Voyager (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
besixdouze) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
come_sailaway2023-06-10 06:18 pm
besixdouze) wrote in come_sailaway2023-06-10 06:18 pm
Entry tags:
[open] oh, why not break into a breezy slide?
Who: Voyager and you! (And guest-star Fio, in one prompt!)
What: Some free range Ship Roaming
When: Throughout June
Where: The decks, the cabin halls, and the Tommy Bahama. Also some damage on the sports deck now, but that's fine......can be wildcarded just about anywhere else around the ship!
Warnings: None so far!
Notes: I default to action brackets, but feel free to bring in prose if you wanna, I'll match!
A; i know you know, i'll be there when you feel low
[One of Voyager's first instincts about half an hour after his arrival had been to take a look at the ship and the surrounding area from the air. Alas, attempting to climb one of the rails for a good leap directly after the muster drill was a foiled endeavor, with the number of people present at the time and the inevitable slew of concerned parties talking him back down to the deck.
But that was a few days ago. Today...!
Today, he finds a window of time in an earlier hour of the morning, where there's fewer people out on the deck. And this means there's nobody to stop him, for a second go-round, at climbing the railing after all! Voyager leaps off to take to the air as lightly as a bird, white tunic fluttering, gold scarf flapping, personal gravity briefly falling away at his behest. The ship as viewed from above is large, very large--the largest ship he's ever seen--though this isn't quite so surprising, now that he's investigated so much of its insides. The utterly calm ocean stretching out into the empty horizons beyond, on the other hand...
He flies. And flies. And flies some more.
...
Perhaps your character had spotted him taking off just a bit too late to stop him, or maybe they're only now arriving on the deck themselves for a breath of fresh morning air. Either way, they might find Voyager returning to the deck he'd alighted from about half an hour later, gently dropping down from a considerable height in the air and at least managing to land on his feet. The morning sunlight makes the erratic flickering in his customary glow a bit less overtly visible.
But his breaths huff, and after one step forward--two--Voyager wobbles, and drops down to his knees, the length of his scarf trailing limp onto the deck planks behind him.
It's fine! This is fine! ........He might have overdone things just a little, is all!]
B; take a seat my friend and check the agenda
[Alright, so anyway. Setting that little ill-advised adventure of earlier aside.
Voyager had woken up in cabin 125 upon his arrival; he was the only one inside at that time, and that's continued to be the case for several days now. Fairly confident in the fact that he has the room all to himself for the time being, Voyager has at length decided to take it upon himself to do some rearranging! ....If only because, admittedly, he might have gained some inspiration from an interaction he'd had with a new friend recently...
One would think a person of his stature would have some difficulty going so far as to shuffle the cabin furniture around, of course. But!
Here's cabin 125, its door wide open. And coming out of that door...is the fold-up couch, gently floating about a foot and a half off the floor. Anybody making their way down the hall around this time could be forgiven for not quite spotting the boy guiding the back end of the floating couch out the doorway with little pushes and nudges. After all, Voyager himself is so caught up with maneuvering it that he doesn't actually realize the other end of the couch is just about to collide with somebody out there until--]
Oh! Look out! [The couch takes a wobbly veer to one side, barely missing whoever's out there! ...But it also abruptly drops back down onto the hallway floor with a very solid thud right afterwards, whoops.]
C; first the park where we'll see nice doggies
[Even as a perfectly normal storefront, the Tommy Bahama would have been a point of moderate interest to Voyager anyhow. He's plenty taken enough with the vibrant prints of the shirts and the vaguely coconut scent in the air, at first, idly wandering through the long aisles and running his hands through the light and fluttery clothes. There's even a few in his size in here, if he looks hard enough! He doesn't mind the tunic he's wearing at all, and his scarf will inevitably clash terribly with pretty much anything else in here, but Voyager has half a mind to bring some of these back to his cabin and try them on anyhow sometime.
...Though at this particular moment, he ends up forgetting about that idea altogether for awhile. He can identify the exact moment when he finds himself walking past the boundary where the wall of the ship on this side ought to be, after all--and that's when things get really interesting. The aisles keep sprawling...and the clothes don't run out...
It's not the first time he's ever been met with a vast distance stretching before him. Honestly, the temptation to press on ever farther and farther is a strong one...and, left to his own devices, Voyager might very well have done just that. For a moderate stretch of time he does keep going, eventually opting to hop atop the clothing racks and take long floating leaps from row to row, the better to survey the sea of tropical patterns that stretch out in all directions, occasionally broken up by sunglasses carousels and souvenir trinket partitions and other such things. This sure could be an entire expedition, couldn't it? A clothes store as long as three lengths of this ship, maybe four, maybe more--what a first! What would happen if one kept going for a day, a week, a month? A year, ten years, forty-five? He can only move so fast in this body, more's the pity. He cannot cover half as much distance like this. Still, though--
--Oh. Is that somebody over there? Someone that's gone this far inside on purpose, or someone who's ended up here after getting rather turned around on accident? Voyager couldn't guess off the cuff...but in the end, spotting that movement from the corner of his eye is enough to bring him to his senses and abruptly back to the present. He hops over to a rack nearby, eyes wide and curious.]
Hello! Hey, are you lost?
D; then embark and we'll paint cute froggies (guest-starring Fio!)
[Is your character in the habit of stopping by the sports deck in the evenings, sometimes? Because if they are, they might be in for a bit of a light show tonight!
It'd started as a little harmless demonstration, Fio wanting to show Voyager the large blast of light that her stuffed bear called Judith could fire off on occasion. It was a marvelous display, met with awe and enthusiasm. ...The sun has dipped below the horizon, and the lights these two children have brought with them to the open area of the deck shine all the brighter in the nightfall. Especially Voyager himself, who already tends to mildly glow on a general basis; here and now, being near Judith and her magical Light-buffing properties, he's carrying a practical spotlight halo of light all about him. Which also doubles as a pretty decent flashlight, for these after-dark activities!
