Day 7: Evening

Aftern-Evening: 3pm - Midnight

[ IRL Timeframe: January 22 - January 29, 2020. ]

After all of Seven's fights, ending in Luka taking Ten's hand as the other heroes arrive. The knights will be treated to the sight of something entirely unexplainable: Seven is wounded, laying on the asphalt with a bright white crossbow bolt sticking out of their body. They're still pouring black goop off of their body, but they appear to be wrapped in some kind of cloth tarp. Five is kneeling over them, dressed in a skin-covering assassin outfit that only reveals her five eyes peering out. In her hand is a phone, and that's really all that can be seen before she and Seven disappear into a portal in the ground.

Luka, meanwhile, is standing with Ten's hand in his and his crossbow laid on the ground and not in his hand. No matter what the arriving heroes cry out in order to get his attention, it's too late to stop him. Abruptly, the portal opens and both the Princess and Ten disappear into the ground.

Naturally, the hashtag #princessnapped is forged.

That doesn't prove to be the only hashtag to get some heavy use this evening. The #wizardfound and #robotwizard hashtags find a sudden, new reason to actively discuss what's going on.

The remaining heroes: Garrot, Gyre, Haizea, Matilda, Olivia, (and... where's Terrence?) will find that the events from earlier in the day have caught up to them. There's a crack like thunder as both the Wizard and the Protector flicker into existence and both land in the superhero pose in the center of the intersection that Luka just disappeared from.

The Protector, if possible, is looking even worse than before. He's sporting a black eye and numerous cuts on his forehead, cheeks, and arms. It looks like he's been lit on fire at least once, but even so he's holding his rapier out in anticipation of the next strike.

The Wizard, meanwhile, is finally openly visible to everyone after her absence. She looks rough. It's as if the areas where she'd been harmed have been replaced or repaired with robotics. The left side of her face is no longer bandaged, instead revealing that she now has a robotic eye with a glowing yellow ring. The cables that were visible in the video before are very clearly plugged in just behind her ear, trailing down over her shoulder and down her back beneath the robes.

And of course she's still wearing pajamas. But they look like they've seen better days, charred and ripped and shredded at every edge. In her hand, though, is a massive axe. One side of its head is a giant half-circle axe head while the other side is a heavy weight like a hammer. The entire weapon is jet black, but it has a glossy shine.

What's the worst that could happen?

The Weather
Cloudy, breezy.
48°F / 9°C
Brrr.

Prompts:

3:00pm The Garden, Unknown Location: When Luka falls through the portal with Ten, he'll become immediately aware that the monster has slipped himself closer and snuck his feet beneath Luka's to stabilize him. Despite the falling, he seems surprisingly stable in the air.

And then there's the soft crunch of grass beneath his feet and he shifts slightly, waiting for Luka to step back on his own. Wherever they are, the air is filled with the scents of wildflowers and scents that are both beautiful and entrancing in their complexity. It's clear that there are dozens, if not hundreds of flowers and plants in the immediate vicinity. There's the gentle warmth of sunlight on Luka's skin, clearly advertising that they're outside (or in a very clever indoor garden). But most calming is the gentle sounds of moving water. If Luka focuses, he'll be able to pick out that there's a small waterfall, several waterways, and multiple water features with water tumbling down over rocks. And, of course, a pool or a pond with fish gently swimming about beneath the surface.

But he'll be interrupted twice before he can lose himself. The first is Ten.

"We're here." He says, but if Luka's not shaken enough he'll realize that he doesn't hear Seven and his Seven sense isn't going wild. But the second distraction happens as Luka's phone bloops from an unknown sender with a text:

"Welcome to the Garden, Princess." The text reads... with no explanation of who or how they sent him the text. That's totally normal!

