(open) mission: hit the beach

[aithinkthereforeaiam]

Date & Time: July 18th-24th, Exsilium Time
Location: Sea Shore during the Late Cretaceous Period
Characters: All! Oh those pesky mandatory missions.
Summary: In lieu of the success of the space shuttle's test flight, all of the Transports have been sent back to the Cretaceous period to gather mineral supplies and volcanic rock, while doubling as a sort of 'vacation' and chance to get Transports out of the Initiative's hair. With well stocked supplies, camping gear, and more burlap sacks than anyone could possibly ever use, the Transports have been set under a protective dome and told to collect what they can... and to enjoy the sunshine.
Warnings: Shenanigans!

The overflow log can be found HERE!

It's almost surreal, the quality of color, of light, of oxygen saturation in the air once people arrive. It's so rich that the Initiative sent people back with respirators, to help ease the transition, and warned those who would listen about the effects of too much oxygen on a system.

What they don't warn for is the sheer alien familiarity of the landscape, the warmth, the roughness of the sand on the beaches. This is not the fine, sandy beaches out of vacation dreams, but a rougher, larger granule sort, with shells that might be recognizeable as ancestors to ones those from Earth would remember washing up on familiar beaches, millions of years later.

Most striking is the lack of abundant wildlife found among the fronds and leaves and foliage, or underneath the surface of the saltier, much warmer waters extending off the beach. While acting as a permeable membrane to oxygen and water, along with the sorts of phytoplankton that kept sea creatures alive, all the larger animals had been pushed out by the Initiative's installment of the safety dome. Along the transparent walls, curious creatures would come close, peer in, tap against the barrier and run off if frightened, but very few were found inside at any size larger than that of a house cat. It was for the better in the long run.

Too bad that the Initiative didn't have ultra-violet blocking technology in their shielding. For all the atmosphere is in much better shape millions of years in the past, the sun is as strong as ever, and the unwary will be burned through and through if they're not careful.

Comments

Thass | Open but especially for Anduin and Ashraf

[obliterating]

[He was no stranger to the sea, having grown up near the coast. As a child and a young man, he frequently visited the shore. The water was often cold, black as it reflected the often stormy skies, but even now he could recall diving under the waves and how he laughed as he and the other solders would try and wrestle each other under the tide.

Everything seemed much easier, then, didn't it? Even as a child, he'd climb the rocks of the beach, or lay out on the rocky shore while his sister chased birds or collected shells.

He could only hope that she still held onto that girl, the one that would jab him in the side with a piece of driftwood when he began to doze, or would pile coarse sand onto his feet.

Not entirely unlike that sand. A bit finer, but not too much. He couldn't feel it too well under his feet. His bare feet. He was wearing shorts, not entirely unlike the undergarments he had grown used to, here (wasn't it strange, that they had so many clothes specifically for swimming?), and he had on sunglasses that he'd pilfered from the supplies. Over this, a blue shirt with a very bright pattern of (Pineapples, he thought?) unbuttoned, a deep scar that never quire healed properly running from chest to stomach.

For now, he was standing out of the sun, watching the other people carefully. He was feeling a bit on edge around all of the beating hearts, hearing them like a maddening percussion in his brain.]

[highhealplz]

[ Here's another beating heart coming in from behind, dressed in even less and still dripping from his latest venture into the water. ]

Thassarian! [ He's already smiling, stepping to lay a hand on his shoulder in greeting. ] You look right at home. Nice shirt, too.

[ a little sarcasm never hurt anyone. ]

[obliterating]

Thank you.

[He smiles a bit.]

Been swimming, I see? Seems like a good day for it.

[highhealplz]

Definitely is. It's hot.

[ and speaking of, that shoulder under his hand feels wonderful. So don't mind him if he invites himself to pick up Thassarian's whole hand and forearm, holding it up to his forehead. aaah.

Totally casual, like he hasn't just jacked his arm: ] What about you? I bet people would appreciate an ocean a few degrees colder.

[obliterating]

You think? Maybe I'll go in. I haven't been swimming in years.

[He doesn't really register the heat as much as everyone else, and he glances at Ashraf, laughing softly. He pulls his hand away and loops his arm around Ashraf's neck.]

Back of the neck cools you down a bit better. Here.

[highhealplz]

[ Oh. Oh, that is better. He grins, leaning into it. ]

You're a portable ice box! I couldn't ask for a more useful friend.

[obliterating]

You're not going to make me hold your drinks for you, are you?

[He chuckles.]

[highhealplz]

I wasn't planning to, but it's a great idea. I feel like I should go get one, just to try it out.

[obliterating]

I'm sure you'll know how to find me when you do.

[He's feeling a bit more...relaxed, around Ashraf. There was something about this sort of quiet acceptance that did a lot for him, and he smiled, a bit more genuinely this time.]

You know, I think I will try that ocean.

[hornedomen]

Hello, sir.

[The only difference to Ico's typical outfit was that his tunic and shield were gone. He had finished swimming for now and he held a full burlap sack.]

You were there when Koltira needed help, right? Thank you. Here, please take this.

[He took as much seashells from the sack as he could fit in his hand and he offered it to Thassarian. They were of different sizes and shapes and they were all iridescent.]

[obliterating]

Oh, yes, I was.

[He holds out his hands, and looks down at the shells with a soft smile.]

There's no need to thank me. But...thank you. We spoke on the network before, didn't we?

[hornedomen]

Yes. I'm Ico.

[The remaining shells clattered as he placed the sack on the sand.]

I'm glad it's over. Did the demons hurt you? [He looked at the scar.]

[obliterating]

I'm glad it's over, too.

[Is it ever truly over, though? The next question catches him slightly off-guard, and it takes him a moment to follow Ico's eyes.]

Oh, that. No...that's a very old wound. It didn't heal right.

[In the Scourge, no one cared to look pretty. Among some, death scars were a source of pride. Certainly, there was no care put into making them look just right or making sure the skin was stitched up properly.

As long as nothing was falling out, that was a job done well enough. When mass-manufacturing an army, there was no time to waste on making sure things were done as one might for someone still alive.]

[hornedomen]

Do you know Ashraf? Maybe he can do something about it. He's really good at healing.

[He touched his own shoulder as he remembered the time Ashraf had helped with his injuries. It was only a memory now.]

[obliterating]

I think it's a bit late for that...but thank you for the thought. I don't think Ashraf could heal this.

[And even if he could, it would be nothing short of torture.]

[hornedomen]

[Continued here.]

[sithiche]

Having decided to take a break from swimming, Artemis had begun to wander the beach. He was wearing only his swim trunks, seeming much more at ease with the concept than many of the other transports. On occasion he would stop to idly pick up a rock, as though his purpose in wandering about was in some way related to the mission at hand, though he was paying significantly more attention to the other individuals on the beach than he was to the rocks laying on the ground.

With everyone forced into one place like this (true, they could spread out within the confines of the Initiative's protective dome, but there were only so many places to go), this was the best chance he had since his arrival to take stock of the other Transports-- new and old alike. He was primarily seeking out any familiar faces who may have escaped his notice since his arrival, trying to determine who had been sent home in the time that he was gone. But on occasion, he would find himself subtly inspecting those that he did not recognize.

He found himself pausing when he spotted Thassarian. He could recognize a death knight when he saw one.

"Friend of Deathweaver's?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the other man.

[obliterating]

He turned at the voice, looking Artemis over for a moment before smiling softly and nodding. It was no true grin, but more an echo of an emotion that would have been happiness.

"He's my brother. You know him?"

Artemis looked the part of an elf, but his eyes were wrong. He wasn't sure if he was from Azeroth. He'd hope not...he was never in the habit of speaking to those, save for fellow Death Knights. It wasn't that he disliked them, it was just that...among the living, there was a keen sense of not belonging. Around the elves, this was added to a sense of regret, shame, for killing so many of them.

He didn't expect them to ever forgive him, and so he simply avoided them so they didn't have to stare in the face of someone who had slaughtered so many of them.

[sithiche]

It was easy enough to conclude that he did not mean literal brothers, but Artemis understood the sentiment well enough. It was something of a relief; he had met Arthas, after all, and therefore knew better than to assume that all death knights would have the same noble inclinations as Koltira.

He gave a small nod at the question. "He's... a friend. I suppose." The pause made it obvious that he did not use the term often.

[obliterating]

Thassarian simply nods, and smiles. It's not exactly a grin, but as genuine of one as he can muster. Even now, as he stands here, he can hear the breathing around him, sense the dozens of pulses like a maddening drumming in his mind.

That was his existence now, to never know true peace. It punctuated every discussion with the living, from shopkeepers to Anduin.

And even still, as he smiled. It wasn't a lie. It was simply not the grin he once had, in life.

"That's good. I'm glad he has people here...if you know him at all, you understand, I think." Each person he met here that had filled the time between Koltira's arrival and his own, he was grateful for.

"He's a good man. I'm glad that people see that, here." A soft chuckle. "Not the easiest to get along with, but his heart's in the right place."

Figuratively. He couldn't exactly speak literally about that one and be certain.

"I'm Thassarian."

[sithiche]

If Artemis had known about Thassarian's current issues, he could have helped a bit. True, he would only be taking one heartbeat out of the equation. But it was not something that occurred to him at this moment-- it did not come up often with Azrael, so long as he was well-fed.

He gave a small nod at the other man's words. "I think he's getting better at that. Getting along with people, that is. Slowly, but... there's improvement."

The fact that Koltira had asked for help with the shadow demons when he did had shown that, even if Artemis had been annoyed at the time that it had taken him as long as it had to get around to it. Still, better late than never.

"It's nice to meet you."

[obliterating]

"He seems...different, slightly. Even I wish I had spent more time with him, but to do so would have been treason."

Not that it mattered, when it came down to it. Koltira had his loyalty more than any king could ever have.

"But I can still tell. He seems...better, here. I think this place is better for him than what waits back home."

He looked out over the water.

"I hope he never goes back."

[sithiche]

It took him a moment to understand the comment about treason-- the concept of elves and humans being enemies was a strange one to him, but he vaguely recalled hearing about faction lines during his previous stay in Exsilium.

He found himself giving a small nod in agreement. "It seems that way, from what I have heard. As awful as Exsilium can be, I may have to agree with you."

[obliterating]

"It's a new start, for some of us. And...it's war, but that's what we have waiting for us, back home. It's not that different, really."

He shrugged softly.

"There's good in it, same as with anything."

Most anything. He had still yet to find the good in his time in the Scourge, but the best that he could do was take the chance at salvation he had been offered and make the most of it.

"What about you? Have you been here a while?"

[sithiche]

"I can think of worse wars to be conscripted into." As far as Artemis was concerned, this conflict was downright tame. The wars of faerie may have been before his time, but he had lived his life in the knowledge that they were only in an armistice-- one that had almost worn thin to its breaking point. Even so, he could remember the World Wars as clearly as though they had happened yesterday.

He found himself giving a shrug. "A while" depended on perspective, after all.

"I was here for four, five months. I got sent home, and now it would seem that I'm back."