Fourteenth Blight - video and action

[bryces_pup]

Who: Is that... yep, that's Riona. A bitty Riona. And you, you poor schmuck
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Also yes
When: April 14th through April 21st (aka drift week)

Video - broadcasting from the Iskaulit

[When the camera turns on, it initially faces the ceiling. There's some chatter in the background, but it's not easily made out. A moment later, Kiter the mabari's large face comes into view. He looks rather worried, whining as he noses the device.]

What are you doing? [It's the voice of a young girl that carries over. Footsteps approach, and Kiter steps back as the camera gets picked up.] What is this odd thing? [Eventually, whoever is playing with the device turns the camera so it's facing her.

It's Riona, no doubt, but she looks a tad... different. Like, twenty-years-younger different. She tilts her head curiously at the device.] Some kind of metal, but it's so... shiny. Well, whatever it is, I'm keeping it. Whoever left it on the floor obviously didn't care much for it.

[Kiter barks, trying to communicate... something or other.]

Hm? What are you trying to say, boy? I assume you're a boy? [He yips.] Boy it is. I'll have to think of a name for you. Of course, you might have one already, but I don't see your master about. It'd be nice to find SOMEONE to speak with and ask them they return me home. I don't know where we are, but my father will find me soon enough, and I assure your master that there'll be consequences. [Despite only being 12 at most, Riona tries to hold herself up high and haughty. If one listens closely, however, they may hear the fear in her voice.] Go get him and bring him here. I want to go home, and I'm going home now.

[Kiter whines again, clearly unsure as to what to do here. Help a poor dog out?]

Action - On the Iskaulit

[There's a child on the loose on the Iskaulit, tailed by a concerned looking war hound.

Riona darts about the ship, running down the halls, making the mabari chase after her. There's so much to do and see! And she's young and curious, so when she tires out a bit of running around like a little maniac and running into people, she sets off to explore. There are three areas in particular that interest her:

The gardens. Many of the plants look unfamiliar to her, and she can be found checking them out, poking and pulling them. At one point, she pulls an entire plant loose by mistake, her eyes wide as she realizes it. Glancing around - hoping no one's around - she quick tosses it off to the side and out of sight. No one will notice at all, right??

The pool. Growing up near the sea, Riona learned to swim early. The idea of a pool baffles her a bit: it's clearly not a natural lake, but the water looks so clear (and why does it smell so funny?). But as a girl, she hardly concerns herself with that question for long. With a laugh, she throws off caution and jumps into the water, clothes and all. Hey, she doesn't have a suit and she's not about to go looking for one. She does what a child does and swims and splashes around. And because she's a little shit, if she spots you, she'll snicker before splashing some water at you.

The Space Bar/Malum. Taverns are no place for children, but Riona doesn't know where else to go. She's found more people here then elsewhere, and she wants answers.]

Excuse me. [Look down and you'll find her staring intently at you.] I need to be escorted back to Highever. My father's the teyrn. I have no coin on me, but he'll surely pay you when I get back. [If they've been watching her, they'll know they're not the first person she's asked since arriving in the bar. But she's persistent if nothing else.] Oh, and don't mind the mabari. I think he's supposed to be guarding me, but he's doing a terrible job.

[Kiter, sitting a few paces away from her, huffs in offense.]

Tell me when you're ready to leave.

Action - On the Blue Fish

[At some point she comes back - or gets dragged back - to the Blue Fish. Her reign of terror gets contained, but the ship might not be too glad for it for long.

Riona pries and snoops everywhere, getting into the guns and playing with them. At one point, she accidentally fires one by mistake. Luckily it hits a wall and nothing else, but she quickly puts the gun down and puts on her best innocent face.]

It went off on its own! I swear! [Uh huh.

Of course, Riona still has her pilot augment, even if she's not quite... mature enough at the moment to handle it. Not good. She does eventually find the pilot seat and sits in it.]

