agentlelog | event: a gentle explosion

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event: a gentle explosion

I see a world just out of reach
With shoulders of giants at my feet
There’s not a challenge I’m afraid to meet

► The OOC plotting post for this event can be found here.

► Direct all questions to the mods at this link.

STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND
You wake, warm and comfortable, and realize that you’re no longer where you were when you went to sleep. The dream was real. As you clamber out of bed and open your door, an impassive footman greets you and leads you to breakfast in a large hall filled with many, many people. They sit around a hodgepodge of tables in a mishmash of furniture—nothing matches anything else, and no two chairs are the same.

The woman from your dream catches your eyes. She stares at you with open shock. “Well,” she says, as a number of males turn to her with withering looks. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.” She smiles at you. “Welcome to Draega, Stranger. Please, join us.”

Join them at the table and have your breakfast, Stranger. There isn’t much to offer: porridge, water, a bit of milk, some wrinkled fruits, and bread. Coffee, thankfully, is not in short supply. Meet your fellow Strangers, both the ones choosing to live at the Queen’s Residence and those who arrived in the night with you.

As breakfast draws to a close, the Queen’s Steward, Prince Loren Sorey, explains that you may choose to find your own home or stay in the residence for as long as you please. Those who stay will receive a modest stipend but are required to participate in Allairavar’s morning trainings every day. At dawn. Before breakfast. Those who go will need to find their own homes among the ruined buildings of the city and make their own money.

The court begins filtering out of the Great Hall, dispersing to attend their many duties. Linger, Stranger, and overhear…

“What did you mean?” The man leaning over the Queen is Prince Allairavar. His membranous wings flare around him, and his expression is menacing. “This wasn’t supposed to happen?”

Queen Fayura doesn’t look at all alarmed by the massive man caging her against a wall. “It was a one-time spell,” she says. “The web was—” Her eyes go wide. “I need to go look at the web.” She ducks under Allairavar’s arm, which could put a tree trunk to shame, really, grabs Prince Verim, and drags him from the hall.

Allairavar bares his teeth at the wall and snarls. The sound rumbles through the room, and dark temper washes briefly through the residence before all the tangled webs tucked in corners absorb it, leaving the building peaceful and clean of psychic feeling once more.

A TALE OF TWO IDEALS
At exactly 5:46pm, an explosion rocks the city of Draega. Black clouds belch fire to the northwest of the city. Concurrently, in Old Town, a mob of landens armed with Breakers and Muters descends on The Last Meal. They surround an older, Blood woman.

i. Black Out
The power plant maintained by the Tinkers and the Elektrics has exploded. Across Draega, e-line appliances shut down and the city plunges into darkness—the sun set some 45 minutes ago.

Prince Loren reaches out to approximately half the Strangers, asking them to go to the power plant. He shares a mental map with them so they know how to reach the building, as well as the Craft used for air-walking. The tutorial is quick and hardly complete, but now you’ll be able to run above the city to reach your destination.

The power plant burns. Black smoke pours into the air. Master Elektric Doriah organizes the Tinkers and Elektrics who were able to escape on their own. A quick glance reveals how absolutely exhausted she is. When Strangers approach, she sneers but isn’t about to turn away good help.

“There are still people inside. The Blood who did this trapped us in shields.” She hesitates only a moment before collecting Breakers from guildmembers carrying them. “Take these. Your Jewel may not be able to break through the shields.”

Inside, well-ordered building is a mess of fire and melting steel. Airwalking protects your feet, and shields can keep out the heat, but you’ll need something more to protect your lungs. Put out fires, stop systems from overloading, save the machines from complete destruction, and rescue missing workers who are suffocating and cooking inside shields. The guildmembers trapped in the power plant will assist the Strangers who free them, helping mitigate the damage done to the plant and keep it from exploding the rest of the way.

ii. Death of a Councilwoman
Councilwoman Vera enjoys dinners at The Last Meal, and this is well known by everyone in the city. Today, public knowledge of her schedule doesn’t work so well in her favor.

As she approaches the restaurant with her family, a group of landens descends on them. Muters prevent the Blood from taking any action that isn’t purely physical, and this is enough to throw most of them off their stride; they’re used to relying on Craft to fight. The landens separate Vera from her family in a short-lived brawl. She shouts and screams—“Let me go! Don’t you know who I am? The Queen will have you executed for this! Your families will be thrown out of the city! You’re making a mis—”

A shot rings through the air.

The landens peel away from one of their own, a young man gripping a Breaker in both hands. He trembles as he stands over Councilwoman Vera, whose expression is frozen forever in shocked disbelief. Her body crumples to the ground, blood from a gunshot wound on her chest staining the white fabric of her blouse.

In the silence that follows the shot, Allairavar shoves free of the crowd. “Go home!” he snarled, Craft powering his voice.

No one moves.

Except the young landen man. He takes off at a run, and the crowd is still too horrified to do much to stop him. Allairavar wastes no time. He plunges after the young man. At the same time, he reaches out to the minds of the Strangers closest to Old Town. *The Ebon Council is, collectively, a sack of reeking shit, and Lady Vera was a bitch,* Allairavar tells the Strangers. *But if we don’t get between the Blood and the landens, we’ll have another war. We can’t afford another war. Keep them from killing each other while I deal with this idiot.*

AIR TIME
Whether you catch the news on a Far-caster in the city or you’re spinning the dial on your own device, you’ll hear…

the news
…angered local landen families by her hard-line position that Blood homes should receive priority as the city continues to recover from the fires set by the Hunter Guild last month. [The man speaks at a brisk pace, hurried and harried as though he has too much to say and not enough time to say it.]

Councilwoman Vera is known for her vocal disdain for the landen Guilds, isn’t that right, Garret? [Another man, nasally in tone. He doesn’t sound rushed so much as put upon.]

[Garret:] Correct, Wilt. She—excuse the interruption, but we are just now hearing— [The feed abruptly cuts off. Static pours from the Far-caster regardless of what local channel it is tuned to.]

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[ Dealing with an angry crowd has tested Haein's patience to its limit, and while he may not be covered in soot and ash, he certainly looks disheveled and very much like he's been shoved this way and that while trying to keep the two sides from ripping at each other's throats.

He'd agreed to come to this place with the single-minded purpose of getting what was agreed upon and then leaving, but every day that he spends here is just a reminder of how much disgust and contempt he holds for people. Had it been up to him, Haein would have let these people run wild and destroy one another.

But it's not his call, and so he grits his teeth and works through separating the heated mob.

It's when Daylight appears that he stops for a moment, expression plainly showcasing his surprise. Haein has... never seen anything like... whatever Daylight is. Before he can reply, the rock comes sailing in and connects. ]

—Hey! [ He rarely raises his voice, but he's truly frazzled here. The man who had thrown the rock sneers, then bolts, and Haein watches him go with a scowl on his face before turning back to Daylight, his surprise morphing into wariness. ] You're a hard target to miss.

Guess that's why he gunned for me, huh? Better me than someone who doesn't have a helmet, I guess... [ never hurts to try and find the silver lining in any situation he's in.

he rubs the side of his helm where the rock had connected with him, frowning as he scans the crowd to try and figure out who exactly had done it. they're long gone by the time he focuses on that. of course they are.

daylight sighs and puts his servo down, letting it rest on his arc gun. it's not charged at the moment, having used the shots back at the power plant, but the sight of it alone makes the rest of the crowd think twice of following the harasser's actions. ]

What happened? [ he bites his lower lip, his optics dim with worry. for a robotic being, he's surprisingly expressive. ] I just heard- I just heard when getting here that someone got shot?

[ He still has no idea what to make of Daylight and his more than strange appearance. A giant talking robot? That in no way existed where Haein came from. Not in real life anyway. But he's met plenty of odd people here, hasn't he? This one is just... a lot harder to wrap his head around.

