Event Fourteen.

[awashmods]

Roses bloom and cease to be, But we shall the Christ-child see.

t's very, very cold. It's cold enough that you'll see your breath fog in the air before you, that goosebumps appear on your arms and legs and a chill goes up your spine. You're inside, in a huge palace with sweeping arches and rooms, but it's no real shelter from the cold -- it's just as cold inside as out. There's a throne room, a kitchen, various rooms and even a dungeon to be explored -- and outside, a frigid, frozen garden, a lake that's naturally frozen over, and miles, and miles of snow as far as the eye can see. But be careful while you explore. The snowflake soldiers are naturally dangerous, but even more dangerous than that...there's that creeping sensation of numbness going up your arm, a pang through your chest, and the slow, slow freezing from the inside out. Try not to leave any of your friends behind, okay? Even if they might look a bit too uncannily like some of the statues hanging around for decoration when they're frozen over. Welcome to Awash's fourteenth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs for this event, but please keep in mind the lack of laptop function during this event when it comes to forum posts! If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

Comments

[scooptimistic]

Who needs friends to save us when we've got friends right here?

[ Sadly there will be no little girls named Gerda storming the castle. ]

[lacrimose]

[Akira watches her pick up the snow, eyes wide as he watches it catch the wind. It really is pretty, even if their circumstances for seeing it are less than ideal. Then, as Pyra steps out onto the lake, he catches her arm, just in case.]

Careful. [He relaxes his grip when he's sure she won't fall.] I don't know. I can go take a look, though.

[Monsters... He looks at the cracks formed in the ice, an almost predatory gleam in his eyes. He won't voice it aloud, but part of him wants there to be something down there, just to give him an excuse for something strong to fight.]

[pyrafect]

[ ..........Hold up bro, she sees that look in his eyes and very much recognizes it.

But also-- ] Huh?

--You'll freeze! [ Because she doesn't know that he's not entirely human. Even if she were to help try to warm him up when he comes back up, he might still be in shock from the cold! ]

[lacrimose]

Don't worry about it. If I'm not down there long, it'll be fine.

[He pulls off his jacket and shirt, dumping them in the snow, a toothy grin on his face as he moves over to the edge of the lake. The ice creaks ominously under his weight, too, but he doesn't seem concerned, raising a fist and punching a hole in the ice.]

[pyrafect]

---Akira!

[ And he'll probably be gone before she can stop him.





Oh no. Oh noooo.... should she jump in after him?? Should she wait like he said?? WHAT DOES SHE DO?? ]

[lacrimose]

[Akira vanishes into the depths, and once he's sure Pyra can't see him, he shifts into his Devilman form, his body heat ratcheting up before the icy lake can send him into shock. He can't stay down for long, so he swims as quickly as he can, keeping his wings tucked close to him to avoid slowing him down.

There's not much down here of note -- no monsters, no buried treasure, nothing related to the palace. Just... fish?

He's gone for a few minutes, far more than the average human can hold their breath. And the hole he made already seems to be frosting back over...]

[pyrafect]

[ A human holding their breath for that long would be impressive enough, but when they're holding that breath, exerting energy from swimming, and all while swimming through a partially frozen lake?

----Yeah, no, after what it seems like just one minute, Pyra is leaping into the water.

The question is, will he still be in his Devilman form when she sees him, or will he have reverted? ]

[lacrimose]

[Depending on how good her sight is in the murky depths, she might see his Devilman form or simply a huge, indistinct shape swimming back to the surface, right before he reverts back to being human. Akira punches through the ice again somewhere closer to the middle of the lake, a huge fish between his teeth and two in each hand. He spits the big one out, his skin steaming with water boiling away from his skin as he looks around.]

Hey, Pyra! I caught some food!

[...Is what he shouts, but he can't actually see her anywhere. She didn't fall in, did she...?]

[pyrafect]

[ At most she sees a shadowy figure, but before she can get a good look at it, it's out of her vision.

Now it'll be his turn to wait a few moment before she, too, pops back up. Also punching through the surface.... only to see him perfectly fine on top of the ice. ]

Wh--... Akira? [ Water evaporates off the ends of her hair as she pulls herself up. They must have just missed each other as they were swimming. ] ....--Are you alright? Are-- [ ....A squint. He's perfectly fine. In fact, that's water steaming off of him. Wow.

She brings a hand to her mouth in shock. ] How can you be thinking of food in a time like this?!

[lacrimose]

[...Oh! There she is, and her being able to withstand the cold doesn't exactly seem to be normal, either. He shakes himself off like a dog, picking the fish up again.]

