subdivided | week two: mingle

week two: mingle

Week Two
26 in Competition

As the sun rises on Monday morning, all participants will find themselves awakening with a sense of purpose. Regardless of where they slept the night before, they’ll find themselves compelled to return to the main meeting hall first thing in the morning.

Approaching the hall, however, they will find a large, swirling mass grey in color looming near the sakura tree. This swirl cannot be approached just yet, but seems to be locked and waiting for something more.

As the last member of the village enters the hall, they will find Lune and Sol at the head of the room. Though they’re together, it’s Lune who speaks up first this time.

"Good morning, good morning. You've done well to purge the corruption in the previous gateway - allow us to assist with the finishing touches. For the time being, it would appear as though we've been able to locate another. The land might appear a bit familiar to some however... I only advise you watch your step."

When Lune finishes, Sol chimes in from their place at Lune's side.

"The corruption is still out there, and we're going to do all that we can to find a way to contain it. But until then... stick close to others this week. Do your best to protect yourselves and look after each other. Okay?"

The moment participants leave the hall, they will find that the gateway has changed from grey to white, the opening widening enough for multiple people to step through. The Signs will soon take their leave, and all will remain peaceful once more.

The only oddity is that throughout the week, in a noise that extends past the portal but seems to resound even through the village, there will be the occasional, resounding call of a war horn.

In addition, as the week goes on, partners will find ever-growing feelings of anxiety and nervousness dwelling within them the longer they are separated from one another. They will feel compelled to be very close to their partners at all times, and will be on edge if separated for more than an hour by the end of the week. Welcome to surprise codependence at its finest.

Welcome to your week two mingle! As a reminder, murder proposals are open. We will also be hosting a mini-event on Tuesday, so please be on the lookout for that.

In addition, ensure that all of your week one private conversations were reported on the page, and your week two private conversations are reported on that page. If you'll be taking anything from locations, please report that as well.

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[ She's trying to be obedient for once, but it doesn't help that she's really never been this up close and personal with combat. All the fights she's seen were something she controlled through her tablet, safe in her own home. Even when she tries to keep out of the way, to keep herself small and in the shadows, it's no surprise that she would distract him.

He only hisses, but Akane is startled enough to gasp. It's debatable if she was startled by the sudden trap or actually distressed that he got hurt. It's enough to draw the attention from one of the attackers.

In a panic, Akane reaches into her hoodie pocket to take out... Her box cutter? Sure, that'll do in a pinch. Without hesitation, she stabs the ghoul and snaps the blade off at its breaking-line. ]

We--med kits! We have med kits, if we can get away!

Only if they're necessary. If it were fatal, I'd know.

[You don't use traps with fatal poison to kill slowly, after all, not this far into where you live. He uses his dagger to finish off the one Akane's stabbed, with an approving nod at the blade broken off in them, before taking her by the arm and pulling her along into the mirrored area.

The footsteps continue behind them, but it's harder to make heads or tails of this area-- detrimental to them too, but harder to pursue them as well. Along the way, he takes a moment to check his pulse (not slowed), his breathing (fine), and his other senses (sharp); if there was anything in the dart, it's not apparent.]

--I'll be all right. Take a moment to breathe.

[There's movement from the corner of his eye, in one of the mirrors, but when he looks... it's nothing. Hm.

They might still be fine.]

Even if it's not fatal, shouldn't we still... Do whatever you do with injuries?

[ Wash them? Bandage them? Maybe he's right, maybe they just don't have time. Akane jerks out of his grip harshly, but still follows him without complaint, and follows his advice to try and even out her breathing. She's just not... Big on being touched so suddenly. Or having to stab something herself. Ugh.

... She follows his gaze, but there's... Nothing there...? ]

Why is it like a fun-house, here...?

It's not a large enough wound to be concerned with.

[He lets her pull away easily enough-- he's not going to force contact-- and keeps his weapons in hand as he leads her further, his pace slower now to allow her more of a break.]

This is meant to disorient others, most likely. Your own movements can startle you easily like this.

[Shirasu glances in one of those mirrors as they pass it-

And for a moment, he freezes. It's still his face looking back at him, but... not entirely. Identical, yet separate, and above all else familiar.

A heavy breath, and he shakes his head to try to clear it, moving on.]

Then is it better to slow down...?

[ Hmm, she's trailing... A little further back from him than she should be. She just doesn't want to distract him again--not after he got hurt. Not when he's getting startled by his own reflection. She doesn't want him to catch her reflection from the edge of his sight and have a heart attack.

... She's still not attentive enough to keep from walking into him when he freezes. ]

And it's working on you. [ An observation without judgment, which is as close as she gets to expressing concern. ]

...it's nothing.

