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

[bittybat]

[Dang, he hecked the hell up. Kisa of all people isn't supposed to know how truly terrible of a person he is--has been, can be.] Yes. [There's no use trying to pretend after saying something.]

I've trained in extremely cold and hot weather to become better equipped at handling them. [How does he say this and not say, "on missions," or "because I was heir to a league of assassins," or "I'm Robin"?] I've learned how to maneuver and fight in different conditions.

[stripedown]

[ After hearing that his mother had disowned him and placed a bounty on his head, Kisa likely wouldn't have her mind blown by "assassin heir". And what the heck is a Robin, anyway.

It's kind of incredible, though. Her cousins had certain talents that defied most common sense, like Hatsuharu's "Black" side, or how Kyo could leap out of a second-story window and land on his feet. But this is different. As far as she knows, Damian is human and not much older than her. Yet he's a fierce fighter, he's trained in harsh conditions, and he's done so much already. Why, she doesn't know. But... ]

You're amazing, Damian.

[ how are they friends. ]

[stripedown]

...

[ Well. If that's the case, then Kisa's just going to throw herself at Sierra for a tight hug. One that isn't born out of desperation. ]

[good_ideas]

[Normally Shiho would say that a bedroom is the worst place to cook dinner.

But this isn't her home, they were kidnapped here and honestly? Whoever owns this place deserves to get their furniture smashed up and used to stir soup.

With a bright smile and one precautionary hand on the door, she ushers Kisa in first, steering her towards the bed.]

There. You can sit here.

[good_ideas]

[Shiho regrets letting him ramble for all of a second because it's impossible for her to get mad when someone was clearly so interested in what they were talking about. It reminds her of Minamoto.

But that isn't going to stop her from trying to make a face at him.]

Then all we need to do is ask someone really, really strong to help us. We can crush all the furniture and use that instead of snow. Or you know, cut blocks from the floor.

[good_ideas]

[Shiho does briefly worry that this might be some kind of evil doppelganger. It doesn't help when she reaches out to touch Maribelle and feels very little with her psychometry.

....that can't be normal.]

Something's wrong.

[noholdsbard]

I wonder about that. [ But for the time being he takes off his cape to drape it across her shoulders. He’s been doing that a lot lately, he finds… ]

I’ve been led to believe that revealing secrets are what break enchantments in this realm.

[noholdsbard]

[ Can’t catch him gay thoughts!!! ]

If only you were not blessed with such talent…how sad… [ For him, anyway. It’s not Nero’s fault she’s good at this shit. ]

[noholdsbard]

[ That’s okay. Even he knows that his entire situation’s one huge clusterfuck and he wouldn’t wish it on anyone. ]

It’s difficult to be certain… [ But you know what, this is clearly an important discussion and don’t mind if he finally moves in to sit down next to her. ]

But I believe it was from what they call the “modern” era. They have such variety!

[noholdsbard]

Oh, yes. I can do a fair amount of tricks with my harp.

[ But he’s bending over to pick up that tapestry anyway. It’s probably not the best blanket around, but they haven’t got a lot of options anyway. ]

Is it really so surprising? I think your abilities far outshine my own.

[noholdsbard]

[ His face does fall a little at the memory of her lover. That…could not have been pleasant for her, let alone for him, who looked so much like… ]

I do not think any man would wish to vanquish you, regardless. [ The vampires of his world are not to be trifled with, after all. ]

kia wtf i'm screaming

[bittybat]

[It's tough. Hating yourself so much for being a monster, an awful person, but also thinking you're the best at whatever you do. It's really tough. Tougher still when other people hand out the one thing you crave most: validation.

It's not praise from his father, but from Kisa, it means kind of the same in a weird way.

He turns his head and looks off, refusing it; however, his cheeks again darken slightly with color. Something sits in the center of him like a warm knot, something pleased, something thankful, something completely guilty too.]

I wasn't the one who stopped someone from turning into an ice shard. [He doesn't glance back.] Just because I can meditate in freezing water or trek through a desert doesn't mean I'm any more amazing than you.

[troubadamsel]

[She's going to remember this, buddy.]

My tomes are back in my house. I only have my staff with me, it was on my person as I was taken to this place.

[brightlyshines]

[The silence is damning, and her expression falls. She'd known she'd screwed something up when she'd broken that mirror... but she'd never thought it could have an effect like this.

Was this cold expression he wore right now her fault? She squeezes his hands a little tighter, voice pleading a little.]

Come on... Talk to me, please.

[fineprinted]

There you go! It's not so slippery now, hm?

[ tsumugi can't help but be worried anyway, though. ]

Where do you want to go from here? I can escort you there, if you don't mind.

I did nothing???

[stripedown]

[ It's tough. Hating yourself so much for being a monster, for running away, for looking up at Kyo and finding some form of comfort that, if nothing else, there was someone worse off.

And then hearing that. That the person who's helped her out this whole time, who had broken his own mirror to spare her, who could sew and cook and draw and do pretty much anything he put his mind to, thinks she's amazing.

So it's fine if he doesn't look back, because Kisa's now turning pink. ]

That's... I think... you could have done it, too! If it had been you. It was just the first time... I was able to help someone. [ Help Damian.

But no one's called her amazing before, either. ]

[troubadamsel]

... It's temporary. Everything here has always been temporary.

[It has to be.]

[apocalypticist]

Yeah. A little cold, but otherwise okay.

[ Ryo's never been particularly expressive even without the shard dulling his emotions like a rock in a streambed, but something about his demeanor seems a little more distant than it should be. ]

We should find something to eat and a place to rest.

[whereabout]

It doesn't really matter.

[ He's cold, and he's going to be cold no matter what, he's fairly sure. There's not much point in her expending the effort of trying to change the inevitable. ]

[whereabout]

[ He'll take "marginally polite," honestly, having once been a pretty rude little shitter himself, so he's already at work trying to arrange some snapped branches already brought in from outside into something that will actually be able to hold a flame once it's been sufficiently blasted to get the ice off. Thankfully he doesn't have to light it the old fashioned way, or this could take all night.

It takes some effort, but after some prolonged encouragement via fire spell, he gets the pile going. ]

How far out did you go? If you could even tell.

[ Which, given the lack of landmarks in all that nothing, is admittedly questionable. ]

[asano_san]

[He can't even enjoy this properly because it feels so wrong.]

You're really okay with this? You're not waiting to explode at me? Or the castle in general but I get taken out in the process?

[whereabout]

[ He can do some things right! Mostly the ones that don't involve feelings or self-respect.

Onward they go, anyway. ]

[whereabout]

[ Ah, yes. He has read a trashy vampire novel or two, somewhere amidst all those other books, so a good look is enough to fill in the blanks. ]

Find it elsewhere.

[ There's not much flash or visible movement when he reaches for his weapons, as with most things he does in his stupid ninja way. There are just knives, and at some point he got to holding them. ]

[whereabout]

You don't really strike me as an assassin, though. Am I wrong?

[ Police being on your tail usually implies something bad, but it just...doesn't really seem to jive with Akira, in his opinion. ]

[espritdecorpse]

[ With a swish of his sleeves he sits down again on the bench, and scrapes some ice from the bench. He sprinkles the ice pieces over his hair and clothes. And then he shoots a glance at Archer and says: ]

That's all. You can go. Unless...

[ He touches the tips of his fingers to his mouth, his eyes alight, as if he's had a fantastic idea. ]

You want to sit with me, we'll attract more attention that way!

[ Archer's red hair will shine out like a beacon to the maidens. A girl kind enough to kiss one of them would naturally kiss both. ]