(no subject)

[dragonsgrasp]

Who: Kain and OPEN
What: Kain finally revives to a whole world of confusion! There are a few different prompts within.
Where: Around Hadriel's new setting
When: RIGHT NOW, today, 12/16, and afterward if preferred
Warnings: References to character death and the start of his lingering brain problems.


An Open Sky

[When he first revives, nothing seems too out of the ordinary. It's still Hope's Temple, after all. Kain wastes no time in getting up and leaving once he's aware enough to. He's not entirely well enough to, but since when is that going to stop him? He's still feeling a bit disoriented and "off" overall because of how he'd died, and he's overall incredibly sore and weak right now, too. But nothing will stop him from getting his alone time. Maybe he'll head to some deep, isolated area of the caves.]

[Except when he steps outside, he's astonished at the sight.]

[There are no more caves. An open sky stretches above him, and the Temple itself now seems to be surrounded by water. How... how strange... Is it a trick?]

[So off Kain goes, to explore. He walks and walks, journeying far into the open, rocky terrain. The further he walks, the hotter he's getting as the suns reach their peak for the day. His head also aches terribly.]

[Soon enough, he collapses, laying on his back in the middle of the open area, just staring up in disbelief at the sky. Two suns, blue as far as he can see... The sight is the most incredible thing he's seen in a very long time. Is this real?]

Seeing Things

[Kain is stumbling around in the heat, out in the open terrain, still determined to get somewhere else, as far from people as he can get. He's still a bit confused about things. Did he revive in another Hadriel? Another place that's similar, but not quite the same as the one he'd left?]

[But more confusing than that is when he sees something that's decidedly not there. He grips his head, as the dull ache he's been feeling worsens.]

Cecil? Rosa?

[He sees a vision of his friends, as clear as day, and he swiftly heads in their direction. Well. As swift as he can manage, still as pained as he feels. Unfortunately, the hallucination he's seeing is distracting him from the manticore that's suddenly taken an interest in him. The monster stretches and tenses up, preparing to strike...]

Water Wildcard

[The heat is so unbearable and he's so thirsty that Kain has to find the nearest water source. He remembers the pool from when he revived, so... maybe all of the temples are like that now? It's kind of an emergency, so he doesn't have much choice.]

[The moment he gets to a temple and a pool, he drinks, he drinks deeply and greedily. He doesn't stop until he's interrupted by someone else approaching.]

[How will Kain react? That all depends on which pool he happens to be drinking from...]

[[ooc: Any responses to this prompt will vary, it'll be a different pool for everyone! If you have a big preference for an emotion you want to interact with, let me know, otherwise it'll be random.]]

Comments

An Open Sky

[paragonbrosca]

[A little while later, there's the sound of canine feet padding towards Kain, followed by Barkspawn staring down into his face. He licks said face a few times, then looks past him and lets out a loud whine.]

Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. But we have to get back, it's not safe to be out too long at this time of--Kain???

[Aren, a bit sunburned on her face and neck, stops short in amazement before rushing forward.]

Hey! Are you still coherent? Talk to me. [She takes out a waterskin -having thought ahead and filled a few for her and Barkspawn-and tries to get him to sit up. She's not excessively gentle about it, not given the urgency.]

[dragonsgrasp]

[His head hurts, but the sky is so beautiful a sight that he doesn't mind that right now. Just seeing it, staring upward like this, is enough. It's all he's wanted for these long months he's been stuck here.]

[Kain makes a strained surprised sound as he's greeted by Barkspawn's tongue. He's equally surprised to hear the voice of the dwarven woman following him. What's she doing here, in this other world? How... is this happening? He's so confused right now.]

I'm... here.

[He's reluctant to move, but too weak to resist her insistent pulling at him, forcing him to at least sit up.]

But why are you here? This... I don't understand...

[paragonbrosca]

[She thrusts the waterskin into his hand, then gestures to it, not giving him a choice.]

Drink up.

Hadriel moved, after we killed all the Null. That's all I know right now, other than that this place is hot as balls.

[dragonsgrasp]

[Kain takes the water, sipping a little at first, but then gulping it down. He didn't realize how badly he'd needed that. It doesn't alleviate the headache or overall weird sensations, but it's... a start.]

It... it simply moved? How can that be possible?

[He looks up again, gesturing.]

So... that sky is real?

[paragonbrosca]

The 'gods' did it, don't ask me how. All I care about is that the Null are gone.

