Fandom you need to comprehend who's in control. || weiirdw0lf & moggiemoof

[weiirdw0lf]

"Unfortunately," Sable said at the comment about 'everything being fucked up.' Yeah, that's pretty much accurate. If she was being honest, she wasn't sure how some of the others did get used to things so fast. She figured she only did because of... well, everything involving how she got here. Which maybe was a good thing at this point. Anyone else? Who knows.

Cody looked over at Winnie then, making a face -- not upset, more so confused before he let out a little laugh too.

"Pfft, maybe?" He'd kind of like to see that happen, if only because he felt like it fit more for her to do something like that eventually than him. ...Not to say he expected her to start acting all crazy or anything, no. Just that if anyone had been the one to do it here at least, with what she went through? He wouldn't have blamed her either.

"I say go for it," he offers, not being serious either. Definitely not a good idea, no matter how much either of them wanted to get mad at him more. "If I did it, you probably could too." He's not so sure about that, but hopefully it wouldn't come down to that anyways. He's just messing around now too.

"It was impressive, I'll give you that," Sable added, a slight smile on her own face. "Can't say I've seen any of the killers get hurt in any other way than someone throwing a pallet in their face. Maybe you two should go sneak up on him like he does to us? See what happens then?"

"Don't know about all that," Cody answered, shaking his head. She was joking too of course, but still. "Think I'd end up getting stabbed again instead of him."

Despite the fact that literally none of this should've been funny or something to joke about, Cody felt... comfortable, he supposed, sitting here laughing about things he shouldn't with Winnie sat next to him. At least for now. (He hoped she did too; it seemed she felt slightly better at the very least, or he figured she wouldn't have said anything like that to begin with.) Like they could just sit here and pretend like none of that actually happened or something, that they weren't stuck here, that they couldn't get pulled into some stupid trial again at any point--

...Alright, now he's just getting in his head again. Figures. Leave it to him.

 

[MoggieMoof]

Winnie's lips quirked up slightly at the expression that Cody wore, and she couldn't help but snicker quietly when he had finally laughed.

"Ooh, maybe. I'm not hearing a no." Wearing a grin, she pulled her gaze away from Cody to look at the fire instead. For a little while–for the time being, really–it felt like they were just a couple of friends sitting around a campfire. Nothing more to it. Maybe they were out camping, coming together after the day to just sit and laugh together. No other entity bullshit to go with it. "Maybe I will, then!"

She spoke with a certain false confidence, not outwardly being sarcastic but clearly she wasn't being serious about going through with it. Probably not–she doubted she'd be able to. Still, it was a little fun to just... Imagine it. It made things feel less awful if she could imagine inflicting even an ounce of pain that he had delivered onto others, onto him.

Then, Sable spoke again, and she let out another soft chuckle. She couldn't help but agree with what she said, even despite the concern that she had felt during the moment. Mainly for Cody, really, but she couldn't lie and say that she hadn't also been a bit concerned for... Well.

"Going on a Danny hunt–um, mask marks the spot." Winnie sing-songed passively, a quiet snicker escaping her at the absurdity of it. Usually the saying went, 'x marks the spot', but she figured that wouldn't really fit. Although she and Cody probably wouldn't, it was still funny to imagine–funny that Sable had even suggested it, although it was definitely said as a joke. Probably, at least. Lifting a hand, she pointed at Cody, her fingertip mere inches from poking at his jaw. "Think about it–armed with sticks off of a tree and a dream. Beat him within half an inch to death, cause I doubt the entity will let him die or anything."

Winnie wouldn't, she probably couldn't really bring herself to inflict harm like that. Well, maybe not. Maybe she could? Hard to say. "He can't stab you if I'm there! I'll protect you valiantly with my fabled stick, I swear it."

It was nice to just spew nonsense without a care. She had been riddled with anxiety since the moment they arrived, and she probably still was, but the company that she had right now had kind of rid her of the feeling for the time being. In fact, she didn't even have that looming feeling as if something was watching them from the trees anymore. Again, just anxiety–but it was nice that it was gone. Although she'd never usually joke around about beating someone with sticks, this place was different, and Danny wasn't just someone either. So... Grounds for Winnie allowing herself to joke about it.

 

[weiirdw0lf]

Cody couldn't help but laugh again, and Sable did too at that.

"Hey, I'm sure there's people who'd join you on that," Sable said, half-joking but honestly she wouldn't have been surprised. Even if it wasn't straight up stabbing someone like Cody had managed, she didn't doubt hurting the killers was something that had crossed people's minds before. "Maybe I should too?"

"Where do they even go after trials?" Cody asked then, tilting his head. 'They' referring to the killers but specifically Danny too. "Well, wherever Danny is I wonder if he's still sulking about his loss. Or, you know, the fact I stabbed him... doubt he's over it even now. He seems like the dramatic type." No, not seemed like, he was.

"I think they've got some similar place over... uh," Sable started but trailed off, glancing out towards the trees and then waving her hand vaguely. "Somewhere out there. Don't think anyone's been brave enough to wander that far out. No reason to."

"Wouldn't put it past him though," she added with a smirk. "Definitely dramatic."

Maybe she didn't know him like they did, but from what she'd seen in her few trials she'd ran into him? Sure sounded like it.

A brief flicker of worry had crossed Cody's mind, but he brushed it off for now. While he had been joking, he really did doubt Danny was going to come back over here any time soon. And Cody sure as hell wasn't going to be the first one to find out what the killers did when they weren't in trials by walking over there. He did kind of wonder if the survivors could, if Danny had managed to come that far out here earlier. Probably, then? He'd already done something incredibly stupid/risky enough earlier, he wasn't doing anything else. And as Sable said, no reason to do that either.

...Hopefully Danny decided the same and didn't do anything else stupid. (As in, coming over here like he had, or how he'd basically only went after Cody in that one trial.) Who knows with him though.

 

[MoggieMoof]

After hearing Sable's playful yet enthusiastic response, Winnie gave the girl a wave, making a 'come here' type of motion. "Come on, then, I'm rallying the troops. So far we have three against one, that's basically an army already."

