lostcarnival | ⇨ END OF EVENT LOG

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⇨ END OF EVENT LOG

Who: Everyone participating in the Prince's challenge.
When: Day 178, Afternoon
Where: A Conjured Forest
What: The Carnival takes to the Hunt again, but this time, with the intention to win.
Warnings: Violence and death.

SACRIFICES↴
THE GANG DOES A (LOT OF) MURDER

In a bid to definitively settle a victor and reclaim the captured carnival workers, the Ringmaster has challenged the Prince to another hunt. If the Prince wins this challenge, he can claim the Blue Rose the Carnival stole; if the Carnival wins, the Ringmaster will be allowed to claim one True Name in the Prince's possession.

With the Manor reshaped as it is, there's no longer a courtyard to transform into a suitable hunting ground. Instead, the Prince's magic has turned one of the floating islands between the fortress and the Carnival into an overgrown forest.

Being a fae contest, of course, each side's idea of victory is not as straightforward as it would appear, but for those participating in the hunt, there is only one objective that matters: to kill their prey in the time they're given.

The captives who have been transformed into beasts will have little of their human sentience remaining, and will be set loose to wander the forest freely. Instinct will compel them to conceal themselves or attack hunters, depending on their individual disposition. Upon death, the beasts will remain in their bestial forms.

IN HOT PURSUIT↴
To win this challenge, the hunters must bring all of the beasts down with weapons or innate strength within the time limit: an hour and one minute.

No magic may be used to take any of the beasts down -- any use of supernatural or magical abilities to trap, track, or kill the creatures will result in a forfeit to the Prince, and this will be made explicitly clear to the hunters before the contest begins. Hunters are allowed to bring their own weapons and mounts, provided they are non-magical in nature (or their magical abilities are not being actively used). If they do not have their own, ordinary ones of any variety will be provided to them.

To expedite the proceedings, rather than dragging the bodies back individually, each hunter will receive a token from the Prince: an enameled blue rose. To formally claim a kill, they must place the rose on the dead beast (ideally, in their mouth, though as long as it's touching it it will do) and activate the spell by reciting the following words:

"I claim this life for thy Master's game."
"A life surrendered to claim my prize."

Using the rose in this way will cause its petals to instantly wilt and magically bring the dead beast, and any hunters touching it, back to the Prince. So, don't touch it if you want to stay in the forest for more hunting.

A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE↴
The Prince and the Ringmaster will be waiting for the results of the hunt in a roughly-constructed marble amphitheatre on another floating bit of rock. Those whose stomachs are too weak to take up even just the appearance of hunting can stay at the Carnival or hang out in the amphitheater, with the caveat that any attempt to attack the Prince or use magic to aid the captured prey will instantly default the win to the Prince.

Should they want something to do other than twiddle their thumbs, the non-fighting carnival workers can peer into the hand mirrors left on the seats, smaller versions of what the Prince is watching the hunt through. They will be unable to control what images are brought up in the mirror, and it essentially only shows whatever the Prince is looking at himself. There's no sound, but the images are in full color (all the better to see blood with).

This is also the area that the hunters and prey will be brought to when the spell is activated (or when every creature has been hunted). So, expect for a pile of corpses to end up there.

[ OOC: This log wraps up the end of the Heartstone Manor plot! It is up to hunters and prey to create their own toplevels and sort out who will be delivering the finishing blow (feel free to use the OOC post about this event to coordinate that), but OOCly, it's set that the Carnival will win the Prince's challenge. The hunt's conclusion will be posted as a separate comment for characters to respond to.]

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OTA - Mockingbird

There's something to be said about such a thick and brilliant forest.... and it's that there are many hiding places for beasts so inclined to it. Especially up in the branches. The leaves there are thick and plentiful, and branches sometimes block any bit of the sun's light in certain areas. For anything that can reach such heights, it's a handy place to be.

Some of the hunters might not realize the level of deceit such a thing can offer, however.

Is that the sound of a boar snuffling that way? Best go to check. For others, that's the distressed cry of a Phoenix another way. And then for even other parties trying to hunt, they might hear the murmur of conversation.

A lot of it can be rather convincing! Wannabe hunters will have to be careful... Peryton are't just deer with wings. They're also birds, and birds can be assholes.

