EVENT: Day 322 [open]

[bastionpc]

Who: Those who went to the Ura camp, plus anyone in the Bastion
Open: Open
When: Day 322
Where: Northern Bastion + wherever
What: Everyone comes back from the Ura camp. They have a core, but they also have some very bad news.
Format: action
Warnings: dead character within



[Late on Day 322, getting closer to evening, the group finally returns from the Ura camp. Vee and Zee have been left behind, as they were going home anyway, but there are a few changes to the rest of the party.

First off, there are two new people, but they don't look particularly happy to be here. They are also being watched closely by at least a couple of the group of Bastion people.

Secondly, only seven of the eight who left are returning from this trip alive.]

Comments

Liberties taken, a fella hopes they work--

[darkshooter]

[Alright, we gotta buncha things happening at once. We'll go through them.]

[Ikuri is one pissed-off Ikuri, and gutting is definitely on the menu; were she left on her own, one suspects that we'd have us some dead hostage folk before the antiviolence could kick in. Fortunately for all involved, she's not unmonitored, and so--]

[Otoha collides with her before she can reach them. A fortunate move: it catches her off-balance, kills her momentum and very nearly sends her the other way. That's when Colin catches her, hooking her around the waist as intended...and thank goodness for your enhancements, sir, because you're going to need them.]

[She thrashes wildly in Colin's grip, crying out in outrage and protest, practically clawing in the direction of the captives as she fights to scramble to them - neither grasping nor caring why he's holding her but very very unpleasantly surprised, to say the least, that it's even happened, only knowing that she's being kept from her targets. She's just started to segue into the battle mindset: nothing holds existence but targets and obstacles, all else is void...]

[...and then we have our cavalry, the Bastion's anti-aggression field, starting to seep in and push down her battle-lust; in so doing, it also starts to return her reasoning to her, restore conscious judgment. For once, though, this is what Ikuri doesn't want. She resists as much as she can, tries to feed her anger and aggression by dumping in the right feelings, the right thoughts, the right notions...but rather than increasing capability, all this really does is deepen her grief.]

[You can see the struggle play out on Ikuri's face- she's desperate to fuel her wrath, but it's fading fast. By strangling her drive to fight, the antiviolence field has essentially sped up her course toward what would be the normal aftermath. (When anger fades, what you have left is...)]

[Ikuri's struggles in Colin's grasp weaken, but still, stubbornly, she makes a token effort to wriggle free of him - it reaches the point where he doesn't have to keep trying to hold her down anymore, this battle is basically won. She reaches for the prisoners, hands clawing, but she cannot get them; her face weakens, showing her refusal to believe it, to believe that it all could be so cruel as this and she must do naught but accept this.]

[She finally gives in, her body going somewhat limp in Colin's grasp; her hands grasp him, now, any part of him she can reach, though she hasn't turned around - and it's not to free herself, merely to clutch him. Her eyes stay fixed on the captives; this struggle is over, and she knows it, but how the hate burns in her, how sick it all seems...]

[...then her eyes shut, and her head droops as well, her body tremoring just so. If anyone's saying anything to her at this interval, it's lost completely; goes right through her, she doesn't hear them.]

[It seems she's given up. She doesn't turn to Colin, her back to him even as he keeps her restrained...]

[She violently bolts up, yanks herself up and forward-]




BASTAAAARD!!

[...to give us that. No attempt to escape, just...a single final scream of condemnation, aimed entirely at Red. Whatever rage was left in her seems to be spent, that scream carrying most of it away...and the rest draining out.]

[Without warning she abruptly twists around in Colin's grip, but only to turn herself - in nearly the same motion she's flung herself into him (as much as she can in this position), her arms coming around to catch hold of anything she can, burying her face in any part of him she can reach...]

[And she's sobbing brokenly again.]



