EVENT ★ WILL O' WISP

[futurologists]

WELCOME TO NALAWI When the newest recruits are surrounded and taken away from Oska by the white mist of an opening rift, they’ll find themselves brought somewhere no one meant for them to be. There is stone all around, and recruits seem to have been transported into some sort of cave network. If the recruit in question has any sort of non-human powers, magic, or abilities, they will find that this has been either severely dampened by an unknown force, or removed altogether. There isn’t any sunlight to be had anywhere, and some places in this strange, sprawling labyrinth are thrown into deep and complete darkness. In other places a subterranean, luminescent fungus grows on the wall, providing an eerie sort of green-blue light. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around to provide guide or explanation; recruits are free to explore this strange, silent place as they will. It’s no use trying to keep from getting lost, it’s a hopeless maze of unending stone hallways. But at least they have each other in this stifling darkness, right? Be careful, though. Small clicks sound now and then in the darkness: little shelled insects that scuttle up the walls and across the floor. They seem to feed on the fungus, and are peaceful enough if left alone. If approached, though, they’ll lash out with the stinger on their long tails before rushing away again into the darkness. The stings from these creatures are painful, and temporarily paralyze whatever limb has been struck. It will last for at least an hour before wearing off again. There is one other creature of note within this stone labyrinth: there is exactly one large cavern in this mess of halls and dead ends, and it contains a woman. She is hard to define, her form is made of living flame that casts dancing shadows from the bars of her cage. She sits peacefully against the far wall of the room, and thick bars of stone, shaped from the ceiling and floor themselves, provide her cell. She can be approached, and will speak if spoken to, but makes no attempt to move or escape. No matter how ALASTAIR’s newest arrivals spend their time, eventually there is an interruption. Maybe you’re in that single, occupied cavern when she arrives and you spot her, or maybe you’re still lost in the maze and never even found the cavern or saw either creature at all. It doesn’t matter. A tall, cat-like woman with eerie blue light gleaming from her dead eyes arrives in time, and she knows immediately she and her captive are not alone here. She will say nothing, she will allow no time for questions. With one wave of her hand, a fierce wind stirs to life and begins to howl through the maze. It’s strong enough to literally pick you up off your feet and hurdle you through the darkness, and somehow avoids smashing its prizes into any walls. This wind knows exactly where it’s taking its captives, and it knows the way. All at once the recruits will find themselves blasted straight up into the open sky, and into the middle of a powerful hurricane. This windy, dizzying experience lasts a good ten minutes as recruits are buffeted and spun end-over end in the hurricane as they leave land and travel over the sea, but it does end eventually. They are dumped unceremoniously on the western shore of a new place, the island of Pu’ulai, Nalawi, and the storm dissipates instantly after leaving them there. Those recruits that have been on Nalawi a little longer are welcome to spot the odd, impossibly brief storm along that western edge and investigate. They’ll find that Pomarr has delivered them a few wayward recruits. Welcome to Nalawi. Sorry about the local gods. OOC NOTES Characters will arrive in these caves first and spend an unspecified amount of time within them. This section of the log is closed to new arrivals only. You may choose to have your character run into the fiery lady (please see the thread below to have an encounter) solo, with another character (or characters), or not at all. Either way, they will eventually be brought to Nalawi proper, where any character in the game may encounter them. To catch up on the recent goings-on, there's an OOC post here that should answer your questions, accompanied by this IC post. The mission briefing your character received is here, and you can find more information on the island your characters ended up on, Pu'ulai, here. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the subthread below!

Comments

QUESTIONS

[futurologists]

Please also see the discussion post mentioned above!

two quick questions

[asscan]

1) can the tunnels accommodate a creature the size of Laedo in his natural form (a human comes up to just under his chest)

2) would you prefer if I have Laedo trapped in human form with no powers for the sake of nerfing, or is it okay if he's trapped in his normal, dragony form? (what I mean by this is that if he's in either body and has very little magic, he shouldn't have enough power to change back again until he can get back to Oska, hence why I'm asking!)

NALANNI THREADS

[futurologists]

Please tag in here to interact with Nalanni! Note again that this is only open for new characters.

+1 light dragon for the fire goddess!

[asscan]

After what feels like an interminable walk, both with dead ends and with squeezes much too tight for a creature of Laedo's bulk to manage, the askan is almost startled to feel the cavern open up before him into the great chamber of Nalanni's cage. He scents the air, noting the dry smell of fire before he comes around a pillar to spot the glow of the Goddess.

