Intro Log: Arm Yourself

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for August
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: August 10th-15th
Warnings: Stalkers, newbies, and cute loot!

Sleeping on the cold dirt ground of the colosseum is enough to make anyone uncomfortable. It might be a little worse this month than others, as some of you may be waking up on top of or around various self defense devices (btw: that last one is a taser).

Come to think of it, you'll probably need those. Also in the colosseum and already stalking you are... uh, well, stalkers from the Borderlands game series. Stalkers come armed with claws, teeth, and sharp tails- and what's more, they can turn invisible to sneak up on you. Zap them with your newfound taser or stab them with your jewelry comb knife or just run away screaming- we won't judge, but you have to do something or else they'll kill you and eat your corpse and all sorts of unfortunate things.

Good luck finding a way out. Maybe you can make some friends along the way.

All done and escaped from the clutches of the colosseum? Awesome! 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 August 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

[infinite1up]

Some people just can't take a hint. You could have just agreed with him and kept your mouth shut, but no. Having the kid pull away just means he just has another hand free to stabilize the gun -- now pointed directly at Firo. There's no way he'll miss at this range.

"Indeed. It looks like we have a now have a problem on our hands," Sato replies, oddly cheerful while sighting down the barrel. He might still be completely lost as to the details of the current situation in general , but this specific one is familiar. "Too bad."

Bang.

[foundafamily]

Firo topples with the bullet before he even has time to think about what's gone wrong.

It's not an entirely new position for him to be in. Being both a gangster and a nosy jerk, this was bound to happen sooner or later, and so getting shot to death isn't exactly a novelty for him.

Handily enough, this means that his body's had some practice at repairing, so blood and brains and shards of skull are pulling back together before a minute's even passed. Szilard's rather exhaustive research had shown him that, while head wounds are a pain to heal, areas that have been wounded a lot regenerate faster. He's thankful for that now.

He growls while he hauls himself off the ground and looks around to see if the man's moved in the time since Firo was shot. "You wanna try that again, jackass?"

[infinite1up]

Sato had gotten up and dusted himself off, paying less attention to Firo and more to the possibility of any more Stalkers in the area. So when the kid gets up, well, his reaction is about the same as Firo's. Why wasn't there any blood left on the ground? And although he'd looked away for a moment or two, there wasn't even a hint of residual invisible black particles drifting through the air. It reminded him of the faked demihuman videos he'd seen posted online; they always got the regeneration part wrong. That was what it felt like.

Still there wasn't any denying that he'd killed him, and now Firo was back. And that meant a potential ally once he'd sorted out quite what was going on. Maybe.

"Oh, pardon me. If I'd realized, I wouldn't have acted so hastily," he says in mild surprise, apologetic but not overly so. It's not like being killed means that much as a demihuman, after all. At worst, painful if you weren't used to it. "After all, it is inconvenient to be discovered."

[foundafamily]

Firo gapes, his eyes blinking quickly. All too quickly, shock turns to anger--weird as this guy is, he still shot Firo, and that's what's most concerning right now. He clenches a fist and growls, "Inconvenient?"

Well, he supposes he can't deny that, but he'd choose words that are a bit stronger. He's not even sure what to say when the man's acting like this isn't a big deal at all, so he settles for the obvious.

"The hell was that for?"

[infinite1up]

He's more upset about it than Sato figured.

"Again, I do apologize. But what would you have done in my position?" he says, opting for the serious route. "In a strange place like this, it's hard not to expect the worst. Humans can be so cruel... I'm sure you've seen the videos."

It definitely was a strange place, and unclear exactly what was going on in general. It was unusual to be this completely mystified - Sato was used to being in complete control of the situation - but it didn't bother him. He'd sort it out in due time. And if this kid wasn't the sort who approved of killing humans, well... he'd sort that out in time too.

[foundafamily]

Firo opens his mouth to list several alternatives to straight-up shooting him (Even if, well, some of those alternatives might wind up going down a similar road. He doesn't have to admit that.) but stops to listen to the rest of what Sato's saying.

