tushanshu_logs | EVENT | LANDFALL | KITHIKA

EVENT | LANDFALL | KITHIKA | BOTTLE

Characters: ALL!
Date: February 12th - 28th
Location: Kithika, inside the bottle
Situation: The discovery of an artifact from the first war against Malicant reveals the land of Kithika within a dimension of the Death Plane... and just happens to be contained inside a bottle.
Warnings/Rating: Please indicate content warnings in subject headers as applicable.

OOC INFORMATION ♦ CITY OF KEELIAI ♦ INSIDE THE BOTTLE ♦ THE WORLD EATER
Arriving in Kithika is unpleasant for the most part. Transport through the glass vessel deposits you in the middle of a thick and murky swamp, with air so hot and humid it feels as though one is breathing through a wet towel. This is a place of perpetual night and there are no celestial bodies visible overhead through the twisted vines to break up the blackness, making the only light visible that which comes clumps of marsh fungus that emit a steady glow in a variety of muted colours: pale blue, whitish green, watery mauve. The only other light comes from those who can generate it themselves and that will reveal numerous broad-leaved trees, in some places standing too thick to move through. Below, knee-deep water laps in swirls at their legs, accompanied by the occasional slithery feel of something moving in the bracken against wet limbs, gone before it can be identified. A variety of strange noises from creatures of the swamp fill the air with buzzing and hoarse croaking, interrupted by the screech of mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds darting past and hungry for a meal.

---

OOC NOTE: Characters will not be able to progress past the Temple and the Grounds for 48 IC hours after which point, the way to continue onward to find the dragon will be discovered. The second log will be posted on the 17th, to help spread out the tagging. Thank you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Rapunzel smiled at Jim's approach, despite her sopping skirts and drenched boots. She would have been relieved to see just about anyone in the swamp with her, but the fact that it was Jim - a friend - made it so much better.

"I don't know about prince charmings," she said, rolling her eyes just a bit. She didn't like to hear about princes of any kind lately. Not since the break-up with Stiles.

"But a friend would be more than welcomed."

"Well, let me be of service," he said, bowing deeply in an almost theatrical gesture, extending his hand at the same time. Away missions do tend to make him more serious, but he doubted that was what Rapunzel needed at the moment. And he wasn't in uniform, so there was no real need to adhere to protocol, anyway. He was pretty sure there was no protocol for 'going into magic bottles to fight ancient evil mold'.

Still. Skeptically, "Hasn't anyone ever told you that skirts are not the de facto exploring gear? C'mere." And this was the story of how he totally gestured at her, intent on giving her a piggy-back ride.

"I didn't have anything else to wear," she admitted while taking Jim's hand. She was more than happy to take any assistance out of the wet, mucky swamp. It took all of her toe-strength to keep her own boots on her feet.

Unfortunately, this grand moment was somewhat ruined as the gesture was not one Rapunzel was familiar with. Piggy-back rides were not something she was every offered to her. She tilted her head and gave Jim a quizzical look.

"Is something wrong with your back?"

He gave her a faintly surprised look, and straightened momentarily. "You've never had a piggyback ride? Seriously?" It just... seemed like an integral part of childhood, much less life. He used to get them off his brother before he left home.

Still, he shakes his head. "Nevermind, the point is you hop on my back and I carry you, so you're not dragging your hair and your skirt through the water." -- Actually, which reminded him he should probably find his boot. He held up a hand to forestall conversation briefly and then reached down into the muck to grab it, it came free with a squelching noise, and he tipped it upside down to get the mud and assorted grossness out of it. "So? Wanna give it a try?"

She gave him a hesitant look, not because she didn't want the help, but because she didn't want to be a burden. Things were already difficult enough, traveling through the muck of the swamp. She was sure carrying her, and all of her hair, would just make it worse for Jim.

"Are you sure?" she asked, biting her lip. "I can be pretty heavy with all of me hair..."

He frowned, just a little. Who the hell raised this girl to think that the only thing she could ever be was a burden? He knocked the remainder of the mud out of his boot and balanced awkwardly on his other foot while he pulled it back on. There was enough mud that it squished rather delightfully (not) but he'd live for the time being.

"Hey. I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it, all right? You can make it up to me later with cookies, isn't that our usual bribe?" He grinned, and held out his hand for her to take. "If you feel inclined to say 'giddyup', though, we're having words."

"Okay," she replied with a nod and a small smile. Rapunzel curled up her hair as much as possible around her arm before carefully climbing up on Jim's back. Her hand that was free of hair took hold of his shoulder for balance and her knees settled at his sides.

"Is that right?"

He bounced a little in place to test her weight, and then nodded in satisfaction. "Yeah. Just don't let yourself get smacked by a tree branch or anything, all right?" It was one of those things he might just up and miss, given the general Doom and Gloom and creepy foggy aura of the swamp.

