• OPEN •

[carmesi]

WHO: anyone and everyone in solvunn
WHAT: mingle for the summoned, particularly the new people
WHEN: a day or two after the new summoned arrive
WHERE: in aloy's homestead—crossing some wilderness but close to the primary settlement
WARNING: TBA

A. THE JOURNEY THERE

The invitation to Aloy’s homestead is made shortly after the newly Summoned find their bearings within the Primary Settlement. Aloy begrudgingly agrees to it, but seeing as how their group has grown within Solvunn—it probably is for the best to be a little more open to the presence of others. Much like with the treehouse by the lakes, it’s good to know of another place further away from the settlements where the Summoned might feel comfortable enough to traverse into.

That is not to say that the homestead is very friendly to strangers, though. Aloy has set up tripwires, disguised pitfalls, snare traps, and other devices in the surrounding area, creating thus a challenging attempt for anyone who wants to travel there by themselves. Additionally, a way to avoid most of that (read: not all; consider it a bonus for getting close to the homestead) is to go through the arboreal parkour course that has been set up. A network of catwalks, platforms, and balancing ropes to traverse the woods. Reaching Aloy’s truly is a test of guts and skill. 


(Alternatively, travel with Wanda or Himeka—the path clears up for them. For the ballsy, follow Nero and Rocket; surely they aren’t scheming anything…)

And, past all of that, the woods will open up to a tall, spiky fence, about eight feet tall, and the gate will lead towards the homestead proper.

B. HOME SWEET HOMESTEAD

The seasons are turning, and while Solvunn doesn’t suffer from incredibly cold winters, there is definitely a chill in the air. Storm clouds in the distance by the coast rupture with booming thunder, bringing down the temperature quite significantly. It makes the bonfire burning outside a welcome source of warmth. Despite the threat of rain, there’s a strong chance the skies will clear up, as the wind picks up.

Within, Aloy’s homestead boasts the woman’s survival and technical skills. Making the most of her resources, there are meats hanging to dry, chopped wood on the side of the house, and animal skins splayed out that will most likely need to be stored at some point. The inside of the homestead is a simple affair, but for someone who isn’t in the business of receiving guests, it’s decent enough.

For today, the space—inside and outside—has a few extra wooden chairs and tables, picnic style, and they’re decorated with an assortment of food: recently harvested apples from the orchard, berries, roasted mushrooms and acorns, and more complex dishes thanks to Himeka’s arduous work in the kitchen the day before. At one point, a giant stew will cook over the bonfire, with meats and veggies, with bowls to the side for anyone to take their fill. Additionally, there will be grilled fish, flat breads, baked cabbage with lentils and, for those with a sweet tooth, apple pie. Wanda will also be sharing sarmale, a pot of goulash, spinach and cheese pastry—gibanica, and a table of assortments to build their own burgers. Additionally, there will also be apple cake and mandelbrot cookies. All in all? No one’s going hungry at the homestead.

But, worry not, all that food needs to go down with something. Barrels of mead and ale will be available for all to drink. For those who don’t want anything alcoholic, there is apple (and other fruit) juice available.

Make merry and mingle, new faces and old faces alike.

And, of course, please take one of the pamphlets.

C. THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING

Lightning strikes, and almost immediately the boom of thunder brings an eerie quiet to the homestead and the forest past its fences. There’s the awkward laugh the tries to break the silence, shaking the jitters away. Some are quicker than others in mobilizing, perhaps feeling the pinprick of raindrops that others don’t, and start moving what they can salvage from the food and miscellaneous items into the cabin. Some may choose to spare themselves of the rain, pushing the way inside or hiding under the roof’s awning at either side of the cabin; others may be entirely unbothered by the rain, as heavy drops fall fast from the darkened skies.

More thunder rumbles in the distance, roiling ever closer from the mountains in Thorne’s southern border.

A few Summoned might notice it first, that it isn’t really the rumbling of thunder that shakes the muddled earth. The grunts of approaching beasts are mixed with the sound of hooves drumming up in rhythm of an uninvited approach. Birds fly away in flocks as the mammoth boars make their way through the forest, inadvertently towards the homestead.

