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Post by America on Jun 17, 2013 18:36:42 GMT -6
Claustrophobia - A fear of no escape.
The more time Alfred spent in The Manor, the more the possibility that he and the others would never escape nagged at him. He did his best to ignore it. He had to remain optimistic after all, not just for himself but for everyone in the Manor. He was supposed to be the hero, he was supposed to fix this. Sometimes it seemed as though the worst monsters were not the supernatural denizens of the manor - though some would argue that the nations themselves were supernatural, at least compared to regular humans - but rather their own minds.
It was easiest to ignore it when someone else was around. He could distract himself with small talk, or trying to find more information about the manor. The information was doing little to help, but he kept notes nonetheless, in the off chance that one day he stumbled upon the key to waking up from this nightmare.
The current problem? Well, there were two to be exact. One was the lack of a companion. Alfred had no one to distract him from the worries that plagued his own mind. The other? Alfred found himself trapped within the four walls of the manor all over again, after a brief reprieve in the form of the graveyard. Outside, though he knew he was still unable to trek too far from the manor, he was able to trick his mind into thinking that he was free. He felt less tense than he'd ever felt within the four walls of the manor. That only made it ten times worse when he found himself back inside the manor, with no idea where the door to outside was. Knowing the manor, it probably disappeared without a trace.
His travels eventually led himself to the third floor. Ever since re-entering the manor, he'd felt short of breath. He needed some fresh air. He sighed in relief when he spotted a window located near the end of the hallway. He smiled and tugged upward on the window, frowning as it wouldn't budge. He tugged harder, and when that didn't work, tugged harder still, putting as much of his strength into it as possible.
The fact that it wouldn't budge was a testament that something wasn't right. Perhaps if Alfred were in a better state he might have recognized this. However, he was so entranced by the opportunity for fresh air that he would do just about anything to get that window open. He clenched his left hand into a fist and struck out, hoping that his fist would be met with shattered glass. No such luck, and Alfred was instead left with a sore hand. He glared at the glass, taken aback. Never had he seen a window able to withstand his super strength...
No matter, he still had one weapon up his sleeve! In this case, a literal one that he received from the holster currently fastened around his waist. He took aim at the glass and fired. "DAMMIT, BREAK ALREADY!"[/color] He yelled at the inanimate object, voice more desperate than angry. He fired another shot. Still nothing. Fed up, he charged toward the glass once more, beating it with his hands in quick succession for a minute straight before finally pausing, resting his head against the glass and peering out the window at the ground below. So close he could practically taste it, and yet the window would not budge. Alfred was completely out of breath, even though he had not physically exerted himself that much. His vision was also starting to go spotty. He just wanted some fresh air...
[You can probably guess this already, but yes, Alfred is starting to have a panic attack. XD]
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2013 21:08:05 GMT -6
Matthew had, of course, lost track of the other nations in the vast expanse of the manor which they were currently imprisoned. Or had the other nations just forgotten about him again, forgotten he had came into this god-forsaken with them and just left without a word. The latter, in his mind, seemed the more correct as much as he would like to deny it. But, no matter he was still on a journey to find the other nations, someone, anyone; in this place he could be with. He wasn't completely alone though, he had Kumijorou who was perched on his head at the moment but it wasn't enough to satisfy himself. He wanted Francis, or Arthur, or even Alfred, just some to be there and talk to.
His feet hit the floor with soft taps from his boots as he ascended to the second floor where he started to explore rooms in hopes in finding someone in one of them. Most of the doors were locked, which cause a quiet frustration to come from Matthew's mouth. Kumijorou would then pat Matthew's head with one of his paws and Matthew would move on. He came across only a few doors that were actually open but contained nothing of any use. He sighed walking away from the last door of the floor and heading toward the stairs.
As Matthew ascended to the middle of the stairs he heard a large bang from the floor he was heading to. He jumped a few feet in the air and looked up at the top of the stairs, silent and waiting. After waiting he ascended a few more steps until he heard a louder bang that echoed throughout the whole hallway. A gunshot, Matthew thought to himself as he stood there a moment longer and heard someone screaming out about wanting to break something. He couldn't pin point the voice it belonged to exactly but he continued up. He heard continuous banging as he continued up until he got on the floor and seen a silhouette at the window. The figure was hunched-back and looked as if it was leaning against the window. Matthew removed his bear from his head and set him down slowly. He slowly made his way toward the figure, ready to give the signal to his bear if it tried to attack. He got closer and closer until the moonlight shone from outside and illuminated who it was and Matthew finally relaxed along with Kumijorou.
"Alfred? How happy I am to see you!," he said to him before grabbing up Kumijorou in his arms and going next to him. What he seem shocked him and made him worry, Alfred looked stunned; almost trace- like. "Alfred? What's wrong?," said to him.
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Post by America on Jun 19, 2013 17:25:13 GMT -6
Alfred gazed outside, head pressed up against the glass of the window as he continued his attempts to catch his breath. His attempts to reassure himself were fruitless. You'll be alright remained empty words as long as he was in the manor, because danger could be lurking around any corner. The manor. The damned manor that held him prisoner. He couldn't even crack open a window! The cold glass against his forehead offered a little comfort.
