Internally screeching at herself, Mai considered if she should offer to help the guy with his wounds, he was just kinda.. Standing there. He didn't seem too bothered by them, so maybe he was in shock? Or maybe he didn't want her, a complete stranger, anywhere near his injuries. Fair.

She pointed down the empty road, then at her car, "I'm going that way." There was no way in hell she was telling this guy that she was going home. He did not need to know where she lived. She stared hard at him again, looking lost for words. This was just going wonderfully.

He slightly stepped back at her scream, although wasn’t completely thrown off by it - he knew that most people wouldn’t be so casual in this situation. Including himself - maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe he was just good at suppressing pain. But he could still feel it, a light breeze flying by. He’d never get used to the feeling of air on an open wound.
“Anywhere’s fine.” Arthur answered, his voice neutral.
“A ride to civilization would be preferable.” As he spoke, he gestured with his arms. With the left, it didn’t look so odd - with the right, it was the opposite. He still swung it around…but there wasn’t much left of his lower arm, and no hand to speak of.

Ava-Mai cleared her throat slightly again, looking from her car, to the strange man. Then back and forth a handful of times, she was clearly mulling over the pro's and con's of letting this guy in her car with her. On one hand, he was a stranger and potentially dangerous, on the other hand, the man was injured and kinda hot, Mai chewed hard on her lower lip, before slowly inching forwards and opening the back seat door.
"Um. There's a city pretty close by.. Do- Do you have friends or family in Terminus? Or do you just want to go.. To a hospital?" She motioned at the wounds, and the left arm, which was basically in tatters. Mai briefly thanked her lucky stars that the sight of blood didn't make her queasy, otherwise this conversation would be 90% more awkward than it already was.

"It's fine if you bleed on my seats!" She popped out suddenly, visibly brightening. The blanket that covered the poor seats would prevent staining. Then she realized she had provided zero context, and decided to keep it that way.
"But- You have to tell me your name. For… Legal purposes?" She still wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but she opened the drivers door and waited for the strange man to get in the back seat, blinking owlishly at him. If he murdered her while she was driving, maybe she'd have time to write his name on a piece of paper in her own blood or something! As a clue for the police.
Yeahhhh- Definitely too many crime shows, Mai. Maybe you should cut back..

But, the guilt that had kept stabbing her conscience was easing now, she couldn't just leave a human being out by the side of the road when they were clearly injured! Perhaps she wasn't handling it.. The best. Or the most delicately. Or sanely. The good, rational thing to do would be to offer to help the man with his wounds, maybe call an ambulance, or y'know, not keep them standing out in the woods?? But Mai wasn't thinking very clearly right now, she was still half convinced this was all a dream or a very elaborate prank, so she kept staring at the man like she was waiting for him to disappear or break character. Today was very odd. She just wanted to go home and eat her icecream-