spellbinders | [ camp coven ]

Entry tags:

[ camp coven ]

Who: anyone/everyone in the coven!
Where: wherever is decided from this post
When: directly after/next few days!
Open/Closed: very much open!

This is an entirely open/free for all log for all things that will take place in the temporary coven camp. After the magic hallucination pockets the coven experienced, Roy and Riza decided it was time for anyone who would like to collect in a centralized location to start making camp!

The camp itself will be in a small clearing between a cluster of trees. Anyone who follows Roy's coordinates will find it easily enough, with or without his direction. There is a small cluster of tents already set up, around what looks to be some kind of fire pit, which will probably have some kind of fire in it. There is plenty of room to set up your own little area, either close or a bit removed from everyone else. They will be doing what they can with supplies, but the options are limited, so everyone is doing their best to make do with what we have!

Please feel free to put up your own top level (open or closed!), as this will span over the next few days/whenever we end up moving again as per the game's parameters. Until then, whoever would want to start banding together, this is a good place to do it! If you have any questions, I'm available through plurk (

disarmingly ) or discord ( dai#3757 ).

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ For the most part, Julius can be found at the foot of a tree in the camp, a cloak pulled over his shoulders and his hair. He's quietly observant of people around him, though he will not speak to you unless approached first. For close CR, they may notice that his eyes have now become permanently gold (as opposed to grey).

However, there are a few tasks that he will set himself to doing: setting up tents after Roy and Riza's lead, feeding the fire, and generally doing heavy lifting when necessary.

If all those tasks are exhausted, he would take a seat in a corner and start to weave some sort of laurel wreath in his hands. The branches and leaves are a pure white colour, bending to his touch with surprising pliability. After a while, he sets the completed wreath down and closes his eyes.

> Engage? ]

[ > You see a young man lifting a bunch of firewood by himself.

> Approach him?

The lower part of her coat is still in tatters, exposing her very obviously non-human legs; she hasn't thought to fix it up and with what limited resources they have, she'd prefer to wear one out before moving onto another.

She holds out a metallic hand, a gesture of offering assistance. The fact that he seems to be having an easier time of it than most normal humans (is it something with his biology, perhaps?) doesn't mean that he doesn't need some help from time to time. ]

Would you like assistance with that? My capacity for easily lifting heavy objects is most likely greater.

[ It's not bragging or boasting or anything. It's a simple statement of fact that she's built with capabilities most humans don't have, so it falls to her to look after them. That's natural, isn't it? ]

[ Aigis' appearance has certainly piqued his interest, but between himself, Geir, and the trolls, it didn't really matter to him. It does surprise him when she comes to speak with him, and his tense expression relaxes a little. ]

I would appreciate it. Could you take the topmost one for me?

[ He's carrying about five pieces in both his hands. He could technically use his branches, but he doesn't think he has the energy for it right now. ]

[ A tree carrying wood. How poetic. ]

Of course.

[ She registers his lack of reaction to her body; a good thing, she supposes. It's better than being treated differently for it. Deftly, she takes the topmost piece from his hands, lightening his load. ]

Are you sure that's all you'd like me to carry? It seems you could use a bit of rest.

[ Or at least, that's what her scanners can easily pick up on. The rest of Julius...she doesn't know. Unknown readings all over. But it makes sense, since he comes from a different world, and 9S was cagey about his situation, which she won't begrudge anyone for. ]

[ Had his body been composed of real wood, then a jab about cannibalism might be appropriate. But he is a tree that is made from something not of this world, so it is instead a situation of a person carrying parts of a pyre. ]

I'll be fine. It's just a short distance.

[ Julius gives her a smile, slight but noticeable. ]

May I have your name?

[ roy is delegating people where to go, as they arrive. if you are able to move and work, you are put to work. maybe it's a menial task of organizing supplies, or setting up what tents are available, or going through backpacks scavenged from old campsites. perhaps it's gathering kindling and wood. or perhaps you're set to a harder, more difficult task, like putting together shelter.

in sum? unless you're a tiny child, you get something to do. wandering around without much guidance is not roy's jam. and he won't be waiting around for people to wonder what to do any longer. ]

[ going through the data 9S has gathered has offered up some interesting results, and roy will be going through that in addition to what jay has collected during his time in the coven. roy will have a centralized area to go through this information and plan out What Comes Next, but he will happily share the information with anyone who wants to look at it.

he can't sell "all together" if he hides information, after all. are you competent and able to think through things? consider yourself invited to the table. desperate times call for desperate measures.

feel free to use this top level to plan out and discuss what has been uncovered from shehui during the downtime! ]

[Waver's been sitting with some of the data sets for a few hours, his attention focused on a combination of the note from Gyn Hoag about magic leaks and trying to map out where known weird vortexes have manifested. Waver's...gotten caught in a few...so he's been able to pin those areas down best.]

God, there's no pattern here. What the hell?

[His eyes go over to the riverbed, tracing it over and over with his fingers.]