Enthusiasm becomes contagious, after all. Fio reveals her shining lanterns, too, flying weapons in their own right...and Voyager has his little bursts of glowing projectile stars, easily thrown about. Soon enough, the fun little talent showings have become target practice, Voyager tossing his stars up into the air in complex arcs and Fio chasing them with her lanterns. Sometimes she lands a hit, and the stars shatter in showers of glitter. It's all a very whimsical and sparkling affair, intermingled with their laughter and cheery conversation.
Until...
Well. So maybe things start getting just a little out of hand. Voyager, caught in a feedback loop of escalating fun tricks, tosses a handful of stars so high up that they soar in front of one of the sets of stadium lights lining the deck. And Fio, doubtless filled with an eager zeal to keep up...
Maybe, goes a little overboard?!
The lantern pair soars up, the light coating them briefly taking on a shape reminiscent of feathers, darting out a great cross pattern in the air--and then, with a burst of sound, Voyager's stars explode.
The stadium lights explode too.
It's all one very big flash of light indeed, before a pair of iridescent feathered wings burst from the point of impact...and fade out of sight.
Shattered glass is hitting the deck like rain. The notion an instinctive thing, Voyager's lunged forward to grab Fio by an arm and tug her back away from the debris just in time, with a cry of surprise.]
Wow! That was so cool! [........Aaand then the Coolness Tunnel-Vision wears off just a bit, and he gasps.] --Oh, oh no, but this is bad!!
[There's property damage now?????]
((ooc: Both Voyager and Fio are available to interact with in this prompt! It can be a three-way thread c:CATCH THEM RED-HANDED IN THIS PROPERTY DAMAGE CRIME OOPS...))
E; finally, grab some tea by the sea, you and me
( Wildcard!! Voyager can be found pretty much anywhere and everywhere in the ship. If you'd like to plot something out, feel free to hit me up on plurk at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
rainbell or on discord! )
What: Some free range Ship Roaming
When: Throughout June
Where: The decks, the cabin halls, and the Tommy Bahama. Also some damage on the sports deck now, but that's fine......can be wildcarded just about anywhere else around the ship!
Warnings: None so far!
Notes: I default to action brackets, but feel free to bring in prose if you wanna, I'll match!
A; i know you know, i'll be there when you feel low
[One of Voyager's first instincts about half an hour after his arrival had been to take a look at the ship and the surrounding area from the air. Alas, attempting to climb one of the rails for a good leap directly after the muster drill was a foiled endeavor, with the number of people present at the time and the inevitable slew of concerned parties talking him back down to the deck.
But that was a few days ago. Today...!
Today, he finds a window of time in an earlier hour of the morning, where there's fewer people out on the deck. And this means there's nobody to stop him, for a second go-round, at climbing the railing after all! Voyager leaps off to take to the air as lightly as a bird, white tunic fluttering, gold scarf flapping, personal gravity briefly falling away at his behest. The ship as viewed from above is large, very large--the largest ship he's ever seen--though this isn't quite so surprising, now that he's investigated so much of its insides. The utterly calm ocean stretching out into the empty horizons beyond, on the other hand...
He flies. And flies. And flies some more.
...
Perhaps your character had spotted him taking off just a bit too late to stop him, or maybe they're only now arriving on the deck themselves for a breath of fresh morning air. Either way, they might find Voyager returning to the deck he'd alighted from about half an hour later, gently dropping down from a considerable height in the air and at least managing to land on his feet. The morning sunlight makes the erratic flickering in his customary glow a bit less overtly visible.
But his breaths huff, and after one step forward--two--Voyager wobbles, and drops down to his knees, the length of his scarf trailing limp onto the deck planks behind him.
It's fine! This is fine! ........He might have overdone things just a little, is all!]
B; take a seat my friend and check the agenda
[Alright, so anyway. Setting that little ill-advised adventure of earlier aside.
Voyager had woken up in cabin 125 upon his arrival; he was the only one inside at that time, and that's continued to be the case for several days now. Fairly confident in the fact that he has the room all to himself for the time being, Voyager has at length decided to take it upon himself to do some rearranging! ....If only because, admittedly, he might have gained some inspiration from an interaction he'd had with a new friend recently...
One would think a person of his stature would have some difficulty going so far as to shuffle the cabin furniture around, of course. But!
Here's cabin 125, its door wide open. And coming out of that door...is the fold-up couch, gently floating about a foot and a half off the floor. Anybody making their way down the hall around this time could be forgiven for not quite spotting the boy guiding the back end of the floating couch out the doorway with little pushes and nudges. After all, Voyager himself is so caught up with maneuvering it that he doesn't actually realize the other end of the couch is just about to collide with somebody out there until--]
Oh! Look out! [The couch takes a wobbly veer to one side, barely missing whoever's out there! ...But it also abruptly drops back down onto the hallway floor with a very solid thud right afterwards, whoops.]
C; first the park where we'll see nice doggies
[Even as a perfectly normal storefront, the Tommy Bahama would have been a point of moderate interest to Voyager anyhow. He's plenty taken enough with the vibrant prints of the shirts and the vaguely coconut scent in the air, at first, idly wandering through the long aisles and running his hands through the light and fluttery clothes. There's even a few in his size in here, if he looks hard enough! He doesn't mind the tunic he's wearing at all, and his scarf will inevitably clash terribly with pretty much anything else in here, but Voyager has half a mind to bring some of these back to his cabin and try them on anyhow sometime.
