𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗖𝗬 || 𝘒𝘎𝘙𝘗 𝘈𝘗𝘗

𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙒𝙃𝙀𝙉 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙁𝘼𝙉𝙏𝘼𝙎𝙄𝙀𝙎

𝘽𝙀𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙀 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙇𝙀𝙂𝘼𝘾𝙔

𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙈𝙄𝙎𝙀 𝙈𝙀 𝘼 𝙋𝙇𝘼𝘾𝙀

𝙄𝙉 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙃𝙊𝙐𝙎𝙀 𝙊𝙁 𝙈𝙀𝙈𝙊𝙍𝙄𝙀𝙎

It hadn’t been particularly long since she had graduated from Hope’s Peak, just a few years. That said, it had been long enough that when her father read to her a letter of invitation to attend the American Hope’s Peak opening ceremony, she only stood there and stared at him for a few long moments. As he ushered her over to a chair in front of her vanity, she finally spoke. “Is it real? It seems a bit..” she trailed off as she sat, facing her father. He waved his hand dismissively. “Yes, yes, it’s all real! I already verified it myself. Isn’t it just the grandest opportunity you’ve gotten since I first sent you to that school?”

He placed his hands on her shoulders, smiling like a giddy child. “This little event would bring great publicity for our show here, don’t you think? The farther you can reach with that talent of yours, the better!” He went on, spinning her around so the chair swiveled until she was looking into the mirror, her father grinning at her over her shoulder. “What do you say, will you do this for me, my dear?”

In truth, she wanted nothing more to do with that school or its affairs. She had thought her ties to it ended when she graduated, and yet here she was. She stared at her father’s expectant smile in the mirror, her resistance to the idea draining by the second. It was only a few days, right? “...Alright.” she conceded, and her father became ecstatic. “That’s my girl! I just knew you would agree!”

She hummed. “And Kanza?” she asked, to which her father gave her a confused glance. “Who–? Ah, right! The lion, of course you will need it to come with you. What is a lion tamer with no lion, after all?” he nodded, smile returning even as she frowned. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about any of that, my dear, I will take care of it all.” his hand came up to smooth her hair with his fingers. “All you need to do is make sure you stay bright and dazzling as always! You’ll have to entertain them over there in America just as flawlessly as you do here, you know. We can’t afford to slack off~” she nodded. “Yes, I know. I’ll do my best.”

Her father grinned, “Of course you will! You are my daughter, after all. But before you can captivate anyone there, you still have a performance right away, so you should prepare now. See you soon, my dear!” With that, he left her sitting at the vanity, disappearing from the room to check on the other acts for the show.

Within the next hour, she had stepped into the light of the arena, taking her place at the center while other performers pranced around her. Reaching behind her, she unhooked the whip from her belt—more a prop than a true tool. While the weapon itself was real, its purpose was only for show. Beside her appeared a lion, perfectly calm even among the commotion of the arena. Raising the hand without the whip to her chest, she bowed to the audience.

The show had begun.

TW: Injections

She wakes with a horrible ache, pulled into consciousness and disoriented by the sharp throbbing in her head.

Even so, she begins to piece together the events leading up to this moment. She had indeed gone to NYC for the Hope’s Peak opening ceremony and spent the week there. Last she ed, she was on her way home when—

The plane. Something had went wrong. But what? The details were still fuzzy in her brain, but she had been knocked out somehow. Now she was here.

…Except, she didn’t know where exactly Here was. She was laying down somewhere. And if she was here—someplace clearly not an airplane—where was He? He had come along with her, as promised by her father, so what happened to him when she was unconscious? There was something tickling her face, and for a moment a spark of hope jumped in her chest. Despite the struggle, she eventually forced her eyes open to find…

A face. Not the large, furry face that she had been hoping for, but that of a younger girl. Yellow eyes meet pink, and her hopes are ultimately dashed. It was not a lion’s mane that had been tickling her cheeks, but the white hair of the girl standing over her.

They only stare at each other for a few moments, her eyes still adjusting to the sight before her until the girl seems to realize that she is, in fact, awake now. The girl retreats with an “Oh”, leaving her to squint and readjust as her vision blurs again. The white haired girl begins speaking to someone else off to the side. “Look, look, they’re awake! Not dead yet, see?” Yet? What did that mean? Of course she wasn’t dead. Who in their right mind would think she was?

After a few seconds of watching the girl in confusion, she follows her gaze to the other person in the room. On the other side of her, another stranger with white hair—though this time, mixed with purple—sat in a chair, clipboard in their lap. They looked away from it to the girl. “That I do see. Thank you for notifying me." They say, now looking at her. Despite the clear age difference between the two strangers, they wore the same colors; a uniform of some sort. The older of the two continues to speak to her. "You can hear us now, yes? Everything working as it should be?"

