[SE] the march forward

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

Baking had not originally been on his to-do list for the next few hours or days – but given everything going on, he wasn’t certain the opportunity would come again. Between the Tundra being infected, cleansed with its own semblance of messes, and a horde of other things to consider, just the lightest break was going to be enough.

Sah had been welcomed into his home, and with the rest of the family out and about, they’d likely only be acknowledged by Belial coming and going out of the kitchen, begging for scraps. The roar of the fire in the hearth, within the nearby living room, gave off enough heat, and he already had the stove on – contemplating their choices. “I was thinking cookies,” he tilted his head towards the fellow hybrid, getting those portions out before any other question came up. If he had other preferences, the Sword would listen – hopeful that they had the necessary ingredients.

sah The past few hours...days...weeks had been insane. Sah was still struggling to process it all, to find logic in the chaos. It made him restless, wary of the coming days now that there was a brief lull. Yet, he knew that he had to take the time to rest in order to face it all. Joining Deimos for a few hours of banking was a prime opportunity. The younger hybrid nodded, reaching onto his side of the kitchen to help start measuring out the ingredients. "Cookies would be perfect. Do you have chocolate chips?" It seemed like a chocolate chip cookie kind of day. Tastier than sugar cookies or shortbread but less complex to make compared to some of his other favorites. Sah really needed to get that ginger cookie recipe from Tal's sister one of these days.

Not all that is fractured is broken

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

Deimos strived, with great difficulty, to not let his own apprehension, trepidation, and overall disquiet pierce through the bond. Instead, the emotions stuck to his ribs and his spine, lining through his shoulders, doing away with any restful components. That would likely only come again when the Family was well and truly destroyed, and given how things were going lately, in a very, long, distant future.

Snorting at the inquiry, as if offended that he’d even had to ask, Deimos pulled open one of the cabinets, and placed a large bag of said chocolate chips upon the counter. “Of course.” Thereafter, he started preparing the baking sheets, lining it with parchment paper to make the notions of scraping them off far easier. “I am sorry about your mageglass, again,” he noted, not wanting the semblances to be overridden by the latest events. “Most of our attention, understandably, has gone to the Tundra.”

sah Sah grinned as the most vital of ingredients appeared. "Perfect." As he finished up measuring the rest of the ingredients, the younger hybrid began to mix the wet ones together in a bowl. He paused mid-whisk at Deimos' condolences and shook his head. "No need. I've hardly thought about it with everything going on. The Tundra and Halo's safety have been my priority as well." The theft had stung his pride more than anything, yet it also made wary for others with mageglass. The Warden had mentioned that he didn't know of anyone else with the substance who might be targeted and that was a relief. The Wild Thunder resumed mixing the wet ingredients, "I considered going after them immediately, but they were seriously injured, and I was afraid that if they tried to keep fighting, I'd accidentally kill them before they gave up. Mageglass isn't worth a life." Yet now there was far too little evidence to investigate and far more important things to attend to.

Not all that is fractured is broken

A razor-sharp breeze carries a faint echo that almost sounds like a whisper. Each step feels heavier, as though the cold itself anchors you in place. A prickling unease gnaws at your thoughts—a sensation of being examined by something unseen. You glance around at shifting snowdrifts, yet you can’t shake the sense that hidden eyes never blink.

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This does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention.

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

Prioritizing circumstances hadn’t always been this way – but Halo, and his family, remained foremost. Theft wasn’t something they dealt with often as a whole, at least not in so many years, and the lack of information and evidence made it difficult to do anything either. The fact that the individuals were long gone, especially while they were sorting out the messes amidst this, wasn’t especially helpful, and in the end, their hands were tied. If fortune prevailed, Sah might see it again, and be able to exact his own vengeance.

But meanwhile, there were cookies to be made, as he nodded. Once Sah was done mixing the ingredients, the Sword began to take small portions and place them upon the metal sheet.

During the movements though, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Similar to when he and Alys had encountered the bizarre stones in King’s End, he shifted his eyes to the window, but saw nothing other than snow drifts, swirls of powder outside. Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes, striving to concentrate on the dough. “Have you been noticing anything strangle lately? Like something is always observing?” Or was he beginning to simply sink into paranoia?

Was it the Family – like the static pulses they’d felt after placing magic against Seren’s orb?

sah Sah froze, lightning already surging beneath his skin and ready to act at a moment's notice. His eyes trailed in the direction that he thought he felt the presence only to find emptiness. At first, he thought that he'd imagined it but Deimos clearly had picked up on the anomaly as well. The younger hybrid let out a hiss of breath and calmed his magic, "Not before now. But I've heard some of the other hunters mention it. And I definetly felt whatever that was." In the fight to come he'd also see fingerprints in the snow. Assisting Deimos in portioning out the dough, soon it was time to put the cookies in the oven. As he closed the door, Sah's brow furrowed. "If this is becoming a more common occurrence, we should probably look into it. Do you know if it's happening in other regions too? Or just Halo?" If it was happening everywhere, then Sah had a horrible hunch as to what or better who, it might be. Was the herald-like being lying dormant there waking up?

Not all that is fractured is broken

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

Deimos couldn’t say the same; it had occurred in several other instances. “When I was in King’s End, something felt similar with stones.” He just wasn’t certain what to do about the occurrences, other than keeping a constant vigilance and being far more furtive about things going on in in potential, looming presences.

