1 -- shout, let it all out (open log)

[nishizono]

Featuring: tetora (nishizono) and anybody!
What's happening: soundproofing people's houses, open to prompts, do whatever floats your boat
Day/s: the whole of march
Content warning: profane/nsfw language, possible graphic depictions/narrations of violence

i. soundproofing shenanigans
[ tetora was given, in exchange for his knives and other items, a task to do — soundproofing maintenance. it's an easy enough job, if tedious, but tetora hates owing people anything as much as he hates being chased, and he hates being chased a lot. so work it is — tetora sets out, door to door, and waits for residents to notice him before he gets to work.

if you find someone randomly loitering at your doorstep at some point this month? it's this guy, and he's here to protect your house from noise. ]

ii. wildcard!
[ leave me a prompt and i'll roll with it! for suggestions and questions, contact me through pm, discord (lucxy#3832), or superdick. ]

Comments

for lilithsoul (closed)

[nishizono]

[ bags are packed, ready to go.

tetora sends rei a message the very same moment he's done packing his bag with some essentials, as well as a notepad for him and rei to take notes on. he figures he could write in kanji just to save space, assuming that he and rei share a common language that isn't just english. he'll be waiting for her at the edge of the main area where the locals have relegated them to stay, and waves at her when she arrives. ]

[lilithsoul]

[Rather than a wave, she simply nodded and made her way over. His assumption that she could read kanji was, blessedly, absolutely correct. Japanese was her native tongue, after all, though she knew English well enough. Once he had come close enough, she motioned for him to take point.

If they were going to get mapping supplies and chart this area, she trusted he had a first idea where he wanted to go.]

[nishizono]

[ and she would be right - he wanted to check the waterways first. he motions for her to follow him south, heading for the waterways. they reach the bridge and tetora indicates, look — not all of the bridges are left standing.

in particular, there's one that's been wrecked by what seems like an explosion. ]

[lilithsoul]

[She looked in the direction of the explosion's aftermath and frowned, looking back at him. A nod said that she'd registered it, and she put down in her notes that this bridge was out. There would be no rebuilding it.

Hadn't there been a very large sound a few days ago? It didn't matter if there had, though. Looking one way or another, she pointed to the riverway. To do this, they would have to leave the sandpaths eventually, which meant being extra careful.]

[nishizono]

[ it wasn't their explosion, but it's still noteworthy; they're not the first ones to try bombs, which gives them some idea of what to expect. tetora and rei cross the bridge and walk further, as tetora snaps some photos of the more egregious displays of damage to the buildings nearby. the damage seems to compound the further away they get. ]

[lilithsoul]

[Silent photography was, arguably, one of the most valuable tools that the device they had carried. It could help them build a regular log of locations, conditions, and even if they didn't see something, someone else might.

As they progressed, she kept a very slow pace, pulling out her own phone and mimicking him. More pictures couldn't hurt.]

[nishizono]

[ it's after a while of walking that the inevitable happened - a sound eater appears like some nightmare eldritch pokemon in the way, and tetora signals for the two of them to duck low like right the fuck now. tetora turns to rei, his expression clear as day: what the fuck?

the odds have always been high, considering the population ratio, but this soon into a trek? what kind of shitty luck do they have? ]

[lilithsoul]

[Rei froze in a low crouch easily, her eyes locking on the misshapen creature and watching its every move, or at least what little could be gleaned. The thing didn't exactly stay where it could be observed easily. Thankfully, though, she was skilled at staying quiet even normally, so remaining silent for the time being was possible.

For now, though, it was a waiting game. Rei's eyes betrayed no fear, but then again she wasn't afraid of death in the slightest. All she had was a morbid sort of curiosity in those eyes of hers.]

[nishizono]

[ the same morbid curiosity can be found in tetora's own eyes, if they shared a glance. tetora's died several times over, albeit through the memories of the men and women whose memories and skills he'd inherited over the course of the years. the sound eater ambles on, scurrying quietly like an insect.

tetora signs at rei. ]

Can you see where it's headed?

[lilithsoul]

[She did glance at him once during this, seeing some of the same curiosity there. She almost wanted to track the creature, track it like she'd hunted angels in the past. Death was meaningless. She'd just be replaced, so what was there to be afraid of? Even the hideous appearance of the thing didn't phase her. She was used to the surreal and monstrous.

