(open) this time i know

[sparsity]

Who: mikazuki augus (sparsity) & various & you!
What: january catch-all, open prompts/closed quests.
When: throughout the month.
Where: mostly wyver, a smidge of olympia.
Warning(s): none as of now!

I. WITHIN WYVER

A. ODD JOBS:
[ Calling Mikazuki a workaholic wouldn't be an understatement. He seems to sleep as little as he can possibly get away with and spends the rest of his time either training in the jungles or picking up odd jobs around the dense, vibrant marketplace. Constant movement comes to him easier than being inert, though no one would really figure him for a restless sort. Whatever the case is, he's been hefting deliveries for different shops, earning some silver and a snack or two along the way.

His current task, one that has him parked outside a café with a carved facade depicting a dragon and a few spartan teacups wreathed in steam, sees him cleaning up a pretty tenacious gnarl of plantlife. Foliage grows freely in Wyver, but overgrowth can be a nuisance. He doesn't seem to mind doing the job barehanded, peeling back vines and thorns from bright red blossoms. Luckily his hands are tough and show he's been at this a while as a result: dirt darkens his wrists, fingertips sticky with sap. At his side is very small deer who daintily steps over the carnage, picking up fallen leaves to chew on. With a flat look, he reaches up to push at its nose. ]

Cut it out. You'll get a stomach ache.

[ While most of the unruly vines have been snapped and put aside, there's a pile of flowers neatly laid out, separated from the bulk. Mikazuki sits back on his knees if approached, reaching up to wipe beneath his bangs with the back of his wrist. There is now dirt on his face. ]

Take them if you want them. [ He places another one down. ] It's a waste to throw them away.

B. FIELDS OF THE EXALTED:
[ Working with animals had taken some more getting used to. Mars had no animals to speak of; insects and birds were rare, strays and rodents a little less so. He'd never seen livestock or working animals, so the abundance of wildlife on El Nysa had been drastic change in pace. But Mikazuki seems to thrive on new things, even (or maybe... especially...) when they're wild, strident, and bloody. Which is why he's parked on an outcrop of rock in the fields where he has his main job babysitting dragons. He tends to be not so good with small or sick things, so he spends his time with the older beasts. They're a pretty cavalier bunch, proudly turning earth and whipping the air with their wings. Squabbling over the last sheep, things like that.

Right now, it's fairly peaceful as the early afternoon sun arcs overhead. Mikazuki lets his legs dangle from his perch and watches over the windswept fields below where the dragons come and go, some napping, others blustering about proudly. He's never really approached one, but he's patient. ]

I heard you could bond with one. [ Whether it's a coworker within earshot or a visitor come to sight-see, it's the same statement. ] Somehow.

[ Though he looks relaxed, he's pretty alert, considering where they are. ]

C. LHONGHA STABLES:
[ Things Mikazuki has done: knife fight moon-crazed wyverns in his underwear. Things Mikazuki has not done: actually ride a wyvern. He's interested in seeing more of the place he's chosen to live, but the insistence on it being done with mounts leaves him skeptical. Still, it was supposed to cost lots of money to do this normally, and maybe he won't get the chance to again. Not that this makes him look any more sure about it despite the calm lay of his features. He lingers outside one of the pens where a wyvern is lashed to its fence. It dips its head over the side and tries to take clips at the edges of his hair with its pointed snout.

He doesn't look nearly as alarmed as he should at being so close to an animal that could fit his whole head in its mouth. ]

It's not that I haven't flown before...

[ Just, you know. A talented pilot doesn't necessarily mean he'd be a talented rider. ]

D. LAGOONS:
[ Whatever or whoever convinced him to go, Mikazuki did in fact take to the wilds with a large reptile creature in tow. Whether he actually rode it or just walked it along with him isn't immediately apparent, but he's stopped by the lagoons for a spell. He's left it tethered to a tree where it idles with brief flexes of its pliant wings. For his part, he's, well. Poised over the edge of one of the cold springs, his head entirely underwater. It's a sight.

