itp: there's nobody down in the woods

[allyourface]

[LIFE SUCKS FOR ENVY

so he's stomping through the forest, by himself, wandering back in the general direction of the barrier--at least, so he thinks--to pound on it and bitch a little more. the trees are thick here, except for how they're slowly thinning as he approaches a clearing, a ways out from camp proper.]

That stupid worthless shitty

Comments

[fuckyou_chorus]

[in the clearing there are the remains of what looks like was once an elaborate stage--most of the wood is rotted away at this point, and there are no curtains to speak of; the ground is torn-up and wrecked, and there are stains that look suspiciously like scorch marks and blood. this damage looks relatively new, in comparison to the wear and tear and rot of the rest of the area.

one thing's for sure: while people have been here before, it's been at several months at the very least since the last time.]

[allyourface]

[yeah, okay, I see blood, I'M COMING OVER TO INVESTIGATE.]

Huh, well~! What have we here?

[fuckyou_chorus]

[it looks like a lot of blood was spilled here, at one point! enough that the ground is still stained with it--a few places look as though the ground was gouged by gigantic claws. looks like you missed a pretty spectacular fight.]

[allyourface]

[kneeling down to look!] Ooh, nasty!

[raises his voice] Hey, you! I salute you! You had the right idea! Kill 'em all!

[and then, more to himself] Who cares if they come back? Too cocky . . . it's disgusting, what these assholes think they can get away with thanks to a powerful friend or two and a little white bear . . .

[fuckyou_chorus]

[while he's kneeling, a breeze picks up--it's not anything particularly strong, but it does cause a flutter of movement, there, right at the edge of one's vision. it's too fluid to be anything but cloth, and too big to just be a scrap, half-hidden behind a part of the stage that has rotted and collapsed in on itself]

[allyourface]

[glances over, and then gets to his feet to approach it. a body, maybe?]

Who might this be, hmm?

[fuckyou_chorus]

[if it's a body, it's awfully ... small, though it is body-shaped. what it is turns out to be a doll--about the size of a decently-large ragdoll--wrapped in flowing black robes. instead of a proper face, it has a blank white mask.

it looks like it was dropped--it lies wedged between two pieces of rotted wood, cloth body bent into a vee, arms outstretched upwards. though no footsteps disturb the dust and debris around it, the mask-face is pure white and totally clean.]

[allyourface]

. . . Huh.

[bends down and grabs the doll by a hand, and picks it up]

[fuckyou_chorus]

[it's surprisingly heavy for its size! for something whose body feels like it's just made of cloth, it's almost like holding the weight of a human infant.]

[allyourface]

[gets his hands under its arms and holds it up at arms' length, squeezing the body to test the material, roughly] Hmm.

[fuckyou_chorus]

[the body feels just like ordinary cloth and stuffing! and the overly-large head lolls backwards; it looks like the mask is attached directly to the cloth--there's no doll-face beneath the edge.]

[allyourface]

[reaches out and rebalances the head, and then curiously fingers the edge of the mask and the place where the face should be, over the non-existent eyes, feeling for traces of eyes that have worn off]

Do it yourself, maybe. I like your style.

[fuckyou_chorus]

[there's nothing to feel--all the edges are smoothed out, and there's no sign that there might have been paint there once. just a doll, abandoned here at the stage.]

[allyourface]

[muttering] Aren't you a creepy, clean-faced little guy.

[glancing back at the bloodstained earth]

[fuckyou_chorus]

[if there are stains on the body itself, the black cloth hides it; otherwise, it's just a doll.]

[allyourface]

I think I'll hang on to you, cutie! Ooh, maybe I should draw you a face! Better yet, replaceable faces! You can never have too many faces!

[tucking the doll under his arm]