awashlogs | Catch all for June

Entry tags:

Catch all for June

WHO: Pyra and various
WHERE: around
WHEN: throughout june
WHAT: quests, etc
WARNINGS: nothing rn

[ A catch-all log for Pyra! If you would like a thread or a scenario hmu via PM or PP at

drinksteapots! ]

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[ For Quest 63: Plant flowers for spring. Pyra: Blue. Ardyn: Red. ]

[ Finding an assortment of seeds within some of the storage houses within Flavo hadn't been too difficult, and now with a small metal spade and rake in hand, she meets up with Ardyn at the church. Its restoration is coming along quite nicely already, what with all the various contributions within and upon the roof, but a few aesthetic touches couldn't hurt.

Pyra crouches, her fingers brushing over some of the overgrown weeds and grass along the edge of the church. ] ...I think that... if we plant some along here, and then here on this side...

[ She motions to either side of entrance before turning slightly, looking at him with a smile. ] It would look nice that way.

[ They had been talking about the church on the forum, after all. And this is a good way to include him in its restoration. ]

[ For Quest 63: Plant flowers for spring. Pyra: Blue. Lan Wangji: Blue. ]

[ After creating the flower crown from the cauldron with him, Pyra hadn't exactly known that it had certain properties until she had actually worn it during another flower-planting quest. Now that she does-- ]

Lan Wangji guess what!! There's something about the flower crown you should know! It's really important!!

Come to one of those old, overgrown gardens in Flavo, the one at-- [ Such and such. ] I'll show you!

[ And indeed on this fine afternoon, she will be standing there with a rake, a spade, and a shovel beside her feet, an open bag of seeds there as well, and, of course, the tri-colored flower crown in her hand. ]

Edited 2019-06-05 18:51 (UTC)

Will come.

[ Which he does. And because it's important, he's flying over on his white-gleaming sword, which is far faster than walking.

... if he's surprised to find her actually planting, he shows it not at all. ]

Maiden Pyra.

Edited 2019-06-05 19:11 (UTC)

[ When it comes down to the nitty gritty of things, Ardyn knows that anyone watching will be finding it weird that he's offering to help with such a thing. Even Chancellors of large sprawling cities weren't thought of when it comes to gardening yet Ardyn knows that right now this whole thing serves a purpose. Things with Noctis and the others are due to come to a head (if being shot means anything) and Ardyn knows when it does he needs the benefit of the doubt, some leeway so to speak for when the finger pointing begins.

That and truthfully he hadn't been thinking of doing much when Pyra had asked.]

I must admit I don't know much about gardening. [ Ardyn pauses, putting a finger to his chin as he gives his head a tilt.] But I think you'd be right in what you're saying. They should look good once they bloom and it would be interesting to see if the conditions here would have an effect.

[ The large male puts his jacket to one side, slowly rolling up his sleeves. He's already had to clean his coat recently, a second time isn't on the cards.] Now, where should we start?

[ Pyra may not know much about the man besides their one or two conversations over the forum, but he seems amicable enough and quite polite. Rather, an impolite person wouldn't bother themselves with gardening, she believes, much less concern themselves with a quest. ]

We start with... taking out all the weeds and over-turning the soil, I think. [ She replies, bending over to pick up a rake. They can't just simply plant seeds, they have to make this garden look pretty! ] The gardens here must have been beautiful, once. Since this place is our home, too, we have to take care of it.

[ —Ah, that sounds almost like the explanation she had given him regarding restoring the church. She tucks a strand behind her ear and getting right to work, glancing back at him to ask, ] ...It doesn't bother you, does it? About fulfilling one of Mr. F's quests...? [ He had seemed rather suspicious about it all last she spoke with him... ]

Edited 2019-06-09 07:26 (UTC)

[ Flying on swords... that's new! She watches in amazement as he dismounts from the blade, secretly wondering if there's some way she might recreate the same thing. Mythra would take offense to being ridden, naturally.

Regardless, Pyra motions to the work she's already done with the garden so far, which is upturning the soil with the rake. The stockings upon her knees are stained slightly with the dirt, her fingertips sporting similar soil. ] The flower crown... [ She holds it up between them, turning it so that he might see each bloom. ]

It-- [ A pause, and she stops herself. What's better than simply telling someone something? Making it a demonstration and a surprise!!! ]

...Here, here, you have to try it on!

[ Bichen has certainly not shown any sign of taking offense. Ton even when he carried the weight of three people out of the reach of a waterborne abyss. And this is the first time she sees it mostly because Wei Ying doesn't have Suibian. WangJi suspects he'd focus a lot more on the cultivation and get back there if he had that incentive.

