08-18-2017, 09:35 PM
[table]
We will fight or we will fall
Til the angels save us all
How long had he been down here? It felt like weeks, though it couldn't be more than a few days. They'd opened a shaft big enough to lower down food and water to him, but his stomach still rumbled loudly and cramped painfully. His mouth was still dry, but after drinking quite a large amount of water, he was pretty sure it was more because of the petrifying fear and less because of dehydration.
When they'd got the shaft open, he'd had hope. Hope that they'd get him out and that he'd be free soon. That hope was dashed as he realized that there was no hurry to free him, and he almost never heard anyone working on clearing the debris.
Things had already gone from bad to worse even before he realized nothing was being done to save him, as the last match had gone out. It was pitch black, cold and with the revelation the total silence brought, he realized that he was going to die down here. He would die in this pitch black hole, and if no one cared enough to retrieve him alive then there was no way they'd retrieve his body.
They weren't going to get him out of here. If he was to be saved, he'd have to save himself. At first he tried to clear the rubble separating him from the rest of the Lodge, but after a while all he had was a tiny dent and painful, bloody fingers. He'd make no progress there, not by himself in the dark with no tools.
He turned around, and for a moment he wondered if his eyes were open or closed. It didn't matter. He had one hand on the wall, not only so he wasn't blindly stumbling about but also so he had something to lean against as he summoned his courage. He knew he had nothing left to lose, no reason not to traverse deeper other than fear. But fear had a tight grip on the young man's heart, and this whole experience had taught him two things: the first was that he was not brave.
Maybe he could face a former part of the Felix Cartel and somehow sleep with her somewhere in the building, maybe a stranger could point a gun at him and he could still maintain his cool. And maybe it was brave to run away from home when he was so young, and dare to be the person he wanted to be.
But he was a boy who sat vigilant at night, only feeling safe enough to sleep in the daylight, when the monsters and nightmares wouldn't get him. He was a boy who clung to fire and let it burn him if it meant there was any spark of light. He was a boy, a boy trying so hard to be a man but at the end of the day he was still a child.
The second thing that Gray learned in that cursed tunnel was that he didn't want to die. Maybe there wasn't a whole lot to live for up there, with no friends or family anxiously awaiting his safe return, or much of any purpose in the Flintlock Lodge other than helping feed them. And who was he kidding about taking down the Felixes? It would never happen.
But he still didn't want to die. He wanted to live, he wanted a chance. A chance to make friends and find a family. A chance to avenge his mother's death. Really though, he just wanted to live. He didn't want to die. His sense of self-preservation was telling him to try something else, since nothing had worked so far. There was only one thing he hadn't done now.
Maybe venturing into the dark unknown made him brave. Maybe just a little. But he still felt like a scared child as he blindly felt his way deeper into the tunnel, through cobwebs and around turns, with tears running down his cheeks.
Halfway through, after encountering two different forks in which he'd had to choose a direction, he panicked. What if this led nowhere and he couldn't find his way back? The cave in was where they sent down food, where they would be digging to get him out. If he got lost down here, he'd die. At that point, the shaking got even worse, but he still pressed on. He'd die either way unless something changed.
And by some miracle, something did.
In the distance, there was a faint glow. Gray nearly tripped as he realized that somewhere up ahead there was a light. He picked up the pace, and soon his hand no longer needed to be on the wall to navigate. There was a torch! A torch! And on the ground around it were shovels, pick axes and debris. He stared for a long moment at one of the "walls" as he realized that this was the other side of the cave in. He looked at it for one long second, memorizing it, before tearing out of the mine.
He didn't stop until he was outside. He didn't pass anyone on the way, and he didn't really care. Maybe later he'd make a show of getting his own damn self out, but right now he needed air. He needed light. Gray didn't stop until he was outside, tripped and landing in the snow. He was crying again, but this time from relief.
He was bloody, burned, dirty and tearstained, but he was free.
//just as a little ooc note, Gray's feelings towards the Lodgers are completely ic <3 I love y'all and your chars. he just went through a pretty traumatic event and had to save himself, which leads to distrust bc he thinks they didn't try to save him
that feels like a lot more than 921 words
We will fight or we will fall
Til the angels save us all
How long had he been down here? It felt like weeks, though it couldn't be more than a few days. They'd opened a shaft big enough to lower down food and water to him, but his stomach still rumbled loudly and cramped painfully. His mouth was still dry, but after drinking quite a large amount of water, he was pretty sure it was more because of the petrifying fear and less because of dehydration.
When they'd got the shaft open, he'd had hope. Hope that they'd get him out and that he'd be free soon. That hope was dashed as he realized that there was no hurry to free him, and he almost never heard anyone working on clearing the debris.
Things had already gone from bad to worse even before he realized nothing was being done to save him, as the last match had gone out. It was pitch black, cold and with the revelation the total silence brought, he realized that he was going to die down here. He would die in this pitch black hole, and if no one cared enough to retrieve him alive then there was no way they'd retrieve his body.
They weren't going to get him out of here. If he was to be saved, he'd have to save himself. At first he tried to clear the rubble separating him from the rest of the Lodge, but after a while all he had was a tiny dent and painful, bloody fingers. He'd make no progress there, not by himself in the dark with no tools.
