Hope RP (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wizardseason) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
pajamabox2020-02-10 03:50 pm
wizardseason) wrote in pajamabox2020-02-10 03:50 pm
Day 8: Morning
Morning: 6:00am - 12:00noon
[ IRL Timeframe: February 10th, 2020 - FebruaryAfter 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.
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.
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"Y-yeah, sure." Garrot sighs, staring out into the ocean for another long moment. But when he finally looks over towards Haizea, there's none of that flirtatious whimsy from before. He's tired.
"You were late this morning." There's the faintest chiding in his voice, the briefest glimmer of a little smile on his lips. He could make a joke or poke fun, but he doesn't have the energy. "And I heard you on the phone-"
"I mean..." He catches himself immediately, which might be surprising in itself. "I heard you were on the phone. I couldn't hear what you were saying." He won't say that he could've eavesdropped but didn't, or that he saw her throw her phone into the ocean.
"Wanna talk about it?" And it's only now that he actually looks at her, drenched and wearing that tight swimsuit and he is absolutely staring and blushing without realizing it.
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She's quiet for a moment, running her hands through her hair to separate the strands so that it will dry faster instead of hanging in one wet clump. At this point, Garrot knows the most about her of anyone on the island. And after what she's just done, the risk of telling him more is much lower.
"I was on the phone with my kids," she says, drawing her legs up to her chest and resting her head on her knees, looking up at Garrot for his reaction. She's never openly spoken about her kids before, and she suspects this statement might interrupt the train of thought that's caused his blushing.
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"I had no idea, I-" He stops and takes a breath, trying to be gentle and diplomatic. They have more in common than he realized. "Are they okay? Are you?"
And then he gently reaches an arm around her shoulders, though it hovers for a few moments to give her a chance to shrug it off. Garrot will hugbear the crap out of Haizea if she lets him...
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"They're gonna be fine, that's all that matters," she says. At first, she doesn't react to Garrot reaching an arm around her, but then exhales and allows herself to lean in. She's never been comfortable with showing weakness.
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"If you want some extra insurance, I can make some calls." The words are soft, almost hesitant. "If that'll help you focus." Garrot knows his kids will be fine (except psychologically) if something happens to him. He can't say the same for Haizea's, because he knows literally nothing about them.
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"That's sweet," she says, "But they're as safe as they could possibly be. I made some calls of my own, no one will be able to find them now. Not even me."
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"And what about when this is all over?" His other hand reaches across their bodies, moving to turn her body towards him. Side-hugs aren't good enough for this, a full-on bosom-press seems appropriate, but he'll get there slowly and relent if there's any resistance. "You'll be able to find 'em then, right?"
Ever the optimist this one.
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"No, they're getting new identities and relocating right now. They might be able to find me, after, but they shouldn't. It'll be too dangerous." She allows herself to be angled into his chest, adjusting her seated position. Her legs are absolutely covered in sand but she makes no moves to dust them off. How is Garrot so comfy?
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"We're going to save the world." He's confident and forceful as he squeezes her into his chest again, resisting the urge to just scoop her entire body into his embrace. He makes no indication that he cares about the sand, and he'll even start to bring one of his legs closer to hers. "Our lives won't ever be the same but there's no reason for you to give up your family." There's a pained desperation in his voice- if Haizea's leaving her loved ones behind, if she truly thinks that's the right thing to do, should he do the same?
But that closer leg starts to move its toes beneath her calf, a gentle request for just a little more contact. It's a lot easier to escape from his internal struggles when there's someone he's into, right here with him.
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"Hang on," she says, and pulls away from Garrot, lifts herself up so she's kneeling, then swings one sand covered leg over both of his to plant herself squarely in his lap. "Much better. Okay, so," she starts, placing her hands flat on his chest in front of her and making direct eye contact, "I'd like to tell you what I've been hidin', what's been goin' on back home, and why I gotta hide my kids now. If you'd like to hear it."
She hopes he does, this might be awkward if he doesn't.
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Garrot quietly gasps as his buddy pulls away and ends up right in his lap. So much for gradual escalation! Her hands are on his chest, and she's... offering to share intimate personal details from her life? This is pretty much everything he had in mind to keep people from falling for the Wizard: charm and trust and intimacy. So he's not complaining.
"Of course." The verbal assent is deep and husky and almost sensual, like he was giving her permission to do far more than talk. Without breaking eye contact, his left hand moves to press her right into his chest, so she can hear his heartbeat. His right hand moves to her waist, firmly supporting her in case she loses her balance. And so he can pull her in closer later.
"You can tell me anything." For just a moment, despite the grim talks they're having, he wears a soft smile, before gently just... nodding.
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"My job... it's not just less than legal. It's crime. I run organized crime. I pay off cops to leave me and mine alone, I forge documents and identities, I smuggle goods and contraband. That fightin' ring we met in? I started it, I still own it and other gamblin' dens across the city. If there's an illegal operation in the bounds of my city, I got my hands on it. We've even been expandin' through Farida lately." She sounds... almost proud? Definitely not like she's remorseful for being a crime boss.
