driftfleet | i'm going on hiatus so taako's going on forced vacay!

Entry tags:

i'm going on hiatus so taako's going on forced vacay!

Who: Taako and everyone who will want to beat his ass for being dumb
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Iskaulit, later First Breath
When: Forward dated to December 27th. I'm going on hiatus from the 24th to the 5th so Taako will be resting from his massive goof-up until then!

Iskaulit: Late Night
This planet was the perfect location. After hearing that they rarely came to such singing worlds, Taako knew he couldn't wait in case his work was discovered or destroyed in the interim. After all the festivities had wound down and he'd finished making his rounds and showing his face where he was needed, Taako retreated to the Iskaulit, to a room down in the depths that he'd excavated out of the bowels of the ship. It was deep enough that if things went wrong - not that they would because this was Taako after all, he wasn't an amateur, but if they went wrong - no one else would be caught up in the wayward magical energies. He had a multitude of books filled with notes and information gleaned from the library and from conversations with people here and an endless supply of magic as long as he kept drinking that glowing blue water. And, just in case, before he'd sealed himself up in here, he'd sent Lup a package with a copy of all his notes. If anyone could figure this out if he failed, it'd be her.

He'd checked and rechecked his diagrams as he drew the magic circles across every surface in his square room, carving them into the very walls and filling them in slowly and painstakingly with the right color stone. The more stable the circles, the more stable the magic - something he'd gleaned from Belthazar's notebook. He'd measured and remeasured and tried his best to get the surface of the circular gem beneath his feet to be an absolute perfect circle. And finally, here he was, ready wth every component and piece in place. If this worked - and it would, natch, it was him, it would work - he'd have a window into his Plane and vice versa. If the Raven Queen could seize on that moment to push some power through, it would mean Kravitz would be able to rip a hole out of this place. And if that didn't work, maybe Taako could get a message to Magnus or Merle or-- no, let's be real, he'd contact Angus because he was probably the only capable smart person he knew and he wasn't sure if he trusted the Director anymore, if he ever did. Angus would figure this out or Kravitz would rip in and out of this plane, and they'd all be home again easy peasy.

Taako took a deep breath, pressed his hands against the smooth gem beneath him, and concentrated. "Here goes nothing."

The water he'd pulled up and placed at strategic points around the room glowed like beacons, the burn of power in his stomach grew warmer, and the lines of his diagrams jumped to life like a blinding fire. Wind pulled at Taako's hair and clothes, whipping them around as he channeled all his energy into the magic circle and the gem. The world was filled with buzzing, magnificent power, and Taako pressed it, pushed it, and formed it to his will. He could feel things clicking into place, and he could feel the universe press back against him, an overwhelming force, resisting his will, resisting the change. But Taako was nothing if not stubborn, and the arcane magics puffed like glowing mists from his lips as he forced the world to listen to him and it did - for a brief, brilliant moment.

And, like some sort of cruel joke, the gem beneath him cracked in a grim mocking smile and Taako saw all his hard work unravel in slow motion around him. An arc of power shot out from the cracks like lightning and scored the ceiling and walls, ripping through the magic circles. That damage sent out other bolts of energy, shredding his protections and tearing the magic containments apart. He barely had time to register that he might honestly die right now before the world erupted and all that energy and power and fire came crashing back in on itself - and on him.

Iskaulit Action & Broadcast
[Sometime, late at night, when most reasonable people are asleep after all the revelry on the planet, there is a massive explosion that rocks the bowels of the Iskaulit. The ship shakes like a minor earthquake and settles no worse for wear. Ten minutes later, a communication goes out: Taako is bleeding heavily from a cut on his forehead, he's covered in ash and a million other little injuries and coughing weakly. Behind him is a smouldering wreck of a room, jagged shards of blackened glass jutting out of the walls.]

If anyone's near the Iskaulit? Shit, I hope someone's nearby. Is this even the right network? Fffffuuuuuck it. [Taako clears his throat as best he can, slumping against a clear spot on the wall.]

