[closed] And I'm shaking like a leaf

[quintessent]

Who: Allura (quintessent) & Various
What: Quest catch all!
When: September/October
Where: Nadril and Wyver mostly
Warning(s): None

Comments

Lance - Lullaby for the dragons

[quintessent]

[It's a serious mission. Requiring a keen eye and a careful step in the deep undergrowth of Wyver, to find the elusive Dragonflower. But Allura was distracted, toying with the new powers she'd somehow received, coaxing flowers open here and there, and brushing her hand against fallen logs to see what she could make grow. (Becoming more and more a Disney Princess or some kind of Fae creature by the moment). Small things. Little by little becoming more familiar with what she could do.

It's the first time she'd really allowed herself to experiment with it. Ever since that night in the treehouse, Allura had kept a careful hold on the new magic that seemed to be brimming under her fingertips, for fear of losing control. The broken windows and splintered floorboards, though minor repair jobs, were a stark reminder of how simple it would have been to topple the whole thing, dash their home to the ground.

Home. In the months since Allura first came to this planet, there hasn't been a day that's gone by that she hasn't missed it. Missed home. Her life that she had before the storm. But, she muses to herself, watching a line of tiny flowers blossoming in the trail of her fingertips, even if the Storm disappears and the Orbiters allowed them to leave, there would be no home for her to return to.

She's not allowed to bask in her bad feelings for long before something snaps her out of it. Specifically a vine, reaching low enough from the tall trees above to brush against their shoulders and she must have been really zoned out because she just walked straight face-first into one.]

Ah-!

[It's more a sound of surprise than of distress, really.]

[particlebarrier]

[This may be a serious mission, but it's not a mission that demands silence like a stealth or reconnaissance mission would and therefore it's not really Lance's immediate instinct to keep his mouth shut. What's the Dragonflower gonna do? Run away if it hears people approaching? Plus if anything, it almost seems better to keep some level of noise up just so that they don't startle any wild animals living in the forest. Wisdom obtained from watching movies is, of course, infallible until proven otherwise.

Still, it's not easy to carry on one sided conversations and Allura is obviously pretty distracted. Eventually, he goes quiet to observe. Watching her manipulating the flora around them is seriously cool actually, though after recent events at the treehouse, he can tell she's not necessarily ecstatic about having this new ability. Would a gentle reminder that it wasn't her fault be too invasive? Would she prefer not to be called out on how preoccupied she is? He furrows his brow, keeping his eyes on the forest path ahead, figuring if one of them's distracted that he at least has to be paying more attention, right?

The startled noise she makes gets him to turn towards her immediately. He relaxes when he sees she's just bumped into a vine. Maybe he shouldn't because that just further emphasizes the point on how out of it she is, but then again... maybe that's the opening he needed to address that with her in the first place.]

You okay?

[quintessent]

I am… It’s-

[She moves to swipe the thing out of her face, but only manages in getting it to flop unceremoniously on the side of her head, the ends curling up and around, from ear to ear. It’s nonthreatening, but, as Coran would say, it’s a little bit of a sticky wicket, the way the vine is tangling in her hair, and she’s not sure if it’s her powers to blame or if this vine is just naturally a little grabby.]

Everything is fine.

[Finally, she manages to ease it up and away from her head, shaking her head while a reddish heat gathered at her cheeks. Embarrassed at the flailing and the fact she’d been so zoned out to run into the thing in the first place. It was now obvious that there were plenty of these longer vines hanging down from the trees above. Extremely easy to avoid if you’re paying attention.]

I guess I should try and keep my eyes forward.

[particlebarrier]

[If it helps at all, Lance isn't laughing at her expense. He watches with concern as she attempts to free herself, feeling unsure if he ought to offer help or simply let Allura handle it alone since she's already flustered and scolding herself over being absent minded. She's got it though so he smiles -- albeit a little half heartedly.

