(no subject)

[rootbound]

Who: Vern, Geir, and you
Where: The western slopes of the Hub mountain
When: Day 86
Open/Closed: Open

[after Jay's mapping trip of the day before, two of the party returned to the mountain's southwestern slopes. they're looking for a cave, and after that exploratory trip, they think they know more or less where they'll find one. it takes some searching slightly north of where the mapping team left off, but Vern and Geir eventually find a location that will work for their purposes… with a few caveats.

((reply to either open prompt or make your own! Vern and Geir will both reply.))



finding the cave - locked to Geir
[they've been over this section of the mountain three times, augh. everything is too small, too small, too small -- are there any caves that are actually a decent size around here?

("small" is very relative when you're traveling with a dragon.)

For reference: "A cave that fits the size and water parameters can be located near the western mountain-front. There are plenty of small tunnels from animals (or some other source) that can allow for smoke to go into them, but it may not be the most difficult cave to access.

The cave itself a fair amount of boar bones, which may indicate that it's some sort of boar death site. This also means there's not exactly a pleasant smell in the cave, but they can potentially burn the smell out with flowers or shrubbery."]



taking out the trash - ota
[the cave that they eventually find and claim needs some work, by any stretch of the imagination. it's located on the western mountain front only a few minutes north of where the mapping party left off, and it's perfect in several respects: big enough for Geir, sufficient ventilation from small animal tunnels to make a fire without worrying, fresh running water from a deep stream only a few feet from the entrance…

the problem is the smell. right now, Geir is shoveling bones and dessicated boar bits out of the entrance, while Vern winces and tries to weave pads out of grasses to start his scrubbing.]

How many of those things died in here?!

[unfortunately, Geir isn't being particularly private in his mental grumbling, and both his commentary -- and Vern's shushing -- occasionally get transmitted over the network. feel free to track him and Vern down, or just mentally yell at them.]



pool boy and maid service - ota
[now that all of the bones are lying in inelegant piles in their front yard instead of in their living room, Vern has started his self-appointed task of scrubbing the smell of death off their walls and floor, as well as figuring out how to build a fire to start smoking the smell out. Geir, on the other hand, is digging in the middle of the stream like a lunatic. they’re both making a lot of noise, the smoke is pretty obvious, and the trail through the woods to their new front door is a lot more open and inviting than they'd prefer… they’re very noticeable if you’re exploring yourself and happen to come around this area.]

Comments

[rootandbranch]

Julius!

[Geir lights up when he sees the young man; it's certainly nice to see Julius looking better. he seems less brooding than it was the last time they had a long conversation, too, more forward-looking and determined. Geir is pleased to see it.

he doesn't quite know how Julius found them here, though, and it's certainly unexpected that anyone would follow them out here just to offer their help. so he follows up on that introduction with a fair degree of surprise and puzzlement.]

Um, sure? We're just clearing the cave out right now...

no worries!

[bulletbiter]

I'll help.

[ He has nothing much to do other than grow the garden so it might be better to find a change of pace. The smell, though... ]

What's inside...?

[rootandbranch]

Boar leftovers.

[Geir wrinkles his nose, closing his nostrils off from the air for a moment. even if he's more prosaic about the stink than his human companion, it's not pleasant.]

I got the bones out already, but the smell is still all over the walls and floor. I don't know what happened... maybe they all had a disease and went in there to die.

[bulletbiter]

Can you breathe fire?

[ It's an idea, at least...? The mystery of the cave aside, this seemed to be the most important task. ]

[rootandbranch]

Fire? No, why?

[the ideas is obviously baffling to Geir -- he must not come from a tradition of fire-breathing dragons. he does cough surreptitiously to himself, just to check if that's suddenly going to become a thing.]

Is that something Qri gave someone--?

[bulletbiter]

No, no. I was just wondering. Flames could sterilize the grime here.

[ Fire-breathing dragons weren't a staple in his world, duly noted. ]

[rootandbranch]

Oh... yeah. Vern has some torches, and he built a fire, but the smoke hasn't really gotten into the walls as much as the smell has yet.

