Fantasy Noah's Ark | IC [CLOSED]

[Cryptids]

The sound of glass shattering drew Enoch’s attention, and he instinctively took a few steps back. At the sight of the toaster, his brow furrowed in confusion. Why a toaster, of all things, and more importantly, who had thrown it? There wasn’t much time to debate this new mystery, though, because something far worse came tumbling to the ground afterwards.

Watching the Regret rise from where she—no, it, Enoch reminded himself—had fallen would be enough to send most people fleeing for the hills. Despite the disturbing display, though, he had to push down a pang of sympathy. It had been human, once, without a very strong will to live. And still so young.

Yet the feeling was short-lived. Enoch noticed Thea on the ground at the same time that the Regret let out a high-pitched cry. All at once, his concern for the living people around him overrode any lingering pity for the creature in front of them. Like a cornered animal, it dove straight for Emiyn before any of them could move. Thankfully, though, the ever-reliable Rosie was quick to react, giving Enoch a chance to snatch the first seeds he could feel in his bag and flick on the LED grow light he carried everywhere. With the sun setting, he didn’t want to toss the seeds directly into the grass and risk them growing too slowly. He began channeling energy into the seeds, willing them to sprout.

Distantly, he heard Rosie promising to take care of Emiyn, allowing them to focus fully on subduing the threat. By now, Thea was back on her feet, and he watched the chain launch from her arm like a flying serpent to coil around the Regret’s leg. In his hand, Enoch felt leaves forming, vines obediently wrapping around his fingers and climbing up his arm, shifting as they became thicker. While they grew, he positioned himself above where the Regret lay on its back, facing the top of its head. Enoch was just in time to catch sight of Jerod charging in with a shard of glass as if he were the world’s smallest warrior on a decimated battlefield.

His struggle didn’t last long, and Enoch winced at the audible crack when the doll landed on the hard ground. By this point, the leafy vines had crept all the way up his arm, twisting in spirals over his coat sleeve. Incidentally, Enoch also felt like he’d just had to sprint up a flight of stairs. At Alex’s shouted warning, he had another brief moment to ponder why they sent a plant expert against someone who could shoot fireballs, but he didn’t hesitate.

Uncoiling, the vines propelled forward from Enoch’s hand like a writhing, sentient creature. While the Regret wasn’t focused on him, they crawled over its shoulders and towards its arms. It noticed and made to rip them off, rather than blast itself with a fireball, and in a quick movement a length of the vine wrapped itself around the Regret’s wrist and part of its forearm. When it attempted to pull them off, they retaliated by doing the same to its other arm, binding both together. Hand still extended, Enoch willed the vines to tighten as much as they could without breaking, beads of sweat forming at his temple.

 

[Nano]

» Luciano Bianchi

『 TAGGED 』 Dawnsx SilverBlack

Thea and Enoch had the Regret tied up, and Alex was covering the perimeter. Luca would have been impressed at the group’s level of control over an unexpected situation had he not been shocked silly by Jerod’s next actions. Something about witnessing a miniature humanoid stabbing viciously into something’s neck while yelling “Die! Die!” was unsettling on several levels. He shuddered. They hadn’t suddenly been ported into a horror flick, right?

Well, at least now they knew the Regret’s throat wasn’t its tether.

Jogging over to where Jerod had landed, Luca bent down to lend the doll a hand and produced a...snotty tissue. He froze. Almost immediately, the brunette tossed the germ-infested object back into his Last Words’s storage and wiped his hands furiously on the leg of his pants.

“Sorry…” he mumbled, red spreading throughout his face rapidly, “I forgot about that one.” He had lent a pack of tissues to a friend’s younger brother about a week ago. Since there hadn’t been a garbage can nearby, he had offered to keep the soiled tissues on hand until he reached home. However, it was clear that he had completely forgotten about it.

In the tissue’s place, Luca brought out a plain white cotton handkerchief and a blue plastic cloth peg. Still red-faced from his slipup, he quickly mumbled out a vague statement that the kerchief was clean and placed the items on the floor next to the doll. Before he could hear a reply from Jerod, he stood up stiffly and briskly walked away.

Upon arriving next to Vincent, Luca trained his gaze on the Regret. Amidst its struggling, it had managed to snap one or two vines. Nonetheless, Thea and Enoch’s hold on the Regret remained strong. Small sparks occasionally flew from its palms, but it was either reluctant to ignite another explosion or incapable of doing so. Whatever the case, they had to act fast, as they were unaware of how much longer the stalemate would last.

“Vincent,” Luca said, “do you think you could burn into the area over her heart? She reacted to your fire pretty violently, so it should be effective enough.” Based on Jane Clarke’s medical records, it was likely that she had passed away from a condition that stemmed from one of the body’s major organs. However, the brunette wasn’t confident that he could penetrate her sternum with the tools he had on hand, and Thea’s chain was currently occupied with keeping the Regret bound. In any case, it was fine so long as they got close enough to the tether and weakened it. After that, a solid punch would likely be enough to break the tether entirely.

“You can close your eyes if you need to…” he added, recalling his coworker’s previous hesitation.

code by Nano

 

[SilverBlack]

Vincent Huo
Location: East Ryde Technical High School- Outside.......................................................................................................................................................................Interaction/Mentioned: Nano Dawnsx

Vincent’s eyes widened the moment the Regret began to twist its torso. To have a body beginning to dislocate itself while still in his grasp froze Vincent to a point that caused Luca’s warning to enter from one ear and out the other. It wasn’t until the Regret’s elbow began to drill in his stomach did he regain his senses from the pain. Immediately, he let go and jumped back from the girl, a dry cough leaving his mouth. Looking up, he was just in time to see a burnt toaster flying past the girl and slamming into the window behind. Shortly, the Regret followed and leapt out from the library. Vincent sprinted to the window in shock just in time to see her distorted figure twisting back to shape after slamming against the ground hard.

She’s not human…

Although it was something he’d already realized--or should’ve learned, watching the proof unfold in front of his eyes still served as a major reminder. Vincent watched with a frown--or perhaps in almost a daze as the girl began to sway unnaturally toward the back of the school. Listening to Luca making a quick call to alert the other Noah Ark members outside, the lad almost wanted to apologize. If he had not hesitated back then, maybe this trouble would not have escalated.

But something in him told him he’d still hesitate…

Various thoughts swarmed his head as Luca confirmed if they were alright. Shaking his head quickly to clear his head, he decided to focus on the present for now. Exiting the library, they quickly ran down the stairs. It didn’t take too long for them to reach where the rest of the Noah’s Arks members are, and comparably much more useful than him, they were already engaged in an active battle against the Regret. Even that arrogant doll of Aria’s was much more braver than him, mercilessly stabbing the doll’s face with a broken shard. The scene reminded him of Chucky the doll from the horror film. It used to scare his sister Hana so much she refused to get close to any dolls as a kid. Vincent made a silent note in his head that Jerod should not come too close with his sister.

He was just standing there as the rest of the battle continued, watching with a blank face when Luca handed Jerod a snotty tissue before quickly changing it to a clean handkerchief. It changed his impression of Luca a little. He didn’t know he’s the type of person who would not throw trash into the garbage can. Perhaps his senior was not as clean as he thought? Obviously, he didn’t know the whole story belonging to that piece of snotty tissue. He hoped he’s wrong. Luca is a clean man. People who can’t keep themselves clean don't belong in the kitchen.

Anything. He’s distracting his mind with anything to avoid thinking about the possibility that he might still have to face the Regret after all. He knew they had to act fast, and he probably just labeled himself as a useless coward just now for wanting to run away. Either way, no matter what he’s thinking, Luca came for him in the end. His words forced Vincent back to reality and made him look directly back at the Regret, the monster who still wielded human skin. He said his attack to her heart would be useful, and he could close his eyes if he wanted to. Vincent inhaled a sharp breath.