[It's something. He's absolutely more tense now, and the second shake of his head is a quicker motion; his eyes move from mirror to mirror, though not all show him the same thing. (Enough of them do that he has to wonder if he's being haunted.)

Honestly, she's lucky that bumping into him just increases that tension and doesn't result in that dagger being turned on her.]

We should keep moving. This place isn't going to be safe to stay in.

[-but his pace is maybe a little quicker than it should be, when she's been trailing, and leaves more distance between them than he's been allowing before.]

[ The way he had fought and the way he's always talked to her has given her the impression that Shirasu should be a little more competent than this. She hasn't put two and two together with that injury thought--hallucinations from a dart don't occur to her. That's not how she would deploy them, after all.

She's keeping her distance to keep from startling him, but just as much to keep an eye on him. She's not worried or anything!! Who would worry!! Not Akane!!! ]

It's not nothing.

It isn't important, Akane.

[No -chan this time, and he definitely sounds a little terse, grip tighter on his dagger, not bothering to look back at her. What is he supposed to say? That this place is apparently driving him mad? That he keeps seeing a face that both is and isn't his own, that sometimes the shadows are more than what they should be?

It would occur to him that it's an effect of that dart, if it weren't so distracting on top of keeping an eye out for their enemies.]

[ She probably should not take that so harshly. She shook off him grabbing her--that was for her safety. And she gets that he's in pain or whatever, but. Hmph. Rude.

She's petty and not used to dangerous situations, so her concern easily veers into frustration, and it's all too easy to turn that into indignation. Akane huffs and steps closer to him, less mindful of her reflection in the mirrors, less mindful of keeping quiet. ]

It is. You're here to keep me safe, aren't you?

[ How is she supposed to be confident in that when you're flinching at your own reflection? ]

I'm here to do what we need to--

[Shirasu cuts off there as he turns to face her, except- what he sees isn't Akane. Instead those visual mirages cause him to see one of their pursuers, all too close all of a sudden.

His eyes widen in surprise, then narrow just as quickly as he acts on reflex, dagger stabbing into their (her) arm.

Another shift, right before his eyes this time. It's not an enemy anymore, but neither is it Akane in front of him; there's a different, more familiar face there again, bleeding from the exact same place as they did years ago, looking up at him as if asking how he could allow this to happen again. This time it's entirely his fault--

Shirasu withdraws the dagger quickly and steps back, his breath coming a little faster, expression uncertain. It isn't possible, he knows that, but all the same...

He doesn't quite say it aloud, but his mouth still moves, silently forming a name she might or might be able to read. If she's even paying attention to that after he literally just stabbed her.]

Edited 2019-06-19 05:22 (UTC)

[NOPE Akane can't read that. She screams at the pain, a scream that would probably be longer if she didn't remember their situation and immediately slap her own hands over her mouth. Which means moving the arm that just got stabbed; feeling a second wave of pain shoot through her.

Akane collapses to her knees--somehow this helps her keep the scream down.

When she uncovers her mouth to speak, she doesn't even sound scared. Just furious as she glares up at him, too caught up in her own pain to have the proper sympathy for his obvious problems. ]

What are you doing?

Akane-chan--?

[It's unnerving, hearing her voice from what looks like someone else... but he blinks once, twice, and it fades. There's just Akane in front of him, bleeding and angry, and he shakes his head once more as he kneels next to her.]

The kit. That needs to be wrapped quickly, they'll be following the noise.

[His voice is lower, a little more focused, more urgent as he holds a hand out for it. If she's willing to let him help, anyway.]

I-- you didn't look like yourself. There were other reflections in the mirrors that shouldn't be there, that... something's gone wrong.

[ She isn't willing to take his help and flinches away from him... Until she realizes that he's right; their attackers must have heard that, and it's not as if she knows how to bandage herself properly. Or that she can coordinate it when it's her arm that's hurt.

She digs one of the medical kits from her bag with her uninjured arm and cautiously hands it to him, her whole body tense. ]

...

[ She only feels safe looking away from him to glance to the mirror for a second, but--of course it's still normal to her. ]

They're just mirrors. It's just me.

...it's not affecting you, then.

[The dart? Now that he has a moment to think... maybe. There's been no other obvious effect. But maybe it's just him.

He exhales a slow, steadying breath as he takes the kit and gets to work, careful to touch her as little as possible in the process of wrapping that wound.]

Your appearance changed, but your voice didn't. Keep it down, but keep speaking.

[It'll be a reliable way to tell it's still her.]

You might-- have to point out whether things are there or not. I'll need a second pair of eyes, just to be certain.

[ ... That's... Kind of like controlling the kaiju, in a way. Telling them what to do. Okay. She can do that.

