beleos: (Default)
beleos ([personal profile] beleos) wrote in [community profile] kenoslogs2023-04-21 04:58 pm

The Seeds of Unrest, Phase Two 🌱


UPROOTED
Time has not been kind thus far, and the future will be no kinder.

The slow passage of days to weeks has seen both cities increasingly ravaged by the untamed growth of the enlarging roots. Their size is enough to uproot buildings by their foundations, if not bisect them entirely where they push through unfettered. In the worst-hit areas, entire blocks are left abandoned - if even standing at all, displacing families and leaving businesses in ruins.

Cetina and Kathova have been in near constant contact with Bearers via Communion, feeding them information about which areas to focus their lifesaving efforts. Yima’s Manor and the Seat of the Tribune - despite their closeness to the Trees - have been fortified by your leaders and act as a base of operations for each respective faction. You will be able to return to either to find sanctuary from the chaos beyond, but the innumerable civilians are not so lucky.

Bearers are tasked with rescue and recovery efforts and requested to assist hands on the ground with taking refugees to temporary shelters. Survivors must be dug out of the debris. Those who are capable of healing will be enlisted to assist at hospitals and triage centers. Supplies must be gathered and harvested from areas that are collapsed and too dangerous for civilians to navigate. If you are feeling generous, you can go on search and rescue missions, as many people are considered missing in both Highstorm and Springstar. Some areas are completely cut off to regular foot traffic by the massive, winding roots bearing countless Blight-blooms. Citizens are succumbing to the Blight flower’s effects persistent from phase one with more and more frequency.

While both cities slowly succumb to a deepening catastrophe, the situation worsens.

STIRRING STORMS

As the days pass, inexplicable and unnatural weather occurrences will randomly plague both cities. They can last as long as a full day or as little as an hour before dissolving entirely.
  • Flurries: this snow is tainted by the Blight, making the snowfall look like ash. Any organic matter it touches will be affected by reopening wounds, re-infection of illnesses, or re-experiencing injuries that may have healed over years ago.
  • Thunderstorms: these storms carry a frigid rainfall and heavy cloud cover, making already difficult-to-navigate disaster zones harder to clear. As each thunder bellow crashes overhead, you might swear you hear a familiar voice reaching out to you in the fading rumble… one that sends a message - either from the future or past.
  • Fog: dense clouds of thick, freezing fog will roll in randomly, making visibility even more precarious. In your search for survivors - or your companions, you may find yourself coming face to face with someone else, instead: a version of yourself (or a companion) from another timeline. You may also hear your own voice calling out to you from within the fog, attempting to beckon you further into the mist.
  • General Note: Exposure to any of the above weather patterns will increase your Blight infection.
THE BLIGHT COMES FOR ALL
As if it were not enough to see the cities that have become your salvation at the end of the Timestream falling to collapse and ruin, the Bearers will slowly begin to realize their previous immunity to the Blight is eroding. They will begin to show symptoms of infection that increase into May’s event. ( For more information on the effects of the Blight and purification methods, please see the OOC Summary. )

Now that their last bastion - the Bearers - are just as much in harm’s way as everyone else, the populous’s efforts to formulate a temporary stop-gap solution are being rushed to completion. Time is not on anyone’s side. They will continue to work with those who have been kind enough to volunteer their resources and brilliant minds - collecting materials and attempting to figure out a way to avert their otherwise inevitable destiny.

ORDERS

Orders from your leaders will come as soon as infections among the Bearers have been confirmed.

🌙 YIMA will stress for all Zenite Bearers to prioritize their well-being and to avoid unnecessary exposure, to manage their symptoms as much as possible. They must fight for their own survival to bring in the birth of a new universe - and their lives are too precious to risk. Beyond that, she asks them to save what they can of their people and their most critical structures with the understanding that hard choices may be necessary.

🌞 CYRUS will implore all Meridian Bearers to prioritize the general population's lives and turn their efforts to save as much of Springstar as they can. He will note that Bearers have ways to help keep one another from suffering too much contagion and to coordinate their usages appropriately, to keep one another safe, and watch their backs.