She only offers them a short stare in response, more interested in trying to see the rest of the room. Other than the bed she was laying on, there were curtains on both sides of her, blocking most of the room from her view. She could, however, make out a wall on the other side of the room. There’s a chair there too, she thinks. Maybe this was some kind of hospital?

She doesn’t get to look for too long before the white-haired girl is back, now poking at her. As much as she wanted to smack the girl’s hand away from her, moving anything except her head is too much effort in her current state. Instead, she is only capable of tilting her head away with an irritated look.

”Ive—“ the girl starts to speak, but cuts herself off as she pulls her hand away, coming to pinch her own cheek instead.

What?

Confused, she watches as the girl’s hand lowers and her cheek turns red where it was pinched. “Luxuria doesn’t know whether they can speak right now…she got them pretty well!” And what did That mean? Got them? How? The girl smiles down at her again. “Don’t worry! It’ll wear off eventually… probably. It took the last one a bit to be able to speak again.”…what? The last one? There were others? Maybe she was talking about the others who had been on the plane with her. But how did they all end up here then?

The stranger to her other side gives her a sharp smile; quite literally, seeing their unusually sharp teeth. "That's no problem. Just take regular breaths for now. You'll be fine, dear." She cringes at the pet name before she can stop herself. She turns her gaze away as they write something on their clipboard. "All that being said... there are a few things we'd like to ask of you once you're a bit more composed, and it would be a great help that you answer if you're capable."

Before she can find any way of answering them, the other girl—Luxuria, she now knows—nods. “Mhm! Just answer this like it’s an… um… one of those ‘job interview’ things. You’ll be out of here before you know it!” She’s never actually had to do a job interview before, but something is telling her they’re not typically done while laying on a bed unable to move. Even so, she reluctantly takes their advice and stares at the ceiling, continuing to breathe.

As the fuzziness faded and she began to relax, she thought more about her situation. She didn’t know where she was. More importantly, she didn’t know where Kanza was. If she were to ask these two, would they know? Luxuria turns back to the older one, clearly curious. “Are you asking all of the questions, Doctor? Luxuria wants to ask one!” So the other was a doctor? Did that mean this place really was a hospital of some kind? "But of course. By all means." The Doctor speaks, waving their hand and causing Luxuria to cheer as she rushes to their side. The Doctor returns their gaze to her. "Whenever you're ready, then, let's proceed."

She’s silent for a short while, considering. What exactly did they plan to ask her? Was it about what happened on the plane? Perhaps if she answered their questions, they might answer her own in return. Either way, she still couldn’t move, so it wasn’t like she could do anything else but cooperate right now. “…Alright.” She agrees at last.

QUESTION ONE

Luxuria leans over the Doctor’s shoulder, reading from the clipboard. “First question! We just need your name, age, and pronouns! You that, right? We already have it on file, but we wanna ask you, too!!”

Seriously? If they already knew the answer, why would they have to bother asking? She frowned, but sighed and answered anyway. “…Yes, of course I . My name is Nayeli. I’m 21. She/her.”

QUESTION TWO

”Number two! Hm…” The girl continues on, reaching to pull the clipboard closer to her as she reads the next question. “Tell us about your talent! What is it, any fun details? Fun facts!”

Her talent? Of course they would ask about that. She thought she would be done having to explain it when the Hope’s Peak event had ended. “Former Ultimate Lion Tamer.” She says at last, “I’m sure you can guess, I tame lions—a lion, specifically. His name is Kanza, and he is trained to be by my side at all times.” Except for this one, clearly.

QUESTION THREE

”That will do, dear.” The Doctor speaks up, pulling the clipboard from Luxuria’s hand as she frowned. It was them who asked the next question, turning to her. "Speaking of talents...you were formerly a Hope's Peak Academy student, weren't you? Surely you must have some opinion on the school, since you went out of your way to attend that event. Was it loyalty, I wonder?"

“Yes, I was.” She nods. Inwardly she groaned at the mention of that school, though she did nothing to show it in her neutral expression. Her opinion on it? Of course she had one, deep down. But that wasn’t the reason she had gone to the event. It wasn’t loyalty, nostalgia, or any sort of feeling for the school that caused her to come all this way. Still, she responded; “…That place…gave me what I needed to focus solely on strengthening my talent. I was able to truly grow into my role because of it.”

After she gives her answer, Luxuria speaks up. “Is that all Luxuria gets for this one? Can she get more for the next one?” She asks. The Doctor is quick to answer, “No. Kindly shut up.” They say, and she has to fight to keep the grimace off her face. Luxuria, however, only stares at the Doctor before she smiles and nods. “Okay, Doctor!”

QUESTION FOUR

The Doctor’s attention returns to her. “And what about your values, if I may ask?” She catches the change in their demeanor, seeming far more interested in this question than any of the others. “What matters to you most—a person? An object of significance, perhaps? What would you do for it?”

