[PQ] Better late than pregnant

Frey had warned them not to let the remains of true Void abominations linger. Tal wasn't always quick on the pickup, but at least he'd remembered the god's words before too much time had passed. It had prompted him to post a few hastily written notices around Torchline looking for help with some 'trash removal' across the straits. It wasn't going to be exciting or glamorous. In fact, it was going to be downright messy and maybe a little dangerous.

But it still needed doing, and maybe it was kind of his fault for instigating the encounter in the first place.

So he sat on the beach of the Waterways, the Peregrine floating a dozen feet above him with her ground anchor firmly set into some rocks along the shore. A dozen or so Torchers had made their way by ship or boat to join him, busy pulling on the protective gear he'd traded for in town. Waxed leather coats, heavy boots and gloves, and masks to cover noses and mouths made for an uncomfortably sweaty ensemble in the heat, but no one wanted to risk an accidental infection - or just the general grossness of the giant decomposing carcass.

"Let's wait a few minutes an' then we can get started," Tal called out, keeping his eyes peeled for anyone else who might join them.

---

This is a PQ to clean up the remains of the Oerwoud Void Guardian! Please post your characters arriving and any precautions they're taking for working with the giant dead Void monster.

1. Talyson
2. Alys
3. Sohalia
4. Koa

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

The Oerwoud Void Guardian had sounded terrifying, when Tal had relayed the encounter to his partner after its demise. Alys had been equal parts glad and upset that she hadn't been there - glad, because she would probably not be here today, but upset because she hadn't been able to have Tal's back. She knew that she would been more of a liability than anything if she'd accompanied him into the Oerwoud that day, and that knowledge stung whenever she thought about it for too long. But this, cleanup? This, she could help with.

So she scaled down the ladder from the Peregrine, clothed in the same waxed leather, boots, and gloves as the other workers, and went to stand by her partner in companionable silence. She tried her hardest not to wrinkle her nose at the stench of decomposition, but the faint frown on her face gave her away. Maybe it wouldn't be particularly pleasant, but it still needed doing, and she would be here to support Tal as much as she could.

---

Alys arrives with waxed leather coat, heavy boots, and gloves. She has a basic bow, a quiver with 12 arrows, and a dagger. Sascha stays on the Peregrine.

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

Having recently heard from Tal that the Oerwoud had been freed of the Void, and with the knowledge that the courier was leading cleanup efforts in the area, Soh thought that maybe that should be the first exploration destination since her reappearance. After all, if she went with others, then the chances of getting kidnapped or injured or anything else seemed lower than if she went alone. Besides, after hearing a little about Tal’s partner during their recent reunion, she was curious to know more about Alys. Maybe she could ask her friend for more details while they did whatever needed doing in the Oerwoud.

Much to her delight, she arrived at the designated meeting spot to find a short, dark-haired woman standing with Tal. She recognized the woman vaguely from seeing her here and there in the past - she thought she remembered Alys coming to the opening of Stormbreak to the Abandoned, and maybe one or two places before that - and was excited to get to formally meet her.

”Hey, Tal!” she chirped as she arrived, grey eyes clearer and lighter than they had been last time the pair had met. She’d seen several friends since then, and they’d all been happy and relieved to see her, had all soothed her worries and guilt. Now she was trying to move forward. She turned her gaze to Alys. ”Hello,” she said, a friendly smile on her face. ”I don’t think we’ve formally met. I’m Sohalia, but you can call me Soh. You’re Alys, right? I’ve heard so much about you!”

------

Sohalia arrives with waxed leather coat, heavy boots, and gloves. She also has two basic daggers. Tarak is with her.

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

Most awkward double date of the year let's goooo!

Having heard of the plan to clear corpses from Talyson, Koa'd been quick to volunteer his services to assist. What he hadn't been made aware of was who else their party might contain - a surprise that leaves him both blanched and flustered, as he emerges from a nearby path. "Hey Tal, Alys... Soh." the Dragoon greets the gathering, the last word becoming slightly strangled as his eyes light upon Soh. Their last meeting had been... complicated, and he's still not sure where he stands with the one-time Heart.

Luckily Pip is here to break the ice, the little dragon too deeply absorbed by her need for attention to mind any awkwardness in the scene. She launches herself from Koa's shoulder, making a beeline toward Soh and Tarak - excited, of course, to show off her incredible flying prowess, which has improved significantly since she last saw the Luminary. Koa watches with a distant expression before quickly clearing his throat, attention shifting to Talyson and the task at hand.

"So. What first?" It's a valiant attempt to regather his composure, and he's pulling it off well. He's dressed appropriately: waterproof boots and oil-slicked clothes, his bracers waxed to protect from the muck. The chakram hangs off its loop on his belt, just in case things go awry. With a soldier's attention he awaits instruction, trying and failing not to glance sidelong at Sohalia and the dragonet who has no respect for his resolution not to let his romantic life get twisted up again.

