[EVENT] ONCE MORE TO THE OPEN SEA

[ironwood]

Characters: ALL
Date: Throughout August
Location: Hatal from 1st-16th, Keeliai all month
Situation: With Tu Vishan once more awake, hurried preparations are made for the departure from the continent.
Warnings/Rating: Add warnings in subject headers as needed.

August starts much the same way as July ended, cold and stuck, but within a day or so a change is evident: at night, the bioluminescence of Tu Vishan's shell begins pulsing, in a bright, specific pattern.

Deciphered, the pattern counts down, pointing to the 16th. The citizens of Keeliai have that long to prepare, to finish their business and make any farewells they need to, before Tu Vishan resumes the itinerant lifestyle to which he was so long accustomed.

The waking of the turtle means, broadly, joy in the city, and also a bustling sense of busyness, as people who had grown comfortable in the patterns of Tavimbi-and-Keeliai find it's time to go their separate ways and rush to get affairs in order. For all that it's a departure, it's hopeful, coming as it does at a time when the state of the city is shifting as well, toward something perhaps more unified.

Tu Vishan is awake. The turtle moves.

---

LINKS
Asti Child Visions | Securing for Departure | Crime and Protests | A Budding Government | Turtle's Head | Setting Sail

 

Comments

TURTLE'S HEAD

[ironwood]

At the forward part of the shell, for the head itself is so large on this continent sized creature that it isn't seen fully, has once again become a place to visit. Those who have been on Tu Vishan for quite a while may remember the intense feeling of peace at the Turtle's Head, and may welcome its return. For newer arrivals, this will be an entirely new sensation for them, to feel as every worry, concern, and unpleasant thought becomes insignificant and easily manageable.

The kedan are just as affected by this feeling, and before long there's even some concern that a few of them have gotten outright addicted to the aura, and completely refuse to leave the area at all. In addition, members of the newly energized Ban Om sect are organizing pilgrimages to the Head, where they will sit in enraptured groups, except when they threaten to become aggressive to anyone seen as using this peaceful aura disrespectfully.

[sexysunglassess]

He's amused by this feeling of peace. Is it almost forced? He doesn't really mind although perhaps he should, with his tainted half-soul and people he pisses off.

But naah, he doesn't think it's a big deal and he is happy to be taking a nap in the most inconvenient places, where people might trip over him if they're not keeping an eye on the ground.

He does like his naps and lazy drawing, after all. (Maybe he caught a perfectly realistic image of whoever just fell over him.)

But at least he won't be stuck forever, because eventually, he'll run out of candy.

[purered]

Klaus had come up to the turtle's head to meditate. He had quite a lot on his mind these past few months - the loss of Leo, Erskine, and Anton had hit him very hard, and other obligations meant he hadn't really found time to process these losses.

He was so preoccupied, he very nearly tripped over a man laying on the ground.

Stumbling, Klaus righted himself promptly and looked to make sure the other party was unharmed.

"I beg your pardon-" he apologized, "I hope you aren't hurt?"

[sexysunglassess]

There's a grin on Hyuuga's face and he flashes Klaus a peace sign. "I'm totally fine!" He was lying on the ground in the first place, and didn't exactly lie down because he got hurt---and it's not like he tripped over an overly cheerful person like Klaus did, either. "You sure know how to stay on your feet! Like a cat!"

[sensitively]

At the head of the turtle, Rey can't help but lean forward toward the edge to get a better look at how high up they are and how fast they're traveling. It still takes some getting used to, the idea of moving from place to place this way, but the open sea is more than a refreshing change from her years of solitude on Jakku, and there is a certain degree of inner calm that she achieves as she stands and looks out toward the water, the wind in her hair and the sun bright and warm on her skin.

She tilts her face into the wind, standing on the very edge of the precipice of the turtle's head, and extends her arms outward, imagining she's a great bird taking wing into the air — no longer confined to the dirt and sand, free to fly anywhere she chooses.

[no_light]

Kylo Ren is not the kind of person drawn to places which promise peace and tranquility, but his interest in Tu Vishan has brought him here anyway. There is something exceptional about this place, and he needs to experience it for himself.

And of course Rey of all people had gotten here before him...

He scowls at the three buns at the back of her head, but it's hard to muster any proper anger with the turtle's influence working its magic on him. "Are you trying to throw yourself to your death, scavenger?" he drawls. "I'd be disappointed, I was looking forward to doing the deed myself."

It had to be Tu Vishan's influence that made him feel a twinge of unease at the thought of her falling to the churning water deep, deep below them.

[sensitively]

She should have felt him before she heard him, but in her somewhat-euphoric state of calm, his voice startles her so much that Rey stumbles and nearly loses her purchase on the edge. She catches herself at the last minute, regaining her footing and shooting him a glare to rival his own death glare — and for Kylo Ren, that's no small feat.

" — Disappointed?" she sneers, folding her arms under her chest in an effort not to betray how fast her heart is beating from that near-fall. Now she feels like a perfect idiot, having let him sneak up on her and see her closing her eyes and pretending with her arms open wide like a child.

"Why don't you come up here on the edge yourself, then, and see how long you last?" Her scowl turns saccharinely-sweet. "I'll make sure you don't fall to your death, don't worry."

[no_light]

"Do you think I frighten so easily?" he sneers right back, but then realizes that she probably meant something different. The closer he gets to the true head of the turtle, the harder it becomes indeed to feel disappointment, or anything negative at all.

Peace wants to settle within his heart, and the Light Side feels stronger than it has been in a good long while, while the Dark... He doesn't even dare reach for it, afraid that he would find nothing but intangible shadows.

"This is disturbing," he notes, still holding on to his scowl by sheer willpower. But he joins her right there at the edge, and barely even gives a thought to violence at all. Kylo peers down at the churning waves far, far below them, and instinctively uses the Force to steady himself. Not that he's scared of heights, but.. Just in case. They are very high up indeed. "I never realized how far we are above the ocean."

[sensitively]

Part of her agrees with him, about the 'disturbing' aspect; the pull at the turtle's head here is visceral and can be felt throughout her entire body, not just in her mind but in her heart. But Rey lets herself surrender to it much easier than he does, and already despite his presence — which isn't inciting her to violence at the moment, only a strange sort of unsettled fascination — she feels as though calm is taking root inside her, making a home within her chest.

Ren stands beside her, looking down from the height of the turtle's head at the churning water several hundreds of feet below, and out of the corner of her eye she sees him holding himself steadily while looking down with the sort of unbridled interest she's had, here.

She speaks up again, knowing he'll hear her over the rushing wind when they're standing side-by-side like this. "When I stand here, all I want to do is look out at the horizon and the sky. At where it is we're headed." She blinks, her expression mirroring wonder. "I've never felt this much freedom, before."

[no_light]

"Freedom," he muses, and for once he just can't muster any scorn or anger, or anything negative at all as he speaks to her. It's rather frustrating, since it's not like he feels indifferent towards her. It's not the detached professionalism of when his interrogation subjects are trying to antagonize him either. He is just... calm. Relaxed.

It's kind of nice, or would be, if he didn't know in the rational part of his mind that he was not supposed to enjoy feeling calm. Tranquility fueled the Jedi's powers, not the Knights'. But he couldn't get upset about that either.

"Is that what freedom means to you? Being able to..." He frowned, peering at her from the corner of his eyes. "It can't be open space, you had enough of that on Jakku. The water? Or traveling?"

[sensitively]

She hears that, in his voice; beside the calmness there's a distinct lack of indifference, an absence of stoicism despite what are probably his best efforts. Rey finds herself absently wondering when he's ever felt such tranquility, before this moment. If ever.

Her brows knit together in a frown as she shakes her head, still looking out over the horizon. "It's not about open space." There was far too much of that on Jakku, despite her tiny home she'd made in the AT-AT; there had been nothing lonelier than looking out toward the horizon and seeing absolutely nothing.

"It's not being tethered, to something." She's careful to use correct wording: something, not someone. "It's knowing that I don't have to stay where I don't want to be, waiting for someone who's never going to come." Her eyes grow far-off and wistful as she says it — even here, even now, she still feels a pang of remorse for the family she would never fully remember and never know.

"It's no longer being under someone's thumb, and being able to live my life, finally." She glances at him again beside her, just a quick peek. It's hard not to, when he's so still and calm like this.

