2.9/ open/ we always meet the fear head on

[dedikated]

Who: Kate & Everyone who was interested & Anyone else who wants to come exploring ( Basically it's open )
What: Exploring the planet rather than risking being killed by inanimate objects.
Where: Outside the city
When: 21st → Beginning Feb
Warnings: Nothing at the minute, please warn in your headings as needed!

( Sometimes, all one needs is a single near-death experience to make the decision of fuck this, I'm out. The itch to leave has been a long-time coming, after months of remaining on Hadriel's islands and arriving here only to be too busy trying to replace to gods with the scant natural resources of the planet to even think about leaving the city for more than hunting.

But Rage and Fear are back, and one run in with the Colosseum's tunnels is more than enough motivation for Kate to try and cobble together enough items to escape for a while. )

Going exploring.
Anyone wanting to come can meet me at the eastern spire tomorrow.

( It's a last minute decision, made while she rolls spare clothing as small as she can get it, because she's probably not the only person done with this bullshit, and nor does the concept of being out in the wilderness by herself for however many days sound appealing. Who'll talk for all that time?

(She's never liked being alone. Too many opportunities to allow your thoughts to drift.)

But, as the post says, she is at the third spire the next day, waiting for anyone who wants to come along. )

( OOC: This is a mingle post, so feel free to make your own headings. If you want your character to be in the city for more of the event, feel free to presume they caught up with her & the group later! If you want to discuss anything, you can PM me or hit me up on discord at isanghae#8071. )

Comments

kate ( open )

[dedikated]

— daytime;
( The further she gets from Hadriel, the heavier her backpack and the warmer she feels, exertion driving away the cold for a while. Kate doesn't walk with any particular plan or destination in mind, simply the urge to get out and forget the terror of the tunnels crumbling around her for a while.

Though, if some miracle allowed them to find those... whatever they were. Hosts? Possible hosts? — things from the stampede that weren't the apex predators, she can't say she'd be upset. But she isn't counting on it, so she never mentions it, simply following tracks and the horizon as far as they can go.

It's a simple routine: wake up, walk, stop to eat and drink, fight anything that becomes a problem, and walk more, until eventually coming to rest again in the evenings. Today's lunch break involves cardboard-looking (and tasting) energy bars pilfered from the shops, bland and easy to eat, providing everything she needs to keep going in the afternoon. Her foot perches behind her on a rock, stretching leg muscles as she chews, eyes scoping out the surroundings as though she expects something to ruin this moment's respite.

To anyone who decides to come close, she has only one thing to say: )

Hate the cold.

— night time;
( Kate perches on a rock as the sun sets, the city a pinprick against a sky of pink and orange, and her fingers undo the plait of her hair, idle and familiar movements keeping her from being totally still.

They've come a long way in these last few days, she thinks, and once again, there's nothing outside the city but the wilderness. What were their worlds like before the constant running, she wonders. When there were so many of the gods' species and countless planets under their control. What would Hadriel have looked like during the height of their power?

Certainly, one can assume, not like this. Not with half the buildings razed and the skyline broken into pieces, not with weeks worth of empty land beyond it.

Her thoughts keep her eyes on the city in the distance, even as the sunset becomes an expanse of glittering starlight, attention only breaking for people who step close or sit next to her. )

What's up?

daaayyy

[hot_mes]

[get out of the city and resume exploring? yes please. Law jumped at the chance, and this time he's better prepared - more layers, more supplies, the correct supplies.

He sits with a scarf wrapped around his face, missing his real winter coat with the collar he can bury his whole head in.]

Cold sucks. No lie.

[his lunch is something meaty and dried, thanks Sanji. Which he offers wordlessly to Kate - want some? It's full of protein...]

aaaayyyy

[dedikated]

( It's certainly better than the option of playing Russian Roulette with every room and item in Hadriel. Cold aside, that is.

(Okay, cold and the endless, empty expanse of the planet outside of the city. Exploring may prove as fruitless as sitting in the city, but nothing out here is attempting to crush her so far.)

She glances at the dried meat and plucks a strip from Law's hand, chewing on it slowly. )

Information better be worth it.

( The jungle would have been warm, had sorely needed natural resources and cover. But most importantly: it would have been warm. Only information and the weight of Glacius' existence in this city stopped her checking the box to go there instead. )

[hot_mes]

Yeah, really. [worth all this damn cold. Even if he's a Northern boy he still pretty much hates all this ice and cold] But we've already learned at least one thing the gods either kept from us, or didn't know themselves.

[he is, at least, willing to concede the latter rather than jump to conclusions]

It would be nice to have a jump on preparations by the time the lot of them catch up to us. Right now, we're more or less on our own.

night;

[restinglichface]

Came to ask you the same thing, babe.

