[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

[adamance]

[The prickling of emotion is more forgivable than the previous sentiment he felt when she spoke of Pike. There is a part of her that will never forgive Charles Pike. There's a reason why she and Bellamy have never spoken of his reasoning in following that man. She knows she won't like what he has to say. Here, his feelings are more a basis of fact than anything else. She had known that the bond between Clarke and Bellamy ran deeper than it did with anyone else within their people; she knows that, recalling the closeness that the two of them were exhibiting when she first arrived in that room a day ago.

A petty part of her wants to push at him, to ensure that he doesn't come between her and Clarke. But that same part doesn't muster up enough passion or certainty. Her bond with Bellamy is one that began with an oath to Clarke; she wouldn't hurt him just to forge a stronger bond with Clarke. That would be against the point.

There has always been a selfish part of Lexa. She had been allowed to follow it more than most as the Commander. People revered her regardless of her decisions—or most of her decisions. She could act on her wants when time called for it. It was when those wants went too far—when she called for someone else—that she had people demanding answers. She knew when not to press her luck most of the time. Her people forgave a lot, but that forgiveness began to run dry the moment Skaikru dropped down onto their lands.

Her assumption that he had come here to talk to her because of his feelings for Clarke had been only that: an assumption. Lexa had decided that he had come to check on her because he was afraid of betraying his feelings to Clarke and complicating matters. Of course, she doesn't clarify this. Let him assume the worst of what she said. It won't make him care for her less, or be any less loyal. It's odd to think that, and maybe, again, selfish, but she feels it just the same.]

( No. ) [Lexa can both be a woman of many words and few words, and she debates leaving it at just that one. The moment the urge stirs up inside of her, she settles her arms at her sides and looks away from him. That urge comes from a place of pettiness. She can't let it motivate her now. That would be unfair to both Clarke and Bellamy.]

( You don't know how to conceal how you feel Bellamy. I have no reason to hide it for once, but you ... you show it in how you look at her every time. You always have. ) [Not that she was ever very good at it. Her feelings for Clarke had been enough to move her to change the very traditions of her people. Yes, she saw reason in what Clarke said, but she made those choices because she was willing to listen.] ( Do you think she knows? Because if she does, there's no need for us to have this conversation. )

[But if she doesn't, then it may be something they need to pause, to return to at a better time. When will that be? And will they be alive to see it?]

[deployed]

( I don't know what Clarke knows. )

[ He won't deny any of what Lexa's said. She is hardly the first person to note that Bellamy's emotions flow too freely. He had been obvious on Earth. It's even worse here, particularly between those whose minds he's gotten used to. Whatever he feels, it bleeds out of him sooner or later. He shakes his head, jaw tight beneath the swish of fabric. ]

( I'd tell you to ask her, but I don't think you should. Not right now. )

[ It felt cruel to push Clarke to acknowledge another difficult truth when she was still trying to get used to having back someone she'd thought was dead and gone. Whatever else he felt, Bellamy was trying very hard to afford both of them the space to acclimate.

Nothing between him and Clarke had ever been put into words. It had never felt necessary. It barely feels necessary now, even with the obvious complications at hand. He and Clarke knew each other, and all the tangled mess of emotions that came along with the relationship they'd forged had never needed to be dissected. Bellamy worries that after everything, neither of them could withstand such cold analysis of what they were to each other. ]

[adamance]

[Lexa recalls interrogating Clarke in her tent about her feelings for Bellamy. For her, their relationship seemed like the kind of entanglement that seemed like it could both be all too clear and misunderstood at the same time. Clarke's response hadn't given her any indications of denial, but as Murphy's "helpfully" pointed out, Lexa isn't always the best at reading these things. At the time, she also wished to see what she wanted to see. That perception meant that she excluded Clarke's recent grief for Finn from the table, which was a notion that she now understood as foolish.

Beyond that recollection—which doesn't reveal much of itself to Bellamy, beyond Clarke and Lexa in a tent, mostly silent, with Bellamy clearly being the subject at hand even in that silence—Lexa herself goes mute with her thoughts. She knows that she's used this as a means of controlling the conversation with Bellamy before, but here, it's a matter of gathering herself. Conflicting thoughts surge through her head. Some part of her wants to be selfish here. It's been true the entire time. She wants to put an end to this without including Clarke, and she knows Bellamy won't intrude. But it's the recognition of that selfishness that gives her pause.