Right, now’s not the time to be selfish and think for yourself--how dare you turn yourself into that type of person---

Scolding himself in his head, he furrowed his eyebrows, locking his gaze with the Regret. Enoch had managed to bind both her wrists with his vines, trapping her momentarily as she shrieked and struggled.

Burn her heart? That’s like killing someone. Eyes closed or not. He’s not a murderer.

But she’s not a human. No longer one.

The lad repeated to himself.

No longer a human...No longer a human...

“It’s fine,” he said to Luca, a hint of determination in his flat voice as he kept his eyes open. Fire began to form in his hands and stretched further up to his arms. He tightened his hands into fists. Leaning his body forward, in a sprint, he dashed toward the Regret.

The fact that the Regret used to be a human still haunted him in the end. Vincent gritted his teeth. Pity rose up to him as to the fact that humans could turn into Regrets after they die. He thought about Jane Clark and how she could’ve been bullied. If this Regret was once that girl, how much suffering could she have gone through?

Right. Don’t think about how you’re killing a monster. Think about how you’re freeing her from this world.

As if making up a mental solution seconds before his fists made contact with her chest, he gritted his teeth and slammed his fire fists hard into the Regret’s chest. The punch may not have been the strongest as he had never been a physical fighter, but the flame made up for it as they burned toward her heart.

 

[Nano]

Date: Friday, June 26th
Location: East Ryde Technical High School
Time: 9PM​

An ominous series of pops sounded from the Regret’s ankle and knee joints as it attempted to twist and wrench its leg out of Thea’s chains. Still, the tightly coiled metal links only bit further into the Regret’s skin. As if willing to cut off its own leg in order to escape, it struggled and tore more violently at the vines covering its arms while using its only free leg to pull the rest of its body away from its chained leg. However, it was too late for the Regret.

All struggling ceased the moment Vincent slammed his fist into the Regret. Then, it opened its mouth to let loose what should have been a shrill scream. Instead, strength rapidly left the Regret’s body as the brunette’s fiercely burning flame ate its way towards her heart. In a last ditch attempt to save itself, it slowly pulled its head closer to Vincent’s shoulder, mouth open to bite down. As if the string manipulating its body had been cut, the Regret’s body suddenly went completely limp and its head instead bumped uselessly against the boy’s shoulder. His fire had already burned through the tether.

Within the span of the next minute, the Regret’s body began to disintegrate. Starting from the injury over its heart, particles of light seemingly flaked off and floated away into the darkened sky. By the time its body had completely crumbled away, the only remaining evidence of the struggle that had transpired were Thea’s chains which had fallen to the floor with a clank and what remained of Enoch’s vines. Even the stench of its burning flesh had dispersed.

 

[A Murder Of Corviknight]

“...Stella? We...messed up. Badly.”

“...Tell me what happened from the beginning.”

---​

Once she deemed the Regret far enough away, Rosie shakily hovered over Emiyn before checking up on him. Almost robotically, she checked for his pulse and breathing while keeping the Regret at least on the edge of her vision.

Only to feel her breath freeze in her own lungs once she realized he wasn’t showing any signs of life. It was only the lingering warmth under her hands that pushed her to remember that...that she still had a job to do.

She hoped that the others couldn’t see her hands trembling. It was her first time holding onto the still warm body of someone she actually somewhat knew. That the others also knew.

She shakily took a deep breath. It didn’t help her much. It felt more like inhaling the weight of her decision and resolve than a breath of calm.

“I-I’ll make sure he’s okay! I’m fine with handling him myself. The rest of you handle the Regret!” she shouted over the mayhem, desperately hoping that they couldn’t hear her voice waver. The lie by omission rested heavily on her tongue. Maybe...it was heartless of her to brush aside Emiyn’s death for a later time, but as a Noah’s Ark member she had made her decision.

She couldn’t let even a death distract them at this time.

Once she made sure the others understood what she wanted them to focus on, she didn’t turn back to them again. A conscious decision on her part, genuinely worried that her face could possibly give away that there was something very wrong.

As Rosie made her way away from the major sight of conflict, a part of her felt as distant and floaty as the makeshift stretcher that Emiyn’s body rested on. The woman had subconsciously reached out and gripped Emiyn’s still warm hand, when she realized that she was literally floating slightly along with the stretcher. With another shaky breath, she planted her feet firmly onto the earth before forcefully marching them away.

Instead of letting guilt carry her away, Rosie decided to focus on hoping for the boy to not turn into a Regret against all odds. She never did let go of his hand in the end. She knew it wouldn’t do much for him, but she hoped...

“...Maybe it’s selfish of me, but I think... I’m sorry...”

She foolishly hoped that he would be able to come back.

---​

In the end, after the call with Stella and sending a text to the others about her whereabouts, she felt emotionally drained to the bone. Instead of standing to avoid the grime, Rosie sat and rested against the wall of the building. She kept the makeshift stretcher floating, but down to her level so she could still keep holding his hand.

With her head and back resting against the wall, she kept a tired eye on Emiyn and her surroundings while waiting for the others.

Babel...Babel can wait.

------------------​

NAME. Rosalind “Rosie” Berne
OBJECTIVE. the waiting game
MOOD. big sad
NOTES. Do not attempt to react (ic) to the middle section please. That’s meant to be a reveal not an opportunity to interact… u - u;;;
TAGGED. everyone < w >;;;

 

[Quark]

EMIYN YUEN

Emiyn instantly jolted back a step at the badly-bent imitation figure of a human. ”!!” his hand twitched to reach to call for the ambulance, only to be interrupted by an unearthly scream.

It was a mere second, but Emiyn saw time stop. Right in front of his very own eyes, the girl charged at his helplessly frozen self. Multitudes of thoughts and emotions sped in his mind, but he could not grasp to on even one as his vision tunnelled on the pair of hollow eyes. It was a raw, instinctive fear that could even drown out his senses. He could not hear the horrified yells, nor feel the wind of the ground and trees race past him, nor the painfully, tight hold on his throat and shoulder.

The boy let out a choked yell, as the other’s fingers dug into his shoulder when they both crashed to the ground.

There was a 「flicker」 in his vision, and then everything went silent and dark.

… …
… …
… …

It started with a twitch on his hand. Like a light grip on Rosie's hand.

Then a light groan, and Emiyn’s eyebrows scrunched together as the sensations of pain and exhaustion crashing onto him. While his vision was getting clearer, confusion was clouding in his eyes. He found himself looking ahead at the night sky, framed by the school classroom building.

… did he pass out? For how long? Minutes? Hours?

A sudden dreading feeling at the corner of his mind made him attempt to get up quickly. Something must’ve happened… but having just woken up he was having trouble remembering what it was exactly… [1]

Rosie stared blankly, not really comprehending what was happening at first before rushing into action. She carefully forced the boy to lay back down.

"You...broke your back a while ago. It only just got fixed it seems. Try to be more careful while getting up or turning. I didn't get to see if anything else was broken. I...I understand this all sounds really strange," she explained as she carefully lowered the makeshift stretcher safely back down on the ground.

Realizing he was not alone, the teenager turned from his laying position, only to get a small glance at the bottom of her face. She sounded familiar… and it took an entire moment of silence before he recognized her. Right… she was one of the baristas from Noah’s Ark.

“How long… wait, what happen –” his words were suddenly cut off by a sharp hiss, his free arm squeezing his throbbing shoulder.

Rosie shook her head quickly and told him not to move around too much. She then took out an emergency cooling pack from her first aid bag, took it out of the packaging and shook it before wordlessly giving it to Emiyn. Emiyn lifted his face to give the woman a polite nod of thanks, instead turned into a gasp of mild horror.

A red … object, was floating above her head, still as though it was floating in the air like the moon. [2]

Not understanding the gasp, Rosie only guiltily frowned at her hands that were on her bag instead of gripping Emiyn's hand. Taking a quiet breath to calm herself, she apologized to the boy.

"I'm sorry about all the trouble that we dragged you into. I'm personally sorry for not being more careful with your safety. Admittedly, I did put the safety of those who were with me from Noah's Ark before you. I...understand that this is probably all extremely confusing to you but all of us in Noah's Ark will be willing to help you the whole way. If you have any questions at all, now or later, don't hesitate."

Despite not understanding the severity of what happened, seeing the sincerely apologetic and worrying tone like his mother, Emiyn had the impulse to reply that she needn’t worry, that he’ll be fine after a visit to the hospital. However, his focus shifted when she offered to answer questions.

First, the question hanging the most in his head. “Wh-what happened… to the person earlier?” [3]


NOTES[1] Currently confusion is outweighing the trauma of being jumped on by a Regret

[2] No one other than Emiyn should be able to see this floating item.

[3] I am assuming that Emiyn is still gathering his bearings, so leaving to the others to decide when they have arrived. The question is open for anyone who arrives there at that time.

[4] All parts stating words and actions by Rosie were written by Birb.

Tag: everyone

CS link

 

[voracity]

Gone. As she should have been to begin with, granted the privledge of respite, after having it robbed and withheld from her for so long.

She just couldn't die properly. Thea reaclled the heated hateful thought that had passed her mind when Emiyn had fallen, when she had watched remorseless lids turn about to find its next victim, but she couldn't quite find the same anger in her again now. After a terse moment of held breathes, Thea broke the silence in their midst, reeling in chains that had no tasks left unheeded.

To have your regret manifest itself as an all consuming fire ... it was hard to imagine someone who was able to harbor such a regret, and fail to return. To hate so strongly enough to manifest fire, but fail to find the strength for the soul to come back and personally deliver such hatred ... but perhaps that spoke of Jane Clarke herself, perhaps she was simply too kind, too gentle, and had been consumed by that overwhelming sorrow instead.

In the end, no one would know that this good girl had turned away, even at the very end, from such hateful, righteous, means for herself. Even when her despair and her sorrow had been heavy enough to let her find a possible way to a second chance.

Doing a quick headcount of their members, she frowned, realizing that quite a few of them were out of immediate sight. It was unsettling especially when the harrowing collapse of Emiyn was still at the forefront of her mind. She didn't dare to hope, pray or jinx anything for the boy, but that didn't stop her from openly worrying for those who were more likely still healthy and breathing.

"Jerod?" She turned to the now decently clothed man-doll. "Where is Aria?" With an evident fraying of her nerves, her unfocused gaze turned to Luca, then, "Where is Alex? Are we all good? Vincent?"

Her own hand rested at the pockets of her pants, where her phone was but ... "my phone's dead ... I ... do we need to call 9-1-1?"

Notes: Just Thea's personal opinions on the Jane Clarke situation! She has an easier time differentiating the monster from the departed human (soul) as she casually defines most humans to be monsters anyway and almost always defaults to being sympathetic and believes the departed human (soul) to be the victim in most cases - especially since we do not know if we know the entire truth of the Jane Clarke situation. She thinks poorly of Babel, who are attacking the wrong kind of monsters, in their hopes to prevent more monsterized-victims from spawning. She's also just super not okay with anyone else getting hurt. Have fun with that. Feed McDonalds.

TAGS: Alteras Nano Cryptids Dawnsx SilverBlack

 

[Alteras]

Alex Fayfield

LOCATION Perimeter > Group

INTERACTIONS voracity Dawnsx everyone else

CS

Alex was at the edge of everything, just slowly shuffling her way around the area, staying true to her word of sealing any escape. But it was for naught, as the fight came to a close without much struggle. As the regret became bits of light, Alex took her earphones out of her ears, and stared silently at the scene.

She didn't even know why she was staring at it so intently when her mind wasn't focused on it at all. She didn't know what her own feelings were. In the shadow of the night, a group of people had just won what could only be called a beat-down on a single soulless girl. She didn't feel victorious, pitiful, or much of anything. She simply just stared at it all.

Watching the last bits of light disappear, Alex closed her eyes and very naturally plugged her earphones back in, only to hear her favorite song begin to play. Ahh... A Way Out, huh...

At that moment, Thea's voice broke her out of her stupor. "I'm over here!" Alex called back while walking towards the group. While doing so, she skipped the song to a more chill tune.

"I think Aria is over there... I'll make a text calling everyone." She pulled out her cell and sent a group text telling everyone the fight is over and calling everyone to group up. "Why 9-1-1 though?"

Notes: might as well join the OOC style for some character work. Alex being Alex, even if she had a feeling of true pity and empathy, she wouldn't know what to do with them as she's never had to truly process them before. Likewise, she doesn't know Jane Clarke's history, so she wouldn't empathize with the person. It's just that the scene of everyone beating up the regret reminded some part of her of the night she died, except, she's watching it from an outside view. It's somewhat of an out of body trauma(?) experience for her. The difference is that the regret didn't become an elegy like she did. So it's kind of a "what could've happen" to her.

FontsFonts Coded by Alteras

 

[Dawnsx]

At a distance, Aria flinched as Vincent slammed a fiery fist into the Regret's heart. She placed a hand on her own chest and briefly wondered if Regrets could feel pain. Recalling the abuse that the Elegies imparted on the downed Regret, Aria decided that it was a question that she didn't need or want the answer to. Lowering her hand, she watched forlornly as the limp form of the Regret began to disintegrate into particles of light.

Like fireflies, she couldn't help but think. She was a stranger to death, even her own. Before, death meant people turning into pale, cold bodies. It meant permanent goodbyes. In her case, it should have meant a mangled corpse. Now, it meant second chances and new friends, kind coworkers with stories they might not want to share, and scary undead beings that fade away more beautifully than she ever would.

Seeing the Regret depart made her feet feel a little leaden and cold, and there was a little unpleasant ache in her chest. That, or maybe the relief upon the realization that it was finally over, made tears prick at her eyes. She blinked them back and quickly made her way over to Jerod, who'd already clipped Luca's handkerchief over himself. His clothes probably couldn't be salvaged, and she could already spot a crack in his shoulder. A little downtrodden, she made her way closer to Thea and Alex.

"I'm here, all fine," Aria said quietly, suddenly feeling a breath away from keeling over in exhaustion.

Notes: Joining the OOC train, Aria still sees Regrets as these surreal beings that shouldn't exist. Seeing the Regret fade away like that is just another thing that's turning her world upside down, so she feels partly numb about it, partly relieved that their job is finally done. When she has time to reflect on all this later, she'd probably feel sad for Jane Clarke. I think there's a bit of a tug-o-war in her mind about the whole ordeal, in that she readily accepts her powers and sees it as a blessing, but is reluctant to deal with all the negative aspects that come with it (the fact that she kinda died, Regrets, Babel, etc.) So having to see the Regret fade away overall just... bothers her and just becomes another thing she has to internalize.

Alteras voracity

 

[Nano]

» Luciano Bianchi

『 TAGGED 』 @

everyone

Another job finished, Luca thought, dusting off the burnt toaster he had finally managed to find and retrieve. With a flick of his wrist, the toaster disappeared out of sight, settling back inside his inventory. When he turned back to train his gaze on Vincent’s back, the brunette felt a hint of regret eat away at his conscience. As far as he knew, this wasn’t the boy’s first tussle with a Regret. However, he still couldn’t help but think that perhaps he had been too insensitive in sending him off to deal the finishing blow.

In the end, he stepped further away from Vincent and where Jane Clarke’s Regret had disappeared. Words of comfort or approval never did anything for the Elegies subject to hunting down the Regrets haunting the world.

Luca himself had little time to ruminate over Jane Clarke or her Regret’s circumstances. His attention was quickly pulled away by Thea’s mention of calling 9-1-1. By the time Alex asked for confirmation on the need for the call, the brunette found his gaze roaming the field frantically in search of a missing figure. His face quickly blanched of all color. Where was Rosie? Was she alright?

Rosie’s absence combined with the mention of an emergency hotline birthed ominous thoughts in Luca’s mind, each worse than the last. When he felt his phone buzz in his pocket, he let out a shaky breath and hesitantly brought the brightly lit screen to his face. To his relief, it was a text from Rosie sent to their employee group chat. At the very least, she seemed alright. But why was she separated from the rest of the group?

“Seems like Rosie wants us to come to her location. Is everyone here?” Luca asked. Upon taking a quick headcount to confirm that all were present and uninjured save for Rosie, he gestured towards the general direction of the location she had indicated. Thea and Enoch’s explanation on the events that had transpired prior to the building group’s arrival in the field caused Luca to halt abruptly, but he continued to walk with a brisk pace after shaking off the chills he had gotten. Surely, if anything serious had happened to Emiyn, Rosie would have informed them in her text. Right?

The group arrived at their destination just in time to hear the tail-end of Emiyn’s inquiry concerning “the person earlier,” most likely referring to the Regret. Luca winced slightly. Depending on how much the boy remembered, it was highly likely that Babel would step in to interfere. He just hoped it wouldn’t cause the boy too many complications.

“Rosie…” He wasn’t entirely sure what to say. Only Rosie knew how much Emiyn was aware of their situation, so he could only resort to a vague request for a status report. “Is everything alright?” Even though he had asked, Rosie’s grim expression made him adopt a similar mood. Emiyn looked fine, but it seemed like the situation wasn’t quite right.

code by Nano

 

[A Murder Of Corviknight]

At the sound of stray gravel scraping under shoes, Rosie’s shoulders tensed as she reflexively mentally grabbed at the bag at her side. It was only the startled mew of the cat that was still in the bag that stopped her long enough to look up before setting her bag back down gently on the ground. A small paw poked out of the gap she left for him, pushing the zipper open just wide enough to pop his head out.

Instead of immediately answering Emiyn or Luca, Rosie took the initiative to finally take the grey cat out of her bag. She held onto Felix for a few seconds longer than necessary before unceremoniously dumping him into Emiyn’s lap. A short commanding “stay” to the cat and a quiet explanation to Emiyn that he’d probably need the cat, Rosie finally turned towards the others with a rare unsure guilty expression and tense shoulders.

“Emiyn...it’ll probably be easier for me to explain from...the top?” Even her words came out more unsure than usual. But with a quick shake of her head to shake off negative jitters, she pushed on to at least say...

“Emiyn is an Elegy now.”

------------------​

NAME. Rosalind “Rosie” Berne
OBJECTIVE. explanation time
MOOD. Stressed/Auto-pilot
NOTES. Just in case it isn’t clear to everyone. o/ Rosie is hoping that everyone from Noah’s Ark will understand what she means when she says “Emiyn’s an Elegy now”.
TAGGED. xxx

 

[Nano]

Date: Friday, June 26th
Location: East Ryde Technical High School
Time: 9:30PM​

“Emiyn is an elegy now.”

Rosie’s words fell heavily, drawing out a gradual, confused murmur from the silent atmosphere. Amidst the questioning that both Rosie and Emiyn faced, another phone call was received from Stella, this time instructing them to alert the closest Babel agent of the situation.

Upon reaching the school gates, the group spotted Roy whose indifferent expression creased into an irritated frown at the sight of an unidentified face. Before he could berate the group for getting a civilian involved, his face grew a shade paler as he heard Noah’s Ark’s explanation regarding the matter. After a brief pause, he instructed them to return to their base of operations while keeping a close eye on the newly born Elegy. Then, he walked off with his phone held up to his ear, most likely to contact his superior. However, if listening carefully, the Noah’s Ark members would be able to vaguely hear him mutter, “Why can’t Flick do her job right for once.”

Over the course of that night and the following days, a report was filed, and Babel sent Karen over to evaluate Emiyn’s Last Words as well as to deliver Babel’s verdict. Though the agents stationed around the perimeter of the school had already been penalized, the organization still found fault with Noah’s Ark’s inability to protect a civilian. Though the cafe was permitted to take custody of Emiyn Yuen, the damages calculated from property damage and the loss of a human life were deducted from the promised commission fee.

 

[Nano]

▌Chapter 2: One Swallow Doesn’t Make a Summer

“One thing that makes it possible to be an optimist, is if you have a contingency plan for when all hell breaks loose. There are a lot of things I don't worry about, because I have a plan in place if they do.”

—Randy Pausch​

- - - - - - -​

Date: Saturday, August 15th
Location: Seagull Point Beach
Time: 10AM
Weather: Sunny (87°F)​

A modest breeze and partly cloudy skies curbed the sun’s harsh rays just enough to provide occasional relief from the heat while allowing the day to remain the perfect temperature for fun in the sun. Located just a thirty minute’s train ride away from the heart of Genesis City, Seagull Point Beach was bustling with its usual surge of city dwellers and tourists looking for a day of reprieve from the sizzling concrete metropolis during mid-August. Of note, a line of beachgoers was beginning to form in front of a certain stand set up a few ways from the shoreline. The menu written in cutely styled chalk was simple, listing only "Liquid-state Cat" ice cream, Noah’s Ark Special Summer Soda Float, and an assortment of skewers labeled "Seaside Boat" BBQ Platter. For more complex orders, a separate sign directed customers to visit the main establishment, The Boathouse, located down the boardwalk.

At present, four employees of Noah’s Ark were on shift in the moderately-sized stand while the others were either stationed at The Boathouse with Felix and Sophie or running around to play in the sand and waves. Having received a request to help out from an old acquaintance, Glenn Launay, Stella had taken the opportunity to ship (mostly) willing employees off to both lend a hand as well as take the time to take their minds off of the unpleasant experience from a few weeks prior. In particular, she had insisted that Emiyn focus on unraveling and getting to know the other members of Noah’s Ark while keeping an eye out on Chase and Nari to ensure that they didn’t stray too far.

The half-hour they had been present at the beach remained fairly uneventful with Nari only nearly tripping customers twice and Chase running too far with Noah’s Ark’s advertisement board strapped to his back once. Though there had already been one or two fussy customers, each incident had been resolved before they escalated, and the others managed to set up their group activities without getting in the way of their fellow beachgoers. Yet. With several water guns unpacked and on the loose as well as a volleyball net set up in an area that barely qualified as inconspicuous, there was no telling when things might get a bit rowdy.

 

[voracity]

Thea had thought they arrived early enough that the beach might have been ... well it definitely wouldn't have been empty, but she should have expected the large crowd, given that it was the middle of August. There was even a teasing breeze once in a while, chasing away the worst of the heat and encouraging them all to stay and enjoy the sand and waters a while longer. It was simply a perfect day for anyone - everyone - to spend it playing and swimming at the beach.

On the tortuously long 30 minute train ride over, she had been invited to a volleyball match, and though she knew it would have been fun to play with any one of them - they were all competitive and passionate, the perfect kind of partners and opponents she'd like to pair with and against - Thea's heart laid in the waves and waters too strongly to be tempted by their offer. Hell, she even woke up extra early, waxing and packing her board for the day to properly enjoy it.

