[ wherever you were, previously, in the deep water remains of civilization, you're not there now. you're not alone, at least - all four of you have your daemons at your sides, just as confused as you are about this sudden change. haven't you had enough of that this week? but nothing here is familiar, save perhaps the state of dress of those around you.
because you're on a ship, a sailing ship at that. the sea air is stormy, but hasn't broken yet, though the waves are choppy and are battering the hull. around you are the crew coming and going, preparing the sails and rigging and cargo for the weather that's fast on their tail. they don't pay the four of you any mind, but they at least are giving you and your daemons a decent enough berth as they rush about. orders are flying over your heads, from crewmate to crewmate.
if you look behind the ship, an ominous storm cloud gains. the rain is thick as sheets, and the waves crescendo and crash. everything is painted in shades of dark green, a nauseating and greying yellow, the black clouds briefly illuminated by flashes of lighting.
you start in the thick of it, but every clap of thunder is a promise of more.
take a moment to get your bearings, perhaps figure out what the four of you will do. you're going to need it. ]
Alphinaud freezes, gaze shifting about as he slowly, gradually regains his bearings, not that it helps with the confusion. At his feet, a carbuncle wraps cautiously around, giving a low chirp in the direction of the others.
They're close by, at least. In what is definitely an alarmed state he's trying to suppress, Alphinaud weaves through the crew to approach. ]
[ The black hognose snake around Dokja's shoulders peeks out with a flick of her tongue, soon slithering down to shift smoothly into that of an arctic fox with a light land on the wood as it starts to sniff around with clear alertness.
Dokja, though caught off guard as the rest of them, seems to be taking in their change of scenery with only a brief moment of surprise. ]
...A Scenario change? [ He seems to be quietly speaking to himself. However, when Alphinaud addresses them, he turns his attention to the rest of the group before the crew that is determinedly set to work. ] I'm fine here.
I'd say that was quick, but there's no fog an' this ship is missing about 30-some people, huh?
[Suigetsu has shifted immediately into combat stance (let's not talk about what happened the morning they woke up in an entirely new map with an entirely new roommate, it's fine!), one hand shifting briefly to the sword at his back as he takes everything in.
His jellyfish, having taken to hovering over his shoulder and blending in oddly well with the palace, is out of place again in the stormy seas somehow. It shifts fluidly and swiftly into a shark like a roll of film, looming behind him.]
Least they don't forget bits of us.
[He talks too much, but that is to say, in one piece! Yay.]
[ above deck, there appear to be no more glitches at this time. the rain is starting to truly come down on their heads, though, so they and their daemons - well, ritty, at least - will be truly soaked through. the waves are getting rougher and rougher, some of the surf splashing onto the deck, but the waters haven't gotten too bad yet, and they can still see.
at least the deckhands will reach and steady the both of them, any time they're within reach - teamwork makes the dream work, and also keeps everyone alive in this mess. they're passed ropes and pointed to where they need to disconnect the sail, so they aren't left in the dark at least. over the din, one shouts an answer: ] Not a storm I've ever seen come on this fast! Sky's were clear as anything, afore!
[ another: ] God saw fit for ▒̴̄̎͜͠▒̷̨̢̟̓͌̕▒̴̯̾̊͗▒̷͔̕▒̷̌̌͐ͅ▒̶̳̺̔̒ to pay for their heresy! I told the captain we should've stayed at port, 'stead of coming out this way!
[Maybe if it rains hard enough they won't have to see glitches!! Low visibility banzai!!!!
That being said, Suigetsu has on a heavy cloak with a hood, because ninja garb means Being Prepared in ridiculous ways, so he's got that going for him; now, as to how well he's kept up on his laundry on this away mission from hell (AKA life back in the Bubble)... Well. He's being hosed down by nature now and that's what matters.
He grins once he manages to hop up to the right level, Naito swooping after him in a flurry of teeth and fins -- this is where it pays to work as a team, even though there's not so much room for a big shark in between the rigging.]
You should probably tie yourself in properly if you don't wanna go swimming. You and your little dog too.
[Raising an eyebrow at Power even as he moves down to poke at the sail, working fast. The less time they spend up here the better, and the more time they've got to go bug the glitchers. Naito can also help speed up the process, considering he's floating and can move stuff with his mouth...... sort of.
He'll also check out the view from up here, if there's anything visible at sea or not... Hm?]
