december 2019. welcome to the void.

[modblob]

Who: Everyone in Anchor.
What: Sixth Introductory Mingle
When: The Month of December 2019
Where: Around and outside the city.
Warnings: Please add any warnings in the subject lines.

Redshift: Welcome to the v͖͕̺̲̘̱̜͎o̴̦̣̠̦̘̹͞i̯̖d̛̪̬͈̱̦̝͍̕.

Click here to read what characters will experience when arriving in Anchor.

a. the generic holiday cheer prompt.

It's a dark, quiet, uneventful night. Only those up and about in the wee hours will notice something odd starting in the park.

It's snowing.

The phenomenon seems to be coming from a small bank of unmoving clouds hanging suspended above the trees and lake. A cloud that, upon closer inspection by any scientists in the room, appears to be made of harmless nanites whose sole purpose is to unleash a cheery, blustery kind of weather that remains mostly contained to the park.

Some bots are out serving hot chocolate, cider, flavored snow cones, and other small baked treats. Others are building a solid-looking bit of scaffolding that the snow is rapidly turning into a sledding ramp. In fact, there are sleds ready and waiting at the foot of the slide. The smaller ponds have frozen over in a sharp cold snap that came with the nanites' release, and there are other bots handing out ice skates - careful, though, because one of them is a chef bot and he's made the blades of the skates ridiculously sharp. At least they'll glide well?

Around the middle of the day, the intercoms squeal loudly, crackle, and start pouring generic seasonal music out into the air. Is it for Hanukkah? Christmas? Kwanzaa? Some strange holiday no one has heard of? Who knows, since half of it is in alien languages, but man, it sure is peppy! And kind of annoying after a while! Maybe someone should hack the system and change the music up?

b. the body heat trope prompt.

As the day wears on toward evening, the nanite winter storm starts to gather a little more force, sending cold seeping through the halls of Anchor. There are pockets of warmth here and there - notably, for once, the agricultural areas are largely unaffected thanks to their temperature regulators--but most of Anchor has a wintery chill, and snow is starting to bluster across the levels from bottom to top. Temperatures continue to drop when the suns go down.

The bots are out being helpful, though they can't stop the storm. They're rolling around handing out blankets and thermoses of warm drinks. Unfortunately, it's one blanket and one thermos per two people. Better get cosy - it's going to be a long, cold night!

c. the terrifying monster attack prompt.

The cold has woken up some creatures that have been slumbering away in one of the sealed-off areas of the labs. They couldn't get through the door that kept them caged, but they sure could freeze the windows and escape that way when they got cold enough to break. The little critters make a beeline for the park, prepared to wreak havoc-

If eating snow and ice and rolling snow into tiny balls for meal stockpiles is havoc.

These little creatures look conspicuously like the western dragons of Earth, though most are no bigger than a person's forearm. Their wings - some strange shade of white that sparkles when they move - seem largely decorative. They use them to communicate, to posture, and to keep themselves balanced when they rear up on their hind legs, but none of them appear able to fly. They're a mix of colors, blue and silver and white, some of them with a variety of shades swirling down their bodies, others with one color on their bellies and contrasting colors on their back and head. Some have splotches, or speckles, or tiger stripes of blue. They breathe steam and can freeze things with their clawed forepaws.

Also, if you feed them a flavored snow cone, they will follow you forever. No, really. You'll have yourself an undyingly loyal new pet.

Navigation.

Comments

QUESTIONS.

[modblob]

Any questions for the mods can go here!

Rey | OTA.

[circumitus]

a. The Park;

Snowflakes softly land and melt on exposed skin from where Rey slumps on a bench. It doesn't wake her right away; despite being dressed in her normal, sleeveless getup, the biting chill that sweeps in over the passing hours is hardly enough to rouse her from her brief nap.

It's the movements that stir her awake, only to find that it's just another robot puttering along the pathway as if searching for something. Every muscle in her freezes up, as she glances up at the mist overhead dropping little icy flakes onto the park area.

"What the f...?" Rey starts, until a bot rolls up to her with a tray of some piping hot gifts.

For anyone else, the treats would be a welcome offer to combat against the cold. For someone who's hardly dressed for the weather, however, she is less inclined to accept, let alone move to seek shelter or find proper tools and aid. No, she doesn't even shiver, not even as snow piles up over her puffy mahogany hair and broad shoulders.

It seems like there's plenty of other things going on now as well. How long was she out on that bench, exactly? She can't remember. Much of this reminds her of the winters in Chicago, when she was able to slip into the crowded streets at night. If only this place wasn't such a goddamned ghost town, she would almost feel nostalgic.

b. Anywhere (Heat);

While Rey doesn't have much to worry about, Tripod is a different matter entirely. Once she managed to find the mutant feline among the gradually whitening park, he was a shivering pile curled up under a tree and she knew that he wouldn't fair nearly as well in this change as she would.

Despite not having much on her, she cleared out enough space in her backpack to stuff the cat into, cursing under her breath for neglecting the poor thing. Of course a hairless animal would have issues with adapting to the drop in temperature.

Rather than leaving it this time, Rey moves from place to place to find areas of warmth where she could let Tripod out in for a while. But eventually she would have to move again, packing him up so she can scrounge for anything that could be of use. She's been given a living creature whose life she's now responsible for. Even if she's not the 'Rey' that Tripid knew, she's come to accept that she's not getting rid of him anytime soon.

Eventually, she passes someone who might be of some help, which she promptly stops them by grabbing their arm, a determined expression on her face. She won't let him die.

"Hey, you have anything that can help this guy out?" Rey shrugs a bare shoulder at the pack strung behind her, with a shaking cyclopean cat inside.

Genji Shimada | OTA

[arcadedragon]

1. Frozen Fish Sticks of Holiday Cheer
The snow is actually sort of nice. It reminds him a bit of home and he's thrown a few snowballs at trees, smiling at the bittersweet memory of having done that with someone else long, long ago. But then he ventures further out into the park and sees the frozen little puddles of water and iced over fountain and suddenly he's running as fast as he can out to the small pond he and Reynir had created for his fish stolen from Hanamura. There's real panic rising up in him as he punches his metal hand into the ice crusted across the surface of his little fish pond.

Fortunately the fish are fine, they're in a sort of cold induced stupor floating near the bottom, but they're hardier than Genji expected. However; he has no idea where the cooler they'd used to transport them went, and all he can find while searching around is a small plastic bucket.

Genji can be found at the pond standing knee deep in freezing water and carefully catching his colorful fish in his hands and depositing them in the pail. Or making his way back to his room carrying a too small bucket with five very grumpy fish in it. He's moving a little slower than normal, ice cold water and freezing temperatures aren't great for robot joints or any of his human bits either.

2. Sōmen and the Terrifying Monsters - Park
Having safely deposited his fish in his bathtub for now, Genji heads back out to the park to investigate this whole snowing inside situation. While he tries to figure that out, his spirit dragon is out and about visiting with all the new snow dragons. It's slowly flying right above them in a circle, inquisitively tilting it's head back and forth before descending to the ground and attempting to make friends.

After a few moments Sōmen will take to the air again, undulating it's noodly body as it flies, even though it doesn't have wings. Some of the small dragons jump up and wiggle, imitating what the slightly larger dragon is doing. Apparently it's time for some flying lessons with Sōmen.

3. Hypothermia Body Heat - Around the living quarters
Turns out that standing in an iced over pond to gather his fish and letting all that frozen water into his joints and armor is a really bad idea. And then going out to stand in the snow to figure out what's going on for hours without taking a nice hot shower after to warm up is an even worse idea. Granted he couldn't take a shower in his own room because his bathtub is full of fish, but there's plenty of empty rooms he could have used.

Within a few days he's feeling awful, shivering uncontrollably and there's a weird tingliness in his one remaining extremity. Bundling up in all his blankets and clothes is only marginally helping and he's only left his slightly warmer blanket nest because he'd run out of food and maybe soup will fix him. Getting to the dining hall, heating some soup, and bringing it back to his room should be a simple task, but he's so cold and shivery that it's taking far longer than it should. He could use some assistance.

b.

[kaballin]

It's cold enough that Kabal is actually wearing a shirt, no one die of shock. He's pretty confused about why the fuck it's snowing inside, but once it starts getting sub-freezing he's less concerned with that and more concerned with what he's gonna eat and how he's going to not freeze to death. He already burned to death and he's fine with not experiencing both extremes, thanks.

"Oh hey, you managed to keep it alive." One hell of a greeting. And from the shivering, naked blob in the pack that might only be temporary. "Maybe it needs a sweater like a purse dog."

He's noticed that she's definitely not dressed for the weather, and assumes she hasn't been able to find anything else. Maybe resources are scarcer than he thought.

