THE AMAZING BASE.

[agogemod]

WHO? Everybody!
WHAT? Welcome home, nerds.
WHEN? Outside time and space, in the aether between dimensions.
ANYTHING ELSE? There is also a fish. Please warn in subject lines for anything beyond physical violence and move to a personal journal if things go beyond PG-13.

MYSTERY FISH;

question the mystery fish

DEPARTING GALLIPOLI

The order comes the day after the Marie Antoinette sets sail:

PACK UP AND GET READY TO MOVE OUT. WE'VE DONE ALL WE CAN HERE.

DEPLOYMENT: BASE.

WE NEED TO RESTOCK. BE PREPARED FOR MORE TRANSFERS ON ARRIVAL.

STAY SAFE. TIME-STEP EXPECTED TO BEGIN WITHIN THE HOUR.

FOR THOSE OF YOU NEW TO COST: FIND A SECLUDED SPOT AND TRY NOT TO EAT ANYTHING BEFORE THE JUMP.

The Time-Step

The transfer begins like a vibrating heat on the collar bone, just a hum of sensation.

But the vibration spreads. Veteran COST soldiers often refer to this phenomenon as "the buzz". The feeling builds, not unlike standing near a great engine or the wind-rattled branches of a massive tree. There is a long moment of motion sickness and you can't be sure if the world is shaking you from the inside out or the outside in. It may be better to close your eyes against the growing nausea, as the world blurs out of focus.

A star shines in the distance. You may hear the faint rustling of leaves. Some swear they hear voices in this moment, indistinct words echoing off nothingness. Others say they feel a touch of the divine, that the eyes of the eternal look down upon you. Ancient bones rattle just out of earshot, cold and brittle and nothing more than the suggestion of sound. Or maybe it's only an illusion, brought on by the powerful technology grafted into your skin.

One thing is for sure: One moment you are here and the next you are not.

The shift takes you from whatever solitude you could find aboard the Marie Antoinette to the temperature-regulated hallway of what looks like a very poorly put together space station. Droids rush up and down the long hallway, fixing broken bits of machinery or just chattering with each other. A few crows sit on high ledges, looking down and watching. Someone mutters something about a centaur around the corner.

And you might just notice, provided you were in Gallipoli long enough to acquire stowaways, that the parasites lurking on your skin are mercifully gone.

For new arrivals who didn't experience Gallipoli: You, too, will appear in this long hallway, filled with droids and crows and humans (still filthy and clad in ANZAC uniforms, carrying battered equipment from the first World War). And you'll be wearing the minimal COST-issued athletic underwear and holding whatever one item you were allowed to bring. Surprise!

READ THE BASE INFOPAGE.

home away from home

Those who have been to BASE before may find a strangeness to it all: BASE seems...still. The windows show a verdant world instead of the usual aether (though with the typical paranoia), and the halls are bereft of all but a few crows. A man stands at the end of the long hallway you arrived in, waiting for you to get your bearings before he speaks.

Except, you know, he's not a man. He's a centaur.

"It's been barely a week since you left, by my reckoning. But for you, I'm sure, it's been much longer. Still, much has changed. You may have noticed we are...becalmed. This is due, it seems, to an error in our ways. We kept something that does not belong to us, several wild creatures that are meant to be free. They seem to have psychically called out to their home, and their home responded; we are now somewhat stranded.

"But let me explain—the Aether is the nexus between worlds and times, but it is not a dead thing. Creatures live in it. We have crashed onto the back of one such creature, a mighty beast, as large as a small country and entirely undiscovered. We have found why the creature has intercepted us: we have accidentally taken captive some of its children. Shapers, the wild creatures I mentioned, it seems they form a symbiotic bond with the creature, and live happily within its stomach."

He frowns, considering this.

"Shapers, I should mention, are creatures that briefly infested our fair BASE. The issue was dealt with, though we kept some for experimentation. The coelacanth took issue with this, it seems. It can speak, of course; we are stranded very near its head, and if you wish to ask it a question, I implore you to do so. The creature is older than creation—older than me—and only speaks once to any creature it encounters. It's said its wisdom brings kings to their knees."

His eyes crinkle in humor.

"My name is Chiron and I am the caretaker of this place, for those of you whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting. More importantly, I am a trainer and a teacher of some experience; if you wish training or schooling of any sort, do summon me. I will be happy to assist."

