night one; hunters

[gamehead]

Through the night, the wind howls and a blizzard rages, but everyone is safe and warm locked inside their cabins. Everyone, that is, except you. At 11 PM precisely, the door from your bedroom to the outside world creaks open. If you were sleeping, you will find yourself stir to the sound.

Outside, despite the sounds of a blizzard and the whiteout blocking the views from your window, the world is still and calm. The ground and trees are blanketed in thick snow, but no snow is falling and the wind is no longer blowing.

You find yourself drawn out into the snow, unable to feel tired or cold despite the freezing temperature and the late hour. It is impossible to resist the call you feel to journey out into the dark woods, past the old graveyard, to where the trees meet the cliffs and caves at the edge of the mountains.

Here, you and fourteen others gather. There is a feeling in the air as though you are being watched, but besides the other visitors, you're all alone. For now, you don't know what has brought you here, but you can't bring yourselves to leave.

((OOC: Just a note on how threads with Critter will work! There will be several 'stages' to Critter's explanations, which I'll be accomplishing by posting various subthreads. You can tag into any stage assuming your character has heard the rest, or you can tag earlier on and we can thread until you reach the next stage.

So, for example, in Critter's arrival, when you reach the point of needing to know the rules, your conversation progresses to the next subthread directly below the arrival. You can then reply to that subthread to continue the conversation if you want. I may stall on replying to you if your reply is getting to a subthread I don't want to post quite so quickly.

I know this is confusing, but this is so I can thread with all of you as much as you want without having to get into weird thread orders and so everyone hears all the relevant info.))

Comments

gather

[gamehead]

Fifteen of you gather here tonight at a clearing at the base of the mountain cliffs. Between you and camp are dark woods, and inside the cliffs are caves. Some are small and shallow, but some seem to go on a ways.

You won't be able to explore the caves too deeply; if you try to go more than a minute or so away from the area where you all have gathered, you will feel compelled to return and physically unable to refuse.

Still, you have some time to speak to the others. Maybe they know something you don't?]

[unadorned]

Any stragglers? [Prussia is fishing twig fragments out of her hair, finding random bits of leaves. There are other questions, all more important than useless musing, but it an ice breaker as any.]

arrival

[gamehead]

[About ten minutes after you've arrived, you may spot movement from one of the deeper caves near the cliffside. A small figure emerges from the darkness.

It looks to be a child of indeterminate age and gender. It wears a simple white sheath, and covering its face is a horrifying mask. It looks like a wolf, but its expression is frozen in a vicious snarl.]

Heehee, hello, everyone. Aren't you all excited to become wolves?

Wait a second, that's right. I have to explain the rules of the game!

[purethingsonly]

[Ada's fingers fidget nervously, but she gazes at the masked child with an unwavering courage fueled mostly by curiosity.]

What kind of game?

[manofiron]

[ He saw this in a movie once, only instead of a kid wearing a wolf mask, it was a puppet on a bicycle. ]

Shouldn't you ask us if we want to play the game first?

[ Sassing said creepy child is probably a bad move. But Tony's just hiked through the woods in the middle of the night after being stranded in Creepytown. He thinks he's allowed a little snark. ]

[yajackass]

[Ukyo folds her arms, defiant look on her face. None of this was funny, not a single bit.]

What do you mean "wolves"? Like you?

[terryplz]

[Bruce can only stew silently in anger over coming here. Why he couldn't hold himself back. He stares down the child with the wolf mask coldly, the vicious appearance of the animal's face not fazing him in the slightest. He's seen uglier looks.]

Are you the one who sent out the letters?

[rebut]

.........

[ Maaaaybe he should rethink his policy on animals after this. Come on, seriously, creepy animals and "games" just don't mix together. ]

What if I refuse to play your game?

Re: arrival

[agentx13]

[ Sharon listens, her arms crossed, her expression stern. She hates crap like this. ]

I'm fine not being a wolf, thanks. I also don't like games. Perhaps you'd have better luck amusing yourself with someone your own age.

[bloodofgrima]

[There was a reason Robin was suspicious, and this was very certainly not helping matters.]

Exactly what "game" are we playing that involves us becoming wolves? And who are you?

[plebs]

[ an attempt to channel a mood far less foul than it actually is. ]

You better have a good reason for disturbing my sleep.

rules

[gamehead]

[After introducing himself a little, Critter looks as though it forgot something again.]

Oh, right! All of you need your notebooks! If you open them to the first page, there's a special list of rules just for you guys! And no one but you can see 'em!

[Behind Critter is a pile of journals; the same journals found inside your bedroom back at the cabin. These journals even have your name in the corner. And on the first page, there's a message.]

