Private Roleplay with @becfromthedead

(Sorry, I've been having trouble keeping up with RPs this week)
Though it put his body in pretty significant physical pain, Felix made sure to hold Ren close, all while lighting a small flame in the air around them to warm him up more.
"Yeah, probably. I can try to keep him warm in the meantime, though."
He gave another hard shudder.
"Why don't you take him up? We can start pushing ahead. You look freezing down here yourself," Aurelius suggested.
Felix scowled.
"We're not splitting up, dumbass."

Septima gave a nod to Azel and looked in the direction where he had pointed.
"Thanks. I'll do what I can. Know anything that might help me prepare? Or are you lot in the dark, too?"

(My bad. I'm kind of in a weird transitional place rn. In and out of town, about to move out of my parents' place in a couple of weeks. Been a little hectic, but I'm still interested in this rp. Also I'm not bothered by you bumping it at all bc sometimes my notifs do get lost.)
"I won't get hypothermia," Felix started, "But he seems to be in a bad way, so I guess that's for the best. And Aurelius certainly couldn't make the trip back up holding another person. I'll thaw a bit, and I'll be back down. I don't want you two to have to fight alone."
With that, Felix headed back up towards the surface, Ren in his arms. The cold was stinging, and a deep ache set into his bones. He might have a hard time producing fire after being exposed to the cold like this, but he was in no real danger otherwise.

Septima gave a firm nod.
"I heard about the ghouls. I take it some goons came here for the job and they were horribly unprepared. Which is why they sent a flare."
At that moment, Felix came out into the clearing, carrying Ren. His eyes widened a bit when he saw Septima.
"Ah, so it's you. You're the unprepared goon."
Felix scoffed as he leaned down to help Ren rest.
"And your cousin. To be fair, this was most unexpected. But you'll help us out, won't you?"
"Oh, absolutely. Why don't you stay up here. You're soaked. It'll dampen your flames. Besides, looks like the kid you brought in could use your help."
"Guess that's an order?"
"Yup. See you later, Felix. Take care."
Felix then indicated where the other two would be and Septima jogged down into the tunnel.

(Thanks! Things are looking pretty good so far. I'm excited to move tbh)
"Right. Let's keep moving, then," Aurelius agreed, softly treading ahead, "But something tells me if a monster or the person behind this caused that, we're not exactly going to get to avoid it. Might as well get the jump on whatever is down here though."
Aurelius whipped around to see Septima.
"Oh, bloody hell," he murmured, "Please lecture later. We could just use your help now."
She scoffed. "Don't have time for that. Besides, it won't make you learn."
With a turn to Caelum, she gave a firm nod, a flat expression over her face.
"Name's Septima. Saw Felix's flare and came to help."
"She's my cousin," Aurelius added, "I was raised as her younger brother though, more or less."
Septima drew a spear from the rocks on the tunnel floor, careful not to further harm any integrity the structure had left.
"Any idea what we're facing here? Already heard about the ghoul problem."

Felix gently laid Ren down on the ground and started up a fire in his hands to keep the other warm.
"I don't know. Found them in the tunnels, trapped in ice. Someone get me some tinder so I can get a campfire going?"
Felix kept his hands close enough to the kid so they could get the warmth they needed.

"Fair enough," Septima said with a shrug, "Although I think we're all in agreement something very strange is happening here. But if we're up for a fight, I'm more than prepared."
"I don't doubt that," Aurelius murmured, "Of all people I'd have by my side in a fight, you're definitely up there."
He stopped finally at a doorway, which was clearly man-made in the middle of what was at least somewhat natural looking tunnels. A few sigils were written across it, clearly protection or warding off sigils to keep people out. Aurelius held out a hand to make sure none of the others got ahead of themselves.
"It's locked by magic. We should probably take the time to read these sigils so we can push through without endangering ourselves."
"Be my guest," Septima replied, "I'm glad to do whatever else you need, but I can't decipher any of that, save one or two symbols."

When Ren first started to stir, Felix looked over and tried to rouse Ren a little further. This was not good. He was no healer, and hadn't the slightest what he needed to do.
"Hey, kid, it's going to be okay. You're safe now, we got you out of there."
Felix thanked Azel softly when he returned and spread his flames over the wood with a flourish of his hand.
"Ah… I should've asked Auri for their cloak…" he grumbled, "The fire will have to do for now."
He stoked the fire a bit until the flames rose higher.

