sunmon: (7)
a rubiks cube of a person ([personal profile] sunmon) wrote in [community profile] ethyraia2021-08-01 09:22 am

◣ OPEN ◢ CATCH THAT THESSYX

WHO: anyone signed up for this player plot
WHAT: a band of merry hatchlings followed the thessyx as they left, in an attempt to find their city!
WHEN: august 1-5
WHERE: north of basecamp
NOTES/WARNINGS: animal mutilation; for other warnings, please utilize subject lines

preparation;

in the last days of july, whispers spread amongst the hatchlings of a planned excursion north of the city, following the trail laid by the thessyx who had left before the window closed. friends of alina starkov — or anyone with skills useful enough to keep her alive long enough to get to the thessyx's underground city — might have received a personal invitation via text or in person, but anyone else might have simply jumped on via word of mouth.

there are rain shields to wheedle out of remí, food to hoard wherever possible to support the excursion, and other preparations to be made. those heading out on this journey don't really know how long they'll be gone: better to be ready for anything. hopefully, those coming along have weapons. you never know what you'll find in the ethyraian wilderness.


the journey out;


day one
to a skilled observer, the tracks left by the thessyx originally appear to meander without purpose across the desert-like landscape. the terrain is easy to traverse, dry and covered in scrub. serpentflies flutter around, glinting in the faint light that leaks through the threatening cloud cover. the tracks gradually veer over the course of the day to join what seems like a migration or herd route of some kind... almost like a well-trodden road.

the good news is that the road offers excellent visibility and makes it hard to sneak up on the group, though it is pocked by a variety of animal prints. amidst the prints of animals that use the path, the thessyx's prints run the risk of getting lost in the noise.

when they rest for the night, just off the edge of the trail, a male scorpiug plunges into the camp looking for offerings to attract a mate. the scorpiug will attack, its claws and teeth equipped with a toxin that can induce sleep and paralysis on the victim, leaving them defenseless for a female scorpiug to sniff out and come devour later. at 30 ft tall, the scorpiug proves difficult to combat, and trailblazers should team up to take out this tank!

day two
the next day, when everyone is tired from the interruption to their sleep, and once they've left the camp out of sight and out of mind, the journey takes a turn for the disturbing as they discover the next stretch of road is marked by animal carcasses. these don't look like they were merely hunted by the inhospitable wildlife of ethyraia either. mangled bat bones, discarded rat tentacles, and golden cliff viper heads have been left behind in disarray. they don't look like they were left there by the thessyx or the kind of animal that would have been hunting them in the wild...

a downpour starts in the early afternoon. light at first, but after half an hour of sleet, the mild flooding around their feet and the intensity of the rain prove too much for rain shields and shielding abilities to completely correct. they are going to need safe harbor. fortunately, in the nearby mountainous landscape there appear to be some caves, nestled amongst boulders on higher ground ...

the cave;


still day two
on the interior walls of the cave are ancient-looking paintings, wall art depicting dragons drawn to massive scale, taking up much of the wall and some of the ceiling! around them are also creatures that look quite like the thessyx themselves... and there are other drawings that don't seem to match them? taller figures with flatter heads and broader limbs. the art depicts all the featured creatures in harmony.

as night falls and people find places to settle, eivor wanders deeper into the very extensive cave. the number of tunnels and depth of the cave may be surprising or discouraging to other wanderers, but as eivor persists, she comes across an ancient, feeble, malnourished thessyx curled up in a corner.

provided she communicates with them, the thessyx explains telepathically that all elderly thessyx leave their subterranean city to go and 'join the ocean' on a final journey. however, this Thessyx does not think it will make it, and seems to lament this fact.

what they found didn't find;


day three
the next day, as the group gets ready to go, there are decisions to be made: what to do with the thessyx, and whether to turn back themselves in the face of the weather. after some debate between bringing them along and returning them to basecamp, the group settles on the latter, sending a few of their number (sam, balthier, and natasha have volunteered) back with them.

those who opt to remain continue after the trail left by the thessyx, but it goes cold later that day at the side of the mountain, as if the entire envoy simply vanished or teleported. low on food and other supplies, and threatened by rain and monsters, the group will have to decide whether to continue blindly or to turn back as well.
portolan: (d e j e c t e d)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-08-15 04:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ah, children. ]

It doesn't go away, you know. No matter how far you run. Whatever it is that's eating you, it just keeps on eating, until you find a way to fill the hole or tend the wound. It took me seven years to realize that.

[ She's not going to hear it right now. But some day, when she's ready to, it'll be there. Someone gave him that when he was lost and angry.

There's little else he can do now. He's made it clear he's there for her, and she's made it clear she'd rather storm. He retreats back toward the cave without another word, though goes slowly enough that she could come if she wanted.

Strange that her General is not comforting her or is he mentoring her through this.
]
morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14852746)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-08-16 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I thought jokes were meant to be funny.

( lightly. there's no awkward shifts in her voice or posture, nothing to suggest that he's betrayed himself in any meaningful way — though hasn't he been doling all his secrets out to her, piecemeal, since they woke? despite his better judgement, no less — but he nonetheless tries to shift the conversation back onto safer ground.

the paintings, the first of them, would be visible now were it not for the gloom of the caves. with his unoccupied hand, he gestures toward the nearest wall. )
If you would oblige me?

morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14857555)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-08-16 11:09 pm (UTC)(link)
( likewise, aleksander pushes to his feet. dusting his hands off on his legs. )

Truly, you are a man of many talents, Mr... ( a pause, letting him fill the space because while balthier speaks with the kind of jovial familiarity that suggests they might have met before, he can't place him. )
portolan: (c h i t c h a t)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-08-16 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Balthier. [ He says it with a grin, bravado practiced over the last decade, first when he was using it as an alias at home in shadows and spaces he wasn't meant to be, then when it became his pirate name.

He's surprised Aleksander doesn't know him. It tells him two things: (a) Alina hasn't mentioned him and (b) Aleksander isn't particularly concerned with the political world of the Hatchlings, as most of those who were heard about the thessyx meeting.
]

And you?
morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14852819)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-08-16 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Kirigan.

( no title proffered, because this isn't ravka and he doesn't feel like he needs to draw any more attention to himself than he already has, even if some part of him itches to do ...something. anything to remind himself that he was a man of consequence. )

A pleasure.

( now, back to that rather unique skill set — ) Do you think that it's a single animal or a group?
morozova: @easystreet (pic#14848284)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-08-17 12:12 am (UTC)(link)
( the mural, once revealed, is beautiful in the way that all ancient and timeless things are. history etched into the stone.

he is quiet for a long moment, finger stroking idly at his jaw. )


I think it's rare for there to only ever be one of a kind. ( and, oh, how lonely of an existence that must be. )
ulfrkysst: (hap hap tak tak)

[personal profile] ulfrkysst 2021-08-17 01:26 am (UTC)(link)
[The man is older, which in of itself doesn't necessarily require respect, but he seems like he knows what he's doing, which is a point in his favor. Elders have more wisdom to impart, and though she has a tendency toward barreling through things when she feels strongly about something, she's just as lost as anyone else on this trail.

She inclines her head deferentially.]


As you say. I can make neither heads nor tails.

[She gestures vaguely at the jumble of prints in the mud.]

Do you think they expected to be followed? It could be they are trying to lose us in this confusion.
portolan: (l o o s e n y o u r c u f f s)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-08-17 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
Group. The wounds are consistent. It's deep damage, but they haven't rent any of the bodies, and we're seeing a string of corpses. A single creature would be more centralized, or large to cover that much ground. We're dealing with a pack. Curious that they aren't necessarily eating, and that they're leaving pieces. This might be aggression, or illness.

