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dndfuckhouse · 9 months

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Session 51 - A Man Out of Time

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> 🎵 Insane President / AI The Somnium Files nirvanA Initiative OST

We pick back up again on The Pelican, in the dead of night. Rain pelts the deck as the group all stand huddled together, discussing their next course of action. Vernalis and Keva stand apart for the moment as the wraiths, on a whim, have decided to dance around them in a circle with them at the center. The wraiths wonder aloud when the group will complete their discussion on the ‘fun game’ they’ve suggested they all play.

Should the party win, the swaps will be undone and the wraiths will leave them be, though should they lose they say they’re to become their friends, and play games with them all the time. The innocuous words and the cold wind both chill the group to their bones as they chat in hushed tones.

The party decide to play hide and seek, knowing the abilities they hold would aid in never being found. Cimmorro decides on shape changing into a crew member, Psalm has his invisibility, Han her pass without a trace, and should all else fail, Plum shape changed into a bat stuffed inside their own bag of holding is their decided linchpin.

Han: "...so then, other than all that, we just play hide and seek?" Cimmorro: "seems straightforward enough. we should be clear with them what the rules are though" Han: "this seems pretty simple... i feel little bad... since psalm said it would be cool game.." she pouts a lil Psalm: "They were attacking passengers if that helps you feel better about tricking them." Han: "i mean, yes, but they seem kinda harmless otherwise..." Psalm: he just shrugs Finn: finn openly glares at you Han: doesn't even clock it cause shes used to it from plum

Plum: "the attacking passengers kind of makes it so that they're not harmless, i'd think" Han: "alright alright im just saying" Finn: "just saying? if youre fine with having your body taken away then id be happy to lose you to these pesky wraiths, but this is a waste of my time and id like to get these childish games over with as fast as possible" Cimmorro: "it's also dead in the night and i would like to go back to bed in my body. i'm not about to stay here until dawn playing with bored ghosts" Finn: "i dont care what we have to do to win" Han: han like christ yall are so touchy, puts up her hands in surrender "forget i said anything, go do your smooth talking now" moves to push psalm out of the huddle Cimmorro: "so, are we good? let's get it over with?" Plum: "please" Finn: "please" Cimmorro: "should we all go up there with you or" Psalm: "Sure, at this point it makes no difference to me." Cimmorro: cimms gonna start following behind you Rokka: rokka will lag in the back Keva: as the rest of the bengaboys approach, keva turns to them, feeling a little agitated and on edge as the wraiths continue to circle her. "let's get on with it then"

The wraiths laugh a little at Keva's impatience, though they stop their dancing as the party approach and explain their game of hide and seek to them. They hear a few childish pouts and sighs as it seems they expected something wholly new, though others react with laughter and glee, as if it were already a favourite game of theirs.

Wraiths: "do we only play one round?" "we only have to find you.." "cat and mouse" "we'll play... even if you lied a little" "we'll give you three minutes to hide" and then we'll come looking" "are you all ready?” Psalm: :3c i love lying Cimmorro: cimm's like "yaay games and gaming..." low energy, can i just say cimm is sticking wherever vinny goes bc god forbid i leave that man alone Vernalis: verny didnt know what hide n seek was n now she knows Han: dogs dont sweat so han just sticks her tongue out n huffs nervously Rokka: Tails.jpg Plum: hearing the word "lied" makes plum a little nervous

The wraiths cease their circling around Keva and Vernalis and start floating in a circle on the deck again with the ethereal man. As the party all stand at the ready they send them off and start counting.

Waiths: "one...two...."

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> 🎵 Pantry / Virtue's Last Reward OST

The party rush downstairs below deck, splitting up to find their hiding places. Psalm extends his invisibility spell to Rokka as Han throws up her Pass Without a Trace to all those nearby, aiding a nearby Vernalis hidden nearby. She also positions herself with the door ajar so she can see the comings and goings of the hall outside. Cimmorro and Vinny in the meanwhile rush to hide in the dining hall storage room as Cimmorro tries to pose as a bartender.

After turning into a bat, which is altogether a new feeling, Plum is quickly placed into the bag of holding which is itself a very strange feeling. They are deposited into a small pocket dimension in the shape of a square, the walls of it soft. Though they land uncomfortably on some of the random garbage people have shoved into the thing. They fear breaking something if they move too much, luckily they don't have to and need to simply sit pretty, good thing as its also pitch black in there.

Holding the bag of holding as he searches for a hiding place, Finn gets an idea, he quickly dashes and runs towards Ozan and Vernalis’ room.

Finn: finn runs up to ozans room and goes "hem hem. i was with the group of adventurers earlier, during the battle with the wraiths..... we are on the cusp of reversing the curse and id like your corporation on this. are you a good actor?" finn tilts his head and stares at ozan Ozan: he glances over and raises a brow "hmm? im pretty good at lying if thats what you're asking" Finn: "perfect" he smirks "we're playing hide and seek with them. surely youre familiar? id like to make your bed my hiding spot and id like you to cover me with the entirety of your body. encage me. pretend that you are asleep. itll only be a couple minutes." Ozan: he tilts his head "huh...gotcha" he leans back over the sheets and wiggles around until hes under the covers before lifting it up for you "well scoot right in" Finn: finn raises his eyebrows as he didnt expect ozan to go along with this so easily, considering hes lacking his physical charm right now but is satisfied nevertheless. only one of the vengaboys needs to win, but he hates losing. "what a reasonable man you turned out to be... a rarity" he purrs and climbs right in, not hesitating to get into ozans personal space "lie atop me, perhaps? but if thats too awkward itll be enough for you to hold me... and hold the sheets down, too" Ozan: "i mean all i gotta do is pretend im sleeping right? easiest job" he thinks for a moment as you nestle up into him "hmm... i dont exactly wanna crush you so ill just..." he grabs a pillow and puts it across on your other side to pretend as if he were holding it instead of you "that works"

Vernalis: I screamed Cimmorro: i like that the most homosexual of us all is getting boob action out of everyone Han: han is going to kill finn after this i think Plum: me first

Finn: "mm.. yeah that works... but its okay if you crush me a little" finn snuggles up to him, wishing it wasnt vernys body. its not like this is an unfamiliar feeling though... but just as finn is about to get too comfortable, he jolts up "ah! i... forgot something important" he climbs out awkwardly and hurriedly, jogging to the chest in front of the bed "we have someone hiding in this bag actually" he holds it up for ozan to see and then puts it gently down into the chest "just to make sure we'll win..." he then climbs back into bed, same position as before Ozan: he stares at you holding back a laugh at forgetting something so seemingly important "how'd they fit.." but its said more to himself as opposed to a genuine question as he knows youre meant to be actually hiding right now. he regains the previous position pulling you close "nighty niiiight" he fake yawns before closing his eyes and pretending to be in the blissful depths of sleep

Cimmorro: me n vinny soooo fucked we should just die together QUICK VINNY BEFORE THE WRAITHS FIND US DO YOU WANT TO ADMIT YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON ME Chip: stealth so low bc ur just making out Keva: 5 minutes in heaven Chip: ghosts seeing cimmorro kissing a random crewman Cimmorro: GHUIEFGEFG ERHUIGER GHERIHUGER im sorRY I JUST REALIZED WHAT THAT IS Plum: like what happened to hide and seek....?

