open | event | All Shook Up!

[ironwood]

Characters: Teams Alpha, Beta, and Charlie; also, everyone!
Date: February 17th (through 28th)
Location: Tu Vishan's shell damaged areas (multiple locations), sewers
Situation: There are a number of damaged sections of Tu Vishan's shell and the kedan are working at repairs and, where the turtle's flesh itself has been damaged, healing. There are many convoluted sewer passages now open that Foreigners technically could access, if they can make it past the police that have been stationed around each exposed area.
Warnings/Rating: Medical examinations, blood & gore references, sewage; to be updated as needed.


Exposed Areas
The damages sustained during the dive event are not excessive in number, but are plentiful enough to require work groups of kedan to be deployed in a twenty-four/seven repair schedule. They are signed into each area through one of Evandau's direct reports and their numbers are counted throughout the day to enforce strict controls over those that have access to Tu Vishan, their most precious resource.

Those making it past the checkpoints or sneaking through gaps in the sentries find that the Emperor did not lie about the damages done. There are scars near each damaged bit of shell that shift into spider webbed stress lines and end with the jagged edging of broken shell. Kedan workers are busy trying to clear away broken shell and install metal-and-wood framing that will hold these pieces back in place when they are done.

Beneath the surface, some are working at dams and blockages in what appears to be an ancient sewer system. The walls are smooth and indicative of architecture done in concert with the natural growth of the turtle. Lanterns provide some pinpoints of light where dark mosses have grown over the bioluminescent shell itself, but the further one goes from the work sites, the more one must rely upon the natural lighting of the shell in order to proceed.

At the core of each operation are the best healers that the kedan population has to offer. They can be seen tending torn and blooded flesh of a momentous scale, mending the damages done directly to the turtle to the best measure that they can. These areas are the most stringently guarded, for Tu Vishan is most vulnerable beneath the armoured layer of its shell.

Sewage meets most that enter the tunnels rather than skulking about the sites, with an unpleasant smell lingering in the nose and mouth the longer that one stays there -- oh, and in the clothes, which may make a stealthy exit more difficult if one is not downwind. The tunnels twist and turn aplenty, crossing one another with a design more evolutionary than engineered. Those that wander in are at risk of becoming lost beneath the surface, with only a few doors and small closet-like rooms to be found where tools were stored once upon a time.

Be wary, Foreigners! There are many a kedan patrolling these areas and they will give chase in an unauthorised party is found. Evandau briefed a number of the teams himself, advising that Foreigners are all considered unauthorised. Parties subject to arrest are to be brought to the surface and handed over to either the police or, once it's in place, Raylan's civilian team for eventual escort to the palace prison.

OOC: Thread headers (and starters for the teams) are provided in the comments area of this post!

Comments

[kelpful]

It takes him a little while to respond. Once they get cleaned up and he can experience some real water, he thinks it won't be so bad. But right now? Right now sucks.

"...It's not water," he says eventually. He tries telling himself that he's being stupid, that he needs to be strong, that he should have pulled it together for Leo. "I mean, some of it is, but most of it's just sewage. I can't do anything with that." And he has reason to be hyper aware of what that kind of liquid can do to him.

[sophos]

She gives him another squeeze. Annabeth is observant, with meticulous attention to detail. It's not hard to figure where his thought process is going, even if she only heard what happened in story form.

"I believe you," she says with absolution. She's covered in it, she ran through it, she knows. She also knows there's more to it than that. "It's not your fault."

Because she knows a part of him is blaming himself right now, too.

[kelpful]

He sucks in a lungful of air, but it still tastes like the sewers. "Annabeth, I can summon the ocean." The guilt is laced all through his tone. He doesn't have to disagree with words, the way he speaks does it for him. "I just couldn't focus. Everything felt...sick."

It's not something he would ever share with anyone except her. For all his friendliness and backchat, Percy knows he's supposed to be the hero for other demigods, that he needs to stay strong. Annabeth, who's already seen him at his worst a hundred times over, he doesn't have to hide anything from.

[sophos]

"I know you can." She frowns, both in sympathy and with minor chastising.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Percy. And I know what you're going to tell me otherwise, so don't even try it."

But she gets it, that feeling of weakness, of failure, and Annabeth more than anyone can understand how crushing that is. She squeezes his hand again, gives him a sideways hug, and leans herself closer into him. Quietly: "Because of what happened in Rome."

It's not a question. Nor is it judgmental.

[kelpful]

Percy just lets himself take comfort in Annabeth's steadfast for a moment.

"I didn't think it'd be a problem," he says eventually, pulling away a little. "Like, it happened, but then it was over and nobody drowned. And I've been surrounded by water since I got here and everything's been fine."

He makes a bit of a face. "I guess it wasn't water that was the problem."

[sophos]

Annabeth doesn't respond right away, her expression turning into something thoughtful, as she lightly rubs her hand on his back (though she doesn't quite realize she's doing that).

"You said it yourself. There's not a lot of water in all this either." This being the sewers, and she'd make a gesture if her hands weren't refusing to break contact with him. She hesitates for a moment, but she knows him well enough by this point that she can practically think his thoughts herself. "It's not bad to still be afraid or worried over it, okay? You're not invincible."

