EVENT #10: AFFLICTION - IC POST

[abraxasmods]

Event #10 - Affliction

go to the OOC event info & plotting post

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With tensions heavy across Abraxas and all the destruction that's happened, it's no surprise that the dark shadows which sweep over the land go unnoticed...at first.

Winds initially stir in Solvunn, where the influence of the Old Gods remains the strongest. Slowly each Herald infects Thorne and the Free Cities, as well. The Summoned are the first to feel its effects and are the most heavily impacted.

Though no one will realize it until well afterwards, Nocwich remains unaffected. After all, the Summoned don't reside there.

NOTE: This event will deal with themes of death (people and animal) and horror imagery.

Emergence

It begins sometime in mid-October, around the 18th. Not everyone will experience it at the same time. You might even believe you're spared until days afterwards when you're visited by an unusually vivid dream.

The dream starts the same for everyone: you are going somewhere, anywhere, walking to your bedroom or enjoying a stroll on the beach. You might be driving down a familiar neighborhood. Wherever you're headed, you eventually come upon a stone tablet engraved with your Arcana. Laid on the tablet are three objects:

◎ A dead moth trapped inside a wilted rose, symbolizing Koth of Festering Lands
◎ A teacup inside which sits a single nightshade berry, symbolizing Adlewyrd of Poisoned Tongues
◎ An ornate cracked hand mirror that contains no reflection, symbolizing Sannleikr of Many Faces

Make a choice. Something inside your soul will be drawn towards one of the objects. Maybe you spend hours in the dream deliberating, but sooner or later, you'll pick one of the items up. The moment you do, the other objects vanish and the chosen Herald appears before you. Where one might expect a god to seek subservience, the strange figure instead extends a friendly hand towards you - as though it's greeting you as an equal.

Whispered around you, you hear its name. Then it fades and with it the dream. You awaken.

Affliction

You go about your day as usual. That's when you realize something isn't right. Creatures and people around you behave strangely. You begin to sense that you are the cause.

Depending on your chosen Herald, you'll experience at least one of its afflictions. The effects might start small, then grow. They might rush you all at once. You can't shake what haunts you, though you can try. Spells, potions, and willpower can help keep the afflictions at bay but you won't ever be completely free.

As the afflictions seep into your mind, you start to find shadows of it following you: a dead moth here, a nightshade bloom there, a cracked mirror elsewhere. You may even wonder if it's following you in the first place. What if instead, you are the one leaving these signs behind?

Corruption

The first time you inflict your ability on someone else, you don't mean to. It might be a stranger, some unsuspecting soul, or it might be another Summoned. Regardless, the afflictions that ail you seem to spread through you into another. Someone falls down as if in the throes of an invisible death or secrets spill. You brush by someone and they're suddenly upset and confused.

The more this happens, intentionally or not, the better you feel. You may grow full of life and energy, gain a renewed strength of heart, or radiate a charm that turns heads and garners compliments. The afflictions haunting you could even start to fade or completely vanish. And if you use your newfound power deliberately? You'll feel better even faster for longer. Of course, these boons are temporary, lasting at most an hour or so. When the feeling wanes, you might miss having it.

You are not possessed. You can't control this power that spreads through you, but how you respond or behave is up to you. You could be attracted to the allure of power, enjoy the boons you are granted, or realize you can gain relief from your afflictions if you choose a victim. Not everyone will fall headfirst into the pull. Some are not easily swayed by power, some struggle to overcome their dark impulses, and others would rather endure their suffering than inflict it on someone else. But others still might succumb to temptation and turn on those around them with purpose: once, twice, multiple times. The choice you make is yours alone.

Blight

With the call of the Herald at your fingertips, the world around you twists. No one knows whether this stems from you and your newly imbued afflictions, or if the Heralds are exerting power on their own. It's for sure easier to think of what occurs as the influence of something monstrous beyond your control. No matter the cause, the earth is changed all the same.

