The Swarm: Stay

[atlasmods]

Who: These Interlopers
When: IC Day 5.5-6
Where: The Boneyard
What: The Swarm Event

THE SWARM: STAY PRELUDE. Five days have passed since you, The First, woke on the strange and barren planet of Kharas. Four days since the pods housing you exploded when tampered with, and Three since the strange Trilobite-like sand crabs began hesitantly crawling their way into and around the boneyard. At first there was only a few brave specimens to be found, keeping mostly to the shadows and scuttling this way and that. Now, however, at least a hundred of them can be found in and around the boneyard in various placed, commonly grouped together in batches of two or three, sometimes even four. Notably they do not interact much with one another despite their groups and are much more interested in scouting out their surroundings for fibrous materials. On the odd chance that they manage to obtain any scraps they will begin to wander back towards the tracks your counterparts began following earlier. Odd, isn't it? As the softer morning sun overhead slowly begins to heat up with the encroaching afternoon more of the Trilobites begin to fill the area. Only unlike their predecessors these ones do not wander around aimlessly, and instead beeline their way to any Coral stalks that remain in the area. They bury into the sand beneath them to avoid their harsh shells and attack the roots until they topple and collapse under their own weight. Once this happens they practically swarm, working to segment it into pieces with their mandibles. When the Coral's shell cracks the Trilobites pry all vegetable matter from within and begin dragging it into the desert. And that's not all: these new Trilobites seem much braver and more interested in you than their predecessors. They will openly wander up to characters and gnaw uselessly at their ankles or feet, chittering and chattering. If enough of them happen to get together around an individual they will form a tiny ankle-gnawing mob intent on clambering all over you. As the daily eclipse nears their numbers will begin to grow even further. Odd tremors can be felt beneath the ground, even in spite of all the sand, but characters won't get much of a chance to look into the matter before their wrist communicators begin to emit that same strange static from the mist. ...Only there's none to be seen in any direction whatsoever.
OOC	IC Days 5.5 - 6 (Oct 26th - 28th)
This log starts during the afternoon of IC day 5.5 and continues on until the morning of day 6 (with the rest of that day being the aftermath/conclusion). There will be a time-sensitive event which will run for 24 hours starting on the 27th at 8:00AM EST. It will conclude on the 28th at 8:00AM EST. This time-sensitive event cannot be "failed" by running out of time and will affect the lore of the game. Please direct any and all questions about this event here.

Comments

[dateme]

[ Which Inui mistakenly interprets and Clark just not wanting to be near him like everyone else back home, but that's...well. That's normal. So instead he offers a tired and wry grin, pushing himself up a little better with his arms. ]

What...you afraid I'm contagious or something?

[anewhope]

[ His eyes widen in surprise before he looks away. ]

Aren't you afraid of me?

[dateme]

Uhh... [ Is this a trick question of some kind? If so Inui doesn't get it. ]

You kinda sorta saved me and Lance back there. You know that, right? [ Doesn't that automatically equal gratitude and some measure of affinity? ]

[anewhope]

[ Clark finds his gaze drifting at the carnage he has wrought. No matter what decision he makes, someone always suffers for it. Must there be a Superman? the media had asked Senator Finch, to which she had said, there is.

Clark had never wanted to be Superman. It's quicksand. For every good deed, there's an opposite, immediate reaction to his actions. ]

No. I don't think I do. I helped. . . . But I haven't saved anyone.

[dateme]

Did you miss the part where those bugs were trying to eat these suits off us?? You know if we take them off we die right? So I'm pretty sure you stopping the bugs from eating our life-saving suits counts as saving our lives.

Technically speaking.

[anewhope]

We're on their planet. Their home.

There should have been another way.

[ There wasn't and he knows this intuitively. Being Superman doesn't make him perfect or godly. But he regrets the loss of life. ]

[dateme]

I'm pretty sure none of us signed up to be here by choice. [ Inui snorts as sinks back against the bone, moving his hands over to one thigh to knead at the flesh and muscle uselessly. He can sense vague pressure, but nothing else. It's more than a little unsettling. ]

They attacked us so we defended ourselves. Nothing wrong with that.

[anewhope]

[ Clark gives a faint nod, though his expression is still troubled. ]

At least no one was badly hurt.

[dateme]

Again, thanks to you. You're my hero♥ [ This he says just to get under Clark's skin, to see if it rattles him. He seems really uncomfortable with the idea that someone's actually honest-to-goodness grateful for what he's done. ]

[anewhope]

[ He sighs, a quiet puff of air, but his shoulders relax a little. ]

As long as you're okay.

[dateme]

[ ...Aww, and here he was hoping he'd get all awkward or something. That's almost disappointing. ]

Well, if you call not having any feeling in my legs "fine" then sure.

[anewhope]

[ Better luck next time. Clark gives Inui a searching look. ]

Your muscles are numb, but it'll pass. Nothing seems to be damaged permanently.

[dateme]

Ooh, you peek inside me again?♥

[ That had to do it, right? That had to. ]

[anewhope]

[ He crosses his arms, a little self-conscious. ]

That's . . . not how it works. And I would never use it that way.

[dateme]

Uh-huuuuh... [ Inui draws the sound out, obviously amused. ] So how does it work then? I've been wondering. Do you see me all bones and stuff? Or do you get to see the goods too?

[anewhope]

[ Clark opens his mouth and closes it abruptly, his lips pursing into a thin line. ]

I'm not sure I should answer that.

[dateme]

But now I reeeeeally wanna know. I think I deserve it, you've peeped on me twice now without asking. [ Both times for medically necessary reasons but hush, that's not the point. ]

[anewhope]

[ He sighs. Inui will keep asking anyway and it'll help him get his mind off the numbness in his legs. ]

I can manage how much I see.

[dateme]

So you can see girls' breasts. Hah! I knew it!

[ I'm so, so sorry Clark. I'm sorry for everything. ]

[anewhope]

[ His lips twitch slightly. ]

I wouldn't dare. My mother would wash my mouth with soup if I ever considered it.

[dateme]

Oh my god, you're serious aren't you? You're not joking. [ Claaaaark did he see an almost-smile, or an almost-disdain? He needs to know. ]

[anewhope]

She was very firm on the subject.

[ He probably tried it once and confessed it to her, feeling bad. ]

[dateme]

You're were the kind of kid who never broke a single rule, weren't you? A real goodie-goodie.

[ he doesn't actually say this to be mean or with any disdain though; he's just making an observation. ]

[anewhope]

That's not entirely true.

[ Clark certainly acted out. ]

I was more of a kid who didn't want to disappoint his parents. They were the only ones who knew . . . and understood.

[dateme]

...That you were gay?

[ Sorry that's literally the first place his mind jumps when he goes "the only ones who understood." Plus...I mean, Clark is kinda nerdy and good looking. He's got points in his favour. ]