The Will to Fight: Conclusion

[voidtreckermods]

The battles rage loud and ferocious at the gates of the city and off in the ruined wastelands of Erda, and on the walls a struggle of a different kind occurs. The team who stayed behind at the towers are small but determined as they move stoically across the walls to right the stones that have become misaligned, even as their friends battle not too far away.

The city begins to hum. It's a quiet hum, not loud enough to be heard out where the others are fighting but it vibrates even through stone. The recovering monks assure them that it is done, the wards are back up and no demon will be able to enter the city.

Eventually the battle is won, all three battles. The demons fought back and killed, a major blow to their gate system that will keep them back for hopefully a long time. Those waiting in the caverns return to the city and by the time they get there the illusions are gone. Everyone can see the world for what it really is.

But despite the ruins of their world the people are relieved, the adrenaline of the fight coursing through their veins and the mood is one of hope. They will build again, their people will survive.

All Voidtreckers please return to the Voidtrecker Express. Departure will be in a few hours

It has landed not too far from the city, cloaked to make it unnoticeable to the citizens, for all the good that does. No one has been particularly subtle this last week. People can begin regrouping, packing up the camp and getting any wounded not already healed to the train.

However roughly half an hour later another message appears on their SCA.

Passenger Persephone has requested we remain on system System #86525656412355 for an additional day to further assist the people of Erda. The Voidtrecker Express will depart on the morning of Day Fifteen of the month of Kazoo.

The train remains where it is, so the voidtreckers can use its facilities. There is definitely a lot that can be done to assist those of this world and the citizens will welcome any helping hands.

After an extra day they finally depart, returning to the void once more.

(OOC Note: Once the wards are up any characters who are demonic in nature will not be able to enter the city either!)

Comments

[spikelet]

It takes a second more for a-Qing to stabilise and free an arm enough to push herself half-upright on the unstable surface of the beanbag. Then she's squinting at the heap of fox currently telling her off.

Rude your mother, why'd you turn into a fox!

"Did I hurt you? Come back, come back. Don't be mad!" It's Jiu in there, but she's so sleepy it's hard to remember that in her tone.

[foxyou]

Would you prefer the whole teenager falling on you, you ungrateful brat!!

Not that he can hear narration.

He does hear her sleepy coaxing tone of voice, however, and feels frankly annoyed at being treated that way....but at the same time it's A-Qing, so he grumbles a bit before daintily settling himself on the ground just barely within arm's reach, fluffy tail curling around his feet. Is he glaring at her? Maybe not, but that certainly isn't the happiest look, either way.

[spikelet]

One day she'll be comfortable enough with him that narration becomes speech, and that's when the Problems truly begin. She puffs her cheeks out at the grumbling

"You surprised me," it's not an apology but she's out of bribery goods, her leverage isn't exactly good anyway. Definitely not enough to make her feel like she can reach out to him. Her wonder at his being a fox at all is muted by two things - her exhaustion, and the look he's giving her. How to placate a proud cultivator-slash-fox spirit? A glance at the beanbag next to hers reveals the book he was planning on reading. She props it up. Smooths the pages out.

"There." And also, because she technically hasn't seen him while 'awake' and she wants to see if he can talk, "You are Shen Jiu, right?"

[foxyou]

Oh, apology book-smoothing...the fox continues looking resentful for approximately 2.5 seconds before finally giving a final huff and changing back into human form.

"Is there anyone else I could be?" he says, brushing imaginary dust off his clothes and plopping himself unceremoniously back in his beanbag (with book, thank-you-very-much). It's just him and A-Qing in here, they've got a beggar brohood going or something--anyway he doesn't feel like keeping up the elegant act, okay?

Also the book is probably something silly, it's not like he was really paying attention when he picked it.

[spikelet]

"Who could tell? I had my eyes closed, and then, poof, there's a fox. Who expects that?"

Those seconds are the longest 2.5 seconds of her day so far, but fortunately he turns back .5 of a second before she gives up and reaches to pick him up. As it is, her hands twitch, but settle back into her lap. Better to just get comfortable herself, and peer at his book.

"An excellent and... something..." she can't read that word. And those are names, after it. She squints until the train's language magic overrides her illiteracy just enough to give her the names. "Romeo and Juliet?"

One more try. More squinting. Sad... "Oh, it's a tragedy." Her nose wrinkles.

[foxyou]

"If you failed to expect it, that simply means you need to train your sense of awareness." As if he wouldn't have been just as confused in her situation.

Her attempt to read the cover gets Jiu to pause and stare at it himself for a second, as if he hadn't actually been reading earlier. Which - let's face it - he hadn't. "...It does seem that way." He flips back to the beginning of the book, silently skims a bit, then: "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life....ah. It's a book about fools."

[spikelet]

"Okay, I will." On one hand, she's pretty sure he's talking nonsense. On the other, she really does need to train herself to expect weirder stuff. She goes with it. Her leaning intensifies as he goes through the first pages, because, "Telling you they die right away... Why bother reading it, then?"

[foxyou]

"To find out how they managed to get themselves killed, I suppose." That universal curiosity everyone has upon seeing a cart crash by the side of the road! He flips a few pages ahead, recognizes none of the names, goes back to the beginning again. A-Qing's leaning is silently excused in favor of reading this mess.

"It seems they came from rival families who wouldn't allow them to be together...maybe they would have lived longer if they tried hating each other instead." Everyone knows animosity is the way to go!

[spikelet]

Oh, dammit. She's interested now, he's right. But still.

"Loving each other so much they went against their families and died... That's the worst kind of trash scholars like to write about when they've never met someone themselves. They even killed themselves? Were they too stupid to figure out a way to escape?"

[foxyou]

"Clearly they were, if death was the only solution they could think of." Seriously, what sort of terrible situation were they in if they couldn't just run off together or something?

He skims over the page for another second. "All the characters in this speak nothing but nonsense. What's all this talk of biting thumbs? And—" He flips a few pages just to find more gibberish— "Come Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen. Susan and she--God rest all Christian souls!--what in the world is a Christian?" Oh no he's getting stuck on the language over the plot...

[spikelet]

"I think it's a sect." She leans over once again to check, but it's no use, she's never read the word before. Resigning herself to more morning lessons with Hanguang-jun, she tucks herself more securely into the beanbag and mulls it over. "Maybe they wronged..."

Ah. She pauses, then goes blank-faced for a moment. Well, she can think of a few reasons why someone might die like that, but she doesn't want to. The subject is due to be changed! "What are the other characters like?"

[foxyou]

Yes, a sect would make sense...as much sense as you can make of this foreign culture, anyway. But-- "The others?" Good question! He flips back a bit, skims a few pages...

"There's a 'Friar Lawrence' who seems to be some sort of monk...judging by this Mercutio character's lines, he'd rather play around with women than treat them seriously...there's also a Tybalt, who's easily angered and--" Flip flip flip-- "Not particularly interested in making friends, it seems." He's probably pronouncing all of these names wrong, but eh.