The Seeds of Unrest, Phase Two 🌱

[beleos]

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

Comments

Just assume this continues to be Nasty (nsfw) until otherwise stated, u_u

[erbe]

Of course not.

[Tohsaka huffs and grabs him by the shaft. And good lord, it even dwarfs her hand. She hates this. She should just bite him. She should rip it off and smack him in the face with i—

No. She's tired and it has made her more irritable. She shouldn't do any of those things. Instead she should remember her goal and strive to get there. With a sigh she uses her other hand to help steady him as she brings her mouth to press a small kiss at his tip. The texture of his glans takes her by surprise, and her frown is replaced with a more quizzical expression.]

same here nsfw after this point byee

[helloween]

[ Oh? What's that look about? Dark lets go of himself since Rin's taken the initiative, now curious about the face she's making. He leans back onto his elbows, lifting his hips so that the glans nicks her lip again. ]

It's a start.

[ By that, he's referencing her brief, experimental kiss on the crown. ]

I don't know, though. You don't look like you're having a lot of fun. It's hard for me to get into it if you frown the whole time.

[ And why would she be, if she's only sucking cock to replenish her magic? Dark feels restless and impatient, but with Rin too stubborn to let him take the reins of his own arousal, he's thinking of alternatives to entertain himself with. A hand wanders for her thigh, fingers trailing somewhere along her soft inner leg. ]

Let me do something that'll bring the mood up, okay? Turn the other way and straddle my shoulders so I can show you how it's done.

[ He tries coaxing her forward with his touch. Rin might not be excited about giving head, but Dark could certainly eat pussy all day. He's hungry for his own suggestion, and his tongue licks the surface of his pointed teeth should Rin just happen to look up and see him. ]

[erbe]

No, [She replies as she swats away his hand.]

Besides, you're always bugging at me to get a reaction, and most of those are frowns. Isn't this just how my face looks all the time to you?

[Before he can reply she parts her lips to drag her tongue across his head. Tasting him and familiarizing herself with his texture as she prepares herself. Tohsaka makes quite the show of it, and her petite hands cup his girth while pumping the lower half of his length.

Salty... and as the pre slowly trickles from his tip she finds it acrid, and a little unpleasant. However it is nothing compared to the bitter taste of her medicine, so she laps at the clear fluid without a second thought.]

Guide me if it doesn't feel good enough.

[Blowjob sensei...]

[helloween]

[ She does practically always look unhappy when he's out, but it's not the same for what Lucien sees.

Dark swallows his own saliva, absolutely stunned and dumbfounded by the simplicity of Rin's retort. It's the first time an offer to eat pussy has ever been outright rejected! Who refuses the supreme, physical delight of his lips and tongue? Whomst?! Most anybody can't resist his charms, especially not after things start getting spicy. He watches Rin unhappily, offended and pride wounded but without time to complain or gawk because she's moving down on him more assertively now.

Like a child pacified by a lollipop though, Dark is quiet when he sees the dark pink of Rin's tongue swivel over the top. Shuddering, his cock finally reaches his fully erect state, clear precum beginning to leak and steadily ooze. He has no trouble sighing and moaning out to her— open and communicative about what feels good. His voice is lower now. ]

Faster and heavier with your hands. [ He ushers her that way then. She wants to be instructed instead, huh? Hell, Dark has given up on understanding what Rin does or doesn't want. It's exhausting to keep track. ] Keep your tongue out where I can see it— or even better, look up at me while you suck and flick across it.

[ Admittedly, even though Dark is insulted that she won't share the fun, Rin is hot. She seems determined enough to do a good job, even if she's still navigating new waters, and is doing so out of necessity. Dark twirls some pieces of her ponytail in his hand, tugging gently and steadying himself. He resists a primitive urge to thrust up into her tight, virgin throat. ]

[erbe]

[If Rin were actually smart she would have agreed just to shut him up, but instead she chose this path. Look up at me, he says. She hesitates. They say eyes are windows to the soul, and it worries her to think he may be able to pick out her thoughts or feelings from it.

In the end, however, she decides to obey. Not because she feels like making a connection with him, but she hopes that it'll push him over the edge faster. So those vivid turquoise eyes flit up to his. Catching his gaze as the hot muscle of her tongue presses flat against his cockhead to eventually swirl around its shape and tease the frenulum.

Meanwhile her grip on him becomes firmer. Both hands grasping his oversized member and gradually speeding up her pace. It has to be gradual, right? Just jerking him like tugging the choke on a gas-powered engine wouldn't do it for him, would it?]

[helloween]

Better.

[ Dark breathes it, curling his hand and gripping her ponytail tightly. ]

That's good. Good girl.