At least the questions he asks allow for some sort of distraction and snaps Haein back to the situation currently at hand. He nods jerkily, pulling his gaze away from Daylight with some added effort, to look in the direction of the disgruntled people milled around them. ]

Shot, yeah.

[ He doesn't know the exact details of how it went down, or who she was other than someone important, but... ]

She's dead.

Oh-

[ death is still a thing that he struggles with. being faced with it so bluntly throws him off for a second. one can tell from how daylight's optics bloom. the light spilling out of the edges of hi eyes as his expression morphs from concern to shock.

... and than it shifts to sympathy because, at the end of the day, he doesn't think anyone deserves to die. he knows there's tension in this city, there's anger boiling from all sides but for it to get this far...

he lets his servo on the arc gun fall, his tanks now churning at the thought of being anywhere near a gun. the weapon hangs heavily on his side, only kept in place thanks to the strap and nothing more. ]

I- [ he struggles with his words, wondering what could be said in the light of this. suddenly, he wishes dialup is here with him. she'll know what to say. ] I'm sorry to hear that.

Was there anyone she was with when she... got shot...? [ he's clearly trying to avoid using 'died' or terms realted to it here. ]

[ It's strange to see something like Daylight grieve. Haein observes the way his expression changes, left a bit curious by the rather human reaction from what he essentially considers a sentient machine.

They're sort of an odd pair in the wake of this tragedy. A distressed robot creature sympathizing with the death of a human being and Haein, who looks very much human himself, watching the display with an impassive look on his face, almost as if he can't understand why the news is so mournful.

Haein didn't know her. He doesn't feel but annoyance in this moment at having to crowd control, as well as disdain for people being their usual self-destructive selves. ]

Why does that matter?

[ He's definitely the wrong person here when it comes to comfort. ]

[ daylight as he's faced with a response he wasn't expecting and this is coming from the giant robot boy who nearly got his leg lobbed off from another dude earlier in the evening:

]

[ daylight looks, frankly, aghast at the coldness the guy is showing off here. someone died and seriously?

seriously, it seems.

he frowns again but, this time, it's from puzzlement and bewilderment at the attitude more than anything else. his winglets pull back almost in a show of disapproval, disappearing from view as he tries to formulate a response. ]

Because...! Someone watched a loved one of theirs die. That's a terrible thing for anyone to go through. No one deserves to see someone they care for be ripped away from them like that. It isn't fair to anyone.

[ folks are watching haein and daylight now. not only because of daylight's.... everything, but because of how impassioned and emotional he is. some folk do look like they're taking his side, while others grumble under their breath about strangers siding with the council of all bastards.

but it does have an effect one one person, for they call out: yeah! she was with family. most of them left, but i think one is around. ]

Thank you for telling us! [ daylight's winglets flare out into view now and he looks stubbornly determined in this moment. ] Come on! We've got to comfor them-!

[ That's weird. Haein doesn't remember signing up for this seminar of How to Properly Feel Bad About People Who Have Been Killed. And while Daylight's passionate speech moves some of the crowd, Haein is more baffled by it. Yeah, okay, he gets the idea behind it, but it's not something he can relate to at all.

He's used to senseless violence from people. It's just how they operate.

What he's not used to is being roped in on a comforting mission. He whips his head around to glare at the person who had spoken up before turning his attention back to Daylight.

Still kind of weird being in the company of a giant robot. ]

I think you're going to scare them more than comfort them.

[ true- daylight is a ten feet tall mechanoid robot-human hybrid, but like that's going to stop daylight from trying to help someone who is in clearly in need of some form of aid. if someone is in need of help and daylight can help? he's going to stop at nothing to do what he can for them.

his winglets springing up behind him with an audible 'sproing!' and his jaw set in a determined fashion, it looks like daylight is still going to look for a way to help the grieving person out. but, first, he's going to need help- ]

Which is why I need you to come with me! I need you to help me to find somewhere to hide. I've gotta switch over to my avaform.

