driftfleet | first one to make that doctor who joke loses

declining for Health Reasons;

[It's not a vanity thing, is what Mikleo tells himself, as he ventures onto the first real land he's reached since joining the fleet and doesn't take one of the gas masks. The natives of the area don't even notice him, anyway, so it isn't like one was offered in the first place. Masks like that are kind of pointless when you don't even need to breathe, though it does take conscious effort for a while to not do it naturally. Growing up side by side with a human made it kind of a habit.

He does take one eventually, either because he's convinced to try it out or because he's curious about whether or not it makes a difference. (Spoiler: it does not.) For those without resonance, enjoy the mask floating around by itself through town. The residents totally are. (Spoiler: they are not.)]

nothing a little purification can't fix;

[Before long, the mask is recognized as a total bust. Super pointless, and it gets him too much unwanted attention, so off it goes. With it gone, he's free to fully experience what he's felt the moment his foot hit the natural ground- just how deep the sickness of this world is, how ingrained into both nature and culture it's become. He can feel it with every step, every gesture. He reaches out to the water buried under layers of chemicals and it practically burns. On the station, and on the ships, Mikleo had thought that the lack of connection to life had been bad, but here, it's even worse. The whole place is a mess of suffering, but the residents don't even feel it.

Determined to make a difference, Mikleo finds whatever water he can access - a well, a river, a lake, anything will do - summons his staff, and begins the purification process. It's not like purifying malevolence. This isn't Lailah's power, nor the Shepherd's. It's his, the very language of his element, ingrained in his very being. He reaches for the water again, more firmly this time, and he pulls it out, chemicals and all, drawing it into himself and letting the sludge fall away on the ground near where he works, then releasing the clean water before repeating the process. The piles of sludge he leaves alone, for people to notice and wonder about- let the mortals living here clean up the mess left behind. What's been done to this world is hideous, and he's geniunely angry about it.

It's endless work- the water continues to flow, and the pollution runs deep - but he'll be at it for a while. He can't not do this.]

the wildest of wildcards;

[He's not a total workaholic. Sometimes he takes breaks! Catch him sulking indoors or on the Huntress, or finding his inner-zen on the Iskaulit, where he will be slightly lessed pissed.]

[ When Elize isn't on the moon, she takes to visiting the other ships where she knows her friends are. One of them being the Huntress.

It's a nice reprieve from being on the polluted moon. Not the ideal place for a rest stop, but she'd been spending time on land to heal those taking part in the war games. Much of it took up her energy and she needed to stop before straining her mana lobe far too much.

She roams the halls of the ship, poking her head around (except in other people's private quarters) to find a familiar face or perhaps pick up on Mikleo's presence. ]

[Much as he doesn't like to admit it, even without having to breathe, the moon has been affecting him in little ways that force him back indoors. Even the multi-filtered water offered by the natives wasn't enough to make him feel sufficiently cleaned from the disgusting filth polluting the planet, so he'd returned to the Huntress for a good, solid bath.

He's just on his way back from there, a damp towel around his neck, when he comes upon a certain someone poking her head into his room.]

Elize?

[ She still can't see him, so hearing his voice suddenly causes her to gasp and jump up. ]

Mikleo?!

[ Fortunately her startled look quickly changes to a happy smile, though she's blushing a little from embarrassment. It's just her friend. No need to be afraid. ]

Mikleo, you're here!

Of course.

[He's used to people jumping at his presence - even Sorey does it sometimes, and he has the luxury of seeing seraphim - so Mikleo pays it no mind. At least he's got the towel to let her know where he is, even if it probably looks weird, floating in the air like that.]

Were you looking for me?

[ It feels like she's speaking to a hovering towel. At least she knows where to look. She's just trying to mentally picture the shape of person standing there, so it feels less weird.

She nods her head in response. ]

Yes. I just thought I'd come by for a visit.

I'm glad you did. Welcome aboard.

[Geez, he's not much of a host- guests are out of his usual experience. What would Sorey...?]

Ah- can I get you anything? A snack, or...

[He gestures vaguely. ...Wait, she can't see that. This is hard 8| ]

[ She doesn't need to see him gesturing to answer that question at least. ]

Thank you. If it's not too much trouble, I am a little hungry...

