( tdm 11 )

[hownkai]

T E S T D R I V E

ABOARD THE MOIRA Whether adjusting to space travel has been difficult or not, there is always something to be done. From working to leisure, the Moira offers a multitude of opportunities to get to know your crewmates a bit better. Exploration of the ship is highly encouraged, but as another planet grows closer to being docked, things start to get a little hectic. You'll notice a slight change in the artificial gravity as the Moira is pulled into a gravitational field; however, more noticeable changes can be found in the overall morale as you prepare to descend. ☄ on your own There are plenty of other communal areas on the ship to explore! Pick a place, and see where it takes you. ( These scenarios can be used as in-game canon. ) H A I S T O S Unlike previously visited locations, the sweltering heat of this planet can be felt long before arrival. The surface of Haistos is not a place for those with a weak constitution. It’s in a constant state of low-level volcanic activity as its land masses are dotted with many volcanoes—all of them spewing black ash into the air. Breathing is difficult without the aid of a respirator due to the potential of breathing in ash, and the plant life is stunted, adapted to living in an environment with little sunlight. The weather is unpredictable, and ash-storms will often blow in fiercely, leaving people trapped for a hours at a time before they blow themselves out. But that same ash which chokes everything on this planet is what also provides its livelihood. Haistos’ volcanic resources are a highly sought-after commodity elsewhere in the universe, and as long as gathering the ash is profitable, people will continue to return. Looking closely, etched into the curling paths of ignimbrite deposits that swirl along the base of the volcanoes is a language that is easily translated by the MID, often resembling Latin. Carved over time by visitors and travelers, it tells a tale of fire and stone and power. Some might even say there are mystic abilities associated with these volcanoes, though the rumors and myths behind it seem to be nothing but a warning to those who think to go looking for it. It’s also hard to tell if the words carry any true meaning since there are no natives to question, and all those who harvest the ash can only tell stories. Still, it’s apparent that people from many different times have all added to the scrolling messages. A word of caution: you cannot build here. Stone, metal, and wood all burn, all crumble. Only what is true can survive, and fire will show its true quality. ☄ breathing sparks Despite the haphazard lay of the land, there are things to do. Or, at least, things to see. The rocky terrain often leads to some inactive volcanoes that are perfect for exploring and harvesting the ash that continues to rain down across Haistos. There are step-like structures built into the sides of the volcanic craters, narrow but sturdy. With each move down, the air gets even thicker, and your respirator takes longer and longer to filter the unbreathable atmosphere the deeper into the planet you travel. Yet, the risk of asphyxiation is worth what awaits at the bottom of the staircase. Still warm, the volcanic rocks that are sunk into the deposits are both smooth and clear as crystal. Most of these gems retain heat permanently and can be used to warm small spaces. Gathering too many together in a single place, however, creates a reaction with the limited air supply and can spark a faux volcanic eruption—yes, these rocks are capable of producing lava at an impossibly quick rate. Is it possible to outrun the flow and reach the steps before it begins filling the bottom of the crater? The only thing worse than a sudden swimming pool of lava would be the respirator finally breaking because of the abrupt, extreme heat, wouldn’t it? ☄ under pressure Despite being unable to actually build any structures of substance on Haistos, walking around the planet itself is surprisingly easy. Due to its unusual composition, the ground itself is a noticeable mixture of dark rock and shining surfaces. More than that, each step around the bases of the volcanoes reveals something both amazing and rather fascinating: the ability to create diamonds without much pressure at all. It only takes a single step or even a hand print. Take a break and sit to rest? Diamonds. Wrestling over what pile of ash is yours to claim? Diamonds. Tripping and falling and refusing to get up so that no one sees your embarrassment? Diamonds. Suddenly, moving around on Haistos has taken a whole new turn. Especially when it’s completely possible to keep what you make with your very own body weight. ☄ if you break it, you buy it Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet. At the base of one of the smaller volcanoes, this message is carved into the rock in large, curling script. The volcano is currently inactive and is dotted with openings large enough for visitors to enter through. Stranger than the message is the faint tinkling sound - almost like glass clinking against glass - that grows louder the deeper into the volcano you go. The intricate honeycomb of paths all lead in the same direction—towards the sound and a mellow blue glow. At the center, the sound is loud and the light illuminates a large space. Thousands of crystalline creatures swirl and bump against one another, the source of both the sound and light. They appear to be a cross between a lightning bug and bee, glowing and noisy and harmless. The beautiful sight may, or may not, be dampened by the fact that the cavern is littered with glass honeycombs that have been built up within the bodies of fallen travelers. It’s clear that the organisms didn’t harm them, perhaps the result of too much ash or broken respirators, and the honey they’ve produced is light blue and clear. It’s sweet if eaten, bright and citrus-y, and carries an earthy undertone, making the skin glow temporarily after ingesting. If careful, visitors may harvest the honey, but do not disturb the creatures. Their wings are sharp, and when agitated, they swarm out of fear. OUT OF CHARACTER INFO FAQ | LOCATIONS | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS | NAVIGATION For mature or graphic content, please label. For questions, please direct them to the FAQ. As always, be kind and have fun!

Comments

[worn_wings]

If he didn't know, the way she's acting would look crazy as hell. If he didn't know, he wouldn't have been able to do that, though-- to trace the unseen line of ink unerringly. She's not thinking that through-- of course she isn't, because she's not letting herself believe she could be so lucky, he thinks. It's reasonable enough. He's only half sure himself, even with the evidence mounting. It makes perfect sense-- even better, it makes the rest of everything that doesn't make sense make perfect sense.

And he should be dealing with this more gently, but with the rush of relief and the disorientation of where they are and the sudden lifting of the burden of inexplicable grief he couldn't share?

