hadriel_logs | [intro log] we're beary pleased to meet you!

Entry tags:

[intro log] we're beary pleased to meet you!

Who: New arrivals - everybody!
What: Welcome to Hadriel. Enjoy the bears.
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: October 10th-17th
Warnings: Bears, made of bear meat. Possibly bear attacks. General confusion.

You awaken on the sandy ground of the colosseum. Its half-ruined walls rise around you, stretching up to the sky - or what passes as the sky, as instead of blue sky and clouds you'll only see a rocky ceiling far above, with a bright source of light illuminating the cave.

Where are you? What are you doing here? Who are all these other people? Pressing questions, but far more pressing right now are the giant, hungry dire bears who seem to have appeared here along with you, and who are now waking up as well. And boy, do they not seem happy about it.

Once you've fought, run away, or successfully hid from the bears, you've got an entire city to explore. Sure, a lot of it is in ruins and it's totally empty, except for you, your fellow arrivals, and the bears, but there's things to be found and stuff to investigate. You can even find a house to live in if you're one of those fancy types who prefers not to sleep on the streets.

Unfortunately, one thing that can't be found at first is food. Hopefully you brought some with you or you managed to kill a bear or two, because the city is entirely empty of food until the 13th of October, when you will awaken to a gift of food on your doorsteps. Some of it might be strange-looking and alien, but hey, at least it's edible, and you didn't even have to kill anything to get it! Someone's feeling generous. After this, food and other items will be able to be found in the various stores around the city, though if you're looking for something specific, you might not have any luck.

Not long after, on the 15th, the electricity in the houses - and the rest of the restored parts of the city - will sputter to life. Hopefully you're not too near any lights or outlets when that happens, because there's a fair chance of exploding bulbs and sparks flying. At least you can turn the lights on now, though!

So now you've got food and electricity, the bears are all either dead or have fled into the caves around the city (you didn't go too far in there, right?). Things are looking up! Except for the whole 'trapped in an alien city, what the hell are we doing here' thing. But that's probably not important, right?

► This log covers October 10th-17th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well!
► The network will not be available until the 17th.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He doesn't want anything for it? Well, that's suspicious. Still, Adam's been offered bear meat for much the same reasons once already, and as suspicious as it is, it's still welcome. He can't be too picky.]

Yeah, I guess that's true. Those bears were huge, that's kind of a lot for one person to eat. If you're really just... giving it away, then sure, we'll take some.

[Adam is a wary boy, but he does have to admit that some basically decent people do exist in the world. Maybe this is one of them.]

[suspicious? this face? lloyd didn't know the meaning of the word. quite possibly literally, books never were his thing, even if calling him stupid was mostly unfair.

he nods along with adam's observation easily enough, even if his numbers were a little off. and honestly between him and zelos and the sort of energy they expelled with their exspheres (the energy zelos had been burning with his magic and a sadly lacking supply of orange gels) they ate a bit more than might have first been suspected but.

they had killed more than one bear as well. it all balanced out in the end really.]

There's jerky or salted meat and we have plenty of both. [lloyd tells him encouragingly.] Nothing very complicated but I wasn't exactly planning on getting dragged somewhere without a decent shop so recipes are sort of limited right now to be honest.

Salted meat would be fine, or whatever you have more of.

[He'll make do with whatever he's given. None of Adam's friends really know how to cook, and he only has basic skills in that area, but they'll figure something out. If they can keep from going hungry - well, that's all that matters right now. Survival, and maybe finding a way out.]

That's more than enough. You don't have to worry about not having anything complicated.

[Adam's wariness is slowly fading, though that doesn't mean he trusts Lloyd.]

We appreciate it.

Great! [lloyd says brightly, and he's grinning again, pretty wide for a guy who's been going door to door to share meat because he killed too many giant bears but then, lloyd's never quite so happy as he is when he gets the chance to do something for someone, even a complete stranger.]

How much do you need? I didn't bring any with me, because I wasn't sure how many people were going to want some. But I'm a pretty fast runner so it won't take me very long at all to bring some back for you.

[no joke, the kid is practically a gazelle.]

Well, there's four of us and a bird, so... maybe a fair amount? I'd rather not wipe out your supply, though.

[Especially since he has no way to pay for it, and nothing to offer in return. He's not going to turn food down, though, even if it doesn't sit quite right with it.]

I can help you get it, if you want.

[Lloyd is probably not going to murder him. He's fairly sure.]

[waving a gloved hand dismissively between the two of them.] Don't worry, if I run out I can always go kill another bear. [yes adam, it really is that simple for lloyd.

he nods eagerly a second later at adam's suggestion, and if lloyd had a tail it would be wagging pretty fast right now.] That's a great idea! That way if you need more meat later, you know where to find me to ask. [a beat] Or Zelos if I'm not around, I'll let him know you might be coming by so he's not weird about it.

[he skips back slightly to give adam the space to come outside with him, still smiling. he literally hasn't stopped okay.]

