◣ OPEN ◢ HATCHING LOG 001

[raiamods]

WHO: All PCs
WHAT: New characters arrive on Ethyraia, get interrogated, and settle in at the basecamp.
WHEN: May 21 onward
WHERE: Basecamp Leviathan
NOTES/WARNINGS: Potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore, alcohol and drug-use, light aphrodisiac effects (optional), and references to mass death.

HATCHING LOG 001 ❀

CONTENT WARNINGS: potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore, alcohol and drug-use, light aphrodisiac effects (optional), and references to mass death.

Players who participated in our TDM are welcome to keep their CR and the content of those threads. Please make sure to chat this out on the OOC intro & CR meme before making assumptions. Please take your time reading the hatching and basecamp bullets, as some items have been altered or expanded.

❀ HATCHING

Congrats, you've woken up in an egg. I'm sure this is exactly how you wanted to spend your Saturday, right? There's no time to get curious and check out the other egg sacs. By the time you've fought your way out of the membranous sac, spilled electric blue goop everywhere, wiped it out of your eyes and sundry other orifices to get your bearings, you have a spear (or a gun) leveled at your face, throat, or other vital organs. Even if you might be inclined to fight, you can barely lift your arms to protest being grabbed and dragged off. Before you can even get a word in edgewise, you've been thrown into a holding cell.

Characters will not have a chance to retrieve their items at the time of the first hatching, and may not even know there is anything left in the remaining eggs.

The holding cell stinks of something sour and acidic, like rotted citrus, but you are not alone. Several other detainees sit in similar squalid confusion, dressed strangely and equally gooey. Time to make nice, ask questions... figure out what the hell is going on, and maybe do something about all that slime?

Over the next few days, a few things become clear. Despite the alien greeting, your captors speak a language that you understand, and the unpleasant circumstances are revealed to be a matter of necessity, not choice. Supplies are low, but they ensure that the new arrivals' time imprisoned is as painless as can be — they offer hot communal showers of less than three minutes, some strange starchy meal-replacement, and medical treatment to those in need. You might strike up a conversation with your new best friend in the shower over a low soap dispenser or when you realize you might need to share towels.

The cost of these luxuries comes in the form of touch-and-go interrogation by the security officers keeping tabs on the cells and supervising the shower time.

A few notes:

☆ Your character may get pulled away for interrogation at some point. No torture, no drugs; just questioning. If you would like to thread this out, please reply to CAPT CHILDE'S top level comment! A caveat: threads will not go beyond (TEN) NPC replies, and new tag-ins will not be responded to after MAY 24.

☆ Locals will be stopping by outside the freestanding holding cells to ogle or ask questions. Are you really going to be mean to that little kid staring at you with wide eyes?

☆ Characters will be let out for bio breaks. No one has to pee in a bucket, that's just inhumane!

☆ Attempts to escape will probably get you tasered. If your character composes a genius jailbreak, you are welcome to submit it in the MOD QUESTION comment to work out how that might go with the NPCs!

❀ EXPLORE THE BASECAMP

On the heels of a little benign interrogation, a medical inspection, and a stern talking to by Captain Childe, the survivors at Basecamp Leviathan determine one thing: you don't appear to be an active threat.

Released from the detention center after three days, you are given the run-down by the locals — you're on a planet called Ethyraia, and the people around you are survivors of the catastrophic crash of the UCSS Adamant several years prior. You, in fact, showed up on the third anniversary of the crash. Weird coincidence, huh?

The first order of the day is having a proper meal at the mess hall — some of the Adamant's survivors will be friendlier than others. They've been stranded here for years, remember? Some of them will be so desperate to talk to someone who has news of other places, and some will be giving you the cold shoulder.

You'll be fed the same as the rest of them. A plastic plate of crumbled protein of unidentifiable origin and gravy over rice with a single wilted stalk of broccoli and a cup of the worst coffee you've ever had. Maybe somebody bumps into you and spills said coffee, maybe you make it all the way to one of the long tables set out for communal eating.