Omens

The omens arrive shortly after the initial Summoned receive their dreams, but they don't come to every faction at once. SOLVUNN is first, being home to the Old Gods' shrines, before THORNE and the FREE CITIES follow only days afterwards. Depending on where you are, the omens will affect things a bit differently.

Solvunn

In Solvunn, the ground stirs. A desiccated hand breaks through the grass, a cloven hoof. Human or animal, they crawl forth, animated against their will. Some might attack, but most do not. At the same time, crops around the settlements begin to fail. Some chickens lay rotten eggs while cows produce spoiled milk. Any livestock that perishes overnight will surface in the mornings with empty eye sockets - pecked out by crows or gnawed on by rats. From a distance, the ocean can be seen bubbling as leviathans beneath thrash.

Worth noting is that many of the dead are concentrated around the shrines, especially the ones deep in the woods. They're too decayed to recognize, and some might not even move from the site, as though they are waiting for the earth to take them again...or as though they once chose to give up their life at this very spot.

Summoned can assist by helping to cast spells or place warding charms around shrines, farms, and gardens to protect crops and livestock. As a commune, the Solvunnites will share their resources as much as possible and would appreciate those who might lend a hand bringing supplies, herbs, and offerings to neighbors who are lacking. The Summoned can also brew a common herbal remedy to aid any animals who have fallen ill or to help purify the well water.

Free Cities

In Libertas, the dead buried under the rubble dig themselves out. More crawl forth from graves in Cadens' cemeteries. Beasts and bandits slain in the desert wilds rise, hungry or searching for the ones who killed them. At the same time, dead fish wash up onto the shores of Aquila while birds fall dead from their perch, dropping like flies from an unknown illness. Vultures and other scavengers begin to prey upon the eyes of the dead, leaving behind hollowed-out corpses.

Worth noting is that in the Badlands, a few very old and skeletal corpses rise with a metal plate or two screwed onto their bones, which are also oddly elongated. Only one or two make their way near the city. The army is quick to dispose of them before many can notice. They will not disclose any information about this and will claim these are just monsters like anything else.

Summoned can assist by going on patrol with the soldiers to put down any risen dead. Merchant caravans are also hiring escorts for their journeys. Additionally, they can help look through any received supplies and packages to make sure the food isn't rotting or worse, use a special dissolving compound to purify the waters, and donate staple food items to refugees and the less fortunate who can't afford the rising prices.

Thorne

In Thorne, the dead emerge only from the outskirts of the castle city. Thanks to information from one of their Summoned and their recent monitoring of the Singularity, Thorne was able to act swiftly and was able to ward any royal or otherwise significant burial sites. Graves and tombs of less importance, though, will not be protected in the same way. There are fewer encounters with eyeless corpses, though some animals might appear outside the castle in such a state. Normally extravagant dishes from the Castle's kitchens use simpler ingredients as they struggle to ration their food stores.

Worth noting is that a few unexpected corpses make their way up from deep under the castle in places beyond the dungeons. These are twisted and mangled, missing limbs, heads, fingers. The castle guards are quick to dispose of them before they get too far into the rest of the castle, but one or two may be spotted.

Summoned can assist by contributing to the wards around Castle Thorne and the city, using spells to put down the dead without mangling the corpse, and taking inventory of food stores. Further, in Nott the situation is more dire for anyone who is traveling there to continue assisting with repairs following the attack. Nott will welcome help with any problems caused by the omens. It'll be clear the kingdom has neglected the city somewhat. Thorne will claim the Castle takes priority, of course, due to King and Queen residing there along with the entire royal court.

Apprehensions

Across the factions, locals are beginning to catch on that something isn't right with you, the Summoned. No one will say it outright, but there's an air of caution and wariness around you where you go. Merchants might be quick to hand you your wares so you'll leave or locals give you a bit of space when they walk by. Chatty innkeepers are more reluctant to hold lengthy conversations.

