march catch-all.

[noarchitact]

Who: Kaveh, Alhaitham, & YOU!
What: Shenanigans.
When: March.
Where: Assorted.
Warnings: Marked in headers.

Notes: This is a catch-all for the month of March for Pulse and Ten.

Comments

march 7th 🏛️🌱 their shared apartment.

[noarchitact]

[ kaveh was starting to feel a little off. he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but for all intents and purposes he was starting to feel weaker, which didn't really make much sense. it's not like he had done all that much in the past few days. certainly nothing labor intensive! so why?! he tried a half dozen thins to try to alleviate the feeling but nothing seemed to help. ]

[ he had found a small shop boasting an assortment of home remedies, so of course he got conned into buying some. however, on his way out he heard a couple talking about touch, and how it seemed to have an influence on things here. it sounded ridiculous, but it couldn't be anymore ridiculous than a mix of lavender, chili peppers, and... lemon. ]

[ maybe he shouldn't have bought this stuff... ]

[ nevertheless, he quickly hurried home, fully intending to put what he had just learned to the test. ] Alhaitham, are you here? Or did you run off to the library again...[ he drops his key into the small dish by the door and heads inside. ]

[rudementary]

Here.

[ As always, he very helpfully doesn't specify where 'here' is in the apartment, but it doesn't take much of a search to follow the sound of his voice and find him seated in a comfortable (or at least as comfortable as they were able to find) chair by the window, book in hand. This particular one appears to be about the regional traits of the Autumn segment. ]

[noarchitact]

[ it's not too hard to find him, since the apartment isn't that big. as he enters the room he lets his satchel of nonsense slid off his shoulder and onto the floor. he crosses the room, his mind racing with all the different approaches he could take... but when he reaches alhaitham he settles for setting a hand on the page of the book he's reading and pressing it down to try to force him to make eye contact. ]

How are you feeling? [ yes, #nailed it. ]

[rudementary]

[ Kaveh, please, they both know which is the stronger person among them. ]

[ Still, damaging books is something he sincerely tries to avoid, so he lowers the book per Kaveh's force, gaze shifting up toward the strangely very close man. ]

I was in a decent mood two seconds ago but it's been inexplicably ruined.

[ Guess why. ]

1/2

[noarchitact]

[noarchitact]

It has not. Don't be so dramatic. [ says drama queen numero uno. ] I meant in general. Are you feeling weird or anything? [ he removes his hand from the book. ] We did just get whisked away to a strange and faraway land... [ don't mind him casually trying to drag an answer out of him. ]

[rudementary]

[ He lets his eyes fall shut for a moment, to block out the visual sensation of Kaveh being so close and refocusing his mind on the question that Kaveh is undoubtedly leading with. ]

Uncharacteristically sluggish and stiff. No amount of stretching or light exercise has relived the sensation.

Yourself?

[ Because Kaveh wouldn't be asking this sort of thing if he wasn't feeling weird himself. ]

March 10th; shared apartment

[rudementary]

[ Three days. ]

[ A reasonable amount of time to gather further information, as well as conduct a few side studies on the topic. And while he was rather dissatisfied with the conclusions he'd drawn, he did feel better equipped for the challenge ahead. ]

[ The challenge being cornering Kaveh in their apartment the next time they're both in, without warning and without consideration to whatever Kaveh was doing at the moment. ]

Kaveh, let's hold hands.

[ And with all the usual consideration he exhibits for the other man. ]

Re: March 10th; shared apartment

[noarchitact]

[ kaveh had set up his supplies in the corner of the living room, but had gotten up to make some coffee and grab a snack when alhaitham decides to just... corner him. he blinks, staring at him like he's gone mad. ] Are you feeling alright? [ he keeps his hand far away from alhaitham's at the present moment, but he gets the feeling he knows what this is about, since he had also conducted some research on the side. ]

And I'm sorry... but my hands are full. [ he smirks, looking between the coffee and the croissant he grabbed. ]

[rudementary]

I'm fine.

[ Aside from that vague weariness that had recently started to show itself, of course. ]

Do you plan on holding those in your hands forever? Or is it that the fearless architect is afraid of having contact with this humble scholar now?

[noarchitact]

[ (x)doubt. ]

[ kaveh is tempted to tell him yes to be an ass, but he refrains, instead simply rolling his eyes and opening his mouth to answ- ] I don't see any humble scholars around here. [ he snorts, moving the croissant to his mouth, so he can set a hand on his chest and try to back him up and get some of his space back. ]

[rudementary]

[ He is Unmoving. ]

This unhumble scholar then.

[ And unyielding, apparently. ]

[noarchitact]

...

[ dammit. ]

[ he can't move the unmovable. ]

[ he grumbles from behind his croissant and lets his hand drop to take alhaiham's. ]

'appy 'ow?

march 17th 🏛️🌱 quest; the big tree.

