Day 1 - Morning

Morning: 06:00am - 12:00noon

[ IRL Timeframe: February 18th - February 25th, 2019 ]

The day begins quietly, with no indications that anything strange could occur today. The Princess and the Knights have all arrived on the island. Maybe you arrived a few days ago or maybe you just got off your red-eye flight before the sun came up. Everyone's on Harsen Island and so is the Wizard.

Things start simpler for Luka Eutychia, Olivia Walkyr, and Rory Honeycomb. The instant they set foot on the island, Olivia and Rory will both get an image of Luka in their heads and realize that they are the good-allured knights and he's the Princess. Luka, meanwhile, will see both Olivia and Rory in his thoughts and realize they're the good allured knights.

The Weather

Sunny.

72°F / 22°C

Slightly breezy, makes the trees wave.

Prompts:

6:00am: It's the early morning celebration van! In all three towns, someone's driving around a vehicle playing blaring music and shouting "Let's go Knights! Let's go Princess! Beat that Wizard!". Seems like someone wants the heroes to succeed, hopefully your characters weren't sleeping. If you confront them, maybe they'll have something to say?

8:00am: Far Haven: All Knights and the Princess are invited to a big breakfast banquet. Come one, come all! Maybe meet some of the locals? Maybe chat with your fellow heroes? All knights are given lanyards, but the princess gets a lanyard and a crown if he's here, and they're all seated at the big hero table.

9:30am: Bamborough: All Knights and the Princess are invited to an oceanside brunch! Wether they live in Bamborough or they live elsewhere and visited here, they're welcome to eat the brunch and participate in waterfront games. Thank the resort owner for this welcome! Or chat it up with your fellow heroes by the water. By now everyone should be full.

11:00am: Craydon: Craydon's welcome is much more modest, the locals have invited the Princess and his knights to the local Multipurpose Center. They've set out a spread of light appetizers, chips and dips, vegetables and spreads, fresh breads and cheeses, modest drinks. It's the least extravagant of the welcomes but the locals are still here to meet and greet everyone. With a smile and a handshake they wish everyone the best of luck. How are you and your fellow heroes holding up with all this attention? Did you skip all these events? Attend all of them?

11:30am: The Wizard (Year 40 She/Her/Hers) strides in to the Craydon Multipurpose Center with her hands in her pockets and casually looks around the room with a gentle smile on her face and huge bags under her eyes. Her eyes are black with cyan sparkles in them, looking very much like outer space itself as she scans the room and everyone in it. Good luck for anyone here, they get first dibs on seeing the Wizard. She'll be shuffling around the multipurpose center in her light blue pajamas and bunny slippers, occasionally adjusting her tiny glasses as she looks around. At least she's got her wizard hat on so no one could miss what she looks like this year. It's a shocking difference from the big muscled dude (Year 39 He/Him/His) she was last year or the slick suit-wearing smooth talker (Year 38 They/Them/Theirs) they were the year before but it's still absolutely the same wizard.

Procedure::

Reply to the appropriate toplevel comments for events below. Indicate if a post is a private conversation with "Private" in the subject otherwise all threads should be open to interaction with others. Plan OOCly how you'd like to toss everyone around. Several simultaneous wizard conversations can exist in the replies, she's going to stick around to talk to everyone. Feel free to OOCly decide what order they spoke in or leave it a mystery.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Joanna turns at the voice calling her name, and steps through the sand to meet him partway through the rest of catching up to her.

"Yes, that's right. I run a bookshop in a small town... Nothing that lends me much skill for this, I'm afraid." It sounds like he's concerned, and with good reason; she gives a slightly forced smile, and tilts her head in a half shrug. "You already know I'm the Goat Knight..."

Her voice goes a little sardonic on that last bit. It's been 40 years of this, and... well. More than half the time, more then 20 of those years, the Goat Knight was the first to die.

"Fius is... darling, and I'll value his advice..." Perhaps for guidance on what not to do. "But at this point, doctor... Murtakhor? I think I'm hoping for an intuitive, useful knight power."

