Event Log: Assassin

[hadrielmods]

Who: Everyone!
What: The Assassin event
Where: Throughout the city
When: April 15th-23rd
Warnings: Inevitable character death, potential horror and gore and unpleasantness. Please remember to tag for warnings in the header if it things get too bad!

The morning of April 15th in Hadriel is cheerful, with artificial light streaming through your window. Your blankets are warm, jabberjays are shrieking, and you're probably going to experience a murder attempt today.

Maybe it'll be from a stranger, maybe it'll be from a friend, but the bottom line is that everybody is after somebody and nobody is safe (...okay, twelve people are safe, but that's beside the point). Time will only tell when you'll be overcome by that murderous rage and try to kill someone else. The best thing you can probably do at this point is stay calm, keep your head high, and try not to die for the next eight days.

Helpfully, Rage will have restocked her armory for the event, for those of you have yet to arm themselves. Additionally, for a limited time only, the armory will be stocked with bear traps, tripwire (in both 'general wire' and 'barbed wire' flavor), and voice recorders. Use all of them, use none of them, just get on out there and kill each other!

Oh, and one last thing...

► This log covers April 15th-23rd.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► Did your assassin catch up to you? Please remember to hit up our death post!

Comments

[circumitus]

[Rey is no stranger to phrases like those: Do what you're told. Aye sir. You are a worm, a maggot in the ground. This is your life, your purpose.

[Because that's what it was all about -- her purpose.

[As they continue walking, she glances over her shoulder from time to time to see how Maketh is fairing. She's marching forward with a disciplined posture. Normally Rey wouldn't encourage such a thing on anyone else, but these are very unique circumstances.]

Good. [And then, after a while, she adds:] We should be there soon. Try to keep your head on straight until then.

[mismanagement]

Yes, ma'am.

[The more she walks, the easier it becomes to slip back into that mentality. You are a cadet and you know nothing. You are nothing until we have remade you in our image. And there's something so simple about knowing that -- it's comforting, in a way. Always was. Your choices are not your own, you do not know how to think. We will show you what to think.

Rey has a low, smooth voice. Comforting. Easy to follow. The orders she gives are clear and direct. She'll do what Rey says for now. It's much easier just to do that. Maketh knows she won't hurt anyone that way. Rey won't let her.]

[circumitus]

[It becomes more obvious that Maketh is taking Rey's advice, and doing well on that. She doesn't want to break the other woman's focus, just like how Rey has kept her own, so she holds her silence for now.

[She's quiet up until the very moment they reach the spire, where Rey opens the door and ascends the stairwell. The higher up they go, the better.] Almost there.

[Then she stops in front of the second to the highest room. When she turns the knob, the door pushes open, revealing an empty room inside. Good.]

This should work.

[mismanagement]

[Tactically it makes sense. Higher ground is always best. Maketh left a sword in a room just like this one, not so long ago. Not this specific room, no, but one like it.

She decides not to think about that. It's an irrelevant detail.

The room is empty, stale and dark. There's dust on the floor. Maketh steps through the door, scanning the room just in case. She doesn't see any threats, then wonders vaguely if there's a couch or something she can lie down on. Part of her really wants to just sleep.] Yes, ma'am.

[circumitus]

[Rey's eye twitches at the way Maketh repeats herself, but doesn't say anything about it. They've got better things to worry about than petty pet peeves.

[She turns on a lamp, shedding some light across the room. She takes a few steps in, doing a brief sweep to make sure there's no one else here with the same idea in mind.]

Looks to be empty. Should be safe here.

[Adjusting the rifle over her shoulder, she turns back to Maketh.] Do you want to be left alone? Can hang out outside the room.

[Stand guard for as long as she needs to. Until Maketh has this all sorted out, if possible.]

[mismanagement]

[Whoever lived here last left their furniture behind. Maketh eyes the couch, but doesn't go to it. She doesn't even care about the dust at this point.] No, I...I'd prefer it. If you stayed.

