Gumball Wishes and Taxicab Dreams

[thespaceopera]

[On today's episode of the Drift Fleet:

The cargo holds are full of mysterious crates! The crews are filling beyond capacity with new faces! Official alerts are informing the passengers that they are signed to contracts that they've never agreed to! They are docking at the dazzling FS Starlight, but are flat broke!

What are they going to do!? Stay tuned to find out!


...Meaning, this is a kickoff mingle for you all to enjoy the beginning of the latest plot setting. This is a convenient place to start threads relating to the first week of the event-- meeting new crewmembers, reacting to the mysterious cargo, arriving on the station and discovering that you're all broke, etc.

Tag around, start whatever you'd like, have fun. And, as always, feel free to make your own posts and mingles from here on in, as this will be the only mod-posted one for this event!]

Comments

D.

[monolike]

[When Elize wakes up she'll find Sorey sitting nearby, his dog-eared and bookmarked copy of the Celestial Record in his lap and his white cloak draped over Elize and her stuffed animal. She'd looked really tired and he hadn't wanted to move her; he likes reading, so he's got no problem waiting for her to wake up.]

[princessia]

[ With the cloak draped over her, she stirs slightly, dreaming that she's still on her old ship, the Huntress. Cullen would always tuck her in or put a blanket over her whenever she accidentally fell asleep on her couch. She's sleeping so comfortably, Sorey may be able to get through several pages of his book before she finally opens her eyes.

She shifts around underneath the cloak and stares up at Sorey. She's awake now, but looking dazed. ]

[monolike]

[...kiddo are you still asleep]

Morning, [Sorey says, holding his place with his finger.] Or...whatever time it is. Did you sleep okay?

[princessia]

Hm? Sorey?

[ Half-asleep. Still feeling groggy, she sits up and rubs her eyes with the back of her hand. ]

I did.

[ She did have a good dream. Though, it's painful thinking about what she dreamed of now. As she looks down, she finally notices the cloak, which has slipped off and onto her lap now that she's sitting up. A bit of a delayed reaction. ]

...Were you here very long?

[monolike]

Nah. Well- actually, I lost track of time. [He grins sheepishly as he picks up his book.] I could read this all day, so I'm not really sure how long I've been here.

Ah, but don't worry! It was really peaceful. I enjoyed myself.

[princessia]

[ She tilts her head with curiosity and interest, eyes now on the book. ]

Is it a good story?

[monolike]

[uh oh]

It's the best. [Sorey practically glows as he scoots closer to Elize to show her the Record, flipping through the pages and turning his notes and inserts carefully to avoid scattering them.] Anyone who's ever read this back home wants to be an explorer because of it. It details a lot of legends that were lost over time, and talks about so many wonderful places that exist as ruins and glorious landmarks now, like gigantic frozen falls in the north and beautiful coral reefs in the south. It's pretty much the story of my world, honestly.

[princessia]

[ Neeeeeeeeeerddddd...?

She watches as he flips through the pages, squinting at the text. Of course she can't read any of that. ]

Does it talk about the Lords of the Land?

[ Hear that? She clearly remembers what they talked about the first time! ]

[monolike]

[nerd

Her question makes him perk up impossibly more and he turns a few pages and points before sliding the book over for her to take, should she so desire.] It does! It specifically talks about the blessings seraphim can extend over an area, which is called a domain. Usually it's protection against malevolence but if the seraph is powerful, it can do so much more. It can influence farming, the weather, the animals and livestock and even forbid entry to unwanted beings.

[princessia]

[ Elize accepts the book and sets it on her lap, slowly turning the pages with the utmost care. Hopefully there are some pictures in here, especially since she can't read any of text. She has plenty of interest in it that it's enough of a distraction to keep her from thinking about the dream she had earlier, at least. He can test her on this later and she'd remember. ]

...That reminds me of the spirit climes in Rieze Maxia. Sort of.

[ Part of it anyway. ]

[monolike]

[There are a lot of diagrams at least, drawings of old carvings and ancient ruins along with all the text. Sorey's also added his own notes and drawings, though his own drawings are much less skilled.]

Does it? What are spirit climes like? Does it have to do with the symbiotic relationship between them and humans you mentioned before?

[princessia]

Th-they're...! Um...

[ She can feel her cheeks heating up. After some stammering, her expression turns into a small awkward smile. She knows this. This is a great opportunity to show off what she learns from Jude, Milla, and Rowen. ]

The power of spirits composes the entire natural world of Rieze Maxia. "Spirit clime" refers to the balance of spirit power. When that power is out of balance, nature can become pole-uh-rised [ "polarized"... ] in one direction.

[ She speaks slowly and stumbles over certain words. More like she's showing off her parroting skills. What does "polarized" even mean... ]

[monolike]

Oh wow, you're right. That does sound like a seraph's blessing.

So if I'm understanding you right, spirit climes are affected if the spirits in the area are either too active or not active enough? Does it make it rain more often or something?

[princessia]

Um, yes...

[ If Jude were here, she feels like the two of them would get along well.

She doesn't sound very sure of herself, but with all the places she traveled to, it sounds right. She can give him a few examples. ]

Kanbalar is always cold and snowy. In Fennmont, it's always night...

[monolike]

It’s always night? Wow… The spirits in your world must be pretty powerful. Back home, seraphim can affect the weather if they’re particularly strong, but none of them can stop the sun. That’s amazing. [Sorey brightens and sits up a little straighter, looking down at Elize with wonder.] You sure know a lot for being so young. That’s really cool!

[princessia]

My friends have been teaching me about our world. Here, I've been learning a lot about other worlds too. It's fun.

[ She has heard plenty about Thedas especially.

Her cheeks turn redder, but now she has a proud smile to accompany that blush. ]

[monolike]

I'm definitely with you there. [Learning about new worlds is just as exciting as learning more about his own.] Have you been to the library yet? There are so many books about other worlds!

[princessia]

[ A headshake. ]

Not yet. Do you think they have something about Rieze Maxia there? Or Thedas?

[ Maybe she could figure out the name of the Rieze Maxian flower in her room. Or find a picture of a nug or a nugalope. ]

[monolike]

I don't remember seeing anything, but the library's huge. I might've just overlooked it.

Do you wanna go check with me?

[princessia]

Okay! Let's go!

[ She's about to stand up, until she remembers that his cloak is still partially draped over her lap. She carefully gathers it up in her arms and holds it up to him. ]

Oh, I should return this first. Thank you.

[monolike]

You're welcome! [Sorey grins and pushes himself up, flapping out his cloak before fastening it back around his shoulders and offering a hand to help her up.] Let's go solve some mysteries together.

[princessia]

Mysteries? Okay.

[ Elize scoops up her stuffed animal with her free arm, then takes his hand to pull herself up. Once she's standing though, she doesn't let go of his hand. ]

We're a team!

[monolike]

[guh

Well then BY GODS AND GODDESSES Sorey is gonna hold this little girl's hand (and probably swing it because he fidgets a lot) as they head to the library! SHE IS GONNA BE HAPPY AND KEEP SMILING FOREVER DAMN IT!]

You got it! Team World Literature Detectives! [that's sorta long]

[princessia]

[ When he starts swinging their arms, she energetically goes along with the rhythm. She likes arm swinging! Cullen sometimes swung arms with her when she held his hand. Cole, too, when they first met. ]

That's a good name. [ She can remember a long name. ] It sounds really official and important!

[monolike]

[geez what a sweet kid. she opens right up once she starts feeling more comfortable, doesn't she? all she needs is a little patience and attention.] Then we'll totally have to get it put on some matching badges or something. Make it look super official and important.