⏳ 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

[baltimores]

[ The shriek has Amos wincing — both from its pitch, and the part where he doesn't know what it'll do to him. If it's a precursor to more singing, more freezing him in place, what. He brings the sword back to his side, staring up at her to determine what would finish the job the quickest here. Her words wash over him, the nature of her voice of more concern to him than her actual speech, which simply goes in one ear and out the other.

Fact of the matter in his eyes is she's trying to kill him — worse than kill him, leave him alive and frozen in place, trapped in an inescapable hell without even death available as a release — so she's the enemy. You kill your enemies. That's how the world works. There's a part of Amos' mind that recognizes what Vander is doing, and holds an appreciation for it, but it's not something he'd do himself. Not when attack-attack-attack is all his own brain is telling him, a hurried sort of calm dictating his emotions. There's an urgency, but he's at peace here.

Won't be, if she sings again.

The Siren lifts herself, and Amos goes up with her, using his gravity magic to levitate behind her. He isn't as fast, though. And he isn't that practised with a sword, let alone wielding one in zero g. All he can do is hope for the best as he aims for her neck, but one wrong move will knock him off balance and unable to strike — to say nothing of the fact that he doesn't know what will happen to him if he freezes in place again while in mid-air; if he'll fall back to the ground or keep rising or what.

Urgency is just the name of the game right now, so it's a risk he's gotta take — high risk in that he might be leaving himself completely screwed here; high reward in that a good shot might just kill her, as he swings the sword. ]

[exhound]

[Amos’s successful strike is somehow both satisfying and dismaying. The most base instinct driving him to fight is pleased that they have gained an edge in this fight, proven that they have a chance to turn the tides before her strange magic sweeps over them again. Yet the more rational voice in the back of his head reminds him that he wanted to save the people of this island, not fight them, and seeing that dark blood splatter goes in direct opposition of that.

But that shriek of hers reminds him of what they are dealing with—that they need to focus on the here and now. If she catches them with her song it could be the end of them.

Vander rushes forward, his unadorned hand darting forward to grab that spear she barely managed to hold onto, his armed fist held at the ready if she tries to retaliate. It’s a hell of a gamble, banking on the chance at disarming her even if it puts him in the dangerous position right before her with the threat of her song imminent, but there's no time to think it through. Internally, he is flinching at the thought of being frozen in such close proximity, even as he speaks once more.]

You don’t need to do this! We can stop this right here and now.

[The conflicting aim of one last plea, one more chance to buy Amos time as he raises his sword from his conspicuous mid-air position.]

[kenosevents]

If you want to stop this, then you will both leave me! Like all others have.

[ It comes from a place of pure anguish as she abandons her song again to rush the words out. Sufficiently distracted, she doesn't notice the man and his gravity-defying magic at her back. Instead she takes a moment to pick up the weapon and cleave it toward the person that she does see.

It's done in the motion of someone swinging a baseball bat. Unnatural, untrained, and with no proper knowledge of using the weapon she's been given.

Whatever the weapon makes contact with would feel the full force. Would it be the wall, the platform, or a person? It would depend on what her target does. ]

[baltimores]

[ Vander's doing a good job of distracting her — maybe too good a job if she's aiming for him now, and Amos can't have that.

It's all words, meaningless in a life-and-death scenario. The only thing that counts for anything is action, which is precisely what Amos is taking. Too late to stop her from attacking Vander again, which is irritating; no matter how poor she is with a weapon, she's big enough to be able to do some real damage with one.

But so is Amos, as he gets high enough to have a clean shot at her neck, putting all of this strength in his swing, aiming for decapitation.

He also only gets the one shot, the movement from his swing — whatever the result — sending him to slowly drift away from her, leaving him completely vulnerable if he missed in any way and is spotted. High risk, high reward, but with the threat she poses it has to be done. ]

[exhound]

((Sorry for the delay, guys! Had a very busy week.))

[It’s daunting to be staring her down now, despite it being the outcome he had hoped for. The anguish painting her words is a hard counter to any sort of reason he might brandish against her. Still, there’s little time to even contemplate that when she’s lashing out at him now.