Then, Cody had asked Sable a question that she too had been wondering. For a brief second she glanced over to him, letting out a half-huff-half-laugh at the mention of Danny sulking somewhere out there. She wondered if he had been pulled into a trial just as they had–did his wound heal? Suppose she'd have to wait and see.

He seems like the dramatic type, yeah, that's because he is. Before she could say anything regarding his dramatics, though, she glanced out towards the treeline as well. She wondered what it looked like out there for the killers–maybe they had a clearing like theirs. Lined with skulls and bones, maybe. Definitely not as welcoming as their warm fire, but she thought it to be a bit intriguing nonetheless. Not intriguing enough to have her actually wanting to explore the area, though. God, no.

Winnie chuckled softly at Sable's last statement, but she finally managed a small nod in agreement. She couldn't deny it–he had always been a bit dramatic, even as Jed. He had done it in a more charismatic way before, though, almost matching the level of her own theatrics. A purposeful thing, probably. "He's always been dramatic. Not half as manic as he is here, though, it was more of a... Normal kind of dramatic back home. I mean, sometimes he got a bit weird over work stuff–what he wrote and how he wanted things to be. Just presumed it was because he was a perfectionist or something, not because he was reporting and writing about his own shit. Anyway, yeah–always been a drama queen, that guy."

For a moment, her eyes drifted to look at Cody, catching the worry that crossed over his face, as brief as it was. Raising a brow at him, she gave him a gentle nudge with her knee against his own. She was still scooted up right next to him, arm lazily drawn around him, so it was easy to poke at him. "Hey? You doing okay?"

Maybe he was worrying over Danny and his actual whereabouts. Who's to say he wasn't watching, right? A part of her doubted that he'd come all the way out her after what happened last time. Then again, who knows? Winnie couldn't make any solid judgments on him anymore. Either way, they had nothing to worry about here at the fire. At least she was pretty confident in that fact, because all of the other survivors seemed confident in their safety here, too.

 

[weiirdw0lf]

Cody blinked, looking up at her when she asked that.

"Yeah, I'm-- I'm fine, don't worry." Though the way he said it made it sound like he wasn't so sure. He was, really... well, for the most part, just kind of thinking about what Winnie had just reminded him of too. That they'd been around Danny that whole time and he'd been writing about his own damn crimes and no one knew a thing. Ugh.

"Wait, what?" Sable looked slightly confused now, though she was unsure if she should ask. Again, she'd heard some things after these two had shown up, but she hadn't actually been around when they did -- if they'd told anyone else any of this, she wasn't one of them. "That's... huh. Sounds like something you'd only see on a show. Though I guess it's not that unlikely, killers having a double life or what have you."

Just seems kind of crazy, she thought -- but really, was it? When she'd gotten here the way she had, when there were apparently literal monsters at least back where she came from? (Or maybe the Entity fully... 'created' the killer that'd been brought here with her. She couldn't say. Both her and Mikaela had always been intrigued by the supernatural, but it wasn't until she got here that she could say she'd actually encountered anything that qualified as such.)

"Yeah, unfortunately." Cody huffed in what seemed like annoyance. He wasn't really upset at Sable for asking, he couldn't blame her for having questions. Just frustrated him thinking about it all. "But-- Yeah. Definitely dramatic," he agreed quickly, as if trying to get back to what they'd been talking about and not something so... real anymore.

 

[MoggieMoof]

Winnie tipped her head to the side ever so slightly, her brow still raised–she didn't really believe him. Even so, she decided not to pry. Giving him a small nod, she tore her eyes off of him, returning her gaze to Sable again.

Unsure as to what had been so confusing to Sable, she thought back to what she had said. It didn't seem weird to her, but then again, she had lived it. So, why would she herself find it to be anything but ordinary? Winnie was about to prompt the woman about what had confused her, but she seemed to do so herself. "Oh! Yeah, I uh–yeah."

It certainly felt like something from a fucked up movie after all was said and done. Fucked up but not necessarily unheard of, right? Especially not after arriving here, all things considered. Being swept away into some torturous other realm made a murderer living a double life seem like a cakewalk. With a shrug of her shoulders, she glanced down to her hands instead.

Noting Cody's huff, Winnie glanced up to him again, but her eyes quickly darted back to the fire instead. Clearly, he wasn't too pleased with the conversation topic. Topic change. Taking in a deep breath, she mulled over a few conversation topics before a question came to mind–

"Sable? The first time we got pulled into a trial, I found a flashlight. I didn't really understand the use behind it, though, because we were in a pretty well-lit place, so what's the point in a flashlight?" She recalled walking through the trial grounds with Cody near the end of their time there, flicking the flashlight on and off as they made their way to the exit gates. She hadn't understood what exactly the purpose of it was at that time, and she clearly still didn't. Although she was aware that there were different items with different uses, she didn't see the point in the flashlight–especially not when it had such an awful battery-life.

 

[weiirdw0lf]

"Oh, you did?" Sable asked then, sounding as if this was a good thing. Cody wasn't sure why -- as Winnie had just asked, he wasn't really sure what the point was either. He'd found that, at least in his last trial, the place they were sent to wasn't as bright. But even then, it wasn't so dark he thought he needed a flashlight. So... what could you use it for besides that?

"Well, you know how you can throw down pallets and slow the killer down?" She started, looking at them both. Yes, in most cases this would do that -- unless the killer decided to just walk around wherever you'd thrown it... not unusual either, but if they broke it then it at least wasted some time. "A flashlight will do that too."

"You don't want to waste it, but you can shine it right at their eyes and blind 'em for a minute," she tells them. "Basically just another way to buy time for yourself. Or make the killer mad, but guess that depends." She recalled quite a few trials where the killer had been blinded over and over and... yeah, she can imagine that wasn't fun. If she were in their place she'd definitely be getting annoyed. Good thing she wasn't.

"Oh, and I almost forgot!" She then went on to say that if you timed it right, you might be able to make the killer drop whoever they were on their way to hook.

