{EVENT #1} ADVERSITY 131425.845119

[expiationmods]

THUS DO WE HUNGER

MOD NOTES: Welcome to the first event! Please direct any questions to the corresponding comment below. Note that characters can be involved in multiple prompts (whether you choose to thread that out or not), and that character decisions and actions taken on these prompts will affect future events, storylines, and relationships with other peoples of Expiation. In two weeks from this event, the moderator team will be posting a poll on the OOC community that will allow players to share what actions their characters took and two weeks after that, there will be an announcement made sharing said results, how those actions have impacted the state of the world, the game's story, what information can be used ICly, and so on. The various prompts are, of course, optional, so you're not required to travel to Rumpitur if you don't wish to. You're not required to help the locals or other Chosen during the food shortage. There is an option to simply not be involved, and that too can have potential repercussions on the future of the game's overarching story and other characters.

WE'RE STARVING HERE!

HOW TO REPAIR A REFRIGERATOR 101

     

Do you remember the fishing tournament where a variety of locals and Chosen alike submitted a bunch of fish for a very modest and unimpressive wooden sculpture? Well... about that...

Aldrip's refrigeration has catastrophically failed and as a result, the food stores that the locals have been keeping are now on the verge of total and utter collapse. The townspeople are in an absolute uproar. According to them, this has never happened before and though they would normally just pray to Those Who Were There for a resolution, they kind of need something immediate. Otherwise, all residents of Aldrip are facing the very real threat of starvation.

The good news is that you can help!

The more handy of the Aldrip townsfolk are going to get right to work on repairing the refrigeration units. At present, the only units that exist belong to those who are making food and providing them to the townspeople. This means people like the tavern keepers, the inn, bakers, and other miscellaneous cooks, are those who possess and control these refrigeration units. If you've got some handyman skills, put them to work, though be aware that working on repairing the technological malfunction might just be an electrifying experience. Literally.

---

THE ALTERNATIVE TO COOKING MAMA

     

There sure has been a lot of opportunities to cook, but now Aldrip needs cooks and would-be cooks like never before!

Those not necessarily good with repair work might find themselves better suited for hunting the local wildlife, whether that's on the meadowland plains or taking, yet again, a fishing pole into hand. A good deal of the meat, vegetables, and fruit that was already preserved has spoiled and will need to be replaced hastily if people want to continue eating.

With bodies going to retrieve replacement food, there's suddenly an open and demand for people who either already have experience with cooking or just really want to learn. There's no better way to learn than some truly hands-on experience. For those with some cooking in their background, even if it's simple at its best, the kitchens are free and available. You might not have your choice cuts of meat or whatever else you might be accustomed to preparing, but fortunately the dried spices and herbs aren't impacted by the food shortage. Consider making something flavourful or just really spicy. (Alphen, we're looking at you.)

If you haven't cooked before and you're one of those who's just dying to learn, pair up with a buddy in the kitchen, or fumble along. Beggars can't be choosers, after all, and we're facing a crisis. Maybe the threat of having no food will encourage people to try whatever you make, no matter how black, crispy brown it might turn out.

The more innovative and creative individuals may find a way to dry / dehydrate anything caught or harvested. Or we can just have a huge impromptu grilling adventure where people hold raw meat over fire. Your choice!

WE'RE OFF TO SEE... THE NAGA?

WE COME IN PEACE

     

Aldrip is hardly the only settlement on the continent of Expiation and though the various peoples of these settlements can often stick within their own, when times are hard and adversity encroaches on livelihood, they're not against seeking the aid of others. Some of the more well-travelled of the Aldrip locals are planning an expedition to visit Rumpitur, an impressively-sized village on a peninsula to the east of Aldrip.

They are ready and willing to take all volunteers who are interested in accompanying them to barter for food and other potentially needed supplies. The visit to Rumpitur will require travel through the Pessiria Forest, a thick veil of trees that one can be easily lost in, but if everyone's together, then it shouldn't be an issue.

Consider joining the expedition and getting to know some of Expiation's other peoples.