The countdown reaches its end and wraith begin their hunt. As they start searching the ship the group hear loud shrieks from the passengers and crewman in the dining hall and various sounds of scuffles as they rush away from them.

Most of the party don't hear anything to indicate the wraiths coming towards them. Though Rokka notices a wraith wisp through the open frame of the bathing hall where he’s chosen to hide. He stands stock still invisible in the middle of the bath, leaving two big indents in the water where his legs ought be.

Rokka: rokka freezes in his spot trying not to shake and holds his breath out of fear

The wraith slowly drifts over, staring directly where Rokka stands. it soon lets out a delighted cackle and swoops over, tapping him where his shoulder should be

Wraith: "found one! you aren't very good at hiding..."

He suddenly feels his arms grabbed by the wraith as it lifts him out of the water, he feels a strange sensation as if rising through something before he quickly lose consciousness.

Rokka: rokka starts shaking at the tap and screams before passing out ggez

The whole party hear the loud shriek echo across the floor, Han tenses hard after hearing rokka (her own voice) scream. She pops out her glaive, angling it as a mirror to try and check for anything down the hallway. She spots a couple wraiths heading in the direction of the scream, though only two. She imagines the others are somewhere else on the ship searching still.

Looking in the other direction she sees no wraiths directly nearby, as far as she can see none are on or around the stairs, any in the entrance hallway seem to be glancing in the other direction as well.

Across the ship, Cimmorro and Vinny don't fare much better in the storage room. As they sit crouched in the dark Cimmorro begins to hear the sound of one getting close to the door, judging by the commotion outside at any rate.

Cimmorro: whisper @ vinny "do you have anything to disguise yourself with!? we could both pretend to be working on something here, i don't know!" Vinny: he sweats crouched next to you as he wracks his brain "i-i dont have anything ready to change how i look. the best i could try is dimension dooring us somewhere if theyre onto us, t-though i dont know where id put us!?" Cimmorro: "w-wait that's good... wait, how about this: i'll run out there and distract them, since i'm disguised already... then you can do that thing to get out of here? that way we both don't get caught- i'll say something like someone's hiding in this room then you go POOF good bye!" Vinny: he kind of crosses his eyes out of stress "I-i guess that could work... i still dont know where i should g-go!? what if they notice its you...." Cimmorro: "shit. good point... but there's only a few ghosts and more boarding rooms so might as well try for one of those? or the restroom stalls-" he scratches his head "either way if i get caught then that's just one less instead of both of us at the same time. we just need one person to stay hidden, remember?" Vinny: he scratches his head out of worry mirroring cimmorro "i guess ill pick a room and hope im lucky... i can take you with me, t-theres no need for the decoy plan really! id rather not have anyone caught i dont even know what they'll do if they grab you.." he glances back at the door anxiously "regardless i need to do it quickly" Cimmorro: "what if we BOTH end up in a room with a wraith? goddess- just, okay." he runs a hand down his face and takes a breath "just prepare your thing then if things go to shit" Han: hes like this 🥺 Cimmorro: fine i guess ill be your little pogchamp

Cimmorro and Vinny continue to converse in hushed tones before they see the handle on the pantry begin to jiggle. As it swings open they see the hand of a wraith as it makes its way inwards before Vinny jumps and casts the spell. He grabs Cimmorro and pulls the both of them through with a quick incantation before they feel themselves stumble with an oof into one of the random cabins.

He tries to be as quiet as possible as he glances around with his arm around Cimmorro’s shoulders. The two spy a familiar purple haired women staring wide eyed at them from one of the beds, Ozan in the body of Vernalis.

Cimmorro: cimm just blinks a little dazed at how fast that went like ??? then looks up at verny? "h-hello just passing through-" then turns to vinny like what teh fuck.....! Vinny: he gets an embarrassed face as he rubs his neck crawling around on the floor "i-i couldnt decide but at least no ones around..hello..." he whispers this to ozan like he wants to die the man continues staring at the them and waves a little from the bed

Setting off a quick detect undead, Cimmorro quickly senses a wraith is right outside the door, floating towards it.

Cimmorro: whispered panic "shit. shit. one's right outside.” Finn: finn mentally recalls what the past couple days have been like, what hes done, who hes talked to, and finds that hes done nothing so wrong that he deserves the situation at hand unfolding. he wonders if he should even bother yelling at the other vengaboys. he wants to ignore them so so bad but decides to stick an arm out and point at the other bed before retracting it, holding tighter onto ozan Cimmorro: cimm's immediate panic is put to a pause as soon as he sees the hand, it only takes another second for him to realize what's going on and turns to vinny pulling him over to the unoccupied space. "you. bed. now. go go go" Vinny: vinny stares curiously at the motion before cimm pulls him "e-er, over or under?" Cimmorro: "over, it's too obvious if you're under-" he says this while changing his form again to something bigger maybe something like an aarakocra so the wings can help with cover, then he basically just pins vinny under him and says shush Vinny: he makes an aborted yelp as you pull him over, most of his surprise coming from the change in form as you pull him close, as you settle in and shush him he just mutters an 'oh gods...' under his breath doing his best to hide himself and his face, nearly forgetting the tail. Ozan: you hear ozan stiffle a chuckle as he closes his eyes again Vernalis: Ozan actually gonna fall asleep

As the two secure themselves, across the ship in one of the storage rooms, Keva’s ears pick up the sound of the door creaking open as something begins shuffling around the room. She assumes it to be a wraith as she hears a little chuckling and things in the room get moved around and toppled over, erring closer to her spot, hidden within a crate.

She does what she can to hide herself further, hiding under a dusty tarp within the crate, curling into as small a ball as she can. Suddenly she hears the crate on top of hers opened and then tossed aside. She feels the lid lifted off her own and holds her breath. After a few moments she feels the lid dropped onto the top of the crate again as the wraith abandons it, seemingly satisfied with spotting nothing inside.

It continues to rummage about the rest of the room. She keeps her guard up, staying sharp until she hears the sound of it leave the room, finally noting the door slam shut again.

Keva: after a few moments she breathes again and tries to not sneeze or cough from the dust lol

Back in the cabin hallway, Han decides to try move up the stairs to get a look on whats happening on the deck. She squints into the darkness as the rain continues to pelt overhead, unseen for now. She spy's a few wraiths on the deck playing in a circle as she'd seen before, though feels as if there are more figures than before she cant make out much else. She clicks her tongue and darts back to her hiding spot, trying to not linger lest she alert the wraiths moving around the entrance hall.

Han tries again to try and check the corridor, though she nearly trips over herself walking to the door, catching her feet just in time. Her dance with herself gives her zero view of the hall outside in the meantime, she stays frozen in place nervously afterwards.

The wraiths search continues as they begin examining the cabins. The door of the room Psalm is hiding in is flung open, though after a few moments of silence, he hears it flung closed just as quickly, seemingly no worse for wear.

Near Psalm’s recently opened cabin Cimorro, Vinny, Ozan and Finn also hear the sounds of the doors in the hallway begin to get flung open. The sound is getting ever closer as the four set themselves in their positions.

Soon enough they hear the door to their own slammed open. Cimmorro feels one float over to him above the bed, staring at his face it looks at him for what feels like hours but could only be a few seconds. After a few more tenuous seconds it then floats away, doing the same to Ozan on the other side of the room. Satisfied, it lets out a little cackle as it exits the room, slamming the door shut behind it again.

