Intro Log: Eight Legs No Heart

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for June.
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: June 10th-15th
Warnings: Spiders. Soooo many spiders. New people. Probably swearing.

For once, the new arrivals to Hadriel will not be waking up on the cold hard ground of the colosseum. Oh, sure, you'll still awaken in the arena - but this time the Door has been kind enough to ensure that you wake up comfortably arranged in a very nice chair. Or maybe not so comfortably. Some of those look pretty awkward - hopefully you didn't wake up with a crick in your neck! And hey, feel free to try to drag some of these super cool chairs to your new homes. They're probably not cursed or anything.

As you make your way out of the arena, be careful getting to close to the walls - well, except that's the only way out, so good luck! Chilling up on there waiting to get the drop on you are Skulltulas. These funky-looking spiders have squishy underbellies, but their upper exoskeletons are hard and very difficult to break through. They really just want to nibble you a few times, and maybe suck out all of your blood. No big deal, right? Have fun!

Have you conquered your arachnophobia and managed to escape? Great! Feel free to go explore the rest of the city! Find a house, find a new monster, or simply scavenge for supplies. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers June 10th-15th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► All characters arrive with phones that have network communication.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

Comments

[stepford_smiler]

Hakkai let out an amused breath through his nose which released some of the thoughts running through his mind as they so often did. Leave it up to Goku's simple train of thought to help streamline Hakkai's own.

His smile became more relaxed and easy as he focused his attention on Goku's needs.

"All right. We were just going around to get food and things. It's a good thing you found us when you did so we can get things for you, too" he said with a light voice. They were going to have to get so much more food than he had originally intended.

Boy did he hope Sorrow would win that vote.

[inappropriatelaughter]

"You're scared of spiders now?" Gojyo draped his arm around Goku's shoulders—it was sort of a novelty; Goku hadn't been this young in who even knew how long (he was sort of trying to place it without asking; his hair had been that length then, and that was before the other thing, or was it?)—and started walking again.

An incredible thought occurred to him: Hakkai was from some months before him, in time. Goku was from years. Sanzo was totally going to show up in a month and be five years old.

[perceives_sunlight]

"I didn't say I was scared!" Goku exclaimed, and then the three were walking, heading off to the shops Hakkai was planning on leading Gojyo to. They were going to need a lot more food for this little guy, now. A hand reached out, grabbing Hakkai by the sleeve.

"Where are we? Where's the sky?"

[stepford_smiler]

Hakkai looked down at Goku when his sleeve was caught. He let Goku latch onto him as he walked to the stores.

"We're in place called Hadriel. It's an underground place, so we can't see the sky. We're really far away from home, but we're going to try to get back. We'll all be able to go back together" he answered, trying to be delicate with his answer. He didn't want to confuse Goku too much since there was far too much he didn't know himself.

[inappropriatelaughter]

Gojyo kept an easy grin on his face, stuffing his free hand in his pocket. Yeah, they'd all be able to go back together. You bet.

"Don't worry about stuff like that, anyway; like where's the sun, and stuff. You can see, right? That's good enough. Plus we got a roof, don't need money—" he paused, realizing that he was probably just creating questions he couldn't answer— "it's weird, but it's not bad," he finished.

[perceives_sunlight]

Goku looked between the two of them, gold eyes filled with a little confusion. Hakkai had filled him in--so they were underground, okay, and they needed to get out and they couldn't yet. Fine. He could understand that.

But then, Gojyo went ahead and started talking about money and the fact the sun wasn't there wasn't important (which it was). They had a home? What about money? And then, then...

"Huh? What do you mean? Not bad?" Did that mean there was no hope in getting out? That they were...

"I don't want to be stuck here...! We have to get out! Now!" He pulled out from Gojyo's arm, taking a few running steps forward. He turned to face the two, a whip of brown hair following him. His bare toes curled with slight worry.

"And where's Sanzo?" He demanded.

[stepford_smiler]

Hakkai had that and then Gojyo had to load him with too much information that he didn't even need. He gave the redhead a sideways glance for him to take however he wanted.

"Goku..." Hakkai started in a soft voice to calm him down. "We'll get out, but first we have to figure out a way. Everything is confusing, even for the both of us, so it will take patience"

He strode towards Goku and leaned down a bit. "Right now, Sanzo isn't here. But he might show up soon. Gojyo and I have been here for a while and you showed up, so there's always a chance. Or we might figure out how to leave sooner than that.