"What 'videos'?"

He knows the word gets kicked around with the network a lot, but he can't imagine that kind of inane stuff is what this guy means. He's pretty sure a guy who casually shot him isn't the type to get upset over that stuff, so what gives?

[infinite1up]

It's hard to imagine any demi-human who wouldn't have least heard, even if they were too squeamish to watch the whole thing. Despite the fact that something was clearly going on here, all Sato can really do is roll with the situation as he would have before getting transported to... wherever this is.

"The experimentation on demi-humans. Weapons testing, guinea pigs for pharmaceuticals... It's no less than government-sanctioned torture," he says with grave disapproval, shaking his head sadly. "And still humans are willing to capture us and turn us in to the authorities. None of us should have to stand for that."

To be fair, nothing about those words is a lie. But that doesn't mean Sato isn't spinning a story anyway to justify himself, prove himself one of the 'good guys' in the kid's eyes... or at least see if they're on the same team.

[foundafamily]

"Demi-human?" If he bothers to think about it, Firo supposes he can guess. "You mean people like you. Who don't die like that."

People like them. He doesn't feel quite right lumping them together, though, when this guy seems to work a little differently; even the term he uses is different than the one Firo knows.

He snorts, "So you think that's a good excuse for shootin' me?" He supposes he wouldn't do much different if he were in the other guy's shoes, but he conveniently ignores such self-examination.

[infinite1up]

"When it's necessary to stay safe, yes. I can understand if you have a hard time feeling the same way, though," Sato says gravely. Mind you, he's more sorry that maybe one day he'll have to find a barrel to stuff him in and bury alive. Dealing with other immortals isn't too bad with a creative mindset and a little initiative. "Killing... isn't an easy thing to do."

"I do have to ask though, if demi-human doesn't seem quite right to you, how would you describe yourself?" he asks with a little more curiosity.

[foundafamily]

Firo blinks, then pouts, very offended. "Did you forget that you just killed me?"

Of course, he agrees that killing isn't exactly easy, but he doesn't confirm, because that's an embarrassing opinion for a gangster to have.

"Immortal." He shrugs. It makes more sense, doesn't it? He thinks that much is obvious, at least, because whatever Firo's used to is obviously the most normal thing.

Is this where the differences end? He supposes sorting that out is pretty important; he needs to know if this guy can eat him or not. "So how'd it happen to you?"

[infinite1up]

"We do what we have to do, don't we? Or what we think we have to at the time," Sato clarifies regretfully.

"And it was a car accident," he adds, giving the most easily believed and bland possibility for his first death. No need to get into what really happened. "I didn't make it, but.... Isn't that always how it is? Once you die the first time, you know."

That last question is a little less rhetorical than it could be. That's always how it is for demi-humans. Maybe this kid will fill him in on just what his deal is on his own.

[foundafamily]

Firo frowns and squints a little. He'd been thinking of how the man had consumed the elixir when he asked the question, but he'd been purposely vague.

He'll have to show a bit of his hand, he supposes, if he wants more information. "So, by 'didn't make it'... You didn't come back right away the first time?"

It'd taken him a few minutes the first time he was shot to death, but the way the guy words it makes it sound more final than that.

[infinite1up]

If he wasn't already basically squinting... "No, no, simply that nobody would have survived that crash. I died for the first time that day, and that was when I discovered I was something more than human."

Sato's earlier seriousness eases a bit here. "I get the feeling that we're not quite speaking the same language, are we? Perhaps you could clarify what exactly the situation is around your own immortality? After all," he smiles, "we're both blessed in much the same way."

[foundafamily]

Now, if Firo hadn't been killed by this guy, he might easily pony up the information. If this guy drank the elixir like him, then he needs to know, and no amount of evasion will really help. If the guy didn't, then he has nothing to worry about. Well, at least not on the front of being eaten. People can still cause a lot of trouble for immortals; his friends the Gandors figured that out quickly.

Yet Firo still chooses to be a little opaque. Wariness, maybe, but mostly he doesn't want to make things easy on a guy who took him out. He's petty like that. "Blessed?

"I don't know about blessings. I came by mine... well, not honestly, but it didn't come down from the heavens or anything," he finishes with a hint of mocking.

"Is that how you got yours?"

[infinite1up]

Mock all you want Firo, he doesn't take it personally. "Could be."

"Ah, now don't think I'm being facetious here. It's just that nobody really knows. You can be a demi-human all your life, and never know until your first fatal accident. And then you come back, sometimes better than you were before." he explains. That was certainly true in his case.

"On the other hand, it sounds like you went to some sort of effort to be immortal? How interesting."

[foundafamily]

It definitely sounds different to him; all the immortals he's known can recall the moment they became immortal. Even those who did so accidentally realized the moment they drank later.

He's not getting much new out of this guy beyond that, and he wonders if the man will be more forthcoming if Firo himself is. Time to spill, he supposes.

"Not really. I just got into some booze that turned out to be the elixir of immortality. It's a long story, but I got some off a guy I ran into."

Not so much a long story as a story that involves Firo robbing an unconscious elderly man. Let's just call it a long story.

[infinite1up]

"Isn't that the lucky break? You'll have to tell me more... although maybe some other time, when we're somewhere a little less monster-infested." He'd gotten so caught up this interesting little confrontation that the matter at hand -- exactly where he was -- had fallen to the wayside.

He's not overly pertubed, but it might be better to at least feign a little confusion when he talks to the kid, adding, "Actually, I'm still not sure that would be. I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto."

[foundafamily]

Maybe his caution wasn't so necessary, in this case. Firo nods, knowing that he wouldn't be too disappointed if such an opportunity didn't come up.

The movie hasn't come out by his time, but, thanks to his friends and his rather odd contaiulo, Firo's familiar with the books. He folds his arms over his chest, frowning. "Cute, but I'm not Toto."

He scans the area around them and beckons for the man to follow as he takes the first few steps away. The man's right; there are better places to talk. "You're not wherever you were before, though. This city isn't normal."

[infinite1up]

"Hmm. I was starting to get that impression," he agrees, following in Firo's footsteps. "Are you from around here, then?"

[foundafamily]

"No way. I'm from New York. On Earth." He tacks on the last part reluctantly; it still doesn't feel natural to specify.

"I got dragged here the same way I'm assumin' you did. It happens a lot."

[infinite1up]

It definitely doesn't feel natural, but the fact that Firo even has to specify is some information all on its own.

"I'm not sure what how that happened either. One minute making coffee in the morning and the next, waking up in a coliseum full of monsters." Still, it's not like he sounds that upset about it overall.

[foundafamily]

Firo turns down one of the winding streets. The bar--that's always a good place to take people to talk, and he's sure a new arrival especially needs a drink.

"That's how it usually goes. No warning at all."

He rubs the back of his neck. "You're probably not gonna get back to your coffee any time soon--I've been here for months, and I know people who've been here much longer. Sorry."

[infinite1up]

Sato peers around, keeping track of their route through the city. Where on earth is this? Or, he supposes, not on earth seems to be a possibility if he's inferring from Firo's words correctly.

"Oho. I wouldn't mind something new and interesting to kill a few days, but I don't think I can hang around here that long. Things to do, you know," he replies lightly, finally sticking the pistol back into the waistband of his pants.

[foundafamily]

Firo laughs; it doesn't have a hint of humor in it. "Join the club." He needs to get back now--or several months ago. Speaking to Victor about Ennis's situation mitigated some of his urgency, but how could he know if he could really trust the FBI agent's word?

"What've you got to take care of?"

[infinite1up]

If circumstances were different, for instance, a friend with a hidden tranquillizer rifle and a few steel barrels around just in case, Sato would happily share details. But as it is, he doesn't even skip a beat in skimming over the issue.

"Some friends of mine will be expecting me to give them a hand later," he says lightly. Even if the city is pretty run-down looking, this is definitely much more than he was expecting. "I suppose it's not that important, but still... nobody likes to be confined. Even if their prison appears to be surprisingly large."