middleofsomewhere | Swirling Consequences Start

Swirling Consequences Start

On day Seven of the Month of Quicksand as passengers are beginning their day there is an announcement over the ICP system. “Attention voidtreckers and passengers of the Voidtrecker Express. Please give your attention to the following message from the void ministry.”

A blurring of the screen and it fades into a video of an elderly woman, skin a swirl of purple and blue sat behind a dark wooden desk hands folded neatly in front of her.

“Greetings crew of the Voidtrecker Express. I am commander Orlaith of the void ministry. As you will be very aware, you were recently involved in a dangerous and somewhat foolish experiment of the tethering system which we assume was initiated by your voidcraft. We received your call for emergency assistance, and were able to stabilise your craft enough to allow it to focus on ensuring crew safety. We are under the understanding that it was a crew member who used the emergency signal given by the Inspection Arm of the ministry, and that member should be commended. So too should you all, for we have reports that the crew of the Voidtrecker Express took part in a risky and difficult anchoring task to ensure the safety of all. As ever, the crew of the Voidtrecker Express exceed expectations for a crew with no formal training.

However, in less positive news, the actions of your Voidcraft have had a ripple effect throughout the void. Worlds that are non void active have reports of seeing void activity in their skies, with residents reporting dreams and uneasy feelings. In void active worlds there are more serious incidents. We have voidcrews in thousands of systems working towards stabilising the void access points.

We understand that after such an ordeal, your crew may be exhausted however we do need your help. System #5739 is a hub world that is extremely void active. It is used to weathering void storms and the barrier between the world and the void is thin. However, it is currently experiencing an unprecedented amount of void activity and world bleeding effects. We need a team to go in and help the citizens there, clearing out any issues and helping stabilise things from within.

The people there know about the void, and are used to void travellers. However, try not to stir up any extra trouble.” The last sounds almost exhausted. Their reputation may precede them.

The video ends.

I assume no one has any objections as voidtreckers have chosen to work with the Void Ministry. Please see your mission briefs. This is not a catastrophe mission."

They have a couple of hours before landing, a few hours to study their briefs and prepare for what is to come. Teams might chat, people might give out equipment gathered over the months, some of the passengers who have been on the train since the very early days of the month of Apple may have advice to give.

Either way a couple of hours later there is another announcement. “Shortly arriving at System #5739. Exiting the void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one...”

SWIRLING CONSEQUENCES: START

WEARY WANDERER ~ FOREST ~ SCRUBLANDS ~ FARMLANDS ~ COMMS

QUICKSAND 7-10 ~ TEAM OBJECTIVES ~ LOCATION INFORMATION ~ OTHER DETAILS
ASK QUESTIONS ~ SHENANIGANS ~ TEAM PLOTTING ~ MISSION TASKS/REWARDS

ARRIVAL

The train shakes as the view of the void leaves its windows, giving way to a cloudy and wet sky in its descent. There's a small bump, and they land on a set of tracks that lead them uphill. Grassy mounds can be spotted on either side, occupied by sheep, goats, and the occasional six legged antelope grazing. In the farther distance are secluded farm houses, or small clusters of buildings.

Things don’t seem so bad, until the clouds spark with colour that sends animals running, far skittish for anything they're used to.

The sparse hills give way to more trees as the train weaves through them, until finally comes to a stop at a small station, no more than a raised platform in the woods. With a sigh, the train doors open, and passengers can walk out into the clearing. Once everyone who wishes to leave disembarks, the train sets off once again, flying up into the air and out of sight.

"Oh good. You’re here!"

Looking over, voidtreckers will spot a young girl at the edge of the clearing.

"Ma said we should expect some void heroes any day now. She’s put some stew on."

And she’s off. For any who wish to follow her, she leads them to an inn, The Weary Wanderer written on a sign. It’s a large inn, larger than might be expected in such a remote place, and the innkeeper Albany quickly organises rooms and food for any who wish it.