But for now, we have to get some food for you. You're hungry right? I can make a large pot of stew tonight. Oh! And I have someone for you to meet when we get home"

[inappropriatelaughter]

He looked back at Hakkai, stupidly—what, what'd I say?—and let him do the talking for the moment, rubbing the back of his neck. There was a mark there, he remembered absently, and that reminded him: if that diadem came off at any point, they were going to be in serious shit.

[perceives_sunlight]

Hakkai bending down in front of Goku put him on the level that made the other listen clearly, with an open expression that said he trusted Hakkai. Especially since Sanzo wasn't there, well... there was nothing to be done about it, was there. Not at the moment anyway.

He wasn't smart enough to figure it out, but Hakkai was smart! And he supposed Gojyo was smart too, in his own way. Otherwise, Hakkai wouldn't hang out with him, right?

"I hope we can get out before Sanzo comes," he answered honestly. He wouldn't want Sanzo to be stuck. He'd be super pissed off the whole time, too! But, he also hoped they weren't stuck there for a long time, either...

But the sound of stew sounded good--his stomach growled again, loudly: pay attention! Goku's hands flew up to his stomach, holding it.

"I am hungry..." Goku let out. His eyes widened. "Stew? That sounds really yummy! Will you make a lot of it? Can I help?"

Leave it up to food to take his mind off things. He wondered who Hakkai had for him to meet, too!

[stepford_smiler]

Hakkai smiled more when he was able to calm him down and get him onto a more manageable subject. Food was always easy to talk about with him since it was a subject he was interested in.

"There's a lot of new things to try here." he said. Which was an easy way of saying 'all of the food can only be found in sci-fi novels'.

"I'll make a whole lot of it and you can help if you'd like. You can help pick some of the ingredients and everything." And that was an easy way to teach Goku what foods would be good for him to just pick up and eat on his own if he wanted a snack. See? He's got this.

[inappropriatelaughter]

He really did, which mostly relegated Gojyo to walking along behind them and carrying things. By the time they got back to the apartment his arms were full of things to trudge up the stairs with, and he was repeating a mental mantra about how he was not going to trip, he was not going to trip, ad infinitum. He was still letting Hakkai talk, for the most part, which gave him time to think about how 1) there were only two rooms in the apartment, and 2) they didn't even have a real set of cards, let alone anything else, and if he'd been dying of boredom, Goku was going to explode.

Five-year-old Sanzo could show up any time now. He dropped their non-food stuff on the couch and lugged the rest of it to the kitchen.

[perceives_sunlight]

Goku, by this time, was excitedly chattering about the strange vegetable-things he and Hakkai had found to put into the food. He didn't even care about Gojyo trying to wobble his way into the house with piles of groceries. He probably could have helped more. He had only two bags and his stupid-strong self was capable of carrying a lot more.

But, the tiny youth set the bags carefully down in the kitchen. He was looking around the kitchen area of Hakkai and Gojyo's little abode. It wasn't very spacious, but of course he was used to the huge space of the temple. It was like a cave inside a cave! Only... furniture. No bars. No sun...

His stomach twisted, reminding him to think of something else.

"Is this where you and Gojyo live? So you got a new love nest." Guess where he picked up that term during someone's sarcastic remark about the two of you behind your backs?

[stepford_smiler]

[inappropriatelaughter]

Where had he even picked up a term like love nest? Who said that?

Fuck, he'd probably said it. It was him.

He threw some lumpy vegetable-thing at Goku's head.

[perceives_sunlight]

"It looks better than Gojyo's old hou--OW!" And the vegetablish bounced right off the gold diadem and to the floor, spinning around. Goku's head whipped over to Gojyo, glaring him down. "HEY! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!?!

"Hakkaaaaaaaiiiii!!!"

[stepford_smiler]

This was going to be how it was for now. It went from one person whining his name to two.

Well.

Time to change the subject forever.

"Come here, Goku. I need help with the stew" No he didn't, but anything to get him off of the word 'love nest' as long as humanly possible.

Hakkai started unloading their hefty grocery bags, having nearly four times as much food as he would have normally picked up because they would need every last bit of it.

