villagelogs | 030-035 » a-hunting they will go

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030-035 » a-hunting they will go

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central Mathias.
WHEN: Days 030-035
WHAT: Unexpected changes come to Mathias, followed by a Hunt.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: Plotting post over here! And shiny new CR meme too.

RECOMMENDED ♫ Marco Beltrami "It Hears You"

DAYS 030-032
A CHANGE IN CIRCUMSTANCES
The day after the earthquake dawns like any other in Mathias Township. The sky is a light winter grey, clouds obscuring even a hint of true sunlight, and snow falls off and on in dustings that rest atop the piles left from the storm a few days past. The air is bitterly cold, a gentle wind feeling like ice in the sub-freezing temperatures, and residents should be grateful that the earthquake didn't do more damage than just breaking a few household objects.

It seems like business as usual. It will not be until the second day that residents will begin to notice the difference.

The General Store's shelves have not been restocked. Items in kitchens have not replenished in the passing night. Food from the previous day has aged as normal, and as the days continue to pass, things will begin to grow stale or become moldy as they would in the outside world. Two days pass, three, four... Still, the food does not return.

Perhaps rationing should be considered.

NEW ARRIVALS
The newest arrivals to Mathias will wake on the snowy beach near the Grey Gull restaurant. They should probably hurry inside and get warmed up before hypothermia sets in or something finds them out in the cold...

DAYS 033-034
IN THE NIGHT, IN THE DARK
These days, too, seem to be simply more of the same. The days are cold and grey, the food does not replenish, and they continue to be trapped in this eerie town. But when night falls, the story changes.

An hour after sunset, it begins. Scratching sounds at walls, like something searching for a way inside. The ominous feeling of something out there in the darkness, moving through the town, stalking through the night. The inability to find any sign of something being there at all. It's enough to make anyone feel like they're going mad. To happen just one night, it could be a fluke, a trick of the mind as so many things here seem to be. But to happen a second night, with more intensity... There is something there, or they are going mad.

It's hard to know which to hope for.

DAY 035
THE HUNT
This day is not like the others. There is something in the air, a dreadful anticipation that rises inside them all as the hours pass. Every moment that brings them closer to nightfall brings it closer too — if only they knew what it was.

An hour after sunset, the Hunt begins.

Those who are outside at this time are gripped by such terror that they can do nothing but run and be chased. They are prey and the predators that stalk them with steadfast determination are creatures never meant to be seen by mortal eyes. All lights outside go out, from streetlamps to flashlights, and the world descends into deeper darkness, only the clouded moonlight and curtained glow from illuminated houses lighting their way as they flee.

Those who are inside at this time are trapped in their safe havens. No doors or windows can be opened from within, nothing can be broken or forced, and they can do nothing but wait and listen while their friends and neighbors are pursued by creatures whose very presence they can feel in their bones and whose growls echo in the night, entwined with the screams of their victims.

In the thick darkness, these creatures appear little more than shadows, large and looming, deadly and unknown, but in rare glimpses in scattered pieces of light, the Hunted are met with a sight they cannot comprehend and will never be able to properly describe or fully remember, for these creatures cannot be fathomed within the limits of the human mind.

The Hunt lasts for one hour exactly and then the creatures vanish into the darkness, leaving only fear and death in their wake.

ABOUT THE HUNT
— Players may choose to have their resident be one of the Hunted or a Witness to the Hunt. None are exempt from the the Hunt and all will be affected by it in some way.

— Those who are hunted must flee the creatures or they will die. The Hunted may move throughout the town at any speed, for the creatures may choose to move both quickly or slowly, but the creatures will always inevitably find them. The only escape is to seek shelter — the creatures will not enter a building where living people are, but they will follow the Hunted into buildings where there are no other living people.

— Those who are trapped within buildings at the start of the Hunt are unable to open doors and windows from within, but the Hunted may open them from outside in order to take shelter in these safe havens.

— Those who are hunted are unable to fight back against the creatures until the moments just before their death. This is due the creatures only having physical form in these final moments, rendering any attacks against them useless, whether they be physical, magical, or psychic in nature. Attempts may be made in those moments before death, but by then it is too late — the prey has been caught.

— When one of the Hunted is caught, there is no escaping, there is only screaming in madness as death falls painfully upon them. No one can come to their aid and their body will be found afterward, the bloody remains ripped and torn apart by something that cannot be identified. Large sprays and pools of blood stain the area around the corpse, turning the snow sickening shade of crimson that darkens as the hours pass.

— After the creatures have vanished, there are no signs of them to be found in the snow. There are no tracks or marks of any kind save for the carnage of the fresh kill.

— Those who have been sacrificed to the Hunt will revive two days later on Day 037. The conditions in which they revive will be detailed later, but there will be only minor lasting physical damage from the Hunt.

— The Hunted will lose 5 points of sanity. Those Witnesses who find the corpses will lose 2 points of sanity, or 3 points if they are not unaccustomed to this type of sight. Others who are merely Witnesses to the sounds of Hunt may choose to lose 1 point of sanity as a result of the experience.

CONDITIONS UPDATE
— THE WEATHER is fairly typical of a northern winter. The sky is almost always grey, the temperature is below freezing during the day (and colder at night), and a light snow falls intermittently. The sun sets early in the evening. Residents should bundle up when going outside and not venture too far into the dark night...

— THE FOG remains blocking the paths in the forest beginning a few dozen yards past the treeline, urging residents to stay huddled within the town proper, and it also now blocks the northern section of town, beginning just past Hill Lane, before where residents know the chasm in the earth to be between Hill and Stine Road. Venturing into the fog is ill-advised.

— DISAPPEARANCES continue. Sherlock Holmes is still missing, and Phil Coulson, John Constantine, Zed Martin, and Helen Magnus have vanished as well.

OOC NOTES
— FOOD will be restocked in some fashion in the next full log, don't worry. We aren't going full survival mode yet.

— DAY 036 The next log will cover Day 36 only and will include the locations of deaths and any corpse burials that occur the night of Day 35 or are planned for Day 36. (There will be prompts included for both the "living" and the "dead" in this single day log.) Please submit all information by Wednesday, Feb 17.

— MOD STATUS It's mostly just Amy steering this ship for now, so things will probably be pretty slow for a while. Apologies in advance, and please don't feel shy about pinging me if you're stuck waiting for something.

navigation | faq | setting | mod contact

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What was left of the Avengers. Steve, Tony, Banner, Barton and Romanoff. A few others I didn't know until I met them...

[ The sudden change in her demeanour makes him pause and Bucky's expression turns apologetic. He didn't want to give bad news but with something this big, it was a little hard. ]

They all went back to different places and collected the stones that Thanos needed to power the Gauntlet.

[ That takes a moment to register. The Avengers... fixed the Snap By... traveling in time? Staring at him in confusion is all she can manage to do for a few seconds, and then the implications of that leave her swaying backward slightly.

There had been a world to save. They'd won. Her team had won. No matter what the cost, the Earth had continued spinning and humanity had survived. With all the stress of the last few months, she very nearly starts crying at the relief of it, but at the first stinging of tears in her eyes, she pushes those feelings back down where they belong. Years of training to keep her emotions in check at least makes that part easier. ]

Thank you, Sergeant Barnes. You have no idea how good that is to hear.

[ He sees her confusion. Unfortunately, he doesn't really know much more than that. Unless, of course, she asks about the two lives in the Avengers that it cost to win it all. He didn't know Stark very well and what Tony knew of him was nothing more than the man who killed his mother and father. Natasha was someone more to him, but who, he couldn't put his finger on.

A hand moves out reflexively when she teeters, ready to steady her if she slipped back too far, but she seems to do that on her own. ]

Bucky.

[ A request, not a correction. ]

You're welcome. I wish I could tell you more.

Edited 2021-02-09 21:43 (UTC)

[ She notes the way his hand moves, processing the meaning of it as quickly as she does anything else. He helps people instinctively, whether he realizes it or not. From all she's learned about him over the years, she's fairly certain that's a piece of his old self still clinging on despite everything he's been through. She's glad to see it. ]

Bucky. [ With a grateful smile, she repeats his name, confirming that she'll honor the request. ] It's okay, that's... It's more than enough.

[ She takes a deep breath of frozen air and looks around them, as if suddenly remembering where they are. ] I'm guessing you just arrived?

[ Bucky's not sure why, but there's a thread of trust here that he feels foolish in recognizing. There is no way to prove she's not an agent, nor can he prove that she's working for the other side and so far, he can't even prove that any of this is anything more than it is -- a creepy looking town with a creepy looking vibe to it.

That he can't leave. ]

Earlier today. Someone found me on the beach. I don't think I made the guy too eager to help the person who comes in.