... Ha, if I were at home I'd say it's unnatural, too. Who's paying for what now?
[ Ritty hates this. He's definitely making a face that's reminiscent of something like this tbh, sticking near a crate so that he doesn't get tossed over, while remaining close enough to Power as possible to not feel ill.
Ugh, the waters and the waves. She can't say this is enjoyable, even for someone as thick-skulled as her. The novelty wore off kinda fast. She's working away at a knot of rope, untying the damn thing, and she's this close to just whipping out her glass shard and giving it a stab. ]
Be better prepared! [ Yeah, that's just a petty jab back at the deckhand. ] And speak more clearly! Whose fault is all of this?!
[ Who the heck is ▒̴̄̎͜͠▒̷̨̢̟̓͌̕▒̴̯̾̊͗▒̷͔̕▒̷̌̌͐ͅ▒̶̳̺̔̒, huh?! ]
▒̴̄̎͜͠▒̷̨̢̟̓͌̕▒̴̯̾̊͗▒̷͔̕▒̷̌̌͐ͅ▒̶̳̺̔̒,! [ speak more clearly!? ] We were headin' to their port, now, but the whole city's been under fire for heresy for months now. Crimes against God Himself! You ain't heard 'bout it!?
[ they're all making rather fast work, at the moment, even with poor power suffering with the novelty gone. if she pulls out her glass shard, honestly, no one would blame her, and it's likely that the deckhands around her would probably just think the storm ripped through the rope.
suigetsu is going to have to squint through the rain, but there's a shape at the front of the ship that could be the city in question in the distance.
behind the ship is the storm closing in, thunder rolling and stormclouds ominous, as a dark shape moves in the mounting waves.
[ as alphinaud and dokja head below deck, they will wind up seeing the people around them glitch. but it's only when that permanently glitched person is within their line of sight. the two children that aren't are following her, at least, trying to keep their feet as the ship groans and rocks.
and then, there's an older woman with darker ginger hair, curls wildly falling around her shoulders and blending in with the fine furs she's wearing. the world glitches again, if only briefly. there's a familial resemblance between her and the children, although you both only inherently know that for the oldest of the three. ]
Oh, were you brought down? For the best - thank you for wrangling them up, gentlemen! The deck's no place for children right now.
[ Alphinaud couldn't even say what the glitching is. Even now, he wonders if his eyes play tricks on him, or if he's simply that disoriented from... however they got here. The violent rocking of the boat doesn't help, either, nor does the slippery surface beneath his boots.
Yet he must press on. Esmerie weaves easily through the feet of others, letting out low, uneasy chirps when others around them morph into something indistinguishable.
Alphinaud blinks dumbly at the woman briefly, before he manages to find his words. ]
Erm—indeed, so we have noticed. Frenetic as all hells up there.
[ a beat. ]
I... do hope you will manage to be safe down here.
[ If Alphinaud looks slightly wobbly, Dokja will lend a hand to steady him though he does keep his gaze fixated more ahead of them. Watching the various NPCs glitch- it's almost as if this part of the story has been smudged out. But it doesn't affect all of them. A little hiccup in the system maybe?
Jin twitches her ears, the fox's tail swaying and circles on back to Dokja who turns his attention on the woman, especially when she addresses them. He offers a polite smile, glancing towards Alphinaud until back to the woman. ]
Children tend to get too curious. [ He looks around for anything else that might be standing out. ] What brings you on board anyways? Are you heading somewhere?
I'm sure we will, dear. The captain's weathered many a storm since I've known him. But, oh, I haven't been able to introduce myself in all of the trouble of the weather and making sure that our schedule stays.
[ the woman taps her chin with a feathered fan, mouth pursed in disapproval - perhaps at herself, or at the lack of a chance. as she does, the smallest child looks up at the two of them, having snuck away from the older two, peering around the fancy shawl of the woman. while they'll be able to remember aspects of her, their memories seem to... smudge.
dokja picked a good word, there. ]
Do forgive me - I'm the merchant in charge of these ships. We're heading for ▒̴̄̎͜͠▒̷̨̢̟̓͌̕▒̴̯̾̊͗▒̷͔̕▒̷̌̌͐ͅ▒̶̳̺̔̒, but, well, we see how that's fairing at the moment hm? Did you come on board with the last port..? Such fine young men as yourself.
you've made it nearly to port, in your struggle to get there, but you also haven't at the same time.
