"I was a soldier before there was a war, if you follow my meaning."

[atravellerwithabow]

Who: Nil & YOU MAYBE?
What: Nil, a predator by nature, is starting to feel a certain itch.
Where: City boundaries & not far outside
When: Middle of Feb, 11th-ish to 15th-ish.
Warnings: Nil is all but a sociopath and has certain attitudes about death that might disturb some characters/people. We can steer clear or I can tone it down, just let me know when you tag or hit me up on hardtostarboard/hardtostarboard#7737! Likewise if you're just not sure what he'll be like and would like to know more in advance :3

---

i. he was a killer, a thing that preyed, living on the things that lived

[Nil prowls the borders of the city like a caged animal testing the edge of its territory. At first, it hadn't been too bothersome a thing - a new place to explore, new things to discover - but as time has worn on he has found the construction of a cage not of his own design to be increasingly distasteful. The buildings were reminiscent of those areas so forbidden by the Nora and even the more superstitious of the Carja, but there was no mystery in them, and he felt the draw of the desert stretching out to the horizon more and more.

Nothing escapes his notice, and within days of fervent walking he could have easily drawn a map of the place from memory. Hadriel is a far cry from the raw, savage environments that he so often finds himself in either through accident or by seeking, but that isn't all.

There is no challenge here. His fingers itch on the curve of his bow and the hilt of his knife but the old adage holds true. If you kill people, there will be retribution.

That is simply the kind of attention that he does not need.

And so he walks, under one sun, or two, only truly venturing for cover when darkness falls and the chill bites against his skin. As the days pass by, his frustration only continues to compound in on itself, and those who become familiar with his path for one reason or another may begin to notice the occasional dead animal along it - struck with one arrow, then left either dead or dying in his wake.]

ii. unaided, alone, by virtue of his own strength and prowess

[Even the strange, unnatural fog of what he assumes to be some kind of cursed zone in a little-passed corner of this 'city' is beginning to look tempting. In the Nora's lands he had steered clear of them for a lack of interest in killing machines, but perhaps this would be different?

Day by day, he can spend hours, when he isn't pacing a trench around the city itself, simply looking into the fog. There is something wrong about it - something that pushes all the hair on the back of his neck into standing on end - but it begins to feel less threatening and more like a mystery to be solved.

Nil, truthfully, has never really been one for solving mysteries. He'll leave that to a certain red-haired partner of his, but such things often come along with other opportunities, and that is where his interest lies.]

iii. surviving triumphantly in a hostile environment where only the strong survive

[Now and then, he does find his way to the hot springs, which honestly seem to be the only place he ever actually behaves like a regular person. Finding him there is a far cry from his restless pacing routes or equally restless staring into the metaphorical foggy abyss. In the springs, he isn't shy about disrobing entirely and sinking into the hot water, making very little use of any changing rooms or facilities provided (you can take his clothes and weapons from his cold dead hands, Hadriel).

He might even venture to close his eyes, in this place, but the moment that someone comes too close they'll find his attention on them, a sharp grey gaze from barely-raised lids or the slightest cant of his head to give him a better view of them as they walk by.

However, his presence here is only now and then, and never for very long no matter how settled he might seem to those who notice him.]

Comments

iii. (cw: nudity, reference to sex)

[outofthefire]

[Laura loves the hot springs. there's nothing like this back home in Twin Peaks and she'd be lying if she didn't say that she enjoyed the opportunity to get naked in a socially acceptable way, even if it isn't the way she'd like best.

so when she arrives, she doesn't hesitate a moment to shed her jeans, tshirt, bra, and panties, leaving them in a little pile out in the open where she can see them.

there's someone else there, someone she's never met before, but she's not about to let that make her shy away. she's not that kind of girl]

Hi, there.

[atravellerwithabow]

[He can see the appeal, in the time that he's here. It's the reason he keeps coming back, even if he doesn't tend to stay all that long.

People coming and going isn't unusual and normally he pays them no mind. Nil isn't shy about his casual observation of the woman as she undresses - not staring, but certainly watching - but he did not, in fact, anticipate the greeting.]

And a good day to you.

[Day... evening? Morning? It's hard to tell anymore. That's not helping, either.]

