EVENT ★ ZETA-12 WEEKS 3 + 4

[futurologists]

ZETA-12: WEEKS 3 + 4 After making their way through the biting cold of the tundra and the forest's deadly chasm, team Audentes reaches the swamp. Once there, their squidges will begin to transform. For each choice your character has made, select one squidge evolution. Please note, you must have submitted your choice to the threads in the previous logs in order for your squidge to evolve. For those who crossed the ice, there are two options. If they succeeded, their squidge has taken on one of the following features: fluffy fur, the ability to freeze small things with their breath, or small foxlike ears. If they fell through the ice, their squidge has one of these: fins, minor hydrokinesis, or protective scales. Those who chose to walk around the ice, whether east or west, will have squidges with one of these attributes: faster speed, climbing ability, or goat-like hooves. As for week 2 choices, everyone who soothed their squidge will find them with one of the following: small wings (able to keep them about a foot off the ground at most), a calmer demeanor, or the ability to soothe fear by touch. For the grouping crew, one of these: the ability to heal small wounds on other squidges, long ape-like arms and hands (for hugging!), or a beautiful singing voice that can act as a beacon for other squidges. Squidges that were forced to cross will have one of: increased independence, clawed fingers, or sharp teeth. These evolutions may take place at a rate of your choice. Please note that apart from these changes, the squidges will not be undergoing any further physical development (size, etc) for now! THE SWAMP (WEEK 3) The swamp is damp and spooky, filled with rotting logs and large, spindly trees. The water level dips and rises, making traveling slow and difficult; at some points, there is no dry land at all, so recruits will either need to wade or find some other way to get through the murky water. Some of the fallen logs may create a series of interconnected bridges if you're nimble enough, but be wary not to put too much weight on the rotten parts of the wood. Because there are no animals on this planet, recruits won't need to worry about mosquitos or crocodiles, but still be wary of dermal vines, which continue on from the forest, as well as something lurking beneath the water: in deeper portions of the swamp, recruits may run into a gangly, humanoid creature with gnarled fingers and a body made entirely of vines and twisted roots. The creature makes no sound and does not breathe, but it moves quickly and can shoot a cloud of powerful neurotoxin out of its maw. Make your choice: You can attempt to fight the creature, but not all attacks will be effective and you risk injury to you or your squidge. Outsmarting is possible as well -- as the creature has no eyes or ears, it senses its victims through heat. Do with that what you will. Finally, you can choose to wait for someone else to do something and ride their coattails, as long as you’re okay with living with that. Please indicate your choice here. After a week, the scenery begins to shift, lightening up as trees become fewer. Welcome to the grasslands. THE GRASSLANDS (WEEK 4) As opposed to the swamps, there are few hazardous plants in the grasslands. The most dangerous are more annoying than anything else: fluffplasters, the hairs of which become sticky and eventually harden like cement if they’re disturbed. For the most parts, the grasslands are grass, grass, and grass, with little variation in appearance. In fact, it’s kind of hard to tell if you’re going the right way, or if you’ve been here before. Everything sort of looks the same. The other flora found are happygrass, which has a short-term calming effect on anyone who ingests it. On the other hand, beebulbs, long, spear-like stalks whose bulbs contain a delicious liquid which invigorates the drinker upon ingestion. Too much either way can lead to laziness or hyperactivity. A geared up squidge is a happy squidge most of the time, but there’s also the possibility of heightened anxiety. The weather is pleasant for most of the journey, but near the end, the wind picks up and a storm begins to brew. The wind whips around and, while it’s very difficult to travel through (and very frightening for squidges!) it’s still possible to walk through. The choices are these: Characters can keep going against the wind, although they’ll need to be wary of flying debris and their squidge’s fear. They can also choose to find shelter nearby -- there are several trees on the way that can be hidden under, a large cave many people can fit into a distance into the storm, and characters can also set up their own shelter. There’s less possibility for injury and squidge crying, but the tornado will put them back for hours; those who power through can talk their squidge through it, but they’ll still be a bit unhappy. Please select an option below to determine the future of your squidge. Whatever choices the team makes, they’ll eventually all reconvene as they set up camp for the last time before they hit the desert. OOC NOTES This log ICly and OOCly covers two weeks! Characters may proceed at whatever pace they'd like, but going too quickly or too slowly will mean they travel alone. (And those going too quickly will probably have to contend with screaming squidges, who prefer to travel at the speed of an easy plod.) New characters will find one of the unbonded squidges toddling after the group takes a shine to them. A squidge will imprint on them very quickly, then refuse to leave their side or rejoin their unbonded friends. Direct questions about the Zeta-12 mission here. And don't forget about the bounty board! Please remember to select your choices in the threads below! How you choose will determine how your squidge grows. Please choose before July 21st, 12:01 AM GMT!

Comments

[arcane]

( unfamiliar, but not unwelcome.

it's a phrase he was gradually becoming accustomed to in his brief time within the ranks of alastair. some individuals might have easily garnered this period of assimilation as being far more lengthy than just mere weeks, only seeming more and more prolonged in the face of their emotional turmoil— but, for arjuna who had lived a full live and continued to progress forward within the confines of time and space (and in his memories and legacy)— it was but a second to him. a blink of an eye. much like ... how before he knew it, she— the green witch whom he met by simple chance— was already at his aid.

it's a curious concept. even more so, when he feels he's been given insight to so many things through her eyes. of seeing her struggles and her accomplishments, albeit not all of it. though, maybe it could be argued that... that was simply infeasible. notwithstanding any of these considerations, his expression hardly shifts. his veneer still fixed at that semi-softened state; his lips slightly and more subtly upturned. ) It's commendable to have a firm grip over your own sense of duty. ( he almost seems to be brushing the blood off his hands as he pulls out his gloves once more. white with blood never really fared well together, but well. )

It would be a shame for me not to do the same. ( there's resolve on his features as he speaks. ) Then—

( he rewires his words. he supposes, it was never to late to begin giving back. )

Please allow me to accompany you here forth. At least until our next destination.

[grunehexe]

[It was commendable. It was commendable, was it not? To know duty, and to know responsibility... to have a task given to you, from birth, one that you knew you must fulfill.

... Sieglinde wanted to believe that. To believe that even if the duty she'd shouldered since she was old enough to talk and walk had been a lie, that it was still good of her to have known it. That perhaps something good could have come from all those lies and betrayal.

She flusters at the gallant offer, though, using another small splash of her potion to clean his blood from her hands before she anxiously tucked a few loose strands of dark hair back into her headdress.]

- Far be it for me to refuse such a chivalrous offer. I will accept.

[Except she just... lifted her arms, automatically, expecting to be carried about as she'd always been. Years of not being able to walk compared to a mere week or so of being able to meant that she... hadn't quite broken her habits, yet.

Though the sudden jerk back of her arms and flush on her cheeks probably meant that she had just realized.]

[arcane]

( as usual, her words and her stance are poised. something that seemed far practiced beyond her years. there's something authoritative about it. unyielding and steadfast. something arjuna himself was accustomed to delivering. it's something he can relate to, despite not knowing anything else about her beyond that simple consideration. beyond his fleeting inklings of connections he's forged through the confines of his head space. perhaps, half out of whimsy, and half out of natural scrutiny. regardless of what leads him to these conclusions, it's something he respects. something he can concede to beyond just being fellow recruits or the will of alastair.

he's about to craft his next response; the words ready to deployed from the tip of his tongue, except her motion catches him slightly off-guard. he barely contains a hint of laughter that threatens to spill. instead, the humor attaches itself to his tone. amusement evident in the inflections he voice manages to take hold of. ) ... there's no need to hold back.

I did offer myself, had I not? ( he then holds an arm out for her to take hold of. she seemed... embarrassed or opposed to being carried, but he could offer this much, couldn't he? ) The journey will be long. ( look at how convincing he is... )

[grunehexe]

[Even if she was used to being carried, she still felt a bit embarrassing that her body's habits had yet to catch up with what her mind well knew. Even logically acknowledging that one wouldn't easily forget a decade of behavior...

It still seemed a bit childish.

But then again, so did toddling along on a journey too long for her to be comfortable on newly unbound feet.

So Sieglinde hesitates, torn between the two, before she finally lifted her arms back up again, lips pursed slightly.]

In that case, allow me to accept your generous first offer instead.

[It certainly wouldn't hurt to examine him up close and personal, either... Side motives being as they may.]

[arcane]

( her revised course of action isn't something completely unexpected, at least not considering it was a viable option from the start, yet still... it manages to get a brief rise of his brows. a brief imploring gaze before it settles back into his usual poised features. with that, he dips forward with a small: ) Certainly. ( with that, he tucks an arm beneath her. securing it before, before giving her a nod. )

Please hold on, Green Witch. ( it isn't as if arjuna would permit himself to create a misstep that could result in her falling, but it never hurt to give caution where it may be relevant. even if it was against all odds. call it a formality. still, he gives her something more easygoing on his features. ) Though, I worry this is hardly proper payment.

( especially, considering how well she did. he feels no pain. no lingering fatigue. no remnants of torn skin or bruised tissue. it was a truly clean process, devoid of messy detailing. even now, with the pressure of his bow, he feels ... nothing beyond the norm. nothing but the twine against his chest and his newest traveling companion. )

[grunehexe]

[Being carried was what she was used to, the truth of her life since the night her manservant had knelt before her and taken her tiny feet in his hands. She can still remember the tight grip she had on her handmaidens, the smell of the herbal smoke, the chanting of the crone, the fire reflecting in the eyes of the assembled village women... And she remembers the crack and the pain.

But she also remembers how to sit, how to place her hands and hold herself so as to not only ease the burden of her weight for her carrier, but also to appear a bit more independent, like she was simply sitting rather than being touted along, and she arranges herself accordingly, a small pink brush of blush on her cheeks.

He didn't... Exactly smell the greatest, but neither did she, they've been trekking through swamp, and smell aside she was quite close and he was... Quite exotically handsome, as usual.]

Then I shall consider myself able to call upon you once more if there comes a need for it, and then you may consider us even.

[She found little sense in arguing with men about what was fair or even, but she sounded firm about that, at least, even through her pursed lip attempt at preventing herself from looking too terribly pleased to be carried about.

They had places to go, and a planet to trek across, but. For the moment, he was healed, and she had a handsome escort, which was good enough to let herself try and forget the rest.]

After you.

[The sooner they left swampland behind, the better.]

[arcane]

If that's your verdict, Green Witch...

I shall abide to it. ( he finds absolutely no qualms to her suggestions. or rather, he's become familiar enough with her temperament and her will to have decisively taken her terms as quick as its proffered. he doesn't think she'd hold back on him, and equally, he finds no burden in conceding to it. rather, he discovers it a pleasure. an expectation met. something that should have only been natural for his designation as a hero. a matter he deeply prides himself in and lives by to a tee, despite his... true self.

still, the way she holds herself, despite her fragile position in his arms... shows regality. one he finds impressive. it showed not accustomization. maybe similar to himself, it showed she was firm on keeping face. or keeping grace, no matter the state of her body, and he finds himself sympathizing with that somehow. even if he's quick to brush it off. with a firm step...

he continues forth, kawaii green witch in tow via the arjuna bicep express. )