let's set d o w n some (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
groundrules) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
westwhere2023-01-27 08:34 pm
groundrules) wrote in westwhere2023-01-27 08:34 pm
Entry tags:
- 2ha: chu wanning,
- all souls trilogy: sarah bishop,
- arc v,
- arcane: caitlyn,
- arcane: jinx,
- arcane: viktor,
- better call saul: jimmy mcgill,
- better call saul: nacho varga,
- btvs: spike,
- doctor who: clara oswald,
- doctor who: river song,
- doctor who: the doctor,
- final fantasy xiv: stephanivien,
- final fantasy xiv: vrtra,
- harry potter: hermione granger,
- kingdom of the wicked: emilia,
- kingdom of the wicked: wrath,
- mcu: bucky barnes,
- mcu: kamala khan,
- mcu: pietro maximoff,
- mcu: stephen strange,
- mcu: wanda maximoff,
- mcu: yelena,
- mo dao zu shi: xiao xingchen,
- oh! my emperor: beitang moran,
- oh! my emperor: su xunxian,
- original: red,
- penny dreadful: vanessa ives,
- star trek: una,
- star wars: merrin,
- star wars: merrin. 2ha: chu wanning,
- umbrella academy: five,
- untamed: lan sizhui,
- warcraft: anduin wrynn,
- warcraft: wrathion,
- x-men: charles xavier,
- zettai karen children: kumoi yuuri
the scattering
And now, hard siege during Alem’s first log event, covering 27 January to 12 February.
This Arc relies on information sharing and troubleshooting solutions, whether to keep the watch towers standing, find the Reaper, hold back Rathakku or evacuate civilians. Don’t be shy!
As a refresher, character have individual assignment & notes — but rest easily, they can largely go anywhere in Alem and play out any prompt below.
Click each header for scenarios!
Alem’s chilly welcome includes a gift of weapons, clothes and meagre food provisions. You are quickly given your posts and grudgingly tolerated by fortress natives, many of whom accuse you of collusion with Rathakku or the merchant guilds. Expect unkind tests or teasing from soldiers who want you to prove your worth.
■ SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS: rare beds and hard pallets in the Keep barracks, sharing broad rooms infantrymen. Alternatively, sleep in the Wards, with refugees or the sick.
■ ARSENAL: you receive serviceable weapons or inherited clothes — ragged, over/undersized and perhaps livened by fleas.
■ FOOD: scant, dry, hard and prioritised for the weak, young, sickly or actively fighting. Scarce additional resources, such as berries and deer meat, can be procured from the nearby forests on the lower half of the mountain.
■ ACCESS: characters can go to anywhere, except the Room of Seals. Entering the Watch Towers will be discouraged during attacks, unless you were assigned these posts.
■ Between 7-10 February, Rathakku will Claw — meaning necromancers, the dead and those who are incredibly sensitive to life and death are vulnerable to his thrall. They could be conscripted into his armies, if they exit the fortress or linger long outside. Ghosts might woo them to enter the mountain forests, and they will itch with wanderlust and a sense of incompletion. Comment here with an idea of what you'd like you character to do/a> if they are lured to Rathakku’s side.
■ NPCs: each fortress level has a designated NPC you can reach out to. Deimar will additionally be visiting the Watch Tower, following Stephen Strange’s taunts.
THE WATCH TOWERS
The first and most war-torn line of defence. The watch towers keep Alem standing — fend off their attackers.
EASTERN TOWER
- ■ Assigned to the Eastern Tower: Jinx, Vi, Hermione and Chu Wanning. Medic: Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy.
■ Harpies frequently charge here, using their blade-sharp claws and deep fangs. They are humanoid but carnivorous and expressly prey on tower watchers. The scent of blood lures them — so Bones should quickly bandage wounds.
■ Bad weather hides their attacks. Beware the mists of 29 January and the blizzards of 3-6 February.
■ Cut the harpies’ legs if they fly away with you — better to risk a hard fall into the mountain’s snowy than being dragged into their nests.
■ They are vulnerable to loud sounds and vibrations. Set off the great, rusted tower bells to sound the alarm and repel them.
WESTERN TOWER
- ■ Assigned to the Western Tower: Eleven, Xie Yun, Kahl and Eda. Medic: Sarah Bishop.
