VoidTrecker Express Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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middleofsomewhere2019-07-13 08:02 am
voidtreckermods) wrote in middleofsomewhere2019-07-13 08:02 am
To Climb
Preparation
Just after light on the seventh day since boarding the train everyone’s SCA glows with the colours of the void before showing a message. A briefing for the mission to come. No one gets much time to process this before there is a shaking, like turbulance before there’s a jolt and flash of colour.
”Welcome to Hub World#5739. Our next stop will be Ciyesia in a few hours.”
Outside the windows the void is gone. The train is winding through a mountain range. The mountains tower up around them. The sky is a beautiful blue though every now and again there is a swirl of colour, like the void is trying to break through.
The countryside wizzes by, sometimes you go past settlements, small villages of wooden houses. Sometimes you pass farmers in fields. Sometimes herds of animals, horses, camels, strange animals with six legs and curled horns.
Eventually the train slows. ”Now arriving at Ciyesia. Passengers must wear their Safety Control Apparatus. Please ensure you take all equipment needed for your mission with you when you leave the train and take extra care when you step from the train to the platform. Next stop Ciyesia.”
Arrival
And in a billow of steam the train comes to a stop. The doors hiss open and there is indeed a rickety wooden platform, fallen into disuse. Sat upon it were two children, a boy and a girl who were staring at the train with open mouths.
Before the doors were even fully opened they were off running, “Ma! Ma!”
The platform is in a clearing, surrounded mostly by trees but down the path the children took a building can be seen. If you follow the children you will find it a large homestead, with a sign outside. The Weary Wanderer. The children are on the doorstep talking to a woman and gesturing towards you.
As you approach she smiles, a little nervously. “Well. This is not something I thought I would see in my lifetime. Welcome Treckers, I offer you the hospitality of my inn.”
She gestures them in. Inside is a large common room with wooden tables. There is a fire place but the day is warm enough that it is not lit. At first glance it looks old fashioned to anyone from a modern world, even fantasy-esque for those who would recognise it as such. Indeed her and the children are dressed in simple layered, loose tunics. But then you may notice some of the candles are battery powered and! there’s a coffee machine on the bar.
“Maia can you ask our guests what they would like to drink?” The woman hands the little girl a slate and chalk before she begins rummaging around on the bar for mugs and glasses. “I’m sorry, it’s the quiet season so we aren’t quite guest-ready.”
They become guest ready in an impressive amount of time. The little boy runs off and returns a short while later with a plate of oat biscuits that he begins handing out.
Sheltered and soon to be fed it is time to learn more about this land and plan for your journeys ahead.
(OOC: Information for this event is here and the initial briefing is here
Just after light on the seventh day since boarding the train everyone’s SCA glows with the colours of the void before showing a message. A briefing for the mission to come. No one gets much time to process this before there is a shaking, like turbulance before there’s a jolt and flash of colour.
”Welcome to Hub World#5739. Our next stop will be Ciyesia in a few hours.”
Outside the windows the void is gone. The train is winding through a mountain range. The mountains tower up around them. The sky is a beautiful blue though every now and again there is a swirl of colour, like the void is trying to break through.
The countryside wizzes by, sometimes you go past settlements, small villages of wooden houses. Sometimes you pass farmers in fields. Sometimes herds of animals, horses, camels, strange animals with six legs and curled horns.
Eventually the train slows. ”Now arriving at Ciyesia. Passengers must wear their Safety Control Apparatus. Please ensure you take all equipment needed for your mission with you when you leave the train and take extra care when you step from the train to the platform. Next stop Ciyesia.”
Arrival
And in a billow of steam the train comes to a stop. The doors hiss open and there is indeed a rickety wooden platform, fallen into disuse. Sat upon it were two children, a boy and a girl who were staring at the train with open mouths.
Before the doors were even fully opened they were off running, “Ma! Ma!”
The platform is in a clearing, surrounded mostly by trees but down the path the children took a building can be seen. If you follow the children you will find it a large homestead, with a sign outside. The Weary Wanderer. The children are on the doorstep talking to a woman and gesturing towards you.
