concoctive | SCAWWY 😱 marina

[ churches us. alfyn looks deeply wary as he walks down the aisle made by the pews, eyeballing the goat and muttering a quiet prayer to dohter under his breath as he goes. it's not... a good energy, he feels like. it's a little like stepping into that cavern all over again, in some ways, and all he can think of is poor ophilia for a brief, empathetically heartbreaking moment.

it's when he hears the wood creak again, under steps not his own, that he looks away from the stained glass. ]

This village really can't help but just be spooky everywhere, huh?

[ bechurched.

marina's decided to finally get a better look at the church. it's the least she can do at the moment. she has her regular clothes on again, long dusky pink skirt and a greying white blouse that's seen better days and battle. there's a ribbon around the high collar of her shirt, tied carefully, even if the rest of her clothing looks like maybe it's could use some repair. under her arm, she holds a leather book tightly. ]

It's sure making some kind of impression - certainly not one I'd want to be welcomed open arms into.

[ looking at the weird sabbatic goat for a moment, squinting. ]

... Hm... weird. Found anything interesting, yet?

[ while the sides of his long, green vest aren't buttoned up - and certainly not the front - it still stays on his figure just fine, draped on his shoulders as he walks through on familiar boots instead of stupid flats. one hand is holding onto his satchel strap absently, while the other is under the vest and behind his back, gripping the handle of a battle axe that's latched into a loop in his belt in the back. like he's ready to yank it out, just in case. ]

Maybe if there was anyone to have open arms... place is just us and rats. [ sighing through his nose after saying that ] Besides the goat..? Hm, I think...

Yeah, looks like there's some runes over here?

Nothing I'm familiar with, unfortunately... I tried to give those a read already... frustrating.

[ where's a library when you need-slash-want one? this place is snoozeville. she eyes the axe briefly before glancing back to his face. ]

I assume if we do find anything here it's not going to be useful. Whoever or whatever did this was thorough... hasn't left us a scrap of a clue.

[ alfyn is squat down at the garden, not doing anything to it but just sort of surveying what's there. he roots his gloved hand a little in the dirt on the edges of it, though, just taking in the quality of it curiously when compared to... all the rest of this place.

despite the familiar way he crouches, practiced and balanced and steady, his shoulders are tense, his back curved like a drawn bow. ready to release.

he's not paying much attention to anyone coming up on him. just in his own head as he does this. ]

They don't look like anything that I've seen the Professor pouring over, unfortunately... not that I'd be able to read it if it was.

Prob'ly for the best. Don't want any of us to accidentally summon something.

[ reasons why he's gripping the axe. but he shakes his head and looks back to her properly again. ]

No, just a lot of nothing. I guess at least there's a few options for having a roof over our heads, but they're not great.

Ideally... 'specially when none of my magic works. Or anyone else's.

[ in any case, thoughtfully... ]

The coffins in the morgue were pretty cozy. And even the church has a couple of ways of bedding down for the night... seems like this place is able to keep us all bedded down for the night.

Edited 2024-06-09 22:56 (UTC)

[ marina approaches quietly, though as she sees how he's so drawn into his work, she actually gives pause a bit of a ways away and makes sure the sound of her shoes click against stone. ]

Hooooooi, Alfyn.

[ calling before getting nearby. sometimes you know a man carries an axe, and you have only known him a couple days, so. ]

What're you up to?

[ he grimaces at the mention of their lack of magic. ]

Not that mine's especially strong, but kinda inconvenient if anybody catchers fever. [he wiggles the fingers of his free hand at her. ] Ice.

[ and then the grimace deepens as she says the coffins are comfortable, laughing weakly and rubbing at the side of his neck. ]

Yeah, Caelus and I were checking them out. He got into one and it didn't seem too bad, but I'll pass. A healer's not really keen on seeing people in coffins if they can help it, y'know?

[ seeing my repetition at 9am and cringing. anyways. ]

Sounds like the very antithesis of what you do. I tried seeing if perhaps it might take an object away, popped a flower crown in there and waited for some scratching... but it stayed in place so I went the next step.

[ maybe it wanted a people! ]

Still too early to say whether or not this place is an improvement from the last situation I found myself in...

Ah -

[ there's a flinch of a jump, and his gloved hand digs a little deeper into the dirt to keep his balance as his other one raises in an aborted movement. therion'd have his head for not paying attention, letting someone come up behind him when he's not there, but he doesn't need to know. so all alfyn does is twist a little, before offering marina a weak smile. ]

Hoi, Marina. [ a careful touch to the dirt he's disturbed, smoothing it out and rolling his shoulders to ease away some of the tension. ]

Just lookin' at what they've set up in the garden. Don't recognize some of it, but the one with the purple mask and curly horns said to talk to anyone that wasn't the red-faced one about the plants.

Just, uh, don't feel like it right now when we just got told that we're planned to be cult sacrifices?

Don't blame you for that one there. Let it simmer a bit.

[ she watches that flinch - used to it maybe. she's seen jumpy boys, boy singular. from the front, he'd jump even at the sound of his own name or the slightest creak of a floorboard. she smiles a little bit. ]

And... yeah, we're planned sacrifices, sure, but we've got time. More than I was given last time if they are to be believed [ she's maybe a bit skeptical still, but there's no point in stepping on the gas now, so to speak. they don't have the resources for that ] I have hope for the... forty of us. Whew. What a number.

