Day 8: Evening

[wizardseason]

Evening: 5:00pm - Midnight

[ IRL Timeframe: April 1st - April 15th, 2020 ]

The light rain has changed into a downpour, coating the island, its forests, and its people in a constant barrage of water. After the events of the afternoon, it's like it's all being washed away.

Except it isn't, because the events of the day all happened. They're all real. And social media is abuzz about the loss of Harsen Island's mountain. Now, it's all just flat. There are forests, but Craydon is no longer a mountain-side town. Instead, they have a cog train that rolls horizontally across the flat ground from the main train station and over into their very flat town in the woods. Bamborough's hillside hotels with dozens of floors higher up for an ocean view are now down with the rest of the buildings, and only the highest floors can see out over the touristy area to the water. Far Haven, in contrast, has barely changed. You can't flatten something that's already flat. The only textures left on the island are the silver humps of two ships, one near Far Haven and the other near Bamborough. There's also a hump at the center, the cave entrance, leading down into the cave where the bodies were. For anyone who goes to look, there's a new body there now.

- [1] -

The participants in the fight against "Eight" put up a valiant fight, eventually defeating it in a show of heroic justice somewhere along the tracks. In all the rain, its yellowed body is disappearing away into the ground as it washes away.

- [2] -

#childlost

Sxicq is... somewhere. The internet lost them again. Wherever they're at, it's not out on the surface of the island.

- [3] -

The monsters, meanwhile, have returned back to their home in the garden. At least, the ones who seem to live there.

Five and Six are in their rooms on the main floor with the doors open. Five is laying on her bed, tacking away on her flip phone. Six is in his room, sitting on the edge of the bed, also on his phone. If there's anyone in Four's room, it's unknown due to the closed door. Also on the main floor is the Wizard. She's casually sitting in one of the more plain of the thirteen chairs, reading an unnamed book. There's a steaming mug of cocoa on the coffee table in front of her.

On the second floor, Ten's room is the only one open. The doors for Seven, Nine, and Twelve are all shut. If anyone heads in to look for Ten, they'll find him writing in a small notebook with the title "Chef Notes" on the front.

On the top floor, Eight's door is shut but has a small "Text me" sign dangling off of the handle.

- [4] -

If anyone goes looking for the newly surfaced space ships, all they'll find is the smooth metallic surfaces of them rounding out of the terrain. If there's a way in, it's not obvious to others

The Weather

• Heavy rain.
• 59°F / 15°C
• A constant wind.

---

Prompts:

• 5:00pm Onward: Monster House, The Garden: For any heroes who are up for meeting any of the monsters, this is their opportunity. Some closed doors will have no one behind them, but the open doors are a guaranteed someone to talk to. Will they talk to the monsters, each other, or the Wizard downstairs in the sitting area?


• 5:00pm Train Station, All cities: All trains have been suspended, citing the "unknown conditions of the island's tracks" after the events of the day. No one is allowed to ride the rails, no one is allowed to go anywhere. Is your hero trapped at a train station waiting for an uber? Does another hero come to their rescue? What's the deal?


• ?:00pm General Post, Anywhere: Does your character go to investigate things around the island? Do they meet with other heroes somewhere over coffee? How are they handling being cut off from the world? Their family? Their loved ones? How do they feel seemingly being made the enemy of all people of the world?

---

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.

OOC Mortality Warning: Any hero who actively seeks out the Protector IC will be at a high risk of death in some manner. He is on the move, tread carefully!

---

Activity Check: April 2020

[ IRL Timeframe: April 1st - April 30th, 2020 ]

Comments

?:00pm General Post, Anywhere:

[wizardseason]

Does your character go to investigate things around the island? Do they meet with other heroes somewhere over coffee? How are they handling being cut off from the world? Their family? Their loved ones? How do they feel seemingly being made the enemy of all people of the world?

Hopefully they don't try to find the Protector, that'd be deadly.

Sad boy hours, Open

[eutychia]

Luka has retreated back into the Garden after the events of the afternoon settled (as much as those particular events could be settled), brazenly turning tail and running away from Harsen Island and all its troubles. He needed a moment to breathe, he justifies to himself, though the knot in his stomach only twists tighter.

He's found himself back on that bench by the lake, unsure of where else to go. He's looking oddly pedestrian tonight - no makeup, minimal jewelry and a downright average attire. It's clear he dressed himself, and in a hurry. The few belongings he'd grabbed from his Craydon lodgings rest beside him: his old guitar and an uncharacteristically silent phone.

Luka's blankly laying across the length of the bench, facing upward toward the Garden's artificial night sky. He picks up his phone occasionally, sighing in frustration at the absolute lack of response from some of the few people he trusted enough to give his contact information to. It hurt being so powerless to explain himself, and with another sigh, he lets his phone fall from his hand into the gravel beneath.

