epidemiology | EVENT ★ BACK TO THE FUTURE

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EVENT ★ BACK TO THE FUTURE

BENDED TIME

As outlined in the OOC post, things start to slow down and grow quiet in Oska for a few days as the bugs crawl away and slowly disappear. But then the cocoons hatch. Fully grown temporal insects claw their way out of them, each about the size and temperament of raging bulls.

They come out far more aggressive and eager to fight, are are willing to take on anything that moves with jaws and claws alike. Except, of course, another insect — when two of them encounter each other, they enter into a mating dance and then slip away into another dimension, leaving behind only the temporary ghosts of years gone by. If you can’t find a way to pierce that thick shell to take one down, better find another one to pair it off with instead. Just try not to get bit while leading them around and find yourself suddenly 5 years old again.

The insects aren’t the only thing going on in Oska, though. As it turns out, unicorns really hate this adult form of the temporal insects, and will start kicking their way out of their stalls in the stables to get at the insects in an attempt to impale or trample them. According to Uruz they’re gallant warriors, but not always quite cut out to take on a bug, and can easily get themselves hurt or killed. She would really appreciate recruits taking a moment to recapture any stray unicorns they may come across and leading them back to the stables. Try to avoid any insects on the way, or you’ll find yourself suddenly fighting insect and irate unicorn, which is no one’s idea of a good time.

The lake is getting more active, too. All the fighting has woken up something in the depths of it. Dark red tentacles sometimes creep up onto shore — and don’t worry, this time they don’t belong to a sea goddess. The tentacles don’t attack unless attacked, and can in fact be quite agreeable. Nodes along the length of them act as primitive eyes, which see well enough to interact with anyone nearby. They’re also all a little peckish. Toss a tentacle a bit of food and watch it curl around and ingest it using tiny mouths on the underside. It might even be willing to play a few rounds of fetch or slap a bug into the sky for you if you put it in a good mood with a morsel of food.

The senior ALASTAIR members can be seen out and about and doing their part, too. Uruz and Dagny fight as a team, centaur and elf, sometimes fighting back to back and sometimes as mount and rider. They’ll stop and lend a hand, but the cats are a little less generous. Cherenkov and Crowley fight inseparably and use magic and science in deadly combination to ward off and destroy the bugs, but can usually only be seen darting on their way from one place to another. They have a lot of magitek to repair in the destructive wake of the insects. Pomarr, neither as senior nor as invested in actively picking off the bugs, offers shelter near a tentacle-free portion of the lake, calling down storms to toss away bugs for her and anyone in the vicinity.

OOC NOTES

This log spans a week ICly. Characters will find themselves beginning to understand each other again as the bugs first vanish, as the effects of the cats’ work on the magitek pays off. The translation problem will be completely fixed by the time the cocoons hatch. All of the bugs will have been killed or shipped off by the sixth day, leaving the last day before their departure to the next mission blissfully relaxing. Any temporally misplaced recruits will be back to normal by the last day, as well.

A reminder to anyone still texting: the texting feature of magitek jewelry operates based on thought! There are no physical keyboards, recruits merely think the message that they’d like to send to another recruit.

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[ gradually, the memories have begun to return to her. like the intermittent drop of a leaky faucet, they come sporadically, unexpectedly, and in varying intensities. the smile of a friend, the touch of a lover, the specific way she folded the blanket the night before — they are not much, but they are enough, mingling and muddling with the ten years of memories she's had since her time here.

sometimes she will find herself wandering down the halls and hear the laughter of an old friend and she would turn, heart full of hope to see them once more— but the halls are empty behind her, and she recalls, rather suddenly, that that friend had perished in her arms two weeks prior.

sometimes she will be sitting, just sitting, doing nothing more than closing her eyes and taking in a breath and she will hear screams and smell the stench of the undead and when her eyes open again, she will have been crying.

where is she now? where was she just then? even the memories of her life here, with alastair, have grown affected, changed by the different form of an old friend, by the vacant, unrecognizing expression of a loved one whose features have become far too young.

it's too much, and too suddenly, and in those moments she finds herself retreating to an old comfort.

the pan clatters noisily when it slips from her grip, and she jumps out of reflex, knocking her head on the very cupboard she'd attempted to gather materials from. she rises to her feet, swearing quietly beneath her breath as a hand rubs on the sore spot of her head—

and then she is jumping once more, eyes widening upon the realization she had not been alone in the kitchen after all. ]

Oh. [ her hand falls to the hilt of a sword strapped to her waist, the gesture mostly instinctive. ] I'm sorry — I didn't see you there...

