Deer Country Network

[Maul looks very serious but also with a touch of the cat that finally caught the canary as he starts the video.]

I thought I would just give a formal announcement that I have broken the curse which has been on me since Deerington. For those who didn't know about it, it caused me to feel pain whenever I harmed another sentient being. But no more.

[He sounds extremely pleased by that. Though any traces of glee are soon replaced by a murderous expression on his face, his eyes hardening until there is only fury in them.]

If any of you feel like being clever and immediately trying to put another leash upon me, I would advise against it. I didn't retaliate this time but next time I will kill anyone who tries to meddle in my life, whether or not it is my own hand that ends your life.[Maul's got enough people in town who he knows would eagerly kill for him if he asked them to, his brother and mate both chief among them. While he usually prefers to do his own dirty work, he's not willing to put himself through another eight months of being muzzled.] Or I shall simply make your life so miserable that you wish you were dead. After all, most sentient species contain around two hundred to four hundred bones. Consider the fact I know how to break each and every one of them. Or how most species will continue to survive as long as the brain has oxygen and the hearts continue to pump blood regardless of what else is done to their body. Just a thought.

[He pauses and adds on a little at the end.]

As for the three that did it? You already know I don't forgive and I don't forget. Run and hide if you like. I'll come and find you soon enough.

so everyone's cool with the squid thing
like everyone just collectively agreed that was okay
and went with it
that's a thing people just live with in this crappy city

Good afternoon,

I’m Winter Schnee and I’m in need of assistance. This is not a D.A.R.T. matter or related to public safety, it’s a personal matter. I need to know if there is anyone that has information regarding the care of a Warg. For the most part I’m familiar with the diet she had previously, but I’m not certain about the frequency or the amount of exercise and training that I should be providing for her. And I’m doubtful of some of the answers that she has provided me.

In addition, I’m in search of a plumber and carpenter to take care of damages that were recently sustained to our house.

Finally, for anyone that was attempting to reach me in the past weeks, I am now monitoring the network once more and will resume my usual responsibilities at this time. If there is a matter that requires my attention please notify me as soon as possible.

Listen up, jagoffs!

Don't go walking in the underbrush without a travel buddy if you don't know how to take care of yourself.

I found tripwire and a pitfall. So, carry a knife, some paracord, and a carabiner because there's no telling what else is out there.

[She's not Padmé Amidala. Nor is she Jane Foster. It's just Ariadne, sitting on the wooden floor of her home, in front of an enormous, four-poster bed with a canopy of sheer, white fabric. Splashes of color occasionally hit her face and the background, as her homemade mobiles, flitting with broken pieces of colorful glass, catch whatever sunlight there is. Her long, long, long brown hair is hanging loose over her left shoulder, crinkled to show that it's just come undone from its braid.]

I...I've noticed that a lot of important holidays seem to be in the middle of the winter. And I guess it makes sense. The days are short, the nights are long, and everyone is cold and missing fresh fruits and vegetables. It raises the spirit to have something to celebrate and people to celebrate it with.

[There's a small smile. A memory or two from her days in Valeria.]

Back home, the New Year was the most important holiday. There would be parties and feasts and masked balls. Presents. Lots of music...

[And she misses that music. But Ariadne won't let herself stay sentimental for long.]

Last year, I learned about an Earth holiday. The one where the fat man breaks into people homes and leaves them gifts, instead of stealing stuff. Christmas!

[Makes no sense, but it's a lovely sentiment.]

I was hoping to maybe learn about some other holidays from this time of year. What do your cultures celebrate? Maybe we can find a way to all celebrate together. I'm still convinced that togetherness is the only way we're going to survive this place. And I...I know I'm not alone, feeling that way.

[A small shrug.]

So let's talk to each other more. When there isn't an emergency. Talk about some of the happy things, maybe. Tell me about the good stuff.

[Ariadne doesn't really know where to go from here, so she shrugs again.]

Anyway, that's all. Sorry to interrupt anything.

What do we know about the Hunters?




[That’s it. That's the post.]

[Sorry, folks. We're used to getting our info from Sleepers, not the locals. And in the wake of October, in light of the words of the locals lately... Better to ask.]

Okay, so: I probably should have asked this earlier, but I was hoping maybe this place wouldn't have the same share of monsters as Deerington did. Dumb optimism, I know, but a girl can dream.

Anyway: now that we've got ghosts and horsemen and shit floating around, I want to propose the idea of fight training. I did a little of that with F.E.A.R. back in Deerington, and I'm down to do it again here, too. I'm happy to train but I'm also just as happy to spar with anyone willing to go a round or two.

Mainly, I want to get a handle on this blood magic stuff, what its limitations are, how to use it to its full potential, how to not set my own apartment on fire, that kind of stuff. And, preferably, I'd like to learn it when I'm not about get flayed alive, so anyone who's interested, let me know.

[His transmission is short. He sits at home, holding his Omni up in front of him while his fox omen sits in his lap, curled up. Possibly one of the few times it wasn't causing all sorts of chaos.]

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I figured there would be at least a handful of you who would like to know.

[He pauses for only a moment.]

If you knew Manabu Yuuki, he was killed. I imagine he won't be back for at least a few weeks or so. His corruption had gotten the better of him, so I made sure his death was quick and painless.

