deercountry | August Event Catch-All

Thinking of taking a dip, Keith?

[Paint her more in the 'curious' side of things. She was still struggling with what had happened with Chara last month, but she'd tamped it down a lot further, and focusing on some of her friends she hadn't wronged while deranged helped. Besides, after the talk on the network, when she'd seen Keith, she figured it was good to keep tabs on her friend.

Sliding up, she was in a swimsuit, because yeah she was definitely thinking about going down there.]

Not sure about breathing down there yet, but I can turn into a squid on purpose if I really want to. It's... a little weird, but it works.

[The joys of being vile-blooded with her power set.]

[He glanced over in mild surprise, and- oh. She's in a swimsuit. Okay, then. He hesitated for a split second, and then nodded.]

Yeah, actually... I am. I've seen a few people do it now. [He crossed his arms, staring pointedly at the nearest batch of glowing water.] There's definitely something to it.

[As for squids...] I saw someone else immediately revert to being a squid once. [Damn it, Min-Gi. The guy even inked on his hand. Gross.] I haven't tried doing it myself... well, on purpose. [Finding his squid form again after being killed didn't count. He knew that for a fact.]

[A one-piece, but definitely a swimsuit. Nope, this wasn't awkward at all considering recent talks.]

I... think it's technically possible for any of us. My body just does it a little easier. That whole 'shifting' thing that I can do with the vileblood.

[She held up a hand and showed him the claws she could form before relaxing them with only the slightest wince. It was still uncomfortable, but it was getting more ... manageable with time.]

The forms I can take are based on two different things. Of course one's a squid. Since we're basically living in squid bodies that have changed to look like our real selves. I bet it's easier if you're in the water, if you want to try.

...

It's not half as weird as that sounds.

[Okay, yeah. Shapeshifting was actually pretty cool. But, her comment about it not being half as weird as it sounded? He was still pretty doubtful.]

Maybe... not right now. [After all, it was only a little while ago that he'd involuntary been back to being a squid, and he wasn't sure he wanted to make that attempt, yet. He gave her a weak, humorless smile. He needed some distance between the present time and having to go through some sort of weird rebirth and transformation thing before he wanted to think about consciously becoming a squid through means other than death.] I think I'll be okay just swimming. From what I've seen and heard... breathing isn't actually an issue as long as we stay in the glowing part.

Ah, good. I wasn't sure. I haven't been down yet.

[She stretched, flexing her fingers when her arms came back down and looking at her palms with a little frown before clenching them and turning back to Keith. If she didn't have to turn squid, so much the better.]

It's a strange power, to say the least. If I don't actually need to use it, it's better that I don't. So, lady's first, or would you like me to bring up the rear guard?

[She stepped over and picked up a fairly basic looking harpoon. Her gun wasn't going to be much use down there, but she wasn't going unarmed.]

[Honestly, a harpoon probably would have been better than a sword, but his Marmora blade worked fine as a diving dagger, so he'd go with that. It was, as usual, strapped to his waist. He brought his arms up to tie his hair back as he walked towards the water's edge, heading for the glowing patch closest to them.]

I'm good with either, honestly. I've done both myself. Whatever you're more comfortable with.

[the blade would be much better than her usual rapier/gun combination. That just wouldn't work down there, but a diving knife was perfect. She followed him out to the edge of the water and started to wade her way inwards, taking point.]

I'll take front. I trust you as rear guard no question. And, hopefully, the monsters we've seen earlier this month won't be down here.

[With a splash, she started down, swimming just ahead of him.]

[Despite not being a super strong or graceful swimmer due to lack of experience, Keith was able to keep up once they were in the water. He knew the basics well enough from Garrison training that he wasn't going to drown. Not that it mattered while they were in the glowing portion of the water.

It took a minute to realize that, 'hey, the rumors were true,' and they could breathe under here. Just no one ask if he thought it was weird, because... yeah. It was weird.

It wasn't easy to see beyond the glowing areas, but there were definitely shadows out there moving around. The water wasn't empty, that was for sure. But hopefully, the larger creatures that had been rampaging the shores recently would stay away...

When they did see the boats ahead, Keith shifted his position relative to Vira-Lorr a bit. Having the advantage of cover while around those sunken vessels would make an ambush pretty attractive, so they had to keep a look out for that as well, not just being tailed.]

[It was definitely very weird. But, she was so used to weirdness that weird almost felt normal. If it was ever too normal, she'd probably be worried about that, like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Watching the shadows out of the corner of her eyes while she swam deeper. They weren't coming in past the lights, but it was wise to keep them in mind. As the boats loomed in, she felt Keith changing position and looked back, checking the changes in the eddies of water. Oh, being cautious. She appreciated that.

Settling down to the ground with several old vessels visible, she noticed one had a big X etched over on its wall. Pulling out her omni, she realized she could type on it and motioned towards it as she treaded deep water. A little slow typing and... voila! Talking under water.]

Think someone has been to that one?

[Oh, that was a handy idea. He retrieved his own omni from his pouch and looked at the message, then glanced back over at the marked ship. After a moment of studying it, he tapped a message back.]

Pretty likely Were not eht first ones down here

[Okay, so Keith wasn't great at texting to begin with, but underwater was harder.]

[It was a royal pain, but they could breathe here, so there was no immediate threat or hurry. She nodded in response to his statement, considering and then motioning deeper, further. Still ringed by the glow, there were vessels she couldn't see the X's on, some of them in much worse shape, clearly older.]

