⏳ 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

rudbeckia de borgia • unharmonised • stargazer

[appeale]

I. EXPLORATION;

A. [ determined to make herself useful in some way, the Meri will find Rudbeckia (seemingly) happy to embark on a trip with them around the castle, even asking friendlier faces if they would be willing to explore with her, whether in search of resources or information. she comes bundled up in a cloak, no weapons or tools in hand, which is why she's quick to establish— ]

If anything happens, I'll just do whatever you tell me. [ she beams at them, guileless and trusting. ] I promise not to get in your way.

B. [ any Zenites are regarded with more caution, that stray cat wariness some may recognise from the mass Communion, but she also seems incapable of refusing offers made in the safety of the library, nor will she reject those she encounters in the halls. she'll inform her companion insistently that anything they find that they wish to lay claim to is all theirs—she isn't Harmonised, after all! she isn't here to compete, and only wants to be helpful in solving the mystery of what is going on in the Scorching Isle.

her behaviour is noticeably off: while her smile is always sunny and she seems to regard her companion with the thoughtless trust of a child, she will also flinch at the slightest movement in her direction. this contradiction doesn't seem to matter to her at all, as she chatters: ]

It's really sad that this happened to such a pretty place... Do you think people know about it, back in Springstar and Highstorm? I mean, has it always been cut off or did it just disappear one day?

II. HIDING;

[ she can't always be under someone's protection—although Rudbeckia never sets out from the library alone, there are inevitably times when she gets separated from her escort, having to run from a fight or just back away from cross-faction tensions that could turn violent. in those situations, the best thing for her to do is simply return to the library without running into a single living soul. surviving is all she can do, even if it means she has to live like a rat.

which is why anyone else exploring the castle and its grounds with at least some awareness of their surroundings might catch hurried footsteps echoing from around a corner just ahead of them, or the quiet snik of a door being closed down the hall; a flash of dark fabric in the junction of the Great Tree where its boughs meet the trunk (google says this is called a tree crotch but i am not writing that) or higher in the branches; a presence hiding in the bushes, or under a desk, or any other space she needs to crawl into just to escape an encounter.

neither faction nor familiarity seem to matter here. she'll hide from Meridian and Zenith alike without any moment of hesitation. ]

III. LIBRARY;

A. [ throughout the week, the vast majority of Ruby's time is spent in the library, either pouring over books or sleeping off the effects of the Stargazer debuff combined with her heavy usage of Sand. she's currently multi-tasking both at once, sprawled out across the floor on her back and holding an open book at arm's length above her. from her frown, she seems to be deep in thought, and eventually there is a quiet mutter: ]

... Isn't it actually kind of a bad idea to unfreeze any of this? [ exhausted, she lowers the book and just covers her face with it. ] I mean, if you have a plague stuck in ice, then melting it just means it's going to spread...

B. [ it's in the midst of reading the scroll she's unearthed that Rudbeckia suddenly stands from her seat and announces to the room at large, in a voice that is barely above speaking volume but with an alarmed expression on her face: ]

... Hey, um. I don't know if we should wake up the people here. [ bringing attention to herself causes her hands to shake; she wrings them together, anxious, and persists: ] Some of us probably already have, but—there might be something really wrong with everyone frozen.

C. [ she is tired, and cold, and so fucking sick of all this already. but she has to play a part, like she always does. it's more important than ever to establish her character, even if that puts her safety at risk. anyone in the library who she doesn't scan to her as hostile will get an offer: ]

It's cold, right? [ her voice is soft with exhaustion, but her smile is warm. ] We can sit together, if you want. I have a cloak with me we can share.

IV. WILDCARD;

[ plotting comment | phaseblast | discord: isa#2727. closed scenarios are below; if you want me to write a starter up for you, or you have a different thread idea you want to pursue, just hit me up! or throw me a tag about whatever and i'll roll with it. in general, she's going to be running at a fairly low level of sand available because she's using everything she can to invest in a few bastards valuable lifelines. but you can steal some from her too!

as always, mind Ruby's content warnings, as her abuse will most certainly come up in her reactions to other characters, and threads involving the sharing of food resources may vaguely refer to her disordered eating habits. ]

closed • hall of mirrors

[appeale]

FACE YOURSELF;   ( han sooyoung, gu yun, caren )