She takes a shaky breath, then: ]

Okay. Okay, well... [ Hm, what should she even say? When there isn't anything to be commanding him to do, all she has are questions. ] What are you seeing? Just the enemies?

Edited (icon) 2019-06-19 21:01 (UTC)

...no. You looked like one of them at first, but- then you were someone else.

[He glances up to her briefly there, as if making sure she's all right-- and hesitates a moment, frowning, before he quickly looks back down.]

It's somewhat disorienting.

[And with a gesture at an empty area nearby, before he cuts off a length of bandage and begins to wrap it around her arm:]

I'm going to assume there's nothing actually there.

[There sure is not.]

[ She does her due diligence to look closely at the empty area, squinting at it to make sure, but...? ]

There's no one there.

[ How is it only somewhat disorienting? She's disoriented and she's not even experiencing it... And what she really wants to know is: ]

... Who was it? That you saw?

[ She actually likes Shirasu so ordinarily she might not pry, and this really isn't the time, but she's in pain, so she's got bad manners, and she doesn't know what else to talk about. ]

Someone I knew from home.

[Using past tense might hint at a couple things, there, but-- Shirasu leaves the explanation at that, quickly finishing his work and tying off the bandage. It'll need to be done with more attention paid to it when they get out of here, but for now he thinks it should stem the bleeding.

After a moment, he pauses again, glancing back the way they'd come and focusing as he listens to something.]

...they're catching up. Just one or two, I think. I'll need you to confirm, but I should be able to take them-- after that, we may have an escape route.

[And after that he might be a little more willing to speak.]

[ Hm. Yeah, that's. A thing, she assumes. Interesting.

She's quiet for a moment too, trying to hear. At first she can't - her hearing isn't as trained - but then: ]

Here they come, they're--

[ --here. Akane, you suck. She isn't sure just how much guidance he needs, or how much he might be hallucinating. Seeing things? Not seeing things? Seeing extra things? And given that he just mistook her makes her plan of pointing kind of stupid. ]

Uh - just two, straight ahead...! Mirror to the left of them.

[ She can't entirely trust he wouldn't mistake a mirror for a true enemy in this state... ]

...if you're certain that's what they are.

[He's already pushed himself to his feet and positioned himself between them and Akane, but... he appears to be hesitating, for just a few moments.

They're there, that's for sure. What's less sure is that they aren't who they look like to him-- it's like this affliction is designed to make one both uncertain of their surroundings and uncertain of whether to act.

After a moment though, he shakes it off. It isn't as if he hasn't done this before, in at least one case-- so he shifts his grip on his dagger and pushes himself forward.]

Stay there. If you absolutely have to move, tell me.

[Knowing that spot is where she's supposed to be is what's gonna keep her from being stabbed again, basically.]

[ She nods at her instructions. Staying put is the easiest thing to do when you're injured, so... No problem. ]

I'm sure of it. They're not--anyone. They're zombies.

[ And she would probably stop there, but she needs to keep talking, because sure, keeping still is a fine strategy, but her voice seems more reliable than Shirasu's perception right now. ]

I promise. Trust me.

...all right.

[Trust, for someone like him, is hard to come by-- but right now, he doesn't have a choice but to trust her directions, because they don't look like that to him at all.

He appears to step over something that's not actually there as he darts forward, slicing one's neck with what might be alarming ease. In the process, his blade breaks the beads they wear, freeing the scroll and letting it drop to the floor; he doesn't stop to pick it up, though, busy ducking a grab from the other.]

Tell me if more of them come--

One down.

[ Hm, she knows that the commander or whoever wants that scroll, but she's smart enough not to go try to retrieve it now.

She keeps her eyes on Shirasu, impressed, but still concerned by things like him stepping over nothing. Um, but she's transitioned into just? Cheering him on?? Sure. ]

Just one left, you can do it...!

[He comes very close to saying that yes, he knows he can, but that might not be so easy to believe when he also stabbed her unintentionally just a few minutes ago? So. Shirasu keeps his focus on his target, striking at the legs to disable them before driving the blade into their chest.

Considering he can't actually see the scroll on them, this strike isn't as lucky, but they are at least down. It'll be hard to follow them when their pursuer can't walk.]

...that should do it. Let's get out and get your arm proper treatment, Akane-chan.

... I'm coming closer to you, okay?

[ It feels silly to announce it, but she is moving, so - better safe than sorry.

She stops to pick up the scroll from the first body, then veeeeers wide around the other one. She's still not entirely convinced they aren't zombies so if it can still bite her ankles it's still a threat! ]

Hey, that guy wanted these things, right? The scrolls?

week two: mingle

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