Time to strike up a chat with your neighbor — maybe ask them to pass the salt?

(What do you mean, there's no salt!?)

During this time, characters will be able to return to the Central Chrysalis where they hatched. While there are no clues as to how they got there, they might find items — their own, or someone else's. Everyone is strapped for supplies, but try not to snatch up anything that isn't yours. The security officers don't look kindly on people chasing one other down the hall, trying to get back their dirty magazines.

A few notes:

☆ Feel free to help out anywhere. Every little bit of assistance you offer to the locals will raise their estimation of you. You could easily help clean dishes after the meal, help fix leaky piping or repair hammocks. You could stop by the aid station and assist with the wounded. You'll be watched closely and some of the survivors will be warier than others, but most will appreciate the opportunity to have a 'break'.

☆ If your character leaves the basecamp and wanders outside the Leviathan, they may begin to notice that what they perhaps took as a giant cave is actually an enormous dragon. Everything that seems human-made will look varying levels of worn down, patched, repaired and patched again. This is not a place of prosperity and happiness. Many people are recently injured, or have new scars or missing limbs.

☆ PCs will be warned about the acid rain and inhospitable wildlife that they'll face if they venture beyond the shade of the dragon's wings.

❀ RECRUITMENT FAIR

You've been here for a week, had a chance to show your mettle. Maybe you've demonstrated a propensity for fixing gadgets (or plumbing!) or you have the command of a natural leader and the ability to wield a gun (or a tire iron!) to great effect. Either way, the Adamant's survivors are eager to put you to work so they can have their first real 'days off' in three years! Survivors have set up their various areas in the hopes of catching your attention and (possibly!) bolster their numbers! Feel free to wander around, talk to other PCs, and get the lay of the land.

ENGINEERING CORPS

Thorkil has welded a sign to a post out front, cheerfully painted by a gaggle of children to say "WELCOME!" The children are crowded around the area, and Thorkil is telling them stories about one of his many tattoos as you approach — he has a magnificent eagle tattooed on his arm, and in a hush he is explaining how it landed on him and tried to bite him like a mosquito, and how he slapped it and it just splattered right there on his arm and he's never been able to wash it off!

The children seem mesmerized by the story (maybe you are too?) and will scatter at the story's conclusion, tugging you over to the various areas, pointing things out excitedly. What is an Ehlers-Chau sublight engine? You're about to find out whether you like it or not! Or maybe you can teach them a thing or two. Those who seem to know their stuff will be eagerly invited on board by Thorkil.

The Engineering division has salvaged its tools and scrap from the Adamant’s wreckage, so it has all of the essentials from metal mills to CNC routers to circuitry tools. A holo projector throws schematics on the wall — a drill, a few potential shelter ideas for long-term settlement, and a new communications tower.

SECURITY DIVISION

Rémi has barely deigned to participate — and seems to have done so only at the request of some of his companions. He's sitting at an unadorned table and he is cleaning a variety of weapons. He will scowl if approached, and seems openly mistrustful of your intentions should you speak to him. Questions about how a conversation with Rémi might go may be posted to the MOD QUESTIONS thread. (Note: We will not be threading Rémi, so these questions will be handwaved!)

Characters who make a positive impression on him will open up the avenue to work for the Security Division later, but he will not be extending any offers now — please allow for a realistic period of development here!

Feel free to lean into another PC's space and comment on how frosty that dude seems! You can also survey the various weapons stored in racks, help out with building spears, the usual suspects.

THEATRE

The theatre doubles as a childcare center, and many of the NPCs bustling about seem very excited and eager for the chance to talk to anyone who ventures in to visit. The theatre is bright and cheerful, paintings have been done on the walls of scenes from children's stories featuring colorful characters.

