beleos: (Default)
beleos ([personal profile] beleos) wrote in [community profile] kenoslogs2023-01-13 05:00 pm

⏳ THE SCORCHING ISLE: Oracle Event One ⏳


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
    baltimores: (029)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2023-04-04 08:35 am (UTC)(link)
    [ It really isn't anything personal.

    Fact of the matter is, he hadn't been thinking about her much since their chance meeting some month ago. He'd just... assumed, and it's not like he's in tune with most people's feelings, or most people in general. Acquaintances are often out of sight, out of mind for him, and this had been that.

    It isn't a betrayal to him that she'd gone Meridian — it's just fucking odd. And relevant, here and now, where there actually are stakes where there weren't any before.

    So he gets ahold of her. Throws her to the ground, pins her with one hand while using the other to try to swat the crow away, or at least out of his face. Any scratches or pecks he takes from it — fine, they're mild, he can bear the temporary brunt while he takes cares of this little problem first. Meets her furious stare with a dispassionate one, because she's a job to take care of and nothing more, and that's just how he operates. Blank and empty, a vessel for doing what needs to be done.

    As he reaches for her sand, he sees that memory stand out above the rest — and shit, not like he's picky. Amos takes a firm grip on it, pulls the sand out of her and all it contains. It affords him glimpses — maybe the answer to why she went Meridian after all — and then it's gone, absorbed into his own pool.

    He can look at it later, when he's got time. For now he keeps hold of her, waiting to see what she'll do now that he's taken something from her and has retained this position of power over her.

    But it's not like he really even needs to kill her. Right? This was plenty on its own. ]
    zauneyete: (smug)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2023-04-07 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Silco actually laughed, a slight bark of sound that's almost surprised, but he really shouldn't be. Atsumu was Zenith, after all, wasn't he? }

    Good. See that you hold that resolution, hm? I'm sure it will pay off in the end.

    [ A beat, and then: ]

    Well, shall we get back to... doing all of that work?
    wolof: (Coy)

    [personal profile] wolof 2023-04-07 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
    Mm, we cannot properly research, if our minds are elsewhere, yes?

    [ Akua Sahelian had never once denied herself anything, and she had seen what happens to those who do.

    Then again, she had lived an extremely comfortable life. Lucky her.
    ]

    We can start fresh later, and perhaps our minds will not wander so.

    [ She stood, and held out a hand. ] Come, perhaps I will help? And light a fire, if there is a space. I may as well use my magic for comfort, hm?

    [ As if she hadn't been the entire time. ]
    wolof: (You're stupid (I like that in a woman))

    [personal profile] wolof 2023-04-07 05:11 am (UTC)(link)
    [ It's -- gone --

    A miasma of memories that are -- confusing -- emotions even moreso? Why did she feel that well in her heart where it lay? Why did she feel so sad? Why did she feel this deep, unknowable pain in her chest? That felt like the air was to be sucked out of her, and the little Squire -- nay, Queen of Winter -- no, The Warden -- why did her memories not make sense? It's a jumble of experiences without context or understanding. Akua Sahelian had always prided herself on her mind, but in this moment, she cannot do more than think.

    Her breathing is hard, her eyes furious. What had he taken? What had he Taken that made her feel like that?

    Her face twisted into something ugly, her lips peeled back and eyes furious, and it's with a shockwave that she tried to push him back, a force of pure uncontrolled energy that threw him outward, her hands clawed as she did so. Her mind reeled --

    How long have you been pretending, Akua? The Warden had asked.

    Ah, yes. How long, indeed?

