037-040 » the reason for time

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central Mathias
WHEN: Day 037-040
WHAT: The dead return and the living wake to changes within Mathias Township.
WARNINGS: Some explicit sexual content in threads. (PM this account to have a warning added!)
NOTES: Plotting post over here!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Kammarheit "Sleep after Toyle, Port after Stormie Seas"

DAY 037
THE DEAD RETURN
“The only reason for time is so that everything
doesn't happen at once.” —Albert Einstein
The dead return to Mathias forever changed by their experiences. Waking along the beach, near the tree line, or among the graves, they will find that their bodies are not as they remember them. They are whole again and not torn to shreds by the shadow creatures that cannot be described, but they are also not as they were before the Hunt. These residents will find, so strangely, that their bodies are in the physical state in which they first arrived in Mathias — any injuries or recovery they have made since their initial arrival no longer exists, as if their time in Mathias has simply been a horrible nightmare. Except they all now carry a last reminder of the Hunt with them: spiderweb-thin healed scars marking their injuries from the Hunt. Those who were injured by fire in the other realm also carry those burns with them.

The dead are not the only things that have returned to Mathias. Inexplicably, fall is back, with the temperature finally reaching above freezing and snow falling from trees to reveal beautiful autumnal colors. As the sun rises higher in the lightly cloudy sky and the day warms, the snow begins rapidly melting, puddles growing in the slowly revealed grass and little rivers forming in the streets. And with that snow comes the frozen blood from the deaths to the Hunt, tinting the street river on Phillips Drive a sickening shade of red.

Another oddity that residents will notice: houses with broken windows from the encounter with the fog on Day 015 have now been completely repaired, though any boards put in place are still there somehow. A small bit of good news, at least? And truly, how kind of Mathias to clean up its own mess.

Finally, alcohol is back. Enjoy in moderation, friends, for more will not be arriving the following morning.


THE NEW ARRIVALS
The newest arrivals to Mathias will wake up on the beach near The Grey Gull. It's quite chilly out with their wet clothes, but surely there's something to help warm them inside the restaurant. Indeed, their timing is perfect, for alcohol has finally returned to Mathias Township — and not just the cowboys' homemade moonshine.


DAY 038-039
THE CHANGE OF SEASON
The continued warm weather proves that the unseasonable shift of the previous day was not merely a fluke. Once again, the sun rises and brings with it a temperature that feels almost spring-like, save for the fact that each day there seem to be more and more leaves on the trees in hues of red and orange. For those who have been in Mathias for some time, this new type of weird may be almost normal at this point, but newer arrivals will likely find it quite odd.

The gently trickling river running along Phillips Drive is still somewhat pink in color as the snow continues to melt and refreeze each night. By Day 040, the bloody snow will finally be gone completely, though the relief will be... short-lived.

DAY 040
THE BLINDING WHITE
In the late morning of Day 040, when the sun is visible through patchy greyish clouds, the fog sweeps into town like a like a tidal wave. It moves in quickly and without warning, not from the waterfront but the forest, cascading through every street in a thick wave of white. Rather than a soft blanket enveloping the town, it is a heavy weight pressing down, blotting out the sky in a way that almost feels suffocating, for none can see further than their outstretch hand.

Those outside when it rolls in are left wandering blind, stumbling toward shelter as you're unable to even see your feet beneath you, let alone any obstacles in your path. Perhaps you call out for help, hoping for another voice to guide you toward shelter or simply another living soul. Or perhaps you were lucky enough to already be inside when the fog descended, quickly closing doors and windows to keep it from creeping in.

Unlike the last time the fog swept into the town, residents who encounter it are not immediately killed. Instead, they are simply disoriented, possibly losing their sense of time and place, and it is only after prolonged exposure that they will begin to feel off. A sense of being ill will cling to them if they are in the fog for too long, including dizziness, lightheadedness, or nausea — the time it takes to manifest varies from person to person, as does the duration it will last after leaving the fog.

By nightfall, the fog still has not dissipated.

---

CONDITIONS UPDATE

— THE WEATHER conditions are fairly typical for late fall: chilly "sweater weather" days and nights that can dip just below freezing. You don't want to be outside without a coat, but it won't kill anyone if they bundle up. Probably.

— 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 western 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 blocking these areas is ill-advised.

— DISAPPEARANCES continue. Castiel and Sam Winchester have vanished, and Dean Winchester has not returned with the others after his death during the Hunt.

— THE GRAVEYARD has now seen around a dozen burials, both below and above ground. With the weather warming, though, something may need to be done about the handful of temporary graves aboveground...

— ALCOHOL has returned to Mathias! A small stock of beer and cheap wine may be found at the General Store, and some homes may have a small store of alcohol in the fridge or pantry. The Grey Gull has also been restocked with its lower-end offerings of a variety of alcohol types. Alcohol does not replenish in the same way as food.

— THE GREY GULL has been cleaned up and stocked with moonshine. Along with the newly restocked usual offerings, the place almost seems like an actual bar again.

— THE GENERAL STORE is in a bit of a state following the brutal slaughter of two residents during the Hunt. Cleanup on aisle 3, anyone?

---

OOC NOTES

— FOOD is now being mysteriously restocked as per usual, including inside homes and at the General Store. Alcohol is not being restocked. Use those rationing skills, friends.

— REWARD REDEPEMPTION is back and will soon have a new option for anyone looking to spend big AP and learn a bit more of the lore of the town.

— MADNESSES due to the Hunt have been earned by Klaus Hargreeves, Ellie, and Malcolm Bright and may now be claimed. Players may also claim additional sanity loss from the aftermath of the Hunt; only losses from the Hunt itself have been deducted from totals thus far.

— SANITY REGAIN is now available! Players will submit a form with some details of the progress their character has made and the mod will review and decide on the numbers of points that will be regained.

— MOD STATUS The usual reminder that 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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Comments

[tinstar]

"Hero of the day, huh?" Raylan's face curled back into a soft smile, thumb brushing along the line of Malcolm's bare, wet thigh in a silent comfort. "Just like when Henry and I got trapped. Out here savin' lives."

For the minute, all his horrors, the scars, the death, the feeling of his muscles contracting and popping free, were held outside the tub. He wasn't sure if that was because of the hot water that had banished away the cold in his bones or the profiler against him. Bets were on the latter. Raylan didn't want to leave the safety of it all yet.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm smiled at both the touch and the compliment.

The water sloshed softly as he shifted to look up at Raylan.

“I think it’s important to fight for something instead of just against something. To fight to save lives instead of just... fighting against taking them.”

[tinstar]

Malcolm did just as much for him as Raylan did for him in return, one of the few statements he couldn't include Doc in due to not knowing. It might come up when Raylan brings Malcolm up, just so he could know.

"People like us.. seems we only chose those two sides, huh." Success or Failure was something else entirely. "I feel like I've chosen both of 'em... I miss havin' my gun," he admitted with a breath and a little shake of his head. "You always thought this way?"

Did he ever find himself thinking the other way? Raylan couldn't help but ask, considering that Malcolm frequently saw his father who, Raylan did not doubt, spoke to him. Urged him to.. darker things.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm bit his lip. "I'm not..." His brow creased slightly. "I don't think law enforcement should risk their own life to avoid killing a bad person. I think if you need to shoot to survive, you absolutely should. My friends do, too. I just... can't. I'm afraid that if I kill someone I'll... develop a taste for it. Like he did." He turned slightly so he could look at Raylan more directly, a light in his eyes as he slid into his specialty. "It's not the first kill that worries me. Did you know that someone's first kill doesn't really mean anything? Not... pathologically. Anyone can kill a person by accident or on a whim or in the heat of the moment. But what happens when there's a second... and then a third.... And what do people say when the son of the Surgeon starts racking up a body count? No matter the circumstances?" He shook his head. "It's a slippery slope for me. And the optics are bad. I haven't carried since I left the FBI."

[tinstar]

'If you need to shoot to survive'. Oh if only that was the only reason he'd ever discharged his firearm. He wishes. As cute as it was to see Malcolm enthuse in such a way, the topic balanced that out with a macabre dress that left Raylan frowning a little in understanding.

"We ever get firearms back in this place, Henry and I get first dibs then. Anyone who's got a problem with my body count isn't here and I don't have the same issues you do." No reason to sugar coat it, right?

He studied Malcolm's face, face twitching a little as his brain reminded him- "Malcolm.. you said you.. cleaned me up. Doc burned Negan? What happened to Neal?" Not their bodies - them. He wasn't ready to climb that mountain yet.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm’s expression wavered at the question, but it was because of the memory, not because Raylan asked. His hand splayed on Raylan’s chest, his fingers fidgeting against his skin, his tone subdued.

“He was closest to the house. We cleaned him up first. Both of us. He was... clean in half. Will Graham came by and examined the scene, then... moved on. Towards town. We went the other way. Looking for you and Negan.”

[tinstar]

Raylan steeled himself for the answer at the waver of Malcolm's face, preparing for the worst and it was good that he did. Clean in half. He was glad there wasn't anything in his stomach with the way it clenched; he didn't want to add another round of hurling to all this. His face twitched towards a more severe pinch passingly at the mention of Will Graham - He'd have to track the man down.