He's easy to contact, often found in the library, the training area, his capsule, or elsewhere in the station, attempting to fix what he understands and arguing with crows.

"We intended to spend this time exploring, for this is a rare opportunity to discover more of an entirely uncharted world. I hasten you to see if anything on the coelacanth can be of use, but be careful. Take only what you need, not what you may want. I intend to learn my lessons well; these creatures are not pets. Takes food, water, and any materials of use to us for our survival and perseverance, but no more. We task you with this: explore the coelacanth, and see what of it can be understood. Bring us back samples, but do try to interrupt the natural habitat as little as possible. We are guests here."

He bows and the action shows a slight limp in one of his back legs.

"I would join you, but I am far too old for such activities. Still, do pepper me with any questions you should encounter. I am always available on the network, or in person, within this hulking mass we call home."

And then he leaves you to find your capsules and rest.

CAPSULE ASSIGNMENTS

Once you've found your room and settled in—perhaps taken a shower, collected clothes, and eaten—a droid will approach you with camping equipment and give you a brief explanation of how to access and use the database. It's time to get your gear and go.

Of course, you can decline. You can stay and tend to the fort, maybe try and clean up this patchwork jumble of metal and machinery. But seeing the sights on the back of a giant fish flying through non-space? Who can say no to that?


the undiscovered country.

BASE's airlocks open into a lush valley, vibrant with color and rustling with life that has thrived on the coelacanth's back for millennia. It's a striking shift from the rot and gunfire of Gallipoli, unmarked by shrapnel, bombshells, and never-fresh air.

No, the air here is clean in a way that can leave you breathless, untouched by pollutants and stirred into a gentle breeze. It's a marked departure for anyone used to a more modern Earth or rough equivalent; letting the air sit on your tongue leaves a crisp, unsullied taste behind. And the whole forest feels alive, in a way that reminds you of how small you really are.

A white crow perches in a tree near BASE's exit, too high up to properly engage but a stark contrast to the bright leaves around her. She merely watches recruits come and go with a shrewd eye, feathers fluffed against the light chill. There are other crows scattered throughout the wilderness, some easier to find than others as they flit through the trees, sit on camping equipment, or hitch rides on the hoverbikes.

Besides those brief flashes of black feathers, however, you're left unsupervised.

Try not to fuck up anything too badly.

EXPLORE:INFOPAGE|DATABASE
talk to a fish | destruction report

NAV. NETWORK LOGS OOC MEMES PLURK

Comments

ashitaka | princess mononoke

[lonelywar]

I. BASE
Yakul!!

[The call is loud enough that someone merely passing by the proximity of the cargo bay might have heard it, followed by the sharp and recognizable staccato beat of running footsteps. Inside the bay, near where the makeshift stable is constructed, Ashitaka (now clad in a very distinct outfit) runs at full speed up to a tall red elk, whom he hits with the full impact of a true Ghibli hug.

He wraps his arms around the elk's neck, burying his face into the soft fur. The elk seems overjoyed as well, hooves dancing a bit on the piecemeal metal floor. He cranes his head a bit to nibble softly at the slightly-too-short hair of the boy embracing him.

It's all a bit of a Moment, but that's fine. One who approaches would be able to catch the young man murmuring,] - my friend, I have missed you, so much, [in a voice a half-step away from breaking with emotion into the fur of the red elk's neck.]

II. CAMPING!!
a. [When it comes to those departing BASE on exploratory missions of the coelacanth, Ashitaka... stands out. This is fairly normal for him, whether he was in revolutionary France or the breaking trenches of Lone Pine (or even back in his own place and time); he is happy to wear his own garb again, donning the grass cloak he had worn as he had left the Emishi behind. Instead of a hoverbike, however, he guides a red elk he has saddled and carefully equipped with their distributed camping equipment. The animal looks alert, gaze cautious and sweeping as they slowly make their way out of the stayed BASE and onto the surface of the coelacanth for the first time.

He does so at roughly the same time as another COST agent, whom he regards with a small smile.] We were told it is wiser to travel in pairs. Would you accompany Yakul and I?

[In response to hearing his name, the red elk turns to their companion, studying them with deep, dark eyes and giving a short chff in response.]

b. [It is quiet. It is peaceful.