    She remembered a great deal, still. Slapping the bard to quiet her, Catherine told her that she loved her, they'd kissed, and she had --

    She hadn't supposed to have died. She would have been more if it hadn't been taken from her. She felt fury, horror -- Confusion, and she turned burning eyes to Amos, fury splitting her face, turning what was beautiful... mad, and ugly. When she spoke, her voice was a screech, just as ugly as her face had been, the madness that she'd lost taken hold.
    ]

    What did you take?
    exhound: (40)

    [personal profile] exhound 2023-04-07 07:05 am (UTC)(link)
    [Whatever Silco did, it’s clearly thrown Vander off his groove. The same emotions propelling him forward are there, but they feel… unanchored. Like there is a purpose to them, but it’s somehow out of reach. There had been a reason they were fighting once more—as if they ever need a reason, these days—but trying to dig for it is like trying to summon a word that’s on the tip of his tongue, but just out of mind.

    It’s distracting enough that it’s all he can do to yank his hand back from that next knife swipe, and it lets Silco put some distance between them just as quickly. Vander’s hand reaches up to his Shard, brows furrowing as he stares Silco down and tries to puzzle out exactly what it is he had taken from him.

    He can almost, almost see what that little shard of crystal in Silco’s hand represents. Knows it’s important, knows he can’t let it stay in his grasp. So in that long moment Vander does rush forward, freehand making a grab for it—but it’s too late. It’s reduced to sand as quickly as his feet can move him, an odd feeling of finality in it that hangs heavy in his chest at the sight of it. Vander still tries to make a grab for Silco, wherever he can—but there’s no swing of his other fist. Not yet.

    There’s anger in his expression, but his voice mainly carries disbelief.]


    What have you done?
    zauneyete: (I cannot be clearer)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2023-04-08 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Silco's eyes flicked to Vander, even as those too-precious memories of Jinx were crushed in his fist, and his lips peeled back in annoyance when Vander tried to reach for him. 'How dare he?' was clear in his expression, and he sneered, stepping out of the way with quick, silent feet. He should run. It would be for the best, and then he could get away and slip into the cover of nothingness so quickly that Vander wouldn't know what happened to him.

    He should ignore him, and just do that.

    But Silco was... never going to try to get in the last word, or rub salt in a wound.
    ]

    Oh, you don't remember? [ He asked, his hand over his mouth, like there was a joke to be made. He's trying to move, trying to escape or at least get near the door. Try, of course, is the key word. Even so, when he tried to form words, there was something... indiscernible there. A touch mad, perhaps even desperate. Taking memories of Jinx won't bring her back, the sinister reminder at the back of his mind is quick to point out, but even so... ]

    I took what is mine.

    [ Lips peeled back into a snarl, he said it like it should be obvious. ]
    settingup: (one day at a time)

    [personal profile] settingup 2023-04-08 10:03 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Blanket secured and in the waterproof bag, Atsumu is just as quickly trying to shovel their ill-gotten goods into their other bags with that same speed. The problem is the longer he's out in the cold, the more his hands shake, and the slower he does everything.

    He never wants to be this cold again in his life.
    ]

    Yeah, yeah. I hear you.

    [ It's a nice pep talk and all, though Atsumu's not sure how much he believes it right now. Still, better some bullheaded optimism than needless pessimism. He'd probably toss something at Amos if he had to hear all the complaining he wants to do right how as he full body shivers.

    It's a relief by the time he's tying up the last bag, struggling to get it closed around what they've found for themselves.

    Though as he stands up and looks at the ice cold water, he grimaces in disgust. Only so much of a relief.
    ]

    We really gotta jump back in that, huh?
    settingup: (i'll hear no lies)

    [personal profile] settingup 2023-04-09 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
    [ No... Atsumu didn't really want to leave the warmth of the chair that Silco had made, but he guesses he doesn't get much of a choice.

    The sooner they figure out what they need to be doing here to get their stupid oracle, the better too he supposes. He'd rather leave this whole island behind rather than stay only semi-comfortable in a chair that doesn't actually warm up all of him.

    So with a heavy sigh Atsumu pushes himself up onto his feet again, giving a rueful look to the chair.
    ]

    Guess so...

