station72 | [mission: hyrypia] big, but not coarse

[mission: hyrypia] big, but not coarse - merely on another scale

CHARACTERS: Everyone
WHERE: The Red Coast
WHEN: DAY :036 - DAY :037
SUMMARY: A multiverse away, new hatches wake on the Station. On Hyrypia, the Garstall hunt begins in earnest - and wraps up with terrible consequences.
WARNINGS: Animal hunting and slaughter, death, Bad Times at Ridgemont High. Need something added? PM the mod account!

STATION 72
DAY :036

THE HATCH - NEW HOSTS
YOU WAKE UP and the universe and you in it are altered. --No. That's not right. You're you, the universe is as it's always been, and there's no 'suddenly' about it. But it's been a while, hasn't it? It feels like waking from a very deep sleep or coming up from the darkness of some wine colored sea. Nothing is different and yet everything is.

You find yourself lying in a small, hexagonal chamber with a gentle light emanating from its walls. If you were injured during your escape, you're now 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 until you disconnect the IV running from the base of your neck to the chamber wall.

Then 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. Some of these emotions might be yours, but they can't all be.

Eventually you find your way out of the pod, having found whatever belongings you brought with you and a change of crisp white clothes in a cubby near your feet. Once you descend to the Nesting Deck, you’ll find you’re not alone. There are a handful others very like you here, all of them somehow intimately familiar.

Welcome to Station 72. Beyond this room, the vast Station is quiet and still. It feels for all the world like a shell for some vast dark thing.
EXPLORE the strange environment you've found yourself in. The Station seems to be both infinitely vast and strangely small. It's possible to wander along halls and through chambers for hours, only to turn a corner and find yourself in a place you've already been because your mind happened to think of it.

PREPARE for what's to come. Not long after your arrival, a pair of aliens arrive in a dark ship bearings mission kits for everyone. Get changed into your disguises, brush up on your mission briefing, and ask what questions you have while you can. It isn't long before you're loaded onto the ship and leave the Station behind.

HYRYPIA - THE RED COAST
DAY :036

A CALLING
A FAMILIAR FEELING to those that know it is sign enough that the elder hosts must depart to fetch whoever it is remains on the station. But this time, it's not just two of them that strike out under the cover of night. Instead, all four of them make their way from Whalsome House.

( We will not be gone long. ) Collector’s voice is a cheerful lilt in their minds as she gathers a book in hand. ( Try to have only pleasant stories for me, when we return. )

And with that Rhan, The Collector, Siva'co and Lyr are gone. They take with them the comatose Hosts and leave the rest to their own devices.

HYRYPIA - THE RED COAST
DAY :037

THE HUNT
DAWN BREAKS over a coastline already bustling with activity. The day has finally come to take those long boats out beyond the shallows and hunt the massive serpent-like Garstall in earnest. A familiar horn is blown and anyone who wishes to participate files down onto the beach and is divided into groups, a dozen or two people for each boat. There's a celebratory air to the whole affair, a true pleasure in taking the boats out into the sea. For all that the Barithian Hunt was anxious and quiet and tense, this is is a day of laughter and shouting and singing rowing songs as the boats slash their way through the open water toward the massive creatures roiling through the deeper water off the coast.
SHORT HANDED might not be the first thought that comes to mind on the bustling ships, but at some point during the hunt it becomes clear that Keya isn't present despite the fact that she's been attending every training session. Should anyone ask, one of the Descendants confesses that Keya skipped the hunt because Shee Naraxa secured a meeting between her and the heads of House Tyrisson concerning "her peace talk idea." The news seems to surprise one of the other Descendants; while it’s difficult to read her expression, it’s clear this is not what she expected to hear. She remains tense for the remainder of the voyage.

FINDING THE GARSTALL is simple enough for the experienced sailors of the Red Coast. They look for signs where the water’s color is more pronounced and where the waves seem to stir in unusual directions. They direct those who have less to do with controlling the fickle vessels to keeping a weather eye out for these signs, and to let out a cry when they spot them. Once a Garstall is spotted, all the nearby boats must rally together to take it.

ONCE SPOTTED what had been a pleasant but almost routine sail becomes something far different. Orders and directions are shouted down the lengths of the vessels. Hunters are armed and those in charge of ballast set to their stations.

The boats maneuver incredibly well for their size, their narrowness slashing through the sea to close on the Garstall that has risen near the surface. The beast is huge - larger than any single boat. It's like a great tree come to life, a twisting trunk of a body in the waves. The ships cut in separate directions, and when the signal horn sounds then the hunt truly begins. Hunters begin to hurl harpoons into the waves, aiming for the Garstall's sinuous body.

When the harpoons find their target, the whole boat shudders and tips. There's shouting and some laughter, the eager deck hands compensating for the drag of the beast by sliding weight across the deck to the opposite side of the boat. On one of the boats, a line snaps and sends the ship springing back the opposite direction - several of the sailors thrown into the water even as the hunters lose their footing. On another boat they fail to slide the ballast quickly enough and the Garstall wrenches them forward as it attempts to dive, leaving the other two boats attached to the beast attempting to compensate. On still another boat, they subdue a smaller beast much more easily. Sailors line the boat's side as one of the crewmen slides down the harpoon line, knife in hand to finish the job.

It’s a chaotic experience - but a successful one.

RAISE A BLADE, RAISE A GLASS
IN THE AFTERMATH of the successful hunt, the Garstall's massive carcasses are dredged up into the shallows. It's hot work to beach the massive animal. Once it's in the foaming purple surf, the most delicate parts of it must be stripped from the carcass before they can rot. The harvesting of the fat under the Garstall's heavy plates can wait, but the exposed flesh must be stripped promptly to avoid rot. Luckily, this work is done under the guise of celebration and the result is half slaughter and half bonfire beach party as night falls over the Red Coast.
BUTCHERY might not be the right work for everyone, but the locals leading the task are good natured and encouraging.

FEASTING on the sweet meat of the Garstall is a given. Huge slabs of meat are roasted over equally massive fires as the work is completed. Drinks are passed around. Music is played. Fashionably late, the heads of Tyrisson House come down for their manor (for a split second in the company of Shee Naraxa before she peels away to join the rest of the Descendants) to give another cheerful speech. The work is hard but rewarding, and for a moment the tenor of this place is so very good.

A DREADFUL DISCOVERY
BUT A MONSTER IS HUNTING and just after the speech, a horrifying sense of dread grips the Hosts. It's sickening - a vomiting, visceral wrongness that reaches out of the universe and finds the symbiote and the Host mind and sinks its hooks there exactly as it did that night on the road from Naerstone. Should anyone follow that dreadful sensation, they'll find themselves in the twisted orchard near Tyrisson House, mist clinging low to the ground in the chilling evening, lit only by a pale moon. What waits for them there is a pitch black circle scorched into the loamy earth - so exact and so precisely like the one discovered so many days earlier. And near this perfect circle: the broken body of Keya, her throat split open and blood still wet on the ground.

NEW FRIENDS (OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES)
NEWS OF THE MURDER SPREADS and all the envoys are encouraged to return to their quarters for their safety while those in the employ of Tyrisson house secure the area-- encouragement which turns to insistence until all the members of the Envoys have returned their respective housing. Lights are lit in every courtyard and at every corner. Tension runs high. During this time, as the Hosts wait in their own row of Whalsome House's low stone buildings, company arrives:
A VISITOR arrives with a special request. An older Descendant wrapped in a heavy cloak with a deep hood comes knocking. When she reveals her face, Lakshmi might recognize her as Keya's aunt. "My name is Casiria," she says. "I believe you knew my niece."

It’s clear from her demeanor that she has far more to say before she goes.