"Same!" Garrot bellows the word, more than a little exasperated. "If we gotta figure out some crazy magic, we should have more time before the monsters show!" And then he gives himself a moment to grumble; he might be excitable but that doesn't mean he doesn't get frustrated.

"And don't sell yourself short, stories have power!" Garrot's actually got quite the grin on his face. "If a bedtime story can make kids feel safe and tired, then you can totally inspire adults. Plus..." He chuckles a bit, going for maximum encouragement. "Running your own business means you know how to solve people problems! You got this!"

He doesn't want to say he'll do his best to keep her safe, at least not yet. But he's sure thinking it real loud.

Even without saying it, the combination of his confidence, skilled background, and taking the time to reassure her add up to the impression that he means to protect her and the others.

"Oh, well, when you put it like that, I suppose I have an important job!" Joanna laughs a little, nervous and polite - and ultimately insincere. She doesn't feel like a capable business owner, with her struggles to keep enough income going, the need to accept help to keep up with rent. She'll just be the same sort of burden here, won't she?

But at least with hiding it, and helping where she can with morale and support, she can help the more capable people accomplish more. She's... a side character here, and maybe one of the minor characters who dies early. But she won't hold them back.

"We should... We should all gather together, in times when there aren't any monsters, and compare what we've figured out," she suggests. "Perhaps some of us will figure things out sooner, and have insights for the rest of us."

He smiles as she laughs- he can tell it's not the most genuine and he can't really blame her either. Garrot knows how to fight, and he's even pretty worried! But she brings up a great point.

"You're right. I haven't even figured out what my Knight power is yet," he looks away, clearly nervous, "so I guess it's taking its time?" His eyes dart around a little more, betraying a bit more unease than he's been projecting. "Have... have you figured out anything yet?"

And then he just smiles sheepishly at Joanna since, well, there aren't any monsters right now.

"Ah, well... I admit, I haven't tried experimenting yet," Joanna says, smiling sheepishly back. "I didn't want to risk wrecking my host's property, that wouldn't be very mannerly of me. And since then, we've been doing this tour of the island..."

But this is a quiet time in it. They have something like forty minutes until the transport to the next breakfast, plenty of time to at least try. She considers, and turns towards the ocean, and focuses for a moment... and nothing apparently happens.

"Oh, I don't know! All those made-for-tv stories don't go into how the knights know what to do. It's always fraught moments, then they instinctively do it in the knick of time..." She shakes her head, because risking cutting it that close is just not at all ideal.

Garrot's relieved not to be the only one who hasn't figured out his powers yet. Xaljim made it seem like he was qualified, but he wasn't sure what this meant for his chances at survival. When Joanna mentions fraught moments though, the doctor has... a bit of an idea.

"I think we'll be fine, Miss Accone." He smiles at her, nice and warm... and then reaches out with his right hand to try to shove her into the sand! Garrot sports a sheepish smile, and his eyes look around as if he's ready to run away. Even if she doesn't fall, it might catch her by surprise, so he makes sure to politely ask her. "...Feel anything?"

Hooves like hers are meant for rocky ground, or at least sand with more soil and traction to it. But the beach sand is slick and smooth, polished by the cycle of waves, and Joanna's a tall woman. So there's a precarious moment, her eyes widening and arms grasping at the air as she stumbles, and she barely catches herself by falling forward onto her knees instead.

"Hey, now...!" She sputters, looking up, and catches his nervous expression. And it all startles a laugh out of her, between the relief of not falling, and laughter is so much preferable to yelling about it.

"I... Oh, my word, no, I'm afraid I didn't." Joanna chuckles again, and shakes her head. "If I haven't figured it out tonight... I suppose I'll need to ask for advice."

"Dang. Well, we tried!" Garrot laughs himself, and squats down just a bit. He extends a hand to pull Joanna up, the least he could do for sending her into the sand like that. "We've both got some time to figure it out; in past years it could take a few days." Despite his mischief, he sounds both authoritative and comforting.

