epidemiology | [ closed ]

Koltira's striding along the shore with both Dipper and Papyrus in tow. He's already searching for information on her whereabouts, and furthermore for some way to actually reach her. Imagine his surprise, then, when he notices a distinctly unearthly cat person emerging from the waves. She looks just as Rin described: eyes as cold and bright as his own, slate-colored fur, the pall of death and the deep ocean. He feels immediate, if perhaps unearned, kinship.

"Pomarr!" he calls out to her, his pace quickening. "You are none other, yes? The last of the Dakal? We would speak with you."

For most of their trek, Dipper has fallen into a step behind Koltira, straying only when something seemingly promising comes within sight—only to be proven it wouldn't lead to much. Though their search hasn't turned up much so far, he doesn't show any discouragement. Not yet, not when this is one and only chance to prove he can do something to make a difference in Nalawi's current crisis.

The search doesn't last much longer, however, when a figure gradually emerges from the waves rolling in and out along the shoreline. It's Koltira who brings them into attention, and Dipper's eyes immediately snap in their direction.

Did he call them Pomarr? ... That's Pomarr?

Dipper freezes in his steps, looking her up and down with wide, curious eyes. There would almost be something amazing about seeing her so suddenly if she didn't look so... blatantly somber. His own aura of awe seems to diminish by some when Pomarr's grave demeanor becomes too obvious—but, being privy to the circumstances, there's no wonder as to why. It does a lot to sober Dipper up.

Once more, he follows behind Koltira, but not quite with the same speed; he hesitates to surround her so suddenly.

"Y— yeah!" Dipper calls out with a tentative hint in his voice. "We've been looking all over!"

Wow, she's not looking too great! Like, wet all over, and kind of cold. Cats and water really don't mix.

Contrary to Dipper's caution, and Koltira's determined approach, Papyrus follows up with a simple wave and a grin. You know, as if they weren't all about to have a Bad Time with this conversation.

"It's nice to meet you in person, Pomarr! My name is Papyrus, and this is Dipper-" said, as he gestures to the small human boy, "and that's Koltira!"

Pomarr's walk, which has left no prints in the sand behind her, slows when she is addressed. Her glowing eyes turn up toward the recruits, and she seems momentarily puzzled. She had expected they would all be the same clawless, barely-furred creatures she had met before. Her attention finds Papyrus as he introduces himself, then Dipper, and finally Koltira. Each of them is studied long and curiously in turn, Dipper the longest. She cannot explain the other two, although they both seem oddly alike to herself, but Dipper is the most familiar to her. A child, clearly, she does not have to know their race to know that.

Finally, she nods.

"Yes, I am Pomarr," she says, in her low, gently distorted voice. "I have come to speak with you, as well."

First and foremost, Koltira draws Byfrost from his back. He sets the sword down flat in the sand, where its skittering runes glow faintly in the rapidly falling twilight. It's a gesture to say: I mean no harm.

"I am keen to listen," Koltira says. He is keen to ask, too, but courtesy demands that he let her speak her piece.

Dipper likewise slows with a small distance left between himself, Koltira, and Pomarr, casting Papyrus a brief look once he does—if only because it's actually impressive how his cheerful disposition never wavers in the face of practically anything. Then again, Dipper thinks, it's probably nice to have something to offset Pomarr's rather gloomy everything.

He faces back forward in time to catch Pomarr's intense gaze, settling on each of them, no doubt studying their presence. Dipper can't help but find it somewhat unnerving, clutching at the straps of his backpack as her unrelenting eyes focus upon him—for too long, he almost feels—but he attempts to cover his inner feelings up by straightening his posture. There's no time to be unsettled by some strange cat creature, but maybe it was just the glow of her eyes. Glowing eyes and drawing darkness was rarely a good combination.

Instead, Dipper nods as well. "Me too."

( papyrus would like to be skipped over this turn! )

Edited 2016-05-25 04:40 (UTC)

Her head bows again, and the glow of her eyes dims as they grow half-lidded.

"I had told three of your number that I would investigate the fading of your powers and undo it, if possible. I have done that." She is generally motionless and expressionless, but at this her catlike ears sink a little. "The process is complex and detailed; I will spare you that. In short, the goddess Nalanni is the drain, and to return the energy to fueling your company, she would need to be destroyed. However, her destruction is impossible." Her voice goes a little lower, a little quieter. "I am sorry."

