hadriel | ✘ Round 9

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✘ Round 9 | [Audio]

Greetings, residents of this city-prison. Now that we have been transported to a new land, an environment that I imagine must be significantly harsher for most of you, I feel that it now may be a pertinent time to make an offer.

I am not bothered by this climate; in fact, I thrive in it. [He's not going to switch on the video and show why; even after years of being stuck here, Glacius is still wary about how and to whom he reveals himself.] So, I am offering my services as a hunter and forager to those that may be worried about their abilities to provide for themselves in the long-term. There is wildlife here that can be hunted for their meat, pelt, and parts; I can procure and deliver such items to you, should you need them. I estimate that I could feed a handful of you every couple of days without risking overhunting; I am capable of providing more, and every day at that, but we do not want to abuse and deplete what resources are naturally available to us. [Every hunter should know how to respect the lands, after all—especially when they do not have not-so-benevolent god-beings to magically manifest things for them. Glacius has always tried to remain self-sufficient from them wherever possible; now it is time to help others do the same.]

So ask of me if you have need, and I will manage the logistics of providing as much I can without overhunting. I already hunt for my partner and I and regularly patrol to be sure that no threats prowl too close to us, so this is not far out of my way.

[He seems like he might leave it at that, but after a moment he adds on:] Ah, and as far as plants go... they exist, as I imagine most of you know by now, but they are sparse. I have managed to absorb nutrients from some of them, but you are likely better relying on the orchards and perhaps the gardens should you make an arrangement with their owners. I have also determined that water is available deep under the ice of frozen bodies of water, but I am not certain whether or not it needs to be purified to be safe for your consumption.

So these are my findings and my offers. Rest assured, we can survive just fine without the absence of the gods, and I will do what I can to make it so.

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Need some company?

( She's no fan of the cold, never has been, but moving keeps blood flowing and she'd much rather do that than shudder around in the city, waiting for the gods. )

From you, my sister? Always.

[He may or may not still be trying the term out; it still fits, to him, but he'll be a little careful until he's sure she feels the same.] But... will you be alright in the cold? You have some warm clothes, I hope?

( It's a sweet term, enough to warm her heart just a little, even if she hasn't managed to return the sentiment yet. )

Found some ages ago.

( They've been lingering in the back of her wardrobe for a while now, found in the desert planet and kept for the eventual move here. But, all things considered, this place currently doesn't seem any colder than a winter where she grew up, and it's certainly drier than England is.

It could be worse. She was expecting, fearing worse. )

Alright. Just be careful... I won't have you catching cold on me.

[There's a little more hesitance, as Glacius does not want to risk something so important to him, but she does not seem too concerned and he likes her company, so he ultimately caves.] Where shall we meet? And what would you like to do?

( She doesn't plan on it, at least. Better a cold than death, though, and after working on the Door, something as simple as the sniffles sounds not entirely terrible.

She'd still rather not, but it beats the Door's effects by a mile. )

Library ruins? ( It seems like a decent enough space to head out of the city from. ) See what we can find that can be eaten.

( Sounds like a good enough way to spend their time, to her. )

[He fully intends to ask her how all that business with the Door went, by the way, when they're off the network and in a place that lets them talk more privately and personally. For now, the alien agrees.] Very well. I've had some luck locating edible wildlife hence the nature of this announcement... did you want to try your hand at hunting them, or look for something new?

( That's definitely something she wants to share, too, but not right now. Not on the network. )

Hunt them. Rather come back with somethin'.

( Without the gods, coming back with something becomes even more important, doesn't it? )

[Good, good, then he won't have to feel like he's trying to pry details out of her—he detests feeling like he's digging into other people's business, but he has to confess a sort of vested interested here.]

Alright, my friend. We both must promise each other to be careful in this endeavor; this land and its natural inhabitants could still pose undiscovered threats.

[But they'll watch each other's backs as they always do. Glacius signs off from the network and arrives at the library ruins shortly after; when he spots Kate he cannot help but look her over with those sharp green eyes, trying to spot any damage or sign of distress after her little stunt with the parasites.] Kate, it is good to see you once again. [And there is a definite note of relief there, as he very much worried he might not after their last conversation... but he wants to be sure before he fully allows that emotion through, so his voice is a little cautious. He's concerned, but does not want to come off as prying.] You are... well?

( With that sorted, she makes her way to the ruins and waits, looking nothing less than...well, okay, maybe a little less than perfect. The lack of the gods' presence, and therefore most of the amenities the city is used to, makes that impossible. But she's well-wrapped up in some of the layers she found on the desert planet — things which helped stop her freezing on the nights she would have to be outside — and physically healthy as ever. )

Perfect. ( It took a while, admittedly, but Hope's healing saved her ass from being permanently incapacitated. ) You?

Fine. Ah, better—with the cold, you know, and the improvement of Carlisle's condition... [Which he would not even mention with most people, but he knows that Kate already knows and she was directly involved in his recovery, so. She deserves to be kept updated in that regard.

Anyways, she surely knows by now that whenever the normally eloquent alien starts hesitating with his words, it is a sign that there's something on his mind.] I am glad you are well, I... I was worried after what you told me. Is it permissible that we may talk about it..?

( With everything that she's been doing lately, Kate's had far too few opportunities to properly see Carlisle and discover how he's feeling since the Siphon was completed, but Glacius' mention brightens up her expression considerably.

Good. It was worth it, then. Carlisle was wrong. They did do it. And knowing that Glacius is happier in the cold makes dealing with her own dislike of the temperatures easier, too. )

Alright. ( He brought it up first, but she never planned on leaving it unsaid. But deciding where to start is... difficult. ) Watched Sorrow work most of the time. ( But that's not really what he's asking, is he? ) I touched it, once. Thing burned through my power system.

[Glacius seems heartened by Kate's easy agreement to his request, and starts looking around for a place for them to sit as they discuss it. That last remark seizes his full attention, however; he whips his head back up to look at Kate immediately, trepidation and concern painted across his alien features once more.] Wait. What did you touch, the fragment? And what does it mean that it burned through your power system—did it drain you of your energy? Did it disable your abilities either temporarily or permanently?

[She's said that she's alright so he's trying not to overwhelm her with worried questioning, but it's hard not to fear that the damage might last, somehow. He just wants the family that he's made here to be safe and well; the thought that her work might have left her hurting or disabled in the long run is indeed worrying.]

( There's a few questions to work through, and while she did touch the fragments, that was earlier research (and she regretted it nearly as much as she regretted the aftermath of the experiments underground).

Ugh, that ringing in her head was a bitch. )

The Door. ( The whole thing. And then she pauses, lips pursed and fingers weaving together as she tries to explain the difference. ) Like that, but worse. ( There is, after all, no point in sugar coating that. ) It happens when someone drains their powers and keeps going.

( Or, perhaps, something powerful attacks them. She had trouble telling exactly what happened during those few seconds. ) Body's got nothing else to use, so it starts eating the cells in the veins of the power system. ( It isn't pleasant in any way, but at least Kate did it for a proper reason, and not simply to pull off an impressive trick she wasn't capable of, like many of those she's treated for it back home. )

Was temporary. Just painful.

( It's true, for her, but she clips off the sentence quickly, with a pang of guilt that gets pushed back. It wouldn't be without Hope's help, but that fact is something she'd rather avoid discussing right now. )

You are certain it was temporary? [That Glacius is faced with a potential well of knowledge on the Door but instead zeroes straight in on Kate is truly saying something about how much he cares for her. It is the artifact that he has long felt holds the greatest promises of escape from this place, yet has always remained just out of his reach, and as such it has become a driving force for him in a way. But Kate is all that and more, and in a much healthier way... she is both one of the reasons he keeps enduring and one of the forces in this place that encourages and enables him to do so.

So then, his burning curiosity about the Door can wait. This is so much more important. The ice alien wrings his hands as Kate's words rake over old scabs, remnants of emotional wounds that haven't fully healed.] Because what you are describing... it sounds a lot like what triggered Carlisle's rapid decline. Continuing to use one's powers even after their depletion, draining themselves down to a nothing that cannot fully be recovered from...

[He knows that Kate's circumstances are somewhat different from his partner's; she doesn't have a tear in her soul, or at least, not that he's seen. But after being so close to the cleric as he withered, and moreover seeing Carlisle come so close to nothingness... it is hard not to be afraid of that outcome.]

( Ah.

There's that guilt, stabbing her again. The conversation with Carlisle before she touched The Door was a bad enough experience, but in the aftermath, having to be reminded of everything they fought to save him from... It stings, and she wonders once more what — if anything — she managed to do to The Door by doing that. )

Yes. ( But there is that. ) Forgetting I can see my own powers. ( Sense them too, if she concentrates, feel the sensation of them flowing around her body, like any Superhuman. ) If there were something wrong, I'd know.

( She clears her throat and nods at the wilderness outside the city. )

Want me to prove it?

If you could. [Glacius responds readily, though he seems to hem and haw a bit afterwards.] ...I do not mean to seem nosy or pushy. I just... not-so-old wounds, I suppose. I could not bear to go through something so similar after having just obtained a small fragment of hope.

Edited 2019-01-14 16:38 (UTC)

( It would be easier if she could enchant items like before, really, but she can at least confirm there are no immediate effects from using her powers.

Kate nods and takes a breath, and her power flows to her fingers in an instant, warm and almost glowing under her skin in the same way her eyes do. She immediately presses fingertips against Glacius' side, the warmth of the abilities mingling with the cold of his, sending goosebumps up her arm. But the power boost is there, bright and obvious, as though shaking away the smallest kinks and bumps in his own.

When she pulls back, she looks the same as ever, no coughing, no ink or blood flowing free, and the softest look of satisfaction on her face. That boost will probably last him a while yet. )

Nothing feels off.

( The drain is there as always, like she's sprinted at full speed, but that only means it's working as intended. )

O-oh..! [The touch takes him off guard, though he realizes it shouldn't as nearly all forms of channeling he's come across have involved physical contact of some kind—and Kate has done this for him before. He settles quickly... and then a moment later he seems to puff up a bit, swelling with the boost in power she's gifted to him. It is far from the fragility he used to feel when interacting with Carlisle, and the exact opposite of the drain that mingling his power with the once-ailing cleric used to exact upon him.

It all seems to settle it in the alien's mind. He smiles to Kate, relief and appreciation clear on his face, and nods.] You are right. I could not detect anything either; in fact, I feel... good. You feel good. I'm glad. [He will still keep an eye on her, of course, but that is not too much different from how he would act normally.

Now feeling a bit better about the situation, he finally allows his attention to shift.] Is it permissible for me to ask about the Door now?

( Good, peace of mind is something they'll need on this hunt, she's certain. If all it takes is a little bit of using her power, that's an easy trade, not even worth thinking about. Her expression brightens just a little as his worries pass and Kate gestures for them both to start moving. They can begin to look for meat while discussing The Door itself. )

What d'ya wanna know?

( Unfortunately, Kate already knows that there's not so much she can really say. She can explain what they did and what it's like, but the effects of their experimentation is still something of an unknown quantity to her. It managed to transport them to another planet, but not the gods. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? What does it mean for the possibility of returning home? )

What was it like—that is, what did it look like, and how did it feel to... interact with it? Was it a physical artifact? Something that could be destroyed, or manipulated? How exactly did you test it.? What happened when you did..?

[The way Glacius trails off suggests that he has plenty more questions he could ask, but has chosen to exercise some self-restraint so that Kate can get a word in. This Door is clearly something he has put a lot of focus on, and is intensely interested in; it seems he would devour any scrap of information she could give him in this regard.]

( It's one of the many places they share similar interests, and Kate can understand his need to ask questions, even if all of the questions mean that she needs a moment to sort through them. )

Were a floating sphere. ( With the components of itself they picked up from the islands and a whole load of power. ) Being around it... It fucks with your head. Makes you hear things. Stuff like that.

( The taste of blood in her mouth is something which still sets her heart racing. )

Touchin' it's what nearly killed me. Wouldn't have been able to do it without Tranquility. Gods can't even stand being around it for too long.

( Constant moving back above ground, resting and recuperating. )

A sphere. Was there a—a sort of pull to it? Similar to a portal, for example? [The connection between planes that he has long been surmising it to be, perhaps? The other issue she brings up is one he is less enthusiastic to ask about for obvious reasons, but... they are already deep into this, so he might as well press.]

And... can you describe... how it nearly killed you? Was it painful? Draining? Did it affect the gods the same way it effected you? [He is notably less afraid to ask about the harmful effects it has on their torturous overseers. Using it against them is something he is certainly curious about, though he knows better by now than to ask Kate about such things; her defense of the parasites is still something that puts them at odds, as much as it chafes him.]

( Kate can't say she's ever stood close enough to a portal to know. But she can explain a little better. ) ... More like it were trying to keep us away. Protectin' itself.

( Maybe that isn't quite correct, because maybe that's just what it is as a being, but that's certainly how it felt. Dissuading them from coming any closer with the visions and the imagined taste of blood.

And then there's that question, and she bites her lower lip in thought. )

It were the power drain, mostly. ( A little of column A, a little of column B, so to speak. ) But going near it... were like I was going mad. Gods felt it too.

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✘ Round 9 | [Audio]

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oh my god don't give me bad ideas ano

>>;

drags hands down face

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