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Event - Dogged

Dogged

The message goes out to everyone on ADI's network. It seems to be something captured live. It's Pam Ruan, head of HR who holds a prosthetic finger up to her lips before whispering, "Everyone's pushing for transparency right now, right? Figuring out where threats are coming from and sharing. I think that should come at all levels. Let's see what Nia's talking about with Mr. Zyrian Steel, hmm?"

The camera flips around as Pam clearly creeps closer to an office door. There are muffled voices, and Pam sets the phone face up before using one hand to shove the thing under the door. The video shows a sliding picture of the office's bland ceiling for a moment before coming to a stop. The voices become much clearer.

"-down in Wolf Trap," a masculine voice is saying. Presumably, Zyrian Steel. "There's just no need for that."

"Zyrian, this ain't a negotiation." Nia Lehrer's voice is familiar to most people working at ADI at this point. They've likely heard her speak in some pre-recorded training videos at the bare minimum. Nia's tone is no nonsense and clearly on the edge of snapping in frustration. "You're not hiring us. I'm sending my people down to Wolf Trap next month. We've got evidence of those signalhead things being on the march, one down that way, your kick off for New Horizons in the park, and evidence out of there about the Lullaby Girl from some of my people."

There is silence.

"You remember her? Ava? Or Amber, it seems like. She's the one you gave us those Lucidio masks to help train our people against. Frankly, I'd be surprised if you don't remember her, Mr. S." Another drawn out pause. "You ain't been straight with me for a long time. You ain't been straight with ADI since Tawnya was Warden. You tell me you need us in Buffalo, payback for helping in Wolf Pen and Cortana and the mobile med units, and not only do half the staff come back with crab claws and whiskers, but I find out you're using us for business politics." There's venom in her tone. "Or were you just going to stay quiet about Etcher's enterprises competing with your own software companies? ADI is not your personal attack dog. You are our client. And I thought my friend. But I'm about 30 seconds away from firing you from both."

Further silence, then a heavy sigh. "And I was going to offer to send you and your staff on such a nice retreat." There's the sound of a chair being pushed back. "Warden, I think you misunderstand the nature of our relationship. You are the dogs. I am the master. I hold your leash. Or have you forgotten just how much technology I've donated to ADI over the years, how many of your systems run on things I built? We've had a mutually beneficial relationship up until now- Well… you and I have. Tawnya got to be a problem before the end, too. But I made sure that was taken care of."

"You self-aggrandizing son of a-"

"You're a much more practical woman than she ever was, even with those shiny ideals you hold so dear. You'll compromise for the greater good, to protect what's yours. Such a good Warden, looking out for her charges."

"What are you talking about? And get your hands the hell off my desk."

"Haven't you ever wondered about the title? Warden. Odd name for a leader of any organization, even one like yours. But maybe not so odd when you consider your more eldritch masters." A scoff. "The Hunt always does pick out the most oblivious avatars, doesn't it? What does a Warden do?" A beat. "She controls the monsters, Nia. Sniffs them out and contains them. And she goes after the poachers coming after her prey. Tell me, have you ever noticed how you're always picking up on threats far afield with uncanny precision. It's been getting stronger, hasn't it? Tawnya was the same way. As was her predecessor, I imagine."

"That's not- I wouldn't ever…"

"Wouldn't you, though? Every time you sent your own dogs after a threat, reveled in it, you were being such a good Warden, instilling terror in the hearts of your enemies, ADI's enemies. So many cults know who and what you are and they fear it. Fear the Warden of ADI, famed avatar of the Hunt. Even now, I know you've compromised yourself. Have you considered what that's done to you? You let that Visionary kid stay alive. I rather think that might have been the start of your slide, hmm? Making exceptions, just this once.

"Now," he continues, voice growing louder and footsteps starting toward the phone, "I realize this is a lot to take in, to think about. Why don't you do that self-reflection while I attend to other matters? You are doing good work, puppy. I need a dependable pet to take care of all those nasty pests who keep trying rituals. But no need to worry about the New Horizons launch, really. I'll just-" Zyrian pauses and everyone will have a view of a middle-aged caucasian man with dark, slightly graying hair and a beard. He's wearing khakis and a Hawaiian shirt, and he's looking down at Pam's phone.