...Though at this particular moment, he ends up forgetting about that idea altogether for awhile. He can identify the exact moment when he finds himself walking past the boundary where the wall of the ship on this side ought to be, after all--and that's when things get really interesting. The aisles keep sprawling...and the clothes don't run out...
It's not the first time he's ever been met with a vast distance stretching before him. Honestly, the temptation to press on ever farther and farther is a strong one...and, left to his own devices, Voyager might very well have done just that. For a moderate stretch of time he does keep going, eventually opting to hop atop the clothing racks and take long floating leaps from row to row, the better to survey the sea of tropical patterns that stretch out in all directions, occasionally broken up by sunglasses carousels and souvenir trinket partitions and other such things. This sure could be an entire expedition, couldn't it? A clothes store as long as three lengths of this ship, maybe four, maybe more--what a first! What would happen if one kept going for a day, a week, a month? A year, ten years, forty-five? He can only move so fast in this body, more's the pity. He cannot cover half as much distance like this. Still, though--
--Oh. Is that somebody over there? Someone that's gone this far inside on purpose, or someone who's ended up here after getting rather turned around on accident? Voyager couldn't guess off the cuff...but in the end, spotting that movement from the corner of his eye is enough to bring him to his senses and abruptly back to the present. He hops over to a rack nearby, eyes wide and curious.]
Hello! Hey, are you lost?
D; then embark and we'll paint cute froggies (guest-starring Fio!)
[Is your character in the habit of stopping by the sports deck in the evenings, sometimes? Because if they are, they might be in for a bit of a light show tonight!
It'd started as a little harmless demonstration, Fio wanting to show Voyager the large blast of light that her stuffed bear called Judith could fire off on occasion. It was a marvelous display, met with awe and enthusiasm. ...The sun has dipped below the horizon, and the lights these two children have brought with them to the open area of the deck shine all the brighter in the nightfall. Especially Voyager himself, who already tends to mildly glow on a general basis; here and now, being near Judith and her magical Light-buffing properties, he's carrying a practical spotlight halo of light all about him. Which also doubles as a pretty decent flashlight, for these after-dark activities!
Enthusiasm becomes contagious, after all. Fio reveals her shining lanterns, too, flying weapons in their own right...and Voyager has his little bursts of glowing projectile stars, easily thrown about. Soon enough, the fun little talent showings have become target practice, Voyager tossing his stars up into the air in complex arcs and Fio chasing them with her lanterns. Sometimes she lands a hit, and the stars shatter in showers of glitter. It's all a very whimsical and sparkling affair, intermingled with their laughter and cheery conversation.
Until...
Well. So maybe things start getting just a little out of hand. Voyager, caught in a feedback loop of escalating fun tricks, tosses a handful of stars so high up that they soar in front of one of the sets of stadium lights lining the deck. And Fio, doubtless filled with an eager zeal to keep up...
Maybe, goes a little overboard?!
The lantern pair soars up, the light coating them briefly taking on a shape reminiscent of feathers, darting out a great cross pattern in the air--and then, with a burst of sound, Voyager's stars explode.
The stadium lights explode too.
It's all one very big flash of light indeed, before a pair of iridescent feathered wings burst from the point of impact...and fade out of sight.
Shattered glass is hitting the deck like rain. The notion an instinctive thing, Voyager's lunged forward to grab Fio by an arm and tug her back away from the debris just in time, with a cry of surprise.]
Wow! That was so cool! [........Aaand then the Coolness Tunnel-Vision wears off just a bit, and he gasps.] --Oh, oh no, but this is bad!!
[There's property damage now?????]
((ooc: Both Voyager and Fio are available to interact with in this prompt! It can be a three-way thread c:
E; finally, grab some tea by the sea, you and me
( Wildcard!! Voyager can be found pretty much anywhere and everywhere in the ship. If you'd like to plot something out, feel free to hit me up on plurk at
C
No. I just wanted some privacy. [A pause, and he clarifies:] You're alright.
[Remember that bit of sunlight inside him? It's still there but distant, a dim star in an otherwise pitch black night.]
no subject
Oh, Yuuki! It's you, over here... [The pleasant surprise in Voyager's tone is plain. The mention of privacy does earn a moment's hesitation, but when Natsuno pauses to give him the clear, Voyager perks up and hops off his perch on the nearest clothes rack, floatily landing right beside Natsuno.
Which brings him right under Calcite too. The proximity to the Light element stored within the plush bolsters Voyager's natural glow to a point where it grows a bit more visible even under the flourescent lights above; he cranes his head up to gaze at the little dragon, and then back down to Natsuno and the canvas bag he'd just had his face in. Opens his mouth, several cheery questions practically visible on the tip of his tongue--
But then another detail sinks in, and Voyager's brows suddenly furrow in confusion.]
...Huh? Hold on...what's happened to it? That piece you had, of the sun...
no subject
I had another accident. Sunlight is dangerous to me now, so it must've disappeared.
[At least he wouldn't burn himself to death from the inside out. If there's any disappointment, Natsuno is quick to crush it. He's got much worse to worry about, he's not going to regret the loss of magic powers he only had for a little while. He only got them in the first place because of his own recklessness.]
no subject
Another accident? It must have been, something else...to cover the sun... [A pause, and a slight cocking of his head.] Not, disappeared. But it's like it's gotten farther away, somehow...
[If that would be any reassurance to Natsuno, anyway--that the magic of the Sun El apparently hasn't completely abandoned him just yet. Just diminished enough to not instantly kill him on the spot repeatedly, it seems...
Voyager frowns--draws a slight step forward, towards Natsuno, but then stops. Uncertain if getting closer would be wanted, all of a sudden, considering that body language over there...he's at least not so oblivious as he once was, about such things. But still...!]
