Safe Harbor [Cursed Night Event Prompts]

[enterthe]

Who ⬤ Ydris and OTA
What ⬤ Cursed Night Prompts
When ⬤ Days following the Cursed Night
Where ⬤ Sutoku area apartment complex
Content Warnings ⬤ Nightmarish corpse imagery, supply&food scarcity



i. I am a safe ship, harbored.

[Ydris' apartment complex might not look like the fanciest of buildings, but it sure was sturdy. The rain and nightmares hadn't yet damaged the spot and that was enough to keep them around. There were evacuation areas many preferred, but Ydris wanted to be more useful than just hunkering down. They would hunker down close to the action, providing a safe harbor for those who knew they could duck in.

For those who do, Ydris directs them to take a shower, launder their clothes, and sit for a meal. The dragon had left overs from their magnificent picnic spread and the pig they roast, but they are being notably slim in what they give to each guest. A piece of toast, an egg, a bit of shredded pork, some rice... it's not grand spread, but it will fill the belly]

I'm rationing. Who knows when this will blow over.

[if their guest looks particularly haggard, though, they'll grab a bottle of left over wine and pour them a glass of that. Sorry that all they have left is red....]

ii. Emergency Location Network

[To any who have had their fill and their rest, Ydris worries their lip as they prepare to leave.]

You're really going back out into that? [They look to their phone at the counter, before gesturing at it]

Don't you have the Ember application? If you give me your phone a moment, I can make it able to track your location out there. If you're in trouble, I could know where to send someone to rescue you. If you don't lose your phone, that is.

iii. Ashes to Embers

[The apartment building might not be as immune to the nightmare energy seeping in as Ydris might think. While Ydris and Junpei's individual studio is free of any corruption, some unlikely guest seeking shelter will discover the hallway leading to them is a gnarly sight to behold.

Stepping onto the stairwell landing for the proper floor, burning ash immediately assaults the senses. The air is thick with it, stagnant aside from a choking heat lifting the ash up from below. The nightmare of the hallway is difficult to catch one's breath in, the air thick with smoke and a spice so potent it's sure to burn the eyes and nostrils at every inhale. Taking any steps leaves bloody footprints behind, the ground beneath some manner of meat.

On all sides tower massive, onyx black ribs, pouring steam from where flesh and scales still clung. The nightmare has turned this hall into the hollowed out remains of some primordial beast's chest. The only beacon left within it's center, glowing faintly with just a few pinpricks of light. What was left of the organ is brittle and crumbling, half a damaged heart, made of solid coal...

A hand is sure to reach out from behind and grab at the guest, holding firmly as Ydris' voice cuts through the crackling of the still burning surroundings]

Hold your breath. If you can. Come on! [they'll pulling away from that center, though some might find it difficult to resist such an overwhelmingly welcoming warmth it gives off]

Comments

[enterthe]

Sounds like the end I would expect, playing with such forces of nature... [as it goes; play with fire, get burned! Why wouldn't that be similar with water? Either way, Ydris can't help much if someone is drowning.

They do have a keen sense for that tinny scent in the air, though. They noted Sheliak arrived with a bandaged arm, getting that cleaned out was probably his top priority.]

It smells like blood, did your arm open up again? I have fresh bandages, you can thank Artemy for leaving some.

[sleepinglyra]

Water mages don't need to breath underwater.

[There a slight irritated edge to Sheliak's tone as he casually answered Ydris while he got dressed. Water was as natural as breathing to him and it was ridiculous that he had to worry about drowning here. He quickly covered the wound the phantom of Arrakis gave him as he opened the door.]

It did. I'm surprised you noticed with all the blood in the area.

[enterthe]

I'm keeping it spotless in here, not letting a drop of blood linger.

[that's what one gets with an Orderly aligned god, after all. Ydris' small apartment might be dingy, but it was as clean as it could possibly be. While the magic of their homeworld might not hold the same sway here, they did still believe it that the forces of order would ward away the forces of chaos outside. A safe harbor should do just that...]

Besides, that blood has a different taste in the air. It's not mortal. I don't know what it is... other than disgusting.

[sleepinglyra]

[Ydris's magic may not work as well here but perhaps there was some truth in the foundation of his magic. The pristine surroundings were indeed a safe harbor from the nightmarish chaos outside. Even without magic, it felt protected.

Sheliak wasn't mortal, not anymore, and a unwanted awful feeling crept into the pit of Sheliak's stomach, the grip on his wound tightening slightly.]

Yes...it certainly is strange.

[He hoped that Ydris couldn't sense the magical energy from his blood. He may have a human body, but the magic trapped inside him was far from mortal. He quickly tried to redirect the conversation away from his tainted blood.]

I should get this treated quickly then so I don't taint your safe haven. I'll be sure to thank Artemy when I have a chance.

[enterthe]

[Perhaps "mortal" wasn't really the word Ydris meant. That had some overlap with the term for just... being alive in a way that was not outside the lifestream, as immortals were on Myddvai. The blood outside does not smell like the blood of someone alive. It's stale, uncanny and wrong. It scarcely seems like blood at all, to Ydris. They'd have a difficult time explaining it, if pressed...

So it's a good think Sheliak hurries along from that topic. Ydris has already grabbed the bandage roll by the time the man is out and dressed. They gesture for him to sit at the counter and hopes he will be cooperative in outstretching his arm for them to wrap up.]

Thank him twice over, for teaching me how to properly wrap a flesh wound. I would have had no idea, otherwise. Healing was the realm of the Druids, back home.

[sleepinglyra]

[Sheliak obediently sat down and let Ydris treat his wound. It felt a bit nostalgic having someone else help him.

Mortal had different connotations for Sheliak. It was difficult not to feel the divide between humanity and magic when there were only eight mages at a time among hundreds of humans. Althiya didn't have the diversity of magic that it sounded like Ydris's world had and there was a subtle hint of envy in his cautious voice.]

You mentioned Druids before. How many magical beings does your world have?

[enterthe]

How many-? Why, everybody on the world has an inherent magic. Those from the moon, as well. [Ydris was engineered using the dead remains of said moon people- but they'll leave that grim detail out. Their inherent magnetic and gravitational magic is how Ydris exists at all, given how incomplete their body is beneath the illusion.]

Druids trade out the magic they are born with. The snuff out the inner fire of humanity and tap directly to the world tree of Myddvai. Using that, those of the specialty are able to heal without draining away their own life force.