Henrietta
*Knock, knock, knock.* 

Three polite knocks sounded on the door, announcing their presence before Uriel stepped through the door. 

It was the first time they had seen the distortion take form while it was awake— *A terrifying visage*, Uriel thought to themselves, eyes flickering over the form the creature took. 

They made no reaction at its form, instead standing across from it to begin their talk. After all, not all monsters were as dangerous as they looked— and some monsters were far more dangerous than they seemed. 

"Is this a safe place for you to talk? I do not want to pressure you." Their accent is thick and difficult to parse, and yet the sentiment is conveyed well enough by the glancing of their eyes around the room.

Uriel cuts to the chase. If time is limited, they will waste none with pleasantries. 

"What is the yellow eyed thing? Why are you afraid of it so?" 

They stare directly into Levi's eyes, distant deep grey boring into the mess of static.

"Here doesn't seem like a good place for you or Basil. Why would Hayley and Basil make it? What were to happen if it disappeared?" Uriel asks plainly. 

Questions, questions. It was *Angry.* Why was a safety mechanism so angry? 

"And.. If Basil and Hayley made it to help you, why are you afraid?"

"Of course." Uriel nodded solemnly, and an unreadable expression flickered over their face. 

Poor Levi. Poor Basil and Hayley, two people who were only trying to help their friend and accidentally doomed them all. It was tragic in every sense of the word— and, worse than that, it was senseless tragedy. 

"Would you allow me in attempting to release it? Or weaken it, at the very least?" Uriel approaches Levi with hopeful eyes. 

"It has its own distinct... Mind, somewhat. I can try to put it to sleep."

Oh. 

This was bad. 

*A trap?* Uriel pondered, their muscles stiffening at the sight of the creature transforming in front of them. Familiar golden eyes stared at them, malice dripping from their fangs and blocking any exit. 

Well, they could always just wake up, Uriel thought to themselves. 

*Wait. Oh...* 

Despite the sudden change in setting and mood and the way Uriel's muscles grew taut in fear, their voice was even as they responded. 

"I was invited." They reply. "Who are you?" 

In hindsight, Uriel perhaps should have told someone they would be here.

*Their anger?* 

What a humorous thought. It had died out long ago, after all, creeping fear and guilt taking its place in the cavern of their heart. 

Uriel did not feel anger. They did not hate. After all, to hate the world was futile— it was a fact of life they had accepted long ago. 

To hate the world for Uriel's life would be to hate gravity, or hate the world for turning. 

It was futile, and Uriel had no interesting in wasting their energy. It was a fact they had come to accept, and the only thing that laid in their heart was cold, defeated resignation. 

"I have no anger." Uriel says, shaking the leg with the tendril ensnared around their ankle. 

"I will ask again. Who are you?" Their voice stiffened with impatience.

"..." 

Uriel's breath tightened in their chest, and they froze in their spot. 

This was worthless. They had to leave, *Now.* The stinging sensation crawling up their leg was only getting hotter, and the creature didn't seem as if it was going to negotiate. 

"If you don't want to answer my questions, *Leave.* I'm not stopping you, and I'd rather not waste both of our time demanding answers." 

They leaned down, hands grabbing the tentacle and attempting to pry it off. Uriel could always put it to sleep... But they'd rather not have the situation escalate. 

"*Who are you.*" They ask, yet again. "Why are you here? How do you know Levi, Basil, and Hayley?" 

Their accent thickens. 

"Answer me, beast."

"Then why have you taken form? What power has compelled you into this shape? Is *This why* Levi had to be sealed away?" More attempts to ask questions as Uriel goes on the offensive. 

It wanted a reaction. It wanted them to scream, for them to run for their life. It was toying with them, obviously so. 

Uriel didn't want to resort to their magic. Not yet.

A brief flash of their friends flickered through their head, and the tenseness of Uriel's shoulders waned slightly. They couldn't falter— not here, just after Valentine's. They had *Friends* Waiting for them. 

"I can't run. You've made sure of that." Uriel grits their teeth. "Let go of me, and I will not bother you further."

"..." 
Uriel sits down on the ground. It's a sign that they're not going to attempt to fight it. 

