tushanshu_logs | MANDORALLEN OPEN POST

Entry tags:

MANDORALLEN OPEN POST

Characters: Mandorallen, CT, Yelena, and whoever else!
Date: anytime during the landfall event
Location: Mainland OR Tu Vishan!
Situation: Mandorallen is making some expeditions onto the mainland, making sure people stay safe. Feel free to run into him on the mainland, or somewhere on the turtle, if that suits your fancy.
Warnings/Rating: Warning for probable mindless violence on Mandorallen's part.

[ Mandorallen has never been a man much for insatiable curiosity. Few men of his kind are. There's a lot to be said for the Arends, but imagination has never much been their strong suit. Still, the mysterious allure of the mainland isn't the only thing that's drawn foreigners to it; for Mandorallen, the draw isn't the promise of uncharted lands, but rather the safety of the people. The kedan have spread plenty of warnings about the dangers of the mainland, about its hostile environment, and Mandorallen knows well that there are many foreigners on the island who have little means of defending themselves.

That he finds his familiar steed, clad all in armor and bearing the crest of Vo Mandor, is a pleasant surprise. This place is strange, indeed, but Mandorallen doesn't dwell too long on the mystery of it. He's seen plenty of strange things in his own relatively short lifetime, and he isn't likely to question it. He's just glad to have his horse back.

Of course, the mainland holds potent dangers, even for someone as recklessly courageous and competent with a blade as Mandorallen is, but he's far less concerned for his safety than he is for anyone else's. ]

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[ The voice almost sounds familiar, but the tinny cast to it as it comes through the armor obscures it, and Mandorallen can't quite place it. He dismounts, approaching her slowly, cautiously, but he draws near all the same. He's never seen armor like this, but there's no mistaking what it is, even to his primitive eye. Still, the way she isn't moving at all, just frozen in place there, is starting to concern him a little. ]

Art thou injured?

No.

[He seems to hear her, at least, and CT lets her eyes slip shut in relief. This isn't what she'd planned on happening, and while her normal impulse would be to resist ever admitting weakness or asking for help, she'd also never, ever stopped to consider how frightening it would be to be trapped in her own armor, for all intents and purposes completely paralyzed and blind.

She can't let him walk away and leave her, maybe to die. She can't, and her voice rises higher, on the edge of panic. He'll stop and help her. He has to.]

I'm - I can't move.

[ Good thing Mandorallen is totally honor bound to help damsels in distress. Of course, CT would rather die than admit to being a damsel in distress. He comes a little closer, still trying to discern the problem at a glance. ]

Forgive my confusion, but wherefore art thou so frozen in place? Is this the work of some sorcery?

[Of course. CT doesn't have the first idea how to start explaining this. It occurs to her that it might be easier just to say yes, there's a curse and it's from an evil wizard and - but she just sighs.]

No. It's - my armor just - shut down and stopped working.

[yeahh he's not gonna get that.]

I just - I can't move it. I need to get it off.

...Please.

[ Well, he can't ignore such an earnest plea for help, even if she wasn't exactly sweet and kind when they'd last spoken. Still, Mandorallen pretty much always takes the moral highroad, and he's got no problem helping her out. He crosses the rest of the distance between them, crouching slightly to get a better look. There doesn't appear to be anything externally wrong with the armor, and he's never dealt with armor like this before, but...well, it's armor. It shouldn't take him too long to figure out how to detach the plates. ]

Fear not, my lady. I have pried apart the armor of many young knights who thought to take a foolish challenge by wading into the lake, only for their armor to rust itself quite firmly shut.

[Of course he has. CT tries to nod, realizes she can't, and grits her teeth in frustration.]

Okay.

[Even though she can't see, she can somehow sense him moving closer, crouching down to peer at her and examining the armor.

It hits her, just then, just what all this means. If he hasn't recognized her already from her voice, he certainly will as soon as he manages to get her helmet off. She panics briefly - she can't let him know she can't let anyone know - and just as quickly realizes that she really, really doesn't have a choice here. It's reveal her identity or be left out here to die, and she has a feeling that Mandorallen wouldn't let her choose the second option even if she'd wanted to.]