ANOTHER EN-TREE-TY
The Tree of Life continues to sicken, yet - thankfully - the progression of the Blight is slow. Still, Bearers will find themselves occasionally compelled to take a moment to sit beneath its boughs and vibrant leaves, even as some begin to show signs of discoloration and rot. Any characters who sit with the Tree with the purple leaf they found on their person after phase one will find it warming to the touch, its veins laced with gold. This effect will be even more effective if taken into the cavernous roots beneath the Tree! While this may fill you with a temporary sense of calm, it doesn't seem to have any other effects... yet still, you are compelled, if not curious.

The Tree has offered you this gift for a reason. Perhaps you will find its use before long.

...As long as you - and Kenos - survive long enough to discover it.

CODING
appeale: (take me back with open arms)

[personal profile] appeale 2023-04-27 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
[ as much as it is a relief, a literal godsend, to be given sanctuary outside the Blight's reach—though she only stays here when Set does too, fearful of both the dangers of the Beyond and the threat of burdening her lifeline—there's a certain pressure that comes with Set's presence. Rudbeckia feels a desperate compulsion to make herself useful to her patron, and in this place, stunning as it is... there's very little to do. she can clean the shrine until it sparkles, but eventually, there isn't a square inch of space left untidied.

generally, if someone has a guest, she ought to make herself scarce so as not to bother them, but maybe— ]


Um, Set? Signora? [ she peers around the doorway from inside the shrine, the shape of the dragon slumbering peacefully behind her. ] I'm sorry to interrupt, I thought that I should offer a greeting. While the two of you talk, would you like some...

[ she looks around at the things scattered across the floor. ]

... wine? I think that's all we have.
intervener: (â–  balm of gilead.)

[personal profile] intervener 2023-04-27 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
[ for the amount of time that Link is submerged in the hole, Vash is beginning to grow concerned - concerned that the other man might push himself too far, too hard, in an effort to grapple for something that may or may not be within his reach. it isn't implausible for the look that had been in Link's eyes; Vash knows that look, that desperation, the hunger to believe that there is something yet left to save. the hope that it isn't too late.

but it seems their faith has been rewarded.

when Link jerks back up and out of the hole, sucking in a lungful of air, dripping rainwater and muddied from the dirt and debris down below - someone's arm, small and clearly a child's, comes with him. Vash's waning strength immediately becomes bolstered, a second wind rushing through him, and-- ]


--You got them! [ there is a surge of gratitude and renewed hope in his voice. ] Can you widen the hole? Careful-- the ground around here isn't the most stable and we don't want to drop anything on them, but they might need some help wiggling free!

[ LINK, SWEETIE, YOU'RE DOING GREAT HE IS SO PROUD OF YOU BABY KEEP IT UP ]
diversionist: (r1 » chatter.)

[personal profile] diversionist 2023-04-27 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ cassian cannot be said to understand the mind of a child.

it would never have occurred to him, even in his right mind, to play at bravado to preserve the little boy's sense of safety in the world. he has no notion of what it is to be a child and take adults for unbreakable bastions, shields against the world. he was so young when his parents died, and his sister was even younger. he'd needed to take care of her: that is the remembered sense that comes from many of his earliest memories. maybe some of the older orphans, infinitely wise and strong, had come close to this feeling; or maybe they had, until the republic shattered that illusion. there were the andors, later, but even his first months with them were wound up with a knowledge of their limits, of their mistakes. and it was only a few short years later till the empire asserted its presence on ferrix, saw one strung up in the square and the other's nerves and health fractured.

no, cassian doesn't know children. but he does know protection, and he'd understand the command for what it was. and when the child cries out happily, there's a flicker of a smile that tugs at cassian's mouth. here and gone like a bolt of lightning, but no less real for its brevity. they've done something right, here. it's so rare that he's felt he's done some unqualified good.

he watches the movements, dispersal of the sand. he finds hand- and foot-holds and makes himself start moving again, and though his eyes are fixed on his task he can see the blanket of particles in the periphery of his vision. not gone. but hadn't he said? i will not let you fall, as surely as i will not concede until you are safe. maybe cassian isn't the only one to have a sense, now, of the other's convictions. and the reassurance is good, to make him force himself to move down, then again, then again. the conversation is better. his heart still pounds overloud, his hands aren't as steady as he'd like, but he can move, and he can focus on something besides what nearly happened. ]


Who said anything about debt? [ in contrast to that earlier fleeting smile, his tone is brisk. matter-of-fact. more himself, he'd, say, hard and practical man that he is. ] I wanted you to know. Now you know.