They are due their mating season, and traveling to the wintry mountains of Thorne has been delayed by the appearance of the beasts in the rifts, the journey now a toll on the boars as the continuous lighting and thunder confuses, frightens, and angers them.

They ram into the fence at different points, and chaos would soon ensue, but thankfully all the Summoned have their powers back.

Right?

D. CLEARING UP

After a few boars were felled, the rest scrambled and escaped, continued their path northward. Killing some of them was inevitable, but nothing ought to be left to waste. The skies clear, the waning moon appears over a colorful sunset, and the rain stops. The fire is built again in earnest, and meat is, quite literally, back on the menu at the grilling station, as per Nero’s helpful suggestion. Some fences need a little mending, and a general amount of cleaning up within the homestead needs to be done, too.

As sunset gives way to nighttime, the sky—once marred in dark tones of gray—gives way to a beautiful night sky, with stars and constellations to be delighted by many. Wanda will be offering to dry the wet clothes of those still sticking around, and Himeka hands over warm cocoa or warm cider, something for everyone.

Now that things have quieted down, and with folk sitting around the fire or standing just by the edges of it, Rocket and Wanda inform everyone of the letter from the Nether that they received—something, perhaps, so they can get a general idea of what everyone thinks; about getting involved, about helping, about Solvunn’s interests in all this. It’s not meant to start an argument, debate, or a long conversation, but it’s something to have everyone think about — to know that they might be sent off somewhere else, soon, for a while, and brace for the trip.

Those who have been in Solvunn for a lot longer will be around, to ask questions or start a conversation about what has happened, what is currently happening, and theories for their futures, here.

Aloy didn’t mention anyone can stay to sleep, though, so best feel ready to head back at some point.

Comments

dan heng; honkai: star rail; the high priestess

[exuviage]

✦ the journey there (closed to aerith) ✦
[the first tripwire had been quaint. the third, an annoyance. the fifth was preceeded by a well disguised pitfall, and based on the uncovered one about forty meters back, probably full of spikes too. he's sooo joever it. the only thing keeping him from turning around and going back to his loaned rooms above the old blacksmith's shop is the prospect of gathering more information about the other summoned... and the food. anyone in a similar situation has to have better answers than the locals, who reacted to his first questions with awed stares at his horns and gifts of wine, putting him off the experience for a good while longer.

so, so, so, to the mingle he goes. but he doesn't have to follow the treacherous road much longer, as the platform up in the tree seems to lead from one to another, and the jute cords wrapped tightly around each trunk are spaced just so that a person with enough guts could reach each one, even without a way to increase jumps. it just might work! his "boots" are the only concern, as the leather wrappings and cords holding them up just don't have the same support as his sneakers, but it cant hurt to try, and he can adjust them if he needs to...

so, so, so, up the tree he goes. he was right, the boots are not suited for it, and he has to pause and try to re-lace the cords properly when he hears someone else crashing through the brush below, and then starting to scrabble for the tree.

as aerith is attempting to make it up the last bit of the ascent to the parkour course, a cool hand extends itself down from the platform to offer assistance. it's attached to an arm, which is attached to a body, which all belong to a familiar, but rather ordinary looking face. ]

Careful. [ and she's definitely heard that voice before. ]

✦ home sweet homestead ✦
[ once they make it to the homestead, after an... eventful trip through the canopy, that reminds him more of trailblazing with march than he'd be willing to admit, at least there's food. a lot of food! and dan heng's doing his part partaking of the bountiful spread. like, a lot of it, in typical(?) teen boy fashion. and he isn't picky either, as he tries all of the dishes at least once. but without the pointed ears, or the horns, or the weird glowing eyes... or the fantasy cdrama mullet haircut... dan heng just looks like a normal human kid. he minds his own business, watching the others move around, listening to them talk. just observing, with the subdued caution of someone in a new place who is trying not to stand out.

as he becomes more comfortable with the whole situation (and after he's managed to snag a second helping of grilled fish), he directs his attention to someone nearby who isn't also holding a pamphlet—assuming that those with the pamphlets are new, just like him—to ask a question. ]

The other two territories mentioned are...? [ he taps a finger on the second bullet point on the first page. ]

