Pluviosa Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pluviosamods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
pluviooc2024-07-19 05:35 pm
pluviosamods) wrote in pluviooc2024-07-19 05:35 pm
Entry tags:
TEST DRIVE 03
TEST DRIVE
Hello, and welcome to the third Pluviosa Test Drive!
This Test Drive corresponds to Days 20-27 in the ship calendar, and will run until around the game's next major event. You can get a better idea what's going on in the most recent Game Update which covers Days 19-27, including the end of our previous event. Because some of the prompts in this test drive have differences based on whether they occur on Days 20-23 or 24 and on, you may wish to choose a firm date for your character's arrival and note it in your top level for other players.
Test Drive threads involving characters who are accepted are considered canon to the events of the game unless otherwise agreed by players/mods. Pluviosa does not do welcome mingle logs nor does it have any kind of in-character welcome information, making your test drive threads your character's arrival to the game setting. That said, mod-run interactions such as formal exploration and/or interactions with the Ship as an NPC are not available on the Test Drive.
It is advised that potential players familiarize themselves with the Premise page, the Rules/Session Zero page, and at least the first few paragraphs of the Setting page. As Pluviosa is a horror game, we especially encourage players to be aware of the content warnings that will be major themes of the game. If you have any further questions, you can ask them on the QUESTIONS header in the comments!
If you're test driving a character, you're welcome to join the game Discord and hang out and meet your fellow players!
Something jerks hard around your stomach, like a movement adruptly stopped. Something trickles through your hair, down the back of your neck - it's warm, and you get the feeling you know what it is.
But when you lift your neck to check, all there is is water. Somehow, counterintuitively, you feel a flash of disappointment. You feel someone's eyes on you...
As characters gain awareness of their surroundings, they will feel as though their head and neck are damp, as though they had just been in a light rain without any protection (even if they are, in fact, wearing a hat or hood). Unless they're particularly unlucky in the location where they wake up, though, the rain is in fact on the outside of the ship, and they are at most subject to humid air. Although the rainstorm in fact ends on Day 23, characters who arrive after that time will still be convinced that there is rain outside, complete with a hallucination of the sound of raindrops in the background, until they go to a window or an open-to-outside place (balconies, topside decks, etc) to check for themselves.
Rain aside, the feeling of being watched is stronger in the upper decks where characters arrive, which may send them seeking to go down instead of up. This might pose a problem in terms of actually making their way to the cleared, prepared-for-use parts of the ship... Especially with all that fresh rainwater breathing new life into the plants in the lower decks.
Note that prior to the rain ending, looking out the windows, glass balcony doors, or up into the domed roof of the passenger lounge will make it appear that the ship is underwater until late afternoon on Day 22. More information on this can be found on the So Below event posts. Additionally, the rainfall hitting the deck of the ship has a tendency to flood into the lower decks of the ship, particularly via the stairways and in rivulets down the hallways. It falls freely on the top deck and down into the open space in the center of the ship, though with less intensity than it does outside the ship's protective barrier.
And while going down decreased the feeling of eyes on you, it brings about other complications. Ghosts have been present on the ship for around a week now, and their time being visible is nearing its end as the ship comes above the old sea-level line on Day 22... At least as far as the longer-term passengers are concerned.
New arrivals, however, will continue to be able to see ghosts haunting the decks for the first 24 hours of their stay onboard the ship, regardless of the exact date of their arrival. These ghosts largely take the form of vacationers and researchers (as described here under the Haunting Feeling and Growing Shadows sections, respectively), and do not respond to attempts to interact with them any more than they did during the event. Less, even - once the ship is above the sea level line (evening of Day 23 and on), the ghosts perform their loops without registering any attempts to communicate with them. No matter what a character does, their attempts to interact with the spirits are for nothing - even standing in their path just gets you walked through as though you weren't there.
However, there are also a few new ghosts who only appear to the new arrivals, and are invisible to characters who were on board the ship previously:
-> A young man in extremely worn clothing, nursing a bruised jaw wanders the upper parts of Fern deck. When he sees the newly arrived character, he says "Oh, not more of this shit," aloud before turning and booking it off in another direction. Characters who chase him will find that he is visible and audible for a decent amount of time, but that his knowledge of the twists and turns of the Ship exceeds theirs and that he is unhindered by any of the overgrown vines as though they weren't there. As such, characters will inevitably fall behind and lose track of him.
-> At night, a dark-skinned woman can be seen in the lounge, looking back and forth between a glowing tablet she's holding and the sky above. If she notices a newly arrived character in the dimmed-to-nearly-nothing, she tells them in a firm voice, "You're not night shift. Go back to bed, you need your rest," before going back to whatever she's doing with her tablet screen. She fades slowly out of sight afterwards.
-> An androgynous person with a nearly-shaved head and a small flower dangling from a green marking over their ear comes out of the communal showers near the cafeteria. They glance around and ask, "Hey, did you see where that new guy with the eyepatch went?" but head off down the hallway without waiting for an answer, scrubbing at their cropped hair with a towel wrapped around their head.
-> A young woman in an open bathrobe with bandages around her middle looks out the back of the ship from the cafeteria deck, sitting with her feet dangling over the edge over where the ship's protective bubble attaches. Her light brown hair is blowing into her face constantly by the cafeteria's slight wind tunnel effect, but she doesn't seem to care, supporting herself by leaning her arms onto the lower rung of the railing. If approached, she gives a tired smile and says, "It's alright. I'm just waiting for that nice angel to come back," and resumes her watch out the back, not responding to any further questions or interactions.
