Bzprpg - Kumu Islets

[Ghosthands]

IC (Lohkar)Lohkar grabbed a tankard from the Skakdi bartender."Couldn't agree more, mate," he said. "I've given the lads shore leave 'til mornin'. Shall I get ya a room for the night?"Hahkes came over."If you've been sleeping rough, Tellus," said the Air Lesterin, "I'll give you a room free of charge."

[pokemonlover360]

IC Yasurek-Xa-koro:As it turned out, despite Yasurek's lack of hobbies and all-around insignificance, he was still enjoying his free time in Xa-koro, if only because being here gave him the chance to move around free of restraints and rules. Part of why he left the Ko-koro guard originally had been the restrictiveness of the position, and he had become a pirate partially for the freedom it would give him. Now he knew that there were plenty of restrictions that came from piracy, but that didn't matter right now. Here in Xa-koro, there weren't any rules. Well, there were rules, at least a few unspoken ones, but they weren't any that Yasurek had a problem with and were mostly about what was socially acceptable. Which was fine.This chance to go for a walk also was a nice chance to stretch his legs. He had always scoffed at the notion of Ko-matoran as quiet restrained scholarly types who didn't get out much. There was of course some truth in the harshness of the population, but Ko-matoran could be surprisingly agile, as Yasurek himself porved. Back in the day he had been one of the more athletic guards, taking it upon himself to chase down criminals and apprehend them. He wasn't ever going to get to the level of catching kakama-wearing criminal toa, of course, but decent speed, a knowledge of the routes through the village, and the skill to run and balance on ice could be combined to catch up with a surprisingly large number of people. He wondered if he still had those skills.Deciding to test his agility, he made his way to an empty alley. Checking around or any onlookers, he glanced up and planned his route, taking note of the various ledges and handholds built into the walls of the two-story buildings he was standing between. One more deep breath to focus himself, and he began.As ice had deep connections to water, so too did Yasureks movements, while sharp and precise, have a grace and fluidity to them. The ability to climb walls is not a particularly hard trait to learn- all one needs is brute strength and a solid grip, with maybe some basic understanding of physics. But to climb so freely, to leap between walls and ascend like Yasurek did, that took practice, with maybe a bit of talent. And the number of unnecesarry flips he did while doing so took a bit of flair and a decent enough sense of style. Yasurek believed that if one was going to be all agile and such and go about engaging in grand chases, you should try to put some flair into your movements, if only to keep your mind awake and sharp. Doing something repetetive, especially when it's one of your primary jobs, leads to boredom and a wandering mind, and that leads to mistakes. If it prevented a major accident and probable injury from a bad jump or something, Yasurek was willing to take a few more seconds to catch a criminal.Landing on the edge of the roof of one of the buildings, Yasurek surveyed the village from his new vantage point. It wasn't a sight to be cherished, but it was still always nice to look upon the skyline of a settlement. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that things were a bit more damage had occured since Yasurek had last been there, almost as if a large fire had been allowed to burn for a while. Odd, but in a town like Xa-koro, things just sort of happened.He took a glance down over the side of the building, measuring the distance he had traveled. No vertigo came over him, which was a welcome relief. The last thing he need is a fear of heights to contend with. He already had his self-esteem and the rest of the universe working against him. Speaking of which...So, I see you still don't have any friends, thought his self-esteem.I don't know what you're talking about. I actually do have friends at the moment, he replied to himself.You mean your fellow pirates? And which of those are your friends again?Well, there's Lohkar. He's a friend. Doesn't seem mad about the mutiny or anything. That's probably because it was a very stealthy mutiny, but still.You know he's always going to have an agenda, and he'll sell you out or betray you if there's enough in it for him.No, he's loyal to his crew. The crew that he trusts, anyway. And he trusts me. I haven't done anything to betray his trust.You haven't done anything at all.That's beside the point. There's also Gunner. He's a friend.Since when was he a friend?He was very happy when I returned to the Infernavika. I'm still not quite sure why, but he was.Because you're sane. That's the only reason.For a sane person I'm talking to myself quite a bit.I'm seperate enough. I continue to survive despite your best efforts to kill me.That's not my fault. It's the world that has it in for us.And thus you have no friends.What about Lasinia? We're going to eventually take over the world together.... Seriously?... Shut up. It could happen.We both know the plan won't work, as Mr. Grochi the Downer explained.He's not a friend. But Lasinia's still a friend.She's with Mimira now. She's much too occupied to be your friend or acknowledge you. You're just not significant enough.That could change. Already people are starting to remember me more and more.But you're still not known. Not respected. Maybe pittied, but that won't last. As long as I'm around and you don't like yourself, nobody will like you and you'll remain obscure.I WILL be rid of you one day.You can't escape me; I'm a part of you."THEN BEGONE!" Yasurek shouted at himself. He glanced around akwardly to check that there was nobody on the rooftops around him before continuing to converse with himself in his head.You really are messed up. Do you have any other "friends" that you'd care to mention?There's Perkahn. He's an ally. He said I was a legend in my own right.......*snicker*Ah ha ha ha ha!I'm sorry , I can't think that with a mental straight face.I thought as much. I'm amazed you could keep an actual straight face when he said it. My compliments to you on pulling that off.Thanks. They are my friends tohugh, despite your arguing to the contrary.Do you even remember how you got separated from the Infernavika in Ta-koro after the mutiny? They forgot about you and left. That included your "friend" Gunner.They probably thought I was below-decks. People take very long naps down there only to pop up several weeks later.They didn't check. They could have. After all, you were one of the only people to leave Xa-koro with the ship. You, a member with as much experience on the ship as everyone else for the most part. And they left you. Because you didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Just like now.You don't know anything about the grand scheme of things. I know that because I don't know the grand scheme of things either, other than the fact that the last several months have contained events where factors outside of our control intervened in order to render our efforts pointless. It's probably just a series of flukes. Most of the issues for us were probably only caused by unintended consequences.The temple of wisdom?They were only targetting me because I had the blood kanohi. For two seconds.Temple of purity?Not my fault nothing happened.Getting left behind?Perfectly ordinary mistake.Ship battle in Po-wahi?I wasn't fully informed of the situation and once the information came to light I didn't need to board the other vessel.Plot to take over the world?Grochi's mean.Plan to stop Dorian?He made a hole in the ship.I'd like to know what Perkahn thinks of you now since you went with Lohkar instead of staying and helping him. Wasn't it "going to be nice to do some good for a change"?He understands. Gunner informed him of the situation.We'll see if that's the case if we see him again.Until then you'll just have to go and be a "legend in your own right".That's it, I'm out. And so he did as he thought, jumping to the next building over and beginning a trek across the rooftops.I'm still in your head, you know, Yasurek's self-esteemed corectly pointed out, but Yasurek's mind was too far away to listen, nor did he really care. He was having too much fun jumping over rooftops, and he wasn't going to let an annoyingly vocal part of his mind ruin it. It was his free time after all, it should be fun for him.

