nysalogs | bloom doom (closed)

Entry tags:

bloom doom (closed)

Who: Allura (

emblazes) & Lance (

particlebarrier)
What: Allura's ~~z-power~~ new ability is making the plants grow
When: Early September
Where: Keith’s tree house
Warning(s): None expected, but will add if they become necessary

[It’s late and Lance should probably be sleeping but it’s a new place, a new planet even, and there’s still a lot of things he’s been mulling over that are keeping him up. So instead of being in bed, he’s in the kitchen, quietly making hot cocoa as you do at midnight.

As he’s waiting for the milk to heat up in the pan, his eyes drift over to the window. There isn’t much of a view as its mostly foliage and a patch of sky — or so he thought. A branch he doesn’t quite remember from the day before has grown just outside the window, its leaves just brushing the glass,

Well that doesn’t seem like it’s going to be safe. They’re probably going to have to do something about that in the morning. He shelves the thought for later as he grabs a cup and finishes making his drink. An insistent rustling at the window interrupts this though, and this time when he glances over, he finds the leaves are now pressed up against the windowpane.]

Weird.

[Not entirely sure what to make of it, he gives his eyes a quick rub. Imagining things maybe? Yeah, that’d be nice. Allura did say that a lot of things weren’t as they seemed here, so maybe there’s no need for alarm. Then there’s the crack about a minute later. It’s just a tiny line in the glass at first, followed by another and another until it shatters.]

Uh… Keith? Allura?! Guys?!

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[Meanwhile, separate from all of the panic happening elsewhere, Allura is sleeping peacefully, curled on her side with a delicate hand tucked under her cheek. Ever the princess, even in sleep. She's dreaming, probably about soft and sparkly things, when slowly, a muted yelling starts to seep through.]

Nnh-? [Slowly, she opens her eyes, but it's dark, even darker than one would expect it to be at midnight, since normally there's a soft glow of stars and the moon through her window, but even that is blocked off, with only pinpoints of light getting through, and why does everything smell of wood?]

Keith? [Finally, she's awake enough to register the frantic sounds of yelling from her friends, though it sounds like they're coming from far away, through a wall.] Lance! I'm all right!

[She's safe at least, and even though she can't see it, it seems like the strange growth has halted once she woke up. The bed creeks under her knees as she sits up, tucking her legs under her as she reaches out into the darkness, her hand coming into contact with wood, a thick tangle of branches and vines that seemed to spring up out of nowhere.

Oh.]

Allura...

[Audibly and visibly relieved now that they have confirmation that she isn't dead or grievously injured. And Keith's here too, so clearly things are on the up and up. He shoots team leader a grateful look for rushing over, then resumes ineffectively trying to feel for a weak point in the branches. He hasn't noticed just yet that the growth has stopped.]

Hang in there, we'll get you out. [Somehow. Just don't ask him how.] I don't know what's going on - it's like the tree's a- [He catches himself before repeating the cursed "the tree's alive" thing again.] -growing out of control.

[To Keith:] You think we could break this down without hurting her?

[See, Allura's response has him hacking away at these weird fucking roots all the more; the concept that he may stab, maim, or harm her otherwise hadn't occurred to him until mentioned by Lance; he stops all at once, a furrow to his brow.]

Uh -- I don't think...

[So, but it's possible? It's definitely worse to leave her in such a state, but he hasn't radar vision. Stupid VR and weird pass-through-objects abiliHty--

Wait a second.]

Hold on, I'm gonna try to pass through here. I'll bring her out if it works.

[He'll slip his knife back into its sheath at his back, proceed to press both hands to a stretch of bark, concentrate...

SUSPENSEFUL END HERE.]

[Meanwhile Allura has fallen silent, half in thought, half because she’s a little bit embarrassed because she has a few guesses as to what’s going on. When her mysterious powers involving plants manifested remains a mystery, as there was no clear starting point in her mind, but ever since their last trip to the station there have been small… strange happenings. Plants that seem to grow too fast when she’s around. Flowers appearing where they had been none before. Enough to notice, but small enough to keep to herself.

