pluviosa | EVENT LOG: Leave a Light On

Entry tags:

*event

EVENT LOG: Leave a Light On

LEAVE A LIGHT ON

You aren't scared of the dark, are you?

The dark is safer than the light. It's the light the reveals the things you'd rather not know. It's the light that's essential to knowledge and to growth. It's the growing things you should be worried about around here. They've been waiting for you for a long time.

... Of course, so has everything thing. But it's the growing things that have the opportunity, now. No matter how dark and stormy the night, morning always comes.

This is the event mingle post for Leave a Light On. This event includes general content of rapid plant growth and the possibility of infection by the Growth (plant-related body horror element) for participating characters. The IC duration of this event is the afternoon and evening of Day 4.

This is not an event with heavy moderator involvement. Players are welcome to make their own top-levels on this post.

Further information on the event can be found here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Lucia Corina carefully reaches out and takes one of Alisaie's hands, waiting until she's stable before letting go of the plants with the other and linking it as well. She can't but smile back down at Alisaie, who seems to be terribly kind--how much easier would it have been, to just leave her trapped?

She edges forward on the uneven platform of roots, gripping the other girl's hands tightly, until she reaches the edge and can try to step down. The ground is quite a ways down, and she tries to fit her heel into a gap in the roots to use it as a step for part of the way, but after she lifts her other foot to try and step down the right of the way, it gives, pitching her forward and tangling her foot at an angle that bring a gasp of pain.

Alisaie holds her breath as Lucia Corina steps forward and takes her hands. Her grip is firm and warm, reassuring after the surge of adrenaline brought on by the last hour, and Alisaie does her best to stand steady while the other girl steps down-
Her fall is sudden and terrifying, giving Alisaie no time to react in any way other than bracing herself. It’s a short distance, but enough for injury if they aren’t careful. She grunts and sways a little as Lucia Corina falls against her but stays on her feet. They remain there, both catching their breath. Lucia Corina’s heart is pounding, or perhaps it’s just her own.

"I'm terribly, sorry, I--" Lucia Corina tries to pull away and stand up and her ankle twinges sharply with an unsteady wobble, sending her swaying. Her cheeks are burning--this young woman has been so kind as to come to her aid, and this is how she's repaid her? (A rare flush may actually be visible on her porcelain-pale skin.) "I beg your pardon," she repeats. "I didn't mean to... tumble so." She tries to steady herself.

Alisaie considers trying to extricate herself, but Lucia Corina makes a small pained sound and sways on her feet as she tries to put weight on her injured leg, and all embarrassment is forgotten. She can’t just abandon her because of a moment of - silliness.
Besides, maybe it’s too dark to see her blushing. She keeps her hands on the other girl’s upper arms, doing her best to keep them both steady.
“It’s all right,” she reassures, smile in her voice and on her face, “I didn’t assume you did it on purpose.”

Alisaie's hands are warm and solid and reassuring, and Lucia Corina manages to stabilize herself, with weight mostly off of her protesting ankle. "I... greatly appreciate your assistance, miss Alisaie. You did not need to put yourself out so for my sake." She hadn't realized, while she was trapped, how much shorter the other girl was, knowing she was lower down. The elf--Elezen--girl has a lovely smile. And flushed cheeks-- Lucia Corina hopes she hasn't hurt her. "You are terribly kind."

“And you are terribly polite,” Alisaie answers. “I could never have left you there. You were terrified, alone. What sort of person would I be if I had left you to your fear?”
She lets Lucia Corina keep bracing against her, unwilling to let go. Just in case she becomes unsteady again. It will be a bit of a walk back, and she doesn’t want to aggravate the injury. That’s all.

"Many would not consider it their responsibility to aid a stranger, especially one who... I'm sorry, I can hardly remember, but I don't think I was terribly... coherent. I fear you were working against me as much as the plants. And yet you persevered."

For all her slight frame, Alisaie is easily holding her steady, and Lucia Corina can't help but appreciate how... grounding it is. She is here, now, with this unfamiliar girl whose hands are warm against her arms, not lost in the shadows of her past.

"I'm not sure... there was somewhere..." She closes her eyes, frowning. "I... this place. We've been here some time?" Memory is filtering back in, but everything is muddled.

To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom, it is indolence, her grandfather says in the back of her mind the way he has countless times. She couldn’t imagine leaving this girl here, alone, in the dark. Even if she weren’t so warm and comforting.
“You’re hardly the first person to resist my help,” she says lightly, but there’s a hint of something heavier in her tone. “You weren’t yourself. Wherever you were, it was somewhere far away.”
Should she step back? She suddenly doesn’t know where or how to stand, but she worries Lucia Corina will fall if she doesn’t offer support.
“We have been here for a few days. Not long.”

"I was... it was... as though I was still trying to escape from the Hall, before I ever won free." Lucia Corina shakes her head, eyes shadowed. "I'm out. I'm free of Her."

She casts a doubtful look at the wall. "It's... a ship? Do I recall that correctly?" She shifts, trying to settle her weight normally, and sucks in a sharp breath at the twinge it brings in her ankle.

Alisaie grimaces at the pained noise she makes, and shifts her weight a bit to compensate. “Yes, though not like one I’ve ever seen…I’m no healer, but I can take a look at your ankle if you want? I have enough skill to bring the swelling down, at least.”
Anything beyond that will have to wait until they’re back somewhere with medical supplies, but she doesn’t want to leave Lucia Corina to hobble back to the living quarters on an injured leg.

"O-oh, if you wouldn't mind..." Lucia Corina looks down at her feet. "I do seem to have twisted it." She regretfully pulls away from Alisaie's grip to sit down on the platform of roots, propping her ankle up on her other knee to bring it into view. It's definitely starting to swell.

Alisaie kneels to get a better look, then reaches out to feel the injury lightly. The swelling is obvious even at a glance and her skin is hot to the touch. She tries to touch as gently as she can and she can’t be entirely sure, but she thinks it isn’t broken.
“Just a sprain, I think. You’ll be all right.” She looks up at Lucia Corina and smiles reassuringly as she channels healing aether into the swelling. It’s not her forte, her personal balance leaning more toward destructive magicks than healing ones, but she has enough training at this point to heal minor injuries.
The swelling is visibly reduced when she ends the spell. Hopefully that will make it easier for her to get back, with or without Alisaie helping her walk.

Lucia Corina fights to suppress any pained reaction as Alisaie carefully touches her ankle--she's clearly being as delicate as she can, she doesn't want her to feel bad that it still hurts.

The magic that flows into her feels cool and soothing, smoothing away the pain of the injury, and Lucia Corina can't take her eyes off of Alisaie's reassuring smile. She smiles back, helplessly. "I am in your debt once more, miss Alisaie. I-- greatly appreciate your aid."

Reassured by the way the tension throughout Lucia Corina’s body eases slightly, Alisaie gets to her feet and offers a hand. “You’re not in my debt,” she says. “I helped you because I wanted to.” Seeing that smile again certainly doesn’t hurt, though. She has a lovely smile

Lucia Corina takes the offered hand and carefully stands again. She favors the injured ankle a little, but there's only a slight twinge, not a bolt of pain. "Your skill is certainly great enough to work a significant improvement. You have my thanks, then, if nothing more." The feel of the slighter girl's hand against hers is... pleasant. She's hardly touched anyone in a long time, has she? Gulda embraced her... she can't think of anything else. Wait, Gulda. The tower. Rue and Deorwine. She's long out of the Hall. Her brow furrows, trying to connect from there to here. When did she part from them? She's... she remembers a tall man with white hair, a younger one with blond, both grounding her back to the present on-- "The ship! I beg your pardon, I just-- remembered. We're on the Ship?"

Alisaie squeezes her hand a little once they’re both standing. Lucia Corina’s hand is a little larger than hers, and it’s oddly…reassuring. She doesn’t seek out physical affection, but she could get used to this.
Not that she should. She has no idea how long they’ll be on the ship, or even if Lucia Corina will continue to want her company.
“That’s right, though I don’t know much else. Are you well enough to head back?”

Lucia Corina squeezes her hand back, marveling a little at how warm and grounding such a simple gesture feels. She doesn't want to let go. She shouldn't force her company on Alisaie, of course, but... until the other girl pulls away... perhaps it's all right.