Taking not another step further, Laedo suppresses the urge to drop a foreleg to bow. He's done with Goddesses, or so he tells himself.... but Nalanni is almost enough like his Aska that he is finding himself unable to take her with complete irreverence. Settling on inclining his sharp muzzle--one should never leave an obvious hierarchy unacknowledged--he settles carefully to his haunches and turns his head away to preen at armor scraped and dented by the labyrinth's rocky walls. His gold-plumed tail twitches nervously, and he can't help but keep his ears back a little, despite his efforts to remain calm.

"You must be the great fire goddess," he growls, pausing to shuffle his wings into a more comfortable position.

[ex_adept136]

[Haise doesn't know just how long he may have wandered. The network of tunnels winds and twists with no apparent sense of whether he's venturing deeper underground or closer to the surface. Concern quietly nags at the back of his mind as he continues along, wondering if he is alone or if others are likewise lost.

Eventually the path he follows yawns into a large chamber, and here he slows to a halt, surveying with curious grey eyes. It doesn't take long for his wandering gaze to settle on the single, luminescent figure on the far end of the room, and for a long moment he's transfixed by the sight.

The business he's entered into is fantastical, but seeing a woman who appears to be made of flame itself... It's as though he's wandered into a fairytale.

He approaches her cage at a measured pace, cautious despite her apparent captive serenity. Thinking back on the information supplied to him...]

You must be- [That goddess associated with volcanoes, but his thought is promptly overtaken by another] Why are you caged like this?

[She's worshiped by the natives, isn't she?]

[ofobedience]

[It's a strange thing, to come across a so-called 'Goddess' trapped inside a stone cage, even if she does seem incredibly zen about it. It's incongruous, doesn't sit well with him, reinforces the idea that there is no true 'Goddess' (ha ha) besides the one he calls his own.

He stands contemplatively for a moment before her prison before finally breaking the silence.]

From where I'm standing, it seems divinity isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[corrode]

[ However subconsciously, Karna is, quite literally, a moth drawn to a flame. He moves through the labyrinth with no true destination, weaving through corridors and multiple dead ends with little to no discouragement. It takes a while, but an indeterminate amount of time later he manages to notice a signal strangely reminiscent of something else and follows it— until he ultimately reaches the cavern … not actually that far from his initial pick up.

Still, his introspection on the degradation of his powers aside, he approaches the cavern feeling at relative ease. … her presence is similar to Surya's, almost; he reminds himself to maintain a respectable distance away from her cage. ]

Of what I've been debriefed… You are Nalanni, am I correct?

[Options open to new-only and old!]

[asscan]

Shame on the shepherd who runs (tunnels)

In the bare light of the tunnels, a sinuous, menacing creature squeezes through the never-ending corridors, metal raking fiercely on naked stone as his armor sparks on too-tight edges. Laedo Ledo is a new recruit, trapped in the labyrinth, cursing flowery oaths in a predatory growl for anyone to hear. He's bigger than most humans by more than twice their average height, but down here that means little.

Catching the sound of footfalls on bare rock, he hisses an over-noisy "Wait!" to the first person he's caught sign of since arriving. "Get back here, you fool, I'm not going to eat you! I... I think I'm stuck!"

He's managed to squeeze himself through an underpinning... and though he's being careful not to jam himself further, he's well aware that his bulky armor is not budging.

You can dance in a hurricane (Pu'ulai, open to all)

More mass, more surface area, weakened inertial dampening magic: apply a vortex of godly proportions and you get a dragon like Laedo flailing wildly like a rag doll for more than a hundred feet as the hurricane ejects him from the underground. Like the rest of the new recruits, he's thrown many yards away from one of the lava tubes, but with that extra mass comes extra inertia. Others land with a thud on the sand, but Laedo lands with a splash off the end of the beach.

There's nothing for a few minutes, then, spluttering a fountain of sea water like a cresting whale, Laedo flops up to the surface. His golden wings splash awkwardly, not meant to paddle through water, and he gargles something nondescript but utterly miserable.

Oh, wait, no, as he comes dog-paddling back to shore, he's howling, "I'm drowning! Drowning!!"

...The only thing that has brushed against his legs is sea kelp, and yet to hear a dragon shriek is to know every hair on the back of your neck go up in fear. His is a wail like a banshee... but he'll never acknowledge he did it.