the bubble sparks, then fizzles again. you get closer. the leviathan opens its maw. the cannon and guns and harpoons are fired in a desperate bid to buy time.
it doesn't buy time.
the bubble comes up, finally, in a flash of blue that rebuffs the waves that try to overtake the whole of the city as it begins to close. but it's only part of it - people are left outside its walls, left outside to be brought down with the rest of the city outside. whatever screams there are, whatever pleading and crying to be done, the pounding on the walls of the bubble from the outside, it's all drowned out in the roar of the storm.
and the roar of the leviathan.
the back half of the ship is wrenched free from the front, split in twain almost perfectly. these screams are a little easier to make out, the crew and passengers scattered to the four winds. some make it out alive. some manage to cling to the front end of the ship, or found themselves in the front half below deck. they survive, if only barely. it isn't by the grace of god, because there's no grace to this. there is no mercy, when you know the fate of their city.
there's teeth and thunder, though, fury in a lightning flash that tries to strike through the bubble, but that's all, as the front of the ship skids across the port, across shore, across the ground in a gap of the bubble closing with its momentum. all four of you are in the back half of the ship, and are only barely able to catch the way that the other half disappears in the blue as the bubble closes. better hold onto yourselves and your souls, and take a deep breath, as the ship is dragged into the depths below. other ships are brought down with you, the crash of the leviathan creating a downward current that drags everything with it, the shoreline included.
or, that might just be all of the city sinking together.
[ alphinaud, you are in an endless tower, rising out of the depths. no matter which way you go, there seems to be no end. but you can hear alisaie calling for you. she's angry, at first, but you know it's not true anger. you know her like you know esmerie. they have both been in your life for as long as you've been part of the universe - you are made of the same stuff.
your lungs are burning. why are they burning? how long have you been in this tower? it all looks the same, and the windows only show the hinterlands you know so well, the skies showing fair weather.
alisaie's anger begins to bleed into desperation as she calls for you. she is afraid. how often have you heard her voice like this? it's coming from behind you, and esmerie is ahead of you, waiting for you to keep climbing.
When Alphinaud comes to, his head feels not unlike cotton; memory hazy, he cannot recall where he is, or why. It's difficult to breathe, and he clutches at his chest as he looks up, then down, then left and right. ]
A... Alisaie?
[ Where is she? Why is she calling for him? Yet he knows that voice better than anyone, more than anything, and the fear in it clutches at his heart more firmly than the carbuncle swishing its tails expectantly at him. Yes, he would easily put his sister above his own soul.
So he turns, behind him, where he believes the voice is coming from, and rushes forth. ]
[ your soul is your soul, so esmerie will follow, just as worried for your sister but wanting to lead you upwards. it's a feeling of you have to keep going, you have to go on, trying to pull you onwards through the conflicting emotions.
but alisaie calls out in pain. she's hurt, and she's afraid, brave and bold alisaie is afraid, and she needs you. where are you, alphinaud? help, please brother -
descending the tower, your breath is short, and your lungs still burn, as it grows darker. through every window you pass in your spiral downwards, the horizon never changes - just grows drearier. ]
[ dokja, you are in a murky swamp, illuminated by a red skyline through the barren trees. the occasional island can offer reprieve from walking through the slop of the swamp, but making headway is difficult. worse, yet, is that the trees and vines are easy to snag on your clothes, threatening to slow you down.
sometimes, it almost feels like those vines are like a snare, a noose, like they are ready to ensnare you and halt your movements. you can fight them, and jin will help with as much fight as you muster, with enough determination to continue onwards.
your lungs are burning, but there are voices coming from all directions. sooyoung has strain in her voice, coming from one direction, trying to coordinate herself. yoosung - truly yoosung - calls for help in another direction. in a third direction, there is the sound of a fight, of a struggle. you know who it is without hearing his voice. three people that rely on you, and three directions to go.
jin is in the center of it all with you, and makes no indication of where to go. would it be easier to wait, and stay? plan?
[ As soon as he gets his bearings, Kim Dokja will be on the move. Trudging through the slop and land, tugging whenever something snags on his clothes even at the cost of causing a little bit of tear here and there. He can't bring himself to care.
He's dealt with worse, is what he thinks as vines try to noose and snare him. He's gone through the pain of using too much probability- he fights back, fights as much he has before. His lungs ache even so, making it so difficult to breathe but he still hears them.