The tent has been constructed and secured into a small rocky outcropping, part of a greater mountainous incline towards another plateau upon the back of the beast. It is unsettling, how they are without the cycle of day and night to structure their days, but Ashitaka remembers this similar feeling of timelessness from his first time on BASE, the way the mind feels adrift until it starts to gain purchase and adapt. But after Gallipoli, he far prefers the slight mental dissonance of being out of time rather than in a particularly difficult patch of it.

The fire that had been built is crackling but starting to burn down towards embers, giving less and less light as time goes on. Spread out before the small campsight, down the incline, is a stretch of forest broken by a forking river delta. The floating bioluminescent creatures called drifting nettles float through the breeze like leaves, reflecting in the river like a sea of blue stars. A small traveling group of en'enra emerge from a river, bodies covered in scales transforming as they walk to fur and feathers, shaking water as they begin to pick up speed, unsettled by a jaybear lumbering by.

Ashitaka sits, watching the vista, one hand slowly petting Yakul, who lay carefully curled up next to him, occasionally snuffling in his sleep. A short silence had stretched between himself and his traveling companion, not a particularly oppressive or uncomfortable one, and he decides to break it with a nonsequitor, speaking without even really considering it:] Perhaps if we could just stay here.

[If he reconsiders what he has said, he doesn't show it. He merely pauses, gives a short sigh, and shakes his head. Trying to dislodge the feelings of residual guilt, less so for the cause they fight for, once he more and more feels is too abstract to feel passionate about, but more for the conflict he left behind in his own time, unsolved and explosive.]

No... [said quietly,] no. Forget I said such a thing.

c. [Encounter randomizer! There are too many good options to choose from in the database. Reply with this option, either with a flora/fauna/feature in mind or with a request to randomize, and I will make a custom starter! (Lovingly ripping this idea off from Christy, ty.)]

III. BCE
@BOARING: If anyone could spare some time, I have several questions regarding some items I found upon our return here.
@BOARING: ...As well as some questions I still have remaining from our last time on board BASE as well.

IV. WILDCARD
[More base shenanigans, more coelacanth adventures not described above, or anything else! If you want to discuss or plan anything, feel free to reach out to me!]

base................

[bloodings]

[ What a touching scene... a shame Mordred happens upon it and immediately ruins everything. Having watched Ashitaka's emotional display, she steps forward, her sword casually slung over one shoulder. ]

Hah? Is this some kind of live food delivery? [ She smirks and brandishes her sword. ] Step aside, nature boy. I'll make it quick.

[ She's joking......... I promise. But her expression makes her look serious. ]

are we ever going to start a thread in a way that doesn't involve food

[lonelywar]

[A shame... truly a shame.

Yakul notices her approach before Ashitaka does, and it's the way the elk grows a little tense and stamps his front hooves that causes the young man to step back and turn to face her. His expression is impassive, in response to both the sizable weapon she has slung over her shoulders and what she was saying. Towards the tail end of that, however, there's something to his otherwise-neutral mien that seems to verge on a dry, cutting humor.]

If you are trying to be funny, it is not working.

[Because seriously, Mordred, if you're going to be this way, he will absolutely throw down to get you to back off from eyeing his very good friend like a walking steak, thanks.]

nope

[bloodings]

There's nothing funny about hunger. Seriously, it's bad for morale.

[ She deadeyes him for a few seconds... then, finally, starts to laugh. Apparently Ashitaka's reaction is hilarious to her. ]

It's a joke, a joke. He doesn't look worth eating. [ Rude. She lowers her sword, then steps closer. ] A friend of yours?

bce

[chipouttaluck]

@jinglejangle: whatever it was i didn't touch nothin

[lonelywar]

[meanwhile, ashitaka...

After a moment:]

@BOARING: Does not saying that make you seem more suspicious, though?

[he's not even ready to ask what this person thinks he's talking about]

[chipouttaluck]

@jinglejangle: wait shit does it

then i definitely touched whatever youre talkin bout.

Camping B

[horsepowered]

[There was no denying how at home this place made Chiron feel. It was his mountain but even more so, and while back there he knew every inch of the place this? This place was a lifetime's work of understanding. One that if he had his immortality, he would gladly give.

And then there was the glory that was exploring it in his proper form, not the human one he had acquired for the duration of the Holy Grail War. He could move faster than before, motorbikes be damned, and there was an unbridled joy in that fact and that fact alone. It meant he sometimes strayed from the orders to stay in pairs, but that also gave him the chance to discover.

