[network] @HOOK; DAY 016 [open]

[villainously]

ＭＯＲＮＩＮＧ. ＶＩＤＥＯ.
( it takes a bit after waking to find his tablet, stowed close to him after he stumbles free from the odd table and bag he awoke in. he's incredibly uneasy and his expression might even be closed to panicked as he tries to communicate. )

Is anyone— Baelfire, Tinker Bell, are you still out there? I'm...

( not dead. yes, so it was hinted at a few times before he froze in the bitter cold, he still hadn't really believed it, and now here he is. he doesn't know what to think, but he feels very uneasy about it.

the camera turns away from him, showing the morgue, though not in as much detail as the pirate himself can see. )

There's so many here.

( has this place really claimed all these lives? or are they going to wake, just like him?

either way, Hook probably isn't going to stay long... though he might be able to look for a name on the way out, if he's caught before he leaves. )
ＥＶＥＮＩＮＧ. ＡＣＴＩＯＮ.
( he's feeling better than he managed before he died. what kind of irony is that? slept like the dead, apparently, and that's put him in more of a working order... yet, all the same, he still doesn't try to travel too far. he's going to survive and make it back to the school, try to find his group again, hopefully without any casualties this time.

yes, he knows death might not stick, but all those bodies in the place he awoke? no, he doesn't feel particularly confident that he can escape that fate twice. so instead he's off, found a place to stay the night, at least for now. he's poking around inside when the door opens, and he twists away from the very odd garden he was giving a once over to see who it is.

the face is familiar, and he frowns before finding the name that matches the face. ) Clarke, isn't it?

Comments

morning; video @baelfire

[jumpship]

[ ... he doesn't exactly know what to think when he hears the voice over the network early in the morning. after the night of headaches and strange dreams, the lights and the singing, he isn't sure what to believe.

he's sure the voice is his imagination, sure that he's just making everything up, until he keeps talking, until it is very much Hook on the video. ]

You're... you're alive!

[ he doesn't mean to scream it, doesn't mean to let his voice catch or his eyes burn, but he was sure he'd never come back. ]

[villainously]

( is he alive? despite everything, it feels a bit hard to believe. he knows he froze, he suffered every last aching breath trying to find a way in anywhere before he couldn't move any farther. that was the worst part, face first and smothering in snow...

he didn't have to fight long after that.

does that mean he's alive? it's not as if he'd go to heaven, and this place doesn't seem much like any hell he's heard of. so what does it mean? did he really die, or is this place and its magic preserving them somehow?

he felt dead, but it's impossible to say.

still, at Baelfire's voice, he stops moving and turns the camera back around. he can't quite knot himself into no reaction at all. he looks about as uncertain as he feels, and it's rare for the pirate to admit he's actually a bit afraid, even just in an expression. )

I think so. ( it's hard to tell for sure, as ridiculous as that sounds. ) I don't know how, but... ( he shakes his head, deciding to spare Baelfire details. ) I'm all right. And you, are you— ( Baelfire's expression ties his stomach in knots and Hook is immediately backtracking. ) What's wrong? Is it Tink? Did something happen to you?

( not like anyone could be sad that you were dead for a week, right Hook? )

[jumpship]

[ it really is him. he's moving around somewhere, and he remembers it all. the amount of relief that goes surging through him is inexplicable. he very nearly forgets to listen and respond for all the emotion he's feeling.

he wipes furiously at his eyes. ] No, we're... we're fine. I... I thought you were dead for good.