After a few more seconds of tense waiting around in their positions, all across the ship the group suddenly hear a chorus of wailing and sighing sounds. Soon after they feel a snapping sensation in their heads as they’re snapped back into their own bodies where they currently sit. All across the ship they hear cries and shouts of surprised and relieved cheering echo around from passengers and crew.

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> 🎵 Junkpit / Ghost Song OST

As opposed to the others however, Han’s literal body swaps instead, she finds herself in the same position she was but simply as herself again. As the party settle themselves in their new strange positions, they note any spells they’ve cast suddenly drop as well.

Plum: plum is going to go from a cozy dark space to lying in bed with a random person and screaming Cimmorro: cimm struggles a lil while tapping vinny's arm like "erm... cheesed to meet you" Vinny: he blinks while rubbing his head then glances down at you and yells, rolling off to the side abruptly and onto the floor with a whomp sound Vernalis: blinking back after waiting around in the dark verny kinda painfully slowly reacclimates and looks down at plum and then looks around a lil bit more "Oh! That was rather smart." She's kinda just immobile relishing lack of joint pain idk how old ozan is hes geriatric in her mind. Plum: plum struggles away from verny awkwardly and sits up, frowning. "yeah i guess it was," they mutter, but they're thinking of how to grill finn later. speaking of finn, where did finn put..himself. they also notice cimm and vinny in the room like wtf.. Cimmorro: he sits up while laughing and says "well, that worked! guess we're fine now- apart from that blood curdling scream earlier" Vinny: he breathes a defeated sigh on the ground as he lowers himself further Cimmorro: he stands over to his side and stretches his home sweet body again before pulling over one of vinny's arms. "cmoooon, you gotta admit that was quite the thrill!" he looks over to verny and plum like :D "yay! we did it!" Vernalis: "I should go look for my roommate now." And with a ^_^ She gets up and finally registers cimm and vinnys presence. "Yeah we did it??!" :D???? Plum: "we did it, yayyy" they say in a somewhat unenthused voice. "that was really fucking easy for me, not gonna lie" Vinny: he makes a withered noise in the back of his throat "yes...quite the thrill.." but turns his head at the cheering and lifts a fist like wooo... Cimmorro: "heh, i am curious of what it feels like to be in that thing-- speaking of, where is it?” Plum: "i have no idea, i was in the bag. probably in this room, though"

Han: seeing psalm and keva rush up too, han goes "are you yourself again? that was. not pleasant." Psalm: "Not something I'd like to experience again." Keva: keva nods "do you know where the others are?" Han: "i could only feel someone in my- feeling-" han walks back and knocks under the stairs to ozan "are you yourself" Ozan: he shuffles out of the door and peeks his head out "helllooo!" he glances around you all "i assume whatever this was got sorted then" he stretches his back a little "wish i could go back to napping..." Psalm: psalm rolls his shoulders like "Hope Im not sore tomorrow.." Keva: "stretch and you'll be fine" Psalm: :< Han: looking at ozan, han looks back up to keva and psalm "wait, when you guys changed, did you... stay where you are? because it felt like my whole body got moved?" Keva: keva blinks "i was in a box and then suddenly i was in a room, i assume where psalm had been hiding" Han: "i stayed in the same place..?" 😬 Psalm: "And you were swapped with Rokka? We should keep an eye out for him." Han: han pats ozan’s head distractedly before rushing up stairs again lol Keva: turning to han and processing what she said, and remembering the scream earlier, keva moves with greater urgency as she continues to the deck, looking out for signs of rokka Ozan: ozan makes a sound as you pat him on the head as if amused as you shuffle upstairs past him

As the three head up again in the rain they see it pelt the deck of the ship, though it seems to be letting up, a softer shower than before.

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> 🎵 Flowers / Ghost Song OST

They glance towards where the wraiths are and see them dancing slowly in a circle again, they would almost guess their demeanour looked sad from where they stand. In the circle is the same ethereal man and now holding hands with him as hes lifted around in the air is Rokka.

Han: not thinking han yells for rokka :( "hey! you stupid jellyfish! what did you do to him!!!"

Cimmorro: cimm was continuing on hassling vinny about getting up until he hears that outside and he perks up with concern "i think we should go"

As the group outside confront the wraiths, the four inside make to head out. Plum plucks Finn out of the bag, hiding them under their arm as they make for the deck where its raining. On the deck the wraiths look over at at the three.

Wraiths: "hello" "hello winners" "we didn't do much" "he's just sleeping" "we got excited to keep him..." "but we lost" "no new friends today..." they continue rotating in a circle but slow down and let rokka's body slowly lower to the floor. hand still holding a wraiths and the man's Keva: keva makes her way over and tries to help him up Han: han runs over to hold rokka Psalm: "Is he going to wake up any time soon or...?" Wraiths: "pat him on the cheek a few times" "or shout really loud" "he'll wake up" "but he's having a good dream right now" "gave it to him as a reward for winning"

Rokka: Rokka is dreaming about reuniting with his family, his family welcoming him home with open arms, including the one person he has been desperately wanting to see the most finally home again. Whole at last he felt.

Keva: keva glares at the wraith holding his hand and says lowly "let go" Wraiths: a few of the wraiths droop to release his hand, the mans comes open on its own as they wraiths move to relink with him and continue spinning around, leaving rokka in your care Han: han glares at them untrustingly but doesnt wake rokka up yet "what about that guy?" Wraiths: "we told you" "he's our friend" "he's not yours is he..."

Thinking fast Keva quickly moves her hand while the etheral man is still within her grasp, she quickly reaches out to grab the man’s free arm.

Wraiths: as you grab the other man's arm you stop the abrupt twirling, the wraiths quickly go from dropping to standing tall as they make angered faces at you "he's not part of the game!" "why are you grabbing him!" Keva: "time you find someone else to play with" she tugs to try and pull him towards her Han: han joins in to try and grab another body part Wraiths: the ghosts tug back with a ferocity, contesting the two womens "no!" "no!" "stop!!" "you already won! "we already lost so many!" "there'll be no one left" their wailing begins to grow in volume as if they were starting to scream and cry Psalm: I help them pull, altho psalm will say under his breath "We shouldn't even be getting involved."

Keva feels a surge of strength run through her as she reaclimates to her body but with an otherworldy possessiveness the wraiths wrest the man back.

Wraiths: "hes not yours!" "hes not your friend!" "he doesnt love you!" "go away" "go away!" "dont take him away!" "dont leave us alone!"

As the man is ripped from the three's grasps, Han manages to cast protection from good and evil in the fleeting seconds before he leaves it. As she does the wraiths pull him away from them. As he’s laid in their arms she suddenly sees the man's face twitch from where it had lied unmoving before.

The rest of the party arrive on deck, and watch the man's face twist and bunch as the wraiths crowd him, before suddenly they begin to shout and murmer worriedly amongst themselves.

Wraiths: "no no!" "what did they do!" "they hurt him!" "he's leaving!" "please stop!" "dont do this!" "make it stop!" "dont go!"

The man's arms begin to twitch, his legs and his toes shudder as he stirs. eventually he falls right out from under the wraiths hold onto the deck below, their grip on him lost. Reacting before her, Keva gives Han's back a push, forcing her dash forward to catch the man in her arms before he hits the ground.