Until now, apparently.

The conversation between Keith and Lance drift through the wooden cocoon around her. Unsurprisingly, Lance’s voice seems to carry much better than Keith’s, and she strains to listen. Pass through?]

Please do not do anything rash! I think I know what is happening.

[Okay, that gets Lance sounding less concerned and more confused again. Yeah, Keith probably needs some quiet to concentrate on phasing through, but he just blurts out the question.]

Wait, you know what's going on?

[Allura, what eve!! Lance turns to Keith, raising an eyebrow as if to say did she tell you anything?? But it's just a kneejerk reaction; team leader clearly knows jack shit based on his reaction in the kitchen. But if nothing else, looking at Keith focusing at least gets him to back away from the wood cocoon and give the guy room to do his thing.]

Edited 2018-09-26 02:29 (UTC)

[Tapping into his new powers probably doesn't fall under the category of rash; he's just phasing through, nothing to see here. Good to know Allura...may have some idea as to what the wiggity wack's going on.]

--No! Why would I know that?

[He doesn't mean to be so snappy, it's just, circumstances. He'll need another moment of concentration and before long, he's passing through the vines and such as if they weren't even there to begin with.

Hopefully Allura's decent...]

He's not talking to you he's-

[Oh, whatever Allura was going to say gets cut off by the very sudden presence of someone landing in her bed. Of course she's decent, Allura always sleeps in her very respectable nightgown, thank you very much, but the sudden and unexpected weight so near to her on the mattress sets her off balance and she is very suddenly drawn in like a gravitational pull, until she's leaning against a warm body that is a little too familiar in the darkness.]

Keith!

[Ah- when will they ever have an interaction that isn't awkward? Thankfully the fact that he just appeared where he once wasn't is weird enough to offset the sudden body contact, but she still scoots back on the bed until her feet are near the pillows.]

How did you... You just passed through that wood!

[~~And no Cosmo to help.~~]

I wasn't-

[Ugh, fuckit. Lance isn't going to shout after Keith with an explanation. But he does let out a resigned kind of sigh. He would've asked if they were both okay, but he doesn't feel like potentially getting snapped at again for asking redundant questions. Instead he takes a further step back to try and examine the damage in Allura's room. Who knows? Maybe getting phased through might tick off the plants somehow.

Or not?? Strangely enough, the plant overgrowth doesn't seem to have gotten any worse during the chaos of the last couple of minutes. So all of this really is related to Allura then?]

Hey, did you do something to make this stop? [...y'know what. He's just gonna spell this out for Keith.] I'm asking Allura.

[Yeeks. For some reason, he was expecting there to be more room in here? Somehow? Like the roots weren't perfectly enveloping her bed. So much for a cool landing; he's no longer poised to hack at the roots, but has fwomped onto her princess bed.

Should he apologize? He should probably apologize, but Allura's making some serious assessments and Lance is asking him--

Not asking him more things. Got it.]

Yeah.

[Just confirming her words, uh.]

I'm talking to Allura too.

[While standing up on the bed, 100% focused on pawing his way through the vines, trying to pinpoint a more fragile spot...]

[The tree house rooms don't leave a lot of room for much else than the princess bed in the first place. It's not like the castle ship, where she could have hosted a party in her quarters.

And Ancients, these two...

She leaves Keith to do his hack and slash, and leaves the mystery of how Keith got in here in the first place for later. Instead she moves closer to the side of the bed where Lance's voice is coming from.]

I think so. Rather, I think I caused this in my sleep.

[On an unrelated note, remember the time she almost flew the castle ship into a sun while she was sleeping? Something occurs to her, and she abruptly worries,]

Is there any damage to the house?

[If she did all this to her bedroom...]

[gdit, Keith. He got that part without being prompted! But since they're here now....]

Yeah? Well I'm still talking to Allura.

[That's going so great. He presses his hands to the wood, figuring if her voice is coming from directly across the other side in that spot, Keith can't possibly be doing any knife swinging there.]

