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the boy is back in town [diplomanon conclusion]
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
CODING
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.
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.
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.- Vander ; Vander (
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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.
- 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.
- 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-sizedthe 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.
- 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…
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.
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.
CHASING MANON
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that dreadful yet familiar hunger had started to creep back in at the edges of his consciousness several days after he had Harmonized and reconnected with the Eye — he wouldn't have expected it so soon, considering he's only been here for a week and a half, but perhaps being reduced to an infinitesimal fraction of its former self had made the Ceaseless Watcher suitably ravenous. he'd started to have to contend with the self-imposed moral quandary of who to feed from and how he should go about doing so (especially given he is no longer under active threat of death for "hunting," if need be), but then the manon situation had presented itself to him. from what he'd heard, clearly he had a story, and on a deep and instinctual level he knew it would be more than worth getting out of him as a statement.
john is interested in what it is that manon believes he saw — in something so rattling that it would shake ten years of personal investiture in the Zenith. he believes it's important for himself and the others aligned with him to know. but... if he tried to say he didn't have personal and selfish motivations for shucking the fear out of manon for the sake of himself and the Eye... well, he'd be lying (and probably very poorly).
he's never been interrupted in the middle of a statement being given in person before. it is, in a word, excruciating — that, and damnably frustrating. it's all the dissatisfaction of an unfinished meal combined with the fact that none of it matters if he doesn't have the whole story. when the portal opens, many things happen in sequence: john looks over his shoulder to see what's happening, and as catching sight of the monstrous creatures that climb out of it causes an icy hand of alarm and panic reaches out to clutch at his heart, his attention breaks enough to free manon from whatever compulsion he was under to tell his story. he wastes no time in fleeing, which john notices just as the flow of shared fear breaks between them. he turns and calls out in aggrieved desperation, ) No, don't —! ( but with so many diverting to begin to combat the rogue agents that have suddenly beset the tree of life, it's simple enough for manon to disappear into its enormous system of roots. he's never been particularly quick or nimble, but john is scarcely thinking before he races off after him, doing everything he can to keep a glimpse of the fleeing manon in his sights so he doesn't lose him in the subterranean labyrinth below.
all he wants is the rest of the statement — the piece of vibrant, living fear that would keep the Eye stated and keep him feeling well for hopefully a few more weeks. but, to any observing... they would just see a largely unknown Zenite racing off after manon into a place out of sight, and that could be as damning as they so deemed it. )
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John's shout pulls his attention back to the task at hand and the very obvious disappearance of Manon. Another quick glance around and Zhongli sees John disappearing into the roots of the Great Tree in pursuit. How unfortunate. If he doesn't act immediately, finding them later will be almost impossible.
And so it comes down to a split-second decision. As one not yet committed to a cause, it is not Zhongli's place to decide Manon's fate. His cause was not the one betrayed nor did his own offer sanctuary. The only path he vowed to take was to undercover the truth, and with his two closest allies in Kenos both contending with their own problems, well that makes his decision rather simple.
Thus one of the factionless joins the chase for Manon, many paces behind but still in line of sight of John. ]
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Hayame might have been tight-lipped throughout this interrogation, content to hear the answers without needing to ask the questions herself, but she has been on alert the entire time. She did not know what form interference in these proceedings might take, but the idea that there would be none did not even cross her mind. She didn't bother even hoping it wouldn't- that effort was better served in preparation. ... Admittedly, she assumed it would be Yima's people.
When the portal opens, Hayame's attention stays balanced between Manon and the disturbance, but when the monster and its retinue appear with its fearsome cry, that strange skull that reminds her of the glowing beast of Alenroux... the moment is taken, and the newly revived man flees. The others might see a potential source of information on the run, or a shard to be returned to Yima, but Hayame sees something far more. Liem had died and she had nearly joined him fighting the monster Manon had become, let alone the painful efforts she'd undertaken dragging Manon and Liem's shards from the forest tucked in bloodied cleavage next to her own chunk of soul obsidian. Her every single decision and right had been questioned or spat upon in the so-called debate between their factions, adding insult to injury, and now he might just run- ?
This was personal.]
Liem- !
[The urge to stay and fight is overridden by different priorities. Her back hooves dig in to the earth... and it's just a single moment required before she she's off, holding out a hand to grab up the lighter man and help pull him up over her back. She trusts the ally she actually trusts at this venture to remember the maneuver, but this time, instead of fleeing... they're pursuing. (And surely, surely she is the fastest- !)
The second Liem finds his seat, their pursuit will come at a dead gallop.]
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He's no soldier, no warrior, so Cid does the only thing he can do, which is follow after Manon as quickly as he can, giving a silent order to his familiar to follow after the man far faster than Cid can.
He needs to get to Manon, and quickly. Before he can be further spooked by the situation, further deteriorated.]
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Besides: if they can bring Manon safely back to Heliopolis, they will have all the time they might wish for to speak with him there.
Hayame is not alone in expecting treachery from Zenith, though Liem also half expects trouble to come from Manon himself. The portal is a surprise. When it appears, however, Liem does not miss the flight of their newly resurrected witness — nor does he overlook the hand Hayame extends his way. He takes it without hesitation, using it to spring onto her back as a pair of men nearest to Manon follow him into the maze of roots beneath the Tree. He does not recognize either, which he takes as a bad sign. The crossbow slung across his back finds its way into his hand as they give chase. The blade Manon bequeathed to him is still sheathed at his waist.]
Manon—!
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they aren’t on the best of terms, but they are allies in this, and besides—though dextera understands why manon might run, he’s not quite ready to say goodbye. not like this, not with a sudden and unexpected parting. ]
—!
[ sword latched to his back, he expects he’ll end up using it against the zenites he knows will come instead of against manon himself. he spares no thought for the chaos he’s leaving behind, and runs. ]
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Some of these people he knows (or, “knows”, Communing with people this last month has been odd), but it’s the one he doesn’t that have him running hard and fast. He’s deft and sure-footed in the roots, easily leaping over the protrusions that could cause someone to stumble. He’s someone used to running. If the journal is to be believed, it’s exactly what you’d expect from an assassin, right? ]
Just let me go!
[ He does shout back to the people pursuing, and Hayame and Liem are unsurprisingly the ones gaining ground quickest. He might trust them a little more, but… Trust isn’t something he has a deep reservoir of. ]
I’ll be gone, so just go kill those things instead!
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She'd been bred for strength and speed, after all. More than that, she'd been trained to hunt, and no matter where her quarry ran...]
There are questions that need answering, Manon- !
[She doesn't know if there is anything she might appeal to between them- relationships have never been her strong suite, and though she had possessed his shard for a time, they had not Communioned as others had... and more importantly, she has to use most of her attention to keep her hooves from catching on wayward roots, gritting her teeth and concentrating on closing the gap. If she could just get close enough to grab hold of him--
So hopefully Liem has a more convincing argument.]
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Instead, he speaks a short incantation and gestures with his free hand. Magic gathers about him in a haze of light and shadow and disappears, imbuing him with swiftness — enough to match a running jinba, should he need to leap from her back. He doesn’t do so yet, however, preferring the advantage of height that her back gives him, and the freedom he has to concentrate on things other than where to place his feet.
Despite the man’s unexpected fleetness, Hayame’s long legs eat up the distance between them, taking them past the others who had gone after Manon ahead of them. Liem expects the words that the man tosses back at them, and replies just as readily.]
Don’t be foolish. You’ve a target on your back. At least divest yourself of it first; come back to Heliopolis and tell us what you know.
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Please, Manon, stop running.
[It's wheezed out. A silent command is given for his familiar to withdraw, and it returns to his side as he catches his breath.]
Those monsters could easily follow us.
[He doesn't address what Liem says, because frankly he doesn't think it's important for the time being.]
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It's probably for that best that two of Meridian's number gain ground the fastest upon Manon. Zhongli was not privy to conversations or objectives of either factions side, but he did note more than a few seemed protective of him. He would be better served in their care more than anyone else's even at the risk of drawing him closer to other Shard Bearers that wished to harm him.
But how does one explain that to someone operating on panic and adrenaline? ]
You might divest yourself of those that would wish to see you harmed, but you would assuredly separate yourself from those who wished to protect you. Are you so confident that you can escape all that follows you?
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"his best" immediately flags behind others; he's first overtaken by the centaur, who he had seen earlier during the interrogation and had tried his best to accept at face value. but seeing hayame from afar and having her thunder past him (with liem on her back) are two different things; she might not actively take a shot at him, but he instinctually scrambles out of the way regardless, muttering, ) good Lord, ( under his breath as the jinba and her temporary rider tear ahead past him.
the dark, damp air of the caverns rings out with a continued argument: manon beseeches his pursuers to allow him to escape, and despite the Harmonization of those that follow, there are reasons posed for him to remain. to finish his story, to return to springstar... and, remembering the message that he had sent days earlier, john becomes grimly aware of what cid's intentions are as soon as he's aware that the man has joined the chase as well.
as far as the Archivist is concerned, he doesn't add to the noise. he's far too busy just trying to keep his footing and keep up. )
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sympathy for manon squeezes his heart. everyone else seems to want him to return; dextera would be happy for that, too, but more than that he needs to ensure he gets his personal closure with something he’s nurtured for the past several months. manon has been his responsibility. in a way, manon exists now because of him, and that causes a person to want to dig their fingers in and hold.
his communion is for manon alone, whether or not he answers. ]
I just want to give you something! I’ll make them let you go.
[ so he says, and then it’s directed toward his fellow meris in pursuit. ]
I have a spell… I can help!
