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- !event log,
- dceu: diana prince,
- dogs b&c: nill,
- doom patrol: larry trainor,
- dragon age: cassandra pentaghast,
- dragon age: marian hawke,
- marvel comics: wade wilson,
- mcu: stephen strange,
- mcu: tony stark,
- original: ian fowler,
- overwatch: soldier 76 (jack morrison),
- red vs. blue: terrence ephemera,
- she-ra: glimmer,
- star trek: elim garak,
- star wars: jyn erso,
- supernatural: dean winchester,
- supernatural: sam winchester,
- the 100: clarke griffin,
- the 100: john murphy,
- the 100: lexa,
- the boys: homelander,
- the last of us: ellie,
- the old guard: andy,
- the old guard: booker,
- the old guard: joe,
- the vampire diaries: kai parker,
- uncharted: nathan drake,
- xena: callisto
EVENT #011
WHERE: The Aerie, a different world.
WHEN: Late July 2512.
WHAT: The first log of our AU event, taking place in an AU world that puts on battle royale events to cull the massive overpopulation.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Overwritten minds, horrible dystopian conditions, and more!
On the morning of July 26th, every living person on Earth will be spirited away from where they were mere moments before. Just like that. Hover cars will descend slowly in transit, trains will come to a stop without a screech of their breaks, and the streets throughout every single of the 104 megacities will be left barren, empty, and lifeless. Even those lost and hidden, not seen for months, are swept gently away with the rest of their brethren. No stone will go unturned.
The world upon their return may pick up where it's left off, or it will be changed in some way. Will it be July 26th when everyone finds themselves back where they were standing before? Or will something else happen during this time? Now that the supposed lifeblood of this planet is gone, what will happen in their absence? The world may not be able to go on how it had been.
Perhaps the more terrifying question is this: if something is powerful enough to steal away every person, every single one capable of thought, ideas, conflict, war, and more, what else could happen?
Perhaps it's for the best that it may be awhile before anyone has to worry about that.
For now, they've entered a world that's one week away from its next Quarry event: a place where The Aerie's criminals fight to prove they deserve to keep their life.
The Aerie is a structure that should not exist.
Made of steel and concrete, it gives off the impression that its guts were arranged haphazardly, as if an amateur surgeon had pulled them out and tried to put them back in again. Steel beams stretch out between buildings, connecting them together. There may have been a wall of concrete around this beam once upon a time, but it splintered and fell away, exposing its insides and opening up a pathway that people have taken for granted in the past fifty to a hundred years. Power lines hang in loose tangles throughout this little world, ready to fall away at the slightest breeze, then splinter and spark.
Most of the insides of The Aerie are barely preserved. Trying to do that would be an impossible task: there are too many people, too many who live in concrete layered on one another like stacks of broken shelves, too many who pass through open maws of ruptured pathways, crawling up onto the roof of a business for what they think is a shortcut to a higher level. Brittle walls that splinter off into clouds of chalky white dust are everywhere and anywhere.
How The Aerie came together was once a majestic feat: a place for people to live, thrown together as extinction surged forward like a towering beast on the horizon. There was a mix of minds behind the action, as well as a hollow sense of desperation. Even those who brought The Aerie into being knew that their lives were on the line. It was a matter of "make this work" or die. So, they made it work.
What's truly impossible about The Aerie isn't the hulking structures merged together at all manner of impossible angles, but the outer layer of this little world, looming overhead in shimmering, constant glory. The people of The Aerie are protected, safe; the world outside is a nebulous, uncertain mess of greys and greens and reds and blues. Storms surge just outside of the wall of The Aerie with sharp, constant bolts of lightning that batter the surface overhead. Once upon a time, the people of this little world feared those bolts cutting through and destroying their home. But it's been long enough now. No one lives in fear of what's outside, and no one wonders, not anymore. After all, the people who made it outside were never seen again. For a time, some people could watch through the clear walls as these escapees' bodies turned to irradiated mush with only bones left behind. In time, those bones withered away to dust. And with them, their memories were forgotten.