The thespians will not only try to recruit you (for acting in a play, for teaching, for script writing, for drawing on the walls or caring for children) but they will actively put you to work if they see you standing idle longer than a moment! Your character may find themselves with a paintbrush in hand, or taking part in a recital for a play (you're free to invent one, or put a new spin on an old classic! Romeo and Julio, anyone?) or building a set piece for one of the many local productions.

The Theatre doubles as the protective hub in times of need, so beyond arts education and babysitting, your character may also be tasked with shoring up those defenses, helping to fortify the walls, or other such tasks. And who knows, they may be paired off with someone else rather unexpectedly!

AID STATION

Sunya Hyacinth is the local medical doctor, fueled by coffee and spite. She doesn't have the time to recruit personally — she's flitting about the aid station seeing to the injured.

If you follow her, she will put you to work. Hold this stent, articulate this dislocation, take this blood pressure reading. If anyone appears to have a proficiency for this sort of work, she may inquire after credentials — and anyone who seems to have medical experience is going to immediately be handed the medic's armband, a white band with a blue cross emblazoned on it. This armband will grant any PC an extra amount of respect and trust from the Adamant's survivors — but you'd better be able to live up to it!

Feel free to treat any injured PCs, converse with other 'recruits', help pin that white and blue arm-band on... you know, anything under the sun. Some of the patients in the medical bay seem to be suffering from the adverse effects of some of the local flora — itching hives or burning pustules. One unfortunate soul seems only able to speak in limericks, which the medical staff will admit is one of the odder things they’ve seen.

SANITATION

CONTENT WARNING: DRUG REFERENCES

It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it! There are always latrines to be dug, pipes to be repaired, general maintenance to be done on the various sanitation systems.

A nervous-looking janitor will approach your character almost shyly, and ask if you wouldn't mind giving her a hand. If you are willing to help her (fix a pipe, dig a hole, etc), she will gradually warm up to you and seem more animated and lively and very, very grateful. Won't you please consider working with the Sanitation crew? Sure, it's not as glamorous as some of the other duties, but they're the backbone of the Basecamp and they could really use the help!

She'll even let you in on a little secret if you really butter her up or show an interest — the Sanitation Crew? Totally has a little underground greenhouse where they're growing marijuana. They're totally willing to share...

Feel free to dig latrines alongside your fellow PCs, or maybe even share a joint. It's a way to pass the time, right? PCs serving in sanitation will also have an easier time overhearing the gossip that spreads around the base, since no one looks twice at them.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

CONTENT WARNING: REFERENCES TO MASS DEATH

During their first two weeks in the basecamp, any character who stops by one of the various houses of worship (in addition to a church, a synagogue, and a mosque, there is a temple with small statues to fifteen different unfamiliar deities, many of whom seem to be from different faiths), the gymnasium, or the mess hall will come across a stand that hosts a dozen or so packages.

Wrapped in the black emergency blankets that many bring with them to and from the bunks, these packages are about one cubic foot and contain folded clothes in roughly the same sizes. The styles are all different and highly individualized. Some are luxe, some are basic, and some are clearly the undershirt (but not the proper outerwear) for uniforms of the Adamant’s crew. Warm-faced folks eagerly give out a single package to each new hatchling. Along with the clothing and blanket, hatchlings will receive basic packages containing basic toiletries — bar soap, a toothbrush, a straight razor, etc.

Come by at the wrong time, and you might see a fight break out. A young person, red-faced, shouts at the volunteers working these stands, “Those were our people! Our families! We should be the one to decide what’s done with what they left behind.”

In hushed tones, clearly trying to keep this from becoming a conflict, the lead volunteer insists, “Take it up with Captain Childe.”


A few notes:

☆ Feel free to have your character sign on to help out with any of the listed divisions, with the exception of security.

☆ Characters may collect one (1) care package from the community outreach program. If your character intends to come back for more, please let us know in the Mod Questions thread.

☆ Feel free to ask for light NPC interactions in the MOD QUESTIONS header; we can give you a general idea of how a conversation might go! Like with the Captain Childe threads, none of these threads will be lengthy, and new tag-ins will not be responded to after MAY 24.

❀ THE DREAMING

You are standing at the edge of an immense, underground lake. Water laps at the shore, echoing in the cavern. There is a sense of peace and warmth and — welcome.

A creature emerges from the lake and approaches you. Its gills flutter, its eyes are a faint bioluminescent glow in the darkness. It reaches out to touch you — one long, elegant finger presses against your chest. It feels as if it might crack your sternum open and ferret beneath your bones as if looking, looking for something. Yet, there is no malice from it, and you feel no fear.

But the creature relents. It backs up. Bows to you once, and then turns and walks back into the water.

You stay for some time at the edge of the lake. Eventually, it seems as if another person is here with you, or perhaps they simply came into focus after being here just as long as you. Should you speak with them?

A few notes:

☆ PCs may interact with one another in the dreams. They will be in a semi-conscious state, not wholly aware they are dreaming and not wholly under the impression of its normalcy.

☆ Your character will wake up naturally from the Dreaming, they will feel peaceful and refreshed.
The lake, if they choose to swim in it while dreaming, would be perceived as the perfect ambient temperature for them — some characters may prefer it to be warmer or colder!

☆ If they duck below the water, they will see far-off glittering city lights, but no matter how they try to swim towards them they will never get any closer!

☆ If your character tries to drink the water, they might notice that for a few minutes after they wake they can hear little snippets of NPC thoughts. Weird!

☆ Every character will have a small, pale lilac mark where they were touched on the chest. It will fade over the next few days.

❀ FETCH QUEST

CONTENT WARNING: REFERENCES TO LIGHT APHRODISIAC EFFECTS

A small, perky woman corrals you somewhere near the latrines. "Hey!" she says insistently, pushing her hat back and sending a spill of inky curls askew from her forehead. "We need a hand. There's this plant we get for Sunya — the Doc? You met her yet? — it's a painkiller. Go through a shitload of that, which I'm sure is quite surprising," she says all this in a single breath, and her expression is sour despite her cheery tone.

"You any good at botany? We need another round of Starspire root. Can't harvest the ones we've got in camp, they've been a little cranky lately. You'll have to go about four kilometers due west, towards the old Adamant wreck. Just watch them — if they start to sweat, you'll need to get under cover, means the acid rain is coming. I'll upload the specs to your Comm."

Seems like you're being partnered with somebody else for the run — another person looking perhaps about as equally haggard as you, and at least as equally voluntold. Hopefully you won't run into any difficulties — how hard can retrieving one plant be?

A few notes:

☆ Feel free to have random monster encounters along the way! Don’t forget to wait for approvals on bestiary submissions before incorporating them into threads.

☆ The plants are at a high elevation, so they will exist on rocky outcroppings along a cliff-face. The landscape here is mostly high desert, which means it is full of thin, calf-high grasses, scrub plants, and non arable land polluted by dense, alkaline soil and rocks. Be creative in how you get there!

☆ Somebody gets hurt? Here, chew this root! They said it was a painkiller, right? What's the worst that could happen? (People can get a little ... flirtatious, shall we say.)

☆ Or you could go one step further and try exploring portions of the Adamant! Remember, the ship itself was built to house seventy thousand people — it's the size of a city, and it cannot be adequately explored in an afternoon! If you'd like anything specific to come of this, or if you’d like to know specifics about the Adamant’s layout, please consider submitting a plot request!.

NAVIGATION ❀

Comments

[neversmall]

Strange is one word for it.

[ There are so many questions, every answer she receives uncovers more questions. ]

And there are so many of us - have you made a count?

[portolan]

[ the hatchlings are fairly easy to tell apart by their foreign clothing, bewildered expressions, and sometimes otherwordly features. however, it's only been a few days, and he hasn't been everywhere in camp yet. ]

I've counted around forty so far, though I imagine there are more. Quite a lot of chosen ones for one place.

[neversmall]

[ She'd not yet had the opportunity to count; that was something she was looking forward to doing once they got back to the chamber, numbering the cracked eggs.

And the eggs that remained.

Forty is quite the number. ]

"Chosen ones", [ Nina repeats, turning the phrase around in her mind before snorting a little. ] This strikes me as more accidental - or perhaps coincidental, than a matter of fate. The question remains, though - chosen for what?

[portolan]

I've never much believed in fate myself. Coincidence and being able to capitalize on opportunity most often, methinks.

[ more gravely. ] I hope it's merely accident. I don't want to meet the entity that could do this intentionally.

[neversmall]

[ Nina takes a breath and then lets it out slowly, trying to clear her head. There are too many questions and not enough of anything close to facts. In the next minute she's going to find herself speculating about spirits and things she doesn't believe in - just for the sake of the familiar. She needs to clear her head and see, allow herself to get comfortable enough with the uncomfortable feeling of knowing so little, being so far from home and the people she loves that she can see what there's actually there to see. ]

Did you hear anything about the Chrysalis?

[portolan]

A few odd tales. Something about floating water and glowing crystal. [ maybe not any odder than the places he's been -- he just hasn't been able to tell how accurate the people here are. ] Haven't heard anything dangerous, at least. You?

[neversmall]

No, nothing dangerous. The suspected source of what brought us here, apparently, but nothing dangerous. [ The reason why we can all understand each other, apparently, but nothing dangerous -- it's so very odd. The captain having her camp around it but not wanting to disturb it, but nothing dangerous.

Nina can't wait to get a second look, although she's hoping to not have to go through the goopy pond again. ]

[portolan]

[ Balthier has a hazy memory of a bright light, a pool of water, and a man trying to apologize if he leads them away. He'd spoken to someone in the showers of it briefly, but hadn't gathered much information. If he thinks too hard about it, his head throbs, even now after food and recovery. ]

Oh? And what is said suspected source?

[ they're probably halfway back to the chrysalis now. Balthier has been determined to go for sometime, but as they approach, he can feel some tightness in his chest, the kind he always gets before a job he's not 100% certain he can pull off. ]

[neversmall]

Not much. Just that the captain doesn't want to go poking at it -- sensibly so, but I can't help but wonder now what it does. I have, unfortunately, no idea how to go about finding that out, but I'm glad we're heading back up there.

[ She glances over at him and then back up to where they're going. Then she shakes her head. ]

This whole thing is very odd. I keep thinking I'll blink at be back in Ravka.

[portolan]

Mmm. Very odd indeed. Perhaps we'll get lucky and find something. Then again, if that was likely, they probably wouldn't have let us back out here.

[ they reach the entrance to the tunnels that lead deeper into the Leviathan's bowels, where the egg forest is. It's considerably darker than the path they've been on this far, and there's a smell like the inside of a cave -- calcined water, stale air, a mild sense of rot. Weird humid air pulses out of it every so often. ]

Raithwall guide me, I did not become a sky pirate to wade into dark holes.

[neversmall]

[ Nina'd give a lot to be able to light a torch right now; unfortunately, showing up in not much but the clothes on her back limits her options considerably. The stale air isn't promising, but at least it doesn't look like total darkness down there - there's some kind of phosphorescence from the Chrysalis at least.

And at least she knows how to distract her companion from the fact that they're descending into a dark hole: ]

Oh, a sky pirate? What's that like?

[portolan]

[ the path is amply wide for them to walk abreast, the darkness punctured by the low glow of phosphoresce. It is enough not to trip and not much more, but Balthier is still aware of his footsteps. He has no desire to be injured in a foreign place, or with such a long walk back to the base camp.

Maybe it's the cramped space, and maybe it's the companionship of conversation after days of fear and isolation, but he answers more honestly than he has with others. ]

Have you ever been tethered to a place you didn't want to be, that you knew if you didn't get out, you would cease to exist?

Then imagine being able to pilot a ship, go anywhere at anytime, no borders to restrict you, the freedom to accept or reject any job that comes your way. [ he hesitates. ] And a partner you trust more than anyone. It is absolute freedom.

[ his vulnerability feels too large, too vulnerable in the darkness all around them. too much like when he first left, when he first met Fran, when he only knew how to be entirely closed off or so transparent he would shoot himself in the foot with every word. ]

Of course, I'm mostly in it for the treasure.

[neversmall]

[ The casual deflection at the end lets her know even more than his words how true what he's saying is. But his words ring true even without that -

- and yes, she does, quite literally, know what it's like to be tethered to someplace she didn't want to be, realizing that if she didn't escape she would die. A partner you trust more than anyone. Absolute freedom.

This place, without that partner, must feel like quite the opposite to him. ]

That sounds both terribly wonderful and terribly exciting. [ And then, deliberately, so as to not leave things unbalanced: ] I do know a little bit about what that's like, though I can't say my escape involved anything as powerful as the freedom to go anywhere as a result. That's quite the treasure.

[ They should be coming about the bend now - the ambient light of the Chrysalis is increasing. ]

[portolan]

[ it truly was, though the idea of total freedom stirs up the thoughts he'd been struggling with the last six months or so, the idea that the freedom to go anywhere was not the same as healing the wounds he was running from. ]

There is certainly plenty of treasure in piracy. Gems you wouldn't believe, ancient statues, stunning woodwork. It's probably a blessing I didn't have a house to fill with my spoils.

[ as they speak, they turn a bend. The light of the Chrysalis fills the large cavern like a small sun, and all about it giant eggs sit, pulsating lightly in its glow. Some are broken, but many more still look in tact. He wonders uneasily if they'll hatch with more newcomers, or monsters. ]

[neversmall]

[ Lightly: ] Didn't anybody ever tell you not to brag about how much money you have while you're headed into the dark with a mysterious stranger? ...or, into the light, apparently.

[ They turn the bend and ...well. That's certainly. Creepy. ]

Saints, look at this. Where did they come from? [ Nina doesn't hesitate long before walking in, prowling a cautious perimeter along the lake of goo. ]

[portolan]

Ah, yes, but that would require any of me endless wealth being accessible. Quite frankly if someone knows how to go home to rob me, I'll gladly show them the way.

[ He left the Strahl to Vaan and Penelo, and despite favorite haunts across four nations and two continents, he hasn't lived anywhere in years. He's sure Queen Ashe would furnish him with something if he returned, but he hasn't really lived anywhere in...gods, seven years now? Eight? He has no idea if his father removed him from his will before...well. It probably doesn't matter, now that he's here. But he hasn't been a rich man in many years. Just one with the ability to lift nice things. Even that might not be true here.

He lets Nina's movement distract him, following her into the forest of boulder-like eggs. He feels a strange pressure in his chest like a tug. There's an egg across the way that feels...different than the others. He has a sense that it was his, and he is uneasy that there's any connection to it. ]

Not sure I like this nursery.

[neversmall]

It's creepy, [ Nina agrees. She pauses from looking around to look... up. At least, as far up as she can in what's illuminated. A little quietly: ]

I've not the faintest clue how we came to be inside these eggs, have you?

[portolan]

There's magic on my world. I've never heard of it doing anything like this, but some similar phenomenon is my best guess. [ that's a weak answer for 'how' and doesn't even begin to touch 'why.' ] I've no memory of how I got here though, and absolutely no idea why.

[ he meanders his way toward the low pulse that's pulling him. he can feel the tension start to rise in him, a mix of anticipation and small bit of bile that tends to accompany any job. however, the stakes feel higher this time. he has no idea what he expects to find -- if anything.

that isn't entirely true. he's holding out for some clue that Fran is okay, or better yet, that she's here. ]

[neversmall]

[ [ Nina finally returns her attention to the eggs. She has more questions, and no way of getting answers for most of them, so she decides to stick to something with a chance of satisfaction. ] ]

What kind of magic?