Edited 2021-02-11 23:25 (UTC)

[ It's easy to fall into the trap of trusting someone just because they come from the same place as you, whether that's a shared hometown or a shared home planet. Daisy wouldn't blame him for a second if he didn't trust her, but she's made up her mind to do her damnedest to not give him a reason for it. She knows he's a good man, after all, and she trusts him as much as you can trust anyone who's been through what he has. A feral cat can be taught to trust but that doesn't mean they won't fall back on their instincts in the wrong circumstances. ]

What happened? [ It's an honest question with a thread of concern. He doesn't seem too worried so she's guessing no one was hurt, but the statement itself is pretty loaded. ]

[ Only what he did to the guy did bother him. Marks were left behind that will turn into bruises by the morning and even though he apologized, Bucky was sure he didn't leave the best first impression. And he wouldn't blame Sam if he'd steer clear going forward.

He shakes his head, then shrugs. There was no excuse. ]

Couldn't figure out where I was.

[ It had felt like the fall off the train all over again.

[ Oh. Right. Of course. She feels like an idiot for not having even guessed when that makes so much sense. ]

Ah. Yeah, that would... be a lot. For someone who's been through what you have. [ She remembers how disoriented she'd been when she'd arrived in Mathias and she didn't have even half of Bucky's mental trauma hanging over her head. Stuffing her hands in her coat, her expression turns concerned and entirely sincere, her head tilting slightly as she tries to catch his gaze. ] I'm sorry it wasn't me there instead. I'd have helped you through that if I could.

[ The sentiment is appreciated. Maybe things would have turned out differently had she been there to ease him into the reality of the situation, if that was even possible. Those memories always present so vividly; so real. He worries about what he's still capable of in situations like that.

Her attempts work and blue eyes flicker upwards and lock onto her face. He thinks about that, nods and as his gaze drop, Bucky notices how cold she looks. ]

Thanks. Anyway, sorry for keeping you out here. I'll let you get going.

[ That connection means a lot. She knows how much it always means to her when she's buried under the weight of her own trauma, so deep in the thick of it that she's not sure she'll ever get again. To have even just a moment of real connection with another person... It means so much.

It's why she has a sudden thought that she runs with, gesturing with a hand in the direction she'd been heading. ]

Do you wanna walk with me? I'm heading to my new place. [ And then she has to shake her head with an expression of disbelief with a hint of disdain. ] It feels really weird to put it like that, but it's less of a mouthful than "I'm heading to the abandoned house where I'll be sleeping from now on" so... Yeah.

[ She gives a little shrug and adjusts her arm bearing the weight of her duffel bag. ] Company would not be unwelcome.

[ It's clear he doesn't want to monopolize her time, but her company is something he could use right now for very much the same reason she might want his, which is all but confirmed at the end. Bucky nods and turns in the direction she had indicated she was going and stepping off when she did. ]

I didn't know you could claim the houses. Were you at the boarding house up until today?

[ He assumes, but only because he's just arrived. And the weather doesn't exactly tell him who lives where since no one is out mowing lawns or fixing odds and ends. ]

[ Her steps are even but on the slower side; she's tired and it's so cold outside that she just can't force herself to go much faster. Plus, it's not like they've got a schedule to keep. ]

Yeah, with the few others there. But we can stay anywhere we want, there's no one here to stop us. [ She's quiet for a moment, stuffing her hands deeper into her coat pockets and hunching her shoulders slightly. What must he think of all this? It's getting hard to remember what it was like before this became some sick sort of normal. ] It's not a bad place to stay — the boarding house. Sharing a bathroom isn't always fun, but it's nice to be around people.

[ Bucky doesn't give much in way of agreeing or disagreeing. For him, isolating himself was the best thing for other people and the best for him, too. Choosing when and where he wants to interact with others was a step that took some time to get used to.

In that space of her finishing, he looks undecided on the matter, perhaps even thoroughly unsure of whether the boarding house will be a good or bad thing for him. He's seen the room already. ]

The rooms are kind of small. [ It's as much an admittance of being a little uneasy about what his first night will be like. ] Maybe I'll keep the house idea in mind, too.

[ It hadn't quite occurred to her that he might have problems at the boarding house too, proving once again how very off her game she is right now. Of course, he would be. After what HYDRA put her through, after everything that happened after the UN bombing... She might not know exactly what he's been through, but she's seen what HYDRA programming can do to a person — and she has her own experiences for reference, as well.

Uncertainty, concern, and hesitation all weigh heavily on her, though she does her best not to let them show too much in her expression. He doesn't need that burden, not when those emotions aren't directed at him in the slightest. When they turn onto her street, she straightens her back and makes her decision. ]

You're always welcome at my house if it gets to be too much there. I know you don't know me and you have no reason to trust me, but I get why you might not want to be around a whole bunch of strangers. [ Deep breath, and onward. ] I'm moving out because it isn't safe for them if I keep staying there. I'm an Inhuman with the ability to manipulate vibrations. I don't have the same level of control when I'm sleeping, and I don't want to hurt anyone there if it gets bad.

[ He'd heard the term used once or twice, that he can recall, and any other details have been hard to retain given his own problems. So, when she says it, his eyes move slowly from the view forward to her walking beside him. ]

Is that why your hands are like that? [ He reasons if she can manipulate vibrations that it was with her hands, hence the bruising.

There are other questions but he'll start there. ]

[ It's not until that moment that she realizes how much she's missed having someone to talk to who just accepts what she's saying without being skeptical or completely blown away by it. Even Coulson had been taken aback by her sudden mention of powers, but Bucky — he just rolls with it and asks a completely reasonable question. ]

Yeah. I didn't have my protective gear when I woke up here and without it, anything too intense shakes me along with everything else. [ There's always a price to an Inhuman's gift. She'd learned to manage hers but now... Removing one hand from its pocket cocoon, she holds it up to show off the grey fabric strip wrapped around her palm and up under her sleeve. ] Compression helps, but it's all the way up my arms. Hairline fractures and burst capillaries.

[ She says it without much emotion at all except a hint of weariness. Counting how many times she's given this explanation in the weeks since her arrival would be a monumental task. ]

[ Bucky nods, finding the quick explanation to be sufficient enough that those other questions could be asked another time, if ever. He doesn't feel the need to pry and there's definitely no judgement. In fact, his reaction is no different than if she was telling him some random information about golf balls.

Still, he looks at her hand when she pulls it up and can't help ask two final questions. ]

Is this the worst that happens to you when you're not wearing the protective gear?

[ He might be leaning more on being concerned about her now that she's putting that distance between her and the rest of the people in Mathias. ]

[ The question hits home and Daisy realizes she's been avoiding thinking about that. It's not in her nature to be concerned with her own well-being; others always come first, their safety far outweighing her own. But now that he's said it...

She stuffs her hand back into her pocket, her pace picking up slightly as if she can outrun the truth if she just tries hard enough. Still, with all she knows about him, she feels like she needs to even the scales, so after a few moments of silence, she answers. ]

I don't know. If I had to guess, I'd say if the quake's strong enough, the damage probably won't stop at my arms. [ She does a poor job of hiding how much that thought bothers her. ]

[ Bucky knows when to stop. Her answer tells him what he needs to know and it's enough to understand a worst-case scenario situation if one ever comes up. He also feels like he knows the uncertainty that she feels. Not knowing for sure what was going on around them or who was doing it left them all exposed.

A silence lapses for a few long moments before he decides to ask that other question. ]

How much do you know about me? Honestly.

[ Bucky looks back down at the ground, avoiding her eyes. ]

[ For Daisy, the worst-case scenario isn't her body breaking under the strain of her powers, it's the world breaking under that strain. It's only been a little over a year since she was labeled the Destroyer of Worlds for destruction she didn't cause — but she is capable of it. If whoever or whatever brought them here triggered her power in the wrong way... All she can hope is that her body does break before it gets to that point.

The change of subject has her looking over at him, noting how he very pointedly isn't looking at her in return. Okay. So they're doing this. ]

Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, childhood best friend of Steve Rogers. Assigned to the 107th in World War II. Your unit was captured by HYDRA until Rogers liberated all of you, after which you joined the Howling Commandos. You were presumed dead after falling from a train during a mission, but in fact, you survived and were taken by HYDRA again.

[ There's so much more she could say. Dates and little facts memorized over the years, either from her own research or from so many of Coulson's stories. They've reached the end of her street now, her house the very last on the block, the treeline of the forest in the distance. Nodding her head toward it, she steps onto the walkway leading to the front door and continues in a gentler tone, having no idea how difficult this must be for him but figuring that pretty damn is a good estimate. ]

Come on. We can talk about the next part inside, let you warm up a little.

[ She'd be right about that. The next part was the worst part; the period when he had no control over himself, had his conscience and free will stolen and was basically the longest-held prisoner of war in American history. It was hard holding onto memories of a time when he was a merciless killer. Memories he never would have had if he simply died when he fell from the train.

And now he was going to hear it told from someone else's mouth.

Bucky follows Daisy up the walkway and through the door where he takes a cursory glance at the great room ahead and the kitchen to the side before lifting his gaze to the open ceiling above. It's only when he comes to a stop that he looks at her again, lips tugging into a quick, but friendly smile. ]

Nice place.

[ Dropping her duffel by the door, she raises her eyebrows and then shrugs with an awkward smile of her own. ] Thanks. I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Stevens thought so.

[ There are pictures of them on the shelves, a happy couple who had probably planned to start a family here, only that plan didn't really work out for them... There's a layer of dust over everything, thick enough to draw designs in if one were so inclined, but thankfully there wasn't the caked-on grime of some of the buildings in town. This place would be easy enough to clean up once she got started. And at least it would give her something to do for a little while.

Daisy unzips her coat and tosses it over the back of one of the couches, the house already at a nice comfortable temperature despite the frozen tundra weather outside. Then she wanders toward the kitchen, intending to check out supplies while they talk. It seems easier than just sitting and staring at each other. ]

I don't know all the details of what was done to you to make you into the Winter Soldier, but it's not my first time encountering HYDRA's programming. They say a few words and suddenly you'll do whatever they tell you to, whether you want to or not. [ She opens the fridge door, peering inside and noticing that it's pretty bare compared to some of the other houses. Guess they weren't big for keeping a lot of groceries on hand. Examining the fridge gives her the perfect excuse to not be looking at Bucky when she says the next part, though she doesn't hide the slightest tremble that threads through the words. ]

But if it was anything like the brainwashing I went through... you wanted to. Because you were supposed to want it.

[ Bucky doesn't move, instead choosing to stand there as Daisy moves around, knowing an avoidance tactic when he sees one, but he can't blame her. Not when he finally hears the reason why she's been seemingly so understanding about everything and admittedly, he's caught between how to feel about that. She knew about the words. Did she know about his words?

He continues to watch, blue eyes cautious while his breathing picks up slightly. He can test her as much as he likes but he won't know for sure what she knows unless he goes along with it.

When Daisy decides to look at him again, he'll be as unreadable as he has been up to his point. ]

You were made to comply. [ He says it with an eerie casualness. ] Ten. I had ten words. And they had to be done after a cleansing and before the mission was given.

[ He won't say them. It's bad enough he still hears Vasily's voice in his head all the time repeating them over and over.

Bucky swallows thickly. ]

[ After a cleansing. Is that what they'd called it? Had they used some seemingly righteous term to mask the horrific thing they were doing over and over again to a human being? The very idea of it makes her sick. It makes her furious that HYDRA had done something like that to anyone, but to do it to a man as good as Bucky Barnes...

That anger and horror rise within her, accompanied by the sympathetic pain she feels for what he's been through, and with it all comes her power. Her control slips and the counters begin to shake, just enough for cabinet doors to rattle while any loose objects skitter from the vibrations coursing through them. Pain shoots up her arm as her grip on the fridge door tightens, and she uses that pain as a focus to tamp her power back down, control falling back into place as easily as breathing — which she does, deeply. One breath, two. And then she turns to finally look at him, leaning heavily on the island counter, bandaged and bruised hands splayed in the dust on the top. ]

I'm sorry about that. [ The shaking had lasted all of five seconds, if even that, but she doesn't have any good excuse for losing control like that. And while she might have her power under control again, her emotions are anything but, that anger practically radiating off her. ]

[ There were a lot of words they used for it, but cleanse was about the closest the word meant when translated in English. Even still, Bucky isn't much of a fan of the word either but they say if you've been exposed to something long enough, it simply becomes part of you.

The tremors do catch him off guard as it would for anyone who's experiencing them for the first time. If that's what happens when a slowly simmering anger converts into a pure supernatural ability, then he doesn't want to know what will happen when anger hits abruptly. He knows how anger fuels him, both when he was under HYDRA's control and even now. Bucky doesn't want to know what Daisy is capable of when rage hits.

His eyes flit around and when the shaking stops he shakes his head. ]

You don't have to apologize.

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