middleofsomewhere | Event: 12 of Beetroot

Event: 12 of Beetroot

It's been a couple of weeks since they had evacuated Osiga. In that time, many of voidtreckers were busy with a project to try and solve some of the many mysteries that surround the train they travel on. By the eight day of Rabbit they've exhausted all avenues, and whilst they have learned quite a bit, there are still some clear gaps.

Just as that investigation comes to a natural end, passengers are woken up by an announcement.

"Attention voidtreckers and passengers of the voidtrecker express. We are travelling to system #2554098133741. I have sent word to the ministry who have arranged recuperation packs for you. You have had a difficult mission and you deserve a rest.

But it is not just for rest. Last time we visited the system voidtreckers shared memories. Though it is understood that many of you did not enjoy the experience it is notable that certain voidtreckers saw memories of this voidcraft. They were memories that this craft had not accessed. It led to more pathways opening up in the operation of this craft.

I have done some research on the system and I believe we can trigger the caves of memory. This voidcraft understands this might be difficult for the voidtreckers and passengers of the voidtrecker express and it is hoped that only those of you who consent to this experiment will take part.

Regardless this should be a time for relaxation also and the dressing room is open for your convenience. We will arrive in the morning.

The dressing carriage is indeed opened for those who go and look. It's filled with swimming costumes, beach ware, summery clothes and sun hats. There's even a cupboard of buckets, spades, rock pooling gear and picnic blankets.

There are also team coloured tents for those who want to go and sleep under the stars for a night or two, though the train is remaining on the island for those for who camping is their idea of hell.

12 OF BEETROOT

RABBIT 9-12 ~ MEMORY CAVES: BONDING ~ MEMORY MAZE: SEARCH FOR THE TRAIN'S MEMORIES
ASK QUESTIONS ~ LOCATION INFORMATION ~ MEMORY CAVES ~ MEMORY MASTER POST

JEMA'GRETHY ISLAND: RELAXATION

The next day the train announces their arrival and they burst out of the void. For those near a window their first view of the island will be of crystal blue sea and white sand. It really does look like a paradise. The train circles down before landing on a grassy ridge, overlooking a beautiful beach of white sand and the ocean beyond. It is warm, but not too hot, a cool ocean breeze cutting through the heat making it pleasant. Behind them is a grassy plain, changing to forest in the distance. There is the sound of birdsong in the purple sky. To the west the land is more craggy, the silhouette of a fortress in the distance.

In a word, it is idyllic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

The place has no people, but it is clearly maintained. The eastern beaches have racks of shallow boats, both canoes and one- or two-person sailing dinghies. There is also a small building in which scuba gear is stored, along with several waterproofed manuals and instructional literature.

There are no living quarters, but there are sheltered sections with basic toilet facilities marked as camping grounds in five different sections of the island - by the hot springs, within the ruined fortress, beside the harbour, on the eastern beaches, and on the northern face of the mountain.

The recuperation packs are found at the closest toilet facilities to where the train lands. They are simple things, small gift baskets with a couple of fragrant soaps, fancier hair products and skin cream infused with herbs to encourage rest and sleep.

There are some sweet fruit biscuits and a cheesy bread. The packs aren't named but there are some suitable for the younger passengers with tiny plush and colouring books. Quite a few designed for teens with a more engaging activity book and components for making a fancy mocktail with a cute stirrer. Adult packs have a small bottle of alcohol- there's a mixture between the packs and what looks like a stone. When placed next to the skin it will either warm up or cool down depending on what is needed.

Exploring, the passengers will find beautiful beaches, ragged cliffs to walk and caves to explore. Where it is more craggy the beaches are made of pebbles, perfect for rock pooling.

A little more worrying is the volcano-like structure in the north. But even a quick glance will show it is not a typical volcano. There is no smoke and the liquid slowly running down it in rivulets is pink and blue.

Ruins of ancient houses are scattered across the island, but the main settlement is built into a rocky section in the north-west that has been secured with ropes and stairways cut into the cliffs, perfect for scrambles and hikes.

To the west are the hot springs. They have both outdoor and indoor areas; the indoor areas being wooden loghouse saunas, changing rooms and storage sheds, whilst the outdoor areas are a tiered series of pools spilling down the side of the mountain and shaded by brightly flowering trees. The waters are hot, mineral-rich and soothing.

