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Entry tags:
so frolic, so gay, and so green
Who: kylo ren and others.
When: may.
Where: haven, the city and beyond.
What: may catch-all and quest.
Warnings: one prompt will involve an encounter with an infected creature so expect some violence, possible injury. i will update warnings as necessary.
( it’s difficult, at first, to wrap his mind around it. books – actual printed books on actual paper – are a rarity in his time, what surviving examples of printed media remain are typically kept locked away, safe from prying eyes and sticky fingers, not left out like this for anyone to handle.
except that it’s really not everyone doing the handling.
the volunteers are given a rundown of what is expected of them: gather the returned books, inspect them for damage – recording any fines accrued – and then re-shelve them in the correct areas. avoid engaging with the students more than necessary.
simple enough, really.
what time he doesn't spend replacing books is often spent perusing, his attention drawn particularly to histories of the land and magical theory. )
( haven. he recognizes the place from earlier restoration efforts – efforts he’d assisted with, and been compensated generously for – but is surprised to find that this is the coven’s idea of suitable alternative accommodation.
the buildings start out tall, almost too grand, and far too large for a single person to occupy on their own. eventually, they begin to taper off into smaller, more modest housing. apartments and cottages – two to a place. more manageable than the alternatives, even if it means having to consider the idea of a roommate.
stalls line the streets. perhaps he will step closer to peruse what they have to offer, taking a particular interest in the trinkets of even the slightest magical nature. he might even go so far as to make an inquiry – how much? where did you come by it? a few hundred cunes tucked away in one of the pouches on his belt.
eventually, he’ll move on, heading toward the barracks, though it’s really the bright wall he's hoping to get a closer look at. )
I wonder what it’s made of.
( word of the wilders – the witches that venture beyond the wall, to scout the areas most affected by the cwyld – finds its way to him, and he is quick to volunteer himself to their cause. it’s an excuse to see something of the land beyond the wall. to see if the stories those hushed whispers and ghost stories hold any merit.
their guide certainly seems to think so.
preparation for their venture is a day long affair. In addition to food and water, they are given protective gear – “catch it early enough, and maybe they can save you, but best not to push it” – and a run down on several of the more basic abjuration spells.
they are then lead out of the city, through the bright wall and into the outer city. they are then lead down, past even that, into a nearby wooded area that reminds him a little too much of that earlier dream, even without the tar-colored corpses and eerie quiet. )
Look, ( a soft murmur, pointing toward some of the nearby trees. rather than a lush, healthy green they are yellowing at the edges. )
( anything else goes here? kylo's also signed up for the gardening with class mission, in the hope of learning something about aefenglom's local flora, so feel free to join him as he tries to make heads or tails of the language of flowers and flower arranging. otherwise, i'm open to anything, and you can reach me either via pm or at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
resurrectionist. )
When: may.
Where: haven, the city and beyond.
What: may catch-all and quest.
Warnings: one prompt will involve an encounter with an infected creature so expect some violence, possible injury. i will update warnings as necessary.
» » » UNDERMAEL COLLEGE.
( it’s difficult, at first, to wrap his mind around it. books – actual printed books on actual paper – are a rarity in his time, what surviving examples of printed media remain are typically kept locked away, safe from prying eyes and sticky fingers, not left out like this for anyone to handle.
except that it’s really not everyone doing the handling.
the volunteers are given a rundown of what is expected of them: gather the returned books, inspect them for damage – recording any fines accrued – and then re-shelve them in the correct areas. avoid engaging with the students more than necessary.
simple enough, really.
what time he doesn't spend replacing books is often spent perusing, his attention drawn particularly to histories of the land and magical theory. )
» » » MOVING DAY.
( haven. he recognizes the place from earlier restoration efforts – efforts he’d assisted with, and been compensated generously for – but is surprised to find that this is the coven’s idea of suitable alternative accommodation.
the buildings start out tall, almost too grand, and far too large for a single person to occupy on their own. eventually, they begin to taper off into smaller, more modest housing. apartments and cottages – two to a place. more manageable than the alternatives, even if it means having to consider the idea of a roommate.
stalls line the streets. perhaps he will step closer to peruse what they have to offer, taking a particular interest in the trinkets of even the slightest magical nature. he might even go so far as to make an inquiry – how much? where did you come by it? a few hundred cunes tucked away in one of the pouches on his belt.
eventually, he’ll move on, heading toward the barracks, though it’s really the bright wall he's hoping to get a closer look at. )
I wonder what it’s made of.