[sustainer]

This is not what he expected to see when he came to the lake. He's here to find some measure of peace after the day, a chance to listen to the water and meditate. He's pacing the circumference of the water when he spots someone laying on the bench.

It's not until he's gotten much closer that he realizes who it is, and his steps quicken along the path, eager to see the Princess again today. He slows the moment he reads his mood though, coming to a stop a few feet away from him.

"Luka?" he murmurs, unsure whether the man wants any company at all with how blank and dressed down he looks.

[eutychia]

Luka wasn't expecting anyone to come upon him here either, and startles when he hears what sounds like approaching footsteps. He feels a sense of relief when the other speaks up, however - of all the visitors that could encounter him here, this was one of the better possibilities.

"Gyre." He says, scrambling as he sits up. His instinct is to act like nothing is wrong at all, but he knows that Gyre knows that's... absolutely not true, for any of them. Trying to play it off wasn't going to work.

"I didn't know where else to go." He says, pulling his legs underneath himself to make room for the other on the bench. "Craydon's a mess, you know. No one's even talking to me."

[sustainer]

"Oh, you--" he starts, raising his hands as if to pacify him as he scrambles up like that. He hadn't meant to disturb him, and his face twists sadly. He has known that things were hard, but something about seeing Luka here like this makes it all come home for him. He shifts forward a few steps, hesitating a beat before sitting down next to him.

He starts to speak, "Ah," but he doesn't know exactly what to say yet. Instead, he reaches up and runs his fingers lightly through his hair, then down his cheek gently. He settles his other hand on his knees, just touching him as if that will make it all better.

"We can change their minds. We'll make it better." He doesn't know if this is what the man needs to hear, but it's the thing that's kept him going all day basically.

[eutychia]

"I know. We have to." He sighs at the small comfort of Gyre's touch, but his words are shaky and unsure. He moves his hand over Gyre's thoughtlessly, wishing he could have the confidence to believe everything would work out so easily.

"I hate how he's silenced us." Luka's other hand clenches tightly at his phone as a miserable anger rises within him. "Every second we're prevented from setting this straight is another second someone who believed in me thinks I've betrayed them. I could never. I'm nobody without them."

Luka knows Gyre's equally as powerless to fix the problem as he is at the moment, but it felt cathartic to put his thoughts into words, and anything was better than burying them and stewing in his misery.

[sustainer]

Gyre nods very slightly, pausing for a few moments to let his concerns settle in. It hadn't occurred to him that they might be blocked from talking to anyone. He'd only seen the message from the Protector. It's not like he had social media accounts to notice being deleted. He has to turn the thought over a few times, before he takes a deep breath and reaches out to squeeze Luka's wrist softly.

"The Wizard and Nine, they can help us make a video like his. You'll be able to explain all this soon." He pulls away after that, rubbing the other's knee.

"You can't talk to anyone on that thing anymore...?"

[eutychia]

The idea stirs an inkling of hope buried deep within Luka. If they could pull off a worldwide broadcast as the Protector had been able to do, it just might be the only thing that could redeem them in the eyes of the world right now.

"That's..." He starts, his expression brightening just the slightest bit. "We have to do that. I want to be able to make our case."

His attention is pulled to his phone as Gyre mentions it, and Luka shakes his head sadly in response.

"The Protector blocked access to our accounts, somehow, so we're not able to post anything online. I can call my family... but it's probably safer for them not to rise to my defense right now." He explains. "Not that anyone would believe them, really."

[sustainer]

He feels tension slide out of his body as Luka brightens just that little bit. It's good to see, and he squeezes his knee softly.

"Mmm, maybe you could call them once we've gotten out message out," he murmurs, trying to figure out a way for Luka to keep in contact with the people important to him. His thoughts wander after that though, and he returns to the previous topic.

"I'm trying to find a way to stop him long enough for the rest of you to record something. You and the other knights."

Luka + Eight, Text

[eutychia]

Later that night, Luka sends a text after being tipped off by the Wizard that Eight wanted to speak to him.

Hey Eight.
A certain Wizard told me you wanted to talk to me about something?
What's up?

[wizardseason]

Eight stares at his phone as the text arrives and it takes him a full eight minutes to draft up a response. But he sends it all at once, a wave of texts that arrive at the exact same moment:

Hello
Nothing
Something
You like music?
You make music
It's good

...How embarrassing.

[eutychia]

Well, this was unexpected. Luka takes a moment to double-take at the message, making sure he heard it correctly.


You listened to it?
And you liked it?


Luka can barely contain his excitement as he types his response.


Do you make it too?
It's my favorite thing ever.

[wizardseason]

Uh! The first two texts come back to Luka instantly, both at once:

Yes
Very yes

...Smooth? Or not smooth?? The next responses come all at once, eight seconds after the first two.