He turned around, and for a moment he wondered if his eyes were open or closed. It didn't matter. He had one hand on the wall, not only so he wasn't blindly stumbling about but also so he had something to lean against as he summoned his courage. He knew he had nothing left to lose, no reason not to traverse deeper other than fear. But fear had a tight grip on the young man's heart, and this whole experience had taught him two things: the first was that he was not brave.
Maybe he could face a former part of the Felix Cartel and somehow sleep with her somewhere in the building, maybe a stranger could point a gun at him and he could still maintain his cool. And maybe it was brave to run away from home when he was so young, and dare to be the person he wanted to be.
But he was a boy who sat vigilant at night, only feeling safe enough to sleep in the daylight, when the monsters and nightmares wouldn't get him. He was a boy who clung to fire and let it burn him if it meant there was any spark of light. He was a boy, a boy trying so hard to be a man but at the end of the day he was still a child.
The second thing that Gray learned in that cursed tunnel was that he didn't want to die. Maybe there wasn't a whole lot to live for up there, with no friends or family anxiously awaiting his safe return, or much of any purpose in the Flintlock Lodge other than helping feed them. And who was he kidding about taking down the Felixes? It would never happen.
But he still didn't want to die. He wanted to live, he wanted a chance. A chance to make friends and find a family. A chance to avenge his mother's death. Really though, he just wanted to live. He didn't want to die. His sense of self-preservation was telling him to try something else, since nothing had worked so far. There was only one thing he hadn't done now.
Maybe venturing into the dark unknown made him brave. Maybe just a little. But he still felt like a scared child as he blindly felt his way deeper into the tunnel, through cobwebs and around turns, with tears running down his cheeks.
Halfway through, after encountering two different forks in which he'd had to choose a direction, he panicked. What if this led nowhere and he couldn't find his way back? The cave in was where they sent down food, where they would be digging to get him out. If he got lost down here, he'd die. At that point, the shaking got even worse, but he still pressed on. He'd die either way unless something changed.
And by some miracle, something did.
In the distance, there was a faint glow. Gray nearly tripped as he realized that somewhere up ahead there was a light. He picked up the pace, and soon his hand no longer needed to be on the wall to navigate. There was a torch! A torch! And on the ground around it were shovels, pick axes and debris. He stared for a long moment at one of the "walls" as he realized that this was the other side of the cave in. He looked at it for one long second, memorizing it, before tearing out of the mine.
He didn't stop until he was outside. He didn't pass anyone on the way, and he didn't really care. Maybe later he'd make a show of getting his own damn self out, but right now he needed air. He needed light. Gray didn't stop until he was outside, tripped and landing in the snow. He was crying again, but this time from relief.
He was bloody, burned, dirty and tearstained, but he was free.
//just as a little ooc note, Gray's feelings towards the Lodgers are completely ic <3 I love y'all and your chars. he just went through a pretty traumatic event and had to save himself, which leads to distrust bc he thinks they didn't try to save him
that feels like a lot more than 921 words
▪ Grayson Hanson | Gray | Formerly Aria Rivendare
▪ Masculine presenting | Identifies as male | He/Him | DFAB
 Almost impossible to tell his birth gender (get Pyre's permission before having y/c know)
▪ 15 years | Aquarius | Primarily Real Time Aging
▪ Member of the Flintlock Lodge
Relationships:
▪ Panromantic | Pansexual | Still figuring that out
▪ Single | No crushes
▪ NPC x NPC | Adopted by Diana Hanson
▪ Generally puts on a friendly front and cares for those around him, but still holds them at arms' length and is very hard to get close to. Very awkward when flirted with and doesn't really like it, but becomes quite flirty when drunk
Important Facts:
▪ In no way shows that he was born female, does everything possible to hide it (such as binding) and wears clothes meant for men. Without him stripping, it's pretty much impossible to tell that he isn't biologically male.
▪ Low-key history nut.
▪ Nearsighted.
▪ Opinions and motivations are Gray's and Gray's alone and are not shared by his roleplayer.
Physical:
★ HUMAN | health: 100%
 Gray is about medium height at 5'6", and very thin and lanky. He has gray eyes, and off-black hair cropped into an undercut. Under his left eye he has a beauty mark, and there are a few scars on his medium-brown skin, and there are more under the slate gray bandanna, hoodies and jeans the gangly teen tends to wear.
 major injuries: none
 minor injuries: none
Personality:
 DETAILED IS STILL A BIG WIP
 Articulate; contemplative; efficient; driven; incisive; intelligent; meticulous; orderly; perceptive; practical; rational; self-sufficient; shrewd; vigilant; witty, enigmatic; frank; neutral; placid; private; reserved; restrained; stoic, abrupt; aloof; assertive; blunt; calculating; coarse; critical; cynical; distrusting; morbid; opinionated; pedantic; sarcastic; self-serving; unreliable; vindictive
Interaction:
▪ Still in training | Medium physically | Medium mentally
▪ No kill/capture/maim without permission
▪ Prefers to fight with a sword
▪ To attack, [member=2027]Gray[/member] and attack in underlined #708090
Links:
 Bio v.1[/spoiler]
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————IF YOU NEED ME, I'LL BE GONE———— ——
i'm looking for a good time on my own, i'm all alone ——