Day 8: Morning

Morning: 6:00am - 12:00noon

[ IRL Timeframe: February 10th, 2020 - February ~~19th~~ 26th, 2020 ]

After the events of Day 7 and the chaos that it brought, the heroes have learned a number of things that most of them still aren't sure they're ready to know. What will they do with their knowledge? How will they share it with each other? How will--

At about 6AM, everyone receives a text from Garrot. Anyone who saw him the evening before may be surprised to see him forming complete sentences and, uh, threatening everyone? Is he okay? Anyone brave enough to want to text him back?

What a great start to the day, an early text. But that's... surprisingly the only shake-up? It's eerily calm.

The Protector had been knocked out to sea by the Wizard, spawning a number of serious worried conversations on social media. Is he okay? Was he dead? Is it time to panic? There were plenty of memes, too. Like the wizard in the foreground with sunglasses, a golf club, and a wide smile with the protector in the background and the words "time to go golfing" memed accross the image. At least some people were still in a joking mood.

The Wizard, too, had a collection of social media posts about her current circumstances. The overall opinion was that she was way scarier than before, was she a terminator? Wizardinator?

To make matters worse, Sxicq was missing. The hashtag #childlookout was trending with almost hourly updates of the island. Sxicq didn't make themselves difficult to find, which meant that spotting them even from distant photos or drone snaps was pretty straightforward. But there was no sign of their characteristic glow or disruptions anywhere. No bigfoot-esque sightings in the back of other photos. No panic that they were eating entire restaurants' stocks of food.

Nothing.

Talk about a calm before the storm, especially since Eight had alluded to several of the heroes that there was still going to be a fight today.

It turns out to be another opportunity for the heroes to collect themselves, gather information, and get themselves on stable ground. It's warmer today, and there are passing waves of light rain all over the island. Little drizzle showers that stick around just long enough to make you seek shelter, but not so long that you wonder when it'll let up. The sun dares to peek through every now and then, occasionally at the same time as the drizzling rain.

Eighth Morning Event: None.

The Weather
Light rain.
68°F / 20°C
A gentle breeze.

Prompts:

6:00am The Text, All Cities: "Mandatory medical exams today at 8AM at Far Haven General. The front desk will see you're escorted. You will be frisked, multiple times. Hospital staff says no weapons, no chaos. We can't piss them off.

That means nobody gets their animal companions, since some of you are idiots. They'll be left at the front door before going off on a guided tour. If you or yours don't cooperate, it will be assumed that you want to harm the Princess and you will die.

See you then!"

At about 6AM, everyone receives that text from Garrot. Anyone who saw him the evening before may be surprised to see him forming complete sentences and, uh, threatening everyone? Is he okay? Anyone brave enough to want to text him back?

8:08am Eight, All Cities: Anyone who decides they're going to text Eight to make a plan will find that he doesn't answer any of his texts until 8:08am. He replies to everyone all at once, at exactly 8:08 and 8 seconds. Whether your hero sent one text at 6am, or eight texts between 6 and 8am, all the answers come at exactly the same time. If anyone asks to go to the garden, they'll be deposited on the landing pad in the garden... at 8:08am. Predictable.

9:00am The Wizard, The Garden: The Wizard can be found in the vegetable section of the garden for any heroes who go looking for her. She's tending to the plants, picking weeds, watering the beds, and preparing new sprouts to grow in the empty spaces.

?:00am Anywhere, All Cities: Surely your character has to be getting up to something this morning, somewhere. This is a general catchall post for any threads among heroes that occurs. Whatever your character is getting up to, however they're preparing, or however they're coping. This is the place for it. Eight said there was going to be a fight this afternoon, after all, so there's something on the horizon at least!

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: February 2020

[ IRL Timeframe: February 1st - February 29th, 2020 ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"If that's how you want to read into my approach, who am I to stop you?" He shrugs, his tone lighthearted and impish despite Garrot's initial scoff of judgement.

He's still brushing off stray sand as Garrot stops his training and makes his approach. Luka's about to open his mouth and respond to his exercise explanation when Garrot stops short in front of him and drops some pretty heavy assumptions.

"I-," he begins, and Luka feels his face flush with embarrassment. He wasn't used to being so boldly called out like this! "I didn't expect you to just sob into my shoulder like a baby, you know. But maybe you should try it, because it might be cathartic for you."

He folds his arms defensively, and then Garrot uses the word 'cowardly' to describe him and Luka feels himself boiling over as the rest of Garrot's question melts away unnoticed.

"Oh, I apologize that my concern for your well-being is irritating to you." He says through clenched teeth, one foot digging into the sand beneath him. "I wanted to cheer you up, that's why I came out here. I didn't want you to be angry and alone when all of the Knights seem to be dropping dead like flies. But fine, keep being stubborn and obstinate if you really want to end up in that cave like the rest of them!"

