exsiliumlogs | [closed] So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road

Entry tags:

[closed] So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road

Date & Time: forward dated: Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th March
Location: a fair way into the Outlands
Characters:
Asami Sato

chittybang, Cedric Diggory

theboywhodied, Collette

whatsupcroc, Ellie Linton

reconnaissance, Fi Maxwell

burnsinvisibly, Katniss Everdeen

accidentalrebellion, Mitsuki Ishikawa

drowns, Peter Parker

arachnoid, Steph Brown

controlledvariable
Summary: Nine teenagers with varying degrees of trauma decide to go camping.
(Actually, eight teenagers get bullied into going camping by Ellie.)
Warnings: Not sure yet; I'll add them as they come up. At the very least some language, and fallout from PTSD.

Ellie had found the place once before on her wandering into the Outlands; a dilapidated old barn, with stone walls and a roof that was, by some miracle, completely intact despite all the evidence of nature clambering up its walls and trying to reclaim it for the land. There's a hill leading down to it, and if you follow that hill down, you meet the woods, a big lake. It's beautiful, she thinks. Nowhere near so wild as Hell, but that was better.

Finding that place had been how it started, before thinking about getting some of the others together had kicked in. A way to unwind, after the body swap. At the very least a chance to get some decent people all together in the same place (and maybe a way to apologise to Asami for pointing a gun at her that one time).

OOC: Party style, adventures everyone.Just go wild, if you want it to be set at a particular time, maybe specify in the subject line? I'm doing some starters just... in case that helps but do whatever you like tbh. YEAH. There's also the ooc plotting post so chuck folks in there and scheme and let the madness and CR unfold.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( Much as she'd love to just kick back and relax, some habits die hard. And when it was her idea to come out here, to get together a bunch of people that she thinks are more than halfway decent, then there's no way in hell she's going to slack off and not have a sentry. Just in case.

So it's some stupid hour, and while there are others gathered around the fire, Ellie is up on the roof, keeping watch. She yawns, rubs her eyes, and wipes the rain out of her eyes. Logic said you shouldn't sit in the rain to keep sentry, but right now the rain feels refreshing, like her skin is too hot and prickly. )

( Collette had ducked off when nature called, staying around the peripherals after the fact. She's used to being in a smaller group. Her and Caesar, getting a feel for things when she was the one with the reliable means of keeping them safe. Which was weird in its own way, because that had not been her role before. She's always been support, sure, if she looks at her short career as a freedom fighter, but never on her own before here.

Collette wonders when things started being a lot more of "on her own" and less "as part of the whole." When she arrived here, she guesses; about the time when she was dying as part of the whole.

It's a miserable thought. When she demorphs, it's all in order to take to the skies to forget.

Bat makes sense, small as it is, ragged and sporadic as its flight will always be. She zips back toward the fire, then away, a small dark shape lost among raindrops and darkness under the cover of the perpetual clouds making up Exsilium's sky.

It's half an hour before Ellie leaves an impression Collette considers past acknowledging someone as sitting high up above the rest. When they don't leave, when they stay in the same general place, then she wonders. Fitting back Ellie's way, Collette clicks and reads the feedback her ears give her on the shape of what lies beneath her. )

< Enjoying the view up here? >

Jesus, Collette.

( That was going to take a while to get used to, that sudden voice in her head. Sometimes it felt like her mind was crowded enough already, and having someone else in there was too much. On the other hand, part of her is already considering the advantages of something like that for tactics. Glancing around for wherever she might be, she finally spots the flitting figure of the bat, and grins. Steph should see that, she thinks, find out she's not the only bat girl around. The smile is sharp and ragged, but it's meant to show some happiness Collette is there, after that shocked outburst. )

So far, so good. As long as it stays all clear, I'll be enjoying it.

( Her gaze doesn't stay on Collette long - she needs to keep an eye on the surround. )

( Collette circles in the haphazard fashion of a bat once, twice, mostly hearing Ellie and volunteering some little conversation of her own. )

< How well can you really see in this dark? I mean, our location's pretty nice, what, makes it hard for anyone to sneak up on us if they don't follow really close to the crumbling wall. Mind if I come down for a landing? >

Make yourself comfortable.

( Collette was more considerate than some of the others back home, that's for sure. )

I can see well enough. ( A little defensive. ) It's easier to spot people when they're moving, or if there's a light, you can see. People can be noisy, too.

( Especially when they reckon they've got a right to be somewhere. )

( She drops out of the sky, backwinging and coming to a skittering landing off to the left of Ellie. Bats aren't made for walking, and Collette doesn't try. Once she rights herself, she starts her demorph.