3:00pm Street Intersection, Bamborough: With the arrival of the Wizard and the Protector, it's very clear that shit is about to go down. But that absolutely isn't what the Wizard has in mind for this situation. She's the one running this game, and she isn't about to get five heroes wrapped up in her duel with the Protector. Before anyone can take an opportunity to make any attacks, and especially not the Protector, she snaps the fingers of her free hand five times.

And reality fractures. The way that the cracks in midair begin to fold and reflect the area and people around them, it's like the world is folding up into a trick mirror house. It's... actually exactly that. Reality twists and folds, forming reflections and containers out of the air itself until every single hero is enclosed in one. The hero in the middle of their own box, reflected on two opposite walls. But on the opposite two walls, the Wizard is visible beyond in one of them and the Protector is visible beyond in the other room. Uh. This conversation might get awkward. Worse is that they can't get distracted by their Seven senses, because no one can feel them anymore.

3:15pm To Everyone: In the middle of the earlier events, every hero in Bamborough receives a text from an unknown sender. The only one who's spared this text is Luka, because he got a text earlier. The text reads: "I can give you one teleport to anywhere today. Tell me when and to where. Don't be unreasonable!"

8:00pm Onward, Everywhere: The day is done, the events are finished. How does your character get home? Do they go home alone? Do they seek the company of their fellow heroes? Do they stay alone, or do they get a room together? Either way, it's a rough night for everyone.

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.

Activity Check: January 2020

[ IRL Timeframe: January 1st - January 31st, 2020 ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Luka was only familiar enough with the mountain's terrain to know that the beaten path didn't have any outstanding hazards. He had his mobility device, but it only did so much when its user was walking as hurriedly and purposefully as Luka was in that moment.

"Craydon. That's where I've been living." He's surprised that Gyre didn't know that already. Of course, Gyre had no reason yet to know such a thing - but Luka often forgot that not everything revolved around himself.

Gyre's next questions gives Luka pause as he second guesses himself, and he slows his pace and turns to face Gyre.

"We're heading for it, right?"

Even if Gyre had seen where Luka was living before, he likely would have forgotten which city is was. He is basically the opposite of tree blind. That is, he can't identify buildings to save his life. The three cities look the same to him once he leaves their natural surroundings.

That said, he knows the path to each quite well, and Craydon is particularly easy to find since it's nestled up in the mountains the way it is.

He doesn't slow quite as abruptly as Luka does, dragging the princess along for a couple steps before he better matches his new pace.

"We are. I wanted to make sure," he says, and he grins to himself, watching Luka's face for a beat. "Did you want to run there? You seem so eager~"

He’s immediately relieved when Gyre confirms that yes, they were heading in the direction of Craydon. Luka feels his cheeks flush when he is, correctly, called out on his eagerness to reach the city. The line between enthusiasm and desperation was a thin one, and for a moment Luka wonders which side of that line he’s leaning on.

“Aren’t you...?” He asks as he returns to his previous pace. “I’m not sure how fast I could run, but... you know, the sooner we get off this mountain, the better.”

Luka is in no way dressed or equipped to be running down this mountain, but he’s prepared to do so if Gyre would let him.

"Oh, yes," he answers automatically, a throaty purr in his voice. He leans close for a moment, suddenly pulling his arm free from Luka's and wrapping it around his back. He nearly lifts the man off his feet, spinning suddenly with him as if they were dancing and not climbing down a mountain.

"You are amazing," he says, nearly singing as he sets the man down again. It has been a long time since he's felt happy in this way, and he's nearly radiating it as he lets go of the other's back. He grabs his wrist instead, letting his grip slide down until he's holding Luka's hand.

"Let's run." He pauses a beat here, for Luka to protest or catch his breath after that little display, but assuming there's no protest, he's going to take off, pulling him behind him by his hand. He's not running as fast as he could, of course, but it's a good clip even compared the pace they had set before.

Luka was not expecting to be literally swept off his feet by this man. He feels his heart skip as he's lifted, both from surprise and the pure affection in the motion. Luka could hear praise all day and he was accustomed to being told he's amazing - but coming from Gyre it felt completely new.

