hadriel_logs | Intro Log: Busy Little Bees

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Intro Log: Busy Little Bees

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for July
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: July 10th-16th
Warnings: Fun for kids of all ages!

Another day, another mysterious transportation to a strange and alien city inside a cave surrounded by monsters. Or maybe that's not normal for you? Weird! You awaken on the ground of a large arena, a stone ceiling stretching high above you. Welcome to Hadriel! Oh, but you aren't alone. That 'surrounded by monsters' bit? Yeah...

Do you hear a buzzing? Better start running now. Along with all the newbies, the Door has brought in quite a few tracker jackers. Wasps are already horrible, and these things are even worse. Bigger and much more dangerous than the insects they were genetically modified from, tracker jackers will sting anyone they think is a threat. Their stings cause extreme pain and hallucinations, and if you're stung too many times - well, that's it for you. You can try to calm them down with smoke, fight them, or just run like hell. Maybe you'll get lucky.

It's hard to fight if you don't have a weapon, though. But hey - you're in luck! Rage, who usually supplies the city with weapons, is currently gone, but the Door has provided you with some instead! That's right, you might find a sword, a gun, a bow and arrow, or an exotic foreign weapon to defend yourself with! Of course, they're all made of plastic and completely incapable of hurting anything. Have fun!

Let's hope your legs are faster than those wasps, and you survive your first few minutes in Hadriel. After you've find your way out of the colosseum there's plenty of other distractions. Feel free to go explore the rest of the city! Find a house, a new monster, a project to help with, or simply scavenge for supplies. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers July 10th-16th.
► 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

"Hell jumper it is -- gotta know the terms if I'm gonna be your wingman."

Yeah, yeah, serious shit... ugh. Drake nods in agreement. "From what I've seen I'd lean towards sticking with the gods, but it's too soon to make that call."

Ephemera grins. "That's the spirit."

Even if it's not your war, gotta find something to fight for. Might be something small. The people next to you or the prospect of a good drink at the end of the day. Something.

Besides, he's not in a position to cast moral judgments on anyone. There's the gods and the Null, and then there's the rest of them.

"Yeah. I'm not in the mood to be somebody's cannon fodder anytime soon."

Drake's being as practical as he can about the whole situation, no moral judgments or personal opinions to cloud things. He read through as much as he could and made a call based on just that, an outsider's opinion since he's so new. "Doesn't seem like either side cares about us too much but at least with the gods it's... symbiotic?"

"Maybe." Ephemera takes a drink, thoughtful. "Suppose it's a contract like anything else. Everything's got a price, even surviving."

"Except the Null couldn't name their price. And couldn't offer anything." He taps the side of his glass idly. "I'll find out what the guard's planning to do if they attack. What we know about them."

"I'm not sure about that," Ephemera admits. "It'd be smart to hold back a while, let people stew, then come back with an offer. But they're not human, so who knows how their logic works."

There's a divide there, and he doesn't know enough to bridge it one way or another.

He nods slowly.

"I've been watching them. They've got weapons and at least some of them are trained. And it looks like they've got two main leaders, the one you talked to and a woman. They're more organized than I'd expect."

"Depending on what that offer is... if they can offer a way out there are a lot of people who will take it. And a lot more who won't trust them and will stick with the gods. We might not be picking sides yet, but we could be looking at a tiny little civil war."

As for the guard, the corner of Drake's mouth curls up. "I told you he was the real deal. Henry means business, I'm sure his co-leader does too."

"It's good motivation, even if they're lying." And thus far there doesn't seem to be any way to verify the information one way or another. Obviously they're here, now. That happened. The reverse is probably still on the table. But whether it's within their grasp is another thing all together.

Ephemera shrugs, taking another drink. Civil war's nothing new to him. "Hope not. Some of these people look like they can give a good fight. Henry too. He and that woman - Tua something? - they're dug in tight. And she's stone cold. I watched some of their posts together. Coordinated as hell."

Drake's starting to feel loose and relaxed despite the subject matter, his glass approaching empty. And there's the shot, and what he managed to drink before Ephemera got here.

"All the more reason to join them. I don't think they've taken a side yet either, they're just in for protecting us. The poor shmucks that got dragged into this mess."

"Genuine do-gooders, huh?"

Ephemera considers that for a moment. He supposes it's possible. People protecting each other just for the hell of it. He only met Drake a few days ago, but Ephemera's pretty sure he'd fight for the guy. Why not?

"Okay, sign me up. Also I think I love this thing."

He raises his drink, nodding solemnly.

"Seemed like. Just like the medics -- they don't have to be helping people here, they're not getting anything for it. They just are, anyway." He might feel a little bad for how he treated Will, but doesn't know how to make it up to him. Certainly not by telling him the truth.

When he thinks about that Drake's expression falls for a moment, but he's grinning again at Ephemera's declaration of love for a beverage.

