[ OPEN ] ❝ you are a stranger here, why have you come ❞

[punshots]

Who: Prompto (punshots) + YOU
What: Questing and helping deserters.
When: January!
Where: Wyver and nearby quest locations
Warning(s): N/A for now!


I. TOMB RAIDER (QUEST: DISTURBING THE DEAD).

[ Don't worry. He's played video games.

...And, you know, has a fair amount of experience spelunking in real life, too, but that somehow seems secondary to everything he's learned about tomb-raiding from video games. Is he bound to booby right into some booby traps? Undoubtedly. But that's why he brought someone along with him! To be a second pair of eyes when he gets a bit too Prompto about things.

At the unassuming entrance to the crypt - unassuming if you use a freakin' ton of human skulls in your decorating, anyway - Prompto turns to his companion, clicking on the flashlight clipped to his vest. He also has a whip, despite not knowing how to really use it, because of course he does. ]

Remember - idols? Don't touch 'em, especially if they're on pedestals. If you see any giant boulders, run. Just - run. Oh - and if you see anything diamond-shaped, for the love of the Six, definitely - I repeat, definitely do not step on it.

[ Boy, he sure sounds like an expert, doesn't he? ]

...After you!

[ Or not. ]

II. THE CRYSTAL SHARDS (QUEST: PREACHING IN A MATERIAL WORLD).

[ Whatever man, this guy likes his shiny pieces of rock, he's not one to judge. Compared to most of the other jobs, this one seems relatively safe and, uh, legal, which makes it an immediate draw for him. He's a decent enough swimmer, too, so it should be a piece of cake!

Unfortunately, he's woefully uneducated about the enchanted pools the crystal drops are found in, so he doesn't give it a second thought as he strips down to his underwear and dives deep down into one of the many lagoons outside of Wyver to scoop up the coveted gems.

If he's down there a little longer than should be normal for a human, don't worry - that's normal (thanks, Volkkran Pact). However, that only gives more time for the enchanted waters to really get to him, and...boy, are they getting to him.

When Prompto resurfaces to dump an armful of crystal shards onto the ground, he pushes his mop of wet hair out of his eyes - and that's when he at last notices he is not alone. ]

How long've you been here?

[ Rather pointedly, nowhere near his usual warm disposition. Huh, weird. ]

III. TOUGH TO BEAR (LATER JANUARY).

[ With citizens on every corner calling for a move against Olympia, the city has gotten juuuuust a bit much to handle lately, and when he catches wind about the deserters from some gossipy guards, Prompto decides it's time to take a little day-trip outside Wyver proper to see what it's like for those neutrally aligned himself. Fuck the popo, those people are in need and if he can do something to help, he's going to.

And he's gonna get there on a bear, because he can.

He spends a good chunk of change cleaning out some vendors in the market one morning before loading up his mount's saddlebags with food and medicinal herbs before traveling to some of the neutral camps east of the city. He may have asked a close friend to come along with him, or maybe he bumps into a fellow refugee once there. Either way, he complains as he dismounts: ]

Man, that was unbearably boring! Nothin' but trees, trees, 'n' more trees...

[ Yes, even on a bear, traveling is still dull. Then, with a nod: ]

You gonna give me a hand with this?

[ Or, perhaps, you encounter him later on in the evening, after he's stayed too long helping the refugees and his mount is now beginning to become unruly. The bear starts to snarl discontentedly while Prompto pats its neck in a futile effort to calm it. ]

Th-there, there, Fuzzby! Just a bit - whoa -

[ Watch as he attempts to hold onto his saddle while the bear tries to buck him. Should be quite the spectacle. Or help him, perhaps, if you are so inclined. ]

IV. WILDCARD.

[ Have something else you'd like to do with Prompto this month? Hit me up at retroscape! I'm happy to set up closed starters for more particular plans as well! ]

Comments

[meinwaifu]

Have you considered that maybe I just enjoy your company?

[...]

[Yeah man, not even he sounds like he believes that.]

[Also yes, the gun is his again! He's pretty well convinced at this point that something is up with Prompto, whether the young man is aware of it or not. But that just makes him more curious -- would he actually shoot him? Is he the sort of person who would feel guilt for shooting an innocent (albeit annoying) man? If he wants to find some use for this guy in the future, they're important things he should find out!]

[...and also this is just kind of fun. Like the thrill of taking candy from a baby over and over and over again.]

[punshots]

Yeah, right, like I gotta consider that to know the answer.

[ And since the gun just keeps getting snatched away from him, this next time that he takes it back, he dismisses it, the weapon vanishing in the same flash of light it appeared in. He's had just about enough of that! Mephisto has managed to out-annoy his paranoia. Congratulations.

Finally, he pulls himself out of the water, still watching the other warily. ]

If I leave, are you gonna follow me?

[meinwaifu]

[Wow, way to take the fun out of it!!]

Hmm... I might!

But I also might not. Do you think you'd be able to tell if I was?

[Since he was watching him before, and he didn't notice. And not just because he was busy in the water, either.]

[punshots]

[ Considering all the magic tricks he had up his sleeves, he wouldn't be halfway surprised if he can... ]

Uh, with how obnoxious you are? Probably, yeah!

[ Can Mephisto even keep quiet for long enough to follow him at the way back to Wyver? ]

[meinwaifu]

Oh? Would you care to make a little wager on that?

You see, I'm rather confident you wouldn't be able to tell where I am if I decided to follow you. But if you are able to figure it out...

[He grins -- he's still definitely fucking with him, hoping he'll take the bait and make this a little more fun for him--]

I'll tell you the real reason I've been following you all this time.

[punshots]

[ The offer is good, even if he already knows it's gotta be rigged. That's an answer he so desperately wants that he might just fall for it, but as he's still skeptical: ]

Oh, yeah? And why should I trust you to hold up your end of the deal?

[ What would he even get out of this? ]

[meinwaifu]

Because if there's anything a man like myself would honor, it would be a deal such as this. I never go back on my promises-- or have you forgotten the last time we made such a deal? I came through with the silver I promised, didn't I? Even though it would have been a simple matter to walk away and let you assume I was only using you.

[Okay, he was using him either way, but at least he got paid for it.]

Ah, but in the interest of fairness, I suppose we should decide what I would get if you fail to detect my presence. Just what would you be willing to offer, I wonder?