come_sailaway | JUNE EVENT: CAMP

JUNE EVENT: CAMP

early on June 10th, Friday's morning announcements end with a request for everyone going on the latest excursion to meet her in the atrium. she seems in noticeably better spirits than she had been last time, and she leads them cheerfully to the tender. once they are all aboard, and the door is securely shut, the interior fills with gas, and, perhaps, their last thought before they slip into unconsciousness is "oh shit, not again."

passengers wake up on a rickety old school bus, driving down a dirt road surrounded by woods. what is it that they notice first? that, no matter what they were wearing before, they are now wearing a camp t-shirt and legitimately horrifyingly short shorts? the overstuffed backpack between their knees? the words "take one down and pass it around" dying on their lips? the fact that Friday is absolutely driving the bus?

or, maybe the fact that it's already slowing down, pulling up in front of a massive wooden sign, saying:

CAMP AION

when they get out of the bus, Friday is the one to divide them up into their cabin groups, and she is the one to give the counselors their very official-looking clipboards and whistles. she explains that they are in charge, and that she will be back to pick them up in a week, and... very little else. she responds to nothing outside of whatever is on her unseen little script, and she gets back on the bus shortly after, leaving them there.

welcome to camp. let's make some summer memories!

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[ Mizuki is, at least, genuinely in such a good mood today. Yesterday had been very emotionally charged, what with his spar with La Pluma sprinkled in with the both of them talking their feelings out. And fighting their feelings out. Mizuki is just, unfortunately, very naturally violent. He hasn't had any sort of outlet for said violence besides his torture attempt on La Pluma during the royale, and even then, that caused an infinite amount of more stress than relief. Things still aren't better by any means for the little jellyfish, but he at least has one of his friends from home back, and some of that pent up wrath is out of his system, so…

Yeah. That smile is genuinely sweet. And these attempts to make these bracelets for Clarke have so much genuine love and work put into them. He tried to make little make shift butterflies and flowers out of thread and pin them to the bracelets, but they mostly just look like balled up thread attached to the bracelets. They don't look bad, necessarily, but they don't look how they're probably supposed to.

Regardless, the moment Clarke holds her hands out, Mizuki drops literally all the bracelets into her hand. ]

They're all for you!

( oh dear oh god, there's suddenly so many bracelets being dumped into her outstretched palm. clarke has to bring up her second hand to cup them more efficiently, scrambling not to drop a few while something heavy forms in her chest. it's a sweet gesture. a very sweet gesture, and one that somehow feels even more out of place and undeserved than the effort he'd put in to weaving a picnic basket out of cardboard boxes back on the ship.

clarke's eyes are dry, but the overwhelming sensation of sentiment still pushes at the back of her sinuses and she's sniffing while pulling the handful of friendship bracelets closer to her face to stare at. they're —...rough. but gorgeous, and there's a white, light blue, and navy one that absolutely strikes her as her favorite right off the bat. that one in particular looks like it started with a pattern and then it somehow got inverted halfway through, and there's a snagged loop of extra string sticking out from one end, and it might be a little big for her wrist but... )

These are beautiful, Mizuki, I — I'm sorry, I don't have one to give back to you right now.

That's okay! [ Ebalon is the only person who's actually given him a gift that he made the actual effort of getting to Mizuki. Venti had given him one of the cecilias from his hat, but did it really count if it was a spur of the moment decision? Maybe to Mizuki, sure, but in general, it's not as if he had any reason to even think that someone might get him something.

It could be a difference of worlds, or perhaps Mizuki is truly too sentimental? He loves showering his friends with silly gestures of his love for them, be that in the form of tokens like this, or physical affection. He's realizing slowly that he might be the only person here who thinks like that. ]

You don't have to get me one at all. I just wanted you to have these! They, uh, aren't very good, so I made a lot, just in case?

( love languages differ, and the ways people learn to express affection get warped by their circumstances. and trauma. mizuki fawns and gives gifts, and clarke's stuck on getting flustered by aforementioned gifts and flip-flopping between wanting to use mizuki like a human-shaped shield while also considering that she'd die a horrific death if it meant saving him from... all of this. willingly, and several times over again. when did sacrifice become the only way she knew how to love? )

Hey, if they fasten around a wrist, they're a perfectly good friendship bracelet.

( functionality over aesthetic. though she's still drawn to the white and blue one, and carefully picks it out of the pile. )

I think this one's my favorite, would you... ( help? her other hand is full of other braided strands of thread, and she can't put it on one-handed. )

[ Mizuki nods and takes the bracelet from her. He's very delicate with it, despite knowing that, despite the fact it's not the best made, it's actually very sturdy. He's just very careful about things in general now. Perhaps because he's had a chance to get everything else out of his system.

He fastens it around her wrist, with enough give that she can adjust it along her arm if needed. ]

This one's really your favorite? Do you like blue, too, then~?

I love blue.