[circumitus]

A greeting fit for Rey -- she doesn't even balk at Kabal's comment because she has other priorities in mind. Namely in keeping a creature breathing.

"There even a place around here with sweaters that small?" Because Rey's knitting skills are nonexistent and she's pretty sure she hasn't seen any baby clothes around to fit onto a hairless cat. She can keep Tripod tucked into her bag for only so long until he needs to eat and do other things.

Hanzo Shimada | OTA

[nockturnal]

Arrival

He believes it be a trick, at first. How could he not? To suddenly come to in such a place, to be told there is no way out but he is welcome just the same, it makes no sense that he can rationalize. There is also the condition of the room, the cracked and dusty glass. It is a place that has seen neglect, certainly no measure of supervision or maintenance that he can see.

He is very apprehensive when it comes to surrendering his weapons in order to undergo the decontamination process.

It is only knowing that they could have taken them at any time, while he was unconscious and unaware, that keeps him from stubbornly holding fast to them. Some measure of cooperation is clearly expected and perhaps even necessary. So surrender them he does, his expression grave all the while. But no attack comes while he is unarmored and defenseless -- or as defenseless as they could ever make him -- and so he is merely left with a feeling of unease as he gathers his clothes and belongings after.

Anchor, they called it. So it seems that he is to be anchored in place, and his days of roaming the world like some fleeting shadow are done. Perhaps it was time. He had not seen fit to remain in one place for very long in some time. Years, in fact.

So. Time then to venture into the colony proper, and see what would be made of his time here.

The first glimpse did not seem promising, although given the condition of the room he'd woken in that was perhaps to be expected. The air is thick with dust and uncomfortable to breathe. Lifting his sleeve to cover the lower half of his face in a makeshift mask, he presses on. Perhaps there is someone to be found on the lower levels of...whatever is left of his place.



a. the generic holiday cheer prompt.

It's a surprise to see the lower levels are as hospitable as they are. It's even more of a surprise to find a lush park at the bottom level, and to find a small collection of clouds just...snowing. For no discernible reason. Nowhere else can he see such a phenomenon, and its source seems just as mysterious as the rest.

Hanzo looks mildly bewildered for a moment before deciding a frown is the best response, turning his attention elsewhere.

Childish frivolities are not his concern right now. Finding out what is happening, where he is, and what to do next are the main concern. But...those cups of hot chocolate do look rather tempting.

He may stop to have one, thank you.



b. the body heat trope prompt.

The warm drink is more of a boon than he would have first thought. As the day bears on, the temperature only appears to be dropping further and further. And the clothes he had been wearing upon first arrival aren't incredibly suited for cold weather.

Fortunately, there was a jacket in the bag that he'd brought with him. A spare change of clothes meant for extended travel, lucky in hindsight. But even that only provides a moderate amount of warmth, given that before long he can see his breath in the air. Supplies are being handed out by the bots, but only to pairs of people.

And Hanzo is alone, as ever.

With a derisive sniff, he simply finds somewhere comfortable to bunker down for the time being, taking a swig of his sake bottle to feel a little warmer for the time being, and conserving his energy. Exploration for a solution to the cold can wait until the sun rises again. Hopefully he does not freeze to death before that happens.

What an ignoble end that would be.

A

[braidmage]

Do you know what's relatively difficult to find in a post-apocalypse where importing and exporting basically went off the table a hundred years ago? Chocolate. It's not unheard of, but it's quite expensive and easier to get hold of in the city than in a tiny village like the one Reynir had grown up in. Besides, it wasn't like his family was exactly like Emil's... they lived comfortably but they were still sheep farmers, and that didn't leave a lot of extra money lying around for frivolities.

Which is maybe why Reynir is lingering near the hot chocolate looking absolutely over the moon. He's clutching a steaming mug of the stuff between his hands when Hanzo comes over to grab some. Sorry, was he trying to do that quickly and nonchalantly, without any social interaction? Not anymore.

"It's so delicious, isn't it?"

Reynir beams at this total stranger, just wanting to share a bit of that Chocolate Happiness™ with him.

[nockturnal]

The warmth and friendliness rolls off Reynir where he stands, like light from a lamp.

Hanzo doesn't trust it, naturally.

There is only a soft hum of agreement, before he lifts the cup to his lips and blows, briefly. Then, only then, does he venture a sip. It is delicious, as he says, not too sweet but rich, with a warmth that settles deep in the belly. The first bit of true comfort since he's woken up in this strange place.