The phrase "everything is fine" may as well be a neon billboard stating exactly the opposite at this point. After all the times he's heard it from Keith, he doesn't want to start hearing it from Allura as well.]

Hey, it's okay. I goof like that even when I'm not spaced out. That vine was pretty weird though, it seemed to really like y -- [Squint. Wait a second.]

[quintessent]

[Maybe she's picking up some bad habits from Keith.

And in a way, it's a little worse that he's not giggling at her expense, making her worry that she's being openly distracted (she is). Double so when he points out that she's acting spaced out. Trying to act normal, she's smoothing her hands over her hair, tucking in the pieces that got pulled astray by the vine when she notices Lance staring.]

What?

[It's at the same time that she notices something in her hair above her ears. Or rather, something missing. Spaced-out embarrassment temporarily forgotten, she pokes at her forehead, skin finding skin when there should be a crown. She lets out a noise that ticks over onto the distressed side.]

Oh! It's gone!

[particlebarrier]

[Call an intervention when Allura starts showing signs of wanting a flippety mullet, got it.

But as the conversation shifts from whatever she was distracted by to this new crisis he looks from her to the offending vine. Come live in Wyver where even the plants will mug you! What a great tag line, why did their team leader choose to live here over Olympia again?]

Did that vine just steal your crown? I thought it was just crows that did that...

[Squinting up at the tree said vine is growing from, there appears to be something gleaming and shiny hidden amidst the foliage.] Over there! [He points towards it. Decently high up. Thats one mystery down, at least....]

[quintessent]

[Allura in a mullet.... not a look I want to think about.

She follows Lance's finger, up and up into the trees, craning her neck to see, but sure enough, there's a glimmer of gold and turquoise amidst the greenery of the trees.]

How did it get so high so quickly?

[She pats herself over, in case the vine decided to steal anything else, but it's just the crown. Staring, her expression turns despondent,]

I suppose I could try and use my powers but...

[So far she's gathered that she can either give life or take it away. It's not as if she can make the tree behave in any certain way for her. And though it was a rotten criminal, it was a great, majestic thing. She didn't have the heart to whither it.]

It's just a crown.

Richie - Magda's Disappearance

[quintessent]

“Monumentally unsound decision to cooperate”, I do not recall Magda giving us much reason to rely on him...

[Allura is grumbling to herself more than anything, wedging a frost-covered boot out of the knee-deep snow one step at a time. Around them, the frigid wind whips the snow across the ground dusting over boot prints and into the air, making it appear as if it was snowing despite the clear blue skies above. It was a breathtaking display of nature in all of it's majesty.

For the first hour or so.

As the Blue Lion's paladin, with her ship's ice-based powers, one might assume that Allura shared a great affinity for the winter but, as it turns out, ice and snow is a lot more enjoyable from the comfort of her pilot's seat rather than on foot. Allura's entire mood seems to be a little on the frosty side. Between the awkwardness going on between her fellow paladins, her strange new powers that almost demolished their home, and this mission that turned into a miles-long search for some kind of furry man, she was a little tense. Sorry Richie.

Her eyes focus on the snowflakes that gather on her visor, crystalline structures slowly melting into rivulets of water against the warmth of her suit. At least she's not freezing. Speaking of—]

Richie, how are you doing?

[It may be the fiftieth time she's asked this. At least she cares.]

Have you seen any... signs of a furry man?

[summertimeblues]

It's a lot of the same showboat bullshit, isn't it now?

[If she's getting cartankerous at the slog, far be it from him to begrudge her. He's no fan of the winter. He can put up with it just fine, but it's blustering winds and swampish snowdrift like this that has him yearning fierce for California sunshine. Allura seems to be of similar mind. Nobody liked the cold naturally unless they were a polar bear.

That said, she's trying far too hard to divert her own woes onto him.]

No furry man yet, but I think I've come down with something. Probably terminal. It's a five-minute onset, very rare condition, you'll have to go on without me. [He feigns a stumble, bracing one hand down in the snow as the other clutches his heart through the parka. He gives a series of barely believable coughs.] Allura, please,remember me as I lived...not as I died...

