EVENT LOG: WITH ME ALL ALONG

[nextnightmods]

EVENT LOG:
WITH ME ALL ALONG

characters: everyone.
location: around town.
date/time: May 1-10.
content: rain, rain, go away
warnings: n/a. please cw tags appropriately.

And I wouldn't be the same without you

Welcome to WITH ME ALL ALONG, the follow-up event to BOTTOM OF THE RIVER. We're so glad you've made it here with us! The prompts below are designed to cover the entire first third of May as the process of sorting through the wreckage and beginning to rebuild is a lengthy one. Seeing as how we've just overhauled and updated all core pages in the GPSL, there may be errors here and there! If you spot something that looks wrong or out of date, drop us a line.

We are also happy to announce that EXPLORATIONS are now open! Remember that for now, only one explore per character per month will be allowed, so choose your destinations wisely. Rebuilding or other setting alterations is now entirely separate from explorations, and the form for setting alterations can be found below the map on the updated setting page.

Dedicated characters keeping an eye on the bonfire and the torches around town mean that 82 torches are able to be found either in the bonfire, at The Invincible upstairs, or scattered nearby around town in easily-accessible places and can be freely picked up and returned to the bonfire in threads. Many others are still safely accounted for by characters in other locations, but 19 torches seem to be completely missing. To find them, please see the FOLLOW THE LIGHT prompt below, and then sign up for a feather under the Torch Retrieval comment in this log. And don't forget, if you take a torch from the bonfire and place it elsewhere, let us know!

Lastly, keep an eye out for an upcoming npc post on the network within the next couple of days!

HOLDIN' ON FOR SO LONG

The downpour from the heavens fades to a sprinkle, then to mist, over the late hours of April's last night. When finally the rain ceases, the flood begins to drain away, retreating to the lake. And the river, proud and full over its banks, sinks back downward, leaving little rivulets in the dirt like grasping hands that cannot fully hold the weight of all the water in the channel and finally they too lose their grip on the land.

There is darkness in the direction of the lighthouse. The cliffs have eroded, and the tower, the beacon that Beacon was once named for, has slumped and crumbled into the lake with the stones it once stood on. The rest of the town has suffered various fates. Bridges lie scattered in pieces on the lakeshore or wrapped around buildings; the Town Hall has collapsed and clockwork lies scattered around the Bonfire square - and so do people's personal belongings, for the cabins of Bridalveil Falls seem to have been raided by the water and what wasn't smashed or toppled has been carried by the flood to some unexpected places. You might find your favorite mug half-buried in silt outside the Post Office; your winter long johns now hanging from some battered shrubs outside the Delft Theater. Perhaps far worse is the number of people not responding to messages on the network. What's missing, and where can you find it? Who needs help, and which buildings need to be prioritized? Why did the welcome message just start playing the moment you look at your tablet?

And what happens when a full day goes by, and then another - and the ferry never arrives?

I'M HELPING!

Since the storms have ended and everyone's started taking stock of what's been destroyed and who's left among their population, the mood has understandably become a little dour in Beacon and the spirits have taken notice. A few days into attempting to rebuild what they've lost, citizens will start to notice piles of debris stacked up, usually near the supplies they're using to rebuild or in windowsills or doorways. Sometimes they're piles of branches, sometimes they're shingles that had been lost to the storm that you'd thought you'd disposed of, sometimes it's an unusual amount of moss. Usually it's a combination of all of these, plus some other things found along the way.

More often than not, the spirits will leave these quickly enough not to be seen, but if you're lucky you might find one or two setting up their offering, though they don't stay long once they're seen. This is supposed to be a surprise, after all!

FOLLOW THE LIGHT

Much of Bonfire Square fared surprisingly well, thanks to the valiant efforts to protect the torches mostly resulting in success. However, that's not to say the storm did not take its toll. The accommodations built there by long since lost Beaconites have mostly washed away. There is only one exception to that rule — the shack that used to be home to the Bonfire Keeper, while dilapidated, seems to linger on.

The Keeper himself is nowhere to be found, even when most of the wreckage is cleared away. That is, until the very last pieces are stirred and a scattering of feathers is left behind.