"Someone around here probably has one. I swear, some of them will spend half the trial digging around in chests instead of actually doing anything..." She lets out a little laugh at that. There'd definitely been trials where that happened, among other things. People doing that, hiding in lockers, all sorts of dumb things. (Sometimes it worked out though, so, she can't entirely blame them.) "That's besides the point though. Either you can hope you get lucky and find another or ask someone about it, if you think it'd be helpful."

Cody perked up a bit at this, apparently interested. He glanced over at Winnie then, a smile on his face before he said, "Well, I know what I'm doing next time I see Danny in a trial."

Smart? Maybe not, after what had already happened. But hey, he deserved it, Cody thought.

 

[MoggieMoof]

After hearing Sable's pleased tone, Winnie gave a simple nod as well as a, "Yeah, I did–is that good?"

Nodding along with Sable's explanation, her mouth fell open ever so slightly, an excitable little 'oh!' escaping her at the knew knowledge. Well, damn! She had the flashlight with her when she left that trial, but when she went into her last trial she didn't have it with her, so where had it gone? Perhaps that was worth asking, too. There was no doubt in Winnie's mind that it would take a lot of practice to actually be able to time the blinds correctly. She could only assume so, at least. Surely it couldn't be easy as it had been said, right?

Nevertheless, Winnie was oddly excited to receive such information. It was nice to know that they weren't completely defenseless here, even if they didn't have much to defend themselves with other than pallets and flashlights with shitty batteries. Better than nothing, though.

Her gaze returned to Cody at the sight of him visibly perking up–which made Winnie happy to see that his previous discomfort had faded a bit to show... Excitement, perhaps? She wasn't totally sure what she'd label it as. "You know, I admire your drive to make his life here as cumbersome as possible, Cody."

It was said with a laugh, and she ignored the slight chill in the air as she shouldered him playfully. He had every right to, and she supposed she did too, but she seemingly wasn't that abrasive. Not yet, at least. She was still more scared than she was willing to fight back at all, so she admired his ability to do so himself.

 

[weiirdw0lf]

Cody laughed at that too. Like he'd already said before, he couldn't do it back then, so he might as well do it now, right?

"Appreciate you telling us that," he said to Sable, nodding as well. "Definitely wouldn't have figured that out myself." It made sense when he thought about it, but if he were in a trial and that was the only thing on him? He wasn't sure he'd have connected the dots. He might've thought... he doesn't know, maybe to chuck the thing at the killer instead of a pallet. He wants to laugh at his own stupid idea.

"Not sure how good my luck is at this point," he started then. Not great, except for maybe when he'd managed to wrestle the knife away from Danny, but he wasn't sure that even counted. "Maybe I should ask if someone has one. Surely someone would let me take it, right? If I stabbed someone I think I can handle shining a flashlight." It was said in a slightly joking manner but it probably was more difficult than it seemed, even if in theory it seemed easy enough. Especially aiming from however far away trying to save your teammates or whatever.

"Hm, I don't know," Sable said with a grin. "I'd like to see that, though."

Cody swore he felt something odd too all of the sudden amidst their talking, but he also brushed it off. Surely they weren't being sent to another trial or anything already? Though he supposed if that was the case, maybe he'd have the chance to do what he said. Assuming Danny was sent to one too. He wasn't sure if he actually wanted that to happen so soon or not.

 

[MoggieMoof]

When Cody mentioned taking a look around to find a flashlight, she wondered... Well, where the hell did her flashlight go, then? She skimmed one hand over her legs, specifically her pockets, which was kind of stupid in hindsight. An entire flashlight couldn't fit in her pockets, so, it had to be somewhere else. "Well, I clearly lost my flashlight, so I'd ought to go and find it."

Standing up from where she had been sitting on the log, she retracted her arm from Cody to instead place her hand on her hip. She wanted to find her missing flashlight!

Pausing, she cast another glance towards Cody, and she couldn't help but grin at his words. "I'd say your luck hasn't been too bad since we've gotten here. I mean, who else here can say that they've stabbed one of our killers? I'm sure you can handle a flashlight." Hey, she had to give him some credit where it was due. He had gone through two trials, and had been here for... A day? two? One day, right? Whatever, he hadn't been here for very long and he had already done something that all of the survivors had definitely thought about once or twice.

With a wave of her hand to Sable, she smiled to the woman–a genuine smile. "Thanks for chatting with us, Sable. I appreciate you being willing to talk to us and... Entertain our bullshit, too. I'm gonna... I don't know, honestly, try to find my flashlight, I suppose."

Ignoring the cool air, she pivoted on her heel and stepped away from the fire. If Cody decided to stick around with Sable longer, she wouldn't mind. She had just been huddled up at his side for the last little while there, so she wouldn't take any offence to him not tailing her right away, if at all. Pressing her hands into her back pockets, she trudged off to the only place that she would assume her flashlight would be: where they showed up after their trial ended. Not that she remembered very well, because she was blinded by all of the awful emotions that hit her once they returned here. She just remembered being on the ground somewhere, and that it wasn't too far from the fire. So, she wandered in circles around the fire, until eventually...

Flashlight! Someone's flashlight, maybe hers. She took a glance around, half expecting someone else to approach with the intentions of claiming the item as their own, but nobody did such a thing. So, she glanced back down to the ground, to the flashlight. It had to be hers, then. Stooping over, she plucked it up off of the ground and clicked it on and off, pointing the beam down at the ground. Then, she lifted it to the trees, flicking it on for a moment, allowing herself to just stare out into the trees.

Due to her ministrations, she spotted the fog. It was just barely there, but it would also explain the cold. It wasn't creeping into the clearing quite yet, though, so... She had some time, it seemed. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting from pointing the light into the darkness that surrounded their clearing, but she was half expecting to see a face. What was worse, actually seeing something out there or seeing the fog? She wasn't sure.

"Cody!" She called out, flicking the flashlight off before she allowed her arm to fall at her side. "I've got a present for you!"

 

[weiirdw0lf]

"Yeah, I agree," Cody said at Winnie saying she appreciated this all. Sable smiled back, saying it wasn't a big deal -- she was glad they got to talk too.

