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maria hill

( open ) we turn away

CHARACTERS: Maria Hill + OPEN
LOCATION: Hallways
WARNINGS: It's dark in here
SUMMARY: Maria likes keeping an eye on things. Something changing isn't hard to notice
NOTES: Open throughout the second half of the month

( Whilst Maria tried not to actually venture into the darkened areas of the corridors - not alone, anyway - she could sometimes be found on there. She wasn't Security, and this wasn't a patrol in so much as it was the fact that Maria liked to know things. Waiting for information hardly ever got you anywhere, and if you got it you might not always get the full story.

It was whilst Maria was walking the halls, looking for either signs that something had changed, a new message or well- anything that she heard it. The creaks and bangs coming from the direction of the darkened corridor was certainly something that Maria hadn't heard before, and she stopped in her walk, listening again for them.

The noises continued and Maria took a couple of steps closer to the darkness, hovering almost on the edge. Something was down there - or was that just the noise of the ship? She knew how broken it was - had seen images from Shepard's recon. She'd never heard the noises before. Was it really breaking, or was something about to change? )

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[Levi, too, should probably know better than to go wandering off by himself... But given everything else that's been going on he'd needed a distraction, and this is as good as any and (with any luck) productive to boot. He's always preferred the sort of tension that comes from watching his own ass to the much more useless and annoying kind that he's been dealing with since the jump, anyway.

He knows he won't be able to keep himself from checking Erwin's pod every few hours unless he has something better to do... This is what he's choosing to pass that time with.

And it looks like he isn't the only one, either, not that he's all that surprised. What else is there to do around here...?

He approaches the stranger- and the noisy darkness- quietly, and not without a bit of caution. You can never be too careful around here...]

That doesn't sound good.

( There's a small turn from Maria, looking at the owner of the unfamiliar voice. It seems that she wasn't the only one with this idea. It was good to keep an eye on the ship )

No, it doesn't.

( It wasn't just it being an unfamiliar noise but the type of noise that it was. Breaking, or something hiding and banging. Nothing good came from either of those ideas )

I haven't heard it before.

[F r o w n. That's even less good, honestly.]

Maybe something else escaped-- [How fucking annoying... It definitely sounds like something's moving around down there... Levi squints into the dark to no avail, both hands dropping to the hilt of his blades before he takes a few steps forward, the tips of his boots lingering just outside the shadows.] But whatever it is sounds like it's making a mess.

[Levi fucking hates messes.....

He leans forward, cautiously, rigid like he's waiting for a giant arm to grab him by the ankle and drag him down the hall... Not afraid... But not stupid, either. He hasn't forgotten the damn mold.]

...Do you have a torch?

[It's time to play 'Old fashioned or European'; the lack of accent probably rules out the former...

Don't judge.]

( The lack of accent also rules out the latter. She's American. What she doesn't have is a torch. Maria might keep an eye out on the corridors, more looking for something in the lit areas than heading into the darkness )

I'm wishing I did.

( Even if going into the darker areas was generally a bad idea they'd also never heard this before - or been given a heads up for something changing. Or breaking. Something was happening no matter what it was )

I usually stay on this side of the shadows.

That's probably for the best... It doesn't look like we're gonna have that luxury for long, though. We can't have the damn ship falling apart from the inside.

[Something needs to be done, and he's just restless enough to think himself just the asshole for the job. He makes an impatient sort of sound before turning away from the darkness and moving to step down the hall.]

There has to be a light somewhere around here, something portable...

[He isn't above boosting something from anywhere he can, up to and including any unlocked doors he can find nearby.]

( At least there was someone else worried about the damage. People mentioned fixing things up, and the shuttles, but little talked about how badly broken this place was - with the amount of holes in it. Maybe it was denial, not wanting to acknowledge that they could die just as easily if the ship did break )

One of the empty rooms might have something. Or a kitchen.

[It's the opposite, in Levi's case, a fact he'd made abundantly clear to Eren when he'd arrived at the Jump- the structural integrity of the Tranquility is probably the single most important factor to keep track of here. Come hell or high water, the walls need to be preserved.

It's like home, in that way, and since Levi's powerless to affect any change there... He'll see to it that he's useful here.

