towerofanimus | Log 022 | Monster Hunting

Entry tags:

Log 022 | Monster Hunting

Characters: Sephiroth, Any Monsters & Anyone Else
Setting: Floors 41 -43 - 45 as in below & Sub-threads - throughout the Monster ~~game~~ event (15th-26th June)
Format: Usual long-Prose, Action prompts as Sub-threads. Can switch.
Summary: Somewhat catch-all: The ~~ULTIMATE~~ Jail-cell Tactic & Sub-threads as described. [Open at any point to All] *OOC Note: This may turn into a 'running-log', depending on how the event progresses. I'll add more sub-threads/update the date range/warnings later. Sephiroth may not even keep this tactic up all event but this is the plan at least to start with.*
Warnings: Monsters-related fights/gore/injury/death. Sephiroth-related general warning.

Well clearly then, he's been playing the game wrong.

Though he's fairly sure that the first monster hadn't gotten back up after being decapitated Sephiroth hadn't hung around to check. Fact remains, it was becoming more and more dangerous every night after dark and more monsters had to be coming from somewhere. He'd started out so keen to hunt them all down personally if that's what it took to end this silly game.

Then there had been Ruana, taunting them all from the safety of the network. Though at least that had been a relatively good use of his time. He'd have to start putting monsters to people before this would get any more out of hand; not just for his own personal safety around the Tower anymore though. No, just to prove that he could do it. He could win. This game called strongly to a part of him that he'd spent a lot of effort keeping in check and only indulging in when it suited, that part that liked to kill. There was a certain jubilation in asserting enough control over another being to have the power to end it's life.

Each victory. Even against the usual fare of monsters in the Tower, reminded Sephiroth that despite the limited containment within the Tower, his skills weren't suffering as a result. He's still as sharp as the first day that he came here, perhaps more-so on account of what he- or rather, his soul- has ~~learned~~ experienced here.

There was a tactic that begged to be tried, but it could only work under the right set of delicate circumstances.

Step One, find a monster.
Step Two, capture/lure, or otherwise incapacitate/kill said monster and drag it to the 43rd Floor
Step three, throw it in a cell until morning
Rinse and repeat.

Then he'd deal with whomever turned out to be a monster, after they turned back.

Simple right? Not really. There was the question of how many floors around the jailcell floor he could afford to monitor whilst at the same time making sure (provided he caught one) that nothing somehow came out of somewhere to release the monster. Dealing with one at a time was bad enough, and sitting all night guarding one jail cell for one monster per night wouldn't be enough. Other monsters could be making more even as he ensured one wouldn't. On the other hand, Sephiroth knew he'd have big problems dealing with more than one of those at a time if they did get loose again before day. He might be an expert, appreciating of the challenge as well but he figured it'd take them all of a few seconds to rip him to pieces.

What a way to go. Though if this proves fruitful...

Sephiroth had settled for patrolling the stairwells between Floor 41 and Floor 45 to see how well this plan could be worked. Two up from the Jails, two down. Seemed logical. Floor 41 is an elevator-serving floor, this would be where the monsters could get under his radar. He wouldn't even have to step onto the floor much to launch a fireball at a mask if he saw one dancing inside the swarming, crushing mass of insects - just to attract attention before darting up the stairs. Floor 42 could be looked in on but he'd best be careful if one managed to chase him in there, he's not too sure about the extent these monsters disable powers but his telekinetic flight would be crucial there. He'd avoid leaving the stairwell on this Floor where possible. Up to Floor 44 and 45 would be patrolled as well just in case any one of them would come down behind him.

15th - 21st June Prompts:
A Bathroom Infirmary Cafeteria Dormitory Level 3 - Dorm 03-02

June 20th: 3rd Floor Library

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1)Directly after beheading his first masked monster.
[Sephiroth doesn't usually take this long to clean up after a fight. But then, most of his monster kills in the Tower to date haven't been nearly as bloody. Neither does cleaning up usually require him to keep looking over an armored shoulder every few moments to make sure there isn't another monster lurking.

Not that he's a stranger to simply continuing a patrol in a bloodied state, but it might attract all sorts of other types of monsters as well as the ones he's hunting for.