As you approach she smiles, a little nervously. “Well. This is not something I thought I would see in my lifetime. Welcome Treckers, I offer you the hospitality of my inn.”
She gestures them in. Inside is a large common room with wooden tables. There is a fire place but the day is warm enough that it is not lit. At first glance it looks old fashioned to anyone from a modern world, even fantasy-esque for those who would recognise it as such. Indeed her and the children are dressed in simple layered, loose tunics. But then you may notice some of the candles are battery powered and! there’s a coffee machine on the bar.
“Maia can you ask our guests what they would like to drink?” The woman hands the little girl a slate and chalk before she begins rummaging around on the bar for mugs and glasses. “I’m sorry, it’s the quiet season so we aren’t quite guest-ready.”
They become guest ready in an impressive amount of time. The little boy runs off and returns a short while later with a plate of oat biscuits that he begins handing out.
Sheltered and soon to be fed it is time to learn more about this land and plan for your journeys ahead.
(OOC: Information for this event is here and the initial briefing is here
no subject
For the first day and night Buttercup stayed close to the inn with everyone else but towards the end of the second day she had decided. She didn't even care if Tony thought she was weak and stupid and she didn't care what anyone else thought about keeping her close and safe. She can keep herself safe. She's been doing missions for ages and walking up a mountain is easy compared to sneaking into a big house or poisoning a party.
So she waited until everyone was preoccupied and left. She had nabbed as many biscuits as she could as well as some other food from the inns kitchens. Off she went, she would show them all. She would get up the mountain first and deal with any stupid monsters there might be! Who cared if Tony was a light dazzled super hero or Peter has spider powers or Lightning was a priestess.
They weren't from her world and they didn't know her at all. So off she went, off to conquer Ciyesia.
She could read maps... Sort of. In cities. And big maps of the world but following a map on a mountain turned out to be a bit trickier than she had expected... It wasn't long until she was less than sure where she was and she sighed, looking around as if the endless trees would give her any clues.
She heard a noise and wrinkled her nose, looking on the map again she saw there was a blue dot nearby and sure enough... There was a weird big winged bat thing.
"Hello." She tilted her head, "I do be taking you up the mountain." She could do blues mission as well as reds. If mister stupid head Tony thought he could do everything then so could she. She could get this stupid bat up to the top.
A few obstacles
She finally got out of the forest, but there were many problems. Little One had never climbed a mountain before, she had never been so high and it's harder than she had thought. She has also never slept outside a night in her life and it is cold and the bat thing is so annoying she is tempted to stab it, a few times.
But on she climbs. She has given up on the map now she is out of the forest, surely as long as she goes up it will be fine. It makes the way a lot rougher and harder than it would be but she steadily climbs.
She soon comes to a wide river and stands glaring at it. "I do no be thinking bat things can be swimming." She sighed, she couldn't swim either, which meant she had to think of another way across...
The final approach (Closed to Tony)
It took a lot of days, it was the fifth day when she finally could see the top. Mountains were the worst. Way worse than trains. She was so angry, tired, hungry and sore. She no longer had a dralite. But she was determined to get to the top. She is a good climber at least and she's making good progress.
That was until wings came from the left and all of a sudden there was pain and she was scooped off the mountain. A yelp was cut off as she plunged into the emptiness, fear disappearing a second after it had come. Mind ready, aware, no emotions to distract her.
She has been grabbed by a bird, it's claws are digging in and she's bleeding but not too badly. Her bigger problem is she needs to escape but if she stabs the birds feet, the obvious way out, then she falls. She needs to think and think fast.
no subject
Tony was flying back to the summit after one last flight to check for farmers getting harassed by those wicked goat creatures when he spots her. His heart drops to his stomach and he stares for a second in disbelief. His precious Buttercup was being dangled by an eagle owl far above the crag rocky floor.
With a curse, he fires a blast at the bird's head and dives to catch Buttercup when she's inevitably dropped. Swooping in, he's careful to match her speed for the initial grab so he doesn't hurt her further. "I gotcha, Buttercup. Don't worry." He slows his speed once she's in his arms and then starts to travel upward again.
He was livid, but the last thing he wanted was the girl to turn the incident on herself. This wasn't the child's fault. It was Eva, Lightning, and Sarai's! He was going to rip their heads off!
no subject
Except then she was caught and instead of claws there was cold metal around her. A metal figure held her, a new threat. Not an owl, it was human shaped. But it had her and it was going up, not down.
Her dagger is still in her hand, the emptiness still a cloak around her. It speaks, it knows her name. It tells her not to worry but it could be a trick. She struggled and brought her dagger up towards its face. "Be taking me down. Now."
Her voice was cold, devoid of emotion. Fear was battering on the outside of the emptiness, the bubble would burst soon but for now she just focused on keeping it up blocking the emotions outside and the calm in.
no subject
It worries him, way more than the knife. However, he wasn't going to make her feel insignificant or powerless. The ascension up the mountains slows down and with a quiet command, the helmet rolls back revealing Tony's face.
"Buttercup, it's me. Tony. You're no longer in danger, sweetie. I've got you. Just like I promised."
no subject
But more importantly this was Tony which meant that he wasn't a threat and he was going to be angry that she got into trouble after she tried to prove she was capable. Also she was still in the emptiness. She had tried her best to not use it, too suspicious. She had used it when she first got on the train, with Sarai but she hoped the woman hadn't noticed. Tony was already so nosy about her though.
The worry had joined the fear at battering the shields around her, she needed to drop it, maybe if she did so quickly enough he wouldn't notice.
She took a breath and concealed the dagger. She can't hope he hadn't noticed that, putting it away is more so she doesn't drop it. She lets the emptiness go. Fear, worry, annoyance and pain all flood her at once and she is suddenly aware of how high up they are, in Tony's metal hands. She lies very still, fear flickering in her eyes.
"You did be getting that owl good, mister Stark." She tries for joviality, just because she's out of the emptiness doesn't mean she's going to show her fear.
Endgame Spoiler
Her compliment made him smile, but it wasn't a broad one. He was still deeply concerned about her and knew this was an act. How could it not be? They were in middle of open air with jagged cliffs below and the girl didn't know his abilities yet. "Thank you. You're being very brave too. You don't have to be though- not around me. Let's get you somewhere safe we can take a look at your injuries, okay?"
Since she was in his arms, he gave her the lightest of hugs, holding her to him, before guiding them to the summet. "Are you hungry? I have somethings to eat in my pack."
no subject
She can't let her guard down around him, not for one second. She nodded, with the emptiness gone there was a burning sensation at her back, she could feel the wetness of blood where the claws had broken skin. She stiffened as he hugged her, not sure how to respond but luckily the question distracted her.
"Yes. I do be being very hungry." Climbing had been hungrier work than she had thought and the adrenaline kick of flying as well as dropping out of the emptiness made her very hungry indeed!
no subject
In the meantime, he would continue to do what he felt he must. In this instance, that was protecting Buttercup until she was safe and try and keep how angry he was buried so she wouldn't think it was at her.
Holding her carefully, he picked up speed to get her to the summit. Once there, he let her down gently and hit the emblem on his chest for the suit to fall away, clanking as it returned to the disc it was kept. Reaching in his pocket, he pulls out the potion Albany had shared with him. "First, drink this and then we'll get you something more substantial to eat. It's a potion to heal your wounds. Second, you and I need to have a serious talk. I'm not okay with what just happened here, but it's not your fault. Understood?"
no subject
A warmth spread through her and the cuts on her back stopped hurting immediately. It felt strange for a moment but then it was as if the stupid eagle owls had never grabbed her. All her other hurts had gone away too, the cuts and bruises gained climbing the mountain disappeared.
