the great escape.The Circle has quite a lot on their plate, this time around. Multiple players are fighting for the control of Akvos, and many difficult choices to make. No matter what path you choose, though, one thing is for certain: it is a bitter fight to the death to ensure that Akvos remains standing, one way or another. There are three main areas for the characters to explore in the final log of Akvos: (1) The Kingdom of Akvos, where the King is fighting to seize control; (2) The Rift, where the characters will encounter the Dreamscapes; and (3) The Kingdom of Polankos, which is where King Ka'pouli has reigned since his arrival in the pocket dimension. Decisions made in all there areas will affect the outcome of Akvos, so get to exploring.  THE ASSAULT ON WAHINE.The King’s forces will attack in three different fronts. There will be mermen attacking from above, riding saddled giant seahorses and manta rays, launching spears at the mermaid-warriors below with terrifying precision. They seem to be indiscriminate, in their aim -- the weaponry, charged with the same dark energy that the shadow creatures seem to be made out of, find their target in civilians and warriors alike, raining down a sea of terror upon the central stronghold of the Kingdom of Akvos.
The mermen will also be attacking at the ground-level, attempting to burst their way through the Palace Gates to flood the city with numbers. While the mermaids outnumber the mermen, the mermen are certainly more brutal than the mermaids. Some of them, though, in finding the city, are more concerned with looting it than with senselessly murdering everyone inside. Indeed, this is the most food they have seen in a long time -- and markets are destroyed in grabbing as much food and riches as they can, pressing closer to the Palace, and toward the Queen's stronghold.
And, finally, they will be attacking from below, navigating their way through a network of tunnels meant to transport goods and bursting their way into people’s homes, to sneak their way closer to their ultimate goal, which seems to be the Palace itself.
The Circle's main goal, here, is to protect civilians, usher theminto the underground strongholds beneath the Palace, and fight for their own lives should they attack the mermen first. Man the wall, if you so choose, to attempt to block the air attacks from the mantas. Fight on the ground, to protect Akvos from destruction. Or make your way to the underground strongholds and tunnels, to block access to the Palace. All of these will certainly assist in keeping Akvos safe.
In addition, please remember that shadow creatures (which can only be killed by magical means) are still making their way through the entirety of Akvos. While King Ka'pouli's forces are targeting the Palace of Wahine, the shadow creatures are still present everywhere. Get to killing!  INTO THE RIFT.Some of you, however, have elected to traverse into the mysterious rift that appeared in the midst of the Fields of Akvosia. It looks like a black hole into nothingness, crackling with odd energy . . . and passing through it feels as though you have stepped through an icy waterfall. For a moment, you cannot breathe -- and then, you are treated to beauty.
The gaps between time and space are full of sparkling lights, bolts of rainbow starlight winding around you as you move through the uncertainty that is the void. It seems endless, but something inside you is tugging you forward . . . and, suddenly, there is a soft voice in your ear. A familiar one, to those who reside within the Circle . . . the confused voice of Astoria.
 "Hello? My Travelers? How are you within the Void?" The Void? That word hadn't been used to describe whatever this magical place is before, but . . . well, a witch with the ability to send you all across the universe probably knows what she's talking about, right? "That should not be possible . . . who opened this doorway?"
You can tell her, or you can not. It seems to matter not, because: "Is this not getting through? Why can I not hear you . . . but I can feel you, I can -- please, if you can hear this, be careful. The Void is not something for mortals to interact with, and it can show you terrible things -- terrible things, so please--"
And, right before you have the opportunity to respond to our benevolent witch (or captor, depending on your point of view), you see a bizarre glass-like surface in front of you. It looks like a mirror, and you see a perfect reflection of yourself. It is absolutely captivating, and it beckons you . . . almost urging you to touch it. And Astoria's whisper grows a bit louder, more urgent:
"My dear Traveler, be careful what you encounter here -- can you hear me? Can you see me? I am trying to get you out of there, to bring you back home--Akvos is--"
But it is too late.
Your fingers graze the edge of the mirror, and you are pulled -- a sensation that is familiar to you, the same pull in your stomach that you feel whenever Astoria thrusts you across the universe, into new realities. And, when you blink your eyes again, and look around . . . you are no longer in Akvos, or the Void. You are somewhere entirely new.
