Test Drive Meme #40

[hadrielmods]

Welcome to Hadriel's test drive, and thank you again for your interest in the game! As always, our reserves page is here, and our applications page is here! Reserves open January 24th, and apps are open February 1st. Please remember that there is an app cap of 20 apps.

Two quick points here as well:

1. Any thread made in Hadriel's test drive will be accepted as the sole Action Log sample in the application.
2. All threads made in the test drive can be considered game canon, either through handwaving or through a shared mental experience while coming through the Door!

Test drives will be broken up into specific god mini-events, during which your characters can see how well they fare under the watchful eye of one of the gods. Choose wisely or just simply pick 'em all, and have fun!

F E A R

SCENARIO ONE: SLURP SLURP
[The Door brings in all that is chaotic and evil in the world. This may include you, may include the person next to you... and may include the monster behind you.

What's that on the ceiling? Who's that skittering along the wall? Why, it's none other than the the Licker, from the Resident Evil series.

The licker crawls around on walls and ceilings and can easily avoid all attacks with their creepy crawly acrobatics. Watch out for those tongues, though- they can whip you with them and catch you off balance. They love waiting in dark corners to jump at you and slash you with their oversized claws, as seen here. Luckily, their brains are exposed and they're quite blind- move quietly and avoid their notice, or attack them in their weak spot to get away safely. Be careful though, they tend to travel in packs...]

T R A N Q U I L I T Y

SCENARIO TWO: CABIN IN THE WOODS
[It's nice outside. There's a heat to the air that permeates through the muggy interior of the cabin, but at night, it's cool enough that you can relax and see all the stars in the sky. The hot tub is a nice contrast to the chilly night air and the possibilities are practically limitless!

So cook something up on the grill, go hunting, or just relax and definitely don't get murdered, because you do happen to have a bit of an odd cabin mate. Why are the two of you sharing this cabin? Well, that's up for you to decide, but whether you're close friends who decided to take a vacation together or random strangers stuck together by circumstances, you're here for awhile so you might as well take the time to relax and get to know one another up here in these mountains!]

R A G E

SCENARIO THREE: MONSTER HOUSE
[It seems like you've just misplaced a few items at first- but after awhile, it becomes apparent that the items are misplacing themselves. Weird, right?

Maybe not that weird, because soon afterward, items of all shames and sizes start to move around, now well within sight. Their intent is clearly to annoy or even harm you, depending on how dangerous the item is... maybe a deathly pair of pants, to a set of keys that keeps running away from you, to a house consumed with the desire to- well, consume you.

Be careful of everything, be suspicious of items that may be trying to lure you in with their stillness, and have fun! This event is based on Hadriel's It's Aliiiive! event this month.]

Comments

Chyler Silva | Halo: Forward Unto Dawn

[childofaxios]

FEAR
[ When Chyler comes through the door, she doesn't come alone.

The teen is in full tac gear, with a MA5K Carbine slung across her back and an enormous rifle-like weapon cradled in her arms. A creature--person?--towers over her, dressed in full armor and snarling in a guttural language with a voice almost unnaturally deep.

Chyler hoists the weapon, backing up a couple of steps, bracing herself--and she fires, the recoil knocking her backwards onto the ground as one of the Lickers wraps its tongue around the Sangheili Zealot and yanks it over backwards. The sickly green projectile from Chyler's weapon smashes the Licker to goo against the roof of the tunnel she's found herself in.

But that leaves the Zealot, climbing to its feet and dragging the remains of the Licker's tongue from around its neck. And it leaves Chyler with the wind knocked out of her, a clear target, the alien weapon just out of reach. ]


TRANQUILITY
[ Chyler is not about this whole trapped in another universe thing. She's not able to relax, not with the remains of her cadre out there somewhere, facing down creatures she knows nothing about, struggling to survive. What do they think happened to her? Where do they think she went? Have they left her behind? She hopes so, honestly, she hopes they didn't stop to look for her when she disappeared.