Hears them. He hesitates where he stands, torn three ways but he shakes his head. Tries to think. Han Sooyoung can take care of herself. The two of them made a promise. He can trust her to do what she needs. Yoo Joonghyuk is the same way. He would likely get more pissed if he saw that Dokja came to help him anyways. And Yoosung... oh, that makes him almost step in her direction.
He wants to. But he needs to think. So he stays put, closing his eyes to focus and try to plan. He has to remember where he was before, what had happened before that. ]
[ suigetsu, you are in an endless field underneath a blanket of familiar stars and a moon you know. there's not much else in sight, and little noise, at first, save for the rustling of the tall grass in the wind. but a fog begins to bleed into the field, shimmering silver in the moonlight as naito eases through the air at your side, traveling with you in this strange but familiar place.
how long do you walk? hard to say, but your lungs are burning. the sights remain uninteresting. the night stays eerily silent.
and, then, you hear your brother behind you in the fog. when was the last time you saw him? do you remember the last words you shared? do you remember your dream with him? it wouldn't take much to turn around and find mangetsu, just a moment to retrace your steps back the way you came. it's not as if you've taken any turns in your path.
before you can make a decision, though, there's the voices of your team. sasuke's brusque instruction to hurry it up, karin jeering and mocking, juugo's voice just barely audible under his muttering. they are waiting, regardless of their impatience.
the past waits for you, but so does your present and your future.
The funny thing is, his ears are all a-ringing, like either he was somewhere very loud and raucous before this and just got hit by a wall of quiet, or the silence itself has a physical weight. It's an either or. This feeling, the familiar-unfamiliar -- it might be a genjutsu, or it might not, and he reaches reflexively for his chakra only to find a dried up void.
That, too, is a familiar-unfamiliar.
Physically, maybe, Suigetsu reaches out -- places his hand on Naito's flank, the daemon in shark form like a sliver of the moon itself; the sandpaper skin is not quite warm to the touch but still living, in the oddest way, in midair. It's a good way to ground yourself, quite literally. If it is genjutsu, perhaps a daemon would be able to break it, the way that your teammates should be able to break it for you. Something to think about.]
Stars are nice. Feels like it's been a while since I saw these. How about you?
[Idle small talk, even though it dries out his throat further, is fine.
He's just about to reach back and get some water when the voices start; it's not unusual for fog to be involved in all sorts of illusion techniques, so maybe this isn't a genjutsu -- maybe it's all of that. But it's coming from everywhere, rather than just the one place, so he really should pick a direction if he wants to get anywhere.
A brief sigh of noise, something like the laugh that's always at the tip of his tongue; he turns back.]
[ power, you are nowhere and everywhere at once. you can feel authority with you, though you can't see your soul in the endless dark - you can't see yourself, either. but all for the vastness of the dark, it still feels too confined, like being squeezed and held too tightly. like this, you're left alone with yourself, no room to grow, no room to fight, no room to have anything when you have the whole of nothing to yourself.
you could be angry, you think. that's always easy. you're power, you're blood, you're always able to come out on top.
except when you're not. it feels like loneliness. it feels like drowning. it feels like a familiar end.
you can hear denji - and though you can't see him, there's something unbearably sad to the way his voice sounds. he says your name, and it sounds like grief, powerful and miserable. but you could stay here, in your kingdom of nothing. it is yours, after all, and you are selfish with what is yours.
That's her trait, and such is the way of all devils. They're selfish creatures, putting themselves first, putting their petty desires first. Who cares about the desires of humans, when they're nothing more than ants in the grand scheme of devilry and mortality, living and dying in a blink in a wide world?
But they always have one, particular, powerful wish. To be hugged, to be seen as an equal. To be able to touch, to simply follow their master until the end. It varies, devil by devil, just as much as wishes and dreams change from human to human.
...The darkness is familiar. It's the third time, now -- no, the fourth. It's strange, very strange indeed, to be in this kind of dark so many times, and still remember. Maybe Cittagazze and Krankaz were just odd dreams she just had, except she feels Ritty in her arms, blond dog, shaking, and it feels like a reversal of a multitude of things. Why is it sad? Why is Denji sad? She'll really never understand the way of humans, and what does it matter now?
'BUT... NOT DENJI...'
Not him. She'd done the unthinkable for him -- put someone else first.
