sticksandbones | first stanza ⚜ THIS IS NOW A MAY CATCH-ALL <3

1 / winddown, woundup

[ Rennuid was one of the last stragglers, coming in from the game. He'd persisted in dicking around in the woods, abruptly frantic and heedless to anyone else despite acting genial enough, if a little nervy, before.

It felt like he was being buffeted back to the space surrounding the well, when he finally gives up and drags himself into the inn. But while he can't keep looking, there's more he can do.

The evening after the game and the morning hence, he's catching people's attention as they appear in the foyer of the inn.

You included! ]

Excuse-- excuse me! In the forest, or, or anywhere here really, you didn't happen to see... a, ah... tall precursor man, in armor and a cape? He's very. Green. Like a new leaf, not like moss... oh, I could have made a picture...

2/ three days post arrival.

[ thanks to his switcharoo act when settling in to a room at the inn, rennuid's started to feel, slowwwwwly, subtly off, hanging around in there. everywhere in there. the bedroom's the worst, but like. he always hip-checks this one corner of the wall, and in the kitchen he simply canNOT ever find the right cup measure on his own.

so, after three nights of tossing and turning not quite able to take the weight off of every spot in his body with a twinge, he's a LITTLE tetchy. i wanna go hoooome, he thinks, despite not really knowing where he means. but his mirror won't even show him what that could be. instead, he sees himself, snug as a bug, sleeping peacefully in the room he'd rejected out of hand.

smug bastard.

ugh. what TIME is it.... he looks out the window, sees it's still pretty dewey outside, and guesses morning. a good time to creep down the stairs and outside.

except for one, tiny, little thing

it's not morning. it's 3am, the witching hour, as rennuid is near incapable of telling time via light alone -- time of day mpstly just changes the saturation, to him.

are you awake in your bed, hearing something human-sized come creeping past your door over creaking planks? stumbling downstairs to rummage for a snack? or even looking out your window at the wrong time-- either way, Rennuid makes for a much eerier sight in the dark of the night; darkness clinging to him more than it ought, eyes standing out with a slight glow. ...who is that? or if you do recognize pointy-ears guy, what the hell is he up to? ]

3/ on behalf of rusty.....

[ he spent some more time quietly accompanying rusty at his post. rennuid's pretty sure all qula'norr, domestic or not, have to eat at least a bit of meat to be healthy...? info needed. he's only ever met people with pet dogs in passing, and "how are you keeping up with feeding that thing, don't they usually rove around hunting things down in packs" had never come up in conversation.

...

rusty seems a little too preoccupied to go hunt himself anything. poor thing.

he hasn't seen anything in the way of game here, but maybe they're all just especially wary critters that flee at signs of approach he can't quite hide... with that in mind, uh.

mr. backwoodsman has started making simple snares and deadfall traps in out of the way spots, and has neglected to mention he is doing that. feel free to catch him during any part of the escapade. or get caught. ]

4/ what wicked webs we

[ a lot of the things Rennuid does can often seem, uh...

obscure?

this is one of them. he's got a big mess of ropes on his lap that he seems to be fastidiously weaving and knotting them together into... something?

whatever it is it is taking FOREVER. the mass of weaved-together rope is growing bigger and bigger every day. as are the webs that the spiders are helpfully weaving nearby always at the same time HE'S weaving. ]

....oh. Did I...

[ he lifts it up, shakes it out to see the pattern properly...
...

he accidentally tied the wrong bits together. ]

...three whole rows back, this time...

5/ deadshot (post meeting)

[ it's just a branch.
it's just a branch.
it's just a branch.

this is THE branch.
he's played his eyes over the trees above every day, going about his business-- looking for signs of death, in the limbs above. something with a good strength, that's had the chance to dry through, that he can break off and start stripping down to a good shape--

and he's found it. something that fits every single thing he could ask for, besides 'having fallen off the tree already.' it's definitely dead, good species, no big damage to it he'll have to work around...

...
instead of going up there to get it, he's sat down at the base of the trunk where he can stare up at it, and.. starts chattering at it. and definitely not in a, 'i'm offering proper deference to the forest' way. ]

I feel like just thinking about it I'm going to get struck down where I stand. Asking someone else for the honor of using their tree for a bow... it, it's a little over the line, isn't it? ...I suppose I've went... far, far past that line already, but... I've... you know, not exactly been trying to add insult to the injury on purpose... ...this would feel like I am doing that. On purpose.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Joke's on you, Elsword sometimes doesn't sleep because ?? he has it built into his brain currently that he must be On Watch, and right now it's Add sleeping so he's On Watch to make sure nothing creepy happens. Surprise, something creepy happens, and he immediately abandons his post in their room to track it down...

...aaaaaand thank the Goddess it's someone he recognizes, because otherwise he would have brought that bigass sword of his down on Rennuid's head. Ha...ha.

...]

Rennuid...? [that. is his name, right, Elsword hasn't forgotten that much...] Is something happening? It's late, shouldn't you be asleep?

["sHoUlDn'T yOu Be AsLeEp"]

_{[ FREEZES IN PLACE

rennuid really is incapable of not coming off suspicious as hell. ]}

_{[ seems like Elsword called the right name, because when Rennuid finally turns slowly on his heel to face him, his eyes notably darting to that hand on the pommel of the sword... there's no 'who?' or 'actually, I'm so-and-so.' Instead, he says, ]}

Tyr'oc. ...I... I didn't realize. Maybe I'm not used to the sky here yet -- I thought the sun would rise soon. _{[ it's pitch fuckin' dark out. ]} I had trouble resting, so I was... going to go ahead and give in to the new day.