"And well... lotta people want a piece of me. Rival gangs, federal authorities, you name it. I've always kept my head down, most folks got no idea I'm the boss. If they did, they'd have it out for me, and more importantly... for the kids I take in." She pauses there, looking up at Garrot to gauge his reaction.
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Garrot can't look at her. His head is gently turned inland, away from the beach, the ocean, from her . If Haizea pays attention, she'll notice that his breathing has slowed and softened, like he's trying to fade away. But then he turns back towards his ally, and he's looking past her. Contrary to his week of bluster, Garrot is now utterly, eerily calm.
"You lied to me." The words are a deep, throaty whisper, like he would rather be roaring. "You led me on. You let me try to take you on vacations and help with your business." Garrot's hands start to tense up, to make the Dragon Knight acutely aware that he still has claws.
"You let me agree to put myself, my career, my family, my kids in danger." With that emphasis there is an unmistakeable moment where his composure is gone, where a bestial growl billows from his throat, and he finally makes eye contact again.
"All because you're not good enough at your job to get some work-life balance. Unless that's another lie." His vicious whisper breaks just long enough to show a moment of sheer contempt, and then it levels out into a normal tone and volume.
"We're supposed to trust each other." A short sigh, the only relief from the stress this dangerous woman just introduced, after all that hard work.
"Why should I trust you now?" If anyone were to side with the murderous, powerful Protector to "save" the world, Garrot figures it's the woman with the criminal empire, hidden children, and deceptive streak.
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"To be fair, I lied to everyone," she says blithely. "You're so optimistic, foolishly so, but it was such a nice dream I didn't wanna dash it, not yet. Half of us have died already, Garrot, I never thought for a minute that we'd actually be able to go see the snow in Kosenkorva or that you'd come visit me in Farida. I'd never want to put you and yours in danger," she sighs and looks away now. At no point has she tried to get out of his grip, not yet at least.
"Besides, it's all over now. It was probably over the moment Fumicq came to me. I tried to keep a hold on things, tried to keep my connection to my crew, to my kids, from being public knowledge, but this is the biggest event of the year. You scare off one reporter and a dozen more pop outta the woodwork. The story is gonna break soon, and it's gonna be worse than even the reporters know, so I just pulled the plug. My kids will get all my funds and new identities far away from me, my crew will go underground until the dust clears, and I'll take the fall." This is why she broke her phone, to remove as much of a connection between herself and the people she cares about as she possibly could.
"You probably shouldn't trust me, but I'll trust you. I've got nothing else to lose by doin' so."
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"I'm not interested in having a weak, short-sighted crime boss nipping at my heels. Be better." Just like that, he's gone from calm to contempt, and he's still not looking at her. But given his huff, he's not done yet.
"All of our lives are changing, not just yours. My kids are gonna need so much therapy." He scoffs, and the way his head moves shows he's probably rolling his eyes. It'll be a logistical nightmare that he totally blames himself for.
"But it's only the criminal Knights that don't want to break all of society's rules with a free chance. Idiots." Garrot crosses his arms and shakes his head. Zafika was one thing, but Haizea too? A trend!
"If you don't want things to fall apart then survive, fake your death, and go right back to your business." Garrot says it like it's the simplest thing in the world. Because he is, of course, a bit of a showman. "Or did you just get this far on dumb luck?"
If she pays attention, Haizea may notice that he is kinda trying to encourage her and empathize (ish). But of course, he's half expecting pushing to turn to punching...
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"Don't patronize me, Garrot. I know what the fuck I'm doin', I know when it's time to bow out. This has always been the plan, I'd rather cut ties and make sure everyone else is safe than push it too far and get everyone caught or killed out of my own selfish pride. I worked hard to get where I am now, but I'll throw it all away in a heartbeat for them! I only started this shit for them in first place!" She gets up now and starts dusting the sand off her legs. Is she planning to leave?
"I don't care if you think I'm weak or stupid, if you don't want my trust then that's your loss, not mine. All that matters now is that I do whatever I can to save this fucked up world." She's reaching for her clothes now, she won't even bother to get dressed until she's far away.
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"I can see why your operation's such a shitshow." There's a chuckle and a pulse of magic, and suddenly his foot, claws and all, is resting on the edge of the bin with their clothes. Not stopping her, not on the clothes, just there. If Haizea looks where Garrot was, she'll see a vague trail of golden-bronze dust in the air. He moved fast.
"I've been trying to give you something to hope for since we got here, trying to convince a famous fighter who can summon lightning she's got a chance, so I'm foolish." There's a little scoff at the end there. "You lie to me, don't even apologize, get mad at me for being hurt, and then try to act like your trust is more important than what you just broke." Garrot takes a moment to dig his other foot into the sand, in case she tries something rude.
"Is this how you treat people? Your kids?" There's a sharp exhale through his nose. "Were we even friends, or was that a lie, too?"