[Sabo himself was adjusting the life of being on mission in a more futuristic world. It's not too difficult aftering being explained the details from Keats, and the fashion is something he can adjust to rather quickly. He decides to accept it for what it is and try and adapt to the situation, following orders as they come but wandering freely as he goes to accomplish them.

From the temporal happenings with the bugs, he didn't think too heavily on the changes. Bugs evolving? Okay, that poses a challenge, seeing as they were flammable before it would be more difficult with their hard shells. People jumping through timelines? A shock at first, but he remains calm once he understood the abrupt events. Seeing a number of residents de-aged to children - including the ones he is acquainted with - he thinks the simplest way to start might be to look after them.

He decides....okay, kitchen. He can feed the kids, right? He thinks to himself. He's not a great cook but he can probably make something quick. As he scrounges around the kitchen for ingredients, he hears the sudden clattering of the floor from the kitchenware that had fallen. Well, someone else is here. He looks in the direction of the noise to check who it was-]

[Only to fall back down himself, his back facing Olivia. His legs are spread apart, but feet are planted to the ground. His hands also are face down, as his head tries to get a glimpse of the pink swordswoman. He then gradually picks himself back up and turns towards the 'culprit'.]

Ah no.. it's fine. It's okay. Are you hurt there? [He gives a slight smile, trying not to startle the poor woman.] I've had moments where I was in my own world. Adventures and what not. [He dusts himself off, crouching a bit to start picking up the pans left on the ground.] I wouldn't want to trouble you or anything. [A small laugh to brighten the mood. She's definitely someone he hasn't seen before, but she doesn't seem to be any harm? Aside from the sword at her hip.]

[ his is not a face she easily recalls, though olivia isn't too quick to trust her memory in this moment. for a second she merely stares at him, silently willing he be the party to remember, if there is anything worth remembering, but he looks to her with no hint of recognition at all, and so she sighs (a strange mixture of relieved and disappointed), deciding there is no history to dredge up here.

perhaps that is for the best, really. olivia thinks she might be in need of a clean slate.

and so when she smiles, it is a touch more genuine than she has been able to muster these past few hours. ]

Not at all. [ there is something soft in her tone, almost timid, but she carries herself with a learned sense of elegance that seems to betray that. ] A little bump to the head, maybe, but I can't say I wasn't in need of a little wake-up call.

[ she soon crouches down too, helping him pick up the pans. ]

Were you intending to make use of the kitchen as well..?

[He wasn't sure why she was being polite. Perhaps she might have been taught that way? Or she grew up in a noble household- no that wasn't it. He knew a majority of them - at least from his world - are usually pretty snobbish but only act mannerly of those in the same hierarchy. Though he hopes she's not being polite because how he dresses, or rather the custom adjustments he made with the uniform provided.]

Yeah, I was actually. Mostly to make some food for my brother and the rest of his crew. Apparently due to the temporal happenings, a lot of them turned into children. [His blond hair block the cheerful eyes looking down at where the pans are but still showing a grin as he chuckles. He starts to pick up the pans with his gloved hand, one after another.]

So I'm helping out. This is besides the bugs that have evolved around here. [His voice seems to be rather calm too. He picks up the situation quite normally.] Are you here for a similar reason? [As he looks back at Olivia with that bright expression of his.]

[ a fraction of her smile seems to drop when he asks her this, a question so innocent and bare in its earnestness that she cannot help but look away from it. guilt had her staring down at her hands instead, which remain clutched around a fallen pan. ]

No... Not really.

[ she didn't come here for anyone but herself.

slowly, she rises back to her feet, cradling the pan between her hands. after a moment, she takes a half-step forward, lifting her head to give him a wide-eyed, bare look of her own. ]

Would — you like some help? I promise I'm a very good cook.

[ though the offer is for him, the request seems to be more for her... as if she needs this. this chance to do some good here. ]

Edited 2016-09-09 13:29 (UTC)

I would not mind. The more help, the better.

[An offer is still an offer, after all! He had a slight worry for the woman as she didn't look particularly cheerful, and answered his question. She seemed really honest about it, but doesn't seem to want to talk about her feelings in detail. Instead of questioning her inner thoughts however, he decides that bringing up the mood would be a better idea. No need to dread on the past, he likes to think.]

Any particular dishes you're good at? Luffy really likes meat.. but I'm not sure what else the other kids would like. [He pauses, thinking a bit.] But any kind of food would be great. [He gathers the rest of the pans, and slowly stands back up to carry the pans over to the cupboard where they had come from.]

[ she is relieved when he acquiesces, though the moment does not last too long when something he mentions strikes a chord in her. it is a quiet chord, a distant memory that is slowly beginning to resurface... ]

Luffy...?

[ her eyes glaze over a moment, remembering a unabashed, bright smile. ]

—the Captain?

[When Sabo hears the tone of voice of Olivia's last words..he knew what was up. He turns towards her, seeing the dazed look on her face. The shock, the uncertainty turned to familiarity - all of itwas something he knew and experienced before.]

Yes... did something happen with Luffy? Can you answer me?! [Sabo puts down the pans at the moment, gripping onto Olivia's shoulder out of concern.]

[ she is shocked by the sudden intensity that meets her, especially when it culminates in the man's hand on her shoulder. her surprise is quite visible, but she is quick enough to gather her bearings, brow drawn into a faint furrow. ]

N-Not that I know of—

[ she spares a moment to wonder when the last time she'd stuttered was. color rises to her cheeks, suddenly quite self-conscious about it. ]

His name is familiar, that's all. I think... perhaps... I'd known him, once. Here.

[He lets out a sigh of relief, reassuring to himself that his little brother is in fact, safe. His hands loosen the grip from the woman's shoulder, comprehending the fact that she doesn't recall anything of Luffy except she knew him. His heartbeat slows as his face gains some composure.]

I..I see... [He lets go of her shoulders at that moment.] I'm.. I'm sorry.

[He speaks in this hushed tone before going back to a close to normal volume.] I'm glad you did.

[ her smile is gentle and forgiving. without much hesitation, she actually reaches out to press her hand around his, offering a reassuring squeeze before she drops it out of propriety. ]

I knew him as a great man, and an immovable force of nature.

Is he your captain?

[He felt his hand interwined with hers but when she lets go, he presses his squeezed hand with fingers of his other as if he still felt that touch of the woman's.]

No. [He shakes his head quite solemnly.]

He's my brother. [He smiles right back, closing his eyes in a cheerful manner.] I'm glad he wasn't any trouble to you. He can be quite a handful.

Edited 2016-09-20 01:53 (UTC)

[ her eyes widen briefly. she is taken back to another memory, recalling the last time luffy had mentioned a brother... ace had been his name, and though olivia had only known him briefly, she could tell quite easily how much both men meant to each other. and she remembers, too, that the term brother is used quite loosely among them, as it tends to be among her own troupe.

back when she still traveled with them, that is... ]

I see... [ she smiles faintly, if a little sadly. ] You are lucky to have each other then.

[ after a moment, she moves to turn her attention back to the kitchen. ] You, um. Mentioned others? How many are we hoping to feed here?

[He smiles right back.. even if it's to cheer her up. She seems sad, but he tries his best not to be too concerning of her business. He does not want to trigger the poor woman any further.

When she asks the question ... he counts on his fingers...1...2...3..] Four. Four kids, I believe. Only 1 of them is my brother and the rest are his friends. [He then grabs the nearest pan among the pile of kitchenware that was picked up.]

What do you think we should make? I'm feeling a bit of a mood for.. rice balls.

Four? [ she laughs, but it is a light, airy sound. ] Goodness, that's quite a handful for you. Are you sure you're alright to care for them on your own?

[ not that she doubts his abilities, of course, even after having just met him, but four children are definitely a handful. why, she has two herself, though they're quite grown now (one nine, the other seven) and even then they'd been quite the handful for her.

then again, she had raised them during a time of war... ]

I must admit I'm not sure what rice balls are, but they sound delicious. Will you show me how to make them?

I'm sure I'll be fine, though it never hurts to have an extra hand. [He chuckles brightly at Olivia. Not like he hasn't handled masses of people before.... just, kids can be quite a different story.]

But of course! It's a basic kind of dish and aside from cooking the rice, they're really simple to make. [He holds out a hand, while carrying the pan with the other.] It would be really appreciated.

[ olivia merely smiles patiently, awaiting her own instructions. ]

I'll gladly give any help I can.

[ she could do with the distraction, after all... ]

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EVENT ★ BACK TO THE FUTURE

( sabo )

sorry about the delay - i hope this is ok orz 1/2

2/2

you're perfect :*

you're even more wonderful

blushu...

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