[ switch over to his what now? ]

[ Absolutely cannot relate. Haein would rather toss himself on a bed of nails than willingly spring into action to help anyone. Sure, he's been doing a lot of that during his stay here, but most of it has been unintentional... Or he's been roped into them.

Like right now.

And uh, that's Haein's question. He has no idea what an avaform is, and he doesn't think he's all too keen to find out? ]

Your what?

[ A crowd starts to form around them, though they make sure to keep their distance as they eye Daylight warily. And while Haein isn't the center of attention at this moment, it sure does feel uncomfortable having so many people around. ]

Fine, whatever. Just—move. Let's go before more people show up to gawk.

Awesome! Come on- I think there might be an alleyway somewhere here-

[ daylight more or less forces his way through the gawking crowd, confident that haein will follow him.

it isn't long before an alleyway is found. somewhere distant enough that aren't a lot of people but not too far off from the last meal. perfect.

daylight now hurries down the path, promising over his shoulder that he'll be out in a few minutes. he disappears into the shadows - which is impressive, given the fact his paintjob is red-and-gold and the fact he is ten feet tall.

and, a few minutes later, out comes a young man from the same alleyway that daylight had gone down to. he's quickly patting himself down and righting himself up in different ways. doing things like fixing his jacket and checking his hair and... and tugging at his cheeks... ]

I don't look too weird, right? [ the voice no longer has that strange drone that lurks behind the words but there's no doubt that it's the same voice from the giant robot from earlier. ] It's been a while since I've used this so, um, I might have some parts of this body wrong.

[ Haein most definitely follows after him. The way that the crowd parts for Daylight means an easy path for Haein to get away, and he's had enough of people for the next several lifetimes just from today's events.

Waiting at the entrance of the alleyway seems sketchy, but Haein grudgingly does so. The streets are still lined with disgruntled stragglers, so this is a welcome break away from them. He's still not entirely sure what it is he's waiting for, or really what's going on, but it all becomes apparent when Daylight next appears.

Okay, no. It doesn't get apparent at all. In fact, it gets a million times more confusing. Haein's left staring at Daylight (for the second time since they've met), and not entirely believing his eyes. What just... Who is... Huh????

This is the robot guy? But he looks like a normal human being now?? ]

What the hell is going on?

[ The question is blurted out before he can stop himself. Oh gods, stop the world. Haein wants off. ]

[ the worst thing for haein right now?

it's that daylight has audacity to look confused by haein's (reasonable) outburst, something he makes clear when he begins cocking his head and begins blinking at him with those dark eyes of his. ]

It's me! Daylight! [ he spreads his arms out to demonstrate the fact that this is, indeed, him. ] Didn't I say I was going to slip into my avaform?

Weeeeeell- This is it.

[ he pats himself down and something strange happens when he does so- when his hands smack against his chest, a sort of ripple occurs throughout his body. his entire ripples and distorts and digitises, pixels and blocks of light becoming evidence before snapping back into place as his 'hair' and 'skin' and 'clothes', just like that.

it's one of the more disconcerting things that daylight could do with his avaform when in front of someone who's never experienced it before. more so when he continues to talk like this is no big deal. ]

It's a projection of hard light that I can monitor when I'm in exploratory stasis mode. It allows me to interact with humanoids on a more, ah, reasonable scale.

[ Only one person is allowed to be confused right now and that's Haein.

The sad thing is, explanations are usually supposed to clear things up, but the one offered does nothing but make Haein's head further spin. He openly stares at the demonstration, before back down the alley that Daylight had disappeared into, as if expecting it to hold all the answers.

When none come, he turns back to Daylight. There's that wariness from before again, and he takes a small step back, regarding the other... boy... uncertainly. ]

So your... actual body? It's back there?

[ Points to the alley.

This is too strange. He hadn't even gotten used to the giant robot before things just went south into Deep Weird and now he's got this to deal with. ]

Yeah. I'm back there and it's why I needed to look for a place like that. [ also... ] Can you, um, not point at that direction? Please?

