hydrokinetics | Wait for the dust to settle down around us, and stick to what we know [Sunday Night, W2 going W3]

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Wait for the dust to settle down around us, and stick to what we know [Sunday Night, W2 going W3]

[Sometimes Percy wishes that he lived a normal life. Sometimes he daydreams about what it'd be like if his world didn't have to deal with danger, if he could be blissfully unaware of the monsters in the world, if he could just be happy and unimportant, a boy with a brand new driver's license, a mountain of homework, and plans for a good date night with the best girl in the world while juggling SAT prep for college.

Instead, he has none of that and in a way he wonders if he has the advantage. The things here don't scare him as much as they would other people, he thinks, (though he's affected even so) and it helps him to keep his cool during moments like this morning's execution.

Truthfully, if he was normal, he's fairly sure he might scream and never stop.

As such, it's easy for him to gather his bearings after the Sheriff's warning and it's almost instinct now that he seeks out Natalie and tells her to meet him that evening. He's aware that privacy is hard to come by in this place, but he figures most people won't be out right now. It's why he waits in front of the general store and raises a hand in greeting, giving her a quizzical look.]

How good are you at climbing?

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[It's been a rough day. She keeps feeling like she should be getting used to this, but it seems like it gets worse. First, self defense. Then, someone who was simply an accomplice. And now, someone who was killed simply because they had decided not to vote. She's been angry and afraid for weeks, but somehow, this grates on her more. She knew Tiara and Higekiri were going to die. It was obvious before their executions. But for someone who values logic, a clear and set pattern that can be applied to every situation - the way the second execution happened so quickly, the way she had no way to see it coming... It bothers her more than the others.

Normally she looks away when someone is actually about to be killed, and she can't get the sight of the quickly spreading blood out of her mind; the looks on everyone's faces in the moment after it happened linger there, too.

So, when Percy asks her to meet with him, it's not something she's about to resist. She needs a distraction. She heads to the general store at the appointed time, giving him a nod as he raises his hand in greeting. When the question comes, though, she raises her eyebrow slightly, tilting her head.]

Fairly good. Why, what are we climbing?

[In a world where everything's going against the rules, he likes having people that can be more logical than he can be. It's what he likes about Annabeth and it's what he likes about Natalie as well, in a way.

He nods toward the roof then.]

The support beams and the edge of the saloon to get up to the roof. It's not hard, I did it earlier this week. But then again I spend my summers tackling a lava climbing wall.

Not quite at the lava level, here, but I climbed a few trees when I was a kid.

[She'll be fine, probably. She glances at the roof.]

That's one way to get some privacy, I guess. You want to start?

[He doesn't even respond but he nods, eyeing the support beams of the awning before hefting himself up. He's quick to climb, seemingly pulling his weight easily to swing himself up onto the edge of the roof and crawling out of the way to leave her room.]

I wish I could say this was my idea, but I saw a friend do it earlier this week. Didn't seem like a bad idea.

Papika, right? As long as she doesn't fall asleep up there again, I guess.

[Once he's up, she starts herself; she isn't as athletic as he is by far, so it takes her longer, but she does make it eventually. She takes a seat next to where he's parked himself.]

So. What's new?

I already told her not to unless she wanted to deal with vultures. The end result was that she'd punch a vulture out and I can't tell if she's serious or not.

[He doesn't mind her taking it slower, and by the time she makes it up to the roof he's leaning back on his hands and staring out across the road to another building.]

Tell me you didn't know anything about the bandits before this week and that you're just as surprised as me.

...She's tried punching a robot before, who's to say she wouldn't punch a vulture? I bet she could do it.

[She bites her lip and shakes her head.]

I would've told you if I did. I've told you basically everything else that I've found out.

Probably, but I kind of have an interest in not letting people punch vultures. Or robots. [But he huffs in response.]

Why do you think I called you here? I was serious when I said it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep touching base as this game keeps going. [He chews the inside of his cheek for a moment.] While we were trying to figure out the executioner vote, I went outside and talked to the Sheriff about the bandit role to figure out if there's a way around it. For once he was surprisingly helpful.

If I'm being honest, I think what we need is *more* robot punching, not less.

[She turns to him in surprise, because... The Sheriff was helpful, that's a first.]

