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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That soun's like mah uncle too.

[He doesn't say anything more than that, because when his uncle had told him something like it, deep into the local moonshine, he had tried to argue that there was nothing wrong with the way they talked, only to listen to his uncle talked about how no one would take anyone that sounded like they did seriously, that they thought everyone were hicks with no class. It was one of the few times Corbin had felt ashamed about himself, and so it was one of the few topics he avoided.]

A boy's school? Figger they'd have somethin' like that closer t'Charleston.

Corbin Blair. What's yers?

[He thinks he'd have something in common with Corbin's uncle. Adam's always been defensive of where he comes from, ashamed and angry at himself for being ashamed. It's different here, where no one has to know unless he tells them.]

I think they put it in the middle of nowhere so the students would have less trouble to get into.

[Not that that ever stops them, but it was a good idea, he guesses. But as it turns out, rich kids will find a way to get in trouble no matter where they are.]

Adam Parrish. Nice to meet you, Corbin.

[That gets a laugh from Corbin, and it almost sounds like a caw as much as a laugh]

They don' know boys too well then. Get a buncha bored folks out in the woods, they'll get inta more trouble'n you c'n shake a stick at.

[He had no doubt that rich boys got into just as much trouble, if not more, than their poor counterparts]

[He smiles, genuinely welcoming]

How long've ya been here?

That sure is true.

[For all that Adam attended the school himself, he never had any time for the sort of things most of the other students got up to. He had to study and work, which didn't make drawing graffiti on town signs and harassing local girls seem very attractive.]

It's sort of hard to answer that. I've been here for awhile, but I left and came back. But all in all, maybe nine months?

[Which he knows is not very reassuring to hear.]

A lot of people don't stay that long, though.

Tha's a pretty long time.

[He really doesn't want to be in a cave for nine months. He needs to see the sun!]

How'd ya leave 'n come back? Where'd t' other folks go t'?

We don't have any control over it.

[Everyone's lives would be easier if they did, of course.]

I guess not even the gods do, or they say they don't. Every once in awhile people come in, like you just did, and now and then people disappear. Sometimes we leave and come back, sometimes we're just gone. I hope you didn't have anything important to do back home.

[Corbin had been wary, but still cheerful enough, optimistic even, that he might somehow be able to get back to this world with a minimum of trouble, but everything he's heard and been told and what Adam has just told him are making that seem like more and more of an impossible pipedream.]

[His face falls and he looks down at the cave floor and then up at the roof high above.]

It's mah sis. She's... in trouble. Bad trouble. [He's not sure how else to put 'kidnapped and used by bait as monster hunters in the hopes of killing my family' so perhaps that's really the best way to put it]

[It had sort of been an idle comment, but Adam regrets it when he hears Corbin's response. So many of them were taken in the middle of something important, with worries and fears to haunt them here. It was the same for Adam, only he's lucky enough that friends who knew what happened arrived there too.]

I shouldn't have been flippant, I'm sorry. While you're here, she'll be all right. Time passes differently.

[It's hard to explain, but he tries.]

When I went back home I came back at exactly the moment I left. It'll be the same for you, I think - when you go home you'll have time to do whatever you need to do. Nothing will happen to her while you're here.

[That is about the first good news that Corbin has gotten since he got here, and it makes him feel a bit better, especially since Adam is talking about his own experience, not what he heard from a friend of his uncle's niece's brother.]

[He waves a hand]

Y' didn' know, don' worry 'bout it none.

[He puts a hand on Adam's shoulder]

But thanks fer tellin' me, it's a load offa mah mind t' know that.

[It means he can still go after those bastards (no you can't, Corbin, you were bleeding out before you got here) and that makes him feel a lot better]

[Adam's not really the casual-contact-between-friends type, and he's never quite sure what to do with someone who is - he's just still not used to being touched, and especially not by someone he's only just met. But he's aware that it would be both rude and strange to make anything of it, so he just smiles a bit awkwardly.]

Good. It's one less thing to worry about, and I promise there are a lot of them here.

[As they exit the arena, Adam glances back again to make sure they weren't followed. It seems safe enough.]

I've been here for awhile. Is there anything you'd like to know - anywhere you want directions to?

[Luckily for any awkwardness, the contact only lasts a moment, and then Corbin lets him go.]

