epidemiology | EVENT ★ BACK TO THE FUTURE

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Twisted Fate looks up quickly when he hears the boy, his brows raise. Damn, he knows there are kids around, but he can't help but feel a little mixed about it.

Still, here he is, and there's not much to be done but crack a smile at him.]

Eh, I'm sure they got somethin' somewhere.

You here alone, kiddo?

( hey, Peter is totally with you on this. not a place for kids. it's dangerous. unfortunately, thanks to a bite from one of the temporal bugs the size of a small car, he's a part of the problem. oh well, it's not going to last forever, right?

is he alone? a rather sad question. )

I dunno. I just got here, I can't find Aunt May.

( all he's seen so far is a really big castle, and some pretty creepy bugs. which has not been the most enjoyable welcome to Oska, when you're five years old. )

[Rough. He doesn't even think that this kid's aunt is going to be here. Twisted Fate isn't without some morals, few as they are, and turning his back on a little kid separated from family? Not something even he can rightly do.

After tugging down his sleeve over the bite, he addresses the kid:]

Well, it's up to you, but if you want, I'd be real happy to see if I could get you to your Aunt May. I don't know her, but maybe someone 'round here does.

I'm-- [Traditionally, he'd go with his chosen name. Might not fit in real well right now, though.]

My name's Tobias. How 'bout you?

( no, probably not. Peter has been a member of ALASTAIR for a few months now, and he hasn't seen hide nor hair of his aunt in that time. chances are not that great that she'd spontaneously arrive now that he's not quite capable of fending for himself anymore. he's lost a lot of people, and losing his aunt and uncle on top of it make the already strange place even harder for him to deal with.

he's trying to be brave, he really is. still, there's a bit of waver in his bravery, especially with bugs big enough to hurt people scrabbling around.

Peter knows the rules about not trusting strangers but he already ruined the one about not talking to them so maybe it'll be okay to trust one enough to follow them around. that's better than being on his own. )

Peter. ( Tobias doesn't ring any bells for Peter, though after a moment of thought he mentions, ) I used to live next to a dog named Toby. ( that's ... well, that's nice, Peter. he keeps close to his company, clearly agreeing to the terms of finding his aunt together. four eyes are better than two, and seeing as he's got glasses on that's like six eyes. surely, they'll find her, right? )

[Twisted Fate stands and dusts himself off before he's offering his hand to the kid. He figures it'd be safer, but he can understand if he's too wary to accept it. Strangers are a frightening thing, and the list of people one can trust will always be abysmally short.]

Well, Peter, I'm real glad to meet you. Maybe I'll let you call me Toby if we get to be good friends.

Can you think of anyone else you'd be safe with?

( he should be a bit more reluctant, no doubt. he's been very cautious since he arrived, and he knows the rules, don't talk to strangers and yell really loud if someone seemed scary. still, he's been alone long enough, and a friendly face is good enough to not count as a stranger.

right?

so Peter does take his hand, sniffing a little and rubbing his nose with his sleeve. )

My Uncle Ben, but he works at night. ( a pause, before he frowns. ) Is it night right now? ( has he really been trapped in this weird place that long? )

[The sniffing is enough to charm him, honestly. Lost kids separated from family is a real damned good way to worm into his normally selfish heart. He supposes, distantly, that this kid could be lying, but he usually has a knack for picking that up. There's no real indication to suspect foul play of any kind.

Gently, he squeezes Peter's hand before he guides the kid into walking with him.]

Evening just got started, I figured. Time's a bit of a funny thing here.

Tell me 'bout your Aunt May and Uncle Ben. They good to you?

How can time be funny?

( Peter is the son of a scientist, and even at five he has enough of a concept of time that he's not sure how it can be funny. not sure, and curious, because curiosity is just about what a five year old does best. curious is a little better than sniffing and despondent, though.

he follows along, though his stride is a great deal shorter than his companions. Tobias is a thoughtful walking companion, and seems to walk a little slower to compensate for tiny legs. )

They're okay. Aunt May is nice to me and makes me spaghetti. Uncle Ben tells good stories. ( all of these things are very good, but there's a quiet wistful take to his tone. as good to him as his aunt and uncle are, they aren't his mom and dad. not yet, anyway. )

EVENT ★ BACK TO THE FUTURE

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