the boy is back in town [diplomanon conclusion]

[beleos]

Who: Manon, the Shard-Bearers, and special surprise guest(s)!
What: Manon has been revived, and there are questions to be asked
Where: The Tree of Life
When: March 3rd

MANON'S REVIVAL

A few days prior, Manon’s Shard had been planted at the Tree of Life (Tier 2 Meridian and/or those involved with the purification process would know it was by the Tribune himself), and as promised, his revival is providing a neutral ground in which to meet and talk to the man. The Meridian involved in purifying him have been given some basic clothing for Manon, including an eyepatch since just like every other Shard-Bearer who has suffered dissipation, he’ll be hatching from a cocoon the tree weaves. It’s at least a little dignity to be given as a belated “apology” for his revival being a spectacle.

Indeed, when he frees himself from the cocoon, he won’t be ready to be questioned. He’s weak and shaky on his feet, but he’s still rather quick to collect himself and get dressed. Surprisingly, with no apparent shame over being that spectacle!

Some people have “met” Manon already by Communing with his Shard, but otherwise, this is the first that most will be able to see the man causing all of this fuss. He’s short with rust-colored hair and one eye completely covered by the eyepatch he’d been given. He doesn’t exactly seem pleased to be here, though. He looks like he’d much rather be anywhere else. But he’s eventually ready to talk. Best to get this over with.

INTERRUPTIONS

People are given their chances to question Manon and ask him whatever they wish, but not for long.

Quite suddenly and with no more preamble than a strange, crackling feeling throughout everyone’s Shards, a portal suddenly opens behind all of them. First, out steps a small, slight looking girl whose eyes immediately fall on Manon. But a much larger, more monstrous figure steps out behind her with odd, misshapen hands plodding onto the ground and gripping the roots.

A massive creature plods out, and the flowers that surround the skull ripple as if alive. Both the petals of the flower and the very human hair that drift on the creature’s neck are lavender. A very specific shade of it, in fact. And it howls in a way that would be deafening, were it heard with your ears. No, this scream tears through your very Shards in a way that’s almost paralyzing, and as the portal starts to close, other, smaller creatures skitter out along the larger ones’ feet. It seems someone doesn’t want Manon to talk at all.

And for one of the Shard-Bearers among you, that scream digs deeper. Like a poison into their Shard, it pulls out something vicious, something feral, something they had long wished was left behind—But the past isn't always the past.

---

OOC NOTES

This portion of the log is divided into four portions because the majority are limited for the mods’ sake. With the exception of number four (which is not limited), you may only sign up for one of these sections or to chase Manon (see next section) because these are all taking place essentially simultaneously.

1. Vander ; Vander (exhound, played by Thirteen) has entered a berserker state and will attack friend and foe without being able to solidly distinguish between the two. Vander can be injured (even severely), but this thread will end with Vander’s capture by Aetós. You can find this toplevel here.
   
   
2. The Girl (Adelfoúla) ; This is a NPC who will be played by Prince, and is limited to a group of no more than three characters. This thread will end with Adelfoúla’s capture since she will be interrogated to find and rescue Vander. You can find this toplevel here.
   
   
3. The Creature (Aeternae) ; Is limited to a group of no more than three characters, but will be controlled by these players a la a PvE encounter. The Creature is able to attack with psychic powers (similar to the Force in Star Wars or biotic powers in Mass Effect) and is otherwise very large (Hayame-sized the size of a very large horse) and strong, but not overly so. It will regenerate from all attacks unless the skull is smashed, and it can close the petals of the flower to temporarily protect itself. You can find this toplevel here.
   
   All characters that participate in this thread will also be given psychic information about what happened to create the creature, so comment here to note your participation so I can give you that info! The Creature will also subject everyone present to opt-in effects, which are not limited to only the thread participants.
   
