lifeaftr | March Event: De L'autre Côté de L'eau

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March Event: De L'autre Côté de L'eau

MARCH EVENT: DE L'AUTRE CÔTÉ DE L'EAU

Who: Everyone condemned to the Water, and those who see fit to rescue them
What: A rescue is implemented!
When:Predominantly on March 19th
Where: Ai'tuoh, and the small islet just off its coast
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Just Sing For Me All Night

It's time for your captured comrades to be recovered, and by none other than your fine selves! While the Storyteller will detail the elements of said rescue below, they very notably don't say anything about how they plan for you make it through Ai'tuoh, and then to the islet off its coast.

You have their tacit blessing to make your way there however you would like. Through stealth, through diplomacy, by salting and burning the earth...whichever you prefer. It is, as it turns out, awfully difficult to discern the innocent from the perpetrators when they all look alike.

Whatever course of action you choose, bear in mind that there will be consequences. The Storyteller will be sealing off Ai'tuoh's mana pool once everyone who has been retrieved has come through, but that doesn't mean that the island will be gone forever.

And If I Shout For You, Never Doubt

While the details of the rescue's mechanics can be found in the Storyteller's explanation below, we ask that, if your character was captured and needs to be rescued, please let us know HERE. This will make it easier for other players to account for who might be their focus, and why!

A few guidelines for each of the groups:

[ ♆ ] Group One will be predominantly busy fending away militia, who you can assume will be pouring forth to protect the Water from these intruders at a fairly concentrated rate. Most of the fighting will likely be grouped around the Water itself, leading to a risk of being forced into the Water or slipping in yourself. The militia largely fight with spears, swords, and shields, but are not above attempting to sedate you if they can get close enough, to make it easier to tip you into the Water.

[ ♆ ] Group Two will be serving as the tether, meaning they will be holding onto the thread the Storyteller has provided. This means physically remaining on our side of the abyss and holding onto the thread very tightly, as well as mentally focusing incredibly hard on the Water itself. When the thread is deposited into the Water, it will open a dark tunnel into the surface itself, leading all the way through to the other side. The Water will not take kindly to this; it will attempt to close, and exert a tremendous mental pressure upon your mind to do so. In order for this portal to remain open, your focus must be wholly devoted to keeping it open. It may feel very much like a mental game of tug-of-war, and you may very well feel a very physical tug on the thread itself as well; you must be actively concentrating on bringing everyone home.

[ ♆ ] Group Three will then have to grab hold of the thread in some way or another and not let go as they're swept into the dimension and through to the other side. As long as they remain in contact with the thread, they will be able to make their way back and be immune to the soporific effects of the strange void, as well as detect the opening the thread makes in the landscape of the netherworld on the other side of the Water. If they let go, they will lose their way and be vulnerable to the somnolent effects, and must be drawn back by someone who is still tethered.

Just remember: once you've found who needs recovering, you cannot, under any circumstances, look back at them while you guide the home.

You simply have to trust that they will follow, and that will be what leads them back to you.

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] March 19th: Characters are taken to the Standing Water, and the rescue is facilitated
[ ♆ ] March 20th: Monthly Storytelling occurs as usual
[ ♆ ] March 31st: Ai'tuoh disappears, and anyone left on it or in the Water will suffer a death

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[To press forward would risk toppling him, and the Drifter halts with a squinting of their dark eyes, a swaying of their balance. Perhaps that glare might have been more effective if the slits of their eyes were not so obviously uneven, and if that effort alone had not so clearly taken nearly everything out of them.]

[What are they meant to do in the meantime?]

[The Drifter points, waveringly, at the exit. They mean to escape in earnest. Get out of here, out of this place with the peculiar water that still chills their blood.]

[Yeah, okay. That...that was probably the wrong thing to do. Seto drops his arms and lets out a shaky breath. It's not the Water that scares him anymore, despite taking a plunge himself. Not now.

A world of silence doesn't bother someone who comes from one.

The bodies, on the other hand...yeah. And all the people who were hurt, who are hurting. Who were going to die. Death is the fundamental truth of the world. He's scared of that. He's scared of the loneliness that death brings.

But there's no time to worry about himself.]

I'm sorry.

[He means it in earnest. Stepping aside, Seto holds out his hand again for the Drifter if they want to take it.]

I just....I don't want to see you hurt. That's all.

[They are already hurt. They have been hurting for far, far longer than any child can hope to mend. For a moment, their pride tempts them to simply brush past. Perhaps, if they were in a better condition than they are, they would have.]

[They cannot afford to. They are not so foolish as to risk collapse for the sake of their ego.]

[So they take the boy's hand once more; though their pace is wavering, they are nonetheless resolute in getting out.]

[Perhaps so. But there's no time for a debate.

Seto's pace isn't so fast that it'll trip the Drifter up but it's clear he too is focused on leaving this place. Getting the Drifter out, getting Ren and Crow out.

Being able to hyper focus on the things that needed to be done worked to Seto's advantage before and it should now. The boy's grip on the Drifter's hand will show that: unless they pull away, he's not going to let his grip up.

He's not letting go until they're safe.]

[Steadfast as his grip may be, the Drifter is equally resolute. The glimmer of daylight peers in from the hollow’s exit. Their pace increases incrementally, the breath choking in their lungs with each limping stride.]

[They may not be capable of moving very quickly, but they press onward regardless. Giving up is always unthinkable, but particularly here and now - when the open air is so well within their grasp - it would be anathema.]

[The determination to get somewhere, to get out. To find somewhere safe and with noise that isn't like this. That isn't the silence of the dead.

To give himself something to focus on even more, Seto gives himself a reason. He quietly hums something under his breath, something the Drifter may have heard before once in a dream.

He liked Ren's singing and those were the first words Seto ever heard her say. But Ren's song in Seto's voice wasn't going to be the last time he ever heard it.

So he'll keep going until the pair of them break into the light, into open air.

Into freedom.]

[They've heard it before. They may be too tired and scrambled to recall the words in full, but some of the words twist in the vestiges of their memory like flurries - round white moon, and farewell love.]

[Tomorrow we will meet again.]

[The air outside is clearer than it was down beneath, in that shadowy nether-realm. The Drifter's breath is coarse and ragged, wracked with stuttering coughs, and one hand cups around their chest as they stagger out and find a tree to lean themself up against, eyes half-slitted shut.]

[Yeah. Tomorrow we will meet again. A song and a promise made between two children, even if they didn't know it at the time.

It's easier to breathe outside, and warmer too despite the fact the cold of that Water clung to Seto's skin - even if it wasn't actually water. He's not going to be looking forward to any trips to the ocean any time soon after this.

But that's not important. Seto's never been someone who was good at waiting when someone else needed help, but he has a feeling that it's not something that he can physically touch when it came to the Drifter. They hadn't been like this up in the clouds so many something in that water made them sick?

Once again, Seto wishes he had that magic some people here did. Or the first-aid kit but that's gone too for now. Seto was going to go back and get everything when he could.

But for now he's going to wait and keep an eye on the Drifter, to make sure they're okay.]

[Are they okay? Welllllllll probably not. Probably not for a while yet, at least until Amaterasu returns with their pack and sprite and everything else they require to at least not be hobbling about, in need of a child's support simply to move forward.]

[They need a moment. That's all. A moment to slide...down to the base of the trunk and lower their head and breathe.]

[It is only the unsteady rise and fall of their chest and the occasional hiccup of sound that indicates they are not dead.]

[That may be the only sign that the Drifter still lives, but it's enough for Seto to breathe himself.

He doesn't crowd the Drifter, as much as he wanted to make sure that they weren't physically hurt on top of whatever was going on inside of them, and instead gives them space. Seto parks himself in a spot nearby so he could keep an eye on both the exit and the Drifter at the same time.

The boy is no tactical genius but he does know to keep an eye on as much as possible. Ghosts could come from anywhere, after all, and he has no idea what could come from the exit.

He'll just keep humming and watching until the Drifter is ready to go again. And then Seto will go back to find everyone else.]

[Now that they've the means to do so, they can scratch words into the dirt with one fingertip. A humiliating exercise, akin to how miserable their means of communicating had been after their first death on these islands, enfolded in that crystalline green, but they have no other choice.]

WAY OFF

[They underline it twice for emphasis.]

[Oh hey there.]

What's way off?

[He gets that it's important, judging from the way the Drifter underlines it, but what exactly they mean is still up for debate. Some more words would be helpful.]

[...not clear enough. So they add an additional word, prefacing their earlier statement:]

NEED WAY OFF

[The addition makes it click. A way off this island. There was the water but Seto couldn't swim and his trip in the Water made him not want to touch it with a ten foot pole anyway. And it'd probably be a bad idea for the Drifter to try too.

But...]

There are...um, boats on the docks. I think that's what they're called. We could use those.

[If they haven't exploded anyways.]

[That's the only confirmation they need. Immediately, they've one hand braced across the trunk, digging fingertips into the roughness of the bark to haul themself swiftly to their feet. Or...not so swiftly. It's a staggering, pained progress, but their resolve is nonetheless unshakable.]

[There are boats.]

[They will get to the boats.]

[It's really quite simple.]

[Yeah, it's pretty obvious that the Drifter is the kind of person who will do something once their mind is set on it. And for however Seto is worried about their health, he knows it's better to get them out of here first.

So he'll hold out his hand again.]

I can help you get there, if you want.

[Ordinarily, they would refuse. At the moment, they can hardly afford to. There's only a brief hesitation before they clasp his hand, albeit reluctantly, and start moving.]

[They make eye contact, and hope that will be enough to communicate that they will need him to lead them. As unfond as they are of relying upon others, it is all they have left to them.]

[There is a question Seto wants to ask, but he can save it for later. Or maybe ask on that rock thing, on how to talk with someone without words.

But right now, it's enough.]

Okay.

[And Seto will start moving. He knew where the docks and thus the boats were and as long as they didn't pick a fight, it should be okay. Sometimes it was better to run away then stay and fight. And this chaos was their best chance to escape.

He remembered being trapped underground once, under so much rubble and knew that if it wasn't for that cat, he'd still be there. Once the chaos dies down, they'll be stuck.

And that's not going to happen. Not if Seto can help it.]

[Good.]

[They just need to get out of here. Move, quicker, get somewhere safe, get to their things, and...and maybe then, they could return to be of more assistance than they currently are. A child may be infinitely capable of besting them at soccer, but to require the aid of one to simply walk, and function on some basic level - ]

[It is as it is. Dwelling does nothing to ease that.]

[Their pace speeds when they catch sight of one of the boats, tipping back and forth in the water, however poorly advised that may be.]

[A huge amount of this is poorly advised. A half-baked idea, a wounded drifter and a child with no weapon. But for the both of them it's better then nothing. Better then what's behind them.

And it's not as if Seto hasn't gone into things before with nothing but 'help this person' as a plan, so this was fine.

He's going to make sure the Drifter gets on the boat first before making sure there's nothing tying the thing down and hopping in himself. Hopefully nobody unwanted notices what's going on right now.]

[They're already losing their footing by the time they manage to cross the boat's threshold. They nearly stumble several times over, saving themself from an ungainly fall with a mix of Seto's unflagging support and the proximity of the boat's walls keeping them upright.]

[Yes. This is fine.]

[They can just...stay here, until the worst of it is over. Until they can reclaim their possessions.]

['This is fine'. Right...

Seto isn't surprised that it's hard for the Drifter to walk on the boat, but doesn't comment on it. Instead he asks something else:]

Do you want me to put you down?

[To make sure that's something they want.]

[They can manage it.]

[They ease their way out of his grip, transferring the brunt of their weight to the sloping wood of the boat, gloved fingertips hooking over the smoothed wood grain of the edges.]

[A solemn shake of their head. They can manage it.]

[They can make it on their own.]

[Maybe so, but that's not stopping Seto from watching the Drifter like a hawk for any signs they needed help. It's not a pain he can fix but it's not something he was just going to leave them to suffer alone with.

Being alone and in pain was probably the worst thing Seto could think of.]

Do you want me to see if I can get the boat moving?

[To keep going?]

[A tiny shake of their head. No. Better to wait for others to come this way first. It would not do to appropriate what may be a vital means of escape from those that would need it just as much as they. They have not spontaneously perished throughout the entirety of their treatment at the hands of those native to this land; they will last as long as they must.]

[All they need at the moment is the promise that their things will eventually be returned to them. Deprived of even the means of writing in the dirt, the most they can do is wait.]

[And so they can.]

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