[outofthefire]

[in contrast, Laura tends to stay in the hot springs until she feels as red as a cooked lobster. part of it is the freedom to be nude without consequence. part of it is simply that she's a sensualist. she likes to feel good and she tries to see no shame in that.

she looks him over as she sinks into the water across from him. not bad]

My name's Laura. What's yours?

[days and nights have all blended together. makes keeping Daytime Laura and Nighttime Laura separated difficult. she's definitely feeling more Nighttime Laura at the moment, though]

[atravellerwithabow]

Nil.

[To him, there's little sense in being ashamed of taking pleasure in the things that you enjoy. Unfortunately, what Nil takes pleasure in tends to be things that make other people uneasy. Being nude, though, is not something to be counted amongst one of those things.

Part of Nil's current problem with this place on the whole is the seemingly endless daylight. Sometimes he'll come here when night falls, just to sit in the hot water while steam billows up and thickens the air. Getting very little sleep is normal, at least.]

I don't get company here that often. People see someone already present and turn back the way they came.

i

[igniting]

[Aloy has been keeping an eye on Nil, though not so much out of a lack of trust. Nil has his own, self-appointed rules, and he follows them to the letter, from what she can tell. The truth is, even if she struggles with how to deal with him, she's a bit worried. He's been wearing a well-trod path throughout the city, and it's obvious enough to her that he's starting to go stir crazy. Still, that isn't something she really knows how to bring up, so she just tracks him. It's easy enough, considering that he's not trying to hide his trail, and the dead monsters and animals are a clear giveaway.

She finds one creature, something she couldn't possibly put a name to, only half dead. It's instinct to tug her spear free from her back and put it out of its misery with a quick, precisely aimed stab to the neck. Only then does she spot Nil not far away.]

Good hunting, Nil?

[atravellerwithabow]

You ought to work on your sense of humour.

[Was that an attempt at a joke, Aloy? It was a poor one, if that's the case.

It's as obvious to Nil as it is to Aloy that the confined nature of the city is beginning to take its toll, but Nil does not have the benefit of an outside perspective on his own mind and, as she sees, is doing absolutely nothing to conceal where his steps are taking him.]

You've been following me for hours, Aloy, and that's all you have to say?

[igniting]

Oh, good, so you noticed. This would be uncomfortable otherwise.

[It's a bit sarcastic, but everything she says is, so that shouldn't be a shock.]

Is there a reason you're cutting a swath through the local...

[She hesitates, prodding the mystery creature with her spear curiously.]

...population?

[atravellerwithabow]

[Not even the slightest shock. He has surely spent enough time in conversation with Aloy by now to understand that sarcasm is as much a part of her as her spear, and the soft scoffing sound he makes in response is more a reaction to the content, rather than the tone of her words.]

A reason? I thought we understood one another better than that.

[Nil toys restlessly with an arrow, his bow not currently drawn, though the man himself is no less dangerous for it.]

This place is... [A hissed in breath is pulled through his teeth and then exhaled slowly.] ... unnatural.

ii.

[aroundthecoroner]

[Michael normally avoids this area of the city for... various reasons, but since all of the monsters on arrival day this month made an eventual beeline for the place, it's made him kind of curious.

He wanders out there on a day he has nothing better to do, and for the third time in a row, he finds someone standing at the edge of the fog, looking an awful lot like they're considering going inside. Cool, great. Part of him wants to just assume this guy has rational judgment so he can not bother. But the rest of him remembers he's in Hadriel, and rational judgment is at a premium. He debates for another minute before speaking up.]

You're, uh, not planning to go in there, are you?

[The place is bad fucking news. Michael has no idea what's in there, but it raises the Visitor's hackles, and that is more than enough for him.]

[atravellerwithabow]

[Nil would agree that there are probably several good reasons to avoid this part of the city. He doesn't need paranormal influence to tell him that there's something not normal here, far beyond even the Derangement and corruption of the machines that he has seen before.]

I had made no plans, yet. [He replies, his voice low and even. Despite his apparent level of clarity the man's eyes are peculiarly keen as he continues to look into the fog, one hand toying with the hilt of the dagger hanging near his hip. He's restless to a point that it's almost painful, and he finally slides his attention sideways to Michael, nodding his head towards the obscured area.]

