Day 8: Evening

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 ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ When Olivia finds the Wizard, she's reclined with her feet up on the table. She has both hands holding her cocoa, and her hat is tipped slightly down over her face. She looks really, really relaxed honestly? ]

Of course, take any seat. [ She offers, sounding relaxed as she motions out at the room with one hand. The other twelve seats are in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are too big for Olivia, some are too small, some are just right. Whatever fairy tale these came from, at least some were usable. ]

[Olivia is far from relaxed, but she does her best not to show it. She's not sure whose chair it is, but she picks one of the biggest to seat on - that way she can sit criss-cross applesauce on it, the superior way to sit.]

So, I... figured I should get to know you, if that's okay. I mean, since it looks like we'll be... working together? [It was weird to speak to her casually. Most of the conversations the media had shown between the Wizard and the Knights over the years were the "you will never win, evil Wizard!" type of interactions, and Olivia briefly wondered what people would think if this was being televised.]

I imagine you already know way more about me than I'd like you to but uh, regardless, I'm Olivia.

[ If Twelve was around, she'd wonder why Olivia picked her big chair. But as it stands, Twelve is somewhere else so the big chair is all Olivia's. Nice. ]

I don't know anything about you. [ She admits, answering as she brings her mug of cocoa closer to her face. She'll probably have to sit up if she wants to take a sip without spilling that all over herself. ]

But it's nice to meet you. Did you like the garden? [ She follows, curious what Olivia will have to say about the alien flowers, veggies, and fish out there. ]

You don't? [Olivia blinks in surprise. She'd have thought the Wizard would've made it her business to know everything about the Knights she'd have to fight against, and especially herself, considering she was, until this afternoon, one of the Protector's chosen.] My bad. Guess I'm still used to thinking of you two as omnipresent or something.

[Her lips form a small smile when the Wizard asks about the garden, her tail swishing contently as she replies,] It's beautiful... I've never seen anything like it. It's nice to get a change of scenery, too. Not that Hersen isn't charming, but...

Does the garden... resemble your planet?

[ The Wizard shakes her head in response to Olivia's question. ]

It's made up of pieces of all the worlds that came after. The parts we were able to bring with us are here. [ She pauses, briefly, getting back to the point of the question. ]

We didn't bring anything from our home world. It was supposed to be there when we went back. [ She shifts, starting to shuffle up in her seat so she can take a sip of her cocoa. ]

But we didn't know everything then, either.

Oh... from those nine worlds you lost, then? [She asks, not trying to sound accusatory but rather, genuinely curious. Those worlds must've been very beautiful indeed.]

I guess the Protector wouldn't have had much reason to lie about your past. [She muses, resting her chin on her hand as she watches the Wizard sip her cocoa.] Scientists that lost their world to... something, and started travelling to prevent that from happening to other people? [With little success, she thinks.

She furrows her brow, trying to recall the conversations she'd had with the Protector, wondering how much of what he'd said she could still trust to be true.] I know what he's said your intentions are, and I know what Gyre's said... but I think I'd rather hear it from you. What do you actually want out of all this? Why this bet, this game?

And from the ones we saved, too. Little pieces from all over are here with us, all together to make something new. [ She explains simply, she'd already seen some of the plant life starting to play nice with each other. It was fascinating to grow it all together like this. But her attention is on Olivia as she thinks out loud. ]

The plan made at the beginning didn't work according to the plan made. Improvisations didn't mend the damage. It's all a charade that can't continue, or everyone will die. [ She answers, aiming to answer all of Olivia's answers in one swoop. She takes another sip of her cocoa after she says it. ]

I want this all to end. [ She gives a little shrug as she says it. Forty years ago she viewed this much differently. But now so much had changed, so she had to, too. ]

[So the Wizard's really just... tired, huh. Olivia shifts in her seat.] I see...

So, there's basically no stopping our world ending anymore... right? Gyre seems to want to ship everyone somewhere else, anyway. [Her face shows she's not confident in the idea, but she doesn't voice her opinion.] As I understand it this was... your idea?

