Event Log: Deserted

[hadrielmods]

What: The log for the Deserted event
Where: Throughout the city
When: August 21st-30th
Warnings: The Deserted event

It happens in a heartbeat. One moment, everything is fine- there's plenty of food in the stores, electricity in the houses, and friends to spend your time with... and the next, it's gone. Your friends, the supply of food in the stores, and most notably, the network. The god temples are all empty, devoid of that patron emotion when you walk through the door. Everything is cut off, like it was never there to begin with. You're alone.

Well, not... alone. There are a few others with you, even if you might not know them all that well. What will the four of you do to survive around here? There's still deadly animals, scarce supplies, and cold, frigid nights to spend. There's no telling how long it will last- all you can do is bunker down and hope for the best.

But your friends, and the gods... they will come back, won't they?

► This log covers August 21st-30th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

Comments

Staci Pratt || Open to Team W

[theweakhavepurpose]

Pratt has finally started venturing out a little bit more, since he's been here fourty-two days according to the hashmarks he's keeping on the wall by his bunk bed like the completely sane person he is. He's collected some food from the orchard which is in a bowl on the table next to a small pyramid of canned food because prepper instincts die hard.

He's cleaning his machine gun when the lights flicker and go out setting him immediately on edge. Instinctively he goes for his phone to use it as a flashlight; he doesn't even know if the phones have that feature but it's so ingrained from home that the phone is in his hands before he even thinks about that, but not only does it not help him light his way, it doesn't turn on at all. Well that's new and alarming.

In the eerie silence left by a complete power outage, he grabs his sledgehammer and heads outside to see if anywhere else has lights. The gun gets tucked back under his bed safely, lugging it around is more of a hassle then it's worth. He'll come back for it if anything looks the least bit dangerous.

The island is much more empty than normal. Ominously so.

"Hello?" His voice is raspy and gruff but he's on the verge of panicking. "Anyone still around? Please don't let me be the only one left. I can't be the only one."

He breaks into a staggering sort of run, peeking in all the windows of houses and shops and finding them empty.

"No!" This shouldn't be happening, he's here to atone isn't he? He can't have failed already. "It can't be the Collapse. NO! I still have... still have time. No no no no! Don't be.. don't leave me alone here!"

But what if the Father was right, what if Jacob was right? He failed. He's a traitor and a coward and he will die in this gate alone and afraid.

[((OOC: He's running around the East Island panicking on day 1 of the event. Feel free to find him anywhere!)) ]

[anoshe]

Rhy wasn't expecting the lights to go out. He wasn't expecting his phone to stop working - though, to be fair, he didn't think to check it until some time after everything stopped. But while those were unsettling, finding the streets empty was infinitely more so.

He has his phone in his pocket, in the vain hope it may be useful eventually, but he has a sword in his hand, just in case. He's wandering the streets when he hears Pratt cry out, and on one hand it's a relief. There is someone here, someone besides him!

On the other hand, he doesn't recognize that voice, and whoever it is sounds... perhaps not entirely stable. Still, Rhy isn't the sort to walk away from that kind of thing, and so he follows the sound of that voice.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

Drake Holloway | Team H

[braveoff]

west island: spire 4 --> Hope's temple

[ Drake wakes up to his phone alarm, set a little earlier than usual today because he needs to swing by Hope's temple to pick up brains before setting out for patrol. There's enough light coming in the windows that he doesn't think to try and turn any in the apartment on, just pads groggily to the kitchen to make some coffee... and no water comes from the kitchen sink. Further investigation reveals that the power's out, too, and it's about now that Drake decides to check his phone to see if anyone else is awake and has commented on this. Maybe someone knows what happened.

...shit.

The network is down. Not just posting but completely, he can't even bring up a contacts list. And now Drake is 100% awake and 110% concerned. As calmly as he can, he takes an emergency bottle of water from the cupboard and goes to brush his teeth and get dressed, grabbing all of his weapons just in case. The view out the window as he gets ready is quiet, pretty normal for this hour but he's still worried.

His spire is silent, despite Drake knocking on every door on his way down. No one answers, and it's extremely that no one at all, not a single person, is home. Outside, the quiet city strikes him as too quiet, even this early. Drake beelines for Hope's temple, mentally crossing everything that what he needs to be there is, in fact, waiting.

...nope. No such luck. And the god's presence is also noticeably absent, which causes the pit of Drake's stomach to drop out. He's in deep shit now. At least it would seem no one else is around to become a victim. Is this another little trick? Fear screwing with them again? It seems like an awful lot of work, to erase all other inhabitants, but it's the only explanation.

Stay calm, self. Deep breaths. Be certain that you're alone, sweep the whole city to be absolutely sure there's no one for you to hurt, then come up with a plan. You've ridden this out before, you can do it again, even on your own. ]

north island: shoreline --> guard HQ

[ West island had been completely empty. Not a single soul on it, and Drake really can't decide at this point if that's good or bad for his situation. Maybe by the time he's done with the whole city, he'll have a better idea. So it's off to the next island, which he's decided is gonna be north, so he can swing by the Guard HQ first. He rows over easily enough, though knows he'll be tired by the fourth trip, and drags the boat up onto the shore.

Drake's not usually one to patrol with weapons actually in hand, but doesn't know what to expect right now so. Axe out, it is, and his pistol's holster is unclipped in case he needs to grab for that quickly. Ephemera's rifle is strapped to his back as well, and crossing his torso in the opposite direction of that strap is his blue guard sash. He's extremely noticeable, though not drawing attention to himself otherwise, just in case. Not until he's inside HQ, anyway, when he does call out. ]

Anybody home? Henry? Nick? Bueller?

Guard HQ

[vocarrah]

[It hadn't taken Ianchus too long to figure out something was off, though it had certainly taken longer to really pinpoint what was off. As someone who liked having people around, who was always attuned to their presence, he had realized pretty quickly that there wasn't anyone in the clinic. And when that emptiness had stretched out throughout the day, he'd stood to investigate.

It had only been later that he'd realized the network was down. That hadn't concerned him at first, but now it seemed like yet another symptom of something more insidious.

His next thought was that, perhaps, the Guard headquarters would yield something. He couldn't just sit here all day, after all. His ribs were mending, and besides--he was used to pushing through injuries. So he'd gotten dressed, had found a boat, and had set out on it. Good thing he was comfortable on the ocean, even for short distances.

Nothing. Nobody. His heart starts to pound faster and he has to take a moment--ah, damn him, he didn't bring water with him, fool that he is.

But then, coming up to the Guard HQ, he hears a thin sound--no, it can't be his imagination.

He hurries, breaks into as much of a run as he can without sending spikes of pain through his chest, and--]

Hello?! Is that someone out there?

Washington | Group C

[hardwearing]

spire 4

[ You know what specific scenario has never occurred, in the ten months Wash has been in Hadriel? His going to bed with Kyna and waking up alone the next day. Wash always, always, always wakes up first in the morning, and the combination of her constant cuddling and his extremely light sleeping means that he stirs if she gets up for any reason. So he's extremely confused when he wakes up and she's just gone, her side of the bed cold.

