(no subject)

[nestingdevil]

[He doesn't make his way to the Garden that often, but when he does, it's usually to check the goings-on. See what's new, what's changed, what sort of bullshit might be up to bat this time.]

[So to say he isn't prepared for what he finds would be the understatement of the century.]

[The first thing he notices is the blood. And at first, it seems inconsequential. Someone, somewhere, had a scuffle maybe. That's not unheard of. But then, as he continues, there's more of it. More of it, and red isn't the only color spending its evening on the ground, is it?]

[He's moving faster than he realizes, his heels tearing up grass and dirt like they're nothing. Gold is a color he knows quite intimately. Even before here, he knew the color. It's a rich one. An expensive one. A shade made for emperors and kings and isn't it something he's always, always craved.]

["Greed - "]

[He doesn't acknowledge how the ground squishes underneath him. That ship's already left port. Because what he sees? What he sees makes the air (the air that should be clean, cool, crisp but isn't) catch behind his teeth.]

[It's carnage. Pure, horrible, gut-churning carnage, and if he wasn't a creature used to it, he probably would have been sick at the sight. Blood, a spin of red and gold, saturates all that is green like a black stroke cutting through a half-finished painting. It's final in the way all things like this are final. Something happened, something happened, and what the fuck happened.]

[Greed doesn't remember when he picks up the bodies (the pieces of bodies), but he does feel them in his arms: a weight of too many wings gone limp, the pulse of shadows beating like a bundle of headless snakes desperate for life, the very head they crave. A head sewn shut and silenced forever. It should all be a lot heavier, part of him distantly thinks. But that part of him is hard to reach and as the static fills his skull, all that he truly hears is his lonesome, rattlesnake warning.]

["Hey Greed - "]

[He's running again, as he's always done. Running with a core that screams where he can't. Through Hell's hotel lobby he goes, ignoring any protests or yelps that may be thrown in his direction. The "Hey sir - " and "Sir!" all going in one ear and out the other.]

[The Sin gets to his door, the door to his room, and immediately kicks it open. The impact alone is enough to make the frame of it crack and as the deadbolt splinters, he wildly makes his way inside. There's no lights on, and that suits him just fine. Better to do this all in the dark, anyway.]

[What's left of the entrance whines shut behind him, cutting off the light from the hallway.]

Comments

➥ Audio

[nestingdevil]

➥ Audio: Verosika Mayday
[He doesn't beat around the bush, so it would be all too easy for her to note the change in his voice. It's empty and hollow. Like a fireplace that's been left alone and gone far too cold.]

Ver - [Greed bites, swallows, then starts over again.] Verosika. I need a favor. You can cash in whatever you want. But I need you to find Charlie Morningstar.

[The tone of his voice is far away, distant, but the snap of his teeth is as clear as glass. The former homunculus wildly flicks a lighter on the other end of the line.] Get her somewhere safe. Your place, the 'Nest. I don't care where it is.



➥ Audio: Nanami Kento
Nanami. [Greed snarls into the receiver. It's a rare day indeed to see the Sin angry, but it's practically palpable over the line.] I need you do something. And fast.

There's a radio station we pay every once in a while. You'll see it in the paperwork. [Since when did he pay attention to that? When it matters.] I need you to go down there and find someone named Acht. They work with Alastor. Once you do, I need you to make sure nothing's happened to the place. And if anything has, you take Acht out of there and go straight back to the 'Nest, you understand? Bring Fearless and anyone else with you as backup.

[No "if you want(s)", no choice in the matter. No, these are orders, and they're coming in fast and furious.]

I have to take care of some things. Send out a call to the rest of them. If someone called Charlie Morningstar shows up, have Velvet take her into the backrooms ok?

I'll be in when I can.

[He drops Acht's line just in case.]


➥ Audio: Oz
[He's been holding out on this phone call for as long as he possibly can. But time's up, and he has to face the music now, doesn't he?]

[Greed's claws are twitching at this point. He's been running around for hours.] Oz. I - [Choking, he feels like choking. But he doesn't. Ultimate Shield, right? Ultimate Shield, and what is it's purpose?]

[To do just this.] - Something happened. With Lucifer and Alastor. I don't know all the details yet, but I'm looking into it.

I asked Verosika to track down Charlie. There's two boxes at the hotel.

[The motorcycle's engine is close by and where he can't yell, its pipes quiver for him.] I can't stop her if she wants to go into my hotel room, but I'm asking you to try to convince her otherwise. Nothing good waits for her there. For either of you.

[Something audibly cracks, and the Sin spits on the pavement.]

In advance, I'm sorry.