Much of the time, it may not be conscious. The natives might simply sense something off that instinctually makes them want to put some distance between them and you. The only exception? If you've chosen Sannleikr of Many Faces, you'll continue to exude your charm towards people you encounter. At least for as long as you continue to inflict that ability you've been gifted.

Displacement

Everyone responds differently while in the Horizon. You might exert better willpower over your afflictions or you might feel its effects more strongly. It all depends on the individual and their mindset. Regardless, the Heralds are only one part of the equation. There's a much bigger disturbance going on.

It could happen as soon as you enter or it might be as you're stepping over the threshold into another's domain. Whatever the case, you are suddenly not where you're supposed to be. Instead, you're in one of two places depending: transported into a domain you never meant to go into or in a foreign setting altogether.

Visitation

Whether you're the one transported or someone teleports unexpectedly into your space, the Horizon becomes unpredictable for the next little while. Rooms normally locked to strangers, areas you yourself may not even realize exists - you and your fellow Summoned continue to pop in and out despite your intentions.

The effect isn't painful, just disorienting, like missing a step you didn't see or stumbling through a door into a too-bright room. The person whose domain you've inadvertently visited might sense an unwanted presence, whether they're inside the Horizon or not, or they may be completely oblivious. This will depend on the strength of their connection to the Singularity and the Horizon.

Not to worry. You won't be trapped or anything in these cases...unless the domain you land in happens to seal from the inside. You might stumble on secrets you weren't meant to find, though, locked away in someone else's mind.

Ensnared

The less fortunate will be pulled into a space that they've never encountered before. The bizarreness of it resembles the glitchy visions that flashed through a few months ago, but rather than an image flickering by, you are now inside the space itself.

Trapped between minutes to hours, you can't use the Horizon's creation magic as normal. Attempts will falter or go sideways: trying to fly out might cause you to tumble, tools and objects are broken or not quite right, wounds don't vanish or heal completely, etc. More significantly, you can't seem to send or receive messages through your connection. Anything that manages to come through will be garbled and distorted. It's as though the place you are in is just out of the reach of your control.

Luckily, you may not be alone. Someone else may have gotten lost alongside you. They might already be there when you stumble through or they might arrive after you do. They might even fade out sooner than you, unintentionally leaving you behind.

Eventually, you'll be released back into the Horizon proper, spat out in a random place in the Horizon. While you're stuck, though, you can try to survive, explore, sit and wait it out, or make friends with your fellow trapped partner. Each area has its challenges and quirks that you'll need to deal with.

Scenes to Explore

JUSTICE ◎
FULL IMAGE

High in the clouds, these snowy peaks are as cold as they look. Giant marble hands reach out, though their sheer scale means you might not recognize them as hands from up close. You can scale the mountain, but if you try to go down, the hands will flip the mountain, which sends you tumbling to the top again.

It's up to you whether you can be injured when you fall. Maybe the snow will feel like marshmallows, or you'll break a bone on the jagged rocks. No two experiences are the same. If you have a partner, they could end up faring better than you despite being in the same place.

Conjure some warm clothes or a log cabin even if you wish - they might not manifest perfectly, but it'll be better than nothing. At least the view's fairly nice...while the sun is up. A blizzard will come through by nightfall. With it arrives a strange hovering light that entices you or your friend to follow it into the frozen darkness. What draws you out depends on you. It could be a familiar voice, an image, or a simple compulsion. If you're lucky, the person with you is unaffected and can try to stop you. Or maybe you're the one desperately chasing after the other person?

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THE CHARIOT ◎
FULL IMAGE

From a distance, it's hard to tell if they're shipping containers or houses stacked atop each other. A gooey mess covers the ground below. Oddly, the smell isn't as unpleasant as the goo looks. It smells like bubblegum or cotton candy, artificial and sweet. When you first fall in, you might land inside one of the homes, on top of the stacked structure, or the ground. You can try to reach anyone else who's there with you, but be careful: the ooze is spreading. Climb if you must or move from room to room. If you don't keep moving, you risk getting sucked into its sticky mass.

