FEBRUARY MINGLE

[etrayamods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: February 14th - March
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: The arrival of newcomers, a mini mission, and some new city features!
NOTES\WARNINGS:

⏵ arrival ⏴ Welcome to Etraya! Arrival goes as expected - characters awaken on hospital beds and are offered an explanation of their situation: that they have arrived in the city of Etraya, and they are their world's only hope. They are welcome to wander the hospital if they would like to - the upper floors are mostly empty, full of pristine hallways and numerous rooms filled with supplies, cots, and things one would expect from a relatively average 21st-century hospital. In the hospital's lobby are several party tables set out with miscellaneous baked goods: croissants, cookies, breads, cake slices, as well as tea and coffee to accompany them - or hot chocolate, for those who are opposed to the other offerings. Outside the hospital, the last remnants of snow are melting in the sunlight as the weather begins to warm up. It's still chilly enough one might want to put on a coat, but not so cold a jacket is necessary for wandering around without freezing off one's fingers. We hope you enjoy your stay. ⏵ heroes return ⏴ As the Quantum Rail train glides to a halt, returning passengers step out onto familiar ground - the train station, right where they had initially begun their mission. When exiting the station, their earpieces vibrate, indicating the automatic download of a detailed map which highlights key locations, transit paths, and notable landmarks. As Aurora promised, she had been working on a few renovations around Etraya! A sleek trolley system now winds through Etraya, following clearly marked pathways through the city bubble to make travel across the city smoother. However, the trolley only moves one way, eternally following the loop Aurora has set it on. And because of this, it takes six hours to complete it's loop all the way around. Don't miss your stop! Pets and animals have been returned to their usual preferred areas, some awaiting the arrival of their owners, and others keeping to themselves in the forested areas throughout Etraya. Beyond the small upgrades, things seem relatively unchanged - until one familiar sign catches the eye. One marked by four vertical lines, methodically crossed out one by one: the final slash has now been drawn through. The tally is complete. What it indicates has yet to be made clear, but it has to mean something, right? No one would go through the effort of making an ominous-sounding sign without following through. ⏵ love in the air ⏴ This Valentines Day, Aurora and the companion bots have opted to try something a little different: they have scattered mystery valentines across the city. Hidden within mailboxes, tucked into cafe menus, slipped under doors, on the outside of high windows for those wall-crawlers to spot. There are countless of these little slips of papers, strewn throughout the city. And within each valentine, is a challenge or gesture to complete. Please feel free to make these up yourselves as long as they fit in with the theme! Some examples include: Deliver a flower to a stranger. Write a heartfelt poem for someone. Share a box of chocolates! Confess your feelings for another. Play matchmaker for two people - this can be platonic, or romantic! Gift a friend with a stuffed animal. Give five different people a genuine compliment. While not mandatory, completing five tasks will earn an individual an additional ten points to use towards anything they would like! Each little Valentine is signed "Your Secret Admirer. ♡", and some of them may even be addressed to specific individuals. Don't be surprised, Eddie, if you see one or two that are specifically addressed to you lurking around your collection of chicken friends! And while most of these are harmless, some of the valentines cards come with effects for those who come into contact with the paper. Perhaps they thought it was a piece of garbage, or were just kicking it out of the way rather than intending on taking part. It doesn't matter! They get to join in on the fun, too. Heart Eyes - your pupils literally turn into hearts for a few hours, making it hard to focus on anything other than things (or people) you find attractive. Love-Struck Stammer - You can only speak in poetic compliments or romantic declarations, regardless of whom you're speaking to. Chocolate Bliss - Everything feels good. Simple. Easy. As if there's nothing in the world to concern yourself with. You feel happy, without any concerns or worry. Rose-Tinted Vision - everything looks soft and romantic, as if you're in a romance novel. You know the ones. Magnetic Attraction - regardless of what you had been doing, you suddenly find yourself unable to leave the side of the person closest to you. Had you been eating chocolates while walking down the street? Well, have fun getting stuck to the guy who'd been out for a jog! Serenade Syndrome - you find it impossible to resist the urge to sing your words, turning all conversations into love ballads. Heartstrings - A thread appears, connecting you to someone close by who you share many similarities too. Perhaps you had never met this person before, but the threads tied around your pinky fingers that refuse to let go until you allow yourself to open up to them clearly means you should be a little more familiar with them. Love is in the air—or maybe just a bit of well-intended chaos! 💕 ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Welcome back from the mission, and welcome to Etraya for our newcomers! We've tried to keep this log simple for an easy introduction, as well as some downtime for our mission-goers who worked hard to solve the Quantum Rail mystery. There is something else going on, but. . . well, no one seems to know what! The computer that had been on the lower floor of the hospital is now missing, and Aurora may seem a little flustered as she flits around Etraya, in search of something. For all questions relating to this log, please refer to the mod queries comment. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ. ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