What did he tell you?

Have you ever punched a robot? Or anything metal? Not a great feeling.

[But anyway.]

He gave me a summary of what to expect and how to expect it. Bandits are going to change each week, but it's still possible we could get somebody acting as a bandit twice. Means that whoever got away today could easily do this all over again. [A beat.] He also said that they could say no, but there's a failsafe in place. What does that sound like to you?

Yes, clearly I am the type of person to punch a ton of robots, all the time.

[She tilts her head back, thinking.]

Sounds like... Oh, this is probably a good time to say that he told me how many roles there are and all of their names. So, I'm wondering if his failsafe is another person he picked out whose role is to kill if nobody else does. That's the only thing I can think of, unless part of his job is to do that, which I doubt.

Edited 2017-01-30 05:11 (UTC)

I dunno, Natalie, you seem kind of intense sometimes. [A playful shrug. But he's quick to sober up and he stares with wide eyes.]

Are you kidding? When did he tell you that?

A few hours ago, because I am persuasive and incredible and he loves me.

[Quickly, and then she holds up a hand, listing them off.]

So. Two Bandits, which he made sure to specify was a weekly role, which means I'm assuming these others go for this entire thing, not just a week. Those are Doctor, Madame, Bartender, Deputy, and Coal Miner. I have no clue what any of them are, but there you have it. If they're each one person, five people total.

[Women. But he's watching her fingers as she lists them off, mind racing as he takes the roles and puts them into a way he can understand.]

Nice to see he's sticking with a theme here. [A pensive noise follows.] I think we can probably guess what some of them do but not all of them. I mean...Madame? I think you're right though, since he specified it was weekly I don't think the others are. So we have...38 people left. Of those, we have a potential of five of them having a role in this game which is...one-seventh? Or something, I don't know, Annabeth usually does calculations.

Let's take that a step further. You think maybe all of the roles are failsafes for each other to make sure nobody's slacking off in the game?

It's close enough to one seventh, yeah.

[A nod, thinking.]

He said roles were to help and to hurt... We can probably guess that Deputy and Doctor are some of the helpful ones, and obviously Bandits are the one of the ones that are supposed to hurt. I guess they could all be there for checks and balances. It would throw a wrench in things if one part of this shitshow just stopped happening, right?

I told you about Daedalus and how he changed his mind to destroy the labyrinth and help us out. People who have roles are in a really tight situation where they could easily turn around and change how they want to play.

I don't know if I'd say "deputy" helps though. Aren't deputies like the guys under the people in charge? What if they're working directly for the Sheriff? But a doctor can't be bad.

The other thing is that all of those roles match up with locations in this town. Except for "Madame" unless they mean, like, one of the boarded up buildings. [He drums his fingers on the rooftop.] There's also the worst case scenario that they're just like the bandits and there's actually two of each. But that bumps us up to ten people. That seems a little risky even for the Sheriff, but it's not like he's playing by good rules anyway.

Change how they want to play? Like... Whether they use their role to hurt people or use it to help people, you mean?

[That's an interesting thought, and she's still thinking it over as she speaks.]

Yeah, fair. I was considering the whole 'law enforcement is usually good' thing, but considering the law enforcement we have here, not to mention the laws themselves... Maybe a deputy would be an asshole too. Sucks.

But madame is what they called the manager of a brothel, right? It wouldn't really surprise me if one of the boarded up buildings was modeled after one. It would fit the theme. [Anyways.] He mentioned specifically that there were two Bandits, too, so I think all the others must be one person.

Yeah. Higekiri could have told us who the other bandit was but he chose not to. We don't know if all bandits are going to play that way or how any of these things work. [There's an apologetic smile.] Sorry for bringing it up, but law enforcement and I usually have a hard time getting along. It wouldn't surprise me if the deputy was among us to make sure we were all playing along to the Sheriff's rules. You saw what happened today with the second execution.

[He was doing fine, but then Natalie mentions a brothel and he suddenly seems a little embarrassed, ignoring the way he almost-blushes and looking away from her. He's too pure for this.] It wouldn't surprise me either. There's what, six buildings we don't know? What else could fit into a wild west theme that we don't have yet? [But.] That logic makes sense. It's weird what information he's forthcoming about and what information he tells us we don't get to have. Like the ability to look at Manfred's body this weekend.