He feels light and airy in her arms as if he weighed nothing at all. In the interim Finn flys over towards Psalm to hide from the rain within his cloak. Above them the wraiths distort and wail sadly, but they seem to twist and shake, instead of trying to grab him again they just wobble and wail, crying out.

Wraiths: "were alone again!" "alone again!" "why did you do this!" "why do you hate us" "why do we lose everything" Han: han looks up soooo sadly at them "you.. come on guys, you know you cant steal people..." Wraiths: the wraiths droop and twist in agony and sadness "he came to us..." "he chose us..." "isn't that okay!?"| Psalm: "You have each other?" Psalm tries Wraiths: the wraiths look towards psalm and despite their lack of eyes he feels something mournful boring into him "we wanted someone different" "its scary" "someone big" "safe" "we keep losing ourselves" "but he would always be there" "please give him back" "were sorry" "please were so sorry" "we'll go away" "never again" Han: han looks at psalm and keva with big pleading eyes and her mouth in a grimace "should we- not have-?" she doesnt really know what to do Keva: han can see keva's struggling with this too, but says "we should ask him" and juts her chin at the man Psalm: "I don't feel any sympathy for them after all the trouble they put us in tonight. But I agree. If he wants to be with them that's none of my business." He crosses his arms.

Han tries to get a read on the wraiths but gets nothing aside from pure sadness, and lonliness, she cant imagine this is anything but purely genuine from them, which makes it so demoralising. Keva tries to stir the man but he doesnt seem to wake, just shifting and furrowing his brow as if in the midst of a bad dream. Psalm tries lightly slapping his face, and turns up much of the same result.

Trying to get a read on how to help them Plum thinks to themselves, wracking their brain on the things they've been hearing them say and his general look and appearance. They gather at some point he came into contact with them and ended up this way, most likely unknowing of the consequences. To bind the undead like this you would need something to hold them, the man and the wraiths didn't come from nowhere. Something magic is holding them in this in between state, forced into a limbo. They glance back at the man and think 'there has to be something on him doing this... a seal or lock'.

As the others find themselves preoccupied talking to the wraiths Plum quickly moves to check the man over realising they might be able to solve this. Soon enough they find what they’re looking for, a locket in the shape of a heart tucked away in his clothes around his neck. As they flip it around they see arcane runes scratched into the back. Something strong and binding, its almost hard to look at directly as if it were repelling their eyes. As they mess around with it they click it open, on the inside they see something carved in smaller letters in common, reading 'always together'.

Plum: plum just makes a face at it, and says, "wow.. very subtle." they're not sure if just removing the locket will kill the guy or not, they cast identify on it

Psalm: "You wouldn't need protecting if you didn't randomly attack innocents now would you. Learn to play games among yourselves." berating them like children Wraiths: the wraiths droop lower and lower as you speak, making sounds as if crying "were sorry" "we just wanted to make friends" "were sorry" "please im sorry" you almost watch them grow smaller in size as you do Han: han continues to look like a lost puppy btwn everyone Finn: finn squeaks at you disapprovingly a little...... Psalm: <-- after their reactions, Psalm rolls his eyes and goes "Just don't do it again." Finn: at this finn simply gets comfortable again, satisfied w psalm correcting his way here Han: "can we- can we do something else for you? how can we keep you here, without him?" :( Keva: keva speaks more softly to them this time, "if you're really his friend, then don't you want him to be having fun, too? he looks like he's been in a bad dream all this time "you can't... make people stay" Wraiths: the wraiths shrink a little in response at psalm’s dismissal before turning to han "were all alone" "we want to be with him" "we dont want to be alone again" "we want to be with him" "we want to be with someone" at keva the wraiths twist and contort again as they grow "he was happy" "he was happy before" "now hes hurt" "he came to us" "and now hes hurt" the wraiths let out a long wail in unison Han: han looks at plum as they study the locket "can we do something??” 🥺

As they wait for Plum to finish their identification, Han’s spell drops, when it begins to wane she spots the wraiths moving close to the man as if trying to grab him.

Han: han makes a miserable face and and closes her eyes as she recasts it Wraiths: the wraiths let out another loud wail as you do, you hear no words only sorrow Han: hans shoulders tense up and she whines at their sounds

Finished with their identification Plum takes in the newfound information, before sharing it with the rest of the group.

Lovelorn Locket A locket that holds the souls of lonely children long past. In heavy grief in another time they were woven to it after their deaths, their souls tied to the material plane through it. The locket acts as their body allowing them to bring any they please into and out of it. Strange runes amplify and grant them magic, with which they use to play games with any they come across, acting as steadfast playful companions. When destroyed their souls are released, and those they've taken would return to as they were beforehand, the locket returning to dull metal.

Plum: "i think we need to get this thing off of him, honestly." Psalm: "I agree." Finn: finn wishes so bad it wasnt raining Cimmorro: "we should put them to rest, no?" [rp'ers note: this was typed with gritted teeth] Han: keva has a look of sadness as she listens "we have to free them too. they've been stuck here too long" Plum: "basically, yes. i don't even know where the fuck this kind of thing came from, it's actually pissing me off."

As they lift the locket from the mans chest they see a string of light connecting itself between his chest and the locket begin to stretch out between the two as they move it away.

Plum: "uhhhhh i don't like that, why is it doing that," plum starts to ramble. they are like convinced they are pulling this guys soul out rn Cimmorro: "likely cause it's bound to him? perhaps we need to get rid of it where it stays" Plum: "yeah, you check on it cimm because i dont' want to accidentally kill this guy." they're still holding the locket but they like hold it up more for cimm to see it Cimmorro: cimm and plum diffusing a timed bomb rn

Staring at it Cimmorro gets a sense the light is the connection between his soul and the item, severing it probably wouldn't harm him, simply the connection between the two.

Cimmorro: cimm takes a closer look and after a bit he's like "i was right, it was its link to him. severing it shouldn't harm him though, just the link itself... i wonder if a normal blade would even work though" Plum: "i'm gonna take it off first." plum says and lifts the locket over the guys head and off his body ??: as you pull the locket off of his neck you see his face twitch and move again but nothing else comes. Plum: "okay somebody destroy this thing, i'm sorry but it's gotta go." Vernalis: "I'm worried this won't work but I got something I can try?" Plum: plum hands them da locket Han: han continues to not watch whatevers happening, just hold onto our mystery persons hand after casting protection and clutching rokkas sleeping body, sniffling quietly Cimmorro: cimm just looks up at the ghosts a little 🥺 "we'll be taking you some place nicer, you'd meet someone there, someone different, and she will take care of you maybe even play if you're nice! sound good?" Wraiths: the ghosts twist and contort a little more watching the goings on, but as you speak they look over towards you, rising again "really?" "someone...?" "someone nice?" "really..." "he cant come?" "not with us?" Cimmorro: "no he can't, not yet. but you'll see him again eventually, don't worry. he just has to finish things first." he gives them a reassuring nod Wraiths: they spread out a little again, floating near you "really?" "youre not lying again...?" "promise" "we want to see so many people again" "promise..." Cimmorro: "promise!" he smiles around them "but you have to be good! then the nice lady will let you meet new people! promise me you'll be good? and tell me your names so i may pray for you" Wraiths: "you promised.." "so we promise" "i promise" "remember you promised" at the question you see them stop still as contorted shapes wisp through the air "do you remember?" "i dont know..." "did we have names?" after a few moments you hear them speak again in hushed tones "we knew someone named vinos... thats the only name we know" Plum: "and who's that?" plum asks, very surprised Wraiths: "our first friend" "but she left a long time ago" "she was always very sad" Keva: "how did she leave?' Wraiths: "she died" "but she didn't come be with us" "because we didnt take her" "thats how we learned..." "we need to do it first" Keva: "she might be where he's taking you" she says a bit hesitatingly, tilting her head at cimmorro Wraiths the swirl in thought at that "if we can meet other friends..." "we could see her too?" "i hope so" "i miss her" "i miss her too" Cimmorro: "yes, perhaps a reunion is due... so long as you let us free you with no hard feelings" Wraiths: the wraiths begin twirling again in a circle around you all slowly as if thinking, sniffling wails stifled and voices lighter "you promised" "so well trust you" "if youre lying we'll know" "we can do scary things" "so we'll trust you" "well let him go" "if we can see him again" "and you promised" Cimmorro: "yes, promise. cross my heart" he does the gesture Wraiths: the wraiths continue twirling in silence as the rain falls "okay" "okay "alright" they say nothing else as they watch you all