[ What reaction might this bring, he wonders if he edges her on with praise that's sexual by nature. Dark twirls the pony around his knuckles loosely, watching her mouth as she works on him. His cock glistens with her saliva and his own glossy precum. The humidity of her breath is felt around him when her hands move with more learned confidence, just after instruction. Perhaps beyond Rin's own realization, Dark happens to spot the back of her thighs caught in a reflection of a mirrored grand clock ticking behind her. His eyes, lit with interest, move between her face and said reflection of her legs, her short skirt just barely obscuring her panties from sight. He considers what the gap might feel like if it'd enveloped him— soft leg fat squeezing him, his cock lining the groove of her pussy. It elicits a hot sigh from him again, and his dick twitches against her laving tongue. As she swivels and pleases him, he goes a little heady. His arousal is rearing its head. ]

...Rin. [ He mutters. His voice is weighted now. Dark rolls his length up into her mouth, careful not to hit her throat. He feels a heat flushing over him, hungrily feeding off the sight of his cock filling her cheek in a vulgar way. He thinks about the peek of legs still. How they make him restless for more than a mouth.

Far less considerate than he'd been before, Dark drops his arm and reaches for her thigh again, dipping his fingers between her legs and running them over her underwear. His biceps press somewhere along one of her breasts as he strokes her, middle and ring fingers mapping her with an innate understanding of where will feel pleasurable. She might fight him some, but they're alone. Why should she hesitate? ]

Just keep going.

[erbe]

[Good girl. She hates how it sends a delightful shiver down her spine. Is it the praise that hooks her? The way his voice pitches lower in contrast to his usual piercing hyena laugh? Whatever it is it's almost - almost - enough to distract her from the way he moves to touch her.

Unfortunately Rin doesn't want reciprocation. She wants to squeeze Dark out for what he's worth and be done with it. The moment Dark's fingertip glides along to soft cloth of her panty she pulls off his cock and tries to push away his hand.]

I said I wasn't interested! Can't you be content with this? Or is my mouth boring?

[helloween]

[ When Rin withdraws her head, Dark's cock slowly springs erect and expectant. He clicks his tongue some. ]

You're so fussy. I never said any of that, the last thing I said was that you were doing good. Why's the opposite the first thing you think?

[ That being said, Dark has now decided that this time he doesn't care if Rin protests to being touched. He'd noticed her shuddering at the praise before, the motion subtle, but noteworthy. Some of her likes and craves it. That's the part of Rin Dark feels like spoiling. ]

You really give me a hard time when it comes to accepting affection. What are you trying to prove, huh? I'm not about to judge you if you like it.

[ Now's the perfect time to reposition Rin, since her mouth's not preoccupied and her head is lifted again. Dark hooks his hands under her thighs and hefts her around, pulling her knees one after the other over his shoulders like a rag doll's. He curls his neck and tips his chin downward, nosing gently along her underwear with a smile on his face. ]

I'm doing this because I want to. Not for any other reason.

[erbe]

[This is it. This is what she was afraid of. The loss of control and the threat of falling apart before someone she is unsure of. Panic sets in her heart immediately as her hand splay put on his thighs.]

You didn't hear me. I said I wasn't interested. Back off now or I call the whole thing off!

[It won't be ideal. She won't perish, but she can replenish just fine with some sleep. What she wanted was enough mana to restore her back to a point where she could get back to work, but she'll give that up for the security of having it her way.]

[helloween]

[ Rin's threat doesn't sting him, nor does it bounce. As he considers it, a tired, hot sigh can be felt brushing against her outer folds, shielded just barely by her panties. Dark's eyes shut when he contemplates whether or not he's going to be cooperative. He feels Rin's fingers splayed over his legs like a cat clinging to carpet with its claws. Her whole body is stiff and defensive, annoyingly unreceptive to him even as he nuzzles the groove of her pussy with his nose bridge again.

He gives. ]

Fine. Stay defensive, repressed, and scared then.

[ He pulls his head out of Rin's thighs as if he's just bitten into a rotten peach, turning his face away from any part of her and moving his arms behind his head instead. He expects she'll say something snippy and back out of the whole ordeal like she'd said she would. Maybe collapse while trying to storm out. ]

I'm really not interested in humiliating little girls. If it's too much, just let me gash a wrist open or something for you instead.

[erbe]

[Tohsaka is taken off guard by how he relents. Once he lets go of her she reseats herself on the couch. Her hands in her lap as her eyes look over his body. He's so big. Bigger than Archer. Terrifyingly unpredictable at times and others so predictable she could hold him on an invisible leash. Dark is frustrating, repulsive, and annoying. But when he surprises her like this she's unsure how to feel about him.

Maybe she just doesn't like being proven wrong? Rin's small hands take one of his. Both of them dwarfed by his size as she turns it over to look at his wrist. Really? Would he be okay with that? She wouldn't be able to get right back to the action, but she wouldn't be bedridden for a whole day if she took some of his blood.]