Each block of a home is different. Some are furnished, whereas others are empty or filled with strange knickknacks. Some might even have subconscious creations spawned by you. Keep ahead of the gloopy substance, and you'll be fine, probably. Or you can try to fight it back or block its path by sealing yourself in a room or otherwise, which can slow it down significantly. Mostly, you'll have to hope you fade out before the pink mass completely consumes the landscape.

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THE WORLD ◎
FULL IMAGE

The hazy neon glow obscures a nothingness that seems to extend forever. In the middle of the wet ground are several stacked television sets with wires plugged into nothing. Inexplicably, there's also a cat. At first, it appears perfectly normal, but keen observers will notice that its behavior is on a loop where it will walk a certain path, pause at specific intervals to lick its paws, and meow at set points. It does not acknowledge any of its intruders. You can break its loop by picking it up, at which point it'll go limp as a ragdoll. As soon as you set it down, it'll resume its actions as before.

While you can see the same images as someone else on the screens, it's also possible you'll each see something different despite being in the room together. What you see is up to you. It could be an old fuzzy movie, home videos of your childhood, trivia questions you have to answer correctly, or even a memory or vision you wouldn't want to share. Words or faces taunting you could appear between staticky flickers, or maybe your very thoughts are projected onto the screens for anyone with you to read.

Break the televisions if you want, but given a few short minutes, they'll reform between one blink and the next. Looks like you'll have to keep watching until you're released.

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THE FOOL ◎
FULL IMAGE

Sprawling and massive, you're unlikely to recognize at first that you're trapped in a labyrinth. Stone walls rise around you, and your surroundings are pitchblack. Manifest a torch or a flashlight if you can, though these will be prone to going out at inopportune times. Escaping over the walls will only send you into another section in the maze.

As you navigate the twisting corridors, you'll encounter any variety of trials and troubles: gaps in the ground, spiked traps, haunting whispers, monsters, decaying corpses. Some of these might've formed from your mind, others might've spawned from anyone else who's trapped with you.

If you aren't alone, do your best to locate your fellow Summoned. Voices do carry and echo over the walls, and there could be landmarks that help you find each other. Finding the exit, however, is another matter. Walk and climb all you want. A way out is impossible until the Horizon chooses to set you free.

Players can pick any scenario that interests them from the four choices above. Unlike the visions from before, characters can accidentally be trapped in as many of the scenes as you want, as many times as you want. Another option is that they can stay trapped in only one scene while a variety of characters fade in and out to join them, or some combination of the two. Choose what works best for your plans.

Each scene will once again carry an associated Arcana etched somewhere inside it, which can change from person to person or instance to instance. It might be on a wall, a table, or on the ground. Characters with a stronger connection to the Horizon are likely to be trapped for longer but the extent of this is your choice and it won't ever exceed a few hours. It's also your choice whether the afflictions continue to haunt them or not. If you want characters to deal with both problems while stuck together, you're welcome to!

Generally speaking, there are no restrictions other than that they won't be able to communicate with anyone outside the area, they can't escape it until the Horizon chooses to release them, and their creation magic will go wrong just enough that it'll make things tricky.

Comments

[gynvael]

She hugs him so tight it hurts, but it feels right again. He doesn't stop to try and determine what the fuck happened. At the moment? He can't care.

For awhile, he's quiet. Holding her. And though he wants nothing more than to leave it at that, they're not quite safe where they are. So eventually, he pulls back. Looks up at the walls that still surround them—the cracks that run up the stone, the spiderweb crevices splintering the ground.

It is only then that he realizes how precarious their position is. That the edges of the earth may crumble if they aren't careful.