Welcome to the Dreamscape.  THE KINGDOM OF POLANKOS.Once the Circle emerges from the Rift and the Dreamscape, they will stumble into another world . . . but this one's wateris shallow, in comparison to the massive depths of the crystal-clear kingdom of Akvos. You can quite clearly see the surface, here, and there are shallows that allow you to come up onto islands, tropical in nature with fruit, odd creatures that appear to be multiple-headed monkeys and parrots, and sandy shores. It's a bit jarring to see, after spending so long underwater. Indeed, you emerge to trudge onto land, and look around, somewhat mystified that the deep-dwelling mermen would be from a place like this.
However, exploring the islands (which is not very difficult to do, as they are all small and will not take very much time) will yield the discovery that on the islands themselves are tunnels -- underwater caverns that thread through the islands to much deeper water. It's almost as if the islands themselves are barriers to the underwater caverns below -- shallow water, a layer of land, and then a (mer)man-made bubble of water below the barrier of land. And that whoever lived on these islands tunneled through them to find deeper water. Princess Kea, (who will attend on these journeys, while remaining in the water), will tell the Circle members that King Ka'pouli told her that when the mermen were cast out, they landed on solid land, and had to slowly dig deeper to their salvation.
Navigating through these tunnels will be somewhat perilous -- and the Circle members will need to carry Princess Kea to the nearest tunnel to get her into some water, because while she can breathe on the surface for a certain period of time, she cannot navigate the land as quickly as you people with legs. Additionally, underwater caving isn't exactly a blast, but the deeper you go, the more clues of civilization you can find. And, eventually, once you go deep enough, you emerge into a massive underwater cavern to find the small Kingdom of Polankos.
In comparison to the Kingdom of Akvos, Polankos is witheringly depressing. It is not brightly colored, nor open -- indeed, it is tiny, with mermen huddled together waiting patiently for the forces that went through the rift to return. There is not a lot to find here, save for some interesting weapons that possess a dark energy, versus a lightning energy -- and those weapons will be given to the Circle members who ask for them, because those who wield them are in no condition to fight. There is little food, little room to sleep, and these are a people clearly in need of assistance.
In order to get them out of Polankos, you will need to usher them through the tunnels back up to the Rift above -- it seems that King Ka'pouli opened the Rift on the surface, rather than risk the city below in case it did not work. The mermen there (who seem to be elderly and weak) will be eager for the assistance to get out Polankos, and at the promise of being brought into Akvos, they will happily go. There will be no resistance from them.
You may also see Princess Kea, who has filtered in and out of the Rift to assist on the journey -- teary-eyed, heartbroken at the sight of these individuals who require rescue, organizing the mermen with the promise of keeping them safe in Akvos.
"Hurry," she tells you, as she rouses another merman into getting to the nearest tunnel. "We do not have a lot of time to pull this off, and we must work quickly." Additionally, please feel free to write up and work with your own prompts! These areas of the world are presented as jumping off points for your characters, not limitations. The idea of this world- as with all the others- is to explore -- you may use as much leeway as you want in order to come up with what your character will do, especially in the Dreamscapes. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the various threads back in the OOC post from before! |
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acatalepsy_logs2019-01-04 10:22 am
no subject
I better not hear any whining then, you asked for this.
[Pulling back, he holds out his palm and with a small flash of light his Ghost transmats in. Her fins spin in confusion as she looks between both men, but Cayde just clicks his tongue (or the best mimicry he can accomplish) and nudges her out towards Hank.]
C’mon little buddy, what do you think? Help me out here.
[That seems to be the magic phrase, because with another spin of her fins, Sundance zips into the air to circle around Hank as she gathers information from a few body scans. When she’s seemingly collected enough, she stops and just hovers for a moment before suddenly separating into small, geometric pieces contained by a pulsing orb of light.
Cayde grins, triumphant.