■ Flurries of arrows frequently rain down, plain, fire or poison-tipped. They are shot in two broad attacks (morning and evening) by orc archers.
■ Sarah receives a kit of local ointment antidotes, but must make haste — the sickness spreads quickly and paralyses limbs. (Effects disappear over 1-6 hours, once the antidote is applied).
■ A rare few arrows are tipped with hallucinogen substances that trigger paranoid visions.
■ Orcs may try to scale this tower, using climbing hooks. Push them down.
SOUTHERN TOWER
- ■ Assigned to the Southern Tower: Jon Snow, Stephen Strange, Red and Finn. Medic: Wen Qing.
■ Irenia, Frost’s Scourge, an ancient, extremely large but slow dragon stops first at the Southern Tower before proceeding to other watch posts. She will turn back, if she is stopped here.
■ The dragon breathes down frost that can paralyse you in place, or freeze limbs. Wen Qing must prioritise warming the affected.
■ A few anti-frost shields have been supplied, but their magic wanes after a few hours. Use them as a last resort.
■ Irenia’s hide is tough and leathery, but she can be deflected by continuous attack. She no longer seems to hear or see as sharply.
■ She largely flies by, breathes ice and tries to pick up watchers in her great maws, then crack their bones or throw them down on hard stone.
■ Repel her for three consecutive days and she will not return for a week.
NORTHERN TOWER
- ■ Assigned to the Northern Tower: Kamala Khan, Wanda Maximoff, Merrin and Jiang Cheng. Medic: Anduin.
■ Demons draw large catapults near the fortress walls and throw strong projectiles at this tower — stone, large steel balls or even human or demonic.
■ The worst missiles comprise stones alight with ‘living fire’ — an extraordinarily hot blaze that can quickly incinerate tissue. Anduin should immediately attend to burns.
■ The tower is exceptionally weathered and structurally unsound, marked by large, destabilising holes. Kerasstone asks you to fix the infrastructure or guard his repairmen.
■ The ongoing damage sometimes triggers quakes in the fragile tower — hold on and don’t fall crumbling to your deaths.
■ Use the one-man crossbows and range weapons available, or the fixed large tower crossbows to shoot back and destroy the catapults.
THE KEEP
Life at court, when the knives come out: barracks, royal halls and Crown Prince Haiva’s medical quarters await.
KINGDOM COME
The court of Alem bustles with rival proposals: the supporters of Crown Prince Haiva want to surrender the citadel, while proponents of former Regent Thyvault seek to raise the remaining armed forces in a desperate last stand against Rathakku. King Deimar, mere months in his rule, has opted to evacuate convoys and resettle them, after sealing away any last chance of Rathakku accessing hell’s gates.
- ■ The supporters of Haiva, Thyvault and Deimar wage frequent wars of words that accuse Thyvault of Deimar of usurpring rule, and Haiva of being too weak to lead.
■ Thyvault’s men slyly wonder if Deimar killed the beautiful woman he was seen wooing mere months ago in the fortress grounds. Proof of her death or continued survival would benefit the three causes.
■ The woman was last seen chased by a fair-haired rider into the frosted forests that Rathakku has peopled with monstrous wolves and undead Alem huntsmen. Interrogate hunters & commoners or track her down.
■ Tempers boil over Jan. 29-Feb. 5, with arguments frequently devolving into fights and shallow stabbing. As ‘supporters’ of the three gentlemen, you should defend their cause — but do pull back blows before you kill each other.
■ Deimar punished brawlers with a few days of penitent confinement in the barracks, where you are expected to reflect on your sins and attitude, and certainly not join the cliques of heavily drinking men playing dares and cards. Hold your liquor, survive the exceptionally spicy Alem meals and take advantage of the general inebriation to ask your questions of the brass — without showing your horror when you hear them boast that Thyvault’s men drove the local ice mermaid population extinct.
IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?
The Haiva’s medics ( Bones, Sarah Bishop, Anduin and Wen Qing) are repeatedly called in to inspect his fits of sudden and elusive sickness. He exhibits a varied multitude of bizarre symptoms when his healers visit him:
- ■ Bones finds Haiva is a haemophiliac, his skin brittle like paper.
■ For Sarah Bishop, Haiva is overwhelmingly feverish, battling an unseen infection.