[miniroth]

There's a tremendous amount of empty things here.

It twists even the ordinary into the liminal, strange and foreign. Things like this, a towering stone fortress the likes of which his planet hadn't seen in centuries, if not eons, is so unfamiliar that it doesn't trigger quite the same sense of disquiet that the more familiar did.

But even this has the sense of something abandoned. Forgotten. As if people had lived there once and then simply one day disappeared. With little else in the vicinity to keep attention and no locked gates barring his way, the teen heads for it without any sign of stealth or attempt at subtlety.

It might be an abandoned location. It might be a nest of monsters.

Or at least one.

The bridge, its 'owner', and the fortress beyond are studied silently, stepping to the edge over the tumultuous waters and watching the behemoth for several long minutes. He knew how to handle creatures like this and had done so countless times, it had been a long time since he'd feared a behemoth. They were a challenge, but not an alarming one, even at this size.

... Well, if it truly is an abandoned location, then nobody will mind if he investigates this potential nest. People wouldn't be living around a behemoth, and if there's more than one he'd have somewhere decent to practice his skills later.

Deliberately, the boy steps onto the wide stone path and begins making his way across it at an unhurried pace, certain that the beast can see him and will inevitably give into temptation.

[odinpusrex]

As he draws nearer, the intensity of the beast's stare increases, the yellow glow of its eyes emphasizing its focus. The swell of its muscular form bulks as it positions itself, ready to leap into action the moment the teen steps over the threshold, but even before he can it punctures the air with a resounding bellow which rivals the thunder above.

This seems only to hype the creature up all the more, or maybe its been a little under stimulated. In either case, it leaps a little prematurely, landing with powerful grace upon the stone battlefield with force enough to shake the area. Bearing its fanges, it now waits for Sephiroth to draw closer to the arena.

One might assume the behemoth is trained, perhaps. For most might charge right away, yet this one seems fit to wait for Sephiroth to approach the designated area. The cuff on its left forelimb likewise implying some sort of human influence, though it is hard to know the intricacies of the bangle while its on the beast.

As for its supposed master, he is seemingly nowhere. Whether or not this means he isn't watching what's going on is anyone's guess, but it's a safe bet to assume he's watching from the shadows.

[miniroth]

That's interesting. Further out it's harder to make out the cuff on its leg, but drawing closer, someone obviously put that on the beast. And not when it was small, either.

Was its master still alive, or even on this world at all? Who trained it? A wild beast should have attacked by now, too tempted by a defenseless-seeming target to resist. Aberrant behavior was something to keep a warier eye on than typical creatures, who knows what they might have been taught to do besides just wait for its prey to come to it?

He doesn't hesitate though. There's a line the beast is waiting for, measured in every eager twitch and quiver. Anyone should be headed the other way from an obvious predator intent on a new chewtoy, Sephiroth is not leaving.

He is looking for that invisible line though. Is it the circular inset itself? "Who taught you? What did they teach you to do?" It's only to himself, not to the beast and certainly not to anyone else who might be lurking nearby watching, little more than musing out loud as he crosses from bridge to arena circle. It's enormous, truly fitting for the word 'behemoth'. And he, apparently, completely unarmed.