There's something odd about the feathers, and when touched, they will float up on a sudden breeze, glowing a comfortable gold in the dim of the square. Almost like a breeze takes them away, suddenly the feather will float off in the dark, beckoning like a guiding light. As it drifts the light will fade, yet the feather insistently twists a trail to something, gently navigating those brave enough to follow. Eventually, the feather will find a torch that has been displaced or lost, floating just above it until it has been reclaimed. Once it has, the glow will fade and the feather will return to normal, decorated in the colors that will seem familiar to any that knew Rastus well.

It seems his system for locating absent torches has helped to protect the bonfire one last time. Where will the feather lead you?

QUICKNAV
comms	|	network • logs • memes • ooc
pages	|	rules • faq • taken • mod contact • player contact • calendar • setting • exploration • item requests • full nav

Comments

TORCH RETRIEVAL

[nextnightmods]

Sign up here! Simply post a blank comment with your character's name - or describe picking up a feather, if you like - and we'll get back to you with the results!

Sora

[arsarcanum]

[ Probably one of the first to pick up a feather! Caution? What is that?

He'll speed off in chase as soon as the feather whips away. Hey, where's Rastus? Will the feather take him to birddad? What is happening??? ]

Jason Grace

[notthatjason]

Pudding

[flangirl]

[ One of her excitable teenaged friends invariably sends her a message or a selfie, and while this is about the last thing she wants to do it's. It's time to be helpful, right??? She'll just ignore the world's most nauseating tinnitus and edge toward the wreckage cautiously - oh. There's one right out here halfway to The Invincible, directly in the path. That isn't ominous or anything. ]

Link

[sublimebeast]

[Link is searching through wreckage near Bonfire Square when he sees a feather drift past.

He immediately hooks his lantern back to his belt and chases after it.]

Rastus?

H-hey, wait!

Soldat

[worthallthis]

While prowling his normal patrol route once the first basic bridges are back up, checking to see how much is still intact, he'll find a feather somewhere along the route and follow it.

Haein Seo

[unwieldy]

[ Time to follow a strange, glowing feather.

Haein isn't expecting anything when he reaches for the feather, but as soon as the tips of his fingers brush against it, it's up and away. He's reluctant at first to see where it leads, his steps hesitant as he follows, but they grow more and more willing when he realizes there's a deliberate direction it's taking. ]

Fjord

[fjorgedinfire]

Once Fjord has been given the clear to explore again after his concussion, he'll head back towards the church to check it out with a clear head, and find a feather near the giant hole into the tunnels that beaned him earlier.

[catholicisms]

Matt & Elektra are gonna head off to follow a feather together! bc he blind and can't do it on his own, whoops... .. . . . unless magic pathfinding feathers have a significant sound cue BUT WHATEVER babe is here too

Minimus Ambus

[legalcy]

[He's going to initially reach for the feather while cleaning up, but once it appears to move on its own accord, he follows it slowly.]

javert

[policier]

( He discovers one of the feathers while out on patrol, shortly after the waters recede, in the northern area Beacon. He seems quite hesitant to touch it, at first, not knowing what its purpose may be, but he does so eventually, once curiosity gets the better of him. )

[paletteswap]

[This sentimental old fool is going to pick up a feather to put on his tea table with the origami frog Hanzo made him. But then whoosh, away it floats.]

Rosinante and Mary

[callada]

It's Mary who reaches for the feather first honestly. Rosinante has no choice but to scoop her up and give her a ride to wherever it leads them rather than letting her run off alone.

Bucky/Soldat | OTA

[worthallthis]

I. Emerging

The final sputtering and stopping of the rain isn't immediately enough to let them out-- the water needs a little time to recede-- but it's enough for Soldat to wade outside, holding up their lantern above the current, and try to get a look at just what remains. It's a little easier, without being pounded by rain, and with the water's motion less insistent tugging on their legs.

Also easier to see just what's been ruined. Even if they can't get across the river to the village, seeing what happened to the town hall makes them think it's unlikely to have fared well....

They can be found removing debris away from doors of the major central buildings, including the flooded town hall, for most of the first day while the flooding subsides. Looking for survivors... or lanterns. Or bodies, if no one coming for the lanterns means the bodies remain.