"I'll make you another."

Ephemera nods. "Yeah. And that kid was really young."

It shouldn't matter one way or another, but it bothers him a little.

But that's a thought for another time. There's drinks to be had.

Ephemera laughs, grinning.

"You're definitely getting me drunk. Bring it."

"They were both too young to be doctors, but... if healing's a gift where they're from they probably started as kids." Drake wouldn't know anything about it firsthand, he's just guessing from media in his world. "That kinda stuff always hits at puberty in the stories."

He downs the rest of his glass and slips back behind the bar, feeling the alcohol more now that he's moving. They should slow down, except he's having fun and doesn't want to.

"You seem like you're a happy drunk, so yeah, I'll keep 'em coming."

"Probably." That's a nice explanation. Ephemera decides he's going to stick with that one. Part of him is thinking about all the stories he heard about the UNSC recruiting child soldiers on some of the border planets, when they were really desperate, but that's not a place he wants to go. Not tonight. There's alcohol and good company and they can talk about other things. Ephemera finishes his glass with a grin, nodding. He's going to get trashed and have a good time. And that's just that. "I think I am? It's been a while. But that shit tastes awesome. You're good at this."

Drake pours these a bit stronger, unintentionally. He makes a little 'whoops' face and splashes the soda in, then passes them back over the bar. "I only know the basics but maybe next party I can get some decent mixers, make you something different."

He comes back to sit beside Ephemera, and there's promise in his eyes when he speaks again. "When Liv gets here we're making you dance." Since it seems like that's what the night is for -- most of the people who showed up are already on the dance floor.

"This is pretty awesome right here," Ephemera says, taking the new drink. He's feeling nice and warm now, comfortable in his skin. It's easy to smile. Somehow it doesn't hurt as much, forcing his jaw into the right shape, the right position. It's just a thing that happens, and not a thing he has to calculate. Not drunk - not yet - but pleasantly buzzed. "Dancing? Well okay. You did get me a drink first."

He laughs, raising it in salute.

"Promise not to step on your feet. At least not on purpose."

Drake raises his glass as well, then tilts his head curiously. "Do you always do that? Justifying doing something by saying it's because something got done for you. I'm not complaining, but you can just say it's because you want to." Like backing Drake up at the clinic just because he shared food the night before. He wasn't really buying that one.

Is that a thing he does? Ephemera frowns.

Maybe. Probably. He's quiet for a moment.

"That," he says after a while, trying to smile, "is sober person conversation. And I am going to be very drunk."

Yes he is. So drunk he doesn't have to wonder if his scars are making his smile look wrong. This is fun! He's having fun.

Drake huffs a little through his nose, not quite a laugh but an amused sound nonetheless. "C'mon. Sober you would tell me to fuck off."

He's. Probably not wrong.

"Probably," Ephemera agrees. Sober him isn't much fun at parties. Not that he really goes to parties. Does this count? It possibly counts. "Drunk me is much nicer. I think. I'm going to find out."

And it's going to be awesome, Liv will show up, and they'll all dance. Fun. Yes. That thing.

"I'll make a deal with you. You tell me why you do that, instead of just letting yourself want stuff, and you can ask me anything. Anything you can think of." He takes a swallow of his drink and enjoys the warmth that rushes through him.

"Okay, damn. You're really going for it." No brushing that one off, is there? Ephemera fights the urge to laugh and play it off, because he might be on the edge of drunk - everything is something more and less than it should be, all at the same time - but he knows, usually, when a moment can't be turned into a joke. Even if that'd be easier, in the long run. He runs a hand through his hair, messing it up. "I don't know. You want something, like, really want something, people take it. You buy it, that's just--business."

He knocks his knuckles against the bar.

"Then it's simple. Most people are shit. But they respect business. They got rules. Anything else, that's open season."

Drake takes that in, taking maybe a little longer than he usually would to process the concept but he gets it. It's not quite about keeping him at arm's length. Not quite. Maybe with time, Ephemera will come to realize that Drake respects him -- that they don't need that transaction aspect to be friends. And that he won't be taken away so easily. He nods his understanding.

"Fair enough. Your turn, then. One question."

The moment passes. Ephemera lets himself breathe, feels some of the tension drain from his shoulders. It feels like a test, though he's aware it probably wasn't. He's spent a long time - years now - thinking about ghosts and ignoring the people around him. And maybe that's screwed his perception up a little, trapped him in a bias that doesn't quite fit. Drake doesn't feel like the kind of person who tests everyone, sets them up just to see how it ends.

"You didn't want him touching you, that kid. The medic."

Ephemera rubs one of the tattoos on his knuckles absently.

"What'd you think he was going to see?"

Drake hesitates, then leans in close so he doesn't have to call out above the music. He's on Ephemera's good side, and speaks right into his ear.

"I was worried if he knew I was contagious, he wouldn't ever let me leave."

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