Yeah, rationality can take a hike. He laughs, warm and short and breathy, takes half a step closer. Fuck it-- at this point if he's wrong, things are muddled enough that it won't matter.

"C'mon, lemme see," he says encouragingly, a low rumble of amusement. And then-- Heaven help him if he's wrong--

"You gonna make me take my shirt off here?"

[dum_spiro]

To say his reaction isn't what she was expecting doesn't begin to cover it, and by the time he offers to take his shirt off her mouth is working silently as she struggles to follow, and she's half convinced that space makes people go utterly mad... until, at last, it sinks in. Her momentary confusion gives way to a shock of understanding, and then giddy, free-floating relief.

Placing a hand on her hip, she levels him with a look that would be frighteningly stern if she weren't so obviously holding back a stupid grin. Yeah, he got one over her this time, for a second, and honestly she could not possibly care less. But she's never going to roll over that easily, especially not when, as it turns out, she doesn't have to explain something incredibly strange and complicated in a time and place that has enough of both without her help.

"Exactly how long were you going to let me think I was going nuts?" she demands, looking for all the world like she's going to give him a good thumping for scaring her like that. But, of course, he'll know she's screwing with him.

He'll know. God damn she's never been more relieved to have just been acting like a loon, if that's what finally tipped him off.

[worn_wings]

Acting like a loon certainly didn't hurt-- it was enough to prove he wasn't imagining everything. If it'd been in his head, she might have reacted oddly, but not like that-- not so unsure, like she couldn't trust herself around him. Looking at it that way, he has a much better sense of what she must have thought-- which is something to chew on another day (because there's never been a time, not since they left the quarry almost, when she couldn't have leaned on him if she needed it, and she oughta know that). For the moment he doesn't care about a goddamn thing.

"Dunno," he answers, not bothering to hide his own grin. Because she remembers, she knows, neither of them are crazy and there's nothing to hide. "Bout as long as I felt like I was, I guess."

And if she's got no reason to keep stepping back, well, there's no reason not to reach for her now, right?

[dum_spiro]

If they're crazy, then it's like she always told herself when Teleios seemed too good to be true: it's the good kind. They both know enough about life and how hard and exhausting it can be, how it piles weight after weight on your back until you think you can't go on anymore and then, somehow, you can't seem to stop putting one foot in front of the other. Something like this, like they built in Teleios, their home, if that kind of relative happiness is crazy then sanity can take a flying Goddamn leap.

Huffing, she shakes her head in mock disappointment. "You're just the worst," she says, and then practically jumps into his arms. There'd be a kiss here, and a good one too, but she's actually crying a little now as she clings to him with a desperation that would be embarrassing if she weren't sure his feelings on the matter echo hers. Not tears of grief, of course, but the way she'll cry when he runs to embrace her outside Terminus, if she ever goes back, not that she knows that yet. Crying because her relief and joy and gratitude is so immense that something had to give, and with Daryl here and whole and with at least the important memories intact she's sure as hell not going to sacrifice her hold on him.

"I thought..." Well, it's obvious what she thought. They'd both been ready for that, to leave Teleios and have those two years-and-change vanish utterly. She couldn't decide which would be worse: going back to the shell of a person she was after Lizzy and Terminus, or having to pretend to. But she doesn't have to do either, and it's the closest she's come to thanking any God that might be out there for anything in so, so long. Maybe there will be awkward explanations to make at some point to someone or another about it, but at least she won't be facing it alone. In so many ways nothing has really changed for them in this strange new place where they don't know the rules or have any alliances to help them out, their family isn't whole. But now, for her, what felt insurmountable a few moments ago is suddenly a piece of cake by comparison, because if this can happen, if life or fate or whatever decided to grant them the space and chance to find each other yet again in spite of the astronomical odds, then by God anything is possible.

Burrowing her face into the crook of his neck, she lets out a puff of laughter that's almost a sob. It feels stupid, selfish, to be so relieved about this when having him here and safe would already be more than she deserves, and how many times did she tell herself that it didn't matter as long as they had each other somehow? No denying it anymore, which feels oddly freeing in itself.

[worn_wings]

She closes the distance, and he wraps his arms around her as tightly as he did after she found them, in the woods outside Terminus-- as tight as he did when she came back to Teleios. For just a second he lifts her off her feet, and then he's just hanging on, resting his cheek against her as she tucks herself in against his neck.

Of course he knows what she thought; the same thing he'd thought, that they'd lost each other. This isn't where either of them is supposed to be-- and maybe it makes more sense that they both got lost the same way, but he couldn't have dared to count on it. He just hums, vague and low, affirmative and affectionate, something she'll probably feel more than here the way she's pressed against him. Yeah. He gets it.

It's another long moment before he can trust his voice to say anything.

"Took a wrong turn."

[dum_spiro]

She doesn't blame him for taking those few moments before speaking, because everything she needs to hear he's saying without words. Dizzy with relief, it'll be another good few moments before she can answer anyway, busy as she is thanking whatever broken pieces that thing called the Ingress has and kicking all those complicated, painful thoughts of keeping herself held back out of her head.

"A broken machine," she says, laughing now more than crying, because it would be a goddamn fluke like that that let them stay together instead of going back to the hell on Earth like the last two years never existed. Sure, they intended to go back and help, but it didn't go that way and she can't manage to be sorry for it. "We should go buy a lottery ticket, if they have one here."

Finally pulling back -- just enough to look him in the eye, smiling so much she thinks something might break, not caring enough to wipe at her wet face -- she changes her mind immediately and tugs him close again, for a kiss if he wants one, adding 'being in public' to the list of things she doesn't care a whit about.