You are a hunter. Your role is to devour prey.

→ In this game, there are hunters, prey, and scavengers. Everyone here is a hunter, and everyone else is either prey or scavenger.
→ Every night, the hunters will meet and pick someone to kill. Then, a few lucky hunters will get to kill the prey themselves!
→ The next day, everyone will get together. The prey will try to find out who the hunters are!
→ At the end of the day, there will be a trial, and one player will be chosen. Whoever is chosen will be executed!
→ The hunters will win if they outnumber the other players or kill all of the prey!
→ Be careful and be smart! Don't let the prey know who you are, and try to make other prey look suspicious! Remember that some prey is dangerous to you. They might have special abilities that will help them find out who you are!
→ Always keep in mind the scavengers, too. Some of them may just be hunting YOU!

[goddamnphonies]

[Holden went out in winter clothes even though he can't feel the cold. And even though he can't feel the cold, he's shivering. He drags the book down from his face slowly, arms shaking, and looks nervously at the other hunters gathered there, unable to keep his gaze focused on just one, looking for some encouraging sign from anyone.]

Okay, is this seriously happening? Are we - gonna have to do this, I mean? Because - if it's kill or be killed, you know, I guess we gotta go through with it. There are s'pposed to be scavengers hunting US, they said. And--and--

Did we get dragged to this dump all so we could play a stupid GAME?

the demonstration

[gamehead]

Okay, okay, right! Hee hee, I keep forgetting stuff! I guess some of you guys are wondering why you wanna play my game, and I realized I left some stuff out of the rules!

Sorry, guys. It's just more interesting if I show you!

[Critter gestures back into one of the caves along the cliff. Look inside, and you'll see a young girl inside. Her wrists are tied behind her back, she's gagged with what looks like a bandana, and she looks a little dizzy - conscious, but as though she's only just come to.

Some of you may recognize her as a girl who was wandering around earlier - Baby Bonnie Hood. Critter is, of course, standing between her and all of you.]

Gather 'round, everyone! The better to see her with, right? Hee hee!

[rebut]

[ Must. Not. Punch. The. Kid. ]

...I don't know what you're trying to pull, but let her go.

demonstration - part two

[gamehead]

Don't you see? You're all killers already!

[Critter moves quickly, too quickly to stop. In a spray of blood and gore, Bonnie's head reacts as though it took a bullet, even though there is no clear source of the blow. Half of her face is gone; she collapses to the ground, dead.]

Re: demonstration - part two

[terryplz]

No!

[But it's all too late. She's dead. A child is dead. There's so many things running through his head. Like where the murder weapon was or how it could be that her head simply recoiled like that. So much anger boiling up inside of him. He's seen more gruesome sights before. But it's still a shock to his system.]

Why? What point are you trying to prove?

demonstration - part three

[gamehead]

[Critter lets out an exasperated sigh.]

You know, it's really silly to get so mad when you don't even know all the rules. And all of you saying you'll never play...well, you're lucky I don't hold you to that promise.

[Critter moves aside from when it is standing. Behind it is Bonnie's corpse - no, wait, hold on a moment.

The blood and gore from her death is still splattered across the cave walls, but the injuries on the girl are gone. She's alive and breathing, unconscious but unharmed.]

See? See? Look what I can do!

Can anybody guess why you're going to play yet? Just try!

[goddamnphonies]

.............

You mean you gonna bring em all back afterwards? [Hope. Confusion.] Is this some kinda experiment?

special rules

[gamehead]

Okay, good guesses! Holden came closest. He said I was going to make you kill everybody and then bring them all back. But that's just a maybe.

Right! I added the extra rules, so you should check.

[In your notebooks, an additional page of rules has been added.]

Special Rules:

As a hunter, you have particular incentives.

→ In this game, the only ones guaranteed to live are those still standing at the end.
→ If the prey win, all of the hunters will be killed.
→ If the hunters win, the survivors can make a request. If you request all the dead to return to life, all players will leave this place unharmed.
→ The only way to guarantee everyone leaves here alive is for the hunters to kill the prey and win the game!

As hunters, you are sworn to secrecy.

→ You may not tell prey or scavengers about your incentives. You may not hint to anyone about your incentives. You may not try to help them figure it out.
→ If you are found out as a hunter, you may tell prey you were bribed or threatened. You cannot tell them about the special rules or that anyone can come back to life.
→ You may not help prey or scavengers. You may not assist them in any way. You may not attempt to throw the game. You may not reveal your fellow hunters.