Oh! What does this do? [The augment guides her still, helping her grab the controls and flip the right switches. But instead of just, you know, guiding the ship, she decides to yank on the controls as hard as she can. The ship swerves to the side. Whoops, hope you weren't doing anything too important, like making a meal or sleeping. Riona nearly falls out of her seat as well, but she's far too entertained to care. Laughing hysterically, she yanks it in the other direction. This is grand fun, she decides. The ship's in for a joyride.

Someone might want to get her away from the pilot controls. Granted they can stay upright long enough to get to her...]

((OOC: as I'm sure you've guessed, Ri's been glitched to de-age to about the age of 12 for a week. Each header has mini prompts within, but you're also free to put in your own prompt if you'd like!))

Comments

Malum

[tallasaking]

[Tyrion had seen Riona on the feed - younger Riona but he thought that her husband had this handled ... apparently not. Which is why he is looking at a small Riona who is looking back up at him with that Gleam in her eye, and a grumpy looking Kiter at her side. He exhales, and then climbs down from his stool, coming around so Riona has to look down at him.]

Hello Riona, I am afraid that ... is not possible.

[Best to be direct with young Riona as he was with older Riona. He does hold out his hand to Kiter, so he can come and get some comfort from an old friend.]

[bryces_pup]

[There's a struggle between her indignant anger at his refusal - or his inability to if he's to be believed - and confusion over how he knows her name.]

How do you know my name? And why not? If you can't, who can?

[Kiter pushes his head against Tyrion's hand, glad for the comfort. The poor dog's exasperated and he's glad to have another familiar face helping him deal with his suddenly younger mistress.]

[tallasaking]

[He folded his arms behind him for a moment, giving her a considering look.]

I know your name because when you are older, we shall be very good friends.

[He stroked Kiter's ears, smiling at the mabari.]

[bryces_pup]

That... doesn't make any sense. How can you know me when I'm older? You're speaking madness.

[Riona takes a step back from him, a little unnerved.]

All dwarves so strange? Are you one of the ones from Orzammar, the city underground? I heard they're all a bit odd, but not like this.

Halls

[whatisright]

[Justice doesn't bother to respond to the network post, instead just going straight to the Iskaulit. He can track Riona--her presence is still recognizable even with the shift of age--and he thinks it's best that a friend go find her. She is confused and lost, and she's helped him many times when he was the same.

Luckily, he doesn't look like a corpse anymore. He thinks that that might have been alarming. He finds her in the hall, running with Kiter at her heels, and he catches her by the shoulders just before she crashes into him.]

Riona.

[She is remarkably tiny like this. Even tinier than usual.] You should be more cautious when you run.

[bryces_pup]

[The man that steps in front of her interests her hardly none. There'll be a time to ask questions, but right now she wants to have fun. Her parents aren't around, and this is a golden opportunity she can't pass up.

Of course she realizes belatedly she's running too fast to stop and she's gonna smack right into him. But he grabs her and stops her, and there's a moment of wide-eyed panic before she settles. But wait-]

Who are you? How do you know my name? [She steps back as much as she can.] Are you from the castle? I don't recognize you. [Suspicious squiiiiiint]

[whatisright]

I am not from the castle. I know your name because you told it to me.

[He lets go of her shoulders, allowing her freedom to leave if she wishes it, though he intends to follow her if she does. He wants to be sure that she is okay at a time when she doesn't quite know where she is.]

You do not remember me now. You may call me Justice.

[Perhaps most people would find it disturbing to see their friend in a state of not remembering them, but for Justice, it's familiar. Spirits forget often. He trusts that she will remember him in due time--if she doesn't, then he is ready to make new memories with her.]

Blue Fish

[alwayscomeback]

[This is how he's going to get his first grey hair, he is absolutely sure of it. Cut down in his prime. People will shake their heads and say how tragic it all was. So sad.

Sokka stumbles as the ship lurches to once side, trying to scramble his way towards the pilots sat, attempting to grab the steering wheel from here. ]

How about we don't crash the ship and die horribly in the vacuum of space today, okay?

[bryces_pup]

[Welcome to your twenties, Sokka. That's when the grays start.]