■ Wen Qing sees patches on Haiva’s skin that resemble decaying, moulding or gangrene.
■ Anduin notices Haiva’s skin feels clammy, his breathing stalled, as if his body were entering rigor mortis. He is very much alive.
Haiva is always weak, but gratefully and mysteriously cured of his symptoms within hours of his consultation. You can start a thread with him!
Info sharing with the medics’ club is caring!
THE CROSSING
The bustling, stifling and overheated Crossing reunites the main ground-level gates and corridors of Alem’s castle. Merchants traverse the halls, volunteering their wares at exorbitant prices, while former Regent Thyvault leads the departing troops.
HAGGLE GAGGLE
- ■ Colluding merchants offer their less-than-stellar goods at heinous rates. You get 100 coins to haggle long, hard and to the bone for food, cloth and maps, amid war inflation. Offer your hair, your virtue, the ugly side of your fist as needed. No one will mind if you liberate a few wares.
■ Two of the most prominent merchants — boastful Batthour of the grains and stern Eles, vendor of maps, silks and steel — openly despise each other. Their apprentices frequently start brawling — stay out of their way or stoke the clashes…
■ Batthour and Eles are both open to trade, but seem distinctly disdainful of Alem, expressing pleasure from profiteering in its downfall. Group up to raise coin or other goods to trade, then put in your best offer. The next few Alem convoys require 500kg of wheat and at least three maps of eastward provinces to resettle.
THE WAR IN WORDS
- ■ WHEN IT GRAINS, RED POURS: Under Thyvault’s leadership, Alem’s scouts and infantry gather in the Crossing for final instructions then advance into Rathakku’s territory. You can join them on a mission to the Ivory plains at the bottom of the mountain, where a few frozen storage houses still have summer grains. Steal back the supplies, bypassing snow-buried traps and Rathakku’s lingering feral creatures.
■ King Deimar has prepared new missives for Rathakku. Multiple envoys can group up to ensure delivery down the mountain and into the warlord’s encampment in the Tattered Highlands. Your white flag buys limited patience from Rathakku’s demonic armies. Only two characters can directly interact with the warlord — Sign up for one of two spots by 23:55 GMT on 30 January. Note: Rathakku should be approached lightly.
THE WARDS
The ill-lit Wards house the wounded, young, crippled or vulnerable of Alem, alongside those preparing to evacuate the fortress in upcoming convoys. Where there is sickness and overcrowding, expect poor provisions, the astringent scent of antiseptic, and a sense of residual decay. The lucky few sleep on pallets — while most dwellers take the hard ground and share dry bread. Soft-spoken Crown Prince Haiva visits regularly.
THINK OF THE CHILDREN
- ■ Weak civilians are often targeted by soldiers, who are frustrated by sharing their resources with ‘leeches’ who do not defend the citadel. Intervene to protect the vulnerable and redistribute any food that is unfairly confiscated. Prince Haiva will lend his scarce authority to correct any reported wrongdoings.
■ Learn to supply first aid, console orphaned children or widow(er)s and ease the spirits of those petrified by the recent murders.
■ A convoy prepares to leave on 9 Feb, with another due on 15 Feb. Pack the scant effects of the weak and plead for the gold or charity of the Keep’s gentry. Whatever resources you gain will greatly help the survival odds of those who resettle.
■ Inevitably, death visits some of the wounded. Professional grievers and coarse embalmers perform cleansing and mourning rites for survivors. Help them, or participate in the local habit of sharing tales of your most tragic sorrows, to distract them from their own.
WATSON ON DUTY
- ■ The investigative summary, as civilians can share them: five unrelated deaths took place over the past 11 weeks. Some speak superstitiously of a Reaper, who punishes the people of Alem for abandoning their fortress and sacred duty to protect the gate to hell.
■ The victims were all men aged 22-35 of diverse appearances and backgrounds. Some had minor injuries. They were all found without marks of wounding or sickness, bearing a white string bound to their wrists. One of the men was a foreign merchant.
■ Senior sorceress Althea searched the site and cleansed bodies, finding no evidence of magical interference.
■ Haiva has reinforced guards, but Deimar seems indifferent. Thyvault believes this is only an inevitably level of mundane crime.