Anyway.

Putting the sword carefully away - any fleck of dust is shaken away with a slow pulse of spiritual energy - WangJi reaches for the crown, looking at it with a slightly complicated expression. ]

You... tried it on your own?

[ What if it had been dangerous? She might have been hurt, without a chance to call anyone to help. ]

[ She lets him have the flower crown, stepping away when he takes it. ] Mm, I did.

[ And she raises her hands to her head, as if she were setting an invisible crown above her head. ] But go on-- you have to wear it.

[ Boi!! Wear it!! ]

[ He doesn't sigh, but he gives her a look that is almost as expressive. ]

You should... consider the risks better.

[ That said... he puts on the flower crown without further remark. Her excitement suggests something not bad, unlike the forum private message, and if he is wrong and should not have trusted her, well, he can probably handle it.

A moment, then he tilts his head very slightly at her. ]

[ She knows such a look, if only more pronounced, given to her by someone a long, long time ago. But back then, such a look had been because she was being too reckless towards others, that she should care more.

She does care more, of course, now.

Once he crowns himself, she lowers her hands and steps towards the garden, motioning him over. ] Good! Now... take some of these seeds, and this spade, and... [ A pause as she looks back at him.

.........She never had really thought about it before. But he's... well. He's very well put-together, distinguished. Would he even bother with something like soil and gardening, or getting his hands dirty? Maybe she's made a mistake here. So, quickly, and with just a little less enthusiasm: ] ....You should try planting them. That is, if you want to.

Mn.

[ He is... slightly confused by her sudden hesitation, but he doesn't ask, for now, instead taking the tool and the seeds. Then, he starts to turn the soil for planting, gauging thoughtfully the amount of seeds she has provided, before looking up for confirmation that she doesn't have something else in mind.

Lan cultivators are not very great at straight-up domestic tasks, like laundry or mending clothes. But they do tend a lot of plants around the Cloud Recesses. Nor do they tend to shy away from physical labor. ]

[ Oh, well, what do you know... he's actually doing it! She smiles happily, waving to encourage him further. ] Okay, and as soon as you have them planted, cover them with some of the soil.

And now we wait.

[ Wait for the magic of the flower crown to make those seeds already begin to sprout up from the ground!! ]

[ It's already been full two days within the forest, and their journey thus far hasn't been the smoothest. No matter where they venture, no matter where they turn, no matter where they find a haven to rest or camp, it feels as if something or someone is watching them from just beyond the thicket of trees. It's the same uncanny sensation she had felt when she had ventured into the forest with Choubee a few months ago. She tells him this, of course, and of the dangers of the wraiths and burial ground they had encountered, and because she had told him, she has decided to come prepared.

The freshwater river she had found last time in her venture into the forest is the path she lead him upon, but instead of diverting towards where she recalls the burial mound had been, she continues to follow it. This serves two purposes, the first being that a river's course is a useful way to know their direction, and the second being that it provides a source of water as they travel. As for food, hunting is no issue.

To Shen Qinqiu's interest, they will have encountered a some mythical creatures along their path, most of them proving to be hostile when approached. With the two of them working together, they're able to fight their way through some of them, yet as they progress-- as the forest only becomes denser, darker-- the beasts are much more feral....

The basilisk falls to the ground before them, shaking the trees around them. It's scorched black from Pyra's power, sliced cleanly through from where she had let Shen Qinqiu use her sword, the grays and blacks of its razor-sharp scales scattered about them like leaves, and thoroughly defeated. Venom pours from its slack-jaw mouth, a caustic sulfur-like substance that eats away at the ground. Each of its fangs is is roughly the size of her arm, and even though the basilisk is dead, she'd rather not harvest any part of the serpent until she knows its toxins have spoiled.

It had been a rather interesting battle given that the creature had a penchant to petrify with but a glance, which she had only guessed was its ability given the number of animals that have been turned to stone around them before they first came vis-a-vis with the monster itself. Fighting a creature blind was different and doable, but she can't deny there had been an added tension to the battle.

She's about to say that they should continue on their way, perhaps to seek shelter for their third night trekking through the woods (of which Pyra has nothing to show of wear upon her clothes or hair, given what she's made of), but pauses.

....Because he's walking over to the creature's carcass with her sword still in his hand. Is he-- why does he seem so interested in it? Actually now that she thinks about it, he had seemed fairly impressed with any of the creatures they had encountered. Perhaps he has some sort of fascination of them? ] Is there... Are you thinking it would be safe to eat for dinner?

[ This forest is such garbage.

Shen Qingqiu has a great sense of affection in his heart for all manners of beasts and monsters. However, he has no love in his heart for the forest itself. It's a mantra that he's said since he's first stepped into it. For one, the forest feels neither good nor evil. The neutral feeling is an oppressive one rather than comforting. He's certain to share this with Pyra, uncertain if he's said as much before.

If he put it into words, he would say that he cannot get a good "read" on the forest's intentions. Whether it wants to harm or help, it gives no indication. It means that it's truly uncertain what it will do when someone enters it. Furthermore, it seems to change itself based on who is in it, which adds a whole variety of problems. Can the forest like a person? Can it hate?

There's no real way of telling.

He would think the constant attack on the trees would be enough to earn some ire from the forest, but it remains the same suffocating, neutral feeling. But also, why is it spreading forward? What's the meaning of it suddenly encroaching into the town? Is there any meaning? These are a lot of the questions that he has, and hoped to get some insight while the two of them traveled to reach the forest's edge.

However, other than finding some fascinating monsters (which honestly makes the trip worthwhile for him!!), there hasn't been any answer to anything that he's been wondering! And even as they travel into the dense darkness, the atmosphere never changes from that suffocating neutral.

Wow, a basillsk!! That certainly isn't the thought a person should have after such a difficult fight. Yet in his heart, he feels an explosion of sparkles and pink light covering his entire body. The battle had been a difficult one to fight by feeling the shifts in the air, by jumping out of the way from each strike, while wielding the sword given to him by Pyra. He flicks the blade to the side in order to clean the blood off it. A spray of red splatters onto the grass and he finally is able to "return" it to her.

Once done, he doesn't quite skip over to look over the body of the enormous snake. It's real sad that these things are generally evil in nature, but It's still amazing. Such a deadly beast! The tone in his head doesn't match his words. He sounds downright giddy and has to keep himself under control. If I told her that I've been super excited this entire time, I think she might bop me in the head! These situations have been pretty life-or-death, but I can't believe we're able to see some of these creatures in the first place! ]

Ah? [ He glances back over his shoulder. ] …. I don't think it would be wise to eat. [ FUCK!! Despite trying to hide his interest, he definitely made it known! ]I don't think that I've ever told you that Qing Jing Peak is a scholarly peak… it has volumes upon volumes of the monsters that exist in our world, and so this teacher cannot help but be interested in seeing how reality is different from what has been written.

[ Yeah, that… that's it. ]

[ No, she hadn't known that about his sect! She had only known that his mountain-teachings were mostly about cultivating immortality, and she had (wrongly) assumed that that was its only purpose. Perhaps there is a division among his disciples that go out and document the various species of the world. It's a good endeavor, she thinks. Given that in her own world, she's relayed all evolutionary information of how the creation came to be, not having that information automatically transmitted to her is... quite strange. But she also doesn't mind it, because there is now a mystery and surprise as to what sort of beasts she might encounter here. She also gets to wonder and guess as how such mythical creatures came to be. ] ..Oh?

Maybe you should start doing something like that here. You could pen this world's very first bestiary. [ She walks around the basilisk, on the opposite side from him. ] But, all of these creatures.... do you think they would normally be so hostile towards us?

It's as if as soon as it spotted us, it attacked.

[ She looks at him carefully as he speaks, carefully gauging him to make sure he's alright and hasn't expended too much energy. ]

I wonder…

[ Shen Qingqiu doesn't think that is a bad idea. The only issue that he could see is that the forest is strange. Would a bestiary mean anything for it? Pinching his chin between thumb and index finger, he looks back at the basilisk and giving it more of a scrutinizing look (rather than just giving it sparkling eyes). ]

A few weeks back, I had come into this forest with Kaoru Akashi. Not as deep as we are now… we had encountered a group of banshees that had acquired the abilities of Kaoru Akashi's world. [ He hums. ] It makes me wonder if these creatures will continue to evolve, and how.

[ Which makes sense if one thinks about it! If Chroma was a starting adventurers' town, the monsters in the forest would be Level 1-3, with a BOSS at the end that'd be like Level 10-ish. But none of the people present are "starting adventurers' levels." They're protagonists (and some antagonists) that have to be upper-levels!

It makes sense that the creatures would evolve to deal with it. And even not thinking of a videogame, but it makes sense that they would change due to the perceived threat of the people living so close to them. Right? Probably right. ]

Normally, hm. Some of them, no. A basilisk is normally an aggressive creature, so I'm not too surprised, but everything else… no. [ He finally lets go of his chin and lets out a sigh. ] To be honest, the atmosphere has become rather stifling as we've traveled deeper. Not just the feeling of eyes… but it's feeling rather oppressive like being in a large crowd of people.

