#kotohina saitō

[niennandil-me-writes]

Goretober 27: Torture

cn: finger gore, tooth gore, vomit, ableism

[Keppler and Kotohina belong to @ghoulcaro, Alváro (who is mentioned) belongs to Eva (TextualPoacher on twitter). This is another "what if" for our Death House run.]

There were several loud cracks, followed by Ivory’s screams.

“Now, what you just heard, Miss Umbra,” Keppler said with restrained voice, as he put the hammer away again, “was at least 4 of your phalanges and some metacarpal bones shattering within both your hands. I’m sorry, I’m usually not one to use such crude methods, but this part was preparational in nature anyways. This should keep you from using most spells that might pose a danger to me, so I won’t have to gag you. It also has the nice side effect that even if you should somehow find a way to free yourself, you won’t be able to wield a weapon against me.”

Ivory’s answer was less verbose: “Fuck you!” Her voice was strained already. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Keppler ignored her. “Now, I am going to ask you again, Miss Umbra: How did he die?”

“I already told you!” she spat into his face. “The other one, the paladin, he killed him! He sacrificed him to get us out of the cursed house. I tried to stop him, but he was stronger than me, I really tried! I get that you’re angry, but it wasn’t my fault.”

Keppler’s lips were a thin line. “The problem is that I already talked to Herr Dejadar, and what he told me was that you were the one who stabbed Kotohina in the back to save your own skin.”

“Then he’s lying,” Ivory yelled. “Have you seen that man? It probably wasn’t even the first time he betrayed someone just like that!”

“I have my reasons to believe Herr Dejadar in this matter.” The tone of his voice made Ivory’s blood freeze in her veins. “I have my ways to extract the truth. I could go the easy way, but that would take a day to get ready, and I am running out of patience on that matter. So if you don’t want to yield the truth to me right now, Miss Umbra, I will have to cut it out of you.”

The way he enunciated the word “cut” made Ivory flinch in her ties. Still, she had no doubt worse things were waiting for her if she told him what he wanted to hear.

“In case you didn’t know, I am a doctor.” He was talking while he walked around in the room for a moment, then came back, standing in front of the chair she was tied to, pulling on some new gloves. “So I know exactly how to hurt you in the worst ways without killing you.” He produced a scalpel. She gulped. “But let’s start small, shall we.”

He laid the blade to her arm, but to her surprise only cut the fabric of her bloody shirt, didn’t even nick the skin, no doubt to show her exactly how precise his movements were. He ripped the shirt away and then immediately stabbed the scalpel into her flesh. Ivory screamed out.

“Now, I could be cutting a bit to the left here.” Keppler’s voice was steady and unbothered, as if he were just explaining something to a student. “And that would separate your tendons in such a way that you couldn’t ever use that arm again. But you’re right-handed anyway, correct?” He smirked at her, and then moved the blade to the right. The pain was excruciating.

“Stop!” Ivory screamed.

“Why, have you reconsidered your answer?”

“I already told you the truth!”

“Not good enough, Miss Umbra.” He took out a second scalpel and pierced it into her other arm. “Not good enough at all.”

“Alváro lied to you!” she screamed. “I tried to stop him, I really did. I’m sorry Kotohina is – “

Suddenly there was a hand in her hair, pulling her head up to face Keppler. For the first time, his face showed actual anger. “Keep his name out of your mouth!” His voice hit her with the same intensity as his fist a second later. Blood was flowing from her nose. He shook out his hand. “Stupid,” he muttered. “Will only dampen the pain.”

Ivory saw him reach for something on his belt, and then he was already swinging the whip. She tried to dodge, which was impossible in her position, of course. The leather strap wrapped around her neck, painful, but not as much as she had braced herself for. Keppler walked around her, until he was behind her, and then he started pulling on the whip.

“Now I am aware by now that you do not technically need to breathe,” he said, calm again. “But that doesn’t mean this won’t hurt.”

The leather bit into Ivory’s neck. She could feel her scar break open again. It felt almost as bad as being bitten by Lupa.

“I could easily crush your windpipe like this. Or even break your neck.”

Ivory’s broken hands cramped up, banged against the wooden armrests, shooting more pain through her body. Tears were streaming down her face.

And then the pressure was gone all of a sudden. Ivory gasped for air, more out of relief than out of a want for it. Breathing was normal. Breathing was calming.

Keppler didn’t leave her much time, though. He grabbed her chin and shoved a thumb into her mouth. Ivory tried biting down, but the way he grasped her jaw, she couldn’t build up enough force to penetrate the leather gloves.

“What nice teeth you have, Miss Umbra,” Keppler observed. “They would be interesting to study, I’m sure.”

“What the hell are you…?” Before she could finish her question, he had shoved a cold metal object into her mouth. Something clasped around her right fang.

“Wait, no!”

“Are you ready to talk?” The pliers didn’t withdraw.

“If I tell you what you want to hear, will you let me go?”

“As you have no doubt noticed by now, you are in no position to make demands.”

“It’s not a demand, it’s a question!”

“That as well,” he said. “I’m the one asking the questions.”

She couldn’t keep the panic down anymore. “Please, don’t do this! Please, I’ll do anything.“ More tears were streaming down her face. She noticed that he was hesitating, and for a moment thought her pathetic state had convinced him.

Then the pliers clamped down harder and pulled away, tearing the tooth from her flesh. A scream turned into gurgling and sobbing. Keppler walked in front of her holding her bloody tooth between thumb and index finger. He considered it for a moment, then set it aside on a table. He stepped forward and grabbed Ivory’s jaw again.

“No, please!” Her words were slurred from pain and already swollen gums. “I’ll talk. Please.”

Keppler took a step back but didn’t set aside the pliers. “I’m listening.”

Ivory didn’t try to stop her sobbing. If she could just give him what he wanted, maybe Keppler would let her live. She stared at the ground. “We didn’t have a choice. Someone had to be sacrificed so the rest could get out of that place alive. Ko- He sacrificed himself. Asked me to do it because I know how to kill quickly and painlessly.”

When Keppler didn’t respond, she allowed herself a glance up at him. His face was an emotionless mask.

Then, finally, he said: “Why didn’t he send me a message?”

“He gave me a message for you,” Ivory said quickly. “I’m so sorry, I just felt so guilty, I completely repressed it until now. He said – “

Keppler darted forward, his fist hitting Ivory in the stomach with so much force that the chair toppled over backwards and she hit the ground hard. Necrotic energy surged through her body from the point where he had punched her. Ivory threw up bile and blood.

“That is not what happened.” Keppler’s voice was ice. “Try again.”

“Why are you asking me if you already know what happened?” Ivory could barely speak from the pain. Keppler walked over to her and put his foot on her chest.

“Because I want to hear it from you. And if I can’t cut the truth out of you I’m sure I can find something else to cut.” He was holding another scalpel between his fingers.

“please, stop. i can’t take any more. please.” Ivory was squirming in her ties, whimpering, sobbing, shaking with blood and snot and spit running down her face.

Keppler hesitated, tilted his head. “Oh, there you are. Now are you ready to talk?”

And she talked. Spilled out all her lies in front of him, those he had asked about and those he hadn’t, just to make him stop prying. Lies she had told others. Lies she had told herself. Lies she so far hadn’t realized were untrue. When all was revealed, she just slumped back, waiting for death or whatever else Keppler wanted to give her.

“Just one more question,” he said.

She moaned in agony. “I already told you everything that - “

“Why him?”

“What?”

“I’m not going to pretend I believe that you possess the chivalry to even for a second consider sacrificing yourself,” Keppler said. “But there were two men with you. Why Kotohina?”

“You already know – “

“Say it.” His voice was dangerously quiet again.

She sucked in the air. “Because he was weak, and sick, and I didn’t stand a chance against Alváro.” Because he was going to die soon anyway.

Keppler’s foot hit her side with full force. She wanted to curl up, but the ties wouldn’t let her. Another kick to her face followed. His voice, in contrast, was more restrained, yet not as calm as before, when he said: “Because you are scum.” He took a deep breath, then hunched down beside her, twirling his scalpel in front of her face.

