Event Log: The Hills Are Silent

[hadrielmods]

Who: Everyone!
What: The Silent Hill event
Where: Throughout the city
When: June 15th-20th
Warnings: Silent Hill comes to Hadriel, and with it, a few personalized monsters

On the morning of June 15th, a thick fog rolls into Hadriel. There's nothing quite terrifying about it yet, but it manages to drain the city of color, forcing a grey backdrop onto everything behind it. Feel free to go try to check it out if you want, just be careful, because it won't be too long until the sirens start blaring.

There's not exactly a reasonable explanation for where the sound is coming from: Hadriel doesn't have a speaker system, or any warning sirens in place for when something horrible happens. But you'd better find cover quickly, because shortly after the sirens start wailing, the city begins to change. Walls and furniture start to peel, revealing a bloody, hellish version of the city that you once knew. In addition, the monsters from the bestiary will roam the city, as well as a few other monsters that might hit a little closer to home.

Some characters may run into monsters which embody their own sins or insecurities. Some characters may be pursued by their friends' hellish mirrors. One thing is clear: you don't want any of these things catching you. Luckily, it isn't long before Hope makes a post, declaring the god temples as safe zones from all the creatures that are now loose upon the city.

The sirens will fade within a few hours, and the city will fall back to normal, the monsters will retreat back into the fog as if they were never there, and everything seems to be fine again, as if that terrifying experience was just some kind of twisted dream. You can tell yourself that, if you like... but that won't help much the next time the sirens start again.

► This log covers June 15th-20th.
► 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!
► Any number of things could murder you here. If you wind up on the unfortunate end of Pyramid Head's chain, please remember to hit up our death post!

Comments

[circumitus]

If he stayed in the temples, he wouldn't have to worry about running. But not even Rey can bring herself to say it, as she isn't much encouraged to stay in those places, either. Hell, she isn't even much encouraged to stay in her own home, after what Nick said.

She hesitates, putting her hands into the pockets of her cargo pants and staring down at her feet over the park grass.

"Is that what you've been doing all this time? Running around?"

[muscovy]

"I am good at not being seen, and I can fight, so I don't have to run very often. But it is good to have the option." Which is why he rather prefers to be on the street.

Not sleep on the streets, at least not while there's fog, but the sirens wake him up anyway when it returns.

[circumitus]

Options are good to have. And to be fair, Rey doesn't expect many people here are getting much sleep with everything that's been going on.

"You seem rather young to be fighting those things." Not that that always accounts for much, as Rey very well knows. "Do you have anyone who's also looking out for you?"

Someone who isn't expected to be her of all people, that is.

[muscovy]

He just nods at the statement, because it is true - he has neither weight nor range going for him, he's harmless looking and not particularly strong. He's fairly fast at least, and he knows what he is doing. That last one makes the biggest difference, but only helps so much when he get surprised.

Which is a good reason to try and not get taken by surprise by some monster.

"My big bro is here."

Using Firo as his designated adult. Not that he knows exactly where the immortal is, and their relationship is still strange, but even if Firo wasn't as accepting of Muscovy considering him family it wouldn't matter, because there is a huge intrinsic value in having an adult to point to.

[circumitus]

"Your br... You mean Firo?"

It's the only logical conclusion, unless there was someone else who was part of their little 'unit' in this other world that both Muscovy and Carlisle had failed to mention. But, given the circumstances, she doubts that either of them would neglect that detail. Especially the boy.

[muscovy]

"Yes."

Clearly Firo is the best person to point to when you try to convey that you have a responsible adult looking after you. Well, imply it without lying, because while Muscovy cannot clearly pin down why (he assumes that it is a mix of 1) how Firo has always treated him like he's old enough to be treated like someone who can be trusted with deciding himself how much protection he wants aka how much autonomy and participation he wants to lose in turn and 2) Firo not feeling about him like that much of a family yet, though he's off to a good start) Firo isn't looking like him nearly as closely as the question that Rey posed before would mean with most people. ...He simply cannot say what this Rey is thinking of with the question, but will just assume a standard expectation.

[circumitus]

Clearly, Firo is the most responsible adult. At least he's in a much better position than Rey to be dealing with the kid.

She sighs. "Where is he, then? Shouldn't you be with him?"

Whatever he's doing, it's got to be safer than being around Rey.

[muscovy]

"I am looking for him."

Firo went into a temple to look after someone, and Muscovy, knowing that remaining stationary, especially right outside a temple, would be dangerous, so he walked away... and then noticed Rey and followed her. Following someone is how he has been looking for Firo before while the fog was in the streets, never straying too much from the next person, and as long as they were moving around, he had no better or worse chance of finding Firo following them around than walking around without a guide.

[circumitus]

That's a start, at least. Rey nods.

"Will help you look for him, then."

While she doesn't mean to pass the kid off to someone else, if Firo really has taken Muscovy under his wing, then it should be all right. Right?

It'll be a hell of a lot safer than following her around, anyway.