[The scruffy, middle-aged man that appears on the screen looks a bit uncomfortable. Videochat is certainly not his preferred mode of communication on these devices, but he does figure it would be helpful to see his face for what he's posting on the network to say, so.]

Uh...hey. I'm Qrow. If you don't know me from Deerington, I'm a Huntsman. Which--mostly means I've fought a lot of monsters and sh--[hm. children.]...crap like that.

So anyway, it's halfway through October, and the streets aren't overflowing with blood and corpses, and far as I know nobody's gotten eaten by monsters or lost their mind and gone on a murdering rampage. But that probably just means the town's waiting for us to let our guard down.

[Or maybe that's just paranoia. But Qrow would rather err on the side of paranoia rather than complacence, considering his last October.]

Point is, now seems like as good a time as any to learn to defend yourself if you don't already know how to fight. I uh, I used to teach teenagers in a combat school, a few years ago? So I've got some experience.

...Don't expect a lot, I quit for a reason--[that reason being, honestly, Ruby getting admitted to Beacon a full two years early, but shhh]--but you can get the basics down.

So yeah. Let me know.

( On the network appears a man who looks more like a demon, with his red horns and red eyes. He's toying with a blue and silver mask, twirling it in his hands. )

Lots of people offering Hunter shit up here, huh.

( His voice is low and tone only a little sardonic. )

Ain't no thing. You do you. But I'm here to ask about being a Blood Minister. Friend of mine ran a clinic out of her place in Hakagemachi and I was real into that vibe.

( He doesn't expect that to mean anything to anyone, but its where he came from most recently; before that was home. )

I guess this is me putting my feelers out for someone who'd wanna help with a sort of clinic or mobile unit. Name's Samatoki. Get at me.

[The video begins with Winter standing in front a fairly ordinary wall. Unlike most times she’s no longer wearing her Atlas uniform. Instead she’s adapted and now appears more like one of the native hunters of trench. She takes a moment to compose herself before speaking.]

It seems that many of us are starting to settle and adjust to this new place, but we all know that this peace and time of adjustment is only temporary. Before long there will be something that comes along and threatens it. The hunters of this world have already organized patrols, and have their own system of keeping threats at bay. But I believe that we all know that while they mean well, there are those that they can not expect due to our arrival.

I am Winter Schnee, I was a combat specialist for FEAR and in James Ironwood’s absence was responsible for running TRUST in Deerington. I also was a specialist in the Atlas military in a world called Remnant that quite a few of us are from. In that world there are creatures called Grim that Hunters and Huntresses protect humanity from, similar to what the hunters of this world do. I am not proposing the formation of another organization such as FEAR, especially not after the horrors that were revealed of its foundations. Rather I wish to gather a group of volunteers among those who are hunters, or who have combat experience, to come together to form special teams. These teams would respond to calls for help as a unit, fighting and supporting one another, and most importantly keeping one another in check. This would a response team specifically aimed as supporting other dreamers from any threat.

Secondly, I want to be able to offer combat lessons to any who wish to learn in a structured, secure, and safe environment. Because there will be times when we are not able to respond quickly enough, when you will need to be able to defend yourself long enough for help to arrive. Hopefully with adequate help we would be able to offer training in a variety of levels from basic combat to specialized weapon training for those that plan on becoming hunters or huntresses.

And finally, this group will serve to patrol ourselves. To mitigate and manage the threat that we pose to ourselves and to this world. The hunters talk about corruption, and I have seen what happens when too much power and responsibility lies in one place. I want to ensure that check and balance remains in place, so that we can fully support and protect all dreamers and natives of this world.

If you are willing to volunteer for this, please leave me your name, experience, and any other pertinent information.

[It had been nearly a week, and Oscar was becoming worried.

Lessons he has learned on the other side of the Dream had taught him that sitting in the worry and letting it overcome him did no one any good-- least of all himself. Knowing this, Oscar tentatively turned on the Audio function of his new device and, with an obvious case of awkward nerves, started talking.]

Um... Hi.

I'm Oscar Pine and... I'm sure some of you know me already, but some of you don't and that's okay.

There was just a couple of things I wanted to say.

First: I know that things have been stressful lately and that we all need something to do, so I'm willing to teach people how to garden if they want a hobby that lasts a little longer than baking all the time. I'm a farmhand... And I did the baking thing. Growing and taking care of your own vegetables helps a little more, for a longer time.

And-- you can share your extra zucchini with your friends and loved ones. Isn't that cool?

I managed to bring along some seeds to get started. Just... Contact me if you're interested.

... and thanks, Mako, for the idea.

Second: is anyone else having trouble sleeping since they got here? I know being nervous makes sleeping hard, but this feels different. Anyone have any ideas about why this is happening, or how to help?

Last: ... I don't know about everyone else, but there's still some people I'm looking for that haven't come ashore yet. Can people just...chime in to let everyone know that they're safe? And let us know if there's anyone else you're looking for?

Maybe we can make everything a little easier if we work together. I don't know...

I'm just kinda worried, and some of you all probably are too.

[Once Ruby gets a hold of the new Fluid (Which isn't called a Fluid but she's going to call it that until she gets corrected) she immediately starts it up to see what's going on. Surely she has some important and vital wisdom to pass onto the other people of Trench, right?

RIGHT????]

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[Or she could do that.]