And we're all adrift together through the cold mist, 'til we're lifeless together

[dokkalfheimr]

[The preparations hit differently this time.

Last weekend was at least an attempt at being festive, even with the light supplies they have; at being joyous, at giving people at least one nice thing to look back upon before things inevitably took a turn for the worse. And now two people are dead, and instead of trying to figure out structure placement and how best to keep everyone entertained and occupied and well-fed, the preparations now are given to much more practical purposes.

Large amounts of bottled water from the machine. Bagels and bread and muffins, light starchy things to avoid forcing anyone to keep meat or seafood down after seeing a corpse. Fruit for the sake of providing energy. Avoiding including bananas for any reason. Quietly pulling aside one of the first people she sees with any experience in the matter and asking them to help her make tea.

Once she's got one of the tables at the party zone set up and the tea is on its way to being prepared, she'll set around letting people know; the invitations are simple, written in Freyja's broad, elegant handwriting:

I think another gathering tonight would be beneficial. Not to celebrate, but to remember; perhaps more importantly, to ensure that no one is alone if they don't want to be.

Tonight is hard. There is nothing further to do but get through it.]

Comments

[scouserer]

[Hello, Yeager. Constantine lets out a snort, shaking his head.]

Doubt it. Probably used to the litter, if I'm being honest. And it's not like our goal is to piss it off.

[He sounds...more tired than mad, honestly. He wasn't particularly close to either of those killed, but death is still death.]

What'll he do now, you reckon?

[He's referring to the Captain.]

[scythegun]

[Death is still death, and there wasn't a damn thing anyone could do about it today.]

The Captain? Hmm.

[He considers that for a moment, tapping his fingers against the railing.]

If he's feeling merciful, he'll give us another week, just to see if that will get anyone else to snap. If he isn't - and I doubt he will be - then he'll come up with another nasty little threat for us. Even if we assume that no one was going to act on this one, there's no denying that it worked. More than a few people were openly bothered by it. If Carmen hadn't died today, would someone decide to kill soon?

[He lifts his shoulders a bit.]

It won't be any easier now that we know the stakes, unfortunately.

[scouserer]

[Constantine doesn't react at first, picking up another item and weighting it in his hand. It's a marionette, limbs tangled in its own strings.]

The Captain needed to get the ball rolling, and Shard was the unfortunate bastard who fit the role. It'll be hard to stop, now.

[After a moment, he winds up and chucks it as hard as he can, watching its wooden body disappear into the darkness. You can't even hear it hit the water--the sound of waves lapping up against the side of the ship is too loud.]

It's going to happen again. And there won't be a damn thing we can do about it. The Captain's going to keep pushing until he gets his way. It's not about the death--it's about seein' us suffer and despair as we get picked off one by one.

[At least, that's his current theory.]

I'm not about to let that happen to myself, though.

[scythegun]

[He watches the throw and the arc the marionette takes until it disappears from sight in silence. Even once Constantine is done speaking he's quiet for a moment.]

I think you're likely right. About what the Captain wants out of this, that is. Just killing us would be easy enough - there's more to it than that.

[Suffering and despair. Is that what he's after?]

You don't seem like the sort to die easily. I have a hard time imagining someone here managing to kill you!

[John Constantine absolutely looks like a man who could kick everyone's ass. That's just how it goes.]

So I'm guessing the best option now is to see what else we can learn and discover here. Explore every inch of the ship we have available and pry whatever information we can from Mr. Jones and the Captain. That's all we really can do right now, ja?

[scouserer]

[A sharp grin appears on Constantine's face when Yeager says that.]

Oh, it'd be a messy affair if I ever died. I screwed over a Lord of Hell one time, y'see, and he promised eternal torment if I ever died. Staking his claim on my soul and all that. But I decided to jump the gun and sell my soul to two other Lords of Hell behind his back--so, if they ever let me in through the infernal gates, they'd have to fight over it. So they let me go. Cured me of my lung cancer, too, as a parting gift.

[He tilts his head to the side.]

Of course, this place probably doesn't have my Hell. If anyone tries to go after me, I'll just make it bloody difficult. [A shrug.] We'll see if the Captain plans on being forthcoming, now that he thinks he has a better hold on us.

[scythegun]

[That gets a short, sharp laugh from him.]

My, you really are something, aren't you? To pit Lords of Hell against one another all for a shot at your soul... You certainly are quite the catch, hmm?

I am looking forward to seeing how things go; I'm sure you'll make it quite the entertaining show, ja?

[scouserer]

Mmm. Some would disagree, but what do they know?

[His smile seems to be a tad more strained at that, but. It's fine.]

If I ever have the whim to go and murder another person in cold blood, I'll be sure to make it a mystery for the ages.

[He's joking. Right?]

[scythegun]

Oh come now, don't joke about things like that!

[He laughs again, but he really doesn't seem all that bothered...]

Honestly though, I really do have a hard time seeing you giving the Captain the satisfaction of killing someone here. You seem far too stubborn for that!

[scouserer]

[He snorts.]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Captain should've known from the start that I'm a right miserable bastard with authority problems.

[Just Aging Punk Things, Y'know. He tosses one last item out to sea before turning to face Yeager.]

Now--what d'you say you and I try and find the best way to piss off the Captain after that stupid trial?

[scythegun]

[He watches that last object fly off before turning to Constantine at that with a grin.]

I'd like nothing more~ What sort of shenanigans do you have in mind?

[scouserer]

Oh, I don’t know--vandalism, light arson, destruction of property--that kind of thing.

[He starts ticking off his fingers as he speaks, taking on a casual tone of voice.]

Dunno if we have supplies for all of this, but we can certainly try. He’ll replace whatever we break, I’m sure, but that’s still work for him, init?

[scythegun]

Precisely~ There isn't any sort of rule against property damage, and who knows, perhaps we can figure out a way to break in somewhere useful if we get anything particularly fun out of that one odd vending machine!

[He is absolutely saying we need to blow up the grate that's blocking us out in the buffet. Do we have anything to make bombs?? Probably not, but maybe we'll get something!!]