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

[moneyballer]

[...Yikes.]

Please don't repeat that.

[He's alarmed to have used such disastrously inappropriate language in front of a child, but after that initial embarrassment subsides, he's even more concerned that someone so young has ended up here. The superpowers were a little freaky, sure, but Asher is coming to terms with the fact that they might as well be the norm for everyone here.

As time passes, he's starting to feel more and more like the freak.]

So that was you talkin' up there.

You're lost?

[Immediately, his voice grows softer. Asher's face is fraught with sympathy, evident in the way he squints and cocks his head to the side.]

[adamantis]

Don't worry, I know better than to say that word.

( She only looks disapproving for another minute or two before she drops herself to the ground, her feet making a soft thud as she does so. maybe this will be easier with her a bit more on his level. She's not exactly short for her age, after all.

She nods once, and holds out her hand, all serious and stuff. )

Mmhmm. I'm Kara. I was just with my cousin, on my way to meet my adoptive family and now I'm here.

And I'm not sure where here is.

( She notices that, and her expression softens, too. )

Are you okay?

[moneyballer]

[She's tall, for a girl with a face like that. Asher isn't necessarily short as he stands at almost six feet, but with a relative as tall as Superman, she's probably used to the men around her being larger than life.

His mouth hangs open at her question, although he grants her with a quick outburst.]

Me? Oh, yeah! Heh. Totally.

[Liar.]

It's nice to meet you.

[He bends down to her level, to take her hand and shake it. Asher looks the girl in the eye and smiles, doing his best to acknowledge her.

Knots twist within his stomach- She's just a kid.

She really shouldn't be here.]

I'm Asher.

[adamantis]

( Blinking, she shakes his hand firmly when he takes hers. In fact, her grip is ironclad. Not that she means it to be, as evinced by the genuine sweetness to her smile. )

It will be okay. And it's nice to meet you too.

( At least he doesn't need to bend that far. Kara doesn't let go of his hand, perceptive enough to see he feels out of his depth here. She can relate. )

I can handle the bugs, if you want to look around. We should figure out where we are.

[moneyballer]

[He cringes at her touch, mostly because it hurts like hell.]

A-ahhhh...!

[Asher's mouth worms its way into something between a grimace and a quiet scream, and he holds his own fingers in the other unharmed hand.]

Um, maybe we should get away from these things.

[Hopefully, her parents are here...

But he's not so sure.]