thebastion | Day 290 [Open]

The silence doesn't last long.

There's the buzzing sound of a mind, off in the distance, thoughts constantly whirling and churning like a cacophony of gears in a machine. Complex math, coding, path routes, voices that distinctly do not belong and which are all confused and miserable and scared, flickering visions that are processed in the blink of an eye...

River might be able to notice herself in one of them. Maybe.

Soon enough, there's the Helmsman, floating carefully not too far off with the tips of his boots brushing against the ground. He looks about as worse as River feels, still not entirely recovered from centuries of malnourishment and abuse. He doesn't approach immediately. Instead, he seems to hang back warily, watchin gher.

River presses her hands to her ears, the chains on the cuffs clinking, as though that's going to block out the noise in her head. Maybe these voices aren't real, sometimes they aren't, maybe they'll go away.

But there's a fear that comes from outside her and gets inside her, and she thinks she knows why. "Should stay back, raise a hand to you, too."

She still hasn't looked at him yet. Her eyes aren't even open.

Ryu has been exploring the Skyway, and the sight of new land off in the distance seems interesting. He heads towards it, but notices that there's someone else there too. ... Two someones, actually, and one of them... has chains on her wrists?

He approaches, calling out to the pair. His mind is fairly quiet, just worry and concern at the surface. He's seen the guy in the yellow around, but not the girl. "Hey, are you all right? Do you need help?"

Not even looking at him... For all that he doesn't like the situation, however, he still wanders back just a little closer. Before he can do anything, however, there's a voice- oh one of the people from the Bastion.

The Helmsman's gaze flickers over the youth for a moment before he raises his hand to make the typical 'blah blah blah' gesture. If he could talk, that would be ideal. Something like that currently isn't something he's capable of, after all. Accompanying it, however, are the chains suddenly being lifted up by crackling energy.

There's those as well, but the Helmsman is certain he can get rid of those on his own.

The quieter mind doesn't really help. It just tells her that he's found people this way before, and had this concern for them, a concern that's natural but completely undeserved in her case. There's still blood on her knuckles and she knows it from the smell.

She finally jerks up as the Helmsman's powers take hold of the handcuffs, her hands clamping down on the chains in an attempt to hold them there. "No. No, no, no, they're there for a reason. There for control. You can't make her sleep like Simon."

Ryu holds up his hands, trying to calm her. Hopefully he can keep her from not freaking out.

"No one's going to make you do anything. We're from a place that's a little ways off here. It's safe there. It's okay... it's okay..."

The energy around the chains immediately snaps away, letting them fall back down, and the Helmsman's face twists into a look of disgust. Control, entrapment, enslavement- those are all the thoughts that go through his head at that sing word along with the images of creeping pink biowiring.

"It isn't safe. Not stupid. Think I'm like you, another victim. Take me back and I'll show you..." She breaks off into a sob and rocks herself back and forth, pressing a hand to her face.

"It's as safe a place as we get here. And I can't take you back. ... I'm sorry."

He's not the best person to explain 'sorry, your world blew up'. He knows he has a tendency to stick his foot in his mouth, so he's not even going to try.

Not stupid, yet she'll probably die if she stays chained out here. Not he should care, right? It's still just all in his head. It shouldn't matter.

Yet he still drifts all the closer, letting his body be manipulated so that he's crouching down with his chin on his knees. The psi tries to lift the chains up again- not to break, just to look, see if they're anything extraordinary.

Ryu doesn't have to explain anything, not aloud. River already had the sense of wrongness, and now his thoughts drive it home and she just goes on crying without answering.

Gone, all gone. She knows all these things for no reason, put the crew in danger for no reason. If she'd been taken out of the equation sooner, never been one of them, they could have had a better end, not have to worry about her.

She knows she'd die out here if she stayed. Starve, die of thirst, does it rain? She tilts her head back to stare at the sky, not reacting this time when the Helmsman lifts her chains. There's nothing special about them. She could probably escape them on her own if she wanted.

Suddenly she laughs. "Only stole minutes."

"It's okay. Just... come with us. It's not safe to be out here, especially not on your own. There's people in the Bastion, people who can help. But there's monsters out here."

Even if she's a fighter, she doesn't look like she's in very good shape right now. And it's always a shock for people when they show up, as far as he's seen.

"My name's Ryu. What's your name?" The worry in his mind is increasing. He's not sure what to do with this. He just wants to help, but he doesn't want to hurt her, either.

Ryu can figure out things like names and trying to convince her. That doesn't matter to him. Instead, there's just the sharp hot sound of energy suddenly slicing through the chains with a flick of the Helmsman's wrist.

He doesn't care for anyone being chained and entrapped. Whether they deserve it or not.

