(RQ) with my sympathy

// i'm pedal to the metal make no mistake, this is my pity party, pity party
and i'm living out of time, eternal heatstroke, spiritual revolt from the waist down //

Luckily for her, Elide had been more than happy to go and explore the Wilds with her for the quest for the greenhouse. An opportunity for her to explore and research as well as an opportunity for her to get out of her comfort zone, to try and become like she had once been. Fearless, explorative, strong rather than afraid and remaining in her bubble of safety.

She’d already made it to the Climb and back without issue. The jungle would prove a bit safer, she imagines.

It’s dark when they go and Kiada’s prepped with a machete and her throwing knives in case anything else comes for them, and she flashes her friend a soft smile. “So, what’re we looking for? Do they look like normal vines?” She asks as she picks a path into the jungles that she thinks might harbor some of those vines.

i'm just a full tank away from freedom. spitfire

KIADA

Elide

Elide is very happy to join Kiada in her expedition to the Wilds, especially since it serves a dual purpose. They'll collect the sentient vines for the greenhouse, and they can conduct some good old-fashioned research. Of course, she is also armed with her crossbow, the very same one she had during LongNight. It seems this is all the protection she thinks she needs, because otherwise, she is carrying a leather-made messenger bag. Within it are papers and writing tools, to make notes as she deems necessary.

It's not without preparation that she's come here, never intending to go into anything blindly. So she had done some research, sent for it actually, since it would be more easily attainable from Torchline or the Hollowed Grounds. What she received was more than enough information for her to be confident in their ultimate success.

Thus assured, she walks beside Kiada with sweeping strides and her chin lifted. "Yes, that is perhaps the only thing that will make them hard to find," Elide remarks in kind, turning to level Kiada with her gaze, "the difference is that they are capable of independent movement. From what I've read, they will try to trap animals that move through them or block pathways. My theory is that it's, at least in part, a defense mechanism." It's very intriguing to her. "Though it does make me wonder if the world itself is more sentient than it seems. Or..." and she smirks a little, "maybe the vines are simply a fluke."

I have a deeply hidden and inarticulate desire
for something beyond the daily life

// i'm pedal to the metal make no mistake, this is my pity party, pity party
and i'm living out of time, eternal heatstroke, spiritual revolt from the waist down //

“Hmm.” She comments quietly as they make their way through the dark, stepping over roots and leaves long since dropped, leaves that reach out far longer than she’s ever seen anything reach out for. Kiada constantly reaches down to check that her throwing knives are still settled on her thigh and ultimately keeps the machete easily resting on her shoulder as they pick their way through. “So… I suppose keep going until something tries to grab us?” She asks, pursing her lips and casting her iceberg gaze back toward Elide with a hint of a smile within her gaze.

“I’m willing to bet it’s a fluke.” She offers with a nonchalant shrug. Though it isn’t unlike the Harpy to simply kill first and ask questions later. She knows that Elide prefers her research and Kiada won’t prevent it.

Much, at least.

If something does come at her though she doesn’t plan on stopping to observe it rather than taking it down.

They continue their little walk and there’s the sound of rustling leaves in the distance, something disturbing the very jungle they walk through and also disturb. And Kiada pauses, her freehand reaching out to keep Elide from stepping any further. “Listen…” She whispers, scanning the growth.

i'm just a full tank away from freedom. spitfire

KIADA

Elide

Elide watches each time as Kiada repeatedly checks to make sure that her throwing knives are in place, but she makes no comment on it. They're in a new place, something not fully explored and still completely wild. Elide won't fault Kiada if she's a little anxious.

She raises thicker brows a fraction and tilts her head to one side. "Or until it tries to grab something else," she counters quickly, "we don't necessarily have to be the quarry." They also don't know the extent of these vines' strength, and Elide would prefer not to find out from personal experience.

All she can do is nod at Kiada's comment, though she's not so entirely convinced of that. The world is a big, mysterious place and they certainly don't know everything about it. Even when Elide feels like she comes close, she's soon reminded otherwise.

Kiada isn't the only one to pick up on the rustling of leaves; Elide's trained ears pick up on it as well, and she stiffens in response to Kiada reaching out an arm to stop her from proceeding. Naturally, she reaches over her shoulder to retrieve her crossbow, her own gaze raking over the foliage. She looks at Kiada from the corner of  her eyes, as well.

Just as the rustling and their baited breath start getting intense, something pops out from beneath a large fern. It's a tiny deer, actually. No bigger than a rabbit. Elide lowers her crossbow immediately and furrows her brows down at it. It seems emboldened enough to look up at the two humans for just a few moments before it's suddenly fleeing back in the direction it came.

"Well," Elide swallows, "maybe if we follow that, we'll find something."

Only, as they do follow it, they will find something. Exactly what they're looking for, actually, as vine tendrils suddenly creep upward to ensnare it. It bleats helplessly and Elide once again goes rigid with a sense of alarm. That sound is likely to draw predators from miles away.

"Quick," she kneels down to begin cutting away at the vines with a knife, trying to loosen their hold on the deer, but they're stubbornly animated.

I have a deeply hidden and inarticulate desire
for something beyond the daily life

// i'm pedal to the metal make no mistake, this is my pity party, pity party
and i'm living out of time, eternal heatstroke, spiritual revolt from the waist down //

“Oh but isn’t it fun to be the quarry?” Kiada chimes with a glint of mischief in her gaze as she looks to her friend, a brief and quick glance, before she’s focusing ahead. And that’s when things start to get a bit… Hectic. Her attention snaps immediately to the rustling of branches, of the foliage that flickers in the moonlight and she sucks in a sharp breath she doesn’t need. She keeps her attention focused mainly on the vines that lash out at this random creature that looks like a cross between a rabbit and a deer.

Her gaze sharpens and she agrees with Elide, stepping over to follow the creature into the jungle. Vines lash out and snatch up the creature and Kiada sucks in a sharp breath of surprise. “Shit.” She murmurs, springing herself into action to rush toward the vine, pulling the machete out and to the forefront, standing a bit further down from Elide to not get her in the mix of it all.

She begins to hack away at the vine, wondering how many more of them they needed for everything, and when she focuses on that and manages to cut through the thing, another vine snakes out and latches onto her leg. “Oh fuck these things.” She snaps, activating her upgrade in the process and letting the metal armor coat her arms and chest.

i'm just a full tank away from freedom. spitfire

KIADA

Elide

Elide narrows her gaze at Kiada's comment, spotting that mischievous look in her blue eyes and offering a small smile at it. But she does not share the sentiment. She has always strove to be the hunter, the watcher. When she found herself in situations where she was the prey... it was not something that brought her joy, needless to say. It could be that she is taking this a bit too seriously, but she doesn't think so. "Perhaps..." is all she says, speculatively, her tone a bit cold in comparison to the lightheartedness Kiada seems to feel.

But things escalate, as they always do, and Elide is ready to take to the opportunity. If the sentient vines do truly like to trap prey as she's heard, then perhaps they will have some luck finding them thanks to this creature. A creature Elide has never seen before. In the back of her mind, she tries to note its features and mannerisms, how it appears to be some sort of deer species. She intends to write about all of this, later.

Kiada is quick to react to the vines entrapping the creature, as is Elide, but with a small pang she realizes that she should have thought about this a bit more. She's not used to vines that seem to move of their own accord, and naturally she doesn't think about herself or Kiada in this situation. Her worry was more directed at other potential dangers in the jungle, rather than the one before them. The one that wraps its greedy tendrils around Kiada's leg.

They do manage, however, to cut the poor creature loose. Elide pinpoints some vines that seem to be causing the most strain and Kiada hacks away the bulk of it. They're able to free the prey, and it totters off with one final bleat.

This doesn't help Kiada, however, who has suddenly gotten her wish. Elide looks over, straightens immediately, and tries to step away quickly enough that she doesn't end up in the same boat. The vines are quicker, however, and that latch onto both her legs. They do not seem to stop here, reaching and winding up towards her arms to actually trap her. Elide grits her teeth as the hand with her knife is restrained.

"Kiada," her voice is calm but assertive, hoping to catch the other woman's attention, "now that I've tried it," she says suddenly as she attempts to pull away to no avail, "I do not believe this is fun." Elide tries to pull her arm up and looks over at the state of her companion, hoping she is not worse off, "Can you cut my hand free?"

I have a deeply hidden and inarticulate desire
for something beyond the daily life

// i'm pedal to the metal make no mistake, this is my pity party, pity party
and i'm living out of time, eternal heatstroke, spiritual revolt from the waist down //

The vines lash out, snaking against her leg as she hacks away at the vine trapping the poor creature and Kiada’s attention is suddenly brought back to the vine on her leg once she’s freed the deer rabbit thing. The machete is drawn, lashing out against the vine that traps her, working with incredible focus on it until she hears Elide’s panic. Her gaze lifts to her fellow Ascended, brows drawn, before she grits her teeth. “Fucking sentient vines.” She snaps, putting more force into the hacking of the vine until she’s freed and she activates her speed upgrade to get right beside Elide, trying to step on the vines trapping her, before hacking at the vines trapping her hand.

It takes a bit and a couple of the vines withdraw from Elide’s leg to wrap around Kiada’s own and she curses out a quiet hiss. Once she’s gotten Elide’s hand free, then she focuses on the one that’s wrapped around her leg, trying to hack at it. This one takes a bit of time too, and if Kiada had breath she needed she’d be winded, panting, exhausted. As it were, though, she simply just feels tired – mentally.

She gets herself free and checks to see if Elide needs help or if she’s gotten herself free too – reaching down to pick up the pieces they’d hacked off. “You know…” She pauses, lips pursing as she considers it. “I’ve been through worse. In one of the worlds I was in, I had to venture into a cave to rescue a child from a… Mole-like dragon thing.” She squints at the vines as if it might hold the answer she seeks. “It was blind and we managed to escape, but gods that was… Something.” She snorts, rolling up the vine to toss it into the bag she’d brought, before she picks up another.

i'm just a full tank away from freedom. spitfire

KIADA

Elide

Elide, stifling her instincts, tries her best to go completely still. Being an Ascended, that isn't so hard to do. No breath heaves in her chest and, for a moment, she achieves a statuesque stillness - as best as she can, anyway, with the vines weighing her down. Kiada's frustration is audible and she only blinks in response, dark eyes clouded with doubt for a moment.

But eventually, Kiada frees her hand and Elide immediately begins to untether herself, cutting and pulling until she's free at last and they both go stumbling back towards the path. She won't need any further assistance, not as she dusts herself off and grabs a few vine tendrils of her own (just in case).

Kiada's voice brings Elide's gaze back over to watch as her lips purse before she speaks. A mole dragon. Elide's stunned by the image that prompts into her mind, and she has to take a moment to wrap her head around it. She lets out a small laugh at the idea, finding it silly-looking in her imagination.

Well, they've made it out of that situation more-or-less unscathed. She looks over her arms and clothes, but nothing appears to be damaged beyond repair. Then, she steps toward Kiada to hand her more of the vines, meanwhile giving her the same look-over she gave herself.

"A mole-like dragon thing, huh," she repeats, "sounds like a formidable beast. Did it have the body of a mole and scales like a dragon, then?" She tilts her head curiously, trying to envision it.

"You've been to multiple worlds," Elide says this with a hint of surprise, finding it impressive, "I'm willing to bet there's no shortage of stories you have to tell," her brows lift curiously as she turns to lead the way back, not wanting to stick around here much longer on account of sentient vines, "What do you think of Caido, then, in comparison to the others?"

I have a deeply hidden and inarticulate desire
for something beyond the daily life

// i'm pedal to the metal make no mistake, this is my pity party, pity party
and i'm living out of time, eternal heatstroke, spiritual revolt from the waist down //

They manage to untangle themselves, manage to grab a few of the chopped off vines that had come out and attacked them, and Kiada takes her set and stuffs it into the pack she’s been carrying on her back before she keeps the machete out in a position for the possibility of getting screwed over again by those natural ropes with minds of their own.

The laugh from Elide surprises Kiada though, sparks a small half smile on her face as she cleans off the vine guts on the machete on the side of her leg before she’s taking the vines Elide had grabbed to tuck them into the pack as well. “Oh it was quite terrifying.” She assures Elide with a playful grin. “It was blind and had a very long nose. Sharp claws, too, big for digging. No scales though, the dragon part was mostly just how it hoarded itself in the caves and liked to eat children.” She shrugs a shoulder nonchalantly, before she’s settling in for the multitude of questions that comes with opening up the history about herself.

She offers a sharp nod and a fanged grin to Elide, feeling oddly at ease talking about it for once. “I am, yeah.” She offers. “Caido is my… Third one?” She does a physical tally on the hand that holds the machete before her iceberg gaze rises to her fellow Ascended, moving to pick their way out of the jungle path they’ve strayed onto. “Caido is… A lot like the other ones I’ve been to. Magic and power and gods with good and bad in their hearts.” She picks her words carefully. “The second world I went to was quite dangerous. Everything, including the shadows, were out to get you.”

i'm just a full tank away from freedom. spitfire

KIADA

Elide

Elide watches as Kiada works away at the vines, tucking them into her pack. She dusts off her own hands, feeling a small wave of pride at a task... well, done. Their mission would be one step closer to being finished once they returned the sentient vines.

As for Kiada's retelling of these interesting, children-eating monsters, Elide's eyes widen at that small, but very significant detail. "That does sound very terrifying, indeed," she agrees in consideration. Even Elide has to admit that. With a tilt of her head, she asks, "So you wandered unknowingly into its den, I assume? How did you manage to escape such a creature?"

Elide is sure to trace their steps back onto the path they've already worn getting here. She's not sure if it will be the easiest to take, but at least they know where it leads and that there are no strangling vines along its edges.

It's interesting that the other worlds Kiada has been to are similar to Caido in all of the major ways. "It seems as if those themes reoccur in many worlds, not just Caido. Do you think magic could be apart of the entire universe? All of its... worlds and galaxies. Like a vein, of some sort. Taking on different forms according to each world, stronger in some, weaker in others..." She suddenly shakes her head and looks down, a silvery flush rising to her cheeks, "Sorry, I must sound like a child."

I have a deeply hidden and inarticulate desire
for something beyond the daily life

// i'm pedal to the metal make no mistake, this is my pity party, pity party
and i'm living out of time, eternal heatstroke, spiritual revolt from the waist down //

“Oh no.” Kiada begins with a breathy laugh, finding relief in talking about her previous world for once. “I went there willingly.” A wolfish grin is sent Elide’s way as the bag is settled back on her shoulders and she readies the machete again in case she needs it once more. “I… Had a quest, a lot like how the gods here will give. I needed a part from it. I didn’t get it though, because when I got there a child had stumbled into the den.” Her shoulders rise and fall in a shrug, even if there’s a phantom memory of pain that slinks down her spine with the gesture, recalling her old armor that had punctured and pained her whenever she’d activated it.

This type of armor the Voice had given her was much safer, far more comfortable too.

She follows Elide on the way toward the path they’d taken again, picking over vines and fallen bits of trees and bushes, listening for the commentary that the other Ascended offers. “No, you don’t sound like a child.” She says with a soft smile aimed at the back of Elide’s head, even if the woman couldn’t see it. “It could be. Could also be that it’s a surprise and you never know what you’re going to get when you go from world to world.” To this her head tilts consideringly, before she clicks her tongue. “Or it could be intertwined.” There was no way of knowing, was there?

i'm just a full tank away from freedom. spitfire

KIADA

Elide

A glimmer of understanding reflects in Elide's gaze before she trails ahead. She listens intently as Kiada explains how she had been unable to get what she needed in light of other factors, other elements getting in the way of her goal. "Quests often seem to go that way, don't they?" She murmurs in reflection of it, pausing as she considers a turn in the trail before determining that it's the right way. "There's always going to be something unplanned for..." she would sigh, should she have the need for such a breathy motion. Instead, she remains stoic throughout except for the falter of her steps as she speaks - the only inclination of her thoughtfulness.

A bit of relief breaks through her clouds of self-doubt at Kiada's reassurance. She tilts her head and looks over her shoulder at the other woman, offering a small half-smile. "These are the sort of things I wondered about as a child. It's the reason I decided to devote my life to... science, research. I wanted to know the way everything works. But of course..." she looks back down and continues to head off, "magic and logic do not usually intertwine. When rules are changed at a moment's notice, through godly intervention or otherwise... it's difficult to make sense of."

Elide has no issue with holding this conversation, especially now that it's taken more of a philosophical edge - that's her language, after all. But their voices will fade into the depths of the jungle and they'll eventually return to Halo with the materials that were needed.

---

FIN~

I have a deeply hidden and inarticulate desire
for something beyond the daily life