Wait!

[She says it quickly, before he can touch her, pausing as she tries to figure out what she wants to say, how to put in in terms he'll understand.]

I - listen, I - you can't let anyone else know who I am. Okay? It's - I'm in hiding. There's - bad people - there's villains out there who would...hurt me, if they knew.

Okay?

[It's not quite the truth. She's the villain, if there is one, even if she'd only done what she had to do, and it makes her uneasy to describe York and Carolina that way, but - she can't let them find her. She can't.]

[ Mandorallen stops when she implores him to, but her plea gets to him. Even if their last interaction hadn't gone that well, he's inclined to believe her, and she sounds like she's in genuine distress. Besides, Mandorallen is no stranger to secrets, and he'd happily pledge his life upon its safekeeping if she asked for it. It doesn't even occur to him that she might be lying, that she might be concealing her identity for a less than savory reason. ]

Thou hast only to ask. I would sooner let blood spill from my veins than thy secret from my lips. No villain of such dark character shall lay a hand on thee.

[ Ah, Arends.

He kneels at her side, reaching to undo her helmet first. It stands to reason she'd need to breathe, right? And for all he lacks common sense, Mandorallen knows his trade, and even with all the fancy technology, it's still armor. He finds the release for her helmet and tugs it off, looking at her with terrifyingly genuine concern. ]

Hast thou endured like this for long?

[It's overblown and melodramatic, but it works. She knows Mandorallen well enough by now to know that he means it, that he's not being sarcastic or exaggerating, and she lets herself relax a little, lying there and letting him release the helmet.

She doesn't look great when he manages to get it off. The armor's climate controlled and comfortable enough, but she's stiff from lying there for so long, and she hasn't been able to eat or, more importantly, drink anything for hours. She's a little pale as she blinks up at him, a little taken aback just by how invested and worried he looks.]

I'm fine.

[It's not really an answer to his question, as she licks her lips and shakes her head a little, rolling it in a circle and wincing at the stiffness of her neck.]

I just - just need to get free.

Fear not, friend Connie. Thou wilt not have to endure this much longer. My steed is yet well-rested; I believe I can get thee back to the city ere sundown.

[ He works away at her armor, not at a lightning pace but with a determined steadiness that comes from years of training and a particularly Arendish single-mindedness. ]

[CT swallows, wordless. This is getting worse all the time. He can't carry her armor back on that horse, not without breaking its back, and she realizes for the first time that she'll have to leave it here. She has no choice - she can't drag it back when it's powered down, not on her own, not even with Mandorallen's help.

There's nothing she can do about that, though, and she just nods, lying there, pathetically helpless as he works to strip off the armor, unable to do anything but move her limbs in small circles as he gets them free, trying to bring feeling back after so long.]

Okay.

[ Her armor is heavy -- heavier than any armor Mandorallen has ever handled, and it mystifies him to the core. By the time he's done prying it away from her bodysuit, the pieces lie in a haphazard heap on the ground, and there are rivulets of sweat trickling down Mandorallen's face. He heaves a breath, straightening up with a grunt. ]

Can -- canst thou stand, now?

[She watches him struggling to lift the heavy pieces of the armor, and feels a twinge of pity and guilt - he hadn't asked for this, and now he's straining to help her out while she lies there helplessly.

Mandorallen doesn't complain, though, and when he turns back to her she nods before even trying, pushing herself up on one shaky arm.]

Yeah - yes.

[Sort of. She manages to push herself to her feet, but stumbles immediately - her right leg had gone numb from being pinned in the armor for so long, and she winces, arms flailing as she tries to keep her balance.]

[ Weary though his body might be from lifting the heavy pieces of CT's armor, Mandorallen is quick to catch her with an arm, keeping her steady. She doesn't look too well. ]

Fear not, Connie. Thou canst rest on the back of my steed until we arrive at Keeliai.

