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vander's rescue
Who: Vander, his lovely and brave rescuers, and a whole lotta trouble
What: Vander was kidnapped by Aetós, so the people come to save him! OOC information and plotting can be found here.
Where: “The Zoo” in the Below
When: Sometime in between the TDM and March 17th OOC
Warnings: Violence, references to human experimentation/torture
It’s a long, winding way down into the Below, and you’re being led there by what seems like a girl, though at this point you’re also confident that she’s anything but. She’s fought with Shard-Bearers and held her own but was also captured by them to be questioned. And, in that, she eventually gave a piece of information in return. Her master, Aetós, had kidnapped Vander. If you don’t kill her, she can take you to where he’s being hidden. You can save him before her master makes him wrong.
So, a rescue effort was mounted. With many Shard-Bearers across factions here either to save Vander or simple for the allure of learning more about this mysterious figure, it at least gives you confidence that it can be handled. It’s disorienting down here so far below Springstar, but eventually, she comes to what looks like a sealed-up tunnel. She holds her hands against two particular bricks, and after a moment, they glow with teal light before all the bricks seem to shimmer. Like they all suddenly break, they become floating little motes of light, and a doorway lays before you.
It's a long corridor, but it doesn’t take long before you smell it before you see anything. There’s a largely animal smell here like a zoo, but it’s tinged more heavily with the smells of blood and rot. It’s enough to make a weak stomach heave a bit or at least get the hairs on the back of your neck to stand on end. But still, the girl continues on until you can see the hallway spill out to a large room.
Laying on a dissecting table is some kind of strange animal, but standing over it is a similarly strange masked figure. Some of you know, it’s Aetós.
“Right on time, Adelfoúla,” is all they say as they stand and hold up a silver hand. A complex orb of light appears, and they crush it. In front of you, Adelfoúla only gives a dispassionate ah— that’s followed by the sound of shattering porcelain, and she simply crumbles at the waist. You can rush forward, try to meet Aetós, but calmly, they just say—
“This will be good data. Hopefully you’ll find Vander before he gets eaten.”
And with a tick like the movement of a watch’s hand, they’re simply… Gone. Those sensitive to such things will feel it, the pulse of intense, strong magic, but before you can fully process, you can hear it: the creaking of cage doors opening down the myriad of hallways that line this one large room, the rumble of growls and claws against stone. Vander is somewhere in this maze of a facility, and you have to find him. Or maybe you just have to find what Aetós left behind.
OOC Notes : This log is a catch-all for all efforts related to the Save Vander plot! Including Vander's no fun, very bad time itself! If you'd like to participate in this plot, please see the OOC post. While the text above describes the initial arrival, this log can also be used for pre/post plot Communion, planning beforehand, etc. along with the expected threads in the facility!
What: Vander was kidnapped by Aetós, so the people come to save him! OOC information and plotting can be found here.
Where: “The Zoo” in the Below
When: Sometime in between the TDM and March 17th OOC
Warnings: Violence, references to human experimentation/torture
It’s a long, winding way down into the Below, and you’re being led there by what seems like a girl, though at this point you’re also confident that she’s anything but. She’s fought with Shard-Bearers and held her own but was also captured by them to be questioned. And, in that, she eventually gave a piece of information in return. Her master, Aetós, had kidnapped Vander. If you don’t kill her, she can take you to where he’s being hidden. You can save him before her master makes him wrong.
So, a rescue effort was mounted. With many Shard-Bearers across factions here either to save Vander or simple for the allure of learning more about this mysterious figure, it at least gives you confidence that it can be handled. It’s disorienting down here so far below Springstar, but eventually, she comes to what looks like a sealed-up tunnel. She holds her hands against two particular bricks, and after a moment, they glow with teal light before all the bricks seem to shimmer. Like they all suddenly break, they become floating little motes of light, and a doorway lays before you.
It's a long corridor, but it doesn’t take long before you smell it before you see anything. There’s a largely animal smell here like a zoo, but it’s tinged more heavily with the smells of blood and rot. It’s enough to make a weak stomach heave a bit or at least get the hairs on the back of your neck to stand on end. But still, the girl continues on until you can see the hallway spill out to a large room.
Laying on a dissecting table is some kind of strange animal, but standing over it is a similarly strange masked figure. Some of you know, it’s Aetós.
“Right on time, Adelfoúla,” is all they say as they stand and hold up a silver hand. A complex orb of light appears, and they crush it. In front of you, Adelfoúla only gives a dispassionate ah— that’s followed by the sound of shattering porcelain, and she simply crumbles at the waist. You can rush forward, try to meet Aetós, but calmly, they just say—
“This will be good data. Hopefully you’ll find Vander before he gets eaten.”
And with a tick like the movement of a watch’s hand, they’re simply… Gone. Those sensitive to such things will feel it, the pulse of intense, strong magic, but before you can fully process, you can hear it: the creaking of cage doors opening down the myriad of hallways that line this one large room, the rumble of growls and claws against stone. Vander is somewhere in this maze of a facility, and you have to find him. Or maybe you just have to find what Aetós left behind.