His last words are nearly shouted, and when Luka finishes he's breathing heavy with his hands balled into fists at his side. This definitely didn't go the way he was hoping it to, oops.

Garrot has been fiercely regaining control of his emotions for most of this morning. Contemplating how betrayed he feels by the world and his father, how scared he is of the Protector, and how much his loved ones will hate him if the world has to die. This is nothing by comparison. So he watches and waits as Luka reacts and lashes out and raises his voice. And Garrot just sighs.

"There it is." The words are just a little condescending, as if Luka's concerns were trivial. "There's your true colors." Then he chuckles, condescending and goading, like he wants nothing more than to piss Luka off, to get his emotions out in the open.

But then he's moving, masterfully quick and surgically precise. He steps forward and snakes his arms around Luka's waist and ribcage, his hands resting on the Princess's shoulder and the small of his back. His hands begin to pull, and the Princess is brought into a powerful hug, his face gently meeting Garrot's chest.

"I'm sorry I worried you." His voice is warm and soothing, as if Luka was his son who just scraped his knee. Garrot is more experienced than most at coping with the dangers of Harsen Island. "Do you want to sit down and be not-okay together?" And the hug loosens a bit, enough for Luka to break it if desired.

Your move, Princess.

Garrot's condescending tone makes Luka want to burst, and his hackles are fully raised as he hears the man moving closer. He's absolutely braced for some kind of aggressive physical reaction - but what he is not expecting is a hug.

He's not sure what to make of this. His body is still rigid when Garrot pulls him in, but as he apologizes in that particularly soft voice Luka feels himself give in and releases all the tension building up inside him. He lifts his arms around Garrot's back and squeezes him tight, fully burying his face in Garrot's chest.

"We need to work together. We need to do what hurts the least amount of people." He says, barely audible. "I know its easier said than done. I know you think I don't understand anything, because I don't. I'm just trying to keep everyone alive."

Garrot, naturally, wasn't worried about Luka's temper. He was, if necessary, restrained. But as the Princess relaxes and lets his guard down, that hug comes back in full force. So he listens and waits, Luka seems to have a lot going on. Maybe they can meditate together tonight. That might be nice.

"You took the words right out of my mouth. Every single one." Garrot even laughs with the remark as he takes a moment to run a hand gently through Luka's hair. He takes a moment to shift his weight, and then suddenly there's a third hand resting briefly on Luka's other shoulder.

"The vast majority of us are on the same page." The voice comes from behind Luka, making it abundantly obvious Garrot has conjured a clone. Garrot's never alone, Luka. "He'll be convinced if we find something that works."

And it isn't until he says it that he realizes Luka could think he's talking about the Protector and not Gyre. If only...

"We're on the same page," he says, still making no effort to move. "In different books. And we're at the mercy of beings a thousand times stronger than any of us."

Luka stops himself, taking a few deep breaths. He came here to raise Garrot's spirits, and this was perhaps the exact opposite of that.

"Uh..." He suddenly changes the subject, pulling himself away from Garrot's hug despite how comforting it is. "Will you show me how to do... that stuff you were doing? With the weapons?"

It was easier than thinking about their dilemma ad nauseam. And if there were physiological benefits to be had, Luka wanted to reap them too.

Luka prompts two whimpering little sighs from Garrot. The first, when he says they're on the same page in different books. Damn, dude. The second, when he pulls away from that hug. And he... asks for training? Huh.

"Why do you want to learn a weapon?" Garrot isn't so much defensive as... casually surprised. "If we're up against people a thousand times stronger than us, wouldn't it make sense to get better with fire instead?"

Given how easily angered Luka was before, Garrot's braced for Seth-tier pushback. But the question is honest, because, well, he still thinks Luka's fire was his own...

"That fire wasn't even my magic. It was the monsters... and I haven't felt that feeling since Four." He sighs. "Every other weapon I've had has been from the Protector."

Nothing good had come from the Protector's weapons. They had all only killed innocents, after all. And then there was the whole situation of the sword in Luka's head.

"If I don't have his weapons I'm useless in all this. I don't want to be."

He's not sure how useful Garrot's training would make him. He'd always be at a disadvantage due to his blindness, with no magic weapon to always strike true. But it was better than being completely untrained, right?

The fact that Luka lied about the fire, and that he's so reliant on the Protector, it... well, it sucks. Garrot manages a soft little whimper as he keeps listening to how useless the Princess feels.

"There's gotta be something else you can do, though. You don't even-" And Garrot stops mid-sentence. He's reminded of Seth's eagerness despite inability... and how the Rat Knight is dead. Maybe he could've done more for the kid. He exhales forcefully from his nose, and suddenly there's a couple faint puff sounds and the undeniable cloud of golden-bronze magic dust.