Edited August 30, 2012 by pokemonlover360

[Cadias]

IC: TellusAccepting a tankard himself, the pirate grinned. "It's good ta know that I 'ave a couple o' good mates ta fall back on. I'll remember it. But if you don't mind, Cap'n, I'd like ta take a look at the 'Vika. Ye said that ye needed a carpenter, and I'd like ta see 'ow tough removing that armor'll be. I think I've 'ad enough shore leave for the time bein'." He laughed, taking a drink."After we finish these 'ere drinks, o' course!"

[otter]

IC-Verak:Meanwhile, back at the Infernavika, Verak was looking at the armour that had been placed upon the ship...as well as the gaping hole in the side. Now, the hole would be much easier to fix than removing the armour, but removing the armour would give better access to the hole...He nodded to himself, his plan of action set, as he then started to remove the armour, rivet by annoying rivet.

[Ghosthands]

IC (Lohkar)"Sounds like a capital idea ta me, mate," Lohkar replied, slapping Tellus on the back and downing his drink. He stood up. "Ready when you are."

[Cadias]

IC: TellusTellus followed suit. "Ready as I'll ever be!"Eager to see the ship, he hurried down the street to a point where he could clearly see the docks and the Infernavika.... then stopped, puzzled. He turned around, yelling so Lohkar could hear. "Ahoy, Lohkar! Did ye 'ire on another carpenter while I was away?"

[Ghosthands]

IC (Lohkar)Catching up with Tellus, Lohkar squinted at the other Toa of Plantlife, frowning."Looks like that Verak fella...nah, he's someone Raknar picked up. Don't like 'im much meself. Got a bit of an attitude problem. I didn't even know 'e was on the ship 'til we got 'ere."

[Cadias]

IC: Tellus"I see. So, long story short, a stowaway is workin' on yer ship without yer permission and stealin' me job at the same time?" Tellus' hand hovered over the hilt of his cutlass."Sounds like we 'ave a bit o' a situation that needs resolvin'."

Edited August 30, 2012 by Cadias

[Ghosthands]

IC (Lohkar)"Let's not be too 'asty, Tellus," said Lohkar. "Raknar hired 'im, so 'e's no stowaway. However, the theft o' your job is quite another matter, an' I know who I'd prefer to 'ave as the carpenter."Lohkar strode up to Verak, who was loosening the Infernavika's armour."Oi, you," he said. "Verak, whatever your name is. D'you want ta stay in my crew or not? I asked ya before an' ya didn't give me an answer."

[otter]

IC-Verak:"I would hopefully assume my working to remove this blasted armour counts as both a gesture of goodwill and a want to remain, wouldn't it?" He asked, then rolled his eyes. "Short answer, before I get another Zamor launcher pointed at me: Yes." Then he turned around, looking at Tellus."And did ye say Carpenter?" he growled. "I'm a bloody Shipwright, not some carpenter...Although, I do have a bit of experience with carpentry as well. It's that knowledge that I used to fix the bed that Raknar nearly ruined.

[Cadias]

IC: TellusTellus did not appreciate being growled at. He smiled, though there was nothing friendly about it. "Yes, mate, carpenter. Ship's carpenter 'appens to be the title o' the person who makes repairs when she's at sea, ye know."Lohkar was right- this 'Verak' certainly did seem to have a bit of an attitude problem.

[otter]

IC-Verak:Verak merely rolled his eyes, turning back around and continuing to work."Well," he said, "I guess they can use the term interchangeably if they want, but I'll just stay stubborn about the way I was taught." Then, after a moment: "Would either of ye mind helping me with this?"OOC: Lul, the shipwright and former sailor has an attitude problem. And then he'll get drunk and be friends with everybody, just watch. xP

[Cadias]

IC: TellusTellus also rolled his eyes."Whatever floats yer boat. 'Ow's the armor attached?"OOC: But for now, we'll have fun with this budding little rivalry. =P

[otter]

OOC: Eeyup.IC-Verak:"Rivets, nails, and screws," the Toa of Plantlife growled, continuing to struggle with one particularly nasty rivet that probably had gotten itself stuck in a knot in the wood of the ship."Blast the fool who installed these," he muttered, continuing to work at the same rivet.

[Cadias]

IC: Tellus"Well, for a Toa o' the Green like me, it's not too 'ard. Ye just use yore powers ta make the 'ole bigger than whatever's 'olding it in, like so." The rivet slid out. "Though I still can't figure out why anybody'd put armor on a ship..."

[otter]

IC-Verak:"...Alright, now I just want somebody to explain to me why I didn't think of that." He shrugged. "I guess the way I've been taught has been too far ingrained, eh? Ah, well. Time to see who can get rid of the rivets faster, eh?"

[Cadias]

IC: TellusTellus grinned again. This time, it was genuine. "Yore on, mate! Just don't forget ta seal up the 'oles- don't want ta set sail in a leaky ship!"He briefly considered counting to three, but shrugged the thought aside. Besides, he had a sneaking suspicion that Verak had already started. Realizing that he had learned Verak's name from Lohkar, he added, "Name's Tellus, by the way."

[otter]

IC-Verak:"Nice t' meet ye, Tellus," Verak said, as he and Tellus kept up the same amount of rivets falling from the ship, armour plates sliding off and onto the dock...the first few had been somewhat harried, as he tried to catch up with Tellus who had, apparently, taken a head start...though now they were even, and Verak was slowly moving up in his count.

[Cadias]

IC: TellusNoticing Verak beginning to pull ahead, Tellus began removing rivets even more quickly. Unfortunately, that had the side effect of draining his elemental energy faster.... but Tellus was determined to either finish first or outlast his newfound rival.

