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

He meets Ten's incredulous stare, opening his mouth and pointing towards his arm. Those roots had definitely been poking out of Ten's arms, and he's not going to be convinced that that's normal. He's about to say exactly that when he becomes aware of Luka's pensive silence beside him.

It's not important, he decides. He trusts Ten not to poison them, and so he turns his attention to the princess instead, reaching out to touch his shoulder gently, rubbing his back for a moment.

He stays quiet himself though, curious about Seven but not wanting to bombard Ten with questions about his hurt friend.

"I think Nine put an alarm on it if it opens." Ten answers, thinking for a moment how anyone will know when Seven wakes. Honestly, the alarm should've just been a text message to everyone.

"I don't know what I"m going to say to them." he admits, folding his arms thoughtfully.

At least he's no longer staring at Gyre?

"Yeah, I can imagine." Luka says, relaxing under Gyre's comforting touch. He's never had a similar experience, but it's not difficult to assume how sensitive it would be. "Like meeting a long lost sibling, or something. I hope they aren't scared when they come out."

Luka slides a small pile of green meat-cubes aside with the knife and re-positions the remaining chunk of the slab before continuing to work.

"It would probably be better if they met everyone one at a time... so they don't get overwhelmed. The big party can come later."

Gyre nods, thinking about uh the sorts of feelings he'd had after his death, the way he'd craved community but only certain community, the way everything had felt unsafe. He can't help but imagine Seven will be the same, or worse, after having their agency stolen for so long.

"There should... be someone with them," he adds softly. "Whoever they like the most should stay nearby while they're meeting everyone. They'll feel safer that way." He finishes cubing the slab of meat, pushing the pieces aside and reaching to grab another one from Luka.

Ten considers their opinions thoughtfully, watching them take care of the fish in very short order. With that, all the ingredients are ready, so he starts shifting the bowls around to be closed to the orbven. The bowls clonk softly against the counter as he sets them down. As he does, he answers their idea.

"We don't know who they like best yet. We will have to find out somehow." They admit, their experience with meeting new people was uh... rather limited and mostly antagonistic. Neither of those made for good starting points with someone new, unfortunately.

Luka nods in understanding of Ten's words. They had really never met Seven before, or even had the opportunity to do so.

"They'll have time to figure out their opinions." Luka says confidently as he dusts off his hands. He's now realizing there's an unpleasant residue from the meat that he needs to wash off immediately, and makes a note to find a sink as soon as possible.

"Thanks for letting us have some of your stew by the way, Ten. It's very generous."

Gyre, meanwhile, is not bothered by the meat goop on his hands and he actually reaches up and licks his fingers thoughtfully.

"Can I have some of this before you cook it?" he asks after a moment, reaching over to snag a loose piece of the fish before Ten starts stewing it.

"Go ahead. We always make a lot. Twelve finishes all the leftovers." He answers, noting that Luka's just finished with the fish and is holding his hands a little out there. He shuffles slightly, moving to touch at Luka's wrist and guide him over to the sink. He reaches with his other hand and kicks the hot water on for him, just in case.

Then he turns back to Gyre and offers out a piece of fish. When did he pick that up? Where did it come from? But the moment it's taken, he moves back to the orbven and starts adding ingredients carefully into the pot they'd placed in there earlier. Somehow he doesn't spill any of it, despite the small size of the slot he's sneaking it through.

Luka's occupied with thoroughly washing his hands, though he listens carefully to Ten's words and the various sounds as the monster makes his way around the kitchen. As the stew begins to come together and its aroma fills the air, Luka's stomach audibly whines.

"Ah, I can't wait." He says, eagerness clear in his voice as he locates a place to sit. "Are you suuuure you don't want to invite anyone else? Because, to be honest, I can't guarantee I won't finish this all off myself."

Gyre takes the second piece of fish, popping one into his mouth and turning the other over in his hands slowly. He watches Ten slipping things into the weird ball, tilting his head very slightly.

His attention shifts to Luka as he starts talking though, and he begins to move across the room, pulling a chair out and settling beside the man. He's content to just watch Ten though, wondering if there's anything else he needs help with but not asking just yet.

Fortunately, Ten won't be long as he adds the remaining ingredients into the pot. A moment later, he swings the door to the orbven closed and twists the latches shut on it. A moment later, the orbven starts rumbling and shaking as the flames inside kick on. There's a dull roar in the air and a radiating heat out from it.

"You would explode if you tried to eat it all." Ten answers jokingly as he looks back towards Luka and Gyre.

But then there's a soft 'ding' behind Ten and he starts setting out a bowl each in front of both Gyre and Luka, plus one closer to him. He sets a spoon into each with an audible clink, and then he goes to the orbven and presses a button that's on top.

The scent of all the ingredients, turned into an incredible stew with an indescribable flavor that managed to hit savory, sour, spicy, sweet, and bitter notes all at once. It was a literal bomb of flavor and the scent reflected that. That bomb of smells rises up from the bowls in front of Gyre and Luka, accompanied by a soft sloshing sound as all three bowls fill with the stew mixture.

Ten hadn't opened the orbven, he hadn't served it, so how the heck...?

"Careful it's hot."

"I don't know, I'm hungry enough that it might be worth it to-" Luka jokes right back, but his thoughts are suddenly derailed by Ten's next actions. The food was ready so soon? But it just went in?

"That was... fast." He says with clear surprise. He's not complaining, though, especially as the enticing and delicious scents of the stew wafts over. Luka's already reaching to find the spoon when Ten issues that warning, though he's reluctant to even give it time to cool.

"Did you use magic?" He asks, between blowing on a spoonful.

Ten reaches over to obtain his own bowl, one finger holding the spoon in place as he brings his meal up to his face so he can... not blow on it. He keeps an eye on it, watching it as if waiting for something.

"Probably magic. Not mine. Everything cooks fast." He answers, one eye glancing over to the orbven where it's radiating heat still. He realizes that now, in this moment, he doesn't know exactly how it works.

Gyre watches this conversation ping pong back and forth, feeling utterly content for the first time in awhile. He pops the second bit of fish into his mouth, scanning the room idly, looking down at his own soup when Luka notes how fast it came out. Maybe there was already stew in there, he thinks, but then Ten says he's not sure how it works.

He pauses a moment with that realization, deciding that it makes him curious enough to actually try this stuff. He was really thinking about passing on it and trying to find more fish somewhere else. He plucks the bowl up, leaning close to it and taking a deep breath in, the scent of the food washing over him.

"It smells good," he notes, his tone making it clear that he didn't expect it to smell anything close to good. He blows on the soup gently, glancing up at Ten and uh watching him watching his bowl?

"What are you looking at?"

"Magic is convenient for things like that, isn't it?" He adds with an approving nod. "There's something quaint and charming about completely traditional cooking, too, though."

Luka's about to taste a spoonful of the stew as Gyre raises the question about Ten's current state. He was previously, of course, completely oblivious to it - but Gyre's question has piqued Luka's curiosity was well.

"Hm?" Luka tilts his head, hesitating to indulge himself a moment further. "Are we looking at something?"

Ten nods in response to Gyre's comment. It does smell good, and then he asks what he's looking at and Luka asks about it as well. Fortunately his stew is at exactly the right moment for it and he takes a step closer to the table, setting it down and commenting:

"The first bubble tastes the best." He comments, pointing at his bowl where a blue bubble is starting to rise off of the surface of his stew. It looks like it has smaller bubbles inside of it, too?

"If you put your spoon near it, it will stick and you can eat it easier." He adds, demonstrating with a spoon. In an instant, the blue bubble shifts from rising off of the stew to literally attaching to the spoon like a magnet with a soft 'plp'.

"You can eat just the bubbles or the whole stew."

What the fuck.

Gyre is completely stunned by a bubble that big coming out of a stew that had seemed mostly normal up until now. Or well. Normal in construction even if the things put into it weren't normal at all. Is that where the bubbles come from.

He looks down at his own bowl, watching the bubbles begin to form, and he picks up a spoon to copy Ten. Once he lifts the bubbles inside bubbles though, he uh stops there.

"How do you eat it...?" He can only imagine his fangs instantly popping it and all this ??food?? going everywhere.

Same, Gyre.

"We're looking for ...bubbles?" Luka's tried a lot of unique cuisine but he's never heard of a bubbling stew. And while he knows this was prepared with alien ingredients by a Wizard monster using a magical stove, the idea still takes him by surprise. "That's... unexpected. What makes it bubble?"

He picks up his spoon purposefully and tries to set it near the surface of the stew in his bowl. If this is how it was meant to be eaten, he wants to try to eat it properly.

"Did I already miss the first one?"

Fortunately for Luka, he hasn't missed the first one! Ten watches Gyre successfully obtain a bubble, and then he turns to answer Luka.

"One is right by your spoon." He says a moment before the bubble gets big enough to magnet-attach to the utensil. There's an immediate weight on the spoon and a soft vibration as the other bubbles form inside the first one.

"Open your mouth, eat the bubble. That's all." He says simply, looking back at Gyre. The man hadn't voiced his assumption about the way it'd go down when he ate it but...

That's pretty much exactly what would happen if Gyre were to pierce the bubble with his fang. Additional bubbles all over. Luka, meanwhile, will get a mouthful of flavor bubbles if he chooses to take the bite. One bubble bursting into dozens, each that settle into a bit of stew to leave them with a mouthful of delicious flavor. Enjoy the magic food!

God dang it, Ten. A warning would have been nice! But he doesn't get one after asking for an explanation, so he raises the spoon to his mouth and tries to take a bite of it, y'know, like he does with all the real food he eats.

"Augh!" he shouts, jerking to his feet and toppling his chair as the bubble pops exactly the way he has worried about. The smaller bubbles go tumbling wildly down his front and onto the table and floor, and he forces himself to stop so he doesn't step on any of them. He goes very still, and after a moment, he sighs in clear irritation.

He thinks about saying something about this, but he settles for just eyeing Ten for a beat, clearing trying to decide if he's just been pranked or if the monster just didn't think to say anything about it. Either way, he decides that he'll be way safer eating around Five in the future, and he bends to start plucking each individual soup bead off the ground.

"Don't move your feet, Princess, I dropped... the bubbles?"

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Day 7: Evening

Aftern-Evening: 3pm - Midnight

The Weather

Prompts:

Procedure:

Activity Check: January 2020

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