[PQ] [SE] [RQ] stoned off you

i can't help it if i want to kiss you in the rain, so

Humidity clings instead of rain, the sky holding itself in a dull, swollen pause rather than splitting open over Torchline again, and Flora takes the temporary mercy without gratitude as she picks her way over the unstable slope of Apopo, boots testing each stretch of darkened ground before she commits her weight.

Her feather daggers rest steady against her hip as she turns slightly, gaze sliding toward Melita without slowing her careful pace. "Alright, Mel," she calls, voice bright but practical in the thick air, the kind of tone she uses when she’s already decided they’re succeeding and the details are just paperwork, "you’re the cannon expert here. Does volcanic rock work, or should we be focusing on metallic-y things?"

She nudges a loose fragment of blackened stone with the toe of her boot, watching it skitter down the slope and disappear into a hiss of steam below, then glances toward Kaisel with a crooked grin. The sleeves of her green rain jacket have been tugged back just enough to reveal the glittery copper band on her wrist. "Oh, hey, so since I saw you last,' she continues turning her attention back to Mel, the corner of her mouth curving as humidity slicks her skin and the air presses warm against her throat, "my dads had their twins. Boys, named Carlo and Calan."

---

RQ PQ
Complete a PQ collecting materials for the cannon from Apopo.

1. Flora
2. Melita
3. Kaisel

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

The humidity clung to Melita’s hair in coils of crimson curls frizzing about the edges, looking more like dampened, doused fire for today’s threshold, but it was better than the screaming rain, so she’d take it. Her head shot up from glancing at the ground though, already inspecting portions for easy, impending gathering of materials. Granting a wry smile though, and fully aware she was about to be third-wheeled, she’d make the most out of it by being herself. “Either one could, honestly. You want something that’s going to withstand the impact and pressure.” Hitching her bag higher along her shoulder, she shielded her eyes amidst the haze, gazing outwards as her gaze narrowed, zeroing in on the stone.

But the other information distracted her, and her smile went to an impacted grin. “Aww, that’s awesome! And fast too. I'll have to annoy them later.” Just the other day they’d been discussing the probability of whys and hows and now, there they were. Flower gestation or…something must’ve been a speedier component. “Are they identical?”

to be the sun

MELITA

If your heart's on the line, you could take mine

His black trenchcoat is worn in an effort of preparedness. That it also creates aura is hardly a factor as to why he persists with it despite the heat threatening to make his body rain instead. The air sets a weight down on them, and he almost feels the need to reach out and pull it aside like a curtain before stepping forward. That invisible drapery keeps the heat of the volcanic island from dispersing, instead pressing it in on his skin, lifting it up through the soles of his boots even.

Not for the first time, he swipes some dampened hair out of corner of his face, turquoise band on his wrist catching enough muted light to shimmer before it vanishes back beneath the coil of his sleeve at his side. ”We could always bring back the metal things and melt them down, pour them over the volcanic rock, once we fully shape it into correctly sized balls?” A mere suggestion, and an extra step, but also an assurance of damage. ”Maybe do that to a few, anyway, like extra strength against super tough opponents.” Thick hides, or things they wanted to assure did not risk a second round.

Truthfully, Mel is the expert here, his soldier training covering martial arts and combat techniques more than regional defenses and large weaponry. Consider his interest piqued though, and he looks her way to see if his suggestion has any merit. His gaze shortly thereafter slides to Flora, a smile creeping out as if the meet of their eyes is a secret rather than an inevitability, and a well known one at this point. Maybe the depths aren’t understood by the world yet, but he has long since stopped hiding his affections for the Doubletake, and only some practice towards decorum keeps him from sharing her raincoat with her in this moment.

That, and neither of them need an additional complication to walking over this ground, his next stride sending some ground sliding away. His smile vanishes at once as he hops to the side, arms rising up like wings to catch his balance. ”Extremely,” he offers from the edge of their group after regaining his footing, seeming to suggest there’s a sliding scale of how identical one can be. ”I mean, all babies kinda look the same,” he admits with a scrunch to his features, ”but they’re a duplicate.”

Kaisel

Say you want the moon, watch me learn to fly

i can't help it if i want to kiss you in the rain, so

Flora tips her head slightly as Melita answers, the explanation settling easily into place in her mind even as the humidity presses warm and heavy along the back of her neck. "Mmmk," she says with a nod, taking the Honeybee's words as gospel on the subject.