He stands, cautious. Keeps a hand on Ciri. The ground trembles. As though it realizes they're finally attempting to leave. He urges Ciri to go first. Cross the gap before it widens. But as he steps over to join her, he hears a click of a mechanism above. Below. Both. Metal and sharp.

He shoves Ciri out of the way—but between claws and teeth and daggers and everything, he's slower. Not near quick enough to dive out of the path himself as the shadow of a heavy spiked cage descends.

[godshattering]

[ Right - context would be a good thing. Now that there seems to be a lull (relatively) as he holds the axe to Nemesis's chest, like that'll keep an imaginary figure where it should be, as if the Horizon couldn't move him in a second like how it's trapped them here in whatever this maze is. Claude spares a glance Kyle's direction, gestures with his free hand to the man apparently waiting for what will happen like they are. ]

Remember the man I mentioned who wanted to destroy everything where I'm from?

[ That'll have to do as an explanation since even if the injuries aren't real, they still hurt like they are. No longer moving is a mistake as it allows the ache in his side to catch up in earnest, but there was something else he saw in that quick look. Common sense says he should strike Nemesis now - try not to think about the parallel between this and Teach doing the same - but Claude looks back again.

No, it wasn't his imagination. There's something going on with Kyle's weapon and he looks at it uneasily. ]

That wouldn't happen to be a Relic from Fodlan I've never seen before, would it?

[gynvael]

[ Geralt, too, steps away, moving out of the crater. Being within it leaves him uneasy given all that's been happening.

He huffs. Yes. Well. Perhaps that is what that year taught him, isn't it? That year and afterwards. How to apologize when he'd never had many he cared enough to bother with in the past. Then Jaskier came along. Then Yennefer. Ciri.

His eyes are on Jaskier. The bard's trepidation seems to have been replaced by intrigue. Geralt cannot say if that makes him feel better or not. Truth be known, much of this is beyond his experience, his knowledge, his certainty. Where part of him fears they've opened a door that cannot be shut, another believes that door opened the moment they arrived in this sphere.

He shakes his head. ] That's why I brought you here. I believe it did send her somewhere else. Like the mountain, the labyrinth. Somewhere it won't release her as it's released us. I hoped the Singularity could reach her somehow.

[ Fool's errand. He's aware. He is taking the chances of a desperate man. Even so— ]

You helped. [ He could not have learned on his own whether she could be reached through the Singularity or not. The mutations, his magic—whatever it is, this rock. That's all it is to him. A rock filled with magic. Julie described others receiving a disturbance. Herself a connection. For him, it is empty. Silent. Fitting, for a Witcher. He can't say he expected different. ] I'll continue searching.

[ushiri]

[ At the explanation the back of his hands itch, a phantom pain from the sacred tattoos he lost. He hasn't had any need of their protection in two years, and he's left wondering how they might've fared against her probing.

But they're gone, and so it doesn't matter now.

She says part of what she does is out of her control, and he leans again toward believing she's telling the truth along with her intent to do no harm right now. Especially if she has the power to rip whatever she wanted from his head without needing to bother with permission or honesty. He can't help thinking of Lucifer again — not the same exact sensation of being prey in the claws of a bored, caged predator, but rather the power imbalance naturally occurring between them. He doesn't need an apology from her, and in that same vein he won't apologize for his reaction, which continues to manifest as a respectful caution. ]

They claim you when you dreams - [ A forlorn child's voice speaks from somewhere up in the tree branches. The yellow dog remains on the floor, sleeping now. ]

We takes the mirror, even though we don't wants to. We can't gives it back.

[ Peering down is a child-sized skeleton, held together with copper wire in place of muscle and sinew. In its small hand it holds a cracked mirror. She gives off the same signature as the dog, tethered to the domain and its owner. Her thoughts are only erratic flashes of light. Kahlil glances from her to the woman, holding a hand up and speaking quickly in defense of the little skeleton: ]

- she means no harm.