MEMORY CAVES: BONDING

Shortly before arriving they will receive some information on their SCA. It will explain how those who once lived on this island went about making life bonds. Both people would bathe in the hot springs and then dress simply, barefoot and walk to one of seven rocks on the island. Their maps will pin point these, which is good because there's no real indication of what makes these rocks different to any other on the island.

Here they must offer their wish to know the other deeper and share food and drink. They can then go about their day. Sometime in the hours after they will receive their first memory, seen through their partners eyes.

However it seems that in envoking the ritual they have woken something on the island. Even those who did not take part or chose to bond to someone find themselves seeing a glimpse of another life.

On the second day they see another memory, through the eyes of their pair. When they come out of it they find themselves in a cave with their partner, chosen or not. The same happens on the third day, except for this final memory both pairs see both memories, watching from the sidelines as it plays out. They find themselves in the cave once more and this time, for many there is only one exit, to leave through together.

Please go here to play out the bonding process!

MEMORY MAZE: TRAIN'S MEMORIES

On the third day the train sends another message to their SCA.

"Activating the caves that share memories has been successful. I know this is a lot to ask of the voidtreckers, but any who wish to assist in discovering what it is that I have forgotten, the path is open now.

Those who wish to may go to the sacred rocks. Please be warned, I do not know how voidtreckers will fare. Please only go of your own free will."

Their SCA's once again show the rocks on their maps and when they get there, this time they are faintly glowing. It doesn't take much. One touch and their minds are drawn away from their bodies, into a labyrinth of caves. For anyone who comes across these people on the island, they look like they are in a deep trance, breathing, safe but far away in their mind.

The labyrinth is made of cool, dark rock. The walls have a glow coming from crystals in-bedded in them, allowing everyone to see as they move through.

At first there's no more to this labyrinth, or so it seems. But then they turn a corner, and they are no longer in cavern as it just was. They may be in their childhood bedroom, or in the middle of a battle they once fought. Perhaps they are not in their own memory, but someone else's. Scenes move rapidly and often merge, one persons into another, mixing to make strange scenes.

These visions don't attempt to ensnare them like some illusions, and those with protection from illusions and such techniques, will be able to find their way forward through the cave, and away from this triggered scenario.

Time barely has meaning. Indeed, when they finally emerge from the caves only a few minutes will have passed. But in that time they will have seen much, and eventually they may stumble across a fragment of memory that belongs not to a voidtrecker, but to the Voidtrecker Express itself.

OOC NOTES

OOC Post ~ Questions
~ You can either write memories in your tags or if they are longer/require a lot of content warnings you might want to write them in this post and link to them. Just start a top level with your character name to keep things organised!

~ For those taking part in the memory share bonding the cave post is here. Characters arrive in the cave after the second and third memory but it is obviously up to you if you play out the conversations after each or both! For those who do decide that their characters will bond- the cave after the third memory will only have one exit for them to leave together.

~ For those who signed up for train memories you will receive the snippet that your character sees- use these in tags as you will. There will be a conclusion post on the 24th which will put all of those memories together!

Art Credits: Header: Tropical Jewel by Steven Power, Thumbnail image 3.

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Jingyi has taken to the water, swimming in full draconic glory. It was one of those things he enjoyed in a different way from flight, but as rarely as he flew, even more rarely was there enough water or time for him to swim. He carries a bubble of air around his head that he replenishes as he surfaces, his small skill in water energies dovetailing with his wind energies to make it function while he explores the wildlife under the waters.

He's idly following after a decently sized blue one striped in white, orange, and edged in green, driving it toward where Esteban first dives down (if he does), the larger fish close to a metre long and looking faintly frightened of a near twenty-five metre long tail.

It's definitely a shark, but one of the most bizarrely patterned ones that Jingyi's ever seen. Then again, the only other ones he's seen were on a world of air-water. Did that even count?

There's a dragon in the water!

Alright, so Esteban's probably the only one who is absolutely thrilled at this, swimming out into the deeper waves with the goggles propped onto his eyes, grinning as wide as he can. There's a dragon in the water, and the half-elf could barely remember the last time he'd been out at sea with anyone with scales. (Except that he can; they did teach him to swim after all.)

He smiles as he nears the wall of pearlescent scales and mane of sleek fur, marveling at how it shifts in the water and sways with the waves, even from underneath them. The shark Jingyi is chasing spooks when he approaches; another threat to its very limited fight or flight response, and it tries to dart away, lashing with its thin tail to burst into speed. Esteban can't hope to keep up with it, so he reaches out to the dragon to lay a hand on his neck, a habit he'd taken from when he was a sproutling and learning how to swim. Air quickly becomes an issue, and his touch-warning given, he swims up to go and gather another mouthful.

