catch-all open log!

[rebells]

Who: Anyone and everyone!
Where: On the beach, and various other places throughout the hub island
When: Day 80, and the next couple days after
Open/Closed: open log for hub shenanigans!

[This evening, someone has placed an old, rusted-over camp stove on the beach near the coven's row of huts--anyone examining it in detail will see that it's not operational at the moment, but that could potentially be changed, couldn't it? If someone was handy with mechanical things . . . .

Next to it is a crate (which, from the weight of it is empty) and pinned to that crate is a sheet of paper with a map on it, something like a much cruder, black-and-white version of this:



with the following key:

1 - crags. Contain snakes which may be poisonous. Watch out.
2 - ocean, going about one mile out from the coast.
3 - lagoon. Contains thick reeds (could be woven or shaped into tools) and frogs (edibility uncertain).
4 - abandoned campsite.
5 - orchard. Currently, trees are diseased and bare. Plant healer needed.
6 - abandoned house. A family used to live here, from the looks of it. Still contains some useful supplies.

And there should be a 7 north of base camp with the notation "graveyard. Graves unused." but the player forgot and is too lazy to go back and fix it right now. Observant individuals will note that the map looks like a more detailed version of one hanging on the door to a certain coven member's cabin, one that has a note on the bottom: "Have information? Ask for Jay."

Other than that, it's a quiet night on the hub island. We've been here for a couple days; maybe you're getting restless? Want to check out that ocean, or lagoon, or even those crags? Maybe just go door-to-door in the beach huts? Maybe you're sick of shrimp and looking for other things to eat . . . hopefully someone's got a fire going tonight, and thought to kill a boar . . . .

What are you doing tonight?]


((here or here for place descriptions))

Comments

[talim]

Something... else?

[ if jude didn't come from a world where monsters were common in abandoned places like these, he'd probably tease him. ]

You're right. I'll let you handle that on your own. I wouldn't want to get in your way... We'll just find another place to search through.

[ so jude stands back up — and immediately slips on a particularly uneven rock, pebble, something, hands wobbling as he tries desperately to keep his balance. ]

Wh-Whoa—

[deem]

[Although he wouldn't want to suggest Jude would be in his way, he lets it rest for now. Better that he not risk getting hurt by venturing into dangerous territory. Of course, that relief is short-lived when Jude slips, because they are pretty far up]

Jude—

[Close at hand as he is, he reaches to catch his arm, hoping to brace him so he can regain his balance. This isn't the place where anybody wants to take a spill]

[talim]

[ jude stops wobbling as soon as 9s grabs him, and somehow, his feet find balance again as he leans back into 9s' hold with a shaky sigh. that shook him up a little, he has to admit. he has some pretty bad memories of seeing people fall down cliffs like these, although they were much higher.

he tips his head back to look at 9s, abnormally close. jude's back is more or less leaning against his chest. ]

... Sorry about that. And thanks.

[ he moves to stand on his own. tries to, anyway. 9s is gripping his arm harder than he probably realizes. it's endearing. ]

[deem]

[The proximity doesn't register to 9S over his concern, and neither does he realize he doesn't have to hold on quite so firmly. For a moment there, the possibility of Jude being hurt was alarmingly real, and it was all that had gone through his mind.

It's with a delay that he collects himself, roots his thoughts in the present and reminds himself to loosen his grip when Jude tries to move away. The last thing he needs to do is hurt him while trying to keep him from coming to harm]

Are you okay?

[His voice comes out awkward and strained despite his efforts. Look, that was scary]

[talim]

[ jude looks at 9s with brows knit with concern, immediately noticing the off pitch in his voice. was he really that scared? he's had worse almost-accidents. and accidents. ]

I'm okay.

[ his voice is light and soothing but steady, and he pats 9s' cheek with his hand once, with a soft smile, before resting that same hand on his shoulder. ]

Thanks for grabbing me, but don't worry too much. I promise I'm usually not that much of a ditz.

[deem]

[They really should keep a count of how many times they tell each other not to worry, 9S muses. But the thought's one he discards quickly enough. Those numbers might hike pretty high.

He puffs out a tense breath he didn't realize he'd been holding onto]

This kind of terrain is difficult for anybody, really.

[And so, he wouldn't judge Jude for having lost his balance. His nerves still feel frayed to him, but he's not bad at putting on a front after having this time to collect himself]

I wouldn't think something like that about you.

[He'd been around Jude enough to know, surely]

[talim]

I know you wouldn't.

[ jude gives his shoulder a squeeze. ]

How about I let you lead the way?

[deem]

In that case, let's try and map out more of the forest. It seems like it covers a pretty vast area, and people might have trouble navigating it.

[But 9S is reasonably sure he can keep them from getting lost.

Operative word being reasonably, but with that, he'll find them a path that isn't too precarious]

[talim]

The forest sounds... safer. We'd better watch out for wild animals, though.