[ She's not real. But it's hard not to think of her as so. ]

[gynvael]

[ A beat as Geralt stares somewhat dumbfounded at Nero tearing off a sticky strip of something to secure the door. It's such a minuscule, such an idiotic fucking gesture that it should not make him feel—

He doesn't know. Can't fully describe it. But something about the casual, thoughtless way Nero does it settles in his chest, between his ribs, and he breathes a little easier.

He does sit for a time. Isn't quite ready to move when he fears he might vomit more blood. Which makes no sense; he did not go through the Trials again. It's a memory. An echo. But his body believes it real, apparently. At least he no longer feels as though he might burn from the inside out. How long he stays by that wall, he isn't sure. Minutes? An hour? Nero stays with him, though. He isn't certain what to make of that, either.

When he stands at last, he's steadier. There's blood in his shirt, red stains on his hands. It doesn't matter. He ascends the stairs. They seem to go on forever. Eventually, he reaches the top and pushes open the door. The keep above is cold, foreboding, still infested with vines.

At least it's free of cries and death.

He sits on one of the benches and grabs the nearest bottle. His head throbs. ] Would've rather stayed in that blizzard.

[ordinar]

[Wilhelm's so focused on the falling flames — willing the magic inside him to actually fucking work, willing the fire to scatter aside — that he doesn't notice Sylvain springing toward him until suddenly he's shoved into the wall. A surprised grunt pushes out of him.]

I had it under control.

[Which is a pretty strong assertion from someone who wasn't sure it would work up until the second it did. He pushes at Sylvain's shoulder — not rudely, but urgently. This is no time to linger. (It's no time to notice how tall this guy is either, but that's beside the point.)]

Come on! Let's get the fuck out of here.

[wiedzminka]

[ She didn't expect him to actually look so wounded over it. Like a kicked puppy.

Ciri sighs, and chooses to ignore it. She's finding herself lower on patience than usual these days. ]

That's the place. We share it.

You think we can ride your... car... there?

[bealufull]

Kaz can't help the anger rising within him, a cold bitterness steeped in fire in a way that he is use to guiding him. It feels like those days when he first started making a name for himself. When he had lost everything and the only thing that kept him going was anger and a need for revenge.

And he's thinking of all the ways he's capable of it in that moment. If only to stop the smell of rot and disease that rises over him, threatening to drag him under.

Frowning heavily at her words, eyes narrowing to mere slits. "Wrong, how?"

Was she losing her mind? He suspects others won't be happy if she is, and it's only that thought that holds him where he is, watching her in case she snaps and goes mad, obviously.

[shadowthief]

She nods, understanding the need for escape into some relative safety. Even if it seems to have not panned out quite as either one of them might have hoped- at least they are not alone, and that makes a difference.

"No," she answers honestly, shaking her head. "I had a dream about a mirror- broken and no reflections... and I'm effectively being haunted." Beat. "Again." Because this is not the first time she has had Heleen used against her in this world. Nor does she believe it would be the last. "You?"

[philancer]

[ You should always expect fun! Otherwise, what's the point? ]

Has anyone figured out what's waking them all up? Why they're suddenly doing this? Maybe if we can put a stop to whatever that is...?

[philancer]

Sorry. I didn't realize that was something you could control.

[ He sounds a little sheepish in the confession as he pushes back from the wall, casting a wary gaze upwards just to make sure nothing was still heading for them. ]

Magic doesn't work like that, where I come from. And I haven't learned enough about how it does work here yet. All I saw was things falling for our heads and fire and I reacted without thinking.

But yeah, getting out would be good. [ He steps back, tugging the other boy along with him and continuing to hurry towards the far arch that will let them out into the area just up from the stables. ] Here, turn right. The stables are ahead there.

[ He points off to the right, and then tries not to look dismayed when his feet stutter as he realizes the Knight's Hall to the left is just... gone. Crushed and collapsed, it looks like. The two story building is now just a pile of rocks and rubble strewn around them. ] Shit.