■ Some nights, you might wake to the haunting song of a plangent woman. You enter a state of dreamy, confused hypnosis, drawn to a narrow, steep staircase you had not glimpsed before. You fumble towards the lake caves of the Gut’s Bind. Even the intrusive voices of Alem tell you to snap out of it and awaken — but your best bet is a companion’s help.
■ The staircase cannot be found again, come morning. The call is fainter for women, and does not affect the same person more than one-two nights.
■ Guards, sorcerers and civilians can answer your questions — but prepare your bribes and wooing.
THE GUT’S BIND
It’s nice, dark and quiet in here, barring the comforting thrum of the forges. Paladins and sorcerers are hard at their elusive work, reinforcing the Room of Seals. Access to the Forges, mines and glacier lake caves remains liberal.
LAKES, MINES, MAYHEM
- ■ THE MINES: Characters deployed to find new escape routes find a series of corridors leading into the previously bustling gold mines, where ore resources remain well supplied. The territory is overwhelmingly shaky, with mine shafts and structures prone to collapse. They appear dusty, brittle, husked and far older than their actual age. Go deep enough and you can find sheets haphazardly strewn about and the remains of partly devoured demons.
■ THE LAKES: Saunter into a series of four interconnected ice lake caves, where the brutal cold is viciously wounding and pervasive. The first three caves give you no trouble, beyond ridiculously sharp icicles waiting to drop down. As you enter the fourth cave, you find gleaming stretches of golden, gleaming… scales that float on the lake waters. Grab one to study — but beware the starved creature that guards them.
■ THE FORGES: some entirely abandoned, some functional, all well-equipped at this time. Settle down alone, or in the company of Kerasstone’s people — the old blood that preceded even Alem’s settlement and holy seal in the mountains.
■ Keep an ear out for sudden sounds or unexpected steps behind you, as you travel the tighter and tighter passageways to find or shovel new exit routes through the mountain: some of Rathakku’s creatures appear to have… wandered in. They camouflage as stone and lay perfectly still in wait of their prey, before descending. They’re vulnerable to strong light and a jolly smiting.
LOCK YOUR DOORS
- ■ Paladins and sorcerers enter the heavily warded and barricaded Room of Seals every few hours. They emerge exhausted, their resources drained. Some also bear heavy gashes.
■ Characters are barred from entering and incarcerated for a day in one of the Keep’s jails or brought before Galatea’s judgement, if they attempt to sneak in.
■ Groans and screams can be occasionally heard from within, followed by spikes in the sense of deathliness of the place. Some paladins are never seen exiting.
■ You have one chance to enter, at midnight on 1 February, when the Gut’s Bind erupts into calls for healers to attend an emergency. Collapsed paladins are urgently pulled out, while sorcerers attempt to ward the room before ultimately fleeing to help their brethren. You can infiltrate and stay inside for 20 minutes before the stoked anger of the room completely overwhelms you, and you begin to bodily attack everyone and everything around you. This is a dangerous route: check in for one of three findings scenarios.
no subject
[ Grinning at him again, she's full of it, because she's never broken the law before. She's pretty sure. Clara tilts her chin up as she waits for his answer, eyes sweeping over his features before laughing. It takes her by surprise, everything's been so serious that it actually feels good. ]
You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Dark and Mysterious. [ Hands on her hips, she pretends to think about it, tapping her foot. Tilting her head one way, then the other, she finally holds out her hand. ]
Deal. If this doesn't work and I'm arrested or something, can you find a friend for me and tell him what happened? He's called the Doctor, tall, wears a bowtie, can't miss him if you haven't met him already.
no subject
He almost doesn't recognize the physical sensation of the slightly embarrassed smile that pulls at his mouth at her laugh, her hands on her hips... She's shorter than he is and yet somehow she manages to make it seem like she's the one standing over him, surveying him, but not in a way that makes him feel threatened.
Small-but-mighty. Little, but with a big personality.
When she asks him to tell her l friend, he nods. ]
Don't worry. I'll let him know. Think I might've seen him around. [ And here he pauses for effect. ] Unless I end up in jail with you. [ It's cool, though; he can imagine worse company to be trapped with. ]
So what exactly do you need me to do, Clara?
no subject
If we're both good at what we do, then neither one of us has to worry. All you have to do is talk. Keep that guy distracted, he seems to really love talking about his wares.