Within The Aerie, life goes on, just as it must: riddled with fear, with survival often depending on the ability to escape notice.
Only two parts of The Aerie remain unscathed, untouched by the passage of time and haphazard construction of this refuge:
The Volary, which stands tall and pristine at the heart of The Aerie. Lights burn within The Volary all day and all night, showing signs of life that most of the people outside of its walls will never see for themselves.
And then the Quarry, a structure built in haste and out of necessity. The same people who brought The Aerie together also made the Quarry. At its base are a series of office buildings, setting up monthly arena events where the guilty fight to show that they deserve to survive.
These two things are the source of all the fear in The Aerie. It's what keeps everyone's mind off the crumbling walls, the storms outside, and the miserable, unending passage of time.
When The Aerie came into being, so did The Volary. Far from fragmented like the rest of this tiny, tiny world, it stands pristine, with brown bricks lining its exterior, and strong steel beams holding it strong within. Either through its making or its care, The Volary hasn't suffered from the hands of time like the rest of the world. Anyone outside of The Volary doesn't know the truth, though they could likely guess.
Inside of The Volary lives the members of Parliament: the newly-joined Magpies, the comfortable Rooks, and the looming and most powerful, the Cardinals.
The Cardinals live at the very top. Even after over two hundred years, the Cardinals remain impenetrable. New members are accepted into their ranks from time to time, granted secrets of a bygone era, but the rest of the world remains ignorant to their knowledge. At the heart of this structure is a cult, a belief system; they are the ones who decide if The Aerie lives or dies. For now, it continues to live. Of course, any other path would lead to their devastation as well. They may be nearly immortal, but they aren't truly untouchable and eternal.
Beneath them are the rest of Parliament, cocky in their comfort. Many were born into it, but some were raised into the ranks, finding their own footholds. Sometimes these elevations seem random; sometimes these promotions happen with purpose, with someone driving to catch the eye of a Rook who's looking for someone like-minded to have around them.
Outside of the Magpies, the Rooks that were once Magpies, and the once-members of The Congregation outside, everyone seems blissfully ignorant of the dilapidated world outside. There are some workers from the outside world who know, and some Carrion lucky to have their place among the elite—but there is a sense that some things shouldn't be spoken about, or else they may need to be responsible for it all. While the outside begins to age without any sign of renewal, this compound lives on—untouched, unbothered.
The Volary is set up in levels. The very bottom is where all the businesses that serve the people up above are located. It's where animals are raised and butchered, and where food is prepared before it's brought up to the upper levels. There are numerous common areas, but these can be rented out for any whim of any members of Parliament. Even the businesses themselves can be shuttered for the day, with preferred chefs invited to the upper levels to prepare meals to deal with these circumstances. (Someone from the Congregation can train as a chef in the Cotillion, even if they've never handled food of this nature their entire lives. It's a good job to have, as a number of favored chefs have been elevated to Magpies.)
Beyond the shops is the first level of living quarters for the various members of Parliament. Many Magpie and Rook suites are side by side, though some Rooks prefer not to be housed next to a newcomer and have made their preference known throughout the years. These suites are designed and adapted to its inhabitant's every need, and if someone is born into the family, they inherit their family's suite once someone dies. How is it that there could be space for all the members of Parliament, and so little room outside of the walls of this compound? Consider that yet another question that members of Parliament don't need to concern themselves with.
At the uppermost levels are the suites belonging to the Cardinals. Unless explicitly invited, no one is allowed onto these floors. Numerous Carrion have died throughout the years because they wandered up the wrong set of stairs, knowing that risk was looming over them.
And at the very top is where The Conclave meets. Newly elected members of Parliament visit this room once to receive their powers, only they recall nothing. No one knows what happens within the inner walls of The Conclave. Some have attempted to spy throughout the years. Needless to say, that didn't go well.
The Volary is the home of the pampered, the rich: the people who can ignore the dying world beyond them. Even those inheriting a sense of importance feel as if they've done enough—when they clearly don't do enough. At least those stuck outside may find themselves walking through the heavy front doors of this compound one day. Too bad it's based upon the powers of Parliament, and whether they deign to let someone inside. The only good news is that someone can be buzzed in via their power. That gives a real personal touch, right?