She tries to run. He can't give up. Denji can't give up. ]
power is the first to wake up, violently heaving salt water from her lungs and stomach. she's been battered around, broken and bruised from the wreck. (how broken? how bruised?) it's cold, and dark, and damp, and even the jacket from the crewman on the ship does little to help. ritty is nearby, just barely visible in the bioluminescence of plantlife that you've become accustomed to this week.
in her hand is a feather made of Dust, but solid and real. ]
[ I'm crying. Such efficiency, such was not my intention.
Well, Power is heaving awake, spitting out disgusting saltwater -- Rin was right, this is absolutely abhorrent. She crawls forward from where she lies, immediately instinctively drawn towards her daemon first of all, hand grasping the item in her hand that she still doesn't know what.
Her hair curtains her like kelp, rendering her blind, which when you're blind and broken and in pain, it's all a rather terrible combination. Not that she's a stranger to it, but, ah. She makes a small noise in pain, it seems fairly on the bad side [7]. A broken rib or two, likely. They'll just have to see later for any other injuries.
Ritty. Ritty first. After that strange separation, she can't lose him again. And she pulls him in and lies there for a brief, if not shoddy respite in the kelp beds.
...
She tries to see from where she lies, what her surroundings look like. Still underwater? ]
[ you literally powered through my arcana puzzle, what the fuck.
anyways, it's a cave. there's no sign of an entrance or exit, and it doesn't seem that there's any offshoot paths in the area that she's found herself in. ritty is safe and sound, if also feeling her pain in the process, and she his, but they're reunited in full.
her soul's safe.
when she has the strength to move, she'll have the option of going forward or backward. ]
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OH, THE WIND WAS FOUL AND THE SEA RAN HIGH
because you're on a ship, a sailing ship at that. the sea air is stormy, but hasn't broken yet, though the waves are choppy and are battering the hull. around you are the crew coming and going, preparing the sails and rigging and cargo for the weather that's fast on their tail. they don't pay the four of you any mind, but they at least are giving you and your daemons a decent enough berth as they rush about. orders are flying over your heads, from crewmate to crewmate.
if you look behind the ship, an ominous storm cloud gains. the rain is thick as sheets, and the waves crescendo and crash. everything is painted in shades of dark green, a nauseating and greying yellow, the black clouds briefly illuminated by flashes of lighting.
you start in the thick of it, but every clap of thunder is a promise of more.
take a moment to get your bearings, perhaps figure out what the four of you will do. you're going to need it. ]
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Alphinaud freezes, gaze shifting about as he slowly, gradually regains his bearings, not that it helps with the confusion. At his feet, a carbuncle wraps cautiously around, giving a low chirp in the direction of the others.
They're close by, at least. In what is definitely an alarmed state he's trying to suppress, Alphinaud weaves through the crew to approach. ]
Is everyone all right?
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Dokja, though caught off guard as the rest of them, seems to be taking in their change of scenery with only a brief moment of surprise. ]
...A Scenario change? [ He seems to be quietly speaking to himself. However, when Alphinaud addresses them, he turns his attention to the rest of the group before the crew that is determinedly set to work. ] I'm fine here.
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[Suigetsu has shifted immediately into combat stance (let's not talk about what happened the morning they woke up in an entirely new map with an entirely new roommate, it's fine!), one hand shifting briefly to the sword at his back as he takes everything in.
His jellyfish, having taken to hovering over his shoulder and blending in oddly well with the palace, is out of place again in the stormy seas somehow. It shifts fluidly and swiftly into a shark like a roll of film, looming behind him.]
Least they don't forget bits of us.
[He talks too much, but that is to say, in one piece! Yay.]
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OH, WE'D BE ALRIGHT IF WE MAKE IT 'ROUND THE HORN
at least the deckhands will reach and steady the both of them, any time they're within reach - teamwork makes the dream work, and also keeps everyone alive in this mess. they're passed ropes and pointed to where they need to disconnect the sail, so they aren't left in the dark at least. over the din, one shouts an answer: ] Not a storm I've ever seen come on this fast! Sky's were clear as anything, afore!
[ another: ] God saw fit for ▒̴̄̎͜͠▒̷̨̢̟̓͌̕▒̴̯̾̊͗▒̷͔̕▒̷̌̌͐ͅ▒̶̳̺̔̒ to pay for their heresy! I told the captain we should've stayed at port, 'stead of coming out this way!