Yeah hey, I uh - it's me, ya boy Taako, and well? [He takes a shaky breath.] I messed up. Yeah, yeah, I know - stupid dumb Taako, my bad - but save the yelling for later, mkay? 'Cause I'm, uh.... I think I'm gonna need a cleric. [He looks down off camera and winces.] Like no biggie, but...

[He rolls the camera down and it shows a piece of that jagged glass stuck through his side, red blood is quickly staining more and more of his shirt and hand where it's pressed against the wound.]

It's kinda? Urgent? Pretty sure...I'm gonna lose consciousness... like... mmmmm, pretty soon.

Oh and uh sorry for the whole...not PG13 gross blood thing. I...m...... [He hisses in pain and his voice starts trailing off as he drops the communicator.] Sonovabitch...... fuckin' dice........ rolls..........

First Breath Action
[Once he's rescued and stablized, Taako spends the first three days after his failure sleeping - or trying to sleep, or pretending to sleep to avoid talking to people. When he can't do that any longer without looking like he's gone into a coma, he stays in his room, alternatively sulking and checking his notes over again to find out what went wrong. He's here until the pain subsides and his magic comes back, having blown a shitload of it on the spell, enough that he feels tapped out. Anyone who wants to yell at him is free to come over. It's not like he can get up and leave right now.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Luckily for Taako, there's at least one unreasonable person with a lab augment awake to notice the broadcast, conveniently on the ship itself.

... and of course her first response is to frown, because that was no less than a magic disaster.

Her second response is to teleport over, but it would help if she knew where he was, exactly.]

I am coming. What is your exact location.

[Or whatever qualified as close enough to it.]

[Thank the gods someone heard his dumb ass. He has to think to get the right location though and it isn't exactly easy with a concussion and, well, blood rapidly exiting his body.

With fumbling fingers, he hits send on a message.]

Lower deck, aft. Follow the smell of-- [Fuuuuck he hates dying. It's so painful.] --burnt elf.

[... Good enough. But he's going to be an absolute mess when she gets there and she's going to need supplies, and to move quickly, even if it's a good sign that he's managing to be conscious at the moment, though for how long that can last...]

... Yes. Keep speaking, Taako.

[Her voice remains calm. Logically, her mind was putting together a list of what she would need, as she moves: a well filled first-aid kit. Towels. Sheets. Materials to alchemy up a makeshift gurney. It would take a few quick teleportation trips around for her to gather it all and hone in on him, but at least she knew where to find them--and him, with some intuit.]

You need to focus on something until I get there. A topic. Your favorite ingredients. Anything you can list.

Edited 2018-12-18 20:40 (UTC)

[Speaking is kind of his gig so it should be easy, but thinking isn't his specialty right now and Taako mutters so under his breath. If he had a healing potion, this shit wouldn't have been so bad. He could have pulled the glass out himself and...

Taako looks down at his shirt and blinks blearily at it.]

...gonna need a new shirt. Huh.

[It was easier in Refuge. At least it had been quick - a nasty explosion, some big effects... Well, getting eaten alive by the fuzzy bugs hadn't been fun or quick, but that was just one time?

Was it one time?]

Can't...remember. Shit. Am I dying for real? ...this sucks.

[Well, even if he couldn't list anything, he was still talking. That was something to go on, even if she could tell it was difficult.

... Stupid boy. She couldn't fault him for trying, being on the side of experiments gone wrong was kind of her life story, but this was not something he needed to lose his life over. And worse, it would upset Lup, and there was no time to even begin contacting her just yet, if she hadn't heard him call already.]

You will not die.

[She says, her tone only slightly sharper to try and keep him focused on responding.]

Keep speaking to me. I will be there soon.

Wouldn't...

[He mumbles the rest of that sentence and then sucks in a sharp breath in pain. Note to Taako: don't slump over when you have godsdamn glass sticking out of you.

