ryann comes in jars (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cornichaun) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
bakerstreet2017-06-26 08:16 am
cornichaun) wrote in bakerstreet2017-06-26 08:16 am
Entry tags:
Marooned!
When you’re stranded. When there’s no way out.
At least this you’re not alone.
WHERE ARE YOU STRANDED?
1: Island. Surrounded by the ocean, shipwrecked on an island. Far away from any civilization.
2: Planet. Is it an uninhabited wasteland? A teeming forest, crammed with alien life forms? Does it have enough oxygen? Storms? Predators?
3: Moon/Asteroid. Low atmosphere, low gravity. You better hope that you have a survival pod where there’s enough air and heat.
4: Adrift. A ship on the ocean; a power-dead space station; a skimmer floating through the levels of a gas giant.
5: Oasis. Not quite marooned in the same sense, but you’re surrounded by empty desert, too far to cross. You might as well be trapped by the water of the oasis.
6: Cave. Again, not quite in the same sense, but something has left you trapped underground. Did you slide down a chasm? Suffer a cave-in? Either way, you’re down here to stay, for the time being.
7: Other.
WHO’S WITH YOU?
1: A friend. You’re in this together.
2: An enemy. Maybe war brought you both here, and war left you stranded behind. Could be that you’re an enemy in a more mundane sense: school rivals, an assassin and her prey.
3: Strangers. You were both on that boat for vacation, and now you have to survive together.
4: A lover. Some honeymoon, huh?
5: Other. For any other variation.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
1: Food and water.
2: Shelter. There’s a storm coming. The nights are cold, here. Or do you just want a sense of security?
3: Communication. How can you get someone to come rescue you?
4: Predators. Something’s trying to kill you…
5: Escape. If you can just fix the ship…
6: Each other. One more hour and you might kill each other.
7: Injury/Disease. One of you needs medical attention. Hopefully the other can muddle through.
8: Other. Any other problem you can think up!
no subject
[ Well that's discouraging. A week in any direction and nothing much to be found. He's going to have to make sure to pack generously when he strikes out into the desert.
For now, however, he settles for leaning against a tree she isn't busy scaling. And she's...quite good at it, actually, now that he stops to watch. And that armor isn't light. ]
You've been here a while, then.
no subject
[At the base of the tree, she grabs her makeshift rope of fronds, looping it through the torso, then pulling it over a branch for leverage.
Then she starts pulling.
The armor isn't cooperative. It's certainly heavier than the plate she's used to. But the fronds are ridiculously strong. And after a few yanks, she manages to start lifting it up off of the ground.]
It's a little hard to keep track.
no subject
[ There certainly don't seem to be any guards keeping her here. The dangers of the road, perhaps, or those creatures she mentioned, but after a long enough time trapped here by himself? He'd take his chances with the monsters.
He's had his taste of prison. He knows it when he sees it. ]
no subject
[She grunts, throwing her entire ninety pounds into hauling, to the point where she's half-dangling off the ground as she heaves the armor up.]
...I can only survive so long without water. I can pack some and take it with me, but I have to turn back, once I go through half of the rations.
[Sweet and naive though she may be, Ariadne's no fool. She knows the math involved.]
I've been thinking about trying to put together some kind of cart, so I can haul more water with me, but it would probably just slow me down. In the end, I probably wouldn't get much further.
no subject
[ His eyes flicker over her, and the armor she's hoisting up. Could have hidden it here on the ground with less effort, but let her do what she wanted.
She was getting it back down again when they were done. ]
no subject
[Satisfied that the armor is off the ground enough, she ties off her rope and hops off of the branch, brushing her hands off against her thighs.]
I think the entrance to Fae must be around here somewhere. I've tried to find it a few times, but the probabilities keep shifting.
[She sweeps her braid back off of her shoulder, turning to look at him.]
I don't know how you even walk in that, Agent. You must be very strong.
no subject
[ Probabilities shifting? He's not going to even try to parse through that, letting it sweep over his head instead. ]
Training, mostly. There's a lot out there in the universe that wants us dead, so you learn to carry the weight or you get killed. Not much in the way of options.
no subject
[She sets to work getting the rest of the pieces of the armor into the tree, fashioning frond ropes that miraculously don't break.]