[babbylon]

Well, that sure is a dragon, alright.

And it sure is flying, nay, soaring overhead, but not in the way that dragons were meant to do. It suffers an awful fall into the water and promptly begins to... drown? It thinks it's drowning, at least, leaving Gilgamesh simply to stare, to stare, and stare some more, before helpfully pointing the obvious out in a deadpan tone that is most definitively Not Very Impressed.

"You are not."

He approaches, because he immediately recognizes that this dragon is no threat, and stresses to him once more, "Calm yourself. You've landed in the shallows. Not even a true imbecile could drown in such conditions."

Perhaps only the likes of Gilgamesh was bold enough to address a dragon so crudely. There is no fear in him; only idle curiosity.

#2

[timebender]

A dragon! How about that... and a dramatic one at that. Its cries fail to deter her; worse than that roamed the hills about her hive back on Alternia. She watches with amusement, making not effort as if to help. Not that she could. She's still wingless and powerless and her own swimming abilities could use a lot of work. That, and garbed as she is in local attire, she would get her clothes wet.

"You do not look very much like you are drowning to me!" She calls, as helpfully as she can. "I believe that's called swimming, drowning is very different."

At least as far as she knows. This is the most time she's ever spent near water in her entire life and un-life.

pu'ulai

[nichocolatine]

It's not everyday you happen across a creature as majestic as a dragon... carry on as if he were nothing more than a drowned rat. Not that Badou had much experience with dragons to compare this one too, but after Daenerys' Drogon, he had somewhat come to form a few expectations.

Each and everyone dashed, in the span of a few seconds and some pathetic flailing. Though if there's one thing Badou can sympathize with, it's the unfortunate (and greatly disadvantageous on this planet) inability to swim.

(As well as, perhaps, that natural flair for dramatics. Ahem.)

"If ya 'drown' a couple more feet, you'll get right up to the shore there, buddy."

Is he talking to a dragon? Yes. It's been a few weeks now, after all, that Badou Nails has taken a look at all the twists and turns of his life and decided: why the fuck not.

2 welp

[strikingtwice]

Keeping his eyes out for any other people falling out of the sky, it takes Meallan a moment to realise that this particular shape is much bigger than what he'd expected and then as soon as he realises that, his mind picks out wings and puts it together as dragon a moment before he throws himself down to avoid what he's certain is going to be a gout of fire hot enough to turn sand to glass.

He rolls and clambers to his feet without the smoothness that he would have had a month before, cursing how little practise he'd done in combat after losing his arm. But he's up and the dragon isn't yet, its floundering in the water and clearly thrown off by the fall giving him a chance to toss a flare of bright magical energy at it that's fortunately lessened enough by this world to only sting a little since it's about then that he realises two things. The first is that this is an awfully small dragon, only a drake at best, and the second is that it's talking.

The second is enough that the second spell doesn't leave his hand, though Meallan still jerks back and flinches, expecting fire that doesn't come when the creature shrieks. He takes another step back as it finally reaches the shore, his nerves struggling not to immediately attack the dragon, even if it doesn't seem to be an immediate threat. He can't believe he's doing this but...

"...hello?"

tunnels!

[ofobedience]

He hears the loudly hissed words, the strange assertion that the individual they're coming from isn't planning to eat him (what?), and whilst he has little interest in getting to know his fellow recruits, he supposes finding others in a similar predicament to his own is advisable. Besides, there's a faint tug of curiosity now.

The sound of struggle, of metal scraping against rock-- these things fail to disconcert him or cause him any level of fear (though make no mistake, he is afraid, just not of you), and when he comes into view of the...thing...jammed awkwardly beneath low-hanging rock he merely stops, head tilted in a canine gesture of curiosity.

He wonders with chilling detachment if this is something he's supposed to kill.

pu'ulai

[sololoquy]

Seeing something flying over his head prompts Kylo Ren to lift his eyes, and what he expects to see is a starship of some sort. Or perhaps that is just wishful thinking -- he had never thought he might find himself missing the presence of the Finalizer so keenly. When he finds a dragon above him instead, he actually pauses in his angry pacing to watch it...crash into the water.

A frown overtakes his expression, and for the first time in days, anger is replaced with curiosity. In the few minutes where he doesn't resurface, Ren takes his time in approaching the crash sight. It would certainly be a shame to see such a large beast so quickly laid to ruin -- it was one of the more interesting things he had seen on the island -- certainly better than the Nalanni. If only he still had access to the Force...perhaps he could lift the thing.

But then Laedo breaks the surface and starts howling, and Kylo Ren instinctively takes one step backward -- not out of fear, but out of knowing that there was panic where there was size, and the two things often meant that something or something was getting crushed. Said thing would not be him.

But when the shrieking stops and its clear the dragon isn't drowning, he is there, staring upward at him with a rather deadpan and sour expression. How could something appearing so powerful come up so short of his expectations?

As if he had not experienced such disappointment before. He doesn't bother with insults -- he's insulted himself enough with such a display, after all.

"I would argue such claims."

karna | ota

[corrode]

❚ ɪ. ɪᴛ's ɴᴏᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ɪᴛ's ᴍᴇ
[ Karna’s accustomed to having to deal with whims and having to go along with flows; what he isn’t quite used to is his powerlessness at an all-time high, his armour heavier than it’s ever been. Nonetheless, it doesn’t deter him from advancing, and the sound his armour makes when it clanks is telltale as it resounds through the tunnels. It’s haunting, almost, his steps mechanical down to a beat as if on some sort of patrol.

If given a reason to conceal his movements, he would. But, that’s an additional energy expenditure in its own right, when he’s already conscious of conserving what little he has left. So he simply doesn’t … until he realises that a presence he might’ve picked up and had been following keeps avoiding him?

The noise is suddenly gone. …and now he’s a step behind you, whoever you are, minutes later. ]

I located another presence and hoped for a possible collaboration. [ A completely valid reason for sneaking, apparently. But, as apathetic as he looks, he’s mildly concerned, and whether the other party looks it or not, ] Is there a reason why you’re frightened?

[ i.e. is he missing something here?! ]

❚ ɪɪ. ᴏᴋᴀʏ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴍɪɴᴅ ɪᴛ ᴘʀᴏʙᴀʙʟʏ ɪs ʏᴏᴜ
[ So, you might’ve stirred one of those bugs. Bracing yourself for the impact or not, Karna is here to save the day in his fully red-caped(??) glory. Reflexively, he’ll summon what speed he can to spring himself forward, then extend his arm to block the incoming sting. Ninety percent of all incoming damage negated aside, ten percent is still a lot when your effective health pool has been cut by an alike amount or even more so— so when he tries to flex gloved fingers, they barely twitch in response.

All that gets out of him is a single glance. He’ll… probably be fine. Moving on, ]

Perhaps it’d be wise to exercise more caution. [ As condescending as that sounds (with his accompanying dry tone), he means well and doesn’t quite mean it as an admonishment?! ] Alternatively, would you like to explore together? My accompaniment may prove beneficial to you.

[ Basically, he’s trying to sell himself as a babysitter; he’s not exactly certain what to do with himself otherwise. ]

ɪɪɪ. ɪs ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀʏ sᴇʀᴠɪᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴀ ɴᴇᴡ sᴇᴛ ᴏғ ᴘʀɪᴏʀɪᴛɪᴇs
[ His journey (from the center of the earth) to land has him thinking. And, the moment he manages to reach said land and gather his bearings, he finds himself musing aloud. ]

I suppose this could be another reason why I could be deemed a ‘Launcher.’ [ Him and five-or-so other individuals, apparently?? But, when he notices he has company, he’ll redirect the conversation appropriately. ] … what do you think? It’s suitable, isn’t it?

[ Upon any amount of weird looks or silence, he’ll gingerly shake his head then sharply exhale. ]

… I suppose that isn’t an appropriate thought for my current context. [ Boo. Well, he’ll continue on with what Karnas are set out to do then. ] Ah, do you happen to require anything of me? I may look like this, but I’m quite capable.

[ Says the figure that’s thoroughly waterlogged and looks the equivalent of a wet (and sad) lion, but sure. Listen, it's hard when your fuwa (see: fluff) game is strong?! ]

ɪᴠ. ᴡɪʟᴅᴄᴀʀᴅ
[ Alternatively, surprise me! Or leave a blank comment and I can surprise you. Otherwise, if you’d want to plan something more in-depth feel free to PM me or contact me at intertwine! ]

I

[ex_adept136]

[His senses are dulled.

Although he knows he was human once, Haise hasn't any recollection of that time. He doesn't remember the experience, and now he can't help but feel that his ears are stuffed with cotton, his eyesight foggy, and his sense of smell weaker by comparison. It's a jarring combination, one that leaves him uniquely disoriented... As though finding himself in a winding labyrinth of tunnels weren't enough.

Even so, he gets the distinct impression he's being watched, after a time. Perhaps it's the natural instincts of a predatory creature, even if he'd never functioned as one the way ghouls normally would, or something else entirely.

When at last he's greeted he stiffens, alarmed not so much by the sudden nearness as the fact that he couldn't place where the man was sooner. Turning on his heel, he adopts an apologetic smile]

Sorry, I- it's not that I'm afraid, just a little... out of my element, I suppose.

[Even hearing another person speak is strange. This would really take some getting used to, if these are the conditions he's to expect]

III

[dokyuu]

[Motochika's out on the beach, scouting the storm that seems to have popped up--it could be a clue, or it could be trouble, but in the end, it just ends up being baffling. He wasn't expecting to be posed questions by someone who seems to have just been violently flung onto shore.]

Uh... well, I don't know anything about that. Looks like you did get flung pretty good, though.

[From where, though? He should probably find out, though he's going to put off that questioning for a moment.]

Nah, I don't need anything. You okay, though? Looked like a rough landing.

iii -- please let me know if this is okay!

[winces]

—Oh, um. N-No, that's not necessary, thank you.

[ olivia attempts to dismiss the man's attempts at help in the gentlest way she can, which is (unsurprisingly) pretty darn gentle considering who it's coming from. as it is, she wouldn't be much of a healer if she went and let her patient do the helping in turn. and though her alastair-given powers are a bit more weakened since this whole thing with nalanni, olivia isn't one to let that stop her in looking over another fellow recruit.

at least, that is what she's surmised. how often, after all, do you get someone dropped unto the beach like they were hand-picked from a barrel of toys? ]

I'll just need you to, um... [ she hesitates for just a moment, waiting on his approval — but when it doesn't come, she rather shyly reaches up to take his chin in her hand, gingerly turning his face away so that she may be able to inspect the sides of his head for any signs of injury.

an actual lion, though of the cub variety, sits dutifully at their side, head tilted in that half-bored half-curious way wild cats do when they haven't quite decided yet if the object of their interest is friend or food. ]

3

[strikingtwice]

[After the first couple of arrivals, Meallan's taken to waiting around this part of the shoreline in case anyone else needs a hand up or some information, or anything else that might be asked of him. It's a welcome distraction from the concerns weighing on his mind in regard to other matters, the sick twist of his gut at how familiar this all feels, all things he'd rather not think about.

When another person arrives, he prepares himself for another round of questions and is surprised that, when he reaches the stranger, that's not exactly how it plays out.]

Me? Needing something of you? [He's thrown off enough by the unexpected reversal to stare for a moment, shaking his head a moment later.] No... I actually meant to ask you that question instead.

Unless... have you been here for a while already? [After all, it occurs to him that all because the people he'd spoken to before were apparently new, that didn't mean it was the rule for everyone.]

iii!

[riastraid]

[ For a guy who just dropped out of the sky, this sad sap's pretty composed. Oddly composed. Unfortunately, Lancer's powers are too dim and distant now—even his magical spirit sensor's broken. 'Launcher' is a bit suspicious, but... whatever. He's not the type to suspect people overmuch.

Besides— ]

Oh, yeah. Good timing.

[ The fruit's all been stripped from the low-lying branches, which leaves one, ridiculously tall tree swaying peaceably in the breeze. He points up at a bundle of coconuts at the top. ]

Could you get those for me?

[ He could do it himself, but hey, if he doesn't have to go through the effort... ]

Haise Sasaki | OTA

[ex_adept136]

I. Tunnels
[Though Haise has weathered a great many missions in his tenure as an investigator, none began with finding himself so lost. At first he tries to discern whether the tunnels are of particular design, but all too soon it becomes abundantly clear that he can't make heads or tails of where he is going, or whether a given path will lead outside or further into the depths.

It stands to reason that if he wound up here there may be others, and with that thought in mind he focuses his efforts on locating them. Provided of course that it wasn't just him, regrouping was the best option.

If only his sense of smell hadn't been suppressed through means he doesn't yet understand...he could find others so much easier then.

Instead he's left to wander, peering curiously around the bend each time the path splits with a curious hum]

Now, if I were a lost recruit, where would I...?

[Oh wait, he is one]

...Right.

II. Pu'ulai
[Windswept might be the word for him just now, he thinks, when the storm drops him unceremoniously onto the beach. He lands with a thump, a plume of sand thrown into the air only to rain back down on him. Coughing, he sits up and starts dusting his uniform off, shaking his head as though that'll remedy the mess that has become of his hair.

The way it's stuck up at odd angles, there really isn't much hope of that - and Haise himself doesn't appear to be aware of just how silly it looks. Instead he's focused on his surroundings, picking himself up and glancing around.

A far departure from the tunnels he'd found himself in previously, and an abrupt change at that. His senses feel no less diminished in broad daylight now, but a more pressing matter for him is what he found before arriving here.

Who he found...]

Just who was that, to be able to do such things?

[The words come in a thoughtful murmur, lips pressed to a thin line as he considers what manner of being could cage a god and summon storms]

ii

[aspearation]

[ Sometimes, you just need to step away. Get your bearings. Figure things out. Not Undyne; she's a monster of actions first, thought later, but a lot has happened in a very short time, and the normally resolved Undyne finds herself shaken once again. It's so easy to fall back into old habits. Do what ALASTAIR says,if not because she buys into their cause, then because they're at least in charge as much as anyone is. They know more, that's for sure. But all this killing...

She makes her way down the beach, unusually pensive, and steps up over a ridge of rocks onto a sandy strand, finding a new recruit there, looking frazzled. It's a distraction, anyway, and she hops down. Most of her uniform is still in tact, minus her jacket which is nowhere to be found; she grips an normal-looking javelin in one hand, and her fingers tighten on it as she overheards the question that wasn't really directed at her, and she feels obligated to interject. ]

Who was who, exactly?

ii

[winces]

—oh!

[ more than two months on this planet, and olivia still finds herself caught up in moments of complete and utter surprise when, really, occurrences like these really shouldn't startle her anymore. still, the man who had been unceremoniously dropped over the hole she'd just finished digging for her fire pit had come with almost no warning, save for a few sudden blasts of wind and some strange birdcall that olivia now surmises might have been distant yelling.

she can't help but simply blink at the man who sits up, hair in disarray, covered almost head to toe in sand.

rather blankly, at a loss for any other sort of response, she quietly responds, ]

Um... Hello.

[ofobedience]

i. tunnels

[This isn't so bad. Yes, the tunnels twist and turn and lead back on themselves to the point where navigation seems an impossibility and yes, he's as lost and disorientated as any of the others are likely to be, but there's a certain familiarity in the labyrinthine structure, in the enduring quiet that seeps down into his bones and almost (almost) settles him.

Anyone coming across him will find his appearance to be quite relaxed, as though this isn't a situation beyond anything he's ever experienced, as though he doesn't feel shock like a snapped stem at being so abruptly separated from everything he knows. He may have been briefed in Oska but that doesn't mean he's had time to truly process such an abrupt and unwanted detachment from his own world.

For the most part he's as silent as the passageways themselves, but he's aware that other recruits are likely to be lost in here with him, and every so often he'll utter a few sibilant words in an effort to try and locate them, to discern what kind of people he's expected to cooperate with.]

Come out, come out, wherever you are...

ii. pu'ulai

[Well, that was something. Inside the cavity of his chest his heart still bangs out an erratic rhythm and there's a feeling of ascending panic in him, a loosening of his grip on himself because there's the sky stretching out over his head like an ugly gaping maw and for minutes that seemed much longer than they were he'd been a part of it. Composure in the face of adversity is an art form he's managed to perfect over time despite the lie it conceals; it's something he knows how to fake and it's rare for that carefully constructed mask to slip, but slip it does. Not for long, but there are a few moments upon landing when his face is wiped clean of its perpetual grin and his red eyes are wide in something like alarm. His hair is in disarray, his clothes uncharacteristically disordered.

Quick breaths onetwothree and then he's pulling the skittering parts of himself back together, drags himself to his feet and straightens out the uniform he'd been given (he dislikes it), pats down his ruffled hair. The crooked-pin smile slides back into place and it's only the inside of him that jitters and thrums with uncertainty now.

You may have seen it though, that almost comical panic. Or perhaps not. Either way, it may be in your best interests to leave it unmentioned.]

