Swirling Consequences Start

[voidtreckermods]

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

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WEARY WANDERER ~ FOREST ~ SCRUBLANDS ~ FARMLANDS ~ COMMS

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

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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):

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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

Comments

[longforgottenpromise]

"Um perhaps. We could make a sledge if nothing else and I could pull that."

On the ground at least.

"We would need something to bind the branches together."

[dreamforger]

[K shrugs with a bit of a grin at the accusation that he'd steal anything that wasn't tied down. It's a little wicked, but mostly playful, and he uses the moment to brush fingertips against Ronan's cheek in a whisper of gentle affection.]

Guess so. Stolen you, haven't I?

[But his tone is fond, if anything. He's a thief and he knows it; he definitely doesn't seem to object to Ronan calling him on it. And somehow having Ronan's attention, his focus, his affection- it certainly feels like stealing something in that way he likes most. The goat in question definitely seems to approve of the way that Ronan scritches at her small head.]

And I was gonna tell you when we got to the inn. I was sorta hoping you'd help me make sure we had food for her.

[Or well, he thinks it's a girl, anyway. He hadn't done an in-depth examination, but her brothers had seemed to have little horn stubs.]

She was hiding in the Mitsubishi. And she seems lonely. I mean, look at her.

[How can you say no to that little goat face, Ronan? Not that Kavinsky was asking permission. But he also didn't want Ronan's disapproval, especially when given the close quarters on the train, it wasn't like he'd be able to hide a goat for very long. So maybe it was a little like asking.]

[backwaterimperial]

"They can feel especially tall when you're my height." Eli wasn't a tiny man, being just a few inches shy of six feet tall, but he felt tiny next to most Chiss. Thrawn especially.

He let out a small chuckle at that last comment. "I hear that. I don't have any siblings, but I've got a cousin who could take on an assassin droid if he wanted to."

[truesmiles]

"You trust my word? How can you say that so confidently when I could just be making stuff up." He wasn't and he knew it, but still he was curious.

"But waiting is the best idea and if we got it perfect it means we can make more."

[rolltoavoidpossession]

De-sticking my hair from the plant life is something I didn't expect at all.

[It's Ryou's first mission too, and he honestly wasn't sure what he expected from it. Definitely not dealing with sticky plants.]

I think these ones are for treating injuries? I know there's a few different ones they want, and they're all for different things. [He's not going to ask how the plants help with injuries exactly and just chalk it up to this being a different world.]

[redprayer]

Rezo has indeed been hearing choral singing, and even if Zelgadis hadn’t decided to warn him, he has been doing void research. Still…

“The storms are where the tears are,” Rezo points out, shrugging his rucksack on. “And we’re supposed to be looking for those. I'm perfectly capable of ignoring a few hallucinations in the mean time.”

And besides that is the unspoken question: does Zelgadis really want Rezo to hang around in the same tiny shepherd’s hut as him? They both know that the answer is a firm no.

[10billionpercent]

"Shouldn't I? I can't think of a reason you'd have to lie to me." Senku answered with a little smile.

He was just naturally trusting, much to Gen's chagrin.

"Then that's the plan. After all, as long as we've figured it out, we can go into a higher production after that."

[redprayer]

Perhaps Lioriley drew their aggression because she was the one moving around more. Or maybe because she’s shinier and glowier than Rezo. Alas, the monkeys are not very communicative, so it shall remain a mystery.

Rezo maybe should have set her on her feet himself, because the brief moment of feeling the full length of her body slide downwards, against his own, is a very strong reminder of how closely he’s been holding her. Again.

He rather hastily steps back, internally reminding himself that he is one hundred and twenty something, not twenty.

“Excellent,” he says, not because returning to the inn is actually particularly excellent, but because he’s hoping that if he says words it will help keep her from noticing his moment of embarrassment before he returns to her side.

“I do hope not,” he says. “Or else I fear the local residents will have to be the ones to rescue us.”

[gathersnomoss]

"Don't say I didn't warn you." He doesn't want Rezo to stay in the same tiny room as him, but while Zelgadis is furious with Rezo, and more than a bit afraid of him, he also still considers him family. Look, Zelgadis is a complicated man with complicated feelings. If Rezo wants to take stupid risks, he's an adult and now he knows the risks. "I think we're far enough from a tear that I can wait this out." Because he has enough space to not work on the same tasks as Rezo.

[invigorates]

Thankfully, Lioriley seemed too busy securing her tools and herbs to really focus on how quickly Rezo had retreated once he released her, nor any other signs that may have hinted to his embarrassment.

She laughed at that, cast one last glance up to the treetops, and then started down along the figurative path back toward the inn. "Now that would be quite awkward, I think." having to be rescued by those they were intending to rescue themselves? May as well just pack up, lie down, and wait for the train to return, being that unlucky.

"I will admit..." she said, "It was rather fun. I have not had such excitement in a long while." which was easier to say now that they weren't teetering on high tree branches, getting pelted with rocks, or being stuck in stick webs.

[unrecovered]

Wash manages to shear off one of the blob's mismatched heads and get himself a few feet of space and a half second to breathe when a gunshot sounds and the voidblob is pressed into the ground, shrieking and howling under its own weight. For a half second, all Wash can think is: holy shit, he wants a gun that can do that.

