⏳ THE SCORCHING ISLE: Oracle Event One ⏳

[beleos]

ARRIVAL

All Bearers have heard whispers of them - the Oracles. Mysterious and unknown entities of an abstract nature, they serve as the heart of each faction’s cause - both as a means to an end and a very real stepping stone in achieving their objectives. To claim an Oracle means growing ever closer to victory: to see your homes restored as they were, or to herald in a new one of your making.

So you go.

A Cornerstone has been set up for each faction; one for the Zenith and one for the Meridian in Yima’s manor and Heliopolis, respectively. They warn you that upon transportation, your safety cannot be guaranteed and there is no telling what waits for you beyond - to be prepared. To make sure you have whatever you deem necessary with you before you go, as there is no telling when - or how - you will be coming back. CONTINUED HERE...

NOTES

Upon your arrival, you woke up with an HOURGLASS NECKLACE. Please refer to the Time Mechanics on the OOC Summary and bottom of this post for details on its usage.

The COURTYARD is frozen in time. Player Characters and the Great Tree are the only signs of moving, free life in the courtyard. During the intro, time magic does not work.

Characters are free to investigate but cannot move beyond the courtyard if you choose a prompt during the intro. You may mingle among your fellow Bearers or speak with [MR. TIBBS] if you so choose. (Also? LOOK AT HIM HELP)

Iconoclasts and Stargazers will notice Aspect benefits/detriments now.

All characters will be weak for the 24 hours - think like mild flu - and unable to leave until Mr. Tibbs has dispersed them. This is the time in which any threads with the NPC will be carried out.

The INTRO concludes with said dispersal of PC’s once interactions concluded. They will be sent to a location around the castle of your choosing; they are free to move about freely from here. Your prompts can start with you waking alone or in the presence of others - whatever you’d like!

Your character will innately understand how to use time magic from this point forward. It will come naturally to them, like a skill they were born with.

CASTLE: OVERVIEW (p a s t)

The Scorching Isles is home to the Atirat, a people of sea-dwellers who have the ability to walk on land. (Think mermaids with the ability to shift back and forth between human and mermaid forms.) As such, much of the Scorching Isles is covered in large bodies of blue water and glistening pieces of ice to accommodate their lifestyle.

THE CASTLE, however, is what dominates the landscape and it's where the Shard-Bearers will be spending their time. The white castle with colorful glass windows is obscured by a thick layer of clouds and fog. Nearly every location on the island has a thin layer of fog that rolls through it, which gives the entire Island an inescapable chill. The castle has artfully built rooms with a CAVALCADE OF DECORATIVE ICE, lavish mirrors, and white plants accented with blue decorations. Several portions of the castle are submerged due to the aquatic nature of the native residents.

And everywhere you go, you find them - STATUESQUE BODIES FROZEN mid-movement. They are haunting reminders of the power in your Hourglass - the very real power to decide their fates.

The castle has many winding paths to explore, as castles often do. There are sleeping quarters, HALLWAYS, a wine cellar, and a few large rooms presumably for diplomatic affairs. Players can use these rooms at their own leisure for whatever purposes they see fit. (Exploration, combat, or supply gathering.)

However, many of these rooms will require some strategy to access their full potential! Atirat were much more comfortable being underwater than many Kenosians may be. Therefore, rooms of higher importance may be COMPLETELY SUBMERGED or require swimming through an underwater pathway to reach them. Very minimal supplies will be kept out in the open for all to reach. More desirable supplies - such as warm clothing, small weapons, treasure, and the like - will be located past or within one of these flooded areas.

Players may gather supplies within and preserve their Sand or use their Sand to make other rooms accessible and gather whatever lies within! The larger the asset you attempt to unfreeze, the more Sand it costs - and the more drained/vulnerable you will be as a consequence, so choose your path ahead wisely.

Currently, a pervasive fog is preventing you from wandering beyond the Castle's limits. Should you try to venture past it, your Sand will rapidly be stolen and you will find yourself suffering the same fate as the islanders if you don't move back to safety quickly... However, if you ask Mr. Tibbs what lays beyond the mist - he will tell you about the thriving farmland, the once-bustling village surrounding the castle, and the beautiful coral reefs beneath it. Sadly, they're beyond your reach - but maybe if the Bearers decide to unfreeze them when the week is up...

