when i imagine myself i am always leaving [catch-all ]

[fromshadows]

Who: blake belladonna (descendsfromshadows) + various
What: catch-all through endgame
When: july '23 onward
Where: the clockhouse, school of mutter + various





[ Endgame catch-all! Closed starters will be posted below as comments. If you'd like to plot with Blake, either PM me or hit me up at cosmonautdelta! :D ]

Comments

for break⸻

[fromshadows]

[ backdated to mid-June 2023 for event one, going back to the January 2020 event ]

It had taken Blake a while before she'd gotten frustrated enough to actually grab the little deer statue that had kept appearing in the corner of her eye. Small, wooden, and relatively simple, it had been everywhere. At the School of Mutter. In a library in Gaze. At the Clockhouse. It hadn't bothered her at first, but irritation and curiosity had eventually gotten the better of her.

As soon as her fingertips make contact, everything changes.

Cold ocean air hits her with the force of a punch to the face. Wood and steel creak rhythmically, and fine mist settles onto her skin with a chill. Before her is the deck of an old looking shop, and beyond that, a dark ocean under a starry sky. A shiver wracks through her before her Aura kicks in to protect her from the harsher edges of the cold, and as she looks down in dismay, she realizes even her clothes have changed. She's no longer in her catsuit and cloak, but an elegant black dress that flares out at the hips, lacework draped over her shoulders, and thin black gloves. This is not cold weather gear.

As she's still getting her bearings, she hears a couple nearby exclaim about the cold, and decide to retire inside for a nice hot chocolate to keep them warm. Which Blake thinks sounds like a really, really good idea -- at least she can go inside and stay warm while she figures out where she is and what on earth happened -- but as her head turns, she realizes someone is standing next to her.

"Break," Blake exclaims, startled. And, if she's going to admit it, more than a little relieved that she's not alone in... whatever this is. "Did you touch a deer statue too? I didn't expect it to... teleport us?"

[payingfordeliverance]

"Miss Blake."

There had to be someone else from Trench on the ship, he'd figured when he found himself here, and he also can't help but be relieved that it's someone he knows. The other thing he's grateful for, though, is that the individual in question is one of the Remnant kids. They're a sturdy bunch, difficult to cause real damage to, and highly trained in all manner of daredevil nonsense. Likely, he won't need to keep a constant eye on her as they attempt to get off this ship alive.

"Damned thing followed me about all day long," he grumbles, by way of agreement. The line of his thin shoulders is tense and his tone is dour, but his hand is gentle as he takes Blake's elbow and tugs her gently away from the crowd. "Come. I would speak with you."

[fromshadows]

So, she's not the only one that was followed by a tiny deer statue. It had been happening for a week or so, but Blake had never really gotten the chance to talk to other people about it -- mostly because she just didn't know what to say. Are you also being followed by a statue? sounded a bit weird.

Then again, she should probably be used to Trench's weirdness by now.

She lets Break steer her away from the others, and her gaze turns concerned. She can tell just from looking at him that he's not happy about this, which is valid, but Break seems very unhappy about this, like he knows something. As far as Blake can tell, this is just some ordinary ship. Very low-tech compared to Remnant's, but that's about it.

"What's wrong?" she asks, pitching her voice low so she's not heard.

for ruby⸻

[fromshadows]

A sense of homesickness has never quite left Blake since she arrived. It was strong at first, but it's gotten easier and easier to bear over time. But since her death, it's hit her even harder than before.

All she can think about is this one little cafe back on Menagerie. It was right by the ocean, the stools sunk into the sand so your feet would be in the warm water if the tide was high. They'd served all kinds of teas, grown there on the island, along with hefty bowls of noodles and fish and spicy coconut sauce. The last time Blake had been there, the owner had been a walrus Faunus, a massive man with a booming laugh.

Ozpin's library just isn't the same. But it's where Blake and Ruby have settled after Blake invited Ruby over.

"Here." Blake hands Ruby a cup of tea, smiling down at her. She's not feeling great. Anxiety keeps gnawing at her, self-doubt pulling at her every thought, and she just feels lost. Like she needs something to do, but doesn't have a mission she can attach herself to. What use is she, otherwise? But she thinks she's putting up a pretty good pretense of looking okay. "Sorry if I look a little rumpled, I was at the School of Mutter all night. I just started reading and time got away from me."

[onekindsoul]

As much as Ruby may tell anyone otherwise, that homesick feeling never really went away. She was happy in trench, happy with the life she had built here. But there was always a little bit of a longing feeling to see everything she had left behind, to go back to everything that had been left undone. ...She wasn't sure if she'd ever come to terms with that.

She takes the cup of tea. And smiles softly- her and Ozpin weren't exactly on the best of terms right now. But she could set that aside for Blake's sake. Be polite and have a cup of tea with a dear friend and teammate.

"Are you kidding? I mean- half the time I'm covered in soot and who knows what else in my shop. You're doing just fine.

...Did you find anything good there? I'm guessing you weren't checking out the comics."

[fromshadows]

"I'm educating myself on the Pthumerians. There's a lot of knowledge that people here have acquired over time, and I'm just trying to catch up. Although, I wonder if that's a little less relevant now after recent happenings."

She's constantly feeling one step behind, here. And lately, that feeling has only gotten worse -- but after her death, everything has felt a little worse. She doesn't know if it's some kind of trauma, or just an effect of Trench, or corruption, or all three piling onto her.

Mostly, she's just trying to count the good things. Like Ruby, sitting across from her. Or Seasmoke, curled up in her pocket, with his head sticking out as he sleeps peacefully.

She takes a sip of her tea, thoughtful. "Although, with the recent discovery that people can travel so much further outside of Trench now, maybe the Pthumerians here aren't where I should be turning my attention."