Whether he wanted to or not, Hank’s now getting pulled into his world, and civilian duds weren’t going to cut it for that. There’s a brief flare of Light, the only warning before leathers and armor materialize right over Hank’s actual clothes. It’s fine, it’s totally fine. At the very least Sundance has the courtesy to make sure everything is fairly neutral and not painted eye-blindingly bright; small favors. Cayde, however, is laughing now as he reaches out a hand to clap his newly minted traveling partner on the shoulder. His Ghost? Just gives another pulse of Light, adding the finishing touches on her masterpiece: a fairly intimidating handcanon at Hank’s belt and, after a second of contemplation, a notably short cloak.]
Perfect! [Cayde crows, smug amusement all but radiating off of him.] I woulda pegged you for a Warlock, but I guess you get to be one of the cool kids after all. Sundance!
[He gives the tiny floating robot a thumbs up.]
Prepare for transmat, Nessus I’m thinkin’.
[And without further explanation the world goes dark for a split second. Moments later the world burst back into view, but this time they’re no longer in the relatively secluded safety of the Tower bar. No, now there’s pale grass and strangely crimson trees as far as the eye can see, interspersed with oddly-shaped ruins and the occasional river of sparking milk-like fluid that doesn’t quite seem to follow the laws of known physics.
Cayde doesn’t bat an eye, and instead thumps Hank on the back a few times like an overexcited child.]
You said show, well it’s time to show!
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[And then they're somewhere else. Okay.]
-the fuck?
[He'll be real - with himself, anyway: he hadn't expected weird shit. The scene switching, sure, maybe, but after the- the weird thing that zapped clothes onto him- it's stupid, being weirded out by that, it's just a stupid little thing, but stupid little things add up and now they're somewhere that's probably never even heard of Earth, and Cayde is right fucking here, and Hank is fine. They're in- in the middle of a dream, or whatever the fuck, Hank's seen nightmare-fuel robot zombies, he's seen Canada, Cayde himself tried to dream-murder him earlier, Hank's seen his ex smile at him and not with that slow and wounded pity but with actual honest happiness - nothing that happens here is real. It shouldn't hit him so hard by now. By now Hank should be used to it.
His jaw is tight and he has to take two or three deep breaths through his nose, very aware of Cayde standing right there and potentially - for a split second, anyway - touching him, but this is about as repressed as Hank's shit's going to get right now so he's probably doing good. Okay.
He looks down, trying to focus on looking at himself and not up and around them just yet, and on twisting his tight expression into a grimace, because whining is like comfort food for the brain and Hank never actually agreed not to do it.]
I look like a moron.
[He tries to pluck at the leather at his waist, shifting a chip of that unmoored, unsettled feeling in him at everything in general over to just focus on that leather, and on the way it's clinging over his middle.]
Was this all part of your plan? Make yourself look cooler by showin me how stupid normal people look in combat catsuits?
no subject
His reverie is somewhat broken by Hank’s gruff commentary, and he spares a look over to him that starts out as simply bemused but shifts to something unapologetically cheeky as he lets his gaze sweep down the line of Hank’s sillohuete.]
No, you look good.
[Fact. No room for argument.]
Didn’t come to stare though-
[They’d come, after all, to appease a robot’s tremendous ego and need to show off. His competency had been called into question, he couldn’t help it. It’s much easier to throw himself headfirst into this new distraction than to wallow on what had happened earlier; healthier though? Absolutely not. Not that that matters to him in the slightest.]
Came here to prove a point!
[He’s about to continue but falls quiet for half a moment. The concept that Hank probably had no idea where they were or what was going on finally manages to make its way to the forefront of his mind, and while it’s hard he does slow his roll just a bit.]
Might need a moment though. Y’know, to get my bearings.
[Or rather to spare Hank from any more unnecessary discomfort beyond the whole ‘suddenly being redressed and dragged across the universe which isn’t actually real’ thing that they’ve got going on.]
no subject
Hank can't bring himself to send the message he'd send if he did that and, as the seconds tick on, he keeps on just not moving away. He clears his throat, finally looking around to try to distract himself instead.]
Hey uh, I know I'm supposed to be in awe of the majesty of the vast untamed wilderness or whatever, but am I the only one who thinks that uh, that water looks kinda like...
