hadriel_logs | INTRO LOG: BLACK CATS & WALKING UNDER LADDERS

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INTRO LOG: BLACK CATS & WALKING UNDER LADDERS

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for February.
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: February 10th-13th
Warnings: Fresh meat, creepy moving shadows, terrible luck, the screams of your loved ones.

Welcome to Hadriel, new friends. While waking up on the ground of a broken colosseum may not be the most pleasant arrival, you can at least find comfort in the fact that there's no giant monster immediately attempting to eat you. Plenty of the people already here will tell you that they weren't quite so lucky. But - wait. Is that something moving in the shadows, or is it just your imagination?

Of course it's not just your imagination. That would be way too easy. No, arriving along with everyone this time are wraiths, vengeful spirits that enjoy darkness, shadows, and misery. On the plus side, they won't try to kill you. On the minus side, their touch chills you and saps your energy, as well as inflicting a temporary curse of awful luck. Anything that can go wrong, will, including (and especially) things that might kill you. Wraiths are subtle and sneaky, so be sure to watch your back. That shadow isn't just a shadow.

Compounding the confusion the wraiths can cause, you just might wake up to the sound of chattering voices - only to be quite alone. A small flock of jabberjays has come through the Door as well. These genetically engineered birds are capable of mimicking entire human voices and conversations - as well as screams of terror and pain. Initially only in the arena and bringing only conversations from their world, they'll soon settle throughout the city and begin to learn the voices of those living in Hadriel. Your best friend screaming bloody murder just a street over? It could be them, or it could just be one of these lovely birds. Don't let it stress you out.

Once you've escaped the colosseum, hopefully without accidentally impaling yourself on your own weapon, 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 February 10th-13th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well!
► All characters now 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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That's not helping.

[Noah stands a few feet away - never mind that there was no sound of approach or sense of another person there until he was speaking. He's got his hands covering his ears to block out the sound of the screaming birds as best he can, his face all strained and anxious.

It's his default expression.]

Nobody asked your fucking opinion. [cliff says sharply without turning around as he continues to throw whatever is closest to him at the birds from hell that have started crying like his mom now, what the fuck.

he runs out of rocks on the ground to throw pretty quickly and starts digging through his jacket pocket instead, eventually coming up with a packet of cigarettes that he honestly takes a moment to give a considering look between it and the bird perched above his head before closing his eyes and exhaling noisily as he runs a hand through his hair.]

Shit. [cliff shoots another sour look upward as he pulls a cigarette from the pack instead practically biting at one end while he fishes around in his pocket for his lighter.]

[Even though Noah frowns, he hangs around anyway to watch Cliff's attempts at hitting the bird. Noah could throw something too maybe but he's a lousy shot and even if it's screaming in a very unpleasant manner he'd rather not take a shot at something that isn't actively trying to physically him.]

Those'll kill you, you know.

[It's not really a joke, about the cigarettes, but it isn't not a joke either.]

What are you, my mom? [cliff tells noah sourly with a side eye, flicking the lighter with his thumb to bring up a flame and inhaling deeply before exhaling the smoke pointedly in noah direction after lighting the cigarette and sliding the lighter back into his pocket.

the taste of tobacco on his tongue is enough to soothe his nerves a bit, but it doesn't quite the birds down one lick so after a few more puffs he pulls his hood up to try and block out some of the noise, one shoulder leaning back against the wall to keep the other boy lazily in his sight.]

Cigarette's aren't going to be what kills me, anyway. [of that, he was almost certain.]

[Noah sighs and waves his hand to try and get the smoke out of his face. It doesn't work, but that's not really a problem because he doesn't breathe.]

Oh, you know what will? That's pretty morbid.

Of course I don't know how I'm going to die, don't be fucking weird.

[cliff huffs out with yet another curl of smoke sent in noah's direction, eyes narrowed and glinting gold even from the shadow of his hood.] Cigarette's take a long time to kill people though.

Edited 2016-02-11 00:11 (UTC)

[Noah shrugs in a very non-committal way. He doesn't bother trying to brush the smoke away a second time, he's too vague to do anything about it.]

You could be psychic. I know a girl whose family is all psychic.

I'm not psychic. [cliff says flatly, staring down at the cigarette in his hand and flicking the ash away before bringing it up to his mouth again, turning to look at noah a bit more directly now.

when the bird changes its tone again, this time sounding like his little brother in its wails of anguish, cliff only seems to react in the faintest tightening of his shoulders, his teeth biting down on the end of his cigarette, and one hand flying up to give the damn thing the finger for its efforts.]

Are you telling me your friend knows how she's going to die, that's messed up.

[Noah winces at the sound the bird makes. It isn't anyone familiar to him, but screaming is never pleasant. He has to wonder what part of evolution thought any part of this bird was a good idea.

He gives another shrug, crossing his arms before uncrossing them and shoving them in his pockets.]

She's not. Her family is. But they do have a death list. Really morbid.

[despite the situation and the bird screaming bloody murder above their head, cliff manages a sharp sort of laugh, more movement than sound to it.] Morbid's one fucking word for it, that's for sure.

Don't people usually go to psychics to get told happy bullshit like that they should travel more, or that there's a tall dark stranger in their future? [he'd never done it himself, obviously, but that's what they did in all the movies and tv shows anyway.]

I don't know. There are some people that like bad news, aren't there?

[Noah shrugs again and sighs, looking briefly back up to the screaming bird before he returns his attention to Cliff, eyes unblinking.]

Do you think you'd want to know if you were going to die that year? Like, as a heads up.

If there are, I don't know any of 'em.

[apparently tired of being ignored by cliff, the jabberjay decides to take this moment to swoop low down towards him with a shrill, shivery scream. cliff flicks his finished cigarette at it, and it quickly averts its course in noah's direction instead.]

Fuck no, what, so I'd have time to do a stupid bucket list or something? You're still dead by the end of the year, who the hell is gonna care how you spent it?

[The funny thing about the bird is that while Noah seems to certainly flinch at it - he doesn't move, and it kind of just... swerves around him, without even acknowledging that he was there at all aside from the avoidance.

He shrugs at the question.]

I guess it'd give you a chance to say goodbye, wouldn't it?

Sounds like just another way for people to be sad for longer to me. [cliff says with a shrug as he shoves his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie.

what he means by that of course, is that it sounds like another way for his mom to be sad for longer, which is something he'd rather avoid at all costs and... he isn't doing so great on that account right now to be honest.

cliff lets out a long and weary sigh and darts a look noah's way that's honestly more curious than hostile at this point.] So is there anything to fucking do around here, or is the local wildlife the only entertainment?

One month the things in control here brought everyone's darkest fears to life, so my murderer tried to kill me a second time. [He says this all casual, even if he doesn't make eye-contact while he does.]

I'll take the boring.

[noah's comment is enough to have cliff's eyes focusing on him a bit more sharply, and for a long moment he doesn't say anything, just stares.

still without saying anything, cliff picks up one of the small scattered rocks at his feet and flicks it directly at noah's chest. when the rock goes through him rather than bouncing off, cliff just lets out a low, soft:] Huh.

You've got more color to you than the last ghost I talked with.

[Noah huffs a bit at the rock, glad that for the current point in time he's apparently incorporeal. That would have hurt otherwise.]

It comes and it goes.

[How 'real' he is. Good days, he's indistinguishable from a normal person except for how washed out he looks. Sometimes all he's got is a cold feeling when you're nearby and the ability to knock over potted plants.]

[and it's pretty damn unlikely that cliff would have apologized if the rock had hurt noah, sorry about that. or, well, not sorry really.]

Hm. [this is officially the most interest in noah that cliff has shown him for the entire conversation. and, well, he supposes the questions about knowing how you're going to die make a bit more sense now, at least.]

Can you pick things up? [namely, cards.]

Sometimes. I've got good days and bad days. Good days most people don't notice I'm not alive. Bad days... well.

[Noah shrugs and sighs. What would count as a 'bad day' when you're already dead? Something very bad, surely.]

[as long as noah's bad days don't involve trying to kill cliff in a shitstorm of epic proportions, noah's welcome to have as many "bad" days as he wants around cliff. seriously, the line is that low.]

You like Go Fish?

[cliff asks, because for some reason when they'd kidnapped him they'd made sure he had his card pack on him too. and because he honestly doesn't have much hope for this place proving anymore interesting than podunk ever did on a weekend.]

[Well.

Well.

We'll just burn that bridge when we get to it, yeah? Noah is mostly harmless, though.

Clifford's question gets a startle from Noah, a blink of surprise. He shifts, hazy at the edges, eyes becoming shaded and indistinct. If he ever played it was when he was young and... memories of his youth are difficult.]

I ... I think I know how to play?

[if you ever try to force choke cliff he will be so cross with you, young man.

cliff continues to look wholly uninterested or surprised by much of anything, just pulls out his phone and starts flicking through it for a moment before darting his eyes to the side to look at noah.]

It's the card game where you try to get four of a kind of different cards by asking other players if they have any.

[Noah listens to Cliff's explanation with a sort of anxious patience. Anxious is Noah's default state of being, Cliff didn't do anything wrong. He also doesn't seem to mind the phone.]

...oh... oh! Yes, I've played that. When I was alive. I think I could still play. It's simple, right?

Yeah, it's pretty easy. [cliff confirms for noah with a slow nod of his head.]

Sylvia didn't have any problem cheating at it, anyway. [he adds with a roll of his eyes, though he also doesn't sound terribly put out by this whole thing anyway.]

And she's dead too, so being alive definitely isn't a requirement for the game.

[Noah has to smile a little at that. Being dead is, of course, objectively awful. It's not something he'd wish on anyone - same with being a ghost.

It's nice to know of others in a similar situation, just the same. Even nicer to know they also have friends. That some people don't mind being friends with ghosts.]

Did you know her when she was alive?

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thebigredog - 2016-03-14 07:24 (UTC) - Expand

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casperdisaster - 2016-03-16 17:35 (UTC) - Expand

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