princessences | [IC] Inbox @ deerington

[This next text takes a couple hours to get through thanks to the weird nature of the swamp.]

heck yeah. i always thought archery looked awesome, so that'll be cool.

and i gotta admit, her outfit's pretty on point today, so you're right about her fashion sense.

[ The time delay...yes, that does worry a bit, but she reminds herself that he's fully capable of handling his own and that he is surrounded by good people.

Maybe she just feels...particularly responsible for anything that goes wrong from this point onward.

Allura does manage to catch a short nap in that type and it's the sound of his reply that rouses her. ]

I would expect nothing less.

Are you still at the graveyard?

[There's a time delay for her return text, but by then his fluid has lost power and he didn't bring his portable charger. He's glad that he got to send her a message at all to tell her and the rest of the team that he's okay and not to worry. But at that point he hadn't expected it to last two more days, and when he gets back to the apartment he's keenly aware of how freaked out they probably are.

He walks through the door late on the eighteenth absolutely filthy, covered in mud and other swamp crap from the chest down and he looks exhausted and pained. When he looks around the immediate area, he doesn't see Shiro or Krolia and he's pretty sure Keith might be asleep in his nest.]

Allura? Shiro? [The first two names he goes for are the ones he figures would have been wringing their hands the most.] I'm back.

[ The silence had been alarming, to say the least. Losing track of everyone with such a persistent shift in the world around them was the last thing that she wanted, but there really wasn't anything she could do, either, other than trust Lance and her friends to take care of themselves the best they could.

Waiting for people she cared about to turn from battle wasn't something she's unaccustomed to. But she usually feels more in control of her own situation and environment.

So she waits. And rests in the loft. The faster she heals, the faster she can get out there and back to work.

The door opening catches her attention immediately. Platt squeaks from his perch on the railing. ]

...Lance!

[ Allura twists herself with some effort so that she can turn and look over the edge down to the entrance way as well. Whatever pain the motion gives her is mixed with surprise and relief. ]

You made it back! Where in the cosmos have you been?

[He looks up at the loft at the sound of his name and winces slightly at her tone, his free hand coming up to rub at his sore neck guiltily as he steps further into the apartment and starts to shuck off his dried muddy jacket to drop on the arm of the couch.]

I'm sorry Allura. The graveyard stretched on forever, and I didn't bring the charger for my fluid with me.

[He does not mention that he's running low on pain killers and that his bandages got covered in swamp. Luckily Mikan was there to help clean that up and change them for him so he's not going to get an infection or anything, but he's sore and he needs a shower. But right now, he needs to know about the others.]

Where's everyone else? ...Oh man, please tell me Shiro didn't lose more sleep looking for me.

[ He doesn't need to say as much--she can tell that he's sore by the way he moves and the difference between his dirt jacket and the rest of him is just--...

Her frustration at his silence deflates. As much as they can try and prepare for whatever Deerington throws at them, there is only so much they can do and anticipate. She is surely the last person to hold it against others. ]

We've all been worried, but Shiro is alright. He'll also be glad to see that you've returned intact.

[ As alright as he can ever be, really. Allura, however, is already moving to the edge of the loft. Her motions are still calculated and a little slow, but her mobility is already up from the last few days. ]

[He watches her move to the edge of the loft with some concern, but he's not one to talk about going around and doing things you shouldn't when you're in poor physical shape. He decides to crack a weak joke to diffuse the tension a little.]

You've all been worried? I thought Keith was too cool to worry. [He knows that's not true, and the slight and tired smile he's put on says as much.]

[ He's wise not to--Allura is difficult to convince otherwise once she's got an idea into her head. ]

Of-- [ A pause as she struggles with that last step, but manages to plant her feet firmly on the floor. ] --course we have been.

[ Whew. Now pushing herself up onto her feet is a little more difficult, and a little wobbly. She realizes quickly that she need to lean her weight on her right foot and use the stairs to balance as well. (Healing really takes much too long without the pods.) ]

You arrived at one of the worst times, it seems...

