2.5/ closed & open/ keeping all our fears at bay

[dedikated]

Who: Kate (dedikated) / Jo (knifecollecting) / Henry (hotspurred) / Maybe you?
What: March Catch-all log!
Where: Road trip stuff (closed), plus things in Hadriel proper.
When: All through March
Warnings: ... Kate?

( ooc/ starters in the comments! if you wanna sort something out with me, come hit me up at forethought / nico#8071 )

Comments

jo/ we're still better off this way; that's the cowardice in me

[dedikated]

( The further into the horizon Hadriel recedes, the easier it is to think straight. Prickling anger no longer clouds Kate's thoughts as the land before them stretches out endlessly, the air around them thick with heat, twisting and shifting as the suns hit their peak. No shelter but the bikes and what lies in their backpacks. Day after day, again and again, this break becomes routine. Pull over, battle with equipment until they have something resembling protection from the sunlight baking everything under it. )

Where next?

( She glances over at Jo. How much further can this city be after days of broken travelling, constantly disturbed by oppressive heat and freezing nights? A strange landscape with nothing that distinguishes one day's travel from the next, and ever diminishing water supplies, food supplies.

But the strange possessiveness no longer whispers its dark self in the corners of her mind. There's that. )

laaate

[knifecollecting]

[Jo shields her eyes with her free hand, surveying the desert for any landmarks whatsoever. As has been usual on this trip, there's nothing.

She consults the compass Love gave them and nods to herself.]

To the left, head for the sun now, I guess.

[dedikated]

...Course.

( Why is she even remotely surprised by this. Of course they're heading towards the blindingly bright spheres in the sky. Though, for the moment- )

Prob'ly another hour before we can leave. ( She's going off the position of the suns in the sky and already so much time spent on this planet, looking through the supplies in her backpack with a loud huff of breath. )

Actually wish we had cards.

( And she's not a person who enjoys card games. Would rather play darts or pool, but that would be all but impossible to carry with them on this journey. )

[knifecollecting]

Too bad it's not two years ago for me. [Jo sighs, shielding her eyes as she scans their surroundings. If she was from before her death...well, she always had a deck of cards with her.]

When we get back we could try to make some. For the next road trip.

[dedikated]

( She almost, almost says they had some in the clinic, the memory hitting her so strongly that for a moment it's like they're back underground. But they got destroyed when the clinic was destroyed. )

Why two years ago?

( That, however, does seem like an arbitrary date to throw out there in response to Kate's musings. )

[knifecollecting]

[Jo licks her lips, suddenly realizing what she'd said.]

Longer than that, I guess. [A quick correction as she tries to figure out how to handle this.]

I just would've had some in my bag, back then. [Before her death. Before Heaven.]

open/ but we keep building everything that breaks

[dedikated]

( The midday heat tinges every hour after it with thick warmth that lingers in the air, and even as the smaller sun begins its slow descent across the sky, Kate can still feel the remnants of it underfoot. She crosses the rooftop of the clinic, hand wrapped tightly around an unstrung bow, long faded hair with months of dark roots tied high in a braid that tumbles down between her shoulderblades. She stops at ledges, at corners, and falls into position, draws the unstrung bow up and looks across the cityscape, deep brown eyes fading into milky white to pick out pinprick sized glimmers of powers across the city.

It's a developing habit, a test in the silence between gods seeking power and magical artifacts extending to new universes. Checking the city, memorising the view from the rooftop and the best places to stand for when things, inevitably, go to hell again. When the Null attempt another attack, or the gods decide to unleash another flood of zombies or monsters in the city.

She hears footsteps before anything else, turning to face the sound with that tight grip on her bow as she drops her hand to her side again. )

What're you doing up here?