In this case, the chance to discover Ashitaka's view, and the fact that he had found a friend. Overhearing the young man's thoughts spoke outloud, it felt postively wrong to intrude. But turning away, there was too much noisey underbrush.]

As part of me wishes the same thing, I can't forget such words.

[lonelywar]

[Ashitaka had grown tired. The constant caustic nature of mankind, something that would weather and wear until a spark was struck and the flames of war were once more rekindled. A boundless cycle in which nothing seemed to rise from the ashes. Whether it was Irontown and the gods, the samurai and emperor, the nobility and the citizenry, the Australians or the Turks, COST or the Regency - more and more it seemed a pattern of conflict cast from a similar mold. He tries not to think of her very often, but now more than ever he understands San's views of man, why she felt so strongly about living far from their influence. He's starting to feel the same way.

For just a moment, he wonders what she would think of this place. Then he banishes thoughts of her altogether.

Even if Ashitaka rescinds his words, he still thinks they ring true for how he feels in this moment. It's so much easier to go day by day here, without the constant pain from his arm, without the sounds of screams and gunfire and explosions. Instead they can listen to the fire die down, the wind rustling through the foliage, the distant cries of alien creatures - including the snuffling snores of a few screamers that had started to nest a little close to his camp.

And the sound of an approach, though Chiron need not worry; there was no way for him to intrude when Ashitaka would welcome him regardless. He looks toward him a little sharply, startled, but quickly settled once he recognized him. Recognized him and... well, the fact that he seems to have regained the use of his centaur form. What better place to have it than here?]

Chiron, [he says in greeting, a small smile on his face.] You may join us, if you wish.

[The other party of "us" being Yakul, having been roused from his rest by the noise. The elk's head is lifted now, his two dark eyes seeming oddly quizzical as he inspects Chiron.

As for this sentiment they seem to share...] It is too bad. We will not get this opportunity, I am certain.

[horsepowered]

Thank you very much.

[Chiron trots over, careful not to distrb Yakul. In having four legs back, there's a lot more mass to keep track of, and it takes a little bit more effort to lower oneself down onto the ground in order to sit. It's a very small complaint in the grand scheme of things though, and in truth, a problem Chiron is happy to have.

He settles not only on the grass, but into a much older thought pattern. Not since being alive has Chiron been afforded the opportunity to sit down and look at nature from a particular perch, and that is a strange thing to realize. The presence of Ashitaka is the only difference, but it is a pleasurable one to be sure.]

I believe it might be worth petitioning for nature breaks after every mission.

[Chiron is only partially joking, that much is obvious. It's in how he runs his hands over the grass, how he looks out at the world in front of them as if noticing every little movement.]

IIb or not IIb that is the question

[reillumination]

[ Gallipoli to BASE to here – the progression of human suffering to human interaction to human absence – it was difficult to digest, impossible to accept. More, it was pointless to compact into a singular and possible feeling. Ryo had known war, had always known war in abstract. More recently, he had come to live it – kept it company at night, drenched in the scent of blood and ichor. But, away from all that resembles it and all that reflects it, Ryo is still and quiet.

And, in the days spent on the back of a hoverbike, he’s seen many scenes like this one.

But, this time, a small part of him pines after something he can’t quite name. His thoughts scrape at the edges, but it falls away. It slips from him, as fleet and sure as the en’enra who scatter at the jaybear’s approach. How curious it would be, to be able to change his own shape like scales to fur and feather if it meant protecting all that he’s ever known. Animals were remarkable, resilient – their absence of reason comforting against the loud roar of his own.

His lips tip up in a small, private smile. A pace or two back as he is – leaned up against the still warm body of the hoverbike –, he doesn’t need to disguise it. There is no need to know that it is at once bitter and soft. ]

It’s better to leave this place untouched, [ he says after a long moment, his eyes tracking the path the en’enera take until they vanish out from the line of his gaze. For Ryo, the choice is simple. If he stays, he can’t push on. If he stays, they ruin the beauty of what they’ve landed on, the chance to return home. Humans, no matter how much Ryo wished to save them, rarely thought to save anything other than themselves. ] We’ve already disturbed it enough.

