Intro Log: Fly, My Pretties!

[hadrielmods]

What: The intro log for May
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: May 10th-14th
Warnings: Flying monkeys! New friends! Prosthetic limbs!

Here in Hadriel, we do introductions right. That means dumping you on the ground of an old Roman-style Colosseum with a bunch of scary monsters and also a bunch of weird shit. Your monster of the day happens to be Winged Monkeys, more commonly known as flying monkeys, from the Wizard of Oz and affiliated stories!

As you may have been able to guess, these creatures can fly and they're rather intelligent- intelligent enough to wield spears and daggers as crude weapons and strong enough to pick someone right up off the ground and fly with them to a perch, where they'll... you know, stab them with their knives and stuff.

Why? We don't know. It's Hadriel.

Just in case you lose a couple of limbs in the process of escaping these critters, we've got you covered. Scattered around the newbies are prosthetic limbs for various body parts. These limbs are all fully functional, even if they look a bit... odd, so if you've lost an arm or two, or a leg, or even a pinkie finger, feel free to grab one and try to figure out how to use it!

Good job dealing with those monkeys! It's kind of a weird thing to be threatening, but clearly someone was afraid of them once. Once you're done, you can explore the rest of the city! Find a house, a new monster, a project to help with, or simply scavenge for supplies. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers May 10th-14th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► All characters arrive with phones that have network communication and the newbie guide installed.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

Comments

[drabsolutelynot]

[Rosen blinks rapidly a few times, head cocking to the right in a look of confusion. He then squints as though looking more intently at her might force a memory that he simply does not have.]

I....I'm afraid I don't remember us meeting on a previous occasion....

[And to his knowledge there was never another version of himself in Hadriel. At least not one that anyone here had ever told him about]

...time...works strangely in this place. Were you here before?

[6weeksmax]

[ Oh okay sure, time works strangely here, that explains it.

No it doesn't. ]

No. I think even I'd remember that. [ She'd carve it onto her jewelry or something, come on. ] You're telling me you don't remember Stanton Parrish showing up at the office like it's no big?

[drabsolutelynot]

Stanton Parrish?

[Now there's a name he hasn't said aloud in a long time. Strange given how much time and energy he had once devoted to it]

...How do you know that name?

[He frowns, face stern]

Are you a member of Red Flag?

[6weeksmax]

[ What the heckie is going on here oh my god?? What game is Rosen playing? Did the lightbomb wipe his memories or something?? ]

Dude, I didn't even know Red Flag existed until like... a few months ago. I'm on your team, your side.

[ What the heeeeeeeell. ]

[drabsolutelynot]

[At this point Rosen can do little but stare at her in uncertainty. Quiet as he tries to see how these pieces fit together. These issues: red flag, Parrish, taking sides...all of them have been kept at a distance here in Hadriel. Something somewhere else. Beyond the door. And now it's all crashing through and he is absolutely not prepared for it to find him here.

He gathers himself, pressing his glasses back into place on the bridge of his nose]

My team. So...are you telling me that you are an Alpha?

[6weeksmax]

Yes! [ She throws both her arms up, tipping her head back as she sighs and rolls her eyes in a display that would put a teenager to shame--

--except her stabwound still hurts a little, so she only makes it about halfway through all of that before she winces and twists her left arm back, like that'll help at all when Rosen isn't here to attack her. ]

Yeah. And I'm awesome, okay. A real asset.

[ Seriously, ask Harken. ...man she wishes he were here. ]

[drabsolutelynot]

[Rosen's about to say more but the visible wince shifts his priorities]

Alright. First things first...we need to get that seen to. Then...then we can talk about the rest.

[He then clears his throat in an attempt to clear his now chaotic thoughts enough to focus on the task. Something he is only partly successful at, as questions and confusion keep punching holes in his resolve.]

Can you show me the wound, please? I need to clean it before I can bandage it.

[6weeksmax]

[ She can't really argue with that, so she straightens, shrugs out of her jacket, and pulls up her shirtsleeve, which is a little torn and bloodied from the initial stabbing. ]

It was deeper before Lance used that spell. Is that an Alpha ability, by the way? It's almost as cool as mine and probably bas a better downside.

[ Kat's not helping, weeps. ]

[drabsolutelynot]

[He readies a damp cloth and something to disinfect the wound and starts to work, at first in silence but then as he's halfway through the process he addresses her question]

Ah, no. no. His ability is not an Alpha ability. It is learned. Alpha abilities are genetic in nature....

[The bandage comes into play, his fingers deftly working it around her thin arm]

...and...if you don't mind my asking...what exactly would your Alpha ability be?