((TRIVIA! You'll eventually notice that Ikuri does not actually make tears. Oh, she can sob, whimper, whine and uglycry with the best of them - but for all her carrying on, there is no fluid of any kind from any part of her. Totally dry.))

[freedom_engineer]

[Well, this is just what the situation needed, isn't it?]

TAKE IT EASY! YOU'RE NOT DOING ANYONE ANY GOOD IF THEY'RE DEAD BEFORE THEY TALK!

[And then she starts sobbing into his chest. What is his life?]

[He sighs and lifts his hand to pet her hair gently, hugging her with the other hand, and he looks at Zuko and Otoha.]

We need to keep talking to them, but this seriously isn't the way. We need two level-headed guards at least on them at all times. I can keep talking to them, but we need to get Ikuri someplace where she can calm down first.

[He looks at the prisoners.]

And you two... I TOLD you, you're not going to die this way. But I would encourage you to not take potshots at people who have no idea what you're talking about and are grieving. I'm VERY interested in finding out whatever it is we did to your group, but as you've already seen, our patience is fairly limited at the moment.

[daughterofursa]

[Zuko relaxes her stance a fraction once Ikuri starts sobbing (in Colin's arms? really?), but she's not putting her swords away just yet. This girl is a literal loose cannon, Zuko has half a mind to lock her up for a while, too.

She frowns at the prisoners, and the way the man is protecting the woman. Loyalty to a leader, or to a friend? Whatever they've done and whatever they believe, she can't see them as anything less than people.]

Maybe talking should wait.

Let's get them locked up in one of the empty houses for now. Otoha, you can take first shift guarding them. [She tries to think of who else she considers level-headed enough for this (although congrats Otoha on graduating to trustworthy enough to guard prisoners).] I'll see if I can find Ahime.

I'll take a shift myself once I've rested.

And Colin, you keep her well away from them.

[bakegarasu]

[... He can appreciate the loyalty, even if he wasn't actually planning on striking them unless they tried to escape. He straightens up a bit, though the look isn't entirely gone from his eyes. He doesn't really know Ahime, but he nods a bit. He can take orders just fine.]

[He glances at Ikuri and Colin and suppresses the urge to roll his eyes a little. He can understand grief, he can understand recklessness, but he can't understand breaking down in the middle of something like this. They need information, and killing them hasn't been called for. He'll have to try to talk to Ikuri later to see what the hell she was thinking.]

[He returns his gaze to the prisoners, trying to recall any of his English classes. Maybe he can string together a sentence. He's seen enough American movies to recall a little bit of the 'tough talk'.]

You stay here. Don't make any funny moves.

[His accent is terrible, but it's at least comprehensible.]

[freedom_engineer]

[In Elerian now.]

I'm taking her to Paarthurnax.

And we're going to have a nice, long talk later, princess. Bring your swords.

[He looks at Otoha then, and he nods to him. He has no idea Otoha's going to go looking for Ikuri later.]

[He turns his attention to Ikuri now, picking her up in his arms as though she were just a small child, sword and all.]

Come on, Ikuri. We're gonna go find Grandpa-dragon, he can keep you safe.

[And under control.]

[darkshooter]

[No resistance. If anything she'll hold on to him, too, grateful for the contact...and perhaps also grateful that she's being taken away from this.]

[Move where you will, good sir.]

[daughterofursa]

[What, Colin can give her orders but she can't give him orders? That's a nice double standard.

Zuko of course has no idea what he's actually pissy about, but she'll sheathe her swords and draw her chin up a little. She's never backed down from a challenge in her life and she has the scars to prove it.]

Fine by me.

[She turns to Otoha.]

You can handle this for a few minutes?

[She's pretty sure the answer is yes but she'll confirm before she goes to find Ahime or someone equally capable.]

[bakegarasu]

Yes.

[That's all that needs to be said, really. The others can bicker all they want, but if they need someone to look intimidating and keep the prisoners from moving around, he can do that. It doesn't look like it's going to be particularly hard.]