[log] Team Katamari V2 Mingle Extravaganza [closed]

[dr_unconscious]

Characters: Almost a fifth of them--okay specifically Clayton, Enoch, Dio, Quark, Clementine, House, Miranda, Ellana, and Dorian.
Location Buildings 61 and 54 (M11 and I10 respectively).
Date: Days 42 and 43, evenings, probably after lockdown.
Summary: A bunch of people that met in a gas station meet even more people who are sad, and then the next day they get ambushed and realize that this is a Problem. More generally: Catch-all mingle!
Warnings: Discussions of death, unpleasant trolling via House, monsters, all your typical snowhell fare. More specific warnings can go in headers!

What it says on the tin! There are toplevels for each day/location; post a general mingle comment or a group event under these, others will tag, so on and so forth. Enjoy!

Comments

Day 42

[dr_unconscious]

[Day 42 ends in building 61--a single-story house that, based on the papers in the office, probably belonged to a teacher. It's small but decently accommodating for the slightly larger group that encounters it. Ellana and Dorian joined in the last house they stopped by, which makes the party sizable, though not as sizable as some of them might have expected it to be.]

[There's still time to travel, but the need to search and get their bearings is more important. They settle here in early evening.]

[cloneprincess]

[ After the obituary announcement this morning, Miranda's been contemplative and quiet for most of the day, with occasional staring at House to try and determine if he's showing any symptoms of illness (other than the obvious one).

The crowd of people is almost more than she can stand at the moment, but it's better than venturing out into the cold alone. It's difficult to work on her continued note-compiling effort with the general buzz of conversation, though, and she eventually puts it aside as a lost cause.

Well. Might as well take advantage of the crowd, right? She clears her throat and projects her voice just enough to be sure of being heard: ]

Would anyone be interested in doing some trading? It's likely we all have things we can't use by this point.

[carrywithyou]

[ Ellana's been trying to press forward since she awoke to find Cullen gone and his name listed among the dead. She isn't in a good state of mind, but she can focus on survival well enough. Dragging her backpack closer, she nods as she unzips it. ]

I've been wanting to do that for awhile now.

[cloneprincess]

I'm traveling fairly light, but hopefully you'll find something useful here.

[ Miranda recognizes Ellana from their previous conversation, but she also recognizes the mood. There's no pity in her expression, and very little sympathy, but she's also more subdued than she might otherwise be.

She makes quick work of unpacking her bag, sorting them into trade and not-trade. Her hand lingers over her malfunctioning pistol; though she knows that someone here could probably do more with it than she can, she's had a weapon at her side for so long she's unwilling to give it up. Ultimately it goes into the not-trade pile. ]

If there's anything here you'd like to borrow for the evening, you're welcome to it.

[carrywithyou]

[ Once Ellana sees how Miranda's setting things up, she does the same, neatly arranging things close together for the other woman's perusal. Her eyes scan over what's on offer, before she picks up the non-knitted tablet cover and turns it over in her hands. ]

What is this? It's like a book with no pages.

[cloneprincess]

Here, let me show you.

[ Miranda holds her hand out for the cover and demonstrates by slotting her own tablet into it. ]

These were once quite expensive. Covers like these prevented them from becoming scratched or written on when they were put into bags with other things. They also made more sturdy version mean to protect against breakage when they were dropped.

[averytinyparticle]

[Quark can be found in the office, rifling through the papers. It doesn't seem like there's anything particularly interesting about them, or anything else in the house for that matter, but he can't stop himself from wondering if there's something to be done with them. At first he thought maybe the papers themselves would have information about Norfinbury, but most of the handwriting is completely unintelligible.]

I guess we could burn some of these, if nothing else.

[He sighs, speaking mostly to himself, but the thought is out there as an invitation for anyone who happens to be nearby.]

[warriorscribe]

[While nearly everyone is still searching the house's nooks and crannies, Enoch is sitting against the wall like he has been the past five days, his knees drawn to his chest.

He looks up as someone passes by, giving them a faint smile. He's been curiously lacking in energy, recently, but, ironically enough, can't find the motivation to worry for himself, either.]

[averytinyparticle]

Are you okay?

[The question leaves his mouth before he really thinks of it. Poor Enoch just looks so tired! And he can't blame him, of course, but he can't help being worried, even if Enoch isn't worried about himself. Quark shoves his hands in his pockets.]

You don't look so good, Mister. If you need somebody to talk to, I'm a pretty good listener!

[Quark knows that maybe he's not the average person's ideal candidate when it comes to spilling your emotional problems, but he feels like it's only fair to ask! Enoch and Clayton have been so nice to him, accepted him, and made him feel safe and welcome in such a short amount of time. If he could do anything to cheer them up, it was his responsibility! His Grandpa told him all about what it meant to be responsible.]

[warriorscribe]

It's nothing.

[Of course it's not really "nothing", but he lacks the context to even realize.]

I've just been exhausted, lately. Maybe I'm getting old.

[He offers Quark a humorous smile, or an attempt at one, trying to ease his mind with a joke. He doesn't like causing others to worry, especially children. He should be the one fussing over them, after all.]

