waking the dead 2.0 | 1st of samhain, deardaoin (thursday)

[icarusalsoflew]

WHO: The War Hounds, Hikaru, Alistair, and Jason
WHAT: Base Camp Site 001, Arcadia
WHERE: An area off the roads of Akitagawa, somewhere between the Trods, the Hedge, and Arcadia itself
WHEN: November 1, Arcadian Year ???
SAFE FOR WORK? For now? Yes.
OTHER NOTES: Make your own threads as needed!


[ Tandang Sora, with Brianna and Alistair's help, clears out an area right beside a river - at least, it LOOKS like a river, even if it shines far too brightly in the light of the sun (or moon, depending on whichever one is shining upon the lot of you at any passing minute), and its ripples occasionally form watery mouths that quietly fill the air with song. Said song matches the whisper in the trees scattered about the area, and the laughing exchanges between Sister Sun and Brother Moon in the sky.

The Tower of the Lunargent Thorn, as promised, is always a fixed point somewhere on the horizon no matter where you turn - yet another weird thing to take note of in an increasingly bizarre place. The only "normal" thing in this area, beyond the lot of you, is the way the camp site has set up.

Tandang Sora has gone off to confirm the route that you will be taking. That means, thankfully, that the lot of you have some time to cool off your heels and attempt to acclimatize to how you have all changed. ]

Comments

OTA

[icarusalsoflew]

[ You'll find this one sitting cross-legged under the tree closest to the camp site, back curved against the wall. Sometimes, he's going through the tobacco he's brought with his pipe. Other times, he's watching your surroundings.

Oddly, he hasn't "shifted". Brianna's Mask is already beginning to drop, showing more of her "true skin". Hikaru hasn't changed at all. ]

[larue]

[ This one's coming around to join you not long after the camp's set up. He's not really feeling too good, and while he knows now what the firefly that left his mouth was, it doesn't erase the awkward memory of it crawling up his throat and past his lips.

You, as always, are a sight for sore eyes though. ]

Need company?

[ He decided not to bring his own pack of cigarettes, but he's clearly itching for a smoke. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

If it's yours? Always, love.

[ Any tension threaded deep underneath his skin is easing the moment he sees you. Granted, you really don't look too good, and he's 100% certain you feel even worse.

He's setting that aside in his thoughts, though, and smiling up at you as he shifts to make space. ]

[larue]

[ He'll settle down at that, one hand coming down first to steady himself as he folds his legs underneath him. He doesn't pick it up at first, not until he makes the connection with that first time he'd seen your mask drop in the Bluebell Forest, but each breath inhaled is a sharper this time around.

A weak smile your direction as his hand seeks out yours for comfort -- and a curious look crossing his face as he breathes in a scent that brings to mind those handful of years in Vancouver. There's more of course, and the breath he exhales shakes, just a little.

Leaning in now to rest his forehead to yours. No words yet. He still feels a bit sick. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ And he's already shifting back over once you're close, already letting his hand meet yours halfway and bidding his fingers to lace between yours like they belong there. Maybe you'll see how he watches you with concern, and how he seems ready to catch you if he has to.

As for that little trouble you're having with the air around your fiancee, and with the way he smells... ]

I'm keeping my Mask up. [ Low and quiet. No need to speak so loudly when the two of you are this close. Not when he's other hand is coming around, to curl against the nape of your neck in what he hopes to be a steadying, grounding gesture. ] I'll stand out like a beacon here if I drop it.

[ He did say that he gallivants around as Yun Song beyond the reach of the Lightless Lands. ]

[larue]

Okay. [ He's whispering that as he leans into your touch.

You smell wonderful. He's not quite sure what it is that he's picking up, but it's nothing he's smelled on you before and... and he's trying very hard not to look at your mouth.

A small shuddered breath that's close enough to a quiet, nervous laugh. ] You change your shampoo?

[ It sounds so terribly lame, but it is the first thing that came to mind. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[ Blinking at that, because... what? And then some things start clicking into place.

That is part of the reason why he doesn't answer you at first, at least not with words. His initial response comes in the way he kisses you full on the mouth.

(He tastes different, by the way. There's him, of course, but now it's mixed with mountain berries, hints of apple, and cinnamon. More of those tiny signatures that you're picking up in the mix of things that you're smelling off of him now.) ]

Do you prefer that scent to how I am now?

[ He's teasing you, but he's doing it gently. He knows what's been happening since you and the Hounds left the Philippine Trods. He knows how losing a part of your soul to the Groundskeeper is changing you. ]

[larue]

[ There's a note of disappointment to the way he breathes when you stop kissing him, and he's tempted to chase the taste of you on his lips with his tongue. He's also shifted closer, like you're the one warm thing in a cold place and he wants nothing more than to be as near to you as he can be. ]

Is that a trick question? [ He manages a smile, even as his eyes drop back down to your mouth. ]

OTA

[therealbrianna]

[ If she isn't off to wherever Tandang Sora has gone, she's slinking through the area, studying the flora intently. Every now and then, you'll see her bring out a notebook and scribble something down.