What do you know of this?

[aroundthecoroner]

[Normally Michael wouldn't notice the dagger thing, but because they're close to the fog, the Visitor notices it for him, apparently on high alert. It's nothing, though, so the attention passes. The monster's does, anyway. Michael can still feel the boundless energy practically radiating off of this guy.

He knows the feeling.]

Not much, except that it's bad. Nobody ever goes in there, and they tell you to stay away. Though I guess... [now that he thinks about it...] I've never had anyone tell me specifically why.

[Most of the older Hadriel-ites are gone now, so there aren't many people left to ask. Maybe Carlisle would know? Michael makes a mental note to ask him sometime, since he's pretty sure he's the person he knows who's been here the longest.]

[atravellerwithabow]

[He knows the types of areas that this man is talking about. Areas where no one ever goes, but everyone tells you to keep away from. They have places like that back home, where no one lives and the ground has been blackened by blood and fire.

Chances are, Nil was already there before.]

There's something wrong about it. [Nil says, his voice soft and holding an edge of curiosity about it. It's difficult for local superstition to persuade him that he shouldn't go into a place that looks like this.] The things from the arena, they came this way. I've watched them drawn to the fog like flies to a wound, but none came back out.

i.

[ex_break829]

Hey.

[ Jack casts a long shadow in this late daylight, as he stands and looks out to the desert, the same endless views cape that has called to Nil. He has both hands on his hips, chin up, not really looking in the other guy's direction as he follows his own strange path. But there's no-one else around. ]

Hey, kiddo. Yeah, I'm talkin' to you. You got good eyes?

[ He looks like he does, young and fit. ]

How far d'you think that goes.

[ Cocking his chin towards the desert haze. It's not just that the stretch seems endless: depth perception isn't his forte these days, even if the mask he wears replaces his scarred shut eye with a replica of his old green one. ]

[atravellerwithabow]

[At first, he doesn't appear to notice that he's being addressed. Maybe it's that he's too deep into his own thoughts. Maybe it's that he hasn't been called 'kiddo' since he was the height of his own knee and he finds he doesn't have much of a taste for it. Whatever it is, it's several long moments before he draws a softly audible breath in, then lets it out.]

Several days to the horizon. Perhaps weeks, once you reach it.

[Who knows - they could be the only sheltered place on this blistering planet. The Carja worship the sun, to be sure, but the suns here are harsh and not at all like the one he is used to.]

Were the nights longer, it would be more tempting than it is.

[ex_break829]

Yeheah, or if I had a car.

[ Though even then... there were places on Pandora there was no point driving past, because it was just endless desert and death. The only way to know what was out there was by satellite observation, and Jack has already had it established that nobody really knows shit about space travel here.

He gives a disappointed sigh. ]

Thanks. And you know what? Thanks for not being a dick about it. Half these goddamn bandits don't seem capable of answering basic questions.

[atravellerwithabow]

[A car--?

Actually, never mind. It's another one of those concepts that Nil is unfamiliar with, but not curious enough yet to pursue. It's more the sound of that sigh that he's interested in - that simple noise that shares all the subtle annoyance and disappointment that Nil himself has been feeling for days, even if the source is different.]

I have noticed. [He replies, somewhat dryly while he adjusts one of the machine-metal bracers on his forearms.] People here are either unable to give a satisfactory answer at all, or have been somehow convinced that the circumstances of this place should be accepted as normal.

[It makes him twitchy, but not as twitchy as the overall lack of conflict in the city and beyond.]

II

[divinusly]

[ The people in this place come in all sorts. Some amicable, some not, some loners, and some with entirely different knowledge of technology and weapons. She's seen quite a bit already, all of it rather fascinating to some degree or another. The same could be said of this place. Two suns during some parts of the day, strange architecture, and an even stranger overall set of creatures occupy this domain. And she is following one such creature.

A few of the iconic zombie-nurses she had encountered in her arrival are making their way back to their foggy home, or at least what's left of them. Zelda follows one of them as it stumbles and limps slowly back into the fog, but stops herself from entering the area itself. It's at this point she spots another looking into the haze. Adjusting her weight from one leg to the other, she openly asks: ] Do you suppose that this fog is their home?

[atravellerwithabow]

A reasonable theory, based on what's to be observed.

[Nil quietly drawls the words out as he watches the shape of the 'nurse' disappear into the fog. It isn't the first one he's seen come this way and lurch unhesitatingly into the miasma in front of them. Honestly, he hasn't given it too much thought - the creatures he'd seen most recently in the arena didn't give him the kind of response that he liked to see when he killed something.

But, perhaps, something else in there would? It's that thought that keeps bringing him back, lingering on the edge of a phenomenon that every other nerve in his body is telling him it would be poor judgement to enter.]

What did you make of them?

[divinusly]

Abominations of some sort. [ Zelda says after a pause, a sigh along with it. Her tone betrays her tiredness of them, as if she's had enough of those nurses. And really, she has. They pretty much had been her welcoming party when she first got here, and she fought with many of them. ]

They appear like the undead, but I would hazard a guess that they had never been alive in the first place. [ She folds her arms under her chest casually. ] Their forms are too similar to each others, as if they had been manufactured out of some alchemist's twisted imagination.

iii

[coheres]

[ Sharon has always been a shy girl, never keen to remove her clothing around strangers, so she arrives already ready for the springs, a plush towel wrapped around her midsection. It's clear she's not nude and when she spots Nil she hesitates, a girl who remembers what it's like to not be around others, but then she undoes her towel, showing off only boyshorts and a sports bra, before she sinks in the water, folding the towel into a pillow she can lean her neck against.

The heat is nice against her sore muscles. She'd forgotten how much Silent Hill took from her, how much energy, how draining. She sighs. ]

I am never letting Love know that I'm enjoying their shitty contribution to the city. [ Her blue eyes land on Nil, a small grin touching at her lips. He has an intimidating look but, after dating Mello, dying multiple times, and dealing with gods, it means nothing—or, at the very least, ignorable. ]

[atravellerwithabow]

[It's another one of those things - the way people talk about the place and its 'gods' as if there's nothing abnormal about the way it all operates. He's starting to get used to it, but it still rubs the wrong way, like a knife blade angled wrong against a whetstone.

Nil would have been content to ignore her and let her go about her business if she hadn't addressed him, but she does, and he levels a steady look at her with a quiet, almost-not-there smile around the corners of his mouth.]

How can you be certain that you didn't tell them just then.

[coheres]

Because they're not omniscient and they have more important things to pay attention to, that's why. [ She's never been too low on the list of humans to not pay attention to, if only thanks to her habitual threats of mangling and murder, but she's fresh again, new through the Door again despite the memories that linger in her. ]

i

[am_i_a_monster]

[Abigail is a hunter too, raised to hunt from a young age. It's easy for her to notice when something is off with the local animal population and she sets out with a decent water supply and her weapons. When she finds the first animal corpse, she stops to inspect it, deciding if there's any value left in the body. When she finds another, she frowns, wondering who is letting their kills go to waste. In her mind, that's like murder. It's what she was raised to believe. She begins tracking the hunter, and euthanizing any animals he left dying with a single clean shot from her bow. She removes her arrows once the animal is dead (and his if he's left them), so that she can use them again. Nothing is to be wasted. When she comes closer to the hunter, she decides to make her presence known as not to be the victim of hunting accident.]

Hey.

[atravellerwithabow]

[He'd not call this hunting, as much as he's just putting arrows in things to watch them die. In the wild lands of home, he would avoid killing animals because the nearby clans would inevitably complain about the waste of the meat, but here he feels no such restrictions, and... that may not be for the best.

She's lucky, really, that he's not dropped to the point of firing arrows at random people, because she would have been shot at, greeting or not.

It wouldn't have been an accident.

Nil doesn't return her hail, but he does stop, turning to look at her with steady grey eyes, an arrow matching those she plucked from the corpses he left behind already fitted into his bow.]

[am_i_a_monster]

[Abigail's eyes grow wide and her lip quivers. The lack of a response from an armed man is terrifying, especially to one who's been through her own father trying to kill her. She raises her hands slowly to show that they're empty. Her own bow and arrows are in a pack strapped to her back.]

I'm Abigail.

[She looks her pleading gaze onto his eyes.]

I don't know your name. If we've talked on the phones, I'm sorry I don't remember it.