No real fanfare, just the disjointed, grotesque ballooning of a hand-sized bat blowing up to human teenage proportions, colors and fur and hair and limbs angling and bulging and twisting around to the right directions simultaneously. It's never smooth as a transition, and now is no exception to the rule.

She finally speaks when she's leaning hard on the hand that had emerged from the bat's spindly fingered wing first. This is disorienting, but no more so than normal. Collette sounds cheerful and quiet, the latter out of respect for what they were doing. )

Noisy like we all have been, huh? Yeah, you're right. It's not just people who act like that, either. It's anyone who thinks they've got the jump on someone else, or no reason to suspect they're being watched or waited for.

You 'right? ( She doesn't look during the transition - there's this intense curiousity, but just imagining iin her head is awful, your body stretching and rearranging, bones disappearing and reforming. It makes her stomach turn, brings to mind bloody bodies and human remains. So she isn't looking, won't, but asks Collette because like Hell she's going to let her fall off a flaming roof.

Somehow, she chuckles, just quietly. ) Yeah. ( Her mouth flickers with a smile, just briefly. ) I'd forgotten how loud a bunch of teenagers can be. We all got so used to being quiet all the time. ( It's nice not to be, to just let loose and be ridiculous. ) You having fun?

I'm having a blast!

( She doesn't disguise the sincerity of her tone, let alone her enthusiasm. She does bring her voice back down to a mumble, trusting that to obscure words to anyone listening from close by. )

I mean, I've been camping before while I've been here, but that's been with Caesar, Which isn't so bad, he's a half-way decent cook for a lazy bones, but it's definitely a different kind of fun. Like the difference between a fat lazy cat who naps in the sun and wakes up to show off how smart he is every so often, and a pack of dogs who can work together okay and have their own energy and playfulness and stuff!

( That was a horrible metaphor and she should be ashamed. )

Probably helps we're all mostly modern, though.

( Ellie smiles a bit, but glances down, as if she's somehow a bit embarrassed by it. Only a couple of seconds, and then she's sweeping her gaze over the horizon again, keeping watch for any movement in the dark. )

This Caesar guy sounds pretty interesting. ( And vaguely reminiscent of Homer. Not that Homer wasn't a hard worker, he was, but he'd have been sitting by the fire and letting everyone wait on him hand and foot, if he could get away with it. Thankfully, between her and Robyn, they'd made sure he never got in the habit of that. Homer could get his own bloody tea and slippers, if he wanted them.

Ellie laughs at the metaphor, terrible as it is. ) Yeah. Too bad so many of you are American, but.

He really is.

( She doesn't bother disguising the warmth in her tone, fairly nonplussed on the subject of Caesar. She turns toward Ellie, laughing. )

Hey! I'll have you know that we're of the very finest quality of American stock. Even if none of us are from the heartland of our great country. Though seriously, I don't think I've met anyone from the midwest! You'll have to settle for a bunch of us from Jersey and California. Clearly the best of the States.

( She grins, winking. )

Caesar's not from Earth, if that's any comfort.

You could do a poll on the network when we get back, see what that brings up. We could run a mini-census.

( Ellie, that was a bit of a jump. ) It could be good for those record things. ( God, she's neglected that idea. There's been too much other stuff. )

Oh, thanks. Australia's equivalent to being from another planet, is it? You're a real pal.

( Huff huff huff no she loves you really, Coll )

( Her grin turns cheeky. )

I figured you'd feel more at home hearing we've got other Twilight Zone human-alien types around! That's me, looking out for human interests since, uh, '97.

( She gives a firm nod of her head, like what she said wasn't totally ridiculous. )

I like the census thing. I'd way not want to run it for like, real census purposes, but getting an idea would be kind of fun!

( Deadpan: ) I'm from '94.

( But Ellie grins, nonetheless, even as she casts another look over the perimeter. She could loosen up a bit, but she never really unwound all that much. Especially not on sentry duty: under all the jokes and teasing there's a lot of tension. Idly, she checks the safety on her rifle - off. Good. ) I'll remember how considerate you've been when your birthday rolls around. When is that, anyway?

( not that she cares about birthdays. Well. It was hard to celebrate birthdays when you had no idea of the month, so you'd just kind of sit up one day and go "huh, guess my birthday happened" when you realised the season for it had passed. That's how it had been for most of them, but it felt so strange, after celebrating it for all those years. And birthdays seemed like the best way to observe Corrie and Robyn and Chris' deaths, to remember them, even if she couldn't remember exactly when his birthday was. )

Yeah. I wonder how many people would really be honest, though. There seems to be a whole lot of complicated people in Exsilium. If it were anonymous, maybe they'd go for it.

