hadriel_logs | Intro Log: HOLY F*^K THAT'S A F*&KI%G DRAGON

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Intro Log: HOLY F^K THAT'S A F&KI%G DRAGON

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for October
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: October 10th-13th
Warnings: New faces, new greeting posts, and dragons. What's more to want?

If your first thought upon waking up on the cold, hard ground of Hadriel's very own Colosseum is 'maybe I partied too hard last night', one, Delight would love you and two, you're wrong. Or- maybe you did, but that's not why you're here. Instead, you wake up with the same clothes you were wearing when you were last home, but surrounded by very different people. So, make some friends! Might as well voice your confusion and concern and show the technologically unsavvy of you how to operate these fancy new phones, right? Just be sure not to trip over these odd bags of chips on your way to greet your fellow man.

Don't spend too much time out in the open, though. There are monsters about, and not quite the usual ones. This month, Hadriel is bringing in four dragons, each with their own unique abilities and raidboss-esque stamina. They'll be terrorizing the city until someone puts them down- maybe that someone is you! Maybe you should, uh, actually hide. They're hungry and territorial and mean and they're definitely out for a good meal. Check out our OOC post for more information, as well as who will be eventually killing the beasts!

But hey, once you escape from the dragons, feel free to go explore the rest of the city! Find a house, find a new monster, or simply scavenge for supplies.

New, as of October's intro log is a Newcomer's guide that installs itself by default on every activated phone. Thanks, Mello!

Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers October 10th-13th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► All characters arrive with phones that have network communication and the newbie guide installed.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

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A. COLOSSEUM.

[There are just a few moments of piece when Diego wakes. Long enough for him to parse through his confusion to understand that he's underground somewhere with Silver Bullet, and that the President of the United States is nowhere to be seen. (Neither is Hot Pants for that matter, but he wouldn't expect her to follow him. Their alliance was temporary.) It's frustrating to say the least. Even more so when he finds a...]

[Well, he's not entirely sure what it is. Nothing like it exists where he's from, and sadly, he only manages to get through to the beginning of an explanation about gods before Silver Bullet begins to get notably uneasy. Diego pockets the device for a moment to grab hold of Silver Bullet's reins.]

Hey... Easy, easy...

[Normally speaking so gently and in such soothing tones would relieve the horse's agitation, but not right now. And Diego soon learns why as there's an eruption of noise and panic as the dragons emerge.]

[He doesn't waste time, urging Silver Bullet to move and falls alongside him. With one small skip as Diego picks up the pace, he vaults smoothly onto Silver Bullet's back and gets riding right the hell out of dodge. He isn't afraid, but he isn't stupid either. Being in a completely unfamiliar location and with limited ability to fight beasts of that size and nature, he isn't about to put himself (and especially not his beloved horse) at risk.]

[See you later, losers.]

B. HOUSE-HUNTING.

[With enough distance between Diego and the chaos of the Colosseum well-behind him, Diego looks behind them to be sure before slowing Silver Bullet down to a walk. He leans forward, patting and then giving Silver Bullet a small scritch with wordless, murmured praise for a job well done.]

[As they continue along, Diego pulls out the device again to read properly. It's a lot to take in even for Diego, but he determines quickly that he will need to find shelter both for him and Silver Bullet sooner rather than later. Especially if those dragons continue carrying on the way they are. It shouldn't be too difficult to find something if what the message says is true. At least for himself.]

[Trying to figure out the best way to also house his horse in limited space, however, is another problem altogether. Diego refuses to settle for anything right away and chooses to view all of his options. He dismounts outside and leads Silver Bullet inside behind him. If this happens to be your building or your spiral, you might want to move because neither he nor Silver Bullet are going to stand aside for you.]

C. WILDCARD.

[Choose your own adventure and make something else up! I'm flexible like that. Generally speaking, feel free to assume he is either riding Silver Bullet or is walking with him.]

[He's not actually doing much of anything when the dragons (and Diego) appear. Just walking down the street, really, chatting on his phone to Abdul, trying not to stare at the arcitecture too closely (it creeps him out). One minute, he's enjoying a nice conversation; the next, there's fucking dragons, roaring and screeching and flying out of the fucking colosseum.

And then there's a guy with a horse speeding out of it, because why not, right?

As it happens, as Diego is riding down the street, one of the dragons decides to follow. Whether it's attracted by Silver Bullet's speed or simply heading in the same direction is hard to say, but it's here and it's coming.]

Oye!

[He waves an arm and ducks back between two buildings. Come hide here, that's what that means.]

[Diego sees the movement more so than hears the call out to him. He's focused on riding as fast as he can right now, which means most of his attention needs to be with his eyes, not so much with his ears. At first, Diego curls his lip in irritation. He has this situation under control as far as he's concerned, and he doesn't need the companionship or advice on how to get out of it in one piece.]

[But there is a dragon overhead and looking towards where Polnareff's ducked between the two buildings, it is a little too narrow for a dragon of that size to bother.]

[Fine. But only for a little while.]

[Diego gives a tug to the reins and shifts his weight to redirect Silver Bullet. Polnareff had best stay clear of the horse's path because Diego doesn't even begin to ease up on the horse's speed until they're right at the mouth of the space. They do a small, tight circle once safely between the two buildings and down to a more reasonable pace. Diego says nothing to Polnareff, instead talking quietly to soothe Silver Bullet who is taking a little longer than usual to come to a halt, but Polnareff's likely noticed his helmet by the time Silver Bullet does stand still.]

[He scrambles back to avoid being fucking trampled, but whatever, he does and the guy slows down, so it's fine. It's fine. The guy's safe and he's safe and the dragon has successfully passed overhead, so it's fine. Polnareff stares up at the horse for a few seconds, interested despite himself-- but more important than the horse is the rider.

Three letters. Three letters, one word, and suddenly his heart stops. Dio, sitting on a crown of blond hair, and for a long few seconds he thinks that maybe he's just dreaming. This is the kind of thing that happens in dreams, right? Dragons and horses and suddenly your worst enemy, somehow alive and well.

Except . . . no. No, this isn't him. He's too slender, too contained. Dio was a presence, menacing and commanding attention, and this man isn't that. Besides, a horse? Following Polnareff into an alley and not immediately starting in on some shitty speech? That's not Dio's way.

So-- what, exactly? Some of the facial features are the same, maybe, and that hair certainly is, but . . . no. This isn't the Dio he knows. Which just begs the question:]

Who the hell are you?

[Diego stops talking to Silver Bullet, but it's another half-second before he looks down at Polnareff. And he is looking down, which is no doubt familiar even if it's never been blue eyes before. He doesn't feel particularly grateful for being given the hint about the cover between buildings. At least not grateful enough to not find that question somewhat offensive, and certainly not enough to mask his offense.]

[It's been a very long time since Diego's been anywhere where someone didn't know his name.]

Diego Brando. Some know me better as Dio, in case you're struggling to read.

No, I read that just fine.

[Diego. That's not his Dio either (Brando, that's new too, Dio had never had a last name; just one word, like he was fucking Cher). So . . . so, okay, this is Dio, but it also isn't. Like a cousin or something, except Dio had never had anything so normal as cousins.]

What're you, some kinda jockey?

[He says it not only because he wants to know, but because it might help him sort this out. Because he can't just go and attack a guy who isn't Dio, but at the same time, he can't just let the guy go.]

[What're you, some kinda jockey?]

[Diego raises an eyebrow. He's already somewhat offended at not receiving immediate recognition, but that has to be a joke. It better be a joke. Silver Bullet shifts beneath Diego as Diego leans back some, sneering down at Polnareff.]

Let's see, I'm known as the prince of the British racing world, soon I'm going to be the champion of the Steel Ball Run Race, and I'm sitting on a horse in riding gear. Oh, I just don't know. Am I a jockey?

[. . . and? Seriously, none of those titles register to him. He knows fuck-all about horse racing, to be fair, and prince of the British racing world speaks for itself, but it also doesn't. Like, come back when you're the prince of the baseball world, maybe then he'll have some astonishment for you.]

I guess so.

[More importantly: that sneer is most definitely recognizable, and he narrows his eyes. Chariot doesn't spring out, not yet, because regardless of who this is, he'll be able to see the Stand. No sense in making this immediately hostile. The Stand boils under his skin, though, on edge and ready to fight at a second's notice.]

So that's your whole thing, then? Winning a race and being a good jockey, that's your life? No weird mythic shit, nothing occult, nothing like that?

[Something dark crosses through Diego's eyes at the condescension about racing and riding horses. He's not defensive about his ability with horses in the traditional sense because he knows he's the unequivocal champion, and no one can come even close to challenging him when it comes to natural talent. It's a different sort of defensiveness because his talent with horses has been what's carried him through to the top and will eventually place him in the correct position to exact his revenge on the world that tossed him and his mother side like trash. There is little else in this world that's more important to Diego. To have this man — whoever the fuck he thinks he is — condescend to him like that...]

[Diego's anger is powerful, but it's cold and contained. He's not on the cusp of losing his temper albeit his patience is dwindling fast.]

No.

[Well, all right. All right. He can see the growing irritation in Not-Dio's eyes, but that's the least of his concerns. Of course, there's always the possibility the guy is lying, but even looking in close, Polnareff can't see any hint of vampirism. No fangs, no red eyes, and of course, the fact that it's daytime helps.

Right. Okay. So this guy is irritating, and worth keeping an eye on, but not someone who immediately needs to be taken care of.]

All right.

[Right. Well.]

Your horse got a name?

[It's good that Polnareff accepts the answer. Not that there's anything he can really do at this point to earn points in Diego's book, but it certainly prevents the loss of any further. Sure, he is lying, but that doesn't mean he's going to take well to being called a liar. Besides, he's not about to start chatting about Scary Monsters to this bozo simply because he asked.]

Silver Bullet.

[Diego looks up at the sky at the sound of a distant roar, and makes the decision to dismount. It's safe enough in this spot to let Silver Bullet rest even if it's not quite safe enough yet to leave the cover between the two buildings. It's better to let Silver Bullet rest, anyway. That was the hardest he's been ridden since he'd been pushed to the point of exhaustion. Diego doesn't hold onto the reins, but continues to stroke Silver Bullet along the neck.]

What does he eat?

[That's actually a friendly enough inquiry. Not taking his eyes off Diego, Polnareff digs around in his bag, trying to find some of his snacks. Chips? Nah. Soda? Definitely not. Oh, wait--]

How does he feel about peanuts? I think I've got an apple somewhere, but it might be pretty bruised.

[First, the flat reply:]

Peanuts would kill him.

[Not that he'd ever leave Silver Bullet alone with this guy (or anyone for that matter), he also doesn't trust him not to try and sneak the horse some snacks regardless. Better to firmly and without question establish that legumes are off the menu now rather than later.]

[As for the apple?]

The apple's fine if he wants to eat it, but don't let him try to eat it all at once. He could choke.

[Diego doesn't mind Silver Bullet getting a treat. He just ran hard and deserves it. Or more accurately, he deserves better than a bruised apple, but that's what happens to be on-hand.]

All right.

[He gets to feed a horse, that's pretty cool. Polnareff reaches his arm deeper. It takes a bit of rummaging, but he eventually does find an apple, bruised and a little old, but perfectly acceptable. With a slight smile he offers it to Silver Bullet.

This is the most fun he's ever had with anyone connected to Dio, he thinks. And honestly, though he's still wary, maybe this guy isn't so bad after all. Polnareff glances between the horse and his rider.]

Why the name Silver Bullet?

[Silver Bullet sniffs at the offered apple for a moment before he tries to take it from Polnareff. Of course, assuming Polnareff is not a weenie, he'll only be successful in taking a big bite out of it rather than stealing the whole apple.]

His dam is Silver Screen and his sire is Last Bullet. It's common practice to combine parts of the sire's and dam's names for the foal. It makes it easier for spectators to know which lineages they come from when they're laying down their bets.

[Horses are unpredictable, but Silver Bullet seems pretty okay with him. Polnareff tugs on the apple, as requested, making sure the horse doesn't eat the entire thing in one go.]

Huh! I didn't know that.

[Man, he thinks. This guy isn't exactly warm and friendly, but he's certainly no Dio. Dio wouldn't be standing here, talking shop about horses. Oh, he could, and he would have been charming and persuasive and terrifying in doing so, but it would have had a purpose behind it. There would have been an element of manipulation in it.

Diego seems to really just like horses. Polnareff can appreciate that.]

It's a good name. [He means it, too.] So he's a purebred, then? Did you breed him yourself, or did you buy him?

[Enjoy the dulcet tones of Silver Bullet's munch & crunch, Polnareff.]

He's an Arabian Thoroughbred. That makes him better than any damn purebred.

[Just as he was before about not feeding Silver Bullet peanuts, he's terse in his correction to Polnareff's inaccurate assumptions. To say the very least, he's protective and defensive when it comes to this horse.]

I've ridden him since his maiden, [he says, about to continue until it occurs to him that this idiot probably doesn't know what "maiden" means.] A maiden race is for horses that haven't won. In his case, it was his first, but not every horse wins their first race.

Anyway, I purchased him from his initial owner a few races after that.

[Silver Bullet finishes off the rest of Polnareff's apple, and gets a grin for his trouble.]

So I guess that makes him the best, huh? How long have you had him?

[He's 100% ready to spend the next hour talking about this horse.]

Ahh--

[That's a soft coo for Silver Bullet, and Polnareff strokes his nose, his fingers gentle enough.]

[And surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, Diego could spend the next hour talking about Silver Bullet, too. So this works out nicely. At the very least, he's mildly less annoyed than he was answering questions about himself. He's watching Polnareff like a hawk though as he pets Silver Bullet.]

Almost two years. I'll probably retire him at the end of this year or early next year. Outside of the breeding season, he'll have a quiet life.

Meaning what, a pasture and a bunch of oats?

[Barring any protest from either Diego or Silver Bullet, Polnareff keeps petting the horse. It's not a dog, it's hardly so companionable, but this is kind of nice.]

Is that average for racing horses, only a few years?

(no subject)

raptorcious - 2016-10-25 03:46 (UTC) - Expand

[So: it need not be said that Polnareff told Abdul pretty much immediately that there was some asshole running around with DIO on his helmet. In the vampire-hunting business, we call that a warning sign. And for a moment Abdul almost panicked--but then he realized that if it really were the Dio they were worried about, Polnareff wouldn't be in one piece to talk to him.]

[Something else is going on. The rest of Polnareff's explanation, scattered as it is, tends to support that conclusion. And it's not that he doesn't trust Polnareff to see things as they are, only that anger and fear color anyone's perception, so it can't hurt to add another pair of eyes.]

[There's a part of him, too, that just wants to be sure. If Dio is here, he needs to die. If someone similar to Dio but not Dio is here, then . . . they have to figure out what to do. Fuck if he knows, privately, but they can figure something out. Maybe without anyone dying this time.]

[He keeps his eye out, therefore. He knows there are only so many different orders in which people can get themselves established in Hadriel; sooner or later, this Diego is going to have to find somewhere to live. So he keeps an eye on the housing districts, and it isn't long at all before their paths cross.]

[It's hard not to notice him, coming down the street leading a horse along. It's hard not to notice the way he seems to be more attentive to the safety of his horse than his own, which only doubles Abdul's certainty that this isn't Dio, who kept animals as companions--but not like this. This is a beautiful animal, the picture of health and clearly well cared-for, and Diego's eyes drift back to it every few seconds, constantly ascertaining its safety in the face of the reptilian danger that threatens the city.]

[That's not the only difference, either. There's a haughty confidence here, but it's not oppressive; it doesn't clamp down like one hand around your heart and one over your mouth. It neither pulls forward nor pushes away; it just exists, refuses to bend. And he's beautiful, but it's not cloying; it's not trying to swallow anyone alive. It's a fact, not a tool.]

[This is so strange.]

There aren't many first-floor apartments available anymore. [He tilts his head at Silver Bullet.]

[Diego is, of course, aware that he's being watched, but 1) that's hardly anything new and 2) it's the least of concerns given the dragons still reigning terror over the city currently. So, it isn't until he's spoken to that Diego bothers to give him any attention as it's preoccupied with attention to the skies, his horse, and the way ahead. Someone watching him who meant any harm would be in for an abrupt, rude awakening the moment they tried anything anyway, so there was no point in investing anything into it.]

[Diego pulls gently on the reins in his hand as he comes to a stop, looking over in Abdul's direction. If he had paid attention to his fellow riders at the start, he might have noticed the ridiculous amount of similarities between this man and the one who chose to ride a camel in a horse race. But he only ever had his eyes on placing first, and so, he draws no such connections or parallels. In any case, he doesn't sense any aggression in the man's stance, so there's no need to use Scary Monsters right now.]

I can build a ramp, [he replies coolly.]

[That's . . . almost funny. Enough so that some of the tension leaves Abdul's expression, although not nearly enough to make him smile. Not many people honestly get to see that.]

[Still, it's further confirmation of what he believed upon seeing Diego in the first place: this isn't Dio at all. This is a dismissal more than anything, which is not Dio-like behavior. Dio would be trying to get others closer to him, not push them away. Dio believed himself self-sufficient, but wanted others around him to use for his own purposes. This . . .]

[This is more like this man just doesn't want to be bothered.]

[He cocks his head.]

By yourself?

If I want it done right.

[It's beneath him to do that kind of work generally speaking, and there's no mistaking that in his tone. But when it comes to caring for his horse, Diego's willing to do a little more dirty work than he's otherwise willing to do. He shifts some of his weight back on a hip, loosening his hold on the reins so Silver Bullet can lift his head.]

I'm not sure why it's such a concern for you.

Because I like animals, and this place isn't really meant to support them.

[So I was going to offer my help, but he doesn't say that. It can be inferred, and anyway, he's pretty damn sure that Diego isn't interested.]

I'm not sure why my concern is such a threat to you.

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Intro Log: HOLY F*^K THAT'S A F*&KI%G DRAGON

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Intro Log: HOLY F^K THAT'S A F&KI%G DRAGON