( There's nothing to her tone but the barest of curiosity, brow raising. )

[toiletseat_girl]

[it's George's shift at the clinic, but so far it's been a slow day. a few people in for bad sunburns and mild heat stroke, but that's about it. so she's been feeling restless and fidgety and she doesn't like it one bit.

she figures it's time for a break. Hadriel can survive without her for a minute or two, right? right. and it's not like she's going far, just to the roof. where she can see if anyone comes in needing help. putting it that way, she's really doing everyone a favor.

she sees Kate already up there, but figures it's no big deal. they can share the roof]

Nothing. Just got kinda antsy and figured maybe a change of scenery would help. You?

[dedikated]

( It's not a big deal, not at all. She's just not used to seeing people up here when she is. Raising the bow, Kate shrugs. )

Working on defences.

( Simple enough when there's little to do and nothing she's actually good for that needs doing. She misses using her powers, the sense of purpose it would bring to fix someone's instabilities or accidents.

But, she supposes, she's good at this too. )

[toiletseat_girl]

[George goes to the roof where she lives all the time. initially, it was to get away from Seel and Cal, but she grew to like the view]

In case the Null or something else shows up?

[seems like a good idea to her. that's why she asked for fighting lessons a while back. she's feeling a little more competent when it comes to defending herself, but she knows she still has a long way to go before she's actually good.

she'll just have to keep trying?]

[dedikated]

( Then clearly Kate needs to go that way more. Or perhaps just simply stop using the rooftops at the earliest hours of the day. A hum confirms George's conclusion, and Kate gestures towards the Colosseum for an example. )

Good position to see any monsters coming out of the Colosseum when the Door opens.

( And therefore attack them from a distance with something like the unstrung bow Kate still holds. )

henry/ as our constitution shakes their efforts to relate

[dedikated]

( Kate's presence at the Speakeasy is almost as regular as the staff themselves - meeting people, unwinding after a day at the clinic, or (as is the case) drinking away the problems that come from a city like Hadriel.

The never-ending list of people they lose. Returning here, regaining all the memories of the people she lost in her last year here, watching it happen again with friends and strangers alike.

She didn't get to know Saber or Iri as well as she would have liked, but their loss is still a twinge. A reminder of how many people will disappear, how they themselves may disappear and forget everything they've done, everyone they've met and befriended. )

Whiskey?

( It's been the drink of choice lately, and god only knows Henry could use it. So many of the recent losses have been his. )

[hotspurred]

[Unlike Kate, Henry isn't a regular. He only shows up every few months or so. The last time he did any serious drinking was with Saber, and the evidence of that night remains on his phone.

He nods, one corner of his mouth quirking.]

'Tis tradition.

[Well, it was what he and Maketh used to drink when they saw off their departed friends on his sofa, so... close enough.]

[dedikated]

That so?

( Well then, a bottle and two glasses at their table it is. Kate pours them each a glass and pushes one over with a rough exhale.

Here they are again. )

What's the toast?

[hotspurred]

[Henry takes his glass and raises it.]

Irisviel and Saber! When they next meet may they never be parted!

[dedikated]

( She raises a glass with a nod, clinking the base against Henry's. )

And not get dragged into more wars.

( Wherever they end up, let it have some semblance of peace. )

open/ maybe i got plans for you

[dedikated]

( The edges of the city are no longer littered with tunnels that house monsters, instead they prowl in the open air and surround Hadriel waiting for prey. In all truth, they're no more at home than the people of Hadriel themselves, dragged here as unwittingly as each person was. But their presence remains a looming threat to the people here, something to be dealt with.

She's done worse. Far worse. So it's easy to ignore the voice that says they're not really so different and get to business. Easier to prevent people here from getting injured by monsters in the first place.

Kate's a blonde-haired blur as she works, opting for a bag filled with small knives and a staff strapped to her back rather than the longbow she keeps at the clinic. Dodging attacks with a quick sidestep and jump and never, never staying still long enough to check the damage the toss of a knife does.

It's easy enough to tell by the howls and screams, anyway. The strangled cries that mean something is taking its last breath as she lands on the ground, immediately grabbing for the staff at her back when a nearby flash of colour catches her attention from the corner of eye. )

... Ah.

( Not a monster, then. She lowers the staff slowly, grip still tight. Just in case.

Just in case. )

[hoperulesdespairdrools]

[Komaeda instantly goes on defence but relaxes when Kate lowers her staff. Instead, his shoulders drop and he chuckles awkwardly.] My apologies for scaring you like that.

[dedikated]

( Kate's eyes narrow as she takes in the familiar appearance of this kid, setting the staff back into its holder.

He's fine, but- )

You got a habit of sneakin' up on people fighting?

( That is a dumbass thing to do and an excellent way to get in trouble with someone who has less control or care than she. )

[hoperulesdespairdrools]

[Well, he wasn't intentionally sneaking up on her but he probably shouldn't be exploring this place anyway.]

Not as such. I do have a habit of being a nuisance to people, though. I'll get out of your way so I don't annoy you further.

[Didn't quite understand the point she was trying to make.]

[dedikated]

( ... Yeah, you're definitely an odd one. Kate glances around - there's no monsters nearby at this very moment, but that might not last much longer. )

You know how to fight?

[claritatis]

[The flash of colour comes not from the clothes on the person joining her - black, and white, as ever - but rather the flickering of blue-purple electricity dancing up and down the daggers clasped in his hands. She sees him, and he tips his chin up very slightly, a subtle smile at the corners of his lips.]

Would you accept some company?

[They've fought together before. Ignis knows as well as she does that they work well together in situations like this, and these creatures are far easier to take down than the Null were.

He flips the daggers in his hands, the blades facing backwards, and his body tenses as his expression sharpens and he focuses on something past her.]

Behind you!

[dedikated]

( The electric spark draws her eyes, clouded by powers as soon as she shifts her attention. Without really seeing him, beyond the familiar shadow of a power that doesn't belong to him, Kate smiles.

Ah, indeed.

But she doesn't get a chance for more than a nick of the head before Ignis barks out instructions and her muscles tense, springing her up and back over the something with the automatic familiarity of someone who's heard those words a million times before.

How can you not, living in Hadriel? Or having the life before that she's had? It brings back the words of all her friends at one point or another and her own. Watching each other's backs, the most basic tenet of a life where fighting is a norm. As she lands, Kate uses the staff in her hands to strike from behind, looking up at Ignis rather than the thing she attacks. )

Don't get in my way.

( With a lot of people, that would be a serious statement, said with narrowed eyes and tight lips. With Ignis, it's said with a sparkle behind milky eyes and a quirk of her lips. )

[claritatis]

[It's good to see her at her peak again, fighting without needing to worry about the weariness that would inevitably half-cripple her in the aftermath. She's a force to be reckoned with even then, but now, there's little need for him to be too concerned about her safety.]

I wouldn't even entertain the notion. [He quips in return, an answering spark of humour in his eyes. Almost a challenge, before he darts forwards. In the moments preceeding, he had taken stock of the field of battle in a heartbeat and evaluated the weaknesses of the creatures they faced. The power in the daggers speeds his movement to a blur, and in the half-second before he strikes, the element coating the blades turns from lightning to ice.

The weapons plunge into tough hide up to the hilt, and when he smoothly pulls them free the elemental damage remains, creeping over the creature's skin like frost and slowing its movements as Ignis takes a few quick steps back and darts to one side to flank it while it struggles.]

I think it's past time that these vermin cooled off.

[dedikated]

( Questions which spring to mind find themselves summarily dismissed, stowed away for times where there aren't monsters in their immediate vicinity, but Kate's eyes still flick towards the blades, watching the shift from lightning to ice for the split second before she drags her attention over to something that comes lumbering from one side and cracks the staff over its head and flips it quickly enough to catch the thing under the chin with the next movement. )

Can't give 'em a warm reception?

( If you can't beat them, join them, and the mood is light enough despite their position. Their opponents are nothing compared to the Null, nor many of the other monsters that Hadriel has thrown at its people in the past, and Kate can feel the familiar rush of her powers, full and strong as they blossom in muscles and bone, making her faster and stronger still. )