II. Docks

Every morning for nearly a week, Soldat stops at the docks and peers out into the dark, looking for the ferry, listening to the newly warped welcome message over again (though not looking at the images, because the flickering drives them nuts). Already they're doing calculations in their head, for what supplies are left and how long they'll last, and planning how best to make shared meals that stretch those supplies as long as possible. Eating fresher food first, in case it does in fact spoil eventually, saving the cans for later.

As the days go on, they look grimmer and grimmer, both for the lack of supply and the lack of survivors joining the remaining group, changing their calculations in a much sadder direction.

"We'll need to work harder to make our own food," they say, mostly to themselves, but if someone has followed them to the docks, it might as well be a conversation starter.


III. Rebuilding

First and foremost, reconnect the pieces of the town, and then repair what can be repaired. Soldat follows what of their patrol they can first thing in the "morning" in search of survivors and for their own somewhat fragile peace of mind, then sets to work with other members of Beacon restoring bridges to get back to the village, scrapyard, and greenhouse. They're good for hauling materials-- felling trees isn't necessary; the flood uprooted enough trees to use, and the piles left by the spirits are worth some scavenging through at least-- and holding them in place for other people to nail or peg into stability.

Also okay for design input. "Wait, not there," they say to their current partner in rebuilding, stopping them from driving a nail into an off-center place in the beam, and briefly flash back to their very first days here. Helping create another support, and not feeling remotely able to say out loud that someone else was doing something wrong.

Shaking the memory off, they add, "That won't hold if someone falls against the rail heavily enough. Move the nail over."


IV. Meals as a Community

Every "day", at what would be about noon, Soldat is in the Invincible kitchen. Half a day was spent cleaning it out and doing minor repairs on the range stove and oven, and then it's back to business of making everyone lunch. Anyone who comes by gets a serving of something hot and tasty, whether it be pasta, soup, grilled sandwiches, or an experiment in frying chicken which goes pretty well, all things considered.

They encourage people to come. They need to see each other. See the faces who are left. (Maybe just Soldat needs to see them. Good enough.)

Also, if they're making group meals, they can be as efficient as possible at stretching the ingredients out.

"Eat," they say, pushing a plate into someone's hands who hadn't come to collect yet. "It'll help."


V. Resuming Patrols

Patrols for a couple weeks are less looking out for trouble now, and more looking for signs of survivors, signs of deaths, stopping to help spirits with their equally ruined homes, and collecting debris that could be useful: anything remotely edible (and sometimes not edible, but which Soldat can gnaw on in an attempt to ignore their own gnawing hunger), anything to help rebuild, weaponry and cloth that can be remade into something else. Waterlogged books and broken tablets. Personal belongings of friends, in their damaged houses....

They can be found anywhere along their patrol route and will always stop to chat or help out.


VI. Mourning

And sometimes, late in the evening, after work and meals and a second patrol are done, Soldat can be found sitting at the church. Not waiting, because with Solis not answering and the lighthouse crumbled and no ferry, it's entirely likely no one is coming back... but just sitting. With a notebook on their knees and the little plastic ghost hovering on the pew beside them.

Just sitting, and writing memories of the people who are missing. They're not going to forget them.

VI

[immortalaccursed]

[Once Ardyn discovers he is able to shadow leap across the river again, he starts to wander, making note of the destruction around him and feeling...nothing.

The cold emptiness where empathy should be used to alarm him but he's gotten used to it. Everything but him passes on eventually.

As he is wandering he decides to walk into the church and he sees a familiar figure sitting within.

Ardyn leans against the door jamb and watches a moment before calling out.]

I would not normally take you for a man of the gods, Soldier.

Sora | OTA

[arsarcanum]

i. holdin' on for so long. ota.

This is the first day that throwing himself into the invisible barrier at the river didn't immediately bounce him back into a tree, or a building. (Sorry, Stone and Soldat, but he was getting a little stir crazy for more than a few reasons.) Between him and Prompto and Ashford, he was the only one who could fly, and he wasn't about to give up! It's paid off today, even if he does have to crash-land in payment.

