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

suffers gently

[dedikated]

( There are ways she understands the need to keep Noctis safe, the little offhand comments made when she and Marc were children about how Marc needed Kate's help to be a more social creature, how she was fearless and he was timid. Comments about you are the older one, Kat, even if it was only by a couple of months, that burrowed their way into her heart until they were held as absolute truth. She was the older one. The strong one. Marc was the kid with his head in books who just wanted to go to university from the second he understood what one was.

She thought that was all there was to it, if you replace the names and fudge the ages a little. But it isn't quite that simple. Every quiet word an added burden on the shoulders of a child, where it's no longer suggestions and makeshift family ideas, but an actual job. That he worked for Noctis isn't new, but the scope of how far back that work goes is.

Did he even have a chance to have other dreams? Other options? Whatever words spilled out of their parents' mouths, they came with added echoes - These are Kat's medals. She's already a great athlete. and C'mon, Kat, let's see if you can beat me now! - endless encouragement for things outside of being a good, protective sister.

It was never their parents' fault that her world boiled down to Marc eventually. That the fearless kid who talked to anyone disappeared and let the girl who shrugged off all attempts at friendship surface. How could it be? )

... Ah. ( A lacking answer to all that's been said, for sure, but words don't come easily at the best of times. The weight of everything he's just said weighs down anything else she might want to say, snatches it away like the wind snatches away breath outside of their hastily found protection. Her hand reaches for his without thinking, only to find air while they're threaded behind his back. Long neglected memories surface — the clammy atmosphere of a police station and the pitying eyes of an officer sat opposite her, trying to reassure her that they wouldn't be mean to Marc during questioning, that he'd be treated just as she was - with the advocate beside her as someone to lean on.

"I don't care. I promised I'd keep him safe."

The silence rings in her ears as her hand touches cool, clammy air, and the soft thud of her heart passes before Kate shifts closer, wrapping her arms around him. )

...You... ( It's hard to get out the words when they're the exact ones which would have made her younger self bristle and growl. Even now, the idea brings a stiffness to her spine. ) - can't protect anyone from everything. Not possible to.

( It would be nice to, ideal even, for people like them. But it isn't possible. Even in The Agency, Kate had to accept that. There were times Marc would be injured when she was there, times he'd be stuck in their hospital wing recuperating from a particularly bad mission, and she'd hate every moment. ) I tried. Failed at it.

( She sucks in a breath and pushes down the memories of Marc's blood spilling from his throat and the way the world seemed to slow to a stop, the hours of missing memories after the fact, her arms squeezing just that little bit tighter around Ignis as she does. )

Look. ...You're important to me. ( Understatement, but even those words feel strange on her tongue. It's a long, hard road to finding that sort of openness she had as a child when so much of her life was dedicated to erasing it. ) Not going to tell you to stop trying to keep him safe. Just... I spent a lot of time doin' that. Made me too tired to be there when he really needed me, and I failed.

weh

[claritatis]

[Ignis has told her he's going to go blind. What he hasn't told her is that the reason behind it will be something that he does to try and protect Noctis. Now feels a poor time to bring that up, and besides, the thought of it flees from his mind entirely when she puts her arms around him.

There's no resistance to it. There has only been one time when he pushed her away and he doesn't want to have to make a repeat of it. So, he brings his arms up around her in turn and draws her in close to him, almost able to feel the thud of her heart against his chest.

He realises he can't tell her he won't stop trying, even if she isn't going to ask. He can't, because it goes against every instinct honed in him for the last sixteen years of his life. He can't, when he knows without even giving it a second thought that he'd give up so much to keep Noctis safe. That he will give up so much to keep him safe.]

I'll be careful. [That much, he can say. It's still not quite a promise, but it's a something as he runs one hand over her hair and realises that as much as he doesn't want to allow anything to happen to Noctis--...]

... I don't want... I don't want to hurt you, while I'm trying to save him.

huffs

[dedikated]

( She might ask a lot sometimes, might be a burden on his free time and frustrating in a million ways, but she can't ask that any more than he could promise it anyway. She can't ask it because she'd answer go to hell to the very suggestion, and they're cut from similar cloth in so, so many ways. Ways which have made much of this easier as much as they make moments like this nearly impossible to navigate.

