INTRODUCTION

[petoskeymods]

INTRODUCTION

A sound wakes you up, muffled yet somehow near - the sound of a trumpet being played, from somewhere outside the building you're in. There's no fog, no headache as you greet a new day - only the confusion of being in an unfamiliar cabin, lying on top of an unfamiliar bunk bed in somewhere that is certainly not where you last closed your eyes. You're also pretty sure you weren't wearing this outfit before you somehow arrived here - so that's an uncomfortable thought. Yet, the cabin you're in is comfortable, but looking in the steamer trunks near the bunks will only result in finding normal toiletry items and sets of underwear and more of the same strange uniform. Your personal items have been stripped away - well, in the cases they're not absolutely essential for you to live.

Stepping outside, you find yourself in a very forested (and ungodly humid) area, outlooking a wide lake - there's cabins and other buildings next to yours, but the main thing that'll most likely attract attention are the three adults standing out in front of the largest building, bearing the name 'LODGE' on it in large letters. A woman, an older man, and a man in full priest garb, tooting away on a trumpet - your wakeup call, apparently. Just in front of them is a picnic table littered with markers and 'MY NAME IS' nametags.

Maybe you should go and demand some answers? Or will you just decide to explore...and try to find a way out of this weird camp?

Comments

After much conversation...

[itsagazebo]

[Eddie hasn't contributed much to the myriad conversations going on in the cabin. He sits with his back against the wall, holding his knees as he watches the shit show unfold in front of him.

His breathing begins to speed up as his brain absorbs everything around him. Yet another nightmarish flashback plays through his head in flashes like a slide projector

"Can we stop talking about this? I can barely breathe. It's summer. We're kids, I can barely breathe I'm having a fucking asthma attack and fuck doing this."

Suddenly it feels like the walls are closing in on him. He claps his hands over his ears, trying to block out the noise of everyone talking and yelling... but he can't block the little voice inside his head...

"Tasty tasty beautiful fear."]

No...

["Time to float."]

NO! [Eddie screams, shooting up to his feet. He seems almost disoriented as he stumbles to the center of the room, panting as he turns in a circle to stare wide eyed at everyone.]

Do you guys even hear yourselves? What the fuck are we even... powers... bugs... malaria... magic... killing?! [He takes a heaving breath, hands raking through his hair] We're kids for fuck's sake! We've been kidnapped This... this isn't a fucking movie or some cartoon or something. This is real. Life. [He pants, trying to catch his breath as he panics] We're kids, we're not gonna fucking kill some guy when we don't even fucking know what's going on! We just... I...

[He fumbles with his fanny pack, pulling out his inhaler and taking a deep puff. Once he can breathe again he swipes his hands in the air]

Nope. Uh-uh. I'm not gonna be any part of this.

[He turns on his heel and races out of the cabin, heading back to Cabin 3 so he can hide and pretend none of this is fucking happening.]

((OOC: Responses can be before or after he nopes out, so conversations can be had before he leaves.))

Later in Cabin 3

[finalguard]

[ Fragile... might have been an understatement in initially assessing Eddie, huh? Boa watches him leave without following or attempting to stop him and stays around for the rest of the meeting.

After, he returns to the cabin and stops in front of Eddie's bed. ]

Have you calmed down yet?

[itsagazebo]

[Eddie has his back against the wall, holding his knees as he just enjoys the quiet. He was a little embarrassed about his outburst, now that he'd had time to think about it. But, if asked, he'd stand by what he said.

His eyes lift up to Boa when he approaches]

Yeah...

[finalguard]

[ Boa examines Eddie for a moment. He supposes this qualifies for some type of 'calm' by Eddie standards. He's not hyperventilating, so that's good. ]

You know you are part of this, no matter what you want, right?

[ Boa's not that great at cushioning words, but he means this to be... sincerely encouraging? Somehow? ]

[itsagazebo]

[This is about as calm as you're gonna get, Boa. He sighs, his forehead dropping to his knees.]

Yeah...

[His voice is muffled but there is a distinct tone of resignation]

I'm not killing anybody, though...

[finalguard]

[ I don't think you could is not a nice first thought to have to that. Let's... rephrase it. ]

If it comes down to it, there's others here who are more suited for the job anyway.

[itsagazebo]

Yeah... that's what scares me.

[He lifts his head up again]

But... so we... they... kill the counselors, what then? We still can't fucking get of here. And... What if what Leon said is true? What if we are s'posed to kill each other?

[finalguard]

[ Boa has no answer to the first question at all.. They can't get home, they can walk through the forest forever and still never reach anywhere familiar...

So he feels lucky when Eddie adds a second question that he feels more secure responding to. ]

Then we're going to have to be the last ones standing. Look, panicking isn't going to make you survive.

[itsagazebo]

[He groans, leaning his head back and straightening his legs. He flops his arms on the cot next to him.]

I know I just... I'm not... I can't...

[It's as if his memories are fighting to remind him of strength he forgot he had. He suddenly has a flash of leaping into a creek with a rock in hand, screaming and hurling it towards Henry and his goons. As that fades he smells something rancid and hears himself screaming "I'm gonna fucking kill you!!"

He starts, tensing and looking around as if he's searching for something. Not seeing anything, he drops his head into his hands.]

Fuck...

[finalguard]

[ Boa awkwardly waits until Eddie seems focused again. He's been around a lot of despairing boys his own age, but it's always been in a competitive setting where overall, he wasn't supposed to be able to care less.

He doesn't think he cares now either, but it's still different. The others had signed up for it. Eddie really has not. ]

You can. Or are you really okay with not being able to? It's your only choice.

[itsagazebo]

[Eddie shakes his head before letting his hands fall]

No... Maybe... I don't fucking know. It's just...

[He looks up at Boa. Part of him feels like he shouldn't talk about this, that the other boy will just think he's crazy. But all of this is fucking crazy. He sighs.]

I keep feeling like I've had to kill something before. Or at least, that I really wanted to. But it's like trying to remember a nightmare...

[finalguard]

[ Maybe another day, Boa might have confirmed Eddie's fears, but the last three days have been so unbelievably filled with the impossible that one would have to try really hard to make Boa consider something unrealistic. The laws of the universe seem to have weakened to a point where nothing but gravity is a given anymore, and even that doesn't seem to apply to Marisa, so who knows... ]

That's good, isn't it? In the worst case.

[ Boa no. ]

Mitsuru mentioned something about memory erasure earlier today. We suspected it on Stan, but... who knows...?

[ Also he means boy Mitsuru, he hasn't yet caught on to there being another. ]

[diesifkilled]

[Oh.

He'd forgotten that there were actual kids here. Normal kids, with no experience in matters of magic. He forgot because he never got to be a kid like that, even before the Holy Grail War. It's simultaneously frustrating and relieving to know that there are people like that around.

Shirou doesn't say anything or make any attempt to stop Eddie, but he sure does feel like shit for the things he's been saying.]

[itsagazebo]

[Yes. Your ideas are bad and you should feel bad.






Of course, he's gonna feel bad that he made Shirou feel bad... but that's another guilt trip for another time]

[diesifkilled]

[Yay, everybody gets to feel bad! A win for certain.]

[le_mat]

[Normally, after all that, Ren would have let the kid go and calm down. But he sees the inhaler and feels a grip of fear. Panic attack. Throat could close off. Could even just fucking die while the rest of them are arguing and showing off.

So Ren slips after him, following to Cabin 3. After giving Eddie a few moments he knocks on the door - they haven't talked yet, but still...]

[itsagazebo]

[Well hey, someone other than Richie who understands his pain!

A sulky voice calls out when Ren knocks.]

What?

[le_mat]

Hey. Uh, sorry. We haven't officially met yet - I'm Ren.

[Western kid, given names are more proper to give, right? He's pretty sure he learned that in English class]

I... wanted to make sure you were still breathing okay.

[itsagazebo]

[If Ren steps inside hell find Eddie sitting on one of the bottom bunks. His back is against the wall and he's hugging his legs to his chest.]

Eddie. Yeah... Thanks. Once I took my inhaler and got outta there I was okay.

[le_mat]

[He does come in, and leans against another bunk]

Good. Things got a little... intense in there.

[itsagazebo]

[He snorts] That's putting it mildly, don't you think?

[le_mat]

Okay, it was a clusterfuck.

[Cuz legit, it was. Ren was just as much a part of it at some of the others, if he's being honest]

[itsagazebo]

[He snorts again, but this time there's a smirk to go along with it]

That's more accurate... [He pauses] I can't believe some of those assholes were even thinking about killing the Pastor. I mean, I think he's an evil piece of shit, too, but that doesn't mean we should just kill him!

[le_mat]

Yeah.

[He thinks back to Kamoshida, how close he and Ryuji were to just letting him die due to his crimes. If Ann hadn't decided his punishment and humiliation would be a better end... well, who can say.]

I think Ichigo has a point - *if* he turns out to be some kind of monster. But if he's a person he needs to be punished - jumping right to murder is too much.

... but never mind it. That's back in Cabin 2. I'm not going to drag it back in here too.

[itsagazebo]

[He opens his mouth to respond when Ren says that they're leaving that in Cabin 2. That makes him pause. He stares at the other boy for a moment, blinking. He's never known anyone else who actually understood that concept. Richie cared, but he would run a conversation into the ground unless someone told him to shut up.]

O-okay. [...] Thanks.

[he lets silence fall for a moment]

So, uh, where are you from?