Event Log: The Beach Episode

[hadrielmods]

Who: Everyone!
What: The event log for the transition to our new planet!
Where: The city, which has now been fragmented onto four separate islands.
When: May 27th-June 10th
Warnings: Surf's up! If by 'surf', you mean separation from your friends, weird sea creatures, and cold rainfall.

The sun and the sand and a drink in your hand- well, it all sounded pretty nice when you voted for the island planet, but ultimately what you're getting is a bit less glamorous.

The transition takes place instantaneously, with very little noteworthy shakeup, though those of you who are particularly in-tune with the supernatural may feel a bit dizzied or nauseated by the sudden movement. And that's exactly what it is: for those of you who are outside, the change is fairly noticeable, as in the span of a single blink, what used to be miles of desert is now rocky ocean. The city is simply in one place one moment, and then somewhere entirely new a second later.

And that somewhere new is exciting! The islands have plenty of landscape to explore and weather conditions to adjust to, fish to catch, and- wait, how do you get to the other islands? What if your friends or your home or the bar is on these other islands? Enjoy having to figure out who is where and how you're going to get by with only a small fraction of the city to work off of- hopefully those boats will come sooner rather than later...

► This log covers May 27th-June 10th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you drown or get eaten by an alien shark, let us know here.

Comments

[dedikated]

( There's still plenty of work to be done, but it falls out of the forefront of her mind in the face of seeing him again, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth when he pushes stray hair from her face. )

Ah. She's on break now.

( What? She runs this place. She can totally take a break. )

[claritatis]

Ah.

[He left a good deal of work behind him to come here, but there has been a certain reshuffling of his priorities since she came into his life and some unexpected things have dropped further down in the pecking order than he would have expected them to.

Until they can set up a separate clinic, the guard house will have to do... but he's left it in good hands.]

Do you think you could tell her that her boyfriend is here, and he'd like to spend some time with her?

[dedikated]

( Now that they have a boat, Kate can start thinking seriously about organising people into island bases and all the rest of it, but that thought is quickly set to one side in favour of letting hands trace up his arms lightly. )

Where's he taking her?

( It's very important that she doesn't go missing a whole day, obviously. It's not like she's been here 24/7 since they left the last planet. )

[claritatis]

Not far.

[Not that there's far to go on these islands. Being in the desert at least offered the illusion of space, but here? It's miles of ocean, stretching every direction right to the horizon.

Ignis smiles slightly as he drops the pretence in favour of pressing a kiss to her lips.]

The place won't crumble to the ground if you step out for a moment.

[dedikated]

( Still immeasurably better than a cave. But she will always be biased.

Kate catches his necklace as he bends down in that easy, far too familiar way she does, gently keeping him in place for another, more lingering kiss. )

... Suppose I can join you.

( It's said casually, but her expression is laced with a soft smile, something reserved only for him. )

[claritatis]

[The way she catches hold of the chain around his neck doesn't even draw a reaction anymore. He knows she won't break it - trusts her to - and leans down with it easily to linger in the kiss she holds him there for.]

A terrible inconvenience, I know. [He teases gently, catching her hand in his and taking half a step back.]

You'll survive.

[dedikated]

( Incredibly inconvenient, Ignis. She squeezes his hand lightly, tugging him towards the doorway of the clinic as she does. The city has never been bursting at the seams with things to do, but now divided among four islands, the lack is even more keenly felt.

Which is why she's not heading in any particular direction when they exit the building, just wherever her feet take her. )

How was the ride?

[claritatis]

[It's going to be very inconvenient to have to take a boat to every island. Building bridges wouldn't be possible across such distances, with the resources that they have at their disposal.]

A little choppy. [He tells her, following the idle path she takes with no particular destination in mind.]

But Curufin is a competent sailor.

[dedikated]

( Even if it was, it would likely take longer than they'd be there to build them. And probably attract the attention of the Null, knowing their luck. )

He's skilled. ( Maybe it's an elf thing. ... Maybe Ignis is part elf. Okay, probably not, but it would explain how infuriatingly good he is at everything. Kate shrugs and leans a little against him as they make their way through the winding streets, the comfort of his presence flooding warmth through her chest. )

[claritatis]

[It's likely an elf thing, and an age thing. Ignis hasn't asked Curufin how old he is, but one look at his face tells him enough. There's a wisdom there that goes far beyond the relative youth of his appearance.]

Mm, he is. [When she leans on him, he glances down at the top of her head and doesn't fight the small smile that comes unbidden to his lips. Things are easier when they're together. Arguments are so easy to have when the other person isn't in front of you.]

