hadriel_logs | Intro Log: Death Comes

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Intro Log: Death Comes

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for July.
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: July 10th-15th
Warnings: Deathclaws. That's all you really need to know.

As usual, the new arrivals in Hadriel will be waking up on the dirt ground of the colosseum, and as usual, they won't be waking up alone. This month brings coat hangers of all shapes and, uh, sizes strewn about the colloseum floor around all of the new arrivals.

Get up, get out, meet and greet, find some new exciting interior decorating options, but don't forget about the more prominent threat: the (newly) local deathclaws roaming about in the inner halls of the arena. These deathclaws are vicious bipedal creatures with long arms ending in curved talons, horns ripe for goring and, of course, teeth as long as fingers. These animals have been engineered to be as deadly as they can possibly be, so you might want to buddy up before taking one on.

Have you escaped from the deathclaws? Made a few friends? Not died horribly? 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 July 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!

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[Another month, another batch of poor fucks pulled in here by the Door, another month of no Matt. Why does Emily even bother anymore? If this place is supposed to pull in assholes, then Matt is never going to show up here.

But then again, Hannah shouldn't be here either. Sure, she'd been creepy obsessive about Mike, but she'd just been stupid, not an asshole. There's a difference that the Door obviously doesn't get and holy shit Hannah is here holy fucking shit.]

Hannah! [Against her every good instinct, Emily jogs to her as she emerges from the colosseum.] Han! Oh my god. Are you okay? [What the fuck kind of monsters did she face in there? Jesus shit.]

[ She barely makes it out. Somehow, the animal, or whatever it was, hadn't run into her yet. The teen stumbles out, looking terrified, looking over her shoulder, and almost bumps into a familiar face. ]

Emily? [ If everything else weren't going on, she'd have a different reaction. She'd bring up the prank and all the shitty emotions that came because of it. Her expression is clouded, but she can't afford to be petty, not when her absolute confusion is so strong. ] No, I'm-- I can't find Beth, I don't know what's going on, I--

[ She swallows, looks over the other girl. Was she wearing that before? ]

How did you get down here? [ She asks on a whisper. ] Did you see it, too? The... thing in the woods?

[Okay wow. Hannah... Hannah doesn't know about what happened. And now is about the worst time to tell her, because she just faced god only knows what monsters in there, and it's just. If it were anyone else, Emily would give them the basics and leave them, but this is Hannah, and she is so sorry for what she did to her, and she's pretty sure Josh is gonna freak even if he's happy to see her, and the best thing Emily can do for her now is take her back to the house, where it'll be safe for a few days.

Most importantly, though, the others will be there, and maybe one of them can tell her what happened.]

Beth's not here. Come on, we have to get out of here. I'll explain later.

[No she won't.

Not waiting for an answer, she grabs Hannah by the wrist and starts the walk back to the house.]

[ If something really bad had happened to Beth, she knows Emily would be more upset. Emily, cool under pressure, but very smart. If Beth were really hurt, Emily wouldn't be so calm, right?

As usual, she follows where the other girl leads. Emily takes her wrist and Hannah plods along obediently, adjusting her glasses, frowning into the shadows of... wherever this is. So, they'd fallen, maybe she'd gotten knocked out, and the others had come chasing after the twins to help them back up. She assumes Beth is just somewhere nearby with the others, because she knows her sister wouldn't just leave her lying there, alone. ]

[That is actually true. When Emily found Beth's head, she had freaked out, screamed so loud that the wendigo -- that Hannah should've found her and killed her.

The wendigo that had been Hannah, that had been born of a cruel prank.

Nope, she's not going to think about that now. Thank god the Hannah who showed up here is-- wait, when did she come from?]

What's the last thing you remember from before the colosseum? [The question is flung over her shoulder at Hannah, as Emily keeps moving forward. The sooner she drops Hannah off at the house, the sooner Emily can leave for the sewing shop and pretend this isn't happening, pretend Hannah isn't here, pretend Josh isn't going to try and kill Emily in her sleep or something.]

[ With everything that's happened recently, very recently, Hannah hasn't been thinking about the prank. When Emily asks, though, her expression stiffens, her grip loose in Emily's. ]

Beth and I were in the woods. [ Does she need to say why? It's embarrassing enough as it is. ] We, um... we heard a noise, like an animal, so we started running. Then this guy showed up, someone we didn't know, and he had a flamethrower. I don't know what he was doing, but he was... really scary, and we slipped.

[ Off a cliff. It sounds so stupid. ]

Beth was holding us up, but we fell. [ When Hannah woke up in the caves, she'd been alone. ] If you guys didn't come to find us, we might not have-- I'm not sure how we would've gotten back up.