    [ He couldn't sound more like he was sulking if he actively tried. ]
    zauneyete: (pontificating)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2023-04-09 07:32 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ There's only a slight roll of his eyes, when Atsumu almost gives him a petulant look, like this was the hardest thing in the world to get up from the chair. Sure, it was cold, he supposed, but Silco was used to a little discomfort, and thought nothing of it.

    Maybe the boy was softer than he thought.
    ]

    Just think. The quicker we do this, the quicker we can return to the manor, and warm up proper, hm?
    goldendeceiver: (god knows you put your life)

    [personal profile] goldendeceiver 2023-04-10 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
    [ There's some real benefits to having joined up with a side for those who happen to have magic on their side. It really is easier for someone like Ernesto, who has a very limited access to magic, to take longer to make his choice. He's not missing nearly as much by prolonging his choice.

    But since Akua opted to join on with Meridian and has that fire producing magic at the ready...?
    ]

    There's no way I can say no to an offer like that.

    [ Not right now for sure. He'll take that hand as he stands up himself, though he makes that move without using her to steady himself or put any of his weight on her. It was more to be polite since she offered it.

    Also her hand is warmer than the room around then, so he's not saying no to that either.
    ]
    settingup: (don't give up)

    [personal profile] settingup 2023-04-11 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
    [ He's not wrong. There's a certain kind of discomfort that Atsumu is used to, but that is a discomfort he puts himself through. Going for a run on a frigid morning is fine, because at the end of it you can go into a warm building and be fine. Being forced to spend prolonged amounts of times in a frozen hellscape is different... that kind of cold seeps into your bones after awhile.

    He hunches in on himself as he gives Silco one last surly teen look, muttering something that doesn't exactly sound like agreement under his breath as he trudges off to go...

    Look for very good rocks, he supposes.
    ]
    baltimores: (015)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2023-04-12 08:31 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Amos' grip on Akua is strong, but maybe not as strong as it should have been, considering the shockwave. It forces him to let go, sends him flying up and back until he catches himself in mid-air, turning himself weightless. It's from his vantage point that he follows through the rest of Akua's journey, furious and incensed and probably murderous.

    And for her, he's got nothing, just watching her from above as she screeches at him — and in warning he makes her heavy, too heavy, stapling her to the ground, applying pressure to her organs, restricting her blood flow... ]


    I took what was there. [ It's a simple, calm answer; it's also the truth. ] I don't know what it was. Whatever you were thinking when we were just fighting.

    [ Maybe it had to do with the demon? But he doesn't actually... care. It's over, and it's done with. The kaleidoscope is down the hall. He can now offer up more sand than he would've been able to before.

    A beat. A question, spoken softly, but his words full of promise. ]


    Are you going to make me take more?

    [ Because if he needs to take more sand from her — if he needs to kill her — then he'll do it, no problems. ]
    baltimores: (051)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2023-04-12 08:41 am (UTC)(link)
    [ His fingers falter more than once as he tries to tie up and seal off their bags as best he can, and it's not like blowing on his fingers to try to warm them up does anything meaningful. But they get there, freezing and hopefully in time to avoid frostbite.

    Amos shivers as he looks from the pool before them, then up at Atsumu. ]


    Yup.

    [ Back to the pool, and then he's jumping in — as many bags as he can feasibly swim with gripped in his hands, willing himself and his momentum to carry him through as fast as possible.

    The relief he feels when he bursts his head out the other side is palpable before he slings the bags back onto the icy floor, scrambling to haul himself out and get the big one with the blanket back open, wrapped around him again.

    Zero stars. This place sucks. It can stay frozen forever, as long as he never has to come back. ]
    settingup: (i'll hear no lies)

    [personal profile] settingup 2023-04-13 01:18 am (UTC)(link)
    [ The blunt answer to the mostly rhetorical question gets a small, humorless laugh out of Atsumu. Yeah, they do, but the idea absolutely blows. Next time he wants to go treasure hunting in this castle, he's finding a room that doesn't involve an underwater tunnel to access it.

