thisavrou_log | ( september event log )

( september event log )

Who: Everyone
When: September 19th and on
Where: The Fixed Moons of the Runoff and the Moira.
What: Everything comes to a head.
Warnings: Nothing for now. Please label your content!

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the lucid disparity revisited
"Never be the first to arrive or the last to go, and never, ever be both."

By now, time has passed, and most of the crew have found some sort of comfortable groove with the natives of the unnamed island they crashed near. Partying, gambling and drinking, and more… Even the mysterious pool has given people who could answer its riddle insight in this confusing time. However, as the nights and days continue to progress and the parties begin to blur together, things are… odd. The hosts are still as kind as ever, offering anything and everything those at the temple-like building could ask for, but every so often, the world around them appears different. Clear, as if a fog had been lifted. Yet, it’s only a blink, and then, it’s gone, returning everyone to their regularly scheduled eternal party.

Down on the beach, the Captains are still as busy as ever working with those capable to restore function to the Moira. On the morning of the 20th, Navigator Manasseh’s vitals begin to slowly return to normal, her status on the Directory reverting to GREEN, and with it, life is brought back to the Moira. This, of course, means everyone is able to board the ship and leave, but most of the crew who traveled through the jungle and stayed at the party aren’t exactly willing to go just yet. Prior to this, a few of the crew who suddenly realized things were strange and that the people around them were acting strange - themselves included - approached Thán with this particular revelation, upon which Nathan Drake planned to bring back things from the temple to be tested for irregularities. Each sample returned to Cúrre does not alert her to anything abnormal, comprised of similar compounds—except for the water brought to her from the pool. Acting quickly, she reaches the same conclusion as a few of the other crewmembers do: that the water neutralizes the mysterious intoxication caused by everything on this unknown planet.

☄ FROM UNDER THE VEIL

The combined efforts of the crew and Curre have resulted in an “antidote” being made from the pool water; crew members pass it around to those down on the ship and beach, then utilize caution while administering it to those at the party. The change happens slowly for most. A drink that was perfect only a little while ago is suddenly sickeningly sweet and no longer enjoyable. The food tastes wrong. The music no longer urges you to dance but instead reminds you that your feet are aching. The magic is fading, and as it does, the cracks in the facade begin to reveal themselves. The elegant city built into the rocks is faded and cracking at the edges. Nothing is as it seems, especially the hosts. Their eagerness to please now has an edge to it. They try and ply their guests with new food, drink and distractions, but they know when the game is up. Do you try and slip away when they’re distracted, or do you demand to know why they’ve done this? Do you dare to find out?

☄ AS TIME GOES BY

Crew have begun to filter to the beach, and as the ship reboots, its systems expelling water and allowing it to float on the surface, all Moira-connected technology refreshes. MID devices, to those who check, will show that a year has passed since they crash landed on this strange planet. Those that did not join the party would not have been aware that so much time had passed as the planet seems to be under the influence of a blurring of time, probably due to the fact it is so close to the Luminous Sea. Crew would have gone through the motions and not realized that supplies were dwindling, and anyone who has themselves looked over in the Medbay will discover that they are, in fact, physically one year older. With the Moira finally functioning and with everyone on board, the ship finally begins to ascend and leave the planet behind.

The Captains are all working together to get the crew settled back on board and help those who might need some adjusting to this particular news. Since it has been such a long time, fresh supplies are badly needed, and the ship is directed towards the closest known place: the Mini Colony.

( ooc; For questions, go here. )

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"Hah, well, pretty good." There's a beat and Nihlus seems to quietly realize that he actually meant that.

"Yeah, I'm... feeling pretty good."

Somewhere under that was a long list of things to worry about, but try as he might, Nihlus can't seem to remember what they were. Looking at Shepard as she leans against the sill next to him, he finds he... actually doesn't really care that much.

"How about you?" A tentative playfulness laces itself through his tones, velvet soft and warm.

"I'm..." Shepard hesitates — half at his tone, and half at her own uncertainty. "I'm okay. Not bad at all."