She hadn't meant to cause harm to any uninvolved innocents, which is exactly what she had done. But some things simply cannot be avoided.

Well, that's not what Koltira wanted to hear. To his credit, though, he maintains composure. Pomarr's sorrow is palpable to him, and it echoes the sorrow still thick in his own memories. He responds in a calm, toneless voice--or as calm as his guttural scratch can be, anyway.

"Why is it impossible?" he says. "What prevents us?"

"I do." It sounds more an apology than a threat, sad and heavy. "I need Nalanni alive. I cannot allow anything else."

And there's no doubt as to why.

There's a subtle furrow of his brow as Dipper goes over the reason in his head; the very one they're here to prevent. This is where they're about to start climbing that slippery slope, huh. Truth be told, he spent most of their search focusing on finding her, so when it came to thinking of what to say when the time came, well... Dipper hadn't thought that far ahead.

But, hey, he can do this. He's the smart guy. And with Papyrus and Koltira nearby, how wrong could this go?

(Very, probably, just like everything else during this mission, but Pomarr doesn't appear to be much hostile at all, so... there's hope.)

"Yeah, we've... all got the news by now," Dipper says with caution, though he does close the gap between them with a few steps forward. "But—are you sure this is what you have to do? Or that it's really the right thing to do?"

Her attention is on Dipper again, and again it lingers. The sight of him, if anything, seems to make her even heavier with sorrow.

"Yes, I am." She nods once, slowly. "You have seen what end Nalanni wrought for my people... my children. I would undo her wrongs. How can there be a greater right than that?"

Papyrus had been quiet, thinking over what to say next. Even for someone as optimistic as himself, he can tell this is a situation better suited for a bit of restraint.

"You really miss them," he says slowly, rubbing his wrist bone. "But would they... be happy to be brought back?"

Perhaps a bit ironic, coming from an animate skeleton if one didn't know he was just always like that. Their civilization is in ruins, and the Dakal- children and all, would be undead. Kind of like Koltira, who uh... isn't too thrilled with being undead himself.

Edited 2016-05-25 13:31 (UTC)

"I did see," Koltira says, his cold eyes going hard with fury. "I found the recording."

He approaches her, as well, slowly, aware of his relative size; of the malevolent magic that still radiates from him, binding his body together.

"Pomarr," he says. "I have suffered as you have. My people, too, were victims of a great calamity. They, too, were cut down."

He holds out a bare, pale hand. "As I was."

She had not quested that, whether that would be happy. It had seemed very self-evident. She isn't happy, but of course that's because she's alone. She's still considering the question when Koltira approaches, snagging her attention.

She watches Koltira very closely; their visible commonalities don't escape her. Her head dips as she watches his hand, and slowly she nods again.

"Yes, you have. I sense that." Her head tips up again, back to his face. "And you, did you have the chance to return those who had fallen?"

All death knights are both products of necromancy and necromancers, themselves. If Koltira had his full powers, he could raise whatever dead lay beneath the sand right here and now.

Not that he would.

"Many of us were forcibly returned," Koltira says, his guttural voice scratchy with agitation. "Undeath is not life, Pomarr. It is a pale, painful facsimile."

Papyrus recalls his first conversation with Koltira, when they had met in a Chantes jailbreak. Undeath was something he had no choice in, and even his last name, Deathweaver, was something forced upon him. And while Koltira's particular brand of undeath came with side effects, and Pomarr's might not... they won't know that for sure unless it happens.

"You just can't... undo taking away a life. Or a lot of lives." Unless you have some kind of magical reset button, of course. "Bringing someone back like this... doesn't mean you'll be bringing back the same person that left." Koltira was evidence enough of that.

The longer her attention is set on himself, the more downright depressing Pomarr's very being appears to be. It's almost odd, in a way, because as little more than a bystander to this all with no faces to put to these names, Dipper had imagined she would be much more malevolent in her intentions. Now that he looks at her, however, up close and personal like this, it feels like anything but.

Pomarr is simply sad and desperate, clouded by her own emotions into doing what she feels is the right—and only—way.

