[185 and 186] The miles are getting longer, it seems, the closer I get to you [OPEN]

[bastionpc]

Who: Everyone!
Open: Open!
When: Day 185 and 186
Where: Skyway
What: Six new locations, two days in a row.
Format: Any
Warnings: N/A

[Once more, it's gone quiet, but over days 185 and 186, Zayna and Zulf  find six more locations.

And among those locations, one that's familiar to Zulf himself...]

Comments

[earthandpine]

"Leaving for awhile?" Even though most here can look after themselves, something about Ryu's naive and idealistic questions on their first meeting triggered Rosethorn's protective side. She's not one to let people wander off on their own. "Give me a couple minutes to get my pack and I'll go with you."

[amnesiadragon]

Ryu looks up, expression confused before he realizes what she's asking. "I... I don't know. I saw... the sketch of one of the places... I've never seen it before, but I know it. I feel... like it's calling me, somehow."

Almost like the tug Fou-Lu had on him, which is a gaping absence for him now. Still, this place... it's somewhere he has to see, no matter what.

[earthandpine]

That's worrying, and sounds like something that she'd attribute to either magic or memory loss.

"Then we'll go. Why don't you come with me to gather my things?" People who feel like they're being called somewhere shouldn't be left unsupervised lest they wander off on their own. Rosethorn is reluctant to let Ryu out of her sight.

[amnesiadragon]

He seems hesitant to wait, but then he nods. running out there alone is probably a bad idea, and he has no idea if there are monsters at that place. "... Okay." Even if everything in him is telling him to leave, he knows she's right.

[earthandpine]

She really is efficient, and a quick stop back at the apartment to grab her pack and add some food to it are all Rosethorn needs. She also takes the time to leave a note saying where she's gone. If she disappears too long Tris will probably feel the need to stage a rescue.

"Alright, I'm ready."

[amnesiadragon]

He follows along quietly, preoccupied with his own thoughts. Why does he know this place, even though he hasn't been there? If it's something Fou-Lu is (was? No, is) familiar with... the connection isn't there anymore. He shouldn't know. And yet, there's something in him that insists that he has to go.

"... All right." Ryu leads her out to the Skyway, face set in a serious expression. "... Thanks."

[earthandpine]

"You're welcome." She pauses. "You said it was calling you. Can you feel which direction it's in?" Rosethorn, after all, has no real idea of where they're going. Ryu has to know if they want to get anywhere.

[amnesiadragon]

He nods, and points out towards where he feels it. "It's... I don't know how to describe it. It's like being tugged along by the hand, except... here." He touches his chest, frowning. "It's important. I don't know why."

[earthandpine]

"Of course it's important," she agrees matter of factly. "Anything that feels like that is." Rosethorn isn't sure whether there'll be something good or something awful and dangerous at the other end, but she's glad Ryu won't be off to investigate on his own.

"Let's go find what's pulling you."

[amnesiadragon]

"It feels like Fou-Lu. It's not him, but I don't know what else could call me like that. I wish Deis was here. She'd know what it was." He sighs, and runs a hand through his hair. "... But. Um. Thanks for coming with me."

[earthandpine]

Rosethorn has none of the background information to make this explanation make sense. "Who is Fou-Lu?"

And then, sincerely, "You're welcome, Ryu." She likes him, and looking after children and teens is second nature by now, even if she does sometimes threaten to hang them by their ankles in a well.

[amnesiadragon]

No wells, he doesn't do water. But he blinks. Oh right. He should explain. "Fou-Lu is... well. He was the First Emperor of the Fou Empire, and the Yorae Dragon. He showed up because he was summoned. But he wasn't complete when he showed up, because the ritual went wrong. He got split in two. The other half of the Yorae Dragon didn't show up until... well. A few months before I showed up here. Because that's me."

Ryu rubs the back of his neck a little. "People thought he died, but he just fell asleep. He woke up when I showed up, and I could feel him pulling all the time. Not... here, though. Um... dragons are called Endless where I came from. They're worshiped as gods. Deis is an Endless, too. Her ritual went wrong too, and she got trapped in a suit of armor."

[earthandpine]

Rosethorn has some misgivings about going out there. She wants to look after Ryu, but dragons worshipped as gods are a bit beyond the scope of her abilities. She says none of this to Ryu, squaring her shoulders and telling him, "If you feel pulled, it's better we go now, together, than wait until it's stronger."

She wonders, though, "Are all dragons in your world sometimes human-shaped?"

[amnesiadragon]

"Um..." He thinks back to the Wind Dragon, and shrugs. "I've only met one who was complete, and he didn't look human, but I guess he could if he wanted to."

There's something that looms in the distance as they keep walking, and Ryu has to work hard to resist the urge to go running towards it. He needs to stay calm, stay with someone else.

[earthandpine]

"We don't have dragons at all where I come from. Unless you count Chime, who's made of glass and lightning. You and Paarthurnax are the only dragons I have any familiarity with."

She considers for a moment, then adds, "I think the dragons of our stories are a little closer to Paarthurnax than to you. I was surprised to learn you were a dragon. We don't have tales of any that change forms." She keeps talking mostly as an attempt to keep Ryu distracted, his mind occupied, while they travel. She won't keep up if he takes off running. Rosethorn says whatever comes to mind.

[amnesiadragon]

"It's weird to me that dragons are so different in other places, but... I guess maybe different worlds just have those sorts of differences. I knew how to change forms when I was first found, but I didn't know I was an Endless until I was told."

He shakes his head before he continues. "I knew the Empire was looking for me, but I didn't know why. The others think they want to use me as a weapon. ... Wanted." It's still painful, still hard to imagine not seeing them again, even if he's been in the Bastion for almost half his existence.

[earthandpine]

"Magic is very different between worlds too. It's disconcerting." Rosethorn knows the rules of her own world's magic. She teaches those rules. She doesn't understand the systems of magic from other places.

Rosethorn grimaces at Ryu's words. Tris had a few of those same feelings. No one wanted a scrupulous weather mage. They wanted one for battle magic, or who didn't care who she harmed. Rosethorn has watched her foster daughter struggle to find a place as something other than a weapon, and here's another person who went through that.

"You are not a weapon. You can use your abilities for good things," she tells him firmly. "You have a choice in the matter."

[amnesiadragon]

"... I know." He smiles a little bit. "I was told that as the Yorae Dragon, I'm destined to bring great change. Whether it's peace or destruction isn't fixed, and I know which one I want to pick." The ruins - and it's clear they're ruins of a sort - grow larger in their view.

"It's stronger here. It's definitely this place that they're calling me to."