Objectively, not great. Worse, now that Nihlus had admitted to his own feelings of contentment. This wasn't going to be a great come-down.

I wonder how much he'll regret.

She pushes the thought out, and sets the two glasses on the sill between them, filling them slowly. "I figured you could use something a little bit more hydrating than what we've been drinking."

"You mean more hydrating than what you've been drinking," Nihlus points out mildly, amusement under his words. He's been teetotaling it for pretty much all of this party.

Still, he's not refusing the drink, although he does peer at the cups as Shep fills with quiet curiosity.

"So, what weird corner did you find this thing in?" he wonders. "It's certainly got an interesting... aroma."

It smells like someone tossed a bunch of medication together in a pot and stirred, really.

"Okay, rude. Not wrong, but rude." She clinks her glass to Nihlus', and sips it, watching over the rim as her companion samples his own glass.

"Pretty close to home, actually. It's less of a drink, and more of a..." There was a word for it, what was it-- "...digestif. An after-drinks drink."

Taking another sip, she swirls it in the glass, watching Nihlus for a bad reaction. "What do you think?"

"I think I've had this at the dentist's once," Nihlus utters after he's managed to unscrew his tongue. He'd mostly swallowed it because it wasn't like Turian anatomy gave him cheeks to hold it or anything and spitting it out would be pretty gross and rude.

"No offense," he adds, eying the cup, idly wondering why he's feeling kind of poisoned.

... Probably just the awful taste.

Despite herself, the idea of a Turian dentist catches her off-guard, eliciting a sudden chuckle. Something about the combination of teeth, bib, and lollipop for being good.

"None taken — I didn't make it. Did you have any cavities?"

"Teeth grew in weirdly, more like." Gingerly setting the cup down, Nihlus turns his attention back to Shepard, smiling at her amusement. "We get natural replacements and things are spaced out enough that cavities aren't as common of problem."

Crossing his arms with a quiet little puff, he leans back against the window frame and turns his attention back to the view. For a while there is silence, his smile fading into a look of quiet contemplation.

"... Shepard." There's a tiredness in his voice that hadn't been there a moment ago. "What did I really just drink?"

"Antidote."

The answer is immediate, no-nonsense. Any trace of the previous carefree air is gone, replaced with an expression that looked as tired as Nihlus' voice sounded, softened with genuine concern.

"How do you feel?"

"Antidote," Nihlus echoes blankly. He flicks on his omni-tool and pulls up the chemical readings he'd taken of the food and air. None of them had pointed towards any known chemical contaminant listed on his tool's onboard database, but they'd definitely been unusual enough that he should've been concerned.

Why hadn't he been concerned?

"I feel like I'm crashing after a Sand high." Ignoring the growing dread and exhaustion that was settling in, Nihlus snaps his quickly cracking composure back together. "What happened?"

The calm front's not going to last when whatever's affecting him completely wears off, but he needs to keep it together.

When he pulls up his omni-tool, she knows what he's reviewing without looking — and winces sympathetically. Being highly cautious, keeping a vigilant look-out, and still getting pulled under? Knowing what she knew of him, it was the perfect package deal of nightmares made too real. Somehow, despite knowing otherwise, she felt oddly guilty, as if she'd played a part in creating the drug, rather than destroying it.

"We were in it before we even knew to look out. Everyone was affected by it — prevailing theory is, it started airborn in the mist we all passed through to get here, and was present in everything. Food, drink, you name it, it was in or on it. The antidote's made from the water in the pool that was behind that sealed door."

She scans his face, watching his expression twist back into a simulacrum of what Nihlus must've thought looked composed, and fought a flash urge to reach out to him. Instead, she continues on, doggedly.

"People are reacting differently to coming down. If you feel anything severe, I should be able to help. At this point, I've got a couple tricks up my sleeve. For starters, try sitting down — slowly."

Sitting down's the last thing Nihlus wants to do. At this rate, he'd not sure he's going to be getting back up again anytime soon.

Things are starting to look different now. The stone isn't so smooth under his palms and everything around him looked weathered and worn. There's a strange rot that he hadn't been able to smell until now, heavy and sickly sweet.

He leans heavier against the windowsill flicking his omni-tool off, closing his eyes against the sudden, nauseating rush of anxiety. It'll get eaten up by the exhaustion soon enough, he just needs to weather it out.

"How's everyone else?" Nihlus's tones have taken on the odd rasp of someone who's spoken too much for too long. "How many more crew members still need the antidote?"

Yes, he's fully intending on helping on that front.

"Not many, not any more. We — Nate and I — started earlier today, and people we cured who took it easier, or weren't at the party at all, have been helping out. Now, it's just the stragglers." Here, she looks up at Nihlus pointedly, voice shifting to a gentle joking chide. "You weren't an easy find, y'know."

It's a deflection, but for now, it would do. Like hell was she letting him help, sagging on the windowsill like a deflated balloon as he was.

"It wasn't intentional," Nihlus utters, rubbing his face and wincing at the paint that flaked away. "I was just..."

Okay, yes, he's not going to be able to keep standing. Might as well sit with some modicum of grace instead of just keeling over.

Very, very gingerly, Nihlus turns and presses his back against the wall before slowly sliding down, one leg stretched out on the floor before him, other leg tucked against his chest. Oof.

It takes a moment for him to regather his thoughts, tipping his head up to peer at Shepard.

"I'm so sorry."

[For a beat after Nihlus apologizes, Shepard gives him a long stare. It's only three words, but she can already feel the weight of his regret, the hurricane of conflicting feelings they bear. Abandoning the emptied glasses on the sill, she unhooks the canteens from over her shoulders, lowering them gently to the floor, before joining them, back against the wall, side by side with Nihlus.

Looking straight ahead, it's another long moment before she eventually answers, voice soft:]

You don't have anything to apologize for.

[ If only she knew.

It was too late to take the words back now and pretend the only thing wrong was his body slowly crashing. Besides, Shepard deserved it. She really... really deserved it. It won't fix anything later and he can't tell her everything he was apologizing for now, but he needed to say it.

Nihlus takes a slow breath and doesn't try correcting her. Instead, he peers around at the place, the structures slowly crumbling around them. ]

How long were we here for?

A year, give or take. [It's said slowly, and she turns to watch his face, gauging for reactions. There's a beat, and she hesitantly adds:]

Time flies, huh?

[When you're having fun, a part of her brain adds, before another part kicks the door shut on it.]

A yea- a year?!

[ His voice actually cracks at that and Nihlus manages to find enough energy to actually sit up at that.

It lasts two seconds before he flops dizzily back down, clutching at his head. ]

How?

Easy, easy. [As soon as he starts to move, her hand's on his shoulder, steadying him, guilt creeping into her cheeks from the untimely joke.]

We don't know. It happened to everyone — whether they were at the party or not, so we at least know whatever we were drugged with wasn't the whole of it. Somehow, time just... got away from us. Lucky we caught it when we did.

[As she speaks, she rifles around in a pocket, before coming up with a slim stick — a dextro meal replacement.]

Take your time. Move slowly. We're not in any hurry — for now.

Spirits. It'd felt like a week had gone by at most- what-

[ He did not want to think about what would have happened if it had stayed unnoticed longer. Then again, he probably wouldn't be around to regret it like this.

The sound of Shepard rifling through things draws him briefly out of the panicked circles his brain was currently running laps in. The appearance of a food stick makes him smile despite himself, the heel of his hand pressed against his brow plate to stem the dizziness. ]

I'm not sure I can stomach that right now, [ he says, somewhat apologetically. ]

[She shakes her head, pressing it into his hand despite the objections.] It's fine, but hold on to it — even if you can manage a a corner, it'll be better than doing it by IV.

[Something about her tone suggests that the stock of IVs is running a little... thin. As she speaks, she proffers another handful — a canteen of rehydration liquid, and painkillers.

There's a beat as she hands them over, then:]

If anyone should be apologizing, it's me. I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Nihlus

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( september event log )

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