Chapter Text
You picked silently at your wooden joints as you listened to the clatter of plates and discussion of survivors around you. You were created specifically for this ‘game’ they all play, which none of them seem particularly excited for. Why do they play then, you had asked? All anyone responded with was “the prize.” Sounded boring. You squeezed the side of one of your knuckles and flexed the finger gently, feeling the wood slide against itself seamlessly. Eventually you realized the table had fallen to silence, and the scraping of chairs as the survivors left surrounded you. They had left the table in disarray as always. You looked down at your own place, still perfectly clean and untainted. Eating wasn’t necessary for a puppet, after all.
That’s all you were to them. An odd puppet. You had no reason for being here like they did. ‘Can we trust the puppet?’ you often heard tossed around the table. As far as any of you knew, you were a spy for the hunters. Even you were in the dark about your purpose. All you knew is that you were a useful distraction. Hunters were drawn to your voice on the rare occasions you used it. Even a recording could be hypnotic.
You stood up silently and started clearing the table. It bothered you to leave a mess. You ignored the footsteps behind you until you heard someone else picking up plates as well. You glanced up at the Seer, then back down at the plates. He somewhat tolerated your presence in comparison to everyone else. His name was… Eli, you think. He didn’t like you, just found you intriguing. He was probably here to study you.
“Can I help you?” Eli jumped slightly at the sound of your voice, looking up at you with veiled eyes.
“...Not really.” You both continued cleaning in silence. You walked over to take plates out of the Seer’s arms, and he followed you as you took them to the kitchen. “...Actually.” He lightly took your arm. “I’ll clean those. I want you to look at something for me, if you can.” You turned to face him, your blank face somehow conveying a look of distrust. Eli raises his hands slightly. “It’s nothing too bad. I just… want to test something.” He smiles awkwardly and grabs your arm again, leading you out of the kitchen.
He stopped in front of a hallway and pointed down it. It was darker than the rest of the manor, and you weren’t even sure how Eli had found this place. He had taken you through at least two secret passages to get here. You started fidgeting with the joints on your fingers again as he explained.
“My friend found this place, but neither of us can see what’s in there. I don’t want to risk carrying a light in there, and you can see in the dark silently. I’m not sure how you see without eyes, but I know you can.” You put your hands on your hips.
“An owl can’t see in the dark?”
“It’s that dark. Lacks all light. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, obviously, I can’t force you to do anything. Just. Um.” Eli puts his hands together and crouches slightly. “Please? It might grant an advantage in the game, and gods know we need it.” You gaze down the hallway. Sure enough, you could discern shapes in the darkness easily.
“How do I know you’re not just setting me up to get punished?”
“I… guess you don’t. Like I said, you don’t have to go. I just don’t know who else could go in without being detected.” You sigh silently, looking between Eli and the hallway. He seemed earnest enough. You stepped over the threshold, and the Seer grinned. “Thank you! I’ll um… come back when I’m done with the dishes, yeah?” You wave a hand over your shoulder as you continue down the hall without a word. Your wooden feet clicked lightly against the floor, looking around at all the doors. All of them had labels, most of which were pretty generic. You decided not to bother yourself with looking and opened a door at random. The room here was just as dark as the hall you just left, and you closed the door silently behind you. It was small and narrow, almost like a closet. There was another door directly across from the first one, which you went through without hesitation. As soon as you closed the door behind you, you stopped and realized that maybe you should have been a bit more cautious with your exploration.
The items in the room were vaguely outlined with a dim red light, but you could discern them just fine without it. A table in the middle of the room had pans of solution in them, and photos on clothespins were strung all around the room. Shelves had boxes carefully stored and sorted in them, and you quickly hid behind one. A long coat with ornate gold trim was hanging on a hook by the door, and a sword leaned lightly against the wall next to it. You glanced over the boxes at the man in the back of the room, standing over a desk and apparently immersed in his work. He was of average height with a willowy build. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows as he carefully treated photos with various solutions and hung them up to dry. The red light reflected pink off his hair, and his vest looked black in the lighting. You knew for a fact it was blue, with gold trim matching the coat. You already knew who this man was, even before he turned around and pierced the dim light with glistening blue eyes.