He's still recovering as Gyre sets him down. It takes a moment before he registers that Gyre is actually going to run, and for the first few strides he's being pulled along while in a smitten daze.

When his mind finally catches up with his body, Luka begins laughing. First a quiet, restrained giggle that soon erupts in to full, untamed laughter as they run along. It felt freeing and reckless, like breaking some unspoken rule.

"Gyre!" He calls out between laughter and the ragged breaths of one unaccustomed to running. "You're amazing!"

What an incredible sound! He's grinning as he hears Luka start to giggle, the smile widening and widening as he gets louder. His cheeks start to hurt with how hard he's smiling, and he makes this sudden, rasping sound. It's something like a laugh anyway, and he coughs roughly afterwards, losing his footing for just a moment.

He stumbles out of the line of trees, down onto the final slope towards Craydon, and he slows suddenly down, turning to catch Luka's momentum against his body. He wraps his arms around him, spinning with him again until they can stop without falling.

"Gods, you're beautiful," he exhales, his voice nearly a whisper. He brings a hand up to cup his face, running a thumb over his cheek with a new curiosity, like it's the first time he's ever touched him like this.

"Kiss me?"

Gyre's sudden cough... laugh (?) gives Luka pause, and his own laughing slows to heavy breathing as he hears Gyre stumble. He's about to ask if Gyre is okay when he's suddenly caught in his arms and spinning again, and Luka falls back into delighted laughter.

There is no hesitation when Gyre invites him to kiss.

He wordlessly brings both hands up to find Gyre's face, and Luka can barely keep himself from taking the opportunity to feel out all of his features right then and there. There will be time for that later, he thinks, and he settles for just holding both his cheeks as he leans in to meet him in a kiss.

He practically puts his face into Luka's hands when he starts reaching. He has wanted this for awhile now, and just this little bit of touch in this way makes him feel things again. He wants to linger on this moment for a long time now.

He leans up and presses his mouth to Luka's, holding there for just a moment before retreating back again. Just enough to breathe. It's nearly chaste, the way he's left nearly breathless just from that, and he hesitates for a second. His eyes flicker over the other's face, taking him in again.

And then he presses close again, kissing him deep, slipping his hand around the back of his neck and tangling his fingers into his hair. If he's worried about walking to Luka's hotel room looking like flushed, stricken idiots, he clearly isn't thinking about it now.

Luka allows his hands to wander - up through Gyre's hair, down his back, but always carefully avoiding the neck. He's so caught up in the thrill of finally having Gyre to himself that he's nearly forgotten their proximity to Craydon and its residents.

It's only when he breaks away for a brief moment that he's able to collect himself enough to suggest that they move into town.

"My room shouldn't be far." Luka says between shallow breaths, pausing a few times to indulgently pepper Gyre's face with kisses. "There's a door through the back. No one will see us."

Everywhere Luka touches him, his skin prickles, little sparks coming to life under his fingertips. It only makes him more and more eager, and he nearly follows Luka up as he breaks away to collect himself. He's also breathing quickly, little gasps and purrs slipping past his lips whenever the other kisses his face. He leans up into each one as if he could catch it out of the air before the princess even gets to him.

"Let's go, I--" he starts, hesitating for a beat as he remembers where they're going. His room. Inside. It's this last little moment of rebellion that gets quelled as Luka presses a kiss to his cheeks again. He can do this. He wants to do this.

"Let's go," he says again, more certainly this time. "Lead the way?"

Luka detangles himself from Gyre, pulling away just enough to settle back into the familiar position of holding his arm. If he had picked up on the other’s hesitation, he hadn’t thought anything of it. He gives a noise of affirmation as he begins to descend into Craydon, and once the two pass the train station, it’s a straight shot to Luka’s house.

