TDM #16

[apocalypsehowmods]

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➥ Arrival

(cw: potential for severe disorientation/vertigo, claustrophobia, arachnophobia, body horror)

It happens in the blink of an eye. You may have been asleep. You may not have. You may have stepped through a door or turned a corner. You may have seen a flicker of something at the corner of your vision and turned to look. Or maybe you didn't.

It doesn't matter. What matters is that you find yourself somewhere entirely new and entirely unfamiliar. The arrival point is not always the same. (If you're lucky, it might be a canteen or an open office. If you're not, well... you aren't claustrophobic, are you? Or arachnophobic. These ducts do seem to be a bit cobwebby.) You might even arrive in a section of building that has been demolished, leaving a pit of rubble open to the sky–hope you're up on your tetanus shots! There is no one waiting for you but you don’t seem to be alone, either. Even in a janitor’s closet or the bathroom, you’ll find at least one person who seems to be just as out of place as you are. The one exception is the demolition zone off what used to be one corner of the building: it seems the security teams are keeping a particularly close eye on that area to document new arrivals and bring them in quickly.

If characters have arrived in a location devoid of NPCs, they may want to work together to figure out what is going on... or to avoid their 'kidnappers.' If you’ve arrived in the middle of the entry foyer or the gym, there may well be a few people who startle a bit at your arrival and try to approach (or discreetly leave the room... where are they going?). Will you cooperate or fight? Do you even understand what they're saying? You might need to find a translator, if you’re not immediately willing to follow a stranger.

After characters follow their new hosts (or are forcibly taken in) there will be a limited tour and the chance to settle in at the ADI-provided housing. (Do you enjoy living with strangers? Well. It's a new situation to navigate, anyway.)

➥ You Are what You Eat

(cw: pica, eating disorders, altered mental states, rhythmic grating sound in link)

Weird things happen in Dogtown, everyone knows it. And the weird things have been getting worse. Much worse. The rise in dangerous rather than merely uncomfortable or startling phenomena has put an end to ADI's use of Dogtown as a testing ground for new recruits. Under ADI's advisement, the City of Gloucester has officially and indefinitely closed Dogtown to the public, and work is ongoing to construct barriers around the entire park to prevent trespassing. Dogtown's borders are now patrolled by Gloucester law enforcement as well as ADI employees from the Investigations and Security divisions, who document phenomena visible from outside its borders and actively keep people out. New arrivals who volunteer for the work may still find themselves dropped off outside the borders of Dogtown in order to beef up patrols and help document paranormal activity while receiving an introduction to the kind of work ADI does. An employee will give you a GPS device where you need only press a button to alert ADI there is severe danger and someone needs to come help you right away, explicitly instruct you not to actually enter Dogtown, and leave you with another person at the edge of the park. Maybe they're a new arrival, as well, or a more seasoned 'veteran.' Either way, you're together for the next while and you've been asked to record any paranormal activity visible from outside the park. Those who succeed in documenting anything peculiar will receive a $100 reward to be used as they see fit, but those who are caught entering Dogtown in pursuit of such proof will be reprimanded and receive no reward.

It’s been quiet for some time now, the looming things too easily mistaken for signal towers linger around the edges of town or even brazenly within the city blocks when the night is at its deepest and few people still walk the streets. At least nothing new seems to have slipped the fence recently, but those towers still shift every so often. At least until they go suddenly very still, planted where they’ve stopped for more than a week. Still, it’s quiet.

What breaks the silence starts insidiously low, like it’s not meant to be noticed, but it builds until it feels like it’s all that can be heard, rattling and thrumming through bones and veins in a way that nearly burns until all at once it ends.

For some, the change might be sudden, like a tight, twisting, hunger in the pit of your stomach that no ‘traditional food’ will abate. Perhaps it’s gradual, as the taste of things you love turn gray and ashy in your mouth. Maybe you don’t even realize it, as you find a rogue snack laying out on your counter. Who left this pretzel stick here? Your pretzel stick now, even if it’s tougher than you might expect when you go to bite into it. A pencil snaps within your determined bite and whether you notice the inconsistency then or not, it’s…really not half bad.

For a few days after hearing the signal, food just isn’t the same anymore, or at least not the same definition. Anything inedible can be edible if you try hard enough, never mind the bloody gums or lacerated tongue. Careful not to chip a tooth on your bowl of nuts and bolts…but at least it’s almost as good as cereal!