The house is fine. [...] Okay, it's a little damaged. The tree might've broken a window and the floorboards are splintered around your room, but it's fine, we can fix it. More importantly, how many powers do you even have? Is this something you got from Oriande?

[Shouldn't be surprised. Not even a little. It's clearly just an Altean thing.]

Caused it in your sleep?

[Yeah, he shouldn't be so surprised that she's gotten up so something bizarre while 100% unconscious. Definitely an Altean thing. Either way, he's not too concerned about the house -- it's still standing, for example. Holes can be repaired.]

So it's...under control now?

[While he hasn't established that he's also still talking to Allura, he's now questioning things at the same time Lance is, inadvertently talking over him since he's not quite so muffled. Stab stab stab...he should probably be asking if there's a way for her to shrink these things back, but he's busy. This is a nice outlet.]

We can just assume that everyone is talking to me until otherwise noted.

[It comes out exasperated, but they're making some ground now. At least communication wise. She's not sure if Keith and his knife are making much headway out of here.]

It wasn't Oriande. [She shakes her head, even if nobody is looking, on the other side her hands are pressed against the wood, probably mirroring Lance's. It would be very romantic if anyone could actually see both of them doing it at the same time.] I think this came from the station the last time we visited.

It's not really something I fully understand yet.

[Maybe the wood appreciates the moment they don't know that they're having....?

But what she has to say has him thinking. And as annoying as it is to try and think while someone is trying to hack through bark, he refrains from ill temperedly telling Keith to shut up.]

Did you also use the simulator while you were there?

[Speaking of which...]

Keith what're you doing in there? Can't you just... I dunno come back out with Allura the same way you got in there?

[Whomp whomp whomp.

Lance, why are you making him do the thing with Allura when they're on a bed together and he's having fun hacking the weird roots apart? He only pauses at Lance's suggestion, glares at his knife for a split second.]

I haven't done it with Allura before.

[A paltry excuse. Again, his knife's away and he's looking toward her expectantly, like a goon. You heard him -- goes without saying. Come here.

Then again, nobody's stopped to ask Allura if she'd like to remain peacefully in her wooden nest, huh.]

I did.

[A two sentence answer seems a little simplistic for everything going on, but they're talking around her (finally communicating kindly with each other for once, and then Keith is looking at her like he wants something.]

Just what exactly are you doing with me?

[She's dubious because she still not totally sure how Keith got in here in the first place, but they wouldn't make it very far as paladins if they didn't trust each other from time to time. So even as she's questioning the whole thing, she's climbing to her feet, reaching out to Keith for balance as she makes her way over to him.]

So?

[That one's directed at Keith. See how much harder it is to tell who's talking to who without indicating obnoxiously!]

Maybe the simulator did something weird to you, too? Keith's weird ghost powers probably happened becauseof that.

[As it's just beginning to dawn on him that of the three of them, he probably got the least flashy power. That's totally and utterly besides the point right now, but man that's unfair.]

We're leaving.

[A simple explanation; the roots will have to be cut away eventually, unless she can somehow draw them out of the house and into a state of regression. Once she's near enough, he'll set a hand on her forearm -- a method for steadying her just the same.]

Your thing's more like ghost powers, Lance.

[Defensive...]

We're coming through, so watch out.

[A warning for the both of them.]

[Ah yes, thank you for that clear explanation, Keith and-]

Wait, Lance, you have powers too?

[She sounds a little offended for someone who kept her own new powers totally to herself until she almost ruined their house.

In any case. Whether Keith likes it or not she's going for the hand-hold. His powers are still largely a mystery to her and this feels a lot more sturdy than just a hand on her forearm. Or at least she has more control this way.]

I'm ready.

[Not particularly keen on potentially getting phased through, Lance takes several large steps backwards. His expression is caught somewhere between guilty and indignation as he mutters.]

You didn't say anything either.

[Next moment, he covers his mouth with his hand because man, he really doesn't want to argue with Allura on top of kinda-sorta bickering with Keith. How'd that happen anyway. jeeze.]

I mean -- all clear on this side!

