CHARACTERS: Misato + Gildor, Sam, Lakshmi, Seconds and others! WHERE: The Graze, Hyrypia WHEN: DAY 16-18 SUMMARY: Various starters for various attempts at winning this intergalactic scavenger hunt! WARNINGS: Bad decisions all around.
[ By most prevailing logic, it's a certifiably bad idea to take off into the night toward a lethal barrier with someone she nearly skewered to death only a handful of days ago. Revenge is as good a motive as any, and banking on Gildor liking her enough to look out for her when things inevitably turn sour is the definition of testing fate, which is conveniently her modus operandi through life. And so, test fate she will.
Knife stowed against her right hip and a loaded gun to her left, she sets off ready into the night, and they stop just far enough not to arouse the guard's suspicion (yet). She places an intruding hand on the small of his back by way of announcing her presence, taking undue license in touching him because of his blindness. ]
Anything?
[ Besides, that she has very nearly killed him and he still sought to bet on her success is enough to keep them linked, for better or worse. She finds that a better gauge than mere affinity. ]
[ Deciding to leave their separate tents at separate times isn't quite what Gildor had in mind. Taking a leisurely midnight stroll is only a halfway decent cover, so he'll save it for when they're caught. If they're caught. How they meet hardly matters now, as Misato comes up beside where he's crouching near a rock. The hand to his back is not unwelcome but not needed either - he can feel her approach and rightfully assumes her identity. Those same footsteps that ran frantically towards him after accidentally hurling a spear at him.
Fate has a funny way of bringing people together to do insane things. As if waking up to a hivemind in another universe wasn't humorous or insane enough, they're adding this to the mix.
He has his staff with him. As conspicuous as it makes him, he couldn't leave it behind. It makes reading the vibrations in the earth easier and he uses it now to make a few, tapping against the rock and ground. ]
No. I can't feel that far ahead.
[ If anyone spots the guards spotting them, it will be Misato. He's counting on her eyes to tell him when they're being watched or followed or ignored. If the guards are close enough to be within his range of awareness, they're already caught. ]
I've been thinking of how to slip past them together, and we have a few options. I'd like your opinion first.
[ He holds up a gloved finger. ] One. I enchant a rock with a spell for you. When you're ready, you will roll or throw it discreetly as possible towards the guards without hitting them. It will unleash a dome of shadow around them for a few minutes, though I imagine you'll only have a few seconds to move before they stumble their way out of the dome. Although if it's dark enough by now they may hardly notice. [ He shrugs - he can't really tell how dark it is, but he's hoping it's dark. It will make the second part of plan one easier on him. ] I will shadow-walk to meet you beyond the fence and assist you over it.
[ He holds up another finger. ] Two. I cast darkness over us both and we slip past the guards under the same dome of shadow. You will not be able to see, so I'll have to guide us both in the direction of the barrier, which may take some time. That and the guards might notice a black shape moving, though again that depends on how dark it is. If we make it to the fence unnoticed I will then shadow-walk past it and assist you over, if you need.
[ There's no third plan for if they're caught. None solid enough to bring up, at least. ]
Edited (stop the abuse of commas) 2017-09-19 06:02 (UTC)
[ Straight to business, the way she likes it, when she had sharpened her red-tape cutting skills before setting out in case the priest-musician thinks it fitting to unleash a sermon fitting his cover. No such thing here, which prompts her to let out a huff, both relieved and impressed.
It's dark enough, for one, and so far their presence remains unnoticed, though she has a feeling that the Rabadoceans may have better eyesight and range of view than herself. Just because she doesn't see them, doesn't mean they don't see her. Likewise, casting darkness over them when they were seeing perfectly before sounds too much like ringing the alarm bell to announce their presence. She takes little time to decide, barely a beat after he finishes his explanation: ]
The second. I'll bring us far enough from the nearest guards so we won't catch their eye, then you do your thing.
[ Concerning herself with getting caught is unnecessary, because contingencies only exist in situations where there is any other outcome than victory or annihilation. Such situations are inconceivable to her. ]
[ He has a feeling he'll be sleeping well into the next morning after this, if they make it through their little expedition and he's granted the luxury.