"I... Don't want to answer those questions, but I doubt you want to answer mine, either." They shift, pressing their cheek against their knee and idly tracing shapes and patterns on the dorm floor. 

"An answer for an answer. Does that sound fair to you?" Uriel echoes. "I should treat you with the same respect I seek from you, after all."

"Soft?" Uriel scoffs. They were soft, yes, but not in the way the Golden Eyed creature saw it— long ago, Owen had called them a brick wall made of pillows. Soft, yes, but not *Weak*. 

"I see no point in gutting you. If I did so, would Levi, Basil and Hayley be free of their plight?" 

Uriel pauses for a bit, shoulders sagging from the literal weight on their shoulders. 

"It doesn't matter, either way. I am not capable of such a thing, physically or mentally. I would never harm someone else just to save my own skin."

Their voice is quiet and careful, but not soft. 

"Why do you not want to talk to me?"

"A human being without rage in its bones?" Uriel ponders. 

"Me, I suppose. You did just acknowledge me a human, after all— you can't peer into my mind like I can you. How would you know otherwise?" 

It's a bold statement, but one Uriel didn't think was false. It was posturing, grandstanding, puffing out its feathers and creating an illusion of smoke and mirrors, just like the Wizard of Oz. It was not all powerful, and Uriel would do best to remember that. 

*How noble. How pious.* It certainly knew enough to mock them, however. 

"You know nothing about my bones, or about my life. Do not pretend otherwise."

"B-Basil?" Uriel's head whipped around, and they instantly turned to face him. 

"Are you alright? What is this creature doing to you? What *Is it?*" They can't help but shoot rapid fire questions at him, eyes flickering in panic at the pained screams. 

*Oh god.* Was it... Using Basil and Levi as leverage?

"I—" Their face pales. For once, Uriel is frozen in their tracks.
William
Cw!!! Implied panic attack/panicking behaviour similar to one

Cw over! Calming down ahead
Thomas
``Deep, deep breaths shook the room, the panic slowly starting to pass. Uriel can interact again (safely).``
Henrietta
Uriel is quiet. They slowly approach the amalgamation of the two, silently watching the fusion of Levi and Basil attempt to calm themselves down. 

*It's just me.* So it was a part of Levi, after all. 

"It's gone now. No one is hurt. We are safe, you two." Their voice is low and smooth. Uriel gives the two a fair bit of distance, but still attempts to offer reassurance in their tiny ways.

"It's not your fault, Levi. It's mine. You can't control your powers— besides, it didn't hurt me at all." Uriel was shaken— of course they were, how could they not be?— and yet they plaster on a reassuring smile, patting the distortion on the back in soft, rhythmic pats. 

"Of course you can sleep, Levi. We should get out of here, though. I'll assist you once we're somewhere safe." 

Uriel had many questions still— what exactly Levi's power constituted, if there could be a cure for it. Still, they knew better than to ask them now. After all, it was neither the time nor the place, and while Uriel was not human, they weren't a *Monster.* 

"You're alright now. Just good dreams from now on."

"I don't know what it is. My apologies if I made any incorrect assumptions." 

Uriel allows them some space, nodding solemnly at their own mistake. 

"Feel free to correct my initial mistake while we walk to somewhere you would like to rest. I... If it isn't too much to ask, I would like to know what happened." 

Uriel clears their throat, nervous. They... Were not good at empathy. 

"Of course, if it is beyond you, please do not press yourself to speak. It might... Help, is all. Speaking usually helps me."

They nodded. 

"As you wish." 

Uriel closed their eyes briefly, and the pair returned to their delicious oblivion. Sleep had once again come for the lovesick duo, and the brief moments they had awake were filled with fingers in their hair and the sounds of a soft lullaby tainted with a thick French accent. 

Basil and Levi fall asleep, head resting on Uriel's lap, and they look down at the creature— no, *Human*— that laid slumbering on them. 

"I vow to help you in any way I can, " They echo softly, looking down warmly at the distortion. 

Uriel tilts their head back, and sighs. Perhaps they could get some sleep while the pair frolicked in a desirable dream— after all, they mused, looking down at the tendrils of static coiled in their hand, it's not as if they could move all that much. 

And with that, Uriel's eyes fluttered shut, and they joined the two (and a half?) in wonderful nothingness.