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That being said, Suigetsu has on a heavy cloak with a hood, because ninja garb means Being Prepared in ridiculous ways, so he's got that going for him; now, as to how well he's kept up on his laundry on this away mission from hell (AKA life back in the Bubble)... Well. He's being hosed down by nature now and that's what matters.
He grins once he manages to hop up to the right level, Naito swooping after him in a flurry of teeth and fins -- this is where it pays to work as a team, even though there's not so much room for a big shark in between the rigging.]
You should probably tie yourself in properly if you don't wanna go swimming. You and your little dog too.
[Raising an eyebrow at Power even as he moves down to poke at the sail, working fast. The less time they spend up here the better, and the more time they've got to go bug the glitchers. Naito can also help speed up the process, considering he's floating and can move stuff with his mouth...... sort of.
He'll also check out the view from up here, if there's anything visible at sea or not... Hm?]
... Ha, if I were at home I'd say it's unnatural, too. Who's paying for what now?
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Ugh, the waters and the waves. She can't say this is enjoyable, even for someone as thick-skulled as her. The novelty wore off kinda fast. She's working away at a knot of rope, untying the damn thing, and she's this close to just whipping out her glass shard and giving it a stab. ]
Be better prepared! [ Yeah, that's just a petty jab back at the deckhand. ] And speak more clearly! Whose fault is all of this?!
[ Who the heck is ▒̴̄̎͜͠▒̷̨̢̟̓͌̕▒̴̯̾̊͗▒̷͔̕▒̷̌̌͐ͅ▒̶̳̺̔̒, huh?! ]
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[ they're all making rather fast work, at the moment, even with poor power suffering with the novelty gone. if she pulls out her glass shard, honestly, no one would blame her, and it's likely that the deckhands around her would probably just think the storm ripped through the rope.
suigetsu is going to have to squint through the rain, but there's a shape at the front of the ship that could be the city in question in the distance.
behind the ship is the storm closing in, thunder rolling and stormclouds ominous, as a dark shape moves in the mounting waves.
wait.
hello? ]
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ALL BOATS WERE LOST, THERE WERE ONLY FOUR
and then, there's an older woman with darker ginger hair, curls wildly falling around her shoulders and blending in with the fine furs she's wearing. the world glitches again, if only briefly. there's a familial resemblance between her and the children, although you both only inherently know that for the oldest of the three. ]
Oh, were you brought down? For the best - thank you for wrangling them up, gentlemen! The deck's no place for children right now.
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Yet he must press on. Esmerie weaves easily through the feet of others, letting out low, uneasy chirps when others around them morph into something indistinguishable.
Alphinaud blinks dumbly at the woman briefly, before he manages to find his words. ]
Erm—indeed, so we have noticed. Frenetic as all hells up there.
[ a beat. ]
I... do hope you will manage to be safe down here.
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Jin twitches her ears, the fox's tail swaying and circles on back to Dokja who turns his attention on the woman, especially when she addresses them. He offers a polite smile, glancing towards Alphinaud until back to the woman. ]
Children tend to get too curious. [ He looks around for anything else that might be standing out. ] What brings you on board anyways? Are you heading somewhere?
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[ the woman taps her chin with a feathered fan, mouth pursed in disapproval - perhaps at herself, or at the lack of a chance. as she does, the smallest child looks up at the two of them, having snuck away from the older two, peering around the fancy shawl of the woman. while they'll be able to remember aspects of her, their memories seem to... smudge.
dokja picked a good word, there. ]
Do forgive me - I'm the merchant in charge of these ships. We're heading for ▒̴̄̎͜͠▒̷̨̢̟̓͌̕▒̴̯̾̊͗▒̷͔̕▒̷̌̌͐ͅ▒̶̳̺̔̒, but, well, we see how that's fairing at the moment hm? Did you come on board with the last port..? Such fine young men as yourself.