FAMILIAR FRIENDS in the shape of newly hatched hosts and your senior chaperones arrive not long after Casiria's departure. They find their way to Whalsome House in a hush, having apparently faced some difficulty in dodging the added security. Better catch everyone up quickly.

((OOC Notes: This log serves as a general catch-all for events from DAY :036 through DAY :037. Please feel free to create your logs outside of this one, though we strongly recommend not forward-dating to the following morning. Please be aware that in the context of this log, new Hosts won't be present on Hyrypia until after Casiria has left. 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 )

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[ Shinji's gone and it hurts, like a part of her soul being taken away on that ship with Clint and another host she'd never really gotten to know, but Elena has to push it all aside. He's not dead, he could wake up anytime like Gil did, and there are new people here now who could use some guidance. She certainly had when she'd first arrived.

Moving out of the corner where she'd been observing everything since their Visitor, she approaches one of the new people, freezing in place as soon as she gets a good look and feel of them. One second passes, two, threatening to stretch into eternity, then she's scrambling to tug off her layers of scarves to unveil her shocked expression. ]

Caroline?

[The sound of her name echoes in her mind, far more familiar in a sea of what she's not sure are genuine feelings, and whatever else she was feeling in that moment is suddenly awash in pure relief, flooding out anything else in the space of a moment.

Her eyes open, search for confirmation as her friend pulls her disguise away, and then Caroline's breaking into obvious tears as she throws her arms around the brunette's neck.]

Oh my god, Elena!?

[As if she can't believe it.]

[ It's pure instinct that has Elena wrapping her arms around Caroline, holding on tight like the other girl might disappear if she lets go. How is she here? Why? Haven't they all been through enough without more of them having to get caught up in this mess?

And yet - she's really glad to see her. ]

Yeah, it's me, Care.

[Her grip is tight too, only the thought that she doesn't want to break all her friend's bones the only thing keeping her from going too hard.

She hasn't realized yet that her friend can take it these days.]

I didn't think I'd ever see you again.

[ Elena hasn't even processed the idea that Caroline might be from a different point in time, the way she and Damon are. All of that is far away right now, her sole focus on this moment and how happy she is to see her. ]

I didn't either, honestly.

[ For all the times she's been so certain that they'll get home... She hasn't been, not really. That fear that she would never see Jeremy or her friends again has always been with her. ]

I'm so glad you're here, Care. I've missed you a lot.

Edited 2018-01-17 04:48 (UTC)

[She finally pulls back from the hug so she can properly talk to her, and Caroline's expression is easily far more perked up than it has been since she arrived. It's the first good thing to happen since...too long.

But Elena had missed her a lot? That implied a decent stretch of time, which begs the question-]

How long have you been here?

About four weeks, I think. Sometimes it feels longer, there's been so much going on.

[ She looks Caroline over, her mom instinct demanding she make sure her friend is okay. Not that much could hurt her here - there's no vervain and Care has a daylight ring. ]

Are you okay? I know this is a lot to take in.

A month?

[That's gotta be wrong, right? That's crazy talk.

Then again, so is everything about anything she's seen in the last 24 hours, but who's counting, right? In the end, she just shakes her head, because no she's not really okay and Elena is obviously going to be able to tell.

She's kind of a nervous wreck.]

I don't even know where to start. [She drags a hand through her hair, which isn't as clean as she'd like because, apparently, she has to 'get friendly with the nest' to get her own freaking shower.

She takes a breath to calm herself.] You know that feeling when you're in a really crowded room but you feel like the smallest thing in it?

Yeah. Yeah, I do.

[ It sucks, all of this. Being new to the Nest, having your entire universe change from what you've always known, adjusting to the idea that you're not just a teenager anymore, you're a soldier in a war to stop an Enemy bigger than anything you've ever imagined. And that's not even touching what the symbiote does to you.

