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In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Joshua - 03-27-2020
Well, he'd talked about it enough and the best time to begin something was always the present moment. Josh started his trek up the Spire early in the morning, a pack of supplies traded for in the market on his back (he'd found most people were willing to take pity on the Outlander and trade for some picked herbs and basic farm work), hoping to get to the top by noon.
On his way up he passed several doors that caught his attention, but did not try to open them; he had a mission, and Josh could be incredibly single-minded when he wanted to be.
Eventually as the sun was in the centre of the sky he came to the top of the Spire, the burst-open explosion of black architecture that spoke of a past event of cataclysmic proportions. Seemingly unbothered by this startling scenery Josh went to work, carefully stepping around the more dangerous bits of the Spire to find a reasonable space to set out his sleeping roll and box of things, found a vertical stretch of wall unmarked enough to use as a board to hang things up.
Then, after he'd set out everything he went to stand at the edge; as much of a practical man as he was, sometimes even he was susceptible to admiring views. It really was quite impressive here, the new land laid out before him...he hoped in time, from here, he could work out it's secrets.
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Lily - 03-28-2020
Once she’d mastered flying, Lily thought it was maybe just the best thing ever.
Like most newly-ish Attuned with bird shifts, she flies everywhere for awhile. Just because she can. Going as high as she can, the nightingale settles at the tops of trees and buildings, she flies in Torchline and in the Ground (Halo is already waaaaay too cold for a little bird like herself). And eventually, in the midst of flitting from home to the market, she realizes that there’s someone… setting up a camp on top of the Spire? During Leafchange?
That seems a little odd. And impractical. There are plenty of abandoned places that can be fixed up - especially with Deepfrost on its way. No, no, no - that simply will not do.
Zipping down to the bottom of the Spire, Lily shifts back to her human form and starts to climb the stairs. She isn’t quiet, doesn’t try to hide the fact that she’s coming up. And as she reaches the top (maybe a little out of breath, who knows), she peeks her head up to the flattened top.[say] “Uh - Hi. What are you doing up here?”[/say] Because it’s just… not normal.
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Joshua - 03-30-2020
Since Josh knew that people could become animals in this world, he had begun to suspect every passing bird of being some kind of spy; not that different from home, where he had watched each helicopter and plane carefully. Not able to spend all day watching flyers-by though, he'd eventually stopped looking at them with suspicious eyes.
His first indication that there was anyone else there then was Lily's footsteps coming up the stairs. As her head appeared he was stood by his new 'notice board', sticking up notes from his book onto the wall with small nails and bits of sticky sap he'd taken from trees in the Greatwood. Taking a step back he looked over to her with a blank face. Was it not obvious?
[say]"I'm living up here."[/say] He informed her, gesturing to his sleeping bag and things, the tarp pulled between two taller bits of wall to create a roof of sorts. [say]"You can still come up. I don't care."[/say]
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Lily - 04-05-2020
At his invitation Lily shrugs to herself and clambers the rest of the way up, sitting herself on the lip by the stairs, letting her feet dangle into the spire’s empty middle. She takes a look from afar at his notice board, his things scattered around (some of which are identifiable and some of which aren’t - like what’s that cloth tube thing?) What’s it all for? [
say] “I can see that,”[/say] she finally says, now taking a good look at him. Still from a polite distance, of course. He looks… ordinary. But here, even ordinary people have crazy powers. And those powers can’t protect them from freezing to death or the shitshow of LongNight.
[say] “But why?"[/say] the redhead continues, kicking her legs like a little kid with a seat that's too high.[say] "Winter is coming. You can’t stay up here.”[/say]
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Joshua - 04-06-2020
Lily didn't seem as scandalous as Amalia had at the concept of his new home, though she still seemed perplexed by the idea; Josh found himself slightly enjoying her confused look around, feeling as if he was bringing something new and interesting to this place.
Sitting right on the edge of the middle was bold and Josh stayed back a bit himself, not afraid of heights but also not wanting to increase his risk of being a splat at the bottom of the Spire. [say]"Why not? I'll get a fire going and some blankets. I'll make it through. You don't need to be concerned."[/say] He certainly wasn't; he'd weathered some pretty terrible conditions before in his tin can of a trailer.
As for why he was living there though, well that was a little tougher. [say]"I like being able to observe from high. Also I'm hoping to gather electricity when it next storms."[/say]
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Lily - 04-07-2020
Oh. He doesn’t know. Well fuck. She doesn’t really want to be the bearer of bad news, but in light of his confidence about being able to withstand the cold, it seems necessary. The kind thing to do. Her legs continue to kick at the edge as she listens to him justify living up here. The entertainer truly does not care what he does up here, why he’s up here, so long as it doesn’t affect her too much. Though she does understand liking to be up high - it earns a little smile until he finishes.
Pressing her lips together, Lily makes a face and takes a big breath in.[say] “So... no one’s told you about LongNight, then? The week of darkness in the middle of winter?”[/say] If they were going to have this conversation, they might as well know each other’s names. Holding her hand out, she offers is.[say] “I’m Lily, by the way.”[/say]
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Joshua - 04-08-2020
Lily smiled and for a moment Josh thought she had simply accepted his living arrangements, then came another question. One that made him pause, eyes looking to the side as he tried to remember if anyone had told him of this. Maybe vaguely, but nothing that quite merited the seriousness in her voice.
Walking to sit just behind her, not quite at the edge, he took the hand. [say]"Joshua. If it is just a week of darkness, I will manage. ...You make it sound like it's more, though."[/say] He looked to her, leading her on to continue. If the temperatures truly came to sub-zero, he supposed he'd have to find somewhere inside for the week she mentioned, but he wanted to try his best at surviving independently. He wasn't used to depending on anyone else.
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Lily - 04-10-2020
[say] “Mmmm, there is.”[/say] Taking a breath, Lily sounds almost sad when she starts to tell him about Longnight.[say] “LongNight is a terrible week. As if winter isn’t bad enough…”[/say] shaking her head in dismay, she continues.[say] “Monsters come out, and these aren’t just stories you tell children, they’re more like demons. That have been doing this for over a hundred years. They kill anyone who goes outside, and they try to get inside, too. We’re all supposed to stay quiet and keep the lights hidden, camp out for a week and stay calm…”[/say] she drifts off, something hard coming into her gaze, mixed with that aforementioned sadness.[say] “But it doesn’t usually work out that way. We do what we can to help keep the monsters away from the houses, but you definitely can’t stay up here. You’ll die.”[/say]
Bastien had taken her in when she first arrived in winter. Now it’s her turn to pass the knowledge and help along. She isn’t particularly invested in this Joshua, but she certainly doesn’t want him to die.
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Joshua - 04-12-2020
More tales of monsters came from Lily; Josh had now heard them from enough people to begin to take them seriously, though he was still aware of the power of a story...how much proof did they all have of these monsters? Lily framing them as demons though had him interested: he knew more about demons, believed her words more.
He was sure he wasn't going to die. He'd looked all kinds of monstrous things in the face and lived, had jumped between dimensions and fallen into the spaces behind time - still, it was better not to have a monster claw up your face if you could avoid it. Josh hummed and looked up to the sky, then back to Lily. [say]"I might spend that week in the town then. Then come back. Unless there's a summer week of monsters too..?"[/say] He asked, voice just light enough to make it clear he was joking.
There was something else that had taken his attention about this conversation, though. [say]"...I feel like I know your accent. Where are you from?"[/say]
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Lily - 04-16-2020
She shakes her head, thinking him a little strange (maybe more than a little strange, actually) but glad that he got the message about the Monsters. Chuckling at the joke, Lily affirms that he’s correct.[say] “Nope. Just winter ones. But there are ummm… landsharks and demigods who grow mushrooms on them and last spring there was a mud monster that killed a lot of people -”[/say] she pauses mid-thought and looks him up and down. The glasses, the mannerism -[say] “Uh, are you used to spending winter outdoors?”[/say]
There’s some heavy skepticism in her voice, only at that portion, before he asks where she’s from.
[say] “Portsmouth. Virginia. When I left it was 1790, but there are some other people here who are from different times to. You?”[/say] Harper’s blows her mind the most… but Bastien was also from waaaaay before her time, too. Italy if she remembers correctly. It’s all quiet fascinating to the redhead, who has an interested, engaged expression on her face.
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Joshua - 04-16-2020
[say]"Landsharks. Is that a shark with legs?"[/say] Josh asked, curious indeed about that specific creature. Sounded like the kind of thing that would be fascinating to try and perform an autopsy on: the kind of thing that people would insist didn't exist on Earth.
As for winters...while he wasn't a stranger to cold weather, Josh had admittedly spent a long time living in the desert, where the nights could be cold but not a blizzard. [say]"No. I'm not used to it. I know in theory what I need to do, though."[/say] He had read any survival book he could get his hands on back at home, sure that his investigations would eventually lead him to all sorts of trouble.
Hearing that Lily was from Earth and from a different time thrilled him and he leaned closer, eager to know more. These portals clearly had some kind of time travel potential too... [say]"Florida. 1997. How did you get here? The portal just appeared?"[/say]
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Lily - 04-18-2020
Lily is thoroughly amused by his guess, trying to picture the fearsome beast running around topside with… what four? Six legs?[say] “Good guess, but they’re sharks that live underground and come up to swallow people whole. We’ve had a couple die that way. There’s very little warning or so I hear.”[/say] No warning, just maybe the faintest tremor and then BAM! Sharkfood. She shakes her head a little, remembering Edy and the orgy… what a goddamn shame.
[say] “Oh! Is Florida still ruled by Spain?”[/say] she asks, eager to learn a little bit about the future that is somewhere between herself and Harper’s. Two hundred years is much easier to swallow than almost four hundred. A breeze begins to kick up, blowing her hair all in her face, so Lily begins to collect the flying mess of red and plait it together as she tells her part of the story.[say] “Not exactly. I was running from two men and I was backed up into an alley… I tripped while trying to get around them and fell. Thought I hit my head but when I woke up, I was in the snow here.”[/say] A little shrug as she ties it all together with a bit of string kept in her pocket for just this kind of situation.
[say] “Why the Voice would bring me, specifically, I don’t know.”[/say] It’s not false modesty. Lily is growing as a person, but she is still so very average compared to the heroes of the Ground.
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Joshua - 04-19-2020
Lily's description of the Landsharks was amazing, just the kind of bizarre cryptid Josh had hoped to hear of when he came to a new dimension. Immediately wishing to see one, he leaned in, pulling the notepad from his pocket and poising his pencil ready to record whatever she said. [say]"Where can I find them? Do you know anyone with a witness testimony?"[/say]
He couldn't help but laugh at her question: it wasn't often people drew a laugh from Josh, but the absurdity of the idea just got to him. [say]"No. The United States is it's own country now. No European rulers."[/say] Admittedly he'd never been that into history when it didn't relate to his specific interests, but he knew generally enough to be able to guess what had been going on when Lily was on Earth.
Her story of coming to Caido was more dramatic than his, to be sure. [say]"Why were you running? Do you think the two men had any relation to the portal?"[/say] Some kind of shadowy organisation running the whole thing?
RE: In every myth theres a little bit of truth - Lily - 04-29-2020
[say] “Ummm….”[/say] her face scrunches up a bit to try and recall who’s actually seen one. Jigano did bring news of Edy’s death. And then Ronin was doing a thing in the field once… she vaguely remembers.[say] “Jigano and Ronin might be your best bet. Or any of the older Naturals?”[/say] A shrug.[say] “Afraid I can’t help you with that one.”[/say]
His laugh earns a chuckle from Lily in return, though she begins to think that the United States sounds awfully big for what they are - were? Will be? What is time, if they can be from the same place, years apart, and then end up here? Momentarily overwhelmed by the thought, she covers her eyes with her hands and shakes her head. Which is not in response to the question he’s just asked, so she slides her hands over to her cheeks and then down in a dramatic fashion.
[say] “Oh, you know.. I had some very nice jewels on and they were common thieves. Normally I’m not bothered because I’m with someone, but I’d just said goodnight and I’m not sure where the carriage was… “[/say] Let’s leave out the part where they probably would have assaulted her, shall we? [say] “Anyway, I don’t think they had anything to do with the portal. Do you? Think someone else in your world had something to do with it?”[/say]