[Hand holding is fine...hand holding is a semi-requirement if he wants to take her on this journey. This Godmode through the roots. The act's reciprocated and he's concentrated, repeating the process from moments ago in order to pass through the barrier. Allura's pulled through in tow.

Nevermind that he hadn't shared word of his added ability either...sorry about the spooky thing he just did.

Popping out on the other side is just cumbersome, going from the bed to a floor, there's some stumbling involved but he does manage to avoid colliding with Lance. He says nothing thereafter, just pauses to make sure Allura's fine. He hasn't practiced this thing a whole lot....]

[Sorry, Lance. She's not trying to be touchy. She's just surprised is all. Equally surprising is the way that Keith just... leads her through the thick walls of her makeshift prison, and there's a moment of brief claustrophobia when it feels like there should be the pressure of the walls on all sides, but they slip through easily. Easy enough that they both kind of stumble back into reality, on the other side of the tree.]

That's-

[And this is her first real look at the damage. Even from inside her weird wooden cocoon, it was so dark it was hard to really get a feel for what was going on. She blinks in surprise at the massive structure around her bed, then to the broken window nearby, the splintered floorboards. A thick root even managed to topple her trunk of clothes onto its side.

Her room was completely trashed.]

Oh no...

[As soon as he sees them emerge Lance comes up close, offering an arm for people to hold onto if they're feeling wobbly on their feet.]

Hey! Welcome back to the outside world!

[He gives both of them a quick lookover to make sure they're both okay. His eyes linger on their joined hands for a moment, then spins on his heel to look around the room like there was nothing to see in the first place. Not the time to feel a vague nothing about nothing, right? Right.]

... At least the walls are still standing?

[Truly, there is a bright side to everything....]

[Keith's feeling much less-dismal about the whole tree-attack, which is timed perfectly with Allura's oh no. Everything's fine now that she's awake, he'd have to start replacing boards and such eventually anyway--

when did he get so optimistic about life and stuff?]

Thanks.

[Hey, hey, once they're out and about, he's unlatching their fingers. It's part of the whole guidance through the thicket with my weird transparent powers shtick. Those dangerous subtleties are what killed Kamina.]

Yeah, we just have to make some repairs. [Unless either one of them wanted to use this as an excuse to live in a normal house, Allura.] It shouldn't take long.

[Her dismay lasts for a few ticks, until she's pushing past it, the same as always. A ruined treehouse, a castle compressed into a diamond, a planet blown into space dust. The only way to move was forward, and by all means, this is a fixable problem.

She nods,] I may be able to do something about the bigger limbs, but before I have full control of my powers-

[Wait, that's right. She would spin on one of them, but they're standing at opposite sides,] You both have powers too? [When were you going to tell me is on the edge of her lips but she catches herself because it's not like she's any better.] Since when?

Mhm exactly, and with the three of us working together, it won't even take that long.

[It's like one of the world's lamest team building exercises!! House repairs and clean up...hooray?? Maybe it's a good thing that Allura immediately changes the subject because this would have otherwise led to a funny little ramble about who gets to form the head of their construction team, but okok he'll reign himself in. Largely because yeah, this kinda makes him feel a pinch guilty. Even though it shouldn't because they're all equally really bad at this.

He glances over his shoulder to look at Keith, uncertain.]

Probably ever since we messed around with the VR stuff back at the station?

Edited 2018-10-09 09:02 (UTC)

[Ah...

He'll give a nod, wordlessly in agreement with that estimation. VR sure is weird. He was in the process of heading out of her room to handle the limb invading their kitchen, knife at the ready once more.]

Yeah, it doesn't really make sense.

[But it works. He's ducking the heck out of this conversation before getting pulled into a rut of information. He's happy enough to know this is all ~~Allura's fault~~ related to VR, and that he and Lance aren't unique in being granted bizarre abilities.]

[So much for no secrets between paladins. (They broke that a looong time ago though.)