Yeah, that's true. So... What do you think the other roles could be responsible for doing, exactly, if they're backing up for each other? [The next part earns a small laugh, though.] Wow, demigod and rebel without a cause.

[And then she laughs again, a bit harder this time, when she catches his expression.]

Oh my god, you're such a teenage boy. I'm not an expert on wild west stuff, though, so I don't really know what other kind of buildings they might have designed. [And then a shrug.] It's not too hard to get answers if you can convince him you've earned them. That's how I got the names of the roles.

[...it's sort of nice that they can still make jokes. That's an improvement. That means that things aren't totally tanked yet and he gives her a small smirk in return.] Yeah, you sure pegged me. [But his expression turns thoughtful then.] Doctor could be exactly what it sounds like, bandaging up people who get into a fight when they're assigned to murder. If they're not good at it though maybe that's why they left Higekiri in the clinic when you found him? Bartender could give out weapons or stuff to help with murders, Deputy would work for the Sheriff...[He clears his throat awkwardly because SHUT UP, NATALIE.] Madame, if we're going with that would probably be responsible for picking out targets for the Bandits? Maybe? And Coal Miner...maybe they're the one who dug our graves or something. These are all pretty wild guesses, but we don't have enough pieces.

[He glares though because leave him alone, he knows he's a teenage boy.] I think he's nicer to girls than he is to other people, but at least he didn't yell at me this week. He gave me a lot of information during the trial like what counts as a murder and who we can vote for. [A pause.] Asked him about that camera, too.

Edited (typos and incorrect words why) 2017-01-30 06:49 (UTC)

Then the Doctor would be one of the bad ones too, right? If they're helping the murderers, they would be. Those sound like pretty good guesses, though. He told me what their names are, I wonder if I could get him to confirm what at least one of the roles was supposed to do... Even knowing more about one of them could help.

[She rolls her eyes.]

Please, I'm more of an asshole than at least half of the guys here. If he was nicer to girls, I'm pretty sure I still wouldn't get that benefit. [But, huh.] What'd he say about the camera?

It's possible. If you think about it they can all be bad, but you said that he mentioned some of the roles were to help. It's not a bad idea to see if maybe he could help us out and give us an idea. [He licks his lips briefly.] Do you think us asking him a bunch of questions to figure out how the game works counts as participating? Or is he gearing up to get us killed next?

[Real pleasant, Percy. But at the same time he narrows his eyes slightly.] That's probably why I like talking to you. [He's used to speaking asshole, apparently. His girlfriend's brutal when she feels like it, he gets along with Natalie and Jason...yeah, makes sense.] I asked him if the camera counted as the whole "see what you're only meant to see" and he said that's just part of it, more or less. Makes me think more stuff like that is going to come up in the next couple of weeks.

Yeah. If I bug him about it and he actually gives me answers, I'll make sure to let you know. [And then, a small huff of a laugh.] I don't think saying he's gearing up to get us killed is ever going to be inaccurate. Not sure if asking a bunch of questions helps or hurts our case, though.

You like talking to me because I'm an asshole. Charming. [She sounds more amused than she does offended, though.] More stuff like that as in more randomly appearing technology, or more weird shit seen on the cameras?

There's getting killed and then there's dying. Trust me, there's definitely a difference but I can't see how asking smart questions is hurting us. Being part of the trials has to count for something, and how can we be part of the trials if we don't have the right answers?

[Stop embarrassing him? Stop this?] Look, you know what I meant. [But the amusement helps and he looks up at her again.] I'm guessing the former. He called it a facet and not the whole thing. Besides it was too good to be true, having a camera with all of the right information on it. [...] Do we know if Xion still has it?

I don't know, the end result of both those things seem more important than how it happens. [She shrugs. Just saying.] Yeah, that makes sense... Speaking of right answers, I was thinking maybe a few of us could have, like, a group wide brainstorming session about everything we've been talking about so far. Just for anyone we really trust, obviously, but...

[It could be good to have a place where they can all weigh in on what's happening and what to do.]

Do I? Do I, really? [Yes, she does.] It'd be great if it would actually show us anything useful for once... I think she probably does, yeah. She doesn't seem the type to leave something that important alone for long.

I guess it is pretty important. [He doesn't sound worried though. Probably comes from being in literal death prior to entering Whole Ass. Please don't ask him hard questions right now, Natalie.] Brainstorming isn't a bad idea. Harry, Noctis and I have been kind of been getting together and figuring stuff out on our own, and Annabeth and I always work best as a team. Another smart person isn't a bad idea. ...who else do you trust here?

[He rolls his eyes, even using the toe of his sneaker to nudge at her foot. Stop that.] It won't. That's not our own merit, so I bet it won't. As for Xion...I'm worried about her. Is that weird?

Milla. Possibly Jason? Jason is probably fine. Maybe the seven of us could meet up sometime and, like, dump all the information we've managed to find out together. It couldn't hurt to be on the same page with a few people.

[But this totally doesn't count as forming a team, nope.]

Of course it's not weird. Someone should be worried about her, honestly. You know what she told me when I went to talk to her about how she basically offered to get murdered?

[A nod.] Both of them seem to be pretty sharp, and I've talked to Jason myself. He knows more about how the Sheriff operates, in theory, than the rest of us. [The stocks and all that.] We can probably meet later this week in one of our rooms or something, there's no limit to how many people we can have there.

[It does. Embrace it. Percy's pretty pleased, honestly. But that next question is a little alarming, so he raises an eyebrow.] No. I didn't even know you talked to her about it.

Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe on Thursday afternoon or something? That way we could have it before the trial. I would offer my room, but... [A shrug, and a roll of her eyes.] You know. My roommate continues to be himself.

[She nods, then sighs and runs a hand through her hair.]

She gave me this big thing about how she isn't supposed to exist and she's not real, so it doesn't matter if anything happens to her. Obviously don't tell her I told you this, but that sure happened.

[An irritated snort.] I hate your roommate at this point, so yeah, bad idea. Annabeth and Noctis's roommates are also kind of scary, and I don't know Milla's but Harry and I room together. We can use ours for a base. I'll even bring pizza.

[That's. Probably a joke. But he's quiet then and he looks oddly pensive as he takes in those words.]

Not supposed to exist like...she's dead already? [That's depressing.] I'm not going to tell her that, don't worry, but what does that even mean "she's not real"? I've met plenty of ghosts and monsters before and she looks pretty real from where I'm sitting.

Yeah, join the club. [A shrug.] I'm pretty sure Yuna is Milla's roommate, so nobody bad, but I don't really want her walking in while we're discussing stuff.

[Yuna is too pure for these talks, probably.]

She said she wasn't human, that someone made her to act as a weapon... I don't know. I didn't want to press too much, she was getting pretty upset.

Yuna's got a lot going on with the hero club and stuff. It's better to leave her out of this for right now. Xion and Papika, too. [Before they get any ideas. They're all pretty young and he figures it's not worth straining their minds with all of the what-ifs.]

I'd probably get upset talking about something like that, too. But I guess that explains why she's never had a birthday party before. This just adds to the mystery of "why are we here?" Us specifically. Sheriff says it's nothing special but I still don't know if I believe him. Not after everything I've been learning.

Yeah. Plus, all three of them are too... I don't know, innocent. It's not like everything we've talked about has been sunshine and roses.

[She doesn't want them to be any more distressed than they already are.]

Yeah, no, there's no way this is random. I don't think one single person here has lived a normal life. There had to be some thought put into it.

It's about preserving what innocence they have left. [It's spoken like someone who's put thought into this, questioned what information should and shouldn't be shared.] All of them are good kids. They don't need to worry about people being murdered in the middle of the night, or people being shot as a public display. That's what I hate the most about this game.

[But...he lets that go.] Sheriff tried to tell me otherwise, but I think he's probably full of shit. As usual. [He sneaks a peek at her then.] So...that includes you, too? Not normal?

...Yeah. But I guess that makes it more entertaining for his bosses, or whatever. God, they're such assholes.

[She runs a hand through her hair. She hates kids being here too, hates knowing that something could happen to any of them at any point, and there would be nothing she could do.]

Yeah, nothing new about the whole full of shit thing. [She glances towards him for a moment, then looks away with a shrug.] I guess.

