[hatch log / mission: hyrypia] the winds that will be howling at all hours

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: New Hosts & EVERYONE
WHERE: Station 72; Hyrypia - Naerstone House
WHEN: DAY :002 - :003
SUMMARY: New hosts hatch on the Station, are briefed, then make their way to Hyrypia to join the rest of the hosts… while they attend a very important history lesson.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. Need a warning added? PM this account please!

STATION 72
DAY :002

NEW HATCHES
YOU WAKE UP are are suddenly changed. --No. That's not right. You're you and there's no suddenly about it. It's been a while, hasn't it? It feels like waking up from a very deep, extended sleep or surfacing up from the darkness of some wine dark sea. Nothing is different and everything is because right there in your own head there's something both familiar and strange. You know intuitively that you've been unconscious for more than just a blink of the eye.

But here you are, a small miracle of the multiverse: lying in a small, faintly hexagonal chamber with a gentle white light emanating from the surrounding walls. If you were injured during your escape, those injuries have been healed. If you were anxious or frightened or distraught, those feelings have been calmed. There's something peaceful about waking up here - like you belong. That feeling persists even as you find the tube running from the base of your neck to the compartment's rear wall.

But once the tube's disconnected? Things get loud. A wave of emotion fills that peaceful void - fear, uncertainty, relief, a sense of purpose or loneliness or anxiety. A matching dread. An easy comfort. Maybe some of these emotions are yours, but they can't all be. After the initial sensory overload, the mental buzz elongates: stretches out into a murmur like the sound of a party happening behind a nearby closed door.

You can sit up - barely -, and shift out of the pod. There’s a ladder at your feet and a little cubby just before it with anything you brought with you as well as a set of crisp, loose-fitting white clothes; while your injuries are healed, whatever you’re wearing is in the exact state it was before. Maybe it's time for a change? Drop down the ladder to the floor of the Nesting Deck and you’ll find you’re not alone.In fact there are lots of you and none of them are the strangers they should be. Some even seems like people you've known for a very long time.They are as familiar as this place you've never been is.

Welcome to Station 72. Beyond this room it's quiet and still, feeling for all the world like a hollow shell.

--Or it does until a voice separates itself from the white noise in your head:


BRIEFING
THE VOICE IN YOUR HEAD isn't really a voice at all. It's the warm tang of camaraderie, tinged with a flash of impatience like ticking hands on a clock face and a flicker of wonder: a falling star. It says:

( My, you're all very fresh aren't you? Unfortunately, the multiverse waits for no spring chicken. Once you've figured out which way's up, won't you all join us? )
Join 'us' where is the question. And yet, once you're ready to meet the owner of the voice in your mind, your footsteps simply lead you there naturally. Two strangers sit in a small circular briefing room - a tall being covered in short brown fur with a rigid demeanor, and a pale alien with yellow washed frills at her jaw and throat who is smiling cheerfully.

"Hey there, sunshine," says Rhan, her frills humming as she speaks. "Why don't you take a seat so we can get started?"

[ooc note: please see here for the catch-all briefing thread]


THE STATION
WITH A LITTLE UNDER 24 HOURS before it's time to make the trip to Hyrypia, this is as good an opportunity as you're going to get to familiarize yourself with Station 72 before you leave it. There's plenty to see, but a distinct lack of people to make conversation with. It's lonely and quiet and there's a sensation of dust gathering even where there is none. Maybe studying the briefing files on your databank and going over your mission kit is the most proactive distraction, but if not? Well there's plenty of places to get lost...

HYRYPIA - NAERSTONE HOUSE
DAY :003

MEETING
A SINGLE SHIP LANDS in a field the color of burnished gold, returning to the place it had until late the night before occupied. It's carefully inserted beside dozens of other spacecraft bearing more than faint similarities, though each has its own unique aesthetic. When the gangplank drops, the loud engines powering down, it reveals--

New hosts. Seven fresh faces - obscured as they are in layers of intricate fabric - are led down the gangplank by Rhan There to greet them is a number of other hosts - any who answered to the sweet crystalline ring of Collector’s voice in their heads hardly a half hour earlier, speaking with certainty born of truth:

( Rhan and Siva’co are returning. Shall we see what stories they have to tell? )

Despite the solidarity that both combined groups provide, there's a feeling of eyes here. A number of guards along the edge of the shuttle field are watching the reunion like hawks. Better perhaps to return to the apartments where they'll be able to speak in private and teach the new hosts what it is that has been learned since their arrival. --Or explore, for those who prefer not to rest. Naerstone House's grounds are vast and they are almost entirely open to the parties of the pilgrims to explore.

THE PERFORMANCE
AS THE SINGLE RED SUN of Hyrypia dips low on the horizon there is a long, low, mournful sound. A deep bell-- or a horn? Or maybe it's something else entirely, but the call is heard and answered as any nearby servants inform the guests of the house:

“There will be a performance of the First Journey in a quarter turn. All guests are invited to attend.”