[Oh god. Emily isn't sure if she should be relieved or not that Hannah got here before she-- (just let the thought come to you, Em, it's what happened-- no, not like that) before she came to on the icy ground in the mines, a broken leg and a dead sister her only company. She still got humiliated, still got chased by a wendigo, still got to know the fear of staring death in the face.]

Goddamn. [And that's all she can think to say in response.

She leads Hannah out of the city. The houses that make up the first spiral are clearly visible in the cave's day lighting. If Hannah still thinks they're on the mountain once she sees them, then... they'll deal with it. Someone at the house will help her deal with it. Someone not Emily.]

[ Not much of a response to her story, but... also not a surprise. Emily always seems to have that chilly composure no matter what's happening. Hannah swallows, following the other girl, not elaborating much more. ]

What-- [ She blinks, seeing, but not exactly comprehending, when they reach the houses. Her heart thuds uncertainly and she grasps more firmly at Emily if only to reassure herself that something here is real and solid. ]

What is this? [ Hannah asks weakly. ] You... see those things, too, right?

[Maybe if Hannah had been pulled here closer to when Emily was, Em would have more to say. More questions, more answers, more... anything.

More guilt, definitely.

But so much has happened since she got here that Emily is just... she feels more tired than anything else. Tired of being a battery for the gods, tired of missing Matt, tired of feeling guilty over everything. At least having heard Josh actually say he doesn't blame her has done her some good. And working out her shit with Ash and Chris, too. If only Jess and Mike and Sam were still here. If only Matt and Beth would show up.

If only.]

Yeah. [Emily blinks to get back her focus. She has to get Hannah to safety, has to make sure she never lets anything bad happen to Hannah again.] They're houses. We're not on the mountain, Han. Or in the mines, or under the lodge. We're--

[Goddamn, this is the first time in a while that it actually feels weird to say this.]

We're in, like, some other fucking world.

[ Hannah swallows. Listens. Stares, through her glasses, at the girl she models pieces of her life after.

Another world? What? ]

That's-- Crazy. [ She says lamely, chewing on her bottom lip. Pull it together. You sound stupid. ] I mean-- What are you saying? How did we get... anywhere else? Beth and I just... fell, and...

[ Tumbled into Wonderland? Her heart aches for her missing twin, strong with the fear she feels for them both. For all of them. ]

I don't get it. [ Hannah finishes quietly. ]

[How in the fuck does Hannah Washington, whose father makes horror movies for a living, can't easily wrap her head around this? Then again, she also doesn't know what happened on the mountain -- what happened after she fell into the mines.

Emily is not going to be the one to tell her. Nope. Fuck that noise.]

Ash or Chris can explain it to you. Just-- [and she is aware how hypocritical this is, after the shit she pulled, but she says it anyway] trust me.

[They're coming up on the house now. It should be clear to Hannah which one Emily is aiming for. They have just enough rooms for all five of them now, which Emily would be happy about if not for the fact that-- well, this is shithole cavetown, and the girl she played a cruel prank on is here to remind her that she was wrong. She's not supposed to be wrong, ever.]

Ash? [ And Chris? Hannah looks wonderingly at Emily, unsure of how much to take at face value, but pressing the other girl for answers will only earn her scorn, or so she guesses. So, Hannah presses her mouth into a thin, worried line, nodding briefly and following as they approach the house.

The building, rather, because Hannah has no idea where this is or any concept of their having lived here for some time. ]

I... [ There's so much on her mind, so many questions half-formed, so she trails off, uncertain. Emily will explain once they're inside, right? When they're somewhere safe, away from that... animal.

She has to hope. She needs answers, feels the confusion and panic pressing at her like a caged creature. ]

[Thank god Hannah shuts the fuck up. Better to get her to the house as quick as possible, so Emily can go be anywhere but the house until someone has told Hannah what's what and Emily has maybe figured out how to deal with the fact that goddamn Hannah Washington is in shithole cavetown now.

God. Emily just can't win, can she? Then again, she doesn't really deserve to win, where Hannah is concerned.]

You what. [She doesn't mean to snap, but she's on edge as she opens the front door.] Spit it out. [They have all the time in the world here, but Emily doesn't have the patience for this newcomer "what's going on" thing anymore.]

This is crazy. [ Hannah mutters, following Emily through the front door, wrapping her arms around herself in a hug. ] There's... no way this can be real.

[ It's insane, like something out of a dream. She shakes her head, unwilling to look the other girl in the eyes. ]

Why are you so calm about it? [ She asks, despite knowing (or thinking that she knows) the answer. ]

It's real.

[There's no emotion in Emily's voice when she says that, not even the tone that implies she's upset that her word is being doubted. It's hard to be angry at the girl whose ultimate fate was part your fault.]

Because I've been here for six months.

Six months?

[ At that, Hannah stops short. It's less of a problem now that they're in the house, but no less confusing. ]

I just saw you. [ She states, unwilling to revisit the context. This has to be part of the prank. It has to. ] Just... like, twenty minutes ago.