» » » WILDERS RECRUITMENT (Locked to rey)
( word of the wilders – the witches that venture beyond the wall, to scout the areas most affected by the cwyld – finds its way to him, and he is quick to volunteer himself to their cause. it’s an excuse to see something of the land beyond the wall. to see if the stories those hushed whispers and ghost stories hold any merit.
their guide certainly seems to think so.
preparation for their venture is a day long affair. In addition to food and water, they are given protective gear – “catch it early enough, and maybe they can save you, but best not to push it” – and a run down on several of the more basic abjuration spells.
they are then lead out of the city, through the bright wall and into the outer city. they are then lead down, past even that, into a nearby wooded area that reminds him a little too much of that earlier dream, even without the tar-colored corpses and eerie quiet. )
Look, ( a soft murmur, pointing toward some of the nearby trees. rather than a lush, healthy green they are yellowing at the edges. )
» » » WILDCARD.
( anything else goes here? kylo's also signed up for the gardening with class mission, in the hope of learning something about aefenglom's local flora, so feel free to join him as he tries to make heads or tails of the language of flowers and flower arranging. otherwise, i'm open to anything, and you can reach me either via pm or at
no subject
To her sharper vision, it's nearly blinding — senses too keen. She can hear the rush of water nearby just as strongly, the rustling of the leaves, the crunch of Ben's boots on the soft earth. It takes the majority of her willpower not to flinch away until —
Hooves trampling the ground, the tangy aroma of fruit in the air, blood pumping, an animalistic snort. ]
Look for tracks.
[ But despite the instruction, she's already headed off without him as though entranced. ]
no subject
he'd been good at it but then it was difficult to be bad at hunting when you were like him, blessed with the kind of insight that only the force could provide. except, the force isn't here now. not really.
kylo ren has to pause, eyes skimming over their surroundings as he searches for any of the usual signs: it's a wooded area, the dense green foliage giving way to shades of ripe gold, which means they're probably looking for a predator of some kind. something large and violent even without the corrosion of the infection.
except that there's no prey animals he can see. no birdsong. there's only the soft beat of their boots against the ground, almost deafening.
he drags his lower lip through his teeth, worrying at it a moment before pushing on toward the yellow-gold trees. )
no subject
Irritated, she withholds her grunt, almost drawing blood for how her teeth prick into her bottom lip — longer, sharper. She kicks the observations aside, certain it's her imagination. At any rate, catching his attention with any other method seems conducive to startling whatever beast is yards away, kicking up through piles of leaves, with a clack-clack of its feet against scattered stones. ]
No.
[ Though she means to whisper it, it's too loud, a harsh sound of her breath as she crouches. ]
This way. [ Pointedly, she jerks her head in front of her. ] Can't you hear it?
[ It feels too close to their first meeting here in a forest not so dissimilar to this one, equipped with an aptitude he had claimed not to possess. ]
no subject
( his head tilts toward her, a question poised on his brow. thinking back, just as she is, to that dream and that forest, and how she had had to guide them both out of it in the dark.
moving toward her, carefully as his frame will allow, he eventually pushes his way back onto the trail, joining her. )
What do you see? ( a hushed voice, pitched low enough that only she should be able to hear him. )
no subject
There. Some kind of animal.
[ Her finger extends ahead of her before she's even opened her eyes, certain in spite of her trepidation. When her eyes flick open, she isn't wrong; feet ahead of them stands a creature with curling antlers, topped off with dangling fruit, scattering petals behind it.