She thinks back to the VR simulation but most of that is fuzzy, if her powers manifested then, she certainly didn’t notice it until later. Then again, waking up with weird powers is just another Tuesday for Allura. And she shouldn’t be surprised that Keith is taking the opportunity to duck out of the conversation to go stab things with his knife. In a moment she’ll be following him out to see the rest of the damage on the house, but for now Lance is blessed to have her full attention. ]

And what is it that you can do? Keith said something about ghost powers?

[Whatever that implies, she has no idea.]

[Keith, dont you DARE leave Lance alone for a potential interrogation session. Actually, you know what -- let's make this a teaching moment. Lance looks from team leader to Allura with a smile.]

Nothing big, just this.

[CUE INVISIBILITY. And don't mind him just staying invisible for a bit. Have fun, Keith????]

[Keith's having the time of his life in the other room, calmly assessing the tree limb outstretched through their cute little kitchen, assessing the amount of glass fallout here and there. No worries, guys. It's all being haphazardly shuffled into a vague pile with the toe of his boot.

It's funny she's calling them ghost powers, though, because that's exactly what they are? Anyway.. .. .]

[And very suddenly, she’s alone, and even if she’d been expecting something, with Lance’s just this there’s still a moment of confusion where she looks around, uncertain if he’s disappeared or teleported to somewhere else entirely.[

Lance…?

[Ah. When he doesn’t reappear again right away, she predictably turns her attention to the other room, where she can hear Keith shuffling things around. It’s her first real look at the damage elsewhere and she makes a soft oh no at the damage.

Momentarily forgetting her impromptu interrogation session, she makes her way over to the broken window, gingerly stepping around the shards of glass littering the floor. The branch is still sticking through, as healthy as any other branch on the tree. Tentatively, she reaches out to touch the branch, allowing her powers to turn a bud into a flower right before her eyes, as if watching a time lapse. It’s very serene except for the subtle shifting of the house, and the severed branches near Keith’s boot shift as they grow, suggesting maybe her powers aren’t being limited to just that branch.

She yanks her hand away,] I’m sorry!

[No more playing with powers.]

[...You'd think he'd learn that pulling these teeny pranks on Allura doesn't actually feel all that great once he sees that he's made her worry, but he seems to remember this lesson a few seconds late every time. Part of him wants to be unremorseful about this, but it's not going so well. Maybe it'll still be funnier if he pulls off a better trick while invisible or something. Spook Keith and Allura. Y'know, like a true pal!

He follows Allura out of her room back towards the mess in the kitchen where Keith's.. still working on clearing the branch that maybe tried to kill them. He picks up a twig from off the floor and gives it a wave in the air.

Are Allura's powers still acting up? Is the treehouse haunted now?

Well whatever it is, enjoy this mysteriously levitating piece of nature, you two......]

[A handful...yes...a handful of glass clatters into the trash before he's back assessing the branch -- looking between Allura and it. He thinks to reassure her once more -- at least they know what the root (lol) cause is and they aren't dealing with a demolished home/hungry, sentient tree. Any words he may've come up with are swallowed with a sigh and in nearly the same instance, she's sprucing up the tree.

Something like that.]

You haven't always been able to do that?

[A dumbass question sprung from her apology. It's not like she's making the situation worse as much as she's just verifying something...nevermind that there's a ghostly bit of Tree floating mysteriously nearby??? Which is what his eyes are drawn to.

Distinctly frowning all the while. Trying to ascertain if this is Allura's power going haywire or what...quietly.....]

[She gives Keith a look that might as well say have you ever seen me do this before but… it’s a fair question,]

While my powers have been difficult to predict ever since Oriande, I am certain that this is something… new. [The pause is brought to you by the sight of the floating branch catching her attention. She frowns, looking back to Keith whose looking at her, ]

I’m not doing that! [Probably?? She attempts to snag the branch out of the air with her hand, but it connects with something before making contact with the stick. Something hand shaped and hey, Lance, if you’ve had dreams of holding Allura’s hand, now’s your chance.]

Oh-! Lance!

Edited 2018-12-06 22:12 (UTC)

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bloom doom (closed)

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