It had taken a bit of time to properly gear up, getting the rashguard over her bathing suit top, stretching, and attaching the leg rope to her ankle - she also took some time just watching the waters and waves. Recalling previous summers spent at Seagull Point Beach, she had a brief recollection in knowing that the waves were typically slow and small - they weren't fast, or known to violently crash and break over the shallow waters or shore. And it would seem that it held true here today. There wouldn't be some large awesome tubes to ride, but there were many many waves she could catch before she was called for her turn at the stand or The Boathouse.

Paddling out on her board, Thea perked up as a lump over the horizon began to form. In a short moment, there was a small pack of surfers gathered for it - and one by one, as waves kept rolling in, they all popped up and went their way until it was Thea's turn to catch it. With practiced ease, she popped up onto her feet in a single fluid motion just as the wave was breaking. With the threat of being completely stuffed and wiping out from the the curl of the impact right behind her, she was quick to crouch, dipping down along the face of the wave and then to the right side - and she gave a bark of laughter, as the exhilarating adrenaline began to swell from within.

But like all good things, the wave would eventually close out. Shifting her weight quickly, head leading her body to swing up along the last of the rising wave, she made a flashy snap, spraying water in a clear arc - and that's when her eyes caught sight of Lance, Chase and Na-

Splash!

...

Paddling a short distance to the man floating in a floatie-tube, Thea came to a stop, sitting on top of her board while pulling her drenched hair back. Squinting past the sting of salty sea water to smirk at him.

"You're in some pretty cold water and you're still lazing around like the bum you are? You know maybe Chase's lifejacket might be able to fit on you at this rate," she snickered.

INTERACTING WITH: A Murder Of Corviknight

 

[Nano]

» Luciano Bianchi

『 TAGGED 』 Cryptids A Murder Of Corviknight BondChu Sero

Luca’s mind buzzed along with the murmurs of the small assembly of customers waiting in line. It was hot, too hot. Granted, tending to a barbeque grill with the sun bearing down on his back in its full glory negated any and all relief that he should have received from the seabreeze. After giving the skewers one last turn, the brunette briefly took his eyes off of the grill to unzip his hoodie. He wasn’t sure if doing so would only encourage sunburn, but it was fine even if him feeling slightly cooler was a mere placebo.

“-but two or three beach houses here are rented surprisingly cheap.”

While clicking a pair of tongs idly, Luca’s thoughts which had begun to meander towards employing Lance as an AC unit found itself drawn to the conversation of a group of teens making their way back to the boardwalk. Tourists, he guessed based on the contents of their conversation. From the looks of it, their orders had likely run Rosie and Enoch ragged, given the soda floats and ice creams in each of their hands. While it was rather mannerless of him to eavesdrop, especially on customers, his ears couldn’t help but perk up at the mention of ghosts.

“So what’s the catch?” asked one boy.

“Heard some of them are haunted,” his friend replied with a shrug. Her nonchalant manner of spooning through her Liquid-State Cat ice cream caused Luca to shudder at the waste of his coworkers’ painstaking effort. As a result, he missed the tailend of the conversation that had already long faded into a mumble due to the distance. However, he had managed to catch the general location of the rumors. By chance, it happened to coincide with the same area as Glenn’s place. Or was it really?

Luca swiftly and deftly finished sorting the orders as well as preparing any leftovers onto a separate paper plate. With a dual set and one regular set balanced carefully in his hands, the brunette peeked his head into the open doorway of the stand. “The skewers for orders 7 and 8 are done!”

While waiting for Rosie or Enoch to take the skewers, Luca said hesitantly in a lower voice, “I know it’s bad to eavesdrop, but do you think Glenn’s up to something again? Seems like some people think that area is haunted.” The last time he had been to Seagull Point Beach, he couldn’t remember such rumors existing, and Glenn’s team usually did a good job of sweeping the general area to the point where even Babel had no complaints. Perhaps he was overthinking things due to all the trouble that the capricious blond loved to throw at them.

Upon freeing his hands, Luca briefly stepped one foot back towards the grill to pick up two more plates. However, before he stepped back inside, he frowned when he spotted a few stray seagulls perched atop the stand’s orange roof. Hopefully the birds wouldn’t disturb their business by dropping waste on the customers. Or worse- no, he didn’t wish to think about it.

“Lane! Could you hand out these samples out front with Keith?” Luca ignored the birds on the roof and called out to the taciturn man. He also lifted up a second plate, this time one with full skewers that he had accidentally botched the seasoning for. “Err, and please give these to Keith.” They weren’t bad, per se, but they certainly weren’t up to standard. Given Keith’s tendency to devour any food item placed in his hands, he was sure both Lane and Keith would understand the meaning behind giving him that plate.

code by Nano

 

[A Murder Of Corviknight]

“...I just came back. You want my first assignment back to be there?”

“It’s practically a vacation. You just have to watch the cats and dogs. Particularly Felix when you’re covering for The Boathouse.”

“One, it’s Glenn. Two, it’s the summer. I’m going to die.”

“That’s a shame because he specifically asked for a few of you. Especially you. Maybe he missed you?”

“Hah, no. Stella, you and I both know that he asked for me because I’ll suffer but won’t die to end the suffering.”

“That’s the point, no?”

“Stella.”

---

And thus, Lance was floating along with the waves in a comically big red and white floatie, his feet barely skimming the sand. A white samoyed in a cute duck themed life jacket was floating right alongside him with his head happily on one side of the floatie. A much smaller dog was just as content with her body lazily slung over the rim of the floatie by Lance’s right. Both the human and dogs were thoroughly enjoying the cool water and the white waterproof parasol that was attached to the floatie.

The water was thankfully maintained at a nice cool temperature by the Elegy’s Last Words without draining him into a tired state. Still, the nice breeze that tickled at his soaked hair was just starting to coax him to doze anyway when he felt and heard the telltale splashing of someone paddling closer to him. By the way Chase had perked up and started to splash sea water around with his mop of a tail, Lance had already guessed it was probably one of the Noah’s Ark members.

"You're in some pretty cold water and you're still lazing around like the bum you are? You know maybe Chase's life jacket might be able to fit on you at this rate," Thea snickered.

At Thea’s voice, Lance only gave her a lazy side glance, arms and chin firmly glued to his section of the floatie. Nari, on the other hand, wiggled around in her butterfly themed life jacket before springing herself onto Thea’s board the moment she got close enough to their floatie. In Nari’s eyes, the board seemed much more easier to sit on than the slippery floatie, spacious as it was.

Ignoring the betrayal, Lance only waved his hand at Thea before mumbling into the plastic, “Hey, I’m still dog sitting. And I’ll probably die if I actually test the power of the sun and try to swim around. Even Chase isn’t running around in the sand right now.”

At a sudden thought that came to mind, he continued in a dry but traumatized tone, “Just think about it. What if Glenn sees me and makes me do those running in the water “warm ups” again? I can’t even remember how long I ran before I…”

Lance frowned and finally turned to fully face his friend, “Actually, I can’t remember. Was that the time I passed out or the time that Gracie nearly killed me with a volleyball?”²

------------------​

NAME. Lance Eunwol Park
OBJECTIVE. aosdfiua
MOOD. Hublasdfsdf
NOTES. ¹ I’ll finish that WIP one day
² He passed out. Gracie (npc) probably did nearly killed him with a volleyball though. Glenn was probably trying to figuratively kill two birds with one stone. Gracie gets target practice (the intended target wasn’t Lance) and Lance gets to practice endurance while paying attention to his surroundings.
TAGGED. voracity

 

[BondChu]

It has been a while since he last went to the beach. The golden sands, the rushing of the waves, the wind caressing his skin... When was the last time he had the pleasure of enjoying its atmosphere? About a few years ago, on his 12th birthday, when his family was still whole. Lane could distinctly remember building sandcastles along the shore with his sister, competing for which one is the biggest or more intricate, or collecting sea shells with his mother, who would then make accessories out of them, or even hunting for starfishes with his father as if he was some kind of a marine biologist, telling him facts about them all the while.

But now he came here for a different reason. That reason, of course, being a part-time job at Noah's Ark. He is no stranger in the ways of dealing with a row of waiting customers, that part is not the one he's worrying about. Instead, it's the fact that he is now an Elegy, and from the stories he heard, he concluded that they have to be ready at any moment to deal with 'extraordinary' scenarios Babel might throw at them. Even when he realized that fretting over it won't do any good, he can't help but be a little bit anxious.

For the moment, however, he might have something else to worry about. Did someone just call for him?

Turning his attention to the source, he realized it was Luca, calling out to him from the stand. He wordlessly moved his feet to approach his senior, pulling down the hood of his jacket before taking the plates off of him, paying mind to keep the balance on his hands lest there would be an accident.

"Got it," he gave the cook a curt nod, and then heads off to find Keith, first of all.

Like one would be expected to wear on a day at the beach, he chose to go with a t-shirt, a pair of cargo, and of course his hoodie. Although picking a darker colored jacket might not be the best idea, he doesn't have the lighter ones ready as it was still in the laundry.

On his way to find Keith, he picked up bits of conversation about ghosts and haunted house. Normally, the supernatural wouldn't pique his interest, but the anxiety hits him once more as his mind recalled that normal people would see Regrets as ghosts. Then again, it could be just that. Mere rumors told among friends for fun.

Making a mental note, he should stop getting lost in his own maze and get back on track.

"Keith! I've got something for you!"

...Where is that guy?

TAGS
Nano Sero

 

[s e v e n]

mood

how did i get here

location

seagull point beach

tags

Nano Alteras Quark

"Will you ever be fast enough to outrun your past?"

If one were to be asked about the ocean, most would think blue. Others, calm. Romantic. Serene. Peaceful. There was a certain appeal, after all, to even the warmth of wet sand slipping through toes, ripples of water surging back and forth. A continuous rhythm, melodious symphony of tailed maiden bearing lyres adorned in sea-shells. All five of your senses would come to live: the sun reflecting against liquid mirror, the clashing of water and earth, whispers of the eastern wind, crisp air-

And the ugly bitter taste of their predictable yet inevitable outcome.

His fists balling by his sides, fingers clutching desperately at fabric’s ends, Florian Hamilton had barely lifted his head for the last minute or so. Not only had his hair been tied back, allowing his forehead on full display (which he somehow felt much embarrassed for), but he was so nearly forced to remove his glasses in favor of contacts as well. Partially, he deemed it reasonable, as there was no reason for him to snap another pair of spectacle this week after Monday’s pitiful tragedy involving two cups of macchiato and one unfortunate stretched out leg. No comment.

Surely his abilities would play in their advantage. There is absolutely no possible way a speedster could lose in a game of volleyball- heck, the game is rigged for him. At the same time, he should perhaps use that oh-so-quick-nyoom to apologize to all the innocent ceramics and their distant families that he had brutally murdered in the past five months. There was no way they were coming out of this alive, and all he could do was force a smile on his face, the corners of his lips twitching all the while.

“Do remind me why I’m here again…” he muttered, though to no one much in particular. His eyes scanned his surroundings, from the mass of people that has crowded around them, to the blonde woman that stood at the other side of the net, along with another, much shorter by comparison. Sliding his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, he casted Alex a lopsided smile. She might be much younger than he was, yet the girl was still much more an experienced member of Noah’s Ark than himself. “Go easy on us, won’t you? We’re a bit short around here- that quite literally.”

At this, he finally moved his gaze towards the boy next to him, and he had to hide back a small snicker. In all honesty, it was not as though Florian could volley-ball in the first place. The most knowledge he acquired of the topic was from Haikyuu!, courtesy of Lady Aria herself, of course. In fact, truth be told that he also quite literally ignored the fact that Ruki is debatably as short as he was. Still, nothing compares to poking fun in the grumpy boy possessing more than obvious Napoleon complex. And she was only fifteen-

The NPC referee had blown their whistle. The ball was on their side. Florian bent over to snatch it from the ground, subconsciously turning to glance at Ethan as though offering him to go. He was not even that sure of the rules… or how a proper serve should be. Sighing, he furrowed his eyebrows, planting one foot ahead the other firmly in the sand. Then, he bonked it. No proper description could ever comprehend what he did exactly, yet the ball is now in the air, miraculously floating over the net.

The game was on.

Florian Hamilton

code: s e v e n​

​

 

[Sero]

It wasn't hard to find Keith, caught in the sand and lounging on his back at the side of the booth. Close enough to smell the food, but far enough to partially bury himself like the sand guardian, guardian of the sand. He was trying to get a tan, but he knew it was a fruitless endeavor. He wore as little as possible, only swim shorts....he wasn't a fan of shoes, let alone shirts. Keith pawed at his face when he heard his name and stopped wondering what a 'cheap' beach house implied. He had tried to crunch numbers, but didn't have the head for it. He decided that a cardboard box was a perfectly suitable beach house, if you got enough of them and taped them together. So, basically his apartment.

He pushed up from the sand and looked over the Lane with the most disgruntled expression he could muster. That quickly changed when he saw the sacrificial food offering, and he perked up a bit even though his lips stayed a stubborn line. Keith crossed his legs and rubbed his forehead, causing sand to fall free and drift back to the beach. There was a moment where Lane might have felt in danger as the Keith debated on how to best get the food from his hand, but luckily Keith realized that Lane was going to give it to him anyway. You keep your hand this time. "Thanks." Was what he decided on, putting out his hands like he was getting skittles rather than skewers. While he did keep his eye on the food, he listened to make sure the pup he was watching didn't run off. That was a whole pillow there and he didn't want it moving.

Lane had only a few seconds to pass over the food before Keith would try to snatch it. Either way, he turned quickly and wandered back to his sand spot when he got what he wanted. He took the time to kick the sand with the skewers in his mouth, maybe not the safest to just have them in there, but he was an expert. Kick kick. Pat. Hm. Good. He sat back down and absolutely destroyed the offering, then kicked out his feet and flopped backwards. The skewer sticks were sacrificed to his low quality sand castles that were an insult to castles. They looked more like ant mounds or mud pies, and now the ugly things had threatening spike defenses. "You should bring me some grapes, for the castle." Heads for the stakes. While he was talking to Lane, he watched Luca cook like a predator. It as only a matter of time before something else wasn't good enough. Keith would be waiting.

BondChu Nano

 

[Nano]

» Ethan Lefebvre

『 TAGGED 』 s e v e n Alteras Quark

The monotony of the half-hour train ride was largely characterized by idly watching the buildings or underground pipes that the car whistled past. For an agonizing three minutes, the soft murmurs in the train gave way to the piercing cries of a cranky infant. In response, a certain redhead turned the volume of his music up higher to drown out the child’s wailing. He only stopped his music to pull out his earphones when the brunette to his left, Ruki, had tapped his shoulder to announce an amendment to the details of their promised beach volleyball match.

“A bet...for ice cream?” Ethan repeated, his brow quirking upwards to question converting a friendly match into a gamble. A few extra seconds of ruminating over the girl’s suggestion led to him shrugging his shoulders in casual assent. “Losers buy from our stand then. If someone’s gonna lose money, they might as well contribute to our sales.” It was a harmless proposal, so why not? He definitely hadn’t been convinced by the notion that it would be the perfect excuse to try out the café’s rabbit soda float, regardless of whether he enjoyed a victory or suffered a loss.

That was then, this was now.

The burning sensation of the sun-toasted sand and the shell shards pricking his feet were unpleasant, and the briny breeze chalking his skin with salt did little to assuage his disdain for the beach. No one in his family—not even Colette who would brave the longest of lines and thickest of crowds just for the perfect selfie—was a particularly avid fan of the beach. In fact, the number of times they had taken a trip down to the seaside could be counted upon a single hand. Noah’s Ark hosting an outing was a rare opportunity to have fun with his coworkers, but, quite frankly, he wished Stella had picked a better location. However, that didn’t mean he planned to allow his turbulent mood to infect the others. At least, that was the plan.

Too jaded to even toss a glare at Florian’s obvious dig, Ethan opted for rolling his eyes. Really? More short jokes? As if he hadn’t heard that one a thousand times by now. It was a wonder as to why that uncreative bastard still thought his lack of height was an insult to his ego.

“Take it seriously,” Ethan said, lightly kicking sand in Florian’s direction. However, right as he got his hopes up upon spotting the taller man scramble for the ball, he was sorely disappointed at his sad excuse for a serve. Ethan was fine with setting up shots for others considering that was his role back when he played soccer, but he was starting to question whether or not his teammate was throwing the game. What was that saying again? Not afraid of godlike opponents, only afraid of pig-like teammates? Or should he be thinking positively and say teamwork makes the dream work?

“Just...do enough to not be rude to the opponent,” he said with reluctance written all over his face. It was going to be a long match.

code by Nano

 

[Dawnsx]

Aria & Juli

After slathering the last droplets of sunscreen of her face, Aria picked up her bucket and finally stepped out from the shaded shelter of the beach umbrella. She pushed the rim of her sunhat up a little and surveyed the beach. Noah's Ark's stand was a bit of a distance away, but close enough that she could still make out the diligent figures of her coworkers. A few of the Elegies were already in the ocean, and another quartet were engaged in a beach volleyball match. She dwaddled for a moment, unsure of what she should do.

When Stella first brought up the topic of helping out at a beach, Aria had eagerly volunteered. Sure, it wasn't a vacation, but the prospect of going on a trip with coworkers (like an actual adult!) had been enough to entice her. But now that she was actually here, she didn't know what to do. She'd only ever come to the beach with her parents and once with Annette, and they were always eager to haul her into the ocean to swim. She wasn't quite sure if any of her coworkers weren't already occupied, let alone if she could work up the courage to ask them to do something with her.

"Aria!" a voice behind her called. She jumped and whirled around.

"Mr. Juli!" she squeaked. Juli flashed her a bright grin.

"How come you're all alone here? Whatcha up to? What's that bucket for?" Juli asked curiously.

Aria floundered at the rapid-fire questions. She ran his words over in her mind a few times before deciding his questions were all basically asking the same thing. Juli was... a nice man. He was enthusiastic about everything, including helping Aria when she first joined Noah's Ark. But, it took her a while to realize that sometimes he just liked to prattle or ask questions without really expecting a response. It was nice that he filled up the silences, but that just meant that she had to learn to sift through the things that came out of his mouth to figure out what was actually important. Hesitantly, she lifted her bucket and offered a smile.

"I was, ah, planning to collect some seashells to take back home."

"Huh, sounds fun! I've never really been to the beach, so I'm just hanging out. Emiyn said he's gonna get me a soda float though! It'll be totally picturesque!" Juli lifted the shiny camera hanging around his neck. Before Aria could offer a comment, perhaps her concern about whether the camera was waterproof, Juli turned towards the beach and plowed on, "I saw Vincent by himself a while back... Oh! There he is! Maybe you wanna collect some shells with him?"

Aria hesitated. It'd be nice to do it with someone, but collecting seashells wasn't exactly the most exciting activity, and a little girly to boot.

"Oh, uh... If he wants to...?"

And there was the thousand-watts smile again.

"Got it!" he chirped. Then he was dashing off towards Vincent, kicking up sand in his wake. Once he was there, Aria could just barely hear Juli say her name and something else before he was half-leading, half-dragging Vincent towards her.

In a blink of an eye, Juli was already back with Vincent in tow.

"Welp, you two have fun. I'm gonna go wait for my soda float!" With that, Juli was off and wandering towards the direction of the boathouse.

"Hello," Aria greeted Vincent weakly, almost a little apologetic. "I wanted to collect some seashells to make some clothes and accessories for my friends... If you wanted to join me?"

Interaction: SilverBlack
Mentioned: Quark

 

[Cryptids]

Upon first arriving at Seagull Point Beach, the first thing Enoch had done was take a deep breath of the ocean air. Of course, it was mixed with the scents of sunscreen and sweat thanks to the endless flocks of vacationers, but the salt of the sea came through, too. And, above countless heads and colorful umbrellas, he could glimpse the waves themselves, swaying to and fro, singing a husky song. A vast similitude that would forever span and compactly hold and enclose all in the world.¹

He could watch it for hours. Unfortunately, he didn’t have that kind of time.

It was hot inside the stand, though not stiflingly so. The chaotic noises of bustling beach-goers were a dull roar in the background as Enoch went about his work, taking orders and passing food off to an endless line of sunburnt, sunglassed faces. Regardless, he felt wholly at peace, humming a tune while he meticulously put together frozen treats; even the occasional testy customer failed to dampen his mood.

While Enoch had been here a few times as a teenager, he had never come during the height of summer like this. Lance² always complained about the crowds. Not that he had minded visiting during the cooler months—observing the waves could be just as enjoyable as swimming in them. And, of course, what Enoch had loved most of all was exploring tide pools, witnessing pieces of the world below the brine.³

He was idly wondering if he might get the chance to hunt one down before they left when Luca’s voice grabbed his attention. Moving across the stand, Enoch carefully took the plates from him, catching a whiff of the smoke from the barbeque. When was the last time he had eaten, again?

“I know it’s bad to eavesdrop, but do you think Glenn’s up to something again? Seems like some people think that area is haunted.”

Enoch hummed, looking sidelong in the direction of the beach. “There are certainly plenty of drowning incidents during the summer. I’d like to believe it’s just a normal rumor, but with Glenn…” His expression darkened somewhat. “Well, there isn’t much I would put past him.”

One patented customer service smile and “enjoy!” later, Enoch began preparing a soda float for the next order. Glancing at Rosie, he said, “Rumors about an area being haunted, and all of us stationed here...It could easily be nothing.” He paused, mulling it over. “Perhaps the vanished crew and passengers of the Mary Celeste have found their way home at long last. Even if the ship itself was salvaged, that doesn’t necessarily mean—oh!”

Catching himself just before the glass for the soda float overflowed, Enoch stepped back to finish creating the drink and hand it off. Brushing his hands off, he addressed Rosie again. “So, what do you think? Just a rumor?”


NOTES:
¹This is a reference to a Walt Whitman poem called "On the Beach at Night Alone"
²Enoch's adoptive father, not our resident ice cooler!
³And...another Whitman reference. Enoch is a big fan 8) Probably too much. This one is "The World Below the Brine"
Also the Mary Celeste is a real ghost ship actually—

TAGS: Nano A Murder Of Corviknight

 

[Alteras]

Alex Fayfield

LOCATION Seagull Point Beach

INTERACTIONS Nano s e v e n Quark

CS

Alex stood on the hot sand with a wide grin on her face, staring down Ethan and Florian from across the net like a predator. She was wearing black gym shorts, with a loose white T-shirt, and cheap pair of sunglasses, so cheap that sunglasses were more than likely an after thought to what would otherwise just be "lazy day" clothing. Off to the side, blaring out Setsuna Drive were her portable speakers, hooked up to her trusty iPod. Rubbing her foot into the sand as if trying to find a place to launch from, she yelled back "We'll go easy after we shaved a foot off ya!"

... Needless to say, Alex was a bit too competitive for this friendly match. Well, not that it mattered whether they won or not. Alex was just happy to be there.

The vacation at the beach in the form of part-time work at the stand got Alex relatively excited. Her break days usually consisted of her hitting up the local arcade, shopping for new songs, and spending her income on the latest video games, so going to the beach wouldn't normally be in her list of activities. But even she couldn't say no for a chance to stretch in the sun. In fact, during the train ride, she played through all the "beach song" stages on her phone. Well, skipping past the mini-commotion she made when she got a new PR on SMILE GENERATION special mode, Alex arrived at the beach in a happy mood.

Returning to the match, she was hyped. While she was no volleyball player, she does remember her time in P.E., the one class she liked, and the "attacks" used in that absurdly fanservicey video game she played. She knew the rules and the techniques, though her ability to execute them remained to be seen. Likewise, her hype playlist was going, a playlist usually reserved for particularly difficult opponents at the arcade. Those in Noah's Ark who've followed her to the arcade would recognize these songs as Alex's "No Holds Barred" list. Not that there was much to be afraid of in reality. She was suppressing her last words... this time.

Alex watched as Florian... hit(?) the ball over the net. She thought to herself, You know what? It's fine. I don't have to get competitive. There's no need for— It was at that moment the speakers started blasting Duplicity by Liz Triangle.

SIKE!!!!

Alex launched forward and sprinted right up to the net. She then crouched down, almost touched the sand, and sprung up like a video game character come to life. She slammed her palm into the beach ball right when the song kicked in the rest of the instruments. Carrying the absurd amount of force brought about by the power of music, the ball shot straight at Ethan.

GLORY TO THE VICTOR!!!

music:
Duplicity by Liz Triange
SMILE GENERATION by Tatsh
[IA] Setsuna Drive by Taki Yoshimitsu

FontsFonts Coded by Alteras

 

[Quark]

EMIYN YUEN

In the middle of the beach boardwalk, the bag of fruit-infused water bottles was gently set down with a thud. As Emiyn squinted in the distance, one hand was holding his iced tea, while the other in his pocket was secretly flexing his fingers to relieve away some of the numbness. Most of the time for groceries, he had never had to use one hand to carry something that heavy.

With Shun’s sunglasses, the vibrance of the white sand and blue ocean grew dull, making the specks of red dots much more intense in Emiyn’s vision. He squinted, not sure if there were people currently in the water. [1] If this were at night, perhaps it’d be even easier to locate where the others were.

Pounding footsteps and yells about cat ice cream cut into his train of thought.

But… there aren’t many wide areas in Genesis with little obstructions like here, his thoughts dampened as he switched his other hand to pick up the bag again. Furthermore, differentiating who was who, was another difficulty his Last Word couldn’t solve, but nothing his mobile phone can't resolve.

Arriving at the back section of the stall, he set down the infused water bottles in a half-emptied ice box. “I was told to bring this over,” he explained to Luca, who was tending at the barbecue. Sympathy dashed within him; his arms were feeling warm even just from the radiating heat of the operating grill. A small offer was made to his colleague in the kitchen. “Um… if it gets busier, you can call or message me, Luca.” With his delivery finally done, he walked out to wait at the end of the customer line for Juli’s soda float. [2]

Minutes later, with both hands each holding a cup, he gave a small yell to Juli, who was starting to head in direction of the boathouse. He held out the soda float with bunny-shaped ice cream to Juli. Lifting his sunglasses, Emiyn’s eyesight looked up and down at Juli's shirt, where the yellow pineapple patterns popped out without out-competing his pink hair.

“Oh, I just realized the shirt matches your hair... I like that.” he said casually, adding the latter to clarify it was a compliment. He wondered if the other had been just as eager as Ruki when packing. Over the online call last night, every few minutes there was a rhetorical question about whether to bring a card game or some jacket. And downloading more filters, was his thought as he saw Juli's camera. “Are you going to take photos of your soda before you drink it? Any ideas where or how you'll take it?”[3] he said, showing his interest in joining. It was the perfect opportunity to chat with a friend, one that he could only make time in between cafe work shifts.

NOTES
[1] Distance is too far, so he can’t see icons of NA staffers in the water. Same for the people at the stand due to obstruction.

[2] I don’t think what he does at the stand really needs any attention for a reply post. It’s just to note that Emiyn properly bought it from the stand like his usual NPC customer version.

[3] Emiyn has seen that Juli likes taking photos of drinks and food during his break time at the cafe.

Tag: Dawnsx , people at the stand ( A Murder Of Corviknight Cryptids Nano )

Elegy CS link

 

[A Murder Of Corviknight]

While the early hours of the morning was quiet, even by 10 AM, the crowds slowly started to trickle in with the ambitious already ordering food and drinks from their stand. As per usual, Rosie already had to correct several customers that this was a stand and they could take cash only (as it says on the sign in big bold red Arial font). Who even brings a credit card to the beach in the first place?

Instead of wasting her precious coffee by chucking the cold thermos at the offending customers, Rosie only heavily suggested that they can always come back to the stand after withdrawing cash from the nearby ATM. If the ATMs she was referring to were all the way back at The Boathouse and the entrance of Seagull Point Beach...well. That wasn’t her problem.

After one final large order for a group of teens, Rosie loosened her grip on their only mobile register¹ and popped it into the charging dock next to the receipt printer on the counter. The two important devices were bolted firmly to the makeshift counter, right above the money box secured between the table and the comically large ice box of the stand.

The woman barely popped the cap of her thermos open when she spied a child waiting patiently behind the straggling teens. With a puff of sigh, Rosie motioned the child to come closer and picked up the mobile register again. Nodding at the kid’s request for a soda float, Rosie quickly finished the transaction and slid the receipt to Enoch² before gesturing to the next person in line to come up around the teens.

Too busy to care, she didn’t catch the conversation that Luca was referring to until he brought it up to them. Rosie didn’t answer immediately. After taking another order and tossing the receipts for the completed orders into their trash bin, she turned to both Enoch and Luca with her thermos finally back in her hands.

After taking a long and calming sip, she answered the two with a more settled and calm tone, “There’s plenty of drowning incidents during the summer for the beaches in New York in general. But Seagull Point Beach in particular only had a handful of deaths related to drowning--”

She placed her coffee down to take another order, just water this time. But after the orders, instead of going back to nursing her iced coffee, she checked her phone for the time and ducked under the counter of the stand. Taking out her lunch box for their shift, passed the other two ham and cheese croissants before continuing, “I did hear rumors about the Mary Celeste too. There’s also still that open case of the ▉▉▉ Killer³ going around. But there hasn’t been any new related cases to it in at least three years. Though...”

Rosie frowned behind her share of their snack/brunch, “These rumors could just be Glenn’s work to wire us up. To ‘keep us on our toes’ or what not. The usual bull--”

She glanced at the new group children within earshot who were taking their time browsing their menu, “...dumb schemes.”

------------------​

NAME. Rosalind “Rosie” Berne
OBJECTIVE. survive
MOOD. huh?
NOTES. ¹ The mobile register is actually just a cell phone that’s completely just designated for logging purchases. The one at my workplace is used for card transactions only but I figure that they probably do have one for cash via bluetooth or something. I put cash only instead of card only because card purchases on these devices USUALLY need data/internet. It’s the beach, so I figured they wouldn’t bother with bringing a hotspot along with them.
² Don’t worry about this part. This is just to tie into the soda float that Enoch was making in his post. o/
³ Couldn’t think of a name. If I ever bring this guy up again, I’ll make a name for them LOL
⁴ To explain in case anyone is curious, they cheat with the ice box. If they feel like the crazy amount of ice packs in the box are melted down a bit too much to be comfortable, they use Lance to refreeze them.
TAGGED. Cryptids Nano