[Everything's a little different for Lup nowadays. The cold doesn't bother her in the slightest anymore, even if she so frequently complains about it. She doesn't need to sleep, doesn't need to eat, doesn't really feel fatigue in the same way she did before either. She's more undead than ever, but it's kind of working out in her favor, especially on a trip through the freezing tundra like this. She can set herself ablaze to keep her companions warm when they need it, and she can also keep watch while they rest.

Not that Kate's ever been the type of woman to let her guard down.

Lup comes to perch near the other woman, close but not touching, grinning even through the darkness.]

You're thinkin' kinda loud there.

muah

[dedikated]

You a telepath, too?

( Lup really has been through it in the time she's been here, hasn't she? In returning home and anything between that the two of them usually ignore in favour of alcohol or fighting something. This trip was to avoid Hadriel's latest version of hell, to finally get out of the city after months of being stuck on the islands, but it's given her more than a few quiet moments with other people as well. )

Wonderin' if we'll ever see this place alive.

( Hadriel, the planets they've visited... she could mean any of them. Or all of them. Everywhere they've been throughout their stays has been dead, or barely clinging to the final remnants of existence.

When it's all said and done, will things be different? )

my girl <3

[restinglichface]

[It's clearly a joke and, as usual, Kate hits her mark. The mood between them is soft and maybe just a touch too thoughtful, but it's more than enough to drag a quick bark of a laugh out of the elf. her half flying up to her mouth on instinct, but it's way too late to block that unexpected laugh.]

What a dweeb. Remind me why we're friends again?

[As if Lup ever needs the reminder.

She settles next to Kate, stretching her long legs in front of her, hands back to prop herself up, chin tipping up just enough to see the sky above them.]

If Hope's so quick to bring us back from the big death, why do you think they haven't brought any of the others back before us? Seems weird, right? To have that power an' to just let a whole civilization stay dead.

the night time is the right time

[garbagemarvel]

[Kate’s post included the magic word - exploration, one of the pillars of The Kree Way. Of course Noh’s gonna join the party.]

I believe the human phrase is “to poke your brain”?

[Pick your brain, Noh. Anyway, he doesn’t sit next to her - they don’t know each other well, and he hasn’t been invited, so he remains standing for the moment, waiting to see if she’s amenable to conversation.]

it's spooky and perfect

[dedikated]

Pi— ( Ah. Y'know what. ) ...Close enough.

( It's six and two threes, swings and roundabouts. She knows what he's saying like she knows that this trip out will probably result in nothing but a couple of weeks of wandering through featureless plains, but exploration makes it feel more tangible than let's go avoid being killed by sentient rooms.

And she needs tangible right now. Something which makes it sound like they're achieving something other than simply surviving every day until they can leave. )

Shoot.

day time

[knifecollecting]

[Jo doesn't mind the fighting much, but the walking is boring. She never really liked just walking. As soon as she discovered bikes were faster she was all over that.

The bars for lunch could be better too.]

Me too. I've gotten used to warmth.

:>

[dedikated]

( She'd like the walking better if there was anything of interest. Anything other than a few rocks and boundless cold ground.

But they're not about to die, they're away from Hadriel. Hadriel and its predictable streets, sameface existence. She'll trade that for basic energy bars and the wide empty world.

If she squints, she can almost pretend it's like being on a rooftop, with endless sky around her. )

Know I moved to the beach before I ended up here?

( Fuck, she misses LA right now. )

Re: :>

[knifecollecting]

[The wide open sky does remind her of Nebraska. She misses home, every once in a while. Heaven wasn't so open, of course.]

The beach? Really? [She can't decide if that fits with Kate or not.]

I always thought about living on a coast somewhere. Sunshine, sand under your feet. It sounds nice.

night

[closerift]

Oh, nothing. [ Cecily gazes past Kate, but responds to the question. ] Only nearly dying, yet again.

[ And she does look worse for wear, though happily not dead. ]

What did you hope to find, in your exploration?

[dedikated]

Same as always. ( You and her both, Cecily. Though Kate would chance battles with the monsters outside the city before she'd chance another meeting with a sentient room.

She rolls her shoulders in a shrug at the question, placing her palms on the rock as she leans forward. )

... Nothing. ( That pause seems more than a little suspicious, the air of deciding between the truth and a lie. ) Wondered if those monsters people were talkin' about would be around. ( The supposed former hosts. ) Didn't expect to see 'em.

( And didn't. She inhales more of the frosty night air and rocks backwards a little. ) Just— didn't feel like almost dyin' every time I step in a room.

[closerift]

Not the, ah...the things with the beaks, and the tentacles? [ By her tone, Kate may surmise that Cecily herself had run into those monsters. ] Something else?

