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

[militarized]

[Finn has been staying away from the majority of the group as well. He doesn't know quite what to make of all of this; it's nothing like what he's used to at all, growing up on the military base, being thrust into combat against the resistance. Even after he escaped, it was one harrowing experience after another. This is...simpler, and he's not sure how to deal with it or even talk to these people, really.

He'll get there but...one step at a time.

That doesn't mean he doesn't see the young woman springing to her feet out of nowhere, which has him getting to his feet as well so that he can hurry over to her.]

What's wrong? Are you okay?

[thereddoor]

[ Dany's eyes, wide in wonder, flicker up from the plate to his face. It is not the first time someone has come to her aid here, but the notion is still novel. Only one person in the world has ever had cause to protect her, and he is selling her to a barbarian for a golden crown.

She stands still as stone, save for her thin shoulders, rising and falling. A tiara of yellow gold gleams in her hair, jeweled bracelets at her wrists. She has the distinct appearance of someone who has been deliberately decorated, as though for show. ]

--Yes, [ she says at last, her voice soft. A soft pink color blushes into her cheeks, embarrassment at how silly she must look. ] I had only--I have never seen ...

[ As if in finishing her sentence, her eyes fall to the plate, where the sausages still sizzle enticingly. Food is too precious to appear like this. It had frightened her. ]

[militarized]

[His eyebrows lift as she begins to explain before he finally nods.]

Ah, I get it. [The small smile that follows is one of understanding.] There's a bunch of stuff here I haven't seen before either.

[He looks down at the food somewhat awkwardly before his tilts his head a bit toward it.]

It looks good, though. Right?

[thereddoor]

[ Dany nods, mute. It does look good. The sausages smell fresh, as though they've just been packed and stuffed full of savory spices. For all the wealth of Illyrio's kitchens, Dany had not eaten a single sausage since she and Viserys had been taken in as his guests six moons past.

She thinks to ask him whether they are safe to eat, but he had spoken as if he, too, were lost here. Remembering her manners, she looks back to him almost tentatively. She is not in the habit of inviting company to sup with her, particularly not someone who is strange to her. ]

I would not eat them alone, if you would be so kind. [ Her voice is still hushed, as if an invisible audience is listening. Perhaps if she leaves them here, untouched, they will vanish again. ] I don't wish to waste them.

[ Frightened though she is, Dany trusts her own assessments, if nothing else. He had rushed to her rescue over something as silly as a startling platter of food, and his eyes are kind. ]

[militarized]

[He looks a little surprised at the invitation. He'd simply been worried that something had happened, maybe another one of those bugs were still around, but she looks really nice and he is pretty hungry.]

Yeah, sure. If you want me to.

[He moves a little closer, near the plate before he points at the ground.]

Can I sit here?