[ Elize is a little that's a big eater, but he offered a snack and not a full course meal. Spending time acting as a medic on the moon has been exhausting. ]

No trouble at all. Do you like ice cream? I've found that it does wonders for getting the taste of that air out of one's mouth. Or maybe you'd prefer something a little more filling?

A little more filling? Like what? I-I like ice cream too! Um...

[ Oops, her cheeks are flushing red again when she realizes how eager she sounds over food. She wants to loudly say that she desires both ice cream and whatever else he's offering.

But that's embarrassing... ]

[He blinks in surprise at that, then chuckles faintly. She's much more shy about it, but he's seen that sort of eagerness all too often in Sorey when it comes to food. There's no harm in being indulgent sometimes.]

Sweet cakes go very well with ice cream. If you don't mind giving me a hand, we can make some.

[People feel less guilty about accepting food when they contribute, he figures.]

[ Her eagerness gets her carried away and she easily grows flustered whenever someone notices how much of a little glutton she is. ]

I don't mind! I'd love to learn how to make sweet cakes.

[ Aside from the fact that she likes helping others, it's a good opportunity for her to learn. She'd been intending to learn how to prepare food on her own. ]

Well then, follow me to the kitchen.

[Follow the towel, anyway, although once they reach the kitchen he winds it neatly around his hair and puts an apron on, so she'll have a better idea of where exactly he is. It probably looks silly, but there's no helping that.]

They won't taste quite like they should, since the ingredients we get here are still limited, but do you have a particular flavour you prefer?

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[Okay, so Sorey gets why Mikleo left him behind to wander out into the wilderness, but it still kind of stings. Sure, just because he's susceptible to toxins because he has to drink and eat and breathe and all that human stuff might mean he's more likely to get sick, but that doesn't mean he should play backseat to this! It's important!

So once Sorey notices Mikleo missing on the Huntress he puts two and two together, gets a mask of his own and follows after his friend. It takes a little detective work but he finds out that a floating respirator mask headed out of town at the edge of the southern forest, so Sorey hoofs it in that direction and considers calling out Mikleo's true name in an effort to get his attention. Or maybe call him back to him. Although that'd probably piss him off if he's doing something important.

Thankfully Sorey doesn't have to resort to anything tricky (good, because he sucks at that) because Mikleo hasn't made it too far. His mask is abandoned on a nearby rock and Sorey sighs, coming up behind him and not quite liking the way his voice echoes within the confines of his own mask.]

I thought exploring new places was going to be our thing, not a solo act, [he reminds without any heat. He just climbs up onto the rock and picks up Mikleo's mask to hold in his lap for his friend. They should probably return this in good condition.]

[He'd felt Sorey's domain, of course, but he'd been so deeply focused on the task at hand that it hadn't registered at first. The purification process had gotten a little easier, admittedly, but it doesn't click until Sorey speaks. He jumps slightly, glancing back to find Sorey sitting on the rock.]

Sorey!

[He glances back at the floating liquid mid-spell, almost guilty, then finishes the separation, releasing both water and sludge where they belong.]

I wasn't exploring, not really... there was no need to drag you along.

[I didn't think it was safe.]

[Yeah, he knows. That's why he wanted to come along.

Sorey gestures toward Mikleo's cleansing process with his respirator mask.] You're trying to clean up the local water supply?

Trying being the key word.

[Mikleo makes a half-gesture as if to call up more of the water, start again... then changes his mind before he even starts, lowering his staff instead.]

It's like trying to pull salt out of a stew. There's so much of it, and it's mixed so deeply... I'm not sure anything I do will change.

It has been like this for two hundred years, [Sorey agrees, sliding down off the rock and hooking Mikleo's mask to his belt.] Did you want to try it with the armatus? Maybe we can use the healing spell, since it's water-based.

I'd wondered if it would be any better, but...

[He shrugs his shoulders. It's not like he resents the help - regardless of their many rivalries, Sorey is his lifelong partner in all things - but asking for it feels a little like admitting defeat. It's pretty obvious that he still has a lot of growing to do.]

Well, as long as you promise to keep your mask on, it's worth a shot.

[Sorey gets it, mostly. Being able to do something yourself without troubling others might go against the whole 'Shepard' thing, but that's for him. He's a human, and he's weak without seraphim assistance. Mikleo might be a master of all water some day. Struggling to purify a single water source has got to be incredibly frustrating for him, and Sorey's pretty sure he'll never be able to understand.