[ pretty please? he would like people to not wander there, wondering what this conversation is all about, and finding his body curled up against one of the walls. it's not fun to have curious folks poke at him when he's defenceless like that.

not fun and not something he would recommend, like, ever.

right! let's back to the task at hand! that person needs support and they're not going to be giving them that if they're here. ] Since that's all addressed and stuff-! Come on!

[ daylight now jogs pass haein, motioning for him to follow because, clearly, there's no need to talk about this any further.

again: the utter audacity. ]

[ This is all moving along way too fast??

Haein at least has the decency to stop pointing when asked. He can kind of understand where Daylight is coming from... He probably wouldn't want attention on his prone body either.

The only difference here being that Haein isn't a large robot.

And before anything else can be said, Daylight is off once again. There's a bit of hesitation on Haein's end before he follows, though he doesn't make much of an effort to keep up.

He might still be looking for an opportunity to slip away, but he's also strangely involved at this point, and maybe it would be best to stick around to see the outcome... ]

[ it is going too fast and will continue going fast. for daylight cannot be stopped. if he sees someone is in need and he can help - by golly, he is going to help.

he manages to get through the gawking and meandering crowd, making use of his height and body to shoulder pass them so he can reach the woman faster. it makes the glitches of his avaform more obvious when he makes too strong contract with someone and, yet, day can't bring himself to care. not when someone clearly needs a hand.

when they get close enough, they can tell that the woman is all by herself. she sits at a table all by her lonesome, wiping at her eyes now and then with one hand while she clutches a jewel in her trembling fist. she snaps her head up at daylight's tentative 'hello' and she looks ready to yell or shout until he raises his hands up to show he means no harm. honest. ]

Thought you would like some company, miss. [ he gives a little wave, trying to show he means it. ] I'm- I'm here to help. And the guy behind me is, um, someone I just met but he seems cool. [ if a little callous - okay, super callous. - but cool enough.

the woman looks at him incredulously and laughs, shaking her head while she shrugs. do what you want. at least you have the decency to pretend to be nice to my face. her face twists in anger and sorrow, looking up at the two as tears begin to spill down again. the same can't be said for some of these- these bastards out there. my mother died. she died here and was shot like an animal and people were muttering about how it's a good thing-! ]

By the dust and rust... I- I'm sorry to hear that. [ when he's sure she won't mind, daylight bridges the distance between them and he begins to rub the sobbing woman's back. he does try to lean back when her sobs become nosy and loud at some points, wanting to give her some semblance of privacy.

and he continues to drag poor haein into this. mostly in the form of him turning around to now speak with him, his expression worried and pleading. ] Do you have a handkerchief or any cloth or anything on you...?

[ if he could, daylight would offer one to her in a sparkpulse. alas - avaforms can't carry anything around for a long time. he's got to hope the guy has a super secret sensitive side he's keeping quiet until now. ]

[ Oh no. Oh no, oh no.

This is worse than anything Haein could have imagined. He automatically hangs back, put off by the woman's loud sobbing and he makes it clear he wants no part of this by the look on his face. There's an attempt at hiding it when Daylight introduces him as someone "cool" as he tries to shift his expression into a more blank one rather than outright distaste.

Haein has no idea what's expected of him in this situation. He doesn't do well with... crying. There aren't any soothing words or touches from him, only an uncomfortable silence as Daylight does most of the comforting. It almost feels like he's intruding on a private moment between the two, and he averts his gaze to feel less like a creepy trespasser.

It doesn't keep him from hearing what she has to say, and while he doesn't have any outright sympathy for her, he can understand why she'd be so devastated. He's got a mother, too. It doesn't take all that much imagination to consider how he'd feel if something happened to her.

Maybe that's why when Daylight asks for something for the woman's tears, Haein jumps into action. He doesn't have a handkerchief or cloth, but they're right next to a restaurant. Without a word, he disappears into The Last Meal before reappearing not too long after with a clean cloth in hand. ]

Here.