Cimmorro: he turns to vernalis "would you mind if i do the honors? i feel like i'm responsible of these children now"

Taking the locket Vernalis sits with Cimmorro as he holds it out in of his hand’s casting sacred flame and eveloping it in the fire.

Cimmorro: they're doing prayers and hes using a formal jasidan prayer but at the end he adds smth about requesting these kids find their friend vinos Keva: keva only quietly mutters a common shuk kuyu prayer for the dead as this happens (insert smth like the one in fe3h lol) Vernalis: Verny doesn't exactly worship any one deity more than just adherence to her oath, but she draws strength from that oath to send these kids off. What comes out comes out in Sylvan, she's pretty sure they probably won't understand her, but some words are said in mirth and attempt to alleviate how scary this must be for them. She ends it in common and prays that these kids and Vinos can find each other and play in the light together.

As the flame envelops the locket and some of the party speak aloud and to themselves, they watch something on the locket snap with a loud sound with finality. As it does they see the light between the man and the locket snap as well before the glow around it fades and disappears. The wraiths twist and snap along with it for a moment before they see their forms dissolve, turning from creatures with sharp teeth and hollow eyes into the soft faces of children for a brief few seconds. As they do, the party notice all around the deck groups of crewman suddenly appearing, as if from thin air, dropping and lying on the deck. Most of them let out yelps and moans as people come to consciousness around them.

After a few moments the children wave at them all before they disappear into the breeze and the rain.

youtube

> 🎵 Attic Theme / Rule of Rose OST

In the party’s arms the man in green stirs, groaning to himself as he shivers moving a hand to run over his face. Rokka begins to rouse from his sleep as well.

Plum: "are you alright" plum says in a deadpan to the green guy Cimmorro: med checking him for anything that needs attention ??: the mans eyes appear glassy and unfocused until he blinks a few times, glancing at you in the rain "am i...?" he glances around from his spot as if in a daze "i am...?" he blinks a few more times his lashes wet "where am i..."

Cimmorro looks the man over, as far as he can tell he looks physically no worse for wear if not a bit out of it, some kind of shock probably. He’s no clue how long he was with those kids, the rain and wind probably isnt going to help matters though.

Cimmorro: a Han: han holding rokka like a bebe Rokka: rokka stirs awake, scrunching his face a bit as he blinks adjusting his vision. realization slowly sinking in that it was all just a dream, he jolts up "RAL--" noticing everyone he pauses, ears falling down for a split second before composing himself again and clears his throat "y-you guys..." his voice shakes a little Han: han lets him down off of herself Keva: keva looks to rokka when she feels him start to wake, and gives him a few pats on the back after pulling away, now feeling the brunt of the chill Rokka: he looks a little surprised at u briefly like woah 😳 Han: "you all right? we got rid of the ghosts..." Rokka: "y-yeah" he mumbles while rubbing his head "what even happened? I was hiding and the next thing i knew i just felt hands grabbing me and it went blank from there..?" he looks around double checking for the ghosts even if han wasn't lying to him and lets our a longgggggggggggggggg sigh "FINALLY" Han: "we mustve won our game, cause suddenly everyone turned back to themself, then we came up here and the ghosts were dancing with you and that man (points to anton) but they gave you back... then we uh.. tried to get them to release him and they didnt want so..." han sighs wearily "we forced them anyway.. i guess..." she frowns Rokka: "huh...." he tilts his head processing everything, noticing her frown "its a good thing u saved him though, right?"

Cimmorro: "we should all head back inside" Plum: "you're on the........" plum racks their brain for the name of the airship for a second. "the pelican. an airship heading to....." doesn't remember that either. "ANYWAYS. i'm plum, and me and some others just saved you from a bunch of ghosts. what's the last thing you remember." Anton: he tilts his head "a pelican..." he tilts it again "an airship?" he stares at you blankly before shivering again "i... was in a garden... my garden..." he stares around lost as he goes on "i am anton...." Plum: plum notices them shiver and helps them up like right, maybe it's time to go inside now.. now they're really confused though, not really one who knows much about spirits and how he could get spirited from a garden to here. "a garden where?"

As they consider the man’s words they hear a few of the newly spirited crewman begin yelling and making their way towards your group.

Crewman: "are you lot alright!" "my heads killing me..." a woman in drenched trousers and a white jacket approaches you all ahead of them "here come inside, he looks dour.." she says glancing at the man in green Anton: he considers the question "my home...?" with a blink as the crewman get closer a few of them begin helping him up and give him comforting pats on the back as if to ground him as they walk him downstairs and out of the rain

The party soon follow after, and begin warming up amongst the harried crew and passengers, though most are celebrating their return to normalcy, the mood contrastingly chipper once more.

Cimmorro: cimm walks back inside after making sure everyone else is alright and just starts drying himself with magic air Keva: as keva tucks her arms into her body and starts to head back below, she bumps her shoulder lightly into cimm’s and simply says “good work” with a weak smile and a sniffle Cimmorro: he looks at her in surprise then smiles back "you too" fwooshes her with some air Keva: she flinches like 😖 Cimmorro: "ah oops, don't do well with the cold? nevermind that then" he gives an apologetic smile. "better hurry to those towels, then" Keva: she just nods and slips away Vernalis: verny just wipes her face and shakes like a dog when inside

As soon as Psalm’s spotted a few of the crewman crowd him and cheer.

Crewmen: "oooii this one!" "king of the dagger here!" and begin manhandling him around until theyre chucking him in the air, a few also approach vinny similarly Psalm: PSALM LIKE UNHAND ME Keva: keva sees this on her way to the bath and laughs a little nasally like congested sounding Finn: [finn just desperately hanging onto psalm rn] Vinny: he attempts to rub his face from the tears hed been shedding as fast as possible, very flustered and trying to avoid a similar fate. Cimmorro: cimm's just kinda outside of vinny's crowd and laughing at the ruckus Vinny: as you look at vinny he shoots you a glance like when will it end...

The rest of the party get thankful people approaching them one at a time for their efforts on the ship for the night. The crewmen settle anton in the dining hall, with towels and something warm to drink. Plum follows after him still concerned, and is handed a drink as well to warm up.

Keva: she gives plum a brief but grateful hand on their shoulder before finding a private bath again to warm back up and also maybe let herself get a little emotional about the display from the kids Plum: they smile but continue talking to anton

Plum: "i mean, ugh." plum says, but not impatiently. they're just tired and like overly concerned for this person. "where is your home?" Anton: he seems to have regained some of his wits amongst the jovial atmosphere, holding a tankard in hand as he holds back a sneeze. he thinks quietly "ah... home is. eventa" Vernalis: She just hears Eventa, takes a moment to process that and grimaces off in a corner

Plum recalls the name Eventa was a name for for an old region of Vargonia before it formed as a country, people only called the area that still about a hundred years ago though.

Plum: plum looks blankly at anton for a bit as it slowly dawns on them what it means when he says that his home is eventa. did they have airships 100 years ago? nobody in his party is old enough to answer this, maybe finn..? how long has finn been alive again..? "uhhh," they say elegantly. "uh, oh no.." they look around awkwardly. "how receptive are you to...bad news?" Anton: he blinks at you the heat filling his body once more making him look alive and human "ah... a normal amount?" Plum: "okay," plum grumbles, taking a swig of whatever was placed in front of them also, hopefully alcohol. this guy is kind of a pain in the ass but it's fine, it's fine, he doesn't know what's going on. plum was like that too. probably still is. "we found you on the deck of this airship, which is like... a ship that flies..in the air. with these ghost--wraiths, i guess, tossing you around like a rag. seems like you might have crossed them some time ago and they possessed you, but it's probably been years since then. considering eventa hasn't been a place on the map for like, a hundred years." Anton: he nods as you begin and go on, trying to parse the information. he doesnt seem surprised about the existence of wraiths but before he can comment his eyes go wide hearing the map comment, after a few stunned seconds of silence he blinks "i.... truly?" he lifts a hand to rest at his brow, as if stricken, going a little paler Plum: "um.....yes, truly." plum nods, wondering if now is the time to do something comforting like place a hand on his shoulder or something...? they opt for pouring him more drink instead. "that area is called vargonia now." Anton: "v...vargonia...." he blinks and looks up into the middle distance "i...?" he looks at the drink and takes it slowly after a few seconds, drinking his fill before putting it back down "i am a man...out of time then? what year... IS it..?" Plum: "yeah i believe you are. its 415 EE, era of evolution.." plum feels pretty bad for this guy. Anton: he stares at you and goes a little slackjawed and puts a hand to his face again. he looks down, back up, blinks at you and closes his mouth before looking down again "i... oh i feel dizzy..." Crewman: one of the crewman nearby approaches you two from behind again "you alright? we can give yous a place to lay down..." Anton: he nods in reply "that...may be best..." as he stands he looks at you plum and blinks again "th...thank you, i... appreciate it" he looks towards his drink and downs the rest of it.

As Anton is shuffled off by the crewman to rest from Plum, across the room in the dining hall Cimmorro eyes Vinny’s crowding with amusement.

Cimmorro: even if the sight is amusing, cimm still feels a little sorry for him. the night has been long, their sleep was cut short, and boy what a harrowingly emotional mess this had become. eventually he rolls his eyes as if saying 'alright, alright' before squeezing into the crowd and attempting to peel him away from it. to the crowd he goes, "this has all been wonderful but we could really use a break. celebrations could come in the morning yes? yes. we're all soaking wet and my husband is quite frail--" he keeps pulling him away. "our sweet daughter is also waiting for us in our room as well. so we must go." Vinny: he gives you a thankful look as you dispel the jovial drinkers around him and pull him away before he splutters going red at the wording "we have a daughter...??" he thinks for a moment before realising where he left jasper "oh we do..." he replies mindlessly to himself allowing you to drag him off Finn: finn flies to join cimm and vinny, although still in bat form. he looks hesitant to land on either of them but he just stays close, following them Cimmorro: he hears a trail of cimm's laughter ahead of him. "you were about to forget her...! oh she'd be so sad..." he eventually lets go once they're out of the dining hall. Vinny: he huffs a sigh rubbing his face now that his hands are free, standing around the stairs "frankly im glad, she was better off waiting here... Cimmorro: "indeed." he continues to walk towards their room "though i'm sure she's in quite a fuss after seeing that wraith... i just hope she isn't too stressed there all alone..." he kinda just 🥺 at the ceiling thinking about it and walks a lil faster Vinny: after a moment he follows afterwards with a slanted smile on his face "lets just hope she fell back asleep..."

Finn: finn thinks this is a great moment to make his presence known to you and he chirps up next to you, the flapping of his wings probably quite audible now... he seems to be somewhat in distress and wont shut the fuck up Cimmorro: he hums. "well, that aside... i was about to get upset about all the attention you're getting-- that was all me! but then, i thought, well, i did use the things you taught me. so, no hard feelings~" he says it all somehow both jokingly and sincere. "i wish you could've seen me though! wuh, i bet you--" his words cut short by a flapping as annoying as a buzzing fruitfly and stops to turn to its source only to find finn "can i help you?" he looks at him puzzled and a bit in dismay Vinny: he shakes his head at the comments but cimm’s genial attitude lifts his spirits a little from his earlier headache. when he stops and begins speaking to a bat he blinks and stares, as if he's suddenly started hallucinating he rubs his red eyes again Finn: finn bumps into you a few times, as if to urge you to hurry to your room...... Cimmorro: cimm just goes like "ack, what is your problem?! i'm on my way there already geez!" eventually they arrive and cimm opens the door for them Finn: finn flies in and hangs from the ceiling until vinny and cimm are in. this presumably does not take much time and once the doors finally shut, finn transforms back, landing dramatically but gracefully on his feet. "i-i didnt wanna do it in the hallway" he pouts, since he pressured cimm so much about this. "who knows how long plum is going to spend with that waifish looking man..." hes so preoccupied with himself he forgets that vinny isnt in the know about him yet, but something about him is a little off anyway.... are his eyes...the tiniest bit glassy? Cimmorro: "why did you have to do it here? you could've just went to the restroom or something geez" he walks over to where jasper is and starts babying her Vinny: he stares increudlously as cimmorro continues to speak to the bat and allow it into their room, choosing to stop rubbing his eyes at least lest he rub them raw. as soon as finn transforms he jumps with a yelp barely processing the conversation the two are having before he thinks for a few moments "oh jeez... it was just you finn..." he rubs his forehead as if feeling tired Finn: cimmorros swift dismissal grounds finn somewhat. 'because i trust you' 'because i felt like i couldnt turn to anyone else'? thankfully keeping these words in comes easy to him now. no, really, hes so happy actually that cimm is reminding him of where they stand no matter what he does right. he wonders if he can afford to get a sniffle in without anyone noticing. for better his train of thought is halted by vinny, before he can think of a way to reply to cimmorro while mainting his dignity. only now finn realizes how badly he messed up by following cimmorro here. so the night could still get worse, he thinks. despite viewing vinny as his only real friend among the vengaboys, lies are at the immediate forefront of his mind. or perhaps he should handle it the way he did before he started developing affections for this man. apathy and dismissal. if he does not ask, he need not explain himself. "it was indeed me" he says as stable as he can. taking a breath he doesnt need, just to ground himself further. "i did not mean to startle you, my friend..." without thinking, he bows "im happy to see youre unharmed... i know ive praised you for our efforts quite a bit already, but let me praise you again, for i think that was a grandiose battle. only do i wish to witness you at your own strength now, now that we have become comrades" he smiles at vinny, but it is a little tired. his long winded speech lacks the usual spark Cimmorro: "do i need to leave the room" Vinny: he waves a hand in the air to dismiss any presumptions "n-no no i just didnt know you could ah, do that?" he settles himself with a shake of the head getting a little embarassed at the amount of praise hes being given "i...ah i dont know if i did so well, but thank you? considering the amount of people coming up to praise me id think cimmorro did more than me..." he glances over and makes a face at cimmorro’s comment before rubbing his neck "h-heres to many more fierce battles..?" he says it a little tiredly as well but he gives you a smile as if trying to muster some spirit Cimmorro: >cimm feels like a third wheel rn Finn: "youll find quite a few of my talents are not ascertainable at first glance" he smirks and poses, slowly he feels like hes regaining himself. yes...yes! this is the path to self preservation! he outstretches his hand and declares "when those fierce battles descend upon us, bear witness to my might, vinny!" he laughs a little "as will i bear witness to yours! together, my friend, we will banish anyone who dares point their magecraft or steel toward us!" he then sighs, happy with his performance and recovery. "will it not be so?" cimm he wishes he could snap at cimmorro though. so so badly. despite the strange direction their relationship has taken on, despite his heart softening for this unbearable clergyman in particular, he wishes he could snap right now. just once more. but he needs cimmorro. he needs something only cimmorro can give him. it is not the salvation he watched the man give to those wretched children, no, although a part of his heart that he quickly commands to quiet down wishes cimmorro did pray for him as well. he wouldnt even have to tell finn for him to appreciate it. "you? leave? heavens no..." finn begins "you have my gratitude as well... for granting me shelter here, and for staying by vinnys side... ^__^ surely youve fought as well as i can expect you to these days. worry not, i do not intend to intrude for long. in fact, i was about to up and leave" he wants to take a step, but he thinks for a moment...would cimmorro rat him out to vinny? he'd like to tell him on his own terms, or preferably never!... so finn stares at cimm quite intently, hoping he feels that and looks at him Cimmorro: cimm watches the exchange between the two like britney gif. what is happening? on one hand it's quite funny to be on the outside perspective of finn's targetted.... attachment. but on the other, well, he knows what it's like to be in it so he's not quite sure if he should intervene. when finn addresses him, he simply blinks. "right... i had nothing to do with all of that side thing you're talking about, but you're welcome?" he turns to vinny "i guess people just think you're my property huh" when he attempts to laugh he catches finn's glare at him and just gives him a quizzical look, as if asking 'what now?' Vinny: he tilts his head a little at finn seeming to kick up the theatrics but finds himself happy hes having a bit of fun still at least, the evening certainly had taken a toll on himself. he idly counts the amount of times he's cried this week in his head for a laugh as he responds with a bit of a strained laughter "ill be sure to work hard for your sake, ill end up making you look bad at this rate..." he scratches his chin as he stares between the two having no clue why the dramatics for such a simple hello and goodbye but hes a becoming too weary to think to hard on it. at cimms latter comment he coughs and folds his arms trying to hide the embarrassment "im here on your invitation i... s-suppose?" he thinks to himself regrettfully that should have just made a joke about it instead Finn: finn thinks for a moment on how to adress his worry without giving anything away to vinny... "i was just thinking.... even if you've no love for battle as i do, and as vinny seems to do, you ought to not despoil all the ingenious wonders that i intend to bring about for vinny to see! itd be no fun if he learnt of them beforehand..." finn tilts his head, hoping that was blunt enough. he lingers with his gaze until vinny affirms being cimmorros property, and at that, finn gives a laugh "i believe ive taken up enough of your time......." he still looks at cimmorro "you and your husband have a daughter to attend to, no?" he then makes way for the door and bows to the both of them again, making sure to smile at vinny as he leaves "may you both rest well despite tonights events.... i look forward to landing in krenic and- oh... that reminds me" finn leans against the door frame "say, vinny... cimmorro and i have a planned outing in krenic... he is to show me around the city and his church.... would you like to accompany us on one of those occasions?" Cimmorro: cimm snorts in his surprise at vinny pretty much just agreeing with his joke and notices him flush. he glances at finn again and says, "look at him, he's cute, how can i not share him? be grateful i'm so benevolent 👼 " finn's follow up comment takes his attention and studies him and his dramatics. what the fuck is he saying? after a moment he just waves a hand "whatever you plan to do with him in bed i'm sure it will be mindblowing," he says with sarcasm, followed with a tired sigh. the outward invitation only making him more exhausted, but he thinks having vinny there would probably make it less miserable Vinny: he blinks curiously as he hears him go on about battle, he didn't even think he could cast that much magic to begin with so he couldnt say he wasnt curious abt his abilities, though wouldn't it be better to know what he could do now, for strategy's sake... he doesn't mention it however as he doesn't want to open the rest of the evening up to battle planning talk after all this. at the daughter comment sharing comments he coughs and puts a hand to his chin muttering "how many p-people even heard that..." though he nearly chokes at cimmorro's follow up as he quickly turns towards him "h-how did we suddenly veer into this !? that's not what he meant...!" his face has gone fully red now as he waves an arm through the air flustered, as if trying to banish the implication from in front of them.he gets lost in his his frazzled reaction before thinking to answer finn's question, funnily enough he recalls cimmorro complaining about this the other night when he'd offered to join them idly, he finds it somewhat hard to agree now with the current atmosphere that's enveloped the conversation, but he mustles up the courage to respond with "i -ah y-yes why not. i'm sure he'd n-need to show me about anyway..." he sighs and puts half his face in his hand ready to abort this conversation... Finn: finn raises an eyebrow at cimm and sneers "hmph....how uncouth. i intend to do nothing of the sort with vinny and you are well aware" or...does he? what if vinny feels bad for being outright rejected now by finn? what if something were to ever blossom between them? hopefully.....this wasnt a damning statement, should something come of their friendship. finn quickly pushes the thoughts out, feeling somewhat guilty for even considering. finn glances at vinny again, not being able to help thinking that his demeanor is endearing though... "what a relief! i was thinking itd be easier on cimmorro that way too, he wouldnt have to explain everything multiple times that way... although i question whether it was right for me to be considerate of him, taking his millionth tasteless joke on this journey into account " he sighs and waves it off though "there is nothing i wish to further discuss for the time being, then... pardon me" with that he finally sees himself out lest Cimmorro: at some point during both of their spiels, with his fatigue catching up to him cimm has gotten up to change his clothes, uncaring of the two even being there. grumbling things such as "yes because you're the purest of us all" here and there in response to some of finn's jabs as he crawls onto his own bed Vinny: he looks up at finn through his hand tired and red and nods "y-yes well, er im looking forward to it?" he pointedly looking away from cimmorro, waving off finn off as he heads out "have a good evening yourself..." as the door shuts behind him he turns towards his bed takes a few steps, lifting his glasses, before falling onto it face first with a grunt

Vinny: after a few moments he sighs and mumbles aloud "standing between you two is going to give me heart burn i feel..." Cimmorro: he hears cimm yawn and cackle quietly. "does that mean you'd rather have one or the other? mm," he sleepily turns to his side "time to pick favorites?" Vinny: he lifts his arms up beside his head as he makes a groaning sound "id rather have neither right now so dont get smart..." he waves an arm around to dispel the light in the room doing his best to ignore the past few hours of his life lest he ruminate for another another before passing out. Cimmorro: the last thing he hears is cimm fake crying and whining, "you sure know how to break a heart boohoo~" and "night" Han: outside finn leans against the wall, pushing his bangs out of his face. it would seem his anger has somewhat receded...he wants to say it was misguided toward cimmorro, but the betrayal still stings, even if the view of him undressed does do its part to soothe that pain. good to know that that part of him still functions as he had hoped for tonight..... which reminds him that he has one more goal actually. if it works out, perhaps he'll be able to take his mind off the situation entirely. he looks down at his body and replays the events briefly.... he doesnt dare ask himself, if salvation is attainable for him. instead, he disappears into the night.........or hallway.

Back across the ship, close to the time Vinny and Cimmorro leave the hall, Han pulls Rokka aside to head back to their room as well for any semblence of peace to regained during the hectic night.

Han: after the second thankful person han whispers to rokka "im going to bed" and waits if he wants to join her to slip outta here Rokka: he slowly gets up and walks with her "yeah, honestly even though I just woke up I'M BEAT. worst day of my lifeeeeeeeeeee" Han: han makes sure her n rokka slip tf out un-accosted by others "it didnt.. feel good." she pauses "it is good. probably. i never feel good about choice we make." seeing how wiped rokka looks, han asks "the ghosts said they gave you good dream, did they actually?? i was worried they gave you nightmare or something..." Rokka: he nods sort of understanding but not having the energy to really try this time. he flinches at the mention of the dream, pausing for moment "Yeah, it was a good dream......a little too good, haha" he tries weakly laughing it off "kind of wish they didn't show it to me" Han: han just frowns at him, eyes getting a little more wet, and bumps his shoulder with her own "i should wake u up sooner" Rokka: he chuckles and looks up at her, forcing a smile to reassure her "it's okay! it was still nice to have even if it was just a dream" nudging her back "thanks for saving me..!" Han: she gives a weak smile back "you are safe and no more ghosties around" she grins proper and she ruffles his head Rokka: His smile widens a bit genuinely this, "i am safe." He laughs as she ruffles his fur "No more ghost forever!!" <-guy who doesn't realize he has his own ghosts forever Han: han cheers quietly with him ... banzai...! banzai....!!! Rokka:

Han: as they get back into their room and han stretches and snorts in laughter over something and goes "atleast its nice to learn i do prefer my own body... nice gains tho" she punches his shoulder without any force behind it Rokka: "Right back at ya!!" He perks up at the compliment "I feel the same way! It was nice being tall but I think I like being small " he stretches his arms out and wiggled his fingers Han: hans falls into bed "i wanted to be small and cute some.. time ago, i appreciate towering over most peoples more now" Rokka: He nods actually understanding this time "I'm glad you got more clarity!" he plops down on his bed as well, thinking for a second "Hey han? Do u ever wish to go home some day?" Han: han looks in rokkas direction from her pillow but actually stares somewhere past him, mulling over the question before settling on "home... yeah. sometimes its more for people who were there, sometimes i just miss that scenary. but... i dont want it to be home, i think..." she studies rokka sleepily Rokka: He sees her turn to him in his peripheral but chooses to keep his eyes closed "hmm, yeah" he replays the dream again "I guess its for the people for me too...or it was...?" Letting out a yawn and turning his body towards han, still closing his eyes, fatigue lowering his gaurd he mumbles sleepily "I'd like to think u r home too sometimes" Han: hans eyes shoot open at this confession, beginning to go a little pink. an "oh" leaves her quietly, unbidden. home is... family and work and home are things she doesnt know how to separate cleanly, and she recognizes how others easily compartmentalize these things. hearing this from another mouth makes her feel slightly raw. she reaches over and ruffles rokkas head fur again, and sees herself do it hundreds of times over in a life that feels very far away, one she cant stop lugging around. "okay" she whispers back. an acceptance. she retracts her hand and lies back down, tension leaving her body, though her heart still races. sleep comes easy. Rokka: He lets out a short giggle as she's ruffles his fur again, too tired to notice her reactions but happy she didn't protest. Sleep takes him as well..the jocks snooze

As the two head back to sleep, Vernalis retires from the dining hall as well, finding Ozan lounging in theirs with his pipe in hand. It seems he’s content to not go to bed just yet.

Vernalis: goes off to her room to change and maybe look for Ozan like what a night huh! Verny its been an hour Ozan: he laughs and offers u a hit from his pipe Vernalis: Verny just laughs a lil and accepts the pipe but ends up holding it for a bit after taking a hit as she takes in the suddenly contrastingly joyful atmosphere. "Umm Mister you seem like you know a lil bit a lot about magical things and stuff right...?" She asks before handing the pipe back. Ozan: he quirks a brow as he takes the pipe and shifts as if putting on a persona to entertain “that i do miss" Vernalis: She looks a little bit glum for once. "Just... Wondering how something like that could've been made." She realised belatedly Ozan probably didn't actually see any of what happened above deck or the heart locket and gave a rushed explanation involving wild hand gestures lmfao. In the end she doesn't really know what to do with herself when she finished. "... But um... yeah, weird heart locket trapping kids and people... I just can't imagine how something like that would ever get made." Ozan: he sits pondering the tale as she presents it, tapping his pipe and rubbing his chin "ive seeeen....quite a few nasty trinkets like that actually, you wouldnt believe" he leans back with his arms behind him after waving one through the air, crossing a leg over his knee "theres plenty of unruly powers in this world... sounds like to me someone lost some little ones and just couldn't let them go. with alot of emotion, plenty of good and evil can be born like that" Vernalis: Shes just listens and contemplates a bit while Ozan talks. After a while her pout easened up. "Stuff like that can just happen huh... I hope we helped these kids at least." 😢 Ozan: he nods his head in agreement seriously "aye its a terrible thing, but good things can happen too i suppose. for what its worth i think you helped out well, a plenty resourceful gal!" he whacks her across the back "and in my bones too for most of it, i can tell you this things never wielded a blade"

As they continue to chatter, Psalm eventually pries himself away from the crewmen intent on praising and embarassing him. Plum finds themselves the only one left seated in the dining hall. Soon after Anton is walked away, a few more crewmen approach them after, inquiring into the nights events.

They talk to the captain of the Pelican at one point, forced to relay the information as it seems everyone else has wandered out of the hall. After alot of gabbing and gesticulating, and rousing reactions from staff, the captain informs them they'll do their best to take care of the man and situate him in this strange new reality hes found himself in.

The captain also insists on compensating the party all for your time, they arent given room to argue on the point. Plum recalls them tossing Psalm around earlier and think that makes sense, the man mentions he'll discuss it with them all again before the ship lands in any case, but for now to go rest up.

Plum finally trots off and beds down again for the night in time. The party find themselves exhausted in more ways than one as as they knock out, Krenic so soon ahead of them all.

Notes

—

👻The Wraiths were freed from the Locket ⏳ Anton has become The Pelican’s newest passenger

#recaps #EYAAAAAAAAAAAAGH

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