And crash-land he does. The lack of a wall is unexpected enough that he launches over the river's threshold and, with a yelp, slides to a muddy halt on the path that connects the village to Bonfire Square, his lantern dragging along with him. He groans. "Okay. Good news. Good."

He'll haul himself out of the little mud-trough he skidded into after a moment, his entire side slick with dark mud, and then he'll sit there, blinking, taking stock. He's not sure if it's worked or if this is a dream.

Eventually, he'll spot someone, look down, realize that he looks like he just got hit by a truck made of chunky gross liquid chocolate... and he'll laugh, because what else is there to do, honestly.

"Hi. Nice weather today, huh?" No rain. It better be.

ii. follow the light. network @ langit. text. ota.

[ The post starts out with a few pictures; first, a couple of slightly shaky photos of a glowing feather in flight, one on its own, and the other taken fairly close to the medical center. The next one looks like it was taken in the medical center's stairwell. With some careful looking, one can spot a couple of pinpricks of light on the landing below.

The last one is a shot of the floor taken on the bottom landing from the perspective of someone sitting on the stairs. Laying on the floor is a brightly burning torch, the feather (now decidedly less glowy and more... Rastus-y), and this lantern, still filled with mud. ]

did anyone else see one of these feathers? this one took me to the med center. had to dig through a lot of junk just to get to it.

i don't know who this lantern belongs to. i'm going to bring it back to the church as soon as i'm done here. if someone knows who it belongs to... i'm really sorry. it looks like it's been here for a while.

iii. wildcard

Will match format, please PM me if you'd like to plan with me, always open to writing personalized top levels, etc. Go stupid! Go crazy!

i

[callada]

Out taking stock of the damage, Rosinante is absolutely startled by someone coming flinging through the air and landing deep in the mud. He's quick to come on over, and judging by his own thick coating of goop on his hands, knees, butt, face - yeah he's been in it himself already, but at least he didn't go skating through it bodily. Not as far, anyway.

"Are you okay?" he asks, though Sora's apparent cheer suggests he's probably all right. Either that, or he's gone completely mad from being shut in, which, that's fair.

Fjord | OTA

[fjorgedinfire]

I. Concussion hangover

Turns out being brained by an entire tree isn't something you get over in a week. Sure, the bruises that have stained half of Fjord's face an ugly, distorted purple are finally starting to clear up, but the throbbing headaches still linger; as do other symptoms, the half of which he can never remember. (Which is, apparently, its own symptom as well. Fuck's sake.)

Nonetheless, he's still trying to be useful. Or at least he still wants to be. He's going to at least try and do some things around (what remains of) Bonfire Plaza. Like grabbing a hammer and trying to work some of the boards loose on the windows, or ducking out of the Invincible to go and help salvage the shop.

He.... should not be leaving the Invincible. Someone should probably stop him.

II. I'm Helping! For Real!

The worst of the clumsiness and thick daze finally start to ease off around the 6th, and when he can prove he's properly functional a couple of days later, Fjord is finally clear to be left unsupervised, and he is eager to get out and do shit.

His patrols first - much more limited, now that the bridges are gone, but a leisurely stroll following what rivers he can now access and sorting through the debris he finds on their banks is still a good solid task.

Clearing out debris is easy enough, even if it's made somewhat more difficult by the new piles being left around, and sometimes Fjord had to pause, stare, and ask anyone who might be nearby, "Do y'all know which one of these we're keeping?" Surely moss can't be that useful.

III. Wildcard!

[[Will match format - feel free to do whatever you want!]]

I.

[arsarcanum]

Sora doesn't even recognize Fjord on sight, the bruising's so bad; he walks a few steps looking right him until the familiar silhouette shape and the little tuft of gray on his head clicks the rest of the association into place.

"Nope. Nononono." Sora gets directly in Fjord's path between him and the shop, reaching out to grab him by the elbows. "You don't get to do this today. Knock it off."

Duster | OTA

[mindofathief]

A. Recovery, open to a multi-character thread

The last few days have been excruciating. Lying alone in the greenhouse, tending to a broken arm that might have set too soon, and he's soaked. If he's not going to be bed-bound for months, he'll be surprised.

When the rain lets up and messages pop up on his tablet that indicate that people are walking around again, he sends one more call for help.

Greenhouse. Broken arm. Can't move.

And he waits. He hopes he won't get hungry while waiting.

B. Resting

The Invincible seems emptier than usual. It could be that anyone who wasn't injured is cleaning up, or it could be that they're trying not to disturb Duster's rest. It is pretty nice to have a bed to sleep in and wait for his arm to heal a bit. A sling is better than a makeshift splint and a hard floor.

For a few days, he's either in his not-so-empty room or wandering around the hallways of the ship, usually to grab something to eat.

C. Wildcard

[Is there anything else you want to thread with Duster? Write a toplevel here or plot with me at mutanthairything]

b

[callada]

A day or so after Duster has been settled back at The Invincible, Rosinante pauses in strolling down the hallway and knocks at the slightly ajar door, then bends down a bit as he leans his head in.

"Hey," he calls, pleased to see Duster looks awake. "Heard you made it back. You doing okay?"

Rosinante himself looks a little worn out. Far too many people are still missing. At least Duster isn't among the ones they haven't yet found.

Jason Grace | OTA

[notthatjason]

[ooc: I wrote prose, but will match tagging style]
I. Not So Invincible (May 1-5)
They’d been through way worse than this, surely, and yet the destruction and mounting names of the missing is nothing to sneeze at -- it reminds Jason a little too much of the time during the Titan War when they’d started to notice Legionnaires disappearing. The circumstances were very different, but at the same time it leaves Jason feeling unmoored and lost.

Which means he needs to find something to do and fast.

He decides to start with ‘home’ and go through the Invincible to check on which rooms are still occupied and who may have lost roommates. He approaches each door and knocks -- he knew most of the occupants having lived here the entire time he’d been in Beacon. People came and went, but he’d never knocked on so many empty doors before.

At least not all of them are empty, “Hey -- sorry if I’m interrupting something -- I was doing a headcount.”

Eventually, once that task is done, Jason will make his way down to the ground floor. He looks around at the debris and mess -- the floor is still a little wet. He looks around for a moment and his eyes land on the statue standing in the middle of the room, “Well...we definitely have our work cut out for us.” He rolls up his sleeves, exposing a familiar tattoo to some, and decides he’ll start by getting this place back into shape.

II. Water’s Edge (May 5-10)
As the Invincible starts to come to order, Jason starts to move beyond the building. He’d spent a long time cooped up inside and he knows there are other tasks to accomplish. There are several places he could go, but he decides to start close to “home” and work his way outwards.

He’ll stop by Bonfire Square, but eventually his attention is drawn to the rushing water of the river nearby. All of the work that had happened on the bridges was washed away -- something he’d witnessed for himself during the storm. He made a mental note that rebuilding those would need to be a priority -- but they’d need to make sure they had the equipment and supplies first.

His eyes land on a jagged plank sticking out of the muck. Well, at least that might not be too big of a lost cause. It was easy to find debris along the banks though and without having planned it Jason finds himself walking along the path and picking up various objects that seem to be embedded in the dirt or stuck in the lower branches of trees. He walks and collects all the way to the harbor and back.

Eventually, he starts to construct piles: personal items, supplies, building material, trash. Though there might likely be subcategories among all that.

III. Follow the Light (May 5)
His first stop is Bonfire Square. The light is dimmer now because they’d spread out so many of the torches, though of course the more concerning thing in Jason’s opinion is the fact that Rastus is nowhere to be seen. He frowns when he notices some feathers scattered about what remains of the Bonfire and Rastus’ hut. Jason’s foot brushes against one, stirring it into the air. He blinks as it continues to float up and up -- a soft light starting to emanate from it.

That’s...that’s probably significant.

There’s no time to call for help though, as the feather has already started to drift away. Jason doesn’t think twice before following it.

IV. Open Air (May 1-10)
Create your own starter or way to interact with Jason

III.

[arsarcanum]

Hey, Jason - Jason?

[ The bridge Sora was going to work on was in the opposite direction, but he'll quickly double back as soon as he sees Jason run off after that glowing thing. Oooh, he knows what that is! ]

Jason, hey, wait up.

Ephrim | OTA (cw: janky infected wound description)

[sunsbreath]

i. holdin' on for so long

Ephrim's a hard man to catch, especially since it took him until the 3rd to make his way from the Junkyard and over the river, but here he is, hidden among the supplies on the top level of the Invincible. Very hidden, in fact, sitting in a dark corner, his lantern half covered with a blanket at his knee in a deliberate attempt not to be caught with a small bottle of alcohol and a rag. He is literally and single-handedly undressing a bandage from his already missing arm. As the badly wrapped layers fall away, the fabric darkens, and continues to darken. And there is, unfortunately, a bit of a putrid smell.

It wasn't a serious fall, and it hadn't been a serious wound, but, as it turns out, it's hard to do first aid on yourself with only one hand to work with, few medical supplies, and no help forthcoming. (The dog did try, but they do not have opposable thumbs.)

Ephrim's looking a bit pale himself, his teeth digging into his lip as the fabric starts to peel away from rawer flesh, exposing mottled skin, but he's had worse injuries before. He'll get through this. It'll just be difficult. Difficult has never bothered him before.

ii. wildcard

Will match format, please PM me if you'd like to plan with me, always open to writing personalized top levels, etc. Once he's patched up, he'll be spending most of his time at the Invincible and the greenhouse. Go stupid! Go crazy!

i.

[worthallthis]

Hard to hide from a supersoldier on patrol, coming to check their supply cache, able to hear heartbeats and breathing, and smell body sweat. ... and illness.

They step into the room they'd been using for supplies, lantern open and shedding light behind them and into the room, but not on their face. It's enough to cast a little light on Ephrim, anyway, though from this angle they can't see his injury. "Everything okay?"

haein seo | ota.

[unwieldy]

I. LANDMARK.

[ Haein's seated on the fountain in front of the Landmark, his knees drawn up to his chest while his arms wrap around them. He's silent as he observes the spirits flitting to and fro, collecting debris to pile in front of the hotel. With his lantern carefully placed next to him, the glow of the light makes the wary look on his face decently noticeable. There's also a streak of mud against his cheek to indicate that he'd been working on clearing the area before taking a break, and now he's spending his time watching a few spirits get to work.

That doesn't last very long. One of them spots him and is quick to chatter something to its companions, and then they disappear in a hurry. The look of suspicion on Haein's face shifts into surprise, and then he twists around to speak to the person nearest him. ]

What are they doing?

[ He'd been so adamant against meeting any of the spirits when he'd first arrived in Beacon. But then he'd been saved by a couple of them during the whole mess with the storm and flood, so he's not entirely sure what to think of them now. ]

II. DOWNTOWN AREA.

[ Catch Haein dragging whatever logs he can find tossed around by the storm into a big ol' pile. He's been inspired!! And by inspired, it's more like he found one of those feathers and it led him to a river that he can't cross. Haein is... a lot of things... but when he sets his mind to a task, he won't rest until it's completed. The desire to cross the river and find what the feather had been pointing at is too strong, so he'll do this whole thing by himself if he has to.

While he managed to salvage some rope, there's a lot more he needs for a makeshift bridge. He's not planning on making anything fancy. Just something that can get him from one side to another. And though he lightly sprained his wrist and pulled a shoulder muscle not too long ago, they're not so serious that they hinder his work.

He'll probably chance upon you on his search for materials, and if there's a pile of something that looks useful nearby, Haein will just point to it and ask, ]

Are you planning on using that?

[ Aw, at least he's asking instead of just taking it in a huff. ]

III. WILDCARD.

( i'm more than happy to write a different starter or respond to anything thrown my way! pm me at this journal or dropkick me at yuulshi if you need to chat! )

I

[callada]

[What indeed. When Rosinante comes by, he's not really even intending to stop in at the Landmark. The people there seem to have done all right - he's more concerned about the missing, who might be buried in the worst-hit places and still in need of rescue. But at Haein's question he stops, lowers down into a squat so that Haein doesn't hurt himself looking up from where he's sitting, and folds his arms over his knees to watch.

He doesn't answer right away, hoping the spirits will go back to doing whatever it was they were doing, but it seems they're going to stay hidden for now, so he shrugs and gets up to look at whatever it was they had piled up.]

Dunno. Maybe they saw everyone cleaning up and wanted to help?

[He grabs a stick to sort through the pile. Branches, bits of soggy paper. A brick. This looks like adding to their problems, not helping with them.]

Guess we could ask them.

Pudding | 1 network prompt, ota, no courier for text please!

[flangirl]

[ @purin ; voice ]

Help! I need some help, please!

[ Her voice is beyond panicked - she's sobbing, nearly hysterical. ]

I'm - it's - h-hang on -

[ There's a picture attachment it took her several long moments to get, and to upload properly. It's a little blurry from shaking, but the image is absolutely what it looks like: one of the bonfire's torches, burning brightly, underwater. The flash of pink metal is just-visible in frame, cast a little orange in the firelight. ]

C-can't, I can't - _...fuck... - I'm sorry. I can't swim. I can't swim and I'm scared.

Vice reply

[fjorgedinfire]

Pudding? [That's her voice right? He's never heard her panicking before.] Take deep breaths, alright? No one's forcing you t'go into the water. D'you know where you are right now so I can come find you?

[The torch is entirely secondary to trying to get Pudding to stop panicking.]

Quentin Coldwater | OTA

[moderatelymaladjusted]

Holding on for so long

The first thing Quentin does, once the water recedes. As soon as it's possible to see more than half a foot in front of him because of the downpour and once the immediate danger to the bonfire is gone-- is to start up his tablet and start to get in touch with... people. With the ones he already knows, and he flips through the network, tapping the same message over and over 'hey, where are you'. To Riku. To Vanitas. To Eliot. And even that girl who wore a Brakebills jacket and looked like a hedgewitch. And he's getting nothing back. Just the same annoying song playing itself over and over when he opens it to check.

And this is when he ventures further out - to the path leading to the cabins, to find other people (sure, he's looking for some very specific ones, but) any person will do.

The lighthouse is gone. There's nothing but jagged edges against the dark sky where it used to stand and panic nips at him, making his heart race and his hands shake through every tut he tries.

"Hey. Hello? Is anyone out here?"

I am helping!

The bridge is gone.

There's no way to get across the river and go find Eliot, but that doesn't stop Quentin from trying. Shifting through the debris near the old bridge, he's trying to find something, anything, that will allow his across without having to actually step in to the river and possibly die trying to get back. To get the fuck across-- his, well, everything is over there.

It's there and gone before he can even see what it is, but there's a pile of roofing tiles next to the pile of wood, and... is that a hat?

"Yeah, that's great, but if you could just-- how about leaving me something I can use? Thanks?"

Network (note- no courier)

Voice @ SuprNerd

Is anyone out there? Anyone at the cabins? I'm at the river, and I can't get across but if you're out there and you know a way? Could you help me? And if you're by the cabins, could you maybe find something for me?

This is Quentin, by the way. Hi.

network @ langit; text;

[arsarcanum]

[ Kinda feels like he's heard that voice before, but he can't place it. Well! ]

> i'm at the library, i can give you a hand!
> what do you need?

Fitz Kreiner | OTA | will match format

[rereremembered]

I - I'm Helping!

The relief when the rain stops and the flood recedes and the relentless, rushing, godawful sound of water finally ceases plaguing him is short-lived as Fitz takes in the full extent of the destruction. Well, as full as one can make out in Beacon's perpetual gloom.

Physically he's fine, which he's grateful for, but mentally...well, despite the praise from Cao Pi for rescuing the records he's feeling like he was more or less useless for the duration. No time like the present to correct that.

Fitz had never been one for mudlarking, but with the whole town basically turned into the Thames at low tide he doesn't have much choice. He heads out with his lantern, a rucksack over his shoulder, and a sturdy stick to poke unusual things with (and to steady himself in case he slips in the mud).

"Hey,' he says, coming across a (re)construction site. "Need some help?"