[ Not something he wants to be on the receiving end of. ]

If they're still here on our way back, we may want to take a sample to our scientifically inclined friends.
ulfrkysst: (fuðork haniast bjalmyr fuð fuðork)

[personal profile] ulfrkysst 2021-08-17 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
[Yeah, there is something going on here that isn't all about the immediate problem. Eivor is silent for a moment, studying Alina dubiously.

More calmly:]
They are interested in us, for whatever reason. There will be other chances.

Why is it important to go now?
ulfrkysst: (hang hang gang gang)

[personal profile] ulfrkysst 2021-08-17 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
[Maybe it is magic, she thinks, watching the wings fold into nothingness. But this is not her area of expertise, so it's not really something she thinks to ask about. There are more important matters at hand than wasting time with something she knows she won't understand.

She cracks a small, proud smile at the mention of her raven, and reaches to stroke the bird's feathers.]


Sýnin has more freedom than I or you will ever know. [Not only in the matter of flight -- which Sam is obviously acquainted with -- but she doesn't have or even comprehend the responsibilities of mankind.]

I doubt your machine is from the Adamant. Rémi is reluctant to let even rain shields go.
ulfrkysst: (fuð fuð bjam bjam)

[personal profile] ulfrkysst 2021-08-17 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
Likely so, [she agrees, glancing him over to see if he has any obvious burns that he's not being honest about. She gets the feeling that everyone on the expedition is the type to hide their wounds.]

But it is a long walk back. Were none of us given a salve?
portolan: (f o r l o r n)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-08-17 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ Balthier considers the quiet of the request, her tear stained face, and the way she launched herself into this mission. Maybe he's been treating her as older than he ought to. Maybe not older. Stabler. More together. As someone who trusts things will settle, that storms will pass. ]

Would you like a hug, Alina?
ulfrkysst: (hap hap tak tak)

[personal profile] ulfrkysst 2021-08-17 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
[The magic Eivor is used to involves rituals and potions, so something like "the planet's energy" sounds like absolute bullshit to her. She shrugs and motions for him to go ahead, a dubious little wrinkle creasing her forehead, expecting him to start some ultra charlatan display.]
portolan: (h a n d y)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-08-17 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ Balthier pulls on the Mist -- it's nearly as easy as when he was home in Ivalice now. A tiny bit of light glimmers as he gestures toward Eivor. A directing gesture, but nothing flashy.

It's a base level Cure spell. Any aches from the roads, minor skin abrasions, or beginnings of cold or infection will feel cleared. She will feel rested, as if from a good night of sleep.
]
portolan: (g r i e f)

[personal profile] portolan 2021-08-17 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
[ poor thing. that's a tough place to be emotionally.

He gives her a sturdy hug, the kind that says you're here, you're safe, and you don't need to do anything. It's the kind his mother gave him when he was younger, the kind his favorite teacher offered when his mother left him, and the kind Fran gave him when things got too heavy to bear.
]
morozova: @frathouse (pic#15024733)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-08-17 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Alina, likely.

( he tips his chin in the direction of the dark-haired teenager glaring sullenly at the rain. )

She was the one that arranged for this expedition. ( and he would like to think that the first army weren't so inept that she wouldn't have known the value of emergency supplies and a proper first aid kit. )

morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14852098)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-08-17 09:36 pm (UTC)(link)
( a charged silence has settled between them. it isn't the heady rush of the winter fête, where everything felt warm and golden. rather this feels like a tripwire pulled taut, waiting for its chance to snap tightly.

and at that moment he can think of nothing he wants less.

which is why he kisses her. it's overdue, truthfully, since the theater roof when he'd seen her turn sad and quiet. how he'd wanted to comfort her, then, but had kept himself back because...

because. it doesn't really matter anymore, does it? )
morozova: (pic#14879887)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-08-17 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
( his hands have moved to cup her face.

it should be sweet, this kiss. he'd wanted to be sweet for her, but saints there is just something about this foolish, fierce girl that makes him forget himself.

and she tastes of sunlight. this thought sticks like a bur in his mind, absurd as it is. sunlight and wildflowers and all those good things that are untouched by artifice or guile. )

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