[ Tired was probably the understatement of the century. But it wasn't wrong. She watches as Olivia works through her thoughts on what she'd heard, and then she asks that question and-- ]

Staying will only result in death, for everyone who remains. Taking the same actions that were taken up until now will only make it happen faster. [ She nods, confirming the whole idea before she moves on to the rest of it. ]

It wasn't entirely my idea. The others here helped shape it.

[She sighs, mulling the Wizard's words over. The end of the world has been confirmed by everyone she's talked to at this point, but it's still a hard thing to digest. Silly as it was, she still had hopes she'd go back to her normal life after all was said and done, but it seems it's time to truly let it all go.] Well, as long as I can take my cat with me, I suppose...

It'll be hard to convince people to trust us after what the Protector pulled today though, huh... [A beat.] Especially if we have to kill him for this to work at all. Not that I can see a different alternative to that anyway; it certainly sounds like he needs to be stopped, and it's not like any of the others will be cool with anything short of doing that. Not even Luka would want to stand up for him at this point, I don't think. But how will you do that, anyway? Can you really kill him? Well, rather, I suppose I should ask how will we do that, 'cause your one-on-ones always seem to end in a stalemate or with you being all cyborg-y. No offense though, it looks cool. I mean, I imagine we'll need all hands on deck to stop him, right? I just don't—

[Olivia cuts herself off, cheeks coloring lightly, finally realizing she's been rambling and should at least try to talk coherently in front of the Wizard. Hopefully she doesn't mind too much, though.]

[ The Wizard gives a small thumbs-up in response to Olivia mentioning bringing her cat, because then she's listening to the knight talking aloud about her thoughts for more than a moments. ]

Gyre wants to keep him alive. [ She answers after all the things that Olivia had thought out loud. She isn't going to say as much while Olivia has so much on her mind, instead opting to answer questions. ]

I won't be able to beat him alone.

He does? [Olivia tilts her head, surprised.] I would've thought... I mean, he has a lot of reasons to want him gone. He tried to stab him in the back and everything. I'd sure want some payback if I were in his shoes... well, I still want payback. [She's thoughtful for a moment, a frown forming in her features.] For the ones he killed, I mean.

[She purses her lips.] Do you know... well, there's a few Knights we were sure got killed by the monsters but... is that true? Or was it him?

[ She nods along with what Olivia's saying, pondering exactly how she can respond to those words. It takes her a moment before she responds and also answers that other question. ]

A lot has happened, mostly bad. Some deaths have been accidents, some have been more complicated circumstances. [ She answers, uh, pretty vaguely. She can try to clarify at least a little by adding: ]

Your friends and the bridge have more answers to those questions.

Complicated is a word for it, I suppose. [Olivia knows by now that being cryptic is part of both the Protector and the Wizard's nature so, although she's disappointed, she doesn't press the subject.

She gives the Wizard a nod when she suggests searching for answers elsewhere, perking up a little when the bridge is mentioned.] I haven't explored that option at all yet. All that stuff makes me a little nervous, to be honest. Do you go there often?

[ The Wizard shakes her head at Olivia's new question, she hates to give such a short answer but-- ]

It's a safe place, but I haven't been back in forty years. Nine and Eleven spend the most time there.

Oh, are they the tech experts, then? I thought that might be Eight, with the texting and... well, the dummy thing. I guess I should probably introduce myself soon, to them and the others.

[There's a small pause before she turns to the Wizard again, a gleam of curiosity in her eyes again.] Is there any reason you haven't gone back? A rule against it, or something? Too many memories, maybe?

I'm sure they're all eager to meet you. [ She follows up, pausing a moment as she pops a mug of cocoa into existence for herself. Another one pops into existence near Olivia's head, just waiting to be picked up. The cocoa summoning gives her a moment to consider her answer. ]

I would only go back if we were getting ready to leave. Otherwise there's no reason for me to be there when there's so much to do out here.

