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

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

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! ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A ☽ Out of the frying pan...

[ There are some things that one never wishes to see. She understands this more than most. Yet as the void begins to overtake Akvos, all she can do is curl the massive form of her dragon shape over a few merchildren and shield them with her wings. Not to shield them from the sight, but to offer what little protection she can from the dark-

Then she hits a solid surface, and hard. She coughs, sputters as suddenly she's forced out of the form and back to her human shape, those she'd been shielding gone (thankfully; that would have left her a witchy pancake). She wheezes, turning to her side and spitting up salt water. It's a few moments before she recognizes the location. Ugh.

She looks around, lifting herself slowly from the ground; trying to find anyone remotely familiar.]

...Still alive, I see. [It sounds far more relieved than she intends, which isn't saying much depending on who it is.]

B ☽ Into the forest (wait that's now how it goes)...
[After at least a good five minutes to reorient herself and speaking with others, she stands. Wobbly at first, before she shakes it off and heads into the forest instead of the temple. She has a plan, and she needs to do something or it will drive her mad.

So, she begins searching for herbs, picking some she recognizes and only what she will need.]

Must you stare so? [She asks anyone who decided to follow.] 'Tis as though one has never seen another scavenge for ingredients before.

[What is she planning? Who knows. One could always ask, though~]

C ☽ Fire burn and cauldron bubble...
[Back at the temple, she leaves her bedroom door open to let smoke escape from the fire she's made under a small cauldron beside a table covered in tubes, beakers, and flasks. The bubbling noise and the soft noise of something being ground by a mortar and pestle is likely enough to draw attention, as well as the almost floral scent coming from the room. And it isn't just the dried bouquets or the herbs hanging from a line from one end of the room to the other.

Morrigan pauses to wipe her forehead with a cloth, frowning. She almost drops the pestle if someone stops and says something.]

Does no one in this godsdamned temple knock? [Feel free to point out if one did; she was rather focused on what she was doing earlier...]

D ☽ A "Mysterious" Gift
[The next day, when everyone goes to get breakfast, they will find a bottle of some substance or other on their doorstep. Looking up and down the hall, one can find that someone left one bottle next to every door that seemed to have an occupied bedroom on the other side. At least, it is very conveniently labeled: shampoo.

Opening it will certainly suggest it is at least a substance that is floral in nature. It seemed a waste to just let those flowers wither without purpose.

Anyone who caught her previously in any step above this and goes to check on her will find a black cat curled up on the center of her bed, quietly purring in her sleep. Otherwise? One will find her sunbathing in the same feline form outside later in the day, quietly watching the others as if she has no idea who left the bottles there in the first place.]

E ☽ Wildcard
[Want to poke her for something else? Feel free to here or on her contact post.]

[ Now this is something practical.

The gift is found outside her tent. Examined, sniffed, then brought inside. A bear snout gets shoved aside when he tries to lick it ("Trinket, stop, it's not--Buddy, I said no!"), before the recipient sets it on a pile and continues with basic clean up of things the Temple's transparent servants can't help with. The lack of name on the label and the unfamiliar hand responsible for the note on it can be mulled about later.

Later, much later, something big, brown and smelling of wet bear and flowers looms in the way of sunshine, before flopping across the flagstones beside the black cat. He grumbles, then yawns, stretching out his paws, before glancing back to the half elf padding silently behind him. Simple clothing and bare footed, Vex doesn't recognise the cat either - not yet, anyway - but if it's here, it's part of the Circle too. ]

I see someone else has the right idea about this sun, eh, Trinket.

[She smiles tiredly at the cat, before hands resuming toweling off her hair. Her excessively thick long hair, now damp and in desperate need of detangling by fingers after such an protracted time in the ocean. ]

Edited (tiny typo fix) 2019-01-19 23:24 (UTC)

[The small black cat blinks boredly at the bear, wrinkling her nose at the smell. You can move at any time, dumb creature- wait. This bear looks vaguely familiar. She squints, tail flicking for a moment as she tries to place it. Member of the Circle, with a bear... Ah, yes. That girl. She raises her head slightly, moving her left front paw to show the watch around her feline ankle.]

Until a brown bear blocked it, indeed.

[She yawns, stretching and showing her sharp teeth in the process. Still rather annoyed that her little nap was interrupted.]