A swing like that is readable enough to someone who spent countless years fighting face-to-face with his opponents. A fist and a spear are different though, and with her size and desperation putting frantic speed into the swing, a proper side-step feels like it may flirt too close to the more dangerous end of that weapon.

So instead he steps forward as she swings, takes a hit from the spear’s shaft against one side in order to avoid that dangerous point and give himself an opportunity. He braces himself for the impact, but even still, it practically knocks the wind out of him. He grits his teeth, braces his feet as much as he can on the slick ground, and uses his gauntlet-wearing arm to pin the weapon there against his side. His free hand then darts forward to grab at the weapon and pull, aiming to either disarm or distract as Amos’s swing comes down from above.]

[kenosevents]

( Np <3 )

[ The strike from Amos is effective. Though her head stays on her shoulders, the weapon pierces her neck so deeply that her breathes begin to sound like guttural choking. The sound is wet, thick, and garbled. There would be no singing now.

A shrill sound of metal clattering to the floor is clear as she drops the spear in favor of putting her hand to her neck.

It seems almost in vain as the black blood quickly leaks through the cracks in her fingers and down the corners of her mouth. The graceful Siren drops to the floor. She can fight no longer, and it would only take the moments that quickly pass to see her saccomb to the injury. ]

[baltimores]

((<3!!))

[ All Amos can do after swinging is watch — and listen. The latter very well could have presented itself a problem, but the sound of choking is a relief, and he exhales a breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding.

He's left to continue to drift back towards one of the walls of the chambers, keeping the greatsword at the ready in case she's still able to fight. But no — she falls, and he can see the blood pooling out from her neck. The way she doesn't move again.

Amos hits the wall, uses his free hand to brace himself against it. Another beat as he waits to make sure nothing's going to happen, and then, calling out towards Vander from his elevated position, ] You okay?

[ His voice is calm, if only a little concerned just in case Vander isn't. But as far as he cares, that's all that matters right now. ]

[exhound]

[Vander exhales—one part relief and one part pained sympathy. It’s never a pretty thing to take a life, and a wound like that is a terrible way to go. He watches her collapse to the floor, stepping back carefully and watching the dark blood pool beneath her.

It’s not until Amos calls out that he looks away from the grisly scene. His eyes trail to find his friend, curiously, perched up on the wall. He drops the spear he had pinned against his side with a clatter, then reaches with his unarmed hand to carefully feel that spot that she’d struck him. He winces.]

Gonna have a hell of a bruise, but I’m alright.

[He takes a step back, but keeps his attention focused more towards Amos and not the body only feet away.]

Probably a good thing you got her when you did. Wish we could’ve talked her down, though.

[The whole thing happened so fast, but… Shit. A victory like this hardly felt good.]

[baltimores]

Can't talk down someone like that. She was nuts, and her voice was stronger than the two of us put together. Only solution was taking her out.

[ His voice is clinical, logical — he's just laying out the facts here, as far as he's concerned. Amos doesn't notice how Vander is ignoring the Siren's body, because it isn't something he'd think to look for. She's dead, she had to die, it doesn't really matter.

He pushes himself off against the wall, gradually increasing his weight as he arcs down to come to a stop not too far from Vander, with all the grace that spending decades in space has brought him. ]

Bruise isn't so bad. [ Amos lands right next to the Siren's body and takes a second to look over at her with an assessing eye — yup, she's dead alright — before looking back at Vander. ] What now?

[ There's sand left over... and that's kind of a valuable commodity here, isn't it. ]

[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.]

[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. ]

[exhound]

Or help the locals shake off this curse of theirs.

[The response is knee-jerk and instinctual, tone thoughtful rather than contrary. That use of the sand has been forefront on his mind ever since their furry little host explained the situation to them, so it’s naturally the easiest decision to leap right to it. But it’s not until a moment after he says it that he realizes the disparity between their initial ideas for the sand.