   
4. Smaller Creatures ; Are not limited encounters, and are controlled by the players a la a PvE encounter. These are smaller, more easily killed monsters that are able to use minor psychic attacks as well as poison when someone is clawed or bitten if you want to go a combat route or can cause more temporary versions of the Aeternae's effects as listed. You can also make up your own style of lil' skullbeast! This is free for players to get creative with and create a fun encounter however you see fit. All characters that participate in this kind of thread will also be given psychic information about what happened to create the creature, so comment here to note your participation so I can give you that info! In addition, please place all threads to engage the smaller creatures here.

GIVING CHASE

As soon as the chaos breaks out, the first to take advantage is… Manon. Though weakened from just hatching from the Tree of Life, Manon immediately runs into the labyrinthine maze of roots that make up the Tree of Life. He’s not so honorable as to stay and fight, and this may be his only chance to actually escape. However, it does also leave him without the protection he was promised…

---

OOC NOTES

This section is limited to a maximum of three characters from each faction, and they will not be able to participate in the previous section. Manon is fleeing immediately, so giving chase means that these characters similarly will not be sticking around to witness what happens.

We encourage discussion of which characters will be participating in this portion of the post in the associated Discord Thread for this plot since the factional makeup of this team is likely very tied to Manon’s fate. As Loremasters, we’re truly cool with whatever, so we encourage players discuss how to make a satisfying narrative and future plot opportunities out of Manon’s overall fate rather than trying to “win” the encounter. Also to note, Manon is weakened, but will be attacking anyone that attacks him assuming (probably correctly) that they’re trying to kill him. There is a risk of dissipation in this encounter!

If a conclusion to this thread is not reached by Wednesday, March 8th, Christy will reach out to all thread participants, and we’ll come to an OOC conclusion for Manon’s overall fate to prepare for the Setting Updates that Friday! We can obviously continue to thread it, though! The toplevel for this chase can be found here.

CODING

Comments

[kenosnpcs]

[ Manon grits his teeth. The pressure here is much stronger than anything he’s gone up against before, and maybe normally, maybe a few months ago, he could have pushed back. But now? It’s much harder. He’s weak in so many senses, and though his eye glances around to the familiar faces that he’s “met” before now, still. He relents.

There’s not much point in keeping a secret he doesn’t even want to keep, really. He just doesn’t want everyone to know. To know him. ]

Papers. [ He spits it out with a laugh, but still, even trying to pull back this memory— It’s difficult. Fuzzy in a way that he suddenly knows, because it’s his first time thinking about it again. ] It was just papers when I was supposed to go kill…

[ He cuts off with a slightly pained noise, because the memory is hard to grip, getting even more indistinct and patchy as he pulls it forward. ]

Some Meridian. Voreen. Got the file from Kathova as usual, but there were others out. It’s... hard to remember. I'm guessing some asshole in between made sure I wouldn't remember.

[kenosnpcs]

[ Immediately, Manon doesn’t like this guy, and his distaste is open. It’s not his little speech, not even his titles, but calling himself an enchanter. That’s where his neutral frown turns into a much deeper scowl. ]

What, so you can go be friendly with that dickbag? Go find him and ask him yourself if you're so interested. Sounds like you two would get along great.

[kenosnpcs]

[ There’s a few faces in the crowd that he recognizes, and of course, Liem is one of them. He’s been helping him, and it’s not something that Manon is unappreciative of. It was unexpected, honestly. So, compared to his more brusque responses to what are truly strangers, his tone isn’t quite so rude, but he’s still hesitant. It’s also just hard to piece together. ]

…Bits and pieces. It doesn’t come through clearly. Sometimes, I had, I don’t know. I’ll call it “control”. Sometimes it was the other people.

[ He shakes his head, then gives a shrug. ]

But when I was there? It was like every Shard was a blinding light. I, we were going towards it to put it out. None of us could really control it. [ There’s a pause again, and quietly, he offers: ] Still. I’m sorry.

[settingup]

Smaller creature fighting!

[sharmat]

(he responds first with the truth:) We will find Aetós. (manon's anger is understandable, though inconvenient. if the people here were less sensitive about necromancy, he might be able to convey himself properly.

humans never were fond of it, but they come from different cultures with different values.)