Misato decides quickly - a darkness spell on the two of them it is. He has more than a few spells in mind for tonight, and to cast them he's brought an the instrument borrowed from the Collector - a miniature Carabouchian zinther. His violin would yield stronger magic, but if they are caught he'd rather it not be damaged or taken, (sorry Collector) so zinther it is. He pulls it from his robes and readies his hands- ]
Once this is cast we'll have roughly twenty minutes to find the fence. Memorize it's direction now if you can.
[ -because when he begins to play, softly to not be overheard, Misato will be as blind as him inside a circle of magical pitch black. The cover materializes in a matter of seconds, the space around them going darker and darker as he plays a quick tune. When he stops, he shifts the instrument back into his robes and picks up his staff. ]
Can you see anything?
[ He's hoping for a no to affirm the spell went off without a hitch. ]
[ Misato doesn't deal in hard numbers or detailed instructions. Hers is method based on instinct, measuring the trajectory and the distance from where they stand to where the fence stretches with nothing but a glance, all while gauging the field of vision that the guards in the distance might have. If asked, she wouldn't know how to explain it, which makes it difficult to convince others that yes, yes, she has memorized it in the seconds it takes for him to tell her so before beginning his spell.
What she fails to expect is the sheer potency of this magical darkness. Like an accelerated sunset, a dimmer gone rogue, and she reaches to grab him by the arm before it turns pitch black. Her mind may be quieter, better guarded, than many of the younger Hosts, but now its perforated walls betray just the sharpest surges of panic, a deafening ring in one's ears, a sudden drop in one's stomach when the ground gives way. Her breath audibly quickens, and her body tenses as one bracing for a fall. But she neither basks in the fear nor represses it, instead there is a sense of her shifting the very pillars of her mind, a realignment of her emotions that they might sharpen her focus rather than defeat her. She opts to speak to his mind for the sake of silence, and also to impress this point of purpose in her mind onto his. ]
(This way.)
[ She's still afraid of course, that much is hard to deny, but it is also her fear that heightens her senses to notice every detail of her surroundings, and fear makes a good enough substitute for excitement, for ambition. ]
[ He takes her lack of an answer for an affirmative, and the spike in her pulse for nerves - though none of it is detectable in her mental tone of voice, well shielded or... just confused with his own nerves. She grabs him by the arm, a little tighter than he's pleased with, and he reaches out with a steady reminder- ]
(Remember, if caught, we were simply sleepless and searching for spiritual guidance in the night, and it's my fault for getting us lost.)
[ Armed with that excuse they proceed, blind leading the blind. Gildor has his sixth sense to lead them, though he finds Misato's confidence contagious and habitually falls into step with her. He'll keep them from bumping into anything within his range of awareness, but only if it becomes necessary...
And so far it doesn't - she's calculated the distance well. After a few minutes of walking in silent darkness, Gildor begins to feel the edges of the fence sticking up through the earth. ]
(Just ahead, about twenty more feet. Tell me when to drop the spell.)
[ He'll let her determine where is a good place to climb over, out of range of the guard's sight. ]
[ Sounds conveyed by thought alone carry with it far more than just intonation, as stripped bare of its physicality as it is weighed with the implied meaning and attached sentiment. She laughs at his reminder, an exceedingly proud one, carrying with it every part and parcel of defiance against the idea of a higher power let alone the thought that she might be one to seek advice using such means. It's exaggerated in the face of her bone-deep fear. Someone overcompensating for her weakness with aggrandized bravado. ]
(Okay, your fault. That's fitting anyway when you're supposed to be giving me spiritual mojo.)
[ Becoming lost is the only outcome that can be expected. Her skepticism has little to do with Gildor and everything to do with her hatred of superstition. She would loathe to entertain the possibility of her failures and successes being attributable to anything beyond her own effort to keep walking now despite the stiffness in her muscles, or the way her heart threatens to give up should it beat any faster. See, here, what god is helping her now?
