driftfleet | red fishies

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red fishies

Who: The Red Fish crew, and any trespassers
Broadcast: Probably not
Action: Aboard the SS Red Fish, and the planet's surface
When: For the remainder of the month

[Red Fish is the party ship! yeeeeah!

...no, I lied. really, does anyone on this ship know how to have fun at all? like, really have fun? does anyone here gamble or go dancing or party all night long?

maybe the Red Fish just have fun in unconventional ways-- like reading, or sipping tea, or constructively beating the crap out of each other.

who needs a worlds-famous casino station when you have simple joys like that, right?]

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[THEY TOTALLY KNOW HOW TO HAVE FUN, LOOK AT HOW MUCH FUN THEY'RE HAVING.]

A.

[Zhas has suggested an expedition out into the spooky evil magical forest, and you're part of it, now! are you leading? exploring? helping navigate? in awe of the schools of luminescent flying wildlife and coral-lichen? quietly freaking out about the bizarre, tempting call that seeps through the very air you're breathing? it's probably best to stay in a group, but feel free to split off into pairs if that's easier for threading.]

B.

[alternatively, everyone has stopped in a clearing for a moment. sitting around, catching their breath, maybe trying to decide if they should head back for the day, or press on for a little bit longer. it's a moment of rest! just ignore the cat-sized rodents that are scurrying around at the edge of the camp. it's probably fine.]

[OH YES, SO MUCH FUN IS BEING HAD.]

[She leaves the decision to continue or head back in the hands of the others, although if asked she will definitely cast her vote to leaving. They've done enough as far as she's concerned. The last thing Cassandra wants is a repeat of the night out with Mal when she knows luck had just as much to do with with their survival and escape from the woods as anything else.]

[Cassandra remains on the periphery of the camp, however, watching the rodents as they scurry about. While she'd much rather turn back and leave, she will remain so long as the crew does. She stays standing, one foot resting on a root. She does keep one ear attentive to the conversation at the heart of the camp, but she's listening for beyond the edge of their camp, for any sign of predators.]

[thus far, Zhas doesn't like Cassandra much as a person, but he does like her as an asset. he would never once imply (intentionally, anyway) that she's not good at what she does. her being the unspoken lookout is reassurance enough to let him actually focus on talking with the others and not glance, paranoid, over at the bushes every ten seconds.

she can watch him have a length "conversation" with Coil, the both of them speaking with that hand-gesture language they know. Coil seems antsy, and Zhas only frowns more and more as their little talk goes on.

eventually, Zhas breaks from that to come speak with Cassandra. his eyes seem especially glowy, down here. his tone is pretty much the same, unfriendly monotone as ever.]

Is there anything like this place on your world.

[Cassandra doesn't mind Zhas' presence. While she can't say that she completely trusts him necessarily, he is formidable by his own right. He can be counted on that much and it does go a long way with Cassandra. She glances over at him as he comes to join her over by the edge of their camp.]

There are elven ruins like this in my world. They have been long-since forgotten by most, including the Dalish. They are difficult to find and usually not safe to enter because of their physical state.

[Cassandra had made the offer to the Inquisitor not to stay when they were investigating the ruins with the Arbor Wilds for a reason. It had once been a deeply sacred place to them and there was clearly something still there that was immortal, timeless and beyond them. It feels similar here, but somehow far more threatened to outsiders. Perhaps they were less threatened there because they weren't the only outsiders at the time in the Wilds.]

But a few of their sacred sites are still dangerous because they are being watched and protected by their original guardians and inhabitants. They would keep any outsiders out and do not even recognize the Dalish as their own.

[Syeira may have defaulted into taking the lead here. This is kind of her element, and she moves over the terrain, roots, rocks and all, like it's flat land. She can see in the darker parts like it's bright daylight, and she knows exactly where they left the ship at all times.

Though part of this initiative is habit, there's also that strange...calling that feels like it's tugging at her. Specifically, at the Taint. She might be taking a farther lead on the group sometimes, being distracted by that pull.]

[and Coil breaking away from the rest of the party to attempt to keep up with Syeira's ranging has a little bit to do with the fact that he feels like he should. when him and Zhas set out in their work, that is his usual role in their little party of two. so, having some interloper do his job for him just doesn't seem right.

and that really is only part of it, though. the rest is him following that gut-deep pull that tugs on him constantly, asking him to go farther into the trees.

so, Syeira has a little shadow tailing along behind her. he might only be able to see a little bit better in the dark than a normal human, but he's far more quiet and careful to make up for it. really, it's his one grey eye in the dark--gleaming more brightly with how saturated in energy he is right now--that gives him away the most.]

[Syeira is pretty good at getting a feel for people. But Coil is still largely a mystery. It's mostly because she can't understand him if he attempts to communicate with her, and that it feels wrong to go to Nunnally and pump her for information. Long term development of any kind of relationship, be it positive or negative, is just something she's never had to experience before. So it's a little weird for her.

So when she notices Coil is shadowing her, she decides to just let that happen and see what is what. She doesn't try to challenge his abilities by going over more difficult paths than necessary, nor does she baby him by finding the smoothest paths. If he wants to follow her, then he'll follow her. Maybe she'll learn something.]

