|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2024 11:55 am
Mechelen nodded at the explanations given and again at the idea of walking to this person’s Wonder. “I’m always down for a good walk, and the idea of not drawing attention to ourselves while we do it is always a plus!”
She gave a reassuring smile and squeezed Almere’s hand, pleased that all of the agreement was that this was not something transferred from Urania, and that it could in no way be Almere’s fault, no matter what her brain was trying to tell her.
“Lead the way! We’ll follow!”Stirling nodded, giving a small, almost unsure smile. At this point…she just wanted to go home. But, at least she knew that this wasn’t only blocking her. Which…was both a big comfort as well as a huge discomfort.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2024 5:50 pm
Mechelen's friend Rose seemed very sweet, and Mechelen seemed relaxed around everyone else here, too, so Almere nodded at the suggestion to walk around and see if they could get to some nearby Wonders. "I want to see the Earth," she said. "It sounds pretty. I'll come." She liked the Moon so far, even if tensions were high, and nobody could get down the hallway to see this Code that was so important. She was still focused on trying to figure out what was going on, though. She slipped her hand out of Mechelen's for long enough that she could go walk over to the barrier at the end of the hall, and she reached her hand out to press her hand against it. The feeling was interesting. It wasn't like a wall or anything solid, but at the same time, she couldn't move forwards. "I don't feel any Chaos, but it has to be some kind of magic," she said. "Invisible walls don't show up in places if there's no magic." She might not have known nearly as much about being a knight as anyone else in this room, but she sounded very confident in that. "It could be something else bad? Sometimes in books there's more than one thing that's bad. Or the Code could just be keeping us out?" If it talked, then it must have almost been like a person, right? Maybe it had turned the light off and closed the door because it needed to rest for a while.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2024 7:44 pm
Although he didn’t turn towards Dering, he’d heard the other Squire ask about his wellbeing, and was grateful to him. Although Cynthus’s sass did nothing to better his mood.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Reims growled, although the frustration in his voice was in no way directed towards Dering. He did shoot a glare at Cynthus for her cackling. Under different circumstances he would have tried to reassure Dering more, but for now he was just irritated by everything.
He stepped to the side to allow Amarynthos, and then Énna, and that other Lysithea knight, move closer to see what was going on with the strange barrier. He kept a hand out, just in case there was any kind of rebound so he could stop them from getting knocked down.
Once they were all done checking out the barrier, out of habit by now, he held his hand out to Énna-- oh… except he realized it was probably unfair that he knew who Énna was, but not the other way around. His ears burned a bit, but he didn’t lower his hand.
“Just… in case there’s stuff we need to climb over. Moon rocks… and stuff. Since you’re not, uh… powered up.” It was pretty cringe. And he grimaced at himself. They were trying to figure out what was going on with the Code but in the back of his mind he was still worried about so many other things as well.
It seemed as though they’d all decided to walk to Amarynthos, and Ephesus as well, since those Wonders were next to each other. Even if he was in a flustered mood, he was grateful to be around the others. Atticus chewed anxiously on his lip, especially when Cynthus suggested that the Negaverse might destroy her house if she went home. He definitely didn’t want there to be a repeat of that, and when Amarynthos was close enough, he quickly moved to his side to take hold of Amarynthos’s hand with both of his.
“I think Lucien might be able to keep your aura hidden,” Atticus suggested to Cynthus as he peered around Amarynthos as they began to all file out of the Celestial Theater. “Or… Lucasta?” There were other Mauvians as well, but he knew those two were closely tied to their family. It was just a matter of preference and availability.
Everyone seemed accounted for, at least. They were confused and maybe a bit agitated in some cases, but they would figure something out. Stirling was being quiet and hadn’t answered Amarynthos verbally, but maybe her nod and little smile meant she did have a place to stay. They’d reached out to Lysithea on her behalf before, so surely if there was nowhere else, Lysithea would be able to help. Even if it wasn’t her Wonder, maybe being on Lysithea would be reassuring until they figured something else out.
“You don’t think the Code could be keeping us out for a reason other than Chaos, do you?” he quietly asked Amarynthos, peering up at him with worry as they walked out into the open air of the moon. His voice was soft so as not to cause alarm to others who could overhear, but there was still worry in his eyes.
Over the horizon, Earth glowed, blue and beautiful. It was always a breathtaking sight, and Atticus used it as a moment to calm himself.
He hoped Almere’s speculation was just that. There had to be a reason, of course. He just hoped it wasn't a bad one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2024 7:39 am
Stirling was unusually quiet, and Dering’s concern shifted from Reims to her. Briefly, he looked at Énna and smiled, if only because he seemed more nervous than usual. Or, maybe Énna didn’t want anyone looking at him! Reims probably didn’t, he looked nervous. So, he smiled at him, a bit awkwardly, and shuffled back to Stirling’s side to walk next to her. The strap on his lute snapped in the process and he nearly dropped it, so he stumbled just to catch it in both arms.