Stepping out into the main apartment reveals that Lando is gone as well, so it's theoretically possible that she took him for a walk, but. No. It's not actually possible that he would've slept through the giant dog getting in bed with them and being persistent enough to get Kyna up. This feels wrong to Wash already, so he grabs his phone to call her to sate his paranoia.

Except the network is down, and now said paranoia is in overdrive.

He retreats to his room and gets dressed faster than should be humanly possible, speed fueled by the desperate need to find his people immediately. Bluehaus first, check on his team, and maybe they'll help him look for Kyna. He isn't even letting himself think farther than that just yet, because he's figured out that the power is out too and if he thinks about why at all he'll go into disaster scenarios. He's approximately thirty seconds from flipping his shit as it is, so one problem at a time.

Just as he's getting ready to head out, though... there's a knock on the apartment door........ ]

kickin things off with an immediate cw for self harm, great!

[ghostlocked]

[It's a miracle that Harlan bothers to knock at all. He's not sure why he does, actually. Habit, maybe. Grasping for a sense of normalcy. Maybe because knocking will reward him with silence or a dog barking and either way he'll know quickly, without having to search the apartment, and then he doesn't have to waste more time before teleporting over to Tucker and Delmar's spire.

Michael is gone. Michael is gone, and they're prepared for this. They have a plan. Harlan keeps mementos in his Bag of Holding so he'll remember when he gets out of Hadriel too, and then he can learn Plane Shift, and it'll be okay. It'll be okay eventually. The separation is temporary.

He hadn't bothered to check his phone at first. Telepathy is more reliable. When the spell didn't connect, he cast it again. Stupid. He shouldn't have blown that much magic on a spell he already knew wouldn't work. Telepathy doesn't fail unless the person on the other end is in another dimension or dead.

Michael isn't dead. If he was dead, there'd be some evidence of him. A wet shower, coffee in the pot, shoes missing. A note. Blankets tossed aside, if nothing else. But the apartment looked just like it did when they went to bed. The bed on Michael's side had a slight depression from where he'd been, the blankets deflated like he'd just evaporated.

Harlan spent an hour on the bathroom floor before he worked up the composure to do anything but cry and bleed. Delmar, he should call Delmar. Harlan should let him know.

It would be easier, he knows, to just cast Commune with City and get it over with. The network is down, the power's out, the spire is eerily silent save for the muted crash of waves outside... Hayden's gone, too. It's unlikely that Kyna will answer the door. He should spare himself the individual house calls.

The problem is, he doesn't know what else to do. Until he comes up with a better plan, it's individual house calls, because otherwise he'll end up right back in that bathroom.

When he knocks, he's only got one free hand. John Frusciante is cradled in the other, nestled into his shoulder and purring. It helps. He counts her breaths as he waits a few seconds—it's as close as he can get to a polite amount of time—and then opens the door. Maybe... Maybe there's something. Not Kyna, he already knows she's not here either, but a clue, or something. What the hell is going on?

The thing he is least expecting when he opens the door, however, is Wash. Harlan freezes in the doorway.]

Why are you here?

[It's colder than he means for it to be, but he's not in the mood to check his tone. Of all the fucking people...]

Romulus Hart | Team E

[leashed]

[He can tell that something is off within an hour or two- Rome is generally a pretty solitary guy, doesn't check the network much, keeps to himself, so it takes a little longer. The scents of everyone else still linger, but as the minutes stretch on, they grow more and more stale.

There's no one here. He kicks himself with how long it's taken him to realize that, but grabs for his phone anyway, trying to power it on. When that doesn't work, he takes his weapon and leaves, in search of- well, anyone.

With his enhanced senses, it shouldn't take too long to find someone, if there is anyone. It has him on edge, listening, peeking into every house, as if there'd be someone hiding in the shadows. When he finally catches wind of something fresh, a wave of relief washes over him like a flood, and he moves toward it, hand on his gun holstered on his hip, just in case. It's unfamiliar, after all.]

Hello?

[He's getting closer. It doesn't smell like an animal or a monster, but he doesn't recognize the scent as anyone he knows. Rome rounds a corner, curious, but wary all the same.]

Is anyone there? I won't hurt you.

[uncharisma]

[There is nothing Mollymauk fears more than being alone.

There are a few things about Hadriel that have caused him some form of frustration since he arrived. The fact he was trapped in one singular city with one singular group of people, the fact that he was apparently in an extreme minority of people who have even heard of tieflings, the fact that he was dead and all of his friends were far, far away...

But he hasn't allowed himself to be alone in all the time that he's existed as Mollymauk Tealeaf. He never wanted to find out what would happen if he were alone with his thoughts.

And now he is.

Molly wanders, thinking to himself that perhaps he's just not looking hard enough, quietly murmuring to himself to keep himself sane.]

Alright Molly... We can't trust this town not to be idiots, but we can trust them not to be idiotic enough to up and disappear when those gods need them... Wish I were better at tracking-- Whoa there!

[He's startled, suddenly, when he hears another voice, hand immediately reaching for Summer's Dance at his hip, but not drawing the blade. Is anyone there? I won't hurt you, it continues. Molly has to remind himself he's not imagining it, and that's what real voices sound like.]

Well. Praise be to the Platinum Dragon. That's a real person there, isn't it?

Peter Parker | Team G

[itsnotaonesie]

[Something felt a little off.

To be fair though, something always feels a little "off" to Peter lately. The tingling feeling at the base of his skull, the hairs on his arms standing on end, it was a sensation that he had become all too familiar with lately. A sixth sense, a spider-sense, if you will, that warned him when something bad was about to happen. It was usually set off by something obvious, like someone throwing something at his head. Something he could physically do something about. Lately though it seemed like it was low-key going off over every little not-even-remotely-dangerous thing, like someone standing too close behind him in the lab, or a bug getting in the house. It had gotten to the point where he'd been actively trying to ignore it because he already had enough weird bullshit stressing him out.

There was no ignoring it this time, though. It was like a blip on a radar, barely lasting a split second, but the intensity of the sensation was enough to stagger him mid-step. Either the biggest wasp in the world was about to land on his back, or some shit was about to go down.

He was kind of hoping for the giant wasp. He'll punch a wasp, he doesn't care. Unfortunately though, it's not a wasp. In fact, it's nothing at all. No people, no sounds, nothing. The shops he'd stopped outside of were never particularly busy whenever he was poking around in them, but there was usually at least someone hanging around. He could have sworn he'd heard someone rummaging around just a moment ago, in fact, but now he was just surrounded by dead silence, and not much else. It was as if everyone had just up and vanished.

Again.

Cue instant panic mode. The last time something like this happened, it hadn't gone so well for Peter. He frantically looked himself over, finally managing to calm himself down a little bit a few moments later after confirming that he was, in fact, still in one piece. Physically he felt... well, really nauseous since he was pretty goddamn freaked out, but otherwise fine? He's pretty sure?

He still had one kind of enormous problem to deal with, though: He was completely alone, and that was still pretty goddamn terrifying. Oh cool, and his phone was dead on top of that, awesome. Great. Now he'd have to try to find people the old fashioned way: Climbing to the top of every building on the West Island for a better vantage point,]

MARCO!!

[...and hoping to Hell that if anyone was around, they knew what the hell Marco Polo was. Maybe he should have taken a little time to come up with a better strategy, or at least slap on his Spider-Man suit if he's gonna be pulling stunts like that, but uuuuuh. He didn't, too much panic. Oh well.]

[unknowable]

[It's not completely weird to see no one on the streets, but for some reason the emptiness is unsettling this time. It's difficult for Adam to put a finger on it at first - probably someone's just around the corner, or inside the shops, or, well, something. But as he walks back from the clinic, and he continues to see no one, it gets odder and odder.

Sure, the city's fairly big, and there aren't that many people there. Sure, they could all be on other islands. It's easy to rationalize it. It's only when, without thinking, Adam pulls out his phone to check his messages that he realizes something is really wrong.

The network is down - no, the phone is dead. And he always keeps it charged, because that's the sort of person he is. He starts walking faster through the streets, peering in shop windows, looking for someone. He's not going to panic. It's probably nothing. He's probably overreacting.

Except he doesn't see anyone, he doesn't hear a single soul, until -

Adam stops. He considers. Then he decides even if this does put him in some kind of danger, at least he might get some answers. So he raises his voice:]

POLO?

Delmar | Team F

[imhisaunt]

Day 1

It started with the power going out and rapidly unraveled from there. Usually when there's a problem he doesn't know how to fix he tries to call Harlan...or Michael...except there's no network. It's worrying and Delmar frets his entire way over to Harlan's apartment but the fretting doesn't turn to panic until Harlan doesn't answer. He knocks, which usually he never has to, then knocks again, and again, and even tries calling out. Nothing.

He tries Michael's apartment next. It is the same. He tries the lab: no Michael. He tries the sewing shop: no Margaery. Julie's apartment: no answer. The bakery: no Laura.

By the time he's run all around Hadriel in search of his friends only to find closed doors and empty rooms, he's inconsolable, glued to a park bench as large tears roll down his cheeks, his fingers gripping each other so tightly they begin to purple from the pressure. Now and again he'll croakily mumble something about 'please come back' or being all alone, but for the most part he cries in silence, staring into the space between here and nowhere.

The Rest of the Event

As the days continue with no signs of his friends coming back, Delmar swings between fits of crying, scarf balled in his fists as he presses his damp face into it, and a heavy, unshakeable urge to just sit and give up. He can be found in the bakery or around town checking the places his friends used to haunt before they all went missing...a task that gets harder and harder each day.

The electricity and network going away doesn't bother him so much....it would have been ok if everyone else were still here. They would have gotten through it together. When his friends are here he can always find some way to see a light in the distance. That light usually being a future full of more days to spend with his most beloved people.

...Without them here...he only sees as far as the sea fog at the shoreline. Gray. Dull. And cold.

later event, say day 2 or 3

[sciencelizard]

She's tried to get used to being alone. She lived alone for so long before this, spending her time dodging caring texts and well meaning messages, but there's a difference between trying to get some time alone and being the only one left. It's what she's been afraid of for so long; that eventually, everyone will leave this place and she'll be the only one left. Just her and... not even the Gods. Just her.

She's piecing through one of the shops, trying to find what little food is left to make a game plan going forward, when she hears a door close and jumps, instantly dropping the can in her hand. That-- it couldn't be. Alphys sprints outside, looking around for the source and yelling as loudly as she can.

"Hello! Hello, I-- p-please tell me you're a person and that wasn't wind or a monster or-- is someone here??"

Ravine. | Open to Group P(arty)

[whip_poor_will]

A heartbeat is an ironic term when you lack a heart. For Ravine, it was more of a blink. A flash of wings. Like stepping in between one reality and entering another, as she had done so many times before.

This she does, moving between the Zones multiple times, from reality to unreality, traversing between the islands until what little life remained was but a spark in the vast abyss. Still, she finds only the sparse vitality of few remaining, in addition to lingering beasts that are hungry.

For most, this would be a harrowing revelation. The connection she had shared with Atem is severed, the sense of her soul extending into his absent from her very being. She cannot find him, and when she attempts to reach out to him through the barriers of reality, there are only echoes leading into nothingness. The layers between layers are discernible within her 'Vision', and a glimpse of the future does not bring caution of permanence in their present situation.

Although this shall pass, this is also not without its purpose. Ravine knows this, and yet she presents herself with a grave and somber demeanor when confronted with the trio of stragglers that she is left with.

But first, they are always greeted with a whisper in their heads upon their first meeting:

Hello.

How polite she is, to announce herself before the presence of of lithe, towering woman looms from behind her unsuspecting party member.

"Have you found the others?" Ravine asks with her own voice.

Let's have some Carlisle and Ravine yeaaaaaaaah

[tongueamok]

Though her first message startles him -- badly, he would add -- Carlisle is nearly prepared for Ravine's sudden appearance by the time she speaks. He hasn't gotten used to the way she simply appears, but he has spoken with her enough to expect her to loom behind him.

Which she does. His hands are still shaking as he continues to toil at his shrine, placing a sprig of frostlace onto the stone he uses as an offering slab. "Others, Miss Ravine?"

Given his inclination toward solitude, it should come as no surprise he hasn't discovered something is amiss yet.

Connor | Group L

[missiondeterminant]

[It's difficult not to notice when things are suddenly much more... Quiet, not just audibly but in every other sense of the word as well. He doesn't catch the sight of movement so often, his scanners don't buzz with the presences of other people, and the hum of electronics in various buildings no longer lights up his EMF sensors. Everything is so much more silent.

And, for the most part, he likes that. The machine part of his was made to handle noise and business and the like without issue, but the part of him that's Connor finds it distracting at times and prefers some peace and calm, and so for the first few hours he kind of enjoys the change despite his concern about how it happened. He checks the places he normally knows people to be--the Guardpost, Spire One, the Clinic--but finds no one, and the network is silent as well.

At that point is when he realizes he's liking the quiet a little less. He isn't sure, really, which part of him it is that is suddenly intent on finding people; is it his programming, which has entire sections devoted to integrating with and earning the approval of people, or is it Connor who is just simply lonely? He isn't sure, and he doesn't really like either explanation, and yet he finds himself more and more intent on finding anyone else who might still be somewhere on the islands with him.

So he searches methodically, scanners and senses stretched out as much as possible, moving from island to island and trying to find any hints that he isn't suddenly completely alone.]

[thanks_bunches]

[ Geralt being a Witcher means that even some kind of robotic human, would struggle in sensing him as he approached, what with Witchers being able to move silently on any terrain and all, so it was probably no wonder that Connor hadn't at least heard him as he neared.