With some bubbling, he finally pops his head above water with a breath and a splash, not unlike a dog shaking off. Sorry if you get the brunt of that? Glancing over his shoulder, hair now dripping and mussed every which way, his gaze hones. ]

What? It's hot.

II. WILDCARD

[ what to do something else using the jan outline or unaffiliated quests? go for it! plotting comment here or hit me up at rivalry! ]

Comments

[respired]

I don't.

[ He squints ahead into the darkness. Even in life, he had excellent sight; one of the many gifts of his people. In death, his lantern eyes penetrate even the most opaque shadows. He sees a shape curled in a cranny ahead, one that they will not be able to avoid. ]

Mind yourself. A beast is near.

[sparsity]

[ He doesn't expect a lecture about alliances one way or the other, but that expectation coming to fruition sets him more at ease. In contrast, the brief lick of movement in the dark makes tension coil in him as he stops, anticipatory. ]

I smell it.

[ Though his mannerisms tend to be all brute force below calm water, the machines in his blood have given him a lot of fine tuning.

The caves have smelled desolate since they entered. But now there's the tang of life in the air. ]

[respired]

[ Koltira sees it--a tail unfurling, crystalline and covered in spikes. A basilisk, he thinks, formed from the stone of the cave. There's a soft hiss as they draw nearer, as of warning. Koltira mutters, his sword glowing with icy power, his fingers flexing against the runeblade's hilt-- ]

Strike for its eyes, but do not gaze upon it directly.

[ That's how it traditionally works, anyway. ]

[sparsity]

[ A hum of his own resounds in the dark, drawn out by the twinkling sound of the creature's form shifting against the cavern. Almost like he's compelled by it and the way it catches what little light there is, throwing it about the walls. Whatever he thinks, he's reaching to his belt all the same for a small throwing knife tucked away there all the same. ]

What happens if you do?

[ He's not planning on it, but he likes to know the stakes. ]

[respired]

[ Admittedly, this is not his world. He supposes it's possible that the basilisks here function differently. Doubts it, though.

The creature hisses as it emerges, its body shimmering, its eyes diaphanous, its teeth hungry. ]

Petrification.

[ The basilisk's eyes flash, briefly illuminating the cave. Koltira brandishes his sword, but he looks away at the same time--not willing to take the risk. ]

[sparsity]

[ Whatever the case, he'll take Koltira's word for it. Everything he knows from his world is harmless — from dust, mice and butterflies adapted to cold. Nothing so toothy or aggressive, save the boys like him raised in those wastes. Normal save for one thing. ]

Huh. I just got this body back.

[ So he's not in a big hurry to lose it to immobility again. He shields his eyes against the dizzying flash, but he's never depended solely on his eyes. When darkness regains its footing, he rears back and chucks the dagger at the creature. It's a forward throw, true and whistling, enough to get the basilisk to whip its tail around and deflect it. Steel meeting stone is a terrible, resonate noise. But that has its eyes elsewhere, and Mikazuki darts after it, more agile than he lets on.

He won't be able to kill it, but keeping its eyes off the other man should be enough. ]

[respired]

[ That's a curious comment. Koltira looks askance at Mikazuki as the creature hisses in displeasure, lunging for its rapidly dashing prey. While it's distracted, Koltira extends his hand; shadows burst from his palm, encircling the creature's throat and choking it, holding it in place. As it thrashes, Koltira approaches slowly. Mika's remark is in the back of his mind, but something else is in the forefront, now--this creature, hissing, fearful, agitated.

Koltira's eyes are widened slightly, his tongue pressed against his canines. He seems to be enjoying this moment a little too much. ]

Strike at its underbelly.

[sparsity]

[ When the creature doesn't get so much as a chance to chase, Mikazuki's able to retrieve his knife with little incident. Though he's aware of the shift in tensions, it doesn't seem to bother him. His enjoyment has always been from the cause rather than the result — a fight in motion, rather than the shadow and decompression of victory. Turning, he gazes at the struggling basilisk with impassive curiosity.