[She glances up with a wince and nods, Barkspawn whining.]

Yeah, and you have the bad luck of being in the hottest, brightest part of the day. We have to seek shelter before you get a sunburn as bad as the one I got when first arriving here. Think you can stand?

[dragonsgrasp]

The Null are truly gone? Fully defeated?

[Well, this wouldn't be the first time he left a battle prematurely due to death. But at least this time, he gets to know the outcome. Perhaps there's some advantage to returning, after all. He sighs wearily. Some of his skin has already started to redden, in the few exposed places. It's definitely not too pleasant in the armor, either, but he's determined to tough it out.]

And there are two suns, huh? In this... wherever this is. [He glances skyward again.] Where I'm from, we have two moons instead. I think I prefer that. Anyway... yes, I... let me... [He tries to get up, but it's a clear struggle for him.]

[paragonbrosca]

Well, we killed all the ones in Hadriel and then the city hopped away, so that's good enough for me. [As long as they never see their like again, Aren will take it. She nods at mention of two moons, sighing.] Yeah, me too. Barkspawn, go to his other side and support him there.

[The mabari complies, so Kain will have some extra help on both sides.]

[dragonsgrasp]

Ah, good. So they’re truly gone. They were pathetic, cowards to the end… Couldn’t even take me out like a man…

[Kain can’t really complain or say no to the extra help at the moment- he’s that much out of it and unsteady. In fact, as he starts to move, something else is forming in front of them, or so it seems to Kain… In fact, yes, for a brief moment, he could swear he saw Valvalis in all her hairy glory appear in front of them, but then the vision is gone. He blinks, looking confused, and trying to catch his breath. God this heat is awful.]

[paragonbrosca]

Whatever that means. They got you in the end, I don't think it matters how they did it.

[She narrows her eyes as she takes in his reaction and stares ahead before glancing back to him with a raised eyebrow.]

...uh, are you going to make it? Barkspawn, prop him up.

Open Sky

[fracturedbeauty]

[Yukari had, decidedly and unanimously, been taking it easy since being released from the clinic. Thanks to the war, he's still heavily recovering from his injuries - a big gash acrost his chest and a deep wound to his leg, both having required a heavy amount of stitches and medication. Though his pain tolerance gives him the advantage of no longer wincing from it, he certainly knows better than to push it.

He's also decided, after discovering his home was in stable condition, to leave his sword, Ayamachi, at home and traded it temporarily for a dagger. He's not defenseless regardless, since he has his Auras. But a dagger is smaller and easier to conceal for a quick attack, if he truly needs it. He doesn't think anyone's really going to come after him after that war, though.

But this heat, even Yukari can't appreciate the way he's sweating. This feels like grime and gross. Even when he drinks the water (which, he's been hesitantly careful around as much as he can be), it's not enough to keep the grief of the heat away for him. He runs around in a tank top and his normal pants, with the sheathe of the dagger tucked to the further back end of one of his hips. He makes a mental note to visit the stitching shop, if it's still standing, and get materials to make a hat. Or something to provide shade with.

He covers over his eyes to block the sun as he peeks into the horizon, checking his options. But then, he sees someone collapse. A knight? Wait, that's probably Kain, isn't it?

S i g h.

Well, he'll go check anyway. And sure enough. He nudges at Kain with his foot.]

Well, are you still alive? Can you get up? I can't support you too much so you'll have to mostly hold yourself up if you need to go to the clinic.

[Seriously. Maybe he should call someone to help out?]

[dragonsgrasp]

[Kain's eyes were focused on the sky, but now they refocus on the person who's joined him...]

Yukari? Is... is that really you?

[He's been seeing things, on and off, a result of the heat, he's sure. So he really has no idea what's real at the moment. The way he'd died had been so immensely horrifying that he still feels like he's back there, dying and losing his mind.]

I'm not at all sure if I'm alive, or if I ought to be... maybe I'll just stay here, instead.

[fracturedbeauty]

Of course it's really me. And it looks like you really are alive.

[Yukari sighs, like this is some inconvenience. In all honesty, he shouldn't be using his weight to help anyone. Otherwise he might have pulled Kain up already.

So he kneels down, and his tone is very straightforward.]

You talk like you might be having heat stroke. I'm going to need you to listen to me. We need to get you out of your armour, or else I can't help you to the clinic. Can you stand up at all?

[dragonsgrasp]

[None of this feels real. The oddness of the landscape only adds to Kain's disoriented feeling. It's all so wrong. Ugh... He winces for a moment, his head aching and throbbing. Maybe he's right about that heatstroke. He'd thought he was starting to see things for a moment there, after all.]

I can stand... Give me... a moment.

[He's still reluctant to even move, but grudgingly, he manages to get to a sitting position. He looks at Yukari, definitely noticing he's not in the best shape right now, either.]

What... what happened? Did the Null... did they get you?

[fracturedbeauty]

[A scoff.]

I protected someone. That's all. I wasn't going to let them kill Curufin-sama, of all people. I suppose you could say they got to me.

[He gives a sigh and pushes some sweaty curls out of his face, and then pulls his phone out of his pocket.]

Look, I really can't support you. If you can't stand up, I'll call someone who can.

[A beat.]

I'd offer to kill you again, but I'm under strict orders not to. Besides, Hope-chan probably wouldn't be able to resurrect you again for a while. I'm willing to bet you threw yourself recklessly into that war, didn't you? Is this your first day back?

[dragonsgrasp]

And... your actions saved him?

[That makes a sacrifice worth it, in the end, if it's for someone else's sake. Kain looks over at him, not sure what it means that he would have been tempted to take the death route. He just feels that out of sorts and achey. Something's off about the whole world, or about himself, he just can't tell which.]

No need to bother someone else on my behalf. Give... give me a moment. [He grimaces, trying to stand. It's a very laborious process, though, and clearly a strain on him.] A shame you're under orders, but... I don't want to burden Hope, either. [He didn't ask to be resurrected again, in the first place, but here he is.] I only just returned. But I wouldn't call my actions reckless. I drew their fire... protected those who couldn't fight... it went well until... Until it didn't.

[fracturedbeauty]

[Yukari pauses, as if taken aback by the question. But then, he can't resist giving a faint smile.]

Yes, I saved him. My effort was enough.

[He could have died happy in that moment, doing what he had originally set out to do, to protect Curufin with his very life as a shield. But then, Curufin rushed him to the clinic, and his life was spared to. Which, given how long the ones that died took to revive this time, he's grateful for as well.

Things are getting better. That's all he could ask for.]

Until it didn't. How can you fail to see the patterns you put yourself through? I'd blame it on your delirium from this heat, but this is something you do even when you're sane.

Do you ever think there might be other ways to accomplish the goals you drive yourself into the ground over?

[Still, when Kain stands up, he'll offer a shoulder to help Kain support himself.]

When was the last time you had something to drink?

[dragonsgrasp]

[That’s good to hear. Kain wouldn’t have been pleased to hear of many other deaths alongside his own. He knows they probably lost quite a few, but… now that the war is over, with any luck they’ll be returning. Or… if it can be called luck. Kain still isn’t sure how he feels about being alive again right now.]

I’ve not put myself through anything, I’ve just… Look, I’m more expendable than most of the others here, and I may as well go out defending this place… for a worthy cause…

[The gods’ war really has made him more willing to sacrifice himself, and now he’s started to see it as his only path to redemption.]

[He’s very unsteady, wobbling a little, almost looking like he’s about to collapse yet again.]

Not since… before I died. I’ve been disoriented since my return…

[Ok, maybe the heat and dehydration can explain why he keeps seeing things on and off, like monsters from home, which keep appearing suddenly and then vanishing. Ugh... it was not a good state to find himself in. But to be fair, he only just revived. He hadn’t expected the environment to be like this.]

[puzzlingly]

「Atem had been waiting, loosely, to tell the truth. While he did not religiously wait inside Hope's temple every day until he'd revive Kain at the very least he would go get some water from his temple, hoping somehow that he would suddenly appear there already.

The truth is that he doesn't know still what will he tell the dragoon when he sees him, if... he sees him again at all. Having witnessed how his mind slipped away slowly, has been, by far, the most terrible thing the young Pharaoh has seen, so, no, he doesn't know what he might tell him or how he will even react when he finds him.

But he does, finally, after so long, Atem sees the familiar figure coming out of the temple. He freezes, despite of the tremendous heat there is right now. It might be very hard to know it is him from the distance, however, because as insane as it might seem, he's covered from head to toes in very loose clothing, even his head hooded to keep his face under a gentle shade. At least it covers the surprise in his face when he sees Kain utterly confused about the new setting.

He hesitates, should he approach, should he not? Of course he should, he had been waiting for him! But the images keep showing in his mind and he finds himself stepping away.

Atem turns around and heads back home, he cannot do this, not right now. Unfortunately, he doesn't stay around long enough to see the dragoon collapse.」

[dragonsgrasp]

[It really is hard to tell who it is, at a first glance, but after a moment... Kain is pretty sure who he's seeing. Why wouldn't he recognize him, the last person he saw before his awareness had melted away? He gasps, a little surprised to see him, not having expected to see anyone else again. Especially with the world so altered. Is this a dream, another world, something else?]

[Ugh, his head hurts.]

Wait!

[Kain calls out, before taking a few steps, then fully collapsing. He drags himself back up, slowly and painfully, then starts off after him, in the direction he'd taken. He's too weak to jump or he'd just do that. So instead... instead he'll just keep on going after him, collapsing a few more times on his way, but determined to catch up. He has so many questions... so many questions and so much he feels he has to say. But where could he even start?]

[puzzlingly]

「Atem doesn't hear Kain calling him, or if he does, he doesn't seem to care. He's just focused on getting out of there as soon as possible. It is unlike him to do this, to back down on something but he had made a mistake, with the Eye, with Kain, with himself. He trusted he would be able to look at him in the eye again, but the truth is, he was afraid.

He was allowed to be afraid, right?

In his sudden panic, he seems to have been sprinting back home, and it takes but a few for heat to start affecting him as well. It is not a surprise, after all, he might have been used to be living in the desert three hundred of years ago, but this body he's carrying now, is not the same one and the suns are at their peak right now. He feels a little lightheaded, and instead of continuing down his path, he opts to enter Tranquility's temple, the closest shelter between home and himself and he just waits there near the entrance under the cool shade.」

[dragonsgrasp]

[It takes Kain a while. He's not even sure he's going in the right direction at this point, and he's so exhausted that it's tempting to just... stop right here, collapse and not get back up. But at the very least, he can move in toward the shade of the nearest temple. After those months in a cave, it's definitely unsettling to be out in the open sun at all, let alone the glare of two suns.]

[He staggers toward the temple, and... pauses, noticing that he's not alone. Atem has made his way in this direction, after all.]

Please... wait, I...

[He continues shuffling along, half-collapsing once he gets close enough to the entrance.]

...I'm sorry...

[He's not even sure why he's apologizing. For his weakness? For dying on him like that? For things beyond his control, as always, that he only wishes he could control.]

[puzzlingly]

「Atem might or not be starting to doze off from the heat, that he almost doesn't recognize the figure that is approaching to the temple. But in the end, the color, the shape of that armor... Oh! He didn't truly think Kain would keep following him, it had been more than a few minutes after all. But he sees him stumble and Atem is not about to run away anymore, he's cornered in a way. He stands and sprints towards him — oh, that's familiar — and he doesn't stop until he's next to him.

He tries to haul him onto his feet, to drag him into the shade, but the heat from his armor nearly burns his palms.」

Shi--

「It's terribly hot! He cannot imagine how hot it must be in the inside! The kid looks up just to see the two suns are still too high, moving rapidly but not fast enough. He tries again, to lead him into the pool surrounding the temple instead.」

Kain, come on... we need to cool you down.

「He dragged his dead body once, he's not gonna do it again!」

[dragonsgrasp]

[Of course, it really is terribly hot, but Kain has so many things going through his head right now that it's the least of his concerns. Still, some logical part of him realizes that the overheating is probably the reason why his head is aching this badly, and why he's been seeing things. What a situation to end up in... sigh...]

Ah... sorry... I... Forgive me for all of this. I didn't mean... I don't... want... to be a burden...

[Kain moves along, trying to make it easier on Atem, stepping closer and closer to the pool. Once he's close enough he sinks to his knees right beside it, looking to be on the verge of practically about to fall right in. Maybe a swim wouldn't be such a bad idea right now.]

[puzzlingly]

「Atem doesn't respond to the plead, only maybe because he doesn't know what to answer. He focuses on the immediate task instead, on helping him. He pushes him further into the pool.」

Go on, I'll keep you afloat.

[dragonsgrasp]

If you’re sure. Armor is heavy. Let me just...

[He removes his helmet, at least, shaking out his hair a little, before dipping his hands in to splash the water onto his face. He can manage that much, anyway. Then he looks over at Atem as if making sure he’s ready for this, before sliding and half-collapsing into the pool.]