[mission: hyrypia] hey kid wanna see a dead body

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: EVERYONE
WHERE: The Second Flight
WHEN: DAY :021 - DAY :022
SUMMARY: Leaving the Graze and flying over the Finger Maze. [insert Psycho music cue here]
WARNINGS: Corpses. Will update as necessary. Need a warning added? PM this account please!

HYRYPIA - THE SECOND FLIGHT
DAY :021

I. ALLLL ABOARD
THE SOUND OF HORNS has become familiar in your time on Hyrypia, but the low drone seems out of place here in the great open space of the main hall of the Second’s Flight. The space here is fantastically and beautifully ornate, the pale polished wood floors and rich dark paneling strangely reminiscent of sand and stone, loamy earth and some rich, dense forest not native to the arid lands of this planet. The space seems to dare the sky to claim it, acting out some daring violation of delivering the earth into the heavens. The twin heads of House Tyrisson are equally lavish both in their appearance and welcome. Two brothers, draped in elaborate pastel fabrics and glinting with enough metal accents to put the ornate robes of Seconds to shame, they trade a short speech back and forth between them:

"Once, our ancestors would have travelled the depths and turns of the Finger Maze in an effort to follow the footsteps of the First. Luckily, we don't live in such dangerous times; the gifts of the First and this planet we call home have allowed us to grow up out of our desperation. Consider this comfort our gift to you and enjoy your time on the Second Flight."

A band strikes up the moment the Tyrisson twins take their seats and you are left to your own devices. So much for living simply.

II. A MURDER MOST FOUL
A SCREAM PIERCES THE SILENCE of the saunas. The low sound of gently flowing water and the soft piped music seems to fade to nothing in the wake of the raw, terrified noise. Unsurprisingly, it draws immediate attention as a horrified Descendant practically falls into the arms of the servant that comes to his aid. The outburst is easily forgiven as word travels like lightning through the ship.

There has been a murder - or rather, two murders. Two bodies, damp with humidity and beginning to give of a distinctly unpleasant smell, have been found in one of the hot bath grottos. The mineral water they've been soaking in has reverted from a milky white to a terrible, blood rust brown.

And while it's unlikely that any Carbauschians were sharing the pool with them (robes make for unpleasant waders), the dryer albeit stiflingly hot areas of the conjoined saunas are such a communal meeting places that it wouldn't be out of the realm of imagination that one or two Hosts might be nearby… Regardless, news travels quickly and the chilly atmosphere that descends over the Second Flight is palpable. A horrific hunting accident is one thing, but murder? That's something else altogether.


HYRYPIA - THE SECOND FLIGHT
DAY :022

III. A SORDID AFFAIR
TO SAY that the atmosphere is somewhat tense is an understatement. It seems that everyone has something to say about the murders- but these things are said tersely, in whispers under the breath, with darting eyes and suspicious glances, and security- once hidden, secret- is now easily visible. They can be found at the entrance of each of the broad areas, patrolling down the paths that run alongside the outer walls of the Envoy’s cabins- never intruding, but ever present. Still, there seems to be an insistence that it will be dealt with by a member of the Tyrisson protectorate guard - Detective Savela, a hard-nosed, serious woman who seems not to want any assistance - and that the guests should continue to enjoy themselves. The bands still play, the games are ever present. Of course, those that are enterprising may wish to try poking around, instead.

IV. THE SHOW MUST GO ON
MURDER SCHMURDER-- In what's very clearly an effort to retain some sense of normalcy, an elaborate meal is served late on Day :022. The dishes are so complex that might as well be show pieces of their own, the music has an air of desperation, and the display of technomancy from a pair of Seconds is so delicate and ornate - centering almost entirely on a cloud of small metal coins that shifts shape constantly to illustrate scenes from the famous epic poem The Arion throughout the course of the dinner - that under any other circumstances it might be a singularly memorable moment.

Unfortunately, the palpable sense of suspicion between the envoy factions persists and the temper of the room is anything but celebratory. Late in the evening when most people have retired from the stifling atmosphere, a scuffle breaks out between some Meradan bodyguards and a clutch of Carpathan servants.


