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

[scarletcast]

[ How strange to see a mirror in someone she's just met, but Kamina's sincerity is warming. ]

No. He is [ was. What a betrayal, and an untruth, he haunts her. ] very fast.

[themightykamina]

Very fast, huh? Could use someone like him, too. My bro--Simon--everyone always wondered why I kept him around, why I didn't just leave him behind. He isn't a great shot or anything like Yoko, and he's no mechanic like Leeron. He's scared of everything, and he's always talking about running away, but--he's got heart, and he's got loyalty, and even if he doesn't know it, he's gonna be a hell of a man one day soon.

[He turns away from her to poke through a rack, embarrassed of his outburst.]

Sorry, just--family's important, you know? I'm sorry he's not here. But stick with me, and I'll get you back to him. You have my word.

[scarletcast]

[ He has a deep heart. She allows him his moment to put himself together — he obviously misses Simon, and being dead doesn't afford a lot of options. ]

[ Gently, ]

You should not make promises you might not be able to keep.

[themightykamina]

[No, it really doesn't. Hell, he isn't sure himself whether he's alive or dead some days. There's the scar on him, a long gash down the left side of his torso, the larger one to match down his back where Thymilph's spear had punched through Gurren like it was paper, and there's the part of his memory that's hazy, that remembers everything stopping, but...he's here, isn't he? If a bat scratches him, doesn't he bleed? He's never been the introspective sort. Too many skeletons in his closet he doesn't wanna eyeball. So instead, he turns to bravado, puffing out his chest, offering her a cocky smile that doesn't quite belie the seriousness in his eyes.]

Who the hell do you think I am? A man keeps his promises, and you've got mine. I'll get you back to where you belong. I'll get everyone back. Doesn't matter how long it takes or what kinda walls I gotta break through--we all got places we belong, and people we gotta get back to. You and me and every single one of the people stuck here.

[scarletcast]

I believe you.

[ It's the simplest, most cutting thing she can say. She believes him when he says he will do it or die trying. He has already proven the latter. ]

[ There is no point bleeding yourself dry, however. ]

[themightykamina]

[She doesn't look convinced, but that's okay. He's used to people not believing him, to looking at his messy hair and tattoos and bravado and not knowing just how serious he is. But she says she believes him, and he'll accept that. He always accepts what people tell him, at least when it comes to things like this.]

Good. So, uh, guess if you're gonna be here a while, you're probably gonna wanna find a place to crash. There's apartments all over the place, most of 'em empty. I guess Fear's planning on bringing a lot more people into this place, if we don't stop him, first. This part of town is mostly safe. The monsters stay out in the caves, mostly. The one really useful thing Hope does around here.

[scarletcast]

[ She nods, vaguely aware she needs to find a place to stay. She should check on Alayne. ]

But there are more and more monsters each time? Do they not kill each other?

[themightykamina]

You'd think so, right? But no, apparently they only think we're nice and tasty. The giant bugs'll eat each other if you wound 'em, though. Those bastards are always hungry. And I do what I can, going in. Me and a few other guys, we try and kill a few each time we hit the caves, but Fear's always bringing more, and those damn caves go on forever.

[scarletcast]

I want to come with you.

[ Grief still takes up the largest rooms in the house, but Wanda knows anger, has fed it for over a decade. It has to go somewhere and getting rid of these things will keep people safe. ]

We should learn how to function as a team.

[themightykamina]

You do? Hell yeah! It's been a while since I've gone in with anyone else. It's been just me, since Z left. Or got taken, whichever. I'm not sure what happens to people who disappear from here. They aren't dead, since apparently Hope can fix that--which is creepy as hell, by the way--so I guess I just hope they found a way out. With any luck, we're gonna do the same, but at least we can take out a few more monsters as we look!

[Kamina is familiar with the idea of rage as fuel. He's been dependent on it for years. And he also knows that sometimes, you just gotta let it all out. Like the volcano they saw, the night of the big battle.]

[scarletcast]

Yes. Let's find a roof over our head, and some supplies.

[ She's not yet so sold on the idea of another us, but what else is there? ]

[themightykamina]

[There's always another us, he's realizing. There's always another us, but they don't replace the ghosts of the us that came before.]

Good plan. I'm in spire one, on the first floor. There's plenty of empty apartments there. Or there are houses, if you want? But honestly I always thought those were kinda creepy. There's stores like this all over, and Hope I guess makes new stuff appear every once in a while. Canned food, clothes. But it's always a good idea to stockpile supplies. I have enough bat jerky made to last me a good three weeks!

[scarletcast]

[ She frowns. ]

Is the food always safe to eat?

[themightykamina]

[He goes still at her perfectly innocent question, his face growing shadows for an instant. Always safe? No. No, that's why he's eating the more edible monsters in the caverns, rather than risk...what had happened a while back. Wendigos. People eating people.]

There was a rough spot for a while, where the food was making people sick. Hope didn't exactly understand what counted as food. But it's mostly alright now, and while I guess it might seem a little gross to eat the monsters, some of 'em are actually pretty tasty!

[scarletcast]

[ Her expression clouds, turns briefly blank. ]

I am not a stranger to desperation. If we can eat it, I will.

[themightykamina]

Good to know. Can't afford to be picky around here, you gotta keep your strength up! We'll get through this.

[The clouds pass from his face, a smile forcing its way back out again. He can't afford to be thinking about that now. How he'd been gone. How his friends had hurt in his absence. He was here now, and that was all that mattered.]

C'mon, let's see about finding you a place to crash while you're here!

[scarletcast]

I will try to keep up with you, [ very dryly, as she follows him. ]

[themightykamina]

Don't worry--I won't leave you behind.

[Sincere as always, he leads the way out, eyes open for any more shadows on the ground that might betray more of those spiders waiting to drop down on them. Mostly, they stayed confined to the arrival zone, the coliseum, but sometimes a few got out before Hope wrangled them into the caves.]