[shadowthief]

She nods, a solemn expression on her face. "Much the same in Cadens at the moment." She knows Kaz isn't coping well with it, and is at a loss of what to do to help him through it.

She huffs a soft sound, not exactly a laugh but maybe more an acknowledgment, shaking her head gently. She opens her mouth to speak, but instead is cut off by Wilhelm's startled noise. "Are you all right?" She whips her head around to see what's caused his surprise.

[supersoldier]

[He does kiss more deeply, mouth slotting open to make room for a questing tongue. It is telling how little effort it takes for him to do so, how only a modicum of encouragement is drawing him down this same path. Against his body, he feels her arch against him, and warmth coils just beneath his belly. They are dirty and grimy and couched in the dim lighting that pours through the broken windows — this is not an ideal place to do this.

But Sephiroth cares less and less. His hands want to move, want to rove over her — the idea is almost too much to only humor in thought. She’s already so, so warm, and whose heart is that, thudding in his chest? Pulsing in his ears? It must be his own.

He pulls away, an almost-gasp spilling from his lips already glistening from her; not to stop, but to say—]

I don’t want to wait anymore.

[His chances to be close with her, like this with her, put off time and time again.]

[shadowthief]

"Is that a good thing?" she can't quite tell from his tone. She knows that siblings can have their issues, but at the root of them she thinks there is usually plenty of fondness even if it's buried under other things. Though, she isn't not so naive as to think there are never families that do not have a good rapport with one another.

Inej can't hide the surprise on her face at that admission. Lucifer hadn't seemed certain he'd hear her if she ever called for him, and she supposes that makes sense because of the way the Singularity can change everything about them, and any powers they have or don't.

"Interesting..." she murmurs softly, intrigued by it. She isn't unnerved at all by someone that can be so quickly and firmly placed under the broader umbrella of "Divine" hearing her prayers; it's their place, in a way. "Is it always like that for you? Only clearly hearing prayers specifically for you? Or is it this place disrupting things the way it seems so fond to do?" It's a genuine curiosity woven through her tone.

[shadowthief]

“Because I saw the god the mirror belonged to or- or represented. I heard it’s name in the winds— Sannleikr. And when I woke up, the dead were walking and I am being haunted again.” Her voice is strained, the words bitten out sharp and harsh. “She sits at the edges of everything and she does not go away. She haunts my dreams and she stalks me in the shadows of my waking hours. It keeps using her against me- I… cannot… escape her,” she hopes he does not need any further clarification for who the ‘she’ that she is referring to is.

He doesn’t have to spell it out for her. She puts it together in an instant. “You’re not eating…” how could she blame him? She couldn’t eat either if everything tasted of ash and death on her tongue. How long could he survive with nothing, while this world tried to bring them all to ruins? All of her concern wells up and crosses over the features of her face, but she wills it to stay there, refuses to let it spill any further.

Grateful for the turn in the conversation, she breathes out a low, quiet breath and nods. “Yes, it- it’s my parents’ wagon.” Of course it was. How could she construct it so well otherwise? Every inch of this place is her past, perfectly preserved.

[shadowthief]

There is something intensely satisfying in watching Jo bat Heleen's hand away from her face. It’s the kind of action someone who had suffered under the mistress could scarcely bring herself to consider, that fear of her still lodged so firmly between her ribs. But, oh, it’s good to see it.

Inej wonders if the lights flicker for Jo’s agitation or Heleen’s. Or maybe it’s coincidental all around. Who can be sure given everything that’s off and wrong these days.

“You never tamed me,” she bites out sharply.

“Oh, but didn’t I?” She doesn’t even walk the space from Jo’s shoulder to Inej’s, she’s just suddenly there, pausing in front of the girl, uncomfortably close and makes it worse still reaching up to stroke delicate fingertips across high-boned cheeks.

