[PQ] Better late than pregnant

August evenings Bring solemn warnings
To remember to kiss the ones you love goodnight

Fortunately for Soh, Alys was surprisingly easy to talk to, although she should have expected that the seer would be a kind soul, for Tal to love her so very much. By the time they regrouped, the Luminary could certainly see the appeal - Alys had talked to her of her work, and her art, and they'd discovered a shared interest in the subject, to the point that Soh had promised to showcase some of the seer's work if she ever returned to Stormbreak or opened a shop anywhere else. As they rejoined the others, Soh was considerably calmer, and even managed a shy (and perhaps somewhat apologetic) glance in Koa's direction.

When the next round of instructions was given out, Tal and Alys once more split up, leaving Soh and Koa to decide where to go next. Since she'd yet to spend time with Tal, the girl elected to join his team, and she made her way to his side to help chop at the trunks. She might not be particularly strong, but she would do her best all the same! "Alys is lovely," she informed him with a smile as she selected a tool. "She and I should start up a gallery somewhere to display artwork. We'd have fun with that, I think."

---

Soh joins Tal and starts chopping!

You never know what temporal days may bring
So laugh, love, live free and sing

Sohalia

Koa

Don't take this the wrong way
You knew who I was with every step that I ran to you

Feeling a little better for having cleared the air with Tal, Koa's ready to continue their himbo misadventures - that is, until Soh steps in. With a flash of confusion he blinks as the Luminary quickly steps to the courier's side, taking up the mantle of Axeman before Koa has a chance to claim it for himself.

Which leaves him on Team Safety with Alys - not a bad place to be by any means, but certainly a less familiar one.

Shaking away his sharp confusion, Koa turns to the Seer with a smile. "Guess that leaves us," he tells her brightly, trying to swallow down the anxiety of oh god what does she know? Because of course being young and incredibly self-centered, Koa can only assume that Soh has been gossiping as readily as he.

Gathering up the ropes he follows Alys, ready to tie off where instructed and secure large trunks in their requisite place. "It's good to see you, Miss Alys," he smiles as they're working. "Tal never stops talking about you, y'know? And I still owe you for lending pip your kite!"

Only blue or black days
Electing strange perfections in any stranger I choose

Just seeing Soh looking less skittish was a good sign, and Tal returned Alys's wink with a grateful bob of his head. His partner was good at healing hearts and souls, as he could attest to, and he was glad that she'd been able to work her natural magic on the Luminary. He wasn't nearly as skilled, but Koa seemed to be calmer after talking things out, too, and it was starting to look like maybe they'd get through the day without any major incidents or misunderstandings... well, any worse than they currently were.

Hopefully Alys could continue to soothe and help Koa while Team Safety handled the ropes and kept the Void trees from coming down on anyone. Koa had been over to the house for dinner a few times, and the two made a good team between the Seer identifying the best places to secure the ropes so they could guide the trunks safely down and the Dragoon providing the muscle to get the work done. They led their crew to victory with a winning combination, and Team Axe certainly benefited from it!

Sohalia and Tal were a tried-and-true team, and their helpers learned quickly from the pair as they took turns chopping down the first big trunk. As their weapons bit into the purple wood with a steady rhythm the courier actually beamed in pleasure at hearing the Luminary's approval of his partner. "She really is. An' y'really should! That's a great idea," he agreed smugly, pretty sure that he'd suggested it at some point in the distant past. "Y'both have a lot o' talent!" Though at the moment it was the talent for destruction that was the most needed!

As the trick of securing the trees and the teamwork needed to cut them down efficiently was shared with the rest of their helpers, the others spread out to tackle the other trunks that Alys had marked. Others worked to continue searing the freshly-cut ends of the trunks closed to limit the spill of sap into the jungle. With their vines and roots already removed the trees came down a lot more easily, and after a couple of hours of work the last of them was hauled into the clearing and tossed on the great, horrible pile of rotting Void vegetation.

"So... I was hopin' th'gods might be able to help us get rid o' it," he admitted sheepishly as they regrouped. "I was plannin' t'channel Safrin t'purify it. An' if that doesn't work, well... I guess I can try Ludo." Though he didn't sound excited by that prospect. If anything, he looked nervous. "Koa, can y'help me out? Hopefully this'll be th'end o' it... An' then we just have t'clean th'Void-sap off th'gear before we take it back t'Torchline."

Taking a deep breath, Tal looked over the gathered, mountainous mass that was polluting the jungle and thought real hard about how much he wanted it gone. "Hey, uh, Safrin? Sorry t'bother you but could y'give us a hand with this horrible stuff? Purify it, or turn it into stardust or non-Void flowers or somethin'?"

---

Tal Channels Safrin to purify or destroy the remains of the Oerwoud Void Guardian that have been collected and gathered together in one place!

Channel to help (either boosting Tal's Channel or making your own call)!
Depending on the success of the channel, either offer alternative ideas for removing the remains or start cleaning up the stained and tainted equipment and clothing that was used.

POSTING ORDER:
1. Koa
2. - Channeled God(s)
3. Alys
4. Sohalia

Koa

Don't take this the wrong way
You knew who I was with every step that I ran to you

The work is good, but also fairly gruesome, with putrid violet ichor spilling out of rotted trees. Feeling grateful for his oil-slicked attire, Koa grimaces as she shakes a glob of purple sap off his gloves, his nose pinched in distaste. "As if plant goop wasn't gross enough already..." he mutters under his breath to nobody in particular, feeling particularly validated in his distrust of vegetation given their current circumstances.

Tal's suggestion of shared channeling is met with raised eyebrows, Koa glancing around at the felled trees and pursing his lips. While he cannot imagine Safrin being happy to be summoned into such a gruesome scene, he also knows this is a bigger project than they can undertake - and far be it from him to deny a chance to see his patroness. So as Tal concludes he picks up the thread, spine straightening subconsciously, body automatically assuming soldier's attentive poise.

"Starlit lady," he intones, voice warm with affection and reverence, "Please grace us with your strength and light, and help us purify this portion of Caido to once again reflect your beauty."

---

Koa helps to channel Safrin

Only blue or black days
Electing strange perfections in any stranger I choose

vi

Sometimes things don't go to plan, and that can be considered a bad thing.

Sometimes they don't go to plan, though, and the God of Life comes to inspect your work.

(Might that also be considered a bad thing? You decide).

Regardless, where starlight and splendour might have appeared, in their place stands Vi, pure as the chiming of a temple bell, the very earth beneath his bare feet seeming to awaken and stretch and relax. "A noble undertaking," he notes of their attempts to rid the Oerwoud of the remnants of the void.

"Your work here will not be forgotten." Bowing his head, Vi takes a long, deep breath - and releases it. On the exhale the entire Oerwoud appears to brighten, to feel light and cleansed - and as for the vestiges of the void guardian? They are nothing more than pale and harmless ash dissolving into nothingness.

By the time it disappears entirely, Vi is gone too.

Table base by Sky!

You made yourself a bed
At the bottom of the blackest hole

As Alys and Koa set about their task and the dragoon offered a bright greeting, the seer blushed faintly to learn that Tal talked about her to his friends. Of course, she did the same, whenever she got the chance, but it was always nice to hear that her love for the courier was so devoutly returned. "Oh, you don't owe me anything. It was a pleasure to help Pip," she said with a smile. "If you ever need another kite, just say the word."

Unfortunately for Alys's curiosity, she knew nothing of what had or had not transpired between Soh and Koa, but she desperately wanted to find out. She wasn't going to pry, though - at least, she wasn't going to pry with Koa. Tal, later, was another story. She wasn't usually much of a gossip, and whatever he did or didn't tell her would stay with her and her alone, but she had to admit that she wanted to know more about the pair.

Alys went quiet as the two Accepted began to attempt to channel, watching with a faint air of nervousness. Even after all this time, and all her growth, she was still anxious when gods were called upon. She still expected them to smite her just for being Abandoned. But much to her - and probably all of their - surprise, the god who appeared was not Safrin, but Vi. Caught between awe and fear, Alys bowed her head respectfully. When she raised it again, Vi was gone - and so were the remains their group had been cleaning up.

Alys stepped closer to Tal instinctively. "Wow," she murmured. "I certainly wasn't expecting that." She smiled at her partner before starting on the admittedly nasty task of cleaning up their gear.

---

Alys cleans!

And convinced yourself that
It's not the reason you don't see the sun anymore

Alys

August evenings Bring solemn warnings
To remember to kiss the ones you love goodnight

Soh and Tal took turns chopping at the great trunks, chatting periodically as they took breaks to take a sip of water. It had always been easy being around the courier, and they'd always made a good pair. It took a while, but eventually, they had a great mound of Void remains that needed to be destroyed. Tal and Koa called on Safrin to help cleanse it, which made the Luminary more than a little nervous, given the warnings she'd been given about the herald in the past. But it was not Safrin who appeared - it was Vi. Soh blinked in surprise, seemingly too stunned to offer even a word of thanks before the god had disappeared, taking the Void remains with him.

With the nasty remains gone, Soh glanced between her companions, noting with a twinge of jealousy the look that Alys gave Tal, the way she stepped so naturally closer to the courier. They were good together, Soh realized, good in a way that she had never been with either Jude or Koa. It was a depressing thought. She left them to their coupleness, stripping off the gloves she wore and beginning to wash them off with a glance at Koa, as though unsure if he would be interested in conversation or prefer to be left to his own devices.

---

Soh cleans!

You never know what temporal days may bring
So laugh, love, live free and sing

Sohalia

Tal had never encountered Vi before, and his eyes went as wide and round as saucers as his brain realized just who had appeared in response to their prayers. His hand groped blindly for Koa's and caught the dragoon's fingers, squeezing them soundlessly as he stared in awe at the great god of life himself. As Vi exhaled Tal finally remembered to bow his head in reverence, and when he raised it again--

The god was gone. But so was every last trace of the Void Guardian.

Realizing belatedly that he was still holding Koa's hand, Tal dropped it sheepishly so he could take Alys's instead (admittedly, much more gently). "Me neither," he admitted, still star-struck and subdued by the experience. "Wow. Just... just wow!" He leaned into her shoulder instinctively, but when the wonder eventually began to fade (admittedly, it took a while) he drew a deep breath and let her go so he could strip off his gear and help Sohalia and Alys clean up the last of the crud, leaving not a drop remaining in the jungle.

Koa

Don't take this the wrong way
You knew who I was with every step that I ran to you

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit it's Vi.

"Holy shit."

Eloquent as always, Koa can do little more than let his mouth hang open, his returned grip on Talyson's hand fierce enough to bruise. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected Vi to appear, and there's something incredibly empowering in the knowledge that the Father of Life manifested in answer to his prayer. Though only a few brief moments pass, to Koa it feels like an eternity, and as the great God leaves Koa suddenly feels like his own problems are absurdly, infinitesimally small.

Feeling his palm tingle where Tal's hand once was, the Dragoon needs a speechless moment before reality can set back in. A warm expression of awe is cast around their gathered assembly, and even as he gets back to work, Koa feels lighter, somehow. He isn't even perturbed by Sohalia's closeness; all his thoughts are absorbed by childlike wonder, and a renewed sense of determination to finish their job.

[fin]

Only blue or black days
Electing strange perfections in any stranger I choose