[ Which is to say!! ] Something doesn't want us to keep going forward.

[ The atmosphere has become rather stifling as we've traveled deeper.

With that he points out exactly what she's been feeling as well, and him saying it aloud makes the forest even more stifling. ] The forest...

It feels as if it is its own entity: like you said, it feels as if it's trying to stop us from proceeding, but it also feels as if it's watching us. [ Constantly, even as they paused to rest on their journey, even as they slept. ] But we have to.

Xie Lian said that there was a end to the forest, when he went on a boat out as far as they could. [ She adjusts the pack she had brought with them, carrying extra supplies and parts of other monsters she had gathered. ] If we can find that end... [ It'd be very helpful.

A sigh follows, however, as she looks upward. ] ....But it's getting late. Are you feeling alright? Should we find a place to camp now, or should we continue for now?

[ Even a fog is beginning to roll in. Or perhaps not fog, but shadows. ...It might be a trick of waning light, but she can't shake the feeling that something even more ominous is just ahead of them, just waiting for them to cross a threshold and enter its domain. ]

Edited 2019-06-14 19:57 (UTC)

[ WangJi frowns slightly at Pyra, since plants take days or weeks to get anywhere, but then there is a slight shift in the energies around him, and he blinks.

The seeds have sprouted thin green shoots above the surface of the soil.

He looks around for other young plants, not that he knows what might or might not have been there before. His fingers come up to touch the flower crown on his head carefully. ]

This?

[ Taking out weeds and overturning soil? If those from back home could see him now they'd have things to say, even though Ardyn worked with. On first glance he's the kind to not get his hands dirty if there's someone else around him to do the work and Ardyn inwardly sighs.

This place will always find interesting ways to be a pain. The mention of it being home from Pyra almost gets a shake of the head. No, it's still a prison to Ardyn. Most people could leave their homes if they felt the need.]

Not particularly; somehow last month I managed to fulfil a quest without even wishing to be a part of it. The sky did not cave in and I would rather do this one than let fate decide on it's own which I should be doing.

[ That and it's flowers. Unless they're man-eating flowers Ardyn doubts there'll be any bloodshed with this one and he crouches down to start looking at the weeds, checking for the best place to start pulling them from.]

[ Pyra will soon be on her knees to help him as well, tending to her section of the garden. ]

Then, on behalf of the town, thank you for your contribution. [ She's only joking with him, something to lighten the mood as they garden, and she even pauses as she speaks to turn and flash him a smile. Dirt may have dusted upon her stockings, but she doesn't seem at all disturbed by the manual labor. ] I believe that it's also... more than just the act of fulfilling a quest together. [ Pyra continues, turning back to her work. ] It's the bond we are making together, even if we are just getting to know each other.

[ Another pause, blinking as if something has just occurred to her. She sits back on her heels, reaching for the bag. ] And... I wouldn't mind getting to know you more, even without a quest. Not for the sake of restoring color, but because.... [ Well, hm. If she had to put it into words: ] You seem like a kind, good man, Ardyn. [ A less caring man wouldn't have bothered with something like quests or bonds or anything! ]

[ She beams, clapping her hands together once. ] Mm, that's right! [ She doesn't bounce on over to him, but there is a lighter, happier skip in her step to where he is so that she might get a better look at the sprouts themselves. ]

It seems to have some sort of... property that hastens growth.

But with this, you'll be able to go about planting so many more flowers!

[ He breathes out a single sigh. ]

I don't like it. The fact that the forest itself might be "alive" is troublesome to me. Simply, it has neither good nor evil intentions. [ His fan snaps open to cover the lower half of his face to hide a grimace. ] Which makes it exceptionally dangerous.

Wei Wuxian mentioned the same to me – about there being an end to the forest. [ Though, in his mind, he is hopping around angry and waving his fist around. How could Xie Lian and Wei Wuxian do something so obviously dangerous?! Did they have water between their ears?! Just because they're protagonists doesn't mean that their halos will keep them safe forever, okay!! ]

It might be helpful, yes.

[ Shen Qingqiu hums before continuing: ] Crowe mentioned that there might be people attempting to come into the forest, but … I think it would be hard to tell if that had happened. [ If they were in a normal forest, it would be simple, but the forest that they are in is beyond bizarre!! Not just the creatures that they run into, but everything about it! ]

That makes things difficult for us, too. Because we're not the first to be attempting to venture out, right? If people were venturing in, they'd see that we were in here and possibly try harder to get to us. [ Because there would be no way of them knowing they weren't from this world. But if they are, perhaps, both missing one another and thinking the other doesn't exist, what then? ]

I used a bit of energy in that last bout, but I'm all right. Still, Camping is probably the wisest choice. [ He can meditate and replenish his energy. ] What about you? Are you all right? [ Right, right. He was so interested in getting a better look at the basilisk that he can't remember if he checked in to make sure that she was okay! ]

[ She herself would have liked to continue walking further, and she wonders if she could simply lend him her energy so that they might continue.

Although, she should also be careful not to give too much away. She's limited in this form. And while being Mythra would make things so much easier... she's still scared about breaking any such seal upon her.

Additionally, she also considers him wiser than herself as for what they should do, and so she won't bring up her opinion. Instead, she nods towards him, stepping away from the latest monster to fall to their teamwork. ] I'm... fine, thank you. There are probably a few places beneath some of the trees close to the river we can make a camp at. [ No caverns, no mountains for them tonight. Just good ol' under-the-stars camping.

It helps that Pyra can create fires and keep them going so easily, so that they won't be uncomfortably cold. Her fires even don't go out with rain! The unnatural cold this part of the forest seems to emit, however, might be a little bit of a problem. It's quieter, and with each passing second as the proceed, it seems that the light wanes more steeply.

By the time they might make an actual campsite, it'll be completely dark. ] Not a single firefly in sight, huh... [ She says wistfully, looking along the dark, still river. Fireflies are a hallmark of summer, she thinks: soft with their glow, lazy with their flight... nostalgic. ]

[ It's been some time since Mythra herself had given him a quest to find something that resembles a strand of her hair within the mysterious, colorless land of Chroma. She had told him, then, that if he found something of the sort she would step foot into reality. As fate would have it, circumstances would force her to appear sooner than he would have fulfilled the quest, and so, Mythra steps into the world once more....

She remembers when she first awakened by Addam-- it had been upon the Titan-continent Uraya. It had been spring, it had been when all of the bioluminescent blossoms within the Titan had colored her interior biome pink and rosy like twilight. She remembers there had been others as she awakened, looking upon her with awe, with fear, as the core crystal set had shone and began to form her figure, her body, her skin, her clothes around it. She was a tool stolen down from their god, the Architect's will incarnate. She recalls how Addam's brothers hadn't taken too kindly that he, the bastard, the youngest of them, had been the one to awaken her.

She remembers how it had felt for gravity to actually effect her, how it was like to set foot upon the ground.

She was made to perform a ceremony then. Addam was a prince, after all, and even if she had just been "born" into the world... she had to prove that to the other leaders of the world, the kings and queens of other Titans, the emperors, the Praetor himself, that Addam was chosen by her. She hadn't understood it, then, the need for ceremony, the way Addam had knelt in front of her, how she was asked to bring out her sword and touch its light-borne blade upon each of his shoulders, the applause that then followed....

But all of that reminiscing gives her an idea. ]

Come to the church, I'll be waiting there.

[ That's the message Pyra will send him. ]

[ It's been some time since that oh so fateful day of Tristan losing to his plushie, Lil'Archer, within the memoryscape of Elysium.

Perhaps it's a show of nostalgia, perhaps it's simply whimsy, perhaps it's knowing that the man himself will be just as reverent in show of her appearance as she had first seen others regard her when she first appeared... but in a way, she wants to re-create that ceremony with him. They have the perfect excuse, too: he's her servant for these months.

She'll be standing upon the pulpit, looking up at the bare wall just beyond the altar. There really ought to be some sort of decoration there, she thinks. In her world, it would have been a depiction of the World Tree, branches weaving up towards a paradise beyond the earth. The paradise she wishes to return to one day...

When she hears the doors open, only then does she turn to face him, long, golden hair flowing effortlessly with the movement. ]

I was waiting.

[ Though he’s been to this church many times, there is always a pang of nostalgia there that’s never quite left him. He’d come across this place when he’d first set foot in Chroma. He’d met Zelda—the lady Zelda, the ruler of that far-off realm called “Hyrule.” The selfsame Zelda with hair the color of burnished wheat whose smile lit the decrepit old building aglow.

But now that the church seems to have been restored to its former glory—or near enough, given their limited capacities—it feels all the more empty in here than ever. Indeed, he almost expects to see no one within when those doors creak open. Within the bowels of the church is a glimmer of days bygone, of a year that’s nearly gone— ]

Zel—

[ He catches himself when Mythra turns around, addressing him. His eyes fly wide open and he feels his heart has lodged somewhere in his throat. All he can really do is croak out a feeble— ]

You are here.

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Catch all for June

For Ardyn

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For Shen Qingqiu

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For Tristan

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