Rumpitur is home to a race of naga-like people with scaled features, tails, sharp teeth, and forked tongues. Their way of life is considerably more simple in comparison to some of Aldrip's fancier advancements. They are skilled combatants and a fishing people, whose diet primarily consists of seafood. In Rumpitur, one may take note of their many-in-number stone constructs, depicting a notable and perhaps significant naga.

Although they may seem intimidating at first glance and can have terse ways of speaking, they are amicable enough and will be willing to do business with Aldrip and her citizens.

---

OR MAYBE WE DON'T

     

The visit from Aldrip, which is a rare occurrence indeed, results in much confusion for the Rumpiturian people, and this may or may not be considered a blessing to those who could be more unscrupulous in nature.

Although the visit to Rumpitur is meant to be one of peace, locals of Aldrip and the Chosen alike have the opportunity to steal supplies from the people. If they choose to do this, they may find that there are no immediate repercussions for this course of action. The likelihood is that this visit has caught the Rumpiturians so off-guard that they're not expecting to be robbed. Of course, how this will impact things in the future remains to be seen...

Individuals may grab as much as they can carry, depending on what they've brought with them. The locals of Aldrip who planned this expedition provided convenient-to-carry containers that can be filled with anything retrieved from the village and her kind. Larger containers will require at least two people to carry when filled, so perhaps you're inclined to work with a partner-in-crime. Just remember that for every action, there's a consequence, even if you're not seeing it right away!

Rumpitur will not notice that they are missing inventory until well after Aldrip has left and travels back through the forest to town, so no one need fear the chasing and hissing of snakes into Pessiria.

Probably.

HOLD ONTO YOUR VALUABLES

IT'S NOT REAL... RIGHT?

     

Those who've decided to brave the forest will find on their adventure to Rumpitur that it's rather straight forward and proceeds without incident.

The sky above the trees is a difficult thing to see, blocked out by the way the evergreens stretch and imposingly tower above. At times light may scatter through various openings in branches, but it is a largely darker atmosphere, and at night requires the assistance of candlelight or related.

Travellers with the courage to make way through the forest with the others may hear occasional snaps, cracks, whispers, and more enigmatic sounds that are difficult to justify with logic. Of course, whether this is all in the head or something truly more sinister at play is up for debate. Despite the strange occurrences that one may experience, no members of the Chosen will find themselves harmed or otherwise physically disturbed initially. That said, some may later find themselves haunted by strange dreams and visions of the forest in the future if they are especially sensitive to such things.

Were those sounds real? Were you just hearing things? It's probably wisest not to investigate further. At least, maybe not now...

---

COUNT YOUR NUMBERS

     

Aldrip has a great many stories about Pessiria Forest and many of the other towns, landmarks, settlements, and people scattered across the continent. Most of these stories seem to depict folklore or a certain mythological feeling about them, implying that many of the locals don't truly believe in any of the more macabre tales. Pessiria Forest has no shortage of poetry and song that pertains to its supposedly 'holy' grounds and mysterious happenstances.

There are several alleged accounts about people having gone missing in the forest, due to how complicated it is to navigate by one's self. The more people travelling together, the safer it is purported to be.

Before leaving for Rumpitur, heads have been counted to ensure that wherever they start is also where they end up, however, for the more observant, one may find that the returning party is short of a few heads. Maybe some of them stayed behind to further the diplomatic efforts with the Rumpiturians. Maybe they're going to catch up later. Maybe they took a different pathway through the forest with some of their mates. Maybe there's something more untoward going on.

If this is brought up to the locals, the leaders of the expedition will warily make note of it and conduct their own investigation. At least, they say they will. Either way, it's suspicious no matter how you may turn it. Perhaps put heads together with another and see if you're just miscounting.

Comments

[mercedis]

[ His eyes, caught on the sight of the fire in front of him, shift: it's a flicker of surprise, almost disbelief, when Aerith's head touches his shoulder, and though he tenses there, he doesn't find it in himself to shrug her off. In some ways, it tells him a lot more about her state of mind than she might realize; she's always been like this, tugging at him and touching him and nudging him along, but that soft weight on him isn't the sort that's meant to embarrass him, or fluster him into reaction.

She's tired. He can tell she's tired. And if there's some kind of comfort that he can provide her, it doesn't feel right to push her away from it.

Clearing his throat, faintly, there's just the smallest shake of his head. ]

I don't mind.

[ Silence is something he's good at--but even so, he doesn't like it when Aerith is quiet. Something about it doesn't feel right, like he wants her to be able to pour out the words and thoughts that bother her, so that he can crush them like a friend should. Like a bodyguard should. Like anything else that his thoughts might be pushing towards should. For a long moment, he focuses on the crackle of the fire; he turns her words over carefully, considering.

Seeing things, hearing things: in some ways, he knows that there are parts of her he'll never understand, but if this isn't the Planet that they come from, is it speaking just to her? Or everyone else? ]

What sort of things were you seeing? [ It's quiet: not out of disbelief, but a gentle pleading to understand. ] Just tonight? Or all day?

[inemeraldfaith]

[It’s possible a part of her expects him to draw away. To otherwise find some kind of reason or excuse to put distance between them. That he doesn’t says quite a lot about him. About them. How they’ve come to be where they are. It’s not as though they’ve not seen plenty together. It doesn’t feel like it’s been very long, but there’s been quite a bit all jam-packed together.

Wouldn’t be a surprise that any of them would be tired, honestly.

Shifting just a touch closer to him, giving his questions some thought, she folds her hands together in her lap.]

I think I only saw stuff on the way back. Or thought I did. I’m not sure. I couldn’t make it out. Not all of it, anyway. There was a child I saw earlier, but it turned out to be… not related to the other stuff.

[Because she can’t imagine he’d be happy to hear that she and Sephiroth were exchanging words. She’s the one who told him to stay away from the man. Not… that she exactly sought Sephiroth out either.]

It might have just been a feeling. Something about being here feels a little strange. It’d be a good idea for everyone to move along as quickly as they can. I don’t want us to stay here any longer than necessary. It might be nothing, but it’d be better to not take the risk.

[Lifting her head just enough to leave chin on him, her green eyes meet blue counterpart.]

You didn’t see anything, I guess. Maybe it really is just me.

[mercedis]

[ He takes her words in with silence, but he's turning them over in his head, puzzling through them the way that he does. In some ways, he feels like there's a loneliness to the differences that Aerith feels between herself and other people: a familiar feeling, something he experienced in his youth all the same; she's disappointed, he thinks, that he can't perceive things the same way she can here.

With a faint breath, his gaze stays on the fire, even as she shifts against him, her chin pinned at his shoulder. There's a small, almost imperceptible shake of his head. ]

I don't think it's just you. People are hearing things...Whispers. Voices.

[ The fact that he hasn't, yet, is likely just another conflation of the way that his head is already too twisted to comprehend anything else. The soft brush of something outside of his ear could be the forest, could be Sephiroth, could be anything.

His eyes fall shut for a moment, measuring, before he opens them again. ]

This isn't...like back home, is it? [ It's the gentlest way he can think of to ask, as he shifts his arm just slightly back, as though allowing her more space near his shoulder, near his chest. ] It's a different kind of feeling. Right?

[inemeraldfaith]

[Whether he invites her intentionally or not, Aerith takes it. Nearing him, she nestles close. She could use the excuse that it's cold in the forest if she wanted to, but that's not really it. It's not that she's afraid. It hasn't quite reached that point yet. It's uncertainty, which is actually just as nerve-racking.

Aerith does not like not having answers.

Without a doubt, it is very likely that in some way the presence of Zack and Sephiroth both are throwing her off in a way. It wouldn't be a complete surprise if thinking about where they fit into things is likely taking a chunk of her effort away from where she might otherwise be observant or feel more prepared. But Aerith, no matter how it may seem she does, really doesn't know everything.

At Cloud's question, she watches him closely and she shakes her head.]

