Day 6: Morning

Morning: 6:00am - 12:00noon

[ IRL Timeframe: October 31st - November ~~7th~~ 13th, 2019 ]

In the typically quiet town of Craydon, most residents know that the beach is only a short walk away from the train station at the base of the mountainous region they live in. They've constructed a long wooden path out to the edge of the sandy area, with a number of benches available for any residents. Typically there are a handful of locals either walking, relaxing, fishing, or ocean watching on this normally quiet and uneventful beach. But today, at sunrise, the Wizard and the Protector are on the beach. The Wizard has made short work of sending everyone away but a few have remained to post it to social media.

It's a stalemate, for the most part. For every blow one flings, the other parries it. For every shout, there's one in return. Most unsettling, however, is that they're arguing in a language that isn't native to this world.

Far Haven isn't having an uneventful morning but it is having a quiet morning. The Hospital is looking better after the events of Day 5, the front doors are now available for use and a construction team is hard at work undoing the damage that had been done the previous day. It's definitely not fixed yet, but it's clearly on the way.

That isn't the big event that's drawing people's attention, though. Six, today's monster, has borrowed a chair from inside the hospital's lobby and placed it in the courtyard right outside the front doors. He can be found sitting, one leg propped up over the other and showing off one of the cowboy boots he's wearing, with a clipboard leaned up on his leg. Two of his arms are sitting on the armrests, casually drumming like he's impatient. Two more arms are folded across his front, and the last two arms are holding and writing on the clipboard. His yellow skin is bright as the sunlight hits him, but he's clearly ready for the sun with a pair of aviator sunglasses covering his eyes. Are there multiple eyes under there? He's wearing a cowboy hat with a white bandana around his neck and thick hair(?) bound up in a ponytail dangling off the back of the chair. This monster's a cowboy!

Oh, and there's a huge double-headed axe propped up against his chair. Can't forget that, that's scary.

Bamborough is a strange blend of eventful and not. The Child's boat is back and social media has made no secret of where they headed: Breakfast. The Bamborough Diner, a staple location in the tourist town, has been serving them meal after meal all morning. They're on their sixth meal, stuffing pancake after pancake into their mouth. They've been using the diner's picture-filled menu to order item after item and they haven't repeated one yet. It's time to EAT!

But with all this happening, surely the heroes won't be up to anything else? There's definitely no reason why the Wizard has suddenly chose to go toe-to-toe with the Protector this morning, right? No way, no how.

There's definitely a reason.

Sixth Morning Event:: The Fight.

The Weather
A little foggy.
55°F / 13°C
Uh, grab a jacket, it's actually chilly.

Prompts:

06:00am The Beach, Craydon: Today, at sunrise, the Wizard and the Protector are on the beach. The Wizard has made short work of sending everyone away but a few have remained to post it to social media.

It's a stalemate, for the most part. For every blow one flings, the other parries it. For every shout, there's one in return. Most unsettling, however, is that they're arguing in a language that isn't native to this world.

The heroes can try to get close, but they'll eventually find a barrier in their way. Is your hero here? Are they talking to others? Is there anything they can do? Or do they know more about what's happening than they've told others?

07:00am Harsen Island Regional Hospital, Far Haven: Far Haven isn't having an uneventful morning but it is having a quiet morning. The Hospital is looking better after the events of Day 5, the front doors are now available for use and a construction team is hard at work undoing the damage that had been done the previous day. It's definitely not fixed yet, but it's clearly on the way.

That isn't the big event that's drawing people's attention, though. Six, today's monster, has borrowed a chair from inside the hospital's lobby and placed it in the courtyard right outside the front doors. He can be found sitting, one leg propped up over the other and showing off one of the cowboy boots he's wearing, with a clipboard leaned up on his leg. Two of his arms are sitting on the armrests, casually drumming like he's impatient. Two more arms are folded across his front, and the last two arms are holding and writing on the clipboard. His yellow skin is bright as the sunlight hits him, but he's clearly ready for the sun with a pair of aviator sunglasses covering his eyes. Are there multiple eyes under there? He's wearing a cowboy hat with a white bandana around his neck and thick hair(?) bound up in a ponytail dangling off the back of the chair. This monster's a cowboy!