The half second passes and Wash snaps back to the fight as Roland gives him the go-ahead. He gives himself a little more space - as much as he can before whatever's keeping the voidblob anchored ends - then turns back, extending a hand and snapping his fingers-

And the air around the voidblob explodes into flame in a five-foot sphere. A fireball spell had been enough to take out the last voidblob he'd faced - hopefully it'll be enough here.

[blitzcheer]

"Wow, that's, uh... confusing." Admittedly. He needs to wrap his head around this! "There wasn't a difference between the government and religion back where I'm from, so hearing them clash is..."

Odd. Different. Which is usually the case for other worlds, but he's never had to think about government vs. religion that often.

But there's another point Tidus is noticing, asking: "Have you been out of the loop with your religion since the couple you were with moved on? People don't really criticise their faith about how it works that easy."

[achickenformylove]

"Of course." WangJi gave the other a bit of a nod and headed to the other chick that was lost and no idea how to get back to where it needed to be. He knelt and carefully picked it up, whispering "carefully" to it for a brief moment as it struggled.

Finally, it calmed and he began to move as well towards the nests. Challenging when they couldn't speak

[achickenformylove]

"We can definitely check with him." At the question if he could do it, he paused for a moment. "I do have some of the paper that he has been writing talismans on. I am not as practiced as he is with tham, but we can try."

As long as he doesn't accidentally write one that will start a fire, should be fine...

[gundamofthedesert]

Quatre was kind of nervous too. At the very least, it wasn't trying to attack them anymore, who knew how long that was going to last. He was trying to carefully get more distance from the goat while it was stopped and eating so that when it was ready for more food, it would have to walk at least some distance to get to it.

"That would more effective if we could," Quatre agreed. "Then it wouldn't take so long."

[gundamofthedesert]

"No, we won't. Which may also be hard for them, but I think that they will be in good hands. The people here seem to expect this."

He watched for a moment then glanced over at Roland.

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea."

[gundamofthedesert]

He was grateful for the help, especially with watching the goat. Luckily, it didn't really seem to care much about Quatre at the moment, but that could easily change at almost anytime. It was the most worrying part about it that it could literally just change its might and charge him. At least with someone else watching, it was safer.

"I think. Might be tricky... if you are able to hold some of it on the other side away from it, maybe then if I run out, I won't have to stop so soon to try and gather more."

[blitzcheer]

"R-right. Nooo forced changing." Tidus winces too. "I can't think of anything I'd want to change into, too. Being just me sounds fine!"

[achickenformylove]

"I see." Well, then maybe not the dralite chicks unless there was someone else around. That was delicate situation since there were supposedly angry parents who - naturally - wanted the chicks back.

"Perhaps you can assist me when I'm out looking for those who have been displaced. So we can try to get them to someplace safe."

[nell_of_soulwood]

"I left the church when I married John and Leah," Nell said firmly. "Well, we went to services once or twice after, but then John and Leah told me it wasn't safe and we stopped altogether, which was fine with me. God's Cloud of Glory church is a cult and I stay close mostly to be there if I can ever get my sister's out."

She now knew John and Leah had lied to her, but it didn't affect how happy she'd been to be free of the Church.

[nell_of_soulwood]

Nell untangled herself form the spider vines and followed Madoka. "M'not sure I can find an empty nest through the land, but we can look around. Can't be too far, right?"

Re: forest

[nell_of_soulwood]

"Soulwood is the woods around my house - my woods. It's..." she took a breath, wondering how to describe it. "It's beautiful. There are the trees, of course, and a brook, and a family of deer, and so many other animals.'"

She smiled a little sadly. "I miss it very much."

Especially since she'd spent two weeks there when the train had tried to send them home.

[redprayer]

Rezo nods, grabbing his staff from where he’d leaned it up against the wall earlier. The rings clatter and chime, the sound seeming jarring and loud within that small space.

“...I believe that is wise of you,” he says.

Normal humans, after all, are far more easily damaged than chimeras.

Rezo turns to the door, grabs the handle, and unless Zelgadis has anything else he’d like to say, Rezo will be venturing out once more.

[redprayer]

He practically beams when she laughs, the embarrassment of a moment ago easily forgotten in light of the fact she appreciated one of his jokes.

“Yes, it was,” he agrees, sounding almost surprised. And while he’s certainly had various kinds of excitement relatively recently, it hasn’t always been so… amiable.

It’s probably because of her, he realizes suddenly. Lioriley is an intelligent person, and good natured enough to handle all the ridiculousness they’ve just been through and laugh it off afterwards. With another sort of person, this day might have been simply frustrating, but instead he finds he’s rather pleased with how it all went.

“Thank you for inviting me along,” he says. “If I’d tried doing this alone, I don’t think it would have worked out as well.”

[invigorates]

It was a lot easier to laugh after the fact, now that they were safe and sound. A few moments ago she worried she might be healing wounds or potentially killing the aggressive wildlife which, at least for her, would have soured the mood a bit. As it stood, it was all just kind of...funny. A story they could both look back on and laugh when they retold it.

"I should be thanking you for joining me. Without you I would have had to scale those trees myself, and likely would have gotten stuck in a web more than once gathering as many herbs as we needed." She countered, apparently still amused as her soft giggles continued while she spoke. "We make quite the team."