    Of course, those rooms have probably already been picked through, because anyone with any sense doesn't want to do this shit.

    With a deep breath, Atsumu hoists the remaining bags up, and follows Amos in that plunge, jumping into the icy water and kicking like his life depends on it. It was hard enough the first time, but having all of the metal weighing him down definitely makes the drag worse.

    If he dies from hypothermia, he's going to be so pissed off. It feels like a real possibility by the time he surfaces, cursing loudly as he flings the bags out of the water, before scrambling over the edge of the pool of water himself.

    Can they leave negative ratings actually? Because Atsumu would like to.
    ]
    exhound: (22)

    [personal profile] exhound 2023-04-14 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
    [All of his ire is very swiftly being replaced with a low thrum of panic. He can’t remember. Can’t remember what? He doesn’t know, but he knows it’s important, knows it by the smug and sneering response of Silco, knows it by how willing he is to drag out this moment to taunt him with it.

    And, perhaps more importantly, he knows that there is nothing to be done about it. Crushed to grains of sand and scattered without fanfare.

    Vander of course tries to give chase. He can’t let this go, but Silco does has a swiftness on his side that’s further accentuated by the injury he’d dealt Vander here at the start, wearing down on him. He follows, does try for a swing this time, but it goes wide and he has to catch himself on the edge of the table they’d been dancing around. The doorway is there just behind him, and Vander knows that he’s screwed up by letting him get this far.]


    You damn, selfish fool.
    wolof: (You're stupid (I like that in a woman))

    [personal profile] wolof 2023-04-15 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Her face is split, in fury. It's ugly, on her face, twisted though it was. There's something to her eyes, without whatever was -- a madness that seems to return to her. Something indescripable and completely out of control. She's lost something important, and though Amos doesn't know what it is, and Akua doesn't remember, she knows it is... something important. A source of control? Perhaps? An answer to the jumble of thoughts and experiences that don't make sense anymore. The jumble of confusing thoughts and ideas that she doesn't understand and can't understand.

    She's so furious, but she isn't stupid. She's had too many experiences now to be so foolish.

    Why? What on earth possessed her to --
    ]

    No.

    [ She hissed it out, a pool of seething anger and aggression. ]

    I would watch your back, Amos. I do not suffer such attacks lightly.

    [ She would rend him -- tear him to pieces -- for the insult. She would force him to cut pieces of himself to serve her, if it meant her revenge completed. She would find the heart of his faction -- Zenith -- and she would destroy them, if it meant revenge would be served for the insult.

    Oh, she would destroy him, no matter who got into the way.

    And why...

    Wh did that make her feel so sick to her stomach, to think such a thing?
    ]
    zauneyete: (Menacing)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2023-04-16 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Silco's fast, and his heart is pounding, and he knows he should be focused on escaping, on getting out of here before Vander reaches out with his hands and catches him. He can't get close to the man, not without being dissipated, and it's not worth it, when he'd already taken his memories of Jinx -- not something he'd intended, but...

    But Silco had reached out to take them anyway. As soon as he'd seen them, he'd known, but it will all be for nothing, if he doesn't get out with his prize of stolen memories, and where he can get to safety.

    But he also cannot help but sneer at Vander, another two steps back toward the door. He stared at him, for a long moment, a narrowing of a single eye.
    ]

    You know so little.

    [ He won't explain it. Not to him. He doesn't deserve that.

    Silco took one step back, and then another, before he was far enough that he vanish from sight, slinking off into the shadows.
    ]
    baltimores: (138)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2023-04-17 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Amos is there when Atsumu reemerges, blanket open and ready to absorb him into it as well. They can take a minute or two to get some feeling back into themselves, surely. Dry off a little before redressing and making their way back to the library, maybe take the rest of the day off while they're at it.

    They did well here. Atsumu never should've been in a situation like this, but fuck it, they did well and it's over. Soon this is just going to be nothing more than a shitty memory...

    That and the loot they managed to grab should make it better. Maybe not now, but once they're warmed back up? It'll be good. ]
    baltimores: (055)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2023-04-18 09:10 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Okay, yeah, she's pissed. And she's clearly capable as long as someone isn't able to get the drop on her like he had, so... noted. Very, very much noted. Despite not knowing besting her like this would set her off, he's still someone who's made up of survival instincts; even if they're done here for now, he knows to take her seriously.

    So. ]


    Alright. [ It isn't a blank, empty statement. It's one of acknowledgment, verbal confirmation that he has heard her. Something is up with her, a wounded animal pinned down, and those types don't say shit just for the sake of it. She means every single thing she is saying right now, and it'd serve him best to believe it. ] Then I'll be ready for you the next time, too.

    [ Calm, composed, and just as serious as her. Why fuck around when a potential future adversary has told you exactly who they are?

    He pauses another moment, waiting, before lowering himself back to the ground. Making his way through the hall, down to the kaleidoscope — keeping her pinned as long as he can and as long as his range will allow, and keeping a watchful eye out for her all the while.

    She told him to watch his back? That's exactly what he'll do. ]
    settingup: (keep screwing that bitch)

    aaand that's a wrap

    [personal profile] settingup 2023-04-20 04:38 am (UTC)(link)
    [ It'll be helpful to Zenith at some point at least. That's the most Atsumu can really do right now, take some baby steps forward into proving his use, because unlike most of the others who got spared from their dying worlds, Atsumu didn't come in with useful skills already in hand.

    But baby steps to getting better, and baby steps to learning to actually trust his fellow Zenites too. Amos has definitely raised himself up in Atsumu's eyes after suffering with him through this.

    The necessarily physical proximity for the body heat doesn't hurt either. Hard to not feel closer to a guy after literally cuddling up to him in an attempt to avoid literally freezing to death.
    ]
    wolof: (Diabolist)

    [personal profile] wolof 2023-04-20 05:43 am (UTC)(link)
    Do not diminish my wrath.

    [ She spat it, like cruelty flaked from her mouth. Vile poison that spilled as her lips still peeled back, turning her normally fine smile into a feral gnashing of teeth, a too-wide, almost mad look in her eye. What had he taken? She remembered too many things, had too many questions. It had clearly been her defeat, but how, and why had she decided to play along with Catherine Foundling of all the people on Calernia? Someone she could have Crushed if given the chance.

    Why did she feel deep guilt, deep pain, and a loss that punctured her into her ribcage, and why did she then feel like there was a piece missing from her.
    ]

    I was called the Diabolist of Praes, and if you think I will not hunt you down with the very Demons that linger in the far-off hells, you will be greatly mistaken! Watch your ever step, for if I find you again, I will wreak horrors upon you that you will shudder to remember, and struggle to avoid.

    [ But Amos is backing up enough, her rambling, her madness explosive, and furious. Thankfully, she will regain this, but nothing will erase that fury. ]
    baltimores: (011)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2023-04-21 09:40 am (UTC)(link)
    [ He doesn't understand everything she's saying, but he gets the gist of it. She's pissed-pissed, perhaps more so than anyone has ever been at him.

    And might actually have the power to back her words up. This might have been a mistake.

    Oh well. Too late now. Amos turns, looking over his shoulder back at her. ]


    Noted. [ The calmness he meets her with probably isn't doing any favours, but how else is he supposed to react? He doesn't have any reason to be angry. And if he did he wouldn't be using any words, anyway; he'd be straining clawing growling his way to get at the person who had bested him, hurt him in such a way, a feral beast incapable of doing much else...

    And that is very much not here. Here a madwoman is throwing every term she can think of at him, because there isn't anything else she can do, and he gets that much.

    So. Her threats are noted.

    And with that, he's gone. ]