Dipper's mouth purses into a thin line as she listens to the exchange, eyes falling toward the wet sand briefly.

"Yeah," he finally chimes in with agreement. "They're not wrong. They might not be the same." With a hand, Dipper gestures at himself. "Take it from the guy who's also raised a bunch of the undead before. Bad idea. I don't recommend it to anyone."

Forcibly returned — again, a stance on it she had not considered, along with whether they would be happy. Her head bows again as she listens to their words. From the sound of things, and the experience of two of these three, it would be a bad decision... and unpossible to unmake, once made. And the one of bones, he first voices her greatest fear. To see her children again, only for them to be as she is now.

Clouds begin to gather overhead, dark and moody. Pomarr takes in a long, slow breath, and after a heavy pause, murmurs, "There is nothing left to me. If I turn away from this, I have nothing."

He's felt as she has before. Feels it even now, more often than not. Like her, he had lost everything he had ever known, everyone he had ever loved. Though his people survived, they were irreparably changed. Though his country marched on, he could not rightly count himself its citizen.

"You may think vengeance is all you have," he says softly. Though the clouds did not escape his notice, he keeps his eyes--so like her own--fixed on Pomarr. "You may think you have no purpose without it. I understand this."

He glances back at Papyrus and Dipper. Precious few things keep Koltira from the brink. Precious few people.

"But it is not so. You can walk a new path."

Edited 2016-05-26 02:37 (UTC)

"We can be friends!!"

Whoops, that was loud. Louder than he meant to be, at least, with how solemn everything is right now. The clouds begin to gather, and as one might pick up that's indicative of her mood, Papyrus remains oblivious to that little fact, and is instead balling his hands into excited fists. His thoughts are running fast, and he already went several jumps from what he should be saying, to the eventual thought he wanted to convey. Time to backtrack a little-

"I mean, you don't have to be alone! You can have something... as in us!!"

While Papyrus ventures on oblivious as ever, Dipper, on the other hand, notices as the clouds roll in overhead suddenly, and perhaps not all that coincidentally. Though on second thought, the skeleton's suggestion isn't all that wild—not to Dipper, anyway. After several beats his own careful demeanor loosens up in favor of something more casual and light, expression brightening up as he looks back at Pomarr.

"Hey, you know, he's got a point." Dipper forces through a small smile, gesturing again at the three of them standing before her. "I mean—I think I can speak for most of us when I say we only want to help. And if that means giving you something new, then... at least you've got us!"

Her inhuman expressions, already dampened by her evident sorrow, may be difficult to read, but there's no mistaking a quiet surprise at Papyrus's outburst. Her ears flick back and she stares at him, shifting her gaze again only as Dipper speaks.

"We are not kin, and this loss is not yours," she says quietly, "Why should you want to help?" Let alone befriend her. That's a few steps too fast for her.

"Because we can," Koltira says, simply. He won't argue her point: they aren't kin. And though he felt the loss of Dakal keenly, he's aware enough to recognize that what he really felt was his own loss, projected back at him. "Pomarr. Consider a new purpose. Join ALASTAIR."

He gestures towards her island with one hand.

"Your people are gone. You cannot truly resurrect what once was, no matter how much you want to. I know that is a difficult truth to accept. But there is other work for you in this life. Noble work. If you'd care to have it."

"You're a good person," Papyrus says, full of confidence in that statement despite having known Pomarr for all of ten minutes, if that. "Why would I need a reason to want to help you besides that?"

Good people, if they needed help, deserved help! She never wanted to hurt anyone, not really! She just wanted her life to be normal again. Nodding at Koltira's suggestion, he adds, "it's up to you! But I think you should join us! We're all from different places and worlds, but there's a place for all of us if we're together!"

With each of their statements, Dipper nods at in agreement.

"We're not the same, but that doesn't mean we can't do something for each other. And..." He trails off, pointedly looking over Pomarr once more. "I don't think Papyrus is wrong. Well—neither is Koltira, but now that I've finally seen you for myself and how you feel... You deserve better than this, don't you think?"

She listens to each carefully, looking no happier for it. If only she could try anyway, try it and see -- but if she is wrong, and the life they return to is as these three say it will be, that would be an intolerable mistake.

