[Heart Game] From the ashes we can build

[castaside]

WHO: Macaque, Red Son, Wukong, Korone, Donnie, Cole, Wash
WHAT: Soul fixin'
WHEN: March 9
WHERE: Red Son's house, Blossomcrown
WARNINGS: will be marked

Comments

Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[castaside]

You walk out onto a beach, except the sand is flat grey ash. Ash is also falling from the sky like snow. The waves are harsh here, and they wash little, jagged pieces of ice onto shore. There are blue cracks all over the beach and they meander off into the water.

Not far away there is a single spire that sticks out against the otherwise flat landscape of endless beach. It appears to be the source of all the ash, as it is pouring out of the top of the thing like a foundation. The spire appears to be neither made nor natural; it is jagged and irregular, but some edges are flat and there appears to be a purpose to it.

The light is diffuse here, the sun hidden behind clouds and the thick blanket of ash. You appear to have multiple shadows regardless, infinite silhouettes of you stretching in every conceivable direction, and at different lengths.

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[othellovonryan]

Ooooooooh, this is ominous.

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[bluediligence]

Just a little.

[ Fuck, this is a lot ... ]

We're really gonna need to watch our step around here.

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[othellovonryan]

Want to ride the Donatello express? You do have the room to fly in here. [But hovering can always be hard with wings.]

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[bluediligence]

Hovering takes a lot of energy and concentration. I can if I have to, but the Donnie Express sounds like the way to go.

And it comes with your arms around me. Win-win.

[ holds out her arms ]

[ UP, UP. ]

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[othellovonryan]

That it does.

[Time to wrap his arms around her and take to the air.] Let's check out the totally not at all foreboding spire. [Time to hover on over!]

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[castaside]

The spire vaguely resembles a clock tower, except that rather than a clock face there's a broken window on that side of the tower, facing the ashen beach. It has a few sharp peaks, easily avoided.

There's an entrance down on the bottom, below the broken window. There's plenty of room to land, but the rocks look a bit slippery, probably from high tide.

Ash is starting to clog your breathing the closer you get.

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[bluediligence]

A clockt-to ... [ coughs, pulling her scarf up to cover her mouth ] Dee, can you-?

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[othellovonryan]

[With a flick of his wrist, there's purple energy over their faces to make gas masks.]

....the door is almost definitely a trap, right?

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[bluediligence]

Thanks.

[ Ash this thick isn't doing great things for her glasses, either, ugh. ]

Could be. Do you think - [ Shakes her head. ] Ah, nevermind; s'probably a coincidence. We can try the window instead.

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[othellovonryan]

The clocktower thing? Maybe. Its difficult to say with the cracks.

[He's going to move to the window to see they can get in without getting hurt.]

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[bluediligence]

[ A slow nod. ]

There's so many of them. [ The cracks. Everywhere. ]

And the shadows, too ...

[ She has some Thoughts, but there's nowhere near enough evidence to draw any conclusions just yet. ]

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[othellovonryan]

And the ice.

It might be a mix of things.

...I'm gonna try something.

[DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THOSE TATTOOS, KORONE? You've definitely seen Donnie's by now.]

[Which he's gonna use to see if he can make a door to go through the window without getting cut up.]

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[bluediligence]

[ Korone will just HOLD ON TIGHT and keep a sharp eye (and ear) out for potential trouble. ]

- almost forgot you could do this!

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[castaside]

A door appears in the window, taking on the same glass as the window itself but with clear hinges. Seems like it can be opened without breaking anything.

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[othellovonryan]

Never pass on a chance to make your own doors.

[All right. Time to open the door and head inside!]

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[bluediligence]

I passed on it 'cuz I want you to give me my first real tattoo.

[ SHE'S JUST SAYING ]

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[castaside]

Inside the tower seems to be more or less torn up. From where you enter, there's a spiral staircase that leads up into the very tip of the spire. There's also one leading down, to the ground. Both look fairly rusty, missing a few stairs, but climbable.

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[othellovonryan]

[WHY YOU SAY THIS NOW.]

[He trips a bit over the doorframe and has to catch himself on the railing, over arm around Korone.]

That-

LATER!

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[bluediligence]

[ omfg - ]

Later.

[ squishes her arms around him a bit, hiding a grin against his plastron ]

Let's go up.

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[othellovonryan]

Menace.

[Grumble grumble, BUT HEADING UPSTAIRS.]

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[bluediligence]

Your menace.

[ UP THEY GO ]

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[castaside]

Upstairs, there is a single room, with a pointed ceiling because clearly. There is a painting or drawing tacked onto the wall, a shepherd's crook leaning against another wall, and a ship in a bottle sitting on the floor.

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door

[othellovonryan]

Unfortunately. Overly dramatic sigh.

[Up the stairs and then he'll put her down.]

[Oooooh.]

A ship in the bottle? [Gonna investigate.]

Re: Level S (sub 1) - East Door - after the final battle & post dracaque-adoption

[bluediligence]

[ Once Dracaque has been collected and is safely tucked away in her pocket to snooze, Korone heads back to the spire. With a gas mask from Donnie, of course; she's not about to accidentally asphyxiate herself after everything they've been through in here.

She sets up her pillowfort in the room at the top of the spire, pulls out her sketchbook, and gets to work, taking as much time as she thinks she can afford to make this piece … well, it won't be a masterpiece, but it will have a whole lot of love and heart poured into it all the same.

It's a pencil and ink sketch with watercolor-effect copic marker colouring of Macaque having a cosy slumber party in a huge pillowfort nest, surrounded by friends and loved ones: Wukong, MK, and Red Son, Cole, Donnie, herself, and Wash. There's a bunch of little details — a fruit bowl overflowing with the kinds she's seen him favor; a neat stack of theater tickets, and some books and games and puzzles; the blankets and pillows are all color-coded to as close to everyone's colors as she can get, and there's a particularly lovingly rendered shadow blanket; there are li'l "purr purr" sound effects in katakana scattered around here and there … and an open sketchbook propped on a pillow bears the word has "おかえり" written on it. ]

[ She leaves it on the floor under the protection of an umbrella she pulls out of her hammerspace bag, with the corner held in place by a small jar of tiny feather-like fairy-lights. The jar's "lid" is made of paper, with the words, "love you always, macchan" written on it in Korone's signature shade of blue ]