She inhales and exhales, the sound itself noticeable. Here, she sees no reason to hide how it is she breathes or handles herself.]

( Now isn't the time. ) [That's her agreement. There's another long pause before she continues, and it's apparent that she's trying to bottle up emotions as she approaches the next words. The problem is that bottle has cracks in it, and it's ready to break apart at a moment's notice.] ( You'll need to decide what it is you want before that, Bellamy. Clarke is good at managing how she feels, but she's nowhere on my level. Let me know when that time is. )

[These words may seem measured, but there's a deep-seated discomfort beneath them. Some part of her recognizes that Clarke loves her people above all else. That same part knows that Clarke's belief in Bellamy had nearly gotten her killed when she went into Arkadia with Octavia's help to try to make him see reason. It's the knowledge of all of this that makes her afraid of losing Clarke, because it's a very different experience to want someone to continue on with her people, and another to now have her and know she might lose her.

When Clarke had come to her room to announce her farewells, that may have been the last time that Lexa saw her. But somehow it's harder to think of this possibility: of this inevitability, where their love for their people will always come before each other.

(Even if Lexa would always be quick to remind Clarke that she is her people, such things may not hold up here.)]

[deployed]

[ The stretch of silence gives Bellamy some space for composure, or at least, to make an attempt at composure. Feeling the slivers of Lexa's emotion breaking through her previously impervious walls rattles him, ramps up the shuddering crush of his own feeling for Clarke. The brief slip of memory is hard to place; when had that happened? The idea that he had ever been discussed shouldn't be surprising, but Bellamy is momentarily caught off guard by it. He could press to see more of that memory and gain a better understanding of what was said, but he keep his distance, lets Lexa settle upon an answer.

They've come far together. It's never been so apparent as it is now. ]

( It's not what I want. It's what Clarke wants. ) [ Self-sacrifice came easily, even in this. ] ( It's more complicated than just what I want. )

[ And Bellamy still won't let himself think of what he wants from Clarke. It's all an abstract, barely acknowledged beyond the newly admitted dimension of his own feelings for her. ]

( We need each other. But that doesn't change how she feels for you. )

[ It's a borrowing of Clarke's own words to succinctly identify what they meant to each other. But he had felt Clarke's reaction to Lexa. He had seen her grief. Bellamy didn't think he could supplant those feelings, even if he were inclined to do so. ]

[adamance]

[Bellamy's words are as unsurprising as anything. Lexa had all but prepared herself to hear them. The issue is that Bellamy Blake is someone who doesn't allow himself to want things. For her part, she knows that she doesn't trust Bellamy to always have good judgment. They've been through a lot in the last few months, but that opinion hasn't changed. Her role in his life is meant to temper him, to make him think through what he's going to do. He might blindly say that a thing will happen, but his inability to grasp the larger picture is a failing.

It's odd, in that case, for him to be so selfless in the face of this. What hasn't been spoken here is about what Clarke might want, and Lexa knows (recalls, will always remember) that Clarke puts her people first. Politics should have no place in matters of love, but they do here anyway. Now that their minds are within reach of one another, it's almost impossible to overlook it.

To Lexa, the crushing blow of losing Clarke feels inevitable. Perhaps it's because she's lost so much. Or perhaps it's because she's been trained and prepared to look to that moment so that she can begin to mentally prepare herself for it. She can't be weak. That much is certain. Even now, Titus' words linger in her mind.]

( I want Clarke to choose what is best for her. ) [These words may come across as opaque at first. Lexa wishes that she had the ability to drive down the immense welling of emotions, but she's all but given up on it. When Bellamy and Clarke were separate, and when Clarke was separate from her people, she had allowed herself to ignore these realities. Or what she perceived to be a reality. It's hard to say whether knowing that Bellamy loves Clarke so clearly and so obviously has altered her memories of the past. (It has, but no, she has no way of saying that for certain.)]