...hey. He told me some other stuff about his bosses, too. I asked him yesterday. It's not a lot of information but he did tell me something kind of new. Something about how it's possible that if they feel they need to, they can send a conduit to us. So that's something.

But they're definitely assholes. Who thinks it's a great idea to bring a bunch of kids and people who can't even fight? [It still pisses him off. But he cools down a little and gives her another intrigued look.] You guess? Doesn't sound entirely sure, you know.

[That gets her interest, and she looks towards him again.]

A conduit? Did he explain anything more about what form that might take?

Someone who's looking to spice the competition up, I guess. It wouldn't be as interesting if it were just adults who knew how to defend themselves. [His look only earns him another shrug.] It's harder to think of yourself as weird when you're talking to a demigod, you know.

Of course not. I compared it to an oracle and he didn't correct me, so I'm wondering if I was on the right track. Uh. [Oh, wait.] You know what I mean by an oracle, or no?

There're plenty of ways to make this way more interesting than bringing in junior high school girls. You'd think it'd be more interesting since it'd be evenly matched. But it just proves they're cheaters, too. [And from that he goes quiet again before looking up at the sky.] Maybe I shouldn't have told you that part. It's been a while since I told any mortal and the ones I did are kind of involved anyway.

But try me anyway. If you want.

Not... really. Yeah, that's one you're going to have to explain to me, too. What's an oracle?

[She didn't think they would be able to have any sort of contact with the people who brought them here, so she's curious to hear his answer.]

Yeah, they suck in basically every way. [She shakes her head.] Nah. I'm glad you told me. My puny mortal brain can take it, promise.

[She casts him a sidelong glance for a long moment before shaking her head.]

Nah, you still got a ways to go before you unlock my tragic backstory.

[Her voice is light and teasing again, though, far from serious.]

Edited (HTML!!) 2017-01-31 07:57 (UTC)

An oracle's a spirit, sort of. Technically it's a person acting as a medium for a spirit that can give advice and messages. Both of the prophecies we've been dealing with were delivered by the Oracle of Delphi, along with a lot of our quests. [A beat.] A friend of mine, Rachel, she's the current host of the Oracle. I met her a few years ago when we were at the Hoover Dam--long story--but she could see through the Mist. She recognized Riptide for what it was and the following summer we ended up going to the same high school for freshman orientation and she still saw the same monsters I was seeing. ...Rachel helped us out a lot in the last war, but it was her own decision to take on the Oracle. Now she's bound to Apollo and deals with all of the prophecies. It's been a while since I've seen her, too.

So anyway, if we're going with that, his employers could show up to more or less possess one of us and deliver information.

[If they were sitting in the grass, this is where he'd be mature and throw dirt at her. Instead, he rolls his eyes.] Give me a break, Goodman. [The true sign of camaraderie. Last name usage.] I'm not saying I'm going to work until I unlock it, but...[A shrug.] You've listened to all of my craziness. Figured it's only fair to leave the offer open.

Wait, so your friend gets possessed on the regular? Isn't that a little bit freaky? I don't know, I just hope if that ever happens it's not me.

[That idea is too strange for her to even think about.]

I look forward to seeing you try to convince me to do that. It won't be easy, man.

Only when there's a prophecy. It's...kind of freaky to watch, but Rachel's an artist. I've seen weird stuff from her pretty much since I've known her. Plus it's better than the mummy the spirit used to be trapped in. Anyway the Oracle of Delphi can only reside in the body of a maiden, so if that's how it works I think you'll be fine.

[That's probably not meant to be vaguely insulting.] After everything I'd told you about my life, you think I'm used to anything being easy? Even my own girlfriend won't let me catch a break.

It sounds extremely creepy to watch. [The next part earns a shocked laugh.] Also, wow, sick burn. Thanks.

[She respects it.]

Guess we'll see who's more stubborn in the end.

It's been said that some demigods who've gone to see the Oracle go insane. So make of that what you will. [And instead of, like, apologizing or anything there's just a cheeky grin. You're welcome.]

...stubbornness at least will help us stay alive while we figure out what's going on. I've been talking theories with someone and the whole thing makes my head hurt but it makes some sort of sense considering we're all here. It just involves multiple timelines.

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Wait for the dust to settle down around us, and stick to what we know [Sunday Night, W2 going W3]

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