[log] abloobloobloo x2 [closed]

[phaseshifter]

Characters: Angel, Beckett, Brian, Enoch, Kid and Rhys (whew)
Location: Building 124/122
Date: Evening 268/269 respectively
Summary: Gross tearful reunions! Both of the good and not-so-good variety.
Warnings: Torturechat? Specifics in subject lines etc etc you know the drill

Write your own starters, nerds

124, day 268: This house, covered in snow, is dark and cold, but better than outside. The snow presses in on the windows and makes the roof creak and groan whenever it shifts, but it seems to be holding up alright. It's a standard, single-story house with a living room, single bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and dining room. There's a bed frame in the bedroom, but it doesn't have a mattress. The house is sparsely furnished, unfortunately with mostly metal There's a back door leading off into darkness, but it isn't locked. There's a blue smear on the bathroom cabinet. Xs have been carved into the cabinets in the kitchen. There are large smears of black spraypaint on the front and back doors. "Hsiaoke Pass" had been carved into the wall next to the back door, but it's been scratched off crudely with some sort of blade. It's been carved back in again nearby, deeply and with purpose. "ALPHONSE ELRIC, DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN. IF YOU NEED ANY ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CALL @LELRIC." has been written on a wall.

---

122 - Day 269: This A-frame house consists of one large empty room and a sealed door that seems like it should lead to a basement, although there's currently no way to open it up and see. A penis has been drawn on a corner of the wall in some sweet-smelling dried white substance, as well as "suck it". Below the words, "you first" is written in pen. "It is a two dimensional drawing. It cannot be sucked." is written below as well, in neat block letters. On the wall in blue ink is written "This is Building 105 on the composite map. Contact @CaptSteveRogers for details." Underneath is a fairly accurate map showing the house in relation to the south and east snow walls, the gas station, the convenience store, the chapel, the vet's office, and buildings 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 93, 97, 99, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 115, 116, 117, 119, 120, and 121. The snow wall is labeled "Snow wall." The gas station is labeled "Gas station; clean water, working toilet." The convenience store is labeled "Convenience store, food available; DO NOT STAY HERE OVERNIGHT." The chapel is labeled "UNSAFE, DO NOT STAY HERE OVERNIGHT." The vet's office is labeled "Presumably unsafe, DO NOT STAY HERE OVERNIGHT."

Comments

Day 269, some meetup starters!

[warriorscribe]

[One square before lockdown, for Brian]

[He can't be much longer, Enoch thinks, but the paranoia brought on by staying here for the second night in a row keeps him aware of the possibility of him not making it. Had he gotten lost? Collapsed from exhaustion? Had someone let an anomaly into the tunnels? He had no idea if an anomaly would even pursue down there. He had no idea what to expect out of those tunnels, really. He'd never set foot in them.

The trapdoor slides open, and Enoch scoots back from his seat on the cold floor, watching the darkness warily.]

Brian?


[Reunion the second]

[They were coming, Brian had told him. Beckett, Rhys, and anyone traveling with them. He could leave his gifts for them and exit through the trapdoor at any time, he knew, and it was tempting to do so. Anything to keep from hurting him further. But the promise of seeing Beckett again was just as tempting, and ultimately his indecision makes the choice for him, as said team of travelers makes their entrance.

At least everything the cult of the Prophet made him he is not - he seems almost ashamed to exist, shrinking back from the group that comes through the door, seeming hopeful only on the one reason he had to stay. He manages the motion of a smile, but it's so strained it hardly qualifies. So is his voice, lacking in any sort of strength or conviction. It's hollowly plaintive, seeking permission just to be. However strong he'd seemed on the network in the days between the event in the tower and today, he is not now. He may be himself again, but his presence still hurts Rhys, and confronting that now is more painful than when the brainwashing was fresh.]

I...I wasn't sure if I should stay. [He offers a bundle wrapped in a cat-patterned dress and sets it down in front of him, backing away from it so it can be claimed.]

But I have these. They're for you. I'll...I'll go, if you want. The tunnels are safe overnight. I can leave.

one

[0thingsonmymind]

*He hesitates after opening the trap door, having noticed he's not alone. But when Enoch speaks he relaxes (somewhat). Beckett trusted Enoch, so it was probably safe enough to come up while the other man was around. He climbs out, dragging his stuff and Enoch's along with him.

Once up he picks up Enoch's bag and hands it to the other man. He's been eating exclusively from Enoch's stuff, but at least he filled it up with rations when he last hit up a place with food. (Day 260. And Brian doesn't eat much).*

[warriorscribe]

[Enoch visibly relaxes at the sight of someone familiar. He may not know terribly much about Brian, but he's Beckett's friend, and, like Brian himself, that's good enough for him.