And at what's keeping it suspended. A handy ability, though he figures he doesn't need to say as much. ]

The soft parts?

[ An exposed belly full, stony skin thinner there than on its hide. It's nothing personal, but he has a job to do, and so raises his knife and drives it into the creature's body. ]

[respired]

[ The basilisk screeches in pain; its blood, thin and translucent, pours from the wound, spattering Mika's blade. Koltira holds the beast in place, still, his shadows clutching its throat. He watches the creature struggle with his ears perked forward, his lips slightly parted. He curls his fingers against his palm, and the shadows tighten, choking the breath from the basilisk's thrashing body.

A moment passes, then another. The creature lies still, its once bright eyes turned milky and lifeless.

Koltira mutters, his ears flicking back. ]

Well done.

[sparsity]

You too. [ As he removes the knife, another thin surge of blood pattering on the cavern floor, his gaze slides from the dead creature to Koltira. It's not very clear what he desires from a look like that, steady and inquisitive. ] That was interesting.

[ The ability to hold it captive without touching it. Wiping the blade clean, he cranes his neck towards the remainder of the cavern, already onto what's ahead. ]

[respired]

[ The crystals they came for aren't too far beyond; Koltira can see their gleam from where he stands, and little else to prevent their advance, besides. He quickens his pace, his boots glowing sickly green. ]

Interesting? Merely quick. The beast did not suffer overlong, and we are not delayed from our task.

[ Maybe he's a little disappointed about the former, but ... a job is a job. ]

[sparsity]

[ Tucking the blade away, not threatened enough to keep it in hand when there's jewels to gather, Mikazuki follows the illuminated footsteps, just a second behind. ]

It's both. [ To him, anyway. ] Abilities like that don't exist, back home.

[ Magic doesn't exist — didn't, now that everything he knows has been destroyed.

Coming up on the crops of crystals, their opaque white surfaces jutting out from the duller stone, Mikazuki reaches to draw his fingertips to the flat planes of one, finding inanimate things easier to be around, to touch. ]

It helped out, though. So thanks.

[respired]

Magic, you mean.

[ Koltira grabs one of the crystals, breaking off a piece as though handling rock candy. He feels no power in these stones, but he supposes they might be useful for aesthetic purposes. He has an appreciation for such things, still, distant as it might be. ]

It is sometimes useful. But I would prefer a world without it, given my experience.

[sparsity]

Yeah. I've only seen it here.

[ And what others have brought with them, as Koltira does. Mikazuki plants his fingertips on a small wealth of crystals, giving a slight flex of his strength to dislodge a whole cluster into his palms. He weighs it with dull curiosity, though they are pretty. ]

You'd prefer it now? Or never at all?

[respired]

[ He starts pocketing the crystals, though with some discernment; his sense of aesthetics did not completely flee him upon death. ]

Knowing what it can do, and has done ... never at all.

[ His people were--are--obsessed with magic, though he never had any personal faculty for it, not outside the basic aptitude granted by his blood. Only in death was he to know its terrifying power, and it is not a power he wants. ]

[sparsity]

[ There's something to be said for someone's willingness to relinquish or destroy the power they possess. Mikazuki might not know what that is, exactly, but it's more an impression than something he can put into words.

So he subsists on silence for a long moment, tucking the shards into his bag and then reaching up for more, work quiet and sure. ]

I wouldn't understand. [ Finally. Honest enough. ] I've had a lot of fights chosen for me.

[ And many he chose himself, like having power to fight back, to whatever end. ]

[respired]

As have I.

[ Thanks to MAGIC. And slavery. Hand-in-hand, honestly.

Koltira shakes the sack of crystals he's collected. ]

These should do.

[sparsity]

[ There's nothing more to be said for it, and he's not the type to pry to satisfy his own curiosity, however brief. With the last of a handsome chunk of the crystals being tucked away, Mikazuki gives his hands a pat on his jacket to dust them free of gleaming flakes. ]

Yeah. Let's head back.