Y' mean other'n them big scaly fuckers? There's more t' worry 'bout here?

He looks around, and then up at the roof overhead, as if hoping that now they're outside of the arena it's going to be actual sky instead of just stone and more rock overhead]

Jes' th' basics. Place t' sleep, where t' find food at, mebbe where I c'n get some clean clothes. That'd be nice.

[He's not hungry just yet, but he knows that it's good to know where these things are before you need them.]

As long as you don't go in the caves around the city, you should be fine. There are all kinds of monsters in there.

[But maybe Corbin can fight, or likes monsters, or something. Adam can't fight and definitely does not like monsters, so he does his best to avoid the caves - and the arena too, usually. He's got enough of a do-gooder within him to want to help out new arrivals, though.]

There are a lot of houses and apartments. You can probably take any of them that are empty, or find people to live with if you like that better. As for food and clothes... well, there's a bunch of these weird little shops around. You can pretty much take whatever you want from them.

[It's a nice setup, really, if strange.]

It's hard to find some stuff, though. I hope you're not a picky eater.

[Corbin pats the stock of the rifle slung over his shoulder absently and nods]

What kinda monsters?

[The tone is almost too casual, because he knows there are monsters that would kill you as soon as look at you, more like really nasty, angry animals, but he also knows that some of the "monsters" out there are more like his family and are just trying to get by. Not that he's going to hesitate shooting something that attacks him, or something that's really obviously not intelligent. But he's curious what Adam would qualify as a monster]

[He listens to everything, nodding along, but laughs at the comment about food, shaking his head]

Nah, I ain't picky. So long's there's food ah some kind, I'll be fine. Ain't expectin' a menu ah all m' fav'rites.

[He's a crow with a cast iron stomach. So long as it's not literal poison or trying to crawl out his throat, he'll eat it.]

The kind that try to eat you. They don't seem interested in being talked out of it.

[Before coming here, Adam was more familiar with the usual sort of monsters - regular old humans who did awful things. But he's friends with a ghost and he's no longer quite human himself, so the definition of 'monster' is a little shakier.

In this case, though, he's using it in a very literal sense.]

You'll do fine here, then.

[He ventures a smile, somewhat cautious.]

They put human meat in some of the food awhile back, but that hasn't happened since. Anyway, there's an orchard you can get fruit from if you're concerned.

[That made him stop, because why? From the look on his face he clearly can't tell whether to believe Adam or just think that he's pulling his leg.]

Who'd do somethin' like that?

[He might have to be a bit careful about what meat he got, he didn't mind a lot of things, but eating anything sentient was a bridge too far for this bird.]

[It's not that Adam would never tease someone like that - he would, if they were already a friend. But he's just met Corbin, and so he's much more careful, aware that he himself is not particularly good at making friends or making people like him. As such, he wouldn't lie about something like this.

But, of course, he totally understands Corbin's disbelief, or desire to disbelieve.]

The gods. Rage and Fear, that time. They want to make us feel their own specific emotion, and sometimes they do pretty awful things to make that happen.

[He's quiet for a moment]

Shit. Well, yeah. Guess that'd do it.

[Because just thinking about it was making him kind of pissed off.]

[He wonders if you could punch a god.]

So, they still doin' that? It ain't right, fuckin' 'round with folks food like that.

The food's safe now.

[As far as he knows - though Adam figures he'd know by now, being here for months. It could change again, sure, but for now it's all right.]

They do other things, though. You'll find out soon enough - most of it's no good. Scaring us, making us sad, making us angry.

[He wouldn't mind someone giving the gods a few good punches.]

It always ends. You just have to get through it.

Granny always said gods was more trouble than they was worth.

[Which was a bit odd for a boy wearing a St. Christopher's medal, but that's what Granny said and Granny didn't tell lies.]

She was right.

[But that does sort of raise a lot of questions, all things considered. Adam gives him a measuring look.]

Why would she say something like that?

Granny's been 'round, 'cordin' t' her she's met all sorts a' folks.

[He raises an eyebrow]

You jes agreein' with 'er because ya been here? Or's it somethin' else?

I haven't met any gods at home, if that's what you're asking.

[Strange, difficult to understand, incredibly powerful magical creatures - sure. Gods? Not yet. Hopefully not ever.]

The ones here are pretty bad, though. You'll find out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Intro Log: Death Comes

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