Besides, he held on to all his things for him for this long, and he didn't have to. That said good things about him.]

I can't thank you enough, Brian. It must have been so difficult to carry all of this.

[And, as he unzips his bag to transfer the stuff from his plastic bag into it, he notices the food that hadn't been there before.] You refilled it, too? Oh, you didn't need to do that...here, you should have what you put in.

[He takes the extra food out of the bag and offers it to Brian.] It's only fair, you had to carry it all.

Two. Sort of.

[equal_shots]

[Kid struggles to travel. His breathing is labored, and his strength is limited. He trudged along in the snow and stumbles into the house after his traveling companions, working for air and bracing his chest. Inside, he's still out of sorts enough that he didn't see that he was about to walk directly into Enoch.

...until he walks directly into Enoch.

He stumbles back a step, startled.]

Ah--sorry. I wasn't--

[warriorscribe]

[And Enoch might have warned him if he had been entirely present mentally at the moment, but no. With his effect on Rhys like a vise on his heart, he doesn't notice Kid about to walk into him, either.

Until, of course, he does, and he is startled out of whatever nightmare fog his mind had sunken into.]

Oh- no, it's-...

[...The poor child looks terrible. He'd noticed he hadn't been eating in the tower but...he hadn't had much, himself. He'd fed the prisoners more than he fed himself. He couldn't blame him for not having an appetite then.]

...are you still not eating?

Day 268

[phaseshifter]

[ Angel is asleep.

It's understandable. She's barely slept at all for the past few days, even knowing that Rhys and Beckett are safe now. It doesn't really help that she's been running all day, either. Her eagerness to meet up with The Fam again after so long definitely outweighs any concerns about tiring herself out.

So. She tired.

And she slep.

Coming across Angel snoring gently in a corner while Dumpy circles overhead screaming quietly probably isn't exactly the reunion anyone was expecting, but. It's what they get. So there. ]

[headjacked]

[ She claimed she was resting her eyes and then disappeared.

Odds are strong she fell asleep but what IF. WHAT IF. Rhys' brain catastophisizes in graphic, horrific ways, and he practically throws the door open, limping in as fast as a pained, sick noodle can.

'-shhhh!' orders the hologram keeping watch over the wee sleeper. Rhys breathes a sigh of relief before looking back at Beckett, unsure how to proceed. Ever fiber of his being wants to hug Angel, but.

She slep. ]

[bookofnope]

[Unlike Rhys, Beckett has the patience of a practiced immortal, so he only follows about three-quarters as fast as he can. Therefore he does not develop enough momentum to collide with Rhys's back when he stops, which is a blessing to everyone. He, however, only pauses for a brief moment at the sight of Angel asleep.

Peaceful sleep. His girl. And her screambot and holojerk, but he has eyes only for her.

Beckett also has the physical control and precision of a practiced immortal, so he creeps closer in utter silence. Goes to one knee without a sound. You ever seen a cat crawl into their human's bed, Rhys? Now you have, except the cat is a vampire. So if you manage not to squeal at the adorkableness of it all, Beckett may just succeed in curling up to Angel without waking her.]

269, general starter

[warriorscribe]

[Knowing the effect he has on Rhys, Enoch keeps to a corner, shrunk back against it as if he could become part of its shadows. For the most part, he doesn't speak except when spoken to - even then, he keeps his voice low and flinches when the conversation starts, glancing in the last direction he'd seen Rhys. It had hurt badly enough when he was brainwashed, when the one inflicting pain was not his true self and he knew it. But it's worse now, in the aftermath, because the person he had been turned into had ensured he, his real self, still hurt Rhys and Billy and anyone deeply affected enough by him or by their tortures.

He breaks his silence about two hours after lockdown, by quietly singing a lullaby that may sound familiar to himself. He'll stop readily enough if interrupted. It must have become habit at some point, but it must be very recent - he'd never sung it while traveling with Beckett and Brian, and Kid would not have heard it in the Prophet's tower.

Other than the occasional sniffle as he cries in a short-lived dream, he doesn't make any other noise, and doesn't seem to sleep without nightmares. He looks up if anyone draws near him with purpose, a forward lean betraying how badly he needs the interaction.]

[phaseshifter]

[ Predictably, Angel has been pretty much velcroed to Rhys' side since they reached the building. That would likely have been the case even if Enoch wasn't present, honestly - Beckett has had friends to greet, she doesn't know Kid at all, and she's steadfastly ignoring the fact that Brian even exists.

