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+---- Thread: {SE} shiver my timbers (/showthread.php?tid=7127)
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{SE} shiver my timbers - Maea - 05-03-2022
[say]"I said NO!"[/say]
The snarl was followed by a sharp thunk of boot soles against wood, and a shudder of jingling bells as a small tree swayed in protest. Two more crowded the steps behind the first, taller and with sweeping branches bedecked in cheerful baubles. The sight of the bright colors set Maea's teeth on edge, and she spread her arms wide as the trees tried once again to sidle into the Atheneum after her.
They had followed her all the way from the Domiciles, lumbering surreptitiously in her wake until she had thought herself mad - at least, she might have, had she not seen other trees wiggle their roots after other passersby. It had been tolerable while she was outside - she didn't particularly mind the city being converted into a forest for the season - but her patience ran out very quickly when the trees tried to follow her into the towering building.
[say]"Get. Out!"[/say] Struggling to reach the double doors while simultaneously keeping the jingling branches from pressing past her, she growled wordlessly in a blistering rage - she was not in a mood for these ridiculous events right now.
But did the trees care? No!
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Nikolai - 05-03-2022
Nikolai felt a bolt of alarm as he heard a familiar voice yelling. Turning on his heel, he sprinted in the direction of the sound. Sharply turning a corner on skidding feet, he spotted Maea kicking trees away from the Atheneum's entrance. [say]"Oh shit."[/say] He didn't want to even imagine the mess that would result from a hoard of trees barging in. All of those leaves, needles, and random items falling on the floor. No thank you.
Twisting his wrist, Nikolai quickly activated his energy shard upgrade and sent a few shards at the trees. They sunk into the trunks of two with a thunk. The trees turned around slowly which was downright creepy, and started swaying towards him. [say]"If we can make them angry enough to chase us, we can lead them away!"[/say] He called out to Maea as he activated his upgrade again.
Type: Offensive | Level: Basic
Energy Shard | Through an upgrade in the wrist, the user can propel knife-shaped bursts of energy, up to 10ft
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Maea - 05-03-2022
Something she couldn't see thunked into one of the trees and made it turn away. With one less obstacle to block her path, Maea was able to squeeze past and toppled down the stairs to where a half-familiar figure called to her. The girl needed very little encouragement to resort to violence in her current state. Electricity crackled into being as she activated her own upgrade, and a bolt of lightning extended towards the wayward evergreens.
There was a groan of shifting lumber and a very sharp scent of singed tree-sap that even their senses might pick up a trace of - and soon enough the trees came sprucing towards them. Leaving the path into the Atheneum clear.
[say]"Head inside,"[/say] she snapped at Nikolai through clenched teeth. [say]"Then close the door. I will teleport in."[/say]
They didn't have to fell the trees. Just make sure they couldn't get into the building, and hope they tired eventually. Already their violence was drawing shocked stares and disapproving murmurs from passersby; leave it to some to appreciate the sort of saccharine nonsense that came with some seasons.
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Nikolai - 05-12-2022
[say]"Got it!"[/say] Sending one last shard out to push back one of the more eager trees, Nikolai forced his way towards the Atheneum entrance. The shocked whispers irritated him, and he sent a glare over his shoulder as he made it to the door. The books inside were precious. How dare people judge them for mildly harming trees to protect such knowledge.
Once he reached the door, Nikolai grabbed it firmly. With one last kick towards a tree, he slammed the door shut. Bracing himself against it, he gritted his teeth with annoyance as some of the trees continued to slam against it. Why were they so hell bent on getting inside?
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Maea - 05-12-2022
Maea waited only until she heard the clang of the gate closing behind Nikolai. Then she teleported herself into the building, and let out a long huff as the brushed spruce needles and scraped off bark from the tattered coat she wore. It was really singing on its last refrain lately, threadbare and ratty beyond belief. A rip in the left sleeve had yet to be mended, and dark stains that looked like dried blood surrounded both cuffs. She would have to get a new one, some day.
[say]"Let us hope they find something better to do with themselves before we have to leave,"[/say] she muttered with a dark glare at the door, and the scraping thudding sounds that came from outside. Turning her attention on the young man, she tried to shake the foul temper the incident had stirredin her. Anger did not pair well with studies.