If we go anonymous, I vote someone who isn't me put it up. Barnaby and like everyone I know can spot my anonymous tries from a mile away! It's very terrible, to be obvious when you're trolling on the intranet.

( She nods, tone light as her eyes scan the area and she taps out a quiet tempo on her thigh. The cold's finally getting to her; Collette shivers. )

Aah, birthdays? Mine's during the winter. December 24th and all.

( There's a half shrug and a half smile, still considering the last thing Ellie had said about complicated people in Exsilium. She sure has that part right. )

Steph might be a good one, or Mitsuki. They both know their way around computers. Mitsuki was trying to teach me some filters and locks and stuff, but I don't know how interested either of them would be in our genius plan.

( Call it her protective streak: Ellie hauls off her jacket, strap of her gun hung about her neck, before she's dropping the jacket around Collette's shoulders, hooking her gun back up in her arms. No comment, no fuss. Collette getting sick would be a bigger disaster than if she did, and Ellie's put up with worse. Besides, there's a fire downstairs for when she finishes watch.

If she finishes watch. She's not too sure she wants to, yet. )

November, for me. Then I'll finally be old enough to vote.

( Because there's so much of an Australian government left for her to vote in? At least she doesn't sound as harsh and bitter as she did when she first arrived. )

( Collette looks mildly surprised; rather than saying anything, she flashes Ellie a thankful smile. Oddly, this reminds her of meeting Batgirl. )

Thanks, Nightowl.

( What else is deadly, quiet, and watching at night? Cassie... Cassie who she hasn't seen for almost a year. )

Hey, cool! November what? That's eighteen in Australia, like it is in the States, right?

Aren't all owls nocturnal?

( Don't be obnoxious, Ellie, accept the amusing nickname. She grins back, even as she wrinkles her nose a bit, self-deprecating. )

Nineteenth. And yeah, it is. I'll finally be an adult. ( Phew. ) Guess I better start acting like a grown up. What about you? How old do you turn?

( Collette snorted, lips quirked up in a smile. )

Seventeen. This December, I turn seventeen.

( For the first and only time. She wrinkles her nose, returning to the topic of owls. )

They're totally diurnal, too! They're just way better night hunters. Flying silent does that for you!

Seriously?

( That makes her sad, almost. She remembers when she was sixteen, before the war, when turning seventeen seemed so exciting. ) We gotta throw you a party. Owl themed.

( Huh! She didn't know that, raises an eyebrow. ) You do see the occasional tawny frogmouth during the day. I guess I never thought about it.

( She wishes she could move silently, but she says nothing.
Abruptly, perhaps, but-- she feels the need to ask it: ) Are you happy here?

Yeah.

( She avoids the sibilance of yes, head canting to one side as she looked outward, feeling a general ease somewhere close to her belly. It'd tightened at the mention of a party, in a mixture of intruige and awareness of how singular it'd be right now. One birthday, one celebration, the second one away from when she...

But she focuses on the warmth. )

I'm not happy about the war, or what the Initiative does, or what the United Earth does, but I'm happy here. It's the people, you know? Plus I'd be lying if I didn't say I enjoyed the excitment every once in a while.

( Left unpunctuated by a rise in tone, Collette makes it a statement instead of an exclamation. An honest statement over something not quite so delightful in the end. )

[The reality is that Katniss can't sleep.

It doesn't matter where she is. Whether or not she's alone. How far removed from any arena she becomes. The nightmares are purely clockwork. Mutts, ghosts, a four-note melody from a mockingjay that warps into something shrill and twisted, the blood-tinged scent of roses, all of it bombards her the same way it does every night, has her wildly gasping for breath as she jerks awake.

There is no relief. Any hope of that is long gone.

For some reason, she's found herself on the roof now as well. A reason, really, that amounts to her feet leading her here without much thought, but it's as good of a place to get air as any. Her arms fold across her chest in a futile attempt to maintain some kind of warmth almost as mindlessly as her feet move, and by the time she stops moving, she's still effectively lost in her own world.

Lost to the point that the presence of the other girl nearby doesn't register for the moment.]

( She can hear someone coming up, and glances over her shoulder when it strikes her that it doesn't sound like Steph. Katniss is almost a relief, really. Katniss is strange, and different, but sometimes that rawness and someone else who can understand it is what you want, or need around. And, more important. she hasn't hot-footed it back to the city.

Ellie smiles, just barely, but she's already turned to keep look out. Sabotaging her own expression. )

Hey. ( Quiet, rasped out, voice feeling rough from her last few hours of silence and the cold sinking into her throat. ) How you doing?

( Her fingers feel stiff, and she flexes them a bit. It's better being awake. There's too many things that can take over your mind when you're asleep. )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[closed] So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road

SENTRY

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject