06 . the sleepy town expedition.

[necrolord]

Who: necrolord, Gideon, Harrow, Paul, Kaworu, "Shannon," Mako, Ford, Shiro, Ruby, Luna, Faith, Willow, Ezra, Zhongli, Perell.
What: An intentional family-and-friends roadtrip to a forbidden holy ruin. A less-intentional catacombs adventure.
When: 3/14.
Where: Sleepy Town and the Catacombs.

Content Warnings: Sleepy Town-typical themes of grief, loss, and surreal landscapes. Catacombs-typical horror per the March event. Also, note all the usual warnings of this character.

[ See this doc for info! ]

Comments

[arclightning]

That's where we met.

[ The air is so still and strange. It would make a lot more sense, thematically, if a lonely wind was blowing along this street, flinging up the edges of Mako's coat, but there's nothing. Just dust and debris and memories cobwebbed in corners. Mako's heart is in his throat. He tries to keep it from his voice. ]

In October. You gave me those weird bandage things.

[shiro2hero]

[weird bandage things]

[It takes Shiro a moment. He remembers meeting Mako that October, sure, but - Oh. Oh, right. If he weren't so exhausted he'd have laughed. Instead, he just huffs out a breath, the sound definitely amused.]

Yeah - yeah, I remember that.

[The amusement dies quickly, in the wake of the weight hanging over the abandoned buildings. So much time here... all the struggles...]

Chloe and I broke into it too - the first October we were here.

[arclightning]

It was locked up then, too?

[ Somehow, that's not a huge surprise, now that Mako thinks about it. He shifts a little closer to Shiro, drawing out one of the old maps he'd made. It's so strange to be back on these streets. ]

You're right, though. It's a good starting place. C'mon.

[shiro2hero]

Yeah. Most things were. I think I won her over by breaking in.

[Or that had been the start, anyway. He leans over to see the map, and something aches, seeing it again. His words come out quiet.]

It's so weird. Being back here... [An exhale, before he nods and heads onward.] I can break us in again if I have to.

[arclightning]

I don't know whether to expect a wasteland or a time capsule.

[ Mako follows in Shiro's quiet footsteps, his head practically on a swivel for all that he's trying to take in all their surroundings at once. ]

What are you looking for in here?

[shiro2hero]

I'm hoping for the time capsule.

[He steps up to the door, pausing for a moment to brace himself against the frame. Breathe.]

Any kind of medication, first aid kits. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I'd rather have familiar meds on hand - just in case.

[arclightning]

At this point, I'm not willing to call any precaution we take paranoid. It's just common sense.

[ So far, nothing seems to have noticed them, which is good. The door is being held in place by a bunch of rubble—Bolin probably would have been useful, now that Mako thinks about it—but Mako steps up closer, frowning at the bent shape. ]

If you don't have a plan to get it open, I can probably cut through it.

[shiro2hero]

And that's why I like you.

[It's not. There are so many other reasons. But hopefully that lightens the mood a bit. Coping mechanisms by Shiro Shirogane.]

I can handle the frame... Done that before. Or we could try and find the staff entrance.

[arclightning]

[ Or, you know, Mako can shoot him a sort of boyish grin and aim a carefully-controlled jet of flame at the doorknob. ]

This seems easier.

[ Read: more fun. The door's handle starts to glow pretty quickly, red-hot and then yellow and then white. It doesn't melt all at once—the fire's too concentrated for that—but Mako's aiming at the part of it being held shut by probably a deadbolt. ]

[shiro2hero]

Heh. Show-off.

[But there's no ire in the words. He just sounds amused. Shiro will wait, though, until the deadbolt looks fried, or... well. Molten. Before he reaches out with metal fingers to shove at it.]

[Hey, if he can melt metal with that thing, molten metal shouldn't be a problem either.]

[arclightning]

[ Alright, he's absolutely showing off a little bit. Mako flashes Shiro something like a grin which turns alarmed when he reaches out to shove at it. He's about to protest, but the words die on his lips because the lock just... falls away like it's made of nothing.

Mako blinks. The door creaks, groans, and sags open, no longer held by the lock. ]

I... always forget you can do that.

[shiro2hero]

[He stops, where he was about to push the door open a little more. Wide enough for them to get into. But Mako's words cut him off.]

[Shiro throws a sheepish grin over his shoulder. It's really hard not to laugh at the look on his friend's face right then.]

Sorry. Probably should mention I always come... armed for trouble.

[arclightning]

[ If it was hard not to laugh before, it should be impossible now, because Mako's expression goes a strange mix of flat and clearly-trying-not-to-laugh. His mouth twitches, and he shoves it back ruthlessly, trying to keep his face straight.

It is... mostly not working. ]

How long did that one take you? You just always come, uh. Armed with bad jokes?

[shiro2hero]

Mako, please, it's me. I always have a pun on hand.

[He gives the door one last push, letting it fall all the way in. Just to punctuate the statement.]

[With a little flourish, even. Despite the pain and fatigue of Warmblood this month, it's really good to see Mako smile. See him trying not to laugh. Shiro can't not ham it up a bit.]

[arclightning]

[ It hits the ground with a very punctuating slam indeed, sends up a puff of dust in its wake that leaves Mako wrinkling his nose. There aren't any lights, and the sky is oddly dark, so he holds up a palm full of fire as he steps carefully over the doorframe into the old shop. Orange light flickers strangely off slick, dusty bottles. ]

...it's so weird to think this place really was real.

[shiro2hero]

[Mako's fire helps a lot, he won't lie. But Shiro flicks his own fingers, activating the lurid purple glowstick that is his own hand. For up close work. It doesn't look like this expedition is going to bring much back. Much to his dismay.]

Nightmares left over are real enough.

[He plucks up a can, turning it over in his hands. Impossible to read anything on it. And sets it back down.] But, yeah, I know. Coming back here just makes it feel less real, somehow.

[arclightning]

[ Shiro does that sometimes: puts into words the things Mako couldn't quite say. He throws Shiro a grateful look as he heads down another aisle, stepping carefully over shattered glass. ]

That's exactly it. The dream never felt like a dream when we were in it, but now?

[shiro2hero]

Now it feels like one big hallucination.

[Or something along those lines.]

Or, hah. A dream. [He picks up an old, deteriorated package. Turns it over.] Now we have all these new faces... trying to explain what it was like almost makes you sound crazy.

[arclightning]

[ Mako snorts quietly to himself as he crouches down to look for more of those weird bandages on a dusty bottom shelf. A couple packages crouch near the back, stuffed into decaying cardboard. ]

Every time I tell Ryan or his boyfriend about something from the dream they look at me like I started airbending.

[shiro2hero]

[Shiro's turn to snort.]

I've almost stopped trying. If they ask, then I hand over Peter's notes. Maybe... it's not the best. But I don't know.

It's easier.

[arclightning]

Hey, if they were helpful in the dream, they're helpful now.

[ Mako yanks out one of the dusty packages, blowing off some of the crap, and holds it up. ]

This is them, right?

[shiro2hero]

Maybe we need to condense them somehow, then... just to keep new arrivals from feeling like they're back in school.

[That won't help anyone. Especially the teens he's seen.]

[His head pops up. And, miraculously, Shiro grins.]

Yeah - there they are.

[arclightning]

[ That grin feels, as always, like a victory. Mako grins back and shoves as many as he can reasonably fit into his back before pushing himself to his feet to go prowl the medicine aisle proper. ]

That's half the point of this, isn't it? Figure out what's still relevant so we can tell people what they actually need to know. Should definitely condense them.

[shiro2hero]

Maybe that's something else we can go over. You, Ruby and I. And whoever she has in mind for the fourth.

[Most of the cans are either rusted out, or expanded past the point of safety. What few bottles of aspirin he can find look decayed.]

[Moving on to another aisle.]

[arclightning]

[ Wow it is really quite empty in here, huh. Mako snags a few bottles of vitamins that somehow got neglected but it does look like it did near the end, when they had no supplies but what was already on-hand. ]

We should probably make a list of what we need to figure out. Ford was saying this place wasn't even the only echo of the dream. That maybe there are other realities out there where people landed.