[WORLD ONE | UVI ATTACK]

[spellbindmods]

Who: The Uvi and coven members
Where: In and around the city land of Aimintas
When: Day 32 & 33
Open/Closed: Open to All

For coven members who haven't been in Aimintas very long, the panic of the Palai the past few days may seem like overkill. The day goes by rather quietly and Aimintas looks like a ghost town throughout the morning and most of the afternoon. Not one Palai can be seen, with shops closed and the roads virtually empty, aside from coven members. It isn't until the sky is turning a nice shade of pink that things begin. Observant people who may be gazing up at the ocean will see the very small dots in the sky that begin to approach at a very quick speed. If you're outside, you may get to see the Uvi up close -- but perhaps not for very long. The Uvi have rubbery bones, and they hit the dirt in a curled up position, unrolling themselves and leaping up on long, scaled legs. The shortest Uvi might come in at five feet tall, but most range from six to seven. They're lithe and gilled -- you may think they want to rely on stealth, but the sound coming out of their gills is very loud and raspy. There's no way you can't hear them coming as the ominous and rapid noise follows them everywhere. Some of them are walking around empty handed, eyes scanning and striding up to buildings, banging on the outside and observing the inside of the house as much as they possibly can. Others are carrying large, bleached tools made of fish bone and teeth. Some look like long blades, while others look like long axes. These are used for cutting into doors and other violent tasks they feel the need to complete. A ▢ If your character is wandering the streets, whether of their own ignorance or because they're part of the team trying to protect/negotiate with the Palai, they're very likely to run into one of the Uvi. While left to their own devices they'll only be focused on sniffing out Palai, but they're committed to going after anything they see alive and moving. If your character confronts the Uvi, they better be prepared for an attack. B ▢ Alternatively, maybe your character is caught outside and ill-equipped to handle the Uvi. Running is an option! ...But they better be able to run fast. Maybe your character gets lucky enough to run into someone who can help them, but they'd best hope they find each other fast. C ▢ Your character may also be committed to love and justice, fighting the forces of evil with good. It's very unlikely that Palai blood goes unspilled tonight, but your character may be able to prevent it as much as possible. Just be warned: if they confront the Uvi who are trying to break into a Palai house, they're going to be in for a fight. D ▢ Other characters may already be hiding, whether in the coven house or with Palai in their own homes. They'll hear the Uvi's harsh, gasping breathing before they see them, but if they do hear that raspy noise, they'd better be quick thinkers. Whether the Uvi visiting turns into a brawl or a blood bath, eventually the Uvi will return to the ocean with Palai bodies in tow. At around 4 AM, the Uvi begin to shriek, some making noises that are too high pitched for most ears to hear. From the sky, large flying fish descend from the sky and find their masters. The Palai are hoisted onto the back of these creatures and they take off, flying back into the ocean. E ▢ If your character is committed to defeating the Uvi, they may want to try and target the large fish they'll be flying out of. It's possible to kill them in the air, but watch where they fall. They're incredibly large -- larger than the sharks and bigger fish that have fallen out of the sky before. They can also be killed on the ground, but you'll also have to do with their protective Uvi owners. F ▢ Maybe your character is more into the idea of following the Uvi back home. It's possible! Once the Uvi breach the ocean, they swim fast through the dark water for miles and miles. The journey is treacherous, and some may stop the trek to attack in the water where they're more at home. If your character makes it to their lair, they'll find that it's a dense wad of seaweed that stays static in the ocean. The Uvi are used to the toxicity of the leaves, but trying to enter means touching these leaves that leave large, skin-melting welts as they grow and burst. G ▢ Wildcard! How will your character handle this violent and volatile situation.

Comments

[deem]

[9S stiffens under that touch. It's not the contact that prompts this, but rather the expectation that Jude would remain with the Palai, where it's relatively safe. If he's coming with him...that's more dangerous, isn't it?]

You're sure someone shouldn't stay behind to protect them?

[The suggestion is quite guided, rather than being wholeheartedly sincere, but...]

[talim]

[ he feels 9s go rigid underneath his touch, and jude is quick to remove his hand. maybe he should have been more considerate of 9s' personal space, but jude has always been one to offer comfort on instinct alone. ]

It doesn't look like the Uvi could manage to squeeze back through the front entrance. It's a pretty tight fit down there, and now that they've been healed up, the Palai should wake soon enough.

... I mean, I suppose I could stay and keep an eye on them, but I really don't know how I feel about letting you go off on your own.

[deem]

You don't think I could handle myself? [9S doesn't believe that's the sum total of what Jude's thinking, but...] Before I was assigned to work with 2B, I was always in the field alone.

[He didn't like it, of course. It was frightening, and it was lonely, but he managed nevertheless, just like any Scanner would]

[talim]

[ a somewhat bewildered frown tugs at his lips. he knows 9s didn't intend it, but that kind of hurt. he didn't mean to underestimate him, but he didn't expect 9s to snap at him, either. ]

What? No! That's not it at all!

[ he waves his hands in protest. ]

It's just... I was just... We agreed to back each other up, didn't we? I never meant to imply that I don't think you're capable. All I meant is that exploring in a pair is always safer than heading out alone. After wll, we don't know what's in here, but we do know that it can't be good.

[deem]

[In turn, Jude's reaction surprised 9S. He had only meant to state the facts, and thinks he was calm enough about doing so, yet it seems he's prompted this explanation.

Later, he'll have to review and analyze this. But for now...]

In close quarters like this, that might be dangerous. [9S lifts his sword demonstratively — it's nearly as tall as either of them] The way I use my weapon isn't the same as others, because I wasn't designed for melee combat.

[talim]

[ jude holds out his calloused fists, turning his palms over to give 9s a good look at them. ]

Combat isn't exactly my specialty, either, but we'll make it work.

[deem]

[9S does glance down at those hands, though he feels like Jude ought to have a melee weapon if he intends to fight up close. It'd be safer, coming from the perspective of a unit like himself]

...Are your hands damaged?

[Excuse him, because he's never seen calluses before]

i think i was spelling callus wrong this entire time up until this tag

[talim]

Huh?

[ oh. the calluses. jude squints down at them — he'd forgotten they were even there in the first place. they used to bother him. ]

Oh. Those are just calluses. They're toughened areas of the skin in response to friction and other things. They aren't harmful. Just sort of there.

it's not something we commonly use, seems to me

[deem]

[He takes in this explanation quietly, watching those hands still yet.

Don't mind him when he lifts his free hand to catch one of Jude's, just to run a gloved thumb over his knuckles]

So that's what they look like, huh...

[So many things are difficult to picture for himself, when they only exist in archives. That contact is brief, something he relinquishes after a moment, having observed and recorded this new information]

[talim]

[ jude doesn't mind the contact at all; rather, he finds it oddly comforting. despite his friends' support and encouragement, he's still a bit self-conscious about those calluses. ]

I never realized you'd be so interested in them.

[deem]

Well, I am a Scanner after all.

[Though he supposes this probably doesn't mean terribly much to Jude, so it bears explanation]

We're um...naturally curious, I guess?

[talim]

I've been meaning to ask about it for awhile, but... being a Scanner means that you and 2B are vastly different models, correct?

[deem]

That's a way of putting it. We're designed for different tasks.

[And he's just going to skirt around this subject a little because he doesn't want to deceive Jude, but anything he might say about Battlers isn't quite accurate to 2B. She's much stronger.

It's one of the things that tipped him off to her role, in point of fact]

[talim]

So when you say that you weren't designed for combat, the opposite is true when it comes to 2B, but gathering data is your area of expertise? Does that mean 2B is unable to process information as quickly and efficiently as you do?

Huh. I guess I never looked at either of you very differently...

[deem]

[9S is hesitant to put it that way, and it shows in the frown that tugs at his lips]

2B is just as capable of sizing up and defeating an opponent as anyone else. Better than most others, in fact. [Look he...he's a fan of his self-claimed family, okay] But she isn't made for hacking like I am, and there are certain things that are better left to me, I guess.

[talim]

You... don't sound so sure of yourself.

[ jude is getting more and more used to the self-deprecation that seems to radiate from 9s' entire being.

it isn't something he wants to get used to. ]

[deem]

I know what I am, and I know what I can do.

[9S can say those words firmly enough, and yet a certain melancholy seeps in, and with it, its own implication.

I also know what I couldn't do]

[talim]

Nines...

[ a heavy sigh. a sad one. ]

I can't speak for you, but... whatever it is you were built to do, you know I think you're more than that. I know I'll just be repeating myself, but I'll repeat myself as many times as I have to. That's what friends are for.

[deem]

[Ah, he's troubled him with this, hasn't he?]

I'm fine. [The filthiest of lies, but frankly...he's better than he has been in what feels like an eternity, ever since the succession of losses he was left to contend with, steadily stripped of purpose until there was nothing but vengeance and the promise of death to follow] YoRHa unit types are indicated by the letters in our designation, just for reference. S for Scanner, B for Battler. The numerical value's a bit more specific, since there are plenty of S-types but they're not all model 9.

[Yep, smoothing that sad away with infodump, true to form]

[talim]

[ ... ]

Are you just going to change the subject every time I try to talk to you about it?

[deem]

I don't know what I'm supposed to say to things like that.

[If he's being entirely plain about it.

Not to mention, the fact remains that Jude doesn't know the reasons for which 9S faults himself. They're things he isn't intent on sharing, shameful as he finds a great many of them. Those that he doesn't are simply burdensome to others, he's sure of that]

[talim]

There's nothing you're supposed to say. This isn't a pop quiz.

[ he sighs again, running a hand through his tousled hair. should he press the issue, or should he drop it and go back to the task at hand?

well... who says he can't do both? ]

Come here, Nines. Just walk with me.

[deem]

[9S almost admits that he doesn't know what a pop quiz is supposed to be, but he decides against it.

Instead, he ducks under another fallen beam toward a room they haven't yet examined]

I should take point, just in case. [Although he already has anyway-] I can't help the civilians like you can.

[talim]

[ jude allows 9s to take point without objecton, but he still shakes his head. ]

Shielding them and fighting off the Uvi is helping them just as much. You're doing more than your share of the work here. Give yourself some credit.

[ the room seems deserted, and much like the rest of the place they've explored, it's both dark and silent. jude's still on his toes, of course, but if 9s thinks the conversation is finished, well... that's unfortunate. ]

Listen. What I meant is that there's no right answer. All I want is to hear how you really feel. Deep down, deep inside — you.

You've been going on and on about doing what you're programmed to do, but... look at it this way. What about me? Were you programmed to make friends? You have so many different opportunities waiting for you. So many things to explore.

[deem]

[How he really feels...

That's actually quite the disturbing thought to entertain. Perhaps one person had known the truth to that, and had exacted as much from him by force. 9S will never forget that experience, violating as it was.

What Jude suggests of course is nothing at all like that. Even so, there has never been a time when 9S could be entirely honest about how he felt. Not about the things that mattered]

Funny thing about that... [Making friends. He starts, only to cut himself off. 2B had to befriend him, and it was a job. One she grew to hate, but nevertheless, it was something her unit type was programmed to do. But his knowledge of this is something he hasn't even made 2B aware of, lest he cause her more pain. And so instead-] Emotions are prohibited to YoRHa.

[It's not funny at all, is it?]