acatalepsy_logs | ( the sickness: phase two )

( the sickness: phase two )

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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?

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When I finalize construction plans, I'll make one for the both of us.

[ It doesn't seem like a hard thing to do... Okay, yes it does, but they're also in a world full of magic and he bets he can find somebody to help make this possible. ]

You're real generous, thank you. Not sure what I'll do with it, but I'm sure I'll appreciate it when it happens.

You'll sit in it and stay safe. Would you promise me that?

Uh. On the condition that there's a human sized hamster ball there, yeah. Sure.

[Hank eyes the kid, resisting the urge to tell him he's kind of weird. You don't say that to teenagers. They take it personally.]

I was thinking we could put your dog in one, but I guess keeping me safe works too.

[ Koromaru whines at that? Hank?? ]

Ha. A hamster ball would be for protecting everybody else from him, not the other way around. How is anybody supposed to pet him if he's kept in a ball?

[ It just can't work. ]

I don't know, you can put those little gloves in that they use in labs, people can stick their hands in and pet him when he's not running over people.

[Well, while they're here talking shit Hank's just going to wander over to the pantry, find something he probably recognizes, and start eating it. Chances are good it's an orange, and fuck it, he's hungry. He sets it on a table, frowns at it, then grabs a fork and starts trying to poke the damn thing's skin off.]

[ That doesn't sound very satisfying at all, for either Koromaru or the person petting him. Minato leans back against the counter and watches Hank grab that orange (an orange... why not a peach or an apple or something that doesn't require peeling/stabbing...) ]

Koromaru... [ he mumbles to his dog ] Here's the knife back. Put him out of his misery.

[Hank stops. He turns to Minato, half-grinning.]

Kid. Did you just tell your dog to kill me?

[He looks down at the orange and steps away from it, just in case. Having his fingers accidentally shredded by a helpful, knife wielding dog? Not how Hank wanted to finish out this day.]

Yeah.

[ Yeah, he did, but what he meant was- and he does this- that he steals the orange and does the same trick of tossing it in the air, and letting Koromaru slice the fruit in half, then quarters.

For payment, he takes one of the quarters, peels it and eats it. ]

Well, thanks.

[He goes over to take the a slice himself, not bothering to peel it. The rest he leaves on the floor for now, if Koro doesn't get it first he'll have that too.]

[ Koromaru licks the orange, decides he doesn't like it, and leaves it on the floor. Thanks, it's covered in dog spit now, gross. Minato keeps staring forward and pretends it doesn't exist. ]

It's payment for saving my life back then. We're even now.

[ You know what his life is worth? A quarter of an orange. ]

Uh.

[Hank frowns at the orange, then frowns at Minato.]

Even if your life really did need saving- which it didn't - I think it's worth a little more than that. I think you'd owe me, I don't know, at least a human sized hamster ball.

[And how a person takes that depends one hundred percent on how they feel about hamster balls.]

The hamster ball is payment for you promising not to die. Your life is worth a hamster ball.

[ His, a quarter orange. ]

[He makes an amused noise, considering the orange parts the dog licked.

You know what, fuck it. He picks it up, washes it really briefly in the sink, then pops it in his mouth.]

That's real flattering, but you don't got to bribe me to try not to die. That part's kinda implied.

[ Peel your oranges, Hank!! Stop that!!!! ]

I'm tired of seeing people die, so I can never be to careful. I'll bribe if it works.

[Why would he peel it when he can slip the last slice in his mouth, pull back his lips, and give an orange peel smile? Which seems a little tone deaf once the kid goes on to talk about seeing people die, so he finishes the orange slice and leaves the peel in the sink before turning back, more serious, his voice gentle..]

You don't have to bribe me. Okay? Besides, that uh, witch lady seems kinda invested in us. I'm sure she's got our backs.

[Not that Hank really believes that more than a little, but if a kid did have to see the shit Minato's seen, he should at least be able to believe someone's going to keep it from happening again.]

[ Oh my god

If anything, Minato appreciates the orange peel smile- it's better than being made a fuss over, and he turns to face Hank properly, about to shrug or mumble something dismissive. He trusts Astoria just as much as he does anybody else, but that's just it: he doesn't trust her to keep everybody safe and alive because that's not a power anybody has. They can only do their best. ]

She's not God... but I'm sure she's watching over us too. I guess I should stop walking into the lake and making more trouble for her.

[ Except he's going to go walk into the lake. It'd be nice if he could have found that hamster ball by the 5th, and then Hank could come too. ]

Yeah, you probably should.

Hey, should I be bribing you to stop pulling shit like that? I've got, uh... Fuck, I've got moonshine.

[He says it dryly, amused, and smiles crookedly.]

That's okay to offer a kid, right? In exchange for some kinda common sense, from here on out?

...Can I really try it?

[ Is Hank trying to be a responsible adult or not, it's hard to tell. ]

Well.

[He looks even more amused, entirely at himself. The moonshine is pretty much the only thing he has to his name to offer, and he didn't really expect the kid to be interested, but here they are.

Okay. He can roll with it.]

You gonna promise me to be smarter about yourself? Not stick your head in any weird bodies of water for minutes on end, stuff like that?

[ It's such a tall order, when basically all he does is wander around and stick his nose where he doesn't have any business, but Minato nods and makes that promise. At the very very least, he can be a little smarter about himself. ]

Deal.

Cool. Let's shake on it. [He holds a hand out.] And you just, uh. Tell me when you want to, uh... whatever.

[This sure is something he really just agreed to. Well. Giving alcohol to a minor isn't illegal everywhere. Depending on the circumstances. In other dimensions it's probably fine.]

[ It's probably fine!! He reaches out and takes Hank's hand, doing his part to squeeze and shake instead of letting his hand hang there like a limp noodle. ]

I'll come by with good news sometime. Then we can celebrate.

[It's an effort that's mostly wasted; with his hands like they are, Hank's own handshakes tend toward the limp fish variety so he doesn't squeeze the shit out of any unsuspecting hands. Hank's aware of that, and ends the gesture after a second.]

Uh. Not so much 'celebrate' as 'taste', okay? If you've never drank before we're not gonna go too hard. Just, bring some water and we'll figure it out then. But yeah. It's a deal.

Thanks.

[And Hank does mean that. He appreciates your future caution, weird kid.]

[ It wasn't something he expected to be thanked for, so it surprises Minato enough that he only lets out a noncommittal hum in response. ]

...Yeah.

[ An awkward moment's pause, and he turns to his dog. ]

Let's get going, Koromaru. We need to brainstorm how to make hamster balls and snorkels.

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fuck1ngusernam3 - 2018-10-03 23:25 (UTC) - Expand

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