[He eyes Lloyd with some disbelief, though less because he thinks Lloyd is incapable of it and more because - well, it's just weird, okay? The guys is just so cheerful, and apparently totally cool with fighting bears, and that is weird.

Adam leaves the house, though, closing the door behind him. He figures this is safe enough, and this way he can be sure to get enough for everyone without taking more than he ought to.]

I'm sorry. I should introduce myself before I follow you home, I think. I'm Adam Parrish.

[He's suspicious of people in general, but always tends toward politeness anyway. He holds out his hand to shake.]

Thank you for your help.

[bears were nothing really. easier than monsters by a long stretch most of the time, even if these were particularly large bears, and an entirely different matter from killing people. lloyd was honestly grateful that there hadn't been any need to do the latter in this place so far.

in any case, hunting helped burn off some of the pent up energy from being stuck in one place, and there was something comfortingly familiar about the whole thing, even if there was a strange lack of supplies to be found from hunting in this place compared to back home. still, just because hunting wasn't quite as profitable around here didn't mean he couldn't be generous with what he had.]

I'm Lloyd Irving. [lloyd tells adam brightly, and he maybe winds up shaking adam's hand a touch exuberantly but it's not actually a gesture he has a whole lot of experience with. and truth be told he just tends to do most things exuberantly if given the choice.] It's nice to meet you, Adam!

[as he turns and starts to lead the way down the street in the direction of his and zelos' place, he adds:] Dwarven Vow number 2, never abandon someone in need. I'm happy to help!

[That definitely pulls a smile out of Adam, even if it is a little bemused. That kind of cheerful friendliness is pretty foreign to him, and while he's tempted to think it's fake, he doesn't really think so. Lloyd seems very sincere, if strange.]

Nice to meet you too. Dwarven vow?

[Lloyd does not appear very dwarf-like, though really Adam isn't sure what that would be, except for what he's seen in cheesy fantasy movies. There's no dwarves where he comes from, that's for sure, but it seems like there must be in Lloyd's world. He has to admit to being somewhat curious.]

You don't seem much like a dwarf to me. [A pause.] Oh, I hope that's not offensive.

Don't worry about it. [lloyd tells adam with a light laugh.] You're right, I'm not technically a dwarf, but I was raised as one!

[he holds up and flexes one arm proudly in front of adam, though the fact that he's currently wearing so many clothes that the only skin showing in his face sort of fails to make the point for him but...] I was taught smithing too. I'm definitely nowhere near as good at it as my dad, but I guess I can do in a pinch if you find yourself needing a Dwarven smith in this place.

[and there were so few dwarves now in either of the two worlds (or. one world now. he had to remember that) that the skills he had learned under dirk that he was practically a dwarf anyway. dwarven smithing was still highly in demand, after all. there was nothing better.]

[Adam will just have to assume there's some muscles under there. To be fair, though, there'd have to be, if this guy is fighting bears. Adam believes it.]

There's no dwarves where I'm from, so I don't really know what their smithing is like. I guess that's good to know, though.

[Just... in case? You never know.]

Though since I already owe you for the meat, I don't think I could ask for your help in anything else.

[oh my god adam, stop talking about owing lloyd something, that is not how this thing works okay. how many times does lloyd have to tell you for it to stick.]

Dwarves are the only people that can make key crests for exspheres! [lloyd tells adam helpfully, flashing his own exsphere in adam's direction with one slightly wild swing of his arm to make a point.] If you do find one you should probably call me because they can be kind of dangerous if you don't know what you're doing with them.

[that's a... nice way of putting it, really.]

Mostly I make jewelry and accessories for my friends though. [here's a little secret, adam, if you've spoken to lloyd once you're already his friends. that's how this works.] And don't worry about it, really, I like helping people!

[He'll stop talking about crap like that when the sun goes cold in the sky. That's just how Adam Parrish rolls. He doesn't believe in a free lunch, not even from obviously super nice people like Lloyd.

He peers at the exsphere, not recognizing it at all, but he does make a mental note. Certainly if someone says something is dangerous he'll be more careful if he ever finds another one - not that that's likely.]

What's an exsphere?

[And he shrugs a little, almost smiling.]

You know, if you're too nice, people might start taking advantage of you. You should be careful.

[but this is literally a free lunch, adam. like, literally.

lloyd's expression turns a little serious here, mostly because he's going to have to explain technical things now, and that has never been his forte.] An exsphere is sort of like... a power source? You can use it to power machines, or if someone wears one with a key crest they can give you a power boost while you're fighting?

[a very tiny shrug and he pats the hilt of one of his swords down at his hip.] It's how I can do techniques like Beast or Tempest, and it makes fighting monsters a little easier.

[lloyd opens his mouth to refute adam's second point except he... kind of can't? give him a second.] I guess it has happened before, but... if someone does something like that then they probably need to, right? [wrong lloyd, wrong] And everything's always managed to work out alright in the end, so I don't mind!

[WHATEVER, MAN. Technicalities.

He doesn't totally understand the whole exsphere thing, but he thinks he gets the general gist, and that's enough. A source of power, basically, and probably not the kind of thing someone like Adam could or should use. But good to know about, just in case. He wonders if he could sense that power, if he tried.]