"Please fill this pot up with water. And you have to use the knob on the left. The one on the right doesn't work properly" he instructed. "Only fill it halfway"

[inappropriatelaughter]

Yeah, good. Anyway.

No wait he wasn't done. There were two rooms! There had been two rooms at the house! By that metric the stupid temple was the world's biggest who the fuck even said love nest? He and Sanzo were going to have words (no they weren't). Gojyo propped a skinny cigarette-stand-in bean-thing between his teeth and put away groceries, somewhat conspicuously nowhere near Hakkai, for about two seconds before popping open one of his dubious beers.

[perceives_sunlight]

Goku went over to the sink, looking to the faucets. He listened to Hakkai, turning on only the left knob, allowing water to run through. The brunet stuck the pot into the water, holding it up with both hands. It was quiet, at first. Then he started humming, tilting his head to the side as he waited for the water to fill up.

Once it was halfway, Goku pulled it out of the sink.

"Done!" He brought it over to Hakkai. He looked at Gojyo.

"...Are you gonna sit around and watch?" That tone wasn't condescending at all.

[stepford_smiler]

"Thank you, Goku" Hakkai smiled to him and put the pot onto the stove and turned it up to boil. There wasn't much else he was going to have Goku do because it all had to do with sharp objects and really--who had taught him 'love nest'? That's learned behavior is what that is.

Hakkai went onto cutting and peeling vegetable things and focusing on that because that was the most important thing right now.

As a previously sleeping Hakuryuu started smelling vegetables being rendered, he flew from Hakkai's room and into the kitchen where everyone was hanging out. He saw the smaller version of Goku and flew over to him quickly.

[inappropriatelaughter]

"I was just putting stuff away!" He gestured with his beer at the cabinets in protest.

No, it was no good. He was getting shown up by a baby. An asshole baby. Love nest. Gojyo slid into a chair and laid his forehead on the table with a gentle thump. "What can I do, Hakkai?"

[perceives_sunlight]

Hakkai was cooking, and Goku was watching, waiting for orders... but he had a feeling Hakkai wasn't going to call on him to do anything. He looked over to Gojyo who was faceplanted against the table. Before he could say anything to him, however, Hakuryuu flew over to him. The monkey-child's eyes went wide at the strange creature flying towards him.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" And he practically snatched the white dragon out of the air, holding it up with both hands in awe. "Hakkai, it's a dragon! Gojyo, look! I caught a dragon!"

[stepford_smiler]

"You're fine like that" Hakkai said to Gojyo before Goku's voice rang around the kitchen. Hakkai paused in cutting vegetables (making a small mountain of blue carrot like things) to look over at Goku holding Hakuryuu up.

"Be gentle with him. His name is Hakuryuu. That's who I wanted to introduce to you" he said, going back to adding to the pile of veggies. He dumped what he had on his cutting board to the pot of hot water before starting on some more vegetables to cut. He hadn't had to cook like this in a while, it seemed.

Hakuryuu made happy noises as he was reunited with Goku, though he was also confused as to why Goku was tiny like this and seemed to not know him. But he wiggled in his hands and craned his long neck to lick his face.

[inappropriatelaughter]

"Don't eat it." Gojyo pushed himself off the table and slouched, stretching his legs out to reach the opposite chair, mildly pacified. This was what the Goku of a few years was supposed to be like: kinda cute, not actively annoying, and not accusing him of laziness, or whatever.

or whatever

[perceives_sunlight]

"Hi, Hakuryuu!" Goku chirped happily. He looked at Gojyo, proclaiming with a pouty tone 'I'm not gonna!', before going back and gently tossing Hakuryuu up in the air a few time,s over and over. He laughed happily when he was licked on the face. "Wow, you're so small! We should play together!"

Yes, the promise of food, an animal companion, and being reunited with his friends... this was a good way to push aside his worries. Thoughts of Hadriel-concerns and even Sanzo were now in the back of his mind. They wouldn't break free until a little later, but that was then. This was now.

[stepford_smiler]

Hakkai was glad that Goku's mind was in a good place. If he let him play and eat and not worry about Hadriel for tonight, he and Gojyo could discuss arrangements and concerns about their younger young companion.

Hakkai dumped a heap of more vegetables in the stew, added some seasonings, then began to let it all cook together.

He sat down next to Gojyo and smiled at him before watching Goku and his dragon play.

"I hope you voted for Sorrow" He said lightly.