[otter]

IC-Verak:"Careful, Tellus," Verak said with a grin, ignoring the rivets that were literally flying as Tellus sped up his work, "You don't want to get sloppy...might damage the ship more than you can tell." Meanwhile, to counter Tellus's increased speed, Verak merely moved to removing two rivets at a time instead of one, keeping up just as well as before.

[Cadias]

IC: TellusTellus didn't reply. The two had moved out of sight of each other, with the hull blocking their view, but Tellus could still hear armor clanging to the deck on the other side. The other Toa was keeping up just fine. There had to be a simpler way... Instead of increasing the size of the hole to the point where the rivet slid out freely, he simply made it just large enough for the rivet to fit through. He repeated the process for every rivet on an armor plate, then simply expanded the wood beneath the armor enough to give it the push it needed to get started. Gravity did the rest. It was the work of but a moment to return the wood to its former size. It saved him only a little time and energy per plate, but it might just have given him the edge he needed....

[otter]

IC-Verak:Verak, meanwhile, had upped his amount of rivet removal from two to three, as well as speeding it up slightly, resulting in a steady triplet pattern of thunk-thunk-CLANG thunk-thunk-CLANG as the rivets and then the armour fell.OOC: Imagine that pattern of triplets as being in a 6/8 measure at about 120 bpm.

[Ghosthands]

IC (Lohkar)Lohkar smiled as the two shipwrights got to work. If this partnership lasted, it could be very useful indeed...He began to gather up the fallen armour plates. There was always a chance he could sell them on, or otherwise find a use for them.

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia"I have an idea! Let's find a monkey, and then find Yasurek so we can take over the world!"

[Cadias]

OOC: I'm sure that that would be helpful if I knew anything about music. =PIC: TellusTellus, hearing his opponent getting even faster, gritted is teeth and sped up as well. Verak wouldn't be hearing any individual rivets falling, just steady CLANGS as the armor plates, rivets still attached, fell.

[otter]

IC-Verak:Clang. Clang. Clang clang clang clang clang-clang-clang-clang clangclangclangclangclangclangclang.That sound, for anybody who was wondering, was the sound of Verak keeping up with Tellus, though now he looked to be getting into the state that Tellus was as well.

[Ghosthands]

OOC: Echelon from Ko-WahiIC (Echelon)The Nui-Kopen buzzed through the air of the Kumu Islets. Echelon exerted his will, and the insect slowed. The journey had taken several hours, and it was now past midnight. The sky was so black that nobody would see the Rahi flying high above the Islets.Echelon directed the Undead insect in the direction of Xa-Koro.

[a goose]

IC: XerovI had drifted off into sleep during the trip, but I was woken as the Nui-Kopen slowed. Now I'm watching as it flies towards Xa-Koro, and thinking back on the dream...- - -I watch from the side. It's always the same dream, and always in a third-person view. I see myself, sitting on the beach, watching a group of female Matoran further along the shore.There are four of them -- one is all red, with a Kaukau, a Ta-Matoran. Another is a Ko-Matoran, wearing a Huna. There's a purple and black Matoran (it's a Ba-Matoran colour scheme, so she might've been one) wearing an Iden. The last is a Ga-Matoran, with a Rau. A few minutes pass, and I build up the courage to go over and talk to them -- I've never seen them before, and if they don't know me, and I don't give myself away, I might have a chance at actually making a few friends.I watch my younger self walk over slowly and nervously, before clearing his throat."Hi," he says, "I'm Elax."The Ta-Matoran smiles. "I'm Jalna. These are Myka, Traxia, and Nikarra."My younger self grins back, taking note of the names of the Ko-Matoran (Myka), the Ga-Matoran (Traxia), and the Ba-Matoran (Nikarra). "Can I sit down?""Sure." The Ta-Matoran pats the ground, and I sit beside her.The day goes by quickly, and sunset comes much too soon. However, I agree to meet up with the others again the next day...- - -I catch myself smiling as I think back to the memories, and quickly replace the expression with my usual frown, waiting for our arrival in Xa-Koro.

[Cadias]

OOC: It's oddly fun to have them try to outdo each other when they seem evenly matched. XDIC: TellusTellus briefly considered speeding up, but that wouldn't be a great idea. He was going about as fast as he was comfortable with without potentially harming the ship. So, now it was a matter of outlasting the shipwright....A few residents of Xa-Koro had been gathering around the docks, trying to find out what exactly was making all that noise. The removal of the armor was far from quiet.

[otter]

IC-Verak:However, Tellus and Verak soon encountered a problem...There was one armour plate left. And the two of them."Well, this certainly messes up the contest," he said. "What do we do now?"

[Cadias]

IC: Tellus"Well.. I.... I'm not sure." Tellus frowned, considering the problem. "Maybe if we each remove one 'alf o' the rivets? Oi, Lohkar! Give us a countdown, will ye?"

[Ghosthands]

IC (Lohkar)"What?" came Lohkar's voice, muffled behind a huge, teetering pile of armour plates he was carrying.

[Cadias]

IC: Tellus"We're down ta the last armor plate! I figure that we can decide the winner by removin' 'alf o' the rivets each. Countdown, ta be sure that we start at the same time!"Looking up, he noticed Lohkar carrying the armor. "Uh, Cap'n.... what are ye doin'?"

[Ghosthands]

IC (Lohkar)Lohkar dumped the pile down on the dock with a resounding CLANG. Miraculously, it stayed upright."I'm guessin' we can still make some widgets out o' these plates," he said. "Waste not, want not, as they say."His gaze reached the final armour plate."Right lads. Ready?"As he spoke, he loaded a blank into his Zamor launcher."One...two...THREE!"He fired the launcher, signalling them to begin.

[otter]

IC-Verak:Plunk-Clang."Bloody...the exact same time. I don't think I've ever seen that happen before."

[Ghosthands]

IC (Lohkar)Lohkar shook his head in mock disappointment."Well, karz," he said. "Looks like I'll have ta keep both of ya."He looked sideways at the port bow."If I may remind you, lads..." he continued. "There is still a rather large hole in the side o' my ship..."

[Cadias]

IC: TellusTellus began removing rivets as fast as he could without damaging the ship. There were only a few.... he could do this.... he looked up triumphantly.... and Verak said exactly what he was thinking."'Ow does that even 'appen? I mean, the chances o' us finishin' at the same time..." He shook his head."Oh, er, o' course, sir!" Tellus walked over and inspected the hole. "What 'appened 'ere?"

[Ghosthands]

IC (Lohkar)"Oh, a Toa o' Iron put 'is hand through it," Lohkar replied nonchalantly.

[Cadias]

IC: TellusTellus raised his eyebrows, then simply shook his head and chuckled as he went to work repairing the hole, using his elemental powers."Never a dull moment aboard the good ol' 'Vika, eh, Cap'n? It's good ta be back."

[a goose]

IC: XerovThe next day I'm there on the beach with them, having difficulty staying awake while they talk about something to do with some Le-Matoran staying in the same inn as them. It's not that the story isn't interesting -- which, to be honest, it isn't -- it's more to do with the fact that I didn't get any sleep at all the night before. I was thinking of the girls, but Jalna especially -- first, she was friendly, and although she wasn't the prettiest in the group (that honour went to Nikarra), there was just something about her that stuck in my thoughts. Probably the fact that she was the first girl to talk to me in over a decade. I was stirred from my thoughts when I heard her mention my name. "Hmm?""Where are you staying?""Oh. I live in a small community on the outskirts of Ga-Koro." I shrug."I'm on vacation. I come here every chance I get, so does Myka. Nikarra and Traxia live here.""That's strange, I don't think I've seen you here before." It's funny, watching myself go through this. While the memories are happy, I already know how they're going to end...Not much happens that day. The next day, they're not going back to the beach -- instead, they're going into the centre of Ga-Koro. But I'm invited along anyway, which is nice. I keep catching Nikarra and Myka glancing suspiciously at me, occasionally leaving Jalna and me alone and talking about things just out of my range of hearing. I don't really mind, but I don't try to figure out what they're thinking -- if I do, I might let something slip and ruin everything.- - -"How much longer to Xa-Koro?" I ask.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Vorex: Keeper of Time