These ghosts do not seem to register the presence of those who have been on board the ship more than 24 hours, even if pointed out directly. New arrivals who attempt to interact with the ghosts will be able to see and hear them, but not touch them. Attempting to touch a ghost in a way that 'proves' that they're not physically there (eg walking through them) causes the ghost to disappear, and they will not reappear.
Of course, the upper floors of the ship are not exactly free of eyes. A rather sizeable fleet of motorized drones zips around the hallways, ranging in size from knee-height to large enough to contain a moderately sized couch. The former are often equipped with scrubbing devices along their undersides, and work hard at portions of the floor in the hallways; the largest are functionally dumpsters on wheels, and other drones with long unfolding arms prune and rip plants from the walls, floors, and even the ceilings to fill them. These top two levels of Fern - not the open deck but the two floors immediately below - are clearly undergoing renovations, and renovations start with getting the plants out of the way. A few are even doing electrical or plumbing work, once things have dried up enough after the rain that it's safe to do so.
Since these are also the primary floors on which new arrivals wake up, it's very difficult to not come across some form of cleaning bot soon after arrival. However, there seems to be something a little... off about the ship's cleaning crew if you're a new arrival. They don't seem to register new arrivals as passengers yet; as a result, new characters may find themselves sprayed down with hot soapy water or subject to a set of surprisingly strong mechanical arms trying to shove them into a dumpster. Even if you aren't actively being aggressed by cleaning bots, they don't provide the kinds of loud "warning: backing up" noises they do for other passengers, nor do they slow down to avoid running you down in the still-mostly-dark hallways. The drones either have very good night vision or have some other way of finding their way around, since the only thing that brings them to a halt is particularly bad patches of floor.
Ship drones will continue to treat new arrivals as part of the walls (at best) or particularly stubborn plants in need of pruning (at worst) until either a light is shined on them - but beware, because this will cause any plants in the area to experience a surge of growth - or another, more known passenger intervenes. Admittedly, at that point the drones will be positively apologetic, as much as robots not equipped with voices can be. Soaked characters will be given a complimentary warm-air drying (if they stick around long enough) and anyone thrown in the dumpsters will be appropriately rescued - but it's still not all that great of a first impression, is it?
Or perhaps it's not the ghost of a person or the drones of the ship that you first encounter. It could be something significantly less civilized.
Strange animals have begun to appear in the ship's jungle - but you'd be forgiven for not noticing them at first. At rest, anyone would dismiss them as strangely shaped bundles of plant matter, because that's exactly what they are. Tails formed out of plaited vines; pelts and feathers formed of interlocked leaves; legs grown out of twisted wood with roots formed into toes. And, occasionally, sharp claws made of bent nails, fangs made of shattered glass, and antlers of rusted pipe, and, always, eyes like black pits that could swallow you up if you stared into them too long.
The 'animals' occupying Fern deck, if they can be called such, are formed out of plant matter with scattered bits of debris from the ship itself. They are, by and large, animals appropriate to the environment of the temperate rainforest that consumes the deck - no elephants or giraffes here. Deer, foxes, the occasional big cat or even a bear, and any number of smaller creatures... Smaller being a relative term, because the animals aren't always to their proper scale relative to humans. A deer might be only knee-high (antlers included), while a squirrel may come up to your waist. On most decks, they're limited to the height of the ceilings above them (9 feet or so), but if you manage to encounter them either on the open upper deck (with its much less height-limited tree canopy) or at the bottom (where the gap in the ship's decks, down the center, leaves lots of space for clearance above the mud and standing water), they could easily be taller.
Most of them are quite skittish, and will bound off into the jungle from which they came and disappear as though they were never there. A handful, though, respond as though threatened - or hungry. And while it might be funny to be stalked through the underbush by a cougar the size of a house cat, it will be less funny if it manages to sink its very real rusty claws into you, and getting trampled by a wooden deer whose antlers scrape the rotten ceiling tiles won't be fun at all.
It is possible to fight the animals, though most will make an attempt to flee if they get the chance, especially if you bring light or fire to bear against them. A 'killed' animal collapses into a pile of plant matter (leaves, branches, vines, etc) with the occasional bit of metal or glass; these heaps don't maintain their form as the 'body' of an animal and don't seem to have been connected together in any way. If lit on fire or otherwise affected by supernatural abilities, the animals react to this as an animal would be expected to, but their bodies are affected in ways consistent with the plant matter they're made of. In addition, no attempts at animal communication will work on them. On the other side of the coin, if you attempt to flee from them, most won't bother to give chase.
This Test Drive corresponds to Days 20-27 in the ship calendar, and will run until around the game's next major event. You can get a better idea what's going on in the most recent Game Update which covers Days 19-27, including the end of our previous event. Because some of the prompts in this test drive have differences based on whether they occur on Days 20-23 or 24 and on, you may wish to choose a firm date for your character's arrival and note it in your top level for other players.
Test Drive threads involving characters who are accepted are considered canon to the events of the game unless otherwise agreed by players/mods. Pluviosa does not do welcome mingle logs nor does it have any kind of in-character welcome information, making your test drive threads your character's arrival to the game setting. That said, mod-run interactions such as formal exploration and/or interactions with the Ship as an NPC are not available on the Test Drive.
It is advised that potential players familiarize themselves with the Premise page, the Rules/Session Zero page, and at least the first few paragraphs of the Setting page. As Pluviosa is a horror game, we especially encourage players to be aware of the content warnings that will be major themes of the game. If you have any further questions, you can ask them on the QUESTIONS header in the comments!
If you're test driving a character, you're welcome to join the game Discord and hang out and meet your fellow players!