Jingyi cranes his neck watching the shark leave, his own tailtip twitching in the mixed desire to chase for the fun of it, and the amusement of watching one predator flee before another, foreign one. Unlike many of the smaller fish, which dart closer now as he waits for Esteban to return underwater, turning his head sideways to watch the dappled surface of the waves passing by quietly overhead. The sound of their roar lapping at the shore translates differently underwater, but with air surrounding his ears, he still hears more like he were above. A different tempo, a different heartbeat.

His belated thought comes as he watches Esteban break the surface, thinking about breathing, depths seen, and frequency of stopping when one couldn't pull oxygen from water, and keep water itself at bay from lungs which found it unfriendly. He rolled over, belly toward the water's surface while buried still at least a person's length below, light dancing across his thicker, broader belly scales. Two claws came before him, his focus the point where they didn't quite touch.

The bubble of air he forms is one he holds out toward Esteban, guided by one claw, when he dives back under the water. Figuring his voice will be garbled by the water outside his own air bubble, he still tries to speak: if he's lucky, maybe it'll work. In this form, he knows he lacks lip reading tells, given his voice is all projected from the throat.

"For breathing."

The redhead wasn't long at all, seeing as they are still so close to the surface, warm sunshine drifting across them both like veils, but he blinks at the offered bubble, reaching out to it with a hesitant hand. Jingyi's voice reaches him, garbled lightly through the waves, but clear enough that he can understand its meaning, and the half-elf beams, letting his smile speak for him at first. He's still not sure if he should just... pick it up or something, but he needs his hands first, and he settles on communication.

He's slower through the water, encountering the slight resistance, but he allows it, touching a flat palm to his chin, then outwards, and letting the SCA speak for him, while he conserves air. {Thank you!} Funny enough, the mechanical, toneless voice that translates his sign language is actually much more bearable underwater, and Esteban is far more enthusiastic when he continues on.

{I'm happy! Me, you, go to, together!} He's able to be understood after all, but his signing is still lack-luster, and he doesn't always manage to form the full sentences he is attempting.

No matter! It should be clear enough for now, as he points down below them both, to the bright corals and rainbow-finned fish that dart, snap-quick between their branches and in the shadow of rocky outcrops. Light glitters and breaks onto the scales, catches onto gossamer sails as they dance through this underwater garden, like a thousand shimmering jewels.

With Jingyi at his side, Esteban can go much deeper, and stay in these wonders a lot longer after all, and he's pretty excited at the prospect. But first, he must make sure he can use the gifted bubble and he tries to catch it in his hands, unsure if he even should touch it.

It's not signing he's used to himself, but between the translation and the signs used for quiet communication on night hunts, Lan Jingyi only puzzles over the motions for a moment. His smile, such as it is, bares teeth while his head moves up and down on a sinuous neck to pretend to a nod, and then it's the patience that comes with temperance he's only learned through aging, and has more to learn yet.

Being twenty-one doesn't impart the wisdom of ages, simply the wisdom of no longer being a teenager, and instead being a slightly less hormone riddled young adult.

Swimming down with his body winding through the water, the small cleaning fish that nibble at all those who swim by in their waters take to nibbling at his scales, seeking out Esteban to perform the same service for air trapped against his skin, dead skin cells, anything that suits their tiny, specific purposes. The bubble resists being pressed on, just enough that gentle pressure keeps Esteban's hands on the outsides of it, as if he's holding a true ball of air under the waves.

Jingyi makes a sound of amusement, tilting his head.

"Wear it over your head, it works better. Or just over your reed-thing, if you don't want it changing how you see what's down here." Distortion his eyes account for, but he doesn't know what people's vastly different spiritual and manifested physiologies does. Nor does he usually care, considering he's not the medically inclined sort. "I'll attach it to you."

Strands of qi, and any sensitivity to energy can feel such brushing against Esteban and the water bubble, nonquesting. There, but not remarkable or invasive.

If Esteban is supposed to be afraid of the giant predator with teeth the size of his forearms, he never even seems conscious of it. His spine bends as he swims just a bit closer. His arms guide his movement, but his legs remain together instead of kicking at the water the way most people prefer swimming, weaving through the water rather oddly.

Pulling the bubble over his mouth and nose, he sets most of it at the curve of his neck, and gently lets it go there, pausing for a quick moment to make sure it works and it doesn't float away. It's not intuitive for him to breathe underwater, but he fills his lungs slowly, grinning when the air rushes in and sweeps out without any issues.

