EVENT #10: AFFLICTION - IC POST

[abraxasmods]

Event #10 - Affliction

go to the OOC event info & plotting post

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With tensions heavy across Abraxas and all the destruction that's happened, it's no surprise that the dark shadows which sweep over the land go unnoticed...at first.

Winds initially stir in Solvunn, where the influence of the Old Gods remains the strongest. Slowly each Herald infects Thorne and the Free Cities, as well. The Summoned are the first to feel its effects and are the most heavily impacted.

Though no one will realize it until well afterwards, Nocwich remains unaffected. After all, the Summoned don't reside there.

NOTE: This event will deal with themes of death (people and animal) and horror imagery.

Emergence

It begins sometime in mid-October, around the 18th. Not everyone will experience it at the same time. You might even believe you're spared until days afterwards when you're visited by an unusually vivid dream.

The dream starts the same for everyone: you are going somewhere, anywhere, walking to your bedroom or enjoying a stroll on the beach. You might be driving down a familiar neighborhood. Wherever you're headed, you eventually come upon a stone tablet engraved with your Arcana. Laid on the tablet are three objects:

◎ A dead moth trapped inside a wilted rose, symbolizing Koth of Festering Lands
◎ A teacup inside which sits a single nightshade berry, symbolizing Adlewyrd of Poisoned Tongues
◎ An ornate cracked hand mirror that contains no reflection, symbolizing Sannleikr of Many Faces

Make a choice. Something inside your soul will be drawn towards one of the objects. Maybe you spend hours in the dream deliberating, but sooner or later, you'll pick one of the items up. The moment you do, the other objects vanish and the chosen Herald appears before you. Where one might expect a god to seek subservience, the strange figure instead extends a friendly hand towards you - as though it's greeting you as an equal.

Whispered around you, you hear its name. Then it fades and with it the dream. You awaken.

Affliction

You go about your day as usual. That's when you realize something isn't right. Creatures and people around you behave strangely. You begin to sense that you are the cause.

Depending on your chosen Herald, you'll experience at least one of its afflictions. The effects might start small, then grow. They might rush you all at once. You can't shake what haunts you, though you can try. Spells, potions, and willpower can help keep the afflictions at bay but you won't ever be completely free.

As the afflictions seep into your mind, you start to find shadows of it following you: a dead moth here, a nightshade bloom there, a cracked mirror elsewhere. You may even wonder if it's following you in the first place. What if instead, you are the one leaving these signs behind?

Corruption

The first time you inflict your ability on someone else, you don't mean to. It might be a stranger, some unsuspecting soul, or it might be another Summoned. Regardless, the afflictions that ail you seem to spread through you into another. Someone falls down as if in the throes of an invisible death or secrets spill. You brush by someone and they're suddenly upset and confused.

The more this happens, intentionally or not, the better you feel. You may grow full of life and energy, gain a renewed strength of heart, or radiate a charm that turns heads and garners compliments. The afflictions haunting you could even start to fade or completely vanish. And if you use your newfound power deliberately? You'll feel better even faster for longer. Of course, these boons are temporary, lasting at most an hour or so. When the feeling wanes, you might miss having it.

You are not possessed. You can't control this power that spreads through you, but how you respond or behave is up to you. You could be attracted to the allure of power, enjoy the boons you are granted, or realize you can gain relief from your afflictions if you choose a victim. Not everyone will fall headfirst into the pull. Some are not easily swayed by power, some struggle to overcome their dark impulses, and others would rather endure their suffering than inflict it on someone else. But others still might succumb to temptation and turn on those around them with purpose: once, twice, multiple times. The choice you make is yours alone.

Blight

With the call of the Herald at your fingertips, the world around you twists. No one knows whether this stems from you and your newly imbued afflictions, or if the Heralds are exerting power on their own. It's for sure easier to think of what occurs as the influence of something monstrous beyond your control. No matter the cause, the earth is changed all the same.