[ Pushing a piece of hair behind her ear, Clara bites at her bottom lip, everything hinging on his answer. She'll do the riskiest part, so she's hoping the answer is still yes. ]
So, will you help me? Please?
no subject
You know, most people don't take the riskiest part of a job for themselves.
[ He can't help feeling curious that she would, apparently.
To her question, he doesn't answer right away, just peers at her through eyes that slowly blink from underneath long lashes. And then she does get an answer, albeit not a verbal one. He steps away from her and jogs slightly toward the merchant with a little wave of his hand and a friendly, "Hey!" ]
no subject
[ It isn't fair for one person to have such gorgeous eyes, but hopefully, she can address that with him later. When he begins to walk away, at first she thinks he's walking away from her. But once he shouts, she grins and gets to work.
For his part, the merchant is eager to make any sort of trade, and so lets himself be taken in by the prospective customer. As planned, Clara uses the distraction to walk behind the booth and carefully retrieve the map she needs. At one point the merchant turns and Clara's nearly caught, but she ducks out just in time.
Confident she's gotten away with it, she only hears one word shouted, and that's thief.
Whoops. Just as she'd made her exit the merchant reached for something else, he'd caught sight of the void left by the map. Eyes wide, she looks at her partner in crime while preparing to back up into a run, silently urging him to do the same. ]
no subject
They're almost off scot-free until he hears it. The shouts of "thief!" Nacho catches Clara's gaze, and sees her pleading eyes, beseeching him to run. He makes a split second decision.
He grabs for some small trinket, then waves it in the air and yells, "Hey, assholes!" before taking off in the opposite direction from where it looked like she was going to go. It's an impulsive decision, but hopefully one that will pay off. She has the map after all, which is more important. ]
no subject
Thundering footsteps rush by her and she exhales, catching her breath. Slowly and carefully, Clara makes a wide circle back in the direction she saw the man run, stopping about a block away. She doesn't even know his name, what if he has people here? She doesn't see him, but the vendor is back at his stall, angry and slamming things around.
From safely behind her corner, Clara closes her eyes and lets her head fall back against the wall as her heart sinks. ]
Fuck.
[ Whispering the word to herself, the map feels like it's burning a whole inside her pocket. Her mind is already racing, thinking of the most powerful people she knows to try and come up with a rescue plan. ]
no subject
[ The voice speaks from somewhere behind her. It sounds like its owner is out of breath, and not just because it's punctuated by loud pants before and after. When she turns, he grins at her with a faux sheepishness that belies the fact he doesn't really feel bad for worrying her at all. ]
Got the map?
[ It's the kind of rush he hasn't had in a long time. Ultimately, it's victimless; nobody had to really get hurt, and it's not like he would have been murdered on the spot if he had been caught anyway. At least he hopes not.
He remembers their deal and gives her a wave. ]
Uh. It's Nacho, by the way.
[ Is that the smoothest thing or the cheesiest thing he's ever said?? God help him, he doesn't know. ]
no subject
I got it. I fucking got it.
[ For a second, she thought she was toast, and then she thought he was. Tucking the map carefully away again, she grins at her reward. ]
Nacho, a name definitely worth knowing. [ She has some awareness that it's probably a nickname, and maybe that doesn't count, but she's too relieved he's okay. ]
Thank you, really, I thought—[ She chews on the inside of her cheek, looking at him with her big brown eyes for a second before she's impulsively hugging him. She hasn't gotten out of the habit yet, hasn't traveled with the new regeneration of the Doctor long enough to be broken of it. So, he gets a hug that's genuine and solid before she pulls back. ]
I think I'm supposed to offer to do something for you now.
no subject
His body stiffens at first in response. He's not used to this kind of physical affection, especially lately, and especially not from strangers, who are usually intimidated by him. Amber and Jo and Nikki were different, since they knew him.
But. Damn! Those eyes. Big and brown like a doe's. It's enough to make a guy's insides twist up at the thought of disappointing her. So after the first few seconds of uncertain stiffness, he reaches out to gently rest an awkward hand on her back.