[muscovy]

He likes this development, not only because of the immediate practical advantage (having Rey look after him will make his wandering around this place a lot safer) but also because it will also allow him to spend time with Rey where she knows that he is around and doesn't try to make him go away. And because of what that implies - that she cares somehow, and you can build on that.

"I saw him last outside Delight's temple, but that was a while ago."

[circumitus]

While Rey would certainly like nothing more than to not be some kid's babysitter, it doesn't feel right to just leave him, either. Damn her moral quandaries.

"Fine. We'll check there first." She sighs and rubs her forehead, heading in the direction of the temple without warning. "Come on, let's go."

If he's isn't there, perhaps they can find someone else to look after Muscovy instead. Firo can't be the only one, can he?

[muscovy]

Muscovy will just happily trail her. This is a good start, right?

...A good start, and, he realized after they have walked for a bit, a good chance. Maketh's words made it sound like the man living with Rey isn't Gregory, and while Muscovy will certainly not ask if he is directly, perhaps trying to get some additional information for the puzzle from her directly will be good.

"You should tell me about the man whom you live with, yes?"

[circumitus]

There are a few times in which Rey comes close to picking up her stride, forgetting that she has a child also accompanying her. She reminds herself to keep it steady so that he can keep up, and not leave him far behind in the fog. It's easy to get lost in this. Perhaps that GPS would have been useful, after all...

She blinks when he finally speaks, canting her head in Muscovy's direction. "You mean Nick?"

Who else could he be talking about? Rey only lives with one person.

"What do you want to know? We met the first week we came here."

Never mind the fact that Rey had been more inclined to leave Nick buried in a grave or cracking his face with a shovel than she was to live with him at the time.

[muscovy]

Sometimes, he needs to run a bit, but most of the time walking at a fast pace is enough, which is a pleasant change from before. Her answer line up with what Maketh says, but he has to dig a bit further. Perhaps he can learn more.

"What kind of place is he from?"

[circumitus]

It isn't any major mystery as to why Muscovy would pry for details, and Rey isn't so blind to the fact that he'd be suspicious. He had mentioned no such thing of there being a Nick in this alternate universe they had shared a family unit in. Nick is an anomaly. Hell, Rey would be suspicious, too. She had been when they first met, given the detective's obvious synthetic nature.

Now Rey can only draw her own assumptions as to why Muscovy would want to know more about the man she is living with.

"He came from somewhere called the Commonwealth. It became a radioactive wasteland after some bombs dropped during a major war."

[muscovy]

"And this Commonwealth was on a word and in a universe different from the one that you are from, yes?"

He might be good at sneaking around physically, but he sucks at being sneaky about questions. He'll learn eventually, but that will take time and practice.

[circumitus]

His question seems odd, but innocent enough, considering Rey doesn't know what reason he would have to ask in the first place.

"Yes. Our words have some similarities, but we come from different universes entirely." She pauses, arching a brow. "Why are you asking?"

[muscovy]

"I want you to be safe, yes?"

It's very far from a non-sequitur, but he almost hopes that it will sound like one. It's not a lie - lying only gets you into trouble in the long run - but perhaps Rey will turn it into something that works better in her head. People often do that, after all.

[circumitus]

She stares down at him, nonplussed.

"Am plenty safe. Why would you think otherwise?"

[muscovy]

"Everyone has people that make them less safe, and it would be bad if he was someone who made you less safe, yes?"

In Muscovy's case, that might be a boss, if the boss isn't nice and/or sane. In Rey's case... well, there was a reason why him and Firo had rough plans for how to have someone suffer an accident should they ever show up.

[circumitus]

There is a point to his logic there. Rey has had some influences in her life that were more keen to put her in harm's way than they were to help her out of them. However...

"Nick isn't one of those people. If anything, he'd nag about not being safe enough."

[muscovy]

"Good."

Muscovy still isn't certain that Rey is really safe with Nick, but he's at least 99% sure now that he isn't Gregory. Hooray?

"Why do you live together with him?"

[circumitus]

To Rey, that's an odd question. At least, it's certainly one that she didn't expect.

"Well, it wasn't planned." She shrugs as she walks, blinking up at the upper part of the caves. "Was, um. Having some problems at the old apartment. Crashed at his place for a while. Got used to having the company around."

She hesitates, not sure whether or not to admit this--

"...Don't really like living alone."

[muscovy]

He nods - that last one he can understand, because he feels it very strongly himself, and it would be part of the explanation of why Rey back on the planet shared her home so easily. Almost-family friends aside.

But there is still a curious piece buried in her explanation that is very reasonable overall.

"Why did you "crash" at is place and not at someone else's?"

[circumitus]

By 'someone else', she wonders if Muscovy really means why she didn't stay at Firo's. Which would've made sense for this other Rey that he apparently knew, who was much closer to him. Close enough to be family, it seems.

Rather than having a very thoughtful response in mind, Rey just shrugs.

"He offered."

She also suspects that Nick wanted to keep an eye on her as well, but Muscovy would probably find that more suspicious. And he already seems cagy of Nick for some reason.