Jayden just been getting used to the idea of this place not being so bad, falling into a weird but manageable pattern, keeping what he thinks is a reasonable handle on the stress of somehow ending up in another dimension. Or, as he's also considered, an extremely long-lasting and detailed hallucination, but the 'other dimension' thing is the better case scenario and so he had decided to go with that.
But now he's not so sure that's right, because now this feels more like a nightmare than any sort of real life, such a sudden shift to fantastical and horrific that the surreal shock he feels now is much stronger than he'd felt on first arrival in this world. It's so utterly overwhelming that all he can really do is try to break it down and to take each problem one at a time.
Try to stay hydrated. Maybe worry about food, though that's a lower priority than water. Try to find or make a weapon. Pay attention to the others trapped in this place as well, stay on guard, but try to help those who need it. Watch for opportunities, whether for information or supplies or escape routes. Stay calm, and focused, and use both his experience and that degree he spent all that time and money on to try and actually figure out anything that might be useful.
But no matter how he tries to do any one of those things, there's just too much at once. He's good in a crisis, quick-witted and resourceful during a few tense minutes of life-or-death negotiation or action, and even for the more extended period of a few days working a high-pressure case. But those situations are both vastly different from this, this constant looming dread and need to be endlessly alert, and it's taking a toll very quickly.
Although he knows logically that conserving energy is vital in a situation like this, sitting still is out of the question. So instead he stays busy as much as possible, keeping to himself for the most part, but occasionally engaging with others as it seems warranted.
One such time is while pondering a tunnel, trying to decide if he wants to risk what every movie ever tells him would be a terrible idea, which is to reach into it and see what can be found. He glances over at someone else apparently considering the same thing, and decides to just ask.]
What d'you think the likelihood of losing a hand to this is?
[Another time is when the sound of a horrifying shriek rings through the cavern, which is followed only moments later by the sudden appearance of a terrifying spindly limb reaching for anything--or anyone--it can grab. Jayden hasn't seen it before now, but he's heard the warnings from some of those here for much longer, and after only a brief moment of frozen shock he grabs the arm of whoever's nearby to pull them back toward a wall and hopefully away from the creature's reach.
He also spends some time paying attention to the Acolytes whenever they show themselves, trying to glean anything at all that might be useful in understanding their motives and predicting their actions. But that also leads to noticing that a few seem hurt--he hopes one of them is the one he kicked hard in the knee during his own abduction--and, with that, there might be an opportunity if they act quickly enough.
So it's quietly, under his breath, that he murmurs to whoever is nearby--]
Week One | OTA
Jayden just been getting used to the idea of this place not being so bad, falling into a weird but manageable pattern, keeping what he thinks is a reasonable handle on the stress of somehow ending up in another dimension. Or, as he's also considered, an extremely long-lasting and detailed hallucination, but the 'other dimension' thing is the better case scenario and so he had decided to go with that.
But now he's not so sure that's right, because now this feels more like a nightmare than any sort of real life, such a sudden shift to fantastical and horrific that the surreal shock he feels now is much stronger than he'd felt on first arrival in this world. It's so utterly overwhelming that all he can really do is try to break it down and to take each problem one at a time.
Try to stay hydrated. Maybe worry about food, though that's a lower priority than water. Try to find or make a weapon. Pay attention to the others trapped in this place as well, stay on guard, but try to help those who need it. Watch for opportunities, whether for information or supplies or escape routes. Stay calm, and focused, and use both his experience and that degree he spent all that time and money on to try and actually figure out anything that might be useful.
But no matter how he tries to do any one of those things, there's just too much at once. He's good in a crisis, quick-witted and resourceful during a few tense minutes of life-or-death negotiation or action, and even for the more extended period of a few days working a high-pressure case. But those situations are both vastly different from this, this constant looming dread and need to be endlessly alert, and it's taking a toll very quickly.
Although he knows logically that conserving energy is vital in a situation like this, sitting still is out of the question. So instead he stays busy as much as possible, keeping to himself for the most part, but occasionally engaging with others as it seems warranted.
One such time is while pondering a tunnel, trying to decide if he wants to risk what every movie ever tells him would be a terrible idea, which is to reach into it and see what can be found. He glances over at someone else apparently considering the same thing, and decides to just ask.]
What d'you think the likelihood of losing a hand to this is?
[Another time is when the sound of a horrifying shriek rings through the cavern, which is followed only moments later by the sudden appearance of a terrifying spindly limb reaching for anything--or anyone--it can grab. Jayden hasn't seen it before now, but he's heard the warnings from some of those here for much longer, and after only a brief moment of frozen shock he grabs the arm of whoever's nearby to pull them back toward a wall and hopefully away from the creature's reach.
He also spends some time paying attention to the Acolytes whenever they show themselves, trying to glean anything at all that might be useful in understanding their motives and predicting their actions. But that also leads to noticing that a few seem hurt--he hopes one of them is the one he kicked hard in the knee during his own abduction--and, with that, there might be an opportunity if they act quickly enough.
So it's quietly, under his breath, that he murmurs to whoever is nearby--]
Think we could take 'em?