Go deep and check one of the really crusted, old wrecks?

[Keith considered that and looked down at the wrecks in question. He nodded, then typed.]

Just be careful

[He knew it didn't have to be said, but he felt better saying it anyway.]

[She nodded and gave him a thumbs up. starting the path forward, she could see a few of the hulks that loomed in the almost gloom at the edges of the glow. they weren't outside of that protection, but they definitely looked much older. The closer that they got, the more the fact that one of the vessels seemed almost eerily intact?

That was making her wonder. How had it sunk? She pointed to it, frowning and making her way in that direction.]

[Keith nodded, and then followed.

Honestly, he had to wonder that, too. It could have been something as simple as getting swamped. A broken pump, a large wave. Maybe. He wasn't sure, and certainly didn't know enough about boats beyond what he'd seen on TV and in movies to be able to tell. One would have expected damage, but... He supposed they'd find out.

So, down they went, getting closer. Keith looked around at the other vessels they passed on the way, making sure they weren't going to get attacked, but it seemed any malevolent local monsters were staying outside the glow area. That was fine by him, honestly. Looking at the ship, he spotted a few spots where they could get in... doors. Maybe they'd be unlocked. He tapped his omni to get Vira-Lorr's attention, and then gestured towards the closest door to try that one first.]

[The farther that they swam, the more it became obvious that there were no monsters within the glowing light. part of her was grateful, and part very suspicious because it made her wonder what other threats were down here. Those ruminations, however, faded when he motioned to one of the doors. She considered it, swimming steadily and hovering before finally nodding once.

As they made their way, the mystery of its fate was getting worse. No obvious holes. No seeming cracks that ran along. What could have happened here? She swam up and gripped at the door, starting to heave with limited success.]

[It was odd for sure, but Keith didn't know all that much about boats. Smaller ones, sure, he could see one getting swamped and sinking without a hole in the hull or whatever. But, could that happen to a massive ship? He wasn't sure.

He joined her at the door and gripped the handle. There was no way they'd be able to pull it open just on their own, so he braced his feet, and then used his legs to apply pressure to get it open. Pushing against the doorframe that way was easier than trying to pull with his arms. He had more strength in his legs.

Thankfully, the hinges were corroded just enough that, when the seal around the edge finally did give way, the door didn't swing open too fast for them to recover.

Cautiously, he peered inside.]

[Darkness at first. Nothing visible within because of the deep, unmoving gloom that had not been disturbed in countless eons. She flicked the light of her omni on and held it aloft, illuminating the wholeness of ... a simple hallway. Stairwells went down on either side. Dust clouded the light a little, giving everything an eerie look.

Floating in and taking the stairs on the left she found her way down and into what looked like a vast cargo hold. Crate after crate were visible, all of them showing constantly moving shadows thanks to the light she shone. Yeah, this wasn't creepy at all. From one of the crates, though, there was a glint in the light and she pointed. The box had been opened and pieces had spilled out. What was that?

[Oh, yeah... those moving shadows? They definitely had Keith's nerves on edge. He pulled his dagger free. There was no way he was going to be caught off-guard. This place was creepy as quiznak.

He looked towards where she gestured, seeing that glint as well, and then shrugged. Might as well go check it out. He nodded and moved towards it with her, knife in hand and ready... just in case.]

[There on the floor of the ship was some sort of stone piece, and within the box was a shiny kind of packing material. The rock itself seemed innocuous enough, but there was something eerie about it. She frowned and held it up for him to look at, squinting and then gesturing to the crate, reaching to start prying at the top.

There had to be me more to this...]

[It almost looked like some sort of bakery treat with that shape, and Keith's brain almost immediately had him thinking about Hunk and how'd he say it resembled a bun or a roll or a sandwich.

He almost laughed, but shrugged when he looked at it, indicating that he didn't understand it either. He moved over to the crate to help open it. It was hard. There was no real way to brace himself with all the bouyancy. He tried to wedge himself into a position where he could at least gain a little leverage, and then worked at the crate as best he could.

After some significant effort, there was an ocean-muffled crack of water-logged wood, and the top began to move.]

[She flexed and joined in with him. Her efforts were less powerful than his, but one way or another the two of them together would push it more easily. With time, it did push fully open.

within the crate there were several strange, surreal statues and symbols, all of them packed in material that had broken down completely after centuries. She reached in and plucked one tentacled statuary up, staring at it in mixed wonder and disturbance. What on earth?]

[Keith frowned and then shrugged. He picked one up as well, looking at it by turning it in his hand. He then pointed to the tentacles, and then to himself and her. Statues of Sleepers?]

[Hmmm. That thought hadn't occurred to her, but now that he gestured, she shook her head. No, this seemed different. It wasn't squid like. Pulling her omni out, she typed on it slowly. That probably needed a more detailed answer after all. His would buzz with the reply.]

Not squid, so probably not.
Might be Pthumerian?

[Keith pulled out his own omni as she took out hers, and read the message. Interesting thought.]

Wonder which ones Take the crate back up to land?

[It would take some effort, but it wasn't like they were going to run out of air...]

[After a very short consideration, she nodded and put the object back inside. They could gather what they wanted and bring this back. It would be something to research, and the weight of the crate? It was at least in the 'two people can do this' category.]

Just have to get it out of here first.

August Event Catch-All

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Sorry this took so long. :( Feel free to drop if it's too old.