A handful of feet away from the fence, she places a hand in front of his chest to stop him, staring through the darkness around them to spot any lingering guards. ]
[ He halts with that hand to his chest, and eases his concentration on maintaining the spell. Not enough to let it fade entirely and expose their cover and position, but enough to hopefully allow Misato some use of her eyesight. ]
( Alright. Up you go then. )
[ He finds the base of the fence and kneels, expecting her to use his shoulders as a boost up. Sneaking is one thing, but climbing - she'll have to do that the old-fashioned way. ]
[ Misato doesn't take to his kneeling naturally, responding with a mix of alarm and puzzlement at seeing him play gallant where that has usually been the space she occupies. It lasts but a moment before she allows a chuckle through link, too giddy still from the adrenaline, and accepts his offer by very gently using his shoulders as a stepping off point to reach a higher bar on the fence with enough athleticism to prove her claim of being a military woman.
She sits at the top of it and secures herself with a foot between the bars before reaching down to offer him a hand. He can't see it, she knows, but thinks she can send him the impression of it through their minds. It's the potential of the movement he must make to find her hand and how she would help pull him up. ]
[ She's swifter than he expected, but even just a tap to his shoulder is enough to make him wince and hiss a little. The price he pays for being min-maxed out of a decent strength or constitution score.
Misato is already atop the fence by the time he's finished rubbing his shoulder and muttering about it, never mind the fact he offered. She offers him a hand up in return - he can still barely feel her through the fence posts in the ground - but there's no way he's exerting himself physically. He'd rather do so magically. ]
Ah, thank you but no thank you. I'll make my own way-
[ The miniature zinther is pulled back out from his robes, and just as swiftly another soft song is plucked out. This time instead of summoning darkness, he melds with it, becoming shadow-like himself before vanishing into the fence altogether.
The music stops, and for a few beats all is quiet and still. And then Gildor calls to Misato from the other side- ]
[ From atop her perch, she can see the whole thing. Him melting into a amorphous form before passing through the fence like air. It takes her a moment's pause to heed his call and hop down, landing firmly on both feet before trotting over to him so she can continue the conversation in low voices. ]
Damn, did you just make a lady sweat when you could've just-- [ Phase through the fence? Meld through walls? Whatever it is, she waves it away with a flurry of hand movements, a chuckle, and a quick brush of his shoulder to swipe away any dust. ] Come on.
[ She continues toward the fence, picking up a pebble off the ground, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, and tosses it once in the air before catching it again. Here beyond the fence, the current is palpable against her skin, and she can feel even the hair on her head stir. How eerie. ]
Stand behind me, I'm gonna try throwing this against the barrier.
[ It takes a moment for Gildor to process the half-finished question, what with all the hand-waving. He's not a fan of that, but she doesn't seem to be doing it maliciously. ] Oh- no, no! I can't use that spell on others, it only works on myself. Sorry.
[ He'd stop and explain the rules, but bard magic doesn't always make sense, and they haven't got the time. So instead he follows, listening as the sound of her boots crunching lightly over sand becomes fainter as they move closer to the barrier.
Like Misato, he can feel it's energy against his skin. It's making the hair rubbing under his hood go rigid with electricity. He thought perhaps it would feel familiar the way a wizard's magic does, but like so much on Hyrypia it is completely alien. The wall is more artificial than the Elin, but still alive and pulsing. A brilliant construct built from what must be the Hyrypian's finest technology, combined with a raw but elegant magic, undoubtedly dangerous if they come into contact with it-
And Misato wants to throw a rock at it. ]
Be careful. [ Said more for his own sake, as he obediently takes cover behind her smaller figure. He doesn't want two near-death experiences because of her projectiles ricocheting off things. ]
[ Misato throws the stone up in the air once more, a gesture of hesitation, clear to see for most who have known her enough. Her mind is a hum of activity, trying to decipher the root of her own fear. It isn't death, no, and certainly not injury. Such things are so commonplace to have become nothing but background noise. Danger to Gildor, too, isn't much to fret about.