Omens

The omens arrive shortly after the initial Summoned receive their dreams, but they don't come to every faction at once. SOLVUNN is first, being home to the Old Gods' shrines, before THORNE and the FREE CITIES follow only days afterwards. Depending on where you are, the omens will affect things a bit differently.

Solvunn

In Solvunn, the ground stirs. A desiccated hand breaks through the grass, a cloven hoof. Human or animal, they crawl forth, animated against their will. Some might attack, but most do not. At the same time, crops around the settlements begin to fail. Some chickens lay rotten eggs while cows produce spoiled milk. Any livestock that perishes overnight will surface in the mornings with empty eye sockets - pecked out by crows or gnawed on by rats. From a distance, the ocean can be seen bubbling as leviathans beneath thrash.

Worth noting is that many of the dead are concentrated around the shrines, especially the ones deep in the woods. They're too decayed to recognize, and some might not even move from the site, as though they are waiting for the earth to take them again...or as though they once chose to give up their life at this very spot.

Summoned can assist by helping to cast spells or place warding charms around shrines, farms, and gardens to protect crops and livestock. As a commune, the Solvunnites will share their resources as much as possible and would appreciate those who might lend a hand bringing supplies, herbs, and offerings to neighbors who are lacking. The Summoned can also brew a common herbal remedy to aid any animals who have fallen ill or to help purify the well water.

Free Cities

In Libertas, the dead buried under the rubble dig themselves out. More crawl forth from graves in Cadens' cemeteries. Beasts and bandits slain in the desert wilds rise, hungry or searching for the ones who killed them. At the same time, dead fish wash up onto the shores of Aquila while birds fall dead from their perch, dropping like flies from an unknown illness. Vultures and other scavengers begin to prey upon the eyes of the dead, leaving behind hollowed-out corpses.

Worth noting is that in the Badlands, a few very old and skeletal corpses rise with a metal plate or two screwed onto their bones, which are also oddly elongated. Only one or two make their way near the city. The army is quick to dispose of them before many can notice. They will not disclose any information about this and will claim these are just monsters like anything else.

Summoned can assist by going on patrol with the soldiers to put down any risen dead. Merchant caravans are also hiring escorts for their journeys. Additionally, they can help look through any received supplies and packages to make sure the food isn't rotting or worse, use a special dissolving compound to purify the waters, and donate staple food items to refugees and the less fortunate who can't afford the rising prices.

Thorne

In Thorne, the dead emerge only from the outskirts of the castle city. Thanks to information from one of their Summoned and their recent monitoring of the Singularity, Thorne was able to act swiftly and was able to ward any royal or otherwise significant burial sites. Graves and tombs of less importance, though, will not be protected in the same way. There are fewer encounters with eyeless corpses, though some animals might appear outside the castle in such a state. Normally extravagant dishes from the Castle's kitchens use simpler ingredients as they struggle to ration their food stores.

Worth noting is that a few unexpected corpses make their way up from deep under the castle in places beyond the dungeons. These are twisted and mangled, missing limbs, heads, fingers. The castle guards are quick to dispose of them before they get too far into the rest of the castle, but one or two may be spotted.

Summoned can assist by contributing to the wards around Castle Thorne and the city, using spells to put down the dead without mangling the corpse, and taking inventory of food stores. Further, in Nott the situation is more dire for anyone who is traveling there to continue assisting with repairs following the attack. Nott will welcome help with any problems caused by the omens. It'll be clear the kingdom has neglected the city somewhat. Thorne will claim the Castle takes priority, of course, due to King and Queen residing there along with the entire royal court.

Apprehensions

Across the factions, locals are beginning to catch on that something isn't right with you, the Summoned. No one will say it outright, but there's an air of caution and wariness around you where you go. Merchants might be quick to hand you your wares so you'll leave or locals give you a bit of space when they walk by. Chatty innkeepers are more reluctant to hold lengthy conversations.

