[OPEN] Town Hall Meeting

[cestmagnifique]

WHO: The town!
WHERE: City Hall, Ruga
WHEN: April 15-20th, and then April 21st
WHAT: Town Hall Meeting #1, as announced here
WARNINGS: Expedition discussions may not be pleasant

[ Like much of the town, the old city hall building sits on unsteady legs. Brick and stone chipped away by time, or lack of care, but the building itself is still standing, roof mostly intact. It stands out from the buildings beside it, columns lining along the front windows and dilapidated steps leading up to the main entrance. It needs some work, but it's big. It will do. ]

DISCUSSION TOPICS

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► OPEN FORUM

[ You are also free to make your own mingle/closed threads as well. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to PM this account or hit me up on plurk at doggystyle Thanks! ]

Comments

[sirnyxalot]

[Having offered up a suggestion on the forum, of course Nyx is volunteering to help. The lack of having any serious physical work was starting to make him a bit antsy, so moving debris out of the way or carrying supplies for repairs is enough to keep his head clear.

He stares for a bit at a dusty, crumbling display cabinet, arms crossed and chewing thoughtfully on his lip before calling across the room.]

I don't think we can salvage this, we should probably just break it down for materials for something else.

[nascere]

[ Noctis comes over, of course, having spotted his glaive on the other side of the room. He's volunteered to help, too; Ignis is somewhere close by, just out of range but he decides to assist all the same. The prince eyes the display cabinet along with him for a moment, scratching at his head briefly. ]

Sure. So, careful dismantling?

[sirnyxalot]

Better than blowing it up, I guess.

[He smirks teasingly, waving his hand as if casting. He'd lightened up since meeting up that first day, not quite as stiff around his King. This town is wild enough that there's very little cause for ceremony and titles.

It helps that neither of them are wearing anything approaching a uniform or suit, too. Easier to be just people.]

If we can save the nails they'll go a long way to repairing something else, and I'm sure the panes that aren't cracked could be saved for windows if we're lucky.

[nascere]

[ There is absolutely no cause for ceremony and titles, and the whole 'Highness' and 'Majesty' thing is just not his cup of soda. Besides, it's interesting to interact with Nyx in a capacity that isn't liege and glaive -- it means he gets to find out more about him; he gets to figure out just what kind of a person he is.

Indeed, it's easier to just be people. ]

Yeah, that sounds about right. You got tools?

[sirnyxalot]

[It was a little surprising to learn just how personable Noctis is. He never thought the prince was a bad person, of course. Maybe a little naive. But he'd rarely ever talked to him. Short conversations while driving him someplace, but nothing important. Nothing that told him who Noctis really is.

He likes the change. He's learning that Noctis would have made a good King if the attack hadn't happened. Might still make one yet if this supposed future comes to pass. He hopes he gets to see that, too.]

There were some set out by the pews, last I checked, that I don't think anyone's using at the moment. Using my knives to pry them out all the way is just going to damage it further.

[nascere]

[ Most people don't really know who the prince is -- and of course, Noctis doesn't help by being outwardly withdrawn at first, second and third blush. Here, it's much better for the both of them to get to know each other, and he's appreciating Nyx, learning more about who he is by the day.

He heads over to the pews and picks up some of the tools, coming back to him and offering him the hammer. ]

Here, use this.

[ The other end of it can be used to pry out nails safely, right? He smiles faintly, then carefully observes the cabinet, using his own to help pry some of them out. He's less skilled, obviously -- but he makes up for it by trying harder. ]

So, how are you holding up?

[sirnyxalot]

[While Noctis is gone, Nyx hunts around the cabinet, looking for the gloves he swears he brought in with him. He scowls at the floor, crossing his arms and gives them up for lost by the time the other man returns.]

Thanks.

[Resigned to the likely chance of splinters, Nyx accepts the hammer and sets to helping Noctis carefully dismantle the cabinet.]

...better than the first week.