He’d been making his way over to meet with Amos at the hourglass, but his steps falter slightly and now it’s his turn for a frown to ghost his features for just a moment.]

Figure with all of this going on their turf, it’s the least we can do.

[There’s another echo of that feeling of discomfort, but it’s subtler now. Just an undercurrent flowing beneath his continued words.]

[baltimores]

[ He pauses when Vander speaks up, ultimately stopping to turn back around to face him proper, not even going for the hourglass anymore, because this is... what.

Bafflement written across his face, Amos takes note of the thoughtful tone, like Vander's idea was instinctual to him. He feels that ripple of discomfort between the two of them as well, a muted version starting to emanate from Amos himself, because... what. ]

You think so? [ It's a real question at least, because now he's just confused. He and Vander have always seemed to be on pretty much the same page ever since they met. Amos trusts his judgment more than his own. But... he knows he's the one in the right here, not Vander. ] They're basically dead. Makes more sense to take what we can get so we don't join them.

[ They had their chance. It isn't even survival of the fittest, it's survival of the still living, and that'd be the two of them. Not the locals. ]

[exhound]

[His brows furrow as the confusion begins building a little more, echoing between the two men. After the last couple of months with the two of them seeming to be riding the same wavelength, it’s an odd sensation to finally find a snag in it. It feels like the jolt one gets when stepping off of an unexpected curb.]

Only dead if we leave them to it.

[It shouldn’t be a big deal. No two people are going to see eye-to-eye one hundred percent of the time… but this isn’t something simple like a disagreement on personal tastes. These are people’s lives.

He shifts his stance, wincing briefly as his side protests against the movement. There’s no judgment in his words as he continues to speak, just a more apparent tinge of the confusion hanging in the air around them.]

Just think it could be worth lending them a hand. Doubt they asked to end up in this mess.

[baltimores]

[ Amos stays still. Documents Vander's shift — his wince — but stays perfectly still.

He's confused. They both are, and that isn't going away any time soon. But there's an element of caution now, too, because he doesn't know how far Vander is willing to go for his ideals. Considering how Amos is drawn to him, feels he's a good guy, someone he would want to follow...

He wouldn't be surprised if it was far enough to become a problem.

And despite the way this seems to be going, he really doesn't want it to become a problem. ]

Shit happens to people all the time. Ask has got nothing to do with it. Doesn't mean you stop keeping your head on straight. It's not like you even know them.

[ And underneath, a silent plea echoing across their empathic bond: Please don't do this. ]

[exhound]

[For just a brief moment, Vander almost wants to press the issue. Amos is a good guy—a very straightforward kind of person, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders. So part of him wants to make him see sense. To question why he’d take a cold and almost callous view of the situation like this.

But Vander has learned over years spent trying to maintain a fragile peace back home when to leave well enough alone.

So he hesitates, nearly as still as Amos has become while he takes a moment to watch him. Takes in the feeling of that quiet plea from his fellow Exalt. The he exhales, and when he speaks, his words have the tentative air of offering an olive branch.]

Guess we might need to agree to disagree on that one.

[Alright. He won’t push it if Amos won’t. Not that it leaves them in a great position here, with that precious sand just out of reach and no real consensus about its purpose. But if they can avoid getting into it here, now, then fine.]

We got more than enough on our plate in this place as it is.

[baltimores]

[ There's relief at that olive branch.

He doesn't want to have to fight Vander. He really doesn't. Does he think he could take the man? Sure. Does he also think Vander could take him? Yeah, it's possible. But whoever would win that particular pissing match doesn't matter, because he doesn't want it to begin with.

A silent thank you reverberates through the air between them, at Vander's willingness to concede something, to be the bigger person, because Amos is pretty sure he himself wouldn't. Not on his own. Too single-minded. Too focused on the goal before them. Too capable of stabbing a friend in the back if he saw the need.

He doesn't want to be that, but he is. ]

We sure do. [ Got enough on their plate; fuck, they could've died in this room, too. They really don't need to get into it here.

But.