Much of the time, it may not be conscious. The natives might simply sense something off that instinctually makes them want to put some distance between them and you. The only exception? If you've chosen Sannleikr of Many Faces, you'll continue to exude your charm towards people you encounter. At least for as long as you continue to inflict that ability you've been gifted.

Displacement

Everyone responds differently while in the Horizon. You might exert better willpower over your afflictions or you might feel its effects more strongly. It all depends on the individual and their mindset. Regardless, the Heralds are only one part of the equation. There's a much bigger disturbance going on.

It could happen as soon as you enter or it might be as you're stepping over the threshold into another's domain. Whatever the case, you are suddenly not where you're supposed to be. Instead, you're in one of two places depending: transported into a domain you never meant to go into or in a foreign setting altogether.

Visitation

Whether you're the one transported or someone teleports unexpectedly into your space, the Horizon becomes unpredictable for the next little while. Rooms normally locked to strangers, areas you yourself may not even realize exists - you and your fellow Summoned continue to pop in and out despite your intentions.

The effect isn't painful, just disorienting, like missing a step you didn't see or stumbling through a door into a too-bright room. The person whose domain you've inadvertently visited might sense an unwanted presence, whether they're inside the Horizon or not, or they may be completely oblivious. This will depend on the strength of their connection to the Singularity and the Horizon.

Not to worry. You won't be trapped or anything in these cases...unless the domain you land in happens to seal from the inside. You might stumble on secrets you weren't meant to find, though, locked away in someone else's mind.

Ensnared

The less fortunate will be pulled into a space that they've never encountered before. The bizarreness of it resembles the glitchy visions that flashed through a few months ago, but rather than an image flickering by, you are now inside the space itself.

Trapped between minutes to hours, you can't use the Horizon's creation magic as normal. Attempts will falter or go sideways: trying to fly out might cause you to tumble, tools and objects are broken or not quite right, wounds don't vanish or heal completely, etc. More significantly, you can't seem to send or receive messages through your connection. Anything that manages to come through will be garbled and distorted. It's as though the place you are in is just out of the reach of your control.

Luckily, you may not be alone. Someone else may have gotten lost alongside you. They might already be there when you stumble through or they might arrive after you do. They might even fade out sooner than you, unintentionally leaving you behind.

Eventually, you'll be released back into the Horizon proper, spat out in a random place in the Horizon. While you're stuck, though, you can try to survive, explore, sit and wait it out, or make friends with your fellow trapped partner. Each area has its challenges and quirks that you'll need to deal with.

Scenes to Explore

JUSTICE ◎
FULL IMAGE

High in the clouds, these snowy peaks are as cold as they look. Giant marble hands reach out, though their sheer scale means you might not recognize them as hands from up close. You can scale the mountain, but if you try to go down, the hands will flip the mountain, which sends you tumbling to the top again.

It's up to you whether you can be injured when you fall. Maybe the snow will feel like marshmallows, or you'll break a bone on the jagged rocks. No two experiences are the same. If you have a partner, they could end up faring better than you despite being in the same place.

Conjure some warm clothes or a log cabin even if you wish - they might not manifest perfectly, but it'll be better than nothing. At least the view's fairly nice...while the sun is up. A blizzard will come through by nightfall. With it arrives a strange hovering light that entices you or your friend to follow it into the frozen darkness. What draws you out depends on you. It could be a familiar voice, an image, or a simple compulsion. If you're lucky, the person with you is unaffected and can try to stop you. Or maybe you're the one desperately chasing after the other person?

---

THE CHARIOT ◎
FULL IMAGE

From a distance, it's hard to tell if they're shipping containers or houses stacked atop each other. A gooey mess covers the ground below. Oddly, the smell isn't as unpleasant as the goo looks. It smells like bubblegum or cotton candy, artificial and sweet. When you first fall in, you might land inside one of the homes, on top of the stacked structure, or the ground. You can try to reach anyone else who's there with you, but be careful: the ooze is spreading. Climb if you must or move from room to room. If you don't keep moving, you risk getting sucked into its sticky mass.