LIBRARY (s a f e z o n e)

The ROYAL LIBRARY - A treasure trove of knowledge, history, and glimpses of a fractured past scattered throughout. The lower floor of the Library is void of much reading material and contains several intricate-looking art pieces on decorative pedestals.

A spiral staircase dominates the center of the room, with its once delicate structure overtaken by sheets of formidable ice; it leads you toward the upper levels where a sea of books awaits. There are isles and isles of books, most perched on intricately carved shelves. Many books lay in piles or are discarded onto the floor, and scattered papers are common throughout.

Curious Kenosians may pick out books from the shelves and read on various topics, but players may also pass through this room on their way elsewhere. This area will function as a safe haven where violence and the taking of others' Sand is not allowed; do not disturb the books or Mr. Tibbs won’t be happy!

NOTES

Characters who wish to receive a book with lore specific to the island may comment [HERE]. You will be RNGed a book from a pre-written list of topics. The books may give you a deeper look into the island, its inhabitants, and its history! (Only 1 book per player! Please assume all other books they read are about commonly-available topics.)

THE EATING PARLOR (p a s t)

There are no basic amenities on the island. No hot water, no warm beds, and no salacious magazines (that you know of. heh heh). That would make the Eating Parlour a wise stop for anyone. After all, this could be the perfect chance to procure some provisions!

The EATING PARLOUR has all the equipment one would need for meal preparation. Dried plants hang from the ceiling, and the walls are lined with mason jars filled with every strange manner of presumably edible thing (Is that a head over there? Hmm… maybe you should check).

The parlour also comes with a garden under a massive windowed dome so that the inhabitants could have fresh produce at hand. Many plants have withered, but there are some salvageable plants if you know how to look for them. But beware… Some of the plants have a strange blue glow. These plants can spell potential disaster.

If someone should make contact with these glowing plants, they will crumble into glass shards - glass that will quickly burrow its way under the skin and curse that person with Blight. Blight will make all resources within that person's vicinity slowly age and eventually crumble to dust. (Which I relate to on a personal level tbh.) Iconoclasts will be immune to its effects.

NOTES

Please see the "Blight" section below for more information on its effects.

TREASURE ROOM (f u t u r e)

Faint singing can be heard coming from this room. Once you hear the song, it dulls your senses and leaves you in a haze. There is no stopping your feet from guiding you to it through the doors and into the Treasure room. The door slams shut at your back, sealed with a wall of ice and magic.

Players will find themselves lured to an icy chamber bordered by a ring of cold blue fire. There is a deep pond that surrounds the platform you’ve found yourself standing on. Beyond its glassy surface and crystal clear water, one can glimpse all manner of treasures - from crowns, jewels, ornate statues in various statues of repair, scepters, spears, and books that seem impervious to the water's cold chill.

As you come to your senses, you will find yourself frozen in place and at the mercy of a large statuesque being before you. This beautiful and horrifying figure in a perpetual song is the SIREN, the only Atirat you’ve seen in person. She measures nearly 20 feet (6 meters) from her head to the tip of her long-finned tail. She cradles an icy shard in her arms, singing to it as if it were a child.

She sits serenely in front of a large hourglass filled with white sand, which is bordered by a spear and a lance. Emblazoned in faint text at the base of where she sits reads: “The future lies in our hands.”

NOTES

Welcome to the Siren’s Chamber! Players must use their wit, charisma, or some good ol' fashioned elbow grease to escape the room or break the Siren’s magic. The Shard that the Siren holds contains dormant time magic that players may activate by using the Sand within their necklace. Players can access the future in 5-second intervals and use whatever they find in that time period to escape their predicament.

For example, if they activate the shard by using their time magic, that shard will begin to glow blue. The room around them will shift, and it could change to a point in the future where there is a sword nearby. If you can grab it, now you have a weapon! When the 5 seconds are up and time returns to the present, you will still have that weapon on your person. You may also try verbal communication if you’d like. If your character is someone who would try and talk their way out of a situation diplomatically, they may give it a try!