'Not anymore' is unintentionally hanging in the air, because she knows neither of them could forget it. But she's not going to let him blame himself or drown in these feelings, figuratively speaking. (She chides herself for poor word choice.) He is not the problem.

"We can get through this." The we is natural; she doesn't even think about it.

[kelpful]

The hand rubbing back and forth in his back helps that sick feeling subside more than anything else has so far. He presses his face into her shoulder again for a moment, listening to her reassure him.

He fills in the 'not anymore' after invincible on his own, but it doesn't really bother him. He can still remember plunging into the Little Tiber with her name on his mind; if he hadn't, he never would have made it back to her. Even with the situation right now, invincibility isn't worth Annabeth.

We can get through this. There's still a lot of residual guilt and concern there, but he still believes her when she says it. Annabeth doesn't lie, not to him. So he lifts his head off her shoulder and gives her a tired smile. "Can we get through it somewhere with a shower? Because this is gross."

[sophos]

Her hand moves to the back of his neck when he leans into her shoulder, another thoughtless movement. She can tell he's relaxing, a little bit, and she doesn't push him. She means every word she says, because she believes in him. Even if he was afraid of drowning, she's there for him, and she'll drag him out of it. Always.

At his smile, Annabeth breaks into a tiny one of her own, resisting the urge to shake her head when he speaks. But it's a good sign. She pauses to listen for any movements in the system below them. "And here I was beginning to think sewage was starting to be our thing."

By which she means yes, please, a shower would be good. She can worry about everything else once they get out and cleaned up.

[kelpful]

Percy goes to kiss her on the cheek, and then makes a face before he gets to it. Because they really are covered right now. "I'm trying to decide if that's a better or worse thing than you hitting me all the time."

He breaks away from her completely then, his stomach as settled as it can be while they're still in the sewers. "Okay. Shower, sleep, and then finding Leo once - and then finding Leo. Sound good?"

[sophos]

She laughs at the face he makes, but she can't say she blames him. There's a reason she resisted all her own urges to kiss him while they sat up here. Except she lightly smacks his shoulder at that remark, because how could she not? "Worse, clearly."

Annabeth shifts herself to the edge, tugging his hand in hers to pull him along beside her. She dangles her legs over the side. "Sounds good. And there's no Kampê to worry about in this jail, which automatically makes it easier. We'll get him out, okay?" Her tone is determined. Confident.

Giving his hand a squeeze, she jumps to the ground below, knowing he'll go in sync.

[kelpful]

"Oh man, Annabeth, don't say that." Knowing their luck, when they try to break in she'll be waiting for them now.

He moves after her, and jumps at the same time. There's a very brief, very hideous sense of deja vu that has him clenching her hand hard enough to actually hurt, but he realises what he's doing almost immediately and forces himself to relax. His expression is some mix between strained and sheepish; this has not been Percy's night. "Sorry. Come on, let's go. You remember the way, right?" Of course she does.

[sophos]

Her eyes are on him instantly when she feels actual pain in her hand, but it only takes one look to realize why, and her face falls, just a little. She squeezes his hand back, then nods. "Of course I do."

And Annabeth guides them back out through the sewer system easily (who knew routes that didn't move made for better navigation?). There's a few close encounters as they creep out through the exit, and subsequently through the worksites (the fact that they both smell so utterly disgusting probably didn't help). Back routes and back streets are her choice as they head for her suite, because there's no way they'd be able to hide where they were if someone, kedan or otherwise, spotted them.

There's a playful brawl over who gets the shower first (which Annabeth wins, and she makes him wait outside so the sewage doesn't get all over her couch). She lets him know when she's done for his turn, then crawls for Daedalus's laptop at a desk in her bedroom, flicking it on and running prison break scenarios, inputting as much as she knows about the Emperor's. She gets so engrossed that she probably doesn't even hear the water stop when he finishes (she kind of forgot to brush her hair, too, and she doesn't even remember tugging it up into the wet bun at the back of her head).

[kelpful]

He mostly lets Annabeth take the lead, if mostly now means entirely. He doesn't let go of her hand until they start bickering over who gets the first shower. It's on the tip of his tongue to suggest they share, but he's too exhausted and battling the residual feelings of guilt to tease right now. He at least manages to wash his hands in the kitchen sink while she showers, absently moving the place where she keeps the dish washing liquid.

Percy barely waits for her to get out of the bathroom, dragging his shirt off as she heads for the laptop and diving in with an armful of spare clothes. He stays in there until the water runs cold, scrubbing all the gunk off and then just sort of leaning against a wall, letting the spray beat down on him. By the time he emerges in his Camp shirt and a pair of boxers, he feels almost human again.

Annabeth is buried in Daedalus' laptop. He can only see her from the back, but he knows that hunched over position. As tempted as he is to disturb her, he's not sure it's worth potentially getting eaten. He wanders over to her bed instead.