Setting a hand on Caroline's arm, Elena gives it a gentle squeeze and does her best to assure her friend, keeping her own anxieties pulled back beneath her watery shield while trying to protect some sort of comforting calm. ]

It's gonna be okay, Care. You're not in this alone, we'll get through this. [ Together. ]

[Maybe this black hole in her chest is normal, then? Maybe it will slowly fill back in as she gets used to whatever this is. She has to hope that's the case, because she can't deal with this forever.]

It's already not okay, Elena. Tyler was dying and he scared me off. I just left him and ran away, right into this mess. I should have stayed, right? That's what I was supposed to do?

[Be there for him, in the end. There's no way he wanted to be alone, even if he didn't want her to see.

Her breath shakes, her emotions leak out everywhere, this desperate helplessness, grief that she hasn't been able to even look at because she hasn't had time. She sucks it back in, tries to shove it in the back of her mind, blinks back tears.]

No, you're right. It's going to be fine. We'll figure it out. We always do.

[ Elena's frown deepens with every word Caroline says, her worry increasing the more she hears. She remembers thinking the Tyler was going to die, that so many of her loved ones were, but--

It hits her then, the realization that hurts. Unless they'd come up against a situation like this again (which really isn't that implausible given their lives), there really isn't another good explanation. ]

I don't think we're from the same time.

[ It's a soft statement, said more to herself than her friend's benefit, because things just got a lot more complicated. But it's okay, they can do this. Like Caroline said, they always figure it out. Taking a deep breath, Elena nods, steeling herself to take charge and Handle Things. Sam and Damon had helped her when she first arrived; now it's her turn to help Caroline. ]

Come on, let's sit down. We can talk-- about everything.

[And now she's just even more confused because what does that even mean?

So instead, Caroline just nods. Elena will tell her what's going on. She'll explain and it's totally going to make sense and everything will be fine.]

Okay.

[Her voice is resigned, her mind equally so. She's too strung out and tired and she just wants to know as much as she needs to so she can actually do something about it instead of sitting here feeling sorry for herself.

She finds a place to sit, tries to get comfortable, before looking to Elena so she can fill her in.]

[ Elena is doing her very best to remain calm and keep her focus on Caroline instead of everything else that's gone on that day. Worrying about Gil, the murder of someone who had been kind, healing Sam and the hunger that she's trying to suppress from the lingering scent of dried blood on her robes — all of that can be dealt with later.

Settling down beside Caroline on one of the beds in the small building, she finally tugs off the gloves of the costume they have to wear when outside and reaches over to take Caroline's hand in her own. ]

You said that Tyler was dying, that you ran. Was that— Was it when Klaus was killed? After everything with Alaric and Esther?

[Being like this, holding her hand, it feels just a little bit like home, like normal, and it does wonders to help her relax. The scent of blood is, for the moment, easy to ignore, but she's going to have to do something about that later, too.

One thing at a time.

Caroline nods to answer her question.]

Yeah. Stefan got the call that Klaus was dead. We didn't really know if he was lying about our sireline or not, but Tyler...

[Tyler was a definite.]

[ Okay. Well, it could be a lot worse than this. For starters, she could let Caroline know that she hadn't thought much at all about Tyler in her first days here, or her first weeks even. Everything else had been all-encompassing and she feels so guilty for it now, especially when faced with her friend who is so clearly in pain. ]

I'm so sorry, Care. I— [ Breathe, in and out, keep a hold of her emotions. There are things she needs to know, this isn't about Elena. ]

I didn't ask just to bring it up again. It's just— It was the next day for me. When I was rescued and brought here, it was the day after that.

[She feels guilty because as much as she feels grief for Tyler, she's also relieved. It could have been so many of them. It could have been her.

It didn't seem fair that she was alive and he wasn't, and she didn't know how to morally be happy that she was okay. Especially when she made some crazy impulsive deal to save her own skin and ended up here.

She looks briefly confused, shaking her head.]