[ He pulls her upright, reaching for his canteen with his other hand. ]

Thou must be parched of thirst -- here. Drink as much as thou might need.

[NO SHE DOESN'T NEED HELP - but Mandorallen's already there, supporting her, and...well, it's not like there's anyone else around to see, and she knows he won't think any less of her for it. CT rests her weight on his arm, letting him pull her to her feet, and she takes the canteen gratefully, already twisting the cap off as she nods. She's not stupid, after all - even if she wasn't feeling like she was dying of thirst, she's been lying in the armor for hours, and dehydration is nothing to joke about.]

Thanks.

[She tilts her head back and drinks, savoring the cool water, and stops only when she has to catch her breath, breathing hard and blinking at Mandorallen.]

...thank you.

[ He gives her a faint smile, nodding his head to the side. ]

I have no need of thanks, Connie. Only the assurance that thou art well and safe.

[She's not blushing, of course. She's not. It's just the overheating. From the desert, and the dehydration.

CT lowers the canteen, shrugging and glancing away.]

I'm not dead, at least.

[And she would have been, eventually, if he or someone else hadn't come along.]

And for that, I am glad. It would have been a hardship indeed to have discovered thy corpse instead.

[ He looks dubiously at the pile of armor, his mouth turning down into a frown. ]

I can take thee on horseback, but I am afraid thy armor is too heavy. It is quite curious; it is a struggle to lift merely one piece. It will have to be left behind. I pray, tell me -- how is it that thou wert able to wear something so heavy?

Yeah, I would've hated to ruin your day like that.

[She looks longingly down at the armor. Every instinct screams at her not to leave it - it's her protection and her disguise, all in one, and if she walks away from it now, there's no knowing if she'll get it back, or who might discover it in the meantime.

He's right, though. There's no way to move it, not when it's powered down that way, even with a horse. CT shrugs, still looking unhappily down at the armor instead of at him.]

It - you wouldn't understand.

[Or at least, she doesn't know how to explain it so he could.]

[ He accepts that answer pretty readily -- probably moreso than anyone else CT's met. ]

Perhaps not.

[ He briskly pats the armored flank of his horse, reaching to take the canteen back from her since it looks like she's finished. ]

I don't wish to rush thee, Connie, but it would be best if we left ere long. There are dangers here besides the sun.

[She lets him take the canteen without protest, her gaze lingering on the armor until he speaks and she tears her eyes away and back to him.]

Oh. Right. Yeah, okay.

[CT heaves a heavy sigh, shooting one last, worried look back at the armor before she turns away and to Mandorallen in the horse.]

...Should I get up first?

If thou dost wish. But if thou art unaccustomed to the steed, I can pull thee up.

[ Most people here seem to be confused about horses okay. ]

No, I can -

[and then she looks at the horse, at how tall it is, and realizes she's still weak from lying in the hot armor so long. She presses her lips together, annoyed with herself, and then sighs reluctantly.]

I guess that would be best.

[ Mandorallen nods briskly, swinging himself up into the saddle without much apparent effort. He reaches down with one mailed hand to clasp CT's, pulling her up in one smooth movement to bring her onto the saddle behind him. He grasps the reins as soon as he's settled, glancing over his shoulder at her. ]

Art thou well situated?

[CT does what she can to help, but - well, it turns out there isn't much she needs to do. Mandorallen pulls her up easily, and she finds herself in the saddle close behind him, staring at his armored back.

It's been ages since she'd actually been on a horse, but she remembers certain things well enough. Falling off is not going to be in the cards today, she decides, and hesitates only briefly before wrapping her arms around his waist, hanging on securely and half-watching him to see if this is all right, or if he's going to protest or get offended.]

...Yes?

[ Mandorallen doesn't protest at all, just shifts slightly in the saddle as he grips the reins in both hands. ]

Hold fast, friend Connie. We will be moving at a swift pace -- better to avoid the myriad dangers of this place.

[ And then, with a crack of the reins and a forward lurch, the horse breaks into a steady gallop in the direction of Tu Vishan. ]

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MANDORALLEN OPEN POST

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