Kai’s suggestion pulls her attention sideways almost immediately, and the grin that spreads across her face is bright enough to rival the dull volcanic glow beneath the clouds. She watches him for a moment with an open, unmistakably fond look she’s never been very good at disguising, amusement flickering at the way he recovers from the sliding earth as though Apopo itself has tried to interrupt the conversation. "Well," she says, the word curling easily into a laugh as she gestures vaguely toward the imagined future of their project, "since Remi’s probably the one who’s going to be actually making these things at the guild, you can absolutely be the one explaining to him why there are suddenly extra steps involved." The tease lands without teeth, softened instantly by the quick flash of warmth she sends his way, her aqua eyes bright as she adds, "But I do like that idea. A few with extra bite never hurts."

Bending to scoop up a cluster of dark stones that have broken loose from the slope, Flora turns and deposits them neatly into Kai’s pack without asking, as though the bottomless bag has already been quietly volunteered for the role of cargo mule. The rocks vanish with a dull thud somewhere far deeper than the pack should logically allow, and she dusts her hands together with a satisfied little snicker before glancing back toward Melita.

Kai’s answer about the babies earns a small, delighted shake of her head, her curls bouncing faintly where they’ve escaped the loose twist piled at the back of her neck. "They are," she confirms, the smile lingering as she straightens again. "And my parents can’t even cheat and put initials on them because their names both start with C."

A soft laugh slips free as she gestures vaguely with one hand, sparkly hairtie catching the light. "It’s honestly hilarious watching them try to keep track. Every time one of them hands the wrong baby back there’s this moment where they both stare like they’re trying to solve a particularly hard riddle and wondering if they accidentally swapped them an hour ago without noticing."

---

Round 2: Collect your rocks/metal ore!

Overhead the sky begins to moan and rumble, a cacophony of voices that seems to echo right through your bones. The choir of screams grows loud and unruly, rising to a fever pitch without end...

And then nothing. Gone in the purring of a distant storm, vanished as if the thunder existed only in your mind. The silence it leaves is almost worse.

---

You have encountered one of the Scream Rain SE serendipities! You may use this to complete requirement 1. of the seasonal event. Please note: this serendipity CANNOT be used for levelling purposes.

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

Melita’s eyes darted back to Kaisel at his suggestion – a grin igniting her features, broad and dangerous. “Oooh, fuck yeah,” in corresponding regard. “People before used to put in all kinds of shit on hand too, like forks and stuff,” imagining the plunge of serrated knives and edges also coming behind the multitudes.

Leaving them to eye flirt with one another for a moment, the Honeybee stooped to start snagging at the rock and ore, piling them neatly in her arms and then wandering over to deposit them in the bag. The discussion over the twins made her laugh though, imagining the Remi and Ronin’s confusion when it came to the newfound infants – for those so hardened and experienced with multiple layers of the world, it was good to know they could still fumble around in the dark from time to time. “Could they put some color-coded bracelets on them or something?” She nearly suggested a collar; but then again, she didn’t have much experience with babies.

All good-natured aspects of her faded away in one blow though; as soon as the thunderous noise hit her. Flinching, and then pretending not to, she dropped several stones before sheepishly picking them back up, giving the pretense of clumsiness over fright. “Fuck sake,” came on a murmur, ignoring the tremble in her hands.

--

Melita gathers rocks/metal ore!

to be the sun

MELITA

If your heart's on the line, you could take mine

Mel’s immediate praise for the idea has his grin beaming, as if before the light had been turned on, but now the dimmer switch has been cranked all the way up to LED-headache. It wavers almost instantly as Flora’s well-intentioned point lands. It’s not because of her delivery, but rather the plain truth of not wanting to bother Remi with anything additional right now. He’s fairly certain it would cause a buck wild Ronin’s temper to descend, and he wonders if his idea might not fare better in a season or two.

”Perhaps a future upgrade option,” he considers, pinning the idea of ammunition options up on the Torchline mood board. ”It would be nice to use them for other things besides shooting dried out fire rocks.” While he does mean metal-coated, dried out fire rocks, he also means, ”I’d be so down to get launched out of a cannon one day if it wouldn’t remove all my limbs in the process.” And if he had somewhere safe to land, which he thinks is a giove in, but maybe not. ”What a way to go diving into the water.” Diving boards are out, explosive cannonballs are in.

With the quiet acceptance of being relegated to pack mule, which really just means that he’s got a fine ass, Kaisel pauses as needed to permit the quick deposit of cannon fodder. He scarcely breaks stride, as if this too is as practiced as stealing glances. Except, he wants more than a look or two, so like any beast of burden that is still fresh to the role, his obedience only lasts so long. The next time she tries to dump some stones in, he means to scurry and skirt away, forcing her hands on him quite by accident in order to steady the backpack opening.

The suggestion of the bracelets earns a mild laugh, and Kaisel shakes his head as he picks up his own stones and drops them in behind his back, trenchcoat flaring with undue drama. ”I dunno about them, but if it were me, that’d feel like giving up. I think there’s a certain pride to knowing your kids. A challenge to be faced.” Remi and Ronin have overcome their fair share time and again, and while this might not be the god of gods, there’s certainly something to not letting a baby best you.

Oblivious to the way Mel struggles, Kaisel’s squinting up at the sky as the screaming peals out, building into something that tightens him down into his bones with the distaste. Not as strong as Mel’s response, but there’s an unnerving quality to this weather event. ”I’d much prefer giggle rain,” he sighs, imagining a much happier sky.

Kaisel

Say you want the moon, watch me learn to fly

i can't help it if i want to kiss you in the rain, so

Flora’s grin widens immediately at Melita’s enthusiasm, the reckless delight in the Honeybee’s voice fitting the idea of fork-studded cannonballs far too well for anyone’s long-term safety. "Remind me not to be standing anywhere in front of those," she says lightly, though the curve of her mouth suggests she’s imagining a certain someone standing in front of them.

Kaisel’s bright declaration about launching himself from a cannon draws a snort from her before she can help it, her gaze sliding toward him with that familiar spark of mischief already forming. "Alright," she says, voice warm with amusement as she tilts her head slightly, "maybe for your funeral I’ll launch you out of one." The wink that follows is quick and unapologetic, as though the threat is less about mortality and more about spectacle.

She continues gathering rocks without ceremony, scooping another handful of dark volcanic fragments and turning toward his pack only for him to slip just out of reach like a particularly smug eel. Flora freezes for half a second, blinking at the sudden absence of backpack before the laugh bursts out of her, sharp and bright against the humid air. "Kaizel," she growls, the Z slicing neatly through the middle of his name as she straightens with her hands still full of stones, the threat wobbling precariously under the weight of her laughter. "So help me I will absolutely channel Frey and bind you up in vines if you don’t stop it." The warning lands with very little actual menace, though the look she sends him suggests she’d enjoy the attempt.

His comment about pride and knowing one’s children tugs at her expression in a quieter way, the humour softening slightly as she listens. It’s not a conversation she’s ever really had with him before, the idea of children sitting somewhere vague and unspoken between them, and the small smile that forms is more thoughtful than teasing. Flora glances toward Melita with a casual little shrug of one shoulder. "Honestly if it were up to me, I’d just wait until they’re old enough to tell me who’s who." Though the sky interrupts before the thought can wander any further.

The sound arrives like a blade dragged across bone, a sudden choir of screams ripping down from the clouds hard enough to rattle through her ribs, and Flora’s hands fly to her ears with an involuntary wince as the noise pours through the air above them. For a heartbeat it feels as though the island itself is crying out, the ground beneath their boots humming with the same unnatural vibration.

And then it’s gone.

Flora exhales a long, theatrical groan as she lowers her hands, tipping her head back toward the sky with a dramatic roll of aqua eyes. "Oh good," she mutters dryly, brushing stray curls away from her temple as if addressing the clouds directly, "because that wasn’t unsettling at all." Only then does she notice the stones scattered near Melita’s feet, and without comment she bends to grab some of them before rising and raising her brows at Kai to see if he was going to stand politely on his own.

---

Yay serendipity.

Round 3
More collecting.

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

Despite her insistence on weapons at all times, Melita had never once considered firing anyone out of a cannon. Pausing midstep, her head tilted, as if imagining the scenario, grin widening at the thoughts, implications, and mental images. “So a new way for sea burials, yeah?” she winked to Flora, pretending she didn’t have a notion of whom she’d send flying, launching –

Anyway. Ignoring the ass grabbing nearby, she shrugged at the statement and lecture – it’d been meant in jest, given the tone of the moment. Her father had taken zero pride in knowing his kids; abandoning and denying them in equal measure. Gods, she was having a hard enough time not wilting and withering at every gods damned scream from the sky; the thunder and lightning enough to send fever pitches down the length of her spine.

Going quiet, dimming, she took a deep breath and forged onward, pretending traumatic experiences with such elements hadn’t re-shaped a world view. Plucking at the stones she’d dropped, she snagged at more, making her way over to the bag again and beginning to deposit them.

--

Mel’s gotta collect ‘em all.

to be the sun

MELITA

If your heart's on the line, you could take mine

Wrinkling his nose as they both seem to find benefit in the idea of launching corpses, or corpse dust, he offers a long sigh out—the long-standing suffering of someone who has just realized a dream and had it torn from them. "That just sounds like fun for the sharks. I wanted it to be fun for me." Perhaps it was too much to ask to retain all limbs after being packed inside an explosive tube.

Giving up on that potential for the much more real one of harassing Flora into a stray touch, he can barely contain the rampant smirk that sneaks out as he tips himself just out of her reach, trenchcoat executing a flare worthy of the skating rink. "I'm just going where I see the potential ammo!" He might sound more believable if his grin weren't shaping the words from ear to ear, innocence laid on so thick it's competing with the humid air. Though he never takes her threats lightly, the spark of mischief lighting up his eyes when they find her suggests that he's willing to continue fucking around, though he does his best to disguise it with another bundle of rocks in his arms and slung back behind him, ever dutiful and definitely not pulling shenanigans.

The scream rain interrupts some of the fun, and Kaisel maintains his squint up at it long after the streak of lightning and the rumble of unnatural shrieking has ended. He stands without fuckery for Flora to deposit the stones, attention lowering from the sky to her marginally, grasping the edges both in perception and reach, a pair of fingers angling around his back to graze her in a brush of reassurance. It's less about grounding either of them, than it is checking the pulse of how alright everything still is. "Me when your cold feet touch me," he says as an aside to her, trying to brush off the unnatural weather, as if giving it the power of their worry would feed it, much like cryptids and demons.

"So Mel, help me settle a debate Flora and I had," he says, swinging back into conversation with all the effort of a casual shrug. "She asked me if she had an identical twin and everything was the same, would I also love that Flora. Dlora (double Flora). I said yes, which is apparently the wrong answer," he rolls his eyes with dramatic flair as he reaches to collect and pack away more rocks. "What's the right answer here?"

Kaisel

Say you want the moon, watch me learn to fly

i can't help it if i want to kiss you in the rain, so

Flora’s grin widens at Melita’s quip, her eyebrows bouncing upward in mischievous agreement before her gaze drifts sideways toward Kaisel with the sort of theatrical consideration that suggests he’s already halfway volunteered. "Well," she says brightly, one corner of her mouth curling as she looks him over, "maybe we just make you a special suit that lets you be safely shot out of the cannon." Her eyes flick back to Melita, the idea clearly delighting her more the longer she holds it. "We could put the launch point up on the cliffs by the hang gliding. Real scenic departure. I bet the tourists would love it." The smile she sends the Honeybee is wicked and playful, the kind that implies this could absolutely become a Torchline attraction if given half the chance.

As Kaisel slips away from her reach again she leans slightly toward him, lowering her voice just enough that the words brush the humid air between them. "I’ll turn you into potential ammo if you don’t quit it," she murmurs menacingly, though the threat collapses immediately into amusement as the corners of her mouth twitch.

The sky chooses that exact moment to begin its horrible screaming, and her hand moves before she really thinks about it, reaching automatically for his as he shifts, fingers closing around his without hesitation while the sound claws through the air and rattles along her bones. When he mutters about giggle rain she lets out a soft, breathy chuckle under her breath, squeezing his hand once before releasing it so she can bend again for the scattered stones. "Me," she says dryly, giving him an affectionate roll of her eyes as she straightens with another handful of volcanic fragments, "when you helicopter after getting out of the shower."

She continues gathering rocks without ceremony, dropping several into the waiting backpack while Kaisel edges toward the debate he’d clearly been itching to reignite. Flora glances briefly toward Melita with a quick flash of conspiratorial amusement, the grin that follows easy and knowing, assuming the Honeybee would absolutely understand the rage-bait argument for what it was.

Once the latest pile disappears into the depths of the bag Flora pats the pack with a satisfied little thump. "Well," she says lightly, brushing dark dust from her palms, "if all that somehow isn’t enough for Remi to work with, he and Ronin can always come out here and grab the rest themselves."

---

Last round! Gather the last of your rocks!

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

In all the earnest debate, Melita did think it’d be amusing to shoot Kaisel himself out of the cannon. Whether or not there was a dramatic effect with his survival was another thing altogether, but he seemed the YOLO type. “That would be quite a sight,” she grinned in response to Flora’s suggestion, brightening up at the mental image of the Accepted careening through the sky, launched amidst the air and scattering multitudes below. “We could charge for admission. And they could get special Kaisel Gliding merch.”

Though she couldn’t quite joke about the screams, at the very least they seemed to be moving away, and then as she gathered, her attention was split between rocks and stones, and the sudden debate inquiry. The mere notion of it made her laugh, gazing back at Flora as if she was horrified by the prospect. “You said yes?” Her eyes widened at Kaisel, incredulous pretenses heightened for the Doubletake’s sake. “Just because they look the same doesn’t mean they’re the same person. Duh.” In a ‘you walked into that one idiot’ arch of her brow, before depositing the collected filaments into the bag.

--

Collection ahoy~

to be the sun

MELITA

If your heart's on the line, you could take mine

”GASP!” he gasps, loudly and with honest dramatics. ”MY OWN MERCH!?” Like a relative of the Grinch, his eyes double in size, taking on a faraway shine of someone caught up in dreams. ”Say less, when can we do this?” If he picks up the pace for collecting, it’s surely unrelated to a sudden duty-bound desire to finish this quest asap. Worst case, he could get Ronin to bring him back, right? Flora might be rubbing off on him, and not in the dirty way, although that’s not out of the question.

There’s certainly something he’d like to rub off on her too, but evidently it can’t be impressively swung around post shower. ”What!” his voice pitches up into affront. ”I’m putting on a show. That takes skill baybee.” His smile grows crooked and he throws her a wink, entirely aware that it’s more for his own amusement sake, and absolutely unwilling to stop just because she might scream rain at him now.

What he isn’t so easily able to let go, is the deep disappoint at finding Mel is not on his side. ”Okay but,” he whines, grabbing at a few more rocks and poorly trying to juggle them before depositing them in the backpack. ”she said, if everything was the same. That implies more than just the body is the same, right?” He uses both free hands now to speak with him, setting down the argument in the air with a certain shape his fingers mold out. ”So if there’s two exact Floras, then how am I in the wrong?”

Kaisel

Say you want the moon, watch me learn to fly

i can't help it if i want to kiss you in the rain, so

Flora’s brows lift immediately at Melita’s enthusiasm for the idea, her grin stretching wider as the Honeybee builds the fantasy into something suspiciously close to a business model. "Oooh, yes," she hums with bright approval, clearly delighted by the escalation before her gaze slides back toward Kaisel just in time to catch his theatrical and literal gasp. The look she gives him is deeply amused, though she lifts one finger in a small warning gesture as he lights up at the thought. "Not so fast, hot shot," she says sweetly, the words landing with mock authority. "First you’ve gotta be shot out of a cannon to prove your merch is worth buying."

When Melita immediately sides with her in the philosophical disaster Kaisel has stumbled into, Flora’s expression turns positively smug, her grin flashing brightly toward the Honeybee in silent solidarity before she slowly pivots back toward him. His continued defense earns a dramatic scoff, her hand flying to her chest in exaggerated offense as though he’s just committed a crime of profound emotional betrayal. "Oh," she breathes, eyes widening with theatrical shock. "Oh, so I’m not enough for you now?"

Her gaze sharpens into a playful accusation as she steps closer, clearly winding herself up for the performance. "All of that I love you more than anything was just a lie then, huh? Because you’d love someone else?" She tsks under her breath with a small shake of her head, as if deeply disappointed in the moral failings of the man standing in front of her. "Wow, Kai."

Then, with the air of someone who has been grievously wronged and will absolutely survive it with dignity intact, Flora lifts her chin haughtily and turns on her heel. Without another word she begins marching back toward the distant shapes of the Sugartide and Firecracker where they sit moored along the unstable edge of Apopo, boots crunching across the volcanic ground as though she has every intention of leaving Kaisel behind to reflect on his crimes against romantic devotion. The set of her shoulders remains stiffly righteous for several steps before a small, unmistakably amused smile begins tugging at the corner of her mouth, the performance only barely contained as she continues her dramatically offended retreat.

~FIN