There's no mystery as to where the event is occurring. A steady trail of guests and servants lead out past the Veranda into the central garden where a number of pillars have been mounted and a large tiered platform festooned with with numerous draped curtains and abstract representations of trees and mountains - a great stage - now sits. The stage is surrounded by numerous low settees and tables, piles of thick cushions and richly colored rugs around which guests can be found clustered, lounging while sipping thick, syrupy drinks.

Each table is illuminated only by a single glowing orb at its center. Otherwise, as the sun sets it pitches the garden into darkness as even the castle itself has been left unlit. There are no lights in distant windows or on Naerstone House's high walls; these small orbs and the glitter of stars in the black sky might very well be the only points of light in the whole universe.

The allotted time passes and the performance begins. A sun rises over the stage. It's a much larger, more intricate glowing orb and reveals a number of players dressed far more simply than the Hyrypians the hosts have met. They wear complex machine masks upon their faces that shutter into different expressions as their hands flitter across their faces: dramatic caricatures to accompany the droning sound of their singing voices as they unfold the tale at the center of the performance - the one which drives this pilgrimage and for the Nest's very presence in the universe at all. It's the story of lost Rabadoceans coming to a planet near barren intent on brutalizing them - about loss and hardship until finally a single player separates from the rest. The orb of the sun over the stage turns, it's mechanical face shifting and resetting to indicate the passage of time as the very central platform of the stage begins to turn so that this lone player might walk. And walk. And walk through deserts and scrub land, through dark woods and dark caves, against the wind and with it. Through it all, the orb over the stage slowly lowers until at last this lone player can take it in their hands.

It cracks like an egg and brilliance streams from it. Braziers catch fire in the darkness. The garden illuminates itself. Every light in Naerstone House comes to life.

With that, the silence of the crowd breaks. There is applause -- each culture in its own unique fashion -- and then there is a rise of chattering conversation as the guests are served several small dishes and talk about the show they’ve just seen - and whatever possible clues it might give to the pilgrimage they themselves would soon be undertaking.

---

((OOC Notes: This is the hatch log for all new hosts as well as the evening's performance. Feel free to make your own logs and posts additional to this if you care to. You can find a more detailed overview of the host hatching process HERE and additional setting information about the Station HERE. Please be sure to review the MISSION: HYRYPIA ooc information. If you have any questions, please hit up either the mission's question thread, the FAQ or MOD CONTACT pages!))

NAVIGATION • SETTING • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[otrazhenie]

[ It's so strange being that close to Damon, knowing what she knows, what he doesn't know, feeling what she does. It's complicated and yet it's so simple. This is Damon, the one thing she can trust in her new life, and she finds a semblance of peace in his nearness. It's a peace that deepens as he moves them, settling them on the bed, and she sinks into it as the exhaustion of the past few days wraps around her. ]

I'm not fine now.

[ It's a quiet admission, an echo of what she'd told Sam earlier, and as the words slip out she feels like she's adrift in the middle of the ocean, no land in sight. She's clinging to a piece of wood trying to stay afloat, but her arms are so tired. ]

[blooded]

❰ no, she's not fine now. she probably won't be fine for a long time. but "for a long time" is not "forever", hard as it can be to remember that, in the face of all of her heightened newbie vampire emotions trying to drown her in grief for the life she thought she'd get to have. ❱

"Going to be" isn't "are, right now, at this exact second". It'll take work, from both of us. And until you get there... It's okay not to be fine, you know.

❰ there's the sense from damon's side of the connection that he is, in fact, incredibly protective of elena's right to feel shitty. she died, not that he thinks it'd be a great idea to bring attention to it, she gets to have a bit of a pity party.

for a while. not so much she turns into stefan. ❱

[otrazhenie]

[ It's okay not to be fine. That's what Sam had said, but it means so much more coming from Damon. Damon who knows her, who loves her, who understands. If he says it's okay... then it is. And that makes it better -- she can accept those feelings now, wallow in them, and in time hopefully move on from them.

She's too tired to cry anymore, too worn out to think of anything but how right it feels to be held against him like this. Her hand in his is the most secure she's felt since the truck went off the bridge, and in that moment she almost believes she really will be fine. Because he's there with her, and he's not leaving. He's everything she needs. ]

I was so scared yesterday, Damon. When I was alone, before I knew you were here. I didn't know what I was gonna do.

[blooded]

❰ for a moment damon's quiet, considering his response. after a second, he just pulls her closer, tucking her head into the crook of his shoulder. ❱

You don't remember, because I told the other you, not... you-you. But I promised her I'd always come back to her, and I meant it. Any Elena, from any universe, I'll always find you.

❰ his throat closes up, then, and he can't say any more — he can bare his heart for her, can hold it out on a silver platter for her to brush aside, but the true depth of his devotion... there's no words, or what words there are are saccharine and cliché. she knows, she has to, that she'll never be alone for as long as he's alive. even when she might want to be, he will always be mere moments away from her. ❱

[otrazhenie]

[ Elena listens to those words and she understands them. She's known for some time that Damon is in love with her, but in recent months it's become clear that it's so much more than that. There have been times when she hasn't wanted to admit it, but-- There's no way to ignore it now, and she doesn't want to. ]

If anyone could, it's you.