( If she decides that that is you, you can't ignore what it is that you want. It may be ... too difficult to be with me. Clarke needs to be strong. ) [Lexa knows these words sound like an excuse.

That's because they are. Some part of her aches in speaking them, wishing they hadn't come out in the first place. She's already caused Clarke enough pain, and that pain persists, on and on and on, not erasing the final moments of her life in Clarke's version of her world. She can't just do that, and she can't try, either.]

[deployed]

( She needs to be happy, ) [ Bellamy counters, uncertain whether it's a true disagreement or not. ] ( It's her decision, but she deserves... )

[ He trails off, thoughts fragmenting. He's reminded again of how being so removed from their people and Earth has left them unmoored. He and Clarke had both centered so much of themselves around their people. There had never been much consideration about what they would have done if they had truly brokered peace. And Bellamy is still the man who had looked up at shooting stars and admitted I wouldn't know what to wish for. The only compass he has to steer by is the agony in Clarke's voice when she'd snatched the chip from Jasper, and the strength of her emotion when she'd seen Lexa here. It seems ridiculous to entertain the idea that Clarke would separate herself from Lexa in the wake of such a reunion.

In a way, being so separated from Earth has made this easier for him. Nearly three months later and having leaned too hard on her, it is less of a challenge to put faith in the idea that Lexa had Clarke's best interests at heart. The mechaniations of Polis are far from them. And as ever, Bellamy's decision is rooted in emotion: he loves Clarke, and he would do for he whatever he could. Whatever it cost him. ]

( Love is difficult, ) [ It's sacrifice, as far as Bellamy was concerned. ] ( But Clarke's strong. Give her time. )

[ And if the topic had to be raised at some future point, they'd weather it then. But Bellamy wasn't sure it would ever be necessary. He could live with that, so long as Clarke was still a part of his life. ]

[adamance]

( We'll have more than enough time. ) [By now, Lexa has all but accepted that their lives as Hosts will be how they end their lives. The cynical part of her sees only that end for anyone from their world, or a version of their world. And even if Bellamy, Clarke, and Murphy somehow get away from this fate, she can't help but recognize that it's the only end for her. She can't return from the dead in their world. She can't be anything but the person she is today, stripped of her title as Commander, her life as a leader of her people, and her purpose as a symbol for them as well.

For that reason, her words are more dire than they might seem. Time is the last thing that she had with Clarke, and now that she has it, she can't help but see the inevitable future where Clarke is ripped away from her. Or—if not that, then a future where Clarke cannot be reminded of her failure to save Lexa.]

( I still don't believe that you will be able to hide it. Let me know when she realizes the truth, Bellamy. We'll handle matters then. ) [If there is a realization of that truth at all. Clarke is sharp. She may know already. But while Bellamy seems eager to put off this conversation and the pressure on Clarke, Lexa wants to fortify her mind to prepare it for disappointment.]

[deployed]

[ The promise of time feels like a double-edged sword. It could be enough time for him and Clarke to resolve their feelings into something more tangible than the unspoken understanding they have now. But it would also be enough time for their worlds to pass them by. Octavia could grow old in that kind of time. Bellamy still doesn't know how time passes, if it passes at all.

But it's more complicated for Lexa. That fact can't be escaped. Slowly, he lifts a hand to her shoulder in a silent offering of comfort before he gets to his feet. ]

( Alright. )

[ Clarke may already know. Bellamy wouldn't pry into her mind far enough to find out one way or another. ]

( Are you staying here? )

[ None of the usual diversions were available to them here. But he could at least leave Lexa in relative solitude if she wanted. ]

[adamance]

[Some part of her would like to remain where she is, but she knows she can't leave Clarke's side for long. While Clarke will inevitably be keeping herself busy, Lexa knows that part of her reason for being here is to allow herself a break from the grief in Clarke's mind. She knows that it's not likely to abate anytime soon. Sitting here for much longer won't help, and Lexa comes from a people where facing something head on is valued more than avoiding it.

They like action over words, over nothing.]

( I should return to her. ) [She moves to rise, standing as tall as she can manage.] ( Let's walk together. )