[no_light]

Waiting for someone who would never come... He felt an answering pang in his own heart, albeit softened now by the tranquility that refused to be shaken off. He hadn't waited in the same manner she had, not so literally, but in a way... He had so often felt like he was waiting for a hand offered to him. But that thought led to thinking of what had happened when the offered hand finally came, and he shied away from it, focusing on Rey again.

"Living your own life must be nice," he said, unable to keep some wistfulness out of his voice. In some ways the peace made it harder. Maybe this was why the Jedi sought it - this tranquility ripped away the comforting veil that anger provided you, all these comfortable little slights to hide behind. "I..." He swallowed. "I think you're very lucky, to have this chance. You're right to treasure it."

And while that path would never be his again, he could look at her, and take in the sight of her so peaceful, for once not bristling and ready to fight as soon as she was in his presence. His own doing, of course, but he treasured the change anyway. And tried not to blush as he recalled how he had looked at her when they took the pink Lucid...

[sensitively]

That pink Lucid crystal? Was heretofore never to be brought up again. (Far, far too embarrassing, the way she'd felt her face flush and her entire body respond to his nearness.)

Rey turned her face to him fully, still standing beside him at the edge, the wind ruffling the stray wisps of her hair and tousling the voluminous locks of his. Like this, he too looked for a moment that he could be free of whatever shackles held him, whatever had prompted him to do such horrible things. Things that perhaps he regretted, that he hadn't wanted to do but had been cornered to when all other options were rendered unavailable.

The wistful tone she heard in his words prompted her to reply, brows lowered and serious above the dark intensity of her eyes.

"You could, too," she offered quietly, hesitantly, uncertain whether it was the right choice of topic to broach — but in her own reckless way charging on into it anyway. "Be free. Of him." Of Snoke; of all of the trappings that bound him so tightly to the First Order.

"He's not here," touching a finger to her own forehead to imply his, "any longer. Is he?"

[no_light]

Here and now, standing at the edge of their little world with his mind feeling clearer and Lighter than it had in a very long time, it did indeed seem possible to be free. Kylo swallowed hard, his eyes found and held hers. "I..." He licked his lips. "I can feel the Light Side here. It's so strong." He frowned. "Or... it feels like the Dark Side is no longer shouting so loud that it drowns out the call of the Light."

Here and now, he heard only the Light. Everything seemed possible, he just knew better than to believe in impossible things.

Kylo let his gaze stray into the distance. Such a vast expanse of ocean before them. The emptiness of it should frighten him, but maybe... Maybe he understood what she'd meant when she spoke of feeling free here.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, it didn't feel quite as childish as hugging himself. "My Master can't reach me here. But it's just for a little while. I will return to his side." He shook his head firmly. "I chose my path, scavenger, I chose it all these years ago and I won't stray. I sacrificed too much to falter now." And for the first time, he could think of that sacrifice without feeling overwhelmed by it, and shying away lingering on it.

[sensitively]

As she watched him speak, Rey felt the lightness in her heart grow heavier, for just a moment — despite feeling how strong the pull of the Light was at this place, despite not having his Supreme Leader whispering incessantly in his mind, Ren was stubbornly clinging to his path as though it was the only choice for him.

She looked back out at the water, at the vast expanse of horizon before them. The breeze ruffled the flyaways of her hair, but she didn't move to draw them away from her face. "I'm sorry to hear that," she replied calmly, a far cry from the usual anger she would have met his response with. "Perhaps one day you'll realize that it doesn't have to be this way — that you're not trapped, like you think you are. That you're still free to make different choices." She gave a brief shake of her head.

"Sacrifices aren't in vain. They're not a scorecard to be tallied." Not like the endless etchings she'd painstakingly carved into the inside of the AT-AT, diligently, every single day of her isolation. "They don't own you."

open

[starspangled]

Steve knows that coming here is something like a band-aid. Things aren't as trouble-free as the aura would lead them to believe, they never are. It would bother him to see anyone lingering for too long, using this feeling as a crutch the same way some people might use alcohol or other highs. He might even be the buzzkill who tries to talk to them and convince them to come back for awhile.

But everyone needs a break sometimes. The longer Steve's been here, away from Ultron and Sokovia, the longer he's realized some things about himself: like how tired he is. How much he doesn't know about himself.

So he can be found there too, sitting and then lying back when the weight finally lifts from his shoulders, eyes closed as he just breathes, rests, even sleeps. It's nice to have good dreams for a change.

[dislocked]

[ Bucky comes here often -- there's everything about the serenity of this spot that still calls to him even now, and he's not surprised to see Steve resting there on his own. He doesn't disturb him when he approaches, very quietly settling down beside him to keep watch over his slumber.

It hasn't escaped his notice that Steve is exhausted; he's been that way for awhile now, even when he busies himself with that new gym thing, with Bucky giving inputs on the occasion, but seeing him like this is an entirely different thing altogether.

He looks different, younger without the lines of worry or the set of that jaw whenever he's feeling particularly stubborn. ]

[starspangled]

[Steve's oblivious to Bucky's approach, which says as much for his stealth as it does the magic of this place. Sleep this deep normally eludes him, and it's not something that Steve is entirely sorry for. The deeper he falls, the easier it is for the nightmares and memories pretending to be nightmares to take root. When he's not dreaming, there's just nothing at all, and it's like waking up from the ice all over again.

It's more peaceful this time. Steve opens his eyes and doesn't immediately feel an ache in his jaw, because he hasn't clenched his teeth even while he slept. His fingers aren't curled into the sheets. He wakes up feeling the way that he should - rested, relaxed.

And then he spots Bucky by his side, and he reaches out a hand to touch his shoulder.]

Thought I might still be dreaming.

[Steve smiles at him, awake but still a little drowsy. He starts pushing himself into a sitting position.]

How long was I out?

[dislocked]

A couple of hours or so.

[ Bucky doesn't remember when Steve had ever slept so well -- even in Brooklyn, the man's sleep had usually been wracked by dry coughs or, if it was flu season, awful sinuses. But here he is, sleeping the best sleep of his life with Bucky quietly watching over him. He's envious, just a little; for that kind of dreamless, peaceful sleep. He doesn't remember the last time, if ever, he had the luxury of it.

He looks over and smiles briefly, meeting those vivid blue eyes. ]

Did I wake you?

[starspangled]

[Steve can't remember either. A couple of hours might as well be a solid eight for him, especially when it's such a deep and peaceful sleep.]

Nah. [Steve shakes his head as he drapes his arms over his knees. He takes a slow look around them, stopping when his eyes meet Bucky's again.] To be honest, I wouldn't have minded if you did.

[He'll take reality, this reality, as long as Bucky's a part of it.]

So, what're your plans for today?

[dislocked]

It's not often that you've slept this well, is it?

[ Steve might not have minded, but Bucky would have -- he can't take that away from him, too. Bucky will watch over him for as long as it takes, whatever he needs. He's settled next to him, looking out into the horizon. ]

I was thinking about that gym you wanted to do.

[starspangled]

[Steve doesn't answer, not in actual words. But the lack of an answer and the faint smile that crosses his lips says enough.

The important thing is that he's rested now, he has his best friend by his side, and things feel good again. He reaches over to nudge him again, initiating those little contacts.]

What about it?

[dislocked]

[ That smile is rare, he knows this. Steve's affectionate and warm when he comes to nudge at him, getting right up into his space. Once upon a time, he would have minded -- but this time it's different.

This is his best friend, for better or worse, and maybe here with him, he can find some measure of peace, his own way to atone for all the wrong that he has done. He doesn't deserve Steve, this is a truth he can never dispute, but he can selfishly want to have him for awhile, right?

Just for awhile. For as long as they are on this turtle, in this land, where their ghosts sometimes seem to be one step behind. ]

Do you plan to teach them self-defense, or is it just the exercise machines?

[starspangled]

[Bucky has always deserved him. It's the rest of the world who appreciated Steve after the fact. He owes him this, and right or wrong, Steve wants to mend this more than he wants to go back. It is selfish, but...he's going to let himself be selfish this time.]

There's a dojo that probably teaches that sort of thing. Wouldn't want to step on any toes. [Steve's smile becomes brighter, a little mischievous.] We could still put that deli in the back. That would really set us apart.

[dislocked]

Thereby ensuring that we'll have our clients for life?

[ You know, work out, get fat again, back to working out, then get fat again... There's a flicker of amusement in his eyes, and he finally nudges him back. ]

You've got a head for business and I didn't even realise that.