The cold glass against his forehead...he hadn't tried that yet.
Alfred began to beat his head against the glass, tears starting to drip from his eyes. If this didn't work, nothing would. He might never get to breathe fresh air again. Just that thought made him headbutt the glass with a renewed vigor. The glass shattered at last, spraying the young nation's head and face. Alfred hardly noticed, for the burst of fresh air that he was waiting for wafted toward him. He inhaled deeply before he started to laugh. It started off low, soon blossoming into a booming, almost hysterical laugh. He continued for a couple of moments before he was interrupted by a familiar voice.
Alfred turned to face Matthew at once, blood dripping down one of his cheeks from one of the deeper cuts near his eye. "I finally got it open," He stated between giggles, gesturing to the broken window. As if to illustrate the point, he pressed his nose up to the window and inhaled deeply once more.
It was his brother's look of concern that brought him back to reality. The giggles faded, replaced by a wide eyed stare. "Mattie..." He reached up and ran a hand through his own hair, his gaze not leaving his brother's. "I don't know how much longer I can take this." There, he admitted it. It was as if every dam that Alfred built up burst at once. He couldn't pretend in front of his brother, not after what Matthew witnessed. He could already feel more tears trailing down his cheeks, mixing with the blood from his cuts.
Despite breaking at last, he was determined to keep this as quiet as possible. "Don't tell the others about this. Please Mattie. They've already got enough to worry about." They couldn't know that even the hero was cracking under pressure.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2013 0:50:11 GMT -6
The silence between him and Alfred at that moment made his skin crawl and only fueled his fears about his twin's well-being. He reached over to touch Alfred's shoulder as he didnt seem to hear him but what Alfred did next stopped him and made him jump away.
Alfred was banging his head against the window; over and over and over again. Matthew went over to pull him away but Alfred had already smashed his head through the glass. Blood was everywhere, all over the glass and all over Alfred's hair but that wasn't the most unsettling thing about the incident.
Alfred had started to laugh; not his normal obnoxious and fun laugh it was hysterical and, frankly, disturbing laugh. He watched Alfred in complete horror until he finally turned to acknowledge him finally. He looked to the window that was giving him so much joy and happiness that it had finally been broken open. Normally this would be silly if the window was open normally and Alfred hasn't been covered in blood.
"Alfred...," he said to him shaking his head until the few words that he hoped he would never hear came out of his twin's lips.
His brother had cracked. For the first time his brother had finally cracked under all the pressure from this Manor. He looked at him in silence for a long time before speaking, holding Kumijorou close to him.
"I won't tell anyone, I promise but right now...Your wounds need to be tended to," he said his eyes now noticing alot of blood trailing down from Alfred's hair line.
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Post by America on Jun 22, 2013 12:25:10 GMT -6
Alfred could see the effect that he was having on his brother, and a wave of guilt swept over him. Matthew already had enough to worry about without having to worry about him. Alfred was the one who was supposed to be worrying about Matthew, not the other way around.
"Thank you," Alfred responded to his twin's insistence that he would not tell anyone. The corners of his mouth twitched up into a faint smile. It was by no means Alfred's boastful smile, the smile that hardly ever seemed to fade, but it was a start.
The blond looked at his brother in confusion. "Wounds?" In his craze, he hardly even noticed pieces of broken glass catching on his head and face. Even now, he scarcely noticed the pain. He felt at his cheekbone, frowning when he saw the red tinge on his hand once he pulled it away. "I'm bleeding," He stated, looking down at his hand before feeling around elsewhere. Now that he knew of the blood, he was more aware of the various aches and pains in his upper body. What started as a dull headache was starting to increase in intensity now that he was aware of his injuries. "That wasn't in the plans...hope there's nothing lurking nearby that likes the smell of blood."
His wounds probably did need to be tended to, but where would they even start? He snorted. "Where are we going to find supplies for that? The manor infirmary?" Alfred shuddered at the thought of the manor having an infirmary. That would not end well. The only other solution they had was to try for some sort of makeshift bandage. "I guess we'll just have to make our own." Alfred looked down at his costume, trying to spot any loose pieces of cloth that might be good for a makeshift bandage. He did have a tie...that might work. Alfred started to loosen it with one hand while holding a glove hand to the deep cut in his cheek to stem the bleeding.
In the mean time, he actually attempted to make conversation with Matthew. They hadn't seen each other in a while, and Alfred really did want to know how Matthew was doing. Hopefully they could stick by each other for a while. Alfred wanted company, but knowing that his twin was alright was especially important to him. If anything happened to Matthew, Alfred would probably crack even worse. "So...how is the manor treating you?"
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2013 14:28:53 GMT -6
Matthew nodded to Alfred's thanks, it was the least he could do for his shattered twin that seemed to have been through a lot more in the Manor than Matthew had. What exactly had made Alfred crack so much was a mystery that Matthew didn't know but would wait to ask.
