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

The first chair that Luka comes to happens to be a little small for a person, will he stay put on the chair or find one that's a little less small? Fortunately, the Wizard isn't judging.

"That's why Eight invited everyone, to have a place that's safe." She answers, sipping her cocoa a moment before a mug of cocoa 'clak's softly onto the table in front of Luka. As always, there's something available to drink.

"It's always been safe here, he can't get in."

The oddly small size of the chair does not go unnoticed, though Luka doesn't mention it. He looks confused and uneasy trying to make himself fit in that slightly-too-small seat, but he simply assumes all the chairs are like this and thus tries to adapt.

"Yeah, I'm glad for it." He says, shifting again until he finds a tolerable position. "I'll have to thank him later."

Luka's now come to expect a mug containing the hot drink du jour to appear shortly after encountering the Wizard, and so the sudden presence of the drink is no surprise. He moves his hands to hold it, relishing in its pleasant warmth and breathing its scent in deep.

"Do you think it's likely he would have tried something on one of us tonight, otherwise?"

Edited 2020-04-07 03:01 (UTC)

Five would've had a field day if she could see Luka struggling to get comfortable here. Fortunately the Wizard isn't going to rat his struggle out. She's tempted to offer another chair before he seems to get comfortable. She'll bring it up if he looks like he's struggling. She waits for him to take the cup before she answers.

"I heard he wanted to talk to you again." She comments first, referring to Eight, before she moves on to his question.

"Matilda hasn't made it here yet. He may already have made a move. Eleven is looking for her." She explains,

Luka perks up when she says Eight wanted to speak to him. Interesting! He makes a note to find the monster whenever his conversation with the Wizard here wrapped up.

But his mood sours at her next statement, and he nearly jumps in his chair.

"What?" Luka smoothly pulls his phone from his pocket and begins rapidly texting. "How can you imply that so... casually? You really don't know if she's safe or not?"

She doesn't want to startle him any further, so she switches to reassuring him of the situation.

"I'm here to keep everyone here safe. Eleven insisted on searching for her. They think they know where she's going and where he's hunting." She offers, hoping it will ease his thoughts somewhat.

If the Wizard's response calmed Luka down any, her use of the word hunting to describe the Protector's actions undoes any ease she had instilled.

"Is that what he's doing? Hunting us down?" Luka asks, too disturbed to partake in his drink as it sits in front of him. The notion doesn't truly surprise Luka, considering what he and Gyre had confirmed the previous night in the cave, but hearing the it from the Wizard was still unpleasant.

"I guess he's not worried about being seen killing unarmed, defenseless Knights once he's declared us all traitors."

Unfortunately sometimes the truth bit harder than a kind lie, and she takes note of his worried reaction. She pauses thoughtfully with a "Hm" before she responds.

"That is most likely the case." She confirms, waiting a moment before continuing.

"He will take whatever steps he deems necessary to attain his goals now. He seldom leaves things to chance."

"It's a miracle he's been able to maintain his image so long, then." Luka sighs, finally raising his mug to take a sip. "I might recommend he get into PR if he weren't actively trying to kill us all."

If the Wizard couldn't comfort Luka's anxieties, the hot cocoa certainly could. He relaxes in his seat as he imbibes the drink, sighing this time with satisfaction as he places the mug down.

"How have you coped with it?" He asks after a moment's pause. "Being unjustly hated by everyone on the planet, I mean."

The Wizard nods slightly, she has no doubt that the Protector's manipulative intensity would fit perfectly into the world of advertising, marketing, influencing, and giving speeches to the masses. He could easily be the face of anything and make it work to whatever end he wanted. Which, in this case, would be trying to kill everyone.

But then Luka asks about her and how she copes with it and she shrugs slightly before responding, even though he can't see it.

"I'm away from all of it most of the time. I try to change what I can try to change, that's all I can do."

"That's one way to deal with it." Luka wishes it were that easy for him. Even getting away from it here was a double edged sword, he thinks as his stomach churns at the thought of returning tomorrow. "I guess it's less complicated when the people that hate you aren't your people."

Luka's contemplative for a moment as he mentally runs through all the things he wants to ask the Wizard, overwhelmed slightly at the possibilities and knowing how little she's at liberty to actually say.

"What did your people think of you before? Back on your planet."

Edited 2020-04-13 04:46 (UTC)

"They didn't." She answers, simply, setting her drink down.

"I was kept from the public eye. He was the one in the spotlight leading up to our departure." She explains, spinning a finger at her mug before she sits back. There's the fresh wafting scent of coffee in the air a moment later.

"We did not return before the end, I assume they hoped for the success of our mission."

"Hmm." Luka nods, taking a casual and thoughtful sip of his cocoa. He's attempting to conceal the intense intrigue brought on by that response. "Why were you kept from the public eye, though? I thought you guys were like, a team."

It certainly made no sense for a bodyguard-type robot to be in the spotlight to him - but who knows how culture worked on their planet. Maybe that was something more exciting and important than a scientist.

"Did it ever bother you that he hogged the stage so to speak?"

