001-003 » a chilling mathias welcome

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: The east end of Mathias, along the waterfront.
WHEN: Days 001-003
WHAT: The newest residents of Mathias Township are welcomed with a storm.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: A small love letter from your mod. This spot can be used for plotting.

RECOMMENDED ♫ Deadly Avenger "Mara"

DAY 001
THE ARRIVAL BEGINS

Is it the whooshing crash of waves on dark jagged rocks that wakes you? Perhaps. It might also be the near-continuous rumble of thunder growing closer every second, the vibrations almost seeming to come from the wet sand beneath your hands. Or maybe it’s the shivering of your own body as water recedes from the pebble-covered shore, the cold sinking into your very bones as a chilled wind picks up. It could be any of these things that rouse you from a deep slumber that leaves you feeling groggy and out of sorts--

But it’s the fear that gets you moving. A deep, intense terror grips your chest and squeezes the breath right out of you, and you know without a shred of doubt that you have mere minutes before whatever it is you’re so afraid of arrives on that stretch of rocky beach to greet you. Even if you want to stay rooted to that spot and faced it head-on, your body betrays you, a survival instinct etched into your genetic code forcing you to seek shelter.

Welcome to Mathias. You should probably run now.



THE STORM ARRIVES

When the storm crashes into the small township, it's hard to remember what life was like before it. The ocean becomes a raging thing, waves rising and falling as if trying to attack whatever they can reach along the coast. Any foolish enough to venture along the beach have no hope of surviving the encounter; their bodies will be swept out with the current, gone in the blink of an eye.

The wind is a howling beast, screaming between buildings and driving spikes of cold into any crevice it can reach. The rain is just shy of freezing, every drop like a shard of icicle trying to itself into your skin. It will bite at your nerves and leave you shaking if you stay out in it too long, so you had best get inside if you haven't already. You certainly don't want to attract the attention of the lightning that arcs in the sky like a vengeful god ready to unleash its wrath.

The Grey Gull restaurant sits at the edge of the town along the beach, and just a few yards away are two parallel rows of houses lining what might be a picturesque street if the world weren't beginning to resemble an apocalyptic landscape.

Move quickly, and choose wisely.

DAY 002
THE STORM RAGES ON

The storm has somehow become even more violent overnight. The world outside your shelter might be trapped in an endless night, for all you can see through the thick covering of storm clouds. Lightning continues to streak across the sky, thunder following almost immediately in its wake, threatening just how near those spikes of electricity truly are. You can see them touch the shore at times, even the street between the homes, but never the buildings themselves. A blessing, perhaps, or an oddity to take note of?

Some may be foolish enough to try venturing outside. They are welcome to, of course, that is their right, but the rain is still like ice and that lightning is so very near. You may try heading further into town, and you can certainly see buildings beyond this row of houses, but should you walk toward them...

Well. It is far from a pleasant experience. Exhaustion sinks into your bones so quickly that it leaves you reeling, and every second you push through it makes you physically ill with a feeling that you might collapse at any moment. The second you turn away from that path, however, you feel infinitely, and even more so each step back the way you came.

Something wants you to stay where you are. Perhaps you should.

DAY 003
THE CALM DESCENDS

The third day begins much as the second, with waves crashing upon the shore and thunder booming with such force that the ground seems to shake. It feels very much like the world might end right there, torn apart by a force of nature unlike any seen before. Any who venture outside at this time are almost immediately afflicted with a terror so intense that they can make it no more than a few yards or the short distance to cross a street before they become incapacitated by the fear that sets their heart beating dangerously fast. The term scared to death may very well become literal this day.

And then, suddenly it stops. The rain, thunder, lighting— all if it just stops and the silence that fills the night is deafening. There are no sounds of life within the town, no car motors or dogs barking or the voices of anyone beside those new arrivals in the immediate vicinity. In fact, none of those things even exist in Mathias. There are no cars, no animals or insects, no other people. There is just... emptiness and silence.

It may be best to wait until daylight to move further inland.