It seems a shame, she thinks, to be tasked with capturing something so eerily beautiful, so unique. Marveling, her eyes linger for too long, before darting back to Ben. It doesn't seem to have noticed them quite yet, but he surely has heard them; it stops and stills, as if listening intently to its surroundings, kicking up dirt beneath its hooves anxiously. ]
See for yourself. I don't know what to call it.
no subject
unlike the dainty, red-haired creatures this little creature seems like it's seen better days. its glossy coat has grown matted, dark corruption winding its way along its slender limbs like a creeper-vine. )
It's called a deer. ( his voice remains soft, careful, eyes surveying their surroundings ㅡ the yellowed leaves, the graying trees ㅡ with renewed understanding. )
It must have done this. They said the corruption spreads quickly but I would never have expected ㅡ ( there's the scrape of a boot against earth and the deer's head shoots up, scanning its surroundings for predators. )
no subject
[ Baffled, her eyes dart to him without judgment — and it's there that realization dawns on her. One man had caused more destruction and devastation than should be possible. Ben himself is no stranger to how corruption and the strength within it, how it spreads and seeps until it's poisoned what it touches.
She turns away, but it's too late. It had been a reckless mistake to take her eyes off of that beast. One of its eyes — a putrid white, blinded, and yellowing at its corners — has turned to them. It sniffs at the air once, twice, and lowers its snout as if debating whether to charge. ]
[ Her arm shoots out, blocking Ben from moving forward. It's too vehement, thudding against its chest with the quick power behind that motion. ]
Stay still.
[ As she has gone, immobile, chest rising and falling in anxious anticipation. The small creature moves forward as if it has heard her warning, grunting lowly in agitation, snout moving to press to the ground in its suspicion. It's heard them, and now has every intention of flushing them out from behind the treeline, venturing closer and closer. ]
no subject
his attention snaps back to the deer, heart beating against the cage of his ribs, breath caught between his teeth. for a moment he thinks it doesn't see themㅡthey're camouflaged, dressed in heavy layers of leather and fabric that's murder in the weather but nonetheless blends well with their surroundingsㅡand that they might escape, unscathed, but then it drops its head, feet kicking against the earth as it prepares to charge. )
Move. ( again, more urgently now. ) Move.
no subject
Her lungs burn with it, punished with the exertion. Clinging to Ben's shirt to pull him along is only dragging them both down, creating a liability; she releases him with a grunt, as fleet-footed as if the terrain beneath her were Jakku's familiar sand dunes. They aren't, however — that much becomes clear when she stumbles over a scattered rock, unable to predict an unknown forest's landscape.
She rights herself soon enough, chancing a glance behind her. The animal is too slow to correct course, crashing through brush and ramming into tree trunks. It shakes its head with a huff. ]
We're not going to outrun it!
[ They've come her to capture it, more importantly. They can't just leave it to corrupt all that it touches. What she doesn't admit is her own lagging fatigue, so quick to come up on her, chest wracking with a cough as she zigzags around a trunk. ]
no subject
the second, following quickly on the heels of the first, is that they should have had much longer to prepare for this mission if the wilders had had any intention of the mission being a success. there's a bitter, niggling thought that they'd been set up to fail. that this had been some kind of test — a way to emphasize the risk of disobedience and venturing over the wall. )
Hide.
( he yells back at her, skidding to a halt and doing his best to make himself seem bigger. more imposing. there's no guarantee that it will work — not with the thing half out of its mind already — but he has to try. )
no subject
No. I'm not leaving you.
[ Later, the nobleness of it will occur to her — confirmation of Ben Solo's continued existence, brimming with a compassion she has seen then and sees now. In the moment, she can only fixate on the possibility of losing the connection she has found, sacrificing him to a raging beast. Vehement, her head shakes, panting out her breaths as she stands her ground.
The creature doesn't care whether she joins him or hides in the treetops. It hones in on Ben for how he has made himself a target, a more imposing threat than Rey's fatigued exhales and inhales; rearing back with a shrill whinny, its hooves pound against the ground as she sees it dislodge its antlers and buck forward, aimed for him. ]
no subject
Go.
( he's already twisting his fingers into the forms they'd been shown, rallying. the forms aren't instinctive, yet. they're clumsy and hurried, but the power still kindles, still catches, gathering and then spilling over until it slowly covers him in a haphazard shield spell.
this is going to hurt. and it does. the tiny beast slams into him at full force, and while its antlers glance off the protective bubble of energy, sparing him a violent goring that would have almost certainly killed him, it still sends him flying.
there's a hard crack as his head impacts something solid, jarring through his body and filling his mouth with copper. he blinks, owlish, dazed, clinging to the threads of the spell as best he can even as the little creature readies itself for another attack. )
no subject
It would do them no favors for how easily it puts her within reach of that snuffling beast. But, more than that, she combats herself — the bloodlust that has come to life, ignited by the whiff of blood in the air. Nostrils flaring, crimson overtakes her iris — a blinding red against the whites of her eyes as they dart to him, looking as startled as she does hungry.
Hearing the creature grunt, she rips her gaze away. He's still breathing; she can hear it in the winded rhythm of his inhales and exhales, but the violence that zaps through her lends itself to an inhuman, guttural growl in her throat as the thing aims to charge him again.
It's enough to startle its attention back to her. For a moment, Rey thinks she sees a flicker of fear — a beast recognizing a beast — before it lowers its head to come for her, next. Despite her anger, she turns to run once more, certain — if it won't be tired — Ben will at least have the advantage of a distraction. ]
no subject
the guide seems to have vanished — or perhaps they are offering their own pursuit, moving quicker and quieter along some hidden path — but he can't think of that now. instead he thinks of the weapon still clipped to his belt, of how willing he is to sacrifice what sliver of good will they've been granted to save a girl he barely knows — and yet seems to know all of him. has stared into the abyss and not turned away, in disgust or in fear, but instead had reached out across the stars for him.
and the answer is yes.
the answer will always be yes. )
no subject
She neither has the time nor the breath to protest Ben's involvement. It's a distraction, all the same; where she had been hoping to distract — long enough to give him an opening to take it down, long enough to get on his feet — she hears his boots join them instead, putting himself back into the fray and at risk like she'd been hoping to avoid.
In her ears, his heart bounds and leaps, a heavy thud against his chest in exertion and apprehension. Rey blocks it out of her senses, barely so, just in time to narrowly miss horn's snagging on the back of her tunic. She darts to the side to throw herself out of the way with a shout, landing with an unpleasant thud. Her bare palms skin themselves trying to brace for impact, the knees of her trousers torn through.
The beast can't change course quickly enough. It crashes into the next tree and shakes its head rapidly, dazed from the blow. Wildly, Rey's gaze shifts to find Ben, seeing their chance to wrangle it now that it's stunned and off-kilter. ]
Take it down!
no subject
it strikes the little deer. it strikes the surrounding trees. it strikes anything unfortunate enough to get in the way, really, but the important thing. the most important thing is that the deer is caught entirely off-guard.
the deer makes a low, pained sound and then its knees buckle and it lays its head on t he ground. )
no subject
Rey follows her line of vision toward the trees, set aflame by that bursting, crackling lightning, with a sort of wonder. Ben had done that, she realizes, gaping at his fingers as if she might solve the mystery behind it.
Magic, this world has called it. She's barely been able to manage the same. There's no time to ruminate on it, even so; Rey winces as she pushes herself to her feet, breathing heavily from exertion, and ignores the fatigue trying to weigh down her limbs as she rushes to the squirming deer.
It kicks out its legs, desperate to get back on its feet. Its head only falls back against the ground with another small crash, unable to hold the weight of it. ]
It can't get back up. [ She calls, already unraveling the length of rope from her belt to bind its legs. ] Bring me the rest of the supplies before it tries again.
[ The witch, in the meantime, has set herself to extinguishing the flames licking up the sides of nearby trunks. ]
no subject
the deer continues to kick feebly. it grows more determined even as the effort seems to exhaust it. )
Careful of the antlers. ( he pulls out one of the scrolls, scans it and then discards it. pulls out another and does the same. it's only at the fourth that he finds something useful. )
This is a sleep spell.
no subject
Resting on her backside with a graceless thud on the ground, she finally heaves out a breath and looks at the papers Ben's collected from his rummaging. ]
I don't know how to use their magic yet. [ She admits, a stilted sentence from how begrudgingly the confession comes. ] You should try it. Use my energy, if you need to.
