oh you fool, there are rules, i am coming for you

[singmod]

THE DARKWALKER COMES

The Darkwalker makes its first real strike against the Interlopers, resulting in the death of La'an Noonien-Singh. In the wake of her death, her fellow Interlopers are left to deal with the fallout of this new part of the horror of the Northern Territories.

WHEN: January 25th, onwards.
WHERE: Milton.
CONTENT WARNINGS: death of playable character; supernatural death; mention of dead body; themes of death; supernatural beings; themes of terror; themes of peril.

OH, THE RECKONING BEGINS

On the night of January 25th, all is calm. It is a peaceful, if not cold evening. There are no clouds in the skies, the stars and moon hang high in the blanket of inky black. It would be just another night, until something strange happens: one by one, the stars begin to go out and the moon's light fades from view, as if swallowed whole.

Instead, there is nothing but the gloom. The sky is dark and green and terrible. Interlopers all over the Northern Territories will stop and stare — horrified by such a sight. And then, it washes over you like a cold wave: fear. Interlopers will find themselves over-come, and everything in their bodies and minds tells them to run. To flee. And so you run, heading for cover indoors. Curtains will be drawn, some may hide under beds, within closets or wardrobes. Some desperate attempt to conceal themselves, make themselves small, unseen. Some Interlopers, in that fear, may rush to friends or loved ones to hide with them, others may simply cowered alone — crawling and whimpering away from the night. The fear is irrational, unable to be overcome — even by the bravest or most stoic of Interlopers.

And then: noise. Coming from towards the east, the sounds of unnatural and almost-demonic roars, groans and moans — unable to be likened to or truly described. Drawing nearer and nearer — and you know it, even if you don't understand why: something is coming. It's coming here. You are powerless, unable to do anything. And it is an agony, awaiting its arrival. You cry, you whimper, you cower. Curling up for some shred of comfort, and finding none.

It seems to go on forever, building into a crescendo. Your heart beats so hard you fear it may burst from your chest, as if you might die of fright.

And then, a screaming wail — sharp as it cuts through the building dread. A woman. You know it, don't you? You're sure you've heard it before.

The silence that follows is deafening. The green gloom subsides, the fear slowly melts away within you. You wait, and wait. Finally, when it feels like you can breathe again, you decide to move.

Interlopers who dare to venture outside, who dare to look from behind curtains may see nothing at all. The skies have returned to normal, the moon is out once more. But those close to the center of town will see the small frame of a body curled in the snow. Some may not know her, but plenty will recognise her: Lieutenant La'an Noonien Singh.

It looks almost as if she'd collapsed. But those who decide to investigate will discover a gruesome scene. While there will appear to be no physical wounds, her body will appear contorted — expression frozen in absolute fear. It will be incredibly unnatural and violent to look at. La'an is dead. Around her, the footsteps that brought her to this spot. Strange 'waves' in the snow, too. Hard to define as to what exactly made them. And... faint glimmers of green, intangible. Almost like a residue — which will vanish by the time morning comes.

This is not the first time. La'an Noonien-Singh is the thirteenth Interloper to die since they first began to arrive in this place. But this is certainly the first time something like this has ever happened.

But preparations must be made, an Interloper must be mourned and laid to rest.

And the rest of Milton must come to terms with what has happened, if they can put a name to such a thing.

FAQs

1. Essentially, a 'party post' for reactions to the Darkwalker's Arrival, the immediate aftermath, and any funerary preparations following La'an's death. Have... fun?

2. Information on the Darkwalker's attack can be found here.

3. An OOC Rundown can be found here.

4. For those interested: Harry Goodsir is conducting a post-mortem on La'an, which can be found here.

Comments

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach got the boy's stance in the correct form before he nodded and took a step back. "Try punching again using right cross." He demonstrated the movement he meant, the power and force that came from twisting that side of the body into whatever the blow connected with.

Then he stepped back to see how Levi would strike the bag.

[solitarysoul]

He watches carefully then nods and does his best to imitate it. He's a bit stiff, again, since he's thinking too much. But its generally good, copied well from Rorschach's actions.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach observed Levi again. He took direction well and was a quick study. Aside from his lack of experience, there was no reason why he wouldn't be able to turn into a decent fighter. "Better. But loosen up. Hit someone like that, likely to sprain your wrist."

[solitarysoul]

"R-right. I can try. Its hard not to think about it at first." About how to do something. But as he practices it starts to come naturally. He'll have to keep up with that.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach watched the kid starting to slowly get the hang of the basics. He'd correct him now and then but for the most part pulled back to just watch. Eventually, he added on another piece of advice. "Boxing has a rhythm. Just like music. Got to find the pattern to help you practice."

[solitarysoul]

He nods, "Find the rhythm..." He should be able to do that, right?

After a moment he goes back to practicing, slowly starting to get more of the hang of it and less stiff overall.

[moralabsolutism]

He watched as Levi slowly got the hang of what he was talking about and nodded approvingly. "There we go." Once he felt Levi was starting to form good habits, he came over again. "Last lesson. Basic punches." He went on to show Levi the six basic punches that formed the foundations of boxing.

"With those, can win any fight," he said confidently. Once he'd finished, he let Levi have at the bag again.

[solitarysoul]

Levi watches Rorschach demonstrate closely. With those he could win any fight, huh? Well, he'd seen Marcoh take down monsters with his punches, so he'd believe that. Marcoh had quite a bit more muscle than he did, but with what he'd seen Rorschach do so far he likely could too. Or he'd try, at least.

He nods and steps up to the bag, mimicking the moves the masked man showed him.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach let Levi go on and practice whaling on the bag until he was certain the kid had absorbed the lessons well-enough for his own personal satisfaction. He nodded and came up to him, gesturing for him to stop. "Got the basics down now. Keep practicing and you'll do fine. Will show you more when I think you're ready."

This had been a great way to get his mind off the grim subject of La'an's death at the hands of the Darkwalker. In the face of teaching someone else a subject that he knew a lot about, it had been the best kind of therapy.

[solitarysoul]

He nods. "Are you going to leave this here?" The bag, that is. "I can come by and practice later if you are."

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach gave a short nod, a small feeling of pleasure overcoming him since he'd been able to successfully teach someone. "Put it in the garage when not using it to protect from the elements. Just open it up and pull it out when needed."

[solitarysoul]

"Okay, cool. I'll make sure not to leave it out. Thanks."

[moralabsolutism]

"Will leave you to it then." It was a rare conversation that left Rorschach feeling better than the mood he'd started out with. But teaching Levi had amazingly done just that.