[Apparently the initial rush of crystal-granted power was an absolute trip, like some kind of drug. Because after it wore off that first day his injuries had piped back up with a vengeance. He has a feeling whatever got him back on his feet must have taken care of a lot of the damage, otherwise he's not confident he'd have been able to recover from the bullet wounds without a surgeon, yet here he is.]

[nascere]

Good to hear.

[ Noctis pats him lightly on the shoulder before going back to dismantling it right with him, taking care not to be unduly rough with the wood -- who knows what other great use he can put it to? ]

What happened your first week?

[sirnyxalot]

[Nyx's thoughts exactly. There are a few holes that these could be the perfect size to patch up. If not here, then pick a building. Any building. They'll find a use for it.

He dodges the gravity of the truth, not looking at Noctis as he answers.]

Just the injuries I'd gotten during the escape. Nothing serious. Gotta say, your dad's magic is one hell of a painkiller.

[swordfucker]

[Guren is here every day to help clear things out. Moving things, repairing things, voicing his thoughts on where things should go. But for the most part, he's quiet. He doesn't talk much to anyone and focuses on his work.

Well, his shadow wants to ruin some of that, apparently. This shadow nonsense has only just started, and it's already a huge pain in the ass. Guren is incredibly fast— but you can't outrun a shadow. So, when he's just re-entered with arms full of supplies to reinforce the whole building, he can't stop it at all when his shadow pushes forcefully at his back and sends him tumbling forward.

Towards Nyx. He at least chucks his supplies in the air as he falls to make sure nails and boards soar over the guy instead of into him, but he's falling face first. Goodbye pride.]

Agh—!

[sirnyxalot]

[One would like to say that Nyx acted fast. That he caught Guren before they could collide and heroically saved the both of them a painful landing, figuratively and literally. But this is not that kind of week. While Nyx catches the motion and does, indeed, turn to react on time, his own shadow must have been trading whispers with the other.

When he goes to plant his leading foot solidly to brace himself, he finds the limb stuck as his shadow reaches up to hold him down. Startled, Nyx loses his balance, and Guren's weight takes them both straight to the floor.]

Shit-!

[swordfucker]

[Two shadows shouldn't be allowed to team up for sabotage, and yet here they are. It's just his luck, though he has to say Nyx breaks his fall fairly well. He's only a little sore when he pushes himself up, though very annoyed, and he lets out a huff of a sigh as he stares down at who he's accidentally squashed.]

...You okay?

[It's only after the question that he pulls back completely, standing and offering Nyx his hand.]

[sirnyxalot]

[Nyx winces, holding the back of his head as he reaches out to accept the help up. He'd cracked it on the edge of what looks like a board that just so conveniently fell right where he'd been landing, despite being thrown at a safer distance.

He makes sure to check his foot as well, already knowing he won't see anything caught around it.]

That smarts...

[swordfucker]

[Oh, shit. Guren's stepping to the side once he's up, eyes on that point immediately.]

You landed on some wood there. Is it bleeding? [Does he need to run and get something to treat it?? He feels so bad now, but saying sorry for something his shadow did isn't going to be on his list, either. Instead, he'll just try to play it cool and fret a little over a stranger. It's fine.]

Were there any nails?

[sirnyxalot]

[It feels a little damp against his fingers, but he doesn't look too concerned about it. In fact, he's glancing down at the pile as well, noting the scattered nails lying too close for comfort.]

Not for lack of trying, I'm sure. I'll be fine.

[He's a little sour, but not at Guren. This nonsense isn't quite as bad as the screeching furniture, but 'inconvenience' isn't strong enough a word to describe what just happened.]

What about you? Everything intact?

[swordfucker]

Yeah, thanks to you breaking my fall.

[Nyx makes a fair pillow. But in all seriousness, he's not over the top worried about that head injury, but it's enough of a thing that Guren reaches into his uniform's jacket pocket and offers a clean cloth.]

Here. At least keep it clean. I'd feel pretty bad if it got infected or something. [Hm, these are all old, gross supplies.] Those shitty shadows have been at it all day. I doubt it's going to go away overnight, either.