[When the mug suddenly appears in her personal space, Olivia freezes up for a few seconds before reaching out to take it. The Wizard doesn't need to know that her generous cocoa offering caused a short internal battle between Olivia's body, which was trying to jump out of the chair in a kind of cat-suddenly-noticing-a-cucumber instinctual reaction, and her mind, which had been chanting don't embarrass yourself in front of the Wizard constantly since their conversation started.

She gives the Wizard a tense smile as she brings the mug closer to herself, taking a moment to smell the drink.]

That's a fair point. [She answers after a moment.] I suppose this has been your busiest year here so far, huh? I mean, I imagine you had been planning this for a long time, but... hm. Did you know this year was gonna be... the one?

[ Fortunately there's nothing suspicious or scary about the mug or cocoa once they've been acknowledged and taken. If the Wizard had known it was going to prove spooky, she wouldn't have made it appear so close. But what was done was done. ]

It had to be the one. [ She nods, giving her own cocoa a swirl in the mug. ]

I didn't know at the beginning what would happen, but it didn't take long for it to become clear. Most of the plans aren't mine, though.

No? I was under the impression you were in charge of everything around here. [It's nice to know everyone contributes their own grain of sand, though. She sips her cocoa, making a pleased sound at the taste.

A thought crosses her mind, and she tilts her head in curiosity as she lowers her mug.] What about... the Knights, though? Is it true that you're the one that chooses us each year? How do you choose? [She watches the Wizard expectantly. These question have been in her mind ever since she'd found out she'd be a Knight herself, but she never really thought she'd get to ask them directly.]

All of you have more control than I do. [ She offers in response to Olivia's assumption about her being in charge. ]

The magic chooses. Sxicq chooses. I find out who you are the first time I meet all of you. Sometimes I never really meet a knight before they're gone. [ She says before shaking her head, her characteristic smirk nowhere in sight. ]

[She nods, mulling over the Wizard's words. She's a little disappointed that the Wizard doesn't have all the answers, as she was led to believe all her life. The world's magic choosing the Knights makes much more sense though, although she supposes she won't be able to get answers as to why she was chosen from Sxicq.

She takes another sip of her cocoa, then offers the Wizard a little smile.] Well, this isn't an interrogation, you know? If you're at all curious about me, you can ask.

Ah, although, there is something I've been wondering for a while. [She says, pursing her lips in thought.] What do you call them, the monsters? It seems rather unfair to keep referring to them as such... especially given what we know now.

I call them by their names. [ Her answer comes immediately, without a hint of hesitation. It was just the polite thing to do, and they hadn't ever wanted to be called anything else. Maybe someday, when all of this blew over, they could. But it would take a lot. ]

What do you want to do, when this is all over? [ She decides to counter with a question, deciding to take Olivia's offer for her to ask questions too. It was a fairly open-ended question, but maybe Olivia would share something she wasn't expecting. ]

Huh. That's fair. [She says, with a blink of surprise at the simple answer.

She thinks about how to answer the question. It's a little hard, as her mind wanders through all the posibilites of what the future holds, depending on what happens in these coming days.] Well... assuming everything goes well and we don't all die horribly... I'm not sure actually. Definitively not what I was doing before coming here. Not that I didn't like my life before, quite the opposite, but... I just feel like I should do more. For people. Maybe. You know? [Her face twists, unsure. She hadn't given this much thought.] Although, if we move out of the planet, we might have to start, uh, dividing ourselves into hunter-gatherers and farmers again. In which case I think I'll learn how to farm. Maybe start a pretty garden like yours, huh?

What about you?

[ The Wizard nods along with Olivia's answer, curious to see the knight working through her thoughts and plans. ]

Everything here will act as the beginning for starting over, but the world will need more hands to craft gardens. I look forward to seeing yours. [ She answers, encouraging, before she moves on to that other answer: ]

Some rest, I think. Then... [ She gains back that same small smirk, seemingly considering the answer. ]

I might try teaching others.

Day 8: Evening

Evening: 5:00pm - Midnight

The Weather

Prompts:

Procedure:

Activity Check: April 2020

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