[ His tone is gruff, and he thrusts his hand with the cloth forward to the woman unceremoniously. He keeps his eyes averted, preferring not to watch her cry. ]

[ daylight takes it with a sincere, 'thanks' sent to haein before he addresses the crying woman once again. he gives her the cloth and she takes it, rubbing at her eyes and nose in her attempts to pull herself together.

he scootches back now, letting her have some space. when he's sure she's calmed down enough to interact with again, he decides to ask the one question he's been burning to ask her: ] Can we help you somehow?

Is there something we can get you or is there something we can help out with anything? We'll do what we can.

[ there's silence on her end. either she's ignoring them now or she's thinking of how to reply to daylight's offer of aid. her silence actually stretches on for so long that daylight begins to fidget, wondering if he's done something wrong or said something wrong to upset her but then she speaks:

i— i... she takes a deep breath, trying to pull herself together. do you see over there? where a crowd still lingers? can you help keep people away from the spot where my mother... she falls quiet again, unable to bring herself to say the others so soon. i can't let anyone trample all over it. not now. ]

Sure. [ of course he's going to accept it, just like that. ] We'll handle it. Do you need one of us to stay with you?

[ she shakes her head. it looks like she wants to be left alone right now and daylight allows her to grieve in peace now. ]

-Okay. I'll grab some chairs from the restaurant and maybe some rope or something. Wanna help? [ he pauses, adding, ] If you don't want to- That's fine. This is, um, a lot considering everything. If you want to hang back, I get it.

[ It's back to drawing away and watching from a safe distance for Haein now that he's somewhat helped by retrieving the cloth. The woman's distress continues to make him uncomfortable, and there's a sense of ease and relief when they're dismissed.

Honestly, at this point, Haein will do anything to get away from the crying woman. If he needs to set up a few chairs and rope off the area where the councilwoman had been shot just to be anywhere but right here, he's all for it.

And as tempting as the offer is for him to hang back, he feels too... involved at this point to simply leave. This stupid ordeal has actually managed to affect him. It's a miracle. ]

Get the chairs. I'll find the rope.

[ He doesn't wait around to hear Daylight's reply before turning on his heel in search of rope. He doesn't want to hear a reply. All he wants is for them to get this done so they can both go their separate ways and Haein can mull over these feelings on his own. ]

[ daylight has the chairs set up around the designated spot when haein returns with the rope. it seems he's also finished arguing with some people, shooing them away so they would stop gawking at the spot where a councilwoman had been slain.

in the background, vera's daughter can still be heard crying now and then. thankfully(?) it's a faint sound, though it's almost eerie in its quality. now that the place is almost abandoned given the recent events, the sound almost echoes when she moves from one spot or another.

when daylight sees haein has returned with the rope, he looks relieved and happy to see a friendly face after his bout of fighting with the people. he waves at him, trying to still his best to be approachable in the wake of what they're doing. ]

Thanks for your help again. [ daylight takes the rope with a nod, beginning to connect the chairs together by using the ropes. ] I'm sure she'll appreciate this.

[ ...

when he's finished with getting a barrier around the area, he looks over at haein with a thoughtful expression. ]

Um- Hey- If you need to go, you can go. [ he rubs the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. ] Thanks for sticking around so much even when things got kind of, um, intense.

I want to stay here and make sure she has company before she leaves or someone gets her but... If you've got to leave, you can leave now. You did a lot as is.

[ Haein brushes aside Daylight's thanks with a dismissive wave of his hand. Gratitude of any kind doesn't sit well with him. He goes ahead and allows Daylight to do most of the work setting up the barrier with the thought that he's done more than enough just by fetching that stupid rope.

After Daylight is finished setting everything up, Haein takes him up on that offer to go. ]

Yeah.

[ Again with the thanks... He really would rather not hear it and he makes that somewhat clear with the displeased look on his face. ]

I'm leaving.

[ He honestly should have left a long time ago. Without any further ado, Haein turns on his heel and heads out. ]

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event: a gentle explosion

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gag tag that will stay until the end of times now.

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