[ in the three years it's been since she became Rudbeckia de Borgia, not once has there been a time that she recognised herself in the mirror. on some days, she still forgets what this body looks like: thinks of herself with dark hair and a narrow face, until she catches a glimpse of golden blonde curls from the corner of her eye and her stomach sinks. when she was alive as that girl, she'd always hated her own appearance. even now, she's not entirely sure why she so desperately wants it back. It's not like you could ever even call yourself Korean, idiot. Which part of your identity are you trying to claim to have lost?

that is to say, being surrounded by reflections of herself—of Rudbeckia—is an unpleasant experience in many ways. perhaps that's why she doesn't hesitate to move close to her companion, even though they are essentially a stranger. her hand grips their arm, her small body tucked into their side, almost hiding behind them. ]

... This is a little creepy. Do you think we're safe here?

[ from the corner of your eye, where Rudbeckia's reflections should be, sometimes you see long, straight, black hair. ]

💖

[liuli]

[ good news for ruby: maybe that reflection is just gu yun's hair?

no im kidding. the mirror hall is an overall unpleasant sort of place, but in the hunt for the oracle, no stone goes unturned, and so, here he is. finding the young lady who sounded a little unsure over the communion had been a bit of a surprise, but gu yun's not about to leave anyone be. whether they're small and frail or some sort of battle hardened warrior, if they're not attempting to take his well guarded sand at the moment, he doesn't feel any fear letting someone come by for a truce.

so. he's walking through the hall of mirrors with his right hand on one of the mirrors, gloved fingertips absently touching the surface as they walk, navigating the labyrinth with relative ease. there's a sword at his hip, on the opposite side of ruby, but for now, gu yun doesn't reach for it, letting her grip his armored left forearm if she'd like.

despite his posture - tense, straight backed, like a panther poised to strike at any moment - gu yun's voice is easy and relaxed, like this is a corn maze instead of some sort of mirrored death trap as he answers her question. ]

I don't think we're safe much of anywhere, miss. [ his gaze flicks absently away from her - checking their surroundings, in front, behind, around. for a moment, the dark haired reflection is missed, if only because it walks so, so close to another one just like it. or - at least it appears to go missed?

gu yun doesn't acknowledge it, shows no verbal or visual reaction, but notes it, for now. interesting. very interesting. the conversation stays light. ]

Is your homeworld full of much magic?

[pyojeol]

[Unfortunately, Sooyoung is from before the movie 'Us', or she'd have some interesting examples to draw from -- but she is a voracious consumer of all kinds of media -- so she does recognize the hall for what it is: which is a place meant to confuse and unsettle, and probably do worse considering that it's between them and the supposed kaleidoscope.]

Feels like the perfect place for an otter to try and kill us in, honestly.

[mr. tibbs... derogatory.... Her eyes rove from reflection to reflection, trying to make sense of what flashes she can see: blond hair, blue eyes, black hair, narrowed eyes... She suddenly halts to a stop, turning her head to look again at what she was sure was a face with long hair? Directly into the mirror that's oh so conveniently placed in a way where Rudbeckia is entirely in its frame?]

-- What was that?

[She takes another look, just to be sure.]

[consolation]

[If she wanted a body to hide behind, Rudbeckia could have picked a better mark. But Caren herself is slight and small regardless of her composure, her dark clothes smudging the shape of her reflection the more it refracts in the infinite frames.

She can't easily be cowered behind, but Caren does look like someone who can be easily avoided or even outran, event accounting for the mission clothing she'd picked especially for mobility.]

We aren't safe anywhere in this place, and this is no exception. This room isn't flooded, so we won't have to swim. If that's the case, what do we have to be prepared for in its stead?

[Caren pauses at one of the junctures of mirrors and extends her hand toward it, half expecting the surface itself to ripple like water. It's unyielding, and she touches palms with her mirror image. Golden eyes that should be radiantly reflective in this environment are instead dull and distant, showing appraisal rather than recognition. She seems like someone unfamiliar with spending much time looking at her own reflection. There's a strange flicker of movement in one of the images several recursions in, a drop of water on glass.]

... Moving walls, maybe? That would surely drive the incautious insane, for nothing to be set in place.

closed • a walking sand resource

[appeale]

ESTABLISHING LIFELINES;   ( kim dokja, yoo joonghyuk, set )

[ while Rudbeckia may have decided to throw her meagre lot in with Meridian in the near future, that doesn't change the fact that faction alignment is almost useless to her. she'll never be able to have that kind of camaraderie; zealotry isn't a trait in her acting repertoire, and it has too many risks besides. she can't be a believer, she can't be useful to the cause, she certainly can't imagine anyone ever accepting her. that's simply the way it goes. rather than a faction, what she needs is individuals.

and that's something she's plenty experienced in. nobody will ever be on her side; the only way to survive is to be so fervently, hopelessly devoted to somebody else that it becomes worth keeping her around, as a simple resource if nothing else. she learnt her lesson with Iske; she was too greedy last time. if you let a stray dog into your home out of pity, it's only natural to throw it out when it starts sleeping on your bed. she won't make the same mistakes again.

hence she insists, cheerfully, to the companion she is exploring the castle grounds with—the lifeline she has chosen to test, to see if it will hold her pitiful weight— ]

You can use me for anything you need to. I really mean it! [ however she got here, whether they found her trembling alone somewhere, or she begged to accompany them and be of some use, it turns out the same: Ruby follows wherever she's led without any complaint or questions of intent. ] I would just give you the Sand, honestly, but at least this way, you don't have to waste your strength if there's anything you want to unfreeze now...

[regression]

[ In every life and iteration they really go through this. Joonghyuk has been leisurely strolling around the castle, of course with purpose, but calm about the situation despite how faction conflicts are bound to arise. Those are not of his interest, at least not yet.

They end up in the master library after a little patrol, I guess. She can watch him use his own sand to unveil whatever secrets in this book. Slowly, the cover reveals itself, much like the words within. Overall... He's displeased, but how can anyone be displeased about the accolades and reports on the efficiency and convenience of battle heels? It seems, overall, he had been barely acknowledging her presence yet she may get the sense that he is listening.

Maybe he's listening too well. ]

I'm not in either faction.

[ Frankly, he thinks allying with someone like himself is a poor choice for survival right now. ]

cw casual victim blaming??

[redsoil]

[ When he travels with Ruby, he carries on at one speed: his own.

That afternoon, he brings her along with him as he investigates the castle walls. It is a structure he is largely unfamiliar with in theory, but the sheer size and composition of it evokes memories within him of the great temples at Helipolis. His Heliopolis, not the one located in Springstar, mocking him with the use of such an illustrious name -- homage to Ra, who rose as the sun from the primordial sea.

There is a door in one of the walls, giving way to a tight stairwell that leads to a guard post; there is no Atirat figure there, so it is Set who looks out beyond the ramparts to the land enshrouded in fog. He points to the small desk, to the scattered papers and logs upon it. ]

We'll check these.

[ The implication being that he expects Ruby to spend her Sand upon it, not him. ]

Whether I perform the work or you do, we will reach the same conclusion. Checking the information written down by observers may provide helpful; someone may have recorded what happened, moments before all of this went down. If it was an even that occurred outside of the castle, at least.

[ In the small nook, he settles his hip along the creaking wood of the spiraling stair, elegant trident held loose between the fold of his arms as he, in turn, observes her. Little cowardly thing, flinching and shrinking and desperate to be used. She was exactly what he had seen women become, under his rule; she was precisely what he'd imagined humans to be, at their core.

For the gods to utilize, in any way they saw fit. Even now, he knows he is falling into old habit, yet Ruby makes it so easy to. ]

:p

[salvageable]

[ Their wanderings have taken them to the far-side of the castle, not for any particular reason other than the fact that Dokja is... lost! Hopelessly lost. His sense of direction has always been horrible, and seeing as this is his first time at this castle, he can't find his bearings at all. It might not have looked that way at first with his confident steps and assured strides, but after they pass the same hallway for a third time, that might be a hint as to what's really going on.

And maybe Dokja is starting to get that sense, too, only half-paying attention to his company chattering on easily beside him. He can't keep pretending he knows where he's going any more than he has because it's starting to get ridiculous how many times they've gone in a circle by now.

So he stops right in the middle of a corridor and places his hand against his chin like he's deep in thought. What was it that she had said before...? That he could use her? ]

Miss Rudbeckia, you wouldn't happen to remember what door we came from, do you?

[ Not exactly the Sand she had offered. It's lowkey embarrassing that he has to ask at all, but he's out of options and paths. ]

iii-b with a side of sleepy bitch disease??

[glowup]

[No matter how safe this library allegedly is, Anders has spent his whole time in here being continuously on edge. Nearly everyone here is bloodthirsty or plain irresponsible with personal safety, who's to say no one will start a riot in the library just for shock value? It's possible!!

So he's been tense. He's been keeping busy, mostly, by pacing back and forth between the corner he's claimed for himself as a healing area and the stacks of books, where he's picked up an innocuous-looking one of his own when she makes her announcement.

He looks at her over his shoulder, eyebrow raised.]

Besides being frozen in time and possibly ice, you mean? I'd hate to see them on a bad day.

[But okay, okay, seriously:] Did you find something interesting?

[appeale]

[ what a relief that someone actually responded to her, and only one person at that... Rudbeckia had said it as a PSA, but she didn't actually want to talk to everybody in the damn room; now she can retreat to a corner under the excuse of conversation. she comes to Anders with slightly unsteady steps, feet dragging under the exhaustion of whatever curse has befallen Stargazers as well as her nearly-empty Hourglass, and unravels the scroll in her hands to show him. ]

Ah—I think so... maybe.

[ Ruby hedges with a sort of self-conscious nervousness about her, as though she's worried she'll get in trouble for making a more certain statement. —well, no, that's exactly what she's worried about. the whole reason she decided to play dumb here in this third life, instead of trying hard to keep up as someone smart the way she did in her first, is that she knows the consequences for falling short. if she tries to speak as though she isn't an idiot, people will doubt her, and argue with her, and if they argue with her then they'll become angry and they'll...

anyway. she just needs to toe the line carefully. that's something she's very good at. ]

This says that people in the castle were "irrevocably changed." I don't know what "it" refers to, though...

iii-c

[ktizo]

[Hythlodaeus looks up from the book he's idly perusing- nothing important sadly, it's simply a children's story- and looks Ruby over. She seems as tired as he is, and he has to wonder if she's feeling similar effects to him.]

Of course. Come, sit.

[He pats the space beside himself.]

My thanks for the offer. It's so cold, and I'm so terribly tired. All in all, this is shaping up to be a rather miserable experience, isn't it?

[He chuckles humourlessly.]

Ah, but we mustn't mope... we will be free of this place soon enough, I am sure.

[appeale]

[ there's no hesitation in her movements as Rudbeckia slides in next to Hyth, huddles against his side and drapes her cloak around them both, but their Stargazer connection resonates with a prickling wariness on her end—someone who is, even in this moment, for no reason at all, prepared to be hurt. Ruby laughs gently. ]

It certainly hasn't been easy... You're a Stargazer too, right? I can feel it.

[ and she recoils from it, despite the friendliness of her demeanour. ]

You're right, though! At least we can stay safe here and just wait it out.

ii

[cutlery]

[ Above all else, Sebastian hated feeling weak.

It’s his pride above all certainly, but for a demon, weakness was deadly. It was simply part of their culture (if it could be called such) that if any flicker was shown, it was something to be taken advantage of. So, the weariness that fell upon Stargazers was something he absolutely loathed. He would push himself, and he could do so much more than most, but when it came time to need something like rest… Naturally, he wouldn’t do so in the library.

So, as Ruby slips into a room to hide from someone else, the sound of her entering the room comes with a feeling first. They’re both Stargazers, and therefore both prone to the bond of empathy that unites Aspects. As someone enters the room, there’s first an intense, visceral feeling that’s like hackles raised and fangs bared more than a single emotion. And yet, as Sebastian’s attention snaps up, it’s gone so suddenly that it surely feels abrupt, like a word cut off mid-syllable. ]

Ah— Signora?

[ It’s an uninteresting room that she’s found, a bare room of desks and chairs for meetings of some sort, which is exactly why Sebastian had picked it. He’s sitting against a far wall, rather clearly having been resting. He doesn’t move from his sitting position, but in comparison to that sharp burst of feeling, his expression is now one of polite surprise. He sees her posture as she slips in, and with a slight tilt of his head he asks curiously, but with a softer tone: ]

Is someone coming?

[appeale]

[ that short-lived feeling that crackles through the Stargazer resonance like a spark is matched in kind with immediacy: Ruby, ever sensitive to hostility even without empathic bonds, snaps into the mindset of prey before she registers what is happening. it isn't just the rabbit-quick heartbeat that Sebastian will feel or the instinct to flee; for a moment, there is a blind and terrified certainty, beyond reason, that she is going to die right now.

but that flash of wild, animal fear he feels is only reflected an instant on Rudbeckia's expression. the smile that follows seems to come easily to her, either thoughtlessly sincere or otherwise well-practised. without scrutiny, it would be easy to read it as genuine; under a sharper gaze, her eyes still tremble with fright, and there is a mollifying air about her vacant façade, like a dog bowing its head in submission. ]

Signor Michaelis! [ despite her apparent cheer, she stays rooted at the door. her hand does not leave the doorknob. ] No, I, um... There was someone, but— Sorry, I didn't want to cause any trouble, so I thought it would be best if I just stayed out of the way...