“Who’s there…? I don’t want a scuffle in my darkroom. Come out and I’ll be gentle when I get rid of you.” You glanced at the sword against the wall. This man couldn’t do anything to you at the moment. You were essentially cornered, though. The hunters were strong. He could overpower you and take the sword back if you took it, or cut you off as you went to grab it, or grab you before you opened the door, or…
You slowly stepped out from your hiding place. It was all you could do. The room was too small to escape properly, even assuming the hunter would value the solutions on the table standing between you both more than your blood. The hunter’s facial expression softened slightly.
“Ah. (Y/N). I’m sure you’ve already figured out that you’re not supposed to be in this room. How’d you get back here?” The hunter elegantly began to close the distance between the two of you as you backed closer to the door.
“Joseph Desaulnier. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.” You said the hunter’s name with as much venom as you could muster, but even then your voice was too delicate to be intimidating. You decided to feign ignorance. Pretend you got here by accident. After all, it was somewhat true. You didn’t plan on being here. The hunter rolled his sleeves back down to his wrists and reached past you. You braced yourself for some sort of physical reprimand, but he simply grabbed his coat off the hook on the wall and carefully put it back on. His eyes scanned you carefully as he tied his cravat, and your wooden hand edged towards the doorknob. Joseph’s eyes glinted when he noticed.
“Scared?”
“...”
“I suppose that is reasonable.” He grabbed your upper arm gently with one hand and opened the door with the other. After opening the door, he grabbed his sword. “Come with me. Do be a doll and close the door behind you, as well.” The hunter chuckled softly at his own terrible joke as he strode past you. You grabbed the door and closed it as ordered, the clawed thumb pressed tightly into your shoulder joint intimidating you too much to try and struggle free. He had you open and close two more doors before you both ended up in a room with dim blue lighting. The hunter leaned his sword against the wall again and strode over to a few lamps. He turned them on, flooding the room with a bright light. You imagined if you weren’t a puppet and he did this with you as close to the lamps as you were, you’d have been temporarily blinded. Joseph released your arm, and you stumbled backwards. “Do relax, (Y/N). I have no intention of hurting you. At the moment.” He adjusted the lamps a little before he walked to the other side of the room, starting to drag around furniture. The hunter pulled a chair to the center of the circle of lights, then pulled a small table next to it. He gestured to the chair. “Sit.” You crossed your arms defiantly.
“Why should I? You left your sword by the door, idiot.” The hunter smiled delicately.
“My sword is of little use to me in the manor, but I guarantee you it will see its use in the field if you aren’t cooperative. Now, have a seat.” You uncrossed your arms and slowly made your way over to the armchair Joseph had set up for you, then carefully took a seat. It was somewhat comfortable. Not too soft, but not uncomfortably hard either. It was made of a light cream cloth that felt smooth to the touch and contrasted your darker colored clothing. You watched Joseph delicately place and adjust small props on the little table: things like a little tea set and small cat figurines. It was kind of cute, you conceded. Joseph took a few steps back and started framing you with his fingers.
“Are you… taking photos of me?”
“Of course.” A smile flitted across the Frenchman's face. “The photos I take of survivors in the field drip with energy, and the beauty of anguish is captured down to its finest details. However, I need something gentle to round out the portfolio. Placing death next to death… it’s beautiful, but it starts to look bland.” He lowered his hands, folding them behind his back elegantly. “Surely you understand.” You kicked your legs lightly against the chair.
“...Sure. I guess that's fine.” The hunter made a few more adjustments to the environment. “Let me guess, you play this game for your art?”
“Hm? I play for fun. I don’t have much to do otherwise.” He picked up a tripod with a camera on it and carefully moved it into position. “Having beautiful photo subjects is definitely a plus, though. Why do you play, (Y/N)?” You paused in your anxious kicking.
“...No reason. I’m just here, I guess.” The hunter strode over, checking to make sure the camera was lined up from your perspective and to make final adjustments.
“I see. There’s nothing wrong with that. Enjoy your time if you have no spoils to receive.” Joseph carefully brushed strands out of your blank face, examining your outfit closely. “Hm. What’s this?” Joseph delicately picked at a silver chain around your neck, and you slapped your hand over it.
“A locket. Hands off.” It was tucked into your shirt, close to where your heart would be if you had one.
“May I see?” He leaned over slightly to examine the chain carefully. You hesitated before pulling the chain, revealing a silver star-shaped locket. You opened it with your thumb, revealing a picture of a person with dark hair and a gentle smile. It resembled your form, though you were faceless in comparison to them. The photo held the energy that kept you alive. You had to sacrifice bits of it to your sentries around the arena to distract hunters, but they always came back to you, so you didn’t mind. You weren’t sure how you felt about Joseph seeing something like this, though. You started to regret taking it out. “Hm. Lovely portrait.” You quickly flipped the locket closed and tucked it back into your shirt.
“Thanks. It’s not going in your weird photo album, though.” The hunter laughed softly, patting your shoulder as he did.
“Of course not. Now then, are you comfortable?”
“Huh? What do you care?”
“When a subject is uncomfortable, you can tell in the photo. For you, it wouldn’t be your expression so much as your body language. Your body is stiff.” You shrugged.
“It’s made of wood. It’s always stiff.” Joseph gently placed both of his hands on your shoulders and pressed down gently.
“You’re tenser than usual.” You relaxed your shoulders in response to his touch, hoping it’d be enough to get him to let go and get on with it.
“Forgive me for being tense when a hunter is preparing me for a photo shoot, Desaulnier.” The hunter nods.
“Ah, yes. I suppose that is reasonable. Do try to take a more comfortable position for yourself, though.” Joseph finally left you alone, walking over to the camera and fine tuning it. You sighed and shifted your legs next to you in the chair, trying to get as comfortable as possible. You leaned heavily against the arm, and Joseph nodded approvingly. “Ready?”
“Sure, why not?” You spoke with a tinge of sarcasm. The hunter took a photo, then grabbed the negative from the camera. You absentmindedly shifted poses after he did, and a smile flicked across his face.
“Ah, we have a model. Do you want another?” You froze at the question. It was subconscious, as though you were used to being in photo shoots, but you couldn’t recall having been in one your entire life. While you hesitated to think about your answer and backstory, Joseph re-prepared the camera and took another photo.
“...Sure. Let’s just go all in at this point, I guess.” You slung your legs dramatically over the arm of the chair for another pose, allowing the hunter to take a third photo. It was admittedly kind of fun. He started throwing in compliments with each pose, oddly specific ones like ‘I love how this one creates a sense of movement in the composition,’ and ‘Your strong personality really shines through in this one. It’s lovely.’ That sort of thing. You almost forgot that he basically had you at swordpoint to take these pictures. Or that Eli would be waiting for you to get back so he could escort you safely back to the main part of the manor.
FUCK! Eli would be waiting for you to get back so he could escort you safely back to the main part of the manor! You slumped in the armchair, feigning tiredness. You actually lost track of how long you’ve been here, so you thought it’d be pretty convincing. The hunter indeed believed it, and walked over to you.
“Ah… I’ve kept you late, haven’t I? How rude of me, my apologies.” He carefully scooped you into his arms, tucking your head against his shoulder gently. “Here, allow me to escort you back. You said you were unsure of how you got here, yes?” You panicked internally as you nodded. You did say that. Damn. “Fuhuhuh~ poor thing. Thank you for being such a marvelous subject, (Y/N). If you do find yourself back in this area somehow, feel free to drop by again.”
“Mhm, sure.” You put as much tiredness into your voice as you could muster, trying to repress your shaking as he opened the door and left the hallway. Eli wasn’t there. Had he not finished the dishes yet, or did he just assume you were dead and escaped before he met the same fate? The manor didn’t have many windows, and those that existed were boarded, so you had no idea what time it was outside. You sank into the hunter’s delicate arms and felt soft silk against your flat wooden face. Being carried was kind of nice now that you thought about it. Way better than being tied to balloons. He should carry people more often, you thought to yourself.