[ he keeps moving, glances down to check his footing. the ground isn't far off now. ]
Edited 2023-04-27 00:55 (UTC)
muchalucha: (pic#16286358)

hallo 2 hallo communication

[personal profile] muchalucha 2023-04-27 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ Like a deflating balloon! Sad! But Quetzalcoatl just looks happy and relieved that he finally says… something! It’s still not totally encouraging for how he’s doing, but it’s progress! ]

¡Buenos días!

[ She laughs and lets go of his hand, at least (or sadly, maybe), but considering how softly he’s speaking, she still stays leaned forward over him so she can hear. ]

Waking up a little more now? Did you just pass out on me, hm?
muchalucha: (pic#16300796)

nnnoooo html

[personal profile] muchalucha 2023-04-27 01:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ She looks surprised by the accusation, but she’s quick to shake her head. ]

No, no, absolutely not! I had actually tried to find you after to apologize about the arm, but I couldn’t… [ Whether it was a crowd of adoring fans or Gen getting embarrassed and running away, who knows! She sure doesn’t! ] I try and match to the people I’m fighting so it’s more fun, but I was a little off because of your arm and ears. I’m still learning how to match people, yes?

[ Since honestly, she’d assumed that combo meant he wasn’t human and could take a little more of her taking things seriously, but. Oops. She shakes her head again, since though she’d apologize for that more, there’s still the matter at hand. Somewhat literally, since with a soft noise she reaches out to grab another piece of large rubble. ]

Ah, I’ll apologize more later! Yes, I’m looking under here. I can move things, no problem, but I don’t have any way to tell if there’s anyone under.
lifespanned: (pic#15666244)

[personal profile] lifespanned 2023-04-27 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
[ She can't even get annoyed at the gruff statement, since she can feel that little bubble of relief through their connection. It'd be fun to tease him about it, if only they both weren't completely drenched from the rain, and she wasn't freezing cold. ]

It's been coming and going.... I was kinda hoping this one would pass in an hour, but it's still raining.

[ So yes, she's been sitting here for the better part of an hour, too tired and and cold to really make a concerted effort to escape. It is what it is. She's sure she'll make it out, or that Gen or someone else will come along to bail her out — she tends to be lucky, that way.

Still shivering, she tucks her hands against the underside of her jaw in a futile attempt to get some warmth from her own body, raising her eyes to look at him just as he's finishing up squeezing out his hair. She hasn't seen him in a hot minute, his hair looks longer. For some strange reason, she feels like she's never seen him do this particular action before? Huh... why is that... ]


— Wait, since when have you been a cyborg?!

[ She blurts out, unable to keep in her surprise or her probably badly timed question. She's curious, she can't help it?? ]
lifespanned: (pic#15666255)

[personal profile] lifespanned 2023-04-27 01:36 am (UTC)(link)
Hee hee. You think so?

[ She beams at the praise, pulling herself back to look at Gavial fully. ]

I can do it to other people, too. So if I could just reach this person... it'll be easy to pull them out.

[ But the other girl says she's strong, so there's no problems there, right? Now finally following Gavial's advice, she stands up and takes the requested step back, watching her as she works. Most of the upper levels of rubble are big slabs of concrete walls that have tumbled down, and have layered on top of one another in haphazard ways — almost like Jenga, but with rocks instead of wooden sticks. ]

But that's a pretty neat trick yourself. Being able to lift stuff like that must come in handy... I'm no good at things like that.
goldendeceiver: (all these years later)

i-a

[personal profile] goldendeceiver 2023-04-27 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ There are people in both cities that need a lot of help, and Ernesto has been doing his best to split his time in the interest of fairness, and to not look like he's favoring one faction or another. Unlike Gavial who has a very real need to use her Arts, Ernesto's limited Arts abilities aren't going to come in hand much here.