That's where her thoughts are as she stands at the edge of the little cabin's porch, arms crossed, scowling out at the quiet woods. She's wearing her uniform, scrubbed clean and stitched up after her arrival.

Her hand is wrapped compulsively around her dog tags, squeezing them until she can feel the metal pressing against her palm. ]

Liv Moore | iZombie

[amwhatieat]

[i.]
[There is that moment of grogginess, wherein Liv contemplates what exactly has happened. Even as a hand comes up to her head and her eyes open, confusion flashes. She had been... at the morgue. That much she recalls. A cupcake. Yes, she had been making a cupcake. Not just any cupcake, mind, but one from the brain of the most recent deceased murdered suspect.

While some may find it a little creepy down there, it holds nothing to where she currently is, which is certainly not a morgue. She rises slowly, brushing the dirt off of her lab coat and presses the wigged hair behind her shoulders. As it is, she is standing there, a puzzled expression on her face. She does, surprisingly, look like your average human being today. Her skin has been tanned from its alabaster white, and her seemingly bleached blonde hair is a softer blonde, longer in length than usual. Black shoes, dark blue jeans and a black top patterned with cherries are partially covered by that white medical jacket that she wears.]

There goes my meal.

[It is half muttered under her breath, because whatever this is, she really wants nothing to do with it. Bad enough that her picture is plastered all across the newspaper (nevermind which paper it is), but now she's going without her meal, and stuck in who the heck knows where. Well, there has to be some logical answer, right? Or something, maybe... Drugged? But Ravi? Is he okay?

She stands there for a while, brow furrows, sorting through what she knows, although the scientific part of her is wondering how she knows this. A memory wipe? Even that doesn't make sense to her. There is a huff, arms crossing over her chest as she looks around. It's... some sort of ruins? She takes a few steps, before her foot kicks something across the ground. Bending, she notes that it is a phone, but not the one she owns. Liv moves to turn it on, but pauses when she hears a noise.]

Hello?

[There is a chill that crawls down her spine as her eyes roam around the shadows above her head and in the darkened corners. Typically, Liv doesn't need to worry about things that go bump in the night, because she is something that goes bump in the night. Being a zombie does have a lot of minuses, but there are also some benefits. Still, there is something very off about this situation as she starts walking again, glancing around every few seconds.]

[ii.]
[She feels a lot more at ease than she has in some time- well, excluding the brain that she had eaten of the mindfulness yoga instructor, although that zen personality is quite far from what Liv generally is. A go getter, an overachiever. For a time she had lost who and what she had thought that she was, and thinking that maybe, just maybe, she could return to a human and have a normal life, only to have it taken away...

Add to that everything that has been going on, and not just ending up there. That is only the icing on the cupcake that she had not have the opportunity to eat. It had seemed to be one disaster after another, and just when she thought it might be getting a little better, good old life came and slugged her, again.

Yet she looks completely serene as she sits on the lawn chair, feet bent over to one side, a spicy bloody Mary in hand. She's paler than when she first arrived, her hair shorter and closer to white than the softer blonde than when she first arrived, if anyone happened to see her then. She takes a sip of her drink, a hum of pleasure. Not as good as brains, but it is spicy, and that is something. Her eyes do lift as she hears someone coming closer.]

Oh. Hi! Bloody Mary? They're... a bit spicy.

[ooc; will match any format]

Sir Crocodile|One Piece

[crocodylinae]

F E A R

[Maybe you've been struggling with the lickers. That's fine, it's nothing to be ashamed about. They're disturbing enemies, and a challenge for many. The man standing before you however, has not had a bit of difficulty. The bodies of a group of the freaks are scattered around him, and the man himself stands impassively, unimpressed. He lights a cigar, and rolls his eyes at the mess around him.] Pathetic.