THE NIGHT DARKENS

For those who are foolish enough to leave the relative safety of the cluster of houses near the Grey Gull, they will find their journey quite chilling, in a very literal sense. There is another row of houses beyond where they had been, branching off on either side into a neighborhood. There are no lights on in any of these homes, though there are occasional streetlights illuminating their way. But as they continue further, reaching a third block of houses, those lights begin to dim, until they have gone out completely, and what had previously been a simple fall chill becomes biting cold as the temperature sharply drops.

In all of this, there is silence. No sounds travel through that night air to comfort them, and even looking up to the sky stretched out above them offers little reassurance. That sky is black, without a single star and not even the faintest outline of the moon to guide them. All that reaches them here is the barest hint of light traveling from the way they've come. The longer they linger outside in this place, the colder it will become, and any light they carry with them will slowly begin to dim as well.

Truly, they should have waited until the sun rose once more.

---

LOCATIONS

THE GREY GULL is what one might expect of the most frequented restaurant in a small coastal town. The wrap-around porch is lined with white chairs characterized by peeling paint. Exposed wooden walls and worn seating speak to its many years of existence, and the mishmash of décor confirms that the owner never much cared for how the place looked. What mattered here was the food, and faded chalk menus advertise soup specials and a daily pie. The bar appears to have once been well-stocked, but all the bottles remaining are unfortunately empty. There is, however, quite a bit of food in the kitchen that is somehow as fresh as if it were purchased that day.

The second floor of the restaurant is a sparsely furnished apartment. There are no personal items to be found; perhaps it was waiting to be rented out to someone.

THE HOUSES are well-kept, middle-class homes, four lining either side of the street. Their doors are unlocked, windows unshuttered, and everything within feels like the owners might return at any second. There is running water and electricity, fresh food in the fridge, photographs on the wall... but also dust everywhere. If you didn't know better, you'd say the place had been abandoned for years, and yet nothing has aged. It is both strange and unsettling, and yet no matter how hard you search, no answers may be found within these homes.

What can be found within them, however, is a phone. One single black phone within a main room of the house, and beside it, a list of handwritten numbers and names that have been crossed out.

1302 8-5491 Thomasen
1304 8-9256 Lyrie
1306 8-4712 Anders
1308 8-3201 Mulcalley

1301 8-0415 Sanderson
1303 8-6762 Reese
1305 8-9132 Evers
1307 8-9025 Hirano

Should your character choose to shelter in one of the houses, you are welcome to choose the features of that particular unit. Please reply to the comment thread below with the details you decide upon, specifying the house number in the subject line.

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⟴ ᴅᴀʏ ᴏɴᴇ - ᴏᴘᴇɴ

[warfares]

⤠ ʙᴇᴀᴄʜ

( fear rolls over him like one of those waves crashing against the shore. it's the fear that wakes him, that pushes him upright despite the lurch to his stomach and the merciless pounding in his head.

soaked to the bone, fingers sweep across his forehead, down to his jaw and then slide to the base of his skull. checking for injuries, for blood, and finding nothing. nothing obvious. then, his gaze sweeps his surroundings, taking in the long stretch of the shoreline and the gathering thunderheads. he has a second, maybe more, to process that this is not the steadast before the first clap of thunder breaks through his reverie.

storm's coming. better get moving. )

⤠ ɢʀᴇʏ ɢᴜʟʟ

( the wind is howling like a feral thing by the time he makes it into town, stumbling into the nearest building in search of shelter.

the building — the grey gull — has seen better days. peeling paint and exposed walls crusted over with salt crystals and black mold. it's not perfect, but it'll do.

he starts with the front of the house, taking in the mismatched furniture and faded chalkboards. the letters swim before his eyes before resolving into something vaguely legible. it's rare to encounter high galactic in the wild, much less on a backwater planet like this one, and he allows himself a moment of surprised pleasure at the discovery.

then it's onto the bar, the kitchen, and anywhere else that might be of interest. )

⤠ ɢʀᴇʏ ɢᴜʟʟ !