Percy has had way too much of a crappy day to be bothered listening to the inner Coach Hedge in his head; he flops down face first on the mattress with a groan, some of the tension running out of him. "Any luck?"

[sophos]

She's vaguely aware of his entering the room, inherent demigod awareness and all that, but she registers and knows it's him soon enough that that's about all she does. She hears the groan, but doesn't budge or think anything of it, just hunches up closer to the screen. Her own pajamas are straight out of Keeliai, drawstring shorts and a loose short sleeved shirt. When Percy speaks, there's a few long moments of silence with the question hanging in the air.

"No, I'm not hungry," Annabeth replies absently, scowling at the screen and dragging something off view. She taps at the keyboard, pulling up a 3D model of a jail-cell, but she's squinting at it with uncertainty, then grumbling over it under her breath, before clicking it away.

[kelpful]

Percy lies there with his face smushed into a pillow, waiting for her to reply. He snorts when she does, tugging the pillow out from under him and throwing it at her without twisting to see what he's doing. It still hits her - gently, of course - in the back of her head.

"That's good, because I wasn't asking about food."

[sophos]

The pillow hits her, and she whirls with every intent of glaring, his name on her lips, "Percy Jack-" except it'd be useless and she cuts herself off, because her stupid boyfriend is facedown in her mattress. There's a combination of teasing and mild surprise in her tone.

"I see my bed is comfortable."

[kelpful]

There's another pillow and he presses his grin into that. He's probably the only person in the world who actually smiles when Annabeth Chase starts yelling.

One arm lifts, offering her a thumbs up. There's a corner of his brain that's going crazy, insisting he needs to be up and searching for Leo, finding a way to break him out or at least negotiate for his release. But five years of living the life of a demigod has taught him that rushing in half-dead, unsure about your powers and with nothing resembling a plan only works like, thirty percent of the time. "I asked if you'd found anything," he informs the pillow.

[sophos]

Annabeth rolls her eyes and shakes her head, trying not to feel endearment but it doesn't work. But seeing as she's actually paying attention to his words this time, she responds at first with a sigh, glancing over at the screen briefly.

"No, not yet. But I've only just started. I'm going to let it run some things overnight. And tomorrow I'll try talking to some of the kedan about the jail, put in what I get." As she speaks, her fingers idly tap against her leg, without realizing. She hates sitting here, relatively safe, while Leo's undoubtedly in a cell at this point, as much as she tells herself there's nothing else to be doing right now.

[kelpful]

Percy laboriously pushes himself up into a sitting position so that he can be face to face with her. "The talking, I can help with that." He might not be as quick as Annabeth - who is? - but he is friendly, and he has a way with people most of the time.

He shuffles forward on the bed until he's nearly tipping off it, reaching out and laying his hand over her tapping one. "We'll get him out, okay? This just a - what, a tactical retreat?"

[sophos]

She watches with amusement as he sits up, then nods at him, because she was going to tell him to help anyway. He's always been better with people than her, and even with their current duress, he'd probably still come across as less hostile in the end.

Annabeth lets his hand rest over hers for a moment, before flipping her fingers over to weave them through his. "I know we will," she says assuredly. Then she grins a little. "Tactical retreat sounds about right." A pause, and her grin fades slightly. "They say no one's ever escaped. But maybe they just don't admit when people do - with a reputation to keep and all that."

[kelpful]

"Annabeth." His thumb runs over the back of her hand briefly. "We got into the Underworld and back out again when we were twelve. I think we can manage a prison."

Percy has to tell himself that - has to tell them both that - because he can't manage any other way. Can't let himself believe that something is impossible. He tugs on Annabeth's hand a little, pulling her out of her seat and towards the bed. "Come on. If we're going to be talking to people tomorrow, we need to be awake enough to not bite their heads off."

[sophos]

She smiles at what he says, at the thumb movement. They can handle it. They definitely can, especially with them both here. "We've got more experience this time, too."

He pulls her up, and she stumbles a little out of the chair, raising an eyebrow as her legs collide with the edge of the mattress. Because the bed is certainly not a couch, Percy Jackson.

[kelpful]

"Right."

His eyes are a little brighter than usual as he looks up at her, expression solemn. "I can...go out into the lounge, if you want." He really doesn't want to, but he wants to make Annabeth feel uncomfortable even less.

[sophos]

He's looking at her like that, and she knows he wouldn't hesitate to bolt if she so much as nudged him with her pinky. She just sort of half shyly smiles, then shakes her head; keeping his hand in hers, Annabeth makes to sit next to him.

"No. You can stay, for a little." She's not entirely sure she wants him out of her sight right now either, okay?

[kelpful]

Some tension in Percy's shoulders unwinds when she says that, and he smiles back. She sits down next to him, and he leans over to kiss her forehead. He hesitates for a second, before kissing her softly on the lips as well, just briefly. Now isn't the time for making out or anything, but he likes - needs, in some way - that connection with Annabeth.

And then he kind of ruins the moment by flopping back on the bed with a groan. He's still holding onto her hand, so Annabeth might find herself being dragged with him. "Awesome. Because I think I'm starting to get a couch-shaped dent in me instead of the other way around."