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.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's okay, Elena.

( food isn't all that important. he thinks they've stored some food anyway and even if they haven't, he's not going to let allow them to be stuck inside for so long that they risk hunger.

sighing, he brings her closer to him, trying to stop her shaking with an embrace. he doesn't know if she's going to welcome it but he's going to try. )

There are bigger things to focus on than food.

[ the last thing she ever expected elijah capable of was a hug. it's stupid to think it; he has two arms and a broad chest, and she's certain he's hugged his younger brother and siblings over the years... but it's so strange to think he's capable of such a gentle human thing.

elena lets him. she doesn't think much about it until she rests her head against his chest. she hadn't realised how desperate she's been for a hug or a slip of human contact over the last few weeks. without stefan here, she's been touch-starved, and all she's wanted is for him to embrace her in the wake of everything.

with her hands pressed against her chest, she takes a moment to try and listen to his heartbeat. then she unfurls her arms and wraps them around hhis waist, letting her nerves take over. elena doesn't let herself cry.

she murmurs, ] That shadow is out there.

It's not going to get inside, Elena. You just have to trust me. It's not going to happen.

( he wasn't going to let it happen. he knows that he can't guarantee her safety but he was an original vampire so he should be able to do something. )

Just stay inside. Nothing has gone in or out of here save for yourself. You need to calm down or you're going to make yourself sick. I'm not going to let anything happen to you.

[ she feels guilty for leaving people behind, but elena knows that her dying is not going to secure their safety. there's no opportunity to be a martyr here. elena doesn't want to be.

with her palm flat against his back, she closes her eyes for a moment. her heart still races hard in her chest, thumping away, but she feels less spaced, less scared. the shadows are out in the town, but she's here with elijah. she knows that he's as good as his word.

after a moment, she opens her eyes and pulls away, face heating with embarrassmnet. ]

Sorry.

Why?

( she's done nothing wrong. she's done nothing that needs an apology. she ran for her life and she came back here and that's that. there's nothing to apologize for.

he looks down at her, confusion evident in his expression. she didn't do anything wrong but trust elena to try and take all of this on herself. )

There's nothing to apologize for.

[ being asked why she's apologetic puts her on the spot and makes her a touch uncomfortable. so many people are so used to her apologising that it's become second nature for her to say it and have it ignored. sorry for being a burden, sorry for being troublesome. sorry that she's grieving.

she brushes her hair behind her ear, glances up at him and then away. she feels sheepish. ] Just... for putting you out.

[ expecting him to rebuke that, she looks up at him with a curious frown as a question hits her. ]

What were you doing in here before...? Did the lights go out in here, too?

I've been trying to get out of this place since everything started happening and I've been unable to.

( he's not even going to touch the whole being put out thing. he's not. he can't be put out when there was nothing to put him out from. she'd done nothing wrong and he hopes she eventually realizes that. )

But I've been unable to open any windows or the door. You coming in here was a legitimate surprise since I thought I was trapped. Again.

[ she frowns up at him before she looks over her shoulder at the room's door. it had opened so easily for her when she was on the outside... and now... ]

At least we're stuck together.

[ it's something that feels kind of mindless to say, but it brings her comfort. she'd rather be trapped with elijah than by herself. as kind as everyone is, she finds herself more at ease with him.

she looks up at him, still frowning thoughtfully. ] I wonder why you couldn't open the door. It's like we're stuck in the Gull again. Do you think that's happening again?

I hope not.

( but he doesn't think it's exactly like that because he doesn't hear the unbearable noises. when she looks at the door, he looks up as well, squinting before he shakes his head. )

I don't think it's the same. I don't hear the same noise as I did there. It's not burrowing into my head and making me feel like I'm going to go insane.

( so, this wasn't better but it was different. )

[ that doesn't mean it's not something. elena lifts her hands to rest them against her biceps before she starts to rub her hands up and down. she feels cold and on alert and anxious, three things she's becoming to intimately associate with mathias. ]

But if you can't get out, then maybe it's the same type of magic that kept us in. You don't think it's strange we're trapped once again?

[ she imagines he does. the one thing elena can trust is that elijah will have the same opinion about the things she thinks are curious. ]

No, I do think it's strange but I also don't see what trying to figure out what's keeping us here is going to benefit. We're stuck so I think we should...

( he pauses, looking over at her and then around. )

I don't know what we should actually do. I don't know what's going to be beneficial.

[ she can't help her soft laugh. it surprises her, the sound, the fact that she's even laughing. elijah has always come across as being so in control that it amuses her to see him actually falter. it really shouldn't; she knows that's unkind. ]

Sorry. [ she presses her lips together and tries to stifle her gentle laughter. ] It's not funny. Nothing about this is funny.