→ If a hunter helps the prey or reveals the hunters' incentives, that prey will be killed. There will also be consequences for the hunters.
→ If the betrayal was intentional and serious, at the end of the game, none of the dead will be revived.
→ Otherwise, if there was a betrayal, at the end of the game the dead prey will be revived, but the dead hunters will remain dead.

As a hunter, you have a choice to play.

→ You will all get to decide whether or not you want to play!
→ If anyone says no, they will be killed, and will not be revived.
→ Anyone who says no will be replaced. Someone else they already know will be brought to this town to become a hunter instead.
→ Anyone who agrees to play tonight will be bound by these rules until the game is finished.

Any questions? Or are you ready to decide?

[goddamnphonies]

[He spends a good deal of time reading over the rules trying to figure them out.]

So... so when you say the survivors get to make a request, does that mean like one request per survivor, or like one request for the whole group or...

discuss

[gamehead]

So...you'd better figure out what you're going to do, right?

((OOC: Critter will not be taking threads in this subheading. This is for the hunters to talk about their choice.))

[yajackass]

So, we really can't do anything besides play, right?

decide

[gamehead]

[Once you've finished reading the special rules, and had time to discuss this among yourself, Critter waits, as though expecting a decision.]

Will you hunt?

((OOC: Please only answer 'Yes' or 'No' in this thread. Understand that if your character answers 'No' they will honestly be killed, so if they need extra incentive, reply to the special rules thread with their hesitation and Critter can give them some.

You have until 5 PM EST tomorrow to reply; if your character has not replied by then, we will be handwaving a Yes vote from them. This isn't an official vote but please reply if you can.))

[manofiron]

[ He's read the special rules and he's seen the demonstrations. A discussion isn't necessary; he's always made up his own mind and he'll do so here as well. He's not really sure that he buys it, it seems to easy, but he sure as hell doesn't want Pepper involved in this. And if what he's being told is true, if death is so easily erased, then he's going to be there to ensure that that's how it all plays out.

Better the blood on his already stained hands than on those of an innocent. ]

Yes.

the kill

[gamehead]

So it's decided. Congratulations, all of you are hunters!

[Critter giggles; its voice is loud and gleeful.]

Starting tomorrow, you'll get to do this part yourselves, but just for tonight...

[Something strange happens; behind Critter, dark shadows are gathering in the shape of wolves. The shadows circle the unconscious body of the girl, and, with vicious snarls, begin to devour her. Within moments, she had been ripped and mangled.

The shadows disperse, leaving a bloody corpse behind them.]

Oh, by the way! Some of you have some extra jobs to do. You should check your journals again!

edward nigma; alpha

[gamehead]

[In Edward's journal, some new information has been listed.]

You are the alpha Your job is to lead the hunters in choosing kills.

→ At night, all hunters will meet and confer to decide who will be killed.
→ The hunters will then vote on their kill for that night.
→ If there is a tie, the alpha's vote will serve as the tiebreaker.

bruce wayne; stalker

[gamehead]

[In Bruce's journal, some new information has been listed.]

You are the stalker. Your job is to help the hunters seek out dangerous prey and scavengers.

→ Each night, you will be able to choose any player.
→ The next day, you will learn information about the player's role.
→ The first time you follow a player, you will learn whether they are prey or scavenger and, if they are a prey with a role, whether it is investigative, protective, or other.
→ If you follow a player a second time after learning the above information, you will learn the entirety of their role.

sharon carter; viper

[gamehead]

[In Sharon's journal, some new information has been listed.]

You are the viper. Your role is to poison prey in order to weaken them.

→ Each night, you will be able to choose any player.
→ That player will be poisoned. The next day, they will fall ill, and will learn that they will die without medical attention.
→ If a protective role attends to the prey, they will be safe. Otherwise, they will die the next day.
→ You will be able to attempt to poison someone only three times during the game.

sanae hanekoma; tracker

[gamehead]

[In Sanae's journal, some new information has been listed.]

You are the tracker Your role is to seek prey at night.

→ At night, you may choose any player.
→ You will be told whether they took any action during the night.
→ If they took any action that affected another player, you will be told the identity of that player.

ukyo kunoji; werewolf

[gamehead]

[In Ukyo's journal, some new information has been listed.]

You are the werewolf Your job is to sacrifice yourself to recruit a new hunter.

→ At night, you will have an option to pick anyone who is not yet a hunter.
→ If you choose someone, you will die, and they will become a hunter in your place.
→ The next day, the town will be informed along with your death that a former ally has become a hunter.
→ Until the night meeting, they will not know your identities unless you meet with them privately.
→ You do not ever have to make use of your role, but if the hunters are in dire circumstances, it may save your lives.