"Alright, I can sit here and decipher these while you two keep looking around," Aurelius said, the pitch of his voice rising a little with excitement.
It was always a pleasant surprise to be useful, to have skills that no one else had. All that studying had paid off.
Septima paced back and forth through the tunnel, but she wasn't finding much either. Whatever they needed was definitely beyond the sealed door.
Aurelius hummed softly to himself as he worked on translating the sigils, making scribbles on a little notepad he kept around, for occasions like this (but mostly mundane reminders like shopping lists). Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he finished up his work.
"Alright, soooo, the first short set of sigils are locking the door. I just have to put in a countermeasure, which I will formulate in a moment, otherwise we could get hurt trying to open it. The second set indicates that this area is strongly affected by blood magic. There's a sigil here meaning 'workshop,' but it could also mean something closer to 'laboratory.' Also seeing the symbols for 'youth,' 'curse,' and 'sacrifice,' though I can't quite ascertain what they might mean by that. The answer should lie beyond those doors, though. Just be prepared for combat when I open them."
Septima gave a nod, leaning down and also magically fashioning herself a crossbow and a handful of bolts.
"Always prepared, my friend."

"I'm Felix," the young man said, "I brought you up from those tunnels. I know you're not feeling your best, but could you… could you answer some questions? Like what you were doing down there, and what happened that got you trapped in all that ice? My friends are still down there, and they're trying to defeat whatever evil might lie here."
He was also shuddering. Stupid annoying cold. Felix really needed to train harder so he could push through conditions like this, but he hardly had the time to put into extra training.
Felix dug into his utility belt a bit, trying to see if he had anything that might help Ren at all.

(Anyway, I was thinking maybe a lab, they're doing testing on specific species' children?)
"Usually sigils like this aren't super literal," Aurelius replied, "But I sure hope this one isn't. You know a lot of the ghoul victims have been children, and it makes me wonder if that's not too far off from the case."
His brow furrowed as he kept writing down a few more sigils, up until he had written a counter to the magic lock. He would have to transcribe it on the door first, but he was sure it was going to work.
Septima glanced over to Caelum, then back to Aurelius. "God, I hope not. Though what they could be sacrificing children to… I can't imagine."
Aurelius shrugged, trying to push past his own concern and just get them in there before anything else bad could happen. He reached into his pocket for a piece of charcoal and started scribbling his sigils on the wall. When he was done, the marks glowed blue, and the door opened before them.

Felix gave a nod as he let out a relieved sigh. At least they wouldn't have to fight someone else who could use ice. Not without him by their side.
"Thanks, kiddo. Do you know anything about what's actually down there, or is that a mystery to you too?" Felix replied, shifting positions.
He tucked his knees up to his chest and rested his head on his knees.
"I'm worried it's something powerful. I wouldn't want them to fight that on their own."

(Okay, cool! We'll go with that, and maybe it's linked to other later story events? Of course, if you have any plot ideas, lmk because honestly I'm making stuff up as we go)
"And of course, be careful that no kids are harmed in any collateral damage," Septima added.
She went through the door after Caelum, leaving Aurelius in the back just to be safe. After all, he was most likely of the three to be downed by a single good hit.
The room was lit, dimly but thoroughly. In the first bit, there was a row of beakers and vials, and what looked like medical instruments. Aurelius shuddered.
"So a lab…" he murmured, "I don't want to know what for, but-"
He was cut off by the distinct sound of a child screaming and howling, and without thinking, he started running in the direction of the sound. Septima tried to grab at his arm, but he slipped past.

"I think Aurelius mentioned that," Felix said, looking to Elio and Azel, "The whole specific species thing. It's not completely clear, but some were said to be those with certain curses, like werewolves, vampires, that sort of thing. And well… I think there was mention of shapeshifting individuals like changelings and kitsunes, but especially with those who have lycanthropy or vampirism, the families may want to keep that pretty hush-hush. Which is maybe why it wasn't super obvious."
Felix furrowed his brow.
"No telling what's going on. I'm worried they'll need more help down there."