"Plus, I haven't figured mine out either, so you're not alone!" And then he's grinning, nice and bright! They can help each other through this, definitely! "Gosh, what do you hope you get?" The question seems a bit rhetorical, because Garrot's not giving a chance for her to answer yet. "I hope I get something cool, like a laser or super armor!"

"'Super armor'," Joanna mulls over, wiping the sand off herself. She accepted his hand up, of course, between appreciating the extra help and wanting to show there's no hard feelings. And maybe they're both smiling too brightly, to encourage themselves and each other at once, but there's no harm in that.

"That... might be nice. Perhaps some power to harden air, so I can protect people from the monsters' attacks." Armor sounds more useful for someone about to rush into the fray themselves, after all. "Or the ability to speed healing...! This first one shouldn't be very difficult, by all accounts, but it is twelve of them, over so many days. Not much opportunity to recover." It's been 40 years of this, and some patterns have been clear through time.

Edited 2019-03-23 18:11 (UTC)

"So you don't want to be in a fight, then?" He didn't want to state it as fact, that'd be rude! Even though it's really quite obvious. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with keeping everyone else out of danger..." That's Garrot's hope, after all!

"What's your plan for you? If something sets its sights on you, are you gonna be okay?" He looks quite sad asking the question- it's not easy asking people how combat-trained they are in a time like this. "C-cause if not, we can work around that, I promise!" Don't worry Joanna, he'll pick you up and run from the monsters if that's what it takes.

"If nothing else, I can ask for armor, in place of a weapon, and rely on that to help keep me alive..." Though that's far from ideal, since it would leave her not quite injuring the monsters. Survival alone just buys time - they need something to do in that bought time. "But, I, uh, I've outrun trouble, before, I can run pretty quickly when the occasion calls for it."

She glances down at the sand beneath her hooves, the sand still spotting her legs where she hasn't wiped it all off, and reconsiders. "So long as the monsters don't show up on the beach, that is."

He nods, rapt with attention. Garrot had never even thought of getting armor, just things he can hold! And there's nothing wrong with a, uh, tactical retreat.

"Hey, if you're on the beach with a monster," he points a confident thumb towards himself, "I can pick you up and run!" He's smiling in a way that shows he's totally earnest about it. Big guy was just thinking it a moment ago! But then his eyes go wide and his ears droop a little, because-

"I- I mean, if that's okay with you!" He looks nervous! Garrot did just offer to scoop up a grown woman. "Y-you never know, your power might just let you hang back!"

"But, I...!" Her first reaction is defensive and flustered, less at his offer and more on what that means about her.She has to carry her own weight in this fight, in order to save the world. How can she do that if she's willing to let someone else literally carry her own weight, unless she's offering something in return?

But Garrot's words and actions pull her out of her head. He's seems so sincere in wanting to help, and so apologetic about offering, and so... so flustered. She knows the feeling.

"My hero," Joanna concedes with a soft laugh, without any irritation or mockery. Her voice and expression go gentle. "Thank you, Dr. Murtakhor. I hope I won't need to, but... I appreciate it. I suppose... we're all a little afraid, and making it up as we go along, aren't we."

"Please, call me Garrot." He laughs a bit himself, scratching at the back of his neck. No reason why they can't be on a first name basis since they're literally saving the world! "And it's not like any of us really have a plan!" More neck scratching. Is he nervous? "You or I could get a power that'd throw any plans out the window!"

But now he laughs again, deep and genuine. "We're all probably on more of an even playing field than we expect!"

Maybe it's nervousness, or a mix of sand on their necks and bugs biting their skin. Whichever better suits his pride, or encourages the people around him. Environmental scapegoats are always convenient, that way. Likewise, the island's more humid than she's accustomed to anymore, so when she finds herself sweating... It doesn't need to be from the stress and fear of their situation.

Even if it probably is. "Then, it's Joanna," she says, brushing some curls from her forehead, and wiping again to brush off some sweat. "All of us... except the wizard. But," she laughs a quick, nervous laugh. "I suppose, when they're- when she's the one setting the playing field, we can hardly consider her a player. Our role isn't to defeat her as equals, but to... meet the challenges she sets us, anyway."