Well, maybe he'll understand a little better if they try it together.] Promise, I'll keep it on. If it doesn't work, I'll just keep you company. Deal?

Sounds fair. Deal.

[He suspects the armitized form will be either equally ineffective or marginally better, but Sorey has a habit of surprising everyone, even him, so he's curious about how it'll work. Even if they can expand the range of purification with the bow, it could make a big difference in the long run.

And-- okay. It isn't very enjoyable to work at it alone. Even if all he gets is company out of the deal, if Sorey is safe, Mikleo's glad to have him here.

He allows himself to shift into energy and enters Sorey's body, waiting for his partner to get things started. It's the Shepherd's power, after all.]

[Once armatized, seeing the world though his eyes and Mikleo's, Sorey can finally understand some of Mikleo's pain over the state of the water here. Malevolence seeping into the land back home had been bad enough, nauseating even, but even while armatized all Sorey could see was something that could be fixed. As the Shepard, with his friends, they could purify the land and the people within it until everything ran clean again.

This...is different. This is a physical ailment completely unlike malevolence. The water itself has been poisoned, desecrated. How must Dezel feel, walking around in air that is so toxic it can't even be breathed in safely?]

Mikleo...I'm sorry, [Sorey murmurs, staring at the sludge spread out before them. He clenches their fist and calls up the healing magic, charging the spell. He'll let Mikleo cast it; he'll know better how to utilize it, where to lay its magic properly but Sorey can put all his strength behind it so Mikleo can concentrate.] I didn't realize it was so awful for you.

[There's an air of reluctance in Mikleo's voice when he responds, guiding the spell where it's most needed. Not that it really matters much- the pollution is everywhere, so the purification is needed everywhere. All he can do is follow his instincts and help where the world is closest to dying.]

"It's not like I told you."

[He hadn't wanted to. What would be the point? Sorey worries. He worries about everyone he cares about, when they might be hurting or in trouble. It's who he is, and it's why he has so much difficulty following Lailah's rules sometimes. Telling him how toxic the world truly is, how it's crying from every drop of poison flowing through it, struggling to keep anything alive, how Mikleo can feel that pain like it's his own- when it can't be fixed the way malevolence can? He'd just fret needlessly, unable to resolve the problem. All it would do is hurt him.]

"You can feel it now, right? The water's... killing this world."

[And that's what freaks him out the most. Water is life. It's something nearly everything needs to survive. The pathways through which water travels in any land - the lakes, the rivers, the rain - is something that so many living beings rely on. But here, all it's doing is drawing the poison out from its core and spreading it further. The element he loves has been turned into a weapon, and it hates it.]

It's not the water's fault, [Sorey argues, because it almost feels like Mikleo's blaming himself. A seraph's relationship with their element is a sacred thing. Sorey knows that Mikleo's always been a little tender over the fact that water is so much more susceptible to corruption via malevolence, and has taken exceptional care to purify sea creatures who had been transformed into hellions because of it.

He feels responsible.

At the same time it's hard to deny what they're seeing, what they're feeling together. The water itself is a poison. Mikleo's slow purification won't get him very far.] Let's just see what we can do. [And Sorey lets go of the spell, releases it into Mikleo's aim and pushes out as much as he can with it, pouring his strength into it until he wilts a little to the back, surrenders control to Mikleo for a moment.]

[Mikleo doesn't answer at first, his instinctive reply too volatile, not something Sorey deserves. He's trying to help, to soothe ruffled feathers and tense nerves, and he's not the source or the target of Mikleo's frustrations. It wouldn't be fair.

He focuses on the spell instead, drawing upon Sorey's added power to spread the purification across the water's surface, like a stream of arrows specifically targeting the chemicals. It still runs so deep, knife wounds buried to the hilt, life bleeding out with no known way to stop it. What they're doing is a tiny balm. Just a placebo for a water seraph who can't come to terms with his own helplessness.]

"No. It's not the water's fault."

[While the control is still his, he moves their shared body and crouches down, resting their hand against the damp ground at the water's edge. He can feel the pulse of the world around them, like a heartbeat, weak and thready, aching. That pain is practically contagious, but it takes a long moment before he can force himself to move away. It's fuel, it's incentive to keep going despite the futility. That cry of help, help, dying is one he hasn't stopped hearing since they arrived, and it's getting louder by the day.

Yeah, he knows whose fault this is.]

Mikleo | OTA

wildcardddd on the Huntress!

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