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

[onemind]

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 )

Comments

[sizeofyourbaggage]

Nah, not as long as you don't. The easiest way is to just pull mine down and let you feel how I build 'em back up, so it means I might get a little louder for a minute.

[ He demonstrates, just a taste - focusing on the clouds that normally shield his mind, letting them fade a little until patches of sunlight stream through and his mental presence gets a little bit stronger, the taste of wind a little louder.

Which means it comes across pretty damn clear that he's fond of Elena. ]

Yeah, we are. She saved my life earlier, and I, uh. [ There's a brief pause as he figures out how the hell he's supposed to say 'I know she's a vampire and I let her drink from me because blood bags aren't really common down here.' ] Try to make sure she doesn't go hungry.

[persevere]

[It's clear from her expression and the way she straightens up that she's one hundred percent okay with it, and she seems to be focusing intently on the sensations as his mind slowly starts to open up to her.

Everyone seems to always be fond of Elena. She gets it, the girl is one of her forever friends after all, but there's sometimes that slight twinge of jealousy that comes along with that knowledge, how everyone seems to put Elena first.

It's then that she finally connects this with the Sam that Elena had mentioned earlier. With everything else going on, the name had evaded her, but was now clicking into place.]

Funny story, I think that makes you the person she told me to ask for help in the first place. With the mind thing, I mean.

[It reminds her again of how she needs to find the same kind of thing, someone who won't let her starve.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ With his shields down and their connection widened a little, he doesn't miss the slightest taste of that jealousy. There's a moment where it echoes - not about Elena, specifically, but the feeling of never being put first pulls at something in Sam that he tries real damn hard not to acknowledge. An understanding, almost, but he lets it go before it's fully formed.

Instead he pulls all his attention to his shields as he lowers them further, to the feel of widening his connection. The occasional streak of lightning and rush of rain joins the patches of sunlight, and the wind that flavors his mental link picks up, carrying a muted hint of gunfire and static, fading into a flurry of soft feathers. Then he starts narrowing his connection again, visualizing the clouds thickening until his mind is once again obscured by them; his mental presence faint.

He gives a little chuckle at her comment, a soft, amused huff of air. ]

Yeah? Glad I found you, then. The visualization thing works best if you go with whatever feels right for you, something familiar. From what I can feel, kind of seems like you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly, but - [ There's a moment's consideration, then he shoots her a little smile. ] You hungry? I try not to ask questions like 'so hey how're you really doing with all this shit getting dropped on you' when someone's running on an empty stomach, don't see a reason to change that now.

[persevere]

[She actually holds her breath as the mental connection she senses between them opens up. As it grows louder, brighter, it becomes hard to really focus on anything else, and it's strange to feel these strange sensations solely in her head.

It's comforting, too, in a strange way, almost as if she's been pulled into a comfortable embrace.

She's keenly aware when he starts to build his walls back up, and as his mind fades from her perception, so does that warmth, though she tries to simply remember how it felt for him to do it at all so that she can try it herself later.

Caroline starts to try to think of some kind of visualization she could use herself when he seems to catch on to her train of thought, that hunger that's always throbbing in the very back of her mind. Warmth spreads into her cheeks, a physical representation of her internal embarrassment, bordering on shame.

She knows he's already helping out Elena and Damon. And she's not here to make anyone anemic.]

Elena said you heal pretty fast. Did she mean faster than your...typical human?

[She's never fed on an actual person for any length of time past, well, once. She has no idea how long it would take for someone to start to feel weak, especially with three of them around.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Even without a mental connection, he could probably pick up on that embarrassment. He reacts automatically, mind opening back up just a bit. There's something slightly apologetic about the way his mind curls briefly around hers - he hadn't meant to embarrass her - but it's mostly reassurance, a sense of support like a down blanket around your shoulders.

She is who she is; it doesn't make Sam think of her any differently.

Then he pulls back, a little sheepish. The mental stuff's a lot, he knows, he's trying not to be too overwhelming. ]

Yeah, a hell of a lot faster. It's part of the symbiote's enhancements in general, and it's - my specialty, I guess you could say.

[persevere]

[His mind is warm again, comforting, and she didn't realize how much she needed that until he gave it to her.

The tension in her shoulders releases; for as much as she's worked to be happy with what's happened to her, it didn't always apply to the people around her. It had taken what felt like forever for her Mom to not hate what she had become. Her Dad...

...well that was a can of worms she didn't want to open.]

I guess I'm just so used to healing fast that I didn't think about that.

[She took it for granted sometimes, her healing factor. But if everyone had it to a point, all the better.]

Well, if it doesn't bother you, I'm not going to say no. I just feel bad, you know? The whole situation kind of sucks.

[Especially for him considering he's the one offering himself up to be a snack.]