"I wasn't meant for that purpose. I was often asleep." She answers, pausing for a moment but ultimately deciding not to elaborate on what that means because her other answer will help.

"It didn't. I was not who I am now, and I did not know him like I do now. Time has taught me more than anything else has."

That was a Wizard-Brand Response if Luka had ever heard one. He mulls it over in his mind for awhile, quietly enjoying his drink as he does. It was easier to think about than their current crisis, anyway.

"You weren't meant for that purpose." He repeats quietly. It's an odd phrase to use for sure, and not one Luka feels particularly fond of given the context.

"Were you meant to ensure his safety on the planets you were visiting, then?" He asks, hoping this is something the Wizard could answer.

"That's correct." She answers his inquiry, nodding along with it as she shifts her mug into a fresh mug of cocoa to sip from.

"While also ensuring the safety and continuation of future missions."

"So." Luka pauses, slightly hesitant to continue. "So you're the robot?"

I mean, she was making weird whirring and humming noises yesterday - it's not a totally weird thing to ask out of nowhere! That, and she's probably aware of what kind of information he'd have access to at the bridge.

"Your original purpose was to protect the Protector then, huh... soooo, why does he go by that title? It would suit you more."

She's still making weird whirring and humming noises, they're just a little quieter now that she's had time to recover. She sips at her cocoa for a moment before manifesting marshmallows in it.

"That's correct. And he chose our titles when this all began. He decided on names that fit the plan he made." She explains casually, like she's sharing a recipe for a cake.

"You don't seem like a robot. Uh, no offense." He says. "You just... like food so much."

Luka didn't typically associate a desire to eat and sleep with artificial intelligence, though he knows its not necessarily out of the question. The Wizard also had a tendency for dramatics that robots typically lacked, in his experience. The two of them really did seem more suited for each others roles on the surface level.

"It sounds like you were treated like more of a tool than a person, originally. Is that true?"

"I wouldn't disagree with you." She half-confirms, curious where he's going with the inquiry. But she jumps back to the food bit.

"It would be less comforting if I were unable to eat at all, that was part of the original plans for my design."

Edited 2020-04-16 00:55 (UTC)

"That doesn't seem to be the way he views you." Luka comments, thinking about the utter distaste the two of them seemed to have for each other. The Protector's bitterness seemed far beyond what one would have for a malfunctioning robot. "Well, he acts more like a machine than you ever have, anyway."

Luka finishes the cocoa and sets his mug back down on the table in front of him, leaning back in his too-small chair casually. He steadies himself with one hand on the table's edge, his fingers drumming against its surface quietly.

"I'm glad they changed the plans, then. Enjoying food is one of the better earthly desires."

"Time has changed many things." She answers, agreeing with his observation first before she moves on to the second comment.

"I think he would take that as a compliment." She adds a moment before he finishes his cocoa. There's a soft bubbling sound as the mug re-fills with the choclety liquid and she finally decides to help him with his chair dilemma.

"There are other seats that are larger than that one if you prefer." There's a pause here before she moves on to his last comment.

"I agree, there are a great number of culinary items that have been worth trying. Ten wants to make many himself, too."

"Well, he shouldn't. It's frustrating - not to mention boring." Luka sneers. The sound of the mug magically re-filling is a welcome one, and he's is eager to pick it back up again.

As he lifts the mug, Luka suddenly stops in his tracks as she explains the truth about chair situation.

"Oh, now why didn't you tell me that sooner?" He says, playing it off as he stands from the seat. "Or did you just like watching me struggle?"

He uses one hand to find another chair - one that feels appropriately sized. Once he's hopped chairs enough to find one suitable, he settles back in with a comfortable sigh.

"Anyway, Ten's good at cooking. The stuff he makes is pretty unusual, but I can't say it wasn't good."

"I didn't want to interrupt." She answers him, shedding light on the hopefully-true reality of why she didn't tell him sooner. She also lets Luka have his jab at the Protector. If she agrees, she doesn't reveal that.

"He's trying to learn something new every time he cooks, I think he likes cooking for everyone else the most." She adds, hoping that Ten will get the chance to cook a big meal like he absolutely wants to.

"That's fair." He says, taking a long sip. "Is everything in here like that? All differently sized?"

He didn't particularly get that vibe in the kitchen the previous day, but he didn't spend much time feeling out the room or anything. If the house was laid out like that, though, it would be good to know to prevent further confusion.

"I know lot of great dishes he could make. I bet he could put a unique spin on them, what with all the exotic ingredients growing here." Luka adds excitedly. "Before the Protector went and fucked everything up, we were planning a big meal for Sxicq, actually. Do you think Ten would want to cook for them?"

"Their rooms vary, but most areas are neutrally sized." She answers, confirming his kitchen suspicions. The size of that room was pretty much the shining example of 'neutral' sized areas within the house.

"You should tell him about your requests so he has time to practice." She answers, pausing with a thoughtful 'hm' at his other commentary.

"I think he would, but someone would have to give him the idea."

The Weather

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