Although, your Earth must be a paradise compared to Valeria, if the Red Dragon's reach hasn't gotten there yet.
What's it like?
no subject
[ Feel the sarcasm. Just feel it.
His gaze turns heavy as it shifts away from her, the angles of his face hardening somewhat. ]
It's been some time since I've actually been back there. Didn't really have a reason to go back.
no subject
[Ariadne knows well enough why not. Just as she never really returned to Deleo after it burned to the ground. But it's not polite to assume. She's learned that much from her time among Humans.
She continues to work diligently.]
no subject
[ That edge of crankiness was returning, and he glowers at Ariadne's back for a moment before returning to staring off into the middle distance.
It's amazing he still has the strength to be tensed up as he is, and yet. Somehow, he manages it all the same. ]
no subject
So she goes about her work silently, letting him have some time to cool off.
She's surprisingly quick about it and, after not terribly long, lands with a soft "oof" on the ground, looking up at the strange fruit now hanging from the tree.
Only a second to admire her work, though, before she notes the sun's progress.]
We better get moving.
no subject
He thinks of the boy's bathroom, the broken glass and the rage and the screaming that followed.
-- and maybe he never really did, after all. Regardless, he does less cooling off than he does silently and grudgingly pushing it all down to be dealt with at a later point in time. When she's finished her work, he follows her gaze towards the sun. ]
Lead the way, then.
no subject
You're probably gonna want to put your arm over my shoulders.
[Make no mistake. As friendly as Ariadne can be, she doesn't exactly relish the idea. Physical contact has a deep-rooted place in Alastrian culture.
He isn't Alastrian.]
no subject
[ He shifts away from the tree, finding his feet. Oh, it's going to suck, but he'll manage. It's been a long time since he trusted anyone at his side. It's never ended well for him.
He'll just skip all that this time, if it's all the same to the universe. ]
no subject
Ariadne trots ahead of a few places, before pulling up a long sturdy branch.]
Use this.
[She hurries back over to him, offering it as a walking stick.]
The last thing you wanna do is hurt yourself even worse.
no subject
[ He does, however, take the stick. It digs into the earth under him as he tests its weight before giving a small sigh, nodding once in her direction. ]
...thank you.
no subject
Gods, it's been so lonely here.
With a nod in the direction of the falls, she starts to walk, leading him very carefully along, making sure he doesn't step over anything that might trip him up.]
no subject
The pain fading is not necessarily a good thing, not when he's already dizzy and a little cold. Shelter first and foremost.
Just keep walking. That's all he has to do. ]
no subject
We should be there soon.
[She glances up. There's no question now that he sun is starting to dip toward the horizon, like a teardrop rolling off of a smooth cheek. They'll make it, but it might be a little tight.
And more than a little spooky.]
Has the bleeding stopped?
[It's smelling less fresh. As is he.]
no subject
[ He hasn't felt anything warm and wet trickling down his side. Which is good, all things considered. Not bleeding out is high on his list of this to accomplish tonight, and that determination wears heavy on his face as he moves.
Should have been a young man's face. That's more apparent in the forgiving hue of the dying sunlight, softening some of those edges. He can't be much past thirty. ]
no subject
[She prances ahead a few paces, pulling back the thick overgrowth coming out of some of the trees, clearing a path for him. Ariadne glances over the curve of her shoulder as she does, giving him a dimpled smile.]
You must be getting hungry.
There's plenty to eat around the falls.
no subject
With just one person here to eat, I don't doubt it. You sure it'll handle two?
[ Not that he's complaining. Food and rest will be necessary before wandering out into the sands in the hopes of finding some way out of this place. Which is still his goal. This place might be leafy and green and very pretty to look at...
But a prison is a prison. ]
no subject
[She's the worst at sarcasm. It doesn't help that she's so out of practice dealing with other people. But what she lacks in sincerity, she more than makes up for in earnest.
Maybe.]
I should probably warn you, I can't cook.
Don't know how.
no subject
[ The corner of his lip creeps upwards slightly, before he continues to hobble his way forward. Really, anything edible at this point would be welcome. ]
So what do you eat around here?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)