[averytinyparticle]

[Quark smiles a little in return, not really buying it, but still wanting to help him cheer up...which is easier done by being cheerful, he thinks!]

No, way! My Grandpa was as spry as he was when he was twenty, he always says, so you must be even more spry!

[Thinking about his Grandpa, his small smile turns into a wide beam.]

I understand if you just want to be alone and get some sleep, but I'll stick around and keep you company for awhile too, if you want!

[warriorscribe]

[Enoch can't help but smile more deeply at Quark's enthusiasm, and he pats the floor beside him, inviting him to stick around a while like he wants.]

Of course I don't mind.

[Since he seems to like talking about his grandfather, he keeps that going.]

It sounds as if your grandfather is in excellent health.

[whiteknightnecromancer]

[Dorian stayed in near enough to Ellana to keep an eye on her. After losing Cullen, he was a little paranoid. So far as he knew, Cullen had been the farthest forward on their timeline. He might be gone for good.

He was making an effort to be personable and charming but he couldn't hide that he was tired and grieving.]

[rubikscomplex]

[House is, perhaps, not the best person to cheer a tired, grieving person up.]

That is some serious beard hygiene going on in a place like this, dude. Keeping it up for the catlady now her beau's gone missing?

[whiteknightnecromancer]

[Dorian doesn't expect him to be by this point.

He preens theatrically.]

Does that mean you like it?

[He knows he's pretty. Some people mistake that confidence for a front but while Dorian does have self-esteem issues, this isn't one of them.]

[rubikscomplex]

Mm... scale of 1 to 10? Solid 8. Maybe 8.5 for the fact I'm guessing Torquemada over there - [he motions briefly in Ellana's direction] - doesn't give you much time to play around with it while there's light. What's your secret? Is that the true power of necromancy? A smokin' hot 'stache.

[whiteknightnecromancer]

Naturally. Every young necromancer learns the secret of facial hair care. Even the women. It's an integral part of the training.

[He smiles brightly.]

Day 43

[dr_unconscious]

[The group comes upon this other single-story house much later in the day, which isn't great, because something's already inhabiting it. The exciting but brief chase with the monster in the bedroom is dealt with soon enough, but leaves a lot of uncertainties that still need to be resolved.]

SPLIT THE PARTY

[dr_unconscious]

[...There is, specifically, what brought the monster here. Two monsters over the course of three days is not a trivial matter; it's more sightings than Clayton's seen in a very long time, and the more he thinks about it, the more he wonders if this is more than just bad luck.]

[After some searching of the house and a bit of idle poking at the fireplace, he decides that this issue needs more than just his input. Clayton stands in the center of the living room and clears his throat. It's a little house, he figures his voice will carry.]

Everybody still up? [a pause while he waits for some kind of general response] I'm thinkin' we oughta talk about where we're goin' after this.

[warriorscribe]

[Enoch is sitting off somewhere against the wall - it's become a common sight for the past few days, but he's not checking the network this time, leaving him free to react immediately, raising his head.]

Aren't we all going to the school for food?

[There's an instinctive unease about this. He knows Clayton wouldn't just bring that up like they didn't already have plans.]

[rubikscomplex]

Not together. [House has been considering it, as well. Two monsters in as many days seems to have more than one person in their group on edge.] I'm still just the new guy, but I'm getting the sense you kids don't usually run into monsters every other day. I wasn't until I met up with you.

[rubikscomplex]

[This is the second time that House has seen one of these things up close and way too personal. The desire to catch one and figure out what it actually is, is intense, but that's at war with his ability to tell that being around it makes people sick. Probably some nausea-inducing gas? Like hell that he knows.

Jane's laser lights show now coupled with the actual physical presence of Ellana have him beginning to question things. Ellana would seem to be a die-hard cosplayer. Those ears look real enough to be body mods, and her eyes... House still doesn't have an explanation for those. Nor does he have a reasonable explanation for Clayton's foot. How could a shot do that? It doesn't make sense. Unless this really all is inside their heads.

He's mulling it over and drawing on the wall as he does so with one of his ball point pens. It wouldn't be recognizable to most people, and he's no real artist, but it's a motorcycle he's illuminating and with his tablet as he works. Harley. It helps to focus his thoughts.]

gently spams your inbox - feel free to ignore

[cloneprincess]

[ Miranda stands at a distance from House, watching his drawing progress for a while before she approaches. It's not that she wants to speak to him, exactly, but getting him safely from point A to point B had been the goal and she always met her goals. Exceeds expectations, that's Miranda.

Eventually she forces herself closer. ]

-Are you alright?

[rubikscomplex]

[ House doesn't look around, just keeps filling in one of the tires on his sketch. ]

Two monsters in as many days. Shadows, Husks, whatever they are. Didn't see them while I was alone. We didn't see any getting over here. That's interesting. Coincidence? How often were you seeing monsters when you first got here? When you were on your own?

[cloneprincess]

Shadows. They're not husks, though they might be Reapers.

[ Seeing one in broad daylight has at least put that fear to rest for now, though she can't say that piece of logic will stand up to another night in the house like the one they'd slept in. ]

I bumped into one when I was on my own, but this is too much to be a coincidence. You saw the obituary this morning, didn't you?