[ She believes it of Damon more than she does of Stefan. So much more. As much as she loves Stefan, she knows that he has his limitations, that there are things he won't do and choices he'll respect even if they're not the right ones. But Damon? Damon would move heaven and earth to get to her, regardless of her own wishes -- and in some ways, she needs that. She needs for there to be one person who will always fight for her, always be there despite the effort and pain it might take.

Maybe that's why she's been feeling the way she has. Or maybe... ]

[blooded]

❰ damon huffs out a laugh, ducking his head to nudge his nose against the crown of elena's head. ❱

Careful, I think you might offend Saint Stefan.

❰ the words are a reminder, for him as well as her — she's only leaning on him because stefan isn't here. he's in a coma up on the station, and who knows if he'll ever wake up, but if he does... if he does, they'll have to figure out how to be together again, with their roles switched so dramatically. but stefan will be the one to get her through the rest of her transition, stefan will be the one she turns to when she feels overwhelmed and afraid. he needs to remember that just as much as she does. ❱

Think you can sleep?

[otrazhenie]

[ Stefan. For a little while, she'd forgotten him, her thoughts so wrapped up in this new existence and the help Damon could offer her in getting through all of this in one piece. She hasn't thought to miss Stefan and the guilt of that realization rises up like a wave that threatens to pull her under and sweep her into the current. But she holds on to the surface and stays above it, riding it out until things settle again.

Stefan. She loves Stefan. She chose Stefan. She needs to remember that, in case... In case she ever sees him again.

Pulling in a shaky breath, she nods slightly, hesitates, and finally asks a quiet question. ]

Can I stay here?

[ Because even though he's not the brother she's in love with, Damon is still her friend. She trusts him with her life and well-being and she needs him right now, even if that's not fair to him. ]

[blooded]

❰ life isn't fair to him, and the fact that elena thinks that her not being fair could make a difference... well, she must not know him very well, even with her four extra months. ❱

'Course, ❰ he says, brushing her hair behind her ear. ❱ We all choose our own rooms anyway. They're not private, but Sam had this one to himself, we'll just stay with him.

❰ having sam in the same room will be a good way to keep himself from forgetting the score. elena might get carried away at moments, but he can't let himself. stefan's here, after all, even if he is asleep. she's still his brother's girl. ❱

[otrazhenie]

[ She knows him better than he thinks. Of course it matters whether something is fair to him, why wouldn't it? It should make all the difference, he shouldn't get the crappy end of then stick just because that's how it's always been. But what can she do? It isn't fair, but the alternative is putting people at risk and... she can't do that.

So it matters, but it doesn't, and she hates it. She hates all of it, and herself most of all. ]

Sam won't mind?

[ It feels so natural for Damon to touch her hair. It's comforting, and she wishes he would keep doing it. ]

[blooded]

Sam's... ❰ too nice for his own good. naive. going to get himself hurt one of these days, trusting someone he shouldn't. damon absently cards his fingers through elena's hair as he tries to settle on the right words to describe sam. ❱

A friend, ❰ he says eventually. ❱ He'd honestly probably feel better with us close by. He's a lot like you.

❰ the way damon says it, that's clearly a good thing, a point in sam's favour. he's kind and good but fun, smart and resourceful. he'll be a very good friend for elena to have in the coming weeks while she learns how to be a vampire. ❱

[otrazhenie]

[ A friend. It feels like he's so much more than that, but it's not something Elena needs to question. He's a friend to her now as well, and he means a great deal to Damon -- that's all that matters. Damon's had so few real friends that she's legitimately happy for him having found that sort of relationship here of all places.

It's a good thing for someone to be like her? She honestly can't see how. She runs in headfirst without looking, she risks her life and causes others to risk theirs, it's her fault... Well, everything is her fault, really. But if Damon thinks highly of Sam, then she has to take his word for it. ]

Then we'll stay here.

[ His fingers in her hair are helping to soothe the tattered edges of her nerves and Elena can feel herself slowly drifting off toward much-needed sleep. But before she lets go and falls into its embrace, she has to say one more thing, her voice growing soft. ]

Thank you, Damon.

[blooded]

❰ she'll see someday. damon will make her, if he has to, he'll let her see herself through his eyes. she'll see how she makes him want to be a better person, even certain as he is that good is not anything he's really capable of, how she inspires people around her, how good she herself is.

but now's not the time for such sweeping, dramatic declarations. she's tired, damon's tired, they've both been through the wringer today. time to sleep. damon's fingers continue to card through elena's hair, and he smiles softly. ❱

Go to sleep, Elena.

[otrazhenie]

[ Seeing herself through Damon's eyes would be a life-changing experience. That's why it's a good thing he doesn't share that view with her now; she would resist it, her exhaustion and anxiety making it impossible for her to appreciate or take any good from it. Later, though, in time... Things might be different.

And sleep she does, smoothly slipping into it like going under the surface of still water. It's an exhausted sleep void of any dreams, thankfully, and if she moves at all it will be closer to Damon. Her white knight who insists on wearing black. ]