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

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. )

[ elena's smile is small. she shrugs, feigning innocence. she knows what she's doing, and elijah's smart enough to see that. maybe he's smart enough to give in to what she wants, too. clearly, what she wants is the smart option, right? ]

I'm just stating facts. I need crackers and tuna, and you have the option of eating something else.

[ she doesn't, you see. a human can't eat the wooden panels or drink blood from the other room occupant. ]

( elijah sighs, giving his head a shake. it's very easy to see the differences between her, tatia and katerina but sometimes, they're very, very similar. they both do whatever they can to get their way.

he sighs and looks over at her. )

Fine. From the wrist, though.

( blood is blood but drinking from her neck feels a little too...intimate and the wrist is just as good. )

And not a lot. I don't need that much.

[ it'd make more sense to drink from her neck, given she's always sporting a bandage these days, but elena doesn't press. she knows she's already pressed him enough as it is.

suppressing her happiness, elena ensures to keep her expression as neutral as possible. ]

Okay.

[ she twists on the bed, knee bumping against his. looking down, she presses both of her hands against her thighs, palms facing up. furrowing her brows, she looks down at her wrists with a thoughtful pinch to her lips.

then she holds them out, shrugging. ] Do you usually have a preference?

For drinking blood?

( he shakes his head. he tends to go for the neck because that seems to surprise and incapacitate whoever he's drinking from but since she's volunteering, he doesn't need to do that.

he reaches for her arm, stroking his thumb against her wrist and feeling the blood pump underneath her skin. )

You should eat first.

( he's not going to drink too much but still. )

[ she does like how he strokes her wrist. her heart skips a little, butterflies fluttering in her chest. it's so gentle and soft and disarming.

she bites half a cracker loudly, crumbs falling to her pants. she looks at him pointedly as she chews. after she swallows she sits up straighter and arches her brow at him. ]

I've eaten.

[ one day he'll grow very tired of her and go stow away in one of the houses, but for now, elena wiggles her fingers and keeps her wrist in his hand. ]

Really?

( his fingers tighten around her wrist but not to the point of pain. he just stares at her because of course. she would be the type of person to do that just to get her way and prove him wrong. )

Eat.

( it's not an order but it's very firmly worded and he's not going to do anything else to her until she's eaten and she's gotten some protein in her. he keeps his eyes on her, making sure she knows that he's not going to be swayed. )

[ she lets out a breath. fine, this is something that she won't be able to bully him about. at least he's going to drink from her; elena considers that a big win.

with her hand still in his, she eats the rest of the cracker before she moves the packet to sit between her legs. using her thighs as an extra hand, she digs into the sleeve and pulls out another. ]

Back home, how did you get blood? Did you just compel random people to let you feed from them?

[ this is definitely a topic of conversation to have over dinner. ]

Are you really asking me about my blood drinking habits?

( he probably shouldn't be surprised. elena gilbert strikes him as the type to barrel into any situation headfirst only to think about the consequences later. he should just brush her off and let her eat but she's only going to ask again. )

That is the most common way we were able to get blood, yes. They were compensated and taken care of.

( mostly. )

[ that's a great political answer, elijah. too bad elena can see right through him skirting around actually answering for himself. giving him a moment, she decides to continue barrelling headfirst. if he doesn't like it, he'll tell her. he's let her get away with a lot. ]

I'm asking about you, not all vampires.

[ just to prove that she's playing fair, she eats her second cracker. she'd open up the tuna, but she quite frankly doesn't want to have it yet—or maybe ever. it would've been nice to have on bread. ]

When I say we, Elena, I mean myself and my family. ( he shoots her a look for that one before he let's go of her wrist, deciding she needs to eat all of her food before he does nothing. )

I don't mean vampires in general. That is what the Mikaelsons did. You're assumptions are incorrect. I am not speaking about vampires in general.

( he doesn't sound angry when he says it, just firm. he's not trying to avoid her questions. )

[ and she learns a little more about his family. it's strange to think he's one of seven vampires. she wonders if he misses them, but she doesn't want to bring it up. she'd feel like she was on the spot if someone asked her if she missed jeremy.

with her free hand, she digs into the crackers, finding that she's hungry. she does offer him one. ]

Do you have your regular... people you go to?

[ "clientele"? "blood banks" sound incredibly detached and cruel. elena doesn't want to think of herself as one. ]

Why are you asking me about this?

( does it matter where he gets his blood? the important thing is that he gets it and that he controls his bloodlust. her curiosity is just that: curiosity and it's not going to help anything if he answers the questions. )

My life is about more than where I get my blood.

( hers was about more than being a doppelganger, wasn't it? )

You're one of the oldest vampires, perhaps the oldest. I've only met vampires who are a century old or want to kill me. I was just curious.

[ she shifts on the bed and looks straight ahead, taking a bite out of her cracker. a part of her had wanted to know how he was coping in such a small town that lacked blood bags. not everything can be perfect; he can't always be in control.

she's also a little curious. she knows stefan struggles with blood and damon would bathe in it if he had the chance... but she doesn't know if there's an in-between. ]

I don't think you're just a vampire and nothing else. It's not like I know a lot about you.

[ his favourite colour, if he likes odd or even numbers, if he likes backstreet boys or nsync. ]

If you want to know about me, you can ask. I can't promise to always tell you because there are some things I will keep to myself but you can ask and it doesn't have to just be about vampire related things.

( like how he gets his blood and all. )

But to answer your question, there are regular people who we...employ at the compound in New Orleans. Again, they're compensated and taken care of for their time. There are also instances of taking from people spontaneously. It's all very...go with the flow, I suppose would be the phrase.

[ elena knows she has to be careful with what she asks him. now that he's offered her the world of questions and potential answers, she's not quite sure what she wants to dive into first. there's so much she wants to know. what's it like being an old vampire? does he ever grow tired of the world? is he ever surprised?

she eyes him kindly, lips pursed lightly. she continues to eat her crackers. ]

And what do you prefer? Going with the flow or having it prearranged?

[ his answer will say a lot about him. she personally feels she already knows it's the latter. ]

I think a lot of it depends on the situation, Elena. I don't really have a preference. I do what needs to be done depending on the circumstances at the time. Sometimes, we make plans, sometimes there's no time for that.

( it's probably not the answer she wants but it's the one he gives. it's the truth. he sighs, looking out the window like he might be able to see something moving out there. )

If I had to choose one, I'd want to have something prearranged so I can prepare but living with the people I do, that's sometimes impossible.

[ elena watches him as he looks out the window, softening her gaze now that he can't see her. that's the answer she had been expecting. elijah seems like someone who values control and consent, even if what he is makes that very dubious at times. her gut telling her she's safe with him had been right: she is.

her biting into the cracker is very loud even to her ears. ]

What's your favourite colour?

You know, I cannot remember the last time someone asked me that question.

( his shoulders slouch a bit and he laughs, shaking his head and turning to look at her. )

Would it be so surprising to hear that it's black? I like dark colors.

( hides the blood. he wants to say that as a joke but she might believe him and he doesn't want to frighten her. )

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