EVENT LOG: GRAVES

[inthenightmods]

EVENT LOG:
GRAVES

characters: everyone.
location: Bonfire Square.
date/time: July 12-19.
content: mysterious shrines appear and bring visions of death.
warnings: likely violence and potentially gore.

time to pay your respects.

It happens when no one is looking, when most of the town is asleep and the rest are inside. A makeshift cemetery has come to Beacon, taking up residence in the middle of Bonfire Square. Each monument, shrine, and altar is dedicated to someone who now resides here, a memorial of their previous life.

Some may be drawn by curiosity, others by fear, and some may simply have to pass through this strange graveyard to get to the Bonfire itself. Whenever a person gets near, the altars beckon with a mysterious urge— an urge to approach, and an urge to leave something behind. They will feel compelled to make offerings at the various shrines, but doing so has a curious effect; it causes one to experience the death of the person whose grave they've honored.

Whether you resist the compulsion or give in willingly (or something in between), you'll also have to wrestle with the fact that a grave exists for you. Will you let your death be known, or try your best to keep it secret? Destroying it sure won't work, as it will return— with a duplicate somewhere else in town.

However you choose to deal with this, one thing is hard to ignore— this a tangible reminder of your death, and the fact that it's probably permanent.

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Comments

[evocation]

[Kyna's about to ask what exactly it means to be a beacon, but then he asks about her dad and she scoffs instead. At least she's willing to answer now. A year ago she would have just muttered a "yes" and instantly changed the subject or shut down completely. Now she just sounds bitter.]

Yeah, but it wasn't because he wanted to see me. I was on a job and he just wanted to swipe these artifacts we were hired to grab because they were cursed and super dangerous. He pretended he was psyched to see me so he could follow us and grab them. Guess how well that went.

[preseance]

( lord, he can't imagine the betrayal. the flame of that anger gutters, but it don't have place between the care and regard. he takes her hand again an' squeezes it gently. )

Ah, sweetheart. I'm sorry for that.

[evocation]

[She uncoils a bit when he squeezes her hand, but doesn't relax completely. Instead she shrugs, dismissive.]

He was an asshole who cared about magic more than his kids. My brother always sucked at it, so our dad never had time for him. I lasted a little longer because I'm good at it, but then he got bored with me, too. Good riddance.

[Clearly, this is a very healthy viewpoint to have.]

[preseance]

( with a quiet sort of conviction — )

You deserve better.

( she's the sort of lady that he has no doubt had to fight her own share of demons, but it never hurts to hear your value none, neither. )

[evocation]

[That throws her off completely, and she blinks at him, at a loss for words. Kyna squeezes his hand impulsively, and her voice is softer when she finally answers.]

Thanks. Um, sorry, I didn't mean to get all... You know.

[preseance]

( he makes a soft sound of amusement that ain't quite a laugh. )

Well, seems like we're havin' that kinda night, just about. Lordy, I ain't talked this much to anyone in the whole'a my life all at once I don't think.

[evocation]

[She smiles a little.]

It's your fault. You're easy to talk to.

[preseance]

( teasingly, )

We're puttin' this on me, now?

( a squeeze to her hand, an' then he pulls back an' away. )

You're just the same, you know.

[evocation]

Yeah, whatever.

[Kyna lets him pull away, and then, impulsively and in a rush, she adds:]

I know it really sucks that we're here, but if we had to get stuck, I'm glad it's at the same time.

[preseance]

( death can't be so bad, if it's given him a chance to meet folks like her, can it? )

Me too.

( ain't no changin' them bein' here. but they can make a good run of it, can't they? which. leads him to another point. he draws a deep breath like he's bracin' himself for the conversation, because damn he knows full well that this is somethin' of a breach of confidence. he's havin' to choose between keepin' wash's secrets or tryin' to help him, an' the medic in him can't ignore a hurt on account'a someone's pride or trust. )

I talked some to Wash earlier. He, ah. I think you oughta maybe talk some to him. He blames himself for what happened to you, an' I think he's gonna carry that a long time without some manner of addressin'.

[evocation]

[At that, Kyna reaches for the dogtags around her neck reflexively. She doesn't seem at all surprised by what he's saying, though she is a bit surprised Wash talked to him. He's always had trouble trusting people, but maybe it's different with someone who's had such similar experiences.]

I know. We've talked about it a little, but... I guess not as much as we should have. He's always blamed himself for this kind of thing too much.

[preseance]

( he's seen the chain a few times, but hadn't thought to ask. now, it seems plain whose they are. that's a mighty big sign of regard from anyone who's served. )

I saw his. You know.

