[hatch log] the sea seemingly a constant to the naked eye is one long goodbye

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: New Hosts & EVERYONE
WHERE: Station 72; Hyrypia - The Far Shore
WHEN: DAY :041 - DAY :042
SUMMARY: A hatch; an arrival; a homecoming. The Hosts part ways.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. Need a warning added? PM this account please!

STATION 72
DAY :041

NEW HATCHES
YOU WAKE UP and the universe and you in it are suddenly different. --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 up from a very deep, extended sleep or coming up from the darkness of some wine dark sea. Nothing is different and yet everything is.

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. Some of these emotions might be 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. 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.


DECISIONS, DECISIONS
BARELY AFTER YOU STEP OUT OF YOUR POD someone pokes their head around the corner and says, “Oh good, you’re awake. D’you have any idea how boring it is to watch people sleeping in tubes? Mind-numbing.”

This...person looks more or less like a normal human, as far as you can tell, and they’re gesturing for you to follow. “I’m Ty, nice to meet you, I’ll be your conductor this--” they pause, squint, count on their fingers, then give up trying to figure out what time it actually is. “--Mevening? Aftermorn? Whatever. I wasn’t supposed to be on orientation duty more than once but here I am, fresh with instructions to answer questions better.”

Ty’s dark eyes appraise you as if judging your outfit, then xe raises xyr eyebrow. “First up, the bathroom’s over there. Second, don’t mind the noise in your head. You get used to it. Third, are you going on the field trip or not?”


THE STATION
WITH A LITTLE UNDER 24 HOURS before the ship makes its way to Hyrypia, now might be a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with Station 72-- either before you leave it or in preparation of finding yourself sharing it with a gaggle of strangers. Better claim your bed early.

The savviest eyes will note that a number of rooms in the Living Quarters show clear signs of having been inhabited at some point; however, there's a fine patina of stillness or stasis in those places. If this place was one where dust might gather, there might be a layer of it here. Exactly how long has it been since this last group of Hosts left for their Mission again?

Come the simulated morning, a strange slate colored craft resembling folded origami more than a ship waits in the Hangar. A small, bird-like woman attends to it and when the time is right she climbs into the cockpit, cheerfully inviting anyone who wants to go to the planet to ride along with her. Then it too leaves the Station and for a time the quiet left in its wake is very dense indeed.

HYRYPIA - THE FAR SHORE
DAY :042

A SHIP TO SHORE
THE SUN IS HIGH IN THE SKY before the first calls of the sailors can be heard heralding the shore in the distance. It isn’t long after that they get close enough that the passengers - the remaining members of the Envoy and their Hyrypian hosts (a thinning herd, it seems) - are encouraged to begin preparing themselves to disembark. It’s a messy process. Unlike the docks they boarded on, this place has no permanent mooring. Instead temporary docks are brought out from the ship itself, anchored in place by small vessels that swarm around it in the water as small fish around a shark. By the time the maneuver is complete and the passengers are packed, the afternoon is threatening to turn into evening. Still, there's enough light to see by as they are led down the ramps and the docks and out onto the loose, grey stones that make up the shore.

Where the Red Coast had been tall cliffs and sand, the Far Shore is formed of pebbles and small stones dotted with driftwood. It’s grey and bleak, a single path heading up the nearby low hills, covered in short greyish yellow scrub and lichen. This place is draped with an overcast sky, the clouds churning and wind gusting, the air cool and dry. In the distance a chain of mountains scrapes the sky, but there’s a quite a bit of distance between here and there. For now, the immediate task at hand is getting the caravan rolling along the rocky, pitted path through the lonely, hushed landscape. Wind hums through the hills, a mournful crying sound.

SHIFTING ODDS
WHEN CAMP IS FINALLY MADE each Envoy is encouraged to quickly pitch their tents and then summarily herded into them. The Morran apparently want to avoid any more murders in the dark. In what is almost certainly a rarity, this means the Hosts all find themselves sharing each other's company around a single brazier in their largest tents - raw meats, vegetables, a hearty broth and a large copper bowl have been provided by the Morran, but it's up to each envoy to prepare and cook their own meals tonight.