[ jude has no idea about 9s' history with fighting boars, okay.

more mindful of where, exactly, his feet are this time, jude falls into step alongside 9s. ]

[deem]

Wonder if they'd have boars around here...

[Considering how huge they are back home, he can't help being curious. Plus, they'd be an awful lot of meat for their small army of hungry humans.

The thought's not enough to distract him from navigating, and he's careful to avoid anything that might be difficult to traverse. At the least, this area would be easily defensible if one knew how to use it]

[talim]

Why boars in particular?

[ jude makes sure to stay close, turning and looking through the barren trees. it's a sad sight to see, especially when it reminds him so much of elympios, and he finds himself distracted with those thoughts—

and trips over a tree root, face planting in the dirt this time.

he said he wasn't a ditz, too.

jude mutters a curse under his breath, using his elbows to prop himself up. ]

... Ouch.

[ ouch is sort of an understatement. he thinks he twisted something. ]

[deem]

Well, back where I'm from—

[9S halts immediately, but this time he's not quick enough to actually prevent a fall. A concerned frown tugs at his lips as he kneels, that worry only deepening when it sounds like Jude was most likely hurt this time]

What happened?

[Regardless of what the cause was, 9S is already helping to prop Jude back up, looking him over. That wasn't a long fall, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything, does it?]

[talim]

My ankle...

[ he cringes at the hem of his dirty lab coat — he doesn't like it being anything but pristine white, he'll have to get it cleaned — but points down. ]

I think I just twisted it, but it... might be sprained.

[ using the strength of his elbows, jude tries to make an effort to stand up, but he doesn't get far, wincing and letting himself collapse back on the ground after a single failed attempt. ]

I-It could be worse... I didn't break anything. Maybe I really am a ditz, haha.

[ he turns his head and averts his gaze in embarrassment. here he is, dragging 9s down rather than helping. if it meant tripping all over himself he'd rather not have run into him at all. ]

[deem]

My track record's pretty uh... [9S trails off rather than elaborating, because the straight facts would surely upset someone as kind as he knows Jude to be] Let's just say I'm in no position to judge.

[Comparatively speaking, 9S is far worse. His track record of getting heavily damaged and destroyed is something that stands out among other units. Some of that is owed to the vicious cycle intended to keep him from doing anything with certain information, but the rest is his own brand of recklessness.

Not that his awareness of the fact is enough to stop him or anything]

You'd better stay off your leg for now.

[It's not so much a suggestion as he's making it sound, helping Jude up just enough to make it easier to scoop him up. He's gotten friendly enough with the ground already, time to put an end to that]

[talim]

N-Nines— !

[ jude yelps, flailing as much as a person with an injury can when 9s gathers him up in his arms. he can feel his face heating again, turning pink to the tips of his ears. and this isn't even the first time he's been carried like this, between 9s and alvin, although it's certainly the most humiliating.

what is it, though, that makes this time different? sure, he had been incredibly flustered before, but his stomach hadn't been doing these awful flip flops. he didn't have what he can only liken to butterflies.

jude stops flailing when he speaks, hiding his face in 9s' shoulder instead. ]

Nines, you don't need to carry me, I'll— I'll be okay. I don't mind limping for a bit. We'll just find somewhere to sit down for awhile, and...

[ jude trails off. even he realizes that for a doctor, he's being awfully hypocritical. ]

[deem]

[This isn't the first time 9S has noticed that Jude's pulse seems erratic, at least to his standards. He wonders if maybe he's managed to startle him and should've warned him, and the flailing only lends itself to that theory. Still, the only sensible conclusion is that he should pick him up, isn't it?]

I don't have to, but it's better for your ankle this way, isn't it?

[In the face of Jude's anxious behavior, he's doing his best to remain calm. He knows it's not a major injury, but it still concerns him. Human bodies are different from those of androids in many ways, among them the need for immediate response even with at times small injuries.

Considering one of them is a doctor here, he surely needn't say anything about that]

Honestly, limping for a bit sounds pretty bad...

[talim]

Mmph...

[ muffling a defeated groan in 9s' shirt, he resigns to his fate and decides to avoid an inevitable argument. 9s is right. limping will only risk making it worse than it already is. he needs to stay off it until he can get the chance to find a place to settle and focus on healing himself. ]

I'm sorry. For the trouble.

[ jude is still hiding his face. he can't let 9s see him like this, at least, not when his heart is racing from more than just a little bit of pain. ]

[deem]

[That irregularity remains, but Jude hasn't said anything about it. 9S thinks it safe to assume that he shouldn't call attention to it, though he resolves to look out for any potential issues it might be indicative of. Of course between them, he's not really the expert by any means.

The times he'd experienced a similar condition were...surely different]

What trouble? [He pauses, looking one way and then the other] I'm not seeing any around here.