"Show me the best footwork you got, Princess." And Garrot's voice is a good fifteen feet further away, oozing with the same powerful authority he's had in the past. He's watching you real close, Luka...

Garrot is likely about to be quite disappointed, as Luka has no idea what he's being asked to do here, exactly.

"'Footwork'?" He tilts his head slightly, feeling put on the spot as Garrot watches him expectantly. "You mean like, dancing?"

"I- Yeah??" Garrot's clearly caught off-guard by Luka's, well, lack of awareness. In fact, it's managed to drag him entirely out of being stern and authoritative. He cups his hands around his mouth, going from projecting his voice to just, uh, a casual shout.

"Yeah." He sounds a little more confident! "Your ability to move your feet around and maintain balance and momentum." And then suddenly Garrot starts shuffling his feet around in the sand, as if he were a boxer.

"You don't just stand around and sing, do you?" That's a challenge, Luka, that's absolutely a challenge. Do an acrobatic fucking pirouette right into combat class.

He's about as caught off-guard as Garrot is in the moment. Luka didn't actually expect Garrot to ask him to dance, right there on the beach. It takes a few seconds of loading time for Luka's brain to catch up before he responds.

"Well, usually I just play my guitar." He says. "Buuut, I think I could recall some of the routines I've learned for special performances! Maybe you've seen some before?"

Luka's not nearly as skilled at dancing, but he's happy to show off some of the moves he'd practiced. He goes through several highly precise and choreographed steps, the motions coming to him as easily as they had the day they were debuted, including a spinning flourish that ultimately lands him in the sand ungracefully. Turns out, dancing on sand isn't quite the same as in a studio! Who would have thought.

At least they got the chance to be confused together. Garrot doesn't mind waiting, and he finds himself crossing his arms authoritatively as Luka goes through the motions. But when the Princess ends up in the sand at the end, there's another volley of puff sounds and golden-bronze dust. The Monkey Knight's presence is undeniable, now looming over poor Luka.

"Not bad." Garrot's restraining a little laugh, trying not to poke fun at the master performer taking a stumble as he casually offers an arm. "If you're not willing to move around in a fight, you're dead." The emphasis comes with his voice taking a darker, more dire tone. "You're easier to trip up, you're not putting your body into your swings, and your movements are more predictable." Sounds like that's your first lesson, Luka.

"Does that make sense?"

"Well, I don't think I'd be thinking about dancing in the heat of battle." Luka huffs, reaching a hand up to ask for assistance and finding that one is already there. Convenient! He pulls himself to his feet and starts brushing the wet sand off of himself... again.

"How can I be less predictable?" He asks with a sudden serious determination in his voice. If things were to come to a head with the Protector, the least he could to is avoid getting stabbed. "Can you show me how to put my body into my swings?"

"Hm." Garrot grunts as Luka rattles off those questions. It's a lot to cover in a short amount of time, and it's not like the Protector doesn't have a home field advantage. Or magic. Or guns.

"Predicting your opponent requires reading them and knowing yourself. Don't be reckless." The words are calm and matter-of-fact, almost automatic. Like the question is typical. But then he chuckles under his breath, reaching his free hand towards Luka's head, gently stroking his hair.

"If you want me to show you," he sounds a little excited, "we'll get physical. You'll be safe, but..." Suddenly, Luka will feel a bit more weight on his head, and as the doctor's hand wanders down to his collarbone, there will be weight on the Princess's entire abdomen. Hope you like wearing sparring gear, Luka. Free golden-bronze headgear and chest guard for you.

"We both know you won't learn if you sit back and watch." The hand on his collarbone moves to firmly grasp the other man's shoulder. "Is that okay?" That said, the sparring gear sure makes it sound like it'll happen anyway.

Edited 2020-03-05 16:47 (UTC)

Ew. Whatever Garrot magically appearified on his body feels ugly, but Luka is trying not to care. Maybe there are people watching. Maybe there are people with cameras. It's whatever. It's fine.

"You're right..." He says hesitantly as he feels out the gear. "I've always been more of a hands-on type of learner. I trust you not to squash me like a bug, armor or not."

"It's all just a precaution." Garrot's voice is hushed and soothing as he sees how uncomfortable Luka is. And in a few quick steps, the Knight's hand is no longer on the Princess's shoulder, he's undeniably a few feet away, and there's a mean little chuckle. "We both know you can't hurt me, Princess." Garrot's big and tough and they're not using real weapons, so...

"Straighten your body, and punch me in the chest." And then Garrot... scoots forward an inch or two, to make sure that the Princess's fist can make the connection. "No leaning, no shoulder. Just your arm." Learn by doing, Luka. In this case, learn by doing something utterly unrealistic.

