hadriel_logs | Intro Log: Don't Wake Tonberry

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Intro Log: Don't Wake Tonberry

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for September
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: September 10th-13th
Warnings: Cute monsters, a way to pass the time, and plenty of newbies!

Waking up in Hadriel certainly has its down sides, but if this weird murdercave city is good at one thing, it's keeping people entertained. As you awaken on the hard ground of the colosseum, you might see a rectangular cardboard box lying near you. Ignore it for now, as you get your bearings, but if you get bored? Well, you'll find these exciting and unique board games will keep you entertained!

But how could you possibly get bored, when there are plenty of cute monsters around to keep you company? Sharing the colosseum with all the new arrivals are Tonberries. In addition to their natural cuteness defense, they also carry very large knives. They're slow-moving and look innocent and even friendly, but be careful - one strike from that knife and you'll be a bloody mess. They won't attack unless you get too close, but who doesn't want to hug a Tonberry? And of course, if you attack, they'll counter with extreme prejudice.

Managed to resist the urge to hug a Tonberry? Safely escaped from the clutches of the colosseum, new board game in tow? 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 September 10th-13th.
► 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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All that there is. It once was my specialty and my name was synonymous with madness.

[Back when he had been younger and more vicious towards those he felt had wronged him. The years have helped to mellow the old psychic out. These days, he's much slower to anger.

His mind reaches out, a tendril of thought going towards Richie's. He seeks out what makes the man up, curious as he always is about who this place pulls in.]

[Richie senses the tendril only moments before it enters his mind. As the tendril snakes through fog it will emerge through the clouds to see monsters of varying shapes and strengths. A warning sent into Richie's mind to remain cautious in this new place.]

I can see what you're doing. What do you want?

[Ushahin's right eye flickers in surprise, the pupil growing larger until there's just a thin strip of blue surrounded by all the black. He sees the monsters in the other man's mind and they fascinate him. This one shall definitely prove to be interesting.]

Strange. Most men never notice when I am inside their minds. Are you gifted then?

Yeah.

[He should be suspicious, just as he is with most people. But in this case, as with his many exceptions to his own set rules, Richie speaks when he knows he should remain quiet. He desperately wants to be acknowledged that his mind is different from everyone else's in the best of ways.]

And you never answered my question.

What do I want? Hmmm, what do I want? [He echoes the question, sounding like he doesn't quite know himself. He looks thoughtful as he answers.]

I am someone who is interested in those around him. I am inside people's minds, so I might as well know things about them. [And Richie interests him quite a bit for his particular abilities, so that's just an added bonus.]

You're inside everyone's mind? [Richie takes a single step back, yet cranes his neck forward. Its a physical display of the conflict he's felt since this man's initial contact.]

What does it matter what someone else is thinking?

Well, not at this very moment. But I could if I wanted to. [The fact that he's never alone in his mind because he can't block them out entirely is something he'll just neglect to mention. It sounds too much like weakness.

[His eyes glitter brightly with a bit of insanity, the left one frozen in a permanently dilated state.] Because to have knowledge about someone is power. And power is the only thing that matters.

[The pull of curiosity becomes stronger. The words about building oneself through knowledge strike him deeply. Richie's always had ambition, and lacking an education beyond that of a high school degree has always bothered him. He tries to learn as much as he can through other ways: reading, experimenting, working to discover a new talent, observing. Only now his ability to observe has widened exponentially, even if he doesn't fully understand it.

Richie locks eyes with the stranger, focusing. He can feel this man's energy, his presence, and for a brief flash Richie's mental image explodes into a sky of infinite stars.]

Show me.

[Now there's something he doesn't hear very often. Ushahin raises an eyebrow, but he's not about to give him a chance to change his mind.]

Remember. You asked.

[Then he's inside Richie's head, slipping in the way other men breathe, almost without conscious thought and in an instinctual manner. His presence is of someone ancient and very powerful. He could crush the Gecko brother's mind like an egg if he wanted to. But there's restraint in there as well as he searches through, bringing up memories of the past, flipping through them as someone would skim a book.

He lingers over the people he sees there, mainly Seth, since he can sense a strong connection to his brother, and memories of his father, a childhood devoid of innocence. There's something the half-man can relate to quite strongly. He also focuses in on the visions, that power that he can sense coming from the man. That's something Ushahin likes. Power comes in many forms and it should always be encouraged.]

[The sense of power brings Richie to a state of awe. He wishes he could reach out and touch it, and in some ways it feels as if he can. Rather than close his eyes, he keeps them open, willing himself to be pulled into Ushahin's consciousness. Through this link he can sense the man discovering aspects about his family, private aspects that he keeps quiet.

He's a child again, holding his arms behind him as he keeps Seth behind his back away from the blows of their father. The immediacy of the strikes make him forget about the emptiness in his stomach and the smell of stale beer in the air.

The reaching from Ushahin makes Richie defensive. He presses his lips together firmly. If the visions are what this man wants, that's what he'll get. A wall of oversized snakes line themselves between the minds of Ushahin and Richie, baring their fangs as they loom taller than a human man.]

See any of my shit you want, but keep it mine. Leave my family out of this.

I will remind you that you asked me to show you what I could do.

[Ushahin's eyes flicker and the left one seems to darken until there is only blackness inside without a hint of blue. When it comes to his powers, he doesn't like to be told what to do. Not ever. This is his realm and strength. He will do as he pleases, no matter what some young whelp is saying.