OOC Notes : This log is a catch-all for all efforts related to the Save Vander plot! Including Vander's no fun, very bad time itself! If you'd like to participate in this plot, please see the OOC post. While the text above describes the initial arrival, this log can also be used for pre/post plot Communion, planning beforehand, etc. along with the expected threads in the facility!
no subject
But that won't solve their problem now, Eustace following suit after Kaeya to peel off his own sweater, revealing.....nothing except bare skin underneath. (Look, he runs warm, a single layer's usually been enough.) ]
Body heat's usually the quickest.
[ Speaking from personal experience as a child, as he'd crawled into bed next to his siblings after a long day's play spent outside. Granted, the meanings of certain actions are usually a little different as children compared to as adults, but he's always done what he's needed to without complaint.
He's in the middle of wringing out his sweater as he looks over, expression cool. ]
If you're worried about my personal boundaries, I don't mind.
[ It's not like they're gonna bone in the middle of this creepy hellhole. What's a little platonic cuddling between friends for the sake of keeping warm? ]
no subject
That's exactly what I was going to suggest, so this works out well.
[ He isn't even thinking about the implications since neither of them are close enough to each other to have that sort of tension. Plus, this is about making it through the day so that they can get out of here in one piece. That takes priority over anything else. (It does, however, remind of days when he'd crawl next to a particular redhead whenever the weather gets too cold... but he squashes that memory before it can become more unruly.)
He glances around the area, picks a spot near the wall to settle against. His palm pats the spot next to him. ]
I do have to warn you— I'm not much of a heater, so I might leech your warmth from you.
[ Just stating facts here. ]
no subject
But Kaeya's admittance doesn't bother him, Eustace barely batting an eyelash as he wrings out the last of the water before folding his shirt and setting it off to the side and heading over to where Kaeya sits by the wall. ]
I run hot.
[ Except right now, after he's been dunked in a vat of cold water, but he's confident that with enough time he'll be able to warm back up. Kaeya personal space heater era coming soon....
Dropping down, he takes a seat next to Kaeya, one arm lifting to drape across the other man's shoulders. This would look so heartwarming, a beautiful display of camaraderie, if they weren't half-naked and shivering. As it is, the whole thing just feels kind of awkward. Friendly though they are with each other, it's still not enough for Eustace to want to willing cozy up without threat of a worse fate nipping at his heels. ]
Comfortable?
no subject
It's an awkward moment, but it's one Kaeya welcomes wholeheartedly — if only because he's the one shivering like his own cryo powers backfired on him and Eustace is so unbelievably warm. He wasn't going to cozy up too much until Eustace decided to cross that line instead, one arm now draped along Kaeya's shoulders. He wonders if he'd be allowed to lean into that warmth...
But he'll resist for now. He doesn't want to risk getting pushed away. ]
I'm starting to feel better already. Yourself?
[ He can't be the only one benefiting from this arrangement. ]
no subject
He might be the space heater right now but Kaeya's body, even cooler as it is, goes a long way in helping maintain his warmth in the face of the cool temperatures in the room. ]
I am. [ No point in lying about that, at least. ] Better that we were both here instead of just one or the other.
[ And not just for body heat reasons. ]
no subject
Agreed. I don't believe I could have made it out of that one by myself.
[ The creatures from the water were ferocious indeed. Kaeya knows he would have had trouble dealing with them while he worries about getting himself to safety too. It's likely he might have ended up in a much worse condition if he was all alone at that point, but luckily, Eustace was by his side this time around.
Even better, the Erune is helping to bring back his body temperature to more bearable levels. He no longer holds back and leans against the other's shoulder, relishing the added comfort. ]
I do hope that's the last of this place's surprises... I'd like to be able to investigate in peace.
[ Of course, he's aware he might have just jinxed things, but whatever. He'll deal with any problems as they come. ]
no subject
Well, that is the whole point of them sitting here together like this with no space between them, so apart from a brief glance over as Kaeya worms his way a little closer, Eustace doesn't comment on it. In the grand scheme of things, a little (platonic) cuddling isn't going to ruin lives.
This winding lab though, on the other hand.... He sobers again at the mention of their investigation, lips tugging further into a frown. ]
Is there anything in particular you're hoping to find?
[ Kaeya does have more knowledge and involvement with the situation than he does, after all. ]
no subject
He finds himself staring down the hallways ahead of them when he's asked about what he's hoping to find. ]
Anything that will lead me closer to understanding what Aetós is trying to do here. They've kidnapped too many people already, Vander included, but I still don't know what they want to accomplish. I don't know if we'll find that answer here... It doesn't hurt to try.
[ It's a sobering thought to realize that this masked fellow remains an anomaly simply because of the lack of information. Here's hoping they get lucky today... ]