by a route obscure and lonely, haunted by ill angels only...

[ushered]

[Open to threadhopping, but no Roderick tags, please!]

The Kashtta is deteriorating. The signs are everywhere, and have been-in the way the walls seem to be cracking more each day, the paint fading and flaking; in the floors that creak and moan; in the air itself, so dank and foul, just hanging in every open space

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[starryeyed_cass]

[OOC: Not sure what the hell I'm on tonight. BUT THIS IS A WARNING. Cassie's dream is her being murdered by Kaden. It's very graphic gore-wise and distressing. I've whited it out and you can read it by highlighting. Pleeease don't read it if it you don't want to, I don't want to upset anyone. I'M SO SORRY YOU GUYS OKAY. ;;]

Nightmares are not uncommon for Cassie. The amount of things she’s seen in the sixteen months she’s been in Chicago have done nothing but break her brain and she often puts up with the violent mesh of miserable terrors every so often. She doesn’t remember them that much, though. Most of the time she wakes up just anxious at what had just happened; at the snippets that she can remember.

It takes her a while to fall asleep, the storm is angry outside and she doesn’t like the way the wind howls through the building’s currently decaying state. She knows the Tower’s been getting worse lately, but she’s not giving in. She’s done that too many times and one ghost is not going to scare her.

She refuses to allow it.

When she finally falls asleep, her nightmare hits her instantly.

She blinks groggily up at bright white lights. This feels familiar, she’s already afraid. And then she realises she’s lying down on some kind of table.. and she can’t move. She’s pinned down and no matter how hard she tries, she can’t move a muscle. She finally starts to remember and she’s already pleading for help. Kaden. He’d strapped her down, drugged her and tortured her for what seemed like forever.

A tall figure looms over her. Not you, please not you. Oh God, no. Don’t. I’m begging you. And she’s trying to fight, every inch of her screaming to move. But she can’t. All she can do is watch and wait.

She sees something shiny, her eyes widen and she’s terrified. Don’t hurt me. Please. I- no, don’t hurt me. Minoru. I just want to go home! Please don’t hurt me. I won’t tell anyone, I promise! Please let me go! Don’t, no, please! But the figure doesn’t listen, raising the blade up high. No! Please! No!

It’s brought down fast on her stomach. The force knocks the breath out of her and she’s blinded with pain she’s never felt before. The blade twists in body, dragging along her stomach. She feels her skin and muscle tear and she can’t scream out. Pulling the blade out, the figure lets her wallow in her pain for a few moments before landing another blow - carving out her flesh, scraping against her bones. They drag the knife upwards, her ribs snap feebly. She still wants to fight back, but there’s no strength left in her. Every stab brings another organ to a halt; she can feel her stomach acid slowly burning her insides away. She still tries to scream, but no sounds come out and she can’t breathe through the blood pouring from her mouth and nose.

She wants it to be over, she wants to be dead. She wants the pain to go away.

But it just goes on and on.

She finally wakes with a scream, scrambling to sit up in bed. She’s cold, drenched in sweat and the pain still seems to linger. She’s still crying out, like an animal dying. Shoving the covers from her, she instantly starts grabbing at her damp nightwear. Oh God, it’s blood. Blood. It’s Blood. It’s real. She lifts her top and peers at her abdomen in the dim morning light. Her heart’s still racing, tears streaming from her eyes.

She chokes, still finding it hard to breathe. Whimpering now, she blinks back the tears and see’s… nothing.

There’s no blood, no wounds. Just the faint red marks where she’s clawed at her skin during the night.

Pressing her hand more firmly against her stomach, still unsure if her insides might suddenly start spilling out again, she claps a hand to her mouth. It wasn’t real… it-- she shudders and cries

[physics_magic]

Spencer is not sleeping.

Spencer is not sleeping because he tried to sleep and he managed it at first but....

But he's not thinking about it. He's putting those thoughts out of his head and thinking of something else. Of anything else. If he keeps thinking about that he's going to do things he's trying not to right now and it's going to end in guilt and regret and everything else that he's been dealing with since he got here.

So he's wandering around the Tower, studying the crumbling place and listing in to everyone's unrest.

At least it doesn't seem to be just him.

He wanders by Cassie's room because he can, because she's a comfort and she's a good thing in his life and maybe, just maybe, he was hoping to hear the sounds of her being awake. But that's all he wants, for her to be awake not for her to--

And then she screams. She screams and he's back down the hall like a shot and not th8inking about anything but making sure she's okay when he oepsn the door.

"Cassie!" He stands there, transfixed as she panics, unsure of what to do at first. Then he takes a step closer, puts his hands on her shoulders. "Cassie, look at me. Cassie, it's okay. Everything's okay."

[starryeyed_cass]

It takes a few minutes for Cassie to realize Spencer's even there. She's far too worked up, the dream still raw in her mind's eye and she can't get the pictures and pain out her head. She just sits there, shaking and crying fiercely.

Finally, she manages to hold back her wails for a moment to try and speak. It doesn't work out well, most of her words are so hard to hear. "He.. he was killin' me!" she half-shouts, "It wouldn't end! And.. and I tried so hard to get away, but I couldn't move!"

Her words fail her. Her face crumples and she slumps, putting her head in her hands and letting out another wail. She's never been so terrified of a dream before, never had one so real that she can still feel it, the blade under her skin.