When we do, they will be incarcerated and interrogated. This conversation, however, is about your experiences. To understand them is to understand the nature of what is happening and to perhaps find a way to reverse what has been done... to untwist what has been twisted. If I can ask them about it, then I shall; these repeating events may finally be halted.

What makes you think we'd get along?

[settingup]

[ The scream feels like it knocks the air right out of him, and Atsumu hunches forward as he clutches at his chest, a surprised wheezing sound escaping from him. He's felt soul crushing misery eating away inside of him before when he was force fed a substance called Kenoma, and endured a pain almost as bad when Yima expunged it out of him.

But pain is one thing, and it neither of those experiences left him with the same bone-chilling sense of fear that this silent scream did. This is not Atsumu's first experience with monsters that exist on these broken bits of world, but he's barely better prepared to deal with him than last time he encountered one.

So when Mamoru tells him to get behind him, he's not about to argue. ]

You don't have to tell me twice.

[ Atsumu scrambles to stand back upright, hustling behind the man as he watches the unnerving creature, somehow made worse with one oozing orifice where a face once was.

He still has a sword, having not been fully willing to part with it despite having shown how piss poor his swordsmanship is, but he's also strapped a few other weapons onto him that he's been testing out lately. He pulls one of them out from beneath the coat he's wearing, a small, thin knife that won't do him a lick of good if that creature decides to make this into a melee fight, but should have some pretty good range while being just weighty enough to have some oomph if he decides to throw it. ]

The hell is that thing?

[ The little one, but also the bigger creature as well. ]

[hauntedking]

[ Dimitri still isn't quite used to the idea of just being able to "bring someone back" after you kill them, even if he intellectually knows that it's true in this place. He blanches slightly, but he accepts the conclusion. Sometimes people have to be killed to protect others. Even people you would rather save. He'd prefer to talk Vander out of whatever madness has overtaken him, whatever transformation has torn him apart and made him... this... but he doesn't know if that's even possible. Most of those he saw in his own world who turned into monstrous demonic beasts weren't able to come back from it. Edelgard had been one of the few. So he gives Amos a very serious nod as he kneels next to Childe. ]

...I understand.

[ He rests his hand on Childe's shoulder and there's a soft glow from his hand - a wash of warm energy that soothes pain and mends minor scrapes and bruises. It isn't much, but it's all the healing magic Dimitri has. He gives Childe another reassuring pat. Whatever he thinks of Amos after their first meeting, he has to admire the man's bravery and commitment. So he'll follow his wish, if that's where this ends up. ]

Good luck. [ That to Amos. Then he's back to Childe. ]

I didn't bring my weapon with me. Foolish, in hindsight. Can you provide one?

[ He guesses he can based on that question, but... well, he'd rather have his hopes dashed immediately. ]

[settingup]

[ People who know what they're doing are asking good questions. Real questions. Questions that matter. Hell, they already worked out who would be tossing out the bigger questions that Atsumu cared the most about, and it wasn't him. He volunteered to come here, because he wanted to hear the answers himself, not because he had any particularly insightful or pointed questions to ask.

So might as well just blurt out the first thing that's on his mind. ]

What's the deal with the creep who is goin' around experimentin' on people? Like not his motivation or whatever, 'cause I don't really care even if you know. I just wanna keep the hell off his radar.

[kenosnpcs]

[ The elaboration seems to calm him somewhat, though definitely not completely. He’s on edge, all things considered, so unfortunately he’s not putting his best foot forward here. But, y’know. It hasn’t been a great set of months for him either. ]

Studying souls and their properties. You make it sound like he did.

[ He pauses and seems to consider something for a few moments before he answers. ]

I don’t remember much. Don’t even know what he was trying to do. I know there were three Shards, and he welded us together, somehow. [ Another pause ] The other two were named Helvius and Cerys. That’s all I know about them. Everything else was pretty much too muddled to make sense of, but they were both Meridian.

