awashlogs | march catch-all!

[ Usually, being an immortal crystal has it's perks! But when there's dragons around, that sort of make a habit of hoarding shiny, glittery things? It's not so convenient anymore. They learned the hard way that dragons are strong enough to simply lift them away if so desired, despite their heavy weight.

This particular dragon, huge and armored in purple scales, had gotten them by the left arm and tried to take them away - obviously, they resisted, and the dragon didn't like that. The aftermath is as follows: Cairngorm fought metaphorical tooth and nail to get out of the dragons hold, which only angered it, causing it to thrash them against the ground like a ragdoll. There's an assortment of pieces of their body strewn about this open field in Flavo, most of the shards of black crystal unrecognizable as belonging to a humanoid being, other than the one shoe with their foot still inside, and the piece of their head containing one of their eyes.

In the end, they cleaved their saw between the eyes of the dragon, killing it, though the final crunch of it's jaws still snap their arm off, causing them to fall to the ground with a heavy thud. With only half of one leg, one functioning arm and eye, there's no way for them to soften their fall, so they're only able to push themselves up shakily to take stock of the situation. The dragon doesn't seem to be moving, given how their arm dangles limply from it's mouth with no evidence of breath, but they're also not an expert on living things, and can't be certain. Just as they're about to try and look for the other half of their face, they see Shiho out of the corner of their remaining eye. It's unclear to them whether she's moving to intervene, or is merely passing by, but either way, they respond instinctually: ]

Agh— don't come over here!!

[ If the dragon is somehow still alive, they don't want to be responsible for her getting eaten or torched or et cetera... ]

[It's the hulking mess of a dragon that draws Shiho's eye first but there's no hesitation in her step as she makes her way over, determined that if this thing wasn't dead she'd probably have to do something about it.

She sees the light glinting off the shards of crystal first as she nears, her gaze darting from the nearest piece by her foot to... part of a very recognizable face. The only thing that stops her from turning right back around to get Kaoru and raze the dragon habitat to the ground is their voice. Admittedly she knows little about gems but.... how are they still able to talk while in pieces? Is that normal? She frowns... but then first turns towards the dragon, aiming with psychometry-fueled precision to shoot a tranquilizer dart where she sees the clean break in the scales where Cairngorm had managed to hit it with their saw. Is that overkill? Probably but she's both not taking chances as well as just very angry.]

What, are you going to stop me with only one arm, half a leg and an eye?

[ Their brow twitches when she fires that little dart, clearly not knowing what it's meant for. The dragon remains motionless, but they don't let their guard down at all, dragging their body as upright as they can make it. For now, since the dragon seems dormant, they give her their gaze, the movement of their body and head letting the sunlight catch on the exposed, solid black crystal that makes up the interior of their body and head. ]

I was being serious. [ Despite her concern, they seem to be functioning just fine, and don't look to be in any pain - no, just the same, tired and annoyed tone like usual from Cairngorm. ] I can survive getting thrashed around like that, but you can't.

[ Sure, she has psychic abilities (which they don't understand fully), but they're certain no regular human could survive the physical traumas they just did. Which is why they don't want her anywhere near this thing, or even out here in the open where another one might come out, attracted by the glittering shards of crystal strewn across the opening. ]

Why are you even out here? You're fighting them?

[ Maybe that mysterious dart has to do something with it...? ]

[Shiho doesn't let her guard down either until she's certain the dart has been given enough time to start working, until she's certain she doesn't see a single twitch from that dragon.

Only then does she take a step forward to Cairngorm then to the scattered black crystal everywhere.]

Surviving and liking it are two different things, aren't they? [They certainly don't look like they enjoyed it at all.]

And I don't fight. I'm just stopping them when I find them. [Which, thankfully for the dragons really hasn't been that many.]

Obviously I don't like it.

[ They huff out, turning back to the dragon now that they're both pretty certain it isn't going to be moving again. Sitting up right on the ground, they use their remaining arm to drag their body closer to the dragon's jaws, where their left arm still hangs limply between it's teeth. ]

It's going to take forever to collect this all, for one. [ "Stopping them" - they're not exactly sure what she means by that, but they suppose there might be some medicine (or magic) in that little vial that is helpful against the dragons. Not their top priority to learn about, at the current time. ] If you don't fight, I would suggest that you get back inside.

Then don't do it and make other people worry. [Not..... that she's worried. Of course not.

As Cairngorm drags themselves over to the dragon, she's reaching down to scoop up a handful of black crystal shards, letting the dirt sift through her fingers before transferring the chips to her other hand.]

And it might take forever but it's not like there's anything else to do anyway. I'll leave when I want to leave, you're not the boss of me.

[With that said, she reaches down for that piece of their face.]

[ Big... leer. It seems that two can play the don't worry others game - a game they know all too well, since they never stop lecturing others on it. With a sigh, they keep their back to her, hesitating slightly while they try to get their hand between the dragon's lip and teeth to pull it's jaw open. ]

I didn't choose to do this. And something like this is not really worth worrying about for my kind...