Luka nods, following instruction and straightening up his posture. He swings his arm and makes contact with Garrot's chest with as much force as he can muster without actually putting the entire motion of his body into it. Admittedly, it's a pretty soft punch considering the limitations.

"Like that?" He asks expectantly once the deed is done.

Naturally, Garrot does not flinch.

"Perfect. Didn't feel good, did it? Now relax, and let me move you into something more comfortable." He waits a beat for Luka to to just that, and suddenly there are more Garrots, one to Luka's left and right, and they get to work. One pulls his right leg back, so his weight is on the ball of his foot, while the other pulls the left leg forward. They coerce his body to curl in on itself into a boxer's stance, and his fists are brought up into position near his face.

"Good job! Now-" One of the clones slaps Luka's ass gently for encouragement, and they both disappear. "Push off with your right foot. Turn your hips and torso and shoulder to put your body into it. And punch me in the chest, just like before." Half a moment passes before he feels compelled to follow up: "You still won't hurt me."

"It felt weak." Luka agrees as he allows the Garrots to adjust his position. He's still not entirely accustomed to there suddenly being multiple Garrots, despite everything.

He nearly jumps when he's suddenly smacked on the ass, almost undoing all the work they'd put into positioning him that way. Luka's thinking about how that was going to inevitably be a picture being passed around online when Garrot's already giving him more instruction.

He thinks over the moves before putting them into action as best he can, resulting in one (1) more punch directly to Garrot's chest as requested.

The punch thuds directly into Garrot's chest again. And then... he gasps??

"Oh no." He's utterly monotone, almost robotic. "Your punch was so strong, it broke my rib and ruptured my lung. I am going to die now." And then he just starts making this overly dramatic, raspy gurgling noise.

Except, well, any time he takes a breath, there's a little giggle before he continues the longest death rattle ever. He'll do this all day to make you laugh, please stop him Luka.

"Hey!" Luka huffs. Is Garrot... making fun of him? He's not entirely sure, but that's how Luka's interpreting the man's sarcastic joking. "I was following your instructions perfectly! If it wasn't good, that's on you."

Luka gets back into the position Garrot had previously put him in, nearly hopping in place with energy, eager to prove himself.

"Let me try again! I'll really get you this time."

"It was okay..." This cheeky disaster man is absolutely egging Luka on. His voice is undeniably taunting, and as Luka readies to go again, Garrot's stance loosens up and he... leans back.

"But practice makes perfect!" He's suddenly enthused, and the faint rustling of sand from under his feet starts to echo as he begins bouncing.

"So punch with your left. Then your right. Back and forth. And keep moving forward, keep putting your body into it." Then there's the loud, dull sound of Garrot punching into his open hand. "And every punch, think about something or someone you're mad at."

Stress relief and combat training? At once? Garrot's pretty sure he's the most successful Knight ever.

Luka nods, a determined look on his face as he raises his fists and readies himself to punch again. He thinks for a moment on what or who to direct this anger at - if he only knew what was in store he'd surely have no trouble deciding, but in the moment he's only consumed by his own mistakes.

"Okay, you ready?" He asks. As soon as he gets the affirmative from Garrot, Luka starts swinging. One, two. Left, right. The punches steadily get stronger and more precise as he goes further, making grunts of effort as he puts more of his body into it. After a few solid rounds of punches, he steps back.

"Better?" He asks through heavy breaths.

It'll be abundantly clear to Luka that after the first like three punches, Garrot stops playing around. The first few punches impact against squishy fat and inactive muscle, but once he gets going the Princess will probably notice Garrot taking tiny little breaths out as each punch connects. As each fist connects, it'll hit tensed muscles; is fightmaster Garrot bracing himself?! Yes, absolutely, but he'd never admit it.

"Definitely." Garrot can't really stop himself as a proud little chuckle radiates from his entire body. "I'm pretty sure you've done this before." Sure, that's an exaggeration, but Luka clearly needs encouragement and support right now. And speaking of support...

"Wanna talk about what's got you so angry?" He'll close the distance a bit, and put one giant hand on the Princess's shoulder. "I doubt that was all about me being alone."

"Maybe I wound up in a few rowdy pits before." He says, relaxing his stance. He makes it sound cooler than it actually was - Luka was never throwing fists in mosh pits as a kid, but he'd drifted dangerously close to a few before being reeled in by friends. Still, Luka revels in the praise from Garrot.

"You called me a coward when I came here to help you." Luka says plainly, skeptical that he's the one whose anger needs to be examined. "I'm not the one who sounded like I was about to throw fists at the meeting this morning."

The Weather

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