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WHEN MY BONES IN THE OCEAN FOREVER WILL BE
you've made it nearly to port, in your struggle to get there, but you also haven't at the same time.
the bubble sparks, then fizzles again. you get closer. the leviathan opens its maw. the cannon and guns and harpoons are fired in a desperate bid to buy time.
it doesn't buy time.
the bubble comes up, finally, in a flash of blue that rebuffs the waves that try to overtake the whole of the city as it begins to close. but it's only part of it - people are left outside its walls, left outside to be brought down with the rest of the city outside. whatever screams there are, whatever pleading and crying to be done, the pounding on the walls of the bubble from the outside, it's all drowned out in the roar of the storm.
and the roar of the leviathan.
the back half of the ship is wrenched free from the front, split in twain almost perfectly. these screams are a little easier to make out, the crew and passengers scattered to the four winds. some make it out alive. some manage to cling to the front end of the ship, or found themselves in the front half below deck. they survive, if only barely. it isn't by the grace of god, because there's no grace to this. there is no mercy, when you know the fate of their city.
there's teeth and thunder, though, fury in a lightning flash that tries to strike through the bubble, but that's all, as the front of the ship skids across the port, across shore, across the ground in a gap of the bubble closing with its momentum. all four of you are in the back half of the ship, and are only barely able to catch the way that the other half disappears in the blue as the bubble closes. better hold onto yourselves and your souls, and take a deep breath, as the ship is dragged into the depths below. other ships are brought down with you, the crash of the leviathan creating a downward current that drags everything with it, the shoreline included.
or, that might just be all of the city sinking together.
and that's all there is. ]
✧ ALPHINAUD
your lungs are burning. why are they burning? how long have you been in this tower? it all looks the same, and the windows only show the hinterlands you know so well, the skies showing fair weather.
alisaie's anger begins to bleed into desperation as she calls for you. she is afraid. how often have you heard her voice like this? it's coming from behind you, and esmerie is ahead of you, waiting for you to keep climbing.
what do you do? what do you feel? ]
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When Alphinaud comes to, his head feels not unlike cotton; memory hazy, he cannot recall where he is, or why. It's difficult to breathe, and he clutches at his chest as he looks up, then down, then left and right. ]
A... Alisaie?
[ Where is she? Why is she calling for him? Yet he knows that voice better than anyone, more than anything, and the fear in it clutches at his heart more firmly than the carbuncle swishing its tails expectantly at him. Yes, he would easily put his sister above his own soul.
So he turns, behind him, where he believes the voice is coming from, and rushes forth. ]
—Alisaie! Where are you?!
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but alisaie calls out in pain. she's hurt, and she's afraid, brave and bold alisaie is afraid, and she needs you. where are you, alphinaud? help, please brother -
descending the tower, your breath is short, and your lungs still burn, as it grows darker. through every window you pass in your spiral downwards, the horizon never changes - just grows drearier. ]
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✦ DOKJA
sometimes, it almost feels like those vines are like a snare, a noose, like they are ready to ensnare you and halt your movements. you can fight them, and jin will help with as much fight as you muster, with enough determination to continue onwards.
your lungs are burning, but there are voices coming from all directions. sooyoung has strain in her voice, coming from one direction, trying to coordinate herself. yoosung - truly yoosung - calls for help in another direction. in a third direction, there is the sound of a fight, of a struggle. you know who it is without hearing his voice. three people that rely on you, and three directions to go.
jin is in the center of it all with you, and makes no indication of where to go. would it be easier to wait, and stay? plan?
what do you do? what do you feel? ]
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He's dealt with worse, is what he thinks as vines try to noose and snare him. He's gone through the pain of using too much probability- he fights back, fights as much he has before. His lungs ache even so, making it so difficult to breathe but he still hears them.
Hears them. He hesitates where he stands, torn three ways but he shakes his head. Tries to think. Han Sooyoung can take care of herself. The two of them made a promise. He can trust her to do what she needs. Yoo Joonghyuk is the same way. He would likely get more pissed if he saw that Dokja came to help him anyways. And Yoosung... oh, that makes him almost step in her direction.
He wants to. But he needs to think. So he stays put, closing his eyes to focus and try to plan. He has to remember where he was before, what had happened before that. ]
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✧ SUIGETSU
how long do you walk? hard to say, but your lungs are burning. the sights remain uninteresting. the night stays eerily silent.
and, then, you hear your brother behind you in the fog. when was the last time you saw him? do you remember the last words you shared? do you remember your dream with him? it wouldn't take much to turn around and find mangetsu, just a moment to retrace your steps back the way you came. it's not as if you've taken any turns in your path.
before you can make a decision, though, there's the voices of your team. sasuke's brusque instruction to hurry it up, karin jeering and mocking, juugo's voice just barely audible under his muttering. they are waiting, regardless of their impatience.
the past waits for you, but so does your present and your future.
what do you do? what do you feel? ]
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The funny thing is, his ears are all a-ringing, like either he was somewhere very loud and raucous before this and just got hit by a wall of quiet, or the silence itself has a physical weight. It's an either or. This feeling, the familiar-unfamiliar -- it might be a genjutsu, or it might not, and he reaches reflexively for his chakra only to find a dried up void.