[say]"Book binding, or language lessons?"[/say] she asked him, by way of greeting. She had to crane her neck back to look at him properly; it seemed she could never catch a break from towering men.
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Serendipity - 05-12-2022
You've encountered the OG random event! This allows you to skip one levelling requirement with the character in this thread. (Unfortunately does not count for characters over level 10, how sad.)
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Nikolai - 05-15-2022
Nikolai's brow furrowed at Maea's flippant greeting, glancing at the door with concern. [say]"Shouldn't we barricade the door first or something?"[/say] Even as he spoke, the younger Ascended grabbed a chair and placed it against the door and under the handle. Just in case.
Still Maea seemed ready to move on and he was a little worried about her hurting her neck if he made her keep staring straight up. Even if she didn't feel the pain, her sensors were likely acting up. He'd never realized just how much taller he was than her. [say]"We're in the Atheneum so a language lesson is probably best."[/say]
Gesturing for her to sit at a nearby table, Nikolai went over to a shelf and retrieved an old tome, some paper, and a pencil before returning. Placing the book on the table, he sat down and began to comb through the pages. Coming to a stop he turned to book around for Maea to see. On it was a small block of text.
[say]"This is a simple poem. I think it'll be a good start."[/say] He eyed his companion curiously. [say]"Do you know any of the old language or are we starting from scratch?"[/say]
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Maea - 05-15-2022
She raised a brow at him. [say]"Only if you think the trees have learned how to open doors."[/say] Following his path as he decided to take matters into his own hands, she shook her head - though her mouth quirked in faint amusement. Apparently no one else was allowed into the building for the time being either.
Accepting his decision with a simple nod, she followed him to the table and took a seat. The book and utensils he brought were given interested looks, and she leaned forward quite eagerly to see the text he had selected. Mouthing the sounds as she tried to decipher both letters and spelling, she quickly gave up and shook her head.
[say]"From scratch, alas. I had some trouble with my eyes growing up... so I learned to read rather late. Never had time to dive deeper."[/say] Looking up, she found him watching her. An eyebrow quirked at the curious expression he wore. [say]"Remember the Loreseekers? Their guildmaster helped me. And Sam. We used to meet in the guildhall on the lower level."[/say]
Maea waved off in the general direction of the stair, before returning to the poem. She reached for a pen, then waited expectantly for Nikolai to begin.
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Nikolai - 05-16-2022
Nikolai scowled slightly as a flush rose to his cheeks, [say]"You never know. They're not exactly normal trees."[/say] It was a poor argument, but he didn't trust those freaky plants to follow basic logic. Who knew what they were capable of?
The Loreseekers is a familiar name and Nikolai nodded as he sat down, [say]"I do. Sam mentioned it once."[/say] Teaches others to read certainly sounded like a Sam thing to do. The thought sent a pang of grief through the young Ascended. He pushed that aside and dove into teaching Maea, glad for the distraction.
[say]"Alright. Give me one second."[/say] Activating his upgrade, Nikolai's eyes flashed blue. He wanted to make sure that he properly translated the poem word for word. Grabbing a piece of paper and pen he quickly jotted down the poem in teh common tongue before taking another piece of paper out and writing gown the alphabet of the old language.
[say]"Ok so here's the poem in the common tongue. Notice how it still retains a similar flow to its native one?"[/say] He pointed to the general format and breakage in the lines.
Running his finger under the separate lines of each copy, he added, [say]"And we're lucky that the alphabets follow a similar structure. They may be different and there are more letters in the old language, but you can see how they're related just by looking at them."[/say] Related as in similar constructs and grammar that was.
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Maea - 05-16-2022
Watching him write out the translation with keen interest, Maea was already making comparisons to the common language as her teacher lined up the old alphabet. When he was done she studied it for a while, adjusting her understanding of how the letters flowed, and again tried to sound them out. It was impossible to know how each symbol would have been pronounced however, and she quickly shifted back to the written word.