It is up to player discretion/creativity to think of a scenario you’d like. Each “future" does not have to be the same across player encounters! What one group experiences may be tailored to the player wants (because branching timelines exist). Let your imagination run free!

HALL OF MIRRORS (p r e s e n t)

Should you reach the rightmost wing of the massive castle Library, you will find a door hidden in the very back of one aisle against a wall; it looks as though the door used to be concealed by magicks that have since dissolved.

The stairwell leads down and into darkness. Once you reach the bottom, shimmering light cast from an unknown source beneath sheets of glistening ice will illuminate your new surroundings; you are in a maze of mirror-like ice. This labyrinth is silent save for the quiet creaking of shifting ice that may disquiet you and leave you uneasy regarding the stability of this area… but it holds beneath your feet.

Mr. Tibbs had told you that the “Kaleidoscope” - where your Sand is counted - rests through here, so eventually, you must brave the journey. Is it a trick of the light? Maybe the product of an especially active imagination…?

Did you just see one of your reflections move without you?

NOTES

Please refer to the OOC Summary for details on the Hall of Mirrors!

THE BLIGHT and TIME MECHANICS

BLIGHT

Blight is an infliction that will age supplies and infect people with a creeping disease that steals their Sand. For objects, this includes weapons, food, and items like cloth. It will take a few days to deteriorate things beyond use - so watching your supplies and acting accordingly is in your best interest. Generally, it will make it more difficult for PC's to get by given that their already scarce resources will dwindle and deteriorate - especially since it's 'contagious' through touch.

The Blight will not act quickly enough to severely hamper infected persons, but repeated exposure will cause effects to a person's body - notedly protruding VEINS in the face and extremities, a lower body temperature, and increased agitation. These effects start out mild and grow more severe with each 'dose.'

Characters must touch an object/person that is Blighted to become inflicted with Blight themselves. When that happens, it will become easily identifiable as Blighted from the faint blue, shimmering outline around the infected subject, as well as the WITHERED, FROSTBITTEN or ashy appearance it takes as it progresses.

However, there is one single perk with Blight. (Or is it a perk?) Players will feel reduced impact by the cold surroundings, making the climate around them somewhat more hospitable. Beware of falling victim to a chill you can't feel...

TIME

To use your Sand, each character is granted access to and innate knowledge of a spell they channel from their Shard that automatically manipulates their Hourglass. This allows the remote control of Sand (aka gathering and dispersing), as well as the ability to pull Fragments of time from Shards.

Fragments are literal pieces of you taken from your Shard. They manifest as memories or images displayed on little shards of broken glass (think of the memory being played out in real-time on the mirror's surface), and can be crushed to convert into Sand automatically, either voluntarily or by force. The only stipulation is that the parties must be close to one another, and the Fragment must be exchanged while both Bearers are still. This means someone has to give it to you, or you need to immobilize them before you take it - one way or another.

Once the Fragment is crushed, the memory and associated time of that person's life is lost and your character will suffer amnesia until the Oracle is claimed. How deep this goes is up to you; they could lose a large chunk of time - even all their memories surrounding a person or place for a big payload of Sand, or they could lose very little for a meager net gain.

Sand is automatically gathered or distributed by your Hourglass and added/subtracted to your running total. No need to micromanage. Convenient!

Please note that using Sand to unfreeze anything (resources, a door which can be then opened, etc) is an unpleasant experience. Each time you use Sand in this way, your character will be left feeling weakened and flu-like for an hour or two, which will leave them vulnerable. This effect stacks and scales up to outright KO-ing them for a few hours if they go crazy, so unfreezing too large of an area is off the table!

NOTES

• An OOC POST will be coming shortly explaining how Sand is going to be tallied and the Oracle claimed.
• Should your character attempt to unfreeze any NPC's, please respond [HERE]. NOTE: unfreezing NPC's may result in physical violence with CW's for severe mental instability/illness and a potential reference to self-harm.
• HAVE FUN!!!

