[OPEN] Well. That Didn't Go Quite As Planned

[moneytwin]

Who: EVERYONE
Where: The Temple of Beginnings
When: Immediately After The End.
Rating: PG-13, may vary by thread
What: You fall, you pick yourself back up and you move on. Or at least, you try.


Fished Out Of Water
One minute, you are witnessing the fabric of an entire world implode as it is literally ripped apart by powers unknown. The next, that tell-tale twist somewhere beneath your sternum, before you are bodily YANKED away from Akvos, away from the ocean and the Queen and the King and the Princess.

And land back on (mostly) solid, dry ground.

Welcome back to the Temple of Beginnings. Don't worry, there's no hurry for you to get back up just yet.


Hey, Howya Doin'?
Once you do get back up, now is the time to be taking stock of the situation - yours, your friends, and even those new merfolk neighbours (who may need a hand getting their fins back into the water). There is also the missing members of the Circle to consider: people who disappeared on the journey to Akvos, and those who never made it back..

(There's also that small matter with a certain 'witchess-san' that may be a cause for concern to some more than others.)

Whatever the case, it's a lot to process right now. Take the time you have, because you don't know if it'll be enough for what you need.

---

[[ OOC: Here's an open post for threads reacting to the end of the Akvos world hop. Feel free to use the above prompts, and/or make your own! ]]

Comments

[moneytwin]

Raghl.

[ Trinket barely has much in the way of intelligence. Grog is much smarter than he is.

But his Beloved Vex asked him to bring in some kindling, and he remembers how to do that from when they lived on the road more than in cities. So he sniffs at Waver, three large snorting noises, before he ducks his head and starts the awkward looking hauling process again.

Two or three of the thinner branches catch and get left behind in his wake as he goes, but he doesn't appear to notice. He's much more focused on the slim dark figure who straightens up ahead of him. ]

[teratias]

...Ok...ay....

[Waver's pretty sure that the bear just gave him the inspect and ignore. Which is probably for the best because it's a freaking bear. But he also takes note of the branches, and he tries to...

uh, well, get the bear's attention.]

You forgot something!

[moneytwin]

[ Trinket is oblivious to the calls, instead happily trekking forwards. He has enough to carry right now, and eventually drops his delivery in front of the figure by what appears to be a pit. Said figure then reaches and happily scratches him behind the ears, and vague sounds of praise carry.

Then a pause, as the half-elf woman peers around the bear's bulk. Not quite the attention Waver was hoping for, but it'll do, right? ]

I'm sorry? What was that, dear?

[teratias]

Oh!

[Well, this makes more sense. The bear is with someone else. And this is probably firewood, so it all comes together.]

Your bear dropped some firewood...

[moneytwin]

[ He's a real enough bear, one who butts his head against Vex's thigh as she continues scratching behind his ear, before there's a pat atop his head and she straightens again. ]

Oh. Is that all? Well, bring it on over, then.

[ And she turns back to the wood Trinket didn't drop, sorting through it and tossing the branches one by one into the dirt pit. ]

[teratias]

[This is so weird. The bear has a person, and he's just being treated like a totally normal pet.]

...Got it.

[Of all the things that Waver's experienced, this shouldn't really weird him out. But it does, and he reflects on that thought as he gathers up the dropped firewood. It is a little too heavy for him, so Waver's slow as he brings it all over. He adds his pile next to the one that Trinket's gathered, just so he doesn't impede Vex's sorting.]

There. I've never seen a bear do that before.

[moneytwin]

[ Well of course he is. How else would she treat him? ]

Thank you. Ah, that'll do-- [a nod for the boy, then one of the branches he struggled with a hauled up, examined, then swiftly join the pile.] --and that's likely because most bears don't live around people. [note the pointed ear] I've raised him since he was a baby.

[teratias]

[The ears are...well, different, but Waver's been hanging out with a centaur lately. So somehow that doesn't weird him out, but the bear gathering firewood does.

Except now it doesn't, because there's an explanation and it makes perfect sense.]

That...okay, that makes everything way more logical here. I thought he was a familiar or something.

[moneytwin]

[ That gets the faintest hint of a laugh, the sound passing between one breath and the next. ]

Astoria didn't see fit to grant me that kind of magic. And were I back home.. [a pause, before she sits back on her heels, then nods; that should do for starters] He can fight alongside me, but he's as solid and real as you and I. Aren't you, buddy?

[teratias]

I get it.

[He doesn't ask about what kind of magic she has instead. That's not the point here, nor is Waver terribly interested. This bear mystery had his attention, and it is now solved. Then he looks beyond Vex, and realizes she's camping out here.]

You'll need more firewood if you're gonna sleep outside.

[moneytwin]

I already sleep outside. [her tent and tarp are strung up on the border between temple and forest; not near here, however] But you're right. This will do to start, but I'll need more to keep it going.

And you are, dear?

[teratias]

Waver Velvet.

[He'll get a name, but for now, Vex is getting a frown at the whole sleeping outside thing.]

Is it really better to be outside than in the temple, or is it just preference?

[moneytwin]

Vex'ahlia. [then a nod, towards the bear] And Trinket.

A bit of both, if I'm honest. The weather here hasn't been sour enough to need to be indoors, and Trinket tends to get stuck in the doorways if he's wearing his armor.

[ Said armor is currently in said tent, cleaned up of salt, and leather being tended by the nebulous existing shadowpeople servants/ ]

[teratias]

The bear has armor.

[He says it flatly, as if to double check that he's really heard that statement correctly. Battle bears? That's terrifying.]

I guess being inside with a bear would also freak people out by an awful lot.

[moneytwin]

He does.

[ Bulette armor, no less. It has earned the gold she spent on it. Trinket for his part sits up. UP, compared to a scrawny human boy-wizard, easily dwarfs him, and he snorts as he peers down at him. You don't think he can fight? ]

Just a little bit. [for a moment, she smiles, which lightens the tension from her face] He has excellent table manners, however.

[teratias]

...How do you fit a bear for armor?

[He's genuinely curious about that part, even if Trinket sitting straight up and towering is a lot intimidating. Waver does take a step back. A bear who has a person that has raised him is still a bear! One that can clearly attack if asked to.]

I'll uh...yeah, I can believe that if you raised him from a cub.

[moneytwin]

With great patience, and a lot of convincing with the right blacksmith.

[ And so much coin. Do you know how much coin she's had to part with? All worth it in the end, of course, if it means Trinket can safely fight at her side. ]

Buddy, could you go get some more of the downed branches please?

[ There's another snort for Waver, before Trinket sets back down on all fours, and shuffles off to comply, while Vex crouches again to recheck the pit and align some of the looser branches. ]

You don't have many bears at home, I take it? [vex, very few people have living bears at home anywhere]

[teratias]

I...yeah, I guess that finding someone willing to make it in the first place is hard.

[He's not even going to ask after cost, Waver's got enough sense to know better than that.

What he doesn't have is enough sense to not watch Trinket trundle off again with new orders. Waver's not sure what he is by this display. Impressed? Scared? Both, neither? But it means that Vex's question gets an extremely blunt response.]

We have them they just really, really don't live alongside people. And if they're near habited areas, there's a lot of freaking out.

[moneytwin]

That's putting it mildly. But, I did. [she's too tired to be smug about that] And its upkeep falls to me.

[ Trinket disappears soon enough, looking for the wood his mother-keeper needs, and it means he's far enough away that Vex's short blunt laugh in reply to Waver's blunt statement isn't heard.]

Oh good, then you at least have regular bears. Most people will avoid him, and certain won't overcharge me while he's with me, but while we're here, he won't harm anyone in the Circle.

[teratias]

Well, obvious the bear can't do the upkeep. No opposable thumbs for the tricky bits.

[That's his attempt to be funny. Waver's pretty sure that it wasn't funny at all.]

Regular bears who definitely freak people out if they're near towns and cities. [So, normal.] I'll just uh, follow your general lead around him. [That seems the safest.]

[moneytwin]

Claws just don't quite cut it. or do - they're pretty sharp, which is no good for leather.

[there's a half-snort that might be laughter, and Vex shakes her head a bit] We're used to it by now, honestly. And I at least have him with me here, so I'm not alone.

[ Conveniently, the bear returns on that comment, more branches and twigs deposited, and that earns a scratch behind the ear. ]

[teratias]

[Waver does laugh at that, because if his joke was bad, then this one's equally terrible. It helps him feel a little bit more at ease. Bad jokes bring people together, it seems.]

Yeah, that's a pretty lucky turn. I don't think I've really seen anyone else show up with a companion like this.

[Petting a bear is still kind of weird in Waver's book though, sorry Vex.]