[ so some of the people were right -- it takes time to come back here, and it's possible to wait. he's glad he didn't give up hope now, and stares at the screen in wonder. ] I... I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I tried, and I went to look for you when the doors opened and... and --

[ he frowns, and shrugs. ] Where are you? I... are you okay? [ this place takes something when you come back to life, he's heard, and he's almost afraid to ask the question. ]

[villainously]

( and there was nothing to be found, he's guessing. that sends a few cold knots into the pirate's stomach, but he chases them back. he's not going to consider too deeply that he's been gone. just that he's back now, and clearly he couldn't have really be dead if that's the case. right?

there's no coming back from death. )

Don't be sorry. I'm all right now. ( like that chases away all the fears and hurt from before. Hook doesn't really know what to say or how to make it better. he wishes he did. )

I... yes. ( he doesn't feel ill as he had before it all happened, which means he even feels better than he did before. ) I'm not sure where I am. It's a strange building. ( filled to the brim that people that most certainly appear to be dead, he's trying not to think about that. ) Where are you? Are you still with Tink? I'll find my way back to the school, and then we'll be together again.

voice @LELRIC

[armoured]

[The first indication that Al has seen this broadcast is a long, hollow, tinny sigh. He hates that his chest eases a little in relief at the sight of Hook alive, before the revulsion at revival takes over.

He can't accept it still, but Tim has instilled in him the need to be more comforting to those who have been brought back, because whatever has happened is not their fault.]

...You're okay.

[He's not sure if he's mad yet.]

[villainously]

How do you tell something like that?

( it's a little too revealing an inquiry, isn't it? how does he know he's healthy, or living on borrowed time from a spell he didn't ask to take on? as greedy as he is for his own life, what is the price for coming back going to be?

hook sighs, shaking off that thought. )

I seem to be.

[armoured]

You're alive, aren't you?

[Al really hates that he has to doubt if Killian had died, but he's trying to focus on the now. Killian is alive now, regardless of before, and if he was brought back then it wasn't his fault.]

If you're alive, then you're okay. You can always move forwards as long as you're breathing.

[villainously]

( for Hook, it just isn't that simple. if he really did die, then he has to have been revived by magic. and that speaks to a price he might not be able to pay, and it's too late to say no. he never had the chance. he shakes it off, though, because it's not something he can do anything about now. )

I suppose so. And you, you're all right?

{ video | @Lavellan }

[carrywithyou]

[ This is the first time Ellana's seen the morgue in any way, and it's pretty disturbing, even if she can't see as many bodies as Hook can. ]

Those are all people who froze to death? How did they get there?

[villainously]

( it is disturbing, just on the sheer scale of how many are kept here. they're all stowed away, locked in boxes, but all the chests marked with names... Hook has seen many dead before and yet he still finds himself troubled by it.

though, perhaps more so because he awoke from having been in the same state as they not too long ago. )

I don't know. I don't remember. I just woke up here.

( he pauses to flash the table he crawled off of, which has rolled out of the wall to let him free. )

If I was locked like all the rest, then someone unlocked me.

[carrywithyou]

[ She's seen so many dead herself -- there is a war going on at home, after all -- but there are more people, more bodies here than she thought there'd be. ]

So someone wanted you alive again.

[ She's been discussing this dead coming back to life thing with others, and she's still undecided if these people are the same as those who died, or only posing as them. No offense, Hook, it's just that putting spirits into dead bodies is a controversial thing that actually happens back home. ]

Probably the same person or group who gave us injections to stop a sickness we all just had. What I can't understand is how they get to us without us seeing them.

[villainously]

Apparently so.

( or he didn't die in the first place, he's still hoping it's that over the idea of dying and somehow reviving from it. in his world, that's impossible, but is there another explanation? how is this sort of magic possible?

her paranoia is actually understandable, though for the record he feels himself. too himself to be formerly dead, though really, how would he ever know? )

I don't know. But there's got to be a way to catch them, or stop them. ( he'll at least try. there's got to be an answer. )

morning; video @Chillinski

[figureitout]

Oh my god, dude, you're--

[Alive, which is kind of obvious at the moment. Stiles coughs and tries again.]

So, uh, a lot of dead bodies, that's- nice. Really comforting. [He can't help but wonder the same thing -- did all of them die like Hook, like everyone who froze to death? Or are they more of those mystery dead that Tim dug up on the playground?]

[villainously]

Something.