Quietly, he attempts another sip, slowly as not to burn his tongue.

Starscream | OTA

[vosseeker]

A. PARK

As multiple people had informed him upon his arrival, Starscream was proving too large to fit into most of the habitat areas of Anchor, leaving him confined to public spaces and segments of the station where the architecture had been generous. The park had proved a mostly secluded, out of the way spot to recharge in peace and quiet.

And then it had started snowing. Inside.

Starscream looks ready to murder someone. (To be fair, on most days he looks only a few steps from murder.)

He's currently sitting on the ground near a stand of trees, spiky legs drawn up and crossed loosely in front of him, with arms folded across and wings tucked tight behind him. Snow has begun to settle and accumulate on the flatter planes of his armor, but every so often his wings will twitch irritably to knock loose snow from them. As the temperature continues to drop after suns down, the quiet sounds of plating rattling belies the fact that inorganics can, in fact, shiver.

B. HOT CHOCOLATE AND BLANKETS

Despite the bots' best intentions, their offerings don't do anything for Starscream other than make them a target for his ire. "Have you got rivets for capacitors, drone? What am I supposed to with this organic swill and this?" He holds up the blanket, barely large enough to drape over the back of one servo, to illustrate his point.

Seeing someone passing by, he thrusts the blanket at them. "Here," he barks. "Take it, so this boltless trash compactor can consider its duty discharged."

Peter Parker | OTA

[itsnotaonesie]

the generic holiday cheer prompt:

The last time Peter had experienced "winter", he'd been stuck on a barren ice planet where he had to fight giant alien mammoths, endured a two week expedition out into the frozen wasteland, and made an emotionally crippling discovery about some weird snail aliens, and fell into a weird depression funk where he just kind of avoided people for a while. It had been busy as fuck, in other words, and Peter hadn't exactly had a chance to actually enjoy the season. Now he had that chance, but he is far more interested in whatever's causing the snow than the snow itself.

So, like the nerd that he is, he can be found hanging upside down from a strand of web from a branch of the tallest tree he can find and taking readings of the ~mysterious~ snow clouds with some sciency looking device he found in the lab this one time. He's already determined that it's nanomachines, but surely there are better things that the nanomachines could be doing right now, like repairing the goddamn heating system or whatever is going on God it's always something around here.

When he's not doing that he's straight up stealing an entire tray of baked goodies from one of the robots and retreating back to his branch, still hanging upside down from his web, just out of reach of the cranky, flailing robot. Eat shit robot, these are Peter's cookies now.

the body heat trope prompt:

He can't spend the entire day in bed buried in cats and blankets and snuggling with Poison. Sometimes you gotta go out and freeze your ass off for a while.

Except that Peter's finally repaired the heating system in his suit, so he's just out doing maintenance in skin tight spandex like it's the most normal thing in the universe. It doesn't stop the robots from shoving him at someone and then then shoving a blanket and thermos at the pair, though. Warm blanket, warm thermos, warm Spider-Man, come get all toasty before Peter grabs this thermos and bails to go overwork himself some more.

the wildcard prompt:

throw a snowball at this fool you know you want to

Scaramouche | OTA | Will Match Format

[numerouno]

A. Spa (near the Steam Rooms)

[He didn't think he'd be back here so soon.

He's still got the sticker in his pocket from a few days ago when he'd gone for a dip on the condition that it was a private spa and that they didn't. Touch. Anything he took off. That got rid of them; they did what they were told and he was out of there in a jiffy. Getting any cozier with your surroundings than that isn't smart.

This time, he's here because it's comfortably warm, unlike the bar. The cold doesn't really bother him, but he's taking a short break before he goes hitting the pavement again and he wanted a change of scenery.

Laid out on a lounge chair now, his legs are folded at the ankles and his hands are placed behind his head, upon which his hat is tilted rakishly. On the floor, below the left side of the chair, lies the large sword he usually carries on his back, concealed in a black scabbard. The dagger tied to his belt remains sheathed there.]

B. Mid/Upper-Level Central Hallways

[Scaramouche slows to a halt and tips his head back a little to peer up at the flurry around him. Snow drifts lightly onto his face. He deftly brushes the specks of ice away, turning his attention to what he can see of Anchor from here. Seems like it's snowing everywhere now.

It reminds him of falling ash.]

What do you want, babe?

[The question, terse and monotonous in its delivery, isn't devoid of a snide undertone. The little servant bot behind him totters closer, coming up to his side to offer him a compactly folded blanket.]

Suppose I don't take it.

[They hesitate, but in a few seconds, they're holding up a steaming capsule of... what is that, chocolate? Scaramouche looks down at it and takes it from them.]

3!

[hersay]

Allison isn't a big fan of the cold, either. Most of her clothes are designed to suit a southern Californian climate, not this. Initially, Allison tried to preserve some dignity by just sucking it up and wearing what she's got, but at this point she's so cold and so sick of it that she doesn't care anymore. She's wearing all three of the scarves she's got here, and both jackets. Allison feels like she looks like the Michelin man, but you know what? Fuck it.

Allison is on a voyage to brew some tea when she notices Genji, that nice guy from the syrup festival. He looks awfully cold, and he's moving so slowly for someone his size.

Allison walks up and waves, offering up one of her scarves. Genji helped her fend off those very determined robots -- it's the least she can do to help him out here.

B

[arcadedragon]

Hiding in his room may not be the best option for staying warm, but that's what Genji has chosen to do. Unfortunately, the ninja is chilled to the bone and his armor is not especially effective at keeping him toasty. In fact the metal encasing him is absolutely freezing. Stubbornly he refuses to remove any of it even in the privacy of his own room. Piling blankets on top of himself doesn't really work as any heat he generates that could have been captured in the enclosed space is sucked away by the metal alloy of his armor.

His current plan is to bring soup back from the dining hall and warm himself from the inside out. That seems like a tenable solution to this.

It's a good thing he's screwing the top on a container of steaming soup as he rounds the corner because he nearly drops it.

The outfit is strange, he doesn't recognize the jacket, but the man is familiar and for a moment Genji is frozen by more than just the temperature. He'd rehearsed what he'd say to Hanzo if he saw him again so many times, but now that he actually sees his brother in the flesh every carefully chosen word evaporates from his mind left with a mixture of fear and bitterness and betrayal and confusion. What is he doing here? How did he get here? What has he been doing since.. since...

It takes a while for Genji to manage to find his voice, "Hanzo?"

[arcadedragon]

It's freezing and he feels terrible, but he manages to nod politely as she approaches. At first he thinks about refusing the scarf, she probably needs it more than he does, but he's a level of freezing he's not experienced before. When he'd lived at the monestary in Nepal it had been cold, and it had snowed often, but this is something else. It seems to have seeped right through his armor and into his bones.

"My thanks." He wraps it around his neck, holding the long trailing end in his hand to try and warm that up as well. "I was not expecting an interior dome to have seasons."

[kaballin]

"Sorry, I'm not up on the latest designer pet fashion. But someone could probably make one. Otherwise you're going to have yourself a catsicle." He's getting colder just looking at Tripod.

"Probably a good first step is being in a room instead of out here. It's kinda warmer in there. By about half a degree."

Holiday Cheer

[theweakhavepurpose]

"Did you bring enough to share with the class?" Pratt is actually enjoying this. Sure it's freezing, but he has hot chocolate with marshmallows in it (and maybe also chocolate sauce), and he's wearing a parka that one of the helpful robots shoved him into. Honestly this is great. There's snow and cookies and food and he's not really freezing to death because he has a giant wolf that insists on sleeping next to him and raising the temp of the entire bedroom to sweltering.

Granted Pratt can't reach that tray of cookies that Peter has up there, but he can smell them. "What's the verdict? Is the snow somehow toxic? Are we going to all become ice zombies from this?"

B

[arcadedragon]

"They are only trying to help, they do not know the difference between humans and machines." Genji certainly looks like the latter, but he accepts the blanket, draping it over one of his arms, oddly thankful that he can't feel the cold in the other one. At least it appeases the bot who wanders away to foist blankets on someone else.

"Holding the cup will warm your hands at least. You do not want your joints to freeze up do you?"

[circumitus]

That would make two of them not up to date on pet fashion. Rey's never even had a pet before, so all of this is bizarre and new to her still.

Rey makes a face at his suggestion, though.

"Ugh. Guess if there are rooms available, can't hurt to temporarily crash in one..."

She's yet to really claim one. It'd feel too much like settling in and that's the last thing she wants to do here.

[nockturnal]

The metallic voice rasps in his ears, but moreso the fact that whoever had just spoken knew him. Hanzo's dark eyes flicked upwards, taking in the figure staring at him, mostly metal like some omnic, or one of the robotic servants down below. Perhaps one of them had been sent by someone here, who understood what was happening or why he had been delivered to this strange place.

"Yes? What do you want?" The response is utterly dispassionate, and he shows no sign of moving as of yet. Why should he? Whoever or whatever has found him here, they haven't presented a compelling enough reason for him to take to his feet.

After all, how could he know who resided within that shell?

[vosseeker]

"I am not a machine," Starscream bites out caustically, taking in the mechanoid appearance of the person before him.

The Seeker gives Genji the flatest stare. Pinching the liquid-filled cup between the ends of his claws - the scale is about the same as a human holding a button - and without breaking eye contact, crushes the cup. There's a tiny splash of hot chocolate that falls into the snow.

[arcadedragon]

"What do I want?" his voice incredulous. Behind the mask his eyes narrow, the confusion at seeing him here dropping away and for a moment nothing but rage wells up inside him. Since when did his brother care what he wanted? Never. That's what had gotten them into this situation to begin with.

Unconsciously Genji's hand goes to tighten around the hilt of his wakizashi, a few brief moments where all he wants is to attack him. But eventually he relaxes and straightens up, realizing how utterly ridiculous it looks to have one hand around his sword and the other holding a container of soup.

"I do not want anything from you." possibly the biggest lie he's ever told, but in the moment, right now, he almost wants to run away. He'd waited for years to confront Hanzo, and now an opportunity presents itself and he finds he's not ready. Maybe he needs another decade of meditation.

There's a very clear way to get out of this as Hanzo obviously has no idea who Genji is. He could keep up the pleasant niceties and never reveal himself truly. Maybe that would be better for both of them. "How long have you been here?"

He's stalling, unsure what to do and wanting more than anything to disappear.

[arcadedragon]

"Neither am I. As I said, they do not know the difference" He watches the cup, minuscule in Starscream's hands, shatter and fall to the ground.

"Would you like me to get you a larger cup?" behind the mask he's struggling not to laugh. Maybe he can get hot chocolate in a bucket for this giant.

[nockturnal]

Hanzo's gaze follows the motion of Genji's hand to his weapon, and suddenly the chill runs deeper than flesh. Adrenaline spikes, and for a moment he feels just a little warmer as a result. It is little comfort.

He has no reason to hold back, of course. He could answer him plainly. But living on the run from the assassins his family has sent after him has made him more cautious over the years, more reluctant to share any more than he strictly needs to. And with a hand on his weapon, this...whatever he is, could easily be one of them. If he knows his name, the likelihood increases.

"For someone who does not want anything of me, you ask many questions." Hanzo's fingers and uncurl slightly, stiffened from the cold, but he could move with speed if needed. Thankfully the jacket hides the coil of muscle seconds before he moves, hurling said jacket forward and seizing his bow.

It's reflex to have an arrow ready and nocked, and Genji has a split second to react before Hanzo decides whether or not to let it fly.

[arcadedragon]

"Will this become another lecture?" The words are out of his mouth before he even really thinks about what he's saying. Strange how that annoyance is still present a decade later, as if that's somehow even something to hold against Hanzo considering, well, everything else.

In an instant he tosses the soup to the side, the plastic container bouncing and rolling against the wall without spilling open. Not that even a single shred of his attention is on the soup as he pulls his wakizashi and holds it defensively in front of him, ready to deflect that arrow right back at his brother.

No. Not that. To the side. He had too many things to say, grievances to air, before they got back to killing each other.

"We do not have to fight." He doesn't falter from his stance, fully willing to do so, but his voice is slightly lower than it had been before. "I would prefer we didn't."

There's a very real part of him that wants to beat Hanzo bloody. To get some semblance of revenge even though in the end he knows it won't make him happy. It'll make it worse. But he can't deny he considers it, if only to prove that he is not second best, that he can hold his own.

Hanzo won't win a second time.

[nockturnal]

To his ears, it sounds like a request for surrender, not a truce. The moment he lowers his weapon he is at this man's dubious mercy, and he cannot allow that. There's no strain visible even as he holds the bow taut, staring at the blade now drawn and held at the ready.

The huff that escapes him fogs in the cold air. "You imagine an easy victory. Your masters should have told you who your quarry was." And rather than shoot directly at him, he adjusts his aim. Fires at a nearby wall, only for the arrow head to splinter and ricochet in several pieces.

High ground. He needs to reach higher ground, and his eyes dart past the figure in front of him for any path that might lead upwards in the complex.