“Well, there’s a whole lot more of you than there was.” She takes in the group after Maia explains that they are from the Voidtrecker Express. “Storms are getting worse, we’re getting reports of stampedes, landslides and monsters coming through the colours.” She explains. She has some maps of the area and happily allows her main common room to be turned into a planning station. She’s clearly used to void travellers.

THE WEARY WANDERER

The inn has a large and open floor, the entrance close to where a fire crackles, chairs and a table beside it. To the right are places for eating, and kitchen doors that lead in and out, while to the left is where a counter separates another route to the kitchen, and to the family's own private quarters. By here too are the stairs leading up into the bedrooms, with some also available on the ground floor.

There's enough room for the voidtreckers to squeeze into the front at once, and the tables can be joined to create a more team atmosphere.

The problems are everywhere it seems. Farms need help, dralite chicks need rescuing, and their parents reassured before they go on a murderous revenge spree. Voidtreckers can stay or plan or jump right into things - the forest and scrublands are the closest to reach with both behind the inn, while the farmlands will take half a day to reach. Alabany will mark on the maps where to go for the farmsteads, or ones she knows about, and allow her inn to be used as an intiial base.

For those whose skills lie more in cooking and maintaining camp, she will happily take their help in the kitchens, or suggest They go down to the nearest farmsteads and lend a hand there. It'll take about half a day on foot to reach the nearest few, but many hands are needed. They will have better tools for moving debris and making repairs; she has a few, but not enough for everyone, and she'd rather they be used around the forest if anywhere. She needs those!

Albany will warn about the dralites, and to plug your ears if you're going through the forest. Their screeching can stun and slow people even at a distance, and with everyone worked up, it makes it hard to get through. They happen to like bugs, and a fruit called matts - similar to dates, fruits that grow off certain small trees in the forest.

YELLING HEIGHTS: FOREST

Location of: Dralites, young and old, their nests; monkeys, voidblobs (uncommon), fruit cups and purple stars. Displaced people.

The Yelling Height's forest reach spreads far, wrapping around the lower third of the great Ciyesia mountain and its budding fellow heights, with trees as tall as redwoods making up most of its wood. This gives plenty of space for travellers to move through, but the treetops create thick canopies that shroud the world below, the dots of penetrating light visible in contrast. Against some trees can be found what look like bushes, and there's plenty of them around, along with moss; but looking closer, these have hollow middles, made up of pin needles, twigs, feathers and all sorts. Some have been ruined, some have eggs inside.

High-pitched cries can be heard echoing, but it can be hard to tell how far, or what distance they come from - there's too many, making what should sound distressing, sound like a racket. While there's paths that can be followed, some of the wood has fallen, with ways disturbed by rubble that's tumbled all this way down from the mountain. There are signs to aid - those that haven't been knocked over - to give some sense of direction. Still this wood is hard to navigate, and Voidtreckers will want to be careful about rushing in without a plan. Trouble lurks in all manners...

Dralites can be found scattered around this forest, big and small - Albany will tell them as much. The youngest are easy to locate, unable to fly, and make a lot of noise. Slow-moving and dragging their heavy wings, they need help moving with any speed. They can be found alone, or attracting the attention of the great chinchillas or monkeys (who see them less as prey, and more as something to bully and take out their frustrations on).

Some will accept help from the first person that approaches them, jumping on them and wrapping their wings around their neck or head, clinging on and accepting them as their ride. They will need to be returned to their nests, and will reject any nests that aren’t theirs. It'll be very similar to escorting a toddler, often throwing screeching fits if they don’t think their helper is trying hard enough, which can make it difficult for people to move around.

They are hard creatures to please, even so more the adults who are furious that their nests have been disturbed. As large as a sheep with larger wings and powerful talons they might just swoop down and grab smaller unsuspecting voidtreckers and carry them to their nests as workers to help fix them. Some of these adults may be near their nests, or will be seen swooping around above-head at startling speeds, searching for their young.

There are eggs that have gone missing too. A place they can hatch safely is essentia, since they can easily become pray or be snatched by the monkeys who live in the forest and steal from the inattentive.