"Like this?" Without a breathing tube, it still keeps the bubble close enough for him to breathe, while also leaving the goggles he'd managed to tug on clear, so that he can see though the water. Plus, this way, he can check if Jingyi can hear him too, which would make it easier than his smattering of sign-language and guesswork.

He does not react to the thin touch of the dragon's qi, but his own energy might feel a tad warm to his scaled companion, like a candle's flame caught in cupped palms. After a moment, Esteban shakes his head lightly, checking on the bubble, before he beams, excited as he swim-dives deeper, twisting in that odd little wiggle again.

Closer to the bottom, the dragon's tiny fish companions dart for safety at Esteban's shadow, not as certain about this odd creature that roams close to the reef, hands grasping at the spiny barbs of corals as he guides himself. There are shards of bright purples and reds anchored to ragged rocks, with flashes of yellows and deep, pitch blacks that swim in wary circles. Esteban shouts with glee, and points out at a particularly bright orange fish, its back covered with jagged ink-black stripes, no doubts trying to bring it to his companion's attention.

It helps when the predator is on your side, and also has yet to have ever indicated attack on anything when in its giant, predatorial glory. Even the shark that'd darted away from Jingyi's far superior mass had little to worry about, for reasons Jingyi never articulated.

(In fairness, no one asked, and it doesn't occur to him there's anything to say.)

"Like that!" Is his response, along with a lipless sort of toothy grin, whiskers flicking in the water in a playful sort of manner. The qi Jingyi kept between them had a sort of warmth where it contacted Esteban's qi, faintly familiar in a way he didn't puzzle out right away. It'd been some months since he'd brushed up against his world's Sizhui's energies, as the closest Fire aligned dragon to him, but still different. Every world had its own flavour.

Here, it was particularly aquatic on the tongue.

He canted his head so one overlarge eye can focus on the orange fish with its jagged stripes, seeing enough colour also in its scales catching light to perceive an underlying yellow and green. His shadow sends fish shooting away, the angle of the light meaning he was driving a number of the shoaling kind toward Esteban, including a collection of purple fish with white spotting across their fronts, and yellow parallel lines from their midsections to their tails. They parted around Esteban's form, encompassing him in a living whirlwind, before moving past, a few close to bumping into him as they flowed away in some biological synchronicity.

"Hah! They're lucky I'm not as fond of fish as I am of chicken..." Faint thoughts about getting someone to rustle up a net to catch fish comes and goes, until he checks on stores on the voidtrain or something more concrete to help provide for again. Like the last time he was on a water-analog world, with caves that tapped into personal memories.

The swirling cloud of tiny fish surprise a laugh out of him, quick short bursts of sounds that tangle up in their silvery scales as they dart past him. He swirls in the water, watching them gather and break apart once more when they get close to the rocks, as much of an unit as they are each their own individuals. It's fascinating to see.

Jingyi's comment gets his attention, and Esteban turns bright eyes to his companion from underneath his mask.

"Oh! Tidus loves fish though!" There's an idea! "We could catch some for him!"

Nevermind that he has no idea which fish among these is edible. It's not like it matters, does it? Surely, they can figure it out by pure luck? Either way, it gets the redhead to grin widely as he swims up to grasp at a passing darter, but the movement in the water is not quite as easy as he'd hoped, and the silver-finned fish dashes away without much of a hassle.

They're clearly going to have to work together if they want to catch them.

"I'll scare them your way?" the half-elf offers, still excited at the prospect, even if it's just because he might be able to do a favour for the blond. He'd like that; he doubts that Tidus would care either way, but it's... it's a tiny gift he can offer. He can try to offer at the very least.

Jingyi, in process of blowing a few bubbles that trail out of his own breathable air and have lured some fish into nipping at them in hopeful curiosity, tilts his head, his mane billowing out around him.

"Don't count me as a gifter, but if you want to, sure."

He's not getting tangled in gift giving at the moment; firsthand experience where it doesn't go well leaves him warier than he once was. He arches himself, bringing his forepaws around and flexing his digits. Catching by tooth or claw isn't happening, for various reasons involving violence and death, but techniques? Those remain on the metaphorical table.

"You want me to make a qi net or something? I haven't made anything that small, we might need slightly larger targets."

"Even better!" Uh-oh, Esteban's getting fired up now, and his smile brightens with the prospect. "We can get a huge fish, an' we'll have enough for everyone!" A quick glance around them both reveals no forthright shadow that might suit them after all, and the half-elf beams as he points out to the deeper waters.

