SO BELOW - EVENT LOG

[pluviosamods]

SO BELOW

With a slightly bump that can be felt throughout the ship, progress levels out. The skies above are threatening rain, but there aren't any drops falling from the sky... Yet.

Not that you'd know it, looking out the windows. A foreign ocean stands outside, on the other side of the glass - the ghost of an ocean, long gone from the truth of this world.

Just like so many other things, which have become visible to those who are willing to pay attention.

This is the event log for SO BELOW. Information for the first part of the Event (days 15 and 16) can be found here, along with sign-up options for the second part of the event.

Comments

[harmoniousconsecration]

"They don't have to be my people for me to care about them. I am not a monster."

There is... a quiet discomfort, as he gazes along the frozen landscape. A shifting prism of colour, locked away in ice, catches his eye, and Sunday is... very much confronted with the fact that Aventurine is afraid of him, his power. It was obvious already, but doubly so, now. He can feel it, Harmony, Order, both, gently emanating from within. He remembers how Aventurine had asked him not to try to withdraw the Consecration. He remembers Aventurine's shriek, as he recognized Sunday's face, the terror in his voice.

And here Sunday was, violating that boundary. Perhaps he was some kind of monster. The longer he stays on this ship, the closer he gets with these people, the more he holds his actions up the the light, finding imperfections within them. He worries he's poisoned himself from the inside out, with false hopes, with selfish desires, with doubts in his Aeon, the Family itself.

Sunday finds old paw prints in the snow, all too familiar for him. No blood, surprisingly. No teeth set into the man's emotions, now. Sunday doesn't follow them to find out where they lead. Instead, he walks through this casino. Everything had been similar as it had been, before, but much colder, frozen in place.

Sunday finds a boy, holding the man close, dear to him, and knows it is Aventurine, that both of them are one in the same. He is quiet, unsure of what to say. How to proceed. He had come here for a quick glance, and yet... Here he was, doing the same thing that had terrified the other man in the first place. Did he mean well, or was this another means of establishing control? He had asked Aventurine to forgive him, but was this something that could simply be forgiven?

Sunday says nothing, ultimately. He's pushed out gently just as carefully as he withdraws, shaken, knowing he had seen something never meant for him. Aventurine describes her as a friend, and Sunday... cannot fathom the concept. The gambler was always more willing than he to risk his life and limb, however.

"Your... Friend." Sunday really does try to sound like he believes that. He's trying. His feathers fan out though, and he feels. Deeply uncomfortable with all of this. "Tired... She needed to feed, then, I suppose?"

Something between disgust and horror crawls up the halovian's spine. Between himself and Aurelia, he's not sure who it is most obviously directed towards. Perhaps they are one and the same, then. Aventurine is fine, and safe, and being watched over by her. He should leave.

"Her 'meal plan'. She's eaten from you before then? And the Doctor is aware of this?" Pawprints. Blood. A beast, tearing away at anything it could reach in his mind, his heart. He doesn't feel comfortable relaying the details. "You... Could say that we've met."

Sunday feels cold, hollow, and this time, it wasn't Aurelia's doing.

[doomed_gambler]

Aventurine...actually looks a bit startled at that response, maybe even kind of remorseful. "I...didn't mean that. That's not what I meant...sorry. You can care about people, sure. I'm not gonna stop you. Yeah I care about people. Like...I care about you? I think. It's complicated." He blinks. "That's why I'm telling you to help yourself too, even if I... but...you just gotta...ugh." He rubs at his forehead, looking rather dizzy and lost for a moment. "Ummm...what were we...talking about?"

Clearly a serious (albeit hypocritical) conversation about self preservation is a bit beyond him right now.

As for the mindscape, the strange thing is that the paw prints do not go into the casino where Sunday goes. They overlap each other in a line outside the doors, as if a great beast paced right outside for some time. It did not seem to find entry into the space Aventurine let Sunday into just now.

The child also doesn't seem to mind being seen. Maybe the Aventurine Sunday knows...might have minded. But his consciousness seems to be effectively shut off for the moment. Even back outside, he doesn't even seem to realize what happened. He's...unsure what Sunday asked him to forgive.

He doesn't have the time or capacity to mull it over, however. He watches the halovian's wings fluff up, remembering that tended to signify...discomfort? Was it something he said? Bizarrely, he wants to smooth down the feathers himself. That's probably considered rude, though. Maybe. He sighs, letting the confusion slip by.

"Yeah. She's always hungry. Empty. It's...not good...? To be empty. It feels..." His face scrunches up, the thoughts leaving him there, too. You know it's probably an indicator of something alarming that this happens so often. Not that he cares right now. "It's sad she can't just have a sandwich and feel better. She has to have, uh...emotion sandwiches! Which are kinda hard to make." He seems rather proud of his metaphor.

Aventurine giggles at the last questions. "Yeah! When we first met actually! It was an interesting bet. I uh...got really tired after though, so she took me to the clinic and Ratio dealt with everything after so! All better!" He spreads his hands in a 'ta-dah' gesture. Truly the picture of perfect health, this one.

Sunday's feathers keep floofing up. Poor guy..."Hey...hey. It's okay. She's kinda spooky but she means well most of the time! And she's smart! You're smart too, you'll probably get along! Maybe. You're weird about new people I think..." he mutters, squinting through brainfog. "Still you look like you're freaking out. I...don't know when the timer is going off, I can't hear very well right now," he laughs. "Still, you should strap in soon. I don't want you getting hurt!"

[harmoniousconsecration]

Sunday is more than a little willing to let that topic die there, it seemed to be... Well. A lot, for the other man, especially in this altered state.

"Nothing important," Sunday lies, his voice soft, mulling over what he'd just seen. The beast had not gotten inside, not where he had walked. It had not seen that boy--- It hadn't had a chance. Was the beast Aurelia herself, or some manifestation of her power? He's not sure. "Everything is fine."

Empty. She normally felt empty. Well, now so did he, beyond the fear, his own trepidation around all of this. The state Aventurine was in. Sunday didn't know... what to think about it all. Where to begin. Aventurine's answers leave him with more questions than they effectively respond to, but the halovian can't quite fault him for that.

Sunday decides, ultimately, that the other man didn't need to hear what had happened between him and Aurelia. He was within her care, and Aventurine was right, after all. Sunday was running out of time. The halovian doesn't quite know how to feel about the other man telling him he didn't want him to get hurt, electing instead to pretend he hadn't heard it, saving at least some of the gambler's dignity.

"Perhaps. Tell her hello from me, if you see her again."

He doesn't wholly feel he deserves it, besides. Nor does he wish to undo... Whatever protective spell this was, or bring her wrath any worse upon himself than it had been. Instead, the halovian turns to leave. Perhaps staying and just strapping himself in would be the smarter option, keeping the other man company, but...

"I'll get myself strapped in soon. I still have time. I just want to be sure everyone else is okay, first."

There is a nagging feeling at the back of his mind, a thought he couldn't quite dispel, a worry that was too heavy to set down. A final pause, and a glance, are laid upon Aventurine's form before he leaves: He was safe. And mostly well.

"...Take care, Aventurine."

Byyyyyyeeee~

[doomed_gambler]

Aventurine blinks slowly, then gives another of those...dopey, not quite right smiles. Like he's overtired but...not...

There's trust in it, though, something he doesn't let himself show normally.

"Kay. That's...that's good." If Sunday, anxious as he is, says everything is fine, then Aventurine doesn't need to question it. The guy sat with him when he was...was...something. He can be nice...

Sunday doesn't seem to appreciate his sandwich analogy. Oh well.

"Mmmm'kay. I need to...bring something by for her later, anyway. Just gotta figure out what...I can say hi for ya~" he replies easily, giving a floppy hand wave for emphasis.

Sunday retreats, determined to look still for others. That's good of him...he hopes Sunday counts himself in the count of people, though. Aventurine sighs, his hand still raised. "May your journey be forever peaceful...may you be blessed with luck," he murmurs. Their hands aren't touching, so he's allowed to put his own spin on it, right? Maybe...he does have alot of luck to spare.

An amber aura flickers around Sunday for a brief moment, but disappears just as quickly. Aventurine hums, suddenly very tired, leaning back on the railing and closing his eyes. He's smiling, though. "Thanks...you too, Sunday."