T R A N Q U I L I T Y

[Crocodile might not be the most sociable of people, or the most trustworthy, but for now he'll play nice. Or nice enough, at least. There's something to be said about the simplicity of enjoying a cabin with someone. Slumming it at it's best. Too bad that he's got a long enough list of people he'd choose over sharing one with a stranger.

Oh well. At least there's a hot tub to consider. Not that he'd go into it with anyone deemed a threat nearby, but still, it's a luxury.]

R A G E

[This might be one of the most interesting and annoying things that Crocodile has ever experienced. He'll tolerate the nonsense to some degree. But the moment an item gets in his way it gets blasted with a rush of violent sand.

There's not going to be much house left at this rate.]

ii

[braveoff]

[ Drake comes out of the cabin he's just found himself in to see something far more confusing -- because let's be real, he's been in Hadriel long enough that nothing is weird anymore. At least he's got his real memories this time, if the setting is another illusion. But he recognizes the head of white-blond hair, tells himself it can't be, until she senses someone approaching and offers him a drink.

...again? Really? Is this part of the trick? He decides to play along and see how she reacts, if she rolls with it she's probably not real. If she doesn't, well.

He doesn't mind doing this all over again, honestly. ]

Hey, Liv. I'd love one.

fear

[abyssalarcana]

[At first, Caedra is pleased to see the horrific humanoids as they crawl along the coliseum walls. Perhaps they are just human enough to be soul-bearing, while clearly inhuman enough that the gods have not granted them phones and welcomed them as emotional living creatures.

Alas, if only she could be so lucky. She puts a few down without any trouble and finds them wanting in both substance and challenge. But while others wrestle with the creatures and find them difficult to escape, one of the newcomers stands in their midst and pays them no more of his time or care than one might to ants.

Well, that's interesting. She walks over and raises an eyebrow, then nudges one of the desiccated corpses with the toe of her boot.]

I see you've made quick work of this batch. Have you just arrived?

shun kenzaki | origin

[yarinaosu]

fear;

[ Somehow, this feels more familiar than it has any right to. Is this just his life now? He knows what he did to deserve it , but still. After his first encounter with one of those... creatures trying to wind its slimy tongue around him, he's understandably a lot more on edge. He skulks around in the shadows carefully - practiced, as if he's done this far too much before - and guarded.

Actually, the guy that holds a gun right to your face with a gaze colder than the ice outside might seem more intimidating than any monster lurking around the corner. Thankfully, his weapon has a light attached on top that illuminates that fact that you are not a threat (at least, not the apparent threat).

If you thought this would make him lower the gun, however, you're sorely mistaken. ]

Who are you?

tranquility;

[ Don't mind the dude just straight grillin' some yakitori. Your cabin mate isn't really much of a conversationalist, but like- He's also not the worst person you could be sharing a space with. Shun's tidy, minds his own business, does his own thing and doesn't disrupt your zen space or whatever.

(Despite what one might think, he is also interested in the hot tub but doesn't actually use it for a plethora of reasons including, but not limited to, he doesn't know you and it'd be a weird sort of vulnerability he is absolutely not about.)

Where did he get the meat? Hunted it, of course. Despite living in a Tokyo some ridiculous amount of years in the future when the world is declining, he knows what it means to hunt. He knows almost too well what it means to hunt or be hunted these days. You might actually catch him staring intently out at the surrounding woods at any given time with a knife in hand. (Someone should probably tell him that's how the serial killers in horror movies are introduced.) ]

rage;

[ Shun doesn't have many possessions. And the ones that he does have are suddenly, inexplicably not cooperating with him. Literally? Literally. ]

Is it usual for things in this place to have a mind of their own?

[ What the fuck, y'all. He just wanted to put on his pants this morning like a normal, functional human being- Not fight with them. He has enough to worry about without the threat of his own clothes going rogue. ]

nell crain | the haunting of hill house | spoilers likely

[likeconfetti]

✗ tranquility

[ You might ask "when was the last time Nell Crane felt this at peace," but time is a funny thing. The young woman herself is hovering in the open doorway of the cabin, start out into the night with a little smile and a distant stare. ]

No, thank you. [ She replies to a question that isn't asked. After about ten seconds, she half-turns, and the smile becomes apologetic. ] ...Sorry. Don't mind me.