➥ Pieces of You and Pieces of Me

(cw: supernaturally induced paranoia and obsession; creepy dolls; unnatural pain; burn injuries; memory loss)

It begins with a scuffed and torn paper package in your mailbox. The label is handwritten, addressed to you personally at your apartment (or at Bonnie's address), the stamps mismatched and the postal mark smudged beyond readability, with no return address to be found. It feels important. It feels like something you should open in private, and the urge to hide it away lest someone take it from you is strong even before it's opened.

Inside is one piece of a disassembled doll. Perhaps it's a delicate ceramic arm, or a dingy plastic head with empty eye sockets. There isn't any rhyme or reason to the type of doll part one receives, but all of them are well worn and look like they're at least a few decades old. There's an immediate feeling of connection, a lizard brain fear of losing the piece. And then the next day there's another package, another piece that clearly belongs to the same toy, a renewed urge to keep the delivery secret and safe…and an urge to begin assembling the toy as more parts arrive over the course of the week.

Those who give in and put their dolls together as the pieces arrive will seem to suffer no harm as the days go by and their doll nears completion, but their thoughts will only grow more obsessive and protective of the toy the closer it becomes to completion. Those who resist the urge to put the parts together will feel a bone-deep ache in each part of their body that corresponds to one of the pieces they've received, like that part of their body is dying. Anyone who destroys, throws away, or surrenders a piece of their toy will feel an immediate, sharp burning like that part of their own body is being seared away. The pain may dull down after a while, but it doesn't go away unless they are able to retrieve the discarded piece and put it together with the others they've received.

Just one week after it all began, the final package arrives. Here it is: the last piece you need, the last piece to complete the doll and make it yours, keep it safe, keep yourself safe from some unknown, dreaded danger. As soon as the last piece pops into place, though, the doll bursts into flames in your hands, rapidly burning away to ashes. With it goes something important, but it's impossible to say what. It was a memory, wasn't it? Some vital piece of knowledge? You knew something before the doll burned that you don't know now and the loss is an aching gap in your psyche.

ADI tries to intervene, of course, after a few people manage to resist the dolls' compulsion and turn in the parts they've received for study and destruction (this is the most physically painful option of all and an incredible act of will). A bulletin goes out advising everyone to turn in any unexpected packages, and offering support for anyone who's already received pieces and is willing to hand them over. But those are all just lies and tricks so they can steal from you and carve you to pieces–best find a way to hide your doll from their prying eyes until you have all of its parts.

➥ The Heart of the Cards

(cw: potential for car accidents, broken bones/injuries, supernatural compulsion/personality alterations)

With Halloween passing this year without a proper celebration or anything horrific happening, HR Woman, Pam Ruan, is on a mission to retake another holiday from the Fears (and her own fear): Thanksgiving. She's coordinated for a grand feast to be held at Hammond Castle with the castle's caretaker, Simone Clark. It seems Simone owes Pam a favor and Pam is ready to collect with a private event registration.

However, she needs assistance with preparations, including scoping out the kitchen, deciding on how to set up in the Great Hall, and finding good places for decorations. Those agreeing to assist will find themselves unleashed upon the castle and advised that it's currently operating as a museum, so please try to be respectful as you do your work.

In addition to the castle's usual fare of interesting 'supernatural artifacts' and medieval weapons and armor, there is an exhibit on the history and practice of tarot readings. Poster-sized cards of the Major Arcana can be found scattered around the museum, and a more concentrated exhibit can be found in one of the side halls. There are informational plaques and diagrams showing how various tarot spreads might be placed and interpreted. There are also some tarot decks scattered around the area with tables that have outlines of different card reading options. Try your hand with a friend! There are helpful booklets providing information on the deeper meaning of each card.

For those less inclined to test out the available decks, there are still those poster-sized versions. Invariably, those who spend any length of time within the castle will find themselves drawn to one of the cards. Perhaps it's the Tower, that harbinger of some sudden change. Perhaps it's the Hermit, a marker for contemplation and a search for something. Whatever the card, those drawn to it will find themselves experiencing… something in the museum or after they leave related to the more dangerous, horrific, or negative aspects of that particular card. Those drawn to the Tower may experience a personal disaster on their way home: struck by a car, tripping and breaking something, losing a large sum of money on a bet. Whatever would be a disaster to them. Those drawn to the Hermit may find themselves feeling increasingly lonely, even when around others. They might feel compelled to act on that, to try to stave off the loneliness as best they can with connection… whether the other person wants them or not. Or perhaps they have a sense that they've lost direction in what they're doing and need assurances or a guide to help them.

The cause of these misfortunes may be difficult to pin down as the effects of the tarot cards may not manifest for a few days up to a week. It seems Fate is waiting for the right moment to touch its prey.

➥ Mod Notes

• ARRIVAL (November 1 - 30): Two people will always arrive in the same general location together. Arrivals occur throughout the early month, not all on the same day or in the same place. Arrivals are not naturally fluent in English/other languages immediately upon arrival. Characters may attempt to evade capture, but they will eventually be snagged before they can leave the building (or the rubble that used to be part of the building). PC's already in-game are more than welcome to interact with and try to guide new PC's to get them oriented. Please refer to the Arrival page for details regarding the arrival and onboarding process, as well as information about the state of ADI Headquarters.
  
  
• YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT (November 1-15): The signal can happen randomly and more than once, it’s fed through character’s phones and sometimes even random car radios. Characters will find themselves drawn to eating things that absolutely isn’t food, inanimate objects, dirt, leaves, anything that does not consist of a normal or healthy diet. It is up to players whether this comes with hallucinations of it being proper food or if they know full well what they’re eating and simply can’t stop. Other characters can see the ‘food’ for what it is and try to help. While there is a low-level compulsion to eat things that aren’t typically food, characters can resist the urge, they’ll simply find regular food holds no appeal to them while afflicted.
  
  
• PIECES OF YOU AND PIECES OF ME (November 1-8): Not all characters will receive packages, and there is no apparent pattern to who does or does not receive doll parts. Everyone will be generally encouraged to speak up if they know someone is hiding doll parts, and characters may be asked to help take doll parts away from a known recipient (whether by diplomacy or by force). Everyone who does receive the packages will receive them over the course of a single week, one part per package, with multiple packages sometimes arriving in the same day. Everyone who receives doll parts will receive all the matching parts they need to assemble a single doll. When the dolls burn they may cause injuries to characters' hands and so forth; the severity of injuries is up to player discretion. ADI's medical department will do their best to treat wounds, but will not authorize the use of any kind of healing magic for non-fatal burns.
  
  
• THE HEART OF THE CARDS (November 1-21): Characters are welcome to have been cheerfully wrangled for assisting Pam whether they would be the sort to generally assist or not. She is a woman on a mission and will use her Disapproving Grandma face on you if you try to weasel out of helping. For the tarot cards, players may choose whichever Major Arcana card they would like to play with, in terms of effects. It does not necessarily need to be the card you believe represents your character; although, it can be! In terms of interpreting the negative effects of each card, we will leave that up to the players. We simply ask that someone who gets, say, the Tower Card, doesn't have part of ADI HQ suddenly collapse. A restaurant they're in, though? Sure! Go for it. Make everyone around town suffer with you. For those with cards that have more cerebral misfortunes, we encourage folks to think about how those can be used to facilitate CR. E.g., someone who gets the Strength card may experience severe insecurity, leading them to beg others for reassurance. Someone who gets the Empress card may find themselves acting in an overbearing and smothering way toward people, even those they don't know. Someone who gets the Fool may find themselves being especially inconsiderate or starting fights they know they can't win. The tarot card exhibit will disappear after the 21st, off to some other town. The effect on an individual from the tarot cards may be a single instance of something happening or could last up to a few days/a week if the effect is more cerebral/personality-related.
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Comments

[edalyn]

[To be perfectly fair Eda's social circle isn't exactly huge either, even if there are a lot of people she hopes aren't dead in an abstract sense. She's clearly glad to hear this, even if it's not all the main people she was worried about.]

I do know who that is. [She spent some time looking for the woman, before actually believing this was the wrong version of the Human Realm.]

But that's... that's great. I'm so glad you're all okay. [A tiny pause, but she has to ask.} Do you know about... King? Or Lily--Lilith?

[byeeeeeeeee]

[They're all okay, relatively speaking. He very pointedly does not look at his arms and ignores the itch on his cheek.

Thankfully, she gives him something else to focus on, even if it's not good.]

I'm sorry. I didn't see Lilith. King... [He pauses. He's reasonably certain she won't do anything, but delivering bad news always makes him anxious.] He's with the Collector. Luz tried to hold on to him, but he did his sonic...mouth...thing and pushed us all through the portal. He probably saved us. He probably saved everyone.

[Everyone who could be saved. He hopes it's everyone, or mostly. A small consolation for losing your kid(?) to an overpowered child-god.]

[edalyn]

[Eda's expression falls again, filling with worry. This is so much better than everyone dead, but King... he's just a little guy. He's eight. He shouldn't have had to save anyone.

But she doesn't take her stress out on Hunter. In fact she bites back what probably would have been a few choice words, albeit not directed at him. In the time she's spent with the kid there have been an instance or two of him flinching in a way that makes her worry.]

Tell me... tell me about the Collector. I know Belos was looking for him and I know Luz saw them working on the draining spell. But I'd never heard of him before all this.

[byeeeeeeeee]

[She doesn't lash out or yell; he wouldn't blame her if she did. He can see she's upset. But she doesn't. He feels some tension release in his shoulders.]

I don't know much. The first time I saw him was in Belos's mind. He looked like a shadow. [It still nags at him, how they talked about him as if he weren't even a person.]

All I know is that they were working together. Belos made a deal to free the Collector, but he must have gone back on it. Of course. [He scoffs.] I don't know for certain how he got free, but... [He shakes his head.] He destroyed Belos like he was nothing. [Destroyed still works. That splat on the wall was no longer a body.]

He wanted to play a game? It's...fuzzy. [Between dying and witnessing his uncle's apparent death, it had been hard to focus.] King convinced him that they would need a lot of players. He moved the moon to stop the draining spell. And then he started tearing the head apart. That's when we ran.

[He pauses briefly, then adds, as if it had just occurred to him:] He said...he said King promised to play with him.

[edalyn]

[Eda nods. She heard about the shadow version, and Luz made them sound pretty terrifying to be honest. She doesn't really realise how much of a child they actually come off as. Though she's not surprised Belos would double cross whoever he was working with, also evil or not. Everything else Hunter says is honestly a bit overwhelming in one go. She tugs at her hair absently as she tries to focus on absorbing the news.]

That's... so much. What kind of game--wait, Belos is dead?

[Whatever else Eda was about to say is cut off by a waitress finally wandering over to their table and asking if she can get them anything.]

Coffee. Strong. Shot of whatever you've got that'll make it stronger. [The waitress nods, possibly used to be Eda being, well, Eda. She looks at the new kid curiously, though.]

[byeeeeeeeee]

[It is so much. Maybe he shouldn't have just dumped everything all at once. There's just...so much to cover. He mutters an apology, that she may or may not hear over her asking about Belos and the game.

The waitress's interruption is welcome. It gives him a moment to gather his thoughts. Absently, he says,] The same.

[Camila cut him off from coffee when she realized he was using it to stay awake longer. But he did actually like it (with copious amounts of sugar).]

[edalyn]

[The waitress nods, and says she'll be back around in a few. Eda doesn't seem to care one way or the other about Hunter having coffee, and probably wouldn't even if she wasn't thoroughly distracted.]

Right... one thing at a time. This Collector person killed Belos? [She mutters something that might be should have got in line. Not that she's actually upset someone else did it if it means he's gone. She realises as she says it that the comment might annoy Hunter, and then that it... probably won't? Hopefully won't? Either way, she's tired of attempting to play nice about the man.

It's not quite as high as priority as what's going on with King, but it might be best not to start with the part that's going to give her the most anxiety. She thinks, at least.]

[byeeeeeeeee]

[Hunter waits until the waitress is well and gone before he speaks again. He cocks his head to the side, but isn't all that surprised by Eda's reaction, or her comment. After the dust settled, he found he was relieved to believe Belos was gone.]

We thought he was dead. But by then, he was more monster than man. He survived somehow. [Or part of him. They would have noticed if a whole monster came through the portal with them.] He followed us into the Human Realm.

[edalyn]

Oh... oh. Shit. [Apparently at some point she decided Hunter is old enough to swear in front of.]

Did he--you said everyone's alright, yeah? [Once again it's hard to keep from looking those new scars over. She was trying not to pry, but she's worried.] Kid... did he hurt you?

[Her voice is a little softer on that, and she seems very genuinely concerned, which might be a surprise. Then again, she seemed genuinely concerned after she got the kids out of Belos's mind, too. So maybe it won't.]

[byeeeeeeeee]

Everyone's fine. [It's becoming a mantra, one he repeats not just for her, but himself. When he last saw them, they were okay. A little banged up from the fight maybe, but no one else had suffered. Everyone was alive. Almost...everyone...

Sometimes, he can still feel the slimy presence of Belos crawling over and through him, the total loss of control of his own body. It was like screaming into a void and the only response is the mocking laughter of the thing that trapped you there.

Kid... did he hurt you? He wants to laugh, or cry, or scream. There are...so many emotions. He knows the scars are obvious. He's afraid if he opens his mouth it will all come spilling out, so he just nods.]

[edalyn]

[It's not surprising, clearly something happened to him, but Eda's heart still sinks a little. She wanted him to be safe. She wanted them all to be safe.

She's not sure what to say. She's kicking herself for not sticking with the kids. If her plan wasn't going to work anyway... that's where she should have been. Maybe she could have helped.

But blaming herself isn't productive, and it's not like it'll make him feel better. Instead she just sighs.]

I'm sorry. [Eda reaches to try and give his shoulder a light squeeze, but she'll back off if he objects.]

[byeeeeeeeee]

[The touch on his shoulder draws a deep, heavy breath from him. He even leans into it a bit, before catching himself and moving away.] Thanks.

[He wants to say it doesn't matter. He was stupid to have ever thought he was actually safe. And as long as Belos lives, no one else is safe either.

He suddenly gasps.] Belos opened another portal. He's gone back to the Boiling Isles.

[Whatever else he's about to say is cut off when the waitress returns to set their drinks on the table.]

[edalyn]

[Eda squeezes his shoulder gently, but pulls her hand back as soon as he moves away. Then he gives her another piece of news, and her expression grows alarmed and angry.

She starts to say something, but the waitress is back. Eda mutters a vague thanks and begins to pour sugar into her coffee before downing a good third of it as the human walks away. It might be a good thing they were interrupted though, because her words are a little more planned than they would have been.]

We'll figure something out. We'll find some way to stop him. [Or at least, she very much wants to make herself believe that. She's trying very hard to sound like she does.]

And... I won't let anyone hurt you here. [She knows this isn't really something she can guarantee either, but she can do her damnedest. She can keep one of these kids safe.]

[byeeeeeeeee]

[He reaches over to slide the sugar his way, and takes his time tearing open each packet and dumping it in. He adds so much cream that the drink becomes less coffee, and more a vaguely coffee-flavored milk.

Stopping Belos is going to be hard when he's gone back to the demon realm, and they're stuck here.

But it's the next thing she says that has him pausing, spoon stopped in the middle of scraping a thick layer of sugar from the bottom of his cup. Maybe he shouldn't be so surprised. Luz had said something similar. Gonna make sure you're safe too, Hunter. But it's still an unfamiliar feeling, especially since, well. He doesn't know Eda all that well, and she doesn't know him (or maybe she does, since he's apparently been here before...)

His voice is a little shaky as he utters a quiet:] You don't have to. But...thank you.

[He quickly turns his attention to the sludge that is his coffee.] Um...I think we got side-tracked.

[edalyn]

[Eda can't help blinking in mild surprise. Even if she was trying to be comforting, she honestly expected more argument than that. She's worried about Hunter, but he seems different... and not in a bad way. She's just as glad she doesn't have to try and justify her right to that worry.

At the same time, it's awkward enough that she's just as glad to move on for now, too.]

Yeah... I think we did a little. [She adds another sugar to her own coffee, mostly for something to do with her hands, and then drains some more of it.]

Right. The Collector... you said they stopped the draining spell? [That's easier to focus on than Belos going back, if nothing else. That's good news, hopefully.]

[byeeeeeeeee]

[He follows her lead, taking a sip of his own far-too-sweet coffee.] Yeah. They...

[He frowns, trying to recall that moment.] I'm sorry. I wasn't...in the best condition at the time, so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. The Collector likes games, and King must have convinced him to stop the spell so they could play something called the Owl House. He said they would need a lot of players.

[edalyn]

It's alright, kid. But... Owl House? I don't want this guy touching my stuff. [It's an attempt at lightening the mood, but with the context as serious as it is, she feels it fall flat even as she says it. She sighs and fidgets with her hair briefly.]

That's... clever though. Leave it to my kid to come up with something. [She gives a faint little smile at this, but it's genuine. It occurs to her just after the comment that she's not sure if this timeline's version of Hunter actually realises that the creature he held hostage that one time is both her son and an eight year old.]

Just hope he knows what he's doing.

[byeeeeeeeee]

They were tearing up the Head to make one. Your stuff might be fine. [Can you say whoosh? At least he looks earnest.

He had learned a few new things when they were recounting everything to Camila. Luz had claimed King as her brother, so it was easy enough to draw the line back to Eda. And that King was not only not a weird pet, but a titan. He will cringe for the next five years over sticking a small titan in a cage. And threatening to drown him in the Boiling Sea.]

We'll get him back. We'll get everyone back to their families.

[edalyn]

[Eda might normally tease him for missing that, but at the moment she lets it slide. She nods at the next part, doing her best once again to look like she believes it.]

Yeah. Yeah, we will. [There's a little pause as she sips her coffee, but then she brings up something that's actually been on her mind for a while.]

Do you have... somewhere you're planning to go? Luz told me she went ahead and volunteered the Owl House--er, the actual place not whatever King's up to. So that's... on the table, I guess.

[Her tone is casual to a degree that sounds slightly forced, and more than a bit awkward. It's not that she actually minds Luz offering, although there's an air of mild performative grumbling. It's more that she's trying not to make a big thing of the fact she's worried, or of the things that she knows about him.

But the other kids all have families worth getting them back to. Whereas Hunter had... Belos. Eda doesn't know all the details, but she knows she doesn't want Hunter's 'uncle' anywhere near him. Not to mention the fact she wants to kill the man in a way that sticks. Possibly with her bare hands.]

[byeeeeeeeee]

[Hunter stares at her like the words aren't quite landing. When they do, he nearly spills his coffee and quickly sets it down.]

She did. But! I wouldn't intrude like that. Luz was just being nice. [She was always too nice.] I can probably convince Darius to let me crash with him for a while longer...

[He trails of uncertainly. There's no guarantee Darius is even alive. Or that he would want the responsibility.]

[edalyn]

[And that reaction is... somewhere between amusing and just sad.]

No, she meant it. Luz is like that. [There's another nostalgic little smile as she says this. The fact Luz cares about in this kid is definitely a factor, too. Either way, she realizes she should probably tone down the grumbling and her expression softens a little.]

You wouldn't be intruding, blondie. Wouldn't offer if you were. It's on the table, s'all I'm saying. If you need it or if that slimeball gets on your nerves. [There's no actual malice in how she says this, just her usual brand of obnoxious nicknames. She's choosing to try and believe Darius is fine, they're all fine.]

[byeeeeeeeee]

Oh.

[That's...reassuring. He hadn't really thought that far ahead. There were so many other things to worry about, like getting the portal working and defeating the Collector. And now Belos. Where he was going to live hadn't factored into any of his plans.

Luz said he was family. Maybe it would be okay to go where she goes.

He rubs his arm, but makes himself look at Eda, if only to show her he's sincere.]

Thank you. I'll...think about it.

[edalyn]

[Eda just nods. She doesn't want to put him on the spot any further, and she doesn't want to insist. She just... wants him to know he has options. It already went over better than she really expected, if he actually is going to think about it.

And of course, that's all hypothetical for now. Right now they're both living here, and she plans to at least keep an eye on him, whether he thinks he needs it or not.]

I think I'm going to get some lunch. [She picks up a menu from the table and idly flips through it. She's not sure she's actually hungry any more, but she thinks they could both use a moment to breathe.]

[byeeeeeeeee]

[Oh, right. Food. They are in a restaurant. Though given how empty it is, he maintains that the food here can't be very good. He flips his menu open to somewhere in the middle and glances at the options for about a second before looking at Eda again.]

Can I ask you something? What do you think about the ADI?

[She's been here longer. Surely she has an opinion by now.]

[edalyn]

[Eda glances up, and then sighs as she wishes she had a simple answer to that.]

Honestly kid? I don't know. I mean--I love a bunch of humans telling us our magic is bad and dangerous and we have to follow their rules. [Because that reminds her of home just a little too much. Of course, she's pretty sure that's part of why Hunter trusted them last time.]

But... the fear thing seems true. The entities--something does twist our powers here. Keep us from using them unless we feed. They're not lying about that much. [But she's not convinced they're telling the truth about everything, either.]