As well as helping the dralites, there are herbs that can be collected here. Purple Stars are leaves that grow at the top of tall trees. These can be found deeper into the forest, and are different from the other trees by their branches only growing at the very top, their bark stripy. They will need to be climbed, or flown up to - not getting startled by adult dralites is essential, or becoming target practice to the monkeys. They have rocks.

Deep in the most dampest sections of the fores, Fruit Cups grow in a tangle around spider plants, that will ensnare the unwary into it’s sticky grip. For every few flowers, there's a wide trapping of the spider plants, vines impossible not to get stuck to. But as difficult as they are to collect, they are useful, and the potions they make will be handy to the communities that require help. Some voidblobs have gotten trapped here too, and they'll become active once people get close.

YELLING HEIGHTS: SCRUBLANDS

Location Of: Farm animals, some voidblobs, great chinchillas, farmers in need; ruined paths, craggle leaf. Some dralites, mostly adult. Displaced people.

The trees eventually give way to a mix of rock and dirt, stone jagging up from the ground underfoot that travellers will need to watch out for. Vegetation is littered around, patches of shrubs as often easy to catch the eye as grazed grass poking out around mossy-coated stone. There are paths, or were, but only the remains of them can be found, the area reshaped by landslides.

Animals can be found isolated or in some groups, spooked by any newcomers around, and the odd shepherd trying their best to get their herds under control. But there's further trouble than blocked paths to deal with - because these jobs can never be simple.

The farmers' plans are to bring the grazing animals back down to the lower ground and to their farms, but they'll need help clearing up paths and guiding them off the mountain and back to their farmsteads. Not only will it mean moving debris and locating animals, it will also mean protecting them from the predators in the area - and other trouble.

The horned goats, often a worry on these slopes, have grown even more aggressive. They ram into herds and farmers alike, even attempting to send them rolling. They need driven off, away from the herds. The chinchillas are also more aggressive, running rampage through the hills and attempting to down the livestock and to take them back to their nests.

There will also be sightings of the voidblobs for the more unfortunate, dubbed such by the locals. Gelatinous and luminescent, they are a mess of what were likely multiple creatures that have been fused together, patches of fur and teeth and claws held together with thick veins of colour. They attack indiscriminately and without reason, and are difficult to take down, never responding to blows of any type. You only know when they're taken out by when they stop moving - otherwise, they will continue.

During the first night there is a disturbance on Ciyesia. Trees are felled, the mountain seems to rumble and more animals flee, spilling panicked down the mountain to the farm lands below. For whatever aid is giving to the area on the first day, this event causes more damage to the surrounding areas.

LOWER LANDS: FARMLANDS

Location of: Voidblobs (common), great chinchillas, a few horned goats; ruined pathways, farms in need; people to craft balms and potions, access to tools.

While not as high as the Ciyesia mountain, nor as shrouding as the blanketing forest, the rolling countryside shows its sloping and uneven distance, varying fields split by tones and sandy paths - or what should be sandy paths. But the damage to the earth is noticeable, chunks of the various mounds ruined, broken at parts. You can see trouble, ensuing or approaching, just by looking around long enough.

And the biggest trouble will be reaching it.

Buildings squeeze against fields and fencing, separated far from anyone that could be called a neighbour. But there's a few of what can be called villages, where trades are conducted and visitors are sure to stop. There's usually a singular inn, but people looking to call on the help of a void traveller to help with this mess. They can promise hot meals and some goods in exchange, but first needs to come the help.

Though moving the herds closer to the farms is a sensible idea that doesn’t mean the farmlands themselves are safe. Landslides have cut communities off, some of the chinchillas and horned goats have made their way down the mountain and angry dralites stalk the plains looking for their young.

The shaking of the earth and the landslides have caused damage and debris. Trees have been felled bolders moved, barns and houses have been damaged. There’s a big clean up operation required. Farmers have wheelbarrows and shovels and Albany has some more that can be borrowed. It will require a team effort to clear the roads and make sure essential supplies get where they are needed.

Most of the farms and villages have protections in place, but they are overstretched and exhausted. Villagers take turns patrolling, protecting the herds and the people from creatures should they be goats, chinchillas or the new and terrifying void blobs.