So it isn't that she's been avoiding Enoch for her own sake. Not really. Yes, she's watched the videos of what happened in the surgery room. Yes, she saw every second of everything Enoch did to Rhys. But...

She's spent years of her life watching video feeds of atrocities, hasn't she? On Pandora. She's been responsible for most of them, one way or another. Not directly, never directly, but she'd had a more conscious hand in it than any of the brainwashed snowbos did.

Which means when she hears the sniffles after Rhys falls asleep, she extricates herself from the Vamperion cuddle pile and pads over to Enoch as quietly as possible. ]

Hey - it'll be okay. You'll be okay.

[warriorscribe]

[He wakes up at hey, brought out of a nightmare of scalpels that clung to his hands and suffocating, lonely emptiness. The rest of her words sink in as he stares up in confusion, not knowing what had brought her over here until he realizes his face is wet.

Enoch reaches up to wipe his tears away, with the aid of one last sniff.

He'll be okay - sure, he does usually wind up more or less okay. This isn't his first breakdown. The thing that makes this least okay of them in all his years, though...]

Will he?

[He doesn't use Rhys's name, doesn't want to accidentally wake him by drawing his attention so directly.]

[headjacked]

[ Rhys has gone zero contact -- all forms. No physical, no eye, nothing after the intial meet-up, where a rapid exchange of glances and the most tight-jawed of nods took place. ...and, okay, the barest hint of a twitchy little smile at the Cat Package. Dress is cute as heckie.

Later, he has his own star blankie over his head, blocking everyone out during particularly overwhelming moments.

But Dumpy? Dumpy's not shy. He floats over and gently nudges Enoch's head, trilling a friendly little shriek. ]

[warriorscribe]

[At least he liked the gifts? Predictably, it's not enough to comfort either of them.

He jumps when Dumpy is suddenly much closer than he thought he was (and therefore is louder; he isn't used to traveling with the little bot), looking up as it bumps up against his head. He manages a wavery little smile in greeting.

How does one treat a flying machine? Like a bird? Does it even need to perch?

He offers an arm to land on as he speaks to the friendly little robot in a whisper:]

Hello, there. I don't know whether you need to rest your...wings?

Night 269

[0thingsonmymind]

A. Later

He'd been overjoyed (well, as much as he was able to be) to see Beckett again, but the hypers were an unpleasant surprise. It figured, though, they were always clinging to Beckett. And on top of that someone he didn't even know had to be here. Way too many people for him...he considered leaving, but his need to be by his friend won out enough to keep him there.

Not enough for him to try to socialize, though. Instead he found himself a corner to watch (and film, of course) the others from. It all seemed normal enough for him, but he was clutching the Jade doll in a death grip. It wasn't her, but it made him feel better. Somehow.

B. Reunion

idk meeting up or something

OR SOMETHING

[bookofnope]

Some reunions are emotional and obvious and involve a lot of awkward crying, but with Brian, Beckett is in favour of a much more subdued routine. No hugs perhaps, but as soon as he and Rhys come through the door and he catches sight of his friend - out of the way as usual - he walks right to him. No hesitation, despite his persistent feeling of having done wrong by Brian in the tower. Brian wants that behind them - very well.

Not a lot of words. Just a smile, as he holds a hand out for Brian to clasp.

[0thingsonmymind]

He'd been watching the door, of course, so he's on his feet the instant it opens. Not just because it could be Beckett, but because it could be someone else (or even an anomaly).

He heads over eagerly, but his step does obviously falter when he sees Rhys. Hopefully Rhys would be decent for once and let him reunite with Beckett.

He doesn't really get handshakes, but he knows enough to know that's what Beckett is going for. He grasps the hand tightly but doesn't shake. He just holds on, almost as if he's afraid it isn't real.

Later

[equal_shots]

[Kid is not fond of the number of people in the building. He's similarly uncomfortable, and would have continued to be filmed going about puttering with what little movable objects were in the room and rearranging them to be in some semblance of balance--this of course includes broken wood, moth-eaten fabric, quite literally anything he can get his hands on is fair game provided it is something he can move--had he not turned around to find another slightly roundish-like object that he could move to the right half of the room and then noted Brian sitting in the corner.

It's an instant shock, particularly when he realizes he's being filmed. Kid makes a beeline over to the stranger, but maintains a safe distance with brows furrowed in uncertainty as he watches. He warps his arms protectively around his torso, hesitancy clear on his features.]

Are you filming me?

[0thingsonmymind]

*He nods and pulls the tablet closer to him. Last time he was asked that it didn't go so well.*

Night 269

[bookofnope]

This time y'all only get an angsty prompt SORRY


[Myriad reunions have kept Beckett busy for a while, but just as he knew they would, all eventually come to and end, and he is left with his thoughts.