They move through town undetected, though the locals had by now grown accustomed to seeing the princess and knights passing through the streets and their presence would not be particularly noteworthy. Still, when they’re nearing their destination, Luka pulls into the back alley and navigates to the hidden entryway of the home he’d been staying in.

“Here we are.” He says proudly as he fishes a key from his pocket. When the door swings open, Luka moves down Gyre’s arm to take his hand and lead him inside.

Gyre follows him easily, of course, the familiar weight of the princess on his arm setting his tempo just a half step behind him. When they get into town, he looks around a little, trying to finally memorize a single street so he might find his way back here later.

It's not going well, and he's actually a little surprised when Luka pulls him down an alley and then suddenly they're at a door. How could he be so sure where they are? He truly doesn't understand the geometry of cities.

"Here?" he asks, looking up at the building curiously. It looks the same as every other building to him honestly, and he's still staring upwards when Luka grabs his hand and pulls him inside.

Well. Nearly inside. He follows as easily as he did before, right up until he hits the threshold. His boot settles on the front step into the entrance, and he pauses there, squeezing Luka's hand softly. He glances back over his shoulder, wondering if this is really a thing he should do. He'd been invited. He wants to be close to this man. It's...

"Okay," he says under his breath, and then he steps the rest of the way inside, a little jolt of adrenalin jumping up his spine. Here we goooooo.

Luka slides one hand behind Gyre, closing the door behind him and flipping the deadbolt until he hears that satisfying click sound, ensuring the outside world could no longer interfere.

The interior beyond the entryway is dark, until Luka reaches to flip a light switch and the room flickers into view. It's small, unsurprisingly, like a cheap, empty studio apartment that had been hastily furnished to house the Princess for this year's wizard season.

Luka had made it his home in this past week, in the sense that it looks as if one of Farida's notorious hurricanes had run through the place. Every seating area is strewn with errant articles of clothing - piles of vibrant silks, flashes of sequins and chiffon in an array bright colors. A surprisingly pristine desk sits in the far corner, a laptop carefully placed on its surface. Against the adjacent wall lean several guitar cases, and Gyre may recognize the one Luka had brought to his camp there as well.

The center of the room houses a well-kept bed, though the bedding is unmade. Above it is a large window with the curtains drawn shut except to allow the smallest sliver of natural light to cut through.

Luka immediately returns his attention to Gyre, draping an arm over each of his shoulders.

"Do you still want that bath, or have your priorities changed?"

Edited 2020-02-26 23:04 (UTC)

Gyre glances back when he hears the deadbolt slide into place, an unconscious anxiety rising up in him at the sound. The dark room also isn't helping his nerves, and he reaches out to hold Luka's side as he waits for the lights.

Once they come on, his unease isn't helped at all. He actually jumps as he looks around the room, and he suddenly feels very deeply that he should not be here. This is all so personal. He can't help but imagine Luka coming in and seeing the particular ways that he leaves his own things around. To be clear, he's not judging Luka for having a messy room. Rather, the particular way the room is messy feels like secret knowledge that he shouldn't know, like Luka's revealed a little piece of his soul to him with this.

He's still looking around the room and thinking about how he's going to get out of it, since the princess clearly doesn't understand what he's revealing here, when those arms settle over his shoulders. His attention snaps up to his face and he uh suddenly, completely forgets about this weird feeling in his stomach. He's just absolutely absorbed by this man, caught up in his beauty so quickly it leaves him a little breathless once again.

"My... priorities," he muses, his hands wandering to his sides and then up along his ribs, exploring for a moment. One hand winds slowly around his back then slipping downwards to finger the waist of his pants, and he makes a low, thoughtful noise. He catches the hem of his shirt between his fingers, touching his bare skin for a moment, lifting the shirt just slightly.

"Let me get this off you, and I'll decide then?" he purrs, pulling the cloth up even higher so he might see the edge of Luka's stomach in a moment. He'll stop if the other wants him to, of course, but if he lets him, he's going to pull this off over the princess' head.

