(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

[sparsity]

[ Noting her posture and the definite downswing in her demeanor, Mikazuki's expression loosens somewhat. Carefully, he lowers himself, hanging off of a tooth until he can drop to the ground below and approach her. ]

The place where I grew up was really cold. [ Streets with minimal protection from frigid Martian rainfall, so many more miles away from the Sun than Earth. ] I'm used to it.

[ He kneels to get a better look. ]

Are you okay?

[cajolery]

[ Meanwhile, Clair grew up near the equator of her world, where it was warm and temperate nearly all year round. Travelling north to reach the capital of Rigel had been an ordeal for her, if only because she was so unused to the bitter cold.

She's still not very used to it as of now, but Mikazuki seems so unaffected by it that it becomes a matter of pride. ]

Yes, of course! I am perfectly all right. This is nothing at all.

[ She even looks mostly convinced by herself. This is a simple matter of mind over matter, no? ]

[sparsity]

If it's nothing...

[ Though she looks convincing enough, Mikazuki actually frowns. He doesn't intend it, but it's a very accusatory gesture. Wordlessly, he holds his hands out. Extremities get coldest first, a lesson well-learned in his youth.

So, paws up. He's going to see how truthful that statement is for himself. ]

[cajolery]

[ She frowns at his outstretched hands—it's more like a pout, really. ]

What is this?

[ Does he want to check her hands? Well, she's way too trusting anyway, and so she withdraws her hands from inside her cocoon and places them in his. Naturally, they're freezing cold. ]

[sparsity]

I'm seeing if you're telling the truth.

[ Deadpan, while now holding hands. His are warmer, but that's a low bar. A short breath puffs from his nose as if he'd been anticipating that much and now has to deal with the result.

It's not really exasperation, though, and he's onto finding a solution to the problem now that he knows there is one. ]

You'll freeze if you stay like that.

[ Letting go and standing, he starts shrugging his jacket from his arms and stepping aside to take a seat next to her. ]

[cajolery]

[ Since he called her bluff, she immediately launches into a passionate, kneejerk defense (even though he probably won't care)— ]

I am simply... a trifle chilled, I assure you! How was I to know to come prepared for the night? I do not have the proper... accouterments to keep warm. Moreover, unlike you, I am unaccustomed to such—what are you doing?

[ Not that she actually tries to stop him, but she does look a little alarmed when he takes off his jacket. But... even just sitting next to her, she can feel the warmth from his body, and that is enough to pacify her a little bit. ]

Will you not freeze yourself?

[sparsity]

[ It's true that he doesn't care. His focus is never on what they could have done, but what can be done. While he's got half an ear on her blustering, his motions are steady as he maneuvers his jacket to lay over his shoulders instead. There's a little more room in it that way, and he shakes the edges and lapels out to adjust. Back now against the skull's interior, he glances aside. ]

No, I won't. Hurry and take yours off too.

[ As she might guess, he's being very Mika about the whole thing. ]

[cajolery]

[ He's being very Mika about this, which earns him a moue of stubborn annoyance. But in the end, she trusts him (maybe a little too much), and so she does as instructed without much fuss, then hands him the cloak. Without it, she shivers in the cold, burrowing a little bit closer to him without really thinking about it. ]

Is this a part of some sort of strategy?

[sparsity]

A little.

[ Taking the cloak and shuffling it to his opposite side, he opens his arms expectantly. Luckily he's impervious to most questioning emotions, but especially annoyance. ]

Now you can come here.

[cajolery]

Here?

[ She stiffens a little, her eyes widening at the open circle of his arms. Yes, she can see the strategy now—huddling together for warmth, as it were. It's a sound strategy. Very sound. It's also very...

She's being ridiculous. One glance at Mikazuki's face tells her that he's completely unaffected, not that she really needed to actually check. Plus, she's as cold as a witch's tit in a brass bra. Now isn't the time to be dainty.

Still, she can feel her heart turn traitor and beat a little faster as she leans against his chest. ]

Like so?

[sparsity]

[ His expression stays fairly neutral as he watches her work through what she wants to do, though it's no less expectant than he sounded. For practicality's sake, anyway. When she moves in closer, Mikazuki circles his arm around her back to get her beneath the other edge of his jacket. ]

If that much will keep you warm enough. Hang on.

[ Shuffling her cloak over from his opposite arm, he pulls it across his front and over them both. It's a pretty crude little cocoon once he's got everything arranged, but the change in temperature is immediate now that they're closer and have another layer between them and the heavy chill in the air. There's a well-worn method to the madness, it seems like, even if it's only taking advantage of his unusual warmth as if it were any other common resource. He tightens the angle of his elbow, tipping his head aside. ]

Now it'll get warmer.

[cajolery]

[ It's a very crude cocoon indeed, but she can't deny that it's working. ]

That is... much better.

[ Already she can feel her extremities start to warm up—she curls against him a little more snugly, wedging her icy fingers in between her leg and his stomach, closer to his body heat. With his head tipped to the side, she lays her head against his shoulder, tucked into the crook of his neck. ]

My, you are quite warm. [ Like, unusually so. It calls Percy to her mind, who has a higher body temperature because of his fire magic. Hmm... ]

[sparsity]

[ It's not anything so romantic... he sniffs, heartbeat filling up the quiet spaces. ]

There are machines in my blood.

[ Most times he forgets they're even there, save for when they help out in a pinch. Like now. Pillowing his cheek against the top of her head, he stares across at the empty remainder of the skull, the moonlight pouring through the cavities open to the sky. ]

Your fingers were really cold.

[ He can feel them through his shirt... ]

[cajolery]

[ With her head against his shoulder, she can feel the faint hum of his pulse resonate in her ear. It's a little... soothing, and she finds herself closing her eyes. ]

Indeed. Not all of us are so lucky with machines in our blood.

[ She sniffs, because that would be pretty handy. Maybe she wouldn't be so cold all the time... ]

Is that to do with the... [ Hm, what did he call them? ] implants in your back?

[sparsity]

[ Calling it luck is enough to actually amuse him, now matter how close to gallows humor it is. But it suppresses itself naturally beneath the flow of conversation, another helpful distraction against the cold. ]

Yeah. I'm not really sure how it works... [ Despite it being a part of his own body. ] But that's where they come from.

[cajolery]

[ His body heat has worked its magic, and now she feels almost toasty, cradled in his arms and swathed in their little cocoon. It's enough to make her feel... sleepy, some of it seeping into her voice. ]

How very strange... you do not feel them, coursing as they are through your veins?

[sparsity]

Sometimes. [ When he fights, but he's supposed to. Sensing her start to relax enough to drift, he thinks — good. That'll pass the time until morning well enough, free of thoughts of cold. ] Mostly they're quiet...

[ Fitting. ]

You can't hear them, right?