Are you not interested in climaxing by yourself?

[Her thumb rubs over the inside of his wrist. He's... so warm.]

[helloween]

[ Dark's wrist is limp and lazy in her hold, heavy because he's letting Rin do what she wants with it. He's more than half sure this whole thing is being called off, and his mouth twists in response, perhaps just as confusingly. ]

I'm a man. I'm not ever going to turn down head or a handy.

[ Dark rolls his eyes once. ]

But I'm not interested in seeing you unhappy about it either. I'd rather bleed, frankly.

[ Cock twitching once, Dark feels himself starting to ache and wane due to neglect. ]

So which is it?

[erbe]

Is that what I looked like to you? I wouldn't call myself happy, but not "unhappy" either. I'm tired — exhausted, really — and since you're so keen on calling me a virgin, yes. It's my first time doing this kind of thing. If you're too impatient for my learning curve I'll take your blood.

[Tohsaka is simply so fixated on perfection that she can't seem to loosen up. Her thumb continues to idly brush the inside of his wrist. Following his pulse point and content with feeling the how his heart beats.]

[helloween]

[ How strange the two of them are, like two animals circling each other. They drive each other round and round, and Dark wonders if he can corner Rin into answering properly. ]

You're a funny girl, you know that?

[ How is someone, a virgin no less, so "indifferent" about giving her first blowjob? Neither happy, nor unhappy about it. Still not dropping it as an option either, though Dark has offered her an alternative— it's hard for him to believe. Dark interprets this how he wants to, and he reaches down for his own cock, stroking it idly through the gap of Rin's legs. ]

Think I'll take my blowjob after all. ♡ It was never a question of patience.

[ He relaxes more, seeming to have come to his own conclusion about where they're at now without her help. ]

I'm so generous and nice that you can even take both. Can pretend to be a kinky little vampire or something all the while.

[erbe]

I'm not keen on it, but it might make me feel better.

[A little pep in her step from his blood might improve her mood or make her a little more energetic to service him. Honestly, though? She hopes taking some of his blood will hinder that hideous erection. How can he be that big and not faint!? It's absurd! ABSURD! She's too small for such a thing.

She'll wait for him to open himself to her. She's not going to just bite into his flesh like an animal, after all.]

[helloween]

Right? That's the spirit, positive thinking.

[ Dark stops playing with himself to reach for the wrist Rin had been tracing her fingertips over, sinking his nails in and ripping them across in a fast, confident motion. Blood spills from the self-inflicted wound— an all too familiar motion when it'd come to summoning hell demons or golems. He doesn't wince or flinch when the red of it gushes forth, and he lifts it to Rin a little higher, accessible and available. ]

I'm not really one for bloodplay, but go on and knock yourself out.

[erbe]

[...Ah. While he may not wince when his skin is pierced, she does. Despite seeing various horrors over the span of the Grail War, she's still unused to such things.

Rin takes his arm back in her hold. One hand at the back of his wrist, and the other resting her palm on the head of his cock. She's not sure she can concentrate on both, but it doesn't matter. She'll only need to drink from him momentarily. Tohsaka brings her lips to the trickling red liquid, and she kisses the wound before pushing her tongue past her lips to lap against it.

It's warm. Coppery. Not pleasant, but mostly tasteless otherwise. Yet he's filled with so much power that just a few drops on her tongue make her feel better in a matter of seconds. A gentle hum of approval resonates in her chest as she closes her eyes and sucks noisily at his injury — tongue lathing across the open slit to clean the area of what may leak out. Rin can feel it... her cheeks growing hot, and her body responding. It makes her brow furrow and crease gently.]

[helloween]

[ It's a strange feeling, to have a tongue trace the outline of an open wound. As Rin licks away at it and collects his blood on her tongue, Dark watches the back of her ponytail with curiosity, unsure of her expression. Somehow, though, he senses her energy returning to her— by her subtleties and by her movements. Faintly under the surface of her palm, Dark's pulse can be pulsing at the head of his cock. It matches the one under the gash on his wrist. ]

How is it? Better?

[ Quietly. Rin is silent now, but Dark is the chatty type. ]

[erbe]

Mm, [Tohsaka makes a noise of affirmation, but doesn't really want to verbally admit it.]

You should sit properly. In the armrest corner might be best.

[Gently she peels herself away from him. If he doesn't follow her suggestion she'll shove him that way a little. Rin has an idea, but she doesn't feel like voicing it (go figure). Instead of being forthright she simply lets go of Dark's wrist (for now) and hikes up her skirt a little.]

1/2

[helloween]

[ ASS. LEG?! ASS?! Dark's eyes move right for the back of Rin's skirt, widening hungrily at the flash of thigh he's shown. Purposefully or not?! Is she trying to provoke him right after he was so good to her? Surely she knows how he'll get,,, ]

2/2

[helloween]

[ Well, whatever! He knows this kind of situation well enough than to make a fuss or refuse. Figuring that the blood must've made Rin feel reinvigorated, he shifts himself up against the armrest of the couch, posture seated upright. Of course she'd come away from a few licks feeling powerful and potent. His blood has commanded dark armies, is one with the beings of Hell, and is that of the most powerful wizard in the world! It pumps with magic. Self-satisfied despite Rin having said nothing else to him yet, Dark smirks like a cat and its cream of the crop, leaning back for a slightly better view of how her clothing's been readjusted. ]

Mmmm, something the matter?

[ He hums it flirtatiously, and Dark's cock is hard and tented under the front flap of Rin's skirt when they reposition. The tear on his wrist gushes with blood and trickles down a masculine sculpt of muscle and vein. His arm. He ignores it, though, brushing his large fingers softly against the back of her thigh.

Has she finally come around to letting herself have some fun with this? It's the perfect excuse. ]

[erbe]

[Stop scooping her back in when she pulls away! She's trying to position herself!!! Rin grabs at his hand to make it easier for her to settle. She re-situates herself across his lap sideways so that her legs my hang comfortably off the armrest and her soft thighs barricade his erection. With Rin's skirt hiked up he'll be able to plainly see how his overwhelming size peeks through her legs.

She's warm, and soft. Her legs are a part of her pride, so she keeps them well cared for. Always clean shaven and supple.

When Tohsaka finally settles she makes for his wounded wrist again. Bringing it to her lips.]

Will this be enough for you? Just hold my knees together to keep it tight.

[helloween]

Oh, that's plenty.

[ Appreciative. Dark feels a wash of affection hit him, an intense urge to cuddle, but cooperates with the new position regardless. Must be Lucien's feelings or something, endeared and humbled that Rin is compromising her pride for a bit more fun between them. His wrist is bloody and runny when she lifts it to her mouth, but despite how it spills, Dark is far more interested in the thighs that sandwich tightly around his length. He squeezes the soft skin under her knees, pulling them shut. ]

I got all messy because of you. Clean it up with your tongue, yeah?

[ Picking on her, he's actually referencing his arm. Before she can even collect herself, he thrusts experimentally up into the part of her thighs, watching his cock peek further through and shine. ]

haaa. Not bad. Not bad at all...

[ Like a lion tossed a slab of meat, Dark's voice rolls and rumbles, sharp teeth showing when he licks them over again with his teeth. He thrusts a couple more times, pulling her legs onto his cock like a sleeve made for his own gratification. ]

[erbe]

[Tohsaka's expression twists with the innuendo, but it doesn't stop her. In fact a little dirty talk makes her feel warm in a way that she dreads. Instead of responding verbally, Rin obediently begins cleaning him up with her tongue. Lapping at the red liquid and suckling at his skin.

The jerk of Dark's hips is... irritating. Absolutely frustrating. Her mind takes it further, imagining him dragging that length across the crotch of her panties and granting her sweet friction to alleviate her tension. However she absolutely refused to acknowledge such intrusive thoughts.

This time she's sloppy. His thrusts make it difficult for her lips to form a perfect seal, so Rin noisily takes in more of his blood. Her wet tongue slick against his skin as she diligently cleans him as asked.]

[helloween]

[ It's a bit of a juggling act to squeeze Rin's legs together and try and steady his wrist for her mouth. Regardless, he makes it work. Dark can hear the suction of lip break from his skin, a sloppy smooch left behind before she laves over it another time, keeping it clean. In the meantime, he bucks up vigorously into her thighs, ever so slightly working his way up a little higher, closer to the ache between her legs with each thrust. The thrusts get wetter, a little noisier each time. Precum collects on Rin's skin, and he uses her to wring himself out, close to a climax. ]

Nh...

[ His eyes creak, brow fluttering with tension, but he doesn't close them. Watching how her thighs fit and spread around him is as hypnotic as it is erotic. He's a little different somehow when he's close to orgasm— a sheen of sweat beginning to form over his throat and shoulders and his teeth clenched. He's humbled when he tosses his neck to the side, feeling pleasure and the promise of release roll through him, like thunder. Like a beast stirring restlessly in its cage before a storm hits, Dark can only anticipate. Molars grit. His nails sink beneath her knees when he fucks her legs more roughly. The thick girth of his cock brushes the outline of her pussy which she'd tried desperately to keep him away from, but he only grinds into her thigh gap in his final throes before his dick begins to twitch. He knows he's about to come. ]

You might want to catch it—...

[ Dark bites this out, the prominent cartilage of his throat flexing as he holds back and tucks his head forward to brace himself. ]