Outside of The Volary, The Aerie is set up in sectors, these sectors acting like rings that move further and further from The Volary up and down throughout The Aerie. Almost by necessity, the rings closer to The Volary are populated by Parliament's favorites. The upkeep around here is better: not pristine, but far from as bad as it gets as someone travels to the outer sectors. Many who have made a name for themselves in the Quarry live in these inner sectors, close to the people of Parliament. Many believe that the inner sectors are still tended to because members of Parliament would hate to face up to the fact of their world dying, and it may not be far from the truth.
In addition to better upkeep, the inner sectors experience less Shrike patrols, with the people allowed to live a life that allows them to remain ignorant to the world around them. They may not be Parliament, but their life in these sectors affords them the feeling of comfort. They don't have to fear their ceiling caving in; they don't have to fear a pipe bursting at an unfortunate moment; they don't have to fear wrongful arrest because they looked at someone the wrong way. It takes a lot for those from the inner sectors to have their lives ruined—but it's not exactly impossible. Of course, this is also where The Cotillion is kept, with numerous buildings and dormitories maintained for its students.
The further and further someone goes away from The Volary, the more life within The Aerie becomes difficult. The worst part is this: no one knows any better. They know the crumbling walls, the faded and peeling wallpaper, the revealed steel beams. They know the frequent Shrike patrols. They know that if they commit a crime, it's on them: they deserve whatever comes their way.
How does someone work in order to get by in these outer sectors? They can help man the bars, because drinking is as much a way of life here as it is back in the regular world. They can help upkeep of The Aerie. Someone can easily enter a trade alongside their compulsory schooling, especially if they aren't special enough for Cotillion training. Electricians are needed throughout. Maintenance of trains is needed throughout. Plumbers are needed throughout. And rations? They come by way of processing plants connected to hydroponic farms. More than a few times throughout the years, these plants have suffered breakdowns, and there have been ration shortages. But don't worry: Parliament continued on eating as if nothing changed outside.
Rations are given out three times a day through numerous rations checkpoints in each sector. These rations are like tasteless protein bars: enough to provide someone the meal they need, a bland mixture of carbohydrates, protein and fat sprinkled with essential nutrients, and little more. Attempts to make them more flavorful throughout the years have failed. Badly. It's probably better that they're bland little morsels. The good news is that they're filling. That may be the only good news.
Life isn't all misery and pain, even if job prospects are largely unfortunate if you're nothing special and the food is literally nothing to talk about. There is a thriving popular culture within The Congregation. There are numerous television shows and movies depicting the distant past, or even a brighter present: one in which the people of The Congregation managed to come together and make their lives better. Oddly enough, these don't tend to act as propaganda. They're just badly written, but done with an eye on hope and perhaps a better life. There are sports and games, though no official leagues have started up, almost certainly because they would compete with the Quarry for airtime.
Members of the Congregation are able to travel anywhere they like within The Aerie thanks to trains, with the only sector the train lines don't access being The Volary. They can peer down over the city, seeing a blurry line of grey all merging together, with people living their lives as best as they can. These trains go near the surface of The Aerie, too, granting someone a close up of the world outside, and reminding them that life could be much, much worse. It could be gone altogether.
With one week remaining until the next Quarry event, preparations continue within The Company's headquarters. Located at the base of the arena out of necessity, The Company's offices are pristine and lifeless in nature. White walls, white ceiling tiles, and white chairs: nothing varies from anything else. How does it remain so surgical at all times? One can only wonder.
Numerous Quarries are being prepared at any given moment, with the televised sensations planned months in advance. Some plans are scrapped depending on competitors. Given the recurrence of Snipes, there are moments where plans need to be changed, where tension needs to be brought in. An arena designer may have to scrap his entire vision for a backup plan.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—The Company is a well-oiled machine. Need some crunch time to make sure a Quarry event is ready on time? The underlings at The Company are used to working long, long days to make it work.