[Geir scratches at his head with a back foot reflectively, like a dog with an itch behind its ear.]

Do you think a bigger fire is the way to go?

[bulletbiter]

I'm not so sure. It'll make it cleaner, but the smell might be worse.

[ Which brings him to another idea: ]

The smell is in the air, so if only we had a way to filter it...

[ He'll walk over to the wall and put his hand onto the damp rock. It's at once a curious and familiar sensation - complete awareness of the cells that make up the point of contact, and then the (slightly frightening) ease with which he could command them to consume.

After about half a minute, he'll remove his hand to reveal a clean patch. Merely being in contact was enough for them to absorb what accumulated on the stone. Perhaps a little of the stone too. ]

Huh.....

[rootandbranch]

[Geir followed him from his place in the water, curious about what he plans to do. once Julius withdraws his hand from the stone, he stretches out his nose to sniff at his palm.]

What did you do?

[bulletbiter]

I... absorbed it, I think.

[ It doesn't affect the pain in his nerves, either. He had hoped it would soothe the Singularity, but at least it didn't have an adverse effect. ]

It'll help with cleaning, if I can figure out how to do it faster.

[rootandbranch]

Does your whatsit-thingy still work, even here? The stuff in your body?

[Geir is curious -- his teeth don't destroy matter as they should right now, so he's surprised that Julius's abilities seem effective. this low frequency thing certainly gets applied differently across different people from different worlds...]

[bulletbiter]

It does. It's not magic. It's just how I am.

[ A curse that resided in the flesh, instead of feeding off magic. A heart that pulsed with an alien life... ]

It's part of my body. I would imagine magic has nothing to do with it.

[rootandbranch]

I thought my teeth were part of my body too, but I guess part of the eitr was magical after all. The more you know.

[he shakes his head!]

...don't hurt yourself using it. I know you overdid it before. You're feeling better, right?

[bulletbiter]

[ Well, he also came from a world with no magic, so that might be why. ]

I am. I should be fine, if I take it slowly.

[ It might clue him in on how best to suppress it, too. ]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir nudges Julius's shoulder with his nose fussily, a little too hard to be casual but not hard enough to do more than rock him on his feet a very little. taking it slowly is all very well, but Julius needs to be extra sure to take care of himself, in his opinion.]

Just make sure that you do, then!

[bulletbiter]

[ The gesture gets a smile out of him, slightly but noticeable. ]

I will. Thanks.

[ It feels less stressful to be like this. To be free. ]

I want to use my ability to help others, so it wouldn't be a burden anymore.

[rootandbranch]

...that's kind of you.

[he's surrounded by a lot of people who have a sort of instinctive desire to help others, he realizes... it's almost jarring to get his head around it so suddenly.]

I don't think you're a burden, though. Unless you mean, it's a burden for you.

[bulletbiter]

[ That gets a pause, before: ]

I meant to everyone else. I... made many mistakes, before. I want to atone for that.

[ Mass murder, first and foremost. It had been under a false pretense, but murder it still was. ]

[rootandbranch]

You haven't been a burden to me.

[Geir tilts his head curiously...]

Atone?

[he knows the word, but he's never really dealt much in the concept.]

[bulletbiter]

Yeah.

[ Unfortunately, Julius isn't too talkative on this subject. ]

I... did some bad things, once.

[rootandbranch]

And you want to... make up for them?

[Geir doesn't press him more on the bad things, but he's still curious about this "atone" thing...]

[bulletbiter]

Something like that.

[ Because after all Julius is a person with good intentions. Whether that pans out is another thing altogether. ]

[rootandbranch]

. . . how? By just-- doing other stuff? Is that how it works?

[Geir's eyes are very wide, in surprise or fascination-- hard to say which.]

[bulletbiter]

Other things to help people. So in doing that, you make up for the amount of hurt that you've caused.

[ He's wondering why Geir is surprised, but decides not to ask ]

[rootandbranch]

Even though they're not the same people, the idea is that it evens out...?

[Geir's voice goes softer as he muses it over, talking to himself more than to Julius now]

That's so strange.