✦ the storm that is approaching ✦
[ actually, you know what? if everyone else is going to show off powers, and he still can't find cloud-piercer when he reaches for it, dan heng is just fine letting the others play hero. he doesn't look strong enough to do damage to a boar three times his size at the shoulder, anyway. instead of wading into the conflict, he stays out of the way, giving flashy magic as wide a berth as he's trying to give the boars, the remaining pamphlets in hand to avoid wasting the paper to keep nero's hard work safe.

the urge to collect literature of all kinds and catalogue it is not the domain of trash kings alone, after all. ]

✦ clearing up ✦
[ dan heng is suspiciously absent from the firelit dinner area as discussion turns to dragons. he is instead chilling under the eaves of aloy's shelter, safe from any potential further rain, trying to copy the contents of the pamphlet onto his own notes, leaving plenty of room for the new annotations he collected by talking to the fellow summoned dinner guests. his wax and charcoal pencil freezes mid-word when rocket and wanda describe the draconae, starting up a moment later to finish the sentence, before he sets it aside to listen properly. notably, he does not make to involve himself in the question asking, in contrast to his questions about the information in the pamphlets. ]

(ooc notes: o/ standing warning that i am a slow tagger, but an enthusiastic one. dan heng arrived looking much more interesting than he does now, so if you want to handwave a brief encounter, please dont hesitate to dm me on plurk @ rashoumon, or in the discord server! )

none of the above. haha.

[durge]

( haelva is tending the counter of the healing leaf when the door chimes, and she blinks at the teenager who's entered. [ PERCEPTION CHECK: 2 ] she has never seen him before. not ever. )

Yes?

you scoundrel.

[exuviage]

Hi.

[ And of course, with her stellar customer service disposition, and dan heng's natural lack of concern for such things, he figures this is a completely normal way to do things.

he crosses the small shop with an easy stride, stepping over a pile of books that the cat toppled and then over the cat itself, who suddenly has decided she wants a better smell of his boots, for whatever reason. (the reason is, one of the ingredients for sleepy tea is a relative of catnip, it seems, and dan heng had waded through several patches of it to find plants he found acceptable.) ]

I know that bartering is typical, but can you give me coin for this?

[ the bundle is set on the counter in front of haelva, and waits expectantly for an rpg protagonist to loot it. it even has a meta little outline so you know it's intractable. guess how much ingredience he has in this bundle. he has enough for like. 6 pots of sleepy tea. and that's after he tried to brew a double strength dose to help him sleep without dreaming. ]

can't be stopped.

[durge]

( the rpg protagonist does, indeed, register that it is interactable and goes to town on it, rooting through the clumps of herbs in order to see how many inventory slots the bundle actually is comprised of.

it's a lot.

haelva hums -- these are the herbs she directed that strange tiefling to get, aren't they? then why is a human returning with them? )

We do not currently have coin. ( this is a fuckin weed shop, dan heng. ) Do you have need of anything else?

by god i will try

[exuviage]

[ fuck. well, okay. there goes that plan.

dan heng closes his eyes for a moment in the most subded roblox_oof.mp3 moment anyone's ever seen and mentally apologizes to qlipoth for at least three rude things hes throught about the ipc since he left the xianzhou. just three, though. then he stares down at the plants in front of him, before shift his gaze to the array of trinkets and vials and boxes and whatever the fuck else there is. ]

... Something easier to store, I guess.

[ unless shes got his spear hidden away back there somewhere. ]

[durge]

( nope, sorry dude. )

For the same purpose?

[exuviage]

[ he shakes his head, and glances about the cluttered shop... the shop cat is now batting at his boots with insistent delight, and he IGNORES HER like a MONSTER. ]

... How about books?

[durge]

They are not for bartering, but for reference.

( aka she hasn't had the time to read through them so she's not going to give them away without a fight. also you MONSTER even haelva has pet the cat. )

[exuviage]

[ You are Killing Him. And if you kill him there won't even be a corpse to reanimate, just an EGG. (note: this is categorically untrue, but he dosen't know that yet.)

Did he need to gather this much? No. Is it his fault for gathering this much? Yes. Is he rapidly regretting over-farming for mats? Yeah, a little. ]

Then it doesn't really matter what you give me.