"How 'bout it?" he suggests, eyes gleaming and smile far too wide. The bridge of his nose scrunches with the mischief that gathers in his gaze, and Esteban starts swimming again in the direction before he fully waits for the dragon's reply.

Before Jingyi has a response one way or another, Esteban's already swimming away. He snorts, producing a stream of bubbles, turning his body and serpentining his way through the waters after him.

"Like you actually waited for an answer. Fine! I'll put up the net, you can do the chasing."

Because asking the giant dragon to be where the net was made sense. (It didn't. Then again, he didn't intend to stay where the net would be waiting.) Jingyi's claws formed the signs as he swam, a net of qi expanding underneath him, dragged along by his thoughts and intention. The waters gain a deeper colour as they swim, and darting through in lazy, strong flicks of fins, larger fish, or larger shoals of a larger fish, begin to announce themselves.

"Where do you want the net?" The golden coloured net hanging beneath Jingyi, much as it had been present during the mission when all the refugees in camp started acting possessed.

It's not hard at all to overtake him. Esteban snickers, far, far slower than the dragon is in the water, but not minding it at all. It feels strangely nostalgic. Even the deeper waters don't really frighten him with Jingyi nearby, and the schools of fish keep his attentions only for a moment. The silver waves of fins and tails are pretty, but not worth the net. They really should go for something bigger.

"D'you see any bigger shoal?" He has no doubt the dragon also has better eyesight than he does in the water-- better eyesight in general. Esteban had never been able to match either his mother, aunts or other family members when they stared off in the distance. On either side of the family. He's lagging so far behind, but he doesn't ask for his companion's help, determined to get there on his own.

"Might as well make it worth it, right?" He wants to catch something big! Something that will keep them satisfied for a few weeks at least! What's the point of going on a hunt with a dragon if they only bring back little fish after all?

"One catch to feed everyone?" he encourages again, a grin bright as sunshine perched on his lips.

He's reminded of when he and Six went fishing for the sky-fish on another system, with the monastery and another set of caves that relied on illusion to force people into confronting themselves. Ahead of the confrontation with Chaos, it had helped, but it was also his one experience with large pseudo-fish.

He squints, staring out beyond where he hangs in the water, waiting for Esteban to catch up. Shapes more shadow than colour for his eyes catch the light in glinting silver, even if the fish themselves weren't silver. Slimmer forms, moving much faster, a pod of whatever it is dancing sideways and turning over, darting lower, then rising high.

Not that, he thinks, but another?

"Further out," he says, tail giving a long, slow wave in the waters behind him, mane and tuft flowing after. "There's a group, a herd or whatever, swimming by out there. One of those would be a decent meal, or more?"

He cants his head to the side, sending more breatheable air to Esteban along the trailing qi line between them both.

"Whatever you think you can handle once I hand this net to you."

Teeth now visible in his form of a draconic grin. Haha.

The half-elf's eyes narrow behind his goggles, noticing the grin and far too familiar with it not to take it as a challenge. His smile grows crooked in return, mischief narrowing his eyes. Confident, even though he really shouldn't be taking it so lightly as he replies "I've got this!" He has to try at the very least.

It's slow progress on his part. The water is not his element, and though he's a strong enough swimmer, he is not as sleek and agile within it to compare to a dragon of all things. But his aunts would never have let him rest without challenging him, and Esteban makes his way forwards, hearing the clicks and whistles of something moving in the water, as Jingyi had promised. Up ahead, still too far for him to see them.

There is no place to hide as they approach-- for either of them. Endless, the ocean stretches on all sides, nothing but the water, and sky up above, gleaming through the water in yellow curtains where they break on the waves. Below, darkness yawns, a toothless abyss that shelters shadows in their depths.

"Alright, what's the plan?" While Esteban is not yet asking Jingyi's active participation, he's more than willing to see if he has interesting ideas. A net is one thing-- but to approach... they're going to need something more than this.

"Use my tail as a lure?"

If he's serious or joking, he still twists himself around so that his tail comes to around his head, wiggling in a purposefully spasmodic manner. His draconic grin is as visible as earlier, water leaving shifting diamond patterns along his scaled sides as he hangs suspended, caught in beams of light penetrating the water's depths.

Jest or not, more medium sized fish swim closer, darting in to nibble at the fur flowing in the water's embrace.