Despite her attempts at resolving herself, Inej still recoils from the touch. Icy cold and somehow both solid and feather-light enough to wonder if anything had been against her skin at all. “Yes,” she purrs, a soft amused sound rolling low in her throat. “You may have escaped with the barrel rat, but you will always… be… mine.” The last word holds a possessive curl that matches the curvature of her smirk.

[wiedzminka]

[ Immediately, she chases after him to close the space between them, breathless herself and uncaring. ]

Then don't.

[lightkeeping]

Tell me about it.

[Aloy certainly understands the trepidation--she's a stranger, and machines are fairly intimidating (though this guy seems intimidating in his own regard), so she'll wait patiently, then adjust as necessary when he decides to hop on board. She holds perhaps an extra second, just to make sure that he's secured, then urges the Clawstrider onward.

It's a smooth ride, all things considered, though from the driver's seat it doesn't seem like they're moving towards anything but more blinding white.]

No-- [A pause, as if she's not quite sure how to explain it.] These machines are...native. Where I'm from.

[techmaturgy]

Well, now he's a bit increasingly concerned. He leaves the workshop fully, hoping to get a better look at the mirror in question, or perhaps a hint to just what she's referring to, in the reflective glass.

"Seeing what? What do you keep seeing?"

He's not sure he can help her, but if he can, he wants to. Sure, the mirror might belong to a neighbor, but he has no qualms removing it from the wall or outright destroying it, if he has to.

"Do you want me to get rid of it?"

[aquaveiled]

[ Thancred is a patented Tummy Ache Survivor, he can take this.

Unfortunately when he takes her wrist the compulsion to just eat more grows. Her tail wiggles with growing interest as she kind of awkwardly squats to grab another chunk, but does allow him to tug her along a bit. ]

Mmhmm!

[ She can walk and eat at the same time. ]

This place looks a little horrifying, but it is better than finding dead animals everywhere. You're not having that same problem, are you?

[techmaturgy]

He offers a shrug--who knows what kind of strange experimentation they get up to at the Academies? But she's probably right. Regardless, Viktor's curiosity seems undeterred. The slight furrow of his eyebrows indicates that he might be considering something.

"And are they...still there?"

He's guessing the answer is yes, but he might as well be sure. If the military hasn't gotten to them yet, well...

"Do you think you could show me?"

[hextechhead]

I don't know, you're better at people than you think. Maybe it'll only be fifty years.

[ Jayce smiles at him. He actually thinks Alucard could make friends with another half-vampire much faster than that, he has friends amongst the Summoned after all, but he knows better than to bring too much attention to that. ]

I mean, what is the best case scenario here? What do you want to happen?

[gynvael]

Let them.

[ It comes simply, not really a challenge so much as a statement. He doesn't much care to confront the men and women who have laid claim to the land as theirs. He isn't here to topple governments or defend nations. But he's learning, too, what it means to make his way through a world that sees fit to pursue someone important to him.

For a moment, he's quiet, and there's no effort on his part to fill the silence. Eventually, he does speak up again. ]

How do you know Claude?

[philancer]

[ At least that’s an easy question to answer. ]

We come from the same world. Opposite sides of warring kingdoms, unfortunately, but we all attended the Officer’s Academy together when we were growing up. Although… [ He makes a face. ] The magic of this place is confusing that, I think, because we remember some things differently. And he somehow has about a year’s worth of memories more than I do.

[nadine_he_loves]

"Those are some really impressive guns..." They put Nadine's little pistol back home to shame.

"But you're probably right, who knows what could go wrong here now." Much as she would like to see the galaxy, it's not worth the risk. Another time, maybe. Anyway, this room alone is enough to hold her interest. She hasn't seen many futuristic - to her - domains. There'd been Amos', but there'd been a lot more outer space than spaceship. Though that reminds her...

"I do know how to move in low and zero gravity, though. A friend had a domain that was mostly just space, and he taught me."