[ it's a little funny... ]

It's a little funny.

( elijah doesn't laugh but his lips do curve up in a slight smile. he sighs, rubbing his hands over his face before he looks to the window. )

Sit down, Elena. I have some food hidden away in case something like this happened again. We'll eat and try and figure out what we need to do.

( if they can do anything,. )

[ elena sits down on the edge of the bed and presses her palms against the sheets. while her legs and feet may be still, her fingers and hands aren't. she rubs then against the sheets, not able to really stop herself thinking. how much food has he stashed away? is he going to keep stashing food away in case this happens again?

she watches him, feeling a little useless. ]

Are you hungry?

Slightly. But, I think I saved some of what we ate last night.

( which admittedly wasn't all that great but it was food and that's what they both needed. does he realize she might be asking about a different kind of hunger? no, because he doesn't think she thinks he needs that.

so, he moves over to a drawer and pulls it open so he can try and find their food. he pulls out a sleeve of crackers and then some tuna fish in a can. )

[ looking away from him briefly, she pulls her hands onto her thighs and rubs them back and forth. that's not enough food for two people. it's barely enough food for one. all elena wants is a nice juicy burger, a steak, a bowl of salad with lots and lots of spinach... but all they have is crackers, tuna, sometimes bread. ]

Are you hungry?

[ she has no idea how someone's meant to ask this. stefan postures really well as a human. his lack of control when it comes to blood hasn't prepared elena well enough to be able to speak vampire. ]

You know... for blood.

( that's a question that makes him peer back at her, a frown on his face. she's let him bite her a time or two and he's kept it quick and as painless as possible but here she is, asking him if he wants blood.

he straightens, looking at her and trying to gauge why she's asking and if he'd looked like he was slipping. )

You know you don't have to offer me that, right? I can get blood from other sources and be just fine.

[ pointedly, she arches her brow. ]

Isn't that why you felt the need to out yourself to the entire town?

[ if he was just fine, if he had other blood sources, she doesn't think he'd have informed the entire town he was a thousand-year-old vampire. elijah's smart, but he's also calculative. she doesn't think he'd go village by village announcing he's a vampire without having a gameplay.

it's a good thing she has her own. looking away from him, she draws her hands into her lap and sighs softly. she makes sure her voice is soft and pathetic. ] I'm offering because I want to. If you don't want my blood, then that's fine.

Why wouldn't I want your blood, Elena? That wasn't a slight against you or anything like that. You shouldn't take it that way. Your blood is fine.

( but he doesn't want her to feel constantly like she's being used. he knows his brother made her feel like that and he doesn't want to follow in his footsteps even if this is something that elena's offering. he doesn't want her to feel like a thing. )

I don't want you to feel as if I'm only using you because you'll let me drink from you.

I don't think that.

[ she lifts her gaze to his. for the first time in a little while, elena doesn't feel like a blood bag. she doesn't feel like a pawn stuck between two men. stefan always made her feel like a person who mattered, but he's not here. she can only hope that he's okay. ]

I know I have a choice, and I'm choosing to offer that to you. [ amused, her brows furrow. that makes her realise something. ] It's one of the few choices I've gotten to make in the last few months.

I'm not that hungry.

( even know, when she's offered herself to him with a very logical and rational explanation, he still hesitates. it doesn't matter that he's done this with her before, he still doesn't want it to be the only thing that he needs her for. )

Or maybe I am hungry for... ( he holds up the can in his hand and nods approvingly. ) For tuna.

I want the tuna. All of it.

[ she arches her brows at him pointedly. elena knows what he's doing; he's just like stefan, except a little less clumsy in his attempt to move away from her. she knows that he won't deny her the tuna. she's the human, after all. the girl who needs to be protected from starvation.

resting her palms against the bed, she leans back and shrugs. ]

You'll need something else.

You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you wanted me to drink from you.

( that's what it sounds like, at least. he comes over, sitting next to her and eyeing her curiously. )

I have a sleeve of crackers too. ( he holds those up and waits for her to either say she needs those too or to tell him that those can be his dinner. )

I don't even think they're stale.

[ she holds her hand out, palm up. wiggling her fingers, she looks at him pointedly. ]

They'll go well with my tuna.

[ and he doesn't want her to miss out on enjoying herself with this luxurious dinner, does he? elena knows what she's doing and she knows that he knows what she's doing. she doubts he's going to not put the crackers in her hand. ]

( elijah holds the crackers away from her for a moment before he sighs and puts them in her hand. )

And so now you've taken all my food options.

( except the one. )

You're rather manipulative when you want to be. ( he doesn't sound like he's making that a bad thing. )

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