[ Emily's dressed differently, though. She looks a little different, even. Something unpleasant and unsettling stirs in the pit of Hannah's stomach and she fidgets, expression of mild distress. ]

[Emily does look different. She'd always been thin, but now her cheekbones are more visible. Her hair is longer and less smooth, with split ends she would never tolerate if she were home. She's not wearing makeup, and her clothes have a rough look to them, the shirt being one she made herself (and it looks good, okay, just not couture), and the jeans being taken from one of the shops in town.

Crossing her arms, she turns to face Hannah, her gaze hard but not unkind. More neutral than anything, almost blank, wholly guarded.]

Time is weird. Like, Chris is from later than I remember, and Ash and Josh are from before. [She glances aside, at the door, and looks back at Hannah with a sigh.] This place is really fucking weird, Han. And I'm not lying to you. This isn't some stupid prank, okay?

[That counts as an apology, right? Calling the prank stupid? Okay, it doesn't, but whatever.]

[ Honestly? Hannah isn't sure what to say. She's still stung about the prank, of course, but Emily calling it 'stupid' so soon after (in Hannah's time) is shocking. Hearing that they're in a monster cave and from different times is shocking. It's a lot for a girl to take in, all in one day. ]

Okay. [ Really, she's just hoping she goes to sleep, wakes up, and finds out it's the morning of the party. ] Okay, I... I get it.

[ Somewhat. She understands that this is crazy, or... 'fucking weird,' as Emily said. ]

So... you live here? [ Hannah asks tentatively, changing the subject. ] It doesn't seem so bad.

[ The house, that is. Not the monster caves. ]

[Hannah probably doesn't get it, but Emily is glad for the change of topic. Talking about the house is easier than talking about things Hannah doesn't know about, things that haven't happened to her yet, things that are a good part Emily's fault.]

Yeah, the house is fine. The washing machine can dye shit pink if you're not careful, I heard. And the food is... it's okay. You can spice it up. Don't eat any meat, though. [If she hasn't turned into a wendigo yet, then she should never have to turn into one at all.]

Pink? [ That draws out a little, surprised laugh. ] I mean, that could happen in any machine, though, right? I know Josh dyed a shirt pink, once...

[ Which is why you never let Josh do laundry. ]

No meat? [ Sam would be happy about that. ] Got it. So, where does the food come from? Is there... some kind of store, or are we basically foraging?

[ Are they going full Survivor, here? ]

It's worse than normal laundry problems. [Emily rolls her eyes. Duh. She wouldn't have brought it up otherwise.] It happened before I got here, so ask someone else if you want.

[Not eating meat spared Sam from a terrible fate when Emily got here, and it's not something Emily is prepared to discuss with Hannah. She might never be.]

There's stores and stuff, but you just take what you want. And now there's an orchard if you feel like picking weird fruits and veggies. They're not bad, just... weird as shit. [Like most everything else here.] Don't go wandering around where it looks like a war zone, either. There are monsters in the caves. Do not swim in the river or the lake. Nobody knows what's in there.

Okay. [ Comes the meek reply. She'll probably ask... any of the others who seem wary, but willing to answer her questions. ]

Weird, but edible? [ She suggests, as Emily implies. Good, they have some food source here, at least. ] I wouldn't do any of that stuff.

[ Probably. She may be naive, but she isn't stupid. ]

Some of them even taste good. [For a given value of good.

Hannah, your decision-making is suspect. You ran off into a snowstorm at night. Granted, that was in no small part because of Emily and the others, but... still. You could've run literally anywhere in the lodge.

They should've stopped her.

Okay this is going nowhere good.]

Just-- pick a room and get settled and do go out anywhere on your own for a while, got it?

[ She was flustered, okay? To put it lightly. And she knows it was stupid - she said as much when Beth found her.

Not that Emily knows that. ]

Got it. [ Hannah repeats, more like a dutiful daughter than a peer. She takes a hesitant few steps away, still eyeing the other girl, so many things hanging unsaid between them - ]

Thanks... for helping me out. [ She says finally. Maybe she should be more aggressive about this, should be angry for what happened, but... it doesn't seem like the time. Maybe later.

Maybe never. ]

Edited 2016-08-25 17:52 (UTC)

[Flustered and humiliated, and it was because of people she trusted.

No going back now. At least shithole cavetown seems to be giving Emily a chance to make things right. Either that, or throwing together the perfect group of people to emotionally torture her.

When Hannah speaks again, Emily all but freezes. She doesn't deserve her thanks. Not in the least. But she holds on tight to the words and lets herself believe the lie that everything can be okay if she just tries.]

Sure. [It's just as quiet as Hannah was. And with that, she goes into the kitchen to make some coffee, because goddamn, this is some shit to deal with.]

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Intro Log: Death Comes

outside the colosseum okok

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