Red-faced and embarrassed–because even if it wasn't his fault–he still felt very silly about it and shuffled quicker to try and hide it.
It was somewhat effective; Amarynthos had been turned away at the time so he missed it.
Amarynthos had just started walking and smiled at Almere, who despite all of this still seemed like she was taking things pretty well. She was level headed and calm, and maybe they needed more of that around. “When things calm down, you’ll all have to come back. We’ll give you a proper tour of the Moon.” Although, half of their group had just recently been to Amarynthos, and close enough to Ephesus to see how it was doing. Mary was always delighted to show off what they’d been working on, and the bears–
For the first time, a little pang of anxiety twisted in his gut. He hoped they were okay. He didn’t say anything, he didn’t want Ephesus to worry.
He was already worrying. He squeezed his hand as they walked, and swung it just a bit.
“I don’t think it’s Chaos,” he said, partly to Ephesus and partly to Almere. “It doesn’t feel Chaotic. But something else bad is still on the table. Maybe the Code’s sick? And keeping us all away because it’s contagious?” he suggested. A little self-quarantine didn’t sound so bad, especially if it was short-term.
Well, as long as the Negaverse didn’t catch them while they were weak.
He and Ephesus had spent a lot of time up on the Moon and it always seemed like they could get around easier when it was a full moon. Sometimes it felt like doors were locked, or the Moon was just shut down and on high security.
Tonight, they were lucky. He led them out easily, chatting as they walked towards his Wonder.
“I hope you can power down soon, Cynthus.” He didn’t volunteer that his house had been destroyed by an agent and youma that came looking for trouble. No reason to scare her. “I hope it’s short term. But there are definitely some Mauvians we can ask to help out so you don’t have to worry about anyone finding you. And in a worst case scenario, there are a lot of Senshi who could probably give you a ride to their world to spend the night until they could figure something out? Lysithea probably has some Senshi stronghold, yeah?” he glanced at Dering and Stirling, but Dering just nodded enthusiastically. He seemed to think Lysithea could solve just about any problem, but he might have known her better than any of the others. “Ganymede probably does, too. And if either of them are busy, you should go visit Alastor. There are goats there. And lots of food. And it is definitely safe. There’s not any Chaos up there.”
Devyn would have taken care of it immediately if he’d even suspected a speck of it.
“No matter what, you’ll be safe,” Amarynthos promised. Stirling might not have answered, but he’d help make sure she was safe, too–even if she couldn’t get to her Wonder. Yet.
He wanted to be optimistic; they were moving at a fast pace, encouraged by curiosity and desperation. The Moon had a unique way of being both desolate and beautiful, but the sky did most of the work. It was so easy to see the stars, and Earth was a reassuring constant in the sky.
He knew his Wonder looked wrong even before they were close to it. He could see something shimmer in the distance where it should be, and it looked like a mirage encompassed it. He could see the light shimmer around Amarynthos–and Ephesus, shortly afterwards, but he tried not to look worried about it.
If he looked hard enough, he thought he could make out the silhouette of his Wonder, but it was impossible to make out better details, and the closer they got, the more confident he was that they were going to have as much luck getting to his Wonder as they had getting to the Code. He didn’t know how long they’d have to walk before they found a barrier, but he didn’t feel the familiar connection or pull to his Wonder. Usually, his starseed felt stronger and he was brimming with energy. Now, he might as well have been anywhere else.
“Well,” he said, when they were close enough that he was ready to give up hoping it might fix itself before they were on the doorstep, “It doesn’t usually look like this. So I’m not sure what that’s all about.” It wasn’t on fire, it didn’t feel awful. It just felt closed.
He drew in a slow, steadying smile, but didn’t let any nervousness or doubt slip into his voice or appearance.
“...I think I’m going to stick with the self-quarantine idea.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2024 2:28 pm
Though he was startled when Reims offered his hand, Énna took it anyway—out of habit, maybe, but out of selfishness and jealousy, too. If he was holding Reims’ hand, then maybe Rose wouldn’t.
The heavy sense of awkwardness that had settled over Énna didn’t diminish as they walked, but at least with one hand occupied he couldn’t pick at his nails. He kept quiet, as he often did when they grouped together, glancing over the scenery or staring at the Earth. The moon was beautiful, and none of the setbacks they faced made him feel particularly unsafe there, but it wasn’t his. Énna felt a bit like an intruder—out of place among a group of knights while he couldn’t draw upon his own power, wandering around the wrong moon.
Arriving at Amarynthos didn’t dispel any of their concerns. If anything, the hazy sight of it brought more questions than answers.
Instinctively, Énna squeezed Reims’ hand. He shifted nervously and swallowed, not afraid, but worried. It was hard not to imagine the worst when they had no explanations for any of this.
“I guess we should assume all our Wonders are like this,” he mumbled.- “Well, this sucks,” Cynthus said.