Cody had decided to stay where he was, nodding when Winnie walked off and just waiting until she eventually returned. When he heard her voice he looked up, seeing that she had in fact found the flashlight in question. Or at least a flashlight of some sort.

"Oh, you found it? It's yours, you could've kept it!" He told her, though he supposed it made sense she was going to get it for him when he'd just been saying he wanted one. Either way. "Thank you though."

He'd noticed the fog too while she'd been off looking, but it wasn't as close as it could've been yet. He guessed there was going to be another trial soon. Maybe this would actually be the last one for the day. It felt like it was later, but with no actual way of telling time, he wasn't sure. Every time they'd shown back up at the fire it'd been dark, even if in whatever place they'd been at for the trial it'd been daytime.

"Ugh, I hope we're not getting picked again," he said, though he still wasn't totally sure if he meant it. Some part of him did want it to happen, if only because of what he'd already said -- but even then it wasn't a guarantee Danny would be in the trial with them. Even if he wasn't, maybe he'd be able to... practice with the flashlight? That sounded stupid to say.

He idly flipped the light over in his hands when she'd given it to him, just messing with it out of slight anxiety knowing there was an impending trial. Who knows what was going to happen then if they did get sent to another one.

"At least if we do, I hope it's not some killer like the last one we had..." He made a face as if he didn't even want to think about that trial, and Sable laughed a little -- not really making fun of him, at least not in a serious way.

Well, whatever happened, he hoped it wasn't as bad as that one. He'd rather not die again. Wasn't that a strange thing to say?

 

[MoggieMoof]

Sable had been kinder than Winnie expected, honestly. She hadn't expected her to really conversate with them very much, but she did, and it had been quite nice. Winnie could certainly notch her down as a positive acquaintance, and maybe hopefully a friend some time in the future.

After she had garnered Cody's attention, she returned to where he sat at the fire, playfully dangling the flashlight just in front of his face. "Yeah, but you seem more excited to use one of these than I am. Besides, I can't imagine I'm too comfortable in these conditions to use it properly yet, so I'll wait on giving it a shot. So, it's yours."

Then, she dropped the flashlight onto his lap. She glanced to the trees once she had delivered her impromptu gift, eyeing the fog that just barely peeked out from the treeline. Her skin crawled at the sight, only now recognizing the cold air that sent goosebumps along her arms. Maybe it wasn't here for her, but she never felt cold when she wasn't being picked, so... Damn. She didn't say anything about it, though. Perhaps she would be chosen and Cody wouldn't, offer the guy a break, presuming that another trial didn't roll around during her absence. Or, maybe it'd snag both of them again.

"Hopefully we don't. Y’know, I could really go for a nap instead–even though we don't really have to do that stuff here." Winnie muttered, half joking, half being honest. Not that there were many places to take a damn nap here anyway, because she wasn't too fussy on sleeping on the grass. Might not be too bad, though, all things considered.

At Cody's comment, Winnie made an overly exaggerated shiver kind of motion, just at the thought of either of the creatures that they had run into during their last trials. "Eugh, hopefully not. Hopefully something less monster-ish in appearance, I can't... Could hardly deal with that, and I'd rather not deal with that again."

 

[weiirdw0lf]

"Me too... well, I feel like I should be tired from running around half the... day? But I'm not really." Cody shrugged, but he guessed that made sense based on what they'd been told before. Still weird to think about nonetheless.

"Yeah, no. Definitely don't wanna see whatever that was or anything like it for a long time." He shook his head. Sable looked over, saying something about 'you'll be fine,' and he rolled his eyes. He knew she was still just messing around though. "I'd rather deal with Danny again than that."

...Little did he know.

He wasn't sure how long they'd been sitting there before the fog did seem to roll in further. Great. Not really. Glancing around the clearing, a couple more people had gathered and some others had wandered off, leaving him to wonder who was going to get picked this time.

"You think the killers do the same thing we do before trials? Like, what, they're all sitting around complaining about who's getting thrown into another one?" Cody asks with a little laugh, not really meaning it seriously, just talking to talk at this point. It is a little funny to imagine though. Probably not what goes on over there though. If anything, he has a feeling it's more like someone saying they wished it was them getting picked when someone else does.

"Hmm, good question," Sable said, smiling. "Can't imagine they're all as talkative as us. Or..." She trailed off, giving him a look. Yeah, not hard to guess who she was about to say. Guy had talked the whole trial every time he'd found either him or Winnie and then came back here to talk some more, apparently. Maybe Sable had experienced the same thing.

---

Whatever those two had been imagining, it wasn't what Danny was up to right now.

He, like usual, was nowhere near any of the other killers. Wandering off further away from their area, but he hadn't gotten very far when he'd noticed the same fog the survivors would've. Even out here, it seemed like he was getting picked.

He'd already been in another earlier -- it hadn't been long after he'd ran back here after... whatever the hell had happened. After Cody stabbed him like the idiot he was. And when he opened his eyes and was in that new place, he realized he'd been healed. Thankfully, it'd stayed that way when he showed back up here. Guess the Entity wasn't a total ass. Least she could do was heal the killers like she did with the survivors after trials... then again, probably had never had to do it before now.

Somehow, he had a feeling one (or both?) of those two would be in this one again. Maybe he'd be wrong. But if they were?

Oh, Cody was not getting away from him this time. He'd make sure of it.

 

[MoggieMoof]

Winnie gave a nod of agreement, as she wasn't necessarily tired either. She just thought that a nap would... Be nice. If they deserved anything after what they had experienced today, it was a nap at the very least. Deciding to listen to the words exchanged between Cody and Sable for the time being, she shuffled closer to the fire, lifting her hands with her palms facing the flames, hoping to keep herself warm with the new chill in the air.

At the mention of Danny, she raised a brow at Cody. "I wouldn't want to deal with him if I were you." Especially not after what happened. She didn't even want to deal with him now, and she hadn't even been the one that stabbed the guy. There was no doubt in her mind that Danny had an unfathomable bounty placed on Cody's head now, a bounty only for himself, but a bounty nonetheless. An unspoken thing. Not only was he the one that got away, but he was the only one that had hurt him. "I mean, I don't want to see him point-blank, and I didn't even do anything to him."

Kind of ironic coming from the girl who had walked on over to him when she saw him out by the treeline, but she hadn't really thought of that as she spoke.

Rubbing her palms together, she chuckled quietly at Cody's questions, and even at Sable's words that followed. The unspoken insinuation behind her lack of finishing her sentence didn't go over Winnie's head, and she even laughed at that despite the looming fog creeping across the ground, closer and closer to the fire.

"Probably not as talkative, for the most part... Must be lonely. I mean, they don't really have any companionship with each other, I can only assume. They work alone most of the time, and they're here to just... Kill. Living to kill, and that's it. I wonder if they ever get tired of it." An awkward laugh escaped her as she finished–she hadn't said it with the intention to empathize with them or anything, no, she just... Wondered. It couldn't possibly be that fun for them, right? Ah, well, she didn't know. The statements on her end were probably unsurprising, though, coming from the girl that used to feel bad whenever she knocked her stuffed animals off of her bed as a kid. Too sympathetic for her own good, even if something or someone didn't necessarily deserve it.

Her gaze drifted down to the ground, watching as the fog lapped at her shoes before it slowly began to creep up to her ankles. Taking in a sharp inhale, she glanced between Sable and Cody, noticing the fog building up at Cody's feet, too.

"I expect you to make some seriously impressive flashlight saves out there, by the way. Just thought I'd let you know what I'm expecting of you before we get there." She flashed him a playful grin from where she stood, still warming her hands over the fire. Now, despite her joke, she could feel her anxiety slowly building up now. It wasn't surprising that she still wasn't used to this, considering that they had only been in two trials so far–it was only fair for this to still scare her somewhat. Even so, she believed that she was doing a half decent job at masking that.

 

[weiirdw0lf]

"Really, of course we had to get picked again," Cody said, sighing dramatically as he noticed the fog gathering around them both but also not really wanting to deal with this either. What could you do though, not like they could stop it.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Sable started, looking over to them both. "I believe in you guys."

"Surprised you do after you saw whatever that was last trial," Cody said with a little laugh. Yeah, that had... not went well. Hopefully this one would be better at least.

"You got it," he said then to Winnie, but he wasn't totally sure about that either. He'd definitely like to try though.

Despite the joking around still, he also was getting worried. If they did happen to run into Danny again, what was going to happen then? Was he going to go after Cody basically the whole trial again? He wouldn't be surprised, not after what he'd done, but that didn't mean he wanted it to happen.

Though as Winnie had just said, maybe he'd actually get to show off his skills. (And by skills he means probably failing at aiming a flashlight correctly, but they'd just have to wait and see on that one.)

"Wonder who else is coming this time..." He glanced around the clearing, trying to pick out anyone who he saw the fog growing closer to. Maybe it hadn't settled just yet. They'd probably find that out here in a minute too though, didn't seem like they'd be waiting for much longer. He wasn't sure why he was even looking, it's not like he'd talked to too many of the others -- he'd been surprised Sable even bothered to talk to him really in that last trial they had, but he was glad she had considering they were all getting along now. He'd say he could count her as a friend here too, then.

 

[MoggieMoof]

Winnie couldn't help but let out a dry laugh at his exasperation. She was just as frustrated, but also this wasn't necessarily surprising. Perhaps the entity didn't like that they were having fun. Well, as much fun as they could have in a place like this. Maybe fun wasn't the right word... having a vaguely pleasant time? That probably aligned a bit better–still, her point stood. The entity probably didn't like that they weren't completely miserable right now, and what better way to fix that them to throw them into a trial?

She cast a smile towards Sable, wondering just what had gone on in their last trial for Cody to be speaking of himself like that. Maybe she'd make an attempt at figuring that out later, either by asking Cody or asking Sable, depending on how much he was willing to reveal to her.

Taking in a deep breath as the fog creeped its way up her body, she clenched her fists momentarily where they had been above the fire before she allowed her arms to drop at her sides. Not bothering to glance around as her body went tense, she shrugged her shoulders, allowing the breath that she had been holding to release in a quick, sharp puff. "No clue. See when we get there, though, um... See you, Sable."

Offering the girl an uncomfortable smile and a nod of her head, she cringed inwardly as the cool fog brushed over her exposed neck.

Let's just get this over with.

---

When the ground beneath her had returned, Winnie allowed her eyes to open. Unfortunately, this place didn't have too bright of an atmosphere, but it also wasn't that dark either. An odd sort of in-between, but either way it still made her uneasy. By the looks of it, she was inside of a building, a huge building, to be exact. After a bit more wandering around, it seemed to be... Some kind of hospital, maybe? Well, a medical facility for sure. By the looks of it, these trial grounds were specifically limited to being within the building, rather than being some place outside like the last two places that she had been to. Weird. She wasn't sure how she felt about being stuck in a huge building with a killer, but she didn't really have a choice in that, did she?

With a shaky inhale and an equally as shaky exhale, she slowly headed off down one of the halls in search of a generator. As she wandered, she came across a larger room. Her chin lifted and her eyes widened slightly at the screens above, and her gaze slowly dragged over the contraptions in the room... So, not your average hospital, she concluded. It looked like this place had been used for, like, electroshock therapy. Would that be so odd here? No, probably not.

A shiver ran down her spine, and she quickly maneuvered away from the doorway that she had been standing in. She definitely didn't really want to be in this room, but... She had found a generator, and she'd rather be of use to the rest of the team and begin working on it instead of standing around gawking at the disturbing scenery.

 

[weiirdw0lf]

Cody blinked and looked around, feeling slightly unsteady as vision returned to him. Seems that was still going to take getting used to, too. Figures. He also realized he was still holding the flashlight Winnie had given him, so that was a good sign at least.

This was definitely not a place he'd seen before, that was for sure. Looked like it was inside rather than outside like any of the others they'd been to so far. There'd been buildings in the other ones, yes, but it wasn't like this.

Wandering around for a bit, he'd passed quite a few rooms and gathered the same thing as Winnie -- this probably was supposed to be some sort of medical building. Peering into another doorway, he finally saw there was a generator in this one and reluctantly headed inside. What looked liked hospital beds among other things were scattered around, which at least sort of gave him something to hide behind...? Not very well, but still. He thought it probably obscured him from view if someone were to enter the room.

