EVENT ★ BACK TO THE FUTURE

[futurologists]

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.

Comments

[heavilyhit]

[ Her hands shift, draping themselves over his shoulders instead, something a little off from a hug, but with a casual possessiveness to it nonetheless. She's always been a tactile woman, and not even one of her friends failing to recognize her can change that.

It also means she can draw in a whole lot closer, which she does. She lowers her voice, leaned in close to his ear: ] I always thought there was a good cadence to it, you know. Tobias Foxtrot, that's a good name.

[fateality]

[Calmly, he waits, watches how she holds herself. She's confident, so sure of herself, and that's hard to not admire, even when she places her arms around his shoulders.

The name he hears makes his eyes widen. To most anyone else, he'd introduced himself as T.F., but his true name...]

Well, damn.

[She's got him there.]

I don't just tell anyone, hope you realize.

[heavilyhit]

I do realize.

[ She pulls back again with another of those warm smiles, though her wrists remained draped casual over his shoulders. ]

I appreciated being taken into your confidences... although, I'll admit, there's a little disappointment in learning someone's birth name isn't Twisted Fate.

[fateality]

[Thus far, from what he can tell with her body language, she seems welcoming. Warm. Inherently, Tobias can't help but feel a little wary, but if she's right then in the future -- his future -- he shares that with her.

And that's plenty.]

Twisted Fate, huh? Interestin' name choice.

Kinda like it.

[heavilyhit]

[ Her eyebrows lift with mild surprise. He's not even going by Twisted Fate yet? This is an even younger version than she realized, then. Her surprise turns into a quick huff of a laugh, and she finally drops her arms back to her sides and steps back to a less intimate distance. ]

I'd hope you like it. It's going to stick to you for a long time.

[ Spoilers, though. This return to Oska has been painful in a lot of ways, seeing this young version of a good friend is one of the only golden glows to it so far. She'd hate to do or say something that would alter their future together in any way. She takes another step back. ]

I think I should be on my way.

[fateality]

[mark your spoilers ramir]

Temptin' as it is to ask more of what lies ahead, I think I'm good on my chances anyhow.

[Before she can leave, he carefully takes her hand and gives the back of it a quick peck.]

I look forward to meetin' you in more proper circumstances then, Ramir.

[heavilyhit]

[ Always the gentleman, even now. She smiles indulgently as he kisses her hand, and gives his a quick squeeze before they release each other. ]

This all being temporary, as I hear, I look forward to getting back to an old friend of mine. [ That means you, buddy. She drops a quick wink, then turns to stride back the way she'd come, mood considerably lifted. ]