[ for some reason, the more she tries to explain herself, the higher her fear ratchets, that feeling of dread growing more and more. it's always been a point of anxiety for her: no one will listen, no one wants to hear her speak, she should just accept the consequences without a word. so she trails off, and instead deflects— ]

I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you.

[ is it safer to stay in here with a predator, or to go outside and face something unknown? ]

I-A

[gravings]

[ In Gray's homeworld, she became used to being relied upon. In the months since she's left it, she's felt quite the opposite; her peers now are overwhelmingly older than her with a sense of adult responsibility, and thus hesitant to rely on a girl as young and harmless-looking as she is, no matter how much she requests otherwise.

So it's a little nice that this woman is so willing to trust in Gray's ability. At the same time, it makes her a little nervous — that this elegant-looking woman is placing such high expectations on her. Gray does her best to shoo that nervousness away and put on a more reliable air, or at least not look totally surprised at the woman's trusting beam. ]

If anything does happen, please get behind me. I'll do my best to keep you safe.

[ Gray doesn't know Rudbeckia very well or even at all, but it's hard for her to ignore a friendly face. In any case, time's a-wastin', so she tentatively begins to walk...... somewhere. ]

Is there anything you think we should look for first?

[appeale]

[ there aren't many things that Rudbeckia will hesitate to do in the name of her own survival, but out of everything, putting the responsibility on a young girl to protect her... kind of makes her feel like a scumbag. she's well aware that there is probably some manner of fantasy genre bullshit going on, and it means that this kid is a thousand times more capable than someone like her could ever hope to be—in which case, it's not much different to being protected by Endymion or any other squire.

... it still doesn't feel good, though. they should take extra care to avoid running into anyone else so that nothing has to happen. ]

Um, I'm not entirely sure... [ it's a habit of hers to deflect in this way, carefully side-stepping the consequences of a more certain statement. ] Although, it seems likely that everyone went right to the kitchens to gather food, so shall we look for blankets instead?

[ for all appearances, Ruby is carefree as she walks alongside Gray, her fingers laced together behind her back and her steps light, almost skipping. ]

It's quite cold, and we're going to be here a while.

iii-a

[epiprocta]

[ He's been zoning out by himself where he's seated on the floor an armslength or two away, nursing a cigarette while staring into the middle distance and trying not to think about how fucking tired he is of all this magical bullshit. So while Gen doesn't really give a shit about the long-term repercussions of their actions, because he's far more concerned with short-term survival -- he does look over when Ruby's low mutter provides him with a convenient distraction. ]

Yeah? A little genius, aren't you?

[ Those pointy dog ears he'd grown in the past month still haven't faded, and one gives a flick in thought as Gen takes a lazy drag at his cigarette. The stare he fixes on her is confrontational and sharp, and he holds it in silence for just a little too long, just enough to make her uncomfortable before he continues. ]

So s'better that we all just starve to death together, then? Or are you one of the lucky few that can just live off of sunshine and air.

[appeale]

[ the reminder that anyone else is around her and might be listening causes Rudbeckia to bolt upright, her book falling to the floor with a soft thud—but more than that, it's the sudden hostility that raises her hackles. Gen barely catches a glimpse of alarm on her expression before she ducks her head, avoiding his stare, fingers twisting in her skirts. ]

N-No, that's not...

[ there's no point in explaining herself. it's not like she can tell the truth: that it had been absent-minded, that she had simply found herself thinking about events in recent years before her first life ended, the anthrax outbreak in Russia ascribed to the thawing of a reindeer corpse frozen in permafrost, the discussion surrounding further viruses that might emerge due to climate change. and if she could say any of that, what would it matter? this boy didn't ask because he wants to hear it.

no, she knows that tone. she's heard it so many goddamn times in her lives that she can't even associate it with just one voice. ]

I'm sorry. [ this is how it goes: rather than trying to defend herself, it's best to accept the fault. ] You're right, it was stupid. I shouldn't have spoken.

i-a;

[hurricaneofblood]

[ It is uncertain how friendly a face she finds Flamebringer. But he is Meridian, at least. His head twists to look toward her. ]

What do you mean? [ What a confusing thing to say. ] I am a blade that is meant to cut through others. [ He gestures lightly with his free hand. ] You're the one that's supposed to order me around.