This place seems more confusing than the others, he thought to himself. Maybe because there was no access to outside, or that there were so many rooms. Annoying, but hopefully not something that'd hinder him too badly... he knelt down to work on the generator and set the flashlight aside for a moment to do so.

---

Danny was actually happy when he saw what place the Entity had chosen to send them to this trial. He liked this one -- lots of places to hide and stalk the survivors from, not too bright. Starting to walk down the hall he'd shown up in, it didn't take him long before he heard the sound of a generator being worked on.

He quickly made sure he wouldn't be able to be seen -- not right away, at least -- and made his way towards the room he thought the noise was coming from. Looking through the door himself, it was hard to see at first, but he definitely wouldn't mistake who it was sitting there.

Seems he was right about at least one thing so far.

He watched, as always, waiting for the Entity's little cue that he could knock the survivor down.

...And then Cody had to go and turn his head around and look right at him.

Danny saw him scramble off the generator and pick something up off the ground, though he couldn't tell what it was at the moment. Figuring he'd already been revealed, he stepped fully into the room. He wasn't letting Cody just run away after that.

"Don't think just because you saw me you're getting away," he said lowly, making his way closer to the other. (Cody was currently wondering how far away you'd need to be to shine a damn flashlight in someone's eyes -- surely being closer would be better, right?) "Especially after that shit you pulled back by the fire."

"I'd say that was your own fault," Cody said boldly, though it came out kind of under his breath.

"What was that?" Danny tilted his head and inched closer. There wasn't a lot of room in here -- a few more steps and he definitely could stab Cody right back. Unless he somehow bolted around him and out the door, but--

"I said, it was your own fault," he repeated, a little louder. It was stupid taunting Danny like this, he knew that. Honestly, it was his own doing though. He'd decided to come that close to the survivor's area. None of them made him do it. So if one of them decided to do something about him being there... well, was it that much of a surprise? (Of course it was, given no one else had done it before he had. But still.)

"Oh really now?" Danny started, and he let Cody back up some more, as if letting him think he was making distance. "Well, I'd say this is going to be your fault." But before he could actually act on that, even lift his knife--

What the hell? Danny blinked, a bright light suddenly filling his vision through the mask. Oh. Cody must've had a flashlight from somewhere, that's what he'd seen. Fuck.

Momentarily unable to see from that, he heard footsteps retreating, clearly taking the chance to flee. God damn it. What was with these past few trials? Surely he wasn't losing his edge just because of one stupid survivor. (Two, but more so the one he was after currently.)

...Him and Cody were both starting to think that might actually be the case.

 

[MoggieMoof]

The trial had been pretty quiet thus far, Winnie noted as she settled by the generator. No screams off in the distance, not even the sound of anyone running past her... Her heartbeat hadn't picked up at all while she had been in here, either. Well, except for when she had first walked in here, but that was just because the atmosphere in this place was... Freaky, to say the least. So, the silence was honestly a bit suspicious to her. Maybe it was someone like Danny–sneaky. She didn't want to presume that it was him, because she didn't want to will it into existence or anything like that. Right now, he was the last killer she wanted to run into.

Winnie had been pulled out of her thoughts when one of the wires she was toying with sparked, but it was a contained little spark that did no more than make a small zapping sound, and crackle against her fingertips. She huffed, lifting her hand to her lips, pressing the finger that stung a bit to her bottom lip, blowing on the burn. Ouch, but also there were a lot more painful things to be dealt with here, so she didn't linger on that for very long.

Continuing her work on the generator, she perked up slightly at the sound of footsteps nearby. The sound wasn't accompanied with the impending sense of doom, so she figured that it was just one of the other survivors. Leaning back a bit and taking her hands away from the generator, she peered through the doorway just behind her, where she thought she heard the footsteps coming from. In came a red-haired young woman, wearing a hat and round glasses. For a moment, Winnie just peered at her, and after receiving an awkward wave from the girl she chuckled in response.

"Sorry, I just haven't seen you around at all. You're completely new to me." Winnie explained as she settled back into her original spot, deciding to tinker away at the generator to the best of her ability.

Mikaela hummed in acknowledgement, wandering from where she stood, coming a tad closer to the generator. "Haven't seen you around, either. Name's Mikaela. I'd say it's lovely to meet you, but the conditions aren't too lovely at all."

Winnie shrugged her shoulders, but she gave a simple nod in agreement. Yeah, she couldn't say that Mikaela was wrong in that–wait, hey, this was Sable's friend, right? "Oh, I know you. I mean, I don't know you, know you. I met Sable and she talked about you–You can call me Winnie, if you want."

"Winnie, hey." Mikaela greeted her with the briefest of waves, and she began walking off to one of the other doorways to the room, intent on finding a different generator, clearly. "Can't stick around and chat, cause–y’know, I want out of this place, you want out of this place, so... I'll see you around, maybe at the fire."

Winnie watched her go–how odd. Well, at least she could put a name to the face now. That, and she knew who two out of three of her teammates were for this trial. Cody, Mikaela and mysterious survivor number three. Ah, she'd find out in due time–damn, she probably should've asked her if she knew who the killer was.

"Mikaela?" She called out despite knowing that the girl was long gone. Her voice carried down the hallway, a feeble, hesitant call. No response. Suppose she'd just have to figure it out eventually herself... Maybe Cody would know, whenever she found him. Either way, she continued with her work, deciding not to mull on the little details that she'd certainly come to know sooner or later.

 

[weiirdw0lf]

Cody had immediately left that room as fast as he could, flicking the flashlight off and bolting out the door. He tried to take a path that might be confusing if Danny were to come after him, though it was even more confusing for him seeing as he hadn't been here before. Eventually he'd come across a large room unlike any of the others -- lots of lights and screens, some sort of setup he was also unfamiliar with.