"Hmmmmm~" Luka's hum is drawn out as he takes an agonizingly long moment to think over Gyre's proposition. He knows that allowing Gyre to undress him first is relinquishing that first bit of control to him, and debates whether to allow his foot in the door so easily.

"If it will really help you decide," he relents, sliding one hand down to rest at Gyre's elbow. Luka figures he had plenty of opportunity to turn the tables should he change his mind. "Then who am I to hold things up?"

Gyre smirks as Luka takes his time deciding, flipping the hem of his shirt up every few seconds as if to remind him what he's supposed to be thinking about. His other hand meanders over him, touching his arm, his neck for a moment, pressing fingertips against the bare skin under his shirt in teasing little brushes. He wants the princess to think about his hands on him.

The moment he makes his decision, Gyre moves to tug his shirt up and over his head, tossing it almost absentmindedly into one of the piles near the bed. He's caught for just a second there, remembering where they are, before he tugs his gaze back to Luka. It's a gaze that becomes this hungry stare almost immediately, looking him over. He loops his arms around his waist, hooking his fingers into the band of his pants and tugging their hips together suddenly.

"Well now I know what I'd prefer," he murmurs, leaning up to press a series of kiss from his jaw down his neck. "How about you?"

If Gyre wanted Luka to think of his touch, he need not worry - Luka had been thinking of it since that gentle brush of his cheek in the garden. He had been thinking of touching Gyre, too, since the two of them had first coyly discussed it on the fifth day. And so he can't help but bristle with anticipation with every one of those fleeting touches.

He moves down from Gyre's shoulders, over his chest, feeling for any way to unfasten his clothes and pull them from his body. What he finds is, um, a lot of fastening. And though Luka is used to being laced and buttoned and cinched into all kinds of outfits, he can't focus long enough to decipher whatever his hands are currently fumbling with.

"I think... the bath can wait." Luka sighs contentedly, craning his neck to allow easier access as he takes both of Gyre's hands in his. "Let's move to my bed."

Gyre sighs against his skin when he tilts his neck like that, unable to resist the urge to nip him suddenly. His teeth are uh very sharp! He's careful though, clearly in control enough to not make him bleed out of nowhere.

He pulls back very slightly after that though, glancing towards the bed first... then down to Luka's hands fumbling at his clothes. He slips his hands out of the other's, slipping a hand around his back and nudging him towards the bed.

"Let's go!" he chirps, absolutely delighted at this. First though, he pauses for a beat, pulling apart the buckles on his vest, and shrugging this top layer off at least. The torn shirt underneath is fastened with a series of soft leather straps tied into loose knots. He's fiddling one of them apart as he drifts towards the bed, moving eagerly to... well, set a hand on the soft surface at least. He doesn't quite sit yet, but he's over here, reaching out to take Luka's arms again and pull him into a quick, deep kiss.

"Want me to get this off first?" he murmurs, untying a second knot with a familiar ease before moving to pull his soul gem up and over his head. He doesn't mention it, but the chain jangles softly against itself as he wraps it around the amethyst and moves to set it onto the princess' neat computer desk. He's hoping to just get it out of the way quick before returning to undoing his shirt, utterly accustomed to the jewel making his lovers intensely uncomfortable.

Luka inhales sharply when he feels Gyre's teeth press to his neck. He had noted their sharpness when they'd kissed on the mountain - and now the restraint of that near bite causes a thrill to stir within him.

He nearly falls into Gyre when he's pulled into the kiss, and Luka is more than happy to move himself onto the bed in anticipation.

"Of course I do." He says as he kicks his boots into a corner. He's in the process of unbuckling his belt when the sound of Gyre removing that chain and setting it down grabs his attention, and when he says nothing about it, Luka reaches toward the table to investigate it himself.

He sweeps his hand over the table, stopping when he feels its chain and lifting it delicately in front of him. Luka is trying to see if any part of it is catching on or reflecting the dim light, and when he's satisfied that curiosity he takes the pendant between his fingers to gently feel its shape.