She hadn’t been annoyed before, but she definitely was now. Her expression had already taken on a bit of a sour look while she’d considered the options presented to her by Atticus and Amarynthos, not because those options were particularly unpleasant, but because of the reminder of just how much of her family was involved in all this knight stuff. And senshi stuff. But mostly knight stuff. Which made her think of her dad being a knight, which made her frown and roll her eyes and wish she could march back to the Celestial Theatre and demand the Code speak to her.
The more questions they had, the more annoyed she became with the situation. None of what was happening to them would have bothered her much if only they knew why.
“At least it’s just, like, weirdly blocked off and not, like, falling apart or anything,” she tried. “Maybe. I feel like we’d be able to tell if it was. This is such garbage, though.” Cynthus blew out a strong gust of air that rustled some of her hair. “Like, a sign would be nice? Or literally anything other than nothing.”
She put her hands on her hips and glared at Amarynthos (the Wonder, not the person) as if it keeping them out caused her some great offense.
And you know what? She was offended.
“Like, I sort of get it keeping the rest of us out if something’s wrong, but why would it keep you out,” she asked Amarynthos (the person). “You’re the one who’s supposed to be protecting it and taking care of it. Can’t do that out here.”- Rose was pleased to walk along. Some of the others were tense and she tried not to bother them or add to any negative feelings, but she also couldn’t help but be anything but completely fascinated and happy to behold such beauty. The stars were gorgeous from here, and the Earth was a breathtaking sight! Rose spent much of their walk glancing around and craning her neck, trying to see as much as she could, sticking close to Mechelen and Almere while Reims was otherwise occupied.
Her smile only faltered somewhat when they arrived. But she, like Amarynthos, tried to rally.
“We would know if something was terribly wrong,” she decided—not authoritative, but still maintaining as much cheer as she could, trying to reassure the others. “If something bad was happening, even if it wasn’t Chaos… I think we would be able to feel it. I—… From the very beginning, I knew my name, and Lysithea. Back at the Theatre, that really bright star on the starmap, I knew what it was even if I’ve never seen it before. Maybe this doesn’t leave us with any answers, but… some things we just… have to take on faith.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2024 4:32 pm
Mechelen felt a pang of worry when the weren’t able to get to the Moon Knight…Amary…something’s Wonder.
His name was long, and while she wanted to ask him to repeat it again, now was absolutely not the time. She could just see him again in the future and make sure that she had the name down, but now. “I guess we should get home then…keep trying to power down, if we can, and if not, I think you’ve got the right idea, talking to someone who can take us up somewhere in Space, even if it’s just temporary. I’m really grateful to have gotten to meet all of you, it’s definitely a relief that this isn’t something that we did, and it isn’t something…chaotic. I know that was really starting to bother Almare and myself…now, how…”
She flushed slightly and shrugged. “How do we go about getting down from the Moon? This is my first time up here, and…I’m sorry if I sound stupid, but I’m honestly not sure…”Stiriling nodded once again, feeling...as though that was the only thing she had the ability to do right now.. “I’ll figure it out…Dering and I were going to go and talk to Lysithea, so I’ll be fine. No worries about me. I’m strong.” And used to handling things on her own. Used to being on her own, honestly…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2024 6:37 pm
The Moon, it turned out, was beautiful. Almere was awestruck during the walk, mostly staring even as the others talked some more, trying to solve problems like what to do with the girl who couldn't power down. Almere was glad that they had ideas about that, because she didn't, It didn't look like they had any big solutions, though. It didn't even look like they were going to come away with that many answers, because the Knight, Amarynthos, was one of the strongest ones there, and it didn't look like they were even going to be able to get into his Wonder. The anxiety started to edge back in. Even if this wasn't her fault, she didn't know what she would do if there were no answers, and no way to fix her powers. She was also getting tired, though. They couldn't just walk around the Moon forever. "I should probably go back, too," she said. "Do we have to hold hands again, or, um, what?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 07, 2024 12:44 pm
Ephesus looked sadly at the Wonders they were seemingly locked out of. There was nothing they could do for now. Not until they had a better understanding of what was going on.
But they would keep working on looking for a solution, and with how many of them there were, surely someone would figure something out.
“I’m not ready to go back yet,” he said softly, glancing up at Amarynthos with a bit of helplessness. This wasn’t something they could resolve yet. He knew that. But he wanted to spend a little more time there, just in case.
However, he also knew the others didn’t need to stay there. He nodded to the two Lysithea knights wanting to go home. He knew them the least, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to help them.
“If you’d like you can,” he nodded to the question about them holding hands. “You just think about returning to the city. If you’ve been to your Wonder, it’s the same way.”
He did his best not to get weepy while others were around, and offered them nods and smiles instead.
“Stay in touch if anything happens,” he requested and lifted a hand to wave to the others before they left.
He wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but as long as they were working together, surely they’d find a way to make everything right again. Quote: This can be considered a fin, unless there's anything more you'd like to add! Thank you all!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