People don't only do that kind of thing because they need to. Sometimes they're just greedy, or cruel.

[Once Adam would have been sort of disgusted by that level of naivete. The world can be an awful place, he's known that all his life, and it used to bother him that people could go through their lives blissfully oblivious to it.

Now it bothers him much less. He thinks that sort of ignorance can be valuable, that in the end, not everyone deserves to know how awful things can be. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be smart about it.]

You should just be careful, that's all. But I'm glad everything's worked out for you.

[not the sort of thing adam should try using without seriously consulting lloyd about the issue first, really adam this is no joke. do you want to turn into a giant monster thing. there was a reason lloyd decided to go searching for exspheres after the whole saving the worlds jaunt.

he frowns softly.] But people don't do things just to be mean. There's always a reason. [even if he hadn't agreed with mithos' reasons for doing what he had, he at least understood.] A reason that's probably really important to them, don't you think? Oh!

[lloyd pulls up short outside of one of the larger houses available in hadriel and turns on his heel to grin at adam with a small gesture at the building.] Here it is!

[He looks at Lloyd, and what can he really say to that? It isn't true, but Adam can tell that Lloyd isn't the sort of person to listen - or to care. He thinks the best of people, which is not an awful quality, but can be a very dangerous one.]

People do. They might try to justify it, but in the end, they're cruel for cruelty's sake. But I'm glad you haven't had to deal with that.

[Really, it's for the best. Not everyone should have to deal with shitty people.

He looks up at the house, so very similar to his own.]

Oh, good. It's not too far.

[Important, if he's gonna have to carry stuff back.]

[saying that lloyd had never had to deal with that probably wasn't entirely accurate. that lloyd's definition of a "reason" might be a bit vague was honestly far more realistic. after all, in the end mithos had only wanted people to hurt as much as he had.

and yet still.]

Yeah! [lloyd says, nodding as he lets them both in and distractedly leading adam toward the kitchen area in the back with only a quick look over his shoulder at the other boy before heading deeper into the house.] It's kind of big for just me and Zelos but I think he's used to living in big places anyway so I don't really mind.

[even if it felt like zelos avoiding him was too easy in a house this big.]

[He follows Lloyd in. He hasn't known the boy long, but even so Adam is not surprised that Lloyd lets him in his home so easily, not seeming worried at all. He doesn't have anything to worry about - Adam isn't violent or creepy or a kleptomaniac - but still, it's a trusting act that Adam isn't really sure how to feel about. He knows it's not about him, it's Lloyd's own trusting nature, but that just makes him sort of worried about the other boy.

Still. It's not his problem. Lloyd has friends who probably look out for him.]

It is pretty big. But maybe some more of your friends will show up eventually, and you can fill it up.

[The inside looks so similar to the house Adam and his friends have claimed. Interesting. He follows Lloyd to the kitchen.]

Or just enjoy the space.

You really think so? [lloyd stops short in the kitchen and spins back around to look at adam, and the expression on his face is something like burgeoning hope, only for it to slide and drop into something a touch more resigned instead.]

Oh, but they all have things they need to do back home, and I think they all deserve a little bit of a break to be honest. I don’t want them to get dragged into another mess so soon just because of me.

They probably won’t even notice I’m gone. [lloyd adds thoughtfully, and despite the words there’s nothing hurt in his voice or expression.] Zelos and I were on a trip when we woke up here.

[He shrugs.]

I have friends here. Who knows? And - well, in the last place I was in they said that no one would notice, that time passes differently, so our friends and family at home wouldn't have any idea we were ever gone.

[Adam doesn't know how much of that he believes, but he thinks maybe Lloyd will find it comforting. And he supposes they might find out someday, if they ever go home.]

You were somewhere else before this place too? [lloyd latches onto that point, because of course he does. he gives adam a sort of wide eyed look, not strictly surprised so much as... intrigued maybe.

so long as someone explained what the word intrigued meant to him, anyway.]

Yeah. This place they called Harborview, and a train before that - and before that, Virginia, which is where I'm originally from.

[He sighs. Can't really do much about being an unintentional dimension hopper.]

Were you anywhere, before? Besides your own world, I mean.

[well that certainly was a question, wasn't it? lloyd thinks about it maybe a little longer than you'd think one would have to about that sort of thing, rubbing the side of his neck with one gloved hand as he answers.]

Sort of. The world I came from... it actually used to be split into two worlds. And before that it was all one world. We didn't even know about the other world at first, but when we did find out about it we wound up traveling between the two for a bunch of stuff until we were able to put them together again.

So... sort of. [and then he offers adam a shrug.]

[Well, that's... extremely confusing and not at all the kind of answer Adam expected. He sort of gets it, but frankly, he doesn't want to ask any more questions about it. That would almost certainly just make it even more confusing.]

That sounds... complicated.

[To put it lightly.]

At least you don't have to worry about it here, I guess. So, um, about that bear meat...

[Before things get weirder.]

[intro log] we're beary pleased to meet you!

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