( a little twitch of his hand. death. grave. )

Didn't mean to in my case either, I had no notion prayer counted as an offering. But I felt how he feels about you, an' we spoke on the matter afterwards. ( his brow furrows a touch, it's fair obvious that he's some species of upset he couldn't assuage that fear of wash's, but. they also haven't known each other long enough for his word to mean much, either. ) But if you don't mind my sayin' so, Miss, you don't seem the sort to put blame on others.

[evocation]

I don't blame him.

[She's never blamed him for anything, really, and she would never, ever blame him for something like this.]

It's just... I don't know. Sometimes it's just something he has to figure out, you know? Sometimes nothing anyone else can say will shake it. He's been through a lot.

[preseance]

I gathered as much.

( it's a soldierin' thing, maybe. you learn to look at a man and assess. gene's been doin' it amongst veterans all his live-long days, wash is just the latest he's known, an' that he's been through hell is self-evident. oh, he can't speak to the specifics, but. he thought it on the first night they met an' he reiterates it now, if he were the man's medic in a warzone he'd have recommended to the CO that he be given furlough by now, an' a hot meal an' a good bed besides.

it ain't that he can't stand it, or that he ain't tough enough to take it. it's the fact that he's got a gentle soul, an' war weighs on men like those. at least he's got kyna to help weather it. )

But I'd like to help, much as I can. I know we ain't known each other long an' it ain't my place, but — bein' in the military, you watch out for your brothers.

[evocation]

[Kyna smiles at that.]

No, you should. I don't think he has many friends that he can really talk to about that stuff, you know? And I try, but I'm not...

[She gestures vaguely, searching for the words.]

I'm not in the military. I've never been in a war or anything.

[preseance]

( shared experience is important, but it ain't by any means necessary. gene shakes his head. )

Folks form bonds outta need, you know? An' we can't be all things to all others. You're exactly what he needs you to be, an' it's okay that there're things you can't touch.

( he draws a breath, just a bit on the shaky side. )

I think I can speak for him just as well as myself when I say we'd rather no more folk than necessary know what it's like to be in war. It ain't. Pretty or easy or. ( his hands are trembling faintly an' he ain't got the first notion why. withdrawal, maybe. ) Lord, it ain't anythin' else but Hell.

[evocation]

[Oh, Gene. Kyna reaches for his hands, gently trying to quell the trembling, hesitating just a moment before she responds.]

Hey... You don't always have to focus on helping everyone else, you know? You can talk to me if you want. Sometimes I'm bad at knowing what to say, but I'll always listen.

[preseance]

( he honestly can't remember the last time he was half so tactile with a dame. he'd kissed anne just before he'd shipped out, but before that they'd barely held hands. somehow he's gone from that to this bein' easy, an' he squeezes her fingers back in reassurance. )

I know. An' I appreciate it.

( it's easy to find solace with her. she's a lee in a storm, an' he closes his eyes briefly an' lets it pass him by. )

Just, you know. Ain't had a cigarette in a spell an' I think it's startin' to wear me down.

[evocation]

[Harlan might have known a good way to call that excuse out, something direct but somehow encouraging in that way he has, but Kyna has never had that talent. She just lets it go, nodding. Gene's had an exhausting day already, right? She goes for gentle teasing instead.]

Yeah, just... You know. You healer types have a reputation.

[preseance]

For bein' bull-headed an' isolationist?

( oh, he knows, kyna. he knows. an' is tryin' hard to tease her right back, because the only alternative is to say, i just realized i didn't want to die. )

Trust me, I've met my share.

[evocation]

[Kyna smiles, rolling her eyes.]

For not taking care of yourselves.

[preseance]

( that makes him laugh, half-startled by it. )

Lordy, no. That ain't a thing you have to worry about with me.

( can't haul a man up outta a foxhole if you ain't eaten or slept. can't look after others if you don't first look to yourself. an' you can't comfort others if you ain't right in your own mind. he knows it all. knows. )

[evocation]

Uh-huh. You're not gonna do that thing where you worry about everyone else first? And then I have to do that thing where I kick your ass?

[preseance]

Can't promise I won't do that.

( he's been lookin' after folks around him since he was all of nine years old. it started with his brothers and ended with the army an' it ain't a compulsion he's keen to ease. )

But a medic never did anybody any good by running into live fire to save one man. ( speaking from experience? maybe. ) I know to look to my own needs.

[evocation]

[Kyna clicks her tongue.]

You could at least pretend to be intimidated by me.