Yuuki, you've got to stop having accidents like this. Now, you can't walk outside, when it's sunny? [Here, another pause, accompanied by a moment's intent staring.] ...You're more pale now. Did you...catch an illness? I've heard about those. Was that the accident?
no subject
...yeah, I guess you can call it an illness. [Voyager seems very sheltered in some ways, like an actual child, but that was a surprisingly keen observation.] Vampirism, to be exact.
[The last couple of weeks had him saying the v-word more than the entire previous year, but Natsuno's tired of games.]
no subject
Anyway, though...so this actually is some sort of disease, more or less?]
Vampirism.... [Echoed slowly; evidently, it isn't a term he's ever had to say aloud himself. But...hm...] This word...I've heard it, I think. There was somebody named...Vlad the Third...?
[In Chaldea, that is--a name in passing. Voyager doesn't actually know the finer details of how that man has become so synonymous with 'Dracula', if only because he also doesn't even know who Dracula is. It's not a tale recorded upon his record, and it's not particularly relevant to outer space, so...]
But, I still don't know what it means. What's "vampirism"?
no subject
Vampires are undead creatures that feed on people's blood. Most of them can't survive in the sunlight, so they only come out at night. I used to be a rare kind of vampire that can go out during the day, but not anymore.
[It's a little weird that he has to explain it. The Dioscuri knew exactly what it means to be a vampire, even though they were Greek gods.]
Voyager, who were you, before you became a Servant?
no subject
Voyager would doubtless have more questions to ask about this, if Natsuno weren't fielding one of his own about now. It's rather left field! At least from Voyager's perspective. He tilts his head slightly, but smiles.]
Huh, before I became a Servant? I was Voyager. The same way, that I'm still Voyager right now! Ehehe... [What a silly question...but he'll forgive Natsuno that. Voyager certainly seems a little amused more than anything--enough so to add a few more details, very helpfully!] Well, at the start, I was launched from Cape Canaveral...and now I'm on a journey. A really, really long one. So, being a Servant...it's just like, a little swing-by.
no subject
Cape Canaveral... so you're an astronaut?
[Natsuno sounds rather skeptic. Wouldn't an astronaut be older? Then again, Pollux was a man in all the poems. His brow furrows even more and he adds, more to himself:]
On the Voyager mission...?
[Wasn't that one unmanned or something? Maybe he's getting his NASA names all mixed up.]
no subject
[Hmm, this is the second time he's been mistaken for an astronaut. That's a bit funny too, seeing as most any astronaut is definitely taller than he is at the very least. He's not even wearing the right sort of space suit right now!
But Voyager perks up as soon as the 'Voyager mission' is mentioned, nodding encouragingly. There you go, Natsuno, you're getting on the right track...!]
You know, there isn't anybody manning the Voyager mission. The only thing, on those ships, is the Golden Record. [And, here, Voyager places a hand on his chest as something softens a bit in his smile.] That's the message I'm carrying. Since I'm going beyond the heliosphere now, and into the stars.
no subject
Going... you mean you're - the actual Voyager? The spaceship?
[How is that even possible? He thought Servants are actual people, or least stories of people. How do you summon a space prob? Was the Voyager always sentient, did NASA create life and then launched it into fucking space with no intention of getting it back or telling everyone - ]
It - you were on the news. When I was younger. Took a photo of Earth from really far.
no subject
Yeah, that's me! You've got it now! Wow...they talked about it on the news...I was hoping, that everybody would get to see...
[They talked about that picture, did they? Everyone got to see it after all? In one sense, he had a feeling this would be the case, but still! There's something about even a new friend like Natsuno mentioning it here and now...! And Voyager puffs with just a bit of pride, as he clasps his hands behind his back and rocks lightly on his heels and recites:]
February 14, in 1990...they sent orders to take, a "family portrait", of the solar system...so I did! By then, I was about 3.7 billion miles away from Earth. So, it was so small...really small...just a pale blue dot, with everybody on it.
[A slight sigh.]
Those were the last pictures. I had to shut off my cameras after, to preserve power. But, they were nice shots, right? Everyone liked them? I'm glad you got to see them, Yuuki!
no subject
[But he supposes that's the best you can get from a space prob launched in the 70s.]
People liked it, I think. [For the short while it was on the news, at least.] Something about the distance putting things in perspective.
[Honestly, it didn't leave much of an impression at the time. Natsuno was an eleven year old with no particular interest in space or a sense of perspective. If anything, it probably annoyed him to hear his parents mention it. Talking about the greatness of science and human spirit while all Natsuno wanted was for them to come down from the clouds and get married like normal people so he wouldn't get picked on at school.]
no subject
[The storage capacity in his space probe body was truly restrictive by comparison--another regrettable limitation of the 70s. After not very long at all, he'd had to erase countless older pictures taken of stars and planets to make room for newer ones...all the way to the end. But since he had to stop photography altogether, after the solar system family portrait...that picture of Earth in its distant tiny size is still sitting in his storage evermore on his journey, at the very least....
Hmmm. Well. He's getting sidetracked now, isn't he? After this envious mumble about present-day cameras, Voyager falls quiet for a moment, clearly lost in thought--until he seems to remember himself, and shakes his head as if to clear something away.]
But, you know, none of that really has much to do with "vampires", does it? Right now you've got a disease! [Yes, he's sure inadvertently phrasing this in the worst way possible now, whoops.] Not being able to go out in the sun at all...that's just too sad. Um, diseases...don't they usually have "cures"? --Is that what you're looking for right now, in the bags?
no subject
But, Voyager swerves right back to the topic of vampires, and now Natsuno has to explain while still struggling with the revelation that he's speaking to a sentient space probe. He supposes it explains the kid's odd demeanor - all he can know is about space and whatever information coded into his golden record. Still, a freaking baby space vehicle...]
No, I was trying to figure out if the fabric is thick enough to block sunlight. [The clown mask has been a colossal failure - maybe a fabric mask would yield better results.] I told you vampires are undead. There's no cure for it, because there's no cure for death.
no subject
But yes, to say the least, the rather strange circumstances of Voyager's origin mean that his array of life experiences and knowledge is quite a strangely narrow one presently. Indeed, most of what he knows is grounded either in his record or in his domain of space...though there's at least also the third more recent source, of knowledge taught to him by others since his first materialization as a Servant. ...Some of the unhappier aspects of humanity, that the scientists of NASA decided not to engrave upon the Golden Record in the end...
Such as the definition of death. In the technical sense, anyway. Natsuno had certainly outright said "undead" earlier, of course, but it's only when he emphasizes it in this particular way here and now that the semantics fully clock on Voyager's end--and he sobers a little, blinking slowly as the words sink in.]
Oh. Right. Death is...when something, in somebody, has left. Right? It leaves and it never comes back. And everyone, who knew those people, is really sad about the part that left. [He peers thoughtfully at Natsuno in this light for a long moment.] Usually, it looked like, their bodies stopped working too. But yours hasn't...and I can still talk to you...so, that's why you're "un"dead, instead of dead? ...But there's still no cure...
[It's pretty unhappy news in the end, to say the least. After another slight pause, Voyager finally starts drifting over to stand closer to Natsuno--if he's allowed to do so, anyway--taking a look at the canvas bag in his hand in turn.]
Could I still help? You're looking, for fabric like this?
no subject
[Even after seeing so much death and just as many revivals, so much that dying lost any meaning except for the pain of seeing it happen to a friend, Natsuno still remembers what he said in Tohru's wake. He stood over his best friend's coffin, wondering how a dead face could be so familiar yet so foreign. It's like an empty shell. Where did the essential part of Tohru-chan go? I wish there was a way to find him.
He doesn't mind Voyager's approach, but it's definitely a relief when the kid asks about the bag instead of undeath. Natsuno doesn't know what makes shiki rise and keep existing, and he'd rather not waste time thinking about it. The situation was clarified - now there's just dealing with it.]
Yeah, I'm looking for anything thick enough. Then I can cut it to make a mask.
no subject
[Does he know what a soul is? ...Maybe...
But no, this isn't something to discuss further, at least not now. Natsuno keeps his answer brief, and takes up the tangent on fabric readily...and while Voyager might normally wish to pursue his own questions further, the fact remains currently that Natsuno isn't doing well and needs something that could help. Something that could shield from the sun.
The sun's a powerful thing. Even the sun in this place, where the sky's only a picture. It's going to be difficult...but...]
Like, a mask for your face? Wow...yeah, that's a smart idea. [Voyager cocks his head slightly, glance unfocusing, as he's rather visibly reaching back in thought...] --I remember. Just a few minutes ago, on my expedition...fifty-eight yards from here, if we go to the right. There's a big display. Really big! It's got, those chairs that fold for beaches...and umbrellas, too. I saw it, while I was flying. That kind of fabric might be pretty thick too, huh? And there's lots of it, in that direction.
no subject
That might work. And umbrellas are extra protection. [He'd still have to cover his head, of course, but maybe the mask wouldn't have to be as thick...? Ugh, he's not looking forward to experimenting.] Alright, lead the way.
[Now it's Natsuno's turn to follow Voyager like a duckling.]
You know, I'm pretty sure this store is endless. [Like the universe! Who knows, maybe it even keeps expanding.] So you'll have to turn back eventually.
no subject
[He's sure always had an excellent sense of navigation, even in this sort of body. Voyager's turning in the direction indicated and starting forward himself with an air of absolute confidence in the orientation, and will be keeping an even pace with an occasional glance back to Natsuno to make sure he's still following through the jungle of the Tommy Bahama. If it were just him, Voyager would have taken to flying over the racks once more...but since Natsuno's on foot, he's content to stay on foot too. He seems to maintain a perfect idea of which way to keep going, even despite the surrounding clothing racks towering well over his head and obscuring their landmark goal up ahead.]
Hmm, you think it's really endless? It's definitely pretty big...really big...bigger than the ship for sure. Where we are right now, is already over about a mile, from the wall where it should have stopped. I wonder how it's like this... [A thoughtful hum.] I guess, it's true...I can't move as fast like this. So, it takes a lot longer to cover distance. And I don't want to leave everybody behind again yet. But I really wonder what's out there! A huge space like this...it's really familiar...
[There's something about the pull of infinity. It's not quite a siren call, but. When you're designed for a purpose, you know?]
Have other people, gone on expeditions in here? Do we know who's gone the farthest so far?
no subject
Arilanna Tayrey led an expedition a while ago. They walked for three days and still didn't reach the end. You should meet her, actually - she used to work on a spaceship.
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[That this Servant body would encounter things from intergalactic civilizations first--and not his space probe body, a few thousand years into its perpetual drift through the cosmos, as had been projected by the scientists who launched him. Absentmindedly, a hand drifts over his chest.]
I wish I could play her my record, like it's supposed to be. ...But, still, I hope I made a good impression. That's what I'm supposed to do! I've got to try my best. ...Are there lots of others like her, in this place? People from other worlds that aren't Earth?
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(He imagines Tayrey's expression when Voyager tells her he's a sentient space probe and a Servant.)]
Yeah. There are lots of people from different worlds, not to mention different versions of Earth. I don't think there are a lot of people like Tayrey, though.
[Clarke grew up in a space station orbiting Earth, and Palamedes in Mercury's orbit, but none of them really traveled space. Lumine did, but... she's long gone.]
C; first the park where we'll see nice doggies
- RIGHT THE THING -
~You are far deeper than is safe, little golden thing. There is a monster in the depths.~
Grace like, visibly pauses.