[fika]

[ on the first day, the start of five's exploration is at the grey gull. because it is the largest landmark he sees. it's as good a place as any to start.

the rain and wind had picked up, rattling the breath right out of him, so he chooses fast results over caution, which is why he blinks into the restaurant proper instead of to the door.

of course, not knowing the inside layout means that when he appears out of thin air, the momentum carries him enough to crash into one of the tables, clattering loudly.

it's just as he is straightening himself out that he catches sight of the man across the bar, dressed...well, if he was honest, a bizarre outfit. ] Huh. They have any good cognac over there, by any chance? [ comes the too-casual question, seemingly from a kid in schoolboy shorts, even as five angles himself better, plants his feet and notes the exists. notes the obstacles between them, the possible weapons, and most importantly, where he would teleport himself back to if he needed to.

this guy was the second person he's seen here so far. too little context to draw anything but distrust, even if there was commonality to be found in their collective confusion. ]

[warfares]

( kylo whirled, seeking the source of the voice and coming to settle on...well, a boy. can;t be older than twelve or thirteen. short, dark hair and clothing that isn't remotely suited to the weather.

confusion wrinkles his brow, because there is a lot to unpack here and he honestly isn't sure where to even begin. he should have sensed someone approaching. so either this kid was absurdly stealthy or there was more to his sudden appearance than met the eye. )

Someone's beaten you to it.

( assuming there'd ever been any to begin with. )

[fika]

Well, damn. [ though that fact was probably for the better.

no matter. there were issues of bigger concern than indulging in that particular flavour of coping.

he makes sure to keep the stranger in his periphery as he moves. ] You're the second person I've seen here. [ five hides his panic in action. it is easier to focus on walking forward, on looking at the bulletin board, on talking. facts and questions and clues instead of listening to the need to go back out there, to search and search without a damn direction. even with his abilities, he can't be everywhere at once, and he's going to need to find something to help him through the exploration he does intend on doing.

hopefully there's still coffee.

and with that, if he can collect more information, talk to more people and form a pattern, that's all the better. ] You wake up on the beach too?

[warfares]

You too? ( a statement more than a question.

if he casts his mind back, really thinks about it, will he remember anyone else on the beach? it's difficult when he tries, because his temples had been throbbing and his hear had been beating away at the cage of his ribs like a hummingbird on a sugar rush. hardly optimal for recalling fine details. )

I was with someone, ( he says after a moment, careful, like he's sharing a secret. ) but we were separated.

[fika]

Seems like the trend. [ trend of two so far, which is to say it's still more than nothing, but less than he'd like.

more pointedly, it's two people more than the last time he got stuck anywhere.

five pauses his search around only when the other speaks, with a tilt of his head. ] ...Both of you, from the same place? [ similarly though phrased like a question, the answer seems apparent enough in the other's tone. ] Which would be where, by the way?

[ because from looking at him, five honestly couldn't tell. his attention is still partially split, rummaging through a stack of receipts with a every quickly forming scowl and a shallowly hissed: ] Shit. All of the dates smudged?

[warfares]

I didn't say.

( kylo lets that linger for a moment ㅡ because, while there's no reason to withhold the answer there's also no reason to just share it. certainly not in a situation where he is at a clear disadvantage.

but then five's attention shifts, and kylo observes him with detached interest. nothing in this place makes much sense, truthfully ㅡ everything is a museum piece of some fashion, the alphabet something he's only seen circulated throughout the elder houses and the upper echelons of the first order high command. to see it displayed so casually is strange. )

You can read it?

( there's a lilt to the question that suggests genuine surprise. )

[fika]

[ that's...a fair enough answer. five's bias shaped the assumption, perhaps, and its easy to brush off as wishful thinking even as that realization sparks some annoyance.

but that question - ] What?

Yeah - wait, you can't? [ the surprise is sharply mirrored back because...well, they were understanding each other fine. ]

[warfares]

I can read it, ( it's said in the flat tone of someone doing their best to bite back something significantly less civil. it doesn't matter that the boy has no way of knowing what he can and cannot do, it's the implication that rankles. ) but the alphabet isn't in common use.

This would be the equivalent of, ( head tipping, eyes going to the ceiling as he thinks, ) whatever passes for nobility leaving their historical records lying around for casual scrutiny.