[noarchitact]

[ kaveh stares up at the tree and groans. this is the one quest that he had no interest in taking following their encounter with the wisdom tree, but one of the guild personal approached them to ask if they could please take it. it doesn't take much convincing on their part, because kaveh can't say no to somebody in need, so here's to hoping that this tree won't curse them with rhyme time 2: electric boogaloo. ]

...this seems too simple. [ nothing had bothered them on the trip over and it just seemed like, well, a big tree. kaveh approaches the 'door', which is just a massive hole, and peers inside. ] Looks like something might be up at the top. [ since there's all manner of stairs, ladders, and ropes to help somebody ascend. ]

[rudementary]

All the more reason to be at our most attentive.

[ Alhaitham's own gaze flickers around the area as they approach the target, then up part way to take in the size of the tree. It certainly lived up to its lackluster yet informative name. ]

It's quite possible whom or what ever has gone up has never come back down, so we should be prepared for high altitude combat.

But more importantly, if anything feels off, inform me immediately so we can back off and reassess. I'll do the same.

[noarchitact]

[ kaveh nods and steps inside, mehrak right behind him carting his greatsword around. ] I'm ready. [ or, rather, mehrak is. ] (ง ͠ ᵒ̌ Дᵒ̌)¤=[]:::::> I'm still going to hope that it's nothing... [ he murmurs, heading over to the stairs, but as soon as he grabs the railing he pauses. ]

I will, but so far so good. [ but he's just a few steps inside. ]

[rudementary]

[ Good thing Mehrak is here to hold their braincell for them. ]

Good.

[ And he'll start following Kaveh up the stairs, taking in their surroundings carefully as they go. And after a bit, he'll take out a notepad to take some quick notes on the general state of the tree as they proceed. ]

[noarchitact]

[ kaveh peers over at alhaitham's notepad. ] What could you possibly be writing about this tree? it's a tree, and it's big and boring. [ on reaching the first platform kaveh sighs, already annoyed about this stupid tree and it's stupid quest. ] This feels like busy work.

[rudementary]

[ He makes no secret out of writing his notes, they're mostly about the physical properties of the bark itself. ]

I may not be a student of the Amurta darshan but I have learned a few things from reading. Signs of wildlife inhabitants past and present can often be found lower on a tree.

And shouldn't you be grateful that this is a simple task so far?

March 20th 🏛️🌱 Quest; Treasure Ship

[rudementary]

[ In retrospect, taking on two missions back to back was fairly ambitious and unlike Alhaitham. But there was an efficiency to be had in tackling two fairly simple-seeming missions in a roughly one week trip, so they'd arranged to take on this Winter segment based one after stopping in the Summer segment to investigate for that quest. ]

[ And well. Things Had Happened that neither of them were planning to address anytime soon. The trip between segments was at least uneventful, and now they were climbing up onto the deck of the abandoned ship as specified by the quest details. Alhaitham has his sword in hand this time, in spite of the seemingly uninhabited area. ]

Sense anything nearby?

[noarchitact]

[ no need to talk about the other quest. it's finished and therefore done & done. ]

[ kaveh shakes his head as he wanders away from alhaitham, mehrak at his side. ] No. But I am curious... if the ship's supposed to be abandoned, then why couldn't he come here and get the materials? It shouldn't be dangerous, right? [ there's got to be a reason, and it's probably lurking below deck. ]

Why are all of these people posting commissions so damn vague?

[rudementary]

It was abandoned by humans. I surmise that it wasn't abandoned by all living beings.

[ His attention sharpens when he hears the sound of movement coming from below their feet, glancing toward the nearest hole in the wood. ]

And unfortunately for us, we don't have any familiarity with the local wildlife.

[noarchitact]

No? [ it takes a lot to keep from laughing in disbelief. ] Did none of those books you had your nose in tell you anything about the creatures here? [ his eyes drop to the deck as he hears the skittering and he jumps back, catching sight of something disappearing back into the depths. he squints, curious, but not curious enough to stoop down and take a closer look. ]

[ he's playing it safe[r] this time. ] ...well whatever it is we should be able to handle it just fine between the two of us.

[rudementary]

Unfortunately, that was the next set of books I'd been planning to read. The previous ones were focused on peaceful creatures.

[ Truly an unfortunate matter of timing. ]

[ At that sudden sound though, he summons out a Chisel Light Mirror to help light the darkness, sending it over with a wave of his hand. ]

Be prepared to retreat as well.

[noarchitact]

Of course. [ how convenient!!! not that kaveh had done his research. he had instead been finding the best hot spots for food & drink... but that's important too! ]

Alright. [ he follows alhaitham, summoning mehrak to his side in case he needs to pull out his claymore. ] What do you think could be lurking in the depths of an abandoned pirate ship anyway?