What a ride.

Pu'ulai

[grunehexe]

[A little bit of forsight was expected in a witch, Green or not. The ability to predict the harvest, decide the dates of important events, dream the prophetic signs of change... And of course, predict the weather. Sieglinde could do all of those things even before the magic ALASTAIR had given her, (minus the dreams, that had been conjecture and grandeur), and she knew for a fact it shouldn't storm today. Or she wouldn't be out on the beach, trying to test her newest toy.

But a storm comes nonetheless, and fresh off her own none too pleasant experience being bodily picked up and banished by such a thing, she's quick to abandon her crutch in the sand and instead grab the lens of a sea serpent's eye serving as her scrying device, stumbling on broken feet to the nearest crop of volcanic stone, huddling underneath an overhang from the sudden whip of rain and wind...

Yet the storm vanishes as soon as it came- leaving... A man. One she's never seen, not in her months of service, and one wearing...]

- Did ALASTAIR send you?

[She saw that. But her own gaze had been just as comically bewildered, (and still half was), clutching her orb in her hands, hair and dress wild from the wind as she stared up at him from the sand. Considering her own group had arrived in a maelstrom... She wasn't beyond believing ALASTAIR just had a new policy to blow them into new worlds.]

portgas d. ace / ota

[meramera]

.one » tunnels

( ace’s -- taking this well enough, all things considered. the afterlife isn’t quite the black void he expects, and while there was some sort of mention of going home he’s not sure the dead have somewhere else to be, really. might as well enjoy the ride.

presently the walls of oska fade into darkness, mossy rock walls taking its place. something about the air is oppressive and heavy, almost physically so, and the fire will not come to his hands when called, save for a few sparks spluttering in his palms and fading away. there's just enough light to see by if he squints, but the pirate’s steps through the near-darkness are cautious anyway, as quiet as he can be. he's probably meant to meet up with others from this alastair, but no point making a ruckus in this labyrinth if he can help it. )

.two » pu'ulai

( ...okay, so maybe this isn’t quite the ride ace’d signed up for. he's ridden the winds before, but not quite like this, in the eye of a howling storm that pulls him from deep within the towering stone labyrinth and up into blinding sunshine. not that ace doesn’t appreciate the change in scenery, but a little heads-up would be nice. that, or at the very least a chance to catch his breath before the hurricane rips it out of his lungs once more.

the pirate gets what he wishes for eventually, though the break doesn’t last more than a second or two before he gets unceremoniously dropped into the shallows – back first, thankfully, and it isn’t so deep, but the cold, paralysing grip of seawater is a familiar one nonetheless, draining the strength from his limbs in an instant.

he's just lucky he hasn't been pulled out to sea just yet.

to a curious onlooker ace might seem little more than an eccentric sunbather, floating about in the water (mostly) clothed - or he could very well be a corpse on the tide, really. given his current state, it's not that far off the mark. the dark colours of alastair's (frankly uncomfortable) uniform might blend easily into the ocean, but his hat is a splash of bright orange and would be a little hard to miss. )

Hey. ( it's not very much of a shout, hoarse as his voice is from how the sea saps at him little by little, but hopefully it gets the attention of whoever it is ace thinks he can make out from the corner of his eye. ) Mind doing a guy a favour and getting me out of the water?

.three » wildcard!

( lemme know if you'd like to do anything specific! c: )

two

[kikoku]

[Law isn't really the person best suited for rescuing someone from the water. Frankly, he'd probably have just found somewhere else to read if not for the fact that he knew he'd absolutely seen that distinctive hat before. Perhaps not in person, but any pirate on the Grand Line worth his salt would be able to spot Fire Fist Ace when they saw him. The main reason that this recognition set a frown on Law's face was that this man died two years ago. After a few moments thought, he reasoned that it was probably the real Ace, despite the fact that the man should be a rotting corpse by now. The hows and whys can come later.

In any case, he should probably do something. Most people would probably not be terribly sympathetic towards Ace's plight of being stuck in such shallow water. So after what was probably a concerningly long period of silence to Ace, Law stood up and walked over to the incapacitated pirate.]
Can you move your arm, Ace-ya? I can't quite reach you from here.

[Another pause, then an idea occurs to him, and he holds Kikoku out across the water, where the end of the overly long sword falls to rest just above Ace's elbow.]
See if you can grab hold of that.