The Shore not far from Galactica Point, Monday Morning

[built_fjord_tough]

Fjord really, really needed to stop waking up washed ashore on beaches after horrifying dreams. Last night's dream had been like the one before in reverse, had involved the coils with many eyes wrapping around him and pulling him away from the...

... From the what, he wasn't sure, but there in his dream he'd been crushed halfway to oblivion, the cold, booming voice in his head speaking single words again, that guttural growl snarling possessively right into his mind's eye.

WATCHING. RETURN. PROVOKE. CONSUME.

Again he'd woken up coughing seawater, and then he'd just sat there overlooking the waves, getting his bearings. Re-playing what he remembered of the last few days over and over in his head again. Holding out his hand and calling the falchion into it in a familiar splash of seawater. It was whole again, only the barest seam where the two halves had been split apart, and even that seemed to melt away as he watched it. He dismissed it again and then looked around, trying to puzzle out where he was. It was night - everything was in shades of gray - except then a cloud drifted a little more and he had to squint and look away, the sun too suddenly bright and hurting his eyes.

Okay. So not his usual grayscale night vision at work, just gray. He looked down at his hands, breathed out a sigh of relief. His claws had gone, receded back into his usual black, hooked nails. He had no tail, no spikes, no gills. A hand wandered up to his mouth and his eyes narrowed a little.

... Okay, his tusks were slightly longer than usual. Those hadn't completely gone back down to the size they'd been before, still peeking out a good inch from behind his bottom lip when he closed his mouth. But that wasn't cause for concern, so much. They would have gotten there eventually, had he left them long enough to grow. Still, they were... going to take some getting used to. He made a face, wrinkled his nose, and spat, trying to clear his mouth of the last traces of saltwateer still lingering there.

"Fuckin' hate this place," he muttered, and then settled back in among the stones and sand, staring out at the strangely gray morning sea.

[OOC: Open seashore, discombobulated wjarlock!]

Comments

[built_fjord_tough]

"No fuckin' way," Fjord replied, smirking just a tiny bit, himself. "You gave me the opening, I took it, now you're stuck with me."

He could count the people in his life that he gave a shit about on the fingers of one hand. That meant something.

[notallbluemonks]

Might have to start getting that other hand warmed up if this trip home panned out though, huh?

Beau rolled her eyes again, though the smirk was broader now.

"Uuuuuuugh, man, this is the fucking worst."

It was the best. Hopefully Fjord would know what she meant by now.

[built_fjord_tough]

He was probably going to need to start counting toes, too.

"Suck it up," he said, and so help him, he needed that chuckle. "It ain't all that bad."

Someday they'd be hurtling over a rainforest pursued by angry snake people and it would be all his fault. Fjord was so damn lucky to have people who wouldn't consider that sort of thing a dealbreaker.

[notallbluemonks]

After they all nearly drowned in a creepy subterranean temple, too. That part shouldn't be left out. Arguably you could say that all of this really just demonstrated that Fjord's friends had some seriously questionable judgment, but eh.

"No," Beau said, glad to hear him laughing after how miserable he'd looked when she first got here, "I'll bitch about it if I want to, because it's literally the fucking worst."

She was chuckling a little bit too, though.

[built_fjord_tough]

"Well, then just wait," Fjord replied. "Shit like this always gets worse, right?"

... He genuinely didn't know, but it sounded like the thing to say anyway.

[notallbluemonks]

"Well, obviously," Beau replied like the pessimistic jerk she was. "Unless it doesn't, and then you just get a nice surprise. Maybe."

[built_fjord_tough]

"You know, Beau," Fjord offered, "I'm startin' to think maybe we're overdue for the nice surprise."

... Honey.

[notallbluemonks]

"I'm going to remember you said that when we get a fireball in the face, you know."

Thanks, charmed future Caleb!

[built_fjord_tough]

And wouldn't an ability to control water be useful for roughly ten seconds, then!

"... Let's just hope we don't get any fireballs to the face."

Sorry, Fjordie.

[notallbluemonks]

Oh, it definitely would. Also you were welcome in advance for how Beau was too gay to be charmed by that incubus, Fjord.

"Once again, I'm going to remember you said that," Beau replied.

" . . . but if it's gonna happen, you're one of the few people I'd be cool with sharing that experience with," she added after a moment, glancing down awkwardly.