Maybe it's a dour evening - after all bonds will be broken once the ship arrives and some of your number make their way back to the Station; however, it certainly takes a turn for the positively grim when a large number of Hosts suddenly fall comatose at the exact moment Cathaway's ship pierces into the universe.

TWO ROADS DIVERGED
RENDEZVOUSING IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT has suddenly became more complicated. What was once an easy hike out of camp to meet with Cathaway's stealth ship now suddenly requires the movement of quite a few comatose Hosts (Rhan, for one, seems exceptionally distressed over the complication).

The comatose Hosts will have to be secreted away from camp to connect with the ship from the Station hidden in hills. Once there, it's time to make introductions, to say your goodbyes, and to wish others all the best. It may be some time before you see one another again.

---

((OOC Notes: This log covers the hatch on Day :041 and the arrival and/or retreat of Hosts on Day :042. As a reminder, please chime in on the OOC HEADCOUNT going on to indicate whether your character is staying on Hyrypia or on the Station. Please see THIS POST for breakdown on how recent drops are being handled.

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're brand new to the game. 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

ty | npc | ota on the station

[tynacious]

I. WAKEY WAKEY, DAY :041

((How does one react to an unusual person explaining unusual circumstances poorly? Feel free to interrupt Ty's lackadaisical mumblings; xyr orientation is open to improvisation.))

\o/

[poppycock]

( something is right. something is very wrong. klaus wakes from a peaceful sleep, familiar and unfamiliar in ways that ease and unease him in equal measure. he has only felt a sensation of waking like this once before, muddling through the dark, trying to find that pinpoint of light: when there was a dagger drenched in gold, buried deep into his chest and piercing his heart.

this is not that.

the high, soft voice of his daughter calling his name is the last he hears before coaxed into full consciousness. her small, baby-round face manifests in his mind's eye, the bridge of her nose and cheeks spotted with freckles. he sees her smiling, sweet and earnest, and then he remembers her distraught and confused, beseeching tears hanging in her eyes.

that was the last time he saw her, before — the sounds of being stalked, the creature in the woods, and the strange child's hand cold in his... there was black.

klaus' eyes flutter open. there is this, now, and he knows his stomach should turn at the realization: there is no panic, no pain, no hunger, no terror, no rage. no recognition but a sense of peace. his breath is steady; his heart beats sure. as a matter of course and instinct, he lifts his hand to the gentle tug at the back of his neck. he disconnects the tube. a sudden, suffocating weight bears on his chest until his mind breaks and the dams flood over. multitudes of terrors and angers and happinesses and longings crack open his skull and drown him, and the only relief he clings to are his own coming back to him: wrath and fear and heartbreak, horrible and bright.

his fingers press into his temples as he slides and half-stumbles out of his pod, his breath harsh through his nostrils as he fights to control the rolling invasion. he's not inept; after all, he has had plenty of practice with his own tumultuous, amplified feelings.

they quiet. through his own efforts or otherwise, it does not matter. he accepts the tide of clarity, on his knees where he had landed.

a voice is near, and he understands the words, the greeting, and the beginnings of what he assumes will be an inadequate explanation, considering the circumstances. instinct and impulse go hand in hand for klaus; paranoia and rage do too. they flare in him now, fill every crevice and well. whatever this treachery and deception is, he weathers it with violent force:

he is in front of the figure in less than the blink of an eye, his arm extended, a windpipe's integrity tested beneath his strength. ) What did you do to me?

talk about a meet cute

[tynacious]

[ The slight raise in Ty's brow seems an understatement of the surprise xe should feel at being attacked, but then again...it's hardly the first time. Instinct lifts xyr hands in a surrendering gesture, waving slightly for emphasis before xe tries to speak. ]

Hh...Huh?

[ A small wheeze is all xe musters before pressing xyr lips together in a bemused expression. Ty looks at the attacker, then to the attacker's arm. Lifted shoulders join lifted hands in shifting the surrender to a shrug, a silent communication of "Do you want me to answer, or would you rather just choke me?" ]

the beginning of a wonderful friendship

[poppycock]

( to answer the unspoken question: choke, actually. he would truly rather just enjoy choking the poor, unfortunate soul in his grasp, particularly at the most unimpressed response. this is evident at how klaus' eyes narrow and his lips curl in a slight sneer, his grip tightening with undeniable threat: he could (or believes he could, anyway) snap xyr neck like a twig.

though despite the demonstration, he also cannot argue the point. his grip loosens. ) Speak.

the bestest of friendships

[tynacious]

I didn't do anything to you. [ Xe clears xyr throat. ]

You were chosen. Same as everybody else.

[poppycock]

( debatable, is what he thinks, and also that he's not above killing the messenger. but for now, onto more pressing subjects, considering xe's worth more alive than dead. for now. ) Chosen for what? By who? ( klaus disregards the rolling fear in his gut; who could have so much power and influence? not the hollow; surely they've defeated her. this is hardly her style. )

[tynacious]

Save the universe, of course. [ What else does anybody get Chosen for, after all? ]

And it's less of a who, more of a what. [ Xe risks taking a tentative step back, away from Klaus' reach. ]

[poppycock]

( at least it's tentative. prudent. perhaps he hasn't lost his touch. klaus' predatorily steady gaze does not deter, but his hand falls to his side. ) So this 'what' has tricked us all, ( yes, he has noticed the pods around them ) plugged us into some mind-numbing contraption and strung us up like puppets so we can be used as saviors of the universe —

( now this is recounted off with such a large measure of disbelief. so yes, klaus is advancing on ty again ) — and I don't recall you mentioning exactly what has been done to me. ( his first question. )

[tynacious]

[ Ty's hands go up again, both a gesture of submission but a ward against Klaus' advance. Xe keeps backing up to remain just out of arm's reach. ]

Ok, ok, look. As much as I'd love being reacquainted with what an edema feels like, can we just cool it? [ Xe takes a moment to brush some imaginary dust from the front of xyr shirt, then nods. ]

The what that saved you is the Nest. Without it the Enemy would've...I dunno, eaten you or whatever it does to the ones who don't get saved. It [ xe snaps xyr fingers-- ] snatched you up, stuck a symbiote in your brain, and now you're a Host. You get to live and the nest gets another piece in the chess game.

klaus really doesn't have a lot of friends can u tell

[poppycock]

( klaus considers it the height of audacity to consider he should be the one to 'cool it,' but he stops his forward momentum, in large part because it is the next step in this dance they are following. xe answered with some deference, acted or not, so perhaps another threat of bodily harm can be withheld.

contrary to his seething anger, he listens. he listens quite closely. how convenient it is that his abductors saved him from an even more convenient threat, and how sly it is for this miscreant to imply xe is either sympathetic to his plight or on klaus' side altogether. another chess piece, indeed.

however, it's the mention of a symbiote that sends his mind racing with the icy freeze of fear into his veins.

the tube, he assumes.

he doesn't have the courage nor will to check himself. which is why klaus is now bodily grabbing ty again (sorry ty) in an effort to get a good look at the base of his neck. )

ty's assessment: he's a really touchy feely guy

[tynacious]

[ Ty is grabbed and pulled wherever Klaus sees fit to displace xem, cooperating with the resigned groan of someone who deals with this more often than they'd like. ]

What happened to cooling it?

[ Flippant remarks aside, the base of Ty's neck, beneath the bedheaded mop of black hair, does bear a faint scar. Presumably, from where the tube was connected however many years ago. Judging by just how faint it is, it's been a long while. ]

...Find what you're lookin' for, there?

in a matter of speaking

[poppycock]

( klaus' hands are firm and hardly gentle as he bends ty's neck forward and exerts unnecessary strength to pin him in place. he stills at his eyes catch the faint line of scarring, barely raised on ty's skin. he doesn't want to consider any of this is real or true; his every sense rebels against the notion, but for whatever reason it seems both he and his new companion were on the same boat, at some point. it's hardly enough to inspire a warm, fuzzy feeling of camaraderie let alone the barest flicker of sympathy or trust, but it is confirmation.

of what? this insanity? being taken from his home, his daughter, his family? deposited somewhere with a deluge of feelings and voices in his head?

