raisetheearth | Shepherd's Haven Event: Devil's Night

Who: Damon the doppelganger and OPEN TO ANY IN SHEPHERD'S HAVEN
What: Devil has an announcement to make in the form of arson and violence. Aforementioned player plot shenanigans.
Where: Shepherd's Haven
When: Forward dated to the night of October 30th, and probably into the morning of the 31st. Devil's night, in other words.
Status: Open with some closed-ish subthreads!
Warnings: Arson and violence?

No night had ever been so aptly named.

Shepherd's Haven wasn't anywhere near Michigan, but that didn't mean the festivities of Devil's Night couldn't be spread to far and wide locales. It was the perfect night, in fact, for the creature known as a demon to remind the sleepy little haven of precisely why it was unwise to prod the beast. Perhaps the one who called him there had forgotten, or perhaps he simply thought the devil had more bark than bite.

Oh, how wrong he was.

It began with fire. Several fires, to be precise. Small at first but fed with whatever accelerant Damon could find on hand. Fuel left unguarded, dry hay or straw. Did you know compost burns very well? It does, oh how it burns. And each fire set at different locations across the town, so quickly and so close to simultaneous one might almost think that they were set by several people at once.

Or one that could move very, very quickly.

The cherry on top was a door with a fading red "X" painted on it, ripped from its hinges and set ablaze, then left on the steps in front of the town hall.

[[OOC: Leaving this fairly open for anyone to react to and have their own threads/etc. of what's happening. Separate threads will go up for some more planned stages of the event, but if anyone wants to be unfortunate enough to run across Damon while he pursues his arsonist rampage through SH go ahead and put up a toplevel and just toss in the comment header that you want me.

Have fun dealing with those fires and rampaging demon, guys!]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Lazarus' strength lies elsewhere besides his scrawny limbs and stressed heart, but it comes to Nathan, that doesn't particularly matter. All that does is that he's stronger than Nathan and that when push comes to shove, he can prevail. This is important, because at this juncture, he feels that he truly needs to. It helps that Nathan's not struggling, which indicates that he's smart enough to realize that being aboveground in the settlement is no place for him while it's in flames.

"I have to find out more, and I have to stop it if I can," he says, kicking the sod away from a flat cellar door. "Not to mention going back for Misa, as I haven't seen her yet and don't know if she's OK." his eyes dart back and forth as he stands aside, waiting for Nathan to descend into the dug-out space but more than ready to shove him if he takes too long.

"If the person I think is behind this is afoot, I might also need to make a sandwich," he mumbles distractedly.

Nathan's first instinct toward any danger is to get away from it if at all possible. Of course he does not object to getting into the shelter at a time like this. And he would have headed right in, if not for a few things mentioned in that explanation. Getting Misa to safety he understands, but what is he going to do to stop all this?

And the last part is just . . . strange. The reference is lost on him.

"A sandwich? ... Who do you think it is?"

Edited (I can type. Really.) 2015-11-02 06:26 (UTC)

Of course, given the circumstances and Nathan's understandable lack of context, that probably sounds completely insane. Though Lazarus is throwing glances over his shoulder, staggeringly aware of just how little time they have, he owes him at least a rushed explanation.

"I think it's Tony's doppelganger," he says. "We've had our differences but I've also gotten through to him before, with the offer of food. Doppelgangers aren't always exact opposites, they're at least always different sides of the same coin, and I think that I can reason with him if I show him a little bit of kindness. He's similar to Tony that way. I want to try to reach him without resorting to violence."

That... probably also sounds insane.

"I have to try, Nathan."

Tony's . . .

Nathan, being watchful of the network, is aware that he has resurfaced along with a few others. But he'd never seen any intent to do something like this expressed. Which means it must have been off-network if it had been expressed at all.

And Nathan of anyone, more than anyone perhaps, understands the desire to resolve things without violence. Even if it sounds insane, it is something he would also prefer. He just . . . if it doesn't work . . .

"You think he might listen when he is in the middle of burning down the town?"

He would like to believe it. He honestly and truly would. The problem is that is not sure at all that he does.

I believe Catholics call it a Hail Mary pass. He swallows, steeling himself, already restless. Every moment here is a moment something could be going wrong and getting worse outside.

"I don't think we can fight him," he says softly. "If he has the same abilities Tony does, there's a strong likelihood that no one here can take him on sans ensuing tragedy. If we have a chance, it's appealing to a different angle. Of course... if it doesn't work, it's important that you stay out of sight until the danger's gone. Promise me you'll do that."

You don't really expect this to work, do you? He thinks it, but he doesn't ask

"I . . ." It's like Willow Ridge all over again and he hates it so much. There, fortunately, the awful decision had not had to be made. Here, they are going to have no such luxury.

If it doesn't work, if something else doesn't happen . . . that is, in euphemistic terms, going to wind up giving Nathan an Echo that he desperately does not want. But what else is he supposed to do right now? He is not equipped to handle any of this.

But he bows his head, lets out a shaky breath. "I'll stay."

He does not know what that says about him. Whether it is good or bad, smart or cowardly. But if he goes down into the cellar now, he thinks he might be too afraid to come out of it again for some time.

Lazarus gives himself a few moments to take in the sight of the petrified, pale-haired young man who has a heavy legacy in both lives to inherit. He places a hand at the side of his face, pressing his forehead against Nathan's and leaving a soot smudge there.

"Do you have your phone? I can stall him, for a little while, but I need you to call for backup. You know as well as I do who's strong, and who stands a chance, and who would come to help us. Can you do that, Nathan?"

Nathan does not want to inherit any legacy. Not so soon.

The soot smudge will stand out blatantly, but Nathan will neither notice nor care.

"I have it. I can do that." Perhaps it might be strange that he has his phone on him, considering he is in his pajamas. But he has it nonetheless. "... Be as careful as you can."

Lazarus nods, clinging to that hope. Nathan's dependable; he knows that he can do this, and that if he does manage to survive this, it'll be because he was able to work quickly enough to bring them help in time.

"I'll see you soon," he promises, running back toward the village in the hopes of finding Misa before trouble does.

Shepherd's Haven Event: Devil's Night

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