[ Which is putting it lightly. But now that she's finally on the same level as him, Allura frowns, scrunching her nose. ]

...Lance, you're filthy.

[He watches her anxiously as she makes her way down the stairs and goes to meet her at the bottom of them in case she needs a hand over to the couch or help standing. Then her comment has him looking down at his clothes and he just looks more tired, though also a little embarrassed.]

Uh, yeah... the graveyard turned out to be this crazy huge swamp, and I sooorta got sucked in. [He glances to the side, grimacing a little as he remembers how hopeless he'd felt and how he'd nearly been drowned by it. Literally.] Rei got me out, though. Did you know she has an awesome magical pen that turns into a crystal sword?

[ Allura raises her brows at that. ]

...No, I didn't know that. I imagine that must have been useful.

[ But why shouldn't she have a pen that turns into a crystal sword? That makes more sense than most things that happen in Deerington. ]

But you should get cleaned up. Leave your clothes in the basket and I can transfer them to the clothing washing machine.

[ Allura does laundry. It's her attempt at domesticity that she hasn't ruined. ]

Oh yeah. It also makes you feel super hopeful with magic or something.

[He hesitates, looking at his clothes again, then at her.]

I've got something to change into, so you don't really have to do that.

[She barely got down the stairs, but he's smart enough not to point that out.]

...Hopeful with magic?

[ She's not sure she understands that. A mind-altering...crystal pen sword? Maybe that makes less sense than she imagined.

But really, Lance, are you going to argue with her when she suggest you do something? It becomes less of a suggestion after that. ]

Yes, and you should wash up before you change into anything new. Your clothes will need cleaned regardless.

[ The mice squeak from their position on the loft. Chulatt is giving Lance a thumbs up. The nice part about being a space princess is that she has magical space mice to help out. ]

Oh trust me, the shower's definitely my first stop.

[Have you met him? Keeping up with his hygiene is like one of his favorite things. Unfortunately, he has to first cover up his injuries so they don't get wet.]

And yeah, I dunno how it works. She said Sodder gave it to her as a gift last month.

[He heads over to the kitchen to rifle through the cabinets and grab whatever plastic he can find to tape to himself when he gets in the bathroom.]

[ If he ends up using her shampoo or her body wash, she won't chastise him for it. Sharing is caring in this household to a dangerous extent. (Please don't wear her leggings.) ]

Is that so?

[ Hm... ]

I had heard that Sodder would give gifts in that basket we were provided, but I haven't tried.

[ Even before turning into a giant monster, Allura had spent a month sleep-deprived and caught up in conspiracy theories until she was literally seeing ghosts.

Allura watches and the mice scurry down the stairs as quickly as they can. ]

[Lance nods.]

Yeah, seems like she leaves great stuff. Though, I got no idea how since she's apparently dead.

[He's about to elaborate on that comment when the mice hop over to help him out, opening the right drawer with the cellophane wrap and lifting it up for him to take. He smiles and accepts it gratefully.]

Hey, thanks. Know where I can find the tape?

Edited 2018-11-23 05:54 (UTC)

...Dead?

[ That stills Allura on the spot. The messages...is that what this was about? ]

--there should be some in the drawer to the left.

[ Of which one of the mice is happy to open and retrieve. ]

[Lance nods and lets the mice take care of getting the tape so he can elaborate.]

Yeah, that's what we were there to find, apparently. Sodder's grave. It was under this weird tree shaped like a lady's head and we had a hell of a time getting her remains out of there.

[He takes the tape from the mice and offers them his hand if they wanna crawl up onto his shoulders to hitch a ride back over to Allura. Help taping cellophane to himself would also be appreciated if they're willing, but he can manage it on his own.]

[ There is a lot to unpack there, Lance. Allura blinks. ]

You...dug up Sodder? You have Sodder's remains? Where? Why?

[ The mice are, of course, more than happy to help him out with that, pulling the tape out with their little hands and looping it around to hold the cellophane in place. ]

[Lance goes to sit on the couch and start taking off the sling and the zip-up hoodie he had under his jacket since his blue shirt got torn to shreds. Now that his clothes are out of the way, his bandages and the gnarly bruising all around his chest, back and neck as well as several spots of red leaking through the white can be seen.

He'll have to change them again, and now that he's sitting here, supporting his arm on a cushion without the sling he's glad the mice decided to help cover them with the cellophane for him. No way could he do it alone. In his fatigue and with all that's happened in the swamp filling his head, he's also forgotten that Allura might be upset seeing his injuries on display.]

Apparently that's what we were there to do. And I think Rei might have the bones... or Nor- oh...

[He stops, looking distraught. For a little bit there he'd managed to forget what they'd had to do to get the bones. Now he's gotta tell Allura and he doesn't know how.]

Uh, you wanna sit down?

[ He looks worse off than she had imagined. She frowns, glancing down at her good hand. She should try to offer some sort of healing, shouldn't she? Except she's far from able to heal herself at this point, so what good would offering her quintessence do to others?

Two of the mice, Platt and Chulatt, follow Lance over to the couch and perch on the arm. Chuchule and Plachu watch Allura for her next move.

She's not sure what to do or what to think, which is not a place she likes to be. Not having the resources she needs to properly address the situation frustrates her even more when she's unable to actually help her friends. And what of Sodder?

Sitting down seems the easiest choice. ]

Yes...

[ She supposes she can make her way to the couch with some effort, but manages to take her place on the opposite end, remaining mice in tow. ]

Please, start from the beginning.

[Lance doesn't know if starting from the literal beginning is necessary, but he thinks about it for a second, then busies himself with securing the tape and plastic on himself while he launches into it.]

So, we got to Sodder's grave, dug it up, but there was this weird curse on it or something. You'd be poisoned if you got too close. [He was the lucky guy to figure that out, but he is not mentioning that part.] It turned out we had to feed someone's organ to this snake that was in the grave with the bones, and... North gave up her heart because she's got a replacement.

[He looks at Allura sadly.] She shut down.

[ A curse on a grave? She supposes that shouldn't be all that surprising considering the nature of this place. But the description of...offering a sacrifice--

North?

Allura brings her good hand to her mouth, eyes widening. ]

Oh no...

[ After she's already been through so much. Another person who Allura attacked. For North to give up her well-being--her life so willingly... ]

...Is--someone performing the procedure to put in her replacement?

[Lance nods, brow furrowed as he recalls what was happening at the grave, what was said and argued about and then the chaos of removing North's heart and feeding it to the snake. It all seems like a blur now. A haunting and stressful blur that'll be burned into his memory in vivid flashes for a while.]

Yeah, I think her boyfriend Connor's gonna handle it. [He finishes securing the plastic over his bandages and then looks at her a bit anxiously.] She'll come back though... right? I mean, I know people die and come back here but I haven't seen it before.

[ Conor--of course. Good. It...doesn't really alleviate the shock and horror of hearing of North's sacrifice, but that's still good. If she recalls, he's from her world. He would understand what to do.

But as horrified as she is, it's her job to settle Lance's nerves. He is the one who had to experience this first hand, after all, on top of everything else.

Allura nods. ]

Yes. People die and come back. I haven't witnessed it first hand myself, but I have spoken to someone who is studying it--the outcomes and the affects. I'm not sure of the mechanics, but if this place is a dream world of sorts, then...there should not be a reason we can't regenerate as many times as necessary, shouldn't it? We are not our corporeal selves, however real this feels.

[ In theory. A theory she will test when she's in better shape. ]

[Lance mulls that over for a moment with a troubled look on his face, and then shakes his head.]

Man, there's so many questions and I barely understand what we already know... like, what if there's a limit to how many times we can die and come back, and what if there's some hidden consequences we don't even know about yet.

[He rubs the back of his neck. At least North is going to come back and be okay, though. That's what's important right now. The rest feels too overwhelming to fully process right now.]

Anyway... that's everything that happened.

[IC] Inbox @ deerington

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action; skip to October 18th

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