hadriel_logs | Event log: Who What Where Wendigo

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Event log: Who What Where Wendigo

Who: Everyone participating in the wendigo event!
What: The accidental-cannibalism-turned-horrifying-monster event that is the Who What Where Wendigo event!
Where: All around the city
When: Feb 14th-March 1st
Warnings: Cannibalism, body horror, evil monsters lurking around.

Don't forget to check up on the Wendigo Guide that Ami posted!

On February 14th, Rage and Fear decide to give Hope a little bit of help taking care of the residents of Hadriel - they'll provide some food for awhile. How nice! Except, of course, that there's an extra ingredient in this food. A can of beef stew? Yeah... that might not be beef. But hey, it still tastes pretty good! Unfortunately, some spirits slipped through the Door last time it opened, and they're ready to possess anyone who participates in cannibalism - even if they don't know it.

Anyone who eats the provided meat will be possessed by a wendigo spirit. Over the course of twelve days, they will transform into a monster that feels little but rage and hunger. While at first it can be explained away easily enough (people are super annoying, and isn't everyone a little hungry most of the time?), by February 18th, wendigo transformations are impossible to ignore. A few days after, on February 22nd, the anger and cravings of the wendigo spirit will overcome all other emotions, and possessed characters may begin hunting.

The physical and mental transformation will be complete by February 26th. The possessed characters will have lost themselves completely at that point. While physical healing (done by a character with Hope's blessing or another healing ability) can turn back the physical and some mental effects, they will remain possessed until death or until Hope removes the wendigo spirit - which can only be done on the altar of Hope's temple. So have fun dragging your angry, possessed friends there!

On March 1st, Rage does Hope a solid (because she feels sort of bad) and kills all remaining wendigos. Upon revival, the spirit will be gone and the character will be fully recovered. Hopefully no one holds what they did while possessed against them!

► This log covers February 14th-March 1st.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► Please report any character deaths right here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She groans, frustrated -- only the sound is a little more growl than it should be, raspier, less human. Emily doesn't notice, too busy trying to find the part of her that can still form coherent sentences. It takes her a few seconds, but she manages it.]

Chris, I swear to god, if there's a way to stop this and none of you tries to help me, I'm--

[She'll what, eat them? As if she'll even be lucid enough to make that choice. Already there are moments where she can't think. In just a few more days, she'll be gone.]

I'm going to lose--

[Don't slip. Don't slip. Hold on. Breathe. She curls both hands into fists, as if that could help somehow, and squeezes her eyes shut as she takes a sharp, gasping breath.]

Matt. God, where's Matt!

I know, Em.

[He doesn't plan on just doing nothing, but they only have one shot at this and so they have to make it count.

He's about to try explaining a bit more when she continues, and then she asks about Matt again, and he's silent several seconds. He isn't sure if she's just upset or something with the transformation is causing problems with her memory, which is a little frightening to think about, but ultimately it doesn't matter.]

M-Matt isn't here, Em. He's um... H-He's back home.

[Probably. And who knows if he's alive.]

[Matt's not here. She knows that. Or, part of her knows that. Maybe the monster is devouring her mind first. That would explain how inhuman wendigos are despite their origins. But just the thought of him keeps her from spiraling into the creeping madness. Even if he's not here, even if he might be dead, he's helping her.

And in his own way, so is Chris. That realization calms her down a little, though it still takes her a few seconds to respond to him.]

Please, Chris, you have to fix this. Please. What did Hope say?

[She isn't the first person since this started to ask him to fix what's happening to her, and he wishes he could. He wishes more than anything that he could just fix it, but he can't and he doesn't know what to do and he doesn't know how he ended up being the person that people are looking to when they're turning into monsters. How does that even happen? How is that even a situation that ever exists?

But this isn't the time to be wondering that, or freaking out over the responsibility, or anything else. So he takes a deep breath, and tries to answer her question.]

Hope said he can like, remove the wendigo spirit and then heal people, but we've got to get them to his Temple.

[Which is easier said than done.]

But we've gotta make sure... You know. That we actually get to the Temple, and stay there long enough for him to do it.

[Hope said possibly ten minutes, and that's a really long time to convince a half-transformed wendigo to stay in one place without hurting anyone.]

I-It won't help anyone if like... Someone who's getting cured runs off into the city before it works.

[That would be bad on both sides; for everyone else, and for the person turning into the wendigo who may not be able to be found and helped until too late.]

[Fucked. She's fucked. Totally goddamn fucked.

Visions of being on a leash while en route to the temple and having to be tied to the altar flash through her head, because how else are they going to guarantee the wendigo won't take full control of her long enough to run off?]

