citynet | video; un: mr. chandler

[ Not long after getting to the Welcome Diner and gathering his thoughts, he flips on the device to begin what will surely be one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. He hasn't bothered to clean himself up much but, with Daniel's help, he probably doesn't look like a serial killer anymore. Still, it's obvious the man has been through hell. ]

My name is Ethan Chandler. I-- [ He swallows, then begins again. ]

Last night, something wicked prowled through the streets and attacked several residents. It was me. I don't look as I did last evening and, despite what I said, I can't recall who I encountered or what events took place. I change, you see, when the moon is full. I can't control myself; God knows I've tried.

[ He lets out a sharp exhale, grimacing when it aggravates some of his injuries, but powers through. ]

Ever since my arrival, I've done what I could to make sure I couldn't hurt anyone, taken precautionary measures to restrain myself so this wouldn't happen. But it did. Something happened last night, and I made a mistake that put people here in harm's way. The blame rests entirely upon my shoulders and mine alone.

I'm not deserving of your forgiveness, but I'll ask for it. If you encountered the wolf last evening, please, reach out to me here. The phones are impersonal and I would prefer to extend my apology in person, to look you in the eye when I give it.

[ Now, to another pressing matter: ]

Mr. Gray and Miss Ives were present before and after what happened. I can't contact either one of them. I've tried.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's an alarming sight, and the words to come only add to that impression. Peter's already tried to reach Vanessa today — a common thing for him, one lost dark thing calling out for another. She's never not responded to him. She's always been there on the other end of a tether, waiting.

Something's wrong.

Now he's listening to Ethan's message, heart beating quicker and quicker at the words. (It's too familiar, to the boy who recently learned from a friend that he attacked her in the night, and has no memory of it. He was growling and hissing, she said. On all fours—)

.......the wolf. Peter's so recently learned about some of those things that go bump in the night. The bite on his neck from a vampire is still healing. But this.... Ethan becomes a wolf? (A werewolf, he realises, with a soft hitch of breath. 'I change, you see, when the moon is full.')

The thought surprises him, terrifies — overwhelms. His heart's pounding and pounding and then suddenly Ethan says Miss Ives and the frantic organ in his chest freezes, instead. Everything does. ]

[ He's already started turning on his own device, and he begins losing himself before he can start to think that he shouldn't.

It's still Peter — mostly. But it's something else too, the warm browns of his eyes altered by the blacks of swelling pupils, making his gaze too big, too weird, too dark. His voice comes out hoarse, abrasive. Something deep within him shudders and croaks.

Still, for the moment at least, he sounds like a boy in what he says. Angry and rasping, but still a boy. ]

What'd you do to her?

Peter?

[ Jesus Christ. Those eyes.

Someone neglected to mention that Peter has a dark passenger within him, no wonder the kid had been so confused when Ethan mentioned seeing him trail after Vanessa at night. If his head wasn't already pounding, it certainly would be right now. He meets the stare head on. ]

I wouldn't hurt her. [ But is he trying to convince himself or Peter? It remains to be seen. ] Peter, can you hear me? I wouldn't hurt Miss Ives.

[ On some level, he can feel that he's not right, that this anger doesn't belong to him. (...But doesn't it? The thought of anyone hurting Vanessa would make Peter angry, too.)

It's impossible to tell where the threads between himself and something else begin and end. Even hearing the man say his name doesn't bring Peter back to himself, not in the heat of this moment. Not when it comes to Vanessa. No, the other thing is bubbling up and spilling over, as much as it can. A word comes along with a sudden snarl, like an animal snapping its teeth, breaking through Peter. ]

WRETCH

[ But it pulls back as quickly as it had appeared, goes in and out and back in again, and Peter's body is trembling harder now, almost convulsively. He doesn't seem to know what 'he' just said, brows knit, looking wounded, upset, much more human than whatever cold, violent thing just broke from him. ]

Then where is she? She wouldn't just disappear!

You're right, she wouldn't, which is why I'm going to find her.

[ He's no fool. Whatever this is, they both have a fondness for Vanessa, so he is going to use that to his advantage to try and draw Peter back and away from whatever has a hold on him now. ]

But I need your help, Peter. Just yours. [ Ethan isn't about to try and bargain with a demon for help, damn sure not one whose identity he's unaware of. He's desperate to find her but not enough to go that far yet. Until the black eyes disappear, he stares down the one who possesses them with no intention of backing down. ]

If anyone can help me find her, you can. She's here somewhere, of that much I'm sure.

[ Ordinarily, he might listen to this. If he could stop, and think about it. But combined with everything that's happening.... the revelation that the man he's talking to is a werewolf, talks of bloodshed, Vanessa missing..... and the dark, ancient, lost thing scratching desperately at the walls of his skin from inside, his mind isn't clear. He's shaking his head, eyes wide, still black but not fully. Swollen pupils restrict and blow, restrict and blow. He starts trembling again, almost convulsively. He can't handle this. ]

I'm not fucking helping you...! I'll find her myself!!

[ It sounds like Peter when he says that, like an angry teenage boy. But the demon still remains right alongside him, and there's a hiss to follow those words, reedy, snakelike, aimed at Ethan. (Paimon getting in his last two cents, here...)

With that, Peter, still shuddering uncontrollably, shuts off his feed, shuts off everything. There's a cold sweat at his brow; he feels ill, strange, but he's heading out to look for Vanessa. Perhaps a fool's journey, in a place like this, but he's not alone. The demon king guides him, in its way, even beyond Peter's awareness. At some point, they'll find her phone. It'll be something. ]

video; un: mr. chandler

(1/2) video | un: P.Graham

(2/2)

video; un: mr. chandler

no subject

no subject

no subject