"Well… fuck." He stomps a heeled shoe on it and the transmission ends abruptly.

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Raine tried to recall what the Not-Them was. It took them a moment, but when they got it surprise pulled their posture straighter than it had been.

"The Not-Them? You mean, the... doppelgänger creature?" They glance up at Eda in concern. "How.. how long ago was this?"

It takes Eda second, as well, but now the context starts to make sense. She glances back at Raine.

"Yeah, I think? They're... I've never run into one myself but they're the ones that only look different to some people, right?" This part is directed at Pam, again. She supposes that really is one way to make people think someone's crazy.

"That's right. It was six years ago." Pam gestures to the the store with her remaining hand. "Vivian and her husband came in one day. I was still running the shop then with my sister. They came to show off the new baby, but it was-it was a stranger, not Vivian. She didn't look or sound anything like her. I thought everyone was playing some sort of prank on me. But they got more and more concerned when I wouldn't believe them. And Vivian looked at me with this-this sad little smile. Except when the others weren't looking. Then it twisted. A cruel smirk.

"That was the start of it. Memory tests and me trying to find proof that was the wrong woman. That wasn't Vivian." She shakes her head. "I really felt like I was losing my mind. And then I came across a forum where someone described the same thing happening to them. They contacted ADI and-and they took care of the problem. So, that's what I did. They took care of the thing that wasn't my niece."

Raine nodded at Eda. "I haven't either.. that I know of."

They didn't want to think about if they'd ever actually met one. They had to return their attention back to Pam, anyways.

Pam's story made Raine move closer to Eda. They grimaced as she spoke of Vivian's cruel smile, of memory tests and feeling like she was losing her mind. They couldn't imagine experiencing the same thing with Eda, or Hunter. They didn't even dare to, in fact.

"I'm so sorry, Pam. That sounds incredibly traumatic to have to live through." Raine's tone is softer, more empathetic as they spoke to Pam. "Is.. this how you started working at the ADI? You were offered a job because of the Not-Them?"

Eda has to admit, at least to herself, that that sounds genuinely scary; even if the idea of being one of the people who didn't notice seems worse, at least conceptually.

"Well... it sounds like you did the right thing." While Eda may not trust the ADI, or agree with assuming everything is hostile, it certainly seems like the right move in this case.

"And I guess they just thought..." Eda trails off, but she has to wonder exactly what Pam's family think happened to their niece, and if they think she—or the ADI—were involved.

"They gave me a job to help me, yes. To-to give me a place to go where people believed me and didn't think I... just hated Vivian." She finally looks over at the pair. "I wanted to honor her memory. I wanted to. So, I-I took down the memorial pictures we had to the thing that wasn't her when someone tried to put them up in the shop. Not the memorials, just the pictures. I tried to get them not to have photos at the funeral. They thought I hated her. They didn't believe me when I told them Vivian had died months ago and no one noticed but me. But I couldn't let them honor that thing with pictures. I couldn't."

Raine felt a strong sense of regret after asking the question they did as Pam recounted the funeral. They glanced at Eda again with a grimace, the fact that this would probably be a long, more drawn out conversation. They sat their things down, and put their hands on their hips.

"I don't.. even know what to say. That sounds horrible." Raine shook their head. "Pam, do you... mind if we sit with you?"

They figured it would be best to not stand over the poor human, if they were going to listen to her talk about... horrors.

"If you'd like to talk more about it."

Eda glances back at Raine. This certainly isn't the conversation she was expecting either, but it seems like it might be worth having. She isn't quite sure what to say either, though she looks sympathetic.

"Yeah," she agrees, "if you want to talk more about that or uh... whatever's wrong now, we're all ears." She sounds a bit awkward, but her tone is gentle.

It's when Eda moves a bit closer, to sit near Pam if she doesn't object, that she notices the clipboard. The circled code catches her eye, but she decides not to ask about it immediately.

Edited 2023-05-29 06:29 (UTC)

Pam just nods at Raine's question. There's plenty of bench for both of them to sit down on. "What more is there to say? I don't know what to do except whatever else I can to help them, my family. And then just... go. Away. I'm going to go into Dogtown. It's where all of this has started. It's where everything seems like it started, even past everyone arriving here."