"It is actually astounding that you made it so far in life, Miss Umbra – or Miss Nicolescu, I should  rather say. Given how easy it was for me to dismantle you and every lie you ever told, I came to the conclusion that you are incredibly lucky." He looked down on her. "Any person with more brain than heart could see through you."

“Your boyfriend sure didn’t.”

Suddenly the blade was in her shoulder, and she whimpered in pain.

“Yes, that’s better,” he smirked. “No longer hiding your true self behind snark and shaded glasses, are you? I wish I could show you how pathetic and weak you look, a sobbing stupid mess because that is exactly what you are.” He was no longer hiding his anger. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a spectral knife, pointed directly at her throat.

Ivory closed her eyes, sobs shaking her body. She wasn’t ready to die. She didn’t want to end like this. There was a flickering in front of her closed eyelids.

And then the ties loosened.

Ivory opened her eyes. The Sacred Weapon had disappeared, and Keppler took a step back, turning his back to her.

“You… you’re letting me go?” She barely allowed herself to hope.

“I’m not getting my hands dirty on low-life scum of your kind anymore,” he explained while taking off his gloves. He studied his bloodstained shirt and sighed. “Nothing but trouble with you.”

Ivory was just considering whether thanking him would make it more or less likely that he would change his mind, when he continued: “I still want you dead for what you did, so I’m sending someone after you. Someone who’s more on your level, and whose work is a lot… messier than mine.” He turned his head just enough that she could see his bitter smile. “You better run.”

[niennandil-me-writes]

Goretober 15: Frenzied

cn: vampires, vomit mention

[Alváro belongs to Eva (textualpoacher on twitter), Kotohina belongs to @ghoulcaro. This is a "what if" for our Death House run]

She can’t ignore the smell of blood anymore. Pulling the neckerchief over her mouth and nose, she shoots a glance over at Alváro. He’s still not moving. It’s been over ten minutes since they fled up the winding stairs, into the attic. Ten minutes of complete silence.

She looks down at her scratched up arms and abdomen, wounds that almost killed her; presses a hand to the giant bite marks on her stomach and chest, which succeeded in killing her. The hunger, which she usually has under perfect control, has become wilder, more biting, since she struck the deal. Or maybe that’s just the despair taking hold of her.

She sighs in defeat, slides off the table and walks over to the unconscious paladin. Alváro’s wounds are worse than hers. She’s patched him up as best she could while they were running, making sure he wouldn’t die on her, wouldn’t make her drag around a corpse (she already considered leaving him behind).

Deep gashes run through his body where the armor doesn’t cover him, he’s bleeding, and his blood smells so enticing. It makes her mouth water and her fangs extend another inch.

She grabs his arm, pulls it up to her face and then digs her teeth into his flesh. The moment his blood touches her tongue, her whole body relaxes. This is exactly what she needed. Blood is gushing from his arteries, and she sucks it all up. She bites down harder, deeper into him.

Alváro moans in pain. Ivory flinches.

“What…?” His voice is weak when he finally blinks awake. Annoying that he has to wake up now. Ivory pushes aside her morality.

“Sorry about that,” she murmurs. “Kotohina is dead. Dead or escaped, but either way, he’s not coming back. I need to get out of here. Now. I need all the strength I can get.”

“Stop!” Alváro tries to push her away with his other arm, grabs her hair and tries to pull her away. She twists around, biting the new target. It’s all too easy. He’s lost so much blood, is losing more, he probably took damage to vital organs. He’s not gonna make it anyway. That’s what Ivory tells herself at least.

It doesn’t even taste good. It tastes like metal and salt, like water gone bad. She’d take a bottle of whiskey over this any time, but still, this is what her body craves, it yearns for the stuff. How can something feel so good, while also making her want to throw up? The blood runs down her throat, and she feels so much stronger, like her wounds mean nothing.

This has started as a battle for more strength, for a chance to leave this place alive, but all that is forgotten now. Her cravings guide her teeth deeper into Alváro’s flesh, ever deeper, until she hits bone. His blood stains her entire face now, drips down onto her neckerchief. She fights back a gag.

Alváro’s weak screams and pleas have died down entirely now, replaced by low whimpers, and then silence. Ivory has never murdered anyone, that has never been her crime of choice. She tells herself she doesn’t like it.