[The Despair saps more and more of his energy the longer he sits with it, gaze on the floor, mind sinking away into the kind of darkness the flickering light of the lantern can't touch. People are getting hurt around him, and it still doesn't seem to matter. They've all been struggling so hard, railing against a force that keeps sweeping them away like the tide.
And then the algae encroaches further, grows and twists over the floor, under him for the most part, but some winds over his hands, creeps up his legs on it's seemingly unstoppable forward crawl.
The despair is replaced, momentarily, by an ache, a need.
It might be dragging him under the tide, but there's blood in the water.
Fingers curl in the algae, nails scratching at the floor beneath as he pushes himself up just enough to get his feet under him, just enough to be able to launch himself at Lumen, with full, clear intent to grab him only to falter as soon as he's off the algae (4), collapsing to the floor at his feet and desperately clutching at his cloak on the way down.]
[Oh, crap, Celeste is still stuck in the algae. Now that Arven's managed to peel himself off the floor, he makes a run for it to assist...only for this to happen.]
C-Celeste...?!
[There's the hunger debuff and then there's whatever this is.]
[He's not sure if this is better or worse than the scary hunger.]
You're... [He doesn't have time to be afraid of whatever that was. His fear over Celeste being in danger wins out.] You're too close to him! He's gonna hurt you worse!
[He wants to try to get to him- be some kind of distraction for Lumen so Celeste can get away. But Mabosstiff puts a stopper on that, gripping hard into his pant leg with his teeth and growling.
Arven tugs back in defiance to no avail. He looks down at Mabosstiff, desperate.]
But...!
[No. Mabosstiff needs to keep his family safe, and Celeste surely wouldn't want Arven getting hurt in his place.]
[Ah. He's worrying him. He should probably try to move, but... what's the point? He is close to him, but it wasn't like moving away would let him do anything more effective to him.
[And that's just scratching the surface of why, in this moment, in this Despair, he thinks it would be more than okay for Lumen to take out all his anger, all his pain on him.
And, disconcerting words aside, Mabosstiff is right. As terrible as he's feeling right now, he'd feel worse if anyone got hurt trying to help him. So there's just the tiniest, briefest quirk to the corner of his lips at the pokemon's actions.]
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And then the algae encroaches further, grows and twists over the floor, under him for the most part, but some winds over his hands, creeps up his legs on it's seemingly unstoppable forward crawl.
The despair is replaced, momentarily, by an ache, a need.
It might be dragging him under the tide, but there's blood in the water.
Fingers curl in the algae, nails scratching at the floor beneath as he pushes himself up just enough to get his feet under him, just enough to be able to launch himself at Lumen, with full, clear intent to grab him only to falter as soon as he's off the algae (4), collapsing to the floor at his feet and desperately clutching at his cloak on the way down.]
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C-Celeste...?!
[There's the hunger debuff and then there's whatever this is.]
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Regardless, he does look up at hearing his name, but the look in his eyes has shifted back from frenzy to an unsettling emptiness.]
Arven?
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You're... [He doesn't have time to be afraid of whatever that was. His fear over Celeste being in danger wins out.] You're too close to him! He's gonna hurt you worse!
[He wants to try to get to him- be some kind of distraction for Lumen so Celeste can get away. But Mabosstiff puts a stopper on that, gripping hard into his pant leg with his teeth and growling.
Arven tugs back in defiance to no avail. He looks down at Mabosstiff, desperate.]
But...!
[No. Mabosstiff needs to keep his family safe, and Celeste surely wouldn't want Arven getting hurt in his place.]
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No, he was right where he ought to be.]
That's fine, I... deserve it, don't I? I hurt him, badly.
[And that's just scratching the surface of why, in this moment, in this Despair, he thinks it would be more than okay for Lumen to take out all his anger, all his pain on him.
And, disconcerting words aside, Mabosstiff is right. As terrible as he's feeling right now, he'd feel worse if anyone got hurt trying to help him. So there's just the tiniest, briefest quirk to the corner of his lips at the pokemon's actions.]
Good boy... keep him safe, alright?
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What're you saying?! You're doing what you gotta to save him! To save everyone!
[There's only one way out of this nightmare, after all. They need to defeat the source.]