[ And he barks out a single laugh. ] At least while we're headed the same way.

iii-b.

[ragou]

[ Just to her left, in the shadow made between two upright bookshelves, Douman peers out to look at the girl who's spoken; he has his own book open, long index finger poised over the phrase "the court wizard proposed a drastic solution".

Very compelling. Douman steps into the dim of the library's lamplights, knife-sharp smile tempered by curiosity. ]

Ahー more information on our mysterious calamity, miss?

[ Bringing his book with him, he sweeps over with misplaced insouciance. ]

More bad news, I take it. How vexing, how vexing.

closed • childe finds a cat stuck in a tree

[appeale]

[ it had been a good idea at the time: Rudbeckia was separated from the person who set out from the library with her, and went looking for the courtyard to retrace her steps back to safety; she'd heard a commotion in the hallways nearby, so she scrambled up the trunk of the Great Tree to avoid coming across anybody else; she had climbed a little higher, wary of any summons below—

and now, after how much effort it took to claw her way up here, she can't get out of the tree. of course. either she can make the attempt to climb down and probably injure herself in the inevitable fall, or she can call out to a passer-by for help—of the two options, the latter is significantly riskier, even though the former is all but guaranteed to have a painful outcome. there's no way of knowing how badly things will turn out if she puts herself in someone else's hands here. she hates pain, but at least she's accustomed to it, so she'll wait until the courtyard is clear and then she'll get started.

that's the plan, anyway. Tartaglia may have already been aware of the presence in the branches of the Great Tree, but it wouldn't matter even if he had missed it, because in the still silence of the courtyard, a dainty shoe drops to the ground with a soft thud.

Ahhh, I knew I should have worn better shoes—! ]

ii!

[whatlore]

[Imagine if I tagged you just for the sake of writing "tree crotch"

I did not but I can't stop laughing about it help. ANYWAY

It's a lucky thing for Ruby that this time, she's scrambled past someone who is not particularly inclined to start a fight. It may not necessarily be reassuring (fair enough), but nothing about his body language denotes violence or bloodlust in any way. In fact, he's wandering the halls as casually as if he were a curious tourist, utterly immune to the war zone around them.

He slows to a stop in front of the bush she's hiding in; when he crouches down, he tilts his head, peering at her with curious pale eyes.

Helpfully--]

Your skirt's sticking out a bit, on the left.

iii b

[goldendeceiver]

[ Ruby isn't the only one that's been spending most of her time in the library. In fact, as a fellow unharmonized Stargazer, Ernesto has been having a lot of the same problems she's been dealing with, though he's been a lot more sparing with his Sand.

He is perfectly content to look over the books that others have unfrozen and deemed not important enough to take with them though, as well as slowly meandering through the library as he tries to discern from titles whether or not something is worth his time to waste his limited resource on.

The sudden announcement from the girl nearby distracts him from his current hunt, and a rare frown crosses his face as he notices the anxious behavior. The floppy ears on top of his head perk up, and his brow furrows slightly as he fully turns to face her. ]

What makes you say that?

[ His gaze flits away from where she's wringing her hands together, to the scroll she was just reading. ]

a late: ii

[wolof]

[ It is the unmistakable sound of footsteps, and the telltale swish swish of skirts that caught her attention, as she made her own confident steps along the hallways of the castle. A rhythmic click click of her heels -- and that she had chosen heels certainly said a lot about Akua Sahelian, didn't it? -- but she barely paid it any mind at first.

At least, until she turned the corner, only to see a shadow dart into a room, and the soft thp of a door closing, and her golden eyes caught sight of it, and she followed.

Click, click, click went her heels, before she readied a spell at her fingertips, not ready to launch, but close enough.

After all, these hallways could be dangerous, and it could be someone prepping an ambush behind the doors. She held a hand up behind her, as if grasping something in her outstretched fingers, but there was no obvious light or signs of magic. Yet.

She opened the door, and peered in, looking for signs of what Could be her quarry. Or just a scared young girl, but she doesn't know that yet. ]