Goddamnit. Goddamnit.

[Emily wants to risk it, though. If anyone can win an internal fight with a monster, it's her, right? Of course it is. How many people has she made cry to date in her short life? Then again, all of those people were just your run of the mill idiots, not cannibalistic predators with a mind for nothing but hunting.

Still. Desperate times and all of that. And the longer they waited, the less of Emily there would be left.]

Take me to the temple. Right now.

[Chris goes quiet again at the demand, resting his head back against the wall behind him and closing his eyes a moment. He should say no. Not until they've figured out a good way to do it.

But instead, he weighs the options mentally. The sooner the better, not just in terms of what Emily's going through but in the chances of actually making it to the Temple. But the risk is still so high, and they only have one chance, and if things go wrong everyone is completely screwed.

Logically, he should go with what he'd been thinking originally; do nothing yet. Coordinate with Mike and maybe some other friends to try to manage safely controlling a part-wendigo long enough to get them to the Temple. Be smart about this.

But that isn't what he says.]

Okay.

[He owes her that much. If she wants to take the risk--even if she may not be herself enough to really even been making this decision--then he owes it to her to try, no matter what the consequences might be.

Trying to decide between following what's smart and what's right is so difficult, but at the same time maybe that's a good thing. He doesn't know if he wants to get to the point where it's easy.]

[Just like that? No objections?

Okay. Good. There's no time to argue anyway. And maybe she can have something to eat while she's out there.]

Open the door.

[Being bossy makes her feel like this is all just some stupid nightmare she'll wake up from any minute. But then there comes this instinctive knowledge that she could tear him apart if he gets stubborn or stupid, the thought stirring something inside her that feels so right--

No. No.]

God, Chris, hurry up!

[Okay. Okay, this could be a horrible mistake, and there's a cold, low level of terror setting in as he really thinks about what he's agreed to. He could say no now---what would she do about it?--but he won't, because they have to try.]

Okay, okay, just... Promise you're not going to eat me.

[It's all he can say, and he's already moving the barricade without waiting for an answer. Just act, don't think too much about it, or he'll end up too scared to move and then neither of them will have a chance of successfully curing her.]

Edited 2016-02-25 18:29 (UTC)

I promise not to eat you.

[For whatever that's worth, anyway. As long as she's still herself, Emily will not eat Chris. Beyond that -- if the beast takes full control, there's just not much else she can do.

She steps back from the door a bit when she hears him start to move things on the other side. After all these long, terrible days, she'll get to go outside. To be cured, no less. She's not yet so monstrous that she's unrecognizable, but she's far gone enough that it doesn't consciously occur to her how repulsive she must look. Her eyebrows are almost completely gone, maybe half her hair has fallen out, and she's thinner than any human ever should be. It's a good thing her sight is failing her, because if she could see herself now, she might-- well, everyone in the house and probably the entire spiral would've heard a few choice words flung their way.

As it is, she won't be concerned with her appearance when they head outside. Not like they can do anything about it anyway.]

[The barricade is out of the way and he takes another deep breath before he can get up the courage to open the door, but then he does and there's--

It's Emily. It's Emily, still, not a wendigo, not yet, no matter what she looks like. He's simultaneously worried and frightened, but he needs to not act on either; stay focused, they have a goal here.

But he stays frozen, just for a moment, until he's sure that at least for now it's still Emily making the decisions rather than the wendigo instincts.]

H-hey.

[There's no hiding how scared he is, so he doesn't really try.]

Let's uh... L-let's do this.

Edited 2016-02-25 19:35 (UTC)

[It's probably just her imagination, twisted already by the spirit slowly overtaking her, but Emily swears the air beyond her door feels fresher as the door is opened. It clears her head a little, gives her the balls to think they can actually do this.]

Is-- Is that you?

[At first he's just a shadowy silhouette, but then he speaks, and she knows it's him. She'll be blind by nightfall if Hope's cure doesn't work. At least she can still hear well. If nothing else, that reassures her some.

She walks up to him, joints creaking a little with every step. Despite the decidedly shitty posture for a human, she feels no discomfort from it. Actually, once the ache from each change passes, she's left feeling stronger and more agile.]

Okay, lead the way. [She's not bothered learning where Hope's temple is. Emily isn't much for praying, though these last few days have made her start to wonder if she should be.]

Edited 2016-02-25 20:01 (UTC)

Yeah, it's me.

[He stays where he is as she approaches, fighting the urge to at least back up if not run; it's a useless instinct anyway, because if she were going to hurt him his best bet would be staying still. But she does seem in control, and he too thinks that maybe they've got a chance.]

Okay. Stick close.

[For many reasons; because he's not sure if she'll get lost otherwise, because he needs to be able to keep careful watch on her, because if she strays at all and they run into someone else out in the city he needs to be able to intervene if they want to kill her or she wants to kill them.

He starts leading the way toward the main door.]

[With her eyesight so far gone, she doesn't have much choice but to stay close to him -- though some part of her thinks, knows she'd be okay on her own. At least he's easy to follow when he moves. As long as he leads her in the right direction, she won't get lost.

She pauses at the door, both because she has to force away the thought of slicing off a chunk of Chris, and because she's hesitant to be in the light.

There are little spots of movement here and there, maybe a short sprint away from where she stands. She yearns to go after them, so accessible, so--

No. Shs has to follow Chris. Emily narrows her eyes and looks for Chris, his familiar gait easy to spot, and walks up to him, a little closer this time than before.]

I-- [No, don't think about food, don't even ask about it.] I look like shit, don't I?

[What a stupid question. As if it matters. As if it'll make her any less hungry. But it's a distraction. Irritation is better than hunger, though she can't quite ignore it.]

Edited 2016-02-26 00:50 (UTC)

[Okay. They just have to get to the Temple. If things stay like this, maybe they really can make it; he's still too afraid to really hope, but there's still a tiny spark.

At her question Chris glances toward her, wishes he hadn't, and then looks forward again to make sure he's leading them in the right direction. There's probably no good answer--there's usually no good answer to that question, turning into a wendigo or not--but...]

No way; you're the prettiest half-wendigo in all of the weird, underground cave city.

[It's a tiny joke, and would've perhaps been better if he could've affected a childish, impressed voice to go along with it, but he can't muster up that much levity.]

Damn right I am.

[There's not as much verve to her voice as there should be. Even if she had been able to see him take a look at her, she wouldn't have snapped at him with the usual zing. It's hard to be herself when she's slipping away. Being outside, moving around, seeing movement like this--

And being so close to him, near enough that it's like the spirit itself can sense him, smell him, anticipate the moment her fangs will sink into his flesh and the way he'll scream and how the blood will--]

Uuh, so... so how far is the temple?

[Breathe. Focus. Focus.]

Not as near as I'd like.

[It's actually quite a distance; they have to pass several shops, the whole coliseum, some of the spires... It's a distance, and probably the main obstacle to just curing everyone and being done with. Definitely the main obstacle to curing everyone in their house.

But they don't have any other choice, so.]

It'd be great if like, Hope installed some buses or something.

[Keep making stupid, normal comments, and maybe this'll be easier; the more this seems like any other trip out, the better their chances of nothing going wrong. Right?]

[Sure, Chris. You keep on thinking like that.

Because while you're thinking up stupid quips, Emily is... here, and not here. Drowning and surfacing. Chris's words sound like those songs that are warped or whatever so it feels like the music is moving around you when you wear headphones. It's infuriating, and it's disorienting and distracting and it would just be so easy to let go and let the wendigo take over--]

Fucking idiot. ... Should've put the temple right-- close to the houses.

[Her voice comes out a little scratchy, as if she's just come back from a concert, or as if the wendigo is winning. Same difference, right?

She reaches for his wrist, closing her long, bony fingers around it. His skin is warm and so, so soft. She could tear it with just a breath if she--]

Fucking moron.

[Stop ruining his optimism, Emily.

He's trying to think of something useful to follow up with in response to Emily's statement, definitely not disagreeing, but then he feels her fingers--only they're not like hers should be--wrap around his wrist. He freezes immediately, just as an ingrained reaction and not because it would do any good, since she obviously knows where he is, but...

Maybe she's just scared. Maybe her vision is bad enough that she's decided it's easier to hold onto him in order to follow. Maybe she--

His heart is racing in his chest, but he tries to sound calm when he speaks.]

You okay, Em?

[Please say yes.]

[She will get right on that when she's not turning into a fucking cannibal monster thank you Christopher.

He's not wrong, though. She is scared. But her fear isn't winning out. If it were, she'd be able to tell him what she should say. We have to run to the temple, we have to run because I am losing and I will not fucking lose do you understand me.

But his pulse-- she can feel his pulse beneath her fingers. She can't see him very well anymore, but she has him. He's not going anywhere now.

She drags her thumb along the back of his palm, the sharpening point of the finger catching a little on the skin but not enough to break it.

When she speaks again, her voice is a strained, raspy whisper. She wants to say yes, but that would be a lie, and even now, she dishes out the truth like it's her job.]

I'm hungry.

[Okay. Breathe. Stay calm.

Stay calm.]

I-I know. B-But once we get you cured, e-everything's going to be fine and...

[And she'll be able to eat something that will actually satisfy her hunger, without killing anyone. Like him.]

Come on, Em. J-Just keep it together a little longer.

[The temple is far. It's too far. They're not going to make it. If only the despair would overtake her, then she might listen to him and try--

She tightens her grip around his wrist, as if this is the only thing keeping her from drifting off for good. It might be. She's not sure. Everything is hazy and he's not moving and she almost forgets he's even there except his pulse is so fast so rapid prey tastes better after a chase--

She can't stop it, can't stop the creature from baring its teeth at him. Her human ones must have fallen out or transformed or whatever it is that happens to them, because they feel longer than before (as they should be)--]

I can't--

[Her hand is shaking with the effort to let him go. She's not sure anymore if she can even win, but she promised, and sure she's got a mighty rage but she's not a killer.]

Chris--!

[Oh god, what the hell is he supposed to do? Mike's second gun is hidden out of sight on the back of his belt, under the hem of his sweater, but he can't use it; the plan was to hold onto it just in case he was attacked by someone that wasn't totally transformed, and therefore the gun would actually work, but...

He can't do it. Maybe he can if she's actively trying to tear our his throat or something, but not now. Not when she's still Emily.

All he can really do is try to keep her calm and so he speaks again, voice soft and forcibly calm.]

Emily, listen to me, okay? We'll just go back to the house and try again later. There's still time try again.

[They'll come up with some sort of plan, like they'd been trying to do originally, and then give this another shot. They just...

They just need to get back home.]

Come on, Em, you can do this.

Edited 2016-02-26 02:56 (UTC)

[His voice makes it through to her, dimmed a bit by the raging force of the wendigo spirit, but still intelligible. If she were herself, she'd mock him. Really? There's still time to try? But she needs to concentrate, and that takes a strength she isn't sure she has.]

No-- [Her voice is breathy, almost as shaky as she is.] I can't. I--

[This isn't working, and time is running out, so she does the first thing that comes to mind: she shoves him away and screams.

The sound is half her, half wendigo, terrifying in its own right. The sudden movement has disoriented her, and without Chris to guide her, she doesn't know what direction the house is in. She can't go back, but she can't leave, either. At least in the house she knows they can keep her confined for a while, but out here, she could easily lose herself and kill the first person she sees. That's what the wendigo wants to do, but she won't go down without a fight. Still standing, she hunches over more, wrapping her eyes around her middle.]

[He's tense, ready for her to suddenly snap and attack him; he doesn't know just how much damage those terrifying teeth can actually do yet, and the same with her claws, but hopefully if she does attack he'll still have a chance. But he isn't expecting her to shove him away, the combination of the force and him being so tense and his general clumsiness all causing him to stumble back and end up on the ground.

Which is for the best, really, because the wendigo half of that shriek prompts him to throw his forearms over his ears and duck his head, frozen in terror for a few seconds. But she doesn't attack just yet, and that gives him enough time to get ahold of himself, at least to the point where he can move to open his eyes and try to figure out where Emily is.

She hasn't run off, and he doesn't know why, but he has to make a decision; stay still and give himself a good chance of surviving but probably lose Emily in the city, or try again to get her back home. Chris desperately wants to choose the first, but he's already picked fear over Emily once before, and he promised he wouldn't do it again.

Okay. Get up.

He's shaking and his bad knee doesn't want to support him, but somehow he gets to his feet in moments and steps forward, grabbing Emily firmly by the arms. On some level--way below the combination of fear and determination that are warring for control of the situation--he feels a little guilty for touching her without permission, let alone doing so aggressively, but they have to get back to the house and the only way that's happening is if he makes it happen.

And that's all assuming he even can. It's assuming she isn't already stronger than he is, that she can't--or won't--just simply bite or claw a hole in him for getting so close, that he can possibly keep control of the situation long enough to get them back. But right now it's the only option.]

We're going, Em.

[It's a sliver of forever between when Emily shoves Chris away and when he grabs her by the arms. There's rage in the pause, and violent, primal hunger, and just enough of her in the midst of it all to be afraid of what she's becoming.

But Chris draws her out of it, her and the creature. It's the wendigo that snaps her head up to look at him with wide, sightless eyes and bare her teeth and give a hissing growl. And then it's Emily who gasps as she wins this part of the struggle.

She nods, an angry sob shaking her whole body.] Hurry.

[She tries not to stumble as they go, but it's hard when she has to work so hard to stay in control. It's just-- he's right there, and she's so hungry--]

God, no-- [If she can just hold on until she's locked in her room again--] Shit!

Event log: Who What Where Wendigo

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