Oh, and there's a huge double-headed axe propped up against his chair. Can't forget that, that's scary.

08:00am Bamborough Diner, Bamborough: Bamborough is a strange blend of eventful and not. The Child's boat is back and social media has made no secret of where they headed: Breakfast. The Bamborough Diner, a staple location in the tourist town, has been serving them meal after meal all morning. They're on their sixth meal, stuffing pancake after pancake into their mouth. They've been using the diner's picture-filled menu to order item after item and they haven't repeated one yet. It's time to EAT!

0?:00am General Post, Anywhere: Are your characters interacting elsewhere? Are they texting everyone? Put any threads here that don't fit elsewhere with the time and location in the subject.

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

They know he has no idea what they said, it's one of their current frustrations that they're working on.

Because they need to be understood. It's annoying to not be understood. And now he's asking them a question about how he did it and they scrunch up their face in annoyance. They wave a hand in the air, clearly sounding incredulous as they answer:

"Azh ig Iq qu icq? Eqh iqgnirizh icq eqh."

The only thing making any sense was the kitchen working hard in the background to prepare two feasts. What the hell, guys, they're gonna run out of food!

Garrot just stares just as incredulously as Sxicq waves a hand and says... more nonsense. But then he thinks back to Ten, and gently takes out his Knight-issue phone.

"I still have no idea what you just said. But you know, our phones are pretty cool." He pushes a few buttons and opens a text-to-speech function. "All I have to do is type in the words, and..." He pushes a button, and a robotic voice begins to read:

Hello, hungry! I'm Garrot!

"Since you understand me, maybe you could give it a try?" And then he slides the phone across the table to Sxicq. Maybe it'll work for two highly dangerous and inscrutable beings?

Sxicq narrows their eyes at Garrot as he suggests that perplexingly stupid idea. They glance down at it, glaring daggers for a moment--

--before the phone crackles blue and a garbled text-to-speech voice suffers out a single word:

"NO"

Garrot's eyes go wide like dinner plates at that turn of events. Wireless manipulation of his technology? Super cool. But also kind of unsettling. But then he sort of processes what's happening, and-

"What?! Why not?" There's a light whine, why's this one gotta be so difficult? "You literally just did it, and you don't even have to do that, you can just push buttons." He takes a few seconds to think, and then with immense and clear but restrained enthusiasm, he keeps going.

"Unless you wanna draw instead?" His eyes keep darting over to the napkins. Come on, Sxicq, throw him a bone.

As Garrot insists, he might catch his phone crackle slightly before powering off. Did they just power it off, or did they just roast it? Either way, that thing ain't turning back on during this interaction. But as he continues trying as many proverbial olive branches as he feasibly can, they keep their arms folded all the way until he asks if they want to draw.

And they hold up a finger, blue fire crackling to life around it, before they bring it down to the table.......

.......and they start burning a drawing into the table.

Uh.

Thanks for the idea, Garrot?

Garrot gasps, sputters, and then groans as his phone crackles and goes out of commission. Why can't the weirdos on this island be as open-minded as Ten?! Ugh. But then they hold up a finger, and there's fire, and-

"No..." The word is clearly drenched in disbelief more than consternation, because of course this weird explosion child can manifest blue fire on their finger with enough precision to draw something. Honestly, it's not as weird as Ten's eyes, so.

"You know what, draw as much as you want. It'll be a tourist attraction after this year." Poor Garrot is a little deadpan with all that, because while he's certain he's right about the tourism part, he's pretty sure he can't stop them.

Nor does he want to. This could be interesting. So he'll just wait, for now.

If Garrot was hoping that Sxicq would actually write anything he could read, he was wrong. It's only once they start drawing out a massive outline of the island itself, down to the very specifics of the terrain around Far Haven, Bamborough, and Craydon that the center design starts to make sense.

It's like they're making a satellite outline of the island, of every feature, of every building, with laser engraved precision. They could do surgery with that hand.

But they're focused on the drawing, not paying him any mind as they work on the design. This is their island.

It's a bit frustrating to see Sxicq producing illegible burns into the table, but as time passes, Garrot can't help but be impressed.