ARRIVAL - GAZE FROM THE CLOUDS
Something jerks hard around your stomach, like a movement adruptly stopped. Something trickles through your hair, down the back of your neck - it's warm, and you get the feeling you know what it is.
But when you lift your neck to check, all there is is water. Somehow, counterintuitively, you feel a flash of disappointment. You feel someone's eyes on you...
As characters gain awareness of their surroundings, they will feel as though their head and neck are damp, as though they had just been in a light rain without any protection (even if they are, in fact, wearing a hat or hood). Unless they're particularly unlucky in the location where they wake up, though, the rain is in fact on the outside of the ship, and they are at most subject to humid air. Although the rainstorm in fact ends on Day 23, characters who arrive after that time will still be convinced that there is rain outside, complete with a hallucination of the sound of raindrops in the background, until they go to a window or an open-to-outside place (balconies, topside decks, etc) to check for themselves.
Rain aside, the feeling of being watched is stronger in the upper decks where characters arrive, which may send them seeking to go down instead of up. This might pose a problem in terms of actually making their way to the cleared, prepared-for-use parts of the ship... Especially with all that fresh rainwater breathing new life into the plants in the lower decks.
Note that prior to the rain ending, looking out the windows, glass balcony doors, or up into the domed roof of the passenger lounge will make it appear that the ship is underwater until late afternoon on Day 22. More information on this can be found on the So Below event posts. Additionally, the rainfall hitting the deck of the ship has a tendency to flood into the lower decks of the ship, particularly via the stairways and in rivulets down the hallways. It falls freely on the top deck and down into the open space in the center of the ship, though with less intensity than it does outside the ship's protective barrier.
SOMEBODY'S FOOTSTEPS
And while going down decreased the feeling of eyes on you, it brings about other complications. Ghosts have been present on the ship for around a week now, and their time being visible is nearing its end as the ship comes above the old sea-level line on Day 22... At least as far as the longer-term passengers are concerned.
New arrivals, however, will continue to be able to see ghosts haunting the decks for the first 24 hours of their stay onboard the ship, regardless of the exact date of their arrival. These ghosts largely take the form of vacationers and researchers (as described here under the Haunting Feeling and Growing Shadows sections, respectively), and do not respond to attempts to interact with them any more than they did during the event. Less, even - once the ship is above the sea level line (evening of Day 23 and on), the ghosts perform their loops without registering any attempts to communicate with them. No matter what a character does, their attempts to interact with the spirits are for nothing - even standing in their path just gets you walked through as though you weren't there.
However, there are also a few new ghosts who only appear to the new arrivals, and are invisible to characters who were on board the ship previously:
-> A young man in extremely worn clothing, nursing a bruised jaw wanders the upper parts of Fern deck. When he sees the newly arrived character, he says "Oh, not more of this shit," aloud before turning and booking it off in another direction. Characters who chase him will find that he is visible and audible for a decent amount of time, but that his knowledge of the twists and turns of the Ship exceeds theirs and that he is unhindered by any of the overgrown vines as though they weren't there. As such, characters will inevitably fall behind and lose track of him.
-> At night, a dark-skinned woman can be seen in the lounge, looking back and forth between a glowing tablet she's holding and the sky above. If she notices a newly arrived character in the dimmed-to-nearly-nothing, she tells them in a firm voice, "You're not night shift. Go back to bed, you need your rest," before going back to whatever she's doing with her tablet screen. She fades slowly out of sight afterwards.
-> An androgynous person with a nearly-shaved head and a small flower dangling from a green marking over their ear comes out of the communal showers near the cafeteria. They glance around and ask, "Hey, did you see where that new guy with the eyepatch went?" but head off down the hallway without waiting for an answer, scrubbing at their cropped hair with a towel wrapped around their head.
-> A young woman in an open bathrobe with bandages around her middle looks out the back of the ship from the cafeteria deck, sitting with her feet dangling over the edge over where the ship's protective bubble attaches. Her light brown hair is blowing into her face constantly by the cafeteria's slight wind tunnel effect, but she doesn't seem to care, supporting herself by leaning her arms onto the lower rung of the railing. If approached, she gives a tired smile and says, "It's alright. I'm just waiting for that nice angel to come back," and resumes her watch out the back, not responding to any further questions or interactions.
These ghosts do not seem to register the presence of those who have been on board the ship more than 24 hours, even if pointed out directly. New arrivals who attempt to interact with the ghosts will be able to see and hear them, but not touch them. Attempting to touch a ghost in a way that 'proves' that they're not physically there (eg walking through them) causes the ghost to disappear, and they will not reappear.
JUST ANOTHER WORKDAY
Of course, the upper floors of the ship are not exactly free of eyes. A rather sizeable fleet of motorized drones zips around the hallways, ranging in size from knee-height to large enough to contain a moderately sized couch. The former are often equipped with scrubbing devices along their undersides, and work hard at portions of the floor in the hallways; the largest are functionally dumpsters on wheels, and other drones with long unfolding arms prune and rip plants from the walls, floors, and even the ceilings to fill them. These top two levels of Fern - not the open deck but the two floors immediately below - are clearly undergoing renovations, and renovations start with getting the plants out of the way. A few are even doing electrical or plumbing work, once things have dried up enough after the rain that it's safe to do so.
Since these are also the primary floors on which new arrivals wake up, it's very difficult to not come across some form of cleaning bot soon after arrival. However, there seems to be something a little... off about the ship's cleaning crew if you're a new arrival. They don't seem to register new arrivals as passengers yet; as a result, new characters may find themselves sprayed down with hot soapy water or subject to a set of surprisingly strong mechanical arms trying to shove them into a dumpster. Even if you aren't actively being aggressed by cleaning bots, they don't provide the kinds of loud "warning: backing up" noises they do for other passengers, nor do they slow down to avoid running you down in the still-mostly-dark hallways. The drones either have very good night vision or have some other way of finding their way around, since the only thing that brings them to a halt is particularly bad patches of floor.
Ship drones will continue to treat new arrivals as part of the walls (at best) or particularly stubborn plants in need of pruning (at worst) until either a light is shined on them - but beware, because this will cause any plants in the area to experience a surge of growth - or another, more known passenger intervenes. Admittedly, at that point the drones will be positively apologetic, as much as robots not equipped with voices can be. Soaked characters will be given a complimentary warm-air drying (if they stick around long enough) and anyone thrown in the dumpsters will be appropriately rescued - but it's still not all that great of a first impression, is it?
IDEAL CAMOUFLAGE
Or perhaps it's not the ghost of a person or the drones of the ship that you first encounter. It could be something significantly less civilized.
Strange animals have begun to appear in the ship's jungle - but you'd be forgiven for not noticing them at first. At rest, anyone would dismiss them as strangely shaped bundles of plant matter, because that's exactly what they are. Tails formed out of plaited vines; pelts and feathers formed of interlocked leaves; legs grown out of twisted wood with roots formed into toes. And, occasionally, sharp claws made of bent nails, fangs made of shattered glass, and antlers of rusted pipe, and, always, eyes like black pits that could swallow you up if you stared into them too long.
The 'animals' occupying Fern deck, if they can be called such, are formed out of plant matter with scattered bits of debris from the ship itself. They are, by and large, animals appropriate to the environment of the temperate rainforest that consumes the deck - no elephants or giraffes here. Deer, foxes, the occasional big cat or even a bear, and any number of smaller creatures... Smaller being a relative term, because the animals aren't always to their proper scale relative to humans. A deer might be only knee-high (antlers included), while a squirrel may come up to your waist. On most decks, they're limited to the height of the ceilings above them (9 feet or so), but if you manage to encounter them either on the open upper deck (with its much less height-limited tree canopy) or at the bottom (where the gap in the ship's decks, down the center, leaves lots of space for clearance above the mud and standing water), they could easily be taller.
Most of them are quite skittish, and will bound off into the jungle from which they came and disappear as though they were never there. A handful, though, respond as though threatened - or hungry. And while it might be funny to be stalked through the underbush by a cougar the size of a house cat, it will be less funny if it manages to sink its very real rusty claws into you, and getting trampled by a wooden deer whose antlers scrape the rotten ceiling tiles won't be fun at all.
It is possible to fight the animals, though most will make an attempt to flee if they get the chance, especially if you bring light or fire to bear against them. A 'killed' animal collapses into a pile of plant matter (leaves, branches, vines, etc) with the occasional bit of metal or glass; these heaps don't maintain their form as the 'body' of an animal and don't seem to have been connected together in any way. If lit on fire or otherwise affected by supernatural abilities, the animals react to this as an animal would be expected to, but their bodies are affected in ways consistent with the plant matter they're made of. In addition, no attempts at animal communication will work on them. On the other side of the coin, if you attempt to flee from them, most won't bother to give chase.
Re: Fedi is going to take him at face value here lmao
It takes a minute for him to look to his side, seeing the being beside him crouch. He's about to grab his shoulder when Executor scoops him up. "Ah-" he gasps as he quickly finds himself over his shoulder.
He's about to squirm and pull away, bite his shoulder even, when Executor explain his plan. "Okay," he states and he raises his rifle and keeps the careful shots, trying to shoot the ones gaining on them the most as Executor carries the two of them to somewhere with better cover. He's just gonna have to trust this strange man.
Made it to a safe zone for now!!
Yes Executor should have asked before scooping up a new person. He's not good at that. He's completely oblivious to how he'd almost gotten bitten, instead keeping his eyes firmly ahead, watching for a tree with good hand holds, an outcropping, some sort of high ground...
Gunshots so close to his own ear are something he's generally used to. He does not know why each one lances through his head as if he's the one being shot. He is operational. He will get them to safety.
At last he catches sight of a door to another part of the ship. He makes a beeline for it, scrambling through and slamming the door shut behind him.
He lets the boy down before he himself leans against the door, gasping for breath. He should...not be winded from that much activity...he shouldn't...
Executor jolts when he hears glass and metal claws scraping against the other side. He finds he's sitting in the ground now. He didn't realize when....but he can still reinforce the barrier here. His eyes flick up to the young man, his vision strangely blurred. "Are you alright...? We should be...safe here."
Two socially awkward creatures in a room together, will the boat explode? Maybe
He tries to focus as the man jostles them both around. The shrub trolls still rush with an eagerness he hasn't seen from some in a long time. One seems to lunge as they duck into the room.
He sighs in relief when he's put down and shakes off the feeling. He has to check his weapon to make sure it's not fresh out of bullets, quickly assessing it. If he counted right he still should have a few more shots left.
He can hear the chorus of broken metal and shifting foliage like there was a wind being cast through the area, causing him to jolt and hold up the gun just in case. It's like the creatures are trying to peel away the layers to get at them from in the inside.
He hears a small thmp and looks over to the strange man. "I'm fine," Lalli states, keeping his rifle at the ready. "You look awful. What's wrong with you?" He's... trying to be nice, but isn't the best at wording.
Guy who doesn't realize he's sick: where is the fire
The boy does his work well, and the beasts are kept off of them long enough to reach a sanctuary of sorts.
