I am naked in the dark

[nicehobbit]

Who: Frodo Baggins and OTA!
What: Trying to cope with malfunctioning feats.
When: Month of February
Where: Milton

Community Hall - early February

It is barely noticeable at first, though Frodo does notice it. After all, it isn't the first time he has felt it. The sun doesn't rise, and he wakes one morning and his body feels so heavy, too heavy, to move. Then, even as he is surrounded by people, he feels disconnected from them, and he realises his mind is eerily quiet.

For a moment, he feels a cold dread spread through him, with the thought that Sauron must finally have found him. Even though he has long since concluded the risk of that is next to nil.

When he checks the Ring and notices that it's no heavier, that it hasn't started tugging at him once again, he concludes it couldn't be Sauron. Which means it must be the Darkwalker. It is absurd that such a terrible thing could be a comfort, but in a strange way, it is.

Even though the Darkwalker promises an end to the world.

The sun doesn't rise, and so, after that scare, Frodo starts preparing what fresh food is left. Without sun, there is no telling what will happen to the animals and the plants around, and the warmth of the greenhouse may no longer be enough either. The first half of February, he can be found in the Community Hall most of the time, drying meat and vegetables. As the days pass, he seems more and more tired.

Milton - Middle of February

The Interlopers of Milton are managing to keep the rot at bay somewhat, but the forests around it are faring worse, of course. Frodo is returning from an attempt to check his traps, and he's carrying two of them, looking worse for wear as he trudges back into town.

If he sees someone else who doesn't look too busy or too deep in thought, he stops to ask:

"Have you seen any rabbits this month?"

Community Hall and Milton - Late February

Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time in the Community Hall would know that Frodo has lived there ever since he arrived, except for the times he went to the coast and the Timberwolf Mountain. Even outside of Methuselah's feast, he would ensure there was often soup simmering at the hearth and hot drinks available.

Now, however, he appears to be moving out. Over a few days, he moves between the Hall and a nearby house on Blackrock Road, carrying clothes and supplies he's gathered over the months, as well as rations of food. He's moving quickly, keeping his head down, and seems to be intentionally avoiding anyone nearby.

Comments

[moralabsolutism]

"Got to stick together." That sounds almost humorous coming from someone as much of a loner as Rorschach is. Forever aloof and watching the rest of the Interlopers from a distance means sometimes he doesn't really come off as being so much as one of them as some odd watcher from afar.

But he means what he says.

If they're all to survive this (for as long as possible anyway), they're going to need to come together as a community, which also means Rorschach will have to put away the last of his loner tendencies and work harder to cooperate with everyone.

[nicehobbit]

One doesn't need to know Rorschach well to know that he usually keeps to himself, but Frodo doesn't think much about it now. It's a perfectly sensible thought. Sticking together has got to be the way people have survived for as long as they did, how they built up something like a community here.

"Do you think it is possible for us to survive this?"

[moralabsolutism]

"......." The silence that follows says magnitudes on its own. Finally, Rorschach responds. ".....Don't know." He truly doesn't.

All the evidence points that they are heading towards their doom. But Rorschach, despite his cynical outer shell, still has a core full of hope. He truly will keep believing there is a way for them to keep going until all their options are exhausted or the Darkwalker decides to devour all of them at once.

[nicehobbit]

Truthfully, Frodo prefers that response over insisting that it's obviously possible. He would envy anyone who has such belief in it, but ultimately find it very difficult to believe. And if he were the only one in that position - as unlikely as that would be - he would feel incredibly alone.

He nods slowly, and looks into the distance, thinking about the fog and how oppressive it felt.

"It seems ... absurd to think we could defeat something that appears to be the force of nature it claims it is."

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach is glad that Frodo is as clear-eyed about this situation as Rorschach himself is. Still, he won't give fully into despair, not when there are still people here that he cares about. "Can only hope a weakness for itself will present itself. Or, like other forces of nature, will lose power and energy till it sputters out."

[nicehobbit]

"It only seems to be gaining energy at the moment." And rapidly, after being quiet for so long. "I wonder if that is why Methuselah has left."

He remembers that Randvi hadn't trusted the man very much. Perhaps she was onto something. Although ... If the world were to end, Methuselah would end with it, wouldn't he? Isn't it in all their best interest for the Darkwalker to not succeed?