[PQ] [SE] like the first pioneer

i want to taste you again

The going is slow but steady, as far as Jack is concerned, and compared to a lot of things he's had to put his mind and magic towards, this is relatively low pressure. (It's not trying to clean the underside of the Ark during Deepfrost, put it that way). Still, Sunjata manages to make it interesting enough by virtue of helping not helping, and the Captain has just stood back to survey the work he's done when muddy water comes and sloshes it all back into place.

Slowly raising his eyebrows, he glances to the Flood with a muscle feathering in his jaw. "Y'know, I think I got it from here," he says with a hard smile; code for please go and help someone else before I have to stand here all day and do this. Providing the Flood takes the hint, Jack will turn back and redouble his efforts to finish cleaning up with a renewed combination of earth and water. At least if it still fails this time, it's only on him.

---

Jack shoos Sunjata away and tries his hand with earth and water again!

Earth Manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can manipulate the earth. Must be within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent.
Type: Grey | Rank: Upgraded | Cost: Action

Water manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control water. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action

like a secret or a sin

JACK

For a moment, Alys thought that her plan might have worked. As the old man departed to procure some tea, the seer manipulated the air around her to leave the mud dry and cracked. With a smile, she dug the shovel into the now-hardened muck, only to find that her air had only dried out the top layer. The underneath was still sticky, and the shovel made an unpleasant slorping sound as she removed it from the mess she'd created.

Huffing a frustrated sigh, the seer propped the shovel up with one hand, her free hand going to her hip as she stared down at the mud. Well, if tricks and magic weren't going to do the job, then there was only one thing for it - she'd have to do this the old-fashioned way, and that meant just plain old elbow grease. Burying the shovel into the mud, Alys began to lift chunks into her bucket. Once it was full, she'd have to find somewhere to dispose of the stuff, but for now, she could only hope that she'd make some headway with this attempt.

---

Alys goes back to the drawing board and tries to shovel the mud into a bucket for removal.

Alys

i'll put all my pieces back together where they belong, and i'll say

The mud creature can’t make any sound, but it does begin to dent further and further in little squelches of mud until it can no longer form itself back together – essentially beat to death from Colt’s rampage. It stays there limp, but there’s still loads of mud left around that needs to be cleaned up, including the bits and pieces of the memory mud left behind.

To Jack and Sunjata, the code is easily caught and Sunjata snorts, flashing him an apologetic smile and a small shrug as he steps away, content to let Jack continue to clean the other portion of the buildings. He’s mostly successful, left with only one wall that has mud clinging stubbornly to it, hiding away the lovely mural of a herd of unicorns painted on its white surface.

For Alys, she’ll find that the elbow grease works great. Bucket after bucket are dumped out, and before too long she’ll find that the mud clinging to everything begins to sluff away under her attention. Now all that’s left is a bit of mud clinging to the walls of the building directly in front of her.

Sunjata takes the time to go and pester Colt with a flourish of water magic to start washing away the mud in the courtyard like a personal pressure washer.

---

ROUND FOURRR
- Colt manages to kill the mud monster and can finally work on cleaning up the rest of the mud
- Jack manages to get one side of it clean but still needs to get the rest off the side of the wall
- Alys gets a good chunk of the mud out of the way, she just needs to do the rest!
- Sunjata goes over to help Colt clear out the courtyard and manages to get a little bit of it washed away.

There’s still more work to do, but it’s the last round! Keep on cleaning <3

god, i'm a mess

SUNJATA

The final, merciful defeat of the memory mud into something inert is such a massive release of thank fuck energy that she sags into the handle of her shovel for a moment, admiring the outcome of her wrath. It's satisfying at long last, and she takes a beat to do nothing more than gather breath and composure once more. Muttering something about mud needing to know its place under her breath she wipes her arm over her forehead, slicking back sweat born of effort and humidity and trying rather unsuccessfully to sweep away hair that's become too wayward. With a long heaving sigh she steps back, reclaiming the shovel from resting post to work horse once more.

She resumes the slog of hoisting one shovelful of muck at a time into her bucket, trudging to the outer areas to dump it back where it all belongs, in the roads and not the courtyard walkways. "Beginning to think we're trying to empty the ocean at this rate," she remarks idly to Sunjata as he approaches, the complaint buried in the shared misery they're all dealing with. The addition of his water sends the mud collecting in one area more, cleaning the spaces behind it, but it also makes all the mud wetter, heavier, stickier. As her shovelfuls become soppier, she raises a haggard look to him. "I could grab a hose and you could shovel the heavy shit next time," she suggests with a threatening feigned heave of the mud his way before she swings it back around to the bucket, resuming with the dirty work until it's done.

---

shovels mud

 

Colt

JACK

see me falling
yeah, down and lonely

Bouncing his eyebrows at Sunjata as he easily catches his gtfo message, Jack's smile eases into something a little more amused as the Flood takes his leave. It allows the Captain to focus properly on the rest of the building, and though the going is slow, he at least seems to be able to clean off one side of it without having to worry about someone (you, Sunny) making a mess of his work. And at last, progress is being made.

Dragging away the water with his magic to leave the space as clean and dry as he's able, Jack turns his attention to the mud-splattered unicorn mural with a tilt of his head. Reaching back into his well of power and walking a slow line along the side of the wall, he pulls at the remaining mud with his earth incantations, following it up with a spray of fresh water to leave the mural (hopefully) sparkling and fully visible again.

---

Jack uses earth and water to clean up the mural!

are the angels on their way
i’m in the dirt

Alys worked, diving into the mud with a vigor she didn't really feel (after all, who wants to clean up mud?) Still, it was satisfying enough to see the muck come away under her ministrations, and she hauled away bucket after bucket of the stuff until the pathway was clear and clean.

Which left the walls of the building in front of her. Well, that was a bit of a pain to deal with, and she propped her hands momentarily on her hips as she considered the task ahead of her. In the end, she opted for plain old elbow grease once more, grabbing a bucket and using a trowel to first pry off any large chunks of mud, and then going back over it with a rag and a bucket of water to wash away the remainder.

---

Alys pries off any big chunks of mud, then uses a rag and a bucket of water to rinse away the rest.

Alys

i'll put all my pieces back together where they belong, and i'll say

“Nah, not an ocean. Just a swimming pool.” Sunjata hums to Colt with a knowing grin, even if it isn’t met with the same kind of amusement that he’s offering to her. But she struggles more and Sunjata sees how heavy everything’s become and he works double time to focus on getting the bulk of it to wash away out into the fields away from the building, leaving the ground spotless if not a little wet.

Which means that Colt and his work are done, thankfully. The same progress is made from Jack as well – the man’s mastery over the earth and water magic essentially power washes the face of the mural, but delicate enough that the paint remains on the wall, leaving it spotless and stunning. Perfect for the festival, at least.

Alys has good luck on her end, too, each chunk of mud coming away with all the hard work she puts into it. Her elbow grease and attention to detail leave the space completely washed clean and ready for the decorating of the festival. As such, the old man returns and he’s more than excited to see the result of all of their hard work.

Which leaves them all in a good spot to get back together – Sunjata flashing them all a crooked smile. “Thanks for all the help. If you’re hungry and wanna stick around, follow me for dinner. It’s on me, obviously.” He says with a laugh, guiding whomever sticks around to a restaurant down the way for a hot meal after all that work.

---

DONEEE THANK YOU GUYS <3 <3 <3

- FIN

god, i'm a mess

SUNJATA