But the display of snakes distracts him. Not bad for someone clearly so young and without proper training. Could he get through them? Probably. Ushahin's got confidence in his abilities. Still, no need to go alienating Richie. He wants this one to stay around.]

You have potential, young one. There is a great deal of power in you. But it is raw and unformed.

[Richie is still on the defensive when the man speaks. The fingers on his right hand curl as if on a pathway to his pocket to find his knife. Maybe he's new at all this, but he isn't new at fighting his way out of a confrontation.

Then he hears the word potential and his hand releases its flex. He exhales, and within his mind the snakes relax somewhat, slithering a pace backward yet remaining watchful.]

Well, yeah. Tell me something I don't know.

[Ushahin has seen a lot over his long, lonely years. He's seen those with talents before, though rarely has he helped them develop them. He always thought there would be more time. Only lately, with the death of all he loved, has he considered passing on his knowledge before all he knows is lost.]

What you need is a mentor, someone who can teach you to develop those skills properly. I am old and have a great deal of knowledge.

[It can't quite be called wisdom. He's got too much madness in him for that. But he hasn't lived over a thousand years not to develop powerful skills.]

[Richie is both intrigued and ~~needlessly~~ offended. He tilts his head to the side in thought, watching the man's face. He does his best to take in every detail, from the thin lines of definition to the spacial distance between each feature.]

Are you saying I'm stupid? That I can't figure things out on my own?

[Ushahin sighs and closes his eyes. Oh, how he forgets what children he is surrounded by in this place. It is good he has the patience to deal with them.]

I am saying I have had over a thousand years and more to develop my skills. [He pauses to let that sink into Richie's mind.] I am merely stating that I might have something worthwhile to teach someone who's only been on this earth for around twenty.

[The pause does Richie good. He uses those moments exactly as Ushahin intended, giving himself time to reflect. Richie is always thinking, always filling a void when his mind begins to slow its race. He takes in a breath. At one point he may have looked to someone claiming they were so old with skepticism. But now he knows that this kind of existence is real. Whether or not this man is telling the truth, Richie is inclined to believe him.

The remark of being around twenty surprises him. When he meets up with Seth he'll have to let his brother know once he finds him in this place.]

So what if I say okay? What does that mean?

It means I will expand your mind in ways you never thought possible.

[Ushahin has always had a flair for the dramatic, and right now, it shows. He's very old and has had a long time to hone his skills into the powerful form that he now possesses. He sends a few images into Richie's head, pushing past the snake defense with ease so quickly it's startling. There's an army torn asunder and scattered as he invades their minds while Ushahin watches safe behind his own lines, a crooked smile borne of insanity on his face. A sorceress who had pushed him too far, subject to her darkest fear of growing old and dying. Finally, there is the dark vastness that makes up a dragon's mind, like staring at the blue-black of the night sky without any stars in it.]

I will teach you everything I know if you are willing and your mind strong enough.

[The display captured Richie's attention. A renewed energy fills him as he watches the display and his tongue feels dry as he craves a taste of that power. The sorceress feels at once familiar and far away, as if he's seen he before in another lifetime he can't touch. By the time the darkness overtakes him, his mind is already made.]

I'm willing. I can handle it.

You must have a touch of madness about you or such gifts would not come to you.

[That was the only way that Ushahin had been able to harness his own strange gifts. A sane man would have died under the strain of using such powers long ago. He looks quite pleased with Richie's answer.]

Good. We shall start immediately.

[The raven, nearly forgotten on Ushahin's shoulder and having watched this whole exchange with rapt attention, blinks his dark brown eyes and lets out a low, humming noise. The half-man looks at his little companion and nods. Ushahin's soft voice takes on a slow, almost hypnotizing tone.]

A raven's mind is smaller than that of a man's. They have bright, quick thoughts. Close your eyes and focus on expanding your mind outwards. Think of nothing but darkness. Look for the spots of light in the black. Try to catch what he's thinking.

[Richie does his best to focus. It's difficult, with so much sight and sound that he doesn't understand filtering in at all times. He shuts his eyes tight, trying to force a physical push of the distractions. That doesn't help. Instead he lets go, allows himself to fall and drift, succumb to the craving of releasing himself from gravity. That's when his surroundings begin to darken. It's not perfect, he can still see gray outlines amid the black, but it's better than Richie had expected.

He sees a light. Ushahin is right, it's quick, only staying in one place for a moment before flitting away. Richie strains to catch it, but it's he's too slow. Again a light blinks into existence and again it vanishes before he can comprehend the thought.]

I can do this. It's just fast.

[Ushahin's mind goes out, watching Richie's mind try to catch Fetch's. He's an outside observer and won't interfere. Richie won't learn anything if he does this for him. The efforts made are admirable, though of course, the half-man would have been astounded if he had gotten it on the first couple of tries. Expanding the mind beyond its usual confines is not an easy task. His soft voice gives some advice.]

That is the way of the raven. A flock of them can give information very quickly, each forming a piece of the whole. Keep that in mind. You're not looking for a continuous train of thoughts. Just a piece, something there and gone again.

[Fetch's thoughts continue to jump from place to place, each one there and then gone again. If Richie can catch hold of one, he'll see that the raven is actually watching him, his bright brown eyes and slightly curved vision taking the man in, wondering what to make of him. He watches his shut eyes behind the shiny glasses, which makes him think of battles and dead bodies, full of eyes to rip out and swallow down whole. Fresh eyeballs are a great treat for ravens, especially the ravens of Darkholm, which had been raised for war.]

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Intro Log: Don't Wake Tonberry

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