[he continues to follow, but really only half of his focus is on her. he keeps track of where she is, watches what paths she chooses over the uneven land, but the rest of his attention is hungrily pinning to every detail around him that happens to catch his eye.

if anything, following her is just giving him an excuse to go farther. Zhas might stop him or try to call him back, but... well. out of sight, out of mind.

and while he doesn't seem to be terribly at home in the deep wild, or have some other obvious goal here, he is at least half-decent at makeshift ranging. he even stops abruptly a few times to stoop down and peer at low-growing plants in the dark, picking off samples of leaves, sometimes rubbing them between his fingers to see what kind of sap and smell they give off.]

[Zhas is happy to let Syeira (and occasionally Coil) stay in the lead, because forests are not his favorite place to be. he's trained for concrete and flat surfaces. industrial grating, vents, city rooftops. the vampires that live out in the wild don't really cause a ruckus that warrant their immediate extermination--and when he does go out there, he prefers to hunt them in plains and the moors. so he's not all about this... rooted, uneven, suffocating, trees thing.

he also finds it easier to keep an eye on both of them when he's behind them. he doesn't much trust either of them to not go gallivanting off into the enchanted forest at any moment. mages, and all. or whatever she said she was.

when she finally gets too far ahead, he whistles--a sharp, sudden sound that carries much further than you'd expect from someone who normally barely makes a sound. attention over here, please.]

[The whistle does what it's supposed to; catch her attention immediately. Her head whips around as she comes to a full stop and looks back. She is...very far ahead of them. And while normally, she would feel sheepish about getting so distracted, right now she's thinking about how hard it would be for Zhas to whistle at her, like a stray dog, if she ripped his tongue out.

It's that keenly violent thought that has her stand right where she is, and wait for the group to catch up. It gives her time to take a few deep breathes and shove down the blood thirsty thoughts. It's not at all easy. That calling is constantly tugging at her.]

[when the group catches up to her, Zhas gestures at Coil, specifically--tells him to go on up ahead, in that hand-gesture language of theirs. he sticks closer to Syeira, for a moment.

he's not concerned about her, specifically, but he is concerned about what this forest might be doing to her. he knows Coil's brand of trouble better than he knows hers. he leans in enough to keep his gruff voice at least considerately quiet.]

What does it feel like.

[he's not being tugged in the same way that she is, but... his eyes do seem particularly glowy, in here.]

[ She eyes that hand gesture language that Zhas and Coil seem to share. She's going to figure it out, sooner or later.

But at the moment, she tries to check her speed so she doesn't start out pacing Zhas. She's using a spell to smooth things out for her, so despite his being taller, she can potentially double his pace even at a slower speed. It helps that he's started talking to her. Conversation will keep her from getting distracted.]

Strange. Like something is trying to coax the Taint out to the surface. Not necessarily Evil though.

[he doesn't understand her ability to walk so well here... he gets that there's magic at work, but it doesn't make much sense to his eyes. he tries not to be distracted by it, also using the words to stay focused.]

Taint. [obviously meant to be a question, with the way he tilts his head a little. has she explained this yet? briefly, maybe...]

The part of me that comes from my father. The Taint of Bhaal.

[She keeps her voice low because she hasn't really told everyone the same amount about herself. She'll get there. She will. But having told Zhas and Cassandra at least some of it, she feels more secure in taking her time. They'd be the ones to deal with her should something...unfortunate happen anyway.]

I ignore it or repress it most of the time. It's just harder right now.

[he considers this, for a moment, stepping over a tangle of roots, eyeing the dimly-lit path ahead of them.]

Hm.

[...his opinion is poignant and eloquent, as usual.]

You wanna vague that up a little for me? I'm somewhat overwhelmed by your specificity.

[There's a little sass happening here. But it's at least good natured.]

[well, he assumes that the "Taint" is more or less an urge to destroy and murder things, given her background. vampires have a similar, rampantly-spread impulse. the Berserker line comes to mind.

so if she wants his thoughts, well. can't say she didn't ask for it.]

If you go crazy, I'll kill you.

[strangely, this is not the first time he's promised this to a crewmate.]

I appreciate that.

[ She's serious.]

But it's not really an issue of sanity. More of morality versus instinct. The Taint doesn't make me mindless. It makes me not care that you're my friend.

[he narrows his eyes at her--though, honestly, it's hard to tell if that's because of the threat of losing morality, or the fact that she called him her friend.]

Vampires experience a similar degradation over time.

[--oh, nevermind, it might actually be the morality this time.]

[The fact that he didn't argue, in Sye's opinion, means he doesn't disagree.]

Really? That seems a little unfair. The undead on Toril just start off evil. Apparently, directly in proportion to how good they were in life.

Hrm.

[he lowers his eyes back down to the path. he doesn't like it. any of it. he isn't sure how to explain what's bothering him, so he tries again--]

Don't run off.

[Oddly that makes her feel comforted, a little calmer. She smiles at little at him, gives him the gentlest punch to the arm.]

Okay. You're the boss.

[he, in return, gives her a much tougher punch. he'll move on pretty fast after that, though--he doesn't want to stick around next to her and start getting worried or nervous or something.]

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red fishies

SUPER-FUN CAMPING TRIP OK

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