[He lets himself sink to the side, expiring by tragic slivers.]

Bury me with my records...and a bottle of gin for the road...

[quintessent]

Richie-!

[He should be proud of himself because there's half a minute where Allura buys his act, hook, line, and sinker, and when he stumbles, she knee-jerk reaches out to help steady him, both hands coming to grasp at his forearm.

But then he's really dialing up the ham, slipping out of her grasp and sinking into the snow inch by dramatic inch. She groans and props her hands against her hips to really tower over him at her full, intimidating, five-and-a-half foot height.]

If I... [She needs to pause to think of a proper threat,] You will owe me the full use of your record player for an entire movement if I have to carry you.

[summertimeblues]

[She's such a guileless soul. Poor gal.

Richie rolls onto his back some, reclining easy in the drift.]

Movement? Of what? My bowels? [He scoops up a skiff of snow and impishly hucks it at her kneecaps.] Have you much experience with such antiquated technology? I might need you to sign a waiver, even if you're gonna take me home on piggyback.

[quintessent]

[Don't you make fun of her time-slices.

She watches the snow collide harmlessly against her legs and there's the barest sliver of a smile at the edge of her mouth. Just a tug. But no, she's being very serious here! She looms over him, bending at the hip until her shadow falls across his upper half.]

Is it human nature to make all things as difficult as possible?

[They could be in the middle of space and they'd still be chucking space ice at each other. She sniffs,] And how it works is not important. I have been wanting to read one of the books that Keith uses in place of a table leg, so your record player will make for a good replacement while I read.

[Thems fighting words.]

[summertimeblues]

[He'll make fun of her everything if she's threatening his lifeblood]

Oh, probably. All the best ones find a way to stir shit. [He gives her a wink and clambers upright.] That's how you know they're fun. I'll walk though, thanks. You're not touching my one and only love even if I get frostbite from my toes to my balls.

[He pops up like the eponymous weasel and lo, he's not built for hardship but he's making due like a champ.] Who's Keith? Is that your boyfriend?

Clarke - Rise of the Ryders

[quintessent]

[Having only recently relocated to Wyver, it seems a bit presumptuous to jump into peace keeping, to clean up the streets when she still wasn't even fully certain how to get around. But she was there when Yversai's heart got stolen, failed to give it safe passage into Wyver, and this felt like some small way she could make amends.

Their mission was a small patrol in a corner of the city, not so much busting up a deep rooted criminal underbelly, but seemed to function under the idea that just the presence of peacekeepers would help deter suspicious activity and keep things quiet.

And quiet it was! Not just quiet. Practically deserted. Allura's boots kick up small plumes of dirt on the dusty road as she walks along, turning her head this way and that to peer down the street corners and alley ways. As time stretches on, it starts to become more and more obvious how few people she's actually seen in the streets here.]

Does something seem... odd to you?

[She turns to Clarke, frowning deeply. Being born and raised in a castle, city life still could be a bit perplexing for her, but she can't shake the feeling that something is off.]

[romancekiller]

[ clarke hasn't really ventured into wyver too much but with this quest, she decides it is something at least worth helping out with given it is something she is familiar dealing with back home.

it didn't escape her notice how deserted it was either as they were patrolling the streets and with allura pointing how it seemed, she was glad it wasn't just her who had that thought as much about their surroundings] Yeah— it does. The streets seem way too quiet than I expected.

[quintessent]

[Allura nods. So it wasn't only just in her head. But by nature of nothing being there, there's not really anything to... investigate. There's no sign of a battle or danger (nothing other than the aftermath of Yversai's rage) it's just as if people left. Or were simply avoiding this part of town.

Suddenly, a sound reaches her ear. It's soft, and sounds like it's coming from a distance, but with nothing to cover it up, it's not hard to make out the sound of a woman's crying. Allura's eyes dart to Clarke's,]

Do you-

[Hear that? It's not the first time Allura's heard phantom noises, with the ghosts happening in both towns.]