"Yes, you smashed your head into the window. There's glass all over your face,"Matthew said to him taking a step toward him. He put his white bear on his head again and went to get a closer inspection of the other's wounds. He had to make sure that the wounds weren't too deep so they they wouldn't cause major problems in the future.
Matthew frowned at Alfred's comment about the hope there wasn't a monster around. He couldn't tell if that was an actually worry ,as Matthew had been across any monsters just yet, or Alfred trying to pull his leg and scare him.
"Not funny, Alfred," he said to him simply as he looked over Alfred's wounded face as he listened to his brother wonder where they would find supplies for his wounds. Matthew was about to answer infirmary until Alfred mentioned it before he even opened his mouth." It's worth a shot, Alfred. We need bandages and we also need to clean these wounds. Who knows what kind of stuff was on that glass," he said pointing to the window, not sure when it had been cleaned last.
But Matthew's comment was shot down quickly as Alfred already had a plan to make his own makeshift bandages. Matthew didn't agree with the idea as it would only do so much in keeping the wounds protected, but he didn't want to argue with Alfred. He sighed as he looked through his pockets and found a bandana and handed that to Alfred. He watched him start taking off his tie for awhile until Alfred changed the subject to something better.
"Not bad to tell you the truth, not extraordinary or unusual yet," he told simply." I have just been trying to find the other nations at the moment," he told him before reaching his hand out to help Alfred take off the tie. "What about you?"
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Post by America on Jun 29, 2013 11:26:38 GMT -6
Alfred sighed, running a hand over his face. "I just wanted out of here..." If bashing his head repeatedly against that glass and cutting up his face ensured that he and the others would get out of the Manor safely, he would gladly repeat his endeavors. Unfortunately, the action brought him nowhere. A bit of fresh air, but that was it. And now his face was all cut up as a result.
The blond frowned as he looked back at the glass. "Over a century's worth of dirt and grime, at least. I'm not too worried, I just don't want to bleed all over the place and attract anything to us." Hopefully there was nothing lurking in the immediate area. He really hadn't thought this through in his hysteria, had he?
Alfred smiled as his brother handed him a bandana. "Thanks, bro. This should help too." He tied the bandana around the top of his head, covering up most of the wounds in and around his hairline. There were still a few small gashes on his face, namely the one just under his eye on his cheekbone, but it was an improvement.
The southern nation wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried by Matthew's response. He was relieved that Matthew had yet to come across any of the true horrors of the mansion - yet worried because Matthew seemed almost unaware of the dangers that he might come across. "I've met with some of the others." He confided in his brother. "Vietnam, Lithuania, Kosovo, Mexico..." He shifted the bandana a little on his head, making sure that he had it on tight enough. "Did you know that if you remain quiet in the ballroom, you can hear music playing even though there's no one else in the room? Neat, huh?" He chuckled nervously, making it clear that he considered the phenomenon to be the furthest thing from 'neat'.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2013 21:38:59 GMT -6
Matthew sighed irritably at Alfred's reassurance that glass, that had been covered in years of grime and dirt, was safe. Matthew was smart enough to know that wasn't the case and knew if he seen an infirmary anywhere nearby in their travels he would be sure to get Alfred inside, to at least clean up the wounds. At times Matthew thought that Alfred seemed to forget that this place made them human. His brother still seemed to believe that he was still big and invincible.
Matthew nodded to his brother's thanks for the bandana that Alfred had swiftly put on his head to cover the bleeding that was forming up there. Matthew was glad that his older twin had found some more companions on his travels, that he wasn't alone. He knew probably more than anyone how his brother got when he was alone in a large house. The incident that had happened not too long ago was proof that how much loneliness can break his brother.
When Alfred suddenly changed the subject to something a little bit more than reassuring, it was more creepy than anything. " No, I did not know that. It's more creepy than neat, Al." He said to his brother before a small chuckle came out of his mouth. What a silly thing for his brother to say but this was Alfred he was speaking about and this sort of thing was normal.
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Post by America on Jul 5, 2013 15:25:08 GMT -6
It wasn't that Alfred thought that he was big and invincible. He knew he was the farthest thing from it in this house. He still had some of his strengths and planned to use those against the manor and it's denizens when he could. He also realized that, inside the manor, his strengths only went so far. There might very well be creatures that were impervious to anything he threw at them - to anything that anyone threw at them.
"Have you come across anyone else yet?" The idea of his brother roaming around the manor alone did not sit well with Alfred. No one should have to take on the manor alone. There was strength in numbers, and the more people in a group the better. Unfortunately, the manor seemed almost sentient, and realized this strength. No matter how Alfred tried to keep in touch with the people that he came across in the manor, he always ended up separated from them.
He had every intent of sticking with his brother as long as he could. He wouldn't be separated from Matthew without a fight.
"We probably shouldn't stand in one place for too long. We're sitting ducks." Well...standing, technically, but it was only a figure of speech. Alfred took one last glance at the window before he started to walk. He glanced back at Matthew. "You coming?" If Matthew did not want to go, Alfred would stay as well. He did not want to get separated from his brother so soon after seeing him safe. He wanted to keep it that way as long as he could.
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