Extra people to set up perimeters are very welcome, as are those who can drive the creatures back into the forests. It’s not just the homes themselves that need protecting but also the paths between them, so voidtreckers and others can deliver supplies to the further afield communities.

Making the herbal remedies will mean finding the right people for it, but locating the villages is a good bet. Tinctures and teas are the best method, boiling the plants and breaking them down over hours. Even if you're not experienced, people being around to help monitor the pots and bottle them will be helpful. The craggle leaf are good as they are to feed upset livestock, but also as medicine, for helping against the voidstorm's headache-inducing effects.

FROM THE VOID...

DISPLACED PEOPLE: Once or twice a year, people can be found in the Yelling Heights, wandering around dazed and confused, hailing from a whole other world. Since these storms have begun there have been at least two a day, perhaps more that have yet to be found. They have no memory of arriving, some might not even have memories of who they are, or where they come from.

For now they need found, gathered in once place and care given to them.

VOIDBLOBS: The voidblobs, as they have been dubbed by those who have seen them, are truly monstrous creatures. Perhaps once multiple creatures they have been fused together, a mess of fur and teeth and claws held together with thick veins of colour these creatures have one instinct and that is to kill.

They are rampaging, strong in their urge to destroy. Fighting them is difficult as nothing seems to slow them down until they die, it’s hard to know how hurt they are and injury doesn’t seem to stop their brute strength or will to kill. They rarely will stop and fight either, requiring a team just to keep up with them as they will lash out and fight but keep rampaging on, drawn towards groups of people or creatures. They can be found anywhere.

VOIDTEARS: For now, it's Red Team's task to find these tears and secure a perimeter on them - a difficult enough job that will take the first few days of the mission. They aren’t visible except in the storms, and so finding them requires braving them, where the wind sings with void music, rain pouring with hail, and a strong sense of unease growing until it too unbearable to endure. But the exact point of the tears must be found: a spot where the kaleidoscope of colours shines down onto any under it, only visible in that area.

STORMS: These are scattered around the lands, never moving despite the clouds that do. In the storms, the voidtears pulse with colour. Being near them is uncomfortable, and there is always the risk of a voidblob coming through. Being near the voidtears for too long even outside of voidstorms will lead to headaches, and so it is wise to rotate who is guarding them.

THE FIRST NIGHT: Late into the first night, there will be loud noises, the earth rumbling and a worrisome show of lights as the full moon hangs in the sky above. There may be word from fellow voidtreckers what's going on, but either way, this disturbance will bring out trouble into the night, breaking fencing and some buildings that were on their last legs.

OOC NOTES

OOC Post ~ Questions ~ Shenanigans ~ Tasks Check-In & Mission Rewards
This log lasts for 7-10 Quicksand, with the next log going up on the 21st March (11 Quicksand). Please remember that we will be determining the progress of the mission by task objectives being fulfilled, so PLEASE visit the task objectives toplevel and let us know what your character has been working towards! We accept handwaves (especially if your character is around but you're on hiatus), but actual thread links will count more towards success!

An extra list of prompts for ideas, arranged by team (click):

RED TEAM

You've either wandered into a group of voidblobs or see some approaching. They're annoying on their own, but as a group, they can cause serious damage.

The voidstorms are easy to find by the literal storms they bring, but the tears themselves? They're a pain to, only visible once you're right under them. How will your character persevere in the search? Flying, if you can, might seem the quickest option, but a closer level to the sky seems to make the headaches and disorientation worse.

You've somehow been convinced into fixing up a fence during watching the perimeter. Yes yes, that's important, but the area is clear for now, and what if an animal gets loose? More hands will get this done quick.

BLUE TEAM

What kind of people will you find out there in the wild? Someone desperate for an offer of aid, or someone suspicious, distrusting? Are they even human, or some other race - or sentient object?

The dralites aren't good at in any way but wailing. But their eggs are unique, obsidian in appearance. So if you see a monkey carrying any such thing, or see one being carried by a great chinchilla - that's no lucky lump of goal. That's your way of calming down the ticking time bombs of angry parents.