---

KOA IS HERE FOR AWKWARDNESS. He has the stuff on his profile, waterproof clothes, and a flying pool noodle with macaroni for brains.

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

He'd been a little worried about Alys coming along, if only because he wasn't sure if the Family would object to their bigass nasty pet being gotten rid of. But he wasn't going to tell her no, and he was grateful for her help. Had he made sure she got the best safety equipment from the batch? He sure had! And Boreal was along to keep Sascha entertained, though he'd warned the dragon to keep clear of the Oerwoud and the violet remains of the Void Guardian.

He shot Alys a grateful look for her presence, even though their gear made it impossible to hold hands, just as a final boat of volunteers arrived from Torchline. And he saw a familiar face among them, lighting up with a grin and a wave. "Soh! Thanks for comin'!" Even better, Sohalia made her own introduction so he didn't have to awkwardly stumble through a meet-and-greet of his friend and his partner. "We can grab dinner t'gether after this if y'want t'talk?" he offered, looking between the two women hopefully.

...And then, better late than... well... you know, Koa arrives to round out their team. Tal beamed at his friend, not entirely unaware of the tension between Dragoon and Heart but not realizing just how deep the awkwardness went. "Koa, we're just gettin' started," he assured his friend. He wanted to say more, getting the barest hint of something off in the way Soh's name came out slightly mangled, but it would have to wait for later.

Because at the moment, they had work to do.

"Alright guys, first thing is t'try an' find all o' th'roots an' vines." He gestured to where several large roots lay lifeless on the surface of the thick loam of the jungle floor, still stained dark from Noah's blood, then up into the canopy where a number of violet nether vines hung limply, dangling in the stifling heat. "Whenever y'find one, tie one o' these around it t'mark it. We've gotta collect all th'bits an' make sure we don't leave anythin' t'keep poisonin' th'place." The damn thing had hidden itself in the jungle all above and below them, so just finding all its pieces was going to be a difficult first step! Tal opened up the large sack at his side, which turned out to contain long, wide strips of linen striped in eye-searing pink and cyan to draw attention even amidst the flora of the jungle, and began distributing them to the helpers.

---

First round!

Find and mark all the segments of the Void Guardian!
The vines will mostly be up in the canopy, so climbing or flying will help to hunt them down.
The roots will be visible down in the Undergrove, so someone should lead a party down there.
The trunks connecting the two will be the easiest to reach but the hardest to deal with later.

And there's plenty for everyone, because this sucker wound itself all through the Oerwoud.

No posting order!

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

Oh, hush, Tal. Like you don't do way more to incite worry in your partner!

Anyway. A pretty young blonde, who Alys recognized immediately from her first trip to Stormbreak, arrived with a friendly smile, which the seer returned. "Likewise," she said to the girl, having heard a great deal about the former Heart from her partner. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Soh." Then, turning her attention to Tal, she smiled sweetly. "Dinner would be lovely." After all, it would be nice to get to know her partner's friends!

Then Koa arrived, and Alys offered the young Dragoon a welcoming smile. As she picked up on some kind of awkwardness between Soh and Koa, she hid her curiosity and merely exchanged a charged glance with Tal. Perhaps he would tell her what that was about later - that is, if he knew. "Hi, Koa," she said smoothly, ignoring whatever it was, even as her fingers itched for her tarot cards. What she wouldn't give to do a reading for those two! "I hope you've been well."

There was little time for small talk, though, not when they all had a job to do. Tal gave instructions, and then they were off, searching for the mangled pieces of the the Void Guardian. Alys elected to search for the trunks, taking some little flags on sticks from a pile of equipment and beginning to mark anything that looked vaguely purple with them.

---

Alys greets the others and then looks for Void Guardian trunks!

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

In the brief moments before Koa's arrival, Soh was happy, if a bit nervous. She hadn't been out exploring since she'd been taken ill, and she was glad of all the company on her first foray into the wilderness. Alys was sweet and welcoming, and Soh quickly started to agree to dinner - but then a familiar voice had her turning, a faint flush creeping into her cheeks as she beheld Koa. "Hey," she said softly, trying not to sound too terribly awkward lest she make Tal and Alys uncomfortable.

Trying to ignore whatever complex emotions surged in the space between she and the Dragoon and focus on the task at hand.

The task, fortunately, gave her an out. "I'll look for vines," she said quickly, then shifted. Her snowy owl form would be perfect for flying amongst the leaves of the canopy, though marking the vines she found might be a little harder than if she was human. Still, she took off quickly, grabbing a little flag in her talons and carrying it with her as she began to search for Void-vine remnants.

---
Soh runs away shifts into a snowy owl and begins looking for vines above!

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

Oh this is fine, it's all going fine. Sure, maybe he and Soh are becoming blisteringly obvious in their refusal to make eye contact, and maybe his sigh of relief as she flies away is almost audible, but other than that? Nothing to see but some fine, normal pals doing the fine, normal job of cleaning up void rot.

Turning his attention back to Tal (and mercifully missing the look exchanged between the partners), Koa gathers up his own collection of colorful ties. "Guess that leaves the Undergrove to us?" he says with an attempt at cheerfulness that comes out strangled and wholly awry.

He doesn't leave much room for argument, ushering his friend swiftly away. "You might have warned me she was coming," he points out somewhat petulantly as they venture out of earshot of the women, casting Talyson a beseeching look. No need to clarify which she he means.

---

Koa takes Tal to go to the Undergrove!

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

Tal met Alys's eyes and both his brows went up, trying to convey something, but there was no way to do it discreetly with everyone gathered right there. He pulled down his mask, pretending to scratch his nose, and mouthed a silent Later to her before going down the list of tasks.

He wasn't surprised when Sohalia took to the air, leading the winged Attuned and some bold climbers to tag the vines. As they darted through the canopy the rotting violet nether vines stood out amidst the return of the lush green growth that was the Oerwoud's natural state. The work was slow as they traversed the thick leaves of healthy growth, pushing through the networks of branches and normal vines that were returning to the area, but soon the Oerwoud was dotted with flashes of pink and cyan in the canopy.

Alys and her team had a more difficult time, even though their targets were the largest and should have been the easiest. The great trunks of the Void Horror that connected its vines and roots were surprisingly well-hidden behind curtains of greenery that masked their presence. She often had to wait for the vine crew to mark a collection of vines and then use those to pinpoint the trunk that they had sprung from.

And then there was Team Himbo. "Sure do--hey!" Tal looked over his shoulder at Alys, giving a helpless shrug as he was hustled towards the peepholes. "I'm comin', I'm comin'!" he assured his friend, slowing enough to throw an arm around Koa's shoulders as they headed down into the Undergrove to begin tagging Void Guardian roots. "An' I didn't know!" he protested once they were safely out of earshot. "Not til after I'd already told you. Are you an' her really that mad at each other?" In spite of the distraction of their conversation, the Void-infected roots were much easier to pick out than the vines and the boys made swift work of their own tagging expedition.

As everyone returned to their makeshift HQ a few hours later, Tal was unpacking the saws, machetes, and torches for their next task. "Okay, now that we've found 'em, we need to cut 'em all down and bring 'em all here," he instructed, handing out the tools. "Let's focus on th'vines an'roots first. Th'trunks'll be hardest so let's do those later." He looked around at the safety-clad team to make sure everyone was listening. "Th'last thing we want is Void-sap soakin' in more'n it already has, so light a torch an' use it t'seal off any cuts y'make as quick as y'can, okay?"

---

Looks like we've found all the pieces, now it's time to dismantle this thing! Split into two teams - one to take down the vines, and one to bring up the roots. Use fire to cauterize your cuts so the Void stuff doesn't bleed out everywhere!

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

As Tal mouthed a silent later, Alys blinked her acknowledgement and subtly turned to study the young woman and the dragoon, wondering what history lay beneath the surface. If she read their cards, what would they say? Would the tarot urge them closer together, or pull them further apart? Or maybe she was reading into something that wasn't there, assuming some kind of romantic scandal that hadn't happened. Maybe there was some kind of professional disagreement between the former Heart and the dragoon.

In any case, she turned to the task at hand. It was difficult, the trunks of the Void Horror hidden behind the greenery of the Oerwoud, but as the vines and roots were marked, it became easier to hunt down the trunks that its death had left behind.

Once everything was clearly marked and identified, they all regrouped and Tal gave further instruction. The seer watched him with pride - something about the way he had taken charge of the large party made her feel all the warm fuzzies, and she found that she was more than happy to join the others in following his instruction. Grabbing a torch and a machete, Alys set to hacking at the hanging vines, attempting to bring them down while simultaneously cauterizing her cuts with the flame.

------

Alys cuts down vines!

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

No, Soh wasn't running away, she was simply following Tal's instructions. Which happened to lead her far from the young dragoon and the discomfort that his presence brought her. As she soared through the canopy, alighting every once in a while to plant a flag, she studiously ignored the boys and whatever they happened to be talking about.

