Shock Mark (11) : Thunderstorms are common this time of year, but what’s not common is the number of people reported being struck by lightning. Strangely, people are surviving with only minor, if any, injuries at all. Being struck can feel like a static shock, or can feel like a sudden flash of heat, and targets are left with a strange lightning mark across their body. If your character encountered the Calamitous Hollow, they may find that the lightning marks have a strange, serpentine shape, and may even seem to slowly twist over their skin, as if alive. Though the marks will fade, for their duration–up to a full week after being struck, you might notice that you are more prone to static shocking yourself or others, and you may notice electronics charging or overcharging and malfunctioning. The marks can take longer to fade at player discretion, or players may choose for them to fade into pale, lifeless scars, but otherwise there are no lasting effects.
He sat on a couch not his own, straight-backed and fingers clicking away at the keys on his laptop. Nataniel kept his eyes resolutely on the screen, though he could tell that his friend's focus was definitely not on their game.
Nataniel was a man with an aversion to change. The things he'd enjoyed as a teenager (such as silly, grindy MMORPS- like the one they were supposed to be playing now) were likely to still bring him some degree of comfort and familiarity, even if he didn't partake in it the same amount he had twenty years ago. As such, the modicum of shame he felt for still participating in such things was generally dwarfed by the sense of security and normalcy. It was easy to decide this was still acceptable, no matter how old he was now.
And he'd thought his companion was on the same page as him... They were the same age and had gone to the same schools, and somehow always ended up living on the same block, and seemed to simultaneously experience shifts in priorities- or at least respected those shifts, generally.
Nataniel wasn't close with Hawthorne the way he was with Tanwyn or Gideon, but they were friends enough with a general politeness between them that was generally not present between people who'd known each other their entire lives.
So Hawthorne's insistant stare at him was... more off-putting than Nataniel had expected...
"You will get us killed if you cannot pay attention to the game," Nataniel uttered, clicking away on his game because he was trying to survive this raid and leave with the spoils they needed for gear upgrades.
Hawthorne's dark eyes flicked briefly down to the screen, then up over it again, peering at Nataniel once more. "It's going fine; I can see everything that's happening. I'm not in danger- neither are you." There was one, singular beat of silence. Hawthorne's lips pursed and his brown furrowed, and then- "Yo, Nat, it's moving, man. Are you sure it's not ringworm or some s**t? Like if it's contagious, you have to say something. You can't get my kid sick."
It was probably a good thing that he was not... super easy to provoke, although Nataniel did feel mildly tested in that moment. "It is not an illness," he clipped back. "Just an injury. It will fade in a few days." Probably.
"I've never seen an injury like that, though. You could at least tell me what caused it."
The weird, jittery lines peeked out of the high collar of his shirt, poking up into his hairline behind his ear, and scattering lower down on his shoulder, where it couldn't be seen beneath his clothes. Nataniel had worn a high collar today specifically to conceal as much of it as possible, but hadn't bandaged it to avoid the whole 'what happened? Are you hurt?' discussion. What little was visible was innocuous enough... He hadn't wanted to draw attention to it.
But it turned out that sitting in a room with another person for a few hours at a time gave them ample opportunity to check out the surroundings.
Nataniel dismissed the questions with a little 'tsk' sound. "Some kind of electrical discharge, I think. It does not even hurt, and Basyl-" Who Hawthorne knew was Nataniel doctor-fiance, "-says it will fade. It is fine."
He tried not to think about how it could only be a good thing that Hawthorne wasn't familiar with marks like these. He hadn't been there. He wasn't like them. He was still just a normal person. Nataniel had not always been so suspicious of everyone he came into contact with... He shook his head. "It will not be contracted to your kid."
"It's moving," Hawthorne repeated. "Just, like- unsettling, I guess? It doesn't bother you?"
"I can barely tell it exists until someone brings it up-" He'd barely said as much when a strange sensation tickled at the tips of his fingers. Nataniel knew what was coming an instant before it happened, but even he could not outspeed electricity. His body tensed, desperately trying to jerk himself away from his device, but a little spark jumped between his fingers and the keys. His laptop made a harsh pitch of sound, then flicked off, all in a manner of an instant. "...Or that happens, I suppose."
And like- maybe he should've known better. Maybe he should've postponed any electronic adventures until the thing went away, but Nataniel had a deep loathing for being inconvenienced, and the stupid mark should just be visual- it shouldn't be able to-
He puffed out a sigh. Whatever.
"Nevermind it, then," he grumbled, mechanically closing his laptop and reaching to put it in his bag adorned with a pretty charm. "You are worried about it being contagious, and apparently it will impede anything I touch... We can call it here for today and try again in a couple weeks."
Hawthorne's wide eyes were glued to Nataniel only briefly, and then they riveted down to his screen with more focus than he'd shown the game all session. "Now who's leaving me to fend for myself? Ugh, I really am gonna die in this dungeon! So lame, Nat! You shoulda said something like this could happen sooner!"
Well, now they were both annoyed. Which Nataniel thought was better than him being annoyed alone. So that was that.