He has... a lot of thoughts. He'd been quiet for a long time now - days - making only functional conversation, keeping to himself at night. A lot of it is what passes for his work here, making and updating records, looking for connections. But beyond all of it, his talk with Manny is lodged in his mind like a sharp thing in living flesh, pulsing with pain, teetering between the effort of healing and the churn of infection. He can't stop thinking about it. A lot of the time he can't think about anything else.

Almost everyone that he cares for in the town are here. He wants to talk, and doesn't know how, where to begin. They'd all have seen his restless pacing habit in action by now, would know that something's the matter when Beckett is up long past lockdown at minute, useless searching. That't old news. But something is different this time. He doesn't wind up staring out the window in private frustration.

No, he actually them, whoever he can find awake, nods at the basement door which leads to the only bit of privacy to be found in the house. An obvious request.]

I need to talk. And I should warn you, it'll be... heavy.

[warriorscribe]

[Enoch is awake, of course. He presents a pathetic picture, curled up in a corner in a room full of people, crying in his sleep when he does sleep... But Beckett would know Enoch finds strength in trying to aid and protect others, wouldn't he? He can't quite find it in him to smile just now, but there's a genuine warmth in his eyes in its stead when Beckett approaches him, clearing away the glaze of exhaustion and grief.

Rather than speak, and risk interrupting anyone's sleep, Enoch stands from his corner, rolling stiff shoulders that aren't used to staying hunched in a fetal position like this. He only responds when he's a bit closer to Beckett, so he can keep his voice low.]

I'll always lend an ear to your troubles.

[bookofnope]

[It's no pleasure, dragging Enoch out of sleep he desperately needs, and taking them both aside and away from the company that he clearly needs just as much. But getting into this was effort enough for Beckett to decide he's seeing it through. He starts speaking, unsure, only when they are through the trapdoor and alone.]

I'm not sure if they are... troubles, per se. It's... complicated.

[It is very, very complicated, and even with Enoch he feels reluctant to broach the subject despite how much his friend already knows. It's a whole new level of complexity, and when he at last begins, it remains hesitant.]

There was a new arrival a while ago - his name is Manuel. You were together in the tower, I know. I don't know if you've spoken. About... well, me. My kind, rather. He's from... not my world, but one much like it. Very much like it. I would say the same, but he only spoke little, and I'm not sure...

[He may be a while getting to the point.]

AS PROMISED

[phaseshifter]

[ Angel would be happy at Beckett choosing to approach for Heavy Emotional Chats of his own accord if she wasn't so concerned. He's not like Rhys, whose every emotion shows on his fce the moment he feels it. For him to be so obviously not right, and for him to actively seek out this kind of conversation...

The fuss engines are revving away. She tries to hold them back for the time being, though, and instead focuses on trying to open the trapdoor as quietly as possible. ]

Please. [A whisper.] Have you ever known me to shy away from the heavy stuff? Talk away.

WOOOOO ANGST

[bookofnope]

[They descend together into the dark, where the only light is the glow of Angel's tattoos and Beckett's eyes, strange shades that mix into unsettling crimson together. At least he can see her. He wants to see her. He feels just a little bit more real.]

I don't expect any answers, [he starts, hesitant. He knows there are no answers.] But I wanted to... tell you. Tell someone I trust. There's someone who arrived here not long ago. He is from a world that could be my own - as far as I can determine, Kindred and all. But Gehenna never happened in his world. Not in the year, the time that it happened in my own. Not... yet.

night 269, start wherever u think is best

[headjacked]

[ Early on and he's already isolated himself as far away from the Unpleasant as possible. Some get a look mixed with hesitation and a hint of guilt. Some, irritation. Some, barely subdued fear.

You know who you are.

When it's time to sleep he nods off quickly, but awakens with a start several hours in, sweaty and short of breath. Rhys empties half a bottle of water on his face, which may dribble onto the Snugglepile. It's hard to be careful in the midst of a midnight panic attack.

The cold seems to shock him out of it, and his breathing slows, giving way to -- ]

-- coldcoldcold OH - that. Was. Not smart.

sploosh

[phaseshifter]

Nope.

[ It is indeed just a dribble of water that trickles its way across Angel's face. Fortunately. Anything more would have resulted in shrieking and flailing and everybody getting woken up and good lord no.

A dribble, on the other hand, only elicits mild grumps as Angel extracts an arm from the snugpile to wipe her face with. Rhys. Why. She was slep. ]

Wha's happen.