( mini-plot post: open to all )

[jawdacity]

Who: jawdacity & all of cerealia!
When: towards the end of the event (so this won't conflict with any event threads you may already have going). 2-3pm.
Where: Abandoned village + surrounding jungle
What: THERE ARE EXPLOSIONS. And mushrooms.
Rating/Warning: Possible NSFW for gore?

Details about this mini-plot HERE

"World of Loudening Screams" (Watch on YouTube)

(theme song of this post, courtesy of moribound.)



[ it's another muggy, meandering day in the jungle; nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. ]

IN THE VILLAGE

[ if your character is near the center of the village, they'll bear witness to the curious sight of a herd of shuffling mushroom beasts. in terms of threat level, to the experienced hunter they may have ranked low on the scale: slow, lacking an external fang or claw, they seem to be interested only in their endless march forward.

but, if your character is close enough, they may catch sight of a red-haired young man, a manifesto of anger written across his face. one breathless moment, the calm before the storm, and then he hurls a metallic pair of gloves at the closest beast, the gloves trailing arcs of flame.

what may strike your character first is the searing heat, the thrum of the earth below their feet. the whole village is demolished in a moment, the dying cries of the beasts rising above the din. the explosion lasts much longer than it should, the line of mushrooms going up one after another.

if you're too close, you might be torn in two. you might lose a limb, or two, or three. you might go deaf, you might lose your sight. you might lose all your eyelashes, your clothes. maybe the bag of mushrooms you'd collected for dinner is now little more than ash.

keep running. the smoke trails into the air. someone is screaming. the smell of charred meat follows you even after you disappear into the jungle. ]

IN THE SURROUNDING JUNGLE

[ if your character is close enough to the village, they'll feel the blasts, one after the other. the jungle is on fire, quickly spreading. maybe you'll hear the screaming, too; maybe your lungs will fill with smoke. maybe you'll run into one of the last mushroom beasts, fleeing from the explosion only to trigger a lesser one in the depths of the jungle.

it came from the village, didn't it? maybe someone you love was swept up in the explosion.

if you manage to escape the stampede of terrified jungle beasts (some of which may stop to crunch you up as a quick meal as they dash away from the blast), maybe you can venture closer to see what's happened.

or maybe you should get as far away as possible. ]

Comments

[journaler]

[For right now, at least, this is how she wants it to be. Her expression warms with his reassurance, though she still feels lost. She'd have no idea what to do, if someone like Jude or Milla were to find her like this. Playing in a stream carelessly while people suffered . . .

Then again, they don't really need her.]

Yeah.

[She lets out a small laugh, though she quickly dips underwater as she wipes at her eyes when she feels tears forming.

She finally leaves her hair alone, and when she comes up . . . she splashes him. (Is that a challenge?)]

A jungle can't take that away, no matter what happens to it!

[rebelia]

[Although he doesn't notice the tears, IV can at least tell that being away from the scene of the accident, unable to extend aid, is eating at Leia. Any other thoughts on the matter get cut short when she splashes him. He starts at the chilly contact, almost miffed, and then splashes right back with the flapping motion of his hand.]

Ah, that's right. The jungle can try, but it won't succeed.

[He decides to back up then and seat himself at the edge of the stream near their washed clothes, leaving his body submerged up to the lower half of his waist. He brings a hand to one sunburned cheek and then the other, so that the cool temperature of the water may take away the faint stinging. The tips of his fingers linger on the cheek with the scar before he drops them.]

. . . I won't let it, because I'm going to take care of you.

[journaler]

[Not if I take care of you first is the first thing to cross her mind. She shields herself with her arms against IV's retaliation and follows him to the edge of the stream. Her smile lingers as her laughter fades. It starts to waver when she thinks he's getting out, but seeing him get comfortable makes her do the same.

She joins him, and for the first time, she really feels the extra weight from her vest. She tugs at it as her cheeks warm at his words.]

Then I'll have to take care of you.

We'll make it out of here together and save ourselves for real. [And maybe teach whoever that was the meaning of the word "save," while they're at it.]