[He jerks his chin toward one of those rivers of 'sparking milk-like fluid' and then looks from it to Cayde, only letting a hint of amusement into his dry expression. Thank god he's got a dirty mind to get him out of actually thinking about shit.]
no subject
Milk.
[Thank the Traveler for Hank’s dirty mind, it helps cut some of the tension and gives Cayde an easy out from having to be serious. With a huff of laughter he meets Hank’s gaze, waggling his browplates before looking back to the river.]
Not even kidding. There’s a big scientific name for it, but between you and me? Everyone calls it ‘Vex milk’.
[A beat.]
Don’t go tasting this mysterious liquid, okay? This one actually is bad for you.
[Alright, so getting a chance to poke fun is still definitely a thing.]
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What, you think I just go stickin whatever weird shit lands in front of me right in there? Don't get so down on yourself, man.
[He slaps the back of his hand against Cayde's arm as he says it, looking kind of tentative. But they can't stand here joking around forever. Or, more to the point - he can't slow them down standing here joking around forever. Hank's a lot of things, but a drag isn't one of them.
Well, okay. He is a drag. A lot of the time. But not here and now, not if he can help it. So he takes a couple steps forward, trying to make his look around seem interested.]
So where's this show we came all the way here to see? [Hank pauses. His bravado's, now he hears it coming out of his mouth, sounds a little more obvious than he likes it. Well, fuck it. He's ninety nine point nine percent sure Cayde's going to let him get away with it.] If you just dragged me here to watch you do the backstroke in Vex-cum-river you can count me right the hell out.
no subject
[But if Hank's going to try and press ahead, despite the insincerity that overlays his sudden interest, then Cayde's not going to give him shit about it. There are plenty of times when he can rib and joke, but he draws a line at anything that actually digs into insecurities. If this even is an insecurity. He doesn't know. Despite everything, Hank can be hard to read and Cayde's honestly not sure if he's impressed or frustrated by that.
Whatever. He's gotten them into this, he's not leaving until his own badassness is without question.]
But really. A. no. B. hell no. That's a one-way ticket to a real bad time. If you thought I could pull off murderbot real well before, well that's nothing compared to what that stuff could do.
[He's surprisingly casual about that. It's fine though, as long as no one drinks the damn stuff everything will be okay. With one final pat to Hank's shoulder he slips away, leaping up onto one of the smaller ruins with just a hint of Light propelling him up. This is his world, his dream, he could make this so much easier but what fun would that be?]
We're here to shoot somethin' big. I told you, awesome points to spare.
no subject
[Hank's voice is carefully free, here, of anything but curiosity. This is a hunting trip, isn't it, and that narrows down Hank's options for tactics, if he wants Operation Don't Be A Drag to come out okay. Cause killing shit for fun? It's not exactly Hank's bag, and he's pretty sure he's not into making his pile of mortal peril any bigger than it's already going to be at the end of today. Which means he has to be enthusiastic - or at least interested - in something else.
Right now that something else is probably following Cayde wherever he's going. Normally Hank would hang out down here for a minute just to make a point - ie, yeah, he knows Cayde knows how cool he looked jumping up like that, and no, he's not going to help Cayde look any cooler by crawling up after him like a big clunky asshole - but Hank's got to be into something, and Cayde looking cool is kind of the name of the game here, so Hank resigns himself to looking stupid and starts with the crawling up after Cayde like a big clunky asshole. It doesn't occur to him until he's started that he probably doesn't want to get close enough for, say, a slap on the shoulder or whatever until he's worked up some real enthusiasm, so he stops climbing just before getting in range.]
How big are we talkin exactly? What am I here to watch you kill, on a scale of like, Bigfoot to Godzilla?
no subject
[Humble, thy name is Cayde. But all things aside, this is the first time that he’s felt- well- normal since his abrupt abduction to the Circle. And he wants to share that feeling, that excitement and joy and spark of just being alive, beyond just the need to peacock about. Hank isn’t from his neck of the woods, they’ve both been through a lot in the last few hours, but this- the scent of stone and vegetation, the slight whisper and hum of energy on the breeze- this is good. Really good.