[ It doesn't seem to matter who else is in the cabin, or what they're doing. Nell rests a hand against the threshold, looking upward to the stars high above the cabin and the trees around it. She seems almost like a statue, perhaps both unblinking and not breathing. Still, and at peace. ]

It's...beautiful, isn't it?



✗ rage

[ If only this was her first experience with a supernatural house. ]

Didn't I just...? [ Nell frowns, hand still extended to the counter where she'd left her phone. Her brows come together in curious confusion as she finds it missing, but she's quick to chalk it up to a scattered mind. She's always been a little scattered, particularly since-... Well. ]

Oh. [ Her eyes fall on a row of knives standing on their points on the kitchen table, having decidedly not been there a moment ago. Her frown grows more prominent, but before the utensils can do anything more violent, Nell is standing outside of the home, staring in through the front door. ]

Are all of the houses here haunted? [ She asks of a passer-by, expression one of weariness. ] Or did I just get lucky?

[amwhatieat]

[Of all the voices that Liv could have expected to hear, his falls quite low on the list, along with a certain other dead dead boyfriend that she'd had previous. Even with the lull over her, that calmness that seems to penetrate to her very fiber, there is a spike as her eyes dart to him.

And stay.

Time could pause for a heart beat or two, that is a human heart beat, which is barely one of theirs, but it's Drake... Or what appears to be Drake. Last time she had been all but dry humping the couch, and as pleasurable as that had actually been on that brain, it hadn't been real.]

Okay, either this drink is really strong, or I'm somehow hallucinating again.

[Because what other option is there... Then again the whole strong drink isn't really a viable option either, but she hasn't eaten anything recently that would explain why he'd standing there. There is a part of her that almost debates reaching out to see if her hand would go through him, but instead she settles for staring at him, as if doing so would have him poofing away.]

Fear

[requiemshark]

[ Well, it's been a while since he's seen one of those. Ephemera kept expecting the Covenant to come through the Door sooner or later, because why wouldn't they? But instead it's been dragons and zombies and one time there were plant monsters, things that screamed and fought and eventually died. He's gotten used to killing those. Sometimes it's fun. But it's not like the war. He hasn't fought the Covenant in years.

Today's different. That's fun.

There's a Zealot getting back up. And it does not look friendly. Looks like it's about to smash the newcomer.

Ephemera lifts up his arm and whistles. The Zealot turns with the growl. ]

Hi.

[ A couple things are universal, no matter what. One of them is thus: Fire Bad. Napalm Worse. Ephemera's always been fond of simple solutions. A face full of napalm never fails to get anyone's attention. No matter how well trained, no matter how good their armor is, everybody stands up and pays attention. Never failed before.

And it doesn't fail now. The Zealot goes staggering back, screeching and clawing at its face. ]

War's over, motherfucker. You stand down or -

[ It screeches. Starts advancing.

Okay. No truce today.

Ephemera just sighs and lifts his rifle. Shoots it in the head. Hopes he hasn't done something really stupid that he'll have to explain to Washington or Tucker later. ]

Oi! You still alive over there?

[ Looks like a newcomer in tactical gear, though no armor he recognizes. Pretty much a miracle if they're still standing after tangling with a Zealot. For his part, Ephemera is clad entirely in a set of black and red armor, an assault rifle held at the ready. He wears no symbol of rank or allegiance. Only the wrist mounted flamethrowers, which disengage back into his gauntlets. ]

amanda young / saw

[oinks]

01. fear (cw blood/injury mention)

(She arrives through the door with her palms pressed to the side of her neck, heaving for breath, her eyes wide as she stumbles and falls to her knees. It's hard to tell in the dark but as her breathing calms to slow, ragged gasps, Amanda comes to the realisation that, some how, she isn't dying. Her hands, once wet with blood, cup her dry neck. There is no ragged bullet hole, torn into her skin. She stays bent double on the floor for a long moment, sweaty forehead pressed against the ground, and sobs, her free hand clenched into a fist. The other stays at her neck. It had felt so real. She was sure she was dead.