And if that means taking a walk in the dark to make sure everything is safe and sound and not gnawed on or banged around, so be it.]

Right. [BUT FIRST:] Where-- [He lets out a soft, almost inaudible sigh. This place is big and intentionally confusing, and he's still new- he'd rather not waste time stalking the halls aimlessly when there's another option. Help a brother out...?] ...Which way to the kitchen?

( He says that as if she's familiar with every floor. There are a lot of them. Luckily maria was familiar with this floor - after moving down to the lower levels, or smaller numbered levels, Maria had spent more time on those floors. Knowing where the kitchen was across a range of floors helped just in case )

Come on.

( It was better to go with him - to show him, and maybe even go into the darkness prepared. At least having someone with them meant that they might have a slightly better chance in there. If things didn't go as they normally did. Although-

Maria frowns, looking back to the darkness. She'd been just about to turn, walk towards the kitchen but something looked different, and then this time she saw it happening )

We might not need that light. ( She gave a small nod to the hall ) The darkness is further back.

[It's hard to be less familiar with the layout of this place than Levi. He's faring better now than he was when he'd arrived, obviously, but on top of trying to memorize the twists and turns he has the fish out of water thing working against him, too. This place looks nothing like anything he's ever seen before.

Getting used to all of the spaceman shit is taking longer than he'd like. He's working on it!!

And so he'd been ready to follow Maria to the kitchen without hesitation; turning back to see what she's talking about changes things a bit, though. He knows he isn't crazy- it's definitely brighter.]

It's... Moved?

[Not unheard of- a light goes on and the darkness recedes, that's how it works- but there's something unsettling about this. Unnatural. Alive...?

He narrows his eyes, not taking them off of the hallway.]

...I'm gonna guess that isn't typical either.

[What the fuck, Creepy Deathship. What the fuck.]

Never seen it happen before.

( New things on the ship were always a point of curiosity, especially when it was something that could help them find out something new. There was always a risk of it being a trap - they were close to the hallways and it could be a lure to get them in there but it was worth the risk if there was something else there. The sounds and now the light were both new )

You want to take a look?

( That's what they'd been planning before, and she'd do it now even without that light. They had a little more light already, and maybe the hallway would get brighter still. They might be able to see more )

[Knowing how things go around here (even after a short a time as the month he's been around) Levi can't dismiss the possibility that it's a trap...

But if something's wrong he thinks it's worth taking that chance, and so he steps forward again with a nod, determined to find a light first just in case.]

A light's still a good idea, but yeah. I'm not just gonna sit here with my thumb up my ass-- [He tries his arm at the first door they come to, and to his surprise it actually slides open.] ...Huh.

[Excuse him while he just digs through shit like he owns the place. It's for a good cause and so he doesn't feel bad taking a light if he finds one; he'll return it, maybe, provided he doesn't get himself killed screwing around in the hallway.]

( She might not say it but Maria is glad that she's not walking into that hallway alone. It's not for fear as much as it being a better idea to have someone with her, even if everything could still go wrong then. This time the part of the hallway they're in is still light, and if that changes she'll advocate stepping back out there - and staying near to the end of the hall, just in case.

Preservation is better than recklessness, even if it might not get them where they need to be. Hopefully just enough. Maybe more if a light could help )

Anything there?

( She's watching more than helping, although she's not entirely confident that they could find a flashlight. She didn't remember them for before - minus anything that recon had used )

[Levi huffs.]

Nothing yet. [He sounds offended, like it's the room's fault it isn't prepared for someone to come in and pull it apart for something specific.] Seems like the sort of shit the place should have around-

[If he can't find anything... There's always fire. Kickin' it old school, u kno how we do.

Or would do, anyway. Fortune seems to smile on them for the moment when Levi kneels to dig through the desk beside the room's bed; after a few more moments of searching through what feels like a pile of spare parts (?) he lifts a light up over his shoulder for Maria to see.

SUCCESS. Or half success:]

One's gonna have to be enough, all that's left in here is a bunch of junk.

One'll do. The longer we wait- it might disappear.

( Whatever was making those noises and playing with the lights. Maybe the lights would go back off and they'd miss their opportunity. Hopefully they'd find something before that happened - anything )

Come on.