[He's been carried before, when he was injured and unable to get around on his own. At the time, his thoughts were quite different than he imagines Jude's to be, but he wasn't bothered by 2B carrying him. She is, after all, the stronger one. It'd be impossible to forget something like that]

[talim]

[ it doesn't have to do with being strong or weak. it just has to do with his stubbornness and his pride. he has no doubt that, in the same situation, milla would carry him, too. ]

You're impossible.

[ a weak laugh. it really does hurt, but he's not going to complain about it, not to 9s. it was his own fault he wasn't being careful. he was more focused on 9s than he was on the ground beneath his feet.

jude is... jude is starting to get a sense of what this might be. this thing. these feelings. and he doesn't like it. he can't...

he can't.

it reminds him a little of how he felt around milla, when his heart fluttered in his chest every time she looked at him. this is a little different, though. he idolized milla; he looked up to her, wanted to be like her, and at times he was confused by those feelings. this is confusing, too, but it's less that he admires 9s and more he just likes him. everything about him. he had feelings for milla, strong ones, whatever those feelings entailed — he still doesn't know, and he might never quite figure it out — but...

jude is getting concerned that likes him is more than just... well. more than he should. he isn't sure, still. maybe it's nothing. maybe he's just grateful, maybe he's just glad to have such a close friend in an unfamiliar world, away from home. maybe it's this, maybe it's that.

he goes limp in 9s' arms, wrapping his arms around his neck and hanging onto him tight, his hair tickling 9s' chin. all he knows for sure is that he doesn't want to let go just yet. ]

[deem]

Not the first time I've heard that.

[Though what the comment is in reference to — his attitude or even the reality of his existence — had certainly varied. In all cases it's something he can easily shrug off... But in Jude's case, he's just glad he isn't fighting about staying off his ankle anymore. The sooner they find somewhere he can rest up, the better.

And to that end he debates, glancing in the direction of their base of operations, such as it was. He doesn't find that place very hospitable, himself, but it seems like what they've got to work with in the immediate vicinity]

Let's see here... We could head back to camp, that's not too far. [Though given Jude's reaction to being picked up, maybe he'd rather not be seen carried around] Or further away, I found some old residence. What do you think?

[It seems best to leave that up to Jude. Given the speeds he's capable of moving at, it's not as though he'd take as long as a human would to get anywhere, even while carrying somebody else]

[talim]

[ perhaps it would be a little less selfish to suggest just going back to camp. the shorter route is the better route, right?

but perhaps even jude mathis is a little selfish every once in awhile. ]

... The residence sounds good. I don't mind taking a little extra time as long as you don't.

[ to be fair, 9s doesn't seem to mind carrying him. it certainly isn't strenous on him, as far as jude can tell. ]

Thanks for doing this. Not sure what I would have done without you here.

[deem]

[With their course set, he turns and starts in the direction of the abandoned house he'd found before. At the time he was far more concerned with mapping, so maybe they'll find something interesting now that they intend to stop there]

Well, if you're not used to following someone, I guess it'd be pretty distracting.

[9S simply exists in a state of near constant distraction, being a Scanner unit. He's accustomed to his attention straying, and maybe for that reason, it wasn't often the case that it actually tripped him up. There were, of course, occasions when his focus would be diverted in the middle of battle though]

So you probably just would've punched some snakes or something.

[Said lightly, though he does believe Jude would've been far less likely to stumble if he didn't need to keep an eye on someone]

[talim]

Punched some snakes...

[ that pulls a laugh out of him. more of a snort, really, buried in the skin of 9s' neck. his shoulders tremble with it. ]

I think you're overestimating me. Besides, I can use magic, remember? Healing isn't the only thing that mana is good for. That would be much more effective. And less dangerous.

Don't worry. Once I'm back on my feet, I'll blast any snakes that come near those legs.

[deem]

[His stab at humor's successful, and 9S spares a soft smile for that. It's easy enough to imagine that Jude's in some pain right now, even if he isn't complaining of it, so he's pleased if he can distract him from it even a little.

Though the offer of leg defense comes as a surprise, prompting him to look down at Jude for a beat. Well, at his hair anyway, as he can't see too much else.

...It's pretty soft, isn't it? But anyway—]

You're really sure they're not edible? Because blasting them might be a waste then.

[talim]

[ jude chuckles again, belatedly realizing that 9s smells nice, that the weight of his arms underneath him is so pleasant, that the skin of his neck is so soft (considering he's an android, at that), that...

... jude really might be in trouble. he doesn't even realize he's clinging onto him tighter, just because he can, just because he's there. ]

Yes, 9S. I'm really sure.

[ ... maybe? milla would probably give eating them a shot. milla would eat anything. when it comes to food she's a force to be reckoned with, truly. ]