[say]"Ah, I understand. Then, based on the structure of the poem,"[/say] pulling over the sheet of paper, she re-arranged some of the words into new sentences, [say]"the grammar should something like this."[/say] She showed the lines to Nikolai. That hungry gleam was in her eyes again as she waited for approval or corrections; an agile mind itching to be challenged, starved and demanding to be fed.
Leaning back in her seat, the pale skinned girl was studying the youth opposite her. Assessing the structure of the lesson, the ease with which he fell into the role of an instructor.
[say]"If I were to revive the Loreseekers... is that something you would be interested in?"[/say] she asked him, in an off hand manner that did little to mask the importance of his answer. [say]"I've been looking for some others to work with... It's almost a full group, but there is always room for more."[/say]
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Nikolai - 05-17-2022
Nikolai watched as Maea wrote, already impressed by how quickly she was picking this up. When she turned her work over to him to inspect, he grinned. [say]"Almost perfect."[/say] Taking the paper, he rewrote her sentences with a few adjustments to accent places. [say]"There's a pattern to the accents. The same word changes from noun to verb depending on which direction the accent points."[/say]
He wrote out a few more sentences in two columns. On one side he underlined nouns and on the other side he underlined the same words that had been turned into verbs due to accent placement. [say]"See?"[/say] Nikolai had been planning to discuss the accent placement after Maea had a handle on the basic sentence structure. He'd never expected her to pick it up so quickly.
Nikolai paused at Maea's question. The idea of helping to revive the Loreseekers sounded interesting. He nodded, [say]"I'd love to help. And I'd love to join."[/say] He was a scholar through and through. How could he resist a guild built upon seeking knowledge?
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Maea - 05-17-2022
Satisfaction spread in form of a smile, cheshire and rather pleased with herself as it turned out she had been on the right track. Noting the differences, Maea corrected the sentences she had written to match the structure Nikolai had demonstrated, then added a few more using the words provided by the poem.
[say]"I'm glad,"[/say] came the simple response, as he easily accepted her invitation to the guild. It sounded calm and aloof, but truth be told it was all she could do not to bounce up and down in her seat. Glancing between the lesson material and the young Ascended, Maea's gaze narrowed slightly upon him. [say]"You know, if you want to get a head start on things, do you think you might be able to compile a key for translating this language? Common words and phrases, for example, that might help others without your upgrade to decipher it?"[/say] Tapping the back of the pen against the paper, she indicated the poem and what she had done with it so far. [say]"This is already helpful; a dictionary would be incredible."[/say]
Was it presumptuous of her to put him to work straight away? Probably. Would she do it anyway? Absolutely.
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Nikolai - 05-20-2022
Maea's new sentences are correct, and Nikolai sat back, satisfied. [say]"Good work."[/say] Grabbing the page with the old alphabet and accent rules, he pushed it towards the other Ascended. [say]"Now you just have to practice your letters."[/say] Despite being accurate sentences, the letters and runes themselves were a little shaky. Which was totally to be expected given that this was Maea's first time working with them. She just needed practice.
Maea had picked up the basics far quicker than he'd expected and it left Nikolai feeling proud. Although he attributed most of it to her own intellect, part of him hoped it was because he was a decent teacher. But he had no idea if that was true or not, her being his first pupil.
He was pulled out of his thoughts however at her sudden request. Or more specifically, thinly veiled assignment. Nikolai paused; a bit taken aback by how fast she was putting him to work. Still, he nodded. [say]"I can start working on that."[/say]
RE: {SE} shiver my timbers - Maea - 05-20-2022
[say]"Thank you."[/say] Simple words, yet they were heartfelt, incorporating both the lesson and his easy acceptance of the request. [say]"I hope you don't find me too eager... apparently I can be impatient at times."[/say] A slight smile touched her eyes, before Maea bowed her head over the work he assigned her.
Pulling the paper towards herself again, she began copying the letters. One by one, with care and precision as if she was working hard on disproving the claim right then and there. An easy enough task, and it gave her something to do.
[say]"You are from here, yes? I think I recognize you, vaguely."[/say] Though his was not a face she had been exposed to in the past. One couldn't be expected to know everyone even in a place like this.