CODING

Comments

[zauneyete]

Hm.

[ He noted with a thoughtful sound, half a grunt in the back of his throat as he considered. It made sense, and Silco was certainly not going to deny the chance to deal with this creature, and move onward and inward. His own doppelganger he had not seen yet, but that did not mean that he was not lurking and watching. Silco would do the very same, and stab himself in the back when needed.

He nodded his acquiescence, and stated: ]

If it comes down to it, and you desire a burst of power...

[ His gloved fingers twitched, and he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, considering. ]

I will have something to offer. [ It's always better when they chose it, but Silco would not deny using it if he needed it. If Voryn looked to be losing, he would find Silco's fingers on him, and a surge of power flooding his veins regardless. Silco would not lose to another. Not now, and not when they were so close to ending this. ]

I will remain invisible, so as to not catch attention. Will you be able to cast them on me without being able to see me?

[gravings]

[ Now that's a valid question if there ever was one. By partial way of answer, Gray allows the scythe to collapse in form; like a Michael Bay Holywood Robot, it disassembles itself, the parts floating in the air before coming together again to squish improbably into the form a tiny box with an elaborate face that suits tidily in Gray's upturned palm. The box grins up at Atsumu. ]

This is Add. I've had him since I was little. Um, it might take a while to explain everything about him, but I inherited him as a tool to help me fight ghosts.

[ Does that answer his questions or just raise more of them... Add pipes up, jumping raucously in Gray's hand. ]

She doesn't look like much, but she was the best gravekeeper in all of Britain!

[baltimores]

[ All of Amos' shivering is due to the cold, everything beyond the here and now and what he can get out of it inconsequential to him. If a threat wants to make itself known, he'll deal with it then. (Will have a responsibility to the kid then too, in all likelihood.)

Though Atsumu's question does make him pause in his sorting through items, sit up that little much straighter. Makes him feel a little less cold, in its own way, getting him to focus on something else. ]

Hey, yeah. Good thinking. [ He reaches for a pouch of something, peers inside, and... more coins. Awesome. ] Some of this stuff should be real conductive once it's melted down. Probably gonna have to strain out any impurities, but we might be able to do a lot with some of this crap.

[ Some of it'll be for resale, some of it he can take back to his place. His spirit is that much brighter just thinking about it as he places the pouch in the useful pile. ]

Anything silver, copper, or gold you see, prioritize that. Still think we can haul the rest of this back with us, even if it takes a couple of trips, but that stuff's what we'll want to keep for ourselves.

[gravings]

[ Gray brightens when she sees him alone and not WWE wrestling his clone. She'll take back her scythe gratefully, though she gets the impression from Add that he didn't mind letting Matsui handle him. She looks at his sword form curiously before allowing him to collapse into his more familiar box form. Add settles in her hand comfortably, and together they look up at Matsui. ]

I'm glad we could help. And, um, thank you for being so polite with Add. I think he likes you.

[ It's rare, what with how rude Add usually is off the bat. ]

[impiety]

I suppose that is one way to view it.

[ He offers a smile that shows no hint of insult. ]

I do seek something in return, but I doubt I will get it. [ Archangel breathes in slowly before he tips his head back to look at the ceiling. He desires the death of all gods, but that will not be possible. Set has proven to him that the gods will simply descend to the world they live in once they lose their domain.

There is some consolation in that, though. It means they can struggle and suffer for all the struggling and suffering they did not heal. Anyway! ]

I desire the happiness of all humanity. That is what I sought back home... a paradise for everyone to live in. But I came to find that we must find our paradise where we are... and seek to find it hand-in-hand with others. [ Which is kind of true! But also a huge lie! He has decided to salt and burn the world that would not accept his salvation and save the people. ]

[impiety]

Still... I cannot abandon them.

[ He shakes his head, firmly holding onto his beliefs. These people must be saved and even if he receives no acclaim for what he has done, he will have proven something to himself.