[Now, he's sighing, staring at the big pile of shit he dropped all over.] I guess I should carry less at a time while we're waiting for it to be resolved.

[sirnyxalot]

Thanks.

[He takes the cloth and presses it against his hair, letting a spark of blizzard magic cool his hand to soothe the pain.]

If this were anything like where I came from I'd be blaming daemons but I haven't seen any elsewhere. Waiting might be the only thing we can do right now.

At least let me help carry this stuff. Don't think I'd feel comfortable letting you go juggling without a handy landing pad.

[swordfucker]

There were demons in the forest, but nothing like this. This seems more like a curse, or a spell.

[If he had to guess. Or a creature he doesn't know, but he'll save that for last if nothing else adds up. For now, he's starting to gather the boards, and he laughs at that. Landing pad.]

My handy landing pad is going to deflate if he lands on another wooden board. [But! He'll stand, offering his armful of wood over to him already. He'll gather the rest, and then the bucket of nails...]

I guess we'll both just have to take this slow.

[sirnyxalot]

[It doesn't seem like any kind of spell or status effect Nyx has ever heard of, but then again he didn't know furniture could scream before this town, either. He's hardly an expert on things that exist in the world.

He accepts the boards, hoisting them onto his shoulder and being careful not to bump the end into anything.]

I've been thrown around by worse. If all I get is a few bumps on the head I'll consider it an improvement, to be honest.

[Nevertheless, he's keeping an eye out for any shadowplay and taking carefully measured steps.]

[swordfucker]

Hahaha.

[Fair enough. With his own arms finally full of supplies, Guren nods the way he was heading. A lot of the areas here still need full reinforcement still, among other things. With supplies here, all they had left to do was... hammer away!]

The name's Guren Ichinose, by the way. Thanks for helping out.

[sirnyxalot]

Nyx Ulric. Can't say I can think of a better way to break the ice than to break someone's fall. Sure is a great conversation starter, anyway.

[He follows Guren to his work area and shifts to lean the boards against the wall. Their shadows seems stable for the moment so he momentarily diverts his attention to the repair.]

Shouldn't take long to shore this up. I'll help hold them in place, unless you got an extra hammer?

[swordfucker]

I guess you can say that.

[He weighs the hammer in his own grip and then lines it up, giving Nyx a look before he nods.] I've just got the one. I'd appreciate if you could hold them for me. Just watch your fingers in case either of our shadows try to give us trouble again.

[sirnyxalot]

Copy that.

[He hefts the first board up, taking a moment to level it before leaning in to hold it in place.]

Got a lot of experience repairing things, or are we all just winging it best we can?

[swordfucker]

Winging it.

[He'll be honest, there. His world is full of ruined buildings, and he's way more used to wrecking them even more himself than putting them back together. But, how hard can it be? They've got a bunch of competent people here. They'll get it working enough. He's careful with his hammering, but he starts, trying to be efficient.]

It's easy enough to see what needs support, with everyone pointing it out. From there, it's just a matter of making sure we don't ruin the things we're hammering up.

[sirnyxalot]

[Nyx can relate a little. His home country, once a vibrant little village full of life and energy, is half ruins itself. It was always the plan to go back one day and rebuild what had been left aside. This town will just have to do in its place.]

Can't be that difficult then. We'll figure it out.

[There's peace for a little while as they work, shoring up the damages and nailing it in place-discussing where each board should go to give the most support and where they can go without to conserve supplies-but their shadows aren't willing to give them the rest of the afternoon without causing more trouble.

It only takes a moment's inattention. Nyx is pointing out a weak point that might become an issue later on if they're not careful with it when his shadow slips a nail from the bucket and drives it into his leg, easily piercing the thin clothes he'd claimed from his house.

He drops the board, cussing sharply, and throws his hand towards the floor. A bright snap of electricity bursts from his hand like a tiny lightning bolt. It scorches the floor and scatters his shadow until the light fades and it quietly returns to its place as if it had never moved at all.]

...fuck.

[Nyx limps to a seat and gently lowers himself into it, trying to quell the rush of adrenaline.]