Why should I worry? Why should I care? I may not have a dime but I got street savoire faire

[unpocoloco]

WHO: Héctor and OTA
WHERE: Around campus, Soliel, Campus again, texting from Avery's, a Morgue
WHEN: Late August, forward dated
WHAT: A man tears himself away from his wildest dream, does some necromancy, becomes a dog then a doll, then breaks into the morgue WITH HELP??
WARNINGS: The big spoilers, a (temporarily) dead(?) dog, corpses and other death things (Use prose or action as you wish.)

Giddy and Distracted

There's new life to his bones. Metaphorical life of course. They'd let him back home. Finally, at last, he'd gone home. He'd danced. He'd cried. He hugged his daughter. And then all that again for her Quinceñera. People stared but he didn't see them. They whispered, but he didn't care. For a few short weeks, he was the happiest man in the world. The only trouble was that he had to come back.

It broke his heart, of course. Leaving again, saying goodbye. But he went and that meant he could go back again. And again and again and someday, hopefully, he could stay. And on that day... on that day he'd tell her everything. Even the hard stuff. It wouldn't matter then because it would be behind them both.

He doesn't dream but when he closes his eyes he's still there. And so he closes his eyes often, singing out loud where he walks and humming to himself in alteration, songs of daughters and wonderful things in the world. He swings around corners and dances on steps just because. Sometimes his leg will give and he'll wince and stop, but it happens noticeably less than it should. Perhaps the life in his bones isn't entirely metaphorical after all.

He's dancing again, miming it to himself with an invisible partner smaller than he, humming along to a song in his head. And not paying the slightest attention to where he's going or he's bothering now.

A Dog Named Chorizo // CW: animal death implied

A deep breath, deep breath out. This is what they came back for, seeing if there was a way to do more about this. Imelda assures him that this time won't be like the last and he believes her. If anything, he thinks she might be more flustered this time than he is. So he'd been a ghost for a little while, Necromancy wasn't a perfect science. Or maybe it was, what does he know, but they're doing their best.

Their best, this month, doesn't seem to result in much though. They went over the runes, the incantations. He tested shifted a few times over. Nope. Still dead. And so, they call it in and he bids her goodnight. He's got errands to run in Soliel before the dawn. It's an awfully busy night tonight. Maybe some kind of party. He makes his way down towards the shop at the end of the street, not paying much mind to it when he hears a frantic cry behind him. He turns too late-- or perhaps just in time. A car screeches to a stop but the faint thud comes anyway.

His breath catches in the shock of it. But then, something weird happens. His head clouds. An ache builds. He sways on the spot, stumbling a moment.

His body drops down.

He wakes a moment later, still aching. Immediately, it's clear something's wrong. He tries to rise, to shake his head, but his limbs are... not his limbs. He yelps and immediately the concerned gathering of people jumps back. A teenage girl cries out in joy, calling a name that isn't his. She starts forward, arms spread like she's going to hug him. With a leash in her hand.

He bolts. Stumbling on all fours, he runs off down the street, past the cars, dodging another that nearly hits him and scrambling to the sidewalk. Where, where-- oh no...

Up ahead, another crowd has gathered. This one just a little bit more panicked than the last. They're crowded around a body. His body. A man checks for his body's pulse, finds none, and then tries resuscitation. Two hands on the sternum and pressing, the chances of breaking his brittle bones that way all too high. He tries to say, "No, no!" But all that comes is barking. There's that faint crack. He doesn't know if anyone hears it but him but the thought of it alone is enough to make him whine.

He hears someone call for an ambulance. There's only one thing left to do.

He lungs through the crowd and gets his teeth around his own ankle, pulling. He gets a good few inches and some alarmed cries before a solid whap has him letting go. He whines, but all he can do is try again.

A Ruff Time Of Things

After several rounds of running away from a very unhappy girl and trying to pull a corpse from some very unhappy people, said corpse is, eventually, picked up. He watches himself be declared dead on site before they haul him up, cover him with a blanket, and drive off. He's got a pretty good idea of where his body's going. Whining on the street is going to get him nowhere.

His only hope is to go whining at some doors. He tries to find whoever he thinks can help. In the dead of night, that may not be much. Worse, he has no idea how to get them to actually help him. For all intents and purposes, he looks and sounds like a dog.