They're recreating Harsen Island with startling accuracy. You were in the mountain, kid, how do you know what the island looks like???

But since Sxicq seems in the zone and he doesn't want to risk that fire getting directed at him, he'll just wait. This seems like it's going somewhere.

He will sort of lean over the middle of the table just a bit, to kind of loom over the work-in-progress as an interested audience.

What, Garrot doesn't want to spontaneously combust?

After a time, Sxicq seems to be content with the result. They point across the table at Garrot, and then they shove their finger down against the map they've drawn.

If he knows the island well enough, he'll realize they've mushed their fingertip down against the exact diner location they're in in Bamborough. Except their finger can't mush, because it's hard as a rock. Their voice comes through startlingly clear as they add:

"Monkey. Garrot."

Garrot's more than content to wait, because hey, that Carnivore Family Feast will take a while! But when that map is done, Garrot's leaned in a bit more. He feels a little obnoxious, but the recreation is detailed and-

"Y-yeah, that's me!" His eyes light up like a pedestrian amazed by a street magician. But the smile on his face becomes a grin as the wheels start to turn. "And you said Monkey. That's not in your language, right, uh-" He pauses, blinks a few times, and then just chuckles to himself.

"Do, uh... do you have a name?"

Sxicq nods slightly at Garrot as he asks the question that most of the others asked earlier. They fold their hands in front of them as they calmly answer:

"Sxicq." (Zih-k)

"Sxicq, huh?" He says it once incorrectly, closer to 'sheik' before trying again and getting it right. "Nice to meet you!" Now he's smiling, purposefully ignoring the casual burning of the table. "I'm glad you were okay once we got you down that mountain." But then he arches an eyebrow, content to continue talking if only to make up for Sxicq's more restrained style.

"How'd you know I'm the Monkey Knight?" He sounds curious and suspicious, because Garrot spent the last day in the hospital. He wouldn't expect Sxicq to know anything about him!

Sxicq makes the closest thing to a :| face they can make in response to Garrot as he asks such a ridiculous question.

And then Xaljim pops into existence.

"Oh." He blinks, looking between Sxicq and Garrot.

"Is it that time already?"

"Woah!" Garrot was obviously not expecting that, but he looks at Sxicq, then at Xaljim, then back and forth between the two. "Already? Is this plann- Do you know each other!?"

This is, naturally, a great time for the wait staff to come back with those Carnivore Family Feasts. Gobsmacked as Garrot may be, he will expectantly nod a head towards Xaljim. He's bought you pizza before, dude, you can have some of his monster breakfast. And though his eyes repeatedly dart towards that delicious food, poor Garrot is trying his hardest to keep his gaze on Sxicq.

Xaljim glances at the food as it arrives but doesn't take up the offer to eat some. Sxicq is already digging in without hesitation, though, munching into the food now that it's here.

"Of course we know each other." Xaljim answers, matching Sxicq's :| from earlier.

"Why wouldn't we?"

"I thought you only really knew the other animals..." Garrot deflates a bit with the comment, but it's enough to erode his resolve such that he starts shoveling some food into his mouth, just like Sxicq. At least someone understands him. But after about thirty seconds of food stuffing, vague chewing, and ravenous swallowing, Garrot comes up for air with a question.

"I mean, your friend was trapped in a mountain for..." Garrot trails off, raising an eyebrow. "I dunno, a long time? Doesn't sound like they get out much." Is that because Sxicq is kind of barbaric? Yes. Is it because Sxicq may have spent years in a mountain? Maybe yes??? People don't just happen out of nowhere, unless your name is Garrot Murtakhor or Matilda Hamilton...

Xaljim makes a confused expression, just how little did the Protector tell the knights? How little did anyone share with the animal companions? Just how many gaps of knowledge were there among all these unreliable narrators?

"They haven't gotten out since this all started." He confirms, nodding before he looks over at Sxicq who is now utterly demolishing a stack of bacon.

"But that doesn't mean we haven't spoken." He adds.