[kenosnpcs]

[ okay, you know what. Manon had look displeased at someone else coming to interrogate him, but Atsumu gets him to laugh. It's a nice laugh, too! ]

Great question. Don't really have an answer, though. He's some kind of freak that's been in Kowloon forever apparently. Long enough that no one fucks with him for whatever reason. So, you wanna stay off his radar? Don't go poking into his business, apparently.

[settingup]

[ Atsumu would probably appreciate that laugh a lot more if it wasn't followed up by an answer that doesn't particular help him. In fact, as he takes a few seconds to reflect on it he's realizing more and more that the answer he gets is probably not a great one for him. His expression darkens as it starts to hit that Manon was one of his experiments, so Atsumu has already started poking around in his business by joining this group of questioners.

At the very least, he's sitting amongst a group who are actively trying to poke into this guy's business, and somehow a guy that'll perform human experiments doesn't strike him as the sort that will give him an innocent bystander pass. ]

Ah... shit.

[passio]

[ manon didn’t answer him, but he was acknowledged, at least. even if only by accident, manon knows that dextera is in pursuit—but it clearly brought him no comfort, because he’s still going, navigating through difficult terrain just to get away from them. dextera follows.

he doesn’t worry about the way he gets hurt or dirty in following manon, balancing himself on uneven patches as slides down. he’ll look at the scrapes on his hands and knees from his reckless decline later. his own sweat stings the new cuts in his palms.

who is here? hayame, he knows. he passed john, but he doesn’t think john is a threat. he doesn’t know how aggressive he needs to be in throwing off others, so he holds back his aforementioned spells until he knows his true enemies.

he doesn’t try to commune with manon again. ]

[kenosnpcs]

[ There’s a few moments where it’s clear in Manon’s expression that he’s weighing his options between continuing to try and run and to fight, though he’s also obviously outmatched. He’s small and unarmed, and as those that were privy to the journal would be aware, his work was more in the shadows than this. He was deadly once, but not now.

…Though he’s at least somewhat comforted by the less than graceful arrival of the person at the top of his shitlist at the moment. John, he might be able to take. If only for personal satisfaction.

He looks to Hayame and Liem, then to the rest of the group following behind. ]

Which ones are Zenith? [ He asks them, since they’ve made it first. As much as he trusts anyone, it’s them (and Dextera, bringing up the rear) at the moment. ] I don’t give a shit how, kill them or whatever, but don’t let them near me. Whatever Yima has told them to get me to come back, it’s bullshit.

[warmare]

[Both her flanks heaving but still nowhere near exhausted, legs completely still even as Liem quickly dismounts to get on his own two feet, Hayame stares Manon down as the options race through his mind, her hair disheveled and half obscuring the eyepatch coveting the left side of her face. It is terribly clear that she’s willing to chase him to the ends of the broken, floating earth if she has to for her answers- answers she didn’t even want to care about but had to, now, because of this miserable situation, how much she had nearly lost to that Alenroux monster, and how trampled her honor had been at the so-called debates over Manon’s fate.

She will not lose again. And she will not hear false, soothing words about this not being a matter of winning or losing.

What Manon eventually says makes more than enough sense to her based on her understanding of the situation. It had never been something she doubted that Yima likely wanted this man dead, preferably before he said anything that could damage Zenith’s standing. She’d come to this prepared to fight, and prepared to kill if she had to.]

That’s how I would have preferred it in the first place.

[So it’s not hard for her to pull an arrow from her quiver. It doesn’t take more than the space of a few seconds to draw her bow, to line up her shot…

And to release a powerful arrow that flies through the air aimed right at the man who called himself the Archivist. Or rather, right at the shoulder of the man who called himself the Archivist. The thick root of the Tree of Life behind him would make for a suitable pinning board.

… That one is a Zenith, is her answer. And though she much rather would have shot the other one for all the quibbling and useless “arguments” she’d been forced to listen to when debating Manon’s fate… She targets first the one she doesn’t want dead. The one she wants alive if Manon reneges and his powers might prove useful after all.]

[lifespanned]

[ Such a display of strength is the last thing she's expecting from the girl - though, maybe she should've been more keyed in to the possibility - so she lurches uncomfortably in her seat on Set's shoulder once the force of his movement is stopped by the girl's hand. In a desperate move to not be separated from him (she's liking the odds of being near this girl by herself less and less), she wraps both arms around his neck, clinging to him like a lifeline. She offers only the vaguest of warnings: ]

Keep your balance—

[ She waits until the drawback on Adelfoúla's throw is at it's peak before initiating her magic— turning them both ghastly and intangible for the briefest of moments - only enough to pass through the girl's grasp, as though they're more specter than flesh. The pair slip away like a bat mistakenly let go of when swung, and her hand will feel the abrupt absence of their weight much too suddenly to ever be natural. Even so, a magic trick like Misa's still cannot negate the total effect of her and Set's shift in momentum, the brutal swing of the girl's thin arm. They may avoid being cast aside with her full strength, but their change in course is awkward, clunky, and prone to toppling them over if Set doesn't recover quickly, given their lack of collaboration or knowledge of each other's strengths. Misa simply acts on instinct — she thinks if they get thrown away from her for real, they might never make it back to her before she gets away. Maybe, just maybe, it'll be enough of a surprise that it'll throw even the passive girl before them for a moment, which may give Claude an opening. ]

[eyesite]

( deep under the Tree of Life's labyrinthine roots, in a dark and damp facsimile of the underground, things begin to come to a head. seeing that the chase isn't immediately resuming, john quickly tries to take stock: manon stands furthest a head at a branching in the path, and the centaur and her rider stand between them. he recognizes dextera, who also seems to take up what he interprets as a potentially defensible position between those closer to the foot of the incline and manon, further down the tunnel. cid — who he knows more from speaking by way of Communion with Zenith and less personally — is also there with him, along with zhongli, who is a perfect stranger to him. nonetheless, he seems ready and willing to help john up from his fall, so he at the very least doesn't seem hostile — something he decides to keep in mind, even if he didn't end up needing his help to get to his feet.

john is beginning to approach once more when manon turns to the centaur and her once-rider; the words that sound out dully down the tunnel arrest his progress, however, causing an icy chill to run wildly through his veins. his eyes widen, his mouth falls open, ) No, no, that's not why I — ( but it doesn't matter, how could he expect it to matter for someone like hayame? he watches as she draws an arrow from its quiver with perfect, practiced fluidity, nocking it in the bow and drawing it back in so little time he could have scarcely began to try to avoid it even if he'd thought to.

but he wouldn't. what's the point? he knows almost nothing about her, but he'd had enough close calls with avatars of the Hunt to know exactly what it felt like to be prey.

so what little reaction time he does have, he uses to brace himself. for this, too, there really isn't much point. the arrow looses, sings through the air, and thuds into his shoulder with enough force to send him sprawling back a pace or so — it even goes so far as to bury the arrowhead into the wood of a nearby root, pinning him in place. he's been stabbed before. he's been horribly burned, trapped in an endless state of vertigo, half-way infested with worms that had dug their way into his flesh, crushed on all sides in the dark heart of the Buried... he's never been shot. it's new, and even though the Eye makes sure his body is far more resilient than that of a typical human, it does nothing for pain. he cries out in very real, very human anguish, scrabbling aimlessly for a half-second before his hands reach up to grasp at the shaft of the arrow, already coming away slick with blood that pools from the wound and saturates through layers of clothes like a crimson flower blooming. it makes it hard to gain purchase, but even when he feels like he has some — it's obvious there's nothing he can do to pull the arrowhead out of the root behind him, so there's certainly nothing he can do to to escape this.

what else is new? he finds himself thinking bitterly.

his breaths are coming quick and ragged with pain and adrenaline, hands shaking where they try to grasp at the arrow. if there's nothing he can do... the only thing left for him to do is speak. it's difficult — it hurts, causing sharp pain to radiate from his shoulder in addition to a marrow-deep ache that spreads even further, but he forces out the words in-between serrated breathing, ) I want to hear the rest of what you have to say, you - you damn bloody fool — I could care less about what happens to you afterwards, could - eugh, ( he grits in pain for a half-second, ) care less about what Yima wants — ( he hasn't even met her!! ) I only - just got here, and immediately - immediately after making a decision to join a "side," I learn that there might be some hidden, ugly truth beneath it... Something I damn well would likely live to regret not learning now, when I - had the chance!