"The pond scum kind of makes the trees retreat, but I lost my torch a while back. If I get another one, you'll probably have to carry it, okay? -- And I've been meaning to ask. What's with the hair?" Seriously, why did anyone need that much? She was right in saying it weighed a tonne. Of course, it was nothing more than what he's packed for wilderness survival expeditions in the Academy, but he couldn't fathom why anyone would even want it to be that long unless it was some weird cultural thing.

Which of course he would try to respect as best he could, if that was the case.

Rapunzel ducked her head instinctively, even if there were no imminent branches to hide from. Her fingers curl uncomfortably as he questioned her hair. In the end, explaining her life in the tower always came more easily than trying to explain her hair.

"My mother..." she began slowly. She still was quite sure how to make a convincing story. Lying was something she liked doing to anyone, let alone friends, so she tried to instead give partial truths.

"She didn't like to have my hair cut. She liked it long...so we just never cut it. It can be pretty helpful sometimes, actually!"

Because that didn't sound creepily controlling, or anything. Then again, the girl spent her life in a tower, maybe that was just par for the course. Jim didn't answer right away - mostly because his default reaction was to say 'well why don't you cut it off' in an appropriately women's-lib type sentiment, but instead he brushed a creepy draping vine out of their collective way. He was on the look-out for more fungi, too, since it'd proven necessary to get through the damned swamp.

"You-- uh, get along with your mom?"

Rapunzel shrugged slightly. It was hard to forget the terms on which they'd last parted, despite getting along for so many years.

"Most of the time," she replied. "We fought before I came here, though."

"Let me guess. About the whole tower thing?" He sidestepped nearer to a pool of the phosphorescent scum, and shifted his hand away from where he was steadying Rapunzel so he could grab his tricorder and scan it. Just to be on the safe side. There was glowing fungus, and then there was fungus that made you crazy. He's come across both types in his time.

"Yes," Rapunzel said with sigh. "I was trying to prove that I could take care of myself. That I didn't need to be so protected." She stopped, trying not to reply the last time she'd seen her mother - how cross she'd been...

Jim's tricorder proved and excellent distraction, though. She peeked over his shoulder at the device. "What's that?"

"That's not something you have to prove," he told her gently, adjusting her weight. "It's just something you do. You've been here how many months now? I think you've got the looking after yourself part down pretty well by now." Maybe not perfect, but she was still young. Chekov was older when they went up against Nero, but he was military and had been for a while. Rapunzel didn't have that. Doesn't seem to have ever had any kind of support system or network that he'd been able to discern so far.

Still, at her question he lifted the tricorder more into her line of sight and wiggled. "What, this thing? Science in a can, basically. It's awesome. You wanna try?"

Despite the dank mess of the swamp, Rapunzel couldn't help being warmed by Jim's words. It was still a strange experience to have so many people have confidence in her - to not doubt her abilities, that is took her by surprise every time. She mumbles a quiet "thank you" before taking a close peek at the tricorder.

"Can I?" she asked excitedly.

He held it up for her to take. "Be my guest. Red button analyzes whatever's on the screen, it can tell you things like whether or not it's hazardous to humans, what the chemical composition is, that sort of thing. How's your chemistry know-how?" Probably minute, possibly non-existent. And that's ignoring entirely the sort of world she's from. Rapunzel has the mind of a scientist, although it's possible she's not aware of it. Constantly curious and questioning everything around her? Yeah. He should really send her to Chekov.

"We're looking for this fungus, which'll give you the reading EC-791. An unclassified species."

"Chemistry?" The word was foreign to her. Though, whether she knew it or not she had some practical skills in the area thanks to proficiency in baking.

Rapunzel freed up a hand and took the device. Holding it towards some of the pond scum. She pressed the red button and watched in awe as the screen reacted, scrolling information on it. She never ceased to be amazed at the new machines that were introduced to her.

"Hm...that's not it," she said when the correct number didn't appear. "But that's really amazing! How does it know?"

"Chemistry is-- huh." He's never actually had to explain it before. Not the entire concept. He runs Kyle through some of the finer points once in a while - guy's gotta learn somehow - but this is like coming across someone who doesn't understand... well, air.

"So it's a science. With it, we study the way that substances interact with each other right down to a molecular level. So... like. You bake, right? Well, baking is chemistry. You mix ingredients together, they interact with one another-- like how yeast makes bread rise, and baking soda makes volcanoes? Yeah. And the tricorder? Picks up on those molecules, and identifies them for us. Pretty awesome, right?"

"Oh!" Rapunzel let out a gasp of understanding. Obviously she still didn't understand the details of the science, but Jim's explanation at least made it a tangible thing for her.

She focused on the tricorder again, wondering how something so small could do something so big. "That's really amazing," she said. "People must know so much more where you come from. I can't even imagine what it must be like."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT | LANDFALL | KITHIKA | BOTTLE

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject