villagelogs | 037-040 » the reason for time

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037-040 » the reason for time

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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[ Claire flinches, and for a dizzying moment she raises that improvised bat like a club, like she's gonna strike out against whoever comes through the door...

She doesn't.

Claire takes a long, slow breath, then allows the tension, the kneejerk fight instinct, to fade out of her, lowering the weapon, though she still looks rattled. ]

Ellie. You scared the crap out of me.

[ There's a terrible moment where Ellie is a little afraid that Claire might come at her with the bat, not because she's afraid of Claire, but afraid of herself, her own anger and rage and all of it. She doesn't want to fight someone she cares about. She could probably defuse whatever this is, but...what if she couldn't?

Thankfully, neither of them has to find out and add that to the growing list of regrets they both have. ]

Yeah, well...same. I heard all this crashing and I...wanted to see if you were okay. Guess I know what the answer to that is, huh? So...you wanna talk about it or just stand here awkwardly or...?

[ Claire's shoulders slump a little, defeat and weariness setting in. But she holds Ellie's gaze, and for a moment she hesitates. If she doesn't take cover from this, she'll crack and spill, and she might spill more than she wants to, more that should be hidden away carefully.

But... then again. It's Ellie. Same rules don't quite apply, and Claire feels more drawn towards Ellie than towards her usual hiding spaces within herself. Even now - maybe especialls now.

Claire nods, and beckons for Ellie to join her as she sits on the couch. ]

They're gone. Dean, Cas, Sam. My people, from home. They're... gone. And they're not coming back.

[ Ellie moves further into the room when she's sure Claire isn't going to go off on her. Now, she can tell that there's more than just anger here.

She doesn't hesitate to join the other girl on the couch, close enough to touch, but not crowding. She doesn't usually get so close to people, but Claire isn't just people in her head. Maybe it's not fair to Dina, but so what? Nothing is fucking fair, and Dina isn't here, and who knows if they'll ever get out of here. Ellie isn't about to pretend she doesn't have feelings, not when anyone could die for good at any moment. ]

Holy shit.

[ Her voice is soft, disbelieving. She didn't know Sam or Cas, but she knew Dean. She liked him. He was a good guy. ]

God. I'm so sorry.

[ There's no extra platitudes, no unneeded pity. People die and it's horrible and now the mess in the living room makes sense. Ellie can't say she'd feel differently.

She reaches for Claire's hand. ]

I'm your people, too. I don't know what's gonna happen to us. We'll probably die or some shit. But...we're both still here right now.

[ Right now is all anyone ever has. She's pretty sure Claire knows that too. ]

[ Claire has half a mind to move her leg, just a little. Just nudge her knee against Ellie's, and play it off if called out, but then all she can do while listening is let her breath out, long and slow, deliberate. Ellie's a siege weapon - Claire's walls, cultivated so hard through years of horror, crumble into nothing like they were only ever pape maché.

It should probably embarrass her, how fast she reaches back and slides her hand into Ellies. Should probably scare her something fierce, too.

But Ellie's hand is a tether, and Claire's heart hits hard against her rib cage, and she knows, but she's never told anyone.

She's tired of dying with regret on her tongue, though. ]

I gotta tell you something. And... you might not like hearing it, Ellie. And it might be a shitty thing to say to you, but.

[ Claire's fingers twitch a little in Ellie's hand. Nerves jittering, like there's an instinct there to pull away, to break contact and break vulnerability, but Claire forces herself to hold still. Can't quite bring herself closer, but doesn't move away either.

Stares at her own knees, but leaves her hand in Ellie's.

Thinks of Cas never telling Dean, until Cas died. Thinks of Dean being an idiot right up until he died, too. And now they're both gone, and they're never gonna figure it out properly. They're never gonna know.

Ellie should know. Even if she'll maybe hate it.

Claire's never done this. Told anyone. Kaia's been... the first time anyone sparked interest in Claire, slotting an understanding of self into place that had been previously lacking, a small revelation that had died on the pointed end of a spear before it could become anything with proper, grand weight. And now she's here. ]

Would. Would that be okay? To tell you something just because I need to say it, even if you might not wanna hear it?

[ Ellie's not sure what to expect, listening to Claire talk. She's hesitant in her own affections because there's some weirdness about whether other girls are into girls. She hadn't realised Dina was, after all. But she doesn't think she's got Claire wrong on that front, so...what is this?

She just nods, ignores how her mouth feels dry about it. Feelings are so fucking stupid. ]

I can handle whatever you need to say to me. Yeah, um. Shoot. Whatever you need to say.

[ Claire stares at her own knees for a moment longer, then shifts in her seat, pulls herself further up onto the couch and twists sideways so she can face Ellie. ]

I keep dying. And people keep disappearing or dying on me. So it feels like if I don't tell you, one of us is gonna be gone and then I'll never have said it, and I don't want that to happen again.

[ She swallows hard around the lump that is shaped like Kaia's name. But... here is here. And this is terrifying - but Claire knows the one thing she's got going for herself is stubborn bravery. ]

I like you, Ellie. Like as in way more than friends.

[ Claire tugs a strand of hair behind her ear that immediately falls forwards again. She bites her lips, then shrugs a shoulder. ]

You don't have to like... I don't know, feel the same. For girls, I mean, or for me. You got people back home and I'm not asking you for anything here. But I want you to know, and I want to say it, so. Yeah. I... fuck, I don't know how you're supposed to do this.

[ Claire huffs a harsh breath, not quite a laugh, then makes sure to just look at Ellie and squeeze her hand lightly. ]

I like you, Ellie. And I just... want you to know that.

[ Because Claire might die again and not come back. Or Ellie will vanish and not come back. And then the words will have set in Claire's heart. This is a crush, and it could be more, or she can let it go. But maybe sometimes people deserve to hear how much they mean to others no matter what. ]

[ Ellie has to steel herself, force herself not to react about I keep dying because she hadn't known. There wasn't really a way to know other than finding out from someone else who did, and the only people she'd interacted with had been Five, Yen, Doc, and Malcolm. Well, she puts a pin in that to probably never bring up but also never forget about.

She almost laughs, but not at Claire. Just...like...it's weird how people just assume you're straight. And Ellie herself does that because she knows what happens when you don't. ]

No, I...I definitely like girls.

[ It's still a hard admission. People her own age, she's never gotten shit from. But the people who had lived before apparently just carried their dumbass bigotry through the apocalypse. There were also the freaky cult types, and who knows what those assholes believe.

She turns the words she wants to say over in her head. Fuck, this definitely isn't fair to Dina. But Claire not knowing about Dina isn't fair to Claire.

Ellie isn't very good at being fair. If she's feeling uncharitable, she might blame Joel for that, but...no. In the end, that's all her own shit. ]

I like you too. Like like you.

[ She sighs, fidgets a little, doesn't let go of Claire's hand. ]

I...have a thing back home. I guess? Fuck, I don't know. Look, where we were and what we were doing before I came here, it's...massively fucked up and I'm massively fucked up and I have no idea what that means. But we're not home. I don't know if we ever get to go home. It's like...ticking down the time until one of us doesn't get back up. It would be really fucking stupid to waste it because oh, what if.

[ Ellie knows so well about the steps you don't take. The last time she'd seen Joel alive, or at least alive and able to talk to her, she'd told him she wanted to try to forgive him. At least he knew that. If she'd never told him...well. She'd told him.

Her fingers tighten for a long moment before she manages to look back at Claire's face. ]

There's only now, Claire. There's only ever now.

[ A slow, deep breath. Claire feels odd - lighter, somehow, and also reeling because she's used to things not falling into place. Nothing in her life is easy, or works. And granted - this isn't exactly... without complications, except...

Except it's still kinda simple, isn't it? Simple, and monumental in it.

Claire's... never really done this. Too busy surviving, then too busy finding revenge, then too busy hunting. Who cares about boys in high school when there are monsters in the world, right? Except turns it it wasn't actually the boys that were the problem - Claire just hadn't figured a few things out fully, which combined with her other priorities had left her not really in a place where romance ever became... a Thing. ]

There's... there was... someone, back home. [ Claire fidgets a little. Looks down at their joined hands. ] Kaia. [ It hurts, saying her name. ] Needed her help saving Dean and Sam. We... bonded, I guess. Kinda let me figure some shit out I didn't know before. But she died, because she helped me, right before I came here. Like I mean, right before. [ She's not really aware of it, but her thumb is lightly brushing over Ellie's hand. ] I didn't tell her I liked her when I had the chance. I won't get to tell her now.

[ Claire purses her lips. ]

First time I ever said that out loud.

[ An odd sense of relief in that.

She takes a long, slow breath. Lets the moment sit for a while, just feeling Ellie's hand in hers. Lets herself feel what it's like to like someone... and be liked back. Gives herself the space to figure out if she finds issue with Ellie having someone back home, but having Claire here.

They're not from the same world. They don't know if they'll ever get to go back, and if they do, who knows if they'll remember this place. That hurts - the thought that one day, maybe Ellie will be somewhere and not remember her. What doesn't hurt is knowing that what they have might just be for here, and if they ever get to go home, they'll be nothing but a memory for each other. That's bittersweet, but not a bad thing.

There's only ever now.

Claire feels the way her lips curl into a smile. If her cheeks are a little red, so be it. ]

So you like like me, huh?

[ Ellie's had a couple girlfriends. The first girl she liked died, just like everyone seems to eventually. She'd thought she'd die with Riley. But she hadn't then or any of the myriad other times she should have.

Then there was Cat, and that just didn't work out, but she has Cat's art on her arm forever. She's not sorry about that. And then...Dina. She's not sure what she and Dina are, but if Claire is open enough to share, then...

She's quiet for a minute. ]

I'm sorry, dude. That's...fucking bullshit. That's what I mean, you know? There's only ever now. I'm glad you told me. I'm sorry, um, Kaia didn't get to hear it. That kind of guilt will fuck you up.

[ And doesn't she know it. She has so much survivor's guilt it's like half of her personality.

She sighs, fidgets just a little. ]

There's a girl I like back home. I mean, she knows I do. She kissed me at this like...party, and this older guy got mad because we're not fucking "family friendly" or some shit. You'd think that people wouldn't give a shit about that after the fucking world ended but...men, you know?

[ That says it all, doesn't it? ]

Dina went to Seattle with me. I mean...that's where I was when I came here. She...she realised she was pregnant after we got there? So that's fucked up, right? God, I hope she got home. Our friend Jesse, uh...her baby's father, I guess...he showed up and if he didn't take her home, I'll fucking kill him.

[ She lets out a breath she doesn't mean to hold and squeezes Claire's hand. ]

Listen, I guess it's shitty, but...Dina and I aren't, like...I don't know. I don't know what we are. But that doesn't change that I like you.

[ She laughs a little at that like like thing. ]

I mean, you know. I guess I like like you. It's not like you're super hot and have great hair or anything.

[ Claire worries her bottom lip between her teeth a little, listening, and trying to feel out what it means on her own end. What she feels isn't surprising. It just... fits. ]

Look, we... don't know what comes after here. If we'll have missed time at home. If we ever get to go back. And if we do, fuck, we might not remember this place. But...

[ She smiles, faintly, and the way she flicks her hair back a little is caught somewhere between self-consciousness and self-confidence. ]

If here and now is all we get, I'm okay with that. We don't have to put a name to it, or like... I don't know, make grand promises the universe won't let us keep either way.

[ She doesn't let go of Ellie's hand, but searches her eyes. ]

But I mean if you were looking for a hot biker barbie with great hair to be like... your friend or your girl or your girl friend or whatever, for now, for here, for whatever we get, then... I think I could fill the part. And if you maybe wanted to be my super awesome, swoon-worthy whatever, too, then... well. I'd be down, y'know. I could do that. I think I'd like that.

[ Ellie shakes her head no at first. No, she doesn't want to think about what happens, if they forget. Sure, she wants to go home, but she doesn't want to forget, not Henry and Raylan and Malcolm and Dean and Five and sure as fuck not Claire.

But when Claire looks at her again, really looks at her, she can't help but smile. ]

I mean...I wasn't looking or anything. But...it's pretty fucking lucky that I found someone who fits that description, huh?

[ Her smile goes a little wider. It's so rare that she finds a reason to actually smile here. It was rare back home too; Joel's death still tears that hole inside her, a hole she can't help but fall into just as often as not. But it's moments like these that pull her back out.

Her hand tightens on Claire's again. ]

I think I'd like that too. A lot.

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037-040 » the reason for time

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