Sneaking some cookie dough out of the bowl when Sah wasn’t looking, he munched on it quietly while preparing another batch as the first went into the oven. “I am not certain how to look into it, and I am quite busy here.” Not that he was refusing the semblances, but there were so many other things to do – especially with Halo on the Family’s adversarial list lately. “You are more than welcome to snag and gather information.”

sah Sah nodded, "Absolutely." The Warden certainly needed to focus on Halo. But as a mere hunter, the younger hybrid had for more flexibility. Once things appeared to have settled in the snowy region, he'd start an investigation of sorts. Of course, it'd be far later than he'd initially anticipated. "If I find anything, I'll let you know." Gods, he didn't even want to put the thoughts into further mental words, but Sah's hunch seemed even more likely now that he knew anomalies were occurring in multiple regions. The younger hybrid began to assist with the second batch as he considered where to start. "I'll probably start with King's End once things calm down here in Halo and work my way from there. Hopefully, I can get some information from passing travelers and hunters on what they've seen, too." He was due a visit with Tal, Alys, and Ru, anyway. Especially given that recent broadcast. Sah was still struggling to process that Ru had been infected, and he hadn't realized.

Not all that is fractured is broken

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

With agreements set, Deimos continued to busy himself with the cookies, layering more portions across in even amounts. “Thank you.” He wasn’t certain what they’d do with the information, but sagacity, wisdom, and experiences from around the realms still amounted to noteworthy details for the future. Or even the present, given everything going on around them. Opting to delve into Attuned bonds, rather than say anything out loud (and how bizarre; to think there would be eyes and ears in his own home; askance from his own loved ones). It reminds me far too much of our void invaders. Like the static around the orb, the ability to broadcast…it wouldn’t be surprising to hear or find their abilities were stretching.

Which made another wave of apprehension roll through him; and he tried not to let it show or meander through bond adornments; trained in steadiness and composure, as he finished off this batch too.

Checking the oven for how the first round of cookies were doing, he nodded. “Sounds good. If I have an opportunity I will do the same.” Not in King’s End though. Maybe send a letter to Kiada, to see if anything was going on in the Hollowed Grounds – or in her own travels.

sah Sah grimaced before nodding, It does. His wariness echoed subtly in the bond. I'm worried that whoever, or whatever it is, is drawing closer. The younger hybrid shook his head, It's just a theory but the presence being mostly intangible so far makes me think that what we're feeling is the consciousness of something that has yet to appear physically. Gods, he hoped not. But the manner in which the anomalies had been occurring made the possibility seem plausible enough to be concerned. Sah peeked around Deimos' shoulder to eye the cookies, no matter of doom capable of stopping him from being eager for a taste test. "I hope that we find answers and that it turns out to be something manageable." Either a conquerable threat or better yet, a neutral or positive party.

Not all that is fractured is broken

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

Sah’s worries had likely already come to fruition; the nature of the tides sweeping in. They’d been fighting the onslaught of Starfall for seasons now – hadn’t pressed back into the island since snagging at their initial push…and now, with Remi and Ronin not wanting to participate – he grimaced inwardly, the pressure continuing to grind its way down the length of his broad shoulders, uncertain how much more they’d be asked to bear. A long sigh lingered through though, the only sign he’d give off physically – drawing the first batch of cookies out from the oven. We need to continue trying to find flowers then. In all the distractions, battles, and quests, the simplest answer and solution was still there – even if it relied heavily on fortune.

So far, things had been manageable, but the Sword couldn’t help but wonder if they’d been picking at smaller scraps, while everything else continued to build, steadily surrounding until they were ultimately consumed. A rather damned and doomed approach, and he wouldn’t let his determination cloud his judgement, but sometimes it was all too much at once. “As long as we all do our parts.”

sah Sah simply nodded. They needed the flowers, but no one was having any luck. It was frustrating and discouraging at times. If they could find a few and build up a storage of them, they'd be able to protect the inhabited regions from the void while sending out teams to purge infected Wild regions as they occurred. But even that wasn't a solution long-term. They needed to purge Starfall but so few were powerful enough to make it out alive. The hybrid took his anger out on one of the cookies he was scooping out, roughly forming it into a ball and smacking it onto the tray. Pausing, he let out a sigh and re-rolled the poor thing before finishing up with the rest of the dough and placing the new tray into the oven with the rest of the second batch. "Are two batches enough or should I start measuring out a third?"

Not all that is fractured is broken

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

There was always the option of asking the Big Gods for assistance with the flowers, as Flora had once done. That had its own consuming measures, and the likelihood of being fortunate enough to discuss portions with them might not even occur either. Time, patience, and persistence might have been on their sides, but he worried about the foremost; shaking his head, trying to erase the doldrums and sinking, apprehensive notions.

His eyes went towards the beating of the dough; having never thought to take out aggravations upon cookies (those were to assist in emotional support eating). He maneuvered his own set away from Sah casually, before rolling them into more portions and pieces, and sneaking another for himself.

Measuring out quantities had him calculating different aspects. “A third – that way we each have a batch to take home, and one for the festival.” Of which now he was dreading going.