Amos glances back at the sand behind him, because they maybe aren't going to fight, but they also aren't going to leave all of that just sitting there.

Back at Vander, with a tilt of his head indicating the sand. ]

What do you want to do with that? Split it or something?

[ It sounds kind of dumb, the question almost rhetorical, and something in him does make his skin crawl at the idea of just leaving so much he could use on the table, but. Vander's his friend.

Maybe they could just do that? If Vander doesn't think it's a stupid idea, after all. ]

[exhound]

[He exhales, long and slow, with the relief that comes from letting the tension of this near-standoff fall to the wayside. There’s a very slight nod given in return for that unspoken thanks, something nearly imperceptible, but he leaves it at that. Trying to acknowledge or dance around this problem any longer risks stirring it back up, and neither of them want that.

It doesn’t feel good though.

Vander resumes the approach he’d abandoned while they confronted their mutual confusion, and comes to a halt alongside Amos now. He follows his gaze, that tilt of his head, back down to the sand that was the start of this whole mess. He considers it for a moment, along with the almost off-handed suggestion.]

Might be the easiest solution… [He turns his attention back over to his friend, looks him in the eyes.] If you’re up for it.

[If they’re intent on not pushing the issue… this might be the best way to avoid it. Maybe the only way.]

[baltimores]

[ He hates this. Everything had just been going so fucking well between them, only to be ruined by this stupid shit. (It's not stupid. It's beyond pivotal, more important than anything they've ever discussed before.) Amos absorbs that discomfort from Vander and feels it for himself, reflecting it right back at him. Just...

At least they're standing beside each other again. At least they've got that much, right?

He looks sharply back up at Vander at the endorsement of his suggestion. ] Really? [ A childlike surprise in his voice, as though he hadn't actually been expecting that.

It quickly gives way to relief. Gratitude. Just... this is so shitty, but... ]

I am. [ Up for it. He doesn't like it, doesn't hide the fact that he doesn't like it, but tamps those feelings down in favour of coming to an easy solution with someone he respects. Likes. Had almost felt like something like a brother to him, until now. (Maybe still does? Shit, he doesn't know.) ] I don't want to...

[ Kill you, and it's uncharacteristic of him to not actually just say the words out loud, but he doesn't.

Amos backtreads. ]

You gotta have a good reason to do what you want to do with it. So I trust you.

[ And — as much as he doesn't like it, as much as it continues to go against his instincts, it is the truth. ]

[exhound]

[Tensions between people are inevitable. It’s a fact of life, an uncomfortable one. Something that always makes itself known, particularly when it might sting the most. And this sure does sting.

It’s not the first time Vander’s stumbled into something like this. He won’t let it go that wrong again. He won’t.

Thus, the straightforward compromise. Maybe they don’t see fully eye-to-eye on how to go forward with it, but he doesn’t want it to turn into a fight. Knows that they’d both be incapable of backing down if it escalates to that point.]

Likewise. It’ll be going to good use no matter what.

[The best way to look at it. The way that lets them sweep this potential problem out from in front of them. They know what they’re about. Maybe they’re going about it different ways, but it is what it is.

So Vander nods, holds out a hand. Shake on it. We good?]

[baltimores]

[ Amos nods in turn, takes Vander's hand with a good grip, shakes on it. Because he's right — it is going to good use no matter what. Never mind that the two of them might have different ideas of what good use is. Never mind that they might be incompatible uses. Here, and now, there's really no better use than what keeps them from fighting one another.

So they're good. His shake is firm before he extricates himself, suspecting it's time to... well, draw a line in the sand. Halfway down it, an equal share among them because that's how they're doing this. No subterfuge. Nothing but open honesty and agreement, because fuck it, they are brothers, even if they think differently. It doesn't have to be a bad thing. It doesn't have to come between them.

What they're doing is fair, and good, and just, and Amos doesn't always get that right. So, just before getting underway, ]

Thank you.

[ Doesn't matter if Vander understands what he's thanking him for or not. Just matters that he says it, because it's too important not to. ]