He grabs it and frowns, looking at the discoloration in its surface now. What should have been a perfect circle was now scattered everywhere. He's lucky none of it ended up in his eyes or, you know, his head.

Speaking of... He touches his forehead and notes how it comes away wet and warm and how his head feels fuzzy.]

Mm... not going anywhere. Can't. ...should though.

[He goes quiet for several moments and then scoffs.]

Don't tell Lup.

Leave that detail to me.

[Last teleport stop now, for the materials. As long as she had enough components together, all she needed was to create something he could lie on and that she could float with her energy. Once he was stable, that was.

She'd really have to see his state first hand to know for certain what she could or -- no, there was no could not, not for her. His voice trails off, while she concentrates on her work, silence on her side as well, until the spell finishes. It is quick.]

Even if I do not tell her, she may find out. Do not worry.

[And bam. Time to locate him properly now--though it is not difficult, not with that magical energy permeating the area with the pungent odors of fresh injury. The room -- there. She has it now.]

Taako.

Mm.

[That's true. He didn't lock this, did he? He can't remember and trying to get the communicator to work when his fingers are slick with blood is an exercise in stupidity. He can keep the channel open, but that's about it.

He doesn't want to think about the inevitable screaming match he's going to have with her. She'd been ragging on him to show her his notes and he did - at the last minute. It would've been fine if he'd succeeded, but this? Yeah, he was going to get an earful.

He can't manage more than a noncommittal grunt in return as she goes quiet, probably doing her magic thing. But the quiet is welcome and he closes his eyes until she calls his name again. He isn't sure if it's in person or on the network, so he reaches for the communicator.]

...'m here. Still. [Somehow. But not all that lucid as he starts cursing under his breath.] For fuck's sake, Merle, heal already.

[Catching that glimpse of Taako's state over the communicator was not enough to prepare her for the actual wreckage she had found him in. There's almost hardly any time to assess the room itself, to sense the magic in the air and all that could have gone wrong here. She sets her bundles of materials down, carefully steps nearer to Taako's side, clearing a path and shifting anything in the way aside with her magic so she can get closer to assess him. All of that blood. Those wounds, the damages.

Doctors usually were the ones to clean up those damaged in the gladiator ring unless she was required, but she had knowledge on how to handle critical cases, and if there were any gaps in that, her augment could fill them in. He was bleeding heavily; that needed to be stopped now, had gone on for too long.]

I am here.

[She says, perhaps a bit unnecessarily at that point, but as out of it as he is, he should know that he's not alone. The glass has to be removed, the wounds cleaned, he needs to be stabilized before he can be moved and then the rest properly tended. A lot to do. So she gets to work.]

Who--?

[Taako opens his eyes as his brain tries to catch up with the only recently familiar voice. When he catches sight of Haggar, or whatever her name actually is, he remembers where he actually is. No Merle, no healing, and a smokey hallway littered with his failures.]

Guess crispy elf wasn't so hard to-- [His voice hitches and he presses harder against his side, biting his lip before breathily finishing his sentence.]

...find...

You? Don't have healing magic, do you?

[Her magic is powerful but not... the soothing kind. It's complicated, much as she is. The most she'd dare use it for was to seal off the bleeding once his injuries was clear of anything foreign, and then there were the burns and everything else. One step at a time, but this wasn't the worst she had seen.]

It may not be what you recognize, but it will get you through.

[She's trying to be reassuring, in her own way. She has what she needs to assess and clean the wound with her.]

But I cannot do anything if you are still covering up your side. That glass must be removed.

[As long as he didn't die, the "how" wasn't as important to him. Unless he had to become a lich or something. He was pretty sure Kravitz might take offense to that. But to be fair, he'd probably also take offense to Taako being dead in the first place.

He grimaces as she mentions his side and looks down at it.]

Pretty sure it might be the only thing holding my guts in... but the doc knows best.

[He moves his hand away from the wound and bites his lip.]

Do it fast.

It will be.

[He's not wrong, for that particular wound is messy.

First the glass; her magic is enough, to seep through and drag the foreign pieces out and away from his body, from all of his open wounds, she does it all at once, with a crackling of energy that pulls it all in to a sphere above him, and better for him to not have his hands in the way.

Next the seal, the glyph she creates so quick and white that he might not notice it, etched beneath her form and producing a soft glow that envelopes Taako, finding his open wounds and sealing them against the further loss of blood. She cannot promise a lack of scar, and even though it was aided by magic it still needs to be guarded against infection, his body still needs to put in the time for recovery. This was but a stabilizing process, time she could grant him.]

You will bleed out no further, but I must remove you from here.

[He sucks in a sharp breath against the pain as the glass is wrenched free of his body, including bits he hadn't known about until they were pulled back out the way they came in. But at least Haggar hadn't lied - it was fast and then her magic sealed the wounds against blood loss. It isn't the same as having Merle's cleric magic stitch his injuries closed good as new, but even he can tell that he isn't going to bleed out anymore.

The momentary point of sharp focus that the pain brought starts to dull again and his eyelids droop, attention sliding away. He gives a mumbled agreement and then tries to move. He pushes his arms against the wall only to hiss and drop back to the ground, arms over his stomach.]

Fuck! Why does it still hurt?

[She frowns abruptly when she realizes he's trying to move himself in that condition unprompted at her words. And... that's another unaddressed matter.]

Do not worry--I will get something for your pain in a moment.

[He was patched up but the job was not finished. She waves a hand to pull the makeshift gurney closer to them. It's very low currently, as it practically hovers just above the ground to avoid getting caught up in any of the mess around it, but enough for him to hopefully be able to ease himself onto.]

First, see if you can pull yourself onto here. Carefully. I will assist.

[She is not used to assisting in this way, but she has moved herself in place to do so. If they can't move easily she has her magic, but that would be less... gentle. And then she had to give him something to ease the pain, once he was settled in place for transit. One step at a time.]

Not sayin' I'm ungrateful, but...

[He would love to no longer feel like his entire body is on fire and trying to puke blood at every breath. That'd be lovely.

She'd warned him that her magic isn't like Merle's though and now he sees why. It isn't like a cleric where the pain and the wound disappear - it's just stitching it closed and stopping him from straight-up dying on the floor. The gurney floats closer and Taako focuses on it. He's done without cleric magic before, he can do this. Getting too reliant about a healer is weakness, honestly. He shouldn't have let himself rely on Merle so much.

With a grunt, he shifts and rolls himself onto the gurney, biting his lower lip against the flare that runs up his side. Stitched did not mean healed, doofus. He has to remember that. He laboriously rolls onto his back and struggles to keep his eyes open, staring up at the scorch marks on the ceiling.]

I super fucked up, didn't I.

[Good.

This place was a mess and it probably should be cleaned, but that was not her priority. The room was cloying, thick with the magic use and that smokey scent, and all else. But once he's settled and she secures him on the gurney and floats it higher, she's now at least in a better position to administer the promised medication to him with a needle, gently cleaning a spot on his arm for the injection site. This would be the quickest way to give it to him, given his condition already.]

It matters not.

[It's a relief enough that he's still able to talk, with the state he was in. That she had gotten there in time. For Lup's sake, as well as his own, as much as he probably does not know that. She could not let him die on her watch. But she still had to get him out of there, over to the shuttle, secure him in the shuttle, maintain her concentration on the gurney, monitor his vitals throughout that... stability was the best that could be hoped for until he was safely on the ship.]

... Rest now. The medicine should act quickly.

[With a half-hearted huff of laughter, he watches as she injects him with whatever the hell was just in that syringe. He'd said she'd get to test her weird medicines on him over his dead body and here they were. It felt cold going in and he had no idea if that's how medicine was supposed to feel. Everything in his world was potions or clerics or a paladin if the paladin didn't take personal affront to basically everything you did. Paladins could be weird.

With a jolt, Taako realizes that he's already drifting either from the medication or the blood loss and he reaches out for something or someone that he doesn't expect to be there. It's an involuntary action as his consciousness starts to slip.]

Don't let...her see how bad it is.

... I know.

[She didn't know how much time she would have before Lup became aware of his condition, but she definitely could not let her see him like this. But there was work to do, in further patching him up, and she still had to get him back to the ship before that.]

Sleep, Taako.

[He was stable, but his body needed all the help it could get from a rested state.]

Mm...

[Sleep is both tempting and terrifying. Oblivion meant a release from this pain and a stay on whatever consequences were sure to come. But it also carried the threat of being forever and Taako? Taako was good out here on the other side of death for awhile yet. He had to survive at least until he got to be a part of Kravit'z timeline; at least until he found out what the fuck was up with Lup. He doesn't have much choice though and he starts to feel the drift of actual sleep start to take him over.

He hasn't actually slept since he came to the Fleet. What a weird thing to experience here in space.

His grasping hand stops and stills, dropping to his side as his eyes slide shut. Before he goes under, he mutters:]

Don't do...anything weird to me...while I'm sleeping...

[What a last face to see before he sleeps for real. Idiot boy... she pushes some of his hair back from where it was slicked to his face, and continues floating his gurney down the hall. Toward the shuttle. It's quiet. People might be around, or finding the area they've already left. Not her problem, right now.

But she can get him to the First Breath, set him up in the lab. Provide... more medicine, when a significant amount of time has passed just so he could continue to sleep for a little longer and stay in one place while he was cleaned up. Messy business, all of this.

She knew Lup would be seeing him soon and he had to be at least moderately presentable for that moment, whatever could be managed, so that poor girl would not go to pieces from his state. Then Lup could see him wake, scold him, do whatever was needed.

Of course, that wasn't it for her role in his recovery, when she knew he still would be in pain and needing to heal and probably re-injuring himself all over again. It's in during one of those moments, a day or so later, when Lup has gone to either rest or rustle up food that he will see her waiting there when he wakes, taking her turn for a promised vigil.]

[After waking up and talking with Lup, Taako trances rather than sleeps for the majority of his time. The medication makes it easier to stay semi-alert even with the pain, and he prefers being at least a little more aware of his surroundings. He knows that he isn't going to get shunted into space suddenly, or he hopes he won't, but he still doesn't trust people here enough to fully sleep.

So he's vaguely aware when Lup leaves and when someone who is not Lup appears at his side. He figures it's Kravitz, but the energy isn't the same and there's no cold hand on his after a moment. Despite still being tired, he pulls himself out of his meditation and opens one eye, then the next and is somewhat surprised to see Haggar in the room.]

Sorry - not quite ready to donate my dead body to science yet. Come back next week.

[She's both surprised and yet not when he pulls himself to awareness at her presence. Or as alert a state that he can manage in his condition. She had been deep in her own thoughts by the time he stirred, troubled by other things.

... Same old Taako at least. As reported.]

Pull your stitches out again and it will be far sooner than that.

[Alchemy stitches were still stitches, after all, magic or not. Still, the delivery is not harsh.]

Welcome back.

Not ready to come back just yet.

[His mouth feels dry and he closes his eyes again, trying to sink into the mattress and disappear. He can't recall what he said to Haggar on the Iskaulit and he worries that it was bad or embarrassing, or vulnerable.

He grimaces at the feel of the stitches she's only just finished mentioning pulling against his skin and frowns. If he can't find a true cleric somewhere, he's going to have a scar. And while that might be badass on some people, Taako's vain enough he doesn't want one on him.]

It wasn't that bad either. Whoever told you that was exaggerating.

You are not being rushed.

[Surely, someone with actual curative powers could do better, but she had known what to do. His continued recovery was her priority.]

How severe is your pain at this moment?

[iskaulit]

[iskaulit]

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