His expression is filled with genuine excitement as he looks back over his shoulder, taking a knee and reaching out to offer Hank his hand so that he can help the guy up the last little bit of the way.]
And c’mon, you can’t tell me that this isn’t one heck of a view.
no subject
Fuck it. It’s not real anyway, it’s just like target practice. None of this is real except him and Cayde, and whatever the fuck kind of impression Cayde has of him by the time this is over.
An impression he’s not helping, Hank realizes, by hesitating over a goddamn hand up like an asshole. He tries to cover the pause by talking, raising his eyebrows with the first thing that comes to mind.]
Somethin tells me you don’t need me to tell you that.
[He tries to hold the look for a moment, pointedly not looking around at any scenery except what’s right in front of him. That moment lets him push that warm affection to the front of his mind, though the tight, acrid feeling of self-consciousness and heavy, resigned doubt are still sitting in the back row, laughing at his sorry try at pushing them out.
Well, fuck it. Hank tries to focus on Cayde, not on his own stupid bullshit, and reaches out to grab Cayde’s hand.]
no subject
[It's banter for the sake of banter, something light and casual and just there to fill the lull between the faint whisperings of the ruins and the call of something off in the distance. He's grinning, radiating unadulterated joy that he doesn't bother to try hide, and the moment he reaches to grasp Hank's hand that feeling, that desire, jumps from him like electricity. All the wonder, the joy, the simple contentment and familiarity of everything, it's only slightly tempered by the slight edge of feedback from Hank. It's heady, weird magic bullshit again, but he isn't going to let that dull the rush of adrenaline in his veins.
With a grunt and a little effort he manages to help the guy up, patting him on the shoulder when they're both finally situated.]
There. Beautiful, right?
no subject
He hangs on while he's being pulled up just reflexively, and yanks his hand away as soon as he's up. He doesn't think about doing it, he doesn't decide to do it, he just needs less and he holds his hand curled in close to himself, staring at Cayde with wide eyes.
It's not a second before the realization of what just happened - the general fact of it, if not the specifics - starts to creep into his head. That wasn't him - holy shit was that not him - and with that really solidly established, it doesn't take much to figure out what the fuck. It's the... the specifics that are harder. His mind kind of creeps around it, tries not to try too hard to pin that bright white sensation that'd burned through him with a name.]
You- you, uh-
[How the fuck was he going to finish that sentence? He doesn't know, can't really bring himself to care. What he cares about is his other hand, the one he's not curling up close to him, reaching out real slow, starting to stretch toward - toward some part of Cayde, he doesn't know. Anything not covered by clothes, that feels right - he doesn't need bare skin - or whatever it is Cayde's got. But it feels right, to do it that way. But trying to touch the guy's face out of nowhere feels so-
Those heavy, more familiar feelings are slipping back in, staring to recover from whatever that was, from that mental whiteout, he's already starting to lose his grasp on the feel of it.
His hand stops, fingers starting to curl, and his breath comes out slow and measured and unsteady.]
Is, is it okay if I, uh- Just think about what you were thinkin about and I'll just-
[He doesn't finish, leaves his hand hanging there, waiting. He doesn't know how to finish. He doesn't know what words he'd even use.]
no subject
Easy, easy-
[He raises his hands in a non-threatening manner, as if the gesture will help steady the man before him. I doesn’t really help, Hank’s trying for coherency now and falling short, but it helps Cayde keep that small bit of distance as he racks his brain for what to do.]
Me. Yep, me, it’s definitely me.
[There’s a hand reaching for him now, and Cayde forces himself to stay rooted to the spot. Centuries of training should dictate that he keep up this delicate dance, not let any potential threat into arm’s reach- but this isn’t a threat. It’s so unbelievably messed up that that’s the first place his subconscious goes, especially on the heels of the fact that Hank, patient, stubborn Hank, had risked life and limb to try to talk him down back at the Crypt.
Okay. He’s a problem solver, he can figure this out. First thing first, he slowly lowers his hands and adopts a much more casual stance, the slight furrow of his browplates the only thing that betrays his concern. Think about what you were thinkin’? What does that even mean? He hadn’t been thinking about anything beyond how he’d wanted Hank to see, really see, how amazing everything really was.]