"What's this? Did you make it?" He asks softly, tilting his head.

The gem is cut absolutely perfectly, glittering even in the dim light, and the intricate gold cage wound around it shines with an unnatural brightness even after forty years. There's magic pulsing through it, a faint hum against the skin. It's also uh quite large, a horrifically gaudy little bauble if he was to wear it outside his shirt ever.

Beside him, Gyre pauses the second he moves to pick it up, an instinctive wariness rising up in him. He watches him carefully, keeping his hands busy with another leather knot so he doesn't get too anxious. He trusts this man. He trusts him a lot, but this is not a conversation he normally has to have. And it's always strange to have another person's hands on his soul. He can feel the princess' fingers shifting across it and his skin prickles.

"No, it was made for me," he answers with the kind of finality that says he's not going to answer the first question. He wouldn't, in different circumstances, but these feelings are really making his usual secrecy difficult.

"It's me," he offers after a beat. There's another pause here, another knot undone, and he takes a deep breath. "It was made by the same person who made this. This body."

His face brightens when he catches the bits of light reflecting from the gem - it was a rare glimpse of visual stimulation he could experience, and he looked for it wherever he could.

He turns toward Gyre when he explains it was made for him. Whoever made it must be important to him, he thinks - important enough for him to carry something like this so closely. A past lover? Luka's still wondering about this person when Gyre offers more information.

"Ah," He says, suddenly realizing the gravity of what he held between his fingers. He turns back to admire it, though his touch is more delicate than before. "It's magic?"

His eyes flutter a little as that touch gets more delicate. It had been a strange sensation before, Luka's fingers pressing against the gem, but now it's this ghost of the man's hands. He wants those on his body, not the gem, and he shrugs his shirt off over his head, tossing it aside and stepping closer.

"It's, yes. More or less," he says, thinking back to what that woman had said at him at the time. It's been awhile and he was in a state at the time so his memory of her long monologues are a little fuzzy.

"The gem is, it's a, ah, conduit. The magic is in... the pattern of the metal, or... She said something like that," he explains vaguely, waving a hand generically in the air. He pauses for a moment, reaching up to touch one of Luka's hands as he explores the magitech construct.

"I can feel you, you know."

Luka nods, though he doesn't process much of what Gyre is explaining, simple as it is. He'd never been much for the details of magic or technology, having been turned off from it by his family's business and his accident.

His focus is pulled away when Gyre moves closer and places a hand on his.

"Oh?" He asks, the corner of his mouth curling into a smirk. "Well, how do I feel?"

Gyre, similarly, doesn't have much of a head for magic. He knows eventually he'll have to learn it, but that's potentially centuries down the line. He has time. Or well. He will have time, if they're able to live through this.

What a morbid thought to have in the middle of this. He shakes his head a little, working his fingers slowly in between Luka's and pulling them towards him instead. He won't ask him to put the gem down, but he would rather take both of their minds off of it in this moment.

"Mysterious," he murmurs, and he presses the princess' hand to his chest. "I'd rather feel you here," and he slides that hand downwards just a little, just enough that his warm touch makes him draw his stomach in in a soft gasp.

"'Mysterious', huh? Is that good?" Luka's more than happy to bring his touch back to Gyre's physical body, and he places the pendant on the table carefully before turning his full attention back to him.

He leans in greedily to kiss Gyre again as his hands move over his body, feeling for every detectable detail. Luka pauses, letting his fingers linger over a noticeable spot of scar tissue. He knows well enough that one's scars are not a particularly sexy topic to discuss, and recounting how they came to be is nothing short of mood-killing. So Luka buries that curiosity, for now, hoping his contemplation of them had gone unnoticed.

"You're right, this is much better." Luka says, hands moving to find the waist of his pants.

Edited 2020-03-01 03:50 (UTC)

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

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject