EVENT: UNITED EARTH AIR MAIL

[initiatesnpc]

Date & Time: 9/24-27
Location: Throughout Exsilium; above, below, and the in-betweens
Characters: ALL; tag yourselves in
Summary: The United Earth comes bearing gifts oh wait no those are bombs
Warnings: Violence a given, injury, other things probably (notify a mod if there's cause to add a particular warning!)



There was a horrendous symphony being played throughout Exsilium.

Sirens kept tempo, shrilling to life minutes (hours, if the instruments caught a lucky break) before the roar of strange engines affixed to strange machines cutting through the eastern horizon. Always the east; why bother mixing it up? According to drone scans, there was little the island could do to repel them, little to inspire a change in tactic. Amusement, perhaps, but there was none of that in play.

Sirens and distant, ever-growing roaring...and then the thunder and crack of buildings and earth suffering heavy blows from above. Sounds of war, yes, but seemingly so one-sided...

Seemingly.

The intelligence had been too sparse for countermeasures to strange, hulking warriors and supernatural speak. It wasn’t utterly ignored, however; their moles were some of the best. If they said the Initiative had wizards, the Initiative had...something dangerous. Maybe wizards.

Well, maybe those wizards would enjoy being blasted or eroded out of existence? That appeared to be the motivation at-hand as wave after wave of bombings battered the already-broken city, driving its inhabitants old and new underground like ants.

Most of them, anyway.

The United Earth was about to get a heaping helping of fresh intelligence on those wizards the week it struck out beyond its borders. Throughout the barrage, the housing units buckled under broken ceilings, the long-since ruined gardens burned and suffocated under heavy chemical smog, and almost-familiar haunts became cratered replicas of themselves. For four days, the planes kept coming, no matter how many were deterred or destroyed. And on the ground, masked men scoured through battered remains and marched toward the Hold, bent on tearing the place apart in search of valuable clues...and technology well beyond the island’s apparent means. Armed to the teeth, this onslaught was indeed...Armed, but not wholly prepared.

It wasn’t going to be the easy, bullying win it was supposed to be.

Comments

closed: walls are closing in on me, can't find the air to breathe

[whatsupcroc]

[ Collette was hard pressed what had caused her initial panic, the impetus to prompt her to morph cockroach in order to escape whatever it was she had been so afraid of having happen. Cockroaches were ridiculously sturdy, easily overlooked, and hard to kill.

In a blind panic, the hard to kill cockroach had gotten her away from whatever had set her off. It'd gotten her so well away that she was completely and utterly safe now! If safe was synonymous with stuck in a small cavern she couldn't find an exit out of, or even a hint of slightly less stale air moving through.

She'd tried every possible land morph she had. The coyote hasn't scented anything promising. The crocodile had been able to pound at some of the stone, but the cave in that the cockroach had allowed her to come in through had shifted during the continued bombings.

The cockroach had gotten in, but even it's svelt form wasn't find a way out. She was well and truly stuck, with no one to know where she was.

Damn. She savored that word in her mind, giving it a wight and dimension all on it's own. Damn for the reality of her situation, and having to think about things like continuing air supplies and what those bones in the corner meant and what was going to happen when she had to pee and how long it would take to unblock the entrance that seemed less stuck when it came to the crush of stone rubble making it impassable.

Calling out in her own voice outside of morph was stupid. It didn't carry as well as Thought Speak did, though if she was too far from the main group there was no one to hear her calls.

But she wasn't going to dwell on that. Collette believed firmly in the idea of 'never say never,' refusing to give up only because she should, or because things seemed hopeless.

Screw hopeless. If there was no hope, then she'd bribe it back into her own personal Pandora's box and store it snug against her heart.

Relying on her best guesstimates of time, Collette morphed in and out of coyote, pulling stones down from the top and calling out: ]

< Hello? Anyone out there, I can use a little help. My name's Collette, and I'm stuck in a cave in over this way. I can't see much of what's in here, but I think the room's around eight feet across. There's bones in here? I think they're bones. There's a lot of dust, and the air's really stale, but I still have air. Is anyone out there? I like adventure, but this is a little much. >

[ Yelping as some of the rock she freed knocked into her paws, Collette shook it off and kept going. Even when she was smashed, the injuries weren't lasting. What didn't kill her outright was merely an energy drain and minor set-back. ]

< If anyone can help dig me out from the other side, I think we could meet in the middle. Um... S.O.S.! What's morse code for "stuck in a cave and can't get out?" Someone, help please! James? >

[ Even more quietly after a while, when her broadcast dialog burbled to a stop: ]

< Marco? ... Santa Claus? >

[implying]

[ He's not quite at the surface when he catches a faint strand of... what sounds like Collette's voice? The voice in his head, that is, which means she's in a morph. He shifts until he believes he's gotten it more clearly, and shortly he's pressed against a wall and can go no further. But she's clear, so she must be close, right?

He tries a few experimental shouts, but there's no change in her broadcasting. She must not be near enough to actually hear him, then.

Well... then, nothing to do but start digging, right? Man, he hopes this is the right place. With a sense of grim desperation setting in, he gets to work.

The weight of the rocks is no real problem, and he's extra thankful quite suddenly for the enhanced endurance. But even with all that, he's soon taken off and set aside his mask to apply himself properly, and half his body has gained an unpleasant sheen of sweat under the clothing. The work isn't going quickly, but every now and then he pauses to try calling out to her again. ]

Collette! Can you hear me? I'll have you out shortly, I promise!

[whatsupcroc]

[ The digging registers first. Collette was so focused on her own efforts and mental preoccupation that she doesn't hear shouting -- but her ears, trained to the shifting rock she worked with, heard something working away from the other side. It was a muffled distance, but it was continuous.

Then she hears the shouting. Who it is even her coyote's ears can't pick out quite yet. ]

< Hey! Whoever's out there, I can hear you! I hear you digging. Uh, be careful, I've been digging further to the left but I'm changing direction toward you too. But if you see anything get chancy, get back out! Don't get caught. I can survive a crushing or two, so please, be quick! >

[ Contradictory as she slid back down, spinning around in a tight circle and ignoring her own panting. She was hot, and the air in here was growing staler by the minute. She waited, listening for more than one person on the outside. No such luck.

But such luck to have anyone at all. She flicked her ears forward, scrambling up and returning to her digging, smaller stones flying out between her back legs as she changed direction toward where she thought her rescuer's digging was coming from. A trickle of dirt pouring on her back was all the warning she had before rock tried settling down on tpo of her head and shoulders. A larger rock glanced off her head as she pulled back, stunning her momentarily.

Holding still as the rock resettled, Collette made herself count to thirty, then backward from thirty. ]

[implying]

[ It's with no little relief that he realizes she's heard him, and he cuts down on the shouting to put more energy to digging. It won't be much longer now, and even if her air gives out, he ought to get to her in time, right? It's what he tells himself.

So he redoubles his efforts, wrenching aside large rocks and tossing back the smaller ones. He's actually panting after some time, which is something he hasn't felt in a while. He pauses briefly to hear the shifting of rock from somewhere inside, and feels his heart give a little twist of terror. ]

Collette? Are you alright?

[whatsupcroc]

[ She hears a pause, some words following, as she's partway through her counting. It takes her five seconds to decide to respond. Five seconds to process she should, which was enough to tell her she needed to get out of morph for a little. If she did have a concussion, that was one sure way to get rid of it. ]

< I'm okay! I'm okay, rocks are just settling again over this way. I'm... I'm going to demorph for a little, so if you can't hear me I'm still fine! It's near the -- I just have to do this really fast! >

[ Still panting, she formed an image of herself in her mind: dark hair, dark eyes, killer smile, cute little nose and indomitable spirit.

Hey, no one ever said she had to have a boring self image.

With her senses dulling back to appreciable human levels, she feels more blind, and more frightened before she shuts down that fear. The air still tastes stale. Her focus increases, and sitting up, something wet and sticky smears across her palm.

She must have been bleeding from that last little rock-shift. Crab walking herself backward, Collette cautiously feels for the wall. Once she has it, she props herself against it. She's tired enough now that thinking of morphing again has her closing her eyes and reasoning she might take a little more time. This last demorph had taken minutes, anyway, she didn't need to put herself under more strain.

Adrenaline tells her otherwise. It's hard to ignore what fluttering panic she felt. She's determined not to let it win.

Eyes still closed, she focuses on controlling her breathing and listening for whoever is on the other side. ]

[implying]

[ Well, she can still answer, so that's a relief. He doesn't call out again, just resumes the task of pulling rocks away. It isn't very much longer before one of the rocks pulled away reveals a pit of darkness below it, which looks an awful lot like a small entrance to a cave within the rocks. He smiles, relieved— right up until he catches the sound of another shift of rocks. ]

Siet, siet peidras caime— [ He jams his left arm in to brace the rocks, and feels them grind against the metal. It all holds, though, and he breathes out some quick relief. ] —Collette, quickly, pull these back to widen the hole, I can pull you out— 

[whatsupcroc]

[ Light breaks into the darkness. Her focus is immediate, the words she hears making no sense at first -- what language was that? -- but then they do, and she recognizes who's speaking, and he's asking something of her -- ]

Vanadi? Vanadi!

[ There's very little of grace in how Collette moves. But in the dark, there's really no one to see. Scrambling forward and up toward where Vanadi has broken through, she complies best as she can.

Thank god for upper body strength. ]

I don't know if it's enough, but --

[ With rocks settling, it has to be. His face is really impossible to see with the light coming in from behind, but she looks to him anyway, reaching for his hand.

Please. If only she'd gone cockroach, or rabbit, or even pigeon, she could already have been out -- ]

[implying]

[ That glowing red in his left pupil has kicked on again, he can tell, and this time without the mask to claim it's coming from. Collette has become a warm red glow, that outstretched hand warmest of all. Behind her are lingering imprints on the stone, a few speckles of cooling blood. He stretches out his other hand when she's near enough, firmly clasping hers, and pulls, with more strength then that small and slender form would suggest.

He doubts it will be any kind of nice, being pulled across the rocks, but it's all he can do right now. When he has her out as much as he can manage with a hold on her hand, he drops that to snatch a hold at the back of her morphing outfit instead, and very firmly ignores the sound of shifting, thudding rocks from within the space she's exiting. He can only hope anything falling within misses her, and he's pulling her out quickly enough. ]

[whatsupcroc]

[ The benefit to feeling nothing past a certain level on her thighs means even rock falling down around her legs leaves no impression. There's nothing she can feel, outside of the scrapes and strain on her arm as Vanadi pulls her through. She hears more than feels the fabric of her leotard tear, all secondary details as she thinks about how badly she wants out, how badly she wants through.

Once out, her collection of scrapes still don't register. Bleeding or not, those would heal through one morphing. Her suit was another matter entirely, but that's what needle and thread had been invented for, fixing clothing. A good look at her left foot would make most suspicious of some breakage. She wouldn't have felt it either way.

All she could say, after being fished out of her own mistake, is; ]

Cool eye.

[ Before choking out a weak laugh. She was okay. Vanadi had gotten her out, and she was okay. It didn't matter so much that she felt herself crying as she took in a deep breath of significantly fresher air. Maybe it would have with someone else, but she was pretty sure Vanadi didn't like her that much for being a liar anyway, and he'd already seen her gross snotty faced once before. She couldn't make any more of a worse impression on him, even if (she realized on some level) she well could.

He'd just saved her butt, and she hadn't managed a proper thank you yet. Just one more breathe, she'd get right on that. ]

[implying]

[ As soon as Vanadi has her out, he's shifting, wrapping both arms around her. She's out and safe, but that doesn't stop him from hauling her into a tight hug and stumbling back to the opposite wall, to sink to a seat at the base of it with her in his lap. There are definitely no signs of any sort of willingness to let her go any time soon. ]

I'm sorry, I— that could have been done more quickly, you— 

[ He's not too sure what he's saying, just stringing together words and manners and babbling out anything that comes to mind. He doesn't even care if he's being overbearing or smothering when he presses a few relieved kisses against her temple and cheek. She's safe. ]

Are you alright, Collette?

[whatsupcroc]

[ She doesn't know what to think, or really, what to do. She doesn't get Vanadi. He's supposed to hate her for what she's done. Wasn't that what the avoidance was? Politely pretending each other didn't exist because it was the greater kindness after transgressing.

That's how it was going, right? So why -- why had he been the one to hear her? Why did it seem to matter to him that she was okay? Why was he acting like he cared?

She knew he did, for the her who was from somewhere else, living a heck of a lot more exciting life away from this war and the bombs and the cloying gasses invading lungs and making breathing impossible, but that wasn't her. Not her her, and he knew that.

So why...?

She shook her head, silent answer when she couldn't say yes past the lump in her throat. Because he doesn't let go, she lets herself hug back, ducking her head down as if it could hide the fact she was crying in earnest now. It's enough to feel like it matters right now, when she's been scared, when she didn't have that easy confidence that no matter how close it came to death it wasn't final quite yet, it's enough right now to feel like at least one person cares if she lives or dies. (She knows Marco does too, but he's another kind of worry right now. No word from him since before the bombings started. What if he'd gone? Because he couldn't die. He was fine back when she was from, or had been in the days prior.)

She's missed that feeling. It's easy to keep tossing her own worry against others, telling them they matter, checking in and making sure they're okay. She really doesn't need that. She's fine on her own.

But it was still nice, even if this wouldn't -- couldn't -- last. He'd remember before too long, after a few days if she was really lucky, that she wasn't the girl he really knew. It'd be back to like before, and she could handle that. Really. If just... ]

Why are you so nice to me?

[ She ends up squeaking out her own confusion, one step away from flat out asking, Why do you care? ]

[implying]

[ His heart is finally starting to slow that rapid flutter, and Aleva has stopped buzzing in her frantic, invisible circles over their heads. But he still doesn't let go of her, just shifts to make his cradle a little less desperate and a little more intentional. ]

Because I care for you, my d— Collette.

[ One hand lifts from her back, takes to stroking her hair gently, and he lets out a long, slow breath to try and force some relaxation on himself. If his heart weren't partially inorganic, he's sure he'd have suffered a heart attack by now. Another kiss finds her temple, because really, it's difficult to stop. ]

Are you hurt anywhere? I'm sorry, I — I dragged you, that was— there was really no way around it. I'm sorry.

[whatsupcroc]

[ She listens to that slow breath out, trying to imitate it in an effort to deal with her confusion and the pain that had nothing to do with the light throbbing of the scrapes she could heal. By force of will, she makes herself stop with the waterworks. It's a little too much, she thinks. ]

It's okay.

[ She's not ready to let go, afraid on some level it will break the illusion. How can people care for two of the same person? It's impossible. Probably. Most likely.

It's still nice to hear. ]

None of it stays. I've been disemboweled, you know? This is nothing.

[ Her voice sounds thick, her nose stuffy even as it's running. Ugh, crying makes her so gross! ]

Morph once, and it's all gone. Good as new, just like that.

[ She wasn't the one with a delicate build in the end. ]

How about your arm? I heard scraping. Are you going to be okay? You were banged up in the rubble too, Vanadi. Who can help make sure you're okay?

[ Asked while she still can't make herself quite look up. Breathe in slowly, breathe out slowly. Get a grip and calm down, kid. You were fine, he was okay enough right now, and everything was fine. ]

[implying]

[ Disemboweled? Ugh, don't tell him that. His hold tightens just a little more at that mention. ]

I'm fine. [ She's seen his glowing eye, impossible to be natural, she's heard scraping, she's already commented on hard bits. He sighs, after a moment, and adds: ] It was only cosmetic damage, I think, if anything.

[ But more importantly, since it's apparently an option... ]

Will you morph, then? Now? I saw blood, and— are you still bleeding?

[whatsupcroc]

I don't know.

[ She doesn't, still riding an emotional and adrenaline high that doesn't give her full and proper feedback on what extremities were in communication with her nervous system.

His request makes sense. Her hesitation comes in knowing the energy cost, and that she probably won't morph back right away. She was going to crash hard soon. Better morph something that could move, afterward.

But before that... ]

I can -- I will -- but...

[ He tries very hard not to have this matter, doesn't he? What parts of him make him different, the things not considered natural. ]

Can you let me see for myself that you're really okay first? Even if it's cosmetic, I want to know. To be sure.

[ If there's nothing else she can do, she can at least properly worry over all of him, as long as he was here with her. There's nothing worse than the pushing away he's already done. ]

[implying]

[ Well, he can't really refuse that now, can he? Not if that's what it will take to get her to morph, and not after the terror of nearly losing her. Seems like a pretty small price, actually.

He shifts, finally unwrapping one of his arms—the left, of course—and nods over at it. ]

I believe you're a little closer than I am. Push up the sleeve, if you would?

[ It's a loose sleeve which will push up easily, and even with the mid-forearm-high gloves on underneath, the rest of his arm will very clearly be metal. Scraped, and with one of the flanges of an external vent a little crooked, but undamaged. ]

[whatsupcroc]

[ She shifts too, taking a moment to find her balance while relying on Vanadi for stability she's not providing herself right now. She uses both her hands to more roll up his sleeve than push it up. It's habit rather than an active decision.

Collette doesn't know what she was expecting. Prosthetic arms weren't built to be this complex or integrated in her time. She doesn't think they've figured out how to make the nervous system and body cooperate with foreign implants on that size, something about infection and deterioration. Something like Vanadi's arm is amazing in and of itself. Past the end of his glove, it's worked metal that has some kind of definitive form and function.

Only it's scuffed up and not following the kinds of lines it would if it were pristine. This was part of his body, and it didn't matter if he couldn't feel it, and it didn't matter if people didn't see it every day. It shouldn't be this way.

With one hand still holding up his sleeve, the other moves to trace gently over several of the scrapes. On impulse she ducks down and presses her lips to the crooked vent, pulling away again as she says with a small smile; ]

It might not work like it does for skinned knees -- [ the way she remembers it with her Mom, kissing to make it all better ] -- but I don't think it hurts to try.

[ And she made to roll his sleeve down, preparing afterward to move off his lap and uphold her part of the bargain. ]

[implying]

[ He'd glanced away, fully prepared to have his gaze casually and inadvertently elsewhere while she satisfies her curiosity — but he can't help but look back again when she ducks her head to kiss it. He's startled at first then, with a smile, a little amused.

And reminded all over again of why he'd come to be so fond of Collette in the first place, of course, but that's a given.

He lifts the metal arm once it's covered again, brushing gloved fingers gently against her cheek. ]

Not in precisely the same way, but it seems to do something. Thank you.

[ And yeah, okay, he'll finally allow her to move, lending a hand as he wraps both arms around her waist to help shift her. ]

[whatsupcroc]

[ She lets herself smile, then pushes for it to be that much more genuinely warm. She knows what he means. Or she thinks she does. ]

Anytime. And thank you.

[ If her eyes weren't red and puffy, and her face wet with snot and tears, and her hair and everything else a collection of dust and cobwebs and blood, she might have winked. Instead, she accepted Vanadi's help, offering him a quiet warning.

She was getting back in control. ]

This is going to take longer. When you get tired, it gets harder to morph and demorph. Not in a bad way or anything. It slows down.

[ With all the required energy that goes in... Collette closes her eyes to kickstart the envisioning process. They open again, strange in that for once they change first, color losing the deep natural browns she has in favor of speckled golden browns of the coyote.

Something close enough in size to not be terribly disorientating, and something she can walk away as before finding someplace to crash and recuperate for a while.

With what felt like agonizing slowness, bones started to reform, cracking and popping as joints re-situated. THere's a long moment where she looks like some grotesque half-formed hybrid of human and canine, mottled naked to the coyote's flesh and rat-tail pushing out of her former tailbone. The fur comes almost like an explosion, not there, then pushing out all at once while her own hair more slowly pulled in.

The teeth were last this time. Blessed with a coyote's muzzle, weirdly spaced human teeth grinned out before they pulled back, a new set dropping down into the familiar jagged edges of a canine.

When the morph completes, she thumps her tail on the ground, takes two steps, then sits back down unexpectedly. Oh, she was tired, even like this. ]

< All better now! >

[implying]

[ He doesn't watch the change. Not only is it not a pleasant sight, but it seems a little... personal. In a way that even Vanadi respects. So he adverts his eyes to watch down the length of the corridor they're in, glancing back again only when he hears her voice in his head.

He does it with a smile, crooked and fond, closer to the way he'd smiled at her when he'd thought of her as the Collette from Cittágazze. ]

Good!

[ And he leans forward, reaching out— looking to snag her again and drag her back into his lap, if he can. She may be healed and in a hairier shape, but he wasn't done there. Relief is a pretty powerful factor, here. ]

[whatsupcroc]

[ Her tail thwumps against the ground once again, offering no resistance to being pulled back in. If anything, she's glad. She's not sure how people stay brave though stuff like this (the whole week, and whatever was following) without borrowing on the strength of the people around them. Even if it was kind of cheap to look for reassurance running around as a coyote people mistook for a dog in the poor lighting.

If Vanadi's up for an armful of wiggly canine, Collette isn't protesting. She won't even wiggle that much. ]

< You know... there were bones in there. >

[ But unsure if she really wants to think about that too much, she sighs and closes her eyes. ]

< D'you mind if we stay here for a little? >

[implying]

[ If Vanadi even notices any difference between holding the human Collette and the coyote Collette, he's not giving any sign of it. Both arms are wrapped around her, and he leans his forehead against a furry shoulder.

He's perfectly okay with changing the subject of bones before it even gets explored if she is. There's nothing pleasant down that way. ]

Certainly, my dear. I have nowhere in particular to be.

[ The tone is just as polished as ever, but lacks some of the energy. Not to mention it's a little muffled by the fur. ]

[whatsupcroc]

[ She chuckles a little, both a mental "noise" and a half-pant canine laugh at the same time, content to lean against him. Hugs are nice, no matter the form. ]

< Just don't get too comfortable. I need to be back to human again in under two hours. >

[ She assumed he knew the rule on limitations from the self he knew in Cittàgazze. It's another time limit on something she appreciates more now that it's here again. It's nice to talk with Vanadi, even if they're not saying much. The cold shoulder hurt, no matter how well deserved.

And probably will be again. But that was then, and this was now. Focusing on one over the other was dumb. ]

< What was Cittàgazze like? If you... feel like talking about it. >

[ What was I like? she wants to ask. She doesn't really know if she wants an answer, not to that. Knowing more about how it was for Vanadi, learning more about him, she liked that.

Besides, it beat the stuffing out of her other train of thought, one that started with, "So what kind of accident landed you so many metal limbs?" ]

[implying]

[ In under two hours? He'd never considered that her shapechanging might have some kind of limit on it, if that's what that is. Well, good to know. He'll have to ask why, at some point or another.

One hand idly strokes the fur of her head and ears, and he tips his head back against the wall. ]

The city itself was wholly unremarkable, and covered in soul-eating monsters, on top of that. But they moved slowly and weren't difficult to avoid, if one was careful not to be penned in. Ah, but the worlds available for visiting... [ He smiles. ] I visited yours once! A forest of redwoods, you said it was. It was quite lovely.

[whatsupcroc]

[ She feels her eyes starting to close again. Collette blinks rapidly, knowing the danger lying that way. Vanadi's not helping, the soothing motion of his hand over the fur of her head continuing to calm her down. Little wonder dogs love this kind of attention.

At the mention of the redwoods, her ears twitch. ]

< The Redwood Forest! I haven't been there for years. Did you get to see the big tree with the tunnel right through the middle? I thought that was the coolest thing I'd ever seen when I was little. >

[ She just knows that going back meant she didn't just stare up at those trees this time. She flew up there, touched the sky and made a piece of the forest not everyone could see her own. ]

< Vanadi? Was the war over for the me you know? >