Oh.

["Oh", he says, and that's really all he needs. Elsword understands. He's used to travelling through different realms; it's part of the job. Maybe Rennuid isn't... it took his group a long while to get used to the red skies in Varnimyr, after all. But... that's a distant memory.

What matters is the here and now, and in this case, Elsword is about to explain The Fucking Sun to this elf.]

The sun normally rises at about 6am, [he explains, like of all the shit he actually remembers it's That.] You're a few hours early. But if you can't sleep, it's fine to start the day early. I wasn't sleeping either.

...

_{Not even... six... yet...

[ he wasn't even trying to do elusive moor ghost antics this time. ]}

Yes, I.. I think that ship's sailed! I'm happy to not be alone in being awake, actually. Not sure if that... _{[ fuckdammit he doesn't know the word for centaur ]} Scary.. person... might decide it's time for another round...

I wonder. It's not too dark for you out here? _{[ looking up at that halo... ]} I can make a light.

Edited 2023-05-01 20:19 (UTC)

I'm fine. [As always. He's unbothered — it's dark, but it's nice.] I think... I used to travel at night a lot. It's fuzzy, but it's there.

[That or his memory is so fucked up he thinks Elrios has a black sky now, which wouldn't make much sense but wouldn't be wholly surprising either.]

By "scary person", do you mean the monster that attacked during the "game"?

_{[ oh, good. He won't be the only one wandering out under dark of night heedlessly, it seems like. Help him normalize it elsword!!!! ]}

Yes, that's the one! With the four legs. They seemed unhappy with the... way things ended. I think they will want to try to find something to win soon, yes?

_{[ the scent of rain is the strongest one around them, still, thanks to the tantrum storm. ]}

[The tantrum storm like ooooh i wanna kill y'all so bad— but for now Elsword is oblivious to what's going to become a Problem, instead feeling the littlest spark of joy at the smell of rain. After the day they've had, that'll be nice.]

I definitely didn't help. [He says, sourly.] I destroyed the monster, but it reformed while I was escaping. The forest was so upset with me that it tethered me to the floor with a vine.

[What he's not saying is that there's a piece of vine embedded In His Skin that Add couldn't remove because it is, apparently, somehow fused with the bones in his wrist.

Elsword figures he'll just light his entire skeleton on fire later, that kills plants right.]

If the forest wants to win a game, it can't hurt people. That's the only reason I attacked the monster.

...Mm.

_{[ Rennuid starts to wring his hands. ]}

Tyr'oc, I can't help but feel... reminded, of a place I've been before. Someo--something I knew, once...

It liked... giving rules, to follow, too, and it didn't... play nice, when you stopped playing along.

...

_{[ smile~. ]}

But... I think.. standing up to something like that.. it's the right thing to do. Even if it lashed out, it was brave of you to fight, Tyr'oc. I didn't. I just snuck around.

Edited 2023-05-11 03:14 (UTC)

[Elsword cocks his head.]

But you stayed safe because you did, right? [He would hope, anyway.] People like me... exist to protect people who don't want to, or can't fight. Not everyone should have to fight.

[Here, he almost... zones out, like he's operating on autopilot.]

One day, the world will stabilize, and there will be no need for people to take up arms again. Someone will still have to protect that peace, though. This is the will of the world.

[......]

It's probably safer if we play along with the forest. [He does not remember that momentary blackout it's fine. The El is in his head causing literal brainrot.] Within reason. We shouldn't have to hurt each other or get hurt to appease it, so it's probably better that you laid low, right?

_{[ watches like.... 'v ';;; what's. What's happening, buddy. Blink twice. He's silent a while before he answers, still rather stunned by Elsword's flip/flip back. ]}

I... I guess so. Next time... we'll both do better. Maybe we can try to have some way to still talk to each other, in case it separates us again... that way, no one has to panic and get hurt.

[Don't worry sometimes his brain completely fizzles and dies. This will happen again some other time at the most alarming moment possible. He has ~rocks for a brain~.]

That's a good idea, but I don't know how to do something like that. Maybe Nines or Add could help? They're smart. I don't know Nines well, [and if 9S were to leave for an extended period of time, Elsword wouldn't know him at all,] but Add is always reliable.

I can send... little words, if someone's not too far away, but it's not very useful for if we're all scattered.

_{[ he backs away a good ways from Elsword, taking careful steps, not bothering to check behind him. boy, if you tried that with felicity around you would go tumbling tripping over a rock. then, he moves his hand beside his mouth -- shielding it, as if he's whispering a secret. he mouths words. there's no sound.

until there is, on a long delay, playing out in an airy, close whisper at the shell of Elsword's ear. ]}

See? Like this. But only three sentences at a time, before it needs to be fed again.

_{[ he drops his hand, straightens up. his voice is back in his mouth where it belongs. ]}

...I wouldn't be surprised if they could figure it out~. They both seem very clever.

Edited 2023-05-18 22:37 (UTC)

first stanza ⚜ THIS IS NOW A MAY CATCH-ALL <3

2. ALSO HOW I DIDN'T EVEN REALISE YOU POSTED THIS sobs

1/2 THATS OKAY LMFAO i figured ppl might be waiting until the first Game is called

2/2

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