None of that matches up, though. Unless there was some sort of weirdness and I was just out for a lot longer than you.

[Maybe she'd been in that nesting pod a month?]

I know, it's really confusing, and I don't fully understand how it happens, but the simple answer, believe it or not, is that we're probably from different universes.

[ She sounds like she's in some cheesy sci-fi movie that would show on late-night TV. But then, they have spacebugs in their brains and are surrounded by aliens, so... Pausing for a moment, looking at Caroline with an almost measured hesitation, Elena reaches up with her bare hand to brush her hand back behind her ear. It occurs to her that it isn't perfectly straight anymore; there aren't any flat irons in space. ]

Damon's here too. He's from months before us, from before my birthday.

[Caroline rejects this idea immediately because that would mean that this Elena isn't her actual best friend and she literally refuses for that to be the case.

Denial is always a healthy way of coping, right? No? Oh well.

So instead she's just going to focus on the other half of that, the part that's at least much easier to wrap her mind around because of course he is. Her nose crinkles up briefly before she asks the more pertinent question.]

But no Stefan?

[ Elena looks down at that, her eyes finding the lines of folds in her robes, the layers that have kept her safe all these weeks from prying eyes and the sun she desperately misses. Of course Caroline would ask about Stefan, she'd been rooting for their relationship to succeed. ]

Stefan is in a coma up on the station. He hasn't been awake since I arrived, but I think he's from a lot later than us. Years, maybe.

[ How is she going to do this? How is she going to tell her best friend that she chose the other brother, that she's happy with Damon and it isn't just that Stefan isn't here. She's been dreading this conversation, but she'd always thought it was months away, at least. There's no way she's ready for it to be right now, but it has to be.

Funny how she's more nervous about letting the cat out of the bag about Damon than her being a vampire now. ]

A coma? How does that even happen? Is it because of the brain hitchhiker?

[Stefan is a vampire. He shouldn't be able to be in a coma, not like that. That's the only thing she can think of.

Which doesn't exactly make the one in her head any more comforting.]

I don't know. I think so.

[ She doesn't have these answers for Caroline and she hates it. There's so much they don't know about the symbiotes, about the Nest and the Enemy and what their futures hold. Sometimes it feels like she's drowning all over again and— ]

Care, there's something else.

[ A lot of something elses actually. There's so much more. ]

[It's not Elena's fault, she knows this, but she can't help but feel the slight surge of disappointment.

She can't hide the anxiety that that approach to her friend's next subject brings, either.]

...What?

[ Deep breath, you can do this, it's Caroline, it will be fine. But will it? ]

That night, when Damon left with Klaus's body... When he died, when we thought everyone... I was with Matt in his truck and there was an accident.

[ A pause as Elena fights the urge to look away from her best friend, struggles to shore up her resolve and just say it. ]

I died, Caroline. And I woke up the next morning in transition.

[It takes a moment for her brain to restart.

Thinking back to this entire conversation, she should have noticed. The temperature of Elena's skin, the speed of her heart; the differences were slight, but she noticed them now. Her eyes grow round, her lips part, and she sucks in a breath of air without really feeling like she's even breathing.]

Oh my god. You're-

[She barely keeps herself from saying out loud, but the truth is sure broadcasted from her brain clearly enough.

She really needs to learn how to control that.

That means Ric was gone, too, right? Caroline can't bring herself to care about that as much as what happened to Elena, though.]

[ Elena's not the least bit surprised that Caroline hadn't noticed before now. Why would she? Elena had never wanted to be a vampire, she was the exact opposite of all the girls in the stories who had dreamed of living forever - she'd wanted to grow up and have a family. Even when she'd been with Stefan, she hadn't wanted anything else, but now... Well. ]

Yeah. I'm a vampire.

[ She wraps her other hand around Caroline's and leans a little closer, some part of her pleading with her friend to understand the next thing she's about to say. ]

But I'm okay. Damon's been helping me.

{ day :037 }

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