If we had any way to analyze the water, maybe we could pinpoint potential sources of magic here...

[Velvet happens to be hovering over his shoulder, so at least he's not talking to himself like a total goober. In response to his frustration, she makes a tsk sound before speaking up.]

Seems like our good friends in Shehui have developed defenses against the magic, even if they're apparently not being maintained properly. Manifolds, right? If it's a big system that spans all around outside the city, you'd think we would have run into parts of it by now.

It could be an underground system, or kept afloat by some kind of unseen mechanism. Either's possible, since not knowing about magic is the government's goal.

Yeah, you're right. Assuming they need to send people out to fix them, then maybe we should stake out that exit where we left the city.

That would make perfect sense.

[There's a very long pause before Waver asks his next question.]

Would you mind coming with me? You know, since going off alone is probably a bad idea.

[Velvet tilts her head, looking impatient, then she scoffs once he finally speaks again.]

Like I'd let you go alone. Give me a break.

[Waver actually...smiles? A little? It's weird, but he's relieved. Velvet and Velvet, one of them can actually do damage.]

I was gonna head out in a bit then. That okay?

[And one of them can use ninja smoke to get them out of trouble, so it's win-win!]

Why not. There's no point in waiting.

[Heck yes!]

Okay. I'm gonna get some water for us first and...hm. Should we grab food too?

Probably, if you want to wait for a while. Did you bring any from the city? Unless you want to take the time to gather or hunt for some.

Nothing that I haven't kicked into the group's food supply. It...it was kind of a dick move to hoard it, I thought.

[No comment.]

So let's take some from the supply. If we're productive, it's going to end up benefiting everyone.

[Waver nods in agreement.]

I'll grab my bag and meet you back here in five minutes.

Alright. Yell or something if anyone gives you trouble.

Sure thing.

[In fact, nothing gives Waver trouble. He eases through getting a few bottles of water and other supplies, and he shoves it all into the leather bag he gained when he first appeared with the coven.

Waver's waiting for Velvet when the five minutes are up, looking eager to get started.]

[ When it looked like they might have to bail, Amanda made good on the whole getting prepped thing, but she didn't want to have to carry a bunch of really heavy shit around either.

So once they've gotten a camp set up and there's no immediate need for her to fly around, she sets herself down with a duffel bag, unzips it, and starts to unload truly awe-inspiring amounts of beef jerky, dried fruit, vegetable chips...

It's all dried food. Pounds and pounds and pounds that took up every last bit of money she'd had, and then some, by which I mean she totally shoplifted some of it. ]

[ once things have settled and there is a semblance of a camp set up, riza is going to find a small area right outside the ring of tents to pin off. she's quite serious about keeping up with these practices, so if you have met up with riza in any form previously, or simply talked about it, there's a good chance she's going to come and find you in the camp to make sure you're still interested.

she might not be able to help with regards to training and powers, she has little to no experience in that, but they can at the very least be similarly trained to protect themselves in powers aren't a viable option. and she might even go easy on her poor students, you never know. ]

Edited 2018-03-07 14:46 (UTC)

[ Luckily, among the things Amanda managed to bring with her are a nice pair of athletic shorts and a pretty simple t-shirt - easy stuff to move around in. She's not sure who else is gonna show up, but she knows this could help.

For one thing, swordfighting is not a talent that has proven readily applicable so far; and she can't run from every single little scuffle. So, she's stretching out, and using that as an excuse to show off how extremely flexible she is... ]

[The camp is rough-shod, but there's enough together looking into what surrounds them would be a good idea. Shiro picks a spot not far from the edge of the camp to serve as a place to have people form teams of two or more, and gather what supplies could be used for markers or a map.

Reminders are made this will be a more than likely dangerous job. Questions, comments? Shiro himself can be found hanging around or arriving back from his own scouting.

Feel free to use this top level to plan out your own scouting trips and discuss what they already know about the wilderness.]

[Velvet is curious about what could be out in the wilderness around them. The effect the hallucinogenic magic had on her was as potent as it was unpleasant, so she's in a bit of a garbage mood. In light of that, while she will help with the scouting at some point, it's not high on her to-do list. She gives Shiro some time to rest before she corners him.]

Run into anything scary?

[Hand on her hip, there is a sort of forced lightness to her tone.]

Thankfully no. [His mood has been sour since they were lead out into this wilderness. He can't put a stop to wild magic. But he can map where it is.]

Not yet, anyway. ...but there really hasn't been much else living out here besides us. [He's sitting with his arms crossed over his chest and staring into the middle distance.]

And because of the intel, it makes me wonder, exactly, how bad this will be if there's more than just a 'leak' of magic.

Edited 2018-03-12 14:28 (UTC)

Right. They're the ones that screwed up, again, and we're paying for it.

[Her use of "we" is a bit disingenuous. She figures it's her own fault that the hallucinations she experienced were nasty. Even without the influence of the magic around them, she used to have plenty of similarly vivid visions and nightmares.

