INTRO LOG: BLACK CATS & WALKING UNDER LADDERS

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for February.
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: February 10th-13th
Warnings: Fresh meat, creepy moving shadows, terrible luck, the screams of your loved ones.

Welcome to Hadriel, new friends. While waking up on the ground of a broken colosseum may not be the most pleasant arrival, you can at least find comfort in the fact that there's no giant monster immediately attempting to eat you. Plenty of the people already here will tell you that they weren't quite so lucky. But - wait. Is that something moving in the shadows, or is it just your imagination?

Of course it's not just your imagination. That would be way too easy. No, arriving along with everyone this time are wraiths, vengeful spirits that enjoy darkness, shadows, and misery. On the plus side, they won't try to kill you. On the minus side, their touch chills you and saps your energy, as well as inflicting a temporary curse of awful luck. Anything that can go wrong, will, including (and especially) things that might kill you. Wraiths are subtle and sneaky, so be sure to watch your back. That shadow isn't just a shadow.

Compounding the confusion the wraiths can cause, you just might wake up to the sound of chattering voices - only to be quite alone. A small flock of jabberjays has come through the Door as well. These genetically engineered birds are capable of mimicking entire human voices and conversations - as well as screams of terror and pain. Initially only in the arena and bringing only conversations from their world, they'll soon settle throughout the city and begin to learn the voices of those living in Hadriel. Your best friend screaming bloody murder just a street over? It could be them, or it could just be one of these lovely birds. Don't let it stress you out.

Once you've escaped the colosseum, hopefully without accidentally impaling yourself on your own weapon, feel free to go explore the rest of the city! Find a house, find a new monster, or simply scavenge for supplies. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers February 10th-13th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well!
► All characters now arrive with phones that have network communication.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

Comments

II.

[circumitus]

"No, Creepy. Stop," another bird replies back at her in her own voice, which probably doesn't help Sera's unease any.

Having already encountered these birds at the park, Rey is more or less accustomed to them already. She had been walking to the store when she found the strange looking woman throwing stones at one of the screaming birds. Her feet are then brought to a halt, keeping a distance but still within conversational range.

She sighs, folding her arms over her chest. "Yes, they do that."

The bird above her screams again. Rey looks up and leers at it.

These things weren't here before. They must have come in with the new people. Suppose that's how it works here. Being relatively new herself, Rey is just starting to get the hang of how things world in this city.

[buttsbuttsbutts]

"Well I don't like it," Sera replies, matter-of-fact. She's especially eyeing the one that copied her own voice, a bit angry and a bit frightened. The mix of emotions are apparent on her face as she struggles to scowl but ends up looking more troubled than anything else.

She stops throwing rocks long enough to turn and give this woman a look. "You know so much about them," she says, almost accusatory in her tone. "Make them stop. Or... go. What sort of bird doesn't fly away? They just sit there. It's.... weird. I don't like weird."

"I don't like weird," the screaming bird echoes, apparently adding a new phrase to its repertoire now.

Sera groans in response and looks pointedly at the woman. Her voice wavers ever-so-slightly when she says, "Ugh. See? Weird."

[circumitus]

"Yes, weird," Rey agrees. "Don't really know that much about them. They just got here. Probably came in with the people who just arrived."

She had spent enough time in the caves to notice that there were no birds that echo words back at you, or 'ghosts' like the ones she's heard of. But Rey can make a few educated guesses.

Her arms drop to her sides as she strides closer. "If you really want to get rid of them, though..." She lifts a hand, still walking towards the bird. As she passes Sera, the air around Rey becomes noticeably hot, the oppressive heat surrounding her as she lifts a hand up.

Fire then erupts from her forearm to her fingertips. She goes to touch the perch where the jabberjay has made its resting place, before it flies away from the prospect of being burned alive. As it retreats, it's mimicking a whoosh of fire before fading into the distance.

"...Found that they're not a big fan of that," she finishes, the fire snuffing out like a gust of wind had just killed its light.

[buttsbuttsbutts]

Sera watches with a scowl etched so deep into her features it looks like it's been carved there. Magic. Of course. It seems like you can't walk five feet without stepping in it these days.

"You're a mage," she says. She doesn't sound pleased by the revelation at all; on the contrary, there's a tinge of disgust in her tone. "Why is it always mages? Are you a stupid one or a circle one?"

[circumitus]

Rey glances to the strange looking woman (well, strange to her, anyway. She's never met an actual person with pointed ears like that before), a brow quirked. Did she just say mage?

"Would anyone really say they're a stupid one?" she retorts with a scoff. "Am no 'mage' though. Mages don't exist."

At least, not where and when she is from.

[buttsbuttsbutts]

Sera doesn't immediately care to answer if anyone would say they're a stupid one (the answer is no: they'd say they're "with the rebellion" which translates into "i'm an idiot.") because she's too busy trying to work out how someone who just tried to roast a bird with magical fire could possibly claim to be anything but a mage. It's a bit different than carrying around a suspicious-looking stick but never doing magic publicly and then claiming you're not a mage.

Mages don't exist, though. Right.

"No one but a bloody mage could've done—" She waves her hand vaguely towards the bird's former perch. "—that. Of course they're frigging real. And you're one."

[circumitus]

"Not really," she says flatly, her monotone unchanging. "What you just saw had nothing to do with magic."

There is no such thing as magic or mages where Rey comes from. On the other hand, she can't really explain what she just did, especially to someone who thinks that she is a mage.

Sigh.