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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It took him a moment to notice Maketh's reaction. He shivered, hugged himself and closed his eyes. Exhaling and holding without a breath in his chest as he opened his eyes once more... He was still there! Standing at the other side of Maketh now. Dead eyes, milky white as they stared back at Will.

He flinched. Looked away and found a spot on the wall of the bar to stare at instead. Hoping to black Hobbs out. ]

Y-you're governed by them, yet n-no one has ever actually, physically met with t-them?

A clever tactic, you see.

[One that could never be sustained without great and unmeasured power. However tenuous the scheme or its end-game, the gods have worked hard. Sacrifices have been made. Friends killed and raised again. An odd mirror of what the gods then did to them, Maketh thinks. But it hardly matters. Whatever the gods are, when rendered down to their base components, their power remains what it is.

She narrows her eyes. The threat has yet to make itself known.]

Are you having another seizure?

[That might explain his behavior.]

Clever? Sure, or we're all just blind idiots going along with it...

[ Rubbing his eyes, then the back of his neck. Rolling his jaw and popping his shoulders before sighing deeply, trying to relax. ]

Think I need something stronger.

[ Will stood, making his way behind the bar. Taking a glass and a bottle of whiskey, opening and pouring a part before drinking a gulp straight from the neck of the glass bottle. Leaning there on the bar, eyes closed and for a long moment. ]

No. Not that I'm aware of.

[ Looking at his hands, they were shaking but nowhere near as badly, his sweating was steady and though he had a temperature there was no sign of fever. No seizure for now. ]

... Just... Fighting a battle with the dead.

[Maketh narrows her eyes, face going hard.]

We are not fools. I assure you of that.

[If he's going to insult her, or any of the people here, it ought to at least be clever. Maketh folds her arms across her chest. She desperately wants to get a drink herself. The whisky is horribly tempting.]

Does your world have ghosts, Will Graham?

[ Will's become pretty talented at making people act towards him the way in which Maketh is now. He's more than used to it. Still, he didn't actually mean to offend her or anyone else at that. It's just, why does it have to be that he can understand everyone else's point of view, but almost everybody struggles to see things his way?

Holding the bottle out towards her, then sliding a glass across the bar to her side. Will pulled himself up and sat on the counter top. ]

Yes, no, I agree you're not a fool... My point was, oh forget it.

[ Talking another long gulping drink, trying to drown the image of Hobbs out perhaps? ]

.... Ghosts?

[ Why was she asking that all of a sudden? Was it his comment about fighting with the dead? Could she see Garret?! Feel him maybe? Because he was right there, looking her over as Will spoke to her, his eyes focusing on the dead man rather than the living. ]

[Maketh looks away, lip curled. The whisky will be for another time. She's on duty. It's not allowed.] It seemed a relevant question. And I dislike repeating myself.

[Either he's hallucinating - possible, likely even probable at this point - or he's detected a threat beyond her comprehension. Given everything in Hadriel. Maketh prefers not to let things slide. One never knows which mistake will be the one to topple the whole damn city.]

[ So she really is a stickler for the rules huh? Will had forgotten how many times himself or Jack or Hannibal even, had taken a drink towards the end of a stressful day. He took the bottle back and poured himself another. ]

It depends, really. On what you believe in.

[ Will wasn't about to explain there was the vision of a dead man hanging around her like some creepy shadow. No, she already thought he was mad, besides, it was probably just a hallucination, what harm could it cause? ]

Do you have them in your world?

[Rules keep the world functional, if not always sane. And while Maketh might have a drinking problem - has indeed been accused of such multiple times - she never forgets the rules, though no one has been around to enforce them for months now. The Empire no longer has any use of her.

Regardless, things must be done properly.

Maketh sighs, rubbing her face.]

Of a sort. The dead linger, occasionally. If something must be said and you have the power to hear them. I do not. Perhaps you do, with your--well.

[Affliction.]

[ It's sad, it really is, if Will knew more of Maketh's situation he would probably try and help her let go and move on. That's one of the hardest things to ever have to do, maybe that explained why she continued to work so hard and regimented even though this was a totally different world from her original?

Will tosses her a side glance. ]

My what exactly? My fucked up head?

[ Finishing his drink, yet refraining from making another. ]

I'm not sure... I see the dead but it's only my imagination working overtime... I can't prove that I see them and I can't prove that they're real anyway so it's easier to just pretend I can't see them at all...

[Maketh huffs.]

Hardly. If that were all it took we'd be crawling in ghosts.

[Hadriel, she's observed, tends to bring out the worst in people. Especially the parts that might just be insanity. Fear has a special talent for that.

She watches him for a moment, frowning.]

If ghosts exist in my world, then it stands to reason that they could in others. Even yours. That does not preclude madness, or whatever you chose to call your nature. It simply makes things complicated.

Do you think that I'm insane? My words fall free from that mouth of madness?

[ He was unstable at best, but after what had happened, his physical as well as mental state and now the alcohol in him, only added to his off kilt state.

Something was irritating Will, and he was not at his best when irritable. Tired of being called crazy and crazily tired. ]

Oh, I deal in complicated every day. It becomes the norm. I don't believe in actual, physical ghosts. There's no logic in their presence, evidence or proof. We all have our demons, conjure up nasties to take the blame or lessen the pain... But ghosts?

[Oh, now he's fighting back? Maketh doesn't bare her teeth at him, though she wants to. Instead she merely smiles, polite as you please, and watches him with half-lidded eyes. The politician's smile. Crush your enemy softly. Don't get blood on your uniform, soldier. Appearances must be maintained.]

I believe in what can be done to me, and what I can do to others, Will Graham. What has been proven.

[Maketh feels herself going deadly calm. Later she'll wonder at how easy it is to be like this around him, on edge and ready to strike. Something in her knows that she'll have to go for the throat with someone like Will, something like Will. He's dangerous.

That's hardly new. The gods so love their games.]

You're a threat. Whether you're mad or not is besides the point. [Maketh lifts her chin.] But you don't know one way or another, do you?

[The frustration and anger were apparent on his face. Mouth twisting like he was chewing a bee, lips sneering up at the corners and eyes twitching to narrow, bottom lip trembling from words he kept keeping in.

Holding the whiskey glass, empty as it was, Will tightened his grip around it, until his knuckles turned white and yellow. Shaking a little with tense muscles and overwhelming irritation. When he finally spoke, his voice was jittery and low with a dark gravel behind it. ]

You have no idea of what can be done to you. Not truly.

[ Swallowing a lump in his throat, lowering his head and actually catching her eyes, holding her gaze for longer than he'd normally like to. That glad-hand smile she wore sickened him, she wasn't being true to herself, keeping her emotions held back. He was partly envious of this.

Her last comment stung him so. Like an arrow to the chest. She was right, though, and that just made it hurt all the worse. ]

... It's not wise to piss off someone who's job it is to think about killing people...

Of course I know. It was my duty to know. [Say it ever so softly. But despite her tone, Maketh feels her adrenaline rising. She holds herself perfectly still and waits. Something is going to happen. Will is going to fight back. She's pushed too hard too fast, struck to get under his skin, and he'll have to react. Any moment now. There's tension in his face and hands, eyes going hard. He's getting angry. Maybe even angry enough to act on it.

Stars, Maketh hopes he'll react. Part of her just wants to hit him. Put him in line. He doesn't know her anymore than he knows his place.

This time she laughs, ever so softly.]

I commanded men who did just that, Will Graham, and with much greater skill than you could ever dream of reaching.

[She leans in, wondering if he's any good at hand-to-hand. Probably. Someone like him must know how to survive.]

The Inquisitor would have known what to do with you. Pity he executed my commanders or I might--

[What? Maketh hesitates, suddenly unsure. Ignore that, soldier. You know what you have to do. Crush your enemy. Make it quick.]

I---I will do what I must.

[ Will see's red. He hates people digging and pushing, picking him apart from the inside out. Maketh should have known better, he thought they had an understanding, yet here she was, only a few hours after rescuing him off the streets from dragons, to almost spitting flames of her own in his face.

She was a frustrating woman. And in many, disturbing ways, they were too alike.

Will started to pant out his breaths in labored puffs of air through his mouth. Shoulders raising and falling deeply as he tried so hard to hold himself back. Who did she think she was anyway!? Talking to him like that, like she had a clue about anything he'd been through. As he zoned out and went to a dark place, deep within his mind, Hobbs' damn corpse reared it's ugly head again, just beside Maketh again, as if mocking him.

In a surging rush of anger and adrenaline, Will crushed the glass in his hand suddenly. Catching a large shard as the rest shattered and glittered to the floor. Winston barked and ran to stand before the door, unsure of what was going on, tail between his legs. Will ignored his pet, he simply started Maketh dead in the eye, holding the shard in perfect position to thrust into her gut should she retaliate. ]

I wouldn't be so quick to right me off...

[ When you'd been this close to the mind of many killers, it was always a risk that you'd bring something back. However, as he spoke, Hobbs opened his ghost like mouth and leaned forwards- Will instinctively dropped the glass shard and went for his pistol, of course, Maketh had confiscated it in a previous meeting, yet Will, in the state he was in, acted out shooting, right down to the recoil it would have on his arms and torso.

He was lost, somewhere between two worlds. Between ghosts, that haunted his mind and the living that pushed him too close to the edge. Will tremble and held his shaking hands up beside his ears, eyes clamped shut in fear. ]

Then do it already!! Do what you must!!

[Threat.

Her reaction is instant. Maketh was never a combat specialist, deemed too soft in the Academy, but she survived. That means a certain amount of mastery, and an understanding of what must be done. So when he breaks the glass to make a weapon, Maketh reacts exactly as trained and hits the floor, aiming a quick blow to his knees. Exactly as trained. This is the first step. Knock him down, get him off-balance, then hit him. And keep hitting him until he knows his place. She doesn't get to that part just yet.]

[ Before Will could register what was going on, he felt a staggering blow to his knees. God, did that hurt! His legs buckled and gave out from beneath him. Will tumble to the floor, crashing down onto the broken glass.

His hands went to support his leg as he rolled onto his back. Eyes narrowed as they glared at Maketh. He wasn't in the right mindset to be fucked with like this, both his mental state and the illness that swelled his brain and brought on a fever. He looked at her like a feral animal would. If she wanted a fight?... ]

[Maketh doesn't spring back to her feet, though she does grab her rifle and bring it to bear. At this range, there won't be much left of Will's head if she fires. Whatever madness inhabits Lilith's world, it left her with powerful weaponry.]

If you do not stand down, then I will hurt you.

[It's said softly, with a promise.]

[ It would be so easy. To just lunge for her. Maybe a choke hold? Or a nice ball of the palm to her esophagus, that would shut her up. No, Will, don't think such things... Pose yourself, administer some rationality behind your actions. He fought musings in his mind. One showing him how to restrain her and teach her a lesson - The other was surrender, roll over, lick your wounds and apologize. What other choice did he have? ]

... You already have.

[ Grimacing as he staggered to his feet. All the while, that rifle trained on him like some wild dog that needed putting down. ]

You're the one that needs to stand down.

[ Trying not to look at her, trying to keep his eyes closed altogether, for fear he'll see something and lash out. ]

I- I can't do this anymore... I don't know if I'm coming or going...

[ Trying to calm his breathing, stop his hands from shaking, all while on the verge of tears again. Turning to look at her, spite of his expression before it manifested into something less threatening and more helpless... ]

... I need to go.

[Maketh stands slowly, eyes never leaving Will. It shouldn't have come to this. She should have dealt with the problem when it first appeared, put him down or at least contained him. If he's like this in front of her, what might he do with someone like Chris or Emily, or even Henry, who still doesn't quite understand the danger of guns?

This can't happen again. It's her duty to ensure that.

But she doesn't shoot. It's not right to do it like this. She's trying to be better. Not an Imperial.]

Go where?

[Her voice is steady again.]

[ Maketh might have been about to steady herself and remain calm, but Will was breaking. His seams were splitting down the sides and he was spilling out from within.

He limped on his way to the door, Winston barking at him out of worry for his master. Will couldn't even look at his pet, he was too far gone. Fumbling to grab the door handle, missing it by a mile as his hand continued to shake. His head wobbled on its shoulders and breathing was fast and labored. He didn't need this shit, not when he was in such a state already.

Making two tight fists, looking as if he were about to punch his way out the door if he couldn't manage what appeared to be the diligent job of opening it. He wanted to scream but worried that he'd not be able to stop once he started. ]

... I. Don't care where... Why can't you just Shut up?!

[ Finally he lost his temper. Turning to face her as he yelled, slamming his fist into the door repetitively. ]

[Enough of this. If Will cannot control himself, then Maketh will do it herself. She stalks up to him without a word and aims a blow to the base of his skull with her rifle. He's not acceptable company for Hadriel right now.]

[ The blow to his head was a surprise. Will had not expected that. As his vision suddenly went double and he found that the use of his limbs wasn't going to be an option, he dropped in a heap on the floor.

Winston didn't growl, he simply whined and nudged at Will's hand where he lay.

Will's head was a fragile place at the best of times, the audacity Maketh had and the general lack of regard for his wellbeing was clearly null and void. ]

I- ... I ... Aah..

[ Feeling up to the back of his head, it wasn't wet so he must be bleeding. Not yet anyway? Moaning out in pain now, only half with it as he looked up and saw her standing over him. ]

[Contain the situation. Secure your objective. Ensure your enemy cannot cause you harm. Maketh goes about her work systematically. First she puts the rifle away, hanging it up against the wall with the safety firmly locked - out of reach from prying hands. Then she grabs Will by the arm and drags him unceremoniously to the bar. Once there, she cuffs him to it.

There. Now he's not going anywhere soon.

It would be better if she had proper binders, but Maketh will make do. If needed - if it truly comes to that - she can break his legs.

It won't come that. It won't. She's not like that.

Maketh disappears behind the bar for a moment. When she comes back, she's holding a tall glass of water, which she promptly upends on Will's head.]

Stop crying. We're going to talk.

[ Will watches her as she moves, though his vision is in fits and starts, like the blur of red light when driving fast through the woods at sunset. He'd sensed there was something about her, something darker but this was unexpected. He should have taken her down before she had the chance to act. Get him while his back is turned, control and contain, this is her design.

As he was dragged across the floor, Will could do very little to stop it. The blow to his head had felt harder than it should have, but then again, the right hemisphere of his brain was already dangerous swollen up. Looking at his hands as they were bound to the bar, motor neuron function at it's most limited.

It wasn't until the water was dumped over his head, that Will started to pant out. The cold of the liquid was welcome, the way in which it was delivered was not. Will stared at her as she neared him, wondering if he'd made a big mistake in trusting her, for all he knew, she could be an intelligent psychopath ... And he's walked right into her trap. ]

... What else... Could w-we possibly have left... To talk about?

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