so frolic, so gay, and so green

[warfares]

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.

» » » 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 resurrectionist. )

Comments

[warfares]

( he moves quickly to her side, bringing one of the packs with him. it's dropped at her feet and he's quick to fish around inside it for anything else useful: more rope, several scrolls that simmer with magical energy and miscellaneous food rations that they're unlikely to need now that they've found what they'd come for.

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.

[purpose]

[ Its hooves nearly nick her as she retrieves Ben's strand of rope, moving to knot it more efficiently around its legs. He's right to remind her of its antlers, despite that; they drag along the ground as a last resort self-defense mechanism, failing to strike her when she jerks away.

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. ]

[warfares]

Neither do I. ( he admits, eyes already skimming across the page.

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

[purpose]

[ A natural, then.

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.

[warfares]

( he waves a hand, dismissive. while the adrenaline burns through his veins the worst of the pain is kept at bay. and he's survived worse ㅡ granted, not recently and not without some assistance, but. she doesn't need to know that.

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. )

[purpose]

Do you plan to bleed all the way back? You don't know what else is out here. We need to be careful.

[ 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.

[warfares]

( she has a point. not that it makes it any easier to admit, of course. so far he's done an impressive job of living in that place between denial and panic that keeps him from having to admit that perhaps he isn't as all right as he likes to think he is.

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. )

[purpose]

[ Satisfied, she nods. ]

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. ]

[warfares]

( his scalp prickles as the witch goes to work, murmuring a mixture of spells and imprecations over the wound; it’s an ugly thing, to be sure, but like most head wounds it looks worse than it is.

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. )