"What'd you do with us? Why burning for Negan?"

[abrightboy]

His voice wavered as he answered.

“We had plastic in the garage that we were going to use to cover the insulation, when we... split it into bedrooms. We used it to wrap up... all the... pieces.” One package of Neal bits, one package of Raylan bits. Like a delivery from the butcher shop that nobody asked for. “We buried you. Under rocks. Like Rey. Rocks from the beach. We left extra over there... just in case. But. Doc said Negan told him that his body... he comes from a place with an infection that reanimated the dead into monsters and he didn’t know if he carried it so he had to either... have his brain smashed or he had to be burned. So we burned him.” Nobody had had the stomach for smashing his skull. “We have to collect more stuff for the garage; we used some of that wood in the pyre too.”

[tinstar]

He couldn't watch Malcolm's face for more than the first few words, gaze dropping down to the fingers on his collar bone that he covered with his own, thumb rubbing across the back.

"We'll restock," he said quietly after Malcolm was finished. They'd restock. For next time. God, there was going to be a next time, wasn't there. They couldn't escape it. They wouldn't ever be able to escape it.

"This is gonna make you worse, isn't it. Cleaning us up. I.. I can't bury my own body.." Who was going to take care of that mess if he couldn't? Malcolm wasn't allowed to, not again and he'd say as much.

[abrightboy]

“Worse?” For just a second, Malcolm was confused. Of course Raylan couldn’t have buried his own body; he was dead when that needed done. But then he caught up. Worse nightmares. Reburying the remains now that it was getting warmer.

He could blame the warmth of that hand on his hand as a distraction, right? It was so solid and real and there and alive.

“Oh. Well. ‘Worse’. How would anyone be able to tell?” he pointed out still a little shakily, despite his attempt at lightness. He glanced towards the door. “Doc will probably do it. He seems to think of everything,” Malcolm murmured. “I’d help him if he asked me but... he probably won’t.”

[tinstar]

After the gap and the Shadow man, after the effect that Raylan saw that have on Malcolm, he'd promised himself to not doing anything that would make it worse. He'd broken that promise almost right on the outset, it seemed.

Raylan studied Malcolm's face. He knew it could get worse, that what they had today wasn't the worst Malcolm could be. Even the days before wasn't the worst of what Malcolm could suffer upon himself and them.

"Can't be easy on him either. Much as he and I sit and drink together.. after the tunnels.." He took a deep breath. "Give him a few days. Lemme talk to him. It'll be okay.. You'll tell him I'm here so he doesn't worry more, right?"

[abrightboy]

Malcolm nodded. "I'll tell him to come see you. He should stay here tonight. Nobody should be completely alone after... all that. I can't. Obviously. But... he's good at sitting with you and not annoying you," Malcolm pointed out with a hint of a laugh. He looked up at Raylan's face, just to alleviate one last concern. "Neal will stay with me if I ask him. Doc can... probably use a break after the whole... tackling me in the hallway last night, even if he isn't mad."

[tinstar]

"No, just.. Tell him I'm here. If he wants to come, I won't turn him away but.. In his own time," Raylan breathed out with a faint shake of his head. "Better that it's not a.. a task."

He didn't want to be a task. That lead to resentment that wasn't his fault but would still crack back to hit him, he was sure of it.

"He had to tackle you? The restraints break again?"

[abrightboy]

“I never, for one second, thought he’d see it as a task. I’m a task. You’re... equal to him. If he comes, it’ll be to sit beside you where it’s quiet how he likes it.”

At the question, his gaze flickered down to Raylan’s collarbone and he shook his head. “I messed up. I didn’t put them on. I thought I wouldn’t sleep. I almost went head first down the stairs.”

[tinstar]

"You're not a task," Raylan interjected quickly, one hand coming up to loosely cup and hang around Malcolm's neck. Raylan couldn't argue the equality but that was such a deeper conversation and he didn't have it in him to argue that side just now.

He shook his head at the assertion that he'd messed up. "It's okay, darlin'. You're okay." God, head first? It was more than scary. "You'll remember next time. Alls that matters is that neither of you were hurt. I'm sure he doesn't hold it against you; we both understand what you're sufferin' isn't inside your control."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm looked up at him with a tentative smile and set a kiss on his jaw.

"He did let me stay with him afterwards."

Wanna wrap/handwave the rest of this? Did we hit everythin we wanted for em in this?

[tinstar]

He hummed softly, his own smile pulling a little. "That's not nothin'." Shifting a little with a sigh, he frowned at the water. "It's startin' to get cold. Suppose that means its time to get out."