selfpreservationist | [RAVEN'S HEART GAME

The first thing you hear is the sound of rain faintly hitting the exterior of the house. The soft pitter-patter is almost soothing, in a way, but it’s quickly followed up by rumbling thunder in the distance. You open your eyes, and for a second all you see is a flash of light--at first it seems like it’s lightning, but then you see something. A vision of a man dressed in rags, hunched over, waves of demonic power rolling over him. He howls, and something terrible starts to grow out of him: the bloody roots of a massive tree. An immense wave of panic hits you, and you can’t move, you can’t speak, you can’t breathe--

And then it’s over. It’s over. You’re fine.

The sound of rain returns. (This time it’s definitely soothing, compared to what you just saw.) You’re standing in the foyer of a mansion, a wide open living room in front of you. The door behind you is faintly ajar, leading outside.

[Powers are OFF. Make sure you’ve joined the discord channel! If you need to, you can ping me directly at haeralis#8694. Sign-ups are here.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm not sure I can answer that question much better than you. Should I not be?

"No one should be here but me, and..."

He sits up, holding his head, his brow furrowing.

"Something's gone wrong."

It seems like it. And this seems like some kind of dream... Your dream?

"This is my heart," he says simply.

...Oh.

[She looks around and shifts a little closer to Raven, defensively, not that there's anything visible to defend from]

Then—we have to fix whatever's wrong.

He gives her a small grateful smile, and then pinches his brow like he's concentrating.

"It feels like... things got... shuffled around. Probably when people arrived in the heart. Things aren't all where they're supposed to be."

The swords downstairs looked like they were missing something... Yours, I'd guess.

"That's a fair guess. I... don't know where everything got moved to, though. It's hard to focus like this..."

I can look around. Do you want to come along? ...Can you come along?

"I'm not sure I can. And to be frank, I probably shouldn't... this place is safe, but not everywhere in my heart is."

He reaches for your sleeve.

"Be careful, Glory. It isn't just that it's dangerous, it's... there's something else..."

[she runs a hand through his hair again]

Something else?

He's quiet for a few moments.

"I'm telling you this in confidence. There's a way to Vergil's heart from here. I... don't know how, but I strongly suspect it won't be easy or painless. You can help my heart, and if you figure out how, I beg you to... but... if you end up on his side, please... help him, too. He's the one I'm worried about."

[she considers that quietly for a moment herself]

...Of course. I'll help both of you.

"Don't take too much on, especially if it hurts. If you ever need to rest, find your way back here."

He reaches over and brushes some hair from your cheek.

[smiles a little]

Alright. I'll try to be careful. And I'm sure... you'll give me strength.

[a bit of pink rises to her cheeks before she leans in to kiss him briefly]

He smiles and kisses her back. Now there's some pink on his cheeks, as well.

"I'd be honored. Good luck."

Thanks. Stay safe.

[...one more kiss for good luck]

One more kiss. Maybe two? Two more kisses.

[two more kisses is surely even more lucky.

she can't take that logic too far, though, so after that she exhales heavily and pulls away.]

I'll see you later.

"See you later."

Where to?

[Well, first she will look over the bookshelves here a little more purposefully to see if anything looks missing or out of place.]

Everything looks in good shape, which is odd, because none of the shelves are labeled, so you wouldn't have any idea where to start looking for a particular book.

[Presumably they're in order for Raven.

Well, she'll head out to Door #2, then.]

Door Two

[RAVEN'S HEART GAME - SESSION THREE]

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY

Re: DOOR ONE - THE LIBRARY