[Part of Maketh is afraid still that she could get lost in the rage.]

[circumitus]

[Rey takes a few steps backwards before she stops, not expecting Maketh to change her tune after telling her to "go away" earlier. Circumstances have changed rather quickly, it would seem.]

All right. Have nothing better to do, anyway.

[Also she should probably go to the bathroom and check her bandages.]

[mismanagement]

[Part of it is about having company, not wanting to be alone with her thoughts. Most of it is the reassurance of knowing that there's an insurance policy in case of bad things. Maketh nods just once, standing at careful attention.] Yes, ma'am.

[circumitus]

[Having spent a few weeks in near-total solitude with no one to talk to, Rey can understand wanting to keep the company. Hell, she could use some right now herself. Something else to divert her attention to beyond the anger and the bloodthirst is what she needs.

[She nods.] All right. Just sit tight? Need to use the bathroom for a few minutes.

[mismanagement]

Yes, ma'am.

[It comes out automatically, no thought involved. Maketh keeps her eyes straight ahead, back straight. Just like she'd been taught. It would've been better if she could just -- do something else. Not be this way in the first place. But this is what the Empire does best - it sees weakness and teaches you how to push it aside. She's been forgetting her training, piece by piece, and just look what's happened. Well, that's the end of this, Maketh decides. She'll be an Imperial again, take her orders and follow them strictly, and then no one else will get hurt.

For now, she'll do what Rey says. Rey is a reasonable person. The gods fucked with her head too, but she didn't hurt anyone. Therefore she's worth listening to.]

[circumitus]

[It should be disconcerting just how easily Maketh seemed to slip back into her old military shoes, too. Another part is actually relieved, so that she doesn't have to deal with a hysteric woman asking Rey to end her life. She'd much rather deal with this current Maketh than that.]

Will be right back.

[Time to go lick her wounds.

[Rey spends more than just a few minutes in the bathroom, setting the rifle aside so she can tend to the gash under her shirt. Ripped right open again in her attempt to keep herself grounded from her emotions. It's worked for her so far.

[She cleans it out with some of the towels in the bathroom. Once she's finished, she picks the rifle back up and returns to the living area to meet with Maketh, dried up and having stopped the bleeding on her own.]

[mismanagement]

[Maketh hasn't moved since Rey stepped out, holding herself at attention and perfectly still. It's easier like this. If she focuses completely on doing everything right, then she doesn't think about killing a stranger. She keeps her eyes straight ahead.] Are you injured?

[circumitus]

[No point in trying to hide it with obvious splotches of blood on her shirt.

[She shakes her head.] Nothing new.

[She'd rather have Maketh worrying more about herself.]

[mismanagement]

[Part of Maketh wants to argue, but doesn't. It's not her place and Rey hasn't given an order to help. The orders are the only thing that matter right now. If Maketh focuses on those, then she'll be fine and no one else will be hurt. She keeps her eyes straight ahead, waiting.]

[circumitus]

[Rey has seen that look before on many soldiers. She doesn't even question it. In fact, she considers it improvement from being nagged at.]

You should probably get some rest. Will be here. [Not leaving the rifle out of her sight in case Maketh ends up having a moment of insanity after all.]

[mismanagement]

Yes, ma'am.

[It comes out easily, automatically. But now that she has permission to do so, Maketh turns and goes to the couch. She's tired now, a bone deep kind of exhaustion, and really just wants to sleep. So she lies down, facing away from Rey, and tries to do just that.]

[circumitus]

["Yes, ma'am."

[Rey scoffs. Suppose she can't be too annoyed -- she brought this on herself.

[A few seconds after Maketh lays down, Rey moves across the room and seats herself into one of the chairs. She keeps the rifle within arm's reach. Just in case.

[Sinking even deeper into the chair, her eyes fix on the door across the room. She doesn't say anything to the other woman. Instead, she watches the air in front of her, and waits.]