"It still hurts," she sobs, "I can feel it,"

[physics_magic]

He sits next to her, never quite breaking contact until he's settled down so that he can put an arm around her. He doesn't say anything, just lets her cry and rubs at her back. Only when she starts talking does he try and respond further.

"It's okay<" he says quietly. "It's okay, it was a dream. NO one's doing anything to you. You're here, you're safe."

He holds onto her tightly, his eyes closing as he speaks. "I know it's hard, I know the feelings are still there but it's just your mind, Cassie. You have to push it away It's not really there."

[starryeyed_cass]

"But he.." Cassie stops, shutting her eyes and looking down as she tries to fight back another sob. She carefully lifts up her pajama top again, double checking her stomach. But there's no blood, no stab wounds. She runs her fingers over the raised scratch marks and shakes her head.

She's quiet for a few moments, trying to calm herself down. It's in her head. It was a dream. It didn't really happen. She groans and puts her head in her hands. Curling up against him, she only speaks once she's stopped crying so furiously.

"It was so real," she hiccups, "I've dreamed of him before.. but not like... nothing like that,"

[physics_magic]

He lets her lean against him, lets her do whatever it is that she needs to. That's what he's here for, to make sure she's all right, to comfort her if she needs it, to remind her that it's just a dream. He'll do whatever he has to to make sure she's okay.

His arm is tight around her when she speaks and he looks down. "It was just a dream though. Nothing else. It was...probably the Rift or something. I don't know." He smiles weakly. "Or it could just be everything coming at you. I mean this whole week has been....Well..."

He closes his eyes and moves to stroke her hair. "Anyway, it's over now. You're fine. Everything is going to be fine."

[starryeyed_cass]

She is glad for that comfort. Compared to the treatment she's just had to endure for what seemed like forever in her dream, being held like that makes her feel better. He doesn't even need to say anything, he's there and if wasn't, she'd probably still be screaming.

Cassie's quiet for a long time, just pushing the images away and trying to concentrate on the waking world. "God, I wish he would just get out my life for good," She hasn't seen Kaden in a long time now, she's not even sure if he's in Chicago any more. She doesn't think he is.

She lets out a shaky breath and wipes at her clammy forehead. "Yeah.. yeah.. it's just," she shakes her head, "Bloody Chicago,"

After a short pause, blinking at the thought, "D'you think the ghost in here did it?" she asks. "It's doing everything else in the Tower.."

And then, feeling his fingers in her hair, she sighs and smiles faintly, "Thanks, Spencer,"

[physics_magic]

"I wish I could help," he says softly. "I wish I could get rid of him for you." But he knows he can't. he doesn't have the authority to help and the only thing he can do is try and protect her. It just doesn't feel like enough though.

He considers that for a moment, looking down at the floor before he speaks. "Maybe," he offers. "It would make sense with all the other events."

And then she's thanking him and has managed to completely lose him. "What? Why? Cassie, this sin't something to thank em for."

He couldn't imagine not being there for her, he just couldn't.

[starryeyed_cass]

"He's gone," she sniffs and rubs at her face, "I think. Don't think he's in Chicago anymore, gone. Yeah,"

It's a small mercy. Knowing he's left the city is a comfort. But she still has to fight him off in her dreams from time to time. Apart from this time, this time was a million times worse. Cassie's never remembered much from what actually happened. She was drunk when she fell through the Rift and the over-load of drugs he put in her system made sure of that.

"You didn't fall asleep, did you?" she asks hesitantly, making a pained face.

Cassie frowns slightly, shifting her head to look at up him. "Course it is," she says, "I should always thank you, for everything, really,"

[physics_magic]

"No," he lies and it comes easily to him. Cassie needs him right now and it becomes so much easier to push away his own problems when she's concerned. "I was thinking about it but I couldn't."

he smiles a little, shaking his head. "No you don't. You can if you want, if it makes you feel better but I'd do it no matter what." he pauses for a moment, considering his words. "You're worth it," he says a little more quietly. "I'll be here every if if I can."

[starryeyed_cass]

"Good," she runs her hands through her hair and sighs deeply, "I wouldn't want you to have slept. Not.. after that.."

She pauses, she can hears others around her waking up around her. The thing with the Tower is that sound seems to carry around the place. Even more so since this ghost took over. People cry out into the dawn, terrified, just as she had done.

Cassie smiles sadly, "But, Spence.." she sighs again, ".. Y'know that's especially why you deserve the thanks. Don't be so modest and stuff,"

She looks down, smiling shyly at the words that follow his pause. Looking up at him briefly, she kisses his cheek. "Thanks," she says and chuckles.

[physics_magic]

The sounds of the waking are unnerving, they make him shift in his seat and pull her closer. It's strange, to hear the echoes of the terrified rush through thre Tower like they are now. It makes him bite his lip and look to Cassie, watch her carefully and be grateful that she is there with him instead of being alone now.

"I'll see what I can do about that," he offers. {But you'll have to work with me. It's kind of in my nature to not accept it too quickly."

he smiles a little, trying to both look at her and look away all at once. "Thank you," he says and then blinks, not sure if that's what he's supposed to say. "Er, well. I don't know. "

He laughs, hugging here. That seems to be the best plan here.