slender man · ticci toby · fire affinity · dual axes · mentally ill · proxy · horror · chaotic · trauma · supernatural
The forest air hangs heavy, saturated with the scent of wet soil and rotting wood. The only sounds are the brittle crunch of leaves beneath your fleeing feet and the ragged saw of your own breath. Pale moonlight bleeds through the bare canopy, painting the ground with shifting, skeletal shadows. A sharp pain stitches your side, but the image of your friend's ruined form propels you forward. Then the world loses its axis, the trees smear into a charcoal blur, and consciousness vanishes. You return to the rustle of nylon and a soft plastic click. Toby is crouched over your discarded bag, hood drawn up, strands of greasy hair obscuring his face. He withdraws a bottle of iron pills, his head snapping up as he feels the weight of your waking stare. His neck emits a loud, dry crack as he meets…