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

[asscan]

"I'm not innocent!" Laedo replies, even as he trots along receiving scritches, "if I was I would already be close to Aska, but it takes decades of training!" But now he's distracted, by grassy flagstones--letting anything grow between architecture is as alien to him as the concept of building things by hand--by the archway, so crude and simple by comparison to the mathematical feats vaunted in every doorway back home, by the other two-legged people lounging out here under trees, grooming absolutely fantastic beasts.

What follows is a stream of "what's that?" and "who's that?" and other such questions. Laedo may be trying to act the adult, but he clearly has no grasp on what that entails when it comes time to be curious.

[sereneflame]

Serene's happy to indulge answering those questions as they trot along together, pointing out more interesting people and architecture as they go along.

"And here are the kitchens!" She pushes the door open, blasting them both with the scent of buttery pastries and cooking meat and gestures him through, coming in behind him. "This is where we are all fed. Ahh, I can tell that they are preparing lunch."

Urgh, that meat scent. It dries her saliva completely, but she knows that her hunger will quickly return once they're out of this corpse factory. She draws him to a table with bowls stacked high with fruit, caught on the whim to have a little fun.

"Do you want to sit on a human seat? I can teach you to eat the human way." He's small enough she's sure he'll manage to get onto a chair while she quickly grabs him cutlery and a plate.

[asscan]

She might turn her her nose up, but Laedo's is pointing up as well and his attention is thoroughly piqued. He's not sure why, but his stomach is growling for food in a most demanding way, more badly than when he hit his first growth spurt. Before she can even reach the table with the chairs, he's already turning back to the kitchens and their charred corpse smell, which to him is... idyllic, really. He's having a hard time keeping his mouth from watering. "Can you show me where they make the food some more?" he asks, having clearly seen the peaches, having clearly dismissed them as a strange-scented mess of vegetable matter.

[sereneflame]

She frowns at him and goes to set the cutlery down on the table before answering.

"I can... no, I will not. The smell makes me nauseous." She sits at the table and picks up a peach.

"If you do not want to join me then you may look, as long as you stay within my sight. Do not touch any surfaces, for there are many burning hot objects and sharp blades in there!"

[asscan]

"Ah.... oh," Laedo seems to realize that something is wrong a moment or two later, almost viscerally. This is more the kind of person he's used to, and a deep abiding tremor halts him in his tracks even as his stomach gurgles audibly. He crouches entirely to the ground, as though embarrassed horribly. "But I do want to join you... only those fuzzy things..." he hesitates for a moment, nose wrinkling as he attempts to find the diplomatic route. "Maybe if you help me with the sharp things you can show me the fuzzy things afterwards?" It's his sneaking suspicion that by the time he's out of the kitchen his stomach will be sated enough that the juice of a peach will be nice experience and not a sinking disappointment... but he just as soon does not wish to disappoint Serene, even if he's not sure why she's upset at him for enjoying the strange and wonderous smells within.

[sereneflame]

...He is still a predator, isn't he? That's always a sinking disappointment to realise, though she's learnt not to let her wave of visceral disgust roll her off her feet any more. Individual carnivores can be very nice people and he's a sweet boy, so she sighs and stands, reasoning that she can simply breathe shallowly as they go further.

"Keep by me still." She warns him as she stands, leaving the peach behind. "Tuck your wings in close, sweet boy, no matter how curious you may be. I am not a healer."

She leads him in, past the great ovens where the pastries are cooked - buttery, they'll ruin her gut if she eats them- and turns her head firmly away as they pass the counter where the seared, dismembered corpses are stacked. The glisten of the meat makes her gorge rise but she fights her response back, for she does not wish to humiliate herself.

[asscan]

Alas, it is to the stacks of prepared ribs, chicken legs, roast beast slices, and so on are stored that Laedo almost immediately bee-lines. The waft of their seasoned scent is mana, enough that he's having a hard time keeping all of the saliva in his mouth. He almost rears up to the table, but realizing his manners, he turns towards poor Serene.

"These look delicious!" he tells her, though his ears skew back when he sees her pale face. "I'm sorry; they look just like the meals we're served at home, Serene. If... you fetch me a plate, I can eat by myself..." even though the idea leaves him looking distraught.

[sereneflame]

She looks at him rather than the meat, her belly sinking further at his obvious hunger. she's upsetting him just as he's upsetting her, and she knows she has the advantage here. She could force him to come with her if she used the right words...

"...Stay here a moment." She resists, turning on her heel and striding quickly out to where the cutlery is kept. She fetches him a plate and a napkin to wipe himself on afterwards before striding back, her back stiff as a soldier's. Setting the plate on the table she steps quickly away from the meat again.

"I will be waiting outside. Fill your belly... but Laedo, before you eat anything, consider and be grateful that someone gave their life to nourish yours. Do that for each piece you take, please." She can respect him if he does that, respect him just enough to not think upon what he is. She steps back again, turning her back fully on the glistening table.

"I will be outside."

[asscan]

The lesson is half-ways lost for a moment, Laedo's ears lowering somewhat in his obvious bemusement. Training kicks in, however, and with a very apologetic dip of his head on his thick neck, he replies, "yes, Serene, I will."

He watches her stiffly and swiftly depart, worry blossoming back up in his gut along with another rumble of hunger. Then it hits, when he turns back to a turkey leg... does she mean that these come from people?

It's with some trepidation that Laedo goes about his meal, conflict playing up with every bite as he wonders... is that what humans do? He's never been told where his meals come from, never thought to question it... but his child-like attention wanders and soon enough the creature has given in to baser needs. They'll simply have to learn to contend with their differences another way, another day...