Welcome to Gaia! ::

Things may be peaceful in Tendaji these days, but that doesn't mean that trouble doesn't suddenly appear out of nowhere. In fact, you just happen to stumble upon trouble and must figure out the best way to step in and help (or not, if you're more of the troublemaker type).

[ This is a roll and react event. So roll the dice and react to the prompt below depending on your number. If you're RPing with more than one person, have one person roll and all players react. ]

11 - 15: Flood One late-summer storm has caused the rivers to swell, and increased the risk of someone or something getting swept away. You happen to be in the right place at the right time to catch sight of a thing bobbing in the waters. What is it and how will you help?

The air had been strangely heavy as Zuribali traveled to the port with her mother, Hildaclea. Of course, by the time they reached the city's edge, Zuri insisted on walking a bit separately from her mother. She adored her Mame to be sure, but By. The. Gods! the woman didn't have a lick of fashion sense. It was downright embarrassing to be in her fine dress while her Elarian mother strolled in her scruffy leathers. They weren't living in the forest, for goodness sake!

That was how she found herself alone when the waters came. She had taken shelter from the sudden downpour from the sky in a gazebo with a few others with the expectation that the rains would only last a few minutes. Instead, the rain kept falling. The others braved the rain to head to their homes, but Zuri was stubbornly waiting despite the rising water.

When the water began lapping at her feet, she climbed up onto one of the benches and felt her heart stir with concern. Surely the rain would end soon! Where was her mother?

Zuri scanned through the rain hard, trying to find her mother to save her; or at least suffer with her. She hugged her arms around herself against the chilling sight of the rising waters. This was Oba! Of all days, why did it have to flood today? The city was just as prepared for a flood as she was.. which was not at all. It would be a while before the waters settled back down.

She didn't notice anyone approaching, and the voice made her jump a little. A guy about her age and a perzi? Those eyes... Yaeli? "Excuse me?" she huffed with a stare. "I most certainly am not a 'kitty' young man. This is definitely a mess though." She glared down at the water covering the bottom of the gazebo, and then back up to her new company. He had been walking through this?

"That is a fitting description for a kitten, yes, but not for me, thank you very much." With another sharp huff, Zuri raised her chin and looked out to the flooded street. Lighter things like plants and clothes were being washed away with the rushing water. None of that mattered to her though. She just needed to stay dry.

Of course, that was what had her trapped her now with this.. guy. "The humidity is unbearable," she grumbled in reply, uncertain if he would actually be able to hear her over the rain. Her hair was going to frizz out of control if it hadn't already. That was going to be a mess to fix later. What if she couldn't get out before anyone else saw her either? How humiliating...

Then again.. She glanced over to the other hybrid and pressed her lips. "If the water is indeed slowing down, I just need to wait a little longer for it to start going back down." It was a dismissal... but not completely. She wasn't sure how long the water would take to drop down enough. Her mother would surely be along soon.. but did she want to be seen getting carried around by her either?! "Besides, I don't live here. I'm only visiting with my mother. You can't get me all the way home."

Zuri's lips pressed again as she pointedly kept from looking back at the young man. He sure liked pushing things... "No, I am not fond of it," she clarified. Honestly, what was so amusing about the situation? She had standards!

She inhaled sharply at the warning. Could it really start raining again before clearing up enough for her to get away? This was Oba! Flooding just did not happen! "Well, it is not as though I am in a rush to be anywhere else," she grumbled. As much as she wanted to get home, surely spending some more time in the protection of the gazebo would be better than tromping about in that mess. Surely everyone else would be hunkered up at home until things cleared up as well!

Well, everyone else except this strange boy.

Her cheeks flushed slightly at the idea of accepting his help. She was still torn between her desire to leave and her dignity. "No, I do not camp. This was supposed to simply be a day trip with my mother, so I do not have any accommodations for myself here." She glanced down at the water still lapping over the floor of the gazebo. Ugh. "What do you mean by higher ground? Is there an inn above this flooding?"

A small snort of irritation slipped out and sent a blush to her cheeks. How unladylike... Just what she needed to add to her already disheveled image. It was a good thing that this stranger was the only one around. Too bad he didn't come with a boat.

Zuri's lips pressed firmly with indecision. If the water was really going to keep rising, it would be even more difficult to leave later. It certainly didn't seem to be going down, either. Her cheeks burned hotter as the reality sank in. As bad as it was now, it would be worse if she lingered; and this scruffy fellow was her only aid for the time being. After a long moment, she stiffened her jaw and pushed away from the railing. "It seems I have little choice," she finally relented. "Carrying me will not be necessary. You just focus on that perzi." She slipped off her shoes and stockings and gave the water one more reluctant look before slowly lowering her feet into the muddy river. Her nose wrinkled sharply as she bundled her skirt up as much as she could, though a couple inches of the fabric were sacrificed to the water to protect her modesty. Too much higher and she might just end up carrying a perzi...

Walking carefully, she looked back up at Valek impatiently once she was out of the gazebo's protection. "Well? Lead the way."

Zuri clicked her tongue as Valek schmoozed up the perzi. Absolutely silly. She wasn't going to make this already dreadful situation worse by getting carried around like an infant! She certainly didn't need some scoundrel taking the chance to feel her up either!

Cut her dress?! Zuri gave the man a good hard scowl. "Don't you harm one thread on this dress. I can find someone to clean it, I'm sure, but I wouldn't be able to show my face at the shop again if I brought it in all cut up." The very idea! Valek just had no sense at all!

She had been too busy glaring to notice the slight splashing floating her way in the flood. All she knew was that there was suddenly an extra weight on her bunched up skirts. She looked down with confusion. A small ward had gotten caught up in the flood and was gratefully clinging to the cloth it had been lucky enough to be pushed against. Zuri blinked before she let out a shriek and jumped back to get away. Between the high waters and the soaked dress, she only managed to topple backward and slip completely under the water.

It wasn't that deep, but now she was in a tizzy with her dress weighing her down and the water flow pushing her back. "Help!" she shrieked when she finally got her head above the surface again.

She was drowning she was drowning she was drowning she was drowning!!!!

The moment she was yanked upright, Zuri gasped for air and grabbed tight to Valek's shirt with one hand. "Thank you! Thank-" The other hand rose to push her matted curls back from her face- just in time to see the skirt being cut through. A pitiful whine slipped out, the woman just too tired from her near death experience to scream again. "Damned right you're getting me a new one," she grumbled angrily with some unladylike words slipping out as well. There was no way for her to explain the state of her skirts later...

Scooped up in Valek's arms, Zuri was curled up tight with her fingers clutching the new hemline toward her knees. She fixed the perzi with a disgruntled stare. The perzi paid her attitude no mind and helped itself to jump onto her once the pair was close enough. It bumped its head against Valek's chin with appreciation and stuffed itself between Zuri's arms.