PLAY MY GAME / HUNTING, o

[KAITO LANCASTER.]

[align=center][div style="width: 370px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.4; color: black;"]— It was early in the afternoon; a light drizzle fell over the mountain from the pale gray sky. Xavier sat outside on the porch steps, sporting a light jacket fit for the cool summer air. He singed the end of a cigarette with a beaten-up Bic lighter before sticking it in his mouth, shielding it from the rain with a cupped hand. A plume of smoke escaped his lips as he breathed out, looking up over the horizon.

It had been a week and a half since arriving at the Lodge - and to be entirely honest, that was much too long for his comfort. Of course, there was no way that he could've known that Stirling was going to be gone for the first handful of days that he'd been present. He simply had to make up for lost time. The tall man clambered to his feet, picking up a rifle that he'd leaned against the handrail of the porch. He poked his head inside the lodge, eyes bright, lightly tapping on his cigarette so that the ash floated off in the wind. "Anyone free? Saw a flock of geese settle a few miles out. Was wondering if I could put together a little hunting party. Colton, you interested?"

[COLT MADISON.]

[align=center][div style="width: 370px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.4; color: black;"]— In the past week, Colt's life had settled into this strange feeling of helplessness. Everything was going wrong, and he was beginning to realize that there was nothing he could do about it. Without some sort of miracle opportunity, any action that he might take would fix something but mess up something else. All that he could do was say screw it, wait, and hope that things somehow turned in his favor.

In the meantime, the mercenary was dealing with his ever-present anxiety by keeping an eye on Xavier. He was laying on a couch in the living room, staring up at the ceiling, throwing a ratty old baseball in the air and catching it right before it could hit him in the face. Every so often, between throws, he would glance out the window at Xavier on the porch. He made sure not to look worried or suspicious - if anything, he just looked incredibly bored (which wasn't entirely wrong). He wanted to keep his past and motives a secret if possible, but if Xavier made a move against Eddie, he would step in - even if that meant getting exiled.

"Colton, you interested?" Colt sat up with a slight frown, watching Xavier. "I told you, it's just Colt now," he answered pointedly, standing up and heaving a sigh. "But sure, I'll go. Been a while since I've actually hunted." Of course Xavier would invite him along - the cocky bastard. He was just being toyed with at this point.

[EDMUND.]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]Eddie favoured the fallacy that he was good. That he was loved. But suddenly, he felt older. Colder. He’d run away from all the little warmth that this world had to offer, and he’d linger on the very thought that so often plagued his mind: he wasn’t actually that good a person. He wanted to feel something more than the darkness that he was born into — he wanted to feel so badly — but there felt to be a gaping space between what he could feel and what he wanted to feel, a vacant crevice which was as if it’d been carved out from his soul. And slowly, that space grew, and it grew relentlessly.

Perhaps he deserved a dishonourable death. He had granted many men that same fate in his lifetime, it was about time that the man who fought by the sword would soon die by it. If he were to die now, who would miss him? Really — who could weep at the death of a tragedy like him? Death was a lingering thought in Eddie’s mind. Death was a consolation.

He was unaware of his nearing fate as he wandered into the lounge just in time to hear Xavier insisting that Colt join him on a hunting trip. Eddie could do with a chance to get out of the lodge; he’d spent a large portion of his day cooped up in his office wasting the day away, so some means of work would perhaps brighten him up somewhat. ❝ I’ll come with. ❞ Eddie offered as he stood with his hands in his pockets, glancing between Colt and Xavier before nearing the front door to pull on his coat and collect his rifle.

Little did he know, he was unwittingly playing right into Xavier’s motives.