[ lady briarpaw, now fed up with the fact that he is ignoring her at ground level, jumps onto a pile of books, and then a three legged stool, and bats at his hand with one fluffy, perfect paw. nope. nothing. what if she meows mournfully at him? the most perfect pathetic kittybaby meow ever?

ok, sure. dan heng finally relents, looking down at her and reaching out to scratch under her chin with one finger. it's all he'll permit. ]

[durge]

Surly you wish for something with a purpose you need?

( or is he just going to be satisfied with her giving whatever she has on hand?

next time don't pre-farm, idiot. )

[exuviage]

Over-planning limits your ability to improvise...

[ not everyone wants to be a conniving sleepy three mouth general surrounded by younger people trying to get him to retire ]

And I'm sure your stock is limited.

[ you know that story about the guy trading a paperclip to get a house? dan heng is doing that. but for a spear. possibly mutiple spears if they're lame and not as nice as cloud-piercer, which they wont be, because cloud-piercer was an engagement gift, made from the pinnacle of artisanship commission skill. ]

[durge]

( jfc dude, you are a terrible customer. )

It is, but if it's compensation for this we can work something out. But you'll need to let me know what you will accept. ( a beat. ) That isn't coin or books.

[exuviage]

[ OKAY HE NORMALLY CAN JUST LOOK STUFF UP ON THE SPACE INTERNET? LEAVE HIM ALONE. ]

... [ ok so he's PRETTY SURE they don't have antibiotics here... thinking... i dont have his thinky face as an icon except as this default chibi so that's what we're getting. ] Do you have anything classified as antiseptics?

[ Maybe he can just. work on building a first aid kit. ]

[durge]

( she visibly relaxes because he's not asking for anything she can't give him. thanks, dan heng, finally. )

We do. ( it takes her a moment but she goes and picks up the right plants from around the shop, including one small potted one. gesturing to it: ) Aloe vera. It needs to be fresh for it to work. Achiella millefolium, calendula officinalis.

( she points to what looks to be dried moss. because that's exactly what it is. ) Sphagnum holocellulose for dressing the wound. It will absorb the antiseptic, and keep the environment around the wound clean.

( it also will create a chemical reaction within the moss itself to help, but haelva doesn't fucking know that. google does, which is why now YOU know it. )

[exuviage]

[ don't you use his name in bracket text. you don't even know his name. you don't even know hes the same teen as last week even though ALL HE DID WAS GET A HAIRCUT and change his contacts and. uh. took a dremel to his horns. and sliced his ears off.

but like, his ETHEREAL PRETTY AND ANDROGYNOUS BONE STRUCTURE REMAINS THE SAME OK

the moss is interesting, though: ]

There's something like that from one of the Xianzhou Alchemy Commissions; I think it's made with seaweed, though.

Did I bring enough for both, or just one?

[durge]

Both. You brought a lot of plants.

( PERCEPTION: 17. back in business, baby.

haelva stares at him. staaaaaares at him. )

Where did your horns go?

[exuviage]

[ ........... r u kidding me ]

... You waited until now to ask?

[ he is NOT deflecting because I don't know the mechanics by which he hides them ]

[durge]

Would you have wanted me to ask you first thing?

( two people can deflect if they try really hard. )

[exuviage]

Yes. [ frame perfect parry THIS: ] The timing is weird.

[ YOURE weird ]

[durge]

You've yet to ask me why I'm purple. It's only polite.

( she's JUST saying )

[exuviage]

[ You act like he's never seen a purple alien before. ]

You were purple last time, too.

[durge]

Most people here aren't.

( she's just saying. )

[exuviage]

So it's an environment that results in humans being the species with the largest population... [ he shrugs. ] There's a bipedal shark here too.

[ ok. time to lie his ass off. ]

My species doesn't leave our home without express permission from leadership. It's always easier to travel as a human.

[durge]

We've met. He's quite friendly.

( [ INSIGHT: NAT 20 ]

he's a lying liar who lies by using the truth. )

Mmm.

[exuviage]

[ ... ]

[ ... I'm sorry, did you think he was going to say something more on the matter? ... sorry, did you think he was going to say something? he has nothing more to say on the matter, and so he shall say nothing more on the matter. say something more on the matter. he dares you. the ball's in her court if she wants to continue this discussion.

(in his defense, the cat is pawing at his hands again, and he has always been an easy target for willful girls who want harmless things.) ]