[fika]

You're seriously equating this to a museum? [ that gets an incredulous laugh from him. this was a lot to start unpacking.

there's no time for this though, not really, and five returns to fumbling through whatever else he can find. ]

Okay, look. I'm from 1963, Dallas Texas. Most recently. [ a quick shrug. ] 2019 if you want to be technical. [ he takes another moment, arms rising and falling with another bout of exasperation as whatever he was searching yields shit-all results. ] I'm going to take a wild guess and say we're not on the same page here, as far as timelines are concerned.

[ again, maybe a leap, but the girl he met before was from 2039, so it's not without any precedent. ]

[warfares]

I think that would be a safe bet.

( because his first thought upon hearing “1963”, “2019” and even “dallas texas” for that matter is to ask something embarrassingly telling like “is dallas texas the name of your planet?”

or, perhaps less awful: “what calendar are you using?” except that star wars calendars are a nightmare and nobody needs to be digging into that nonsense. )

It was 35 ABY, before.

[fika]

[ maybe it's good that kylo doesn't expand any further. maybe it's steps instead of leaps for them both, given the context.

five's proverbial appetite has always been greater than his capabilities, and maybe that extended to how much information he could pull (opposed to how much he wanted to) not even an hour after waking. doesn't stop him from trying, of course. ]

Okay, [ that answer - it means absolutely nothing to him, that much is clear, but he's approaching kylo for something resembling more of a conversation than the tossed words from farther ends of the restaurant. his brows are pinched - he's confused, irate, and past the point of exhausted but none of that matters right now. ] So what the hell can pull people out of timelines and places like that? A temporal anomaly? Do you remember anything strange happening, before getting dropped here?

[warfares]

( well, they're in a similar boat in that respect. kylo can respect five's willingness to roll with someone that's clearly outside of his wheelhouse because he honestly doesn't have the time or the inclination to dance around the fact that they're from different times and/or planets. )

I don't know. ( he draws a hand across his mouth, expression thoughtful. ) I was in the hangar of a Star Destroyer. I'd assumed I'd been betrayed and left for dead.

( which he isn't ruling out just yet. this would be exactly hux's style. )

[fika]

[ a what.

the slow blink likely speaks volumes. ]

Okay. Yeah, I suppose given that context that doesn't sound like a completely illogical leap -

[ sounded like a shit hand, whatever the fuck this guy was dealing with was. ] - except that wouldn't explain any of the other ones here, unless your 'star destroyer' can mess with the quantum states of individuals across all instances of time and space.

[ a pause of consideration, pursed lips and squinting eyes. given how the rest of their combined days have been going, he ventures the ask: ] ...Can it?

[warfares]

I wouldn't put it past a crazy enough engineer to try.

( whether they'd succeed would be another matter entirely, but there was no reward without some risk and lightspeed skipping had existed as a theory until very recently. )

Throwing me out of an airlock would be more efficient, though. Less likely to end in ripping a hole in the fabric of space and time.

( he might be hated, but the first order was pragmatic. they could still squeeze some use out of him, even if they'd prefer he never held any real power. )

[fika]

- who the hell did you piss off. [ to be fair, it isn't phrased in a way that implies five is expecting an actual response.

maybe at another time, he'd be curious. cautious, even, with the heavy implication of being enough of a nuisance to someone for them to want to toss you out into literal - or figurative - space and leave you for dead.

but as it happens, five too has pissed off his share of dangerous heads enough for attempted murder, so he can't be one to judge. so the statement isn't taken so much at face value as its simply filed away. ] Well, I'll keep the possibility of this being caused out of someone's personal grudge in mind.

For now, I need to find some coffee. [ priorities these days. ]

[warfares]

( the willingness to let it slide would be appreciated if kylo ren didn't have all the social grace of a scalded cat.

but the mention of caf is a welcome shift in topic, away from him and onto something solid and concrete and so utterly inane that it's refreshing. normal, even. kylo jerks his head in the direction of the kitchen. )

That, at least, we have in abundance.

( the quality is debatable: bitter and tarry. not that one really drinks it for the taste. )