We're going to get hungry here, aren't w--

[He stops and freezes, eyes wide, as he has a sudden -- vision? -- of the palace layout. Not only can he tell where Ryo and Miki are, but all the other people he's met around the town, too. The information is gone in a flash, there just long enough for him to remember at least some of it. And as it fades, he looks over to the palace in the distance with a dumbfounded expression.]

What was that...?

[pyrafect]

[ She's just about to tell him that being hungry is okay so long as you're not frozen to death, but then she, too, gains the same vision...


A hand goes to her crystal for one moment. And then she shakes her head. ] ....For a moment, I think that--

I just saw the palace in its entirety.

[messianic]

[Oh god.

Minato's definitely immediately rushing over to him as well, reaching out to touch Sinistra's cheek.

It's frigid...]

This isn't good. His curse has come so far...

[Dammit, fairy tales!!!]

We have to help him.

[lacrimose]

Me too... And the people in it. You think the lake did it?

[Still shirtless, he heads back over to where he dumped his clothes, leaving the fish in the snow while he pulls them back on. Out of his Devilman form he can feel the chill a lot more, and probably in hindsight, letting his stomach or his desire for a fight do the decisionmaking for him probably wasn't the brightest of ideas.]

Now we can go find everyone.

[messianic]

[Minato won't really front or lie; he shrugs a little, and nods.]

Yeah, probably.

[But he has all of his layers, and that's what matters right now; it's enough to keep him going.]

But you seem colder than I am, so I'd rather you have it.

[At least for now. It takes more concentration to sharpen Lupin's knife when his fingers are so numb; he doesn't want to lose a finger, so he's very, very focused, and very cautious.]

At least for now.

[messianic]

[Kaoru always brings up Shiho, and it could almost be a bit flustering, but he knows how close they are... so really, he should just be honored that she thinks highly enough of him that she's content with him being Shiho's friend, right?]

S-sure...

[Slowly, he uncurls to reach for her hand, standing up carefully on wobbly legs.]

You sure have a lot of energy right now, Kaoru-san...

[WHAT'S YOUR SECRET.]

[messianic]

[She's a lot cuter than he was expecting, honestly... but she's bright enough that it suits her boisterous personality.]

Mm... i-it's Minato.

[A frigid, blue popsicle. It's fine.

He comes closer, and feels instant relief at how warm that fire is.]

We spoke before over the forum.

[pyrafect]

...Someone I know is in the dungeons. [ She says quietly. ] I'll be heading there.

[ A pause, and she looks at him. ] You'll be alright, won't you?

[ She has questions about how he was able to survive diving into that ice water, but. Now's not the time. They have their ~tomadachi~ to find !! ]

[messianic]

No... you have nothing to apologize for.

[She was trying to adjust and be optimistic and handle what was coming her way as best she could...and none of them were able to do anything for her in the end, even though they had an idea that something was wrong.]

I'm sorry I couldn't help you more before, either... but I won't leave you like this.

[messianic]

[Vriska...]

... I'm sorry. That you have to go through all of this, I mean.

[That she's stuck having these nightmares, and being unable to stay awake, and that it's so, so cold.]

I wish there was more I could do than just say "I'm sorry".

[lacrimose]

[He has questions of his own about how she seems to be perfectly fine, but even asking will draw attention to himself, so it seems best to drop it for now. He nods.]

I'll be okay. If you get hungry, I'm taking these to the kitchens for everyone to share.

[And he won't need to explain how to reach the kitchens now, so... score?]

[troubadamsel]

I'm afraid not... Would you care to elaborate?

[messianic]

I see... you might be r-right about the fairy tale it's based on...

[Minato's coping, it's fine... he has a lot of layers, so he could be worse off.]

But it s-seems like this place always messes with them a l-little...

[A beat, and a little hopefully:]

Did the story say anything a-about getting warm again...?

[troubadamsel]

[Normally, Maribelle would have given him a swift kick in an Unpleasant Place for such a touch. Right now, it just gets a surprised 'ah'.]

... I don't feel I have one, either. You could have asked.

[troubadamsel]

... I'm fine.

[She slowly takes the hand to stand. But it's not out of fear or disgust - she feels cold and sluggish.]

You have my gratitude, of course...

[stripedown]

[ There's a soft noise, muffled by the scarf-- almost as though she's trying to say something, as she reaches out to touch Sinistra's arm.

Either way, Kisa's nodding, looking between him and Minato. How, though? Can they both help him? ]