~There is a monster other than me in the depths. I am hunting.~
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"Grace, you're here too!" And Voyager's very pleased to see her, judging by the cheer in both his voice and his body language as he hops down to the floor to join her. ...Give it a second, you know, he's just going to blink a bit at the fervent pointing to the clothes piles...before the actual contents of her bubble voice's words fully sink in.
Voyager's eyes widen, but not with fear.
"Wait, really? There's a monster back here? Does it live here?" A native vast store species?? Alright, so admittedly, he might still be just a bit lost in the exploration sauce--discovery of new life in strange places always strikes a sort of chord with his directive. He looks around eagerly at the hanging clothes surrounding them. "I want to see it! Can I help?"
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"...Huh, you're not hunting it to catch it? You want, to kill it?" Hm, he knows what that word means now, yes. Though every time the concept is floated in this way, it's still...a thing to process. Voyager frowns, enthusiasm folding into uncertainty. "Not for a war...and not for a mission..."
Perhaps oddly, his tone is still neither unhappy nor offended, nor even frightened. Rather, it's almost as if something is outright stalling on an internal sort of level suddenly; more than anything, he seems genuinely confused. ('Practice', he knows all about that. But killing wasn't required for the kinds of practice he's seen before, was it? ...'Cruel', 'indifference'...does he know these words too? ...He must, he thinks, but in this moment it's difficult to actually--)
--Rustling. Clothes on their hangers being pushed aside, by something large. It's several racks away from where they stand, but Voyager's sharp hearing is picking it up anyhow, a defined quantity piercing abruptly through rather less defined thoughts. Voyager's entire frame draws alert.
"...Something's coming! From behind you!"
And today they both learn about Cruisie's "bold of you to think you can kill it" comment
She needs the creature's attention. It must become ensnared in her trap.
There's a sound - flowing water - as Grace dashes the other way, zooming past Bahamanuel on the left. She throws a rack at it as she passes, enticing the creature to chase. Her voice is still sounding off in Voyager's mind, counting upwards from one with all the regularity of a metronome.
bless tbh...not for a lack of trying tho!! 🔥teamwork🔥
But a fight is very much what this is going to be, it seems. Grace leaps to action, harpoon set flying, and strange puddles of water trail in its wake like a long line of paint laid down by an enormous brush. (Not just water, is it? Ah, maybe it's because it's being laid with vehement purpose now, or maybe it's because he's now truly paying attention, but there's something very odd about that water, even at this distance...)
Grace streaks away, around and past the lumbering source of the rustling noises, clearly not seeking to hide from it. Voyager leaps into the air himself, tugging upon the momentum so that gravity gives way for him, soaring up a dozen or so yards overhead just shy of bumping his head on the store ceiling. At a vantage like this, the creature of the Tommy Bahana could never reach him. He knows exactly which direction the exit is. He could leave right now...
But Grace is still down there, and the bubbles of her voice still float up to him. Counting now, steady as a clock. She had counted for a little bit too, the last time they talked...a countdown to her puddles back then disappearing. The same countdown now? She's leading the creature along...she wants him to stay away from the puddles...
Voyager still hasn't decided how to feel, about her intention to kill the Bahamanal cruelly and indifferently. --But for now it doesn't matter, when he can now see the monster in action plainly. A massive lump of tropical clothing, snarling as it gives chase to its watery quarry. Are those fangs, somewhere in the colorful prints? Claws? Grace might be in danger. Grace might get hurt.
He follows after them from above, dropping about half his altitude to take better aim. "The sound of rain! The sound of wind...!"
Not that it's either rain or wind he's calling down. But stars, instead--an entire isolated shower of them--each a five-pointed shard of golden light, like something out of a picture book. They pelt Bahamanuel like very hot and very real embers of flame, though, sparking and sizzling and snapping off its clothing shroud. ...Many of the stars don't hit the monster at all, though? Cascading alongside it, instead...
...To herd its direction towards Grace's puddles too.
We Do Gotta Decide If They Drive It Off Or Run For Their Lives Though
And with it, her Abyss.
The waters were at once shallow and deep before; now the entire interior of that triangle is some impossible, unfathomable depth. The human eye sees nothing wrong, only a brightening of the puddles - as if they've been backlit - but inside, something is happening. The Infinite Tommy Bahama has another infinity inside of it, dark and crushing, wet and pressing, drowning and filled with things. Now she's counting again, up from one, each second marked off precisely.
There's no water on the inside of the Abyss. The inside of the Abyss is drowning. Bahamanuel's clothes are completely dry, but they droop and tangle like they've been soaked, squelch as they wring out the water that isn't there, slowing the creature and causing it great confusion.
Look closely, Voyager. Grace's lunge is perfectly timed with the split-second appearance of something from the Depths that aren't there, small and sharp fish with violet bodies that are not living things known to Man. They swarm in a school to maul Bahamanuel, tiny teeth so very sharp.
Sometimes It's Ok To Run Away (Or They'll Get Mauled By Immortal Clothes Creatures Oops--)
There's another place in there. Something that stretches as far as this endless store, but in an entirely different direction--and filled with entirely different things. Is the bottom of the sea something like this? Damp and crowded and writhing...but the depth, more akin to the darkness between the stars, in the vast ocean of the cosmos. Voyager has gazed upon such expanses before, and will travel ever through them, but it's very surprising indeed to suddenly find one being opened here. This sort of feeling, that emanates from it like a long and chilling note of inaudible sound--it had been draped over Euclides like a heavy shroud, drawn close and carefully contained. It had lingered about Grace's person too, hovering and unrealized. But now--
Bahamanuel struggles against the invisibly rising tide under its feet. Visitors arrive through the gateway, if only for the briefest moment: fish-like shapes, flickering purple and strange fangs, lunging upon their prey just as Grace does. Voyager descends until he's landed on the floor once more, a little ways outside the boundary of the water triangle and the thrashing conflict within it. The sight before him is novel for a fact, and so he certainly can't tear his eyes away...briefly forgetting all thoughts of this being a dangerous conflict to be wary of in favor of instead standing utterly still, the better to absorb all that he can of this phenomena. The sight of the alien fish and the invisible water, the sound of Grace's steady counting and the tearing clothing of the eventual mauling...this is a display of carnage at an essential level, yes, but it's not the first he's seen. It probably also won't be the last. Yes, he'll watch this very closely indeed...because every time, he has to observe. As if perhaps one day, he might understand...