[ People are always talking about monsters in Hadriel. You'll have to be more specific. ]

Mm. Because our own possessions are now trying to kill us? You mean you hadn't planned for that? For shame. [ Everything else here tries, so why not inanimate objects?? ]

Starscream | ota

[traitory]

daytime;

[ So there are some humans that know of hardwork and don't care about assisting others while the town gets ransacked by living inanimate objects. And luckily Staracream doesn't want any part in that, or helping either, so he's all for exploring albeit not as chummy with the humans as he is wont to do.

Still the 12 foot tall Cybertronian is easy to spot and hear...as he footsteps thud against the ground with every step. He's conserving his energy for flying, should he need to make his escape, so walking will have to do. He;s not really one for small talk either but you can try?! He might oblige you with a few grumbled replies, or a lot, he does like to hear himself talk after all. ]

closed to Knock Out;

Now that we're actually away from all of those humans, perhaps we can finally get some really exploring done. [ They're so slow and Starscream is all about being efficient. Humans are just so...needy it seems. Why did he ever think to join forces with them before? ]

[ He'll grumble as he continues onward. It's probably the cold making him more irritable or it might just be Starscream, but who knows. ]

Perhaps there will be something of value on this frozen wasteland. But I'm not getting my hopes up.

wildcard;

[ If you want to do something specific hit me up! ]

daytime

[dedikated]

( To be fair, she did invite others as a way of getting them out of the city and away from the possessed knives and other assorted items. But we digress, because that... is possibly the strangest thing she's seen in a long time in Hadriel (or, Kate supposes, just outside of it), and that includes talking cats, anthropomorphic hedgehogs and the fact that her best friend in this place is an alien made of ice.

She's not exactly much of a small talker, either, but while they're all wandering this vast expanse of sweet fuck all, she may as well idle on over towards the... um. Tower. Or whatever this guy is. )

What brings you out here?

( Great start, Katherine. Masterful conversation. )

[traitory]

[ Ugh. Here we go. He should've known this was bound to happen. Despite his hardest attempts to come off as irritable and annoyed these humans still speak to him like they're friends. He'll gaze down at Katherine there and then optics rolling as he gives a flippant wave of his hand. ]

It was either this or get attacked by clothes again. I'd rather take my chances out here then deal with the annoying nonsense, being cooked up by those hacks everyone calls gods.

[dedikated]

( Like friends might be overstating it. More like she's realising just how long it's been since she really paid attention to the shifting of the population here, beyond the few losses she's experienced. )

... You and me both.

( A casual shrug of her shoulders, though she managed to avoid the little niggling things like clothes and appliances trying to kill her and slid straight into entire buildings attempting to. That was more than enough reason to leave. )

Least we have somewhere to go.

( This would be miles worse if the city was underground again. )

closed;

[redcosmedic]

[ Because humans are the majority population here, and there may come a time where being on their good side has its benefits, Starscream. Knock Out's pretty cold too, but at least he has more bulk than Starscream, whose all angles and exposed plating. ]

Let's find our specimen quickly, the faster we will have something else to focus on rather than freezing our afts off.

[traitory]

[ No, ew, he will never. Starscream is an adamant human hater and that won't change for awhile. But maybe having an ally or two wouldn't hurt...

Either way the faster they get moving on this the faster he can go back to that makeshift house and get warm. At least hopefully it'll stop trying to eat him by the time they get back, maybe?! ]

I am in firm agreement. I rather not freeze to death trying to find one these...Null, if it can be helped. Hopefully they're not too troublesome to find.

[redcosmedic]

[ To be fair, Starscream has some atrociously bad taste in human allies, so Knock Out doesn't blame him for swearing them off going forward. ]

There's more snow than I was expecting.

[ He has his energon prod out and expanded, using it to poke disspiritedly through the larger drifts. ]

I spoke to Nwet at the Lab, he was helpful in giving me information on their power cores... did you see the damaged one they had there?

OTA

[knifecollecting]

[Jo had sent a message to her housemates and packed the things that were still behaving.

Her bed had deigned to let her sleep on it one more time, so in the morning she heads off.

During the trip she stays in the middle of the caravan, trying to keep an eye on everyone as best she can. There's no point in bringing people out here, only to let them die.

She'll check on people too.]

Are you doing okay?

hi!

[isochrone]

[ Elizabeth is a little startled at the question; she doesn't really know anyone here yet, but she's made the decision to come along to try and be helpful. ]

Oh! Yes, thank you. Just a little cold, but that's the same for everyone.

[ Someone's given her a blanket, which she's put around her shoulders like a shawl, but that doesn't do much for the relatively thin dress she's wearing beneath it. ]

sorry for the delay! i'm super excited for this

[knifecollecting]

[As far as Jo is concerned, until someone proves they're not an ally, everyone in Hadriel is in the same boat and they should stick together.]

Yeah, we're all adjusting. [She gives Elizabeth a playful grimace. The caves had been temperate and then the desert was far too hot. It's been a very long time since Jo was cold for more than a few hours.]

Is that blanket enough?