[rebelia]

"For real," huh.

[IV's mind goes to their respective worlds. He pushes the thought aside in favor of himself, Leia, and their current predicament as he watches the stream rush down its stony path. And then he tosses his head, emphasizing his next words, before he slaps at the water to spritz Leia.]

That's a given. I'm not one to give up . . . and neither are you. We'll save ourselves and all the others while we're at it.

[Pretty words have a way of boosting morale. He likes them.]

[journaler]

[They are pretty, and they make her feel better. For a moment, she feels like she can do anything . . . except maybe leave the comfort of the water. She smiles faintly, sighing with relief.

After a bit of a fight, the vest actually comes off, and she puts it with the rest of her drying clothes. It's a literal weight off her shoulders to match how she feels, leaving her with only the collared, painfully white top . . .]

After we get our strength back.

[rebelia]

[The motion of Leia's arms draws IV's attention. He freezes, neck tensing in its craned position, when he notices the change – that Leia has taken off her vest to reveal her very wet, rather transparent shirt. His gaze drops by a foot and he sees a faint tinge of pink.

Somehow, he still manages to register Leia's words and hums in agreement, though the sound stutters. He tips his head enough to focus on Leia's chin instead. It's not that he's flustered, but more taken aback by seeing something he wasn't expecting.]

. . . And you're going like that?

1/3

[journaler]

[. . . Rowen always did warn her about letting down her guard. For a moment, she actually feels relieved--the best she's felt the entire messed-up day. She can feel the tension in her body flowing away with the stream, though some of it lingers, more stubborn than the rest. It clings to her like her clothes, like something tugging at the back of her mind.

It's too late by the time it hits her.]

[journaler]

[A sharp, high-pitched sound escapes her lips sounding vaguely like "Huh?" as the realization sets in. His stutter, the way his gaze had shifted a moment ago . . . She gasps, and very quickly, warmth rushes to her face as she looks down to confirm. Pretty soon, her cheeks are several shades darker than her bra.

As if the weight on her shoulder returned, she willfully sinks into the water, stopping just above her mouth so she can still talk.]

N-No! I was just . . . It was heavy, and it needed to dry, and I forgot I . . .

[journaler]

[. . .

She comes up just enough to splash him again.] D . . . Don't look at me like that!

[rebelia]

[IV doesn't resist, letting the water spray all over him before he gives an exaggerated shrug. Fine; fine, he won't look at her like that.]

Me? What are you going to do? Get up and retrieve your vest, or continue soaking? You might even catch a cold.

[He lets her stew on that for a punctuated second before he continues.]

I don't exactly mind, you know.

[Not to say he wants to ogle her bra, but they are in a relationship. He's seen his brothers, whom he loves, shirtless. What's Leia without her vest in a soaked, transparent shirt? Besides, if she conveniently forgot and wasn't flustered until now, he thinks she'd be okay.]

[journaler]

[It's hard to imagine catching a cold when it feels so warm. Nevertheless, she's been through a lot worse, so the idea hardly scares her. She's content to stay mostly submerged, blowing bubbles beneath the surface as he goes on.

What he says next doesn't exactly help. He must be doing it on purpose.]

I'm staying with you.

[They did go over this . . . Whether it means they linger and soak or if she retrieves her vest so they can leave, it doesn't really matter. It doesn't seem like she's too eager to get out of the water, though.]

[rebelia]

I know you are.

[She said she would, so IV isn't worried. He leans back, propped up by an elbow on the ground behind him, and parts some more hair clinging to his face. Eventually, his hand slides down to fix his wet collar. What's concerning is the nagging thought now in his mind about the fire – what if it didn't snuff itself out with the village? – but he keeps it there in the corner.

Already, he can feel the humidity working against the moisture on his skin and making the air around them stifling. Rather than a swim, he might as well have just gone on a marathon.]

It's too humid to get out just yet. Good grief . . . this jungle.

[journaler]

[The air definitely feels thick. Though she hadn't given it a second thought before, she realizes breathing isn't quite as effortless as it was before, back on the colony. Maybe she's just imagining it.]