Still, it makes her bitter, thinking about how things were in Shehui before it went to shit. It was a little like living a normal life that she didn't deserve. Laphicet and Magilou are gone, too. Wrapped up in her own head, more words spill out.]

I would rather fight another hundred of those damn idiots than deal with–

[She grits her teeth, cutting herself off, then turning away.]

Forget it.

I know. There’s a lot I’d rather do than this situation. [He sighs quietly and shakes his head. Every time they go out into the wilderness their secrets could exposed or cause harm to others. Even battling for control of his Lion, for all of its strangeness, is more appealing.

Life in Shehui was the closet to normal he’s had since his capture. He shakes his head one more time and steels himself.]

But we’re here and we can’t change that. We can’t focus on what went wrong. Only on what we can fix. Unfortunately that’s not a lot at the moment. I have seen what look like other settlements from the air but they’re really far away. I’d rather investigate this leak first.

We need to know what this magic is doing. For all we know it could be causing these effects because it’s being contained.

Hm.

[That's a couple points of itrigue he just brought up, which now she can engage with instead of just feeling generally frustrated. She turns back to face him.]

You're right that we need to get a grasp on the magic, and also I hadn't considered that whatever the Shehui people are doing could be making it worse. With what little we know, I'd sill say it would be stupid to mess with their containment method.

… So I disagree with you. I think making contact with the other closest settlement is a better priority – if you could fly there carrying whoever would make the best envoy, or even if you went yourself. If they refuse to help, then at least we'll know that it's pointless to go that direction.

[He takes a breath in and holds it. His expression remains neutral. It has been months since he was disagreed with and taking that in stride when his temper is simmering right under the surface is difficult. Not impossible, just difficult.]

I wasn't suggesting we mess with it. [He breathes out, and leans back.] We don't know what is going on or why they contained it. I'm suggesting we study it. If this leak puts all our lives and theirs at risk it needs to be plugged.

But you're right, making contact is an option we should be considering. [He's worried they'll be attacked or dragged in for experiments. Shiro takes all of his frustrations and anger and locks them away deep inside. He can't be just a rank and file anymore. People need leaders to help them.]

Let's see how many people we have left. If we can safely divide and hit both problems at once that would be the ideal. If we don't have the numbers, we should try to make contact first. [He raises his eyebrows.] That acceptable?

[It's true that whoever they encounter next could be even worse than the people of Shehui. Velvet holds Shiro's eye over the course of a short pause.]

… It's acceptable. Those left aren't obligated to go along with what we decide, though. It's pointless unless we can get everyone to agree.

If there's a safe way to study the magic, then we should. I don't think the hallucinations are going to kill anyone, but if it's like a poison, then the effects could keep getting worse the more we're exposed to it. On the other hand, maybe it's possible to build up an immunity instead. It's risky just going near the leaks.

It's, unfortunately, a risk I think we have to take. [He lets out that breath he'd been holding and looks away. His chest feels tight and he talks around it as if he isn't unsettled at all. He can't afford to be.] We were too cautious in the city.

By the time we realized the dangers, people were taken. [His fingers on his metal arm are white with how tightly he's holding onto it. He forces his fingers to relax.]

It should only be volunteers that take that great of a risk. Of course, no one has to agree with anything. But if we're to survive we have to find some sort of compromise between all of us.

[Shiro is better at holding in his frustration than Velvet is. That talk about how they didn't do enough to protect the ones who got abducted kicks her temper up a notch, too. She doesn't want to feel responsible for them.]

Do what you want and leave me out of it. Work with Mustang or whoever and see what everybody wants to do. Sorry if it's burden for you, but I'm not a negotiator. And when push comes to shove, I can find a way to protect the people I care about on my own.

[He frowns,]

Velvet, wait. I'm not asking you to negotiate. I'm trying to figure out a plan we can all tackle the pieces of!

[Her reply had been enough he can focus on that and be a little honest with himself.]

I don't want to touch the void magic either. If I get tainted I don't know what any of you will see. But if it's the magic of this land then the Qri could absorb it. We could leave. Either way we have two solid leads. That's a start.

Edited 2018-03-15 20:22 (UTC)

[She takes a breath then folds her arms.]

I get it. You want to be practical.

I think it's safe to say that the Qri can't help as long as she's out of commission. Which means… what? What exactly do we need to find out about the magic that will help?

Exactly what it is for one. We know next to nothing about it and unlike the bones...it isn't affecting our magic. Just individuals.

...or is it affecting our magic? [He isn't about to go thrust his arm into it. What is in his head will not do anyone any favors.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ camp coven ]

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[ open: campsite arrival ] ( feel free to put your own open thread under this top level )

[ open: parsing through data ] (feel free to put your own open thread under this to level )

Data mapping fun times [open]

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open: munch time

open: sparring practice.

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open: scouting (feel free to put your own open thread under this top level)

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