( She heads back out of the room, barely waiting for him before making her way back to the corridor, seeing that the light had moved back another few inches. What was going on? )

Right.

[No argument here- Levi follows Maria quickly enough ~~even with his stumpy ass corgi legs~~ and notes also that the dark seems to have slunk back even further since they've been gone.

This time, though, rather than stand there like an asshole Levi heads down into the corridor without hesitation. The flashlight remains at his side, switched off until and unless they need it. Battery power is just familiar enough from his time as a Traveler that he knows better than to waste it.]

How long had it been making noise before I showed up? Were you there by yourself for long?

Twenty minutes?

( She hadn't kept a check on how long that she'd been there but it certainly hadn't felt too long. It had taken a while before the darkness had started receding - or Maria hadn't entirely noticed it at first, focusing more on the noises )

When I got there I could already hear the noise. Maybe when we find the cause we'll find out how long it had been going on.

( Whether it was something, someone or just the ship itself )

Mm. It sounds like scraping or scratching- there could be some sort of trail. This thing... [He taps his pocket, the small square bulge of his communicator.] It can record, but can it take stationary pictures too?

[Photographs is the word he's looking for, not that he knows that.]

It could be helpful to document it, if we can't follow it all the way.

[Still light where they are now, and no marks to be seen. No sign of anything, in fact.

HOW USELESS...!]

I haven't tried before.

( Not a selfie fan. Oops. BUT- )

We could always record it. If anything happens we'd be able to see our path back out from the video.

( And looking back later they might see something that they'd missed before. The more documentation could only be better. And so Maria pulled her phone out, setting go the video even though there was yet anything to see. If something came out of no where they'd catch it quicker than any reaction )

Whatever it is might be far down. The halls are good for echoing.

[ Maria's not the only one out. Natasha's out, too, making it her own business to explore the ship. She'd been warned to stay away from the dark halls, but Natasha's also never been one to strictly follow orders if she doesn't have to -- and besides, the noises alone were enough to make her want to head down them to find out what's going on.

She's armed, but not yet dangerous, and she stops a few feet behind Maria. ] I take it this isn't normal?

[ Natasha finishes her approach after asking the question, holstering her gun and stopping just on the edge of the darkness, peering down into it. ] What's in there?

No.

( Her voice is a little quieter than normal, listening to the sounds, still internally debating about what the cause of the noises was )

I don't usually go down the corridors. ( Not unless she really has to ) I know the ship is heavily damaged. Don't know if the noise is that or something hidden.

[ Natasha narrows her eyes, and glances at Maria. ] Think it's dangerous?

It's always an option.

( Without being able to look and really know Maria couldn't be fully certain. It was a good bet that it was likely. The dark corridors were usually dangerous, either for leading people away or trapping them. There was always something bad at the end of them )

I don't know if there's something else down there or if it's just the ship.

( It would be a very good hiding place for something that was doing this )

There's only one way to find out--[ Her sentence is abrupt because Natasha's glanced down. Her feet were right on the edge of the darkness, but now there's at least an inch, maybe two, between them. She slides her foot forward, so her toe is touching the edge again. ] Interesting.

( Maria would have followed up with Natasha's first statement, asked her plan - even gone with her, although following Natasha's gaze gave her something else to focus on. Something very different. The darkness was moving )

That hasn't happened before.

( Has it ever come more out? Sucking them in, or did it just trap them when they were already there? Or whatever it was in the darkness - Maria wasn't quite sure she wanted to say it was shadows that were doing it )

Maybe we'll get to see what's down there.

You've never tried to look? [ She shifts closer to it, tries to peer down the hallway, frowning as another one of those noises comes from deep within. ]

And get lost?

( That's what had happened to others before. She'd been in once - looking for those people but even in a group they'd been split up. It wasn't an experience people tended to often repeat )

It's the one thing most people stay away from. Most hallways things are fine, in the darker ones it's usually trouble. Last time we were split up- shown rooms of memories. It was too easy to get lost in the memory.

( And die if you couldn't get out )

There used to be recon teams. They stopped after that.

( After their leader died )

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( open ) we turn away

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UGH I STG I KNOW WHAT 'FORMER' AND 'LATTER' MEAN lmfao whyyyy

shh i thought that was done on purpose

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE IN ME, MAN

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