Raine sat down, and tried to find a happy medium between not crowding Pam, but leaving enough room for Eda. Their attention snapped back to Pam, eyes wide with alarm as she spoke about going away to Dogtown, of all places.

“What?! No!” Raine looked surprised at themself for their own outburst, but shook their head at Pam, quieting down. “No. Don’t- Don’t do that. I- Pam, what do you think that will achieve?”

Nia had mentioned a few people who’d wanted to go to Dogtown, and Raine also knew that others, like Reyes, had been drawn to there as well recently. It clicked in Raine’s mind that it might be worth investigating.

“Why.. do you want to go in there?”

Eda moves to sit on the bench, casually taking the excuse to take a slightly closer glance at the clipboard as she moves it to the side.

She's startled by the next thing Pam says, but tries to keep her reaction a little calmer than Raine's.

"It does seem like that... but if you're trying to help figure this out, I don't think you should go alone."

And if that's not what she means, well, Eda doesn't want to jump straight to that conclusion, but she's certainly worried.

Pam grimaces and shakes her head slightly. "I want to go in there because- because nothing out here is fixing things. But Dogtown is changing. Something changed in there. Reyes told me they're looking for new paths. Maybe I can find something. Anything. I can't be part of ADI. Not- Nia is corrupted. That means... the apple rots from the core. If she's corrupted, so am I. I need to... go away. Before I corrupt everything else around me.

"Can you be part Hunt and part Corruption? Maybe... maybe."

"I don't know if you've been in there, but you're not going to find what you're looking for. And-"

Raine's expression sours.

"I'm not sure if you've forgotten, but most. Of us are tied to the fears in some way. It's a symptom of working with the ADI. Not a reflection on who we are as people, Pam. Plenty of us didn't choose to be here.. or.. part of this. You certainly didn't. Neither did we. And I'd hesitate to call people corrupted for something they can't help."

Eda tries not to wrinkle her nose, but she can't entirely hide that she doesn't love that phrasing either. As much as it's easy to feel like she is corrupted here, it still grates on her; especially hearing it applied to everyone else with an Entity connection--including, for example, her partner.

Pam feeling like it applies to herself dampens Eda's irritation a bit, though.

There's also almost something funny about Pam mentioning Reyes; while Eda likes them, they're certainly 'corrupted'--and have been well aware of it for far longer than Nia. But Eda has no plans to mention that. She will be asking them exactly what they're doing in Dogtown, though.

"There might be something to find," she says, trying to sound patient, "I mean, there's a reason I've been trying to help map the dang place myself. But going in by yourself and probably getting eaten by something won't help anyone." Her tone is firm, on that last part.

"And like Raine said--we're all mixed up in this. Sure, maybe Nia should have figured it out a lot sooner, but it doesn't make everyone bad people. We've just... got to do the best we can."

Pam's brows knit together. "What do we do when our best isn't good enough? When people... die or worse because your best wasn't enough?" At least there seems to be a genuine question here, rather than simple despair.

Edited 2023-06-04 03:11 (UTC)

Pam's question made Raine cringe a little, like hearing an unpleasant note from their violin made them recoil. They tried to keep their outward reaction as neutral as possible, but their head fell a little.

"You learn from your mistakes. And you keep going. That's what I've had to do," They avoid looking at Eda, instead looking down at their hands, clasped tightly in their lap. "I fail to stop the man I've been trying to stop for decades back home. Twice, possibly. But I- I don't want to see my failures as proof that I can't— or that I won't— learn from them and apply that to when I try again. And.. if I die? If my friends die? Then.. I guess I have to accept that at least we all died fighting for a better future."

Raine grew quiet by the end of what they said, but their gaze returns to Pam.

"Nothing good would happen if we all gave up. Giving up.. It.. I believe it makes you complicit. I.. Certainly would've been, if I'd stood by and done nothing with the knowledge that I had."

Eda swallows and looks away. She's been doing her best to believe that they're not going to fail, that no one is going to die--that the vision Raine saw in the graveyard was just something trying to scare them. She can't argue any of their points, but thinking about it certainly isn't helping her mood.

"Raine's... right," she finally says. "Maybe people die anyway. But maybe more people would have died if you didn't try."

She pauses again, for a moment, before deciding to try a slightly different tactic.