Then, as one must do when confronted with uncertainty, she takes one step forward and bends her waist to fling the pebble across the expanse like one tossing a bowling ball. As low as possible to arouse the least suspicion. The rock makes contact with a sizzling sound, a slight ripple across the barrier, and just a whiff of smoke as the only remnant that the pebble ever existed. She stands up straight and crosses her arms. ]
Well, I guess that rules out busting through it with your bare hands.
[ Uncowed, still, she turns over her shoulder with a smile in her voice. ]
[ To him, the rock in her hand disappears then reappears as she throws it and catches it - then disintegrates all together somewhere above them in a flash of energy that feels downright alien to him. Magic still, but magic of a different sort. ]
Mm... a few. Hold this a moment, would you?
[ He passes Misato his cane. The little zinther he brought along might work, but he isn't as practiced with it and he'd rather not risk botching a note around this much magical energy. So he summons his violin - reaches out and pulls it from mid-air as casually as if it'd been resting on a shelf. ]
I'm going to try to dispell it. Not all of it. That'd be a bit much, but perhaps a door-sized part of it...
[ He stakes a step closer, confidently places the violin under his chin, and sets the bow to the strings. The song he plays begins softly, but quickly accelerates in energy and volume as it becomes clear to him- ]
It's not working. [ He stops mid-spell with the bow poised over the strings, his brows raised just as high under the veils. The spell went off without a hitch, he could feel it, knows it well by now, and yet- ] My magic... isn't dispelling their magic. There's no effect at all.
[ From his surprised tone of voice, it's clear this is a first for him. ]
[ On a list of things that have shocked her to her core, muddled her brain like a wooden spoon in a bowl, this ranks mild. But she still has to stop and stare at the violin in his hands, willing it to disappear again so that the rules of the world as she knows it would be kept same and true. But no. She takes a breath, and adapts to this new state of the universe with his cane in hand, eyes fixed on the barrier, ears attuned to his music.
When later his own surprise echoes her own, that some things they have accepted as given are no longer true, she is no longer as frazzled. ]
Don't take it personally. [ A half joke. ] Maybe the world is made differently here. It doesn't mean your music won't work on other things.
[ She takes two steps closer toward the barrier, then one step back. ]
Can you make a hole in it? Something big enough for me to crawl through?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
[ for gildor ]
no subject
Fate has a funny way of bringing people together to do insane things. As if waking up to a hivemind in another universe wasn't humorous or insane enough, they're adding this to the mix.
He has his staff with him. As conspicuous as it makes him, he couldn't leave it behind. It makes reading the vibrations in the earth easier and he uses it now to make a few, tapping against the rock and ground. ]
No. I can't feel that far ahead.
[ If anyone spots the guards spotting them, it will be Misato. He's counting on her eyes to tell him when they're being watched or followed or ignored. If the guards are close enough to be within his range of awareness, they're already caught. ]
I've been thinking of how to slip past them together, and we have a few options. I'd like your opinion first.
[ He holds up a gloved finger. ] One. I enchant a rock with a spell for you. When you're ready, you will roll or throw it discreetly as possible towards the guards without hitting them. It will unleash a dome of shadow around them for a few minutes, though I imagine you'll only have a few seconds to move before they stumble their way out of the dome. Although if it's dark enough by now they may hardly notice. [ He shrugs - he can't really tell how dark it is, but he's hoping it's dark. It will make the second part of plan one easier on him. ] I will shadow-walk to meet you beyond the fence and assist you over it.
[ He holds up another finger. ] Two. I cast darkness over us both and we slip past the guards under the same dome of shadow. You will not be able to see, so I'll have to guide us both in the direction of the barrier, which may take some time. That and the guards might notice a black shape moving, though again that depends on how dark it is. If we make it to the fence unnoticed I will then shadow-walk past it and assist you over, if you need.
[ There's no third plan for if they're caught. None solid enough to bring up, at least. ]
no subject
It's dark enough, for one, and so far their presence remains unnoticed, though she has a feeling that the Rabadoceans may have better eyesight and range of view than herself. Just because she doesn't see them, doesn't mean they don't see her. Likewise, casting darkness over them when they were seeing perfectly before sounds too much like ringing the alarm bell to announce their presence. She takes little time to decide, barely a beat after he finishes his explanation: ]
The second. I'll bring us far enough from the nearest guards so we won't catch their eye, then you do your thing.
[ Concerning herself with getting caught is unnecessary, because contingencies only exist in situations where there is any other outcome than victory or annihilation. Such situations are inconceivable to her. ]
What does it cost you to do these things?
no subject
[ He has a feeling he'll be sleeping well into the next morning after this, if they make it through their little expedition and he's granted the luxury.
Misato decides quickly - a darkness spell on the two of them it is. He has more than a few spells in mind for tonight, and to cast them he's brought an the instrument borrowed from the Collector - a miniature Carabouchian zinther. His violin would yield stronger magic, but if they are caught he'd rather it not be damaged or taken, (sorry Collector) so zinther it is. He pulls it from his robes and readies his hands- ]
Once this is cast we'll have roughly twenty minutes to find the fence. Memorize it's direction now if you can.
[ -because when he begins to play, softly to not be overheard, Misato will be as blind as him inside a circle of magical pitch black. The cover materializes in a matter of seconds, the space around them going darker and darker as he plays a quick tune. When he stops, he shifts the instrument back into his robes and picks up his staff. ]
Can you see anything?
[ He's hoping for a no to affirm the spell went off without a hitch. ]
no subject
What she fails to expect is the sheer potency of this magical darkness. Like an accelerated sunset, a dimmer gone rogue, and she reaches to grab him by the arm before it turns pitch black. Her mind may be quieter, better guarded, than many of the younger Hosts, but now its perforated walls betray just the sharpest surges of panic, a deafening ring in one's ears, a sudden drop in one's stomach when the ground gives way. Her breath audibly quickens, and her body tenses as one bracing for a fall. But she neither basks in the fear nor represses it, instead there is a sense of her shifting the very pillars of her mind, a realignment of her emotions that they might sharpen her focus rather than defeat her. She opts to speak to his mind for the sake of silence, and also to impress this point of purpose in her mind onto his. ]
( This way. )
[ She's still afraid of course, that much is hard to deny, but it is also her fear that heightens her senses to notice every detail of her surroundings, and fear makes a good enough substitute for excitement, for ambition. ]
no subject
(Remember, if caught, we were simply sleepless and searching for spiritual guidance in the night, and it's my fault for getting us lost.)
[ Armed with that excuse they proceed, blind leading the blind. Gildor has his sixth sense to lead them, though he finds Misato's confidence contagious and habitually falls into step with her. He'll keep them from bumping into anything within his range of awareness, but only if it becomes necessary...
And so far it doesn't - she's calculated the distance well. After a few minutes of walking in silent darkness, Gildor begins to feel the edges of the fence sticking up through the earth. ]
(Just ahead, about twenty more feet. Tell me when to drop the spell.)
[ He'll let her determine where is a good place to climb over, out of range of the guard's sight. ]
no subject
( Okay, your fault. That's fitting anyway when you're supposed to be giving me spiritual mojo. )
[ Becoming lost is the only outcome that can be expected. Her skepticism has little to do with Gildor and everything to do with her hatred of superstition. She would loathe to entertain the possibility of her failures and successes being attributable to anything beyond her own effort to keep walking now despite the stiffness in her muscles, or the way her heart threatens to give up should it beat any faster. See, here, what god is helping her now?