Easy snack, for a hungry monster.

[odinpusrex]

Easy snack, indeed! Or so one might think.

As Sephiroth crosses the threshold, there is an audible snap of the behemoth's jaws, saliva oozing from its terrible mouth as it rushes forward with incredible speed. The thunderous slap of its overly large paws and the scraping of its claws ringing out around them, followed by a roar as it aims to pounce upon the boy like a cat might vermin.

For all its hulking form, it is quick, those muscles propelling it forward with strength befitting its moniker. Aether and magic swirls, crackling around it—a whoosh of wind giving that leap some assisted lift.

[miniroth]

What can one smallish teenager hope to do against something that size? Not much offensively, behemoths are notoriously difficult to put down with magic, and he doesn't have a sword yet, which leaves him with ... toying with it anyway. The behemoth is fast and incredibly powerful, but Sephiroth is faster, and he's used to behemoths; teeth and massive claws close on nothing as he ducks away and to one side with graceful ease, deliberately staying close to that dark hide to make getting at him again harder. With all of his focus on avoidance and not counterattack, watching to see where it's aiming to hit or roll and moving out of the way should be simple.

And maybe infuriating for the behemoth. But this one's obviously a bit different than most, smarter. That has the feel of wind magic as it struck, not fire, and it's using it not offensively but to support its own bulk, making itself lighter and quicker. Interesting.

Sephiroth really shouldn't be playing with a creature that would happily eat him the moment it has the opportunity, but it's a struggle to not indulge a bit. This thing is owned by someone, but he hasn't hurt it, surely teasing it isn't a problem.

[odinpusrex]

It isn't surprising that Sephiroth is faster than this living and breathing testament to roid rage, yet the sheer mass of it would prove difficult to dodge with the skilled ease in which he does for anyone less. The heavy form of the beast lands heavily onto the stone beneath, causing the ground to shake under its form. It is quick to realize its pounce's failure, and pivots to give chase—though with Sephiroth's maintained proximity, reaching him with fang or claw is not likely.

Thus the behemoth stops, posing itself in such a way that suggests its plan: to sweep in a crescent motion with its large, muscular tail. There isn't much of a wind up for this, mostly the pause in its aggressive movements is all the tell there is before the tail comes hurtling towards the agitating teen.

The hit alone would prove fatal for any typical person, but even should they survive, they would likely be knocked into the violent waters below. A deathblow for certain, were it to hit its mark and were said target not cut from the cloth which Sephiroth is.

[miniroth]

He can't match it for power, that's at least a decade away yet, and he really shouldn't be taunting something that could fit his entire body in its mouth with room to spare.

One mistake and even he's going to pay for it.

The temporary change in tactics from the usual bumbling fury he expects of a monster forces Sephiroth to retreat out of the closeness he'd wanted to keep in a sudden backwards leap, the sweep of the massive spiked tail much, much too close for comfort. He has no fear of falling, gravity tended to not work the way it should on him, but being hit with that kind of force...

Unfortunately it puts him out in the open again, and as soon as he has his footing he begins a retreat, not towards the reasonable safety of the rest of Etraya but towards the fortress he really should probably leave alone and drawing on what magic he did have access to without the vast enhancement of materia. Blizzard is a small and weak spell on its own, but cast at the ground instead of the monster, to hopefully make his immediate vicinity terribly slick and a bit jagged, little more than annoying thorns to something a behemoth's size.

[odinpusrex]

Honestly a wise decision. While Sephiroth is clearly skilled and able to dodge with relative ease, all it would take is a simple mistake for everything to change and quickly. The beast is not likely to tire, and with no means to harm it, that would simply be a game of endurance and there is no real prize to be found.

The ice serves its purpose, however, and while the behemoth shows that it has the mind to know better than to try to crash through it. Not for fear of its thick hide being pierced, but rather it might find itself spinning off into the water. Thus it conjures flaming comets to crash into the ice, breaking it up and melting it—though by the time it does so, Sephiroth has gained considerable time on escaping.