Hey, you do what you gotta do, okay? Everything is cool here, we’re both cool.
[There’s still a note of worry, but he does force himself to relax the best he can, wills himself to try and dredge up his previous excitement.]
no subject
Then it clicks. Cayde thinks Hank’s freaking out. He doesn’t know what just happened. Maybe he’s not wrong, but he must not get what Hank’s even asking, and whatever Hank was asking to- to feel, just to double check, just to see, it’s gone now. All he’d feel is proof of the fact that he just fucked up, that his bullshit took that moment and whatever was in it away from Cayde.
Hank drops his hands, raises one to rub his eyes. Okay. He can salvage this. He’s fucked up dates worse than this and even got laid afterward, he can bring this back - maybe not to where it was, but to somewhere.
Was that worse than this? A trip to the ER probably counts as worse, technically, but this is-
Never fucking mind his screwed up feelings about his own shit. There’s a situation he needs to work on.]
Don’t worry, I’m not uh, losing it or anything, that was just-
[He can’t say it. He can say it. He explained this once and it was fucking excruciating but Cayde was decent about it, genuinely decent, and Hank can put on his big boy pants and use the big scary m-word again. He drops his hand, looking Cayde in the eyes with a quick, polite smIle.
That was just- magic shit. You know. Turns out I can-
[He gestures back and forth between them but, no, Cayde deserves actual words, use your words, you asshole.]
Turns out it goes the other way too, so. Just surprised me, I wasn’t expecting it. And I mean, as ways to ruin a, uh- a night out go, that was better than getting a concussion, right? So, uh. If you still want to tell me about this place, that’d be cool. You’ve been here before, haven’t you? Bounty hunting stuff?
no subject
Wait. What?
[It’s a supremely eloquent answer that’s perfect for the delicate situation between them. Surely. But confusion gives way to curiosity, and despite everything Cayde finds himself taking a step closer as he looks Hank over. He doesn’t seem to be lying, not that he’d really expect the guy to lie in the first place, and that- that raises some very interesting questions.]
Wait, so like, the magic emotions thing? So you can feel stuff instead of just transmitting it out?
[Very interesting. Hank’s made a move to shift focus away from that, but unfortunately with his interest spiked Cayde can’t help but press just the tiniest bit.]
So, so….does it work all the time? Here, c’mon, grab my hand-
[Alright, he’s edged back into excitement and wonder at the possibility, because okay, that’s definitely kind of cool.]
no subject
Uh-
[He can bring this back, yeah, but not if- not with all his insides pulled outside him like that, not with Cayde having a chance at feeling all the shit that'd dragged this little outing down in the first place, and not with Cayde's - with his, whatever it is he's feeling mixing up with Hank's in ways that probably aren't going to end up in the fun little experiment Cayde seems like he's expecting. The hands on Hank's hips rub over his thighs.]
If it hasn't happened by now it's probably pretty rare, some special conditions attached or something. You really want to waste our time trying to figure that out? I mean, we can do that any time. [And if Cayde believes that, well, that's a problem for future Hank.] How many times are we gonna get to be here?
[He gestures around them at the view that probably started Cayde feeling all the shit that started this in the first place, hoping to hell Cayde's easily distracted by pretty trees, or whatever.]
no subject
but this is Hank, this is one of his best friends in the craziness known as the Circle. Hank that’s had the decency not to push or pry into things he’s seen and had the good graces to take everything with snark or a joke. It’s the least Cayde can do to smother the childish need to worm his way into things that are obviously, though unspoken, not entirely kosher.
He flashes a slightly awkward grin, holding his hand up in a casually dismissive gesture to signal that he’s gotten the message. No harm, no foul.]
Straight down to business then, eh? Eyes on the prize, guts and glory, I can dig that.
[It’s an out, if Hank wants to take it.]
If you’re so excited for the main show, ‘cmon. We got a little bit of a hike.
no subject
So, how far we goin? I'm going to warn you now, it's been actual decades since I went hiking, I'm probably going to bitch the whole way.