No. It's not the same.

[Although she has to wonder what he means. What he's getting at. What does he know that she feels he shouldn't know? And how?]

Hey, Cloud. Can you tell me what you remember last before you came here? What was happening back home?

[mercedis]

[ There's a soft breath that leaves him as she settles in against him--cautious, uncertain, his arm flexes slightly, hand clenching in as though entirely unaware of what to do with himself now that she's gone and done exactly what he silently invited her to do. This is the trouble with her, and the trouble with him: she calls him on his bluff every time, and he never quite has the pieces together enough to smooth it over like a cool guy might. Instead, he always stammers, looks away, closes down, goes silent.

Carefully, his arm shifts, draped lightly down the line of her back, a hand that hesitates once before settling, feather light, on her hip. That's safe enough. Comforting enough. ]

...What was happening back home? [ There's a slight swallow, considering it as his gaze moves down to his own lap, then to the fire, then up to the trees around them. ] We...left Midgar. Went through...

[ There's a soft breath through his nose; it almost sounds like laughter, like he can't believe he's saying the words. ]

...Destiny. Fought Sephiroth. And... were heading out to...find him and defeat him. Heading out to Kalm.

[ It surprises him, in a way, to say all this and have never really wondered: is this not what Aerith remembers? How could that be possible?

Tilting his chin, slightly, he tries to look at her--but all he can see is her hair, the slight bridge of her nose, her eyelashes. ]

Is that not...?

If too old, please feel free to drop. Sorry for the wait!

[inemeraldfaith]

[She doesn’t think too hard about the movement of his hand. This as it is, is already pushing him beyond an invisible boundary of what one Cloud Strife is comfortable or accustomed to. Aerith hasn’t pried for details, nor does she seem inclined to do so, but here and there, she gives him just a little nudge. It’s always a dance with him, trying to figure out what is too much or what is not enough, and so on. It’s always a struggle. Instead of focusing on all of that, however, she chooses to focus on what she deems immediately more important—

His answer.

They left Midgar.
Fought Sephiroth.
Headed out to Kalm.

So… It’s more telling than she’d ordinarily think of it. Means she doesn’t spend the rest of her life in a laboratory. Means she does, in fact, see the others again. She’s been willing to guess that she would, though what she knows and what she thinks she knows are two very different things.

At his question that he seems to dare not finish, Aerith looks up at him, lifting her chin just enough to more properly eye him.]

I was just curious. [She reassures him, an easy falsehood that holds back a truth Cloud doesn’t need to know.] I’ve heard that some people from the same place have different memories. I don’t know how true that is, but it’s kind of hard to call that into question.

[She has different memories. Incomplete ones, perhaps, where he has a fuller picture.]

no worries!

[mercedis]

[ She says she's just curious, but something doesn't sit right about it--almost as though the reply is to make him feel better about something that he doesn't quite understand. Then again, she talks in that way often: this isn't the first time he's felt like her knowledge is far away from his own, down a path that he's worried he won't be able to follow.

With a short nod of his chin, he cranes his gaze back to the fire in front of them. ]

Different memories...

[ In a way, it makes sense. If whatever happened here is able to bring in all kinds of people from all kinds of worlds, it's not a far stretch to think it could disrupt time, or destiny, in the same way they did.

His hand shifts, slightly, against her hip, but it's mostly just to settle. ]

Do you have different memories, then? More? Or less?

[ She might not want to answer--and he tells himself he'll be okay with that, either way. He just thinks she should get the opportunity to share if it's burdening her. ]

[inemeraldfaith]

["Do you have different memories, then? More? Or less?"

It takes an extraordinary amount of discipline for Aerith not to release her following breath in a shudder. It may be entirely unintentional on his part, but the question is so sharp and on point that, not for the first time, she feels a degree of guilt for keeping so much from him. And from the others that they know. She has felt it before and she suspects she will continue to experience it here and there, but there is a sense of loneliness she gets holding onto the information she has and keeping so much of it to herself.

