acatalepsy_logs | ( the sickness: phase two )

( the sickness: phase two )

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II ▫ logs	V ▫ rules	VII ▫ bestiary	IX ▫ canon updates	XII ▫ taken	XV ▫ drop/hiatus
III ▫ ooc	VI ▫ faq	VIII ▫ setting	X ▫ mods	XIII ▫ reserves	XVI ▫ players

the sickness ends.

the temple.

The Temple, shortly after Astoria's burst of energy, is in a constant state of growth. Trees are bursting into existence from seeds in mere seconds, flowers are growing wherever magic lands . . . and the Temple is abruptly a-buzz with energy, magic crackling throughout the air. You may find a tree in your house, or flowers suddenly growing along the walls, or plants wiggling their way through the stone walls of the buildings of the Temple. All of a sudden, the place looks very overgrown.

The Forest of the Fey seems to be responding in kind, too. Sprites are exceptionally active, darting out of the Forest and into the Temple with increasingly regularity, playing basic little tricks on the members of the Circle they can find. Flower crowns are made at an alarming rate, and there might be a few fruit-food fights that break out with the sudden abundance of peaches and apples that appear on the grounds. Learn how to duck!

With the magic comes the sudden fluctuation of energy: canon powers flicker on and off, as do the powers granted by Astoria. You feel more like yourself, you suddenly have access to energies you did not have previously in the Temple However, it's a double-edged sword -- it is not constant, and it may be more trouble than its worth.

And, remember: the Sickness is not fading immediately. If you make it to Stage 3, then you're stuck with sensory deprivation for at least another week or two. Sorry, friends.

lake dona.

Lake Dona is a massive body of water, stretching outward for so far that it almost seems like an ocean until you see that the water is fresh. It is surrounded by long, leafy trees that dip into the water and has a variety of ancient ruins scattered around it -- weathered stones set into circles at seemingly even intervals, old buildings that seem to mirror the Temple in construct.

In addition to the ruins, there are a network of caverns tucked along the water’s edge, just underneath the surface on the western side of Lake Dona, that appear to go underground into murky darkness. The actual entrance to these caverns seem to be underwater, seemingly guarded by merfolk, but poking around may seem to be more trouble than its worth.

There is plenty of wildlife to be found within the lake itself, ranging from freshwater mermaids who would rather you stay the hell out of their backyard to a rather large and suspiciously friendly plesiosaurus-like creature (some would say that she prefers to be called Nessie) that seems intent on checking out who you are. The lake teems with odd-looking fish, most of which seem to be okay to eat, and plenty of plant life! But who knows what lurks in the depths below . . . that giant sea-monster looking thing has to be eating something.
PROMPT IDEAS: Here are some prompt ideas for this new area! However, don't feel limited to such ideas! Feel free to fish, to explore, to swim, to poke around . . . it's always possible Astoria may check in on your character, too, once she is feeling better! ;)

1.) The Great Pumpkin The overgrowth of plants have caused a massive growth spurt in a lot of the trees, including the fruit trees that sprinkle themselves throughout the Temple. However, the fruit themselves seems to be growing at a rather . . . alarming rate, resulting in a few pumpkin-looking squash growing to the size of small boulders in the fields. Hope you have a lot of spare time on your hands to make a hell of a lot of Temple-pie, because these squash aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

2.) Food Fight!: Those damn sprites are at it again, and are collecting fruit off the ground and throwing it at people. Fight back, organize, and conquer! Or not. It's probably better to just not.

3.) Part Of Your World: The mermaids within Lake Dona are a suspicious lot, and they don't take kindly to strangers stomping through their territory. However, they are receptive to music, so if you are so musically inclined, they will definitely be more inclined to be a little more playful than territorial. If you aren't? Have fun getting tossed into the lake head-first by a bunch of pissed off mermaids who want you to get the hell of their lawn. They don't take kindly to your type around here.

4.) Nessie: Within Lake Dona is a massive plesiosaurus-type creature which seems to be . . . oddly friendly? It seems to pop up at the most inconvenient of times. Are you sitting on the edge of the lake enjoying the water? Enjoy a massive ass dinosaur sticking its impressively long neck out of the lake to check you out and also scare the bejesus out of you. That being said, Nessie is an extraordinarily friendly being, and will even give you laps around the lake if you ask nicely!