Follow the Light - network @ justfitz - audio - May 6

[ at first there's just some gasping for breath, punctuated by swearing and some general fumbling noises. and water dripping. ]

Shit...good fucking Christ all right, it's Fitz, I...I'm at the museum, followed one of those feathers. Found a torch in some water and uh...there's something there. Something down there in the water. Tried to snap a picture but...

[ and he'll post an image, blurry and off-kilter and lit by the torch, his own lantern, and the light coming from the watery grave itself. it's indistinct but it's tentacle-tastic. ]

I'm going to leg it, but if anyone wants to check up on this later they're welcome to. And er...what should I do with this?

[ have a picture of a shattered lantern. ]

wildcard!

He's around, he's checking the pawn shop hopefully for a guitar, he's playing 60s rock classics (and some Kreiner originals) on his ocarina, come bother him.

[unwieldy]

It's... not much of a construction site, to be perfectly honest. It's mostly just Haein surrounded by pieces of rope that he's managed to find, as well as a some building materials and whatever logs he's been able to recover and lug back to this area. It's definitely not enough for the bridge he wants to make, and there's either going to have to be another expedition to find more logs or some of these nearby trees are going to have to be sacrificed.

Haein glances up from where he'd been intensely staring at the material before him, probably drawing a mental plan on how to fit it all together, when he hears the stranger.

And while, no, he didn't plan on any help at first, things... are looking like a lot more work than he'd initially thought. The glowing feather that had led him here hovers close by, still pointing across the river insistently. It's driving Haein crazy that he can't get to where it wants him to go.

"Do you know anything about building bridges?" Haein finally asks, relenting that this might not be a one person task.

Ashford | OTA

[patriotnow]

I. Holdin On/Around Town

Klaes had nearly drowned in the flood and as a result is still somewhat shell shocked. To have spent nearly 70 years of his life scraping to get enough water just to drink, suddenly to be so inundated by it...seems like some sort of cruel irony. He'd always thought he might die because of water, the lack of it at least, not the other way around.

He can be found either digging through what's left of his home or picking through the bits of clockwork scattered around bonfire square, looking to see if there's anything interesting or salvageable. He keeps his eyes on the muddy ground, avoiding eye contact. Though occasionally he throws something he's deemed to be not worth saving over his shoulder in annoyance, whether that be splintered wood or just a clod of dirt he's disappointed didn't turn out to be a gear.

Wildcard

if you have an idea throw it my way!

I

[scarsolderthanyou]

"You," Stone growls, prowling up to Ashford, "are not allowed near bodies of water again. Until I teach you how to swim." It had been horrific stuck across a magically-protected river from someone he should have been able to save in moments, and he's not about to let it happen again.

Cao Pi | open

[pure_havoc]

[while his public message serves him well for the most part, there does come a point where Cao Pi, upon wandering over to see if any more torches have been brought back to the Bonfire, manages to catch sight of a glowing feather and follow it to the courthouse. What he finds is far more than he bargained for.

He returns the torch, of course, but then remains sitting in the Square, staring into the flames, for a while. How the hell is he going to break that news to the community, all of whom seemed to love Daylight to bits? Moreover, he feels an obligation to recover that piece of metal but it's out of his league. So when anyone who generally possesses at least similar strength to himself approaches...]

When you have a moment. Is there anything you've seen in the debris that might be used to turn into...hm. A cart, or sledge, or something similar? Something one might use to carry heavy loads from one place to another.

[callada]

[Rosinante looks like he's just crawled out of a bog. Maybe three bogs. But the work is desperately needed, and he doesn't know how to quit - whether it's pulling people out of the muck, building bridges, or trying to keep the town from falling apart any further, like the church keeps threatening to do when the wind blows.

He really should go take a breather and get cleaned up, and is debating doing just that when he happens past Cao Pi and stops to hear him out. The man looks exhausted in a different way - the emotional exhaustion Rosinante is putting off for later with all his work.]

Hm. Ground's pretty soft still. Good thinking, though, that would help clear some of the debris faster if we could make it work.

[Give him a second to consider it. They could place planks in front of the wheels to pull it along. It would be time-consuming, but better than hand-carrying some of the loads. Still, where do they find wheels? Perhaps the scrapyard?]