"I believe so, as long as I don't trip again... I could wish it was less dark, but given the consequences of the light, perhaps not."

“Hold on, then. I won’t let you fall.” She turns to smile at Lucia Corina again and leaves their hands linked. With her other hand she brings up the focus of her rapier, floating gently above her palm. The light it emits is weak, but it’s better than nothing.
“I was able to get down here with only this. We ought to be able to make the return trip with it, but be careful.”

Oh... oh. Lucia Corina's chest feels strangely tight. I won't let you fall. What a simple sentence to make her feel so much. She smiles back, a little shaken by the strength of her reaction. "I will... rely on your aid once more, then, miss Alisaie." She holds her skirts up a bit with her free hand, picking her way carefully away from the cocoon of vines that imprisoned her. The light is enough to see where the plants have made the floor treacherous, and her ankle is shaky but the surprisingly strong grip of the shorter girl is keeping her steady.

It’s not a quick journey back, both of them picking their way delicately over the tangled roots and vines that have taken the opportunity to rise up against their metal prison. Alisaie worries that Lucia Corina will hurt herself again, or that her ankle won’t be able to hold up to the strain, but apart from their slow, cautious pace the other girl holds her own.
“Where do you want to go? I can help you back to your room, or to the cafeteria?”

The healing is perhaps a little more effective than it should have been, simply because Lucia Corina is so prepared to believe in Alisaie's ability to help--she expects it to work, and thus it does. There's enough of a twinge that she's still grateful for Alisaie's steadying hand, but it's not too bad. And their cautious pace and the dim light of the other girl's artifact are enough to keep her from tripping again.

"The cafeteria, I think? It would be nice to have something warm to eat." She pushes her hair absently out of her face. It's worse than usually full of leaves and twigs and tangles, right now, but she's not really aware of it. "Or something warm to drink, either way."

Alisaie looks back at her when they finally make it close enough to the living quarters and cafeteria that they can hear voices. She’s been leading the way, hyperfocused on getting them back safely. It’s been difficult to converse as a result, even were she not feeling somewhat tongue-tied every time she speaks. Something about Lucia Corina makes her want to choose her words carefully, make sure she says the right thing. It’s an odd feeling, wanting to be careful.
But there are so few people here whom she can trust. So few who will trust her. Surely that’s the cause of her nervousness.
“Good idea. I think we’ve both earned some tea, and you need to rest.” She has no way to enforce that, of course, but she has to try.

Tension eases out of Lucia Corina as they make it into cleared corridors and can hear the sounds of non-flora life. "I remain immensely grateful for your assistance, miss Alisaie. I have been fortunate indeed to find myself safe in your hands."

As they step into the cafeteria, she rather hopes Alisaie will stick with her just a little bit longer. The other girl's company is... more than a comfort. She makes her way to the tea cart and takes two cups, looking up at Alisaie. "How do you prefer your tea?" Fixing her a cup is nothing, really, but she wants so desperately to repay her rescuer.

She isn’t used to being addressed as “miss Alisaie,” at least not by someone her age, but rather than making her uncomfortable the unfamiliar formality has begun to make her smile.
She thinks about refusing, generally unwilling as she is to let people do things for her, but it’s clear that Lucia Corina wants to make it up to her somehow. This, at least, is a harmless form of repayment.
“A good bit of sugar, no milk,” she says. She isn’t actually sure the ship has milk, but worth being clear.

Lucia Corina smiles at her, relieved that she can at least do something. She fixes two cups of tea, one with plenty of sugar and the other with a bit of honey--she's not used to the flavor of sugar, it doesn't seem quite right to her. "I had never had sugar before," she says, for lack of any other comment to make. "There are... many unfamiliar foods here." Like tomatoes.

She carries both cups to a table in an unspoken invitation for Alisaie to join her, one she's too uncertain to voice--she has been rescued. She has proved again how little she has to contribute, how much of a burden she is to the rest of their astonishingly competent company.

Alisaie has magic, and a rapier, can heal and fight. Lucia Corina is only a songbird.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT LOG: Leave a Light On

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject