WEEK 1

[bathymetric]

Well, you've now met the brains of the operation, as well as the shockingly nice-looking young lady in charge of day-to-day business. Now all that's left is to get used to your accommodations - there's 24 other people in similar shoes to yours to meet in this building, you know! And who knows how much longer you might have them...

The daily routine in the facility quickly becomes obvious - the only way to tell time moment to moment is to check the strange device The Professor gave you, but at the same time every day the lights in and out of the facility go up, and at the same time every night they go down. Otherwise, it's almost maddening sometimes, how little happens in here. At least you have a few rooms with enough to hopefully keep you occupied. Who knows what secrets they might hold? And there's always that vending machine, if you can find something that fits in the coin slot...





MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
FRIDAY | SATURDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Peace Week! Enjoy it while it lasts. Remember, office hours for The Professor's Assistant are over here if you're interested, while regains can be deposited over here! ]

Comments

[onefuture]

I would have thought them more contrary...

[Huh. He supposes that makes sense. Good on them, at least!]

But of course. Let's get all of this out of the way.

[All that baggage has made him pretty damn strong, so he'll take whatever Aela can't and start carrying it back in trips!! Let's go, girl!]

[shieldsister]

[oh my god.

Anyway, once everything has been moved back to Aela's room and the seawater left on the floor because that was bullshit and Aela's not going to clean it up—]

Here. [She holds out one of the training swords for Lif to take.] They aren't anything special, but they should prove an acceptable way to test our strength.

[They're standard wooden training swords, nothing impressive here. C'mon, let's head back out into the lounge!!]

[onefuture]

[we're all heathens here, surely the ocean water will dry and nobody is gonna fall on their ass

At any rate, Lif will gladly take that sword--he does swing it a few times just to get a proper feel for it, but this is more than acceptable and Lif clearly looks pleased.]

These will prove quite acceptable, yes. Let's be on our way.

[To the lounge!! Because people need to see something that's not just people punching the TV, clearly.]

[shieldsister]

[maybe you guys could relocate and smack each other with wooden swords somewhere that isn't in the way— no, okay.]

Don't hold back. I want to see just what it is you're capable of.

[And once we're ready, let's throw down in a totally amazing and handwaved fight!!]

[onefuture]

[that implies that these people are sane in any way]

Same to you.

[And yep, time for one hell of a glorious, handwaved fight!! Look at all this action, this is some real nail-biting shit. Lif doesn't hold back at all when he fights, though he's clearly just used to using one hand if the fight is any indication, but he's strong as hell.

But unfortunately, by the time their done and probably have training sword'd the fuck out of each other, it'll be Lif that raises his arms in surrender from where Aela has managed to win.]

I yield.

[Holy shit that was fun, but ow he hurts.]

[shieldsister]

[Lif certainly is strong, and that's all the more indication for Aela to rely on what she's always done best - speed and precision strikes. She's actually surprisingly strong when she does manage to land a hit and she's able to dodge quite a few in return. Still, it's obvious that a sword isn't her main weapon - her strikes aren't nearly as precise as she'd like them to be and the weight of the wooden training sword isn't a familiar one.

But Lif tires first and Aela comes to a halt, smirking.]

Not bad at all. Vilkas would enjoy sparring with you. With better weapons, it would be a glorious fight to witness.

[onefuture]

[He's gotten so used to being able to take hit after hit as an undead that it's come back to bite him, he's sure. And nobody in FEH has a dodge rate. In a way, this experience will serve him well for learning his limits.]

I have no doubt about that. If anyone you know can fight even half as well as you do, I'm certain that it would be an excellent match to take part in.

[There's almost a hint of a smile, even with Lif's features mostly the way they are. He seems almost content.]

What sort of fighting style does this Vilkas individual enjoy?

[shieldsister]

As one of the Circle, he's among our greatest fighters. Vilkas uses two-handed weapons, typically a massive sword like yours.

[Though without glowing or being cursed. Just your standard Skyforge Steel Greatsword!!]

His brother, Farkas, is skilled with those weapons as well, though he specializes in taking hits so the rest of us can finish off our foes. Your fighting style reminds me of them.

[It's sort of strange to miss them when she's spent so much time around them to the point where you'd think having a break would be a good thing, but... Well, it also works in reverse, doesn't it? She's spent so much time around them, it feels weird not to have them nearby.]

[onefuture]

[Interesting. He certainly sounds like someone Lif wouldn't mind sparring against; both of them, really. And to know that he reminds Aela of them...

It's interesting, at any rate, and it does see him close his eyes a bit in seeming content.]

I see. They both sound incredibly formidable; perhaps if life were not what it was, I wouldn't mind facing off against them.

[...]

Do you miss them?

[shieldsister]

[The question somehow catches her off-guard, despite it being exactly what she was just thinking. Aela's gaze darts for a moment before she corrects it.]

I do miss them. Jorrvaskr has been my home for a long time now, and Farkas and Vilkas have been there almost as long as I have. It feels... strange not to have them here.

[...]

Not that I would ever wish such a situation on them, and they'd be useless here.

[Not that she's really doing much better, tbh...]

[onefuture]

[Lif listens calmly to Aela as she speaks, and his look doesn't leave hers as he mulls over what to say. He doesn't seem to react much to the statement at all, but when he does speak up...]

It's as if a part of you has been taken, isn't it? People get so used to having certain places and people in their lives...that when they're taken, or if they themselves are taken from all of that, it's as if they've lost all they know and have to transverse everything blind.

[...Or maybe that's just him projecting a bit. It's probably at least half that, but...Lif's look goes elsewhere, a little distant.]

It's not bad, you know. To miss them, but to not wish them to be here. It's all the more reason to hope that we can get back unscathed.

[shieldsister]

Yes. That's exactly it.

[Even though she always gets restless when she ends up staying in Jorrvaskr for too long, it's home. Being away from it - when she doesn't have a choice in the matter - is... difficult. More difficult than she ever would have imagined. Even though the longer hunting trips she took with Skjor would take her away from Jorrvaskr for far longer than a mere week, it was nothing like this.]

Of course. Leaving my shield-brothers alone for too long is only going to end poorly. The Harbinger can't keep them all in line by herself for long.

[You know, assuming she doesn't wander off to go do a million other quests, but that's not the point.]

Thank you, Lif. I suppose I needed to hear that.

[onefuture]

[The...Harbinger...

...You know what, if you trust someone who calls herself that, either she's actually decent or secretly plotting your demise, and he's not sure which.]

Hopefully she can. You deserve to go home to everything in proper order.

[He'll turn back to her, with...well, a pleased look.]

I've never been one for comforting words. [lif that's a fucking lie] But...I am glad to have been able to assist.

[shieldsister]

[all of her titles are vaguely menacing, that one is somehow the least noteworthy.]

Comforting words aren't what I need to hear.

[Aela's one of those people who doesn't react well to being comforted anyway. Don't worry, Lif, you did good.]

Let's see this through to the end, shall we? I look forward to seeing you return to your home as well.

[onefuture]

[See, that's what he likes to hear. Even if the reminder of home is painful, even slightly, though it doesn't show on his face, it reignites something of a fire in Lif. There's almost something of a smirk in his expression, something confident and cocksure.]

Yes, let's. Even if we have to crawl our way out of this prison, let's get out of here alive and well.

[shieldsister]

Of course. I expect nothing less from you. Don't let me down.

[It's absolutely a challenge.]