"You ask much of me," she murmurs, and her attention settles once again on Dipper. She doesn't think, not at all, but his question has her stepping forward and lowering slowly to a crouch before him.

"Do you think that?" she asks, glowing eyes searching his. Preparing to give up a dream is no easy matter, but a comforting, young voice can go a long way in helping.

Dipper blinks up at surprise as she crouches in front of him, but after a beat, he manages a small nod.

"I know it's asking for a lot," he says, raising a hand to idly rub at the back of his neck. And he genuinely knows it; after all, his summer vacation back in the sleepy boonies of Oregon involved an uncle who went to unimaginable lengths in order to get his own brother back, and Dipper doesn't think he could ever forget the desperation in his uncle's face while it all went down. But this time it's different—rescuing a person and raising them back from the dead are clearly on different levels of what should be done. "And it might be hard, now, later... for a while. But Koltira's right—you won't be able to go back to what you had before, but there's always something else up ahead. And it doesn't look like whatever you need is going to be here on Nalawi."

After that, Dipper pauses, gauging the look on Pomarr before finishing off: "I think you deserve it."

Anyone would. Offering that chance is just the right thing to do.

She watches Dipper sadly, but listens closely. It will be hard, he is right about that much, but harder than losing them the first time? Maybe so; this means the death of her hope, as well.

Rain begins to fall, heavy, intermittent droplets, as Pomarr tips her head up to watch the sky. She can't deny the words of these strangers anymore. A hard decision cannot be avoided because it is hard.

Pomarr pushes herself to her feet and backs away again, to address the three of them. "I believe... that you have the right of it. I believe you have stopped me from making a grievous mistake." Her head bows. "I must make amends to my people on Dakal, and say goodbye. After that, you may have Nalanni for whatever you wish for her."

The rain soaks his pale hair, drips down between the chinks and crevices in his armor. He feels it, faintly, but it's largely an inconvenience to him. His drenched bangs stick to his face, and he brushes them aside so he can look at Papyrus and Dipper. He offers them a nod of acknowledgment, a sign of his approval for their help. Job well done.

"ALASTAIR will welcome you," Koltira says. "We have a number of children who would benefit from your guidance, Pomarr."

He pauses. Whatever you wish for her. His own drive to see Nalanni pay for her crimes has lessened somewhat, in the face of Pomarr's deep, wasting sorrow. But whatever his feelings, an inescapable truth remains: the goddesses of this world are its death, and so must be removed.

"But, I would ask of you one more thing," he says. "We must defeat Nalanni and Ryba both, for the sake of this world. Have you any words on how we might do this? How we might draw out Ryba? Their weaknesses?"

It seems she is no longer able to keep up her head, and addresses the sand underfoot as she answers.

"For Nalanni, you will need no tricks. She is as close to mortal now as she has ever been. For Ryba..." That will be a trickier matter. "In ten days, board your recovered warship. Come to Dakal. I will guide you."

Of course Koltira would want to know how to best defeat the goddesses. He's been aiming for that for a while now. But that's Koltira's prerogative, isn't it? Even if Papyrus quietly disapproves, he won't make a peep on that.

For now, he can focus on the good they've done.

"Thank you for believing in us! Maybe once this is all over... we can talk again, if you'd like!" She might still be grieving, but what better time to throw yourself into a completely new world with new people, right?? But helping people forget about their problems is one of his strong suits.

She nods, even if it's slow and a little uncertain. The rain lessens somewhat at the same time, becoming more sporadic.

"Yes... we will speak again." Later, though. She steps back, preparing to depart, but casts one more look over the lot of them. "Thank you."

Luckily, the rain is little bother with the baseball cap Dipper always wears; his face is mostly spared, and the rest of him can dry off later. He's a kid used to playing around in nature, after all. Instead, he manages a small, thankful, and relieved smile when Pomarr gives them one last glance.

"Anytime," Dipper says, giving her a tiny wave. "Then we'll seeya later."

Her eyes find Dipper last, and the barest hint of a smile crosses her gray, forlorn face. Then she turns fully away and shifts to move, and has faded from sight even before her foot lands in a first step. The rain will continue for several more hours before fading into the night as well.

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