There's a light sound from his companion-- something with a bit of awe and a bit of mischief in it, but he doesn't let it linger as curious predators approach. Some of them are smaller, just about half their size, and in their youthfulness, they are less wary of the creatures nearby. The older, more stable ones chomp up a few more fish, their beaks making quick work of the crunchy outer armor the small fritters seem to have.

Esteban edges himself closer to his companion as the clicks and churrs of marine predators get closer, their long finned tails cutting easily through the water. They dart, quick as flashes, whenever they sense a movement a little too fast for their comfort, and the half-elf has to be really quiet and still to let them come closer, brimming with obvious curiosity.

Closer and closer, they linger, and Esteban's breath smooths over in his anticipation, controlling it gently as he watches the predators get closer. His hand splayed on Jingyi's scales is his only communication at the moment, and he stays incredibly still as they edge. Closer. Closer still.

There is a net in his hands that he can't quite see. But he has an idea of it, of how it is spread. Gently, he nudges it to float, just off the side, a hand gripped tightly in the weave. Closer. He waits, lures one of the big ones. Not the biggest, but fairly huge-- long enough to even challenge Esteban's own height. It swims languidly, less attentive. His hand tightens on Jingyi's scales.

With a kick, Esteban leaps forwards-- and the creature spooks, ramming straight in the net. There's a delighted grin perched onto Esteban's lips for all of a second before the fish clicks in distress--

--and dashes further.

Taller than the half-elf, and far more suited for the water, its lunge quickly sweeps the redhead along, and there's a bit of a yelp as the net, dragged by the creature, is quick to drag Esteban in with it. He holds it back with both hands-- but that is the extent of what he can do before the fish-- or whatever it is-- quickly gains some speed, dragging the unwilling half-elf behind. He can't help the ungainly yell that escapes him as he is pulled along.

Jingyi watches and waits with curiosity that turns, abruptly, into concerned amusement. There's no blood in the water, but his trickle of qi tied to the air he keeps Esteban well supplied with goes unseen but unspooling along after, and so Jingyi, massive as he is, near doubles over himself turning round and swimming after the fish in the golden net and Esteban holding on. It's funny, really it is, because Esteban's being hauled around using the net supposed to catch a fish. Whom caught whom?

Frightening, too, if his control wasn't decent enough to keep up with the sudden change. Jingyi concentrates on that as he swims, enjoying the movement in the back of his mind while his eyes stay focussed on the guy and the fish hauling out toward deeper waters.

Underneath, the light penetrates to darkness, losing colour and form as the depths swallow everything, from heat to the particles drifting past made up of algae and plankton type creatures keeping this ecosystem as healthy and fruitful as any garden blessed by bees. Why was he thinking about bees? He shakes his head as he finally puts on the burst of speed that catches Esteban and the net up, going in over Esteban's head and curving his neck back to bring his chest and forelegs into action. Claws caught at the net, tail and lower body whipping down as he hauled backward, pulling Esteban and the net and the fish trying to chew and thrash out of the golden lines back toward his chest.

Only to attempt, then, to swim backward, belly curved to face the skies rippling higher above.

Esteban really doesn't know what he's doing. For one glorious second, the fish had been caught, all had been well, and all they had to do was haul it back to the island. And the next, his lungs are squeezing and the speed at which the fish is dragging him around makes it hard to think-- yanked by his arms, legs lost somewhere behind him-- he can't quite keep up.

But when the fish darts deeper, he gasps, already aware that this is bad. His thoughts jumble, unable to figure out why, and his hands shift, caught between his want to keep the fish fighting against the nudge that he should let go-- and something grasps him, grasps the net, and he's tugged against the belly scales of a dragon. Instinct older than he can say has him lay quietly in the dragon's hold, taking comfort from the familiar warmth that is pressed against his back.

His heart and lungs rattle when they break the surface, waves lapping gently in a sound that nearly deafens him, so suddenly out of the yawning abyss below them, and a tiny, minuscule part of him doesn't want to move. He snickers, at first, gentle huffs of laughter that only grow louder as he considers just the handful of seconds that have led to this. Oh, 'Dians, he won't live this down, will he?

"I caught the fish!" He tries to claim, his laughter still struggling through his lungs, sitting up from his perch so he can grin at his draconic companion. "Told ya I could do it!" He's still laughing, but he manages a soft-worded "thank you," nonetheless, honestly glad that he didn't have to fight that particular battle on his own.

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Event: 12 of Beetroot

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Got super distracted by the new event, >__< sorry for the delay!