Surely, it would seem, the Bahamanal couldn't survive an onslaught like this. And yet--hold on. Even under its un-waterlogged clothes, torn and tattered...is it still moving? It's even rearing back up?!
RESCUE THE FISH SPACE BOY
She's chosen poorly.
~Flee! Flee for your life, golden thing!~
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The not-waters remain, but...the attack that had passed through the gateway dissipates, and the Bahamanal still stands, as if only vaguely worse for wear--and now not even seeming wet in the least, any longer. It's rounding to snarl at the both of them now, its tropical clothing shroud winding and shifting patterns as it moves, tattered cloth seemingly swapping out for brand new threads in some sort of bizarre feat of regeneration. ...It strides right over and out of the watery triangle's boundary, easy as anything--and the entrancing spell riveting Voyager in place is truly broken. He flinches several steps back with a gasp, wide-eyed as Bahamanuel lunges after Grace once more and she moves to evade. And yet, now it's as if Bahamanuel has started moving even faster!! On account of being even angrier now, perhaps.
Voyager leaps into the air once more, but not nearly high enough yet. After all, she's telling him to flee...but those claws are starting to get so close to Grace no matter how swiftly she moves--! "The sound of the waves! The sound of lightning!"
More stars summoned down, each successive swath larger and shining hotter than the last--yet still, even direct hits only succeed in briefly slowing the monster down. It barely even flinches!
And that's when Voyager knows this fight can't continue.
"Grace! Grace, we need to go! Come on!"
He takes a darting arc through the air, over the Bahamanal's head...and then over Grace's. A small hand reaches down to grab her by the arm--and tug her up--
And up she'll come, regardless of his own strength or her own weight, because Grace would find gravity falling away entirely for herself too. She might tend to do some floating on her own right, but this buoyancy is likely a different kind of sensation altogether: it arrives as soon as Voyager's touching her, and seems to follow his lead as he turns in the air.
"Hang on tight! We need to go fast!" Because they need to get out of here now!!!
If Grace doesn't object, Voyager will be taking off over the aisles at an exceptional speed, with his friend in hand-held tow.
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~It is not supposed to leave its territory, little Voyager. To the door!~
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It is alarming for the briefest moment, that bout of strange dampness and stifled air that washes over, prompting a bobbing waver of their position in the air. But Grace dispels her puddles, and the sensation dispels too--and now's no time for questions. Later, later...! Right now, properly unfettered, it's time to take off over the tropically colorful sea of Tommy Bahama clothing and not look back--!
Bahamanuel roars at them from behind, but soon enough it's just another pile of clothing with the rest again.
The distance they'd both strayed into the store's depths was a considerable one, but Voyager's speed is considerable too. It's still not half so fast as he'd be able to fly alone, as Voyager's conscious of keeping Grace comfortable while bringing her along. But they make swift enough progress skimming weightlessly over the racks that the shirts and accessories they soar over flutter or rattle on their hangers, and the coconut-scented air ruffles through their hair. One minute, two, three--Voyager's sense of direction is straight as an arrow, and he barely even needs to turn, making an exact beeline for the doorway even before it's properly visible up ahead--
--And then they're out! The doors pushed open with a waving prompt of Voyager's hand right before they're hurtling through, into the Promenade and its wash of lights and sounds. They even streak a little ways further down the walkway, before the flight finally slows. Voyager's keeping a firm hand in Grace's as they go...until they're not going anymore, and instead gently reorienting upright and floating back down to the ground...
Well, alright, not quite entirely gently to the ground. But more like safely a couple feet off it, at least, before the force that's been keeping their gravity at bay finally gives out. Grace might be able to catch herself a little easier with her own floating from here, but for Voyager those last couple feet are a very abrupt drop; he lands unsteadily on his feet, and then he sinks down to his knees, giving up on standing almost immediately.
"...W-Wow...that was...really close..." The words huff out between puffs of breath. ...Yeah, don't mind him, he's just. Going to sit down right here, actually........
SO SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY
The thought that hits her is spoken aloud as soon as it arrives: ~You have saved my life, little golden thing.~
D
It isn't the first time that she damaged something on the sports deck. Around the first night she utilized her weapons, she had accidentally torn up the netting on the tennis court. ]
Oh no... [ Fun is over and she's a horrible child! Her shoulders slump. Frantically, she glances around as if there would be a broom readily available somewhere. ] Um... I-I'll clean up. There's gotta be a broom and a dustpan nearby...
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It really totally blew up, huh... [Muttered half to himself, with more awe than anything--but then he's glancing back over to Fio properly, just in time to catch the stricken way her shoulders are slumping.] Oh--hey, it's okay! We can explain, that it was an accident. And, it's half my fault too...I threw the stars up too high....so, we'll clean up together!
[He lands on the ground once more, in front of Fio this time. As he says these encouraging things, he's looking around as well. There definitely aren't any deck brushes just lying out in the open among the sports implements out here, for some reason. Hmmmm.]
Um...let's see. Wasn't there, a closet near the stairs, around here?