[ There's a grumble from the bear, turning to give the cat a rather reproachful look. He was just trying to give you some company! Still, he's not about to deny someone their patch of sunshine, so with a modicum of effort, he rolls himself over and over until there's a suitable distance, and Vex, between them.

Vex, for her part, jumps at the sudden voice, before settling back down with a short laugh. ]

Well! Now isn't that a pleasant surprise. Naps in the sun are rare enough to enjoy, so I am sorry about that.

[Morrigan looks at the bear and sighs. She would have simply hopped onto his back, but that's fine... she supposes. At least she won't smell like wet bear.]

Bah, 'tis not as though we have been underwater for months. One would think anyone would rather enjoy the sun's warmth for a time. ...Unless they burn easily, at any rate.

[She doesn't; not by a long shot. Thank you, probably Chasind father. Or magic. Either or.]

I mean... the door was open. And smoking.

[That's all Keith has for an excuse. He thought something was on fire. But now that he's peeked inside and caught sight of Morrigan, he's inclined to linger. So he lifts a hand and knocks on the doorframe.

Better late than never?]

To let the smoke out, yes. T'would be unfortunate to suffer smoke inhalation while working on-

[Wait. The voice is familiar. Morrigan blinks and looks at him just as he knocks on the doorframe. She must be more tired than she thought, because for some reason that tickled her funny bone and she laughs. Well, at least it wasn't the creepy bark-like one she ordinarily gives.]

That... makes sense.

[Keith cracks a faint and brief smile as she laughs. Laughter is good. They've all gone through a bit of hell, after all.]

What're you smoking? [Wait. That came out wrong. Keith frowns at himself, but leaves the question to stand anyway. She knows what he means.]

[Morrigan calms, nodding to the small cauldron set on the floor. The scent of wildflowers emanates from it. before continuing to grind what looks to be soaked then air-dried seeds of some variety. Some still sit in a tray elsewhere on her bedside table if he decides to take a look; he'll find that they're sunflower seeds. Cheese cloth and another pot, unused, sit on the table beside her as well.]

An old concoction that did wonders for one who had to wash their hair in boiled swamp water. [She answers, finally.] 'Tis a lengthy process, but I highly doubt the basics in the baths will do anyone's hair justice after how long we were...

[Her voice trails off and a hint of anger flashes in her yellow eyes before she stomps on it flat.]

[He does step in closer to take a look, though he makes an effort not to get too close or in her way. Whatever she's doing it's over his head.

But oh. Huh. That is actually a really useful idea.

He recognizes that anger, and boy does he get it. He's pissed off too. But he's trying to keep a handle on it, at least until he has a chance to hit things with his sword to blow off some steam.

So he'll nod at her assessment.] It sounds really useful. My hair was a tangled mess. I wouldn't have even been able to untangle it if I hadn't had help.

[Damn salt water.]

[So is she, but being outraged for others is still new to her. So instead she frowns, concentrating on something that she can still do despite not having her magic to speed up the process.]

You and anyone else who has hair longer than a bob cut, I would bet.

[Yeah, let's not talk about how her own still is a tangled mess, just tied back? That'd be great. Damned salt water.]

Probably.

[He agrees, still watching, trying not to distract her too much. He should probably not be intruding, right? Except here he is.]

It's nice to be on dry land. ...everything else about winding up back here was messed up. But.

[Dry is nice.]

[Luckily for him, she has grown accustomed to someone being nosy while she's brewing something or another, that she doesn't even pause in her work. At least, not enough to be noticeable.]

On that, we agree. [It's very good to be on dry land again. She frowns.] ...It could have gone better, had we figured out a way to close that blasted rift. Yet "what-ifs" seldom help anyone. Choices were made, and now we must live with the consequences.

[However heavy a toll they may bring.]

They don't. We not going to be able to change the outcome with hindsight. But we might be able to learn something from it in case we come across anything similar in the future.

[Heavy toll is right though. He knows his team is reeling from it pretty hard right now. He's concerned about them.]

It would help if Astoria could give us straight information about things too.

[Keith is really done with their witchy kidnapper. In fairness, he's been done with her since he met her.]

[She adds the last of the soaked-then-air dried seeds to the mortar and begins crushing them as he speaks, her jaw setting. Learn from it... Right. Like that will keep her mother's voice declaring that they failed at the very thing she was taught to do since she could read Elvish from her dreams.]

Are kidnappers ever straight with their captives?

[She asks, both bitterness and brutal honesty lacing her tone. Keith isn't the only one who is done with Astoria's shit.]

Probably not. But if she actually wants us to do... anything...

[He really would love to find something to swing his sword at right now. The anger and frustration are going to get the better of him once they build enough to outweigh the exhaustion in him.]

And she hasn't shown any signs of stopping.

...then she better be more clear, I agree.

[Rather than leave them in the deep end. She finishes grinding the sunflower seeds, places the paste on the cheesecloth, and squeezes it so tightly into a bowl that it's a miracle that she doesn't tear it with her nails and ruin the sunflower oil. She frowns, shaking her head.]

I have done all I can until the next batch has air dried overnight.

[She eyes him. Someone looks akin to a cauldron that is about to boil over and blow their lid off. A sigh escapes her.]

Come on, then. I hope you do not mind playing with fire.

[Did she just..? Yes, she did just offer to spar. Just not in her human form.]

[Now it just remains to be seen if Astoria is even capable of more clarity. Or willing to be. Keith still doesn't know which it really is.

He blinks in surprise at the switch of subject. His eyebrows lift. Is that... were those fighting words? Because Keith is absolutely down for sparring. There's just a moment where he hesitates over the fire bit, but he manages a grin anyway.]

Pretty sure I can handle it.

[Fingers crossed that she is. Because this is getting ridiculous.

She glances over her shoulder, looking at him as she steps out. Did she fucking stutter, boy? She needs to get out of her makeshift lab and back into the wilds and the skies.]

Well, good. [She smiles. It isn't a pleasant one; more of a smirk, really.] For 'tis not simply in dreams where I can fly.

[The moment they're outside? She shifts into her dragon form.]

[Morrigan, he's just a bundle of issues, the borders of which are often jagged and unexpected. Fire is a complicated one.]

Right. Dragon.

[Wow. But hey. He grins now and rises up off the ground, hovering to be a bit taller than said dragon.]

And same.

[He'll fight you in the air, Morrigan. Or the land or the se-- no actually screw water for a while.]

[She's making a note of the jagged and unexpected bit, but she lacks any sort of context about the fire thing. It will be interesting to prod him and see just what those issues are, but she'll be more relenting with him. It's almost as if she's developing some sort of "conscience" -- ugh.

She huffs a bit of smoke from between scaled lips, almost as if blowing up to puff at her nonexistent hair or asking just what he was expecting after she said the word "fire". She is, after all, a fire-aspected high dragon like this.

She shows a bit of teeth when he starts hovering. Oh, now this will be interesting.]

Land, or air? [She asks, because seriously. Fuck any body of water that isn't a bath or shower right now.]

Whichever you prefer. Or both. Mind my blade?

[Because she's got him beaten in the tooth and claw department. But he wouldn't want to put her in the position to wind up injured. Not on his account. He has a feeling the dragon is probably fairly well armored though.

Still, it's better to ask, right?

That's just polite.]

Both, then. [She really, really wants to spread her wings in the air as opposed to the sea. She's missed the feeling against her face. Granted, it'll be weird against scale instead of feathers, but she'll deal.]

Not at all. T'would make it even, at the very least. [She lifts one of her claws and waves her "fingers" as she says it. Plus, she can tend to any wounds with her poultices after. She's dealt with similar injuries before. The hazard of dealing with mage-killers.

+3 approval though for asking.]

Got it. Then... let's go.

[Keith draws his swords. He's ready. Hell, he's excited. It's hard not to be. He's never gone head to head with a dragon, so this is definitely new. Besides, a good challenge of a spar in general always gets his heart beating.

He hovers a little higher, ready, but waiting, to see what Morrigan will do.]

[Morrigan stretches her wings and takes off into the sky. Ah, yes. This is much better. She flashes her teeth in what is likely a grin before turning to face him, hovering. A high-pitched shriek of a roar announces the start of their little bout, echoing with her own excitement.

She feels powerful. Were she home, she'd be feared. It's practically singing in her bones.

She dives back down at him, opening her mouth as if she's going to spite a trail of fire, but it's a feint- she lifts in time to try and smack him with her tail.]

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