His question got a nod and she pointed in the general direction, down an alley. It would be hard to track and stay quiet but perhaps they'd get another glance.]

[nishizono]

[ down the alley behind them, then. that's dangerous enough, but tetora trusts they're both going to be quiet for as long as it takes to wait for the sound eater to be out of range. tetora nods at rei again, carefully rising up to take a good look at the sound eater.

it's scurrying close by. close enough that it's scrabbling along the ruined wall that they're hiding behind. tetora's own heartbeat sounds loud in his ears, but it doesn't seem to be getting any closer. ]

[lilithsoul]

[Rei followed until they were trapped against a wall, listening to its infinitesimal scurries. The creature was almost as good as the few human survivors at keeping quiet, so following it was only possible because of how little sound there really was.

Leaning there, she listened to it and pulled out a small hand mirror to see if she could get something of a look at it. They were supposed to be blind, after all.]

[nishizono]

[ it's ugly. just glancing from rei's hand mirror he could see that it's this butt ugly thing that has no business existing - and yet. and yet, here they were. watching the damn thing scurry about like some bloated insect that's rooting around for something to suck on.

them, most likely, if it doesn't leave.

thankfully it does, after a good long moment of heart-stopping silence. ]

[lilithsoul]

[So, this was the adolescent form. It was unpredictable, almost like it was naturally shifting and impossible to pin down. She watched its every move before it departed, waiting until the silence was its usual deafening state and pulled her device back out.]

I believe it would be difficult to catch one. They are hard to pin down the movements on.

[nishizono]

that's what you wanna do? pin it down and capture it?

[ it's not a bad idea, all things considered, but the logistics of it is tricky, to say the least. tetora considers it for one long hot minute, though. hmm. ]

do you wanna try now or what

[lilithsoul]

[She shook her head as she typed out the response.]

Others do, to study it for weaknesses. If I am tasked with it, I will help. For now, I do not think they are ready for it.

[nishizono]

alright, we leave it be.

[ tetora rises carefully from where they're hidden, looking around to check if the coast is clear. so far, so good - he indicates the same to rei. ]

we can keep going now, i think. anywhere you wanna head to in particular?

[lilithsoul]

[She looked back in the direction that they had originally been headed and pointed there. They should continue where they had been going already. Still...]

We should be more careful than before. There may be more.

[nishizono]

[ tetora nods, and proceeds along the wall back to their previous path. ]

you have my back, yeah?

[lilithsoul]

[She simply nodded and clearly moved into the position of someone who was intimately familiar with watching the back of another. Being the backup and extra eyes or shield of a pair was Rei's most natural position, so she fell into it with almost no thought. As they began to progress, those eyes of hers were scanning, ever alert.

Yet, it was that same, eternal eerie silence.]

[nishizono]

[ more of the same, it turns out. more of the quiet, and it's starting to raise the hairs on the back of tetora's neck, how pervasive it is. it drives him up the proverbial wall, makes him want to scream out loud just to see where things end up.

with someone dead probably. ]

you wanna head back?

[lilithsoul]

[She paused when she glanced down to see the response, looking around. The sun was getting just low enough that it might be best to do just that. The monster's appearance had slowed their progress today. Turning towards him, she pointed at the setting sun and nodded, gesturing back towards the city.

No need for words on this one. She was pretty sure that would be clear.]

[nishizono]

[ and so back to the commune they go. tetora leads the way for this one, scrolling through the pictures they've accumulated on the way. it's not exactly what he hoped for from the trip, but it's still a productive trip all the same. ]

[lilithsoul]

[She was content, if for no other reason than that any trip at all that they came back from with data was more info that they had. This was a battle of attrition, and so long as they were not short on supplies, there was no value in hurrying.

When they reached the edge of the commune, she paused and looked at him, holding out her device to synch the photos she'd gained as well.]

Is there anyone we should show these to as well?

[nishizono]

[ who should they show these to? tetora thinks it over. ]

majima, definitely. he'll want to know about this, and tony too. you could post about it on the network if you want? i don't mind sharing what we've found.

it's probably best for everyone's sake, anyway.