That something is that people are worthless without his guidance. That people are nothing without him and they will suffer and die even though his grace gave them a second chance at life. He will prove that it isn't just saving them that matters but that he should take more responsibility for their existence -- like he does with Amos.

He will ensure Amos is used well and will find salvation, will find absolution.

But first, he has to see if his mentality is correct. If he saves someone and they save themselves after, then, perhaps, he was wrong the entire time. If he saves them, but they face self-destruction, then he does need to be an active part in their lives. Yes, it all makes sense.

His madness is not telling him lies. No, his mind is not telling him lies. ]

Even if you say that, even if you want to save me from pain, I have to do what I can for them. If nothing else, consider this an ugly side of me. It's a side that is being quite selfish and self-centered.

[baltimores]

[ All Amos hears are Archangel's words, the subtext lost on him. The true meaning of them, of the motives, inaccessible to him. He knows that Archangel is a good person — one better than him — so it makes sense that he wants to save people. That he feels he can't abandon them. Amos has known people like that, and they were good people, people he'd pledged his life to in a previous one.

And in that previous life, he was not harmonized to Zenith. He did not know of a bigger goal in mind. He went with what his people did, because they were the only bigger goal he knew of.

That's not the case here, and the conflict plays itself out across his face as he takes in Archangel's words — eyes studying him, looking for any tells, but all he can see is that Archangel means what he says.

He sighs. Dips his head. Leaves it down for just a second before righting himself, looking back up. ]

I get it. We all got our convictions. Not like yours are bad. [ They're not. Objectively, they're good. Subjectively, they're stupid, but objectively good, so he can't really argue with them. ] It's not up to me to tell you that you're wrong, just...

[ And here he's left fumbling for words, because everything feels like it's contradicting itself. Archangel is doing something good, but it's still wrong. It doesn't make sense. ]

... This is bigger than us. Bigger than the people here. Doing things here for Zenith has to be the ultimate goal, doesn't it? That's how we help the most people.

[ There's still a disconnect.

Maybe it really can just be explained by Archangel being selfish for a good cause, though, and he thinks he can at least push aside his confusion to accept that much. ]

[sanguinary]

[War is unfortunately all too familiar to him, and even more than that, wars of ideology. In fact, that's his Whole Thing. Naturally, seeing something like this crop up again on an even bigger, broader and more demanding scale has had him discomforted since the moment he figured out what was going on. It's one of the many reasons he's yet to Harmonize - which is why he nods in response to Sebastian's question.]

Neither side appeals to me.

[FOR VARIOUS REASONS... Sometimes you can't change history by resurrecting the dead because it's codified into sword law, but your only other option is to move forward and create a future without anything you care about.]

I will choose to side with Zenith when the time comes for it, even so. When I must.

[Until then he's truly just the cryptid of Highstorm, just living in shop basements and hanging out with cats.]

[sanguinary]

[Despite the general CHAOS that the last few minutes of his life so rapidly devolved into, he actually manages a little smile at that.]

He was wonderful to work with. I appreciate you both; being without a weapon here is slightly more disadvantageous than it is elsewhere in the castle.

[SLIGHTLY?? He's truly just been vibing his way through though, and fortunately him being nerfed means his reflection was also nerfed, so he only ever had to worry about hand-to-hand (feral). THAT SAID as we all run to the next event:]

Let us leave this place, before anything else decides to wake up.

[sanguinary]

[In essentially matched time, he's up and on his feet again, also swinging his fist through the mirror that Flamebringer's doppelganger sprang through. Double matching idiot fist-to-glass wounds! Wow! They're really winning the jackpot here.

Or maybe their doppelgangers are, since they'll shatter and break to pieces like the mirrors they came from, scattering across the floor in so many glittering pieces. Now they no longer have to deal with the double bloodthirst of two maniacs...

Matsui is left standing there, bloodied and bright-eyed and trying to reel himself back now that the enemy is no longer present and the blood no longer has to be drawn. There's a mantra he repeats to himself in his head in times like this: don't draw blood, don't draw blood. Fortunately, it helps.]

I would be happy to.