But it's...much too warm here too. Possibly more so. They cannot stay long. "Good." The young man is still on guard, his rifle raised. He has good instincts. Executor uses the door to get back on his feet, as the ship seems to be tipping...
"I do not know what you mean of my looks. Requesting elaboration." His brows furrow. "Do I appear to be malfunctioning to you? I...apologize. It is a...hotter temperature than I am used to in here." He blinks, eyes going a bit distant. "Is there a fire...? We should put it out. There is...water...nearby..." The exact location is escaping him, the scraping and rustling on the other side of the door dislodging his thought patterns.
((Lalli, it's not hot by a long shot. The air is sort of chilly, actually. Something is wrong. It...might look like an early onset of a certain illness to you, even. Good thing you're immune to it.))
Guy from an apocalypse: Are you infected?
Lalli glances around the room, its rather secure. He keeps hearing the shrill sound of metal trying to tear away metal. He grimaces at the area and mutters, "We might have problems with no proper exit." The place is dim, with foliage seemingly leaking from the holes in the walls. The place seems stable enough... for now.
Lalli waits until he hears a little less of the beasts before scurrying to the man's side. "You look tired. Really tired." He pauses and shakes his head, "It's not hot in here."
It takes a moment for Lalli to realize something and quickly move to his side, there's a genuine shock and worry. He winces looking at him, the most expression he's given since they met. "Did you notice a rash on your skin at all? Recently. Arms, legs, neck... I think?" He only knows about it because of Onni's fear of the Silent World. He's not worried since he's immune to the Rash Illness, though normally someone like Mikkel would be handling this much more than he would be. In reality, he doesn't know what to do about the illness, since usually its a quarantine process.
LMAO at least Fedi is cooperative
The room blurs around him, and he's...on the floor again, his legs folded beneath him. When did...? The boy is suddenly crouched in front of him, and Executor blinks slowly at him. "Tired...? I...suppose..." He'd assumed that was just the inability to properly rest lately. It seemed normal on this ship for him. Is it perhaps a sign that something else is wrong...? "It's not? ...strange...it seems...unbearably warm in here." He shivers as his temple meets with the metal of the door he's leaning against, the screeches fading with time.
The boy is suddenly closer. He can hear it. Did he give a name...? It's proper to address with a name...he sounds worried. "Rash?" he mutters, forcing his eyes back open. "I'm not...sure. I can check..." He forces himself to sit up a little straighter, fumbling to get his cape off, then his gloves. With the extra mobility, he works his coat off with some significant effort, leaving a black, short sleeved shirt as the only thing covering his upper body. He could probably use some help with the coat, but he'll work it out eventually. Getting some extra layers off helps with the overheating problem, and he leans back on the door with a quiet sigh of relief.
He holds up his arms, inspecting them. Ah...they are rather...red. Perhaps from something he worked with while repairing the drones? Or a plant he came in contact with...? Possible causes are a blur when he mentally reaches for them, so he just looks to the boy. "Rash...confirmed. What is your...hypothesis?" Clearly the young man was searching for something.
OH BOI HERE WE GO
"It's not," Lalli says and tugs at his cloak. "It's a little stuffy and warm, that's all. It's like being in a room with too many people." He's used to the colder atmosphere of Scandinavian landscapes, not anything like a jungle. He tugs at his collar a small bit but it's not hot enough to take off his cloak.
Lalli nods seriously, his expression lined with worry while he tries to retain a neutral expression. He's never seen the rash illness before, and he certainly doesn't know where to look. With how everyone keeps quarantine regulations and security measures to ensure the illness doesn't spread has lead to that. Lalli being immune only makes this more of something he didn't really pay attention to.... once upon a time.
He watches, not taking his eyes off of him as the man strips down to a short sleeved shirt. He grabs onto one of the sleeves and tries to tug on it to help him out in his own little way, but keeping some distance so he doesn't get whacked by accident.
Lalli notices the red immediately and grabs his arm to examine it. He's no doctor and he makes it known. "Rash Illness. It's contagious to anyone who isn't immune. Are you immune?" he asks. Surely, it could be from something else, but if he isn't immune...
((Fedi, he seems to be looking at them somewhat confused but quite worried now, eyes wide with alarm.))
This was looking like it was going to be trouble.
Ehe. Damage control attempt.
Executor blinks, sluggish. "Forgive me. I did not...receive your name. I am Executor Federico..." His face scrunches a little. "Executor is a title I am perhaps...not able to uphold at the moment..." he mutters, more than a little put out about it. If his body insists on malfunctioning...now, of all times...
Executor nods, watching the boy's actions which back up his words. "I see..." he murmurs, placing a hand on his forehead. If the temperature issue is internal, it will do him no good, but he performs it nonetheless. It's what he's seen Doctor Ratio do, and the action itself settles something within, inexplicably. He can't see it, but his cheeks are rather flushed.
He's...grateful for the other's help in removing the outer layers. He's quite adept at donning and removing his uniform for having worn it for so long, but this...bizarre malfunction is making it quite difficult. The boy pulls at his sleeve, and he tucks his arm in to escape the thicker fabric.
Cool, thin hands grasp at his now bare arms, and Executor leans back to let him examine them himself. "I have not...heard of such an illness. Thus I have...likely not been immunized." Glassy blue eyes drift over to the young man, taking in his worry and stress. "You are...concerned about something more than...the rash itself." It's a statement, as well as a question.
The young man looks as if he thinks Federico had contracted Oripathy. Which is impossible, since the Executor had not come in contact with raw originium in any way recently. Still, the possible meaning behind his expression makes Federico's stomach twist...he does not know enough to offer reassurance.
Miscommunication beloved (they are idoits im so sorry)
Lalli blinks in return then recalls a conversation and asks, "Is that a rock?" Lalli does at least explain his name at the very least, tapping his chest with his finger. He has gotten quite used to hand signals and non verbal communication, "Lalli."
"I don't know what that is," Lalli adds, not really knowing the term 'executor'. The man talks like he's in the military, something he's used to hearing, but this is certainly a role he's not used to.
Lalli pauses and mumbles and points at Executor's hand, "Feels hot? You look a red in the face." Lalli is trying to explain the flushed look in Federico's face.
"I'm immune," Lalli explains, a bit of worry creeping into his words. "The Rash Illness is... really bad. Anyone not immune usually goes into quarantine. But..." His words turn to sorrow, "There isn't a cure... and it's destroyed entire settlements before if left unchecked." There's something haunted in his eyes, a heaviness that wasn't there before.
Dumb conclusion but they're making the best of it!!!
His brow furrows. Did he...hear that correctly? "A....rock? No, my title nor my name have ties to rocks." What an odd question. "I do not know the meaning behind my name, only that it is my name. And...well met, Signore Lalli," he rasps, nodding. If Lalli expresses discomfort with the honorific, Executor will drop it.
"....an Executor is my occupation. My...job. I am a sankta that works for the Notarial Hall of Laterano. I carry out tasks to uphold the rights of Lateran citizens. Since we are...not in Laterano, I currently..." He stifles a cough. "I...protect the passengers on this ship. I am usually...more operational than...this. And for that, I apologize." His wings seem to flare, and he loses some time to a coughing fit.
He closes his eyes, slumped against the door when he's done, relishing in the cool metal. "Yes. It feels too hot in this room, but I realize that might be an internal malfunction," he murmurs. He's not sure...
He remembers Ser Argenti, suddenly. Laid up in bed, red in the face and very ill. Did he...? Was that contagious? Executor had not been ill in many years, he did not consider...
If he caught this from Argenti, it is...good that Lalli is immune, then. "Rash Illness. Are you...sure this is not a reaction to a...a plant? Or the detergent...I don't..." The boy sounds worried. No cure...so he has experience with this. Executor grimaces. "I...see. So it is like the late stages of Oripathy." His eyes look to Lalli. "The doctors on this ship are very skilled, and have seen different worlds. Perhaps they will have....knowledge your world did not." Quarantine...he sucks in a breath, rattling with the threat of more coughing.
"There is...a woman who is, for all intents and purposes, dead. But she is a doctor of sorts. To not risk spreading the illness further, we should...seek her out." His hands curl into the fabric of his trousers. "I will need...assistance reaching her location, however. Is that....something I can request from you...Signore Lalli?" It is difficult to remain sitting upright. Making the journey to one of the clinics alone seems near impossible right now. "If this is the malady you speak of, I wish to help her gather as much information as possible should there be an outbreak." If it is fatal, he wants to be of as much use as possible before the end.
This is so dramatic
He nods, "Like the military." He doesn't understand half the words that Executor is spilling out. "Sankta?" he asks. He can get across the concept that the other ones are names of some place by putting two and two together that it's a kind of location. "I can handle myself alone just fine, don't worry," he says. "I've been trained for that much at least."
He nods, "It's probably a fever." He would've suggested he was wearing too many layers... but that is no longer the case. Lalli looks actively a little upset. He can't see this happen again... He doesn't want to.
"Rash Illness appears suddenly. There are other symptoms, but the rash is the most prominent... That's why it's named that," Lalli states. "Another illness?" he asks, "Do you have that too?" He's never heard of it... but that doesn't mean it's any less a problem.
Lalli nods and says, "It's the best chance we have, other than quarantine procedures. It's.... boring but it will keep it from spreading to anyone."
Lalli visibly tenses at the idea of undead. "Another troll?" he asks. "Are you sure it's safe?... Something that is... dead is usually not a good thing." Undead things are sure to mess with him, he's dealt with spirits whispering to him all the time. They never stop. The trapped ones have always been there, nagging at his mind. He just learned to stop listening.
He sighs and says, "I can assist, I'm probably the only one who can." If it really is the Rash Illness, at least he can help because of his status of being immune to it. He goes over to awkwardly put a hand on his arm. He's never had to do this before... but he'll at least try.
Listen he only knows how to take things dead seriously LMAO
It seems the young man is accustomed to military settings. Perhaps that is what he'd meant by normal. It certainly is a point of common ground. He nods again, flaring his wings and gesturing to his halo for demonstration. "Sankta. We are a race of people in my world, known for our wings and halos. Most of us hail from Laterano. We are also able to sense the emotions of other sankta through a connection in our halos." He pauses, his wings drooping again. "My understanding of the emotions has always been...far from normal, however."
Training. So he can be relied upon. That is good. It did feel a little like speaking with a fellow Executor, especially with the rifle the scout carries. Many did not carry firearms on this landship. "I will not question your abilities further then, Scout Lalli."
....Fever. "Of course. I should have known...an oversight on my part. I have...not been sick since I was a child." And thinking about that is...strange. He briefly remembers Arturia humming her new pieces, composing at his bedside to keep him company. Her mother fussing over him, insisting he eat strange foods...her father, insisting he carry him to the clinic when he could simply walk on his own...Executor shakes his head, dispelling the irrelevant information, and the strange ache that they create. "Thank you for the clarity," the sankta huffs, noting how the boy's face is drawing up tightly. Worry?
"I see. A good, straightforward name." Now that he sees it, his fingers twitch to scratch at the irritated skin. He of course refrains. He blinks up at Lalli, a little dazed. The different topic...helps. "Oripathy is a...plague, in my world. There is a black crystal called originium that serves as an energy source for many. However, it can also infect people if not handled safely...black rocks in the skin, growing inside people. It is contagious through blood and runs rampant in many cities. There is no cure." He pauses. "I do not have it, however. I know many who do." ...Vermeil comes to mind. There is much more information he could give, but it lacks relevance and...speaking is draining his energy.
"It does not matter if it is 'boring', as long as more people are saved. I understand."
He pauses, noting the boy's expression only tightening further. "She is not made of plants. Is that what you mean by troll?" he asks, the fog settling over his mind making it hard to think that one through. "She is both...dead and alive. She operates with the doctor on this ship, and has been here for some time. She is the safest person to go to for this kind of illness, I believe." The woman is by no means harmless. But she does...help people. She is an alchemist and a chiurgeon, and is not likely to become infected. "It will be alright," he huffs, making an attempt to be reassuring.
"My thanks," Executor breathes, bracing himself before pushing off of the ground, using the door and Lalli's hand as support to stand upright and whether the dizziness that comes with it. He groans quietly, leaning his forehead on the metal for a moment. He'd forgotten how unpleasant this can be...
Dazed eyes look back to the scout. "It is quiet, but we should be armed. You use...bullets, yes? Do you have enough?"
These two are certainly functioning
That is.... until he finally notices the wings and floating bit his head. His eyes widen and he gets a little closer, hesitantly. He takes a hand and waves it over the man’s head, as if to check to see if any strings or something he can’t see is keeping it up. He doesn’t see any spirits either... When nothing comes into contact with his hand, he jumps back a little bit. “Are you sure this isn’t some infection?” he asks. “People don’t have floating spider legs..” He points at the wings as well, as they remind him of insect wings and limbs.
People don’t usually have this until its the beginning of the infection... maybe it had already spread in his home country and they didn’t fully become immune. He wasn’t sure about it, but he seems a more than a little concerned.
“I haven’t been sick either,” Lalli states. He can’t recall the last time he was, partially due to the fact the illness that is really considered a problem in his line of work is the one that he’s immune to. They have treatment for other illnesses, but its been a long time since Lalli has had to deal with any. He simply nods to the thanks... not sure how to take this.
“Very clear name,” Lalli comments. He listens a little absentmindedly about the illness plaguing Executor’s world. Rock illness... What is with everything and rocks lately? Maybe Executor works for the boring rock collector? “Rock illness... Very different from the Illness. All you need is to be bitten by a troll or breath it in if you aren’t immune...Do you work for the boring rock collector?”
Lalli scrunches his nose up and snaps a little bit, “I know. Trust me.” He doesn’t elaborate, even though he could. He seems serious enough, he knows full well and understands its importance.... quite a bit. His mind drifts to his family and home... Thinking about it makes him feel prickly. “Not everyone feels the same, I was warning you.”
“Trolls are the turned beings of animals and people,” Lalli explains. “A lot of them are better off dead. They tend to feel both dead and alive.” He bristles and looks quite annoyed and uncomfortable but mutters, “Sounds like a mistake to go there....” However, if Executor is insisting they will be safe... “This is stupid...Stupid...” he growls. “Can't we go to a doctor that's alive?”
Lalli nearly falls over, as he is not one to be used to lean on, but he tries to support the other soldier as best he can. He tries to keep the man upright and sighs, glancing at the gun’s strap across his back. “I use bullets... I have a few left... then I’ll need to reload... I also have a knife and my magic.” Magic would be effective... but also has its own risks.
SURE ARE....on some level....a bit more prep before engaging the plantimals again
He squints a little, turning to view his own wing. "Spider...? I assure you that my wings are no insect legs." The idea that his wings resemble the legs of a mutated originium slug... "They are wings like a fowl-beast...a bird would have. I cannot fly with them, but they do help me remain balanced properly." He gives the wings another flap for demonstration, no bending in the angled bits like a leg would. More just...pieces of glass, arranged like a wing. The idea that it's an infection of some sort is baffling to him. The fact that his wings and halo are black crystal like originium is merely a coincidence. "I hope this alleviates your concerns."
"I see. I assume you are trained to watch for signs of illness, so I commend you for noticing the signs where I have failed, Scout Lalli." He must improve his self assessments.
Executor blinks at the further statements. "A troll...I see. So blood and inhalation are a shared form of contagion..." he muses, brows furrowing, his head pounding as he stores the information away. He blinks, bleary and confused. "Rock...collector? Negative; I work for the notarial hall of Laterano, and have been contracted with Rhodes Island, which is a traveling pharmaceutical landship seeking ways to treat-" he chokes on his words, getting cut off by a rough coughing fit. It's...probably for the best. He's not quite aware how much of what he's saying would go over Lalli's head.
He groans softly and holds his head until the ship stops spinning. It takes a moment. "For...now....I work to protect the passengers of this ship," he rasps, much more worn out. He looks up to the young man crouched over him. "I...appreciate the warning, then."
Executor sighs as he stands, careful to not trigger more coughing. "I see. I am not...completely sure what Chiurgeon Aurelia is, but I do not believe she is a troll. And..." a quiet cough, "we could. But Doctor Ratio...I believe he is resting, for the moment. And I...if we go to him, or Signore Fridtjof, we risk spreading this illness needlessly." He tries his best not to have his full weight on Lalli. Executor is aware he is not light, and the boy had a thin figure like Vermeil...
"I am Doctor Ratio's aide, but I...do not wish to risk his health. If Chiurgeon Aurelia is unable to help, then perhaps we can plan a safer way for Doctor Ratio to examine this illness." Before it takes him, before it spreads. He will not be patient zero for an outbreak of this Rash Illness, not if he can help it.
"I see. Supplies on this ship are indeed limited. If...you have need...." he nods to his own shotgun holstered on his hip. "You can use my gun. You say you have magic, then perhaps you would be able to use it for bullets." He takes a breath, the room tilting for a moment, disorienting. He shivers, feeling both too warm and too cold. Unpleasant..."I...my gun is a conduit for me for my arts. Arts and magic are not the same, but they share some properties. We could...practice, before departing, if you wish."
PREPARATIONS
He takes a deep breath and mumbles, “Yes.” They aren’t sure if he’s infected, and Lalli at this point is pretty convinced he is, as long as they can quarantine him then things should be okay. That does mean he needs to go find a way to clear up the contamination on him though from interacting with him. He makes a growling sound of annoyance at that.
“I know some things about it,” Lalli states. “I’m not trained in it. I just know some because it’s something I just had to know. Only me and my grandmother was immune from the illness in my family.”
He looks away and closes his eyes. He’s oddly silent and opens his eyes slowly. “Thanks,” he says, but doesn’t smile. Usually he’d be happy with praise but... this is a little too serious for that.
Lalli doesn’t understand half the terms Executor lists off, but he gets the idea they are locations he doesn’t know. He nods and says, “Alright. So you have a job. Military?” He is about to ask more when he hears the rough coughing and winces heavily. “Not good,” he mumbles.
He nods and carefully tugs at his arm, as if signalling they should probably move on soon. A look of worry etched on his face as he mumbles, “Sure.” It seems he’s caught up in his own thoughts a little bit.
Lalli groans as he doesn’t like this idea at all. He hunches his shoulders and scrunches his nose, its clear he doesn’t agree with the plan. “Mrrrrr....” he mumbles before sighing, “Fine. We will go to the dead one.” He still mutters “stupid, stupid” under his breath, as if cursing the idea itself. He huffs as he helps Executor along, much too thin to actually be able to give too much support... He’s trying.
Lalli pauses as he looks at the gun and furrows his brow. He tilts his head and asks, “How does that work? Sounds creepy and weird.” He doesn’t seem opposed... but mostly confused. The idea of using magic and weaponry (namely guns) feels weird to him. Knives were one thing... this was another.
Magic gun training session
The thought of quarantine also seems to bother the boy. He sighs, scrubbing at his forehead to wipe up the sweat. His head hurts..."I will do what I can to keep others safe. For you, there are decontamination showers near the cafeteria," he says. He would like to direct Lalli to them personally, but...he will not likely have the opportunity.
"I see...." So Immunity is something inherited...and not a vaccine. "Any information is welcome, training or not."
His eyes are shut to ride out the pounding in his head after coughing. "Y-Yes. Executors can be considered...Military," he breathes, leaning back for a moment. His chest hurts...he usually has a higher pain tolerance, but this...illness seems to be wearing away at many of his defenses. "I became an...Executor like my parents." Not information he normally shares, but with Lalli's grandmother being mentioned earlier, it seemed...alright.
Executor follows Lalli's movements and support best he can. His balance is off...not like when his wings broke, but still frustrating all the same. Still, he remains mostly upright.
"It will...be alright, Lalli. There is good logic to this plan of action, I assure you." The boy seems quite upset over the prospect of Aurelia...it can't be helped.
Silence on the other side. Executor pushes the door open, and pulls out his gun once outside. "Arts through firearms is something all Sankta are taught when they come of age. The gun is a conduit for Arts, used to channel a blast like a bullet." He's still leaning on Lalli, and a little on the wall behind him, and he levels the gun at a nearby tree. "Like this." And with that, he releases a "bullet" of arts at the trunk of the tree, blasting a small crater into the bark. The noise is loud, making his head throb in response. Several plant birds also startle at the sound and scatter from the vicinity.
He looks to Lalli, his face drawn in pain but otherwise doing just fine. "Did you wish to try?" He holds the shotgun aloft, if Lalli wanted to take it, he could.
I AM FREE TO SPEAK WITHOUT DODGING SPOILERS. HOORAY
Lalli nods and pats his shoulder, "Thanks for the information. And I agree it sounds like a good procedure."
"I know about quarantine protocol is usually 2 weeks maximum, so symptoms can appear any time from those two periods," he explains. "It would also be helpful to have a facility to allow for as minimal of interaction with others as possible..." he adds. "And at worst, when you die, I can ensure your soul doesn't remain trapped in your body."
That is his job as a Finnish mage after all.
Lalli nods, "It's important. Family teaches family how things work." Like the apprenticeship he underwent. He still winces and looks at the weakened soldier. This... doesn't look good.
"I don't like this," he admits easily enough. He lets his body tense up, gripping him tighter for a minute. "But if she becomes a danger..." he states, warning that he is willing to defend himself if need be. He does mean it.
"But sure," he growls. "Let's go see the dead one. Stupid plan..." He's still quite grumpy about it...
Lalli tilts his head as he listens to the explanation and nods once or twice. He flinches at the strange light and pauses at the small crater. He has to look back in shock then at the weapon being handed to him. He takes a deep breath and takes it in his hands, shoving the rifle to his back if he hasn't already.
He raises it like a rifle and takes a deep breath and mumbles a spell. He then pulls a trigger and watches as an almost icy bullet comes out. It almost throws Lalli to the floor with the kind of blowback. It hits properly, though the crater looks slightly wrong, almost looking like its in the shape of a cat's paw? He looks at the weapon in amazement.