She watched him warily, he wasn't happy with her. He had thought she wasn't good enough and then she had gotten caught by an owl and he would think he was right. He might be. Climbing the mountain had been harder than she had thought, it wasn't something she was trained for. But she still wasn't a stupid baby.
It's true though that if he hadn't been there she would have died. She doesn't like that thought, that meant she owed him now. She nodded. She understood.
no subject
Pulling out a small packet from his hoodie, he opens it and hands her some oat biscuits. It wasn't as substanial as he would've liked to give her, but for right now it would have to do. He wants to ruffle her hair or hug her again, but she didn't seem comfortable with it.
"Buttercup, I know you're a big girl and you don't need to be babied. I know you're strong and brave and smart. However, you are young. You don't have a lot of life experiences you can draw on to make decisions. That's not a put down, it's just something you gain with age. You need an advocate. You need like a parental figure, someone with some authority, speaking on your behalf. Like a guardian. Would you let me be your advocate? Your guardian? I give you my word I won't do anything but try and keep you safe and happy."
He can't believe he's essentially asking this girl to be her dad, but he couldn't stand it. She had been needlessly put in danger during this mission and had nearly paid for it with her life. He needed some authority which he'd lacked earlier. She might not have liked what he was trying to do but he would've been able to get her to the mountain without being hurt bad enough she needed to use one of their healing potions.
no subject
Actually the flying had been sort of fun, once she was out of actual danger. But Tony was still talking, telling her she was brave but young, she didn't know how to make decisions yet. It was true but a little unfair. After all she had never had to make decisions before, she just did what she was told. Her guardians briefed her before missions and as long as she did it right everything worked out.
But now he wanted to be... her advocate? Her guardian? The biscuit didn't taste so sweet anymore. She had to learn that lesson, Tony giving her food always came with difficult questions or requests. He rewarded before rather than after, like there was no doubt that what he wanted would be done.
She stepped away, there was no where to run on this mountain, not surrounded by stupid owls. She is trapped. She wondered if this was how it was with Peter, Tony just deciding he was his now and that Peter worked for him.
She doesn't... She doesn't know. It's too much. She can't work for a light follower, it's wrong. She has guardians she just needs to get back there and if she can't...
She doesn't know. She doesn't know and she has to think and shes stuck up a mountain and on her own and her guardians aren't here and it's a different world and this nosy, dangerous man wants her to work for him. She wants to run, far far away.
It's far too much. She doesn't answer, just stands stock still as her mind tries to consider everything at once, the biscuit crushed between her fingers.
no subject
Alright, his own desires aside...
"Buttercup, it's okay. This is your decision and you don't have to make it right now. Just.. think about it, okay? We're still friends, that's never going to change. I still care about you. I'm sorry." He looks at the cookie she's smashed and sighs. "Please eat. You have to be hungry after all of that travel."
no subject
She's never really had to make big decisions before and she doesn't like it. Not one bit. It's complicated and makes her head hurt and they were friends?
When did that happen? Could kids even be friends with adults? They hadn't done... anything to make them friends? Were there words? A ritual? She's never really had a friend before. Not one that said so anyways.
She looked down at the biscuit in her hand, her appetite has ran away and she needs to think... She needs to get away but there's no where to get away too. She thinks...
"I do be wanting to be praying. Can I be being?"
She can't pray the way she wants to, not out in the open like this but she knows how to hide her prayers in fake worship of light gods. But mostly she's buying time, a time to not have to use words and look at him and think about difficult things.
no subject
Her request wasn't something he had expected and he's a bit thrown off by it. Now that she mentions it, it makes sense that she would be religious. She was being shipped off to a temple, after all. He slowly nods, and gives her a small smile. "Of course, sweetie. Do you need anything for that? Need me to just leave you alone for a while? I can make sure nothing bothers you."
no subject
That was strange, another question to add to the many but for now she needed to think. She moved towards on of the rock pillars and knelt down, putting her hands on her knees and tilting her face towards the sun.
She closed her eyes and began to pray and think, maybe an answer would come to her.