Second, video

[themightykamina]

[Here's a face no one's seen for the last three weeks or so: one very bewildered-looking Kamina, incredibly grimy and probably not smelling too fresh, from the looks of him. There's a very ragged bag over one shoulder, and what looks like the remains of several yeti furs behind him as he frowns into the camera.]

Yo, Kamina here. What's the hell's going on? I'm gone for a week and it sounds like there's been a war. Someone wanna tell me what I missed?

Comments

voice.

[bekommen]

Jesus Christ.

[Yep, that's it. That's what Nick has to say to you, Kamina.]

Re: voice.

[themightykamina]

Who's that?

permavoice.

[bekommen]

Some guy who's about as fucking useless as you are.

[themightykamina]

Yeah, well, your guy didn't just spend the last week mapping more of the caves and keeping yeti off his ass, so I guess one of us is a little more useless.

Look, did you just miss bitching at me, or what?

[bekommen]

Yeah, I missed you about as much as I missed being fucking buried alive. Get over yourself.

[themightykamina]

Man, I just don't get chicks like you. You're the one who answered me, aren't you?

[muttering;]

I guess it's good to know some things aren't changing, anyway...

[bekommen]

Hey, pal, did it happen to escape your fucking notice that we've got a fucking wendigo problem here? No, you know what, don't even answer that.

Video

[amos_moses]

[Amos has a bruised scrape on his cheek, but his smile is cheerful as usual.]

Kamina! Welcome back. And watch out. There's people-eating monsters loose, called wendigo.

Only some of them used to be people, too.

So be careful, and make sure you be careful what you eat: some of the food supplies have been contaminated with human flesh. That's how the wendigo get you.

[themightykamina]

[Kamina looks equal parts horrified and disgusted by this news.]

What, you're telling me I came back to cannibal monsters? This place is seriously too much. Did Hope really give everyone people to eat??

[amos_moses]

Naw, naw, wasn't Hope. 'Parently Fear an' Rage tried their hands at feeding us to give Hope a break.

Didn't go so well.

[Amos waves a hand dismissively, rolling his eyes. Yeah, Fear and Rage have a lot to answer for over that mistake. If it had been a mistake at all. Amos suspects it wasn't.]

So yes, cannibal monsters, an' be careful you don't turn into one yourself. I won't let you in if you do, chief.

[themightykamina]

....And they thought people eat people?? Man, that is messed up. Even Forehead Boy's village wasn't that bad, they just sent people to die up on the surface.

[Shudder. He's serious for once as he looks straight at Amos, though.]

You better not. If I turn into a monster, you better kill me, alright? Cut my head off, if that's what it takes. I'm not gonna be that guy.

[amos_moses]

More like set you on fire then cut your head off...the wendigo are only vulnerable to fire.

But don't worry. I'll do the honors if you need it. But try not to need it!

[Amos is serious too, despite that little smile at the end. He'll certainly do the deed if it's required: he's no stranger to killing. True, it'll take him a lot of creativity and luck, since he's not a superb fighter to start with, and he's very squishily human...but he'll do what he can if it happens. But hopefully it won't!]

[themightykamina]

Good to know.

[He makes a face, but he's not at all joking. The last thing he wants to do is hurt anyone, but if these wendigos used to be people, then he's pretty sure they're like him--and wouldn't wanna be hurting anyone else. Shaking his head, he plasters a cocky smile across his face.]

Hey, come on! Look at who you're talkin' to! You really think I'd let something like this take me out? If that dumbass General Thymilph couldn't do it, I'm not about to let a wendigo!

video

[isacrowd]

Seriously?

[She's giving him this "are you serious, bro" look for five full seconds before she finally speaks again.]

I don't even know where to start. The last time I saw you was last month.

Don't eat any meat for a while, at least unless you've killed for it yourself.

[themightykamina]

[It's cool, he'll wait. At least until she tells him how long he's been gone, then he'll look properly shocked.]

A month? Damn, I was sure it was only like two weeks, give or take a day...The light down here is weird, and in the tunnels it's worse. Guess I lost track of time.

Don't worry about me, I've got enough bear and bat jerky to last a while. You need any?

[isacrowd]

Everything down here is weird. Plus, it's hard to tell time when you have trouble sleeping because, you know, people are turning into nocturnal cannibal monsters with freaky screams.

[She wrinkles her nose a little at his offer. Z is not a picky eater, but bat might be taking it a bit too far.] I'm good for now, thanks. Going vegetarian for a while.

[Possibly forever, who knows.]

But you're doing okay, right? No injuries or anything?

[themightykamina]

Suit yourself. A life without some kinda meat ain't exactly worth living, though. Your body needs protein!

[He gives her a grin that's tired, but more or less his usual cocky flash.]

Hey, who the hell do you think I am? A few monsters can't take down the great Kamina!

[isacrowd]

[She's just gonna ... let you do you on that, bud.]

I don't care how great you are, you can still get hurt. Somebody's gotta watch out for you. Where are you right now, by the way?

[Using the buddy system is probably the best plan in this cave, and she's thinking she should be your buddy.]

[themightykamina]

[A wise choice, ladybro.]

Hey, don't worry, I got this! I'll be fine. Just got outta the caves, dragging my prize home. Where are you?

[He holds up the clawed paw of another yeti skin, waving it at the camera. See?]

video.

[fervence]

[lloyd has a single bandage taped above his right eye, but otherwise appears to be wholly in one piece over the phone, if a bit tired.

because of course if something dangerous is going down in hadriel lloyd is throwing himself into the middle of it to try and keep people safe.] There was a problem with the food supply. [a sigh.]

I wish the professor was here so we could have helped more people. [because the unicorn spell had worked for people suffering the effects of the exspheres, it almost certainly would have done the same for the people turning into wendigos too.]

Re: video.

[themightykamina]

Lloyd!

[Glad to see another familiar face, Kamina grins, but he definitely can't miss that bandage.]

I'm sure you did the best you could, man. It doesn't look like you gave up!

video.

[fervence]

Of course not! [lloyd shakes his head firmly, fierce determination in his eyes even after the fact.]

I just wish I'd had magic to help fix people like my friends.

[themightykamina]

I don't know about magic, man. All I have is my sword and my fighting spirit! But it's always better to have your team at your side, watching your back.

Did a lot of people get hurt in all this?

[He seems at least a little more serious than he usually is.]

[fervence]

Yeah. [lloyd's eyes soften a bit here fondly.] They were really good at that.

More than I could help. [he confirms with a very small nod.] Between the people that were sick and the people they hurt. It's a lot crueler than the regular monsters in the cave. [pitting everyone against each other. it really wasn't fair.

but so few things in life were unfortunately.]

[themightykamina]

You're tellin' me. That's really messed up, turning people into monsters that eat other people. I wasn't a fan of these gods before, I'm sure as hell not a fan now, you know? They better watch their backs!

Guess if there are people dying, we should probably set up some place to bury them. Maybe off towards the south part of town or something, I dunno. This ain't exactly my strong suit.

[He rubs the back of his head, for once looking a little uncomfortable.]