"Sho..." Garrot shoves some bacon of his own into his face. Honestly, it's nice to see Xaljim again. An angry, paper-throwing Monkey is a much more welcome interloper than, like, monsters and time travel and pocket dimensions. He swallows his bacon.

"You have, like... cell phones?" Garrot reaches for a glass of water, but instead favors the carton of syrup. Consciously. "Or is it just magic? And can you talk outside of these, like, two weeks a year?" And then he begins guzzling syrup like some sort of abomination. Talk all you want, Xaljim...

Look, he's been hooked up to hospital stuff, real sugar doesn't happen there.

Sxicq gives Garrot a look when he eats that bacon. Excuse you. There's only so much bacon in the world, and he just ate some of it. How will there be any left for them after that? Rude.

Xaljim, meanwhile, picks up a small bit of hashbrown to munch on.

"Magic. And no, dummy, we're asleep the rest of the time." He answers, rolling his eyes. He glances to Sxicq and makes an off-hand comment in whatever language Sxicq speaks followed by a 'ha'. Sxicq responds by scrunching their eyebrows a little and shaking their head before going back to eating.

"I told them you thought they had a cell phone. Of course they don't."

Have you ever aspirated syrup? Because Garrot just fucking chokes on the syrup for a second and follows it up with some water. What an absolute disaster. He knew Sxicq didn't have a cell phone, but knowing the context of that other-language interaction is just. Really embarrassing?

"So you two are..." He clears his throat. Damned syrup! "You're friends?" The bugbear's eyes dart between the two magical beings for a moment. "Sxicq, are you friends with all the Knights' companions?"

Honestly, if Sxicq can be so casually friends with Xaljim, they can be friends with anyone. That monkey is so difficult!

If Xaljim knew Garrot had just thought that, he would've pelted the man with more paper. But as it stands, Xaljim rolls his eyes as big as he possibly can and answers with the most sarcasm he can muster.

"Yes, just like you're friends with all the people on this planet. Just the tightest possible companions because you all exist together." He follows it with a tsk and then:

"Of course we aren't! Get your head together! I like them because they're no-nonsense like me!" He folds his arms, tapping his monkey fingers impatiently.

Garrot snorts air forcefully out his nose from Xaljim's sarcastic little remark and that pouty little stance. This monkey could really act like a moody child sometimes. So the Monkey Knight rolls his eyes just as theatrically at Xaljim.

"There's twelve of you and you've been talking. For all I know you have a magic Companions-and-Sxicq group chat!" Garrot chuckles at that, imagining Xaljim reacting to those internet memes that the Murta-kids send to the family group chat. He'd pay money to see that.

"If Sxicq isn't friendly with everyone..." He quirks an eyebrow and takes a moment to clear his throat of syrupy residue. Can't very well be coughing up sugar-mess mid-question. "Then who are your enemies?" His focus shifts right back to that hungry child, as if Xaljim was incapable of translating; this isn't a question he should be answering anyway.

Sxicq is staying out of the conversation, just enjoying their overly sweet breakfast foods. Xaljim's got this under lock and key.

"You wanna know?" Xaljim answers Garrot dryly, staring at the man.

"███ ██ ███ ████" he declares, his voice turning into a truly awful combination of glass crunching, birds squawking, and dirt piling into an open grave.

"I don't even need to guess that you couldn't hear that." He adds, rolling his eyes again.

Poor Garrot absolutely recoils at that, even letting out a startled little yelp. What the fuck kind of mouth noise is that, Xaljim?! What the fuck?!?!

"Fuck! Of course I couldn't, I-" The Monkey Knight pauses dead in his tracks. Something doesn't add up. Xaljim hasn't exactly been secretive, and he was perfectly willing to cheekily answer questions moments ago as they pertained to Sxicq. This wasn't cheeky, and Xaljim expected his words to be inaudible. This has happened before?

"Can- Are you- Is something stopping you from telling me?" And poor Garrot just stares at Xaljim, hoping the next thing out of his mouth isn't another horrible sound.

This has happened before.

And the next sound out of Xaljim's mouth is another horrible sound.

"████" he answers. But he's nodding as he answers, that much is clear as day.

Looks like the censoring isn't perfect, or Xaljim's smart enough to work around it.

The Weather

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