Then she's pulling away just as soon as she launched herself at him, and his awkward one hand falls away. When she says she has to do something for him, he shakes his head. ]
Oh. Uh. No. No, that's-- you know what? Don't worry about it. We're cool.
[ He's still reeling from being hugged like that out of the blue, but not in a bad way. Just... forgive him if he seems a little bit overwhelmed, almost dizzy, Clara. It's him, not you. ]
We should probably get outta here, though. [ Nacho folds his hand into a fist with the thumb sticking out, and jerks the thumb over his shoulder. ] Unless you want to spend the night getting acquainted with the inside of a jail cell. 'Cause me, not so much.
no subject
Oh, right. This isn't my day job, can you tell?
[ Walking with him down a path, she takes a few random turns until she's sure they aren't being followed down to the barracks. She's never done any crime, but she is sneaky. Plus, she's seen and read plenty of thrillers, she's got this. ]
I'd say, all in all, a successful day. We make a pretty good team.
[ Clara glances up at Nacho, curious about him, especially since he helped her. ]
Alright, first question in the getting-to-know-you phase of things is: are you from Earth?
[ One day, someone's going to say no and then mention someplace in the universe she's heard of, so she almost always asks. One day, all the space travel has to pay off. ]
Sorry for the delay!
Little bit. [ Slightly more seriously. ] Trust me. You don't want it to be.
[ She has the aptitude, sure! But she's so sweet, he'd hate to see her get mixed up in a life of crime the way he did.
His expression barely changes when she says they make a good team but there's a flicker in his eyes. A happy one.
Hell yeah they do. ]
Yeah. I'm from Earth. [ He's gathered that many people here aren't, which is bizarre to him, though he tries not to show it. ] You aren't?
never have to apologize, no worries at all!
Bloody gorgeous eyes, though. ]
I'd be rubbish. I don't think my size is intimidating anyone.
[ Clara smiles up at him and when he confirms where he's from, she shakes her head at his question before correcting herself. ]
I am, but I wasn't there when I was suddenly here. I was heading there, though. I think.
[ Who knows, especially with a Doctor who seems to dislike her, and no clue what he's doing. ]
The friend I asked you to find if something happened? He isn't always good with directions. Thought being here was his fault, at first.
[ Sorry, Doctor. ]
<3!
Nacho snorts. ]
You? You wouldn't have to. A cute girl like you, you could get ten or twenty huge guys to intimidate people for you. Easy. You'd just be the brains of the operation. [ You know, like she was today! ]
[ It's cute, the way she looks up at him. Nacho isn't short-short, but for a man, he's not especially tall, so he doesn't always get the experience of someone peering up at him like that. ]
Yeah? What, you two take a wrong turn at Pluto or something?
[ It's kind of a joke, but it's at least not intended to be a mean one. Nacho tries to be chill about the weirdness that surrounds him, because he doesn't think freaking out about it will help anybody You know, the superpowers and space aliens and other comic book shit that exists in no short supply here. Being dead helps, in that regard. If he can be dead, surely other people can be warlocks or something.
There's no denying it's still super weird, though. ]
So how long have you been... you know... traveling around the galaxy, not on Earth?
no subject
By that math, I should be running this place and we should all be on our way to places funner than this.
[ Casually strolling with him, it seems like they're far away enough now to relax a little more, though she still glances over her shoulder just to be sure. ]
As for traveling, it's easy to lose track when you travel in time. Maybe if I laid it all out consecutively it's two or three years. If the Doctor can ever manage to get his TARDIS here, you can experience it for yourself.
[ That's what she wants, to be able to help the Doctor get everyone out of this hell hole and see the stars. ]
It's brilliant. I promise not every planet outside of our solar system is rubbish like this.
no subject
Oh, yeah? Then where would you take us? Gotta say, though. I feel like finding somewhere funner than this shithole wouldn't be hard.
[ He definitely wouldn't have pegged her for a time travel, that's for damn sure. Maybe if he wasn't already dead, he'd be more freaked out. But she's sweet and easy to talk to and hard to be freaked out by. Anyway, if he can be dead, she can be a time traveler. Why not?
He watches her instead of looking over his shoulder. If they were being followed, he'd know it. But he approves of her wariness all the same.