I love you.

[dedikated]

I know.

( Quiet, until they get to the shore, Kate clambering along some of the rocks until she has a good enough vantage of the ocean stretching out from the island.

And it's one of the few times she'll be taller than Ignis. For a minute or two, anyway, she's sure. There's enough room for two on this edge.

She doesn't speak again until he's found a place to stand, her arms folded around herself as she watches the choppy sea break against the shore. )

You really thought about swimming this?

( There's no accusation to her tone when she asks, eyes never leaving the water. )

[claritatis]

[He doesn't need her to say anything else. 'I know' translates easily enough to 'I love you, too' and it isn't pressed as they walk, or as he keeps a gentle hold of her hand until she pulls it free to climb higher up the rocks. The difference in height doesn't last long as he follows her up, finding a steady place to balance beside her.

Though her tone doesn't hold the potential for argument, he still glances sidelong at her before he replies.]

Of course. [And so had Noctis.] Very seriously.

[dedikated]

( For all the things she can do, swimming has never been one of them. The sensation causes tingling discomfort in her limbs that Kate doesn't know how to explain. Only that it's there. But even so, she doesn't think she's wrong in calling such an idea dangerous.

Lips purse together at his response. Of course. As if it would be anything else. His devotion to Noctis has never been a question - she lets him go when he needs to go, hides things she thinks need hiding so he can help his friend, his prince. Whatever the best description is.

But until now, that had never involved the very real possibility of him being injured or worse.

The even tone of her voice doesn't last long. )

That's insane.

[claritatis]

I'm sure it seems that way to you.

[He tries very hard to keep any irritation out of his voice. This is not something that he wants to get into another argument over, but she must know already that the issue of Noctis and how far Ignis will go to protect him is a somewhat tender one.

His reply comes a little stiffly, as much due to the fact that he rarely talks about this aspect of his life as it is to the fact that he is so rarely challenged on it.]

I would give anything, up to and including my life, to ensure Noctis' safety. He doesn't like the idea, and I don't expect that you will, but it isn't a matter that is up for debate.

[And when Noct might be in danger, he doesn't think clearly. That is a little more difficult to admit.]

[dedikated]

( She fixes her eyes on him, tears them away from the sea, the response immediate: )

That's not the point.

( She doesn't like the idea, it's true. How could she possibly? But she understands it down to her bones, to the very fibres of her being. She doesn't have to know Noctis to know how much he means to Ignis, or that Ignis would gladly give his life to save him, and there's a promise lingering in the deepest recesses of her heart which says she'll let him go to do what needs to be done. The same promise that kept her mouth shut when Fear pulled her sight from her, because Ignis had other things to concentrate on.

But it isn't the prospect of him giving up his life that has her pushing the topic. )

You can't keep him safe if you die on the way.

( She's statue still, not even blinking as she speaks, voice even and words slow. That's the point. It was a reckless idea. )

You didn't even know where he was. It wouldn't've helped.

[claritatis]

Is it not? You're a fine one to speak so ill of recklessness, Kate.

[He answers evenly. The only thing that keeps him from snapping it out is that she's stood right there, and they've already had this argument once before. But is he wrong? Has she not demonstrated similar levels of disregard for her own life, to now be standing there remonstrating with him for doing the same thing?

The breeze off the sea whips around them, tugging strands of hair free from only semi-careful styling to fall over his forehead.]

The level of danger to myself barely even occurred to me. [He had known where Noctis was, thanks to the GPS, and the direction was all he would have needed.

He'd do it here, and he'll do it again, before he gives up far more for his friend's sake.]

[dedikated]

( She bristles, but says nothing to that, though it'd be so easy for her to point out that her recklessness manifests when people are in immediate danger. Not hypothetical.

(She'd also be wrong, but no one ever said Kate was good at self-reflection.)

She doesn't move, even as the wind picks up, except for a brief flicker in her expression, something breaking through the stony, emotionless facade placed up. )

Course it didn't.

( In all the time she's known him, she's seen nothing to indicate that he would consider the danger to himself in most scenarios. When that quality is levelled towards invading Null or other monsters, when she's nearby to help out, it isn't so bad. It's one she's glad to have on her side then.

When it's pressed against the forces of nature simply because he's separated from Noctis, it wraps thick around her throat, clinging terribly to her, making it hard to breathe. )

[claritatis]

[It's an easier conversation to have in person. Less of a fight, more of a clash in reasoning and judgment. That she doesn't argue his first statement speaks for itself. That would have been a different debate, and one easily won by a few choice anecdotes. Kate will never be a poster child for reasonable decisions in the face of danger.