[passio]

[ it’s such a twisted part of him. his baroque, perhaps—or maybe worse than even that, a sane but cruel sensibility for seeing the suffering of people who have hurt him. amos hasn’t even really taken a blow, but dextera knows the torment that having one’s life drained away can bring.

that demand is no surprise. ]

…

[ his expression, oddly, shows no satisfaction. it’s nothing but a cool regard for what needs to be done, and he takes the opportunity he’s created to steal away amos’ sand: it’s enough for one fragment, a single but hefty memory, rather than draining amos for all he’s worth.

behind the cool gaze, however, amos’ accusation still holds weight. a sense of success lurks in his pulse. ]

Thank you. [ —he has the indecency to say, and he even dismisses the monster, his own sand dispersing along with its form. before the knowledge of it goes entirely, he offers this, as if he’s helping. ] You won’t die. You just have to wait.

[hauntedking]

...we can hope. Although I wonder if this will duplicate others.

[ He's breathing heavily, a little worn out after that fight. ]

Are you hurt?

[hauntedking]

Action is better than inaction.

[ It's a bit of a conundrum, isn't it? ]

But sometimes speed can make things worse. I don't know if there's a correct answer.

[warmare]

[She had not considered Amos much of a threat, before. Not out of any sense of looking down on him- he was obviously a strong man, and against fellow humans, she imagined he would be fearsome on the battlefield. She was simply not used to viewing non-jinba, no matter how physically gifted or battle-honed, as true opponents. But with the new knowledge of his control over gravity... It would complicate things. She isn't as sure anymore. Her eyes linger on his face, on his body... sizing him up again in this new light, taking into account his injuries, and on alert for any signs of muscles bunching to lunge.

Yet they are... not moving. Not attacking. Not breaking the shaky peace between them. And the longer the moment goes on... the less Hayame wants to. She can get [TIME] from someone else, if she needs it. With this one, she would rather... (What a shame.) Until the moment came when it was unavoidable... the idea of breaking one of the only connections she had felt with someone who shared a part of her past she guarded so viciously...

And now, she has seen something of his. Surely, she thinks, he must be like her, keeping that part of his life secret out of distaste for the looks, the useless reactions, the changes in how one was viewed that made one's skin crawl, but she... it is too late now to pretend she hadn't heard it. Her reaction had been too feral, too immediate and hands-on, to pretend now that she herself didn't know of what sorts of things happened to children who were owned. For her, it had been a threat, a constant waiting in the wings to be used if she slipped up, failed, or disappointed, but she had seen it all around her, and-

It is understanding in her eyes. Not pity, scorn, disgust, or sympathy. Just understanding.]

I think we can.

[She can maintain that lie. She only met her own doppelganger. The injuries came from that. It's easy enough. What isn't easy... is wanting to say something about what she has learned, and not knowing how.]

Amos...

[How did one speak of it, when there was no pollen in the air- ? Should she reassure him that his secret was safe with her? Should she offer another deal, that neither should speak of what they had learned here? Her, that he had things to be grateful for, and he, that she was capable of being the beast that humans condemned her kind as?

She doesn't know, and his name lingers in the cold air between them as a puff of icy breath.]

[exhound]

Yeah. Yeah, I… guess you’re right.

[Amos has a point there, and as much as Vander hates it, they did what they had to do. Maybe he should be more bothered by how matter-of-fact Amos is about the deed, but… somehow it just ends up more grounding. Easier to rein things in when emotions aren’t flying in every direction.

His fellow Exalt still might feel a touch of a nagging feeling of discomfort from him through that empathic bond, though.

There would be time enough to dwell on it all later, though—that simple question reminds him that they’ve got more important things to focus on in the here and now.]

I’d say we take a look around for anything valuable, but I think that sand might be worth more than anything else in here.

[That is what they’ve all been set loose into the castle in search of, after all.]

[zauneyete]

[ Silco shrugged at her query. ] I'm afraid that I'm not from a place that lent much credence to...magic. That was for our... [ He spat the next word out. ] betters.