[built_fjord_tough]

Fjord gave Beau another little smile at that.

"Yeah?" Hell, he could point out that a statement like that might give the wrong impression, but he figured he got what she was getting at anyway. "... Yeah, you too."

[notallbluemonks]

It was nice that he got what she meant, since this was the best she was going to get at expressing it, because what were healthy emotional expressions anyway?

"Cool," she said with a little laugh. "Not that I want it to happen, but."

[built_fjord_tough]

"But if ever we're in the kind of situation where it might, at least we'll both be in good company," Fjord offered.

Yeah, he felt the same way.

Not many people he'd like to take a fireball to the face with more.

[notallbluemonks]

"Odds of that happening back in Wildemount are maybe a little higher than they are here," Beau pointed out.

Significantly higher, as a matter of fact. Because Caleb.

"I'm gonna have to talk to Karolina about this," she added, half to herself. "I'm not gonna just disappear on her like a total asshole. I'm pretty sure she'll get it, but. Yeah."

Not disappearing abruptly was kind of a big thing.

[built_fjord_tough]

"Fenris'll wanna know too," Fjord replied, nodding slightly. "Hell, I just went missing for... half a week? More?"

He paused, deciding never again to think about that whole situation. He'd fail at it, but hey, compartmentalizing was great in theory, right?

"Either way, we probably have our work cut out for us just gettin' Portalocity to let us get anywhere even remotely close anyway. And we'll wanna... I dunno, stock up or something."

Buy some rope. Everybody needed rope, right?

[notallbluemonks]

Hey, maybe a chance to use those approximately five million ball bearings Beau had picked up for some reason! But yes. Definitely rope. Seemed like no matter what all any adventurer decided to pack, rope was always included.

"Probably a good place to do it," she agreed. "That store Magnus told me about might be somewhere to start. And we'll want a healer's kit, definitely."

Since Jester was going to be the cleric, and didn't have one.

"And I should see if there's a way to, I dunno, make sure my phone still works back there? Just in case. Who the fuck knows, couldn't hurt."

[built_fjord_tough]

Fjord shrugged. Hey, he was no healer, but you never knew when you might need some... gauze or whatever.

"Couldn't hurt," he agreed. "Never know when you'll need to touch base with someone back here, anyway."

[notallbluemonks]

"I mean, obviously," Beau said dryly. "If I can't at least send text messages so Kar knows I'm not dead, I'm gonna be pissed, I'm just saying. Though we should maybe keep the fancy high-tech shit to a minimum in case it draws the wrong kind of attention."

Nobody needed the Cerberus Assembly getting hold of mobile computing. Look how bad they were about dunamancy already.

[built_fjord_tough]

"Phones stay in pockets unless it's an emergency," Fjord agreed. "... Or unless we need to tell people we're not dead."

Fjord's phone was going to be toast in like ten seconds or less. It was a miracle it had survived Fandom, so far.

[notallbluemonks]

Beau's, on the other hand, was going to survive for plot purposes because maybe it was a crazy monk thing where she could keep a tiny owl alive in her pocket for a week and therefore a phone would be just fine. Who knew?

"Sounds good," she said, nodding. "Might be the beginnings of a decent plan here."

Guys. Please. You couldn't make a decent plan for anything. Maybe ever.

[built_fjord_tough]

"It's the beginning of something, anyway," Fjord agreed.

Guys, you had no idea.

[notallbluemonks]

No idea at aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall.

"Be cool if we could find that friend of yours," Beau said after a moment. "She sounds dope. Plus, y'know, safety in numbers or however the hell that saying goes."

[built_fjord_tough]

"Safety in numbers," Fjord agreed. "Besides, I think you'll like Jester. She's got a good head on her shoulders."

She was a holy terror wrapped in a cute blue Tiefling shape and tied off with a ribbon.

[notallbluemonks]

So . . . she was exactly Beau's type of people, then. Or at least exactly the type of people Beau needed more of in her life.

"You know, usually when people say that it makes somebody sound boring," she said offhandedly. "But I trust your judgment more."

No, Beau. Why would you do that.

[built_fjord_tough]

Beau. Beau, your wisdom stat was better than that, Beau.

"Jester's anything but boring," Fjord chuckled. "She lives up to that name of hers."