[ She feels drawn to one of the eggs, a smaller one - thankfully well away from the pool. It's like a heartbeat, steady and compelling. She bites her lip for a moment and then decides to slowly approach. ]

[portolan]

[ Balthier hears Nina's question, but he's entirely distracted as his egg comes into view. All other thought leaves his mind as he approaches it, it's call getting stronger and stronger.

The goo has all dried, bits of shell scattered about, one side more damaged than the other. He is hesitant to touch it, but something glints inside. He squints but can't make it out -- still, whatever it is certainly isn't egg. He carefully steps inside, glad the goo is not re-adhering to his boots, and leans down, pushing chalky dried egg membrane away. His fingers hit the familiar ridges of his favorite pistol. ]

Nina, there's something in here. [ he calls after her but frankly did not notice her drifting to her own egg, and does not bother to check if she hears him. He slides the pistol into its holster -- he'll have to clean it more carefully later -- and begins on another lump that he suspects is not egg goo. ]

[neversmall]

[ As that 'something' could be anything, Nina exercises the sort of self-restraint she is not known for, but probably should be, and turns to give Balthier her attention, despite the pull on her senses of the egg. She shifts her stance slightly, ready to move, and calls out to him: ]

What is it?

[portolan]

[ He does not realize he's alarmed her -- it's not typical for him to become unaware of himself or his surroundings, but his heart is beating as his hands hit something harder and larger submerged in the goo. He thinks he knows what it is, but it would make no sense. It wasn't with him when he left. But he doesn't really know that, and he's not going to reject good luck. ]

Things from home. Check yours.

[neversmall]

[ Nina doesn't hesitate long, just long enough to satisfy herself that nothing is going to come out of the goo and glomp onto him in some horrible way.

Instead, she turns and changes her position so that she can keep both Balthier and the goo pond and giant glowy thing at least somewhat in her line of sight. Then she grabs a stone, and cracks the egg, and the first thing that greets her eye is -- ]

Saints, it really is things from home.

[ She doesn't hesitate - the egg is remarkably goo-free, considering - before reaching out and putting on her deep crimson kefta with its black embroidery. She leaves it unfastened, obviously, but it's somewhat distressing to note how it's slightly looser - she could probably fasten it now, even wearing her clothes, thanks to the past three week's exertions. Following is another, more comfortable pair of clothes and shoes, then a tin of biscuits, and -- oh.

She goes still, lifting out an oval silver locket. ]

[portolan]

[ Balthier's hands deftly flake dried goo from the contours of Fran's lightspeeder. It comes off easily, leaving the exposed machine below clean and gleaming. He can hardly believe his luck.

He's less surprised by the way his heart pulls. He wants this to mean that Fran is here too, but it's been several weeks, and he's had an ear out. If a six foot tall Black woman with white hair and rabbit ears were here, he'd have heard about it.

Still, this is a huge help, and it shouldn't be too hard to dig out. He fishes through the other caked lumps to find ammo for his gun and a favorite sword that he learned to use while he was working with Ashe and the others last year.

He digs through the final pile and nearly yelps. There's a small opalescent stone there, a lab experiment with unfortunate levels of success that led to the death of thousands of people.

It led to him killing his own father, less than a month ago.

He doesn't know what to do. It's impossible to destroy without causing the equivalent of a nuclear explosion. He doesn't want it to fall in other hands. But having it too near disrupts the Mist, and quite frankly, disrupts his sense of self.

There's no one here now, so he loads the ammo and sword onto his belt and turns back to Nina, aware he's stalling his own decision even as he justifies it as doing the gentlemanly thing and checking on the lady. As he approaches her, he sees the tension in her body. ]

Everything all right?

[neversmall]

[ Not ready or willing to share the painful memories brought up by the rediscovery of the locket, Nina doesn't open it at his approach. She fastens it quickly around her neck before gathering up the remainder of her haul. ]

I haven't seen most of this stuff in weeks. It wasn't on me before I got pulled in here.