Something in her yearns to retract herself from this situation, to get up and leave. Though seeing as she couldn’t move at all, the chances of that weren’t looking very promising. Nonetheless, she finds she hates that curious gaze. She turns her face away, once again staring up at the ceiling as she considers her answer.

What was it that mattered most to her? Her father? No, not quite. Her talent? Not at all. If not either of those, then Kanza? Maybe. Another answer appeared in her head then; not something physical, but the thing she had worked tirelessly for everyday of her life. “…Success. Perfection. That’s what matters more than anything…I’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”

QUESTION FIVE

“What of yourself?” To her silent relief, the Doctor’s interest is gone again, and she looks back at them as they continue. “How much do you believe you are worth, personally, and how willing are you to prove it?”

Herself? She takes a second to answer, though it comes easier than the last one. “I’m worth…everything.” She says. It’s something her father had told her many times before. Nayeli, who was the star of his show, the most important act—beauty, power, talent. When paired with Kanza, she was a sight that was never to be ignored. Everything about her was to be marveled at. To be ired, adored, valued. “Every moment I’m alive is one I spend proving so.”

QUESTION SIX

They write something on their clipboard, their eyes moving to Luxuria once before landing back on her again. “Now, it only feels appropriate to ask, seeing as you’ll be with us a while – would you happen to have any particular medical or general accommodations you’d like us to keep in mind for you? Best speak up now, dear.”

Again, the pet name irks her, though it doesn’t show on her face this time around. And what did they mean that she would be with them for a while? As far as she could tell, she wasn’t hurt, so even if this was a hospital there was no reason for them to keep her here. Though, with these questions, her doubt of this being a hospital had grown tremendously. She frowns. There’s only one ‘accomodation’ she could think of. “…my lion. Where is he? I need him with me at all times.” She is firmer about this than any of her other answers. Because, of course, what is a lion tamer with no lion?

The Doctor goes back to their clipboard, writing. It's a few moments of silence before they look up at her again. “Well then, looks like that’s all. Thank you for your compliance.” They say, now turning to Luxuria. Both of you. You may speak now, dear, but do keep it brief.” The girl herself beams, cheering “Yay!” and she wants to roll her eyes when she looks at her. Her attention returns to the Doctor. “What are we supposed to do next?”

“You may stay where you are,” they tell her, standing. She watches tensely—or as tense as she can be right now—as they leave her side, vanishing somewhere outside of the curtains that block her view. While she can’t see them anymore, she can hear something metal being picked up. Or placed, she can’t tell. The only one able to see what is happening on the other side of the curtains is Luxuria, who peeks around it and giggles. The girl turns back to her with a grin, “Oh, this part is fun. We’re almost done! Aren't you excited?” She whispers, and part of her wants to answer that No, she is not excited for whatever…this is. But Luxuria continues. “You should come and talk to Luxuria again soon—“

The Doctor returns to their chair, moving closer to her. Far closer than she would like, she thinks. What’s more concerning to her, though, is the syringe in their hand, filled with something she can’t quite make out. They are still moving closer, and the realization of what they intended to do dawned on her. “Try not to move too much. I’ll be quick.”

She wants to move. She wants to squirm, to push herself away. She would do so, if she could, but in the end she only ends up awkwardly flexing her hands and turning her head away, unable to move more than that. The Doctor, unyielding to her displeasure, takes her arm and moves her sleeve out of their way. True to their word, they didn’t take long to inject her with whatever was in the syringe. When finished, they retract the needle as Luxuria claps.

Within moments, she feels the fuzzy cloud of tiredness begin to return to her. She squints, sluggishly turning her head from side-to-side in a futile attempt to shake it away. The two of them continue to hover over her, and she musters up a scowl. “Just a little something for later. Don’t worry about a thing.” The Doctor tells her, and she thinks she wants to tell them where to stick that syringe next.

She doesn’t. Even if she tried, the cloud over her consciousness was growing, and she found it hard to say anything at all as her vision begins to blur once more.

“Sweet dreams.” Says the Doctor, and she is far too tired to glare at them before Luxuria’s face crowds her sight, “Good night!” The girl waves.

Finally, despite all her efforts to keep herself awake, Nayeli’s mind sinks deeper into fogginess. Her eyes slid shut.

Good night.

1. What is your name and preferred pronouns?

Rune, He/Him

2. What timezone are you in?

PST

3. What does your OC look like? Visual references such as art or picrews are allowed, as well as written descriptions. No AI art!

4. Do you have any triggers or discomforts? If you’re uncomfortable sharing this publicly, you’re free to DM us.

Nuh uh :sunglasses:

5. During Capricious Bounty, your OC may die at any given moment. Do you understand that death or harm may come to your character by applying them to this killing game?

Yes🙂‍ :arrow_up_down:

6. Anything else we should know?

Hi C & Hi husband :heart_eyes:

Cover art by Min