I'm not living in ignorance anymore, not when there's something I can do about it, ( he grates out with a bone-deep conviction that reaches back much further than this moment, down to the very origins of his time at the Institute and everything that had set him on the path to what he is right now, ) That's why I'm here!

[youngprodigy]

[Gods above.

All at once, his priorities shift. Manon isn't someone lead astray, he wasn't tortured into insanity. He's a traitor. Ateos can have him, for all Cid cares.

Rooted to the spot, he isn't able to react in time to bring up his shield. Would he even have been able to move in time, to cast the spell...? It hardly matters. He runs to John's side.]

Seven hells, that looks bad.

[He doesn't think it will do anything at all, but he brings a hand up all the same, trying to cast the one healing spell he knows. Unfortunately, it does absolutely nothing for the wound.]

Any attempt to remove it is likely to make your wound even worse. But I will try, should we be presented with an opening.

[It's said quietly, given just how outnumbered they are.

Even a surface-level glance at Cid would give John knowledge that he's incredibly built, though by how he lagged behind, it's obvious he's no warrior.

Still, he stays where he is. His loyalty lies with his faction, and naught else.]

[eyesite]

( when one contests his compulsion, it always feels like the tip of some enormous spike is placed carefully in the center of his forehead — with each passing second the pressure grows greater and greater, threatening to split through the thin layers of skin and bone that protected his brain and scramble it with a magnitude of eldritch power that he, as a former paltry human, wasn't equipped to channel all at once. manon fights against him, yes, and he grits through the pain of it, but after a few moments he feels the pressure subside. even before manon forms the words, he almost senses the thread of the story spool out.

it's only instinct at this point to reach out and pull.

the Archivist is nothing if not a rapt listener — perhaps too much so, as the feeling of intense observation during the process of answering his questions or giving him a statement is often enough to instill paranoia in even the most grounded of individuals. he absorbs the information with a voracious passivity, though a crease forms in-between his eyebrows as he continues to listen. there's a sort of connection between them, when an Archivist compels a statement out of their subject; it's a forced sympathy as the subject's experiences and fears are written down into him, made available as something that the Eye could feed from. because of this he can sense, albeit very abstractly, that this memory is challenging for manon to grasp.

but he's trying, and so both the Eye and its Archivist adjust their tactic in tandem; the blanket feeling of compulsion remains, though it becomes less oppressive, instead moving in circuitous waves that seem to beckon or incite. human memory is faulty — especially in moments of intense stress or panic, the mind can jumble and disorient, providing unreliable or inaccurate accounts. accounts given without an Archivist present could be just as questionable, but now that it's focused intensely on manon, it extends what power it can to make the overall fabric of the experience clear and comprehensive.

but even with what manon seems to recall, john finds himself unsure if his ability will be enough. because he's right — it does seem like some damage was done to this memory. if it had been tampered with, removed... he's not sure the Eye is in a state in this foreign world to provide absolute truth. it's just as ravenous for the heart of this little puzzle as john is.

the edge is gone from his voice when he continues; now it's low, softer, almost hypnotic, ) Even if there's a piece of your memory gone or, or - tampered with, there might still be more that we can use. They aren't discrete - they have associations, to emotions or places or individuals... There might be information in what you do recall that can lead us to what you don't.

( it's why statements usually started with a decent amount of backstory from the subject in order to give the context for why their experience impacted them so severely. these types of things weren't individual building blocks; they were a complicated root system, growing in and out of itself. )

It's something about this memory that caused you to react in the way that you did, yes? What... what makes you feel like you most don't want to think further into it? ( he recalls the statement he'd found from eric delano, which held the secret of how to escape the Eye's influence; it had wanted so badly for him not to listen to it that he'd dropped it multiple times... it had been physically painful to press "play" on the tape recorder. ) The file... The target... Who gave it to you, anything that was strange that it was there or strange that it wasn't - and, "others," what do you mean by that?

[exhound]

[Fighting, for Vander, is something that’s always had a rhythm to it. Timing your swings, perfecting the footwork to go along with it… there is a certain understated kind of grace to fighting with one’s fists, even despite how swift and brutal it can be. Suffice it to say, there’s not a trace of that elegance to be found in his beastly ferocity.

The brutality, though? It’s there in spades.

The tangle of fangs and claws that Vander and the bears have descended into is loud and ugly. His claws sink deeper into the sides of the one his attention is focused on grappling and he keeps pushing forward until the thing is forced to stumbled backward to the ground. There is a pleased growl that could almost be mistaken for a laugh and he forgoes his hold to instead put those claws to use in a volley of swings at the downed bear. But in so doing, he makes a perfect target of his back for its twin. The jolt pain as its claws sink into him is enough to get him rearing back, but it’s less stunning than it is more fuel to the fire urging him to fight, to draw blood.

He wheels around to lash out at the other bear. Its claws make a swing for his face then, but it turns into a near-miss that instead gives him the opportunity to sink his teeth into that outstretched arm. His jaws snap down tight and he’s beginning to yank with all his might—just as something comes flying in and crashes into his side hard.

Vander and the bear both hit the ground in a tangle of furry limbs, and he can hardly even tell who or what had been the cause of it outside of a glimpse of a decidedly human body amidst their flailing. The infuriated roar he vocalizes is oddly strained with the air half-knocked out of him from the impact, but it’s all the warning he gives before attempting to scramble back up to go after his newest attacker, jaws parted and aiming to seek purchase on unadorned flesh.]

[sterngaze]

[As much as the confined space within the Tree's network of roots will allow, Liem sidles to a position where he can at least keep the edge of an eye or even just an ear aimed toward Manon when he glances at the people catching up with them. He does not view Manon as unworthy of trust, exactly — but he isn't confident in the man's mental state after everything he's been through. He doesn't want to be complacent.

Manon's demand earns him a penetrating stare from Liem. At the movement and commotion in his peripherals, however, he fits a bolt to his crossbow in an unnaturally swift motion and turns to regard the scene unfolding in the wake of Hayame's shot.

Magic shimmers, briefly, in his eyes as he regards the man now pinned like an insect to the cavern wall.]

Mr. Sims speaks truly.

[Though he doesn't turn back to Manon, the words are meant for him. Still, Liem's grip on his weapon is alert, ready to flick up and shoot in an instant.]

Come no closer, if you don't wish to be treated as an enemy.

[passio]

[ hayame may have been hasty in her violence, but he understands her decision for what it is. with their numbers, he doubts anything can really escalate without cid making a very poor strategic decision—and although dextera doesn’t think he was successful in influencing cid before, which is frustrating, he doesn’t really want this to go there.

he didn’t want this to go there for john, either, but since dextera has no say over what the others do, he decides it’s better to stay out of it and pretend that it didn’t happen. defending it will cause trouble, and in-fighting looks bad. so, he ignores it, his attention on manon with the assumption that hayame and liem will take care of any enemies from behind. ]

…

[ his feet slide forward, allowing manon and everyone else to see that he’s moving closer while giving them the time to warn him to stop moving if they feel the need to. now that manon has come to a stop, they all need to be as cautious as if they were dealing with a wild animal. ]

[sterngaze]

[Liem shakes his head slightly in the face of Manon's apology.]

You needn't apologise to me for something outside your control.

[It is action that speaks the clearest, in any case. Liem has always believed that regrets should be addressed thus, rather than with apologies.

