hadriel_logs | 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She has to assume that Ashley is so worked up over the prank, which she's been putting out of her mind in favor of the more pressing details, but... it is recent in Hannah's history. She remembers all of their faces, the laughing and grinning, and she stiffens where she stands. ]

They left? [ She asks, trying to nudge the negativity back into a corner, at least for now.

The idea that Jess and Mike left isn't so surprising, but... Sam? Why would she leave in a time like that unless it was to get help? That has to be it. ]

Why?

Th-They didn't have a choice. [ She swallows. They don't have much choice in this place, and the choices they do have, they're barely choices at all. She bites her lip. Oh, god, why Hannah. She crushed on Mike, she clearly liked him so much, and they made her suffer when she was already suffering so much.

Oh god, she thought she'd forgiven herself for her involvement, but maybe that guilt will never go away. Maybe it never should. ] They... They wouldn't have left us if they'd had the choice.

[ Not Mike, not Sam, not after all they'd been through. Jess might have, but Ashley wouldn't be able to blame her—she'd leave if she could, too. ]

Why wouldn't they have a choice? [ She answers automatically, not understanding fully, not yet. ] Why--

[ But she swallows and shakes her head. If Sam could have stayed, she would have. She wants to believe that Mike would, too, but the prank is... too fresh in her mind. Sam would stay. ]

Okay. [ Hannah says finally. ] So... what do we do now?

[ She's still working on accepting this place, on how and why she's here. On being here without Beth. It'll overwhelm her before long, but she has to keep her head on straight for as long as possible. ]

[ What do we do now?

Ashley has been asking herself the same question since her arrival, and the only answer she's really been able to come up with is this: ] We... We survive.

[ They deal with each beast that comes along, and get on with their lives by pretending that it's all going to end up all right. Ashley tries to smile at Hannah, as if to reassure her, but it's hard when her nose is red and her eyes are teary and the frown just won't turn upside down no matter how hard she tries. She looks back to the kitchen, motioning towards it. ]

I, uh... Do you want some breakfast? [ It's just like what she did when Jess came in, broken and bruised; Ashley didn't know what to do, so she... offered food, and coffee. ] I-I made some eggs, and we've got some good coffee, too.

[ She tries so hard to make it all seem normal. ]

[ "Survive" is a nasty word. It means there isn't any room to do anything else. That there might not even be resources to keep alive. Hannah doesn't like their family-brand genre of movies, but she's intimately familiar with them. She knows what survive means for those people, fictional though they are.

A lump rises into her throat. ]

Why would you say it like that? [ She asks, when she finds her voice. ] "Survive?" We... We have to find a way to get out of here, wherever this is. We can't just... wait.

[ Maybe they'd just given up. It sounds resigned, the way Ashley says it. ]

I'm not hungry. [ Hannah replies, still looking to be in mild distress. ] How could I-- After everything?

[ After the prank, the fall, and now... this. Whatever 'this' is. ]

[ Ashley heads into the kitchen despite Hannah's reply, either because it didn't register or she doesn't really care. She's filling up a tea kettle as she speaks. It's normal. This is normal now, but anxiety twists her belly into knots. ] There isn't... There's no leaving this place, Hannah, not unless the Door that brought us decides to send us back.

[ She shifts the water off, snapping the lid of the metal kettle shut with a clang, and sets it on the stove before she turns to look back at Hannah. ] We're not in a place that's normal. We're not even on our own world, anymore. There are monsters here, there are gods, and it's all for real. [ It's not a prank, or a joke, and the sooner she understands and accepts the reality of it, the better. ]

That sounds crazy. [ Hannah says pointedly, though she follows Ashley into the kitchen. ] You know that, right?

[ Ash can be a little bit of an exaggerator, sure, but... her face and tone suggest complete seriousness. It makes Hannah's own stomach turn uncomfortably with the possibility of its truth. ]

Monsters and gods? [ She repeats weakly, deflating. ] Did we get sucked into a movie, or something?

It's... It's definitely crazy, I know. [ She can't deny that. It's something straight out of the horror genre. She folds her arms across her chest, leaning back against the counter.

This, talking with Hannah, seems the craziest thing of all, though. ]

I'm... I'm sorry, Hannah. [ She finally says, letting her gaze fall to the tiled floor beneath their feet. For this. For everything. ]

Intro Log: Death Comes

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