But it's fun! And maybe I can go home with this!

[Riona makes a face at him, trying to push him away while yanking on the steering wheel.]

[alwayscomeback]

[It ABSOLUTELY IS. ]

I...well, it doesn't really work that way so if you'd just-

[He tries to wrestle it away. ]

I'm serious about the crashing and dying thing, you know! It could actually happen!

blue fish.

[rebuildyourruins]

[--what? No, seriously, what? No one uses the guns on the ship, as far as Thor knows. It suits him just fine, since it means he doesn't need to take care of them much. But someone's just fired a shot off inside.

So Riona will find the doorway suddenly occupied by all of Thor's considerable size as he barges in to see what's happening. The fact that it's a young girl brings him up short for a moment - only for her to protest her innocence.]

Oh did it? Then did it also climb off the wall rack by itself?

[Because it sure isn't there now, kiddy.]

[bryces_pup]

[Hoo boy, what a big guy. But Riona refuses to be intimidated. She's not a little girl anymore, thank you very much. She's nearly grown! And she will not be cowed, no matter the size.]

I found it on the floor. Someone must have dropped it.

[rebuildyourruins]

I think you dropped it.

[She looks... familiar, but the shuffle already happened this week. Unless he's just missed someone new coming aboard. He walks past Riona to take up the gun and replace it in the racks.]

What are you doing in here anyway?

Gardens

[apurrstate]

[One day at a time. Today, he was tending both his plants in the greenhouse and also checking in on the plants in the Garden in case the people who usually took care of it were either in one of those long sleeps or simply gone once more. What he didn't expect today was for some poor, unearthed plant to come sailing over and land near the end of the row.]

What in the Void..?

[Had someone's animal gotten into the plants? That fox that had once gotten into his plants ages ago, maybe? But, no, as he got closer, leaning over to pick up the poor plant, he noticed the small culprit, though it didn't immediately register that she had a mabari or that her eyes and curls were very familiar or that the combination of girl and dog should clue him in pretty quickly on what was going on. Instead, all he could initially think was 'Children.']

Did you remove this plant?

[bryces_pup]

[Riona freezes. Blast, someone WAS in here. She slowly turns towards Anders, who holds her crime right in his hand. Even she knows there's not much getting out of this.]

No...?

[From beside her, Kiter huffs. Yes she absolutely did.]

[apurrstate]

[Oh that lie was boldfaced and brightly colored as far as Anders was concerned. One of those child-lies where you think if you deny it the issue might magically vanish. The huff of the mabari behind her drew his attention and everything started to click together. Only one person had a mabari in the fleet these days...]

Right...of course not. I'm sure an angel such as yourself wouldn't have done such a thing and would be more than happy to help me put the poor thing back to try and save it from the culprit's cruelty.

[He was laying it on thick and he didn't care.]

You and your war dog.

[He nodded to Kiter and tried to catch the dog's eye to communicate as best he could that he understood what was going on here. He'd owe the dog a treat for pretending not to know him, but he remembered how weird it was to have people tell him they knew him and how angry he'd gotten at Wolfe for trying to 'protect' him while he was glitched. He would try not to do the same to Riona.]

Pool

[actually112]

[Aang has been stressed out 24/7 since they started drifting, unhappy to be trapped in ships, especially when they're hurtling through space in a direction none of them can control. Being forced into a confined space with everyone else has never gone well in an arena.

Buuuuut there's only so long he can go being vigilant and hiding in trees before he gets unbelievably bored. When he sees an unfamiliar child around his age going to the pool, he follows her, curious to meet more people close to his age. Hey, at least it looks like the pool isn't full of acid or something.

And as she splashes him, he laughs, instinctively shielding his face.] Hey!

[He can't let this attack go unanswered. The water has spattered his skin and clothes, but he just bends the liquid from the fabric, allowing the blobs of water to float in the air before he splashes them back at her with a smile.]

[bryces_pup]

[Another kid is a welcome sight. Hopefully he won't drone on at her like the adults. Given the way he reacts to the splashing, she's hopeful.

But she pauses, watching wide-eyed as he bends the liquid. By the time she realizes what's about to happen, it's too late. The water splashes her right back, and she sputters at the unexpected attack.]

How did you do that? Are you a mage?

[actually112]

We call it bending where I come from, but you could call me a mage. [Aang has learned that no one else has benders in their world, so he rolls with whatever terms they use for powers.

One would think that all that time in the arenas would dim his tendency to brazenly show off, but one would be wrong. He crouches by the edge of the pool, out of arm's reach but close enough to give the new girl a wide grin.]

You want to see something really cool?

Blue Fish

[reluctantbastard]

[Alistair hears Kiter making noises that generally means he's distressed. And when a mabari is distressed, then things are bad. He's not sure that he likes that, but there's the small, high voice of someone he's not heard before.

And there weren't any real new people to join the Blue Fish with this latest shuffle.

When he gets to the doorway of the large bedroom he shares with Riona, the king just...stops. And stares.

There's a girl, a literal girl, in their room, and Kiter is following her around with a long-suffering expression on his doggie face, like when Morrigan used to yell at him. But that face is familiar, that regal bearing as she meanders.]

Riona? Is that you?

[bryces_pup]

[Kiter is, in fact, following Riona around. At the moment he's making sure she doesn't get into anything too bad as she wanders around the room. Riona's nosy, poking into drawers and inspecting shelves, holding up objects and wondering what they are.

She freezes when she hears her name. There's a grown man staring at her, yet another person who somehow knows her but she doesn't recognize.]

And yet another grown up who says they know me. I don't know you. Really, this is getting [Scary. Unnerving. Kind of creepy] ridiculous.

[reluctantbastard]

I am... [He takes a deep breath before he lets out a bit of a sobbing cry. He's handled everything pretty well so far, he thinks. But there's nothing to really prepare him for something so cruel.

As if their age gap wasn't questionable enough as it was.] My name is Alistair. I'm [your future-past husband... your king...an idiot that's about to sleep on a couch somewhere after he figures out just how much to drink to actually get drunk enough to pass out or kill a way to find the persons responsible for this.] I'm the son of King Maric and a friend of your brother, Fergus.

[There. All true.]

What are you doing in here?

garden

[samahl]

[The idea of children on the fleet still bothers Cyril deeply, but he isn't about the show that to one of them. So instead he seems amused by the whole 'plants mysteriously flying around' scene.

He comes to the garden to center himself, and now he's happy for a bit of a distraction. He is gentle as he approaches, he doesn't want to scare her.]

If the roots are intact we can try to re-plant that? If you'd like.

[His head tilts a bit as he takes in more of the scene and notices the mabari.] Is that Kiter? [The presence of the war hound makes him consider the child a bit closer, but it also means he has to give her space.

Human children from Thedas can be told all sorts of things about the Dalish. He needs to be as non-threatening as possible as he gauges how she's going to respond to him.

He'll probably realize just who she is soon enough, though.]

[bryces_pup]

[Riona nearly jumps, not having seen Cyril in the garden before now. Quickly she strikes up the most innocent pose and face she can think of. Plausible deniability's easier to pull off if you look the part, right?]

Iiiii don't know how it got out, but is that possible, once it's out of the ground?

[She didn't learn much about gardening in her studies, sadly.]

The mabari? I don't know who he is. Or whom he belongs to. He's just been following me around for awhile and I don't know why.

[Kiter walks up to Cyril, woofing lightly in greeting. Yep, it's him. Hi. This is his life now: following a mini Riona around and trying to keep her out of trouble.]

[samahl]

[Cyril pats Kiter with his good hand and then considers Riona carefully. He's starting to realize what may have happened and wants to make sure that Kiter doesn't have to worry too much.]

Oh yes. As long as even a small bit of the root is intact, there's a chance. Though you have to do it before the roots dry out.

[He goes to pick up the plant and examine it.]

To give it the best chance, we should replant it right away. It works better with more than one hand, though, so I'll need your help if you don't mind?