Unfortunately, she doesn't get a lot of time to come to terms with what is happening. Bowed as she is on the floor, Amanda doesn't notice the sudden movement in the corner of the house until it's too late. The licker drops down onto her curved back from the ceiling and she screams, her elbow driving into whatever is trying to hug the shape of her spine. Something wet drags against her shoulder.

She has a knife in her boot. She's scared, but not scared enough to grasp desperately for it, driving it backward over her shoulder and into whatever has just hooked its claws into her back. The pain is sharp, clarifying, helps her to grit her teeth and push the blade in further. The thing is screaming (or maybe she is?) as she pulls the knife out and sinks it in again, and then a third time, a fourth.

It slithers off of her back, and onto the floor. She turns to catch a glimpse, and delivers it a fifth stab wound, directly into its open brain, twisting as hard as she can, panting.)

02. rage

(She really hadn't asked for the fucking head-trap, of all things, to come through the door with her and yet here it is, propped innocently open on the floor like an open, iron maw. Amanda regards it warily from where she's sitting, back to the wall. There was a time she used to reach out to the memory of that room, the steel digging into her jaws, the slip-slide of her hands against the lock, the nightmarish terror pumping through her veins. That test became the place in her head that calmed her, an ever-present reminder of her strength, her will to survive.

Not any more. Now, she doesn't feel anything. She frowns, and reaches out a leg to give it a petulant shove. The trap snaps shut so loudly she jumps and swears, irritated by the way the sound makes her heartbeat spike. And then it slowly but surely cranks itself open again.

Amanda blinks, and retracts her leg. The trap shuts, with another spine-chilling snap, and then it flings itself at her as if on a spring. Amanda shrieks, the sound surprisingly high-pitched, and launches herself off the wall and to the side, and the reverse bear trap hits it with a thunk. Even as she scrambles to her feet she can hear it cranking itself open again, and as it launches itself upward, the jaws catch around the back of her shirt and snap shut, and it's attached to her for a second time.)

What the fuck– (she's trying to grab it, fingers failing to find purchase on the metal. It hasn't clamped any part of her skin but it's fairly heavy, stretching the material of her shirt as it wrestles with her.)

celty sturluson, drrr!

[seruru]

⯈ tranquility

(Your cabin mate is potentially a little odder than most. It's hot enough outside that Celty can't stand to wear her motercycle catsuit for a moment longer. As soon as she establishes that she's alone, and has dragged a chair outside to sit in, she's going to change into something far more comfortable, and stretch out across the chair in the sun.

Ahh, this is nice! She never has time to relax like this back home, this is like being on vacation. She sighs, and stretches her arms out lazily above her... well, neck. She isn't wearing her helmet right now, in the interest of comfort. The dark smoke curling from the black stump where her neck abruptly ends drifts into the air, making little curlicues in the wind.

Don't mind her, she's just trying to get a spot of sunbathing in!)

⯈ rage

(Hmm... she really wasn't outside for that long. Whereabouts did she put her phone?

At first, Celty's searching is a little half-hearted. She probably left it out by the chair outside. When she goes back there to look, however, she can't find it. Strange. She taps the side of her helmet for a moment, then slowly starts to retrace her steps– and discovers her phone walking itself back into the house again.

She stops dead in place, her shoulders hunched. The phone, seeming to realise she's staring right at it, promptly collapses. The moment she takes a single step forward to get a closer look however, its ringtone sounds loudly, startling her. Without missing a beat, Celty reaches out with one hand and promptly bubbles the phone, encasing it in a round, shadowy ball that floats suspended from the ground by a couple feet. Oh, it's now blocking the entrance to the house...

You might catch her trying to edge around the bubble, taking great care not to accidentally touch it.)

[childofaxios]

[ For a second Chyler just looks up at him from her position on the ground, eyes huge, face smeared with dirt and sweat.

This stranger took out the monster like it was nothing. For a second all she can think about are the corpses of students, soldiers, ODSTs. And this person took out that thing in a moment.

She gets to her feet in increments, scanning their surroundings. There are sounds of combat, but she can't tell where they're coming from. The tunnel they're in is a big, arched stone thing, more shadow than not.

Once she's up, all five-foot-three of her, it takes her a moment to speak. ]

Where are we?

ii

[unheeled]

I like them hot.

[ Rita takes a seat near Liv, all smirky and confident and (quite frankly) sick bitch. This is familiar, which is a change for this stupid city. This is a game she knows how to play.

Leaning her head back against the chair, she basks in the dappled sunlight and gives Liv a lazy, wide smirk. ]

So good to be roomies again, right?

[requiemshark]

[ Well, fuck him. It's a kid. A kid fully kitted out in tactical gear, but -

Yeah. Fuck him. Last time this happened it hadn't gone well at all.

Ephemera takes a deep breath and lets that go. It's not relevant here. Isn't going to be helpful. ]

It's called Hadriel. You hurt?

[ She's upright, so that's something. Ephemera can't tell if she's genuinely calm or just in shock; hard to know, with kids. ]

[childofaxios]

Had-- [ She looks around her, rolling her shoulders to bring her rifle back into her hands. The fact that it's empty doesn't take away the comfort of its weight.

It's a struggle just to get her bearings. She's never heard of Hadriel, not as relates to any part of the UEG. ]

I'm... I'm fine.

[ She draws in a sharp breath, trying to orient on the sounds of fighting. ]

I need to find-- My squad was right in front of me. [ She looks back up at him, fierceness creeping in where confusion was a moment ago. ] I need to find the rest of them. There were three others left, plus Master Chief. He's hard to miss.

[requiemshark]

[ Ah. There's the edge. She's a fighter, too. Young, sure, but a fighter first. She's got the look - in her eyes, the way she holds herself.

Good, Ephemera thinks. That's very good. ]

Listen to me. We're in a combat zone, so there isn't a lot of time to explain. But you're not where you were. You and the Zealot got pulled in from the Door. It doesn't usually bring groups.

[ He turns in a half circle, HUD scanning for moment. Nothing closing in. Yet. ]

You want answers, I'll give them once we're clear. But we need to move. Okay?

rage

[casualryder]

No, but it's usual for things in this place to be completely ridiculous.

[childofaxios]

[ The Zealot, the Door. Zealot--that thing was a Zealot, whatever that means.

Her sensible self snaps: It doesn't matter what it's called. He gave you a promise and an order.

She nods, tightening her grip on her gun. ]

I'm out. That's why I tried to use that weapon.

[requiemshark]

[ It still gives Ephemera an edgy, uneasy feeling whenever kids act like soldiers. Sometimes they're good at it. Sometimes they're even better than the professionals. But it always makes him feel uneasy, off balance.

Ignore that. There's a job to do. ]

You manage to fire it?

[ Ephemera doesn't like using Covenant weapons. They malfunction and they're a pain in the ass to fix. But apparently the kid's adaptable. ]

If you can handle it, fine. If not, you're taking my sidearm.

[ No time for arguing. They've got to move. ]

[childofaxios]

[ She swings her rifle back around on its strap, unwilling to give it up even if it's useless at the moment. She accepts the sidearm and falls in just behind and to his left, heart pounding, relieved to have someone who knows what's going on to take point. She doesn't introduce herself, doesn't ask which way they're going. Introductions are a waste of time, and if one or both of them dies they wouldn't matter anyway. As far as direction, he knows better than she does.

She keeps an eye to the rear, staying close but not so close that he can't maneuver if something comes at them from behind. She's good at this. She was raised to be good at this. That's the mantra she repeats in her head as they move.

Something shifts in the dark, along the ceiling, and she takes aim at the spot. She doesn't want to shoot until she knows what to target.

In a whisper: ] Your ten o'clock.

[requiemshark]

I see it.

[ His HUD is scanning constantly, identifying the target. Nightvision is a great thing in Hadriel, though a little less now that they're out of the caves. Motion tracking, however, remains god, and points out the target immediately. It's another one of those weird monsters, all teeth and tongue. Flavor of the month. Ephemera shifts for a better position, lining up a headshot. Easier just to be cautious, conserve ammo. Normally he wouldn't bother, but he doesn't want the kid to get hurt. That's one of the rules. You protect the newbies until they're straightened up enough to do it themselves. ]

If it gets back up, kill it.

[ Then he fires. ]

[childofaxios]

[ There's immediate motion in several different directions, creatures shrieking and hissing as they close in. A tongue lances out of the dark and cuts open Chyler's cheek. She follows the angle of the slimy thing back toward its owner and fires into the dark, the muzzle flash revealing a direct hit as the thing topples from the ceiling. She's the best marksman in her class, second-best in the Academy. In a perfect world she would have taken that top spot before everything went to hell.

Another tongue wraps around her ankle, cutting into the top of her boot and yanking her down, dragging her away from Ephemera's side. She can't get a clear shot at the thing, between the dark and the angle and the fact that she's being pulled over the rock-strewn and jagged ground.

A lance of panic hits her, and then she's faced with the creature's open mouth and exposed brain. ]

[requiemshark]

[ Ah, fuck. Of course it goes to hell. Can't be easy, no. It never goes down easy.

This is why he doesn't like doing patrol for the newcomers. He doesn't know them, doesn't know how they'll react. If it were Drake or Lup, or even Washington, Ephemera would know exactly how to move. Newcomers are blank slates. Some of them have training and that helps, sure, but they don't know.

These monsters are blind but far from dumb, and one of them has the kid by the foot, dragging her. This is why people need to wear armor, Ephemera thinks to himself. Decent armor, with good weight, so they can't be knocked over so easily. He whistles sharply.

The thing with the teeth jerks its head up. Listening. It's enough to line up another shot.

He probably gets gore on the kid, but she's still breathing. That's gotta be enough.

Ephemera offers her a hand. ]

There you go. Good shot.

[ It's not empty praise. She's got a good eye, sharp aim. His voice is calm and - perhaps - strangely casual. It's better not to take these things too hard. ]

[childofaxios]

[ She takes a deep breath as he helps her get to her feet, fighting the winded feeling left behind by hitting the ground. Her ankle stings, probably twisted, but she's had worse on the obstacle courses at Corbulo. ]

Thank you.

[ It's the polite thing to say, even if she's beating herself up for not acting fast enough to shoot the thing that almost got her.

The rest of the trip out of the tunnel is quiet, uneventful in comparison to the first few minutes. When the sun hits Chyler's face it's a shock, as is the sudden rush of freezing wind. She's in her spring uniform, which does very little to cut the cold.

It's so bright. She'd been starting to think she was never going to see the sun again.

Chyler shivers. ]

Are we clear?

[requiemshark]

Yeah.

[ Nothing's been tough or stupid enough to go this close to the city, not when they'd be spotted from a long way off and Hadriel's got enough sharpshooters to make an approach of that kind interesting.

Ephemera glances at the kid, noticing to his faint surprise that she's shivering.

Oh, right. His armor is climate controlled. Hers clearly isn't. And she's not dressed for the cold. ]

Okay. Got a couple options here. I can cut you loose and you can do your own thing. Civilization's that way. Not a lot of power, but it'll be warmer than staying out here. Or you can come to my place, I'll get you some clothes, maybe something hot to drink, and I can explain this shit. Up to you.

[ A pause. ]

Name's Ephemera. Probably should've said that earlier.