[ Treading through the underbrush, killing what seeks to keep claim of its territory – Ryo wonders how much has been pushed already to where it no longer belongs. ]

just like ryo to leave me with such an existential thought

[lonelywar]

[It is, to Ashitaka, a sudden panacea. Well, no, nothing so absolute - that would insinuate that wounds having been inflicted through the prolonged exposure to the depths of human cruelty in Gallipoli as well as the subtle and not-so-subtle mental manipulations at the hands of the Regency were suddenly healed. That could not be further from the truth, but these pains seemed at least a bit more distant now, replaced in the forefront of his mind with thoughts and memories of home coupled with the unbridled curiosity and thrill for adventure he had first tasted upon leaving his village. In both situations, then and now, it was not without its caveats: residual feelings of guilt and unease which clung like the threads of a spiderweb accidentally walked through. But with what they had just emerged from, hardly unscathed, it's a welcome change.

Back home he had questioned San's unwavering resolution to continue to denounce mankind, to not even consider herself among their number let alone deigning to live among them. Time had given him a slightly different opinion. She didn't have the full picture of humanity, no, but neither had he; even now he feels as though his view is not reliable, clouded over dangerously by pains and fears which he had been warned against. But out in this wilderness he finally feels that he understands her. How she had seen them, as avarice manifest, intent on destroying all they could in order to scrape ahead or make a point. Her desire to remain apart, free within the woods, walking in the land of gods. Yes. He understands that now.

The dying fire continues to crackle for a few moments after Ryo speaks. Ashitaka considers this, though eventually he casts a look over his shoulder, his expression lightly challenging.]

It is possible for humans to live harmoniously with nature. [He felt as though he had enough living proof of that. Irontown was a marked example of greed and ambition razing the land, but on the other hand was the village where he grew up, growing and raising and fishing what they needed, leaving all else in peace.

Ashitaka turns again, looking out over the view once more.]

It requires a different frame of mind.

[Peace with one's place in the world.

But perhaps the village of the Emishi was not a good example of this. With their bloodlines weakening and the slow, wasting death of their people to the sands of time looming in their future, they struggled to survive, let alone reach for more. He decides not to think on this, however; the grim fate he had left them to was still perhaps the most difficult part of his burden he had to bear.]

someone's gotta serve it on this fish

[reillumination]

[ There was no peace for Ryo Asuka.

Since he could recall, he had felt at odds with himself — with his own body. The world was at once too small and too large, too comprehensible and too incomprehensible. His memory, as fragmented and foggy as it was to him now, brings to the surface moments of isolation and overwhelming emotion like fish beneath a frozen pond. It was easier to watch, to not burn his palms against its surface in an attempt to connect with it all, to know the spring from which it was fed at all. Even now, as far as he could be from the source.

But, it does not stifle him from knowing, innately, that humans were never meant to be here. That humans, their visitation, would change the surface of this microcosm irreparably. No matter how careful Ryo himself is, how careful he's noted Ashitaka to be as well — contact, no matter how brief and kind, can destroy a living thing entirely. Ryo's mouth downturns, in time enough to catch Ashitaka's look. He knows that familiar bite of a challenge, he's seen it in Akira more than once. Cynical, is how Akira had placed. Ryo Asuka, in all his desires to save humanity, was a cynic.

How odd that was.

Still, Ryo absorbs the glance with a moment's consideration. He knows that it is possible for many things to live harmoniously, but — ]

It might be, [ he concedes, but there's something else in him that grows nauseous and resentful at the thought of it, that twists against the admission that tastes more like a lie. And so, he does his best to quell it: ]

But, this place has developed its own system, [ Ryo starts, voice thoughtful and quiet. He stares out over the landscape before them, how untouched and unblemished it is by their noise. ] We have no idea how long it's existed before we came upon it or whether or not there's anything like us. [ The apex predator, that is. No matter where they roamed, animals relied on instinct. He's seen it even here. But, the conversation is... Nostalgic. Ryo's chest, for a moment, inexplicably tightens. ] All these creatures and plants have grown to defend themselves against their natural predators. If we decided to stay, their ability to adapt would never be enough to accommodate.