Some common sense to curb the worst of his recklessness, and enough strength to carry around a civilian looking worse for the wear is about all he needs. Maybe not a lot of help to someone who can heal someone like magic, but--

Oh...? Well, maybe more help than he realized, as he pauses after helping the woman he brought in down onto the cot.
]

Not sure how much more help I'll be, but I can give it a go.
lifespanned: (pic#11743275)

[personal profile] lifespanned 2023-04-27 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ Well, as much as she had the intentions of going into this interaction high and mighty, and trying to laude power over Akua... something about that effortless friendliness that Akua meets her with has her expression pinching. Oh, so she's just going to act like nothing happened, huh? She thinks she has the right to ask her for favors? She'd like it more if she at least asked a little nicer, or begged! ]

And why should I do that?

[ She huffs, pursing her lips, keeping her impulsive temper in a chokehold in the recesses of her mind. Instead, her words just come out pouty, whiny. ]

You're the one who tried funny business last time.

[ What reasons does she have not to leave Akua here in the mist? The question is more asked in effort to get Akua to kiss up to her more, out of a petty desire to have leverage after all that had happened in the Scorching Isles — rather than really needing to be convinced. She's already made her decision about what she'll do... she'd just like to stroke her wounded ego for a bit beforehand. ]
erbe: (183)

1/2

[personal profile] erbe 2023-04-27 01:59 am (UTC)(link)
[The sheer size of the arm tilts Vash's tall form back on Rin. She leans in against his back to keep him upright enough to aim properly. Together they make a terrifyingly grandiose display of raw power. Rin holds him steady with what little strength she has left, but it's clear that if this gamble doesn't pay off it'll all be over.

The result of the decisive confrontation isn't learned. The moment the creature's attack meets their counter the world turns white. Like a flash so brilliant that it burns away the fabric of existence. Or, at least... the existence that was created around them. The two of them, together, rejecting the narrative of the nightmare. Refusing to accept the false reality. The forest is gone, her sister is gone, Illya is gone... but that also means there is nothing to fear. Nothing to protect nor anything to run from.

Just the two of them. Raw. Alone. Surviving.

Together. He did it. They did it? Yeah. They did it together.]
erbe: (175)

[personal profile] erbe 2023-04-27 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
[The only issue is that when they 'come to' it's still within the dream. Whatever had an iron grip of their combined unconsciousness still continues to hold them. It also means that Rin finds herself crushed under the tall, lanky figure of Vash with his hair sticking into her face.

Futile attempts at shoving him are made.]


Get off me, you giant twig!
sharethememory: ([trailer] 013)

Vash

[personal profile] sharethememory 2023-04-27 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ Sloppy.

That's the first thing that comes to Zhongli's mind as he can no longer feel the tips of his fingers. Karma, the miasma of fallen gods that could twist and infect all around it - these where things Zhongli was intimately familiar with. He had always been careful and rational about exposure to ensure that he would not become the threat he was trying to push back.

Perhaps it was the lost time. Perhaps it was the fact the very weather chilled him to his bones in a way that no amount of warm clothing or tea could warm him up. Either way, he has overestimated how much the Blight he could withstand, and now making it back to the safety of one of the Zenite camps seemed like a momentous task, and one that scratched at his pride more than a little.

Ah, he'd never be able to call one of those younguns from Teyvat reckless again, now could he?

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Zhongli takes a moment to glance around at the hunk of rubble that used to be a thriving part of the city overtaken by vines and flowers and Blight. Not ideal. If someone was trapped further in, there would be no safe passage from them to traverse the Blight. Just a little more - as long as he did not touch anything, his own afflictions with the Blight should not worsen. Then he would return.

So Zhongli raises a hand that he cannot feel, golden glow wrapping around his palm. If he hears the other Shard-Bearer approach (a certain possibility as he is still alert if winded), with a slight tilt of his head:
]

If you could be patient, I shall have the path forward cleared in a moment.
Edited 2023-04-27 02:23 (UTC)
goldendeceiver: (but get your epitaph right)

[personal profile] goldendeceiver 2023-04-27 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
[ The plea from the leader of Zenith to take care of himself first and foremost went unheard by Ernesto, but the request to help save as many citizens as possible from the head of Meridian did as well. Being unharmonized brings a number of downsides along with it, even if it does mean he gets to be a free agent beholden to no one.

It also means that in a fight for survival like this, he doesn't have any real allies either. There are people who will help him, and he's certainly been doing his own fair share of helping to the best of his abilities, but he doesn't have that handy, baked-in set of comrades who have a vested interest in his well being.

So the position he finds himself in now is a pretty tricky one. His tail hangs limply behind him, as numb and cold as his fingers and toes that have long since moved past the first red flush of frostbite into a more concerning, dulled gray color that makes them harder to move. It really had seemed like he was safe from the Blight when this had all started, no matter how many effected people he came into contact with, but all luck eventually runs out, huh?

He's slow to turn his head at the sound of his voice, ears too stiff to perk up like they usually would as well. Despite it all he still manages a smile as he holds up a discolored looking hand in a friendly wave at the woman approaching him.
]

Not a great time to be out and about, Miss Misa.
epiprocta: (39)

i saw nothing ;D

[personal profile] epiprocta 2023-04-27 02:31 am (UTC)(link)
[ His expression had been crinkling with discomfort, and he barely lets her finish before giving a dismissive wave of the hand and a click of the tongue. ]

Whatever. I don't need your apologies.

[ Because it's worse? It's worse that she wants to apologize for not pulling her punches enough??? He doesn't need that sort of condescension??? Ugh. He's hates dealing with these superpowered fantasy freaks.

But he said he'd help, so. Gen takes a deep breath as he assesses the pile of rubble, brow furrowed as he tries to figure out how far in to start; reflexively, he rubs a hand at his (flesh) arm, trying to ward off the strange chill that's been cutting through his veins all afternoon for some reason. ]


I can scope this one for you. But I need a break after this, been doing this all day. [ His voice lowers to a wearier mumble when he adds, almost more to himself than directed at her, ] ... god, I feel like shit.
sharethememory: ([screenshot] 041)

Marc

[personal profile] sharethememory 2023-04-27 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ One thing that Zhongli greatly appreciated about Lady Yima was her pragmatism. Her words were wise - ones probably the result of having to lose many of her followers through the years. But Zhongli was also not one to stay in safety while others less fortunate than himself faced perils beyond their ability. And so he finds himself with another Shard-Bearer, helping lift a slab of rubble high overhead so that a trapped family (a mother and two children) could scurry out of the cramped space, eyes wide and frightened at the destruction around them.

One of the soldiers of Highstorm quickly averts their gazes, bowing respectfully to both Marc and Zhongli as he tells them that he will bring them out of danger. With a thump of one fist against his chest, the soldier is off carrying the smaller child as the mother and older son crowd behind.

Drip drop. Drip drop.

Dark clouds begin to collect overhead, thunder rumbling in the distance, as Zhongli allows the slab to fall back down upon the Earth, kicking up white dust and ash into the already darkening sky.

Wonderful.

(Zhongli swears he hears the sound of a bell chiming and the offended squawk of a bird. He ignores both.)

Turning to his companion:
]

I do believe a storm is coming. We should get any other survivors out quickly.
gravings: (010b)

[personal profile] gravings 2023-04-27 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ Gray looks at the offered hand, its owner becoming more shrouded in gloom by the moment, and takes it without hesitation. Her hold is soft and polite, but solid with the real worry that they might lose each other if she lets go. ]

My house shouldn't be too far.

[ She'll pull Rin along without delay, nervous of the bad feeling starting to come over her. ]

I haven't been to Highstorm lately. What's happening there?
Edited 2023-04-28 05:47 (UTC)
settingup: (revolve around me)

3-A

[personal profile] settingup 2023-04-27 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ Even for someone who sleeps like a log, sleep has been hard to come by of late. The things that are happening in both of the cities are as unnerving as they are horrendous, and the ramping up of the Blight has begun to overwhelm Atsumu. He's still only exhibiting early stages of it himself, probably helped by the blue flowers that Kaeya had gently encouraged Atsumu to keep in his own room. After long days of helping out in the disaster that Highstorm is quickly becoming, holding the pot that contains a couple of blooms close to his body has acted as a security blanket for him.

But whether or not it has helped to keep the Blight from completely wrecking havoc on him, no one can be out there for long without succumbing to it. His limbs are fine, and his blood still runs smooth and liquidy through his veins.

But as he finds himself nodding off, exhausting ripping consciousness away from him, he's still finding himself transported to a dream world unlike anything his brain would ever cook up on it's own.

He's a spectator in all of this, but his own stomach still twists up anxiously as he watches. This is no longer the first time that he's seem someone die. That has long since past, but he's yet to become desensitized enough to horrors for this to stop affecting him, and by the time the dying man is offering some sort of perverse congratulation for his own murder, Atsumu is stumbling over his own legs to try to walk backwards away from this grotesque theater. Even in a real setting he would be making a lot of noise in his attempt to get away, but in a dream like this the sound seems to echo particularly loud and damning.
]
gravings: (065)

[personal profile] gravings 2023-04-27 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
[ Gray is in a right state of shock by the time Ruby starts to pull her away; she offers no resistance and follows along as mindlessly as a balloon on a string.

The alleged King Arthur, on the other hand, watches them go for a pensive moment before following at her own leisurely pace. She becomes shrouded in fog as Ruby and Gray outpace her, but the measured steps of her boots click quietly after them.

Gray has swiftly becomes submerged in panic, questions speeding through her mind until they crash into walls of dread. Her breathing has become too fast and shallow without her realizing it; it may be up to Rudbeckia to rattle some sense into her if she wants any real answers... ]
appeale: (i laugh as he grabs me)

[personal profile] appeale 2023-04-27 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ fuck, she hates these sudden genre changes. without any warning, they've gone from a disaster movie right into horror.

Gray's stamina is most likely impressive, but Rudbeckia can't run forever, and there's no telling how long this will continue. for all they know, that apparition might just reappear in front of them. once the sound of footsteps is sufficiently distant, Ruby turns a corner into the next alley she finds in the fog; Gray is pulled with her and placed with her back against the cold brick wall. in a low, urgent whisper: ]


Signorina, you don't have to explain yourself to me. I'm not going to ask anything. [ she means it. what does she care about Gray's trauma, as though she has any sympathy or understanding to spare? there's only one thing that matters— ] I just need to know if this is someone that's going to hurt us.

[ her hands, which were clutching Gray by the upper arms, move to cup her face in a careful but firm hold. ]

Please, Gray.
goldendeceiver: (and face it)

i-springstar

[personal profile] goldendeceiver 2023-04-27 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ Size, at least, is something that Ernesto has on his side. He's not a bulky man by any means, but having a decent amount of height on him makes it easier to grab injured civilians and carry them to a somewhat (somewhat...) safer location, and years on years of sword training means he has the arm strength and stamina to pull that off.

But constant work does take its toll on a man, and he's working slower than he wishes he was as he currently shifts aside broken stones from an area he swears he heard a muffled sound from, and given the fact that he's got four ears worth of hearing in him, he's fairly confident the sound was real.

The problem is that it puts him somewhat in the way of someone else on her own rescue missions, and Ernesto grunts as he keeps shifting at a particular large and cumbersome piece of stonework. It certainly doesn't look like he's uncovering someone in desperate need without any hint of a person's body currently visible, so to someone who comes across him it might seem like he's uselessly trying to move a big old rock for no discernible reason.
]

Apologies, Señorita, but you'll have to wait a moment--

[ It dislodges and rolls a good few inches away. ]

--Until I'm done here.
zauneyete: (I'm this close)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2023-04-27 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
Hm?

[ Silco realized, perhaps, that Cid had not put together that the two down there were his, and though they were large, and hulking, they were not causing problems like some of his other goons had on shimmer. It helps that now he has the advantage of controlling them, though Gregor needs little nudging. He'd taken to shimmer a lot better than most, mostly calm where others lost control. Silco thought it his disposition. ]

It's them. [ He pointed down at the two. ]

They are my... associates, you could say. They're quite happy to do the heavy lifting for us, which allows us the advantage of following along, and digging out anyone, should they... need the help.

[ Or rather, one of his men could do so. Silco wasn't about to pull someone out. ]
gravings: (051.1)

[personal profile] gravings 2023-04-27 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ While he travels, Gray struggles to her feet with her measure of time ebbing and flowing — creeping forward, jumping ahead, slowing nearly to a standstill, until she finds herself somehow leaning against a half-standing wall. In the undercurrent of it all, the man's voice in communion snakes its way through her mind. Some might call her too trusting, but her sense of fear is well-honed — and now it puts its fine edge against her neck, warning her that an inch in the wrong direction will be the end of her.

By the time the man arrives, she gets the feeling that she may have made a mistake.

Even if he doesn't recognize her, Gray knows of Silco. What feels like a lifetime ago, she was given friendly advice: that he was "the sort of person you should be mindful about." Glib words that don't feel up to measure against the Silco that stalks his way up to her in the present, intent as a predator.

Time seems to snap back into place. Gray sways away from the wall, survival instinct lit like a low candle in her eyes. She watches, stock still but not by choice, as he comes closer. She measures the steps between them, willing him to stop. ]


... Mr. Silco, isn't it?

[ Not a Meri, unless he's been holed away for months on end. ]
gravings: (010b)

[personal profile] gravings 2023-04-27 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
[ Gray feels her help is less than what these people deserve; her prayer is incomplete, half of it lost to her inadequate memory. But the precision of the process isn't as important as the intent, she knows, so she endures Dimitri's compliment as she turns to look at him. ]

I hope it will help them rest.

[ She means it in the most practical sense. If ghosts arise from these untimely deaths, it'll be the worst case scenario in her mind. ]

Thank you for helping too, Mr. Dimitri. I know it isn't easy work.
settingup: (revolve around me)

ii

[personal profile] settingup 2023-04-27 05:31 am (UTC)(link)
[ You don't have to be good at fighting in order to cart people to safety, you just need to be strong enough to sling a struggling person over your shoulder like a potato sack if you had to, and most of the time saving people didn't actually require physically relocating them. It was something that Atsumu was actually able to do in a way that vaguely made him wonder if volleyball hadn't worked out, if he could have had a fallback career as a firefighter.

But things hadn't stayed simple, and the seeming invulnerability they had to the Blight began to wane, and suddenly helping people wasn't so easy, leaving Atsumu floundering again. It's not that he feels particular good about the idea of leaving people to die, but he very much wants to live himself, and with a blanket permission given, he was all too willing to draw back and keep himself safe.

Mostly...

Atsumu might be an asshole, and Atsumu might have the self-centered world view of a teenager, but Atsumu isn't so terrible that he doesn't feel some amount of guilt for holing away safely while some of the other Shard-bearers keep at the whole hero business.

So he does one of the few, small things he can think of, something that in theory doesn't put him at too much risk, and that's to haul supplies to the medical centers that are taking in all the Blight patients. Things aren't easy to maneuver around at this point, and with so much falling to ruin, those supplies are needed. He can lug things from the manor to the various triages once a day, and feel some small sense of having done enough.

It's during this time that he sees Amos standing outside of one, though he doesn't stop to question him as he nods in lieu of a proper greeting, wanting to drop off his stuff and get the hell out of there. He'd probably leave just as quickly too as he offloads what he has, but the strange pile of ash that people seem to be avoiding snags his attention and has him asking questions.

By the time Atsumu is rushing out of the center, Amos is far enough down the road that he can't be seen, though he's far enough away that Atsumu has to raise his voice into a yell as he starts to sprint towards him.
]

Hey!!
zauneyete: (smug)

[personal profile] zauneyete 2023-04-27 05:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ Silco doesn't dare breathe at first. That sword had gotten close -- too close -- and it's only his shield spell and the shield person that he is not cleaved in two in this very moment. He does not have the advantage of sturdy skin, or a speed to rival that of a god. Silco is human, and weak. He's nothing, compared to most of those here. he has his power to make up for it, but he requires someone to protect him, and Silco is certainly going to use every single person he must to stay alive.

He will not let himself fade into nothing so easily. Particularly when that someone is... frankly powerful enough that Sevika would have trouble with her. (Little does he know...)

He took a step back, once she was out of his immediate space, and he tipped his head, focusing his unblinking, glowing eye on her.
]

Blight getting to you? [ He asked. It was, perhaps, petty to rub it in, but he couldn't help it. It felt far to good to stop, lording it over someone who had tried to pity him only weeks ago. ] You should have thought of offloading it, before you confronted someone. Rather foolish, don't you think?

[ The man -- transformed though he is -- shook his head, and hit it, like he was trying to concentrate, change tactics, or perhaps just hype himself up -- before Silco turned his gaze toward him, and then nodded toward her, a non-verbal command. ]

Well? Don't just stand there.

[ He charged again, and meanwhile, Silco's fingers slipped into a small sheath he kept in his coat, and started to pull out a blade. Just in case. ]

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