[romancekiller]

[it was strange just how quiet it was given their reason for being here in the first place but that was why it felt even more suspicious in itself. it's not long though before she hears the sudden sound as well, it was a bit faint but it was clear enough for her to hear the sound of someone crying. the moment allura turns to look towards her and speaks up, she can already guess what she was about to ask her] Yeah, I definitely heard something— come on, it sounds like it is coming just a bit further ahead.

[quintessent]

[Allura takes off at a slow jog- urgent to get to someone in need but alert because this definitely feels more than a little suspicious. Then again, maybe this person knows where everyone else has gone? She goes a little faster.

The sounds lead them to an alleyway between buildings. In the center, a hunched over figure, shoulders shaking. The source of the noise.

Glancing at Clarke, Allura makes her way forward,]

Hello? It is safe now so, please come with us-

[Then, beyond the woman, a handful of shadowy figures step into the center of the far end of the alley. Behind them, another three. It's a trap!]

[romancekiller]

[clarke immediately follows along with her and just as they approach closer to find the woman, before they know it they soon find themselves surrounded] I guess we found her— though it looks like we're surrounded now. [clarke is ready to fight them off though and save the woman that needed their help]

Moira - Weird science

[quintessent]

The middle of a field outside of Olympia hardly seemed like a normal place to meet up and talk about science. But by nature of Allura's new powers, she refused to have this meeting anywhere in town. Just a precaution. And there was something she wanted to test, on a personal level.

As her scientist friend approaches, Allura offers a small nod of greeting.

"The spot I had in mind isn't too far from here, if you don't mind."

[tellmehowthisfeels]

"Not at all. I am interested in seeing your ability for myself. If something of a walk is required then I am willing."

Besides, she was far from out of shape. She had been someone who had been, and was even still willing to be, on the front lines. That meant she had to be in shape enough to actually do that when necessary. For that reason a walk was nothing at all.

"Please lead the way."

[quintessent]

Allura nods, setting the pace. There was no real visual points of interest to give hint of where they were going, what would be much different from any other patch of grass, but Allura was on a mission.

In the mean time- "Thank you for meeting with me for this." Even though she's sure she's sating Moira's curiosity as well, "I have had some... unexpected surges of power. It doesn't seem to be entirely under my control yet."

As an afterthought, "But it shouldn't be dangerous for you."

[tellmehowthisfeels]

"You don't need to worry about me. I am able to take care of myself in dangerous situations. However, you are welcome. Though I should be thanking you for this opportunity to explore what these new abilities are doing for us."

Perhaps it would enlighten her on how it was possible for a simulation to provide such a thing. There had to be some sort of energy being used but what it was she couldn't say just yet. So best to explore what the powers were first.

[quintessent]

"Have you had much luck with any of the others who gained powers?" Surely Allura wasn't the only one who took Moira up on her offer on the network from the other day. For Allura, waking up with mysterious powers is just another Tuesday, but the fact that so many people seem to be effected, and that a simulation seems to be the culprit was alarming at least.

Their walking eventually leads them to a barren patch of dirt. It stands out quite obviously against the greenery around it, as if something had just painted a brush over the spot and made it incapable of growing life. Yversai's doing. One of his many marks left behind on the planet, "We're here."

[tellmehowthisfeels]

"None presently. However, the more information I acquire the easier it will be to find the answers that I seek." And with her being able to investigate Gabriel regularly now that he was done avoiding her that would make things easier. She could look into just what was going on through herself and through him. It certainly didn't hurt that she now had Allura and that soldier as well.

When they arrived, she looked around before collecting a sample of the dirt. It could be useful to know about it for later. It wasn't her usual area of expertise but in this case she didn't want to leave anything a mystery.

Sample collected, she looked to Allura. "Where do you need me to stand?"