[6weeksmax]

[ She's prepared to wince, but it's not so bad. Definitely better than getting stabbed. ]

If I watch someone do something, I can repeat it exactly. Martial arts, mechanics, shooting a gun-- you name it, I can learn it. I bet I could learn magic like that.

[ Maybe. ]

The catch is I forget everything else in a month and a half, tops.

[drabsolutelynot]

So an extreme on the spectrum of eidetic memory...

[He peeks at her briefly before looking back to finish setting the bandage. When he's done he straightens, seemingly examining her in her entirety now]

...and...you are one of the Alphas in my care?

[It feels strange even being said, but he knows the rules about time here is essentially that there are none. So what is beginning to seem the most likely is that this girl...well...she's a part of what is coming.]

What is your name?

[6weeksmax]

[ Geez, he really doesn't remember her. So this is what it feels like to know her for long periods of time. ]

Yeah. I'm Kat. Usually I'm the one forgetting people.

[ So she feels u, is what she's saying. ]

[drabsolutelynot]

I'm afraid it is more likely that we have never- [A pause to correct] -or at least I have never met you. You see, people get taken through the door at different points in their timelines. If you say you've met me, then I do not doubt you, but you also said that you have seen Stanton Parrish in person...where as in my experience he has only ever been a name. All of this suggests that you come from a later point in my timeline, and I from an earlier point in yours.

[And the implications of that are extremely unsettling]

i'm...I'm sorry if that is troubling for you. Certainly it means I lack all knowledge of your case and your treatment...

[Read: he's useless to her as he is at this current moment.]

...but... if you'd permit me, I'd very much like to know you now.

[He holds out his hand, offering for a shake]

I am Dr. Lee Rosen. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kat.

[6weeksmax]

[ That's... actually more palatable than the thought of him losing his memories of her. She wouldn't be mad at him for it, but this glimpse of what that'd be like really sucked. So she relaxes a little, listens closely, and shakes his hand when he offers it. ]

Same.

[ It hasn't hit her quite yet than not knowing her means he doesn't know about the rigged photostimulator or the off-the-grid Alpha camp or what happens to Danielle. Later, when she makes a video to remember what happened today, it'll come to her. For now, she's processing what this all means for her. Namelt, if he hasn't met her yet, then he hasn't gone completely off the rails. She can trust him again.

That's... cool, and a little scary. ]

I'm kind of a huge badass, by the way.

[ Buuut she won't bring it up now. ]

[drabsolutelynot]

[That wins a genuine smile partnered with a tip of his head in her direction]

I must take your word for it. Though I am sure you must be right.

[In this moment he feels torn down the center, ripped between a brand of relief and a species of fear, stitched together only by that relentless curiosity of his. In many ways it is a relief to have someone from his world here. Someone who knows the familiar names. The same conflicts. But that brings its own minefield.

He feels a knot sitting in his throat. The same as whenever the name Binghamton had been passed around and he had never wanted to look. To see the things that Marcus had wanted him to see. Now...now he's not so sure he wants to know what is coming after he gets out of his cell.

But he tries to push all of this aside for the moment. Kat is here. She is real. And while she might be from his future, she has become his present. And that is what matters right now.]

Have you given any thought to your living situation here, Kat?

[6weeksmax]

If we get more of those winged monkey dudes, you'll get to see me in action. Probably. I bet I know kung fu.

[ And if she doesn't, she's gotta get on that shit fast.

Oblivious to the way he's dealing with this, she makes a fist and turns her hand over, testing out her range of movement while slightly injured. Not bad, but the kung fu's probably gonna have to wait. ]

Oh, uh... I mean, the guide says we can just live wherever, right, so I was gonna go house-hunting after this. What's the best neighborhood?

[drabsolutelynot]

I might prefer you at least wait until your wound fully heals before you attempt any 'flying monkey kung fu'

[Or maybe just don't do it ever. At all. That'd be great.]

I hope this doesn't come off as inappropriate or presumptuous, but considering I was your doctor back home, perhaps you might consider we find a mutual living arrangement?

[He's hoping that didn't sound entirely creepy. Never in his life did he think he'd be asking a girl he's never met before but who claims to have met him to move in with him]

Currently I only have a one bedroom apartment but there are empty houses available with multiple rooms.

[6weeksmax]

[ Whatever, doc, she's been through worse, probably. ]

That'd be awkward coming from anyone else. [ she says with a laugh and a smile like she's a teenager who has something over an authority figure. ] But yeah, that sounds good. I pretty much lived at the office, so it's kinda been there, done that territory.