The Quarry this time around is unknown, though there are suspicions of what it might be.
As for those waiting to enter the ring: they're free to live their lives, but many of them are undergoing talent training and preparation for the big event. They're going through interviews, getting sized for any costumes, and being asked to tell their stories. Some of the Snipes may be more than ready for this, while the Guineas will need to figure this out for themselves.
Littered throughout the Congregation is a group that's been budding for a while. As much as this world is all they've known, there are some who believe that they deserve something better. The Quarry is unfair, and all throughout the many sectors, there are signs that The Aerie is breaking down and dying, barely keeping it together. These are people who may be afraid, but want to fight despite that fear.
Some of them have made themselves known: bearing a tattoo of a kestrel where others can see. Others hide who they are, but they're waiting. Planning. They strike when they can, but they know that time is running out. There are tiny safehouses throughout, typically through hatches underneath small local businesses that are sympathetic to the kestrels themselves. These people aren't members, but they put themselves at risk every day to protect this movement.
So, they have their sights set on this upcoming Quarry. It's time to bring change to The Aerie—or die trying.
Either through talking ICly or OOCly, we'd like to have the following goals outlined and submitted to our comments below:
What is the Kestrels' plan in all of this? What do they intend to do?
This can include trying to find and meet with Prometheus, just as a note! Overall, we'd like an idea of what they'll be attempting with the upcoming Quarry so that we can work it into the next log.
What is the theme for the next Quarry arena?
We'd like to have some idea of a theme, as well as some submitted puzzles! We know that we're the kings of Vague Ass Puzzles, so feel free to be vague. We just want to give our Quarry participants something to look forward to.
Are there any other factors we need to consider?
Parliament upheaval? Plans to find out what Parliament is doing? Anything else that might come to mind? This is more loose!
We're giving a loose deadline of DECEMBER 7 with the next log going up on DECEMBER 12.
Welcome to part one of our year-end AU event! We meant for this to be primarily be a description log to start play, especially since we feel that most of our critical information is in our Planning Post. We suggest that you do any necessary planning there for your select crews there, as well as use the "DM" system on Warbler for private stuff.
Of course, our questions thread is still open.
Since it's come up in the past: since all characters are in the AU, please feel free to do a catch-all post of anything you might want! Flashbacks! Anything open prompt-wise! Go wild with this stuff. This is always available during events, but we wanted to be explicitly clear here given the nature of this event.
As for mod-run social media, we have a post here on the network where we'll be steadily adding things throughout the event!
Our November Activity Check goes live on DECEMBER 1. AC for the month of December will be check-in only. It's a weird holiday season, but it will undoubtedly still be stressful for all of us.
Our next reserves will open on NOVEMBER 23 and our next application period will open on DECEMBER 1. We intend for all new or returning applicants to be kept outside of the AU. We have a special plotting opportunity and NPC ready for this scenario to help people integrate. However, if you have a friend who's apping to tap into the AU, let us know—we're not 100% married to our plans, but we worried about any new players apping into such a convoluted scenario after so much plotting has already taken place.
That's all for now. Have fun and for those of you who celebrate, have a Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃
kyna medina | former stylist/current quarry participant
[Kyna hasn't actually done anything wrong, but that doesn't matter. After she gets the news, some bullshit about stealing Quarry plans, she goes numb. It's almost too absurd to take seriously, this idea that she's some kind of femme fatale, wrapping Sam around her little finger to lift information. Like she could possibly be that charismatic. Like Sam could possibly be that dumb. Like it makes any sense that she'd wait years to do it.
She's sent home from work, because now there's no reason for her to be there, and then she just has no idea what to do with herself. There's a part of her still clinging to the thought that even if the Quarry has flaws, it's still necessary. It has to be, right? She can't be this wrong about something.
There's nothing to do but wait now. She keeps herself from telling anyone, because it seems pointless. They'll all see the announcement anyway, or they'll be told personally like Sam was, and she's not sure she can keep herself calm and detached if she actually has to talk about it. Kyna can't handle staying holed up in her tiny apartment with her thoughts, so she wanders the city, ignoring the stares she gets. Everyone suddenly recognizes her, apparently, and it makes her skin crawl.]
the company
[It takes a couple of hours, and a few breakdowns, but Kyna finally gets it together. She knows plenty of people who have won. Ian and Nate won. Why can't she?
So, while she doesn't reach out to Ian and Sam—it's bad enough that they'll have to help design a bunch of shit to kill her—she does reach out to every other contact she's made during her career. Stylists, agents, designers, past winners. It's a wide swath.]
@unfajitable
hey
i need your help
closed - ian
[Originally, Kyna was planning on keeping Ian... maybe not out of this, but at least distanced from it. It didn't seem fair, dragging him into this whole situation when his entire job forces them to be on opposite sides. She already knows how much he'll hate working on designs for this Quarry. Why make it worse?
Of course he drags her to his apartment and sits her down. Of course he goes into shut down logic mode and tries to help her prepare. She's not sure why she thought she could protect him from this.
Kyna, for her part, has gone from numb to pissed. The fear comes and goes, but the anger doesn't. Sometimes it ebbs, fading to a low simmer, but it's always there. They're at his tiny kitchen table, diagrams and papers spread out before them, and Kyna has her hands curled into fists in her lap. She's focusing on what Ian is saying, of course, but she's also desperately trying to keep herself together. She couldn't keep her feelings hidden from Sam, so she knows there's no hope with Ian. He's been there for every bump and bruise and heartbreak since they were tiny. He can read her like a book.
But she can delay it, maybe.]
I don't think I can fight anyone head on. What if I get cornered or something?
[Sure, she knows how to handle herself courtesy of Roy, but one on one with some dude three times her size is still going to be too risky.]
wildcard
[Hit me with something else! Kyna's plotting comment/backstory info is here.]
@boo
no, no he is not. ]
yeah, what's up?
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[ aka what's in it for him? ]
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what do you want?
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i just want to know if you were really dumb enough to try to steal those plans
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closed - roy
But Roy—Roy knows her so well he can read her like a book. They've been through a lot together. All she wants to do, really, is throw her arms around him and finally just let herself cry, but she's afraid that if she starts, she won't be able to stop. Clinging to the anger she's feeling seems so much safer.
So she's a little tense, toying with the keys in her hand.]
Hey.
[She's fine. It's fine.]
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he sees her, and his heart breaks all over again. ]
Kyna...
[ he voices softly, anguished, and takes the last few steps to close the distance. sorry, hon, but you're being dragged into his arms anyway. roy throws them around her, tugging her close to his chest, a hand on the back of her head, tucking his face into her hair. god, he's scared. he's terrified for her, but that has to be paltry in the face of what she's feeling. ]
It's gonna be okay, we'll-- We'll figure something out. [ they have to. he has to. he's lost so many people already, he can't lose her too. ] We can hide you in one of the safehouses.
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No, no, Roy, you can't. I'm not going to let you risk getting caught for me.
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Kyna, I risk getting caught every day I go to work at the Company. [ his voice is shaken, but convicted. ] If you think I'm just gonna watch while they dump you into that death chamber, you're outta your damn mind.
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[Her fingers tangle in the back of his shirt, clinging tight. This isn't the same as what he does every day, but she can't quite articulate why. She sucks in a sharp, shaky breath, floundering for a moment.]
It's— If you got caught, would you want me to try to get you out? Or would you tell me it's too dangerous?
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No, but-
[ roy's arms tighten around her, ducking his face against her hair, and a fear in him screams that letting her go now means never seeing her again. the fear isn't entirely misplaced, knowing the quarry. silence falls, and roy sucks in a couple deep breaths, rattling inside a chest that feels empty, before he pulls back to meet her eyes again. ]
We're working on a plan, okay? [ the voice is quiet, just between the two of them. he isn't supposed to be sharing kestrel secrets with her, and usually, he's good about that. usually. the situation has changed. ] We will get you out of there, Kyna, I swear, but you have to survive, alright? Do whatever you have to, keep your head down, stay out of sight, just stay alive, alright?
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Pretend like it's not trying to claw its way up and out of his throat.
Keep a level head. Stay calm. Breathe with purpose. ]
You're gonna need to use your head in there, you can't afford not to think everything through. Before you move, before you talk, before you act, you have to stop and think. Not just what you're gonna do next, but what could go wrong after you do it and what you're gonna do about those possibilities. Three steps ahead.
[ He was in exactly one, ever. They were much, much younger than they are now. Practically kids, barely edging into early twenties, but his memories from his quarry are so sharp they wake him up at night sometimes. Watching Nate do this every few years is stressful and gut wrenching, but it's nothing compared to this. He goes in by choice. It's his job. He's trained for it.
She doesn't belong in there.
Focus. ]
You know what your power is yet?
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She's getting too far ahead of herself. Kyna takes a deep breath, surprises herself by keeping it steady, and shakes her head.]
No. Not yet.
[Three steps ahead sounds exhausting. She's not sure if her mind can even work that way.]
Should I... you know. Find someone to team up with?
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So he's not thinking about it. Because they're working. Because they have to work.
He passes a hand over his mouth, studying her, contemplating. ]
Not for longer than a day, unless you know them from the outside. You do not sleep around anyone you don't trust implicitly, do you understand? At the end of the day, only one person's walking out. If you forget about that, they're gonna have a way easier time taking you out when they don't have to look you in the eyes.
[ And even then--
He reaches out to curl a hand around her arm. ]
This is very important. You need to remember that everyone in the quarry is going to want to kill you. Everyone. I don't care if you find out your fucking... true love is in there, I don't care if you run into somebody you grew up with, it doesn't matter. You need to remember that, and you need to walk away from them before you get too attached to do what you have to do.
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[She says it gently, leaning in to settle her head against his shoulder. That's kind of the basic tenet—don't get too attached. People get killed by their "allies" in the Quarry constantly.
He's absolutely right to say it anyway, though. He's right that if she spends too long with someone, if they help her too much, she'll get attached. She'll hesitate, and then there's no point to their little sessions or the advice anyone else is giving her.]
At least being small means I can be sneaky, right?
[Of course, the Quarry could be a barren wasteland where they're all wearing neon, but she's not going to ask. She refuses to put Ian in the position of giving her insider tips.]
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[ He agrees, a strain in his voice. His rasp's gotten worse lately, and it's coming out especially prominently tonight. ]
Sneaky's good. Sneaky's... if you can make it almost all the way to the end without running into a single fucking person, do it.
[ He licks his lips. Falters. There's a slight waver in his tone, a hesitation when he starts up. ]
Kyna... you're gonna have to kill someone. Probably more than one person. When the time comes for that... you can't hesitate, okay?
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[Logically, she knows, but she doesn't think there's a way to prepare for it. They'd talked about it before Ian went in too, and it still wrecked him. She's pretty sure it wrecks everyone.
There's a part of her that wants to move the conversation on, just ask him if he can teach her to make some traps or something. He certainly doesn't mean for it to be, but that tremble in his voice is like a warning. They're approaching territory that's hard for him, things she doesn't want him to relive.
But. But.
She needs to know. He wouldn't want her to hold back on this for his sake. Logically, she knows that too. She still has to force herself to continue, voice quiet.]
How do you... Um. How do you keep yourself from hesitating? How do you... think of it?
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wildcard because I do what I want
Hey, how are you doing?
[With... Everything.]
how dare you
How am I doing?
[Good start.]
rebel over here
About as expected, then?
[The comment might be joking if he weren't saying it seriously enough that it settles right on the line, so that she can respond whichever way is easiest.]
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[Her slips from anger to something closer to fear at the end, voice trembling.]
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[Despite the still slightly flippant wording, he's speaking softly and genuinely.]
I had to at least try to help, and if it makes you feel any better, it was only a matter of time before I ended up in the quarry. I've been doing this sort of thing for months.
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You what? How?
[Maybe she shouldn't be surprised that she had no idea, but she can't help it.]
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