Which doesn't mean the behemoth has given up. It hasn't. With a bellowing roar, it gives chase, its muscular form clawing its way forward as it rushes after him. Though, as Sephiroth gets closer to the fortress itself, to the bridge's end, he will find that he is not alone after all.

There is a man there, standing at about six-feet and one-inch, he has black shaggy hair and scruffy facial hair. Dressed in a black jerkin over a deep high collared shirt which ties in the middle, donning black pants and leather boots, he is dressed rather finely. He stares at him with sharp, steely eyes, his expression neutral and observant. He does nothing, reacts to nothing, standing almost perfectly still and if it weren't for the obvious markers for life, one might think him a statue. Even as the behemoth draws nearer, he does not seem remotely concerned, his grey eyes tracking Sephiroth with muted intrigue.

[miniroth]

It knows enough about ice, about magic ice to avoid it on purpose. The beast dealing with such a minor inconvenience does give Sephiroth a decent head-start, and he can certainly move at considerable speed when he needed to, but there's just one problem.

There's someone in the way.

It's easy to assume that this is the master of the keep and thus the behemoth's owner, but it could also be some random idiot who doesn't know a behemoth from a puppy dog and is about to become chow if Sephiroth allows it to happen. The sound of crashing pursuit tells him plenty of exactly where the monster is, so his focus is on what's between himself and questionable 'safety'.

Putting unknown people at risk simply because they're in the way is unacceptable.

For better or worse he makes his decision quickly, and his trajectory alters ... just slightly, to directly intercept the still, silent figure also all in black. The gatehouse's wall further behind was not an easy jump on his own, recalculating it with the potential added weight of two hundred or so pounds of possibly very unwilling burden. Putting the man somewhere the Behemoth won't notice him and lure it further away is an unwelcome sudden new priority.

Maybe it's an attack, from the perspective of the stranger, but if Sephiroth can get close enough, he's going to attempt to yank the man right off the ground and drag him with him in a leap upward for the top of the gatehouse's parapets. That won't be high enough to avoid the behemoth but that's not the goal.

Catching a Dominant is often easier thought about than done though.

[odinpusrex]

Perhaps a Dominant who cared about something like dignity or pride would take issue with this teen trying to strong arm him like he's a damsel in distress in need of rescue. Barnabas, however, is not one who is so fragile in the ego as that, thus when Sephiroth takes to his heroics he allows it. He also would not let just anyone do this, but he has a growing fascination with the boy; so he does not resist. Instead, he becomes a semi-willing though thoroughly uncommited participant.

After all, he is observing Sephiroth, and he has little intention in giving away more information about himself than what is necessarily. Better to be underestimated than overestimated, in any case.

As they land on the parapet, Barnabas having no issue balancing despite being yanked as he was, the behemoth slows its approach. It growls, a thunderous rumble that feels as though it shakes the very earth, but it stays put. The yellow glow of its eyes still intense as ever, like burning orbs of fire that focus between Sephiroth and Barnabas. The latter keeping his attention on the former.

"That was wholly unnecessary." His voice is soft and slow in how he speaks, with what one might name a Scandinavian accent as well, though Barnabas would name it of Waloed. He is unbothered it would seem, relaxed in this odd situation they're in.

"Care to explain yourself?"

[miniroth]

That he doesn't get kicked, punched or stabbed in the process is gratifying - and even moreso that he doesn't have to immediately KEEP running with his prize, as the behemoth has stopped below, rumbling its displeasure but not continuing the assault.

And so he lets go immediately; there's a certain space he prefers to keep between himself and others and he'll immediately seek that distance. His attention is still absolutely on the beast and not the beast's master.

"It was not unnecessary. I can't afford risking others' lives on assumptions." The accent is unfamiliar, if his planet has an equivalent he's never heard it. There was someone in the tower with an unfamiliar accent as well, but he'd only caught it on occasion and didn't know who it belonged to. "I apologize for touching you without permission but I would also do it again considering the circumstances."