The water keeps running from the sink a deep red as he rinses first his hands with his gloves still on, then peels the leather off and starts to splash water on his bloodied face and where his chest is bared. He notices that his right hand is shaking pretty uncontrollably now, and not surprising considering it's forearm had been chewed on - he'd simply ignored it until now. It doesn't take much of his attention being drawn to the wound for it to begin it's own healing process, at least to stop it bleeding for tonight.

Though as he looks over the forearm another mark catches his attention as the hot water from the sink stings it - blood washes away to reveal a neat red line just parallel to his knuckle. Sephiroth narrows eyes at it, another one of those scarring marks.]

2)General Prompt: Any day/night; most likely just after 8am most mornings
[It might be just after a particularly nasty run in with a monster, or it might just be when his work is done for the night. Sephiroth may be found in one of the bathrooms cleaning up. Standing by the sinks with their mirrors, cleaning up still fully equipped with armor and jacket by night, or checking himself over for new wounds in just pants after his shower before he retreats back to his Dormitory to ~~try to~~ get some sleep.

There is no way he'd want to stink of blood and guts the next day, after all.]

[It's patch up time for those wounds that won't heal in just a few hours. Namely those deeper gashes, bites and scratches which for anyone else might have been a fatal bleed-out. It's easy enough for Sephiroth to stop bleeding by his own will when he's not otherwise occupied, but it takes energy and concentration to do so.

Doing this to the extent to 'vanish' every wound he's sustained during the hunting hours is just a waste of energy that Sephiroth might need to accomplish other things. Therefore, it's time to do things the semi-human way - or at least in terms of keeping wounds clean and dressed so that his own regeneration has it easier.

He can be found therefore, on occasion in the Infirmary doing just that.]

[Oh hey, someone is actually visiting the infirmary. Normally he just sits here, alone while brushing up on any knowledge he may have gleamed from the tower. So he couldn't tell whether or not this was a please ant surprise.]

Alright, the Doctor is in! What seems to be the problem?

[He's done quite well so far and managed to avoid being bitten since that first encounter he had. But then, he's died again since then so the spread of teeth around his forearm are no more. Even his jacket is as flawless as when he was first brought here. Well, after all it's just an illusion.

Last night there hadn't been any encounters with the special monsters at all. Just the run-of-the-mill creatures that lurked about at night. It was a shame as it should have been the first full night he'd spend trying out his new tactic. For it to be so quiet, it made him consider that perhaps he should widen his range of floors.]

It's nothing to be concerned about.

[Indeed, he's only going about making sure the tally marks he's accumulating on the back of his hand are clean. He'll bandage it back up himself as well, to stop them rubbing on the inside the gloves he wears all the time.]

[Everyone was right; nutrition bars suck.

Sephiroth has to remind himself that he only visits the Cafeteria out of a necessity to conserve his energies for the night time, and most of the time it's a quick in-and-out to go back up to his Dormitory. He can sit on his bed there and eat them just as well.

Though sometimes he will stick around a little longer, at a bench facing the entire room - taking an additional drink of water.]

[ It would be around noon when the march warden arrived with a dead deer slung over his cloaked shoulders. This was an unusual sight even for those who knew the Elf, especially since Haldir wasn't fond of making his presence known. He typically would wander into the cafeteria later within the day or when it was sparsely occupied. Haldir went above and beyond to avoid others, his reclusive nature all thanks to the hardships he faced both here and on Middle-Earth.

Though, that aspect of his personality was slowly unraveling once Legolas beckoned him to assist regarding the matters of the tower. With Ruana's scorn affecting the food supply, Haldir took it upon himself to hunt game upon the higher levels. He managed to kill this deer that he found grazing about. It was the first big game he's seen in many months. Haldir almost thought that all the animals, minus a few comely pheasants, were all but dead now.

Gently playing the creature down upon the floor, Haldir took care not spill any blood. He killed the deer with a single arrow to its breast, and had yet to wedge his arrow out of it. The deer wasn't fully grown in size to feed more than perhaps ten people, but that's ten people who don't have to worry about food. Haldir did promise Legolas that he would bring back something from his hunt today, and he hasn't failed at all.

Now seeking a place to set down his cloak, Haldir paused once he saw the silver-haired fellow nearby.]

[Well there is something you don't see everyday.

Sephiroth looked up from his glass of water just as Haldir came into the Cafeteria with his kill. Occasionally sipping the drink as the creature was lain out on the floor, watching curiously. This other resident reminded him of Legolas a little bit, but Sephiroth isn't sat close enough to really take note of those similar ears that all elves share.

Though Sephiroth does wonder what is the point. In reality, there is no difference between fresh meat and the nutrition bars provided by the Tower. Not that he ever had a need to eat regularly, real body or not; these are special circumstances. He met the other mans gaze and offered a seemingly-polite enough nod, he's not one to make a comment, much less start a conversation.]

[During the day time Sephiroth spends a lot more time in and around his Dormitory than he used to before the event. Napping at intervals, taking short walks around as if to keep an eye on his neighbors and checking on terminals every so often.

The temptation is to hit to gym but really there isn't much point; his body isn't real and if he were to get unlucky and die again he'd be back to where he started physically. Besides, this time is when he would do most of his healing, but not exerting himself in many other ways.

He might even sit on his bed and idly unwrap his bandaged hand to ponder over the tally marks on the back of his right hand for a few hours, as if it might bring a new idea to the forefront of his mind.]

[ Hidetoshi's presence in the dormitory, amusingly enough, decreases around the same time the amount of time Sephiroth is spending in and around the dormitory increases. Sitting on his bed is discomforting now that's he's aware of the reality of it, and as for the items he stores in this truck, the main reason he doesn't toss them into the furnace on one of the floors is because they're all he has material-wise. Plus, he was reluctant to discard his notes like that.

The current lack of need, and aversion to sleeping in the dormitory room altogether is really all the excuse he needed to go elsewhere for awhile.

Not that sleeping on a bench is much better.

The teenager walks back into the room to discover his older roommate seated on the bed with unwrapped bandages around his head, odd tally marks on his hand. Hidetoshi only spares them a curious glance and a polite; ]

Good afternoon.

[ before walking over to the terminal to check it. ]

[It's disconcerting to say the least how empty the dormitory seems, how undisturbed. It leads one to consider the possibility that one of your room mates might be one of the monsters, even given the clear aversion any one of them might have to their bed since the Glamour fell.

For Sephiroth, until they knew more about the way that their souls are maintained here there was little to be done about breaking out of their cages. He doesn't know the consequences, and would do nothing to expedite the timer unless he could find out what would lie at the end of it. At least the beds in the dormitory are somewhere to sit and recover, if nothing more.

He looks up to Hidetoshi from inspecting the back of his hand when the teenager entered the room. The head injury he'd finished undressing on account that the bleeding had stopped is a testament to his recent close-call. The claw lines gouged across one side of his forehead are closed wounds already, though they are still very easy to spot against his pale complexion. They stand out grotesquely behind silver hair on that side, swollen a little still and bruising was coming through.]

It's been a while, Hidetoshi.

[He would leave it to the teen if he wanted to engage in conversation or not.]

[ Hidetoshi does not believe himself to have any chance of being a monster. His recollections of the nights this month are clear and unmarred by gaps. Similarly, he does not consider the possibility one of his roommates might warp into one of the monsters come nightfall, outside of the token instinctive wariness life in the Tower had bred into him.

The risk is there, of course he'd be a fool not acknowledge that. But it did not seem likely.

He accesses the terminal with no problems, the screen flickering to life as his fingers moved rapidly on the keyboard. Click, click, clickity, click. The teenager scrolls down the log of recent entries on the network, looking at them intently before glancing over at the former SOLDIER when he speaks up. His dark eyes flicker over Sephiroth's fresh array of wounds and bruises. While perhaps they hadn't spoken much, it was easy to conclude the source of such injuries. ]

So it has, Sephiroth-san. Have you been as well as you can be, considering the circumstances?

[ Hidetoshi seems willing enough to engage in conversation. ]

A Bathroom (please date Prompt 2)

Infirmary (Daytime; please date)

June 16

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Cafeteria (Daytime; please date)

(Daytime, June 18th)

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Dormitory Level 03 & 03-02 (Daytime; please date)

June 17th

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June 21

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5:00 AM, June 18th: Floor 45

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June 19th, 3:00-4:00 am, floor 41

Re: June 19th, 3:00-4:00 am, floor 41

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June 20th Early Afternoon | Floor 3 Library

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