PURPLE TEAM

Farm work isn't your chore, but the farmers need all their herds before they go anywhere, so you're getting involved whether you want to or not.

Make a good impression on the farmers, and they're likely to help you out. Need to borrow tools? Or can you convince the farmers to let you and your friends borrow some, passing them onto the people who need them?

ORANGE TEAM

Herb collection is hard enough with tall trees and spider plants but watch out for the monkeys who want to steal the prize.

Once herbs are collected they can be made into potions. They aren't too difficult to make and Albany has recipes if asked.

Herbs aren't the only things monkeys want, there's a group converging on a dralite nest, those eggs look very shiny.

ALL TEAMS

Distance is a real concern. Who will go where, where are places and people in need? Scouting is a good idea, and so is organising who will be best, where. ... or, you can just go and do your own thing.

Image Sources: Top header - Tavern - Farmlands - Void coours

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's kind of an unexpected question on Alice's end. Sure, plenty of other people asked her that exact question, but she thought that Ronan wouldn't feel the need to - especially since he seemed to be capable of doing pretty much the exact same thing.

She stares at him for a moment, and then makes the umbrella disappear again. If not just since it's so busy in here, and she doesn't want to accidentally poke someone's eye out with it. It'd be a pain to deal with the aftermath of that. ]

I just.. do it.

[ She doesn't even sound like she's saying that to be difficult - it's just the truth, in Alice's eyes. ]

Why, is that not just how you do it too?

".. it does seem like what we were called here to do," Alice replies.

Not that she read the mission description too thoroughly. She mostly skimmed it, feeling unable to devote much more of her mental bandwidth to it than that. But from what she gathered, it did seem like this mission involved a lot of manual labour - which Guri most likely is pretty good at, given that she's stronger than pretty much any regular human.

So the other has been pulling her weight for this mission. Alice, meanwhile? Not so much. And while a part of her does feel guilty for that, given that she does actually want to help people most of the time, she's also felt entirely unable to do much more than stay in this room so far.

So when Alice speaks up, there is something awkward around the edges of her voice. Like there is more she wants to say, but isn't quite sure how to say it.

"You have worked hard," she instead settles on saying. At least she can be supportive of Guri - that feels like something she can do in this moment.

Honestly, there's a part of Alice that had probably been wondering about that - not after everyone left, since her mind quickly went to total static and hallucinations the moment the train tried to re-enter the void over and over, but during the moment where everyone left? Alice sure did worry a bit about the kind of situation the other girl ended up in.

.. then again, the girl hasn't mentioned a thing about her own situation, so maybe she was okay back home.

Alice fiercely hopes so, anyway. This girl deserves so much better.

"I would if it was that easy."

There's zero hesitation in that answer. Of course Alice wants revenge. Taking revenge is basically all she's been doing back home too. It's what she lives for.

"But as we know, there is very little I can do against that damn train." Not even watching the bad words in front of the little ones anymore!

That's how you can tell Alice is Done, clearly.

"Awww.."

Even as Inigo lets out that childish, whiny noise, he's not straying from Roland's side. Maybe he would have, under different circumstances. But the man is holding Inigo's hand, and that makes it very hard to get away from him.

And it's not like Inigo ever - ever - is going to be the first person to break hand holding contact. It's like a sacred rule. If someone offers him their hand, he's got to keep holding onto it. And that means no breaking away from Roland in this moment.

But no breaking away doesn't mean no whining, right?

"They're just animals," Inigo protests, as if animals can't be super dangerous.. Clearly someone here has never seen a show about shark attacks before. "What's the worst they could do?"

Wow, Tidus, let Inigo be a precocious medieval boy for a moment here without threatening to blast him with your water cannon!

.. though he's getting the impression that if they don't hurry up, they might really get blasted by said water cannon, no matter whether it's accidental or on purpose. So rather than dilly-dallying around for too long, he just grabs Roland's hand and is already starting to run off to check, tugging the man along with him as he goes.