Her head bows and finds his chest, eyes sliding closed as she breathes his soft, warm scent in. When did she get here, where she sinks into his touch for safety, to rid herself of the tension of everything this city throws at them? When did it become so comfortable that she doesn't fear the intensity of it all? )

Don't worry about me. ( The words are automatic from her lips, the sentiment as honest as it is a reflex. All that matters is that he doesn't waste his chances to save Noctis on things like this. She'll go on.

She always has. )

[claritatis]

[Kate is frustrating. She's contrary and infuriating, argumentative and sometimes so blind to the thoughts of others that it's close to baffling, but she wouldn't be nearly as fascinating a person to him if the ways their personalities meshed didn't occasionally cause conflict.

She leans into him and he tucks his chin against the top of her head. It's the kind of silence he could sink into and never come out of again. Comfortable and warm, and so very safe it could easily be dangerous.]

I don't know why you keep asking that of me. [He murmurs softly, the words coming out almost on a sigh. The honesty behind her words is real, but she's said it before.

'I have capacity enough to worry about the both of you.']

You know it's a request that I'm always going to refuse.

[dedikated]

( Reflex, just as it was to jump in front of him when the Null were attacking, thinking no more of it than she does how to run. She doesn't need to be worried about and says as much in the flippant comments about how it takes more than that to kill her. That isn't anyone's job, and it hasn't been for a very long time. Kate appreciates a hand at her back in battle, but in this--

It makes something in her stomach twitch unpleasantly, brings up that spine-tingling sense of dread. Makes her wonder once again, just why she chases this thing between them, why she wants to hold onto it when it's definitely going to disappear into nothingness sooner or later.

Why does she keep asking that? A million reasons, all of which are better left to a shrug than actual words, her head turning towards the air, towards the scent of sea spray that permeates every other part of where they are. )

Habit.

( And nothing more. )

[claritatis]

[Ah, but he doesn't worry about her being able to take care of herself physically. How well she can defend herself has never been an area of Ignis' concern, he's seen her fight, he knows she could handle herself better than he could in a pinch (as long as she didn't get hurt trying to keep him safe).]

Ah. [He mutters. It's not a fight he's ever going to win, he thinks, but that doesn't mean he's going to stop pointing out that he's going to worry for her whether she wants it or not. If she's going to worry about him... then turnabout is fair play.]

You're a very difficult woman. [Ignis sighs fondly, pressing a kiss to her hairline.] Shall we head back?

[dedikated]

( Then... what else is there? (A lot, but Kate's never truly given herself the time for that realisation, always thinking that if she just keeps busy, she's happy enough.)

She huffs out a noise that isn't quite a laugh, pulling back to glance up at him. )

Since when?

( But, more importantly, she's got a hold of one of his hands, gently pulling him back towards the city. )

[claritatis]

[Since when. He doesn't answer that, only shoots her a small, wry smile. How about since always, but it's just one of the many things that he loves about her. She's difficult, contrary and challenging, but she wouldn't be the same person if she wasn't.

His fingers lace through hers while they walk. It's far more pleasant here than the desert, where walking under the heat of the sun for more than a few minutes felt as if it was frying your brain inside your skull.]

When are you going to be finished for the day?

[dedikated]

( She's messing with you, Ignis. That much Kate knows well. She's rarely easy, wasn't even easy when she was a child and far more open and uncomplicated.

She shrugs in response to his question. Harder to tell now, with Hadriel split in 4, Kate's been trying to work out the changes they'll need. New bases (hasn't she been saying that for ages), ways to transport items across islands reliably (that's one of the easier ones), and ensuring communication and structure in each branch. )

Tonight. ...Call you when I'm done?

[claritatis]

[Ignis nods, a small sound of confirmation leaving him, but nothing further. He knows she'll call, though he'll be finished before she is.

The walk back is taken up with small talk and gentle teasing, and he kisses her lightly before he leaves her at the door.]

... I'm glad we talked.

[And he is, though it's given him a great deal to think about.]