[The benefits of having a photographically sharp memory mean that Voyager remembers glancing at said closet when they'd first entered the sports deck. Maybe for various sports supplies, probably, but...!]
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She resists the temptation of trying to handle the burden on her own. And Voyager's reassurance keeps her from trying to mentally kick herself too much. ]
We'll... just have to be extra careful the next time we play. [ A nod, with a shaky smile and wavering confidence. For now, they can set aside the debris until everything properly fixes itself in the next month. Hopefully. She hasn't been keeping precise track of how long maintenance takes these days. ] Wait right here. I'll be back with brooms for the both of us!
[ Wordlessly, she dismisses her lanterns, the pair melting away into nothingness. Then she starts to head off to search for that closet... she might be frowning worriedly again as she turns away. But she'll try to be back soon...! ]
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Still being rather very new to the concept of "being a good child" as a matter of reputation himself (and by "very new" we mean "has never had to actually consider this as a thing to aspire for as of yet"), Voyager rather lacks the context to fully understand the true source of Fio's prompt and strangely strong remorse over some broken lights. But it's heartening that his reassurance has at least earned a shaky smile and a goal to work on...yes, that's a nice sort of feeling indeed. Voyager beams back encouragingly, nodding his head.]
Yeah, extra careful for sure! Hehe...I know someone, before, who would say...that we got too "ham", about having fun. [Well, alright, so that's probably not actually the entirely correct usage, but it's close enough!] Okay, I'll be here! If you need to search more, then let me know...we could find brooms together too. But, I can wait first, if you want.
[Ah--how quickly those lanterns disappear! Voyager's seen fellow Servants do that, with their weapons, but it's all the more amazing to see Fio doing the same. She still seems like a regular human so far, as far as Voyager can tell. It takes a great deal of effort to resist asking her about that trick--and her other light-exploding trick!--right this very moment. Hmm, cleaning, cleaning first...she's starting for the closet already, after all...
While Fio's tottering off on a broom mission, Voyager's quite content with resuming his floating survey of the damages. Before having a thought, and moving to carefully start pushing aside nearby tables and the more portable sports deck implements within the glass-spill radius. So they can have a wider space to use brooms on! He has to slightly float some of the heavier things to get them moving, but that's alright...]
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Within about ten minutes or so, Fio's on her way back with haste, carrying a pair of brooms in one hand and dustpans in the other. She won't mind making multiple trips back if she has to, but hopefully this will be enough to sweep away the smaller, glass debris off to the side where no one will accidentally step on it.
As she closes the distance, she watches her steps, maneuvering around any stray shards that might have flown off too far. ]
Thanks for getting started! [ She puts on a smile again and holds out one of the brooms. Voyager did his best to reassure her, so she should try doing the same too. She doesn't want to drag down both their moods! ] It gets a little scary here sometimes, so it's good that we're both pretty tough.
[ The grownups tend to show relief knowing that she has some sort of power to protect herself. She's trying to think on the bright sides to some of this, to not feel too down about their "crimes"... ]
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Turning the broom back upright, he'll follow along after Fio if she starts working on sweeping up the glass. Though there's, just a bit of a delay on Voyager's part before he gets started on it too, where he stands to the side and watches Fio's motions very intently. Slowly readjusts his grip on the broom a bit, and...alright...sweep, sweep. Not back and forth, but in one direction.....the movement of his mimicry is starting out very awkward and a bit mechanical, as he gets to work on his own little pile of glass, but he's trying!! He's learning!!!]
Yeah, we're tough! Because...we're both pretty good with lights...and we can break glass things even on accident, right? [Voyager supposes he could agree with this assessment.] You've got, a lot of firepower for sure! I never thought lamps could do things like that. I got really surprised...but it was really amazing! [Oh, but hold on. She said something before that, too.] Huh, it gets scary here sometimes? What sorts of scary things happen?
[A second, and a half-second more. Then, as if a connection is quite suddenly being made all at once, Voyager's arms suddenly freeze as his entire posture stiffens.]
--W-Wait, is it because there's a snake around?
C
No, I'm not lost, little one.
[She turns her head to look back at him from over her shoulder, yawning to show off her large teeth. Then she shakes and rises from the ground, slinking away from the area she had been surveying in order to get a better look at this newcomer.]
Who are you?
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Wow, you're a wolf! And so big! Then, if you're not lost, do you live in here?
[Without so much as an ounce of apparent hesitation or fear, Voyager hops down to help in closing the distance between them and smiles in friendly greeting. His heels tap lightly upon the floor, as if his personal gravity is a decidedly lessened affair; his long golden scarf, too, continues to flutter up in an intangible breeze behind him.]
My name's Voyager! What's yours?
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I have a room, this is just the best place to stretch my legs while in this form.
[She keeps her head low, still observing, drawing in his scent and memorizing everything.]
My name is Valdis. It is nice to meet you, Voyager.
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Stretching your legs...oh! Because of all the space in here, right? I bet you could run and run and never hit any walls!
[Wolves even this big aren't usually in clothing stores, he's pretty sure, but wolves are not usually on boats either--so, really, this solution for leg-stretching only makes sense. He nods thoughtfully to himself, as he continues staring openly up at Valdis in turn. It's a mutual sort of observation happening about now, after all; Voyager's nose may not be half so strong, but as a Servant...all the same...he does have another sense, that's certainly picking up something here. It's not--quite--familiar, but. Oh, this must be a very special wolf indeed...]
It's my first time in here. I'm having a little expedition! I was wondering, if there's anything interesting, the further you voyage in here...have you seen anything like that, Valdis?
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[She chuffs softly. The tiny human-like child seems to harbor some kind of joy in the idea of adventure, but then again, his name is Voyager.]
There is much of what we have already passed, but there is also a monster made of clothing and it's children.
I have been stalking it through the store for about an hour.