His eyes landed on the generator in here, and then-- Oh, oops. He hadn't realized anyone else was in here, let alone Winnie. He hoped Danny wasn't coming after him... he hopes he'd lost track of where he was or went after someone else for the time being. Definitely not trying to bring him to where both of them were. Maybe he should just leave?

"Hey," he started quietly, as if worried they'd be heard. "Not to scare you, but looks like Danny is the killer this time again..."

He figured he should tell her that at least if he was going to just head off again. Not that he wanted to spend the whole time wandering around trying to find another generator, but he might have to at this point.

"If it makes you feel any better, I already blinded him," he added with a small smile, lifting the flashlight as he spoke. "Not sure how I accomplished that, but hey, I'll take it."

Looking around again, he doesn't see Danny peering in through any of the entrances to this room or anything like that -- though maybe he wouldn't be so lucky to catch him this time around. He decided to risk it and just stay in here and help Winnie with this generator. Maybe they could get one done at least before anything else happened...

 

[MoggieMoof]

Once again, it had been pretty quiet for her for a long while. Still hardly any sounds, still no screaming, and her heartbeat still had yet to increase in pace. Absurd, really. Maybe someone was really giving this killer a run from their money all the way at the opposing end of the trial grounds.

When the sound of footsteps sounded nearby once more, she did the same as she had done before and leaned back, peering at the entryway that the footsteps came from this time. With her hands hovering just over the generator where she had been working, and after a few moments, Cody entered, looking a bit frazzled.

"Hi," She greeted softly, seeing as he had spoken quietly, then she probably should too. Still, she was happy to see him, so she offered him a smile as she settled back into her spot next to the generator. After hearing the rest of what he had to say, though, her smile turned downwards into a frown, and her hands dropped into her lap where she was, hunched over on her knees. "Seriously?"

Of course it had to be Danny. Who else could it possibly be, right?

"Just our luck, I guess." Winnie muttered half-heartedly, eyes shifting from doorway to doorway before she looked to Cody again. Forcing a hesitant smile–oh, wait, that was kind of good to hear. A quiet laugh escaped her at the imagery in her head, and she reached up to give him a playful jab in the side from where she was down on the ground. "Atta boy! See, I knew I gave my flashlight to the right person."

Well, as lovely as that was, it meant one thing for certain: Danny would be even more pissed than he already was before... It made her worry just that much more about Cody's safety for the duration of this trial.

Deciding to try her best to push those thoughts aside, she tried her best to focus on the task at hand... Just getting this generator done and hopefully avoiding Danny as a whole.

 

[weiirdw0lf]

Danny had in fact been confused by the route Cody took -- wherever he'd went, he didn't see him in any of the adjoining rooms or anything nearby. Did he really run that far already? Well, whatever. He'd find him eventually.

To no one's surprise, it didn't take him very long to find Cody even with the attempt at confusing him. And look at that, he was right about another thing. Both of them were here. Crouched by that generator in what was probably the largest room on this map, or one of them at least. He wondered if Cody already warned Winnie of him being here. Probably, knowing him.

Good thing it wasn't her he was after.

Maybe he'd actually be able to attack him this time. He did what he had before, peeking through the doorway with his eyes set on Cody and Cody only -- intent on killing him even if it meant the others escaped his grasp. This would just make it easier, assuming one of them didn't spot him again. If they did, it'd be annoying, but he'd just have to go on.

---

Luckily for Danny, Cody actually hadn't noticed him this time. He'd just been focused on working on the generator and talking to Winnie, really. Maybe not a good idea for him to stay in here, but too late now.

"It wasn't that hard," he said at her comment about the flashlight. "Probably harder to actually save somebody with it, but who knows."

"I had a feeling it'd be him again," he added then under his breath, letting out an annoyed noise at that. Maybe he'd went after someone else like he'd hoped, but Cody also had a feeling that wasn't the case. Knowing everything that'd went down before, and the fact he'd just managed to blind him when they were barely starting the trial? Yeah, no. Danny was definitely coming after him sooner than later.

After a short while of them sitting there still working, Cody suddenly felt that same odd feeling he had in their first trial, like someone's eyes were on him or something. He looked around but didn't immediately see anything. (Danny had actually moved out of sight of the doorway, intending to go around to the other side and catch them by surprise. No wonder Cody didn't see him.)

"...You didn't hear or see anyone come in here, right? Or walk past?" He narrowed his eyes, now having the urge to run out of the room but not knowing if that was a good idea or not at this point either.

 

[MoggieMoof]

Unfortunately, Winnie hadn't noticed his presence, either. Also a little too caught up in chatting and working on the generator. In hind sight, she probably should have been more aware of their surroundings, all things considered. Cody and Danny had already had a run-in with each other, and Cody was here now, and if Danny would be following anyone right now it would be: Cody.

Still, it's not like Winnie was just going to shoo him away. If he wanted to stick around with her on this generator, then she'd absolutely let him do so! Which is exactly what she was doing now.

"Ah, I'm sure you'll figure it out when the time comes. If you've done it once you'll be able to do it again... But, yeah, when they're carrying someone it's probably harder... I'm sure you can still do it though. If either of us can, it's you." Mostly, she thought this way because she wasn't particularly abrasive herself. Her pallet throws had been pretty shitty thus far, too, so she doubted she'd be able to aim a beam of light into anyone's eyes without shaking too much in complete terror.

Winnie gave a small nod in response to that–yeah, with them both being pulled into the trial, it felt like the odds of them coming face to face with Danny again had practically tripled. It made sense, but she also wished that the chances of them running into him weren't as high as they were. She didn't like seeing him here, even if he wasn't killing them–she wouldn't like to see him either way. Probably, at least.

While Winnie tinkered away at the generator, Cody had grown more anxious, and she couldn't just ignore that. Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched as he looked around, searching for Danny in the doorways and shadows. "I didn't, no. I mean, not after you came in here, at least. I saw Mikaela before, but then she took off, and you came in not too long after."

Keeping in mind the fact that there had already been so much activity passing through this room, she thought that it would be safe to conclude that this room was the very center of the building. So, chances are, Danny would probably come upon them again while they were both still occupying the area. "I think this room is the heart of this place, y'know–like, the very middle of it. So, I mean... I wouldn't be surprised if he wandered upon us or something."