A handful of feet away from the fence, she places a hand in front of his chest to stop him, staring through the darkness around them to spot any lingering guards. ]
( Here. Here should be good. )
no subject
( Alright. Up you go then. )
[ He finds the base of the fence and kneels, expecting her to use his shoulders as a boost up. Sneaking is one thing, but climbing - she'll have to do that the old-fashioned way. ]
no subject
She sits at the top of it and secures herself with a foot between the bars before reaching down to offer him a hand. He can't see it, she knows, but thinks she can send him the impression of it through their minds. It's the potential of the movement he must make to find her hand and how she would help pull him up. ]
no subject
The price he pays for being min-maxed out of a decent strength or constitution score.Misato is already atop the fence by the time he's finished rubbing his shoulder and muttering about it, never mind the fact he offered. She offers him a hand up in return - he can still barely feel her through the fence posts in the ground - but there's no way he's exerting himself physically. He'd rather do so magically. ]
Ah, thank you but no thank you. I'll make my own way-
[ The miniature zinther is pulled back out from his robes, and just as swiftly another soft song is plucked out. This time instead of summoning darkness, he melds with it, becoming shadow-like himself before vanishing into the fence altogether.
The music stops, and for a few beats all is quiet and still. And then Gildor calls to Misato from the other side- ]
Here I am.
[ He waves. ]
no subject
Damn, did you just make a lady sweat when you could've just-- [ Phase through the fence? Meld through walls? Whatever it is, she waves it away with a flurry of hand movements, a chuckle, and a quick brush of his shoulder to swipe away any dust. ] Come on.
[ She continues toward the fence, picking up a pebble off the ground, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, and tosses it once in the air before catching it again. Here beyond the fence, the current is palpable against her skin, and she can feel even the hair on her head stir. How eerie. ]
Stand behind me, I'm gonna try throwing this against the barrier.
no subject
[ He'd stop and explain the rules, but bard magic doesn't always make sense, and they haven't got the time. So instead he follows, listening as the sound of her boots crunching lightly over sand becomes fainter as they move closer to the barrier.
Like Misato, he can feel it's energy against his skin. It's making the hair rubbing under his hood go rigid with electricity. He thought perhaps it would feel familiar the way a wizard's magic does, but like so much on Hyrypia it is completely alien. The wall is more artificial than the Elin, but still alive and pulsing. A brilliant construct built from what must be the Hyrypian's finest technology, combined with a raw but elegant magic, undoubtedly dangerous if they come into contact with it-
And Misato wants to throw a rock at it. ]
Be careful. [ Said more for his own sake, as he obediently takes cover behind her smaller figure. He doesn't want two near-death experiences because of her projectiles ricocheting off things. ]
no subject
Then, as one must do when confronted with uncertainty, she takes one step forward and bends her waist to fling the pebble across the expanse like one tossing a bowling ball. As low as possible to arouse the least suspicion. The rock makes contact with a sizzling sound, a slight ripple across the barrier, and just a whiff of smoke as the only remnant that the pebble ever existed. She stands up straight and crosses her arms. ]
Well, I guess that rules out busting through it with your bare hands.
[ Uncowed, still, she turns over her shoulder with a smile in her voice. ]
Got any other ideas, Gildor?
no subject
Mm... a few. Hold this a moment, would you?
[ He passes Misato his cane. The little zinther he brought along might work, but he isn't as practiced with it and he'd rather not risk botching a note around this much magical energy. So he summons his violin - reaches out and pulls it from mid-air as casually as if it'd been resting on a shelf. ]
I'm going to try to dispell it. Not all of it. That'd be a bit much, but perhaps a door-sized part of it...
[ He stakes a step closer, confidently places the violin under his chin, and sets the bow to the strings. The song he plays begins softly, but quickly accelerates in energy and volume as it becomes clear to him- ]
It's not working. [ He stops mid-spell with the bow poised over the strings, his brows raised just as high under the veils. The spell went off without a hitch, he could feel it, knows it well by now, and yet- ] My magic... isn't dispelling their magic. There's no effect at all.
[ From his surprised tone of voice, it's clear this is a first for him. ]
no subject
When later his own surprise echoes her own, that some things they have accepted as given are no longer true, she is no longer as frazzled. ]
Don't take it personally. [ A half joke. ] Maybe the world is made differently here. It doesn't mean your music won't work on other things.
[ She takes two steps closer toward the barrier, then one step back. ]
Can you make a hole in it? Something big enough for me to crawl through?