5.) Caverns: The caverns within the lake are dark, deep, and menacing The merfolk inform you that you cannot go there -- no one can, but the merfolk sure seem to be keeping a careful eye out on it. Testing the boundaries indicates a weird magical field around the entrance of the cave, that works like a bit of a forcefield. Weird, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, yeah. But if you try real hard and believe in yourself, you can kill that human nature shit real quick. What're your other reasons? Not that I'm advocating for cophood, god, please don't be me, but I guess I'm - ha - just a little curious.

[He tilts his head with a wry shrug. Maybe he's a little bit of a hypocrite with the curiosity thing. It's fine.]

[ Maybe he's a huge hypocrite, but Minato would rather see that curiosity than not, even if it is uncomfortably directed at himself instead of Hank being curious in general. ]

'cause it's hard to talk to people.

[ vague, but maybe that'll inspire some healthy curiosity. ]

Have you met Mako? He's also with the police- said cops are able to get into the criminal's mind, and that's how they figure things out. That's tough.

Eh, that makes it sound like you got to have some kind of telepathy. It's not like uh, criminals are some weird other species and we have to dig into their brains and figure out how they work. You've just got to know people. There's a lot of stuff that goes with it, like, psychology shit, especially if you get into certain branches of uh, cop stuff. But they teach you all that, you don't got to know it instinctively. You've just got to have a feel for people.

[He shrugs, looking a little teasing for a second.]

But uh, being able to talk, that part helps. Like, you can't just go to someone's door and stare em down into confessing, that doesn't actually work.

[Excuse Hank while he gently, deliberately misinterprets you.]

[ Criminals embody some of the worst traits of people, though. Rage. Desperation. Things Minato might have been able to relate to once upon a time, until he found himself unable to relate to anything at all- anybody at all- slow to relearn again how to know people. It's not something that comes naturally, or easily, but he's gotten a lot better at it by now, he likes to think. ]

I know people who could probably do it. Stare at somebody until they confess...

[ Whether it's because they're that intimidating, or they just exude such a aura of authority, or... Minato holds Koromaru between his legs, and squishes his cheeks in between both hands. ]

Could you lie to this face? Impossible.

[He snorts, smiling.]

No, we're not talking about police dogs, that's a whole different thing. No one can lie to a dog. Why we haven't made one a detective yet is beyond me. But if you wanna put Koro on the force I can put in a good word, that is one hell of a stare.

[ Koromaru barks happily, glad for the offer for endorsement, and Minato lets him go so he can jump up and place his paws on Hank's knees. ]

I bet he'd make a good one. Is your place recruiting?

Oh yeah, we always need some good detectives. [Well how can he say no to the obvious request for pets? Hank rubs at Koro's head, raising his eyebrows at Minato.] What're his qualifications?

[ Koromaru seems happy enough getting pets from Hank, so that leaves Minato to lean back and try to remember how long ago he'd first met the dog. Summer time, before the festival... but it wouldn't be another month until he actually came to live with them at the dorm. ]

Six... months? Experience on the front lines. I can vouch for his speed, bravery, loyalty, intelligence... [ All good dog things, to which Koromaru barks proudly at the praise. ]

And he is very handy with a knife.

[Hank raises his eyebrows, watching Koro, who he’s started scratching behind the ears, and then looking at Minato.]

Okay, none of that is any of the things I was expecting. Should I even ask?

Depends how curious you are.

[ It's human nature, he knows it's somewhere inside Hank too, even if he feels a little bad about his obvious baiting him through the conversation. But he reaches over to scratch Koromaru behind the ears too, because even if it's unexpected, Koromaru looks like a smart and strong enough dog to do all of that and more, so it shouldn't be very surprising. ]

Well. [He sucks at his teeth, looking away.] Normally I’d go for it, but here? Maybe it’s cause I’m older than the rest of you, or maybe I’m just... I don’t know. But I gotta be careful about asking shit here. It’s like, uh- feeding a program into a computer in a code it can’t read. My brain doesn’t know what to do with... with the magic, and stuff. So. If you tell me what’s up with your dog you gotta promise me it won’t get too weird, otherwise-

[He shrugs, making an apologetic face.]

[ He has no idea whether bs is easier to accept when you're younger versus older, but he wonders whether it has more to do with personality than age. People keep telling him he accepts things too easily and without thought or care, in situations where others would exhibit healthy skepticism, but he thinks he can leave out 99% of the magic and stuff and still give a adequate explanation. ]

He's just a normal dog. Just as much as you or I are normal people. [ Which... depending on how you define "normal"... But Koromaru isn't an alien or a robot or anything of that sort, so it counts, probably. ]

We fought... uh. Stuff. Together. Biting would be gross, and dangerous if he has to keep hanging on, so a knife is the easiest way to get in and out.