"You've helped us so much already--with being able to live here. We need you here, doing the stuff you're good at. Maybe it doesn't... feel like it, if you're not out there yourself, but--having you to help us get by in this place means the people who can survive Dogtown, who can fight these things? We've got more chance to do that."

Pam's mouth opens slightly, expression shifting to surprise, mild disbelief, and then the tears return. She's known Eda a little longer, which is why she turns to the other woman and wraps her in a one-armed hug. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I just wanted- I don't know. I can help. I can still help. I'll help you. I'll help all of you as much as I can.

"I'm so sorry I let the artifacts free."

Raine wrinkled their nose at the hug. It's not that they wanted in on the affection (strangers and physical contact wasn't a favourite of Raine's) but rather, because they knew Eda wouldn't particularly like it.

But still, a distraction was a distraction, and Raine decided they wanted to get a better look at the clipboard. They quietly pulled their phone out of their pocket, and glanced at Eda, then down to the clipboard.

Eda tenses slightly, because as much as she doesn't want Pam to get eaten by anything, she also really, really doesn't like people she isn't close with touching her. But she doesn't want to object, given the circumstances. At least, not until the last thing Pam says.

She'd been wondering, but she didn't want to make that assumption. It was hard not to be angry, considering how much trouble the artifacts are already causing.

And so she's slightly surprised when that's not Raine's biggest concern at the moment. But their glance does catch her eye, and fortunately these two have known how to signal each other when they're up to something for a good three decades. Keeping Pam distracted means more hugging, though, so her bard is going to owe her for this one.

All the same she pulls Pam into a full hug, complete with somewhat awkwardly patting her shoulder.

"Why'd you... do that? You don't--I mean, you don't seem like you want to hurt anyone." She does her best to keep her tone as gentle as it was before.

Eda's form doesn't match her appearance, which... trips Pam up for a moment in the hug, but when Eda pulls her in, she just presses her face to the other woman's phantom shoulder. Her words are muffled as a result.

"Mr. Steel. He said- He told me he'd take care of them. Money for my family. Money enough they could leave Gloucester for a big city and be happy for life. I wanted to make sure they were taken care of before I- before I went away. I just needed to release the artifacts and disappear."

Raine gave Eda an apologetic look before they unlocked their phone. They listened as Eda and Pam spoke. Their eyes, however, were down on the clipboard, reading over each line of numbers. They lift their phone, and took a few quick pictures in succession, before they took a few more a little closer for good measure. They put their phone away wordlessly.

"Pam.. are you saying Zyrian Steel asked you to release the artefacts? And you did it for him..?" Their tone came out sharper than they intended, and they flash another apologetic look to Eda, before they say a little quieter; "Sorry I'm just- I'm trying to understand you, you sound a little.. muffled."

Eda does her best not to react, not to tense up noticeably again at that answer. She gives Pam one more awkward pat as she waits for Raine to be finished taking pictures.

"Oh, that's—probably me," Eda realises. The glamour is always a strange experience; it feels like Pam simply has her face buried in Eda's shoulder, but it probably doesn't look quite right.

She takes the excuse to pull away gently, although not all the way.

"I guess... I do understand wanting to help them," Eda says finally. It's not like she's ever stuck to strictly legal means when it comes to money for her family. But... people were getting hurt because of the artifacts. A lot of people.

"Do you know if he even actually did it?" Because she has her doubts—but then again, it's not like he doesn't have the money to throw around.

"He said once he was back in Wolf Trap, as long as I didn't tell anyone what I'd done." Her whole form is just defeated as she lets Eda disengage. "They'll kill me if they find out, won't they?" Her head dips a little more. "All the people I've- I hurt them. I've hurt you, haven't I?"

"You were.. trying to do what you thought was best. I'm not saying it didn't hurt people because it did but..."

Raine gave Eda a concerned look. What a delicate situation. They weren't exactly happy with Pam, but being outright in their anger wasn't a good idea. Pam had been through enough, frankly, and they didn't want her to dislike them.

"You've never been anything other than a friend to our community. I.. if people find out about it I don't want it to evolve into angry people doing things irrationally..."

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edalyn - 2023-06-17 01:51 (UTC) - Expand

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Event - Dogged

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Apologies for the delay! This thread is now being tracked properly.

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all good!

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