What is she doing?

Also, you've all seen her mian. She's... different. Warmth emanates from her body, as though she's a living, breathing heater said at a pleasantly toasty temperature. Her bark-like skin has also turned a little grayer instead of brown, and the flowers growing out of her hair are all dark in their shades. ]

[bladeweaver]

[Taning gravitates towards you like a cat in search of a warm box, and, having found one, snuggling fit inside it. At least, that's what it could seem like, when he finds what seems to be a central position to your academic wanderings and settles down, sitting and putting chin to arm to leg and lighting up a smoke, to watch you do your thing.

The way he watches you is the way a lazy fat cat might: off the corner of an eye, but not directly. Interested, but too lethargic to go bother you.]

Huhu, such a cute ossan~

[therealbrianna]

[ She notices you eventually, turns to look at you over her shoulder, then smiles brightly and waves once before she goes back to her activities. ]

Are you feeling better?

[ It hasn't been that long since you guys stumbled out of the Philippine Trods. Surely your head's still ringing from it...? ]

=w=

[bladeweaver]

[That's actually a really good question... There isn't supposed to be any good reason for him to be tired and lazy, not when so many New Things are around and ripe for the studying. That having been said, he's definitely feeling better than he did a while back.]

I think I'll live, all things considered. How about you? [He laughs a little bit, because he's about to be funny:] Why are you hotter than everyone else here?

Wow uh. I only saw this tag like. Now. @_@

[therealbrianna]

[ Beaming at you, because flattery can get you everywhere with this girl --

-- if she likes you, anyway. :D ]

Is that a rhetorical question?

[ Hee hee. ]

[ktotheatothez]

[ There's a quiet thud a little behind you, Bri. Kaz has apparently decided to abandon that trunk he was flopped on and joined you for a bit. He's standing, but wobbly, like a puppy learning to walk. ]

Y'know I've never actually seen you like this?

[therealbrianna]

[ o_o ]

Oh, really?

[ Huh! ]

[ktotheatothez]

[ He shrugs, hands in his pockets. ]

Yeah...

[ His thinky face pops up. ]

So, you wanna join the Brotherhood of Violence, huh?

[ A small smile appears on his face as he sinks down to sit next to her. ]

[therealbrianna]

[ Smiling back at that, because it isn't too surprising to hear you bring it up. ]

Uh-huh. A lot of things have happened, and I guess it's sort of put me on the path towards... well. God.

[ From the sound of it, it's clear that she's still surprised by this herself. ]

[ktotheatothez]

Well, you're already my sister, and not just in Zangyaku.

[ There's a small shrug from him, and that proud of you smile he seems to wear when it comes to every Hound, and more. ]

It's a path people often find themselves on way before they know it. I never really thought I was cut out to be a Brother in Violence. Uncle Pao and Aniki taught me otherwise, so did Alistair and Maes.

[ Yeah, his was a path that he tripped, rolled, and kickflipped from. It's gotten easier for him to see himself as a Vaizard. ]

It was actually meeting Elaine that was a real kicker, though. I don't think I ever told you that I met her, actually.

[therealbrianna]

[ O_O ]

You did???

[ Her look is a combination of "OMG" and "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER?!" ]

[ktotheatothez]

I did. It was... Something else to see The Lady.

[ He laughs, and it's a joyful little titter. ]

She was with me when I during my initiation into The Brotherhood. Helped me discover which Cross I was meant to bear.

OTA

[mordechai]

[ This one's back to hunkering down right at the perimeter of the camp where he's got a good view of your surroundings and where he can keep everyone with him within the line of sight. He's taking an inventory of his weapons and checking each one of them.

...That's a lot of guns. And knives. ]

OTA

[thejaybird]

[ Jason's looking a little sick, which must mean that he's really feeling out of it since he makes it a point to not look like he's much of anything at all on a regular basis. He's close to the center of the camp, lying flat on his back on top of his sleeping bag, keeping his eyes shut. Occasionally, he'll go for a cigarette.

You're probably not much better than he is right now. You know what they say about misery and company. ]

OTA

[shuryoinai]

[ Your resident Not!Geist, War Hounds, stepped out of those rings of his the moment everything was set up. He's wandering around much like Brianna is, and appears to be taking sock of your surroundings.

He's embodied, by the way. Or he appears to be. ]

OTA

[ktotheatothez]

[ This one's still reeling a little, and is basically sitting on the nearest tree root with his back against the bark. His arms are folded on his stomach, with his fingers fiddling about his engagement ring. ]

OTA | i might end up using this icon a lot, huh

[bladeweaver]

[Taning is no stranger to having burdens on his soul. Literal ones. He's literally sharing his soul with two nigh-godlike mages and an Acamoth. Not to mention the fact that his soul is currently numbered among those in the private collection of a certain Lucifer Morningstar.

This doesn't mean that he isn't disoriented by his surroundings, or in general. It just means that he believes he's better-equipped than most to deal with it.

So you'll find him off to one side of the camp, clearly testing the boundaries of what it means to have his magic come to his fingertips this easily.]