Each block of a home is different. Some are furnished, whereas others are empty or filled with strange knickknacks. Some might even have subconscious creations spawned by you. Keep ahead of the gloopy substance, and you'll be fine, probably. Or you can try to fight it back or block its path by sealing yourself in a room or otherwise, which can slow it down significantly. Mostly, you'll have to hope you fade out before the pink mass completely consumes the landscape.

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THE WORLD ◎
FULL IMAGE

The hazy neon glow obscures a nothingness that seems to extend forever. In the middle of the wet ground are several stacked television sets with wires plugged into nothing. Inexplicably, there's also a cat. At first, it appears perfectly normal, but keen observers will notice that its behavior is on a loop where it will walk a certain path, pause at specific intervals to lick its paws, and meow at set points. It does not acknowledge any of its intruders. You can break its loop by picking it up, at which point it'll go limp as a ragdoll. As soon as you set it down, it'll resume its actions as before.

While you can see the same images as someone else on the screens, it's also possible you'll each see something different despite being in the room together. What you see is up to you. It could be an old fuzzy movie, home videos of your childhood, trivia questions you have to answer correctly, or even a memory or vision you wouldn't want to share. Words or faces taunting you could appear between staticky flickers, or maybe your very thoughts are projected onto the screens for anyone with you to read.

Break the televisions if you want, but given a few short minutes, they'll reform between one blink and the next. Looks like you'll have to keep watching until you're released.

---

THE FOOL ◎
FULL IMAGE

Sprawling and massive, you're unlikely to recognize at first that you're trapped in a labyrinth. Stone walls rise around you, and your surroundings are pitchblack. Manifest a torch or a flashlight if you can, though these will be prone to going out at inopportune times. Escaping over the walls will only send you into another section in the maze.

As you navigate the twisting corridors, you'll encounter any variety of trials and troubles: gaps in the ground, spiked traps, haunting whispers, monsters, decaying corpses. Some of these might've formed from your mind, others might've spawned from anyone else who's trapped with you.

If you aren't alone, do your best to locate your fellow Summoned. Voices do carry and echo over the walls, and there could be landmarks that help you find each other. Finding the exit, however, is another matter. Walk and climb all you want. A way out is impossible until the Horizon chooses to set you free.

Players can pick any scenario that interests them from the four choices above. Unlike the visions from before, characters can accidentally be trapped in as many of the scenes as you want, as many times as you want. Another option is that they can stay trapped in only one scene while a variety of characters fade in and out to join them, or some combination of the two. Choose what works best for your plans.

Each scene will once again carry an associated Arcana etched somewhere inside it, which can change from person to person or instance to instance. It might be on a wall, a table, or on the ground. Characters with a stronger connection to the Horizon are likely to be trapped for longer but the extent of this is your choice and it won't ever exceed a few hours. It's also your choice whether the afflictions continue to haunt them or not. If you want characters to deal with both problems while stuck together, you're welcome to!

Generally speaking, there are no restrictions other than that they won't be able to communicate with anyone outside the area, they can't escape it until the Horizon chooses to release them, and their creation magic will go wrong just enough that it'll make things tricky.

Comments

[ushiri]

[ He blinks, forcefully shrugging back those thoughts of John with guilt flashing across his features for a second along with minor confusion - then immediate guilt again. ]

No - [ he starts, releasing Jack's wrists as he straightens to sit up and remove himself, shooting him another look of confusion and concern without elaborating more on the latter question. ] ... I might've tried to stab you first.

[ He starts to stand now in one swift, graceful movement, and offers his hand to Jack to help him do the same. ] ... you don't remember that?

[ Let's focus on that part. ]

[stations]

Okay.

( It's an instant response following that no, and even he isn't totally sure why he sounds a little relieved. There's something there in the back of his mind, there's a reason. It itches, and he's almost about to scratch it when Kyle offers him that hand up.