That, too, is a familiar-unfamiliar.
Physically, maybe, Suigetsu reaches out -- places his hand on Naito's flank, the daemon in shark form like a sliver of the moon itself; the sandpaper skin is not quite warm to the touch but still living, in the oddest way, in midair. It's a good way to ground yourself, quite literally. If it is genjutsu, perhaps a daemon would be able to break it, the way that your teammates should be able to break it for you. Something to think about.]
Stars are nice. Feels like it's been a while since I saw these. How about you?
[Idle small talk, even though it dries out his throat further, is fine.
He's just about to reach back and get some water when the voices start; it's not unusual for fog to be involved in all sorts of illusion techniques, so maybe this isn't a genjutsu -- maybe it's all of that. But it's coming from everywhere, rather than just the one place, so he really should pick a direction if he wants to get anywhere.
A brief sigh of noise, something like the laugh that's always at the tip of his tongue; he turns back.]
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✦ POWER
you could be angry, you think. that's always easy. you're power, you're blood, you're always able to come out on top.
except when you're not. it feels like loneliness. it feels like drowning. it feels like a familiar end.
you can hear denji - and though you can't see him, there's something unbearably sad to the way his voice sounds. he says your name, and it sounds like grief, powerful and miserable. but you could stay here, in your kingdom of nothing. it is yours, after all, and you are selfish with what is yours.
what do you do? what do you feel? ]
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That's her trait, and such is the way of all devils. They're selfish creatures, putting themselves first, putting their petty desires first. Who cares about the desires of humans, when they're nothing more than ants in the grand scheme of devilry and mortality, living and dying in a blink in a wide world?
But they always have one, particular, powerful wish. To be hugged, to be seen as an equal. To be able to touch, to simply follow their master until the end. It varies, devil by devil, just as much as wishes and dreams change from human to human.
...The darkness is familiar. It's the third time, now -- no, the fourth. It's strange, very strange indeed, to be in this kind of dark so many times, and still remember. Maybe Cittagazze and Krankaz were just odd dreams she just had, except she feels Ritty in her arms, blond dog, shaking, and it feels like a reversal of a multitude of things. Why is it sad? Why is Denji sad? She'll really never understand the way of humans, and what does it matter now?
'BUT... NOT DENJI...'
Not him. She'd done the unthinkable for him -- put someone else first.
She tries to run. He can't give up. Denji can't give up. ]
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A CURSE UPON YOU, SORROW FALL THICK AND FAST!
this is it.
power is the first to wake up, violently heaving salt water from her lungs and stomach. she's been battered around, broken and bruised from the wreck. (how broken? how bruised?) it's cold, and dark, and damp, and even the jacket from the crewman on the ship does little to help. ritty is nearby, just barely visible in the bioluminescence of plantlife that you've become accustomed to this week.
in her hand is a feather made of Dust, but solid and real. ]
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Well, Power is heaving awake, spitting out disgusting saltwater -- Rin was right, this is absolutely abhorrent. She crawls forward from where she lies, immediately instinctively drawn towards her daemon first of all, hand grasping the item in her hand that she still doesn't know what.
Her hair curtains her like kelp, rendering her blind, which when you're blind and broken and in pain, it's all a rather terrible combination. Not that she's a stranger to it, but, ah. She makes a small noise in pain, it seems fairly on the bad side [7]. A broken rib or two, likely. They'll just have to see later for any other injuries.
Ritty. Ritty first. After that strange separation, she can't lose him again. And she pulls him in and lies there for a brief, if not shoddy respite in the kelp beds.
...
She tries to see from where she lies, what her surroundings look like. Still underwater? ]
Where are we...?
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anyways, it's a cave. there's no sign of an entrance or exit, and it doesn't seem that there's any offshoot paths in the area that she's found herself in. ritty is safe and sound, if also feeling her pain in the process, and she his, but they're reunited in full.
her soul's safe.
when she has the strength to move, she'll have the option of going forward or backward. ]
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1/2
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slides in before work gets super busy
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