HYRYPIA - THE SECOND’S FLIGHT
DAY :023

V. A FAREWELL TO ARMS
THE ENGINES ever-present hum ticking down an octave is the first sign that the Flight has almost reached its destination. By the time the servants are politely knocking on the entrances of the berthings, the new dawn reveals that the cliffs and the winding passages of the Finger Maze have finally fallen behind the ship. The land here consists of rocky, relatively bare hills and is accented only with occasional short, sparse woody tree and straggly clumps of red grass. From somewhere in the distance, salt touches the wind. The Second Flight lands, setting gently down into the trough between two hills. Its now familiar gangplank extends, ready to send the Pilgrims again out onto the road.

---

((OOC Notes: This log covers days :021 and :022 on the Second Flight. A log will be posted for the walk on DAY :023 and the arrival at the Red Coast. Please be sure to review the MISSION: HYRYPIA ooc information to find setting information for the Second Flight. If you have any questions, please hit up either the mission's question thread, the FAQ or MOD CONTACT pages!))

NAVIGATION • GAME CALENDAR • MISSION: HYRYPIA • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[sistershoggoth]

What, you don't want to go gather some intel? Loose lips and all that stupid shit...

[ She'd do it herself, if she thought she could be trusted to control her own stupid mouth. ]

[detestable]

I want to have a drink in peace before I start trying to figure out how to make small talk with these people.

[ Aliens ghosts through his mind, punctuating his statement. Seth's still acclimating to being dragged into an episode of Star Trek. ]

Besides, aren't you the one who's got all that figured out?

[ From what he's heard, anyway. ]

[sistershoggoth]

I think we both know that I don't know anything.

[ She oscillates back and forth. Sometimes it's to squawk about no one listening to her, the rest of the time it's to demand they don't. She's an unreliable narrator, at the very least. ]

[detestable]

[ Seth looks at her, but he's unwilling to talk about the slime aloud. It's too easy to be overheard and he draws the line at mental communication. ]

If you say so.

[ Translation: Bullshit. ]

What're you working on then?

[sistershoggoth]

Seeing how many of these gross alien cocktails I can down without staining my dress.

[ Very serious scientific research. ]

[detestable]

[ Does that mean she's trying not to puke on her dress or trying not to spill on it? Seth may never know. ]

That's one way to spend your downtime.

[ Not that Seth has any room to judge. ]

At least you've got company.

[ There's enough of their number who seem to have camped out in the bar. Seth actually kind of resents it, but they can toss it off as team building if they're really trying to dress it up. ]

Was it really that bad down there?

[sistershoggoth]

[ God fucking hell fucking-- She exhales loudly. ]

No. It wasn't. I made my own mess and now I'm wallowing in it.

[ She'd made that mess as soon as she'd met Nyx Ulric. He'd been oil on her fire, and then had had the utter indecency to make her feel like he was something that could be relied upon. A source of stability and willpower that had dropped out from under her like someone had kicked one of her fucking crutches.

And now here she is.

Using him as an excuse to be the most pathetic she can be. ]

[detestable]

[ Uh oh, emotions are approaching. Seth can feel the edge of her pain flickering at the edge of his awareness. He'd shrink from it, but there's nowhere to go. Their minds are linked.

And really, Seth knows that feeling intimately. He knows what it is to have all your stability centered in one person, and that losing them is like getting cut off at the knee. It's hard to get up. Annie's predicament is uncomfortably familiar.

He still believes everything he'd said to Lexa. The show people made of their grief and the sloppiness that had followed it had been a risk and a liability. But Annie's feelings are something else. They're harder to dismiss. ]

How long are you planning on doing that?

[ Seth isn't really wired for the uncomfortable business of offering verbal support. Sliding his untouched drink across the table to her is a more concrete acknowledgement of her situation than anything else. ]

[sistershoggoth]

Until I get my head out of my own ass, which, conveniently enough, I don't feel too motivated to do when I'm fuckin' drunk.

[ And there is no more classsic a move in the book than belligerently acknowledging her own inebriation. Like somehow the self-awareness made it impenetrable, a war cry raised. Look at me, I made this fucking choice all in , and you can't stop me. She tosses back her drink and pulls his towards her as its replacement. ]

Can't keep this up on the road though, gotta walk their stupid fuckin' pilgrimage and admire their fucking natural beauty and historic sites.

[ She's sneering, soggy and loose, beneath her hood. She's tired of pretending to like the Rabos. She thinks they fucking suck. ]