The group eventually managed to find all the bits and pieces of the Void Horror and returned to their starting point to listen to further instructions from Tal. As Alys began hacking at vines, Soh hurriedly said, "I'll help Alys," to no one in particular, grabbing her own torch and machete and fleeing walking to another section of greenery, where she began chopping at the hanging vines and attempting to cauterize them.

---

Soh joins Team Vines and avoids Koa.

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

"Mad? I'm not mad- did she say that? Is she mad?" Not that she wouldn't have the right to anger - you've been kind of a weirdo, Koa - but this take is certainly bewildering to the boy. Sighing and shaking his handsome head, he tries to put his complex relationship into words. "It's just been weird, I guess? Like... I dunno."

And should Tal pry (even a little, let's be honest), he will be treated over the next few hours to a recap of Koa's currently rather fraught life, including his recent heartbreak (without much detail; still too raw), the reunion with Soh (confusing and not yet complete), and how he's currently sworn full-stop off dating for maybe the rest of his life (dubious). There's nothing like good, hard work to ease the Dragoon's mind, and by the time they reunite with the girls he's looking considerably more at ease.

Which isn't to say that he misses Soh's continued avoidance of him, or remains unbothered by it. Clenching his jaw unhappily at they way the Luminary hustles off, Koa turns to Tal with a wry smile. "Guess it's us again," he shrugs, idly testing a machete's weight. "I'll cut, you burn?" Because while, yes, objectively Tal is far stronger than Koa, the Dragoon still views himself as the brawn of this particular Himbo Team.

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

"Uh... well, you've both been avoidin' th'fuck out o'each other since y'showed up today," Tal pointed out to Koa with all the logic of someone with two working eyes, and nevermind the magical Goggles. "So what am I s'posed t'think?" As it turned out, things were even more complicated than he'd thought as the Dragoon opened up on all the details that had just been drunken vague blogging the last time they'd talked. Because of course Tal pried, and when he heard about Flora, too, his eyes went as wide as saucers. It was a good thing Koa was keeping an eye out on their target because the courier was distracted more than once with the excitement of Koa's love life!

Which sounded uncomfortably similar to his own before he'd met Alys. Oops?

He was relieved when his partner went with Sohalia, however. Tal shot Alys a grateful look, warmed by how well she knew what he needed and the support she gave him. Koa needed a bro just then, and as much as he liked both of his friends, he really didn't want to end up playing telephone or referee for them! So bouncing between them on the day's tasks didn't seem like a good idea. "Hey, we make a good team," he assured his buddy, nudging his elbow teasingly into the dragoon's ribs. "C'mon, let's get started." Because for all that he was stronger, Tal had never entirely forgotten about being the scrawny little twig who had started out as a dogsled courier on the Tundra. It was easy to fall back into the old habit of assuming others were stronger than him and wielding the torch to seal off the void-secretions... even if he made up for it by hauling the lion's share of the severed roots up the surface when they were done.

Sohalia and Alys had an easier job as gravity did half their work for them once they severed the vines. Gathering the slithery nether vines that were beginning to rot off the jungle floor after they'd cut them down was a decidedly dirty job. It was a good thing they had their protective equipment on as they hauled the violet vegetation to the large clearing that had been set aside to gather it all in one spot. There was so much of it that it was already spilling out into the jungle around, but it was mostly contained - for the moment - and there was only one thing left to add.

"Now we gotta cut the trunks down an' haul 'em over," Tal instructed, grimacing beneath his mask."Those are gonna be th'hardest, so we'll all need t'work together. We'll start with that one--" he pointed at the biggest trunk they'd found, "an' swap out for breaks as needed. Two o' us can secure the guide ropes an' make sure it comes down th'right direction." So it didn't squash any of the would-be lumberjacks! "Two'll be on the cuttin' team. I'll help chop," he added, patting his trusty axe on his hip. "Let's get started!"

---

Round 3
The trunks are the last pieces of the Void Guardian to collect!

1. Team 'And My Axe' needs one more person to help Tal chop them down
2. Team 'Safety First' needs two people to secure the trunks with ropes to make sure they fall the right direction and don't land on anyone

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

The boys might have talked about Koa's love life as they worked, but as Sohalia was remarkably silent about hers, Alys turned the conversation instead to other subjects. She asked about the girl's cartography first, and then turned the discussion to her artwork, since Tal had indicated before that this was an interest that the two women shared. By the time they all regrouped, Sohalia seemed to be much calmer, and Alys shot Tal a wink before listening to the next set of instructions.

Despite the desire to join Tal in chopping down the Void Guardian trunks, she thought that in this particular situation, a divide and conquer approach might be best. As a result, she made her way to the guide ropes and began to secure them. Who joined her and who joined Tal would be up to the others, but at least they wouldn't be awkwardly stuck together although that might be interesting, too.

---

Team 'Safety First'!

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

Alys