I know. I wonder how long I could hold my breath . . .

[It's an idle thought, mostly.

But she looks at the water and the space between them, creeping closer after having shied away before. She wants to go under again.]

[rebelia]

[Trust Leia to wonder something like that (or is it because she wants to submerge herself again?). He looks at her, clearly amused by the thought.]

If you're that curious, I can count.

[journaler]

[The amusement is contagious. Suddenly Leia looks up at him, and the thought doesn't seem so idle or fleeting after all.]

Not if I take you down with me. Why don't we see who comes up first?

[rebelia]

[Challenge accepted.]

Just don't stay down there so long that you pass out.

[IV shrugs in a flippant tone as he says this, and then promptly drops into the water. Ironically, it's the one type of head start that counts against him.]

[journaler]

Hey--!!

[That was easy.

Leia protests, but of course, she quickly realizes she has the advantage now. Not long after him, she takes a deep breath and drops below the surface as well. Her eyes are closed tight. Her cheeks are puffed, and after a moment, she reopens her eyes to meet his.

Time feels slow . . . everything does, just like her movements. Seconds feel like minutes.]

[rebelia]

[It figures that, outside of battle when she soars like a bird in its natural habitat, Leia would be the furthest thing from graceful. IV opens his eyes a little before and manages a straight face at her ridiculous puffed cheeks, which are actually endearing. His attention drifts to the rest of her face and how her hair moves with the flow of the stream rushing against his ears, and he tips his head to the side.

He just feels stifled, but at least Leia is suffering with him (something like that). He's already lost track of how long they've been under.

And then, an indiscernible amount of time later . . . ]

[journaler]

[She tries. She tries really hard, and the way he stares doesn't help; particularly given his earlier comments. She holds her ground though, eventually covering her mouth to keep the little air bubbles from escaping. It starts to get more and more difficult, and the sting in her eyes from the water gets more and more noticeable.

Eventually she has to shut them again, but only when she notices him surfacing does she follow suit. She takes a large, exaggerated breath, looking elated, though tired.]

Ha! [In her best announcer voice, after a pause to enjoy the air:] And the winner is Leia Rolando.

Do I get a prize?

[rebelia]

[IV emerges with a loud gasp for breath. Past the mess of blond hair sticking to his face, he watches Leia with a twitch in the corner of his lips. He isn't sore about losing; to the contrary, she's being cute.]

We didn't decide anything like that before we started . . . but a prize sounds fair. What do you want?

[journaler]

[In her defense, she hadn't really been thinking. It's only natural that a contest come with a prize for the victor, but it's true, they didn't really lay down any hard rules.

She looks more serious suddenly as she considers.]

Ummm . . .

[This shouldn't be hard!]

[rebelia]

[To be fair, he knows they don't have much to work with in the middle of nowhere. This would've been much easier if they had, say, ViViD goods to trade. Knowing this, IV waits patiently and busies himself with pulling some of the most wayward strands of hair out of his face.

In retrospect, he must look ridiculous with all this water weighing down his normally wild hair.]

[journaler]

[It is pretty ridiculous, but super endearing. Distracting, too.

. . . Leia watches him and laughs. Eventually she decides he needs help, momentarily forgetting what she was thinking about as she waits for something to pop into her head; so she inches closer and reaches up to get the strands he missed.]

Sorry. Even though I brought it up, I'm totally drawing a blank.

[rebelia]

[Leia's gesture is unnecessary but appreciated, and IV accepts her aid without fuss. Now he can see without blurry yellow lines marring his vision.]

Does that mean I'm supposed to decide now? That's a little risky, don't you think?

[He could get up, grab a rock, and throw it at her for her "prize." And unlike Ryouga, IV would be nice enough to not aim at the head.]

[journaler]

[He could, though the thought doesn't occur to Leia, so she's left looking a little confused. She tilts her head, smiling through that confusion, though she folds her arms expectantly.]

What do you mean? That's what I was about to suggest.