Manon's answer, that he had to fight for control with the other souls fused to his shard, isn't shocking to hear, but Liem is still a little surprised. All of the memories he and Hayame received during their encounter with that creature had seemed to be from the same person: from Manon. It strikes him as curious that the others never reached out at all.

Well — except for one other.]

Do you remember anything about Aetós, from when you were being transformed — or after?

[sharethememory]

[ And thus expectedly, the first strike was cast. It was an sound strategy for Manon after all, considering the odds against him. Perhaps he should have took Childe's words more to heart in their conversation before - that all the man knew was how to run. But that was something to be dwelt upon later, after all of this was finished.

An old familiar instinct roils within him - to listen to the call of the quieted earth once more, to shield, and to protect. (Old welcomed habits would be so easy to fall back upon.) But Zhongli is no novice to the bow, and he sees the absolute precision and control that Hayame exerts when she lets the arrow fly. It appears not to be aimed as a lethal shot, and so he pushes down those thoughts. Not here. At least, not now unless it became necessary. Such a heavy agreement made in the heat of the moment was not how he wanted to do this.

There is the start of a motion to go to John's side as well, but Cid is there almost instantly with the familiar thrum of healing energies in the air. Good. If there were time, he would show his gratitude for his quick reactions but of greater importance is to ensure that this does not escalate any further. So Zhongli stays where he is a few paces off to one side of Cid and John, hands help up in a gesture to show that he holds no weapon and does not plan to attack or approach further. ]

Your wariness is understandable. But there was an agreement between all that questions were to be answered from Manon himself. Answers that very well could have importance to everyone here regardless of affiliation. I have come to see that agreement fulfilled.

[ He gestures to John, the weight of the man's previous words still hanging heavily in the air. ]

It appears this individual has come for the same purpose as well.

If you need further assurances, speak them. If we are not to approach, then ask the questions in our stead. Further confrontation serves naught but to assist in Aetós' chaos.

[sharmat]

I see. Then I will ensure that their honourable families are notified of what's befallen them. Someone working for the Seat of the Tribune will know where to send the news.

(manon survived, but what of helvius and cerys?)

... But "too muddled to make sense of"... This is of note to me. Your confusion is not a surprise—more the fact that you could sense anything at all, though vague to you and perhaps indescribable. Would you try? Was it even slightly analogous to anything that you can think of?

[sharmat]

(conjuration: johnny summons an animunculi to join them in the fight, dealing the creature's leg considerable damage. its nature is unique, unexpected coming from the meri because of his disability. there will be no underestimating him in the future. destruction: kaeya projects a fan of ice that spreads to the ground, locking the creature in its next vulnerable stride securely in place. another battlemage, a zenite, and a future enemy. result: the combination is temporarily crippling.

the core of their abilities is something voryn innately understands for it is magic, and magic can be enhanced beyond reckoning by his own. but as a spell designed for both of them is readied instantly and cast upon them, spiking their proficiency at both launching projectiles and manipulating the elements, aeternae, with its psychic ability, releases a shockwave felt not by their bodies but by their minds. sensitive to having something mentally intrude, the pathways having all been forced wider by an entity from before his birth in kenos, it sends him heavily to one knee.)

Damn this thing... then we ought not to delay. Its petals will make that difficult... they don't look as fragile as if they were created from cellulose! (impressions of cruel things make the blood vessels in his own skull throb as though they might burst, and voryn becomes angry, casting the fortification on himself, too, before a fire, controlled to be voluminous and laced with something wicked, forms in his ready hand.) Get out!

(it's thrown as he pushes himself to stand, and when it connects, the ice forms steam. improved damage is layered on kaeya's, creating a melt combination that makes the creature howl and buck, exposing its belly and everything that may be vital in the areas around it. perfect for their sniper.

adrenaline makes voryn pant, and he flings his arm out to point with the flourish of a long sleeve.)

Johnny!

(note: you have been buffed with "fortify magicka." your characters will do 30% more damage.🙏 this lasts one minute or several tags—like dnd turns! for flavour, it's ultimately up to you when it dissipates!)