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

[iomnic]

Oh, no, I have never met one before! Before you, that is.

[ Did he sound suspicious? It's a little hard to pretend he's not amused at seeing such a small version of the cowboy he knows now. ]

[beforenoon]

If you say so.

[ He looks at Zenyatta, with an expression like 'sounds fake, but OK'. He truly has no proof either way; merely a suspicion, a conclusion drawn based on Zenyatta's odd excitement at hearing his name.

The unicorn walks along at an even, unhurried pace. She seems perfectly capable of looking after herself, and hardly in need of help at all, but Jesse's got a close eye on her, anyway. Still, something else concerns him. ]

Hey. You're an omnic, right?

[ There's no judgment or displeasure in his tone--he has nothing against omnics as a group. But Zenyatta's construction looks familiar, and if he responds in the affirmative, that means they're probably from the same place. ]

[iomnic]

I am. I know this may concern you, but I am not of the same omnics you may know.

[ He doesn't know what kind of omnics Jesse might know of, considering how young he is. Is the Omnic Crisis still happening? Possibly. He wouldn't know the word "omnic" if this was before it. Either way, it's best to clear the air now. ]

I am a member of a group called the Shambali.

[ Well. He was. But he's going to just stick with that for now, it's easier to explain. ]

We are monks from the mountains of Nepal, who intend on spreading peace, not conflict.

Also, watch out, it is a steeper climb this way.

[beforenoon]

[ He shakes his head. ]

Naw, I got no problem with omnics. Not so long as they ain't tryin' to kill me, leastways.

[ The unicorn handles the terrain nimbly, but Jesse's another story. He miscalculates a step and stumbles mid-sentence. ]

We had'em in the gang, and a lot of'em were right--

[ He slips then, and falls right on his ass. The unicorn pauses to whinny. He suspects that she is mocking him. ]

--damn. You weren't kidding.

[iomnic]

[ He's about to ask "the gang?" but then Jesse falls. So that's taking priority, as Zenyatta stops his ascent up the terrain and backtracks a bit to go closer to Jesse. Just in case there's something actually wrong besides some scrapes and bruises. ]

Are you alright?

[ He's ready, as always, to heal if it's necessary. Although he suspects the only thing bruised is Jesse's ego. ]

[beforenoon]

[ He grunts; waves Zenyatta off. ]

I'm fine; I'm fine.

[ Just embarrassed. Maybe also bruised. But mostly embarrassed. ]

Don't need no help.

[ Meanwhile, the unicorn's got ahead of them. Jesse sighs. ]

Damn it.

[iomnic]

Alright.

[ And he backs off, continuing his floating towards the unicorn. It probably won't go too far, at least. ]

I would like to say there is no shame in asking for help. A chain is only as strong as the weakest link. If we do not assist each other, then we will surely fall apart.