He takes it, picks himself up off the floor, and the itch burrows deeper.

You don't remember that? )

No, not really. ( Distinctly less relieved. After a pause: ) Are you sure?

( Which is the stupidest possible question he could ask, but he just- he doesn't like accepting it when he's confronted with another black spot on his memory. It's a difficult pill to swallow.

The proof is right there on Kyle's bleeding forearm, though. )

[londonbound]

O-oh.

[ Rhy has no idea what to say to that. (Jaskier was hurting the tree?)

He has no idea how long he's been gone; in that senseless, awful place, time had been a void of nothingness that stretched forever. He equally has no idea how he's escaped, and it's only now catching up to him that this is the Horizon as he knows it. Moglad is proof of that, even if Jaskier isn't here.

He needs to wake up. He needs to leave, make sure he can--

But the Moogle's little paws warm his face, soaking up his tears, and that little bit of tenderness is the only thing he wants to cling to right now. ]

I'm sorry.

[ Moglad is too small to properly hug, but Rhy tries, holding him in his hands against his chest as the cloak covers him with a comforting weight. ]

[londonbound]

[ Rhy isn't sure what to say to that. He doesn't feel like shouting about how awful it is to look at these corpses washing up on the oily shore, the black ichor that drenches the sand, how cold it is even when he tries to manifest himself a warmer cloak or how nothing comes out right. He's walked for hours, and nothing changes. The black coast continues, endlessly.

Instead, after a moment, Rhy raises his voice again into the wind. ]

Who are you?

[wiedzminka]

By now, she's figured it out. The visions, the monstrous illusions, the way others recoil at times when she touches them. She's realized she can do it on purpose. She's realized how much stronger it makes her feel.

The first time or two had been an accident; now, she lashes out, and when he shudders and gasps, caught in the distraction of the illusion, Ciri can feel the energy suffusing her body, power tingling through her limbs.

She summons a sword. It's cracked and chipped, clearly wrong, but it's better than nothing. The catlike beast snarls and jumps up to free itself, but Ciri takes advantage of it being caught even briefly. She comes in with a brutal swing from above, cleanly detaching its head from its body.

With the danger in a momentary lull (doors tightly shut, that creepy pink goo still trying to slither its way inside), Ciri rounds on her companion as he yells for a truce.

"Why? I don't even know who you are! What do you even want?"

[wiedzminka]

This is still the Horizon, isn't it? Just--

[ She tries it even as she begins to suggest it, automatically, but nothing happens. She can't will herself anywhere else. She can't step outside, back into the physical realm.

The confusion and surprise cross her face clearly. Ciri stares at him. ]

Never mind, then.

[ It had been obvious when he said he's been trapped for an hour, but she had to try. Ciri's jaw tightens, and her eyes flick from Dean's face to something behind him. Still just a stone wall, but-- ]

Hold on. Do you hear that?

[ A low grinding, scraping noise. Slowly getting louder. ]

sorry for the wait!

[wiedzminka]

[ It seems her impromptu companion might be having better luck with weapons than Ciri is, at least. That's her only takeaway when she sees the woman reach for a sword. ]

Very big ugly cow!

[ They don't have a lot of time. Ciri reaches her first but the bull is close behind. If the stranger means to stand and fight, Ciri doesn't intended to just keep running past her.

She spins to a stop beside the other woman, scrambling to pull anything useful out of the Horizon, a bow or a crossbow or even a fucking knife.

A fork appears. Ciri swears. ]

[wiedzminka]

[ They may not have left their little rendezvous on the best terms in the Horizon last time they spoke in any meaningful way, but Ciri's not about to hold a grudge in a circumstance like this. Wanda is closer to an ally than an enemy; she doesn't stop to second-guess.

When the other woman blasts a hole through the ceiling, Ciri jumps for it. She catches the side, hauls herself up with a grunt and scrambles over.