( he's not sure what he is. is that odd? he seems to be alive, his heart seems to be beating, it just is uncanny to remember how certain he is that he'd died. and that's not something you can come back from in his world. so he's not gong to use words like alive just yet. give him a bit.

there's a cruel guff of a laugh. yes, dead bodies, really comforting. ) There's so many. How many did you say had... died. ( this is so much more than he'd pictured. )

[figureitout]

Well, you're obviously not dead, and I'm just gonna go ahead and say that's a good thing. It's... you know. Good to see you breathing and talking and stuff.

[Wow, such eloquence, but Stiles has never been too good at saying supportive and nice things to people who aren't Scott.]

... yeah. It looked like more. I mean, if I'm not wrong, it's about half-and-half for the obituaries, half the people come back, half don't. But the number of dead people... it shouldn't be that much. [He's pretty sure of that, at least. Or maybe he's wrong, maybe the obituaries don't display all deaths, maybe-- maybe. It's just speculation.]

[villainously]

It's a bit more complicated than that. You can't ... You can't come back from death.

( his world even has magic, and it's still impossible. it has to be something else, even if he doesn't know what. and if he really did come back from death, the price is likely so astronomic it probably wouldn't be worth it for his sorry hide. )

I didn't count, but I'm not sure I want to.

( in fact, he'd really like not to be in here anymore. )

What the hell is this place...? ( he's never seen a morgue, so it's odd and reminds him of the hospital, only for the already gone. )

oh i guess i should mention that this is action

[coleader]

—Killian?

[ she finds the name easily; it isn't hard to remember someone she had feared would die under her care. the hook is also a pretty prominent feature. it isn't hard to remember that, either. she forces a smile, though the last week has been somewhat close to torture. god, that light, and how worried and scared she had felt. frightened that someone could see inside her and find all the terrible things she's done. she pressed the beacon without even thinking, desperate to make it stop, but the next day it disappeared. she's just— lost and confused. Clarke is starting to doubt her own sanity these days. what is real, and what is not? can she distinguish fears from reality? if this was the Admin's goal, to make her feel crazy, they've certainly achieved it. ]

Hi. It's been awhile. It's been awhile since I've seen anyone, actually.

thank wow I HAD NO IDEA

[villainously]

( he actually wouldn't know her name if she hadn't given to him after they met. when they met, well... he was really in no state to remember even his own name. Clarke is one of the few he bothered to give his actual name, instead of just a moniker; the girl that went out of her way to preserve his worthless life, seems she deserves a bit more consideration than the rest.

not that all her hard work really resulted in anything, he thinks with a sudden frown, but he shakes that off. he doesn't have time to get stuck in his head. she seems worn and weary, and perhaps the pirate might even like to make up what he owes her if he can. problem being there's not a lot he can offer her, all he has is himself and the few things he woke up with. )

Likewise. ( it's a dark agreement, considering he hasn't seen anyone because he's been locked in a cold box, more or less dead. ) If you mean to look around this place, I haven't found anything of note. And mind those plants, I wouldn't touch them if I were you. ( there's a reason he handled them wearing a glove. ) How long has it been since we spoke?

( it's a weird question, he just has to know how many days he lost. he knows he spoke to Clarke the morning of the day he left. be it through death or some odd magic. )

i didn't want my thread to be the odd one out without a subject line shhhh

[coleader]

[ of course he didn't find anything of note — they rarely do. she wants to find food, blankets, medicine, a way out. these things are hard to come by, though. Clarke wonders what the endgame is here, why they're being kept alive yet only allowed to barely scrape by. the food they're offered is disgusting, to say the least — she still doesn't understand Pop-Tarts — and if they aren't careful, they'll freeze to death.

so why, then? why bother giving them rations at all? what do you want? she wants to scream, but she keeps it in, remaining calm on the surface. her expression doesn't give much indication of her frustrated state, though a keen observer might notice there's more tension than usual. ]

Since we last spoke? Uh, it must have been... five? Six? It can't have been more than a week.