Have they stuck his body in the cold storage yet? Are they already starting autopsy? How much time does he have before they decide cremation is an option and he's got nothing left to go back to? His whining increases and so does his scratching at doors.

Dolled Up - Pre-established CR Only

Everything is still several feet too tall. He's too short. His body is still wrong. He'll admit Avery's craftsmanship is nice but a plush doll body is just not a real body. At least he can talk now. And sort of text. Slowly. With soft stubby hands.

He gets to work messaging... pretty much whoever he can about this. Desperate times may call for desperate measures.

Hola, it's Héctor. I know it's late right now but I have a really, really, big important favor to ask. Please respond quickly, it's a little time-sensitive. Gracias.

Morgue Break - Pre-established CR Only

[See comments below! These will be a bit of a free for all joint thread. Jump in the "meet up" to give a sense of the group that's going. The actual Morgue Break will come once that's been somewhat established.]

Comments

Morgue Break Meet Up

[unpocoloco]

"Okay. Okay, okay, okay. So. How many of you have broken into a morgue before?"

A plush doll with a glowing "face" looks out at the group before him. His voice is, notably, more stressed than the doll body can really show. Hopefully, someone has lifted him up or put him on some kind of table or counter. Embarrassing as it might be, it's not nearly as much so as trying to shout up at everyone.

[spelleton]

If nobody else has done it, Ekkehardt will have put him on an appropriately tall countertop or something, because he's nice like that.

"I've broken into places before. I suppose that counts. Not a morgue, though."

[yokeye]

Toki has managed to slip the leash for this, with the age old fake sickness bit. He assured his guard that he'd be staying in all night, and then proceeded to jump out the window. The featherfall really was a good idea.

"It can't be too hard! I learned how to pick locks!"

Which he's only used on Kano's door months ago, and he's probably forgotten how to do it. Héctor's doll body is extremely disturbing, and Toki never looks directly at him.

[nor_iron_bars]

I can neither confirm nor deny the events of June fourteenth, 2014. If anyone asks, I have totally, definitely never done anything like this before.

[As always, Jail is a pillar of immoral support.]

[hawkwardness]

There's also a bird at this little meeting, sitting somewhere near the Dollman, if he feels like being slightly taller. A noble steed!

His manner of speaking is odd, simultaneously sounding like a perfectly normal preteen's voice and also bypassing one's ears, somehow. A sound that's not sound, definitely coming from the bird whose beak never opens.

< I haven't, but there's always a first time for everything? >

Morgue Break

[unpocoloco]

They're pulled up to the back. No one will notice Jail's car with all the enchantments on it and they'll get the body to it quicker using the pick-up entrance. Not to mention avoid the front desks and any normal patients still around.

They're conspicuous enough out here, a boy, a woman in breathing mask, a man in a mask-mask and veil, a bird, and a doll. Along the wall there is what looks like a vent.

"Okay, Jailbreak. You got the schematics?" He starts. "Where should Tobias go?" He's a lot more nervous now that they're getting to this. He really doesn't want to drag these guys down with him if he can help it.

[yokeye]

Toki's pretty confused once they get here. He understands why most of them just don't walk right in, but he's the normal-looking one here.

"Why can't I just... go in and set off the smoke bombs everywhere?"

It's phrased with emphasis on the why in case he's already been told this and forgot. A likely scenario.

[hawkwardness]

At least they're not indoors and he has the sky above him! Much more comfortable, for the time being. Ceilings bad, claustrophobia bad.

< Because we're all screwed if we pass out? >

[unpocoloco]

"That, and it's a hospital. We only want to get my body back not like... kill anybody."

Doctors passing out mid-surgery, now there's a vision for the mind.

[yokeye]

Oh shit. This is why he does not get to make the plans. Are all his ideas that bad?

"Right. Hospital... We have to know where the security guards are."

That's why Toby's going in the vent. He thinks.

Ruff Time

[hippocarnival]

Of course Yuya's drawn in by the crowd and the ambulance, standing on his toes to try and see what's going on out of real rubbernecking syndrome. Maybe it's someone he knows, he's not sure if that's more or less likely by this point? He has some stressful friends.

"Excuse me--" He squeezes around a couple onlookers, just in time to catch the face of the body before it's covered with the sheet.

"Hector?!" Yuya slaps his hand over his mouth, expression aghast. Oh, this is bad.

[unpocoloco]

He hears his name, his real name, and his ear swivel. He's been well pushed out of the crowd by now and with his body being hauled off, there's no point in trying to chase after it. Even as a dog he's not going to catch it. Someone who knows him is someone who can help.

He pads over yet again, not daring to bark and draw attention to himself what with how many whacks he's taken for trying to get close, but still working his way in until-- there! He'd recognize that hair anywhere! His tail wags a little and he races forward, dodging the hands that try to grab him until he can pounce at Yuya's feet.

An attempt to speak Yuya's name gets turned into; "Arooruu!"

[hippocarnival]

Well, a dog running into his legs is enough to draw his attention away from the ambulance, which stalls him from trying to intervene. He pats Hector's head absently, turning his attention back up as he sees the doors are closed and they're already crawling in--oh no.

He tries to shove Hector out of the way so he can get to the vehicle. "Wait, wait!"

[unpocoloco]

If dogs can make disgruntled noises, that's what he's doing. Just when he thought his luck was turning around he's being shoved back and there's Yuya trying to push forward. He thinks to jump at Yuya again but there's the slim hope that maybe, just maybe, the ambulance will actually stop for him.

So to try and stall the ambulance, he howls. That'll get some attention, right? The wrong kind. There's someone waving at him again and he yelps, running after Yuya once again. Maybe if the kid looks at him, if he can tug at a bit of shirt...

[hippocarnival]

"Not now--" Yuya bats his hand absently to push Hector away as he sprints to the ambulance. His other arm is raised high, waving, hoping they listen. "Wait, I know him! I know that guy!"

dolled up

[hawkwardness]

Fortunately, about the only good luck poor Héctor has right now is that he's near his phone at the time. There's not much else he can do without classes going on--give him another few months and he'll have probably read all of Wikipedia. He fires off a reply pretty quickly. Someone's been worried!!

Are you okay? Where have you been? What's going on?

[unpocoloco]

Questionably. I was out with Imelda and then went on errands in Soliel. Something happened and I'm in a bit of bind. On a scale of one to ten, how okay are you with breaking into places?

[hawkwardness]

Like a ten? I could probably get in anywhere a bug could. And what are they going to do, arrest a dragonfly?

What's going on?

[unpocoloco]

[Perfect. Excellent in fact. Wasn't even a question of "isn't that illegal or immoral?" He knew he liked this kid.]

So... Imelda and I were maybe trying a little spellwork, you know, as one does at this place. It seemed fine at first. But later, when I went into Soliel, I may have ended up, kind of... in the body of a dog? With my own body just sort of collapsing. I got some help with the dog thing but, long story short, I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to break my body out of a morgue soon. Like tonight.

[hawkwardness]

[What the actual fuck, what is this man's luck. Har har rhymes.]

Okay. Okay. You're asking other people to help too, right? I can't move something that heavy. Where are you?

A ruff time

[improbablenotimpossible]

The vampire was out on the night, when he heard a distressed cry - in his brief time in the Academy, he went and made the attempt to befriend every single dog in town, and this one didn't sound quite right... and yet weirdly familiar.

"What do you need help with?" He calls out, speaking with the air as if he expects the dog to answer back, which he does.

[unpocoloco]

He'd been so caught up with trying to get help that he hadn't actually thought about how he was going to ask for what it was he specifically needed. "I got stuck in a dog's body while my own collapsed and is being shipped off to a morgue," is something of a complicated concept to communicate. What gets out is a short whine.

At least he can stop scratching at doors. Finding the source of the noise only takes a second with the dog's hearing, ears swiveling as he starts forward to find Arthur. It's a bit of a relief to see a familiar face who actually knows about him. He barks his relief, a sort of greeting.

[improbablenotimpossible]

He kneels as the dog barks in greeting. "Hello, you're not someone I've seen around before." The vampire started, and Hector may get a sense that the man might be able to understand him.

"But no time for pleasantries, you seem to be in quite a bit of distress..."

[unpocoloco]

You have!, He tries to say, only for that to come out as barking. What follows next is a whine where he wants to say, I need help, Arthur.

This is stupid. He's a dog. How the heck is he supposed to get out of this?

I need someone who can open doors.

[improbablenotimpossible]

Arthur... that's not the name he uses with the dogs, his eyes shot open. "You're someone that got changed, where do do you need me?" His mind raced, who would call him -

"Hector?!"