P-Please hurry, dad, he doesn't want to get wet! It'll be a pain in the butt!

"We should hurry up, so we can make sure to get out of the way in time!"

Inigo may not know what's about to happen, but it doesn't sound like anything that'd be good for him if he got in the way of it. And that's all he has to know in this particular moment here.

Oh no. Sweet Naga, that warning came just a moment too late, didn't it? Thankfully it was just a pile of small debris, rather than something dangerous that could actually have crushed the other guy.

Inigo watches as Tidus tries to shake the soot out of his hair, and then just drops his own shovel for a moment - look, one minute more or less of shovelling is not going to break this entire mission, okay - to wander over to the other guy's side, reaching up and using his fingers to pick a few more small pieces of debris out of Tidus's hair.

Don't mind him over here. Just small intimate bro things.

"And then what if there were people who were really in trouble, but you had a big blitzball game at the same time?"

It's not really a serious question. After all, Inigo doesn't mean to make this conversation any more serious than it is right now. It's just to have something to idly chat about while they work.

Or currently more like while Tidus works and Inigo works on Tidus's hair.

Wah..!

[ Apparently Madoka doesn't have to be told twice. After letting out that shriek of surprise, she's already running - though she's also looking to make sure Katsuya is running as well.

She figures he'll start to run, but on the other hand.. who knows. Maybe he's feeling like making some sort of Heroic Last Stand against these rock-throwing monkeys. And in that case, she wouldn't want to leave him alone! Not even accidentally! ]

"Right..! In that case, let's just keep an eye out for anything that isn't a tree.."

That sounds like a plan, right? If something isn't a tree, then it's bound to either be a herb Nell can take along, or it's one of the dralites they can try to help out..

(Or it's a voidblob, but Madoka really doesn't want to think of that possibility. There's no way she could deal with something that dangerous.)

"Let's head in this direction, and please just tell me if you see anything while we walk, miss Nell..!"

He's got the thing's attention, at least, and it scrambles towards him on its mismatched legs at an alarmingly high speed. He's got enough warning to get out of the way, but this thing is not to be underestimated-

Which is when it abruptly grows a tentacle and yanks Roland back into the fight. "Oh, come on!" But Roland is okay, and that's all the more that Wash can make sure of before the creature turns on him again and he's left to parry way too many mouths with his blade. "I can do more than that if you can get me some space!" Fireball had worked on the last one - it should work on this one too, right? It's worth a shot, at least.

She keeps her paws in place as he pokes her peets - why do humans love her toebeans so much? - and keeps purring as he finally puts his face in her belly. There we go. Enjoy, buddy.

She closes her eyes for a few moments, and reopens them to see- oh hey, that's her person! She keeps purring, and Wash stands there for a few more seconds, watching, before he finally speaks up. "I see you've met Athena."

[When the voidblob doesn't move, Wash also approaches it, blade at the ready. He gets all the way up there, and it still doesn't move when he sinks its sword into it and removes it. It just kind of...oozes.]

I guess? It was too much of a berserker to play dead when it isn't.

[Still, he backs away from it before looking at Sera.]

Are you okay?

"I will." He does smirk a bit as he watches, because damn, look at the kid go. Wash files a mental note: evidently the cat is a good incentive for him. Good to know.

That said, even Wash has to admit he's impressed with whatever magic or powers Idia is using. Kid's a whiner, sure, but he came into this with a strategy and it looks like it's paying off. Athena, meanwhile, gets to a branch on her tree and just meows as the stars on it are pulled off and levitated away. Okay, so she'll just sit here and look pretty, then. She's good at that.

Hopefully we will get a time soon where we can compare.

[Basically she is always happy to show off some magic.]

Though it makes me wonder if we would be able to learn each others magic due to thier similarities?

"I'll protect you as well, so we can protect each other"

Great, that meant they might not stop anytime soon and honestly seemed like once again dealing with them may or may not be thier only option. But for Kairi she was pretty much done running. Skidding to a halt she moved to turn around keyblade summoned to her hand.

No matter what she was going to do her best to deal with it... even if they were just monkeys with rocks.

Huh, interesting.

[ To Senku, this seems like magic and that kind of thing he's learned has varied rules and for each person they seem to be different. So it's hard for him to guess outright how Weather Report works. ]

It's fine, I'm not afraid.

[ He's not, besides, what's the worst that could happen? ]

"Yeah, we could get some of them woven ropes. The kind ya pull a bit? An' strong tape. Just li'l' stuff."

Basics for people that couldn't generate things on their own, generally. "I was hurtin' for glowsticks earlier. I was considerin' lookin' up a magic user but I just started lightin' up the trees."

But not everyone could do that, and that's a thing he's only really recently got down to something quick enough that it was worth wasting energy on. But even then, some basic kitted-out shit would help even the most mundane of mission tasks.

She smiles at that, understanding entirely. Sometimes there's just too much to do, in a small unit.

It's either that or 'requisition' - she paused here to make the air quotes before continuing to sign - what you need. And in the end less of a hassle, having a cook aboard.

"Ropes. Tape is good. A small knife, I never run out of uses for that." Senku admitted as he considered that for a moment.

"Glowsticks? Hm, that's interesting. I keep a way to start a fire, but honestly, if we're going to order it from a train, might as well ask for a flashlight of some kind. That would be the modern equivalent."

Glowsticks would work in a pinch, but were they easy to hide if necessary? Perhaps he was thinking more of the type that one cracked to light up and they remained lit until burnt out.

It's a good instinct, and by the time Guri is at her side the grenade has detonated. All that is visible of this is a mass of white, sparking light as the mechanical components go up - but the wave of sound, like a deeply felt vibration - certainly does its job of...disorganizing their quarry.

"What a nasty thing," Guri remarks.

She knows how Alice is. Alice always wants to help, always wants to do something - but what she needs? Is recovery time. Which absolutely takes precedence over clean-up duty. Besides, Guri can lift debris for the both of them.

She returns in a few moments, hands clean, tilting her head at Alice's statement. There's often more to things, she knows, but she can't figure out what it is, instead. She sits on the edge of the bed, near Alice, and nods.

"I think people would expect the robot girl to do so, but it's honestly fairly easy tasks."

"I mean for markin' trails. I was wonderin' my way through the woods lightin' 'up trees to make a path."

He points off in one of the directions where he'd created a path. It's too light out to make it, but in the shadowy overhang of canopy and closer, the lit splotches of trunk are more obvious.

"We used to use 'em to keep the path lit when we went into old ruins to retrieve shit. You know what? I'm takin' ya up on the lever thing. To hell with this." He got the trunk mostly out of the way for people, but a cart would still have trouble going through. So this could just eat his ass.

"Check on things? Like making sure they have everything among other things?" He asked as he figured that was it and really it was a good idea if that was the case.

Would help them be more prepared to make sure everything was okay.

"But checking on things is just good in general." he added as he could see their destination just in front of them.

Maybe! How do you learn it? For me, it's about taking energy and turning it into something different. -- 'least, that's the simplest way explaining it.

[ And works for him! ]

Yugi was keeping an eye on where she was before going to move away, planning at least to run the moment she was definitely not in the brambles anymore.

Once he was confident he went to move, figuring he could at least out pace the blob.

"So we have what we needed right?"

Br-bro! D-don't be cute with his hair...!

Too late, Inigo's doing it, stopping him from continuing any shovelling or much else. Tidus stops when he feels fingers, not sure what's happening until he sees hands in front of his eyes. There's a tiny protest in his throat, but it doesn't come out.

It does tickle his cheeks a little, but there's a question too, that stops him from fussing like his insides want to.

"Well..." Well. "I'd leave it to someone else. Unless it was a really big problem - then we might have to postpone the game 'cause everyone has to go help! Then we can just have the game on another day."

Right? Nevermind all the planning and prepping. If it was so big that Spira had to get involved, then it's all hands on deck. At least, that's where his mind can't help picture him as being if he's getting to play Blitzball.

If only.

"I bet you'd be there before me."

On a mission? Absolutely.

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