[ ...At least when they're at home. It is going to be a challenge to put all these pieces back together. They won't say anything that's going to incite further worry or pity, however. ]

Those are going to get heavy for you after a few pieces, you know.

Oh, so being pretty much dust is something normal? [But there's a dangerous edge to her voice as she picks up another piece. It's... definitely getting heavy. But that means she'll just make her way over to them and start making a pile of Cairngorm bits.]

How are you going to put yourself back together, anyway? Superglue? Water? Do you have a plan for this at all?

It's normal. We get broken up like this in battle regularly.

[ Or worse. They finally dislodge their arm from the dragon's jaws with an oof as they fall back from the sudden change in restraint, immediately going to work on inspecting it. ]

Of course I have a method. Being here for a year now— I've been making the glue necessary to repair gems from trees in the forest since I got here. The issue is with putting the pieces back in the right order and in the right places... it will take a longer amount of time with breaks like this.

.....How are you different from a 3D crystal puzzle again?

[She crouches down beside them, reaching a hand out as if to poke that arm in their hands, but really meaning to look into it with psychometry. Is it missing chips? Does she need to find them too?]

[ They're too tired to yank the arm away from her rudely for trying to touch it, so they just raise a brow. She'll find that it's not missing any pieces, or rather, that it's "missing piece" is just the part of their arm that's still connected to their body. ]

It's not like it's impossible. [ Do they sound annoyed? Mildly. Humans are the weird ones, not them!! ] I'd rather be a "3D crystal puzzle" than get injured the way humans do. It's gross...

Edited 2019-04-29 01:33 (UTC)

[Thank goodness for the arm not missing a piece, she thinks. Even if it is a detached arm and therefore the idea of it is kind of weird to think about.]

....Well, you've kind of got a point, I guess. I couldn't exactly glue myself back together like you can.

[But then again, humans also don't talk when they're in this many pieces which is a... plus...? Either way she's going to look at them again.]

Can you stand? I don't think I can carry you anywhere and I didn't think to bring a bag with me to carry a giant 3D crystal puzzle with.

Edited 2019-04-29 05:14 (UTC)

[ The question provokes a long, drawn out sigh from them, pressing the broken edge of their half-leg into the dirt as if to test it. ]

If I walk with a knee bent... [ They're able to get up, even if they have to lean over considerably to stay balanced on their broken leg. ] If I get my other arm on first, it'll be faster to collect this all.

[ With a pause, they give her a look, considering what she'd said about not having anything better to do anyway. They'll accept the help, if only because they're aware that that kind of talk is a roundabout way of saying she's going to (because they're that way too, when it comes to pride.) ]

My house isn't far. And there's a bag there, for the pieces.

[ They keep an eye on her over their shoulder as they take the first dragging step in the direction of their humble abode. ]

I don't even know why you already have a bag prepared for pieces. [But it better not be because they keep getting broken!!!

At least she knows better than to try and support them, especially because she can see the full weight just from touching the pieces she already has. The last thing they need is for both of them to be incapacitated at the same time.]

I'll bring your arm so we'll get that on first.

I can carry it myself.

[ They reassure her, even if they do agree that she'll have to help them put it on - and they leave it at that. Luckily, since this all went down in Flavo, the lovingly nicknamed Gem Haus cottage is not more than two or three minutes away, even with the damage to their limbs. Even more luckily, it seems that no dragons are interested in bothering them for the time being.

When the pair actually come up to the door, Cairngorm leans against the side of the entrance, looking to her as they keep balance against the building. ]

Just— open the door, and I'll tell you where to put everything.

[ A big surprise awaits inside the door, that Lottie has tried to keep secret from the town: and it's that the interior of their cottage is an exact replica of her high-end apartment from LA, fixed with electric lights, real air conditioning, running water, the works... ]

How dependable. [But she won't fight them on this, handing over the arm so she can focus instead on scooping up some small pieces. She has a pretty good idea of which home is his just from what she can see in the pieces but she's gotten very good at following like as if she doesn't, adjusting her hold on the gem chips she has once they get there.

And when she touches the door to open it? She sees exactly what's inside, pausing for maybe a touch too long before turning to them with a sudden, cheerful smile.]

Okay~ [But she's talking to this Lottie and asking her why she was keeping air conditioning to herself!!!]

[ That smile would be unnerving if they weren't currently focused on hobbling in the door - which they manage, but only barely. They grip the doorway on the way in, then proceed to limp to the nearest table, which happens to be the right nearby the kitchen. ]

That tray of jars in the cabinet, [ They point while they try to sit up best they can on the table itself. Don't get distracted by all the quality dishes and other working kitchen appliances... ] Those are the materials. You can just set the pieces you have here...

[ When they place their left arm down on the table, it's obvious that they mean to keep all the pieces together in the same place. ]

[Shiho is more than capable of getting distracted by the quality dishes and working kitchen appliances at the same time as she heads for the exact cabinet. Psychometry is good for taking stock of all the things here as well as for finding the right tray of jars on her first try.]

Will the table hold the weight? [Though now that she thinks about it... this isn't her nice table? So she puts the scattering of pieces she has in front of them.]

march catch-all!

backdated event stuff! | shiho | cw for gem dismemberment

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