last name fucker

Upon the ritual’s beginning Jingle forced himself to stand up straight, the lanterns shattering one by one as the spirits were ripped from his body as they were forced into him. He grit his teeth as his nose started to bleed profusely, his legs wobbling under him as he forced himself to stand up straight still using his staff. He’s still gripping it tight enough that his knuckles are turning discolored, sweat pouring down his face as his antlers begin to crack and break off. Once the last lantern cracked an shattered both of his antlers broke and fell to the ground next to him, leaving two jagged nubs of his horns. He didn’t care, they’d grow back. They were hurting his neck anyways, the big things. 

Upon the incessant screeching Jingle flinched back, his leg giving out from under him and using the other to keep himself up. Though he was knocked back on his ass as the shockwave of energy broke the air around them. Jingle was quick to recover though, by force or not it was unknown as he picked up his staff and clambered towards the figure laying in the center of the circle. Rushing alongside Kay to hopefully meet Cath there in the center.

Jingle was leaning on his staff like a cane, his leg limp but the other seeming to be fine while he leaned on it, his nose still bleeding somewhat while he reached out to the figure- only to be met with scratching nails directed at Kay and frustrated shouting. Jingle gasped and stumbled backwards slightly, almost falling before he dug his staff into the ground to keep himself up. Jingle scrambled forward to the best of his ability to grab Cath’s wrists and prevent him from scratching Kay further, snapping at his best friend, “Quit! Cath quit!” His voice was hoarse and full of exhaustion, gripping his best friend’s wrist to keep him from attacking either of them- though it seemed Cath’s intent was entirely based on attacking Kay. Jingle shushed him and tried to calm him down, gripping his wrists still while he looked at Kay to make sure he was okay, though he only seemed to merely ogle the red bleeding wound and not say anything. His mouth just hanging open slightly as he ran his eyes over Kay, oh, oh that’s different. Where did-

Kay collapsing somewhat made his heart sink straight through his stomach and hit the floor, he inhaled heavily and was about to jump straight into a panic before he took note that Kay didn’t completely collapse. Instinctively when he saw him struggling he put his hands on Kay’s back and on his chest, feeling the cold running through his vampire companion. His stomach drew into its own cold pit and he wheezed in the fear he was trying to stifle. He tried to provide him support, but gingerly removed his hands when he started to sit up again. Now it was Jingle’s turn to acknowledge the terms.

Jingle stared dead on at Edea, “I don’t know if that’s possible, I’ve met some spirits who still walk the Earth from time to time after the decision but I don’t know how possible it’s going to be to bring them from the afterlife if they don’t already walk the planet..” He rubbed the back of his neck, plucking a stray feather from his hair from the earlier.. actions. He held it up and inspected it before he tucked it behind his ear. He now wrung his hands while he thought about it, “I’m willing to do whatever I can, I’d just have to talk to the gatekeeper I suppose and see if I can.. take them for a walk for a limited time. Just borrow them for a little while, without telling anyone. By talking to the gatekeeper I mean probably just sneaking past him-” He looked up at Edea and straightened up, showing weakness in front of the Fae wasn’t a good thing.

Jingle glanced at Kay and then back at the fae queen, a stern expression on his face, “What’s next? Where do we go from here?” He glanced at her hands, “Do we gotta like.. shake hands and make an actual pact or something?” He tended to talk with his hands, moving his hands together in a circular motion while he talked. He looked up at her again and pursed his lips, “I think we’re both ready for whatever you’re going to throw at us.” 

However, Edea just laughed her mysterious little laugh at him for worrying so much about having to go to the afterlife. She stalked over to Kay, who had his own growing expression of concern as Edea stared at Jingle intently. She narrowed her eyes and gave him a curious little smile, putting her hand on Kay’s shoulder. She shortly commented about how cold Kay was, before she raised her hand up and the air around all three of them became eerily quiet. Jingle and Kay’s eyes met for just a moment while the guide’s eyes darted around. He backed up a little as the leaves on the ground around them started to float, his hair lifting as well. Edea and Kay’s hair gained the same treatment, the cloak Kay adorned now beginning to raise as if Gravity itself reversed. Edea whispered something repeatedly under her breath, Kay’s eyes growing wide and glancing at her and then at Jingle as the fae queen raised her hand up into the air and continued to mumble. Jingle’s paranoia continued to spike higher and higher, peaking when she pointed at him and he felt himself metaphorically burst open. He shrieked and gripped his head, his antlers forcibly extending and twisting, more spines bending off of them and resembling tree branches more than antlers now. He continued to scream in near downright agony, doubling over as he felt spirits and souls filling up any empty gap in his psyche and body, manifesting in colored lanterns hanging from his massive set of antlers now. Just as quickly as it had been done it ended, he had rapidly grown back to his normal energized size and collapsed down to his hands and knees. He gasped and panted for breath as he started to recover, clenching his eyes shut as he felt the eyes of those inside him now sharing his vision, he felt their eyes moving with his. He felt their breathing follow the same rhythm as his, and them moving the same as his. He felt like a matryoshka doll- and to an ironic extent he sort of was. He shakily started to try and stand up, gripping his eyes shut still at the new and strange sensation, he was used to spirits surrounding him and walking near him, but not so much being trapped inside him and following his every movements. 

Jingle watched the fae queen with a piqued interest, and also with a somewhat disgusted expression at the contents that were tossed into the cauldron.  He was having a mental conversation with himself about how he was going to cope with probably drinking whatever poison she just brewed up. Though, that mental conversation was tossed out the window with all of the water being released from the cauldron and steaming up his glasses. He was silent for the most part while he wiped off his glasses and considered what in the actual God Damn Edea was doing.

He watched her pace around the pot, studying it with that curious candle of hers, then perked up at the possibility of getting Cath back- that is before he felt her gaze fall upon him with suspicion. He didn’t shrink but he narrowed his eyes right back at her, what about him was so interesting? He was just a guy. A guy constantly surrounded by the fates of folks young and old from any walk of life; it made him very hard to read as to someone who also could sense the presence of spirits couldn’t pick out which soul could possibly be his.

Even though he considered her untrustworthy, he followed her as silent as the wind, his hand still entangled with Kay’s tightly to comfort him and himself in the same act. He observed the surroundings with a surmounting amount of respect, Autumn was his favorite season after all. Be it because he could spend time with some of the spirits he had grown fond of or because he just loved the sense of magic and horror. He intended to inquire how they were going to steal some of Winter’s power but was cut short by the interest of what she was digging up. He was hoping to God that it wasn’t going to be a dead animal and she was going to fling it at them for laughs. The fae could be cruel sometimes, he had no idea what to expect!

He kept his hand tightly gripped to Kay’s, running his thumb over the vampire’s knuckles tenderly to help comfort him. He glanced at him with a sympathetic expression, too tired to let himself cry and possibly wear himself out more. He cleared his throat at the proposition of a deal, immediately sitting up to impose himself to any extent that he could; though he quickly slouched back down in his exhaustion. He tried to keep his voice steady, though it wavered in distrust and a subtle grief, “What would that deal entail? Are you fucking with us?”

Jingle clenched his jaw, staring down at the table before taking off his glasses and cleaning him with his shirt as the speckles from tears were making it hard to focus. He inhaled and looked at the Fae Queen, “I’m willing to share as much if my power as possible, but I need to know what this deal would come with, what strings might come attached. I’m not letting Kay have something weird happen to him like making him go bald just for shits. If there’s strings attached I at least want to have them laid out on the table for his sake and my own..” He put his glasses back on, scratching his jaw before looking back at her. His vision was blurry now for different reasons, trying to hold himself together and almost failing to do so.

Jingle slowly stood after a moment, silent as can be and summoned his staff in a flash of light. He leaned against it for support as he reverted back to his less monstrous form- his horns now much smaller and his hair shorter; most notably missing his dual set of wings. He huffed out a few breaths before he lifted his staff up and lit a few of the pews ablaze after a mumbling of a few words. The exhaustion was burning bags under his eyes as he slowly turned and looked at Kay, “We need to get him back.”

He wasn’t positive HOW they could get him back exactly, but he figured they should at least get back home or y’know- OUT of the church that he just set on fire out of a last “fuck you”. A justified, anguished “fuck you”. He certainly wouldn’t be the one guiding them to their final Decision tonight- as he would have certainly just led them straight to hell and wouldn’t let them get a possible justification for what they had done (which would get him in much trouble mind you!).