She does it for the right reasons, she knows. What she feels and defines as the 'right' reasons, anyway. Not that she suspects others would be inclined to agree. Perhaps. It's difficult to say. Following his gaze, she settles back in against him, wondering how to answer him. Is there a way to do so without giving too much? He deserves something, doesn't he?]

Hm... I think you know a little more than I do. I don't remember leaving Midgar. At least not yet.

[Not in the way he does, she suspects. Maybe. She can't ask about that, however.]

Which means I don't remember fighting Sephiroth either. Before I came here, I was in Shinra's laboratory. Some people here have said this world is like a prison, and I guess it is, but I don't think it's anything in comparison what was going on at Shinra.

[With Hojo, which she suspects is just better left unsaid.]

[mercedis]

[ Even though he’d accepted it as a possibility, there’s still a part of him that feels surprised at the revelation. If Aerith doesn’t remember leaving Midgar, then that puts her memories somewhere behind his; is she simply missing them, or has had them clouded by this experience? Or did she never really experience them at all? The feeling it leaves him with is uncomfortable and distracting.

With a breath, he tries to focus on what’s important. ]

Right. We came to get you from there. Out of the lab.

[ Is it selfish? He isn’t sure. ]

…I came to get you from there. I wouldn’t leave you.

[ It’s interesting to think that this new place could be a prison. He hadn’t experienced what she did, being trapped in Shinra like that, but even so: the things she told them after, seeing where she’d been with her birth mother, and what Red told them—-he wouldn’t wish that on anyone, and the people in Aldrip, thinking of it like a prison, are sorely naive. There’s much worse. There’s always worse.

With a gentle, reassuring squeeze to her hip, he closes his eyes against the heat of the fire. ]

…I don’t know if that’s reassuring or not. But I just wanted you to know.

[inemeraldfaith]

[She feels both warmed and an ache within at the notion that they would come for her. That Cloud would deem her so important to do such a thing. It's not that she's thought otherwise. He can be hard to figure out and even harder to understand. In some ways, Aerith may know him better than he knows himself and she still can't say that she knows him as well as she'd like to.

Was she worth the effort? Breaking into Shinra would not be a simple venture. Not something to be randomly done. As she settles against him, she weighs the taxing nature of her person, her very existence, against the other obstacles in his life. She can't make that choice for him, however, as much as she should like to. It's a difficult place to be in.

For all of them.]

No, it's nice to hear. [She can admit it with a short little nod.] I'm sorry for being a trouble. You've already gone through it, so I guess I can't really apologise, but maybe... a Cloud in the past will get it.

[mercedis]

You're not trouble. You're our friend.

[ It's sort of the response that he expected her to have, though--and a part of him had worried that while the notion of her not spending the rest of her life in Shinra's laboratory might be a relief, the idea that it had taken all of them risking their lives to get her out of there might have been something of a burden.

With a gentle squeeze to her hip, he shakes his head a little. ]

We met...someone else there, anyway. Learned a lot about the way Shinra is. The way you are. What you know, what you don't...What's waiting for us.

[ He doesn't have regrets about any of it--except that he couldn't manage to prevent it in the first place. ]

I probably...don't have to say this. But if you're in trouble, I'm not just going to leave you behind. That's not how we are.

[inemeraldfaith]

[”You’re not trouble. You’re our friend.”

What a wonderful thing to say and yet it’s still a little difficult to wrap her head around. She’s certainly suspected that he and the others would come for her. She can argue back and forth all she wants about whether she’s worthy of that or not. No matter what she thinks of herself, worth, impact, she can’t affect free will.]

You might not always have the luxury of bringing me with you.

[She gets the message, though. That’s what’s really important. Nestled against him, for those moments at least, despite the strange things in the forest, despite what she came from back home, she feels like things might work out here. Even if they don’t, she has to be satisfied with what she does have.

This is a second chance, right? Or something like it…]

I understand, though. I don’t want to be too much for you. Or any of the others. I’ll try not to be. I hope you’ll rely on me as much as I rely on you.