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He quickly turns a corner into the labriynth which goes down, but it’s not like he has time to double-back. He leaps at the top to make the descent faster and put as much distance between him and his pursuers as possible, though the roll at the bottom is clumsier than it might normally be as his body strains against exhaustion. There are three paths behind him he can take and he looks at all of them, but though he’s ready to bolt, he does pause. The incline will slow them down. Most of them, at least. ]
Those things, all of them, they’re from Aetós. You all know that, right?
[ “So you should know why I’m running,” but he leaves that unsaid. ]
Go chase that freak down if you want answers. Hold the doll hostage and he’ll come get it.
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Stay low!
[Before she reaches back with one hand to grab Liem's leg and leaps into the tunnel. Each impact jars her forelegs to the bone, hooves skittering for footing in the dirt that occasionally crumbles beneath her, but she jumps in a zig-zagging pattern down after Manon with her other arm thrown out for balance or to catch herself against the wall as needed. The great gap between her and the others in pursuit is lessened as she does it, but she bursts back out of the steep section of the Tree's roots with a grunt and a half-stumble of her heavy body.
But she isn't about to let that stop her, sharp canines bared as she snarls back to Manon's words.]
Aetós is next. But if you think I nearly died getting your shard out of that forest only to let you run now with so much unanswered you have another thing coming, Manon.
[Liem actually died, but if he wants to air that grievance it is his place to do so, and so Hayame sticks to her own. She also flicks her wrist sharply and activates something in the foot-long bow grip she's been carrying in her hand, making the magically compact weapon suddenly expand to its natural six feet in length.]
I'll shoot any monster or Zenite that comes down here if that's what you need, so talk. What did you see in that Yima woman's manor? Is she working with that freak?
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The steep turn downward that the tunnel takes gives Liem pause; Hayame will navigate it better without him on her back, and he'll likely be faster besides over such terrain. But she gives him no opportunity to get clear. When the hand grips his leg, Liem flattens himself obediently over her back, gritting his teeth against the impacts he can feel jolt up through her body. Still, he can tell why a jinba mount would be so prized by the slavers of her home country; she leaps more confidently down the incline than any ordinary horse could manage, and they lose less speed than he'd expected, coming quickly to the bottom of the descent.
It's there, once she releases him to extend her bow to its full length, that Liem takes advantage of her pause to leap down from her back. He has no cause to be there if they are not mid-flight, and even if Manon continues to run— With magic quickening his limbs, he does not need to impinge upon Hayame's dignity to give him speed. He adjusts his grip on his crossbow.]
We will not allow them to take you.
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john screeches to a halt when he reaches the top of the decline, a short string of curses muttered under a lungful of exhaled breath. he's no assassin, no centaur warrior trained in hunting and pursuit — he's already wondering just how easily he'll be able to make it up this hill once all is said and done.
but he doesn't have time to concern himself with that. he's not going to give up the chase now, and so he begins to make his way down the decline deeper into the Tree's roots, though for the Archivist this is fairly slow going. he will likely lag behind everyone else (unless there is anyone else with similarly questionable athletics), though as he begins to near the bottom, he interjects his own reasoning of, ) I - need to hear the rest of your — your—
( the rest is swallowed up by a gasp and a sharp cry of surprise as a smaller root he had considered a trustworthy foothold gives way in a small shower of loose soil. john makes his way down the last fifth or so of the drop half-skidding and half-tumbling, landing with a graceless thump in the earth at the bottom of the cavern. he's fortunate that he's at least made of sterner stuff than he'd been when he was still entirely human, though it doesn't stop the experience from leaving him with a pattern of aches.
alright, then. talking is a distraction, and a dangerous one at that. he pushes everything else out of mind, picking himself up off the ground and continuing to pursue... as best as he can. )
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He still needs to make his way to Manon, to convince him to return home safely.
Climbing down the tree isn't much of an issue for him, but that doesn't mean he doesn't take his time.
He has to, he needs do convince Manon to return home. Cid can't disappoint Lady Yima, he can't.]
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Truly a pity.
At length, he decides to stay a little farther behind just to keep one eye on any possible monsters that might be pursuing. That means he catches the thump of John's landing as Zhongli is carefully trying to find his own way down the incline.
Built more for stability than dexterity, Zhongli manages to avoid a tumble of his own. He waits for a moment to see if John is going to bounce back up, one arm half-extended in an attempt to assist. But John is on his feet and back in pursuit quickly enough, and it's only a take a few moments of a slow and steady pace to ensure that Cid and the other young man who seems to wish to protect Manon have passed as well before continuing.
Yes, it would be best to also keep one ear and eye on the path behind him. Just in case. Even with the distance growing, it shouldn't be too difficult to follow the trail if the others managed to get out of line of sight. And it seems the number who wish to help Manon (or at least capture him for information) outweigh any potential threats. ]
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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. ]
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…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.
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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.]
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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!
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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.]
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