A moment later, she turns with the intent of reaching back down the hole to pull Wanda up, if she needs it. ]

[photophobic]

Unfortunately for Ronan, the turmoil stirred within him by Kylo's rejection only serves to prolong the unfortunate. Kylo stares at Ronan with wild, naked fury not because he sees the roiling storm ordinarily hidden at the core of him, but because the shattered mirror's unwelcome reflection has transferred itself onto Ronan's face. Kylo sees himself. His other self.

"I killed you," he hisses. Seethes. His fingers curl, tight. Should it even be possible, for the mages to have summoned him twice? Ben belongs to the past— but so, he remembers as he glares at the boy he destroyed, does his grandfather.

"You're dead."

[photophobic]

It's probably the worst thing she could have done— which is immediately obvious in way his expression shifts. He never enjoys hearing that name, but here and now it inflicts a wound. He all but staggers back physically from the blow.

She hadn't meant to hurt him, though, which he can feel so clearly he has to suck in a fresh lungful of air between his gritted teeth. She hadn't meant to hurt him at all.

"Rey," he replies. It isn't barbed with bitterness. It's possible this is as close as Kylo Ren comes to experiencing relief. "It's you."

As in, it's really you. As if he's been fighting through an army of impostors to reach her.

"It's you."

[ushiri]

[ They'd shared time in the baths at Nocwich, this isn't the first time he's seen Rhy naked and he shouldn't allow his gaze to wander as much as he finds it doing now suddenly, blatantly as Rhy speaks. He notes the strange scars etched into his skin, wonders a bit at how they came to be - who would hurt Rhy. It causes him to frown a bit, distracted.

Even the dead don't want to stay dead anymore.

The bark of a laugh sounds too harsh and bitter, it has Kahlil's gaze flicking back up to meet Rhy's with a furrowed brow. He's surprised to find how close they are in the seconds before Rhy breaches the rest of the gap. His heart beats rapidly against his ribs, pupils blowing wide in response to wanting and being wanted. Something old and broken within him still tries to resist, speaking in Dayyid's voice: sinful, unclean, abomination. But that voice isn't as strong as it once was, and he remembers that the man who it belonged to is long dead.

Why should he continue to punish himself here, in a place where no one cares who you take to bed?

(he stops thinking about how much Rhy might've had to drink, the difference in their ages, every and all reason he might have to resist, they slip from his mind along with Dayyid)

Care to be one? he's asked, and so he answers by slipping his hands beneath the water around Rhy's waist, pulling him the rest of the way forward and leaning in to press their lips together with a rough, naked desire as he half drags the other man into his lap. ]

[nightwash]

Ronan exhales through his teeth, a breath of relief despite the madness he's facing. Whatever Kylo's seeing right now, it's not the Lace. Or, if it is, it's showing him something other than Ronan.

"Kylo," he says, firm and unwavering. "Look closer."

Though he's fully aware of the danger he's inviting, Ronan takes a step toward Kylo. He doesn't expect Kylo to look into his face, however. It's his mind that will show Kylo the proof he needs to see past the illusion. How many hours have they spent together now, Kylo raking through his brain to examine every thought? He probably knows Ronan better than Ronan knows himself.

[nightwash]

"It's a nightmare," Ronan answers. "It'll show you whatever's gonna fuck you up most."

He can't help but think of his own worst dream. Sleeping. Waking from a dream. Wandering to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror. His own reflection calling out to him. Ronan! Waking from a dream. Wandering to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror. His own reflection calling out to him. Ronan! Waking from a dream. Wandering to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror. His own reflection calling out to him. Ronan! Again. Again. Again.

He's not sure he ever woke up.

"What's the situation with you and your brother? Why would it be showing that to you?"

cw, gore

[cryptsleeper]

[What's wrong couldn't get an answer if Alucard tried. There's something metal slicing through his neck. He can feel the arteries race to heal themselves, but the blade keeps moving, too fast and too slow, until there's no attachments at all and--

--Alucard is naturally pale. He is now corpse white, and he takes a sudden uneasy step towards the nearest wall, one hand held out with palm flat to support himself, the other grasping at his own neck to ensure his head is still there.]

Something...[Very helpful, Al.] A vision descended.

[princessvegas]

[ She doesn't actually mean to be dismissive. In fact, she's probably one of the few people in Abraxas who can truly understand what Rhy is going through, being surrounded by corpses. Her default to this kind of thing is just a kind of blank glibness borne from helplessness.

She is also genuinely afraid of the way the humming sends cracks through this earth, opens giant gaping fissures that seem to go nowhere. She can't tell how long she has before there's no ground left to stand on and she falls to her death. ]

Julie. [ The brief hesitation before she calls her name into the air is irrational fear that she is somehow being tricked, that the voice is just another cruel piece of all of this. She knows that's probably super stupid, but she can't help it. ] You?

[catholica]

But now you're here to what — laugh at me? At all this?

( the screens flick back on and the cat reappears. matt doesn't even pay attention to what he sees but he can hear karen's voice, angry and disappointed as he, once again, let's her down.

he puts his hands over his ears and grimaces. )

Go ahead and have a laugh, then. Do it.

[catholica]

( the dead. his stomach twists at the word and he groans, rolling over onto his stomach and pressing his face into the dirt. it's warm, doesn't bring him any clarity but at least he can feel it. )

I don't see Libertas.

( he wishes he did. )

What — are you? What are you?

[bealufull]

Kaz's chest heaves, lip curled as sharp eyes glare at her as if all the ills of the world fell on her shoulders. A darkness and anger that so much a part of him but nothing he's shown in this place. It hadn't benefited him to let it show, after all.

Now he doesn't care about that, just all snarling, wet cat over the reminders of his youth, of his first life ending, of losing his brother.

"It just happened on accident?"

Yet there's a crack to his voice because he knows. Or think that he does. The rot, the sickness, she can taste it too. Or so he assumes.

"Do you know what it is?" His voice is at one harsh and furtive in turn.

[bealufull]

The shift is noticeable, clear, and yet it is not gaining an inch from the man staring at Jesper with ice hollow and cold and unyielding. Another time and place and had Jesper tried this Kaz might well have found himself tongue tied. Tongue tied and maybe even curious.

All of that is burned out of him though. Covered in the stench of rot and as spoilt as fruit left out in the sun.

He moves very slowly, very deliberately, closing his fingers around Jesper's wrist in a tight grip. Not jerking his hand away, just pressing his thumb into the tendon between the bones.

"Whatever has gotten to you? None of is will benefit you with a broken wrist, Jesper, so do not try that again."

Yet he doesn't break his wrist as he would have with someone else without a word. Just a sharp rap of the crow's head and been done with it. He can't help the anger within him though. Both at the feeble attempt that only made his cheeks flare red and hurt in ways he is not used to coping with and from the rot that eats away at his soul.

"What I want is for you to accompanying me back to the boarding house. Do not make me have to find a way to lug your unconscious body there. Do not make me hunt you down. You know what I'm capable of, Jesper. Do not make me unleash it on you."

Because he wants to unleash it all on someone. He wants to show this place just what Dirtyhands is capable of. Not with Jesper though. Not if he can avoid it.

[ushiri]

[ Are you sure? and he frowns at Jack, but his response isn't as flippant or sardonic as he might be if someone else had asked. ]

What's the last thing you do remember?

[ Maybe start from there. His eyebrows knit together as he eyes Jack, his gaze lingering for a moment on a stray strand of hair curling over his brow.

Without thinking he reaches up and gently brushes it back into place. At the same time something in him recoils, aware again that he's just stepped beyond polite boundaries - but that sensation that should've stopped him from doing it in the first place feels dull and distant. ]

[nadine_he_loves]

"Thanks...."

Now that her presence is known, Nadine takes a moment to look around the...room? It's unlike anything she's ever seen, outside of science fiction television. Is this where Garrus came from?

"Uh, no, I can't say I remember this sort of thing happening before." The Horizon has behaved bizarrely before, but this is something new. She rakes her hair back and sighs, coming further in.

"Things have been a little weird lately, but...I don't know what's going on with the Horizon. I'm guessing you haven't had any other surprise visitors?"

[a_better_man]

He'd been right, that is Jesper.

And Mat's able to follow his voice, carefully crawling along the edge to the adjacent side. There he is, down below...and light, that doesn't look safe.

"Fucking hell...Jes, be careful!" That ooze...it looks as though it's sucking at the bottom of the structure. Could it possibly climb it? It couldn't...could it? Fuck. They're in the Horizon, there are no impossibilities here.

The only thing he's certain of is that they need to keep away from that ooze.

"Let me try and...make a rope, or something..."

[a_better_man]

"Fuck."

Mat has found himself trapped, but not for days. He can't imagine being trapped in one of those awful places for days at a time. Can't imagine what that would to a person. For all the wonders the Horizon offers, there are horrific implications hidden there as well.

"You're alright now. You're back with us and I am not about to let go of you. I've come to check on you every day."

[godshattering]

[ The words are likely platitudes at best - something Claude knows well from feeling the same about his parents telling him the same during worse moments - but. Maybe if he's lucky they'll sink in anyway, or seem less trite, or--

Or he'll get the response he gets from Wilhelm. At first he merely blinks, the only sign of being caught ever so slightly off-guard by what Claude sees as an abrupt change from the politeness before. Then it's there a second later as Wilhelm clearly looks uncomfortable, and Claude studies him just to give him some time to recover before offering a snort of laughter. Easy enough to breeze right on by if that's what the other prefers based on looking like he's wishing the ground might swallow him whole at this point in time, and to put all the usual charm back into play (unknowingly) with or without Sannleikr's help. ]

Wilhelm. I just told you I used to hear some pretty terrible things so believe me, being told I talk too much? That's not only true, but so far down on the list of the worst things I've been told that it doesn't even rank.

[ Now he tilts his head, considering. With everything that's been going on, attitudes being different hadn't been something he'd mentally kept on the list of everything going wrong. Sure, Sylvain's mood hasn't been great and Petra's is understandably also varied, but is it one more to add to the list? Who even knows. ]

Regardless, you don't have to listen to me. For all you know I'm just some guy whose pond you fell into doing my best impression of grandfatherly advice, even though I'd rather not be thought of as old.

[hextechhead]

Jayce has only been in one fight in his life and while he did very, very well within it, the adrenaline he feels has the most to explain for that. In the moment he felt invincible, especially as the fight went on. It isn't the same when facing some monstrous creatures though and while the hammer glows brighter and brighter, it doesn't seem like he knows how to actually blow them apart or away from him. There will always be something holding him back from violence now, even to protect himself.

He blocks instead of fights, but he is thrown off by the sudden appearance of water around him. This would really seem like an outright strange nightmare if he was dreaming, but he is fairly sure he is (or was?) in the Horizon. If he can barely fight off ghouls, he has absolutely nothing to help him when he's dragged into the water abruptly. Jayce would have swam or fought if he didn't hear Wanda's voice. And because he trusts her, he immediately listens to her, although he can't exactly hang on to anything. His heart pounds and he feels like he might get sick from the tipping over. He has a weak stomach.

He manages to keep it together and gasping as if afraid there is no air, leaning on the ground. The hammer is gone, having disappeared during the water adventure, and Jayce feels so out of sorts. Like the world literally just spun around him. He looks up at Wanda, confused, and struggles to his feet.

"I'm not leaving you here, are you kidding me? This is insane!" She just told him that it was her domain, so arguably she is there for a reason, but it doesn't matter. She's his friend.