[There are a lot of potentially triggering things in Cal's backstory and while he's not likely to discuss them with strangers, I would still like people to be aware of them. I have a detailed permissions post here, please check if there is anything there that you would be uncomfortable with before responding. Thank you in advance!]
1.0 - Early to Rise
He can still feel the blood on him when he wakes, clean, in a bed that he's never been in, in a place he's never seen. More beds surround him, but he barely registers them--or if they're at all occupied. He's too distracted for the moment, staring at the ceiling and struggling to grasp at the remaining threads of a dream he only half-recalls.
Erasing his biggest regret is going to take some fucking miracles, but he's here, so maybe that indicates something. He can't really allow himself to hope that maybe this will actually work, but...well. At least the mystery dreamweaver seems to be starting off well enough.
It takes him several more minutes before Cal dares to sit up and look around. There are other people in the beds, but they seem, for the most part, to still be sleeping. Or else lying there like he'd been. Either way, maybe he can sneak out of the room before he's noticed. That would be far too perfect.
God, he could use a cigarette.
7.0 - Ain't No Sunshine
It's not real, but it still seems far too...cheerful. There shouldn't be anything like this left in the world, even though he knows, intellectually, that the world will go on despite his wishes, it still seems unfair. Pell is dead, and Pell was all of the light in the world. It should have vanished when he did.
And despite knowing that it's as real as an orange sky, it still feels real, and the cognitive dissonance is disorienting. Sort of like realizing in an instant that the one har who mattered is gone. Only far less bloody.
With his face raised toward the "sky," he closes his eyes and just breathes for a moment. He doesn't smile. He doesn't even move for several minutes, before abruptly opening his eyes, glaring at nothing in particular, and moving toward the exit with a soft "fuck" muttered under his breath.
9.0 - Creatures in the Dark
In Cal's mind, it doesn't rightfully matter which way he chooses--either he finds what he's looking for, or he dies. Whichever way it turns out, he'll be satisfied. He finds the damn orb, or he gets to be with Pell sooner rather than later.
Still, he pauses at the crossroads, evaluating the paths before him, mostly by glaring at the darkness, seemingly daring it to come and take him. Likely, he's worse than anything it can throw at him, anyway, and if not, he's not afraid. He will walk smiling into Hell with the rest of the demons sent to take him there.
Cal | Wraeththu | OTA - PRE-EMPTIVE CONTENT WARNING, SEE COMMENT
1.0 - Early to Rise
He can still feel the blood on him when he wakes, clean, in a bed that he's never been in, in a place he's never seen. More beds surround him, but he barely registers them--or if they're at all occupied. He's too distracted for the moment, staring at the ceiling and struggling to grasp at the remaining threads of a dream he only half-recalls.
Erasing his biggest regret is going to take some fucking miracles, but he's here, so maybe that indicates something. He can't really allow himself to hope that maybe this will actually work, but...well. At least the mystery dreamweaver seems to be starting off well enough.
It takes him several more minutes before Cal dares to sit up and look around. There are other people in the beds, but they seem, for the most part, to still be sleeping. Or else lying there like he'd been. Either way, maybe he can sneak out of the room before he's noticed. That would be far too perfect.
God, he could use a cigarette.
7.0 - Ain't No Sunshine
It's not real, but it still seems far too...cheerful. There shouldn't be anything like this left in the world, even though he knows, intellectually, that the world will go on despite his wishes, it still seems unfair. Pell is dead, and Pell was all of the light in the world. It should have vanished when he did.
And despite knowing that it's as real as an orange sky, it still feels real, and the cognitive dissonance is disorienting. Sort of like realizing in an instant that the one har who mattered is gone. Only far less bloody.
With his face raised toward the "sky," he closes his eyes and just breathes for a moment. He doesn't smile. He doesn't even move for several minutes, before abruptly opening his eyes, glaring at nothing in particular, and moving toward the exit with a soft "fuck" muttered under his breath.
9.0 - Creatures in the Dark
In Cal's mind, it doesn't rightfully matter which way he chooses--either he finds what he's looking for, or he dies. Whichever way it turns out, he'll be satisfied. He finds the damn orb, or he gets to be with Pell sooner rather than later.
Still, he pauses at the crossroads, evaluating the paths before him, mostly by glaring at the darkness, seemingly daring it to come and take him. Likely, he's worse than anything it can throw at him, anyway, and if not, he's not afraid. He will walk smiling into Hell with the rest of the demons sent to take him there.
"Well then, forward into the dark, I suppose."