He can't help but nod, at the request, because now they're on a first name basis! Radical! But Garrot sees Joanna's discomfort and as she brings up the Wizard, his jovial nature quickly falls away.

"Yeah, it's not like she can just stay dead." He's scowling now, and one of his hands has tightened into a fist. "That'd be too easy. Too nice." And then Garrot sighs forcefully out of his nose. Looks like someone's got a bit of a sensitive spot when it comes to the Wizard.

It takes Joanna a moment for her smile to falter. She's used to hearing criticism and complaints about the wizard, because fair enough. It's understandable, living with the annual threat of apocalypse hanging over their heads is stressful. People from the church go to some lengths to be more enlightened and thoughtful about it, to look beyond the fear to the opportunity the wizard's granting them... But from the rest of the world, Joanna expects various flavors of resentment.

Those older than her seem angrier on behalf of the younger generations than anything, for never living without the fear. The very young don't seem to really believe there was a time before all this, now that certain changes in society are entrenched and unlikely to change. And those a little younger than her, like Garrot, seem to have heard enough of before to idealize it.

But Garrot sounds a little more... intensely angry about it, than the usual, and it takes her back. She hesitates a moment, and ventures a question. "Ah, um... You wouldn't be content if she simply... left?"

"Of course not." There's no hesitation, and the words carry a sizable force. Garrot sees that the smile is gone, and he just crosses his arms. They're in gloomy country now.

"For forty years, she's been threatening the world. Killing people. Destroying families." Garrot allows himself a muted sigh to relieve some of the tension, but both hands are balled up into fists now and he can't stop them. "Families like mine." His father. His kids' birth parents. But he doesn't stop there. Instead, he turns to face Joanna and looks her right in the eyes.

"If she just leaves then she can come back and hurt more people." The fists tighten. Garrot is absolutely not a fan of that. "I want her to be punished for four decades of crimes against this planet." Granted, he has no idea what that would look like, since she has a different body every year and can warp reality with her magic.

But she deserves something nasty.

Joanna only manages to meet Garrot's eye contact for a second or so, before glancing away and biting her lip. This is so much more emphatic, sincere, and... almost hateful a sentiment than she expected of such a kindly man. But, of course, it's rooted in pain. She has to be patient.

There's so much she needs to not say, here, and she folds her hands together to help her remember. Stay small, stay quiet, and - because it's so important to not isolate oneself - stay helpful. Modest service and politely expressing appreciation for the 'good fortune' that worldwide war hasn't returned are things that... usually never go awry.

"W-Well. I suppose that's all true," Joanna finally concedes, glancing up towards Garrot before looking towards the beachfront buildings. She isn't sure what her face is showing, but she's trying to smile positively. "All the more important for us to be getting back, then, and preparing for our part in bringing her down this year. And, maybe, along the way, we'll find something the other years... haven't."

She hopes not, unless it's something to change the nature of people enough that none of them continue killing people.

Garrot finds himself sighing when Joanna immediately drops eye contact. Of course the Wizard's a touchy subject! They were just talking about how they don't know a damn thing about their powers, and here he is going on about how the world could punish a highly powerful magical being. It's a lot.

But when he sees that smile and hears that they ought to be getting back, Garrot just pulls out his phone for a moment to check the time. A second later, he chuckles, and just shakes his head. "Y-yeah, you're right. We'll be fine." His smile is back, a more aggressively positive reflection of her own. Gotta keep their spirits up! "You don't think they'll leave us behind if we're late, do you?"

And then Garrot starts to walk, though he's sure to keep pace with Joanna. Not only would ditching her be rude, but he'd much rather be able to catch her if she lost her footing (hoofing?) in the sand.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Day 1 - Morning

Morning: 06:00am - 12:00noon

The Weather

Prompts:

Procedure::

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

/wrapping up: progress/

and done!