[ she doesn't bother asking why he wants to know. Clarke, too, has her own reasons for keeping up with the dates. the days seem so short and the nights so long that she finds herself wondering if the day is actually 24 hours. sometimes, knowing the day comforts her. then she can know a few things for certain. she is Clarke Griffin. she is in Norfinbury, and has been for fifteen days. she's really fucking cold. ]

What's wrong with the plants? I was hoping they might be medicinal. They're the only plants I've seen since I got here.

video

[trybelieving]

Hook.

[She's been waiting, they both have. They had to hope, so they did, no matter what strange challenges this place presented. Knowing his future, Tink had been a little more optimistic than Bae. Didn't he need to survive to get back to Emma, to help save Henry - to find his place? It may not be here, and it may not come as quickly as he'd like, but she thinks he has an opportunity somewhere out there; some kind of chance to be the hero he turned his back on.

Yet it's a little deceptive to see him this way, here, but not really with them anymore. She blinks, emotion in her eyes, voice wavering, a chill up her spine from something other than cold.]

Where are you?

video, switched to private;

[villainously]

( he heard hints of revival before he even faded out on this frozen place, yet he really didn't think it was possible until he found himself here. waking from a bag, in a suffocating box, only released when he woke enough to truly panic. he couldn't have been dead... could he? there's no coming back from that.

he can't afford to fall to pieces, he's trying to put himself back together and ignore the white room full of boxes of the dead behind him, but even the pirate is a little shaken. )

Lady?

( where he is, that's a good question. he's outside the room with the bodies and the door closes behind him. he won't be going back in, it seems. )

I'm... not sure. I haven't seen this place before. ( and he doesn't know enough about modern places to know and call it a morgue. )

private

[trybelieving]

[She doesn't blame him for being shaken. Where they're from, there's no coming back from death. Other worlds make work differently, but she's never heard of death being so casual. It reminds her of the darkness of this place, where there may not be magic, but there are certainly other things at work.]

Well need some information, if we're going to find you.

[They won't stay on their own this time. This is what she and Bae were waiting for, they need to stick together.]

Baelfire was worried.

[No comment on the fairy herself.]

video - @claytonator

[dr_unconscious]

[Oh hey, it's that guy that died and made that kid really sad, and Clayton couldn't do anything about it! Well at least now he doesn't feel so bad about promising Baelfire that he would come back. And also, he's alive, which is a victory all in itself. These are things better celebrated when one of them isn't surrounded by dead people.]

[Maybe he should address that. He does so, calmly and with the patience of someone who is desperately trying to keep them both from panicking.]

Hook? It's Clayton--we talked a while back. ["You know, while you were slowly dying of hypothermia! Good times."] Can you get a look outside that room yer in? I might know where you are.

[villainously]

( yes, he remembers, though perhaps not with intense fondness. a bit of a strange fellow, this one. Hook takes the name to the face, though, he'll remember that. )

Found any shoes?

( because the pirate is pretty sure he needs to get on that. Hook doesn't have winter gear, either, but at least he's got a pair of boots to go with all the stupid leather.

He couldn't manage to stay in the white space with boxes lined with bodies for very long, especially considering he had just been in the same place. He turns the camera to the limited lobby he's in, the outdoors he can't help much with. When he goes out he will stay that way. )

Been before?

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton huffs a weak laugh and his mouth quirks into a smile. It's dark humor, but humor nevertheless--probably Hook's more reliable coping mechanism, based on their first, ill-fated conversation. If nothing else, it's a good point for some basic smalltalk.]

Ain't been so lucky. Haven't lost any toes yet, so I guess I still got some time.

[Meanwhile, the footage. Clayton's expression settles into a furrowed state of concentration while he stares into his tablet.]

...Yeah, I been. Same place I woke up. That's the funeral home on the west wall, looks like. There's a lot t' the south, but it's a long walk.