What she wants to do with this isn't his concern. If she really doesn't want to go, then she won't go, he figures. Like how he nearly didn't let the Emissary or Disciple bring him out from the Helmsblock but gave in in the end. What's the worst that can happen? It's what he wonders as he glances back to her again.

"You have one already, but you don't know where the water comes from." Sorry, Ryu, apparently asking her name is not going to get you a straightforward answer.

"Maybe she'll go, too. Run right off the edge." Now that her hands are free, she leans forward, sliding them across the ground beyond the floor plating until she's stretched out nearly prone. She is probably not going to get up and go with them on her own.

"That's a bad idea. You'll be blown back here, but it's tricky to land. I've done that."

As for where the water comes from... the thought of rain flashes through his mind before he just pushes it aside and crouches next to her. The kids from the orphanage flash through his mind... maybe he should try something like that.

"Are you hungry? I have a little food with me, but there's more back at the Bastion. We can play there, if you want."

Okay, you know what? No on the 'running off the edge' thing, no matter how not technically lethal it is.

But- that's weird, and the Helmsman's brow furrows in confusion as she goes on. The idea of 'telepathy' isn't a foreign concept to trolls. There are plenty of them that are born with the gift. Thus, it's that which strikes him first as she goes on her rambles, mentioning things that are impossible for him to have said.

Experiment time. He focuses on his thoughts, makes them concrete instead of scattered.

{You can hear me?}

River doesn't answer the Helmsman's question except to give him a very direct look. It took the crew eight months to figure that one out, but then they were all very human, and not very bright.

Later she may find the capacity to feel fascinated or terrified by the fact that she's speaking with two different aliens, but right now it's beyond her. There's too much in just a few fleeting thoughts to even look at who they are, what they are. It's all in more pieces than she is.

She rolls onto her back and stares up at the sky. Up at the sky, down at the sky, it's everywhere and it feels empty, not like the sky of a planet should. "Not hungry. I'm moving beyond mortal sustenance."

"Uh... I don't think that's how it works... not here, at least."

He still needs food, though... technically he's mortal for now. Thinking about it makes his head hurt too much so he's not going to.

"I could carry you if you want. But it's really not a good idea to stay out here. I don't want you to get hurt... and it's probably going to happen if you stay out here alone."

Well. That's as good an answer as any, he guesses.

Whether that's how it works for people who've "moved beyond mortal sustenance" or whatever, he moves over to nudge her hand a bit. If she wants a place to die, the Bastion is about as good as the middle of the Skyway.

"It's for you, not me. Don't pretend."

It isn't about what she wants or what's best for anyone. What she wants isn't okay, it's not allowed, and maybe she'll look back later and be grateful they aren't really giving her the freedom of choice they claim they are. Ryu isn't going to leave her here. He'd feel bad.

It's for your own good. Don't resist. Don't argue.

How is she supposed to know without Simon?

Maybe if she plays along they'll leave her alone and she can think on what to do, how to be, if she even should be. All this pretense at persuasion feels constricting.

River finally gets to her feet. She knows the way by now but she waits. They want to help, after all.

Ryu frowns, looks at the Helmsman, and stands. He's not sure what to do. Yes, he'd feel bad if he let her die out here... but it really isn't safe out here. Maybe someone back in the Bastion will know what to do. Ershin was confusing, but not this confusing.

"Do you need someone to lean on, or are you okay to walk on your own?"

Ryu. Hey, Ryu. Guess who's just going to float over and bump into you. This guy. This is, indeed, a not so subtle request for him to just get moving. He doesn't feel like doing charades right now to get across why, so he just nudges.

While she seems a bit hard to understand, he doesn't doubt that if she wants help, she'll make it known. Until then, he thinks he's spent enough time on the Skyway, personally. Disciple will worry if he's out of her sight for too long.

All right, if the two of them are just going to bumble around, River will start walking ahead.

"Mind the other one. Hasn't got a ribbon to keep him from floating away."

He'll just start walking, too. This is weird. He's a little lost with the conversation, but he's... trying.

"I can catch myself, and I can probably catch him, too. I can move pretty fast after I transform."

Hear that? That's the sound of him blowing a raspberry at needing to be 'caught'. If anything, he's pretty sure this chick needs a ribbon to keep her own mind from floating away.

Sorry, Ryu, this isn't going to be an easy conversation for... anyone, probably.

But the Helmsman is coming along for the ride, still floating.

River sticks her tongue out at the Helmsman. Is it for the raspberry or the implication that she has a few screws loose? It could go either way.

"Hope so," she says to Ryu. "Your current form is a slow-poke."

"I... kind of. Maybe I should buy some whelks for the Bastion... but I think that it might not let other people ride it so that would be kind of mean..."

He's also not totally sure if the gods would really appreciate him bringing in another riding animal that they didn't create. He doesn't exactly want to piss them off.