( and green, and the purples and pinks found among flowers, and the brown of tree bark, the white of clouds, and the orange of sunset. really the only color clarke probably hates on some visceral level is red. and the darkness of black.

mizuki finishes fastening the bracelet, and clarke gradually drops her arm. it's a strange sensation, something new weighing against her pulse point, but not an unwelcome tether. )

Reminds me of the sky. Back home, I mean, this — ( a gesture to the air around them, this sliver of mysticism built on the captain's whim. ) — I mean, it looks the same, but it's still different.

Hm~ I can see that. [ Though, Mizuki's fondness for the sky is less the blues and the clouds, and more the moon and the stars. Perhaps that is just his nocturnal part of him talking. ]

Well, that's because it is different. I imagine this is probably what it feels like to be trapped in a snow globe, actually~. Stuck in a sphere, barrier on all sides, and we're pretty to look at. Then when he wants things to happen... [ Mizuki feigns holding a snow globe in his hands and pretends to jiggle it around. ] ...just shakes things up a little. Then that's even more fun to watch because there's bits and pieces going everywhere.

Truly, the Captain is a despicable person. I don't think I've hated someone quite as much as I do him~.

[ Mizuki still needs to work on his tone. And to stop smiling while he's talking about things like this. ]

Edited 2022-06-13 09:40 (UTC)

( it's probably things like this — that disconnect between the vicious nature of his words versus the uppity cheer and playful smile dancing about his face — that has people like bellamy blake taking one look at mizuki and deciding he's weird. strange, a little creepy. clarke's an ounce more forgiving in her judgement, but even then her understanding of mizuki comes down to just repeat exposure. he's just sort of always like this — except when he's (trashing a room, ripping a person apart, sobbing over a box of photos) not. she's come to understand it a little better as of late... )

That's a good analogy. I likened us to rats trapped in a glass box, outside is some sort of scientist with an agenda that doesn't consider us to be real, living things. And he just likes introducing new stimuli and seeing what we do with them.

( pain, on the island before this. pleasure, here at sleep away camp — if that was even what this actual "relaxing" vacation spot was supposed to evoke from them. stasis and boredom back on the ship, as some rats feast on the provided food while others scratch desperately against the glass... )

Only this is maybe the hundredth trial and now he just likes watching us squirm.

( clarke gives a partial, unenthusiastic nod of agreement: whatever monsters and madness drift among the passengers of the cruise liner, the worst of the worst was still the man at the helm. )

Ehehe. Implying we are rats means he's aware we're alive to be little experiments. We are toys. And this is his dollhouse.

[ As someone who enjoys orders, being told what to do, and actually enjoys being someone's puppet, Mizuki actually can't think of a thing he hates more than this. Being used by someone who might just break his evil scale. Mizuki absolutely loathes the pirates who killed his family and he will always hold a grudge to whoever uses that descriptor or title, but he thinks the Captain may have earned his number one spot of vitriol. ]

Have you any headway on plans or theories you've been wanting to try regarding... you know... this. Him.

Venti and I — ( you know how sometimes you just open your mouth and the worst, situationally careless thing flops out? that's more or less the feeling that breaks across clarke like a wave against rocks. that's the moment she's suddenly living in, just long enough to flinch and flush and furtively drag her gaze to somewhere over mizuki's ear.

but they're pretending everything's fine, right? that's what he said? before she can even parse out how much of a mistake it could be to keep going, clarke's tongue catches up with her thoughts and she pushes on. )

— were talking about what might work against his smoke form. Skulduggery Pleasant is suggesting more research into the way he uses magic before we try anything brash as a full on assault. Natsuno took more pictures, but they all turned out the same, and some new kid thinks he's never ridden a skateboard so, I guess if we need to bet our lives on something, it can be a skateboarding exhibition.

[ Honestly, it's the brief pause that ends up drawing attention to it more than anything. Mizuki wouldn't have questioned it none. He continues to smile at her like it's okay, but during her internal upset, his camouflage does glitch out a bit as he, too, momentarily wishes he could disappear. He's alright, though! Everything is fine. ]

I see! Natsuno did send those pictures to me. The video he sent actually busted my speakers — I had to get a new phone. So, you know, if you want to play a prank on someone, I highly recommend you send them that video too~. Ehehe.

Anyway, you're so diligent! Working with so many people to get ideas. I know I'm not smart enough for the thinky parts of stuff, but you'll let me know if you need my help with anything else, won't you?

( ah of course, it's her own hesitance that serves to underscore and aggressively bold the awkwardness here. that's pretty classic, but! mizuki doesn't point it out. he seems committed to everything being just peachy keen, and clarke let's out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

you're plenty smart, is on the tip of her tongue, that blind reassurance that ignores his lack of decision making skills and independence of thought. but it's never seemed to register with him before, so clarke swallows the sentiment and leans further into action. )

Actually, there is something I could use your help with.

[ Oh? Mizuki straightens up immediately at that, actually, and his eyes seem to widen with… excitement, maybe? It's hard to tell with Mizuki, actually. Knowing him, there's either an innocent urge to be helpful and very enthusiastic to be such, or something a little more soldier-like. A little more Seaborn-like. He doesn't seem to think it's a problem. ]

Of course. Anything.

( one can't shake a stick at enthusiasm, and even less of a stick at soldier ready. still, clarke doesn't quite breathe easily. )

How much do you know about Ebalon's magic?

Learning new things about it every time we talk, actually. Is there something specific you wanna know?

[ There's some things Ebalon told him to keep secret, but… it's Clarke! Surely it's okay if she knows. ]

Well, we all saw him drop the moon. And ( — no matter how you looked at it — ) that was very impressive. I get there are different kinds of magic, different ways it's harnessed and used.

I've seen blastias and fonic artes, and elemental gods, and necromancy. And those I understand but — how does he do it? Sigils?

Some of it is sigils. But, the way he talks about it, there's sort of... um... big magical energy sources, and they're all different, and um... some people, I think, have natural connections to those sources? [ He makes a vague hand gesture in the air that says "I don't have all the details". ] I definitely recall him saying that people have natural ability to use magic based on those sources, so I imagine it's a "you're either born with it or you're not" sort of deal. So I think all the healing and moon stuff you've seen is just his natural ability?

[ … ]

That said, and while I'm happy to tell you all this, you could also just... ask him. I know you're still upset with him, but he really is getting a lot better about things. He even gave Miss Friday a break to introduce that last batch of folks. A-and I don't even think he knows you're mad at him.

( a natural power source, or the ability to channel that one was born with. that bit tracks along with what she's heard from other magic users, though in sharp contrast to mizuki's take — pirate jenny and skulduggery pleasant both insist anyone can use sigils. so the fact ebalon does in fact utilize a few sigils amidst whatever natural powers he possesses is a plus, a moment in the conversation that clarke lights up over. but the suggestion to ask him personally...

ew. that's the opposite of what she'd wanted to do.

in fact there's a moment where clarke looks physically pained at the prospect of approaching ebalon herself, but. diplomacy and usefulness wins out. )

I guess I could.

( she's had worse allies. and a chat with minimal hostility didn't mean she had to stop loathing him. )

[ Mizuki doesn't really pick up on her expression that well, but he knows Clarke well enough by now to know she's not thrilled by the aspect. He shuffles in his spot, nervously dropping his eyes to his shoes and pulling at the hem of his shirt. It already covered those gross short shorts as it were, but… ]

Or, I guess I could just... ask him whatever you want to know? Or maybe come with you or... whatever makes you most comfortable.

( sigh.

she doesn't want to use mizuki like that, except she also very much does. but she'd been hoping to regain some level of trust that he insists isn't missing, or at least put a little more distance between their unpleasant confrontation (also these terribly awkward cabin arrangements) and more demands on her end before trying to pull on his heartstrings and see what comes out.

but the fact remains: even if ebalon doesn't know she hates him, he likes mizuki. enough to promise to do better, and that's a level of trust and intimacy that breaks down personal barriers and spills secrets across pillows. )

It's nothing I need to know immediately. How about you just let me know whatever you hear from Ebalon in the meantime. Then when I go to him with questions, I'll at least have a better idea what I'm trying to ask, you know?

[ It's a little more than "likes" at this point, but to call it love might also be an insult. They're weird and gross, do not look at the eldritch horrors. ]

Um... [ Again, he's not opposed to bringing information to Clarke about this. He's used to giving reports to the Doctor back home, but they were always very summarized and plain. To do something like this, where he has to be more in detail, when there's simultaneously so much and so little to tell? He's at a bit of a loss to what's important for her to know and what isn't. ]

So, you just want to know the stuff that's about how it works? I'm fine with that, of course, but... if I could get a more specific directive, I might be able to help a little more. "Whatever I hear" from Ebalon is quite a lot, after all.

( there's the temptation of whatever and everything, because she knows from experience that the smallest detail may end up breaking the case and saving the world. but, boil this request down to it's barest bones?

all she really wants is the wards. and maybe what they mean. the rest could be figured out, her questions spread across the other magic users on board. so for specific directives — )

If he ever shows you sigils or even if you just see them in his room, could you bring them to me? Or just like, take a picture and send it my way? That's all I'm curious about right now, what those little symbols look like and what they mean.

[ Well, that's easy enough. Ebalon shouldn't give him much resistance if he goes asking about those, especially since he's expressed interest himself in trying them. ]

Sure. That shouldn't be a problem. Am I keeping this conversation between us? [ Or, more accurately, "Am I not allowed to tell him you asked?" ]

( HRNK.... )

...I'm not going to ask you to keep anything from your boyfriend, Mizuki.

( but like, use ya brain babe. if he's more likely to answer those questions just for you, there's no need to share who else is after them, right? )

[ Moon jellyfish don't have brains, actually. Besides, once again, Ebalon has no idea Clarke is even mad at him! Mizuki is almost positive he'd be fine sharing most of his sigil magic with her?! He'll bring it up himself and honestly whatever happens in the conversation, happens. Especially if Clarke is going to be so wishy-washy on her orders! ]

Well, no, but secrets are secrets. You are also quite important to me. I wouldn't want to keep anything from-... [ … ]

Oh!!! Clarke! That reminds me! I... um. Maybe this isn't the best time to talk about it, actually. But, uh... wh-whenever you're free, there is something I need to talk to you about...

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