He wasn't the only one a little put-off and concerned by the sudden silence. Geralt relied on his Witcher sense to keep him alive, alert and agile, without it he felt, well, pretty useless. There weren't any scents, sounds or sights that he could focus in on when concentrating and no amount of a certain potion he brewed, called Cat, was helping him to see any better. Is this what getting old feels like? If it was, Geralt didn't care for it much.

Geralt kept still. Having sensed something searching, reaching out as though it was searching for something. He pushed a little harder with his own sense, finding a very faint smell and just as faint sounds. Though... There was something odd about what he was feeling, a human that didn't quite feel human. Geralt drew a little closer now, watching as the figure of a man stood a few meters away. ]

A doppler?

[ Talking to himself as he often did, though for a moment forgetting he was talking out loud and thus allowing the person to hear him, alert him of his whereabouts. Geralt grunted at his own carelessness and felt back, settling a hand on the hilt of his sword, the silver one, as a precaution. ]

Who are you?

Leo Flynn | Group A

[stealyoursoul]

Leo was not panicking. Worried and concerned? Definitely. But he refused to give into any fear that might have been creeping up inside. Fear was a useless emotion and all it would do right now would hinder his efforts in looking for anyone. Indeed, he was beginning to wonder if there was anyone else. He'd been looking for a while now, ever since his housemates had simply vanished, and all he had found was silence. Attempting to use the network had been an exercise in futility, so he'd gone searching to see if he was the only one left.

He was busy scouring the entire island, but when that proved to come to naught, he'd had to expand his search. He was hoping Margo and Seth were okay, especially since Seth wasn't exactly in a state of consciousness right now. Damn his adoptive brother for choosing an inopportune moment to gain the gods' favor.

Leo taken his guitar with him. Forewarned was to be forearmed and he wasn't going to let anything get the drop on him in this silence. Not that he was that concerned with monsters. He was a lot scarier than anything that might be out there.

There was a pressing concern on his mind that was only going to become bigger in the following days. Hope's temple, where he had gotten the equivalent of souls to eat necessary to his survival, was as silent and deserted as everything else when he entered it. This meant he was going to have to fall back on the old standby of eating sinful souls in order to keep from losing control. Of course, this was assuming that he'd actually find anyone, something he was beginning to doubt.

Oh well. At least if there was no one around when he went dark and turned into a demonic looking monster made of fire and smoke, there would be no one to hurt. That also meant he'd be in a state of perpetual hunger likely for the rest of time, considering there was only a few ways he could die. You know, on second thought, maybe panicking was a good idea after all.

[hellosirs]

"... Sir?"

Leo would probably see the Varren before he noticed the source of the piping little voice. The creature was peering around the corner of the temple, and while it looked kind of terrifying at first glance, what with the slavering jaws, leathery skin and the bug-eyes, a second glance would reveal the totally domestic leash and collar around its neck. Angus stepped around the corner a moment later, holding the leash in one hand, and his wand in the other. It looked sort of like he was walking a giant, monstrous Saint Bernard.

Angus definitely wasn't panicking either. Waking up to an empty house hadn't been out of the ordinary - his immediate family was away on a boat adventure, and he was self-sufficient enough that being on his own didn't bother him - but the lack of power and the sheer foreboding emptiness of the island had been frightening, and he had the feeling that if he started to panic, he wouldn't be able to stop. He'd firmly squashed the rising fear and dread underneath his figurative Detective Hat, and had begun investigating the empty island, but up until just this moment, he hadn't had any luck finding other people.

Once he saw Leo, Angus brightened up and gave him a friendly wave with the hand holding the wand.

"Sir! Leo, right? It's me, Angus McDonald, only I can actually talk now! Thank you very much for those sign language lessons, by the way, I meant to track you down and thank you in person earlier. Have you seen anyone around?"

Kyna Midha | Group B

[evocation]

[Kyna wakes up, and Wash is gone.

That isn't odd, by itself. Wash always wakes up first, and he has that terrible habit of actually going for runs and exercising, so it's only when she gets up and realizes the power is out and the network is down that she realizes something is very, very wrong. Lando seems unconcerned, tail still thumping against the carpet, so she clips on his leash and heads to Harlan's apartment out of pure instinct.

It's when she finds him missing, too, that she starts to panic. Detect thoughts tells her that nothing, or at least nothing sentient, is nearby. She can't be the only one in the city, can she? That's stupid. It makes no sense. But when she leaves her spire, sees the city utterly deserted, fear nearly chokes her.

It takes her a while to find any sign of anyone, and in the end, it's Lando who spots a figure in the distance and barks. Kyna can't make out who it is, but she calls out anyway.]

Hey!

group best assemble!!

[murderpotato]

[Like Kyna, Gren woke up and found that everyone was gone.]

[Which, like, is shitty, but you know what? This might as well happen. This is what he deserves, probably. Grendel, the original Fucking Asshole Neighbor, who only wanted to be left to his silence and solitude for hundreds of years, finally dumped on a string of deserted islands on an empty planet right after he started accepting that there's something to this whole 'being social' and 'friendship' thing. Yeah, that sounds about right.]

[So, fuck it, what's a guy to do but wander around? There's part of him that keeps straining his stupid oversensitive hearing for the sound of any sort of life, because hope's a shitty thing that doesn't die easy, and there's just so much nothing until--]

[Wait. He stops short. Is that a fucking dog?]

...The shit? [Oh. That's a dog, and a person. So he's not stuck here in some karmic punishment and he should probably stop being such a dramatic fuck.] Well, fuck me.

[Okay, Gren-- social skills, engage.]

Who the fuck are you?

Group X

[pellameno]

(( all shenanigans within! ))

Pell; day 1, west island

[pellameno]

[ It's a little odd, Pell thinks, that his house is empty first thing in the morning. Usually someone is around, be it one of his sisters or the new kid they'd taken in, who wasn't exactly an early riser. He's used to making breakfast for someone, but this morning the place is silent. Not even any coffee mugs in the sink to indicate they were up and out already, but he isn't terribly alarmed at first. Not until he goes to get ready for the day and the water's out. Power as well, upon further investigation, then when he goes to see if anyone's posted about this... the network is down too.

This scenario has happened only once before, that Pell can think of -- both people missing and the network down. The time the city was split in two, and the gods also split between the halves. But nothing's going on that would have caused that right now... right? Are they under attack? Did Fear try to move them again without warning, and something went wrong? That seems unlikely, with so many out on boats looking for Door fragments. He tells himself not to panic, not yet, and ultimately heads for the clinic in hopes people are gathering there.

On the way, though, the city feels like a ghost town. No sign of fighting, so they haven't been invaded... probably? His unease grows the further he gets from home, and when he arrives at the clinic it's empty as well. This is potentially very bad. He can't be alone, that's ridiculous, but the thought of searching the whole island alone (or further, which would involve wrangling a boat alone for the first time) is a little overwhelming. Ultimately he decides to step back outside and take the risk of alerting potential enemies to his location. Hopefully it'll pay off and draw friendly faces instead?

He gathers a flame in the palm of his hand, small and dense. Hopefully strong enough to be seen even in daylight, but if no one comes he'll just have to search on foot, and try this trick again after dark. With a push of will the fire shoots up into the sky, bursting above him at the top of his range like fireworks. It doesn't take much energy, and so there he waits, sending up a "flare" every few minutes, keeping a wary eye on his surroundings for movement.

Anyone around? ]

group k

[closerift]

[ Cole isn't at home, and neither is Laura. This isn't particularly worrying, especially since Pup is there when she wakes, and so the Inquisitor leaves their home in Hadriel for the usual: hard thinking, Guard duties, and - well. The occasional drink. The network is quiet enough (she checks as she walks, bow on her back and dog at her side), but that's been more the norm lately, with dozens out on boats searching for pieces of the Door.

What happens if we find all the pieces? It seems too much to ask that they would then be able to easily and safely return home. What if that were true, though, and they then had to part ways with those they loved in Hadriel? Not only say goodbye forever, but lose the very memories of their newfound friends? ... Family?

There's a bitter chill that travels down her spine and her mouth twists into an unhappy expression. ]

Cole? [ She calls suddenly, because the spirit is never far, and his advice - however cryptic - is often a needed comfort. However, the first odd event of the day occurs when Cole doesn't actually appear, and this sends fear, rather than sorrow, shooting through her system. ]

... Cole? [ There's a little intake of breath as she finally and truly comes to her senses, taking stock of those around her.

That is, of the lack of those around her. The island has been quiet lately, true, but not deserted. It can't be now, either... though she does have a moment of wild panic, an irrational spike, where she wonders if it's possible that everyone has returned to their own worlds and she alone was left in this place.

That would be a true nightmare. Better to act than to dwell, though, and so she rushes on ahead with a steadying breath, calling out: ]

Hello? Can anyone hear me?

[completelycrazy]

[The salamanders are gone. That's Newt's first clue that something weird is going on. It doesn't look like they've escaped, mostly because the house isn't on fire, and it's doubtful that Semiyon would've taken them out of the enclosure. Where is Semiyon, anyway? The old guy's usually puttering around in the morning.

But then, the electricity is out. And the network is down. And on the way to the lab, the town is just... empty. Still. Like he's the only one around for miles and miles. Did everyone up and leave on the boats without him? Or is there a party on another island that he wasn't invited to? What the hell?

No, none of that makes any sense. This has to be an event. The days tend to get away from him around here given that the calendar means basically nothing, but it's around the time of month, isn't it? If the gods are going to pull major crap on them, it happens around now. This is more than likely some kind of trick, something pulled by Confusion or Fear or, hell, maybe Sorrow. Aren't Fear and Sorrow the ones that deal with the Door? Or, wait, what if something happened with the boats and this has something to do with the fragments?

If it's the latter, that means the island's emptiness may not be temporary. Uh oh. That... That would not be good.

He's about five seconds from spiraling into an all-out panic when he hears a voice. It's distant, but yeah, that's definitely a voice. He whips around, not exactly sure of its direction. He jogs off toward the nearest cluster of buildings, anyway.]

Hey! Yeah, I can hear you! Where are you?

Hayden | Group Q

[demonsional]

[Nothing processes right away. And no, that's not in a "I can't believe it" sort of way so much as Hayden honestly doesn't notice that basically everyone is gone. Surely, they're just doing fun and important things! But hm, what's this? His stomach gently nudges him more insistently toward his usual sources of food...only to find that there's nobody around to give him anything.

Oh, okay, now it's concerning. Now it's real. Suddenly, nothing makes sense. He should have run into someone by now, shouldn't he? Chattering to himself, Hayden flickers in and out of space from place to place, checking his friends' homes and other places that make sense in any conceivable way in his little impish brain.

He doesn't find anyone at first, but he can now be found running around in a panic with a pair of oversized welding gloves and what looks like a makeshift animal carrier gripped carefully in his arms.

It probably won't take too much to hear him, because it's Hayden, and he has no real volume control.]

Hello! Hello! Appear now please! It is time to no longer be hiding! Wake up all people, thank you!

Hayden | Group Q

[knifecollecting]

[The house was empty, but that wasn't completely odd. Pell often went to his garden or the Clinic, and George often went to the Clinic too. Not seeing anyone in the neighborhood wasn't that weird either.

However, the city feels more quiet than usual. The longer she goes without even catching sight of someone around a corner, the more unsettled she feels.

She heads straight for the Clinic. Surely someone would be there. Jo checks each room twice. She waits, as if she might just somehow be missing everyone.

There isn't a single person. The small seed of worry in her stomach grows larger.

She pulls her phone out as she leaves the clinic, prepared to call Pell. When it doesn't work that worry gets even larger. Even before-

This is obviously not the same. Jo takes a deep breath and starts methodically walking the streets.

She loses track of time as she walks. Her steps slow. She's tempted to stop and rest, but then she hears someone yelling. The relief is almost visible in her stance and on her face.

She twists, listening before she calls out herself.]

I'm here! Hello?

Alphys | ota to Group F

[sciencelizard]

[It's not perfectly noticeable, at first. Alphys has been spending most of her time in the Lab, and today is no different- she rolls up, yawns, gets some coffee, and sits down to try and look if there's new posts on the network.

Except... there is no network. There's no connection. Nothing. She pokes her head out to the main lab space to find it entirely empty, devoid of Newt's laughter, Peter's jokes, Percy's commentary. There's just... nothing. Like they all disappeared entirely into the void.

She steps cautiously out of the space, listening for anything, any sign of life.]

I... h-hello? Is someone... anybody?

[The quiet shivers up her spine and she grips her hands tightly as she starts to set off, looking through houses, shops, and even the Coliseum, all the while checking at her phone for any sort of response.]

[poisonprincess]

[Evangeline had gone about her day the way that she always did. Her days always landed her out on walks. However, she's used to the network being active. Used to being able to talk to her husband and anyone else that popped up on the network.

So she's out and about like she normally would be, hoping that somehow she'd be able to get a hold of Aric.]

Hello?

[She could feel the Empress deep down wanting to slip out and do things her way, but she pushes that part of herself down.]

I hear you.

Will Graham | Ota in group U (will match format)

[feelslikeimspilling]

It started just like any other daydream, nightmare or thought that Will had found himself lost in. The area was vast, open and foggy, much like when Will used to sleepwalk back in Wolftrap. However, this felt different.

Only a few moments prior to everything vanishing, Will had been just about to enter his apartment spire. A freshly caught fish wrapped in an old paper bag he'd found lying around one of the stores, Winston his dog happily trailing along beside him and Abigail waiting at home for him to return. Will was actually in a pretty good mood too, his spirits were high even. Until, well, until everything vanished that is.

As he looked around, it took Will a moment to realise that the fish he had been holding was gone too! umping back, looking at the floor and trying to work out if he'd just dropped it or something? "I'm awake? I mean, I feel like I'm awake?" Unsure even of the words he uttered, Will turned to face his dog.

"C'mon Winston, let's get inside, I don't like the looks of-!! Winston? Winston!?"

No, no not his dog! He had arrived here with Will almost two years ago, they had hardly ever been apart. "Winson! Hello is there anyone out there? I've lost my dog!" It didn't even occur to Will that he was all alone now, that maybe save for a small select few, he was the one missing, not his dog.


( ooc: open to group U which is Laura Palmer, Mewtwo and Sonya Blade. Hit me up if you have a log already open that you want me to tag instead? Or wildcard me if you want another starter? )

[outofthefire]

[Laura woke up to find both Cecily and Cole gone. not too unusual, Cecily was probably busy with Guard duty and who knows where Cole keeps himself half of the time. so she got on a boat and made her way to the Bakery.

only to find no Delmar. she went to call him, to find out if he was sick or something, only to realize that her phone wasn't working, either.

this has become officially Weird. and when things got weird, she knew exactly who to blame. the stupid gods. so she went to Fear's temple, hoping to tell him off, but nothing. no god. no nothing.

so she wanders around the island for a while, looking for people. no luck there, either.

that's when she hears it. someone shouting for a Winston? she's never met Winston. but a voice means people, so she follows the sound of the voice to its source.

also someone she's never met. whatever, she's not going to be picky about her socializing when there's no one else to socialize with]

Who's Winston?

Geralt of Rivia | OTA in group L (will match format)

[thanks_bunches]

"Hmm... Something strange is occurring. Some kind of spell or curse, perhaps the working of the Gods. Island is a little too quiet, can't sense much motion if any..."

Knelt down, talking to himself in a manner of mumbles. Geralt was highly attuned to this kind of thing, his Witcher sense kicked in almost as immediately as the magic was cast, or well, whatever it is that the Gods here call their power. One thing for sure was that his wolf head medallion amulet wasn't trembling so it definitely wasn't the work of a nearby Witch or supernatural being. Geralt focused his eyes, honing in on every little faint detail. He was able to see footprints, though they were faint as if centuries old. How queer.

"Alright then, let's see what we're dealing with here. Come out come out wherever you are... Or maybe, whoever you are."

Geralt donned his twin swords in their holster at his back, checked to see if his small bags were still full of herbs, silver shards and monster bits- only to be disappointed upon finding them empty. "Shit. Okay, so I guess Roach ain't gonna be around here too huh?" Pressing a finger and thumb to his mouth, Geralt gave a few shrill whistles, the sound would normally summon his ever loyal horse, only this time nothing cam galloping towards him. This time he was alone.

There was, however, the faint scent of someone else on the wind, strong enough that it stood out, apart from the other fading smells of the Island. Perhaps this person was still around too? Perhaps Geralt wasn't truly alone after all?


( ooc: Geralt is in group L which is Vanessa Ives, Bethany Goodrich and Connor. Feel free to tag in! Or if you want t different starter just let me know, I'm pretty open! )

Edgar | team i

[abbatis]

By the fire.

It's the silence that catches Edgar's attention the first. While Hadriel was from being busy metropolitan city but that didn't mean it didn't have its own distinguishable sound of life. People here didn't cause same kind of noise than the most cities, seeing how spread it currently was over the set of islands, but there was always some small and subtle sounds, it was music of its own.

So when all that disappears and an unusual silence falls upon the island Edgar can't leaves his rooms and begins to investigate -- only to find out the whole city strangely empty, void of life. The revelation is.. well, unnerving. A heavy pressure on his chest makes itself present and known as he keeps exploring the area, trying to find any of the Hadriel's residents. This is another curse from the gods, he has no doubt about that. But just what is this?An illusion? Or did they really take everyone away? If so, then why leave him out of everyone behind? His stomach knots in fear filled nausea as an unpleasant and superstitious thought settles down on his mind.

The first day passes quickly with Edgar walking around the island, going through residential areas, shops and other abandoned buildings, alleys and shores. Anywhere he could meet.. well, anyone really? The fact that he didn't have anyone specific to be looking for made him feel the most lonely he had ever felt during his stay here. He had no family here and no friends. No one to look after or to protect. Never before in his eternal life had he been in situation like this and he didn't know quite what to make out of it.

When the night turned into a morning and the second day of isolation rolled in, Edgar decided to change his tactic. Instead running around aimlessly looking for others, he should make others come to him.

He began to collect anything flammable that he could find from the shops and empty apartment buildings, furniture, mattresses, books, you name it. He gathered them in the city, right in middle of the square at the shopping area and set the pile on fire, creating rather impressive bonfire. It ought to attract attention -- if there's anyone around, of course.

Keeping the fire alive and under control turned out to be a full-time job. It kept him busy and occupied from any fleeting thoughts that whispered him to let it spread and take everything away, him included. It felt much more comforting option than living alone in the ghost city.

Don't worry, it's just a mosquito bite! (cw: blood?)

[abbatis]

It's been several days already since the silence started. Luckily for Edgar he had found company. They were people who he hardly knew but he was still glad that he didn't have to be alone anymore. And he was sure that the others felt same comfort from presence of others. Besides, so far they had gotten along quite well despite of their grim circumstances.

The fire was still on, marking their location and serving as a base of sorts and providing them warmth. Others seemed to have all the necessary resources, such as food, with them. It wasn't much but enough to keep them alive and going.

Unfortunately, same couldn't be said for Edgar.

The disappearance of gods and Drake had left him with one very tricky problem: the lack of food. He could always manage few days without eating, even if it wasn't the ideal. However, the days passed and the hunger in him grew from being annoying to clear discomfort. He didn't want to reveal himself to his new companions. It didn't feel safe.

But in the end there was only two options for him: wait and starve or then attack. Eventually Edgar chose the latter one.

He promises to watch the fire for the night and waits until everyone's sleeping tight. Then without making a sound he sneaks up on his prey from the behind, looms over their unconscious body. All he wants -- what he needs, is a quick bite. Gentle and discreet, one that wouldn't even leave a mark! He presses his cold finger against the skin on his prey's neck, feeling the pulse and blood flowing underneath. Then, with a quick and light movement he leans in and presses his lips on the neck -- his teeth not yet breaking the skin.

Group V

[unphase]

[Tinya had been trying to settle into this new place as best as she could, claiming an apartment, going to the shops every day looking for food or passable clothes, trying to make friends.

it was the latter which was most important to her. she'd been in the Legion long enough that she'd grown accustomed to having a large group of people around her at all times and she was lonely. she'd never admit it to anyone, but she was.

so that's what she was doing, musing on her own loneliness and trying to figure out ways to fix it when all the lights went out. she went over to the lamp and tried flicking it on again. nothing. she considered a moment, then went to her refrigerator to see if it was running. it wasn't.

she phased through the wall and flew out into town, trying to see if this phenomenon was unique to her or if it was having an effect on the rest of the town. her higher vantage point let her see a whole lot of. . . nobody. there was no one wandering the streets in the shops or in the temples.

that's when she started to become nervous. she checked her phone, hoping to call Peter or Atem or Deputy Pratt to find out if they were experiencing the same thing, but her phone was dead. but she'd just charged it last night! none of this made any sense.

still flying, she called out as loudly as she could]

Hello? Is anybody out there?

Sorry it took me so long.

[fracturedbeauty]

[Yukari is absolutely less than thrilled with how this is all going. The phone won't start, and the Elves aren't answering their doors. He can't even seem to find any of the Guard. He's just on his way to Fear's Temple to demand some form of answers, to say the very least, and Hell for them to pay if there are none.

But he hears someone else call out, sounding about as lost about this latest shenanigan as he is. He pauses in his step, turning toward her voice to call back out.]

Yes, someone is here.

[It's short and bitter. But, as stated before, he doesn't find this sudden lack of communication with others to be on his list of fun things to do]

(strong bad voice) the (team) s is for "sucks"

[proselytise]

[ As usual, when he'd woken up, the first order of business was to check his phone.

As was less usual, there was nothing. Not just "no news," but nothing. It's strange.

Like usual, the city is...somewhat quiet, when he leaves. But the clinic is empty. That's nice at first, but it soon gets odd, and then unnerving. Usually, there'd be someone else working here, at the very least, but there's...really no one.

Even the lights here aren't working, how would anyone know if the doors are open? Is it worth it just to wait? It's worth trying. There's nothing else he can do. If there is anyone here, maybe they'll come here. And if not, he'll venture out, looking for anyone else who might still be in this seemingly-abandoned city. ]

S is for team “shits”

[thelastjoy]

[Girl ignores the clinic as a rule. She likes most of the people who work there and she likes what they’re trying to do, but she’s got an unhealthy paranoia when it comes to medicine. She stays far from needles and drugs. Anything she can’t fix with dirt and torn cloth, she leaves to nature’s whims.

But conventional rules fly out the window during emergencies and the sudden scarcity of people in their already small town certainly counts as an emergency. Girl doesn’t enter the clinic as quite the mess she could be, the tear tracks aren’t that fresh and the skin around her knuckles remains intact. Waking up to Jet still in the house did wonders to keep her some semblance of functional. It gave her the presence of mind to put together a game plan. Go out, look for people.

She never claims to make great plans.]

Hello?

[Girl pushes open the doors slowly, a little timid now that she’s here. The sterility of a clinical environment held too many similarities to the City. It made her hair stand on end, fight or flight instincts ready for a boogeyman around the corner. There’s a jagged rock held tight in her hand that she raises against the invisible, improbable threat. She presses in anyway, wincing at how loud her voice sounds in the unusual quiet. Girl has to know it’s not just her and Jet. They have to know what exactly they’re up against.]

If anyone’s here, there’s still some of us left. Just so you know.

closed to group j!

[dedikated]

( She doesn't sleep in the clinic as much as she used to with so many other things demanding her attention. Even, god forbid, an actual attempt at a social life. At happiness. But with so many people out at sea, and the impending promise of the return with fragments of The Door, Kate spends more of her time on the west island, trying to prepare space for the fragments (she wonders if the gods will actually allow them to be kept, if they won't immediately claim it, but works as if they'll get to keep them. It keeps her busy, if nothing else, when the city is already so empty), flitting back to the lab in order to see what can be done there.

She wakes up in the clinic alone, pads downstairs unaware of anything until she tries to go into the shower and finds the water not working. Irritation flashes through her - this isn't like when Delight turned the water supply into sweets. It's like the water's been turned off entirely. )

Fuck's sake...

( Fine. No shower for the moment. She'll just check things in the rest of the clinic.

But everything is unnervingly silent, no signs of the remaining members of staff having made their way here (not really surprising in and of itself when she wakes up so habitually early) and the more she looks, the more she notices little things wrong. Fewer cloths, bandages, the dartboard missing when she steps into the office.

A frown, and she steps out into the city, walking the winding streets for hours without the slightest sign of life nearby.

What the hell is going on here. )

[stupid_monkey]

[It was Goku's worst nightmare come to life. 500 years of solitude. Never knowing if anyone else existed. No food. Nothing but himself and the appearing and disappearing sun. Then Sanzo freed him. And there was light, food, and friends. Even being separated from them when the door brought him to Hadriel he knew it could be worse. There were still people, he wasn't alone.

Now it was worse.

He'd seen the sudden disappearances. One second there were people on the streets, and the next it was just him. He raced along the streets, checking in every window, getting more frantic each time his search came up empty.

He rounds the corner at a run and comes to a dead stop when he sees Kate. He stares at her wide eyed and trying to catch his breath. He doesn't know if he can trust that she's actually here.]

Are...are you real?

Aric Dominija | Group T

[deathstouch]

Aric has been through some difficult experiences... some very similar to this. The thing that is most bothersome is the lack of his wife and he doesn’t even hear her Arcana call when he attempts. That is unusual because there is no way she could be all that far from him.

Be circumstances as they are he makes his way out to explore. He’s well armed as he always keeps his sword with him. He’ll approach those he does come across if warily to seek information if nothing else. If someone appears in trouble he will certainly reluctantly intervene as well.

Re: Aric Dominija | Group T

[kingforboth]

It didn't take Kelson very long to realize there were only a few people left on the islands. A quick casting out with his powers left him feeling two individuals he hadn't met before, and Sansa. Grabbing his crown, bag of wards and his sword Kelson went out to at least discover the basics. Who these other two were, how much food and water was left. He was really hoping they'd find enough, find other ways to get food.

He'd much rather not have to raid houses previously occupied by others. That was not honorable....and last time he had been forced to scavenge for food supplies he had to raid funeral offerings. And almost ended up burned at the stake. Personally, he'd rather die than risk that again.

"You haven't found anyone else have you?" Kelson approached the stranger with a pointless question, since he knew where vaguely the two others were.

Alfred | Group R

[devilsandangels]

Alfred is unsettled by the sudden change. He can’t reach anyone that he knows at all and neither can he locate them. He finds his armor that he had collected and actually hadn’t touched lately, along with a sword and shield since they were his weapons of choice.

There is nothing to be found out remaining alone and so he goes exploring and tries to stay away from trouble. But at many locations, he stopped to call out some variation of “hello, anyone there?”

[tenuousmorality]

"Welcome to our new void."

It sounds perhaps a little ominous...and definitely flat. The person who said it sounds utterly amused. Following the voice almost immediately is the appearance of a tall man clad in a vaguely military-coded uniform. His arms are crossed and his eyes appear...tired?

Tired of Hadriel, more like.

"Or at least, that's what I would say if I was trying to deepen the atmosphere," he added nonchalantly, amending his previous statement lazily as he came into proper view. "I assume you've had just as much trouble as I have finding anyone in this prison?"

Look. He's got a pretty long threshold for nonsense. If he didn't, he'd have long-since abandoned his own emperor and gone to live in solitude, away from literally everyone so that he didn't have to deal with manchildren.

Alas, every man has a limit. Jade's is the continuing consequences, most of which he deeply assumes relate to the machinations of the gods.

Semiyon Kleiman | Team O

[bespectacledsnake]

[Semiyon surprised even himself by how relieved he was to find that, while the electricity had gone out, the network had gone down, and Newt and his beasties were all spirited away to some unknown place, at least one of the salamanders was still here. It is a small but potent comfort.

So much so that Semiyon refuses to leave the house without Beep-Beep in tow, carried in a bucket he's done his best to make comfortable for her.

If you don't know him, he looks like he's taking all of this in stride. After all he's had to survive worse in his time. But the truth is as the days go by he keeps hoping to hear some chaotic crashing or high pitched yelling that he associates with Newt. Or that Caedra will return from her voyage and end this dull silence. Or that Alice would appear as she has a knack for appearing like a flower out of the sand.

But none of that seems to be happening, certainly not any time soon, and the longer it is quiet, the more he becomes internally frayed.

He can be found around town when he feels the need to scavenge or the need to simply check again for anyone else, and always he'll have his salamander in her bucket carried at his side]

[hasitsthorns]

Hey, [ comes an unfamiliar voice.

She doesn't think they've talked before but he's one of the only ones around so what better time than now? ]

Hey, dude. Any idea what's going on? Can't get ahold of anyone.

Carlisle Longinmouth - 30th [closed to Ravine]

[tongueamok]

It was not the monster that scared him, nor the fall, nor even the landing, but the end results that were truly terrifying.

Correction: the monster did scare Carlisle, as that was how he got into this mess in the first place. He'd thought it was someone else, a nearly human figure that meandered between the aisles of one of the shops. It had taken him ages to get there, being a complete amateur at rowing and having to work up the nerve to do so in the first place, and in his following exhaustion, he hadn't noticed someone was in the building with him. He'd even mustered up a polite greeting for the strange individual, but realized this effort was wasted as it rounded the corner and revealed itself to be an amalgamation of legs and twisted skin bearing a visage so warped it could not conceivably be called human.

And then he ran.

The fall itself, in retrospect, scared him as well. The aberration was surprisingly fast -- well, perhaps not all that surprising, given it had three times as many legs as he did -- and caught up to him quickly, knocking him down with a powerful blow. Carlisle scrambled to his feet as it struck again, grateful he hadn't been too injured, and vowing it would not catch him again. Little did he know there was worse coming.

Fleeing blindly, he ended up at the edge of the ocean, only to realize there wasn't a beach waiting for him, but a rocky bluff, the steep ledge leading to the churning waters below. Cursing himself for his stupidity -- in running that way, in braving the stores at all, in assuming that with everyone gone, so too would be the monsters -- Carlisle took seconds to figure out what he needed to do next. He could possibly scale down, he considered, or at least descend far enough away the creature couldn't reach him. It was all legs and no real arms -- then again, so were spiders, but that was a different situation entirely, as spi—

And then the monstrosity derailed his train of thought by slamming into him, sending them both to the jagged cliffs below.

Landing, in truth, scared him almost as much as the abomination itself. The first impact left a fissure in his arm, one he couldn't properly identify before the next time he collided with the rocks. They came faster and faster, his frame battered more and more with every hit until they finally reached the bottom. The creature landed in the water, and despite its many legs, found itself not a very good swimmer, sinking into the depths beneath as the waves pulled it into the sea. Carlisle, by some miracle, came to rest on a rock far enough above the water that it could not reach him.

And that was, unfortunately, the only bit of good luck he had.

With Carlisle himself in utter agony, his body broken and bleeding, his natural inclination for healing took over without any conscious effort, his energies a wild torrent as they cycled through him. His bones realigned themselves, the energy around them pulling the fragments back together; the gashes and lacerations closed, the channel through them white-hot as they seared themselves shut. His head throbbed painfully, but he was alive, and after several minutes, in one piece.

Relatively.

Carlisle couldn't bring himself to move at first, just trying to steady his breathing, in and out, with the sound of the sea before him. Though he could feel the lingering traces of his aural channel moving within him, he struggled to recall exactly what happened before he blacked out. The monster, a fall. Things were still a bit dark, and in pushing himself upward, his arms trembling as they attempted to support him, he could see why.

Ink. There was ink beneath him, a huge puddle he'd been lying in, seeping from his nails and coating his hands; it poured from his eye, his mouth, choking him as it pooled in his throat. Worst -- and the most terrifying part of this ordeal by far -- was the trail from his abdomen, the black stain across his tabard impossible to miss.

He was alive, but only barely, and perhaps only for moments more. His old wound had reopened, and no amount of his own energies could mend it.

[whip_poor_will]

While not compelled unwillingly, Ravine is very familiar with the sense that draws her to Carlisle. It isn't much unlike the cry of a dying animal that has been cornered, terrified. In most cases, she would be ready to bring out her scythe for a reaping in situations like these. Have mercy and put the soul out of its misery by cutting its ties to the body.

But this is not a normal case. She does not come to this place with the freedom to take and send souls here, as is a Psychopomp's purpose. Not that she would want to. This is one limitation that has come with this place that Ravine doesn't lament being deprived of.

Slipping between the Zones, Ravine silently steps out in time to find Carlisle at the bottom of that cliff, her footfalls making no sound. Despite the crashing waves and icy wind, neither her hair nor coat bend to gravity. As if she is untouched by time, and that very well may be the truth of it.

At the risk of Carlisle summoning the other two on the islands in addition to any more monsters, there's no way she can leave him in this wretched state. She can't ignore it, either. Not when there is so very little of him left.

Kneeling at his side, she stoops her spine to bring herself at eye level with the dying man, though her gaze is obscured by the dark shades over her eyes. There is nothing but sincerity in her visage.

"I cannot help you here. Can you stand?"

She is not the type to step so far between the Zones that she may touch people, or be touched in return. It requires focus and energy that she can't say she has to spare if she is to seal this soul tear before her.

Dr. Rosen | Team N

[drabsolutelynot]

[It perhaps works in Rosen's favor that he's not been in Hadriel long enough to have formed any attachments that would be distressing to have severed so suddenly. However, the downside of this is that he has not been in Hadriel long enough to have any context for how or why the town might suddenly be empty. Why the electricity has failed. Or to have any clue what might have happened to the network.

He is at least, by virtue of his profession, very capable of maintaining his health which should help him to fend off the illnesses that come with poor nutrition and exhaustion. However it would do nothing to fend off a monster attack should that be in the cards he's been dealt.

As such he walks around the town with caution, calling out a hesitant "Hello?" when he hears any noise that might be another resident. But always he's careful to keep a distance. After all, that might be something less than friendly he's hearing]