Yes I do
It's very fun
I'm still new

[eutychia]

Luka blinks curiously at the message, analyzing their tone more carefully now that Gyre had questioned it.

Are you OK?
A lot happened today.
Just want to make sure you're cool.


Hopefully that doesn't freak him out more.

[wizardseason]

Eight stares at Luka's questions on his screen for several moments before he sends three texts all at once.

Very cool
Just busy
And worried

...It's only after he sends it that he realizes he could've maybe sent a little more. Maybe he should've-- So he does, and another text pops up eight seconds later:

About surviving

[eutychia]

Well, that was a troubling addition if Luka had ever seen one, and his expression falls suitably as his phone reads it out.


You're going to survive, I promise.
What makes you think otherwise?


Luka's not sure if Eight's even willing to divulge this information. It's pretty personal. But he wants to reassure the monster if he can, so it's worth a shot.

[wizardseason]

There's a delay before the next texts come in, but just as usual they come in a big bundle all at once. How does Eight even do that...?

Just worried
Lots of unknown
Small chance of success

There's a bit of a pause again before one last text comes in separately:

You have to survive too

Luka + Olivia, Text

[eutychia]

A lot has happened since the tumultuous meeting this morning, and now Luka realizes just how long its been since he's really got to touch base with Olivia. It seemed even more pressing now that the Protector had officially turned on them both.

And so Luka finds his phone and types a message out to the last remaining Protector knight.

Hey Liv.
You're in Twelve's Garden right?
Wanna meet up?

[disguiseself]

[A minute later, Luka's phone buzzes with Olivia's reply.]

yes. where are you? i'll go to you.

[eutychia]

Despite already being told Olivia was safely in the garden, the solid confirmation of it is a welcome relief to Luka - especially after having learned the Protector was on the hunt.


You know where the portal usually dumps you?
And there are those signs?
Let's meet there. I'm not far.

[disguiseself]

[Olivia texts him a quick omw and starts heading to the entrance. It doesn't take her too long as she'd been outside anyway, continuing the exploration she'd started as soon as she'd been portal-ed in.

When she sees Luka, it feels as if some tension she was holding in her body dissipates, replaced by relief. She quickens her pace the last few meters towards him, stopping short of giving him a hug.]

Hey. [She greets him, and the genuine smile on her face is apparent in her voice.] How... are you doing? [It had been an... unusual day, to say the least. She regrets she and Luka weren't together when the Protector declared them traitors - who knows that kind of danger he could've been in out there.]

[eutychia]

Luka's demeanor echoes a similar sense of relief when Olivia approaches. He puts his phone away, satisfied now that they were able to meet up.

"I've certainly been better." He says with a laugh - a weak attempt to downplay his anxiety. He takes her arm a moment after she draws close. "How much of this place have you seen? It's pretty wild, isn't it?"

Luka's bursting with desire to vent about the absolute chaos of the day - the meeting, the Protector, the monster fight and Sxicq - but he starts small and casual in spite of it.

[disguiseself]

[She's glad that he reaches out for her and she happily lets him take her arm, briefly placing her hand over his in an attempt to be comforting.] It's beautiful here. I've been taking my time exploring everything... there's a lot to experience. I almost feel like I won't have enough time to appreciate it all, and I wish I'd come here sooner, but... [Well, despite her sympathy for the monsters, she didn't have a concrete reason to trust the Wizard before today.] Um, anyway, the wildflowers are my favorite part.

Uh, you've been here before so... is there any place you have in mind that we should go to have a chat? Or would you rather just walk around?

[eutychia]

Luka takes a few steps forward, pausing where the signpost detailing the main areas of the garden area.

"Have you seen the vegetables? They're... different. Not like ours exactly." He explains. "They taste pretty good, though. The Wizard brought them here from planets they failed to save."

It was a stark reminder of their predicament, but reminders of the state of the world were fairly difficult to avoid. It loomed over everything like a particularly bad storm cloud.

"I like the lake, too. You can hear the fish."

[disguiseself]

[Olivia wonders what the Wizard would choose to keep of all that their planet has to offer. She almost asks it, too, but then it dawns upon her that they'll probably know soon enough.]

Uh, farm sounds nice, then. [She says, taking a quick look at the signpost for directions before starting to guide Luka that way.] I'm a bit of a city girl so I can't say I've ever been to a, uh, normal farm, so. This'll be a learning experience. [Who knows, they both might need to learn how to farm if they start over in a new planet.

The thought is... actually terrifying. She doesn't want to start over. If she thinks about it too much, she might cry.

She takes a deep breath and steels her expression.] Anyway, do you know if everyone else is here? It seems like the only safe place to be at this point, right?