Now he's becoming curious about her, too. ]
You have a favorite one? Planet, I mean. [ It's such a strange question to ask someone, and yet it feels like the most natural thing in the world somehow. Like he's asking her where she went to high school. ]
no subject
There's a planet called Esnecni, don't ask me to spell it, dunno how. I mean, it sounds Russian. But it has two moons. One is so bright, it never really gets dark. And the other, every ten years, rains sapphires. The planet itself is beautiful, the mountains look like the tips of colored pencils, all different colors.
[ Clara tries to describe it so that it sounds as magical as it was. Until she'd been off of Earth, she isn't sure she could've dreamed up something so incredible.
Looking at him, she gives Nacho a coy smile and an innocent shrug of one shoulder. ]
Or, in 2080, we could go have cocktails on the moon.
no subject
[There's just a hint of softness in Nacho's voice as he tries to picture it. Sounds kinda beautiful. Or more than kinda, really.] I'd rather be there than here.
[He's not lying! Alem isn't exactly a great place to be, although selfishly, Nacho can see benefits to being here over where he was in life. Does that mean he'd rather be in Alem than Albuquerque? Fuck no. He's sick of watching people suffer.
But at least here, his dad's not in danger. And at least here, he's free.
He knows he's an unusual case, though. Most people probably wouldn't even be able to muster his own ambivalence, let alone an active preference for here over their own homes.
A lot of people would probably prefer Clara's colored-pencil plan, though.
Nacho closes his eyes, and smiles just a little.]
Trying to picture it, here. [And he does! For a moment. He doesn't know if he's picturing it accurately, but what he does picture sure is beautiful. Then he opens his eyes again, and fakes getting hit in the head with something. He stumbles back, and makes a show of rubbing his head.] Ow! Think I got hit with an invisible sapphire...
[He's teasing her, of course. And he doesn't stop there.]
Cocktails on the moon, huh? How do I know you're old enough to drink? [Of course, he can tell she is. Short or not!]
no subject
[ Clara rolls her eyes, but she can't quite hide a smile before she tries to look put out. He's good at being at least a little silly, which she notes appreciatively. His eyes have an intense quality to them, she saw it when they had to run. But now, he's pretending to get hit in the head by a sapphire, and she can't help but be a little fond already. ]
Was that a short joke? Wow. I just orchestrated one of the greatest heists in Alem's history, and you made a short joke.
[ Clara's not at all convincing when she pouts. ]
I can drink plenty. You should've been here back at the inn. Went shot for shot with a bridal party and definitely thought I was gonna die the next day. But I do drink.
[ She finishes that with a friendly bump into him, fake pout gone. ]
no subject
Is he having fun? Is this what fun feels like? He's pretty sure he'd forgotten. But the way she bumps into him makes him chuckle a little.]
Sure. Greatest heist in Alem's history, bragging about how much you can drink, and I'm the ridiculous one?
[Just for bumping into him, he gives her a tiny shove back. She's small though so it's light and careful, not too hard.]
no subject
I was merely stating facts.
[ Clara tries to keep a straight face, prim, proper. But then she laughs, unable to help it. ]
Besides, I was trying to charm and impress you. Did it work?
no subject
I dunno. I'm not easy to impress. You might have to try harder.
[But there's a mischievous glint behind his eyes.]
Sure you should be the one carrying that? [Playfully, he reaches out to take the map from her, to see if she's able to protect it from his grab.
He hasn't done this in so long, just messed around like this with somebody. He doesn't even remember how long? Like Clara, he knows that this doesn't make up for the rest of it, and at the end of the day, he wouldn't trade all of these people's comfort and happiness for his.
But this is still so, so nice after being so miserable for so long.]
no subject
It's the only reason she's distracted and why he can take the map so easily. ]
Hey!
[ She spins around and makes a half-hearted attempt to grab it back, since she knows it's a game. ]
That was completely unfair, you used your charm to make me weak.
no subject
You're kidding, right? No way. I saw an opportunity, and I took it.
[He waves the map in one hand.]
no subject
Don't take advantage of the vertically challenged, please!
[ She won't jump, but she does move closer to him, trying to reach as high as she can, standing on her tiptoes. They're pressed close as a result and she arches an eyebrow. ]
I can't really stretch anymore.
[ Her arm drops, but she stays close for a beat longer than necessary before stepping back. ]
What if I say please?