[The leftover memory of Cayde's emotions is still fizzling through him, faintly enough now that he can put a name to it, to what it was that shocked him so hard. He focuses on Cayde more than on trying to figure out just what it is he thinks about that. It means Cayde was already enjoying himself almost without any input from Hank; it means he's probably going to have a good time just being here, and that's as far as Hank needs to think about it, about what being really, honestly happy actually feels like.
The trees are kind of nice, anyway, even if they are weird. Maybe a hike will be okay, before they have to start shooting shit.]
no subject
Depends on how far it is until things start shootin' at us.
[Maybe he shouldn't sound so blase about that, but it's just the facts of Guardian life. And while some of the danger is diminished by the fact that everything isn't real, that still doesn't mean that he's not going to try to have fun with things. And show Hank a good time.]
C'mon, can't let the fun start without us!
[And with that he takes a short jump off of his perch so that he can start carving out a path through the underbrush.]
no subject
[He looks down at the distance Cayde jumped, then starts clambering after. There's going to be a lot of this, probably, this whole trailing after the Cayde looking clumsy and dumb thing. Hank minds that a little less on the way down from here than he did on the way up. It could be worse.]
You know what happens to- [To humans, he almost says, and then cuts himself off because that's a dick move, and then wonders if it is or not, because he never actually asked Cayde if he did actually used to be human - and he's not going to. Cayde didn't tell him, not voluntarily, so it's not something he wanted Hank to know. But talking about being human like Cayde wouldn't know what it's like still feels shitty. So he talks around it.] -to muscles and joints and cartilage and all that shit after fifty years? It means you can't jump twenty feet in a single bound like a big fancy tough guy, so you're gonna have to cool it on the acrobat stuff. Unless you want to take fire first when we walk up to whoever it is we're here to shoot which... I mean, if that's how you're plannin on impressing me, go right ahead.
no subject
[There's a moment where Cayde slows his roll, looking back and winking with the best smirk he can manage. It's a quick, cheeky thing that lasts only a few seconds before he's back to picking his way through all sorts of alien plants. It's good, really good, this is something he'd missed so dearly before the Red War and now being confined to the Circle...even if none of it is real, he's fine being selfish enough to take advantage of things.
Well, and make sure to uphold his reputation with Hank. A guy just can't take getting called out sitting down.]
And besides, drawing fire...ha! I suppose I can show off just a little for you [If that's not what he's already doing....] if you insist.
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[Hank walks faster, trying to catch up. He almost wants to get distracted by the plants and shit, glances at them as they walk by, but... alien or not, they're plants. Gardening'd always been his dad's thing, so he'll have to settle for liking that Cayde likes the place, without really getting just what it is he's seeing when he looks at it.]
You're just gonna start showing off, just now, just for me? I don't know about a spring chicken but if you want a blushing cock, that's how you get it.
[He flashes a crooked grin, proud of himself, still trying - and mostly succeeding now, with that masterpiece of a terrible joke - at shaking that earlier funk off, or at least pushing it back enough that he's not really thinking about it.]
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Well shoot, if it was that easy I’d have started a long time ago!
[His shoulders are still shaking when he manages to stand again, and as he looks back over his shoulder all of his lights are flashing bright with his uncontained amusement. As a bonus, it gives Hank a chance to catch up and while Cayde’s first inclination is wander over and throw his arm around the man’s shoulders he instead settles for flashing him a thumbs up.]
Duly noted, I’ll have to try harder.
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They're pretty easy to read now. They're beautiful almost, in some weird, mechanical way, and by the time Hank stops he's walked a little closer than he meant to.]
Yeah, you just try long and hard, and we'll see what comes out at the end of it, huh?
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Long and hard I can do, I'm awesome at that. But really, didn't we already have this conversation? It's the journey, not the end. Can't rush the good stuff.
[His merriment is almost palatable and as soon as Hank catches up he continues forward. The closeness is...it's nice, but the no touching rule is currently in effect and by the Traveler he's a gentleman. Kind of. Sort of. When it counts.]
So relax, dragonslayer. Enjoy it all, when else are you gonna get a chance to see such breathtaking surroundings?
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