/|㇏^•ᵥᵥ•^ノ|\

It started with a job. Not the most normal job, but not the weirdest Capsize had found herself taking as a freelance photographer. A big fancy shoot in a big fancy house in the middle of the woods that was annoying as shit to get to. Not her favourite sort of job, but also something she had done before despite the annoyance.

She’d travelled up with her little crew to set up before any of the models got there, just as requested by her far too wealthy clients. The man who met them there seemed surprised that there were four of them, apparently having expected this big a job to be done by her alone. He looked at her blankly when she explained she needed more than just her own set of hands to set up everything, but had finally directed them to the space they needed to set up. God, she hated rich people.

It had taken the entire morning to set up the different locations with all the lights and rigging that had been requested. Thankfully, her crew was well-trained. They were long past the days where Red was breaking at least one light per job, which was good because those days had been an expensive headache.

Finally they were done and apparently in good time as there was still no sign of whatever models they’d be shooting with. The man who had met them reappeared with refreshments, a nicety she hadn’t expected given his earlier lack of awareness. Well, she’d take a free meal where she could take it, even if the drink was a weird purple tea of some sort.

The man had, finally, introduced himself as Jordan. Apparently, he wasn’t their client, but her assistant. He was just taking care of them until she arrived. He also seemed far more open to talking with now. Capsize still didn’t particularly want to be friendly to the man who had greeted them so rudely, but she knew better than to be an ass to those in charge. It at least gave her an opportunity to ask what exactly this shoot was for.

That was when everything had gone wrong. He had laughed, in a way that made her distinctly uncomfortable, but when she’d gone to shift away, she’d collapsed backwards as all her muscles failed her.

She’d heard brief confusion from her crew, before seeing them slump around her. Jordan had loomed over her with a smile.

“Oh, this is a very special occasion for my Lady. She’s waited so long to find the one who will restore her to power. Finally, she’s located you and she isn’t letting you go again.”

Then Capsize had finally lost strength and consciousness.

…

She had woken up hours later, at sunset from the light streaming through the window.

She was in a bedroom she didn’t recognise, wearing clothes that weren’t hers, with arms covered in tattooed runes that she hadn’t had that morning. Her head was swimming, each detail scaring her more as she was forced to face that this was reality.

The thing that got her moving was the sound of footsteps coming to the door. She stumbled to her feet, forcing herself to do the only thing she could: hide. On the windowsill, behind thick curtains, she held her breath as two people entered the bedroom to find it apparently empty.

“How is it possible? She couldn’t have--”

“It seems my love is a crafty one… but it is fruitless. With the the first bindings already inked into her skin, she won’t be able to escape the grounds without a miracle.”

“Still, my Lady. The ritual needs to take place before sunrise.”

“Yes, it is rather unfortunate for her to have disappeared… Alert all the others: hunt her down and whoever brings her to the ritual chamber will be greatly rewarded.”

“Of course, my Lady. And what of the sacrifices?”

“...Leave them in their traps. They might well act as bait to lure her out.”

With those words the two had departed, the door clicking behind them. Capsize had let out her breath in a choked, sobbed mess. Somehow this was real. She had been kidnapped by an insane woman who wanted to use her for god knows what. If she didn’t somehow escape by morning, she’d be forced to find out by whatever ritual they had planned.

But she couldn’t just sit here. She wasn’t stupid. She could gather precisely who had been referred to as sacrifices. She wasn’t about to let her crew get killed.

So, she emerged from her hiding place with a checklist in mind:

Save her crew

Get whatever the hell these tattoos were off her skin

original below

DO YOU PICK UP THA PHONE