[ There. A full explanation without any magic. ]

Huh. How does he hold it? Does he, uh- [Scratching behind both ears now, Hank leans to the side a little, trying to get another angle on Koro so he can picture it.] -put it in his little mouth?

Yeah. Do you want to see?

[ He straightens one leg so he can reach into his pocket like he's about to whip out a knife here and there—-

but catches himself before he actually does that, and instead looks around for a tree branch of some sort, it can't be hard to find something suitable with all the overgrowth that the place has been seeing. ]

[Hank does not miss that gesture. He makes no move to help the kid find something, just raises his eyebrows and nods down at Minato's pocket.]

What's wrong? Don't want me to see what you got in there?

Uh.

[ He freezes, carefully weighs his options. ]

Yeah, I don't.

[Hank starts laughing, thinks he's about to stop, then keeps going for a good few seconds, his hands dropping off Koro as he gets distracted. Which is for the best; he hopes the dog got something out of it, because it's kind of freaky to pet a dog when you can't actually tell what your hands are doing unless you're staring straight at them. Anyway, that- yeah, that was good. He needed that laugh.]

Yeah, you know what? That's fair. What else are we gonna use? It doesn't look like there are a lot of sticks around the lake, here.

[ People keep laughing and it keeps catching Minato off guard, leaving him to sit and stare and sweat internally at the familiar feeling of not knowing what the hell he's doing and what he's supposed to do. This is why he can't be a cop. People are hard.

At least Hank does him the courtesy of laughing for a good long while, while Minato mentally collects himself and waits it out, holding his breath until Hank accepts his "no" for a "no." ]

There's knives in the kitchen. It's not a mealtime, so I bet people won't mind if we play with one for a bit.

Yeah, sure. I'm feeling like a responsible adult today. Let's go play with knives.

[He pushes himself up, leaning carefully on his hands to do it, and looks around for Sumo.]

Hey, Sumo! Come on, bud, we're going. Come on.

Anything else you want to do here before we go? Get eaten by the creature of the Black Lagoon? Piss off a mermaid?

Seems like the sort of thing we should do after properly arming ourselves with knives.

[ He can be a responsible kid too, sometimes, a little more so when he's around other people and feels the need to look out for them, especially somebody who can't feel and might possibly not even notice a knife slipping and cutting him on the hand until the blood makes holding onto it too slippery.

Things to keep in mind as he stands as well, Koromaru taking off towards the kitchens as if he knows exactly what the plan is, and leaving the three of them to follow right behind him. ]

...Sumo isn't a police dog, is he? I thought they're all German shepherds.

Oh, no. No, not this guy.

[Sumo starts after Koro with a light jog, not nearly as fast as Koro's going but clearly as fast as Sumo's willing to be. Once he starts going Hank does, too.]

I coulda got one, uh, one was retiring about the same time I got him. But uh, someone a little more chill seemed like a better idea. Honestly, I don't know if he could make it as a cop. He doesn't even know how to hold a knife.

[Hank gives Minato a teasing look. That's kind of a unique skill you taught your dog there, buddy.]

[ Knife-wielding isn't Koromaru's most unique skill-set, but that's something Minato will keep to himself, for Hank's sanity. ]

He's got a face you can't lie to. That's what a cop really needs. Get someone on your side, and you'll win without having to fight.

[ You're a good dog, Sumo!! Tall enough to pat on the back while he walks alongside the dog. ]

Yeah, but being able to fight doesn't hurt. Some people aren't going to be on your side no matter what.

[Not really the most shocking life truth ever, but still true.]

...Yeah, I guess not.

[ In that situation, it's up to you to do the dirty work, why Minato prefers to lead from the front, sword in hand and his team at his back. He isn't great at talking, but against monsters, he doesn't have to be.

It's a well worn path to the kitchen, easy enough to navigate through the temple even as bramble spills off the walls and onto the path and Minato steps in front of Hank so he can kick the stuff aside.

Annoying... He half expects the vines to jump up and grab them about the ankles, it's so weird to see so much of it spring up literally overnight. ]

[Sumo's going to get distracted sniffing all this new shit, Hank knows. He glances back at his dog, but doessn't try to get Sumo to come with them. He'll be around.

When they make it to the kitchen he stops in the doorway, looking at Minato expectantly.]

Here it is. Your moment. Or uh, Koro's moment. I'm sure there're some nice safe knives around here somewhere.

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