DEADLAND

[petoskeymods]

[Some time after your character dies, they will wake up in their bunk in camp. But something is wrong here, so very wrong.

Venture outside, and you will see that you're still in camp, but it's trapped in a foggy twilight. Time doesn't seem to pass, and it's quiet. Too quiet. No animals, no breeze, nothing.

The only sign of anything living is in the trees, where dozens and dozens of ghostly figures roam. Sometimes they might come into camp, but you'll probably have to go out to meet them if you want to talk to them. They all seem to be watching camp, but are shy and might flicker away if they're approached.

Finally, in the chapel in the lodge, there is a shadowy figure. It looks like a preteen, perhaps? Maybe 11 or 12 or so. But that's about all you can get from it at a glance.

But you're here now, and there are things to do. Where will you start?]

Comments

[lovebun]

[ SHE SEES THAT. ]

Tal. You've done a lot more than I think you realize. I'm not sure we would have gotten through to Sol without you paving the way. I can be nice all I want, but... That doesn't mean I could have broken through. And yeah, Sol got up set but... They're a kid. In the end, you're the reason we've gotten as far as we did.

[seekingsunrise]

I scared him, Usagi. I pushed him to hope and then everything fell apart. It-

[He just shakes his head, that forced smile faltering.]

It's okay. I have been working hard... I just wish I could've done more. Then maybe we wouldn't be scrambling so much on what to do now.

[lovebun]

Tal. He's a kid. And kids... When they're scared, they pitch fits. His fits are just gonna be a lot bigger because he's a god. That doesn't mean you didn't do enough or you did something wrong. You gave him something I don't think he's had in a long while, and that probably means the world to him.

[ A kind of sad smile. ]

And before you argue, remember: I have a ten-year-old brother back home. I'm used to how kids work.

[seekingsunrise]

[He's quiet for a long moment, trying to process everything she's said, trying to wrap his head around the fact that maybe, just maybe she's right.]

I've... never known anyone younger than me. Or even near my age. Not until here. I...

It's not safe for people to have kids, we're already battling not to starve and until the Dawn- Anyway Is... is that really normal? I mean he avoided us for weeks, he was terrified of us. I-

[It hurts to think that he made someone that afraid of him.]

[lovebun]

Think about it, though. To Sol, how long was that? He's really old, so what was weeks to us was probably like when Shingo slams his door and locks himself in his room for a few hours.

[ But she is processing that state. That's... Not a good state. ]

...And clearly Sol doesn't hate you, not really. But when little kids are scared, they tend to have outbursts and just say what's on their mind until they calm down. Sol's back now, and that says a lot.

[ Trying to keep him away from the sads, though. ]

[seekingsunrise]

[See he could write it off as a tantrum if the things Sol said didn't directly reflect everything he already thought of himself. It makes it hard, okay.]

The trouble with ageless beings, huh?

[A weak, derisive laugh that falls horribly flat. And then he takes a deep breath and straightens his posture, lifts his head, pushes all the sad thoughts and worries about home into the back of his mind, locked behind a door where they belong.]

Yeah, Sol's back and that's the important part.