[ she picks her way over carefully to crouch, not seeming to mind her skirt spreading a little in the dirt. ]

Anything of use here so far?

[ i didn't even notice homie i was so tired i took a nap on one of my breaks ]

Well, as long as it spat you back out, I guess it's safe enough... just gonna do my best to make sure none of us need to use 'em for real.

[ he's also going to heckle daan about the clinic that famine backhandedly told him to make, so, ya know. ]

That bad, huh?

[ at least he settles back down easily, not so much jumpy as he was just surprised and a little... tense. but all of them are probably tense in some way, after that, and he's used to seeing the more skittish get stabby when startled. ]

Big number of sacrifices. Bigger than the last cult we had to tussle with, and the lady that we were gonna square off against - just wound up here before I could take part. So I hope my friends are alright. But it means we can stand a chance, here, I think.

[ pokes the dirt, sullen and worried. ]

Yeah. Be useful for things like astringents and pain relief, but I gotta get permission from I think Death to pick anything. I don't wanna step on any toes when they're trying to figure out how to get us out of here.

[ nap times for all. ]

It's a little too similar for my liking... though I appreciate having more than three days to figure things out.

Shucks, that's barely any time to breathe.

[ at least they have plenty of time, usually, to do things back home. ]

It can take three days to get somewhere sometimes in Orsterra, nevermind figure things out.

[ noooo watches him poke the dirt and kind of shuffles a little closer, watching. ]

Better to tread lightly now, you're not wrong. I'd rather not do anything that gives them any excuse to speed things up.

[ she furrows her brow. ]

How many of you are there...? Back home, I mean. Sounds like a big undertaking.

[ marina you like them pathetic. ]

Famine said not to bring any hairbrained ideas, basically, but I think maybe if we can get some ideas we can bring them up to them.

[ he gives her a little smile when she shuffles closer, but doesn't call attention to it. ]

Eight of us, all together. We all kinda made connections outside of us, or had them already, so we had people we could rely on, too. But for the big stuff it was us. What about you?

I think time was a bit... wrong where I was.

The day felt as though it lasted far longer than it should have, and the night stretched on quite long if you didn't sleep.

Edited 2024-06-12 04:53 (UTC)

It was the fourteen of us total on that train... though. The number's dwindled significantly since we got off it.

[ a little tilt of the head while looking downwards. ]

We shared a dream, visited by one who speaks for the moon god Rher, telling us we were to be contestants for this... festival of Termina. Kind of all spiraled down from there.

[ alfyn's steps are steady and audible as he walks, approaching the pyre where he'd spent the night before - but he's got a death grip on his axe, instead of snapping it into the loop on the back of his belt for carrying. like he's not sure whether it's actually safe now that the evening has passed, after having seen aventurine lying dead at laudna's feet beneath the stage.

when he sees marina, he heads over to her - and whether she's sitting or standing, he'll do the same next to her, spine made of steel and ramrod straight to draw him to full height.

the affable, dog-like friendliness is gone as he stares into the fire silently for a moment with his jaw working. ]

... found Aventurine. Be nice to maybe think he just fell, 'stead of someone doin' it to him.

[ she just watches him approach and for a second her feet brace against the ground from where she's sat on it, instead of one of the benches. she has her hands clutched around a book, but it shuts most of the way. she's got an uncertainty about her, rigidness in her limbs and her posture.

flight feels like it'd be pretty choice right now. but she stays. ]

... Refectory was in a state. There was broken glass down the wine cellar, and some blood and prints in the refectory itself... Gale found some kind of blue substance as well.

Edited 2024-06-15 02:49 (UTC)

... he started at the cabin, apparrently. Must've been to the refectory at some point, 'cause we found some blue stuff, too, at the theater. And some of that booze.

[ her stance doesn't surprise him, but it does mean that he respects her space. he'll stay on one end of the seat and allow her the other, staring into the burning blue of the fire. both hands grip the axe, now, but it's so that he can rest his chin on it rather than present a threat.

quietly, nearly under his breath: ] May the Sacred Flame ever light your paths, and shine on you even in death.

Yeah, he was with us... I went to go visit Daan for the evening and a bunch of other people ended up getting stuck there too.

[ she'll list them off for him - most of the cabin-sleepers like daan, asa, rondo, hawke, and robin. then karlach, astarion, and gale, as well as todomatsu. aaaand. ]

He was just chatting with Robin, nothing seemed really off about 'im - once we realized we were all locked in though, well.

[ it was cozy. really cozy. she doesn't look happy - if anything just kind of. chilled over. she's very Alert is the best way to phrase it. a cat that's tail won't Unfloof for nothin'. ]

[ he nods along, of course, committing the information to memory and turning it over. ]

Glad Tot was safe, with all this. He hasn't been stayin' in the theater since we got leeched by somebody. [ he needs to check up on the girls. he's seen karma, at least, and was with todomatsu, but... he thinks of the lackadaisical smile aventurine always had when he saw him.

no, nothing seemed really off, did it. ]

... we gotta find out what happened to 'em.

SCAWWY 😱 marina

wknd 0; saturday

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wknd 0; sunday

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wk 0; friday

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