[ There's almost like a longing there, something Ryo ] Even if we were cautious, we're a new variable in the chain they never accounted for. [ Extinction was rampant back home. He recalls absently the dodo, how humans scrubbed the Earth of them for no more than pleasure because they weren't quick enough to save themselves. And, in lesser examples, how even the presence of humanity had cleansed the environment indirectly — a testament to human obliviousness and strength. ]

II. (a)

[trample]

You're as lively as ever. [ In stark contrast to Eren, who was, as usual, glum, slouched over, and looking like a terrible mix of Norman Reedus, the Grudge, and timeskip Noctis with a little Captain Jack Sparrow somewhere in there - maybe in the eyeliner. ] Who told you that little tidbit of advice?

[ He, obviously, didn't have any plans to pair up with anyone else. Just look at him. He's a mess that no one would want to have around. Despite that, he really was in his element here, and he looks just a percentile more enthused than usual. His backpack is especially suspect, seemingly bulging with quite a lot more than what everyone else is packing (this is important to note for later).

A sigh. ]

Do you honestly think I'd refuse? [ He seems...a little perky, almost. Comparatively, at least. He peeks with his one eye at the elk, with a small glimmer of curiosity and nostalgia. ] In my time, we used horses. They were bred for the job. An elk is...quite unique, to say the least.

[lonelywar]

[As ever? Kruger must not have seen much of him back in Gallipoli, then. The fresh air and the concept of being able to freely roam the wilderness rather than being cooped up inside BASE was something that certainly had breathed fresh air into Ashitaka's outlook on life, even though it did, in a way, feel like simply putting distance between himself and thoughts and concerns from his experience in Lone Pine (and in the clutches of the Regency) which he didn't want to completely address yet. Kruger looks more like how he had felt until recently, and perhaps how he still feels, though beneath several layers of internalized distraction.]

Common sense. [The answer is blunt, though it has the severity of what goes for humor in Ashitaka's world. Therefore: not very good humor. He continues after a moment:] The sergeant recommended as such also.

[Kruger certainly looks ready to go somewhere, with the entirely-too-full pack. Should he have seen him packing it, he might've suggested go a bit lighter, just from personal experience. But it seemed a little too late for that...]

No. And I was depending on it.

[Though his conversations with Kruger had always been, in a word, complicated, he feels as though he would appreciate having the other young man at his side while exploring this place. He had never been given a reason to mistrust him or think him ill-equipped for what they might have to face.

He places a hand on Yakul's neck as Kruger eyes him, nodding as he listens.] Horses were common enough outside of my village in my own time, though they were primarily used by samurai. We did not have them, however, so I am fortunate that I found him.

[Yakul, who has been eyeing Kruger since his approach, takes a careful step towards him and gives him a few cursory sniffs.]

Now I would not trade him for any other beast.

II) a

[doublejumps]

[ Genji is as ready for the great unknown as he can be, the pack full of camping supplies slung over his shoulder, his wakizashi sheathed in place across his back. While he hasn't secured a traveling companion for the first stretch of exploration, he isn't that concerned. He's traveled solo often in recent years, so this should come easily enough to him.

That's not to say that he'll begrudge some company, though. When he comes across a young man mounted on a beautiful red elk, Genji stops in his tracks and looks the pair over. Honestly, the stranger looks like he could have come straight out of the past, given his clothing and his choice of transport. ]

I'd be happy to.

[ Genji draws a little closer, holding out a metal hand to see how the elk will handle his presence. He mentally prepares himself for some uncertainty. ]

Yakul, you said? He's beautiful.

[lonelywar]

[Genji's intuition about Ashitaka would be correct, as COST had given him enough of his Earthly possessions and companions to more firmly place him visually to the era he hailed from: Muromachi Period, Japan, where the advent of firearms into warfare had changed the cultural landscape well into the future. But his vision of such a thing was obscured by limitations of age and isolation.

His own intuition of the stranger was one entirely the opposite. Ashitaka is fairly adept at guarding his expression, so his disbelief isn't too evident, though this is certainly the first time he'd encountered someone with so much cybernetics to their person. Shinobu had had a mechanical arm, but this was quite a different situation.

Interesting, though, that he carries a sword at his back. Ashitaka is similar, more intent on using the shortsword at his side and the bow (currently unstrung) lashed to Yakul's side than the weapon COST had given them.

He nods, his smile persisting.] Thank you. I am glad for the company.

[Yakul's a little more hesitant than he might normally be, as he's far less accustomed to the strange things and strange people COST seems to accumulate. He takes a cautious step towards Genji's outstretched hand, giving him a few cautious sniffs. Curiosity seems to overtake caution for the elk, however; he sniffs a little more brazenly at the proffered hand, then leaning up to sniff at Genji's head. He seems a little... confused.

Ashitaka nods, scratching Yakul's neck.] I am sure he is grateful for the compliment. Forgive him, [said as the elk continues to rather closely inspect their new cyborg companion,] neither of us are familiar with such machinery, though he far less so than I. [And that's just because he's been with COST for a few months.]

II-c

[cutlery]

[ LET'S GET INTO TROUBLE. No preference though, so just pick something that sounds fun to you!

(and you're welcome of course) ]

[lonelywar]

((ooc: sorry this took a little longer! i was devising a plan... trouble will find them, i assure u))

[The landscape (if one could call it that) of the coelacanth's back towards its eastern (starboard?) side slowly lofted from the boreal forests, forming waves of slopes which cut back on themselves endlessly until they reached plateaus before once more falling back into decline, reaching toward the two right fins. In comparison to the forests, these areas were bleak. The ground was grit and rock and occasionally ice, and it offered very little to foliage that might try to take root there. Without the draw of plantlife, other forms of life didn't seem to flourish here either. The journey to this area had started in interest of investigating something new; the craggy slopes certainly did catch the eye. But as they journeyed onward, Ashitaka begins to grow concerned. Would they come up empty on this particular foray? It's not the worst thing that could happen, but it would certainly be a disappointment.

That is, until they chanced upon the ravine.

It was a fissure that split part of the plateau apart, at first a seam and then widening into a space perhaps fifty yards apart. Because of it digging down into the rock itself, it was protected by the elements and harsh winds. Soft sediment had built up over years and years of rainfall and erosion, allowing the flora to finally find a foothold. It was like an entirely different ecosystem, tucked away in this admittedly barren part of the coelacanth.]

We are sure to find something interesting here, yes?

[Ashitaka didn't know as much about his companion as he did others. He had joined within the span of time of the last mission, and he was genial enough as a traveling companion.

Continuing into the ravine, they walk alone. He had thought it best to leave Yakul and the other equipment behind, as they could probably camp here later and get out of the worst of the cold and wind. There were some very narrow paths that might prove difficult for the red elk as well.

Ashitaka notices something, hurrying on ahead. He is found kneeling down by short tree, bristling with bright red flowers and berries. A cursory scan with the BCE shows that they are not the first to find this, though it does sound very interesting.]

It is called "heaven blossom..." [He reaches out to handle one of the branches, careful not to remove any of the petals or berries just yet.] Both the flowers and berries might be worth gathering.

2b . . .

[deem]

[There are many humans, and it would seem, only one unit such as himself. For this reason, 9S is on the move more than he might be otherwise. It's a temptation to stay at any given camp, watch over any given human, but he's most often flitting between one and another to ensure that they at all safe.

Because his core programming drives this desire, this need, to ensure that they are all well and have what they require. Really, it's wearing him out, despite the inexhaustible source of power his black box represents. He doesn't remember running around quite this much even when 2B was accepting every task that every stranger shamelessly lobbed her way.

...He won't dwell on such a thing long, particularly not when he hears the human he's presently watching over speak. 9S had only strayed into this camp a short time ago, and they hadn't quite gotten to speaking yet. He'd been reluctant to interrupt what seemed to him such a serene hush]

I wonder what Bob would think of that. [He muses, if only because of his natural inclination to wonder, and alas, it's not in him to forget if he isn't forced to] Having guests all the time.

of course . . .

[lonelywar]

[Truth be told, that 9S wasn't human is something Ashitaka will most likely not pick up on if not directly informed of the fact (or, well, doing something like bump into him, to realize that he's got a lot more weight and mass than a flesh-and-blood human being might). It's a special sort of irony, having met Genji, who appeared to the world to be machine but was instead human at the core of all of the metal and wiring. Ashitaka knew precious little of machinery and technology; the very primitive rifles of his time had seemed to be almost entirely out of his ken when he'd first seen them. This had changed, of course, given his months with COST, but still he feels he has the limits of his belief pushed every day.

Regardless of the truth on this matter, he is happy to have company. Just because his quest back home had required him to be alone through much of it doesn't mean he relishes such a thing; it's actually in solitude that his demons find him easiest, eroding at the steel of his conviction with doubts and concerns. It's more difficult for them to find purchase here, lost in the wide wilds of the coelacanth's back, in the grip of an adventure which seems to chase away thoughts of anything else.

Even that the company is largely silent doesn't bother Ashitaka; he doesn't always need conversation to fill his time. There is value in silence as well.

Though what his companion offers does give him some confusion. He turns to look at him, expression quizzical.]

...Bob?

[He has context clues, sure, but he's making sure he's got the right idea of what he means...]

camping 2

[mylawn]

[76 is more than happy to make several forays out into the wilderness. After all the gloom and death of Gallipoli, he welcomes the outdoors, even if it's alien in nature--and it's lucky, in a way, because he doesn't think he could stand the confines of BASE after being in the trenches for so long. Despite the inherent dangers and the fact that they're more-or-less stuck, this is as close to unfiltered nature as he's been in a while, and likely will get, depending on where they go next. It makes him think about a time before the Crisis, something imagined and idyllic that wasn't really all that idyllic, but at this point was lived by someone else either way.

Suffice to say he's not so bad at camping--and he doesn't mind Ashitaka either. The kid is quiet and thoughtful and seems to know what he's doing when it comes to roughing it. 76 doesn't ask questions about Yakul beyond basic introductions, and finds them both refreshingly independent. He'll go off on his own for a time, regroup with them later, compare notes. He doesn't want to infringe when they camp for the night, content to set up within shouting distance, but otherwise enjoying the solitude.

He will, however, help with supplies, and he's depositing an armful of firewood nearby when he hears Ashitaka express something of a private sentiment. 76 doesn't exactly have a good answer.]

Might be nice.

[He can admit that. There's something refreshing about roughing it in a place like this, but 76 knows he can't stay still for too long.]

Might get bored.

[lonelywar]

[In the grand scheme of things it was most likely bad luck that they had been brought here, at least given COST's goal, but through Ashitaka's personal lens, he clings to it as a blessing. Returning to the monochromatic confines of BASE for several weeks before their next deployment would not have done much of anything to help him heal from what he had experienced in Lone Pine - and the Regency's base, after his capture. He had had enough of monochromatic prisons for as long as he possibly could manage, which was why the number of nights he had actually spent on BASE could be counted on one hand. He was far happier losing himself in the wilderness that lived atop the coelacanth's back, and though it was nothing like home (like Earth), somehow it was far more like home than any other place they had visited so far.

Ashitaka is used to being self-sufficient in his travels. He has had his occasional traveling companions, of course, but for the most part he tends to take care of himself and his own. Traveling with 76, then, felt very simple and easy to him. The older man clearly could take care of himself as well, though they made sure to keep occasional contact so no one fell into danger. With each expedition into the unknown they returned with multiple notes and samples from all sorts of plants and creatures which made this strange place their home. Most of them seemed peaceful, though there were many Ashitaka had decided to give wide berth, obeying an instinct both he and Yakul seemed to share.

Today had been a largely uneventful one, one befitting of settling down to the peaceful scene of the eternal twilight on the back of the giant creature. He catches the sound of the firewood being deposited and looks over his shoulder to where the soldier stands nearby.

He knows that there's truth to what he says. As much as this place might be a nice reprieve from what they must do, it was also completely separate from what they knew. No other people, no hint of civilization. It would get boring. That, or they would eventually yearn for what was more familiar to them. Even Ashitaka thinks he might begin to grow homesick for his real home, once the novelty of these woods wore off.]

...Yes. I suppose you are right. This place might be preferable to a battlefield, but it is not the place we are meant to be.

[Aware of the paltry state of the fire, he stands and goes over to where 76 had dropped off the firewood, stooping over to pick up a few pieces. He regards his traveling companion levelly.]

You may join me for a while, if you wish.

BCE @swordartonline

[prizeneck]

like what

[lonelywar]

[He is honestly confounded by so much of the technology on board BASE that he barely knows where to start.

He stares for a moment at one of the items he had found in his room, not even sure what words he could use to make sense of them to someone through text (somehow he feels "strange mechanical bean" will not work). In the end he just takes a picture, sending it through the network in a way he'd learned how to do while working in the palace back in Paris.

The picture is a pair of Futhark earbuds, held in his palm.]

These?
I found them with other things in my room.