consequences pt. 2

[brushoff]

Who: Dorian Gray, Thomas Jopson & ota!
What: somebody's in trouble~. also, lore drop about the Darkwalker powers!
When: mid-June
Where: Milton, the church

Content Warnings: talk about murder.

One day, a note is tacked up to the Milton bulletin board.

Tomorrow evening
Milton church
Murder confession

Blunt? Yeah. But look, he doesn't want to have to tell everybody. Might as well cast a wide net, see who shows up, get this all done at once, never talk about it ever again. Because honestly, Dorian would rather not talk about this. In fact, he's done a damn good job not talking about this for the past month and a half! But one lovely visit from Thomas Jopson and one broken nose later and urgh, fine, alright, he'll be a good boy and confess to a murder. If he gets this done quickly, there will be fewer questions asked. And though he loves talking about himself, he only enjoys it on his terms. And these? Absolutely not his terms.

When enough people have gathered, Dorian (who's sporting a visibly broken nose), gives the assembled group a once-over.

"Right. Might as well get this started. We've all been changed by the Aurora, no need to rehash that nonsense. But during the last change...for mine, the Darkwalker showed up. I don't know what it did, I don't know the entirety of how it changed me, but it did. I suppose the closest thing you can call me now is a vampire. I can't stand the sunlight. I skulk around in the shadows. And I hunger. There's something inside me, a driving hunger that food and drink can't satiate. Only...I don't know what to call it. Energy? The soul? There's something in us, in people that are changed, that I yearn for."

Dorian's voice is very matter of fact. But as he talks, it's obvious this is a man used to spinning a story to get what he wants. His voice softens a bit when he talks about the hunger, he puts a little sadness and yearning in there. For the more naieve interlopers, he really is sad about all this. For the more worldly interlopers, hot damn is this guy trying to actively manipulate people.

"I can satiate that hunger by touching people and...draining them, for lack of a better word. But sometimes, the hunger gets too strong. It's easier to make rash decisions then. Like when I killed a woman in Lakeside, around a month and a half ago."

Dorian lets that bombshell sit for a moment before tiredly musing, "Any questions?"

( feel free to start threads directly responding to Dorian in front of everybody, lingering around to chat with him later, or just talk among yourselves—treat this like an open post! Start your own threads! I'm game! )

Comments

kieren walker | in the flesh | ota + also for dorian

[burying]

[ Kieren's silence isn't uncommon. He's quiet at the best of times. He'd come here because some small part of him wondered if maybe the note posted in the Hall had to be some kind of sick fucking joke. Did someone seriously post up a literal poster for a murder confession like they're having a summer bake sale?

He keeps to the edges of the room, resting against the wall. Those around him will note how visibly uncomfortable Kieren looks as Dorian speaks. He's been in this position before, and he won't be looking at anyone in particular for the duration.

He's not... exactly buying it. Not completely. But he's also in no position to say shit about the guys, all things considered. But does have a question: ]

What did you do with her? The woman you killed.

[ And no, before anyone thinks it: Kieren's not looking for a snack. ]

[brushoff]

[ Kieren's question is easy enough to answer. ]

She's buried. A grave was dug and she was buried over in Lakeside.

[burying]

[ Kieren's mouth shrinks to a thin line as he presses his lips together. A little bristled, but he nods stiffly. ]

Good. She at least deserves that.

[ Yep. This is awkward. ]

So, what— basically you're saying you've got a messed up power? That's supposed to be Enola's deal. Not the Darkwalker. The Darkwalker gave you this?

[brushoff]

I think so? [ Dorian shrugs. Truth be told, he's not entirely sure how these things work. After all, he's only seen Enola once. He doesn't know if she's here all the time or not. ]

She showed up in my dream - Enola, that is. But things went wrong. Enola vanished from the dream only for the Darkwalker to show up instead. When I woke up the next day, I slept for the next twenty-four hours. It was only the day after that when I realized how much I had changed.

[burying]

[ ... Oh, shit. This sounds like something Chloe told him about. She told him about some kind of dream like this, even down to getting sick afterwards, too. Kieren's face is a picture, his stance tight. ]

So. Great. Darkwalker sent us a new personal gift to kill one another with. [ Fucking brilliant, that is. ] It's... I dunno, gotten onto Enola's whole deal.

Does it... work on animals?

[brushoff]

I don't think so, [ Dorian muses, with a little shrug. ] I haven't had much of an opportunity to test it on animals—I'm not much of a hunter and I'm certainly not going to try it on the dogs.

[ Because Dorian knows that people get weird about dogs and the last thing he needs is everybody on his ass because he accidentally murdered a puppy. ]

But yep. A new personal gift to kill one another with sounds just about right, [ Dorian dryly continues. ] I think I can drain someone just a little bit but honestly, I've been hesitant to do so since that last time.

[ And to his credit, Dorian does look a little ill at ease as he says 'that last time'—the time he straight up murdered someone. ]

[burying]

Yeah, you might wanna start trying. [ He's quick to suggest it, a serious snap of a reply. ] We don't need more fun ways for people to start dying.

[ Listen. They can make it work. You can capture animals alive. It doesn't need to be pets the people have here. If Kieren can get brains from animals with the help of other Interlopers, then surely there's a way this guys can get a live wild animal to test this fucked up power on.

But yay. Cool new murder gift. Kieren folds his arms across his chest. He's thrilled, clearly. At least the guy looks genuinely not okay about it for once. ]

So... what, we need to try it out on people? And just hope you don't go too far? [ He sucks in a breath through his teeth. ] Don't reckon folk will be lining up to be a literal snack.

[brushoff]

[ Dorian's entire being is radiating 'this is a terrible suggestion but I'm going to suggest it anyway.' ]

Well, we can try it out in a group? If I go too far or the person I'm draining looks a little too out of it, someone could pull me away. Because let's be honest, I'm not the hardest to manhandle.

[ He's skinny and useless and has zero muscle mass. ]

[burying]

[ Things Kieren Isn't Doing For $500, Alex. ]

Yeah, that sounds like a really shit plan.

[ Kieren isn't even sure how something like that would play out for someone like him. Not to mention how it would play out for whoever would be doing this... energy stealing on Kieren. It's be probably really fucked up. ]

I mean, unless someone does wanna try it.

[ He's looking around the room, any takers? ]

[brushoff]

Don't everybody volunteer at once, [ Dorian dryly responds, knowing that they'll get one or two takers at the max (probably none) ]

[only half here]

[gildedlife]

[James has definitely been listening to this conversation from where he's been lurking near one of the back walls, and glances briefly in their direction at that last comment. He doesn't say anything--he's not about to volunteer for something like this when it's some random murdering stranger--but he'll just be keeping the whole thing in mind for later, if needed. He's also certainly curious about whether or not anyone else might step up.]