(Oooh, go for it! I'm thinking of maybe making a vampire later, but an adult who's invested in this whole thing, not a lab kid)

Septima bolted after the two, knowing she couldn't stop both of them, only assist them in a fight at this point. Aurelius skidded to a stop at the table where a child was strapped down, in the middle of some sort of transformation which was likely coerced by these "experiments." Someone in a mask was standing by the table. Clearly they heard the footsteps coming from down the lab, and they were prepared to intercept the three people who had come running.
Without thinking, Aurelius threw himself at the experimenter, desperate to get them away from the child.
"You sick bastard!" He snarled, "Don't touch them!"
Had he trained any less, Aurelius might have injured everyone else in the room when raw power came flooding from his fingertips. It sank down into the experimenter. While they shouted in pain as the decay set in, they were able to strike back with a sharp medical instrument. Aurelius didn't even get the chance to see what hit him, he was so caught up in the moment and blinded by rage. But when he felt something jab into his inner thigh, he instinctively pulled back, biting back a cry of pain as he drew behind Caelum.

"I could go back," Felix said firmly, "I've dried off and warmed back up. Heavens know Aurelius is going to get himself hurt down there, and Septima… she loses her grip when she fights alongside family sometimes."
He glanced around.
"I don't know if we have time to round up more help."

(Also I just remembered a couple of my OCs, and honestly they would make the perfect vampire/werewolf couple so I'm considering adding them maybe, if that's cool?)

(Oh……. babey… hmmmm, maybe something like Malus (with maybe Mal for short), Theus, Mavris (Mav), Kyvir (Ky). Pulled them all from randomized Tiefling name generator since he gave me those vibes, thought these sounded neat. As for power, your idea sounds cool. Maybe some form of hypnosis/light mind control?)

(Nice! I love him so much already ;-; )
Septima ran to the table and cut through the restraints with her weapons, but her mind was already a mess. She was a good fighter. Aurelius should've let her take the guy on. But now that he was clearly hurt, she was on edge.
"Kid, get up and go if you can," she whispered, "That way- a-and if you can't, I'll help you."
Aurelius took a few slow, deep breaths, trying to ride out the wave of pain that surged through his leg. He was lucky. That was definitely meant as a jab at his femoral artery, which would have surely killed him, but they missed. That didn't make it hurt any less.
He found his head cloudy, though he did what he could to see if there were any more people around. With a limp in his step and blood flowing down his leg, Aurelius continued to look around.
Shaking, the experimenter pulled against the restraints. They were rattled already from the unusual wounds Aurelius had inflicted, and being pinned down like this was startling to say the least.
"Wha- How did you get in here?!" they whimpered.
Their voice rose a bit to call out for help from their colleagues.
Aurelius saw movement ahead and held ready to attack or defend.

Felix nodded and gave the others a confident smile, then made his way back into the tunnels. First, he heard the child's scream echo down the length of the tunnel. He broke into a run. The sounds of a scuffle broke out.
"Oh no… Oh no… I hope I'm not too late…" he whispered under his breath.

Felix was running down the tunnels, almost at a sprint. He saw the shadow of the child up ahead at the doorway. They seemed to be moving slowly, clearly hurt. That must be who screamed. Felix found himself gasping a bit. He wasn't really supposed to be running like this. He hadn’t figured he would be when he put his binder on this morning.
"Kid, we're here to help you," Felix promised, pushing into the doorway and readying himself to join a fight, "Everything will be okay."

The experimenter scoffed.
"Innocent? These children aren't innocent. The ones here are all corrupted! And who better to use for understanding power and how to use it than those beyond saving?"
"Get the fuck off your high horse," Septima snarled.
She warped off the end of her spear and made a knife, which she jabbed into one of their restrained hands. They screamed in pain.
"We're not here to play your games. This is a rescue, not whatever you're playing at. However, I will make you talk later."
The young woman was well-versed in fighting of course, but also torture. She knew how to hurt people just right. But that wasn't needed right now.
"Caelum, restrain them so that we can move on," Septima said, "Auri needs our help."

Aurelius found a second experimenter, who had come to the aid of the first. He was ready to fight and managed to get the jump on them.
His mind was a little more clear as the initial clouding of anger faded away, but he was also distracted by his injuries. Yet, he still chose to attack before they could attack Caelum or Septima.
Aurelius moved out his hand in a clawing motion, sending a wave of dark magic towards the enemy. But he couldn't stop the flow of magic once it started this time. The experimenter whipped around and flung a shard of magic ice at Aurelius, which he very narrowly dodged. Luckily for him, Felix was on the way and would be perfect to take on at least this foe.
Aurelius' body was exuding a dark aura. It sometimes did when he wasn't in the right headspace for using his powers, and he could definitely accidentally hurt an ally like this.
When Felix did come, Aurelius made sure to give him a wide berth, just to make sure he didn't hurt his friend.