[odinpusrex]

"Believe yourself capable of saving another while a behemoth nips at your heels? Foolish."

Not that Sephiroth wasn't putting on quite the show, but from Barnabas' measure of what he's done...he's about as good as one of the Empire's elite Branded. Perhaps even on par with one of Waloed's Intelligencer officers who have since been decommissioned. He looks over him, as if taking stock of him. As if he hadn't already done that when he first noticed the ruckus between him and the behemoth. The behemoth who seems agitated to be made to wait as it stares at them, clearly wanting to release its aggression. Wanting for a meal, perhaps, not that Sephiroth seems to be much of one.

Finally Barnabas breaks his gaze with Sephiroth, offering its chilling indifference to the beast below, which lets out a low groan of sound as it turns and lumbers back across the bridge towards the arena. He returns his eyes to Sephiroth, focused and keen.

"Identify yourself."

[miniroth]

"It may not appear so, sir, but behemoths are of little threat to me." Normally, when he's armed. Now? ... Now part of him is still tempted to drop back down to the flagstones and taunt the beast further, because it's interesting. But he couldn't take the chance of either wrecking this place, or doing serious harm to the beast when it's obviously trained - obviously owned. It meant retaliation was difficult, he had to weigh more than he's used to in his own actions, and if he made a mistake... "However I could not take the chance the same would be said about you."

Whether or not this man was capable, whether or not this man was its master.. "If I assumed it was your trained pet and it was not, I would be responsible for what happened next. It's better to err on the side of caution." Which he had NOT DONE by taunting the creature to begin with. He could have crossed the entire span much faster than he did, instead of stopping to tease it.

But as the behemoth turns away with one last unhappy rumble, it does in its own fashion answer to whom the beast answers, and thus who likely owned this fortress. ... As empty as it was, it had the look of once being capable of more than empty stonework.

"My name is Sephiroth. I was brought here only shortly before the ... train, and have been attempting to familiarize myself with this city." Was he asked why he's there? No. Was the question inevitable? ... Surely so.

[odinpusrex]

Barnabas says nothing to the claim about behemoths and their threat (or lack there of), nor less the explanation and justification for Sephiroth's actions. He has made his measure of him, and will continue to do so, words were but clamorous and empty air to him. So through the explanation, Barnabas just watches him, unblinking in his cold and calculating scrutiny.

"Learning the newly form lay of the land, and trespassing where your curiosity demands it." There isn't judgment in his voice, something more along the lines of neutral observation. Like a researcher studying a subject with detachment.

He doesn't let that linger in the air for long before he adds, "you are familiar with behemoths—from whence do you hail?"

He is aware of similarities share between some worlds, but besides those from his own, he hasn't ran into many who know of a behemoth. Let alone well enough to believe them inconsequential.

[miniroth]

"Even so." No point in denying it. With so many places utterly empty of their population, he has wandered freely, minding only obvious locks and signs of active habitation.

The questions, who he is and where he's from, are reasonable given the circumstances. Was he truly intruding or was this also a wanderer, merely there by coincidence? "A planet named Gaia, the city of Midgar. One of our foes makes use of the creatures as war beasts."

Wutai was .. not yet an enemy again but it was inevitable.

[odinpusrex]

These places are not ones familiar to him, though the words are not completely alien. Well does he know ancient languages, or at least some words within them, and Gaia and Midgard are both words he has passing familiarity with. Though it tells him nothing of where this boy is from, and so Barnabas pull his gaze from him with a single blink, before casting it off towards the bridge.

His behemoth now sits in the middle of the arena. It looks frustrated. He will need to settle its temper later.

"I am unfamiliar with your world. That others would seek to bring behemoths to heel as well... Fascinating."

Especially given that no human could command these beasts, at least not the behemoths of his world. Their might the stuff of legends, that even the most powerful might tremble before them, but not Barnabas. Though the other Dominants should think him mad for achieving what to be thought impossible, it was but a means to an end.

Perhaps a flight of fancy he refuses to admit to.

"Many brought here share in worldly similarities, though not the same world. This is the first I have heard of such with behemoths."

[miniroth]

There's a moment's hesitation as Sephiroth weighs whether or not divulging another world's methods is in any way crossing a line. Probably not. "Not well," he says after a long moment. "Primarily their methods are using magic to keep them subdued, armor them up for extra protection and unleash them in our direction. It's effective against standard troops; their hides and armor make bullets and swords ordinarily pointless, and their innate magic resistance also hobbling a ranged assault."

Barnabas is likely already well aware of the durability of a behemoth. Covering one in armor would surely make it more obnoxious to deal with.

"They are not so well trained as .. yours, I assume." That was the implication here, wasn't it? This is his beast. "Such a thing as simply guarding a location that did not have the most durable walls to contain it would not happen."

But Wutai did its best! .. Its best wasn't good enough when dealing with active-type SOLDIERs like Sephiroth.

He'd heard of plenty of planets, seen three now, but few overlapped precisely. Plenty of similarities though.. "I might know one other, based on similarities between my planet and theirs. Similar 'divine beings'," there's a touch of scorn to that word, he doesn't think they're divine at all, "Chocobos, forms of spellcraft, certain location names and more. I wonder if they had behemoths."

[odinpusrex]

That isn't terribly far from some methods that Waloed had implemented. There were the cuffs that assisted in their temperaments, but that was more for the benefit of those that were not strong enough to enforce their domination on them through a language behemoth's better understood. There was, however, the Kuza Beast, which had been selectively bred to become a monstrosity of unparalleled power, wild and uncontrollable by even the cuffs that shackled it, only might and its hunger would direct it.

Much had there been plans to aim that hunger at opposing armies, decimating their numbers while Waloeders kept their own. Yet, such military tactics and schemes fell to the wayside with everything else coming to fruition. However, this did not mean that Barnabas didn't hold plans of his own to bring about such a beast.

"I see." His simple and neutral response to the information about the behemoth taming and how they utilized them. "Perhaps they were unworthy of the beasts' power."

Though that was neither here nor there at the end of it all.

At the mention of 'divine beings' Barnabas' gaze becomes a little more focused, his attention clearly piqued. It would not be the first he has heard of elsewhere having their ideas and versions of the Eikons, though he wonders the truth of their existence.

"I would not be surprised. Well am I familiar with Chocobos, and so too would I wager my familiarity with these divine beings given we share this much already. Tell me, what know you of Odin?"

[miniroth]

"Desperation breeds unwise tactics." Wutai did what they could to stave off Shinra, but he had a feeling it wasn't going to amount to much. For all the ferocity of their 'tamed' monsters, that didn't equal the precision and intelligence of even the P0s. SOLDIERs like himself.. The thought is shaken off. It won't be relevant until he returns to Midgar. If he returns to Midgar.

There is an undercurrent of awkwardness. Sephiroth knew his duty, knew that given the circumstances his actions were reasonable and if Barnabas wasn't the theoretical master of that beast out there waiting for its next target, then keeping him from getting eaten was absolutely the right choice.

... And yet. Saving someone from their own pet..

The question gives him something to think about besides his own low key embarrassment at having misread the situation. In retrospect it's more obvious. "Patron of the Nibel area, guardian of the gates of the dead, according to legend prone to hunting 'worthy adversaries' and killing those who approach too closely to aforementioned gates. Once believed to rule over the domains of death and war." Myth. If it was true at any point in time that point is long past. But it has the sound of rote memorization; he's never faced this particular Summon. "Odin takes the form of a one-eyed armored masculine rider astride an eight-legged hooved creature. When called on in battle, favors non-elemental damage and a pair of techniques called Zantetsuken and Gungir. Supposedly Zantetsuken can be used to clear entire battlefields with the right wielder, but the notes I have seen suggest he is a fickle Summon and prone to doing as he pleases on the battlefield, preferring entertainment in combat over simply eliminating targets."

Here, the boy hesitates, brow furrowing. "I've only ever fought Ifrit and Shiva directly, so I don't know how much of that is accurate."