Standing next to her, he feels the silence pressed between them in a way that doesn't often occur. His fingers find hers, lightly brushing the backs of them, testing for a response before he thinks to take her hand.

He's fine, Kate is fine, and Noctis is fine. But he knows that isn't what's troubling her now.]

[dedikated]

( There is nothing unreasonable about jumping on a dragon's back what do you mean?

Her arms unwind from around herself as his fingers brush against her arm and seek out her hand, grasping his hand almost immediately and firmly enough that it's almost as though she's trying to keep him from floating away in the increasing gale.

The silence is thick, but it's more comfortable than trying to say anything. )

[claritatis]

[No, nothing unreasonable at all.

Ah, but there's a soft relief, like an elastic band snapping when she takes his hand so tightly. The silence is full of everything they don't say, but right now, how much of it really needs to be said?

He pulls her lightly to his side, then turns to wrap his free arm around her. Kate is a force to be reckoned with and needs no protection, but Ignis feels the need to guard something in her that is perhaps a little more vulnerable to bruising.

'I don't-- want to see you hurt.'
'I know. I don't want you to have to see that, either.'

Lightly, he tucks his chin against the top of her head and closes his eyes for a moment. It's a strange thing, to feel something pulling him off the paths he would have so easily run headlong down only six months before. How is it that so short a time can make a person so important?]

We can discuss it, but let's not fight.

[It's difficult to discuss, but fighting over it will get them nowhere.]

[dedikated]

( Fighting, in some ways, is easy. It requires less thought to give into anger, far less vulnerability to push people away than to let them in.

It's also exhausting. The constant effort to continue layering walls, to rebuild them when something cracks them. The alarm that sounds every time a piece of information slips out or the veneer slips to let out a smile or a laugh. Habit, more than anything, stiffens muscles under his touch when he pulls her close, when his arm wraps around her like it's trying to keep a million things away.

She's still, all held breath and eyes sliding shut when the warmth of his body, the steady thud of his pulse, presses against her cheek. Quiet and unmoving, like water in a jar, all held in place and together by one simple thing. )

... Alright.

( Fighting is easier, but fighting exhausts everyone eventually. )

[claritatis]

[He doesn't take offence to the way she tenses under his arm. It's how Kate is, and if she didn't want to be there she most assuredly would not be. Sometimes, it's just a matter of time and waiting for her to convince herself that it's alright to relax into the position she's found herself in.

Ignis doesn't want to fight with her. He doesn't want to fight with her over this, in particular, when it can be such a tender subject for them both for different reasons. In the end, they fight because they care about one another, and are sometimes simply terrible at showing it sometimes.]

Thank you. [Quiet, the words are almost snatched away by the wind when they're murmured softly next to her temple. Fighting might be easier, but not fighting is surely better.]

[dedikated]

( She feels the words rather than hear them, not saying anything as the wind picks up around them. No fighting, but there's still so much to talk about and she has no idea how to broach the topic other than bluntly.

So her hand reaches back, pressing gently against his shoulderblade before she pulls away, looking over the shoreline for somewhere less exposed to the wind. )

C'mon.

( There's a rocky edge a few yards down which looks like it avoids the worst of the wind, and it might just be easier to talk there. )

[claritatis]

Mm, alright. [Ignis takes the suggestion with little further prompting required, lightly keeping a hand on Kate despite neither of them being the type to really need help should they slip.

It isn't a topic easily broached, but if anyone were to begin to try to untangle the knots and ties that bind Ignis so peculiarly to his closest friend, it would be Kate. The person who has managed to get closer to him than almost anyone else.

He doesn't realise how strong the wind had grown until they're out of it, and he exhales sharply when it's no longer pressing against them. Much better.]

[dedikated]

( It isn't much quieter, not with the winds battering anything within earshot, creating an all too familiar din, but they're not directly facing it, and that's an improvement.

Still, Kate's arms wrap around herself as she leans back against the rock, her gaze fixed on his face, brown eyes dark and inscrutable. It had seemed so simple before, that Noctis was just his friend, his prince. She can understand that. Understand the need to protect him which comes with a lifelong friendship. But it doesn't feel that simple any more, when logical worries and reasons to hold back get thrown out of the window and disregarded. )

I... think I'm missing something here.

( She's done foolish things in the name of protecting someone, followed Marc into a job that tore at every part of the conscience, jumped in front of a dragon in the name of not seeing Faith's fire extinguished. But it feels like she's missing some part of the puzzle that explains just why he went from A to "let's swim in unknown, choppy waters". )