Taking her hands away from the generator for a moment, she looked off towards the doorway that he had initially came running through. As far as she could tell, nobody was there. By the brief looks of it, nobody was lingering near any of the entrances... But Danny was a sneaky guy. "I won't take it to heart if you want to take off or anything, but then again, I–I don't exactly know if that would be the best thing to do or not."

She was going to offer to try and get him off of her trail and onto hers instead, but after the knife fiasco and the whole blinding thing... Well, she could only presume that Danny wanted him.

 

[weiirdw0lf]

Before Cody could actually make up his mind about leaving, it seemed Danny had already made his way into the room. Winnie was actually closer to him when he entered from that side, but to Cody's surprise (not really), he basically just ignored her and walked right past.

Straight to him.

"What-- Go, go, I'll be fine!" He stammered out, waving his hand as if to tell her to hurry and leave herself as he stood and started backing away from the generator. If he was actually going to be alright was another story. How long had Danny been over here? If he'd been watching them, then that definitely wasn't good from what he'd gathered from that other trial. Apparently that meant he could knock them down faster.

Cody wasn't sure what to do. There was a pallet in here, but it was closer to the generator and he was now already nearing the other doorway. There was also stairs and a window on that side near that entrance... maybe he should've tried to run past him. Could he still do that without getting hit?

Taking the risk, once Winnie was out of the way enough that he was sure she wouldn't get hit, he tried to do just that. Push past Danny and bolt towards something over there, though he was hesitating -- what would be the best way to go? And that's where he screwed up. You didn't have time to think about that when the killer was inches away. You just had to make a choice and go for it.

Danny grabbed him by the back of his shirt, yanking him closer. Before Cody could really react or try to escape--

"There you are," Danny said lowly, and plunged his blade through fabric and skin.

Fuck, was about the only thing Cody thought before he found himself on the ground. So Danny had been watching them for longer than he'd realized. Wonderful.

If Winnie was anywhere in the room still or just somewhere nearby, she'd find that Danny had barely acknowledged her. He'd looked at her while he'd just done that, but hadn't actually attempted to go after her himself. Perhaps a silent warning of, 'if you get in the way, that will be you next.'

...This was going about as good for Cody as that other match earlier, it seemed like. And here he was thinking cause he got that one blind in it'd be all fine... Unfortunately he was pretty sure he was about to get thrown on a hook in a minute here.

 

[MoggieMoof]

Winnie hadn't even noticed when Danny had entered the room, in fact, she didn't notice him at all until he had appeared in her peripheral vision. Initially, she gave him a brief glance before she looked back to the generator, and then she did a double take of course, and the generator boomed and stuttered at her hands. "Holy  shit, dude!"

By the time she had even registered his presence, he had already walked past her, so.. what was the point in leaving, right? Instead, she ducked behind a nearby mess of medical equipment, not necessarily using it to hide, but more so to just put something between herself and Danny–oh, and to also give Cody some more space to maybe give him the run-around.

Unfortunately, though, this wasn't the case. Instead, she had front row seats to watch him get stabbed, and she squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth as she listened to the sound of blade and flesh meeting.

When she opened her eyes, Cody was on the ground, and she stood up from where she had been crouched on the ground–mostly because she just wanted to test something. Leaning over the medical equipment to practically stare at Danny with a set of owl eyes, she watched as he just... Looked at her and nothing more. Yeah, okay, so her suspicions were correct as far as she was aware. He was just gunning it to get Cody. Revenge for what he did before, she presumed.

What was she even supposed to do?

Her eyes drifted downwards to a small machine, haphazardly placed upon the wheeled table that she was "hiding" behind. The machine itself had an array of wires and cords attached to it, but without another thought she began to unplug them. The machine itself was... Kind of heavy, about the weight of a microwave, but a bit lighter. She huffed as she lifted it up into her arms, shuffling her way back around the wheeled table to where she had initially been by the generator before.

Now, what the fuck was she doing with this thing? Well, good question, because she didn't really know either. Shuffling her feet against the floor, she approached where Cody had collapsed on the floor–specifically approaching just behind Danny. Chances are he knew that she was walking up behind him–unless he was just that caught up in his own bloodlust to care about it.

Digging her fingertips into the sides of the machine, she lifted it from where she had been holding it against her gut, and she shifted her hands underneath it's weight instead. "Jeddie," The nickname was huffed out before she shoved the machine forward, effectively hurling it at his back once she was close enough–well, maybe his back. There was also a high chance that it got pulled down way faster by gravity than she had expected, and she could've thrown it at the back of his knees instead–nevertheless she'd be happy with either.

Realistically, would this do anything? No. But he was a pain in the ass, so maybe she could be a pain in his, too.

 

[weiirdw0lf]

Danny could hear Winnie approaching behind him, yes. He didn't do anything about it though. She had nothing to harm him with, he didn't care. He'd been intending to crouch down and lift Cody up, go throw him on a hook, when--

That nickname whispered out, and then whatever the hell that was skimming his legs before clattering to the ground with a thud. He staggered forward, head whipping around to look at her as he caught himself, then at the machine on the floor behind him. Was that meant to be some sort of attack? Just an annoyance? If it were the latter, she'd succeeded, he'd say.

He shot her a glare, though if she could see it clearly behind the eyeholes of the mask was another story. He said nothing yet as he went back to what he'd been doing, grabbing Cody and hauling him over his shoulder to bring him to a hook. Cody immediately starting kicking and thrashing as if that was going to help him. He should know by now it wouldn't, not really.

"If you're trying to hurt me, you'll need to try harder," he said lowly, glancing around the room. Oh. There was a hook right there in here, actually. Maybe he should go out in the hall instead though... would Winnie immediately try and get Cody with him right here? Danny wasn't sure. He guessed Cody wasn't going to get himself free in the short time it took him to walk out of here, so he opted for that. If Winnie followed, well, he'd just have to stab her too.

Regardless of whether she did or not, he brought Cody over to the nearest hook and put him up there, ignoring any fighting he did.

"Should've thought twice about staying in that room."