Closed to Team Double Date

So an acrobat, a wandering hobo, and a crying alien walk into a forest...

Around the, the trees stretch up high, leaves brushing against leaves, branches aching with the weight of their load. In the distance, other animals sound off- real and imitations alike. The sound of other hunters with their own steeds is just as prevalent. Yet still with so much activity in the forest, it manages nonetheless to choke sound with the weight of itself.

And anywhere in it is where their prey could be.

So: what's the plan?

Edited 2017-11-07 02:55 (UTC)

So... they know Joker is here now. Which is, in fact, a very bad thing, because it means they've only really got one option here. Really, the only solace Ginko can find in the situation is that they found him before someone else did.

It takes a bit of struggling to figure out how two teenagers, a deer man, and a psionic who can't use his psionics are going to down a flying deer long enough to do what they have to, but eventually, the best solution they have turns out to involve a network of rope snares and the two more acrobatic members of their "team" hidden in the trees. Ginko and Psi stay close to the ground, as out of sight as possible.

Ginko's hand rests on the small pack he brought with him; for once, he's not fidgeting or fiddling with his clothes or supplies, instead sitting as still as he can. His face is set in the same stony, focused mask he's been maintaining ever since they came out here.

Psi doesn't like this. Ginko was cold and stoic. The normally cheerful Doll was sad and afraid. Tamaki was well, serious. Then there was him, a psionic unable to use his powers. The Psionic realizes he's virtually useless here. He almost didn't come. Even when they weren't hunting their own crew members he'd been queasy at the thought of a hunt. Now the stakes were much higher, and the creatures they hunted their own friends. It was painful, but the Psionic forced himself to come, simply because he didn't want the others to go through this on their own.

They were all aware that Joker could be among their prey. That was why Doll was here. Ginko wanted to ensure a swift painless end to any they caught, and likely Doll was the same. Still if they were sympathetic towards anyone that sympathy doubled for a friend and a brother. That's why, when they see the legless winged deer, they all stop short. It was what they were hoping for, that if Joker was prey they would find him first, and yet now that they've found him, they actually need to follow through with the plan.

The Psionic is glad in that moment to have Ginko with him. Ginko actually knows how to navigate the woods, and he can track. He knows how to trap. It's crazy, the Psionic never thought Ginko had knowledge like this, but he does. It's impressive. He wants to tell Ginko that, but something about the expression on the human's face stops him. He stays quiet instead. Letting everyone work without talking unless prompted. The trap is set. The Psionic can only hope it works. He doesn't want Joker to suffer. Or any of the others either, for that matter.

Up in the trees, Tamaki pulls himself up onto a sturdier tree branch, mouth pressed in a thin line as he watches for any sign of movement from above. Gallivanting through foliage has left him a bit scratched up and there are probably leaves in his hair, but there's nothing amusing about the current situation.

When they'd learned what the challenge was, and that Joker might be among the prey, he knew Doll would want to go. If it were Aya... well, he doesn't really want to imagine it. But he would want to be the one to find her, to make sure it was as quick and painless as possible.

That's what Ginko has assured them this will be, and he trusts Ginko's judgement on this. So he waits, poised on a branch in a crouch, balancing effortlessly. He only tears his eyes from the sky and trees to glance over at his companions, Doll in particular.

Doll was dismayed, to say the least, when she and Tamaki came across the creature that was unmistakably Joker. Who else would be a cross between a deer and a bird, missing a leg? She should have tried to end it right there, but she'd been so startled and so frozen in her uncertainty that Joker had given them the slip. It was fine though, it had given them all time to figure out a plan. It gave Doll time to school her feelings.

She'd been quiet and stoic as they'd set the traps, slipping easily into her performance persona as both a defense mechanism and a habit. She has to focus, Joker is counting on her to focus even if he doesn't know it. The rest of the group is too, if they're going to get through this without an accident or injury. It's just like walking a rope, she tells herself.

Up in the trees with Tamaki, she keeps her eyes on the branches and sky as well, but eventually she stares, pointedly, at Tamaki until he looks at her. Her emotional armor is starting to melt under stress.

"It's gonna be alright," she whispers, mainly for her benefit.

In the trees is safety.

The Peryton knows this instinctively, wings and back talons and corvid brain drawn to the foliage stronger than anything. Down on the ground might be food, and water, but there's no safety there. There's especially no safety now, with dangerous bipedal hunters lurking about with tools that can injure and kill. Other beasts of the forest run, or fight, but the Peryton knows that he can't do either. At least, he can't do it effectively or without great risk. So ever since he can remember, the Peryton has preferred cleverness over flight or fight.

Thus it'd been a hell of a surprise when he'd gone through the trees and ran smack right into a pair of them in the trees. The result could only be described as a "clusterfuck".

Fortunately, he'd been able to escape, but the Peryton knows that he has to change his tactics. The trees are no longer as safe as he'd planned them to be. That means he'll have to actually act... a fact that the Peryton isn't exactly glad for, as much as he can process it. But there's no choice. While running is an option, a show of force might scare the hunters off; he can't afford hunters in the trees. So, carefully, the Peryton makes his way through the foliage. It's no easy thing with only three legs, one of them ending in a hoof, but his wings and back talons help a little in making up for the disproportionate balance.

Yet whatever awkward flapping the group can hear in the distance soon goes quiet, and, for a while, there's nothing but silence once more. The forest swallows up the distant sound of other hunts, of the violence and cries, and it's only the trees around them.

...Doll has probably never heard her own voice before. Such technology was never available to any of them, back in England, and the chance has likely not come up in the travels with this carnival.

Yet she'll hear it only a breath after she's whispered to Tamaki, nearly exact, but just off enough to be disconcerting -

"It's gonna be alright."

And then a winged deer comes crashing through the branches and leaves like a huge asshole.

It's not exactly graceful by any means of the word, with only three limbs able to push off from the original perch, but it is still an animal that weighs more than the acrobat, and the antlers that it has bowed towards her are still more than capable of horrible injury.

When Doll catches his attention, Tamaki tries to smile back at her reassuringly, say that it is going to be alright -

but then Doll's voice is echoing, and he barely has a moment to think, That's bad, before the very beast they've been hunting is suddenly crashing through the leaves, antlers angled toward Doll.

He spends only a second stunned, before he literally leaps into action, throwing himself from the branch he was perched on and toward the tree Doll and the attacking peryton are in, having to grab at branches with his hands to stop his fall. Dangling by his hands, he starts kicking his feet at the deer's back, hoping to land in get it to pay attention to him rather than Doll.

In all the panic, he's almost forgotten this is really Joker; hopefully he'll forgive any bruises.

Oh.

Doll's eyes get very wide when she hears her own voice coming back at her, and it's only a split second before she sees charging antlers and not much else. She needs to move, she needs to get out of the way before Joker can hurt her because once this is all over, if he manages to hurt her, he'll never forgive himself.

She braces both hands on the branch, just like she's on a rope, and springs up and over the antlers. Ropes are straight lines, branches aren't, but she manages to stick the landing anyway. Turning is a little harder, but she just throws herself at Joker and hopes that both her and Tamaki's weight will be enough to take Joker out of the tree and hopefully straight into one of the traps.

All Ginko hears is a brief commotion, a cracking of branches, and-- oh yep here come two teenagers and an entire deer.

Ginko reacts immediately, darting the short distance to where they've landed, tugging briefly at the rope trap to make sure it's secure - while doing his best to avoid any limb-flailing going on. "Psi, make sure he's secured-- are you two okay?"

If the kids got caught in the ropes, too, that's just going to be another layer of complication, but. They'll deal with it. It's fine.

Even without his psionics, he likes to think years of fighting with other trolls on Alternia has given him adequate reflexes. When he hears the cracking, he's running towards the sound immediately. It doesn't even occur to him to that the peryton is likely the cause of the noise. He simply knows Doll and Tamaki are up there, and if anything happened to either of them Joker would never forgive them.

Then he realizes it's the deer they're on as they fall from the tree, and he swears loudly. He has absolutely no problem with letting Ginko take charge here and rushes forward to try and hold down the peryton, especially grabbing it's neck so it can't gore any of them.

If a deer or a bird could truly and properly realize the depth of feeling that comes with the word fuck, then the Peryton would most certainly be thinking it. As it is, however, the swear isn't really necessary as the combination of both kicks and a teenager on his back force him down towards earth. Smaller branches break beneath him, his front leg breaks beneath him, and the Peryton bursts into panic.

A dozen different sounds burst out of him as he hits the ground, shrieking caws, chest-deep bellows, and his back claws scramble at the earth. Something foreign is suddenly on his neck, preventing him from being able to thrash his antlers as effectively as he'd like. With one leg down, there's only one thing available to it.

Everyone better be prepared for those wings flaring out in desperate and powerful flaps, helping to turn the distressed creature about in all sorts of ways as it tries to thrash both hunters that have a hold on it right the hell off.

Ow.

As many times as Tamaki has dropped out of the silks and into the safety net, nothing could have prepared him for dropping out of a tree and into a net with a live bird-deer thing trying to kick and gore him at once. He struggles to get away, and get Doll away, but he can't even answer Ginko's question before the peryton is flaring it's wings, knocking into his chest.

He does the only thing that comes to mind, through some instinct; tries to grab onto the wing and force it still, and trying to do so without injuring Joker further. He's not doctor, but he's pretty sure the peryton's leg shouldn't be bent like that.

Doll is a little more used to falling, but with an entire creature under her? Not so much. They hit the ground and Doll is hardly prepared, but Tamaki is there, hauling her off of Joker and away while she's stunned and confused. Fights aren't her forte, the chaos is too much for her to keep track of.

The wings are easy to spot, though, and for a terrifying moment Doll is afraid he's going to fly off with Psi around his neck. Tamaki is grabbing one of the wings, that leaves her to deal with the other one-- without doing what they did to Joker's leg. She vaults over Joker's back legs, dropping down under his flared wing and rolling to the side of him.

"Joker stop, please stop!!" Even if there's nothing of him that's watching this, Doll can't so easily separate him from the creature they're fighting right now. She's going to talk to him like she would if he could hear-- because if he could...

She wrestles with his other wing, trying to drag the tip down and into one of the traps.

Edited 2017-11-13 02:06 (UTC)

Ginko works on getting his limbs secured by the traps, as well, wincing as he dodges a flapping wing. Then he moves over by Psi, flipping his pack open and grabbing a syringe and bottle in one hand. The other he sets on Joker's neck, feeling out the jugular vein.

"Hold him still," he repeats. He lets go of the deer's neck long enough to prepare the syringe, filling it with anesthetic from the bottle. Enough to put him to sleep, stop the heart - quick and painless.

...As painless as it can be when they've already broken his leg.

Ginko keeps his hands steady, and within moments, he finds the vein again, slides the needle into it, and pushes down the plunger.

There's too much going on, there's too much happening, there's too many people. Somehow, the feeling of too many hands on it is what really sends it into a panic. The Peryton doesn't have the memory- his clear memories, all the way back- to say why this distresses him so much, but it does. This is bad, this is dangerous, this is the worst possible thing that could happen to him, he needs to get free-

The struggling intensifies, for all that there's not much he can do. Not when two pairs of hands go to grab his wings. Shrieking in fear, he tries to dig his talons in further and trash. This means putting more pressure on an already shattered leg, but he barely notices. Adrenaline and fear are too all consuming.

But, then, he barely notices the needle, either... until it pierces flesh.

There's a jolt, and the struggling renews itself only to grow weaker. It's fast, noticeable, and the Peryton keens deep in his throat. "Stop," Doll's voice gasps from his mouth, even as he sways. "Please... stop..." Unable to stay upright for much longer, his back legs buckle beneath his own weight, and the wings go slack in Tamaki and Doll's grips. It's probably better to let go, or at least readjust their grips. Even with some structural changes, a Peryton is still a large deer in many ways. Exhausted, drugs flowing quickly through his veins, he starts to sag to one side as unconsciousness takes hold.

"It's..." He still mimics to the end, unable to do anything else and calling for help that he can't truly comprehend. "It's gonna... be..."

And his eyes slide shut.

It doesn't take long for his breath to stop soon after.

It's a close thing, Doll almost gets it in her head that she should tell Ginko to stop, too. That surely they could figure out a different way to do this, one that didn't involve killing Joker, even in a form that didn't recognize them as friends. But she grits her teeth and shuts her eyes, letting Ginko do what he has to without putting more emotional strain on him. It's no doubt hard enough with her voice coming out of his mouth.

She feels the strength start to leave Joker's wings, and she knows it's been done. She holds on for another few seconds, telling herself to be steady, to see it all the way through, to not distress him any more than they already had. But she can't, she just can't last long enough. Letting Joker's wing down gently as his body sags to the ground, Doll drapes herself over Joker's shoulder and strokes his feathers.

She feels like she swallowed a box of nails, and they're all going down her throat at once. The pain of being told Joker was dead is nothing compared to feeling his breath coming slower and slower, it's terrifying past the point of rationalization. He's leaving her, he's slipping away, she may never see him again and she was partially responsible.

"It's gonna be alright," she finishes, her voice tight and gravelly as she clings to him and silently begs him to forgive her for this, for everything she's ever done. Seconds pass without her feeling a breath, then a minute. And then she starts screaming.

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puddingemote - 2017-11-20 22:54 (UTC) - Expand

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steadydollypegs - 2017-11-26 23:38 (UTC) - Expand

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dontpokethat - 2017-11-27 00:20 (UTC) - Expand

The daspletosaurus pauses in a restless stalk and scents the air, head raised. With that huge snout he has an amazing sense of smell. No hunters nearby, but then, neither of them have been in this woods for long yet, but there is something up there, and the scent is familiar.

He makes a sequence of noises, higher pitched and more liquid, than the booming calls he's been sending out, and waits, head cocked.

At the moment he can't make any plans more advanced than 'advertise my presence from a distance, then hide and lie in wait', let alone communicate them. But he does still feel a desire to... call out to something that is not his enemy? It's not even that he's hungry, or at least, not too hungry. Probably best to stay in the trees though.

Perhaps because of the corvid in him, the Peryton is at least a bit more capable of thinking complexly... but so far that's just meant hiding in trees and mimicking sounds to throw the hunters about. Many of the other beasts in the forest either run or fight... but the Peryton is well aware of his own weaknesses. There's no good running when he can barely run as it is, with flying not something meant to happen nonstop, and starting a fight seems like a bad idea.

The creature who he's been listening to for some time, rattling his eardrums, is nearer, now. The Peryton can tell that much. His ears twitch at the change of sound, unsure of what to make of it. While he's not sure the creature making it is being used by those hunters... That doesn't mean he's going to leave the trees anytime soon.

Still, after a thoughtful pause, the Peryton carefully shifts what needs shifting, and sends an approximate mimic of the sound right back.

A response! The dinosaur's little hand claws wave in a flapping motion. He moves his head around, walks in a circle, makes a strange whining noise deep in his chest. There's still a syrinx in there, a complicated bony vocal organ down where his trachea divides in two. It's not as flexible as it was.

Still. He spends a moment grunting and clicking and making those odd sort of clucks to himself, staring intently upwards with forwards-facing eyes, not sure what he's trying to do, just that he wants to do it. Call out! In an interesting way! Didn't he used to do this, before, when things were different?

There, this is probably as good as he's going to get for a while. The daspletosaurus repeats a sort of metal-on-metal sound a couple of times, trying for the highest register he has available.

On one level, the Peryton knows that he can't afford this kind of thing. There are hunters all over, creatures he somehow is positive will kill him. Any undue attention will mean the end of him.

...But it's nice, to exchange sounds like this. Pleasant in a way that feels right. Corvids and deer are both extremely social animals, in the end, and a creature that meshes both together is especially so. Being able to exchange sound is almost a soothing balm to the burning fear and aggression inside of him.

Besides, if a hunter comes, the creature down below will be a more immediate target. This is fine.

Patiently, he waits for a more proper return than mere clucking, and his ears perk up when it finally comes. This time, he wastes no time in mimicking the sound right back, only to add a twist of his own. His memory is too strange, warped and foggy, to remember exactly where he heard the strange but bouncy little call, but it doesn't really matter.

If those concerns could be conveyed to the daspletosaurus and he could respond he would indicate that his hearing is excellent and his sense of smell even better. He's got some awareness of where most of the other creatures, and the bipeds, are in this forest. If things were otherwise then the peryton could keep visual watch and he could listen and scent and they could protect each other from surprises, or else perhaps the flyer could lead him to distant prey. And, yes, stealthy though the dinosaur can be he's much easier to get a glimpse of, down on the ground with the hunters. He can afford some attention.

His mouth gapes open and he kind of shuffles in place, heavy feathered tail wafting behind him. The fluttering call is familiar, not that he can place it. He's just pleased to exchange noises, even if they don't mean much. Call-and-response could come to mean something, but for now it's just "I'm here! You're here!", and maybe for himself, I used to sing! I still sing! Isn't that nice?

Making a call like that, multiple high notes in sequence, is beyond him just now Instead, focusing intently, he makes a series of muted pocking noises that build into something too soft and affiliative to really be a growl, halfway between a percolator and a purr.

Edited 2017-11-09 04:32 (UTC)

He's here indeed, and the Peryton kind of likes it- letting his presence be known in such an attention getting way. It'd be better, if there wasn't things lurking in the foliage, seeking to hurt them. Even entertaining the idea of it- a little abstract but possible to the corvid part of him- has the Peryton's attention. Getting attention, messing around, making noise.... It feels nice.

It feels right.

The strange noises that aren't a purr but close enough are low, and, finally, the Peryton carefully navigates his head carefully through the leaves so that his antlers don't get caught in any branches. This makes at least a part of him visible as he looks over the daspletosaurus with a little less in the way. After a moment of curious looking, he finally returns the sound. It's not exactly the same, but it is also a soft noise, and almost seems to rattle in hi throat.

Oh! Hello! The daspletosaurus doesn't have language but that's pretty much what comes to mind. He has a moment of genuine, uncomplicated happiness when the Peryton shows his head that just intensifies when he gives a rattling noise, and he can't smile, but that doesn't bother him. He sort of wriggles and turns a circle, much more quietly than you usually expect of three-ton dinosaurs, and tries to rouse the feathers on his neck and head, though they don't really work quite right for that.

He's working with a much more limited range of available sounds than a creature with a corvid voicebox, so, looking up, he just gives another friendly rumble, jaws closed, the skin on his snout vibrating, and flaps his little, feathered arms a couple of times.

This could probably go on for a while, but the wind changes. He goes silent and casts about, sniffing audibly, feathers standing up in a ridge along his long spine.

Normally, some displays would be aggression, or to chase something off.... Or, you know, to get laid. Considering the exchange they've just had, however, the Peryton is fairly certain he's not being effectively threatened. He's also.... pretty sure he's not being flirted with. (But it's still a possibility.) No, he's pretty sure this is just run of the mill excitement, and he starts to shift a bit to settle down for what seems like what will be a long few moments of silliness.

Of course, then they're both given a harsh reminder of what's really happening in this forest.

The moment his noise companion goes quiet, so does the Peryton, and he immediately starts to pull his head back into the foliage. The only thing that ends up visible is the very tip of his nose, and the shine of his eyes as he waits.

The daspletosaurus's nose is a superb instrument, but a pigeon's nose is pretty good too, if differently calibrated. He knows the Peryton smells familiar, if not quite correct, and associates him with red and wings and antlers. And song. That a few of those were confirmed is delightful, but he doesn't get the chance to work past that.

The hunters aren't close close. He can't hear them yet, even though his ears are pretty good. They are definitely close enough that he can pick out the scents of different individuals. He knows that they, and the beasts, are out here for a reason and that reason is violence, even if he can't quite conceptualize past that. He looks back up, sees that the Peryton has retreated again.

Team up, a part of him says. But it's a very small part of him, and he is very large and can't grasp how to do that, and the thought becomes just a wistful feeling. Singing was fun. It's a shame it can't just continue.

He heaves a great sigh and, filled with regret and resignation, swings his snout from the Peryton's hiding place towards where the closest hunters are, and back. There's a thing over there. Keeping his jaws closed, he sings something that doesn't sound remotely like an animal, a pattern of rising and falling sort of drumbeats.

What he really wants is one more response, but get it or not, after a moment he'll be off, making his challenge-and-warning calls again.

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⇨ END OF EVENT LOG

The Peryton, ver. 2 / OTA prompt

murder time

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