(alone. as he already had been. what he had been facing was an eternity alone.)

he releases ty with a rough shove, pulling in and letting out a shaky breath afterwards. ) 'Cooling it' would imply I have any interest in entertaining your questionable hospitality and honesty. And what are you? A friendly face, perhaps? Am I supposed to listen to you weave a shared tale of woe and circumstance, and sympathize?

( the words are annunciated with albeit genuine contempt veiling his fear. despite the effort, klaus' eyes are slightly rounded with the latter. more importantly, he inquires, ) Why haven't you taken that out?

*pokes the bear*

[tynacious]

[ Ty stumbles from the force of the shove, chuckling and readjusting xyr clothes. Not that it really matters--compared to all the sleek space onesies the others wear, Ty looks like a pretty-faced hobo. One who, apparently, doesn't seem to be taking this whole intimidation tactic seriously-- ]

...

[ --an attitude which is only punctuated by the deafening lack of an answer to any of Klaus' queries. Xe's still just fussing over xyr ruffled feathers. ]

bear effectively poked

[poppycock]

( his companion certainly doesn't seem to be taking much of anything seriously. the sound of xyr chuckling sears right through klaus; he quiets, his breath evening, and takes a measured and stalking step to the line of pods beside him. ) Perhaps I should take it out for you, ( he suggests in a soft, slow promise. not a threat, but a warning. though considering xyr behavior so far, he has doubts even that will land its mark.

but perhaps. ) Or out of any number of these lovely pods. ( he's well aware of how symbiotes work. that this would theoretically harm him is no matter; he'd do it out of pure spite and be happy for it. )

[tynacious]

And here I thought you wanted answers.

[ Seems it doesn't matter how cooperative Ty deigns to be; every road leads to threat of violence. Ty crosses xyr arms and leans against the pod nearest xem, seemingly still unperturbed, though still waters can be deceiving.

Of course xe won't let Klaus do that. Have a little faith. ]

Eh, wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong. Go on, then.

[ Xe inspects xyr nails for a moment, quite casually. ]

But--I assume you do know what a symbiote is...right?

[poppycock]

( for the first time in this interaction, klaus smiles. it's not a particularly friendly or inviting smile; in fact, there's something vicious in the cut of his dimples and cruel in the gleam in his eyes.

still waters can be deceiving, but people are easy to read, if you know what to look for and find which buttons to press.

obviously he's being deflected from his intended course so obviously he's hit some nerve. why else would ty conveniently place xyrself between him and his target? )

What I want is an explanation and then I want a way out of here, even if I have to go through all of you, the Nest, and the Enemy to do it.

[regalled]

[New hosts were loud. There were some constants in the universe, even after all this time. Their minds unguarded, their senses overwhelmed and overwhelming. A new hatch, even a small one, brought chaos with it. Thoughts and feelings and urges and intent.

It was not his habit to search for those things, but when they were broadcast loud they were unavoidable, and in certain cases there was a benefit in that. New hosts were often the most volatile, and Ty- was not practiced. Prince is listening, perhaps, closer than he might usually. Useful, when he could not rely on the thin strand of the connection that stretched between him and xyr to be particularly forthcoming. An understandable thing that seemed less so with a twisting edge of anger and the sour taste of something like intent lingering behind it.

The station was a labyrinth. It twisted and turned, a certain organic elegance in the layout of its corridors and rooms. It was easy to get lost, unless you knew your way. Prince knew his way very well. It takes little time at all to get from where he was to where he is now, nearly silent footsteps as he comes up the corridor and onto the Nesting Deck, coming to a stop just inside the entrance, broad arms crossing over an equally broad chest.

He doesn't say anything yet, but he does raise his eyebrow at Ty, expression flat and mind very, very quiet.]

[tynacious]

[ Ty chuckles again and shakes xyr head. ]

I mean I could give you one of those things, but if you're planning on going through anybody... [ Xe points past Klaus to where Prince is standing. ] I think he's first in line.

[ Directing xyr attention to Prince, Ty gives a small nod and a two-fingered salute. ] Hey Princey. We got a live one, here. You could probably tell.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ this seems about right

[poppycock]

( even through the dull, unaccustomed roar in his head, klaus' amplified senses are functioning just fine. he hears the soft footfalls behind him only a moment before they stop; he hears the shifting of body weight and the rustling friction of clothes.

klaus turns enough to keep ty in his peripheral, his brows raised as xe fills in some blanks and klaus takes this newcomer's measure. he supposes this assumed royalty seems a bit more impressive. amusement bubbles in him at the title, in large part because he has always preferred being king himself. ) Ah. A prince.

( he's flattered. ) Perhaps of a more useful stock? ( he gestures a meaningful hand ty's way. )

[regalled]

Ty.

[Terse, but the look he was pointing at xem turns instead to the new host.]

It is not a title. [anymore. His voice is low and even and measured.]

My name is Prince. I'm one of the guardians of this place. I would ask you redirect your- [a pause, a careful consideration] frustrations from Ty. I know xe can be somewhat vexing, but the job xe has been asked to do is thankless.

[tynacious]

[ Sotto voce: ] Story of my life...

[poppycock]

( a guardian, then. so he has moved up the ladder. good. he does so want to direct his frustrations where they may yield better results, or at least face a challenge.

klaus folds his hands behind his back like any gentleman having polite conversation would, turning his back on ty to fully face prince. what might seem like a dismissal is not; he is still fully aware of who is behind him. ) Well I can't imagine spinning abduction and violation ever is. I'd like to hear your take on it.

[regalled]

[There is a measured beat, a careful lack of attention payed to Ty's rebuttal.]

I have no take to give you. Only the truth of the thing, whether or not you chose to accept it.

[A conversation that does not need to happen from half a room away- and certainly not with the young host standing closer to Ty- rumpled more than usual- than to Prince. So he takes a few steps, narrows the distance to something more comfortable before he continues.]

You were hunted by something that wanted you dead. This you must already know, because you are here. This same thing hunted us all, in one form or another, threatening to tear its way through anyone or anything that would stand in the way of it's goal. You are still alive because you were brought here instead. [Such a cold comfort.]

But while the Enemy did not take your life, it has taken everything else from you. You cannot go back where you came from while it still searches for you. If you do, it will hunt you again, and it will succeed where it once failed. You will die. And you would not be here if you wanted to die.

[That could change. It was always a risk, but a chance was better than none at all. And a choice-]

That is the truth of the thing.

[roseinpromenade]

[The last thing Asellus remembers is the sharp pain in her ribs and the crash of her body into the ground; she is, as a result, pretty grateful to wake up able to breathe painlessly, though that grace is immediately overshadowed by her head, exploding into about a billion emotions, complicated and foreign and almost painful in their intensity. She's about halfway scootched out of her pod when the wave crests and she pauses, looking intensely distracted and distressed as her mind instinctively tries to shut out all the noise. For a few moments, she's staring off into nothing, heart pounding-- and then she pushes through it, trying her best to ignore the sourceless noise in favor of one more obviously generated.

"Good m--" Asellus also seems to consider this, though it's more polite and rote repetition of a common platitude, and less of a 'it is morning outside' observation. "I... really have to stop waking up in strange places. Um... I haven't... been sleeping here for like twelve years, have I?" Her face indicates that she's dreading any sort of affirmative answer on that front. "Wherever 'here' is, anyway." She looks down at her frayed clothing and makes a moue of distaste. At least it's not bloodsoaked and completely destroyed, though she'd be happier in something more clean and comfortable.

the keyword for your icon...i'm dying

[tynacious]

[ Ty's brow quirks upwards. ]

No. I don't know. I definitely haven't been watching you sleep that long. [ Xe hasn't truthfully been watching any of them sleep for any significant amount of time. That would be creepy. Xe's mostly just been napping, drawing faces on the outsides of pods, and meandering.

Kind of convenient that xe always manages to end up back here right on time for new Hosts to wake up. ]

Here is the Nest. Or the Station, whichever you wanna call it. It's home now. [ Ty points to the cubby near Asellus' feet. ] Your space-onesie is there.