[ Anything to get a dig at Piltover, right? His hands spread, though, because whether or not he was familiar with demons wasn't really of import. That Caren was so affected by Sebastian's power was of interest, more than anything else. A curiosity that made him want to examine what led to it.

If it was merely a facet of her... "soul" was a little more inconvenient. He would have preferred it be something that they could replicate, but... well. It's not like Sebastian needed help in destroying things. ]

I can only imagine so. Did he know you would suffer such effects? [ Faux concern to obscure his curiosity. ] Or was this a surprise to him, when you were harmed in such a way?

[baltimores]

[ There's a twitch of a frown at the feeling he's picking up from Vander, uncertain as to what could be causing it. It's quiet now, blissfully so. The main threat has been eliminated. There isn't anything left to worry about here. On the other side of those doors, out in the rest of the castle where more of their kind are, yeah, probably. But in here? They've got a moment of peace, all to themselves.

So a twitch of a frown, alleviated once Vander moves on. Amos takes a cursory glance around the room at his words, and yeah, there is some nice shit in here that they could scavenge after, but his eyes land on the abandoned hourglass before he turns to look back at Vander. ]

Yup. Looks like we hit the jackpot. This'll probably help out a hell of a lot with getting some things back people can use.

[ Because that's what he's here for — to acquire as much as he possibly can to help out Zenith. It doesn't even occur to him that anyone might think differently; it's so obvious to him.

Amos turns, starts heading over to the hourglass to retrieve it. Someone's gotta go get it, after all. ]

[baltimores]

[ He recognizes that expression on Dextera; it's one he's worn most of his life. Just get the job done, by any means necessary. It just so happens that this job for Dextera is one Amos is fundamentally, viscerally opposed to, because it's at his expense.

There's a light gasp from him as Dextera steals something — what, he doesn't know, the memory dissipating away as he loses grains of sand to someone else, someone decidedly not on his side — and that sense of success is unsettling.

Dextera really does hold his life in his hands right now, and Amos really, really does not like that. And fuck whatever it was he just lost, because his words have Amos trying to push himself off the ground, lunge at Dextera, tear him apart, a quiet fury radiating off of him as all he can do is fall back down, undignified and helpless.

The steady beat of an unrecognizable fear thrums along in his background, in tune with his heart, as he looks back up to meet Dextera's eyes, livid that he can't do anything more.

But that's it. He has no more words for him. There's nothing he can possibly say, just a quiet promise in his gaze — if I ever get my hands on you, you're dead, and he means it. ]

1/2, cw reference to suicidal thoughts

[baltimores]

[ I think we can.

That's it, then. That should be the end of it. Amos' body slackens. His shoulders slump, he exhales a breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding. They don't gotta do anything else here. They can just be on their separate ways.

He's ignoring that look in her eyes, ignoring that confirmation that she knows — and then she says his name, trails off, and he turns his head. Looks away. Dips his gaze, stares at some random spot on the ground not even between them without even really seeing it.

It isn't something people are supposed to know. He's brought it up once or twice in his life, if only to make a point to someone else who needed to understand what dangers were out there. Why kids needed to be protected. Nobody ever has a response. There isn't supposed to be one. There's nothing that can take it back or fix it or anything. It will always be a part of him, it will always be the main thing that shaped him into who he is today, and he has no choice but to live with that.

Far too much time passes. ]

It happened. [ He still isn't looking at her. There's a broken quality to his voice; he coughs, rough around the edges but sturdier when he speaks again. ] It's over with. Can't do anything about it now.

[ If he'd had to stay in his past, he would have killed himself a long time ago. ]

[baltimores]

[ He lifts his head again, turns to look back up at her. Meet her eye. ]

All we got is to keep moving forward. So we do that.

[ Drop it, but also, real words of advice. For him. For her. She gets him on a level more than most probably will here, so that's his parting gift for her now, because if anyone's going to understand him, it'll probably be her. ]

waves hands vaguely!!!!

[warmare]

[Hayame had never wondered what happened to ice in a vacuum. She barely had a conceptual understanding of what a vacuum was- it was no threat she was likely to encounter in her world. But as the air is siphoned out of the space in the boundary of the High Arcana... the frozen doppelganger and it's arrested attack...

Begin to evaporate.

It cannot fight back in that state, movement arrested, it will not give either of them the satisfaction of screaming or emitting any sign of pain, if it could even feel it...

But it's eyes are hateful and dark as it steadily begins to change from solid to gas, to mist that dissipates into the air without form or capacity to harm anyone... and all it's original can do is watch, not even sure if she feels robbed or relieved.]

cw: more child sa stuff

[warmare]

[Time passes, and Hayame makes no motion and gives no word to hurry it along. She won't, or can't. There is something lodged deep in her throat that is heavy and unpleasant. Something that she shamefully knew had never been enough in her world to make her act against the very same treatment he had suffered. And even if she had mercy enough to acknowledge that she had been but a child struggling to avoid that very same fate, the threat of life as an armless broodmare, mount, or "companion" constantly held over her head to ward off failure or betrayal...

She can not say anything further until he speaks. His doppelgänger's blood is still smeared on her lips like a beast's attempt at a woman's beauty. And she hates it, hates that every time she feels that rare, strange desire to reach out, to- to connect, or... comfort...

She fails. She fears she sees in his face and eyes that she has done more harm than good. Perhaps she should just have kept her mouth shut, let him believe that she believed what he'd told her that day at the restaurant, that he'd only been used for thug shit. From her own experiences... She was supposed to know better. She was supposed to have been taught better. Like how when the stable master had flensed Toshifuji's arms from her shoulders. Like when she'd seen what happened to Kohibari every time the lord waiting to buy him visited, little tricks and tastes to keep the man interested long enough to raise the boy to his sale date.

It happened. It's over with. Can't do anything about it now.]

I know.

[She knows. She just- She simply wanted him to know something, and yet the words don't come out the way she wanted them to. Her lips twist with frustration, her fingers curl into impotent fists, forcing a hiss of pain as the broken digit moves with it, but she has to finish it despite.]

I simply meant that-

[What? (What did "friends" do? If she were even going to half believe that-)]

... That is all I will say. I fought my own clone from the ice. It is the only thing that happened.

[She repeats it, but in a far different tone, with far different meaning. ... No one else needed to know what she had seen. Let alone someone who wouldn't understand.]

[cutlery]

[ Honestly, Sebastian is a little surprised. He had assumed that Matsui was simply one of softer convictions. It’s nothing he views with judgement exactly, but more as a curiosity that something inhuman would be prone to it. He understands with the explanation (at least in part), that it was something of the opposite. It’s closer to a conviction simply expressed in a more inhuman way. ]

I see. Then, for all intents and purposes, I shall consider you an ally for now.

[ Since that’s what he wanted to know, in a way. Lines are being drawn with this first little trip to find an Oracle, and there’s no one that wants them to be clearer than Sebastian. They were just also harsher than any human may draw them. ]

May I ask, though? Why not?

[settingup]

[ As cozy as he is right now sitting in his new heated chair (courtesy of Silco), Atsumu does manage to look disgruntled at the list being ticked off right now. The bridge of his nose wrinkles as he pulls a face at everything Silco is listing, because it sounds like he's being asked to go outside and scratch around in the dirt until he finds something. ]

Wouldn't it be easier just to steal stuff already in the castle?

[ Not that he's ever stolen anything (that didn't already belong to friends or family) in his life, but... ]

[sanguinary]

[Sometimes you're just a strange little alien existing in in-between spaces, unsure of what to do or how to proceed because the furnace just coughed you out like three months ago. Damn.

Lines are definitely being drawn, though; he'd be a fool not to notice, or at least someone with far less experience with war than what he unfortunately has. The remark earns Sebastian a very slight nod, and there's probably a little gratitude in there, somewhere. Not much, though, just on the basis that he simply Does Not Care all that much.]

Why I have yet to choose?

[Good question! He hesitates, though Sebastian might get the sense that it's less out of furtiveness and more because he just doesn't know how to form his reasons into a succinct answer. He is a little cagey, though...]

...I suppose that in the end, it boils down to little more than "I don't wish to".