"Do you like fishing?"

Oh, is that how it's going to be? He draws his lips back over his fangs for the sole purpose of making a long drawn out eeeeeeeeeh noise.

He will agree with her on one thing, however. Ryu is a slowpoke, and there's a small telekinetic twist to the back of his leg as if to encourage him to move it.

Ryu's casual mention of creating animals from nothing does distract River from the Helmsman's response. Bringing things into existence as easily as everything she knew was just snuffed out of it.

Who are the gods of this world if not the people living in it?

"No," she says. "Too much mystery."

"Oh... I like it. What about watching movies? Colin shows movies sometimes."

Hey! Fine. He speeds up a little bit. He can go faster, but he doesn't want to push the pace if the others don't want him to. He keeps a close watch around them to make sure nothing tries to sneak up on them, though.

This time, the telekinesis is used on River, flipping the ends of her hair. Mystery. It's fishing. You can look into the water and see the fish. What's she talking about?

Ryu likely won't understand the affronted look the Helmsman is sending him but oh well.

River's shoulders hunch and she rounds on the Helmsman.

"Don't touch me. I don't give you my permission. You don't know- the sequence." She frowns, not sure if that's what she means, but she thinks the first part was clear enough. The words sounded strong, they knew each other and how to fit together. "懂了吗?"

Her volume is probably not helping them avoid notice by any Skyway monsters but hey, maybe it'll scare them off?

Nope, he doesn't understand that look at all. Or the words. He looks over at River again in confusion. "Uh... what?"

Ryu should probably just drag both of them back to the Bastion at this point, because Psii's response is a grumpy hiss and a flurry of Alternian floating in the air.

That wasn't even touching, it was just air, it's not like she's telling them much! What does she want, anyway?

Her anger gives way to doubt at the lack of real comprehension from either of them. Overreacted? Or reacted the wrong way, maybe nothing even touched her, only in her head. She combs her fingers through the ends of her hair as though it might give her some evidence one way or the other.

"Don't know."

"... It's okay. People in the Bastion can all understand each other's speech, by the way... but nothing you write down will make sense to someone who doesn't know your language."

Which can either be a good or a bad thing. A bad thing for him, but maybe good for someone else.

Seeing her confusion, the Helmsman floats over and holds up his hand. Psionic energy crackles along his fingertips, harmless jolts of red and blue. When Ryu finally speaks, he gives a shrug and throws up more Alternian with the same energy as an example.

The only person who's made the effort to... "learn" it has been Aoi, but he's not exactly expecting anyone else besides Disciple and Emissary to know what he's writing about.

"Doesn't matter." People aren't going to keep secrets from her that way, and the things she'd write wouldn't make sense to anyone even if she could put them in the right shapes.

She looks at the Helmsman and his strange letters for a moment before concluding simply, "Pervert."

"I guess." Maybe she can learn Dovahzul, if she wants to write things down. That seems to be the language that the most people know now. ... Other than the Ura.

He keeps walking in silence, occasionally glancing over at the Helmsman, a little concerned about how strange this new person seems. He's not really someone who can comment on strange, but there's just something... off here.

...Yeah, you know what? He can only shrug in response to that. It's true. But hey, when people can't understand you, why not write whatever the hell you want?

He continues to float along, catching one of Ryu's glances after a moment. It's only then that it finally occurs to him how weird it would be to any other person, and he glances back to the woman herself. He makes a vague gesture towards his head before pointing to Ryu. Maybe explain the weird bullshit? Since he can't.

There it is, the start. The realization. That talking about her is easier than talking to her, they'll find more to relate to that way, a quicker and better-fitted connection.

River bites her lip and walks faster, purposefully, as if that will make her feel like she's doing it on purpose.

He nods a little. He's pretty sure he knows what that gesture means.

"... Just so you know... the worlds are gone. Wherever you're from... we're trying to keep people safe and find the rest, but that's one of the reasons it's not safe out here - you can't get food or water very easily out on the Skyway."

If that's how it's going to be, then he'll just hover faster, all while Ryu gets an annoyed cricket noise for his trouble.

But there's no way to say 'She probably already knows' when his voice won't even work for him.

"Probably already knows," River mumbles under her breath.

"Are we there yet?" she says aloud, her words falling into a question despite her certainty that what she's seeing up ahead is their way off this Skyway.

He blinks in surprise, but doesn't respond verbally to that. ... Well. Sure, okay. Maybe she has some kind of sense for it, for all he knows. But he nods at the question.

"Yeah. It's just off there in the distance. It shouldn't be much longer."

Adding onto Ryu's own words are the Helmsman's thoughts, processing the question into an equation. With their pace? Give it a few minutes.

But that's all he has to contribute, going back to just floating and going over numbers in his head.

Day 290 [Open]

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