((Warning: Contains traumatized characters and other content that should be warned for. We will attempt to start keeping up-to-date specific warning list soon))
The room probably thinks that they will think that the hexagon in front of them is too obvious and will go to the one to the left, so the correct hexagon is almost certainly the one in front of them.
The floor buzzes below their feet. In front of them, it flashes sharply between several glaring shades of bright red and blue, shifting into each other and snapping back into rigid hexagons. The noise is joined by a low whining buzz, and the chords start to layer more intensely over each other.
Thorn also stumbles backward as soon as she feels him moving, trying to both keep out of his way and not unbalance him. (She wants to help him cover his ears, to block out more noise, but she can't do that and everything else--)
And his foot comes down on something that isn't the floor and he tries to balance but no shouldn't move his hands and oh that was Thorn and now he's falling and Thorn is too --
Thorn thinks rapidly, picturing the room. The tile they were on before is there, the incorrect tile is there, the remaining possible one is -- there.
She twists, changing the angle of their fall so they land on that one instead of one they had ruled out, half pushing off the floor before crashing back down on it, half-pinned by -- her teammate.
She reaches up to help cover his ears, just in case, and -- tries to breathe.
But then she takes a conscious deep breath, focusing on what she knows (who this is), rather than what she does not (most everything about what is currently going on around them), and relaxes some of the pressure she has been exerting on his hand and ears.
A great deal of tension drains out of her when she can move properly (leaving her still very tense but less frozen). She sits up (pulling the rest of herself into the correct hexagon in the process), and feels around cautiously until she finds him.
He starts to sit up, pausing when Thorn reaches for his shoulder, but continues when he realizes she is helping and talking to him, and pulls himself into a ball to leave more room. Not for any other reason.
He finds her foot with his, and taps back 'yes, u?' and after a moment, 'sry'.
Eventually, the trail they have been following ends against a wall. When they step into the final hexagon, the path they followed flashes once, and then the whole pattern -- the sounds and lights, the color scale they had painstakingly worked out, the hexagons themselves -- changes.
This one is harder, but they have enough clues about the overall patterns -- the incentives and disincentives (primarily the latter), the directional scaling of the colors, the tile outlines -- to get through it without major incident.
Except for when Thorn stops, suddenly, fairly near what they think is the end, and hisses out something incoherent. 'hot cold patterns under feet you?' she taps out, when she manages to collect herself enough.
When she stops, he turns to look at her, as quickly as he can without risking unbalancing her. After she taps her message, he waits to feel whether the floor's temperature changes. When it doesn't, he taps back 'no. can i help?'
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He carefully takes a step forward.
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There is neither light nor sound, for her, but she can feel the floor--
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Steve flinches and takes a step back.
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She twists, changing the angle of their fall so they land on that one instead of one they had ruled out, half pushing off the floor before crashing back down on it, half-pinned by -- her teammate.
She reaches up to help cover his ears, just in case, and -- tries to breathe.
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He starts moving away but her hands on his ears are shaking moving maybe would startle worse.
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But then she takes a conscious deep breath, focusing on what she knows (who this is), rather than what she does not (most everything about what is currently going on around them), and relaxes some of the pressure she has been exerting on his hand and ears.
"Go ahead," she says aloud.
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And he's pretty sure Thorn said it was okay to move? He cautiously rolls to stop pinning her, careful to stay on the hexagon.
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'u ok?'
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He finds her foot with his, and taps back 'yes, u?' and after a moment, 'sry'.
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'ish' she taps back. She pauses, lightly feeling out more of his positioning, and then adds 'want hug?'
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After a few moments, he starts to tap back 'yes? if want. dont have to.'
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He is at the 'h' when she hugs him.
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Thorn makes an unsurprised-but-unhappy face at the rest of the message.
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She's okay-ish. Still shaking, but maybe less? Okay enough to still want to hug him, apparently.
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After a while, she takes a deep breath and taps out: 'sorry i cant help more'
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He looks around, although only as far as he can see without moving his head, then taps back quickly and slightly more emphatically 'bc your help, less noise griner light, progress.'
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'still wish could more' she taps back eventually. Then, after thinking for a little longer, she hugs him more tightly (the shaking is continuing to fade), and adds 'will difficult but we can solve w teamwork'
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After a little while they get up and start figuring out the rest of the puzzle.
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This one is harder, but they have enough clues about the overall patterns -- the incentives and disincentives (primarily the latter), the directional scaling of the colors, the tile outlines -- to get through it without major incident.
Except for when Thorn stops, suddenly, fairly near what they think is the end, and hisses out something incoherent. 'hot cold patterns under feet you?' she taps out, when she manages to collect herself enough.
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'keep eye on me' thoughtful pause. 'not much else. distract, maybe?'
Longer pause. 'we need to get out of here'
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