[ If he even can. She isn't certain how to access the Force here, a distant thrum that alludes her whenever she tries to tap into it. Still, no matter her pride, she is persistently practical; Ben's talent with it is innate. The task is in better hands with him. ]
no subject
the language is simple enough. simpler than what he'd have expected. not that that's necessarily a bad thing. after all, it's not like any charging beast is liable to pause long enough to let you catch your breath much less let loose whatever spell you had in mind.
he clears his throat and then begins to read. )
Lullaby and good night, in the skies stars are bright
May the moon's silvery beams bring you sweet dreams
Close your eyes now and rest, may these hours be blessed
'Til the sky's bright with dawn, when you wake with a yawn
no subject
He must be. On the first attempt, the deer's eyelids begin to drift downward — flickering, bewildered, as it fights to keep itself conscious. By the end, its head falls back against the muddy earth, limp. Helpless, more than that.
It reminds her too vividly of a forest and a hand outstretched toward her, filling her vision with black as the energy had floated away from her body. Rey casts a glance at him sidelong, wondering if the same memory has entered his mind. Just as she opens her mouth to skeptically insist he's skilled, more than his statement would have her believe, she smells it.
Blood. Pupils dilating, she hyperfixates on the stain of it against the corner of his mouth, matting the back of his head — and reaches out, almost as if entranced, to touch the back of his skull. Concerned, despite flare in her hunger that she shoves down, sickened by the inexplicable pang. ]
You're bleeding. [ Her fingers come away from his hair, red, to prove it. She doesn't wait for the Witch that's joined them to finish, or for Ben to answer, already kneeling to call out to that figure in the distance: ] He's injured. We need to have him checked and rested before we start the trip back.
no subject
the longer they put off their return the greater the likelihood of the deer coming round, and he'd rather endure the slog back to the city than take that risk. )
I'll be fine. Really. ( he pours all his resolve and all his stubbornness into the word, willing it to be so. )
no subject
[ When in doubt, weaponizing reason against him feels like the better play. Ben Solo's pride, it seems, won't allow him to admit he needs the helping hand she willingly offers. Not out of pity, but out of care. Maybe, she tells herself, it's been so long since he's faced a drop of genuine compassion that he's mistaking it for a comment on his capabilities.
Pursing her lips, she gestures over to the Witch hobbling toward them, looking as exasperated as ever. Clearly, the pair of them are already in trouble, regardless. ]
Let them at least look at you before we head back. There has to be a ... spell, or something like it, that can help you.
no subject
still, he follows her gesture to the witch, his brows pulling inward as his gaze drops. he swallows hard. )
Fine. ( his reluctance couldn't be more clear. it's the idea of being vulnerable, he thinks, to someone — to anyone — but especially to a stranger. )
no subject
It shouldn't take long. The deer won't wake up that quickly. [ It's a misreading of his reluctance, but she doesn't have the same depth of a bond to rely on to cobble together his emotions, let alone their origins. She does, however, have the empathy to offer, ] I'll stay here while she works on you.
[ Her own wariness of the natives has roots in her self-reliance, the self-sustaining habits she'd acquired on Jakku. Subconsciously, her fingers slip into her mouth, cleaning the blood off of her fingers — with a shiver she violently suppresses — and proceeding to yank them out of her mouth.
The gnawing hunger is made worse for it, demanding she get every trace of that copper tang, but she ignores it to wipe down her spit-slicked fingers on her trousers and move them back to tightening the knots around the animal's legs.
The witch, in the meantime, gracefully drops at Ben's side to begin tittering over his head. ]
no subject
eyes sliding shut as he pulls in a stabilizing breath.
the prickling has given way to itching, something that sits at just to the left of discomfort. there’s a pressure in his skull – and he wonders, briefly, if he might not be concussed after all – that swells and swells until it gives way suddenly in a rush of breath-taking relief.
finally, the witch’s fingers slip from his head and she mutters something about visiting the hospital when they get back, just to be sure. kylo watches her rise, offers her a vague sort of nod just that effort alone sets his stomach roiling. walking back to the city is bound to be a pleasure. )